NFL Thread

[Carey]

Well, here come the old takes throughout the Internet & the globe!

[NUguy514]

Holy.  Shit.

[AimingforYoko]

And that might be a wrap for Brandon Staley.

[Carey]

Harbaugh and Payton might not screen anybody tonight

[Popples]

Epic choke job by the Chargers, I think that franchise is cursed. 

[twoods]

It really is. Where did the defense go? I feel bad for the small amount of Chargers fans out there. Now time for the Chiefs to blow the Jags out.

Edited January 15, 2023 by twoods

[Lady Whistleup]

Epic choke job by Chargers. Almost comical.

[Carey]

Well, I guess they can forgo the Chiefs/Chargers after all. However, I'll hold off on a suggestion to cancel Chiefs/Jaguars

[Fukui San]

Welp. Patiently waiting until next summer, when the football media declare once again that the Chargers are a sleeping giant in waiting. 

[twoods]

They are a good head coach away (barring the injuries they had this year) from being a pretty good team. They will learn from this shitshow second half and hopefully be decent next year again. I can’t stomach the Chiefs winning the division yet again.

Sean Payton would be a perfect fit.

Edited January 15, 2023 by twoods

[Calvada]

Re today's games - I thought it didn't matter who played the 49ers this round; whether it was the Seahawks, the Packers, or the Lions, the 49ers would win, since they're a better team.  So that game went as I thought it would. 

Doug Pederson continues to surprise me.  I remember him from his days in Green Bay as the backup QB, when he was the doofus yucking it up on the sidelines with Favre, content to never play except in occasional mop-up duty in a GB blowout win.  When he was named the head coach in Philly I thought really?  That guy is a head coach?  He proved me wrong there and now he's led Jacksonville to a playoff win.  

However, it does not surprise me that the Chargers lost.  A lot of their wins were really close games, and several were against mediocre teams.  They didn't have those signature wins against elite teams that usually mark a team that will go far in the playoffs.  

[Carey]

12 minutes ago, twoods said:

They are a good head coach away (barring the injuries they had this year) from being a pretty good team. They will learn from this shitshow second half and hopefully be decent next year again. I can’t stomach the Chiefs winning the division yet again.

Sean Payton would be a perfect fit.

What's amazing is that it feels like Kansas City has won the division for 11 years in a row (it's been 7).  Yet they managed to catch up to everyone else at 15 a piece.  It's laughable since the Raiders haven't won in 20 years, and Denver won 5 years in a row before KC started dominating the division.  A rather comical AFC West.

41 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Epic choke job by Chargers. Almost comical.

Almost comical, but more than traditional!

[Fukui San]

Chargers have the talent of a 12-13 win team. Minus 1-3 games because their key players get injured every year. Minus 1-3 games because of special teams disasters. Minus 1-3 games because their head coach mismanages the game.

[roamyn]

Wow, I was really hopeful for Justin Herbert, cause I like the kid.  And I find Trevor arrogant.  But Staley mismanaged that second half. Calling a time out, when he didn’t need to, not lighting a fire under his players to not get complacent, not going for it on 4th and short towards the end, etc.  Bet the Saints get a call from the Chargers owner tomorrow or Monday morning.

aft last week’s poor game and the disaster of this week’s first half, Trevor’s still not consistent.  I can’t wait for him to choke against the Chiefs.

I was hopeful for Geno & Co during the first half, but told hubby that I imagined the 49ers would come out aggressive in the second half.   And they did.  At least the 49ers aren’t offensive and Brock Purdy is a great story.

[mojoween]

Admittedly I slept through Jacksonville getting to 28, but it seems like I’m not entirely crazy and the Chargers lost this game more than the Jags won it.

Also Mike Williams has a broken back so that with this makes me nervous for Brandon Staley.

[cambridgeguy]

Is it just me or was Al Michaels sleepwalking his way through an epic comeback?  I can understand being bored during some crappy Thursday night game, but this is the playoffs!  He's not Pat Summerall, where's the energy? 

