NFL 2011

[WayAbvPar]

Tarvaris Jackson update:
Still terrible.
 

Whitehurst looked good on that 9 of 10 drive! Yea, it was against preseason scrubs, but hey, I'm trying to be positive for you.

He did indeed. They changed the gameplan for him though- they had TJ doing naked boots and all kinds of downfield throws to test him out, while Clipboard Jesus had more quick routes and first/2nd reads to go to. I want to see him get a run with the first team so we can more properly prepare.

Actually I just want to go 1-15, see Pete Carroll get fired, and then draft Andrew Luck.

[JWIV]

Cincinnati Bengals Announcers: Still making excuses about "trying to gel with this new lineup."

Then again they have 20 years practice.

God I wish they'd leave this city so I could watch something else.

Just wait. You are about to draft Pryor. 

Nope!  Al Davis struck again!   

[Paelos]

Oakland and Cincy. Battling it out for who is the worst ownership in the league.

[Draegan]

I can think of at least 7 guys I would rather have than Brees in the league right now:

1.  Rivers
2.  Brady
3.  Vick
4.  Rodgers
5.  Roethlisberger
6.  Manning son #1
7.  Ryan

And probably Joe Flacco and Josh Freeman as well. 

Were I the owner of an NFL team, I'd want:

1) Manning
2) Rogers
3) Brady
4) Brees

Vick is a meltdown waiting to happen.  Roethlessberger is too system specific.  I'm not sold on Ryan yet. 

I agree with this opinion 100%, was actually going to almost write the same exact thing!

[Nebu]

I agree with this opinion 100%, was actually going to almost write the same exact thing!

Holy crap! Did we just agree on something?  This may be a first. 

[Malakili]

Cincinnati Bengals Announcers: Still making excuses about "trying to gel with this new lineup."

Then again they have 20 years practice.

God I wish they'd leave this city so I could watch something else.

Just wait. You are about to draft Pryor. 

Nope, Pryor to Oakland.  Which seems totally unsurprising the more I think about it.

[Draegan]

Just for shits and giggles, here are my predictions:

AFC East: Patriots
AFC North: Steelers
AFC South: Colts
AFC West: Chiefs
Wildcards: Texans, Chargers

NFC East: Cowboys
NFC North: Lions
NFC South: Bucs
NFC West: Rams
Wildcards: Packers, Giants

AFC Champ: Chiefs v Chargers
NFC Champ: Packers v Cowboys

Superbowl: Packers v Chargers - Packers repeat!

---

Yeah I wrote Lions!  Suh is going to rip Rogers head off... literally.

[HaemishM]

Oakland and Cincy. Battling it out for who is the worst ownership in the league.

Can't we just shoot both the owners, shove their bodies up Jerry Jones' ass and shot the trio into the sun?

EDIT: According to ESPN, the Raiders now do not have a pick in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds of next year's draft. WTF? Does anyone think they are close enough to a winning team that they should miss out on that many high picks? Al Davis is certifiable.

[Paelos]

Davis got confused. He thought he was recruiting for a track team, not a football team.

[Slayerik]

Just for shits and giggles, here are my predictions:

AFC East: Patriots
AFC North: Steelers
AFC South: Colts
AFC West: Chiefs
Wildcards: Texans, Chargers

NFC East: Cowboys
NFC North: Lions
NFC South: Bucs
NFC West: Rams
Wildcards: Packers, Giants

AFC Champ: Chiefs v Chargers
NFC Champ: Packers v Cowboys

Superbowl: Packers v Chargers - Packers repeat!

---

Yeah I wrote Lions!  Suh is going to rip Rogers head off... literally.

Dude, I'm a Lion's fan and I think you are nuts.

There will be lots of injuries like every year. Hell, we already lost an RB for the year. That's just a taste.  7-9 is my predicition.

[Rasix]

What's the over/under on how many games before Stafford's arm launches itself out of his shoulder socket?  I'll take 9.

[Paelos]

What's the over/under on how many games before Stafford's arm launches itself out of his shoulder socket?  I'll take 9.

Game 5. Chicago defense.

[ghost]

Dude, I'm a Lion's fan

Wait......what?  How?

