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Okay, I'm going to work on the assumption that the Henry Burris-Led Chicago Bears (Edit: He never even led them past the Tampa 40 yard line!)are not about to beat the Bucs tonight, so we can set the playoffs up right now. First round prediction time:

AFC
1. Oakland Raiders -bye-
2. Tennessee Titans -bye-

3. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. 6. Cleveland Browns
4. New York Jets vs. 5. Indianapolis Colts

Steelers vs. Browns

Even though anything was possible in the AFC this year, I still can't believe the Browns made the playoffs. They've been playing very well of late, and if you saw the Atlanta game today, you know their red-zone defense...wow. But Tim Couch will probably be out for that game, and Kelly Holcomb has never really impressed me. Green would need a day twice as good to single-handedly beat the Steelers, who have plenty of weopons of their own.

Steelers 24- Browns 13

Jets vs. Colts

Again, the Jets in the playoffs? Weren't they 2-5 at one point? I give Herm Edwards all the credit (with a little going to Chad Pennington) for this turnaround, and I think the Jets are going to come in pumped up, whereas the Colts have been sleepwalking as of late. Tony Dungy worked wonders with the Colts D, but he's not the motivator that Edwards is, and the Jets will have the huge home-field advantage (the Colts still aren't an outdoor football team.)

Jets 17- Colts 10

NFC

1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3. Green Bay Packers vs. 6. Atlanta Falcons
4. San Francisco 49ers vs. 5. New York Giants

Packers vs. Falcons

Both of these teams looked less-than-stellar in games they needed to win going into the post season (The Packers would have had a bye, and the Falcons would have gotten to play the Niners.) But this battle of the MVP candidate QBs is going to go the one with more experience, more offensive weopons, a better defense, and an insane home field advantage. And we get a Warren Sapp- Mike Sherman reunion in the second round

Packers 28- Falcons 7

49ers- Giants

Is Jim Fassell a clutch head coach or what? There's no chance that the Giants are going to be worried about pressure, they excel in it. Their defense is solid, Tiki Barber is coming of a breakout year, and Kerry Collins has been Mr. Consistent lately. I'm not sure about Terrell Owens' health either, and without a healthy TO, the Niners are an average team at best. I think the Giants keep rolling in this one. But tomorrow night might change my mind.

Giants 21- Niners 17





--------------------

Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

playoff time is my favorite time of any sport's season. the NFL is particularly exciting.

first round AFC-

Pittsburgh def. Cleveland <<< the Browns never really wowed me this year. Besides, Tommy Maddox is playing marvelously for someone who had to resort to playing for the XFL   Pittsburgh will get out of the first round, but i doubt them getting any farther

NY Jets def. Indy <<< first off, I am overwhelmed with joy that the Jets knocked off the Pats, the one team in the NFL that I loathe. Haha, New England . Alright, here's my analysis: the Jets looked awesoem playing the Pack today. The Colts looked horrible the final two weeks. It especially looked grim [for them] when they were facing the Giants in Week 15. They were thwomped! the colts have pretty much zero momentum going into the playoffs. and Edgerin James needs to get back to his good status by next week. Even so, I think the Jets are just a better team. Another early exit for Indy, methinks

first round NFC:

Green Bay def. Atlanta <<< name the weapons that the Cheeseheads have: Brett Favre, Ahman Green, Terry Glenn, home field advantage. Name the weapons that the Dirty birds have: Mike Vick...  
simple mathematics 4+ > 1

NY Giants vs. San Fran <<< blah... i can't pick. The Giants are one of my favorite teams. So how can I ever go against them. Besides, they looked awesome the previous 3 weeks. Tiki and Shockey are two of the greatest players in NFL today. But I think Collins can be a little better. BUT... San Fran is a huge threat with Jeff Garcia. Even without TO, he's still a threat to tuck the ball and run. I'm going to say that the Giants will take advantage and win only because they are my ONLY team in the playoffs. [my other 3, Buffalo, St. Louis, and Seattle all out   ]

alright, let me tell you that my Super Bowl prediction from Week 12 is still intact..........

Oakland Raiders vs. Tampa Bay Bucaneers

but that's getting too far ahead. next week will be a good round of football.

