2014 Official NFL Thread

[lgna69xxx]

Hungry101,

Your Lions were one tough team to beat, that defensive kept the Cowboys high flying offense in check and that is not an easy task for any team. Good hard nosed football game and exciting from start til finish. Dallas will take it and move on to Green Bay which should make for a high scoring wide open affair but who knows.

If Dallas gets past GB, they will be in this years Super Bowl. A big "IF" though. This season was a surprise to every Cowboys fan so even if the Cheese Heads beat us, it was a better than expected season and the future looks bright down in Big D. :thumb:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHa4hUTWydw

GO RAVENS!

 

[Merlot]

BOYZ!

Merlot

May Na*da&%kong Suh stomp on your favorite player.

Uggggh. I got nothing to say. Who wants some poutine?

:lol: Hungry, as I said in post 312 at the bottom, I wanted the Lions to kill the Cowchumps. But your team did not have the tools to hold on. Maybe if they had been more professional and avoided those killer penalties, but it's over now.

BTW: Tough guy "Na*da&%kong Suh" seems to go after people with dirty tricks only when they're down and defenseless. Does he ever pick a fight when he's face to face. No huh.

I'm currently having myself some great pizza with chicken, onions, mushrooms, sausage, dashes of New Orleans Style Seasoning...uh ummmmmmmmmmmm, all smoothed on it's way with some Samuel Adams Cream Stout. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[hungry101]

You must have missed Suh's back-to-back sacks. The Lions defensive pressure is the 2nd best in the NFL with Suh in the game and drops to 19th with Suh on the sideline. With Suh in the game the Lions opponents avg gain is ~ 1 yard less then with Suh on the sideline. He always draws a double team.

Listen to the Suh interview. He graduated from the the Nebraska school of Engineering. His mom and dad both work and they are still married to each other. He played soccer. He can speak English without the ebonics. Listen. it is remarkable.

http://www.espnfc.com/video/last-call/117/video/1901720

 

[wolfie7]

Cowboys will get their nuts handed to them by the Packers regardless. So it doesn't really matter. That flag-pickup on the pass interference was ridiculous. Lions deserved better, but they had their chance at the end and couldn't close. That's sadly just the Lions being the Lions.

 

[hungry101]

The flag pick-up/wave off will be discussed all week and will go down in Lions history. However, the Lions are just not quite there.

 

[wolfie7]

The local sportscasters (not Detroit) are howling about it - calling Jerry Jones and the Cowboys a bunch of cheating mofos. And making fun of Chris Christie, again and again. Not sure if the 'boys are responsible... but nonetheless pretty amusing reaction from neutrals. Lions get that call, they get at least a field goal, making it a 2-score game. And then it's Romo being Romo, and throwing a pick in the dying minutes. Now we'll never know... But you're right, Lions just aren't there yet.

 

[Special K]

Jerry Jones must be paying those refs quite a pretty penny today after numerous bullshit calls in favor of Dallas. That retraction of the PI call was an absolute joke and that officiating crew should be heavily penalized, at least twice what Jerry Jones paid them!!

Secondly, Stafford is an utterly awful QB, just putrid. He's paid like a top echelon QB but plays like a 2nd stringer when it counts.

 

[wolfie7]

Detroit can take solace in that there is a worse and more highly paid QB in the same division - Cutler.

 

[hungry101]

This is true Wolfie. This is true. And the waving off of the PI will live in infamy!

 

[Merlot]

BOYZZZ!

http://www.si.com/nfl/video/2015/01...hout-explanation-detroit-lions-dallas-cowboys

I agree completely that it was pass interference. There's no way in hell that wasn't pass interference with the defender touching the receiver and never turning to play the ball. Here's the problem though. At the start of the video replay of the play you can clearly see the Lions Pettigrew had his right grabbing the face mask of the Cowboys defender Hitchens right before Hitchens interferes with Pettigrew. In that case the correct call is off-setting penalties and a repeat of 3rd down, not a first down. This all should have been reviewable in the first place.

Now here's the real kicker. As reported this morning on ESPN...Dez Bryant ran out onto the field without his helmet on to argue the pass interference right in the face of a referee. AUTOMATIC PENALTY!!!!! (unsportsman-like conduct?) This one can't be ignored, yet the refs did nothing. How in the world does any ref fail to react to that. :crazy: No matter how you look at it THE LIONS GOT ROBBED on calls.

