NFL Playoffs - Divisional Round

[timmae]

"it didn't flip"

edit: damn you sab...

[JPhillips]

First failed flip I've seen.

[General Mike]

How does the coin not flip?

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I just don't get rushing that many guys there. If you have enough guys in the endzone in the proper place it's easy to defend a Hail Mary. That just seems like another really bad idea and bad coaching

And again, the guys who are in the end zone are way too deep. What part of coaching this is difficult?

Yes. Especially since they were in Arizona territory, no matter how much the announcers are drooling over the throw. It wasn't a 60 yarder, they were inside the 40.

[Abe Sargent]

GOGOGOGOGOGO LARRY

[QuikSand]

what the hell is going on out there?

[TroyF]

OH MY FREAKING LORD

[kingfc22]

Oh my word. How do you not cover Fitzgerald

[EagleFan]

Um, of all the receivers not to cover?

[Vince, Pt. II]

Wow.

[QuikSand]

Unreal

[MrBug708]

They really wanted him to score

[EagleFan]

Now we just need a Seahawk victory tomorrow and then a replay of week 17 next week...

[cuervo72]

Somebody check on Thomkal.

[kingfc22]

That was fun. Hopefully one if not both games tomorrow can come close.

[Abe Sargent]

Congrats Cards!

[TroyF]

I vote we play the Super Bowl on a Saturday night. I have to see if it will get more strange than Pitt/Cincy and GB/Arizona.

[mauchow]

YAY, Facebook will not be insufferable for the rest of the post season.

#$%$# Vikings.....

sigh

[Radii]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Now we just need a Seahawk victory tomorrow and then a replay of week 17 next week...

No please!

[miami_fan]

Has Rodgers reached the status that would guarantee the OT rules are changed to ensure both teams gets at least one possession? Just trying to get a jump on the sports talk shows on Monday.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I vote we play the Super Bowl on a Saturday night. I have to see if it will get more strange than Pitt/Cincy and GB/Arizona.

+1

[SnowMan]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Somebody check on Thomkal.

His poor heart...

[PilotMan]

That was insane.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Somebody check on Thomkal.

I'm here...just barely. The Cards should thank god, their lucky rabbit foot, and their lucky stars tonight before they go to bed. They really tried to give that game to Green Bay. Thankfully Larry Fitzgerald took over in OT. Can't believe that shovel pass worked on the TD play. That 2nd Floyd TD off the tipped pass? Just crazy. I think they got some calls (or should I say no-calls?) to go their way too.

Congrats to Green Bay on a good season. I knew they would not go down without a fight, and with those hail marys (how you do let it happen twice?), you nearly delivered the knockout blow.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Has Rodgers reached the status that would guarantee the OT rules are changed to ensure both teams gets at least one possession? Just trying to get a jump on the sports talk shows on Monday.

No. The rules are fine

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

I'm here...just barely.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

I'm here...just barely. The Cards should thank god, their lucky rabbit foot, and their lucky stars tonight before they go to bed. They really tried to give that game to Green Bay. Thankfully Larry Fitzgerald took over in OT. Can't believe that shovel pass worked on the TD play. That 2nd Floyd TD off the tipped pass? Just crazy. I think they got some calls (or should I say no-calls?) to go their way too.

Congrats to Green Bay on a good season. I knew they would not go down without a fight, and with those hail marys (how you do let it happen twice?), you nearly delivered the knockout blow.

If it makes you feel any better, I think the two cals tahtl GB can be truly pissed off at would be the 3rd down play where the WR was interfered with and the offensive PI on the Floyd tipped TD catch. The Fitzgerald catch drive ended up being an INT. The Non PI call was erased with a 50+ yard play right after.


I think there were plenty of calls that were either iffy or outright missed that went against Arizona too. GB might try to make this about the refs, but I really don't think it was. The story of this game for me was GB dominating the state of play in the first half and ending it trailing. That was something they could not afford to do.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

No. The rules are fine

They may be fine on merit, but that's not what American sports are built on. The money is in excitement. And who (among the disinterested) doesn't want to see Rodgers and his band of hobo receivers get a chance to get the ball after the way that game ended. I'd be surprised if we don't see that debate flare up, for exactly that reason. If you watched the end of that game, you feel robbed there.

