NFL 2015

[01101010]

As a Browns fan (which is getting harder to say every week, month, year), we had a decent o-line. Have no idea wtf happened to them - no reason that talent should look and be as bad as they have been. I blame the coaching, but fuck.... we change those more often than Oregon changes jersey colors. With the names on that line, there is no reason a middling running back should not have 80-100 yards every game - even with no QB. But hey, it's Cleveland - the land of sad.

[Rasix]

This game is dreadful.

[HaemishM]

This game is dreadful.

I am le surprised.

[Rasix]

And we get more of it.

[Montague]

As a somewhat Steelers fan... what the fuck is up with your playcalling and why don't you run Leveon Bell if you're going for it on 4th down?

[Paelos]

LOL Steelers giving it away.

[Paelos]

There were 28 accepted penalties in the Bills-Giants game. That's more than Giants completions.

[Shannow]

But Rex Ryan likes a team with fight in it! I wonder how long before that act will wear out.

[WayAbvPar]

There were 28 accepted penalties in the Bills-Giants game. That's more than Giants completions.

I was out and about and didn't see more than about 10 plays total of any game. Really sloppy, or flag happy refs?

[HaemishM]

I'm going to guess a bit of both. Welcome to today's NFL! 

I caught just a bit of the Jets/Dolphins game - to all NFL fans in London - I'm sorry. What the fuck were we thinking? I mean, it's a divisional game so you'd expect both sides to give a shit about it but apparently Miami doesn't give much of a shit about anything but bigass contracts these days. They give Suh $60 million, have a total of 1 fucking sack through 4 games, and he doesn't even bother to throat fuck a guy in that entire time? That's just bad business on all sides.

I did catch a bit of that last 5 minutes of the Giants/Bills game and I have to say that Rex Ryan is about as good as managing the clock as Art Shell. As in what the fuck? His team is down 2 TD's, he has 3 timeouts and they start driving the ball by throwing over the middle. Rather than take the timeouts on at least one of those plays, he burns the clock, losing probably a good minute in the process. Now turns out they couldn't score anyway, but still. Tyrod Taylor does look like a decent QB though, certainly better than EJ Manuel ever showed.

The Packers/49ers was my game of the day and though it was hardly competitive, it was least better than the last few weeks worth of "Game of the Week." I mean, it was interesting seeing a team as shitty as the 49ers actually giving Aaron Rodgers fits, mainly through liberal use of "the right tackle can't block a blitz to save his fucking life." At least that isn't the normal starter as Bulaga is still out injured, but holy shit, Rodgers was running for his life all damn day. Meanwhile, Kaepernick did a lot of running for his life and wasn't nearly as effective. Apparently their playbook only allows him to run the read option a few times before trying to force him to drop back and inaccurately throw a ball into the dirt 20 times a game. Holy shit is his accuracy horrible. Every time I watch a 49ers game and Kap stinks up the joint, I hear the announcers say that the Niners are really impressed with what Blaine Gabbert brings to the table and my brain just revolts. Like, those words should never ever end up in a sentence together. I have to think the front office is trying to line up more excuses for losing this bad and having Blaine Gabbert be your starting QB is a really good one - though I can't see how having Colin Kaepernick is any worse of a reason.

The Cowboys/Saints game turned out to be a lot more competitive than it should have been. Drew Brees arm has not fallen off though he's quite obviously not at 100%. Nothing seems to be wrong with Brandon Weedon's arm other than being attached to Brandon Weedon. The Cowboys vaunted offensive line is not covering itself in glory these days, nor are the guys they got to replace DeMarco Murray as good at running behind it either. Terrence Williams continues to show why Dez Bryant is the #1 receiver and why without Dez Bryant as the #1 receiver the Cowboys do not have a #1 receiver. He shows flashes of talent followed by long stretches of "Hey where'd Terrence Willams go?" Cole Beasley looks like Wes Welker's country cousin who is in town for the weekend and wants to "find some bitches" instead of going and getting a fucking haircut (or at least a hairstyle that says something other than country fucktard). And in the end, the Saints win it on a tailback fly pass that shows why some linebackers shouldn't be in deep coverage even against a running back.

