2016 NFL THREAD - Super Bowl 51 - Patriots' Day: V - Screw Goodell

[Prog Snob]

I knew they would go far this year, but I also knew this would be their final stop.

[El Barto]

What was going on with Bob Kraft? I don't recall any speech impediments and that didn't seem like too much scotch up in the suite during the game.

[KevShmev]

NE absolutely destroyed Pittsburgh with the game plans.  Belichick showed again why he is the best coach ever, and it's not close.

[faizoff]

Did not expect these games to be so one sided. I thought the Steelers would make it competitive and it looked like they did in the beginning but Patriots gonna Patriots. This superbowl should be another shootout. Can't wait.

[King Postwhore]

What was going on with Bob Kraft? I don't recall any speech impediments and that didn't seem like too much scotch up in the suite during the game.

Bob has been slurring for a long time.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Come on Falcons. Please, for the love of all things football, win your first title so the Patriots don't win their fifth. I don't think my heart can handle another Patriots Super Bowl.

[Shooters1221]

NE absolutely destroyed Pittsburgh with the game plans.  Belichick showed again why he is the best coach ever, and it's not close.

Agreed. Horrible game plan for Steelers, especially defensively. Just plain out coached.

[Prog Snob]

I don't understand why they didn't use the same defensive game plan that they used when they beat them last time. 

[contest_sanity]

As an Atlanta sports fan jaded by years and years of false hopes, I will now finally allow myself to believe that the Falcons are actually good. It will be fascinating to see us square off against the genius of Belichick. Nobody has really been able to stop our offense, but if anyone can come up with a brilliant defensive scheme, it's him.
Oh yeah, and Brady's pretty good too. Although our defense has improved a lot over the season, and I think we are much better on that side of the ball than our overall numbers indicate. Should be a great game!

#RISE UP

ps -- if we lose, I will be taking like a year break from listening to Bill Simmons. His homerism is already a bit annoying; can't imagine what it's like when he's beaten your team for the championship.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

It's funny. 2 years ago, the NFC South was bashed as being the worst division in football. After sending a division champion with a losing record to the playoffs in 2014, they have sent teams to the next two Super Bowls. Funny how things can change.

[mikeyd23]

NE absolutely destroyed Pittsburgh with the game plans.  Belichick showed again why he is the best coach ever, and it's not close.

Agreed. Horrible game plan for Steelers, especially defensively. Just plain out coached.

Amen. Terrible, terrible job by all involved on the Steelers coaching staff, and a lot of the players didn't show up either. Credit to the Pats for not only being prepared with a much better game plan, but also executing that plan FAR better than Pit.

I had a couple things in mind before the game that I thought the Steelers would need to do/have happen in order to win.

- Bell having a monster game
- Ben play great, not good, but great
- The D needed to get a couple big splash plays throughout

So...Bell gets hurt, Ben plays OK but definitely not great, and the D doesn't show up 

[AngelBack]

As an Atlanta sports fan jaded by years and years of false hopes, I will now allow myself to believe that the Falcons are actually good. It will be fascinating to see us square off against the genius of Belichick. Nobody has really been able to stop our offense, but if anyone can come up with a brilliant defensive scheme, it's him.
Oh yeah, and Brady's pretty good too. Although our defense has improved a lot over the season, and I think we are much better on that side of the ball than our overall numbers indicate. Should be a great game!

#RISE UP

ps -- if we lose, I will be taking like a year break from listening to Bill Simmons. His homerism is already a bit annoying; can't imagine what it's like when he's beaten your team for the championship.

Yep, another long time Falcon fan here, but we have learned not to get our hopes up.  But this team really is different and Dan Quinn has certainly created a winning attitude in this team.  We are fast, we hit hard, quarterback at the top of his game.   A lot to feel good about.  Vegas has NE by 3.  That in itself says a lot.