--------------------

"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

Quote (Sabin @ 29 Dec. 2002, 21:33)

playoff time is my favorite time of any sport's season.

and here i thought people only watched sports for the preseason.


anyways:

AFC:

Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland -  
well having not watched the browns all season before today, the browns somewhat impressed me. they seem to have some momentum after today, but if Couch doesn't play, then they won't go much of anywhere. I expect a strong game from Maddox and a Pittsburgh victory.

Steelers 20 - Browns 13

New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts -
I have a feeling that Indy will rebound next week. But it won't be enough methinks and Chad Pennington will be able to march all over them. And they derailed the Pack, so i have to give them props.

Jets 24 - Colts 17


NFC:

Green Bay vs. Mike Vic...I mean Atlanta -
After sounding the trumpets and jumping for joy when the Packers lost today, hence losing home field and an automatic trip to the Super Bowl, I realized they still would last at least until the Divisional round. Gotta love those Lambeau rules. Did you know that the Packers have NEVER lost a postseason game at home in franchise history? Not since they've been keeping track at least. Not to mention Favre and his crap streak. Mike Vick will have to have the game of his career to pull this one off.

Packers 31 - Falcons 17

New York Giants vs. San Fran 49ers -
well then, the Giants are playing outstanding football as of late and I'm sorry but I just don't think Jeff Garcia is as good as he's made out to be. Brad Johnson was robbed as was Aaron Brooks from the Pro Bowl if you ask me. Sure he's good, but he's not the 2nd best in the NFC. TO is great though. It's kind of ironic that I like him while I hate Randy Moss so much. Anways~

Giants 17 - 49ers 13



--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

What a day to be a football fan! First we get "The Drive II," then the 2nd biggest comeback in playoff history. Wow. First round observations:

Jets 41- Colts 0

I think this all boils down to Herm Edwards being one hell of a coach, and Chad Pennington being one hell of a QB. Of course, the Colts playing really, really bad had something to do with it, too.

Falcons 27- Packers 7

I think the NFL's MVP was proven in this game. All due respect to Gannon, but can you imagine how good Vick would be if Tim Brown and Jerry Rice were catching his passes? The Falcons would have been 2-14 without Vick. I can't believe the Packers came out so uninspired, though.

Steelers 36- Browns 33

Whoah. Okay, I guess Kelly Holcomb made me a believer, but I think the Steelers have the most offensive weopons in the league, even more than the Raiders. What a clutch finish, too. I thought the Browns' D would be able to hold a 12 point lead with 5 minutes left, but Wared, Buress, and Randle El were too much for 'em.

49ers 39- Giants 38

Double Whoah. I was about ready to turn the TV off in the third quarter when it was 38-14. Thank God I left it on, because that was amazing. It didn't matter which team you were rooting for, that was an intense finish, from the fighting to the botched field goal. That's probably the best playoff finish I've seen since the Music City Miracle.

2nd Round predictions:

Jets vs. Raiders

The Jets have looked very impressive agains the Packers and Colts the last two weeks, and Edwards has them fired up. The Raiders are signifigantly better than either of these teams, especially on defense, but I can't pick against the Jets right now. You just know the Raiders were rooting for the Browns to win, and the Titans were rooting for the Steelers, because no one wants to play the Jets right now. Plus the Raiders don't have the best of playoff luck (see last year.)

Jets 33- Raiders 17

Titans vs. Steelers

As much as I've been raving about Edwards, and the fact that Jon Gruden is my favorite head coach, I think Jeff Fisher is the coach of the year. The Titans had no good reason to believe that they could turn around this fast. The Steelers looked good against the Browns, but the Titans are a different team, and are great in the playoffs.

Titans 21- Steelers 13

Eagles vs. Falcons

I'm the most torn about this game. There's a lot of questions about this game. How will McNabb mesh with a team that's been performing so well in his absence? Can Vick carry the team on his shoulders again? Or will the Eagles D do what few teams have been able to do this season? I can't really decide, but my gut says Eagles.

Eagles 24- Falcons 21

Bucs vs. 49ers

Okay, I have no more doubts about Terrell Owens' health. But I do have a question about the 49ers pass defense. If Brad Johnson can come back halfway in shape, he should have even less of a problem carving it up than Kerry Collins did, and there's little chance of the outstanding Bucs D breaking down in crunch time.

