2013 - 2014 AFC & NFC Conference Championships Games

TO.

poldebruin wrote: »

Damn you Ben Watson.

That play has a special place in Pats Coaches, Players and Fans hearts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsZCTzYNBQE

poldebruin

TO. wrote: »

That play has a special place in Pats Coaches, Players and Fans hearts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsZCTzYNBQE

it's an absolutely incredible effort by Watson - and so memorable for a non-scoring play. I think the Broncos scored the TD on the following play, but I've actually never seen anything like that watching football for 20 years.

poldebruin

poldebruin wrote: »

it's an absolutely incredible effort by Watson - and so memorable for a non-scoring play. I think the Broncos scored the TD on the following play, but I've actually never seen anything like that watching football for 20 years.

Jeez, I am old, 30 years watching, not 20!

Knex*

Red Crow wrote: »

Obviously you can't blame his 27 INTs on the OL alone. But as a unit we had a crap running game, crap pass protection, we played with basically no TE this year (Myers) and Eli has been off form for 2 years now. No way can you blame it on the OL but it's widely acknowledged in New York that Gilbride's scheme wasn't working for this offence anymore.

Also the comparison between the sacks that Brady took and Eli took is an incredibly stupid comparison. If we had the talent and OL coach that the Patriots had then I wouldn't be complaining about our OL.

More compatible stat would nearly be rushing yards, rather than sacks.

We couldn't get a run game going, and when Eli dropped back to pass,we couldn't get pass protection either. That forced many incompletions and turnovers in itself, too. Sure, some of them were on Eli alone, but it was a huge factor.

The amount of passes he played with opponents in his face was ridiculous.

Also, first 6 games or so of 2012, Eli was rated in the top 3 QBs of that year. Perception that his bad form is over two years is untrue, although it is somewhat pedantic of me to point out that its a year and a half, not 2.

Anyway, went with Broncos and Hawks, although my gut is telling me Pats will do it.

Son Of A Vidic

poldebruin wrote: »

Jeez, I am old, 30 years watching, not 20!

Welcome to the club .

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Welcome to the club .

Wow, just made me realise that I'm also in the club.
RTE's show with Miles Dungan in the 80's got me hooked

Son Of A Vidic

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Wow, just made me realise that I'm also in the club.
RTE's show with Miles Dungan in the 80's got me hooked

My late uncle was a season ticket holder with the Pats and used to bring me to games in the early eighties. But it wasn't until after the SB loss to the Bears, that I became a Pats fanatic. Before then I had one foot in the 49'ers camp because I idolised Joe Montana. Then when RTE started up the American Football show with Myles, it was like mana from heaven. I never know why RTE stopped that show, it kinda was ahead of its time.

Morrisseeee

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Wow, just made me realise that I'm also in the club.
RTE's show with Miles Dungan in the 80's got me hooked

Snap, me too...... &

TO. wrote: »

That play has a special place in Pats Coaches, Players and Fans hearts

That play & game has a very special place in my Bronco heart aswell

I think it was Brady's first playoff loss ! His postseason record takes on a more human level after this date, as does his TD/INT and Passer rating.

kryogen

Im a relative babe so, only began watching in the mid 90's

I would have been about 10-12 Id say when I started religiously watching on channel 4 - no streams/gamepass in those days!

kryogen

The Ben Watson tackle is one of my favorite moments as a Pats fan, I put it up before in a thread about great plays or something like that. Unbelievable heart shown there. So much of what the Patriots symbolise for me embodied in one play

Shame about the result of the game of course

SantryRed

Remember reading it somewhere that the tackle should have resulted in a touchback, but no one copped it that Bailey had actually fumbled out of the endzone due to the tackle. Unbelievable hustle by Watson.

poldebruin

Really interesting article (if you like that osrt of thing) about the Patriots ground game on the NYT by Brian Burke. The crux is that they have one of the most effective running attacks year after year when you measure success rate (rather than yards gained or ypc)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/sports/football/conference-championship-probabilities-and-how-the-patriots-run.html?ref=football

It's hard to even know how the Patriots are going to attack come Sunday, they have proven they can get the job done in numerous ways. Their ground game does scare me though, and I'm hoping Denver can get off to a fast start and try to make the Patriots abandon the run - even then they have the ability to take to the air - as the regular season game showed.

