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NFL playoffs and gripe department
So, which teams that you cheered for missed the bus?
Well, the Texans didn't even find the bus schedule, went 2-14 in a stunning series of failures. It's been said that a team on the slide will find new ways to lose, and that generally defined the Texans in 2013. Most of the time however they stuck to their tried and true methods: crucial penalties that either stopped their drives or helped the other team sustain, and QBs making interceptions that were so well played they seemed rehearsed.
Now if your team is mediocre, like the Bills or the Jaguars, you hope for a season above .500 with nice looks to next year. But the Texans started out hot, predictions of possible Super Bowl, having been into the playoffs 2 years and superb personnel. I won't get into the many reasons why they failed but the only solution seems to be a total remake, keep the "Texans" license plate, keep about 7-8 players (JJ Watt, etc), and tow away the remainder, coaching staff totally. Sigh.
Sorry to see the Steelers fall away. They had a bad start and couldn't recover after that. Also sorry to miss the Vikes in the playoffs.
And although they didn't have playoff-level teams, I rooted for the Bears and the Browns. Now if Cleveland could just come up with a nice logo for their team, maybe better next season?
As to my faves for the playoffs, the KC Chiefs (KC is my home town) are definitely whom I'll be rooting for. I figure they can take the Colts but after that, a tossup.
The 49ers are also a fave (I used to live in SanFran during the Joe Montana era, wow), but I also like their opponent, the Packers. Should be a good game.
Super Bowl? Mmmm.... I'll guess Broncos over 49ers in a terrific contest.
So... your season gripes and successes? Predictions?
Well, the Texans didn't even find the bus schedule, went 2-14 in a stunning series of failures. It's been said that a team on the slide will find new ways to lose, and that generally defined the Texans in 2013. Most of the time however they stuck to their tried and true methods: crucial penalties that either stopped their drives or helped the other team sustain, and QBs making interceptions that were so well played they seemed rehearsed.
Now if your team is mediocre, like the Bills or the Jaguars, you hope for a season above .500 with nice looks to next year. But the Texans started out hot, predictions of possible Super Bowl, having been into the playoffs 2 years and superb personnel. I won't get into the many reasons why they failed but the only solution seems to be a total remake, keep the "Texans" license plate, keep about 7-8 players (JJ Watt, etc), and tow away the remainder, coaching staff totally. Sigh.
Sorry to see the Steelers fall away. They had a bad start and couldn't recover after that. Also sorry to miss the Vikes in the playoffs.
And although they didn't have playoff-level teams, I rooted for the Bears and the Browns. Now if Cleveland could just come up with a nice logo for their team, maybe better next season?
As to my faves for the playoffs, the KC Chiefs (KC is my home town) are definitely whom I'll be rooting for. I figure they can take the Colts but after that, a tossup.
The 49ers are also a fave (I used to live in SanFran during the Joe Montana era, wow), but I also like their opponent, the Packers. Should be a good game.
Super Bowl? Mmmm.... I'll guess Broncos over 49ers in a terrific contest.
So... your season gripes and successes? Predictions?
Replies
:tooth:
Jerry
"If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."
NRA Life Member
Texans and Redskins.. 2-14, 3-13
You are one of them.
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
Big, I seem to remember some study of NFL games played between cold climate outdoor teams and warm or enclosed teams, and the stats don't show any significant advantage for the team used to cold.
Anyone know about this study?
I'm guessing that the cold does help a team used to it but not that much, not enough to tilt the win/lose outcome. They've got pretty good preparation nowdays for the warmer teams and the other factors (skill, luck, good play) probably outweigh the weather factor.
Well, first of all, to "choke" you've got to have success to fall from and for years the Chiefs haven't had a win record that could merit choking. After their big turnaround, if they get beat in the playoffs, that doesn't in itself constitute choking. That would be blowing a big lead or similar. Remains to be seen what happens.
Chiefs fans aren't crybabies at all -- you been listening to Rome too much? Now the champ crybabies are the Cowboy fans, followed closely by the Saints, 49ers (those fans who still think Montana is the QB), and the 2 Nuu Joisey teams, maybe the Falcons too.
Sent from my memory of SB IV at Tulane Stadium. What fun.
Cowboys (Arlington Mookids) are the most prima donna team in the NFL. They're also quite good but are, as you say, inconsistent. I get a bit tired of the "America's Team" mentality.
When the temps get really low I don't think either team has an advantage, nobody likes it that cold, and it looks like it could be around zero this weekend. It seem though, there are fewer penalties called, the refs don't want to be on the field any longer than they have to, and their whistles freeze up!! But, it's a game and for entertainment, 'cause what ever happens, the world still keeps on turning!
+1. The 'boys lost two games (Detroit and Green Bay) due to the defense collapsing late in the game. In the Eagles' game, it was the defense that held up, for a change, and the offense that blew it. Like Sam said about the Texans, seems they just found ways to lose.