Hey, at least Chip Kelly is making it so that Dallas isn't going to end up on the bottom of the most dysfunctional division in the NFL. LOL Kirk Cousins beat you on a 2-minute drive. The Racial Slurs are tied for first in the division!

Tonight's shitshow will be brought to you the wasting of Calvin Johnson's remaining good years.

[Johny Cee]

There were 28 accepted penalties in the Bills-Giants game. That's more than Giants completions.

I was out and about and didn't see more than about 10 plays total of any game. Really sloppy, or flag happy refs?

Sloppy.  Buffalo tied the franchise record for third most penalties in a game, and had at least 3 personal fouls/unsporstmanlike.  At least two of the Giants penalties were delay of game.

[Paelos]

I've revised my Cowboys needs to just win 2 of the 7 games while Romo is out. They may not even do that with this defense and Sean Lee getting fucking injured again and again and again.

RELEASE THE CASSEL!

[Mithas]

Joe Philbin out.

http://www.sbnation.com/2015/10/5/9449293/joe-philbin-miami-dolphins-head-coach-fired-dan-campbell

Not a surprise, the Dolphins have looked atrocious.

[WayAbvPar]

I wish I was in Vegas...I would have put a good sized bet on him being the first to go. He is a donkey.

[sickrubik]

It was pretty much a given he would be the first to go, so dunno how good the betting line on that would have been.

[WayAbvPar]

Free money is free money!

[01101010]

Next up?

I'll be shocked if Pettine is around next year... and Farmer. In the land of Cleve, short leashes are a way of life. Farmer screwing up the roster as badly as he has in the last year not to mention taking a stupid suspension? Sorry... hope runs out when you demonstrate you're a dolt with so many examples. And Pett? How does a defensive oriented coach have the worst defense in the league going on 2 years? Not to mention the poor player discipline in games? Nope...

[K9]

I'm pretty sure Chip Kelly's leash is getting shorter each week

In Bears news, we can only hope that Cutler's return shuts up the fucking hate on him for a week. People have had a chance to gaze into the abyss and it's full of Clausen and suck.

[Shannow]

I thought the Cutler abyss was full of suck just with better hair? Might as well go all out and suck and get the no.1 picl.

[sickrubik]

https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/651065733946974208?s=09

Dolphins: $111M guaranteed invested in current D-line contracts, 2nd in NFL
They have 1 sack and have given up an NFL-worst 642 rush yards

OOF.

[HaemishM]

That is one expensive ass failboat.

[K9]

 - They are #29 in YPA passing and #2 in passing attempts
 - They are #10 in YPC with 4.3 and #31 in rushing attempts

 

[HaemishM]

So does this mean the Packers are following the Patriots in "HOF-level QB makes offensive coordinator/QB coach look good leading to a head coaching job that is a spectacular failure" category?

[Mithas]

Why are the Seahawks seemingly always the beneficiary of horrible calls (or no calls)?

[01101010]

That ref is just covering his ass for not knowing the rule. How anyone on Earth could think that was not intentional or otherwise, is just not possible.

[WayAbvPar]

Why are the Seahawks seemingly always the beneficiary of horrible calls (or no calls)?

Not always.



That cost them a playoff berth.

Also- look how much better those old uniforms were 

[sickrubik]

That ref is just covering his ass for not knowing the rule. How anyone on Earth could think that was not intentional or otherwise, is just not possible.

Covering his ass? The whole hubbub is because the NFL has admitted that it should have been a flag, and thus giving the ball to DET, first and goal.

