NFL 2010

[Paelos]

The NFC is horrible this year. No team deserves to win the Super Bowl out of that conference. The Bears and Falcons tied for the best record? WHAT? 

[HaemishM]

And don't forget the Tampa Bay Bucs are not far behind, as are the Giants, Redskins, Eagles and Cardinals. That NFC West was already a joke and now it's a HUGE joke. St. Louis wins two in a row then not only can't score more than 6 points against the Lions, they GIVE UP 44 to them? WTF? I have no idea what's going on these days. It's the first time since 1970 that the league does not have a 4-0 team.

The Saints... man, I just can't pinpoint what the hell is wrong with them. None of the wideouts are really performing - Shockey is the leading receiver. Yeah, they've had some injuries, but can Bush's absence be contributing that much? Maybe it's that the running backs aren't being considered dangerous in the passing game, leaving the other receivers covered where they might not be otherwise.

[Cyrrex]

The Saints... man, I just can't pinpoint what the hell is wrong with them. None of the wideouts are really performing - Shockey is the leading receiver. Yeah, they've had some injuries, but can Bush's absence be contributing that much? Maybe it's that the running backs aren't being considered dangerous in the passing game, leaving the other receivers covered where they might not be otherwise.

The breakdown that Merril Hoge did (for ESPN, I think) intended to prove that it is precisely because there are now no receiving threats coming out of the backfield.  The linebackers only glance quickly into the backfield and then drop into coverage...where with Reggie, you might get two or even three of them hesitating, and at least one guy permanently assigned to him.  For all the talk of how Bush hasn't ever achieved the lofty heights expected of him, everyone still says that he changes the dynamic of an offense, if for no other reason than it being suicidal to let him have the ball in open space.  Makes sense, I suppose.

[HaemishM]

I might buy that except that even when he was playing, the Saints weren't scoring touchdowns. Their best offensive game was against Atlanta and Bush was in for much of that game. Their wideouts are just underperforming.

[Cyrrex]

Yeah, I dunno.  Brees himself is probably underperforming, too.  And defenses are giving them their best, as was expected.  Defense isn't always rising to the occasion, either.  In other words, it's probably just a simple combination of all of these things.

Losing to Arizona just pisses me off, though.  Fuck Arizona.

[shiznitz]

It is the beauty of the NFL that during the off-season, the winning team is studied to death.  The player quality is close enough across the league that an intelligent and well-executed defensive scheme can neutralize the best offense given time.  This is why it is so hard to win consecutive Superbowls.  This also explains Vick's effectiveness in his first games.  None of the opponents had any game plan against a QB who might tuck and run.  NFL teams are a bit bureacratic when it comes to play design and practice.  It takes a few weeks or more for defensive playbooks to adapt and then the defense has to learn the new playbook.

[naum]

Yeah, I dunno.  Brees himself is probably underperforming, too.  And defenses are giving them their best, as was expected.  Defense isn't always rising to the occasion, either.  In other words, it's probably just a simple combination of all of these things.

Losing to Arizona just pisses me off, though.  Fuck Arizona.

Saints self-destructed. And Cardinals had lady luck smile upon them again (just like Oakland game where Janikowski missed 3 FG, including one at end of game) — their only offensive TD was when BYU/Mesa boy QB got creamed and coughed up ball, yet OL recovered and advanced for a TD. The other 2 TD were on Betts fumble return and Brees pick 6. And then there was a big KR to setup another Cardinals FG.

But good thing I didn't put money on game because if I did I would have bet a fortune on Saints giving 7.5.

[01101010]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/wires/10/11/2020.ap.fbn.browns.big.problems.1st.ld.0178/index.html

/cry cry cry

Nothing like possibly getting the nod at Heinz against one of the most killer defenses in the league.

[JWIV]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/wires/10/11/2020.ap.fbn.browns.big.problems.1st.ld.0178/index.html

/cry cry cry

Nothing like possibly getting the nod at Heinz against one of the most killer defenses in the league.

