NFC Championship: Bears vs. Saints - Sun Jan 21, 2 pm CST

[Chocolate Milk]

I doubt "Bears Weather" will have much impact on the game but aren't dome teams pretty bad playing outside, on the road, in the playoffs? I think the track record on that is pretty lopsided in favor of the non-dome team.

 

They were 4-2 playing in the outside this year, and 6-2 overall on the road.

 

I know. That's not what I'm talking about, though.

 

Edit: What Banedon said.

[Brian]

This is from last year, but it still applies:

 

No dome team has ever won outside on their road to the Super Bowl

 

well that leads to a Bears/Patriots Super Bowl :D (Colts won outside in Baltimore right?)

[Banedon]

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/columnists/ira_miller/16385570.htm

 

Only one team with a record as poor as 10-6 has won a Super Bowl

 

In 11 of the last 12 seasons, one of the two top-seeded teams reached the Super Bowl.

 

In the last 25 years, only three teams won the Super Bowl after failing to rank among the NFL's top 10 on defense during the season. That's a bad sign for every team but Baltimore, Chicago, San Diego and New England...

 

No team that plays its home games in a domed stadium has won a conference championship game outdoors in nine attempts.

 

Overall, dome teams are 8-29 in outdoor playoff games.

[Balsa]

Well, they've already taken Colonel Reb away as the official mascot, which caused a HUGE uproar, even among most of the black students who his banishment was supposed to help. Also, they've changed the official Ole Miss logo away from Colonel Reb to some boring Ole Miss cursive script.

In my mind, it's about correcting a romanticized and falsified picture of the past. The glorification of the Confederacy makes me sick to my stomach.

[Omar]

Has anybody tried simming this game with CPUs in Madden 07? I guess you can release injured players before you do it.. It didnt help my sim though. The Bears lost 37-7. Some notables: They had 5 turnovers. I remember one was a Grossman interception for a touchdown. Deuce rushed for around 70 yards.

 

Best 2 of 3?

 

Someone else should try at least once and get back to this topic. Make sure both teams are CPU though, cheater.

Edited January 17, 2007 by Omar

[goonys evil twin]

I doubt "Bears Weather" will have much impact on the game but aren't dome teams pretty bad playing outside, on the road, in the playoffs? I think the track record on that is pretty lopsided in favor of the non-dome team.

 

They were 4-2 playing in the outside this year, and 6-2 overall on the road.

 

Yes, they played well on the road this year, but the question was about the playoffs. Obviously teams that make the playoffs are going to have good records most of the time. It's notable that the Saints didn't play a single cold weather game this year. Green Bay and Cleveland were early. The Giants Christmas Eve game was warm. The Dallas road game was basically like playing in another dome. Unless that game in Pittsburgh, in early November, was a cold weather game, then the Saints just haven't seen what they'll see Sunday, 32 degrees.

 

Bear weather isn't something that helps the Bears. This team isn't a sloppy weather team. But the cold with a little potential for other elements will be entirely new to New Orleans. Even if Brees is used to playing in northern Indiana, his seasons were always done before December, and bowl games are at warm weather sites. He's been in nothing but controlled climates ever since, aside from the occasional road trip to KC or Denver. Obviously Bush hasn't played in this weather, and Deuce doesn't have much history with it either.

 

I think it's a mistake to complete ignore the home field factor like Jaws did.

[OleMissCub]

How many dome teams have there ever been in the playoffs?

 

Cowboys, Rams, Falcons, Saints, Colts, and Vikings?

[Banedon]

How many dome teams have there ever been in the playoffs?

 

Cowboys, Rams, Falcons, Saints, Colts, and Vikings?

 

Were the Seahawks in the playoffs while they were in the Kingdome?

[OleMissCub]

Well, they've already taken Colonel Reb away as the official mascot, which caused a HUGE uproar, even among most of the black students who his banishment was supposed to help. Also, they've changed the official Ole Miss logo away from Colonel Reb to some boring Ole Miss cursive script.

In my mind, it's about correcting a romanticized and falsified picture of the past. The glorification of the Confederacy makes me sick to my stomach.

 

How is Colonel Reb a romanticized picture of the past? He's an old aristocratic white guy with a goatee and cane in a nice suit, like a Colonel Sanders type. Hell, the model for Colonel Reb was actually based on a BLACK guy who worked at the school back in the '30's.

 

Second, how is an old white guy with a goatee and cane a falsified picture of the past?

[goonys evil twin]

How many dome teams have there ever been in the playoffs?

 

Cowboys, Rams, Falcons, Saints, Colts, and Vikings?

 

Seahawks, Lions

[Chocolate Milk]

I motion for a Ole Miss Reb split.

[OleMissCub]

I motion for a Ole Miss Reb split.

 

No need, I'll just quit talking about it.

[Banedon]

I motion for a Ole Miss Reb split.

 

No need, I'll just quit talking about it.

