OT: NFL Playoffs Thread

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

It was a TERRIBLE decision to pass. Goal line D still has DBs and at least one safety. And I don't care what package the defense has there, you don't put it in the air and risk interception or a batted ball or a sack. You're also throwing it right in the heart of the D where they would be expecting to stack against a run anyway. In the case of that pick play, you're also risking getting a penalty called that would put you back and force you to pass, which makes it easier for the defense (and you're down to 1 timeout, iirc).

You have Lynch, Turbin and Wilson all capable of running the clock down and punching it in. It was practically a gimme, and they took an unnecessary risk that 99.999% of the time no coach is going to take.

I don't know if there's a bigger blunder in SB history.

Agree 100%.

 

[BobRouse]

Lynch is the best power back in the league and NE is the worst in the league at defending these situations.

PC always preaches run first/low risk to win games and yet they run a play where there is all kinds of possibilities for disaster.

They have a $10,000,000 extension for Lynch and then they turn around and basically tell him that they don't trust him to get the job done with 2 or 3 cracks from the one yard line.

I'd rather Seattle have lost by playing to their identity and their strength and going against NE's weakness. Not throwing a 50/50 ball in tight coverage to their 3rd receiver. (at best)

They discussed a stat this morning...in (I think) 5 previous situations they gave Lynch the ball 1st and goal at the 1. They had scored 1 touchdown and had negative net yardage in those situations.

Seattle did not have the goal line package in either.

They just didn't execute the play and NE did.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

They discussed a stat this morning...in (I think) 5 previous situations they gave Lynch the ball 1st and goal at the 1. They had scored 1 touchdown and had negative net yardage in those situations.

Seattle did not have the goal line package in either.

They just didn't execute the play and NE did.

Based on Carroll's comments Lynch wasn't the main factor. Carroll wanted to run time off the clock.

 

[g00n]

They discussed a stat this morning...in (I think) 5 previous situations they gave Lynch the ball 1st and goal at the 1. They had scored 1 touchdown and had negative net yardage in those situations.

Seattle did not have the goal line package in either.

They just didn't execute the play and NE did.

That doesn't matter. It's the end of the game and Lynch just rambled you 4yds to the 1yd line. He'd made a big pass play earlier, was over 100yds for the day, and already had 1TD. He was hot. The Pats were on their heels. That's when you ride a guy like that.

You don't recover from an INT in that situation so you don't put it in the air unless you have to. With a few run plays, or at LEAST a bootleg for Wilson, you have a few safer chances.

What were the stats on Ricardo Lockette catching slant routes for TDs? Hell, what were his career stats? 18 total receptions, 3 TDs, in 26 games over a 3 year career. That's it. You bet the Super Bowl on that guy instead of the 2014 leader in rushing TDs, playoff leader in rushing yards, who's averaging 5yds per attempt in the playoffs...because of a stat measured across 5 unrelated plays?

No ****ing way.

 

[marcel snapshot]

I was surprised the Pats didn't call time out after Lynch's 1st down run - in retrospect, it looks brilliant. But if Carroll doesn't make an incomprehensible play call and instead has it run in on 2nd or 3rd down, Belichick would have been mercilessly second-guessed for depriving Brady of 30-40 seconds with which to get a tying field goal

 

[IafrateOvie34]

I was rofl with this Super Bowl. Not a fan of either team although I was partial to Seattle due to location in the past. I do have a soft spot for a rookie making a game saving play, especially after his humble interview. I'm still shaking my head with pass call on the one yard line with Lynch as the star running back with several plays at hand. I'm just glad the NFL season is officially over.

 

[g00n]

 

[Calicaps]

I was rofl with this Super Bowl. Not a fan of either team although I was partial to Seattle due to location in the past. I do have a soft spot for a rookie making a game saving play, especially after his humble interview. I'm still shaking my head with pass call on the one yard line with Lynch as the star running back with several plays at hand. I'm just glad the NFL season is officially over.

