NFL 2014

[Sir T]

[WayAbvPar]

I have it on while I am doing other things. If it wasn't NFL I would probably listen to Pandora or something while I was gaming.

[Megrim]

 

[K9]

Belichek is also a cheat, a douchebag and a less than stellar GM. Oh and he dresses like a hobo. 

Hey, I would dress like a hobo all the time if I could get away with it professionally.  I am married with 3 kids. I don't need to impress anyone any more.

I always read that his dress sense was his way at getting back at the NFL's asinine dress code that wouldn't let him wear a suit, so I actually see that as a point in his favour. NFL coaches all look slovenly compared to coaches and managers in most other major sports. Harbaugh and his $3 chinos would be laughed at in the European football leagues.

[Nebu]

Did someone mention a classy guy in a suit?

[01101010]

Belichek is also a cheat, a douchebag and a less than stellar GM. Oh and he dresses like a hobo. 

Hey, I would dress like a hobo all the time if I could get away with it professionally.  I am married with 3 kids. I don't need to impress anyone any more.

I always read that his dress sense was his way at getting back at the NFL's asinine dress code that wouldn't let him wear a suit, so I actually see that as a point in his favour. NFL coaches all look slovenly compared to coaches and managers in most other major sports. Harbaugh and his $3 chinos would be laughed at in the European football leagues.

I can't quite wrap my imagination around Belichek in a suit and tie on the sidelines.

And Tom Landry 

The Red Forman of the NFL and only man that I can accept wearing a fedora.

[Paelos]

HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS!

[01101010]

Yes, that is a Browns jersey..

 

[Surlyboi]

Should be a Jets jersey.

[HaemishM]

What a Sunday full of LOL's.

So the Patriots don't suck. Well, actually yeah, they still kind of do but apparently the Bengals suck worse when they are 1) on the road, 2) in a big nationally televised feature game and 3) whenever anyone says they are good. Congratulations, Bengals fans, welcome to your playoff future. Christmas came early this year and you are getting coal in the form of a first round choke. How can a team with this much talent on both sides of the ball lay such a ginormous egg? I mean, yes, it's the Pats but this team handed Cincy tons of chances. 12 penalties? I should say the refs handed Cincy plenty of chances. Holy shit, did we rehire the replacement refs when I wasn't looking? This game was fucking unwatchable and not just because I hate seeing the Pats win on a weekend I don't start Brady or Edelman (thankfully Edelman didn't do shit). This Pats team is not good enough to make the Super Bowl but they are probably good enough to either win their division or snag a wild card.

Jets... oh J-E-T-S JETS. Spelled L-O-F-L. Bench Geno Smith and you get to learn how washed up Michael Vick is when he has nobody to throw to. Eric Decker is a good #2 wideout. Too bad he's the Jets #1 option and he's hurt so he's not even that. Look at the box score. Both Vick and Geno Smith had a per pass average of 2.4 yards. There are running backs with broken legs that get more than that per rush. But Vick and Smith can make plays with their feet, you say! 3 rushes for a total of 17 yards. OFFENSIVE WEAPONS!!!!! How does Rex Ryan and their GM still have a job? Also, Chris Johnson is done yet they still have to pay him some money to average 4 yards a carry.

I'm personally quite sick of Offensive Coordinators/Coaches who feel like they have to prove they are tactical geniuses. Two cases illustrated that perfectly yesterday. In the battle of Texas (otherwise known as the Battle of Two Overrated Teams feasting on an Easy Schedule in a Shitty State No One Wants to Live In), Houston starts out overtime with 5 straight runs in which Foster just clobbers the Cowboys. The 5th run only gets a few yards, leaving a 3rd and 2. Rather than run it at Dallas again, they put 2 yards in the hands of Ryan "The Interception Machine" Fitzgerald and he fucks it up. Well, the whole team fucked it up really but either way, rather than running again or passing on 2nd down then running on 3rd and short, they give the ball away, Dallas drives down the field for a winning field goal. KC did the exact same thing in the 4th quarter. They'd been running decently all day, have one of the best 1-2 running back tandems in the league and on 3rd and 2, needing a long TD drive to retake the lead, they toss a "low percentage" pass and fuck it up. They never really get another chance to drive and end up losing the game.

