2019 NFL Conference Championships

[FootballDad]

Since we have a couple of fascinating matchups, I thought I would get this up a day or two early.

First up is the Tennessee Titans at the Kansas City Chiefs, 3:05 PM EST. This should be a whale of a game. The Titans are 9-3 since Ryan Tannehill took over for Marcus Mariota. In that time RB Derrick Henry's production has also been off of the charts. If not for Tannehill, Henry would probably still be mired in the less-than-70 yards per game that he was averaging with Mariota behind center. Mike Vrabel's defense has also stepped up big. From a caste standpoint Tannehill is all that the Titans have going for them. His story is a big one though, hated in Miami and then caste aside, he shows up in Tennessee. It took Mike Vrabel 5 1/2 games into the season to finally pull the plug on 2015 No. 2 overall pick Mariota, and Tennessee went from the bottom to the top arguably behind 1 player.

So the Titans have Tannehill at QB and a 3/5 white offensive line. All of the skill position players are black as is the entire defense. The Chiefs have a snowplow up front along with Travis Kelce at TE and Anthony "Sausage" Sherman getting around 16 snaps a game as a human battering ram FB. Blake Bell gets snaps (30 vs Texans) at TE as well. Defense currently has Daniel Sorensen starting at safety and Ben Niemann being a primary coverage LB in passing situations. BUT the Chiefs start hated Patrick (insert invective here) Mahomes at QB.

The late game is the Green Bay Packers at the San Francisco 49ers, 6:40 PM EST. This game features two of the best QB's in the game with Jimmy Garapolo and Aaron Rodgers. On the surface it looks like the 'Niners might be too much for the Pack, but these games have a way of surprising. Pack features a 3/5 O-line and has an occasional Jake Kumerow sighting on offense. Danny Vitale is at FB, yet like most modern-NFL offenses, isn't in the game much. Defensively the Pack has Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster on the D-line with semi-anonymous tackling machine Blake Martinez at LB.

The 49ers have a 4/5 O-line and feature TE George Kittle. FB Kyle Juszczyk is an integral part of the offense as well. Defensively they start super stud Nick Bosa at DE and have Anthony Zettel as a rotational player off of the bench. So they are fairly even from a caste perspective, should be a fun thing to see how many root for one or the other. I like the 49ers, but would really like to see Rodgers notch another Super Bowl ring.

 

[Liverlips]

I am cheering for the 49ers and Chiefs and then for SF to beat KC in the SB. That could mean roughly 16 white starters in the SB, which is pretty white for a modern SB without the Patriots. I can recall Baltimore v. SF, Denver v. Seattle and Steelers v. Cardinals that had only 7 or 8 total white starters and few white backups who even saw the field.

If the Titans didnt have a coal defense and had at least one white skill player I might cheer for them given that I like Tannehill and hate the hype around Mahomes.

 

[Don Wassall]

The Titans have WR Adam Humphries, who has an ankle injury but may be ready for the Super Bowl if Tennessee beats KC. They also TE Anthony Firkser, who's made some key catches in recent weeks. They're not that far from being a team to root for in addition to having Tannehill, though the defense is a no Whites need apply one like many others in the NFL.

 

[FootballDad]

All in all, any two of the four teams than can advance are a whole lot better than what we started out with this offseason.

 

[Westside]

I believe the Tannehill as the starting QB story supersedes any justification for a KC win. I have a feeling the Titans will make to the SB in Miami of all places, where Tannehill can gently rub the noses of the Dolphins' management into a steaming dump left on the sidewalk.

 

[Don Wassall]

Some potential good news:

Adam Humphries (ankle) returned to practice Wednesday.
It's the first time Humphries has practiced since initially injuring his ankle in Week 13. Tajae Sharpe played 16 snaps ahead of Darius Jennings (9) and Kalif Raymond (4) in Tennessee's Divisional Round win, but that role would likely fall back into Humphries' lap if he's surprisingly cleared to return for Sunday. His participation throughout the week will be telling.

 

[white lightning]

That is possibly great news Don. I hope he plays on Sunday as they need their best game of the year to even have a chance to beat the Chiefs in K.C.

 

[FootballDad]

Y'all are missing out! Here in the Kansas City area we have this giant Patrick Mahomes bobblehead thing that you can get your picture taken with! Here is a snip taken from a video at a local grocery store, with a wall of "Mahomes Magic Crunch" cereal behind it............

