National Football League

[Jspear]

How 'bout that kicker!

 

[movingtarget]

I thought the Vikings had the game under control but could not get the TD to put it out of reach. Another crazy finish to a game. Seattle count their blessings. Best game so far even though it did not have the ongoing drama of the Bengals game. Many sorrows being drowned in Minnesota I would imagine.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

I thought or from my perspective the Ref's done a poor job with respect to some of the Steelers coaching staff and players.

Yep.

http://www.sbnation.com/2016/1/10/10743904/steelers-bengals-joey-porter-foul

So do we know if he was given permission to be on the field? (I know even if he was, he shouldn't have been right at the bengal's huddle.)

 

[Amsterhammer]

Another unbelievable finish, where logic and normal operating parameters went out the window in the dying seconds. Last night's game kept me up till after 6 am, but I couldn't leave it.

I'm ready. I'm wearing the shirt and cap combo that has seen four straight wins.

 

[infeXio]

Oh... my.. god.............

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Wow. Clutch win for Seattle. They really gritted it out. But a painful loss for the Vikings. Kickers feel more pressure than any other position, but you have got to make a kick like that. Still, Seattle and Wilson stepped up when they had to.

 

[Eshnar]

What happened? I missed the last 2 mins due to lengthy phone call

 

[infeXio]

Re:

What happened? I missed the last 2 mins due to lengthy phone call

Blair Walsh missed a FG in the low 30's that would have given Vikings a 12-10 lead with 22 seconds left on the clock &#128528

 

[Eshnar]

Re: Re:

What happened? I missed the last 2 mins due to lengthy phone call

Blair Walsh missed a FG in the low 30's that would have given Vikings a 12-10 lead with 22 seconds left on the clock &#128528

oh cool Thanks

 

[King Boonen]

THE LACES WERE IN!!!

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Read all your SEA@MIN posts and agree on all. Only thing is, laces were also in all all those long FGs over 40 yards today. Did MIN have a backup holder filling in today for the normal holder?

Other than that, if I saw Blair Walsh I'd buy him drinks (PLURAL).

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re:

THE LACES WERE IN!!!

Ray Finkle - Ace Ventura! Funny movie.
Wish better for Walsh.

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

What happened? I missed the last 2 mins due to lengthy phone call

Blair Walsh missed a FG in the low 30's that would have given Vikings a 12-10 lead with 22 seconds left on the clock &#128528

It was a 27 yard chip shot that Walsh completely choked on.

I was in the middle of cussing out the defense for letting the Vikings march downfield with ease on the ensuing possession, then I was completely dumbfounded that he missed the easy (NFL standards) kick. All in the blink of an eye...

This is playoff football!

 

[Amsterhammer]

Stupid, D-Jax, stupid, stupid.

 

[Eshnar]

Re:

Stupid, D-Jax, stupid, stupid.

yep, really.

 

[Tonton]

Go Chiefs! Now we take care of the beatup "marginal gains" Patriots of Sir Dave Belichick, the Steelers win in Denver, and the AFC Championship is at Arrowhead Stadium. And I win the Powerball .

PS: I can't believe The Hitch and Merckindex are here too. What does Merckxindex not know? Is he Libertine Seguros' twin? Merckxindex should be running for POTUS IMO . The Republicans in particular need a candidate who knows what he's talking about .

 

[BullsFan22]

Bummer, really thought the Skins were gonna win this game. Now it's just about over.

Bengals, no comment.

Chiefs are very dangerous. Dare I say, don't be surprised if they win the AFC?? The Patriots will not have it their own way, that is for sure.

The Steelers Broncos game will be highly entertaining.

Seahawks, wow. Ugly, ugly game, and an obvious gift at the end. Is this game where you say, got really lucky, but they will now play with nothing to lose and play well to make it to a 3rd straight SB? They have to get through the Panthers, then possible NFC championship rematch with the Packers or another game with the Cardinals. All on the road. If they do end up going back to a 3rd straight SB, this would be their toughest road.

 

[Merckx index]

What does Merckxindex not know?

Well, in no particular order:

NASCAR
MMA
NHL
Most world history
Most card games
Chess beyond the very basics
Math beyond calculus
Any language well other than English
How to play any musical instrument
How to ride a racing bike with no hands
How to mount/dismount any bike from the right side
How to fix most things in a car’s engine

Merckxindex should be running for POTUS IMO .

