NFL Playoff Thread: Championship round

You're probably right. But I always like to believe Belichick is taking measures that are one or two steps beyond what's necessary and also mostly pointless.

 

I usually stay away from the thread when Pats are playing. Had to take care of the kids, text w/my friends, check Twitter, check DraftKings and still watch the game. Gonna give it a read through now and see what I missed.
Let me guess - Brady sucks, Belichick is arrogant, Pats deserved to lose?
O-line was brutal, Manning was mediocre and invisible in the second half. Should have kicked the FG with 6:03 left based on how good the D was playing. I would have been OK kicking that FG just before the 2 minute warning.
And had the Pats won, I don't know how a matchup with Carolina would go. Probably not well.

 

Anyone who says the Pats should've kicked the field goal is Monday morning quarterbacking with the benefit of 20/20 vision. At that point in the game, there was next to no evidence the Pats would've been able to get that close to the end zone again. Additionally, if New England does kick that field goal, Denver most likely has a completely different offensive strategy in its final drive and there's no guaranteeing the Pats get the ball back.
Good call to go for it as the FG wouldn't have tied it and thus would have been pointless (In that the Pats would've still needed a TD to win.)
Unfortunately, as I've stated, it was a terrible fourth down play (Mostly because of Denver's defense but still.)

 

I'm having a hard time buying that Denver's defense is that much better than Carolina's.

Carolina just punched Seattle and Carolina in the mouth about as hard as a defense can in the first halves of those games. They might lose some edge as the game goes on, but coming out of the locker room, they are a house of fire. A defense that fast is not what a slow offense, like Denver's, wants to see.

 

Thomas Davis broke his arm, had surgery, says he's playing.

Thomas Davis breaks arm, intends to play in SB50

 

Or they watched the Patriots D hold Denver in check the entire second half, minus a 30-yard run that led to their only points.
You needed a TD and a 2-point conversion to tie or a TD and a score to win. With six minutes left, take the points. Never chase. Kick, go play D, get it back.
I wanted them to kick with 2:09 left, but that would have been a horrible idea. At that point I was like 12 beers deep and frantic for something good to happen.

 

And he respected the game.

 

Just a good ol' boy. Never meanin' no harm.

 

Nah, my wife asked me if the Pats would go for it on fourth with 6 minutes to play and I said I'd kick the FG. No 20/20 hindsight needed. As Rhody said, there was no reason to chase there. With 2 minutes to play, I agreed with the decision to go for it, but not with 6 to play.

 

We're going to have to agree to disagree. I was fully convinced that was their one and only chance to score those points given that their drive charts all game long were the stuff of nightmares. Just looked it up. This is what their offense did:

5 plays. Punt.
5 plays. Punt.
5 plays. Punt.
2 plays. Touchdown (Got the ball at Denver's 13 off the turnover.)
2 plays. Interception.
13 plays. Field Goal.
3 plays. Interception.
3 plays. Punt.
1 play. HALFTIME.
8 plays. Field Goal.
3 plays. Punt.
6 plays. Punt.

Take away the gimme touchdown on a drive that started at the Broncos' 13-yard line and the kneel down at the half and that's 10 legit drives that resulted in six punts and two interceptions against two field goals.
But at that point in the game you're convinced they might have been able to move the ball against Denver's defense enough on a sustained drive to get back in that range for the necessary TD?
Plus, let's say they do score there. Then suddenly they're either tied and going for the win or down by two with six minutes left. Completely different scenario.
I'm fine with them going for it. I wish they had chosen a different play.

 

I know Denver didn't do diddly on offense in the second half, but part of why the Patriots got three chances is because the Broncos intentionally (and failed significantly) went into even more of a shell to try and run clock and clinch the game. If they got a first down or two it wouldn't have mattered anyway. A Patriots field goal may have gotten Denver to at least try to move the ball some. It's easy to say if the Patriots kicked three field goals there they win, but it's just as easy to think if they kicked one they wouldn't have even gotten the second chance. That's just a big game of what ifs. If not for two great plays by Gronk on the last possession the discussion isn't happening at all.

I never once considered that the Patriots should have kicked field goals on any of them until this popped up. The first drive it was fourth and short and nothing had gone well and there wasn't a lot of time. The last ones were definitely more of a desperation situation and needed.

 

Yeah it's kind of hard to say how the rest of the game would have gone based on those assumptions. The Broncos played it the way they did because of an eight-point lead.