The 17th game and the bad football in Championship games and Super Bowl

[NoHuddleKelly12]

11 hours ago, TheFunPolice said:

 

Oh, I agree on Brady. Enough already with that soulless ghoul!

 

Mahomes doesn't bother me, and if the Bills aren't in the SB I hope he wins every year that we're not there. 

 

1. I like Andy Reid

2. The more rings Mahomes gets (ONLY IF WE ARE OUT OF IT THAT SEASON) the more Brady will get to experience what it's like to be sitting on the couch while the "new GOAT" is crowned. 

 

You can be the GOAT with 4-5 rings if you ALSO retire with every single passing record, career and single season. So being a Brady hater, Mahomes doesn't bother me unless he's in our way. 

 

 

And continue the “2nd best” runner up type media QB narratives for the rest of what will probably be a legendary career for Josh? No thanks 🥴—even in the years we’re not in it, I’d rather see a variety of teams/QB’s bubble up for one hit wonders than constant Mahomes overkill, imho.

[Nitro]

  This game reminded me of the Dallas/Baltimore Super Bowl.  Dull, dull, dull.   Outside of LA and Cincinnati no one cared.  

[GunnerBill]

7 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

It was a close game, but not because both teams were trading blows. It was just sloppy play from both sides. Missed throws, weird play calls, a sudden onslaught of flags in the final 2 minutes. I don't think either team was really deserving of the win, LA just made one less mistake. No signature plays and the biggest play of the game only happened because of a missed face mask that everyone watching the game saw on replay. Overall meh.

 

The only signature play was the last one. Aaron Donald destroying Cincy's dream. If LA was going to win a Superbowl then Aaron Donald was the man who deserved to win it for them. And Cincinnati played Russian roulette with Burrow's health all year behind that line. 

 

I felt like while it was a meh game that last play kinda summed both teams up. 

[Mr. WEO]

20 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

It would’ve been a good game for a week 6 Sunday night football or a week 16 flex - but as Super Bowls go it was pretty weak, neither team was very good compared to the teams that were sitting at home - Bucs, Cowboys, Bills, Chiefs, even the Titans and Ravens are probably better than either team that played last night.

 

Cowboys, Titans and Ravens??  Come on with those 3.  Titans maybe the worst #1 seed ever.  Ravens have no QB.  Cowboys are a joke, every year at this time

 

 

 

[Coach Tuesday]

5 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Cowboys, Titans and Ravens??  Come on with those 3.  Titans maybe the worst #1 seed ever.  Ravens have no QB.  Cowboys are a joke, every year at this time

 

 

 

Cowboys were the number one DVOA team heading into the playoffs.  

[stuvian]

I think it was a good but not great game. I hate to say this but a SB without Tommy Boy suddenly feels anticlimactic. Such is the hold he has on our imaginations. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

21 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

Only the Rams survived..........and barely.

With help from the refs and a fresh set of downs on 3rd and goal. 

 

Help that wasn't afforded to the Bills against the Bucs on a more egregious act... That would have changed the venue of the divisional playoff game against the Chiefs. 

 

Yup... It was that close of a season where factors that certain teams weren't afford equal opportunities.

 

Error on the part of the League, glitches in the rules and system, or just bad luck... Anyway you slice,  inconsistent season mostly on the doings of powers beyond the control of the teams competing. 

 

Rams were afforded an opportunity in a big game that certain other teams weren't.

 

This season couldn't have ended any worse.

[Mr. WEO]

54 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

Cowboys were the number one DVOA team heading into the playoffs.  

 
then they enter the playoffs

[BuffaloBill]

21 hours ago, Southern Bills Fan said:

It was a close game but not really a good game. 

 

 

This ^^^ - both teams seemed depleted - It was not the best product.

[4BillsintheBurgh]

22 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Agree completely that mental and physical fatigue/wear and tear showed at the end.

 

I realize this will never happen, but I'm a proponent of shortening, not lengthening, the season.   Remember when the season was 14 games long?  I know you do.

