NFL 2013

[Ginaz]

lolRavens

 

[Tannhauser]

Titans gave the Texans all they could handle.  They are better than I thought.  How bout dem Chiefs???

[K9]

The Chiefs look good, like a complete team. I liked Dontari Poe in the draft class, I'm glad to see him have a good game. The team isn't still lights-out, and I don't see them beating Denver to the division title, but if this playstyle continues I could see them as a wild card team. What else is there in the AFC? Denver looks good, Bengals and Pats look ok; Fins look markedly improved. Steelers, Texans, Ravens? Only one of those three makes the playoffs I'm sure.

I'm glad the Bills won; they played a good game. Lots of fun games overalll today I thought.

[Paelos]

The Bills win was pretty hilarious. I expected more out of Carolina, and that was the one game that really shocked me. Chiefs beating Dallas was basically a tossup, and Philly getting in a shootout with another offensive team wasn't unexpected, but the Bears almost laying down against a bad Vikings team was 

[Malakili]

I'll tune in next week for another episode of "Giants' guide to turning the ball over."

[sickrubik]

So, is the under/over for the Raiders at Broncos going to be set at 150 or so? We've managed to hang 90 points on the Ravens and Giants so far.

[Cyrrex]

Well, that was a beatdown.

[Cyrrex]

They showed the Bears/Vikings game over here in DK, and I thought it was quite interesting to see the "new" Bears.  Granted, they were playing a weaker-than-last-year Minnesota team, but here is what I noticed:

- The O-line looks better.  Not great, but better.  Protected Cutler well enough to at least get out of the pocket and throw (which he is actually really good at for some reason).  He was pressured, but not killed.
- In two years, they have gone from having a laughable receiver corps, to a fairly scary one.  Marshall is a beast.  That Jeffries guy looks dangerous.  Martellus Bennet looks to be extremely dangerous already, and he is a big, big target.  If these first two weeks weren't simply a fluke, then he may be the next great athletic TE.
- Almost equally important, they have as a result given Devin Hester back his primary role as a returner.  I'm not sure he even took an offensive snap?  Anyway, a Devin Hester who does nothing but return kicks and punts is one dangerous motherfucker.  It might fly under the radar given that he didn't take any of them to the house, but he looked on the verge of breaking one every time he touched the ball.  He must have had between 250 and 300 god damn return yards.
- Matt Forte is the oil that keeps that machine running.  He does it all.  If the O-line and receiver corps actually is as improved as it appeared yesterday, then having a guy like Forte on your team just means your defense is screwed, because you won't have the luxury of shutting down one or the other.

Too many turnovers, of course.  Some of them flukey, some of them where Cutler should get the blame.  If they find a way to cut down on them, they would have blown Minnesota out of the stadium, rather than needing a last minute TD.  Will be interesting to see it plays out for them, especially when they face Green Bay for the first time.  Not because GB has a great D or anything, moreso just because they seem to have the Bears' number.

[K9]

The Bears Offense is looking a LOT better than in previous years, it's far from perfect, but the fact that Jay Cutler isn't having to spend most of his game lying on the ground or running for his life is clearly helping. Kyle Long is just awesome I think. The bigger worry I'd say is the amount of points the Bears D are allowing; in previous years they've held teams down so we can win despite having a low-scoring offense. This year they haven't been able to match that so far.

[Cyrrex]

For yesterday's game, their problem seemed more the result of the offense shooting itself in the dick and turning the ball over.  And don't forget, there were two return TDs.  Aside from those things, I felt like they were in pretty decent control.  Not like in years past, perhaps, but we'll see.

[Segoris]

Yeah, the Bears are much improved and Bennett - once he gets some chemistry with Cutler - will probably be the #3-4 TE in the league. He won't beat Graham or J Thomas, but he's too big and too good of a target in an offense that likes its big targets to not be a top 5 TE.

[HaemishM]

I've often thought the same thing of Bennett, only to watch him shit the bed for like 4 or 5 weeks in a row. He WILL disappear against a team with a decent safety. His lack of consistency is why he's on his third team.

I watched the Denver/Giants game and HOOO BOY. The Giants are such a fucking mess. Their running game had to bring Brandon Fucking Jacobs back - that ought to tell you all you need to know about the running game. At least Wilson didn't fumble again. Their defense is a whole other mess. At times they can shut people down, but I don't think they can do it for 4 consistent quarters. There's just something missing on this team that's hard to put a finger on but they will be lucky to finish 8-8 like every other team in the east.

LOL COWCLOWNS. KC is not as good as their record would indicate but they are better than last year. For my thoughts on Dallas, see my thoughts on the Giants - which also mirror my thoughts on the Redskins and Eagles this year. That entire division is going to fight over who is the worst 8-8 team in the league, they'll all turn the ball over way too much and blow comfortable leads for no good goddamn reason.