[roamyn]

1 hour ago, cambridgeguy said:

Is it just me or was Al Michaels sleepwalking his way through an epic comeback?  I can understand being bored during some crappy Thursday night game, but this is the playoffs!  He's not Pat Summerall, where's the energy? 

He's been like that all season.  I think the Thursday night games being so bad helped that set in.  Only during the tail end of the Rams/Raiders game did he show any excitement. 

[Carey]

Yeah, only Pat Summerall can get away with that haha!  I can't blame Mike Al Michaels (for the most part).  A 78-year old legend going from calling the best games to the worst games.

There are so many comparisons or coincidences between last night's game and the other super-blown leads (1992 Bills/Oilers & 2013 Colts/Chiefs).

Jacksonville, like the 2013 Colts, won the regular season matchup on the road prior to duplicating the same feat in overtime.  Indianapolis went on to get blown out in their next game, and the Jaguars are expected to get blown out in their next game.  It's doubtful they're getting another home game next weekend against Baltimore.

Jags/Bolts was a game between teams without a Super Bowl, just like Buffalo/Houston was a game between teams without a Lombardi.  BTW, there are now 4 teams without a title still remaining in the playoffs.  Obviously someone had to lose the last game.  So there's three in the AFC, and one in the NFC (unlikely to make it).  The Jaguars are getting better every second, but teams like Buffalo & Cincinnati are built to win at least one over the next several years.  BTW, Minnesota has a chance to get better following a decent year with a first-year HC.

Naturally, the Oilers (as the Tennessee Titans) would avenge their loss in a big way against Buffalo (which led to a 2-decade drought for the Bills).  Kansas City avenged their loss against the Colts (which preceded the end of Luck's run resulting in rather legit chaos for Indy).

All 3 games featured a 5 seed losing on the road to a 4 seed.  By the way, the Bills, on the road for the remainder of the 1992 season, outscored their next two opponents by a combined 36 points, holding them to 13 before being held to a similar score while losing by a similar margin in Super Bowl 27

[Magog]

10 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

And that might be a wrap for Brandon Staley.

He surely won't be missed after tonight's epic choking.

10 hours ago, Popples said:

Epic choke job by the Chargers, I think that franchise is cursed. 

They are not cursed. They're just a bunch of losers that keep on finding ways to mess it up, like last night for example. Plus, they're not a franchise that you feel sorry for (except for some players that played for them) & you really want them to finally reach the mountaintop. I think the Chargers & Falcons are very similar to each other.

 Yahoo - New NFL Playoffs OT Rules

And here is nothing that definitely wasn't need or asked for & I didn't realized this till last night, but has anybody known that NFL changed the OT Rules again? For the Playoffs, it now both teams getting the ball whether the first team gets a touchdown or not. Then next score wins. It really made me eyeroll in disgust. If your defense (Buffalo with 13 seconds left, KC a few yrs ago) can't make a play or two when its needed most to help your team get the win in the Playoffs, then you don't deserve the win. Frankly, I'm not here for teams whining about not getting the ball in OT when your defense couldn't make a play or two to end the game in their favor. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Magog

[Carey]

Oh I knew.  I like the Chiefs, but I wanted the Bills to win last year.  That was a painful loss for the AFC East Champs.

That being said, that is a total crock of shit.  The league never did anything for when the Packers lost in back-to-back years, or whenever Manning lost in the same fashion to those pesky Bolts teams.  Or when Mahomes didn't get a chance against Brady, or when Matt Ryan (also the MVP at the time of the game) didn't get a chance (though he would've been unsuccessful anyway).

I omitted the Steelers and Vikings from my examples; Minnesota in 2009-2010 lost in OT where New Orleans didn't even get into the endzone.  The rule was changed not too long after that.  The Steelers, while banged up &  without Ryan Clark, were the first team to play under the modified rules and lost on the first play in what would've been plus territory for them.

