This Weekends Games

[Uppercut]

I am hoping for a Saints/KC SB but I can see these games going the other way too.

A Rams / Pats SB would have me upchucking in the sink

Saints 32, Rams 28

KC 28, Pats 27

[NorthHawk]

I'm not sure if I would make it to the sink.

[RiverDog]

Yea, I have the Saints-KC in the Super Bowl, too. I think the Saints handle the Rams quite easily, by 3 scores, but that the KC-Pats game goes down to the wire.

[Rambo2014]

har har Har here we go you couch sitters!!!!!!!!!!!

Rams are going to smash em

The road to the Superbowl is nearly driven

[jshawaii22]

OMG.. the refs are SO biased toward LA in this game, it's not even funny. At least 4 obvious Defensive holds / PI not called -

[obiken]

Saints got straight up robbed.

[Rambo2014]

Crap will do for most

But Science and Skill prevail

Rams to the SB Told ya all whooooop whoooop

[RiverDog]

Crap will do for most

But Science and Skill prevail

Rams to the SB Told ya all whooooop whoooop

You "told ya all" for years, and today you were finally right. There is no better example of a broken clock being right twice a day than you.

[trents]

Ever noticed how deep Brady drops back? Just noticed that here on the two minute drive and I realized he often does that. Unusually deep IMO.

[trents]

How in the Sam Hill does it happen that a player lines up off sides? I will never understand that one. Just look where the chains are on the sidelines guys! Michael Bennett used to be guilty of that not infrequently when he was a Hawk.

[Uppercut]

Double pewk in the sink. Mouth spewing nails, tacks, and gasoline with a topping of foul language. May watch curling instead of the stupor bowl

[Aseahawkfan]

Damn, Brady 9 times to the Super Bowl with five wins, possibly 6. I'll never see that in my lifetime again. That might be one of those records that stands for a long, long time. I don't think any other QB is even close to leading his team to the Super Bowl 9 times. I don't like the Patriots, but much respect for that ridiculous success. Every franchise now dreams of being the Patriots, the greatest franchise in history with the greatest coach and QB in history.

[obiken]

Damn, Brady 9 times to the Super Bowl with five wins, possibly 6. I'll never see that in my lifetime again. That might be one of those records that stands for a long, long time. I don't think any other QB is even close to leading his team to the Super Bowl 9 times. I don't like the Patriots, but much respect for that ridiculous success. Every franchise now dreams of being the Patriots, the greatest franchise in history with the greatest coach and QB in history.

It takes a perfect storm its not just about the Qb ASHF, coach and Organz, are huge too.

[trents]

Gronk explained it all in the post game press interviews: "It's games like these where our conditioning pays off." That and getting the ball first in overtime so your own exhausted defense doesn't get exposed.

[Aseahawkfan]

It takes a perfect storm its not just about the Qb ASHF, coach and Organz, are huge too.

Plenty of teams have had everything in place from great coaching to amazing organizational management, but they're just not as good as Brady and Belichick. They are the primary reason for the success. Those two are the best ever at their positions.

[Aseahawkfan]

Gronk explained it all in the post game press interviews: "It's games like these where our conditioning pays off." That and getting the ball first in overtime so your own exhausted defense doesn't get exposed.

Gronk didn't explain crap. They won three before he even arrived. They didn't win because of conditioning. It's clutch QB play at the end of games that is literally second to none. No one has done better in the clutch than Brady in history. We watched that trash with our own eyes beat our team.

[RiverDog]

How in the Sam Hill does it happen that a player lines up off sides? I will never understand that one. Just look where the chains are on the sidelines guys! Michael Bennett used to be guilty of that not infrequently when he was a Hawk.

I've never understood that, either. I saw Michael Bennett line up offside twice on successive plays. There is no reasonable explanation for it. It's like putting your shirt on backwards, you should notice it immediately. And that wasn't some cheap, BS call like the PI's were. He wasnn't even close to being onside.

[RiverDog]

Gronk explained it all in the post game press interviews: "It's games like these where our conditioning pays off." That and getting the ball first in overtime so your own exhausted defense doesn't get exposed.

