NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? What?

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

I wasn't consulted on music choices. "All I do is win" isn't the worst refrain to celebrate a championship with though...

Steelers' kicker having a brutal start. Kicking himself out of the league in a hurry, not great after Jacksonville moved on from him...

And poor balls, Gronk just murdered another one. Hope it wasn't the same one, it's gonna measure about 4 psi if he keeps doing that in the rain

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

Well, that should at least prevent scobee from being shived in the locker room at the half.

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

And one in the books. Garbage time TD blew the spread, but before that, about what I expected. Steelers had some stuff going especially in the second half, but didn't capitalize. Pats D needs some work, but a lot of kids out there. I'll take it. Here we come, Rex!

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

After a whole offseason of their name being dragged through the mud, playing a song is douchey?? Jesus christ.

Hell it could be sound clip of Bill Belichick and Brady telling off Goodell, Mortenson, and ESPN, and I would think it would have been entirely appropriate.

And Brady declines post game interviews. This season is going to be fantastic.

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

Fun, Patriot haters are already working on a new hashtag, and trying to stir up new shit about the Patriots cheating: #radiogate

Headset problems with the gear linking coaches together in the first half of the game. Was complained about/used as an excuse by Omar Epps, but Belichick reported same issues on their side afterwards (naturally, that won't get much traction, since it was obviously the Pats cheating).

That the NFL provides the headsets, monitors the frequencies, and the home team isn't responsible for it apparently doesn't even matter. Pats must have cheated somehow, no way Gronk is that good on his own.

https://twitter.com/GregABedard/status/642196168353665024

http://operations.nfl.com/the-game/gameday-behind-the-scenes/nfl-gameday-frequency-coordinators/

Tomlin's post-game was pretty, uh, terse, so will be interesting to see where this goes, and how much of their defeat will now be blamed on this. Naturally, it went right back into a 'happens all the time here' rant, tied it right back into all the cheating rumors, etc. So sick of this shit.

One thing out of the NFL tweet above though: with how they described what the problem was (power issues tying to interference from stadium infrastructure), wonder if there's an electrical design problem (crosstalk, overloaded power somewhere, other EMI problem) inherent to Gillette that will be tied to this. It would at least help answer the question about why people bitch about this more here than elsewhere. Of course, then we'll have an investigation into whether Belichick paid off the contractors building the stadium, even though it predates him, but whatever. I run into EMI problems at work from time to time at a design level, so it's an interesting problem to think about.

Should the Pats just admit to this one early to get ahead of ESPN? Maybe they'd like our 2nd, 3rd, and 5-7th round draft picks tossed in, so we can just skip this draft completely?

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha



Come on, seriously? We're now far enough down the road that disliking them means that anything they do, or if they even smile when they win, is now arrogant and more fodder to justify the hatred? One hell of a perpetual motion machine, just feeds back on itself and is its own justification. I mean, Belichick sounds like he's giving a eulogy when the team wins by 30, not like they rub it in your face. He barely smiles when they win Superbowls. Then again, he's just got Resting Bitch Face, so he always kinda looks like a dick, even when he's not acting that way.

Please list some of the songs played during pregame by other Superbowl champs recently, so we can see that example of 'hard work and perseverance at long last paying off' instead of songs celebrating the win. This was also the 4th in 13 years, so they can't play the 'ended the 100 year drought' songs.

Honestly, in general, what ARE those songs that you are trying to refer to? Having a hard time googling for recent examples, but in your mind, what's the appropriate song they should have played instead? Only one off the top of my head that fits your description is "We are the Champions", but that's pretty classically a 'just won' song, and doesn't fit the mood as well trying to open a season 7 months later. That's gotta be on the field minutes after the win.

Does everything have to be joyless with people for the Patriots to be ok? For a team that prides themselves on talking almost ZERO shit, no matter how much they are baited, people still seem to just be begging to find things to be offended by.

Pretty sure the NFL itself used that song in several promos all of last year, seem to remember the commercials. Not Pats-centric, of course, but it was already being attached for exactly this sort of use.

