Sports

[gardenman]

That slow start for the Chiefs really killed them. You've pretty much got to match the Patriots score for score to have a shot at beating them. Ideally you get out way ahead and then hang on at the end. That roughing the passer call Brady got was an absolute joke and a free fifteen yards. Somehow the official thought that touching Brady in the chest was roughing the passer. Brady has a long history of falling to the ground at the slightest contact and motioning for the ref to throw a flag, but Brady didn't even think that was roughing the passer and didn't do his typical fall down and campaign routine. The refs always seem extremely generous in giving Brady the benefit of the doubt however.

The Rams have a shot at Brady and the Patriots, but they need to be playing their best. I have no idea what's going on with Gurley and the Rams. Gurley had just four carries and three passes thrown his way with one catch. That's not exactly what you'd expect from a league leading runningback. Gurley insists he wasn't hurt, but says he was just playing poorly so Anderson got the majority of the carries. Uh, yeah, sure, I believe that. There's something else going on there, but we don't know what just yet. Your biggest game of the year, your best runningback, who some say is your best player, or second best player behind Aaron Donald, and he only touches the ball five times? Four carries and one pass reception with two incomplete passes thrown his way? You're playing a game you must win and you pretty much bench the guy who's arguably your best player for a guy who was out of football a few weeks ago and cut by two separate teams this year alone. Sure. Makes perfect sense to me. 

There's something else going on with Gurley. You don't just bench one of your best players in that big of a game. Did he miss a practice, or meeting? Did he sleep through the coaches pregame pep talk? Did he get caught sleeping with someone's wife/girlfriend? There's something going on there that we don't know about, either that or coaching malpractice on the part of McVay. If there was a disciplinary issue you sit the guy for the opening series then pray you didn't need him and get him back on the field as quickly as possible.

Maybe McVay is as genius a coach as everyone says and had a good reason for keeping his best player off the field, but it's a level of genius I can't comprehend. I dare say the Gurley usage will get a lot of examination in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl and we'll likely know more by the Super Bowl. As a gernal rule teams don't bench their best player in the their biggest game of the year, so people will be looking for answers. If there's a coach/player rift big enough to keep Gurley benched in the NFC Championship game, Gurley could be on the market this offseason.

[emmysmom]

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@gardenman wrote:

Just two games this week. We'll start with the NFC matchup. The Rams go to New Orleans for the NFC title and the right to play in the Super Bowl. Not a great matchup for the Rams. In the NFL the head coach and quarterback have direct communication until the play clock is at fifteen seconds. Sean McVay likes to have his offense line up very early and then fake a snap so he can see what the defense is doing. He'll then give the real play to Jared Goff, who will communicate it to the offensive players, and then they'll snap the ball. That "communicate it to the offensive players" is going to be a problem in the Super Dome. That place is so loud that players can't hear the guy alongside of them, let alone the QB. The Rams will have to adjust to that. McVay will likely have to make the calls blindly and hope the defense is doing what he wants. 

The Saints are beatable however. They're not playing their best football right now. Neither are the Rams though. Both teams are down a bit from their best at this point. I think the Rams are playing a bit better than the Saints, but that's at home where McVay can adjust his calls before the snap. I'll probably pick the Saints in this one, simply because of the noise issues that home crowd will create for the Rams. On neutral turf, I think the Rams would probably win.

The Patriots go to KC for the AFC championship game. KC is amazing in their first 20-30 scripted plays. Andy Reid scripts out those first 20-30 plays and the Chiefs score a lot on those plays. It's when they go off the script that the Chiefs struggle for some reason. Mahomes is a magician at QB and he's got a talented cast around him. He's also got a serious home field advantage. But, the Patriots are playing nearly perfect football right now. They're arguably the hottest team, playing the best, in the playoff field. Tom Brady doesn't really care about the noise level or the rowdiness of the fans. He's just a surgeon out there cutting apart defenses. I'd love to see the Chiefs finally get Andy Reid a Super Bowl victory, and I'll be pulling for the Chiefs, but my gut says the Patriots get the win. They're just playing too well right now. Now, that can all change, but watching them dismantle the Chargers makes me think they'll be in Super Bowl 53 and likely win that also.

It should be a fun Sunday of football. At this point I think the two old guys (Brees and Brady) will be facing off in the Super Bowl. The two young guns (Mahomes and Goff) will likely have to wait another year.

