NFL 2014

[Malakili]

Peyton Manning literally can't throw the football.

[01101010]

Peyton Manning literally can't throw the football.

Yeah, seriously believing this is it for him.

[sickrubik]

He want's to play another year. A couple of things to keep in mind. We had s early as you could with a Bye... and he's not a spring chicken. On top of that, Colts put a LOT of pressure on the receivers.

That's not to say that he hasn't dropped off. He has, but I think he still has another year in him.

[Chimpy]

So who will Denver have at QB if/when Manning retires at the end of the season?

Maybe they could trade to get Cutler back 

[WayAbvPar]

Colts are gonna get boatraced. Jesus.

Either their D adjusted or Peyton's expiration date arrived. They have definitely unfucked themselves. For now.

Giant fork sticking out of Peyton's neck region. He is done. Broncos are proper fucked next season.

Not sure who I would rather see in the Super Bowl, should the Seahawks find a way past Rodgers and the boys. Would love to kick the shit of Smuggy McUggBoots and his shithead coach, but the Colts would be an easier matchup.

[Tannhauser]

Sad the Donkos lost and I hope Peyton isn't finished, but his arm.  WTF was that?  It was terrible today.  The Colts played with a lot more skill and poise than I anticipated.  Good for them, though they might find tougher sledding in Foxboro.

[sickrubik]

What are you criticizing about his arm, just out of curiosity?

[Malakili]

What are you criticizing about his arm, just out of curiosity?

He could not throw the football with any zip or accuracy more than 5 yards down the field, is probably what he is referring to. 

[sickrubik]

Okay, just wanted some clarification. There's been a lot of weird talk about him not having the arm-strength even though he was over throwing his targets all night.

The accuracy issue is indeed frustrating.

[Malakili]

Okay, just wanted some clarification. There's been a lot of weird talk about him not having the arm-strength even though he was over throwing his targets all night.

The accuracy issue is indeed frustrating.

He was overthrowing people with floaty balls that, while down the field, didn't scream of arm strength.

[sickrubik]

I... Okay, I'm not sure how we would judge arm strength other than "he really threw that ball a long way!"

[Mithas]

Manning hasn't thrown a pretty ball for quite a while. That said, he appears to not have been himself the last half of the year.

[Malakili]

I... Okay, I'm not sure how we would judge arm strength other than "he really threw that ball a long way!"

 

[Nevermore]

I... Okay, I'm not sure how we would judge arm strength other than "he really threw that ball a long way!"

It's like every picther who manages to get the ball to the catcher is identical to every other pitcher who can manage the same feat! 

In other news, Brigadier General Luck has issued a statement. 

[HaemishM]

That is the right call according to the rules. He never controlled it through hitting the ground or made a move, which are the criteria.

And thus the problem.

I'm a Packers fan through and through. I love that they are in the championship game. But Dallas got so jobbed by the most fuckstupid rule in the NFL playbook. Absolutely jobbed. There should have been no doubt about that being a catch. NONE. That wasn't like the Calvin Johnson play where the ball came out and rolled away from Johnson at the end. Bryant bobbled the ball while on the ground... sure, but he regained control. Unfortunately, because the NFL is full of rules lawyering twats, a great catch that could have decided a game got turned into an incompletion that sure enough decided a game.

In the late game, Manning looked like utter dog shit. Granted, his receivers dropped a lot of passes they should have caught but Manning was SO inaccurate on a lot of his long throws, throws you'd expect him to make. What's worse is that the defense they built to SPECIFICALLY be tougher and stop the run, got absolutely run over late in the game by 2 backs from the practice squad. Luck gifts them two INT's and they turn them into nothing. Indy's defense stepped way the hell up. They are still going to get beat by New England but good on them for at least throwing a wrinkle into the proceedings.

New England over Indy
Seattle over Green Bay

[Paelos]

It's a dumb rule, but Dallas has a shitty defense, as I've said all year. They can't hope to go all the way giving up 24+ a game in the postseason. No team really can.

Your tears are delicious.

K

[Mithas]

New England over Indy
Seattle over Green Bay

Is it possible for a Super Bowl to end in a tie?

[Ozzu]

Cowboys fan here, so I can be discounted as a homer, but still..

He didn't make a football move with that ball? Reaching for the endzone is not a football move? After 3 steps? You can't physically REACH for the endzone unless you've caught the ball. That ain't why we lost, but my goodness, I sure would have liked to see what happened. Just brutal.

