2017-18 NFL Thread (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

He's definitely unpredictable. No one will know his intentions until he decides to share them, and sharing info isn't his usual MO.

Both of his sons are coaches on the Patriots staff and his daughter is a coach at Holy Cross College in Massachusetts. So more "family" time wouldn't seem to be a factor in any retirement plans.

His kids are grown which is why I mentioned two of them either got married or are getting married this upcoming summer. I only mentioned them because maybe he thinks life has passed him by with his devotion to coaching. He's got a younger girlfriend, time to enjoy life outside of football or at least coaching football. It's a long shot, but one day he will walk away from coaching.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The documentary at the end, truly tells you what both Bill's think of the Jets. However, during the documentary you can tell that both of them have an affinity towards the Giants organization.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Half-time and the Pats have been outplayed and are trailing. Color me concerned.

 

[Malcolm R]

Not really a surprise. Pats often start flat and have to play catchup. And Philly is a good team.

 

[Johnny Angell]

And now I’m really concerned.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Well, crap.

 

[Patrick_S]

Congrats to the Eagles and their fans! The Eagles outplayed the Pats and they certainly deserve the win.

I read yesterday that a season MVP has not won the Super Bowl since 1999, that is just an amazing stat.

 

[Malcolm R]

Yep, Pats defense couldn't stop anything. Congrats to Philly and "Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles". Bet no one saw that coming back in August.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Not that it mattered in the end, but by the way the league has been ruling on catches for the last few years, that last Philly TD was not a catch. If it was, then the Steelers beat the Pats in their regular season game, 'cause the Jesse James TD that was overturned was almost identical. It's funny that the NFL revised their definition of a catch during the Super Bowl, just as the NHL ignored their old "in the crease" rule on Brett Hull's Stanley Cup winning goal for Dallas several years ago (that rule was changed before the next season). I guess this is how bad rules sometimes get changed.

Anyway, it was an entertaining game. Congrats to the Eagles, who had an excellent game plan and executed it very well.Nick Foles made some great passes. Philly certainly overcame the loss of QB Carson Wentz, which very few people thought was possible when he went down.

 

[Walter C]

Talk about a real nail-biter! Especially towards the end for this long-time Eagles fan. I was worried whether the Eagles would turn the ball over on their last drive, or that Brady will once again, pull off some magic. But it finally happened, the Eagles won the freaking Super Bowl. And about time, as I would finally get to see it happen in my lifetime. And doing it with Nick Foles, who did look shaky at first this season. And Doug Pedersen doing some gutsy playcalling.

Now I can rest a bit easy, as this does ease the pain from past playoff failures.

 

[bmasters9]

Talk about a real nail-biter! Especially towards the end for this long-time Eagles fan. I was worried whether the Eagles would turn the ball over on their last drive, or that Brady will once again, pull off some magic. But it finally happened, the Eagles won the freaking Super Bowl. And about time, as I would finally get to see it happen in my lifetime. And doing it with Nick Foles, who did look shaky at first this season. And Doug Pedersen doing some gutsy playcalling.

Now I can rest a bit easy, as this does ease the pain from past playoff failures.

Me likewise! This game broadcast from NBC (notwithstanding Cris Collinsworth seemed to be cheering on the Patriots at every turn) is going on a permanent disc for posterity (not only that, but the headline of the Eagles' big win [no matter what paper I get it from] is being kept to posterity as well).

 

[Scott Merryfield]

And Doug Pedersen doing some gutsy playcalling.

I thought Pedersen had a great offensive game plan. Most people probably expected the Eagles to mostly run the ball to try controlling the clock and keep the ball away from Brady, but they came out throwing at the start of the game. His only bad decision, IMO, was going for the two point conversion in the first half after they missed the extra point kick on their previous TD. You never chase the points that early in the game, and that decision almost came back to burn the Eagles.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Not that it mattered in the end, but by the way the league has been ruling on catches for the last few years, that last Philly TD was not a catch

I have to disagree. The receiver had established himself as a runner before he crossed the goal line. The other TD that was reviewed, that’s the one that was not a catch.

And I have to say again, the NFL has got to outlaw any helmet-to-helmet tackle. It’s dangerous as hell.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have to disagree. The receiver had established himself as a runner before he crossed the goal line. The other TD that was reviewed, that’s the one that was not a catch.

I bet that Jesse James, Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant (among others) would disagree. They all had similar TD catches overturned. I do agree that logically it should be a TD, but that's not how the NFL has been calling things the past few years.

