2014 NFL Playoffs Thread

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Google results for media criticizing Richard Sherman: 13,700,000 results

Google results for media criticizing Hitler: 7,270,000

[Kodos]

Solid work, RD3.

[Arles]

I think the media struggles with the equation:

athletes speaking their mind <> athletes being douchebags

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

Google results for media criticizing Richard Sherman: 13,700,000 results

Google results for media criticizing Hitler: 7,270,000

Might want to read some of those links - most are criticizing fans for criticizing Sherman. Most are also linking to the same articles. Aren't we past this stupid exercise yet?

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Jesus Arles take a breath.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

Jesus Arles take a breath.

Sometimes it's hard to know when you are trolling and not being serious...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

But the fact the reporters are whining because he isn't giving them enough makes me say, keep doing what you are doing Marshawn...

This, this, very much this.

The whining from the pro football writers "guild" (the acronym escapes me at the moment) is one of the more pathetic things I've seen in a while. Truly embarrassing to me as a former journalist ... and it ought to be embarrass them.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

Jesus Arles take a breath.

Not clear at all if you're joking or making a point. I think Arles is entirely within his right to respond how he did.

Heck, I still don't know myself if you were making a joke or a point.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

Google results for media criticizing Richard Sherman: 13,700,000 results

Google results for media criticizing Hitler: 7,270,000

Well keep in mind that websites like Fox News weren't around for Hitler.

On second thought the Criticizing Hitler number would still be the same.

[larrymcg421]

I thought it was clear RD3 was spoofing my own earlier post (which I admitted was just made to stir up shit). I thought it was funny.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

I thought it was clear RD3 was spoofing my own earlier post (which I admitted was just made to stir up shit). I thought it was funny.

What earlier post? I didn't see one from you going 2-3 pages back.

[molson]

The media has kept it going by portraying this as a historically significant post-game interview, and of course the motivation of that is to stir positive and negative emotions and generate web traffic. I would disagree with Arles that the media has "called everyone racist for taking issue with his outburst", but I've said my piece on that.

[Sun Tzu]

I can't believe it took 43 pages for someone to compare Richard Sherman to Hitler. I would have put my money much closer to 20.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

What earlier post? I didn't see one from you going 2-3 pages back.

It was back on page 37...

Google search results:

Richard Sherman thug: 35,300,000
Richie Incognito thug: 105,000

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

The media won't criticize Sherman because interviews like his are ratings gold.

Everything I've heard is the media criticizing fans for being critical of Sherman, with lots of statements like "we want our athlete's to speak their minds and not speak in cliches so we shouldn't jump on them when they say something interesting", which is horseshit because as a fan I don't give a crap whether the media can get athlete's to give them juicy quotes and headlines.

Does anyone really care what this guys have to say? Certainly when it's not about the game and they ask pop culture type questions. And not even when they stick to questions about the game. I don't really care how a guy felt when he scored the winning TD, or made the diving interception. I'm not watching because I am curious about the guy's feelings, I'm watching to see him make the play. He did, I saw it, and I move on.

[Sun Tzu]

I can't believe there are still some people defending Richard Sherman on here.

2 years from now, after he's had another 13 outbursts like this, people who have been following this guy since he came into the league are going to be laughing at the yo-yo's defending him now.

[molson]

It's funny how the people who mocked others' racial sensitivity over the Sherman thing are themselves incredibly sensitive to and offended by the outburst in the first place. They're still not over it. As some of you said earlier, maybe you shouldn't let Sherman have power over you and you should just move on.

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Does anyone really care what this guys have to say?

Obviously, yes.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I can't believe there are still some people defending Richard Sherman on here.

2 years from now, after he's had another 13 outbursts like this, people who have been following this guy since he came into the league are going to be laughing at the yo-yo's defending him now.

I can't believe there are still some people letting his trash-talking on the field dominate their view of him as a man.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I can't believe it took 43 pages for someone to compare Richard Sherman to Hitler. I would have put my money much closer to 20.

