Let the fun begin!

this thread is where all the consensual horseplay takes place

hey this is a great game i don't know why you guys aren't watching it

pumpy...how'd you get the "bounty hunter" title? I just noticed that

the game's not on yet

Boring matchup. Even if the Giants somehow play out of their minds, the Patriots will use some method of cheating to overcome any deficit they face, just like they did in the Superbowl against the Eagles.


62 61 69 74

This could turn out to be a decent game. The Giants have definitely earned the spot. The outplayed the top two NFC teams - Cowboys and Packers - on the road.

I think the Giants have been playing the best football of any NFC team over the last handful of weeks.

At the end of the day, however, I think if the Patriots want to move the ball, they will move the ball.

The Giants defense is peaking at the right time. Their offense is peaking as well. They played the Patriots well in week 17. They have won 10 games on the road, and this can be looked at as a road game. I would say, and hope it is so, that the Giants can make a heck of a game out of this and could win.

Hopefully Giants fans don't make me want to cheer against them. Right now I would like to see them win but that could change.

Hey guys, I am going on an undercover mission for a government agency for 6 months. I'll only have access to FOFC, but will be recording the game. Please no one post the winner or score of the game until September!

Thanks!

Patriots 17 (+7 Refs) 24, Giants 17

Step 1: Become a bounty hunter
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Get custom title

quit playing games with my heart

I think the Giants might just have enough in the tank to win this game. They are completely healthy and damn near the whole team is peaking. I'll definately be tuned in. If a New York based team defeats the undefeated Boston based team in the Super Bowl, we may have a mini-civil war on our hands.

:rolleyes:

I do expect a good game. The Giants are rolling and playing well, the Pats just got their horrible passing game out of the way, and the two teams now know each other from their week 17 matchup. At the end of the day, I think the Giants couldn't win in week 17 after giving it all they had, so I think the Patriots take this one, too. I do expect a higher scoring game though, more in line with the week 17 score.

First two thoughts:

1) The last Giants SB I watched was the most disintered I was since I can remember.

2) This reminds me of Pats/Panthers a few years back.

Well, they were playing against the Ravens. If you weren't a fan of either team, was there really anything interesting about that Super Bowl? Trent Dilfer and Kerry Collins were the starting quarterbacks, fucryingoutloud.

Heyyy...show some respect. Trent Dilfer has a motherfuckin SuperBowl ring. Given, he's the QB who probably did the least amount of work to earn one, but he's got one. :D

I think they were close to setting a punting record.

You know what? This sorta makes me realize something. I've been wondering pretty often why Eli Manning gets so much grief. I've seen people go so far as to say that he's actually a terrible quarterback. Now, I know his numbers haven't been great over his career, and he's probably not much more than an average quarterback at this point, but I've defended the guy a little bit. Now, he's even led the team to the Super Bowl.

Of course, at this point, I realize that the last quarterback to lead the Giants to the Super Bowl was Kerry Collins. Clearly, bringing your team to the Super Bowl don't mean shit.

LOL


and i hope you realized that in my initial post I was just joking around with you, i didn't actually want you to show either of them any particular amount of respect

Does anybody show Kerry Collins respect? Has anyone? Ever?

It will take a terrible game from Brady combined with a terrific game from the Giants D and another non-screwup game from Eli to give the Giants a chance at this one. Whenever two teams meet in the superbowl who I don't care too much about I usually put cash on the underdog, but in this matchup I think that'd be a massive waste of money. Just going to be on the margin in this one.

Collins was a part of one of the best ever offenses in college, the 1994 Penn State Nittany Lions.

I knew that if anybody on this board would find something good in Kerry Collins, it'd be you. :)

NE 38, NYG 14

NE 0-10-21-7
NY 7-0-0-7

Brady 60%, 300+ yards, 4 TD, MVP
Eli <50%, 3 INT

This will be close at halftime, like always. The winning team will crush them in the end, like always. The final game score will make it look like the game will be closer than it was, with the losing team scoring close to the end, like always. The commercials will suck, like always. I will dub this the Like Always Bowl.

NE is like the 32 year old male retail manager, and NY is like the 18 year old female clerk. After very little sweet talking NE will have it's way with NY. NY will come out of this with a flawed view of males (daddy didn't pay enough attention!!!), and possibly crabs. NE strikes me as the type that says it will pull out, but never does.

Eddie Murphy can tell the future

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP-f7XbCtRY

Is the Giants 10 game road streak on the line?


It looks like the Giants will be in their white jerseys and officially listed as the road team, so will this game count toward their Away streak?