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I live in KC and we were devastated by our loss last night..went into overtime...just made me sick! The Chiefs had a great year and Patrick Mahomes is "The Magic Man"...we'll do it again next year! Yea Chiefs!!! 

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

The Patriots are like a house guest who moves in and never leaves. As soon as they got first possession in overtime, I figured that was it-unless the Chiefs' defense made a monster play to stop Brady. They didn't, NE scores a TD, end of game. I've seen Brady do this so often, I expected it to happen again. 

I don't care about the Patriots, but after the Colts' game last week,  I can't be too upset for the Chiefs. They just fell victim to Patriots  as so many teams do. 

This is the first time that both conference games went into overtime and was won by the visiting teams. 

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@teganslaw

I was hoping the Chiefs would win and knock the Patriots out....BUT like you said the Patriots always seem to come out with a win...so thats why I selected them in my picks.  

Glad we got some good games to watch.  and Romo was great, and he was well prepared and knew exactly what the Patriots should run, and he was right too!.  I wish the Redskins could hire him as our coach!  

[gardenman]

Romo is too good! He knew exactly what the teams were doing most of the time before they did it. It's pretty amazing to watch him in the booth. He sets the bar impossibly high for everyone else.

[Spurt]

@teganslaw @gardenman @sunshine45

As far as the officiating the NFL had bad calls at critical times in both games. Games that determine who goes to the ultimate THE SUPER BOWL!

The NBA officials used to be the WORST, with bad calls, followed by what looked like "make-up calls" so stat sheets would make it look like the game was called evenly.....BUT there is also a HUGE bias towards favoring certain players, teams, and home court.  In fact one official was charged with betting on games and controlling the point spread! 

While NFL officials haven't been involved in a betting scandal .....yet (I say this because with sports betting now legal and so much money involved who knows--- it could happen), but NFL officiating has DECLINED in accuracy!!!! The NFL needs to do something....Hey Commish what about integrity of "the shield"????  They can perhaps start by making ALL officials FULL TIME NFL employees, to study the rules, watch film etc,

to know the rules and calls inside out, and make recommendations on which rules need to be clarified and changed!!!  That's my suggestion instead of hearing the top sport in the U.S. ridiculed by fans and media alike!

[gardenman]

Officiating is always a problem. The Eagles lost several games primarily due to bad calls. I'm just not sure there's a good solution. Some people want teams to be able challenge any call or non-call, but that would lead to chaos. There's typically some level of holding by the offensive line on every passing play, and some level of illegal contact/pass interference by the defense on every passing play. If you let teams challenge those calls then on every long pass completion a challenge flag would fly and the play called back for offensive holding. On every long incompletion, the offensive head coach would throw a challenge flag claiming defensive pass interference. The defensive coach would then throw a flag claiming offensive holding and the penalties would offset and games would go on for hours and hours with officials reviewing everything. 

Truth be told, even when they review plays they don't always get it right. As frustrating as it is, I think bad officiating is just part of the game. Sometimes you have to beat both the other team and the officials.

[Spurt]

@gardenman

I wouldnt want coaches to be able to challenge every play.....and can you imagine how long it would make an NFL game......but they need to do something about some of the blatant bad calls....And when you see the entire group of officials gathering in a circle for a discussion, just not a good sign.....

[sunshine45]

maybe they could just add an extra challenge or 2 (one each half?)......a challenge where a penalty COULD be challenged.

does anyone else think that they teams should play an entire quarter again if the game ends in a tie? really wondering how FAIR a coin toss is at the end of the game and how FAIR it is that if a team scores a touchdown on the first posession they are automatically the winners. maybe they should just play an entire quarter to make it more fair?

[sunshine45]

NFL could make pass interference reviewable

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-could-make-pass-interference-reviewable-in-wake-of-disastrous...

[proudlyfromNJ]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

maybe they could just add an extra challenge or 2 (one each half?)......a challenge where a penalty COULD be challenged.

does anyone else think that they teams should play an entire quarter again if the game ends in a tie? really wondering how FAIR a coin toss is at the end of the game and how FAIR it is that if a team scores a touchdown on the first posession they are automatically the winners. maybe they should just play an entire quarter to make it more fair?

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@sunshine45.  I agree they should go a whole quarter when game ends in a tie. The coin toss doesn't seem fair.