 

[Shadowlight]

Mel Kiper made a salient point this morning. The media call is that the Titans rise is all due to RB Henry and their "underrated" defense. Mel quickly dismissed that by saying all of those things were in place before Tannehill started and Henry's production wasn't all that great. The Titans were limping along like a mediocre posse.

So what did change? Simple. Tannehill. Once he was inserted into the starting line up they became formidable. Far from being the game manager that the media has been going with Mel pointed out Ryan made the two crucial back breaking TD throws against a stunned Ravens squad. And even though his numbers are down from the regular season in the Ravens game alone he made several nifty difficult runs that were critical as well. As Mel says they don't win if you just substitute any old QB for Tannehill.

Mel said the same criticism was leveled at Trent Dilfer when he won a SB with Tampa Bay but he said Tampa was stuck in the mud before Trent arrived and then they returned to a lower level of play after they foolishly got rid of Trent.

We are all watching closely the WR Adam Humphries saga. From what I hear it looks like he will play and I was not aware that Adam was their leading receiver before he went out slightly past midway of the season. If Adam does play and contribute it changes my rooting formula.

Still with S Daniel Sorensen playing like a Hall Of Fame talent for the Chiefs whenever the playoffs arrive I suspect the Titans don't have a defensive counterpart to Daniel. In fact what will probably doom the Titans either here or in the Super Bowl will be their all black defense. The last one remaining in the playoffs. Lost in the Ravens loss was their all black defense getting shredded alive.

 

[Leonardfan]

Y'all are missing out! Here in the Kansas City area we have this giant Patrick Mahomes bobblehead thing that you can get your picture taken with! Here is a snip taken from a video at a local grocery store, with a wall of "Mahomes Magic Crunch" cereal behind it............
View attachment 2687

******* Man Crunch has a better ring to it!

 

[FootballDad]

******* Man Crunch has a better ring to it!

You know that you want some!

 

[La France Blanche]

You have to wonder if kids say, "Look, IT'S PAT!" upon seeing that display.

 

[Johnny_U]

Mel Kiper made a salient point this morning. The media call is that the Titans rise is all due to RB Henry and their "underrated" defense. Mel quickly dismissed that by saying all of those things were in place before Tannehill started and Henry's production wasn't all that great. The Titans were limping along like a mediocre posse.

So what did change? Simple. Tannehill. Once he was inserted into the starting line up they became formidable. Far from being the game manager that the media has been going with Mel pointed out Ryan made the two crucial back breaking TD throws against a stunned Ravens squad. And even though his numbers are down from the regular season in the Ravens game alone he made several nifty difficult runs that were critical as well. As Mel says they don't win if you just substitute any old QB for Tannehill.

Mel said the same criticism was leveled at Trent Dilfer when he won a SB with Tampa Bay but he said Tampa was stuck in the mud before Trent arrived and then they returned to a lower level of play after they foolishly got rid of Trent.

We are all watching closely the WR Adam Humphries saga. From what I hear it looks like he will play and I was not aware that Adam was their leading receiver before he went out slightly past midway of the season. If Adam does play and contribute it changes my rooting formula.

Still with S Daniel Sorensen playing like a Hall Of Fame talent for the Chiefs whenever the playoffs arrive I suspect the Titans don't have a defensive counterpart to Daniel. In fact what will probably doom the Titans either here or in the Super Bowl will be their all black defense. The last one remaining in the playoffs. Lost in the Ravens loss was their all black defense getting shredded alive.

Don’t you mean Dilfer with the Ravens? They had black quarterback Tony Banks to start the 2000 season and had like a six game touchdown drought until they finally benched Banks for Dilfer. He was at least some kind of spark to get the Offense functioning enough to score points. They won the SB and he was cut for Elvis Gyrbak or however the hell you spell it. I don’t even think they made the playoffs in 2001

 

[Don Wassall]

Don’t you mean Dilfer with the Ravens? They had black quarterback Tony Banks to start the 2000 season and had like a six game touchdown drought until they finally benched Banks for Dilfer. He was at least some kind of spark to get the Offense functioning enough to score points. They won the SB and he was cut for Elvis Gyrbak or however the hell you spell it. I don’t even think they made the playoffs in 2001

Dilfer was a true game manager in the complimentary sense, but anyone who watched Tannehill tearing it up during the regular season saw a superstar quarterback in action, far better than Dilfer ever was in the passing game. Tannehill was downright brilliant passing at times this season, very accurate and throwing a lot of "dimes" while also running at the right times.

