Divisional Playoffs Discussions

First topic message reminder :

I am sure there will be a chat box up sometime but I will start a thread for the weekend's discussions.

Just sitting down to watch the 49ers beat the Saints (hopefully) followed later by the Tebow Roadshow turning up near Boston.

A few weeks after David Akers threw a TD pass, Tom Brady is now punting.

NFL gone mad!

What. a. Punt.

Dave wrote:What. a. Punt.

Yes an odd one... when I read about it I figured it was a 4th down that they had lined up to go for and then had him punt, not a 3rd & 10 just for the hell of it!
Then again Belichick has made Doug Flutie take a drop kick field goal off a normal snap before!

I'm going with Texans to beat Ravens 17-14 to progress to play the Pats in AFC championship game.
Also with Packers to edge Giants 35-28 to play 49ers in NFC championship game.
Can't see Flacco playing well enough to beat good Texans D.
Rodgers and Co should beat Giants in a shootout type game.

Well it sounds like I missed a great game with the Saints @ 49ers and unfortunately missed Tebow Time running out, and I'm probably going to be missing two great games tonight too, even if the Texans @ Ravens is set to be a low scoring game.

good tune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw5Eld-KRuQ

Chat box is up for today's games!

Bottom of the home page. See you on there.

It looks like the Ravens are going to make it 7 out of 7 for the home teams in this seasons playoffs.

30-13 Giants. Packers in big trouble here

Some very weird penalty calls by the refs today at Lambeau.

I would just like to say .. Defence wins championships

Who would have predicted that the NFC championship game would be between the 49'rs and the Giants. Absolutly dominent performance by the Giants tonight.

I'm glad the 49ers don't have to travel to Green Bay to play in the freezing cold.

Just wondering whether the Patriots should have won more Super Bowls over the past decade?

Have really enjoyed playoffs this weekend, my bet came in, broncos got destroyed and we're gonna have a different winner to last year. As long as its not the 49ers ill be happy

I went to bed at 10-10 in the Giants/Packers game, and I was sure I would be waking up to a Packers win, but I'm not so shocked that they were beaten. By the time I'd gone to bed, there were already a few dropped catches, and other offensive misfires that maybe pointed to it not being the Packers' day.

Just the other day on here, the 'defense wins championships' mantra was questioned, but it must have been a satisfying weekend for those still holding on to it.

ESPN only showed the Patriots/Broncos and Ravens/Texans, which is a shame as the other two matches sounded good.

I can't stand Eli since he stole our Superbowl a few years back, so was hoping he'd get stuffed. Though I suppose if we do managed to meet them in the SB we can get a measure of revenge!

I can't believe how many mistakes the Packers made. So many wide open receivers dropping catchable balls. In the end our running game made enough of an impact to help run the clock and our D line started getting more pressure to Rodgers.

Take away the terrible calls by the zebras and we could have very well kept them out of the endzone.

MockingJay33 wrote:I can't believe how many mistakes the Packers made. So many wide open receivers dropping catchable balls. In the end our running game made enough of an impact to help run the clock and our D line started getting more pressure to Rodgers.

Take away the terrible calls by the zebras and we could have very well kept them out of the endzone.

I still can't believe they had Jennings down by contact when the ball was flying out after being stripped away!

sodhat wrote:

MockingJay33 wrote:I can't believe how many mistakes the Packers made. So many wide open receivers dropping catchable balls. In the end our running game made enough of an impact to help run the clock and our D line started getting more pressure to Rodgers.

Take away the terrible calls by the zebras and we could have very well kept them out of the endzone.

I still can't believe they had Jennings down by contact when the ball was flying out after being stripped away!

And the roughing call on Umenyiora was BS too. Both those calls lead to touchdowns that thankfully didn't cost us the deserved victory.

This will make you laugh. Bill Leavy and those guys are the same crew who officiated the Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl.

I was hoping the Giants would get stuffed, simply as a) being a Skins fan I can't stand them being successful and b) cuz Manning annoys the heck out of me, looking like a stroppy school kid most of the time.