Bucs 20- 49ers 7

--------------------

Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

today was truly a great day for professional football. i guarantee that these two games today will work their way into the NFL films vault and will be shown and reminded of next year, 5 years, 10 years, etc. it just goes to show you that there are two halves to a football game and you never count out another team's ability.

i especially was shocked by the Giants/Niners game. even though the Giants, whom are the only one of my four teams that i truly like to watch play, lost, it was still a hell of a game coming down to the wire. Damn, why'd the snap have to be low? And whoever made up the rule of "illegal man downfield" I'm going to kill him. and besides the point, WHERE'S THE PASS INTERFERENCE FLAG?!! I guarantee Jim Fassel (assuming he's still the coach next year [i have a feeling he will be] is going to work on that next year.) The Giants need a good punter and a good kicker. They haven't had a good reliable kicker OR punter for a long time.

anyway, onto the second round predictions

AFC 2nd round:

Oakland def. NY Jets <<< I like how the Jets played against the Colts even though I only watched the first half. IT's no doubt that Herm Edwards is the perfect coach for that team. Chad Pennington is the TomBrady-esque phenom of this year.
BUT, Rich Gannon IS the MVP of the league (even though i agree with Gears and saying that Vick is the real MVP.) He's really a hall of fame QB. The Raiders have Hall Of Fame wide outs in Rice and Brown and their running game is also reliable with Charlie Garner and Tyrone Wheatley. The defense COULD be better, but if the Raiders put enough points on the board, defense won't matter as long as they slow down the Jets' drive.

Tennessee def. Pittsburgh <<< Pittsburgh can't make the same mistake they made against Cleveland: they can't be down THAT much and hope for a come-back against the Titans. The Titans have made a serious turn around over the past couple seasons and will be a tough competitor. We all know Mike Vick, Jeff Garcia, and Donovan McNabb are prime subjects of QB's-that-are-a-threat-if-they-roll-out-of-the-pocket-and-rack-up-a-lot-of-rushing-yardage

. But you can never forget about Steve McNair who was once the most feared rushing QB in the league. He's still got it in him.
even though i don't usually predict a score, i think that it'll be a 14+ point blowout for the Titans

NFC 2nd round:

Atlanta def. Philadelphia <<< it'll be a really good game to watch. Two young, talented, athletic, threatening to run QB's who are able to lead a team. the question will come down to Will Donovan McNabb regain his step after missing a couple weeks? If he can, then I think the Eagles will get the edge. But since I don't think he'll regain it soon enough, I like Vick and the Falcons.

Tampa Bay def. San Fran <<< I still think Tony Dungy should be fronting this Tampa organization. But maybe whatever Dungy was missing in the playoffs Gruden can create. Brad Johnson needs to be healthy, that's all I have to say. if Rob Johnson even plays a down in the Bucs game, they will be doomed. With Ryan Leaf out of the NFL, Rob Johnson has become the worst QB in the league, IMO. Anyway, I think that San Fransisco will fall heavily to the Bucs.

so, to summarize...
AFC Championship Game: Oakland vs. Tennesee
NFC Championship Game: Tampa Bay vs. Atlanta



--------------------

"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

who cares? the Dolphins aren't in it   Damn those Patriots! Another reason why I just don't... like them.

anyway

Falcons beat Eagles
Niners beat Bucaneers

Titans beat Steelers
Jets beat Raiders

...it's full steam ahead for the Jets.... and maybe... the Super Bowl? Hey, I'm rooting for them in the stead of the Dolphins, whom deserved to whip the Pats but instead watch the playoffs at home.... DAMN!  

--------------------

Air force... if you ever join the militant wing, join the Air force

Army = jockos
Navy = seasick nerds
Marines = show offs
PeaceCorp = hippies

AF is the way to go

Quote (Gears @ 5 Jan. 2003, 19:32)

I can't believe the Packers came out so uninspired, though.

Errrt! WRONG! Now that's something that most would say, but the reason that the Pack didn't play really at all was because most all of their starters were down and out. Green, Glenn, Driver, Brown, etc.

It's hard ANYTIME for 3rd string to beat 1st string. That's why the Packers lost, too many injuries to deal with

Wanna start predicting who gets the most predictions?  

Moderator Edit

No.

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Nine-hundred ninety-nine billion nine-hundered ninety-nine million nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall...

