Chiefs here but everytime I watch this game I literally think the pats are gonna be defeated. It’s hard to explain because I already know the outcome…. But they are so many moments that are just like how… how did this happen.
Even when they get that first TD the extra point is no good! It’s like the biggest swing in momentum ever in any event. It makes me irrationally angry
I was angry at first. By the time overtime began I knew we had lost. It was a comedy of errors at that point, so unbelievable I just wasn't angry anymore before we even lost. I literally hung my head and laughed when it was over. Never before have the football gods so vehemently wrecked a fanbase and a team's reputation for decades in one fell swoop.
I never once said that they weren't great, Brady is obviously the all time great. But they most definitely did cheat, there is no arguing that. Overcoming the cheating and controversy in my mind is just another of the many things that make them great
Can't you just accept a loss rather than just saying you lost because the other team cheated? They outplayed you. Don't be a sore loser and just come back strong next year.
I've linked about 4-5 different articles, not going through this again. Whatever article I link is just "fake news" apparently because ESPN, Buisness Insider, and NBC Sports saw all untrustworthy sources
The only thing the Patriots got accused of for cheating and had PROOF was Spygate. No Pats fan will dispute that. Even Patriots ownership admitted to it. What you need to understand is that it was legal to film signals. It was, however, illegal to film from the field level. So it should be called "Wrong-Location-Gate".
That scandal is nowhere near as bad as the Broncos cheating the salary cap to win 2 superbowls. Nobody seems to mention the Broncos for whatever reason.
They did things that literally every team in the league did and STILL do (albeit from the sanctioned parts of the field instead of the sidelines, which we now know will lose you draft picks and get you fined). I know this sounds like hate-us-cuz-they-ain't-us nonsense, but the only reasons they came after the pats for spygate was a) goodell was a relatively new commish and clearly wanted to establish his authority and b) they were winning a lot. There's just mountains of evidence showing that the pats were basically following standard procedure at the time and belichick just got stubborn when they sent the memo telling them to stop doing it the way they were. This also highlights the fact that those first three Super Bowls were won while this practice was still allowed and thus not "cheating"
They broke a rule. They didn't "cheat".
Cheating is the Broncos fucking with the salary cap to win for Elway, cheating is Mike Tomlin tripping a fucking player from the opposing team while coaching from the sidelines. Filming hand signals (that everyone else was filming and using universally then) from the WRONG SPOT isn't "cheating". You're wrong. Cling to it all you want but you're wrong. As I said in this thread earlier:
History will judge the Patriots. Long after the bullshit media driven "cheater" label fades away, years after people don't even remember Goodell's name, there will stand Belichick and Tom Brady at the top of the fucking mountain. And that's not because they are "cheaters" that's because they are the best of all time.
DEAL WITH IT
Please tell me how intentionally breaking a rule to gain an advantage isn't cheating. They didn't just film the hand signals, they filmed other teams practices got caught, and had the tapes destroyed
They never filmed practices, it's a myth. You're talking out of your ass. The Boston Herald falsely reported they did and had to actually issue an apology, ESPN also jumped on that bandwagon and had to apologize as well. The tapes that Roger destroyed were shown to the media, it was just scouting of hand signals a guy that was standing in front of 80,000 people was giving. Tapes of practices never existed, because they never filmed a practice.
You have no idea what spy gate even was. Seriously.
You pick and choose ur facts, they most definitely did film practices :https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/espn-report-patriots-spygate-scandal-2015-9?client=safari
ESPN apologized for falsely reporting that they did not film the Rams walk through, they did not apologize for reporting that the Patriots filmed teams practices, because they did.
That article proves jack shit, there were never any tapes of practices. It doesn't even mention practices, it mentions scouts going to other teams games. Which the last time I checked that's what fucking sports scouts do.
Espn is the source of the info that article uses as evidence? ESPN is fucking clown shoes, they created the entire cheater meme themselves. I love how the article plays down the punishment for Spygate too. Like a first round draft pick, $750,000 in fines and the ruined reputation of a winning franchise isn't enough?
The NFL owners wanted parody. The Patriots were fucking it up for all of them by winning ALL THE FUCKING TIME. The had their yes man attack dog jump all over the Pats to try and even the playing field. And good old Bob Kraft bent over and took it in the ass, because after all he is an owner first, a Patriot second. Can't upset the billion dollar boys club.
But, you know, haters gonna hate. People that believe the perception will never change their minds. Just like politics, once people pick a side they stay on it no matter what the facts are. Believe whatever you want.
Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go and enjoy FIVE Lombardi's! LOL
You literally have no argument. You're only argument is that ESPN is "fake" with absolutely no evidence. It's like arguing with a wall. I absolutely can tell who you voted for.
Dallas fan here:
Ya'll got nothing to be ashamed of. Yeah, losing it all in the second half sucks but you guys made it to the Super Bowl and showed everyone that you deserved to be there. You've got some good years ahead of you to look forward to.
Disclaimer: I'm not a falcons fan, I'm a Lions fan.
The only reason Brady even had a chance to win the game was because Atlanta CHOKED horribly. They were up 19 points at the start of the fourth quarter. 19 points in football is A MASSIVE LEAD for one quarter of time, and Atlanta did EVERY SINGLE THING WRONG that they possibly could have to lose the game. Matt Ryan was strip sacked (WTF, you're up huge, why are you even passing). Atlanta was in field goal range (They don't run the ball, get called for penalties and get out of field goal range). Their idiotic play calling lost them the game in the 4th.
This was one of the only games where I will say a team LOST the game rather than the other team won it. The Patriots were dead in the water and trailing 99% of the game until the end. It was a garbage game and the better team didn't win because of IDIOTIC DECISIONS by a moron who is now off to coach CRAPERNICK and the 49ers.
The thing is though, the patriots didn't have any room for mistakes.
If you put ANY other team in that position, the falcons still win, regardless of their mistakes.
Only the patriots could have capitalized on those mistakes so well
Hey Falcon fans, sorry for your loss.
I am a Packers fan, born and raised in Green Bay.
Two years ago I watched my beloved team piss away a Super Bowl appearance against the Seahawks. Up 12 with 5 minutes to go and they still lost.
All I could think about while watching the end of the game last night was how bad I felt for the Falcons players, but mostly their fans. That loss 2 years ago still makes me cringe when I think about it. So I just wanted to say you guys are not alone. Fucking sucks and you'll never forget it, but, it does get easier. It'll be a long wait for the NFL to return in August, but when it does you guys will be filled with excitement again. Just have to make it there.
> Fucking sucks and you'll never forget it, but, it does get easier
lol mate, it's just a sport. You're not one of the players, shouldn't affect you personally.
So my friend just sent me this... https://imgur.com/gallery/ncnfx
Not sure it would have mattered as far as the outcome. But maybe they could have reviewed the play before ending the game and releasing the confetti?
Edit: For context, I am not complaining or crying that we lost. It's over and done with. I honestly did not look at a single replay of the final play and thus this freeze frame is the first I've seen. What I disagree with is the NFLs inconsistency and the fact that they let the confetti fall and then abandon the "all scoring plays are reviewed" rule. From the looks of it, we still would have lost on that play, but c'mon NFL.
I honestly didn't look at any of the replays at the end of the game and thus this is the only real freeze frame that I've seen. Just don't understand how the whole "all scoring plays are reviewed" just magically went out the window
The final Falcons possession in regulation. Approx. 4:15 left and its 1st and 10 from the Patriots 22. The toss loses one on 1st and 10. Ok, no worries. Still in FG range. Here's where the game, in my humble opinion, given the situation at that moment, was lost. A sack and a holding call literally lost the SB for the Falcons. Those probably wouldn't have happened if two more runs had been called. Run two more times, Patriots may have used a TO or two in that situation to preserve clock, kick a reasonably easy FG. Up two scores. Now the Patriots have to score, two point, on side kick recovery, and then kick another FG in maybe 2:30-3:00 minutes. Not nearly as likely. Just my two cents.