[TroyF]

Just one more thought after the games today: There NEEDS to be targeting calls in the NFL. Cheap shots to the neck/head area should result in an immediate ejection.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

They may be fine on merit, but that's not what American sports are built on. The money is in excitement. And who (among the disinterested) doesn't want to see Rodgers and his band of hobo receivers get a chance to get the ball after the way that game ended. I'd be surprised if we don't see that debate flare up, for exactly that reason. If you watched the end of that game, you feel robbed there.

I always want to see both teams get the ball. I understand the rules and understand that you have to play defense too. But when it comes down to a coin flip, a flukish play can decide an otherwise terrific game. I would have loved to see Rodgers get another shot.

[Fonzie]

I'm a Packers fan. But having lived in both St. Louis (back in the day) and in Arizona, I have a very soft spot for the Cardinals. They're perhaps my second-favorite team, if only for sentimental reasons. While I was hoping for a Packers win I knew I'd be content to see the Cardinals advance. So when I gripe below it's coming from a place of being frustrated with two teams I'm fond of.

I saw it mentioned on Twitter that the Packers wide receiver depth chart on August 22nd looked like this:

Jordy Nelson
Randall Cobb
Davante Adams
Ty Montgomery

Shortly after this game began their WR depth chart looked like this:

James Jones
Jared Abbrederis
Jeff Janis
Nobody

Aaron Rodgers is magnificent, to be sure, but how do the Cardinals allow that WR group (featuring the Packers 5th, 6th, and 7th stringers) to get out of a 4th and 20 situation while protecting a lead late in the 4th quarter? The fact that they gave up the 1st down on that play is enough, in my mind, to disqualify them from the playoffs. Final score be damned, it's the principle of the thing. Then there's the fact that shortly thereafter THEY GAVE UP A FREAKING HAIL MARY TD AS TIME EXPIRED. Those things don't happen to teams with aspirations of winning the Super Bowl. It's kind of like the Packers' 4th-and-26 against Philly years ago. You lose on plays like that, you deserve to be escorted out of the playoffs. Period. That the Cardinals survived those failures somehow seems unjust.

Not that the Packers advancing would've been just. They had plenty to feel frustrated about as well. This outcome would've likely been much different if someone had bothered to attach Sam Shields' hands today. I get that Sam's not a wide receiver for a reason, and he was coming off a 4-week layoff due to a concussion, but OH MY GOODNESS he had two passes land right in his hands and he dropped them both. If memory serves, Arizona scored after each of those. Brutal. Oh, and by the way, what was the plan for #11 on that first play of OT? Leave him so wide open that Palmer would think he must be hallucinating and throw the ball away? Good gracious.

tl;dnr: Fonzie feels ambivalent about the outcome. Life otherwise goes on.

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I always want to see both teams get the ball. I understand the rules and understand that you have to play defense too. But when it comes down to a coin flip, a flukish play can decide an otherwise terrific game. I would have loved to see Rodgers get another shot.

Agreed. What Rodgers was able to do with those "hobos" was perhaps one of the game's most compelling storylines. As a viewer I felt robbed that we didn't see them get a shot at continuing that magic in overtime. Instead we saw an instance of busted coverage effectively end the game. Very unsatisfying.

[miked]

I don't understand how these guys, with decades of experience, cannot manage the clock. Reid's management was terrible. That call to throw a 20 yard pass when the Packers were out of timeouts cost them the regulation win. It's just crazy.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

I guess "Pacman" will apologize for his comments about Brown right? The question now is, will Big Ben join him on the sidelines? Can't believe the Steelers have much chance if he can't play too.

Originally Posted by Logan

Antonio Brown ruled out for Sunday. Even Elaine Benes would be impressed by his commitment to faking that concussion.

In this case Pacman should get suspended for his insensitivity to the concussion issue. I am sure the last thing Brown would want right not is to be sitting a playoff game due to concussion. The NFL does not need a Pacman Jones.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I just don't see it. I think the refs have been pretty poor for both teams tonight. I don't think the Packers are the only ones who have been screwed.


Holy crap. WOW.

We need to look at this with perspective. The Packers and their fans are used to getting every call game in and game out. When a crew actually calls a game down the middle it is completely uncommon to a Packer or their fans. LOL!

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by TroyF

If it makes you feel any better, I think the two cals tahtl GB can be truly pissed off at would be the 3rd down play where the WR was interfered with and the offensive PI on the Floyd tipped TD catch. The Fitzgerald catch drive ended up being an INT. The Non PI call was erased with a 50+ yard play right after.


