11/05/24
September 11, 2009
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Well not sure putting up 300+ yards in passing offense constitutes terrible. 2 very physical teams with 2 of the best rush defenses, forcing both teams to become 1 dimensional. Turned out pretty much how you'd expect that sort of game to turn out (little rushing, lots of QB pressure, turnovers/sacks/injuries, etc.)
posted by bdaddy at 10:05 AM on September 11, 2009
Well, *I* thought it was a great game. Did you not find it fun to watch, Debo?
posted by NoMich at 10:06 AM on September 11, 2009
I enjoyed it a lot, even though it only just outscored the women's European Cup final. Two of the better defences knocking heads, so I expected nothing less.
Shame to see Polamalu out for maybe a few weeks though - he had an interesting night, with a couple of awesome plays before starting a yellow hanky collection with some dubious tackles.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 10:08 AM on September 11, 2009
I enjoyed the game a bunch. I love defense. I dont need points for a good time. give me 3-0 i will be loving it. Just wonder if the steelers run game is that bad or titan D was that good or both
Troys pick was unreal and the tackle in the backfield out of know where was sweet. hope he is better soon.
posted by Debo270 at 11:02 AM on September 11, 2009
Great game, and pretty well what I expected to see. Tennessee outplayed Pittsburgh for 3 quarters, but didn't score enough points in that time. In a game like this, you can't leave 6 points like the Titans did in the first quarter with 2 missed field goals. In the 4th quarter, Roethlisberger took over and seemed to always know where Santonio Holmes was.
I never like to see a player get injured, and I certainly admit that he is an excellent player, but I was getting tired of Collinsworth's blathering on about how great Polamalu was (I think he sent him to the Pro Bowl after the first quarter), especially since he didn't seem to notice all of the penalties he committed.
But hey, if a game like this can kick off the NFL season every year, we're in good shape. Makes me wish the Titans and Steelers were back in the same division.
posted by bender at 11:16 AM on September 11, 2009
If you go back and watch the replays, Troy had position on the receiver and the receiver pushed him off. How that is a penalty on Troy, is beyond me. The out of bounds penalty was pretty ticky-tack. The runner had not established being out of bounds but was in the air.
It was a great game all-in-all and I'm glad I was there to feel the excitement of the evening.
I'm sure NBC did a terrible job of bringing that feeling into your homes. I do know they sure bring a halt to the flow of the game with all the damn commercials. It was awful. Wait for what seemed like 10 minutes for any kickoff. They finally kickoff and after the play is over, you wait another 10 minutes. I doubt anything can or will be done but it sure is a buzz kill.
posted by dbt302 at 12:40 PM on September 11, 2009
I'm sure NBC did a terrible job of bringing that feeling into your homes.
I didn't think so. I really liked the announcing team, and we got to watch two great teams to kick off the season.
posted by bperk at 01:30 PM on September 11, 2009
i thought NBC did a nice job too. They helped make the city look good. it was a great game
posted by Debo270 at 01:47 PM on September 11, 2009
Agreed. NBC did a fine job of showing you wacky Stillers fans going nuts.
posted by NoMich at 02:18 PM on September 11, 2009
Guilty as charged!!!!!!
posted by Debo270 at 02:27 PM on September 11, 2009
If you go back and watch the replays, Troy had position on the receiver and the receiver pushed him off. How that is a penalty on Troy, is beyond me. The out of bounds penalty was pretty ticky-tack. The runner had not established being out of bounds but was in the air.
Exactly. 2 bad calls (not to mention the non-holding call). All of that kept those drives alive so I think the missed FG's were karma :-)
The only clear penalty on Troy P. was the facemask. And no, those penalties didn't outshine the career game he was having up until that point (6 tackles, 2 pass defense, 1 INT in less than 1 half) so yes...Collingsworth should have been blabbering about him.
posted by bdaddy at 02:28 PM on September 11, 2009
In other NFL news, the Williams boys can play this season according to a Federal Appellate Court judge. Although the judge did go against what I perceive as the grain in ruling that Federal law doesn't trump state law in this case.
Speaking of which, bridge: sport/not sport?
posted by billsaysthis at 03:01 PM on September 11, 2009
Not a sport, but one helluva game.
posted by 86 at 04:15 PM on September 11, 2009
Former NHL'er Mike Danton granted full parole today.
I'd link the story (Vancouver Sun) but I simply can't comprehend how to link inside a thread.
posted by tommybiden at 04:18 PM on September 11, 2009
Link to Vancouver Sun article about Mike Danton.
posted by NoMich at 04:29 PM on September 11, 2009
Thanks, NoMich.
posted by tommybiden at 04:34 PM on September 11, 2009
I saw only a little of Pittsburgh vs Tennessee; the Clemson at Georgia Tech game was a lot more fun to watch, and equally close at the end. I don't understand how in the OT Tennessee could continue to hand Roethlisberger all that time to find receivers by staying with a 4-man rush. An occasional blitz could have done wonders. Yes, Titans did get to Big Ben once or twice with the 4-man, but I'm not sure that Steelers didn't let them in on purpose. The idea being to let them think their rush was effective so they would stay in it and not blitz.
...getting tired of Collinsworth's blathering on...
If you think it's bad now, just wait until the end of the season. By that time, working the deck of an aircraft carrier during a launch with no ear protection will seem preferable.
posted by Howard_T at 04:53 PM on September 11, 2009
Polamalu made a good pick, but it was a poorly thrown ball due to pressure on the QB - he was beat on the play if the ball was on the money.
The guy does have a knack of making some spectacular plays, but makes an equal number of bonehead mistakes. I'll take Ed Reed any day over Polamalu.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:25 PM on September 11, 2009
ESPN spiked a blog post today by Rob Neyer that appeared to advocate Mark Whicker's firing over his Jaycee DuGard column.
posted by rcade at 09:32 PM on September 11, 2009
Sad Mike Piazza Dressed Like Fonzie On A Rooftop: Deadspin.
posted by rcade at 10:27 PM on September 11, 2009
I got an email from Neyer explaining the deletion: "At ESPN.com, we have a policy prohibiting media criticism, and I ran afoul of that policy, however unintentional. Thus, an editor pulled the post from the site. Considering our policy, I could hardly complain."
The media's reluctance to criticize peers has always bothered me. The job of the media is to hold people and institutions to account. The media is one of the most powerful institutions in the country. I think the biggest reason they won't criticize each other is because if one reporter writes that another sucks, the second reporter is more likely to return the favor.
One of the nice things about the rise of blogging is that the media gets tougher scrutiny here.
posted by rcade at 10:09 AM on September 12, 2009
Pittsburgh vs Tennessee Defensive struggle or just terrible offenses, you make the call