
Your weekend viewing plans (all times Eastern): SATURDAY: Indianapolis at Kansas City, 4:35 p.m.; Dallas at L.A. Rams, 8:15 p.m. SUNDAY: L.A. Chargers at New England, 1:05 p.m.; Philadelphia at New Orleans, 4:40 p.m. Win or go home. Use this thread to discuss them all.
1 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Picks are in:
Clots at Chefs: 35-42. Mahomes turn the tide for KC.
Cowbous at Mars: 20-28. The defensive MVP will abuse Cowbous OL.
Chargees at Pates: do not compute. I watched highlights of last year's bout and it was more close than I remembered. It will be something like the NE-KC divisional in 2015.
Eags at Sanities: 17-35. Come on. For the n-th time, let's say together: Foles PO's run is unsustainable.
3 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I’d be in favor of sending the Cowboys to Mars
Foles kept it up for an entire season in 2013.
2 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
KC - 30 IND - 27
LAR - 30 DAL - 20
NE - 24 LAC - 14
NO - 31 PHI - 28
4 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Chefs 28 Clots 24
Ramps 35 Cowgrlls 13
Chargees 31 Parts 21
Stints 38 Eagers 18
17 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Chefs—Clots a Raider Joe best matchup. Too bad the Loins are sitting these playoffs out.
5 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
KC - 35 IND - 38
LAR - 24 DAL - 17
NE - 28 LAC - 30
NO - 24 PHI - 17
6 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
My picks are:
IND over KC (I'm pulling for the team that has an actual defense and an experienced QB. Yes, Mahomes is amazingly good, and he'll probably make me sorry)
LAR over DAL (Seems like a no brainer at this point)
NE over LAC (I had to give NE the edge after some thought)
NO over PHI (Nope, no kind of miracle against the Saints this year)
7 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
When was the last time that all four home teams won in the divisional round? Was it 2004? This year it's hard to pick an upset. The NFC's top seeds seem more fragile, but so do their opponents.
The opportunity for a rematch of this year's superbowl in the next regular season is already very low. With both North divisions out of the playoffs, it's down to the Pats vs one of the NFC East teams or the Saints vs the Colts. Those have to be among the least likely superbowl pairings. It means we'll only get rematches of 24 previous superbowls in the 2019 season, a fraction below the 2015 offering in percentage terms.
8 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I think the pick for a home team to be upset would obviously be the Patriots. They are the one that's actually inferior to the opposition, even if being at home means they are still favorites. Chiefs are moderately better than the Colts, while the NFC home teams are way ahead of their mediocre opposition. But, in a single game elimination tournament, anything can happen. We could have Colts-Cowboys in the Super Bowl.
9 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
There was a home sweep in 2015. Broncos over Steelers, Patriots over Chiefs, Panthers over Seahawks, and the insane Cardinals over Packers OT game.
10 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Clots 24, Chefs 35
Cowboize 10, Rama 33
Chargees 34, Pates 22
Eags 20, Saint's 42
11 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Pickz
Cloys 33, Chiefs 27
Rams 27, Cowbosy 19
Pates 30, Chargers 20
Saints 31, Eaglea 24
Not surprisinf if all these are wrong. Chiefs vs clota should be close.
12 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Has an FO commenter ever predicted a correct final score?
13 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I did at least one tiem. Then was off by one point one time
14 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
So if you're Andy Reid and win the coin toss, do you buck the common wisdom and elect to receive, try to get the early lead and hope that your defense can do enough to hold on in a shootout?
18 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
And I was wrong, but the Chiefs lead anyway.
15 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
no one's taken the Cows (and I won't either), which strikes me as odd. Rams seem particularly vulnerable (and especially to the strengths of this opponent), so, while I wouldn't be shocked for the home team to figure it out and win by 20+, I can easily see an upset. Gut feeling says the Colts win (though I'd rather be wrong (Mahomes is more fun to watch than peak-Rodgers). Colts seem fundamentally sound, and better on the lines (though the tissue soft schedule gives me pause) , and maybe better-coached. Hope I'm wrong
16 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
KC - 34 IND - 27
LAR - 30 DAL - 20
LAC - 27 NE - 24
NO - 34 PHI - 24
19 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Colts go three and out, and the chiefs score pretty easily. Now Colts have another three and out..