Sorta feels like the league has been wishing for the Bills to win for a long time.  To where they don't have to travel to Arrowhead, BUT, Cincinnati has to travel to Orchard Park.

I do like the Bills; can't say the same for Dallas.  However, I might smile a little if the Cowboys get to the end and beat Buffalo for a third time

[Calvada]

2 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Is it just me or was Al Michaels sleepwalking his way through an epic comeback?  I can understand being bored during some crappy Thursday night game, but this is the playoffs!  He's not Pat Summerall, where's the energy? 

I thought the same thing about Al Michaels.  It was like it was a week 3 game, not the playoffs.  I kept thinking what if someone like Kevin Harlan were doing play by play.  But it wasn't all Al.  Part of the issue last night was Tony Dungy, who has the don't get too excited demeanor that a coach has to have over the course of the game, but that's not the best when you're calling the game.  Sometimes the play by play guy needs the other guy to get them fired up.  For as much as Romo drives me nuts, I think he does that for Jim Nantz. 

[Carey]

As of this post, Brandon Staley is still employed.  Unless he isn't (with news on that slated to break later).

Calvada, fair points.  ITA.  I actually don't mind Tony Dungy.  I think it's pretty good as a color guy.  That's mainly because it's rare.  He's more studio than broadcast.  That's okay for me.  What helped for me was the option to turn on Westwood One with Ian Eagle on the call there.

 

A couple of thoughts on today's games or so:

The Bills are 13.5 favorites.  That is a lot of points.  However, it could be twice as much, and I'd still take Buffalo to cover the spread.  I think this could turn out to be a De Facto bye for the AFC East Champions as they rest for their next game against the Bengals or the Jaguars.

The late game might be the best of today's TV triple-header.  The Giants have improved.  It's been a pleasant surprise.  You just never know what team will show up.  Same can be said for Minnesota.  I think based on this season, the GMEN will have to blow out the Vikings to win.  If it's close, the NFC North champions will survive.  Unless they don't since trends are meant to be broken.  Of course, I'm all in on New York this week, and I could see a bonus TD to win by 10 for comfort.

The only things that suck about the primetime AFC North matchup are that it just happened a week ago, and Lamar is out.  The Bengals are benefitting for the second consecutive year, but I think they'd still persevere with Jackson.  It's division football & Baltimore's defense has been unkind for Cincinnati, who are not 100% up front.  An upset is possible (which would get the league off the hook for their missed/omitted decision to work with Cincy & Buffalo in terms of not having to play at Orchard Park without a coin flip).  Low scoring close win for the AFC North Champions, IMO, is the best call here

[DrSpaceman73]

Changing the overtime rules for the playoffs is preposterous. 

Not the rule itself. I'm fine with it should have changed it long ago. 

Changing it for the playoffs though and not the regular season is completely stupid. Different rules for outcomes in the playoffs?  Just dumb. 

[meowmommy]

8 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Changing the overtime rules for the playoffs is preposterous. 

Not the rule itself. I'm fine with it should have changed it long ago. 

Changing it for the playoffs though and not the regular season is completely stupid. Different rules for outcomes in the playoffs?  Just dumb. 

Agree.  It should be all one or all other.  And not constantly being rewritten because some team or another is all butt-hurt about the outcome of a given game.  Sit down and figure out what an equitable OT should look like, and set that across the board.  Otherwise you'll have a debacle like the one-and-done reviewable DPI after the Saints' whine heard round the world.

3 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Is it just me or was Al Michaels sleepwalking his way through an epic comeback? 

So what else is new?  I think he's the most overrated guy on television.  And I just loved him saying something about how, if the Jags missed scoring on third down, they'd go for it on fourth down, and Tony Dungy just dryly interjecting, "Obviously."

He makes a lot of mistakes, which his boothmate ends up either fixing or covering on a regular basis.  Time to hang it up.

[Carey]

9 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

So what else is new?  I think he's the most overrated guy on television.