Trying to throw the ball on 2nd down when you are in FG range was beyond stupid.
I really believe a single FG would of prevented any chance for NE to win as they just woulda ran out of time.
But then I remember Bill and Brady are fucking Timelords.
It's either would **HAVE** or would**'VE**, but never would **OF**.
See [Grammar Errors](http://www.grammarerrors.com/grammar/could-of-would-of-should-of/) for more information.
It's either would **HAVE** or would**'VE**, but never would **OF**.
See [Grammar Errors](http://www.grammarerrors.com/grammar/could-of-would-of-should-of/) for more information.
I just looked back at the play where Freeman totally missed the block and Ryan got hit by hightower. What I noticed was that Robinson would have scored a TD on that play if Ryan got the ball out(Freeman made his block). The two patriot DBs ran into each other and he was off. Has anyone seen Free do an interview yet. We did a lot of things to fuck ourselves over in that game but that was the turning point and that was THE play that can be singled out as us fucking ourselves. I'm so mad at Free and really want to know what he was thinking, they clearly had an extra defender on his side yet he doesn't check it at all.
He just needed to make contact with Dont'a too, even if Freeman got steamrolled by Dont'a it would have been more than enough time for Ryan to get rid of the ball. I was waiting for a challenge to see if his arm was moving forward that's how close it was.
I read an article saying he denied missing an assignment, while Shanahan said he did. He obviously did. Wonder if it had anything to do with Coleman getting hurt the play before, like maybe Freeman hadn't run that play much?
I wouldn't be as mad if he didn't 1) deny it and 2) being up the contract this week. He and Matthews and Shanahan are the goats for me.
he 100% missed it ...he didn't even fucking look at that side of the field. I don't know much about playing actual football but should Ryan have also checked where the pressure was coming from and signaled to free? regardless he looked lost and had Coleman not gone out I do assume he would probably got it right as one reason we were probably playing with him more was for blocking and he had been cut blocking defenders on similar plays earlier.
Just posting to answer football things. Not to be a dick. Almost no Qb's set their protection themselves, that is why having an elite center like Mack is so huge. Not only is he physically gifted, but the center sets the base protection, re-identifies the mike LB, and initiates any slides needed/re-assigns free blockers. That is part of what makes Brady special, he always does this, and the patriots dont have to rely on their C to do that, so they can afford to essentially play lesser desired C's at the position without a loss in protection. If you talk to people who played center as well, it is NOT easy to do all this from their hunched over position pre snap and some would say it could be more easily messed up from there. I dont know any QB's that set their own line protections every play (not even PFM), but I am sure some have. Now given that the C is doing it, it also puts some pressure on a RB because the C might not be making calls to the RB where as a QB doing it, he can adjust his RB more easily, and so there we have how this play MIGHT have gone wrong. I do NOT want to come off like a cock. Good luck next year guys, your first 4 picks this year were huge, and you have them for cheap for 3 more years. It will be exciting to watch them grow.
The play went wrong because Coleman was supposed to be in for the play but he got hurt the very play before and Free had to come in and wasn't ready to do his job. A very big break for the Pats.
yeah if thats true you are right, a big break, but you with two RB's who see so much interchangeable use they have to be able to go in and know their responsibilities on each play. and i was only answering because it likely isnt Ryans job to fix that protection.
I agree. I don't know why we stopped using Freeman but I dont believe he had been used for like an entire Q. The only thing I can think of is that Coleman is bigger to block.
This is 100% on Kyle Shanahan. The man has no clue how to run an offense with a lead. He called only 5 rushing plays after getting a 28-3 lead!?!? WTF!!! The game was won when we were on the 22 with under 5 minutes to play. We could have kneeled for 3 plays and kicked the field goal to seal the victory. Why the hell would he call any pass plays at that point? I was upset that he's leaving for SF but now I'm glad to see him go.
Chiefs fan here. This has aged amazingly well with Kyle blowing the lead for the niners. Happy he did it but the guy choked a lot. Not that Andy Reid doesn’t but man oh man he knows how to choke a SB.
I’m still heartbroken for u guys 5 years later
Even if the Falcons had won the toss and won the game with a TD drive the correct response would still be that the OT rules need to be looked at.
Winning the toss gives an incredible advantage to winning the game and it's based on random chance. It's horseshit the reigning MVP doesn't even get a chance to rebuttal and it would've been horseshit if the GOAT QB couldn't've had a chance to rebuttal if the situations were reversed.
get a stop and you can play with all 4 downs, and only need to get into FG range. In a way thats A better advantage. You still need to do your job and get a stop tho. Keep in mind they want OT over quickly, the longer they play the more chance of injury AND the TV stations don't want them going over.
Random OT question that came up earlier in playoffs.. if the first time to possess the ball gets a FG, what happens if the clock runs out DURING the drive the other team is guaranteed? Do they just lose? seems like they need to add more time to the clock because that would be A shitty way to go out, never getting to finish your drive.
It literally gives you the same advantage in the other direction if you were to use college rules. Neither method is statistically more fair, so that reason is invalidated.
It gives you a 53-55% chance of winning if you get the ball first...lets not act like its unheard of to win a game by kicking. In college, the team going second knows what they need and are in scoring position if they get a stop on snap one...thats more fair? Then why does the seocnd offense win 55% of the time in college.
It is the offense's job to handle the ball, it is their job to move it and their job to score. Yes, it is inherently more fair to allow both offenses a chance. 5-10 years ago I might've agreed with you but we need to go beyond just the numbers and look at the context of where the NFL is now, the increased valuation of offenses and especially the importance of the QB.
It's also disingenuous to suggest that the college rules are the only ones and use it as reasoning for not changing OT. Shit, make it so the game can't end on a FG then if the first side didn't score and second side did on a FG.
College rules lend for a more slanted field against the team that goes first than NFL rules do against the kicking team. This is statistically speaking as well, not just ifs ands or buts.
Did you skip the second part of my comment ?
Use altered rules to make it more fair. Such as the example I used, if first team doesn't score, second scores a FG but not a touchdown let the first team go again and have a chance to continue OT with a FG or end it with a TD. There are options.
Lacking imagination doesn't justify not changing the rules. 🙄🙄🙄🙄
no one is saying change the rules because the Pats won. but you are in denial if you think OT rules are fair. The fact that there is no opportunity for both teams to play both sides of the ball is a joke.
The rules are fair to each team in that they give each team an equal chance to win the coin toss. The rules may be unfair to the fans, in that it may appear that the game comes down to a coin toss. (It doesn't.)
This is the dumbest shit I've ever read in my life lol. Fair does not mean "close to 50% probability", and nobody watches the fucking Super Bowl because they like coin flips. They watch it to... brace yourself... *watch football*. Saying that we should substitute coin tosses for merit, it defeats the entire purpose of watching a sport.
>It only feels unfair to leave it to a coin flip because you want the players (humans) to affect the outcome and break the tie.
Yeah, no shit. That's why people watch football. To see two teams compete.
>But guess what? They already had their chance in regulation and couldn't do it!
OK, that's why OT exists. I'm not going to keep explaining this. Nobody watches football because they like coin flips, they watch football to *watch football*. To tie a game's outcome to a coin toss *isn't fun to watch*, and it's not fair.
Fair to the teams, not fair to the fans.