[hefdaddy42]

As a Panthers fan, I have no love for Atlanta.  But they are certainly preferable to the dreaded Patriots, so that's who I'll root for in the Super Bowl.

Having said that, I really admire how the Patriots prepare.  Unbelievable.

One big difference that really stood out during that AFC game: NE doesn't miss tackles, and Pittsburgh does, a lot (as do most of the other teams in the league).

I don't think Brady will be able to play against Atlanta's D the same way that he did against Pittsburgh's, and I don't think NE's D will stifle Atlanta's offense the way that they do to others.  So my early pick is Atlanta.  Which means, of course, that the Patriots will hoist the Lombardi Trophy once more.

[Stadler]

What was going on with Bob Kraft? I don't recall any speech impediments and that didn't seem like too much scotch up in the suite during the game.

HAHA, he didn't get three words out and my wife says "He's bombed!"  Nance knew better and moved the conversation over to Belichick.    I've seen that before with him. 

[dparrott]

Come on Falcons. Please, for the love of all things football, win your first title so the Patriots don't win their fifth. I don't think my heart can handle another Patriots Super Bowl.

+1 Good for them.  First SB in 19 years! 

[Stadler]

Too early to make my pick yet - I usually wait for the "head" pick till about Wednesday of game week, but couple thoughts:

I don't think the Steelers had the manpower to play man-to-man consistently against the Pats and hope to stop all phases of that offense.  It's a VERY good offense, and honestly, it could have been worse (as good a game as Hogan had, he had two or three pretty easy drops, and Edelman dropped a gimme as well).   

It wasn't the difference in the game, because Williams is good, and a different runner, but having Bell out took Brown out of the game too, and that was the difference.   If you're relying on James (who played very well) and Hamilton to be your stars against the Pats, well, it's going to be a good day up in New England.   

As to next game, "Wade Phillips", that's all I'm gonna say.   

[King Postwhore]

I've got to say I feel spoiled. I'll never see a run like this ever again in my lifetime with a team I follow.

[cramx3]

I'm certainly not picking against the Pats, but I am rooting for Atlanta.

[Nick]

Well, this super bowl is good for me, rooting for both teams. I've never enjoyed the endless Patriots hate, since it's great coaching and great play that has gotten the franchise its deserved fame. I kinda root for them against all the bullshit that is hurled their way. That said, it's hard not to pull for Atlanta to win this year. I just hope it's a much closer game than either of the last games.

[mikeyd23]

I don't think the Steelers had the manpower to play man-to-man consistently against the Pats and hope to stop all phases of that offense.  It's a VERY good offense, and honestly, it could have been worse (as good a game as Hogan had, he had two or three pretty easy drops, and Edelman dropped a gimme as well).   

They probably would have struggled to play man-on-man, but gosh they really, really needed to try something different. Historically, Brady has picked apart the zone coverages the Steelers run. Dick Lebeau ran pretty consistent zone looks during his tenure and Keith Butler hasn't really changed them much, meaning they have been running the same or similar zone coverage against Brady and BB for the entirety of their (Brady and BB) time together. Brady toasted them on this and made the Pittsburgh coaching staff look like the did not prepare well, or were just to stubborn to move away from their comfort zone (no pun intended).

It wasn't the difference in the game, because Williams is good, and a different runner, but having Bell out took Brown out of the game too, and that was the difference.   If you're relying on James (who played very well) and Hamilton to be your stars against the Pats, well, it's going to be a good day up in New England.   

No question. As soon as Bell was out, they were able to focus even more so on Brown and the Steelers were pretty much done.

Also - dear lord Sammie Coates and Cobi Hamilton - catch a freaking ball! 

[Shooters1221]

I don't think the Steelers had the manpower to play man-to-man consistently against the Pats and hope to stop all phases of that offense.  It's a VERY good offense, and honestly, it could have been worse (as good a game as Hogan had, he had two or three pretty easy drops, and Edelman dropped a gimme as well).   

