Thursday Night Football Live-Blog: Packers-Cowboys Pregame/1st Half
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Not sure how many of you are going to be able to watch this along with me tonight, but hopefully it's a good number. If you're going out to a bar be safe, and I'll expect you to report back later.
I'll kick things off shortly with a few notes from the pregame, but I'll see you for the duration of the night around 8pm.
"All my compadres are out on the field as you can see on the screen. If we had a lady in the middle named Alice, we'd be the Brady Bunch."- Rich Eisen
These guys on the field before the game is brutal. If I hear "these guys on the field are warming up" from one more of these asses I'm going to throw my laptop at the TV. Every single one of them says it, including Eisen when it gets to him.
Yes, Eisen....I can see Tony Romo stretching in tight white pants. You don't have to tell me 40 damn times.
Wow, Eisen just tried to get Troy Aikman's attention for about 15 minutes before he turned around. You know Troy was thinking "What Dick?!" Might have to put that video up.
Poetry Slam for the opening! Nice!!!
"The cheeseheads melting in their seats."- Poetry Slammer
"And here come the Packer.....er Cowboys."- Bryant Gumbel
Pretty good call when dudes in Cowboy Hats are running on the field with flags.
An intro with Sean Taylor and a soundbytes from around the league. Good stuff. The moment of silence was pretty chilling, and I don't know if I'll be able to watch it all day Sunday.
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There's the kickoff and the Packers get the ball at their own 30. Favre to Martin on a slant for a first down and the crowd is loud tonight. Lots of Packers fans in the building. James Jones falls down on the next play. Favre goes deep to James "Earl" Jones and just misses him. He had him on that one....3rd and long.....
FUMBLE!!!! Favre stripped, but there's a flag on the play....offsides on the 'Boys
3rd and 5....complete to James Jones on a low throw. Nice catch. Collinsworth tells us they're going to pick on Reeves all night, and I don't doubt it. I'm not throwing near T. Newman if I'm the pack.
Back to back runs by Ryan Grant gets it to 3rd and short at the Cowboys' 30. Favre throws the fade to Driver down the right hand side in the endzone and it's incomplete. FG attempt by Crosby....
Good! 3-0 Pack.
"Good field position for the Packers' offense." - Bryant Gumbel (Via Hanrahan)
Romo to Owens and Al Harris steals the ball!!! Refs say no! Forward progress stopped....bull shit. Terrible call. Al Harris gets a penalty on top of it. And McCarthy challenges it, but not the interception or strip, but the fact it was incomplete. That's not being overturned.
Upheld and it's Dallas ball inside Packer territory. A screen to Julius Jones picks up 20 and Dallas is inside the Red Zone.
So I had the NFL.com/Live up for the Red Zone play and it's pretty quick...about 4 seconds behind. They had all of Dallas' plays in the Red Zone and then went back to the studio show right after the Folk FG. Pretty neat from what I've seen.
3-3 Tie.
Favre to Koren Robinson on first for about five, and Grant is destroyed by Roy Williams as he crosses the line. Great hit. 3rd and 3 for the Pack...Favre is hit as he throws and it's incomplete.
Cowboys ball at their 35. Jones with a few on first and Romo hits Owens for the first. Big run by Barber to take it down to around the 30 nets another first and the Cowboys are driving again. Incomplete pass by Romo followed by another short run by Barber and it's 3rd and long.....
A huge drop by Owens and the Cowboys are kicking again.....
Good! Nick Folk hits another one....
6-3 Dallas and we've got a shootout!
Play action by Favre and he's going deep......Pickle! Favre was hit as he threw and that was too easy. Cowboys ball in Packers territory. Romo to Owens and the ball is inside the ten!!!!
"and it'll be the Cowboys ball inside the ten."- Bryant Gumbel speaking with the voice of a mouse on the biggest play of the game so far.
Romo to Crayton! Touchdown!!! Too easy...
13-3 Cowboys.
Koren Robinson brings it out to the 30 and the Green Bay Favres will start from there.