[01101010]

Dude, I'm a Lion's fan

Wait......what?  How?

Drank the water... Same explanation I use to certify my being a Browns fan

[Tannhauser]

Lions fan here too, 7-9 sounds about right.

[Malakili]

Well, the Giants looked a bit more decent last night.  Too bad Thomas tore his ACL. 

[WayAbvPar]

I wonder if the Seahawks can weasel a pick or two out of them for Kelly Jennings. I would trade him for a scorching case of herpes, so actual tangible gain would be even better.

[Ingmar]

Well, the Giants looked a bit more decent last night.  Too bad Thomas tore his ACL. 

Witherspoon tore his too.

[Cyrrex]

I think the NFC North may be the hardest division to pick this year.

The Lions seem like they'll be pretty good, if they can stay healthy.
The Bears had the NFC's best record last year (not entirely deservedly, but still).
The Vikings Favred themselves up last year, but do we really think they were that bad?  I don't.
The Packers are still the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers is The Man.

[ghost]

I think the NFC North may be the hardest division to pick this year.

The Lions seem like they'll be pretty good, if they can stay healthy.
The Bears had the NFC's best record last year (not entirely deservedly, but still).
The Vikings Favred themselves up last year, but do we really think they were that bad?  I don't.
The Packers are still the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers is The Man.

Maybe 2-4, but I suspect it will go Packers, Vikings, Lions, Bears.  The Bears look terrible. 

[Paelos]

I think the NFC North may be the hardest division to pick this year.

The Lions seem like they'll be pretty good, if they can stay healthy.
The Bears had the NFC's best record last year (not entirely deservedly, but still).
The Vikings Favred themselves up last year, but do we really think they were that bad?  I don't.
The Packers are still the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers is The Man.

How is that the hard division? Lions, Bears, and Vikings all have serious question marks at the QB spot. Pick the team with the best QB and a passable if not great Defense. That's your division champion 9/10 times. It's Packers all the way.

The hardest division to pick in my view is the NFC West. Absolutely nobody knows who will stop being shitty long enough to win.

[Bunk]

Packers, Bears, Lions, Vikings. Bears edge out the Lions by a game maybe.

Cutler will be better this year.

[Nebu]

Cutler will be better this year.

Cutler has the physical potential to be better, I just don't think he sees the game well enough to make it happen.  I like the Vikings with McNabb and a healthy Percy Harvin, but their lack of depth at receiver will kill them.  They should have kept Rice.  I see this division as Green Bay and 3 other teams struggling to be 9-7, 8-8, or 7-9.  Which team (MIN, DET, CHI) will have which record is anyone's guess.  If Harvin's headaches keep him off the field, Minnesota will struggle to be 7-9. 

[Paelos]

I agree, I have a hard time figuring out the North could be relevant this year outside of the Packers.

[ghost]

I think this is the year that the Bears get trampled. 

[Paelos]

I contend that the most watched/interesting division this year will be the NFC South.

You have the Saints and Drew Brees, you have the Falcons coming off a 13-3 season, you have the Panthers who drafted Cam Newton, and Tampa who won double digit games last year but missed the playoffs.

Downside for the Bucs is that they have no QB, so they will try to ride their D as far as they can.

[Sjofn]

The hardest division to pick in my view is the NFC West. Absolutely nobody knows who will stop being shitty long enough to win.

Rams imo!

[Nevermore]

Downside for the Bucs is that they have no QB, so they will try to ride their D as far as they can.

Quick, which QB in 2010 had the following stats: 3451 passing yards, 364 rushing yards, 25 TDs to only 6 INTs and a 95.9 passer rating (6th among starting QBs).

Hint: he plays for the team that 'has no QB'. 

The Bucs are likely to regress a bit this year due to a tougher schedule, but QB is not a problem area for that team.  Inexperience, especially on defense (six of the starting front seven are 24 or younger, including three rookies) will be the team's biggest problem.

[Paelos]

Quick, which QB in 2010 had the following stats: 3451 passing yards, 364 rushing yards, 25 TDs to only 6 INTs and a 95.9 passer rating (6th among starting QBs).

Hint: he plays for the team that 'has no QB'. 