[HaemishM]

That game was fucking terrible. Really, truly awful. Some will call it a defensive showdown but no. Defensive games are when a good defense stifles a good offense. This was two reasonably good defenses stifling some really shitty shit shit offenses. Knowing the caliber of players that are out there makes it even worse. Detroit's offensive line is dogshit. They can't run block. Their pass blocking is pretty bad too. Either Stafford can't find Calvin Johnson downfield (because he's running for his fucking life) or the OC isn't calling the long bombs - probably both. Meanwhile the Seahawks continue to prove that their OC has no fucking idea how to get the ball to his playmakers. Yes, let's keep sending Jimmy Graham on up and outs or crossing patterns 5 yards past the line of scrimmage. Also, make sure to force him to run and pass block because he's objectively horrible at those two things and will never be good. And make sure your offensive line is just as bad as Detroit's so that Russell Wilson is constantly throwing in a scramble drill. We wouldn't want to really DESIGN any deep bootleg type passes, let's make sure they happen completely spontaneously.

Detroit should have never been competitive in that game but then frankly neither should Seattle as they were both fucking awful all night. The shitshow that was the weekly referee cluster fuck was just the shit sprinkles on top of the whole shit sundae.

[Paelos]

Seattle will figure it out mid-season. They usually do. Whether or not Arizona has run away with it already might be up for debate.

As for Wild Card teams, one of them could actually come out of the previous dumpster fire that is the NFC South. Which is hilarious. The other is about as wide open as it gets right now.

There don't look like many Super Bowl caliber teams current in the NFL. I see Green Bay and the Patriots. Denver has issues with Peyton dying by week 12. Cincy always shits the bed. Arizona, Atlanta, and Carolina have been smacking around shitty teams but have yet to be challenged. And I can't believe in the Jets with Fitzmagic as real.

But the list of shitty teams with almost no chance? That list is HUGE. Miami, Cleveland, Baltimore, Tennessee, Houston, Jacksonville, KC, Washington, Philly, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa, New Orleans, and San Fran. All terrible and all toast. Almost half the league is crap.

[HaemishM]

Combine all that with the shitton of extra, Mickey-Mouse-level penalties and idiotic refereeing and it looks like a repeat of last year's shittastic NFL clusterfuck of a season.

[WayAbvPar]

I think the proliferation of the spread/high tempo offense in CFB the past decade is catching up to the NFL. They aren't getting as many players who know how to play NFL style offense and defense. Consequently, NFL coaches are doing more on the job training than before. Since there aren't an abundance of good coaches, more raw players are getting half-assed coaching, and this is the product you see on Sundays. A few elite teams, a couple up and comers, and a bunch of bottom feeding garbage merchants.

[HaemishM]

I think the spread must be effecting offensive lines as well because those have turned to utter dog shit league wide.

[WayAbvPar]

They are one of the most affected groups (QBs being the other). They rarely have to grind out run blocks, and pass blocking is predicated on a short drop or pistol or shotgun formation. This is why the Seahawks (and a few other teams) have been drafting defensive linemen and switching them to offense. They get the right athletic fit, and teach them the techniques they want. Of course, while they are learning on the job, you have dumpster fires like the current Seattle OL.

[Chimpy]

There is also the fact that the draft these days it all about the "skill" positions. I'm sorry but playing offensive line takes just as much skill as catching the ball.

I believe the quality of football in the NFL is going to keep declining as fewer and fewer young kids play the game. I see it in the high schools around where I live, where a single rural district could easily field a team when I was in high school, they now are having to co-op with at least one more school district to be able to have enough players (and afford the costs as football is an expensive sport for schools to have). And towns that are larger that used to never need to have under-classmen on the varsity team are suiting up and even starting more and more freshmen and sophomores.

In another 20 years, high school football is likely to be what high school soccer was 20 years ago: a niche sport played almost entirely at rich suburban schools with large student populations.

[01101010]

There is also the fact that the draft these days it all about the "skill" positions. I'm sorry but playing offensive line takes just as much skill as catching the ball.

Browns have some fairly high draft picks on the OL and 0 skill players and they are dogshit to watch. You really do need balance...which is why Dallas has been looking pretty good over the past 2-3 years and why the Patriots are always so damn good.