Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Mumble, rawr, mumble, baarrrrrr

OK I'll actually post something more than just a picture. I gotta say it's been a pretty damn good week: Steelers heading to the Super Bowl, the worst president in our history's reign is over and I've got half a buzz on. So I'm feeling good. There are only a couple more things that I would really want to go my way. If I get those, life will be perfect. Of course, that will never happen. Perfection just isn't truly attainable. So I'm enjoying what I have.

Been a slack weekend for me. Eating too much, as usual, and playing games, watching movies, etc. I finished watching the first season of Entourage and the last four episodes managed to win me over somewhat. Initially I felt no connection to any of the characters, but I warmed up somewhat in the latter episodes. I also watched The Andromeda Strain, which was ok. Not very exciting, but a good watch while I played Ninja Town on my DS. I do love multitasking.

By the way, I finished Ninja Town and it's a lot of fun. I like the desktop tower defense style and even enjoy the cute ninja thing so I'd say it's a solid foot massage. I think I may be outgrowing this rating system and need to revamp it into something less stupid. I'll think on it.

I also downloaded Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix on XBLA. Basically it's an HD remake of Street Fighter 2, which I enjoy. I do suck at it tho. I mean, really suck. Gonna have to work hard to get any game going at it. We'll see if that works.

I'm currently re-watching 28 Weeks Later. I love zombies, which I've mentioned before. And this is one of the top zombie films ever. I mean, it's no Romero joint, but it's damn good. Robert Carlyle is truly great as an infected. You can feel his anger and it's a deep hatred for all things living.

I suppose that's all for now. Did I mention the Steelers are in the Super Bowl? Man I'm loving it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

10 reasons why Super Bowl XLIII is not a mismatch …

1. Kurt Warner makes quick decisions

To hang with the Steelers, you need an intelligent quarterback that gets rid of the ball quickly. That's Kurt Warner in a nutshell. As Warner showed in the NFC Championship, there aren't many blitzes he hasn't seen. Immobile 38-year-old quarterbacks only last if they know where pressure is coming from.

Pittsburgh will get their licks in, so you also need a tough quarterback. Perhaps no quarterback delivered more completions this season while getting leveled. Warner always gets up.

2. They can win the turnover battle.

Pittsburgh's defense is historically good, but Arizona actually forced one more regular season turnover. The Cardinals have turned it up during the playoffs with eleven takeaways in only three games. Pittsburgh also forces lots of mistakes, so Kurt Warner must keep his head on a swivel. He's had a fumbling problem, through his career, but has yet to fumble in the playoffs. If that continues, Arizona should win the most important stat other than the final score.

3. The Cardinals have the most dominant player in the game.

Larry Fitzgerald is changing the way we think about wide receivers. Traditional football logic says that the further away you are from the ball, the less valuable you are. But Fitzgerald is dominating the playoffs like no one else. How can you defend Fitzgerald if he's doesn't need to be open to pull down catches?

The other great players in this Super Bowl rely on their teammates more than Fitzgerald. Troy Polamalu's awesome instincts are possible because of his mind-meld with free safety Ryan Clark, who lets him roam free. James Harrison is a great pass rusher, but his linemen do much of his dirty work.

Fitzgerald, on the other hand, is practically doing it all on his own. Try to stop him.

4. They have speed over the middle.

Honestly, it's hard to find a flaw in the Pittsburgh defense. But squint hard and you can see they occasionally look slow in the middle of the field. Opposing teams have done well when isolating players on Steelers inside linebackers, especially 33-year-old James Farrior. Running backs Kevin Faulk, Tashard Choice, Chris Johnson, and Ray Rice have all made key plays against the Steelers by out-running Farrior.

Arizona will not bother running much, but J.J. Arrington and Tim Hightower should be factors in the receiving game. Their speed could give Pittsburgh problems while they are double covering Larry Fitzgerald. Slot guy Steve Breaston can also make plays over the middle.

5. The Steelers aren't unbeatable with a lead.

These are not your father's Steelers on offense. The lack of a consistent running game hampers their ability to pull away from teams. They have won decisively in the playoffs, but Pittsburgh made their reputation in the regular season out of knuckle-scraping wins. They have won fewer than half their games by more than one score. Why expect it in the biggest game of the year?

6. The Cardinals can confuse the Steelers offensive line.

Pittsburgh's big men up front have improved in the playoffs, but they struggled during the season to recognize blitzing linebackers. Dallas did a great job pressuring the Steelers up the middle by disguising their intentions. Baltimore also effectively confused the Steelers in their regular season matchups.

No team is more creative and varied sending pressure than the Cardinals, led by mad scientist defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast. Some critics say Arizona is too creative, but they will mentally test Pittsburgh's line.

7. The Cardinals are at their best when things look worse.

The Cardinals coughed up a ten-point lead in the final three minutes against Dallas before calmly winning the game in overtime. They lost two December games by a combined score of 82-21, and then ripped off four straight wins. The Eagles tied a record for the greatest comeback in NFC Championship game history, so the Cardinals responded with a slow fourth-quarter march for the ages.

What more can happen to this team? They may lose on Super Bowl Sunday, but they won't shrink when the going gets tough.

8. Arizona has their own Troy Polamalu.

Adrian Wilson has been the NFC's best safety over the last five years. He's a physical specimen that is less rangy than Polamalu, but his intelligence and strength are awesome.

2008 wasn't Wilson's finest campaign, but he's playing his best when it counts. Wilson recorded seven tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble in the NFC Championship. As an eight-year veteran who has only played for the Cardinals, this game will mean something extra for hm.

9. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt and Offensive line coach Russ Grimm know the Steelers well

Jon Gruden was the last coach to face his former team in the Super Bowl. Many players in that game claim that Tampa's defense called out Oakland's plays before they happened. While that isn't likely to happen this time, Whisenhunt knows how to frustrate Ben Roethlisberger.

Whisenhunt won't waste time learning the strengths and weaknesses of Pittsburgh's personnel; it's all in his head. And Whisenhunt's offense will be prepared for Steelers defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau's zone blitzes because Whiz faced them every day in practice. If the Cardinals could beat Pittsburgh last regular season with an inferior team, they can keep it close this time.

10. No upset is too great.

Haven't we learned anything yet? The Arizona freaking Cardinals are in the Super Bowl! In the last three years, two six seeds have won the Super Bowl as Wild Cards.

The Steelers have a historically good defense, but they aren't a historically good team. And David Tyree's ghostwriter will be happy to remind you that historically good teams don't always seal the deal.

Forget the "worst team in playoff history" thing already. The Carolina Panthers were undefeated at home, and lost by 20 to Arizona. The Cardinals are rightful underdogs against Pittsburgh, but don't get carried away. We have no idea what is going to happen. That's why we watch.

From RotoWorld
(Furnished by: The one & only Steeler hater, Adam Williams)

eric said...

All of those are valid points. I am worried that the Cardinals could pull it off. My main reason being that Larry Fitzgerald can seemingly just decide to score at any given point.

That said, I'm already tired of all the lead up hype and still have 10 days or so to go.

Anonymous said...

E, just be proud your boys are there. 5 Lombardis. Let's not get greedy & since you are all about spreading around the wealth- send a Lombardi the Chiefs way whether they earned it or not. An NFL socialist league??? Nahhh... it would never work. Love ya, man. Had to get those jabbs in there.

Also, your trophy will be ordered next Wednesday & you should have it in about 2 weeks after that. Money has been tight taking all these trips for the feds. Gotta spend money to make more money I guess.