NFL Playoff Thread: Championship round

He's definately not scrappy.

 

@exmediahack, I hit +900 on the parlay, +400 on the action reverse. Good day for a small-timer like me.

 

As long as we're patronizing quarterbacks ...

 

See, it's all about him, that sonofabitch ...

 

Well, one win and one MVP. He might get that. Hasn't yet.

 

Good point.

But he's about a 1-10 favorite to be MVP.

 

Newton would be the second player to do it, however.
Can you name the first?

 

Marcus Allen did it, but he wasn't a QB.

 

Sorry @Donnie in his element, tonight was the Royal Rumble so, you know, I was a bit busy. lol
So, I know I'm late but here are my thoughts.
1.) The Patriots got completely demolished and dominated in the first half. The fact that they were only down one score was amazing.
2.) The fourth down play to Edelman was horrible.
3.) The Pats couldn't shut down Denver's D at all and, thus, the result is not surprising. The key to beating New England for years now has been to pressure Brady and hit him over and over again. It worked today.
4.) The Broncos were the far better team today. If this game is played in New England, I think the Pats would've won but it wasn't and they didn't. No excuses but they'll be back in the hunt for as long as Brady and Belichick are at the helm.

 

I think was the end for Brady and Belichick and here is why - I just don't think Brady is beating father time much longer and he is clearly not the same player he was and today, I hate to say it, he looked a little long in the tooth and I started to feel bad for him when he was getting hit.

I just think it is a matter of time before his injuries start to pile up and he looks old, like Manning, and I suppose that they could redo the offense like the Broncos did and run the ball and play defense and win, but I just don't see that.

I said at the start of this playoffs - this is the last shot for both Manning AND Brady to win a Super Bowl and only one can.

New England will be in the hunt, but I think I see some teams closing in and I just don't know that Brady is going to have 19 games in him any longer and still be going strong in games 17, 18 and 19.

 

Hard to say really. He was an MVP candidate for half the season and he still put them in position to win today. The problem has always been with Brady that if he doesn't get protection, he gets killed. It's how the Ravens beat him multiple times in the playoffs. It's how the Giants beat the Pats for two SB titles. Hell, it's how the Jets beat them 2011.
Time and time again, the adage has been you either pressure Brady and beat the Pats or he will beat you. There is no wiggle room.
I like Dion Lewis as a potential star running back but we didn't see enough of him to get a real feel for him and NE hasn't been a run-focused team in years. That leaves all the pressure on Brady to carry the team and sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't.
The formula is simple: Brady at his best/with little pressure= GOAT. Brady pressured? Hello bad throws, frustration and picks.