NFL - Discussion Thread

That was beautiful. The Vikings suffering is over.

They have to improve their Superbowl record to 1-4 for the suffering to end.

Being outscored 12-24 in the 2nd half (6-24 before the fluke) is concerning, and considering they will be playing away from home against a team that shutout their opposition in the 2nd half, it likely means Minnesota will need to lead at HT or they are toast.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jan 15th 2018 »

Mewtwo, you've fallen into the trap of all the Vikings fans!

'The curse is over!' 'Dilly Dilly, let's go to to Philly!'


We're only halfway to the Super Bowl still. Sure, against a team that couldn't score a TD against one of the lower-ranked teams in the NFL, but they're still a threat.

I don't see how NEP gets a free win in MN. The Vikings are overcomers. They're fighters. Look at the Carolina game. Look at the Saints game. The Vikings I know never would have been able to pull off miracles like that. I just don't see NEP having a free win. It's going to be close undoubtedly, but it will be Pats and Vikes, as I have predicted since Week 17.

The Jags too, will give the Patriots a run for their money, as the Patriots' run D is pretty awful from what I've seen.

You sure it?s the NFL you watch FreezShock? There?s a guy called Brady who plays for the Patriots who works miracles in post season play. He?s got 5 SuperBowl rings and desperately wants a sixth.

Philadelphia and Minnesota just don?t match up well with the Patriots, Brady will carve them up with his short passes. Atlanta and New Orleans were the last hopes of stopping him.

Let?s be honest, up until the miracle 61 yard catch and run at the end of the game Case Keenum was pretty hopeless in the second half. You could literally see the Minnesota defense choking every time Brees got the ball in the second half. The Saints were marching up and down that field and I don?t think anyone doubted they were going to get the go ahead Touchdown with 1.20 left on the clock when the started from the touchback in their own half.

Can someone please answer one question for me. In that last play why doesn?t the cornerback allow the guy to catch the ball unempided and then simply drag him to the ground inbounds. There is no time to get another play off as the clock would have continued running and they were out of field goal range anyway.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Jan 15th 2018 »

The cornerback should have just tried knocking him out of bounds; the ball was already caught and he was heading to the sideline. Let their kicker who already missed a long FG earlier try to nail one from 55. That would have been better than totally missing a tackle and letting the receiver walk into the endzone.

I agree Warrior13, that has to be the worst play by a cornerback I have ever seen, it was just pathetic. Like you say all he had to do if he was worried about pass interference was just wait for him to catch it and then push him out of bounds. If I was a Saints fan I wouldn?t be happy. Not sure who I want to win next week, I personally think the Vikings and Eagles are both boring teams to watch. I was hoping for a Falcons vs Saints shootout.

Apparently Jimmy Johnson's explanation was that the safety was trying to avoid the Pass Interference, which would stop the clock and give the Vikings a shot at a field goal.

He just misjudged his angle.


Or God, in his righteousness, gave him a little tap so he went under Diggs and took out the cornerback who was behind Diggs, effectively giving him free passage to the End Zone XD

Sanzano: Yeah, Dennis, I also was hoping for Falcons/Saints Round 3, even though I had a feeling the Vikings would pull through. I also agree that the Falcons/Saints had the only shot of beating Brady.

Freez: Didn?t matter if he had gotten called for pass interference or knocked the WR out of bounds, as forcing a field goal would?ve given the Saints still a shot at winning. XD

Caribou is even giving 15% off all their drinks today because of Diggs' catch.

Like Freez said, he was trying to avoid the pass interference. Instead of a difficult 55-yard FG, it would've been a 40-50 yard one depending on what mood the zebras were in at the time. But still, why is everyone blaming him? The New Orleans coaches are totally to blame. No-one was in the backfield. NO-ONE?!?! All they needed was for someone to be there in the backfield and tackle Diggs. It would've been maybe a 45 yarder which is no certainty for the cursed Vikings. Also it's unforgivable to let the home team have a 17-point lead. New Orleans deserved to lose this game.

