NFL 2013

[ghost]

  I have a suspicion that the guy isn't truly a racist.  I think it would be tough to play in the NFL and be a true racist.  I'm not bothered by his language, tbh, as I suspect that it wasn't too different from typical locker room lingo.

What is a "true racist"? Also, Riley Cooper says hi.

I forgot about that douchebag. 

I don't know if it's worth turning this into a politics thread, but someone that is truly a racist would be someone that, you know, hates people of another ( or many other races).  I just don't think it's that common in the NFL.  I may be wrong, but these guys have to work together very closely and if it was common I would expect you'd see shit like Riley Cooper more often.  This should be particularly true in rivalry situations. 

[sickrubik]

But where do you draw the line of what constitutes a "true racist". To me, this whole idea is not a binary thing... that's what I'm getting at.

[HaemishM]

I think we can safely just say that Richie Incognito is a complete and utter asshole without getting into which degrees of asshole he aspires to.

[ghost]

I'm pretty sure that it is a binary thing.

[MrHat]

I was on an audit earlier this week so I didn't get to do my power rankings.

Paelos Power Rankings Week 9:

1 - Denver
2 - KC
3 - Patriots
4 - Saints
5 - Seattle
6 - SF
7 - Indy
8 - Cincy
9 - Carolina
10 - JETS JETS JETS

 

[Paelos]

We debated if they should be higher earlier on. I remain firmly convinced that you have no clue which Indy is showing up, and they will lose to somebody really stupid in the playoffs because of that, possibly after beating someone they have no business beating.

[Fordel]

So what was Buffalo's logic at the end of the game there? "Dammit we are going to score at least ONCE!" ?

[Nevermore]

Yes?

[Tannhauser]

Another good weekend of football, not counting the wall to wall Incognito coverage. 

Carolina/49ers-Damn Panthers you scary!  They played a tough nose to nose game against the Niners.  That's a good defense.  A GOOD defense.  Kapernick sacked five times! The Panthers did try to turn the ball over in the last two minutes. But winning in SF puts them on the map this season.

Titans/Jags-Good lord Titans, you let the Jags beat you?  At home?  Hurt Locker hurt again.  Jesus.  With the collapse of the Texans I was hoping the Titans would step up and challenge Indy for the South.  But nope.  Pitiful. 

Cincy/Ravens-Cincy determined to let the North slip away.  Cincy has the chance to pull away in the division but is blowing it.

Lions/Bears-The Lions passed the test.  They take of business and are sole owners of 1st place in the NFC North.  Swept da Bears.  With GB's woeful luck, the North is the Lions to lose.  If Rogers makes it back in time for the Lions game that would be an awesome game to see.

Seaducks/Failcons-Seattle got the memo and is taking care of business as well.  Atlanta is circling the drain.  I don't know if they or the Texans are the most shocking collapse.
Lynch ran all over the Falcons.

Rams/Colts-Wut?  Colts are another team that can't win the games they are supposed to win.  Thankfully for them, they are in the 'special' division this year.  Bizarro.

[sickrubik]

The Broncos found a coach even more conservative than John Fox!

[HaemishM]

Holy shit, what a day of football.

Apparently nobody wants to win the AFC North. Cincy keeps blowing games they should win. They really should have won what with that miraculous comeback to get to OT. But... LOLBUNGLES.

Fuck you, Jake Locker. Your vagina is going to be constantly sprained, especially on the day I start you over Romo because of such a favorable matchup in the FF league. Fuck you. You're lucky my opponent had Seneca Wallace at QB.

And speaking of Wallace, fuck you too. SCOTT FUCKING TOLZIEN. This is what it's come to. Unless Matt Flynn's arm has completely fallen off, please Green Bay SIGN HIM. Also, please go to the Furniture Warehouse and sign somebody ANYBODY that can cover - I don't care if all they can cover is a fucking couch, it's got to be better than the shit show that is the Packers' secondary. HOLY BALLS.

Indy. Just  What... the... fuck? At home against KELLEN GODDAMN CLEMONS? Not only can you not block for Luck, you give up 38 points? This team is schizo and will lose in the playoffs this year. Good thing their division is such a horror show.

