NFL - Discussion Thread

The more I look into this game the more suspicious it looks. The only time in 35 years of watching the NFL have I seen a team collapse as badly as that was when the Buffalo Bills recovered from a 32-point deficit in 1993 to win in overtime agaomst Houston Oilers, 41-38. That game was shocking but last nights one even more as it was the Super Bowl and the highest scoring team in the league got completely shut out in the second half. You'd think Atlanta would have scored at least 7 points in the second half and held the Patriots to 21. Like I said before you have to blame this one on bad coaching.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Feb 6th 2017 »

Agree, the coaching is to blame. You have to keep your foot on the pedal, but they eased up and gave the Pats the window to come back. You can't do that with a team like the Pats.

I wasn't surprised when it all went down though. If you saw the Falcons during the year, they literally left the door open for any team they went up big in in the first half. Albeit, not all thise teams could because they didn't have the offense the Pats have.

Lol, what team takes their foot off the pedal at halftime in the Super Bowl? The game is more ridiculous the more I think about it. The whole team thought they had the game won at halftime and were thinking about the endorsements they were going to get during the offseason and then found out they couldn't get motivated again in the second half when the Patriots started coming back in Q4. Shocking display of professionalism, the Patriots are a good team for sure but they're not that good otherwise their Offense would of been ranked higher than 5th. Whatever way you look at it the Falcons threw that game away. I wonder if the Falcons will be greeted by their fans when they get back to Atlanta, I bet those players will feel embarrassed when they arrive after letting their fan down so badly.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Feb 6th 2017 »

Well Atlanta did score in the second half, but it was early in the third quarter and they were the first to score to make it 28-3. It makes it even worse because they started the second half with more momentum. Also when New England finally scored a touchdown to make it 28-9 they missed the PAT. That would've been so demoralising for NE, realising they would either need to score 3 TDs to 0 or a field goal along with two 8-point touchdowns.

Atlanta actually got into field goal range in the last quarter before Ryan took a sack. If he hadn't, or they had just ran the ball 1 or 2 yards, they could've got the field goal to secure the win. Just another example of awful game management.

When Atlanta were up 28-12 in the last quarter according to some reliable statistics they had a 99.6% chance to win the Superbowl. Looks like 1 in 250 chances do come true. Reminds me of one time my Cats in AFL gave up a 55-point lead and lost the game after the siren.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Feb 6th 2017 »

Sanzano said:

The more I look into this game the more suspicious it looks.

Are you one of those people who is suspicions about whether the NFL is actually the WWNFL? When people involved with the NFL looked and saw Atlanta increase the lead to 28-3 they would've been horrified; they wouldn't get their GOAT/5th SB ring/best ever coach headline. So if in fact the NFL is corrupt Atlanta could've been notified to start a new game plan. A Brady comeback this massive would be even more of a massive headline, and would likely make the NFL heaps of money.

Is quite ridiculous though as the players should've tried everything they could to win. If my coach told me in a Superbowl they we need to tank to earn money I'd get out there and bust my guts.

So what was the energy and like overall players looking like on the field? I didn't watch game and when I checked back up on things it just looked Atlanta did the dumb dumb when I looked on twitter

The Atlanta defense was dead on their feet in Q4 from being on the field for so long. This made them easy pickings for Tom Brady who took full advantage. I don't think the game was fixed but I wouldn't be surprised if the Atlanta coach was told to call in the dogs when it was 28-3 as it was the Super Bowl and the NFL didn't want a slaughter as it wasn't good for the game which was being watched by millions around the waorld. The Patriots then get a couple of scores and start believing they can win the game. The same thing used to happen in San Francisco during the 80's when the 49rs had Joe Montana at Quarterback, the whole team didn't believe the game was over until the final whislte with him leading them, I think Brady has the same mystic where the whole team believes in him.

Wow, so I watched the game and eve though I knew what was going to happen I still didn't think NE would be able to come back, even 5 minutes into the 4th.
A couple of big plays just about went their way and suddenly they were the champs.

At the end of the day the Patriots played well to come back from such a huge deficit. I'm just sick and tired of seeing them in Super Bowl every year. Mind you I said the same about the 49rs in the 80's and the Cowboys in the 90's and I now look back at those teams and the characters that played in them fondly.

