NFL Playoffs

[JoeA]

I was at the game. I am happy to report that the fans I saw were civil and walking back to the bus, I saw a lot of congratulating between Pats and Broncos fans. That game was great and you have to respect the skills of both teams.

Manning was a class act and after the game, went over to Brady and Belichick to tell them both how much he has respected them and the Patriots organization over the years. At the press conference afterwards, Manning was asked why he did that. He said that he needed to tell them how much he respected them after 17 years of a very special rivalry because he might never have that kind of chance again (hints of a retirement?.) Brady too was constantly singing the praises of the Broncos all week. The NFL players could really learn something about class and how to conduct yourself before and after a game from both of these outstanding men.

Is your voice shot like mine? I sound like that really old person who smokes 4 packs a day and drinks hard whiskey from the minute they get out of bed!

 

[goofy !]

Is your voice shot like mine? I sound like that really old person who smokes 4 packs a day and drinks hard whiskey from the minute they get out of bed!

Yes. It is a good thing I don't have to use my voice too much at work today. We have had season tickets since 1991 and haven't missed a post-season game. I didn't think the new stadium could get that loud. That was the loudest I can remember, even louder than our beloved incredibly loud Mile High Stadium.

 

[CPanther95]

I'm a little surprised it's not a little bigger spread (for Carolina). I would have guessed it would be closer to 5 or 6 points, but hey, Vegas is pretty good at these things.

Vegas isn't predcting the game, they're just predicting the gambling money that's going to come in. The Broncos have a significantly larger fan base and Vegas knows they can screw them out of points and they'll still get enough money on the Broncos side of the ledger.

 

[Missy1961]

Congrats to the Broncos and the Panthers. I didn't think the Broncos D would be quite as dominant as they were, but they won it for Denver yesterday. Payton did enough to win, which is about as much as you can expect from him at this point in his career. He's not likely to go out there anymore and just take over a game like he used to be able to.

And damn, the Panthers look really good.

I'm impressed with myself - way back when this thread started, I voted for the Panthers. But a part of me would like to see the Broncos win.

 

[soccerdad72]

Vegas isn't predcting the game, they're just predicting the gambling money that's going to come in. The Broncos have a significantly larger fan base and Vegas knows they can screw them out of points and they'll still get enough money on the Broncos side of the ledger.

I understand. Vegas doesn't care about the outcome of the game. They're just trying to find the line that brings in a balance of money on both sides. I guess we'll see how much the line moves in either direction as the days go on. I suppose if there's enough Bronco fans out there putting money down on them the line won't move much, but I would suspect that at -3 1/2 for the Panthers, they'll get a lot of money on Carolina and the line might go up a little in the next few days.

Once again, though, Vegas knows their stuff a lot better than someone like me, so I could be completely off.

 

[CPanther95]

I understand. Vegas doesn't care about the outcome of the game. They're just trying to find the line that brings in a balance of money on both sides. I guess we'll see how much the line moves in either direction as the days go on. I suppose if there's enough Bronco fans out there putting money down on them the line won't move much, but I would suspect that at -3 1/2 for the Panthers, they'll get a lot of money on Carolina and the line might go up a little in the next few days.

Once again, though, Vegas knows their stuff a lot better than someone like me, so I could be completely off.

Vegas knows gambling extremely well. It's scary how close the opening line normally is compared to the closing line.

I think you'll see most football experts predicting a 7-10 point Panthers victory.

 

[lecach]

I was at the Panthers game. It was great. They showed the AFC game on the tvs in the stadium. It seemed like the vast majority of our fans were pulling for the Broncos over the Pats.

I'm tired and hoarse today. It was an awesome experience.

 

[GAN]

It seemed like the vast majority of our fans were pulling for the Broncos over the Pats.

I wonder why? I mean, with Manning being the better QB and all.

 

[GAN]

Vegas knows gambling extremely well. It's scary how close the opening line normally is compared to the closing line.

I think you'll see most football experts predicting a 7-10 point Panthers victory.

Got a feeling that spread will be climbing ..money should be pouring in on Carolina in the early going.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

I wonder why? I mean, with Manning being the better QB and all.

I was thinking the same thing! Haha

My two favorite teams are the Patriots and Denver so I was equally happy/disappointed yesterday, but I do like Carolina just because I respect them as a team and like the coaching style of Ron Rivera (my DH and I have met him several times at football-related functions we have attended over the years and of course talked football!).

But when Denver won, I really started pulling for Arizona

 

[GAN]

I was thinking the same thing! Haha

My two favorite teams are the Patriots and Denver so I was equally happy/disappointed yesterday, but I do like Carolina just because I respect them as a team and like the coaching style of Ron Rivera (my DH and I have met him several times at football-related functions we have attended over the years and of course talked football!).