Gronk didn't explain crap. They won three before he even arrived. They didn't win because of conditioning. It's clutch QB play at the end of games that is literally second to none. No one has done better in the clutch than Brady in history. We watched that trash with our own eyes beat our team.

There were a lot of factors in that game. You could argue that the Chiefs lost it in the first half when their offense got completely shut down. That was a lot of wasted possessions. Mahomes took a couple of Wilsonesque sacks, one that took them out of FG range. The refs awarded Brady a critical first down on a phantom roughing the passer call. The aforementioned lining up offside. A flip of a coin.

Maybe the KC defense was tired, but they shouldn't have been anymore tired than New England's. And if they were tired, there was a good reason for it: They couldn't get off the field.

Yea, Brady took them down the field in hurry up situations at the end of a quarter, and is to be commended. But we've seen lots of QB's do that, including our own Russell Wilson. It wasn't anything unique or novel. Heck, Mahomes got the Chiefs in FG range from his own 30 with 32 seconds and just one timeout, and still had time for a couple shots at the end zone. It's like shooting free throws in the last minute of a basketball game. The game has matured to a point where late game drives are the rule, not the exception.

[Aseahawkfan]

There were a lot of factors in that game. You could argue that the Chiefs lost it in the first half when their offense got completely shut down. That was a lot of wasted possessions. Mahomes took a couple of Wilsonesque sacks, one that took them out of FG range. The refs awarded Brady a critical first down on a phantom roughing the passer call. The aforementioned lining up offside. A flip of a coin.

Maybe the KC defense was tired, but they shouldn't have been anymore tired than New England's. And if they were tired, there was a good reason for it: They couldn't get off the field.

Yea, Brady took them down the field in hurry up situations at the end of a quarter, and is to be commended. But we've seen lots of QB's do that, including our own Russell Wilson. It wasn't anything unique or novel. Heck, Mahomes got the Chiefs in FG range from his own 30 with 32 seconds and just one timeout, and still had time for a couple shots at the end zone. It's like shooting free throws in the last minute of a basketball game. The game has matured to a point where late game drives are the rule, not the exception.

And we could say that line time after time after time about "a lot of factors."

There has been only two factors consistently in New England to take them to 9 Super Bowls in 17 years: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. And they didn't make the playoffs the one year Brady was out even with a good record. Brady's the best to ever do it. He's the Michael Jordan of the NFL. I can't even argue against it any longer. He's not favorite, but he's literally the best QB to ever do it and it's not even close. He is the G.O.A.T win or lose. If he wins and has six rings. He's the G.O.A.T. by a margin so wide that we'll likely see the undefeated season record for Miami Broken before we see another QB with six rings. I have never in my life and no one else alive has ever seen a team go to nine Super Bowls in 17 years. They go to the Super Bowl 50% of the time with Brady and Beilchick together. It's unreal. Could you even imagine rooting for a team that goes to the Super Bowl every other year? It's insane.

[trents]

My comment about Gronk's "conditioning" explanation was tongue n cheek, guys.

[burrrton]

Haven't read the rest of the thread, and just watched the end of the NFCCG on Tivo...

Holy. Sh*t.

That is going to be a black eye on this league for a long time. They *really* have to figure out some way to officiate these games that doesn't turn them into multi-million dollar coin tosses.

Sorry, Saints fans- that is some kind of screw job.

[NorthHawk]

There has been only two factors consistently in New England to take them to 9 Super Bowls in 19 years: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. And they didn't make the playoffs the one year Brady was out even with a good record. Brady's the best to ever do it. He's the Michael Jordan of the NFL. I can't even argue against it any longer. He's not favorite, but he's literally the best QB to ever do it and it's not even close. He is the G.O.A.T win or lose. If he wins and has six rings. He's the G.O.A.T. by a margin so wide that we'll likely see the undefeated season record for Miami Broken before we see another QB with six rings. I have never in my life and no one else alive has ever seen a team go to nine Super Bowls in 17 years. They go to the Super Bowl 50% of the time with Brady and Beilchick together. It's unreal. Could you even imagine rooting for a team that goes to the Super Bowl every other year? It's insane.

