NFL Thread

[Fukui San]

It's funny. With the new kickoff rules, the decisionmaking responsibility for returning kicks has changed.

It used to be there were two guys back to receive the ball. One would catch, and the other guy would make the decision as to signal to down the ball or to block and expect the returner would follow you. Occasionally there would be a miscommunication which usually led to a ball being returned when it shouldn't have been.

Now they changed the rule so that you don't have to catch the ball in the end zone. if it hits the end zone at all it's dead and a touchback. So now they just have the returner stand at the goal line. If the balls over his head, he just stands there and lets the ball hit for a touchback. If it's at the goal line or shorter, the returner catches it and brings it out. So now the decision is solely with the returner. In Ty Montgomery's case, there wasn't an extra set of eyes on him to prevent him from doing the dumb thing of bringing it out.

[merylinkid]

Okay, Ty probably shouldn't have tried to run the ball out.   Whatever.

That was NOT the biggest special teams screw up of the day.   Hello, the Steelers free kick on the safety where one player signaled a fair catch and then ... just stood there so the Browns recovered it.    MUCH more egregious than a competitor trying to gain yardage.

[Ohwell]

The beatdown that the Bills got from the Patriots wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.  For a nanosecond or two, I actually thought the Bills had a chance to pull out a win.  Then reality set in.  

[Fukui San]

On paper I want to call the Bills the worst team in football. And yet they have two quality-ish wins. They're weird.

[ganesh]

11 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Even if Ty thought he could get more than 25 yards, there was no reason he should have taken it out as the 2 minute warning would have offered GB essentially another time out.

Then it's a lack of situational awareness with the amount of time left and only needing to get to FG range. Either way, he's not returning kicks next week for me. And, if he decided he wanted to take it out because of feelings, then he can sit for the next few weeks. 

[Jx223]

The Bills defense played very well last night. It's unfortunate that their offense couldn't do a bit more, or else they could have won that game.

Also, according to Ian Rapoport the Broncos have decided to trade WR Demaryius Thomas to the Texans for a 4th round pick. The teams are also swapping 7th round picks. 

The Lions have also decided to trade Golden Tate to the Eagles for a 3rd round pick. I think he is a solid addition for the Eagles. 

The trade deadline is today at 4pm EST. I wonder what other trades we may see happen as we move into the 2nd half of the NFL season.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Jx223

[mojoween]

4 hours ago, ganesh said:

Then it's a lack of situational awareness with the amount of time left and only needing to get to FG range. Either way, he's not returning kicks next week for me. And, if he decided he wanted to take it out because of feelings, then he can sit for the next few weeks. 

He’s not returning kicks for Green Bay next week either.  He’s Baltimore's headache now.

What I don’t get is the Packers sending Ha-Ha to Washington.  They are still in contention, why get rid of a good defender?

[ganesh]

That's one way to solve the problem. 

[WritinMan]

Detroit traded Golden Tate to the Eagles for a 3rd round draft pick.

Brilliant.

It's like they just don't want to be successful.

[AimingforYoko]

Jags trade Dante Fowler to the Rams.

So is this the Jags shipping out a malcontent, or are they giving up?

[roamyn]

10 hours ago, Fukui San said:

On paper I want to call the Bills the worst team in football. And yet they have two quality-ish wins. They're weird.

That would be the Giants.

[Carey]

2 hours ago, roamyn said:

13 hours ago, Fukui San said:

On paper I want to call the Bills the worst team in football. And yet they have two quality-ish wins. They're weird.

That would be the Giants.

I was thinking of disagreeing and saying San Francisco and/or Oakland but I have to agree.  The Giants have a franchise QB. Yeah Eli's pretty much finished but he has some positive history, whereas the Niners and Raiders stars don't.  SF lost Jimmy G, and while Derrick Carr is okay, that team is all in for next decade.

 

On a related note, I'm considering watching Thursday Night Football in its entirety in a couple days.  With Baseball being over and with rather meaningless Hoops and hockey happening in November, I might have time to do that for once, no interruptions.  I don't think I'd get an award for doing so; in fact I don't think Joe Buck & Troy Aikman would get an award for calling the game, but that's mainly because they'd have to have it shipped from a different planet and less because it's in their contract to call it

7 hours ago, mojoween said:

He’s not returning kicks for Green Bay next week either.  He’s Baltimore's headache now.

Chances are he'll probably shine with the Ravens.  Maybe enough to get them back into the playoffs where he'd screw up in Foxborough at which point the aftermath would be worse than what he briefly dealt with in Green Bay

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, mojoween said:

What I don’t get is the Packers sending Ha-Ha to Washington.  They are still in contention, why get rid of a good defender?

I've sort of had the feeling the new GM is kind of planning for the future more than necessarily going all out to win this season.  That's not to say that he's outright sabotaging this year's chances but if he comes across a way to get future opportunities for moves he was going to make anyway, even if they come at the expense of the "now," he'll take them.