No.  That would be Skip Bayless

[TVbitch]

Slogged my way through the final episode of Hard Knocks. Oof. Only 5 people in the room when KK gave his quick goodbye speech. The whole season was like watching Dead Man Walking. Too bad HBO didn't film the Niners this year.  

 

[meowmommy]

16 minutes ago, Carey said:

No.  That would be Skip Bayless

I wasn't aware anyone had a good opinion of Skip Bayless.

[SuprSuprElevated]

2 hours ago, roamyn said:

where's the energy? 

Not saying he should retire, I wouldn't presume to do that, but the reason could be the 79 trips around the sun.

I mean, not everyone can be Jim Nance (81 trips).

Edited January 15, 2023 by SuprSuprElevated

[Carey]

8 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

25 minutes ago, Carey said:

No.  That would be Skip Bayless

I wasn't aware anyone had a good opinion of Skip Bayless.

That is fair enough.  People have praised Mike Al Michaels more than might be deserved.  Not many, if anyone, praised Skip.  Though to be fair to Bayless, First Take took a hit when he left, but has sorta since rebounded with the current format (Stephen A vs someone different that can stand up to him).

BTW, even though you didn't indicate it, there's a chance that you could've been referring to people that call football games or other sporting events.  Skip Bayless doesn't do that, Al does/has.  Yeah, I don't think there are many that I'd put in terms of overrated (and I actually don't have a problem with Michaels while happy Mike Tirico finally took over).  Gus Johnson may have been that guy, but I believe he's toned it down, which is a pretty good thing

[meowmommy]

20 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I mean, not everyone can be Jim Nance (81 trips).

Jim Nantz is 63.

12 minutes ago, Carey said:

BTW, even though you didn't indicate it, there's a chance that you could've been referring to people that call football games or other sporting events. 

Yeah, I kinda was.  Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd and Stephen A. are in an abyss all their own.

[Lamb18]

I watched the Jaguars game last night. Down by 27 at the half, I thought if  Vikings could it win after being down bt 33, the Jaguars could make a comeback. And they did.

I think Vikings/ Giants will be close, but  Vikings will win.

[cambridgeguy]

3 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

I think Vikings/ Giants will be close, but  Vikings will win.

They don't really know how to win any other way, do they?

[JTMacc99]

2 hours ago, Magog said:

And here is nothing that definitely wasn't need or asked for & I didn't realized this till last night, but has anybody known that NFL changed the OT Rules again?

NFL radio on SiriusXM is my background noise whether I'm in the kitchen, the car, and if I'm able to do so at work.

So I am not only aware of the rule change, but just being reminded of it brings me back to the ENDLESS talk about it. I think it went on for like 2-4 weeks prior to and after the league meetings where they vote on such things. 

I heard useful and knowledgeable people such as Bill Polian, who was part of the competition committee and could actually explain how things happen.  And I also heard every yahoo from Portland Maine to San Diego call up and give his "great" idea on how to avoid what we saw in the Chiefs / Bills game again.

So I have thoughts on this...

1. The Bills shouldn't have given up a score with 13 seconds on the clock. They didn't "deserve" anything in overtime and therefore the rule was fine.
2. When the Chiefs traded up on draft day to get ahead of the Bills to pick a defensive back that the Bills probably wanted, I said "Ooh. I wonder if they're going to change the rules so that the Bills have a fair chance next year."
3. Despite 1 and 2, I have no particular feelings about the Bills. I just got really tired of all of the moaning and groaning about changing the rule to the point where I got bitter about the whole thing.
4. Having said all that...

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Changing it for the playoffs though and not the regular season is completely stupid. Different rules for outcomes in the playoffs?  Just dumb. 

I understand completely why it makes sense to have two different rules. This is where getting to hear actual knowledgeable people explain things made things somewhat tolerable for me.

