NFL Season 2004

[sphill]

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SuckaIn3Piece said:
I love the ribbing! It's what keeps me coming back to this joint, to chat with you crazy mofo's!

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Philly suck, Sucka!
GO LIONS
From one crazy mofo' down under!

[TopJimmy78]

[ QUOTE ]
sphill said:
[ QUOTE ]
SuckaIn3Piece said:
I love the ribbing! It's what keeps me coming back to this joint, to chat with you crazy mofo's!

[/ QUOTE ]

Philly suck, Sucka!
GO LIONS
From one crazy mofo' down under!

[/ QUOTE ]



Now that was a great post, couldn't have said it any better!!! [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img] [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img] [img]images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif[/img] [img]images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif[/img]

[sphill]

Glad you like it TJ...how this for a tongue twister.

Sucka, Philly, suck the greatest suck that ever sucked the suck. Suck on that man! [img]images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif[/img]

BTW Sucka...love ya work man....it doesn't suck! [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]

[SuckaInA3Piece]

LOL Thank you Thank you

[SuckaInA3Piece]

T.O. gets another crack at Lewis

By LES BOWEN

bowenl@phillynews.com

THIS WEEK, there is no grudge match looming for Terrell Owens. But it isn't too late to rekindle last week's controversy.

T.O. began yesterday's weekly media session noting support he'd received from Steelers linebacker Joey Porter in a Tuesday newspaper story. Porter, whose team hosts the Eagles this week, endorsed Owens' celebrations, specifically his mocking of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, during the Eagles' 15-10 Sunday victory. That does qualify as news. The last couple of weeks, the story has been opponents' feuds with the Eagles' standout wide receiver.

But while reveling in Porter's words, Owens re-lit the Baltimore fuse, highlighting a Porter reference to Lewis' involvement in a 2000 double-murder case.

Porter, who also has feuded with Lewis, sounded a favorite T.O theme in Tuesday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: other players celebrate flamboyantly, and some of them have even had off-the-field issues, which Owens hasn't, yet few are as widely reviled as T.O. In Lewis' case, those off-the-field issues include that agreement to plead guilty to misdemeanor obstruction of justice and testify against two of his friends after a double-murder at an Atlanta-area nightclub in January 2000. (The friends were acquitted.)

"It's fine for this guy to celebrate, but it's not fine for this guy," Porter was quoted as saying. "It's good for this guy to be creative, but it's not good for this guy. Why isn't it funny when Terrell does the pom-poms? You guys can make who the good guys are. The media has total control over that.

"...But this guy [Lewis] just comes off a murder case and he comes back dancing and goes to the Super Bowl and you love every minute about it. He gets a 4-minute introduction when he comes out. They absolutely go crazy for it. He makes a tackle, he dances every play and you guys love it. Terrell scores a touchdown and he does his celebration and, for some reason, you guys just choose, 'We don't like you. You aren't one of the guys we pick.' I never thought it was fair."

This was music to T.O.'s diamond-studded ears. Owens has puzzled over his lack of endorsements and the league's apparent reluctance to market him.

"I'm obviously not one of those who are a face of the NFL that they're going to have on commercials...It's discouraging at times that I get labeled and put in that same mold and that I'm the worst guy that ever put on a uniform in the NFL," he said. "It's funny, it really is. I listen to all the comments and at times, it baffles me.

"I've never had any off-field problems. I've wanted to say it for a long time, but since Joey put it out there, you have a guy like Ray Lewis, who I thought was pretty much my friend. This is a guy, double-murder case, and he could have been in jail, but it seems like the league embraces a guy like that. I'm going out scoring touchdowns and having fun, but I'm the bad guy. So I don't understand it, I really don't.

"I listen to ESPN and all the guys that report on there, it's really funny...I just take it with a grain of salt and I keep ticking. I know they're looking for me to do something [off the field] or something to come up, but it's not going to happen."

