# NFL Playoffs - 2018 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 31, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008 "2018-12-31T22:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/281 "2019-01-21T11:40:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > THE SAINTS WERE ROBBED! :mad: Not only was it PI, it was helmet-to-helmet contact initially by the defender. They missed two penalties on the same play. Even so, the Rams otherwise deserved the win. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/282 "2019-01-21T12:56:05Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Well, I won’t be watching the Super Bowl. Same here… Two teams I have no interest in watching, and two announcers I can’t stand listening to. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/283 "2019-01-21T13:34:05Z")
So, the officials who blew the PI call against the Saints… do they get fired or just lose the chance to ever work another playoff game? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/284 "2019-01-21T13:49:33Z")
Patriots Derangement Sydrome complaints I knew I’d hear: How overtime is set up. New things!: Teams who get a bye only have to win two games to get into the Superbowl. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/285 "2019-01-21T14:21:10Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I thought that was because the old LA Rams always had white horns on their helmets, and the gold ones were associated with St. Louis. Just an attempt to get (back) into the good graces of local fans. Well, the Los Angeles Rams changed from the Navy/White scheme to the Royal Blue and Yellow scheme in 1973, well before they exited Los Angeles. The Navy/Gold uniforms started in 2000, and yes, the gold is being dumped because no one particularly likes it. The ownership does want to return to the old scheme as a way of hearkening back to days of yore; but they want to implement the full change the same year they start playing in their new stadium (2020), and because the NFL won’t let you change uniforms completely more than once in a 5 year period, the Rams have opted to slowly remove the gold from the color scheme, starting with the helmets in 2017. I, personally, living in SoCal as a kid, thought the blue/yellow was stupid looking; the Navy/white was far superior. However, had I been just a bit older, I would have known that the Blue/Yellow scheme was actually more authentic, as the Rams wore that from 1936 (as the Cleveland Rams) through 1964 (with one year in Trojan red and yellow in 1949). So the period from 1973 to 1999 was arguably the most “authentic” Rams look, really; interestingly, they used that uniform five times this year as their primary color scheme, albeit with the new Navy/white helmets. Good thing I’m not a Rams fan, having to re-buy new jerseys each season through this re-branding. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/286 "2019-01-21T15:31:52Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > And don’t sell overpriced t-shirts with shitty memes about how scrappy and underdoggy you are. I love the fact that your Patriots hate is so strong you have to pick on some middle management flack from the merchandising department to make up your list of three. 😃 PS. Sorry your team imploded like a moldy old peach this year. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/287 "2019-01-21T15:56:58Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > I love the fact that your Patriots hate is so strong you have to pick on some middle management flack from the merchandising department to make up your list of three. 😃 > > PS. Sorry your team imploded like a moldy old peach this year. I’m a Red Sox fan. I don’t even root for the Pats…but the hate gets me through the winter, ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/288 "2019-01-21T16:01:45Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > I love the fact that your Patriots hate is so strong you have to pick on some middle management flack from the merchandising department to make up your list of three. 😃 I dont hate them that much, it was just the most recent example of something annoying they did. You seem to be much more invested than I. > [@ShadowFacts](#): > > PS. Sorry your team imploded like a moldy old peach this year. It happens. I dont invest my self-worth, my mood, or my defensiveness into how well my football team does. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/289 "2019-01-21T16:22:59Z")
Of course, dear. 🙂 I wonder what you’d find if you searched on poster **Hamlet** and the keywords “cheat” or “deflate”. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/290 "2019-01-21T16:26:14Z")
It’s hard to hate the Patriots. Their fans are always such a pleasure to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/291 "2019-01-21T16:28:46Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > So, the officials who blew the PI call against the Saints… do they get fired or just lose the chance to ever work another playoff game? It should hurt their reviews, but may be less important than fan/media pressure. Walt Coleman worked for 17 years more after his \*correct \*Tuck Rule call, but was never again assigned to a Raiders game. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/292 "2019-01-21T16:38:05Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Of course, dear. 🙂 > > I wonder what you’d find if you searched on poster **Hamlet** and the keywords “cheat” or “deflate”. Posts of me pointing out and explaining the multiple times the Pat’s’ have cheated. You wallowing in ignorance and blindly defending them. You know, the usual. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/293 "2019-01-21T16:57:03Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > It’s hard to hate the Patriots. Their fans are always such a pleasure to deal with. They remind me of Cardinals (baseball) fans. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/294 "2019-01-21T17:01:15Z")
Sweet, sweet tears … ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/295 "2019-01-21T17:59:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Of course, dear. 🙂 > > I wonder what you’d find if you searched on poster **Hamlet** and the keywords “cheat” or “deflate”. I really don’t care that much about Deflategate, partly because I don’t care that much about football, partly because the deflation likely had no discernible effect on the outcome of games, and partly because I believe that it involved a rather pointless rule. As I said in one of the interminable threads on the matter, I think the NFL should just let each team decide how much air it wants in the ball when it’s on offense. The only thing I find annoying about the whole controversy is the wilful ignorance and/or dishonesty of some Patriots fans who continue, in the face of all the evidence, to insist that there was no cheating. > [@Hamlet](#): > > Posts of me pointing out and explaining the multiple times the Pat’s’ have cheated. You wallowing in ignorance and blindly defending them. You know, the usual. I don’t have much experience of **Elvis** in football threads, but unfortunately the pattern is similar in baseball threads. My favorite was the one where his blind hatred for Billy Beane led him to deny, repeatedly and vehemently, that Beane had ever been offered the job of General Manager by the Boston Red Sox. This despite the fact that Beane said he had been offered the job, the people who run the Red Sox said he had been offered the job, multiple other people in both organizations said he had been offered the job, and multiple independent news organizations reported, at the time, that he had been offered the job. According to **Elvis** , though, the whole story was a massive conspiracy theory of disinformation. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/296 "2019-01-21T18:05:38Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > I love the fact that your Patriots hate is so strong you have to pick on some middle management flack from the merchandising department to make up your list of three. 😃 To be fair, I think Edelman did that all on his own. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/297 "2019-01-21T18:06:35Z")
Not a Patriots fan by any stretch of the imagination, I almost always root against them. But I will say this - I’d sure like everyone to start hating the Bears because they’re always in the Super Bowl. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/298 "2019-01-21T18:08:22Z")
It’s a laff riot that there is \*anyone \*who thinks the Pats \*invented \*the “nobody believes in us” self-motivation stuff that has been an absolute team sports cliche for as long as there have been team sports. But do go on, please. > [@zoog](#): > > I’d sure like everyone to start hating the Bears because they’re always in the Super Bowl. Well, there \*was \*that one SB _I_ still hate them for. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/299 "2019-01-21T18:54:20Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The only thing I find annoying about the whole controversy is the wilful ignorance and/or dishonesty of some Patriots fans who continue, in the face of all the evidence, to insist that there was no cheating. Did you pass high school chemistry? I’d be annoyed by, if it it weren’t so funny, the desperation of the attempts some people make to find reasons to justify their hatreds. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008/300 "2019-01-21T19:17:19Z")
The Bellichick Patriots are the dynastiest dynasty that ever dynastied in the NFL. Tom Brady is best NFL player of all time. He will have been in 9 SB, half of all the ones that happened since he became a starter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-2018-edition/827008.md?page=16)