Clinton-Dix had a good rookie year and so-so 2nd and 3rd years.  GB didn't pick up his fifth year option and while he has improved this year, Clinton-Dix publicly stated earlier this season that he didn't think he'd be back in Green Bay next season.  My guess is GB wasn't going to sign him to another contract, they knew that and so they took the chance to get a future draft pick while they could. 

[Fukui San]

Could be that Green Bay are getting rid of locker room malcontents with shipping off Clinton Dix and Ty Montgomery

[Jx223]

Nick Mullens did a good job tonight in his first start as an NFL QB. I thought he was impressive especially given he's undrafted and has never played a snap in a regular NFL game. He seemed prepared. That was a good, motivating win for the 49ers. On the flipside that was a bad loss for the Raiders. They are really struggling. I do think that moving some of their top players has hurt their situation and it looks like there is also tension among the coaches. 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Jx223

[roamyn]

I take my previous statement back.  The Raiders might be the worst team out there.

[merylinkid]

The players are PISSED at Gruden for trading away good guys.     Aikman can talk about the Herschel Walker trade and how it looked at the time all he wants.   Gruden is no Jimmy Johnson.   Plus Herschel Walker was not really producing in Dallas.   Khalil Mack was still a pro bowl player.   Amari Cooper was still good.   Gruden is just getting rid of guys who don't buy into the Gruden Way.   He is not rebuilding.   

[Lamb18]

53 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

Aikman can talk about the Herschel Walker trade and how it looked at the time all he wants.   Gruden is no Jimmy Johnson.   Plus Herschel Walker was not really producing in Dallas.

Dallas won the Super Bowl the year after the Herschel Walker trade, I believe, with all the draft picks & players they got from the trade. I said that after watching that SB and Madden (or whoever the commentator was) said it a few minutes later.

[Carey]

1 hour ago, Lamb18 said:

2 hours ago, merylinkid said:

Aikman can talk about the Herschel Walker trade and how it looked at the time all he wants.   Gruden is no Jimmy Johnson.   Plus Herschel Walker was not really producing in Dallas.

Dallas won the Super Bowl the year after the Herschel Walker trade, I believe, with all the draft picks & players they got from the trade. I said that after watching that SB and Madden (or whoever the commentator was) said it a few minutes later.

Dallas finished two games under .500 the year after Walker’s exit.  That move was off the hook but it didn’t produce immediate success.  However it was a work-in-progress, as they improved each year from 1989-1990 until they had postseason success that preceded their 3 titles in a 4-year period.

 

As for the coaching comparisons, Gruden is no Jimmy, that I agree with right now.  I can see it both ways since they had a team in place that was ready to win now, so making these moves really wasn’t popular.  Their record shows that.  For me, it’s a wait-and-see situation for the Raiders.  If this stuff actually emulates what happened in Dallas then that’s great.  The timing is ideal since Jon Gruden’s team should be in place (and maybe good enough to win title 4 and 5) by the time they setting in Las Vegas

 

Finally Gruden and Mark Davis are who they are, but to be fair, if Jon wins then hats off to him.  The fact is I’d respect it since he would win with his own players this time and not Jack Del Rio’s players

[ganesh]

He's not going to win though because he isn't good at his job. 

[Lamb18]

3 hours ago, Carey said:

Dallas finished two games under .500 the year after Walker’s exit.  That move was off the hook but it didn’t produce immediate success.  However it was a work-in-progress, as they improved each year from 1989-1990 until they had postseason success that preceded their 3 titles in a 4-year period.

That's right, the Super Bowl win was a couple of years later, but the Herschel Walker trade really contributed to that success while it didn't do the Vikings any good.  I don't know what Mike Lynn was thinking. But didn't Dallas have just one win the season before the trade? It was a long time ago so it's hard to remember the details.

[xaxat]

The craziest thing about the Raiders is that they don't know where they will be playing a year from now. Their new stadium won't be ready and their lease in Oakland expires next year. City officials aren't too keen about giving an extension (understandable). 

[Silver Raven]

Nick Mullens apparently started crying when being interviewed on the sidelines after the game.

[basiltherat]

. . . and the Raiders were crying in the locker room, too.  I hope Chucky trades Carr before he gets sacked to death.  Calling Buffalo!

And the Browns are crying tears of joy now that they are not the dumpster fire of the NFL.

[Carey]

On 11/2/2018 at 7:37 PM, basiltherat said:

. . . and the Raiders were crying in the locker room, too.  I hope Chucky trades Carr before he gets sacked to death.  Calling Buffalo!

And the Browns are crying tears of joy now that they are not the dumpster fire of the NFL.

