NFL 2016 Season Thread

[Iron_Legion87]

I am embarrassed to be NFL fan today. I don't get how no one calls out the fact the refs asleep for good portions of game but all the sudden wake up when pats are in trouble. Not to say those weren't suppose to be flagged but there was a ton both sides that they let go.
Tom Brady should never be considered the greatest. Every super bowl is tainted by cheating. From tuck bowl to last nights refing taint so much beyond what they been caught cheating.

Yea I agree with this. I feel like the Refs kinda were rooting for the Pats ha ha .

[JBatmanFan05]

A looming showdown with Russia is at hand over a grand theft from the West...

(no, this doesn't belong in the political thread)



....the theft of Robert Kraft's 2005 Super Bowl 39 ring by Putin.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told FOX News on Sunday that he is hopeful his friend, new president Donald Trump, can assist him in getting back a Super Bowl ring that wound up on the hands of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The backstory: "In 2005, Patriots owner Robert Kraft joined several other American business leaders at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Putin left with Kraft’s Super Bowl ring. After questions arose about what happened, Kraft released a statement saying he had given Putin the ring as a present to show his respect for the people of Russia."

Robert Kraft hopes President Trump can get his Super Bowl ring back from Putin

[MRP]

I can not believe that the Falcons blew the game!!!! I mean they had it until freaking Matt Ryan took that sack in the 4th quarter taking the team out of field goal range which was the turning point that allowed New England to come back for the win. But it was still a very good game but man Matt Ryan should feel pretty crappy as I think he single handily lost his team the game. Why hold on to the football if you don't see anyone open? Just throw it away instead of standing there with it and get sacked......

Nah, the dude who held on the play before moving the Falcons from a chip shot field goal to being on the very edge of Bryant's range creating the need for Ryan to try to make a play and hang on to the ball too long to get sacked had a lot more to do with them not getting a field goal attempt on that drive than the sack itself. Dude doesn't hold negating a play that pretty much sealed the game and Ryan isn't in a position to take that sack on that play. Not to mention all the defensive holding penalties on 3rd down and long that the Falcons committed to keep Patriot drives alive that ended up in points where Atlanta should have gotten the ball back without the Pats chipping away at their lead.

If the Falcons are more disciplined and don't blatantly hold forcing the refs to make those calls all game long Matt Ryan is never in the position to take that sack needing a field goal to seal it. The sack was the icing on the cake that gave the Pats the chance to come back, but it's not Matt Ryan singlehandedly doing it, the whole team was baking that cake all game long and the sack was just the culmination of their lack of discipline the entire game. It was a bad play sure, but it was set up by a number of other bad plays all game long and Ryan (and the Falcons shouldn't have been in the position to be taken out of field goal range, or even needing a field goal there) was forced to try to do too much to compensate for all the earlier screw ups on that play and it cost them all.

-M

[BeastieRunner]

I am embarrassed to be NFL fan today. I don't get how no one calls out the fact the refs asleep for good portions of game but all the sudden wake up when pats are in trouble. Not to say those weren't suppose to be flagged but there was a ton both sides that they let go.
Tom Brady should never be considered the greatest. Every super bowl is tainted by cheating. From tuck bowl to last nights refing taint so much beyond what they been caught cheating.

Yea I agree with this. I feel like the Refs kinda were rooting for the Pats ha ha .

Not true in the slightest. Pats 4 penalties killed 3 scoring drives. Atlanta's 9 calls were all in the later part of the game when the wheels came off for them. They showed their youth with the off-sides, jumping, holding, and PI. The refs mad a lot of no calls late in the game (i.e. ATL WR's facemask with NE CB's PI) because they were offsetting.

The refs didn't decide the game in the slightest. Just because you didn't get what you wanted doesn't mean there was a problem.

Touchdown Tom and Darth Hoodie did what they do best; get in the other team's collective head. Just like the old school Madden and Snake Raiders.

[The Whovian]

The only award I disagree with is OROY: Zeke got robbed.

I love Zeke, but he did not get robbed. The QB position is the hardest to play and Dak did it extremely well this year as a 4th rd QB. He was magnificent. RB is the easiest to play.

Zeke had a great year too, but Dallas wouldn't have been 13-3 without Dak.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Not true in the slightest. Pats 4 penalties killed 3 scoring drives. Atlanta's 9 calls were all in the later part of the game when the wheels came off for them. They showed their youth with the off-sides, jumping, holding, and PI. The refs mad a lot of no calls late in the game (i.e. ATL WR's facemask with NE CB's PI) because they were offsetting.

