2021-2022 NFL Pick Em/Discussion Megathread

[bagelman]

This season has been disappointing for the Browns so far, especially with injuries.

[bagelman]

I would not want to be are Bills fan right now. 9-6 loss against the Jaguars. I don't think anyone could've predicted that.

[bagelman]

Steelers need to lose to the Ravens for the meme value of an 8-8 season in the NFL's first 17 game season. Far more valuable than a playoff birth that will see them crushed in the WC by a real playoff team. A berth they won't get anyway because it requires Jacksonville winning a game.

Wonderful how the Browns keep forcing out a clearly injured QB to throw garbage to bad receivers (setting the season record for most incomplete passes in a row) while our top tier running back sits around bored against a poor run defense.

Back in middle school I annoyed my classmates by becoming a Bengals fan because I think Skyline Chili is delicious and appreciate a somewhat more unique big cat name. Maybe I should do that again.

[bagelman]

The officiating for the Raiders/Bengals came was terribad. I'm glad they didn't enforce the rule on that whistle as that would have been 100% the ref's fault and effected the outcome of the game. The head ref of that game needs to retire. The better team won in the end however.

The Bill's brutal crushing of the Pats was a cathartic sight to behold. Loved it. Historic offensive performance by Josh Allen and teammates. 0 punts, no FG attempts.

Eagles and Steelers should not have been invited to the dance. I dislike major league's expanding the playoffs. The playoffs should be exclusive. Return the playoffs to 6 teams in the NFL, abolish the "wild card game" in the MLB, and reduce the number of playoff teams in the other leagues.

The Cowboys are completely undisciplined. Dak tried to spot the ball himself and blamed the refs for the outcome of the game. Most penalties on the Cowboys were actually valid. Better team won that game. Cowboys have gone 7 straight playoff appearances without even making it to an NFC championship game.

I'll be rooting for the underdog Cardinals against the Rams. We'll see if they face Mathew Stafford or Statford Padford.

[bagelman]

Wow the Cards were not a legit time. I think Kyler was literally crying early in the game. Biggest highlight of the game was when he refused to give up the safety and threw a pick 6. What a disaster for them lol.

Here are my picks for this next round.

Saturday, Jan. 22

Cincinnati Bengals @ Tennessee Titans  4:30 PM  CBS
San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers  8:15 PM  Fox

Sunday, Jan. 23

Los Angeles Rams @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers  3:00 PM  NBC
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs  6:30 PM  CBS

My picks aren't worth a whole lot, as evidenced by my 89-83 record on AAD.

[bagelman]

Never count out Touchdown Tom until the very end.

That said, I have no problems with the Packers and it sucks that they chocked once again. This was their last chance to really make an impact on the league. The 49ers aren't bad but now that they've advanced they REALLY have to win to prevent LA or TB getting in the super bowl.

I also think that the Titans were much more talented than the Bengals especially regarding the Bengal's awful O-line and just lost due to bad luck. If the Bengals face the Chiefs then they are deep underdogs, and if the LA Rams or TB Buccs beat the 49ers then I'll be really unhappy. The Bengals don't deserve to lose but I just don't have a lot of confidence in a team that gives up so many sacks. I don't want to see a rematch of last year's nightmare matchup and I don't want the Rams to win because Odell Beckham is a diva who left Cleveland in super-nasty fashion and probably just wanted out of Cleveland because it doesn't have rich boy celebrities in it like LA does.

If the LA Rams win the superbowl it would send a message that the way to glory is by betraying Cleveland which would still be in hell for some reason. This would result in Baker Mayfield and Nick Chubb both getting poached at some point and winning a super bowl in another city. I don't have anything against Matthew Stafford but his wife is worse than Aaron Rodgers in regards to being a right wing loony.

[bagelman]

Every game that I care about went against me:

1. Bengals beat Titans despite allowing a whole bunch of sacks. They will lose to the Chiefs in the AFCCG. If I had confidence in them I'd be rooting for them, but it's hard to have confidence in the Bengal's O-line.
2. 49ers beat Packers. 49ers will be underdogs against LA Rams. I can only hope they win again. Even then just more victory for rich people in the bay area.
3. Chiefs beat Bills due to a damned coin flip. Bills are a long suffering franchise I have a huge amount of respect for and they lost due to a coin flip against a team that already won the super bowl (I don't like repeats) and lost against Tom Brady in the next one. The Chiefs are a good team and I enjoyed watching their super bowl win, but I wanted the Bills to win that game so bad.

