Allianz NFL 2014

bald eagle wrote:Oh **** off TC!!!!    

Fear not, Beagle, we'll be right behind you.

Well T.C, how relevant do you think league form is to championship now? Derry, Tyrone, Laois, Kildare, all beaten by teams well below them in the league. And in Derry and Tyrones case beaten twice by teams well below them in league placings. It will still be Dublin or Mayo at the end but that is where the relevance to league should end. To think that Tyrone were realistic challengers for Sam because they were in top half of division 1 was laughable

samin12 wrote:Well T.C, how relevant do you think league form is to championship now? Derry, Tyrone, Laois, Kildare, all beaten by teams well below them in the league. And in Derry and Tyrones case beaten twice by teams well below them in league placings. It will still be Dublin or Mayo at the end but that is where the relevance to league should end. To think that Tyrone were realistic challengers for Sam because they were in top half of division 1 was laughable

Good man Samin. Great to see you again after all these years   

Lol, not had much to be smart about for a long time. To be fair Harte was a big miss as was the sending off but as an Armagh man it is encouraging. Nowhere near all-Ireland material obviously, and not easy on the eye but after last years fiasco all out attack approach it was obvious that this year we had to have a more defensive approach and make themselves hard to beat First. Certainly a big improvement anyway

samin12 wrote:Lol, not had much to be smart about for a long time. To be fair Harte was a big miss as was the sending off but as an Armagh man it is encouraging. Nowhere near all-Ireland material obviously, and not easy on the eye but after last years fiasco all out attack approach it was obvious that this year we had to have a more defensive approach and make themselves hard to beat First. Certainly a big improvement anyway

Armagh were organised and hungry, and were well worth their win. I've no idea how we were within 3 points at the end. I wsan't at all gutted at the final whistle, but I was when I got home and heard Mickey's interview.

Armagh are still limited though. In the rush to see the improvements in Armagh, I think people are missing just how poor Tyrone were, in every single facet of the game. Roscommon in the Hyde will give you a much bigger test on Saturday. It's a hard game anyway, made all the tougher by trying to lift yourselves for another big effort so soon after the high of beating Tyrone. If you can get past the Rossies, no matter what the quality is like, I'll be impressed and willing to concede that progress has been made.

Basing the improvement on beating Cavan easily (who beat us easily last year) beating Tyrone fairly easily and drawing with Monaghan, would not have given them a chance against either team. So without doubt there is improvement but Roscommon will be another big test especially after 4 weeks in a row

Well t.c what you think now? Honest opinion, i am very surprised myself. Was very impressed by the performance, obviously don't think there is a chance of an all-Ireland but if the draw is kind a quarter or maybe even a semi could be a possibility. Regardless it is still a massive improvement for us.

Armagh are only one game away now from the Quarters so that stage of the championship is a definite possibility although whatever about beating a provincial loser, beating a provincial winner is a stretch. Just to be clear Armagh would need to beat two of Meath, Dublin, Donegal and Monaghan to even make a semi-final. I would imagine Armagh have already exceeded expectations and any outing in Croke Park would have to deemed a success after relegation in the League.

Armagh together with Tipperary and Sligo would probably have the lowest profile of the teams left in the last 12. I can't imagine too many outside of Armagh would be familiar with the names in the team bar the odd big name like McKeever or Clarke. That's probably a sign of where Armagh are coming from. Their profile has slipped recently.

As for the qualifiers themselves, the 4 teams that have come through them are Sligo, Armagh, Kildare and Tipperary. One from each province and 1 from Division 2 and 3 from Division 3 which probably says a bit about the slide some of the bigger teams are experiencing, e.g. Down, Tyrone, Derry & Laois.

Very true loyal, don't recognize half the names or faces myself. 6 games in the championship is a sign of progress for us though. Would fancy our chances against Meath or Galway

Very true loyal, don't recognize half the names or faces myself. 6 games in the championship is a sign of progress for us though. Would fancy our chances against Meath or Galway