The league has been attempting to make things safer for the players, while also trying to maintain a competitive game that we all enjoy. The current regular season OT rules are set up to be as fair as possible while also limiting the amount of extra time players have to spend on the field and risk additional injury.

There was NO WAY they were going to increase the likelihood that regular season OT games were going to be any longer than they already are.  If anything, they're more likely to just do away with regular season OT than make it longer.

But because of the Bills not getting a chance to get the ball in that game, enough people were upset that they changed the playoff OT rule to be more fair. Or maybe I should say "fair".

[roamyn]

1 hour ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

3 hours ago, roamyn said:

where's the energy? 

Not saying he should retire, I wouldn't presume to do that, but the reason could be the 79 trips around the sun.

I mean, not everyone can be Jim Nance (81 trips).

Edited 1 hour ago by SuprSuprElevated

Actually that was @cambridgeguy

[cambridgeguy]

33 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

There was NO WAY they were going to increase the likelihood that regular season OT games were going to be any longer than they already are.  If anything, they're more likely to just do away with regular season OT than make it longer.

They should just be like soccer and do whatever the equivalent of penalty kicks are, just to piss people off.  Imagine sending kickers out there for dueling FGs - start at 30 yds, then move back 5 yards after every round.

[bluegirl147]

Just now, cambridgeguy said:

They should just be like soccer and do whatever the equivalent of penalty kicks are, just to piss people off.  Imagine sending kickers out there for dueling FGs - start at 30 yds, then move back 5 yards after every round.

I know i say this a lot but don't give them any ideas.

[JTMacc99]

15 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

They should just be like soccer and do whatever the equivalent of penalty kicks are, just to piss people off.  Imagine sending kickers out there for dueling FGs - start at 30 yds, then move back 5 yards after every round.

This was, for real, one of the things that a fan called up and suggested as a possible solution.  

1 hour ago, cambridgeguy said:

They don't really know how to win any other way, do they?

No, not until the Bears tanked it last week, they've won every game by a single score. It's really impressive.

On the other hand, their losses were by 17, 37, 11, and 24.

So since I'm a Giants fan, I have no choice but to think that the Giants will win in a cakewalk.

My brother said that Rex Ryan predicted that the Giants "are going to beat the hell out of the Vikings."  So I have that going against me. 

[DrSpaceman73]

54 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

NFL radio on SiriusXM is my background noise whether I'm in the kitchen, the car, and if I'm able to do so at work.

So I am not only aware of the rule change, but just being reminded of it brings me back to the ENDLESS talk about it. I think it went on for like 2-4 weeks prior to and after the league meetings where they vote on such things. 

I heard useful and knowledgeable people such as Bill Polian, who was part of the competition committee and could actually explain how things happen.  And I also heard every yahoo from Portland Maine to San Diego call up and give his "great" idea on how to avoid what we saw in the Chiefs / Bills game again.

So I have thoughts on this...

1. The Bills shouldn't have given up a score with 13 seconds on the clock. They didn't "deserve" anything in overtime and therefore the rule was fine.
2. When the Chiefs traded up on draft day to get ahead of the Bills to pick a defensive back that the Bills probably wanted, I said "Ooh. I wonder if they're going to change the rules so that the Bills have a fair chance next year."
3. Despite 1 and 2, I have no particular feelings about the Bills. I just got really tired of all of the moaning and groaning about changing the rule to the point where I got bitter about the whole thing.
4. Having said all that...

I understand completely why it makes sense to have two different rules. This is where getting to hear actual knowledgeable people explain things made things somewhat tolerable for me.

The league has been attempting to make things safer for the players, while also trying to maintain a competitive game that we all enjoy. The current regular season OT rules are set up to be as fair as possible while also limiting the amount of extra time players have to spend on the field and risk additional injury.

There was NO WAY they were going to increase the likelihood that regular season OT games were going to be any longer than they already are.  If anything, they're more likely to just do away with regular season OT than make it longer.

But because of the Bills not getting a chance to get the ball in that game, enough people were upset that they changed the playoff OT rule to be more fair. Or maybe I should say "fair".