I'd amend the quote slightly to say that I reckon pass defense will win this years championships. The Pats can't run and the Ravens can't pass, so I expect the Pats to outscore the Ravens. Flacco does not fill you with any level of confidence.

The 49ers should beat the Giants at home as they have a far superior defense than the Packers, and their O has displayed some breakout play over recent weeks. Harbaugh is inspiring a never say die attitude, and I can't help wondering if the Giants can keep this momentum going all the way to the SB. No insult intended to the Giants ability, but the result last night was very much down to offensive mistakes by the Packers (Rodgers missing open receivers, dropped 1st down catches, fumbles) and abysmal defense.

sodhat wrote:I still can't believe they had Jennings down by contact when the ball was flying out after being stripped away!

I think this was more that the review didn't convince them enough to overturn the ruling (down by contact). Don't forget the official is under pressure to quickly decide if the review shows enough to change the ruling, as he only has a couple of minutes. Its not like he's sitting on his sofa with a beer playing withe the remote!

I thought it had been ruled a fumble and would therefore stand (after they had let the play continue). When you look at the replay in slow mo, the moment the ball comes out, he's less than an inch off the turf. The ruling is that the ball has to be clearly out when he makes contact with the surface, so if there is any thought in the officials mind that the player retains a semblance of control then they will rule DBC.

skins4ever wrote:

sodhat wrote:I still can't believe they had Jennings down by contact when the ball was flying out after being stripped away!

I think this was more that the review didn't convince them enough to overturn the ruling (down by contact). Don't forget the official is under pressure to quickly decide if the review shows enough to change the ruling, as he only has a couple of minutes. Its not like he's sitting on his sofa with a beer playing withe the remote!

I thought it had been ruled a fumble and would therefore stand (after they had let the play continue). When you look at the replay in slow mo, the moment the ball comes out, he's less than an inch off the turf. The ruling is that the ball has to be clearly out when he makes contact with the surface, so if there is any thought in the officials mind that the player retains a semblance of control then they will rule DBC.

I'm sorry but for the situation of the Jennings fumble that statement is total carp. I know the refs are under pressure and I know what they have to look for but come on.

He's close to being down and although he has a couple of fingers on the ball he has zero control and that is as stonewall a fumble as you'll see.

I'm not arguing that it wasn't a fumble, I'm arguing that the official had to see enough to overturn the on field call, and he didn't have the benefit of the same time and super slow mo that the TV were showing. I daresay there's an element of pressure on him given the home field situation etc. so he's going to be cautious. I'm betting had it been ruled a fumble he wouldn't have overturned that decision either.

skins4ever wrote:I'm not arguing that it wasn't a fumble, I'm arguing that the official had to see enough to overturn the on field call, and he didn't have the benefit of the same time and super slow mo that the TV were showing. I daresay there's an element of pressure on him given the home field situation etc. so he's going to be cautious. I'm betting had it been ruled a fumble he wouldn't have overturned that decision either.

Fair point.

I noticed on a lot of catches that were close to touching the ground as a Packers player was in the process of making the catch the sideline replay cameras were staying up so we couldn't see how close the field is to the ball.

As much as I'm fecking annoyed and mythed at the bogus càlls I'm glad that justice prevailed.

I wouldn't say justice prevailed, just that the better team on the day won.

if the niners get to the superbowl,it will be so different than the 8-8 season i expected, also to go through brees and manning and then most likely go up against brady would be great

Two very bad call's on the Giant's. The Jennings fumble in the first half and the roughing the passer call on Osi Umenyiora late on. Terrible calls but justice was done and the Packer's were so bad that the official's could'nt even save them.

niner wrote:if the niners get to the superbowl,it will be so different than the 8-8 season i expected, also to go through brees and manning and then most likely go up against brady would be great

Must admit if they get through the Giants, it will give them good hope for the SB. It will be good to see the 49ers back in the big game as I remember their SB wins were good entertainment, even the blowout of Denver.

I wanted the Packers to win, but I thought the ball was out. I don't know why they don't have a panel of three NFL replay officials up in a booth who could view the play and vote on it, majority decision. That would hopefully negate bad calls. In situations like that when the ball comes out, they could already be on the case the second it happened so could render a verdict fairly quickly to the ref.

