The 17th game and the bad football in Championship games and Super Bowl

[BADOLBILZ]

14 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I like to think Ramsey simply choked--just liked he choked vs Tampa/Mike Evans (although he was saved by the bell in the form of TB going cover zero on LA's last possession).

 

They did have the short pass option to Burrow's right. It's just that the Bengal's joke of an o-lineman was beaten so quickly and so badly that Burrow had no chance. 

 

 

Ramsey is definitely annoying and yeah there was surely satisfaction when he nearly blew that Tampa game and then when Higgins whiplashed him.    And I am all about not spreading the virus but the neck gaitor when it's 75 degrees in the house and nobody else has a mask on was also. 

 

As for the short pass option...........Smudgy Perine isn't what I would have had in mind. 

[Rico]

21 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Ramsey is definitely annoying and yeah there was surely satisfaction when he nearly blew that Tampa game and then when Higgins whiplashed him.    And I am all about not spreading the virus but the neck gaitor when it's 75 degrees in the house and nobody else has a mask on was also. 

 

As for the short pass option...........Smudgy Perine isn't what I would have had in mind. 

That 2nd-down pass was bad too, make sure you get the 1st-down and move the chains first. 

[4BillsintheBurgh]

44 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Ramsey is definitely annoying and yeah there was surely satisfaction when he nearly blew that Tampa game and then when Higgins whiplashed him.    And I am all about not spreading the virus but the neck gaitor when it's 75 degrees in the house and nobody else has a mask on was also. 

 

As for the short pass option...........Smudgy Perine isn't what I would have had in mind. 

From the Chase screenshot above it looks like there are two Bengals short to burrows left, seems like the short progression was there, then to the other side with deep to Chase and finally short to Perine. Joe just didn't have the time.

[The Frankish Reich]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:41 AM, Brennan Huff said:

“Real football fans” are watching regardless. The target audience is literally the rest of the planet

Yep. The "3 yards and a cloud of dust" purists will gladly watch a new school 45-42 shootout.

The casual fan will not stay tuned to a 9-6 field position/special teams thriller.

[TheFunPolice]

Here's a weird stat: Burrow's Bengals are 0-4 vs the Browns

[Shaw66]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:16 AM, BADOLBILZ said:

First of all........I was a proponent of the extra game and I do believe eventually that expanded rosters, 18 games and 2 byes will happen.

 

But in the first season with both the extra game as well as the 2020-instituted extra playoff team.............I think the mental and physical fatigue really showed at the end.

 

The NFL got close games..........but for real football fans it was a sloppy finish in both the championship games and SB.   OL and QB play was particularly weak.

 

A couple observations:

 

1) This season both #1 seeds came from divisions without another playoff team.   That has happened in shorter seasons too but this time neither was seen as a dominant favorite to reach the SB,  which seemed very unusual.

 

2) The best teams........I would argue Buff/KC and Tampa/LAR all had 4 game paths to winning the SB and met in the divisional round.    Only the Rams survived..........and barely.

 

 

I Just popped into this thread, and I read only the first  few posts and a few on the last page.  As someone said, sample size is too small to reach any conclusions, but I think generally you're onto something.   16 games was too long for the players, and I think this one game worse.  

 

I used to think that the regular season had two parts - the first 6-8 weeks while teams were trying to figure out who they were, what worked, what didn't work, and then a sprint to the finish.  Then the playoffs. 

 

This season it almost seemed like there were three parts.  The first 6-8, then a 4-5 week coasting period, then 4-7 weeks of trying to rev it up and sprint to the finish.  Lots of teams were flat in mid-season after hot starts, particularly the Rams and Chargers, but their were others.  The Bills didn't start firing on all cylinders until the last month.  

 

The season has a bit of the feel of the NBA season (and probably NHL, but I don't follow it), where players are coasting through the season - playing hard, for sure, but not with real killer instinct.  

 

It all felt a little bit off.   

 

And, as you say, the worst part of it is that the #1 seeds came out wrong (in terms of the best teams getting the seeds) and the best teams had challenging roads to the championship game and Super Bowl.  Like someone said, this Super Bowl had the feel of good Sunday night game from week 7, not the world championship.   The reason it felt that way was because the best teams weren't there.  It was difficult to promote the game - who's getting excited about these Rams and these Bengals?, and the quality of the play suffered because, well, they weren't the best teams. 

