NFL Thread

[roamyn]

2 hours ago, Popples said:

I can't believe they announced it in the middle of the night. Good luck to Antonio Pierce.

That surprised me too.  I don't sleep, so I'm up till like 4am.  I almost woke hubby up to tell him, but figured it was better to stay up to 5:45 and tell him aft his alarm went off.

Swags said it best this morning.  Mark Davis needs to slow down his selection process.  It seems like he always wants 'names' vs results.  He should've kept Rich Biasci aft Gruden's firing.

[Fukui San]

With Josh McDaniels second tenure failing in almost exactly the same way as his first, and with coaches from the Belichick tree so often failing by losing all or part of the locker room (Judge, Patricia, Flores, O’Brien) I’ve come to a somewhat shocking conclusion. 
 

Bill Belichick has all of the people skills in the Patriots organization. He has people under him that are great with X’s and O’s, but he’s the one who, somehow, successfully manages the human aspect of teams. Which is shocking considering his reputation. And yet his teams seem to remain cohesive even if they haven’t been good lately.   

[Salacious Kitty]

And the Raiders first move in the post McDaniels era is to bench the pretty boy. 

[roamyn]

33 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Judge, Patricia, Flores, O’Brien

I dunno, Flores was on his was to success, when he got broadsided.

[Carey]

42 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

And the Raiders first move in the post McDaniels era is to bench the pretty boy.

For a second, I thought you meant Mark Davis saying no thanks to TB12 being a part of the ownership group.

But then you said "pretty boy" so I guess I need to add more hours to my sleep time!

[Fukui San]

29 minutes ago, roamyn said:

I dunno, Flores was on his was to success, when he got broadsided.

He got broadsided, yes, but he also treated Tua in his offense like he was Tommy DeVito. At the time, I thought Flores was probably justified in doing so, but Tua's subsequent success suggests that Flores should've given Tua more of a leash. Flores went through a new offensive coordinator like every nine games or so, which suggests that he has a hard time delegating control to that side of the ball.

Like, I still think Flores is very, very good coordinator. If I had to win one high stakes game and could choose one coordinator to draw up the gameplan, I'd love to have him on the defensive side and I wouldn't mind Josh McDaniel on the offense. But he might have people issues. This is not to suggest that Flores' claim of racist hiring practices in the NFL is invalid in any way.

[roamyn]

@Fukui San you have a point abt Tua.

[Carey]

To be fair, O'Brien has had success.  Still a failure, but not on the level of people like Romeo, Patricia, and Josh McDaniels.  It helped O'Brien that he was an offensive guy.  Plus, he had JJ Watt on the other side.

Flores is a defensive guy; tried to be tough as Belichick, albeit to a lesser extent than Matt.

Patricia just benefitted from being an employee with Bill; other than that, the only reason the Patriots of all teams was top notch is one person: Tom Brady.  Period.

I joked about Harbaugh earlier, but a lot of people made that connection after I turned in last night & before I got up.  While the salary cap isn't affected, no way The Raiders can afford Jim, who'll set his sights on other places.  For instance, the Chargers & Washington.  Hard to say it, but I'd go with Washington before Los Angeles.  That is one of the toughest divisions in football, but within the currently weaker conference

[Magog]

I hope that Jerry Jones was losing sleep last night that the Texas Rangers won the World Series for the first time. He said last week that he was very envious that the Rangers reached the World Series. He is very jealous about the Rangers success since his Cowboys haven't won it all since 1995. Hopefully, Jerry will lose even more sleep on Sunday Night when the Cowboys lose to the Eagles. His absolute jealously & sadness over the Rangers winning it all puts a smile on my face.

[Carey]

I have Philadelphia winning, but while I hope the NFC Champions pummel Dallas, I can see the battle close (as in closer than 70-20).

Speaking of jealously & sadness, I did feel that myself.  The league went with its own wishes when they felt that the 2020s version of TB12 and that era was best for business over the chance at our 21st different champion (that's a joke).

Obviously Cincinnati would still have had to topple Philly, but with that success brings America 4 new champions within a calendar year in terms of the major sports.  Now, if & when Cincy or even Jacksonville win out, the NFL (and ESPN too) will spin it as 4 new champions in "2023" which isn't that epic.  It is the 2023 season, but the NFL Title game is still in 2024

[Lamb18]

I'm watching the Vikings/Packers game from Sunday as I only heard bits and pieces on the radio while driving.  I like this broadcast crew - one guy is Kenny, I recognized his voice. I don't know the other guy's name, but they're into talking about the game right in front of them.