Run the ball. RUN THE BALL. Give it to Knile Davis and have him get your 2 yards. If you can't make it on 3rd and 2, you're probably dead anyway.

Honorable mention LOL's - New Orleans for letting Tampa score 31 fucking points. Seriously? With 2nd year Mike Glennon at QB? Also, super LOL's to Tampa for paying megabucks for Josh McCown (a career backup whose only bright season came in an offense that could score with me at QB) to sit on your trainer's table in Lovie Smith's offense. You know, the same Lovie Smith whose offense in Chicago hampered Jay Cutler's stats - the same Jay Cutler whose stats have become inflated by Trestmann's very good offense - the same Trestmann who inflated McCown's stats last year. Way to not understand football AT ALL. Speaking of the Cutlet, way to choke against Carolina. Packers fans appreciate it. And speaking of choking... LOL LIONS. You lost to the Neckbeard and his Milk Moustache.

Congratulations, Cleveland. Not for winning against a shitty Titans team, though congrats are in order. No, congrats on creating next season's quarterback controversy by drafting Johnny Football in the first round. Hoyer is clearly good enough to be the starter, and despite Manziel probably not being a guaranteed upgrade, I'm sure he'll be starting within 2 years. Because it's Cleveland, you will find a way to fuck it up sooner or later.

[01101010]

Congratulations, Cleveland. Not for winning against a shitty Titans team, though congrats are in order. No, congrats on creating next season's quarterback controversy by drafting Johnny Football in the first round. Hoyer is clearly good enough to be the starter, and despite Manziel probably not being a guaranteed upgrade, I'm sure he'll be starting within 2 years. Because it's Cleveland, you will find a way to fuck it up sooner or later.

The only bright point would be Hoyer being good for the rest of the year, and good next season shooting for a wildcard birth. Then Johnny can become tradebait. Never going to get a first rounder for him, but he could eventually be dangled in front of Jerry Jones for a 2nd rounder. And as soon, AS SOON, as that happens, Hoyer will get crippled and never play a down again and we'll be back to developing backup quarterbacks for middling teams again.

[Nebu]

Johnny football needs to be in NE playing behind Brady, in Denver behind Manning, in NO behind Brees, etc to be worth anything next year.  The guy suffered poor decision making in college.  If he doesn't get his head on straight in the NFL, he's going to get destroyed.   

[WayAbvPar]

And it will be glorious to watch. Nothing I like better than overhyped retards failing. See- Leaf, Ryan, Young, Vince, etc.

[Nebu]

And it will be glorious to watch. Nothing I like better than overhyped retards failing. See- Leaf, Ryan, Young, Vince, etc.

I agree and think Manziel will fall into the Ryan Leaf camp.  He's no Andrew Luck.

[WayAbvPar]

Let's go Seahawks! Time to beat the racism right out of the shitheels from the OTHER Washington.

[Paelos]

So how many dumbass penalties are the Seahawks committed to making tonight? I think they are up to 11.

Seriously, WTF.

[Mithas]

Maybe it is the west coast to east coast travel, but Seattle does not look like world beaters. Offense looks good, defense looks just ok. I hope this bodes well. I'm already sick of hearing about them.

[Paelos]

Nobody looks good in the NFL in road games every week.

[Paelos]

Seattle really tried to fuck that up. Thankfully they figured out a meaningless FG at the end to cover the 7.5

Good work not completely shooting yourselves in the foot with a bajillion penalties.

[Zetleft]

Seattle really tried to fuck that up. Thankfully they figured out a meaningless FG at the end to cover the 7.5

Good work not completely shooting yourselves in the foot with a bajillion penalties.

They changed the rules in the offseason just based on the seattle D so this isn't a surprise. 

Fake edit: I didn't realize until tonight that they were the most penalized team last year too.  Hardly is the case with a superbowl winner is it. 

[Cyrrex]

Out of curiosity, are we all still laboring under the belief that Wilson is just a game manager?  Not asked to do much?  Not top 10?  Dilfer 2.0?  Only good because of Lynch and the Defense?  Or maybe now because of Percy Harvin?  The system?

