NFL Season 2011-2012

[10spro]

The non catch by WW was the turning point for the Pats. Welker would make those catches with his eyes closed during the regular season and while the throw was far from perfect, it was catchable. With less than 4 minutes to go, if he makes it and having known that the Giants have burnt already 2 timeouts, the outcome would have been different. Still, NE's defense just couldn't stop NY's last drive when it mattered most led by the incredible catch by Manningham.

Still the game definitely picked up some steam on the second half and for a second, from the TV angle on the very last play of the game, I thought Gronkowski made the impossible catch.

[Brando70]

I also give you the dumbest thing you will read on the Internet this week and maybe this year, Eric Wilbur's contribution to the death of professional sports journalism, "Blame Brady for This One."

http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-05/s ... r-patriots

[wco81]

What did you guys want, 31-7?

We haven't had a blowout in the SB in a long time. Closer games, as designed through parity.

There seemed to be some expectation that the Pats would blow out the Ravens and everyone else after the Broncos game. Well during the regular season, they were an offensive-juggernaut but mostly against weaker teams. Seems like they had trouble against the Giants and the Steelers and the Cowboys gave them a good game at NE.

What are Bellichek and Brady's legacy going to be? Certainly Hall of Famers, especially when they ran up 3 SB victories with Brady still in his 20s. They'll be in the hunt and they've stockpiled draft picks but Brady isn't so young any more and Bellichek seems to have lost his magic, getting out coached in this game and not having such a great playoff record in recent years.

What they finally have are three 3-point victories and 2 close losses in the SB. Still very good and they may add more wins to that record but not nearly what might have been.

[Rodster]

What are Bellichek and Brady's legacy going to be? Certainly Hall of Famers, especially when they ran up 3 SB victories with Brady still in his 20s. They'll be in the hunt and they've stockpiled draft picks but Brady isn't so young any more and Bellichek seems to have lost his magic, getting out coached in this game and not having such a great playoff record in recent years.

I think part of that magic left when they caught his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. So maybe it wasn't as much magic as it was knowing what the other side was going to do. Also his teams have been raided for coaches, coordinators and assistants. Losing Scott Pioli did not help either as those two were always on the same freq.

I have said it before and i'll say it again. I think Hoody and Brady are tied at the hip. Once Brady leaves so will he.

[dbdynsty25]

Pretty good article.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=d ... eat_020512

That was pretty good. Now I'm just waiting for that a-hole Simmons from ESPN to make thousands of excuses on his next podcast, which isn't on the site today. I'm sure if the PATS won the podcast would have been up and ready early this morning.

Wow you are bitter for some reason lately...you sound like me.

Simmons didn't make any excuses:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/754 ... dianapolis

[Danimal]

What are Bellichek and Brady's legacy going to be? Certainly Hall of Famers, especially when they ran up 3 SB victories with Brady still in his 20s. They'll be in the hunt and they've stockpiled draft picks but Brady isn't so young any more and Bellichek seems to have lost his magic, getting out coached in this game and not having such a great playoff record in recent years.

I'm sorry I am not even a Pats fan and this is silly statement. Sometimes coaches get out coached, I don't believe that is what happened yesterday. Sometimes players just don't execute that is what happened yesterday. Coughlin was ready to be fired at 7-7 and now he is in the hall of fame. It's the mentality of the game, it's fans and America in general we want quick results or else you're a bum. Hell the Giants won and all I heard today was how crazy it was that the Giants didn't discuss if Bradshaw should score or not. THEY f***in WON ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

Was it coaching that caused Brady to take a safety by throwing the ball away in the end zone? What about on the 1st Giants touchdown when they called the perfect defense to bait the slant and the defender was in position but didn't get his head around. He executes that is 6 points going the other way possibly. The pass play to Welker was a good call, he was wise open in the seam. Brady missed a little on the throw and he dropped it in a clutch situation. I'm not sure how any of that is being out coached. Sometimes the bounces don't go your way. What were there 2 Giant fumbles that went right back to them?

The Patriots just plug in guys you have never heard of year in and year out and then find aging veterans and usually make use of them or they cut them. I may not be a Patriots fan but I wouldn't mind if the Bears were run like them. The bottom line is anyone who has played football or coaches football knows like most other sports it's a lot of little things that lead to a win or a lose.

It's great fodder for the media to explore and over analyse the QB and coach and what this means to their legacy but in the end the Giants made some more plays and got some breaks. In my opinion no one got out coached, no one got outplayed it's just the way the game played out.

[XXXIV]

It's great fodder for the media to explore and over analyse the QB and coach and what this means to their legacy but in the end the Giants made some more plays and got some breaks. In my opinion no one got out coached, no one got outplayed it's just the way the game played out.