Dennis while it seems like NE are going to dominate, remember when the 9-7 Giants defeated the 16-0 Patriots 17-14 in the SB. New England had 18 victories without a single loss and got complacent. NY Giants had the bitter taste of a loss 7 times. This season NE have had a cakewalk of a schedule, and it will continue when they murder Jacksonville by a similar margin of what they did to Indy 3 or 4 seasons ago.

NE's challenges have been KC (loss), CAR (loss), HOU (close win), LAC (win) & PIT (lucky win). Meanwhile they got NY Jets twice, Miami twice (lost one of those games lol), Buffalo twice, Tennessee, Oakland, Denver, New Orleans in week 2, Atlanta (choke against NE), & Tampa Bay. Their last challenging game was Week 15 (over a month ago). That game was away from home where they got extremely lucky with a call. If they reach the Superbowl it will be away from home, possibly against Minnesota. They'll destroy Philly if they make it, but if MIN get in it'll be New England's first real test for 7 weeks.

I prefer Minnesota's chances against New England than Philadelphia's. Philadelphia basically had all the confidence sucked out of them when Wentz went down, up until that point they were a team many favoured to win the Super Bowl.

Not sure how the Minnesota vs Philadelphia game will go to be honest, over the years I've noticed when a team comes away with a miraculous and emotional win they for some reason play terrible the following week. And the times I've seen teams that are written off and disrespected by the oddsmakers come together and upset the odds.

Matt, that 2007 New York team you were refering to was a great team that got their act together towards the end of the season and that game was no fluke. People forget the two teams played each other literally the month before and the Patriots only managed to win 35-38. Everyone was so caught up in the perfect season hype that that game was overlooked.

I just have this aweful feeling if Minnesota make the Super Bowl and Brady starts frustrating their defense and they fall behind the whole team will choke like it did in the second half against New Orleans were for some reason they suddenly couldn't stop them from advancing the ball and scoring.

If New England get a decent lead it's all over. But it hopefully won't happen. The key to stop Brady is to put pressure on him and rush him. That is, unless you pile up a lot of points like Carolina and Kansas City did. Since Minnesota's offense isn't that good, they need to follow Miami's guide and pressure Brady. Also the defense needs to really step up in crucial moments, much like Miami's did (restricted Brady to 0/13 on 3rd down).

All season long New England's defense yardage wise has been awful actually. It's ranked very low. In terms of points conceded they are around top 5 though, so if Minnesota are going to win they can't have too many scoreless drives. This means no 4th down calls at all if a FG is available, and no passing when in field goal range.

If Philly make the Superbowl they need to focus heavily on the running game. With 3 decent RBs and a very solid o-line the only way they could beat NE would be a rush-heavy offense. The defensive side is all good, as their last 3 matches they have conceded 10, 6, & 10.

One negative is that WRs like Chris Hogan that have been injured basically all season are coming back to this already dominant Patriots team.

My SB prediction stays at NE @ MIN, but now I say NE win. The fact that they beat Tennessee 35-14 after trailing 0-7 at QT is worrying. Tennessee didn't even turn the ball over. If they had it would've certainly been a 50-burger.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jan 16th 2018 »

Matt, I think if given the choice I'd rather see Philadelphia play the Patriots in the Super Bowl, like you say, they've got some decent running backs who are running behind a good offensive line so that could cause New England problems. I just can't see how Minnesota could win, Brady is as good if not better than Brees and we all saw how the Saints marched up and down the field in the second half. Belichick will have studied that and will emulate what Brees did with Brady.

Foles in my opinion is a better player than Keenum, take away the 'Hail Mary' at the end of the game and Keenum did nothing of note in the second half. The Vikings were lucky they got a quick start and Brees didn't get his act together until the second half. Foles and the Eagles team strike me as a team on a mission who are angry everybody gave up on them the minute Wentz went down. That in my book makes them a dangerous team because they now have team unity.

I have a feeling Philadelphia are going to win on Sunday. The game is in their backyard and I don't think Minnesota will have recovered fully from the emotional roller coaster of a game that everyone is calling 'Miracle in Minnesota'. I take the Eagles winning this in a low scoring defensive affair that is decided by a field goal.

I see the Eagles are underdogs again, I want them to win just so I can see those dog masks again.