Seems that whenever I pick a team to root for in anything and actually get emotionally invested, they lose. My first superbowl was Philadelphia vs. New England, and not the more recent one. The one time my home metro of Cleveland won a championship in anything, I had not watched the game at all and I just got to watch the parade on TV wishing I was there. It was also a mere exception to a long line of constant defeat against a very wealthy enviable metro. I can't remember the last time a major sports game actually moved me to cheering and celebration.

My picks for championship games are that KC beats Cincy and LA beats SF. My pick for the super bowl if that comes to pass is LA. I don't want to be right at all.

[bagelman]

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

snip

I correctly predicted LA winning against SF. I would have preferred to be wrong (Odell does not deserve a ring) but that's a second victory for me.

[bagelman]

I may be a Browns fan but I'll be rooting for the Bengals this year.

[bagelman]

I may have never rooted for him, but he is a football legend.

[bagelman]

To date in my life, I have never:

A. Clearly rooted for a major league team to win a championship
B. Had them win that championship

Every time I get emotionally invested in a team winning it all, their opponent wins. Every single time. I've watched plenty of championships where I was neutral and enjoyed seeing a winner, such as the World Series for the Braves against the Astros or the Milwaukee Bucks against the Suns but I would have been happy if their opponents won. I did slightly prefer Atlanta over Houston but whatever.

The one time Cleveland won a championship, I didn't watch a second of it.

Apparently the NFL thinks I want to watch refball. F**king terrible ending.

Oh no, the NFL knows exactly what they're doing. How else do you think the Rams are going to win the hearts of LA from the Raiders?

Yea this was predetermined from the very beginning. The Rams must win to ensure the NFL can make $$$ from a successful team in Los Angeles.

[bagelman]

We have had 2 superbowls in a row where the "heel" team got home field advantage and won.

I had no faith in the Bengals to win because of their disaster of an o-line. They made it to the Superbowl through underdog magic and fought against an overrated team, but that o-line is not championship material.

2 bad superbowls in a row. 2 unlikable Divas in a row (Antonio Brown and OBJ) getting rings. OBJ going to inspire Nick Chubb to leave Cleveland or something similar. The stacked deck wins. The rich get richer. Not even in the realm of fun and games may the smallfolk experience the thrill of victory.

The Bills would have eaten that Rams "performance" alive, but they lost in round 2 due to dumb luck against a team of choke artists. Hell, the Titans probably would have won. So would the Chiefs.

I really dislike that a team can have home field advantage during the superbowl. It's not fair, especially as the SB is never hosted by certain cities per their own standards. The NFL needed to have a backup so that didn't happen. Say Jacksonville or Miami gets the "backup" if Los Angeles (either team) gets in, and that would have happened this time. Last Season, Los Angeles or Houston gets the "backup" if the Buccs win so they don't unfairly get homefield.

[bagelman]

We have had 2 superbowls in a row where the "heel" team got home field advantage and won.

I had no faith in the Bengals to win because of their disaster of an o-line. They made it to the Superbowl through underdog magic and fought against an overrated team, but that o-line is not championship material.

2 bad superbowls in a row. 2 unlikable Divas in a row (Antonio Brown and OBJ) getting rings. OBJ going to inspire Nick Chubb to leave Cleveland or something similar. The stacked deck wins. The rich get richer. Not even in the realm of fun and games may the smallfolk experience the thrill of victory.

The Bills would have eaten that Rams "performance" alive, but they lost in round 2 due to dumb luck against a team of choke artists. Hell, the Titans probably would have won. So would the Chiefs.

I really dislike that a team can have home field advantage during the superbowl. It's not fair, especially as the SB is never hosted by certain cities per their own standards. The NFL needed to have a backup so that didn't happen. Say Jacksonville or Miami gets the "backup" if Los Angeles (either team) gets in, and that would have happened this time. Last Season, Los Angeles or Houston gets the "backup" if the Buccs win so they don't unfairly get homefield.

The backup site idea is completely impractical. You would have a change of site with two weeks before the game in this year’s situation, and cause a huge economic loss to the city it gets moved away from.

Yea, you're right. I just don't like it. Hopefully we won't get three of these situations in a row.

[bagelman]

The NFL is worse then ever because of bad officiating. The taunting rule is a total disaster. NFL owners are some of the worst people.

[bagelman]

If most of Los Angeles was like our own OC in celebrating and taking pride in this superbowl victory, I would be less unhappy about it. But OC is in the minority. Most of LA doesn't really care.



I'd wager a crowd 3 times that size would show up in Cincy, Green Bay, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh.