American Sports Thread

[stew]

Good work Antonio Brown... Mike Tomlin I'm sure had a little chat today 😬...
Brady is 6-1 against Big Ben . I'd imagine Le' veon Bell will get his yards, I can't imagine Belichick letting Brown beat him, it will have to be somewhere else. I think , they'll give up the run, try and keep them to FGs. The Steelers D doesn't match up well with the Pats. Hogan has been a massive plus , he's definitely not Randy Moss, but he does give Brady a legitimate deep threat.
It will take probably close to 40 to win the other game, both QBs are playing at the peak of their powers, you would have to say though that , the Falcons backfield is WAY stronger than the packs, scored twice last night, Montgomery isn't a RB...
I just can't see how the Packers can stop that offense...

I'd a agree with most of that. I also would think that Belichick will be fairly adamant that Bell will have to be contained. He can't go off, because if he does the Steelers will control the clock, and because the Pats are not really a downfield team (perhaps Hogan excluded) they need to have possession for decent periods too.

I don't trust the Falcons, but on paper they have the offense to beat anyone. Freeman and Coleman are a genuinely good backfield, and as you say the Packers don't have one. If the Falcons can figure out how to pressure Rogers while keeping him in the pocket, they'll win.

[/b]

You cannot keep Rodgers in the pocket, he is an absolute master of buying time and time in his hands is deadly.

History is on the side of the Packers in this one, they call Green Bay Titletown USA for one reason, World championships, nobody can touch them on that score, if the defensive game plan is even good Green Bay will win this, alas I have little faith in the head coach and a couple of his top men.

I am hoping like hell it is a Green Bay Pats Superbowl, it would be one for the ages.

[magpie seanie]

I'd love it to be a Falcons/Steelers Superbowl with the Falcons winning but until they actually do it, as AZ says, it's hard to have faith in them. They just give up a lot of points and while they seem to almost score at will you need to play some defense to get the job done. That said, none of the 4 teams left have particularly brilliant defences. Pity the Steeler/Patriots is on so late....will be pretty bleary eyed in work on Monday.

[AZOffaly]

Good work Antonio Brown... Mike Tomlin I'm sure had a little chat today 😬...
Brady is 6-1 against Big Ben . I'd imagine Le' veon Bell will get his yards, I can't imagine Belichick letting Brown beat him, it will have to be somewhere else. I think , they'll give up the run, try and keep them to FGs. The Steelers D doesn't match up well with the Pats. Hogan has been a massive plus , he's definitely not Randy Moss, but he does give Brady a legitimate deep threat.
It will take probably close to 40 to win the other game, both QBs are playing at the peak of their powers, you would have to say though that , the Falcons backfield is WAY stronger than the packs, scored twice last night, Montgomery isn't a RB...
I just can't see how the Packers can stop that offense...

I'd a agree with most of that. I also would think that Belichick will be fairly adamant that Bell will have to be contained. He can't go off, because if he does the Steelers will control the clock, and because the Pats are not really a downfield team (perhaps Hogan excluded) they need to have possession for decent periods too.

I don't trust the Falcons, but on paper they have the offense to beat anyone. Freeman and Coleman are a genuinely good backfield, and as you say the Packers don't have one. If the Falcons can figure out how to pressure Rogers while keeping him in the pocket, they'll win.

[/b]

You cannot keep Rodgers in the pocket, he is an absolute master of buying time and time in his hands is deadly.

History is on the side of the Packers in this one, they call Green Bay Titletown USA for one reason, World championships, nobody can touch them on that score, if the defensive game plan is even good Green Bay will win this, alas I have little faith in the head coach and a couple of his top men.

I am hoping like hell it is a Green Bay Pats Superbowl, it would be one for the ages.

It's certainly difficult to do stew, but it can be done. You need a great pass rush, and you need discipline to not over pursue and collapse the pocket.

As for World Championships, I know what you are saying re their history. But Pittsburgh and New England have more in the superbowl era don't they?

[Minder]

Thought you might find this interesting AZ, as a self professed line "geek" 

http://www.sbnation.com/2017/1/17/14297298/aaron-rodgers-jared-cook-catch-breakdown-packers-vs-cowboys-how-it-worked?utm_campaign=sbnation.social&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sbnationnfl&utm_source=twitter

[stew]

Good work Antonio Brown... Mike Tomlin I'm sure had a little chat today 😬...
Brady is 6-1 against Big Ben . I'd imagine Le' veon Bell will get his yards, I can't imagine Belichick letting Brown beat him, it will have to be somewhere else. I think , they'll give up the run, try and keep them to FGs. The Steelers D doesn't match up well with the Pats. Hogan has been a massive plus , he's definitely not Randy Moss, but he does give Brady a legitimate deep threat.
It will take probably close to 40 to win the other game, both QBs are playing at the peak of their powers, you would have to say though that , the Falcons backfield is WAY stronger than the packs, scored twice last night, Montgomery isn't a RB...
I just can't see how the Packers can stop that offense...

