2016 NFL Playoffs

[Pharos04]

Hell of a game. I'm still in shock. Great game by the Falcons. They had the Patriots' number for 3.5 quarters. 

 

Just...what

[Brass]

Joe Montana and Tom Brady are both excellent quarterbacks.

[2001mark]

6 minutes ago, Griffinmarlins said:

Wow, the disrespect towards the Falcons by people in this thread disgusts me. I may be a Steelers fan till the day I die, but I've lived in Atlanta practically my whole life and the Falcons have a special spot in my heart. I just feel sorry for all my friends back home. They've had to deal with this stuff for their entire lives and this was like icing on the cake for sports depression for them. 

It's silly because never in my life have I seen the Falcons thrown under a bus like it.  Probably because they gave up the largest comeback ever, with overtime, to the New England Patriots. 

I never thought I'd see a greater turn of events in one SB than the Seahawks' pick play pick (as it were) to Butler... this wasn't Ryan's rise with the Falcons of a few years ago, this will cause more sleepless nights for Quinn.

[BlueSky]

@Brass Nice post, especially the part about watching with your dad. 

 

I remember watching another wretched Saints loss with my dad in the '80s. He turned off the TV and said in disgust, "I'll be dead before they win anything." He called it; he died in April of '91 and later that year, the Saints won their first division title and of course 18 more seasons passed before they won it all. I wish he could have been there watching it with me. 

 

Point being, you've got your priorities straight and a good perspective on your good fortune. 

[GriffinM6]

1 minute ago, 2001mark said:

It's silly because never in my life have I seen the Falcons thrown under a bus like it.  Probably because they gave up the largest comeback ever, with overtime, to the New England Patriots. 

I never thought I'd see a greater turn of events in one SB than the Seahawks' pick play pick (as it were) to Butler... this wasn't Ryan's rise with the Falcons of a few years ago, this will cause more sleepless nights for Quinn.

For real man. Like what the hell is BucsFan's problem? Dude needs to chill out. Acting like he's on twitter or something.

[JayMac]

2 minutes ago, Alex Houston said:

Here's a topic worthy of another thread. Since so many people here were anti-Pats, do many of you root against any other dynasties? Did you root against the Bulls, Yankees, Devils, Giants, Blackhawks, Cardinals?

Yes. I do not like dynasties. If it turns out any of my favorite teams becomes a dynasty, I'll make an exception.

[BBTV]

1 minute ago, Brass said:

Joe Montana and Tom Brady are both excellent quarterbacks.

 

That's a false statement - Joe Montana was an excellent quarterback.  Tom Brady is an excellent quarterback.

 

Just breaking balls - I know what you meant and you're correct.  Only a fool would argue otherwise.

 

But if there was a draft today and I had the number one pick, I'd choose Brady.  

[2001mark]

1 minute ago, Brass said:

Joe Montana and Tom Brady are both excellent quarterbacks.

1000% yes.

 

I think it's becoming crystal clear for me that Montana is to Brady as Magic was to Jordan.  Joe & Magic smooth winning operators who capitalized on sweet talent & brains.  Tom & MJ want to outwork everyone & anyone to win at all costs, & they usually will before you realize it's happening.  

I think LeBron btw is somewhere in between.  Game 7 last year was cut throat'esque, yet his Heat era was a bit less alpha doggish.

[BBTV]

1 minute ago, jmac11281 said:

Yes. I do not like dynasties. If it turns out any of my favorite teams becomes a dynasty, I'll make an exception.

 

IMO sports are better when there's dynasties.  I like watching the undisputed best, not some random team that got hot and won a tournament.  Also it makes it a bigger deal when the giant is dethroned.  

 

When every team wins it's less special.  And I'm saying that as a "fan" of teams that never (or at least very rarely win.)

[BlueSky]

On another note, Hedley should probably be on suicide watch...

[Dynasty]

7 minutes ago, Alex Houston said:

Here's a topic worthy of another thread. Since so many people here were anti-Pats, do many of you root against any other dynasties? Did you root against the Bulls, Yankees, Devils, Giants, Blackhawks, Cardinals?

 

I don't like dynasties in general, but there are a few factors...

• The ones that have likable players/coaches/fanbases.
• The ones that didn't have much (if any) history of winning.
• The ones that went against teams I didn't like.
• It's my team.

[BBTV]

2 minutes ago, 2001mark said:

1000% yes.

 

I think it's becoming crystal clear for me that Montana is to Brady as Magic was to Jordan.  Joe & Magic smooth winning operators who capitalized on sweet talent & brains.  Tom & MJ want to outwork everyone & anyone to win at all costs, & they usually will before you realize it's happening.  

I think LeBron btw is somewhere in between.  Game 7 last year was cut throat'esque, yet his Heat era was a bit less alpha doggish.

 

Good post.  I think Kobe belongs in there somewhere - like he's Jordan to Lebron's Magic.

[Lights Out]

13 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

That's fair, but Brady is in the salary cap / parity era.  Those 49er teams would never have been able to stay together in today's era.

