2017 NFL Playoffs - Super Bowl LI Confirmed! Atlanta Falcons vs New England Patriots!

[Anacybele]

I was watching it too while waiting for dinner to be ready. I was trying to find any info saying there was a safety and couldn't find it. Figures they'd put it in a place like that. I guess I left the TV too early.

[Lord Raven]

You need to learn how to search. Don't give me this nonsense of "I'm trying," because you always try and fail. If you said you searched and you couldn't find it, you did an awful search.

I googled lions-colts and clicked box score on the thing that showed up. It was not that hard.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Lord Raven

[chococoke]

Not sure how the Pats pulled that one out, but hey, works for me. Jimmy G looks pretty damn legit

[Anacybele]

You need to learn how to search. Don't give me this nonsense of "I'm trying," because you always try and fail. If you said you searched and you couldn't find it, you did an awful search.

I googled lions-colts and clicked box score on the thing that showed up. It was not that hard.

It was not an awful search. I was already on NFL.com, so why should I have gone to Google? And I checked a bunch of articles and videos on the game. The game centers never told me much of anything in the past, so I didn't bother to go there.

I know very well how to search for information, thank you.

[Lord Raven]

Come on it's really basic, click on box score. I didn't have to click on anything else after box score to see what I saw.

[Anacybele]

Did you even read my post? I told you why I didn't go to Google. The NFL website should've already had it somewhere, I just didn't look in the right place. End of story.

Anyway. Finally my guys' turn to play tonight, can't wait. ^^ Glad it's at 7:10 instead of 8:30 too, I won't have to stay up too late. I work in the morning.

[-Cynthia-]

Picks for this week:

Jets @ Bills- I know Rex swept the Jets last year- but the Bills offense was terrible Week 1 and the Jets have one of the best defensive fronts in the league.

Niners @ Panthers- Nice win for the Niners on Monday, but they're traveling across the country on a short week against a well rested Panthers team. And the Panthers are more talented, particularly on offense.

Cowboys @ Redskins- NFC East games always feel like a crapshoot to me. I guess the Cowboys looked OK and the Redskins looked pretty bad.

Bengals @ Steelers- This is a 50/50 game for me, you don't really know what's going to happen when these teams get together(other than violence). Both teams looked good Week 1 despite some key injuries/suspensions. Going with the home team I guess, though in this series it doesn't seem to matter.

Saints @ Giants- Shootout incoming. At least the Giants can hope to have a decent defense, the Saints are even worse than the start of the season due to injuries.

Dolphins @ Patriots- No Brady or Gronk? No problem apparently. I think the Dolphins D Line could cause some problems here, but the Patriots almost never lose at home.

Chiefs @ Texans- Going off of past history here- Chiefs seem to have the Texans number. They do have some defensive injuries that could help the Texans out though.

Titans @ Lions- Lions offense looked great even without Calvin Johnson- granted that could be the Colts defense. The Titans 'exotic smashmouth' offense...didn't seem to work much.

Ravens @ Browns- RG3 is out, though not sure if that hurts the Browns too much. They just don't seem to have enough talent on both sides of the ball- hard to pick them right now. Probably will be close though, Browns play the Ravens tough.

Seahawks @ Rams- I was very ready to pick the Rams here- they always give the Seahawks fits, the Seahawks O-line is weak, Russell Wilson is hobbled. But then Monday Night happened and they were so terrible I just can't pick them.

Bucs @ Cardinals- I'm inclined to think that the Cardinals will rebound a bit here- definitely a warning sign if they drop another home game though.

Jaguars @ Chargers- As much as I'd love to pick the Jags here (the Keenan Allen injury makes the Chargers offense questionable), they haven't shown themselves to be a good road team.

Falcons @ Raiders- Probably another shootout, I'll give the edge to the home team. Raiders should have the better defense, though they didn't show it against the Saints.

Colts @ Broncos- Broncos are at home after a long week. Luck looked good week 1, but he's up against a much better defense here. A little hesitant because the Colts have done well against the Broncos.

Packers @ Vikings- Shaun Hill was mediocre against the Titans and Peterson couldn't get anything going. I don't think the Vikings defense can bail them out against Rodgers.

Eagles @ Bears- Not sure what I think of the Eagles- they beat the Browns solidly, but the Browns are a pretty bad team most likely. The Bears are better than the Browns, but still not particularly good...I guess I'll go Eagles.

[Anacybele]

Bengals @ Steelers- This is a 50/50 game for me, you don't really know what's going to happen when these teams get together(other than violence).

God, please no. I don't want anymore of our guys injured and getting fined because coaches don't know how to control themselves or their players. Good thing though, is that Vontaze Burfict won't be in it! I just seriously pray that he doesn't cause much trouble in the second matchup later on.

I do agree that the Steelers have a better chance though, due to as you say, home field advantage and other little things.