I don't think this word means what you think it does.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

I can't believe there are still some people letting his trash-talking on the field dominate their view of him as a man.

wat

[Sun Tzu]

Interesting quote from Kaep when asked about his next contract.

“I think it’s a balance,” Kaepernick said. “You want to be paid fairly for what you feel like you’re doing in comparison to your peers. But at the same time, you have to realize, if we want to get Anquan Boldin back, if we want to get Donte Whitner to come back, we’re going to have to make moves to get them back. And there has to be room for everyone.

“That’s something I’m going to let my agent and the organization try and figure out. But hopefully, it’s a position where we can assemble the best team we need.”

[Logan]

Let's see what the numbers end up being (not that I'd blame him at all for taking what he can get).

[Sun Tzu]

Not often you hear a player say that he'd be open to taking less money (especially on that big #2 contract) for the betterment of the team.

[Bigsmooth]

So much for holding every play argument:

Seattle Seahawks Defenders: How Often Do They Really Commit Fouls? | The Big Lead

[mrtourette]

Originally Posted by Arles

The media reaction defended Sherman and called us all racist for taking issue with his outburst. Hardly see how that would endear someone to the Seahawks.

Super Bowl 2014: Richard Sherman has a lot to show us — about ourselves - The Washington Post

Amy Davidson: Who's a Thug? : The New Yorker

Sherman is a better man than what you see - ESPN

Compton native Richard Sherman, far from a thug | FOX Sports on MSN

Seahawks’ Richard Sherman Is Much More Than Just Talk - nytimes

'Thug' is accepted way of calling someone N-word - CBSSports.com

Keidel: Richard Sherman Is Not A Thug « CBS Chicago

In fact, it's hard to find a mainstream sports/news organization actually criticizing Sherman.

Wise guy, huh? With your google machine?

Of course there have been articles rightly pointing out the situation and sports/news organisations don't generally take organisation-wide stances on anything (Tim Tebow aside) however there are plenty of individual opinions within organisations that are aired. I don't remember specifying that an entire organisation had criticized Sherman, however the 'media reaction' (including individual columnists/social media) included plenty of swipes at him. You can't say 'the media defended him', much like I was too vague saying 'the media reaction' in my post.

In fact I didn't even say that the media reaction in question was one of criticizing him, just one of heartsinkingly predictable overplaying of a non-story. Same with the Marshawn Lynch situation, the stuffy and arrognat attitude displayed by the PFWA only makes me want him to carry on doing ehat he's doing and for him to be successful, so that those who have taken umbridge with him don't get the opportunity for shadenfreude.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Bigsmooth

So much for holding every play argument:

Seattle Seahawks Defenders: How Often Do They Really Commit Fouls? | The Big Lead

I don't doubt that the 'hold on every play' mantra is a bit overblown, but that article is pretty terribly written. "I watched 600 plays and only counted penalties on 26 of them." Even if we assume he...

A) Knows what he's talking about.
B) Isn't biased in the least.
C) Really did watch all of those plays.

He compares them to literally zero other teams. There is no basis of comparison for whether or not they commit fouls more or less than anyone else. Hell, in the SECOND PARAGRAPH of his analysis, he comes up with the fact that they're possibly committing a penalty on over 20% of pass plays. I don't know about you, but that sounds like an awful lot to me.

Fast forward to his next salient point: on some of the plays where the defense is cheating, it helped the offense.

...yes, that makes the cheating ok.

I have no idea who this guy is, but I'd love to see some quality analysis on the subject.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Not often you hear a player say that he'd be open to taking less money (especially on that big #2 contract) for the betterment of the team.

He won't really take less money but it will be spun that way. He is under contract for probably 800k next year and could be franchised for approximately 18m in 2015, 21m in 2016 and like 25m in 2017.

Anyways I'll just call it as a likely 7 year 110-120m deal with 40m in guarantees that will be touted as "he took less money" and "that's an affordable AAV by QB standards" when in reality he's getting top qb money but he's hamstrung by a low year 4 salary that he can't hold out from.

