"Cereal. I killed it. No spoon." NFL Wild Card Weekend, 2014

SAT, JAN 4
Kansas City at Indianapolis 4:35 PM
New Orleans at Philadelphia 8:10 PM
SUN, JAN 5
San Diego at Cincinnati 1:05 PM
San Francisco at Green Bay 4:40 PM

indy
philly
cincy
sf

kc
philly
cincy
sf

indy
iggles
chargers
sf

Lovie Smith to Tampa Bay!

indy
no
cincy
sf

kc
philly
cincy
gb

indy
philly
cincy
sf

the only one i see mebbe the other way is no over cincy, but...nah.

i meant over philly, but whatevs.

lovie to tampa is basically the bucs doubling down on the one functioning part of the team. i guess he went to the super bowl without an offense once already.

supposedly Revis is on the block?

Him leaving would be mutually beneficial.

Kansas City at Indianapolis - kc has quietly been a pretty bad team for a couple months now, there is no way they win this even though indy is not really that great either
New Orleans at Philadelphia - saints need this to be a low scoring game i think which is weird. i don't think you can rely on this philly team to do anything but the percentages have gotta be in their favour
San Diego at Cincinnati - bengals just showed a few weeks ago that they can stop san diego pretty well, iirc sd never got in the red zone that game, and that was in san diego, so i don't see how cincy doesn't win this, which in all likelihood means a conference game for marv because ne can't do shit against these guys either
San Francisco at Green Bay - green bay obv. there is too much narrative in their favour.

bears signed cutler to a 7 year deal.

i know he's a clown but i like the move.

http://deadspin.com/i-was-an-nfl-player-until-i-was-fired-by-two-cowards-an-1493208214

oh my god 3 phone calls in a row on WIP asking why chip isn't using vick in trick plays - i understand if the question is why not vick instead of brad smith (probably bc drama) but srsly this is how philly wants to spend our thursday before our first nfl playoff game in 4 years?? talking about vick??

San Francisco at Green Bay - green bay obv. there is too much narrative in their favour.

Hope you're right! GB really feels like the team of destiny this year don't they? It took two ridiculous, Matt Flynn-led comebacks, two collapses from other NFC North teams (specifically Detroit), one insane highlight reel play from Rodgers in the final seconds of an elimination game, and the fact that nobody on Chicago realized a live ball early in the game. Who's going to stop them?

lol get that narrative shit out of here

wait maybe the chargers got all those bullshit lucky breaks because they're destined to win, hmmmmmmmmm

idk about narrative but i feel like rodgers at home is probably lethal to any team - even one as good as sf

i'm sure chris kluwe is a lovely guy and the vikings special teams coach is an asshole but his cap number for 2013 was going to be $1.45 million. the guy who replaced him had a cap number of $450k.

also, chris, you did get another job in the nfl, it was with the raiders, and you got cut in the preseason.

look it's all I can do to forget that Kaepernick's two best games came vs. GB and that was when we had a lot of our first-teamers healthy

Maybe they cut Kluwe because World of Warcraft is lame and wanted to distance themselves from that shit.

i went to check the forecast for the gb game and im pleased noaa.gov uses this icon http://forecast.weather.gov/images/wtf/medium/cold.png

it's gonna be even colder than that game in 2007 vs the Giants where Favre chucked away a shot at the Super Bowl. and let me tell you, it was damn cold that night.

I guess it's a good thing the Giants sucked this year, because Tom Coughlin might have died this coming weekend if he had to stand on the sidelines for a game colder than the one in 2007.

CAD - I take it you didn't read the article because Chris says that one of the big reasons he's not playing is because of the veteran minimum salary

no i read it and i know he mentioned it.

i think there's a distinction between the veteran minimum (for another team to sign him) and what the vikings saved (by cutting him at that point in his contract) that's worth mentioning, if the discussion is "reasons why chris kluwe was cut."

i have no clue if he was cut due to his public comments or not, but for any other player this is business as usual in the nfl, and the article was way too "i'm not saying, i'm just saying" imo.

The Lions drafted a punter ten picks after the Vikings did. It's not like punters don't get drafted, as unwise as it may be.

kluwe's points for the record:

Some will ask why I waited so long to tell this story. It's a fair question, and I have two answers. The first is that I still have friends on the Vikings, and opening up something like this during the season would not help them focus on their jobs. By doing it now, I hope they don't have to answer questions about an issue that concerns only four people, and I hope the issue will have died down before next season starts.
The second is that I wanted to prove I still had the physical ability to compete in the NFL. I can still hit the ball 45 yards outside the numbers with good hangtime, and at the tryouts I've had this year I've gotten praise from the scouts and personnel people on hand, but for whatever reason I cannot find a job. (Side note: My numbers from last year would put me right in the middle of the pack for this year, and I've traditionally been in the middle to top third of punters each year).
However, it's clear to me that no matter how much I want to prove I can play, I will no longer punt in the NFL, especially now that I've written this account. Whether it's my age, my minimum veteran salary, my habit of speaking my mind, or (most likely) a combination of all three, my time as a football player is done. Punters are always replaceable, at least in the minds of those in charge, and I realize that in advocating noisily for social change I only made it easier for them to justify not having me around. So it goes.
Some will ask if the NFL has a problem with institutionalized homophobia. I don't think it does. I think there are homophobic people in the NFL, in all positions, but that's true for society as well, and those people eventually get replaced. All we can do is try to expose their behavior when we see it and call them to account for their actions.

