American Football lounge

[sebby]

Packers O is just too good.

I think TB finally beats NO. Fuck both Brady and Brees.

Bills offense right now is on GB's level, and Ravens don't have the D to stop them.

Chiefs have been keeping games against poor teams a little too close all year. Part of me thinks they're overrated, part of me thinks they were coasting. The Browns have a rather powerful Chunt, and if KC can't stop it, an accumulation of damage will be done that'll give the ol Brown and Orange a chance. I think they keep it close for a while but ultimately KC wins by 10+. Mahomes too good.

[blocho]

Fuck Yes!!!!

This is long-awaited revenge for that 2001 playoff game (the one where Favre threw six picks).

[blocho]

The Browns have a rather powerful Chunt

Is that a portmeanteau for Chubb and punt. Like if Nick Chubb became the Browns' punter? If that happens in this game, you'll be a seer and prophet.

[blocho]

Okay, a few more detailed reactions to the game:
- Rodgers was not at his best. He made four bad throws, two of which could have been picked and one of which should have been a home run. Of course, "not as his best" still means pretty darn good.
- The Packers were clearly determined to run the ball a lot. And it worked for the most part. Almost every run went for 3-5 yards. No negative plays really.
- Two low-key penalties changed the game -- the false start on 4th-and-1 which forced the Rams to kick a field goal, and the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Aaron Donald which gifted Green Bay a first down
- Donald was clearly playing very hurt. He only played about half of the defensive snaps and was completely ineffective. Credit to him for gutting out the game
- Also, hats off to the Rams overall. Before this season, I predicted four teams that would get worse from last year: Cowboys, Texans, Rams, and Packers. In the past two years, the Rams invested enormous capital in a small group of players. Goff, Donald, Ramsey, Cooks, and Gurley all got contracts that made them the highest paid or nearly highest paid at their position. The roster became very top heavy, and the folly of this approach was revealed when the Rams had to get rid of Gurley and Cooks. And yet, the Rams improved this year. It's a well-coached team that played well despite being in a tough division and relying on a lot of no-name players.

[GruesomeTwosome]

The Browns have a rather powerful Chunt

Is that a portmeanteau for Chubb and punt. Like if Nick Chubb became the Browns' punter? If that happens in this game, you'll be a seer and prophet.

Chubb + (Kareem) Hunt = Chunt

[blocho]

The Browns have a rather powerful Chunt

Is that a portmeanteau for Chubb and punt. Like if Nick Chubb became the Browns' punter? If that happens in this game, you'll be a seer and prophet.

Chubb + (Kareem) Hunt = Chunt

I should have known that.

Anyway, the Ravens have a fourth-string, undrafted rookie at QB right now. I don't see this comeback happening. What a weird, ugly game. It's just bizarre that the center has had two disastrous shotgun snaps when he's only starting because he replaced a different center who had disastrous shotgun snaps earlier this season.

[blocho]

https://www.packers.com/news/packers-qb ... n-jeopardy

I am psyched for this. Rodgers was on celebrity jeopardy a few years ago and dominated. He is also known for forcing the Packers QBs to play a weekly trivia games during the season.

[GruesomeTwosome]

Yeah that’s pretty cool that Rodgers will guest host Jeopardy, I also remember him winning when he was on Celebrity Jeopardy.

Back to the game, I’m happy for the Bills. Good to have that franchise relevant again.

[sebby]

Only way we don't have a fun SB is if TB or NO make it in. GB vs any of these remaining AFC teams will be good shit.

[Knaldskalle]

Am I the only one quietly hoping for a Bills SB win?

[EDIT: I wouldn't mind seeing the Browns win one either, but I don't think the team's quite there yet].

[blocho]

This game is going to have a hot finish. The Browns finally wised up and focused on the run after halftime.

[blocho]

What a game! I would not have punted if I were the Browns, but I admit that it was a close call. Meanwhile, Chad Henne becomes an instant KC legend, and Andy Reid made the sort of fourth down call that no one other than a coach coming off a Super Bowl win has the guts to make.

The big question is whether Mahomes will be ready to go next week. Bills-Chiefs is a playoff matchup with history. It will be a rematch of the 1966 and 1993 AFC championship games (Chiefs won the first, Bills won the second).

[GruesomeTwosome]

Really looking forward to Chiefs-Bills, especially if Mahomes is good to go of course.

[blocho]

Jameis Winston revenge game!

Also, did anyone catch this moment:


You really had to see it. My best guess is that Buck/Aikman has been to at least one drug-fueled orgy with Payton/Arians.

[tirefeet]

THAT'S GOTTA BE.. THAT'S GOTTA BE JAMEIS!! reference here: youtu.be/ASmdxXaOzd4?t=26

[blocho]

Some background on the Pederson firing:
https://defector.com/this-eagles-postmo ... ext-coach/

Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson is apparently very available because Houston has become a dumpster fire.

[GruesomeTwosome]

Pretty crummy way for Brees to end his career, if he really does decide to retire now as a recent report just indicated.

