2018 NFL thread

[Senator Clay Davis]

The Packers are the exact same team they were a few years ago. The difference is Rodgers is no longer playing week in and out at the highest level the sport has ever seen, he's just playing very good, and that's the difference between them being a contender and an also-ran. Their division is still crappy enough they could sneak into the playoffs though.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Weitz

That’s the softest ejection I have ever seen.

It’s the Patriots so not surprised.

That ejection hurt the Packers on defense and I hope that some light is shed on this today as to why he got the ejection. I hate to start with the conspiracy stuff man do the Patriots ever benefit from officiating.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Before the late-afternoon NFL games even kicked off, the writing was on the wall -- bookmakers from Nevada to New Jersey were taking a bath on a Sunday that will go down as one of the betting public's best.

Nevada industry sources estimated the state's sportsbooks lost in the range of $7 million to $10 million overall on Sunday.

In the early games, the books found themselves holding lopsided betting action on the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, two popular picks that easily covered the spread. Their fate was sealed by the Kansas City Chiefs, the most heavily bet favorite on the board Sunday.

Kansas City closed as an eight-point favorite over the Cleveland Browns and won 37-21. Eighty-eight percent of the money wagered on the point spread at William Hill's sportsbooks in Nevada and New Jersey was on Kansas City.

"We were pretty much done at that point," MGM vice president of race and sports Jay Rood said. "Disaster."

It was the third straight subpar weekend for the books, but Sunday was in a class by itself, an all-timer in some veteran bookmakers' eyes. Rood, a 25-year Las Vegas bookmaker, said it made his top 10 list of costly Sundays. A sportsbook manager at Caesars Palace said it was one of the worst Sundays he could remember.

"Bad. Really bad," Caesars head of risk operations Jeff Davis said. "We won one key decision today."

"I don't know that there was a best game [for the book]," Station Casino sportsbook director Jason McCormick said. "Maybe the Dolphins, which had the least handle of the day. Worst Sunday of the season."

Normally, a day filled with favorites covering the spread is the recipe for success for public bettors. But favorites were only 6-5 against the spread on Sunday. It didn't matter.

"The public just nailed it," Boyd Gaming sportsbook director Bob Scucci said in an email. "They had the big favorites -- Bears, Chiefs, Panthers and Vikings -- as well as the short 'dogs, Texans and Steelers. And a lot of the overs.

"By the time we got to the two biggest games -- Packers-Patriots and Rams-Saints -- there were so many parlays alive that we were going to lose no matter what."

http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id...er-sportsbooks

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I hate to start with the conspiracy stuff man do the Patriots ever benefit from officiating.

You are and they don't.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

NBC really needs to get rid of the green zone they use to show the distance to get a first down.

Been saying it all season, and basically redundant when paired with the yellow first down line. It's a useless eye sore, I'll never understand it.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by troutman

You are and they don't.

Okay maybe the conspiracy is against the Packers? Former NFL referee Terry McAulay tweeted his confusion by the ejection and that roughing the punter penalty also raised eyebrows as by definition it was a 5-yard running into the kicker penalty. Those calls altered the game.

[Nadal Fan]

Whos ready for some football? It's so rare for my Titans to get a national spotlight game, so when they do get them it's always extra special. Hoping for a big game from the Titans and Mariota to pull off the W over America's team.

[Cortez]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Okay maybe the conspiracy is against the Packers? Former NFL referee Terry McAulay tweeted his confusion by the ejection and that roughing the punter penalty also raised eyebrows as by definition it was a 5-yard running into the kicker penalty. Those calls altered the game.

I agree that the ejection might have altered the game - it was a pretty soft call. But the Pats went 3 and out after they got the ball back on that roughing the kicker call. Not sure that call had anything to do with the outcome of the game

[Iggy_12]

Originally Posted by Cortez

I agree that the ejection might have altered the game - it was a pretty soft call. But the Pats went 3 and out after they got the ball back on that roughing the kicker call. Not sure that call had anything to do with the outcome of the game

Devante Adams threw a harder punch than whitehead on Gilmore didnt even get a flag. Stuff gets missed on both sides all the time, its football and human error just like any other sport. Blaming officials is silly

[troutman]

Teams benefit from missed calls all the time. That does not mean there is some league wide conspiracy that favors certain teams over others. That is an extraordinary claim that requires extraordinary evidence to confirm. Any journalist that could prove such a conspiracy would win the Pulitzer Prize, as this would surely be one of the biggest scandals in professional sports history.

