NFL 2012

[sickrubik]

Coincidentally the Raiders will just place the players Prison ID numbers on the back.

[Nevermore]

Coincidentally the Raiders will just place the players Prison ID numbers on the back.

They called dibs on that over the Bengals?

[Rasix]

Maybe they'll just have to settle for listing their 40 time and benchpress numbers from the combine.

[01101010]

As an aside, this is one of the finest quotes I have read in a comments section this year about my Browns and their draft potential:

They have 13 picks now. The way I see it, they could draft Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles and they will still suck.

 

[ghost]

Apparently Joe Flacco now thinks he's the best QB in the NFL.   

I understand what you're saying, Joe, but there are other ways to get this point across without sounding like a total jackass. 

[JWIV]

For Sjofn - Eli and his amazing beach body

[El Gallo]

Man I wish the Steelers would ditch the script numbers and go back to block ones.

[Hoax]

I hate this off season, I'm trying so hard to not be excited for the Bengals but I just can't do it. If they could get DeCastro and Kirkpatrick in round one I feel like they have a chance at making the playoffs again, which I know I shouldn't be thinking...  

If they still had Jonathan Joseph... I hate drafting a CB at 17th or 21st feels like the potential for getting an average nickle guy at best is high with these prospects and knowing the Bengals they may take a flyer on Mister 4 kids with 3 women out of Northern Alabama. Fucking. Mike. Brown.

Anyone else feel like this is a really weak year for skill positions on offense as well? I think Blackmon is overhyped and the kid out of ND might even be better, there isn't a break out TE at all. There is one stud RB and pundits are trying to talk up RG3 as a sure thing (he isn't) and the kid from A&M like he's worthy of a top ten pick by Miami (worst pick ever if they make that call).

[ghost]

Are you a Bengals fan?

[sickrubik]

I don't think the Bengals actually have fans... I think they are mostly "Bengal Toleraters".

[ghost]

That's what I was thinking.  I know one guy that has season tickets and loves them, but that's a rarity outside of Cincinnati.

[Sjofn]

For Sjofn - Eli and his amazing beach body

Ahem:

loooooooooool

EDIT: Also, not a big fan of the Cardinals uniform. It's too much red at once, it sort of makes them look like they're wearing old timey long johns to me.

[Johny Cee]

For Sjofn - Eli and his amazing beach body

Can't be Eli....  Eli would be wearing water wings, as I'm not sure he can swim.

[sickrubik]

Saints are fucked.

Audio has emerged of Williams telling players to break Niners players AFTER they were warned by the league to knock it off. This will not help their appeal today.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=At9UbKohK6AeAkVEI4YLxPI5nYcB?slug=ms-silver_gregg_williams_speech_saints_49ers_bounty_040412

https://twitter.com/#!/AdamSchefter/status/187892218302955521

[Paelos]

The comments by Williams made me physically ill. That guy deserves to have his head kicked in.

[sickrubik]

I'll give you $1000 to do it.

[ghost]

That guy is fucked, but I suspect he's being made a scapegoat for a much large problem in the NFL as a whole.  This is just the tip of the iceberg.

[sickrubik]

He is getting in trouble because they got caught.

If you bust a guy for breaking into a car, he's not a scapegoat for guys that break into cars.... he's just the idiot that got caught.

And then the Saints were warned, and continued to do it. And then lied to Goodell.

[Paelos]

Goodell is making an example of the Saints though. And he should.

This kind of shit where you call out players by name and refer to their injuries so you can ruin them? You're a coach, for heaven's sake. You are supposed to be guiding force on a team of charged up players. It's "sweep the leg" type bullshit.

In any case, people don't try to "get their ducks in a row" or lie their asses off when asked questions if they believe they were doing something accepted and right.

[naum]

And then the Saints were warned, and continued to do it. And then lied to Goodell.

That's the crux of the matter -- while this goes on league wide (come on, what is the mindset of those excelling linebackers?, and only the dim James Harrisons of the league actually express it publicly), the Saints coaching staff chastened yet continued unrelenting in the behavior.

[Hoax]

The worst part is NY only got another ring because they used those exact tactics against the 49ers and that kid fucking gave them the game. At the same time I blame the coaching staff for not realizing he wasn't ok and taking him out before the final fumble.

[ghost]

Goodell is making an example of the Saints though. And he should.

Obviously.  But people are fucking stupid if they don't think this is going on all over the league. 

[Paelos]

Goodell is making an example of the Saints though. And he should.

Obviously.  But people are fucking stupid if they don't think this is going on all over the league. 

Institutionalized bounties run by the coaching staff? I don't believe that's going on at all. Bounty systems within the player ranks? That's a totally different story. The reason this gets hammered on is because the coaches were the ones running the show.

