NFL/NCAA (American Football)

[Haymaker]

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I'm not sure I get your point - I'll grant, I'm as surprised as anyone, but you need to put up points to win games - something we've done at will this season.

It's a bit like football - so long as you score more than the opposition, does it matter how bad our defense is? We've managed the handicap well this year and are well deserving of our place in the Superbowl, based on the results we've ground out as a team.

In other news, Giants 10-14 San Fran

EDIT: Punt turnover and Giants are back in front 17-14.

EDIT: Gone to OT. 17-17 at the final.

[Calvin]

Exciting stuff. Think that the 49ers might be able to get a field goal here.

[Haymaker]

Giants punt and recover the fumble! Inside 30yards!

31 yard field goal, Giants v Patriots in the superbowl.

[Calvin]

I'm always happy for a Scot to be the hero.

[Gatecrasher]

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Giants punt and recover the fumble! Inside 30yards!

31 yard field goal, Giants v Patriots in the superbowl.

Should be a good one bring it on!

[Sylar]

Fingers crossed we can get some revenge!

I'd rather have faced the 49'ers, but oh well - we've lost to New York in both the pre-season and regular season, so I'm not exactly optimistic.

[Gatecrasher]

in 2 weeks we will know who the Champs are! I think it will be Pats but i i think they will need to be on top of their game to do so. i noticed Gronkowski was injured, did he return?

[Sylar]

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in 2 weeks we will know who the Champs are! I think it will be Pats but i i think they will need to be on top of their game to do so. i noticed Gronkowski was injured, did he return?

He was lined up in the drive when Brady went over the top at 4th and 1, but he remained sidelined for the rest of the game. He was spotted afterwards in a walking boot.

Hopefully the big man will return, as we'll need our TE's to all be available and fully firing.

I still don't think we'll win the Superbowl - the Giants are a very good side and have already beaten us on our own turf this year - I'd love to be wrong obviously, but the Giants are a bloody good team.

[Gatecrasher]

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He was lined up in the drive when Brady went over the top at 4th and 1, but he remained sidelined for the rest of the game. He was spotted afterwards in a walking boot.

Hopefully the big man will return, as we'll need our TE's to all be available and fully firing.

I still don't think we'll win the Superbowl - the Giants are a very good side and have already beaten us on our own turf this year - I'd love to be wrong obviously, but the Giants are a bloody good team.

They have came into form just at the right moment, and Eli is playing very well. However you guys have a lot of fire power and your Defense isnt as bad as they stats suggest IMO

[DH1875]

So who would you all rather be this morning, Billy Cundiff or Kyle Williams? I'm going Cundiff as the Ravens was robbed. That TD at the end should have stood . As for Williams, forget about the punt at the end. Did you guy's see his first fumble, WTF was he doing there.

[Sylar]

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So who would you all rather be this morning, Billy Cundiff or Kyle Williams? I'm going Cundiff as the Ravens was robbed. That TD at the end should have stood . As for Williams, forget about the punt at the end. Did you guy's see his first fumble, WTF was he doing there.

It certainly should have.

Just like their first one shouldn't have.

The karmic balance of the universe is well aligned.

[James.]

Listening material for the next two weeks

[HibsMax]

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Ravens fans must be sick after that ending.

I think the league needs to look at the new rules when the worst pass defense in history gets to a superbowl. The game has too much bias towards offence these days.

The Pats D were one of the worst in the NFL this year in terms of yards given up, but not points.

[HibsMax]

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So who would you all rather be this morning, Billy Cundiff or Kyle Williams? I'm going Cundiff as the Ravens was robbed. That TD at the end should have stood . As for Williams, forget about the punt at the end. Did you guy's see his first fumble, WTF was he doing there.

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It certainly should have.

Just like their first one shouldn't have.

The karmic balance of the universe is well aligned.

Why do you think the TD at the end should have stood? He caught the ball and he had both feet in bounds but he didn't complete a football move after catching the ball and before it was knocked out of his hands. It was the right call.

