NFL 2016-17 playoffs running thread

I would have liked to see how things unfolded with Crosby making the FG and no fumble, it likely would have been 10-10 at that point, but yeah they weren't stopping the Falcons' receivers.

 

Or Matt Ryan.

 

Prescott threw for 302 with 3 TDs. Manning was hurt by several drops, including a couple that probably would have led to TDs. The Giants WRs wanted to show the GB fans they could walk around without their shirts, but didn't show they could catch the ball in the cold. Against Dallas, Crosby also kicked two 50-yard FGs in the final minutes, that helped the DBs look not as bad.

 

I kept my shirt on the whole game so big round of applause for me.

Best experience I've had as a fan. Shoutout to Sammie Coates for dropping TDs and to the Pittsburgh D for not covering Hogan all night.

Seriously tho, the thing that impressed me most about the Steelers was how damn good Antonio Brown is (Butler did a good job but he had a lot of safety help) and how ridiculously fast Shazier is.

Pumped to get up in six hours to get my kid ready for school.

 

Exactly. For the third year in a row, Bell's season ended with an injury. I still think the Steelers are going to franchise tag him. He is too good to let go, but no way they give a long-term deal given his history of drug-related suspensions and injuries.

It is a hell of a lot easier to take away the stud receiver when you don't respect any other weapon on the offense. Coates has great size and speed, but he was erratic early in the season, then awful once he broke his fingers. He ran bad routes, dropped passes and never won a 50-50 ball. The third offensive play of the game was typical Coates. He had the defender beat and all he had to do was run through the ball and Roethlisberger's pass would have hit him in stride for a big play, perhaps a touchdown. He slowed down to look for it and that is why the ball sailed past him.

The Steelers just took too many hits at receiver. Bryant can be erratic, but he forced defenses to respect somebody other than Brown. Wheaton was a dangerous number three. Green seemed to be stepping into Bryant's role until he suffered the concussion against the Bengals. That left them starting practice squad fodder like Hamilton. Rogers and James made the Patriots pay at times, but not often enough.

I'm not sure any of it mattered. The Patriots kicked the Steelers' asses up front, offensively and defensively. The run blocking just wasn't there and even though they weren't getting sacks, they had consistent pressure on Roethlisberger. They also did a fantastic job picking up the Steelers' blitzes, though I still think Pittsburgh should have done it more. They rushed only three far too often.

I mentioned coaching last night and it showed most when New England had the ball. The Patriots had the Steelers confused and out of position all night. At times, that also took away their aggressiveness. There was a fake screen left that was meant to be a screen right that comes to mind. Pittsburgh played it perfectly and Brady had to throw the ball into the ground, but it should have been a sack for a big loss. Harrison hesitated and missed Brady rather than run right through him for the sack.

Simms made a good point once it got into garbage time. The Steelers need to adapt the roster if they are going to beat that team in a playoff game. The defensive line should be better with the return of Heyward, but the secondary still needs a lot of work and they need a replacement for Harrison.

 

I surely agree about Harrison. The Pats aren't the fastest team on offense, but he sure looked slow out there against them.

 

USC?

 

I've had very little interest in these playoffs because, outside of Packers-Cowboys, they've been dreadfully dull. With no personal rooting interest, it's hard to muster much enthusiasm. I like the Falcons, though, and it's good to see some fresh blood in the Super Bowl. Hoping for a good game, but like another poster noted, I probably won't think about the game much until game day.

 

People keep saying this, and it's true, but it's not like you know before the game that they are going to be non-competitive. Yesterday's matchups were intriguing.

Eh, fuck it, I'm going to. I know it's trendy to rip on the NFL these days (not saying you personally aren't being sincere), but this is a fun matchup and I'm just going to be uncool and get into it.

 

Wonder if the varsity championship will be as exciting as the junior varsity one was.

 

For some reason they perform the national anthem before both.