"Listening to bryant gumble announce is torture."- Anon
Seriously. This crew doesn't really make mistakes....they just make me want to take a nap. Gumbel is just dreadful.
Screen for nothing to Grant, a long incomplete pass, and it's 3rd and long again.....And James Jones drops an easy third down. 12 Men on the field for Dallas will give the Pack another shot on third down. 3rd and 1....Timeout Cowboys.
RYAN GRANT UP THE MIDDLE AND NO ONES CATCHING HIM!!!!!!! Huge play....62 yards.....
13-10 with 1 second left in the first.
"Wade Phillips has to be bemoaning the penalty that gave them third and short."- Bryant Gumbel
Half of the Football Fans in the World don't know what bemoaning means Bryant.
Onside kick by Crosby!!! Wow that came out of nowhere.....and it bounced up and hit a Packer running up the field. Perfect onside kick and the Pack got it, but that's a penalty.
Miles Austin with a huge return on the re-kick, but there's a penalty on the play. Holding on the return team. End of the first quarter.
ROMO TO OWENS FOR A HUGE GAIN AS WE START THE 2nd. For some reason the Packers had AJ Hawk on him. 1st and 10 at the Packers' 30.
They go down to Deion and you can't hear a word he's saying about the secondary because the mic seems to be in his mouth....meanwhile.....
Touchdown Cowboys!!! Romo to Fasano....
20-10 Cowboys and we really do have a shootout now.
Packers ball at their own 20. Two runs for Grant nets a first down, and a FLEA FLICKER!!!!!!! Into double coverage and incomplete. Favre is just forcing things now....as if that's anything new. Favre throw it deep again!!! And into double coverage again!!! Cowboys should have had the pick but they break each other up.
3rd and long and Brett throws a fadeaway to Jones for the first down. 19 yards. Grant gets negative yards after the chains move.....
Favre hit as he throws and it's picked!!! And don't look now Packers' fans, but Brett is hurting.
Newman on the interception and the Cowboys can put some distance between them and the Packers with another score here. Romo deep to Austin!!!! Incomplete but there's a pass interference penalty. Cowboys ball at the five. False start puts it back five, so it's first and goal at the ten.
"AA are you being Gumbled? Romo to Fasano, kid."- Gangsta D
Apparently I am. I even said Fasano out loud.
An incomplete pass to Fasano after a diving attempt, and Dallas is going to challenge it. Upheld.....buuuuuuuut......
ROMO TO OWENS! Again....too easy.....
27-10.
Wow....Favre's return is questionable. An Aaron Rodgers sighting!!!
Rodgers on the rollout....batted down. Short run by Grant, and it's 3rd and long. Rodgers takes it himself and picks up the first. Strong run and he's helicoptered at the 35.
Aaron throws into double coverage and should have been picked off. Lee for a few yards on 2nd. Incomplete. Packers are punting. Great punt as it's inside the five.
A great point by reader JK, "Bryant's first down thing is driving me insane. Every single time a guy gets a first down he says it "appears to be close to the marker"
when the guy is two yards past the line."
"Demarcus Ware, what a tool he is."- Cris Collinsworth (Via Anon and Nick)
Romo to Owens with a duck of a pass that's just completely over ran by Harris. Barber runs for nothing and two incomplete passes by Romo leads to a McBriar punt. Packers ball at their own 26 as Rodgers lead them back out.
Confusion on first down and that's a loss of a yard. Wow....a short pass to Jennings and he schools the defender and follows blockers down the field for a huge gain! Great moves by the Western Michigan alum. Another 9 to Jennings is followed by a Grant run for a first down at the 20.
"And that looks like Aiken A... no, THAT'S Brady James. I'm sorry, that's Burnett." - Bryant Gumbel (Via Nick)
They look very similar and their numbers are very close together....Understandable (not really)
Ryan Grant picks up a first after a strong first down and the Packers suddenly have it first and goal. An illegal touch on a screen puts the Packers back 5.
"So that makes Mr. Rodgers job a little more difficult"- Bryant Gumbel
Lady Elaine is not impressed Mr. Gumbel.
TOUCHDOWN RODGERS TO JENNINGS!!! The Packers are still in it somehow.....