Speaking of Vikings, we fans are pretty gutted about Kirk Cousins' injury. This is the first time since 2018 that he's missed games because of an injury. The other two times he's missed are because the coach decided to play the backup that game (last game & we already won the division) and when he had Covid.

[Carey]

It might've been Jonathan Vilma, but that is great that they're focused on the game instead of one-too many minutes on something else.  Sucks about Cousins.  In case Detroit stumbled that would've been Minnesota's for sure.

Looks like tonight's TNF line will end with Steelers being favored by 3.  It did move in Pittsburgh's favor.  Still, I'm going to go with Tennessee & the points.  The reason why I have the Titans winning tonight is due to their opponents lack of respect as it relates to succeeding/winning in more ways than one (or in as many ways as possible).  KP is banged up, but I don't think it's as severe as what happened to Roethlisberger 11 years ago.  Minkah isn't there, so Will Levis will not be tested that much.  Unless someone rises to the occasion.

What makes Pittsburgh miserable to watch is the fact that they could be up 28-0 over a bad team midday through the first quarter, but midway through the second quarter they have 3-6 points, maybe less.  They're opponents might have anywhere between 3-6 points, maybe (much) more.  Even if Minkah was in, they'd still win by late-game heroics.  While a ton of game-winners from Kenny are great, it's overrated if their winning total is south of 20 points.

Pittsburgh's streak of 399 yards of offense or less probably will get to the mid 60s in terms of games.  Especially if they do nothing tonight.  Their defense is great so it could be a 3-point win but we'll see.  I can't clearly see these teams combining for 36 points with the defense doing something (over/under is 36.5)

[mojoween]

Happy 68th birthday to Phil Simms! she says, while wearing the glasses she did not have at 13 years old.  😃

Also having a birthday today is Dennis Miller.  For those of us who lived through it, his tenure on Monday Night Football is one of the odder things that has happened.  You think the random cutaways to Taylor Swift now are bad, try watching a game with a guy talking at length about word origins and the state of Middle Eastern relations when he is ostensibly in the booth to talk about, you know, the game happening in front of his face.

[bluegirl147]

53 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Also having a birthday today is Dennis Miller.  For those of us who lived through it, his tenure on Monday Night Football is one of the odder things that has happened.  You think the random cutaways to Taylor Swift now are bad, try watching a game with a guy talking at length about word origins and the state of Middle Eastern relations when he is ostensibly in the booth to talk about, you know, the game happening in front of his face.

I remember that.  He was brought in because ratings were declining.  Why anyone thought Miller would bring in viewers is beyond me.  It only took ABC two years to realize they made a mistake and hired John Madden and cut Miller loose.  The only good thing about Miller's tenure was ABC briefly considered hiring Rush Limbaugh first. 

[Lamb18]

13 hours ago, Carey said:

It might've been Jonathan Vilma, but that is great that they're focused on the game instead of one-too many minutes on something else.  Sucks about Cousins.  In case Detroit stumbled that would've been Minnesota's for sure.

It was Jonathan Vilma! They showed the names later.

It's still slightly possible Minnesota could win the division. The offensive line and the defense are much improved from previous years that there should be protection for Jaren Hall and the new quarterback. The last three games of the season could determine it - Vikings play the Lions twice.

[grommit2]

On 11/1/2023 at 10:32 PM, Carey said:

To be fair, O'Brien has had success.  Still a failure, but not on the level of people like Romeo, Patricia, and Josh McDaniels.  It helped O'Brien that he was an offensive guy.  Plus, he had JJ Watt on the other side.

Flores is a defensive guy; tried to be tough as Belichick, albeit to a lesser extent than Matt.

Patricia just benefitted from being an employee with Bill; other than that, the only reason the Patriots of all teams was top notch is one person: Tom Brady.  Period.

