Football thoughts - week 17

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

Gruden hasn't been completely away from the game. He has had to study 2 teams a week instead of one single team. .

I don't question whether he can be successful. I'm just surprised at the fuss over his return. Would people go as mad if Bill Cowher or Brian Billick returned to the sidelines? What about Jimmy Johnson?

[BaseballMan]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

I don't question whether he can be successful. I'm just surprised at the fuss over his return. Would people go as mad if Bill Cowher or Brian Billick returned to the sidelines? What about Jimmy Johnson?

You got look at thet lack of success the raiders have had with coaches since Gruden left. If tbey brought back Mike White or Joe Bugel there wouldnt be much fuss. If Jimmy Johnson was returning to the cowboys do you not think there would be a big commotion. If he returned to the dolphins not as much.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

You got look at thet lack of success the raiders have had with coaches since Gruden left. If tbey brought back Mike White or Joe Bugel there wouldnt be much fuss. If Jimmy Johnson was returning to the cowboys do you not think there would be a big commotion. If he returned to the dolphins not as much.

I can understand Raider fans being hopeful. But I would think it would be only a little bit more than there would be for any new hire. The sports media however is acting a wunderkind is back from sabbatical. Johnson won wherever he went so I could understand him. Gruden's record is meh. He ain't Rich Kotite. But he ain't Lombardi either.

[rudel.dietrich]

Got my bets in. I can see why gambling drives up NFL viewership. I find the sport almost unwatchable but having a small financial stake in the games and also some prop bets makes me want to watch.

And after I absolutely cleaned up with my triple NBA mega bet before the beginning of last season my account with the site I use has enough in it where I can throw some bets around and not worry about it actually touching my actual bank account.

[MBarrett]

Chiefs
Falcons
Jags
Saints

[ForeverRoyalKC]

To the Kansas City Chiefs......... *ahem*.........

YA' DID IT AGAIN!

[TheMaus2]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoyalKC

To the Kansas City Chiefs......... *ahem*.........

YA' DID IT AGAIN!

As if the Chiefs weren't slipping before that.

[Cobra Mgr]

Reid & Smith have hit their ceiling. All they needed was one fg in the 2nd half & they advance. Add the thing is, Titans gave them that fg & the Chefs still couldn't cash in.

I must also say the refs sucked in this one.

[Airdrop01]

Unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed sitting in the car at Arrowhead.

And I sat through Lin Elliott.

[TGH-Adfabre]

Love watching the Rams loose.

[ukhotstove]

I’m betting most picks for a Chiefs victory were down to home field advantage, nothing else pointed to a Chiefs victory. They only beat the Eagles and Chargers who finished the season with winning records and two of those wins were the 1st & 2nd games of the season, on the other hand the Titans beat the Jags (2), Seahawks & Ravens. Throw in the fact the Chiefs haven’t done anything of note in the last 50 years in the play offs, in fact the Titans have won more play off games in the last 18 years than the Chiefs in 40+ years.

The Rams/Falcons game was all about play off experience.

The other two games I’d go Jags & Saints mostly due to homefield advantage, if I was putting money on this weekends games I’d be more inclined to worry about todays games than yesterday’s.

[Ragnar]

I did not pick a Chiefs victory, but I did pick a Rams Victory.

[Airdrop01]

Thankfully that was the last Jeff Triplette game I ever have to watch. He’s done.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Reid & Smith have hit their ceiling. All they needed was one fg in the 2nd half & they advance. Add the thing is, Titans gave them that fg & the Chefs still couldn't cash in.

I must also say the refs sucked in this one.

In Reid & Smith's defense, they lost by one point in a game where the opposition scored seven points on the most-unlikely of fluke plays (Marriota-to-Marriota) that should have resulted in three points, they lost a key offensive weapon just before halftime, came within one play or a few yards of lining up for a game-winning field goal, and as for the criticism of not running Hunt more, Smith was having a great game... (Had Reid called Hunt's number more in the second half, and the Chiefs had still lost, the criticism would've been that he got too conservative.)

That said, when you are up 21-3 at the half, then go scoreless in the 2nd half and lose - at home - some criticism is sure to be valid.