20 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
1st Luck batted pass: KC lineman gets away with hands to the face. One of the most inconsistently called penalties in the league. Line play must be really tough to see at field level.
21 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Mahomes takes a jog to his right, looks downfield, then tosses to his left to Hill for a 1st down. Yeah, he's a run-first quarterback.
22 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Hope I'm wrong but this has the look of becoming uninteresting really quickly
28 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Indy has come back on KC before
61 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
That was five years ago and is meaningless in terms of predicting what will happen in a game today. Also, it only happened because KC suffered a midgame injury apocalypse.
185 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
When Dwayne Bowe is your number 1 go to option at the end of the game, there has been a serious injury issue with your team. And he *still* almost made a great catch on a ball from Smith, just didn't get both feet down in bounds.
23 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Chiefs after 1Qtr 14-0 11 first downs and 2 for 2 on 4th down, 112 yards to Colts -3 yards
24 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Mahomes slides out of pressure again, runs forward, looks right, then throws another cross-body strike to Kelce for a 1st down. Yeah, he's just another run-first guy who will be exposed in the playoffs, according to one payaso.
25 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Colts should maybe consider going for this 4th down. Yes, it's early and you are on your own side of the field, but you are already down by 17 and are clearly going to need to score a lot of points to win this. Plus it's short yardage.
26 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I kind of agree with this but somehow the decision totally pays off.
27 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Blocked punt for a TD? Special teams aren't supposed to let opponents back into games.
29 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
It's ridiculous how the Chiefs always get someone open.
30 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I wish the TV coverage would show how the Chiefs receivers are getting so wide open. Seeing a QB making throws that I could apparently make is BOOORING!
31 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I wonder, whatever happened to the Madden Cam? That's better than the standard angles they have shown since ever.
32 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I'm waiting for the day the cable-cam starts being used to give us the classic video game look from the offensive backfield as the default.
37 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Well, the networks are well aware that the majority of fans much prefer the Madden cam, but they don't do anything about it, so I'm not holding my breath.
33 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Colts just doubled their yardage on that play
34 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Colts moved the ball welll on this last drive. Where was this offense earlier?
And the FG missed! So much for that drive
35 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
On the replay, it appeared as if the holder had the ball spotted almost on his own foot. Did anyone else see that? Or is that how Vinatieri likes it?
40 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
It looked fine to me, as someone who has watched Vinatieri kick a lot.
54 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
That one was a super iffy hold, but even that one it seemed like Sanchez got it down.
55 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
That second missed kick was placed at least six inches further out than the first hold. I'm guessing Vinatieri was still thinking about that first placement.
36 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Has NBC's coverage always been this bad? They're making the KC offense basically unwatchable
39 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
OMFG the Key & Pelle thing literally just happened! I don't know how to feel about this…
https://youtu.be/RGJb2iLvOKE
43 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
bwahahahahaha
186 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
That's amazing. Forgot about this.
38 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
That may have been the stupidest penalty I've seen in a while. Why exactly do you go up to the referee to feign a lap dance?
SEC schedules in November are an insult to the game.
41 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I thought he offering to twerk the ref.
42 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I'm not totally sure why that's a penalty but yeah that's a terrible place to do it.
44 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
NFL public image rules.
45 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Pubic image rules?
46 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I assume it was because he did it "at" the ref from right next to him.
47 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
The Colts OL isn't living up to recent accolades so far.
49 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I was bullish on Jones impact in this game and he has been a force.
On the other side the Colts twin 1techs are no match for the technical prowess of KCs OL and the LBs are totally getting washed out of the plays.
I think the Colts' biggest successes, like many teams (Rams and Saints also IMO), were so tied to playing poor teams but they just don't have the horses to play with teams like KC. Maybe only the Chargers do or if the Saints/Rams clean things up.
50 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I was referring to the Colts OL not being as beastly as they appeared the past two weeks.
53 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Sure, lotta hype in today's world. Read too much and we get convinced.
60 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
The Chiefs have some good pass rushers. They had a bye week, then almost nothing to do in the first half tonight, so were clearly rested and fresh when called upon in the second half.
I'm harder pressed to explain why the Colts were unable to run the ball early. But they ran so few plays in the first half it is impossible to draw conclusions. Luck was a little off all night. Possibly the weather.
63 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
There were several plays where they had the frontside blocked but someone leaked from the backside and made the play. Otherwise I have no clue.
