NFL Post-Superbowl L : Wheeling Off Into the Sunset

[Jack Bauer 24]

24 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

I still gotta laugh at Peyton Manning leaving the NFL the way he lived in the NFL: shilling Budweiser and hugging Papa John. I'd like to believe he was trolling America or making fun of himself but sadly we know it's more a case of there never not being a right time to cash a 7 figure check for the ol' sheriff. 

Woulda been nice to have one raw, unscripted, emotional moment to celebrate a legendary career and inevitable retirement. Just glad we could get that from brother Elisha instead:

I still don't know what in the world Eli is thinking here.

[Reny of Storms End]

1 hour ago, Jack Bauer 24 said:

I still don't know what in the world Eli is thinking here.

That's the face of a younger brother watching his one victory, if you will, over his older brother disappear. 

[Leofric]

If you watch Eli's eyes he wasn't even watching the game, it looked like he was sneaking a look at something off to the side.   So he didn't know why everyone was cheering and looked like he was worried he may have gotten caught doing something wrong.

 

Not sure if he looking down someone's blouse or reading someone else's texts.

[Independent George]

Have you ever watched Eli during a game? Same damned expression, all the time.

[Astromech]

I had the same expression when my parents made me go to my brother's football game.

[Jaime L]

14 minutes ago, Independent George said:

Have you ever watched Eli during a game? Same damned expression, all the time.

Well right up until it becomes winning time. Then he gets his game face on

[Jace, Extat]

He's like Bill Belichick's Kenneth the Page.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

3 hours ago, Jaime L said:

 

 That feel you get when you realize that the Westeros NFL thread is about to die until next season...

[Howdyphillip]

13 hours ago, Maithanet said:

So Carolina had some success with misdirection, but it became obvious that "Denver wouldn't allow it"?  What exactly was Denver allowing that game?  Because Carolina instead switched to a drop back and throw offense, which Denver was VERY comfortable defending, and Carolina isn't particularly good at.  If I'm a 15-1 team and my defense is playing well, I'd stick with my bread and butter - the misdirection running attack that was notably absent in the second half.

Well, then you would get killed worse than the Panthers were yesterday. You just can't call plays that take 4-6 seconds to develop when the D line is breathing down your neck in 2. 

 You also can't call misdirection plays when the defense has a spy set up on the QB. The only chance that Carolina was going to get its offense running was to drop back and get the ball out of Cam's hand quickly.

 

10 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

 That feel you get when you realize that the Westeros NFL thread is about to die until next season...

What is dead may never die but rises again harder and stronger.

[Jace, Extat]

57 minutes ago, Howdyphillip said:

What is dead may never die but rises again harder and stronger.

Whoever said that never saw Peyton Manning throw an out route.

[DireWolfSpirit]

NFL announces it will no longer allow players convicted of sexual assault or domestic violence to participate in NFL draft Combines. It's way past due !

Dont have the link for that story but i'm sure it will be trending today.

Manziels father afraid if Johnny doesnt get treatment he wont make it to his 24fh birthday. His ex is afraid that he will make to his 24th birthday as she files for restraining order and tries to recover from a caved in skull. This fucker just needs to be finished already.

[dbunting]

I had the feeling last week that the police were just saying that the investigation was closed and no charges etc.. That they were doing this to get Manziel to come out of hiding. Looks to be pretty accurate since she has some pretty serious injuries. If this is all true then the guy needs to be doing some real jail time for this. Jail will also dry him out from whatever substances he is abusing.

[dbunting]

1 hour ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

NFL announces it will no longer allow players convicted of sexual assault or domestic violence to participate in NFL draft Combines. It's way past due!

 

If this is true I don't know how I feel about it. Is it that they just can't participate in combines but can still be drafted? If so, then why because that seems like a PR move and not anything substantive?

If they can't get drafted but can come in as free agents, that's even worse because certain NFL owners will not sign these type of players while others will and it could cause issues because some teams could load up on cheap talent with incentive laden contracts.

Also. And I am sure I will get ripped for this. If I was in college and NFL caliber talent, and I was at a party with a girlfriend and things got heated, people see us arguing and say she pushes me or hits me, then I grab her arm to stop her and leave bruises. In some states I would be arrested for domestic violence. Is that scenario really a reason to keep me from being gainfully employed? To change the outcome of my life? 

If they are serious about this it can't be black and white. There would need to be a type of review board who digs into it and decides the punishment. Say 3-4 NFL reps and 3-4 Player reps. Majority decision stands.

I mean, I have never heard of a Ford employee being fired and not being allowed to work at any other auto manufacturer due to a DUI or domestic violence charge. Cops, lawyers, doctors, teachers, writers, actors, all walks of have people who break the law and they don't lose their ability to be gainfully employed in their profession forever as a result. Slippery slope

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

(Nationwide jingle)

"My forehead is the smoking gun"

[DanteGabriel]

So yeah, I'm going to post my Super Bowl thoughts 36 hours after they are relevant. Had to watch the game on delay due to various factors, and then I didn't really have time to catch up with the thread.

First, congratulations to the Broncos and especially their defense. A well-deserved win. Even if a lot of people thought they weren't the best team going into the game, they certainly outplayed and outcoached the Panthers. All game I kept waiting for the Panthers to string together enough plays to get that critical touchdown, but it never materialized, due to the Broncos' suffocating defense and their own horrible mistakes. In retrospect it actually makes the Patriots' loss a little more bearable -- what offense could do well against that defense? Somewhere, I am sure,  Marcus Cannon was watching that game, pointing at the screen, and shouting, "See? I'm not as bad as I looked in the AFC Championship!" (But you are still pretty bad and I hope the Pats never have to start you again.)

Second, Cam Newton may be a very emotional player and all that, but he needs to learn that an elite quarterback who is the best and most visible player on a contending team needs to be spotless in his public appearances. The reactions to him are worse because of racism, but he needs to be bulletproof if he really wants to be The Guy. I mean, Tom Brady is unfailingly polished and professional in his press conferences and... wait, they fucking booed him at the MVP lineup. Fuck them, Cam. You do you.

Third, there was some terrible fucking officiating in that game and it really affected the game. Most egregious was the bobbled Cotchery catch that looked like a catch to anyone with a pair of neurons to rub together, but was still somehow ruled Not a Catch. Remember that play happened right before the strip-sack that got Denver their first touchdown. If the refs had ruled that correctly, the line of scrimmage is well away from the end zone and even a strip-sack maybe leads to a field goal at most. It really seemed to me like officiating was stacked against the Panthers most of the game, including Talib's grabbing a receiver's arm in the red zone while the ball was in the air.

Fourth, the Beyonce-Bruno Mars portion of the halftime show was as good as I've ever seen for a Super Bowl halftime show. A pity Coldplay had to be there at all. When Beyonce, Chris Martin, and Bruno Mars were parading down the stage together, Mrs. Gabriel and I looked at each other and both said some variant of "One of these things is not like the others..."

Last (at least for now), fuck Peyton Manning. I will puke if people look at this as some kind of crowning jewel in his career instead of a shameful sub-Dilfering that happened to be paired with some of the greatest individual defensive performances in the history of the Super Bowl. Fuck him for his Papa John kiss and the grotesque Budweiser endorsement. Was he hurting for cash?  Does the Guyer Institute charge that much for HGH? I'm told he earned an extra $4 million this season, for winning the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl. He should send those checks directly to his defense. I hope his Papa John's franchises are the next ground zero for a norovirus outbreak. In closing, take it away, Drew Magary.

[Jaime L]

23 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

Third, there was some terrible fucking officiating in that game and it really affected the game. Most egregious was the bobbled Cotchery catch that looked like a catch to anyone with a pair of neurons to rub together, but was still somehow ruled Not a Catch. Remember that play happened right before the strip-sack that got Denver their first touchdown. If the refs had ruled that correctly, the line of scrimmage is well away from the end zone and even a strip-sack maybe leads to a field goal at most. It really seemed to me like officiating was stacked against the Panthers most of the game, including Talib's grabbing a receiver's arm in the red zone while the ball was in the air.

Fourth, the Beyonce-Bruno Mars portion of the halftime show was as good as I've ever seen for a Super Bowl halftime show. A pity Coldplay had to be there at all. When Beyonce, Chris Martin, and Bruno Mars were parading down the stage together, Mrs. Gabriel and I looked at each other and both said some variant of "One of these things is not like the others..."

Yeah, the officiating was really bad. On the Cotchery play, it was clear he caught it, but Mike Carey weighed in that it was a catch so I believe that actually overrides the call on the field and they're forced to go the other way.

But the other irritating thing about the reffing was Clete Blakeman was pulling a mini-Hochuli seemingly in this need to make the game about him. The fact I even know his name is part of the problem. Got irritated when he kept showing up on my screen in a game that's already 4 hours long. Hell, he even felt a need to call penalty with 10 seconds left when the game was clearly over. You could tell he was gunning for this. 

Anyway, completely agreed on the Halftime show. Coldplay was a vampiric presence of the otherwise Beyonce/Bruno Mars awesomeness. Honestly, I'd be fine making Bruno Mars the Superbowl halftime act in perpetuity. He performed 2 years ago...but did anyone have a problem with him being brought back? Anyone at all? 

 

[sperry]

3 hours ago, dbunting said:

If this is true I don't know how I feel about it. Is it that they just can't participate in combines but can still be drafted? If so, then why because that seems like a PR move and not anything substantive?

If they can't get drafted but can come in as free agents, that's even worse because certain NFL owners will not sign these type of players while others will and it could cause issues because some teams could load up on cheap talent with incentive laden contracts.

Also. And I am sure I will get ripped for this. If I was in college and NFL caliber talent, and I was at a party with a girlfriend and things got heated, people see us arguing and say she pushes me or hits me, then I grab her arm to stop her and leave bruises. In some states I would be arrested for domestic violence. Is that scenario really a reason to keep me from being gainfully employed? To change the outcome of my life? 

If they are serious about this it can't be black and white. There would need to be a type of review board who digs into it and decides the punishment. Say 3-4 NFL reps and 3-4 Player reps. Majority decision stands.

I mean, I have never heard of a Ford employee being fired and not being allowed to work at any other auto manufacturer due to a DUI or domestic violence charge. Cops, lawyers, doctors, teachers, writers, actors, all walks of have people who break the law and they don't lose their ability to be gainfully employed in their profession forever as a result. Slippery slope

 

Not letting them attend the draft or combine is just a PR stunt designed to protect them from having reporters show up if someone truly horrible is a big time prospect.

 

The sexual assault thing seems like it will never come into play, because if you are actually convicted of sexual assault (the rule requires a conviction not an accusation), you're going to be in jail, not at the combine.

 

The domestic abuse thing is odd too. Is "domestic abuse" an actual crime?  Obviously most of the acts that would be classified as domestic abuse are criminal offenses, but will Johnny Doucheball be arrested for "Domestic battery" or just "battery"?

[Mexal]

Just now, Jaime L said:

Yeah, the officiating was really bad. On the Cotchery play, it was clear he caught it, but Mike Carey weighed in that it was a catch so I believe that actually overrides the call on the field and they're forced to go the other way.

But the other irritating thing about the reffing was Clete Blakeman was pulling a mini-Hochuli seemingly in this need to make the game about him. Got irritated when he kept showing up on my screen in a game that's already 4 hours long. Hell, he even felt a need to call penalty with 10 seconds left when the game was clearly over. You could tell he was gunning for this. 

Anyway, completely agreed on the Halftime show. Coldplay was a vampiric presence of the otherwise Beyonce/Bruno Mars awesomeness. Honestly, I'd be fine making Bruno Mars the Superbowl halftime act in perpetuity. He performed 2 years ago...but did anyone have a problem with him being brought back? Anyone at all? 

Didn't Beyonce perform 3 years ago? They're great.

As for the Cotchery non-catch, the reason it wasn't called was because the ball moved when the tip hit the ground. Yes, that's a catch to anyone who watches the game but with today's rules of "what is a catch, what isn't a catch", I'm not at all surprised they stuck with the call on the field. 

Finally, Clete Blakeman is as bad as Hochuli, always has been. He takes 9 hours under the hood, longest of any official.

 

 

[sperry]

I liked Beyonce a few years ago when she headlined the show, but I thought she was kind of meh this time.  Coldplay was terrible, Bruno Mars was great.

 

It also really hurts that the game is outside in daylight, as that takes away a lot from the performance. There's a reason all these artist perform in dark arenas when they are on tour.

[Maithanet]

14 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

Yeah, the officiating was really bad. On the Cotchery play, it was clear he caught it, but Mike Carey weighed in that it was a catch so I believe that actually overrides the call on the field and they're forced to go the other way.But the other irritating thing about the reffing was Clete Blakeman was pulling a mini-Hochuli seemingly in this need to make the game about him. The fact I even know his name is part of the problem. Got irritated when he kept showing up on my screen in a game that's already 4 hours long. Hell, he even felt a need to call penalty with 10 seconds left when the game was clearly over. You could tell he was gunning for this. 

I agree with Mex, according to recent NFL officiating, I thought it was obviously incomplete.  When Carey said catch, I was certain. 

I thought the officiating on the whole was ok, but I did think it was ridiculous to call that hold in the end zone to give Denver a first down late.  Corners were mugging receivers all game, and nary a call was made, why change at that moment, to seal Denver's win?

Quote

Anyway, completely agreed on the Halftime show. Coldplay was a vampiric presence of the otherwise Beyonce/Bruno Mars awesomeness. Honestly, I'd be fine making Bruno Mars the Superbowl halftime act in perpetuity. He performed 2 years ago...but did anyone have a problem with him being brought back? Anyone at all? 

 

I feel like a fifteen minute Beyonce/Bruno Mars dance-off is more or less as good as halftime entertainment can get.  For some reason the NFL decided we wanted only two minutes of that, interrupted by more Coldplay.