The reason I favour Minnesota as a better chance is that it would be the first ever home SB for a team. Playing at home for a SB would be so reassuring for such a big match. The MIN players would all be calmer seeing familiar surroundings and having quite a decent amount of supporters. When playing NE in a big game every team is bound to get nervous versing the them, and if Philly make it they will have no reassurance and will just crumble under pressure.

Sadly I predict a Philly win too. What you say about teams playing poorly after a comeback win has been true every time this season. The Minnesota players will still feel like they've won the SB and need to quickly get focused on the task ahead. However the game could go either way. Without some awful bad luck or some amazing good luck, this would be an Atlanta @ New Orleans game.

Actually I believe Minnesota's close victory will be the key to a victory over Philly. Here's why:
1. Minnestota has lost their last four NFC championship games
2. In the divisional round game preceding each said championship, the Vikings blew out their opponent
3. The Saints game on Sunday was close
4. Minnesota has finally been given a good scare. They won't be coming into the Philly game as kings of the world. They'll be practicing hard all week with the end result of an NFC championship victory.

I have to disagree, I can?t see Minnesota getting themselves together in such a short period of time after such an emotionally draining game. and to make matters worse they are playing away in the opponents back yard against a team with the some of the rowdiest and vocal fans in the league. You can?t really use what happened in the 70?s a measuring stick because it?s a completely different team, none of the players in the current Viking squad were even born. Minnesota haven?t been that dominant this season, they haven?t really blown anyone away, they?re just a solid team with a solid defense.
.

Philly could not hit the end zone against the Falcons. AT HOME.

Yeah, good luck against the Vikings D. As I said previously, the playoffs are decided by MOMENTUM and TURNOVERS. Vikings, at home, had MOMENTUM all first half. They suffered a bad case of Atlanta SB, and Case's first TURNOVER gave the Saints some MOMENTUM back, leaving a crack in the Vikes D, leaving them open to the rushing river that is MOMENTUM, in the form of Brees' passing game. Their RB's were stuffed, though.


So my opinion? Philly gets a slow start, Vikes strike ahead, Philly threatens, but Vikes will survive by something like 20-16 or something. It'll be a defensive ballgame, that we can agree on.

« Last edited by FreezShock on Jan 17th 2018 »

Low scoring boring affair for sure, with neither team being able to move the ball. The team that wins
this one will be the one that has the most success moving the ball on offense. I think Philadelphia do enough to win, the damage being done by their running backs who slowly grind down the Minnesota defense.

If this game is decided by momentum like you say the Vikings are a spent force, they used it all up in the game against New Orleans last week, they won't be able to get up for this game emotionally in such a short amount of time. I'm expecting them to come into this game looking flat pretty much the same as Miami this year the week after they stunned the league beating the Patriots.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Jan 17th 2018 »

Freez, Philly scored a TD through a Blount run. The kicker missed the PAT, making their 15 points look like 5 FGs when in fact it was 1TD & 3FGs. The Minnesota defense was really of the boil last week in the 2nd half. 24 in a half conceded translates to 48 in an entire game! Atlanta were tough opposition who recently stuffed Carolina & LA Rams, so to mention Atlanta in that sentence makes no sense.

If we're talking about momentum, it means very little when you travel away. Philly have momentum too after scraping a lucky win, just like Minnesota did.

There's also a pattern I read somewhere with the 4 SBs from 2001-2004. In the 2001 SB it was AFC East vs NFC West. In the 2014 SB it was the same. In the 2002 SB it was AFC West vs NFC South. In 2015 it was the same. Following the pattern, the 2018 SB will be AFC East vs NFC East, just as it was in 2004 when NE & Philly played.

At this stage of the season home field advantage in such a crucial game is so, so, important. A high percentage of the winners played the game on their own turf.

Another important factor to remember is Minnesota play most of their games in a domed stadium which has a artificially controlled climate. The Philadelphia Eagles play outdoors so are used to the different elements and a turf that may be slippery and wet if it rained the night before.

If Minnesota can overcome all these little hurdles and pull out the win I'll be praying for another miracle in Minnesota in a couple of weeks time against the Patriots.