If there's one thing I hope to achieve from sharing this story, it's to make sure that Mike Priefer never holds a coaching position again in the NFL, and ideally never coaches at any level. (According to the Pioneer Press, he is "the only in-house candidate with a chance" at the head-coaching job.) It's inexcusable that someone would use his status as a teacher and a role model to proselytize on behalf of his own doctrine of intolerance, and I hope he never gets another opportunity to pass his example along to anyone else. I also hope that Leslie Frazier and Rick Spielman take a good look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are the people they truly profess themselves to be.

that last one is pretty fucking direct: he's trying to torpedo Priefer and if his story holds up, he's right to do it.

also chiefs/saints/bengals/niners

In November and December, I was frequently marked for negative scores by Mike Priefer on our "Production Point" sheet for punts that earlier had been marked positive, despite the numbers being almost exactly the same in terms of hangtime and distance. I do not know if these "Production Point" sheets were ever shown to our general manager or head coach, nor do I know if they were used to evaluate my job performance, though I suspect they were. I often laughed with other players about how the points seemed to be arbitrarily assigned, and we all agreed that there was no way to succeed as far as the "Production Point" charts were concerned. The vast majority of special-teams players already had negative point totals for the year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/opinion/can-animals-help-limit-concussions.html

nothing says playoff football like ty hilton for the first down

remember when kcc had a defense

the commentators on this game are so flat, i was in the next room and heard them calling that last play by kansas city and had no idea it was a long touchdown. i just assumed it was a successful third down completion and whatever

wow indy

that couldn't have gone much better tbh

that's a sweet play on 4th down

yeah these guys are lifeless. iirc they're the NFL Network guys

colts pretty much one amazing qb and not much else? i think this is the first game i watched them in this season

also of split feelings on andy doing so well. on one hand gfy, but on the other, good 4 u. idk.

this guy, alex smith

yeah colts are p much luck and mathis. i will be happy to see the back of them, even tho kansas is like a bye for denver

alex smith should prrrrrrrrrrobably retire after this half

way to show up at home, indy

i would not bet more than $10 on indy not tying this up at some point

‏@DeWittCBS 7m
Nice sign from the Colts mascot to KC Wolf who was seriously injured in a mascot accident earlier this season

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BdK7fXjIQAAOh1F.jpg

can a mod delete my last post

damn dude

changsteinelgamal says:
Jan 6, 2014 3:19 PM
I guess if you want to gamble you should get into the stock market or insurance business.

I mean... duh

I didn't realize it had been so long since he played. Cut just before the 2008 season!

hoping for a panthers vs seahawks title game because

http://i.minus.com/iblwIjYssiErRv.gif

British newspapers always have to explain what american football is:

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/american-football-is-silly-and-dangerous-but-i-love-it-9044893.html

its very silly unlike super srs british sports because no substitutions in soccer

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/etienne_saint/rechecaldwell_zpse4badca3.jpg

that independent thing is bizarre. am i missing a link to the rest of it or is that the lot? it reminds me of a history 'essay' i wrote c. 14yo where my gameplan was to write down everything i knew about the topic without doing any reading at all and i turned in half a side of big writing. fair play to the dude tho, he manages to cram a good amount of ignorance into a handful or words.

I think that's the whole article.

To be fair he's normally a politics writer

i am disinclined to be fair to him

"fair" enough

I strongly disagree with these rankings:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20140107/super-bowl-xlviii-matchups-denver-broncos-new-orleans-saints/?eref=sihp

lol saints and broncos is just about the most boring super bowl permutation. and he really hates the chargers and the panthers, arguably the two most interesting teams left in.

patriots vs an actual bronco horse, the ultimate match up

tho watching the seahawks d destroy manning in frozen new jersey would be pretty cool too

a patriot vs a panther, mano a clawo

edward snowden perhaps? controversial. but an amazing half time show.

cool with most any matchup

a dinosaur vs the resiliency of the human spirit

apparently when LA gets a team it is going to be called the Los Angeles Resilience of the Human Spirit. their logo is going to be the crying litter indian

sound branding

was thinking the same as Robert, a Chargers/Panthers Super Bowl is obviously the best thing that could happen

If it's Pats and Panthers, I hope Justin Timberlake comes up and rips off Bruno Mars's shirt at half time and shows everyone his nipple ring.

I hate to be a dick about this but being called 'Robert' is really an affront to my made up italian heritage.

i didnt even see the O there, my made up condolences

Really the more compelling match-ups are in the AFC where you got Colts/NE (even with the player turnover) this week and could have Colts/Den or NE/Colts next week at least for 'rivalry' sake.

Niners/Seahawks would probably be the big game in the NFC, as Harbaugh and Carroll don't like each other at all.

