NFL 2011

[Ingmar]

It was like 20 yards from the closest guy!

[Chimpy]

It was like 20 yards from the closest guy!

And the two closest guys were wearing white uniforms at that.

[ghost]

I don't remember it being that bad.  Maybe it was, but where the ball lands isn't necessarily an indicator of how close it was to being caught. 

[Chimpy]

I don't remember it being that bad.  Maybe it was, but where the ball lands isn't necessarily an indicator of how close it was to being caught. 

There was NO ONE on the field who could possibly have caught that throw. Pretty sure Belichek was closer standing on the sidelines.

[ghost]

I'll try to go back and re-watch it. 

If so, that was a HUGE fuckup by Brady.  That safety cost them the game.

[Paelos]

The throw was down the middle. The closest receiver was on a curl going the other way, about 20 yards away from the pass. I mean it's like he was throwing to the kickoff spot.

[Sjofn]

ELI'S intentional-grounding-safety versus the Falcons was dumb in a different way, he didn't manage to throw it past the line of scrimmage or something. 

[Nevermore]

Brady lost that game, not Welker.

All I'm saying is if you are a top receiver in the league, and you decently get two hands on it, you should catch the ball. Especially in clutch time.

All I'm saying is if you are a top quarterback in the league, and you decently get the ball off, you should throw it where the receiver can catch it.  Especially in clutch time.

[Cyrrex]

I thought the Welker drop was mostly understandable (if out of character)...high, twisiting back shoulder catch.  Pretty high degree of difficulty...the throw was just as faulty as the catch.  I thought Hernandez and Branch made much worse drops, and I think both of theirs were on the last drive.

[Paelos]

Hernandez's drop was the worst by far. In stride, with room, in both hands.

[Segoris]

I agree Hernandez's drop was huge and on him, I appreciate Welker's drop because this prank gave me a laugh:

[ghost]

Payton Manning is still unable to throw to his left.  He should probably just hang it up and retire while he's ahead.  It always pains me to see these guys drag it out 3-5 years past when they should be done.

[Nebu]

I hope he gets picked up as a QB coach by someone.  The knowledge in his brain needs to be tapped.

I wonder if he'll become the Ted Williams of football.  A gift for the game that he lacks the ability to pass along to others. 

[Paelos]

Terrible puns! That's a bad Nebu!

[HaemishM]

I can't imagine there are many teams that wouldn't jump at the chance to sign him even if he can't play in 2012 for no other than QB tutelage, with the upside being IF he can play, he's probably a significant upgrade from what they have. He'd just have to come WAY down on his salary demands, maybe have like $1-2 million in guaranteed money with a shitton of performance bonuses. Miami, San Fran, Washington, Arizona, Jacksonville, Minnesota, Seattle, Oakland (never happen if Palmer is still starting), Denver, Chicago, Tennessee (Hasselback is probably done as their starter), St. Louis would all benefit from his presence. The Jets and Baltimore would also benefit, but I think both Sanchez and Flacco would see it as an insult to have this guy come in and try to teach them how to win and possibly be waiting in the wings to take over. We can guarantee he won't show up  in New Orleans, New England, Green Bay, Detroit or the Giants camp, and he won't help running QB's like Freeman in Tampa or Vick in Philly. Dallas probably falls into the Baltimore category - if they bring in Manning, it's to take Romo's job.

[Nebu]

Do you think that having him as a tutor is worth enough to give up the roster spot for an injury replacement?   I could see that being valuable for Cinci, Detroit, and St. Louis as their young QB's have some serious upside potential. 

[Paelos]

There's only a couple viable teams I could see him signing for:

The Jets - Sanchez blows, but the rest of the team is solid, except for that clubhouse cancer WR.
Houston - Schaub has 1 year left, and he's not exactly gangbusters on that squad even with all the talent. A 70% Peyton Manning could win 10 games there.
Chicago - The Bears need a QB who can do something to do along with Forte. They could be a playoff squad with Manning.
San Fran - Smith comes up on Free Agency. How much money will you risk vs. a risk on someone else? That team is otherwise ready to roll.

Peyton wants to be on a team that has a chance to win right now. He could give fuckall about the money if it means going to Miami, Washington, or Arizona where he'll have zero chance at a Super Bowl.

[Ingmar]

Pretty sure there's not a chance that he ends up here, unless Harbaugh gets overruled, and who is going to overrule him after that season?

And we're definitely not 'otherwise ready to roll'. We have like no wide receivers at all.

[Tannhauser]

Tennessee has already said "No thanks".