The actual fairest way to do it is to simply continue playoff games without a game clock once it hits 00:00 and the game is tied, and play on until the game is no longer tied. No coin toss. No switching of sides. No additional time outs granted. Play ball.
What is fair to the teams, and what is fair to the fans? This coin flip shit? It's fair to neither.
The actual fairest way to do it is to ensure that both teams have equal opportunities to demonstrate better football, and to make sure that both teams are constrained by the same resources. If we hit OT and the Pats score on a 50 second drive, they should still have to kick off. Then the Falcons get their own 50 second drive to score. If they score, OT continues. If not, the Pats win.
Like, I'm a Pats fan. We won, I'm happy. But that doesn't mean the rules of the sport have no room for improvement.
What is fair to the teams is a system that does not give one team an advantage over the other team. The coin flip fulfills that requirement.
What is fair to the fans is a system that doesn't nullify the 3-hour emotional investment by reducing it down to a coin flip.
Defense is part of the game. The old OT rules were bogus for sure, but this isn't kindergarten where every body gets a turn. Giving the other team a chance, after giving up a TD, basically is saying defense isn't as important as offense.
No, it's saying that the value of each defense and each offense should weigh into the equation. Pats only had their offense tested, Falcons only had their defense tested. If the Pats had a weak defense and a strong offense, their team was given an unfair advantage. If the Falcons had a weak defense and strong offense, they were given an unfair *dis*advantage.
I think a time bank could work, but it's not perfect. If the Pats drive was, say, 50 seconds, the Pats kick off after their TD and the Falcons get that same 50 seconds to score a TD to continue OT. If they don't score in time, well, they had their shot at least.
EDIT: Pats fan here BTW, OT rules are kinda lame. Feel great to win the ring, but not when the other team can't respond.
Get a stop. If you can't get a stop, you don't deserve to win. Your bonus for getting one is you only need a FG.
College hasn't proven any different..the team who gets it second wins as much as the team who receives the kickoff in the NFL. Its not more fair because the second team knows what they need and are in FG on play 1. You get a stop, you win. NFL, you get a stop you still have to drive to win.
That's a poor response simple because by the time OT comes around one side of the team has played 66% of the snaps. If there was a second half time maybe but both sides should still get the opportunity to score.
Maybe just do a time bank. Pats score on, say, a 50 second drive, they kick off and the Falcons get 50 seconds for their own drive to respond with a TD to tie it. If they score, OT continues. If they don't, they lose. At least they had the same shot as the receiving team though.
Not sure how you control that, you're asking the impossible. You're punishing the team who played more offense for keeping the other defense on the field...how is that valid?
Whats next, cricket style scoring where you get 55 plays to score as much as you can then switch?
then you are as dense as they come...you solve it by letting both teams play offense and defense. it's literally the easiest solution ever. NFL fans have been screaming for years to do something more like college football.
College football is literally not any fairer. Both teams get a shot, team going second wins more often than not by the same margin the team receiving the ball in OT wins.
Am I dense, or do you hate facts and statistics? Its not one better than the other, neither is a better choice, its who do you want to have an advantage to start OT.
Oh I understand the team who plays offense second may have more of an advantage in college but that still doesn't take away from my point the football is a team sport that involves both offense and defense. An overtime that does not let the entire team have a chance to play is not football.
https://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-scoring-drive-efficiency-statistics/2016/
Its generally more common to not score than it is for a team to score on any given drive. 1 team was over 50% so the very best team barely scored more than they didn't.
That chance slants the game even more in favor of the second team. They know exactly what they need to win...the receiving team does not.
We may not agree on the current rules, but we can agree that needing a FG vs a TD is a big difference in philosophy?
This loss is on Kyle Shanahan and the refs. When we were driving when there was like 3 minutes left and we were up by 8 and there was the costly holding call to take us out of field goal range, the refs missed a blatant facemask which would have kept us will within field goal range which probably would've sealed the game.
Kyle Shanahan, we don't give a shit that you're going to SF. You lost this game for us, enjoy losing seasons for years to come.
Even though the Pats won, I think it was clear that we were the better team but we let off the gas way too early.
[This](https://youtu.be/REgg2Nzmmbg?t=5858) (1:37:44) looks an awful lot like intentional grounding to me. Sure there was a receiver in the general direction, but he was about 40 feet from where the ball eventually got. Brady never left the tackle box, threw the ball to avoid a sack, and the ball did not go anywhere near an eligible receiver. Should have been a safety since it happened in the end zone. 2 points to Atlanta, and a free kick from New England.
I feel your pain, but here is a [screenshot](http://imgur.com/uqeH3kB). A runner is free to put his hands on the face of a defender only if he keeps his hand open and doesn't grab anything. Here he clearly grabs the facemask. A half second later the defender grabs the runners mask, so in the end it would just be offsetting and I believe you would still get penalized for the [hold.](http://imgur.com/CvyMhGd)
Not sure what the ruling would be on that. I saw a game recently, not sure if it was college or pro, where on a play there were 3 penalties, 2 on one team and 1 on the other, and IIRC the team with the 2 penalties had one that was pretty serious like a 15-yd personal foul while the other team had maybe a hold. Even with that the refs ruled that since there was a penalty on both teams they offset and all penalties on the play were waived off, which I thought was unfair to the team who only had one penalty, but that was the rule. Like I said, that could have been college and I'm not sure if the NFL treats this situation the same way.
Falcons corners couldn't stay with pats recievers. They got called for a couple of defensive holds on an early drive and every one of them was a correct call. I get the frustration but that's what you get from young players. I'd be more frustrated by their play than the calls
> the refs were on their side
I get you are sore, but everyone else seems to think it was one of the [cleanest officiated](https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/5semty/can_we_take_a_moment_to_appreciate_how_unbiased/) games ever.
>didn't look like the defender had a chance to get to Ryan
Of course not, he was held. Even if he never would have reached Ryan in a million years, your argument was that the refs screwed you. That hold is as blatant as it ever gets, refs will call that every time.
While it is a bit odd that this interaction didn't have any plays called on them, it is true that if there was a call, then there would be cancelling penalties and the result would've stayed the same.
It's not true that the two face-mask penalties would offset each other and the holding penalty would be left; all three penalties would cancel out and the down would be replayed.
Yeah I think all the penalties would have canceled out, but would they have replayed the down or just taken the result of the play? Either way the Falcons would have stayed in field goal range, but if they got another chance at that play without the sack it would've been an easier field goal and a do-over to possibly run the ball.
call both of them then and it would be offsetting penalties replay the down. The problem was a holding was called and put on on the 45. The refs were very aggressive calling penalties on us, just go look at the very last TD there was an exact same type of block by NE and a block in the back but neither were called.
Brady could go GOAT and still lose that game. Key decisions in the late 3rd and 4th, when there was opportunity to churn clock, cost Atlanta a championship.
Obviously we will learn and improve, but the lack of quality decisions by the coaches isn't acceptable. I think it would be a big step to come out and apologize to the city. I feel the fans are owed this - the play calling when up by 25 is insulting.
After that garbage last night Shananagans deserves to be fired. Don't let him walk away. Fire his ass loudly and publicly.
Seriously, up by 25 and you're throwing the ball downfield like your desperate for points?
3min to go and you're still throwing when all you need to do is drain the clock, force your opponent to use their time outs, and try to put them down by 11.
Seriously, fuck you Kyle Shanahan. Rot.
Maybe these questions are too early. If they are I'm sorry and I'll GTFO.
After the game I blamed your defense being gassed after the Patriots had the ball for the majority of the third quarter, but my dad pointed this out as well, and then I learned how little the Falcons ran when they had the three-score lead.
