NFL Playoffs Wild Card Weekend

[CheezWizHed]

I only seen Mack during the 2x/year Packer games the last three years. The first year, he was a beast and a major focus of our offense (granted, I think we had Bulaga out and a really bad backup at RT the first game). The second year, we were more wary of him, but he had little impact - Bulaga shut him down. This year I barely noticed he was on the field. In fact, a couple times I had to double check that he was actually playing because he had no impact on the game - and that was Bahk (some the first game), but mostly Turner and Wagner shutting him down.

 

Maybe he has been killing other teams, but after the first season in Chicago, he has barely made any impact on our games.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I mean, he's one guy. Their defense was the best one in the league the first year he was in Chicago. The Packers also sucked, and were much better the next two seasons.

[HiAndTight]

I don't know how PFF grades but I have a hard time understanding how he was graded higher this year than the year he led the league with 16 sacks and 23 tackles for loss.

 

 

Well, they take into account who you have across from you on the line and how often you're double teamed for starters. How often you win your matchup's. A number of things that go beyond just tackles for loss and sacks.

[HiAndTight]

I don't know how PFF grades but I have a hard time understanding how he was graded higher this year than the year he led the league with 16 sacks and 23 tackles for loss.

 

I think he meant his best year in Chicago, but PFF literally records every play. They note things like a perfect throw that a WR dropped, a player who didn't make a tackle, but absorbed a double team to free up a LB, etc. It's a much more in depth system than just picking out stats and dividing it by snaps or something. They have a staff of roughly 600 people that does this. If a safety gets roasted on a deep pass in which a cornerback clearly blew an assignment, they may rate the safety a 0 for the play, rather than -2 (everything is graded -2 to +2).

 

All this to say that there are major flaws with just looking at TFL and Sacks and determining a player's value when someone like Mack has 900 snaps a year.

 

 

Yes, his best in Chicago. Thank you for that.

 

I just don't agree with the idea that the Bears could have used those assets better elsewhere and I still would be thrilled if the Packers had been able to acquire Mack. Everyone knows the Bears problems aren't with Mack, but with their QB.

 

And while PFF isn't perfect and it can be difficult to identify who's actually at fault in a certain situation, it's pretty easy to grade edge rushers. That might be the easiest position to grade in the game as it's straight forward. Did you set the edge vs the run, did you come off and make the tackle, did you beat your blocker and pressure the QB...etc...

[OldHeidelberg]

I was one who wanted Mack but in retrospect it was a good thing we didn't. I don't think he saves 2018 but maybe we get a couple of more wins and he saves MM which would have been bad. It's hard to say what would have happened but Gary looks like he has a Mack like ceiling and the coaching change has injected a lot of life into the team. The Bears gambled big time Trubisky would pan out and lost, heck if I was them I would see what the market is for Mack so they can start a rebuild, he is getting pretty old.

 

As other have said I would love to see Tampa eliminated, not worried that we can't beat them but ideally we get easier game with Redskins or Bears in division round and then have showdown with Saints or Seahawks in NFCC. Always hoping for easiest path but of course that blew up in our face in 2007.

[PinaMadness]

I gotta say I'm not a proponent of playoff expansion in any sport but the prospect of back to back tripleheaders on wild card weekend has me excited.

[OldHeidelberg]

I gotta say I'm not a proponent of playoff expansion in any sport but the prospect of back to back tripleheaders on wild card weekend has me excited.

 

 

Yeah I love watching wildcard weekend when we have a bye and 10 hours of elimination game football will be pretty cool. I also like just one team having the bye, makes the fight for that spot pretty interesting. I hope they don't go to 8 teams.

[igor67]

I'm also enjoying the games, but a .500 team and a losing team in the playoffs in the same year is a good argument against this format. I'd imagine that most years with this current format will end up with a .500 or worse team in the playoffs. Between having 8 chances every year to have a mediocre division and the chance variation in conference strength getting a really sad wildcard team in more often. Even in normal years mediocre teams aren't eliminated from playoffs until mid to late December so there isn't that much gain in terms of removing dead game with the expansion.

[PinaMadness]

I'm also enjoying the games, but a .500 team and a losing team in the playoffs in the same year is a good argument against this format. I'd imagine that most years with this current format will end up with a .500 or worse team in the playoffs. Between having 8 chances every year to have a mediocre division and the chance variation in conference strength getting a really sad wildcard team in more often. Even in normal years mediocre teams aren't eliminated from playoffs until mid to late December so there isn't that much gain in terms of removing dead game with the expansion.

