Official 2007 NFL Playoffs Discussion Thread

[dlevere]

The road to the Super Bowl goes through Philadelphia!

Cowboys, Saints, Seahawks, Bears, Giants, and Colts, do you hear that?

Come one, come all, and PREPARE TO MEET YOUR DOOM! :P

[dlevere]

HEY, DALLAS COWBOYS....SEE YA! :lol: 8) :wink: :P LMAO

Seahawks win, 21-20, on bobbled snap to advance in playoffs

SEATTLE: Before he became a starting quarterback, a national celebrity and a tabloid regular, Tony Romo was the holder for field goals.

It was about the only thing in his life that did not change this season.

So with 1 minute 19 seconds left in a first-round playoff game Saturday night, Romo knelt at the Seattle Seahawks' 10-yard-line. He was going to catch a snap and put the ball on its nose and watch a winning field goal sail through the uprights. It was supposed to be the easiest part of his job, the easiest part of his night.

The field-goal attempt was from 19 yards, as long as an extra point, practically automatic in the National Football League. The snap was perfect. The kicker started his stride. The Dallas Cowboys' sideline prepared to erupt.

Romo's hands got in the way. He dropped the ball, picked it up, tried to run and finally fell — 1 yard short of a first down, 2 yards short of a touchdown. He immediately raised his hands to his face. Those butterfingers were responsible for the Cowboys' 21-20 loss to Seattle and the end of their season.

"I don't know that I've ever felt this low," Romo said.

Wah, Wah, Wah, :cry: :cry: dlevere. Heheheheh.... :P

He wept on the field and in the locker room. He apologized to his teammates and the Cowboys' legion of fans. He struggled to speak during his postgame news conference.

"I cost the Dallas Cowboys a playoff win," Romo said. "That is going to sit with me a long time."

Most teams use punters or backup quarterbacks as their holders. But Romo started this season as a backup quarterback, and when he was promoted, Dallas did not want to look for a new holder. Besides, Romo had never dropped a snap. When place-kicker Martin Gramatica signed with the Cowboys, he called Romo one of the best.

Gramatica was considered the weak spot on the field-goal team, but he made kicks from 50 yards and 29 yards Saturday. After he saw the ball squirt out of Romo's grasp before his final attempt, he said he was in disbelief.

Terrell Owens, the Cowboys' receiver, was an unlikely support group for Romo. Owens has often been critical of quarterbacks in his career, but he rushed over to Romo on the field and tried to console him.

"I can't imagine what he is going through right now," Owens said. "He's really having a tough time. I feel like him. I feel like crying."

Jerry Jones, the Cowboys' owner, sought out Romo in the locker room and explained that this failure would help him later in his career. Romo seems to be the Cowboys' quarterback of the future, but nothing else on the team is so certain.

The postseason can now begin in Dallas, with all the predictable questions. Will the coach, Bill Parcells, retire? Will Owens be back? What starlet will Romo date?

Seattle, meanwhile, will count another one of its blessings. The Seahawks made the playoffs largely because they play in the NFC West, a poor division. They played host to a playoff game despite a 9-7 record. And they are moving on because of a blooper.

The game-winning play was made by Jerramy Stevens, the Seattle tight end, whose last playoff game was marked with dropped passes and public humiliation. That playoff game happened to be last season's Super Bowl.

Stevens grabbed a 37-yard touchdown pass with 4:24 left to put the Seahawks ahead by a point. When Seattle missed a 2-point conversion, it left open a window for Dallas to win the game with a field goal.

Romo's fumbled snap was not even the craziest play of the night. Midway through the fourth quarter, with Dallas leading by a touchdown, receiver Terry Glenn fumbled a pass at the Dallas 2 yard line. As the ball rolled into the end zone, Seattle's Julian Peterson tried to pounce on it, but only knocked it closer to the sideline. Lofa Tatupu, flipped the ball onto the field to prevent it from going out of bounds. Michael Boulware recovered the fumble in the end zone for the Seahawks, but the play was ruled a safety because Tatupu's left foot was on the sideline when he touched the ball.

The safety still brought the Seahawks within five points, gave them the ball and set up their go-ahead touchdown.

After the game, the Seahawks talked as much about the Cowboys as they did about themselves. They were not gloating. They were sympathizing.

"I feel for Tony," Seattle's quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, said. "It's hard."