I would like to see a Seattle - Denver Super Bowl, but you never know. As good as Peyton is, his playoff record is not the best. I can't fault him for last year's loss to the Ravens, as it was the Broncos' secondary that gave the game away. Maybe they will get their act together this year and go all the way.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
How true, how true. Fans sometimes go ballistic over their team's win or loss. I try to remember the old newspaper 1-panel comic about sports, the image was a guy in bathrobe at breakfast and starting to code out when he reads the sports scores. The caption was "The players on your favorite team don't go into a coma when you've had a bad day."
In other words, as you recommend, take it with a grain of salt. Sure, I like my home team to win and enjoy this. A winning NFL franchise also brings revenue to a city, a proven fact. But my life and happiness don't depend on such. If they win, great. If not, meh.
I've got a couple of faves this playoff but all I really want is some good, exciting games. Most sports people say that the 2nd week of the playoffs brings the best football, but we've also been blessed with some excellent SuperBowl games in recent years. I'm just gonna kick back and enjoy. Thankfully my girlfriend is a big NFL fan too, so we zone out on the sofa and snack ourselves into bliss.
Mmm, not as I'd rule "choking" -- the had the highest undefeated record in quite a while till they lost, then they played less skillful for the remainder of the season. But they made the playoffs and that isn't choking.
The Texans were the ones needing the Heimlich. And the Cowboys.
I think this is the standard flyover country mentality by major sports coverage. But you see plenty of coverage for the Saints (waaay too much), the Mookids, GreenBay, etc. So in NFL sports writing and shows, the teams don't have to be 1) east coast, 2) west coast to be covered, but Seattle always seems to slip past the commentators, despite being a damn good team. I don't know why either.
Once in a long while, you see a top athlete, someone who makes the game exciting, and who is also a true and honorable person. Ol' JJ is one of them.
Well, you can apply that judgment to ALL the teams but one, then, if "choking" is losing a game. By your definition, if a team doesn't win the Super Bowl, it's trash time. Not so, I think. I don't know how the Chiefs will perform but if they're beaten by a better playing team, that's just the way the banana bends, and in no way constitutes a "choke".
But in fact, lots of fans and others care very much about the record of a team that doesn't win the SB. ALL teams but one "lose the big game" at one time or another, but a team that's been out of it can perform very well, showing improvement, and finish with a respectable record. Such as the Chiefs, who've not seen the upside of a postseason in ages, and are at least playing in the finals, even if they don't go too deep.
But why specifically point out the Chiefs? They at least have made the playoffs, one of 12. If you wanna talk about choking, look at those who'll be sitting home.
Disagree. Compared with the last 2 seasons and all expectations, the team was supposed to be headed up, not to the cellar. I think they just got constipated somehow, or choked. Remember, they played quite well those prior 2 years, improved all positions, and were ready to move deeper into the playoffs. Not.
Browns and Steelers had much the same sort of season, some very good games but left you wishing for more consistency. Firing the coach may have been an overreaction, however, I agree.
Texans have signed former Penn State coach O'Brien. A new broom, hopefully, and someone to help put fire into the team. Now if there were any quarterbacks available...
I was silent witness to the destruction to at least one person as a result of the biggest comeback in NFL history. Known in the NFL as "The Comeback," it's the biggest reversal of points for any game.
Jan 3, 1993, Houston Oilers vs Buffalo Bills, at the half, Houston 28-3, but at the end, Buffalo 41-38.
I was watching the game in a popular sports bar here in Houston, and I happened to get a prime corner seat at the bar. The tavern was packed of course, and fans were screaming each time the Oilers scored in the 1st half.
I knew the owner of the bar quite well. He'd already bet a substantial amount earlier on the game, and I don't mean a couple hundred. I'm talking thousands, bet that the Oilers win, no point spread, and bet with a bigtime local bookie whom I'd met, Vegas connected guy and you know what that means.
I was of course cheering at halftime with everyone else, but Mike had a more serious task. I overheard him, myself sitting on a barstool just across the bar where Mike stood. He called the bookie at halftime and asked to triple up on all his bets. Naturally, to change the bet amount mid-game, Mike had to accept odds, but that didn't matter because the Oilers were sure to win.
Of course, what happened was that Mike was forced to take out high-interest loans on the tavern he owned outright, to pay his gambling bet. Trying to jump a bet with those guys was not advisable. So Mike went deep into the red, and with the NFL season soon over, and a modest amount of college basketball the only draw, patronage at the bar fell off, as it usually does for a sports bar after NFL season. So Mike's gross income dropped and he defaulted on several loans, losing ownership of the bar.
Betting rules: 1-Never bet on the come, 2-Never bet what you cannot afford.