ROUND 2: Dirty Birds Lead-Up

[rilamann]

Hope we don't have to read/hear about this crap all week.

With the game tied, 17-17, and 49 seconds left, Ryan calmly led the Falcons on a six-play drive to set up a game-winning field goal by Matt Bryant.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/tag/_ ... -take-2011

No mention of that drive going a whopping 20 yards. Woo, what a calm stud leading that drive!

They call him Matty ''Ice'' for a reason Twirl.


I mean a lot of QBs could drive a team 20 yards,but no one can do it quite like ''Matty Ice''.

[chuckleslove]

Hope we don't have to read/hear about this crap all week.

With the game tied, 17-17, and 49 seconds left, Ryan calmly led the Falcons on a six-play drive to set up a game-winning field goal by Matt Bryant.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/tag/_ ... -take-2011

No mention of that drive going a whopping 20 yards. Woo, what a calm stud leading that drive!

They call him Matty ''Ice'' for a reason Twirl.


I mean a lot of QBs could drive a team 20 yards,but no one can do it quite like ''Matty Ice''.

I wish we would hear more about how Matty Ice has never won a playoff game like we did about Rodgers last week. They were both 0-1 in the playoffs coming into this season and Rodgers played a hell of a lot better in his first playoff start than Ryan did.

[rilamann]

I wish we would hear more about how Matty Ice has never won a playoff game like we did about Rodgers last week. They were both 0-1 in the playoffs coming into this season and Rodgers played a hell of a lot better in his first playoff start than Ryan did.

I thought about that too,I actually didn't even realize Matty Ice has never won a playoff game until I heard them say he hasn't yesterday after our game.

It was kinda like ''oh yeah he hasn't,why doesn't he get the flak Rodgers got''.


It's probably the fact Rodgers is a better player and he plays for the Packers,Rodgers' standards are much higher I think.

Maybe it's ok not to win playoff games when you play for a team like the Falcons.

Because yeah,you never really hear about how Ice hasn't won a playoff game like we did with Rodgers.

[trwi7]

Exactly. And they played the same team in the same stadium.

Packers scored 45 points, Falcons 24.

Rodgers threw 4 TDs, Ryan threw 2.

Rodgers threw 1 INT, Ryan threw 2.

Rodgers completed 66.7% of his passes, Ryan completed 65%.

Rodgers threw for 423 yards, Ryan threw for 199.

Rodgers had a 121.3 QB rating, Ryan had a 72.8 QB rating.

[chuckleslove]

That very well could be, a team like the Packers has much higher standards than the Falcons. For them getting to the playoffs is good enough, for the Packers you need to get there, have success and eventually win a championship if you want to be great.

That would explain the fan bases reactions but not the national media. I guess when it probably also hurts Rodgers that he was following in the footsteps of a legend(Favre) whereas Ryan was thrown into a rebuilding project.

[an_also]

Exactly. And they played the same team in the same stadium.

Packers scored 45 points, Falcons 24.

Rodgers threw 4 TDs, Ryan threw 2.

Rodgers threw 1 INT, Ryan threw 2.

Rodgers completed 66.7% of his passes, Ryan completed 65%.

Rodgers threw for 423 yards, Ryan threw for 199.

Rodgers had a 121.3 QB rating, Ryan had a 72.8 QB rating.

I'm pretty sure Ryan had a home game no?

[chuckleslove]

No, they went into the playoffs as the 5th seed and went to Arizona which was a 9-7 NFC west winner and went on to the Super Bowl, going into that Arizona was being called "the worst playoff team ever" by some people. Of course Seattle has taken that title this year.

[trwi7]

Exactly. And they played the same team in the same stadium.

Packers scored 45 points, Falcons 24.

Rodgers threw 4 TDs, Ryan threw 2.

Rodgers threw 1 INT, Ryan threw 2.

Rodgers completed 66.7% of his passes, Ryan completed 65%.

Rodgers threw for 423 yards, Ryan threw for 199.

Rodgers had a 121.3 QB rating, Ryan had a 72.8 QB rating.

I'm pretty sure Ryan had a home game no?

Nope. It was in Arizona.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=290103022

I remember everyone being outraged that a 9-7 team got to host a playoff game.

[rilamann]

That very well could be, a team like the Packers has much higher standards than the Falcons. For them getting to the playoffs is good enough, for the Packers you need to get there, have success and eventually win a championship if you want to be great.

That would explain the fan bases reactions but not the national media. I guess when it probably also hurts Rodgers that he was following in the footsteps of a legend(Favre) whereas Ryan was thrown into a rebuilding project.

Yeah I agree, following Favre adds to that too for Rodgers,not fair to Rodgers but it is what it is.

Not that it even matters to Rodgers.

The way Rodgers has come in these last 3 years and played so well and was unshaken by the Favre drama and being the first QB after Favre is one of the most impressive things IMO in all of sports in the last 20 years.

Even before we drafted Rodgers, I remember I used to think how sorry I'd feel for whoever the first QB was that followed Favre.

And that was assuming Favre rode off into the sunset quietly,which obviously wasn't the case.

What Rodgers has done with what he has had to go through the last 3 years (ESP 2008) is beyond incredible and impressive.

The guy is unshakable,along with being one hell of a damn good QB.