48 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
It will be fascinating to see what the DVOA result is for the KC D if they continue to pitch this shutout.
51 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Sorry, Collinsworth, that was not DPI on the pass to Ebron.
72 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Absolutely right, and Collinsworth’s mistake was very typical and annoying: announcers assume that turning one’s back to the passer must be PI even if the defender does not hit the receiver prior to the ball arriving. It’s laziness.
52 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Wow. Two missed kick by Vinatieri.
56 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
What's Andrew Luck's record in cold weather games?
57 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
He has seemed super uncomfortable all game and I'm not sure why exactly.
58 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
What got into the Colts Offense there? How the heck they suddenly turned into a pumpkin?
59 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Ok, if the Cowboys are hoping they can win this game, they need to do something rare and find a way to limit the Rams runs consistently. Gurley is basically on a Mack truck and going through them. And C.J. Anderson is on a SUV for when he spells Gurley.
62 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Wow, the Coliseum is LOUD.
64 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
What do you think of going for it on 4th and 1 Troy?
...
I don’t like it.
What a putz
65 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
It was the decisiveness with which he stated it that was hilarious. Normally you'd expect "I don't know about this call Joe, it's awful early in the game, blah blah". But here he flat out rubbished it, then seconds later, wham!, Elliot up the middle for 5 yards. Poetic.
66 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I actually laughed out loud at the whole thing. He’s the John Fox of commentating. Or maybe even the Jeff Fisher.
67 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Heh. A guy in the front row appears to be wearing a Rams #7 Kaepernick jersey. That's a pretty cool idea
68 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Rams steamrolling cowboys with the run game
69 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Fun sequence where the definitely not tackled Prescott escaped a sack and ran into the officials whistling to end the play.
70 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
That's the first time I've ever seen an 'in the grasp' call when the defense doesn't even have a hand on the QB.
71 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Why not trying a Hail Mary? Why coaches elect the 60+ yards FG? Zuerlein has a big leg, but why?
73 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
The Rams being held to field goals a few times is the only thing allowing the Cowboys to retain a small foothold in this game.
74 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
How is that spotted at the 2?
75 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Cowboys make it an 8 point game. This got interesting!
76 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
WHY!? Either run a play or punt the ball! Hekker is accurate enough to punt from there.
77 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Rams have been past midfield on every drive and have no turnovers, but this game could be tied after this drive.
78 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Cowboys ran into a wall on 4th down (I don't get why you move your lead blocker and put him as a wing when you run up the middle). And Elliot got the ball ripped out of him about 4 seconds after he stopped moving.
79 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
What's the point of trying to draw the defense offsides on the goal-line? To turn a 1 yard attempt in a 1/2 yard attempt?
80 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I will half heartedly try to defend that, since I hate it too. They did burn some clock. Still, run a play with 01 in the play clock, please.
81 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
You should go for two now rather than wait, although with this amount of time left on the clock it doesn't matter much.
84 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
You would think that would be obvious, but apparently not.
85 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
It's going to take a while for coaches to learn that I think.
88 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
love that Pederson went for 2 when they cut it from 14 to 8 earlier this year (minnesota game), but I don't think they'll ever "learn" this one- they want to give their team the illusion that they're still in the game for as long as possible if their only goal is to tie the game, not to win in regulation
87 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Missing the 2 point play, be it before the 2:11 or with 30 seconds on the clock, near ends the game. Both mean you have to somehow, someway pull off 2 drives, 1 a TD, 1 a FG at least. Doing it with 2:11 means you need 2 stops (Well, a stop and an onside kick, with so limited time and no timeouts means that the opponent just kneels). Doing it with 30 seconds means you NEED the onside kick. Both require a drive in a 20-30 second span (You still need to score if you go for 2 at 2:11 and miss right? That will burn clock), nigh impossible. If there were 4 or more mins in the clock, sure go for 2. With so limited time, might as well make the 2 point play the last play and don't have to rely on miracles before you really need them at all.
90 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Tend to agree. With that little time left I have to believe that delaying the 2 pt conversion makes so little difference to win probability as to be negligible. OTOH, I'm fairly certain that Garrett would have done the same had there been 5 mins remaining.
82 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Well that more than makes up for the in-the-grasp call from earlier.
83 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Are you saying that wasn't pass interference?