27-17 Cowboys. And that's the half. I'll see you in a new thread for even more boring ass Bryant Gumbel action....if I don't fall asleep.
40 Comments:
Were those people in the intro famous? Was I supposed to know them?
30 seconds in and I'm already annoyed by Bryant Gumbel.
(I'm watching via sopcast.)
I pick the Cowboys 16-10. I'd love some Bryant Gumbel quotes.
30 seconds? Too slow! It took me 3 seconds last year!
Does Gumbel even care? Sounds like he's stoned.
Chris Collinsworth on the first GB drive: "I thought they might go for it here on 3rd and 1."
Bryant Gumble may be the least enthusiastic play-by-play man ever. It's a tight race between him, Joe Buck and Pat Summerall.
After the Packers kick off: "Good field position for the Packers' offense." - BG
Yeah. but Summerall is 500 years old.
Enberg and Denny BULLSHIT BULLSHIT Green on the radio.
Very old school sounding, Denny has some Hank Stram in him...used to put Buck and Stram on my little AM radio and fall asleep listening to MNF.
Good stuff.
How is he down by contact the quickly?
Note to AA: Mike Sherman doesn't coach the Packers anymore.
Its like I'm watching my high school play Friday night football and its the 10th grader's first time doing play-by-play.
Can Gumble go through the starting rosters any faster??
Gumble calling the Cowboys the Packers count: 3
Sherman??? I had no idea Bryant Gumbel was live blogging AND announcing.
@Ryan: He's really doing that? And here I thought that maybe the Folger's folks had come and replaced my beer with Everclear or something.
listening to bryant gumble announce is torture.
God Lord Gumbel is horrible!
Ryan Grant have my children?
I don't have a DVR, how many men on the field when Gumble counted 12 and CC counted 11???
AA are you being Gumbled? Romo to Fasano, kid.
There were 11 on that freeze-frame (Gumbel counted the ref as a Cowboy... with that INT call I'm not gonna argue...)
That being said I rolled it back to the play itself and there were 12 Cowboys on the field.
Anyone else catch TO's eye-roll at his teammates' dropped INT? Hey Terrell - you drop blls too, and you get paid to catch them...
Denny Green is really quite good.
But he is too smart to be on the tube. He talks too much about football. Not enough douchey Korny in him for the slimeballs who run tv.
It's awesome.
Being the Minnesotan I am, you calling Denny Green smart makes me want to puke
Don't the cowboys coaches n the booth listen to the telecast? Why would they tell 'ol Flopsweat to throw the challenge flag on Fasano's dropped TD?
Worst part about a Coach's Challenge? Gumbel vamping.
Enberg and Denny Green on radio is a vast improvement.
Uh oh. We have an Aaron Rodgers appearance!
"DaMarcus Ware: What a tool he is." - CC
Collinsworth again at 8:34 in the 3rd: "Demarcus Ware, what a tool he is."
I didn't say he was a good coach, I said he was talking football in a smart way.
Which is better than some jackass like Brian Baldinger.
I'm sorry you're from Minnesota, I grew up in Pittsburgh...
You live a privileged life
Denny is great.
A breath of fresh air.
I've had enough of Gumbel. I'm switching over to the Spanish-language broadcast.
"And that looks like Aiken A... no, THAT'S Brady James. I'm sorry, that's Burnett." - BG
Simply awful.
"...with 1:12 to play in the first period." - B-F'ing-G
They're HALVES in Football, Bryant. HALVES.
The game is great, but the NFL Network is a ripoff and their coverage is awful! The officials in the game are horrendous,(they actually SUCK...I was being nice) Chris Collinsworth must have taken a "stupid" pill before the game and "Gumby Gumble" should have his mouth stapled shut. He's an idiot! WORST PLAY by PLAY ANOUNCER EVER!!!!!! PERIOD!!!! They're all missing a good game!
The NFL Network is soooo hard to watch...
See NFL Network Game Production Doe Not Work and See Mr. Collinsworth, The Definition of "A Tool" is...
Rich Eisen is such a dick.