Agree.

Game was even.

It pretty much came down to Brady and Welker NOT making a play they usually make and then Manning and Manningham making one they wont make til the next SB vs the Patriots.

That is what most games come down to . The guys who make the play win.

[Macca00]

I also give you the dumbest thing you will read on the Internet this week and maybe this year, Eric Wilbur's contribution to the death of professional sports journalism, "Blame Brady for This One."

http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-05/s ... r-patriots

Wow. Just....wow.

[RallyMonkey]

I also give you the dumbest thing you will read on the Internet this week and maybe this year, Eric Wilbur's contribution to the death of professional sports journalism, "Blame Brady for This One."

http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-05/s ... r-patriots

Wow. Just....wow.

This guy wins doucehbag of the year award. It's been such a hard day up here to the point where I couldn't listen to the radio or watch non-DVR television until about 5:00 and when I turned on WEEI (Boston radio) they were lambasting this scumbag and rightly so. Honestly when I read it the first thing I thought was that there is no way this guy could have watched the game and more importantly has probably never played a team sport in his life. Unless you consider using both hands a team sport.

This guy better watch his back in the city. As many of you have pointed out in the past, New England fans can be pretty "unreasonable" at times.

[JRod]

It's great fodder for the media to explore and over analyse the QB and coach and what this means to their legacy but in the end the Giants made some more plays and got some breaks. In my opinion no one got out coached, no one got outplayed it's just the way the game played out.

Agree.

Game was even.

It pretty much came down to Brady and Welker NOT making a play they usually make and then Manning and Manningham making one they wont make til the next SB vs the Patriots.

That is what most games come down to . The guys who make the play win.

Breaking it down to two plays is silly. 16+ games and playing good defense against New England should earn them credit for the win.

[pk500]

It's great fodder for the media to explore and over analyse the QB and coach and what this means to their legacy but in the end the Giants made some more plays and got some breaks. In my opinion no one got out coached, no one got outplayed it's just the way the game played out.

Great point about the hyperbole and hyper-analysis that rules American sport these days. I whispered to my father with about a minute remaining in the game, "How long do you think it will take for ESPN.com to place a poll question on its home page asking if this was the greatest Super Bowl ever played?"

I'm shocked ESPN.com didn't ask that question. But it did ask which two-time Super Bowl-winning QB for the Giants was better, Eli or Simms. Someone forgot to tell the ESPN intern who devised the question that Hostetler played the last two regular-season games and the entire playoff run for the Giants in 1990 when they won the Super Bowl, after Simms broke his foot.

[Lancer]

Random Thoughts -

That Boothe guy cost the Giants points with some bad penalties. He was close to being the goat too.

I also noticed how once the game was over, all the ass-kissers in the Kraft booth left so suddenly leaving the old man alone to stare out onto the field.

They need to speed up the ceremony. Having a 90 year old man carry the trophy which took forever was painful to watch. Wasn't that guy also an ex Pats HC?

I read simmons last article and it was pretty good. I agree with him that there really wasn't a great football team this year. Any team from the divisional round, except maybe the Broncos, is just as good as the Giants/Pats. Just a play here or there got those 2 teams in the SB.

[Lancer]

It's great fodder for the media to explore and over analyse the QB and coach and what this means to their legacy but in the end the Giants made some more plays and got some breaks. In my opinion no one got out coached, no one got outplayed it's just the way the game played out.

Great point about the hyperbole and hyper-analysis that rules American sport these days. I whispered to my father with about a minute remaining in the game, "How long do you think it will take for ESPN.com to place a poll question on its home page asking if this was the greatest Super Bowl ever played?"

I'm shocked ESPN.com didn't ask that question. But it did ask which two-time Super Bowl-winning QB for the Giants was better, Eli or Simms. Someone forgot to tell the ESPN intern who devised the question that Hostetler played the last two regular-season games and the entire playoff run for the Giants in 1990 when they won the Super Bowl, after Simms broke his foot.

I felt like in post game, especially on ESPN, Berman and crew (not Young) were sort of disappointed Brady didn't get the final game winning drive. That's the story they really wanted it seemed like. And when Eli came on top, it was almost like let's make some sh1t up to prolong this post game.

[JRod]

Random Thoughts -

That Boothe guy cost the Giants points with some bad penalties. He was close to being the goat too.

I also noticed how once the game was over, all the ass-kissers in the Kraft booth left so suddenly leaving the old man alone to stare out onto the field.

They need to speed up the ceremony. Having a 90 year old man carry the trophy which took forever was painful to watch. Wasn't that guy also an ex Pats HC?