I know I said I'd wait another year before bringing up the subject again, so I'm just checking in here.

/endtroll

[Paelos]

Out of curiosity, are we all still laboring under the belief that Wilson is just a game manager?  Not asked to do much?  Not top 10?  Dilfer 2.0?  Only good because of Lynch and the Defense?  Or maybe now because of Percy Harvin?  The system?

I know I said I'd wait another year before bringing up the subject again, so I'm just checking in here.

/endtroll

I'd advise you not to get carried away by a game against shitty Washington where the offense still shot itself in the foot 10 times.

Russell Wilson is great at what he does, but he absolutely is a game manager. He is a GREAT game manager, but just look at the numbers. He's 27th in passing attempts. He's 12th in yards per attempt. He's tied for 11th in passing TDs. Where he excels is completion percentage, and scrambling to get out of problems. He's dynamic, and he is great at choosing when to run. He also makes Johnny Manziel type escapes at times that wow you.

But the escapability doesn't make him a top ten QB yet. He's not being asked to throw what a normal NFL QB is being asked to do. He's literally attempted 6 passes longer than 20 yards this season so far, and completed 2. He's a short passing machine with high-percentage plays. That is very much a game manager role, but it's not a shot at how athletic the kid really is. He's one of the few "mobile" QBs I respect because he's playing a pro-system before and he's not a moron about contact. He's very intelligent, and that can win on Seattle. It would not win on 25 other NFL teams.

EDIT: Here's the thing, you don't need an awesome gunner QB to win in the NFL. That's a complete fallacy perpetuated by ESPN. The last few QBs to win over the last 3 years have mostly been regular guys who had a good run in the playoffs, and were buoyed for the most part by dynamic defenses and solid running games. But that's nuts and bolts football that the media hates to talk about.

[HaemishM]

Out of curiosity, are we all still laboring under the belief that Wilson is just a game manager?  Not asked to do much?  Not top 10?  Dilfer 2.0?  Only good because of Lynch and the Defense?  Or maybe now because of Percy Harvin?  The system?

I know I said I'd wait another year before bringing up the subject again, so I'm just checking in here.

/endtroll

Last night convinced me. Not because of what he did, but what he didn't do. He didn't take stupid hits. Hell, that first drive was all him and he was barely touched on the entire drive. He's got good instincts for running and the runs that are designed for him to use put him out of real danger. No, he's never going to get ARodg or Peyton numbers but he doesn't have to in order to be a damn good QB in this league. And do not sell "Game Manager" as a knock on a QB. There are bunch of teams that would become playoff teams with "Game Managers" instead of flashy shitheads who get themselves killed. Fuck's sake, Joe Goddamn Flacco won a Super Bowl and while he can lob the ball downfield, he is in no way a great QB. Hell, you put Russell Wilson on the Ravens team, they'd stroll in the AFC because Wilson is a better overall QB than Flacco.

List of teams that I think would have been playoff winners last year with Russell Wilson at QB (not counting teams that actually did win playoff games last year):
Cincy
Miami
Baltimore
Buffalo
Houston
NY Jets
Arizona
Chicago
Detroit
Dallas

Take a team like Chicago, Detroit or Dallas. What killed those teams last year? Well, both had bad defenses which didn't help but all 3 have QB's who put up gaudy numbers but are also known for tossing shitty INT's at the worst goddamn times. A game manager who doesn't make even half as many mistakes and can make plays with his feet? Those teams are contenders. Cutler is a better passing QB than Wilson but he makes so many bad throwing decisions that Wilson is to me more valuable because he won't lose you games you should win. Right now, if I were drafting a QB to build a team around, here's the order I'd go with:

Rodgers
P. Manning
Brees
Brady
Rivers
Luck
Wilson
Eli Manning
Alex Smith

Notice he's the only running QB on that list, and tops of what I consider the "not-quite-elite" QB's (the elites end at Brady - maybe if Rivers wins a playoff game, he can be considered based on his numbers).