If there was going to be hand-wringing and crocodile tears over a pregame song, it should probably have been when the symphony played "you can hate me now" by Nas. Went over people's heads, but the lyrics paint the message you are actually trying to get across. Will spoiler them because they aren't super friendly

Spoiler: offensive lyrics

Well you hate me I'm gon' hate you too
It's as simple as that
Die motherfucker die motherfucker die
You don't give a fuck I don't give a fuck
Go down any way you want it to go down (do it now)
Weak, jealous motherfuckers (do it now, do it now)
Fuck y'all!

I guess technically they apparently played Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” but that was the backdrop for the Nas song, so sure it wasn't an accident, although it gives them plausible deniability if they take fire...

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

This thread is going great.

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

imagine it'll change a little when someone other than the Patriots play a game...

That being said, what do you want at this point? I'm expecting breaking news that Brady is being investigated for jaywalking now, he may have strayed outside the crosswalk on his way into the stadium. Shocked we haven't lost a draft pick for my thread because I implied the Pats might not be cheating right now. What time did the Patriots start practice today? If someone came in at 6:59 instead of 7am, is there some labor law we can investigate them on? How old was that kid selling soda in the stands? Gotta be SOMETHING, and you know Belichick was in on it; he knows everything!

Steelers called out the Pats as cheaters last night over the headset thing (happened to the Pats too, but not helping the narrative). Undignified nonsense from the head coach, especially considering the NFL owns the equipment and manages the frequencies, home team has nothing to do with it. they've also formally filed a complaint with the NFL on this one, so we'll see where it goes.

Also a lot of hand-wringing over the Steelers' false start at the goal line towards the end. Apparently an unwritten rule that the defense isn't supposed to shift or be tricky when attempting to stop the offense? Can't bark out signals (they didn't), can't flinch to cause offsides, but defensive line shifting is allowed and normal. Apparently Steelers complaining that the Patriots were being meanies and tricked them. Not QUITE as bad as the Ravens just flat out not knowing the rulebook last year, but pretty close, and I'm sure they'll now petition for a rule change on this.

And first I'd seen this complaint, but now Alidar wants to complain that the song selection during the banner raising was a little too cocky for his tastes. Come on, can we get a grip here?

Almost glad that this nonsense is piling up, and hope there's more bitching every week. The more it comes out, the more petty it's exposed as being. Pats must be so inside the other teams' heads that they are just seeing ghosts everywhere, which is great. Means they focus on that nonsense and aren't paying enough attention to the actual game, which only helps us.

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

Seriously getting hilarious. Also, to note, Tomlin went off on the "this happens all the time here" rant, but forgot to mention that he's only played in Foxboro 4 times in his entire career. Not much of a sample size there, although it played to the crowd eager to call the Pats out.

Love how far inside other teams' heads the Pats are. Like watching Princess Bride or something.

"Ooh, looks like he's going to run it here. Wait, maybe that's what he WANTS us to think, definitely a pass. But maybe he knows that I would have thought of that, so it's really going to be a run. What if they turn it into a draw there? Change out personnel, quick! Ok, now what are they... Shit, TIME OUT. What did I say in the locker room that I'd do here? You know they bug it, so i can't run those plays. Mix it up. Ok, now I think i got them, definitely a pass. Or a run. Let's blitz to be safe."

Meanwhile, it's 4th and 8, and the Pats just shrug and punt it to an empty backfield...

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

In the midst of whining about the headsets, apparently the Steelers' TE coach assaulted a fan during the halftime break:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...tigated-nfl-allegedly-assaulting-patriots-fan

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

Looking forward to a weekend from from Patriots games.

Best match up of the weekend in your opinion?

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

Best has to be Dallas/Giants or Denver/Baltimore, no?

Guess we'll see if Peyton's noodle arm at the end of last year was a fatigue thing, or if he indeed now has the arm strength of Johnny Damon. I drafted the Denver RB pretty highly in fantasy, so i know which way I'm leaning...

