2016 NFL Whipping Post

[SoulBiter]

Nice picking!!!! The Pack must come to Atlanta to decide who goes to the Superbowl. I already have my tickets purchased. So my picks are .... Atlanta and Steelers.

[Akasri]

GB/Dallas turned out to be an awesome game - after the way it started out, I figured it would be a blowout.

As for the KC/Pittsburgh game... I'm a lifelong Chiefs fan, but I'm getting so sick of this sh*t.

[Vraith]

Nice picking!!!! The Pack must come to Atlanta to decide who goes to the Superbowl. I already have my tickets purchased. So my picks are .... Atlanta and Steelers.

No shit nice picks! [[I thought KC would take P. And they should have. They had the chances...]]]
Only thing I like more than when Dallas loses is when Seattle loses.
Even my wife was seat-edge sitting and swearing during GB/D game.

I want GB to win. I HOPE it is a total shootout.
I think Atlanta takes it. [[If GB had either Nelson or healthy secondary, I'd be coin-flipping]]
I want Pats to obliterate Steelers.
I THINK Pats win...but not easy.

[SoulBiter]

Obviously Im pulling for the Falcons. But even with that aside, there are more reasons to think the Falcons will win this one.

GreenBay is coming into Atlanta banged up. So with Atlanta being more healthy and having more depth, the advantage is Falcons. Julio. Yep. Both running backs are playing with intensity (Coleman and Freeman). Ryan is kicking ass right now, even when pressured. And then there is homefield advantage.

I dont think the Pats are moving forward. They played horribly against the Texans who were considered a inferior team. Had the Texans not been so inept on Offense, and with Brady throwing picks, that could have gone the other way. I think the Steelers win that game.

[Vraith]

Julio. Yep.

I'll never like the Falcons. But fucking Julio---I love him. I was cheering so hard for him last season when he had a chance for 2000 yds.

[dANdeLION]

I expect it to be the Falcons & New England.

[SoulBiter]

I expect it to be the Falcons & New England.

And you were correct. Should be a really good game. Some stress for my family because some of them are Falcons fans and some are Patriots fans.

[SoulBiter]

Some friendly betting is going on with the Superbowl imminent.

Speaking with a rep from SweetWater, you could hear the excitement in her voice. SweetWater founder Freddy Bensch chimed in on the bet saying, South got something to say. Get ready to do the dirty bird! Watch this, [sic]. The brewery is having an absolute blast with it and are brainstorming even more ways to celebrate the city of Atlanta and the Falcons. A few top secret things are in the works (one of which I can definitely say is pretty exciting)

[wayfriend]

Greatest. Superbowl. Ever.

I know how Atlanta fans are feeling. (SB XLII.)
But it needed to be said.

[aTOMiC]

I am not a Patriots fan and my hope is that both Brady and Belichick retire in the off season. That being said I have always had nothing but respect for the Patriots and the extremely high level of play they have performed at for over a decade. Last night's game proved once again that Tom Brady is arguably the best Superbowl quarterback of all time. That was a thrilling game. Congrats to the Pats!!!

I mean no offense to Pats fans but now, after Tom and Bill retire, sink into NFL obscurity for a few years please like all the rest of the teams do.

[Akasri]

I am not a Patriots fan either, but you gotta admire that kind of comeback. That was amazing.

[SoulBiter]

Sometimes the football Gods smile in your favor.

Freeman whiffs on his assignment which allowed the strip. What was he doing, day dreaming???

That catch by Edleman... come on.. 9999.9 out of 10,000 that ball hits the ground.

Penalty after penalty keeping a drive alive that was dead like 5 times (I didn't actually keep count) which kept the Falcons Defense on the field for 40 mins. That was the key... and it totally gassed the Defense of the Falcons allowing for the balance of the plays to happen.


The coin toss that gives the ball to the Patriots first.

The last PI call, although a good call technically was unusual. Most of the time at that part of a Championship game, they wont call those.

At the very end, the runner never made it into the endzone (his knee was down prior to crossing), but it wouldnt have mattered, the Falcons defense had nothing left in the tank and was not going to stop that 3 more times.