I'm pretty sure in college it's a replay official who decides all reviewed plays and not the ref.

The Mangler US_UK wrote:I wanted the Packers to win, but I thought the ball was out. I don't know why they don't have a panel of three NFL replay officials up in a booth who could view the play and vote on it, majority decision. That would hopefully negate bad calls. In situations like that when the ball comes out, they could already be on the case the second it happened so could render a verdict fairly quickly to the ref.

I'm pretty sure in college it's a replay official who decides all reviewed plays and not the ref.

Yeah or like rugby league where have a guy sit with 4 screens in the back of a lorry in the car park.

The Mangler US_UK wrote:. I don't know why they don't have a panel of three NFL replay officials up in a booth who could view the play and vote on it, majority decision. That would hopefully negate bad calls.

Or just employ a ref that has the ability of sight. Seriously that Jennings fumble was the worst review I've seen since watching the NFL, any idiot could see he wasn't down before the ball was out. Really glad the Giants still prevailed.

OK, lets jut clarify some things about replay that will probably colour opinion here.

1) Firstly there's a 90 second clock on the official to make a decision once he goes under the hood. You try making a critical decision in 90 seconds with 80,000+ people shouting nearby etc.
2) He's got a sideline monitor, not your 55" plasma at home! If he can't see the detail on screen that changes the decision, he won't change it.
3) He has basic play, pause and rewind facilities, not the super zoom (NBCEEiT?) that the TV people have access to. What you saw on TV Sunday was was a blown up picture on (presumably) HDTV that clearly showed the gap between his body and the turf. Drop that down to a normal image on a smaller monitor and the level of detail is quite probably lost.

Give the officials a break - its easy to critique them from your living room.

skins4ever wrote:OK, lets jut clarify some things about replay that will probably colour opinion here.

1) Firstly there's a 90 second clock on the official to make a decision once he goes under the hood. You try making a critical decision in 90 seconds with 80,000+ people shouting nearby etc.
2) He's got a sideline monitor, not your 55" plasma at home! If he can't see the detail on screen that changes the decision, he won't change it.
3) He has basic play, pause and rewind facilities, not the super zoom (NBCEEiT?) that the TV people have access to. What you saw on TV Sunday was was a blown up picture on (presumably) HDTV that clearly showed the gap between his body and the turf. Drop that down to a normal image on a smaller monitor and the level of detail is quite probably lost.

Give the officials a break - its easy to critique them from your living room.

You don't happen to be a former ref who made a huge fluff up do you? Because you're giving these guys a lot defense, or is it just your hatred of the Giants boiling up? Lol

skins4ever wrote:OK, lets jut clarify some things about replay that will probably colour opinion here.

1) Firstly there's a 90 second clock on the official to make a decision once he goes under the hood. You try making a critical decision in 90 seconds with 80,000+ people shouting nearby etc.
2) He's got a sideline monitor, not your 55" plasma at home! If he can't see the detail on screen that changes the decision, he won't change it.
3) He has basic play, pause and rewind facilities, not the super zoom (NBCEEiT?) that the TV people have access to. What you saw on TV Sunday was was a blown up picture on (presumably) HDTV that clearly showed the gap between his body and the turf. Drop that down to a normal image on a smaller monitor and the level of detail is quite probably lost.

Give the officials a break - its easy to critique them from your living room.

Well said Skins, every team will get decisions that go against them, maybe Giants fans should be happy they're in the championship game and close to the Superbowl.

MockingJay33 wrote:You don't happen to be a former ref who made a huge fluff up do you? Because you're giving these guys a lot defense, or is it just your hatred of the Giants boiling up? Lol

Certainly not. Having stood on the sidelines of many a Britball game as a player/coach/fan, I have had many an occasion to express 'vocal critical appraisal' of an officials performance.

However, in the cold light of day, I appreciate they have a difficult job to do and if you fail to account for all the circumstances involved in making a decision, you are not placing yourself in the best position to defend your view of it.