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LCO NFL Fantalk 2008


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Yes its that time of the year again, NFL football is once again with us. Share your favorite team's stories or tell us who your favorite team is. I'll start it off here, my team is the Carolina Panthers. Here's a story I picked up off their website, it was quite an exciting start for their season.

Carolina at San Diego

Panthers shock Chargers

SAN DIEGO - Sometimes, two seconds can last forever.

Empirically speaking, in football, they can last as long as a play can endure as long as the ball is snapped before the clock hits triple zeroes. As long as the blockers can hold snarling pass rushers out of the passing pocket, as long as the quarterback can dart around and search for an opening, as long as it takes for some potential pass-catcher to find open space, and as long as it takes for all of those things to come together and create a crevice through which the football can fly.

Sometimes, though, the time crawls. A tsunami of noise is muted. And Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, in his first regular-season game in nearly 12 months, two seconds on the clock and destiny in his hands.

"I'm just standing there," he said, "and it was like it was going in slow motion, just looking, looking, looking."

Then, the controlled mayhem of 21 men moving around and in front of Delhomme drew into focus -- in the form of No. 88, tight end Dante Rosario.

"Dante and I just caught eyes."

Delhomme pumped. He threw.

"I threw it and I said to myself, 'It might have a chance,'" Delhomme said. "The next thing you know, he's holding it and mayhem broke loose."

This was a different sort of mayhem than the one that surrounded Delhomme seconds earlier -- one without control or restraint.

Somewhere amidst a mob of blue-shirted humanity at Qualcomm Stadium late Sunday afternoon, Rosario had the football, Delhomme ran around -- "like (former North Carolina State basketball coach) Jim Valvano," by his own admission -- and the Panthers had a 26-24 win over the San Diego Chargers.

The unfettered celebration was strictly spontaneous. The mayhem of the pass that proceeded it, however, had something of a plan when Delhomme came back from the sideline and addressed his teammates in the huddle.

"Jake literally told everyone, 'I want five verticals (routes); everyone get into the end zone, get open; I'm throwing it up,'" Rosario said.

"It was kind of a sandlot play," added left tackle Jordan Gross. "Just two seconds left, find somebody."

Admitted Delhomme: "It's a play we haven't run much. This was five verticals going to the end zone. This happens only at the end of the game; you've got to throw it in there."

But that play wouldn't have been possible without some crisp planning and drilling of the situation that came before it -- a six-yard pass from Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad that made possible the final heroics.

"I think what helped us more than anything was the play before," Delhomme said. "We had six seconds and we still had a timeout, so we still had that in our pocket and we called all slants and all the guys knew to get down; it's a situation we've practiced numerous times."

It worked to perfection.

"As soon as (Muhammad) caught it, he went down and everyone's calling timeout," Rosario said.

The official record of the game shows an 11-play, 68-yard drive to Rosario's 14-yard touchdown -- just the third of his career. It shows that the Panthers seized a 19-10 lead early in the fourth quarter, and then lost it after surrendering two touchdowns in four minutes and 18 seconds.

But it doesn't show the significance of the last two seconds to a quarterback returning from an injury that might have threatened his career, a tight end who is just beginning to show what he can be, and a team that went into the game with one of its key components suspended and watching back in Charlotte, with Steve Smith hoping his team could pull through without him, knowing his team wanted to win it for him.

Everything intersected in those two seconds.

The comparison to Delhomme's game-winning drive and touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl in the 2003 season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars was obvious.

However ...

"This is 100 times greater," Delhomme said.

"This one's better, honestly," Gross said. "This is one game, one win, but this is a huge win for us."

And it was a win that happened in two seconds ... two seconds that can last a lifetime for Delhomme, Rosario, their giddy teammates and their fans watching from afar.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Lowly rated Miami Dolphins upset New England 38-13 and ends the Patriots's 21 game consecutive regular season winning streak

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap?game_i...8&week=REG3

without Brady, the Patriots are just a bunch of losers!!

:woho:

No Undefeated Season this year for the team in the NFL that can only win games by Cheating!!

Take that to your grave Bill Belichick!!

:D

Edited by J7Dadda
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Dallas Cowboys are now 3-0 after last night's game against Green Bay, despite T.O. not getting many plays due to intense coverage, and a few fumbles: :woho::woho::woho:

Unfortunately for them, just about everyone else on the Dallas Cowboys' offense had a big night in a 27-16 victory at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Even unheralded backup receiver Miles Austin got into the act with a pair of big catches.

Austin said all the attention the Packers paid to Owens opened things for everyone else.