For a good football game, I think the Panthers/Niners is a good matchup. It's pretty much two mirror image clubs going against each other.

All I got to say for the Colts is...
http://evolver.fm/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/loverboy_get_lucky.jpg

chargers/panthers is like a pillow smothering a human face forever.

and could have Colts/Den or NE/Colts next week at least for 'rivalry' sake.

Chargers & Colts have faced each other in the playoffs three times, and played earlier this season.

Chargers & Patriots have faced each other in the playoffs twice and I'm still pissed off about one of them.

Yeah the 2006 Charger loss to the Pats was a big one. It's not often a 14-2 team gets blown up and fire the coach after a playoff loss.

that was sweet

Off top of my head, these are some of the BAD playoff losses since 2000.

Pats to Colts 2006
Colts to Steelers 2005
Chargers to Pats 2006
Giants to Niners 2003
Pats to Giants 2007
Steelers to Pats 2002
Rams to Pats 2002
Ravens to Colts 2006
Colts to Chargers 2007

Seahawks to Steelers 2005

Pats to Colts 2006 - Pats blew big lead.
Colts to Steelers 2005 - Colts favored at home, fluke fumble stopped by Rofflesberger on shoestring tackle, drunken kicker missed field goal 20 yards right to tie.
Chargers to Pats 2006 - home, favored and blew big lead.
Giants to Niners 2003- blown snap on fg. blew lead
Pats to Giants 2007- overwhelming favorites lost on two freakish plays and lost perfect season
Steelers to Pats 2002 - home favorites, gave up punt return TD choked.
Rams to Pats 2002 - blew lead, arrogant coach didn't run ball to eat up clock which would have not gave Pats chance to win.
Ravens to Colts 2006- home game, hyped big and got beat by team basically in ugly slugfest (which should have been their game)
Colts to Chargers 2007 - lost as #1 seed at home to team with backup QB
Seahawks to Steelers 2005 - Seattle fans never going to let calls go, still angry about refs.
Raiders to Pats 2001 - tuck rule game
Raiders to Bucs 2002- other team knew what they were going to do before they did, center went awol day before superbowl seemingly has killed franchise since.

Cowboys to Seahawks 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yh1DyvTuDA

Bengals to Chargers 2014 - Andy Dalton sucks

Packers to Eagles 2004 - 4th & 26

Packers to Giants 2007 - Pack heavily favored, Favre pick six to end it.

Seahawks to Packers - "We Want the Ball and Were going to Score"

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

Eagles to Pats - McNabb gets sick.

I guess I don't understand your rubric for "bad loss"

Yeah the 2006 Charger loss to the Pats was a big one. It's not often a 14-2 team gets blown up and fire the coach after a playoff loss.

― earlnash, Tuesday, January 7, 2014 6:19 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that was sweet

― Roberto Spiralli, Tuesday, January 7, 2014 6:20 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

reminiscing about this game never gets old

otm

Colts to Steelers 2005 - Colts favored at home, fluke fumble stopped by Rofflesberger on shoestring tackle, drunken kicker missed field goal 20 yards right to tie.

i was hung over, radio/cell coverage fading in and out as i drove from boone, nc through western virginia toward dc. never saw it, but it + the missed ray wersching fg that prevented the '84 49ers from going 16-0 are among the great appearances by the steelers' angel of mons

I guess I don't understand your rubric for "bad loss"

Eh, sometimes you lose and you really play as well as could be expected. While things could have gone differently, like Philly and Green Bay played and lost last week. They both played pretty well and just got beat, but not by much.

KC blowing a 28 point lead early in the 3rd quarter - yeah they fxxxed up and blew it.

how bout Packers to Giants in 2011. Pack were 15-1 (only loss was confusingly enough to a pretty awful KC team) and were expected to steamroll everyone.

Off top of my head, these are some of the BAD playoff losses since 2000.

Pats to Colts 2006
Colts to Steelers 2005
Chargers to Pats 2006
Giants to Niners 2003
Pats to Giants 2007
Steelers to Pats 2002
Rams to Pats 2002
Ravens to Colts 2006
Colts to Chargers 2007

― earlnash, Tuesday, January 7, 2014 6:34 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Falcons to 49ers, last year

Bears to http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG, '86 and '87

the year az went to the sb, 08-9 i think, it was a big upset them going on the rd in the divisional game to carolina and blowing them out, p sure carolina was a double digit fav

also the falcons as the #1 seed got blown out in the div rd by the packers the yr gb won it all, not sure how big a fav atl was there

they were 6 point favorites if I remember correctly. Sportsbooks really liked the Packers that year, their point differential was second only to New England and all six of their losses basically were by a field goal.

plus they looked so good going into the playoffs though that may not mean anything. i just remember being annoyed that atlanta was gonna have to face them that year cuz i was pretty sure rodgers would eat us up (as he did). the cards kinda limped assbackwards into the playoffs and the panthers were alot of ppls' pick for the super bowl (this was literally just before jake delhomme became jake delhomme as we know him now) so that was a crazy upset.