They probably would have struggled to play man-on-man, but gosh they really, really needed to try something different. Historically, Brady has picked apart the zone coverages the Steelers run. Dick Lebeau ran pretty consistent zone looks during his tenure and Keith Butler hasn't really changed them much, meaning they have been running the same or similar zone coverage against Brady and BB for the entirety of their (Brady and BB) time together. Brady toasted them on this and made the Pittsburgh coaching staff look like the did not prepare well, or were just to stubborn to move away from their comfort zone (no pun intended).

It wasn't the difference in the game, because Williams is good, and a different runner, but having Bell out took Brown out of the game too, and that was the difference.   If you're relying on James (who played very well) and Hamilton to be your stars against the Pats, well, it's going to be a good day up in New England.   

No question. As soon as Bell was out, they were able to focus even more so on Brown and the Steelers were pretty much done.

Also - dear lord Sammie Coates and Cobi Hamilton - catch a freaking ball! 

I kind of agree with all of this. The thing that always bothered me with Cowher was the approach of "they're gonna have beat us at our game" or "we're not changing what got us here"...it appears that Tomlin has that same approach and he really doesn't game plan for each opponent separately. Any Steeler fan that watched that game probably yelled at the TV after the 1st Pats drive to switch to man on D. It's the same story every time they play, there are always receivers with absolutely no one covering them, over,and over. They also needed to find a way to pressure Brady, they just didn't. This, in my mind, is a coaching issue rather than a player issue. If they would have deployed a similar game plan as Houston, or at least made some in game adjustments, it would have been more competitive. The offense was just average, yes, there were a few drops that shouldn't have been, but the Pats had there share of drops too, the kind of drops that would have really made the game a blow out earlier. Bell getting injured didn't help, I just don't think it would've mattered. They got outplayed and thoroughly out coached.

[axeman90210]

Well, this super bowl is good for me, rooting for both teams. I've never enjoyed the endless Patriots hate, since it's great coaching and great play that has gotten the franchise its deserved fame. I kinda root for them against all the bullshit that is hurled their way. That said, it's hard not to pull for Atlanta to win this year. I just hope it's a much closer game than either of the last games.

And the cheating, can't forget the cheating

Should be a good game (although I also thought that about the NFC game yesterday), I'll be really curious to see how the Falcons offense matches up against the Pats defense.

[mikeyd23]

I kind of agree with all of this. The thing that always bothered me with Cowher was the approach of "they're gonna have beat us at our game" or "we're not changing what got us here"...it appears that Tomlin has that same approach and he really doesn't game plan for each opponent separately. Any Steeler fan that watched that game probably yelled at the TV after the 1st Pats drive to switch to man on D. It's the same story every time they play, there are always receivers with absolutely no one covering them, over,and over. They also needed to find a way to pressure Brady, they just didn't. This, in my mind, is a coaching issue rather than a player issue. If they would have deployed a similar game plan as Houston, or at least made some in game adjustments, it would have been more competitive. The offense was just average, yes, there were a few drops that shouldn't have been, but the Pats had there share of drops too, the kind of drops that would have really made the game a blow out earlier. Bell getting injured didn't help, I just don't think it would've mattered. They got outplayed and thoroughly out coached.

Agreed. I was one of those Steeler fans yelling at my TV because it was clear from the start that Pittsburgh wasn't getting pressure and were playing soft zones. What struck me about the pass rush was that as soon as Brady started completing those Bradyish short yardage passes, they stopping trying to bring the inside LBs in on blitzes. Those inside LBs were dropping back to take zone coverage duties most of the time, that completely killed their pressure on Brady. Sure, people talk about outside LBs like Harrison getting pressure, but one of the Steelers strengths has always been leveraging inside guys in unique ways to pressure the QB. That didn't happen at all.

[Dublagent66]

I've got to say I feel spoiled. I'll never see a run like this ever again in my lifetime with a team I follow.

