Football (North America: NFL, CFL, Arena Football, minor leagues)

[DaBigE]

I love how there's a random post about the dictionary use of the word fuck. Quite lovely... 

Anyways back to football, Clemson is already being favored in the way too early top-25 to win next season
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/28467228/way-too-early-college-football-top-25-where-do-lsu-clemson-land

Well, we went from an Alabama dynasty to a Clemson dynasty.  Whose turn next for king of the pigskin mountain?  Since Clemson returns so much, they should be favored in the 2020 season but after that the QB heads off for Sunday play.  Right now I'd be looking at Ohio State to be the next in line.

Oregon got Mississippi State's fired head coach to be the offensive coordinator.  The Duck O was not scintillating in 2019 when compared to the previous seasons so that change combined with a high focus on linemen for both O and D might be enough to keep the Pac-12 in the CFP chase.

Oklahoma looks like they can shake and bake the Big XII so long as QB's keep coming along. 

All the churn at the top seems to be in the SEC, where the level of competition is fierce and high.  This was LSU's turn.  Who's next, Georgia?  Florida?  Auburn?  Or does Saban get the Tide back in the race? 

Remember When: Miami (Fla) was a top dog and they dominated the NFL Draft.  The 80's, 90's and early 00's were their time to flower.  As good as they were, the Canes did fall.  It just took a long time!

Waiting in the wings: Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Texas. 

Trying to find their way back: USC, Tennessee, Nebraska.

When do we see a team flare up like a supernova and then fade like Oregon State did in their Fiesta Bowl season, where the Beavs beat the Irish 41-9?  The next one might be another school with orange as a color and the initials "OSU".  Yeah, Oklahoma State, I'm looking at you in 2020.  Hubbard is the returning leading rusher in the country.  If the Cowboys can find some D, watch out for them.

Rick

I'm not sure what to think about Ohio State...they can run the Big Ten, but they seem to regularly crap the bed once they get to a big bowl game.

[nexus73]

I love how there's a random post about the dictionary use of the word fuck. Quite lovely... 

Anyways back to football, Clemson is already being favored in the way too early top-25 to win next season
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/28467228/way-too-early-college-football-top-25-where-do-lsu-clemson-land

Well, we went from an Alabama dynasty to a Clemson dynasty.  Whose turn next for king of the pigskin mountain?  Since Clemson returns so much, they should be favored in the 2020 season but after that the QB heads off for Sunday play.  Right now I'd be looking at Ohio State to be the next in line.

Oregon got Mississippi State's fired head coach to be the offensive coordinator.  The Duck O was not scintillating in 2019 when compared to the previous seasons so that change combined with a high focus on linemen for both O and D might be enough to keep the Pac-12 in the CFP chase.

Oklahoma looks like they can shake and bake the Big XII so long as QB's keep coming along. 

All the churn at the top seems to be in the SEC, where the level of competition is fierce and high.  This was LSU's turn.  Who's next, Georgia?  Florida?  Auburn?  Or does Saban get the Tide back in the race? 

Remember When: Miami (Fla) was a top dog and they dominated the NFL Draft.  The 80's, 90's and early 00's were their time to flower.  As good as they were, the Canes did fall.  It just took a long time!

Waiting in the wings: Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Texas. 

Trying to find their way back: USC, Tennessee, Nebraska.

When do we see a team flare up like a supernova and then fade like Oregon State did in their Fiesta Bowl season, where the Beavs beat the Irish 41-9?  The next one might be another school with orange as a color and the initials "OSU".  Yeah, Oklahoma State, I'm looking at you in 2020.  Hubbard is the returning leading rusher in the country.  If the Cowboys can find some D, watch out for them.

Rick

USC would be helped in finding their way back if they could get their hands on a coach like Ed Orgeron.

Having Orgeron as a fill in head coach did not lead to a contract to stay a Trojan, which sure must be leaving USC fans wondering "what if?". 

It looks like the real key hire in Baton Rouge was having what amounted to a second offensive coordinator hired at LSU, who designed the offense while leaving the playcalling to the original offensive coordinator, who was a former LSU QB.

