The Football Thread

[Seraphim73]

@ganymede I will usually offer to fight anyone who uses total yards as a measure of team quality (I like Yards per Attempt and Points per Game better, of the stats you used).

These two teams are, however, two of the best teams in the league in many advanced stats as well. DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, from www.footballoutsiders.com) has them listed as #1 (New England) and #2 (Philly) in weighted DVOA, although Philly was #4 before they thrashed the Vikings. By their ratings, New England has the #1 offense, the #20 defense, and the #2 special teams, while Philly has the #6 offense, #2 defense, and #20 special teams (and they just beat the #1 defense).

I think that this game has the possibility to be closer than most people imagine, but it really hinges on whether we get Good Foles (the NFC Championship game) or Bad Foles (about half the games thus far this year). I think that unless Foles comes out on fire (possible), the New England defense falls flat on their face (unlikely), or the Philly defense plays lights out (possible), New England wins this one by 10-ish. If Foles looks bad, the New England defense looks lights out, or the Philly defense comes out flat, New England wins by 14+.

[Ganymede]

@seraphim73

All stats mean something if taken in the aggregate.

New England beat Tennessee; not hard. Then they barely got past Bortles and the Kittens. Their defense hasn’t been challenged.

It is a close call, but I’m not going to bet against Brady. Unless you’re the Ravens or the Mannings, you ain’t gonna win.

[ThatGuyThere]

@ganymede said in The Football Thread:

It is a close call, but I’m not going to bet against Brady. Unless you’re the Ravens or the Mannings, you ain’t gonna win.

Do you mean expect to lose or bet against there. Because if you bet against Brady in the AFC championship you really did win, since the lowest I saw the spread was 9 points and the Pats did not cover.

[Ganymede]

@thatguythere

I mean that if I had to pick a winner, I’d pick Brady.

[ThatGuyThere]

I figured so but given the amount of wagering that takes place on NFL games especially playoffs I figured I would clarify.

[dontpanda]

I live just north of Minnesota. The vast majority of people I know are Vikings fans, simply by geography.

Not me. I back the Pack.

So, I'll say: That loss by the Vikings would only have been sweeter to me if it had happened at the Superbowl, to Tom Brady, in their own home.

Also, I'm cheering for the Patriots. I would have been okay cheering for the Jaguars - they were my dark horse choice from the outset of the season - but for some reason, I've always liked the Patriots. I think it's Bellichek's inability to give a single crap what anyone thinks, about anything, for any reason. Not league sponsors (see: Microsoft), not the Commissioner, not the media (see: "We're on to Cincinnati"), not people with eyes (see: His abhominable cut-off sweatshirts), not top-round draft picks. He literally couldn't care less about any of that. There's a certain curmudgeonly charm to it.

[Aria]

My father played high school ball. @insomniac7809's father played college ball in the Big Ten. I used to be in marching band and attended almost every football game my high school played for four years street.

Yet despite that, I've never been a big fan of the sport. I'm a hockey girl, through and through....

And yet. I am losing my goddamned mind. I can barely breathe watching the fourth quarter.

hyperventilates

[Ghost]

YAAAAAAAY THE NOT-PATRIOTS WIN!!!!

<<Looks at @Aria >>

YAAAAAY SOMETHING AWESOME HAPPENED TO A PHILLY TEAM!!!!

[ZombieGenesis]

If this gets overturned I'm gonna be super pissed.

[ixokai]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

=(

.<
;.;

I'm like, two and a half minutes? We got this. This game is ours. That's like infinity in Tom Brady time.

[ZombieGenesis]

OH SHIT!

[Ghost]

Congrats to the TRUE Philadelphia Eagles...

[Arkandel]

Kobe's reaction means more to me than who actually won it.

[ThatGuyThere]

@ghost
I am so looking forward to the episode where we see how the Gang get screw out of seeing the game. Because as we know nothing good can happen for the Gang. We saw that they missed the Phillies winning the World Series locked in a walk in freezer (I think that was what it was it has been a while) so I really hope it is something worse than that.

[Auspice]

Fuckin Chiefs.

[Testament]

@Auspice That probably the best game of the week, though. I tried watching Browns/Rams and I'm pretty sure I dozed off.

[Auspice]

@Testament said in The Football Thread:

@Auspice That probably the best game of the week, though. I tried watching Browns/Rams and I'm pretty sure I dozed off.

Still mad.

[Testament]

Penalties killed it for the Ravens. Though one PI call maybe of been a touch ticky tack.

[Auspice]

What's depressing in life is all I truly want out of the NFL this year is a Super Bowl without the Patriots and that's probably the hardest ask of all.

[Ghost]

@Auspice said in The Football Thread:

What's depressing in life is all I truly want out of the NFL this year is a Super Bowl without the Patriots and that's probably the hardest ask of all.

A non-patriots super bowl with a halftime show that rocks.

These last few years have been pretty lame.