Yes, the Lions are now the team to beat in the NFC North. Good thing for the Pack that they really aren't a great team. Their defense is pretty terrible, mostly the secondary and they really had no business letting Chicago back into that game. They really were trying to lose it though. Two unnecessary roughness penalties in the last goddamn minute, both of which were REALLY STUPID PENALTIES? Letting Chicago get a chance at a 2-pt conversion TWICE because you can't control yourself? You ought to be benched, except you fit right in with that crew of idiots on the front 4. Chicago's defense is also still really bad and I'm surprised they only allowed 21 points. Cutler looked great for 5 minutes then he should have been pulled. They had no business playing him as long as they did. He clearly wasn't up to a full 4 quarters.

San Diego is close to being a good team, but they have to find a way to finish drives. Manning barely had the ball in the first half and he still managed to get TD's whereas Rivers got field goals. Denver's defense needs to learn how to stop teams before they get inside the 20.

[01101010]

The AFC north is all going according to plan. The Browns will back into the playoffs this year!

Guess that T-Rich trade actually might work out for them. 

[Tannhauser]

Holy shit, what a day of football.

Yes, the Lions are now the team to beat in the NFC North. Good thing for the Pack that they really aren't a great team. Their defense is pretty terrible, mostly the secondary and they really had no business letting Chicago back into that game. They really were trying to lose it though. Two unnecessary roughness penalties in the last goddamn minute, both of which were REALLY STUPID PENALTIES? Letting Chicago get a chance at a 2-pt conversion TWICE because you can't control yourself? You ought to be benched, except you fit right in with that crew of idiots on the front 4. Chicago's defense is also still really bad and I'm surprised they only allowed 21 points. Cutler looked great for 5 minutes then he should have been pulled. They had no business playing him as long as they did. He clearly wasn't up to a full 4 quarters.

I don't know how much Lions football you follow, but stupid personal fouls in close games is standard operating procedure.  There's a reason Suh doesn't do Subway commercials anymore.

[HaemishM]

I don't know how much Lions football you follow, but stupid personal fouls in close games is standard operating procedure.  There's a reason Suh doesn't do Subway commercials anymore.

Oh, I'm well aware. It's what's probably going to keep them from going too deep in the playoffs. Well, that and the shitty secondary.

[Paelos]

Power Ranking teams past 5 is becoming impossible with these injuries and bizarre losses.

[ghost]

The Jets have to be creeping back up there.

[HaemishM]

Power Ranking teams past 5 is becoming impossible with these injuries and bizarre losses.

I'm not sure any ranking beyond Denver/KC/Seattle/New Orleans is much point these days. Any team with 2 losses besides the Saints is so inconsistent as to be impossible to predict.

Also, I forget the numbers, but I read somewhere that the number of injuries is way up this year over the past year. Maybe it's partly because they are getting touchier about concussions and thus diagnosing everyone with mild dizziness as concussed, but I think an uptick in injuries is a good reason everyone is so inconsistent.

[Tannhauser]

I don't know how much Lions football you follow, but stupid personal fouls in close games is standard operating procedure.  There's a reason Suh doesn't do Subway commercials anymore.

Oh, I'm well aware. It's what's probably going to keep them from going too deep in the playoffs. Well, that and the shitty secondary.

I completely agree.  I'm a Lions fan, but stomping other players for instance is completely out of bounds.  There's a systematic lack of discipline in the organization.  Maybe they think they are the 'Bad Boys of the NFL', but that lack of discipline will bite you in the ass in close games as we've seen.  Or maybe it's because they've been losers for so long they don't know how to be a winning organization.

Oh and ghost, fuck you. 

[Slayerik]

One thing I will say about the Lion's D is they put Cutler on his ass about 15 times. I'm not even sure if they got a sack, but they sure beat the crap out of the guy. Secondary is pretty abysmal, but their defense isn't terrible by any stretch. The first time ever they are sole owners of the division league. YOU GO GURRRRLL

[Paelos]

Paelos Week 10 Power Ratings:

1 - Denver
2 - KC
3 - Saints
4 - Seattle
5 - Patriots
6 - Carolina
7 - Detroit
8 - SF
9 - Jets
10 - Philly

[ghost]

JETS!   

[HaemishM]

Philly? Really?  Believe it or not, I'd put Dallas ahead of Philly. Hell, I'd put Chicago, Cincy or even Indy ahead of Philly. I'd probably put most of those teams ahead of the Jets too because... LOL Jets, even though they are better than they have any right to be this year.

Miami utterly shit the bed and it's their own damn fault. Losing 2 starting O-lineman because one is a racist, bullying, misogynist douchebag really speaks to organizational dysfunction. What makes it LOL worthy is the fact they spent like $200 million on free agents and can't even beat a winless team.