The 49ers' toughest opponents - especially the Giants' defenses that tormented Montana - wouldn't have stayed together either. And the Patriots' opponents can't keep their teams together. It works both ways.

 

And the idea that we're in the "parity era" is hilarious. The NFL makes the NBA look like it has parity. "Any given Sunday" has never been anything more than an empty slogan.

[infrared41]

15 minutes ago, CS85 said:

Pats fan bandwagon insults are so lame.  Stop being a bitch and admit you're jealous.  

 

This is coming from a Bears fan, so shove it right up your ass and come with a new insult and a new excuse, OR shut the hell up and keep on rooting for your candyass loser teams.

 

I don't think jealously has anything to do with it. I can only speak for myself, but I'm positive that in 40+ years of following sports, I've never been jealous of anything. Tired of certain teams?  Yes. Bored with certain teams? Absolutely. But honest to God, I've never felt even the slightest twinge of jealousy over another team's success.  

[CS85]

2 minutes ago, Alex Houston said:

Here's a topic worthy of another thread. Since so many people here were anti-Pats, do many of you root against any other dynasties? Did you root against the Bulls, Yankees, Devils, Giants, Blackhawks, Cardinals?

 

People hate success, which is understandable - I used to be one of those fans, but after awhile it gets so tiresome.  The song never changes.  Nobody likes to see the same teams win all the time; THAT is absolutely tiresome.  It's so hard to pull this kind of stuff off, though, so at some point?  At some point fans need to look in the mirror and see the reality of the situation:  The Pats have likely the best coach and best player to ever play, gameplan, and manage over a long period of time.  

 

They're just unbelievably good, slimy as hell (just like every other goddamn team in the NFL), and are firmly in the business of winning.  They know what they're doing.  Most other organizations can barely figure it out.

[Alex Houston]

1 minute ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

IMO sports are better when there's dynasties.  I like watching the undisputed best, not some random team that got hot and won a tournament.  Also it makes it a bigger deal when the giant is dethroned.  

 

When every team wins it's less special.  And I'm saying that as a "fan" of teams that never (or at least very rarely win.)

 

The issue I have with that is it takes away the randomness and variety of seeing other franchises finally succeed. Especially when every league has something like 30+ teams, watching the best keep winning gets dull and uninteresting. Though I respect Brady's accomplishments, it didn't surprise me how much disdain people had about the team being back in. I wouldn't be surprised if a fair chunk of fans specifically didn't even watch the game because the Pats were back in it.

[CS85]

Just now, infrared41 said:

 

I don't think jealously has anything to do with it. I can only speak for myself, but I'm positive that in 40+ years of following sports, I've never been jealous of anything. Tired of certain teams?  Yes. Bored with certain teams? Absolutely. But honest to God, I've never felt even the slightest twinge of jealousy over another team's success.  

 

I was speaking in generalities to the less-educated fans of the world.  Not necessarily anyone in this thread (there have been a few, but I'm a forgiving sort), but across the social media spectrum it's been cringe-worthy.  Even Deadspin was being petty as hell.

[Unocal]

That was very ,very painful to watch.

 

For 3 quarters, the Patriots looked slow and Atlanta was flying around with all that speed.

 

And then came a 4th quarter that I'm not going to get over for a long, long time.

 

As I said a while back, reasons I can't stand the Patriots have little to do with alleged cheating.

 

THEY. WIN. TOO. DAMN. MUCH.

 

I mean, Boston gets ANOTHER title at the expense of an upstart.

 

The Patriots get ANOTHER Super Bowl.

 

That final 15 minutes and OT was as devastating as anything I've ever seen in football.

[BBTV]

1 minute ago, Lights Out said:

The 49ers' toughest opponents - especially the Giants' defenses that tormented Montana - wouldn't have stayed together either. And the Patriots' opponents can't keep their teams together. It works both ways.

 

And the idea that we're in the "parity era" is hilarious. The NFL makes the NBA look like it has parity. "Any given Sunday" has never been anything more than an empty slogan.

 

Fair point about their opponents.  Unfair point about the NFL not being in parity-era.  How many worst-to-first teams happen in NFL?  Seems like it's all the time.  I don't even care if the Eagles finish last, because unlike when I was a kid, they can very easily finish first the next year.

 

It's essentially parity unless you have one of the 2 or 3 elite QBs - then you're above it.  That's why you do whatever the hell you can to get one of those guys.  I wouldn't have cared if the Eagles had traded me to Cleveland to move up and get Carson Wentz if they realy thought he was going to be one of those 2-or-3 guys.  And there's nothing I want less than to be in Cleveland.

[Dynasty]

3 minutes ago, Alex Houston said:

 

The issue I have with that is it takes away the randomness and variety of seeing other franchises finally succeed. Especially when every league has something like 30+ teams, watching the best keep winning gets dull and uninteresting. Though I respect Brady's accomplishments, it didn't surprise me how much disdain people had about the team being back in. I wouldn't be surprised if a fair chunk of fans specifically didn't even watch the game because the Pats were back in it.

 

I'll admit I didn't watch the first half, but I did watch some of the second after learning of Atlanta's large lead (and of course that's when they laid an egg).