As a falcon fan and native georgia boy I'm excited to see how we compare to the patriots. I've followed most falcons games and their 11-5 record could have easily been 14-2 they lost 3 really close games decided by 3pts or less and 2 games they just got beat. However they are in the superbowl with propably the best offense in football and the 8th highest point total in nfl history.

They have alot of weapons to go to enough to make even a tom brady stay up late studing. I like our chances considering the falcons are multi talented on both sides of the ball. Dirty birds 4life

 

They have been tops in power rankings from the start of the season....

Ryan to Jones...seems unstoppable...

I look for it to be a good game....

Vegas says NE -3
I would call it a Pickum....

 

Super Bowl history favours top defences

Joe Theismann knows how it feels to bring the NFL's most prolific offence into the Super Bowl and leave with a loss.

The former Washington Redskins quarterback also knows how difficult it can be to deal with a defence designed by Bill Belichick.

So Theismann has a couple of thoughts about what could happen in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, when Belichick's New England Patriots, who allowed the fewest points during the regular season (15.6 per game), face QB, wideout and the rest of the Atlanta Falcons, who scored the most points (an average of 33.8).

This is the 51st Super Bowl, and the seventh featuring the No. 1 offence against the No. 1 defence; the "D" is 5-1 in the previous such matchups .

Also, the past seven times a season's top "O'' was in the Super Bowl, it went 2-5, while the past seven times a top "D'' vied for the Lombardi Trophy, it went 5-2.

Why is that?

"On offence, just generally speaking, there are more things that can go wrong than can on the defensive side of the ball," Theismann said in a telephone interview.

He won the Super Bowl in 1983 and lost it the following year after having directed Washington to a then-record 541 points in the regular season.

One of his Redskins' NFC East rivals back then were the New York Giants, where Belichick was the defensive co-ordinator during the 1985-90 seasons.

"A lot of offences go through one or two players, and so a defence — and Bill is great at this — will focus on a particular player or a particular concept and that's where they will make sure to stop the opponent," Theismann said.

"You can't really do the same thing on offence and say, 'Who do we want to go after?' It's tough to pick out one person. You're not going to isolate on a particular linebacker or a corner. There is just less susceptibility to that on defence."

In New England's 36-17 victory over Pittsburgh in the AFC title game last weekend, for example, the Patriots made sure to limit what Steelers star receiver did.

His catches amounted to only 77 yards, with no TDs.

"Bill basically uses common sense: 'If you have one player who's really good, let's see how you play without him.' They weren't going to allow to make plays. They said, 'Look, we're going to bump him at the line, put somebody over the top, and you're going to have to make plays with the other nine players.' If a defence can limit 20-25 per cent of an offence by taking one individual away from it, the pendulum swings to the defensive side," Theismann said.

"In this Super Bowl," he added, " is going to get the bulk of the attention."

Make no mistake: This is a versatile Falcons offence overseen by co-ordinator Kyle Shanahan, who is expected to be hired to run the San Francisco 49ers after this season ends and whose father Mike was the head coach of two Super Bowl champions with the Denver Broncos.

Ryan spread out his 38 TD passes to a league-record 13 receivers. Jones is the best of the bunch, but, and running backs (who ran for more than 1,000 yards and caught 54 passes) and (more than 500 yards rushing, more than 400 receiving) need to be accounted for, too.

"There's not one thing that you can point out and say, 'Stop. Stop Sanu. Stop the running game,'" Patriots linebacker said.

Or as Belichick put it: "Every guy that gets the ball can score a touchdown from 80 yards away or more."

The Falcons (13-5) scored at least 30 points in 13 of their 18 games this season, including the playoffs, reaching 40 a half-dozen times. During their current six-game winning streak, they never scored fewer than 33.

"We know that they're the cream of the crop, offensively," Patriots cornerback said. "And for us, we feel like we're that, defensively."

The Patriots (16-2) allowed more than 25 points only once in their 18 games, a 31-24 loss to Seattle in November. Since then, they've won nine games in a row, never trailing at any moment in their past seven.

"It's the best defence that we've seen in the NFL this year. The numbers show it, and watch the film and you see exactly why their numbers are the way they are," Shanahan said.