But when Denver won, I really started pulling for Arizona

I like Rivera -he's a good coach. But I'm really routing for Carolina because of Mike Shula ..he was a classmate of mine and I'm glad to see him doing well. Class act!

 

[Disney Ron]

Carolina will pummel Denver. This could be as bad a Super Bowl as Seattle/Denver 2 years ago.

 

[GAN]

...but only as bad as the NFL will allow. Don't forget, this could be Peyton's last year -no way they will allow their darling to be embarrassed. There is a whole story here we don't know about....

 

[asta]

Apart from the football talk from all of you experts of the game, I loved seeing Archie there for Peyton when he left the podium after the game. I have always felt that Archie got a raw deal while in the NFL. I know it works that way but he played for the Saints, a really bad team at the time. I don't think he ever had a chance to show how good he was in the pros. And a really sad family situation on top of that. That makes it especially gratifying to see the success of Peyton and Eli.

I am also pulling for Eli to win the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

 

[JoeA]

Yes. It is a good thing I don't have to use my voice too much at work today. We have had season tickets since 1991 and haven't missed a post-season game. I didn't think the new stadium could get that loud. That was the loudest I can remember, even louder than our beloved incredibly loud Mile High Stadium.

We've had our season tiks for about 10 years and you're right - that was probably the loudest I've heard that stadium. I think maybe Brady spending most of the day picking himself up had something to do with it!

Funny, even my legs are a little sore from all the foot stomping. Man I must be out of "game shape"!

 

[RedAngie]

Could someone explain to Clueless Lady about the finish of the Denver-New England game? The attempted two point conversion was tipped by one Denver defender and a different Bronco caught the ball and started running. Could he have run down the field for a touchdown? He got part of the way, then seemed to fumble and NE recovered. Or did it just count as a failed extra point(s) attempt, that's why New England had to kick off again after scoring their touchdown?

I understand the on-side kick, New England was hoping to gain possession and try to score again. But I don't understand what happened with the whole two point conversion. Thanks.

(One reporter called Denver's victory "improbable," and said it "shocked the sports world.")

 

[soccerdad72]

Could someone explain to Clueless Lady about the finish of the Denver-New England game? The attempted two point conversion was tipped by one Denver defender and a different Bronco caught the ball and started running. Could he have run down the field for a touchdown? He got part of the way, then seemed to fumble and NE recovered. Or did it just count as a failed extra point(s) attempt, that's why New England had to kick off again after scoring their touchdown?

I understand the on-side kick, New England was hoping to gain possession and try to score again. But I don't understand what happened with the whole two point conversion. Thanks.

(One reporter called Denver's victory "improbable," and said it "shocked the sports world.")

If the Broncos player were to return the interception all the way to the end zone, Denver would have scored two points. Regardless of the result of the interception return, New England had to kickoff to Denver. The fumble recovery was meaningless. Short of the NE player picking up the fumble and taking it into the end zone, the play is over at that point.

And while Denver was the underdog in the game, I would say it was far from shocking the sports world. Denver was the higher seed.

 

[asta]

Could someone explain to Clueless Lady about the finish of the Denver-New England game? The attempted two point conversion was tipped by one Denver defender and a different Bronco caught the ball and started running. Could he have run down the field for a touchdown? He got part of the way, then seemed to fumble and NE recovered. Or did it just count as a failed extra point(s) attempt, that's why New England had to kick off again after scoring their touchdown?

I understand the on-side kick, New England was hoping to gain possession and try to score again. But I don't understand what happened with the whole two point conversion. Thanks.

(One reporter called Denver's victory "improbable," and said it "shocked the sports world.")

If he had ran down the field to the other end zone I think he would have scored two points not the six scored with a touchdown. If he was stopped the play is blown dead and is a failed extra point. This rule was changed recently, maybe at the beginning of this season. If I am wrong I am sure one of the experts will correct me.

 

[Jdbsfw]

Could someone explain to Clueless Lady about the finish of the Denver-New England game? The attempted two point conversion was tipped by one Denver defender and a different Bronco caught the ball and started running. Could he have run down the field for a touchdown? He got part of the way, then seemed to fumble and NE recovered. Or did it just count as a failed extra point(s) attempt, that's why New England had to kick off again after scoring their touchdown?

I understand the on-side kick, New England was hoping to gain possession and try to score again. But I don't understand what happened with the whole two point conversion. Thanks.

(One reporter called Denver's victory "improbable," and said it "shocked the sports world.")

If he would have scored it would have been 2pts for Denver

 

[soccerdad72]

If he had ran down the field to the other end zone I think he would have scored two points not the six scored with a touchdown. If he was stopped the play is blown dead and is a failed extra point. This rule was changed recently, maybe at the beginning of this season. If I am wrong I am sure one of the experts will correct me.

The two point defensive extra point (blocked PAT or return off a 2 point attempt) was added this season (I will admit - I looked it up )