JJ Johnson

Yeah, I get the whole "Arena Football player and Hy-Vee shelf stocker leads the greatest offense ever assembled" aspect of it, but if we analyze VX's quote here: It kind of looks like he's speaking specifically of championship underdogs, which the 99 Rams most certainly were not, even if the Titans were an underrated team because they possibly-forward-lateral'd and playoff-game-against-Peyton-Manning'd their way to the big dance. He elaborated earlier in the thread and said he meant the whole "last season sucked and Trent Green's knee is ruined" aspect of it, but it seems like apples and oranges with his other two examples. The Pats and the Giants struggled and shocked the world and so forth, while it was pretty clear pretty early that the Rams were the team to beat in the NFC, if not the league, depending on how much stock you put in that 14-2 Jaguars team. Less of an "underdog," per se, and more of a "Go figure, the Rams are good this year" as we saw with the Dolphins and the Falcons this year. I guess it depends on your definition of underdog.

I would think they'd be favored by Week 7, at which point they were 6-0 and had outscored their opponents 217-63. I guess my real confusion was with the comparison to the 07 Giants and the 01 Patriots, who overcame adversity and backed into the playoffs, only to persevere against a much more impressive foe. Do preseason underdogs really count in the salary cap era?

Yeah-huh! Get it? I'm both agreeing, and suggesting a use! But it works so much better as an expression of bewilderment, and perhaps a little horror. Look at how it stares at statements above it, like what's basically "The NFL is known for underdogs, such as The Greatest Show on Turf." Perfect. It's the antithesis of Dotel's boner.

what Anyway, I'm taking Arizona, because Big Ben is way overdue for a game where he screws up horribly, and because WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE MY BITTERNESS THAT JAMES HARRISON BEAT DEMARCUS WARE FOR DPOTY doin' it for the conference.

I've gotten back into playing this game every day after deciding getting really good at Madden was a lost cause. It's addictive stuff. I do have a really bad habit of becoming uselessly defensive once somebody has the sniper rifle because getting sniped is the worst feeling in the game, but it doesn't hamper my enjoyment too much.

Oh, blow me, Mr. "Let Fans Support Their Team." If Lions fans are still around after bearing witness to the worst team to ever set foot on NFL field, then you can suck up your crocodile tears until at least the end of the game. Who the fuck are you? Fans can support their team, and fans can be pissed off at their team. Fans can be pissed off at their team - lord knows I've done my share of screaming at Romo - but "9-7? I can never love again!" is pitiful.

Oh, blow me, Mr. "Let Fans Support Their Team." If Lions fans are still around after bearing witness to the worst team to ever set foot on NFL field, then you can suck up your crocodile tears until at least the end of the game.

I clocked the creepy kid across the street/friend by geography because he refused to understand that "says" does not rhyme with "days", and that "Barney Sez" is technically the appropriate pronunciation. Oh, to be three again. That family ended up moving to Australia to avoid his grandparents.

Heartwork, because they're both classics, but SotS has become The Metalcore Songwriting Bible. Lost? Generic? Steal something from At The Gates! But not their good stuff, like The Red In The Sky Is Ours or Terminal Spirit Disease, just jack the verse riff from "Suicide Nation". Heartwork, on the other hand, is practically untouched by shitty bands, excluding Arch Enemy. And shit, Michael Amott helped write Heartwork, so of course they're going to be fairly similar.

Linguo, The Grammar Robot. Linguo... dead? Linguo... is... dead...

I have a bunch of funny characters, so I probably could use a character that can tug at your heartstrings. This is that character. Mona Simpson.

Mr. Teeny, you take the baby!

From Charles Bronson to a Charles Bronson sound-alike, I take... The Sarcastic Guy! "Hey, fatty! I got a movie for you to see: A Fridge Too Far!"

I have to follow Michael Jackson and crazy eyepatch Matt Groening? Well, I'm going to do that with probably my favorite fake guest star. Charles Bronson. And now I'm going to Emmitt's Fix-It Shop. To fix Emmitt. *cheerful Andy Griffith theme*

Agnes Skinner. "Tell them to move faster, Seymour!" "I'm not principal of the line, Mother." "And you never will be!"