[stevew]

Dola, Wilson will get nearly the exact same thing or approx 10% higher if he wins one of the next two super bowls.

[Logan]

Weather update for Sunday. High of 48. Kickoff temp expected to be around 42, low during the game around 38. Slight chance of some rain during the day but before kickoff.

[Lathum]

My wife is flying back to Ohio out of Seatac this morning, said the whole airport is Seahawks fans flying out gor the game, pretty neat atmosphere.

I told her I'll give her a dollar to yell Go Broncos!

[TroyF]

Well, gameday has finally arrived and we all get to see one of the more interesting Super Bowls of all time. I think the main narrative of the game is actually going to focus on the OTHER side of the ball. Can Denver slow down Lynch and keep churning possessions for Manning? Against the Hawks defense, he'll need as many possessions as he can get. If Lynch and Wilson can control the tempo and the clock, I think it's a long day for the Broncos.

I'll be headed off to a Super Bowl party so I won't be in the game thread, but good luck to all the Seahawks fans. May everyone on both teams stay healthy and may the best team win.

Go Broncos!!!

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Well, gameday has finally arrived and we all get to see one of the more interesting Super Bowls of all time. I think the main narrative of the game is actually going to focus on the OTHER side of the ball. Can Denver slow down Lynch and keep churning possessions for Manning? Against the Hawks defense, he'll need as many possessions as he can get. If Lynch and Wilson can control the tempo and the clock, I think it's a long day for the Broncos.

I'll be headed off to a Super Bowl party so I won't be in the game thread, but good luck to all the Seahawks fans. May everyone on both teams stay healthy and may the best team win.

Go Broncos!!!

Troy I agree. Denver needs to keep Lynch less than 100 and no big breakaways. I they can do that I am hopeful the Broncos offense can churn out enough yards in the worst case to kick a bunchof field Goals and as TD or two. Something like 23-21 or 23-20 type game I expect. I was just watching NFL countdown and it should a bunch of plays with Manning throwing the ball anywhere between 1sec and 2 seconds including long passes down field. Pretty amazing and I see is a large reason he isn't getting sacked that much. Also, I think a X factor is Knowshon Mariano who know is talking about with all the Beast mode talk stuff. He is in a contract soon to FA year and has a lot to prove so expect a lot from him if he gets the ball. I also will take the Fox/Rio/Manning coaching over Carrol.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Troy I agree. Denver needs to keep Lynch less than 100 and no big breakaways. I they can do that I am hopeful the Broncos offense can churn out enough yards in the worst case to kick a bunchof field Goals and as TD or two. Something like 23-21 or 23-20 type game I expect. I was just watching NFL countdown and it should a bunch of plays with Manning throwing the ball anywhere between 1sec and 2 seconds including long passes down field. Pretty amazing and I see is a large reason he isn't getting sacked that much. Also, I think a X factor is Knowshon Mariano who know is talking about with all the Beast mode talk stuff. He is in a contract soon to FA year and has a lot to prove so expect a lot from him if he gets the ball. I also will take the Fox/Rio/Manning coaching over Carrol.

Player A - 241 carries, 1,038 yards (4.3) 60 catches, 548 yards 1 fumble 301 touches
Player B - 301 carries, 1,257 yards (4.2) 36 catches, 316 yards, 4 fumble 337 touches


A is Moreno, B is Lynch. I am NOT saying Moreno is as good as Lynch or even in the same league as he is. I am trying to show that Moreno (and Ball as well) are a big part of the Broncos offense. The Ball/Moreno combination has been responsible for 1,500+ yards rushing and 80 catches this year.

The narrative from everyone all week is the Seahawks pass D against the big 4 of the Broncos offense. There has been little/no mention about how important the running game AND the passes to the backs out of the backfield will be.

[nol]

This was a funny pre-Super Bowl read: a piece about the game using the semi-condescending, distant tone that we commonly associate with news events taking place in foreign countries.

