NFL Football Thread 2013

[AGar]

I'm glad I'm not a Bengals fan, then.

[AGar]

If RG stays healthy I say we win the division yet again and if the entire team is healthy, I'd say NFC championship game is a lock

Ignoring the concept of RGIII staying healthy...

Yeahno.

Atlanta, Seattle and SF are an entire notch better.
Green Bay and their porous defense still win a majority of the time against Washington.
And besides, no one is coming out of the NFC East without some serious bumps and bruises.

[AGar]

(1)GB/(3)SF/(2)NYG/(4)ATL with (6)CHI and (5)NO as wild cards in the NFC.
(1)NE/(3)IND/(4)PIT/(2)DEN with (5)HOU and (6)BAL as wild cards in the AFC.

NFC Playoffs: NO>ATL, SF>CHI, NO>GB, NYG>SF, NO>NYG
AFC Playoffs: PIT>HOU, IND>BAL, DEN>BAL, NE>PIT, DEN>NE
Super Bowl: DEN>NO

[AGar]

giant's schedule is fucking hilarious this year
jesus christ who makes these things

It's the same formula every year?

[AGar]

The Cowboys were competing for the NFC East title LAST YEAR

Yeah this is a point.

I'm not confident in our secondary, as is the usual case, or our O-Line.

But yeah. Dallas was in the mix until Week 17.

[AGar]

Yeah there's actually three.

[AGar]

Yes, but when your backfield is as talented in short yardage situations as the Panthers is, and your D is fairly devoid of talent in several areas... And you don't even try and utilize that strength to just put the game away....

You're a bad coach.

[AGar]

I could watch this all day.

[AGar]

If they're one of the front offices that views RBs as an expendable resource that can be fairly easily replaced, then they might be looking at a Bridgewater pick early in Round 1 (Browns #1 overall pick isn't impossible, they're pretty bad prior to this trade to begin with) and then use that 2nd first rounder (likely to be a mid- to late-round pick) on either another impact player or to trade for multiple lower round picks. It really depends on what kind of mindset their front office has. They could actually turn this into something if they're smart about it. You can win in this league with an average or slightly above average RB.


Alternatively, Lombardi is an Al Davis hire, so Zombie Al Davis might just be spreading his awfulness to Cleveland - because they clearly didn't have enough of that to go around.

[AGar]

best comment I have read so far is that they are clearing up cap space so they can make a run at lebron

I wish I had seen this before. That's brilliant.

[AGar]

I may have to start wearing a paper bag on my head to games. Next year better be worth it.

Colts will have a chance at a superbowl season but I think they'll fall short in playoffs

Miami and KC looking like possible wild cards to me. IND and HOU gonna have to fight to get out of their division

The fact that you're a Browns fan shouldn't impact your ability to make logical conclusions about the rest of the league...

[AGar]

I may have to start wearing a paper bag on my head to games. Next year better be worth it.

Its over a year old at this point, but they are still keeping it relevant.

Also Colts aren't even a playoff team, even now maybe just a WC if they get lucky (o/u at 8.5), what are you talking about? Really I could see the Colts being a 6-10 team this year, apart from JAX and maybe TEN, its all respectable teams left for them. Even then TEN could sneak out an 8-8 record.

Rams and Cards would be winning teams

if they weren't in the division of doom.

AFC sending BALT

, DEN, NE, HOU with MIA and KC as wildcards looks like the very solid bet here.

Are you trolling the shit out of us?

[AGar]

If Cincy can hold serve and split that home-and-home against the Ravens, I think they have a better shot at the division. Their schedule is notably weaker than Baltimore's (even moreso depending on how you skew Indy). The Ravens already got shellacked by Denver, and they also take on Houston in addition to the similar schedule of NE/GB/DET/CHI (who probably would've been a decent sleeper for the NFC WC in retrospect). I don't like Baltimore this year, I think they have too many gaps.

[AGar]

Eh, I think Miami pulls 8-8 or 9-7 at best. Not sure that's enough to nab a WC.

[AGar]

I'm assuming the Raiders won last night off of a Matt Flynn comeback

It was sick, you should've seen it.

[AGar]

Hover the destroyer is gonna ruin the Cleveland attempt to tank.


God still hates Cleveland.

[AGar]

pls no DJAX to Oakland

>> PHI cuts him due to potential gang ties off the field, among other things.
>> Signs with Oakland.

By god that would be fucking hysterical.

[AGar]

Supposedly it's a done deal for the skins and Djax.

I'm not going to Believe anything until April 2nd

With all that cap space the Skins... Oh wait.

DJax is going to go where he can get paid.

