Conference Championship Recap

Steelers 23, Ravens 14 - Now, let's have no more of this "Joe Flacco is Joe Cool" nonsense, alright? At least not until he steps his game up considerably. Thumbs Up to Mitch Berger for that tackle on Leonard on the punt return. Not only did you tackle him, you stripped the ball, even if it did tumble out of bounds and remain in Baltimore's possession. On the other hand, Thumbs Down to Berger for that flop that drew the roughing the kicker penalty in the first half. Thumbs Down to the ref that called it while we're at it. The guy barely grazed Berger, and I do not approve of rewarding people who took acting lessons from Vlade Divac. Fucking kickers, that's why nobody likes you.

Lot of hard hitting in that game. The Ravens defensive backfield looked to be getting a little thin there for awhile, especially that one play late in the first half when Heath Miller ran over the guy who tried to tackle him, and one of the wideouts leveled another Ravens' DB. Personally, not the matchup I would have preferred for Arizona. Sure, the Ravens are a fierce defensive team too, but Pittsburgh actually has an offense that can produce points without getting awesome field position thanks to their defense. Baltimore didn't seem quite as capable. Also, I'm concerned about the pressure Pittsburgh can bring getting aimed at Warner. Sure, he's smarter than Flacco, but he's a lot less mobile too. Offensive line better get ready.

Arizona 32, Eagles 25 - They wouldn't be the Arizona Cardinals if they made it easy would they? Last week's game against Carolina notwithstanding. Rack up huge lead, blow huge lead, then retake lead and hold it. I see a few fans complaining about the lack of pass interference on the 4th and 10 throw to Curtis. I'd say it was questionable, because Curtis did appear to be losing his footing on his own at roughly the same time, so I don't know how much Hood did. Besides, Curtis still ought to have caught the ball.

Anyway, if the ref swallowed the flag, then I figure that makes us even for the no call on the pass interference at the end of the regular season contest against the Cowboys in Arizona, back in 1998. Arizona got screwed when the refs looked the other way on a much more egregious example of pass interference, so this evens the score. I find the accusations of conspiracy by the league amusing. The NFL would rather have the Arizona Cardinals' and their diminutive fan base in the Super Bowl, rather than the Eagles and their fans, who would likely be rabid at the prospect of adding a Super Bowl title to the Phillies' recent World Series triumph?

Ah well, Arizona's in, so now all that's left to do is sit through the tedious two weeks of buildup before the actual game. I hate that they wait two weeks. Why? Doesn't that throw the players out of their groove? Granted, it's not nearly as bad as college football, with the six weeks or whatever in between the end of the regular season and their "championship" game, but still. Is it to get both teams as healthy as possible, and if so, how often does the second week actually help there?