On another note, a play that's going to be etched in my mind for a LONG time is that camera view from behind Demarco Murray as he's looking at a hole big enough to drive a truck through and nothing but green all the way to the endzone....and fumble. Just a hell of a play by Peppers and a total cockpunch to our chances to put some distance between us and the Packers.

[Cyrrex]

Those three steps aren't what they mean by "football move".  Football move is like you catch the ball, take two or three steps while running (not while going to the ground)...and then if someone hits you and pops the ball loose, it is a fumble.  Or if it pops out before, it is incomplete. 

It is therefore not relevant in this situation.  The question is whether or not he controlled the ball through the catch while going to the ground.  He did not.  It is actually quite clear, even if we all feel that it is wrong somehow. 

[Ozzu]

Those three steps aren't what they mean by "football move".  Football move is like you catch the ball, take two or three steps while running (not while going to the ground)...and then if someone hits you and pops the ball loose, it is a fumble.  Or if it pops out before, it is incomplete. 

It is therefore not relevant in this situation.  The question is whether or not he controlled the ball through the catch while going to the ground.  He did not.  It is actually quite clear, even if we all feel that it is wrong somehow. 

This article sums up why it just confuses the hell out of me. The former head of officiating says that while reaching with the ball is considered a "football move", he basically didn't reach far enough to make it obvious.

http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-pereira-dez-bryant-reversal-2015-1

Again. This is not why Dallas lost this game. We blew a half dozen opportunities to really control this game. But that was a great throw and an amazing catch on a 4th down that within a couple of plays, would have given Dallas the lead. That was Lynn Swann stuff right there and it just *poofs* from history on that crappy rule. Yeah, I'm guessing with how the defense was playing, Rodgers is going to roll right down the field and retake the lead, but I really wish I could have at least seen that rather than this.

[kaid]

That is the right call according to the rules. He never controlled it through hitting the ground or made a move, which are the criteria.

And thus the problem.

I'm a Packers fan through and through. I love that they are in the championship game. But Dallas got so jobbed by the most fuckstupid rule in the NFL playbook. Absolutely jobbed. There should have been no doubt about that being a catch. NONE. That wasn't like the Calvin Johnson play where the ball came out and rolled away from Johnson at the end. Bryant bobbled the ball while on the ground... sure, but he regained control. Unfortunately, because the NFL is full of rules lawyering twats, a great catch that could have decided a game got turned into an incompletion that sure enough decided a game.

In the late game, Manning looked like utter dog shit. Granted, his receivers dropped a lot of passes they should have caught but Manning was SO inaccurate on a lot of his long throws, throws you'd expect him to make. What's worse is that the defense they built to SPECIFICALLY be tougher and stop the run, got absolutely run over late in the game by 2 backs from the practice squad. Luck gifts them two INT's and they turn them into nothing. Indy's defense stepped way the hell up. They are still going to get beat by New England but good on them for at least throwing a wrinkle into the proceedings.

New England over Indy
Seattle over Green Bay

I am not a big fan of the rule but it was the refs correctly applying the rule so its something for the rules committee to look at the refs called the play as they are instructed to do so. One thing to note him regaining control is not a part of this issue since the ball touched the ground. It was either complete before the ball came out or it was not anything that happened after the ball touched the ground and popped out does not matter call wise. This ruling has bitten a few people over the last few years you have to maintain possession of the ball when caught in the air and then do a "football move" If you land on the ground you must maintain possession of the ball. If the ball touches the ground in this motion you are okay as long as the ball does not move. If the ball moves or comes out its incomplete.

That said I  think in the end it may not have mattered we were driving pretty good in the last 3 minutes and had we needed to score instead of just eat the clock we likely could have and even a FG would have at least made us tie.

[Paelos]

I think the problem was the fact it was overruling a catch on the field.

If the call was incomplete fine. I'm just getting very tired of instant replay overrules that are based on subjective calls already made on the field.

Fumbles? Fine. Line calls? Fine. Replaying what is and isn't a catch at this point is starting to get really ridiculous. In my mind it better be damned obvious to go against a call on the field. That same principle was applied earlier on a catch by Green Bay, but not on Dallas.

And I get the rule. There's still room for interpreting that rule and letting it stand as called. I think letting it stand would have been 100x less controversial than the overturn.

I don't like what replay is becoming at the end of games. I think it's great for turnovers. I think it's okay for defining scores, although that's usually about camera angles. I really dislike trying to figure out who caught it, when it hit the ground, how much it moves, completely control, blah blah blah. It's too much. Or for spots. I think challenging spots in general is ridiculous. There are some egregious errors, and one was caught last night which even as a Cowboys fan I said Jason Witten didn't get close to there. But in general challenging spots is stupid.

