NFL 2020: The playoff thread

As someone who only watched the last 5 minutes of the second quarter, I can now definitively say that the refs and the KC line were paid off,or at least had Vegas bets.

IMAGE(https://www.ringsidenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/tom-fough.jpg)

detroit20 wrote:

One of the things I've been pondering for the last couple of years has been Brady's impact on 'Hall of Fame' voting. I'm not sure whether he will be seen as an exception or as a benchmark... or both.

Pro football has changed so much since I started watching games on Channel 4 in the 80s. A combination of rule changes and the literal miracles of medical science (15 years ago, Alex Smith is on a prosthetic leg, rather than the football field, no?) mean the QBs - in particular - enjoy extraordinary longevity.

Do Brady's achievements force Hall of Fame voters to recalibrate? I've read a number of articles in recent years that argue that QBs and receivers are over-represented in the Hall.

What now is a 'Hall of Fame' career for a QB?

For example, as a Giants fan, I now wondering whether Eli Manning deserves a bust in Canton. Based on the numbers, and with Brady as a benchmark, I'm thinking... no?

If Russell Wilson plays for another decade, but doesn't win another Super Bowl, does he get in?

Rings lost meaning when Brady began winning them all. Now it's AP, Pro Bowl and other records.

So, can we hotlink images from Twitter? Let's find out, from somebody named Michael Lopez on Twitter (@StatsbyLopez)

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtrJwVfWQAMTXTB?format=png&name=900x900)

Red is a completed pass, white incomplete, lines are how much the QB moved in the pocket. Mahomes at the top, and, yes, there are lines at the bottom, that's Brady.

His note is Mahomes traveled 468 yards. Brady traveled 37.

Good gawd

And that likely doesn't include pass plays that Mahomes turned into scrambles.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Tom Brady is a douche, but Lavonte David has a ring, and Lavonte David deserves a ring after toiling in the festering garbage pile of obscurity Tampa had been since he was drafted.

I have no problem at all with Lavonte David getting a ring. That Tampa D was absolutely lights out last night, as they have been for weeks. If they had been this good all season instead of just at the end, they might be up there with the best of 'em.

Meanwhile, Mike Remmers is the WOAT of a second Super Bowl. JPP is no Von Miller, but Remmers playing out of position at LT was a recipe for what we saw Sunday night.

Update: Enough of this crap. Here's the offseason thread.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

So, can we hotlink images from Twitter? Let's find out, from somebody named Michael Lopez on Twitter (@StatsbyLopez)

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtrJwVfWQAMTXTB?format=png&name=900x900)

Red is a completed pass, white incomplete, lines are how much the QB moved in the pocket. Mahomes at the top, and, yes, there are lines at the bottom, that's Brady.

His note is Mahomes traveled 468 yards. Brady traveled 37.

Absolutely absurd. Exactly what I was thinking on this morning.

Someone is going to put together the visual + yards of Mahomes running around.

Probably could of just won it all with Jameis though

Let Marshawn Lynch Run at the goal line
Let Aaron play on 4th down
Have Mitchell Schwartz to protect Mahomes

None of these may have actually made a difference to the final result.. but just sayin

Also (and I'm sure I'm Tannerhausing someone else here), the commercials were flat and uninteresting and overwhelming. My three main takeaways are that we now have 5G, there's soon to be a new streaming service that no one asked for and Queen Latifah has a new TV series. The rest of it was just celebrity gibberish.

And it's not just the Super Bowl commercials. It's the 20 straight weeks worth of commercials I endured three nights a week before that. I think I'd rather watch the 4Q of that lousy game again to see another g-----n commercial. I'm glad there's no football for six months.

Enix wrote:

Meanwhile, Mike Remmers is the WOAT of a second Super Bowl. JPP is no Von Miller, but Remmers playing out of position at LT was a recipe for what we saw Sunday night.

Update: Enough of this crap. Here's the offseason thread.

As someone who mostly watches OTs/line, this was interesting/painful to watch. Wylie at right tackle was, if anything, worse than Remmer. Guy was on skates all night. Even with help, he had trouble handling a straight ahead rush. He did not seem to make any mental mistakes that I noticed, he just was physically outmatched.

They both did OK on rushing plays. They both were really bad on pass plays. i will be interested in seeing how someone like PFF grades them out; I would assume in the 20-40 range.

One thing I've been thinking of in recent weeks; as a long-suffering Bucs fan, I actually rooted for Tom Brady and the Patriots for years out of pure spite, thinking that, if I couldn't have nice things, I would enjoy everybody else's suffering as his teams won over and over again.

IMAGE(https://u.cubeupload.com/MilkmanDanimal/Opus.jpg)

garion333 wrote:

Rings lost meaning when Brady began winning them all. Now it's AP, Pro Bowl and other records.

