NFL Thread

[mojoween]

For this particular season, it shows how valuable Jalen was to the Eagles. We saw in one drive that the same might not have been true for Kansas City, because their backup did quite dandy.  Jalen’s didn’t.  (Sorry Gardner)

It’s all subjective, but for Jalen to lose out on both offensive player and MVP is dumb.  IMO.

[Carey]

23 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

12 hours ago, mojoween said:

Jalen went out, and Philly lost the next two games.  He came back, and they’re in the Super Bowl.  How is that not MVP-worthy?

It is, but so is playing all of the games and leading your team to the Super Bowl.  Or should all MVP candidates miss a couple of games to show how much they're missed?

IMO, I think Philadelphia suffered more over the loss of Lane Johnson than over Jalen Hurts

[shoregirl]

This 49ers team might be the sorest losers that you can remember. These things have been popping up in the twitter feeds for the last two weeks . I get it sucks that they lost both of their quarterbacks who were already backups but you still lost by multiple scores. Also the Eagles defense got to both of those Quarterbacks so maybe look at your offensive line but no player after player doing interviews about how it's not fair and how they would have beat the eagles by double digits, etc . I had no real opinion about the niners one way or another, and if it was just fans doing it I would think any different but players doing it is sad.

[JTMacc99]

It was a really crappy way to have your season end. I'm sure the Niners had a lot of confidence going into the game, probably had a great game plan, and then it just all fell apart. 

And as an aside, given just how badly Purdy's arm was hurt, it's crazy that they even put him back in the game. He couldn't even throw the ball more than like 5 yards, and yet that's what the team had on the field. 

I don't have a problem with the players running their mouths about it right now. I have a feeling that the Eagles are the team we've seen them be all year long, and the Niners might feel a little better about their loss when the Eagles do the same thing to the Chiefs. 

[Crashcourse]

16 hours ago, mojoween said:

I backed Justin Guarini on “American Idol”, but I cannot deny that Kelly has pipes.  Twitter troglodytes didn’t like her or her silly dress, but I thought she was funny.

Don't even get me started on Kelly vs. Justin.  I was for Justin all the way because his voice was sooooo smooth.  So I was pissed when Kelly won and I remember on another website some of us called her "yelly Kelly."  I know she's popular but her faux cornpone schtick and dressed in granny outfits is too much.

[Fukui San]

We are breaking down Justin vs. Kelly on this thread. 

And people were mad at Brady retiring when he did for "upstaging" the Super Bowl, lol.

[Chit Chat]

6 hours ago, shoregirl said:

I had no real opinion about the niners one way or another, and if it was just fans doing it I would think any different but players doing it is sad.

I agree.  They need to have some class about it.  They had a Murphy's Law kind of day, but that's when their defense needed to step up and make some plays.  I'm sorry that they had a "shit happens" kind of day, but they need to pull up their big boy britches and and just shut up about how unfair it was.  Sorry, but that's life.  Learn from it and move on.  

Maybe that's a good lesson for teams to take a good look at what they can do when Plan A, B & C go down the drain!  Yes, you have a limited number of players, but that game was a good reminder for owners/coaches to think through what they might do in a similar situation.  I think about how a lot of us are expected to be cross-trained in our jobs so we can fill in for absent co-workers.  Maybe these guys need to do the same!!  Just half kidding on that one.

[Black Knight]

Last I checked, protecting your QB was part of football. The Niners knew going in that the Eagles had a great pass rush. Now obviously two QBs getting injured is a freak occurrence even against a great pass rush, but it certainly raises reasonable questions about whether a non-injured Purdy would have been able to be effective while dealing with that pass rush all game. A great pass rush can render even proven, future Hall-of-Fame QBs ineffective.

All their comments are giving the Eagles a lot of bulletin board material for the Super Bowl though. Since the Niners are obviously hoping that the Chiefs will "expose" the Eagles, you'd think they'd tone down the trash talk a bit.

[DoctorAtomic]

Are we going to have a live chat thread for Sunday? I had a blast the last two years. 

[mojoween]

The most interesting part about the Niners whining is that Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson don’t play defense, so what’s their excuse?

Someone mentioned on Twitter that with Ronde Barber’s selection, Tampa’s first SB team now has four members of the defense in the HoF.

Off the top of my head, I know that the 86 Giants D has at least three.

Then I started wondering about the Monsters of the Midway and the grody 2000 Ravens, which opened the rabbit hole to the New York Sack Exchange and the Purple People Eaters, and then my head hurt and I had to go lie down.