Anyways, both match-ups for the conference championship games are really intriguing.

[blocho]

Brandon Staley is the new head coach of the Chargers. Four years ago, he was a defensive coordinator in Division III. This year, he helped a 2019 Rams defense that was seventh in yards/play and 17th in scoring improve to first in both categories.

[GruesomeTwosome]

Add Josh McDaniels to the increasingly long list of candidates that the Eagles have interviewed so far...please for the love of God don’t hire that bastard as head coach.

[blocho]

I don't usually know what to think about head coaching hires, but the Lions new head coach already seems very promising:

[GruesomeTwosome]

As a Packers fan I’m guessing you saw the news about this, blocho, but Ted Thompson died. Only 68 years old. Really good GM and looking at his draft record, very impressive.

[blocho]

As a Packers fan I’m guessing you saw the news about this, blocho, but Ted Thompson died. Only 68 years old. Really good GM and looking at his draft record, very impressive.

I had not heard yet. Very sad. I knew he had health problems which led to him leaving the GM role a few years ago, but I did not know it had become so serious. Thompson was the architect of the Packers 2010 championship team and contributed immensely to the 1996 championship team and the Seahawks team that made the Super Bowl in 2006.

Thompson's approach to roster building, which was uncommon in the 90s and early 2000s but has become more widely adopted, was to eschew free agency for the most part and focus heavily on the draft, with an intense focus on developing low-drafted players into good players. To take two current examples, the Packers had two all-pros on the offensive line this year: David Bakhtiari and Corey Linsley. They were drafted in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. Thompson also frequently found capable undrafted players. Drafting Aaron Rodgers in the first round will probably the headline accomplishment for his career simply for its audacity and long-term success, but Thompson made dozens of very smart decisions.

[GruesomeTwosome]

As a Packers fan I’m guessing you saw the news about this, blocho, but Ted Thompson died. Only 68 years old. Really good GM and looking at his draft record, very impressive.

I had not heard yet. Very sad. I knew he had health problems which led to him leaving the GM role a few years ago, but I did not know it had become so serious. Thompson was the architect of the Packers 2010 championship team and contributed immensely to the 1996 championship team and the Seahawks team that made the Super Bowl in 2006.

Thompson's approach to roster building, which was uncommon in the 90s and early 2000s but has become more widely adopted, was to eschew free agency for the most part and focus heavily on the draft, with an intense focus on developing low-drafted players into good players. To take two current examples, the Packers had two all-pros on the offensive line this year: David Bakhtiari and Corey Linsley. They were drafted in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. Thompson also frequently found capable undrafted players. Drafting Aaron Rodgers in the first round will probably the headline accomplishment for his career simply for its audacity and long-term success, but Thompson made dozens of very smart decisions.

Yeah I always admired his approach to the draft, and he was excellent at getting the most out of players drafted in the middle to later rounds, it seems. As a fan of a team with Howie Roseman as the GM, who is largely terrible at building through the draft and most of his success was building short-term through free agency/trades, I was envious of teams that had a GM like Ted Thompson.

[GruesomeTwosome]

Some NFL news today: back to my Eagles, I just read that Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni is reportedly going to get hired as the Birds' next head coach. I honestly didn't know of the guy until last week when he was brought up as a candidate, but after reading more about him, I'm pretty pleased with this. He honestly reminds me of Doug Pedersen from four years ago when he was hired, and that did result in a Super Bowl win after all. But this roster is a wreck right now, so many aging, over-paid and underperforming and/or oft-injured veterans on this team, and of course the QB situation is still anyone's guess.

And on another note, Dwayne Haskins was signed by the Steelers. Heh, why not.

[tirefeet]

If I continue to watch Nfl (which I am not very keen on atm since the overwhelming commercial time tunes me out), I may adopt Lions as a team to follow. I checked out the Dan Campbell introductory presser after seeing the snip blocho shared and he certainly seems to have managed to spark a new light for the team and the fanbase.

How will the Colts move on the offensive side? They will have a new QB unless Jacoby re-signs and a new offensive coordinator. From what I've seen Colts fans are very eager to bring in Stafford but would the management consider giving up assets for him? Interesting off-season ahead for GM Ballard and coach Reich.

[blocho]

Yeah, no clue where the Colts will go for a QB. They'll draft too low to get any of the vaunted prospects. But there are rumors that the Falcons and Lions might move on from their talented but aging QBs. Bringing in either of the Matts (Ryan/Stafford) at the right price is probably a smart move. It could be an offseason with a ton of quarterback movement.

As for the new Eagles head coach, has anyone else noticed how young coaches have gotten? I feel like 15 years ago the average head coach was 58 and now he's 42. That's an exaggeration, but there's definitely a trend.

[GruesomeTwosome]

If I continue to watch Nfl (which I am not very keen on atm since the overwhelming commercial time tunes me out), I may adopt Lions as a team to follow. I checked out the Dan Campbell introductory presser after seeing the snip blocho shared and he certainly seems to have managed to spark a new light for the team and the fanbase.