[ghost]

 

[Segoris]

I'd agree in that I imagine there are coaches that are running (or at least heavily supporting and probably throwing money into the pot) for bounty systems, but not "all over the league." Some? Sure, but far from the majority would be run by coaches directly. Also, I doubt the majority of those bounty systems have the intent of hurting, as opposed to making a solid and hard hit on someone (which is different by intent, though the result may be the same).

I must admit that I do like that Lamarr Woodley is questioning the line between bounties and contract incentives though (link here) as that really is a pretty blurry line for most teams (N.O. being a bit different since they lied about a bounty program and theirs was set with the intent to injure players which is why I think they should be penalized, since I don't really think having a basic bounty system that has good intentions should even be considered an issue).

"If you think about it, when you say there's an extra incentive, the "bounty," that's like people having incentives in their contract," said Woodley, a five-year veteran with Pittsburgh. "You get a certain amount of sacks, you get an extra bonus. Is that considered a bounty?
 
"You're still going to go out there to make the plays in order to get some extra money. Is that putting that much more pressure to go out there and want to hit a quarterback because you know you have a $100,000 bonus coming if you do this?"

[Ingmar]

I'm sure you also get coaches saying 'take that guy out of the game' without offering a bounty, which I'm not sure you could ever do anything about, even though that's really the bad thing at the core of this, not the reward structure.

[Malakili]

I'm sure you also get coaches saying 'take that guy out of the game' without offering a bounty, which I'm not sure you could ever do anything about, even though that's really the bad thing at the core of this, not the reward structure.

I think with regards to the audio people are a bit shocked by how explicit it is.  Hit the guy with the recent concussion in the head, take out the ACL of their receiver, etc.

We can all sort of justify "All right men, lets go out their and fuck them up!" or "Let's hit him so hard he can't get up!"  But the specific nature of how they want to injure guys is going beyond anything most of us thought they were doing in the worst case.  Even something general like "$1000 bucks for knocking a guy out of the game" seems less egregious than this audio.

[HaemishM]

I heard a bit of that audio at lunch.  Gregg Williams is LE FUCKED. There is no excuse for that shit. He specifically says to test out dude's ACL. That's fucking insane. ACL's are generally 6 week to full seasons lost. Some guys never recover their mojo after an ACL. You're talking about fucking with someone's career there.

Fuck Gregg Williams in the earhole.

Do I think there are bounties league wide? Sure. This goes way beyond that and the audio drives that home. The craziest part is that he KNEW there was a guy FILMING AND RECORDING IN THE SAME FUCKING ROOM. Are you mentally deficient?

[sickrubik]

Some levity: http://www.theonion.com/articles/ryan-leaf-somehow-worse-at-crime-than-football,27861/

[Segoris]

NFL schedule is posted.
Thanksgiving should be pretty awesome this year with Hou @ Det, WAS @ Dal, NE @ NYJ. It's sad when NE @ NYJ may be more boring than WAS @ Dal, but that all depends on how G3 does this season imo.

Overall, I like this schedule

[01101010]

http://www.nfl.com/schedules/2012/REG/BROWNS

Looks like Barkley will be in the orange and brown in 2013. 

[JWIV]

Week 11 and 13 matchup between Ravens and Steelers is a bit

[shiznitz]

Eagles have 4 games against teams coming off BYE.  I have no idea if this actually has meaning, but some sports blogs are focusing on it. 

[Paelos]

Here's my feelings on the Cowboys schedule. It's brutal. Outside the division we draw Chicago, Seattle, Baltimore, Carolina, TB, Atlanta, Cleveland, Cincy, Pitt, and New Orleans. Five of those teams went to the playoffs last year, Washington will have RG3, Carolina has Cam, TB went out and got 5 big FA signings, and Seattle is IN Seattle which is never easy. Plus our bye week is Week 5, which means that we get no advantage from it.

Atlanta's schedule isn't much easier. They have to deal with the Giants, Cowboys, Broncos, Chargers (on the road), Eagles, and Lions. That's a tough road as well.

I think Houston has one of the most favorable schedules this year.

[Segoris]

Week 11 and 13 matchup between Ravens and Steelers is a bit

There are a couple more situations like that this year, and PFT did a good analysis on these situations showing 3 different divisional rivalries that play twice within three weeks time. Ravens-Steelers, Bears-Vikings, and Colts-Texans.

The Ravens vs Steelers is the one rivalry that I am interested in seeing them be close together. Personally, I'd absolutely love it if it was Ravens vs Steelers twice in three weeks with only a bye week inbetween the games. That is one of the best rivalries in the NFL that I could watch week in and week out if it was available.

On another note - take a look at the Sunday night games, that schedule is loaded with awesome this year.