I totally misunderstood what the comms were prattling on about :o

I’ll take that

Run game utterly stifled which means the 9ers have to rely on Crappolo. Gulp.

*or Special Teams ;)

It’s going to be a close finish again isn’t it?

My nerves won’t take it

You know how I hate the Rams... I'm rooting for the 49'ers, which unfortunately is the kiss of death!

Why run it ffs?

The cat is looking grateful that someone else might take the blame :lux:

Ops!

Is it me, or are there a few unusual camera angles for this game?

Maybe getting ready for the Superbowl there in a few weeks.

Jeez... do the 49'ers want to lose this???

A 3 and out that sums up JG :wallbash:

Well there you go.
9ers did very well to get this far.
Crappolo just not up to this level of football. Anyone who reads this thread will know how little confidence I have in him.

I hope he’s not wearing 9ers jersey next season.

Sorry man. That was close. Maybe time for Trey Lance now.

Horrible last 4 or 5 minutes for the 49ers. Dropped interception was the turning point for me.

:hi:

Eli Apple gets a lot of stick, but he has been absolutely fine as a number 2/3 cornerback. He probably wouldn't have played as much as he has if Trae Waynes wasn't so banged up. Some of the coverage in that second half was amazing, Mahomes managing to escape the pocket and had time but no one to throw to, causing sacks and longer third downs.

At the beginning of the playoffs, a Bengals-Rams Super Bowl would have been way down my list of possibilities.

I mostly judged him based on his time at the Giants and Saints, good for him and the Bengals if he’s competent these days :p

I was avoiding this thread and just caught up.

Nearly blew the entire game with that dropped pick-6 though!

Shanahans game management vs McVays game management. For two teams that are progressive and forward thinking in many ways, my god they make a lot of basic errors.

McVays needless time outs - Shanhanas play call at 4&2 and no Time outs at 2.32 left. Has plays where Deebo isnt even on the field.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...commanders-nfl

"Washington Commanders"

Jeez, sounds shit.

And this is about to kick off post season

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...broncos-giants

It really is. Sounds like they just had no idea and panicked at the last minute, they don't even really have a logo. It's a shame as I quite liked the name 'football team'. Unique in the NFL and (opposite to the people who run the franchise) was quite classy.

This will almost certainly lead to the Dolphins changing hands in the near future. Feel a bit sorry for the Giants being dragged into it as their recruitment of Daboll makes sense from every angle given the GM hire. Surprised Flores didn't get a look in at one of the franchises (Vikings?) who were more open to a defensive coach with a good record.

Better than their last two names.

Not long to go now

Finding it hard to get excited about this one. 2 teams I couldn't give a flying for.
I guess if I have to give a preference it will be the Rams as Stafford had to endure the Lions for all those years and definitely deserved better.

Really? 2 explosive offences both with questionable secondary’s. Think it will be a brilliant game and really looking forward to it.

I’m not interested in the game but my son is a private chef in LA and this weekend he’ll earn enough to pay his tax bill, from his high end clients who are “lifelong” Rams fans..

I am backing Rams (maybe put the kiss of death now), mainly watching their defensive line, Aaron Donald has been immense and some really mad games throughout the season and It also has been a bizarre year.

I am late start tomorrow so will have a chance to watch it live this year.

Donald and Miller are expert "sackers" and Burrows is an expert "sacked by" yet he still seems to win. The Bengals have defied expectations all season too. However, Like RE, I'm thinking that their luck runs out today - Rams have too many weapons on both sides.

Stafford, OBJ and Cupp vs Burrow, Chase and Higgins.

Can't remember 2 better sets of a QB and WRs in a superbowl.

Considering they are at home the noise in the stadium isn’t vey loud.

30 minute half time show. Ouch.

Even with VAR they can't see the facemask.

Go Bengals lol.

Funny the NFL is normally really hot on any face mask contact.

Looks like game over without OBJ and I'm going to bed.

Stafford looks like the Stafford from the Lions without OBJ.

Year of the Tiger and all that.

