The Syndicate

I figured we could make one thread for all NFL-related discussions rather than create new ones each year (if people want to talk American football that is).

So, who is everyone cheering for in the Super Bowl? I'm okay with either team winning but I'll be cheering for Carolina.

Turnip Head wrote:The Panthers are going to win. Neither Seattle nor Arizona could stop Cam, and as good as the Denver D is, I don't see them stopping him either. Peyton won't be able to keep up.

If this were Peyton Manning in his prime, I'd say there was a chance this game could be a tight affair. Denver's got a stellar D but Peyton is more of a game manager than a gunslinger anymore. He may have only won one Super Bowl, but he's playing in his fourth. That's special.

In fact, Peyton has the second-most Super Bowl appearances for a QB in the last 15 years. Just look at 15 years of AFC champions:

2016: Peyton Manning
2015: Tom Brady
2014: Peyton Manning
2013: Joe Flacco
2012: Tom Brady
2011: Ben Roethlisberger
2010: Peyton Manning
2009: Ben Roethlisberger
2008: Tom Brady
2007: Peyton Manning
2006: Ben Roethlisberger
2005: Tom Brady
2004: Tom Brady
2003: Rich Gannon
2002: Tom Brady

The NFC could only dream of this kind of repetition (though one could argue that this means the NFC is more competitive).

Metalmarsh89 wrote:Aaron Rodgers has made 3 Super Bowls (or is it just 2?) I don't know if any other QB has made that many in that span.

Kurt Warner perhaps? Oh and Eli Manning. But neither have more than two.

Rodgers has only been to one Super Bowl.

Defense wins championships. Not a very exciting game. Not a very exciting halftime show either. Don't get me started on the commercials. This year's Super Bowl was more of a Super Bust.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:I love ties...

It's the first time there's been two tie games in the same season since 1997. Coincidentally, the tie games in 1997 came a week apart as well.

Curious to see if either Tampa or Oakland can win their game.

I put a poll up- vote for which two teams you think will make the Super Bowl!

Here's how I rank the four potential Super Bowl match-ups:

1) New England v. Green Bay
2) Pittsburgh v. Green Bay
3) New England v. Atlanta
4) Pittsburgh v. Atlanta

No offense to Atlanta but they don't have the national pull as the other three teams. Patriots-Packers would be billed as a duel of NFL elite quarterbacks. Steelers-Packers would be billed as a sort of rematch of Super Bowl 45. Patriots-Falcons would be billed as David against Goliath even though Atlanta's offense tore lots of teams up this year. Steelers-Falcons would be just blah but I doubt that's going to happen because I can't see Pittsburgh getting past New England.

I agree on New England. Pittsburgh couldn't get a touchdown last week, so I don't see how they hope to beat the Patriots. I'm torn between the Packers and the Falcons. That could be a wild game.

It would be a miracle if they come back to win.

Now tonight's game will determine if I'll root for the Steelers or the Falcons in the Super Bowl.

Looks I'll be cheering on the Falcons. After today's game, I think there will be much more excitement for the Super Bowl. Atlanta looks like they're capable of beating Tom Terrific's band of merry men.

You Patriots fans are as welcome with me come Super Bowl Sunday as Republicans are welcome with Dom and DH in the Politics thread. Just saying.

Golden wrote:

G-Man wrote:You Patriots fans are as welcome with me come Super Bowl Sunday as Republicans are welcome with Dom and DH in the Politics thread. Just saying.

Most comforting.

I've been a Miami Dolphins fan since I was about five years old. Dan Marino was one of my childhood heroes. The Dolphins have had only limited success since Marino retired. Part of that is management ineptitude and part of it is due to the sustained success of the Patriots. It's a division rivalry thing mostly, though I did think Brady was too cocky for my taste when he shot to stardom. I look forward to New England becoming average again when Brady retires, because it means parity may finally return to the AFC East.

Out of curiosity, is anyone planning on watching the Pro Bowl tonight? I typically do not.

Pretty good game so far. The commercials have been terrible though. The only funny one so far was the Skittles commercial.

Tom Brady's tears taste like Skittles.

T-Mobile commercials may win the night with their 50 shades spoofs.

Sloonei wrote:

Best football of the game this quarter.

Tom Brady's tears of joy taste like those awful green apple Skittles.

Sloonei wrote:Best football game I've ever watched.
Season-ending championship games this sports season have been untouchable.

It was a good game at times. I rate it this way:

Anthem: B
1sr Quarter: B+
2nd Quarter: B-
Halftime Show: B+
3rd Quarter: B-
4th Quarter: A-
Overtime: D
Commercials: C-

Epignosis wrote:Atlanta should be razed.

Way too late for that. The Flames left town in 1980.