 

Two reasons: 

1) I think it's a "bait and switch" for teams and ticketholders of teams with open air stadia to keep extending the season into the depths of seasonal winter

2) I think the wear-and-tear of a longer season degrades the quality of the playoff games and superbowl

 

Also not a fan of the extra playoff team and only 1 bye.  I think the initial round of playoffs was low-quality.

 

Like I said, I understand it will never happen because $$$$, but if we're throwing down what we'd like to see happen, that's where I am

 

 

Does it make that much of a difference, in reality? Say if the schedule was 16 games with three bye weeks how much would the dollars suffer? You would lose the gate revenue from a 17th game but isn't the real money from the TV contract that would in effect be 19 weeks? There can only be so many games on tv anyway and while there would be less games to choose from if there is a bad game you can just switch to other closer games. If the owners wanted to have more games available they could ramp up their desire to go overseas, which would also be easier for the players with more bye weeks.

 

I think the NFLPA really screwed the pooch agreeing to more games before getting more bye weeks.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, stuvian said:

I think it was a good but not great game. I hate to say this but a SB without Tommy Boy suddenly feels anticlimactic. Such is the hold he has on our imaginations. 

 

Speak for yourself

 

I found it refreshing

[BADOLBILZ]

16 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

It was a close game, but not because both teams were trading blows. It was just sloppy play from both sides. Missed throws, weird play calls, a sudden onslaught of flags in the final 2 minutes. I don't think either team was really deserving of the win, LA just made one less mistake. No signature plays and the biggest play of the game only happened because of a missed face mask that everyone watching the game saw on replay. Overall meh.

 

The level of play was on par to a November regular season game between two "in the hunt" level teams, IMO.    Lot's of unforced errors and wasn't a desperate sense of urgency and they seemed to fall into a lull where they were comfortable punting back and forth to each other in the second half.

 

You aren't always going to get a good game or a close game in the SB.   But what I always hope to see in a SB is greatness on display that really shows you why at least one of these teams is there.   Last years SB was a blowout but Tampa absolutely played their best game.  

 

Maybe the way to put it is that if you were a college football coach who is too busy recruiting to see NFL games and only saw THIS game.........you wouldn't think you were missing much.    

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

With help from the refs and a fresh set of downs on 3rd and goal. 

 

Help that wasn't afforded to the Bills against the Bucs on a more egregious act... That would have changed the venue of the divisional playoff game against the Chiefs. 

 

Yup... It was that close of a season where factors that certain teams weren't afford equal opportunities.

 

Error on the part of the League, glitches in the rules and system, or just bad luck... Anyway you slice,  inconsistent season mostly on the doings of powers beyond the control of the teams competing. 

 

Rams were afforded an opportunity in a big game that certain other teams weren't.

 

This season couldn't have ended any worse.

 

 

Yeah I felt that there was no way that the refs were going to let the Rams go 4 and out in a goal to go situation if Cinci was still clutching and grabbing.........as both teams had been allowed to play all game.

 

Two ways to look at it...........that is was just BS letting the refs influence the end of the game like that.

 

Or realizing this could happen and going for the jugular all game instead of playing/coaching yourself into a tight game.

 

It's my opinion that most close games are tentatively or poorly played and coached into existence.

[mannc]

23 hours ago, Success said:

It was a great Super Bowl. I'm not sure what people are talking about when they say it was sub-par. It was a really hard-fought game that came down to the last minute.

 

Yeah, there have been a lot of really bad Super Bowls and that wasn’t one of them…there were about six seasons in a row in the 80s and again in the 90s where the Super Bowl was a complete blowout by halftime…

[mannc]

2 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 Ravens have no QB.  

 

 

 

But he was an MVP!!!!!😄

[Rico]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

The level of play was on par to a November regular season game between two "in the hunt" level teams, IMO.    Lot's of unforced errors and wasn't a desperate sense of urgency and they seemed to fall into a lull where they were comfortable punting back and forth to each other in the second half.

 

You aren't always going to get a good game or a close game in the SB.   But what I always hope to see in a SB is greatness on display that really shows you why at least one of these teams is there.   Last years SB was a blowout but Tampa absolutely played their best game.  