[AGar]

we have the cap space, skins had quite a bit of cap space to sign him

They had roughly $7M prior to the deal, according to what I follow. Considering he was due $10.5M or something like that in Philly, I figured he'd be asking in the $7-9M range, and Dan Snyder isn't exactly a cap wizard. I'm still surprised it worked.

[AGar]

Jets should be interesting until Vick gets hurt

They signed a few terrible locker room guys who are way past their prime.

They're just well known names.

Poor Rex Ryan.

I could actually see the Jets hanging around the AFC picture this year. I don't think they'll make a lot of noise, but all of the players they've signed still have a bit left in the tank and Rex's defense will be solid as per usual.

Browns won't take Watkins - they have Gordon already and have more pressing needs... everywhere. Definitely could see them trading down and getting a fair amount of picks for it from a team desperate for an impact WR.

[AGar]

That is absolutely hysterical and pathetic at the same time.

[AGar]

Minnesota or jax should be first qb needy team to take a qb.

if hou

, oak, cle take a qb over best on the board at that time it will be disapointing

You're forgetting that Houston jettisoned their QB this offseason?

[AGar]

Atlanta is the most common thought to trade up for Clowney.

[AGar]

Bush.

Mario Williams is an *ELITE* DE that has made 3 Pro Bowl appearances. Easily a top 5 DE in the league right now [especially with Jared Allen aging and Justin Tuck guaranteed to coast now that he has a fat contract]. Let's say Allen still has 2 years of dominance left. Okay. You have JJ Watt, Jared Allen, ...??? Mario Williams.

lol

[AGar]

Gruden was downright obnoxious about Manziel, it got really annoying after the first few picks.

[AGar]

Jacksonville should have taken Manziel so they could sell some tickets.

Their logic was Bortles -> UCF -> Jacksonville -> $$$

Man did I laugh at that selection. The Browns have so many problems and QB isn't really one of them. Hoyer did great last year, they should have given him a real shot.

Small sample sizes, major knee injury, etc etc etc.

Hoyer was not their QB of the future, and I think if they ride him for a full season they're going to be very sorry. Whether that's Manziel or not isn't going to be known for a while (way too many people who have respectable football opinions are high on this kid for me to just dismiss him), but they just fired a coach after 1 season when he went through a carousel of QBs because they couldn't stay on the field. That says something about the ownership. If anything, Manziel was their best bet in this particular class with their O-line being as awful as it was - they allowed the 3rd most sacks and the most QB hits in the league last year, so his mobility and ability to create outside of the pocket is going to be higher valued for them.

P-Edit: When you trade up, down and all around the first round for a guy, you send a pretty clear signal that he's who you

want

. I don't get how they do that and say "The job is Hoyer's to lose." The Browns organization is just terrible.

[AGar]

Their logic was Bortles -> UCF -> Jacksonville -> $$$

I don't think so
UCF is of no importance in collegiate sporting in the state of FL
I think they honestly were worried one of the QB hungry teams in the top 8 would take him

I just saw multiple references to this last night. I don't think it's entirely logical, because lolUCF, but I don't know what half these teams are thinking anymore. It's also entirely possible the analysts I was following were incorrect. There have also been multiple comparisons to Gabbert with him, which should terrify the six Jaguars fans who are still alive.

Carr goes to the Texans watch.

Not going to happen. Especially with the Maillet trade possibility. Belichek LOVES him some 2nd and 3rd rounders. I wouldn't be remotely surprised if he swindles Houston out of this pick with Maillet and a late rounder or two.

Manziel will start Week 1.

Possibly. Browns camp will be interesting at the very least.

[AGar]

The 49ers are supposedly nearing a deal for Stevie Johnson, and somehow managing to still hold onto their bajillion picks they have this year. I'd bet it stays a 4th rounder, too, given that the jump is performance based for Johnson and Crabtree/Boldin/Davis is already 3 solid targets for Kaep, doubt Johnson is just gonna come in and tear shit up.

The rich get richer has definitely been the theme of the draft/this weekend so far.

[AGar]

I wouldn't be remotely surprised if he swindles Houston out of this pick with Maillet and a late rounder or two.

What's with the Ryan Mallett love? I don't get it. I would be very VERY surprised if this happened.

He's basically another Matt Cassell, only Brady didn't have to tear an ACL this time.

[AGar]

Really, you want to be Mike Vick's backup. That's the best job in the NFL to have apparently.

