NFL Postseason Megathread: Playoffs in the Post-Orton Era

[MadBurgerMaker]

The punt is Caldwell though.  There's a reason he got fired last time he was a head coach.  They guy just has no drive to win.

That was so irritating to watch.  Just hand the damn ball off to Bell and get the stupid yard. 

[alfred russel]

  Look at what the punt did to their odds of winning. "Punt."  The 10 yard thing after they took an intentional delay of game.  Looks like that was an even bigger deal.

Well yeah, punting on its own was a stupid idea on the plus side of the field with a 4th and 1. The analysis probably assumed the team would go for it. Then you only punt 10 yards.

When the flag was thrown and called, an astute Lions fan would have know he had about an 80% chance of winning. The game wasn't locked up, but it was almost there. But then after the very next play, the percentage fell to ~50%--a toss up. Even for a veteran of disappointment like most Lions fans, that had to be discouraging.

~50%?  Mer?  Am I looking at something wrong here? The percentage fell to 69% according to their graph.  Then 58% after the punt.

I dont have the ability to see the chart anymore. I thought it was about 50 after the punt. Could be wrong.

[MadBurgerMaker]

They got down to ~50% when Romo started being inexplicably clutch.  Right after the punt they were still at 58%. 

[CountDeMoney]

E:  Whatever happened with the refs being all juiced up to help out Pittsburgh, btw?

Plausible deniability, man.  Luckily the Ravens scored too many points to make the difference in a 20-17 game.  That's when it's time to be concerned. 

[MadBurgerMaker]

Plausible deniability, man.  Luckily the Ravens scored too many points to make the difference in a 20-17 game.  That's when it's time to be concerned. 

  Fair enough.

[Neil]

In news not related to the screwjob in Dallas, Kubiak is going to definitely have some head coaching interviews this offseason.  Will he take the job?  Last time he was HC, he had a stroke on the field.  Will his health be up to the top seat?

[CountDeMoney]

In news not related to the screwjob in Dallas, Kubiak is going to definitely have some head coaching interviews this offseason.  Will he take the job?  Last time he was HC, he had a stroke on the field.  Will his health be up to the top seat?

I was listening to sports talk radio the week before the Houston game, and they were talking to the beat reporter that covers the Texans for the Houston Chronicle;  he said he still speaks to Kubiak on a regular basis, and during his conversations this season with him, he had the general impression that Kubiak is very comfortable with where he is at this point in his life.  The reporter (maybe Brian Smith at the Chronicle?) said Kubiak is the kind of brain that thoroughly enjoys being in the weeds of the offense, something he didn't really get a chance to do at a level he liked as a head coach.  Apparently for now, he's doing what he really likes:  fiddling with the offense at the nuts-and-bolts level.   Whether that changes on how the postseason plays out, I dunno. 

[jimmy olsen]

Rams owner building a stadium in L.A.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nfl/story/_/id/12122091/st-louis-rams-owner-planning-stadium-site-los-angeles

Hmm...I wonder how will move to St. Louis? Jacksonville?

[jimmy olsen]

I think I'd take the underdog to beat the spread in all of these games except for Denver vs. Indy. 

http://www.footballlocks.com/nfl_odds.shtml

1/10 4:35 ET    At New England       -7    Baltimore     48    -$340 +$280
1/10 8:15 ET    At Seattle       -11.5    Carolina     40.5    -$700 +$500
1/11 1:00 ET    At Green Bay       -6.5    Dallas     53    -$310 +$260
1/11 4:40 ET    At Denver       -7    Indianapolis  54    -$340 +$280

[MadBurgerMaker]

If the Rams move, I hope they get rid of the gold color.

[Ed Anger]

I hope Suggs or Mount Cody falls on Brady's crotch. Repeatedly.

[CountDeMoney]

Heh, LA.   Just like MLB never learns with Washington, D.C., the NFL never learns that LA's just a big dick tease.  It just doesn't work there.  Too many transients that don't even have landlines.

[CountDeMoney]

I hope Suggs or Mount Cody falls on Brady's crotch. Repeatedly.

It was mildly entertaining to see Rapistburger get faceplanted late in the 4th quarter, but by then his eggs were already scrambled.  MEATHEAD DOWN



Pretty funny to see a sportswriter that covers the Patriots calling the Ravens "the most hated team in America".  Didn't know Berkut blogged for them.

In Ravens and Patriots, the NFL Playoffs Just Got an Extra Ingredient: Hate

So it'll be the Ravens. Why's everybody so a-scared?

The most deplorable organization in American professional sports punched its ticket for a playoff rematch with the New England Patriots next weekend in Foxborough with a convincing 30-17 win over the No. 3 seed Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday night. The Baltimore Ravens and New England will meet in the postseason for the fourth time in the last six seasons, and the previous three contests haven't been pretty for the Patriots.

