Official 2012 NFL Discussion Thread

Patriots vs. Broncos: can anyone explain why the Pats tried to convert a fourth down when it was 4th and 5? Had the Broncos not fumbled they could have gotten back and at least tied it. It seemed like the reward was far outweighed by the consequences.

Saints vs. Chargers: Congrats to Brees for breaking Unitas' record (I'm totally sure he's on this site).

@ThePickle: If you go by the numbers it's almost always worth going for it between the 45-35 yard line; unless you have the best field goal kicker or the best punter in the universe. Losing the ball at the 40 isn't much of an issue; though obviously the outcome of the play was potentially disastrous.

@Fredchuckdave said:

@ThePickle: If you go by the numbers it's almost always worth going for it between the 45-35 yard line; unless you have the best field goal kicker or the best punter in the universe. Losing the ball at the 40 isn't much of an issue; though obviously the outcome of the play was potentially disastrous.

But with Peyton Manning taking that risk seems silly. WHy not just punt it away and make the Broncos go more yards?

@ThePickle: If the offense is so good that your defense can't stop them they're not going to stop them from the 5 yard line instead of the 40 (Safeties are extremely rare); if the offense is questionable (which the Broncos offense still is) then they'll have roughly the same likelihood of punting from either location. Games are rarely low scoring affairs anymore so it's not really a battle of field position like it used to be, excellent offenses with deep play capability are common.

@Fredchuckdave said:

@ThePickle: If the offense is so good that your defense can't stop them they're not going to stop them from the 5 yard line instead of the 40 (Safeties are extremely rare); if the offense is questionable (which the Broncos offense still is) then they'll have roughly the same likelihood of punting from either location. Games are rarely low scoring affairs anymore so it's not really a battle of field position like it used to be, excellent offenses with deep play capability are common.

That sounds reasonable.

MNF: Texans score on the opening drive. This is gonna be a rough one folks. Seriously, the ease with which they scored was astounding.

Colts beating the Packers was a great victory, I was getting tired of packers fans saying that it was going to be an easy victory

Fell behind here a lil' bit, but we're back!

This man has 4 Super Bowl rings and 2 MVP's.

Week 6 (10/14/12)

Byes:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

I'm looking forward to Giants and 49'ers, Packers and Texans. Should be some good games!

Hopefully San Fran can go 3/3 and fully conquer New York. 

Green Bay was somewhat clearly the best team (best scoring differential) in the league in 2010 and barely made it in the playoffs prior to winning the Superbowl, finishing with a 10-6 record. I'd say we win in spite of the coach though so if McCarthy makes enough stupid decisions (like not calling a timeout) we'll probably be doomed.

Can't wait for my Seahawks to play against the Patriots, the biggest test of the year for the defense, which is still one of the most underrated units in the NFL, at least in the media (never hear NFL network talk about them, and neither does our national media, guess that's what happens when the team is from a city, which isn't a huge market...).

Another barn burner for Detroit. If you're not watching the Detroit Lions, you ain't watching football.

Seahawks won!

Suck it, Patriots! Suck it!

Fuck, I'm so stoked right now. Have fun on the plane ride home, Tom.

Ho-lee shit. I love the Seahawks, but I honestly expected them to get worked against the Pats. Not only was it an amazing game, but the Hawks pulled out the win. I'm glad I was wrong.

@Hailinel: Perfect. My exact reaction.

SEAHAWKS, SEAHAWKS,  SEAHAWKS, SEAHAWKS!!! So hyped right now, Russell Wilson really stepped up tonight, what a game! 
 
@Hailinel: @PeasantAbuse: @Dethfish: Didn't know there were so many Seahawks fans on Giantbomb, awesome!

Suck it Niners. Big Blue wins! :)

And the 49ers lose? It's like fucking Christmas. Let's go Buffalo!

@Dethfish said:

And the 49ers lose? It's like fucking Christmas. Let's go Buffalo!

On top of that, Cowboys lose! If the Raiders upset the Falcons this would be the best week of football yet!

All we need is a Texans win over Green Bay. And somehow a way for both the Chargers and Broncos to lose.

Ummmm, football?

I don't know if I've posted this before, but either way it's incredible.

Week 7 (10/21/12)

Byes

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

San Diego Chargers

Ugh, god damn Seahawks. You're the worst. I hate you.

OK fine, I still love you.

Assholes.

It's only the first quarter but this Giants-Cowboys game is going to be fun.

Is the Tony Romo Choke Train coming into the station early? I hope so!