It would be the smart thing to do, because he'll get value from him while he's healthy.  The problem is he'll have to wait until the off-season to do so.  That means he'll either have to hope Derrick doesn't get too banged up that it'll factor into 2019 or maybe he'll get a little banged up and thus Carr will end up on IR which would really pissed off the fans in these finals days of Oakland

 

Well, as for the Browns, they're probably off the hook for a week or two.  They still have their bye coming up, so there's that.  If they lose to Kansas City, it won't be as bad as Oakland losing to San Francisco as the Chiefs might end up with the league MVP.  BTW, something tells me that this might be a game that Cleveland ends up winning.  Not sure Gregg Williams cares about offense, but he might be auditioning for something, and with that defense of the Browns, added to having Baker Mayfield possibly having a field day with a meh defense of Kansas City, Cleveland could pull the upset today.  If they don't then they can blame me for saying that

[mojoween]

ESPN should have given Samantha Ponder a sick day because her laryngitis voice is really annoying to listen to.  It’s like vocal fry on crack.

The Giants can’t lose today woohoo!

[xaxat]

No way Le'Veon returns to the Steelers this season. He knows he won't be able to take the starters spot from Connor. He loses $14 million this year if he doesn't join the team. Will he make it up with his free agent contract? I'm skeptical.

[Jx223]

I'm glad that Cam and the Panthers won again today with another good win against Tampa. I could see them possibly emerging as a dark horse this season.

The Browns performed better offensively than I thought they would against the Chiefs. But their defense did not do a good job and really couldn't stop Patrick Mahomes. I do think that Baker continues to look promising and I hope they can scrap up at least a couple of more wins before the season is over. 

Also, I don't like how the Ravens are using/doing Lamar Jackson. They keep throwing him in the game (and leaving Joe Flacco in there) and are not really letting him throw. I think the way they kept throwing him into the game today was actually stifling their offense. I don't think he deserves to be used like this. Also, Flacco wouldn't even look his way to throw a TD today, even though he was wide open in the redzone on one of the plays in today's game.

And Matthew Stafford had a really rough day (being sacked 10 times) and so did Sam Darnold who threw four picks. I think that Sam now leads the league in interceptions. And I am glad that Julio Jones finally scored a TD.

Edited November 4, 2018 by Jx223

[AimingforYoko]

2 hours ago, xaxat said:

No way Le'Veon returns to the Steelers this season. He knows he won't be able to take the starters spot from Connor. He loses $14 million this year if he doesn't join the team. Will he make it up with his free agent contract? I'm skeptical.

He has to if he wants to become a free agent. If he doesn't report by week ten, it's as if this season never happened.

I bet Bills fans would go for that. Stat of the day: On their last seventy drives, the opposing defense has scored more TDs (3) than the Bills (2).

[ganesh]

Again, why go for 2 in the 1st quarter? It's not "aggressive". 

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, AimingforYoko said:

He has to if he wants to become a free agent. If he doesn't report by week ten, it's as if this season never happened.

While it's true the Steelers could franchise tag him again if he doesn't show up, a lot of Steelers' writers think they won't because of Connor's emergence, the cap hit he he would generate and the fact that he's become a huge distraction.

[Jx223]

Great win for the Saints, defeating the undefeated Rams team. Saints started out really hot, and then survived the Rams charging back and tying the game. I think this was definitely a statement win for the Saints. I am looking forward to watching them face off against the Panthers and seeing which team comes out on top. 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Jx223

[Bastet]

Well, bummer, but 8-1 is still damn good, that was a good game, and I like the Saints.  The Rams have some more tough games coming up in this second half of the season (how did we get here already??), so we'll see how they do. 

[twoods]

I thought the Bills were working out Matt Barkley? He can’t be much worse than Peterman. What a dumpster fire that offense is.

Knew the Rams would lose so glad they got this loss out of the way and focus on fixing that defense.

Edited November 5, 2018 by twoods

[AimingforYoko]

The Hoodie annoys me to no end, but the fact that he can take complete bust WR Cordarrelle Patterson and make him a useful RB makes him a goddamn genius.

[ganesh]

I think NE would beat the Rams handily if the Packers performance the last two week is any indication. 

[Fukui San]

As currently constituted I would certainly favor the Rams over the Pats, today's results notwithstanding. If Sony Michel, Gronk, Rex Burkhead, and Shaq Mason can all come back without other injuries happening then it's more of a coin flip.

Chiefs and Saints are also in discussion if we're talking Super Bowl contenders.

I'm now loving RB Cordarelle Patterson. For whatever reason he's never been able to grasp the WR position at the pro level. Apparently being an RB lets him just use his physicality and not think so much.

[Lamb18]

16 hours ago, Jx223 said:

And Matthew Stafford had a really rough day (being sacked 10 times)

Thanks to the Vikings for their first division win. (Other division game ended in a tie.) The defense was on fire yesterday, especially Danielle Hunter. We have a running game established now, thanks to Latavius Murray and Dalvin Cook, finally back. The only disappointment is that Adam Thielen's 100 yards streak is over.

