2016 NFL Playoffs

[dont care]

2 hours ago, habsfan1 said:

 

It was taped in October. I would have lol'ed if the Pats lost the game and they would have wasted all their money producing this commercial.

They probably would have just cut that 5 seconds out, and had an alternative ending

[Alex Houston]

3 hours ago, hbgoo1975 said:

They'll probably be mediocre next season.

 

Looking back at recent history suggests Atlanta does have a good shot to make another deep couple runs. The Packers and Steelers have loitered around since their battle a few years back, Broncos bounced back from an ass whooping and obviously Patriots have been there many times. As we go back though, it gets spotty. The Colts have faded since their run-in with the Saints, the Cardinals have been to one other conference game since '09 and the Eagles, Bucs and Raiders are dust in the wind alongside them. Now with that in mind...

 

4 hours ago, McCarthy said:

Sports takes on more meaning in our lives than it probably should. If the Bengals had won SB23 it wouldn't have made the 90's any easier and really nobody would've cared. We'd be the Buccaneers right now - an historically bad franchise that got their act together for one season. In the end none of this matters, is my point I guess. 

 

I waffle on this. On one hand, I got to see a team that was knocking on the door since '99 finally break it down and get the recognition they deserve. On the other hand, they have one playoff appearance since 'the pirate bowl' and became the laughing stock of the league thanks to MRSA and an awful rebrand that I hate. I don't know if there's a silver lining in this, but having one moment in the sun is better than none. 

[IceCap]

The Pats cemented their status as one of the greatest NFL dynasties of all time.

 

 

6 minutes ago, Alex Houston said:

Looking back at recent history suggests Atlanta does have a good shot to make another deep couple runs.

They're young and talented, but this could be one of those loses that just absolutely sinks a franchise.

[infrared41]

8 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

The Pats cemented their status as one of the greatest NFL dynasties of all time.

 

The more I think about that, the more I disagree with it.  - Cheap plug alert!* - I think I have a pretty solid argument for the Pats being something less than an all time great dynasty, but it would take way too long to type it out here. To find out why the Patriots aren't the dynasty we think they are, you'll have to tune in to this week's episode of Basically a Sports/Football Show. (We're doing another crossover episode this week) And no, "cheating" and under-inflated footballs have nothing to do with my argument. 

 

*It's probably a HOT TAKE alert too, but I swear I'm not saying it just to be contrary. I really believe it.

[Dalcowboyfan92]

23 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

They're young and talented, but this could be one of those loses that just absolutely sinks a franchise.

 

Agreed. This kind of loss can get so deeply ingrained into your psyche. The Falcons will need to come together and surmount this horrible setback.

 

But, even if they win the next 2-3 Super Bowls; they may never totally exorcise the demons from last night. A part of this loss will stick with every player and coach, and haunt them for the rest of their lives.

[B-Rich]

19 hours ago, BlueSky said:

Saddens me to see people crapping on the Falcons and their fans, especially Saints fans who have done their share of suffering and should thus have some empathy.

13 hours ago, BlueSky said:

@infrared41@OnWis97.....but it surprises me that anyone who has felt that pain would be saying "Bwahaaahaaa Atlanta." Sure, I've gotten my share of "abuse" - one diehard Falcons fan colleague was heading into the men's room once and cheerfully informed me he was going to "take a Saints" then "wipe his New Orleans" - but it's understood to be good-spirited razzing. Anyone who revels in others' misery needs to do some serious introspection.

 

Yeah, you've lived too long in Atlanta.

 

I posted a laugh, and a meme about the Falcons team, but left it at that.  I put that in the same category as good-spirited razzing.  I'm glad the FRANCHISE lost.  Never said anything negative about their fans-- and while I can undertstand their situation and empathize to some degree (more so because of LSU-Bama than the Saints), I certainly don't have any sympathy for them.  No way.  I'll save my sympathy for widows, orphans and lost dogs.  I will always remember 62-7 in '73, "Big Ben" and the 53 second drive in 1978, Glanville sending a guy to take out Morten Andersen on a kick-off in the late 1980s, the 1991 playoff loss and Atlanta airport workers (fans) egging the Saints buses in 2012.

 

[dfwabel]

Well, we're minutes away from Bomani Jones to give us a new chapter to his "You can't trust the Falcons" rant.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

1 hour ago, FinsUp1214 said:

Regarding gut-punch games, I completely get how games like that can be a wrecking ball to a fan's morale and I don't blame a Falcons fan if the wind's knocked out of them for years after this.

 

As a Jazz fan, I think a lot of us haven't really gotten over Jordan's shot in '98. I was just a young'un then and remember it generally, but I saw over the next few years what that really meant as the team declined and older fans who "got it" sort of "carried on but not really". Watching the team turn into a shell of themselves after that is what made me "feel it" for myself. That feeling that it may have been the last shot we have get to get a ring, and it got barbarically harpooned, became a legendary highlight that every sports fan knows, and it's like "hey that's my team getting skewered like Han Solo in that Air Jordan commercial and it's freaking demoralizing and that's how everyone knows who my team is. Not that we had two of the greatest players ever and were freaking good for years, but this." Still a fan, still love them, always will. But that's always in the back of my mind, and will be as long as they go title-less, which may still be for a very long time.

