[Dark Horse]

Agree or disagree: The two most RESILIENT teams left in the playoffs are the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers.

If you don't agree, which two remaining teams do you think are most resilient, or battle-tested?

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Resilience could be said to be the secret championship ingredient. Champions are champions because they overcame adversity, and grew stronger in the process of doing so. Resilience can be measured in different ways. For example by the ability to come back from halftime or 3Q deficits. But also by the way the Chargers have fought back from the brink of certain death.

A good example is last year's Superbowl. The undefeated Pats had everything going for them, except resilience. They had never been really tested. And the Giants, heavy underdogs, seemed to have nothing going for them, except ... a remarkable resilience; developed in the previous four games. The rest is history.

The way I see it the Giants are banking on their resilience, i.e. they have established it in the past but are no longer developing it. And the Chargers continue to build it.

Teams with great resilience are teams of destiny. They get slammed into the ground, but they get up again. Slammed into the ground, and get up again. Over and over. They never give up. That's the problem. For the opponent.

Look at the last Chargers game. Total domination over Colts in 2H, but nothing was going right for them on the scoring end. They were one 3rd down conversion away from elimination. And they slammed Manning, the newly crowned NFL, into the goal line; like a naughty boy for even thinking to throw that ball.

Now place that determination, first shown in a one point last gasp must-win victory at Kansas a month earlier, against the series of heart-breaking last minute losses earlier in the Chargers season. Not only have they learned how to win close games, but those early losses have become key to what they are now and what they could very well become: unbeatable.

Resilience doesn't show up in the stats. That's why the Chargers are getting 6 points on the road against the Steelers. The public still sees a 9-8 team and may even believe that the refs stole the last game from the overpowered Colts. It all fits the picture of the most resilient team remaining under the radar.

Please convince me, with examples, that other teams at this point in the playoffs have greater resilience.

[EBone]

I can't convince otherwise. You make a valid and pursuasive argument.

I like the Chargers this weekend. It is my assertion that, currently, the Chargers are a better team without LT. LT's petty jealousies have drug that team down. If SD can establish a ground game this weekend combining the fact that Big Ben is hurting, this could be a heck of a play.

I'm with ya, DH. I don't know if that is a good thing though.


E

[MonkeyF0cker]

Completely disagree. The Steelers have been a far more resilient team than the Chargers this year. Roethlisberger has been battling various injuries most of the season. Parker has been in and out of the lineup. They lost Mendenhall for the season. They've had injuries to their line. Yet, they continue to win games, even beating the Ravens with virtually one back and a hobbled QB. I'm not buying it. However, it wouldn't be much a factor in my game analysis to begin with. Although, if it were the deciding factor, the Steelers would be the pick.

[Dark Horse]

You completely disagree? I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Steelers, but I was hoping for a little more than injuries, which is something virtually every team must deal with. I'll look into how many times the Steelers came back from a 2H deficit to win the game (which is a sign of resilience; I borrowed it from the big soccer tournaments and it works in football as well).

[reno cool]

I really don't like the Chargers. They benefited, to use a racing term. Lots of luck for them to be here. I don't consider this a positive factor in their expected future performance.

[Dark Horse]

Lots of luck as in the 26-24 loss on the final pass in opening week, or the 39-38 loss after Hochuli messed up in week 2? They found ways to lose, early on. But they tightened up their D, and are finding ways to win now. If you want to attribute it to luck, fine. I brought up resilience because not many gamblers talk about it, and there are ways to measure it. And because, until I recognized its importance, I often thought the team raising the trophy didn't really deserve to.

So this is not about the Chargers, but about resilience. I tried to show that they possess this secret ingredient, and there is no way that you can convince me otherwise. What I do want to find out is if other teams have greater resilience. And I agree with Monkey that the Steelers have shown resilience, in particular with late come from behind wins over the Chargers and Cowboys. I would rate the Steelers third, after the Chargers and Giants.

[LT Profits]

I think reno meant lots of luck in needing Denver to lose their last three games with a three game lead. That is not meant to take away from San Diego's resiliency though.

The fact is that the Chargers and Steelers were BOTH resilient. The best example for Pittsburgh was being outplayed for most of the game in the division-deciding game at Baltimore and finding a way to come back with a last-second touchdown to win in hostile territory and hand the Ravens their only loss in the last seven games.

I am not sure it is fair to say one team is more resilient than the other in this case, as it seems to cancel out both ways.

[Dark Horse]

Thanks for reminding me of the Baltimore game. That's exactly what I was looking for; a key game that I overlooked.

[fiveteamer]

Pittsburgh just finds ways to win games...

[MonkeyF0cker]

Thanks for reminding me of the Baltimore game. That's exactly what I was looking for; a key game that I overlooked.

I believe I mentioned the Baltimore game if you had bothered to read what I wrote. If winning despite key injuries is not a major part of resiliency, then what the hell is?

re⋅sil⋅ient   /rɪˈzɪlyənt, -ˈzɪliənt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-zil-yuhnt, -zil-ee-uhnt] Show IPA Pronunciation

–adjective

1. springing back; rebounding.
2. returning to the original form or position after being bent, compressed, or stretched.
3. recovering readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyant.

[Dark Horse]

I believe I mentioned the Baltimore game if you had bothered to read what I wrote. If winning despite key injuries is not a major part of resiliency, then what the hell is?

re⋅sil⋅ient   /rɪˈzɪlyənt, -ˈzɪliənt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-zil-yuhnt, -zil-ee-uhnt] Show IPA Pronunciation

–adjective

1. springing back; rebounding.
2. returning to the original form or position after being bent, compressed, or stretched.
3. recovering readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyant.

Normally I would respond to you that I'm trying to have a constructive discussion.

But, having seen this forum degrade every year, I guess it makes more sense to tell you to go f*ck yourself.

[MonkeyF0cker]

Constructive discussions require comprehension skills. I appreciate the irony in your post. The forum has degraded because of childish responses such as yours.