Head coaches get the credit and blame but the guts of the operation are the assistants in my opinion.  Good ones move on and up.  That took the starch out of USC under Pete Carroll. 

Rick

[NWI_Irish96]

I love how there's a random post about the dictionary use of the word fuck. Quite lovely... 

Anyways back to football, Clemson is already being favored in the way too early top-25 to win next season
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/28467228/way-too-early-college-football-top-25-where-do-lsu-clemson-land

Well, we went from an Alabama dynasty to a Clemson dynasty.  Whose turn next for king of the pigskin mountain?  Since Clemson returns so much, they should be favored in the 2020 season but after that the QB heads off for Sunday play.  Right now I'd be looking at Ohio State to be the next in line.

Oregon got Mississippi State's fired head coach to be the offensive coordinator.  The Duck O was not scintillating in 2019 when compared to the previous seasons so that change combined with a high focus on linemen for both O and D might be enough to keep the Pac-12 in the CFP chase.

Oklahoma looks like they can shake and bake the Big XII so long as QB's keep coming along. 

All the churn at the top seems to be in the SEC, where the level of competition is fierce and high.  This was LSU's turn.  Who's next, Georgia?  Florida?  Auburn?  Or does Saban get the Tide back in the race? 

Remember When: Miami (Fla) was a top dog and they dominated the NFL Draft.  The 80's, 90's and early 00's were their time to flower.  As good as they were, the Canes did fall.  It just took a long time!

Waiting in the wings: Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Texas. 

Trying to find their way back: USC, Tennessee, Nebraska.

When do we see a team flare up like a supernova and then fade like Oregon State did in their Fiesta Bowl season, where the Beavs beat the Irish 41-9?  The next one might be another school with orange as a color and the initials "OSU".  Yeah, Oklahoma State, I'm looking at you in 2020.  Hubbard is the returning leading rusher in the country.  If the Cowboys can find some D, watch out for them.

Rick

USC would be helped in finding their way back if they could get their hands on a coach like Ed Orgeron.

Having Orgeron as a fill in head coach did not lead to a contract to stay a Trojan, which sure must be leaving USC fans wondering "what if?". 

It looks like the real key hire in Baton Rouge was having what amounted to a second offensive coordinator hired at LSU, who designed the offense while leaving the playcalling to the original offensive coordinator, who was a former LSU QB.

Head coaches get the credit and blame but the guts of the operation are the assistants in my opinion.  Good ones move on and up.  That took the starch out of USC under Pete Carroll. 

Rick

You don't need to explain the importance of assistant coaches to me.  I spent 1993 as a student manager at Notre Dame. As great a coach as Lou Holtz was, his biggest asset was an offensive line coach named Joe Moore.  He's what I consider to be the best ever to do that job.  The number of his players that went on to NFL careers was staggering.  That offensive line led an average QB who was thrust into the starting role due to injury, to earn his team a National Championship. 

Never mind that the championship that Notre Dame earned was given to someone else, just because they had a coach everybody loved despite having a team full of Criminoles, I mean criminals.

[nexus73]

I love how there's a random post about the dictionary use of the word fuck. Quite lovely... 

Anyways back to football, Clemson is already being favored in the way too early top-25 to win next season
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/28467228/way-too-early-college-football-top-25-where-do-lsu-clemson-land

Well, we went from an Alabama dynasty to a Clemson dynasty.  Whose turn next for king of the pigskin mountain?  Since Clemson returns so much, they should be favored in the 2020 season but after that the QB heads off for Sunday play.  Right now I'd be looking at Ohio State to be the next in line.

Oregon got Mississippi State's fired head coach to be the offensive coordinator.  The Duck O was not scintillating in 2019 when compared to the previous seasons so that change combined with a high focus on linemen for both O and D might be enough to keep the Pac-12 in the CFP chase.

Oklahoma looks like they can shake and bake the Big XII so long as QB's keep coming along. 