Don't rub it in King.   

Come on Falcons. Please, for the love of all things football, win your first title so the Patriots don't win their fifth. I don't think my heart can handle another Patriots Super Bowl.

Agreed.  Really tired of the Pats but I knew they would win at home.  ATL deserves to get their first SB win and I hope they do.


Just a few more notes on championship weekend.  Both games were a route by the winners.  Packers never showed up.  I believe if ATL had gone to Dallas, it would've been a much better game.  Steelers didn't really execute well and we all know that NE are masters at execution.  So, here we are.  2 weeks away from the big show.  Should be good.

[Skeever]

This has been the worst NFL postseason that I can remember.

Only an Atlanta win over the Pats can save it.

[Dream Team]

Yeah, so that happened.

Tomlin was exposed last night as the clueless cheerleader he is. Obviously no cohesive game plan, no strategy adjustments. Rush 3 and drop the rest into soft zone and hope for some drops was his and the DC's game plan I guess. Inexcusable. Do they not remember the 2011/2012 (forgot) game when they beat NE with tight man-to-man?

As far as offense goes, it was pretty much one-on-eleven. Secondary receivers were straight-up hands-of-stone trash. No running game, didn't matter that Bell was hurt. Haley completely incapable of a game plan that didn't rely on Bell getting 150+ yards.

Finally, I am so SO SICK of the gutless, spineless, sackless conservatism of NFL coaches. McCarthy was at it again, learned NOTHING from last year. Happy to keep punting on 4th and short despite the fact that A) you have Aaron Frickin Rodgers who can pass or scramble for 2 measly yards most of the time, and B) there was no stopping the ATL offense. "field position" doesn't mean JACK SHIT when the opponent is getting 10+ yards per play. Punt the ball to them, and 2 plays later they are back to the yard line you punted from. The worst example: after the 15-yd roughing penalty, GB kicked off from the 50 into the end zone anyway instead of trying an onside kick. If the onside kick fails, you lose maybe 15 yds of field position (the 25 after the touchback vs around the 40 probably). You need to maximize your possessions when you are going against the best (by far) offense in the league. Nope, McCarthy was happy to keep giving the ball back to them. In a do-or-die game, you have FOUR chances to get your 10 yards, not THREE. Incomprehensible concept to ultra-conservative, coach-to-not-be-second-guessed cowardice of most NFL coaches.

Tomlin was at it too: punted from the the NE 39 when already well behind. Gutless, spineless, sackless. "Hey guys, after this punt we''ll gain maybe 20 yards of field position. Great strategy, right? Brady can't possiby engineer a drive from back there can he?". The whole approach to the game was cowardly, try to "ease into it" with predictable running plays instead of attacking NE where they are weaker (pass defense was not nearly good as run defense).

Patriot fans: what's it like to have a capable coach at the helm? I wish I could remember the feeling. Congrats on a great game plan and execution.

Go Falcons; would be nice to see them finally win one.

[El Barto]

Tomlin's pretty awful. I liked when they asked him at the half what they needed to do better and his response was that it's only a 1 possession game and they just need to stick with the plan. One possession or not it was pretty obvious how things were going.

[mikeyd23]

Tomlin's pretty awful. I liked when they asked him at the half what they needed to do better and his response was that it's only a 1 possession game and they just need to stick with the plan. One possession or not it was pretty obvious how things were going.

  For sure. As soon as I saw they were going to talk to Tomlin I told my wife to prepare for the BS. We were not disappointed.

[Shooters1221]

Tomlin's pretty awful. I liked when they asked him at the half what they needed to do better and his response was that it's only a 1 possession game and they just need to stick with the plan. One possession or not it was pretty obvious how things were going.

Yes, what a great plan they had going, why not stick with it

[King Postwhore]

I want the Pats to win so I can see Goodell have to be right next to the team handing the Lombardi and the MVP trophies.

[El Barto]

I want the Pats to win so I can see Goodell have to be right next to the team handing the Lombardi and the MVP trophies.

If he shows. 

[Dublagent66]

Whatever he does, don't hand it to Bob Kraft.  He'll probably drop it. 

[King Postwhore]

 

Could you imagine?!

Whatever he does, don't hand it to Bob Kraft.  He'll probably drop it. 

Hand it to BB's girlfriend.  Did you see her?!  Hot damn!

[KevShmev]

It's funny. 2 years ago, the NFC South was bashed as being the worst division in football. After sending a division champion with a losing record to the playoffs in 2014, they have sent teams to the next two Super Bowls. Funny how things can change.

On the flip side, the NFC West was absolutely stellar 3-4 years ago, and is now back to being not very good.

As an Atlanta sports fan jaded by years and years of false hopes, I will now finally allow myself to believe that the Falcons are actually good. It will be fascinating to see us square off against the genius of Belichick. Nobody has really been able to stop our offense, but if anyone can come up with a brilliant defensive scheme, it's him.
Oh yeah, and Brady's pretty good too. Although our defense has improved a lot over the season, and I think we are much better on that side of the ball than our overall numbers indicate. Should be a great game!

#RISE UP

Good luck. I hope your team wins. 

Yeah, so that happened.

Tomlin was exposed last night as the clueless cheerleader he is. Obviously no cohesive game plan, no strategy adjustments. Rush 3 and drop the rest into soft zone and hope for some drops was his and the DC's game plan I guess. Inexcusable. Do they not remember the 2011/2012 (forgot) game when they beat NE with tight man-to-man?

As far as offense goes, it was pretty much one-on-eleven. Secondary receivers were straight-up hands-of-stone trash. No running game, didn't matter that Bell was hurt. Haley completely incapable of a game plan that didn't rely on Bell getting 150+ yards.

Finally, I am so SO SICK of the gutless, spineless, sackless conservatism of NFL coaches. McCarthy was at it again, learned NOTHING from last year. Happy to keep punting on 4th and short despite the fact that A) you have Aaron Frickin Rodgers who can pass or scramble for 2 measly yards most of the time, and B) there was no stopping the ATL offense. "field position" doesn't mean JACK SHIT when the opponent is getting 10+ yards per play. Punt the ball to them, and 2 plays later they are back to the yard line you punted from. The worst example: after the 15-yd roughing penalty, GB kicked off from the 50 into the end zone anyway instead of trying an onside kick. If the onside kick fails, you lose maybe 15 yds of field position (the 25 after the touchback vs around the 40 probably). You need to maximize your possessions when you are going against the best (by far) offense in the league. Nope, McCarthy was happy to keep giving the ball back to them. In a do-or-die game, you have FOUR chances to get your 10 yards, not THREE. Incomprehensible concept to ultra-conservative, coach-to-not-be-second-guessed cowardice of most NFL coaches.

Tomlin was at it too: punted from the the NE 39 when already well behind. Gutless, spineless, sackless. "Hey guys, after this punt we''ll gain maybe 20 yards of field position. Great strategy, right? Brady can't possiby engineer a drive from back there can he?". The whole approach to the game was cowardly, try to "ease into it" with predictable running plays instead of attacking NE where they are weaker (pass defense was not nearly good as run defense).

I agree with just about all of this.

Pittsburgh's game plan was staggeringly bad.  Tomlin is not a bad coach by any means, but his inability to adjust in game is glaring.

Regarding gutless coaches, yes!! I cannot remember when it was, but GB punted on a 4th and short when the game was still in reach, and I remember thinking, "go for it!"  It's not like they were stopping Atlanta on defense.

[DragonAttack]

Well, Patriot and Falcon fans....congratulations from a Raven fan.

And, savor this for the next to weeks, and to the victors, go the spoils.  Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_WgGpewMrs