[NFL] Gridiron Wars (2016 NFL Off-Season Thread)

Super Bowl 5-oh.

My prediction: Broncos 31, Panthers 24. Peyton manages a late fourth-down conversion that has Ron Rivera flummoxed - and watches helplessly as Ronnie Hillman plunges into the end zone uncontested for the game-winning score.

Newton heaves a last-second desperation pass - and it's intercepted by Darian Stewart.
 
Panthers 42 - Broncos 21, game over by halftime.

I'd love for Peyton to win, go out on top, but Carolina is playing too well as a team, and the Broncos don't seem to have that level of team chemistry.
 
Well, Super Bowl is in the books.

You all know I am a huge Panthers fan and so I am pissed right now. BUT, I do want to congratulate the Denver Broncos on a game well played. They stuck with what got them to the super bowl and it served them well. Conversely, my Panthers just couldn't really get anything going. Protection for Cam was terrible all game long and we beat ourselves with all of the turnovers and penalties. It basically comes down to everything I had been saying all season long, "We have to play better and put teams away or it will come back to bite us." It did tonight in a big way.

And now, I'd like to be a big whiny baby for a moment, but I will put it behind spoiler tags, so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

That was a terribly called game. The refs screwed us over on SO many plays.

To start, the catch that one of the umps from way down the field ran up to call incomplete should have been a catch. The review should have been unnecessary because a ref by the line of scrimmage that did not have a good view of the play was the one to run up and call it incomplete. The others then went along with him. The review should then have overturned as his hand was clearly under the ball. The commentators were even saying it was a terrible call. That ultimately killed our opening drive and handed momentum to Denver.

Second, the spectacular non-call on the offsides by Denver on Gano's missed field goal. I saw Denver's guy (whose name eludes me right now) jump offsides from my couch in real time. How the refs missed so blatant of a call I will never know. Now, it was 4th & 11, so at best Gano gets another chance from a bit closer, but maybe he hits that one and Carolina gets a bit of confidence.

Third, late on a Carolina drive, Ted Ginn has two arms around his waist when the ball gets to him. Now, I'm pretty sure that's pass interference, but again a no-call. It was in the red-zone and that was a 3rd and long, but the penalty would have been enough to give a 1st down. Drive stalled, momentum stays with Denver.

All game long, the penalties added up. Lots of little stuff seemed to be called on Carolina while only big stuff was called on Denver. Broncos were allowed to "just play" as we so often hear happens in the super bowl while everything seemed to draw a flag for Carolina. Tre Boston knocks the ball away from a celebrating Sanders. How many times does that happen in the regular season and nothing happens? Tonight, 15-yard penalty. Yeah, he shouldn't have done it and it was dumb, I know, but the point being is that the teams were handled differently. Denver was allowed to play while Carolina was under a microscope.

The NFL did have motivation for the Broncos to win as well. It completes the big story of Peyton Manning retiring at the top of the game. Going out a winner, etc. Great story and great for the NFL, right? Besides, Carolina is young, they'll probably be back in the next few years right? They can win then. Denver also happens to be the larger market, not to mention all the sentiment that was running against Cam & the Panthers this year.

I will add that Denver just happens to be 6-0 under Head Ref Clete Blakeman now, who was the one working tonight. Does that mean anything? Probably not, but it smells just a little bit.

I'm just waiting for Peyton to announce his retirement so the NFL can have their perfect little story all tied up neatly: "Manning Goes Out a Champion."



Now, does this mean all this is true and the NFL is actively sabotaging teams with certain calls or influencing games by selective enforcement? Probably not. Like I said, I'm pissed and very emotional right now, so I'm lashing out and looking for something to blame other than the poor play of the Panthers. They're my team and have been since their first season in 1995. I watched them lose to New England in Super Bowl 38 (2003 season) and so to sit here and watch them lose again sucks.
 
While I am certainly biased about teams, after being a ref for a sport myself I will really never give refs shit. Refs will always back each other up on calls, because refs bickering about it does nothing for anyone, except take away confidence.

BUT, the real reason I popped over to this thread, is to post a sexy pic I found on Facebook. Of a chick, in case you dudes are intimidated by hot guys. I'll just keep those to myself. Sorry Tin.
 
On the one hand, I'm glad the Broncos won because now (if he's at all intelligent) Manning can go out on a win. On the other hand, I really wish the Panthers would have won, because at least that way we could have said we lost in the playoffs to the SB50 champs. But really, I'm just sad that I'll never get to see Lynch go Beast Mode again - though he did pick an entirely Marshawn way of announcing his retirement.
 
Which, in case you didn't see it: he tossed his football cleats up on a telephone wire, ala High school seniors throwing their gym shoes up on the wires to show everyone they're "done."
 
Which, in case you didn't see it: he tossed his football cleats up on a telephone wire, ala High school seniors throwing their gym shoes up on the wires to show everyone they're "done."
Must be something from your area, around here that's a signal that there is a drug spot nearby.
 

Zappit

Staff member
Boy, there's a lot of stuff about Peyton this week. The Washington Post reported that the pharmacy tech that was the center of the Al Jazeera HGH story recanted his story juuuust after some hired goons showed up at his parents house. They even called 911 during the incident.

Now there's the reports that Peyton sexually assaulted a trainer back in college and the Manning family covered it up and wrecked the trainer's career.

I always had a weird feeling about Peyton Manning. And it wasn't just the usual New Englander Peyton hate. It was more of a "this guy's got a body buried somewhere" kind of feeling. And people gave me shit for it because he had such a good reputation. I actually feel a bit vindicated by all this news, because it really is starting to look like Manning actually is a shit-sack.
 
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