[AGar]

Vick is 1 concussion away from a soft food diet for the rest of his life. Sure I'd take that gig lol

Not even that, just look at the guys who back him up and the paydays they end up getting - Schaub and Kolb both got nice gigs out of some time shown from injuries for him. Foles wrestled the starting gig. It's almost better for you to start behind him on the depth chart if you're a half-decent QB - he's gonna go out there and woo the fans in, but have his boneheaded plays as well, so he'll never be firmly entrenched in the way that guys like Brady, Brees, the Mannings, Roethlisberger, even Romo are. Those guys will just slide back into the starting role when they come back if they get hurt. Guy like Vick isn't going to play so good that he can guarantee that. You, the backup, get some time to study a QB who is pretty good at his job - he's not at his peak anymore, and he was never an All Pro caliber guy, but he's never been a terrible QB - and then he's going to get hurt at some point because he tries too hard to extend a play, you get an extended cameo to showcase your abilities and then if all goes well for you, either he gets dumped so you can start or you get traded into a starting gig. (Yes I realize his contract expired with Philly, but they also made no attempts to reup him from what I read).

I'm also big on Schaub rebounding in Oakland. Even before they acquired him, they were upgrading that O-Line. With time, and some solid targets he'll be able to at least turn in a decent season for the team, get them out of the basement maybe.

P-Edit: I mean, O'Brien is familiar with him. So he knows what he's getting, and if he can get him at a reasonable price, he now can use his mid-round picks to address other needs (that defense still needs some help) rather than having to snap pick Carr or Garrapolo (whom he is going to be infinitely less familiar with/neither of which is a sure thing) with a 2nd rounder.

[AGar]

This Maillet deal is looking more and more likely with Garrapolo going to NE.

[AGar]

Meh, ban for performance enhancing drugs not freaking marijuana.

Eh, as long as the majority of states they play in consider marijuana illegal and the NFL continues to receive the anti-trust exemption that the government can kinda just hang over it's head, they're going to ban for it for no other reason than they really have to.

[AGar]

TBF, I think the suspension's severity here was because it's not his first offense.

[AGar]

If I'm him, I blame it on the CTE and shit.

[AGar]

Bradford is nothing more than a terrified sack of flesh and bones at this point, one hit away from becoming a puddle.

[AGar]

Puddle, poodle... eh, what's the difference?

[AGar]

do the rams have any WRs? If no then he is definitely gonna suck. He ain't Tom Brady who can make bad WRs look better, He needs a good WR to make him look better

Who looked good at WR in NE last year?

All things considered, NEs WR corps wasn't really as bad as it was made out to be last year. Brady was pretty much throwing to guys off the street and still threw for 4300 yards.

[AGar]

To be fair, everything I've seen illustrates that the Redskins are still free to keep the name. Just now anyone and their brother who wants to make knockoff Redskins shirts/gear/whatever can do so.

[AGar]

From a business perspective, re-branding is hugely profitable so long as you don't do it too often. It means all of your fans (who will, statistically speaking, keep watching the team, despite protestations they might make otherwise) "have" to buy new jerseys / t-shirts/ caps / scarves / whatever else. Huge influx of money from that. I'm actually fairly surprised it doesn't happen more often in professional sport.

As hugely profitable as it could be, a lot of people buy into shit like "tradition", "identity" and "history" for their teams. Profits may be marginalized by fans who would potentially jump ship with frequent re-branding.

With the aforementioned profit boons like special jerseys (all star games, playoffs, championship games/series, throwbacks), consistently rotating rosters and a new game cap

every. single. year.

, there's no real reason to take the risk of losing people who feel a strong association with the team name that's been there.

[AGar]

They'll change the name. (Eventually.) It will be considered an overdue but welcome move. Most importantly it will not end there. Not when you have the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cleveland Indians, the Chicago Blackhawks, ect.

There have been multiple articles pointing out that all three of those (as well as the Atlanta Braves) are pretty safe in things. Cleveland is probably the most likely to have any issues, and they got out in front of things by starting to phase out Wahoo in the past however many years.

Also, similar articles pointed out that, legally, the patent office ruling simply makes it more difficult for the Redskins to go after infringement. But they still can.

All in all, Snyder isn't going to change the name. Rog isn't going to step in and force him out. The 30 other teams that share on profits for this stuff (Dallas are special little snowflakes and have their own deal) aren't going to step in and force anyone to do anything. The Redskins are going to stay the Redskins, the status quo will remain the status quo, and - quite frankly - people will continue to find seemingly pointless things to bitch about when put in the context of "These guys are out there literally destroying their brains for our live entertainment, and no one in the league seems to give a shit." Yes, Redskins is a highly offensive term for Native Americans. But that pales in comparison to the CTE issue right now.

[AGar]

Snyder isn't even 50 yet, so he may not technically own it forever, but he probably will be around for a very long time.

[AGar]

Snyder cut down federally protected trees so he could have a better view of the Potomac river. He don't give a shit bout anything.

Ladies and gentlemen, the owner of the Washington Redskins!

[AGar]

I hate the bastard personally. Most fans hate him but at least he's doing what the old owner did, stand his ground.

Doesn't make him any less wrong.