NFL 2017 Season
- Thread starter the 4th hanson bro
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Not really an apples to apples comparison, considering there's roughly, what, 11 minutes or so of actual play in a football game, and pretty much 90 minutes of nonstop movement in soccer.
How much of that movement threatens actual scores? A vast majority of the time is spent in midfield exchanging positional subtleties and most of the time they get near the goal there's over twice as many defenders in the area and no real chance of scores. In football there's drama on every play.
You're perhaps going to respond, if you know the game well those positional subtleties are suspenseful and dramatic? Exactly my argument with low scoring football games.
Yes, YES! Send us all your hate! Tom Brady will use it as nourishment!
Tom Brady makes me sick to my ass.
His balls are perfect.
Underinflated for easy handling.
But they're not as big as Keenum's.
This would be a good week for Keenum to lay the inevitable egg. Even if he is subpar, the Vikings probably beat the Eagles with Nick Foles.
Here's hoping...
Curious about this from an outside perspective. When/how do you see Belichick mocking the other teams? Maybe you view it facetiously, but the closest I can see is when he's asked about another team and he manages to make them all sound like HoF teams, no matter how much they suck. I don't see it as mocking, more just trying to keep his team from overlooking an opponent (hi, Tomlin), and focusing on the strengths of the opponent, even if they aren't THAT strong. Part of why the Pats usually look prepared, though, Bill dissects the opponents and usually knows their tendencies better than they do by kickoff.
I really don't see a mocking aspect to Belichick. Boringly straight-laced, actually. Not a great interview unless you want to ask about a random game from like 1932 or something (in which case, he's amazing and fun to listen to), but not mocking. Can definitely be a dick if he thinks the question is a distraction or just not what he wants to focus on, though. It's a *dry* humorMostly, he just hates wasting time with the media when he could be working on the next game, and is grumpy because he's contractually obligated to do it, so tries to just shut it down and get out of there by being a dick.
Belichick has never, ever "mocked" another team. Anyone who says this knows absolutely nothing about the core, foundational philosophy about how they run the organization. If anything, they could be lining up to play Cleveland as 45 point favorites, and he'll be praising their coaches and talking about how important it is to shut down their more dangerous players. That's why they win. They never underestimate the other team, and they never do anything stupid that would provide locker room material for the other team to feed off of. People who think Belichick is "evil" don't understand that this stoic, no-nonsense public approach is part of the formula that makes the organization the best that has ever fielded a team.
Yes, it's definitely more of a facetious statement on my part than anything else. Kind of along the lines how he's cheating in ways that nobody has figured out yet. Not to say that he actually is cheating, more like wishful thinking that, if he is - like he has before - I hope he gets caught. Never mind that everyone else cheats too.
As much as you love to love the Patriots, they are a team that I love to hate. As do most non-Pats fans, apparently. In the most recent episode of the new X-Files entitled "This", one of the late "Lone Gunmen" (Ringo Langley) apparently had his consciousness uploaded into a Matrix-like simulation, which is like a false paradise - a place where you can eat hot dogs and donuts every day and you never get fat. Of the simulation he also says this: "the New England Patriots are here and they never ever win – ever!"
Lets face it, as long as the Pats stay on top, the haters are gonna hate...
People hate winners, which is a weakness in our society. Jealousy and "why not me" and excuses (refs are paid off, cheatriots, etc) become the norm rather than "fuck, what do we need to do to be the best??" It's not just NFL. People hate Alabama in NCAA football. Why? Winners...constantly beating the bag off your team with better coaching, better preparation, a better system, harder work, more fundamentals, etc. I coached HS football for 23 years (this was my first fall "retired" as my family is now growing). I played HS and small college ball. It was absolutely no different. HS teams that were successful every year became hated. Accused of cheating (they practice in the off-season, they recruited this kid illegally, etc). Screamed at that they belong in a different (bigger, more competitive) league. Excuses and jealousy...finger pointing and rationalizing. "I deserve to win toooooo!!!!"
It's a loser mentality.
There's nothing wrong with pulling for an underdog, and I totally understand it. I do it all the time. Nearly every time I watch college football, I'm simply rooting for the weaker team if I don't have a personal affiliation that changes that. But, I don't HATE the stronger, favored teams. I respect them. Because they earned their way to that position. All the other stuff is just losers crying. People hate Brady because he is better, and because he dismantles your team regularly...and because at 40 he's still the best QB in the league. Not the second best, not the "best over-35 QB." The best. That torques people off. Then it becomes "he deflates footballs" or "he's a dick" or whatever else makes you feel good. Less people hate Big Ben or Vick, for example, even though those guys are literally disgusting human beings. It has nothing to do with that, though. It's all about hating / jealousy of sustained success. Big Ben and Vick don't disappoint the rest of the country every other year by whipping their asses, so they get a pass despite being absolute dirtbags. Brady robs your soul constantly because he just keeps winning no matter how much you pray for him to lose...so he's suddenly a villain.
Manning was the ultimate rival for over a decade. I never hated Manning. He was good. He worked his ass off. He knew how to win. He beat my team several times sometimes in critical games and/or the playoffs). Never hated him. I respect talent and hard work and I don't allow petty jealousy to taint the recognition and respect of something TRULY special.
I'm a Red Sox fan and always have been. The Yankees have robbed my soul more times that I can count. But, if the Yankees progress and leave the Sox behind, I'm rooting for the Yanks, because they are a frigging GREAT organization. If the Yanks are having a down year, I'm pissed because the competition and the rivalry defines the season for me. It doesn't do anything for me if the Yanks are a walk-over.
There are plenty of true dirtbags in the league that deserve hate. Brady isn't even in the top 50% of that list.
This must be how New Yorkers feel about the Yankees.
Defensive games aren't necessarily a lot of three and outs, also could be exciting interceptions, sacks, great defensive stands, blocked kicks.
Hell, soccer fans don't complain.
People who don't appreciate defensive battles in football don't truly understand football. If I want to watch balls being thrown and guys catching them all over the place, I'll watch a basketball game. Defensive battles are chess matches. Offensive battles are generally just shitshows and a bunch of long-bombs being caught.
In a defensive battle, the chess match is fascinating: How is the defense able to cover all the gaps? How are they linking coverages to the front and where are the dual responsibility players (responsible for run gaps and pass zones)? What adjustments do the desperate offenses attempt to make to get that little crack of success they need (adding a TE, keeping an extra guy in for protection, using a Fullback to kick a DE from a 2-back look, whatever)? And, in a defensive battle, it's a nail-biter usually because one mistake could be the game.
There's a difference between a defensive battle and sloppy football. Sloppy football (dropped passes, penalties, shitty play calling, etc) absolutely sucks. Defensive battles do not.
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Great start for the Jags so far. Though I'm certainly not counting all the chickens yet until it's over. Brady has done some spectacular comebacks in his career. Not over yet.
That touchdown was to lull them into a false sense of security so Bill doesn't make adjustments.
Yeah. That's it.
Yeah. That's it.
Unfortunately the last couple of minutes of the first half the wheels started falling off the Jag's wagon. Some of it deservedly so, others not so much. They haven't completely fallen apart but I am concerned.
I really hope Romo's success encourages the networks to alter the way they go about color commentary this off-season. The guy is just head and shoulders above everyone else in the business.
Nail biter all the way to the end.
Well shit. 
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