Quote (Sasquatch @ 6 Jan. 2003, 08:31)

It's hard ANYTIME for 3rd string to beat 1st string. That's why the Packers lost, too many injuries to deal with

Green, Glenn, and Driver may have been hurt, but they did play the first half, and had nothing to do with Favre throwing two interceptions and fumbling. And I don't think that Gilbert Brown makes THAT big of a difference that Atlanta should have been able to rush for 192 yards just because he wasn't there. And injuries really don't explain 5 turnovers and a blocked punt. (Okay, one of the fumbles was BS, but still.) I would expect a lot more mental toughness from a Favre-led Packers team, especially in the third quarter (3 turnovers in the last 6 posessions.)



--------------------

Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

Very true they played, but there were many first string players out of that game already. I don't know sports all that well to list them, but most of our starters were out much longer. The Pack was too riddled with injuries to play a good game. HOWEVER, a Favre-lead team should have done better, but oh well, it's done and over.

Now who should I root for now? I hate to say it, but I like Philadelphia to go to the Super Bowl

Frankly, I was shocked by all 4 of those games, the least being the craphazard from Indy.

I naturally rejoiced after the hated Packers went down in smoke, burning all of their formally unbeaten and unblemished records. If only Favre would retire, once he does, the Packer dynasty will come to an end. They might actually have a losing season!

The G-Men and the Browns just blew it. That is all that there is to it.

Now I know the 49ers aren't as hatable as they used to be(note to self: cowboys will always be that hatable...if that's a word), but I still like the Bucs to beat em down. That is as long as Rob Johnson isn't playing. That 1st initial on the QB's jersey is VERY important.

I don't have a lot of spare time, so:
I'll go Raiders to cool down the red hot Jets
Titans to steal away the Steelers Super Bowl hopes
Bucs defense to contain T.O. and Jeffy Garcia(as they can't be "stopped" of course)
And my upset special is Atlanta to surprise the still hurting McNabb.

Recap, that's Raidas, Titans, Bucs, and Falcons. Back to you.

--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

good round of football, it was.

AFC championship game:

Oakland vs. Tennesee << McNair will have to put on quite a show to upset the Raiders... especially visiting the Black Hole. The Raiders have the greatest, most loyal fans in the NFL, in my opinion. And especially how loud that stadium can get will effect the Titans. After two years of disappointment, [2000: Ravens win after Siragusa all-out flattens Rich Gannon... 2001: the infamous "Tuck rule"] the Raidas will finally go to the Super Bowl.

Raiders +4

NFC championship game:
Philly vs. Tampa Bay << THE game to watch next week. Both teams' defenses had stellar games in the divisional round. Philly's D kept Mike Vick in teh pocket and kept him to only 30 yards rushing. Tampa's D kept San Fran and their "unstopable" offense out of the end zone the entire game. It'll be a battle of the QB's that decides the game, though. Who can beat the other team's defense more?
This game is going to be the game of the year [even better than teh Super Bowl? ...maybe] I think this game is going to be so close and so good that I can't even decide who win. But, here's my prediciton...

whichever team scores the first touchdown (not a field goal or a safety; a touchdown) will end up winning

so the Super Bowl matchup looks like this....

Oakland Raiders vs. Tampa/Philly (whoever gets the first TD)

--------------------

"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

Missed the only good game of the weekend 'cause of a track meet, had to sit through three snoozers. So I'll just go onto the championship game predictions.

Raiders vs. Titans

The Titans have quietly being marching through a great season, and may look as good as they did in their Super Bowl run of 1999. The Raiders offense certainly looked good as well though in the 2nd half of their game. I like Jeff Fisher a lot more than I like Bill Callahan, but for some reason, I think the Raiders offense is too good for the Titans D, and that'll give them the edge.

Raiders 33- Titans 27

Eagles vs. Bucs

I'd love to see a Pirate Bowl, Gruden vs. his former boys (Jon Gruden is my favorite NFL coach) but for some reason I don't see that happening, and that reason is the Eagles D. Brad Johnson can throw all day against the 49ers second string secondary, but the Eagles will be a different story. And lord knows they ain't going anywhere on the ground. I foresee a third year in a row of now Bucs TD's at the Vet.

Eagles 17- Bucs 6

--------------------

Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

Raiders and Eagles in the finals. Tennesee just doesn't look like they're going anywhere, in my opinion. They barely got past Pittsburgh (and a hell of a game that was) and won't make it past the Raiders. The Eagles are gonna destroy the Bucs, or so I predict. Either way, I'm rooting for those 2 teams.