[Sylar]

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Why do you think the TD at the end should have stood? He caught the ball and he had both feet in bounds but he didn't complete a football move after catching the ball and before it was knocked out of his hands. It was the right call.

Can you give an unambiguous definition of what this "football move" rule is? As I understood it, it was no longer part of the rules, as it became too hard to define! Guy had both hands on the ball, both feet touched down and he managed to turn around before it was ripped away - I've heard the "football move" rule used as a reason as to why it wasn't already, but in all honesty, I don't know what it is with any real clarity.

http://static.nfl.com/static/content...11_Scoring.pdf

Nothing at all about it in there...

[Sergio sledge]

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Why do you think the TD at the end should have stood? He caught the ball and he had both feet in bounds but he didn't complete a football move after catching the ball and before it was knocked out of his hands. It was the right call.

It was pretty close, but I agree with you. Edit: I've just watched it again and it looks like the ball gets knocked out of his hand just as his 2nd foot touches the ground, so I agree it was no touchdown.

The ridiculous thing was that because the ruling on the field wasn't a touchdown and because it was inside 2 minutes, the Ravens couldn't challenge it. That needs to be looked at because there could be borderline decisions in future games that on review would have been turned over, but that couldn't be reviewed because the coaches cant challenge after the 2 minute warning. When a place in the Superbowl is at stake, the coaches should be able to challenge calls after the two minute warning IMHO.

The Ravens should have taken their last time-out before the FG attempt, they gained nothing by rushing it. Taking the time-out may not have changed the result of the kick, but it would have helped the kicker calm himself and set up properly.

[HibsMax]

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Can you give an unambiguous definition of what this "football move" rule is? As I understood it, it was no longer part of the rules, as it became too hard to define! Guy had both hands on the ball, both feet touched down and he managed to turn around before it was ripped away - I've heard the "football move" rule used as a reason as to why it wasn't already, but in all honesty, I don't know what it is with any real clarity.

http://static.nfl.com/static/content...11_Scoring.pdf

Nothing at all about it in there...

The way I heard it described is that you need to take a step or fall to the ground.....and when you fall to the ground you have to maintain possession of the ball if you haven't taken a few steps. There are different rules for the end zone too. Two things happened in Sunday's game that are of interest:
1. Tom Brady's rushing touchdown - he leapt over the offensive line with his arms stretched out with absolutely no ball protection.......but that didn't matter because as soon as the ball broke the plane the play was over so there was no risk of a turnover UNLESS someone got to him before he crossed the plane.

2. The TD that never was. My understanding is that he made a great catch but didn't take a step or fall to the ground, etc. so it was ruled an incomplete pass.


That's about as good a description as I can give you. :)

[Sylar]

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The way I heard it described is that you need to take a step or fall to the ground.....and when you fall to the ground you have to maintain possession of the ball if you haven't taken a few steps. There are different rules for the end zone too. Two things happened in Sunday's game that are of interest:
1. Tom Brady's rushing touchdown - he leapt over the offensive line with his arms stretched out with absolutely no ball protection.......but that didn't matter because as soon as the ball broke the plane the play was over so there was no risk of a turnover UNLESS someone got to him before he crossed the plane.

2. The TD that never was. My understanding is that he made a great catch but didn't take a step or fall to the ground, etc. so it was ruled an incomplete pass.


That's about as good a description as I can give you. :)

After he caught the ball, he definitely did take a step. As soon as this step "landed" though, was when the ball was ripped out, so it was a matter of margins.

As I said above, it's really irrelevant, as if we start to break it down like this, they could potentially have been given this TD, but had their second one wiped out, as it clearly wasn't.

I see the Ravens are now making a case that they lost because of some confusion/error with our scoreboards.

Deary me, can't they just accept that they didn't do enough over 60 minutes of football to win, rather than trying to apportion excuses/blame?

[HibsMax]

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After he caught the ball, he definitely did take a step. As soon as this step "landed" though, was when the ball was ripped out, so it was a matter of margins.