Much like our Cup Finals... too many corporate bods in attendance - although to be fair I guess most fans of the clubs playing get a fair allotment these days.

I read somewhere last week that the amount of corporate jets flying into local airports for this game is mind blowing.

Definitely a factor but nevertheless the crowd did look predominantly blue to me

Who went to bed? Big mistake.

Is it me or does Rams coach Sean McVay look like Palace coach Kristian Wilson?

Bengals done twice by the refs in the same play. Looked like a massive false start on the 3rd down play with the dodgy holding call.
Maybe evens it up with the missed face mask on Ramsey earlier.

Congrats Rams. Only NFC West teams can beat NFC West teams in the playoffs:
NFC West v Non-NFC West 4-0.

Great game. Never leave till the end lol.

lol

It is not the year of the tiger

Boy what a game

It is not you. He does

NFL never disappoints you :)

Aaron Donald should’ve been mvp. His defence through the whole game won the superbowl. It was fitting that his play at the end finished the game off

I agree, he was immense.

They don't give it to defenders, last one was Von Miller 2016. Only 7 defensive players have ever got it compared with 9 wide receivers.

I recorded it, then woke up early with my social apps muted and watched as if it was live. My sleep schedule is invaluable at the moment.

Great game. Couldn’t care less about the Rams, but lots of respect for the beast that is Aaron Donald, about time he got a ring.

I did, just watched the second half now.

Not sure if it was just flat atmosphere in the stadium, OBJ’s injury or the standard games has been so high in the playoffs but I was just a bit underwhelmed by the game once OBJ was out and both teams struggled to establish much offense.

Not that bothered I didn’t stay up.

Never complain about what your significant other spends on shoes: https://www.tmz.com/2022/02/13/odell...?adid=share-tw

For that much i would have hoped they would have stayed stable enough to not tear an acl

Is it me, or is Eminem morphing into David Gest?

That made me laugh, and yes in a way he is I think.

Giuliani had a pop at him and a response from Eminem was brilliant

London games home teams announced for 2022.
Jags at Wembley
Saints and Packers at Tottenham.

Yes, that’s right; PACKERS AT TOTTENHAM.:lux:

Bottlers hosting the bottlers eh?

No, Bears aren’t over this year.:p

Russell Wilson being traded to the Broncos
In what's being described as one of the largest trades in NFL history.

.

Bet that the Seahawks playoff odds have dropped and the Broncos have leapt.

Its not every day a franchise QB and Super Bowl winner gets traded.

Brady announces he’s going to play another season with Tampa

Yeah, the GOAT is back

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/american-football/60731983

Didn’t last long

Only a few hours after someone bought his ‘last touchdown ball’ at auction for half a million dollars.

Oh dear. Well, a million dollars for a ball, bollocks to them.

I'd want an agreement to have every ball he scores with until he actually does retire!

Shit, we forget to destroy his horcruxes.

Disappointed the Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to the Browns. I understand the salary and cap implications but for a 5th round pick? Gave up a 1st round pick for him in 2019. The Jones family have really buggered up the Cowboys since taking over. Massively overpaying Zeke and the shocking Prescott have really limited potential contracts. Cooper going meant that Dallas ended up overpaying for Gallup ( who I really like ) who is coming off an ACL injury.
Sooner or later, winning play off games needs to be more important than bringing in dollars.
Just hope they have a great draft next month.

Can anyone give me an idiots guide to the draft?

It happens every year and Washington buggers it up.

You're welcome.

Basically team with the worse record the previous season gets first pick of the graduating college kids. (Although some drop out early to go pro).

Having said that there is a lot of wheeling and dealing takes place, and a team with a lower pick (better team) might trade numerous picks to the higher picking team so they can get the better player(s), i.e. I'll give you 5 of our picks if you give me your number 2 pick.

Over simplified really, and it gets a bit convoluted, which is why it takes 2 or 3 days to complete - there are clocks and times involved there also as well as last minute cattle trading.

So how do the players get in the draft list. Does everyone in college get graded 1-1000 and the bloke that’s 999 has no hope of pro level? If 100 come into the pro game do 100 get kicked out each year?