I think there were plenty of calls that were either iffy or outright missed that went against Arizona too. GB might try to make this about the refs, but I really don't think it was. The story of this game for me was GB dominating the state of play in the first half and ending it trailing. That was something they could not afford to do.

Is that the one where the receiver looks like he was turned? I'm not so sure looking at the replay-it looked more a reaction to where the throw was and turning his body to catch it. To me at least, doesn't look like the CB was turning him. Again could have been called. I didn't look at the replays of the Floyd tipped catch looking for pass interference, so I guess it could have been there. But it wasn't I think GB missed Cobb despite the performance of the replacement. Hope they took a good look at him next season. They wore down a bit in the second half after dominating time of possession in the first half.

Just glad my beloved Cards came out on top at the end

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Fonzie

I'm a Packers fan. But having lived in both St. Louis (back in the day) and in Arizona, I have a very soft spot for the Cardinals. They're perhaps my second-favorite team, if only for sentimental reasons. While I was hoping for a Packers win I knew I'd be content to see the Cardinals advance. So when I gripe below it's coming from a place of being frustrated with two teams I'm fond of.

I saw it mentioned on Twitter that the Packers wide receiver depth chart on August 22nd looked like this:

Jordy Nelson
Randall Cobb
Davante Adams
Ty Montgomery

Shortly after this game began their WR depth chart looked like this:

James Jones
Jared Abbrederis
Jeff Janis
Nobody

Aaron Rodgers is magnificent, to be sure, but how do the Cardinals allow that WR group (featuring the Packers 5th, 6th, and 7th stringers) to get out of a 4th and 20 situation while protecting a lead late in the 4th quarter? The fact that they gave up the 1st down on that play is enough, in my mind, to disqualify them from the playoffs. Final score be damned, it's the principle of the thing. Then there's the fact that shortly thereafter THEY GAVE UP A FREAKING HAIL MARY TD AS TIME EXPIRED. Those things don't happen to teams with aspirations of winning the Super Bowl. It's kind of like the Packers' 4th-and-26 against Philly years ago. You lose on plays like that, you deserve to be escorted out of the playoffs. Period. That the Cardinals survived those failures somehow seems unjust.

Not that the Packers advancing would've been just. They had plenty to feel frustrated about as well. This outcome would've likely been much different if someone had bothered to attach Sam Shields' hands today. I get that Sam's not a wide receiver for a reason, and he was coming off a 4-week layoff due to a concussion, but OH MY GOODNESS he had two passes land right in his hands and he dropped them both. If memory serves, Arizona scored after each of those. Brutal. Oh, and by the way, what was the plan for #11 on that first play of OT? Leave him so wide open that Palmer would think he must be hallucinating and throw the ball away? Good gracious.

tl;dnr: Fonzie feels ambivalent about the outcome. Life otherwise goes on.

I think sometimes the "bad" team wins. Call it fate, luck of the "gods" or whatever. Palmer was terrible last night-threw two bad INT and could have thrown two more. Not sure either of his deep threat receivers caught a pass. That 2nd Floyd TD off the tipped pass could have easily gone the other way. But was able to find a somehow very open Fitzgerald in OT, and that was the ball game. Palmer played scared, like he was trying not to lose, rather than try to win. Maybe now that he's got a playoff win, it will relax him a bit, and go back to his successful aggressive ways. The defense clearly misses Mathieu-no way should those young untested receivers should have that much success otherwise. (and kudos to both of them for coming up big)

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

In this case Pacman should get suspended for his insensitivity to the concussion issue. I am sure the last thing Brown would want right not is to be sitting a playoff game due to concussion. The NFL does not need a Pacman Jones.

But yet someone will be paying for him in free agency.

[jbergey22]

The Packers were vastly underrated. While yes they are playing with none of their top 4 WRs they have one of the top QBs in NFL history. With a top QB you are really in any playoff game despite the lack of talent at other key positions. A blowout in the regular season means absolutely nothing when it comes to postseason. The Vikings and Packers both proved this. The NFL is far too balanced to think a playoff team really is 30 points worse than any other team in the league. A blowout win actually improves the chances of the underdog because it gives them extra motivation while it gives the favorite overconfidence.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

In this case Pacman should get suspended for his insensitivity to the concussion issue. I am sure the last thing Brown would want right not is to be sitting a playoff game due to concussion. The NFL does not need a Pacman Jones.

Well he did apologize.