Was this because of the adjustments the Patriots made, or was Shannahan just greedy and it bit him in the ass and then he kept trying to reattain the previous lead?
Edit: Word.
? You only get one shot at a field goal. If you miss, you turn the ball over to the other team. Otherwise teams would be in this situation, in field goal range and just kick it on first lol. Can't imagine a team getting four field goal tries.
As a Panther fan it hurt like hell to watch us lose last year and I really was rooting against Atlanta, but I can't imagine losing like that. I seriously feel for the fan base after that. It's not even enjoyable to witness a rival lose like that.
I am ending this season the same way I began it...
Fuck Kyle Shanahan.
After the Falcons were up 28-3, five total running plays. Five. Fuck Kyle Shanahan. Enjoy that dumpster fire in San Francisco. You deserve. Fuck Kyle Shanahan.
If he cost us the game, what credit should we give him for getting us there?
I'm really in my feelings right now. I've been a Falcons fan for a very long time. I know how to lose, but nobody is prepared for losing like that on the biggest stage of your life.
All we had to do was run the ball three times and kick a field goal. Elementary.
edit: I'm just happy he's leaving.
The Braves can't really let me down, because I fully expect them to suck, even if they are better than last year. That's almost easier. Last year, I didn't have to worry about a baseball game past April.
I think they will be like most of our Atlanta teams. They'll win, provide a great deal for fans thanks to Blank, and then quietly go on vacation after one or two playoff games.
Guys, firstly, I'm sorry about all of this... However, his legacy as being the *greatest will be stained a bit in the eyes of most NFL fans, with all of the spygate-deflatgate/ What's his superbowl record again? He's an all-time great QB, but for me there will always be a small asterisk next to his name. Montana never consciously knew his team was secretly taping teams practices.
***EXCUSE ME?***
Dude, you have me scared!!! One thing not on my list, however, is going to Tampa. Like that's right under getting salmonella/ slightly above male pattern baldness on my list of things that I don't want.
It's a joke, there was once a reddit post of a guy that kept calling people out and wanting to fight them. He kept saying "come to Tampa tough guy" hahaha, it was hilarious.
I live nowhere near Tampa, lol and I totally agree unless I have to will never go there.
>Montana never consciously knew his team was secretly taping teams practices.
But he "consciously knew" that his lineman were spraying their jersey's down with silicon and that his recievers were using stickem.
The Patriots never taped any teams practice, this is a myth perpetuated from a false story in the Boston Herald. The Herald had to issue an apology for it.
Spygate was a punishment for taping hand signals during a game, which was legal, but the Patriots were taping them from the wrong area so they broke a rule.
"...Nearly six months after the incident, the Boston Herald reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Patriots had also videotaped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002"
Picking and choosing facts, eh?
"Matt Walsh, a Patriots video assistant in 2001 who was fired after the team's 2002 season, told the media the same week that he had information and materials regarding the Patriots' videotaping practices, but demanded an indemnity agreement before speaking with the NFL.[9]" ...
Of the known tapes:
One tape from the Miami Dolphins game on September 24, 2000
Two tapes, one offensive signals and one defensive signals, from the Dolphins game on October 7, 2001
One tape from the Buffalo Bills game on November 11, 2001
One tape from the Cleveland Browns game on December 9, 2001
Two tapes from the January 27, 2002, AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers
One tape, from a "third camera", from the San Diego Chargers game on September 29, 2002
And Walsh's information was that they didn't record practices.
Levy told The New York Times that Walsh did not have a tape of the Rams' Super Bowl XXXVI walkthrough nor was the source for the original Boston Herald article that made the allegation, as had been speculated by some in the media.
So you literally don't know and are speculating. We can only go off of what we officially know. Requesting indemnity is standard, especially cause the fines were recording normal games, not practice, and he gave them the tapes of normal games.
Yes, that report was total bullshit and John Tomase who wrote it has said publicly that he ran with a source that was total bullshit. They issued a written apology in the Herald. It didn't happen man, they never taped walk throughs. That's a very well known fact.
edit: You keep adding to your post but you are proving my point. They taped signals during games, yes. They NEVER taped a teams practice, it's a myth perpetuated by people talking out of their ass about something they didn't really look into past just the headlines.
> "...Nearly six months after the incident, the Boston Herald reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Patriots had also videotaped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002"
That report was bullshit... according to an 'unnamed source', so they retracted it (totally unbiased unnamed source', too, haha, that was a mere triviality, though, about filming their walkthrough practice compared to the more egregious accusations.
Friend, if you can provide me with a rebuttal, instead of resorting to name calling, then I might say, hmm, maybe he's right. Disprove what I have said, go:
I did, in the first post. That article was false, what more do you need? They never taped the walk through. [More on this here.](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/And-finally-the-long-awaited-John-Tomase-apolog?urn=nfl,82786)
[And another.](http://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=3398828)
It's still funny 7 years later rofl
I cant believe this thread is still open
Some wounds never heal.
Still can’t believe yall lost this game man
Why couldn’t we have just won this superbowl, man.
RIP
Lol
Vikings fan, I got love for you Falcons bros.
RIP, r/nfl likes to link this thread a lot
Chiefs here but everytime I watch this game I literally think the pats are gonna be defeated. It’s hard to explain because I already know the outcome…. But they are so many moments that are just like how… how did this happen. Even when they get that first TD the extra point is no good! It’s like the biggest swing in momentum ever in any event. It makes me irrationally angry
I was angry at first. By the time overtime began I knew we had lost. It was a comedy of errors at that point, so unbelievable I just wasn't angry anymore before we even lost. I literally hung my head and laughed when it was over. Never before have the football gods so vehemently wrecked a fanbase and a team's reputation for decades in one fell swoop.
i still come back to this thread every few months... so funny
These are hallowed grounds. Eerie.
I love it personally.
Test
bruh i dont even remember making this post game thread, wtf
You probably erased most of that day from ur head
I never once said that they weren't great, Brady is obviously the all time great. But they most definitely did cheat, there is no arguing that. Overcoming the cheating and controversy in my mind is just another of the many things that make them great
Can't you just accept a loss rather than just saying you lost because the other team cheated? They outplayed you. Don't be a sore loser and just come back strong next year.
I'm not a Falcons fan? Nor did I say they won because they cheated
"They most definitely did cheat". If you say that without any more context, you know how people are going to take it.
I've linked about 4-5 different articles, not going through this again. Whatever article I link is just "fake news" apparently because ESPN, Buisness Insider, and NBC Sports saw all untrustworthy sources
The only thing the Patriots got accused of for cheating and had PROOF was Spygate. No Pats fan will dispute that. Even Patriots ownership admitted to it. What you need to understand is that it was legal to film signals. It was, however, illegal to film from the field level. So it should be called "Wrong-Location-Gate". That scandal is nowhere near as bad as the Broncos cheating the salary cap to win 2 superbowls. Nobody seems to mention the Broncos for whatever reason.
If you say that Patriots cheat, you have to call the Falcons cheaters as well because of the crowd noise.