 

So dang it, I feel for the Falcons fans. This is probably going to go down as the greatest Super Bowl ever, it'll be highlighted and referred to forever, it'll be on commercials and posters and ads, there will be stories written about in even 50 years plus, its plastered all across the record books, etc etc....and it's all at their expense. That's their team at the other end of the highlight getting mauled by both the moment and a horrific new-found reputation. I'm not a Falcons fan by any stretch and I'm even jarred by it all. It sucks and it's demoralizing and I feel for them.

In some respects that reminds me of the 2011 World Series between the Rangers and Cardinals. Rangers up 3 games to 2 and needing a 1 out to win in game 6 and manages to lose in extra innings. Game 7 was a formality and the Rangers that point on, I don't think have been at the same level since.

 

Another game that comes to mind and it's been mentioned already is Viking/Falcons in the NFCCG. The Vikings I don't think have been the same since. Also, Houston/Buffalo in 93 AFCWC in which Buffalo comes back from a  35-3 deficit to win. Everyone knows what happened with the Oilers in the years afterwards.Then in a weird twist of fate, Titans/Bills in 99 and the Music City Miracle. Buffalo themselves haven't been the same since. I don't think they have even made the playoffs since. 

[Unocal]

I am on McCarthy's side when I say last night may have sucked all the fun out of being an NFL fan.

 

I have been a football fan unabashedly forever.

 

going forward it may never be the same again honestly

 

That was the most painful sporting event I have ever seen in my lifetime

 

 

[TheRicSlick]

^^^That is what you say every damn year.

[JWhiz96]

So the Patriots just completed the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. In other words, water is wet and the sky is blue.

 

I'm pissed as hell at the outcome but not surprised. I was watching the game with a group of friends (all Steelers fans) and pretty much all of us wanted ATL to win...except one guy, who kept shouting and yelling anytime the Pats did something good. He bowed to a picture of Tom Brady after the game. It's guys such as him that make me hate the Pats and their fans (although this guy is just full of it, he's also a bandwagon Warriors fan).

 

To the Pats, congrats, I guess. Didn't even seem like Belichick was happy after the game, but whatever. To Falcons fans, I can't imagine what you guys must be going through. To continually have you heart ripped out, I can't relate. Hopefully you won't crater like the 01 Rams did and you can remain a contender.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

In case anyone wasn't sure why the world hates the New England Patriots:

 

 

[rams80]

I'm so glad that Johnathan Kraft is allegedly a Dean Spanos/Mark Davis-level lord.

 

Boston is going to deserve him.

[C's]

Because people getting their limbs blown off during the Boston Marathon is totally on the same level of tragedy as some football turd missing 4 games in September. #BostonStrong

 

Good thing Boston cops don't actually do anything besides tweet and pour Munchkins down their throats.

[Alex Houston]

2 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

They're young and talented, but this could be one of those loses that just absolutely sinks a franchise.

 

I wouldn't believe them if they said they didn't think this loss would linger in their minds for a while, though it could also be seen as motivation. Say if they get to the NFC title game two years from now, they could use that extra piss and vinegar to run the dang ball and may better play calls in clutch moments. Guess time will prove the mental fortitude of this group.

[BeerGuyJordan]

37 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

In case anyone wasn't sure why the world hates the New England Patriots:

 

 

This would be inane from a casual twitter user. From the official Boston PD account, it's tacky and insulting to anyone involved in the Marathon bombing.

[BBTV]

35 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

In case anyone wasn't sure why the world hates the New England Patriots:

 

 

 

OK, that's a little over the top, but it'd be the same way in Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and other places too.

 

[general statement, not directed to the quoted poster]

It really comes off as silly and immature to be like oh, I hate the [team name] and their "fans", lol or see how many fans they had before they got good, now everyone's a fan, or I paid money I shouldn't have and sat in empty stadiums torturing myself watching crappy players that didn't care so I can enjoy my team's success and you just don't understand.

 

Now I fully admit that in my younger days I used to be like that.  Maybe it's just about getting older, but all of those things are just so stupid.   So you've been a lifelong fan of your team?  Good for you.  Maybe other people had other priorities, or your team sucked so they decided that they'd choose enjoyment over pain when it came to their sports outlet.

 

 

 

[Unocal]

Honest question- if the Steelers did to the Falcons what happened instead of New England, do you think our reaction would be different?

[Pabig]

Since the NFL Overtime is pretty flawed (Even as a Patriots fan I gotta admit that) I have a good Idea for an NFL Overtime format:

-Each team gets one drive. The drive lasts until you score a TD or turn the ball over.

-First team has unlimited downs.

-If first team scores a TD the second team gets as many downs as the first needed to score.

-If the first team turns the ball over the second team just needs to score a TD. No Field Goals.

-If both teams score a TD. We repeat the procedure but switch first and second teams.

 

All drives start at the 40 Yard line.

 

It is far from perfect but I think this is better than the current format. What do you guys think about it?

[H11K]

16 minutes ago, Pabig said:

Since the NFL Overtime is pretty flawed (Even as a Patriots fan I gotta admit that) I have a good Idea for an NFL Overtime format:

-Each team gets one drive. The drive lasts until you score a TD or turn the ball over.

-First team has unlimited downs.

-If first team scores a TD the second team gets as many downs as the first needed to score.

-If the first team turns the ball over the second team just needs to score a TD. No Field Goals.

-If both teams score a TD. We repeat the procedure but switch first and second teams.

 

All drives start at the 40 Yard line.

 

It is far from perfect but I think this is better than the current format. What do you guys think about it?

Im not a fan of the unlimited downs idea. I think that the CFB OT is perfect, and the NFL needs to stop being so stubborn and adopt it.