All of this.

Also, my Sriracha wings are always the best part.

 

[RandyHolt]

Also, I usually love NBCs football productions (even though Collinsworth is unbearable) but it was ridiculous that nearly 100% of the camera angles were of the line and the QB. Wilson routinely had 5, 6, 7+ seconds in the pocket/scrambling behind the line and they never showed the downfield coverage.

QFT

Someone else noticed!

I gave up about a decade ago hoping to see what WRs and DBs do, without going to the game. Every pass play. With all the stats tracked, you would think we would know what defense is being run... cover 3 90% in the first half etc, nope.

Hockey does the same thing after frozen pucks. The players can be brawling but Comcast finds it imperative to zoom on the goalies face, who is just standing there long after the save. Or, starting their religious pre-faceoff ritual. Every frozen puck.

 

[Chokingdogs]

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

It still sucks, two days later.

The Seahawks will be back, though.

Bam Bam Kam, Earl Thomas and Sherman all will need surgery. That was a banged up Legion of Boom.

Jordan Hill, Brandon Mebane, Cassius Marsh and Jeremy Lane will all come back better than ever next season. Should be a really good D once again. Hope they resign Maxwell, as well.

That and 10 or 11 draft picks. They should be able to find a few more diamonds in the rough.

Go Hawks!

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Trent Dilfer, in response to Chris Carter, put this deflated football nonsense to bed in the video in this article:

http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/trent-dilfer-shuts-down-cris-carters-whining-about-deflategate/

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Jerry Rice stated NE cheated by deflating footballs. Now it comes out Jerry Rice admitted to applying stick-um to his receiving gloves during his NFL career. Rice was drafted 4 years after the NFL banned stick-um. So if we follow the NE are cheaters narrative, than Rice built a HOF WR career by cheating, right?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ts-to-cheating-says-everyone-did-it/#comments

 

[Ajax1995]

Jerry Rice stated NE cheated by deflating footballs. Now it comes out Jerry Rice admitted to applying stick-um to his receiving gloves during his NFL career. Rice was drafted 4 years after the NFL banned stick-um. So if we follow the NE are cheaters narrative, than Rice built a HOF WR career by cheating, right?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ts-to-cheating-says-everyone-did-it/#comments

If you ain't cheating you ain't trying...

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

If you ain't cheating you ain't trying...

I agree, but some on here acted like deflated footballs was like taking PED's. Now the greatest WR in NFL history admits to using stick-um to help catch footballs. Really puts soft balls in perspective, IMO.

 

[g00n]

I agree, but some on here acted like deflated footballs was like taking PED's. Now the greatest WR in NFL history admits to using stick-um to help catch footballs. Really puts soft balls in perspective, IMO.

Not really.

I'm not sure what this Jerry Rice quote is supposed to prove. That cheating is OK? We know individual players cheat in the NFL. Hell, you'd be naive to assume MOST aren't cheating, and/or on PEDs of some kind. But that's not the same as an entire team trying to change the properties of the ball itself while the other team has no such advantage. Think the other WRs in the 80s didn't wear tacky gloves like Rice? Show me where other NFL teams are deflating their footballs, then we'll have something to talk about.

And honestly, we could go back through all 48 other Super Bowls and find evidence of cheating and it STILL wouldn't excuse what the Patriots are accused of.

I am not singling anyone out by saying this because it's a nationwide phenomenon, but trying to minimize "deflategate" with other examples of supposed cheating is rationalization and not a legitimate defense of the alleged actions.

It's over. Time to let it go and let the league whitewash the investigation so we can move on to the next scandal where fans of one team make excuses while fans of all the other teams howl with outrage.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

What my previous post proves is that despite using an illegal adhesive on his gloves to make it easier to catch a football Jerry Rice is still the best WR in NFL history and despite maybe using under-inflated footballs NE is still one of the best teams in NFL history after 14 straight winning seasons, playing in 9 AFC Championship games/winning 6 of them and playing in 6 SB's/winning 4 of them.