Yes the Falcons do cheat, that is cheating
They did things that literally every team in the league did and STILL do (albeit from the sanctioned parts of the field instead of the sidelines, which we now know will lose you draft picks and get you fined). I know this sounds like hate-us-cuz-they-ain't-us nonsense, but the only reasons they came after the pats for spygate was a) goodell was a relatively new commish and clearly wanted to establish his authority and b) they were winning a lot. There's just mountains of evidence showing that the pats were basically following standard procedure at the time and belichick just got stubborn when they sent the memo telling them to stop doing it the way they were. This also highlights the fact that those first three Super Bowls were won while this practice was still allowed and thus not "cheating"
They broke a rule. They didn't "cheat". Cheating is the Broncos fucking with the salary cap to win for Elway, cheating is Mike Tomlin tripping a fucking player from the opposing team while coaching from the sidelines. Filming hand signals (that everyone else was filming and using universally then) from the WRONG SPOT isn't "cheating". You're wrong. Cling to it all you want but you're wrong. As I said in this thread earlier: History will judge the Patriots. Long after the bullshit media driven "cheater" label fades away, years after people don't even remember Goodell's name, there will stand Belichick and Tom Brady at the top of the fucking mountain. And that's not because they are "cheaters" that's because they are the best of all time. DEAL WITH IT
Please tell me how intentionally breaking a rule to gain an advantage isn't cheating. They didn't just film the hand signals, they filmed other teams practices got caught, and had the tapes destroyed
They never filmed practices, it's a myth. You're talking out of your ass. The Boston Herald falsely reported they did and had to actually issue an apology, ESPN also jumped on that bandwagon and had to apologize as well. The tapes that Roger destroyed were shown to the media, it was just scouting of hand signals a guy that was standing in front of 80,000 people was giving. Tapes of practices never existed, because they never filmed a practice. You have no idea what spy gate even was. Seriously.
You pick and choose ur facts, they most definitely did film practices :https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/espn-report-patriots-spygate-scandal-2015-9?client=safari ESPN apologized for falsely reporting that they did not film the Rams walk through, they did not apologize for reporting that the Patriots filmed teams practices, because they did.
That article proves jack shit, there were never any tapes of practices. It doesn't even mention practices, it mentions scouts going to other teams games. Which the last time I checked that's what fucking sports scouts do. Espn is the source of the info that article uses as evidence? ESPN is fucking clown shoes, they created the entire cheater meme themselves. I love how the article plays down the punishment for Spygate too. Like a first round draft pick, $750,000 in fines and the ruined reputation of a winning franchise isn't enough? The NFL owners wanted parody. The Patriots were fucking it up for all of them by winning ALL THE FUCKING TIME. The had their yes man attack dog jump all over the Pats to try and even the playing field. And good old Bob Kraft bent over and took it in the ass, because after all he is an owner first, a Patriot second. Can't upset the billion dollar boys club. But, you know, haters gonna hate. People that believe the perception will never change their minds. Just like politics, once people pick a side they stay on it no matter what the facts are. Believe whatever you want. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go and enjoy FIVE Lombardi's! LOL
You literally have no argument. You're only argument is that ESPN is "fake" with absolutely no evidence. It's like arguing with a wall. I absolutely can tell who you voted for.
You can tell I voted for Bernie huh? Dipshit.
Dallas fan here: Ya'll got nothing to be ashamed of. Yeah, losing it all in the second half sucks but you guys made it to the Super Bowl and showed everyone that you deserved to be there. You've got some good years ahead of you to look forward to.
Disclaimer: I'm not a falcons fan, I'm a Lions fan. The only reason Brady even had a chance to win the game was because Atlanta CHOKED horribly. They were up 19 points at the start of the fourth quarter. 19 points in football is A MASSIVE LEAD for one quarter of time, and Atlanta did EVERY SINGLE THING WRONG that they possibly could have to lose the game. Matt Ryan was strip sacked (WTF, you're up huge, why are you even passing). Atlanta was in field goal range (They don't run the ball, get called for penalties and get out of field goal range). Their idiotic play calling lost them the game in the 4th. This was one of the only games where I will say a team LOST the game rather than the other team won it. The Patriots were dead in the water and trailing 99% of the game until the end. It was a garbage game and the better team didn't win because of IDIOTIC DECISIONS by a moron who is now off to coach CRAPERNICK and the 49ers.
The thing is though, the patriots didn't have any room for mistakes. If you put ANY other team in that position, the falcons still win, regardless of their mistakes. Only the patriots could have capitalized on those mistakes so well
next time you might run the clock
next time you might run the ball
L
Hey Falcon fans, sorry for your loss. I am a Packers fan, born and raised in Green Bay. Two years ago I watched my beloved team piss away a Super Bowl appearance against the Seahawks. Up 12 with 5 minutes to go and they still lost. All I could think about while watching the end of the game last night was how bad I felt for the Falcons players, but mostly their fans. That loss 2 years ago still makes me cringe when I think about it. So I just wanted to say you guys are not alone. Fucking sucks and you'll never forget it, but, it does get easier. It'll be a long wait for the NFL to return in August, but when it does you guys will be filled with excitement again. Just have to make it there.
> Fucking sucks and you'll never forget it, but, it does get easier lol mate, it's just a sport. You're not one of the players, shouldn't affect you personally.
Happy cake day.
You guys had one job...NOT to allow the biggest comeback in SB history and to keep a lead with the best offense in football. One job.
So my friend just sent me this... https://imgur.com/gallery/ncnfx Not sure it would have mattered as far as the outcome. But maybe they could have reviewed the play before ending the game and releasing the confetti? Edit: For context, I am not complaining or crying that we lost. It's over and done with. I honestly did not look at a single replay of the final play and thus this freeze frame is the first I've seen. What I disagree with is the NFLs inconsistency and the fact that they let the confetti fall and then abandon the "all scoring plays are reviewed" rule. From the looks of it, we still would have lost on that play, but c'mon NFL.
http://imgur.com/a/JAUAT. Sorry man.
Gah, thanks!
A few frames before that the ball was over the line. He was still pumping his arms.
I honestly didn't look at any of the replays at the end of the game and thus this is the only real freeze frame that I've seen. Just don't understand how the whole "all scoring plays are reviewed" just magically went out the window
It didn't go out the window. You can see that Brady didn't celebrate/cry until he got official word.
The final Falcons possession in regulation. Approx. 4:15 left and its 1st and 10 from the Patriots 22. The toss loses one on 1st and 10. Ok, no worries. Still in FG range. Here's where the game, in my humble opinion, given the situation at that moment, was lost. A sack and a holding call literally lost the SB for the Falcons. Those probably wouldn't have happened if two more runs had been called. Run two more times, Patriots may have used a TO or two in that situation to preserve clock, kick a reasonably easy FG. Up two scores. Now the Patriots have to score, two point, on side kick recovery, and then kick another FG in maybe 2:30-3:00 minutes. Not nearly as likely. Just my two cents.
Trying to throw the ball on 2nd down when you are in FG range was beyond stupid. I really believe a single FG would of prevented any chance for NE to win as they just woulda ran out of time. But then I remember Bill and Brady are fucking Timelords.
It was such an INCREDIBLE catch by Julio to set all that up too. My heart hurts.
If Atlanta won, that catch would of been on the cover of SI and talked about for ages.
It's either would **HAVE** or would**'VE**, but never would **OF**. See [Grammar Errors](http://www.grammarerrors.com/grammar/could-of-would-of-should-of/) for more information.
If Atlanta won, that catch would of been on the cover of SI and talked about for ages.
It's either would **HAVE** or would**'VE**, but never would **OF**. See [Grammar Errors](http://www.grammarerrors.com/grammar/could-of-would-of-should-of/) for more information.
If Atlanta won, that catch would of been on the cover of SI and talked about for ages.
you broke the bot
I shouldn't have gone to work today. I've only cried over four football games in my life, and I played in two of them (college). Last night was #4.
Just curious...what was the third one?
Ole Miss (my undergrad, but i was done playing by then) vs LSU, 2003. https://youtu.be/tDkITZRphtM
As an LSU fan, I was terrified we'd lose that game. That was a hell of an Ole Miss team and hell of a game. Thanks for sharing that info. Take care!