See here's the problem I have with the overall stats argument. You left out the when and the how. Please allow me to fill in the gaps.

He cleared a 100 QB rating seven times. Those games were against Carolina, Arizona, Carolina, SF, Washington, Seattle, and New Orleans. You can toss out the NO game because they had already clinched a playoff spot and didn't care in the last game of the season. What do the rest of those teams have in common? All of them were under 500, and Carolina was the worst team in the league. How did he fare against teams with good records? Pitt? Crushed - 67.1 rating with a pick. New Orleans when they cared? Smackdown - They got a garbage TD in the 4th after getting shutout for 3 quarters. Atlanta? Uneven, 2 TDs, 2 picks, a 72 rating and a tight loss, then another loss and a 61.4 rating in the other game. Baltimore, same story. In fact, he played like ass against any team that had a playoff shot and lost.

[HaemishM]

Wait, what?

Ok, the NFC North is not really that hard to figure out. The Lions are a year away from real contention. They'll start strong and fade once Matt Stafford's shoulder goes out again. They will improve, but they still don't have the defense and running game to be considered a contender. The Vikings are a goddamn trainwreck, and it was more than Favre that caused it. Their receiver corps needs a really good QB to make them good and McNabb isn't that good anymore. Oh and he will get injured - a lot. Did you see all those hits Favre took last year? McNabb is going to take most if not all of those same hits. Their defense is aging. No Sidney Rice means they don't have a reliable #1 receiver, because Harvin's headaches and his performances without Rice proved that he isn't a #1. The Bears ARE goddamn terrible but will win at least 3 or 4 extra games on Mike Martz's crazy stupid offensive schemes and sheer defensive power. But fuck me, Cutler will continue to take bad hits because Martz can't protect a QB with a GOOD O Line and the Bears O Line is nothing like a good one. And Cutler has lost Olson, so his one release valve which was terribly misused by Martz is now gone. The Packers lost some people but I see nothing that leads me to believe they won't win that division by 1 or more games.

Now the Bucs in the NFC South? You're crazy if you think they have no QB. Freeman put up good numbers with NOBODIES. That team is young, hungry and talented but raw. They will probably win 10 games again because of a tougher schedule, but I don't see them taking a step back unless the Panthers are better - which they won't be. Cam Newton, for all the hype, is still on a team with 1-15 talent and a pissed off #1 receiver in Steve Smith. They might win 3 games no matter who is at QB, 4 or 5 if Newton is the real deal. But this team is 2 years from contender status. Both Atlanta and New Orleans got better IMO. New Orleans got deeper at key positions (Darren Sproles as a replacement for Reggie Bush was goddamn brilliant). Atlanta is just a good damn regular season team - it's the playoffs where they have to prove themselves.

[Paelos]

Freeman is a 23 year old lump of clay. He might be good, he might go into a tailspin. I'm not convinced he has the goods. If you believe the Bucs win 10 games, you could make a mint in Vegas because their O/U is 8.

The Bucs are taking a step back this year, but they will be in the mix in the early season.

[ghost]

How can the Lions ever be a contender with Stafford's trick shoulder?

[Nevermore]

Freeman is a 23 year old lump of clay. He might be good, he might go into a tailspin. I'm not convinced he has the goods.

The claim isn't that Freeman is an elite, stud QB (at least not yet).  It's that the Bucs are not in a situation where 'they have no QB'.  Freeman put up good numbers on a team that had no running game until the end of the year, and their best (and only decent) receiver was a rookie.  The most telling number on that stat line is the 6 INTs.  That tells me he takes care of the football and makes good decisions, which right there puts him ahead of the majority of the QBs in the league.  The Bucs got crushed by good teams?  Well no shit.  Put Eli Manning on last year's Bucs team and Freeman on the Giants and see how well each one does.  Freeman would be an instant upgrade at the QB position on at least 50% of NFL teams today.

Unless you're setting the bar at Brady/Rogers/Philips level, where everything under that indicates a team has 'no QB'.  Which would make you a lunatic.

[K9]

Comparing every starting QB to a hip-hop star 

[Sjofn]

YES, Kerry Collins got signed with the COLTS, he can continue to be my object of irrational hate!

He knew I'd miss him in my own fucked up way.