Oh, so THAT'S what this is all about - you're won of those Eagles fans who mortgaged their house and went into bankruptcy to see the Eagles in the Super Bowl, only to see fatty McNabb blow the game. You shouldn't take it so hard - you guys wanted Ricky Williams anyway, right?

hook, line, and sinker

Not sure why the Giants get such little credit here, probably mostly an anti NY type thing. Don't know if anyone missed it, but the Giants nearly beat them in week 17, so I think they proved they can at least compete with the Pats. If mistake free Eli shows up, I think they have a shot, it was his mistake in week 17 that was a big blow to their chances of winning the game. It's not just on this board, but everyone where I go/watch, it's like "oh well the Giants will just get blown out, such a boring Super Bowl". It's not like this team or that team would have a shot at beating them, so why not the Giants? a team which proved they have the ability to beat them.

You realize you don't have to pay by the post here, right? If someone gets off by making me respond, so be it, jerk off away.

Not that it is a big deal but Brady as shown in the photo is in a walking cast.:confused:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playof...e=NFLHeadlines

A double-digit point spread may be a bit much for this game, but looking over the history of the Super Bowl, only 10 times has the underdog won. On the other hand, the Pats were 14 point dogs to the Rams in SB 36, the Broncos were 11 point dogs to GB in SB 32, the Giants were 7 point dogs to the Bills in SB 25 (but I remember people saying the Giants were going to get killed).

Seems like we're due for a big time upset in the Super Bowl...

I'm not sure where this one was taken, but I think it shows Giselle is just a front. ;)

Well he has been on the weekly injury report for years, the guy is a trooper! :D

It's not a walking cast, it's his bionic foot; which is attached by pullies to his arm, which give him the strength to zip in his throws to the receiver.

I think it all started with the pouting and the whining and forcing a draft-day trade. Dude has to work hard to overcome it, and maybe he finally has.

He's fuckin Darth Vader...and his coach is the Emperor. It all makes sense now!

If that's the biggest reason, I can give Chargers fans a pass on hating him, but I don't get it otherwise. Is that why people say that he's a terrible quarterback? He's not great, and he's maybe only about average, but it's not like he's in Cleo Lemon territory. Other guys in various leagues have refused to play for the teams that drafted them (John Elway, Eric Lindros, Steve Francis, etc.), and I don't recall anybody saying that those guys were twice as bad as they actually were.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what I read from a lot of fans, but people make Eli Manning sound like he doesn't even deserve to be an NFL starter, and this is a league that's seen Kellen Clemens, Tarvaris Jackson, and the aforementioned Cleo Lemon start games this year. It's absurd. I'm not saying that anyone here is talking about Eli Manning that badly, but it just seems to be a general feeling that I get about him. Hopefully, guiding his team to a Super Bowl and consistently helping them win road games (a tough task for any team in the NFL) is enough to kinda get people off his back a little bit.

62 61 69 74 = bait

Just having fun with you guys.

So, any Giants fans want to put up a sig bet? :)

sure.

standard, "Congratulations to Super Bowl XLII Champions, the New York Giants/New England Patriots" fine with you Lathum?

and say, loser has to have it in their sig till.. hmm.. training camp opens too long? NFL Draft?

Works for me. Draft is what, april so thats 2 months.

If the Pats lose I think you should make Foz post of a picture of him holding a sign that says...

"I was the camera guy for Belichick in Spygate 2007."

What the hell is Belichick gonna wear to the game if Brady borrowed his hoody???:eek:

I can't speak for anyone else, but I just don't like the Manning's in general. Eli is always crying and whining about something, and Peyton is not much better. On top of that, the refs are always giving them some special treatment, essentially not allowing either of them to be hit in a game. Ever. I hate the Pats, but the Colts were given that super bowl appearance last year despite being outplayed in the AFC championship game. This year, they almost did it again but the Chargers would not allow it. Eli has played pretty decent so far, but if the Packers played just a little better they would be in the super bowl. The Pack looked awful in that game.

Looks like the Giants are winning the Superbowl. ;)

I KEEL YOU NOW!

In response to RomaGoth, I can accept that people don't like the Mannings or other athletes. To not like a guy is one thing. To make a guy's performance look worse than it is (when it's already just average to begin with) is another. I mean, there are a lot of basketball fans (and players) who hated Karl Malone, but I don't think anyone ever claimed that he wasn't a very good ballplayer. They just didn't like him, and that's fine. I just hear very few people besides Chargers fans just say that they don't like Eli Manning. They say that they don't like him, and then they go on to add how he's such a terrible quarterback.