If anyone but me is interested, I came up with -

Chicago - 3

Baltimore - 1 

Jets - 1

Minnesota - Googlefu let me down here

[Chit Chat]

10 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Someone mentioned on Twitter that with Ronde Barber’s selection, Tampa’s first SB team now has four members of the defense in the HoF.

Congrats to Ronde.  In the words of Mike Alstott, "it's about damn time!" 

[Calvada]

I'm sure the Chiefs love the 49ers saying the Eagles only won because they got lucky. Nothing like another team trash-talking your opponent and getting them even more fired up to prove themselves.  

The Super Bowl I and II Packers have 6 members of their defense in the Hall of Fame:  LB Dave Robinson, DT Henry Jordan, S Willie Wood, DE Willie Davis, CB Herb Adderley, and LB Ray Nitschke. The Steelers of the 70's must have 4 or 5 defenders in the HOF.  I can think of Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, Jack Ham.  I feel I'm missing someone.  And of course both these teams have multiple offensive players in the Hall.  

[Carey]

Probably the least amount of "noise" for a Super Bowl in quite a long time if ever, but here are the numbers (courtesy of FanDuel):

Super Bowl LVII

Kansas City vs Philadelphia
Eagles favored by 1.5
Over/Under 50.5
Philly and the under (my pick)

While I was pretty much going with Philadelphia the entire time (since the conclusion of the AFC Title Game), I was a little bit surprised that the line stayed at 1.5 basically the whole time.  IMO this has been a buzz-free 14 days in terms of Super Bowl hype; I guess Vegas factored into that!

Seriously speaking, if the line did move, it would not have been by much (regardless of if it was in favor of KC or the Eagles).  I figured that it would have moved somewhat as practice took place in the final days before the big game.  I guess people are healthy enough to participate.  Or not, but it is the Super Bowl.

It's not easy to bet against Mahomes, but I sorta have for the past several years.  I've been correct about as much as I have been incorrect.  Eventually I'll end up picking Kansas City and Patrick as much as I picked TB12 and New England.  Especially if he can easily conquer Cincinnati.  KC has to sorta win Super Bowl 57.  The Eagles haven't really been tested this season.  KC has been in a losing effort more than a winning effort, but they actually have faced Super Bowl contenders with people that have a chance to be HOF QBs (Burrow, Allen, Lawrence).

The issue here is that KC is less healthy than Philly.  Yep; the Eagles have people banged up, or not 100% (Hurts, Johnson).  These 2 weeks are a big deal.  Looks like most of everyone will be ready to go.

Andy Reid is nearly perfect when coming off of a bye.  I think all (but one) of his losses occurred against a team also coming off a bye (including 2004, 2020).   Not ideal to bet against him over that (though I did for Super Bowl's 39 & 55).

Despite the history of top passing teams against the top passing defense, I can't see this game emulatings Super Bowls like 37 & 48.  Unless people are hurt and/or KC does something insane that sets the momentum in favor of Philly.  Unlike the past teams, the Reid/Mahomes duo is experienced & doesn't make a ton of mistakes.  That should help make Super Bowl 57 a decent enough battle until the end.

I'll still go with Philadelphia to win because they have a much better roster.  It's not even close.  Maybe KC isn't as banged up, but I don't think they're that great either.  If Mahomes was healthy, AND if KC had a scary defense, I think I'd definitely go with the AFC Champs.  The WR core isn't fully healthy either.

Whoever wins, I'll be happy for.  Both teams have a decent future going forward.  However, for Super Bowl LVII, I'll go with the Eagles over KC, 28-21

[Carey]

One more note before today's Super Bowl: 2-Time league MVP Patrick Mahomes would be the first person in 23 years to clinch both MVP awards with a decent, winning performance in Super Bowl LVII.  I believe this is the longest drought since the 90s.  From 95-98, it was always 2 different people winning the NFL MVP & the Super Bowl MVP.  That period had Favre winning 3 times in a row (and with Green Bay being one of the league's remaining 4 teams left in the season).  That also includes a Super Bowl win for the Packers.   Between 2000-2022, 10 MVPs made it to the Super Bowl  (2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022).  Each of the previous nine did not get the job done

[cambridgeguy]

Which illustrates why people whining about a playoff hero in general not being MVP is so dumb.  It's a regular season award, not who can summon the magic for a few games.  In the modern era, which I'm arbitrarily going to define as post 1980, here are the leaders:

Peyton Manning - 5

Aaron Rodgers - 4

Tom Brady - 3

Brett Favre - 3

I'd argue that aside from Brady the rest have under performed in the playoffs relative to their reputations.  Does anyone who isn't incredibly biased think Rodgers is more valuable than Brady was because he has more MVPs?  Of course not! 

