FinsUp1214

I can absolutely get behind the oversized logos in the endzones. They fill the space so much better than the recent endzones have. 

1 hour ago, Digby said:

 

So here's my question though. What is "conference pride"? Do the players have it? The fans? Honestly I feel way more animosity toward other teams in my team's conference than I do in the opposing conference (not including the Lakers and, arbitrarily, Dallas) ... so I've never felt a strong pull to root for a team that's got one or two of my guys but way more rivals, and maybe that's also why spinning up a brand for the conferences each year felt so pointless to me. That and, again, the jerseys were exclusively hideous during Adidas's entire run. 

I guess where I’m coming from with it is that, as a fan, I like the narrative of “West beats East” (or vice-versa) much better than “LeBron and his buddies are better than KD and his buddies.” Maybe the players don’t give a rip about conferences and such, and if so, then I guess this ASG version works for them. But from one fan’s viewpoint, I just don’t see why I’m supposed to care who wins a glorified pickup game devoid of defense or purpose when I can watch other sports’ conferences actually duke it out for some bragging rights. I mean, the NHL has a full-on mini-tournament of divisions for crying out loud. You HAVE to win a semi-final first before you can even win the whole game. I’ve always been much more intrigued by that format then what the NBA’s done lately.

I totally get where you’re coming from with rivals in your own conference, I think there’s a lot of validity in that thought. I guess for me I don’t mind the conference rivals teaming up for one night in the year though. I can set aside my animosity towards Lakers or Warriors if it helps one or more Jazz players win too.
 

I don’t know, in my opinion ASG’s should have a solid competitive purpose, even if that purpose is determining which of the two conferences (or multiple divisions) gets bragging rights for a year. Playing fantasy basketball on TNT isn’t a good enough purpose for me to care about.

The funny thing about the “pick up game” argument to me is that the ASG is literally a glorified pick up game now, even with consistently themed uniforms. Two captains pick thier buddies to fill out thier teams, and two players inevitably get roasted for getting picked last. The only difference is that it’s all nationally televised, celebrities are walking halfway onto the court instagramming the whole thing, and Reggie Miller wonders aloud if a 200-burger is getting dropped at least a dozen times.

I’d honestly rather it look like a pickup game with at least some Conference pride to play for than actually be a pickup game with nothing to play for and generally poor uniforms.
 

^ The only set up there I think actually looked any good was that Phoenix ASG set. The rest I could definitely do without. Give me players’ wearing thier own teams’ uniforms all day. It’s not that much of a mess, really, and I never had a problem telling which team was which or who was who back then. It’s home vs. road uniforms and you can easily tell which player is which because they’re wearing the uniform you’re familiar with them wearing.

Steph in his Warriors uniform isn’t passing the ball to Giannis in his Bucks uniform going “oops forgot you played for the East”, and I doubt fans will ever squint at thier tv screens going “who’s that guy wearing a #1 Suns jersey?”

5 hours ago, jc... said:

 

You know....could avoid the BBengals if they did helmets. I was surprised they did it for the Rams, and the 49ers. We always seem to get an unexpected surprise. 

I’d rather the Bengals use the tiger head than the helmet. That being said, I still think the helmet would be a better option than the “B” too.

In terms of color contrast, I’m really digging Bengals/Rams a lot.

I’m not necessarily banking on it, but I do think the Bengals have a shot. If anything, they’ve at least got the offense to hang in a shootout with Kansas City and can put themselves in a position to win. Granted, they’ve got some flaws in the O-Line and the defense is streaky, but I can still see a path to them winning.

Honestly, Joe Burrow has that Montana/Brady factor about him. I don’t know, he just seems like he’s got the “it” that can close a game if he gets the opportunity. It may be a season or two too early to call it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that kicks in next week (given Cincinnati keeps it close).

I had a feeling 13 seconds would still be too much time for Mahomes and Co. 
 

I have nothing against the Chiefs, but as a parity guy, I’m pulling for the Bills. Plus, Gabriel Davis is having one of the greatest postseason performances ever and I always hate for performances like that to end in losses.

EDIT: Welp

Part of me is surprised the Bucs would let Kupp get that open twice in a row, but the other part of me isn’t all that surprised considering he’s one of the best route runners in the game. He came up absolutely clutch and single-handedly carried that drive. 
 

Three walk off FG’s this weekend. This has been some crazy fun football this round.

The Rams:

Wow, crazy Saturday! 
 

Is this the first time both #1 seeds have ever lost on the same day to last-second field goals? I can’t remember it ever happening before off the top of my head.

14 hours ago, jgiff17 said:

It’s not great at all, but it’s better than what I had not-so-irrationally feared (Lyndon B. Johnson swinging a bat made of moon rocks and wearing a space suit, 10 gallon hat, and tequila sunrise cowboy boots).

As of 10:36 left in the 3rd, OBJ has more passing yards than Kyler Murray. Woof.

On 1/13/2022 at 2:15 PM, heavybass said:

Texans sack Culley, will go for Flores.

I’m late to this, but this has all the stink of Culley being a scapegoat and set up for failure. The Texans had no business winning any games at all this season, and somehow Culley got four out them. Seems like he was getting only one year and the axe no matter how many games he won and how much he made out of a truly bad situation (and he did a commendable job at both).

No matter who they hire, that franchise is still a dumpster fire and it’s going to take some serious change and time for them to get out of thier pit. 

13 hours ago, Cujo said:

Raiders vs Bengals

The Home Alone Bowl

Marv vs Kevin

 

*If the Raiders make the Super Bowl*
 

Bisaccia: *Points at Lombardi Trophy* That’s the one. That’s the Silver Tuna.

