NFL - Discussion Thread

The Chargers were disappointing Matt, I thought they'd at least keep the contest close seeing as everything was on the line. I have to take a gamble this week as well taking the LA Rams and New England. I don't think New England will win but I need to go 3-0 and I think you will take the Saints and Kansas.

If only that Charger tip had of come in, I'd be in with a chance for second place, as things stand barring a miracle I'm looking at 3rd.

If I was a Pats fan I'm definitely rooting for the Rams this weekend, I don't think they have a chance but crazier things have happened

Brees vs Brady at the Superbowl is sure to be amazing. Hopefully enough to warrant this trip I'm taking to watch it with my buddies in Chicago...

Saints against the Patriots would be a good match with two of the NFL's greatest ever quarterbacks going up against each other in the twilight of their careers but I don't think it will happen. I think it will be a Rams Vs Chiefs final you will be going to Chicago to watch with your buddies.

The Rams looked very strong last week and they will probably do so again this week with the Super Bowl in sight and playing at home. It's looking like Mahommes year in Kansas as I see them defeating the Patriots in a close game. Mahommes season reminds me of Dan Marino's in 1984 when he set the league alight in his first season as the starter in Miami and then got beat by the 49rs led by Joe Montana in the Super Bowl.

I'm surprised you are confident with LA Rams winning. Quite a few game picks have LAR winning too, but I don't think they can keep up score-wise. I don't think they have what it takes to win away from home. I mean, they could win, but it seems like a big upset to me.

It will be interesting which New Orleans turns up. They were bitterly disappointing last week, going down 0-14 early before gritting their teeth to get to 20-14. Only problem was that they missed a game-winning FG and allowed Philly to waltz into their own territory. If not for a Philly WR drop that lead to an INT, I'd have backed Foles to lead Philly to a TD from NO 27.

Hypothetically, assuming any SB matchup could happen, I would take:

Kansas City over New Orleans
Kansas City over LA Rams
New Orleans over New England
New England over LA Rams

My picks are in!

I hope there are some exciting results. The buildup for these matches has felt a bit flat, despite having some of the best conference matches in recent history. Too much tennis does this to you.

Super Bowl will be Rams/Pats. Congrats Dennis on picking a perfect round!

Rams shouldn't have won, blown pass interference call would've seen the Saints win in regulation.

Chiefs lost because of horrible coaching. Defense Coordinator needs fired. Andy Reid needs to learn how to manage a bloody game if he ever expects to win the big one. Chiefs, like most teams, will need to either draft all defense in the upcoming draft or spend a little money in free agency to upgrade that terrible defense.

A few hours before these games started, I said:

I hope there are some exciting results.

2 overtime games in the conference championships. Certainly exciting.

No question New Orleans got screwed over. But in the end, they were extremely lucky last week, and again this week after having 13-0 and 20-10 home leads. Eventually their luck would run out if they got in a tricky situation. And still, Brees throwing that OT interception was the ultimate killer.

New England also got extremely lucky. You'd expect them to hold on with a 14-0 half time lead, and not allow KC to score 24 points in the 4th quarter. Essentially because they won the OT coin toss, they won the game. Both defenses were disgraceful.

This will be a hard Superbowl to pick. I'd say NE are probably favourites, but their defense away from home is a concern. They'll also have the city of Atlanta hating them the entire time (SB 2 years ago). Dennis, that was great tipping by you, and you're alive in the race to avoid last place. So, I was thinking, because you're only 1 behind me, and correctly tipping the Superbowl gives a bonus point, we should tip different teams. It's probably fair that because I'm currently ahead that I get the choice of picking who I want, so I'll tip NE, and you should tip LAR.

That's great Matt, I was going to go LA Rams anyway. I thinkd their defense will shut down Brady and the Patriots. And besides, LA Rams was my pick to win the Super Bowl before the competition started. I somehow feel they are destined to win this year.

I have Pats winning 35-28.

I actually think this will be lower scoring. I have NE 24-20, with Brady scoring a title-winning TD in the last 2 minutes.

I see the Rams defense dominating the game and giving Brady a hard time, I just think the Patriots had an easy route to the Super Bowl and will get found out in the big game. Rams win 28-14.

Actually, we'll have to wait just a bit. There's a small chance that either a replay of the NFC Championship game will occur, or New Orleans will advance to the SB by default. There is actually a rule in the NFL that allows it.

But assuming LA Rams keep the win, their route has been just as 'easy'. NE destroyed LA Chargers (who were 9-0 when traveling on a plane) 38-7 before garbage time, and then won @ KC (being the only team to win there by more than a 2-point conversion). The results may have looked comfortable, but their opposition were quality teams. And...remember last time NE were 'found out'? That was while down 3-28 against Atlanta, and they correspondingly did what they always do.