It doesn't bother me that people talk about Eli Manning. I guess I just don't get it. Aren't there worse starting quarterbacks to say bad things about? Maybe somebody who can't even get his team to the playoffs? I just don't understand.

I suppose I should just let it go, as Eli Manning is pretty much in the same shoes that Rex Grossman was last year, and I've never defended Rex Grossman in my life. I dunno. Maybe I feel bad for Eli in a way. I really shouldn't. He's about to play in the Super Bowl, and he makes millions of dollars a year. I'm sitting here at work with coal dust on my hands. I don't think he needs me.

Lol at Romagoth.

Eli whines and cries?

The biggest criticism Eli gets is that he is emotionless.

There is such a flawed view of Eli it is a joke.

Shorty 4EVA

I'm trying to figure out the significance of those numbers, but am drawing a blank. I'm sure it's something obvious.

Oh, and I would assume that Shockey going down a few weeks ago is yet another great example of the "Patrick Ewing effect."

And with the type of weapons that Eli has, I would expect him to post a better than mediocre type QB Rating. Although maybe he's just Bradshaw 2.0

Eli has thrown 17, 18 and 20 ints the last 3 years and completed only like 55% of his passes. Has a QB rating south of 80.

What exactly would you be excited about? His great leadership? Uh, ok.

Guy is barely average. At draft pick 1.1, I think Giant fans and NFL fans should expect more.

+1

For the life of me, I dont get that perception of him. If anything (as a Giants fan), I wish he would be more vocal to his recievers when they drop easy passes.

I think fair criticism is that he is timid & scared to get hit(i.e. a pussy)...that he is inaccurate on medium range passes(i.e. not focused or disciplined)... that he doesnt seem to possess leadership attributes (i.e. taking charge & keeping his players accountable for their f-ups)...and being emotionless win or lose(i.e. losing does not seem to bother him enough).

Whining & crying?? I dont see it.

It's what his brother does. Some of that shadow gets cast on him. And as was stated, people still aren't over the San Diego thing.

In his first four seasons Eli had 77tds and 64 ints and an average rating of 70.55 in 57 starts.

Troy Aikman had 54 td's and 60 int's with an average rating of 74.625 in 54 starts.

I am IN NO WAY saying Eli is a better QB then Aikman but he is only in his 4th year for christs sake. His numbers aren't that bad and he has gotten better each year and turned into more of a leader on and off the field.

He led them to 3 consecutive playoff apearances and now to the super bowl in his first 4 years, how many QB's can say that?

People really need to let go of something a naive 22 year old kid pulled 4 years ago at his fathers urging. This guy is a model citizen and has developed into a winner and a leader.

He's not much of a leader and actually got worse this year statistically. That's why the awe of the last 4 games with this guy. Total surprise. Maybe he's turned the corner but in total he's certainly nothing special which from a fans perspective is disappointing. Fair or not.

In a weak NFC you look for him to be the difference by now. Clearly he hasn't been. 20 picks and 56% is not good.

6 of those picks were in a 2 game span.

I don't know how you can say a guy who led his team to the superbowl isn't a leader. Not to mention there was alot of uncertainty going into this season.

It would have been easy for them to fold after an 0-2 start, instead they have won 10 straight road games. You gonna honestly tell me that has nothing to do with Eli?

dola- not to mention he led them to a 10-6 record. 5 of those loses were to playoff teams.

I think another issue with Manning this year was not actually his fault. The Giants' receivers dropped the most balls in the league this year, and I don't think it had anything to do with how he threw them.

But to be fair he was getting happy feet. The big knock on him was if you got pressure, he'd start just throwing it up there. One big factor in the team's improvement is the offensive line gelling and not letting people get near him.

Any number one overall pick gets this kind of pressure / talk in this day and age. Look at the attention Mario Williams garnered, for example. Alex Smith has issues. Etc etc.

Edit: Plus he's in New York. They shine a pretty big spotlight there.

except neither of those guys have had the impact Eli has had

Texan fans may disagree with that one. Williams was a beast this season.

Here are the last 9 number 1 overall picks. Who has done more so far then Eli?

1998 Indianapolis Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee
1999 Cleveland Tim Couch, QB, Kentucky
2000 Cleveland Courtney Brown, DE, Penn State
2001 Atlanta Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech
2002 Houston David Carr, QB, Fresno State
2003 Cincinnati Carson Palmer, QB, USC
2004 San Diego Eli Manning, QB, Mississippi
2005 San Francisco Alex Smith, QB Utah
2006 Houston Mario Williams, DE North Carolina State

did he lead them to the playoffs and 10 consecutive road wins?