 

Maybe the way to put it is that if you were a college football coach who is too busy recruiting to see NFL games and only saw THIS game.........you wouldn't think you were missing much.    

Felt a little like a Thursday Night Football Jaguars-Texans classic.

[GunnerBill]

9 minutes ago, Rico said:

Felt a little like a Thursday Night Football Jaguars-Texans classic.

 

Remember the year TNF tried to talk up Bortles v Mariota as the future of the NFL?

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Yeah I felt that there was no way that the refs were going to let the Rams go 4 and out in a goal to go situation if Cinci was still clutching and grabbing.........as both teams had been allowed to play all game.

 

Two ways to look at it...........that is was just BS letting the refs influence the end of the game like that.

 

Or realizing this could happen and going for the jugular all game instead of playing/coaching yourself into a tight game.

 

It's my opinion that most close games are tentatively or poorly played and coached into existence.

Cincy DID go for the jugular twice and hit those plays, and on that final play where Donald made the big pressure that forced the incompletion, Ramsey had fallen down and Chase was WIDE open--and I mean WIDE open--for a TD. I'm mot really speaking to your point here, but if a Bengals o-lineman did the unlikely and actually blocked Donald even a little, Ramsey might have gone down as one of the biggest goats in SB history--"trash," as it were. That would have been hilarious, and I would have loved it. It's also why I think Donald should have been the MVP, although I can't complain too much about Kupp getting it.

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by dave mcbride

[BADOLBILZ]

9 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Cincy DID go for the jugular twice and hit those plays, and on that final play where Donald made the big pressure that forced the incompletion, Ramsey had fallen down and Chase was WIDE open--and I mean WIDE open--for a TD. I'm mot really speaking to your point here, but if a Bengals o-lineman did the unlikely and actually blocked Donald even a little, Ramsey might have gone down as one of the biggest goats in SB history--"trash," as it were. That would have been hilarious, and I would have loved it. It's also why I think Donald should have been the MVP, although I can't complain too much about Kupp getting it.

 

 

 

Sometimes going for the jugular means having the patience to methodically call and make plays that give you the best chance against a defense.

 

The Bengals offensive game plan......full of slow developing pass plays.......made little sense.

 

The Higgins TD versus Ramsey was just a broken play that would have been flagged and then overturned by the sky judge in every prior game this season so they really just caught a break on that.    Credit to them for taking advantage of the Rams inexplicable choice to blitz there.........but in reality Ramsey had that one well covered.

 

And as @Hapless Bills Fan mentioned earlier the pic of Chase running past Ramsey begs the question did Chase OPI him to get to that point as well.   4th and 1 and they didn't have a good short pass option?  

 

 

[dave mcbride]

6 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Sometimes going for the jugular means having the patience to methodically call and make plays that give you the best chance against a defense.

 

The Bengals offensive game plan......full of slow developing pass plays.......made little sense.

 

The Higgins TD versus Ramsey was just a broken play that would have been flagged and then overturned by the sky judge in every prior game this season so they really just caught a break on that.    Credit to them for taking advantage of the Rams inexplicable choice to blitz there.........but in reality Ramsey had that one well covered.

 

And as @Hapless Bills Fan mentioned earlier the pic of Chase running past Ramsey begs the question did Chase OPI him to get to that point as well.   4th and 1 and they didn't have a good short pass option?  

 

 

I like to think Ramsey simply choked--just liked he choked vs Tampa/Mike Evans (although he was saved by the bell in the form of TB going cover zero on LA's last possession).

 

They did have the short pass option to Burrow's right. It's just that the Bengal's joke of an o-lineman was beaten so quickly and so badly that Burrow had no chance. 

Edited February 15, 2022 by dave mcbride

[BADOLBILZ]

14 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I like to think Ramsey simply choked--just liked he choked vs Tampa/Mike Evans (although he was saved by the bell in the form of TB going cover zero on LA's last possession).

 

They did have the short pass option to Burrow's right. It's just that the Bengal's joke of an o-lineman was beaten so quickly and so badly that Burrow had no chance. 