 

 

[Bill from NYC]

On 2/14/2022 at 12:24 PM, SirAndrew said:

Amen to the retro 90’s stuff. I grew up in the 90’s, it stunk back then, and it still stinks. It was the beginning of pop culture purging itself of all quality. It also boasted some of the dorkiest styles for “cool” people of all time. 

Interesting. I think that there was a window (however brief) when music was good in the 90's. The Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Collective Soul, the Spin Doctors, and Pearl Jam, and even Alanis Morrisette were all pretty good or so I think, and then they pretty much disappeared. 

 

I would have a tough time coming up with 20 songs between the end of that era and now that I consider very good. Perhaps even 10.

 

As always, jmo.

 

[Livinginthepast]

If you look at the early history of the SB it had almost a novelty feel to it. Like the game was a made for tv joke.  As the 70s wore on, the games seemed to get better. The first one I remember watching was the juggernaut Steelers defeating the Rams. In most of the games since, the hype never lives up to the reality. And in many ways all the other crap overshadows or ruins the game itself.   The last few years the games have been pretty mediocre at best.  Maybe the last good one was the Pats Philly. I thought throughout that game Sunday that the players on both sides seemed to be far too laid back and mellow. Either they were tired or tranquilized. I really thought that the urgency would kick in by the 4th quarter, but even on the last drive the players seemed to be sleepwalking. Cinci and their coaches seemed to think they had 5 downs on that last series with their playcalls and non challant attitude. Its like they smoked a fat one before the last drive started.

[MJS]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:40 AM, Success said:

It was a great Super Bowl. I'm not sure what people are talking about when they say it was sub-par. It was a really hard-fought game that came down to the last minute.

 

They didn't like it because both defenses affected the game. I think it really comes down to that.

 

And the championship games were really good, I thought.

[Rick 'r Mortis]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:28 AM, Coach Tuesday said:

Last night’s product was terrible.  Anodyne watered-down 90s revival crap, from the commercials to the announcers (Al Michaels sounded like he had died three years ago) - and I actually even liked the halftime show for once.  It was so boring that at one point they literally did a history of people named Joe in the Super Bowl.  Just a bland, joyless affair and I’m sure tired players played a role in that.  Unfortunately the Super Bowl isn’t really for “real football fans”, I’m not the target audience.

100% agree with everything. More of a reason or excuse to get together, to throw a party. My mom even used it to get me to come out and visit, which I did. But me and my brother and his family left before the game started.

First halftime show I've enjoyed in decades and I'm more of a rock music fan.

 

When the Bills make it next season I won't care two ***** about anything else but the game 

[dave mcbride]

On 2/15/2022 at 1:24 PM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Ramsey is definitely annoying and yeah there was surely satisfaction when he nearly blew that Tampa game and then when Higgins whiplashed him.    And I am all about not spreading the virus but the neck gaitor when it's 75 degrees in the house and nobody else has a mask on was also. 

 

As for the short pass option...........Smudgy Perine isn't what I would have had in mind. 

re: Perine (previous running play): https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/02/16/zac-taylor-says-he-got-third-down-call-in-late-so-it-was-his-decision-to-leave-samaje-perine-in/

[34-78-83]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:38 AM, Coach Tuesday said:

It would’ve been a good game for a week 6 Sunday night football or a week 16 flex - but as Super Bowls go it was pretty weak, neither team was very good compared to the teams that were sitting at home - Bucs, Cowboys, Bills, Chiefs, even the Titans and Ravens are probably better than either team that played last night.

Was with you until Titans and Ravens. To me those were 2 very meh teams this season, both lacking majorly in the QB department (Jackson had his moments but very few). The Rams and Bengals are not the best 2 for sure but were better than those. Don't forget Green Bay as well.

On 2/15/2022 at 4:37 PM, Bill from NYC said:

Interesting. I think that there was a window (however brief) when music was good in the 90's. The Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Collective Soul, the Spin Doctors, and Pearl Jam, and even Alanis Morrisette were all pretty good or so I think, and then they pretty much disappeared. 

 

I would have a tough time coming up with 20 songs between the end of that era and now that I consider very good. Perhaps even 10.

 

As always, jmo.

 

Thats why you and I were mostly listening to the Grateful Dead at the time (~);}