NFL 2018: Super Bowl 53

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Well, that sucked, eh? At least we got some competitive games this past weekend though Brady & Co. are back in the Super Bowl and *stifles yawn*.

This past week both games went to overtime (a first ever) and both games were a tale of two halves. The Saints dominated for one quarter while the Rams found their sea legs. The Pats completely shut down the Chiefs offense and bled the hell out of the clock by running the ball in the first half.

When people talk about playoff experience I can't help but nod my head because the youngins looked startled early in their games, but then there's the fact that both Brady and Brees threw some awful interceptions. I think "playoff experience" means little more than "the teams playing are both good" but instead we are like "let's just make up some cockamamie term that the talking heads can incorrectly pollute our minds with so it hangs around for generations for no good reason".

Everyone and anyone is talking about the No Call PI in the Saints game that was admittedly one of the worst no calls I've ever seen, but that was hardly the only time the Saints could've put the game away. They missed on a TD pass early in the game that will haunt them for all time while the Brees INT in OT is simply a pass he should never have made. (Take the sack, live to fight again.) Just remember, the Saints were pretty bad on offense after the first quarter. They dared the Rams to take the game from them and did.

The Chiefs would be in the Super Bowl if not for a nonexistent offense in the first half, a nonexistent defense all game and a Dee Ford unforced error offside on Brady would-be-INT. Well, maybe the Pats do deserve go to the Super Bowl. There is ONE way to beat Brady in the playoffs and that's to sack him. The Chargers and Chiefs, both with formidable pass rushes, got exactly zero sacks in their two games. Seriously, can someone explain to me how that happens? Can Dante Scarnecchia retire again so we can get back to sacking Brady? Please?!?!? Of course, it helps that when the pass rush does get there they call roughing the passer when it shouldn't.

Props to special team units in the two games as their Kickers went 22-22 on all FGs and extra points with multiple clutch field goals. Naturally this didn't involve the Chargers. Biggest miff was Edelman coming within nanometers of handing the Chiefs the game.

Side note: Tony Romo correctly called almost all the Pats offensive plays at the end of the game. The man is magical. Can we clone him for all the games?

Oh, apparently there was a bit of brawl after the Saints-Rams game. I'm positively shocked who caused it.

Time for two weeks of blah blah blah Patriots blah blah blah 1999 blah blah blah youngest coach blah blah blah. I really hate the runup to the Super Bowl, but at least we have the Pro Bowl game to look forward to in a week!!

When's the 2019 Draft?

Pass.

I'm just happy people were at least slightly more excited about Eagles vs. Pats last year. The tremendous apathy this year is startling even to me.

Really though, can the Patriots just take five years off?

Don't worry, they will as soon as Brady retires.

So we are forced to watch Trump and White Nationalists favorite team vs Hair Gel. All things considered I'll be rooting for Hair Gel but that's a low bar since I'd pretty much root for anything vs Brady and co.

I mean sure a meteor striking the stadium would ultimately be the high point of the evening.. or perhaps Suh deciding to go nutso on Brady's neck or knee would also be acceptable.

Brady only loses to the NFC East so that means this game will probably be 48-10 at halftime in favor of AmeriKKKa's team.

Dear NFL postseason:

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/BSfWbonoosqtO/giphy.gif)

Offseason thread now plz

*Legion* wrote:

Offseason thread now plz

If you hadn't passed the buck...

garion333 wrote:
*Legion* wrote:

Offseason thread now plz

If you hadn't passed the buck...

... then the thread we're in wouldn't exist until next Thursday.

*Legion* wrote:
garion333 wrote:
*Legion* wrote:

Offseason thread now plz

If you hadn't passed the buck...

... then the thread we're in wouldn't exist until the following Sunday afternoon.

Ftfy

This makes my stomach hurt.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dxb34vuWkAE7nj2?format=jpg&name=large)

ccesarano wrote:

I'm just happy people were at least slightly more excited about Eagles vs. Pats last year. The tremendous apathy this year is startling even to me.

Really though, can the Patriots just take five years off?

Naw, no one was excited about that game either.

garion333 wrote:

Well, that sucked, eh?

Good lord no Sunday was awesome:

* two very close and entertaining games

* a Saints loss in the dumbest way possible FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR

* And, oh yeah, the Saints lost. Ha ha.

I'm fine with the Patriots being there. I'm resigned to the fact that they're like a sunrise or the tide -- an unstoppable force of nature. Unless of course they run up against the Philly Special (and Eli Manning - that dude is Patriots kryptonite.

I think Coach Wonderboy will have a few things dialed up for the Rams, and watching Aaron Donald extract Tom Brady's spleen through the hole atop his shoulderpads will be glorious. I'm totally geeked for the game.

I mean it didn’t happen in the tuck rule game so good luck with that.

Yeah the rule may exist but there's no way.

Even if the penalty happened, the Rams could have blocked the field goal. Or Lutz could have missed, or a bad snap could have blown the attempt. You can't say it was a definite Saints win if the call was correct. Not definite enough to invoke that kind of rule. That's a legitimately final play, 0:00 on the clock sort of deal.

