NFL Playoffs 2018

Dr Zaius

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Indianapolis Colts vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints

New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Okay, who you got? Super Bowl predictions?
 

Dr Zaius

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Dallas and the Colts fell apart under pressure, but the Eagles put up a serious fight and the game against the Saints could have went either way. Which leaves us with this:

AFC Championship: New England Patriots vs. Kansas City Chiefs
NFC Championship: Los Angeles Rams vs. New Orleans Saints


Can Brady perform on the road like he does at home? That's questionable.
 

Ric of The LBC

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I’ll be at the NFC Championship game.
Sweet. Should be a good time. My grandparents bought season tickets starting in 1948 and we had them even after they passed until the Rams move in '94. Went to many games and every game from '86-'94. I did have season ticket holder Superbowl tickets in '93 but sold them for the cash.
 

Ric of The LBC

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Dr Zaius

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These shots were taken live by me at the game. It was deafeningly LOUD in there, and we made as much noise as possible. I'm still a little hoarse. :cool::p

Game was really enjoyable in person, however, the blown call at the end was just egregious. The NFL has really got to do something to address the issue of blown calls. Not sure what the right answer is, but I don't see what harm it would do to allow challenges to be used for penalties as well as receptions, etc.

The refs are human and it's a fast-moving, technical game, so there's always going to be blown calls. The players and coaches certainly make mistakes, so it's unreasonable to expect the refs to be perfect. Allowing teams to use the challenges they already have to challenge penalties would probably be about the best solution we're going to get, as no one wants to see the game slowed to a crawl by a million reviews.

All that said, it was starting to become an ugly scene in there at the end. Despite numerous announcements and warnings, the crowd was angry and throwing stuff. Which of course just ended up landing on people in the lower levels of the stadium; fortunately, no one was hurt. I didn't see any fights, but there was definitely a lot of anger, even after the crowd spilled out on the street in front of the Superdome.

I have to agree with the sports analysts who've said that, despite what people think, game-changing blown calls are actually extremely rare. This may have been the first time in NFL history where there simply was zero doubt that the call changed the outcome of the game. Which is sad, because A) fans feel cheated and, B) a lot of people will now consider the Super Bowl illegitimate. That's probably a first.







 
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Dr Zaius

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People were pretty angry, to be sure, and there was a thunderous booing when they showed the replay of the missed interference call. You could see Sean Payton losing his mind on the sideline and going off on one of the refs, who just waved him away.

Honestly, I think the crowd was just a little stunned. It suddenly got really quiet, and people started walking out. But after a few minutes, once the crowd had had a moment to digest what had happened, the anger started to set in and there was quite a bit of yelling and whatnot by the time we made it outside.

New Orleans has a well-earned reputation as a dangerous city, and for a moment I thought things might turn ugly. Pretty much the entire crowd of 75,000 people was out on the street in front the dome, but I didn't see any violence. In the end it was all good, and we went out to a great restaurant later that evening. Overall it was a fine weekend.

As for drunks. . . we went to a tailgate party which started 10AM with some of the wife's friends from LSU. They're all diehard Saints fans and live within walking distance of the Superdome (fantastic loft apartment!). I had two giant cups of vodka forced on me as soon as we got there, so by 1PM when we headed out for the stadium I was having a experiencing bit of difficulty walking in a straight line. Then someone handed me some putrid kind of strawberry daiquiri drink in a can, which I reluctantly drank. Then some crappy beer, which I'm not particularly fond of anyway.

And I'm pretty sure I was the most sober person in our section. :unsure::sleep:
 
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TopT

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That was a terrible non call.

The 2 teams that I did not want are in the Super Bowl. I will still root for the Rams as I am sick of NE.
 

Dr Zaius

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Roger Goodell breaks silence on controversial no-call in NFC championship game

Roger Goodell said:
"We understand the frustration of the fans. I’ve talked to Coach [Sean] Payton, the team the players. We understand the frustration that they feel right now."

"We will look again at instant replay."
Translation: Shit happens, so get over it.

I think that's what pretty much everyone expected to happen. There was no way the NFL would ever consider replaying part of a game.
 
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