NFL Playoffs - Divisional Round

[HomerSimpson98]

Carolina is scary good. And this is coming from a card-carrying Cam hater. And damn those 2 LBers are good. Keuchley - wow

[cartman]

Interesting stat: The NFC Championship game will be the first time that two Heisman trophy winning QBs will meet up in a playoff game.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by cartman

Interesting stat: The NFC Championship game will be the first time that two Heisman trophy winning QBs will meet up in a playoff game.

I thought I saw first time since '71, Staubach vs. someone I can't recall.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by JAG

I thought I saw first time since '71, Staubach vs. someone I can't recall.

I think that was Staubach and Plunkett are the only Heisman winning QBs to also win a Super Bowl.

[JAG]

I saw what it was, Staubach and Steve Spurrier were in a playoff game against each other in '72, but neither started that game and don't think Spurrier played in it at all.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by HomerSimpson98

Carolina is scary good. And this is coming from a card-carrying Cam hater. And damn those 2 LBers are good. Keuchley - wow

It is so weird rooting for a team with a player just about anyone else who doesn't root for the team despises. I've done it plenty for other teams since my teams usually are the ones suffering at their hands (pick anyone from Duke or Carolina as an example), but while some of Cam's antics are a bit over the top, goshdarnit, I've got a team that's winning for once and I'm glad to have him.

[Radii]

Most comments I see about Cam are overwhelmingly positive (I don't read any Panther boards). People younger than us definitely love him. The minority that dislikes him is of course very loud and the more Carolina wins I'm sure people will start to hate him. I would welcome that, personally.

[cartman]

Chiefs’ final drive was historically slow | ProFootballTalk

FTA:

According to the drive finder at Pro Football Reference, there have been 2,111 drives in NFL games since 1998 in which the team with the ball trailed by 9-17 points (in other words, they needed to score more than once but weren’t totally out of it) with less than seven minutes left. Out of those 2,111 drives, only one took more time than the 5:16 the Chiefs took off the clock on Saturday.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

It is so weird rooting for a team with a player just about anyone else who doesn't root for the team despises. I've done it plenty for other teams since my teams usually are the ones suffering at their hands (pick anyone from Duke or Carolina as an example), but while some of Cam's antics are a bit over the top, goshdarnit, I've got a team that's winning for once and I'm glad to have him.

Idk where you get despises... there is a small, vocal, and in many cases vaguely racist contingent that hates him for excessive dancing, and apparently more than one fan who's brought an opposing team's sign into the stadium and then written letters to the editor when Newton tears them down, but I'd say he's pretty high up on the "well-liked" meter right now. Now, give him a Super Bowl win r two and you'll really see some backlash...

Btw, what is the deal with Carolina using Sweet Caroline as a postgame song? I don't like it when the Red Sox do it either, but at least that's an 8th inning thing in place of Take Me Out to the Ballgame or whatever, and they still play Dirty Water or Shipping Up to Boston after victories. I can see why Jerry Richardson wouldn't get behind Raise Up, but wouldn't Carolina In My Mind or multiple other songs that must be out there that actually represent the region be more appropriate if you're trying to emulate WV with Country Roads, Tennessee with Rocky Top, etc?

[Draft Dodger]

really, they should be playing Steel Panther.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

really, they should be playing Steel Panther.

"Turn Out The Lights" on another team! (Not sure how well that'd go over with most of the fanbase )

[Thomkal]

a great look at Carson Palmer at home:

Cardinals Blogs | Palmer and his kids, away from football

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

a great look at Carson Palmer at home:

Cardinals Blogs | Palmer and his kids, away from football

So glad the Bengals and the fans who harassed Palmer and his wife were able to run this complete asshat of a human being out of town.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by rowech

So glad the Bengals and the fans who harassed Palmer and his wife were able to run this complete asshat of a human being out of town.

So am I

[Logan]

If anyone is following this Darius Fleming (of the Pats) story...I'm very happy that the TMZs of the world seem to be looking like a bunch of jackasses after trying so hard to call Fleming a liar for a story he didn't even try to get any publicity for on his own behalf, from what I can tell.

Is This The Crash ThatÂ*Darius Fleming Is Talking About? (Updating)

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

It is so weird rooting for a team with a player just about anyone else who doesn't root for the team despises. I've done it plenty for other teams since my teams usually are the ones suffering at their hands (pick anyone from Duke or Carolina as an example), but while some of Cam's antics are a bit over the top, goshdarnit, I've got a team that's winning for once and I'm glad to have him.

I could have lived without some of the over the top dancing against the Titans. I believe his daddy got more than a little bit of money on signing day.

Beyond that? I'm not sure what's not to like. He's cocky, I have no issue with that. He gives balls to kids, I think that's terrific. He's obviously a very good QB no matter what people want to say about him.

