EY's Rants and Raves

You'd think with Miami getting into the playoffs, I'd have been blogging about the NFL a lot more than I have. I've come up with numerous posts in my head, only to have them evaporate when I sit down to type them in. Such is the fate of writers on all subjects, I suppose.

Now that it's down to four teams, my random NFL thoughts are....

• Yes, I'm quite thrilled that MIA went from being a one loss team to the playoffs, even if it was one and done. I hope they draft well and next year is better. Wish I could say I believe more in Chad Pennington, but after the 4 INT debacle against the Ravens, I just can't feel great about him.
• Dallas self-destructs again. Shocking. Maybe Jerry Jones should take the guys out for some team building exercises.
  
• I simply cannot believe that Arizona is for real. I watched Atlanta self-destruct and saw more than I expected from the Desert Wrens, but couldn't be bothered to watch the game against Carolina. Apparently, I should have and maybe I'd understand how on earth they're in the NFC championship game. I still feel that if playing a "real team", they'll self-destruct unless the other team does so first.
• I'm dreaming of an All-PA Super Bowl. Of course, if this happens, I won't go to any SB parties so that I can focus on the game. Which, really doesn't bother me any. I can go to good parties (and parties not on a school night, for that matter) any time of year. There's only one Super Bowl.
• I realized today that thanks to me being a lazy, lie-a-bed idiot and scheduling my return flight from visiting a friend in the mid-afternoon next Sunday, I will miss ALL of the NFC championship game and probably the first part of the AFC game.
  
• If the SB is Arizona and Pittsburgh, I'll probably go to a party, not get really hammered, expect a decent game, root for Pittsburgh (who, while not one of my absolute favorite teams, I have liked since 1976).
• If the SB is Arizona and Baltimore, I may watch this at home. I cannot in any atom of my brain conceive of how Arizona would not get ripped to shreds by Ray Lewis and Company. I'd have to watch that one.
• If the SB is Philly and Pittsburgh, I'll watch the game at home, expect a really good game, root for Pittsburgh (who, while not one of my absolute favorite teams, I have liked since 1976), but not feel bad if Philly won.
• If the SB is Philly and Baltimore, I might end up at the party and would hope for the best. That pairing should be really good and I might end up watching it at home. Tough call. Philly would have to play perfectly mistake-free, which I think they can do. Philly's D will be rough for Flacco. They ARE the #4 defense in the NFL (BAL is #3, PIT is #2 ARI is #16). Not too shabby.
• I wish the officials would pick ONE rule for how where the ball is influences the play. Breaks the plane for touchdowns, first downs and touchbacks should apply to line of scrimmage for passing (not the QB's body) and some other arcane play I can't remember now.
• Retire Brett. You too, JoePa.
• No matter what they're playing for, I can't root for Florida. I don't care that them winning the "national championship" looked good for the SEC. Uh, these folks are Arkansas's RIVALS, dude. I was happy to see Alabama lose because I think Nick Saban is a ego-ridden snake. I have a similar opinion of Urban Meyer and would have loved to see him get completely kicked by Oklahoma. Of course, OU and Utah are vastly different teams. Not much shame in losing to OU. Maybe it's like property values. If someone builds a very large house next to you, you feel a little sad about your domicile, but your property value will go up. Hmmmm. Yeah, I pondered that a bit. I still hate Florida. I still will not cheer for them for any reason.