Jump to content

2015 NFL Season-Now with Playoff Talk


buzzcut

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 3.1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

That was about the most topsy-turvy day of NFL football I can remember.

We need the Steelers out of the playoffs. The NFL is better when they're not playing in January. This is a fact. Go Jets, go Chiefs.

I mean, the Steelers have an extreme entertainment factor when Ben and the three-headed menace that their WR core are balling, not to mention that several of the AFC playoff team QB's as is (Brandon Weeden, Lol) kinda suck to think about, but since you're a scarred Bengals fan, I can kinda understand what that's like. Kinda like why I liked the 2011 MLB postseason a whole lot more with the Red Sox not in it, come to think of it. Funny how fandom makes us root for things that, for the overall quality of the sport, probably hurt it more than helps it.

spacer.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So now it appears the Patriots didn't care about kicking or receiving, they wanted to pick a side.

The confusion happened because Slater said the Pats wanted to kickoff and then pointed to one end of the field to say "We want to kickoff from that side" but the ref took just the kickoff part.

Slater was confused at the end because he wasn't able to choose the side and he didn't know why.

IbjBaeE.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the NFL found that having Thursday Night Football and Saturday Night Football on the NFL Network diluted The Brand, the precious, holy Brand, so they call their whole package of bum-ass Jaguars games, Phil Simms overexposure, and Green Man suits Thursday Night Football no matter the day.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So now it appears the Patriots didn't care about kicking or receiving, they wanted to pick a side.

The confusion happened because Slater said the Pats wanted to kickoff and then pointed to one end of the field to say "We want to kickoff from that side" but the ref took just the kickoff part.

Slater was confused at the end because he wasn't able to choose the side and he didn't know why.

Yeah...if they really cared about what side, then they should have deferred, giving the Jets the opportunity to pick kick/receive. They likely would have picked receive then the Pats would have been able to choose their side. If the Pats had picked to kick then I guess it woulda backfired (if they really wanted to 1. Kick and 2. defend a particular end zone).

I don't know what to believe. Heck, maybe Belichek even wanted to kick because he kinda/sorta did not care about winning...knowing what else went on that day, maybe getting the Steelers out was worth it. (I doubt this; they always want to win...but if I am a Pats fan, I figure this works out...Pittsburgh may not get in and a win in Miami still gives homefield advantage).

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD

POTD (Shared)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

can you defer in OT when there's no other opening kickoff?

I didn't see any of this, but getting the Steelers knocked out (or at least on the ropes) would be pretty smart.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You wouldn't defer the selection - you would just choose which end to play defense on. That would appear to be Slater's mistake, or perhaps an issue with the communications between Slater and Blakeman. You would choose which end, because of course the Jets would choose to receive and take the ball to start the overtime.

The only time, under the current rules, I've seen the decision to kick off winning the coin toss was with Belichick, but it was in a howling wind storm against the Broncos in 2013. Kicking off there made sense, because field goal kicking was a nightmare, and Denver had only scored one touchdown in the second half of that particular game. I could reason it. Now, yes, I know the Meadowlands is notorious for its wind, but that was more in the old stadium than the new stadium, and I don't remember hearing the wind being much of a problem during the game yesterday (entirely possible, of course, that I missed something during the broadcast). In this case, I think it was more Belichick out-smarting himself than anything else. BB is a pretty progressive person; that 4th down against the Colts several years back? Seemed a lot more ridiculous than it would appear today, because the intel on such decisions has evolved a great deal since then*. I'm sure he had some reasoning behind his decision, but that doesn't mean it was the right decision either, I feel. It doesn't make sense, to me, to make a decision where, worst case scenario, your team never has the ball during the overtime period. Even if you don't expect to see the Jets drive 80 yards and win on a touchdown, well, maybe they drive 50 yards, kick a field goal, and put all the pressure on the Patriots to go 40-50 yards of their own to get into field goal position. It's a trumped up version of the college OT set-up, then, I guess. I've long favored just making overtime a 4th quarter do-over, and eliminating the sudden death element. I don't even see the point of games ending in a tie, because these teams play once a week; let those games run as long as necessary. It's Sunday; I don't care when the game ends.

Belichick is generally brilliant but he's not infallible. Remember the Super Bowl? Sure, Malcolm Butler's INT off the bone-headed passing play decision by Bevell and the Seahawks is what is remembered, but the Patriots, with two timeouts, deciding to let the clock continue to go, giving themselves virtually no time to work with if they gave up a touchdown? Yeah, that's on Bill if the Patriots lose that game on a touchdown in the final 30 seconds. Because there was the possibility to at least have more time to work with even if they did give up a score. Of course, again, that storyline gets lost in what followed.

*to wit, Lovie Smith went for a 4th-and-2 around his own 40 in a game earlier this season in Atlanta with the Bucs up 20-13 in the final two minutes. Lovie Smith, who's not the most conservative coach out there but sure as hell isn't what I'd call a progressive, either.

spacer.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So now it appears the Patriots didn't care about kicking or receiving, they wanted to pick a side.

The confusion happened because Slater said the Pats wanted to kickoff and then pointed to one end of the field to say "We want to kickoff from that side" but the ref took just the kickoff part.

Slater was confused at the end because he wasn't able to choose the side and he didn't know why.

Apparently, Belichick told the official before the coin toss if they win, he wanted to kick.

cropped-cropped-toronto-skyline21.jpg?w=

@2001mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First season sweep of Seattle in a decade.

I can live with that.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is giving up 14 points really worthy of the term "torching"? I think not. The Broncos have a very good defense and no defense is perfect.

I'm not watching but from my Facebook and ESPN, it seems like that was a pretty popular opinion. I believe when he posted that the Bengals had just completed touchdown drives of 13 and 15 plays for 80 and 90 yards on the two opening possessions, so it probably was pretty appropriate at the time.

IUe6Hvh.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Makes sense. I only started watching after halftime and Denver's defense has been suffocating.

Yeah, it seems he was definitely a bit premature because they look solid right now.

And yeah, Crabcake, I've been watching for five minutes and they've already driven me up a wall on correct calls! Even when they get it right they still make the game hard to watch.

IUe6Hvh.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So despite losing to Brandon Weeden and the Texans for the first time at home last Sunday and relying on Clipboard Jesus Charlie Whitehurst this upcoming Sunday, the Colts can still make the playoffs. They just need a couple things to happen.

They need:

  • Broncos to hold on tonight against the Bengals
  • Colts beat Tennessee on Sunday
  • Pittsburgh beat Cleveland
  • Denver beat San Diego
  • Atlanta beat New Orleans
  • Jacksonville beat Houston
  • Miami beat New England
  • Baltimore beat Cincinnati
  • Buffalo beat Jets
  • Oakland beat Kansas City

That's all they need to earn the potential tiebreaker over Houston and win the AFC South.

Easy.

5963ddf2a9031_dkO1LMUcopy.jpg.0fe00e17f953af170a32cde8b7be6bc7.jpg

| ANA | LAA | LAR | LAL | ASU | CSULBUSMNT | USWNTLAFC | OCSCMAN UTD |

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.