I wouldn't feel bad to cheer for Cam.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Logan

If anyone is following this Darius Fleming (of the Pats) story...I'm very happy that the TMZs of the world seem to be looking like a bunch of jackasses after trying so hard to call Fleming a liar for a story he didn't even try to get any publicity for on his own behalf, from what I can tell.

Is This The Crash ThatÂ*Darius Fleming Is Talking About? (Updating)

Anytime the TMZ's of the world look like jackasses, it's good for the world. Good for Fleming to do what he did.

[NobodyHere]

Coin flip referee from Cardinals-Packers game assigned to Super Bowl 50

I guess according to the rules the coin doesn't have to flip. So imagine the outrage if the second flip came out tails instead of heads a second time.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Coin flip referee from Cardinals-Packers game assigned to Super Bowl 50

I guess according to the rules the coin doesn't have to flip. So imagine the outrage if the second flip came out tails instead of heads a second time.

Hopefully they clarify that in the rules to add a sentence but it seems unnecessary and that a bit of common sense could apply to invalidate the toss. They show the guys which side is heads and tails and they can then see which side is facing up before it's getting flipped. If we lived in a world where the laws of physics dictated that 40% of coins "tossed" didn't flip in the air for some reason, I think there would be an explicit rule that the coin must turn at least once.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Coin flip referee from Cardinals-Packers game assigned to Super Bowl 50

I guess according to the rules the coin doesn't have to flip. So imagine the outrage if the second flip came out tails instead of heads a second time.

yeah it might be Green Bay instead of Arizona right now, and everybody complaining against the rule.

[bhlloy]

Blakeman just seems like a shitty referee to me, even outside of the coin flip and the Patriots controversies. In my unreliable perception, I think his crew is pretty consistently my second worst after the trainwreck that is Jeff Tripplette

[TroyF]

Read a very interesting piece this week on Manning vs. Brady in the playoffs. A lot of my thoughts were confirmed in it (such as Brady having the better defense and more help around him skewing the numbers: IE: Rahim Moore blows a coverage to cost Manning a game, while the Ravens WR and kicker combine to drop the game winning TD and miss a FG giving Brady a W)

The surprising part of the article to me were some of the statistics. (First number Manning, second Brady)

Games started: 25, 30
Wins: 12, 22
Passing DVOA: 26.8%, 23.3% (higher=better)
Total DYAR: 2,591, 2,696
QBR: 66, 59.4
Yards per pass attempt: 7.22, 6.79
Passer Rating: 88.0, 89.6

Leading by 1-7 points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game

Brady: 24-46 - 247 yards 2 int
Manning: 31-42 347 yards 2 INT

The difference than: Well, the Patriots are 11-3 when they need to protect a one score lead. Manning is 6-6. (you can see above that it isn't the fact Brady is playing better with a one score lead than Manning, so you can guess what the reason is)


This isn't to slam Tom Brady. I can't stand him on a personal level, but he's one of the top 5 QB's to ever play the game and deserves the bust he is going to get in the HOF. It's more to remind people that Manning has been a great QB in the clutch too. While Brady had his kicker drilling a 46 yarder in the middle of a blizzard, one Manning playoff loss happened after his defense allowed Jay Feidler to drive 80 yards for a TD to tie the game. Manning led his team to a 49 yard FG attempt and the idiot kicker missed by about 40 feet. The Colts lost in OT.

I have a feeling that Brady will win again on Sunday and cement into everyones mind that Manning sucks in the playoffs and Brady is a superior playoff QB. The reality is much murkier, but that is not how history will judge the two QB's.

[ISiddiqui]

Do you have a link for the article? It'd be nice to share with some folks I know who don't post here.

[jeff061]

I've personally always ranked Belichick as more important than Brady. No surprise there for me.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Read a very interesting piece this week on Manning vs. Brady in the playoffs. A lot of my thoughts were confirmed in it (such as Brady having the better defense and more help around him skewing the numbers: IE: Rahim Moore blows a coverage to cost Manning a game, while the Ravens WR and kicker combine to drop the game winning TD and miss a FG giving Brady a W)

Did it also mention the David Tyree catch, or the Wes Welker drops in the 2nd Giants SB and vs the Ravens in the playoffs (when he was almost certainly concussed), or that absurd Chris Matthews catch that would be right up there with Tyree's if Brandon Browner hadn't told Butler how to pick that pass off? Or the multiple injuries to star WR/TE in the playoffs in that 2009-2014 stretch?

Anyone thinking Peyton Manning has been a bad QB in the playoffs is an idiot, but on the flip side people pretending that Brady has only gotten good luck are equally ignorant imo.