"Him having two catches, 17 yards doesn't explain what he did," Austin said. "He's attracting double coverage, triple coverage all the time. So for him to do that, it's almost bigger than him making the play."

With Owens uncharacteristically silent on and off the field - he didn't talk after the game - Marion Barber ran for a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown, and rookie Felix Jones added a 60-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Then Austin, who plays mostly on special teams and came into Sunday's game with seven career receptions, sealed the win with a 52-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Dallas (3-0) joined the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants as the NFC's only undefeated teams.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who grew up in Burlington, Wis., was 17-of-30 for 260 yards. He said it was fun to play at Lambeau - it was the Cowboys' first victory there - but wasn't talking like a tourist after the game.

"We've got a good football team, I know that," Romo said. "But it doesn't matter whether you're the favorite now or the least favorite. The reality of it is you've got to keep playing games and you're not trying to be the favorite in Week 3, you're trying to be it at the end of the year."

Coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged that the Packers (2-1) didn't measure up in an early matchup of NFC powers, and seemed more displeased with his unproductive offense than his defense.

"It was a big game, it was a great measuring stick for our football team," McCarthy said. "And I'll tell you exactly what I told them, the Dallas Cowboys are farther ahead than we are right now, and that's the facts, and it's Week 3. How much farther ahead, we'll answer that question. We have work to do."

It was a bump in the road for new Packers starter Aaron Rodgers, who completed 22 of 39 passes for 290 yards. He spent much of the night on the run - he was sacked five times - and wasn't able to put together consistent scoring drives after standout performances in his first two games this season.

"It's disappointing," Rodgers said. "You'd like to win them all, obviously, but Dallas is a very good football team and we unfortunately didn't play our best. We're going to have to watch some film, be very critical of ourselves and get better."

With Green Bay trailing 13-6, Rodgers connected with Donald Driver on a 50-yard pass early in the third quarter - but the Packers settled for a field goal.

"You've got to finish that drive off, get the momentum back, get the crowd back," Rodgers said.

Romo answered with a 63-yard pass to Austin to set up first-and-goal at the Green Bay 3. Barber found the end zone two plays later for a 2-yard touchdown run that put Dallas ahead 20-9.

Romo again turned to Austin to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, tossing a 52-yard touchdown into double coverage down the right sideline to give Dallas a 27-9 lead with 9:17 remaining.

Rodgers scored on a sneak to cut the lead to 27-16 with 2:11 remaining, but the ensuing onside kick was touched by the Packers before it traveled 10 yards.

The long passes to Austin were two of the Cowboys' few downfield plays all night. The Packers held Romo to nine completions for 75 yards at halftime.

Owens caught two passes in the first half, then was silenced in the second. Packers cornerback Charles Woodson stuck to Owens all night, with significant help from the safeties.

"He's going to have games where he's going to have 200 yards, and he's going to have games where he has not as many yards," Austin said. "He did a great job staying with it, he was involved in the game the whole time."

The Packers' pass defense played most of the game without star cornerback Al Harris, who went to the locker room with cramps in the first half.

But with Green Bay's defensive backfield preoccupied by Owens, Dallas got consistent production from Barber and a big play from Jones. With the Cowboys trailing 6-3 midway through the second quarter, Jones broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run that gave Dallas a 10-6 lead.

Notes

Cowboys CB Adam Jones stripped the ball from RB Ryan Grant on the Packers' second play from scrimmage and returned it to the Green Bay 14. That set up the Cowboys' first field goal. ... Packers receiver Greg Jennings had eight catches for 115 yards.

Source: foxsports.com

Marion Barber is Awesome!

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I post any story about my team, even the losses.

Carolina at Minnesota

Vikings conquer Panthers

MINNEAPOLIS – Jake Delhomme was able to get up quickly after being hit by Minnesota's Antoine Winfield on a cornerback blitz late in the second quarter.

But the aftershocks of the hit rumbled from the moment Winfield jarred the football loose until the final gun of the Panthers' 20-10 loss to the Vikings at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Winfield scooped up the football and dashed 19 yards for a touchdown, wiping out what was once a 10-0 Panthers advantage just 64 seconds before halftime. After leading from their first series until the last moments of the second quarter, the Panthers would never again be in front, absorbing their first defeat of the season and dropping into a three-way tie with Atlanta and Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South.

"A game can definitely change in one play," said Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. "That definitely was a momentum-changer for those guys going into halftime."

It was a play that running back Nick Goings felt he could have prevented.

"It was just a mistake on my part," he said. "I'm supposed to come out and scan the field, come out and pick up the corner.

"They had the inside linebacker up on the line of scrimmage, and I stepped up inside and he dropped out. By that time, the corner was already (in the backfield)."