I'd a agree with most of that. I also would think that Belichick will be fairly adamant that Bell will have to be contained. He can't go off, because if he does the Steelers will control the clock, and because the Pats are not really a downfield team (perhaps Hogan excluded) they need to have possession for decent periods too.

I don't trust the Falcons, but on paper they have the offense to beat anyone. Freeman and Coleman are a genuinely good backfield, and as you say the Packers don't have one. If the Falcons can figure out how to pressure Rogers while keeping him in the pocket, they'll win.

[/b]

You cannot keep Rodgers in the pocket, he is an absolute master of buying time and time in his hands is deadly.

History is on the side of the Packers in this one, they call Green Bay Titletown USA for one reason, World championships, nobody can touch them on that score, if the defensive game plan is even good Green Bay will win this, alas I have little faith in the head coach and a couple of his top men.

I am hoping like hell it is a Green Bay Pats Superbowl, it would be one for the ages.

It's certainly difficult to do stew, but it can be done. You need a great pass rush, and you need discipline to not over pursue and collapse the pocket.

As for World Championships, I know what you are saying re their history. But Pittsburgh and New England have more in the superbowl era don't they?

Aye but a superbowl is worth the exact same, ridiculously all were crowned world champs and no one .ca, touch the lack.

[Minder]

Looks like Kyle Shanahan new 49ers HC, good hire on the face of it

[Syferus]

Looks like Kyle Shanahan new 49ers HC, good hire on the face of it

Good hire, terrible franchise.

How any ownership in their right minds would let Harbaugh walk is beyond me. Vets chose to retire early over playing on with the organisation. That tells you everything you need to know.

[cadhlancian]

Harbaugh is right where he should be . He's perfect for college ball, most top level players can only handle him for 2/3 years. That's all he needs from most of them at Michigan. His persona would get ( and did) very old at the pro level. Egos are a lot different in the NFL. I think you saw the tail end of that when he left SF. In saying that , he's an exceptional coach and if a team wanted immediate success for say a 3 year period, he's the man. To replace him in SF with a car salesman was an unmitigated disaster. The Rams should have broke the bank to get to LA....

[AZOffaly]

Looks like Kyle Shanahan new 49ers HC, good hire on the face of it

Good hire, terrible franchise.

How any ownership in their right minds would let Harbaugh walk is beyond me. Vets chose to retire early over playing on with the organisation. That tells you everything you need to know.

And the 49ers used to be such a brilliantly run franchise under Ed DeBartolo or whatever his name is. They were my team before I moved to Arizona. When I came back home I stuck with the Cards.

[AZOffaly]

Thought you might find this interesting AZ, as a self professed line "geek" 

http://www.sbnation.com/2017/1/17/14297298/aaron-rodgers-jared-cook-catch-breakdown-packers-vs-cowboys-how-it-worked?utm_campaign=sbnation.social&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sbnationnfl&utm_source=twitter

Yes, that's the sort of stuff I love reading He makes the same point as me about the End. Show him inside and even force him inside because it's a designed rollout. The thing about Rodgers is he has great ability to slide out even on non-designed plays, so you *have* to keep an eye on him and come from the edge. The sack beforehand was a great example of doing it via a blitz.

[stew]

Looks like Kyle Shanahan new 49ers HC, good hire on the face of it

Good hire, terrible franchise.

How any ownership in their right minds would let Harbaugh walk is beyond me. Vets chose to retire early over playing on with the organisation. That tells you everything you need to know.

Wait a minute here, some of the main men absolutely hated Harbaugh, it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops when he was at the helm.

[AZOffaly]

The main men couldn't handle him at all. He seems very abrasive, and as Syf says, his schtick seems to wear on players quite quickly as well. In San Francisco though, I think he was getting the road no matter whether he won or lost because basically the front office were sick of him. At Michigan, not so much, as he has reinvented himself as a cheerleader and a mobile advert for the Wolverines, so they seem happy with him so far.

[Clov]

I'm not sure i buy the line that the players in SF got sick of Harbaugh. I don't recall any publically criticising him after he left and most seemed enjoy playing for him (of course winning cures many ills). He always came across as very much a players coach - Defending them in the media. The issue for Harbaugh in SF was his relationship with the front office and ownership - he seemed to have very little time for owner (who is a joke) and a distrust of any one in a suit, who wasn't 'blue collar'.

Kyle Shanahan is a great hire - though i'm really surprised he's taken it given the absolute dearth of talent on the niners roster. They at least have lots of cap space to work with.

On Rodgers, agree with AZ, you need to keep in the pocket. The one rap on him over the years is that he takes too many sacks - especially those long sacks where the qb holds on to the ball too long. Atlanta's pass rushers will need to be disciplined.

[cadhlancian]

The main men couldn't handle him at all. He seems very abrasive, and as Syf says, his schtick seems to wear on players quite quickly as well. In San Francisco though, I think he was getting the road no matter whether he won or lost because basically the front office were sick of him. At Michigan, not so much, as he has reinvented himself as a cheerleader and a mobile advert for the Wolverines, so they seem happy with him so far.

who said that? 😉

[stew]

Word out of Green Bay is that Rodgers has a sprained wrist, right wrist.