If we see Rodgers on the podium holding up the Lombardi trophy in a couple weeks it might bring a tear to my eye.No one deserves it more than him.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

That very well could be, a team like the Packers has much higher standards than the Falcons. For them getting to the playoffs is good enough, for the Packers you need to get there, have success and eventually win a championship if you want to be great.

That would explain the fan bases reactions but not the national media. I guess when it probably also hurts Rodgers that he was following in the footsteps of a legend(Favre) whereas Ryan was thrown into a rebuilding project.

I think it's because Ryan is in his third year (I think) and Rodgers is in his 6th year. It's unfair but that is a big reason. Plus wasn't Ryan's first performance as a rookie? That's a pretty impressive showing for a rookie.

[chuckleslove]

That very well could be, a team like the Packers has much higher standards than the Falcons. For them getting to the playoffs is good enough, for the Packers you need to get there, have success and eventually win a championship if you want to be great.

That would explain the fan bases reactions but not the national media. I guess when it probably also hurts Rodgers that he was following in the footsteps of a legend(Favre) whereas Ryan was thrown into a rebuilding project.

I think it's because Ryan is in his third year (I think) and Rodgers is in his 6th year. It's unfair but that is a big reason. Plus wasn't Ryan's first performance as a rookie? That's a pretty impressive showing for a rookie.

Yes it was impressive but Rodgers is also in his third year as a starter, they have both started/played for three years so its very comparable in that regards. If you are going to hold Rodgers accountable for the three years he didn't even play then he gets credit for being on a team that went to the NFC championship game.

[trwi7]

I understand that Rodgers got to sit back and watch his first few years, but it's not like Rodgers had a ton of NFL experience before his first playoff game.

[OBF-MKE]

What did Cowherd have to say today?

[rilamann]

It goes back to my previous post,but Ryan didn't have near the pressure Rodgers did following Favre.


Most QBs would crack mentally if they had to deal with that pressure.

That's the one thing when I think about Favre that really pisses me off,how he tried to come back and caused all that drama when camp was about to start and Rodgers was the guy.Rodgers had enough pressure on him already and then Favre does that to him.

[El Duderino]

That very well could be, a team like the Packers has much higher standards than the Falcons. For them getting to the playoffs is good enough, for the Packers you need to get there, have success and eventually win a championship if you want to be great.

That would explain the fan bases reactions but not the national media. I guess when it probably also hurts Rodgers that he was following in the footsteps of a legend(Favre) whereas Ryan was thrown into a rebuilding project.

I think it's because Ryan is in his third year (I think) and Rodgers is in his 6th year. It's unfair but that is a big reason. Plus wasn't Ryan's first performance as a rookie? That's a pretty impressive showing for a rookie.

Yes it was impressive but Rodgers is also in his third year as a starter, they have both started/played for three years so its very comparable in that regards. If you are going to hold Rodgers accountable for the three years he didn't even play then he gets credit for being on a team that went to the NFC championship game.

I think it's such a story with Rodgers mainly because there is so much media out there today and that media is constantly looking for some kind of topic or angle to talk about.

Look at all the non-stop talk about the Packers, McCarthy, and Rodgers record in games decided by 4 points or less. What makes 4 points the magic number? Was the game yesterday not a close game because it was decided by 5 points instead of 4 points? If we win or lose to Atlanta in a game decided by say 6 points where the losing team had the ball last in a failed chance to win, will that not be considered a close game since it doesn't fit into the subjective 4 point margin?

Mix in the whole having to take over for Favre factor when it comes to Rodgers, all these sports talk radio shows, blogs, and other various sports media avenues need things to talk about and if something isn't there, they'll create something.

[chuckleslove]

Yeah the 4 point or less margin is sort of ludicrous. That game yesterday is the very definition of a close game, it was decided on the second to last play, the last play was Rodgers in the victory formation.

[trwi7]

Is this guy high?

So if you want to find somebody who needs to prove a lot, it’s Rodgers, who until he wins a Super Bowl will have to live in the shadow of Brett Favre(notes) in Green Bay. Sure, Rodgers has been terrific the past three seasons, but they still love them some No. 4 in Packerland.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=A ... ions010911

[RiotPunch]

Is this guy high?

So if you want to find somebody who needs to prove a lot, it’s Rodgers, who until he wins a Super Bowl will have to live in the shadow of Brett Favre(notes) in Green Bay. Sure, Rodgers has been terrific the past three seasons, but they still love them some No. 4 in Packerland.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=A ... ions010911

PCP, IMO.

[Wade-A-Holic]

What did Cowherd have to say today?

Wondering the same thing. Skip Bayless said some similarly stupid, ignorant things about the Packers last week. Today, when the stupid "Did GB win or did Phi lose?" question was posed on 1st and 10, he was the only one to try and make an argument for Philly. His only citation: the two missed field goals. As if the game would have been played EXACTLY the same had those two field goals been made, and as if there weren't 3-4 other hypothetical plays that would have changed things drastically (mainly in the Packers favor). Anyone who watched that game with any objectivity saw that the Packers were the better team.

Also, I have to give it up to Sal Pal. His predictions last week on Homer were almost spot on: Lower scoring than most predicted, came down to final minute(s), and he ultimately trusted Rodgers not to make mistakes more than Vick. Spot on.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Sal Pal picked the Eagles to win. I heard him make the prediction on Cowherd. He was also pretty salty when he was interviewed late night on ESPN radio last night.