Agreed on All Pro and Pro Bowl offering a strong guide. Not sure about "other records" though. According to ESPN's website, the top 3 in all categories (Passing Yards, Pass Completions, Passing TDs) are Brees, Brady and Manning Sr.

Drew Brees has more than 80,000 yards (Brady is just a thousand shy of that). The next two currently active QBs are Roethlisberger on 60,000 and Ryan on 55,000. The gaps are similar for Pass Completions and Passing Touchdowns.

I know everyone always says this, but those records will probably stand for years... which I think means that Hall of Fame voters will need to do some kind of re-calibration. Philip Rivers is sitting at 5th in the passing stats...

Of course, we're probably a decade about having to ponder this. I can only see it becoming a discussion point when Rivers, Stafford and Ryan are eligible.

tboon wrote:
Enix wrote:

Meanwhile, Mike Remmers is the WOAT of a second Super Bowl. JPP is no Von Miller, but Remmers playing out of position at LT was a recipe for what we saw Sunday night.

Update: Enough of this crap. Here's the offseason thread.

As someone who mostly watches OTs/line, this was interesting/painful to watch. Wylie at right tackle was, if anything, worse than Remmer. Guy was on skates all night. Even with help, he had trouble handling a straight ahead rush. He did not seem to make any mental mistakes that I noticed, he just was physically outmatched.

They both did OK on rushing plays. They both were really bad on pass plays. i will be interested in seeing how someone like PFF grades them out; I would assume in the 20-40 range.

I think I saw somewhere that Wylie, who normally starts at guard, had played only two snaps at tackle before last night.

A couple of other related stats: The Bucs got pressure on more than half of Mahomes' dropbacks but blitzed only 4-5 times. Also, the Chiefs went with 5-man protection on 90+ of their snaps. That meant the LT and RT (both playing out of position) got zero help all night, which was absolutely the wrong move (in hindsight, of course).

This might or might not be a mental mistake, but on this third down play in the 2Q the Chiefs RT lined up outside and Shaq Barrett figures, hell, let's take this inside. Mahomes didn't have a chance.

Enix wrote:

there's soon to be a new streaming service that no one asked for

It's not even new. It's a rebrand of CBS All Access. I even said last night that they should be mentioning that it's just a rebrand or it'll piss people off that there's yet another streaming service.

Enix wrote:

This might or might not be a mental mistake, but on this third down play in the 2Q the Chiefs RT lined up outside and Shaq Barrett figures, hell, let's take this inside. Mahomes didn't have a chance.

That's both tragic and hilarious. Also, on that play, look at the lineman desperately and blatantly holding onto Vita Vea, just trying to slow him down.

iaintgotnopants wrote:
Enix wrote:

there's soon to be a new streaming service that no one asked for

It's not even new. It's a rebrand of CBS All Access. I even said last night that they should be mentioning that it's just a rebrand or it'll piss people off that there's yet another streaming service.

I actually didn't figure that until like the 3rd commercial, because I have never subscribed to that service.

Enix wrote:
tboon wrote:
Enix wrote:

Meanwhile, Mike Remmers is the WOAT of a second Super Bowl. JPP is no Von Miller, but Remmers playing out of position at LT was a recipe for what we saw Sunday night.

Update: Enough of this crap. Here's the offseason thread.

As someone who mostly watches OTs/line, this was interesting/painful to watch. Wylie at right tackle was, if anything, worse than Remmer. Guy was on skates all night. Even with help, he had trouble handling a straight ahead rush. He did not seem to make any mental mistakes that I noticed, he just was physically outmatched.

They both did OK on rushing plays. They both were really bad on pass plays. i will be interested in seeing how someone like PFF grades them out; I would assume in the 20-40 range.

I think I saw somewhere that Wylie, who normally starts at guard, had played only two snaps at tackle before last night.

A couple of other related stats: The Bucs got pressure on more than half of Mahomes' dropbacks but blitzed only 4-5 times. Also, the Chiefs went with 5-man protection on 90+ of their snaps. That meant the LT and RT (both playing out of position) got zero help all night, which was absolutely the wrong move (in hindsight, of course).

This might or might not be a mental mistake, but on this third down play in the 2Q the Chiefs RT lined up outside and Shaq Barrett figures, hell, let's take this inside. Mahomes didn't have a chance.

I would not call that a mental mistake, per se. He was getting beat all night outside so he set up outside and could not recover. I mean I guess it is technically a mental mistake in the sense that it was the wrong thing to do in that instance. I would classify it as just poor technique - you never let a guy pass free inside you, even a dumb old tackle like me knows that.

I think that play just illustrates how poorly prepared mentally and physically he was to play the position. I mean I felt bad for the guy by the end of the game and I usually reserve my pity for out-matched collegiate and below players.

This makes me feel a bit better about the Bucs winning.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtrFoP4XMAA4IZn?format=jpg&name=medium)

Did not realize that nearly all of Bruce Arians' coaching staff is black and he has two women as full-time coaches.

