jaylectricity: Receiver Lee Evans dropped a perfectly thrown touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in the game which would have given the Ravens a four-point victory

That wasn't a drop, homeboy. That was a pass defensed.

In the regular season, that's DPI.

/good thing it's not regular season.

They are pretty good murderers, though.

wooden_badger: jaylectricity: Receiver Lee Evans dropped a perfectly thrown touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in the game which would have given the Ravens a four-point victory

That wasn't a drop, homeboy. That was a pass defensed.

In the regular season, that's DPI.

/good thing it's not regular season.

I think I know what you meant but when you abbreviate it like that it makes sound so dirty.

Harv72b: Subby seriously fails at reading comprehension.

Well, to be fair, the article is kind of confusing. The second sentence basically says, "They didn't choke. Give credit to the Pats," but the rest of the article is about how they choked against in the playoffs the last two years. It seems the author wasn't really sure where he was going with this piece when he wrote it.

FriarReb98: AzDownboy: The Ravens (as a team) aren't...

1.) The defense held Brady to one of his statistically worst performances of the year (59 QB rating, 234 yards)
2.) Flacco McThirdAndOut made quite a few 3rd and longs and had some good looking drives
3.) Three takeaways, one give-away
4.) When Ray Rice could get his 100 yards, Ricky Williams stepped in to get some running yards

Other than #7, the Ravens did pretty well

I hate putting it all on Cundiff, but so... something involving Lee Evans I can't think of a good way to finish this sentence.

That should help.

FTA: You're hoping they don't turn into the old Minnesota Vikings or Cleveland Browns.

First: Old Minnesota Vikings? Old? Dude, we most recently crapped the bed 2 years ago. Our 50 year tradition is of losing when it matters most.

Second: Too late, your team is like us without even having the benefit of losing in the Superbowl since moving to Baltimore.

Third: Losing doesn't get easier with time. Sorry folks.

CPT Ethanolic: The Ravens should have called a timeout. They rushed the kicker out and got exactly what you get when you rush a kicker onto the field.

qft

Picture from right before the strip. No pass interference.

Is this the part where we talk about how godlike Brady is? He been statistically worse than Peyton Manning in the playoffs -- but that doesn't really support the narrative, does it?

/teams win (or lose) play-off games.
//or sometimes the other team hands you a win.
///like in this case.

Patriots played like shiat, the defense was porous after the 3rd opening drive for the Ravens. Patriots gave up a hand full of opportunities, Tom missed Gronk wide open, threw 2 ints and yet still squeaked out a win. I'm a Patriots fan but, the Ravens should've won that game. I'm happy we won but, hell i didn't expect NE to win that game; not against a defense like that.

Normally I'm pretty harsh on Flacco because of his inconsistency. But I'm not pinning this one on him. He did well enough to not be a liability to his team.

Theaetetus: [cache.gawkerassets.com image 300x169]
Picture from right before the strip. No pass interference.

Wouldn't the term "strip" mean he had caused a fumble? All I see is a defended pass.

/or am I overthinking this?

Theaetetus: [cache.gawkerassets.com image 300x169]
Picture from right before the strip. No pass interference.

It was a well defended play, no doubt about it. But people around here are hurting and are having a hard time swallowing this one.

Honestly, if the Pats had just won it on their last possession I would've been okay, but after that tipped INT and working it all the way downfield to blow it like this, I get knots in my stomach just thinking about it.

I hope my kids never play sports.

Blink: Is this the part where we talk about how godlike Brady is? He been statistically worse than Peyton Manning in the playoffs -- but that doesn't really support the narrative, does it?

I would like to see a source for that, cause I don't buy that Manning's playoff stats are better than Brady's.
Also, His average punting yards are waayyyyy better.

Jim from Saint Paul: Theaetetus: [cache.gawkerassets.com image 300x169]
Picture from right before the strip. No pass interference.

Wouldn't the term "strip" mean he had caused a fumble? All I see is a defended pass.

/or am I overthinking this?

Stripping it before the defender has full possession would result in an incompletion. I think you're overthinking it.

IKanHazaBukkit: Patriots played like shiat, the defense was porous after the 3rd opening drive for the Ravens. Patriots gave up a hand full of opportunities, Tom missed Gronk wide open, threw 2 ints and yet still squeaked out a win. I'm a Patriots fan but, the Ravens should've won that game. I'm happy we won but, hell i didn't expect NE to win that game; not against a defense like that.

Yeah, if anything, the Ravens deserved to win that game. Flacco nutted up and played well, and the Ravens had the Pats offense out of whack. If Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis-Jingleheimer-Smith is the most consistent offensive player for you during the course of a game, something is up.

/pats fan not feeling very good about this SB rematch.

Lee Evans closed his eyes in the replay I saw. He flinched because he knew he was about to be hit. With open eyes, he could have pulled that ball away from a defender trying to strip the ball. Blame him, not Cundiff.