Are we talking about team accomplishments or individual ones? Because I'm quite sure Eli's defense and running game probably had a role in some of that. Especially considering the fact that the Giants were 21st in the league in passing, but 4th in rushing and 7th in total defense.

I don't think Eli is a terrible QB. In fact, with another year or two he could be a top 10 or even top 5 QB in the NFL. My problem is his attitude. I am not a Chargers fan, but what he did to them is indicative of today's professional athlete: spoiled and thinks the world owes them something. Manning is nowhere near the level of Rex Grossman. Grossman is terrible and should be parking cars somewhere instead of being paid the money he is being paid to play football.

sure but to say he didn't have a huge effect on that is silly. Not to mention he played hurt the first few games.

Obviously football is a team sport but to bash Eli makes no sense. Everyone loves Carson Palmer but what has he ever done?

Like you never did something in your proffesianal life when you were 22 and naive?

Where were you last year when Rivers was tearing it up and the chargers were 14-2?

Jesus christ, move on already.

Huh. If you take away all of the above what do you have left? A QB who makes millions of dollars but can't throw the ball, is unable to lead his team, and doesn't care if he wins or not. Huh.

Nice pick in the first round, Giants. ;)

I never liked Aikman or the Cowboys, but Aikman played on some horrid teams before they finally turned the corner under Jimmy Johnson. The jury is still out for Eli, but at this point I would call him a disappointment. You have to be better than he has been when you are a 1st rounder and make that kind of money. Bottom line.

Well Palmer's QB ratings speak for themselves really. Eli can't even compete (his highest rating 77.0 last season). Sure he's got a better team around him, but does that necessarily make him a better QB?

I might have, but I sure as hell wasn't making millions of dollars and insulting an entire fan base.


Don't care. Not a Chargers fan. This was not about Rivers anyway. Or was it? ;)

As much as I'd love the Giants to, by some miracle or miracles keep the '72 Fins as the only undefeated team, I'm pretty resigned that it's not happening. Looking at all of the facets of the game, I'd give the Giants the advantage in what, maybe 2 or 3 of them (Pass rush, maybe running game and like Punter) and the Pats have a gigantic advantage in most facets (Brady, coaching even though I hate He Who Shall Not Be Named, receivers, defensive backfield, kicker...)

It's going to be like 33-14 or some such.

No disrespect to the Giants or Eli. Great run getting to the Super Bowl, but it just...isn't...happening.

It's called fair criticism, not pulling things out of a hat like "whiny" or "crybaby", which make no sense no matter who's brother he is, or what team he used his draft stock to go to for his own perceived "better situation". Unless you are a Chargers fan, I dont see how you could still have that opinion of him, unless you have not seriously watched him.

All of those points I made are not necessarily the end all about Eli, but they are debatable and much more accurate than just inventing things to criticize him for. Moreso...even if they were all 100% the case...it isnt like he cant or wont improve in those areas.

Also...for the record...that year my choice for the Giants was to draft Roethlisberger. When they drafted Rivers I about puked. When they traded Rivers for Manning, I didnt like them giving away their 1st pick for the following year(SD would have taken Osi instead, still not ok), but it was(and I still say) better to have Eli than Rivers playing for the Giants. So, I'd say my criticism isnt so much that they got Manning, but that they didnt play hardball with San Diego or just draft Big Ben.

I just skimmed through this thread, but are Giants fans now defending Eli Manning?

Hypothetical question: do you think that Eli would play injured like Rivers did this past weekend?

I don't.

Yes.

he did...week 2 vs. Green Bay. Not the same injury, but Eli's was actually on his throwing arm.

Do I think he is as tough as Favre, smart as Peyton, and smooth as Brady? Nope. But then, he never held that type of potential in my eyes.

Would I rather have Eli over Rivers? Yes...and I believed that last year as well. Believe me...I have had a lot of criticism for Eli, but I have never once wished we had Rivers.

It's funny...I have actually never defended Eli before now. I guess it's the whiny or crying type of comments(not just from RomaGoth either) that I find silly.

Plenty to scrutinize with Eli, without making stuff up.

To be fair, it actually started when a Broncos fan defended Eli Manning.

Who is making stuff up? Everytime I see him during a game he is whining. To the refs, to the other team, to his teammates. Always whining. It started on draft day and has never stopped. He may turn into a decent QB, but right now he is just a whiny overpaid player IMHO.