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

In line with that thought:

Hardest game for Waldo: Panthers/Jaguars

Game that would have been a hot ticket thirty years ago: Raiders/Bengals

Rematch of last years college playoffs: Bucs/Titans

The only time of the season in which this game would matter:
Jets/Browns

Two teams vying for the chance to get bounced out of the playoffs by the Patriots:
Broncos/Ravens

The game where a captured water mammal in a helmet is the least offensive mascot: Dolphins/Redskins

The "hey Buffalo - this is what a real Quarterback looks like" game:
Bills/Colts

The "isn't that the guy that beat his kid till he was bloody?" game: Vikings/49ers

The game designed to give fans irrational hopes that will only be dashed: Lions/Chargers

The JJ Watt game: JJ Watt/Chiefs

The Chip Kelly game: Chip Kelly/Falcons

The "we coulda been a contendah" game: Cardinals/Saints

The best game of the week that no one on ESPN will talk about: Rams/Seahawks

The game ESPN WILL be talking about: Cowboys/Giants



ETA: I would love to see Peyton excel for one more season, but I don't think he has it in him. Time to retire buddy, and thanks for the memories.

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

He's done ok to bounce back from it, but I'd have hung them up when he had the neck injury/surgery. Already loaded, positive image, the risk of permanent injury or death would have far outweighed any potential gain from playing again for me.

To his credit, bounced back, but that specter is still hanging there. Plus he's now got a noodle arm because he's old.

Will be interesting to see what happens next, as Denver put a lot of eggs in Manning's 'win now' basket. If they don't come out of that with a ring, pretty big letdown. And then they have to go to cap jail while they wait for all the big contracts they put around him to come off the books. Unless they pull off an intentional tank job/suck for Luck thing like the Colts did (I'm kidding, I'm sure they tried super hard to win. Most teams have about a 8-12 game swing when they lose their QB, right?) and find a hot QB at the top of the next draft...

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

No idea, I can't be bothered to follow college sports TOO especially not 9 months before the draft. Either way, Manning is playing this year, and even at 50% he's at least not stupid like about half the QBs out there, so they'll get their share of wins just through that. It would be next year that would be the tankapalooza in that scenario, so you need the 2017 Draft QB...

Like I've often said about the Pats' strategy, a lot of it is just sit back, make the routine plays, and just wait for the opposing QB or coach to make a dumb mistake. It's GOING to happen, and often you don't even need to push too hard. Seems that Head Coach jobs are almost a reverse talent competition. The less you know, the dumber the decision, the more jobs you get offered.

Manning could throw left handed and they'd probably still win 6 games. Playing against idiots, and still a pretty decent cast around him. Almost have to TRY to lose more than 8-10 games in a season, IMO.

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

Everett Golson!

I kid, I kid.

Based on fundamentals and size - Connor Cook

Based on excitement and national championship "sizzle" - Cardale Jones.

Of course someone else might pop up on the radar - Jacoby Brissett has the balls to give D-coordinators nightmares but he plays for a second-tier team in the ACC. Vernon Adams Jr. will have the advantage of playing in the Duck's amazing system, and his is a great dual-threat QB, but he is undersized and will likely end up fighting for playing time as a late round pick.

The Pats win games because Bellicheck finds the opponents weakness and pounds it mercilessly over and over and over, and he isn't afraid to move personnel at will to fit the needs of that game. Last night his game plan made Edelman look like a stud because he knew the Steelers D couldn't cover Gronk and Edelman. So once they adjusted to cover Edelman they hit Gronk.

 

Re: NFL 2015-2016 Season - Maybe extra points actually ... matter? Wha

It's just stupidity. For example, Brady does nothing but pass against the steelers. Pretty well established trend. Plus pats' RB out for the game. What do the steelers do to combat that? Nothing. Why wouldn't you drop 8 and dare them to run? Nah.

That's the league in a nutshell.

Pats make a point of changing the game plan to take away whatever you do best, and maybe second best. If you beat them on the third option, congrats. But most teams will try to just force the first option anyway. Same on offense, what's your weakness, that's what they go for. If you're a run blocking team, they go heavy pass. Got a good secondary? You get runs, screens, and quick slants. It's not special, just most teams can't figure it out even after over a decade of film...

League is mainly populated with morons.