86 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I didn't think so at first, but I guess it could go either way. We only have Aikman's word that the ball had already been thrown
89 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
It was really iffy (and I was rooting for Dallas)
91 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
surprises:
1) For Indy's front line to "handle" Houston's D line so well THEN look
inept against KC-Luck had zero time
2) I knew Mahomes would make some rookie mistakes (throws I couldn't
believe he tried) but he played his first playoff game better than I
expected..I *still* think he'll make a ton of mistakes in AFC championship
round (if they blitz him/pressure him more) (NE will/Chargers might not)
3) KC front line held up well
4) Rams ran more than expected
5) Rams D played fair, thought they would've held 'boys to less points, especially
wi/Phillips-revenge factor
93 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
If you are surprised that the soon-to-be MVP of the league, in command of one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history, managed to make some plays and score some points against a mediocre defense, well then yeah, I'm not sure there's much that won't surprise you.
I'll grant you that the Colts overall ineffectiveness on offense was indeed a surprise. The reasons are no doubt multi-variable, but a well-rested group of pass rushers facing an QB/offense unaccustomed to operating outdoors in bad weather seems a decent place to start.
187 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Either NE or winner or NO/Rams game *will* dbl-blitz the
A and/or B gaps & this MVP will evaporate into thin air.
Right now that'll be met by hoots & hollars but after the
game we might want to revisit.
I'll acknowledge being an idjit if I'm proven wrong.
He made a high # of throws in that game that will
cause a loss...its just that Indy's OL was inept for
some reason/so that they couldn't score plus
Indy didn't all out blitz him until late in the game/too late.
We shall see.
92 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
It really feels like we are now well past the tipping point w.r.t. coaches going for it on 4th down in the most obvious situations. Previously conservative decision makers like Reid and Garrett are now doing it as a matter of course, with little opposition from announcers/pundits (save for numbskulls like Aikman).
In actual fact, I've noticed Reid being almost too aggressive at times recently, shunning the (virtually) guaranteed points from kicking when his team already has a commanding lead, and low-variance would appear to be the smart play. Still, his approach is certainly consistent with the strengths/weaknesses of his team, so I cannot be too critical.
The next frontier will surely be coaches going for it on 4th & short on their own side of the field. Also, more thought/creativity being put into 3rd down play-calling, knowing that a 4th down attempt is a given. A run on 3rd and medium against a defense expecting ~100% pass could be highly effective, but is still seldom seen.
94 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Kacsmar won’t like teams throwing short on 3rd down. That’s almost Smithian.
189 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I get what you're saying, however they are really good at converting 4th downs, I think he should go for them as much as he wants.
95 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Pats by 7, New Orleans by 21
96 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Watching the Chiefs play with a lead in the 4th quarter is near heart attack-provoking. If Reid had ever taken a course in game theory, probability and statistics, history would have been altered over the past 20 years. Snapping the ball with 12 seconds left on the play clock up 17 with 9 minutes to go is ridiculous. Hard to believe none of his star protegees ever suggested offhand this shortcoming. The style of maintaining an attack with a big lead has its merits but bleeding the clock is paramount. The inverse effect is what happened during both of his losses to BB in the postseason: consuming too much clock on the drive to get the first TD while down two scores. In the superbowl BB called up to his assistants to make sure the scoreboard was correct that they were in fact up 10 points and not the opposite during the Eagles long scoring drive.
188 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
good points..eventually they (KC) will mismanage game, and have
some timely mental mistakes in crunch time will also exacerbate
the ineptitude....either in this game or SB, it *will* happen.
97 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Bradley better switch to man or this could get ugly in a hurry
105 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
+1, and maybe anyway.
I can't watch this in real time, y'all are better men than me. Need a commercial buffer. Beer run.
98 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Pats with a great opening drive, 14 plays, more than 7 minutes
102 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
And only one pass interference call to bail him out!
99 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Philip Rivers is on a mission today. Go Bolts
125 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
So is Tre Flowers, he might be playing into the tag.
100 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Duplicate
101 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Chargers craptastical defensive plan thus far
103 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
How did the NFL "decide" the Chargers would have the two consecutive 10 am body clock games?
106 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
The Chargers "decided" by not winning enough to take the AFC West and get a top 2 seed.
108 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
If only they had planned ahead and made sure the refs called no penalties in games they would otherwise lose. Cheating just isn't for the playoffs. It's the Patriot Way. You have to cheat all year long.