Ironically the Cowboys got big breaks on penalties when the Lions got robbed. Well, conspiracy theories are flying noting how a top NFL official had once been on Jerry Jones party bus. I'm not sure I go for any of this though if anyone was going to try to influence an NFL official it would be desperate to win anything super-ego creep Jerry Jones....and he's got the cheerleaders to do it. :lol: It's fun (I guess) to believe in those things, but never underestimate the ability of an officiating crew to be just plain incompetent. I still remember how the Seahawks got cheated out of their first Super Bowl win by horrible calls, and 53 seconds being added to the Giants drive in the first Super Bowl against the Patriots.

That's the state of the NFL...BOYZZZ!



Merlot

 

[Special K]

Prior to the PI on the same play Pettigrew had his jersey held as well but that too was ignored by the officiating crew. This from former VP of officiating. Mike Pereira.

[video=youtube;tdAKk42OzVw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdAKk42OzVw[/video]

 

[wolfie7]

Lions would've gone to Seattle. Panthers to Green Bay. Your point though is just adding fuel to the fire - of course, the NFL would angle to have a rematch of the Ice Bowl!

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Jerry Jones must be paying those refs quite a pretty penny today after numerous bullshit calls in favor of Dallas. That retraction of the PI call was an absolute joke and that officiating crew should be heavily penalized, at least twice what Jerry Jones paid them!!

Worst officiating since Don Denkinger.

 

[Merlot]

BOYZ!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...interference-its-pass-interference/ar-BBhwlTa

It looks like this one has a long set of legs to keep it going. Not 1...not 2...but 3 INCONTESTABLE INSTANCES where a flag should have been thrown. 1. Pulling the jersey, 2. contact before the ball arrived wh9ile failing to turn and play the ball...3. some cry baby Dallas player running helmet off onto the field into a refs face. This is the thing I detest about sports. You play a great game, give it all you've got, and some stupidity, incompetence, or cheat screws it all up. The first big mess I saw was the "72" Summer Olympics where the Russian Basketball team got two extra chances after game-ending whistles to take another shot. There's been so much of that since. Horrendous! That's why I was so amazed the umpires got two critical review calls right during the 2004 ALCS..both in Yankee Stadium against the Yankees. THAT'S GUTS!

None of this Lion-Cowboys episode would have happened if Bill Belichick had gotten his recommendation approved. "This whole episode circles back to the proposal last spring from Patriots coach Bill Belichick that all plays – not just the boundary plays, turnovers, possession plays – should be subject to replay challenges." DENIED! So now we get what happened last night, a huge screw up and a very sloppy result.



Merlot

 

[Doc Holliday]

It's been a tough year for the NFL. In any other league, Roger Goodell would be forced to step down. However, he's made billions for his greedy owners, so they won't kick the hand that feeds them.

I don't think an incident like yesterday was ever seen before, where a yellow flag was picked up 'after' the pass interference penalty had been already announced by the head referee. On top of that, every expert, including the former head referee who works for the network, confirmed that the pass interence penalty was the right call. And then....THEY PICK UP THE FLAG!!!!!

Look, i'm fairly certain that this wasn't done intentionally in order to pile up the odds against a Detroit victory and to have Dallas in next weekend's game. Many believe that reversing the call came under the orders of Goodell, which i find ludicrious. However, considering that the NFL is one of the top professional sports that people gamble on, the visuals aren't exactly pretty and any casual NFL watcher would really be wondering today if the fix wasn't on, considering all the stuff we've heard about soccer being fixed all over the world and the NBA referee who was found guilty of fixing games.

And why are they using officiating crews who aren't used to do games together?? This is mind-boggling if you ask me!

p.s. I feel for the Detroit Lions, who likely got a win snatched away from them. But believe it or not, even though i hate them passionately, i also feel sorry for the Dallas Cowboys who's dramatic come-from-behind win was tainted by an extremely bad decision on the part of the officials. Instead of talking about how they came back to win that game, all people are talking about today is the atrocious job done by the officiating crew throughout the game.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Rex Ryan was interviewed for the Buffalo Bills head coaching job today. I wouldn't mind having him as the Bills' head coach, as long as he doesn't bring his crazy twin brother around to coach the defence. The Pegula family is rumoured to be very high on current defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, though. The defence loves him & they were one of the league's best this season. I'd prefer having him remain as the defensive coordinator, but if it means him leaving the organization were Ryan or someone else be named head coach, i'd rather have Schwartz remain if it means he gets the head coaching job.

 

[Doc Holliday]

GO PACKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On another note, the Bills have decided to hire Rex Ryan as their new head coach. It's expected he'll hire the 49ers' offensive coordinator & Jim Schwartz will remain as the team's defensive coordinator, which is a relief to Biils' fans and the team's defensive unit, who absolutely loved playing for Schwartz.

