NFL Schedule - 2014 [Live Playoff Thread Week 18]

ESPN NFL ^ | ESPN

[Bender2]

Playoffs - Wild-Card Weekend

SAT, JAN 3

Arizona at Carolina 4:20 PM Bank of America Stadium

Baltimore at Pittsburgh 8:15 PM NBC Heinz Field

SUN, JAN 4

Cincinnati at Indianapolis 1:05 PM CBS Lucas Oil Stadium

Detroit at Dallas 4:40 PM FOX AT&T Stadium

[rlmorel]

Bottom line, the call went against them.

People whine and complain, but it is just so much self-flagellation. One team wins, one team lost, and as long as there have been football games, calls have been made and missed in crucial situations. Sometimes they go for you. Sometimes against you. That’s it.

It happens.

Personally, Mr. “Numb Feet” Suh and the rest of his thugs had a delivery of Karma. Suh will now have a little more time to let his feet thaw out.

[rlmorel]

People are free to root for whomever they want, for whatever reason they want.

When I don’t have a dog in the game, I will sometimes root for the underdog, but not always.

I can appreciate quality, and give credit where it is due.

[SamAdams76]

I still think the Patriots got screwed in 1976 in the Oakland playoff game. No way was that "roughing the passer"!

Fans never get over bad calls.

The image below were angry fans being held back at Logan Airport. It would be nearly a quarter century before they got their revenge against Oakland in the infamous "tuck rule" game in snowy Foxboro.

[daler]

The love affair between the Cowboys and the refs goes way back.

Remember Drew Pearson?

[mrsmith]

I do remember thinking the Cowboys ‘got’ a few calls back in the seventies...

[rlmorel]

I understand the salary cap which I view as more of a protectionist tool rather than a socialist tool. Similar to a tariff which protects American goods in markets where lower priced products are being unfairly dumped in. The salary cap is an attempt in the reverse direction.

But that really doesn’t have anything to do with the discussion of giving the championship to a team that hasn’t had one in a while versus one that won it last year, and if so, would a league sanction things that would equalize in that direction.

It appears, if you read any sports comments on any comments section (including here on FR) that many people think that is precisely what goes on.

I used to think that was what happened.

When I was 15 years old. I was a Redskins fan, and thought the league gave all the calls and breaks to the Dallas Cowboys.

Then I grew up and realized: The Cowboys won because they were good. They had a good coach and good players. They worked hard in practice and took it into games with them.

But sometimes, it so much easier to be a 15 year old and imagine an unseen hand coordinating everything to explain the inability of a team I follow to win a given game.

[BeadCounter]

It's an interesting call, if people like soccer, there are calls in that game especially without instant replay that spurn very active and animated discussions and really, even bad calls or even questionable calls, which probably describes this one better are part of the lure of the game. Happens some in basketball too I suppose and all sports.

Whatever teams win next weekend, if the 'Boys get by GB or GB wins, barring obvious controversy, the winner deserves it. Same for the rest of the games, Panthers/Seahawks, Colts/Broncos and Ravens/Patriots.

That year Detroit lost all their games that is discussed so often, 2008? I am not sure of the year but I'm sure in one game, there were some very bad calls and it certainly seemed to effect the result of a loss to the Lions. But instead, they are just called the 0-16 Lions, first team to lose all of their games in a sixteen game season. But whenever I hear that, I always figure, they should have won one of those.

[rlmorel]

Hahahaha...how true!

That was right around the time I began to follow the Patriots a little bit...I moved up here from the DC area, and couldn’t follow the Redskins as easily (though I did try!)

[BeadCounter]

Tampa Bay, the Ravens 1st superbowl especially, the Rams and the Saints. At least 3 of these teams wouldn’t of gotten a sniff of the Lombardi trophy pre-salary cap, so yes, I do like a diversity in winners of the Superbowl. Same a bit for the World Series and it’s been good to see teams other than the Lakers and Celtics win the NBA. Some of these professional sports have had real dominance in the past from a few teams.

[rlmorel]

The problem is, you can even out a money imbalance with a salary cap which will keep a Steinbrenner type from shelling out big money that nobody else can match, and you can spread the television revenues around to equalize things even more, but one that that can’t be altered is the perception of players as to where they want to play.

Cleveland is a prime example, Buffalo is another one, of a place that just isn’t all that attractive an area to play in. Sure, money smooths much of that over, but as a player even as mercenary as Darrelle Revis found out when he played in Tampa Bay, location matters.

Given somewhat equal treatment salary-wise between Cleveland and Dallas, a player may just choose a better place, so there will always be that imbalance.

[rlmorel]

LOL, I don’t think so. We might not hear from Bender until he is done with his bender!

[rlmorel]

Great picture, by the way!

[BeadCounter]

I don’t know, Tampa Bay has the number one pick this year, their record was the worse along with one of the other Florida teams being way down there as well, Jacksonville, again. I don’t buy the geographic argument because the old Cleveland Browns were successful. Though they didn’t win the Superbowl, the Bills had a very successful year. New Orleans had some decent teams but never got really good until a.) Drew Brees came and b.) after the salary cap.

Pittsburgh and Green Bay have been among the top teams for a long time, GB of course, since the early ‘60s or so, Pittsburgh since the ‘70s.

[Impy]

SEA is gonna win.

DEN will probably beat the Colts but I don’t think they’ll win the AFC.

[BeadCounter]

edit on: The Bills had a successful run with Jim Kelly, 5 Superbowls, still pretty good.

[capydick]

Funny - Krispie left hanging on the high five attempt!

[BeadCounter]

I do think the Niners and Cowboys teams of the '90s basically bought some of the best players there were. We can say they worked hardest in practice but where have these teams been if they worked so bloody hard been since the salary cap came into practice? Why don't we see them dominating the NFL as they did in the '80s to mid-'90s??

[capydick]

Just thinking more about this - everyone in that suite was probably thinking that they were gonna lose another post season game at the last minute - those reactions look more like surprise and relief rather than joy.

[rlmorel]

LOL...that was in a different time, when Cleveland was a different city.

I give their fans huge credit. I have been to a boatload of games in Buffalo, and their fans have always been great.

They do manage to keep the faith.

[BeadCounter]

Unless you are pulling a John Elway and refuse to play for a team like the Baltimore Colts, players go where they are drafted. I hear it discussed if he is going to even be at the Browns come next year. I’d think he would be.

Likewise, great coaches helped make those older teams clearly like Bill Walsh and the West Coast offense, a lot of factors but I do think once the salary cap came in, you have had a lot more different teams winning the Superbowl.

Before 1995, the teams that won more than one SB were few, Packers in the early bowls, Raiders won 2 or 3, the Steelers of course, NFC had the Cowboys, Niners, Redskins and Giants.

Since the salary cap, we’ve had the Saints, Rams, Bucs win it. We had an expansion team, in about their 2nd or 3rd year of existence in the NFL go to the Superbowl in the Carolina Panthers. So I think the salary cap shook the NFL up in a positive way.