NFL

[JB1973]

Best Super Bowl for a long time, but right now I'm seriously regretting staying up to watch it.

I feel your pain

[Lamb of BOD]

Those last few minutes had everything. Anyone understand the pass call for that intercept though? I think they thought they'd outsmart The Pats D who would expect Lynch to barge over and they'd have someone wide open for an easy pass. Utter clusterfuck.

The clock seemed to be racing, and I recall thinking the Hawks must have been supremely confident of scoring the TD to let it tick without getting a play off. With hindsight it seems like they were perhaps not certain what they were doing. As the clock became a factor there was a decision taken to throw the football - the feeling being even if the play didn't come off it was a likely incompletion which would have stopped the clock with 20 seconds - oodles of time to run the two plays they potentially had left to them. They also had only one timeout left. Pete Carroll also mentioned after the fact that they saw the Pats had their goal line defensive personnel in the game - leaving man coverage on their wideouts. Add to that that I think every other person in the world watching that game thought they would just hand it off to Beastmode (given that Lynch more often than not makes yardage with 4 defenders hanging of him, I'm still surprised they didn't give him the ball). Also, if I;m not mistaken, the Hawks scored earlier on a play-action from inside the 5, when, again, everyone was expecting the run. As i said, I was surprised they didn't put the ball in Lynch's belly, but I can understand the thought process behind the pass. I think it's one that, had it worked Carroll's is a genius. It didn't, therefore he's a muppet. If they'd run Lynch and he hadn't got in people would be questioning why they hadn't tried a pass to kill the clock etc etc. The Pats defensive player still had to make an incredible play on the ball, and, when push came to shove, he out-muscled Lockette to get to the ball.

All in all a terrific game - nailbiting conclusion. I was cheering on the Seahawks, but I have to say that the better team won last night.

[Armchair]

Would have put the house on Seahawks to win that given the position they were in at the end. Mad,mad call to throw at the end by Pete Caroll!!

[Avenger]

Would have put the house on Seahawks to win that given the position they were in at the end. Mad,mad call to throw at the end by Pete Caroll!!

Unbelievable call. You don't back the best back in the league to make 1/2 a yard?
I'd imagine that Seahawks forums are very angry places this week

[Armchair]

Would have put the house on Seahawks to win that given the position they were in at the end. Mad,mad call to throw at the end by Pete Caroll!!

Unbelievable call. You don't back the best back in the league to make 1/2 a yard?
I'd imagine that Seahawks forums are very angry places this week

especially on 2nd down as well, you would try 3 runs and possibly throw a 4th down as a last resort to win a superbowl. Ifd I was a Seahawk fan I would be sick!

[Avenger]

Would have put the house on Seahawks to win that given the position they were in at the end. Mad,mad call to throw at the end by Pete Caroll!!

Unbelievable call. You don't back the best back in the league to make 1/2 a yard?
I'd imagine that Seahawks forums are very angry places this week

especially on 2nd down as well, you would try 3 runs and possibly throw a 4th down as a last resort to win a superbowl. Ifd I was a Seahawk fan I would be sick!

They also had a timeout. Completely braindead call.

[Broken Wing]

I wonder were they caught short expecting the Pats to call a timeout. Pete Carroll said the pass was called because the Pats D was set up to defend against a run but video analysis says otherwise.

[Lamb of BOD]

Franchise-tag day today in the league. Reports are that Justin Houston and Demaryius Thomas have both been tagged. It appears Suh isn't getting tagged - the money the Lions would have had to have given him was astronomical. He'll be a huge (in more ways than one) pickup for some team. He's reported as saying he wants to play in New York. I;d love the Giants to pick him up, but there's almost no way we'd have the money, especially as I;m expecting we'll franchise JPP today for around €15mill.

[jezzer]

Franchise-tag day today in the league. Reports are that Justin Houston and Demaryius Thomas have both been tagged. It appears Suh isn't getting tagged - the money the Lions would have had to have given him was astronomical. He'll be a huge (in more ways than one) pickup for some team. He's reported as saying he wants to play in New York. I;d love the Giants to pick him up, but there's almost no way we'd have the money, especially as I;m expecting we'll franchise JPP today for around €15mill.

We might make a run for Suh (Dolphins), but we'd be eating every bit of cap space for him and he'd probably prefer other options.

Giants FO must believe JPP will bounce back - last season was quiet by his standards?

[Lamb of BOD]

Giants FO must believe JPP will bounce back - last season was quiet by his standards?

