VS 
Atlanta Falcons/Philadelphia Eagles
Posted on 01/23/2005 8:59:45 AM PST by CounterCounterCulture
VS
VS 
ATL at PHI, Sat, 3:00 p.m. EST
NE at PIT, Sat, 6:30 p.m. EST
The Pats are a FAR SUPERIOR TEAM.
Belichick is not interested in respect.
He just wants to win!
Oh, and by the way, he wins!
I wouldn't say far, but they are better rounded on offense and have the best coach. They're superior, but not far, we did beat the Pats once.
Yes, I'm pissed at Cowher. But it was a good year and next year will be better.
There were more good times than bad. It just sucks big time that we're done. :^(
5 losses out of 6 at home in AFC Champ games. That is unforgivable. Cowher was outcaoched...he made a crappy call... he blew it.
That's 6 trips to the AFC champ game, that's a lot of success. Belichick outcoaches everybody, if we fired everybody that got out coached by the best in the game there'd be 31 job openings.
Do you think Bettis will be back?
The Pats turned the ball over four times in the first game and this time the Steelers turned it over four times. There's the difference.
The Bus is heading to pasture.
I doubt it. Maybe not Staley either (who's pretty old). That's the biggest damage I see in the off season, that third guy looks good but can he look good 30 runs a game?
Too bad he didn't get to the big show. He worked his ass off this year, and took a pay cut.
Why didn't he have Hines Ward in the game during that series? Did you see Hines Ward on the sideline (after his big run and catch) asking why he wasn't in the game? Why didn't he have better play calling on that series? It seemed to me like they took 3 dumps and kicked the FG. They should have clearly went for it on 4th down. Had it worked, they down 7 at home ( that's only a one possession game) and the Pats are starting to feel it slip away. Instead he kicks the ball and deflates the whole stadium. They flashed to Bettis on the sideline and you could see he was livid.. he understood that Cowher just blew the game. The whole stadium booed the call. Cowher's will kick and then only have to get a TD, another FG and a two point conversion to tie plan was bs. That was the height of playing to lose.
Even had they not been abloe to convert it on 4th down, the Pats would have taken over on downs deep int heir own territory which if the D could hold them, would have translated into great field position for the next drive. Cowher's call was unforgivable. He didn't lose 5 out of 6 AFC Champ. Games at home for no reason. He didn't stick with the obvious loser Kordell Stewart for so long for no reason. As far as I'm concerned, Cowher's failure gene has wasted the careers of lots of good players. But for Cowher's chokes in the clutch, they would have been world champions.
Eventually, you've got to be accountable for losing 5 out of 6. He didn't lose all 5 to Belichick. He blew it. It's time for a fresh start.
Another guy who didn't get a ring because he wasted his career
with Cowher as his coach.
Eventually we have to remember that only 1 of the 12 teams that enters the playoffs gets to leave them happy, and six AFC championship appearances is an achievement of significant proportions. And getting this far with a rookie QB is pretty impressive too. We're supposed to fire the guy for being only the second coach in NFL history to win a playoff game with a rookie, but not being the first to win 2?! Doesn't make sense. He did great for 17 games this year and lost to the best coach in the league, this would be the stupidest of all possible times for a "fresh start", consistency on the sidelines builds success.
Fans in sports are way too eager to fire coaches, who that's available would do better? What coach out there could have beaten Belichick with a rookie QB at all (which Cowher did) much less in the AFC championship game? Give me names.
I'm just stunned.
Boston Dirt Dogs web site..
www.boston.com
go to Sports page
click Red Sox
Scroll down page and you will see the link
But NBC was the monopoly carrier of AFL games. If they didn't carry the AFL they would not have had any pro football.
I don't believe Cowher will be fired, but I also think he needs to go. He's done an outstanding job of getting his team's to the big game, but has never been able to close the deal, that's the bottom line. He's been given too many reprieves in my book. Yes, he had a rookie QB, but didn't that same rookie QB beat the Pats in the regular season?
I nearly pulled an Elvis and shot my tv when Cowher made that call. I understood that was the ballgame. Harrison had just gottn hurt, the Steelers were inside the five... the situation demanded that Cowher take all four downs if he had to to get the TD. It's incomrpehensible what he did, Hines Ward is such a spark for the squad...how could he leave him out of the series? Why did he think an FG a td and a two point conversion would be easy to rack up against a monster D in the 4th quarter?
Belichick understands the game. Cowher doesn't. If Cowher did.. he would have pushed for the td. His lame call and 1fg, 1td and 1 2 pt conversion plan put pressure on the D and Roethlisburger. Ben got the ball back with under 8 minutes left, he knew he basically needed two touchdowns. He felt he needed to make a big play and as a result forced the ball and threw an interception.
If Ben was only down 7, there is a much better chance that he doesn't throw that ball. Cowher should have known that his jackassy call would increase the pressure on Roethlisberger. Cowher's inability to coach effectively against elite coaches and inability to understand personnel is a problem. He saw a superstar in Kordell... boy was he wrong there. And tonight, he didn't get that going for the fg to further a low probability plan to win would up the pressure on his rookie qb (who has been struggling as of latye) and that would cost them the game.
The whole thing is effing inexcusable.
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