[Raguel]

The Cowboys weren't just bad on defense; they were historically bad. Romo had a 30/10 td/int ratio and they didn't run the ball as effectively as they do this year (either because of OL talent or lack of commitment to the run) so I doubt Wilson could have gotten the Boys to the playoffs. I certainly don't see him putting up 51+ points on Denver to win that game.  In any case I think he's a really good qb.

[Paelos]

The Cowboys weren't just bad on defense; they were historically bad. Romo had a 30/10 td/int ratio and they didn't run the ball as effectively as they do this year (either because of OL talent or lack of commitment to the run) so I doubt Wilson could have gotten the Boys to the playoffs. I certainly don't see him putting up 51+ points on Denver to win that game.  In any case I think he's a really good qb.

I can say with certainty he wouldn't have made the Cowboys a playoff team. Look at the SD game with Seattle this year. When Wilson got behind by 2 scores, there was no coming back. That's the knock. If you can get a 10+ lead on Seattle, they have issues. It's just that many teams can't do that on their defense, so they can club you to death with the run.

Russell has had to throw for 30+ attempts 8 times in his career. He's 5-3 when that happens, and two of those wins are OT wins. The games are usually really close, and it's not a good thing for Seattle for him to be throwing that much. It's not in his MO. For a guy who is 31-10 in his time playing QB, he's also happens to be 12-1 when he has 24 or less attempts. The less they have to use him, the more Seattle wins. It's a running team with defense. That's the way it works. It's a proven track record that making Russell do less is what wins them games, not more.

[Goumindong]

Seattle really tried to fuck that up. Thankfully they figured out a meaningless FG at the end to cover the 7.5

Good work not completely shooting yourselves in the foot with a bajillion penalties.

They changed the rules in the offseason just based on the seattle D so this isn't a surprise. 

Fake edit: I didn't realize until tonight that they were the most penalized team last year too.  Hardly is the case with a superbowl winner is it. 

Penalties weren't on the secondary.

it was just a lot of really ticky tack bad calls (and a few decent holding calls). They called Unger 3 times for moving his head before the snap (which you're allowed to do! One of which they brought a TD back on and the flag was thrown after the play was over rather than when the penalty supposedly happened) they called a TD back for us blocking a guy too hard. And they let the Washington secondary get away with so much OPI it wasn't funny.  Refs tried damned hard to make that game close

[HaemishM]

Of course, Seattle really isn't built for him to pass a lot - look at their receivers. Harvin is fast as hell but he's more of a "get him the ball in space" kind of receiver rather than "send him on a fly pattern down the sidelines kind of guy."

The Cowboys needed 1 win to make the playoffs last year - just 1. That win would have been the last game of the season against Philly (since they'd already won the other game against Philly). They lost that game by 2 points with Kyle Orton at QB, and lost it on a late INT by Orton. I think Wilson could have won that game.

If you compare Romo and Wilson's postseason stats (because those are going to be against better teams in theory), Wilson has more yardage, more TD (6 - 4), less INT (1 -2), less fumbles (1-3) and a higher per pass average by a good yard or more. Good game managing QB's are CRIMINALLY underrated.    

EDIT: Oh and as for the refs - how the fuck Garcon didn't get flagged for offensive pass interference when he basically tugged the shit out of Sherman's dreads is unfathomable. The false start penalties on Unger were also ridiculous. Seems like I'm seeing a lot more phantom/dumbass/ticky tack calls this season.

[Raguel]

Sure it's possible Wilson could have won that game. It's possible a healthy Romo could have won that game. I'm not saying Romo is a better qb (although I'd argue that "Good Romo" is better than Wilson), or even Wilson isn't a good qb. I'm saying you don't really appreciate how bad that defense was, how bad Garrett could be at calling plays, and just how much the team depended on Romo being Good Romo.

[HaemishM]

I know how bad that defense was. It was a turnstile. Yet they still only gave up 24 points in that game.

[Paelos]

I know how bad that defense was. It was a turnstile. Yet they still only gave up 24 points in that game.

Orton played his ass off in that game and threw 46 times. 350+ yards, 2 TDs and the 2 picks. They were a 2-point conversion from tying the game.

I just don't think you could ask Russell to fling it as much as Dallas had to fling it to get back into games like they had to. Romo was flinging it 35 times a game on average. Wilson's never even had to come remotely close to that in his career. We have no idea how he would react or if that game in Philly would have even mattered at that point due to earlier problems.

