2009 NFL

[Paelos]

Detroit beats the Skins. HAR! 

Grats on dusting the cobwebs off, Stafford.

[JWIV]

Detroit beats the Skins. HAR! 

Grats on dusting the cobwebs off, Stafford.

SUCK IT SKINS.  Man, sports radio is going to be hysterical to listen to tomorrow. 

The only thing better would be if I  could listen to Pittsburgh crying about losing to the Bungles.   

[Trippy]

The only thing better would be if I  could listen to Pittsburgh crying about losing to the Bungles.   

[Phildo]

The only thing better would be if I  could listen to Pittsburgh crying about losing to the Bungles.   

[Nebu]

SUCK IT SKINS.  Man, sports radio is going to be hysterical to listen to tomorrow. 

The only thing better would be if I  could listen to Pittsburgh crying about losing to the Bungles.   

Zorn will be looking for a job in the booth soon. 

[Trippy]

It won't be that easy to replace him since Zorn is head coach, offensive coordinator (well technically Sherman Smith is but Zorn calls all the offensive plays) *and* the quarterbacks coach.

[HaemishM]

How bad do the Skins suck? Yeah, that bad.

[01101010]

How bad do the Skins suck? Yeah, that bad.

pish... go back and watch the browns lowlights. Now there is a team that blows.

[Sky]

Hey, look. Sanchez learned how to throw in the rain Sunday.  Guy is a great QB, I see a lot of early Favre in him, the fakes, athleticism, the friggin arm...but holy crap the rain almost beat him.

I hope Freeney is all right. I love me some Colts D-line.

My boss's husband is a huge steelers fan, I hope she makes it into work today and isn't buried in a shallow grave in the garden.

[Nevermore]

How bad do the Skins suck? Yeah, that bad.

pish... go back and watch the browns lowlights. Now there is a team that blows.

In the battle of suck, Tampa Bay had 86 yards of total offense and allowed 400 yards against the Giants.

[Cyrrex]

I'm feeling smug this morning, having picked Detroit to win over the hated Redskins. 

I did not, however, see that Cinci win coming.

Also, how can JaMarcus Russel still be considered valid as a human being?  Oakland should probably just opt to go sans QB.

[Rasix]

I hear Darren McFadden can run a mean wildcat 

[Bungee]

Also, how can JaMarcus Russel the Raiders still be considered valid as a human being franchise?  Oakland should probably just opt to go sans QB to the CFL.

FIFY.
And WTF happened to the Steelers defense... I damn near puked on my Terrible Towel on that last drive by the friggin BENGALS(!!!) - beating the Steelers on 2(!!!) 4th downs to end the game...

[Trippy]

Apparently Troy Polamalu was doing all the work on D and the rest were just admiring his handiwork.

[Cyrrex]

It's probably no big stretch to say that Troy is the difference between Pittsburgh being 1-2 and 3-0 right now.

[HaemishM]

Troy is similar to Bob Sanders for the Colts - if he's out, the defense is questionable at best. The only difference is that Peyton can win throwing to 3 arthritic senior citizens and Rothliesberger really really really needs a fucking running game. First the Bears and now the Bengals? WTF? The Steelers need to graft some monkey parts onto Polamalu stat and get him out there, because the Ravens are not fucking joking this year. Flacco appears to absolutely be the real deal.

Speaking of Flacco, is it just me, or are some of the younger QB's really fucking good? Ryan and Flacco both appear to be the goods in their second year, Sanchez has been sharp and consistent in his 3 games, both Matt Schaub and Kyle Orton have been good with less than stellar teams, Kolb has been a beast on a team that appears to be punching above its weight, Hill in San Fran is running the offense well, and KC doesn't suck because of what Matt Cassell is doing. I think even Brady Quinn would be doing well if the Browns didn't spend the offseason dumping talent. There are some good QB's out there that just need a few parts to be playoff bound.

[murdoc]

How bad do the Skins suck? Yeah, that bad.

pish... go back and watch the browns lowlights. Now there is a team that blows.

In the battle of suck, Tampa Bay had 86 yards of total offense and allowed 400 yards against the Giants.

:(

Hey, at least they get the Redskins this week!

[Rasix]

Gee, I hope that game's on TV. 

[voodoolily]

I don't know what you're talking about, I'm about to become a father, and a responsible adult.

Any word on Hasselback?

Yes.  Word on the street is that he prefers the Hasselbeck spelling of his name

I think Sauced was thinking about these:



btw, WAP, your wife drives like a woman. Several times she came to a complete stop at a green light for no apparent reason (sitting there until the light eventually changed to yellow, red, then green again before moving), but had to slam on her brakes once to avoid running a red light. She also slammed on her brakes at a freshly-changed yellow at least once. 

[Cyrrex]

Speaking of Flacco, is it just me, or are some of the younger QB's really fucking good? Ryan and Flacco both appear to be the goods in their second year, Sanchez has been sharp and consistent in his 3 games, both Matt Schaub and Kyle Orton have been good with less than stellar teams, Kolb has been a beast on a team that appears to be punching above its weight, Hill in San Fran is running the offense well, and KC doesn't suck because of what Matt Cassell is doing. I think even Brady Quinn would be doing well if the Browns didn't spend the offseason dumping talent. There are some good QB's out there that just need a few parts to be playoff bound.

It is absolutely not just you.  It's shocking how well some of them are doing.  And a Ravens team that can put up 30 ppg is a fucking scary thing.  If this (Baltimore's offense) isn't just an early season glitch, then Pittsburgh is done.

[Sky]

Troy is similar to Bob Sanders for the Colts - if he's out, the defense secondary is questionable at best.

FIFY. Though with Freeney out for a couple weeks, Peyton is going to have to put up some serious points.

[WayAbvPar]

btw, WAP, your wife drives like a woman. Several times she came to a complete stop at a green light for no apparent reason (sitting there until the light eventually changed to yellow, red, then green again before moving), but had to slam on her brakes once to avoid running a red light. She also slammed on her brakes at a freshly-changed yellow at least once.

Don't I know it. She was probably especially bad on Sunday running on 3 or 4 hours of sleep after drinking all night. Luckily I was too drunk to notice or care on the way home 

[HaemishM]

Troy is similar to Bob Sanders for the Colts - if he's out, the defense secondary is questionable at best.

FIFY. Though with Freeney out for a couple weeks, Peyton is going to have to put up some serious points.

I don't think it's just the secondary with him. Sanders (and Troy for that matter) are both such huge hitters that they are instrumental in stopping the run game. Freeney can be exposed by off-tackle runs often because he is so focused on the pass rush. When Sanders isn't there to stop it, you get games like the Colts had against Miami last week - they get run the fuck off the field. It's just lucky that Manning is that good and Miami's offense can run its ass off between the 20's but won't score TD's.

[Trippy]

Troy is similar to Bob Sanders for the Colts - if he's out, the defense secondary is questionable at best.

FIFY. Though with Freeney out for a couple weeks, Peyton is going to have to put up some serious points.

I don't think it's just the secondary with him. Sanders (and Troy for that matter) are both such huge hitters that they are instrumental in stopping the run game. Freeney can be exposed by off-tackle runs often because he is so focused on the pass rush. When Sanders isn't there to stop it, you get games like the Colts had against Miami last week - they get run the fuck off the field. It's just lucky that Manning is that good and Miami's offense can run its ass off between the 20's but won't score TD's.

Yes Sanders is their run defense. During their Super Bowl season the Colts' run defense was among the worst while he was out injured but when he came back for their playoff run their run defense was among the best and it's a big reason why he won the Defensive Player of the Year in 2007.

[Sky]

I stand corrected. When Freeney tackles the HB, it's usually because he chased him after running past him to the QB in the first place. Amazing pass rush but totally open to getting abused by the goddamned wildcat.