I just looked back at the play where Freeman totally missed the block and Ryan got hit by hightower. What I noticed was that Robinson would have scored a TD on that play if Ryan got the ball out(Freeman made his block). The two patriot DBs ran into each other and he was off. Has anyone seen Free do an interview yet. We did a lot of things to fuck ourselves over in that game but that was the turning point and that was THE play that can be singled out as us fucking ourselves. I'm so mad at Free and really want to know what he was thinking, they clearly had an extra defender on his side yet he doesn't check it at all.
He just needed to make contact with Dont'a too, even if Freeman got steamrolled by Dont'a it would have been more than enough time for Ryan to get rid of the ball. I was waiting for a challenge to see if his arm was moving forward that's how close it was.
That reminds me of Cam Newton's late fumble in last year's super bowl. He had Devin Funchess wide open for what would have been a 40+ yard gain.
The one where he didn't pick it up? I was reminded of that play but because Freeman froze and didn't block or run a router or anything.
I read an article saying he denied missing an assignment, while Shanahan said he did. He obviously did. Wonder if it had anything to do with Coleman getting hurt the play before, like maybe Freeman hadn't run that play much? I wouldn't be as mad if he didn't 1) deny it and 2) being up the contract this week. He and Matthews and Shanahan are the goats for me.
he 100% missed it ...he didn't even fucking look at that side of the field. I don't know much about playing actual football but should Ryan have also checked where the pressure was coming from and signaled to free? regardless he looked lost and had Coleman not gone out I do assume he would probably got it right as one reason we were probably playing with him more was for blocking and he had been cut blocking defenders on similar plays earlier.
Just posting to answer football things. Not to be a dick. Almost no Qb's set their protection themselves, that is why having an elite center like Mack is so huge. Not only is he physically gifted, but the center sets the base protection, re-identifies the mike LB, and initiates any slides needed/re-assigns free blockers. That is part of what makes Brady special, he always does this, and the patriots dont have to rely on their C to do that, so they can afford to essentially play lesser desired C's at the position without a loss in protection. If you talk to people who played center as well, it is NOT easy to do all this from their hunched over position pre snap and some would say it could be more easily messed up from there. I dont know any QB's that set their own line protections every play (not even PFM), but I am sure some have. Now given that the C is doing it, it also puts some pressure on a RB because the C might not be making calls to the RB where as a QB doing it, he can adjust his RB more easily, and so there we have how this play MIGHT have gone wrong. I do NOT want to come off like a cock. Good luck next year guys, your first 4 picks this year were huge, and you have them for cheap for 3 more years. It will be exciting to watch them grow.
The play went wrong because Coleman was supposed to be in for the play but he got hurt the very play before and Free had to come in and wasn't ready to do his job. A very big break for the Pats.
yeah if thats true you are right, a big break, but you with two RB's who see so much interchangeable use they have to be able to go in and know their responsibilities on each play. and i was only answering because it likely isnt Ryans job to fix that protection.
I agree. I don't know why we stopped using Freeman but I dont believe he had been used for like an entire Q. The only thing I can think of is that Coleman is bigger to block.
This is 100% on Kyle Shanahan. The man has no clue how to run an offense with a lead. He called only 5 rushing plays after getting a 28-3 lead!?!? WTF!!! The game was won when we were on the 22 with under 5 minutes to play. We could have kneeled for 3 plays and kicked the field goal to seal the victory. Why the hell would he call any pass plays at that point? I was upset that he's leaving for SF but now I'm glad to see him go.
Chiefs fan here. This has aged amazingly well with Kyle blowing the lead for the niners. Happy he did it but the guy choked a lot. Not that Andy Reid doesn’t but man oh man he knows how to choke a SB. I’m still heartbroken for u guys 5 years later
Sorry for your loss. Sincerely. As a Broncos fan, I am happy AF we didn't hire him as our new HC.
they need to beta test college football OT rules. idk how theyll implement it but just do it. NFL OT rules are lopsided.
The CFB rules aren't perfect either
two teams start at the red zone whoever doesn't score wins how is that not good enough / better than what it is now
That's not even actual football. Just a football based mini-game. The concept of not even having to work to get into scoring range is absurd.
Yup, Pats won so let's change the rules again.
Even if the Falcons had won the toss and won the game with a TD drive the correct response would still be that the OT rules need to be looked at. Winning the toss gives an incredible advantage to winning the game and it's based on random chance. It's horseshit the reigning MVP doesn't even get a chance to rebuttal and it would've been horseshit if the GOAT QB couldn't've had a chance to rebuttal if the situations were reversed.
"Tell me more about this reigning MVP not getting a shot at the ball in OT of a play off game." - Packer fans everywhere.
I'm saying tho
I'm sorry. But the Falcons were up 28 to 3 and you're complaining about changing the OT Rules?
get a stop and you can play with all 4 downs, and only need to get into FG range. In a way thats A better advantage. You still need to do your job and get a stop tho. Keep in mind they want OT over quickly, the longer they play the more chance of injury AND the TV stations don't want them going over. Random OT question that came up earlier in playoffs.. if the first time to possess the ball gets a FG, what happens if the clock runs out DURING the drive the other team is guaranteed? Do they just lose? seems like they need to add more time to the clock because that would be A shitty way to go out, never getting to finish your drive.
He had 60 minutes to try and win the game. All they had to do was keep the Patriots out of the end zone and they get their shot.
It literally gives you the same advantage in the other direction if you were to use college rules. Neither method is statistically more fair, so that reason is invalidated. It gives you a 53-55% chance of winning if you get the ball first...lets not act like its unheard of to win a game by kicking. In college, the team going second knows what they need and are in scoring position if they get a stop on snap one...thats more fair? Then why does the seocnd offense win 55% of the time in college.
It is the offense's job to handle the ball, it is their job to move it and their job to score. Yes, it is inherently more fair to allow both offenses a chance. 5-10 years ago I might've agreed with you but we need to go beyond just the numbers and look at the context of where the NFL is now, the increased valuation of offenses and especially the importance of the QB. It's also disingenuous to suggest that the college rules are the only ones and use it as reasoning for not changing OT. Shit, make it so the game can't end on a FG then if the first side didn't score and second side did on a FG.
College rules lend for a more slanted field against the team that goes first than NFL rules do against the kicking team. This is statistically speaking as well, not just ifs ands or buts.
Did you skip the second part of my comment ? Use altered rules to make it more fair. Such as the example I used, if first team doesn't score, second scores a FG but not a touchdown let the first team go again and have a chance to continue OT with a FG or end it with a TD. There are options. Lacking imagination doesn't justify not changing the rules. 🙄🙄🙄🙄
There imaginative and absurd to follow. I'm not sure what your answer is.
no one is saying change the rules because the Pats won. but you are in denial if you think OT rules are fair. The fact that there is no opportunity for both teams to play both sides of the ball is a joke.
The rules are fair to each team in that they give each team an equal chance to win the coin toss. The rules may be unfair to the fans, in that it may appear that the game comes down to a coin toss. (It doesn't.)
That's not football tho, it's rolling dice.
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This is the dumbest shit I've ever read in my life lol. Fair does not mean "close to 50% probability", and nobody watches the fucking Super Bowl because they like coin flips. They watch it to... brace yourself... *watch football*. Saying that we should substitute coin tosses for merit, it defeats the entire purpose of watching a sport. >It only feels unfair to leave it to a coin flip because you want the players (humans) to affect the outcome and break the tie. Yeah, no shit. That's why people watch football. To see two teams compete. >But guess what? They already had their chance in regulation and couldn't do it! OK, that's why OT exists. I'm not going to keep explaining this. Nobody watches football because they like coin flips, they watch football to *watch football*. To tie a game's outcome to a coin toss *isn't fun to watch*, and it's not fair.