 

 

Ramsey is definitely annoying and yeah there was surely satisfaction when he nearly blew that Tampa game and then when Higgins whiplashed him.    And I am all about not spreading the virus but the neck gaitor when it's 75 degrees in the house and nobody else has a mask on was also. 

 

As for the short pass option...........Smudgy Perine isn't what I would have had in mind. 

[Rico]

21 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Ramsey is definitely annoying and yeah there was surely satisfaction when he nearly blew that Tampa game and then when Higgins whiplashed him.    And I am all about not spreading the virus but the neck gaitor when it's 75 degrees in the house and nobody else has a mask on was also. 

 

As for the short pass option...........Smudgy Perine isn't what I would have had in mind. 

That 2nd-down pass was bad too, make sure you get the 1st-down and move the chains first. 

[4BillsintheBurgh]

44 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Ramsey is definitely annoying and yeah there was surely satisfaction when he nearly blew that Tampa game and then when Higgins whiplashed him.    And I am all about not spreading the virus but the neck gaitor when it's 75 degrees in the house and nobody else has a mask on was also. 

 

As for the short pass option...........Smudgy Perine isn't what I would have had in mind. 

From the Chase screenshot above it looks like there are two Bengals short to burrows left, seems like the short progression was there, then to the other side with deep to Chase and finally short to Perine. Joe just didn't have the time.

[The Frankish Reich]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:41 AM, Brennan Huff said:

“Real football fans” are watching regardless. The target audience is literally the rest of the planet

Yep. The "3 yards and a cloud of dust" purists will gladly watch a new school 45-42 shootout.

The casual fan will not stay tuned to a 9-6 field position/special teams thriller.

[TheFunPolice]

Here's a weird stat: Burrow's Bengals are 0-4 vs the Browns

[Shaw66]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:16 AM, BADOLBILZ said:

First of all........I was a proponent of the extra game and I do believe eventually that expanded rosters, 18 games and 2 byes will happen.

 

But in the first season with both the extra game as well as the 2020-instituted extra playoff team.............I think the mental and physical fatigue really showed at the end.

 

The NFL got close games..........but for real football fans it was a sloppy finish in both the championship games and SB.   OL and QB play was particularly weak.

 

A couple observations:

 

1) This season both #1 seeds came from divisions without another playoff team.   That has happened in shorter seasons too but this time neither was seen as a dominant favorite to reach the SB,  which seemed very unusual.

 

2) The best teams........I would argue Buff/KC and Tampa/LAR all had 4 game paths to winning the SB and met in the divisional round.    Only the Rams survived..........and barely.

 

 

I Just popped into this thread, and I read only the first  few posts and a few on the last page.  As someone said, sample size is too small to reach any conclusions, but I think generally you're onto something.   16 games was too long for the players, and I think this one game worse.  

 

I used to think that the regular season had two parts - the first 6-8 weeks while teams were trying to figure out who they were, what worked, what didn't work, and then a sprint to the finish.  Then the playoffs. 

 

This season it almost seemed like there were three parts.  The first 6-8, then a 4-5 week coasting period, then 4-7 weeks of trying to rev it up and sprint to the finish.  Lots of teams were flat in mid-season after hot starts, particularly the Rams and Chargers, but their were others.  The Bills didn't start firing on all cylinders until the last month.  

 

The season has a bit of the feel of the NBA season (and probably NHL, but I don't follow it), where players are coasting through the season - playing hard, for sure, but not with real killer instinct.  

 

It all felt a little bit off.   

 

And, as you say, the worst part of it is that the #1 seeds came out wrong (in terms of the best teams getting the seeds) and the best teams had challenging roads to the championship game and Super Bowl.  Like someone said, this Super Bowl had the feel of good Sunday night game from week 7, not the world championship.   The reason it felt that way was because the best teams weren't there.  It was difficult to promote the game - who's getting excited about these Rams and these Bengals?, and the quality of the play suffered because, well, they weren't the best teams. 

 

 

[Bill from NYC]

On 2/14/2022 at 12:24 PM, SirAndrew said:

Amen to the retro 90’s stuff. I grew up in the 90’s, it stunk back then, and it still stinks. It was the beginning of pop culture purging itself of all quality. It also boasted some of the dorkiest styles for “cool” people of all time. 