On the play before the missed FG, Flacco was rolling right. He tried to force one into Pitta for the score, but had he checked down to a wide open Ray Rice they could have gotten the first down, called time out, taken a shot at the endzone, and then kicked the FG if that shot fell incomplete. I know hindsight is 20/20, but he was trying to force one to Pitta instead of taking what the defense was giving. As a Giants fan I was even a little annoyed at Eli for trying to force balls into Cruz in the 4th quarter rather than hitting other guys who were more open or in single coverage. Sometimes QB's get tunnel vision for their favorite target and it can cost them.

Theaetetus: Picture from right before the strip. No pass interference.

Ravens fan, here. Clean strip. Utterly disappointing. I didn't even object to the call when I saw it live. I don't think they choked. I think Flacco stepped up and played a great game. Mistakes were made several times (like missing Leech for an easy TD pass, the final shanked kick) and that's why losses are losses and not wins.

INeedAName: Theaetetus: [cache.gawkerassets.com image 300x169]
Picture from right before the strip. No pass interference.

It was a well defended play, no doubt about it. But people around here are hurting and are having a hard time swallowing this one.

Y'think? First line in the article: "For the second straight year, the best team in the American Football Conference will not be playing in the Super Bowl."

Reminds me of 2002, when the Steelers lost to the Patriots for the AFC title and Kordell Stewart said "Sometimes, the best team doesn't win." In a burst of karma, three games into the next season, he was cut.

oldernell: I wonder how many death threats the kicker has received.

It's Baltimore, so death threats are pretty much implicit, even while just out to get a coffee.

HE WAS TOLD DEFENSE WOULD WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP DAMMIT!

Quo the the kicker,"I couldn't score."

For the second straight year, the best team in the American Football Conference will not be playing in the Super Bowl.

First sentence, and that's where I stopped reading. Yes, you can argue that they had a chance to win, of course. But this "nuh-uh, we're still better than them" crap is just asinine. If you were the best team in the AFC, you'd have had home field advantage. You wouldn't have struggled to beat T.J. Yates in the playoffs. You wouldn't have lost to the farking Seahawks in the regular season (at a point in the season before the Seahawks actually got kinda good). Get over yourselves.

velvet_fog: They are pretty good murderers, though.

Flock of Birds
Murder of Crows
Unkindness of Ravens

get the groupings right. :)

jaylectricity: Receiver Lee Evans dropped a perfectly thrown touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in the game which would have given the Ravens a four-point victory

That wasn't a drop, homeboy. That was a pass defensed.

Um no.

When you have both of your hands on the ball, in control and it's swatted out of them, it's a drop.

It's a TD to win the AFCCG. A good receiver snatches that thing and covers it up.

He lost the game more than the kicker.

My opinion on Evans is that yes it was a nice defensive play, there was no PI, it was not a TD. I would fault Evans a bit for not twisting his body away from the defender as soon as the ball was in his possession. Once the ball passed his back shoulder he could have perhaps done more to wrench his upper body away from the DB.

jaylectricity: Receiver Lee Evans dropped a perfectly thrown touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in the game which would have given the Ravens a four-point victory

That wasn't a drop, homeboy. That was a pass defensed.

yeah, wtf, all morning I have been reading how Evans farked up and it wasnt Cundiff's fault. I just saw the replay for the first time, Evans didnt even choke at all, the defender knocked it out. Wow, I cant believe he is catching (haha) shiat for that. Seriously.

jaylectricity: wooden_badger: jaylectricity: Receiver Lee Evans dropped a perfectly thrown touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in the game which would have given the Ravens a four-point victory

That wasn't a drop, homeboy. That was a pass defensed.

In the regular season, that's DPI.

/good thing it's not regular season.

You are insane. The defender didn't even touch the receiver...just the ball.

Definitely not insane.

Just knows the incompetence of the typical flag-happy sports official.

tortilla burger: Normally I'm pretty harsh on Flacco because of his inconsistency. But I'm not pinning this one on him. He did well enough to not be a liability to his team.

If by "not be a liability" you mean, "carried the offense" then I'd have to agree with you.

Wouldn't a strip indicate he had possession, and was therefore in control of the ball at one point while he was in the endzone?

When watching it in slow motion, he had the ball cradled for almost two full steps before the defender pushed it out of his hands. How long does he have to have control of the ball for it to count? A running back would just have to have the top of the ball cross the plane, and immediately losing it after that point wouldn't matter.

As a New Englander, I am happy for the win, but I was surprised that the pass wasn't ruled as a touchdown.

Now that I read the thread, some of you people are delusional or something. Lee Evans did nothing wrong on that play and didnt choke, the defender knocked it out cleanly and before Evans could even get possession. Seriously are you people blind or just revisionist.

mikaloyd: HE WAS TOLD DEFENSE WOULD WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP DAMMIT!

Defense may not always win championships, but special teams can surely lose them. At least that was the message last night.

/and for the 49ers, Y U no run Gore?

The butthurt in the first line of the article is priceless:

"For the second straight year, the best team in the American Football Conference will not be playing in the Super Bowl."

Cry some more.