If It Happened There: How would we cover the Super Bowl if it were in another country?

[Alf]

Originally Posted by Logan

Weather update for Sunday. High of 48. Kickoff temp expected to be around 42, low during the game around 38. Slight chance of some rain during the day but before kickoff.

Sounds nearly perfect weather fo football !

[B & B]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Player A - 241 carries, 1,038 yards (4.3) 60 catches, 548 yards 1 fumble 301 touches
Player B - 301 carries, 1,257 yards (4.2) 36 catches, 316 yards, 4 fumble 337 touches


A is Moreno, B is Lynch. I am NOT saying Moreno is as good as Lynch or even in the same league as he is. I am trying to show that Moreno (and Ball as well) are a big part of the Broncos offense. The Ball/Moreno combination has been responsible for 1,500+ yards rushing and 80 catches this year.

The narrative from everyone all week is the Seahawks pass D against the big 4 of the Broncos offense. There has been little/no mention about how important the running game AND the passes to the backs out of the backfield will be.

Fantastic post.

The media will spin the Manning MVP , record breaking yadda yadda vs. Sherman and the defense. I suppose that's what people want to hear and talk about.

Unless youre watching from the pacific NW, then 3/4 of the people around will be cheering for Denver. Vegas opening line swung 4 pts but that means nothing. Infact, no SB game with a TD or less spread has ever had the line come into play. Basically, ignore the line and pick the winner.

This Superbowl is vexing. The game that I anticipate has Denver doing a lot of running and spreading the ball with short passes to the RBs vs a Seattle team which will be doing much more passing and play action than anyone would expect. This is a terrible SB to bet on, and a great one to watch (hopefully)

If Denver wins, Peyton gets MVP and everyone gets a free papa crap pizza. Might need it if youre paying those outlandish weed prices.

IF Seattle wins, things get interesting and we have a legit chance to see a rare non QB MVP. Odds are Wilson, but I will take a longshot with this guy.

You may remember him from two games this season or his fantastic role in the this movie with Bruce Willis. No, not that one with him and Travolta with the Big Kahuna burger.

No, not the one with all your gold in Fort K-k-k-knox from Jeremy Irons either.


This one.







My MVP pony #11 @ +1500

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I'll be headed off to a Super Bowl party so I won't be in the game thread, but good luck to all the Seahawks fans. May everyone on both teams stay healthy and may the best team win.!

+1

I hate that this matchup is against Manning - I just can't root against him (though I'm of course rooting for my Seahawks). I'd much rather be facing Brady. Having met and worked with him (briefly, we're not pals or anything), he really is down to earth and as grounded as an NFL superstar can be. He's fiercely competitive and a tireless, hard worker.

Still, I'm a born-Seattleite and it's been far, far too long since this area had a team win it all. Go Seahawks!

[Lathum]

I'm pulling for Seattle, my 5 years living there created a lot of good friendships with Seahawks fans. That being said I wold love to see Peyton get another ring. He is too good to retire with only one.

[EagleFan]

I turned on the pregame show and a political interview broke out?

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

I turned on the pregame show and a political interview broke out?

I cant think of two people I want to hear from less in the lead up to the superbowl. Though admittedly bill Murray was a close third. I guess I'm not the target audience.

[frnk55]

Bill Murray looks like the walking dead. Age and hidef are not good for him.

[JPhillips]

All of that was better than the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

[JPhillips]

Wes Welker has the eyes of a serial killer.

[sterlingice]

While it was much too long as they always are, national anthem woman can hit the really high note, which is rare and cool

SI

[sterlingice]

Any idea what animal Broadway Joe killed and put on his back?

SI

[kingfc22]

Amazing.

[sterlingice]

HA! Who had the crazy safety bet and what does it pay out?

SI

[PilotMan]

Well I bet Vegas just made a killing on that.

[cuervo72]

What is this, Steelers/Vikings??

[BillJasper]

Rough start for Denver.