I joked about Harbaugh earlier, but a lot of people made that connection after I turned in last night & before I got up.  While the salary cap isn't affected, no way The Raiders can afford Jim, who'll set his sights on other places.  For instance, the Chargers & Washington.  Hard to say it, but I'd go with Washington before Los Angeles.  That is one of the toughest divisions in football, but within the currently weaker conference

Hi Carey:  The Pats' success?  Brady for sure.
But, I look back at the superior team defense, plus the top-notch offensive line, plus the slot receivers (and, of course, Gronkowski)...and I see a total team.  Oh yes, Brady pulled out those last 4-minute drives with laser passes.  But it was really a total team effort. 

[Carey]

Awww.  I kind of wished this was what really happened!

 

 

[DrSpaceman73]

18 minutes ago, Carey said:

Awww.  I kind of wished this was what really happened!

 

 

Yes I saw this and ? If it's true but I hope so

[Carey]

18 hours ago, grommit2 said:

Hi Carey:  The Pats' success?  Brady for sure.
But, I look back at the superior team defense, plus the top-notch offensive line, plus the slot receivers (and, of course, Gronkowski)...and I see a total team.  Oh yes, Brady pulled out those last 4-minute drives with laser passes.  But it was really a total team effort. 

It definitely was.  Plus, to say Belichick is/was nothing without Tom is inaccurate.  Elite? Nope.  But Bill has still been very good defensively.  It's just that players play harder for Brady, who basically makes everyone around him better.

36 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Yes I saw this and ? If it's true but I hope so

It's fake.  However, if it was presented as true, I'd have believed it.  I think I could totally see something like that taking place

[DrSpaceman73]

Someone pointed out mark Davis looks like a grown up Ralph wiggum

 

'I OWN A FOOTBALL!!'

[Carey]

For Week Nine in the NFL, I have all home teams winning outright, including a designated home team in Kansas City (in which someone had no business having them give up a home game).  You do that to people like the Bolts.

The only reason the AFC North doesn't win on Sunday is because I picked them to win.  Otherwise, I like them to win & cover.  Same goes for Philadelphia & Kansas City.  It's a 1.5 spread for Cincy, Baltimore owns the NFC, and Arizona is tanking for Caleb.  Meanwhile, Dallas and the Eagles could be competitive, but at the end of the day, a 4-point win should result in a decent game (if there is one) where a winner needed to be revealed.  I'll go over for the NFC East battle & SNF, and under on the everything else

[DrSpaceman73]

3 minutes ago, Carey said:

For Week Nine in the NFL, I have all home teams winning outright, including a designated home team in Kansas City (in which someone had no business having them give up a home game).  You do that to people like the Bolts.

The only reason the AFC North doesn't win on Sunday is because I picked them to win.  Otherwise, I like them to win & cover.  Same goes for Philadelphia & Kansas City.  It's a 1.5 spread for Cincy, Baltimore owns the NFC, and Arizona is tanking for Caleb.  Meanwhile, Dallas and the Eagles could be competitive, but at the end of the day, a 4-point win should result in a decent game (if there is one) where a winner needed to be revealed.  I'll go over for the NFC East battle & SNF, and under on the everything else

You think csrolina is winning their second in a row over indy?  I think the colts beat them. 

[Carey]

2 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

You think csrolina is winning their second in a row over indy?  I think the colts beat them. 

That's fine.  I thought Houston was going to beat Carolina last week, but somehow that did not happen.

Carolina is at home again, but I would've picked Indianapolis had Anthony Richardson been available.  I have no faith in Gardner Minshew, and they did not look good against Cleveland at home.  Either result will not surprise me, but I think Carolina is a better bet (though not too much)

[DrSpaceman73]

13 minutes ago, Carey said:

That's fine.  I thought Houston was going to beat Carolina last week, but somehow that did not happen.

Carolina is at home again, but I would've picked Indianapolis had Anthony Richardson been available.  I have no faith in Gardner Minshew, and they did not look good against Cleveland at home.  Either result will not surprise me, but I think Carolina is a better bet (though not too much)

They lost by one point to Cleveland, scored 38 points  and really should have beat them if not for two bs calls to bail out the browns at the end.  

 

 

Gardner minshew isn't the colts problem. The secondary is awful. 

[Carey]

2 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

They lost by one point to Cleveland, scored 38 points  and really should have beat them if not for two bs calls to bail out the browns at the end.  

 

 

Gardner minshew isn't the colts problem. The secondary is awful. 