Looks like Atlanta is cleaning house with their Defensive Coaches... But you had to expect as much after their collapse.

Also their offensive coach. Will be interesting to see whether the Atlanta attack is still as effective, or effective at all next season.

This Superbowl once again proved that defense wins championships. Atlanta had 0 in the last quarter.

Looking back Atlanta have some awful 4th quarter numbers. Against Carolina they allowed 23/33 points in Q4. Against Denver they allowed 13/16 points. Against Seattle they allowed 9 unanswered points to lose the game thanks to an awful dropped pass. Against San Diego they let a 7-point lead disappear and eventually lost in overtime thanks to an awful 4th down call. Against Philadelphia they allowed 14/24 points to lose them the game. Against Kansas City Matt Ryan threw a pick-2 instead of Atlanta kicking a PAT, gifting KC the win. Against New Orleans they allowed 19/32 points; the same amount they did against NE.

I'm pretty sure Atlanta management will be addressing those fourth quarter collapses during the off season and finding out why they were happening. Those Falcon players would all now have Super Bowl rings on their fingers if it wasn't for controversial play calling by their coaches.

Atlanta were at NE 22 in the final quarter. That left the possibility of a 40-yard field goal; a VERY manageable target. They would've had a lead of 31-20 late in the game, but instead had to punt due to awful play calling.

Even though they are two completely different teams, the collapse reminds me of the Los Angeles Rams v Miami game. With just minutes left in the entire match, LA lead 10-0. Miami hadn't made a single third-down conversion. Miami then scored two touchdowns on their final two plays; converting third-downs along the way to win the match 14-10. Since that match they then lost 6 consecutive games to end the season, including another collapse where they lead 21-7 late in the game over San Francisco and went on to lose 22-21. Miami on the other hand went on to make the playoffs for the first time in 8 years (if they had lost to LA then Denver would've snagged the playoff spot).

The collapse by Atlanta could be devastating for then in the near future and amazing for New England. Atlanta will lose all belief and New England will feel confident even when trailing by two touchdowns.

They need to not be so conservative in the second half of games. Keep dominating.

Exactly. In so many sports I've seen or heard of teams changing up their game style to preserve a lead and just crumble. A classic example in my AFL is about 12 years ago my team had a dominant 3QT lead over the premiership fancies in a semi final (equivalent of divisional playoffs) and were on track for a massive upset. They were playing bold football and played out of their skin. They then went defensive in the final quarter and lost the game easily. Another example in AFL is this year my Cats were trailing by a massive 35 points at 3QT (equivelant of about 16 NFL points) and had so many wasted opportunities while the opposition was playing great football. They then allowed my cats 15 scores before they scored a goal to make it close. But it was too late and they ended up somehow losing that game because they just went to sleep while my Cats were playing with fire. Changing your gameplan is a dangerous thing to do. You've played a certain way for 2 or 3 quarters and it's given you a great lead. Why change that gameplan at all???

« Last edited by Matt77 on Feb 9th 2017 »

I think in this Super Bowl complacency set in halftime, let's be honest unless you were a diehard Patriots fan that game was over. I can just envision the Falcons locker room celebrating halftime, I'd liked to have heard the team talk in the Patriot locker room because they came out for the second half like a team possessed. I had to laugh at Tom Brady's interview after the game, he was more interested in finding his stolen jersey from the game. NFL historians in years to come are going to look back at this game in awe.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Feb 9th 2017 »

I never thought it was over. I kept telling my brother that New England would try to make a game of it, even at 28-3. Then again, I had seen the Falcons play during the year, and I had a feeling they weren't going to go for the kill. Seattle proved a few years ago that you have to keep playing, even if you're up 40-7.

I expected New England to score two or three Touchdowns to make the score look respectable but no way did I expect them to shut down Atlanta and win the game. Atlanta had the NFL 5th ranked ALL TIME highest scoring Offense, what the Patriots did was shocking. It's one of those moments in sport that will be talked about for years to come, just like Mike Tyson getting knocked out by Buster Douglas in Tokyo.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Feb 9th 2017 »

Remember when Carolina also got complacent in the divisional round last season? (2015/16 I mean) They had a 31-0 half time lead before Seattle stormed home to get it to 31-24. Carolina won, but it was a massive scare and if they only had a 24-0 HT lead that game would've gone to overtime.