All the churn at the top seems to be in the SEC, where the level of competition is fierce and high.  This was LSU's turn.  Who's next, Georgia?  Florida?  Auburn?  Or does Saban get the Tide back in the race? 

Remember When: Miami (Fla) was a top dog and they dominated the NFL Draft.  The 80's, 90's and early 00's were their time to flower.  As good as they were, the Canes did fall.  It just took a long time!

Waiting in the wings: Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Texas. 

Trying to find their way back: USC, Tennessee, Nebraska.

When do we see a team flare up like a supernova and then fade like Oregon State did in their Fiesta Bowl season, where the Beavs beat the Irish 41-9?  The next one might be another school with orange as a color and the initials "OSU".  Yeah, Oklahoma State, I'm looking at you in 2020.  Hubbard is the returning leading rusher in the country.  If the Cowboys can find some D, watch out for them.

Rick

I'm not sure what to think about Ohio State...they can run the Big Ten, but they seem to regularly crap the bed once they get to a big bowl game.

When Ohio State did not get a TD late in the Big Ten title game when they were on the Badger 2 yard line, the result was they failed to cover the spread and lost the #1 seed.  Life for the Buckeyes would have been easier had they faced Oklahoma instead of Clemson, although the way LSU was playing, it likely would have made no difference.

Still, there is so much talent in Columbus that the Buckeyes can compete with a blindfold on and a hand tied behind their back.  The occasional flop to a Purdue will still happen but who really wants to face Ohio State in a playoff game?  They are scary loaded!  Remember when the Buckeyes were down to their third string QB, who came on so strong in the playoffs?  Their backups are Just That Good!

Rick

[nexus73]

I love how there's a random post about the dictionary use of the word fuck. Quite lovely... 

Anyways back to football, Clemson is already being favored in the way too early top-25 to win next season
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/28467228/way-too-early-college-football-top-25-where-do-lsu-clemson-land

Well, we went from an Alabama dynasty to a Clemson dynasty.  Whose turn next for king of the pigskin mountain?  Since Clemson returns so much, they should be favored in the 2020 season but after that the QB heads off for Sunday play.  Right now I'd be looking at Ohio State to be the next in line.

Oregon got Mississippi State's fired head coach to be the offensive coordinator.  The Duck O was not scintillating in 2019 when compared to the previous seasons so that change combined with a high focus on linemen for both O and D might be enough to keep the Pac-12 in the CFP chase.

Oklahoma looks like they can shake and bake the Big XII so long as QB's keep coming along. 

All the churn at the top seems to be in the SEC, where the level of competition is fierce and high.  This was LSU's turn.  Who's next, Georgia?  Florida?  Auburn?  Or does Saban get the Tide back in the race? 

Remember When: Miami (Fla) was a top dog and they dominated the NFL Draft.  The 80's, 90's and early 00's were their time to flower.  As good as they were, the Canes did fall.  It just took a long time!

Waiting in the wings: Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Texas. 

Trying to find their way back: USC, Tennessee, Nebraska.

When do we see a team flare up like a supernova and then fade like Oregon State did in their Fiesta Bowl season, where the Beavs beat the Irish 41-9?  The next one might be another school with orange as a color and the initials "OSU".  Yeah, Oklahoma State, I'm looking at you in 2020.  Hubbard is the returning leading rusher in the country.  If the Cowboys can find some D, watch out for them.

Rick

USC would be helped in finding their way back if they could get their hands on a coach like Ed Orgeron.

Having Orgeron as a fill in head coach did not lead to a contract to stay a Trojan, which sure must be leaving USC fans wondering "what if?". 

It looks like the real key hire in Baton Rouge was having what amounted to a second offensive coordinator hired at LSU, who designed the offense while leaving the playcalling to the original offensive coordinator, who was a former LSU QB.

Head coaches get the credit and blame but the guts of the operation are the assistants in my opinion.  Good ones move on and up.  That took the starch out of USC under Pete Carroll. 