"They have very good players all around, players that are interchangeable, that can be pass rushers, that can be linebackers, that can be corners, that can be safeties. And they have an extremely good scheme."

 

New England has this one by at least 13 points.
Shooter used his Matter Transformation Unit.

Watch Brady closely in the 4th quarter. Career may be over.

 

Nope, whoever wins the coin toss will win by 7 points ...

 

I looked through a few pages here and this guy put some serious work into this thread and I don't follow football directly but all my guys do and think they might like this thread .
I must have read 25 posts in the last few weeks on how few quality threads this forum has lately yet some would rather post in an off the cuff comment thread from a person that probably doesn't even know what a football looks like if her posts are any indication .
Not my problem and I just wanted to post that stat that one of our PFC's pointed out to me . I don't like Charlotte Sometimes perse but that doesn't preclude me from posting in her threads if she has an interesting topic . It looks like some people are helping kill this site along with the admin here . Either that or stop your complaining about quality here when you don't use it anyway . I am not defending the author just the thread . The movie thread from Brandi is another example and it is a cool thread but it sits in the wings as threads pop up on that topic and the guy that made this thread is guilty of that too since I am on the topic . I don't have time to watch films but will post in her thread if I ever make it to a theater again .

 

Oh look hockey is on, just sayin'.

 

Thanks, I think lol Army dude.

The peckerheads here that play their little mindfucks by using garbage threads to post in is their right to stupidity and nothing can change that. Just watch on SB day when I post here some idiot like cfh, savva or RK will bring out other parody threads at the same time knowing it gets on my nerves that I waste my time trying to keep people updated on scores and stuff so they don't have to go chasing it down.

But fuck em, I had 10 days on a nice warm beach while they were plugging away at their miserable shitty jobs being pissed off that they have to work for a living. RK on the other hand has one foot in the grave already and dementia is taking hold so he can't help himself.

Btw, I like the military thread, very informative and well explained but no overkill with the USA chestbeating, well done. There now we are even, a plug for a plug LOL. Now go shoot something and listen to your guys, football rocks dude ...

 

Just watching "Draft Day" and had to laugh at something Jennifer Garner said, "How is it that the ultimate prize in the most macho sport ever invented is a piece of jewelry" LOL.

You gotta love women ...

 

The Latest: Goodell avoids Trump, executive order questions

HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's pre-Super Bowl news conference (all times local):

1:50 p.m.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sidestepped questions about President Donald Trump and his policies.

During his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference Wednesday, Goodell did not offer any substantive thoughts about Trump, his executive order restricting refugees and immigration from seven countries or his plans to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Goodell said he is focused on Sunday's Super Bowl, which "will bring the world together."

___

1:45 p.m.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he and the Patriots have a "disagreement about what occurred" with regard to the scandal that came to be known as "Deflategate," but he still has a "deep and close relationship" with team owner Robert Kraft.

Goodell says: "I continue to respect and admire the Krafts."

He called the Patriots "an extraordinary organization."

Kraft was among the team owners attending Goodell's news conference Wednesday.

Patriots QB Tom Brady was suspended four games after the league said it determined the Patriots intentionally underinflated footballs used in an AFC championship game victory two years ago.

Goodell did not attend either of the Patriots' home playoff games this postseason on their way to Sunday's Super Bowl against the Falcons.

___

1:40 p.m.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is looking into ways to shorten the lengths of games.

Among the possibilities he mentioned Wednesday to avoid "unnecessary delays," as he put it:

- having a running clock between an extra point and ensuing kickoff to restrict the time between those plays;

- stop announcing an upcoming replay review and just do the review;

- have four commercial breaks per quarter, instead of five, something that's been tested.

___

1:30 p.m.

The NFL says Mexico City will host a regular-season game between the Raiders and the New England Patriots in 2017.

The date and time of the game will be announced later.

The Raiders also played in Mexico last season, beating the Houston Texans in November before a sellout crowd of more than 75,000.

Raiders owner Mark Davis has said he wants to move the team from Oakland to Las Vegas.

___

1:25 p.m.

Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, will handle the pregame coin toss at the Super Bowl.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Wednesday that the former First Couple recently were released from Houston Methodist Hospital, where the nation's 41st president received treatment for pneumonia for more than two weeks.

The former president is 92.

He often attends games of the Houston Texans, whose stadium hosts this Sunday's championship game between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.

___

1:15 p.m.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league has not made a determination about Las Vegas as the host of a team for the league.

Goodell is speaking to reporters on Wednesday at his annual news conference ahead of the Super Bowl, and a few early questions were related to the Raiders' plan to move from Oakland to Las Vegas.

Goodell says there is "a great deal of work to be done" before that move could happen and that, in general, franchise "relocations are painful."

He also says the NFL needs to "make sure" there is a "fine line" between team sports gambling and the NFL. Goodell adds that he does not think a casino could own an NFL team.

 

Could Cowboys trade Tony Romo to Chiefs?

With Dak Prescott locked in as the Cowboys' franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future, Dallas will spend the bulk of its offseason deciding what to do with former starting quarterback Tony Romo.

Romo is under contract in Big D through 2019, so he is likely to be traded for draft compensation if teams are interested in his services. But which organizations are willing to take a flier on the oft-injured veteran?

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday that the Kansas City Chiefs are one team that could be interested in Romo. Rapoport said that K.C. has been looking to upgrade at the QB position after losing in the Divisional Round for the second straight season with Alex Smith under center.

"It was noteworthy when Andy Reid was non-committal to Alex Smith," Rapoport said on NFL Network. "They've made a QB trade in the past, doing so for Alex Smith. They'd have to be considered someone who would be a possibility."

If the Chiefs were to trade for Romo, they would likely cut Smith, Rapoport reports, per sources informed of the situation. The roster move would cost the organization just $7 million in dead money, per Spotrac.

Another team that could land Romo is the Buffalo Bills. If Sean McDermott and the new regime in Western New York choose to release Tyrod Taylor, who is due $12 million in 2017 up from $2 million in 2016, then trading for Romo would be an option.

All this speculation about possible Romo landing spots would be moot of course if the veteran quarterback settles on retirement instead of moving locales. Rapoport reports that retirement is still something that Romo is weighing.

But if Romo is ready and willing to continue his career and is open to any of these trades, it will make for a fascinating marketplace. Romo is the most risk-reward veteran QB that we've seen on the market since Peyton Manning in 2012 and Brett Favre in 2008. Injury-prone but deadly efficient, he could make or break a contender's season.

Whether he would actually be an upgrade over the safe-and-sure Smith or the mobile Taylor will have to be taken into account as both organizations weigh a trade for Romo.

Let the sweepstakes begin.

 

There is just as much hype about Lady Gaga as there is for the Super Bowl ...



Who is playing in the game I can't remember ???

I sincerely hope that Bush Sr is well enough to take part in the coin toss ...

 

I skipped NFL football this year for the first time in decades. It's remarkable how long Sundays actually are when you don't have five or six recorded games to watch.

I do plan on watching the second half of the Super Bowl though.

Although I've never watched a Super Bowl halftime show, and I'm not about to start now, I was pleased to hear Lady Gaga say that her halftime show would be about equality and inclusiveness. That sounds great. As a YUGE Trump fan, sometimes I don't feel a lot of equality and inclusiveness coming my way from the Hollywood crowd. So I'm glad to hear that Lady Gaga will be laying some of that equality and inclusiveness on me.

 

Matt Ryan, who has his Atlanta Falcons poised to play in the Super Bowl, has won the 2016 Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.

The quarterback who led the league in passing this season in the best performance of his nine-year career, led Atlanta to the NFC South title before helping it win two playoff games for its first appearance in the Super Bowl since 1999.

He drew 15 1/2 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers was second with 11 and Arizona’s versatile running back, David Johnson, received eight in results announced Saturday night.

Atlanta scored a league-high 540 points.

Ryan, who threw for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns, seven interceptions and had a 117.1 rating, is the first Falcon to win the award.

 

Dallas' Jason Garrett wins Coach of the Year award
The Cowboys' Jason Garrett has won the 2016 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year award.

