NFL playoffs 2017/18: back again like marv

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DS4uiJsV4AAFwTB.jpg

they're ready

that was such a terrible game that i actually spent most of it watching 'erik the viking' and the brady bunch movie

drew breebs

cam putin

good to take a timeout on your 2nd play

lol jfc

the classic dropped td / shanked fg combo

true believers know, al davis was right all along

followed by giving up a 80 yard td hell yea!

love to "stabilize the left leg"

well, there's basically no route to victory for carolina from this point. it's a horrible match up for them, they have had success controlling games but you can't really play brees that way. no surprise that they are going to finish 0/3 for the season against NO.

on another note, buck/aikman is by some distance the worst coverage team now. for some reason i imagine buck at least to be untouchable but fox needs to replace them both.

thoughts during wild card weekend "this is basically an impossible comeback WAIT HOW DID THE FALCONS BLOW A 25 POINT LEAD IN THE SUPER BOWL FFS"

you can't catch that man. situational football. belichick would murder someone for that

this would be a horrible loss if no loses

wow @ that throw/catch

That was a wacky wacky call by the Saints. They deserve to lose if it blows up on them.

could've easily been PI and ball inside the 5

i liked the 4th down call for NO, this offense should make that a high % of the time. if they lose this game, that's not the reason why. in fact, it's the first time all half they've looked like they were trying to win the game instead of not lose their lead

p cool game

I want the Saints to win the Super Bowl this year

the saints of the first half could get to the super bowl for sure. if they do it'll be via 2 humdingers.

did Cam fake an eye injury so people wouldn't think he had a concussion? that was very strange

chiefs OC is new bears HC. i imagine he had a lot to do with the fun chiefs offense of the first half of the season before things got all andy reid. everyone looking for their sean mcvay now, maybe chicago has found one.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTC0jYLXkAEz9S2.jpg:small

This dude the Bears hired is already looking pretty haggard.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7PNvvdlr22KH_KoCCuOb6-_7faw=/112x0:656x369/1200x800/filters:focal(276x133:380x237)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58246827/Matt_Nagy.0.jpg

The thing about a shark, it's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes...

It kind of reminded me of this guy who we used to be sure had some secrets.

http://cdn2.holytaco.com/wp-content/uploads/images/2010/brad-childress-new-job%20%281%29.jpg

maybe I'm biased b/c I want the Vikings to lose, but Saints +4 looks like a pretty good line, no? hate to sound like a bad pundit here but experience, star power, and coaching all seem to matter more in the playoffs and the Saints have an advantage in all three. Vikings have been damn impressive but don't these sorts of Cinderella teams usually wilt in the playoffs?

It's probably a pickem game and you have the fact that Minnesota has had some shite luck in the playoffs. That said, every good team had to win it for the first time. Vikings defense is real, but if New Orleans gets up a couple scores early that will be trouble as you don't want Keenum and Co. to have to start chucking it around pass happy.

You could probably make the same case for Atlanta to beat Philly too.

I'm sorry how are the Vikings at 13-3 with a statistically dominant defense a "Cinderella" team?

listen I get you have cheddar clogging your synapses and the Saints are a good team and Brees is one of the best, so we could lose but I guarantee no one one this board has watched this team more than I have and this defense is brutal to deal with.

if anything I would actually try to about putting it on the passing game. a direct power run game is probably their closest thing to a weakness.

was looking back at the reg season meeting and brees had a fair game but the vikes run defense crushed NO. admittedly that was back when kamara was still sharing snaps with peterson, but he was still sub 3y per. their run game got stopped in the wild card game too but brees was still able to chuck it around when they needed him to - he got nearly 400y despite being kinda shackled a lot of the 2nd half - in a way he won't be able to against MN. i do think it is really close but i can easily imagine another 20 point game for NO and i think the vikes win that p much every time.

this weekend harks back to the avian battles of yore when a veritable cornucopia of polish quarterbacks -- steve bartkowski and ron jaworski -- led their raptor-monikered teams against each other

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p41_M_mehG0

the bird fight i can see being a p low scorer which opens the door for philly even tho i still think they are dogs overall. atl is cresting on the back of their defense right now and their offense, altho improved on early season, is still spluttering a bit. playing against a dominant defense is not where they want to be and if philly can squeeze another half decent game out of foles that could be enough for a 20-17.

I'm sorry how are the Vikings at 13-3 with a statistically dominant defense a "Cinderella" team?

coz they were projected to go 8-8 and the only player your average fan could pick out of a lineup is probably the backup QB. they don't seem too different from say that 08 Titans squad that rode a stellar defense to 13 wins

tell u one thing no one knows whats gonna happen in the nba playoffs baby! especially now that they got that tent

https://www.theringer.com/2018/1/9/16867564/playoffs-salary-cap-free-agent-spending-jaguars-eagles-patriots

another interesting piece by kevin clark in his productive vein of identifying trends that are becoming generally apparent and articulating them well. i think he oversells the impact of this but it is certainly real, you can't argue with the examples.

Incredibly, six of the top 10 2017 spenders in free agency, a period formerly reserved for desperate teams to throw money at anyone, made the playoffs: the Patriots, Titans, Rams, Vikings, Panthers, and Jaguars (who spent $20 million more than any other team).

the eagles not on this particular list but they are the first team i think of with their aggressive offseason and he covers them in detail later on.

casual ko shot on the browns to finish too, respect

norval eugene turner . . . welcome back to the [very cris collinsworth voice] national football league

poor cam

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTSW6IwXUAIFER-.jpg

blessed image

i have, in order of confidence:

ne over ten
atl over phl
pit over jax
min over no

i really think all signs point to vikes winning at home but that is a hard game to look at straight. it should be a doozy, anyhow.

yeah thats a true battle of styles between evenly matched teams game

who will IMPOSE THEIR WILL

it's kinda hard to describe how bad bortles was throwing the ball on sunday pic.twitter.com/o34w8xI5ri

— charles mcdonald (@FourVerts) January 12, 2018

get scared steelers

yow lol

classic bortling

at least he's better than that bum Lebron

.@CBSSports pic.twitter.com/r6oV5RdQ9h

— Blake Bortles Facts (@BortlesFacts) January 11, 2018

Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles deals with more criticism than any other starting quarterback in football, namely because he's not a good quarterback and he plays for a good football team that is currently in the midst of a playoff run. Though Bortles has occasionally flashed signs of improvement in his fourth season, the criticism has persisted as the Jaguars prepare for their upcoming game against the Steelers.

On Wednesday, when Bortles was asked about his critics, he acknowledged that the criticism will never stop. And then he made a really good point that has to do with LeBron James. Don't worry, he didn't compare himself to the greatest basketball player of all-time (cue the Michael Jordan arguments in the comment section below).

"It'll probably never stop," he said. "There's people who think LeBron James sucks. So if that happens, I'm sure there will always be people who always think I suck."