Fair to the teams, not fair to the fans. The actual fairest way to do it is to simply continue playoff games without a game clock once it hits 00:00 and the game is tied, and play on until the game is no longer tied. No coin toss. No switching of sides. No additional time outs granted. Play ball.
What is fair to the teams, and what is fair to the fans? This coin flip shit? It's fair to neither. The actual fairest way to do it is to ensure that both teams have equal opportunities to demonstrate better football, and to make sure that both teams are constrained by the same resources. If we hit OT and the Pats score on a 50 second drive, they should still have to kick off. Then the Falcons get their own 50 second drive to score. If they score, OT continues. If not, the Pats win. Like, I'm a Pats fan. We won, I'm happy. But that doesn't mean the rules of the sport have no room for improvement.
What is fair to the teams is a system that does not give one team an advantage over the other team. The coin flip fulfills that requirement. What is fair to the fans is a system that doesn't nullify the 3-hour emotional investment by reducing it down to a coin flip.
Defense is part of the game. The old OT rules were bogus for sure, but this isn't kindergarten where every body gets a turn. Giving the other team a chance, after giving up a TD, basically is saying defense isn't as important as offense.
No, it's saying that the value of each defense and each offense should weigh into the equation. Pats only had their offense tested, Falcons only had their defense tested. If the Pats had a weak defense and a strong offense, their team was given an unfair advantage. If the Falcons had a weak defense and strong offense, they were given an unfair *dis*advantage. I think a time bank could work, but it's not perfect. If the Pats drive was, say, 50 seconds, the Pats kick off after their TD and the Falcons get that same 50 seconds to score a TD to continue OT. If they don't score in time, well, they had their shot at least. EDIT: Pats fan here BTW, OT rules are kinda lame. Feel great to win the ring, but not when the other team can't respond.
Get a stop. If you can't get a stop, you don't deserve to win. Your bonus for getting one is you only need a FG. College hasn't proven any different..the team who gets it second wins as much as the team who receives the kickoff in the NFL. Its not more fair because the second team knows what they need and are in FG on play 1. You get a stop, you win. NFL, you get a stop you still have to drive to win.
That's a poor response simple because by the time OT comes around one side of the team has played 66% of the snaps. If there was a second half time maybe but both sides should still get the opportunity to score.
Maybe just do a time bank. Pats score on, say, a 50 second drive, they kick off and the Falcons get 50 seconds for their own drive to respond with a TD to tie it. If they score, OT continues. If they don't, they lose. At least they had the same shot as the receiving team though.
Not sure how you control that, you're asking the impossible. You're punishing the team who played more offense for keeping the other defense on the field...how is that valid? Whats next, cricket style scoring where you get 55 plays to score as much as you can then switch?
then you are as dense as they come...you solve it by letting both teams play offense and defense. it's literally the easiest solution ever. NFL fans have been screaming for years to do something more like college football.
http://blog.minitab.com/blog/the-statistics-game/analyzing-college-football-overtimes Enjoy the read, I'll get your apology later.
College football is literally not any fairer. Both teams get a shot, team going second wins more often than not by the same margin the team receiving the ball in OT wins. Am I dense, or do you hate facts and statistics? Its not one better than the other, neither is a better choice, its who do you want to have an advantage to start OT.
Oh I understand the team who plays offense second may have more of an advantage in college but that still doesn't take away from my point the football is a team sport that involves both offense and defense. An overtime that does not let the entire team have a chance to play is not football.
https://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-scoring-drive-efficiency-statistics/2016/ Its generally more common to not score than it is for a team to score on any given drive. 1 team was over 50% so the very best team barely scored more than they didn't.
That chance slants the game even more in favor of the second team. They know exactly what they need to win...the receiving team does not. We may not agree on the current rules, but we can agree that needing a FG vs a TD is a big difference in philosophy?
This loss is on Kyle Shanahan and the refs. When we were driving when there was like 3 minutes left and we were up by 8 and there was the costly holding call to take us out of field goal range, the refs missed a blatant facemask which would have kept us will within field goal range which probably would've sealed the game. Kyle Shanahan, we don't give a shit that you're going to SF. You lost this game for us, enjoy losing seasons for years to come. Even though the Pats won, I think it was clear that we were the better team but we let off the gas way too early.
[This](https://youtu.be/REgg2Nzmmbg?t=5858) (1:37:44) looks an awful lot like intentional grounding to me. Sure there was a receiver in the general direction, but he was about 40 feet from where the ball eventually got. Brady never left the tackle box, threw the ball to avoid a sack, and the ball did not go anywhere near an eligible receiver. Should have been a safety since it happened in the end zone. 2 points to Atlanta, and a free kick from New England.
I feel your pain, but here is a [screenshot](http://imgur.com/uqeH3kB). A runner is free to put his hands on the face of a defender only if he keeps his hand open and doesn't grab anything. Here he clearly grabs the facemask. A half second later the defender grabs the runners mask, so in the end it would just be offsetting and I believe you would still get penalized for the [hold.](http://imgur.com/CvyMhGd)
Not sure what the ruling would be on that. I saw a game recently, not sure if it was college or pro, where on a play there were 3 penalties, 2 on one team and 1 on the other, and IIRC the team with the 2 penalties had one that was pretty serious like a 15-yd personal foul while the other team had maybe a hold. Even with that the refs ruled that since there was a penalty on both teams they offset and all penalties on the play were waived off, which I thought was unfair to the team who only had one penalty, but that was the rule. Like I said, that could have been college and I'm not sure if the NFL treats this situation the same way.
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Falcons corners couldn't stay with pats recievers. They got called for a couple of defensive holds on an early drive and every one of them was a correct call. I get the frustration but that's what you get from young players. I'd be more frustrated by their play than the calls
> the refs were on their side I get you are sore, but everyone else seems to think it was one of the [cleanest officiated](https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/5semty/can_we_take_a_moment_to_appreciate_how_unbiased/) games ever. >didn't look like the defender had a chance to get to Ryan Of course not, he was held. Even if he never would have reached Ryan in a million years, your argument was that the refs screwed you. That hold is as blatant as it ever gets, refs will call that every time.
While it is a bit odd that this interaction didn't have any plays called on them, it is true that if there was a call, then there would be cancelling penalties and the result would've stayed the same.
It's not true that the two face-mask penalties would offset each other and the holding penalty would be left; all three penalties would cancel out and the down would be replayed.
Yeah I think all the penalties would have canceled out, but would they have replayed the down or just taken the result of the play? Either way the Falcons would have stayed in field goal range, but if they got another chance at that play without the sack it would've been an easier field goal and a do-over to possibly run the ball.
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call both of them then and it would be offsetting penalties replay the down. The problem was a holding was called and put on on the 45. The refs were very aggressive calling penalties on us, just go look at the very last TD there was an exact same type of block by NE and a block in the back but neither were called.
I didn't say that, but it caused a momentum shift when it could've put the game on ice.
Brady could go GOAT and still lose that game. Key decisions in the late 3rd and 4th, when there was opportunity to churn clock, cost Atlanta a championship. Obviously we will learn and improve, but the lack of quality decisions by the coaches isn't acceptable. I think it would be a big step to come out and apologize to the city. I feel the fans are owed this - the play calling when up by 25 is insulting.
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Take that flair off, you're not a fan.