I'm also very glad the Patriots beat the Packers!! 

[Carey]

Quote

I'm also very glad the Patriots beat the Packers!! 

Same here, but that was more at the expense of the team and less at Aaron.  Last week when I was so pissed about the botched play that cost Rodgers a chance at knocking off then-undefeated L.A. because of how you'd have to be very clueless to do that.  I blamed that on the staff because you should be prepared, and even before that, they blew a timeout that they would need.

While I felt bad for Aaron, there was still no guarantee that they'd win (as proven this week).  No excuse to be that unprepared and undisciplined when with New England to follow.  So there was my rooting interest in favor of the Pats.  I respect them due to how hard they work.  Not that other teams don't work hard (and it isn't everyone) but the Patriots double & triple efforts to do everything right

 

Still, it was a great game until the 4th quarter, and even post-fumble, Aaron had a chance

[Magog]

Seeing another Cowboys loss always puts a smile on my face. What a bunch of losers. I'm certain that the Eagles are licking their chops right now. 

[Jx223]

Missed opportunity here tonight for the Cowboys. Getting a win tonight was crucial for them. Especially given the tough stretch of games they have coming up.  They started out with good momentum in tonight's game but the offense couldn't capitalize on opportunities early on. The defense made some good plays but couldn't really get off the field on 3rd down in much of this game. 

I put this loss mostly on offense/coaching. They didn't make many big plays and didn't really try and push the ball down field much. The play calling for the offense is not very creative/too conservative. And Dak got sacked quite a few times in this game. There were also moments when he held onto the ball longer than he should have. 

[merylinkid]

7 hours ago, Jx223 said:

The play calling for the offense is not very creative/too conservative.

You have Amari Cooper, Zeke Elliott and COle Beasley.   Yet they try to do NOTHING explosive.   Booger was calling out how unimaginative the Cowboys are.   He siad the first two downs are ALWAYS runs.   He pointed out that the Titans probably figured that out.   If the other team knows what you are going to do, you will go nowhere.

 

I like Jason Garrett.   He's a nice guy.   But he's reminding me of what happened in his playing days.   He was always listed as number 3 on the depth chart going into preseason.   Then he would do really well in the preseason, so they would get all excited and move him up to number 2.   Then the season would come along and he would play against starters and show why he was the 3rd string after all.   Same thing last night.   He did well for a few years, had that amazing rookie season with Dak, so changed absolutely nothing about his coaching style.   Meanwhile other coaches are adapting and moving along.   good god, this has become a HUGE passing league.    So it shows why he is not an HC after all.   Still a nice guy.

[Mountainair]

Despite being sick with Pneumonia and Bronchitis I had a great time at the Panthers/Ravens game a couple of weeks ago with my dad. There were a ton of Raven's fans there (which happened a few years ago when I went to the same match up) and everyone was great- I've heard stories about other stadiums so I'm glad we have a very family friendly stadium. 

The Panthers are looking awful tonight on TNF. I hope they can step it up because I don't know which team I hate more-the Pats or the Steelers. 

[mojoween]

3 minutes ago, Mountainair said:

I don't know which team I hate more-the Pats or the Steelers. 

Why not both?

I was assured that this was going to be a good game.  I am still waiting.  Come on Cam!  Get it together!

[xaxat]

Erin Andrews:"I've been told by the Panthers that coach Ron Rivera was fired. . (Me: Wait! What?) . . up during halftime."

[twoods]

I just saw the score online and thought it was a mistake. 52 points for the Steelers?

[Jx223]

Bad loss for the Panthers. The Steelers offensive was very dominant and their defense kept getting to Cam. They pressured and sacked him several times tonight. I hope that the Panthers will bounce back during their next game.

Three of their next four games are on the road. And three of those four games are fairly winnable. They can still go into their matchup against the Saints with good momentum if they win most of these games. Their last three games of the season could be tough for them as they are all against divisional rivals, (and two of them are against the Saints.) 

[merylinkid]

What the hell happened.   One minute Troy and Buck were saying the Steelers had no answer for Christian McCaffrey, the next the Steelers were blowing them out and it was still the first quarter.   Was Cam not nice to his OLine this week?   Because they weren't doing diddly to stop the D from getting through?    And I guess the Panthers left their D in Charlotte.   The Steelers have never scored that many points.

Troy and Buck were reduced to telling stories about Troy's playing days (is it in his contract he has to be announced as Hall of Famer Troy Aikman?) and bad jokes.    Although I liked the Dangerfield joke.  

Short week nothing.   The steelers had a short week too, they managed to show up for the game.

[Kip Hackman]

[Ohwell]

3 hours ago, merylinkid said:

What the hell happened. 

That's what Cam said.