Patrick Mahomes to play in Pro Bowl, Travis Kelce will not

In addition to the game, Pro Bowl week features a “Skills Showdown,” which airs this Thursday, January 24, at 8 p.m. Arrowhead Time on ESPN.

Yep, watching Mahomes and Tyreek Hill in a skills completion will probably be the last of my NFL viewing this season.

I still think they need to turn the Pro Bowl into a flag football game. Let the skill guys go nuts, and have rules that allow it to be an actual competitive game.

Chiefs fire Bob Sutton.

The first name popping up as a potential candidate for the now-open DC job... Li'l Pepper Rex Ryan.

*Legion* wrote:

Chiefs fire Bob Sutton.

The first name popping as a potential candidate for the now-open DC job... Li'l Pepper Rex Ryan.

That was a predictable result. The entire fan base has been calling for his head all season. I don't think he is as bad as the he has been made out to be, because they were going to be predictably bad on defense from the outset. As they added pieces over the season, the defense improved.

But four 4th quarter leads blown by the Chiefs meant a change had to be made. It also helps marketing the team. If they do not fire sutton, the entire offseason would be Chiefs fans' outrage over the tema not "fixing" the problem.

Change DCs, and it now, no matter who they choose, the fan base will be tweeting and liking every move they make all offseason. The front office had no choice.

There was a poll on Arrowhead Pride about whether you approved of the decision to Sutton. It was 635 to 16 in favor of firing him. With those numbers, you fire the guy. and while I think they would have been fine keeping him, he definitely wasn't so good he needed to be protected. The fans want a blitz every down DC, because that's what just beat the Chiefs.

I think another year for the rookies they drafted (and Chavarious Ward, the undrafted rookie they traded for from Dallas that became a starting CB), another 5-7 defensive players in the draft this year, plus a couple of defensive FA signings will make a lot more difference than the particular DC they hire.

I saw some speculation that the Chiefs situation is so good, as far as having a Super Bowl caliber offense, that there is some belief that they might be able to get some players for below market value in order to play in a Super Bowl. Dee Ford was quoted as saying he would be heartbroken if he is not brought back because of the feeling of not finishing what they started.

We'll see. It will be a big time test For Brett Veach to acquire pieces that improve this team. Last year's draft was fine, but his FA were only okay. Sammy Watkins was great, but injuries limited him. Hitchens ended up being a terrible fit at MLB. Kendall Fuller was a great addition in exchange for Alex Smith. Trading Marcus Peters looks brilliant right now. Letting Derrick Johnson walk looks like the smart move right now, but the team really needs a big time improvement at MLB.

This offseason is different. Last year was preparing for a rebuild. This year the team needs impact players ready to make a difference now.

Apparently Sean McVay is a 4th down wuss. Not just in the playoffs, but all the time, even though when they do go for it they're quite successful.

garion333 wrote:

Apparently Sean McVay is a 4th down wuss. Not just in the playoffs, but all the time, even though when they do go for it they're quite successful.

Rams should fire him, and go Fishing for a more experienced head coach...

So I'm guessing no one on Sunday stuck around for Magnum guest starring Eddie George?

FYI, this season of Celebrity Big Brother includes Ricky Williams. So far, I don’t think he has said 12 words. He must be so flipping high.

I mean the guy has social anxiety disorder, that's one of the reasons he smoked so much. If he's not high, he's probably even less likely to talk to anyone.

*Legion* wrote:

I mean the guy has social anxiety disorder, that's one of the reasons he smoked so much. If he's not high, he's probably even less likely to talk to anyone.

I didn't remember that about him. So that makes sense.

But, wow, there might not be a worse situation for someone with social anxiety disorder than to be trapped in a house with a group of strangers where every inch is covered with camera, and they record everything you say for a month. I hope he just gets a nice exit, and things don't go as poorly for him as they have for some that were not well suited for the experience.

He's gotten treatment for the anxiety and has been getting out there a little more, including doing some analyst stuff for ESPN, and, yes, becoming an advocate for the medical marijuana industry and launching his own brand of cannabis products.

I imagine going on the show is to raise his public profile to help promote his business. But yeah, even so, I wouldn't expect him to be a very talkative guy on the show.

Good, non-Patriots or ref, football news! Larry Fitzgerald signed a one year deal with the Cards. He'll be back for one more go!

garion333 wrote:

Good, non-Patriots or ref, football news! Larry Fitzgerald signed a one year deal with the Cards. He'll be back for one more go!

Good news for Kyler Murray!

Okay, this is a weird one:

Chiefs fans berated Dee Ford after his offsides blunder .... or so they thought

Dee Ford woke up early Monday in a home across the pond, as they say, and then glanced at the phone on the nightstand.

The notifications had been buzzing all night. There were hundreds of them, a seemingly endless scroll of Twitter messages.

“You ruined my whole year,” one wrote.