As I said above, it's really irrelevant, as if we start to break it down like this, they could potentially have been given this TD, but had their second one wiped out, as it clearly wasn't.

I see the Ravens are now making a case that they lost because of some confusion/error with our scoreboards.

Deary me, can't they just accept that they didn't do enough over 60 minutes of football to win, rather than trying to apportion excuses/blame?

I watched the replay a few times just now and I disagree. :) He caught the ball and it was knocked out of his hands as his second foot was coming down. Two feet on the ground doesn't make a completion, he would (I believe) need to take a step after he's taken possession of the ball. The way I see it is:
1. he catches the ball with no feet on the ground - he's in the air.
2. his right foot is the first one to make contact with the ground - he's facing back towards his own goal line at this point.
3. he starts to turn around and is in the process of bringing his left foot down when the ball is knocked free.



If he caught the ball with both feet on the ground, turned and took a step........then it would have been a touchdown.

All of this IMHO of course.

[NYHibby]

RIP JoePa. If I had to name a hero in sports, you were it.

[Gatecrasher]

I hear the commentators say you need to complete the catch and secure the ball quite a lot he didn't appear to do that, no TD IMO.

How much can I expect to pay for some decent wembley tickets when on general sale?

[Sylar]

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I hear the commentators say you need to complete the catch and secure the ball quite a lot he didn't appear to do that, no TD IMO.

How much can I expect to pay for some decent wembley tickets when on general sale?

Not quite sure - though they did reduce the cost of the Club Seats from last year, dropping them down to £100.

I'm holding out for the hospitality package, as I'll be taking the new wife (weekend after we get married)

[Gatecrasher]

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Not quite sure - though they did reduce the cost of the Club Seats from last year, dropping them down to £100.

I'm holding out for the hospitality package, as I'll be taking the new wife (weekend after we get married)

£100

im was hoping for about £50

[Sylar]

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£100

im was hoping for about £50

Pretty sure you'll get tickets around the £50 mark.

The reason I specify the Club Seats is that those are the only ones on sale just now and they did specifically mention that those had been reduced. Maybe all seats will be reduced, but I don't know.

There's also no registry of interest this year, which I think is quite dangerous considering it's the Patriots!

[HibsMax]

I was speaking with a friend this morning and he said that Raven's (or their fans) are complaining about the wrong down being displayed on the scoreboard and that they were accusing the Pats of cheating. Cundiff apparently thought it was 3rd down, not 4th down, which is why he wasn't ready. My friend also pointed out that the people who operate the scoreboards are NFL officials so it's not the Pat's fault.

Edit : found a link, reading it now.

[Sylar]

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I was speaking with a friend this morning and he said that Raven's (or their fans) are complaining about the wrong down being displayed on the scoreboard and that they were accusing the Pats of cheating. Cundiff apparently thought it was 3rd down, not 4th down, which is why he wasn't ready. My friend also pointed out that the people who operate the scoreboards are NFL officials so it's not the Pat's fault.

Edit : found a link, reading it now.

Yeah, I read that (mentioned above) earlier in the week.

It doesn't really matter - if there was any confusion, they still had a time-out, so there was no need for him to be "rushed".

Wonder what they'll blame now that's also been cleared up.

[DH1875]

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£100

im was hoping for about £50

Club tickets are £100 and on sale now. You will be able to get upper tier tickets for £40/50 when they go on sale. Last year they had a family section with cracking seats for £37 per adult and for some reason you didn't need any kids with you . Think there were some complaints about it so not sure if they will do it this year. Keep an eye out on places like ebay as last year you could get tickets for less than the face value as it didn't sell out. Again though, not sure about this year as the glory hunters will be out in force .

[Haymaker]

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the glory hunters will be out in force .

Aye those pesky Rams band jumpers!

[hibsbollah]

Will the regulars be revealing their superbowl predictions? I fancy Giants by 7-12 points with Eli Manning as MVP. Odds of 10/1 as a double.

[Haymaker]

21-14 patriots. I hope.