Sloonei wrote:Lol @ Michael Strahan taking over for Willie after one too many "motherfuckers".
And the obligatory booing of Goodell.

Yeah, glad my kids were in bed already. Bring back the three second tape delay.

Sloonei you don't know how lucky you have it. The last time my Miami Dolphins were even in the Super Bowl, I wasn't yet a whole year old. I started supporting the Montreal Canadiens in 1995, two years after they won their last Stanley Cup. Sports luck is fickle. I hate your team but do enjoy the rapture of it all while it lasts. Someday they will be mediocre again but you'll at least be able to lean on the nostalgia of your past. Some of us aren't so lucky and have to settle for cheering for second or third favorite teams year in and year out.

Tonight, I hate your Patriots fan guts. Don't worry though. My man crush on you will resume in about a week or so.

MovingPictures07 wrote:So I didn't end up watching it (shocker, right?), but the hubbub is all over the internet. How would you all rank this Super Bowl in terms of enjoyment and/or excitement compared to past outings?

Good defensive first quarter. The 2nd and 3rd quarters were pretty meh from a competitive standpoint. Fourth quarter comeback was wild but overtime was disappointing because Atlanta barely put up a fight. They didn't just roll over and die but it was close enough to that. If not for the comeback, the game would have been a dud.

The halftime show was very good. Gaga toned down her antics a bit but still put on a heck of a show. For me, the best halftime show will always be U2 and the 9/11 victims tribute in 2002 but this could land pretty high when I finally get around to watching more of the past halftime shows again on YouTube. Lady Gaga isn't normally my cup of tea and she certainly had some bizarre in her performance but she sang live (and well) and worked hard to put on a good show. I think it highlights how much better the halftime show can be when it's just one performer instead of a headline act and a few guest performers.

Honestly, the most unexpected and noteworthy thing that happened for me was an Amber Alert for Central Pennsylvania cutting off much of the post-halftime show banter between the analysts. Thankfully though the Amber Alert was a false alarm. I checked our local news this morning. Turns out a little girl crawled into her mother's car during the first half of the Super Bowl. The mother forgot to put the car in park, so the child's added weight caused the car to roll back out of the driveway and down into some woods across the street. The mom thought the car and the kid were stolen but they found the car and the kid around midnight. Not exactly mother of the year material but at least the kid was okay.

I'm not doing any Fantasy Football (pick 'em, survival, etc.) this year, so I have been very detached from football so far this season.

Overall, I don't care if people exercise their First Amendment right in public. They have to deal with the consequences of their speech but they won't hear anything out of me about it. I have far more pressing things to devote my attention to than football players "dissing 'merica."

I'd like to know how many of the people who are threatening to boycott the NFL over players kneeling were part of the birther movement or flew a flag upside-down under Obama. I think all the media coverage is a bit ridiculous because the news networks aren't focusing on why players are kneeling. They're just talking about who is kneeling, which is a distraction to the original message.

I mean, really- did anyone but Jacksonville fans and the most delusional Patriots haters actually think the Jaguars had a chance?

So was that Case Keenum suddenly turning back into a pumpkin, the Vikings defense imploding, or something else entirely? I tuned in when it was 31-7.

My team has won playoff games in my lifetime but I don’t think they have since Marino tore his Achilles tendon.

Sloonei wrote: ↑Mon Jan 21, 2019 7:48 pm

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Jan 21, 2019 3:34 pm This fucking guy.

I have never seen the divisional round.

I’ve never seen the Wild Card round.

And hopefully, after Brady and Belichick and these glory days are gone, you never do.

Sloonei wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:26 pm Does anyone know if this Antonio Brown kid is any good?

His fundamentals are a little sloppy but he’s got a great attitude and a team-first mindset.

I guess my Dolphins might have a chance against the Jets this weekend now that the trade deadline has put an end to their fire-wagon sale shenanigans. Though I think they may have a better chance against the Bengals. I guess we'll see how Dalton's replacement does before I get my hopes up.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2019 11:58 am

G-Man wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:05 am I guess my Dolphins might have a chance against the Jets this weekend now that the trade deadline has put an end to their fire-wagon sale shenanigans. Though I think they may have a better chance against the Bengals. I guess we'll see how Dalton's replacement does before I get my hopes up.

Please beat the Bengals so they can land the first pick.

We've got three first-round picks, so I don't know that landing the first overall pick is that important.

Which is sadder- the fact that the Jets couldn’t find a way to beat the Dolphins or that the Dolphins couldn’t find a way to lose to the Jets?

The Jets and the Falcons both did the Dolphins a favor today. Can they stick to tank mode or is Fitzmagic too powerful a force to overcome?