Part of this is because I am so tired of hearing about the Manning's all the damn time too. Peyton this. Eli that. It gets old.

There has been some absurd criticism of Eli over the years. I definitely think he's a top 10 qb.

Can I borrow some of that crack you're smoking?

How do you find anytime to watch him when you have 17 other favorite teams to watch

Could you please tell me your definition of "whining"? And next, tell me how many QB's do NOT fall into that definition. It honestly does not sound like you've ever watched Eli play.



I'll agree that they get a lot of airtime, but much of that is the dam commercials. But it isn't all that common to have 2 brothers starting at QB(one of which is arguably top 5 alltime), both of which were 1-1 draft picks, & playing for good teams. It's the media's wetdream.

LOL. But seriously, borrowing implies that you plan on returning said item at a future time. Who the hell wants used crack???? :D

Agreed.

Ha. Not quite.

Dude, you are insane.

The guys made the playoffs 3 of 4 years including going to the Superbowl this year, how can you say he needs to be better?alot of guys put up better numbers but he did what Tony Romo, Brett Favre, and Matt Hasselbeck couldn't do?

Seriously, what more do you want from him, the goal is to win championships, not put up 4,000 yard seasons, John Kitna can do that for fucks sake but John Kitna can't lead the Giants to the Superbowl.

My insanity is another topic for another time. Are you seriously comparing Eli Manning to Brett Favre? That is absurd. Favre has actually won a super bowl. Matt Hasselbeck is overrated, maybe a top 15 QB but no better than that. Tony Romo has done nothing yet.

Romo was not drafted, Favre was a 2nd rounder, and Hasselbeck was a 6th rounder. None of them (besides maybe Favre) compare to Manning in regards to money/draft position/expectations.

Just saying'.

No, I am not comparing them. IT IS A FACT that he did what none of those guys could do this year. And who really cares where he was drafted, he is in the league now.

Again I ask you, what more would you like Manning to do?

I throw out my opinion of Eli.

I'm a Bears fan and for the past 2 years, even when Rex was looking like a MVP candidate last year, I've been telling a friend of mine (also a bears fan) that I would take Eli over any Bears QB without hesitation. Yes, that sounds pretty damn obvious now, but last year and even earlier this year that wasn't the case.

I strongly believe that Coughlin has held Eli back and is at fault for his lack of development. Also, prior to Plaxico breaking out this year, his receivers have been horrible. I don't know what has gotten into Burress this year, but he's played a lot better (especially in the 2nd half of the season and the playoffs) and its been a huge help to Eli.

There's no excuse for his completion percentage to be as low as it has been as a pro (thats the #1 thing killing his QB rating). He completed over 60% of his passes at Ole Miss and that should translate a lot better than it has. Put Eli in a more creative offense and I think you're looking at a top-10ish QB, because the talent is there.

Fair assesment.

I think once Steve Smith develops more he will be a big boost to Manning

I think it was perfectly obvious even last year. The praise that Grossman gets at times is as absurd as the criticism that Eli gets - Eli is vastly better than Grossman.

If you give Kitna that running game and defense, how do you know he wouldn't?

I mean for the love of God, Kerry Collins led his team to the SuperBowl and went to the playoffs 2 out of 3 years from 2000 to 2002, and had better passer ratings than Eli Manning.

I would have agreed with you.


I think thats pretty accurate. Couple that with, what I believe to be the main problem with Eli earlier this year, which is standing strong in the pocklet & his mechanics.


I do agree that his comp% could be better, but consider the following when looking at his comp%, and in comparison to some other non- West Coast style QB's:
John Elway had a >60% completion just 3 times in his career...and none until after 10 seasons. He also only had just 1 season >80 QB rating in those first 10 seasons. This of course includes his 3 SB losses. His final 6 seasons, however, all over 80(and of course 2 SB victories).

Dan Marino had just 5 >60% completion in his entire career. And just 2 in his first 10 seasons. It is worth noting that Dan had just 1 <80 QB Rating in this time...as without a running game he clearly had to pass for TD's.

Terry Bradshaw never had a comp% >60% and had just 2 >80 QB rating seasons in his first 11 seasons. This timespan included every SB victory he had for the Steelers.


I'm not pretending that Eli is comparable to these guys(and perhaps never will), and there are differring circumstances behind each of these QB's which made them great. I guess I'm just saying that 90 QB ratings & 60% completions are not the end all stats of measurement.

Like John Elway?

I don't know how long you've been paying attention to football, or sports in general, but if you think refusing to play for the team that drafts you is some kind of new trend among spoiled athletes, you are seriously mistaken.