2015 NFL Playoffs

[JWL]

In last night's game shouldn't the running into the locker room with the ball after the interception
be a penalty for delay of game?

Players go into the locker room during games and there are plenty of other balls around so I assume the answer is no.

[JWL]

All you have to do is ask what will annoy me the most and then bet on it.

As soon as the Jets lost to the Bills, the AFC Championship Game had Steelers at Patriots written all over it.

My favorite two teams in the NFC are the Cardinals and Panthers, so there is no doubt, no doubt at all, that the NFC title game will be Seattle at Green Bay.

The Al Bundy Luck is very strong in this season.

[Bryan]

Did the Vikings manage to freeze out their own kicking unit? On 3rd & 4 with 1:15 to play they ran the ball for 3 yards and then took the clock down to 0:26 before calling time out. Given the conditions, you would think getting out there and taking the kick as soon as possible would have been better than standing around for over a minute, getting even colder.

I thought it was strange that while Zimmer stalled out his offense and played for the FG, he also ended up having the ball on the left hashmark for the short FG attempt. That's probably the worst angle to have for a right-footed kicker...I would guess that if the ball had been in the middle of the field, Walsh doesn't miss that kick. Perhaps it was Walsh's preference to have the ball on the left hash for the FG attempt, but I doubt it. Seemed like Zimmer idiocy to me.

[Bryan]

Porter had no business being on the field, let alone hanging around the Bungles huddle. Smacks of intent; say something to trigger a reacton and a flag. Can't wait for the league excuse.

Not singling you out, but I find it odd that this has been one of the main takeaways from the game. After all the maiming, cheap shots, extracurricular activity, beer cans thrown at injured opposing players, terrible officiating calls...the big concern/fallout is Joey Porter's presence on the field?

That Steelers-Bengals game was complete trainwreck television. So bad, so disgusting, that it ended up being fairly compelling. Definitely not an uplifting feeling at the conclusion of the game. The officiating bordered on the WWF in terms of ineptitude. Another odd takeaway from the game are NFL people/media claiming that Rick Parry's crew did a good job in throwing flags and keeping things under control. What?? That game was the most out-of-control NFL game I've ever seen.

The surreal thing about the Antonio Brown injury play was that as Brown was being taken off the field, there was still a crowd of angry Bengals players around him. Pac Man Jones was yelling at Brown, accusing him of flopping. Rick Parry's crew actually allowed Vontez Burfict to grab the back of Brown's jersey as the training staff was taking Brown from the field after a head/neck injury. The Steelers' trainer obviously wanted none of that, and that's
when Porter stepped in. How it was possible for Burfict to not only still be in the game at that point, but to be allowed within arm's reach of Brown can only be answered by Rick Parry's crew. If you watched what happened, after Porter steps in and says something, Wallace Gilberry of the Bengals positions himself behind Porter so he can't back up, and the rest of the Bengals surround him. Its not like Porter rushed the field and started a fight, like Jeremy Hill did after the Shazier hit on Bernard.

Anyway, the game seemed to be a good microcosm of the "newer, cleaner, safer" NFL that Roger Goodell has promoted. Officials throwing flags on clean hits...officials turning a blind eye to actual dirty play...game takes nearly 4 hours...over 200 yards in penalties...a TD incorrectly taken away by the officials...AJ McCarron...and the outcome decided by officiating calls.

[oldecapecod11]

PHOOEY!

In the past year-plus, whenever his name appeared, the reaction here was always "PHOOEY to TOUHY!"

But, more and more - and especially recently - his accusations are beginning to ring with some truth.
It appears quite evident that the nfl has advised officiating crews there are certain teams the league would like to see
in the play-offs and then progress.
One does not have to have a "genius card" to realize the rest of the message is that future assignments will be based
on your ability to make this happen.

One must then wonder - based on this soft ultimatum - if a few dimes are not dropped with local bookmakers
while the league counts its kickback dollars from the fantasy programs?

The officials tried their best to get the pathetic Giants into post-season play but the two-man dog-and-pony show
is just not enough.
It is surprising that the sick puppy did not lift his leg on one of the goalposts.
With Lamar Hunt gone, the lure of Wilbert Harrison has lost its luster and the whining of the stealers' teardrops tomlin
is a more newsworthy package. The officials certainly made sure moaning mike would have another opportunity to cry.

Maybe the best part of the weekend is that we won't have to hear about Scott Norwood for a while. Whew!

Where have you gone Arnold Rothstein?

[JWL]

Porter had no business being on the field, let alone hanging around the Bungles huddle. Smacks of intent; say something to trigger a reacton and a flag. Can't wait for the league excuse.

Not singling you out, but I find it odd that this has been one of the main takeaways from the game. After all the maiming, cheap shots, extracurricular activity, beer cans thrown at injured opposing players, terrible officiating calls...the big concern/fallout is Joey Porter's presence on the field?

That Steelers-Bengals game was complete trainwreck television. So bad, so disgusting, that it ended up being fairly compelling. Definitely not an uplifting feeling at the conclusion of the game. The officiating bordered on the WWF in terms of ineptitude. Another odd takeaway from the game are NFL people/media claiming that Rick Parry's crew did a good job in throwing flags and keeping things under control. What?? That game was the most out-of-control NFL game I've ever seen.