[jeff061]

Found this kind of funny. Legit backup strategy or only necessary for Magoo?

https://www.facebook.com/CBSSports/p...type=3&theater

[jeff061]

Video without description. Basically it was with less than 2 minutes left and they didn't want Reid pulling the flag out.

Cris Collinsworth on Twitter: "Hope there are no close calls.

[timmae]

Good point berg.. I think your sig needs to change though

[timmae]

I believe any time a DB lunges and doesnt use their arms to wrap the tackle it should be a 15 yd penalty. These idiots who just throw a shoulder to make a "tackle" are ridiculous.

[Abe Sargent]

Good luck Panthers and Broncos!

[QuikSand]

So, a side note here.

Two years ago, thogh it seems liek longer, we were watching the AFC playoffs with total awe. The Peyton Offense in Denver was a remarkable juggernaut (seriously, if you don't remember how awesome they were, I'll wait while you go check).

Meanwhile, scrappy New England was dealing with some manner of weird injuries and so forth (I honestly don't recall the details) - but they managed to advance in the playoffs and face Denver. Denver was a heavy favorite, but at the time I felt like there was a really intriguing subcurrent there.

Peyton Manning had already put himself into the elite tier of all time QBs, but always had the knock that he didn't deliver mightily in the postseason. Brady was the golden boy who did, despite not having the gaudy stats by and large. At the time, most people had those two guys pegged very close to one another in that barroom GOAT conversation. A healthy two-way debate. I would have taken Manning's side at one barstool, personally.

In the 2013-14 playoffs, the fascinating under-appreciated story was actually about Brady. WHAT IF Brady, with seemingly nothing around him, somehow engineered an upset of the might Broncos and went on to win yet another title? With what he had around him, I think that would have been a monstrous upset, and a remarkable entry into that GOAT convration. Maybe enough to put him into the driver's seat and forever separate him from Manning.

But with TWO different quarterbacks playing for major GOAT credentials at the same time - that seemed like a great moment. And it was obscured a bit by the totally amazeballs season that Team Peyton had assembled, and how he was the one going after history (win with two teams, greatest QB season ever, etc).

...

Any, fast forward to now. Brady is not even the MVP, but has clearly emerged as the top gun here, and a now-healthy Patriots team looks to go back to back. We are again talking about another entry into the GOAT conversation, but it's all about Brady. And deservedly so, right? Thy win out here, and he probably becomes the top guy on the consensus list for now and for 25 years from now.

But...let's not overlook Manning now. The storyline here, deservedly so, has been that the team has excelled around him, an even despite him this year. He is not his old self, and their judgment to get him back into the lineup is even questionable, given his obvious limitations.

But we again have a crazy and delicious WHAT IF, don't we? WHAT IF Denver wins this week, and gets to play against the golden boy and the (surely) favored Patriots? And WHAT IF Peyton plays well and really contributes to a win? Not a 400 yard passing game, necessarily, but what if he is throwing precision passes and calling all his audibles, and makes a signature gritty/clutch play or two? And they go on to win it all with him playing well?

What, then? The biggest Manning detractors are the anti-clutch types. But a title here with him at the helm, almost regardless of how much he contributes, would have to help his legacy a ton (think John Elway, who suddenly became a talented game manager handing off to Terrell Davis and forever escaped a psychological near-tie with Jim Kelly in the GOAT conversation). But if Manning actually WINS one of these games with the big play at the end or somesuch... what then?

You don't get this a lot. We saw it with Federer and Nadal in tennis, perhaps. No other recent examples come right to mind for me. Two guys, already cemented as legends, simultaneously battling for their exact place in history among the very to echelon of their shared set.

Brady seemed to put it to be last year with a great comeback season and improbable title. Maning seems done. But how fascinating would it be to see the tables turned here?

I'm not calling it. Hardly anyone is. If anything, we see Von Miller with a sack-strip-fumble-six as the face of any sort of Denver title run this year. But
I'm just saying...this sort of thing doesn't even come together on paper very often. It's usually only in your backyard, when you're making shit up as you go.

[SnowMan]

Anyone else on directv getting the Spanish audio? I'm thinking this is better than Buck/Aikman.

[Buccaneer]

So ecstatic seeing my 2nd favorite player win it in overtime for the Cards. Saw it live and since my wife recorded both games for my son (he was at a debate tournament all day/evening), he and I stayed up until 2am watching both games. Since he did not know the results and what had happened, it was great to see his reactions.

[Radii]

Can't ask for a better start than that, especially for Stewart after being out for about a month.

[Thomkal]

wow game over?