And its not soft footballs, but here is something in the same "ballpark":

http://www.cnet.com/news/nfls-falcons-admit-to-using-tech-to-fake-crowd-noise/

Not deflated footballs either, but here is another NFL team caught cheating during a back to back SB run:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1883127

Also, I underlined maybe above because there is reports out there that maybe the Colts played a role in footballs becoming under-inflated:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...eory-colts-deflated-ball-after-jacksons-pick/

 

[g00n]

What my previous post proves is that despite using an illegal adhesive on his gloves Jerry Rice is still the best WR in NFL history and despite maybe using under-inflated footballs NE is still one of the best teams in NFL history after 14 straight winning seasons, playing in 9 AFC Championship games/winning 6 of them and playing in 6 SB's/winning 4 of them.

And its not soft footballs, but here is something in the same "ballpark":

http://www.cnet.com/news/nfls-falcons-admit-to-using-tech-to-fake-crowd-noise/

I don't think anyone has ever said deflating balls made the Patriots go from Jacksonville levels of ineptitude to SB winners. I've said in the past when we were discussing coaching hires that the Pats and Steelers are model organizations for how you run a front office, and that's clear to me despite my being a dual Skins/Ravens fan. There's no denying both are historically relevant and successful franchises. But that isn't the point of deflategate, really. It's about gaming the system at a fundamental and team-wide level, if true.

Also, I read that story about Atlanta (that conveniently broke during the SB hype) and was actually kind of surprised they were the ones busted. I guess it makes sense to target them since they've fallen off in recent years, but I never noticed a pattern of home/road discrepancy for them and they've never been known for being very loud, I don't think. Maybe that's why it stood out, I don't know. I'm waiting for the same kind of issue to pop up in Seattle and a few other places.

 

[RandyHolt]

What about inflategate?

#Steroids

Certain teams seemed well ahead of others. The NFL banned its use in 1983. That advantage may have remained for a few years as the rest of the league played ketchup.

I hear Tanard Jackson has gotten together with Ricky Williams and Josh Gordon and are going to form a new league called the DFL. Druggie Football League. Anything goes. Fred Davis WRT his attorney skills is expected to be the commish.

 

[g00n]

Packers cut the guy who muffed the onside kick vs Seattle:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-s...yed-nfc-title-game-onside-kick-195613930.html

This seems kind of messed up. I know a lot of people were saying "OOOO, HE'S CUT!" when it happened, but why put a guy out there in such a crucial situation if he could be cut because of that one mistake? If he was that much on the bubble, why trust him for the most important play of the season?

Seems like the guy is paying for a coaching error, in part. The Packers did not handle the endgame strategy well.

 

[Ajax1995]

Seems like the guy is paying for a coaching error, in part. The Packers did not handle the endgame strategy well.

My understanding is his job was to not touch the ball, block, and let the sure handed guys behind him field the ball. Somebody on that unit is going to have that role. He botched his assignment and it likely cost them the game.

If he was one of the guys who was supposed to field the ball then I would completely agree but I don't believe that was the case.

 

[g00n]

My understanding is his job was to not touch the ball, block, and let the sure handed guys behind him field the ball. Somebody on that unit is going to have that role. He botched his assignment and it likely cost them the game.

If he was one of the guys who was supposed to field the ball then I would completely agree but I don't believe that was the case.

That's only a minor change to the scenario, though. You still have a guy you trust out there to perform a job on the most important play of the year, whatever that job is. He botched it, sure. But that one botch takes him from crunch time on the field to being cut? Reflects as much on the coaching, imo.

 

[g00n]

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/patrio...ant-put-unapproved-ball-afc/story?id=29040309

I'm sure most fans are only half paying attention by now, so can someone explain the significance of this to me? Why would the Pats employee be somewhere he shouldn't be, trying to get an unapproved ball into the game?