Fall NFL Thread

[Kaiten]

Re: The NFL Thread

As long as they get Wallace signed to a long term deal it is a good signing. Wallace and Brown on the perimeter with Cotchery in the slot is a damn good receiving corps.

 

[xi0]

Re: The NFL Thread

Don't forget Emmanuel Sanders either, he was more productive than Cotchery was last season.

 

[Kaiten]

Re: The NFL Thread

Ah, I did forget Sanders. Put him in the slot, bring Cotchery in as the fourth receiver. An even deeper receiver corp than I thought.

 

[gnut]

Re: The NFL Thread

you guys happy with your team's draft?
my dolphins stunk it up again...i don't know...it all smells like red tide..,.

 

[Jammin]

Re: The NFL Thread

Steelers got absurdly lucky; not that I'm complaining.

We needed some pieces for the O-line and a young nose tackle to develop and we got it all.

• 1st round by some miracle David DeCastro (guard) fell to the Steelers at 24.
• 2nd round we got Mike Adam's (offensive tackle) a guy with first round talent that fell in large part due to him failing a drug test; a college student smoked pot does not seem like big deal to me.
• 3rd round we got Sean Spence (linebacker) he's very light and fast linebacker.
• 4th round we traded up for Alameda Ta'amu (nose tackle) hopefully a successor for Casey Hampton down the road.
• 5th round we got Chris Rainy (Running back) a faster undersized running back and possibly a good special teams player.

 

[BASED Shinigami]

Re: The Football/Soccer Thread v2

Ahh so who's ready for NFL season to start!? I got my money on the Patriots to win it all!

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Football/Soccer Thread v2

Ahh so who's ready for NFL season to start!? I got my money on the Patriots to win it all!

While I'm a Pats fan, I don't see us winning.

 

[kakashi919]

Re: The Football/Soccer Thread v2

I'll be betting on Ravens again!

Though it would be nice if Raiders, Bucaneers and Panthers could do some damage

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Football/Soccer Thread v2

I'll be betting on Ravens again!

Though it would be nice if Raiders, Bucaneers and Panthers could do some damage

The Raiders and the Bucs haven't made the playoffs since they were each in the SB, and the same holds true for the Panthers whose last playoff appearance was the SB loss to the Patriots, I believe.

 

[Jammin]

Re: The Football/Soccer Thread v2

Ahh so who's ready for NFL season to start!? I got my money on the Patriots to win it all!

My pick would be the Texans. They were really good last year and, by all indications, they will be better this year.

Pat's look good, as always, but I just don't think it will happen. I feel like they will look unstoppable and in the regular season and then inexplicably lose in the playoffs, not really sure why I think that. For the Ravens I don't like their run defense this year, especially with Suggs out, which seems odd to say.

Though I'm a hardcore Steeler fan and always hope for them to win, I don't think this is our year. The team seems improved overall but our running back situation is not great and our offensive line I think is still a year away from being "a good NFL offensive line". We got a shot but I wouldn't put money on it. Especially by the time a seasons worth of injuries pile up.

 

[xi0]

Re: The NFL Thread

Suggs absence would be more felt in pass defense rather than run defense. Jarret Johnson going to the Chargers in the offseason has a bigger impact on the run defense as that edge defender. Kruger or Upshaw will have to step up, we'll see.

 

[Kaiten]

Re: The NFL Thread

I'm not expecting too much from the Redskins this year, but RGIII (and Andrew Luck too) actually looked good during preseason. Good pocket presence, handles the rush well, doesn't panic, moves well in the pocket, and has good accuracy. He can hold the ball to long at times and needs work on deep accuracy, but overall he looks like the real deal. At least during preseason Luck, RGIII, and Russel Wilson look visibly better than the rest of 2012 first round QB class (Weeden and Tannehill). We shall see how that translates to the regular season.

 

[BASED Shinigami]

Re: The NFL Thread

Playoff picks? I'll go first !

AFC picks:

North- Baltimore Ravens
South- Houston Texans
East- NE Patriots
West- Denver Broncos
Wild card- Chargers, Steelers

NFC picks:

North- Detroit Lions
South- Carolina Panthers
West- Cowboys
East- 49ers
Wild Card- (man this tough) but uh the Packers, Bears

I don't think Vick will stay healthy thus the eagles don't make it, the giants are the champs but inconsistency in the regular season plagues them, saints will be hurt without defensive starters and head coach, and the falcons ain't ready.

 

[xi0]

Re: The NFL Thread

AFC

North - Baltimore Ravens
South - Houston Texans
East - New England Patriots
West - Oakland Raiders

Wildcard - Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos

NFC

North - Green Bay Packers
South - New Orleans Saints
East - New York Giants
West - SF 49ers

Wildcard - Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The NFL Thread

AFC

North - Pittsburgh Steelers
South - Houston Texans
East - New England Patriots
West - Oakland Raiders

Wildcard - Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos

NFC

North - Green Bay Packers
South - Atlanta Falcons
East - New York Giants
West - SF 49ers

Wildcard - Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers


I think that the Steelers get past the Ravens this year in the AFC North because the defense took some hits, such as with Suggs' injury. I don't want to give the second wild card to the Broncos, but I can't really see any other team getting it.

I don't believe in Jay Cutler at all, and I think that both the Packers and the Lions are better than the Bears.