[Mortriden]

Peyton Manning literally can't throw the football.

Peyton's throws were definitely NOT up to the expected level of performance.  We've all seen him make those throws down the sideline.  Yes, they are low percentage difficult throws, but in the past he's made them, every time.  Sunday was not that day.  I agree that he's done.  I don't think his body can take a full schedule any more.  The Broncos really need to look at keeping him another year.  What does the contract schedule look like for the rest of the Free Agents, and FFS shore up the O-line if you are going to put statue Peyton in the pocket; you cannot let pressure get to him and expect to win.

All that being said... That was some tremendously uninspired play by the receiving group.  Not only dropped passes, but sloppy zero effort route running, terrible blocking, no enthusiasm, just bad.  It looked like they just didn't care. 

[Paelos]

I think it's very hard for some people to say that Peyton's done as a Super Bowl contender after that performance, and the performances leading up to it in the second half of the year.

But in my mind, he's done. He can still play and get to the playoffs perhaps, but the defenses are too good in the playoffs and his athleticism is failing too fast for his mind to bail him out.

The time will come very soon for Brady as well. It's why the NFL is doing everything they can to dump their media blitz into Luck. They need that next generation of superstar QB, and let's be fair, most of the QBs drafted in the last 5 years have been awful. Besides Luck, look at this list of just first and second rounds since 2009:

Mark Sanchez, Josh Freeman, Matt Stafford, Pat White, Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick, RG3, Ryan Tannehill, Brandon Wheeden, Brock Osweiler, EJ Manuel, Geno Smith, Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garappolo.

I mean with the except of Cam and Stafford, and Russell Wilson who was taken in the 3rd round? That's straight trash. The QB position is in HUGE trouble in my mind going forward in the NFL if these teams can't get some decent talent into the game as these bigger names get past the mid-30s.

[01101010]

I fully believe that was Peyton's last hurrah. Looked highly reminiscent of Favre with the Vikings.

Reports are he had a torn quad... so yeah, his body is just not allowing for this long schedule anymore.

[sickrubik]

Everyone closer to the team (not the team itself) is disputing the "tear" characterization. Given that a sprain is still technically a tear, but the usage of "tear" it tends to be a full severance of muscle.

IF it is indeed worse, Broncos org needs to be fined.

I still think he plays one more year, but possibly only if Fox is gone. Which I think happens.

[HaemishM]

Why would they fire Fox? That seems... odd.

[sickrubik]

There's talk of being some friction between Elway and Fox, and some are talking about friction between Fox and Manning.

The frustration among the fanbase and the denver area sports analysts has mostly revolved around incredibly frustrating conservative play calling that tends to get the Broncos stuck in terrible situations. The coordinators are of course the ones that deserve the most blame, but at some point, Fox needs to get this shit corrected... and it's just not happening. It's generally regarded that Fox is perhaps too easy-going to force more aggression out of the players.

[Paelos]

I'd love them to fire Fox. The Falcons need a coach who understands how to make the playoffs again.

[sickrubik]

Hmmm.. a fired Broncos coach going to Atlanta... stranger things have happened! 

[Paelos]

Other than the Mike Smith stuff which yielded exactly one playoff win (despite all the "winning season!" bullshit you here) Dan Reeves created the most successful Falcons team of all time.

It could work again!

[shiznitz]

https://vine.co/v/ODmzxqFiKUd

For the ha-ha's

I think this vine makes it pretty clear he had control. He tucked his forearm under the ball.  Then the ball hit the ground just before breaking the plane of the endzone and popped loose.  I didn't want the Cowboys to win but I thought that was a great catch.

[Raguel]

https://vine.co/v/ODmzxqFiKUd

For the ha-ha's

I think this vine makes it pretty clear he had control. He tucked his forearm under the ball.  Then the ball hit the ground just before breaking the plane of the endzone and popped loose.  I didn't want the Cowboys to win but I thought that was a great catch.

From that video it's debatable that the ball hit the ground. I think another angle showed that it did hit the ground but watching it live it didn't look like it hit the ground at all.

Anyway I'm happy the Cowboys had a chance to win it with 5:00 min left to play in the game, and Romo didn't throw a pick. I wish he had taken less sacks and threw more incomplete passes though, especially that last one. He ended up losing 3 yards and the next play was 2 yards short of a 1st down. 

[sickrubik]

John Fox and Broncos part ways.

I wonder how fast he can move to Chicago.

[HaemishM]

Damn, that didn't take long.

And Bill hire Rex Ryan.

I wonder which QB he will go about destroying next - EJ Manuel, Kyle Orton or someone altogether new.