 

[Merlot]

BOYZ,

The Patriots knew exactly what they were doing

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/1/...-trick-play-joe-flacco-tom-brady-nfl-playoffs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - When 66 points are tallied in a playoff game, the crux becomes which team is going to put the skids on the offensive mayhem? Which defense is going to manage enough dodging of arrows and darts to fling a few stinging shots of its own? Which defense, essentially, will elevate enough to win the game?

This is what was brewing for 60 minutes between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots on Saturday evening here at Gillette Stadium. In one gripping glimpse we saw the potency of NFL offense, the central nerve of what the NFL game has become. These offenses were swift and exacting. The game was a blur of big plays and high-level offensive imagination and innovation.

We will get to the magnificence of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady later.

But let's focus first on what the New England defense managed in the Patriots' 35-31 victory that lifts them into the AFC Championship right back here next Sunday.

It was the Patriots' defense that finally found answers, that complemented Brady and the offense just enough. It was hard work and it was discouraging drudgery at times.

But a chief reason why the Patriots are one victory shy of Super Bowl XLIX is that they found a way late to solve Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco while the Ravens could not manage a chokehold that lasted on Brady.

"They (the Ravens' offense) did a good job of pressing the issue," Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. "We had to empty the tank and make a play."

The Ravens certainly pressed everything from the moment they received the opening kickoff. They started the game with a fancy script of offensive plays by coordinator Gary Kubiak that were spot-on and dissecting. Using misdirection in the running and passing game and operating without hesitation, Kubiak was winning and Flacco was executing. Ravens leads of 14-0 in the first quarter and 28-14 early in the third quarter were testaments.

But in the game's final 20 minutes, the Ravens only scored a field goal.

After rushing 12 times for 80 yards in the first half, the Ravens only managed 16 carries for 56 yards in the second half.

And after Flacco, with four touchdown passes in this game, had run his playoff string to 17 touchdown passes with no interceptions, the Patriots intercepted him late in the third quarter (safety Devin McCourty with 3:31 left) and again with 1:39 left in the final quarter (safety Duron Harmon).

"Those early points they had, they were kind of on this script and they were doing some things that typically they weren't going to do during the course of the game, but just wanted to see what we were going to do," Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. "They got us. They hit some plays, so once the game got settled down, we really got into our game plan mode calling our plays, and we really just settled down and started playing a lot better."

Which makes me wonder why Kubiak and the Ravens did not stay in complete, off-shoot, misdirection and innovative mode the entire game? It had the Patriots wobbling.

It also seemed an affront to the Patriots. It clearly induced the Patriots' offense to counter with tricks and gadgets of its own. A double pass for a touchdown (Brady to receiver Julian Edelman to receiver Danny Amendola for 51 yards late in the third quarter that tied the game 28-28). A sneaky offensive line set where eligible receivers reported to officials late, giving the Ravens little time to counter.

You know the Patriots and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels resorted to his double pass play in part based on the way the Ravens were playing the game. Think about it -- the Patriots players said that play has been in their books and has been practiced for the last five years. You think it was just accidentally plucked? No, that was more take this, take that, more of you think that was smart, well, handle this. That is the way much of this game was played between the coaches and the players.

Boldly.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh gentlemanly described it this way: "The level of scheme in this game was really, really high. You know, the level of back-and-forth, the coaching ..."

The in-your-face moments.

Here are two that were decisive.

The first illustrates the magic of Brady and the gifted skills and intelligence of receiver Brandon LaFell, a fifth-year player from LSU who played his first four seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

The Patriots had the ball at the Baltimore 23 with a little more than five minutes remaining. The Ravens led 31-28. Brady walked to the line and surveyed left, right, short and deep. He wound the play clock down to nearly zero before taking the snap. He had changed the play. LaFell understood the change and had read the defense in the same manner as Brady. Their communication was executed all in a look at each other.

The Ravens were in press coverage. They showed deep safety coverage toward LaFell, early before the snap. But both Brady and LaFell begin to read that the safety on LaFell's side had began to roll toward the middle. Both Brady and LaFell knew there was no way he could recover and get there to help on a sideline route to the end zone. Brady threw a perfect, zinging pass to the front corner of the end zone. LaFell made a handsome catch.

It was the game's winning points. It was the Patriots first lead.

"That just tells you the amount of work we put in, that we work our butts off around here," LaFell said of the play, of his look-see relationship with Brady and how, between them, the eyes have it. "Our defense finally began to move Flacco off his spot. But Tom just stayed steady and we found a way."

Brady nitpicked his way to that winning score with short, quick passes on that drive. Flacco in his ensuing effort showed early similar patience before making the huge mistake with Harmon.

There was 1:39 left and Flacco and the Ravens were at the New England 36.