I'm thankful that it seems the media have played down the Manning v Brady aspect (either that or I have been avoiding it) It is a narrative that has always been fairly boring to me. Belichick v Manning would seem to make more sense.

TO.

poldebruin wrote: »

. Belichick v Manning would seem to make more sense.

Why Belichick vs Manning out of curiosity?

Morrisseeee

TO. wrote: »

Why Belichick vs Manning out of curiosity?

I thought that was fairly obvious, it's Manning v a Belichick coached Defense, always has been.

TO.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

I thought that was fairly obvious, it's Manning v a Belichick coached Defense, always has been.

My apologies for asking. I had a feeling thats what it was but I thought I would ask if that is alright with you? I wouldn't agree that it always has been though.

Morrisseeee

TO. wrote: »

My apologies for asking. I had a feeling thats what it was but I thought I would ask if that is alright with you?

Yep that's fine, just pm me in future, ok (:pac:)

Seriously tho, looking back at their previous games, and some of them were right ding-dong battles, but for me the one that stands out the most is the Week 10 2009 game, Colts win 35-34 in probably the best game of all time, well certainly from a neutral perspective.

poldebruin

TO. wrote: »

Why Belichick vs Manning out of curiosity?

As Brady and Manning don't actually play opposite sides of the ball, they can't really have that much influence on how the other plays. Belichick is responsible (or at least has a huge input) for installing the (O and D) gameplan and scheme to counter/confuse Manning.

It's certainly not the only thing, and at the end of the day, I'm a firm believer that it's one team against another, coaching staff, players, top to bottom, but if the media were looking for a narrative or some thing consistant over the years in their matchups, it would be Belichick v Manning.

TO.

poldebruin wrote: »

As Brady and Manning don't actually play opposite sides of the ball, they can't really have that much influence on how the other plays. Belichick is responsible (or at least has a huge input) for installing the (O and D) gameplan and scheme to counter/confuse Manning.

It's certainly not the only thing, and at the end of the day, I'm a firm believer that it's one team against another, coaching staff, players, top to bottom, but if the media were looking for a narrative or some thing consistant over the years in their matchups, it would be Belichick v Manning.

The reason the media have dubbed it Manning Vs Brady is for many reasons. The main one the obvious two shoe in HOF competing.

The other reason that stands tall in my eyes is that the Colts and Pats both had equal defenses for a long time so games fell down to Manning Vs Brady.

Having said all that by saying Belichick Vs Manning you then are implying Brady is irrelevant. I know you arent but if the media put it that way that then makes it the Manning Belichick show featuring a guy called Tom Brady.

I agree with you on who this game is about. This game Sunday like all games featuring Manning and Brady is: HC vs HC, OC Vs DC, Offenses Vs Defenses, St Vs St etc etc and vice versa.

adrian522

Who should I hate?

Vanolder

adrian522 wrote: »

Who should I hate?

The Broncos, clearly.

Knex*

Think if it wasn't for Russell Wilson, I'd probably hate the 'Hawks. Just don't have it in me to have anything but massive respect and awe for that kid. He speaks so well and everything about him is impressive.

Also, as annoying as Sherman and co can be, I do like watching them play.

My hate is going towards the Pats on this, I'm getting onboard with Adrian's graph! Being a Giant fan, I probably wasn't going to need much of a push :pac:

dub_skav

adrian522 wrote: »

Who should I hate?

I think the last one makes the rest redundant

Masked Man

BB v Manning has been talked about.