“How the (bleep) do you sleep at night?” wrote another.

What happened? Ford wondered.

But before we get any further, there are some things you should definitely know about Dee Ford: She is a 47-year old English woman; she watched her first American football game only five years ago; and she’s never been to Kansas City.

Oh, and one more thing: She had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the AFC Championship Game.

See, Ford, who shares a name with the Chiefs linebacker who made a crucial blunder in the team’s loss to the Patriots on Sunday, is on social media under her own name. The exact handle: @dee_ford.

The Chiefs veteran does not have a Twitter account. But after he was lined up offside on a play, negating an interception that could have sealed a Kansas City victory and trip to the Super Bowl, fans let Ford have it.

The wrong one.

Because it apparently would take too long to verify they were tweeting at the correct person, Chiefs fans unloaded indecent messages toward a woman in Kent, England, tagging @dee_ford, just to make certain she saw them.

“The phone was going off literally nonstop,” she said. “Some of the things were quite vicious. The things they’re saying, he doesn’t deserve it.”

This story actually dates back five years, when Ford was still a college football player at Auburn. He won the senior bowl most valuable player award in February 2014, ahead of the NFL draft. By mistake, someone in the Auburn athletics department tagged the wrong Dee Ford in a congratulatory tweet. Fans replied, also congratulating a woman who had never watched a snap of American football.

“Luckily, it was all good stuff at that time,” she said.

This might become a regular thing, she thought. So what better way to handle it than to learn the sport?

She watched a couple of football games. She purchased a book to understand the rules. “And I was completely hooked,” she said.

The final step of fandom was finding a team to follow.

Ah, but of course: Follow Dee Ford. She cheers for the Chiefs, along with Auburn. In the fall, Auburn invited her to a football game. She accepted. Loved it.

Three years ago, the Chiefs played in London at Wembley Stadium. She attended that one, too. Met the Chiefs linebacker’s family. Spoke to him on the phone. They laughed about the Twitter connection.

“He’s genuinely one of the nicest people,” she said. “He’s always been good about this. He’s a really humble young man.”

She knew the Chiefs were playing Sunday and that it was a big game. She followed Ford all season and knew he’d had a productive year, with 13 sacks.

But the AFC Championship was on too late in her hometown. It was nearly 2 a.m. her time. No problem. She could check the result in the morning, she figured. Just log onto the internet and see what happened.

No need.

When she saw the notifications, she knew.

“I haven’t forgiven you. Hope you suffer the entire summer knowing u let your team down,” a user wrote.

“You took food from my families (sic) mouth tonight cause you couldn’t get ya 300-pound ass on your side,” said another.

And many others that are frankly too vulgar to mention in a newspaper.

To her credit, Ford has something of a go-with-the-flow approach to it. She’s cordial with those who make the mistake. Funny, even. “300 pounds? How dare you, sir,” she replied.

There seems to be a bit of an enjoyment to the attention that comes with it. Among her 5,500 followers, many are fans of the football player and acutely aware of who they’re actually following.

“I try to be funny with it,” she said. “If I didn’t take it that way, it might be quite upsetting. I’m glad I’m taking the flack and he’s not, because some of the things are quite nasty. I wouldn’t want him to see it.”

I feel that other Brett Kavanaugh and the friends he made on Twitter last year should step in and help.

Kyle Shanahan talking a bit about denying interviews for a couple of his assistant coaches (as well as the one he let go, Denver's new offensive coordinator)

In general, I think the rules on this need to change. It should not be up to the head coach's discretion, which puts them in a position of having to make a decision that might help a coach's career but hurt his team, or vice versa.

I think the rule on this should be: a coach that completes 2 years of coaching at a specific job title becomes automatically eligible to interview externally for jobs that represent promotions, unless his own team offers him a promotion. Once promoted to a new job, that clock resets.

This way, a team can hold onto a young ascending coach by promoting him, otherwise he gets to seek advancement elsewhere. Guys that aren't being pursued for promotions can stay in their job, and once the promotion opportunity comes along, they don't have to worry about it being blocked.

Likewise, a team gets to avoid having guys that show up for 1 year and then jump ship. They get the guy for 2 years and they get right of first refusal after that with the option to promote them and lock up their rights for another 2 years.

I would extend this to the coordinator level as well. Coordinators already cannot be blocked from interviewing for promotions (head coaching jobs). More than a few have made that jump after coordinating for only 1 year. This would mean a team whose coordinator job is just a stepping stone for the hot rising star at least gets to have that guy fill the job for 2 years.

I think this would promote a little more coaching stability, while also ensuring nobody can get locked away from promotions for an unreasonable length of time.

Obviously, this approach would require some standardization on job titles and how they rank with each other in terms of being promotions or not, but NFL coaching job titles aren't so disjointed as to make that an overly onerous proposition. It would be pretty easy to nail down a tiered system of standardized titles that 90% of existing coaching positions already fit into.

Derek Carr feuding with First Take's Max Kellerman. I can't even with the Raiders anymore.

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