I love what Mike Tomlin did on 4th down vs the Redskins though! It was like he suddenly turned into a 4th down master, what with the TD pass to AB and later the pass to Eli Rogers! I want to see more of this and Ben's desire to go for two after TDs a lot! They never attempted it vs the Skins!

Anyway, my picks now.

Jets vs Bills: Both of these teams seem to have a good defense going by week 1 performances, but I think I'll take the one that did well against a better opponent.

49ers vs Panthers: Panthers are not beatable at home lately. And I'm not sold on the 49ers just suddenly being way better than they were last season.

Ravens vs Browns: Come on, why would I pick against a defense like the Ravens against the Brownies? :P I'd sure love to see them actually lose again though, of course.

Titans vs Lions: Lions looked really good and they're at home.

Chiefs vs Texans: I'm rather going by the past here as Cynthia said.

Dolphins vs Patriots: Considering the Pats did well without key starters...and that they might be getting Gronk back...and that they're at home...yeah.

Saints vs Giants: I like the Giants better at home with Eli and...ugh, OBJ (I don't like him, but I admit that he's good).

Bengals vs Steelers: Could really go either way given just who we're talking about here, but Steelers have the advantage with how good that offense is and being at home, and even though Bell is not back yet and Bryant won't be back, Wheaton has a good chance of returning. Hopefully the defense will start making good on their claim that they'll be better this season.

Cowboys vs Redskins: Considering what I watched of the Redskins on Monday...Cousins is lolbad. I saw some of the Giants and Cowboys game too, and Dak Prescott is pretty good.

Buccaneers vs Cardinals: Cardinals still look strong, even with old-timers Fitzgerald and Palmer.

Seahawks vs Rams: Poor Rams... It's hard for me to take them seriously right now. And the Seahawks are still pretty good.

Colts vs Broncos: Hmm... I think I'll say the home team because it's the home team and it's the Broncos with that defense of theirs. I think I might watch it if it's on TV, because I'll like me a good battle of horses!

Falcons vs Raiders: Falcons just looked bad and the Raiders look good. Yeah, the Raiders have looked good the past season or two! Can't believe that's happened.

Jaguars vs Chargers: Jaguars put up a mean fight against a real contender. I have to pick them for now. Oh yeah, the Chargers lost Keenan Allen too, which could hurt.

Packers vs Vikings: I think I like Rodgers going up against a Bridgewater-less Vikings squad.

Eagles vs Bears: Neither of these teams are that good to me, but I think the Eagles are a little better.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Anacybele

[Life]

Watching the first quarter of that Bills/Ravens game was painful. Didn't see the rest but here's my dad's analysis.

[9/12, 11:13 PM] Dad (Cell): I watched the game yesterday. Again this season no discipline. Taking t/o at 3rd and 16 when u are behind is ridiculous. No real desire and attitude to win. We were the better team w/o proper strategy

[9/12, 11:17 PM] Dad (Cell): We were actually quite good on defence apart from being torched on the Td. On offence there was no imagination. Throwing the ball out on the flat to shady. We need to get more smarter plays into our offence. They just smothered Tyrod who had no time. I thought we were actually good. Bad game plan.

Feel free to disagree, Raven. Didn't watch the game.

[-Cynthia-]

On Bengals/Steelers, I also think that the Bengals not having Eifert long term is going to be a bigger problem than the Steelers not having Bell. Granted, AJ Green got like 180? yards week 1 so I could be wrong about this.

[Anacybele]

Oh yeah, the Steelers are fine without Bell so long as they got our man De-Lo in the backfield. ^^

He did just run against arguably the worst run D in the league, but DeAngelo Williams did good against some better defenses last season too! And even if the Redskins' run D is really bad, that slick move he pulled on the two defenders to get a 15-yard rushing TD was just that, SLICK.

Oh yeah, and on another topic, Coby Fleener looks like John Smith from Disney's Pocahontas. lol seriously! He looks JUST like him! XD

The resemblance is so funny! lol

Edited September 15, 2016 by Anacybele

[Jiac]

You have to consider how well Melvin Gordon is running lately with the Chargers.

I don't doubt that we'll run a more run-based offense.

BUT I STILL MISS KEENAN. HE CAN TAKE MY ACL, I DON'T GIVE A FUCK. I'M CRYING FROM IT STILL.

[Lord Raven]

Feel free to disagree, Raven. Didn't watch the game.

We scored three times or so in 6 possessions (I forget the exact thing) and our 6th possession was a kneel down. The reason the defense started doing well is because Flacco lost his mobility in the second half, because I saw some nice throwing lanes. We also had a good drive ruined by an early snap leading to a fumble.

I don't want to say the Bills got eviscerated, but their whole offense was putrid or our defense was amazing. Bills defense was nothing special, despite allowing only 13 points (we had generally good TOP if I'm recalling right, and our run game was doing some work, just couldn't score in the red zone), but they weren't bad either.