The surreal thing about the Antonio Brown injury play was that as Brown was being taken off the field, there was still a crowd of angry Bengals players around him. Pac Man Jones was yelling at Brown, accusing him of flopping. Rick Parry's crew actually allowed Vontez Burfict to grab the back of Brown's jersey as the training staff was taking Brown from the field after a head/neck injury. The Steelers' trainer obviously wanted none of that, and that's
when Porter stepped in. How it was possible for Burfict to not only still be in the game at that point, but to be allowed within arm's reach of Brown can only be answered by Rick Parry's crew. If you watched what happened, after Porter steps in and says something, Wallace Gilberry of the Bengals positions himself behind Porter so he can't back up, and the rest of the Bengals surround him. Its not like Porter rushed the field and started a fight, like Jeremy Hill did after the Shazier hit on Bernard.

Anyway, the game seemed to be a good microcosm of the "newer, cleaner, safer" NFL that Roger Goodell has promoted. Officials throwing flags on clean hits...officials turning a blind eye to actual dirty play...game takes nearly 4 hours...over 200 yards in penalties...a TD incorrectly taken away by the officials...AJ McCarron...and the outcome decided by officiating calls.

Did McCarron ride his bike over your dog's tail when he was a young lad or something? McCarron played reasonably well at least in the 4th quarter when it was crunch time considering his lack of NFL experience.

Other than that I agree mostly. It was a compelling game for train wreck type reasons. Both teams are classless. Mike Tomlin is off the hook because his team won on Saturday and previously won a Super Bowl and he coaches a league darling. But if Lewis is going to be ripped for losing control of his team, Tomlin should too. Why was that clown Joey Porter (one of the all-time pieces of garbage the league has ever seen) on the field to begin with? There is no reason for Porter to have been on the field. Maybe I am a moron, though. Maybe it is normal for a linebacker coach to come onto the field when the punter gets injured or the offensive line coach to come onto the field when a cornerback gets injured or...

Even though I feel bad for most of the Bengals and Vikings and their fans, it was cool in a way that a dirty player (Burfict), a dirty player/off-the-field thug (Jones) and child abuser (Adrian Peterson) were three of the give goats.

[BernardB]

PHOOEY!

In the past year-plus, whenever his name appeared, the reaction here was always "PHOOEY to TOUHY!"

But, more and more - and especially recently - his accusations are beginning to ring with some truth.
It appears quite evident that the nfl has advised officiating crews there are certain teams the league would like to see
in the play-offs and then progress.
One does not have to have a "genius card" to realize the rest of the message is that future assignments will be based
on your ability to make this happen.

One must then wonder - based on this soft ultimatum - if a few dimes are not dropped with local bookmakers
while the league counts its kickback dollars from the fantasy programs?

The officials tried their best to get the pathetic Giants into post-season play but the two-man dog-and-pony show
is just not enough.
It is surprising that the sick puppy did not lift his leg on one of the goalposts.
With Lamar Hunt gone, the lure of Wilbert Harrison has lost its luster and the whining of the stealers' teardrops tomlin
is a more newsworthy package. The officials certainly made sure moaning mike would have another opportunity to cry.

Maybe the best part of the weekend is that we won't have to hear about Scott Norwood for a while. Whew!

Where have you gone Arnold Rothstein?

Ah, nothing like a good conspiracy theory in the morning.

[Bryan]

Mike Tomlin is off the hook because his team won on Saturday and previously won a Super Bowl and he coaches a league darling. But if Lewis is going to be ripped for losing control of his team, Tomlin should too. Why was that clown Joey Porter (one of the all-time pieces of garbage the league has ever seen) on the field to begin with? There is no reason for Porter to have been on the field. Maybe I am a moron, though. Maybe it is normal for a linebacker coach to come onto the field when the punter gets injured or the offensive line coach to come onto the field when a cornerback gets injured or...

I think people are grasping at straws with that 'narrative'. Again, I'm not understanding how Burfict's game-long (career long?) dirty play can somehow be cast in the same light as Joey Porter being on the field, with the further implication that Tomlin "lost control" of his team because Joey Porter wandered onto the field when Antonio Brown was injured. What if Tomlin specifically told Porter "OK...go onto the field...taunt the Bengals until you can get one of them to throw a punch at you"...wouldn't that be seen more as sneaky and underhanded (and perhaps, genius) than actual "dirty play"? Jeremy Hill ran onto the field from the sidelines and actually started a fight...with no penalty or ejection! Perhaps if he had been ejected, then the Bengals would have won?

[mwald]

How about Bud Grant walking out in shirtsleeves yesterday? Sure, it was staged but it gave this cat goosebumps. Shades of Willis Reed, Madison Square Garden 1970?

Alas, Vikings couldn't seal the deal. But what an iconic image.

[BD Sullivan]

How about Bud Grant walking out in shirtsleeves yesterday? Sure, it was staged but it gave this cat goosebumps. Shades of Willis Reed, Madison Square Garden 1970?

Alas, Vikings couldn't seal the deal. But what an iconic image.

Speaking of conspiracy theories, let's just hope Bud has plenty of years left, and we don't hear of his obit in a few weeks/months. There's still people who believe that George Allen was "killed" because of the Gatorade bath that he got in November 1990, since he died of a heart attack--six weeks later.