JPP was playing extremely well by the second half of the season and finished strongly. If anything, the previous two seasons were poor - especially considering the benchmark he set for himself in 2011. Opinion is a little divided between those who point to the (lack of) quality of opposition during the good performances and these guys would happily let him leave (the fracnhise tag is €15 mill, a long-term contract wouldn't be far south of that). Others see in him a player of exceptional quality who was hampered badly by injury for the last 2 1/2 seasons. It's no surprise to me how well he was playing when that shoulder injury finally seemed to have healed. He also has matured from a pure bull-rusher to someone who can get after the QB but who is excellent against the run as well. He's also a great fellow to bat down balls.

[Lamb of BOD]

We might make a run for Suh (Dolphins), but we'd be eating every bit of cap space for him and he'd probably prefer other options.

The Jets have plenty of cap space, so might be the team to bring Suh to Gotham. But wouldn't bringing him to Oakland on a monster contract be the most Raiders-like thing to do?


EDIT: JPP just got tagged *breathes sigh of relief*. They can now spend the next while thrashing out a long-term deal, but at least #90 will be a Giant again next season

[jezzer]

Looks like we are front-runners to land Suh. Wow. Would be a great signing, imo, and we have the cap room to swing it. Fingers crossed - I would love to see Tom Brady's shrunken skull swinging off Ndamukong's belt in the autumn.

[nelly the elephant]

Brandon Marshall to the Jets.... interesting.

Also we signed our linebacker David Harris.... delighted... he's a massive player for us.

[Lamb of BOD]

Brandon Marshall to the Jets.... interesting.

Which Marshall? The Denver linebacker or the Chicago wideout?

[John23]

The wideout variety. I think Grantland or Sport on Earth had it that Percy Harvin was history at the Jets. Perc must be poison in a locker room

[Lamb of BOD]

The wideout variety. I think Grantland or Sport on Earth had it that Percy Harvin was history at the Jets. Perc must be poison in a locker room

That's the reason he (Harvin) was traded by Seattle. Which is a shame, as he's an incredibly talented player. Marshall's meant to be a similarly divisive player - will be interesting to see how he gets on. He'll be a bigger fish in the smaller Jets pond - talking about egos and superstars - so his nonsense might go relatively unnoticed. He's exactly the sort of big-bodied, physical receiver that Geno Smith could do with. There's a distinct that Marshall's and Jeffrey's athletic abilities have been making Cutler look something like a quarterback for years. As an aside, it'll be interesting to see what happens today between Cutler and the Bears - if he's still on their roster at 9pm our time then $10mill of his 2016 salary becomes guaranteed. Personally I think they'll keep him, but it's rumoured to be very much touch-and-go. What odds on Revis re-signing with Gang Green, especially now that the Pats' have locked up McCourty?

[Lamb of BOD]

Wow. Some huge trades going down today - it's almost as interesting as Madrid-Shalke!

Jimmy Graham to the Seahawks is massive news - I wonder if anyone saw that one coming. Broncos replacing Julius Thomas with Owen Daniels. Brandon Browner is now a free agent - I imagine his phone is already ringing off the hook. Torrey Smith to Santa Clara, Harvin currently unemployed, as John mentioned earlier, Malcolm Smith off to Oakland.

Rumours are that Shane Vereen is headed to the Giants - which is a great bit of business and could signal the return of a "three-headed monster" running attack, akin to the Bradshaw/Jacobs/Ward committee that was so successful in years past. Looks like we've picked up LB Casillas also from NE - does anyone know anything about him? Dwayne Harris is a pretty interesting Special Team signing - will be nice not to have to face him twice a season anymore. We've also signed RT Newhouse from Cincy., I have to confess I've never heard of him, but we need bodies on the O-line. I'll check out some reports on him later. Antrel Rolle has visited the Bears, so I imagine we should be resigned to losing his services - which would be a shame, he's been a great Giant. The secondary - particularly the safety position - is looking wafer thin right about now

[John23]

The Jimmy Graham move is a real bolt out of nowhere. A real addition to the Seahawks O

[Lamb of BOD]

The Jimmy Graham move is a real bolt out of nowhere. A real addition to the Seahawks O

He'll be a huge addition to Russell Wilson - who hasn't had a TE of any note to work with. TE is exactly the sort of position they needed to upgrade, and I;d expect Graham to get as much work with the intermediate routes as he will downfield. The thing is, they're losing defenders at such a rate you'd wonder if they have enough personnel coming in behind them. Thurmond joined the Giants last season, Browner went to New England. Today they've lost James Carpenter, Byron Maxwell and Malcolm Smith - only a year on from his Superbowl MVP. On the offense - and as a locker room presence - re-signing Beastmode was a huge bit of business, but they've had to part ways with Max Unger (as part of the Graham trade).

[Lamb of BOD]

Revis is a Jet again! Big news for Gang Green - if not wholly unexpected