--------------------

Lou: There's a couple of guys fighting down at the aquarium, Chief.
Wiggum: Do they still sell those frozen bananas?
Lou: I think so.
Wiggum: Let's roll.

ok... first off, let me tell you how shocked and apalled that absolutely NO ONE is giving teh Tampa Bay Buccaneers even a chance at winning. It seemed like all season, stupid analysists and former jocks and everyone at ESPN were saying "Yeah, the Tampa Bay Bucs are teh best team in teh league. Super Bowl bound.. oh yeah. No one can stop them." Until this week when literally EVERYONE says "Nope, the Bucs suck. How they got this far, no one knows." I even heard someone say that the Bucs win against the 9ers was "lucky". Um.. how about NO! "Lucky" does not put 31 points on teh board and keep a team from reaching an endzone the entire game.
Look, the Eagles are OVERRATED! McNabb is an awesome QB, i'm not taking that away from him. And the defense is good too. But still, we have these ESPN workers saying like "BEST TEAM EVERRRRR!!!" And that annoys the piss outta me. I mean, come on now. Get with reality. Brad Johnson is equal the greatness of McNabb [except McNabb can run more.. but not since his injury].
And.. oh, don't get me started on this so-called "losing streak" of them losing to the Eagles and them not being able to win when it's less than 40 degrees. I hate history. You know why? BECAUSE IT MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Example: Lambeau Field. Never been beaten at home in the playoffs. Well, STICK THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT, BRETT! What I'm getting at is all this history for the Bucs at Veteran Stadium means shit. It's all about the here-and-now. That has always been and always will be my philosiphy on anything. And it'll be a good matchup between the best two teams in the NFC. But don't come up to me while I'm watching the game and tell me "Oh, you know the Bucs haven't beaten the Eagles and they can't win when it's less than 40 degrees outside." Because if you say that to me, I'd have to beat you over the head with a cardboard box, tie you to a chair, duct tape your mouth shut, and slip a headset on your ears with NSync in the cd player for the remainder of the game.
I'm in no way saying, that it'll be an easy game. All I'm saying is cut the Bucs some freaking slack!

oh yeah... here are my Championship Weekend picks:

Raiders beat Titans by 7
Buccaneers beat Eagles by 3 in OT and you check me on that...

..btw, if the Eagles wallop the Bucs, then I'll eat my words as long as you bring the ketchup and mustard

--------------------

Air force... if you ever join the militant wing, join the Air force

Army = jockos
Navy = seasick nerds
Marines = show offs
PeaceCorp = hippies

AF is the way to go

Eagles and Raiders. Plain and simple.

Sorry, but I just don't think Tampa can pull it off in Philly, especially in the cold. If they'd gotten home field, I'd most likely be saying differently. And the Raiders are just too experienced. They've been screwed out of it the past two seasons, time for some vengeance.

--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

My predictions for this year's season are simple, Oakland Raiders are going ALLLLLLL THE WAAAAAAY. I mean you can't deny the insane qb skills packed into Mr. Gannon, and when he gets his ball to a certain Jerry Rice, well let me tell you, just with those two, the Raiders are gold. Not to mention the rest of the team is extremely talented. At the superbowl I think it's going to be a game of

Oakland v.s. Tampa Bay, and then Oakland shall take the superbowl and joy will be restored to the world. That's my prediction.

--------------------

Okay, but there was a goat!

what a game it was in Philly... and even my prediction of whomever scored first would win was false. but, IMO, the better team won it. Tampa's D was just on top of everything McNabb had. And I give props to Ronde Barber. After watching this game. Now I dont' see him as just Tiki Barber's brother... but now i know that he's a damn decent cornerback. [92 yard INT return for a TD is rather impressive] I agree with Joe Buck when he announced that he thought that the Eagles didn't take the Bucs that seriously and didn't seem like they were playing the top-ranked defense. Well, McNabb will have to wait until next year to try again and in a different stadium.

And as for the Oakland/Tennessee game... I like the Titans as a team more than the Raiders. But I want to see Jerry Rice get another Super Bowl Ring before he retires. But Rich Ganon had a superb game today. He showed why he was the league's MVP by throwing 11 straight receptions to start the game before throwing an incomplete pass. I like the game that McNair and the Titans played and I predict they'll make it back to the AFC Title game next year. But this is the year of the Raider.

