January 11th, 2009 at 7:19 PM ^
Indeed. After Woodley's recent sack on the 2 yard line Ironman started playing in my head.
Damn I miss that 2006 defense's regular season. All it would take to make this game complete though would be another Woodley stiff-arm.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:46 PM ^
I'm basing my playoff rooting interest on how many Michigan players each team has.
Since the Cardinals have three players (Breaston, Branch, Watson) and nobody else has more than two, I'm hoping the Cardinals win the Super Bowl.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:07 PM ^
whenever I watch an NFL game.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:10 PM ^
Same here, though I usually give some preference to the more stand out players. Plus I always root for the Michigan players on opposing teams.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:45 PM ^
Throw me in that category as well, although I ask, what would happen if, say, Leon Hall is assigned to Avant or Breaston? Who to root for then? When Marlin Jackson intercepts Tom Brady, is that a good thing?
January 11th, 2009 at 10:37 PM ^
When Marlin Jackson intercepted Tom Brady to end the AFC Championship game a few years back, that was bad because it ended Tom Brady's season. That man is a walking billboard for "The Michigan Difference" and the resume could have been further padded. Even though Jackson and then-Colt Cato June won rings, I would have preferred Brady getting to and possibly winning another Super Bowl. Plus, I'm a not a fan of "the Mannings," so I could have done without that too...but I digress. Sometimes I do the 'seniority' or the 'awesomeness' thing (which is pretty much subjective), whereby, for example, I would be rooting for the combo of John Runyan and Jason Avant over the Breaston/Watson/Branch trio this coming weekend.
January 12th, 2009 at 8:30 PM ^
I agree. Tom Brady is the poster boy for the Michigan Difference (in the NFL.) For me the Avant / Breaston thing is tough, because those are two of the classiest Michigan receivers we've had in a while.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:41 AM ^
of babies died when that happened or something of that nature
January 12th, 2009 at 1:49 AM ^
It was Golden Retriever puppies. Even more depressing.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:35 PM ^
The Steelers have Woodley and Foote, and they drafted Ryan Mundy. Does that count?
January 11th, 2009 at 11:46 PM ^
arizona actually has four. they have victor hobson, who i have personally never heard of.
http://www.azcardinals.com/team/bio.php?PRKey=221
January 12th, 2009 at 1:26 AM ^
IIRC Hobson wore #6 and was a meh LB at M. I'm 99% sure he wore 6 because ever since Wheatley I take note of who has that number.
January 12th, 2009 at 6:16 AM ^
"Meh" is a little harsh as a descriptor for Hobson. He's 4th on the career TFL list, had 277 career tackles, and 15 career sacks.
January 12th, 2009 at 9:17 AM ^
Calling Hobson a "meh" LB after the last couple of years of "meh" linebacking at UM is crazy. He was excellent and got drafted fairly high. Are you hammered?
January 12th, 2009 at 11:34 AM ^
Hobson was a very good player who was stuck on some meh-at-best defenses.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:52 AM ^
...plus "meh" college players typically don't spend a bunch of years in the NFL.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:55 AM ^
See, I remember Victor Hobson as a badass. He was a lot like Larry Foote, but a year or two later. He was my favorite M defensive player for a long time.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:20 PM ^
Victor Hobson was a two-time All-Big 10 first teamer, and a finalist for the Butkus award his senior year. He was very good.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:30 PM ^
Jerame Tuman played some for the Cards this year, also. I'm not sure if he's still with the team.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:07 PM ^
sold out in six minutes. Everyone's going apeshit in desert. Oh, and temps are in the 70's.....
January 11th, 2009 at 9:40 PM ^
SO THEY SHOULD OPEN THE FREAKING ROOF!!!!
God, I hate the Bidwills. They find any excuse not to open the thing, like"Oh no, a cloud." I went to a lions game two years ago at Pink Taco [the name the Cards should have taken] Stadium, and they announced 5 DAYS ahead of time that the roof would be closed, due to "weather." See "cloud," supra.
They're like the Fords only without Matt Millen.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:42 PM ^
They're like the Fords, only without Millen, but instead...more playoff wins this year than the Lions have since the fifties
January 11th, 2009 at 10:08 PM ^
actually, i think they are succeeding this year in spite of ownership, not because of it
January 12th, 2009 at 2:21 AM ^
You meaning drafting excessive WRs? Breaston, Fitzgerald, Boldin? Then actually having them all pan out, and getting a QB that can pass if he has decent protection (Warner)? Yeah, I'd actually agree this is like the Lions, except without the complete suck at defense.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:38 PM ^
Only if he graduated from Michigan.
January 12th, 2009 at 1:29 AM ^
I'm going to root for the Cardinals because they were so pathetic they offered an Undrafted FA contract to Shazor before he went MIA for the rest of his life. Is he in jail?
January 12th, 2009 at 2:57 AM ^
-sigh- It's really amazing what time can do. I used to get such joy out of watching him play--for both obvious and sentimental reasons, he was one of my all-time favorites at Michigan. Now, the words 'Ernest Shazor' kind of make me sad. Such a shame. The Realests posted this a while ago: http://therealests.blogspot.com/2007/04/where-in-world-is-ernest-shazor… I hope he's okay, wherever he is.
January 12th, 2009 at 9:15 AM ^
Woodley was the best player on the field yesterday.
He was all over the place. Total beast.
I know y'all love Brady as the walking UM billboard and all that, but Lamar Woodley anchors, the meanest mothafuckin' Defense in all of football.
And, thats goota count for something.
Yes, Harrison won the D MVP of the year, but make no mistake, this Steeler D does not rise to this level this season without Woodley making a huge leap from his rookie year.
No franchise in football is more synonomous with excellent LB play and your next great Steeler linebacker wore the Maize and Blue
January 12th, 2009 at 10:30 AM ^
How great is Jason Avant on third downs? That 3rd and 20 conversion yesterday...
Going further off-topic, when we talk about all-time Michigan teams, one of the fun positions to pick is wide receiver. Well, here's my four wideouts: Desmond, AC, Braylon, and, yes, Jason Avant. Think about it: you need one receiver who is more fundamentals than flash, who takes pride in throwing a block or running a perfect route, who almost never has the dropsies. Avant is about the grittiest receiver you'll ever see.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:01 PM ^
Why was that guy not drafted in the 1st round???
January 12th, 2009 at 1:04 PM ^
Too short, too small, not fast enough...
Oops.
Seriously, though, when you're pretty clearly a 3-4 OLB and only a few teams run the 3-4, those types of guys can slide a little bit. There's just less demand.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:32 PM ^
I could hear Phillip Rivers screaming all the way from SD last night during his Woodley nightmares.