[HaemishM]

I am so ready to bitchslap the knock cockgobbler that blathers on about the glory of the wildcat. I fucking hate it. I'm gobsmacked that some defenses (INDY) cannot seem to stop this shit. YOU KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING - TACKLE THE FUCKER GETTING THE SNAP. After that fails for 3 or 4 plays, tackle the running back in motion. Not that fucking hard to scheme against.

[Rasix]

I am so ready to bitchslap the knock cockgobbler that blathers on about the glory of the wildcat. I fucking hate it. I'm gobsmacked that some defenses (INDY) cannot seem to stop this shit. YOU KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING - TACKLE THE FUCKER GETTING THE SNAP. After that fails for 3 or 4 plays, tackle the running back in motion. Not that fucking hard to scheme against.

Plus this crap works in college because you'll have someone taking the ball that is a better athlete and much faster than the guys attempting to tackle him.  This really isn't the case in NFL where team speed on defense is miles above what you'll see in college. 

It's a gimmick, it'll fade. Miami may end up running it a lot this year due to their QB situation. Maybe Chad P can go for the comeback player of the year trifecta next year.

[Paelos]

The Wildcat is a good situational thing if you can rotate people in quickly, keep the D from making subs, and have some elements of surprise involved with it (like tossing deep to the QB).

[Cyrrex]

I think the wildcat is supposed to be effective because your runner can hit the gap MUCH faster than when a QB is handing it off (although honestly, hitting the gap fast isn't always a benefit).  The counter to that is that you have to have your linebackers plugging those same gaps as soon as possible.  The negative consequences to that is that you expose the middle of the field and also making it easier to run off tackle with the sweep/option, because the linebackers end up taking themselves out of the play when stuffing the gaps.  That's the dilemma that defenses have to solve.  In short, it amplifies the problem of trying to determine if they are running between the tackles, or around them, because they cannot wait for it to develop (back will be at the second level if you don't plug the gap immediately).  Even worse if you have someone back there who can throw the ball credibly.  Best defense is probably a defensive line that is extremely good against the run all by themselves.

The above is based solely on my own understanding and may be very, very wrong.

[Druzil]

It's not about how fast he can hit the gap, it's about the extra man in the backfield that has to be accounted for by the defense.  It puts an extra blocker in the box for the run and if the defense pulls an extra man in the box it's one less man coverage in the secondary giving the "wildcat QB" a shot a throwing a big play against single man coverage.  Miami also uses it, like said above, to keep the defense from subbing in players.

[Trippy]

This is how Arkansas did it with Darren McFadden:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR76aoKghM8

Darren would throw it occasionally as well but the main purpose was the keep the defense guessing how best to stop the run as Cyrrex said.

[Nebu]

The problem with the wildcat in the NFL is twofold:

1) you face LB that are as fast or faster than your tailback and QB.  

2) You face fewer teams with more time to prepare and better scouting technology at their disposal.  

The wildcat may work well the first time or two, but it's not going to help anyone win in the NFL.  If you win with the wildcat, it's equally likely that you would have won with a standard pro set as well.  

[Triforcer]

I have to pour a metaphysical 40 on the curb for my Browns.  I'm hoping, at this point, they can win one game.  And Mangini is on the fast track to unemployment, hopefully within 2 or 3 games. 

[Azuredream]

I have to pour a metaphysical 40 on the curb for my Browns.  I'm hoping, at this point, they can win one game.  And Mangini is on the fast track to unemployment, hopefully within 2 or 3 games. 

Most people I talk to around here share the same sentiment. I have no idea why we hired Mangini in the first place, and we're in real danger of going 0-16 the way the first 3 weeks have gone.

[Hoax]

If DA pulls some shit outta his ass and costs my Bengals a win (I still vividly remember that 54 - 48 game, which is amazing considering how wasted I was by the end) I will be oh so pissed off.  I like Anderson but not this week ffs.