Super Bowl XLIX Thread

[Judge Jude]

Seattle's Doug Baldwin went off on reporters after the game for doubting his team.

https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/1/...f-king-message

Baldwin's team shit the bed for almost the entire game, obviously, and it took an epically bad coach/team choke by GB to advance them, and this moron thinks it's because.... anything else.

They did the impossible and made sympathetic figures of Belichick team - their QB is an all-time great, they've waited 10 years, so.....

hint to many Seahawks - when you make the Patriots the good guys, you're not doing it right

[Erik]

In 1980s WWF terms, this is like the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff facing off for the championship belt.

[Judge Jude]

I don't follow wrestling, but I am half-tempted not even to watch this one

[revo]

I don't follow wrestling, but I am half-tempted not even to watch this one

I don't understand the protest. Would GB-NE have been better? IND-SEA? IND-GB? With Denver faltering late in the season behind a crumbling Manning, the Pats -- as much as I dislike them -- were by far the best team in the AFC.

NE & SEA ranked #1 and #2 in point differential, so aren't they the best two teams? It may sound strange coming from a Giants fan who had two SB trophies drop from the sky, but shouldn't the SB be about pitting the best two teams against each other?

[Boone]

The Patriots are cheaters and the Seahawks are douchebags. I would have preferred IND-GB by a mile.

1989 World Series, Game 3.

[The Feral Slasher]

I don't understand the protest. Would GB-NE have been better? IND-SEA? IND-GB? With Denver faltering late in the season behind a crumbling Manning, the Pats -- as much as I dislike them -- were by far the best team in the AFC.

NE & SEA ranked #1 and #2 in point differential, so aren't they the best two teams? It may sound strange coming from a Giants fan who had two SB trophies drop from the sky, but shouldn't the SB be about pitting the best two teams against each other?

I've watched enough Super Bowls with two teams that I hate, so I understand where some of the people are coming from. But I agree these are the best two teams and I think it's a great matchup.

[Judge Jude]

The Patriots are cheaters and the Seahawks are douchebags.

what else is there to say?

The Ravens are as good as the Patriots and the Packers are better than the Seahawks. So yeah I'd prefer that game.

[Erik]

I would not be surprised to see a suspension for Belichick - even if they can't prove he definitely knew about it - under the Payton "ignorance is no defense" precedent.

[chancellor]

I would not be surprised to see a suspension for Belichick - even if they can't prove he definitely knew about it - under the Payton "ignorance is no defense" precedent.

Shoot, Belicheck controls everything in that organization - he can lie all he wants or let someone else try and take the fall, but even the dolts in the NFL office know he made the call on something like this. The NFL just has to choose if they're going to take the NASCAR point of view - "if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'" or if they're going to try and clean this up and put the hammer down. I'd love to see the NFL throw down a six-game suspension, three exhibition games and three regular season games, on Belicheck due to a pattern of cheating and this specific incident.

[dslaw]

I'd love to see the NFL throw down a six-game suspension, three exhibition games and three regular season games, on Belicheck due to a pattern of cheating and this specific incident.

I bet Sean Payton would throw a fit if Belicheck gets 6 games. Payton gets a year for "I didn't know" on cheap shots and Belicheck gets 6 games for "I didn't know" on breaking rules doesn't seem too fair. You could bring up player safety being the difference but after adding Thursday games each week and the league wanting to add 2 more real games a year it is clear the NFL doesn't care about player safety, they just say they do. Looks like Goodell and Kraft are pretty friendly and that will make this decision a little more scrutinized.

[chancellor]

I bet Sean Payton would throw a fit if Belicheck gets 6 games. Payton gets a year for "I didn't know" on cheap shots and Belicheck gets 6 games for "I didn't know" on breaking rules doesn't seem too fair. You could bring up player safety being the difference but after adding Thursday games each week and the league wanting to add 2 more real games a year it is clear the NFL doesn't care about player safety, they just say they do. Looks like Goodell and Kraft are pretty friendly and that will make this decision a little more scrutinized.

Payton can whine all he wants - he, despite his claims, allowed a headhunting program to go on specifically designed to harm players. Belicheck uses film and spying and equipment tweaks to gain a competitive advantage. This isn't even in the same league as what the Saints did.

[revo]

The amusing thing is all the current and former QBs don't think this is a big deal, and I wonder how much that will play into any penalty. Seems like the press & fans have made this into a mountain.

[In the Corn]

This is, IMO, much bigger than how the NFL handled the Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, insert other thug here issues. Every organization/business is going to have people who run afoul of the law.

Deflating the balls, while not as important to society as the above issues, deals with the integrity of the game. I'm a huge fan of football, but this taints my perception of the NFL as a whole if some type of large judgement doesn't come down on the Patriots, Robert Kraft and Belicheck.

[Erik]

The amusing thing is all the current and former QBs don't think this is a big deal, and I wonder how much that will play into any penalty. Seems like the press & fans have made this into a mountain.

There is good reason to make it a big deal, on two fronts.

1. The Patriots have been caught cheating to gain a competitive advantage before.

2. The league has an integrity/due process problem because of how the Ray Rice incident was handled.

[Judge Jude]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/patriots-always-keep-a-tight-grip-on-the-ball-1422054846

"New England has had an uncanny ability to hold on to the football for quite some time. According to data compiled by Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Patriots fumble far less than any other team that plays outdoors, where the elements can make the football harder to handle. Beginning in the 2010 season, Patriots players have fumbled (whether lost or recovered) once every 73 touches from scrimmage, which is 52% better than the league average.

Additionally, according to Stats, LLC, the six players who have played extensively for the Patriots and other teams in this span all fumbled far less frequently wearing the New England uniform."