I'm an advisor to two posters here who are running, Blutto and Bubbles (Glenn). After they're nominated, I will reveal a scandal that they're hiding, and the CN party will have no choice at the last moment but to nominate me.

How hard is it to miss a 27 yd FG? That's shorter than the current extra point distance. It’s not much longer than the old extra point distance, which was changed, because, you know, kickers never, ever missed from there (something like four misses in more than 1000 attempts in the final season at that distance). Walsh had made 33/34 (97%) of his previous attempts from inside 30 yards. There’s hardly anything in sports more automatic than that.

I’d like to know what the inflation pressure of that ball was, though. Pre-game estimates were that if the balls were inflated to the standard 12-5-14.5 psi in the locker room, they would be down to around 9-9.5 outside. That’s pretty soft, and should have made kicking harder. It might have also made passing more difficult. Easier to grip the ball, but when it’s that soft, I’d think it might be harder to throw long and accurately. Maybe that was part of Wilson’s problem.

SE has now played three consecutive playoff games with highly improbable endings. Remember how they were losing to GB by, what, twelve points with about two minutes left in the NFC championship last year? Then the SB? And now this one. If they had won the SB last year, that would qualify as one of the luckiest streaks ever in pro sports. Remember, the only reason they were on the verge of the EZ vs. NE in the SB was because of an impossible catch on a long pass.

And it doesn’t stop there. When they played Atlanta in the divisional game a couple of years ago, they trailed by 20 points late in the third quarter, came back to take the lead with less than a minute, then lost on a last second FG. The following year they beat the 49ers in the NFC championship on an interception in the EZ in the final seconds. That’s five PS games that went down to the wire out of nine.

So what does this do to the odds in the SE vs. CAR game? I’d guess CAR will be favored, by, say three or maybe even four.

And what about GB vs. AZ? Remember the last time these two teams met in the postseason? The highest scoring playoff game in history, with Rodgers throwing for three TDs in the 4th quarter, but then fumbling the game away in OT. Warner completed 88% of his passes, and threw more TDs than incompletions, which is really rare. You’re going to hear a lot about that game this week. And though AZ walloped GB late in the season, no doubt people will point out that SE walloped MN late in the season.

 

[BullsFan22]

How hard is it to miss a 27 yd FG? That's shorter than the current extra point distance. It’s not much longer than the old extra point distance, which was changed, because, you know, kickers never, ever missed from there (something like four misses in more than 1000 attempts in the final season at that distance). Walsh had made 33/34 (97%) of his previous attempts from inside 30 yards. There’s hardly anything in sports more automatic than that.

I’d like to know what the inflation pressure of that ball was, though. Pre-game estimates were that if the balls were inflated to the standard 12-5-14.5 psi in the locker room, they would be down to around 9-9.5 outside. That’s pretty soft, and should have made kicking harder. It might have also made passing more difficult. Easier to grip the ball, but when it’s that soft, I’d think it might be harder to throw long and accurately. Maybe that was part of Wilson’s problem.

SE has now played three consecutive playoff games with highly improbable endings. Remember how they were losing to GB by, what, twelve points with about two minutes left in the NFC championship last year? Then the SB? And now this one. If they had won the SB last year, that would qualify as one of the luckiest streaks ever in pro sports. Remember, the only reason they were on the verge of the EZ vs. NE in the SB was because of an impossible catch on a long pass.

And it doesn’t stop there. When they played Atlanta in the divisional game a couple of years ago, they trailed by 20 points late in the third quarter, came back to take the lead with less than a minute, then lost on a last second FG. The following year they beat the 49ers in the NFC championship on an interception in the EZ in the final seconds. That’s five PS games that went down to the wire out of nine.

So what does this do to the odds in the SE vs. CAR game? I’d guess CAR will be favored, by, say three or maybe even four.

And what about GB vs. AZ? Remember the last time these two teams met in the postseason? The highest scoring playoff game in history, with Rodgers throwing for three TDs in the 4th quarter, but then fumbling the game away in OT. Warner completed 88% of his passes, and threw more TDs than incompletions, which is really rare. You’re going to hear a lot about that game this week. And though AZ walloped GB late in the season, no doubt people will point out that SE walloped MN late in the season.