 

Thanks. I really didn't want to have to go through and filter those posts out.

[Derwood]

funny how the saints are good for the first time in forever and suddenly half the board are lifelong NO fans...

[soccer10k]

SI cover curse anyone?

 

http://www.neworleanssaints.com/photos/article/SICover_012207_Saints%20copy.gif

 

Well, I just checked and last year the Steelers had two SI covers in Jan '06. Patriots had two pre-superbowl SI covers in Jan & Feb '05.

 

So I guess it's not that big of a jinx.

 

That and...weren't the Bears on it earlier in the season?

 

I can't find the cover right now, but I definitely saw one, way back in week 4 or so.

 

No Bears covers this year....

 

But last week's coverwas the Eagles.

 

That Eagles cover was actually two weeks ago before Wild Card weekend when the Eagles beat the Giants. This was last weeks with Florida on the cover.

[soccer10k]

funny how the saints are good for the first time in forever and suddenly half the board are lifelong NO fans...

 

I think you're grouping together those of us who are simply rooting for the Saints this weekend (like me) with those of us who are actually Saints fans (OleMissCub).

[Banedon]

No Bears covers this year....

 

But last week's coverwas the Eagles.

 

That Eagles cover was actually two weeks ago before Wild Card weekend when the Eagles beat the Giants. This was last weeks with Florida on the cover.

 

The page I linked says it was 1/8, which would have been 9 days ago, just after the Eagles beat the Giants. But judging by the cover you're right...it looks like it was meant to be prior to wild card weekend.

[Andy]

funny how the saints are good for the first time in forever and suddenly half the board are lifelong NO fans...

If the Bears were crappy and nowhere near the playoffs, would you guys be flooding the NFC Title Game thread?

 

There's a difference between the volume of posts directed towards a team and how much you actually like them. Heck, I barely talked about Carolina this year outside of the weekly game threads because there was nothing to say. But they're just behind ND and the Cubs in how fervently I root for them.

[goonys evil twin]

No Bears covers this year....

 

But last week's coverwas the Eagles.

 

That Eagles cover was actually two weeks ago before Wild Card weekend when the Eagles beat the Giants. This was last weeks with Florida on the cover.

 

The page I linked says it was 1/8, which would have been 9 days ago, just after the Eagles beat the Giants. But judging by the cover you're right...it looks like it was meant to be prior to wild card weekend.

 

SI covers are dated about 5-6 days after the date they hit the newstands.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

In regards to Reggie Bush and winter weather, there was a big deal when, during his sophomore year, USC went to Pullman to play WSU. It was supposedly the first time 60% or so of the Trojans had ever seen snow (including Bush), and Reggie had an off game and attributed it to the elements.

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

Accuweather.com's up to date daily forecast for sunday: High temp: 31 degrees. Low temp: 20 degress. Periods of clouds and sun.

 

Fox news at noon's forecast called for a high of 28 degrees, with possible light snow around gametime. It'll probably be mid to high 20's, with a slight breeze making the windchill in the teens.

[Soul]

SI cover curse anyone?

 

http://www.neworleanssaints.com/photos/article/SICover_012207_Saints%20copy.gif

 

Well, I just checked and last year the Steelers had two SI covers in Jan '06. Patriots had two pre-superbowl SI covers in Jan & Feb '05.

 

So I guess it's not that big of a jinx.

 

That and...weren't the Bears on it earlier in the season?

 

I can't find the cover right now, but I definitely saw one, way back in week 4 or so.

 

No Bears covers this year....

 

But last week's coverwas the Eagles.

 

That Eagles cover was actually two weeks ago before Wild Card weekend when the Eagles beat the Giants. This was last weeks with Florida on the cover.

 

JINX JINX JINX those Saints!! 8-)

[OleMissCub]

funny how the saints are good for the first time in forever and suddenly half the board are lifelong NO fans...

 

I swear upon all that is holy that you better not be talking about me. I've suffered my entire life watching this team every Sunday, many of those times I was watching in person in the Superdome, and I'll be damned if I'll be called a bandwagon fan, after ALL these years of suffering.

[goonys evil twin]

funny how the saints are good for the first time in forever and suddenly half the board are lifelong NO fans...

 

I swear upon all that is holy that you better not be talking about me. I've suffered my entire life watching this team every Sunday, many of those times I was watching in person in the Superdome, and I'll be damned if I'll be called a bandwagon fan, after ALL these years of suffering.

 

 

:alright:

[Derwood]

funny how the saints are good for the first time in forever and suddenly half the board are lifelong NO fans...

 

I swear upon all that is holy that you better not be talking about me. I've suffered my entire life watching this team every Sunday, many of those times I was watching in person in the Superdome, and I'll be damned if I'll be called a bandwagon fan, after ALL these years of suffering.

 

it wasn't directed specifically at you, but since you mentioned it....

 

I'm not saying you're a bandwagon jumper, just saying that we haven't heard about your "lifelong suffering" as a fan until now