In an instance of art imitating life, or something like that, Owens' words quickly made it to ESPN yesterday evening, with a panel of analysts that included ex-Eagle Mike Golic expressing sympathy for Lewis and condemning Owens for bringing up the murder business. ESPN also read a statement from the Ravens, who thought they'd traded for Owens' rights last March, then were forced to accept a fifth-round draft choice instead when the NFL brokered a trade to the Eagles. "Like the rest of the NFL community, we would expect nothing less from Terrell Owens," the statement said.

Then, on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon found rare agreement, bashing Owens for bringing up Lewis' brush with the law.

Earlier, Lewis told reporters in Baltimore that he'd had a chance to see Owens' imitation of his signature dance on tape, and likened Owens' version to "my 4-year-old" trying to do the dance. At that point, apparently, Lewis did not know about Owens' comments yesterday.

For what it's worth, Owens had a defender last night on the NFL Network's "NFL Total Access." Ex-star receiver Sterling Sharpe said: "I think Terrell Owens says a lot of what people in the NFL want to say. I'm not talking about specifics with Ray Lewis, I think T.O. is a guy that says what's on his mind and what a lot of other people think. I think he's correct in saying that there are a lot of people in this business that we're in that treat this guy unfairly, because all he does is go out and help his football team win games...The thing is, I don't know if a lot of guys in our business like T.O."

Coach Andy Reid said yesterday that Owens' current teammates like him just fine. "I think it starts with T.O., and the way he takes in his teammates and makes them feel a part of the whole thing as far as the team goes," he said. "He doesn't stick himself out in the locker room as an individual. He's part of the team, and that's important. And the way the guys have allowed him to be part of the team I think also is a big thing."

There certainly have been potential flash points for teammates, as they've navigated messy T.O. conflicts with the Ravens, or with Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia, or Lions coach Steve Mariucci. Owens, who leads the Eagles with 42 catches for 697 yards and nine touchdowns, is the only Eagles wideout to score a touchdown this season. After Sunday's game, Freddie Mitchell lamented his own lack of catches.

Owens said yesterday he feels FredEx's pain. "There were some situations where he was open and for whatever reason, Donovan [McNabb] just didn't see him," Owens said. "Those are things that we'll work out throughout the week of practice and we have to find some ways to get him the ball. It's not like Donovan is doing it intentionally...It is frustrating. I know how it is as a receiver, and Freddie is a team guy. He blocks well and he feels like he should be rewarded. He'll get his chances."

Toward the end of his time with reporters yesterday, Owens - apparently not realizing he had ignited more controversy with Lewis - said he was going to enjoy the lack of any built-in conflict, as he prepared for Pittsburgh.

"It's going to be a stress-free week for me," he said. "I'm pretty sure my teammates are relieved that they don't have to answer a bunch of questions about 'whatever.' [But] the week is not over yet."

[wip5150]

The Eagles will lose not only on Sunday to the Steelers, but to the Cowboys in two weeks. Mark it down Sucka!

[SuckaInA3Piece]

YOU WISH!!

[SuckaInA3Piece]

I will say this though...In the history of the NFC East, no team has run the table and won all their division games. So I can see the Birds losing the last game against the Giants. But there is no way in hell the Boys or the Skins are beating the Eagles this year.

[SuckaInA3Piece]

Here's a pretty good preview of the Steelers/Eagles matchup:

Game preview

[SuckaInA3Piece]

Jaws, Hoge are at odds

By BILL FLEISCHMAN

fleiscb@phillynews.com

Ron Jaworski was an NFL quarterback.

Merrill Hoge was an NFL fullback.

No wonder, to the delight of viewers, they continually disagree on "EA Sports NFL Match-Up" on ESPN Fridays and and ESPN2 Sundays.

Before the season, while many observers forecast that the Eagles would win the NFC East, Hoge predicted that the Eagles would not make the playoffs.

As the Eagles have progressed through a 7-0 season, to the annoyance of Eagles fans, Hoge has maintained his position.

Hoge played for the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-1), who host the Eagles (7-0) on Sunday (Fox Philadelphia, 1 p.m.).