112 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
So it was written at the beginning of the year that the 5 vs 4 seed would be the early Sunday game of wild card weekend?
120 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Well, that's hardly fair. The Chargers had a better record than the Patriots, but were unfortunate enough to play in the same division as the Chiefs.
I'm fully on board with the idea that the AFC East has been nothing like as weak as is regularly perceived during the Patriots long period of domination. But this season it undoubtedly has, and the Patriots have been lucky to benefit from it.
107 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
If you're a professional athlete you should be ready to go at 10am.
104 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
FFS. Great defensivegame plan so far, LA.
110 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Uhh... They're just letting the Patriots to score a lot now and tire themselves out.
109 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Chargers looking like paper tigers once again. Rivers already crying for flags and their coaches look completely overmatched.
111 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Pats: 4 drives , 4tds. This is a blowout
113 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Charger's still can't get the snap off in time in the late 2nd.
And yet another playoff game that looks to be determined by dominant line play. Sensing a theme here...
114 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
A 3rd down stop not negated by a flag. And then they muff the punt. Amazing
115 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Can't believe I woke up early for this shit
116 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Rivers is really mad. He's getting pummeled and he wants ghost flags apparently.
117 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Patriots almost have more points in a single half than they have had in an entire game this season. Now I wish the Ravens had won last week because their excellent defense would obviously do much better than this.
118 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Maybe. On the other hand, last time the Ravens played the Patriots in the playoffs, John Harbaugh got outcoached so bad he was left sputtering in impotent rage on the sidelines, so the outcome might not have been that different.
119 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
No, last time they played in the playoffs the top seeded Patriots, at home, with an extra week of rest, barely squeaked out a win over a wild card team. Not that games from four years ago should be used to assess how a potential game this year would go.
121 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Phillip can't seem to avoid delay of games. Lynn had to bail him out of that one.
122 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Shouldn't the Chargers have gone for 2? 31 points is not necessarily a 5 score lead, unless you keep kicking the XP. I mean the odds of it becoming relevant are extremely slim, but still,how do you not go for 2?
123 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I guess they don't give a damn at this point, or they just want the game to end.
124 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I haven't watched that many games this year, I confess. For those who have watched this LA team, were the Chargers legitimately overrated? Their defense was a zone scheme in the regular season and poorly suited in a matchup with NE, but is this seriously the best they can do? This game has been a joke, and I know NE is not this good...
128 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I thought the C's definitely earned their DVOA rating.
129 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I think this is like the Seattle-Denver Super Bowl, a strong team simply playing at their absolute worst.
132 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Chargers have paper tiger embedded in their DNA
148 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
If the Chargers didn’t inexplicable choke games against inferior completion, they wouldn’t be the Chargers
Move again Dean. Maybe you can out run it.
139 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
"and I know NE is not this good..."
Man, if I had a nickel every time I heard that after the Pats won a playoff game...
142 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
You'd have about a nickel. The Patriots have been consistently great throughout the season for many years now. This was the first time in a long time they looked shaky enough in the regular season that there was serious doubt as to whether they were one of the strongest teams in the league.
149 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
I'd give Rick more than that. Maybe after the 2011 romp over Denver... the 2003 Championship game against Indy, perhaps the 2004 Divisional round win over Indy... even the 2001 Super Bowl. He might have a pocket with about 25 cents.
Maybe DVOA will feel that the Chargers' comeback in the second half shows Pats' shakiness, but otherwise, this felt like one of the most complete dismantlings the Patriots have ever inflicted on a postseason opponent. It was like the 2004 game against the Colts except with a lot more offense. It was far less close than the 2003 Championship game romp... maybe a bit like the 2004 championship game against the Steelers? It felt like a game between a championship caliber NE team and a puffed up phony of a Los Angeles team, and what makes that so surprising is this has felt all season to me like the weakest NE team since 2008. Meanwhile, I was under the impression that this was one of the finest Chargers squads since 2010 or so.
180 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
2014 AFCC was a stomping
181 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
And no one though the Pats "weren't that good" afterwards. I was trying to think of wins after which people were muddled or felt that the Pats performed a lot better than expectations.