What is more likely - teams are successful because they are the most talented and prepared, or because the games are fixed?

For a Patriots conspiracy to be true, the following would also have to be true:

A) The NFL favors the Patriots for some reason over more popular and larger market teams. (in fact the NFL has treated them harshly for various offences - fines and loss of draft picks).

B) Hundreds (if not thousands) of NFL officials and staff would have to be in on the conspiracy. No conspiracy that requires that many actors can succeed.

What is far more likely - individual calls and anecdotes confirm our own biases against certain teams.

Blaming refs is loser talk, and a method of finding control over outcomes we don't like. I'm guilty of it too.

[Senator Clay Davis]

The Patriots didn't win because of the refs, or even Brady. They won because they are a very well coached football team, and they are far more creative offensively. The Packers "offensive creativity" peaked when they started playing a WR as a RB. McCarthy is going to get fired, albeit too late, and it wouldn't be shocking to see them do like the Rams did when they fired Fisher and just take off next year just by having fresh blood.

[Weitz]

Sounds like you're in the bag with the patriots!

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Iggy_12

Devante Adams threw a harder punch than whitehead on Gilmore didnt even get a flag. Stuff gets missed on both sides all the time, its football and human error just like any other sport. Blaming officials is silly

I thought it was a poor inexperienced crew (Brad Allen) to call that big of a game so there were many mistakes.

[DropIt]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Okay maybe the conspiracy is against the Packers? Former NFL referee Terry McAulay tweeted his confusion by the ejection and that roughing the punter penalty also raised eyebrows as by definition it was a 5-yard running into the kicker penalty. Those calls altered the game.

Well let's not get out of hand here.

Yeah those were pretty trash calls against the Packers and they still hung in there until the 4th, the ejection especially. The Packers look like they can kick out if this funk and still make a run, but they cant really afford anymore "so close" games anymore.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id...er-sportsbooks

Looking back it does seem like an easy to bet weekend.

Boomer and Warrener went 11 for 11 combined on their weekly Sports Select picks.

They are usually really really bad, so it might just be that this weekend was an easy one to predict.

[brocoli]

The Patriots are just a better team. TB12 picked them apart. It really sucks to see as a Packers fan but It's the same thing for the past few years. It's all on Rodgers doing something spectacular for the W. Man would I kill for a Jordy Nelson type WR right now

[Luder]

Originally Posted by Nadal Fan

Whos ready for some football? It's so rare for my Titans to get a national spotlight game, so when they do get them it's always extra special. Hoping for a big game from the Titans and Mariota to pull off the W over America's team.

I wore my Chris Johnson jersey to work (also have a VY one) and the NFL fans here are quietly giggling at me

[Nadal Fan]

Originally Posted by Luder

I wore my Chris Johnson jersey to work (also have a VY one) and the NFL fans here are quietly giggling at me

CJ2K officially retired from the NFL today so good choice! I'll never forgive the ref in 2009 for calling a hold on a late run against Seattle which would have probably let him break the record for most rushing yards in a season. He was on fire that season, every time he touched the ball he was a threat to take it to the house. And this was under a Jeff Fisher offence

[Luder]

Originally Posted by Nadal Fan

CJ2K officially retired from the NFL today so good choice! I'll never forgive the ref in 2009 for calling a hold on a late run against Seattle which would have probably let him break the record for most rushing yards in a season. He was on fire that season, every time he touched the ball he was a threat to take it to the house. And this was under a Jeff Fisher offence

That was an fun year to be a Titans fan, but I think they only went
8-8, even then, a frustrating bunch to watch.
I want to get one of the new jerseys but I don't know if Mariota will be around after his contract is up, might have to get a Succop lol

[Nadal Fan]

Originally Posted by Luder

That was an fun year to be a Titans fan, but I think they only went
8-8, even then, a frustrating bunch to watch.
I want to get one of the new jerseys but I don't know if Mariota will be around after his contract is up, might have to get a Succop lol

I still think Mariota is the answer in Tennessee. You put almost any other QB on the Titans and they would struggle. Out of all the young QBs in the league, Mariota is one of the few who has won a playoff game and he's had one of the weakest supporting casts. This coming draft you load up on offense and transition the team from a run heavy team to a pass heavy team and watch the young man florish.