Oh Jesus.  That poor kid. 

[HaemishM]

Yeah, fuck me. Not only have to start against one of the best defenses in the league, but to have to do it with the Browns. 

[01101010]

Yeah, fuck me. Not only have to start against one of the best defenses in the league, but to have to do it with the Browns. 

Hey now... the O-line is actually the only thing working atm. Of course big Joe Thomas had a shit game - but that is an odd occurrence.

[HaemishM]

Hey Favre - how about those turnovers? 

[MrHat]

Hey Favre - how about those turnovers? 

He looked broken through much of the game.  The last 2 min drill was more "need to get out of here" than it was "lets score!"

[Surlyboi]

In all honesty, the Jets shouldn't have let it get that close. They blew a bunch of opportunities in the red zone and settled for FGs.

[Paelos]

He should have sent them photos of his penis first to soften them up. Go viral on their asses.

[ghost]

I'm not sure why the Vikings insisted on bringing Favre back.  He wasn't the reason they lost, but man he just doesn't have the fire any more. 

[Paelos]

I'm not sure why the Vikings insisted on bringing Favre back.

Tarvaris Jackson

[ghost]

They could have picked up Leinart , which would have at least been an upgrade from Jackson.  Of course he may have less fire than Favre, at this point. 

[shiznitz]

Favre sells tickets now, regardless of his success.

[HaemishM]

I'm not sure why the Vikings insisted on bringing Favre back.

Unlimited text messages. 

[stu]

...but only limited in their content.

At least they weren't goatse shots. That'd be fun.

[01101010]

Putting aside my Browns fan hat for a second, this is quite possibly the worst announcing in any football game I have ever heard. Constant miscalls in timeouts, score, and just the events of the game. And then there is the audio fellatio of Big Ben...all fucking game. You'd think Jesus was playing. Even the overthrows and miscues the announcers are blaming on the receivers. Incredible... I had to turn it. At least McCoy is not dead yet, but seriously James Harrison? Headhunt much out there?

[Surlyboi]

Who the fuck onside kicks in the second quarter?

[JWIV]

Putting aside my Browns fan hat for a second, this is quite possibly the worst announcing in any football game I have ever heard. Constant miscalls in timeouts, score, and just the events of the game. And then there is the audio fellatio of Big Ben...all fucking game. You'd think Jesus was playing. Even the overthrows and miscues the announcers are blaming on the receivers. Incredible... I had to turn it. At least McCoy is not dead yet, but seriously James Harrison? Headhunt much out there?

That's my usual reaction for any game that Rapistberger is in.  Announcers always seem to fight over who can slobber over his knob more.

[WayAbvPar]

Nothing can top the rim job the MNF guys were giving Favre last week. Jesus.

Oh and Sauced?

WOOHOOOOOOOO! Pity they couldn't have done that last year at home, but wow, what a big win 

[Cyrrex]

Gruden fellates whoever the best MNF QB is that he has to cover that week.  He's just especially bad when he has an actual top talent to talk about.  It's a shame that he's so fucking annoying, because deep down beneath all that, he seems to understand the game quite well.

[Sauced]

Nothing can top the rim job the MNF guys were giving Favre last week. Jesus.

Oh and Sauced?

WOOHOOOOOOOO! Pity they couldn't have done that last year at home, but wow, what a big win  

I was dreading that game.  The Bears are at their best against teams that excel at one dimension.  Teams like Seattle that do everything "okay" just murder Chicago, who turn into soft goo when they can't all focus on shutting down one particular aspect of an offense.

And, of course, the offensive line is still dog shit.  Cutler looks done, particularly if Martz continues to call 80-20 pass-run plays.  0-12 on third down!

They are who we thought they were, indeed.

Adding Marshawn Lynch can't be understated, though - he looks legit, and gives Seattle a real personality.  They should easily ride Lynch/Forsett to the NFC West title.