Hard to predict anything Sunday with too much confidence because of all the injuries on both defenses. You can obsess over it and search for any morsel of news, but nobody's really gonna know if Jamie Collins, Hightower, Ninkovich, Chandler Jones, are able to play full speed or actually limited until you see them running Sunday, and same thing on the Denver side with Harris, Ware, Ward, Marshall. We could afford any one of those guys to be out (thanks to the underrated Jabaal Sheard signing), but if multiple of them are out or playing at 60% we're in trouble. (Matthew Slater also got banged up by a freaking sideline photographer.) I do like the stat that Belichick is 15-0 when winning the turnover battle in the playoffs... and Denver had the worst TO margin (-4) of any playoff team. (PS guess which team had the lowest fumble rate in the league this year)

It is also amusing to see some of the Broncos defender's chirp Brady or say they'll target Gronk's knees while any Patriots player is super complimentary about the Broncos/Peyton Manning (assuredly on Belichick's orders). Lord knows I couldn't care less about a little trash talk, and I'm sure you think that he'd play just as hard regardless, but Tom Brady clearly does look for any tiny motivation or perceived slight, so why even risk it and give him any bulletin board material?

[Kodos]

Honestly, the fact that Brady has had Belichick in his corner is probably the biggest source of disparity in playoff performance between Manning and Brady. Manning has never had a hall-of-fame coach, much less a coach who is arguably the best in NFL history.

[molson]

I'll give most of the credit to Robert Kraft, who bought the team 22 years ago today. This Sunday will be the Patriots' 11th trip to the AFC Championship game in those 22 years. He kept the team in New England and hired Belichick.

[BishopMVP]

I don't know if I'd go quite so far as to give Kraft more credit than Belichick (are we also going to credit the politician(s) who forced through the bypass road funding equally to maybe a Rob Ninkovich for this whole run?), but I don't think Tony Dungy in particular was a bad coach. All those years in Indy the problem was that so much money and draft capital was tied up in offensive weapons surrounding Peyton when it was quite possible the offense could have been like 95% as good with 33% of those resources going to the defense instead. How much of that was Jim Irsay, vs Bill Polian, vs if Peyton actually had any say in it, vs just how the chips fell (because who wouldn't keep re-signing a Marvin Harrison or Reggie Wayne?) But considering they're repeating the same mistakes under a different GM, with a different franchise QB, and a different coach, does kind of imply that it's coming from the top down from that pill-popping maniac.

Btw, #HotTakeAlert, can we dial back the Larry Fitzgerald love a little bit? He does seem like a polite guy who does a lot of community work, I know it was a bitter custody dispute so maybe it was completely made up, and I certainly don't need it to be mentioned constantly, but I also don't want to constantly hear how someone who was given a restraining order for allegedly giving a woman a concussion and tearing out chunks of her hair is "one of the NFL's good guys" just because he was fortunate enough to do it 3 years before we decided as a society to care about domestic violence.

[Carman Bulldog]

BishopMVP, you forgot the Reche Caldwell drops.

Also, I would say Tony Dungy is a pretty good coach. His career win percentage is .668 while Belichek is at .669. Dungy was also the first coach to record a victory over all 32 teams and to date the only coach to make the playoffs ten seasons in a row.

Let's also not forget that Peyton has had defences in Denver which ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd in yards over his four seasons there, which of course includes this year. He also had defences in Indy that ranked 1st, 2nd, 7th, 7th and 8th in points allowed.

And before the Peyton pity party gets carried away, he also got to play with a lot of 1st round draft picks that Indy invested in at skill positions, including four 1st round running backs (albeit Faulk for only one year I believe), three 1st round wide receivers and one 1st round tight end.

Meanwhile, the Pats drafted two blocking tight ends and one running back (and I guess Brady also had Terry Glenn for four games in his first season) in the 1st round while Brady has been there (or in the case of Glenn a few years earlier).

Honestly, I would hope that a quarterback would have decent playoff numbers playing with Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark all of those years.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Honestly, the fact that Brady has had Belichick in his corner is probably the biggest source of disparity in playoff performance between Manning and Brady. Manning has never had a hall-of-fame coach, much less a coach who is arguably the best in NFL history.

Well Tony Dungy is borderline Hall of Fame and hopefully he crosses the border this year.

[Kodos]

I don't think Dungy is in the discussion when talking about best coaches in league history. Right?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Not as a coach.

Then as a player? Announcer?

[Kodos]

I thought his career as a player was more storied than it was. Hence the edit.

I don't think he is a hall of fame coach. I may be wrong. Obviously, he was a trailblazer for being the first black head coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl and win it.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Did it also mention the David Tyree catch, or the Wes Welker drops in the 2nd Giants SB and vs the Ravens in the playoffs (when he was almost certainly concussed), or that absurd Chris Matthews catch that would be right up there with Tyree's if Brandon Browner hadn't told Butler how to pick that pass off? Or the multiple injuries to star WR/TE in the playoffs in that 2009-2014 stretch?