The refs didn't decide the game in the slightest. Just because you didn't get what you wanted doesn't mean there was a problem.

Touchdown Tom and Darth Hoodie did what they do best; get in the other team's collective head. Just like the old school Madden and Snake Raiders.

Agreed. The Falcons were overcomed by the moment, and their lack of experience of the NFL's biggest stage, a kinder, gentler way of saying they choked. On the other hand, the Pats could've been down 30 and they STILL would've fought back to win, that's how confident they were, there was no sign of panic whatsoever, New England simply went about their business of doing what they do better than any team in the Super Bowl....win. Plain and simple.

[The Whovian]

The Patriots didn't win the SB, the Falcons lost it. Shanahan should have run the ball when they were in FG range. Even if he doesn't pick up the first down, you kick the FG and you're up 11 with about 3 minutes to play.

Having said that, and whether you like or hate Brady and the Pats, you have to tip your hats to them. They never gave up and kept fighting and won the game.

[BeastieRunner]

The Patriots didn't win the SB, the Falcons lost it. Shanahan should have run the ball when they were in FG range. Even if he doesn't pick up the first down, you kick the FG and you're up 11 with about 3 minutes to play.

Having said that, and whether you like or hate Brady and the Pats, you have to tip your hats to them. They never gave up and kept fighting and won the game.

[Gray Lensman]

One thing that should be mentioned more about the results is conditioning. Belichick had his team doing full pads practices before the Superbowl, and the new conditioning coach (last one was let go during the offseason) regularly had the players doing mini-marathon runs.

It's part of the reason the Pats were able to run the Falcons down in the second half. By the end of the game the ATL defense was exhausted.

For an amusing note, SB Nation presents the Bill Belichick Offseason Simulator.

This must be emphasized from the outset: The Bill Belichick Offseason Simulator is a tool, and not a toy. It does not exist to amuse you. It is meant to train prospective football coaches in the art and science of managing the travails of the offseason.

Any fun you may have, or amusement you may find, while piloting this simulator is purely accidental, and should be reported as a software bug.

I haven't actually played it, but the intro blurb is funny enough by itself.

[JBatmanFan05]

Belichick just enjoying the moment, basking in the abundance of joy over his 5th Pats SB win:

"As great as today feels ... we're five weeks behind the other teams for the 2017 season," Belichick said at a press conference Monday.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

The Patriots didn't win the SB, the Falcons lost it. Shanahan should have run the ball when they were in FG range. Even if he doesn't pick up the first down, you kick the FG and you're up 11 with about 3 minutes to play.

Having said that, and whether you like or hate Brady and the Pats, you have to tip your hats to them. They never gave up and kept fighting and won the game.

Shanahan wanted to get closer , it was a 39 yard FG. Not really a chip shot , and he wanted to get more yards and eat the clock. The big fault was that Ryan held the ball too long and ate a 10 yard sack. That was the big blow. Then they had a holding call which hurt.

[BeastieRunner]

Shanahan wanted to get closer , it was a 39 yard FG. Not really a chip shot , and he wanted to get more yards and eat the clock. The big fault was that Ryan held the ball too long and ate a 10 yard sack. That was the big blow. Then they had a holding call which hurt.

THAT is the play that broke Atlanta. The holding call was the coup de grace.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

THAT is the play that broke Atlanta. The holding call was the coup de grace.

If Ryan releases the ball , they run on 3rd and 13. To get 3-4 more yards and kick that FG. But given how they had been able to run so well , they get 5-7 yards more than likely and it chews so many seconds off.

[Surf]

Watchin' the replay on NFLN. The Falcons coaching staff really showed it's inexpierience much more than the players efforts. Grinding down the clock lies at the foot of the HC. The New England Patriots don't win this without the help of the Falcons.

Ryan did hold the ball too long as well, he clearly wasn't always finding guys and he took sacks which is inexcuseable. Relatively few flags thrown.

Gonna be a long off-season.

[KnockBlock]

I am embarrassed to be NFL fan today. I don't get how no one calls out the fact the refs asleep for good portions of game but all the sudden wake up when pats are in trouble. Not to say those weren't suppose to be flagged but there was a ton both sides that they let go.
Tom Brady should never be considered the greatest. Every super bowl is tainted by cheating. From tuck bowl to last nights refing taint so much beyond what they been caught cheating.

I think the games are rigged to be honest with you. You can find many people on Youtube exposing this fact.