"We are dear friends," Jaworski, a former Eagles quarterback, said yesterday from the NFL Films offices in Mount Laurel, N.J.

"We see the game a little differently. He's more of a physical running guy, because he was a fullback. He felt the Eagles weren't a physical enough football team to be a playoff team.

"As a quarterback, I see the league trending toward passing. The days of 'You've got to run the ball, you've got to stop the run' are long gone."

Curiously, Hoge declined to be interviewed for this story, but he and Jaworski were scheduled to appear on WIP (610-AM) this morning.

In his ESPN.com column this week, Hoge wrote that he expects the Steelers to win Sunday "because of their running game." The Steelers' offensive line "has been mauling people all season and have made [Duce] Staley and [Jerome] Bettis the best power-run duo in the league.

"For the Eagles to have any shot at winning they need the defensive line to have a great game. It's an almost impossible task because the defensive line is light and terrible at playing the run.

"The linebackers aren't big and can be moved around and will get worn out in the third quarter when the Steelers are at their best."

Hoge and Jaworski aren't in accord on many football topics. But "Jaws" agrees that the Steelers are a threat to halt the Eagles' unbeaten run.

"It's going to be a very difficult game for the Eagles," Jaworski said. "The Steelers are playing really good football. It's more of a Bill Cowher style: run the football, blitzing defenses."

Cowher, in his 13th season as Pittsburgh's coach, was an Eagles special-teams captain when Jaworski played for the Birds.

Fox sends 'A' team

Fox' top NFL broadcast team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth will work the Eagles-Steelers game. It's their first Eagles game of the season. About time.

Aikman, another ex-NFL quarterback, is impressed with both the Eagles and Steelers rookie QB Ben Roethlisberger.

Aikman notes that when the Eagles signed receiver Terrell Owens, expectations soared.

"It's rare that a team is able to live up to expectations like that," Aikman said, "but the Eagles clearly have."

Referring to "Big Ben," Aikman said: "The thing that separates him from the rest is the tremendous composure he has for a young guy. I don't see him making bad decisions that you'll typically see from a young quarterback."

[SuckaInA3Piece]

Steelers are tough, but Birds are undefeated for a reason

By LES BOWEN

bowenl@phillynews.com

IS THIS the week the Eagles stumble?

Lots of people seem to think so. After all, the Eagles probably aren't going 16-0. Nobody ever has.

If they're going to lose, this would be a logical time to do it. Though they're 7-0, they likely will play once more without the focal point of their offense, running back Brian Westbrook, who has a cracked rib. And they're visiting the 6-1 Pittsburgh Steelers, who looked tremendous last week in ending New England's 21-game victory streak, 34-20. Duce Staley, the exiled favorite of Eagles' fans, is having a career season, with 707 yards on 151 carries, approaching the midway point.

The Eagles are just 1-point favorites Sunday, which might be as close as they come this season to being underdogs. They're facing what coach Andy Reid has called "the most balanced team we've faced this year...a heckuva football team in all phases."

And yet.

The Eagles aren't 7-0 by accident. They showed last Sunday that they can slug it out with a physical opponent, and that a strong ground game won't necessarily plow them under. They've won their last nine road games, and are 28-7 on the road since 2000. They are 18-5 in November under Reid.

Furthermore, the Steelers' secondary isn't all that scary (Terrell Owens apparently will be matched up with Willie Williams, who turns 34 next month), and the Eagles' passing game is, even when T.O. isn't feuding with the opposition. Before beating New England, Pittsburgh had defeated Oakland, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dallas - teams that currently have a combined record of 11-26. The Steelers lost, 30-13, to the same Baltimore Ravens team the Eagles (minus Westbrook) defeated last weekend, 15-10.

Don't think it's escaped the Eagles' notice that the whole league is watching this week, as they take the field for the first time as the NFL's only unbeaten team. Yes, the Steelers want to dethrone the league's two top teams in back-to-back weeks - nobody's ever faced and beaten two previously unbeaten teams this late in the season, by the way - but the Eagles have known this matchup was coming, and they are anticipating it just as fervently.