I'm torn now - I'm not sure who has the number 1 defense in the NFL between San Fran and Seattle. Seattle has a better defensive backfield than anybody and their front 7 are pretty good at both run defense and pass rush. San Fran's secondary might be better if their starting safety wasn't a rookie, even though he's a damn good rookie. I'm not too concerned that San Fran couldn't run the ball in their first two games. Both Seattle and Green Bay have pretty good run defense. I expect they'll do better against Indy next week and if not, then you worry.

[Paelos]

SF is going to take a tumble in my power rankings for that performance. Every coach is going to have that film on replay for ways to make Kaepernick ineffective.

[sickrubik]

What about the Jets?

[Paelos]

Just a shade outside the top ten this time, I think. 

[HaemishM]

When your best receiver gets shut down (Boldin) AND you can't run the ball, it's hard to do much of anything. Coaches will be looking at that film for ways to shut Boldin down for sure. He was getting destroyed on bump and run coverage all night. He's not fast enough to recover from a bad release because speed has never been his game. He gets in a pocket and space and has flypaper for hands - which doesn't help you if you can't get in the space.

[Cyrrex]

Well, part of the thing about shutting down Boldin is that Richard Sherman is really, really fucking good.  I know he irritates the shit out of a lot of people, but he is legit.  That's the only thing other coaches will see in the tape.  Also, when considering the Seattle D performance, consider that Brandon Browner was absent.  And so was Clemons.  And so was Irvin.  Anyway, there can be little doubt that Seattle has the better secondary.  Lost in the fact that Browner and Sherman are talked about as the best cornerback duo is the fact  that Chancellor and Thomas might also be the best Safety duo.  And then it turns out that Walter Thurmond might actually also be really good.

Lost in the shuffle of it all is a linebacker group led by Bobby Wagner, who is really fucking good.  I don't remember who else they have there.  And Michael Bennett is playing lights out.  Cliff Avril is out there too.  I don't think it's even a close contest as to who has the better D.  I think the question between these two teams is more on the offensive side.  Will be really interesting to see what happens when these two meet again in SF.

[K9]

SF is going to take a tumble in my power rankings for that performance. Every coach is going to have that film on replay for ways to make Kaepernick ineffective.

I'm looking forward to your top 10!

[ghost]

One can only assume that the jets are now #1.

[Paelos]

Thanks, I'm interested to see how the Bengals play tonight. That's a matchup that should favor them, but Pitt better try to right the ship after that last game where they got stoned by the Titans.

[Nebu]

I'll be surprised if the Bengals don't win by 17 or more.

[Mithas]

Tim Tebow rally in Jacksonville. They are just that desperate.

Pro Football Talk

[Nebu]

Tim Tebow rally in Jacksonville. They are just that desperate.

There's always Vinny Testaverde!  He's only 49 and still has plenty of game. 

[sickrubik]

amusingly, 3:16 will be his TD to INT ratio if he signs there.

[HaemishM]

Vinny got more game than Tebow.

Just looked at the box score for the Jags/Raiders game from yesterday. Everyone involved in that shit show should apologize and any fans who paid money to see it should get a refund. Fuck's sake. Chad Henne had a better YPP than Pyror but lost. I'm looking at these stats and thinking "How much worse could the Jags be?" even though the Raiders were worse at least in the passing game. Then I remember that Gabbert is the guy who beat Henne out for the job during preseason AND Tebow is still without a team -and then I know how much worse it could be. At least Henne completed more than 50% of his passes.

[ghost]

Hell, just throw him out there and let him and the fans have their fun.  It would be amusing to watch. 

[Ingmar]

If there's a team he can't make worse, it's Jacksonville.

[sickrubik]

Still my favorite moment from this weekend.

[Paelos]

The entire NFC East is going to set new levels of crazy for turnovers.

[Ghambit]

Dont look now, but the Dolphins seem to be the best team in the AFC East.  Finally seeing some swagger from the team, coaches, and fans.  Please lord let this continue.  And oh the irony of having a top receiving tight end in Dustin Keller get speared in the knee (knocked out for the season) only to be replaced by a hybrid fullback who's now a fantasy pick at TE.

[Bungee]

Watching the Steelers O right now makes me feel kind of sympathetic for what Browns fans must endure...

[01101010]

Watching the Steelers O right now makes me feel kind of sympathetic for what Browns fans must endure...

 

[Cyrrex]

Speaking of terrible football, at this point I am all in favor of Jacksonville aquiring and starting Tebow.  Honestly.  There is no downside anymore that I can see.  They cannot play worse.  Their attendance would improve, and they sure as hell would begin to receive more national attention than is otherwise possible for a team playing in Jacksonville.  And in some parallel dimension, it could even improve the team somehow.

Of course, if that Khan guy is actually tank this team, that is another story.  If so, mission fucking accomplished.

[Chimpy]

Khan has to be twiddling his Snidely Whiplash mustache looking for ways to position his team for a move to LA. It is the only thing that makes sense. They made pretty much zero moves to improve the team since he has taken over.

[Paelos]

Jacksonville doesn't deserve a team. Then again neither does LA considering there are already 3 teams in California.

I'd want them in Vegas.