Last year around this time - sorry ForeverRoyalKC! - I wrote the following in defense of Reid (and the legacy of Marty Schottenheimer), from the perspective of a long-suffering Dolphins fan:

Several years ago (Schottenheimer) was rumored to be in the hunt as new coach for the Dolphins. Probably six or eight years ago. I was thinking, "Hell yes! That guy's a winner!" You can't win the Super Bowl without first making the playoffs, and guys like Reid and Shottenheimer (when he was coaching) simply take teams to the playoffs. Repeatedly. They don't somehow forget how to put together a game plan when it's the playoffs. But sometimes bad luck strikes, the ball bounces funny, or guys like Elway and Brady happen. By definition, bad luck isn't distributed evenly. Some guys, Andy & Marty for two, have gotten more than their fare share of it... But if I'm running a team, I'd take Andy now in a heartbeat (and would've taken Marty back in his day).

I definitely stand by that! But I can sure understand the frustration of Chiefs fans.

[BaseballMan]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

I can understand Raider fans being hopeful. But I would think it would be only a little bit more than there would be for any new hire. The sports media however is acting a wunderkind is back from sabbatical. Johnson won wherever he went so I could understand him. Gruden's record is meh. He ain't Rich Kotite. But he ain't Lombardi either.

They wouldn't be as excited if it had been Norv Turner or Bill Callahan.
But most raider fans feel that the team was going to have some success for awhile with Gruden and then he leaves and they go through the nightmare of the last 15 years. The raiders were terrible before he got there but this time he has some young weapons to work with. Hes had like only 3 losing seasons.
The Raiders don't want another Lance Kiffin or Dennis Allen. They want someone with some experience and success. Getting Del Rio was a take what we can get. So they see Gruden as a coach they want.

I don't know if he will succeed or fail but Del Rio didnt really seem to have control of the team. Every week it was the same thing. "We will get better" and then the same mistakes would be made.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

So they see Gruden as a coach they want.

I can think of plenty of evidence to support this. In fact, 100,000,000 pieces of evidence

[Déjà Bru]

Did anybody here talk about this play yet?

Mariota to Mariota, Touchdown!

Marcus Mariota, With a Play for the Ages, Leads the Titans Past the Chiefs

Here's the theoretical question that I have: In this play, the opposing cornerback batted the football back into Mariota's hands and he lunged forward for the touchdown. Would it be legal if the quarterback were to throw the ball up in the air, run forward, and catch it without the defense touching the ball?

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Did anybody here talk about this play yet?

Mariota to Mariota, Touchdown!

Marcus Mariota, With a Play for the Ages, Leads the Titans Past the Chiefs

Here's the theoretical question that I have: In this play, the opposing cornerback batted the football back into Mariota's hands and he lunged forward for the touchdown. Would it be legal if the quarterback were to throw the ball up in the air, run forward, and catch it without the defense touching the ball?

LOL I don't know, I'm guessing yes. But I know the QB has to be in shotgun to be an eligible WR.

[Airdrop01]

The whole thing was fluky. I mean, it’s just crazy. The Marriota pass to himself. The points on a drive that was stopped but saved by a delay of game penalty. The one sure fumble on a sack by Johnson that was called forward progress that allowed a FG. (A fumble on a sack is impossible if that was the correct call...truth is Tripletts crew is one of the worst at controlling games and he probably didn’t even see the fumble.). Then the safety which was called back by alleged forward progress, even though guaranteed if a pass made that it would’ve counted.

Chiefs should have won, but man that whole comeback was fluky. I don’t know what the KC fans did to deserve this, but that’s 8 in a row now.

A quick and good read:

https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2018/...-chiefs-season

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

They wouldn't be as excited if it had been Norv Turner or Bill Callahan.
But most raider fans feel that the team was going to have some success for awhile with Gruden and then he leaves and they go through the nightmare of the last 15 years. The raiders were terrible before he got there but this time he has some young weapons to work with. Hes had like only 3 losing seasons.
The Raiders don't want another Lance Kiffin or Dennis Allen. They want someone with some experience and success. Getting Del Rio was a take what we can get. So they see Gruden as a coach they want.

I don't know if he will succeed or fail but Del Rio didnt really seem to have control of the team. Every week it was the same thing. "We will get better" and then the same mistakes would be made.

I'm not trying to be convinced one way or the other. My thought was I'm surprised @ the hype. Being surprised isn't an opinion. It's a reaction.