Stuff...

[Eddies cellmate]

Originally posted by Mr. Hyde

I'm not sure that Dallas actually outplayed the Steelers in that Superbowl Ec but those interceptions killed you guys. We got a taste of those phantom receiver plays when Chan Gailey became our coach. Guys were screwing up routes left and right. I think that game killed Neil O'Donnells (sp?) confidence. He was a great QB, now he is content being relegated to backup duties. I've never heard whether those interceptions were his fault but I'd bet they were caused by some of those multi option routes that Gailey was fond of where the receiver has his choice of several routes depending on what he sees. Didn't Miami start having problems like that too with his offense?

Mr.Hyde, what a pleasant surprise for me!!!

You are one of the very few, very rare people I've ever met that actually realizes that! I've talked with hundreds of people around here who just keep on thinking that O'Donnell was to blame. In that game, the first INT was Neil's fault. He said so on the sideline telling Cowher that, "it just got away from me". The third INT wasn't his fault because it was a Hail Mary pass anyway.

Now that second one, the killer one was NOT his fault, as everyone seems to think. All game long the Steelers had been beating the hell out of Larry Brown with a quick slant "hot" read. (I think you know this, but a hot read is when a reciever breaks his route off short to counter the defenses blitz) Ernie Mills was the WR who kept beating Brown. However, Mills got hurt (knee) and we had to put in a rookie named Corey Holliday. On that crucial play, O'Donnell correctly read the blitz and correctly threw the "hot" route. Unfortunetly, Holliday didn't read the blitz, and instead ran a "fly" pattern and looked like he was open 40 yards downfiled. O'Donnell knew what was happening, and Larry Brown knew where to go (we'd been kicking his ass with that route all game), but Holliday didn't read it right.

As a result, O'Donnell appeared to throw it right to Brown, who of course returned it to the 5 yd line, and the rest is history. O'Donnell was ruined, but showed great class in not publicly blaming Holliday. Larry Brown became the luckiest bum to ever stumble into the Super Bowl MVP trophy. Holliday was cut by the Steelers and never heard from again.

I've had this disagreement about this with a million fans who just don't get it. It wasn't Neil's fault. He did exactly as the QB is designed to do on that play, his rookie WR didn't and we lost.

I'm glad to know that there are at least some fans out there who can recognize it for what it was...most fans around here just want to hang O'Donnell from the nearest tree. They forget just how great he played to take the team to the Super Bowl in the first place. It's a shame, but I agree... Neil was never the same after that.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

Larry Brown was a decent corner for that specific scheme Dallas played but he never made it off the bench when the Raiders paid him the big bucks as a free agent.
I think O'Donnell still has one of the highest passer ratings of all time and one of the best touchdown/interception ratios. He shouldn't have taken all the blame.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

Originally posted by Constantine
I'm up for anything. I would like to start with week 2 as things started off yesterday.
Not sure how to use the survey part of this forum but I think that would be the best way.
Any suggestions?
Constantine

I don't really know how to do it either. I know this though...I'm picking the Cowboys over the Texans for week one!