Delhomme said he didn't see Winfield. His eyes were on a potential big play downfield.

"The disappointing thing is that I'm cocking back to throw it to Steve, who's wide open," Delhomme said. "Both (Cedric Griffin) and (Charles Gordon) jumped down on D.J. Hackett, so we were going to have a big play."

Instead, the big play belonged to the Vikings and their suddenly frenzied home crowd.

"That was a huge momentum swing for them going into the half," defensive end Julius Peppers said.

Yet the second half was rife with opportunities for the Panthers to turn the game back in their favor.

"Certainly (the fumble) did change the momentum of the game, and that was unfortunate," Delhomme said. "But you know what? It was 0-0 coming out of halftime."

That quickly became 7-0 – and 17-10 on the scoreboard after the Vikings sprinted 80 yards in five plays on the opening series of the third quarter to a 34-yard Gus Frerotte-to-Visanthe Shiancoe touchdown connection.

The Panthers had their first chance to stem the Vikings' surge on the ensuing kickoff, as Jonathan Stewart overcame a stumble and attempted kneeldown outside of the end zone and burst up the left sideline for an 86-yard return. However, Jeff King was flagged for an illegal block in the back, turning first-and-10 at the Minnesota 14-yard-line into first-and-10 at the Carolina seven-yard-line. The Panthers picked up a first down, but the drive stalled at the Panthers' 20.

Carolina's next opportunity to turn the game's momentum back in its favor came halfway through the third quarter when back-to-back sacks – one by Julius Peppers and the other shared by Charles Johnson and Tyler Brayton – forced a punt that Mark Jones returned 19 yards to the Minnesota 48. But Carolina gained just two yards on the next three plays and punted.

On Minnesota's ensuing drive, Carolina forced the Vikings into four third downs, including one of third-and-10 and another of third-and-21. Unfortunately, the Vikings converted their first three to march into field goal range with one of the conversions coming via an illegal-contact penalty against linebacker Thomas Davis. By the time the Panthers got a third-down stop, the Vikings were set for a 32-yard Ryan Longwell field goal that was the final score of the day.

"I can admit (the fumble) changed the game a little bit," Peppers said, "but we still had our opportunities to come out and stop them and we let them come out right after halftime and go right down the field and score. That's on us."

In the end, it was a game fraught with frustration for Carolina. Delhomme was sacked five times for 34 yards in losses; the running game averaged just 2.4 yards per carry and the Panthers were sidetracked by 12 penalties for 67 yards.

"(The Vikings) played well, but we shot ourselves in the foot quite a bit, as well," King said. "I'm not going to take anything away from them, but we didn't play our best football."

Minnesota took total control of the game's pace after halftime, maintaining time of possession for 19 minutes, 28 seconds of the second half – nearly twice as much time as the Panthers, who held it for 10:32.

"We just weren't able to get untracked," head coach John Fox said, "and we got beat by the better team today."

INJURY UPDATE: Fox said the only player to sustain an injury was linebacker Dan Connor, who hurt his knee.

update on that...torn ACL in the knee and he's out for the season.

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I don't get this Denver decision.

I could had see it if Manning went to Miami or Tennesse or some other team, maybe even Dallas.

But to get rid of Tebow?

Didn't he take them to the Playoffs?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/report-peyton-manning-decides-denver-broncos-160122984.html

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Is this professional football or powder puff football?

http://msn.foxsports...not-like-052411

So the new rules pretty much says if you tackle someone that's in possession of the ball, you can be ejected from the game.

The defensive players are going to be afraid to tackle anyone then!

I think you need to read that article again James. As for the changes its good, injuries do happen in the NFL, it will keep players from getting hurt that often. If the rule changes weren't sufficient, the league would not have voted unanimous in favor for them.

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The person who will suffer the most in this tragedy is the 3 months old child who will grow up without a Mother and a Father!

Belcher took the easy way out and in the process, he took his child's Mother life with him.

That makes him the biggest type of coward and the lowest type of human being possible next to Pedophiles and Rapists!

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/kansas-citys-belcher-fatal-double-shooting-005235424--nfl.html

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  • 2 weeks later...

What's with the Seattle Seahawks? Last week they scored 58 points. This week they scored 50 points. Are they playing football or basketball? LOL!

In other news, the Houston Texans beat the Indianapolis Colts at home today and clinched their division and the home field advantage in the playoffs.

They will have a bye week during the wild card playoffs week and then play at home, in Houston, against the lowest seed winner of the AFC wild card round.

