Schaddy
11-23-2005, 08:48 PM
Well, we’ve passed the midway point of the NFL season now, and the contenders and pretenders are for the most part established. Teams have an identity now, and we have a body of work to judge them on. So what are the traits about certain teams that make you like them? Here are a few teams who you just can’t help but enjoy.
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/chi_f_649602.gif (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=738&c=53)
Chicago Bears
Well, hopefully you aren’t a huge fan of great quarterback play, because that’s something you won’t find these days in the Windy City. What you will find, however, is football being played the way it's supposed to be played: tough, mean and passionate. The Bears of 2005 remind us of a simpler time, a time when great defense and a strong running game were all you needed to run this NFL show. With guys like Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Mike Brown and Tommy Harris leading the Bears’ defense, this is the type of team that you have to like if you appreciate true blood and guts football. The Bears are one of the biggest surprises in the league so far, and they’re surprising for all the right reasons. They play tough defense, their special teams is an advantage, and they run the ball in a fashion that would make George Halas smile.
http://i.esmas.com/image/0/000/002/741/deam0604_Urlacher_N.jpg
These Bears are not designed to be sexy; they are anything but that. When your signal caller completes 13 of 25 passes for 150 yards, it usually isn’t something to crow about, and the Bears don’t, but this team is making just such performances from rookie Kyle Orton work. The Bears are having great success running the ball with different backs; Thomas Jones, Cedric Benson and Adrian Peterson have all hit the century mark in various games this year. When you can run the ball and play defense like the Bears are doing, everything just tends to fall into place. These are not the ’85 Bears, they are the ’05 Bears. And you know what? People in Chicago and across the country are beginning to take notice of these modern era Monsters of the Midway. This Bears team is a perfect fit for the old black and blue division, and Bears fans wouldn’t want it any other way.
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/nfl-pit-00t_798393.gif (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1132&c=25)
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers aren’t the upstarts that the Bears are, but they play a similar brand of smash mouth football that you just can’t help but appreciate. Pittsburgh has had inconsistency at the quarterback position all year, but a tenacious defense and tough running game have kept the Terrible Towels waving from day one.
http://images.sportsline.com/u/photos/ap/2000/nov/cowher4m110800.jpg
There is no more perfect a team for its city than the Steelers, who perfectly personify the blue collar town that they call home. With a steady, tough offensive line and relentless defense, the Steelers make life miserable for flashier teams (just ask the Bengals). Pittsburgh’s roster is chock full of the type of guys that would have no problem sweating through a work shirt three or four times a day if they were in a different profession than pro football. Players like Casey Hampton, Alan Faneca, Aaron Smith, James Farrior and Hines Ward are the king of prototype leaders by example that any team would consider itself lucky to have on the roster. In Pittsburgh, they’re just faces in the crowd of a team that places team accolades and wins far beyond personal achievements. The Steelers are a team that you just have to like for a lot of reasons, but if I haven’t provided enough here, just tune into their next game and watch Bill Cowher and the most prominent jaw line in the NFL stalk the sidelines. If you can’t appreciate a team with a guy like Cowher at the helm, you might need your pulse checked.
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/sqb_623293.gif (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1085&c=27)
Cleveland Browns
The Browns? But why? They aren’t in the playoff race, who cares? That may be true, but there’s something magnetic about a team that lacks all that the Browns lack but still manages to give every team they face a run for their money.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d157/schaddy2/AAADroughns.jpg
Romeo Crennel is proving why he has been one of the best coaches in this game for a long time this season. His Browns play hard all game long, with pressure on defense and a running back who takes more satisfaction in leaving his tire tread down the front of a defensive back’s jersey than bulling his way into the end zone. This is a team that has faced numerous injuries on the season, but nothing has been an excuse for the Browns to quit playing hard. This team may not be a postseason contender this year, and maybe not next year, either, but you can be sure that they will give 100% every time out and make life hell for the opposition game in and game out. What more could a Dawg Pound ask for from their pack?
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/NFL20Te2_thumb_261495.gif (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1208&c=51)
Carolina Panthers
Steve Smith and his uproarious end zone performances have gotten the publicity this year, but the heart and soul of these cats is neither flashy nor exciting. This team is yet another group that likes nothing more than shutting down your offense with a punishing D and then ramming the ball right down your throat.
http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/18/182567.jpg
The Panthers are similar to the Browns and Steelers as far as personnel. With players like Mike Rucker, Will Witherspoon, Mike Minter and Stephen Davis, it’s apparent why Carolina has so much success playing the style that they do-they’ve got a bunch of guys who like nothing more than to just go out and knock you around for three hours. A punishing defense and strong running attack are sometimes overshadowed by the M.V.P type season that Smith is having, but make no mistake about it: this team eats, sleeps and breathes rock ‘em sock ‘em pigskin. John Fox has a group of guys who you just have to like, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see them advance farther into the postseason than anyone on this list.