It's an offensive league.  Not that success is automatic, but it's a big drop off.  However, the guy does not play defense (yes that was total BS between Cleveland, but it was a painful loss.  39 point allowed isn't a recipe for victory, but it's a painful loss since nobody puts up 38 against that team

[mojoween]

Am I odd in thinking that it’s strange that the NFL scheduled Buffalo at Cincinnati two seasons in a row?

[Magog]

Do we have to suffer through yet another Taylor Swift appearance today in Germany?

13 hours ago, Carey said:

 Meanwhile, Dallas and the Eagles could be competitive, but at the end of the day, a 4-point win should result in a decent game (if there is one) where a winner needed to be revealed.

 I don't give a damn if that game is competitive or not. The only thing that matters is that the Cowboys lose & Jerry Jones has to suffer through even more sadness. I know that he was very very salty & feeling some type of way watching that Texas Rangers victory parade on Friday.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Magog

[mojoween]

If you read this article to the end, I PROMISE it’s on topic.

https://apnews.com/article/standout-performances-movies-actors-strike-254e0948d7df34534d5d95763d43bd03

[Magog]

In a surprise to nobody, the Chiefs are kicking the Dolphins ass 21-0 at halftime. I don't see this getting any better for the Dolphins. Especially after that back braking turnover that was runned back for a Touchdown for the Chiefs before halftime.

[mojoween]

The tomahawk chop has made its way to Germany.  Fucking hell, NFL.

[diet7up]

1 hour ago, Magog said:

In a surprise to nobody, the Chiefs are kicking the Dolphins ass 21-0 at halftime. I don't see this getting any better for the Dolphins. Especially after that back braking turnover that was runned back for a Touchdown for the Chiefs before halftime.

Sure seemed like a blowout but Chiefs sucked in the 2nd half.   I had players from both teams on my fantasy team (Tua, Kelce, Waddle, Butker) and didn’t get the points I was hoping for. There goes my 5 game winning streak.  

[Magog]

I thought that the game was over at 21-0 at halftime. But, the Dolphins made a comeback & was down 21-14 with a chance to tie the game at the end. Sadly for them, a botched snap on 4th down ended their hopes. 

Well, the good news out of this game is that Taylor Swift was nowhere to be found at this game.

[Carey]

19 minutes ago, Magog said:

Well, the good news out of this game is that Taylor Swift was nowhere to be found at this game.

No she was not there.  Taylor was studying in an undisclosed location on how to be an owner of an NFL franchise.  That way, she'll be the goat there where she'll merge with Jerry or rip the team from the current owner purchase Dallas an become the owner outright.

In the aftermath, the team in Texas will be called the Dallas 89ers going forward

[voiceover]

Very fond Cheetah memories (4th & long against the Ravens in 2018 comes to mind) but I gotta say that the McDuffie punch-out/Edwards flip/Cook to the house…a Chiefs fan’s wet dream, baby! 🤣

[Salacious Kitty]

My Arizona nephew who is who is inexplicably a Dolphins fan was not happy. He got up early for that mess, poor kid. Me? Slept through the first half. 😀

[meowmommy]

4 hours ago, mojoween said:

Am I odd in thinking that it’s strange that the NFL scheduled Buffalo at Cincinnati two seasons in a row?

Nope.  I had the exact same thought.  I don't recall intraconference game scheduling where they don't alternate home games -- plus the Bills have no other games against the NFC North, and the Bengals have no other games against the NFC East.   The Bills played all the NFC North last year, while the Bengals played all the NFC East teams last year.

I know beyond the play everyone in your own division twice, play everyone in one other division once, play everyone in one intraconference division once, there are some complicated rules for picking the remaining games, but my cynical self says it totally has to be a ratings grab.  Even though it looks like Damar Hamlin won't play.

[shoregirl]

Washington Post did a extensive article on Black coaches in the NFL.  It was a interesting read.

https://wapo.st/49mepOO

I gifted the article so if your interested you should be able to read it.

As for this afternoons game....

 

 

[Fukui San]

Teams play:

Their own division teams twice (For Buffalo: NYJ, NE, MIA)

A different AFC division in rotation, this year AFC East plays AFC West 

An NFC division in rotation, this year AFC East plays NFC East

For the remaining two AFC divisions not yet accounted for, the corresponding teams in terms of placement last season. Buffalo, having won the 2022 AFC East, plays the winners of of AFC Central and AFC South. So that explains the Cincinnati game and adds the Jaguars.