I read simmons last article and it was pretty good. I agree with him that there really wasn't a great football team this year. Any team from the divisional round, except maybe the Broncos, is just as good as the Giants/Pats. Just a play here or there got those 2 teams in the SB.

Great football teams don't always win in the playoffs. This isn't like the EPL where you play 38 games and pretty much the best team will win the trophy. One or two key injuries and you go from 13-3 to 9-7. One bad call can that's a game here and there.

I think the Packers were the best team but they lost in a one and down system.

I have two problems with Simmons. One he's sour because his Pats didn't win. Two he's using the same hyperbole that PK talked about. Every damn NFL, NHL, NCAA, NBA team has to be called the greatest. The media goes looking for dynasties and when they don't find it they knock down every other team because they didn't anoint a team.

The Packers were the 6th seed last year and they won the Super Bowl. They were a better team and lost this year. Some might even say a great team. But the in the reality that is the NFL playoffs the best teams don't win Super Bowls.

But when people go talking about "great teams" what they are really talking about is a memorable team. One where 10 years from now, you can remember certain players and important plays from the season. The Giants are pretty forgettable on the whole except for Eli Manning.

What Bill Simmons says about a great team should be translated into a team from the 2011 season that will be remembered.

[Lancer]

Changing subjects here but what did you guys think about the HOF class this year?

To me, I think all those guys were good players, but HOF's? Not really sure. I don't know how they stand out or are memorable like your classic HOF'r. Doleman was good, Kennedy was good, and Martin were good players, but greatest of all time??

Someone must have something out for Cris Carter and Parcells on that committee. And don't forget Tim Brown.

[XXXIV]

Breaking it down to two plays is silly. 16+ games and playing good defense against New England should earn them credit for the win.

Not quite as silly as ignoring pages of thread and picking out one thing that was in response to one certain point.

If you read earlier in the thread you can see where the Giants get credit more than once. Their defense and Eli. Plus I was rooting for them but hey you gotta be you right?

[XXXIV]

Changing subjects here but what did you guys think about the HOF class this year?

Haley is the biggest snub. He must not have answered someones question once.

[pk500]

Changing subjects here but what did you guys think about the HOF class this year?

To me, I think all those guys were good players, but HOF's? Not really sure. I don't know how they stand out or are memorable like your classic HOF'r. Doleman was good, Kennedy was good, and Martin were good players, but greatest of all time??

Someone must have something out for Cris Carter and Parcells on that committee. And don't forget Tim Brown.

Curtis Martin is the No. 4 rusher in NFL history. He was a great player.

[XXXIV]

Curtis Martin is the No. 4 rusher in NFL history. He was a great player.

I never thought of him as HoF great while watching him play but that number does speak for itself.

The pounding these guys take at rb...To last long enough at that high a level to get to #4 all-time. That is HoF great.

[Lancer]

Well there are rumors that Haley and DeBartalo Jr. (former Niners owner) will never get in due to some kind of blacklisting by the committee. Not sure what the reasons are for this.

[XXXIV]

Well there are rumors that Haley and DeBartalo Jr. (former Niners owner) will never get in due to some kind of blacklisting by the committee. Not sure what the reasons are for this.

If I remember back to the early 80s and then to the 90s, Debartolo has always had rumors swirling around about him.

I have never heard anything concerning Haley.

[Brando70]

Changing subjects here but what did you guys think about the HOF class this year?

To me, I think all those guys were good players, but HOF's? Not really sure. I don't know how they stand out or are memorable like your classic HOF'r. Doleman was good, Kennedy was good, and Martin were good players, but greatest of all time??

Someone must have something out for Cris Carter and Parcells on that committee. And don't forget Tim Brown.

Ridiculous that Tim Brown and Cris Carter are not in. Fourth and eighth on the receiving list. Brown had nine consecutive 1000-yard seasons, Carter eight. It's good to see players like Dawson and Kennedy get the respect they deserve, but not if it comes at the expense of guys who should have been first-ballot players.

The Parcells snub also doesn't make a lot of sense. I think the standards are a lot higher for coaches, but I feel like if Marv Levy is in, Parcells should be in too. What hurts Parcells is the team jumping and that his overall career winning percentage (.570) is good but not great. Still hard to argue with two championships and three Super Bowl appearances.

[greggsand]

Some football writer said that Parcells was left out due to a general feeling that he may not be done coaching yet.

[10spro]

I agree that Tim Brown and Chris Carter should make it. How about Andre Reed?

[TCrouch]

That's the problem. The Hall keeps debating over the logjam of eligible receivers. I think the consensus is that Carter, Reed, and Brown will all get in--at some point. And probably in that order.