Which is exactly why I am against expansion.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'm also enjoying the games, but a .500 team and a losing team in the playoffs in the same year is a good argument against this format. I'd imagine that most years with this current format will end up with a .500 or worse team in the playoffs. Between having 8 chances every year to have a mediocre division and the chance variation in conference strength getting a really sad wildcard team in more often. Even in normal years mediocre teams aren't eliminated from playoffs until mid to late December so there isn't that much gain in terms of removing dead game with the expansion.

 

There would have been a terrible NFC East team in this year's playoffs whether there were 6 or 7 teams. I don't think that the Bears are a legit playoff team, but it isn't going to matter much after they get trounced this weekend.

[OldHeidelberg]

The 7th seed in the AFC had 11 wins so there is that

[PinaMadness]

Shouldn't Diggs have about 11 catches for 198 yards by now?

[OldHeidelberg]

I can't decide who I want to win this one, the Bills have always sort of been my favorite AFC team going back to when they had Lofton but I want JT to do well and I can't stand Diggs.

[igor67]

Clarifying. I know Washington would have made it regardless, with 4 divisions now it happens more often than it did in the past, but not horribly often by itself. It is the having 2 substandard teams in the same year with the higher chance of having at least 1 crummy team in that I find objectionable.

[PinaMadness]

Bills end the half with a touchdown and receive the ball in the second half.

[nate82]

Which is exactly why I am against expansion.

 

The NFL is going to expand the playoffs unless the pandemic ends soon or stadiums can at least be filled up to 75%. The Super Bowl will probably be played with only 5% of the stadium filled which is a huge revenue loss for the city and the NFL, it is not just the game that brings in revenue for the city and the NFL.

 

The last time the Super Bowl was here in Phoenix there was a lot of things to do in the city for about almost a month. It is a huge deal for the NFL and the host city and brings in a lot of revenue that lost revenue for the NFL needs to be replaced and thus the expansion of the playoffs is going to happen unless more fans are allowed to not just attend the games but the festivities around the games also.

[MrTPlush]

And the Colts blow the game on the WR fumbling after a catch and getting up off the ground...ouch.

 

EDIT: And the replay fails again, not a fumble in the end.

[PinaMadness]

GET RID OF REPLAY!!!

[OldSchoolSnapper]

LOL. As I've said 100 times. Why do we slow the game down and waste our time with anti-climactic replay reviews if we insist on continuing to bungle calls that badly.

 

There is no way possible to watch that replay and decide that isn't a fumble. I don't know what these people are looking at. It's a joke.

 

Never mind that getting every call right isn't that important anyway, but we STILL GET THEM WRONG

[PinaMadness]

Refs got bailed out there. Imagine if the Colts would've won.

[MrTPlush]

Phillip Rivers not getting it done again...sums up his career. Stupid Colts kept him in for the Hail Mary and he could even get it close to the end zone in all reality.

[PinaMadness]

Phillip Rivers not getting it done again...sums up his career. Stupid Colts kept him in for the Hail Mary and he could even get it close to the end zone in all reality.

I can't believe people think he's a first ballot Hall of Famer. He's borderline Hall of Famer as it is. Lots of big stats but only one conference championship game appearance in 17 years. Honestly, Eli deserves to be in the Hall more than he does.

[brewcrewdue80]

After getting a break what a poor 4 downs that was.

Also. The 1st down play I thought Pittman got at least 2yds yet they marked him -1? Like the ref took the ball from the 3man tackled pile and walked back 2 more yards. What the heck?

Cant believe Rivers and Colts couldnt come up with a deep 30yd pass b2b that puts PI potential for jump ball. Better yet a hard count to potentially get a free play. Ah well. Nice competitive game 1 of playoff season.

[MrTPlush]

Even worse was how they gave Buffalo the timeout back...kind of BS. They definitely called that timeout to stop the play for the review to even happen. They then used that timeout on a big pass for Indy.

[OldHeidelberg]

I didn't see the end as was out running an errand but Colts passed on 4 sure points earlier. I think the new aggressive on 4th down thing can really backfire, you still have to play percentages especially in the playoffs. Coaches do it because fans like it and won't hold them accountable but I would hate to lose a game in the playoffs because we went for it on 4th and 2 at the 12 in the first quarter.