And now since they added a 17th game, that's just an NFC Team that corresponds with team placements somehow.

Source: NFL.com

I don't know how they choose where to play in the case of games vs. teams outside of division. I assume there's some sort of leaguewide rotation, but it probably looks random unless you delve into all of the history. Bills vs. Bengals game history.

[meowmommy]

13 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Buffalo, having won the 2022 AFC East, plays the winners of of AFC Central and AFC South. So that explains the Cincinnati game and adds the Jaguars.

I knew there were some other rules to round out the schedule.  Doesn't explain, though, why last year's game was in Cincinnati and this one is, too.  Unless, to be charitable, they thought the Bengals and their fans didn't really have a home game because it was cancelled in the first quarter.

[twoods]

Poor Dobson. Must be rough trying to learn an offense in a few days. He’s doing better than I thought he would. What happened to the other backups for the Vikings since they are talking about Cam Akers being the emergency QB.

Edited November 5, 2023 by twoods

[Fukui San]

I just think there's a rotation and that's how it happened to fall. The two games which match you with your counterparts in the division, so the division winner games which gave the Bills games vs. Bengals and Jaguars. One would have to be a home game and one would be an away game. And I think there's some formula which determines it. If it was AFC East hosted one year, it's AFC North hosted the next year.

After the last game of the season, you can see on team's football message boards posts which accurately lay out who each team is playing next year. I don't know the formulas, but I'm fairly sure that they're in place and it isn't done by whim.

9 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

I knew there were some other rules to round out the schedule.  Doesn't explain, though, why last year's game was in Cincinnati and this one is, too.  Unless, to be charitable, they thought the Bengals and their fans didn't really have a home game because it was cancelled in the first quarter.

 

[mojoween]

It is a testament to just how much I loathe Tom Brady that I am at the period in my life where I feel badly for Bill Belichick.  Never would have dreamed that five years ago.

[Fukui San]

Whatever you feel about Bill, his current situation is of his own making. 

If this is his undoing, I think his his greatest misstep wasn't missing on Mac Jones. Everyone misses on QBs now and again. And he can just try again next year.

His greatest misstep was going into last season with such a depleted coaching staff last year that you had to use Matt Patricia and Joe Judge on offense. That team was legitimately one of the dumbest in the league. It's better this year, but Bill did that rather than bring in coaches from the outside. And we saw how that went.

I don't know what's going to happen, ultimately, but Belichick departing is not unthinkable anymore.

[Carey]

TBH, Belichick staying around would be surprising.  Some people tend to go through life without recalling that this is still his second stint as a head coach.  So when people rip on other coaches that suck but are in their first stint, it was sorta a bye week whenever you played the Browns in the early to mid 90s

[Kip Hackman]

Thank God the Panthers passed on CJ Stroud. 🙄

[Salacious Kitty]

CJ mf Stroud! Set the all time rookie passing record today. Insane game. 

[AimingforYoko]

The Ravens took two NFC division leaders to the woodshed. They stay healthy, they're the AFC favorites.

Closer to home, gutty win by the Vikes. We got the full Dobbs experience, Safety, two fumbles, three TDs.

[mojoween]

WHY does this team SUCK so badly what the fuck.

[Lamb18]

3 hours ago, twoods said:

Poor Dobson. Must be rough trying to learn an offense in a few days. He’s doing better than I thought he would. What happened to the other backups for the Vikings since they are talking about Cam Akers being the emergency QB.

I thought Dobbs did really well today. Quarterbacks--Hall went into concussion protocol, Mundt is out for injury and Mannion is practice squad. I guess he wasn't activated.

Oops--Mundt is a tight end. But there's another quarterback who is not Kirk that is out for injury.

Mullens is the other injured quarterback.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Lamb18

[Carey]

1 hour ago, AimingforYoko said:

The Ravens took two NFC division leaders to the woodshed. They stay healthy, they're the AFC favorites.

They stay healthy, they're the NFL favorites.

They still have San Francisco, and we'll see how they adjust during their bye week.  If all goes well & they torment the Niners on the way toward another win, then they're winning the Super Bowl.

Cannot wait for Ravens/Bengals one week from Thursday.  Cincinnati has won the division twice in as many wins.  However, the AFC North champions have benefitted in a huge way with the 2 time World Champions dealing with injury, including Jackson