[Cyrrex]

The biggest problem with Martz's offense at this point is that it assume those idiots can pass block.  They cannot.  Throw a cornerback blitz at them and they are completely fucking clueless.  Of course, it doesn't help that Martz doesn't seem to adjust anything.

Marshawn appears legit.  He's going to help that team.  His stats won't back it up, but he had a handful of really strong runs.  And then Forsett came in as a change-of-pace back and just ripped them up.  It'll be interesting to see how that combo develops.

[ghost]

Anybody want to gamble on whether Wade Phillips makes it to the end of the year?

[HaemishM]

The biggest problem with Martz's offense at this point is that it assume those idiots can pass block.  They cannot.  Throw a cornerback blitz at them and they are completely fucking clueless.  Of course, it doesn't help that Martz doesn't seem to adjust anything.

Martz has never known nor given a shit about pass blocking. EVER. He is the reason Kurt Warner is no longer playing, he's the reason Marc Bulger threw almost as many INT's as TD's when he was QB in St. Louis, and he's the reason Cutler had only 17 out of 39 complete but had almost 300 yards. I'm amazed he's only gotten 3 INT's this year - but with 23 sacks in less than 150 dropbacks, it's a wonder he's still conscious. Martz is rubbish at pass blocking schemes with the best of O lines. He figures if you chuck the ball deep long enough, it won't matter. Both Bulger and Warner's careers have been hampered/shortened by injuries they should not have suffered under a coach who gave a shit about blocking.

EDIT: Phillips will make it to the end of the year. The NFL is one place where a mid-season coaching change just doesn't do any damn good 99% of the time, especially a head coaching change. Jones will ride out the season with Phillips then either install Garrett as head coach next year or shitcan the whole lot and get a real coaching staff. That Cowboys/Vikings game last night was fucking awful. Neither team deserved to win. The winner was the one who screwed the pooch the least.

[WayAbvPar]

It was actually kind of amazing that Seattle kept blitzing safeties and Chicago just could NOT figure it out. It wasn't like they went out of their way to really disguise it either. I took a chance and started Seattle D over Dallas D in 2 of my leagues. Definitely a good choice. Was shocked we didn't get any turnovers, but a shit ton of sacks and a safety was nice.

If I didn't loathe Cutler I would feel sorry for him. At least it was 220 pound safeties hitting him and not LBs or DLs. That would have killed him.

[ghost]

I really hope the Cowboys promote Garrett.  That would be spectacular. 

[Murgos]

I think Phillips has some kind of mind control of Jones, blackmail or something.  Jerry Jones has never hesitated to shit-can winning coaches, much less fuck-ups like Phillips and yet, year after year we're looking at Philips on the side-line.

[naum]

I think Phillips has some kind of mind control of Jones, blackmail or something.  Jerry Jones has never hesitated to shit-can winning coaches, much less fuck-ups like Phillips and yet, year after year we're looking at Philips on the side-line.

Because Mr. Jerry is the de facto head coach and Bum Jr. is just a puppet, with only coordinator power… …Mr. Jerry dumping Bum Jr. would be an admission of Mr. Jerry's failings…

[Paelos]

I really hope the Cowboys promote Garrett.  That would be spectacular. 

 

The Cowboys are a good team who can't stop shooting themselves in the foot with horrible, stupid, mind-grating, tv-throwing, dumbass fucking penalties. 21 points is good enough to win 10 out of the 13 NFL games this week. 27 points last week was good enough to win all but two games. The Cowboys have an impressive passing offense, but their running game is horrible, their turnover margin is 2nd worst in the league, and only the Lions and Raiders take more penalties.

IF they could take less than 8 penalties a game and IF they could stop turning the ball over twice a match, they are fully capable of reeling off a 3 game winning streak against the Giants, Jags, and Packers. Suddenly you're back at .500 looking at a very questionable NFC East who might have a leader at 6-3.