FrankRizzo
Cheesehead
I just got done re-watching all the playoff games and Super Bowl. It was a magical run, and I loved every second of it, knowing the outcome was golden.
But there were some things that I kind of had forgotten, overlooked, that really had they gone the other way (and they easily could have), we'd not have become champs.
Anyone remember:
David Akers missing 2 kicks against us? That guy rarely misses a kick, and usually is clutch. He was the Pro Bowl kicker this season, and he calmly killed us in the 4th & 26 game.
Had he choked in 2004, that 4th & 26 nightmare wouldn't have happened.
Michael Vick missing a wide open receiver on the last pass he forced to Riley Cooper, that Tramon picked off to seal the game. Had Akers just missed one of those 2 earlier kicks, they wouldn't have needed the TD there, just a GW FG to beat us by one.
In the Falcons game which we killed them, it wasn't a blowout from start to finish. We trailed. Twice. With 48 seconds to go til halftime, it was 14-14, and the Falcons had just missed going up 21-14 as Matt Ryan was late to throw the ball to Michael Jenkins in the end zone. He had Tramon beaten and the safety was off to the left, nowhere to help. The throw was late or else it's a TD for them. Instead, it was late, Jenkins slipped on the paint of the logo, and Tramon picked it off.
We scored to go up 21-14, and then the Falcons marched to inside our 30 yard line and had an easy FG coming, but Ryan forced another one that Tramon picked off again, and went the distance for a 28-14 lead. Also in that game, there were about 4 big plays where the Falcons had a free guy at Rodgers, and he magically slipped away from the sack and made a big play. Two times was John Abraham. That was brilliant by Rodgers, but also a bit lucky and it usually isn't like that where the QB escapes. Rodgers went down 55 times last year. He can't always escape. He did pretty much that night.
Chicago, like the Philly game, we could have blown this one away, but we didn't, we let them linger around. But had Urlacher not been tripped up by Rodgers on the Int, he would have probably scored and who knows what would have happened then. That would have changed the complexion of that game, and our offense was in quicksand after that early part of the game.
Super Bowl. Should have blown them out, but because of the Woodson and Driver injuries, we didn't.
Rewatching that game, the Steelers were taking control in the 3rd & 4th quarter, and if not for the Mendenhall fumble and great scoop up by Bishop, they would have taken the lead there.
We commited no turnovers, they committed 3, and it still came down to the final drive, and Roethlisberger usually has pulled out games like that, as the Ravens know, and as we found out in 2009.
Also, how many times were guys not even really open, but Rodgers passes were totally pin-point? Had some of those big plays passes been one inch left, right, up or down, a lot of them would not have been completed. Great passes, but a bit of good fortune involved.
Now we've lost a lot of games where bad luck doomed us. Luck is a factor.
We were great, but we had good luck on our side, starting with David Akers shanky foot.
But there were some things that I kind of had forgotten, overlooked, that really had they gone the other way (and they easily could have), we'd not have become champs.
Anyone remember:
David Akers missing 2 kicks against us? That guy rarely misses a kick, and usually is clutch. He was the Pro Bowl kicker this season, and he calmly killed us in the 4th & 26 game.
Had he choked in 2004, that 4th & 26 nightmare wouldn't have happened.
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This time, he did choke. That made the difference because had he made them, they would have beaten us. David Akers Hints That His Career With the Philadelphia Eagles May Be Over | Yardbarker.comMichael Vick missing a wide open receiver on the last pass he forced to Riley Cooper, that Tramon picked off to seal the game. Had Akers just missed one of those 2 earlier kicks, they wouldn't have needed the TD there, just a GW FG to beat us by one.
In the Falcons game which we killed them, it wasn't a blowout from start to finish. We trailed. Twice. With 48 seconds to go til halftime, it was 14-14, and the Falcons had just missed going up 21-14 as Matt Ryan was late to throw the ball to Michael Jenkins in the end zone. He had Tramon beaten and the safety was off to the left, nowhere to help. The throw was late or else it's a TD for them. Instead, it was late, Jenkins slipped on the paint of the logo, and Tramon picked it off.
We scored to go up 21-14, and then the Falcons marched to inside our 30 yard line and had an easy FG coming, but Ryan forced another one that Tramon picked off again, and went the distance for a 28-14 lead. Also in that game, there were about 4 big plays where the Falcons had a free guy at Rodgers, and he magically slipped away from the sack and made a big play. Two times was John Abraham. That was brilliant by Rodgers, but also a bit lucky and it usually isn't like that where the QB escapes. Rodgers went down 55 times last year. He can't always escape. He did pretty much that night.
Chicago, like the Philly game, we could have blown this one away, but we didn't, we let them linger around. But had Urlacher not been tripped up by Rodgers on the Int, he would have probably scored and who knows what would have happened then. That would have changed the complexion of that game, and our offense was in quicksand after that early part of the game.
Super Bowl. Should have blown them out, but because of the Woodson and Driver injuries, we didn't.
Rewatching that game, the Steelers were taking control in the 3rd & 4th quarter, and if not for the Mendenhall fumble and great scoop up by Bishop, they would have taken the lead there.
We commited no turnovers, they committed 3, and it still came down to the final drive, and Roethlisberger usually has pulled out games like that, as the Ravens know, and as we found out in 2009.
Also, how many times were guys not even really open, but Rodgers passes were totally pin-point? Had some of those big plays passes been one inch left, right, up or down, a lot of them would not have been completed. Great passes, but a bit of good fortune involved.
Now we've lost a lot of games where bad luck doomed us. Luck is a factor.
We were great, but we had good luck on our side, starting with David Akers shanky foot.
You must be logged in to see this image or video!
Kicker David Akers, who was named to his fifth Pro Bowl this season, went 1-for-3 on his field goal attempts, costing the Eagles six points. They lost by five. Akers missed from 41 yards out in the first quarter, keeping the Eagles from jumping out to a lead. He did connect on a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter but he missed a critical 34-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.