Rick

You don't need to explain the importance of assistant coaches to me.  I spent 1993 as a student manager at Notre Dame. As great a coach as Lou Holtz was, his biggest asset was an offensive line coach named Joe Moore.  He's what I consider to be the best ever to do that job.  The number of his players that went on to NFL careers was staggering.  That offensive line led an average QB who was thrust into the starting role due to injury, to earn his team a National Championship. 

Never mind that the championship that Notre Dame earned was given to someone else, just because they had a coach everybody loved despite having a team full of Criminoles, I mean criminals.

Sounds like a fun gig!  Being with a team that has tradition galore has to look good on the resume and if not, it still makes for great memories!  Glad you got the experience...

Rick

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I'm not sure what to think about Ohio State...they can run the Big Ten, but they seem to regularly crap the bed once they get to a big bowl game.

Ohio State's last three bowl game losses have all been against Clemson. (OSU went 6-4 in bowl games this decade)

[DaBigE]

Rule change suggestion: Should a defensive pass interference call be wiped away if the intended receiver completes the catch?

[Buck87]

I'm not sure what to think about Ohio State...they can run the Big Ten, but they seem to regularly crap the bed once they get to a big bowl game.

Ohio State's last three bowl game losses have all been against Clemson. (OSU went 6-4 in bowl games this decade)

also, when it comes to "big bowl games", Ohio State's record is:

5-2 in New Year's Six bowls (2014-present)
6-4 in BCS Bowls (1998-2013)
8-9 in Big 4 Bowls (1901-1997)

19-15 overall, with the more impressive part of the record being in the most recent iterations of the "big bowl games"

[wanderer2575]

Rule change suggestion: Should a defensive pass interference call be wiped away if the intended receiver completes the catch?

Doesn't the offensive team already have the option of declining that penalty?  (I'm not enough of a follower to know the rule details.)

[DaBigE]

Rule change suggestion: Should a defensive pass interference call be wiped away if the intended receiver completes the catch?

Doesn't the offensive team already have the option of declining that penalty?  (I'm not enough of a follower to know the rule details.)

They do, but in the case of the Chief's game, it turned a 4th down into a 1st down.

An argument could be made for both sides of the rule - curious to see what others think. Don't mess with the receiver, and there's no penalty period. But if you complete the catch, does the interference really matter (other than possibly being able to gain more YACs)?

[DaBigE]

I'm not sure what to think about Ohio State...they can run the Big Ten, but they seem to regularly crap the bed once they get to a big bowl game.

Ohio State's last three bowl game losses have all been against Clemson. (OSU went 6-4 in bowl games this decade)

also, when it comes to "big bowl games", Ohio State's record is:

5-2 in New Year's Six bowls (2014-present)
6-4 in BCS Bowls (1998-2013)
8-9 in Big 4 Bowls (1901-1997)

19-15 overall, with the more impressive part of the record being in the most recent iterations of the "big bowl games"

I stand corrected...I guess my dislike of Ohio State clouded my memory of their overall record. Only the losses were sticking out.

[webny99]

Titans are going to have to win a shootout against the  Chiefs, something they didn't have to do against the Pats OR Ravens. Obviously, you can't keep a pass-heavy offense like the Chiefs under 20 points like you can to the mediocre Pats or run-heavy Ravens.

The Titans are a great underdog story, like the 2007 Giants, but, at the same time, it's just impossible not to want Mahomes and Andy Reid in the Super Bowl. Should be an interesting finish.

[US 89]

If the Packers win this evening, I officially dub this year's version of the NFL championship the StateFarm Bowl.

[ozarkman417]

For the first time in fifty years, the Chiefs are going to the big game. If the Packers win, It will be a SUPER BOWL I rematch, but the 49ers are up 10 at the time of writing.

SM-G965U

[webny99]

If the Packers win this evening

A tremendously big IF at this point. But at least they will have earned their trip to the Super Bowl if they can do it.

A Packers win also means the Chiefs face a team they lost to in the regular season for the THIRD straight time this postseason... and they only had four losses!

[Buck87]

The last time the Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl they were using this as their primary logo:

[Alps]

Rule change suggestion: Should a defensive pass interference call be wiped away if the intended receiver completes the catch?

