OT: MIchigan Sports Thread: UM wins Natty Championship

[aar000n]

KING OF THE NORTH and second seed right now. The Lions have a legit shot at the number one seed.

 

[jkutswings]

KING OF THE NORTH and second seed right now. The Lions have a legit shot at the number one seed.

I certainly don't EXPECT them to beat Dallas. But with the Cowboys looking very human these last two games, it'll be interesting to see what happens down the stretch.

I still have the bar at win division --> win one playoff game --> become an actual contender next year (with heavy off season improvement on defense). But it's a lot more fun debating that kinda stuff, versus whether a top five pick is good enough to land an actual difference maker.

 

[Luceni]

I'm an Austrian hockey fan and I do enjoy following the carreers of my fellow Austrians in the NHL. I've watched Thomas Pock, Thomas Vanek, Michael Grabner and at the moment it's Marco Rossi who is developing into a solid top 6 center for the Wild right in front of our eyes. I hope Marco Kasper can do the same for the Red Wings next year.

That being said: I'm a die-hard Lions fan from Austria since the early 2000s and I can't believe they just won the North. I was getting pranked by my friends my whole life for being a Lions fan and it feels kinda strange right now because I've watched the games closely this year and yes, they've won 11 games so far. But there are still so many holes on the roster (especially on defense) and Goff is a choker if there is any pressure from the opponents defense. Thats why the Lions O-Line has to dominate almost every game to give them a chance to win.

I wanna see them winning a playoff game so badly but on the other hand it feels that's still a long way to go to be a legit contender. But the future looks bright if they can keep this HC and team core together. At the moment I'm enjoying not getting pranked by my friends and I really could get used to it.

 

[Hen Kolland]

Can you smell what the loins are cooking!?

I can feel it deep in my loins

 

[newfy]

I certainly don't EXPECT them to beat Dallas. But with the Cowboys looking very human these last two games, it'll be interesting to see what happens down the stretch.

I still have the bar at win division --> win one playoff game --> become an actual contender next year (with heavy off season improvement on defense). But it's a lot more fun debating that kinda stuff, versus whether a top five pick is good enough to land an actual difference maker.

Honestly, winning the north is a huge accomplishment for year 3 of a complete tear down rebuild. Theyre definitely a year ahead of schedule because of how well Holmes has drafted. Not winning a playoff game will definitely be a huge disappointment for me, but ford field getting to host a playoff game in year 3? I definitely wont be calling this season a failure, even if they lose

 

[aar000n]

How about being tied for first overall in the NFC.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

KING OF THE NORTH and second seed right now. The Lions have a legit shot at the number one seed.

The surest sign the world is ending is that the Lions are currently the best sports team in Detroit.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

 

[TCNorthstars]

The only thing that annoys me is you don't put in the teams that you think are the best. You should be putting in the teams that were the best all season. An undefeated Power 5 champion with an incredible resume should go in over Alabama. I get Texas, but not Alabama. They had their chance to go undefeated, but they didn't, plain and simple.

Fun fact 44% of National Champions used a different QB in the Championship game than the first game of the season (CFP era).

Too bad you are out of the hat eating game!

Exposed! Lol

 

[Filppula]

Pistons won, I don’t believe it.

 

[jkutswings]

Tough loss for the Lions. Lots of instances where one more play would've made the difference, but overall a much better effort on defense than I ever expected with having to play a desperate Cowboys team in Dallas.

Detroit is winning their Wild Card game at Ford Field, no matter who the opponent is.

 

[JediOrderPizza]

Didn't report my ass.

 

[jaster]

Lol, one of the worst officiating f*ck ups against the Lions ever, and given how many there have been over the years, that’s impressive.

Love that Campbell told the officials in the pregame meeting what he was going to do, and they still screwed it up. Classic.

 

[Bondurant]

Barnes tipped the scales on the whiffed safety. Loved MC/DC's commitment to the aggressive calls and playing for the win. I do not see him as living and dying by playoff seeding. He will take on whomever wherever. He wanted to leave Dallas with a win and not risk losing players in OT and he was willing to lose the game.

Brad Allen. He is the same ref that blew the Chiefs/Packers game earlier in the month and I believe he has another controversial call under his belt. He was trying to save face for blowing another high profile game and was willing to sully Lions reputation to do it.

NFL needs to investigate this guy and come down hard. His blatant fabrication of events cannot be accepted. I am not sure the media lets this one die.

 

[Axel Sandy Pelikan]

Barnes tipped the scales on the whiffed safety. Loved MC/DC's commitment to the aggressive calls and playing for the win. I do not see him as living and dying by playoff seeding. He will take on whomever wherever. He wanted to leave Dallas with a win and not risk losing players in OT and he was willing to lose the game.

Brad Allen. He is the same ref that blew the Chiefs/Packers game earlier in the month and I believe he has another controversial call under his belt. He was trying to save face for blowing another high profile game and was willing to sully Lions reputation to do it.

NFL needs to investigate this guy and come down hard. His blatant fabrication of events cannot be accepted. I am not sure the media lets this one die.