[Goumindong]

EDIT: Oh and as for the refs - how the fuck Garcon didn't get flagged for offensive pass interference when he basically tugged the shit out of Sherman's dreads is unfathomable. The false start penalties on Unger were also ridiculous. Seems like I'm seeing a lot more phantom/dumbass/ticky tack calls this season.

Basically its "can't have a blowout on Monday Night" especially if its a "small market team" blowing out a larger market team.

[Paelos]

I don't think that has anything to do with the refs sucking ass. The NFL doesn't really give a shit who wins. Their TV ratings are amazing for even lackluster games. This isn't the NBA.

[Nevermore]

If the NFL cared about blowout games, we wouldn't have Thursday Night Football.

[Paelos]

If the NFL cared about blowout games, we wouldn't have Thursday Night Football.

ZING!


Also very true. There's been a lucrative betting streak taking the favorite in TNF, unless you were dumb enough to bet the Redskins.

[Cyrrex]

Out of curiosity, are we all still laboring under the belief that Wilson is just a game manager?  Not asked to do much?  Not top 10?  Dilfer 2.0?  Only good because of Lynch and the Defense?  Or maybe now because of Percy Harvin?  The system?

I know I said I'd wait another year before bringing up the subject again, so I'm just checking in here.

/endtroll

I'd advise you not to get carried away by a game against shitty Washington where the offense still shot itself in the foot 10 times.

Russell Wilson is great at what he does, but he absolutely is a game manager. He is a GREAT game manager, but just look at the numbers. He's 27th in passing attempts. He's 12th in yards per attempt. He's tied for 11th in passing TDs. Where he excels is completion percentage, and scrambling to get out of problems. He's dynamic, and he is great at choosing when to run. He also makes Johnny Manziel type escapes at times that wow you.

But the escapability doesn't make him a top ten QB yet. He's not being asked to throw what a normal NFL QB is being asked to do. He's literally attempted 6 passes longer than 20 yards this season so far, and completed 2. He's a short passing machine with high-percentage plays. That is very much a game manager role, but it's not a shot at how athletic the kid really is. He's one of the few "mobile" QBs I respect because he's playing a pro-system before and he's not a moron about contact. He's very intelligent, and that can win on Seattle. It would not win on 25 other NFL teams.

EDIT: Here's the thing, you don't need an awesome gunner QB to win in the NFL. That's a complete fallacy perpetuated by ESPN. The last few QBs to win over the last 3 years have mostly been regular guys who had a good run in the playoffs, and were buoyed for the most part by dynamic defenses and solid running games. But that's nuts and bolts football that the media hates to talk about.

Hey look, I can cherry pick stats too!

3rd in Rating
Tied for 1st in %
2nd in TD/Int ratio
1st for QBs rushing (by a lot)

High percentage plays?  Wow.  Whatever.  It's like you live in Bizarro world.  You are blinded by numbers.  He has one of the worst offensive lines in football, and he doesn't have the kind of deep threat receivers that a lot of other QBs have (and the evidence is that he is better than average between 11 and 40 yards in the air, and just under average for beyond 40).  You are making the mistake of judging him by traditional standards, and not by the impact he has on a football game.  The scouting report on this guy is pretty straight forward.  If you let him sit in the pocket, he does a good job of directing the offense and managing the game (with a BIG upside on ball protection).  If the pocket collapses on him and he moves out of it, you are fucked.  If he is running the option or otherwise deliberately bails out of the pocket, you are fucked.

You can't keep giving all the credit to the Defense and Marshawn Lynch.  Neither the D nor Lynch are as productive right now as they were on the whole last year, and the only thing it has exposed in Russell Wilson is that he can win it himself.  You can see on the defeated faces of the defensive fronts he plays against....I guarantee you they don't think of him as a game manager.  That is a ridiculous label anyway. 

By the way, Tony Romo has to throw 35 times a game, because Tony Romo cannot stop stepping on his own dick.  Andrew Luck can throw it 40 times for 400 yards, and he has to because he keeps fucking throwing interceptions and putting himself in a hole.