NFL 2018: Super Bowl 53

Sounds like they're trying to have fun with the Pro Bowl, which is the correct thing to do when no one is going to put in injury-increasing-level of effort.

The Mahomes Effect:

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garion333 wrote:

Sounds like they're trying to have fun with the Pro Bowl, which is the correct thing to do when no one is going to put in injury-increasing-level of effort.

You can't tune in for a competitive game. But there are ways to make what they can do more fun.

I think a larger skills competition with more events should be the core of Pro Bowl weekend. Then, in addition to dodge ball, they can have a flag football game as one of the events. This year the dodge ball event was worth enough points that if both conference won at least one event, then the dodge ball match would decide who wins.

But a flag football game, in addition to reducing injuring risk, gets the helmets off the stars, and allows for more fun moments between players, coaches and officials. They had the championship game for a flag football league before the Pro bowl what if the winner winner of the Pro Bowl game gets to take on the flag football champions?

This is basically the path the NFL has taken. The skills competition is fun, and the All-Star game is 3-on-3. That allows the skilled forwards to show off and eliminate most of the physical play. I also think 3-on-3 presents some interesting strategies, while 5-on-5 with no checking is not a lot different than football at half-speed.

garion333 wrote:

Sounds like they're trying to have fun with the Pro Bowl, which is the correct thing to do when no one is going to put in injury-increasing-level of effort.

Jalen Ramsey caught a touchdown on offense.

Been a while since someone had done that while wearing a Jaguars helmet. The whole Jags offense had only one TD reception the entire month of December, a month in which they played 5 games.

If I had known players played out of position, I might have watched the PB for the lulz.

On the razzle-dazzle interception -- yeah, I broke down and watched that one replay -- there was a distinct lack of tackling. The play finally ended with the ball carrier running into a knot of players and the refs blowing the play dead.

That call was more egregiously wrong than the one in the Rams-Aints game. You know the one - the one I'm still laughing about.

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Best result is still Rams with no fans winning? Then applying a * because of the call?

Kinda dream scenario for any Saints haters. You should of won but you didn't.

The Alliance of American Football (AAF) begins February 8th and PFF will be delivering grades and whatnot for it. Nice!

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There's actually a schedule with ticket sales and everything!

They're already way ahead of most of the other minor league attempts.

The Memphis Express has both Christian Hackenberg and Zach Mettenberger so I know one team I will be watching.

The minor league arms race is heating up.

The XFL is now partnering with The Spring League, using the Spring League to test proposed game changes for the XFL, as well as, no doubt, setting up the Spring League to be a talent pipeline into the XFL.

The Spring League has actually done OK for itself with the niche it has carved out. Despite the name, it's not really a league, but more like a Senior Bowl for second-chance players: a week or so of training camp plus a talent demonstration game event.

Damn I wish I was still in Austin so I could go watch the Spring League event.

A new tidbit of previous Browns ineptitude appears: During the 2011 draft, the Browns called up Cameron Jordan to tell him they were drafting him, when they were in fact trying to draft Jordan Cameron.

Cameron Jordan, of course, was a 1st round pick while the Browns were selecting Jordan Cameron in the 4th, a round which takes place two *days* later. (On The Dan Patrick show, Patrick said "next day" to Cameron which he didn't dispute, probably because it doesn't matter to anyone, but it would have been two days later, which is the kind of detail that just makes the story better to me.)

*Legion* wrote:

A new tidbit of previous Browns ineptitude appears: During the 2011 draft, the Browns called up Cameron Jordan to tell him they were drafting him, when they were in fact trying to draft Jordan Cameron.

Cameron Jordan, of course, was a 1st round pick while the Browns were selecting Jordan Cameron in the 4th, a round which takes place two *days* later. (On The Dan Patrick show, Patrick said "next day" to Cameron which he didn't dispute, probably because it doesn't matter to anyone, but it would have been two days later, which is the kind of detail that just makes the story better to me.)

It's two days later now, with Round 1 on Day 1, Rounds 2-3 on Day 2 and Rounds 4-7 on Day 3, but wasn't it previously Rounds 1-3 Day 1, and Rounds 4-7 Day 2? Or am I mistaken?

Yes, it used to be two days, with the rounds separated as you said.

The change to three days happened in 2010, one year before the Cameron Jordan draft.

Could be gross depending on your tolerance for bad food combos.

Here's Belichick breaking down some video of the AFCCG

Couldn't help but notice the two Patriots defensive plays have the defense in, yep, press man coverage.

The second play I think is particularly notable. You see the Chiefs doing 2 things teams use to try and beat press man: trips receivers, and the back out of the backfield trying to stretch wide to beat the man coverage that has to chase him out there. The Pats defenders do a great job of not getting tripped up by either of these.