In the 2003 AFC Championship game, the Pats dominated the Colts' offense but kicked a bunch of field goals and were meh on offense. I recall folks feeling that the offense would struggle in the Super Bowl, getting eaten alive by the Carolina defensive line, and that scheme had elevated defensive performance beyond their actual strength. There were similar feelings after the 2001 Super Bowl.
The 2011 Denver Game was a Madden-like offensive explosion, and I recall most people feeling that Denver was just playing over its head and NE wasn't nearly as good as they looked in that game. Might have been true--they squeaked over Baltimore the following week and then lost the Super Bowl.
etc.
182 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
They lost in the 2012 SB largely because Gronk could barely walk, Welker had a knee injury and Vollmer was very limited. That's football, of course, but when healthy the two TE offense was terrifying (and not just because one of the TE's was Hernandez).
In 2002, the Pats were, understandably, dismissed by pretty much everyone.
Few expected them to get past the 15-1 Steelers either in 2004 (?). I've never seen a 14-2 team more dismissed.
190 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Hi Paddy, Charger fan here. Sorry for the late reply.
I made a post in the AFC Preview thread, last one I believe, that explained why we should expect a NE victory. Knowledgeable LAC fans I spoke to forsaw the same issues. I didn't expect it to get ugly, but said it could, wasn't surprised. (And I didn't see any way we could expect to pull it out.)
As to the defensive collapse, last week they were flying to the ball but the D was sleep walking today - that wasn't the same unit that dropped BAL's Edwards on contact the week before. They've been running on guts and nerves for the last four weeks against bruising opponents. Mental and physical fatigue, not helped by early Offensve outs.
I need to re-watch the game. We were stopping the run well enough early but not the short passes. That Seahawks-style defense limited KC and PIT screen/short game well enough for us to win, but NE and esp. Edelman killed us. We should have adjusted maybe, but coming up aggressively and tackling was missing. Missed tackles, penalties on 3rd, offensive 3 and outs then it just snowballed and the guys were gassed.
Btw, I mentioned NE would probably win 7-8 of 10 with current conditions but would expect it to flip with both teams rested and healthy on a neutral field, and I still think so.
126 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Belichick grinnin' like a possum eating a sweet potato.
127 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Wild-ass theory: Gus Bradley stuck with the 7 DB defense because he expected that the Pates expected him to come up with something new, so he tried to fool them by not doing anything new!
130 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Other than the 11-5 Cassel campaign, and the two seasons where the Sanchise making the postseason coincided with a semi-functional Gailey offense flirting with 7-9, the AFC east has pretty much been a turnstile to a first round bye for the only competent team. But also more important has been the pollination of ineptitude from the Belichick coaching tree throughout the league, which has increased NE's competetive advantage at the conference level. The lower football IQ owners have done themselves a disservice with the tree-plucking and it doesn't appear to be slowing down. If only they could have figured out a way to lure Ernie Adams ...
134 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Before this season at least, the Pats had a better record against the rest of the league than the AFC East so...no.
135 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Yep. A perfect example would be the Dolphins, who over the last ten (I think that was it) years have finished every year between 6 and 10 wins. Of course, that means they haven't had any great teams in that span, but they've also never been really terrible either. That's been the state of the AFC East for basically the entirety of this long Patriots run.
150 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
The Parcells era in Miami was a rare well-conceived attempt to break the hegemony (as were direct hires from the Parcells tree instead of the Belichick, e.g Payton, Coughlin, other conference though). But how a Casserly-Wolf consultancy could have turned up Maccagnan has hamstrung the Jets for five more years. Just when it appeared that Woody Johnson wasn't completely stabbing in the dark and listening to competent football minds ...
The jury may still be out on Beane in Buffalo but Ross appears to have little clue in Miami, so a divisional reset could be a long time coming.
162 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
Occasionally the other offenses in the AFC east have been content to hitchhike on the outerskirts of Erhardt-Perkins hell, but most of the time it's not even that creative. If Gase ever figures out how to handle a locker room his hybrid approach could make some waves, but it's doubtful. It may be a few more years until the Reid-Nagy-Pederson trees produce some more candidates with competent game management skills that the AFC east can import (not that they would necessarily or anything).
168 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
There will always be room on the Lions for Pats excreta.
137 Re: Divisional Round Open Game Discussion
In five seasons, Bill O'Brien's Texans have won the AFC South three times.
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192 comments, Last at 15 Jan 2019, 5:18am