Arians is progressive, which always made his stint in Arizona interesting.

garion333 wrote:

Arians is progressive, which always made his stint in Arizona interesting.

My friend that I watch* the Super Bowl with is a Cardinals fan and wanted to cheer for the Bucs since he liked Arians. Still cheered against them because f*ck Tom Brady.

*skype call, he lives in Japan anyway

This leads on FMIA today:

TAMPA, Fla. — “Hey dude,” Bruce Arians said to Tom Brady as confetti fell on their world champion heads Sunday night. “You remember our first conversation?”

“Vividly,” Brady said.

“Me too,” Arians said. “ ‘You come, and we’ll win the Super Bowl.’ “

He came, he saw, he conquered . . . even though so many were convinced Brady was kaput after the embarrassing wild-card loss that ended his New England career 13 months ago; even though the meticulously-organized Brady didn’t have his first competitive practice with his new team till Aug. 14; even though the three men who scored the four Tampa Bay touchdowns in Super Bowl LV weren’t on the team 10 months ago; even though the Bucs lost at home to the Saints, Rams and Chiefs by a total of 41 points in November; and even though the Bucs’ road to winning a Lombardi Trophy would necessitate victories over Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes in the span of 22 days.

But by the time Brady’s seventh Super Bowl title was captured Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium, it didn’t seem anything but logical.

That’s because Brady had so much help from his new pewter friends in routing the defending world champs 31-9. Gronkowski, coaxed out of retirement by Brady last April (“What else was I gonna do in a pandemic?” Gronk told me post-game) scored the first two touchdowns on throws from Brady. Antonio Brown, coaxed onto the team, in part, by Brady in October, ran a great route and caught a laser TD from Brady for the third score. And Leonard Fournette, mopey when Ronald Jones grabbed the running back job in midseason, scored a redemptive TD among his 135 scrimmage yards. “Rob and Antonio are never on this team without Tom,” agent Drew Rosenhaus said at halftime, and he would know: He reps Gronk and used to rep Brown.

The help came from a defense that smothered Patrick Mahomes, who has the best chance in this golden age of quarterbacks to be the heir to Brady. (Someday. Not now.) Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles came up with the game plan of his life. The line contained Mahomes so well Bowles called only four blitzes all night. And the kid secondary—all six who played the back end against Mahomes are 24 or younger—came up huge. One other thing: The Chiefs stunk. Hard to remember an Andy Reid team looking so shaky and poiseless in a big game.

Back to the field, post-game. Back to the strangest season we’ve ever seen.

“What else did you say to Brady?” I asked Arians, when he finally had a chance to take a deep breath in his office post-game.

“That [first] day we talked,” Arians said, “Tom said he knew we had the talent. I just told him, ‘You gotta get them to believe.’ He did. And it came to fruition.”

Arians would have loved to dissect the moment with Brady right there. But when ownership, Arians and Brady moved to the stage to accept the Lombardi, the coach stepped back.

“I wanted my wife to have some time with him,” Arians said. “She’d never met Tom.”

Whaaaaat?

“Just that kind of year,” Arians said. “You know, the virus. It’s been tough to build a close team in times like this. They couldn’t eat together. Gronk still doesn’t know everybody’s name. So when we got on stage, I just let my wife have the moment with Tom. That was precious to me.”

I knew Arians was a really great guy who had a very progressive record on hiring, but that story about stepping back on the podium so his wife could meet Tom Brady is HILARIOUS. Solid dude, and probably hasn't enabled his son's drunk driving for years.

Arians is great. If you took Tom Brady and Antonio Brown off of that roster, I would have been cheering for the Bucs.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I knew Arians was a really great guy who had a very progressive record on hiring, but that story about stepping back on the podium so his wife could meet Tom Brady is HILARIOUS. Solid dude, and probably hasn't enabled his son's drunk driving for years.

wrong coach

Chairman_Mao wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I knew Arians was a really great guy who had a very progressive record on hiring, but that story about stepping back on the podium so his wife could meet Tom Brady is HILARIOUS. Solid dude, and probably hasn't enabled his son's drunk driving for years.

wrong coach

The "his" Milkman is referring to is Andy Reid.

Man, I really wish I knew what was up with Andy Reid and his kids. I mean, I don't need to know the gossipy sh*t that's going on, but does their family have a genetic predisposition to addiction, etc.

Or maybe it's something to do with a dad who is an NFL coach.

Anyway, it's sad.

Pretty much how addiction works.

Ah, Twitter is the best.

Mahomes praised for a heroic effort in a loss:
IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Etu1-C8XUAMRu2B?format=jpg&name=medium)
Lamar called a choke artist who can't win big games:
IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Etu1-ajXEAADn0N?format=jpg&name=medium)