BTW, the Super Bowl did finally settle that age-old debate of who's a better receiver -- Nick Foles or Tom Brady.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I bet that Jesse James, Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant (among others) would disagree. They all had similar TD catches overturned. I do agree that logically it should be a TD, but that's not how the NFL has been calling things the past few years.

BTW, the Super Bowl did finally settle that age-old debate of who's a better receiver -- Nick Foles or Tom Brady.

I could argue that Foley had the easier pass to catch, but that’s a nit.

I think the announcers talked about the inconsistency of the calls. Will the NFL ever have full time refs?

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I thought it was a good entertaining game and had a good time watching it. Foles played really well and the Patriots defense was not very good. Brady also made some bad throws and the Eagles through much of the game seemed to keep him a bit out of his comfort zone.

I think, for those that dislike the Patriots, we finally saw the end of the Brady/Belichick dynasty last night. Not that I don't think the Patriots will be competitive next season if Bill and Tom are still there but I think their road to the Super Bowl will not be as smooth...there are some bumps now and I don't know if they will overcome them. Plus, despite Brady claiming he will play to 45, I think he is nearing that cliff that all players eventually face. This combined with coaching turnover, a team that needs to upgrade at several positions, and likely some improvement by other teams around the league I think means Brady just played in his last Super Bowl.

So, unless Belichick finds a replacement QB, makes some great personnel moves, and his coaching staff changes are impressive...well...unlikely the Patriots will continue to make it look so easy. It was an awesome run though.

Good to see long suffering Eagles fans get a Super Bowl win. I think that is a great looking team and they did it last night with their starting QB on the sideline. Have to rate the Eagles going into next season as the class of the NFC.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I could argue that Foley had the easier pass to catch, but that’s a nit.

Yeah, but Foles ran his pattern better, too. Brady was slow getting out there. Those 40+ year old wheels don't move like they used to.

All kidding aside, it is amazing that Brady is still playing at the level he is at his age.

 

[Malcolm R]

I think the announcers talked about the inconsistency of the calls.

Al Riveron (VP of Officiating, who makes the final replay decisions) seemed to change the way he reviewed calls late in the season after so much controversy early. That just added to the confusion about catches, control, and "surviving the ground" as no one could depend on what he had ruled previously in similar situations since he had apparently changed his methods mid-stream and was using a different set of criteria later in the season and post-season.

Early in the season, I think both of those Eagles TD's would have been overturned. Later in the season, it was a toss-up. The group I was viewing the SB with included both Eagles and Pats fans, and everyone on both sides thought that last TD would be overturned.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I thought it was a good entertaining game and had a good time watching it. Foles played really well and the Patriots defense was not very good. Brady also made some bad throws and the Eagles through much of the game seemed to keep him a bit out of his comfort zone.

I think, for those that dislike the Patriots, we finally saw the end of the Brady/Belichick dynasty last night. Not that I don't think the Patriots will be competitive next season if Bill and Tom are still there but I think their road to the Super Bowl will not be as smooth...there are some bumps now and I don't know if they will overcome them. Plus, despite Brady claiming he will play to 45, I think he is nearing that cliff that all players eventually face. This combined with coaching turnover, a team that needs to upgrade at several positions, and likely some improvement by other teams around the league I think means Brady just played in his last Super Bowl.

So, unless Belichick finds a replacement QB, makes some great personnel moves, and his coaching staff changes are impressive...well...unlikely the Patriots will continue to make it look so easy. It was an awesome run though.

Good to see long suffering Eagles fans get a Super Bowl win. I think that is a great looking team and they did it last night with their starting QB on the sideline. Have to rate the Eagles going into next season as the class of the NFC.

I wouldn't count the Pats out just yet. They played the entire season without Julian Edelman, lost their only deep threat Brandon Cooks during the game, and still carved up a very good Philadelphia defense. New England plays in the weak AFC East, so their path to the playoffs is easier than most teams. The competition in the playoffs should be even tougher next season -- Houston gets back Watson and JJ Watt, maybe Cousins ends up in Denver or Jacksonville, the Steelers hopefully improve their defense, etc. -- but the Pats are not going away, either, as long as Belichick and Brady are there. You are right that Brady's play will fall off a cliff at some point, but there is no evidence that it's about to happen now.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I thought that last Philly TD was properly ruled a TD. When I first saw it I thought they would negate the TD but then watching the replay he got control of the ball for about 3 steps and dove over the goal line with the ball crossing the plane before he slammed to the ground and lost control of the football. So, to my eyes he controlled the ball long enough and became a runner so all he needed to do was get the ball to cross the plane...which he did.