AZ will get the better of GB. I don't think GB is quite there this season. AZ is due for a good run in the playoffs, and I think they make it to the NFC title game.

Don't sleep on the Seahawks. The weather played its part in the Minneapolis, and the Vikings have one of the top defenses in the league. The Seahawks will eye revenge in the Panthers game. It will not be easy, but i say they meet the Cardinals for the NFC title. Hopefully Lynch ends up returning at some point in these playoffs.

 

[movingtarget]

Good win for Green Bay but I can't see Seattle or Green Bay going any further. I still think the Panthers or Cardinals win the Superbowl with the Chiefs being the only other possibility. I felt sorry for Vikings fans but not so much for Bengals fans. That was just stupid.

 

[52520Andrew]

Tough break for the Vikings. They are a fairly young team however and should be optimistic for the future. I don't think they were winning at Arizona anyways and a defeat like that should drive them to do better next year.

 

[jmdirt]

I'll post my picks now:
Seattle
Arizona
Denver
Kansas City

All of these have the potential to be great games...I hope that they are!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I wonder how much of a toll this week took out of Pittsburgh and Seattle, and maybe KC. Roethlesberger is apparently okay, and while Antonio Brown suffered a concussion on that viscous hit, the Steelers say it wasn't as bad as first appeared and believe he will clear protocol. As I said before, in good weather, a healthy Peyton Manning will carve up the Steeler defense. But how healthy is he? And the Steelers seem to be hot, so if both Ben and Brown are good, this should be a good game.

By Seattle, I mean the fact this was a tough, rough game, and we're still not sure if Lynch will be back. The only player hurt on Sunday was punter Jon Ryan, whose nose was apparently pretty mangled after the game, but he says he's fine. But I think it's hard to put together two tough wins like this back to back. Minnesota put up a tough fight in the cold, and while weather won't be a factor, the Panthers are waiting. But still, Seattle is Seattle, and know how to win big games.

For KC, what looked like a bad injury to Jeremy Maclain, the MRI was negative and it turned out to be a sprained ankle, and he's listed as questionable (which means he'll play). How effective will he be, even as a decoy? Like I noted on Brady's high ankle sprain, it all depends on how bad it is. Players sometimes are out a month. Other times they play the next week in pain and do okay. Gronk had a high ankle sprain in 2012 and was little more than a decoy. We'll know more on Sunday. Guard Duvernay-Tardif went out with a concussion. If there is one bit of good news. Justin Houston appeared to hurt his injured knee again, but returned to play much of the game and says he's fine. The Chiefs have had patchwork on both sides of the line, and survived so far, so...

The Patriots report they will be at "full strength" with Brady, Edelman, Amendola, Hightower, Vollmer, Chandler Jones, McCourty, and Chung all ready to go. But how healthy are they, really? I have to link the Chiefs chances to win here, but will re-evaluate later.

Now the Packers, they got a real break. Not only did Aaron Rodgers show why he's the most dangerous QB in football, they did it without David Bakhtiari, who was supposed to play, but didn't, and CB Sam Sheilds. Acme Packing (Packer fan site) thinks both will play against Arizona. And what looked like a bad knee injury to Davante Adams is now just ruled a sprain, and he says he's fine and will be ready next week. The Arizona-Green Bay game should be a real shoot out!

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Here is what Seattle FG kicker had to say about how that kind of cold affects the kicking game:

The climate represented the third-coldest playoff game in NFL history and one that Hauschka said made it feel like he was “kicking a flat ball all day,” noting how in zero-degree weather the air pressure in a football can drop from the standard 12.5 pounds per square inch (PSI) to “8.5-9 PSI."

"They’re not allowed to heat the footballs or anything,” Hauschka said. “It’s just NFL rules, so those footballs basically are flat. So when you’re kicking a flat football it’s on your foot for a long time. It doesn’t go very far. That was the adjustment for me."

I suppose the ball being on the kicker's foot longer could mean a slicing follow through might make the ball hook more, versus more of a straight follow through?

 

[Billie]

has there ever been a team that has had such a stretch of continuous luck in the postseason as Seattle? Miss from 27, the Kearse catch, the Onside kick recovery. Ridiculous

189/191. That's 99%. Incredible.

The end to the Bengals game was also incredible. Though I'm not a fan of the Pacman flag.

ALso: Martavis!!!!