Anyone thinking Peyton Manning has been a bad QB in the playoffs is an idiot, but on the flip side people pretending that Brady has only gotten good luck are equally ignorant imo.

Hard to predict anything Sunday with too much confidence because of all the injuries on both defenses. You can obsess over it and search for any morsel of news, but nobody's really gonna know if Jamie Collins, Hightower, Ninkovich, Chandler Jones, are able to play full speed or actually limited until you see them running Sunday, and same thing on the Denver side with Harris, Ware, Ward, Marshall. We could afford any one of those guys to be out (thanks to the underrated Jabaal Sheard signing), but if multiple of them are out or playing at 60% we're in trouble. (Matthew Slater also got banged up by a freaking sideline photographer.) I do like the stat that Belichick is 15-0 when winning the turnover battle in the playoffs... and Denver had the worst TO margin (-4) of any playoff team. (PS guess which team had the lowest fumble rate in the league this year)

It is also amusing to see some of the Broncos defender's chirp Brady or say they'll target Gronk's knees while any Patriots player is super complimentary about the Broncos/Peyton Manning (assuredly on Belichick's orders). Lord knows I couldn't care less about a little trash talk, and I'm sure you think that he'd play just as hard regardless, but Tom Brady clearly does look for any tiny motivation or perceived slight, so why even risk it and give him any bulletin board material?

I didn't take the point of the article to say that Brady was lucky at all. The only two times in mentions "luck" are the Ravens and Chargers both missing critical kicks against the Patriots while Manning has never had that happen to him)

The point was more that there are a LOT of things out of control of the QB's that has favored Brady over Manning. You mention the fluke Giants playing the Super Bowl (which should have been a Patriots win, we'll always disagree on the second Giants game, I thought Brady was horrible on that final drive) You are talking about fluky, lucky plays.

Lets talk about the two kicks I mentioned above. In MIAMI, Manning's kicker blows a kick that costs him a game. This is after Jay Fing Fiedler drives the Dolphins 80 yards to tie the game.

At the same point in Brady's career, his defense holds the 4th ranked offense in the NFL to 230 yards and his kicker hits one of the biggest money kicks in the history of the league. If you take the kick away, Brady loses 3 wins AND a Super Bowl from his tally.

Again, the point isn't "Brady was lucky to win" or "Brady Sucks LOLZ" The point is the other players around him were superior and really always have been.

Which takes me to the comments from Carmen. I think the Colts made some unbelievable screw ups during their time with Manning. Not realizing he could turn average players to studs, they used a ton of high draft picks on skill guys when they should have been building up the defense.

In Manning's record breaking 2013 season, here were his skill guys:

Knowshon Moreno - 1st round pick, but there was a question he would even make the team at the start of the year. He never had a great season before or after that one.

Demarius Thomas - 1st round pick

Eric Decker - 3rd round pick

Wes Welker - The 34 year old version

Julius Thomas - 4th round

There were no 1st round picks on the OLine (Clady was hurt for the entire year)

Manning would have been far better off turning more 3rd and 4th rounders in to Edelman or Stokely while having the first round picks being defenders instead.

Lastly, the entire talk between the teams this week is amusing to me.

1) Broncos say you have to go for the knees and hit Gronk low. (this isn't a news flash, you DO have to hit Gronk low. If you choose to hit him high, you look like an idiot) See this for example:

http://https://twitter.com/NFL/statu..._src=twsrc^tfw

2) One Bronco makes the statement that Brady cries to the refs, BUT also states that he's not like a normal QB. No matter how hard you hit him, he still competes and makes throws. He doesn't get rattled. Both statements are dead on. I've seen Manning look at the ref about 4 times in his career in Denver. I saw Brady look at the ref more than 4 times in the game in Denver earlier this year. I fail to see how the comment wasn't accurate.

3) Gronk responds on twitter about the Broncos low blows. Umm, ok? Funny, but who cares?

4) Brady responds that he likes it when the defense gets flags. Duh?

All in all, I wish the Broncos had kept their mouths shut, but I think a lot of them are still angry from the garbage the Patriots said after the last game. There was little respect given and a lot of Brady crying about the officiating.

The Broncos were getting pissed off Tom Brady no matter what they said this week. And like I've said the entire season, it isn't just about Brady getting pissed. If the Patriots win, it will be because of their overall talent. Brady has been Brady his entire career. That in itself does not put W's in the win column.

[cuervo72]

Tuck Rule was pretty fortunate. I know, early on, but still.

[Galaril]

I am expecting a relatively easy win by New England something like 30-16 and not as close as that score.

[Arles]

Pretty amazing

[JPhillips]

I want his growl to be my ring tone.

[Julio Riddols]

The growl is legit. Best fan ever.