Yup. I do not like that he's trying to gaslight NFL fans. We saw what the f*** happened. Even if you can't overturn it, tell us you kicked the call. Tell us you screwed up in the pool report.

It just pisses me off that I know he's not going to pay for his incompetence, the Lions will. And when we have a road playoff game against Dallas or Philly in round 2, it will be because Brad Allen decided to be lazy and just assume that everyone was telling him Skipper reported.

 

[jkutswings]

Are we really going down that well again with the refs?

1) Take the field goal when you should, and the Lions win.
2) Goff throws where he should - on EITHER interception or on the (third attempt at the) two point conversion - and the Lions win.
3) If Barnes uses fundamental tackling instead of an all time airmail on what should have been a safety, but turned into Dallas' first TD, and the Lions likely win.

Not to mention repeated use of Gibbs on short yardage plays that clearly favor Montgomery's skill set (or throwing a screen pass if you want to make better use of Gibbs). The list goes on.

Overall it was still a very gutsy performance by the road team. But the Lions had half a dozen gaffes purely of their own doing that would've tipped the scales prior to any objections about the officiating. (Not to mention that even without saying Decker didn't report, he was still in an illegal formation.)

 

[Axel Sandy Pelikan]

Are we really going down that well again with the refs?

1) Take the field goal when you should, and the Lions win.
2) Goff throws where he should - on EITHER interception or on the (third attempt at the) two point conversion - and the Lions win.
3) If Barnes uses fundamental tackling instead of an all time airmail on what should have been a safety, but turned into Dallas' first TD, and the Lions likely win.

Not to mention repeated use of Gibbs on short yardage plays that clearly favor Montgomery's skill set (or throwing a screen pass if you want to make better use of Gibbs). The list goes on.

Overall it was still a very gutsy performance by the road team. But the Lions had half a dozen gaffes purely of their own doing that would've tipped the scales prior to any objections about the officiating. (Not to mention that even without saying Decker didn't report, he was still in an illegal formation.)

But he wasn't. If they correctly note that he reported, the receiver wasn't covering him and he would be essentially lined up as a tight end instead of a tackle, which is the whole point of reporting. They threw the second flag on Skipper for illegal formation because they said 70 was eligible, but he was lined up in an ineligible spot.

And you're right. But honestly, I think we should. It's inexcusable that a ref is that careless for a big game with playoff implications. No, it's not why they lost... but it's completely inexcusable that it went against them.

What you're saying is sense and probably what Campbell and crew will move onto by tomorrow. But just like all of the Homer goals of the past, the "intention to blow the whistle", and the waiving of Malkin's automatic suspension, we don't like when an official's decision is blatantly incorrect and it damages our team. Like yeah, they had a dozen other chances. Teams always have a dozen other chances to make it not matter. But that shouldn't excuse Brad Allen from having to do a proper job because Jared Goff was inaccurate or Barnes whiffed a tackle.

 

[aar000n]

What's confusing is the official explanation is that 70 reported in when you see 68 talking to the ref. Then the ref walks away after this and 70 want there during the conversation. Now you could argue the refs so stupid he forgot the number then forgot to announce the number then forgot.

 

[Hen Kolland]

Are we really going down that well again with the refs?

1) Take the field goal when you should, and the Lions win.
2) Goff throws where he should - on EITHER interception or on the (third attempt at the) two point conversion - and the Lions win.
3) If Barnes uses fundamental tackling instead of an all time airmail on what should have been a safety, but turned into Dallas' first TD, and the Lions likely win.

Not to mention repeated use of Gibbs on short yardage plays that clearly favor Montgomery's skill set (or throwing a screen pass if you want to make better use of Gibbs). The list goes on.

Overall it was still a very gutsy performance by the road team. But the Lions had half a dozen gaffes purely of their own doing that would've tipped the scales prior to any objections about the officiating. (Not to mention that even without saying Decker didn't report, he was still in an illegal formation.)

There are many ways that the Lions could have won the game that they didn’t. There’s many things that Dallas could have done to win the game that they didn’t.

When it comes to officiating screwing the game, it’s usually a discretionary call that could go either way. When an official completely botches the Lions attempt to follow the rules perfectly, when the Lions literally have won the f***ing game legally, and the ref either flat out lies or just flat out doesn’t care enough to pay attention, then yes, it’s worth blaming the officiating.

This is like when Jim Joyce ruined a perfect game. It was likely the very last call of the game and Brad Allen f***ed it up and then blamed a player who didn’t even talk to him.

The reality is that Brad Allen blew the game and cost the Lions a win. The Lions also didn’t play well enough that they were in a position for a ref to cost them a win. Both things can be true

 

[Konnan511]

Too bad you are out of the hat eating game!

Exposed! Lol

Huh? Most of FSU sat out for the NFL draft since this game didn't matter. I think the broadcast said there was only one regular on the defense that was playing.

 

[jkutswings]

There are many ways that the Lions could have won the game that they didn’t. There’s many things that Dallas could have done to win the game that they didn’t.

