2014 NFL Season Thread

[HedleyLamarr]

I'm not going to go through 15+ pages of posts....

Am I the only one that didn't have a problem with the play selection for the Seahawks? I thought it was a good call, but the execution wasn't there. Credit the defender (Butler, I think?) for recognizing the play and defending a spot on the field instead of the receiver. Credit the Patriots coaches for seeing this play before and having a defensive plan in place.

A couple of facts/stats I heard today: Lynch ran the ball five times this season from the 1-yard line and didn't score a touchdown in four of those attempts. (Lynch had also not converted a 3rd-and-1 from inside the Patriots 10 earlier in the game.) And also, throughout the 2014 season, there were 109 passing attempts from the 1-yard line...and Wilson's pass was the only one that was intercepted in those 109 tries.

Most were expecting the Seahawks to run the ball with Lynch. Perhaps the Seahawks were looking to surprise the Patriots with a pass.

Play-call was good. Execution was meh. Defense was great. Defense made a play. Can't be mad about that.

[JayMac]

Otto Graham went to 10 straight titles. And won 7. GOAT. Discussion over.

It's so sad that most people forget guys like him. Nobody remembers old history. In 50 years, people will probably say, "Brady Who?" and "Manning Who?". Johnny Unitas was considered the benchmark of great QBs. Now, he isn't even mentioned.

[infrared41]

So basically, as McCarthy notes, the AFC is broken. And eff the Patriots big time.

It's not just the AFC. It seems to be a problem for both conferences. And it's been around a while.

Teams with at least 4 Super Bowl appearances:

New England - 8

Pittsburgh - 8

Giants - 5

Dallas - 8

Denver - 7

Washington - 5

Oakland - 5

San Francisco - 5

Green Bay - 5

Miami - 5

Buffalo - 4

Minnesota - 4

Colts - 4

6 teams account for 32 of the NFC's 49 Super Bowl appearances. That number only goes up to 8 when you throw in three each by the Rams and Seahawks. Or 8 teams accounting for 38 of the NFC's 49 appearances.

7 teams account for 41 of the AFC's 49 Super Bowl appearances. The only other AFC teams with more than one SB appearance - Baltimore, KC, and Cincy with 2 each for a total of 10 teams accounting for 46 of 49 appearances.

In essence, it's pretty much always been the same teams.

[NJTank]

What hurts Otto Graham is he did hlf in AAFC and Jim Brown was the best Brown ever

[infrared41]

I'm not going to go through 15+ pages of posts....

Am I the only one that didn't have a problem with the play selection for the Seahawks? I thought it was a good call, but the execution wasn't there. Credit the defender (Butler, I think?) for recognizing the play and defending a spot on the field instead of the receiver. Credit the Patriots coaches for seeing this play before and having a defensive plan in place.

A couple of facts/stats I heard today: Lynch ran the ball five times this season from the 1-yard line and didn't score a touchdown in four of those attempts. (Lynch had also not converted a 3rd-and-1 from inside the Patriots 10 earlier in the game.) And also, throughout the 2014 season, there were 109 passing attempts from the 1-yard line...and Wilson's pass was the only one that was intercepted in those 109 tries.

Most were expecting the Seahawks to run the ball with Lynch. Perhaps the Seahawks were looking to surprise the Patriots with a pass.

Play-call was good. Execution was meh. Defense was great. Defense made a play. Can't be mad about that.

Nope. I thought the call was fine too. If Wilson completes that pass, we're all calling Carroll a genius today.

[RichardWitham]

now i'm no patriots fan, but to paraphrase what shaq said to kobe, seattle, tell me how the patriots a$$ tastes

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

n/m Infared pretty much summed up what my post was about.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I'm not going to go through 15+ pages of posts....

Am I the only one that didn't have a problem with the play selection for the Seahawks? I thought it was a good call, but the execution wasn't there. Credit the defender (Butler, I think?) for recognizing the play and defending a spot on the field instead of the receiver. Credit the Patriots coaches for seeing this play before and having a defensive plan in place.

A couple of facts/stats I heard today: Lynch ran the ball five times this season from the 1-yard line and didn't score a touchdown in four of those attempts. (Lynch had also not converted a 3rd-and-1 from inside the Patriots 10 earlier in the game.) And also, throughout the 2014 season, there were 109 passing attempts from the 1-yard line...and Wilson's pass was the only one that was intercepted in those 109 tries.

Most were expecting the Seahawks to run the ball with Lynch. Perhaps the Seahawks were looking to surprise the Patriots with a pass.

Play-call was good. Execution was meh. Defense was great. Defense made a play. Can't be mad about that.

Nope. I thought the call was fine too. If Wilson completes that pass, we're all calling Carroll a genius today.

Sure, but I think they outsmarted themselves. They had time to run and then pass. I get what they were going for, but it seemed so unnecessary.