I just can't see a 14-point win. LA Rams have been in mediocre form. While their defense has woken up, the offense is by no means scary anymore. Goff has digressed without his best WR group. And in the end, LA Rams should've lost 20-23 in regulation if not for the worst no-call in playoff history.

Lol, the Saints fans are dreaming. I've seen worse calls than that over the years in Championship games and those games weren't replayed. I don't think they would be able to replay the game anyway due to the fact that the Super Bowl date is booked in advance with the TV networks, location, half-time show etc.

The argument is to scrap the pointless Pro Bowl next week and do it then. I agree the no-call cost New Orleans and LA Rams didn't deserve to win, but neither did New Orleans. They dominated the 1st quarter but only got a 13-0 lead out of it, and later on had a 20-10 lead when the defense failed to make stops. Also, they were in a 0-14 hole last week and were extremely lucky not to be on the receiving end of another Foles miracle.

I watched both championship game highlights, and perhaps you're on the money. New England were lucky to be playing a cakewalk D in overtime. KC failed to stop THREE NE 3rd and 10s in overtime. And late in the game when KC were 21-17 up, Brady threw a tipped INT that was reversed because of an offside penalty. LA Rams overcame big deficits away from home, whereas New England nearly choked a 14-0 half time lead.

I mean there is only so much you can do before the chiefs figure out a way and start pouring in the points. Pats definitely earned their victory, they just played better football and knew what to do in clutch time situations

Saints fans just gotta move on at this point, some guys are even trying to file a lawsuit. Just take the L, you got screwed for the higher potential LA market. Accept it and move on, the kings in the nba had it worse than you and I'm sure in the NFL way worse calls were made

I'm not excusing the refs for what they did, that was inexcusable. The NFL should definitely have an update to how things are set up from the current system, either with more referees in place or ability to challenge such calls. The only thing I fear is the game will turn into what the 4th quarter of the chiefs vs pats turned into. Which was replay city and it slowed the game progress to a crawl and made it so tough to watch

Scrap the Pro Bowl, lol, the residents in Hawaii won't like that. It will affect tourism on the island. The Saints need to just move on, they should have buried the game before it came down to critical decisions.

I read about a potential no-call with a facemask on Goff, which would've taken them to NO 1. History says they score a TD and go ahead 24-20 with minimal time left. New Orleans need to get over themselves. They had plenty of chances to win a game that they controlled early, but those missed chances cost them in the end. Also Brees throwing a horrific INT in overtime hurts.

About the Pro Bowl...ugh. What a waste of a 'game'. The players play with 50% effort, and roughly a third of all chosen players usually skip the game because they're in the SB. Just announce the team, and if you are chosen feel proud of that achievement. They don't need to play some exhibition match featuring 6 QBs. In Australia our equivalent Pro Bowl teams are merely announced; no game is played.

I agree with you about the Pro Bowl Matt, it's a waste of time. It's basically a little holiday for the players chosen. Back in the 70's and 80's when players weren't making the money they are now you could expect 95% of the chosen players to turn up for the game. Now with the money at stake in the forthcoming season none of the players are really interested in going and risking injury in a meaningless game. It should be scrapped and adopt the Australian way as you described.

Still no sign of a replay lol, not happening, it's a LA Rams v New England Patriots final. I wonder if this the end of the Patriot dynasty, ending with the game that started it when the Patriots beat the Rams 20?17 in Super Bowl XXXVI. I can't see the Patriots being so dominant next year, they've looked terrible several times this year and Brady is another year older. How does that guy get motivated, he's got 634 million dollars in the bank and is already hailed as the greatest player to ever play NFL football.

I noticed that this same matchup was historic back then. Personally I don't think Goff will become Brady-caliber, so I see the same result happening again. Like you and Warrior keep telling me, Playoffs are an entirely different competition, and the NE of the past has showed up during it.

It's a case of when will it happen with Brady. We think he's showing signs of slowing down, and then he returns to top form. No doubt NE have had some serious luck (and bad luck) to get the #2 seed, but that's all Brady needs. Kansas City should get the #1 seed again as long as their offense doesn't digress, but I don't see any other teams that can challenge New England for a 1st week bye.

I'm not sure either. It's the case when you look at champion players in all sports. There's something mentally that separates them from the rest. He clearly has some arrogance, and I think he merely wants to improve his and his team's legacy. A classic example of this mentality is one I heard a few days ago. After Serena Williams won the French Open, her coach said she celebrated for about 10 minutes, and then she went back to practice and focused straight on taking the Wimbledon crown that was a few months away.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jan 25th 2019 »