Tennessee is playing a more conservative offensive style in the playoffs and it's working, not because they are trying to compensate for Tannehill's limitations but because ground and pound combined with a strong defense is working, as it often does in the playoffs.

 

[Shadowlight]

No Mel was referring to his time at Tampa Bay who won a SB with Trent. Although I don't remember Dilfer with the Ravens you are correct he did play for the Ravens for one season and excelled.

Don’t you mean Dilfer with the Ravens? They had black quarterback Tony Banks to start the 2000 season and had like a six game touchdown drought until they finally benched Banks for Dilfer. He was at least some kind of spark to get the Offense functioning enough to score points. They won the SB and he was cut for Elvis Gyrbak or however the hell you spell it. I don’t even think they made the playoffs in 2001

 

[Don Wassall]

No Mel was referring to his time at Tampa Bay who won a SB with Trent. Although I don't remember Dilfer with the Ravens you are correct he did play for the Ravens for one season and excelled.

Brad Johnson was Tampa's QB when they won the Super Bowl. Dilfer was the Ravens' QB when they won the Super Bowl after the 2000 season.

 

[Shadowlight]

I stand corrected gentleman ( Johnny U and Don) I have my teams jumbled and even though I have been corrected I somehow keep thinking Dilfer won with Tampa Bay. With the Ravens he must have won the year Jason Sehorn was the CB for the Giants.

 

[Don Wassall]

I stand corrected gentleman ( Johnny U and Don) I have my teams jumbled and even though I have been corrected I somehow keep thinking Dilfer won with Tampa Bay. With the Ravens he must have won the year Jason Sehorn was the CB for the Giants.

It happens to the best of us, especially as we start advancing through middle age.

 

[backrow]

Good ol' reliable Brad Johnson. Dilfer was a solid QB.

 

[white lightning]

I'm gonna go out on a limb. I predict Tenn. wins outright tommorow. Tannehill will find a way to win again to go along with a stellar running game and a good defense.

In the other game I like the niners to advance on the the super bowl.

 

[Bucky]

I'll be working tomorrow afternoon but will have the games recorded.

I also like Tennessee and am going with GB(I know schocker). Realistically though I think anyone can win it all of the 4 teams left.

 

[Westside]

I'm gonna go out on a limb. I predict Tenn. wins outright tommorow. Tannehill will find a way to win again to go along with a stellar running game and a good defense.

In the other game I like the niners to advance on the the super bowl.

WL I believe you are correct. TENN will win with big plays from Tannilhill and Henry pounding the rock. That is if, TENN DBs can play man coverage on the KC receivers and keep the KC offense in check. I remember last year, when NE gots its running game led by Burkhead going. The KC D was huffing and puffing toward the end. What an epic game for us.

The 49ers will route the Packers.

 

[The Hock]

Although I like the Niners, I think Rogers has paid some dues and has had enough play-off frustration in his career. And the way Garapalo talked about how nervous he was as Seattle was moving on that last drive...you'd never see Joe Montana talking like that. Or at least admitting to it. If the Pack can keep it close I like them. Big if.

The way the Chiefs came back from 21 down got my attention.

 

[wile]

Vitale has a knee injury been limited in practice all week and is questionable. Last week they substituted a TE in his spot, this week it probably won't matter the front 4 will crush Rogers after Bulaga goes out in the first quarter and Baktiari re-aggravates an old injury and John Kuhn is still in retirement. My crazy theory is that Rogers was most consistent when he had the max protect option on the field and that was JK. Then Malibu Aaron can go back to his beach house with the life energy draining girlfriend.

 

[DWF Upside]

TruthTeller you cant possibly hate ******* Man this badly. I get the hate on beta cucks sporting his jersey and fro, and DWF’s as a whole. He might be a d-bag behind the scenes, but he doesn't play like a gimmick Quota at all. He talks like a small town Kermit the Frog, and has yet to exhibit any TNB(which they all do).

There are too many affletes to hate in the NFL to keep track of, ******* man seems like a weird pick. Its not like this poor SOB picked his mom to birth a Sideshow Bob.