The other factor is they are in a perennial weak division where they can count on at least 4 wins each year just by being above average.
They've done well in the playoffs, but when given a good chance of getting HFA, it helps a lot.

That's not to say they haven't had some really good teams, but just that it's another factor that's often overlooked.

[RiverDog]

Haven't read the rest of the thread, and just watched the end of the NFCCG on Tivo...

Holy. Sh*t.

That is going to be a black eye on this league for a long time. They *really* have to figure out some way to officiate these games that doesn't turn them into multi-million dollar coin tosses.

Sorry, Saints fans- that is some kind of screw job.

Yea, you got the jist of it.

The black eye is going to de-legitimize this Super Bowl worse than XL, and I suspect that viewership is going to be hurt at least in this game. It has the potential of carrying over into the 2019 regular season as fan interest has already on the decline. They'll do something, the only question being as to how drastic a fix they end up adapting.

Sean Payton is on the competition committee and he's already talking about making penalties, or in this case no calls, reviewable, which in my mind would be a bad way to go about fixing it.

[NorthHawk]

There's now a lawsuit by a New Orleans lawyer.
He wants Goodell to use his powers as commissioner to replay the time from the point of the non call.
It won't go anywhere in court, but it will keep this cloud over the NFL for the time it takes to be dismissed.

The other angle is the NFL is now in business with the Gambling industry. How will they react going forward
if there is some viewpoint that something like this is not worth betting on? I think they might end up
putting some pressure on the NFL to clean it up, just to protect their interests.

[Oly]

My friend has a big annual SB party where we crack open some really good craft beer; if it wasn't for that, there is no way in hell I'd watch. The Rams at Pats are easily the two teams I least want to see win it. The only team I'd root against more than those two would be any team coached by Harbaugh. Hell, if Elway and Romanowski somehow came out of retirement and led the Broncos to the SB, I'd still cheer for them over either the Rams or Pats.

[RiverDog]

My friend has a big annual SB party where we crack open some really good craft beer; if it wasn't for that, there is no way in hell I'd watch. The Rams at Pats are easily the two teams I least want to see win it. The only team I'd root against more than those two would be any team coached by Harbaugh. Hell, if Elway and Romanowski somehow came out of retirement and led the Broncos to the SB, I'd still cheer for them over either the Rams or Pats.

The Cowboys are my most hated team.

I'd rather see a team like New Orleans or Kansas City advance, teams that actually have fan bases that appreciate football, than teams like the Rams, Cards, or Chargers whose fans are as pathetic as they come. Even the chithole Raiders would be a more deserving fan base to go to the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady makes me sick. Last season, he didn't even have the decency to go congratulate Nick Foles after the SB game. And what's with this chit of his appearing in press conferences with his own personalized logo hat? Why isn't he wearing a Pats hat?

Lots of reasons for me to tune out, but I have to keep my streak alive.

[RiverDog]

There's now a lawsuit by a New Orleans lawyer.
He wants Goodell to use his powers as commissioner to replay the time from the point of the non call.
It won't go anywhere in court, but it will keep this cloud over the NFL for the time it takes to be dismissed.

I know the clause they are referring to, but even though it's written pretty vaguely, it clearly doesn't apply to a situation where a ref blows a call. Here's the section in question:

The Commissioner has the sole authority to investigate and take appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective measures if any club action, non-participant interference, or calamity occurs in an NFL game which the Commissioner deems so extraordinarily unfair or outside the accepted tactics encountered in professional football that such action has a major effect on the result of the game."

But as you said, the lawsuit doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of going anywhere and is being pursued just to bring more attention to the issue (as if there wasn't enough already).

The other angle is the NFL is now in business with the Gambling industry. How will they react going forward
if there is some viewpoint that something like this is not worth betting on? I think they might end up
putting some pressure on the NFL to clean it up, just to protect their interests.

As was the case in our previous Las Vegas debates, you're way over estimating the amount of influence the gaming industry has over the NFL. What new business ties does the league have with the gambling industry? They're not buying up tons of advertising, certainly no more than Pizza Hut or Nike. Anheuser-Busch has more influence over the owners than the gaming industry.

The gambling industry's interests are a byproduct of the league's activities. What you are suggesting is that the tail is wagging the dog.

[NorthHawk]

Teams are now involved in a business relationship with the gambling industry advertising.
This is another source of revenue, and the NFL doesn't want to lose what will be a larger
revenue source in the future as the business relationships grow.

Edit:
https://www.legalsportsreport.com/27336 ... rtainment/

[RiverDog]

Teams are now involved in a business relationship with the gambling industry advertising.
This is another source of revenue, and the NFL doesn't want to lose what will be a larger
revenue source in the future as the business relationships grow.

Edit:
https://www.legalsportsreport.com/27336 ... rtainment/

Sure, there's some revenue there, but it's no bigger slice of the pie than this business relationship:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/20 ... 603191002/

[NorthHawk]

Right now, but with gambling becoming legal in all states, it will be a lot larger.
And Gambling as a whole is far larger than most other businesses.
They don't want to alienate any source of revenue, especially when it's in its infancy and
has so much potential for massive growth.

[RiverDog]

Right now, but with gambling becoming legal in all states, it will be a lot larger.
And Gambling as a whole is far larger than most other businesses.
They don't want to alienate any source of revenue, especially when it's in its infancy and
has so much potential for massive growth.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this, my friend.

IMO gambling is simply a side show, not the main attraction. It's a byproduct of football games, not one of the forces that drives policy making. There are lots more reasons why it's in the league's best interest to market a product that consumers believe is a fair contest besides the effect it might have on the gaming industry. One of the reasons why the NFL allowed a team to move into Las Vegas is because they recognize the fact that the influence of gamblers is much less than it was 30 or 40 years ago.

Besides, there's a number of studies out there that shows millennials are not nearly as likely to gamble as other age groups. Here's one:

The Stockton University Millennial Entertainment Preferences Study highlighted a 21% difference between the importance of gambling between Millennials and those over the age of 35. Out of 28 activities, gambling ranked 21st in importance for Millennials vs. 7th in importance for Non-Millennials.

And another:

One survey conducted in the US and paid for by several casino operators found that only 21 per cent of millennials rated gambling as an ‘important’ activity to them – compared to twice as many respondents from other age groups.

https://www.theedgerehab.com/blog/gambl ... llennials/



http://stockiexchange.com/millennial-gambling-problem/

[Aseahawkfan]

The other factor is they are in a perennial weak division where they can count on at least 4 wins each year just by being above average.
They've done well in the playoffs, but when given a good chance of getting HFA, it helps a lot.

That's not to say they haven't had some really good teams, but just that it's another factor that's often overlooked.

We had our best period of football when the other teams in our division were weak relative to us. Who can tell how weak the division was when the Patriots are the best team in the NFL year in and year out? You could argue they played in a weak league given they're the only team to have the success they've had as long as they've had it. Super Bowl every other year is unheard of in the history of the NFL over such a long period.

[RiverDog]

The other factor is they are in a perennial weak division where they can count on at least 4 wins each year just by being above average.
They've done well in the playoffs, but when given a good chance of getting HFA, it helps a lot.

That's not to say they haven't had some really good teams, but just that it's another factor that's often overlooked.

We had our best period of football when the other teams in our division were weak relative to us. Who can tell how weak the division was when the Patriots are the best team in the NFL year in and year out? You could argue they played in a weak league given they're the only team to have the success they've had as long as they've had it. Super Bowl every other year is unheard of in the history of the NFL over such a long period.

The Patriots did have some competition in 2009-2010 from the Jets, but that's been about it. Other than that, the AFC East rarely captures one of the two wild cards, and this season was no exception (although the Bills backed into a wild card entry last season). I think I heard them say that there's been 26 different head coaches in the rest of the AFC East since Belichick took over in New England.

Agree 100% about the Patriots success, and I'll add that it's even more impressive that they've done it in the free agency era.