NFL Football

[O Really]

"Shaky" was a bit of an understatement.

[Vrede too]

Go Steelers.

[Vrede too]

Great games, especially after Saturday. What a FG day! 12 tried, 12 made, Pitt's Boswell set a playoff record with 6, 8 from 43 yards or more, 4 from 50 yards or more including both of GB's Crosby's, 3 in the last 1:33 of the GB game with a walk-off, all of them mattered.

I'm rooting for all underdogs.

Very early odds:

Pittsburgh +1 at KC. Now Pittsburgh +1 1/2. Increased to Pittsburgh +2. Sweet, beat the spread by 4.
Seattle +4 at Atlanta. Now Seattle +5. Missed the spread by 11, the only real outlier.
Green Bay +4 at Dallas. Now Green Bay +4 1/2. Increased to Green Bay +5. Sweet, 1 second from OT, beat the spread by 8.
Could be anyone's games.

Houston +16 at New England. Same. Missed the spread by 2.

People must be betting on KC, Atlanta and Dallas.

Go Pittsburgh and Green Bay, then (for the moment) Green Bay all the way. Socialist football rules.

Very early odds:

Atlanta -4 vs. Green Bay. I'd make that bet on Green Bay.
New England -6 vs. Pittsburgh. I probably wouldn't take that bet on Pittsburgh.

[O Really]

'Hawks need to replace their entire offensive line in the offseason. They would have done better to rent some players from U-Dub for the game. Out of 40-something attempts, Wilson was pushed on three-fourths of them. Multi-million dollar QB, Dollar store offensive line. Not a good combination. Of course, it didn't help either that somebody kidnapped Richard Sherman and showed up in his uniform.

[Vrede too]

Big QBs, big results: The NFL's final four quarterbacks by the numbers

... The conference championships will feature Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, and Matt Ryan....

The trio of Brady, Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning has owned the AFC for the last decade and a half, with only Joe Flacco slipping in there once since 2003....



... Between them, these four quarterbacks have seven Super Bowl wins and another three championship appearances. Together, they will have appeared in 21 conference championships. And they’ve combined for 36 total playoff appearances, led by Brady’s 14....

Ryan’s 117.1 quarterback rating leads all four; Roethlisberger’s 95.4, still good enough for 11th in the NFL, brings up the rear. The four combined for 135 touchdowns against 29 interceptions, and while under center, their teams went a combined 42-18....

[Vrede too]

Very early odds:

Atlanta -4 vs. Green Bay. I'd make that bet on Green Bay. Now Atlanta -5 1/2.
New England -6 vs. Pittsburgh. I probably wouldn't take that bet on Pittsburgh. Same.

[Vrede too]

Well, that sucked. 1st game not worth watching after the first half, 2nd after the 3rd quarter. Good thing I placed no bets.

Go Falcons, sigh.

[O Really]

I like the Pats better than I like Goodell (or Blank for that matter). Whatever the real story in the deflated balls, Goodell could not have handled it more poorly. It's pretty clear that with a four-game suspension he tried to tank the Pats season. That he couldn't do it is enough to celebrate an up-yours to the King of the No Fun League.

[Vrede too]

Early line: New England -3.

[Vrede too]

As I've been griping about -

Maybe Super Bowl LI can save what has been a dreadful postseason for NFL

Let’s be honest: This has been the worst NFL postseason in recent memory. There has been painfully little drama on the sport’s biggest stage.

A classic Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons would send us into the offseason on a good note, but the playoffs haven’t been fun so far. There have been 10 playoff games. Eight of them have been decided by double digits, and favorites won all eight of those games. There has been one true classic (the Green Bay Packers’ dramatic win in the divisional round over the Dallas Cowboys) and one close but forgettable game (the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round). Most of the games have been decided long before the fourth quarter starts.

This is when the best football is supposed to be played, but mostly just one team in each game has played well. On Sunday the Falcons won the NFC championship game over the Packers 44-21 and the Patriots beat the Steelers 36-17 in the AFC title game. The last time both conference championship games were decided by at least 19 points was 1978, according to NFL Research....

Must be some angry advertisers.

[Vrede too]

... Go Falcons, sigh.

Only 27 percent of America is rooting for the Patriots in the Super Bowl
The Atlanta Falcons are America’s Team. For a week or so, at least.

The line is still New England -3, might be bigger if they weren't so hated.

[Vrede too]

The line is still New England -3, might be bigger if they weren't so hated.

Still 3.



Weird, clear demarcations, not a single outlier with either map.

Me:
#1 Falcons.
#2 Don't know.

[O Really]

Me
#1 Pats
#2 Pats

[Vrede too]

Won't kill me, I'm only rooting for the Falcons by default. If it's a blowout early either way, I'll do something else.

[Vrede too]

Whoa. 50 years, "No team has ever come back from > 10 down," but "Brady has come back from > 20 down 3 times in other games." Also, "No team has ever returned a punt for a TD." 300 or more punts?

Taylor Gabriel, WR, Atlanta, 579 yds, 44.5 Y/G, 6 TDs, 1 for 24 today.

"Cut by Browns."

[Boatrocker]

28-3.

[GoCubsGo]

G-O-A-T

[Vrede too]

Tying drive:
Julian Edelman Makes Ridiculous Catch! | Patriots vs. Falcons | Super Bowl LI Highlights

First ever OT.

Wow. 43 of 62, 466 yards (SB record), 2 TD, 1 INT. Greatest QB ever.

[O Really]

So when presented with a situation of winning only two yards out, and even with the best QB ever, Bellichick sends in his own Beast Mode. Maybe remembered year before last, I guess.

Poor Dan Quinn - was DC for the 'Hawks when the Pats ripped out their hearts. Now again as head coach. Probably not a Pats fan.

Loved seeing Goodell having to give the trophy to Kraft and Brady. But he did it with class, I gotta admit.

Season's over... moving on.

NLH goalies have to start wearing new style, slimmer pants starting today. Less space to pack them with stuff to fill up the goal, I guess.

[Boatrocker]

Did anyone check ball pressures?