[Sport]

I'm not going to go through 15+ pages of posts....

Am I the only one that didn't have a problem with the play selection for the Seahawks? I thought it was a good call, but the execution wasn't there. Credit the defender (Butler, I think?) for recognizing the play and defending a spot on the field instead of the receiver. Credit the Patriots coaches for seeing this play before and having a defensive plan in place.

A couple of facts/stats I heard today: Lynch ran the ball five times this season from the 1-yard line and didn't score a touchdown in four of those attempts. (Lynch had also not converted a 3rd-and-1 from inside the Patriots 10 earlier in the game.) And also, throughout the 2014 season, there were 109 passing attempts from the 1-yard line...and Wilson's pass was the only one that was intercepted in those 109 tries.

Most were expecting the Seahawks to run the ball with Lynch. Perhaps the Seahawks were looking to surprise the Patriots with a pass.

Play-call was good. Execution was meh. Defense was great. Defense made a play. Can't be mad about that.

Nope. I thought the call was fine too. If Wilson completes that pass, we're all calling Carroll a genius today.

True, but I just think it was a high risk/high reward call when there were low risk/high reward options available. You had a timeout. Run the ball twice and I like the odds of scoring on that a lot better than on a pass. Or throw it to your hot WR in the back corner (not the fade route. F*** the fade route forever) or your TE in the back of the endzone. if they don't come down with it then nobody does. Or use a rollout passing option that gives Wilson a choice to use his best asset, his legs and feet.

It's like Woody always said "three things can happen on a pass and two of them are bad."

Throwing directly into the middle with that many bodies was a poor choice that was poorly executed. Wilson definitely didn't put it where he wanted it. If he hits Lockette in the numbers I'm going to a championship parade this week.

[HedleyLamarr]

Or...the defense made a great play on Seattle's good call.

Lynch was 20% successful in running the ball in from the 1-yard line this season (1 for 5). And, was stopped earlier in the game on a 3rd-and-1.

Maybe Seattle's offensive coordinator didn't trust his offensive line to give the push they needed to give in short-yardage situations....

[infrared41]

I'm not going to go through 15+ pages of posts....

Am I the only one that didn't have a problem with the play selection for the Seahawks? I thought it was a good call, but the execution wasn't there. Credit the defender (Butler, I think?) for recognizing the play and defending a spot on the field instead of the receiver. Credit the Patriots coaches for seeing this play before and having a defensive plan in place.

A couple of facts/stats I heard today: Lynch ran the ball five times this season from the 1-yard line and didn't score a touchdown in four of those attempts. (Lynch had also not converted a 3rd-and-1 from inside the Patriots 10 earlier in the game.) And also, throughout the 2014 season, there were 109 passing attempts from the 1-yard line...and Wilson's pass was the only one that was intercepted in those 109 tries.

Most were expecting the Seahawks to run the ball with Lynch. Perhaps the Seahawks were looking to surprise the Patriots with a pass.

Play-call was good. Execution was meh. Defense was great. Defense made a play. Can't be mad about that.

Nope. I thought the call was fine too. If Wilson completes that pass, we're all calling Carroll a genius today.

Sure, but I think they outsmarted themselves. They had time to run and then pass. I get what they were going for, but it seemed so unnecessary.

All things considered, if you're going to pass, passing on 2nd down was probably the best choice. If you run on 2nd and don't get it, the chances you're passing on the next two downs increase significantly. If anything, the Seahawks should have run a different pass play. Maybe something to the corner where it's either caught by your receiver or it goes out of bounds.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Also, Kearse could have caught that ball earlier in the fourth. Or he could have dropped the circus catch. At this point, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, this city wouldn't be do damned depressed today.

[The_Admiral]

now i'm no patriots fan, but to paraphrase what shaq said to kobe, seattle, tell me how the patriots a$$ tastes

You are a simpleton.

[Jimmy!]

I'm not going to go through 15+ pages of posts....

Am I the only one that didn't have a problem with the play selection for the Seahawks? I thought it was a good call, but the execution wasn't there. Credit the defender (Butler, I think?) for recognizing the play and defending a spot on the field instead of the receiver. Credit the Patriots coaches for seeing this play before and having a defensive plan in place.

A couple of facts/stats I heard today: Lynch ran the ball five times this season from the 1-yard line and didn't score a touchdown in four of those attempts. (Lynch had also not converted a 3rd-and-1 from inside the Patriots 10 earlier in the game.) And also, throughout the 2014 season, there were 109 passing attempts from the 1-yard line...and Wilson's pass was the only one that was intercepted in those 109 tries.

Most were expecting the Seahawks to run the ball with Lynch. Perhaps the Seahawks were looking to surprise the Patriots with a pass.