In the 2009 playoffs, former Baltimore running back Ray Rice broke off the first play from scrimmage and set the tone for a 33-14 Ravens victory.

Two years ago, the Patriots' rematch in the AFC Championship game with the Ravens didn't go so hot with the absence of Rob Gronkowski, who underwent surgery after breaking his arm in a playoff rout against the Houston Texans. Baltimore rolled, 28-13.

Even in their 2011 AFC title game win, the Patriots had the good fortune of watching Lee Evans drop a sure touchdown, and Billy Cundiff blunder an easy field goal attempt in order to reach the Super Bowl with a 23-20 win.

Only the Ravens and New York Jets have waltzed into Gillette Stadium in January and emerged victorious. And the Ravens have done it twice.

"You've done it before, so you think you can do it again," Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who returned to the Ravens Saturday night after sitting out a four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, said.

It's true that maybe the Ravens were the worst potential opponent for the AFC's top seed, if only because John Harbaugh's team has proven it isn't a unit that will pee its pads the moment it sees the makeshift lighthouse. As the No. 2 seed, the Denver Broncos just got gift-wrapped either the Indianapolis Colts or the Cincinnati Bengals in next weekend's divisional round, either of whom would presumably have come to Foxborough and gotten demoralized on Saturday afternoon.

No. Instead, the Patriots drew the more difficult card in their quest to return to Glendale, Ariz.

So what?

New England has already opened as 7 1/2-point favorites over the Ravens, who smothered the Steelers with familiar playoff names like Joe Flacco and Terrell Suggs leading the way. The absence of Le'Veon Bell, sitting out with a knee injury, was a glaring one for Pittsburgh, who had trouble moving the ball down field the entire evening.

Do the Ravens present specific problems for the Patriots to deal with? Yes, and Suggs' presence against New England's schizophrenic offensive line is near the top of the list.

But Patriots quarterback Tom Brady ought to be able to pick apart the Ravens' decimated defensive backfield like Roethlisberger could not do on Saturday night, provided that Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell are healthy enough to contribute as offensive weapons along with Gronkowski. And hope to God nothing happens to the All-Pro tight end.

The Ravens were the only team that would be headed to Foxborough Saturday that the Patriots hadn't already faced during the regular season. The last time New England faced Baltimore, the Patriots essentially knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs with a 41-7 demolition two Decembers ago.

It's better this way. In beating the Ravens on Saturday, the Patriots can shut some people up (mainly, the Ravens) about the luck factor in getting past Baltimore in the Cundiff game. They can enact their own form of justice on a franchise that has further proven itself to be a despicable, blind-eye machine in the wake of the Rice scandal that rocked the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell this season.

I mean, my God. This is still up on the Ravens' website.

The Ravens are brash, a characteristic that once defined them under former linebacker Ray Lewis, one of the reasons for their recent postseason success.

They're also the most hated team in the NFL. Ninety-eight percent of the country will be rooting for the Patriots on Saturday, and mind you this is a nation that still likes to accuse Bill Belichick of somehow attaining all his success because of Memorex.

It's also a group that, of course, includes Suggs.

"These are the most arrogant [expletives] in the world," Suggs said, "starting with Belichick on down ... [It's] funny, ever since Spygate, they haven't been able to win."

But in fact, Belichick's job should be easy this week. There's extra motivation in beating the Ravens. Colts? Bengals? Layup.

With Baltimore there's much more.

Everybody hates the Ravens.

Everybody.

It's a more difficult matchup, but what did you expect? It's the playoffs. But the Patriots are better now than when they faced this team each of the last three times in the playoffs.

And the Ravens, simply, are not as good.

[Ed Anger]

At least Art Modell didn't let Putin steal his Super Bowl ring.

[CountDeMoney]

Damn, Ron Rivera's house practically burned down last night.

Rivera's sister-in-law told the television station that six people -- Rivera, his wife, Stephanie, his two brothers and their wives -- were in the house.

According to officials, 55 firefighters responded to the two-alarm call around 4 a.m. and found heavy smoke and flames coming from the house. A hole was cut in the roof of the three-story brick house to get the fire under control, and the family's pets were also rescued.

Most of the damage to the house was to the roof and attic.

"It's a busy week ahead for the city of Charlotte, including this family, who is devastated by the fire," Charlotte Fire Capt. Rob Brisley told reporters. "Early indications are this is an accidental fire."

It took firefighters more than an hour to get the flames under control. Investigators have not determined how the fire started.

The home also sustained smoke and water damage, and Brisley said Rivera's family will not be able to stay there in the short term. Rivera, who is working on temporary living arrangements, will address the media later Monday.