Now, onto the Super Bowl prediction.... One name I've already heard it called is the Gruden Bowl... Gruden's old team vs. Gruden's new team. It's going to be a helluva game between two evenly matched teams. Both teams have QB's having career years. Both teams have an air-tight defense. I think Gruden is a better coach than Callahan so TB might have an edge there... but Rich Ganon has more options of receivers than Brad Johnson so OAK has an edge there.
But based on what I saw today and over the past weeks, Oakland wins by their O and Tampa wins by their D. And there's the old saying of defense wins games. So, I'm going out on a limb and saying that the Bucs and John Gruden take the Vince Lombardi trophy over tha Raidas and Callahan.
And sure, I might as well make predictions.

Raiders- 17
Bucaneers- 24

two of Tampa's 3 TDs will come on either the defensive side of the ball OR on a turnover forced by the defense... either way, 2/3 TDs will result from the defense by Tampa

MVP- Brad Johson

--------------------

"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

Wow, the Eagles played poor, uninspired football. Their offensive line played like garbage, McNabb looked like Kordell Stewart, and the defense tried to prove themselves overrated. Enough ranting about the Eagles, the Bucs did everything right in that game, and look like the team to beat in this here Pirate Bowl. The Raiders, though, played great against the Titans. Their passing attack looks nearly unstoppable, and their defense ain't half bad when it's not committing stupid personal fouls. This is a tough choice, probably the biggest toss-up since Packers-Broncos. I want to see Tim Brown win a super bowl, and I DON'T want Keyshawn Johnson to win a super bowl, so I'll be rooting for the Raiders, but as for who I think is going to win...

Gruden's New Boys: 17
Gruden's Old Boys: 14

MVP: Jon Gruden. But since it has to go to a player, Derrick Brooks.

--------------------

Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

Tampa owns

... and i'm not going to say anything else about it

instead, going straight into the prediction....


#1 Offense vs. #1 Defense.... I wouldn't have it any other way. This will prove which side of the coin wins games

but I can't go against my boys..... Tampa to win it.
MVP? ME!.... oh, alright... to make it interesting, Martin Gramatica for making 5/5 FG's
and the Buc's D will keep the Raidas out of the end zone.. improbable? well that's what they said about the Bucs beating the Eagles ::points to sig::

--------------------

Air force... if you ever join the militant wing, join the Air force

Army = jockos
Navy = seasick nerds
Marines = show offs
PeaceCorp = hippies

AF is the way to go

Wow, I don't think anyone saw that coming. Tampa wins 48-21. If you didn't watch the 4th quarter, you probably wouldn't think anything of it, but the Bucs had 2 INT's returned for touchdowns in the last 2:00 minutes.

The 1st half was looking to be a blowout the whole way, and it continued like that through the 3rd quarter. The turning point was the overturn on Porter's TD catch. Then came a punt block, and the score was 34-21. Then came the momentum killers. Exhibit A: The refs. That pass interference call was horrible. Completely uncatchable, and gave Tampa the oppurtunity to kill out the clock. Honorable mention goes to the bad 2 point conversation call, looked to me he would come down inbounds. Also, they should just drop all the unreviewable crap.

Exhibit B: Oakland's bad timeout management. The review was a gimme loss of a TO. And then the time outs before 3rd down were just stupid. Beyond that, the Bucs D was unstoppable.

I was rooting for the Bucs coming in, but too bad Oakland didn't come back. Hats off to Dexter Jackson(MVP), Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and the list goes on.

--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

it's been said many times... but i'll say it again:

Defense wins games

no more evident than last night's game. the Bucs D rattled Ganon for a couple of sacks and forced him to scramble and throw it away. It was an impressive mark on the Bucs defense. 4 sacks, 5 INT's, 3 of which were run the other way into the endzone [with one with 2 seconds left] This 2002/03 buccaneers defense should be on the list with the 87(?) Bears and the 2000/01 Ravens on the list of supreme defenses.

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"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

85 Bears.

There were some terrible calls in that game, but they weren't as bad as the terrible effort by the Raiders. Maybe Barret Robbins had something to do with it, but whatever the case was, only one of those teams wanted to win that game.

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Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots