NFL 2012

[Trippy]

So why does everyone hate the Patriots anyway? Is it 'cause Brady is so dreamy?

Brady is a "local" boy so I like him, though I don't want him to get another ring cause three is enough for him (only Montana and Bradshaw get to have 4).

My dislike is all about Bill Belichick. That guy is a cheater, a bully, and a sore loser.

[JWIV]

There's a whole laundry list of reasons, people pick and choose from them in their own personal way.

1) They win too much and too often, so people tend to hate the frontrunner.
2) Belichek comes across as extremely unlikeable, and there's a side dish of people who think his informal dress is somehow inappropriate.
3) They're a New England sports team, and that makes them very hateable, especially because of their success around the same time as the Red Sox Series wins in 2004 and 2007, the Celtics in 2008, the Bruins in 2011, etc. New England people got very insufferable about their sports teams during that run of things going so well for them. (We could be next in San Francisco!)
4) Various flavors of Tom Brady hair hate/hot wife jealousy/whatever/etc.
5) Brady threatens to ruin the game by tying Joe Montana's number of Super Bowl wins, which is a sacrosanct record that must not be sullied. (OK maybe that one is just me.)

You can also add Brady and his incessant whining and getting his way over flags every time someone says something mean about him on the field.  Which is stupid - Brady is an absolute fantastic quarterback, so all the whining and playacting he does is just stupid.

[K9]

That guy is a cheater, a bully, and a sore loser.

I'd say that would sum up a lot of NFL coaches though. Other than Joe Philbin, I can't think of a coach who I'd imagine would be good company.

[Paelos]

Brady's awesome. Hate wasted on him is almost entirely jealousy instead of anything specific. I mean you can "hate" him in the same way I "hated" Spurrier as a Georgia fan, but I respect the fuck out of his talent.

Belicheat is an entirely different story. Shannon Sharpe put it best after he turned down a sideline interview because they lost. He makes it easy to hate the Patriots. Not only did he get busted cheating (and has since never won - signed, Football Gods), he goes out of his way to look disheveled on the sidelines, goes out of his way to treat everyone not on the team with total disdain, and he goes out of his way to do the bare minimum amount of press required by the league.

Compare him to a guy like Chuck Pagano (embraced the fans and the press with his story), Carroll (who's a cheat but still likable), Mike Smith (who's boring as fuck but a nice guy), and you get a juxtaposition of other playoff coaches who aren't douchenozzles in all facets except X's and O's.

[slog]

Brady's awesome. Hate wasted on him is almost entirely jealousy instead of anything specific. I mean you can "hate" him in the same way I "hated" Spurrier as a Georgia fan, but I respect the fuck out of his talent.

Belicheat is an entirely different story. Shannon Sharpe put it best after he turned down a sideline interview because they lost. He makes it easy to hate the Patriots. Not only did he get busted cheating (and has since never won - signed, Football Gods), he goes out of his way to look disheveled on the sidelines, goes out of his way to treat everyone not on the team with total disdain, and he goes out of his way to do the bare minimum amount of press required by the league.

Compare him to a guy like Chuck Pagano (embraced the fans and the press with his story), Carroll (who's a cheat but still likable), Mike Smith (who's boring as fuck but a nice guy), and you get a juxtaposition of other playoff coaches who aren't douchenozzles in all facets except X's and O's.

What Shannon left out is that Bill never does Sideline interviews.  (And who cares?  They never say anything meaningful anyway).  Bellichek is hated because he doesn't play the media game by the unwritten rules.   

[Ingmar]

Eh, that's hardly the only reason.

[Nevermore]

Well, I hate the Patriots because I was born and raised in Miami and am a die-hard Dolphins fan.  Plus yes, Belichick himself is a colossal dick.  The sore loser part makes him especially dickish.

Brady is incredibly handsome yes, but to me he crosses over that weird line of being too handsome which makes him strangely less attractive.  And it's hard to overlook that bit of "You think we'll only score 17? Really?" arrogance, but he sure ate those words. 

[Sjofn]

Brady is incredibly handsome yes, but to me he crosses over that weird line of being too handsome which makes him strangely less attractive.  And it's hard to overlook that bit of "You think we'll only score 17? Really?" arrogance, but he sure ate those words. 

Yeah, I think that's the "surreal" part for me, especially when you compare him to. You know. Nearly every other football player ever. He is REALLY handsome and it's just ... way out of place or something. It's weird.

And yes, he had those words crammed right down his throat best season ever woooooo

[HaemishM]

After reviewing more of the stats, I think the most pertinent is the fact that the Eagles only managed to score an average of 1.9 fucking points in the first quarter of their games.

That's likely less than the number of fumbles in the first quarters of their games. 

[Shannow]

If you take Shannon Sharpes side on anything then you deserve to be laughed at.

Look it's simple, the Patriots win...a LOT. The only people that like that are Patriots fans. Just as it is with ANY sports team that wins a lot.
 Belichick is prickly with the media so of course that gets played up (and seriously who the fuck actually cares what he wears on the sidelines?).

[ghost]

The Pats are a lot like the Spurs in the NBA.  They are really, really good in the regular season because they execute well and play hard for their coach.  But when the playoffs come around they have a fatal flaw that gets exposed-  they really aren't as talented as many of their peers.  Sure, the Pats have Brady and some really wonderful players (Parker, Duncan) but they are aging and their defense stinks.  I think they're done unless they get lucky.  They need a serious defense upgrade over the offseason. 

[K9]

Their defense isn't amazing, but I'm not sure it's fair to say that it stinks. They were =9th overall in points allowed per game for the regular season, ahead of teams like the Packers, Giants, and Ravens. =5th for takeaways, and 5th in yards gained of picks.

[Paelos]

Their defense isn't amazing, but I'm not sure it's fair to say that it stinks. They were =9th overall in points allowed per game for the regular season, ahead of teams like the Packers, Giants, and Ravens. =5th for takeaways, and 5th in yards gained of picks.

Looking at the AFC East...oh look! It's the Patriots and 3 shitty teams without winning records. And they have the 3 and 4 worst teams in terms of scoring in the AFC. (1 and 2 are KC and Jax, Patriots played Jax). So honestly, they got to play 5 games right there against the absolute dogshit of the league. In the NFC, they pulled Arizona, who they lost to...lolwut, and the Cardinals were the worst scoring team in the NFC, and also (guess who) St. Louis at #3, who the Pats ALSO played. Almost half their games were against teams that couldn't score consistently on Savannah State.

When the Pats faced teams that made the playoffs, they were 3-3. They were also 0-2 against the two teams in the Super Bowl right now giving up an average of 36 points.

[ghost]

Their defense isn't amazing, but I'm not sure it's fair to say that it stinks. They were =9th overall in points allowed per game for the regular season, ahead of teams like the Packers, Giants, and Ravens. =5th for takeaways, and 5th in yards gained of picks.

It was shitty for the playoffs. 

[JWIV]

 


Edit by Trippy: Jesus Christ that GIF is larger than a video would've been (it's 21 MB).

[Zetleft]

Edit by Trippy: Jesus Christ that GIF is larger than a video would've been (it's 21 MB).

[Segoris]

At first I was like But then I was like 

[Paelos]

The only downside is that now we have to put up with 2 weeks off, and NFL still pretending the ProBowl matters. Good news is that Peyton and Brady are free now.  

[Bungee]

If anybody is going to talk about unlikeable coaches who are sore losers and just straight dicks- well, seems like that makes the perfect Superbowl matchup... God, I'm glad now I can't see the SB live this year...

[DevilsAdvocate25]

So why does everyone hate the Patriots anyway? Is it 'cause Brady is so dreamy?

My dislike is all about Bill Belichick. That guy is a cheater, a bully, and a sore loser.

Same here. I really had no opinion on the team until they got busted for cheating. You build a reputation as an elite team and win the big game and then its discovered that you cheated your way to it and, in my opinion, you should lose that reputation and respect. It's easy to make a decent team look elite when you already know what the other team is going to do and can gameplan for it.

[JWIV]

You guys are nuts.  I haven't been this excited for a Superbowl in years!   

Honestly, I'm shocked - the Ravens have been wildly inconsistent this year and I really viewed them winning the AFC North more a reflection as to how shit-tastic a conference it was (the Steelers got old fast, though if the Front Office doesn't fuck it up in the draft, Cleveland really may be on the rise) than them being actual contenders. To turn around and then basically make this the exorcism tour of Colts, Manning, Patriots made it all the more absurd. But I guess a lot can happen when you solidify your O-line, get healthy in the post season, and fire the most predictable and bland OC ever.

From a Baltimore sports perspective, it has been an absolutely insane year, and thank god we don't have basketball or hockey. Pitchers and catchers are reporting soon, and god do I need at least a little downtime away from sports.

[Hoax]

I love this super bowl.

I hate New England because of the fans. That's the only legit reason to hate most teams. Pat fans are only better than Eagles fans who were so fucking quiet this year it was delicious.

I love how people dislike the Harbaugh bros, fucking crazytalk again. Also Ray Lewis hate? Don't get me wrong all the god shit these days makes me really uncomfortable but if you can't respect him then you hate defense or something also he retired before it got too late. Good on him.

Compared to any super bowl involving the Atlanta Falcons who are arguably the most boring playoff team this year. Or one involving the fucking Patriots again. How the fuck are you guys complaining? I mean a Seahawks super bowl could have been fun (Carrol, Wilson, west coast, redemption for last time, crazy fans) but the Redskin's field made sure that was impossible. You guys couldn't have been pulling for Peyton and Elway could you? I don't get what you wanted. The only team more boring than the Falcons in the final 8 was arguably the Texans but Foster is kind of crazy in a fun way which is more than I can say about anyone on the Atlanta roster.

[HaemishM]

I was rooting for a Packers/Broncos Super Bowl personally, but then I am a Packers fan, and I've always liked Peyton Manning. I have marginal interest in San Fran because of how long they sucked, I would root for the Falcons because they are a Southern team and I liked the Texans because of their underdog status. The Ravens can eat a dick.

[Paelos]

You guys couldn't have been pulling for Peyton and Elway could you? I don't get what you wanted.

Good QB play? That's what I was rooting for. I always want one marquee QB against a good defense in the Superbowl. Strength v. Strength.

Having Brady in it means you get to watch Brady lose again. Having Peyton in it has the advantage of a QB coming back from being cast aside by his long time franchise. Having Rodgers in it would mean you'd have the statistically best QB in the NFC. Having RG3 in it would mean the first black QB to make the Super Bowl since McNabb in 2005.

As it stands there are no marquee players on either side. You have a mid-year rookie v. a milquetoast boring QB playing over his head. You have a #10 rusher in Frank Gore. You have no top 10 receivers. Nobody on either defense is in the top 20 in sacks. Nobody is in the top 10 in picks.

It's a boring matchup. It's so boring they are talking about the coaches and an old ass guy who is retiring.

[Trippy]

Nobody on either defense is in the top 20 in sacks.

[Tannhauser]

Rooted for Atlanta because they were the last southern team.  Boring?  The Falcons?  How many close games did they win?  You got yer Julio Jones, Roddy White, Turner and Matty Ice, WTF do you want, Steve Bartkowski to come back and blow his brains out at midfield?

I agree with the dancing monkey; boring matchup between two teams I loathe.  OK I respect the Niners, but the Ravens can fuck right off.

[Paelos]

Nobody on either defense is in the top 20 in sacks.

I forgot about Aldon Smith. Probably because he hasn't had a sack since two weeks before Christmas.

[Trippy]

True, he misses a healthy Justin Smith.

[Ingmar]

Also note on the black QB angle, Colin Kaepernick is as black as, say, our president.

[Hoax]

Rooted for Atlanta because they were the last southern team.  Boring?  The Falcons?  How many close games did they win?  You got yer Julio Jones, Roddy White, Turner and Matty Ice, WTF do you want, Steve Bartkowski to come back and blow his brains out at midfield?

I agree with the dancing monkey; boring matchup between two teams I loathe.  OK I respect the Niners, but the Ravens can fuck right off.

The Falcons were gifted a trip to the championship with a bye and getting a Seahawks team that proceeded to shoot their dick off and were down a huge player and they still should have won the game it felt like. A Falcons super bowl would have been awful. They are an awful southern dome team with no personality as far as I can tell and despite having talent they just have no team identity beyond they win close games somehow and nobody feels like they deserve it because they are bound to choke. Which they did.

If Paelos is complaining about not getting any top defensive talent in this super bowl I can only figure he's just full of shit. Which I already do so, not shocking at all.

[Paelos]

If Paelos is complaining about not getting any top defensive talent in this super bowl I can only figure he's just full of shit. Which I already do so, not shocking at all.

I complained about this Super Bowl having no marquee names on either side (especially at the offensive positions), other than an old ass linebacker who spouts random platitudes about how God favors him for some reason.

That's why it's turned into the storylines about the coaches, underdogs, QB change, blah blah blah. The NY Times blog sums up how they will beat these storylines to death. http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/the-dozen-overdone-super-bowl-story-lines/

[Shannow]

At times like this I find it convenient to remember that I was once a Niners fan.

Also the Ravens can lose for, if nothing else, screwing up everyone's Superbowl Challenge picks.

[Segoris]

It's slow and this is more interesting then the pro-bowl hangover and the other filler news. That said - whether you hate Brady and his team or not, the dude and his wife have a god damn moat!  While I am disappointed there is no mention of a drawbridge, sharks, and/or burning oil defense systems, this is still pretty sweet.

[Paelos]

Things just got interesting. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/baltimore-sports-blog/bal-ray-lewis-apparently-used-deer-antler-spray-to-help-fix-his-triceps-20130129,0,4888897.story?track=rss

[Trippy]

He should've used magnets instead.