When it comes to officiating screwing the game, it’s usually a discretionary call that could go either way. When an official completely botches the Lions attempt to follow the rules perfectly, when the Lions literally have won the f***ing game legally, and the ref either flat out lies or just flat out doesn’t care enough to pay attention, then yes, it’s worth blaming the officiating.

This is like when Jim Joyce ruined a perfect game. It was likely the very last call of the game and Brad Allen f***ed it up and then blamed a player who didn’t even talk to him.

The reality is that Brad Allen blew the game and cost the Lions a win. The Lions also didn’t play well enough that they were in a position for a ref to cost them a win. Both things can be true

No, the reality is that Dan Campbell deserves heat for taking aggressive play calling too far. It was VERY bold calling the fake punt. And I can categorize the first time of declining the field goal and getting stuffed on 4th down as discretionary. But then doing it a second time, in the second half, on the road, was outright malfeasance.

The Lions are having a fun season, and their head coach deserves a lot of credit for that. But sometimes you really can have too much of a good thing, and he absolutely needs to learn from his mistakes.

I'm not even debating whether they should have gone for the tie versus the win on any of the three attempts. It's that if your strategy is to risk it 100 percent of the time, you're going to have multiple failures, and sometimes that's enough to cost you a game - and there's a sweet spot where you can be bold without being outright reckless.

 

[Hen Kolland]

No, the reality is that Dan Campbell deserves heat for taking aggressive play calling too far. It was VERY bold calling the fake punt. And I can categorize the first time of declining the field goal and getting stuffed on 4th down as discretionary. But then doing it a second time, in the second half, on the road, was outright malfeasance.

The Lions are having a fun season, and their head coach deserves a lot of credit for that. But sometimes you really can have too much of a good thing, and he absolutely needs to learn from his mistakes.

I'm not even debating whether they should have gone for the tie versus the win on any of the three attempts. It's that if your strategy is to risk it 100 percent of the time, you're going to have multiple failures, and sometimes that's enough to cost you a game - and there's a sweet spot where you can be bold without being outright reckless.

Now address the fact that the Lions did everything by the book and won the game in a legal fashion but the officiating plainly botched the final play of the game and literally flipped the result.

I won’t be this outraged of ticky tack discretionary judgement calls because so much happens during the game. But this one is inexcusable from officiating, because your core argument is “the Lions could have played better and won”. Well if officiating can do the core f***ing function of their job, the Lions did so enough to league.

It was so egregious that they have removed Brad Allen’s entire squad from the playoffs.

 

[jkutswings]

Now address the fact that the Lions did everything by the book and won the game in a legal fashion but the officiating plainly botched the final play of the game and literally flipped the result.

I won’t be this outraged of ticky tack discretionary judgement calls because so much happens during the game. But this one is inexcusable from officiating, because your core argument is “the Lions could have played better and won”. Well if officiating can do the core f***ing function of their job, the Lions did so enough to league.

It was so egregious that they have removed Brad Allen’s entire squad from the playoffs.

The core of my argument is not that the refs got the call correct. It's that if you play a game where one bad call costs you the game, you don't deserve to win.

Even with that call you label as egregious, THEY STILL HAD A CHANCE TO WIN. (Technically they had two chances, with the offsides by Parsons.) And Goff yet again under threw a player. So no, that call in and if itself did not cost them the game.

There's nothing wrong with saying the refs botched a play. It just bothers me how often fans (in general, not specifically directed at you) let their own team completely off the hook when the refs make a lousy call.

 

[Hen Kolland]

The core of my argument is not that the refs got the call correct. It's that if you play a game where one bad call costs you the game, you don't deserve to win.

Even with that call you label as egregious, THEY STILL HAD A CHANCE TO WIN. (Technically they had two chances, with the offsides by Parsons.) And Goff yet again under threw a player. So no, that call in and if itself did not cost them the game.

There's nothing wrong with saying the refs botched a play. It just bothers me how often fans (in general, not specifically directed at you) let their own team completely off the hook when the refs make a lousy call.

BUT THEY WON THE GAME IF THE REFS DON’T BLOW THE CALL.

This isn’t a “man the refs cost them a chance to win.” They flat out won. They deserved to win because they scored more than Dallas. And then it was taken away.

Dallas won because the refs intervened with an incorrect call that gave them a second chance. A huge adrenaline boost for Dallas, a massive emotion killer for Detroit. The Lions had one chance with the advantage of calling a surprise play. As soon as that was taken away, Detroit takes a hit, Dallas gets a boost, and Dallas gets a significant advantage of forcing Detroit to try to beat them a second and a third time. The odds tilt more and more in favor of Dallas with each attempt.

Should we have kicked? That’s a different conversation. I just hate this notion that the Lions didn’t deserve to win when they had 21 points scored legally to the Cowboys 20 points.

“Leave no doubt” is coach speak. It’s something to drive a message home. It’s not the only way to deserve a win. Most NFL games are single digit spreads, most games are closely competed. To expect a team to only deserve a win when they leave no doubt ignores what the league fundamentally is

 

[ArGarBarGar]

The Malkin rescinded suspension was no different than a previous case in a previous playoff game that same year. Can we please stop acting like the Wings got screwed?