[mojoween]

Wait what happened to 6:18 kickoff?  Why is this shindig not starting until 6:40?

[ebk57]

6 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Wait what happened to 6:18 kickoff?  Why is this shindig not starting until 6:40?

We need more pre-game "entertainment" and commercials?  

 

Sigh... 

[Calvada]

And when is the live chat going to open?  I thought it was 1 hour before kickoff.

[SnarkShark]

A buncha millionaires talking about Walter Peyton.

[mojoween]

We already gave Dak the award on Thursday why are we doing this again.  Although the Eagles fans booing him was hilarious.

[ebk57]

Sheryl Lee looks and sounds fabulous!

[Calvada]

the realization that Walter Payton's children are in their early 40's/late 30's is making me feel old. 

[SnarkShark]

Gordon Ramsey getting another similar show.

 

USFL?

 

And Farmer Wants A Wife: a lame concept I think tried originally in Australia.

[mojoween]

There is MUSIC playing the tomahawk chop so don’t try to tell me the NFL doesn’t condone that shit.

[ebk57]

I see Erin Andrews is in her formal wear now.  I wonder how many outfits she brought with her for today. 

[twoods]

Babyface still sounds great!

[Lady Whistleup]

Babyface was incredible!

[SnarkShark]

2 minutes ago, twoods said:

Babyface still sounds great!

How can you tell?  He was lipsynching (and transparently obviously too)

[shoregirl]

I thought all three songs were well done.

[twoods]

It’s still his voice that he’s lip syncing to, unless they found someone who sounds just like him. It didn’t sound like he was lip synching in the end but what do I know.

[SnarkShark]

I see the Live thread is open.

[Crs97]

I will always root for anyone or anything that shuts up the chop so I guess I’m an Eagle tonight.

[DrSpaceman73]

Am I just old and bitter or do all these superbowl commercials trying to be funny just suck?  

[mojoween]

I mean, I can see Philly getting mad about a late holding call that basically ices the game, but their defense is the one that let KC get into that position in the first place.  As always, except for Super Bowl XXV, wins and losses are more than one play.

[roamyn]

10 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I mean, I can see Philly getting mad about a late holding call that basically ices the game, but their defense is the one that let KC get into that position in the first place.  As always, except for Super Bowl XXV, wins and losses are more than one play.

On replays from one angle you could see the Defender grab & pull his Juju's jersey, so clearly a holding penalty.

I would've been fine with either team winning.  But congrats Chiefs!

[Black Knight]

Apparently the Colts have decided on Eagles OC Shane Steichen as their new coach, pending working out a contract. And the Eagles are expected to then promote their QB coach to OC in order to preserve continuity in the offense.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, the Chiefs obviously learned from the Niners-Eagles game and came in with a solid plan to protect Mahomes from the pass rush. And the Eagles missed a couple of opportunities in settling for FGs over TDs, which more than made up for the Chiefs doinking that FG early on.

[NUguy514]

From the live chat thread, since it was closed as I was replying:

Quote

If you don't follow football at all, what would give you a reason to think it was rigged?  If you don't follow football, do you understand penalties, or the elements of a completed catch?  What else was there of even the slightest controversy?

My sister thought both the overturned catch and the holding call were ridiculous.  I do follow football and do understand penalties and the elements of a completed catch, and those calls were terrible and absolutely affected the outcome of the game.  The powers-that-be chose their moments to finesse the outcome they wanted, which was a Patrick Mahomes heroic win and MVP.  The Eagles had to beat both the Chiefs and the overlords, which is a touch combo to overcome.

[BlueSkies]

I had no dog in tonight’s game.  Didn’t even watch it.  I’m just reading about the controversial call at the end.

 

The NFL is a multi billion dollar industry now with all these ties to FanDuel and all this gambling.  All these discussions are is the NFL rigged isn’t going away.  

[NUguy514]

I would also add that Hurts' fumble was the big mistake that the Eagles really needed to avoid, though, so that's that.

[Black Knight]

The Eagles got a questionable catch to go along with the catch that was overturned.

And I don't think the holding call was a matter of the NFL stepping in. It was still early in the series, as opposed to bailing out the Chiefs on third or fourth down. The NFL may have preferred that the Chiefs win, but I don't think they wanted to see the game end in that fashion, where the Chiefs didn't run any real plays for nearly two minutes and then a FG was kicked. They would have preferred Mahomes scoring the game-winning TD and to have action all the way through. There was no need to step in so soon. The Chiefs aren't some Pop Warner team coached and QB'd by incompetent idiots.