How will the Colts move on the offensive side? They will have a new QB unless Jacoby re-signs and a new offensive coordinator. From what I've seen Colts fans are very eager to bring in Stafford but would the management consider giving up assets for him? Interesting off-season ahead for GM Ballard and coach Reich.

A lot of sports talk radio here in Philly seems to be in love with the idea that the Eagles will somehow be able to move Carson Wentz’s huge contract in a trade to the Colts, reuniting Wentz with Frank Reich. The thought there being that Wentz was much closer with Reich when he was in Philly than he was with Doug Pederson, and that Wentz had his best year in 2017 when Reich was the OC. But I don’t see that move happening, myself.

[blocho]

Stafford is officially on the market. He's 32 years old, gets about $25 million/year, and is coming off a good season even though his team was dogshit as usual. I'm sure a lot of teams would be happy to have him. I'm not sure what they're willing to give up.

[GruesomeTwosome]

Interesting. Which teams are in need of a QB, aside from the teams that are expected to use a high draft pick on one? I’m thinking the Patriots, Washington, and maybe the 49ers (if they’re not convinced about Garoppalo) might all be interested in Stafford.

[blocho]

Nervous excitement running high in the blocho household.

Injury report shows WR Antonio Brown and safety Antoine Winfield are out for the Bucs. DL Kingsley Keke is out for the Packers, and CB Kevin King is questionable. Another interesting note is that the Packers unexpectedly signed CB Tramon Williams this week. Williams has played 12 seasons for the Packers. This is his third stint on the team. He is 37 and spent most of the season with the Ravens. I'm guessing, though, this is just for depth and will have little impact on the game.

[GruesomeTwosome]

CB Kevin King is questionable.

*watches last play of first half* Yeah maybe King should have sat this one out.

[blocho]

This game has become a nightmare. Almost a copy of the week 5 game.

[blocho]

So disappointing. But the Packers had every chance. Brady threw three picks. Tampa had five or six drops. Can't ask for much more than that.

LaFleur's decision to kick at the end is mystifying, coming from the league's most aggressive coach. But the Packers did fifty things wrong that led to the loss.

[sebby]

Brady has really benefited from some of the worst play calls in NFL history. This wasn't quite Pete Carroll level idiocy, but man what was LaFleur thinking.

[GruesomeTwosome]

Yeah, how pissed must Rodgers be about that decision by LaFleur to kick a field goal instead of going for it. Just weird.

[sebby]

Yeah, how pissed must Rodgers be about that decision by LaFleur to kick a field goal instead of going for it. Just weird.

Kinda shocked he didn't just tell him to fuck off and that they were going for it on 4th down.

[GruesomeTwosome]

Yeah, how pissed must Rodgers be about that decision by LaFleur to kick a field goal instead of going for it. Just weird.

Kinda shocked he didn't just tell him to fuck off and that they were going for it on 4th down.

Heh, I would have loved to see that.

[blocho]

This tweet is brutal but accurate:



I remember when that 2015 Seahawks-Packers game finished, I thought that it was such an epic collapse that the Packers might be cursed for decades. And then a couple of years later, the Falcons managed to have a more epic collapse in an even more important game, and that kind of took attention away from the Packers' screw-up. But maybe I was right. Maybe the Packers are cursed in the playoffs. The Curse of Mike McCarthy.

[sebby]

Yeah, how pissed must Rodgers be about that decision by LaFleur to kick a field goal instead of going for it. Just weird.

Kinda shocked he didn't just tell him to fuck off and that they were going for it on 4th down.

Heh, I would have loved to see that.

I've seen other QBs do it (though maybe not in playoff games). Peyton for one did it a handful of times at least. I just don't get how you can trust a mediocre at best D to hold Tom Brady and a solid run game with so little time left. Even if the FG would have brought them within 3 rather than 5, it still would have been very questionable.

As a Bears fan, I'm conflicted. I think I hate Brady more than the Packers. I don't want to see that handsome idiot hoisting another trophy. And this game probably ends Rodgers chances of ever overtaking Brady as the GOAT. Needed this win, a win over the Chiefs, and another 2 Super Bowls. Seemed doable before today! I still think he's actually the better QB, but you can't argue with Brady's resume at this point. Guess it's up to Mahomes now.

[blocho]

Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher is out for the Super Bowl. The injury he suffered yesterday was confirmed as an Achilles tear. For those who don't remember Fisher, he was the first overall pick in 2013 who looked initially like a bust but has developed into a solid tackle, though not quite a star.

The Chiefs will play in the Super Bowl without three of the offensive line starters they intended to have during the offseason. In addition to Fisher, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz has been out for months with a back injury and guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opted out because of covid. Something to keep an eye on is how the Chiefs stand up to a Bucs defensive line that has Barrett, Pierre-Paul, and Suh. Especially with Mahomes playing injured, it's a big risk factor.

And yet, the offensive results make it seem like the line must be performing well no matter who plays. The Chiefs are kind of extraordinary in that they feel very anonymous beyond their headline offensive stars.