Yes I've heard the 'extra time ' argument about not doing it in the regular for safety but frankly that is just ludicrous. 

Regular season overtime is 10 minutes max as it is and many go much of that time now.  You are adding on maybe on average a couple of minutes a game, at best, by changing the rule for regular season too. Not every overtime game will even be effected. To add a whole extra week of 60 minute games, and maybe even a second if they have their way, but at the same time argue you can't risk a couple of extra minutes on the rare overtime game where it applies to make the rules consistent is simply preposterous. 

It should be the same regular season and overtime and very simple:  each team gets one possession.  If still tied after that then sudden death.  If 10 minutes goes by in regular season and still tied its a tie. Obviously playoffs you cant end in a tie only difference. They did this in nfl Europe that was the rule.  It's been around forever. 

 

[mojoween]

It’s incredibly amusing that Jim and Romo are wondering if the sun is causing problems for the receivers.  Look.  We don’t get much sun around here until about April and when it happens in January we don’t know how to act.

Edited January 15, 2023 by mojoween

[twoods]

Well that was a shitshow. Sigh. I don’t even want to watch the second half.

Edited January 15, 2023 by twoods

[xaxat]

19 minutes ago, mojoween said:

We don’t get much sun around here until about April and when it happens in January we don’t know how to act.

Seriously. It was above freezing and the sun was out and I was thinking about getting some yard-work done before the game.

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Is it just me or was Al Michaels sleepwalking his way through an epic comeback?  I can understand being bored during some crappy Thursday night game, but this is the playoffs!  He's not Pat Summerall, where's the energy? 

For most of that game, Major League and Naked Gun were on other channels at the same time.  During every break in play, I'd switch over to one of those, and be really slow to come back, even though I've seen them both dozens of times.  When the game finally got interesting, I stayed tuned in, but someone forgot to tell Al.

[bluegirl147]

Well this game has taken a turn. Josh Allen fumbles on their second half opening drive and Miami recovers and runs it in for a TD.

[twoods]

Gotta hand it to Miami for coming out to play. Unfortunately the Bills keep shooting themselves in the foot. I don’t know why it was a 14 point spread.

Edited January 15, 2023 by twoods

[AimingforYoko]

WTF is going on right now?

Edited January 15, 2023 by AimingforYoko

[mojoween]

10 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

WTF is going on right now?

Football.  Crazy game, man.

[meowmommy]

I don't think Miami's got enough horses in the stable to pull this out, but at least they haven't stunk up the joint and are making it interesting.  Imagine if Tua or even Teddy Bridgewater had been healthy enough to play.

[Fukui San]

36 minutes ago, twoods said:

Gotta hand it to Miami for coming out to play. Unfortunately the Bills keep shooting themselves in the foot. I don’t know why it was a 14 point spread.

I mean, third choice QB who had shown nothing up until this point will do that for you. 

[twoods]

But have they seen how many turnovers Allen has had this season?

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Is it just me or was Al Michaels sleepwalking his way through an epic comeback?  I can understand being bored during some crappy Thursday night game, but this is the playoffs!  He's not Pat Summerall, where's the energy? 

I've liked Al in the past but I didn't share the sentiment that it was a travesty he was being pushed out.  Mike Tirico is a good commentator and I understand why NBC was willing to make promises to him to keep him.   Al has made millions during his broadcasting career.  Besides, I can't help but think of what women broadcasters often face. Pam Oliver was moved from the first FOX broadcasting team to the second when she hit 50 and replaced by a 30-something Erin Andrews.  I'm not going to be upset that Al gets pushed out at close to 80.

I did go to sleep last night while the repeat was on around the end of the second quarter.  It was funny listening to them talk about how the game would definitely not be going to OT (had Pederson not gone for 2, it very well might have.) And other things that made them think the game was basically over at that point. I don't know if Al ever truly believed it would be a game even when it became a game.