Teams make their own draft lists based on their views of players talents and their team's needs in specific positions.

Players who are drafted earlier have their contracts pretty much guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement. Later players may not be signed - the last player drafted is nicknamed "Mister Irrelevant" because it's so unlikely that he will ever play. However, several have had good careers, including winning Superbowls.

Thx Do players all have fixed salaries? Like qb gets £1 million a year but a back up special teams outfielder only gets £100k

Pretty sure it's an open market. There might be a minimum wage, but not sure it's position weighted.

My understanding, and I'm happy to be corrected, is that there is a minimum salary. However, that is for a player on the first team roster. Many players are on the practice squad, where they earn a lot less because they cannot be used in games. In the event of injury, a player can be moved from the practice roster to the playing roster and his income leaps up to the league minimum. I'm not sure if a player on the practice roster can be signed by another team but I suspect that they can, to preserve an open labour market.

In addition, the collective agreement pretty much means that new players receive a set contract coming into the league based on their draft position - there's very little room for a drafted rookie to negotiate. Rookie contracts last four years but the drafting team can exercise an option to extend it to five years. What this means is that players effectively can't negotiate their own contract until they have a lot of experience.

Generally, players in different positions receive wildly different contracts. Running backs, who are notoriously susceptible to injury (on average a running back has a three year career in the NFL, so less than a maximum rookie contract), get the least money while quarterbacks get the most. IIRC, Patrick Mahomes is on $45 million+ a year. Not all contracts are guaranteed either and players on the league minimum can often be cut midway through a season thus ending their contract.

Every team has a minimum and maximum cap that they must spend on players (it doesn't apply to coaches etc.) which is meant to keep the league competitive. Frankly, there are so many ways to work around it that it's more a guideline than a cap. There's no question the cap prevents teams from doing a Man City/Chelsea and hoovering up all the talent making them unbeatable over the course of the season. (I've often said that the only reason the PL plays games is for tv... and they could just ask teams to submit their wage bills for awarding final places!)

The real effect of the cap, however, is to prevent teams from paying the people who generate the money (the players) what they are worth. While the stars get big bucks, the relatively replaceable guys on league minimum get a relative pittance, even though the stars can't be stars without them. It makes it very easy for rich owners to get richer if they are pulling in about $750million p.a. and only need to spend a third of that on their staff.

Now aren't you sorry you asked?

No, not at all. Some players are paid $20 million a year whereas other might be paid $900K. Players on the practice squad are paid peanuts in comparison to that but get more if elevated to the NFL squad.
A backup QB can actually get several millions a year not throwing a single ball in a game!

The salary cap of the NFL is far more complicated than them NHL, where players contracts are protected, and contracts can be restructured or cut to fit the cap.

No that was great Hugh thanks would have given more rep if I could :)

It appears he was minutes away from ok'ing a trade to Atlanta before this happened.

He's gonna need a lot of money to pay for his "currently" 22 civil suits.

The merry go round goes round - Matt Ryan to the Colts. Atlanta gets the 82nd pick. Sounds like a salary dump to me.

The cap hit was still bad. They did it more for Ryan on the top 3 worst rosters with him, they let him walk.

One of the craziest off seasons ever. Lucky for the CARDS we are in a significantly weaker NFC compared to the AFC

The life of an NFL Back Up quarterback is aking to 3rd choice keeper. Be good enough to be on a prem side but never good enough to be number 1.

A good back up can earn £4-£10m a year whilst a veteran back up will comfortably pick up £1-£2m per year. You would have had to be semi-good enough at some stage or be seen as an exceptional leader/thinker to help yougnsters but great gig if you can get it. If you get the chance to play in 1 or 2 games and play well, you can set yourself up for the next 2 or 3 years quite easily.

The new GM came from the Saints, so is very familiar with kicking the salary cap can down the road. They decided to suck it this year, $60m in dead money, and go for one of the QBs in the next draft. Plus, they'll have $120m+ of salary cap room to play with next year.