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haven't posted on here in a while, Panthers won easily yesterday in San Diego. Although the Panthers won't make the playoffs, they can close out the season and possibly improve their record from last season:

SAN DIEGO – The Carolina Panthers hoped to start fast against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday.

A 21-0 first quarter lead and an eventual 31-7 victory was about the best they could have hoped for.

"We got in the groove of things very early," quarterback Cam Newtonicon-article-link.gif said.

They got in the groove all right.

Carolina's first two possessions ended with fullback Mike Tolberticon-article-link.gif showing off his elaborate dance moves in the end zone.

"Can't critique that," Newton said of Tolbert's dancing display. "That is un-critiqueable."

You could say the same about the Panthers dominant performance from start to finish. Carolina set a team record with 29 first downs. The Chargers, who had just 10 first downs, were outgained 372-164.

"There's a lot of confidence in what we're doing," head coach Ron Rivera said. "Playing with confidence is big, and that's what we've done."

Carolina opened the game with a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive.

Newton's 1-yard run on fourth-and-1 from the San Diego 2-yard line kept the drive alive, and on the next play Tolbert leaped over the defensive front for the score.

"I didn't know I was going to go up and over," explained Tolbert, who played for the Chargers from 2008-11. "I saw the pile and couldn't run through it. I had to go over it."

A Philip Rivers slip up on the ensuing San Diego possession gave the Panthers optimal field position. The ball slipped out of the Chargers quarterback's grasp as he reared back to throw, and defensive tackle Nate Chandlericon-article-link.gif recovered on the San Diego 21-yard line.

Four plays later, Tolbert ran untouched around left tackle and into the end zone for his second 1-yard score, doubling the Panthers' lead.

"We took advantage of a miscue and we were able to put points on the board right away," Rivera said. "We controlled the tempo."

After the Carolina defense forced a three-and-out, the Panthers made it three-for-three on touchdown drives in the first quarter.

Newton faked a handoff to DeAngelo Williamsicon-article-link.gif before targeting the running back on a screen pass left. Chargers linebacker Jarret Johnson reached up and got a hand on the ball, but Williams still managed to haul in the tipped ball.

"He tipped the ball, and I had enough time to get under it," Williams said. "I was able to pluck it out of the air and get downfield with a lot of great blocks. All I had to do was run."

Williams turned upfield and followed his blocks down the left sideline for a 45-yard touchdown with 58 seconds left in the first quarter.

"When you score three touchdowns in the first quarter," left tackle Jordan Grossicon-article-link.gif said, "it takes the wind out of the other team's sails a little bit."

The score remained 21-0 until late in the second quarter, when Carolina regained possession with 1:35 left in the half.

Newton quickly connected with wide receiver Steve Smithicon-article-link.gif for an 18-yard gain, and Smith toe-tapped the sideline for a 12-yard reception on third down three plays later. A 26-yard completion to tight end Greg Olsenicon-article-link.gif placed the ball on the Chargers' 5-yard line, but after three consecutive incompletions, the Panthers settled for a 33-yard field goal in the final seconds from Graham Ganoicon-article-link.gif.

San Diego opened with the second half with a three-and-out and after Joe Adamsicon-article-link.gif fair caught a punt at the Carolina 44, the Panthers converted a short field into another touchdown drive.

Williams ran five times for 32 yards before Newton rolled right and hit Smith for a 4-yard touchdown at 8:56 of the third quarter.

"It was kind of easy for us with the help from our defense," Newton said. "We (were starting) with unbelievable field position."

The Chargers were held scoreless until the opening minute of the fourth quarter, when tight end Antonio Gates recorded a 9-yard touchdown reception.

But those were the only points Carolina allowed.

Moments later, with San Diego in the red zone, defensive end Mario Addisonicon-article-link.gif sacked Rivers and forced the ball loose. Fellow-lineman Frank Alexandericon-article-link.gif made the recovery to effectively seal the Panthers' fifth win.

"The mindset, the maturity has come along. We have been through a lot, to say the least this season," Newton said. "For us to grow from it – that's the only thing we can do, and that's what we have been doing."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Stupid Useless Incompetent Houston Texans! 3 weeks ago they were the best team in the AFC. It looked like the 1st seed at home in the Divisional playoffs with a bye week is all locked in. In they past 3 weeks, they screwed themselves out of a bye week and 1st seed. So now they play in the wild card instead, at home, against the Bengals and even if they were to win, guess who will they play next? The New England Patriots! The same team that the Texans lost to on Monday night back on December 10th, which started the 3 weeks downfall! Typical Houston sports team! Houston Texans! Houston Astros! Houston Rockets! The Old Houston Oilers! They all sucks! Houston sucks when it comes to sport!

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