@ThePickle said:

Is the Tony Romo Choke Train coming into the station early? I hope so!

It looked like that was going to be the story...what a game.

THIS GIANTS-COWBOYS GAME IS NO LONGER FUN

God the Bears need to draft Collin Klein and be done with the slob.

Yo, fuck Detroit.

@gla55jAw said:

@ThePickle said:

Is the Tony Romo Choke Train coming into the station early? I hope so!

It looked like that was going to be the story...what a game.

Yup. Spoke way too soon.

Seriously, Elite Eli was 9/23. Even Sanchez laughs at numbers like that.

@PeasantAbuse said:

Yo, fuck Detroit.

Aw c'mon man. A lot of Detroiters like me have been suffering through our fanhood our whole lives. We have by far the worst franchise in the merger era. Cut us some slack. It's a hard road supporting these fucks already.

Wait, I just noticed your username. You are an abuser of peasants. Well I guess that's just what you do then (I'm walking away with my head down now).

Come on Giants!!!!

My heart almost exploded but...Giants win. Phew...

My heart almost exploded but...Giants win. Phew...

@ThePickle said:

@gla55jAw said:

@ThePickle said:

Is the Tony Romo Choke Train coming into the station early? I hope so!

It looked like that was going to be the story...what a game.

Yup. Spoke way too soon.

Seriously, Elite Eli was 9/23. Even Sanchez laughs at numbers like that.

Yeah, but Eli won his game. Sanchez and Rex are both in denial with themselves and their team. I'm cursed as a Jets fan.

Texans! YEAH!

Texans! YEAH!

Alright, been pretty bad about keeping up with this. But I'm sticking with it!

You know how sometimes there are jokes that only old people get? This certainly is not one of them. I got my power back early yesterday, but many of my east coast brethren are not that lucky. My heart goes out to all Bombers who have been hurricane'd back to the stone age.

Week 9 (11/4/12)

Byes

• St. Louis Rams
• New England Patriots
• New York Jets
• San Francisco 49ers

Lets go Hawks.

Need the Steelers and Cowboys to step their game up to help out the Niners while they are on their bye.

Here's my situation: I've got a friend who runs this little website, there's 52 people from around here participating this year. Each of us chip in $20, and it's a very simple game of "who picks the most games right" during the season. Right now, I'm in the lead with 80 wins and 39 losses. I know next to nothing about football, but I know how to google what the analysts are saying and choose the aggregate picks. I'm ahead by 4, so right now, it's a game of choosing what the people under me are choosing, so that I stay ahead. There's only one guy who's making risky picks, and if they pay off, he'll pull ahead. I'm getting nervous, that extra grand would fund my trip to Vegas coming up in March. Wish me luck.

@TooWalrus: Good luck man.

51 points for Chi-town? Kinda wish I watched that game.

Steelers game is just too funny. Even the announcers are going back and showing missed/bad calls lol.

@Intro said:

Steelers game is just too funny. Even the announcers are going back and showing missed/bad calls lol.

The first pass interference and the late hit were definitely bad calls but that was a fumble.

I tried watching NFL this season, but over half the time is commercials. I watch football and rugby and the only break in there is the 10 minutes at half time.

Doug Martin has gotten the one guy in my fantasy league 66 points so far.

Doug Martin is a hero. Also, don't lose Giants. :(

yay, the panthers finally decided to win one

>.>

Giants loss and one of my worst fantasy football days ever. Not a good Sunday.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

I tried watching NFL this season, but over half the time is commercials. I watch football and rugby and the only break in there is the 10 minutes at half time.

Yeah, there are too many commercials in the NFL (not more than half the time though). Any fan will admit this. But the action in the NFL is unbeatable by any sport if you ask me. It's all about tension. A team gets 4 (actually more like 3) chances to get 10 yards. Doesn't sound like much, but it is. A team only gets so many snaps in a game, so they need to make each one count. Especially when you're down by 4 with 70 yards to go, no timeouts with under 2 minutes on the clock. That's a situation you see a lot in the NFL and it's a nail biter each time.

Not trying to cut down soccer or rugby, but just saying why I personally like gridiron football. Give it another shot. If the commercials are such a dealbreaker than I feel bad for you because gridiron football is really in a league of its own and can be an absolute blast to watch. I was in a similar position to you less than a year ago. I would see snippets of games and say "this is dumb. Just a bunch of fat guys stopping and starting". It's the same line we see a lot of NFL detractors spew. But there's so much more to it than what is seems.

Also, there are flips.