I think playing defense in the modern NFL demands press man coverage. I don't think enough defenses are brave or aggressive enough to do it as much as they should. Of course, I've been a press man guy for a while now. Anyone that's been around here long enough has probably noticed come draft day. But I think the way the game is played now, defenses have to disrupt the passing game at the line of scrimmage, or else you have quarterbacks have the kind of season Pat Mahomes did. These guys are just too good at picking apart a zone coverage. Play up tight and in their face, and accept the plays where you get burned as the cost of doing business.

I agree. The press also slows the play development so the pass rush has a better chance of getting home. It's also why pass rush up the middle is so effective while Joey Bosa can't get a whiff of Brady.

NFL offenses are getting so dependent on scheme to get people open. It's why everyone wants to sign the young hotshot offensive minds. I see it every time the Niners play offense - as rough as their season was, they were the 15th ranked passing attack last year, and they got there by scheming guys open.

When you press, you take a lot of that scheming effectiveness away, and force their guys to beat your guys 1-on-1. You deploy your safeties based on where on the field guys might need help (I'd run lots of "robber" Cover 1, but if they have a Julio Jones, it might mean one of your safeties spends time doubling that guy). Too many defenses are getting pencil-whipped by plays instead of players (<<< a couple of Vic Ketchman-isms in that sentence).

It's also why pass rush up the middle is so effective while Joey Bosa can't get a whiff of Brady.

Yeah, interior guys who can get to the quarterback are skyrocketing in value. The days of interior D-linemen being giant space-filling men like so many of my past D-line man-crushes are fading fast. The prototype is now the John Randle type, the 6'1" 280-290lb unstoppable bowling ball penetrator. Which of course is exactly what Aaron Donald is, who makes me think about Randle every time I watch him.

Even the taller guys are lighter and quicker now. J.J. Watt is 6-5 and lists at 288. DeForest Buckner lists at exactly 300 and he's 6-7. I think back to the Jags with John Henderson who was 6-7 and played at 330. Warren Sapp was only 6-2 and he played all the way up into the 330s at one point. But the plays are now developing too quickly, the ball is coming out too fast for that. Quickness is no longer a perk for a guy with size, size is now a perk for a guy with quickness.

For those of you dig "How Things Are Made" and other how-do-they-do-it, SI has a piece on how a cow becomes an NFL football.

If slaughterhouses make you squeamish, you can skip the beginning and go to the part about how the balls are made and picked (or not) for games. Fascinating stuff.

I in 2018 wrote:

I predict this will be the quietest Super Bowl thread in GWJ history.

I'm sticking with this. And I'm going to say the Pats are going to win, as much as I hate to do it.

Roses are red
Pats win it all
F*ck this Super Bowl
https://youtu.be/-loQApEJBMc?t=0m31s

If I forget about the game and miss it on Sunday I don't think I'll be bummed.

Evidently my uncle and cousin are coming over for the game and I don't know why.

Because it's a thing people do, Chris.

Well people need to play more video games instead of watching two boring teams play in what is undoubtedly going to have a boring conclusion!

Spoiler:

The fact that everyone that wasn't an Eagles or Patriots fan was saying the same thing last year is not lost on me.

ccesarano wrote:

The fact that everyone that wasn't an Eagles or Patriots fan was saying the same thing last year is not lost on me.

If the Patriots had won, it would have been as boring as expected. Philly made it as interesting as possible, but not as interesting as if it had been Philly vs someone else. (Like maybe the other team that made that AFCCG...)

I'm feeling the love for this Superbowl so I'll post some Pats hype porn.

Jared Goff to Fox announcer dolt Chris Myers: "I HOPE YOU FALL ON A MACHETE LATER."

Yep, it's time for the NFL 2019 edition of Bad Lip Reading:

EvilDead wrote:

I'm feeling the love for this Superbowl so I'll post some Pats hype porn.

I can guarantee nobody watched this but you.

Enix wrote:

Jared Goff to Fox announcer dolt Chris Myers: "I HOPE YOU FALL ON A MACHETE LATER."

Yep, it's time for the NFL 2019 edition of Bad Lip Reading:

I can guarantee way more people will watch this.

garion333 wrote:

I can guarantee nobody watched this but you.

You're tempted, aren't you!

Now off to watch some bad lip reading.

The grocery stores in St. Louis are not even prepping for the Super Bowl. This game doesn't even have "check-in to see the score" appeal.

If my feed blows up with “Meteor strikes Tom Brady during warmups” or “Sudden appearance of Godzilla results in new Super Bowl being played by the Chiefs and Saints next week!” Then I might tune in and check it out.

Otherwise I got a ton of games that need playing.