NFL Thread III

[LemonMelon]

Wild Card Weekend

Saturday, January 9
(7) Colts at (2) Bills, 1:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
(6) Rams at (3) Seahawks, 4:40 p.m. ET (Fox)
(5) Buccaneers at (4) Washington, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC)

Sunday, January 10
(5) Ravens at (4) Titans, 1:05 p.m. ET (ABC)
(7) Bears at (2) Saints, 4:40 p.m. ET (CBS/Nickelodeon/Amazon Prime)
(6) Browns at (3) Steelers, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC)

[LuckyNumber7]

Is it just me or do none of the wild cards look like they have any hope this year? Aside from whoever is playing Pittsburgh.

[LemonMelon]

Originally Posted by LuckyNumber7

Is it just me or do none of the wild cards look like they have any hope this year? Aside from whoever is playing Pittsburgh.

In the AFC, I don't think any of them do. The Bills and Chiefs are pretty far ahead of the rest at the moment.

The Packers already got crushed by Tampa once.

[Hewson]

Well Baltimore has been playing lights out, winning their last 5, mostly in dominant fashion. Granted not against the iron of the league (only CLE a playoff team in the group) but they are certainly hot heading into the playoffs. Of course they have been a miserable playoff failure with Jackson so far, we shall see.

And no question in the NFC the prospect pf facing Tom Brady and all those weapons the Bucs have can't be an enticing one.

[LuckyNumber7]

Definitely forgot bout Brady, can’t sleep on the Bucs.

But I just dont see Baltimore going anywhere. Not a very complete team.

[bono_212]

Yeah, I'm with Hewson. I more *expect* a wild card team to at least do really well this year.

[DaveC]

i understand giants fans being mad at what doug pederson did, but the giants players and coaches pitching a fit all over twitter and the media about it, when they went 6-10 and lost 3 of their last 4 while having total control of their own playoff destiny, is some next-level weak shit.

[Hewson]

Yeah the whining is pretty pathetic.

[Hewson]

Meanwhile in Cleveland...Browns gonna Browns.
First playoff appearance in a couple centuries or so, and head coach ruled out due to Covid.

[bono_212]

I wrote a whole post about how I felt about the Giants, but I guess the internet ate it:

Basically, I disagree. The players, and coaches all get paid roughly the same as other teams to achieve the same goal of making the playoffs. One team deciding to just say fuck it and blatantly throw a game when there were playoff implications is completely inexcusable. I think the players and coaches who put in every ounce of effort they could (despite how pitiful the outcome may have been) can and should be angry.

Honestly, don't forget, too, that SNF was coaxing them to keep tweeting, so I'm sure it snowballed from there.

[LemonMelon]

I don't really care what the Eagles do, it benefited us either way, but it cracks me up that Doug Pederson is public enemy #1 in Philly and abroad after his statue had only been up for two years. Lurie 100% put him up to it, but this couldn't have helped Pederson's working relationship with his quarterbacks. That situation should be fun to follow next season.

Howie Roseman better nail pick #6. We're talking an immediate positive impact.

[LuckyNumber7]

What happened? I’m too lazy to Google

But short of reasonable benchings like...

... old Big Ben who has been struggling and doesn’t *need* to play and can benefit from rest and the Steelers low key might need Mason to be fresh for the playoffs because Big Ben is collapsing and Covid etc. ...

... but I had no problem with Joshua Jared Rosen Allen whooping the Dolphins ass and eliminating them. No team should get a “benefit” of a regularly scheduled opponent who is the best in the league happening to fall on week 17 where they don’t try. That’s BS.

[LemonMelon]

Originally Posted by LuckyNumber7

What happened? I’m too lazy to Google

Philly had a chance to end our season going into the 4th quarter and Doug P responded by benching Jalen Hurts. They obviously had no vested interest in winning that game resting half the team going in, but they actively threw it in the final quarter.

My favorite part was the 4th down encroachment penalty that allowed us to keep our drive going and run out more clock in the last few minutes. Who needs subtlety?