As to my NFC South pick, well, I just think that there will be some big problems in Saints land and even with Brees, there are going to be some problems. I think where we'll notice the absence of Sean Payton and Jonathan Vilma will be most apparent in important divisional road games, such as at Atlanta and at Carolina, and possibly at Tampa Bay. Plus, I think that they'll slip a few games in the Super Dome. I know that I'm taking a big risk by giving the second wild card spot to the Panthers, but I liked what I saw out of Cam Newton. He doesn't make bad runs like Vick or anything and he can throw. Plus, the Panthers became better this year, whereas the Saints got worse and the Falcons are always up and down. It'll be close. I could see both the Panthers and the Saints being 9-7 or 10-6, but the Panthers get the second wild card on some tiebreaker. In terms of giving the division to the Falcons, I think that this is Matt Ryan's chance to step up and perform, because he's probably not going to get that many chances with Brees in his division. I'm not a huge believer in Matt Ryan, because I think that his head coach makes bad decisions at times, such as going for it against the Saints last year, and that while he doesn't throw that many picks, they're usually really untimely. I know, the way I described the Falcons isn't as a team that I really believe in, but with the Saints' problems, I'm just going to go with it.

 

[Kaiten]

Re: The NFL Thread

Packers certainly are better than the Bears, and while Stafford is better than Cutler, the Bears as a team are better than the Lions. The Lions have no running game and a shakey secondary. Cutler is vastly underrated. Martz shitty offense forced him to stay in the pocket and hold the ball too long, when his real strength is throwing on the move. Tice is a good offensive coordinator (but a crap head coach). Martz was legendary for horrible blocking schemes, going back to his days as Ram's head coach. Tice is a line coach, his blocking schemes will be a vast improvement. Cutler was playing great ball last year, before his injury. He should be even better this year.

For novelty purposes only, preseason predictions are fools gold :

AFC:

• East: Patriots
• South: Texans
• West: Broncos
• North: Ravens
• Wild Card: Chiefs, Steelers

NFC:

• East: Giants
• South: Carolina
• North: Packers
• West: Seattle
• Wildcard: Bears, Eagles

My predictions are subject to change based on actually seeing teams play. My picks are based on nothing more than rosters and feels. My NFC South prediction is completely arbitrary. A new team wins the division every year. Carolina should improve in Cam's second year, and they get back defensive players lost to injury last year. Every year at least one team has a four game swing, Carolina seems as good a candidate to improve by four games as I can think of. San Fransisco is my candidate to lose four more games in 2012 than they did in 2011. Most of their success was based on winning close games and controlling the clock. In any given game they were a bad break away from losing. They won't have the same luck this year.

 

[xi0]

Re: The NFL Thread

You're seriously kicking the Saints out of contention because of Jonathan Vilma?

He's a good player sure, but he's not enough to put a team on his back. Just look how awful their defense was last year. Plus MLBs don't have the impact like they used to.

The Saints having success this year, despite Sean Payton not being there will go a long way to dispel the out and out myth of Head Coaches being responsible for the success of a team with an elite QB. I'm looking at you Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, Mike McCarthy. Plus Sean Payton is a phony egomaniac so I have no problem seeing this happen.


And there's no doubt that Suggs being out AT LEAST until week 6 will have an effect on the Ravens. There's no denying it. I do like what I've seen from the offense this preseason though. Our secondary has gone from a glaring weak spot on our team into an obvious strength in the span of two years with the emergence of Lardarius Webb, Cary Williams, Jimmy Smith and the addition of Bernard Pollard. It's funny how much Pollard was bashed as a garbage player when he was with the Texans. Having competent teammates goes a long way. I'm not sure who steps up in the absence of Suggs and Jarrett Johnson. Paul Kruger is already a compete player, but he's neither of those guys. Courtney Upshaw is a rookie and hasn't looked terribly impressive yet but again...rookie. Some dark horses might be Ellerbe or McClellan.


I also think Jay Cutler is suspect at times, but just look at that team on paper. Couple that defense with an offense that already has he and Matt Forte...plus Michael Bush and now Brandon Marshall. Barring injury, they'll be a contender. The Black and Blue Division looks horrifying...especially if you're a Vikings fan.

 

[Kaiten]

Re: The NFL Thread

It's not Johnathan Vilma's absence that bothers me so much as Joe Vitt's presence. I refuse to believe he can competently coach a contender. I think the Saints go 9-7 and are the last team out.

I think the Ravens will weather the loss of Suggs, go on a run once he is back, and again lose in the AFC championship game. I do agree that NFC North should be a great division, except for the Vikings. Cutler certainly was suspect in the past, but he has developed into a far more disciplined quarterback. He seems to have outgrown the impulse to muscle balls into double coverage.

 

[xi0]

Re: The NFL Thread

Yeah Yeah

Actually it wouldn't surprise me if that happened. It's hard to bet against the Patriots. Though we've been one of the few teams in the AFC that has shown them to be human over the past years. I also wouldn't discount the Super Bowl Loss-hangover that has been pretty evident in recent history. It even happened to the Patriots themselves the last time they were in the big game and lost.

 

[Kaiten]

Re: The NFL Thread

No, it's easy to bet against the Patriots. Especially if they are playing the Giants, in the Super Bowl.

---------- Post added at 04:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:18 PM ----------

I'm genuinely upset by the release of Chris Cooley. I understand the decision, and have seen the writing on the wall all off-season. He's barely played the last few years, and has clearly lost a step. But it still sucks, he's one my favorite players from the last ten years.