To fuel my homerism I've chosen to look at the game as Brady v Jack Del Rio:

Brady has completed 171-of-235 passes (73 percent) for 1,771 yards, 17 touchdowns and zero interceptions. That's a passer rating of 121.1 against Del Rio, now Denver's defensive coordinator.

Brady's record against Del Rio in those games is 7-0, including playoff victories over Jacksonville in 2005 and 2007 when Del Rio was the Jaguars' head coach.

Jolly Red Giant

The Broncos will beat the Pats on Sunday.

In my opinion the Pats defence isn't remotely good enough to stop the Broncos offence - it has too many weapons and the Pats have too many holes on defence.

Brady is capable of moving the ball but the Broncos defence is better than the Pats defence and is capable of stopping the Pats and allowing the Broncos take the lead and keep it.

Like last week with the Chargers - I expect the Pats to run the ball to try and keep Manning off the field. Like last week I expect the Broncos to commit to stopping the run and forcing Brady to win the game through the air. The Broncos will dial up some blitzes to keep pressure on Brady and will play physical against the Pats receivers. While the Broncos secondary is hurting I believe they are good enough to deal with the Pats passing game. I also expect Champ Bailey to have a big game. He has been eased back into action after his injury and is ready to go. There is no other player on the Broncos roster who deserves to play in the SB and he will put it all on the line to get there.

Last week the Broncos offence dominated the Chargers for the first half. When they took control of the game they dialed back the offence and kept something in reserve for this Sunday. The Pats and BB will endeavour to combat Manning by disguising their defence but given the nature of the Pats defence I do not believe it will be capable of counteracting Manning and the offence. The Broncos offence is currently firing on all cylinders - the running game is tough and the Broncos will use it to set up play-action. The passing game is capable of getting chunks of yards. The Broncos will have a game plan - will mix it up on offence and will not deviate irrespective of the score. The Broncos know they have the measure of the Pats and will act accordingly.

Just like last week I think the Broncos will win this one with some comfort.

eagle eye

adrian522 wrote: »

Who should I hate?

Is Pete Carroll dislikeable?

adrian522

eagle eye wrote: »

Is Pete Carroll dislikeable?

Yes.

Paully D

Harvin's out, confirmed by Carroll. KJ Wright will play however.

adrian522

Paully D wrote: »

Harvin's out, confirmed by Carroll. KJ Wright will play however.

This is a big deal. Tough to see tate and Baldwin scaring the SF secondary. Harvin though would have potential for big plays. Kj Wright is a big boost for them though.

SantryRed

adrian522 wrote: »

This is a big deal. Tough to see tate and Baldwin scaring the SF secondary. Harvin though would have potential for big plays. Kj Wright is a big boost for them though.

Vikings must be laughing to themselves considering they picked up Patterson with one of their first round picks, Seattle could have had him themselves if they hadn't of traded for a crocked Harvin.

davyjose

eagle eye wrote: »

Is Pete Carroll dislikeable?

I like him, but his past has some question marks. Anyway...

taidghbaby

Whilst I still have an affinity for Peyton manning, it's gone be good to be able to watch manning against the pats in a big game without having to watch it through my fingers!!

Paully D

Wish one of the games were on tonight. Tomorrow will hopefully be great though.

davyjose

Paully D wrote: »

Wish one of the games were on tonight. Tomorrow will hopefully be great though.

I'm glad they're both today. That way I get to watch the early one at least. This going to bed at 4am craic is a bit tricky with 2 small kids.

Paully D

It's going to be very interesting to see how the officials do in the NFC game:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000314924/article/league-asks-refs-to-set-tone-early-in-nfc-title-game?campaign=Twitter_atl

Last Sunday's meeting between the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers arguably was the most ill-tempered tilt of the year.