Play-call was good. Execution was meh. Defense was great. Defense made a play. Can't be mad about that.

Nope. I thought the call was fine too. If Wilson completes that pass, we're all calling Carroll a genius today.

Sure, but I think they outsmarted themselves. They had time to run and then pass. I get what they were going for, but it seemed so unnecessary.

All things considered, if you're going to pass, passing on 2nd down was probably the best choice. If you run on 2nd and don't get it, the chances you're passing on the next two downs increase significantly. If anything, the Seahawks should have run a different pass play. Maybe something to the corner where it's either caught by your receiver or it goes out of bounds.

Seattle's rushing game averaged 5.3 yards per carry during the regular season. The Patriots defense was allowing 4 ypc during the regular season. Looking at that stat alone, a running play wouldn't have been a bad 2nd down call.

Moot point. Pats won. It was a heckuva game; the kind of game a Super Bowl SHOULD be. I just wish the outcome was different.

[Sport]

Also, Kearse could have caught that ball earlier in the fourth. Or he could have dropped the circus catch. At this point, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, this city wouldn't be do damned depressed today.

Seriously. Everyone getting on the bus this morning looked like they got hit by a bus. Maybe I'm projecting my own thoughts, but the sidewalks felt like people were walking a little bit slower than they were a few days ago.

But at the same time, they won it all last year. I wanted the Seahawks to win and spent a lot of last night thinking about the final play, but as a Bengals fan I'd take the one title and be happy for the rest of time.

[Lights Out]

So basically, as McCarthy notes, the AFC is broken. And eff the Patriots big time.

It's not just the AFC. It seems to be a problem for both conferences. And it's been around a while.

Teams with at least 4 Super Bowl appearances:

New England - 8

Pittsburgh - 8

Giants - 6

Dallas - 7

Denver - 6

Washington - 5

Oakland - 5

San Francisco - 5

Green Bay - 5

Miami - 5

Buffalo - 4

Minnesota - 4

Colts - 4

6 teams account for 32 of the NFC's 49 Super Bowl appearances. That number only goes up to 8 when you throw in three each by the Rams and Seahawks. Or 8 teams accounting for 38 of the NFC's 49 appearances.

7 teams account for 40 of the AFC's 49 Super Bowl appearances. The only other AFC teams with more than one SB appearance - Baltimore, KC, and Cincy with 2 each for a total of 10 teams accounting for 46 of 49 appearances.

In essence, it's pretty much always been the same teams.

But the NFL has so much "parity" according to their own marketing!

[Lights Out]

Otto Graham went to 10 straight titles. And won 7. GOAT. Discussion over.

It's so sad that most people forget guys like him. Nobody remembers old history. In 50 years, people will probably say, "Brady Who?" and "Manning Who?". Johnny Unitas was considered the benchmark of great QBs. Now, he isn't even mentioned.

I still have Graham and Unitas (along with Montana) ahead of Brady on my all-time list.

[infrared41]

So basically, as McCarthy notes, the AFC is broken. And eff the Patriots big time.

6 teams account for 32 of the NFC's 49 Super Bowl appearances. That number only goes up to 8 when you throw in three each by the Rams and Seahawks. Or 8 teams accounting for 38 of the NFC's 49 appearances.

7 teams account for 40 of the AFC's 49 Super Bowl appearances. The only other AFC teams with more than one SB appearance - Baltimore, KC, and Cincy with 2 each for a total of 10 teams accounting for 46 of 49 appearances.

In essence, it's pretty much always been the same teams.

But the NFL has so much "parity" according to their own marketing!

Sure it does. And the only thing keeping me from being the greatest QB ever is that I didn't play football. The NFL is an ass.

[LMU]

Until we reach a day when we can send a modern NFL defense with its training and nutrition (and desegregation) in a time machine to face the likes of Otto Graham this whole QB rankings obsession needs to stop. Apples and oranges.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Also, Kearse could have caught that ball earlier in the fourth. Or he could have dropped the circus catch. At this point, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, this city wouldn't be do damned depressed today.

Seriously. Everyone getting on the bus this morning looked like they got hit by a bus. Maybe I'm projecting my own thoughts, but the sidewalks felt like people were walking a little bit slower than they were a few days ago.

But at the same time, they won it all last year. I wanted the Seahawks to win and spent a lot of last night thinking about the final play, but as a Bengals fan I'd take the one title and be happy for the rest of time.

That comes later. I'm a Bills fan first, but these Seahawks have become a very strong 1A.

It reminds me of the 2003 Syracuse national championship. That was the first championship among teams I root for, and it was awesome. And in fact, when they lost in sweet sixteens, elite eights and final fours in the following decade, it all doesn't matter because of the one title.

That said, Seattle had an incredible opportunity last night to become a great team in the modern era, and blew it. That sucks no matter how you look at it.