So how bout a few cheers for the teams who play the game the way it’s supposed to be played: rough and tough with a Ray Nitschke/Dick Butkus/Jack Lambert grin on their face. That’s the type of football that you’ve just gotta love, and these are the teams that play the game the right way: the way you just can’t help but like.
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/chi_f_649602.gif (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=738&c=53)
Chicago Bears
Well, hopefully you aren’t a huge fan of great quarterback play, because that’s something you won’t find these days in the Windy City. What you will find, however, is football being played the way it's supposed to be played: tough, mean and passionate. The Bears of 2005 remind us of a simpler time, a time when great defense and a strong running game were all you needed to run this NFL show. With guys like Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Mike Brown and Tommy Harris leading the Bears’ defense, this is the type of team that you have to like if you appreciate true blood and guts football. The Bears are one of the biggest surprises in the league so far, and they’re surprising for all the right reasons. They play tough defense, their special teams is an advantage, and they run the ball in a fashion that would make George Halas smile.
http://i.esmas.com/image/0/000/002/741/deam0604_Urlacher_N.jpg
These Bears are not designed to be sexy; they are anything but that. When your signal caller completes 13 of 25 passes for 150 yards, it usually isn’t something to crow about, and the Bears don’t, but this team is making just such performances from rookie Kyle Orton work. The Bears are having great success running the ball with different backs; Thomas Jones, Cedric Benson and Adrian Peterson have all hit the century mark in various games this year. When you can run the ball and play defense like the Bears are doing, everything just tends to fall into place. These are not the ’85 Bears, they are the ’05 Bears. And you know what? People in Chicago and across the country are beginning to take notice of these modern era Monsters of the Midway. This Bears team is a perfect fit for the old black and blue division, and Bears fans wouldn’t want it any other way.
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/nfl-pit-00t_798393.gif (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1132&c=25)
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers aren’t the upstarts that the Bears are, but they play a similar brand of smash mouth football that you just can’t help but appreciate. Pittsburgh has had inconsistency at the quarterback position all year, but a tenacious defense and tough running game have kept the Terrible Towels waving from day one.
http://images.sportsline.com/u/photos/ap/2000/nov/cowher4m110800.jpg
There is no more perfect a team for its city than the Steelers, who perfectly personify the blue collar town that they call home. With a steady, tough offensive line and relentless defense, the Steelers make life miserable for flashier teams (just ask the Bengals). Pittsburgh’s roster is chock full of the type of guys that would have no problem sweating through a work shirt three or four times a day if they were in a different profession than pro football. Players like Casey Hampton, Alan Faneca, Aaron Smith, James Farrior and Hines Ward are the king of prototype leaders by example that any team would consider itself lucky to have on the roster. In Pittsburgh, they’re just faces in the crowd of a team that places team accolades and wins far beyond personal achievements. The Steelers are a team that you just have to like for a lot of reasons, but if I haven’t provided enough here, just tune into their next game and watch Bill Cowher and the most prominent jaw line in the NFL stalk the sidelines. If you can’t appreciate a team with a guy like Cowher at the helm, you might need your pulse checked.
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/sqb_623293.gif (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1085&c=27)
Cleveland Browns
The Browns? But why? They aren’t in the playoff race, who cares? That may be true, but there’s something magnetic about a team that lacks all that the Browns lack but still manages to give every team they face a run for their money.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d157/schaddy2/AAADroughns.jpg
Romeo Crennel is proving why he has been one of the best coaches in this game for a long time this season. His Browns play hard all game long, with pressure on defense and a running back who takes more satisfaction in leaving his tire tread down the front of a defensive back’s jersey than bulling his way into the end zone. This is a team that has faced numerous injuries on the season, but nothing has been an excuse for the Browns to quit playing hard. This team may not be a postseason contender this year, and maybe not next year, either, but you can be sure that they will give 100% every time out and make life hell for the opposition game in and game out. What more could a Dawg Pound ask for from their pack?
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/NFL20Te2_thumb_261495.gif (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1208&c=51)
Carolina Panthers
Steve Smith and his uproarious end zone performances have gotten the publicity this year, but the heart and soul of these cats is neither flashy nor exciting. This team is yet another group that likes nothing more than shutting down your offense with a punishing D and then ramming the ball right down your throat.
http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/18/182567.jpg
The Panthers are similar to the Browns and Steelers as far as personnel. With players like Mike Rucker, Will Witherspoon, Mike Minter and Stephen Davis, it’s apparent why Carolina has so much success playing the style that they do-they’ve got a bunch of guys who like nothing more than to just go out and knock you around for three hours. A punishing defense and strong running attack are sometimes overshadowed by the M.V.P type season that Smith is having, but make no mistake about it: this team eats, sleeps and breathes rock ‘em sock ‘em pigskin. John Fox has a group of guys who you just have to like, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see them advance farther into the postseason than anyone on this list.
So how bout a few cheers for the teams who play the game the way it’s supposed to be played: rough and tough with a Ray Nitschke/Dick Butkus/Jack Lambert grin on their face. That’s the type of football that you’ve just gotta love, and these are the teams that play the game the right way: the way you just can’t help but like.