[Life]

We scored three times or so in 6 possessions (I forget the exact thing) and our 6th possession was a kneel down. The reason the defense started doing well is because Flacco lost his mobility in the second half, because I saw some nice throwing lanes. We also had a good drive ruined by an early snap leading to a fumble.

I don't want to say the Bills got eviscerated, but their whole offense was putrid or our defense was amazing. Bills defense was nothing special, despite allowing only 13 points (we had generally good TOP if I'm recalling right, and our run game was doing some work, just couldn't score in the red zone), but they weren't bad either.

I'll watch that game at a later stage.

I'm so not excited for this game and yet, I'm trudging out to the bar at 3 AM to watch. Remember when I said that I feel like the Bills have hit their ceiling? This game will either prove me 100% correct or I'll see a team that I can be proud of.

[Anacybele]

I wonder if Flacco is still not 100% after the ACL tear last season? It would make sense to me. And that would also stink for the guy.

[Lord Raven]

Was remembering wrong; it was 9 possessions. One ended on a fumble around midfield, one ended with the half, one ended with a kneel down, and one was a turnover on downs (4th and 1 and fsr we passed; refs missed a holding, but this is nothing new). Three scoring drives and three punts aside from that. Ravens had 32:53 TOP.

So I wasn't entirely wrong, but... our offense looked rustier than the Bills defense looked fierce. Flacco had some open lanes that he could've stepped into or run through but didn't take them, which caused a few drives to stall. Keeping in mind that basically our entire offense except our OL didn't play in the preseason, still put up like 308 offensive yards.

EDIT: I think it's worth pointing out that LeSean McCoy was some shit when they tried to make him rush. He would bounce around for some yards and we'd completely stuff him a few yards behind the line. Granted, that's his style, but I really kept hoping they'd feed him the ball some more.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

Hey, passing on 4th and 1 can be a good idea! Most defenses would probably expect a QB sneak or RB sneak, and I think that's just what the Redskins thought the Steelers would do on those two instances that Tomlin decided to have the guys go for it on 4th & 1. But one ended up being a Ben to AB TD and the second was a fairly big pass to Eli Rogers. The Skins are supposed to have good CBs too. It's more about surprising the D and being unpredictable, really.

Granted, when you have a squad like the Steelers offense, this stuff probably isn't all that risky lol, but it can work even with guys who don't have much experience. Eli Rogers is a rookie who was playing his very first official NFL game for crying out loud.

Still, it was ballsy even for this group and it was awesome. XD

Also, apparently Ben is so magical now that he can take only a split second to pass to a still-practically-a-rookie-WR (Sammie Coates) in tight coverage after the snap was botched. That was hilariously awesome too. lol

Edited September 16, 2016 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

I mean we would've made it but our receiver was held before the reception so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I mean we've passed it deep on 4th and 6 before (thanks to Gary Kubiak's gigantic fucking testicles) which was the coolest shit ever. But our interior is amazing; Marshal Yanda is by far the best interior lineman in the entire sport. I would only feel hesitant cause Flacco may lack the burst since he's still technically getting used to things after his ACL/MCL tear, but...

[Anacybele]

Ohhh. Yeah, that sucks then. :/ I do wish penalities like that would get called *cough*like Richard Sherman shoving AB to the turf to intercept Ben*cough*

Can't blame you there, that kind of play would be super cool!

And yeah, it'll take time for Flacco to get fully up to speed (heh heh pun intended). It's difficult enough to recover completely from just an ACL tear or just an MCL tear. It has to be even worse trying to get over having had both at the same time.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Anacybele

[-Cynthia-]

You have to consider how well Melvin Gordon is running lately with the Chargers.

I don't doubt that we'll run a more run-based offense.

BUT I STILL MISS KEENAN. HE CAN TAKE MY ACL, I DON'T GIVE A FUCK. I'M CRYING FROM IT STILL.

1 game is a pretty small sample- could be more of a reflection on the Chiefs. Gordon was pretty bad last year.

[Life]

I'm salty.

C'mon, let me be proud of my team for once.

[-Cynthia-]

Well, i got the winner right but the game didn't go how I expected at all. The Bills offense seemed fine, but they gave up 374 yards to Fitzpatrick? Rex's job might be in jeopardy soon.

[Life]

All I can say about the defenze is that even in very good coverage, fucking Fitzpatricj torched us.

[Anacybele]

Huh, but instead of firing Rex Ryan, the Bills fired their OC. Interesting, if their offense really was just fine.

[-Cynthia-]

Huh, but instead of firing Rex Ryan, the Bills fired their OC. Interesting, if their offense really was just fine.

Upon further review, the offense had issues even when scoring 31 points. 21 of those points came from a defensive score and two big plays (which are less sustainable than drives). Even firing a coordinator week 2 is really early though, probably setting the stage for the Ryans to depart.