[Nevermore]

Who would have thought that Jacksonville would have the best coaching staff out of the Florida teams? 

[sickrubik]

Jonathan Martin.

[Ghambit]

Miami utterly shit the bed and it's their own damn fault. Losing 2 starting O-lineman because one is a racist, bullying, misogynist douchebag really speaks to organizational dysfunction. What makes it LOL worthy is the fact they spent like $200 million on free agents and can't even beat a winless team.

What makes it funny is even with 10-days to prepare the coaching staff thinks it's cool to run their same old, predictable offense ("go-go!") whilst half their line is missing and the other half is underperforming... oh, and run the ball a lot too.  There was no creativity or adjustment to their gameplan whatsoever.  T-Hill scrambled exactly zero times as well; not even a rollout (when all year he'd been scorching defenses when he's on the move).  Wallace looked like he pretty much gave up on the team altogether.  Dont blame him really; even though he's paid $60m.

It's the most stubborn and sophomoric coaching staff I've ever seen; they really show their inexperience.  For me, the phins' troubles really boils down to a plethora of said crap rookie coaching staffs (since JJ left).  The past two owners have not wanted to spend the money or relinquish control to a hardcore, proven veteran coach and the org. has paid the price since.

It's folly.  Especially when your front office has always been a laughing stock... like why would you even want them to stick their noses into anything?
Nope, I expect Ross to finally eliminate the taint of Parcells' lackeys very soon...  ending with minimally the OC losing his job, if not the HC as well.

[Nevermore]

Nothing with change until Ireland is fired.  They really to sweep out everyone and hire someone with a proven track record, not one of these novices they keep trying to hire on the cheep.  All that applies exactly the same in Tampa as well.

[Ghambit]

Part of the reason why guys like Harbaugh, Cowher, Gruden, and even Manning won't come to Miami is because the ownership was unwilling to part with his GM (Ireland).  Indeed, that lies at the core of the issue here...  Ireland is a Parcells guy (and some of the remaining taint that I spoke of that should be removed).

[Mithas]

On Twitter yesterday Shannon Sharpe pointed out something interesting. Stephen Ross (Dolphins owner) was interviewed for Monday Night Football. During the interview Ireland's name was never brought up, he referred to everything as Philbin's. He thought that was very telling and that Ireland is for sure out at the end of the year.

[Paelos]

Philly? Really?  Believe it or not, I'd put Dallas ahead of Philly. Hell, I'd put Chicago, Cincy or even Indy ahead of Philly.

Here's why. They are the #1 rushing team in the league. They are tied with Seattle for the most road wins in the league. They've finally realized that Nick Foles is the starter and the current answer. They have a shot at winning the weakest division while also avoiding many injuries so far to their key players.

[ghost]

Yeah, it's funny that Kelly is dancing around the Mike Vick/Nick Foles question.  I would hope that he likes his job enough to sit Vick firmly on the bench.

[Paelos]

Also, if Sean Lee is out for any amount of time, the Dallas team will lose. I say this as a fan. He's the only thing keeping that defense remotely functional.

[Nevermore]

Yeah, it's funny that Kelly is dancing around the Mike Vick/Nick Foles question.  I would hope that he likes his job enough to sit Vick firmly on the bench.

"16 touchdowns, no interceptions," Kelly said rhetorically. "Why would we change?"

I guess that's dancing since he didn't just say 'Foles is the starter for the rest of the year', but it still looks like an endorsement to me.

[ghost]

Sure, now he is, but the whole season he's been avoiding it even though the answer was clear right from the beginning.  He hasn't been fooling anyone.

[HaemishM]

Miami utterly shit the bed and it's their own damn fault. Losing 2 starting O-lineman because one is a racist, bullying, misogynist douchebag really speaks to organizational dysfunction. What makes it LOL worthy is the fact they spent like $200 million on free agents and can't even beat a winless team.

What makes it funny is even with 10-days to prepare the coaching staff thinks it's cool to run their same old, predictable offense ("go-go!") whilst half their line is missing and the other half is underperforming... oh, and run the ball a lot too.  There was no creativity or adjustment to their gameplan whatsoever.

As I've said before... Mike Fucking Sherman. Don't expect it to get any better at this point. He does not know HOW to adapt when shit isn't working. The fact that Daniel Thomas still has a job as a running back proves that, as well as the fact that both Hartline (possession guy) and Wallace (deep threat) have the same per catch average (12.4).

[Paelos]

Wallace got put on Revis Island last night. It was pretty funny.