Carr: SIIILVER TUNA TONIGHT

12 minutes ago, WSU151 said:

 

2022 is season #5 of the current design (designed, IIRC by a guy that used to be on here a bit and did graphic design work for the team) 

To be honest I’m not familiar with how the 5-year rule enforces things like color tweaks or otherwise minor changes - the logo and the rebrand that went along with it were introduced in 2013, with the minor tweaks you’re referencing coming along in 2018. Would that mean the Dolphins could still make changes now (using 2013 as the year in reference), or are the minor tweaks significant enough to start the 5-year clock over?

The Cardinals are usually at the top of my off-season changes wishlist every year, but I’m also still counting down the days Miami’s belly flop dolphin is gone forever. The uniforms are just fine, but that logo needs to go, and I’m hoping for a surprise that this year is the year.

Things I don’t consider the Titans’ uniform to be: tough, clean, stark

Cheesy, gaudy, and better suited for a Semi-Pro team sponsored by the Excalibur? Absolutely. But tough, clean, and stark? No way.

8 hours ago, DCarp1231 said:

The Titans being brought up in the Washington thread had me thinking how if Tennessee went full Jacksonville and oversimplified their set following next season, they should take a few notes from the Toronto Argonauts

I think the Argos route would be really good for Tennessee as well. Along the same lines, I also wouldn’t mind them taking notes from North Carolina (without argyle, of course):

Overall, something simpler and easier on the eyes that embraces powder blue - helmets and all - would be excellent. 
 

*Yes, I know that’s technically Carolina blue and not powder blue; I’m just going for the spirit of the idea here.

I would say I “forgot” Mark Sanchez and Josh Johnson played for Washington, but I honestly don’t think I even knew they did in the first place. That’s a whole other level of QB revolving door.

Re: Judge, I really wonder how much his firing and Gettleman’s “retirement” is going to affect Daniel Jones. It’ll be interesting to see if the new personnel coming in will be as willing to give him another go as Judge was. No matter where they’ll stand on him, they need a new O-Line yesterday.

38 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

Im genuinely not worried about the Bucs facing a single NFC team except for one. The 49ers. I just have this feeling that them getting that defense settled a bit more right before the playoffs is going to vault them deep into the playoffs. It’s contingent on Garrapolo not tossing games away, but I kinda feel like that defense may be able to cover enough of their offensive weaknesses up. 

I honestly feel like the 49ers could really make more noise than thier seed would suggest. The defense is coming along at the right time, yes, but I also feel like they could be enough of a nuisance with thier run game to control the clock and potentially neutralize the more potent offenses they’d have to face along the way. Add in the home-run-play capabilities Swiss Army Deebo and Kittle have to offer, and maybe even some chunk-run Lance packages sprinkled in, and that’s a team that’s sneakily well-equipped to cause some trouble, even against teams like Dallas, Green Bay, and Tampa Bay.

Like you said, Jimmy G absolutely has to take care of the ball for all of that to work. But if he does, and the 49ers play thier way? I’m not sure I’d want to play them right now.

Alright, I’ll throw some predictions out there!

AFC

- Wild Card -

Kansas City over Pittsburgh

Cincinnati over Las Vegas

Buffalo over New England

- Divisional -

Tennessee over Cincinnati

Kansas City over Buffalo

- Championship -

Tennessee over Kansas City

(Feeling a big King Henry game here)

NFC

- Wild Card -

Tampa Bay over Philadelphia

*UPSET ALERT* San Francisco over Dallas

LA Rams over Arizona

- Divisional -

Green Bay over San Francisco

Tampa Bay over LA Rams

- Championship -

Green Bay over Tampa Bay

Super Bowl

Green Bay 34, Tennessee 20

MVP: Davante Adams, GB

Multiverse of Madness Super Bowl: Pittsburgh 7, San Francisco 6 because Steelernanigans for Ben

Hmmm. Interesting take on this:

Also, I don’t think they’re getting past Kansas City…but I still don’t like Pittsburgh squeezing thier way into the playoffs with a legend about to retire…again. Weird crap happened on Bettis’ farewell tour through SB XL, and the Steelers pulling a Lombardi out of thier end for Ben would be the most Steelers thing that ever Steeler’d.

Again, I don’t think it’s going to happen, but still.

Wow. I haven’t seen the numbers, but I’d be very curious to see what the playoff clinching probabability was for the Chargers before and immediately after the timeout. That’s one of the more head scratching calls I’ve ever seen. 
 

Carr’s post-game comments about the changed strategy is a dagger. Who knows what they’d have tried to do if the timeout’s not called, and if it’d have worked in time. Staley’s really going to have to answer for this one, and no, “aNaLyTiCs” won’t be a good answer this time.

1 hour ago, IceCap said:

CCSLC tropes I'm annoyed by- 

 

"Let's try to figure out the logo/striping from a blurry reflection in nearby glass!"

 

"Team's social media account changed the graphics to X! I bet X is part of the new identity!"

 

"This leak is fake. Clearly the team made up fake merchandise and documents to mislead some nerds on the internet." 

 

I mean I get it. People are curious. They don't want to wait until 2 February and in absence of an official unveiling speculation gets crazy. But these three tropes keep happening and they never pan out  

The last two are definitely annoying for sure, I’ll gladly give you that. I honestly don’t see the problem with the first one though. Whereas the last two are based on nothing but bold assumption or some tin-foil-hatting, the first is based in actual visual evidence that the team didn’t think to blur out like it did elsewhere. These boards are clearly the kind of place where that’s going to get pounced on. I for one thought the logo in the reflection was a great catch and was fun to look into. Also, the helmet logo in the reflection is looking like the leaked “W” so far, so the “panning out” of that looks promising for now.

To each thier own, though. If you’re truly that annoyed by it, then that’s alright and that’s for you.