Steelers’ QB Dwayne Haskins was killed today in a traffic accident. Age 24. https://www.espn.co.uk/nfl/story/_/i...-being-hit-car

Something to fill the NFL gap until September, the Draft starts today.
Just waiting for the Jones clowns at Dallas to mess up and potentially trade some of next years picks for a WR after trading Cooper for peanuts.

Lots of edge rushers and OT to go early; then wide receivers in the first round; considered a down year for QB but so was 2017 (Mahones, Deshaun).

Underway now.
So far...
1: Jags - Walker (DE)
2: Lions - Hutchinson (DE)
3: Texans - Stingley (CB)
4: Jets - Gardner (CB)
5: Giants - Thibodeaux (DE)

Full First round.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Travon Walker, DE, Georgia
2. Detroit Lions: Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Michigan
3. Houston Texans: Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU
4. New York Jets: Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
5. New York Giants: Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edge, Oregon
6. Carolina Panthers: Ikem Ekwonu, OL, North Carolina State
7. New York Giants (from Bears): Evan Neal, OL, Alabama
8. Atlanta Falcons: Drake London, WR, USC
9. Seattle Seahawks (from Broncos): Charles Cross, OL, Mississippi State
10. New York Jets (from Seahawks): Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State
11. New Orleans Saints (from Commanders): Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State
12. Detroit Lions (from Vikings): Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
13. Philadelphia Eagles (from Texans): Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia
14. Baltimore Ravens: Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame
15. Houston Texans: Kenyon Green, OL, Texas A&M
16. Washington Commanders: Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State
17. Los Angeles Chargers: Zion Johnson, OL, Boston College
18. Tennessee Titans (from Eagles): Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas
19. New Orleans Saints (from Eagles): Trevor Penning, OL, Northern Iowa
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh
21. Kansas City Chiefs (from Patriots): Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington
22. Green Bay Packers (from Raiders): Quay Walker, LB, Georgia
23. Buffalo Bills: Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida
24. Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Smith, OL, Tulsa
25. Baltimore Ravens: Tyler Linderbaum, OL, Iowa
26. New York Jets: Jermaine Johnson, Edge, Florida State
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (from Buccaneers): Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah
28. Green Bay Packers: Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia
29. New England Patriots (from Chiefs): Cole Strange, OL, Chattanooga
30. Kansas City Chiefs: George Karlaftis, Edge, Purdue
31. Cincinnati Bengals: Daxton Hill, CB, Michigan
32. Minnesota Vikings (from Lions): Lewis Cine, S, Georgia

To my mind, both NY teams got value: Thibodeaux and Johnson could have gone higher. Gardner, Neal and Wilson are good too.

So weird seeing a draft where QBs weren't the flavour of the day.

There was a lot of talk that Johnson was going to the Falcons at #8, so to get him at #26 is crazy.

And I wonder if the Lions snuck in an extra pick on the Vikings on that trade they did. According to the Jimmy Johnson chart #12 for for #32, #34 and #66 is similar value but the Vikings tossed in #46 as well as #12.

This is a fun read: The Worst NFL Mock Draft Of 2022: My Attempt To Get Every Pick Wrong Basically, the rules are that he has to make an honest attempt at each pick while still getting it wrong (the article gives more detailed rules.) I'll let you read his picks and reasoning but here's his league table
Played 32
Won (out by one pick e.g. picked 5th but taken 4th - worth 3 points) 7
Drew (out by two picks - worth 1 point) 1
Administration (correct pick - worth minus 10 points) 1
Total 12

Draft has finished. 49ers make Iowa St. QB Brock Purdy Mr. Irrelevant, drafted 262 and last.

It seems that the Texans want to take back their title as most messed up NFL franchise, although this occurred a year ago so maybe they still have to screw more up.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...od-report-says

While we're at it:

With the pre-season underway, anyone who wants to sign up for the CPFC spread pickers can go to Yahoo and register then join our group
https://football.fantasysports.yahoo...ster/joingroup
GROUP ID# 15648
PW Palace
You have to pick against the spread so if your team wins but not by as much as predicted, then you lose.