[DaveC]

i would have personally given hurts 1 more series, and kicked it on that 4th down, but i'm fine with the way the game played out. i don't really care too much about the draft pick because the difference between 6 and 9 isn't that huge, but 6 is a much easier pick to try to trade up with. it was probably the right move for the long-term health of the franchise (although i believe i said something similar when carson was offered that contract so...).

the giants players and coaches have every right to be angry, but they should really shut the hell up about it publicly because if they had just gone .500 over the last 4 weeks of the season (or won 1 more game at any point in the year) it wouldn't have mattered at all what the eagles did. the giants put themselves into that situation of having to rely on another team that had no incentive whatsoever to help them.

there were no playoff implications for the eagles, and it wasn't their choice that the game was flexed into prime time. they aren't and shouldn't be obliged to risk injuring their likely week 1 starting QB in a meaningless game (for them) for the benefit of NBC and a division rival. the heat pederson is taking now is miniscule compared to what would happen if hurts had gone out there and torn an ACL, because an injury like that in week 17 almost guarantees that player will miss the first few games of next season.

a 6-10 team is mad that they didn't make the playoffs? cry me a river.

[LemonMelon]

No Eagles player, coach or fan should give a damn what anyone affiliated with the Giants thinks. My one regret is that the Giants were the ones who got fucked over instead of the Cowboys. That would have been funnier and stirred up more shit in the media.

The only thing that really matters out of this is how the players felt, how they currently feel about their organization, and how that carries over into next season. The body language on the sideline looked terrible. But maybe it's not that big of a deal.

Even as a rival fan who has been repeatedly burned by these guys, this pic of Wentz, Ertz and Kelce bummed me out because they deserved a better finale:

[LuckyNumber7]

Originally Posted by DaveC

a 6-10 team is mad that they didn't make the playoffs? cry me a river.

This is the other fair side to the argument.

None of them should be in the playoffs though. Abolish divisional berths.

[bono_212]

Originally Posted by LuckyNumber7

This is the other fair side to the argument.

None of them should be in the playoffs though. Abolish divisional berths.

Well exactly, the rules are what they currently are. The Giants did their part, won their game and just had to wait.

The Texans didn't fuck around.

The 49ers didn't fuck around.

The Jaguars didn't fuck around.

The only teams that had a legitimate Ok in my book to take the games easy were the Vikings, Lions, Jets, Patriots, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders and Broncos. Those games truly meant nothing. There were no playoff implications whatsoever. Every other team that didn't show up and play the game shamed the league, IMO. It's as bad as that Jets game they clearly lost on purpose earlier this season.

I'm not saying you have to play your A game. If they wanted to test out Sudfeld, then fine, he should've started. But if you're in a close, winnable game, you don't suddenly bench your starter. Especially against a rival team who is about to win your division on your turf? What does that say to your players and your fans? This was embarrassing for Hurts, Sudfeld and Wentz.

I know this is a bit off the track of the original statement which was that the Giants players should keep it to themselves, but I think it's all pretty interrelated: This isn't a league where there's a culture of throwing games. It certainly happens, but if it starts to become the culture, then we have a problem. This season felt like a possible tipping point towards teams blatantly tanking. I'm hoping it's a one-off because of the oddity to the season. So I'm glad the Eagles are getting called out and raked over the coals, and I'm glad another team is calling them out for it, because the Giants had every right to that playoff spot within the scope of the NFL rules as they currently stand.

[DaveC]

if the giants had been winning and moving up in the division and the eagles blocked them by doing this, i could moreso understand the reaction. but the giants were a terrible team in december - they didn't even have to get a winning record in december in the shittiest division in pro football history to earn a playoff spot and they couldn't even do that! they 100% put themselves into this spot. i would have zero sympathy for that team even if i wasn't an eagles fan.

[LuckyNumber7]

I would argue that the Football Teams were the best team anyways in terms of “who should support the division.” Plus I mean I think everyone wants to see Ron Rivera and Alex Smith get another chance here.

[Hewson]

So let's say hypothetically your QB is 7 out of 20 for 72 yards with a pick and a passer rating of 25.4 in the middle of the 3rd quarter of a 1 possession game.
Would the coach maybe consider benching him and looking for a spark from a backup? Would that be considered a controversial move?