All in all it was the single largest and fastest collapse in Superbowl history.

[High Lord Tolkien]

Can someone explain the last 2 point conversion to me?
Was just getting the football over the line enough or was it the penalty that got it over the end zone?

[Akasri]

The ball just has to break the plane of the goal line before his knee goes down.

[Vraith]

The ball just has to break the plane of the goal line before his knee goes down.

Yep. It's very specific...if the tiniest sliver of the ball crosses the front edge of the line, it's in. And this case, was clearly in.

Atlanta mostly fucked themselves---WAY worse play decision than the Seattle game, and did it more than once, too---and Pats took advantage.

[wayfriend]

The Pats have often used the strategy of exhausting the defense by keeping them on the field. They employed it that night. That was part of the collapse.

So many miracle catches have gone the other way ... The Pats are allowed, too.

And the OT TD looks good to me, for the reasons Vraith says. If it wasn't, damn sure the Falcs would have use a red flag.

It was youth vs experience. Pats stayed for the whole game.

[SoulBiter]

The Pats have often used the strategy of exhausting the defense by keeping them on the field. They employed it that night. That was part of the collapse.

Funny enough, I had mentioned on a few message boards that if I was BB that is the strategy that I would use. However it almost backfired as the Falcons got up to such a large lead that a single stop would have changed the end of the game.

And the OT TD looks good to me, for the reasons Vraith says. If it wasn't, damn sure the Falcs would have use a red flag.

You cant use a red flag after the 2 minute warning. No challenges are allowed after that.

For the rest... a poorly coached 2nd half. They were hiking the ball too early and not using good clock management. Kyle got too aggressive in his play calling and rather than just running the ball and taking the points, he wanted to keep passing.

[SoulBiter]

The Pats have often used the strategy of exhausting the defense by keeping them on the field. They employed it that night. That was part of the collapse.

Funny enough, I had mentioned on a few message boards that if I was BB that is the strategy that I would use. However it almost backfired as the Falcons got up to such a large lead that a single stop would have changed the end of the game.

And the OT TD looks good to me, for the reasons Vraith says. If it wasn't, damn sure the Falcs would have use a red flag.

Edited. It wasnt in the 2 mins, it was during OT. They could have thrown a flag but I dont see how. The confetti was already flying and everyone had ran onto the field.

For the rest... a poorly coached 2nd half by the Falcons. They were hiking the ball too early and not using good clock management. Kyle got too aggressive in his play calling and rather than just running the ball and taking the points and running off clock, he wanted to keep passing. Had the Falcons just hiked the ball at the 1 second mark each possession and down, 3+ minutes would have come off the clock. More if some of those runs are successful because an incomplete pass stops the clock.

Objectively, everything had to go right for the Pats to win in 15 mins and it did. Even in the long 40 minute drive... 93 plays and no penalties on the offense is unheard of. Its typically a penalty every 30 plays. Again.... improbable, yet it happened. Edlemans catch, improbable and yet it happened. Even the two point conversions.... you could try that ten times and 8 out of ten you lose. Yet two in a row are completed.



But a win is a win. The Pats played the best 8 minutes of the year and it gained them a Superbowl!

[wayfriend]

Edited. It wasnt in the 2 mins, it was during OT. They could have thrown a flag but I dont see how. The confetti was already flying and everyone had ran onto the field.

I looked that up since I last posted, and learned something. It looks like coaches cannot challenge a ruling in OT. On the other hand, I think it still holds that all touchdowns are reviewed. So.

Another interesting factoid to come out of this: James White has the honor of being the only player in NFL history to score a TD in overtime in the Super Bowl. That's pretty cool.

Lots of stories about how his knee was down. Check out this link: link. If you watch the video, about halfway in, they replay the TD in slo mo and it's clear his knee wasn't yet on the ground when the corner of the ball breaks the line. The ball is blurred, yes, but you can follow it easily enough.

[dlbpharmd]

I've said many times in the past, I deplore the NFL OT rules. The advantage to the winner of the coin toss is much too great.

NCAA rules are much better. Put the ball on the 25, allow each offense to have a chance. Mandatory 2-point attempt from the 3rd OT on.