Interesting. I think that there was a window (however brief) when music was good in the 90's. The Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Collective Soul, the Spin Doctors, and Pearl Jam, and even Alanis Morrisette were all pretty good or so I think, and then they pretty much disappeared. 

 

I would have a tough time coming up with 20 songs between the end of that era and now that I consider very good. Perhaps even 10.

 

As always, jmo.

 

[Livinginthepast]

If you look at the early history of the SB it had almost a novelty feel to it. Like the game was a made for tv joke.  As the 70s wore on, the games seemed to get better. The first one I remember watching was the juggernaut Steelers defeating the Rams. In most of the games since, the hype never lives up to the reality. And in many ways all the other crap overshadows or ruins the game itself.   The last few years the games have been pretty mediocre at best.  Maybe the last good one was the Pats Philly. I thought throughout that game Sunday that the players on both sides seemed to be far too laid back and mellow. Either they were tired or tranquilized. I really thought that the urgency would kick in by the 4th quarter, but even on the last drive the players seemed to be sleepwalking. Cinci and their coaches seemed to think they had 5 downs on that last series with their playcalls and non challant attitude. Its like they smoked a fat one before the last drive started.

[MJS]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:40 AM, Success said:

It was a great Super Bowl. I'm not sure what people are talking about when they say it was sub-par. It was a really hard-fought game that came down to the last minute.

 

They didn't like it because both defenses affected the game. I think it really comes down to that.

 

And the championship games were really good, I thought.

[Rick 'r Mortis]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:28 AM, Coach Tuesday said:

Last night’s product was terrible.  Anodyne watered-down 90s revival crap, from the commercials to the announcers (Al Michaels sounded like he had died three years ago) - and I actually even liked the halftime show for once.  It was so boring that at one point they literally did a history of people named Joe in the Super Bowl.  Just a bland, joyless affair and I’m sure tired players played a role in that.  Unfortunately the Super Bowl isn’t really for “real football fans”, I’m not the target audience.

100% agree with everything. More of a reason or excuse to get together, to throw a party. My mom even used it to get me to come out and visit, which I did. But me and my brother and his family left before the game started.

First halftime show I've enjoyed in decades and I'm more of a rock music fan.

 

When the Bills make it next season I won't care two ***** about anything else but the game 

[dave mcbride]

On 2/15/2022 at 1:24 PM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Ramsey is definitely annoying and yeah there was surely satisfaction when he nearly blew that Tampa game and then when Higgins whiplashed him.    And I am all about not spreading the virus but the neck gaitor when it's 75 degrees in the house and nobody else has a mask on was also. 

 

As for the short pass option...........Smudgy Perine isn't what I would have had in mind. 

re: Perine (previous running play): https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/02/16/zac-taylor-says-he-got-third-down-call-in-late-so-it-was-his-decision-to-leave-samaje-perine-in/

[34-78-83]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:38 AM, Coach Tuesday said:

It would’ve been a good game for a week 6 Sunday night football or a week 16 flex - but as Super Bowls go it was pretty weak, neither team was very good compared to the teams that were sitting at home - Bucs, Cowboys, Bills, Chiefs, even the Titans and Ravens are probably better than either team that played last night.

Was with you until Titans and Ravens. To me those were 2 very meh teams this season, both lacking majorly in the QB department (Jackson had his moments but very few). The Rams and Bengals are not the best 2 for sure but were better than those. Don't forget Green Bay as well.

On 2/15/2022 at 4:37 PM, Bill from NYC said:

Interesting. I think that there was a window (however brief) when music was good in the 90's. The Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Collective Soul, the Spin Doctors, and Pearl Jam, and even Alanis Morrisette were all pretty good or so I think, and then they pretty much disappeared. 

 

I would have a tough time coming up with 20 songs between the end of that era and now that I consider very good. Perhaps even 10.

 

As always, jmo.

 

Thats why you and I were mostly listening to the Grateful Dead at the time (~);}