2019-2020 NFL Thread

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

I guess the statement is "we can beat below average teams, our D is above average and our O is anemic."

They closed it out though, dodged the trap game.



We did it team.

Yeah their O needs to put a full game together. There have been too many drives this season where it feels like their only plays are "throw it deep to a covered receiver," "screen to Jones," or "hand it to Jones."

I hope Bulaga's injury isn't bad because they need to invest that first round pick into a WR, not a tackle.

[Darththeo]

If we end up with a Chiefs - Packer Super Bowl ... I may come back to discuss the possible rigging of the Super Bowl.

A rematch of the 1st Superbowl in the NFL's 100th season (while I know it isn't a nice multiple for Super Bowl. It still makes too much poetic sense).

[ProphetFlume]

Yeah it's not like they've been any good until this year.

[Spectral]

Turns out the Patriots were very fortunate they got all those calls last weekend.

[Kyanion]

Watch everything go right for the Raiders as far as their unlikely playoff scenario goes and then they fail to win.

[Pendulous]

Did the Chiefs get lucky or something, or is the Chargers' run defense that bad?

[Grube]

Watch everything go right for the Raiders as far as their unlikely playoff scenario goes and then they fail to win.

They will win, Denver's non existent secondary can't cover anyone and Scangarello will keep play calling himself out of points. They just need to keep kicking FGs.

[eschatological]

Raiders still need the Titans to lose against the Texans, who are starting AJ McCarron. Titans are win-and-they're in. Also, they need the Steelers to lose to a Baltimore team that has locked up the #1 seed and is sitting tons of players. And for some reason they need Indy to beat the Jags (I guess so Indy is 2nd in the South cause they have the tiebreaker over Indy?) and one other win in a bunch of games so they have the strength of schedule tiebreaker over the......Steelers?

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

AFC is set.

Titans at Patriots. Bills at Texans.

[Vetali]

Black Monday bout to become black Sunday, Browns fired Kitchens.

[xskarma]

Freddie Kitchens is out.

[Grube]

Fitting that Isaac Yiadom started the season getting burned by Carr constantly, then ends the season getting burned and committing a stupid penalty after.

Shelby Harris has 17 passes knocked down at the line in his 3 years in Denver, and he was only a starter for 1 of those years. That is kind of insane.

[Kyanion]

Well the Browns did one smart thing so we know they'll fuck it up on the next hire as well.

[Bodakane]

Brian Flores of Miami should be in the discussion for coach of the year. He did an amazing job with an XFL roster.

[eschatological]

We all know the Dolphins season was helped by just a little bit of Fitzmagic though.

Turn back to Rosen or Tua next year (they're either dropping Rosen or Fitzpatrick and there's a case for dropping the latter, who will need to be paid while Rosen is stuck on a rookie contract) and we'll see how the Dolphins do. I look forward to them dwelling in the basement of the AFC East for a few years.

[Brubear]

If we end up with a Chiefs - Packer Super Bowl ... I may come back to discuss the possible rigging of the Super Bowl.

A rematch of the 1st Superbowl in the NFL's 100th season (while I know it isn't a nice multiple for Super Bowl. It still makes too much poetic sense).

If the NFL really was rigged (and not just the results of super questionable shit pulled by some teams and refs letting their own bias towards certain players/teams cloud their judgement) then they would have had the Vikings beat the Eagles two years ago to make it to the Super Bowl (home team hosting a Super Bowl in their brand-new stadium for a shot at their first Super Bowl win ever after the Minneapolis Miracle would be a huge draw, especially against the Patriots), or had the Chiefs beat the Pats last year with Mahomes being arguably one of the most popular players at the time leading such an awesome offense against the newest iteration of the Greatest Show on Turf, or the numerous other times when there were much better narratives at play then the Patriots winning yet another Super Bowl (just as an example).

[Darththeo]

If the NFL really was rigged (and not just the results of super questionable shit pulled by some teams and refs letting their own bias towards certain players/teams cloud their judgement) then they would have had the Vikings beat the Eagles two years ago to make it to the Super Bowl (home team hosting a Super Bowl in their brand-new stadium for a shot at their first Super Bowl win ever after the Minneapolis Miracle would be a huge draw, especially against the Patriots), or had the Chiefs beat the Pats last year with Mahomes being arguably one of the most popular players at the time leading such an awesome offense against the newest iteration of the Greatest Show on Turf, or the numerous other times when there were much better narratives at play then the Patriots winning yet another Super Bowl (just as an example).

You are ignoring one narrative though with the Mahomes one ... People like rooting against the Patriots. I swear there are more Patriot haters than fans. I know people who don't even watch football tell me they hate the Patriots. I have never seen that before, it would be like me saying "I hate the Red Wings" or "I hate "Manchester United."

Also, the Patriots have been part of some of the most watched Superbowls of the top 5, they were in 3. People also like believing in "curses" in sports ... the home town curse being one of the ones a lot of fans talk about.