[ghost]

I can't imagine there are many teams that wouldn't jump at the chance to sign him even if he can't play in 2012 for no other than QB tutelage, with the upside being IF he can play, he's probably a significant upgrade from what they have. He'd just have to come WAY down on his salary demands, maybe have like $1-2 million in guaranteed money with a shitton of performance bonuses. Miami, San Fran, Washington, Arizona, Jacksonville, Minnesota, Seattle, Oakland (never happen if Palmer is still starting), Denver, Chicago, Tennessee (Hasselback is probably done as their starter), St. Louis would all benefit from his presence. The Jets and Baltimore would also benefit, but I think both Sanchez and Flacco would see it as an insult to have this guy come in and try to teach them how to win and possibly be waiting in the wings to take over. We can guarantee he won't show up  in New Orleans, New England, Green Bay, Detroit or the Giants camp, and he won't help running QB's like Freeman in Tampa or Vick in Philly. Dallas probably falls into the Baltimore category - if they bring in Manning, it's to take Romo's job.

I believe he's already said that he'll be very flexible with the salary structure.  I'm not sure if he'll be flexible with the amount, however.

[Sjofn]

Chicago - The Bears need a QB who can do something to do along with Forte. They could be a playoff squad with Manning.

I haven't been paying a huge amount of attention to Chicago, but do they have an o-line worth a shit yet? If not, I imagine the last thing you want to put behind it is a dude with a manky neck.

[HaemishM]

Normally, I'd say you don't give up the roster spot for a tutor. But it's Peyton Fucking Manning. That's not just any old tutor, the motherfucker was pretty much a de facto on field offensive coordinator for the last decade. The shit he could teach would melt most QB's brains.

I forgot about Cincy. He'd be a good fit there, except well, Mike Brown is a tightwad cumbucket, so that'll never happen. Peyton will pretty much have the leverage in any negotiation because if there aren't at least 10 teams he COULD sign for (not would but could), all he's got to do is say "X of GTFO."

[Ingmar]

I don't think they'd want to reward Dalton for that awesome season by bringing in Peyton and saying 'ok now sit.'

[ghost]

You're making the assumption that he's going to be good at coaching.  Not everyone who plays well teaches well. 

[Paelos]

Pretty sure there's not a chance that he ends up here, unless Harbaugh gets overruled, and who is going to overrule him after that season?

And we're definitely not 'otherwise ready to roll'. We have like no wide receivers at all.

I put almost no stock in wide receivers, good or otherwise. An outstanding QB will create "good receivers" with few exceptions. Give me a good TE set, two passable WRs, and an outstanding QB? Winner, winner.

[Sjofn]

Worked for the Patriots.

Oh wait. 

[Rasix]

I just don't get why they thought two aging has-beens and a glorified slot receiver could be their vertical threats.  Even with Gronk, they don't scare anyone deep.

[Paelos]

Worked for the Patriots.

Oh wait. 

It got them to the Super Bowl. I'd love to say that for my Cowboys, even if they lost. It worked for the Packers. It worked for Drew Brees. It works all over the board.

The only difference is that the 49ers also have an amazing Defense, which is what those other teams lack.

[Ingmar]

Our WRs are all either injury prone, terrible, or both. I mean really really bad. I expect us to pick at least 2 up in the draft, and go after one of the big name free agent WRs as well.

[ghost]

I just don't get why they thought two aging has-beens and a glorified slot receiver could be their vertical threats.  Even with Gronk, they don't scare anyone deep.

They remind me a lot of the Spurs in basketball.  They are able to pound almost everyone in the regular season due to being top notch at planning and execution, but their athleticism, or lack thereof, is starting to show. 

[Nebu]

You're making the assumption that he's going to be good at coaching.  Not everyone who plays well teaches well. 

Hence my Ted Williams comment above. 

[ghost]

I'm really not all that familiar with Williams.  I'm not much of a baseball guy.  I would wager, however, that most really good players make shitty coaches. 

[Cyrrex]

I didn't see a lot of Manning-like qualities in Curtis Painter (you'd thinking that something would have at least rubbed off), so at the very least I suspect that he might not be too into teaching someone while he is on the active roster.  He wants to play.  That might make him a bit bitter and petty about such things.

I would like to hear him as an analyst. Get him and Justin Timerberlake to replace Gruden and Jaws on the ESPN cast.

[Paelos]

Peyton might be a better coach when he's not gunning for the QB job. He has no interest in training his replacement. Neither did Favre.

[ghost]

Name some top flight players that have gone on to be coaches.  If there are any, they are likely defensive players or linemen, but even those guys aren't typically heading into coaching.  It doesn't happen in basketball either.  I'm not sure about baseball, but I don't think Whitey Herzog or Tommy LaRussa were all stars.  I know that Francona played and so did Scioscia, but neither one do I remember as a Favre or Manning star type player.  I don't think players of Manning's caliber are built to be coaches.  To be a coach you have to be able to let someone else do what needs to be done, and very competitive, legendary quality players have difficulty letting this happen.