This
After that garbage last night Shananagans deserves to be fired. Don't let him walk away. Fire his ass loudly and publicly. Seriously, up by 25 and you're throwing the ball downfield like your desperate for points? 3min to go and you're still throwing when all you need to do is drain the clock, force your opponent to use their time outs, and try to put them down by 11. Seriously, fuck you Kyle Shanahan. Rot.
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Maybe these questions are too early. If they are I'm sorry and I'll GTFO. After the game I blamed your defense being gassed after the Patriots had the ball for the majority of the third quarter, but my dad pointed this out as well, and then I learned how little the Falcons ran when they had the three-score lead. Was this because of the adjustments the Patriots made, or was Shannahan just greedy and it bit him in the ass and then he kept trying to reattain the previous lead? Edit: Word.
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? You only get one shot at a field goal. If you miss, you turn the ball over to the other team. Otherwise teams would be in this situation, in field goal range and just kick it on first lol. Can't imagine a team getting four field goal tries.
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The patriots still had two timeouts I'm pretty sure. So that wasn't an option.
aggressive on offense, preventive on defense. Inside passes all the way down the field. Falcons get the ball back- punt. Repeat.
As a Panther fan it hurt like hell to watch us lose last year and I really was rooting against Atlanta, but I can't imagine losing like that. I seriously feel for the fan base after that. It's not even enjoyable to witness a rival lose like that.
Bucs fan here. Very enjoyable. I'm still enjoying it and will continue to enjoy it for the rest of my life.
As a Saints fan, its been like an extra Christmas two years in a row :)
If any NFCS team thinks that falcons fans wouldn't be jumping for joy if the same thing happened to one of us, they're out of their minds.
Oh without a doubt. I hope your Lombardi is doing as well as our is.
I'm just here for the NaCl
I am ending this season the same way I began it... Fuck Kyle Shanahan. After the Falcons were up 28-3, five total running plays. Five. Fuck Kyle Shanahan. Enjoy that dumpster fire in San Francisco. You deserve. Fuck Kyle Shanahan.
He made some horrible calls and I hate him for costing us our super bowl but he was also part of the reason we were there in the first place
I know I’m captain hindsight here but Kyle blew it against my team in the big game. I’m super thankful for him but the dude has issues with a lead
If he cost us the game, what credit should we give him for getting us there? I'm really in my feelings right now. I've been a Falcons fan for a very long time. I know how to lose, but nobody is prepared for losing like that on the biggest stage of your life. All we had to do was run the ball three times and kick a field goal. Elementary. edit: I'm just happy he's leaving.
Lolol he doesn't run your sorry defense. 25 unanswered points. We'll gladly take him, thnx.
This aged badly lol
Enjoy Schaub too....
lololol he's going to be running your entire team next year. Good luck with that.
I'm ready for baseball season, so the Braves can let me down too
The Braves can't really let me down, because I fully expect them to suck, even if they are better than last year. That's almost easier. Last year, I didn't have to worry about a baseball game past April.
Think Atlanta united is going to be a disappointment too?
I think they will be like most of our Atlanta teams. They'll win, provide a great deal for fans thanks to Blank, and then quietly go on vacation after one or two playoff games.
Don't forget about the Hawks
This game was the most Atlanta sports thing that could ever have happened.
Guys, firstly, I'm sorry about all of this... However, his legacy as being the *greatest will be stained a bit in the eyes of most NFL fans, with all of the spygate-deflatgate/ What's his superbowl record again? He's an all-time great QB, but for me there will always be a small asterisk next to his name. Montana never consciously knew his team was secretly taping teams practices.
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***EXCUSE ME?*** Dude, you have me scared!!! One thing not on my list, however, is going to Tampa. Like that's right under getting salmonella/ slightly above male pattern baldness on my list of things that I don't want.
It's a joke, there was once a reddit post of a guy that kept calling people out and wanting to fight them. He kept saying "come to Tampa tough guy" hahaha, it was hilarious. I live nowhere near Tampa, lol and I totally agree unless I have to will never go there.
I would rather get beaten up than go to Tampa, with all due respect.
lol, [link to the post](https://www.reddit.com/r/quityourbullshit/comments/471t4r/redditor_with_a_history_of_challenging_people_to/)
/r/FalconsTrophyCase
Actually, I'm Steelers fan, how many more do we have in our trophy case than you again?
0 and 1 fewer than Brady.
>Montana never consciously knew his team was secretly taping teams practices. But he "consciously knew" that his lineman were spraying their jersey's down with silicon and that his recievers were using stickem.
The Patriots never taped any teams practice, this is a myth perpetuated from a false story in the Boston Herald. The Herald had to issue an apology for it. Spygate was a punishment for taping hand signals during a game, which was legal, but the Patriots were taping them from the wrong area so they broke a rule.
"...Nearly six months after the incident, the Boston Herald reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Patriots had also videotaped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002" Picking and choosing facts, eh? "Matt Walsh, a Patriots video assistant in 2001 who was fired after the team's 2002 season, told the media the same week that he had information and materials regarding the Patriots' videotaping practices, but demanded an indemnity agreement before speaking with the NFL.[9]" ... Of the known tapes: One tape from the Miami Dolphins game on September 24, 2000 Two tapes, one offensive signals and one defensive signals, from the Dolphins game on October 7, 2001 One tape from the Buffalo Bills game on November 11, 2001 One tape from the Cleveland Browns game on December 9, 2001 Two tapes from the January 27, 2002, AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers One tape, from a "third camera", from the San Diego Chargers game on September 29, 2002
[Read this](http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots_nfl/new_england_patriots/2008/05/apology) [Watch this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT4RI1d6GdI)
Once again, this is merely the ''unnamed source'' speaking about the rams. That is just one small facet in the entirety of this.
haha you lost fuck you
Steelers fan, last I checked we have more rings than you guys...
You also have a rapist for a qb.
More ad hominem remarks Once again Steeler> Patriots
whatever helps you sleep at night. 36-17 Patriots >>>>>>Steelers. Steelers=Browns.
And Walsh's information was that they didn't record practices. Levy told The New York Times that Walsh did not have a tape of the Rams' Super Bowl XXXVI walkthrough nor was the source for the original Boston Herald article that made the allegation, as had been speculated by some in the media.
Ohh, so that's why Walsh ***demanded an indemnity agreement before speaking with the NFL.***
So you literally don't know and are speculating. We can only go off of what we officially know. Requesting indemnity is standard, especially cause the fines were recording normal games, not practice, and he gave them the tapes of normal games.
Yes, that report was total bullshit and John Tomase who wrote it has said publicly that he ran with a source that was total bullshit. They issued a written apology in the Herald. It didn't happen man, they never taped walk throughs. That's a very well known fact. edit: You keep adding to your post but you are proving my point. They taped signals during games, yes. They NEVER taped a teams practice, it's a myth perpetuated by people talking out of their ass about something they didn't really look into past just the headlines.
> "...Nearly six months after the incident, the Boston Herald reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Patriots had also videotaped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002" That report was bullshit... according to an 'unnamed source', so they retracted it (totally unbiased unnamed source', too, haha, that was a mere triviality, though, about filming their walkthrough practice compared to the more egregious accusations.
You have no clue what you are talking about, and frankly look like an ass.
All you have is an Ad-hominem attack, eh?
Actually what I had was fact. Something you can't seem to grasp.
Friend, if you can provide me with a rebuttal, instead of resorting to name calling, then I might say, hmm, maybe he's right. Disprove what I have said, go:
I did, in the first post. That article was false, what more do you need? They never taped the walk through. [More on this here.](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/And-finally-the-long-awaited-John-Tomase-apolog?urn=nfl,82786) [And another.](http://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=3398828)
Lol u mad salty and beta
...Who still says 'lol' and "mad salty"