Just because you personally think one story is better than another doesn't disprove the conspiracy theory that the NFL is rigged. (Note: I am not saying I think the NFL is rigged. I am just saying I like the discussion. I like reading conspiracy theories, not that I believe any of them.)

[We are covfefe]

Seattle gonna lose by at least 21 points tonight. Be surprised if its by much less.

[Brubear]

You are ignoring one narrative though with the Mahomes one ... People like rooting against the Patriots. I swear there are more Patriot haters than fans. I know people who don't even watch football tell me they hate the Patriots. I have never seen that before, it would be like me saying "I hate the Red Wings" or "I hate "Manchester United."

Also, the Patriots have been part of some of the most watched Superbowls of the top 5, they were in 3. People also like believing in "curses" in sports ... the home town curse being one of the ones a lot of fans talk about.

Just because you personally think one story is better than another doesn't disprove the conspiracy theory that the NFL is rigged. (Note: I am not saying I think the NFL is rigged. I am just saying I like the discussion. I like reading conspiracy theories, not that I believe any of them.)

Given that the viewership had been trending upwards (up until the last two Super Bowls which both featured the Patriots), and that the top-10 most viewed Super Bowls were all in the last 10 years, that's likely more a result of viewership for Super Bowls increasing over the last 20 years than it is people loving to hate the Patriots. Hell, my wife would watch the Super Bowl almost every year and she's not even a football fan or knew who the teams were, so people watch the Super Bowl who don't even care about football or know anything about the teams. People like believing in curses, and seeing them broken (see: the Red Sox and their curse as I'm sure your'e familiar with).

That's the thing about conspiracy theories, they're really hard to disprove. That's what makes them so ridiculous. They don't need proof to be believed, and often proof just solidifies peoples belief in them. But there are plenty of other match-ups that have occurred that would be better proof (the Steelers winning Bettis a ring in his home town in his final year or the Giants knocking off the unbeaten Patriots to preserve the '72 Dolphins record and achieve one of the greatest underdog victories ever just off the top of my head), and other narratives that didn't happen which also would have arguably been more compelling to more people.

- - - Updated - - -

Narratives don't matter nearly as much as you think they do. You just suggested that the NFL would be better off fixing the game so the team in the 15th ranked market (Minnesota) gets in over the team in the 5th ranked market because it would improve ratings. Then you said that they should fix it so that the team in the 32nd ranked market (KC) would get in over the Pats, who are in the 9th rated market.

I know there's also an east coast bias here, but I also think that having east coast teams really helps ratings because with time zones a lot of east coasters would probably turn off a KC-Minnesota game at halftime but with local teams involved they keep watching.

I'm saying that KC and the Packers being proof of a conspiracy because of the narrative it would create is silly because there have been plenty of other narratives that would be just as strong with teams from similar/smaller markets. That's my whole point, I highly doubt that even if the NFL was somehow rigging games, narratives would not factor into it over ratings. At least that way the rigging would actually do something for them.

[Darththeo]

Given that the viewership had been trending upwards (up until the last two Super Bowls which both featured the Patriots), and that the top-10 most viewed Super Bowls were all in the last 10 years, that's likely more a result of viewership for Super Bowls increasing over the last 20 years than it is people loving to hate the Patriots. Hell, my wife would watch the Super Bowl almost every year and she's not even a football fan or knew who the teams were, so people watch the Super Bowl who don't even care about football or know anything about the teams. People like believing in curses, and seeing them broken (see: the Red Sox and their curse as I'm sure your'e familiar with).

That's the thing about conspiracy theories, they're really hard to disprove. That's what makes them so ridiculous. They don't need proof to be believed, and often proof just solidifies peoples belief in them. But there are plenty of other match-ups that have occurred that would be better proof (the Steelers winning Bettis a ring in his home town in his final year or the Giants knocking off the unbeaten Patriots to preserve the '72 Dolphins record and achieve one of the greatest underdog victories ever just off the top of my head), and other narratives that didn't happen which also would have arguably been more compelling to more people.

- - - Updated - - -



I'm saying that KC and the Packers being proof of a conspiracy because of the narrative it would create is silly because there have been plenty of other narratives that would be just as strong with teams from similar/smaller markets. That's my whole point, I highly doubt that even if the NFL was somehow rigging games, narratives would not factor into it over ratings. At least that way the rigging would actually do something for them.

You kind of pointed out what I am going to "Smaller markets" ... part of the rigging conspiracy is that you don't want smaller market teams in the big game ... unless it suits a narrative. You know as well as I do that if it is Chiefs vs Packers there will be people out there going "Of course it is Chiefs vs Packers in the NFL's 100th season. What better way to end it then with a rematch of Super Bowl 1?"

If the Patriots make it there will be people claiming that "Of course they made it, the NFL can't let the Golden Boy not make it to the big game."

I am pointing out of the "rigging", the one that interests me personality the most is Chiefs vs Packers.