Edgy from the opening whistle, both teams went at each other with physical play that led to a convincing win for the Niners and caught the league's attention along the way.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that the officiating crew for the NFC title game -- along with both the Seahawks and 49ers -- were shipped videos this week of that Panthers-Niners first half. The footage was sent to show examples of what will and will not be tolerated in Seattle.

Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, is asking officials to set the tone early and prevent the game from swinging out of control. That's a message the league's refs have heard all season long.

Our immediate takeaway from San Francisco's win over the Panthers was that Carolina had reason to be agitated by a handful of calls that didn't go their way over those first two quarters.

A questionable personal foul call on Panthers safety Mike Mitchell and a head-butting penalty on cornerback Captain Munnerlyn led directly to 49ers points.

Officials also missed a blatant defensive hold on a Patrick Willis interception of Cam Newton. Adding to that, a pair of second-quarter head butts by 49ers offensive players went unflagged and a Drayton Florence pass interference call in the end zone led directly to a Vernon Davis touchdown before the half.

Let's hope for a game in Seattle on Sunday that has more to do with the players -- and less with the zebras.

I hope the officials are all over the blatant Seahawks interfering.

Son Of A Vidic

Weather conditions perfect in Denver, which is a pity . Give me a blizzard and gale force winds and Brady would probably play his best football. I don't think any Pats fans expected an AFC title game after all the crap in 2013. So it's nice to be underdogs going into the game.

mikemac1

Can't stand Heath Evans, wish NFL Network would get rid of him......quickly followed by Deion Sanders

TO.

Going to be a cracking day of football. Hope your team wins. Lets Go PATS!

spiralism

90 minutes before kickoff and my nerves are shot. Biggest game the Broncos have played since i started supporting them. Not going to be able for this haha

eagle eye

mikemac1 wrote: »

Can't stand Heath Evans, wish NFL Network would get rid of him......quickly followed by Deion Sanders

You don't like primetime? I liked him as a player, rate him as one of the greatest of all time, and I think he is very entertaining now as a pundit.

eagle eye

Lets Go Patrots!!! I'm all kitted out with my shirt and jacket(best christmas present ever!) and my belt. I don't have the shoes yet, next year's christmas present hopefully:)

Brady has played poorly in Denver on many occasions, its my least favourite stadium to see him play in but when it comes to clutch time in a big game there is nobody I would rather have to depend on.

Copper_pipe

Let's go pats!

Son Of A Vidic

Feck I forgot earlier...



GO PATS!!!

eagle eye

Shouting for the Seahawks in the later game, I've said all along that if we are not going to win it then its Pete Carroll I'd like to see win it.

Son Of A Vidic

spiralism wrote: »

90 minutes before kickoff and my nerves are shot.

Tell me about, think I'll be opening the unopened bottle of Jack Daniels left over from the Christmas.

LuckyGent88

So chuffed iv got Mondays off work now.
Finally able to watch an nfl game. It's just a huge bonus that it's the broncos and patriots.

TO.

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Tell me about, think I'll be opening the unopened bottle of Jack Daniels left over from the Christmas.

Im already a few drinks in watching the previews has me pumped and nervous

SK1979

Anyone know whether it's Jeff or Cecil in the sky sports studio for these games?

Hoping it's Jeff but Cecil is always good for the odd giggle.

Come on pats!!

Enjoy lads.

spiralism

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Tell me about, think I'll be opening the unopened bottle of Jack Daniels left over from the Christmas.

You've been here before as a fan. I haven't. To say im freaking out is the understatement of the week.

Son Of A Vidic

TO. wrote: »

Im already a few drinks in watching the previews has me pumped and nervous

In a big game like this nerves are usually shot. I even forgot about getting beers in, but then when I'm so stressed I usually end up like this....






But feck it, the JD is opened now.

Son Of A Vidic

spiralism wrote: »

You've been here before as a fan. I haven't. To say im freaking out is the understatement of the week.

Doesn't make it any easier though. In fact, I think I'm getting worse.