"I knew he liked to throw it long to (receiver) Torrey Smith," Harmon said. "I knew he was going to look for a spot to try to do that. I just thought it might be a good idea to lean that way. I saw it all the way. I was leaning that way. I got there in plenty of time."

And made the end zone pick that sealed it.

Brady and the offense sang. The Patriots' defense certainly provided a hum.

And Brady showed you just who the Patriots are when he was asked about Harbaugh's criticism of the Patriots' substitution tactics.

"Maybe those guys gotta study the rule book and figure it out," Brady said. "We obviously know what we are doing and we made some pretty important plays ... they should figure it out."

Just like the Patriots' defense finally did on Flacco. Just like the Patriots have on where they are going.

So as I understand it Harbaugh was screaming at the refs because he was confused who the eligible receivers were. Belichick used players normally playing running back or receiver to report in to the refs as ineligible and take their place on the offensive line. Harbaugh was annoyed or pissed because he couldn't figure it out, or he was very worried his players wouldn't. Well, that sounds like a very successful legal trick, which the NFL confirmed after the game. You see John, you and all players know there must be five down offensive linemen. There's no disguising that. See who lines up in those positions and those players are ineligible.

Flacco was doing fine most of the game, with some critical help by Patriots offensive interference penalties that gave the Ravens two 14 point leads. Not enough. The Patriots had some big plays of their own and some very nice strategies LEGAL to confuse the Ravens. But Flacco blew it on that last interception. He was doing fine taking the team down the field in short chunks until he couldn't resist going long. Duron Harmon (who) of the Patriots said he read that throw from the start and indeed he had come across the field to help out and be in perfect position to intercept. Joe...Joe....Joe...lack of PATIENCE may have lost the game. That, and the kind of bold big plays like Brady to Edelman to Amendola....TOUCHDOWN!!! See you next year Joe.

Hey nice win by the Packers sending the Cowpies back where they have been for so long...WATCHING THE GAMES not playing them. A little justice after that Detroit bumble.:thumb:

GOPATRIOTSGO,

Merlot

 

[Merlot]

SWEET JUSTICE!!!

We all know the Cowpies got to this game largely turning on a bad set of referee mistakes and non-calls, significantly because the play wasn't reviewable. But how sweet is justice. Touchdown Dez Byrant...well NO! The same guy who should have gotten flagged for unsportsman like conduct when he charged sans helmet back onto the field yelling into a refs face in the Detroit game got his touchdown nullified against Green Bay. I just saw the replay and according to analysis: 1) the rules say the ground cannot cause a fumble but it can cause an incompletion. 2) if you lose control immediately on hitting the ground, even for a split second the pass is incomplete (you cannot in effect re-catch the ball). Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, there's going to be a lot of hair on the floor of Jerry's office as he pulls it out after this one. REPLAY...it's a bitch huh Dez.

Dean Blandino ✔ @DeanBlandino

Bryant going to the ground. By rule he must hold onto it throughout entire process of contacting the ground. He didn't so it is incomplete.

Rule Wording - Here is the wording of the NFL rule that applied for officials to overturn the catch:

"If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete."

Frankly, I don't like the rule. It should be the same as the one on fumbles. But the ruling during the game does make some slight sense according to the way it's written. If the ground can cause an incompletion, then if you lose control you are catching a bounce off the ground, not a pass. Still, it's as bad as the Tuck Rule.

Detroit Lions ✔ @Lions

Sorry @dallascowboys. We know the feeling: http://bit.ly/1yVP8qr . #CompletingTheProcess
4:03 PM - 11 Jan 2015

Spell that...K-A-R-M-A.

Cheeeeeeers all,

Merlot

 

[wolfie7]

What a great NFL weekend!

The Pats game was amazing. Talk about a mentally tough tough team. To be down 14 twice and come back; to get another body shot when McCourty intercepts Flacco for a pivotal moment, get stuffed on offense for a demoralizing 3-and-out, and then the Ravens marching down the field to score to retake the lead; to be so good on defense on 3rd down and have the Ravens convert 3-out-of-3 4th downs. And to stay in the game and grind out a lead and the win at the very end. It was looking to be a gloomy start to 2015, but then Brady and Belichick came through. Enjoy watching the legends while we still can. Brady deserves one more.

Cowboys-Packers. Surprisingly close game. KARMA!!! =)))))))))). Detroit fans everywhere are smiling.

Broncos-Colts. Wow... I'm shocked. So this is what neutrals felt like when they watched the 2007 Patriots lose to the Giants in the Super Bowl. For Peyton and such a loaded offense to get stuffed like that, at home, unbelievable...

NFC championship will be amazing. Hopefully Rodgers heals fully. Go Pats!