[DoctorAtomic]

The scanner app on my phone alerted me to listen to the Philadelphia police. There are large crowds. 

[meowmommy]

9 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

My sister thought both the overturned catch and the holding call were ridiculous.  I do follow football and do understand penalties and the elements of a completed catch, and those calls were terrible and absolutely affected the outcome of the game. 

Yeah, I understood you were talking about your sister.  I used the generic you instead of she.  I was going to edit it but then they closed the thread right behind me.

So what was her basis, having no understanding of football, for deciding the officials' calls were ridiculous?

[mojoween]

And by the by - it WAS holding.  Not liking the call getting made is one thing, but it was an infraction.  And it wasn’t even third down.

The refs may be terrible, no matter what Goodell says, but they’re terrible for everyone.  Kansas City should have had that one fumble that was called back because no one knows what a catch is, but I for one do not think the NFL is rigged.

[meowmommy]

Just now, mojoween said:

I for one do not think the NFL is rigged.

I for two.

Sometimes results occur, in sports and in life, that one does not like.  That doesn't make them rigged. 

Maybe the Eagles should have figured out how to hold onto a ten point halftime lead?  Or how to punch the ball into the end zone instead of settling for field goals?  Or how to get to Patrick Mahomes, even once?

[DrSpaceman73]

21 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

From the live chat thread, since it was closed as I was replying:

My sister thought both the overturned catch and the holding call were ridiculous.  I do follow football and do understand penalties and the elements of a completed catch, and those calls were terrible and absolutely affected the outcome of the game.  The powers-that-be chose their moments to finesse the outcome they wanted, which was a Patrick Mahomes heroic win and MVP.  The Eagles had to beat both the Chiefs and the overlords, which is a touch combo to overcome.

The overturned catch was the right call. But the catch no catch rules are ridiculous. 

The holding call was a cheap one. 

I didn't really care who won. 

Also they really need to do something about the plays where the offense pushes the ball carrier forward to get extra yardage.  I get why offenses do it but it's getting out if hand.  One qb sneak hurts just stood there and the guys behind him did everything. 

And I'm not picking on the eagles all teams do it.   And it's smart but just over the top now.  I've seen plays where it's like the ball carrier is crowd surfing on top of the offense. 

[meowmommy]

1 minute ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

But the catch no catch rules are ridiculous.

They've been ridiculous since the Calvin Johnson catch no catch controversy.  It shouldn't be that hard, but it is, and it's become like trying to judge the finer points of a triple axel.

[Court]

6 minutes ago, mojoween said:

And by the by - it WAS holding.  Not liking the call getting made is one thing, but it was an infraction.  And it wasn’t even third down.

The refs may be terrible, no matter what Goodell says, but they’re terrible for everyone.  Kansas City should have had that one fumble that was called back because no one knows what a catch is, but I for one do not think the NFL is rigged.

Yesss! It WAS holding and very clear on the replay. It will get called when you're holding the guy the QB is throwing too. Also, that call didn't decide the game. Did that call make the Eagles D leave KC wide open for 2 back to back touchdowns? Did that call let them have a fantastic return? 

I have my issues with refs but this is absurd. It was a tale of two halves and KC won the second. Some calls went the Eagles way. It's silly to think it was rigged especially if you watched the first half! 

[Irlandesa]

15 minutes ago, BlueSkies said:

The NFL is a multi billion dollar industry now with all these ties to FanDuel and all this gambling.  All these discussions are is the NFL rigged isn’t going away.  

People believe a lot of conspiracy theories but that doesn't make them true.  The NFL being rigged is just another one.  Pretty much every argument I've ever read about the NFL being rigged has had to rely on confirmation bias where evidence in support of their argument is used and evidence that doesn't support it is forgetten (or discarded).  One week a bad call will advantage a team and the argument will be that the refs favor them but there's silence the next week when a bad call costs that same team.

And I guess I'm a gambling dumdum because I can't see how the Eagles or the Chiefs winning is better for the NFL. 

[DrSpaceman73]

Also now that superbow is over reports are colts will hire eagles oc Steichen as head coach. 

[Guest]

Do I think the league has a massive conspiracy to have KC win in outright rigging? No. 
Do I think he’s the NFL current darling and so the refs do give calls to favor his team? Absolutely. Even the first game of the season, he threw two interceptions and both were overturned on questionable at best penalties.  
It’s frustrating to see a season end this way. Not a big Eagles fan, but very much not a KC fan.