After treating the team like a dumpster fire and trading away much of the best talent on the team they could have started a rebuild with as foundational pieces, the Dolphins had one job to do. They can’t even lose when they need to. Maybe the top draft pick isn’t necessary, but the first-round picks from the Steelers and Texans are only dropping lower on the draft board with every passing week.

Is it wrong to say that I’m almost hopeful now that their tank-and-rebuild strategy fails miserably?

AFC:
Saturday at 4:35 p.m.- #5 Buffalo Bills @ #4 Houston Texans
Saturday at 8:15 p.m.- #6 Tennessee Titans @ #3 New England Patriots


NFC:
Sunday at 1:05 p.m.- #6 Minnesota Vikings @ #3 New Orleans Saints
Sunday at 4:40 p.m.- #5 Seattle Seahawks @ #4 Philadelphia Eagles

Any predictions?

Hush you. Countless sports journalists have already jinxed my fantasy by prematurely questioning if this is the end of the Brady/Belichick/Patriots dynasty era. They only dropped to the 3-seed for God's sake.

Maybe I'm a sucker for Houston, but I picked the Texans over the Bills. Otherwise we're of like mind.

It’s almost as if Lamar Jackson became what Deshaun Watson was supposed to be.

Did [mention]sloonei[/mention] pick the Vikings and Ravens to win yesterday?

Seriously though- I didn’t see that Titans win coming. Let’s just make the Dolphins’ failure complete by see Tannehill win Super Bowl MVP.

Thoughts on the Super Bowl?

I'd love to see Mahomes win, but I feel like San Francisco is a more complete team.

My problem is that the 49ers just aren’t on my radar. They had a good season, but I just didn’t hear much about them all season. Perhaps it’s East Coast bias, but I just don’t know enough about them to say that I like or dislike them. In the absence of that, I default to the Chiefs because Mahomes is a thrill to watch when he’s on top of his game.

Also, this somehow feels like an underwhelming match-up from a casual fan perspective. Like, if this isn’t an amazing game, it will be one of those Super Bowls that gets forgotten about. Does anyone else feel that way?

I guess I just don't know what the story lines are for this Super Bowl outside of Mahomes vs. Brady's former understudy. Maybe it's the underwhelming way the Chiefs got to the Super Bowl by not having to go through Baltimore. And maybe it's just that San Francisco feels underwhelming to me despite being a #1 seed. East Coast bias- I don't pay much attention to West Coast teams.

I get what you mean about not liking story lines, but I at least like some kind of tension for the event. These teams are not rivals and cannot be construed as such. I think the fact that there were three or four strong teams in the NFC this year makes San Francisco seem unimpressive. There's a name recognition bias to that though, as the other teams had more name recognition- Green Bay, New Orleans, Seattle. Sure, San Fran is supposedly a "classic franchise" but their best years were the 80s and early 90s. Sure, they made it to the Super Bowl a few years ago, but who honestly remembers much from the Ravens-49ers Super Bowl aside from the fact that the lights went out and Beyonce performed?

Both teams can lean on the history angle- San Fran hasn't won since 1995. Kansas City hasn't won since 1970. But they both won before, so there's no first-time champ feel-good story. The 49ers are going for their 6th, which would be a more impressive quest if they New England hadn't already become the 2nd team to reach that mark. Kansas City is going for their second, so *yawn* there too.

For Kansas City, you've got the Andy Reid angle. He's been in the league forever and seeing him win it all would be nice. So, Reid and Mahomes are the compelling reasons to watch the Chiefs.

What are the compelling reasons to watch the 49ers? East Coast Bias- I don't know. Yes, 49ers fans have been through a championship drought, but they won five already, so those tears don't move me. Plus, I'm a Dolphins fan who hasn't seen my team make it since I started watching football. California is hardly starved for sports championships too.

Can anyone explain what is compelling about the 49ers aside from Brady's former understudy? From what I hear, they're running game is formidable but Jimmy G isn't poised under pressure.

I don't want the Super Bowl to be just a battle between two really good teams. Otherwise, let's just call it the Really Good Bowl. It's not usually the most impressive game of the playoffs, but I always hope for it to be.

This hasn’t been the most exciting game. The Super Bowl usually isn’t. Still a lot of time left for something interesting to happen.

Halftime show was good but too much lip syncing.

Bit of controversy with the go-ahead touchdown and the delay of game that wasn’t called that could have kept the 49ers alive.

So nobody has anything to say about Brady jumping ship to become a pirate?

juliets wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:45 pm And one more thing to celebrate in Tampa - Rob Gronkowski! Sure hope we have a season even if we're all watching from home.

Well that just puts an asterisk on any success Brady has in Tampa. Gronk is hard to defend. He was Brady’s crutch in the past and it may be that way again.

One hour until Joe Burrow’s future goes belly up.