Tuesday, January 25, 2005

By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth: Champions On Ice Edition

YOU ARE LOOKING LIVE at an iced-over lock. Two things you need to know going into this:

- The Heat-Sixers game got moved to Monday night so it wouldn't interfere (and the Heat had another game at home switched back to Sunday);
- There were people tailgating in the parking lots at 8 a.m.

This is what you're up against, Vick. Tread carefully.

They lost the toss? That could be important later. Again, we're seeing the difference Trotter's made this year. He said "Run defense is all about attitude" and he's thrilled to be in this position. The fake field goal? Yeah, I'm against it. Did that punt even go 10 yards? Those have gotta be Giants Stadium-type winds out there. Lookit Levens fighting his way through the pile. TOUCHDOWN! I thought I heard a whistle blow but whatever. That's huge for the psyche.

That's the second week in a row they've hit that long go route to Greg Lewis, who might be the fastest guy on the team. I don't know what replay Collinsworth was looking at - you could see Chad Lewis's right foot kick up some dirt as he dragged it on the ground. Remember: conclusive evidence to overturn, and I don't think there was any. The Eagles can just key on the backs because the Falcons' wide receivers don't scare a bad defense, much less this group (which only allowed the second-fewest points in the league this season.) Now they're making Vick run around in circles instead of forward, giving guys (on both sides) time to see it and come back to him. DAMN! Dawkins folded Crumpler up with that! When Dunn scored untouched you could hear a collective "Oh, no" emanate from the crowd. And that play almost seemed like a quick call that the Eagles weren't at all ready for. They looked like they were just standing there.

Everyone's still nervous. The Eagles probably need to score on this drive. Using Westbrook more than they did in the first half will probably help. You know, I would have preferred a touchdown. Even though Akers is as good as Vinatieri and probably has a stronger leg. Oh, that's huge. That may be the game right there. I'm not sure Vick saw Dawkins - in the end zone view, Crumpler was between them when he threw the ball. You know who's having a big game is Derrick Burgess. That Morton kid is getting used and abused. They're just teeing off now. The fans, I mean. I've been saying for three years that Vick needs better receivers. Did the Eagles actually outrush the Falcons? This is the greatest day ever.

Now, who are we gonna catch the beatdown from?

Did we ever find out who the last home dog in a conference championship game was? I'd been thinking all week that this Steelers team is basically the same as the Patriots team that came in here three years ago and beat them, but with a better running game, and that everything that went in the Patriots' favor last week was working against them this week. Oh, that's NOT what Ben needed. That's a bad omen right there. And they scored. Aw, geez. So the Steelers' corners haven't gotten any better in three years? Is that it? I'd forgotten that Branch missed the first game, too, and he's probably their best overall WR in terms of speed and hands. This could get very ugly very quickly. And Harrison just made sure it did. Oh wow. This game might already be over.

Boy, did the Steelers need that touchdown from the Bus. Give them this up to this point: they haven't given up, and they've actually kept Dillon in check. Well, until that. These guys always have an answer. It's uncanny. Nice play by Hines on the touchdown, but I can't say with any certainty that they still have a shot. At the time, I was OK with Cowher kicking the field goal to start the fourth, reason being that you want to at least get something at that point, but given time to reflect, they should have tried to punch it in. Just as well in retrospect. Weep not for Ben, for he will learn from this.

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