Doesn't the offensive team already have the option of declining that penalty?  (I'm not enough of a follower to know the rule details.)

They do, but in the case of the Chief's game, it turned a 4th down into a 1st down.

An argument could be made for both sides of the rule - curious to see what others think. Don't mess with the receiver, and there's no penalty period. But if you complete the catch, does the interference really matter (other than possibly being able to gain more YACs)?

But that's exactly it, the YAC. So even if they catch it, you can either take the result of the play, or a catch + 1st down. If there was no interference, you have no way of knowing how the play would turn out.

[DaBigE]

If the Packers win this evening, I officially dub this year's version of the NFL championship the StateFarm Bowl.

Doesn't look like you'll have to worry about that (StateFarm's marketing dept is likely a little disappointed). The 49ers appear to be in full steamroller mode. The Packers don't appear to have learned anything from November.

[DaBigE]

Rule change suggestion: Should a defensive pass interference call be wiped away if the intended receiver completes the catch?

Doesn't the offensive team already have the option of declining that penalty?  (I'm not enough of a follower to know the rule details.)

They do, but in the case of the Chief's game, it turned a 4th down into a 1st down.

An argument could be made for both sides of the rule - curious to see what others think. Don't mess with the receiver, and there's no penalty period. But if you complete the catch, does the interference really matter (other than possibly being able to gain more YACs)?

But that's exactly it, the YAC. So even if they catch it, you can either take the result of the play, or a catch + 1st down. If there was no interference, you have no way of knowing how the play would turn out.

And that's the point I used against the person in our party that suggested it. On the surface, it seems contradictory, but in reality, you'll never know what could have happened.

[wanderer2575]

Rule change suggestion: Should a defensive pass interference call be wiped away if the intended receiver completes the catch?

Doesn't the offensive team already have the option of declining that penalty?  (I'm not enough of a follower to know the rule details.)

They do, but in the case of the Chief's game, it turned a 4th down into a 1st down.

An argument could be made for both sides of the rule - curious to see what others think. Don't mess with the receiver, and there's no penalty period. But if you complete the catch, does the interference really matter (other than possibly being able to gain more YACs)?

But that's exactly it, the YAC. So even if they catch it, you can either take the result of the play, or a catch + 1st down. If there was no interference, you have no way of knowing how the play would turn out.

Which is the reason I oppose the current penalty for defensive pass interference -- it awards a potential huge yardage gain and a first down on the assumption the receiver would have caught the ball.  Plenty of unobstructed missed catches show that's a bad assumption.

[Beltway]

Which is the reason I oppose the current penalty for defensive pass interference -- it awards a potential huge yardage gain and a first down on the assumption the receiver would have caught the ball.  Plenty of unobstructed missed catches show that's a bad assumption.

Probably the reverse logic was used to establish the penalty.

Defensive pass interference makes it impossible for the receiver to catch the ball, or nearly impossible.

[jeffandnicole]

Which is the reason I oppose the current penalty for defensive pass interference -- it awards a potential huge yardage gain and a first down on the assumption the receiver would have caught the ball.  Plenty of unobstructed missed catches show that's a bad assumption.

Probably the reverse logic was used to establish the penalty.

Defensive pass interference makes it impossible for the receiver to catch the ball, or nearly impossible.

Absolutely.  If it was only a 15 yard penalty, every defensive player would ambush any wide receiver potentially catching the ball 16 or more yards down the field.

[Beltway]

Probably the reverse logic was used to establish the penalty.
Defensive pass interference makes it impossible for the receiver to catch the ball, or nearly impossible.

Absolutely.  If it was only a 15 yard penalty, every defensive player would ambush any wide receiver potentially catching the ball 16 or more yards down the field.

At least they don't award a TD if the interference is in the defense's end zone.

They get 1st down at the 1 yard line.

[Max Rockatansky]

My god, Green Bay can literally do nothing to stop the 49ers from running the ball. 

[Beltway]

My god, Green Bay can literally do nothing to stop the 49ers from running the ball. 

A shame ... I thought it would be more of a game!