Garrett led Dallas to an NFC-best 13-3 record in a turnaround season before the Cowboys lost to Green Bay in the playoffs.

In his seventh season at the Cowboys' helm, Garrett used two rookies, quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, operating behind a terrific offensive line, to lift Dallas to its best record in nine years. The Cowboys also had the third-stingiest scoring defence in the NFC.

Garrett received 25 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. He easily outdistanced New England's Bill Belichick (14 votes). Miami's Adam Gase got six, Oakland's Jack Del Rio four, and Kansas City's Andy Reid one.

Garrett is the first Dallas coach to win the award since Jimmy Johnson in 1990. Tom Landry won it in 1966.

 

Mack edges Miller for defensive player of the year
Oakland's All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack has won the 2016 Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, edging last season's Super Bowl MVP, Von Miller, by one vote.

Mack drew 18 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. Denver linebacker Miller was next at 17 in balloting announced Saturday night.

Mack was, by far, the standout player on a Raiders defence that ranked only 26th overall. He had 11 sacks, took part in 73 tackles, forced five fumbles and recovered three, and even had an interception for a touchdown. He's the second Oakland defender to win the award; cornerback Lester Hayes got it in 1980.

Miller also had a big year with 13 1/2 sacks, 78 tackles and three forced fumbles for the fourth-rated Broncos.

 

Dallas QB Prescott edges RB Elliott for top offensive rookie

Dak Prescott has won a two-man race with Dallas teammate Ezekiel Elliott to take the 2016 Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

The Cowboys' fourth-round draft pick stepped in when quarterback Tony Romo was injured in the preseason and led Dallas to a 13-3 record, best in the NFC. He got plenty of help from his running back, Elliott, the fourth overall selection.

In balloting announced Saturday night, Prescott received 28 1/2 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. The other 21 1/2 went to Elliott, who rushed for a league-high 1,631 yards and scored 15 times. Prescott ranked third in passing behind the two Super Bowl quarterbacks, throwing for 23 TDs with four interceptions.

Prescott is the first Cowboy since Emmitt Smith in 1990 to earn the honour. Tony Dorsett, Duane Thomas and Calvin Hill also won it for Dallas.

 

Chargers DE Bosa wins top defensive rookie award
Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa has won the 2016 Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award in a landslide.

Sitting out the first four games after a protracted preseason holdout didn't damage the third overall draft pick much. He still managed 12 1/2 sacks as the key threat on a San Diego defence that ranked only 16th overall.

That performance earned Bosa 37 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. He easily outdistanced Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who received 10. The other three votes went to Falcons linebacker Deion Jones in balloting announced Saturday night.

Bosa, whose father played three seasons with Miami (1987-89), is the second Charger to win the honour. Linebacker Shawne Merriman earned it in 2005.

 

Packers WR Jordy Nelson wins Comeback Player award
Green Bay's Jordy Nelson is an overwhelming choice as the 2016 Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

The Packers receiver severely tore ligaments in his right knee in the 2015 preseason and missed the entire season. He returned to full-time action last summer, caught six passes and scored a touchdown in the opener and never looked back.

Nelson finished the season with 97 receptions for 1,257 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns in helping Green Bay win the NFC North. That performance earned him 36 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. Miami defensive end Cameron Wake received 11 votes in results announced Saturday night.

Nelson is the first Packer to win the award and only the second wide receiver. Carolina's Steve Smith was a co-winner in 2005.

 

Falcons OC Shanahan wins top assistant coach award

Falcons offensive co-ordinator Kyle Shanahan has won the 2016 Associated Press NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award.

Apparently headed to the head coaching job of the 49ers after helping Atlanta on Sunday against New England in the Super Bowl, Shanahan earned 13 1/2 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. He beat Dallas defensive co-ordinator Rod Marinelli by three as 10 assistants drew votes in balloting announced Saturday night.

Shanahan, whose father Mike won two Super Bowls as Denver's head coach, oversaw the NFL's most prolific offence, which scored 540 points. Quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones were All-Pros this season.

Shanahan is the third winner of the award, following Todd Bowles, then Arizona's defensive co-ordinator, in 2014, and Wade Phillips, then Denver's DC, last season.