"You know what, man, you got a whole bunch of so-called experts out there, that's what they get paid to do," defensive end Hugh Douglas said when asked about predictions of the Birds' demise. "I heard a few weeks ago that we would lose before New England did. You see how that turned out. You just have to take it in stride...Nobody has a crystal ball right now. Nobody knows for sure."

Cornerback Sheldon Brown, who signed a 6-year contract extension yesterday, said: "It's always a pleasure to be in these games, because deep down, some people don't give us a chance."

Said running back Reno Mahe: "As much as they want to do things, we want to do things, too. We'll see who gets what they want."

The Steelers have been getting pretty much everything they could possibly have wanted, and more, from rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

"He's been playing almost too good to be true these last couple of games," said corner Lito Sheppard, who this week was named NFC defensive player of the month for October. To a large degree, the Eagles' success Sunday might hinge on Sheppard and the rest of the secondary forcing turnovers and making plays against what they feel is the best wide receiving corps they've faced - 6-5, 226-pound Plaxico Burress, steady Hines Ward and shifty converted quarterback Antwaan Randle El.

"No," defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said yesterday, when asked if he'd ever seen a rookie QB as good as Roethlisberger, who is 5-0 as a starter. "What he did against the Patriots, to have a passer rating of 126 against a good defensive team and no sacks, that was a great showing...nothing rattles him. People pressure him and blitz him and nothing rattles him. He's hanging in there and winning games."

Johnson's players said Roethlisberger's effectiveness starts with the Steelers' fourth-ranked ground game. Brown said the difference between the Steelers and the high-powered Vikings, whom the Eagles defeated in Week 2, is the Steelers' physicality, and their reliance on the run.

"They're going to play smash-mouth football," Brown said. "They're going to come in and just pound us."

Brown said the Steelers' effectiveness at running makes it hard to really get after Roethlisberger, even in presumed passing situations.

"We can't really sell out on pass rushes, because this team right here will run the ball on second-and-long," Brown said.

Nickel corner Rod Hood said the Birds' smallish corners will have to be aggressive at the line, particularly against Burress.

"If you get your hands on them, you can control them at the line," Hood said. "You don't want to try to jump at the same time he jumps, because he's taller than you. You want to time your jump so that he's coming down."

Offensively, it seemed barely possible yesterday that the Eagles might have Westbrook, at least for limited duty. That would make it easier for them to take advantage of an injury-slowed Steelers defensive front. They will have to protect Donovan McNabb from a fierce Pittsburgh pass rush, with Jon Runyan possibly slowed by a groin injury and Jermane Mayberry possibly out with a calf strain.

"They like to blitz and they're going to bring it from all directions," said offensive coordinator Brad Childress, who called Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau the father of fire-zone blitzing.

The Eagles want to convert third downs better than they have the past few weeks, and put themselves in fewer third-and-longs (which might be tough, without Westbrook, or even with a Westbrook who is basically a decoy).

[vanfraz]

With Westbrook playing, I give the Eagles the vote. I agree the Steelers will run all over the place, but I think if this becomes the offensive slugfest I think it will be, I have to give the edge to the Eagles because of McNabb's experience vs Big Ben. Ben has only had to come back once against the Cowboys, whose D isn't last years D.

Sucka, agree with ya about Hoge too. He might be somewhat knowledgeable, but opens his mouth too much second guessing players (ie TO). From what I recall, he wasn't that great of a player and looks prettier than most QBs.

[vanfraz]

Also have to agree with mikemellow, Pats fan pulling for the Eagles.

[vh resurrected]

See ya at 7-1 on Sunday evening!


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[Rilecomm]

Sucka this is where it ends, even if Westbrook plays that'll be a decoy only he still is hurt. The Steelers will blitz DM to death. I think the running game will go to the Steelers, but the passing game will go to the Eagles, if they can pick up the blitz. [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]