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I've been hearing people asking if the Falcons can recover from this? I think they can if they look at it a certain way. The Falcons had one of the worst upsets that can happen to a team in the Superbowl. In my opinion a loss like this should toughen a team up. Because after a loss like this what else is there for them to fear? It's like if you get punched in the face by Mike Tyson. After that you shouldn't be afraid of getting hit by too many other people. I mean who else is going to hit you harder than Tyson? So do you see what I'm saying? A loss like this could change the Falcon's perspective on disappointment for the better.
I think the Patriots are in position to repeat as champions. Tom Brady joins Bart Starr as the greatest quarterbacks ever in the National Football League. Does Brady want to be the sole greatest quarterback ever?
The Falcons learned how to win this season. Do they build upon the 2016 season, or do they revert back to mediocrity? The NFC South will be challenging if the Panthers rebound and the Buccaneers are serious about playing football.
Tom Brady joins Bart Starr as the greatest quarterbacks ever in the National Football League. Does Brady want to be the sole greatest quarterback ever?
I saw a picture of Bart Starr, with the comment, welcome to the club and something about him having 5 titles in 7 years but, of course, 3 were right before the SB era! Whoever did it, fan or Packers, which wouldn't surprise me, I'm a fan so o.k. whatever, but I know it is annoying to others.
I think the Patriots are in position to repeat as champions. Tom Brady joins Bart Starr as the greatest quarterbacks ever in the National Football League. Does Brady want to be the sole greatest quarterback ever?
The Falcons learned how to win this season. Do they build upon the 2016 season, or do they revert back to mediocrity? The NFC South will be challenging if the Panthers rebound and the Buccaneers are serious about playing football.
Of course the Patriots are in a position to win every year. The trick is to not let them get the #1 seed in the AFC (like Denver a few years ago). Winning in Foxboro in January just isn't happening. You have to bring them to your house.
Denver was so scared of them 3 years ago they tanked against Indy so they wouldn't have to face NE in Foxboro. Which Indy promptly went in there and got destroyed (famous Deflategate game). And that was also John Fox's last game as Denver coach.
Denver was so scared of them 3 years ago they tanked against Indy so they wouldn't have to face NE in Foxboro. Which Indy promptly went in there and got destroyed (famous Deflategate game). And that was also John Fox's last game as Denver coach.
I don't think this is an accurate characterization at all. (I had another way of putting it but I reworded it to be polite.) No team that considers itself a contender is afraid to go anywhere and play. The issue with the 2014 Broncos wasn't fear: it was a HC and DC who were already looking ahead to their next jobs. In JDR's case I think it's fair to say he presided over one of the single biggest wastes of defensive talent in the history of the game of football. This is supported by Wade Philips coming in a year later with the same group and turned them into a record setting defense that will likely be discussed as one of the greatest of all time.
The players said all the right things going into that game, but when it mattered they looked lifeless and uninspired. But to say they were afraid of the Pats...PUH-leeze! The Broncos are the only team that has been consistently successful against the Pats in the BB-Brady era. They're definitely not afraid of them.
Of course the Patriots are in a position to win every year. The trick is to not let them get the #1 seed in the AFC (like Denver a few years ago). Winning in Foxboro in January just isn't happening. You have to bring them to your house.
Very true, exactly what Rodgers said at his final presser, too! They need to play better, and get a game at Lambeau!
I don't think this is an accurate characterization at all. (I had another way of putting it but I reworded it to be polite.) No team that considers itself a contender is afraid to go anywhere and play. The issue with the 2014 Broncos wasn't fear: it was a HC and DC who were already looking ahead to their next jobs. In JDR's case I think it's fair to say he presided over one of the single biggest wastes of defensive talent in the history of the game of football. This is supported by Wade Philips coming in a year later with the same group and turned them into a record setting defense that will likely be discussed as one of the greatest of all time.
The players said all the right things going into that game, but when it mattered they looked lifeless and uninspired. But to say they were afraid of the Pats...PUH-leeze! The Broncos are the only team that has been consistently successful against the Pats in the BB-Brady era. They're definitely not afraid of them.
You said it better than me. I guess "scared" was the wrong term. The coaches checked out already and that's why Elway kicked them to the curb. He wanted to see "kicking and screaming" and didn't think they play/fought like that.
You said it better than me. I guess "scared" was the wrong term. The coaches checked out already and that's why Elway kicked them to the curb. He wanted to see "kicking and screaming" and didn't think they play/fought like that.
Precisely. Fox was a great hire when he came in. The team was coming off a 4-12 season, the worst in the franchise's history. As if the lousy record wasn't enough, Josh McD's integrity was brought into question (reports of filming the 49ers practices). So the team hadn't made the playoffs since the 2005 season, had been mediocre up to 2010, then flat out fell apart that year, including tarnishing the brand with a cheating scandle.
That was enough to send McD packing. (Aside from the cheating, he is treated a bit harshly by Broncos fans. That's a topic for a different thread.)
Enter John Fox: the right man at the right time. In his first year he delivered an 8-8 finish but because no team in the AFC West was really any good, 8-8 would be enough to win the division. The playoff win over the Steelers is probably one of the most memorable non-Super Bowl wins in the Broncos history. But it was a short honeymoon for Fox and it started to sour the very next year when he chose to kneel out regulation in the 2OT game with the Ravens. With the game tied at 35, something like ~40 second remaining and 2 timeouts, needing just 40 or so yards to get into FG range, Fox waved the white flag. The Broncos lost that game at that very moment. It took the Ravens into a second OT to make it official, but that game was theirs as of Fox surrending in regulation.
Then there was the SB blowout, and the head scratching management decisions he made in the time between the AFCCG and the Super Bowl. It didn't sit well with the players that he left the IR players in Denver until the day before the game. They also switched hotels a couple nights before the game, something the players were really unhappy about. Then Fox himself acknowledged not practicing in noise, indicating he was not expecting (translation: wasn't prepared) for crowd noise. The team's performance in that game was unforgivable.
Finally the lackadaisical approach in that playoff game with the Colts...even before that game the rumors that Fox would be fired if he didn't deliver a win were swirling. JDR already had one foot out the door too, with a job in Oakland already lined up.
I really do believe John Fox was the guy the Broncos needed when they brought him in. But after 2014 it was abundantly clear he did what the team needed him to do and if they were going to reach the next level then a change was needed.
The kicking and screaming mantra surfaced after Fox and the Broncos parted ways (IE: "This is what I want to see and Fox wasn't delivering.") And if you look at the type of team the Broncos were that season, the type of games they played in, kicking and screaming was a good description. Dogfight after dogfight, right down to a Super Bowl win.
A teams fortunes lies squarely with their QB. As such, the Falcons will always be a fit contender never to become champion. Matt Ryan lacks charismatic leadership and something lacking in the confidence dept. overall. This loss will further present doubts about his ability to win in the big game. No such charge can be leveled at Tom Brady, as he eats up adversity like it is breakfast cereal.
Pats next season will go 11-5, Gronk will be back and playing in next years Superbowl game. Tom Brady will then retire with 6 rings to his name.
Falcons a decent regular season, playoff bound and then beaten in the conference game. Matt Ryan and the Falcons had their best shot at a championship this year. There will be no other for this team.
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