2016 NFL Football

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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... ion-appeal
Brady is out first 4 games this year. I foresee 1-3 start for them.

I think what will decide the winner of the afc east comes down to whether or not fritz comes back

Patriots should shut out the Jets if Geno is at the helm and finish 11-5, otherwise 10-6 is more likely

I see miami getting at least 6 wins if fritz is back, possibly 8 if he is not

I see buffalo getting 8 wins if fritz is back, 9 if he is not

If Jets get fritz back then, I see them going 10-6 so they could steal afc east from patriots pending tie breakers. If fritz is not back then they go 5-11 or 6-10.

Patriots are more likely to repeat their afc east crown then not, even with Brady out

Patriots lose to the Cards in the first game, then go unbeaten the rest of the way. Jimmy Garoppolo is good enough to beat the Dolphins, Texans and Bills at home, then Tommy comes back with a giant chip on his shoulder and goes ham on the rest of the league.

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I mean, if you assume he should be suspended (which he shouldn't the evidence just isn't there to justify it but whatever, that argument was had last summer), then similar violations of NFL rules - interfering with equipment - result in fines (using stickum, for example - Ericht Rhett was fined $5,000 for using stickum in 1996). Historical instances of teams messing with the air pressure of balls (Vikings/Panthers, for example, when balls were deliberately heated to manipulate the air pressure inside) resulted in slaps on the wrist. Non co-operation with an investigation got Brett Favre a $50,000 fine in 2010 (which was cellphone related) - in 2012, the Chargers were fined $20,000 for refusing to co-operate in an investigation into whether they were illegally using stickum soaked towels (not cellphone related - their staff refused to hand over the towels themselves to the NFL). Basically, assuming Brady is guilty, a fine in the region of $100k is the maximum punishment the NFL should have imposed, based on precedent.

But then, Deflate Gate was never about deflating footballs, it was all about petty revenge for the perceived leniency of Spygate.

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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... ion-appeal
Brady is out first 4 games this year. I foresee 1-3 start for them.

I think what will decide the winner of the afc east comes down to whether or not fritz comes back

Patriots should shut out the Jets if Geno is at the helm and finish 11-5, otherwise 10-6 is more likely

I see miami getting at least 6 wins if fritz is back, possibly 8 if he is not

I see buffalo getting 8 wins if fritz is back, 9 if he is not

If Jets get fritz back then, I see them going 10-6 so they could steal afc east from patriots pending tie breakers. If fritz is not back then they go 5-11 or 6-10.

Patriots are more likely to repeat their afc east crown then not, even with Brady out

You really think fitzpatrick is that good? Josh McCown had a better passer rating than him last year.

Fitzpatrick is that much better than Geno Smith. I bet if you asked most Jets fans what their best play of last season was, at least 50% of them would nominate I.K. Enemkpali punching Geno in the face.

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At least if the Jets start Geno we'll know who the 5th best starting QB in the AF East is.

It's not Brady, Tannehill, Garoppolo or Taylor

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Considering the only problem with the NE O-Line was half of them being injured at the end of last year, and they're pretty much all back, I don't think that's a worry.

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2. 49ers - The obvious fit, Foles had his great season with Kelly, Kaepernick has questions about his commitment to the team right now and the other options are Blaine Gabbert, Thad Lewis and a sixth round rookie.
3. Jets - Obvious need since right now they're starting Geno Smith
4. Colts - They have Luck, but Foles is a clear upgrade on Morris and Tolzein.
5. Bills - Taylor's in the last year of his deal, they've concluded EJ Manuel's a bust and they'll need at least a veteran backup to help Cardale Jones develop for next year.
6. Chargers - They need to replace Rivers, so inv4sting inFoles migth be weise, although Mettenberger wasn't that bad with the Titans even if he didn't win, and might well be the QB of the future there.

Browns

- Off the table, they're rolling with RGIII and have two QBs with starting experience and a newly drafted rookie on the depth chart - they're not going to unsettle RGII and they don't need a back-up.

Cowboys

- Off the list, because no matter how banged up Romo gets, Jerrah still believes he's invincible, plus they like Kellen Moore and they just drafted Prescott.

Broncos

- They drafted their QB of the future, signed Sanchez as the veteran presence and they're high on Siemian who might end up as the starting QB Week One.

Cardinals

- Palmer may be old, but they believe in Drew Stanton as his replacement and backup, no sense wasting money on Foles.

Falcons

- Matty Ice isn't going anywhere and Schaub's an acceptable back up.

Ravens

- Flacco isn't going anywhere and they have backups with starting experience who're perfectly acceptable. May change if Mallett has off the field issues.

Patriots

- More on Foles side - he had a great 2013, wasn't that bad in 2014 and so I doubt he'd want to get cut after week four.

Chiefs

- They don't need a startying QB, and their backups are a collection of young guys who could all end up replacing him.

Bears

- Cutler and Hoyer are both better than Foles, and behind them they've got a couple of young guys. No need.

Those are the teams Egg listed, ranked by likelihood of signing Foles, and explaining why I don't think he'll sign for the others. You'll notice I don't have anybody in the #1 slot, because you didn't mention my pick for his next team.

1. Saints - The major omission from your list, Brees is out of contract at the end of this year, with no chance of being tagged and currently no progress being made on an extension, plus he's 38. Behind him they've got Luke McCown (whop's 35 and not really a QB of the future) and Garrett Grayson.

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So Nick Foles.

Best fits in order:

1. Jets
2. Browns
3. 49ers
4. Cowboys
5. Broncos
6. Cardinals
7. Colts
8. Chargers
9. Bills
10. Falcons
11. Ravens
12. Patriots
13. Chiefs
14. Bears

BC Lions
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
L.A Kiss
Cleveland Gladiators

Goodbye Nick Foles.

Discussed.

He's not far removed from a season where he threw 27 TDs and 2 INTs, there are plenty of teams who'll consider signing him.

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Well Jets just resigned Fitz so Foles to Jets ain't happening.

He's still an upgrade over Geno as the back up, and it's a one year deal, so it's not like they've got him locked up for the long term. I'd likely drop them down a spot or two because he's back, but it doesn't take them out of the running.

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Now Fitz is signed, Geno's getting cut, imo. If they sign Foles, then Pretty might be gone as well. Fitz is obviously the starter at the rate they're paying him, Hacknburg is obviously safe and Petty's only in his second year. Geno's had his chance, shown that there's nothing there, so he's gone.

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You're missing the point. We're not saying Fitz is the second coming of Dan Marino, we're saying that Geno is bad. I'd say there are at least 40, maybe 50 or more better QBs than Geno in the NFL right now.

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I've just been reminded of another team that might sign Foles - the Seahawks. Right now, their only back ups for Wilson are an undrafted rookie and an undrafted 2nd year guy,
Foles would be a clear upgrade there.

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It's an upgrade to being the back up to Case Keenum, and being one injury away from being the starter for a contender is better than not having a job.

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They were very nearly a play off team last year, why would you throw away a season when your main divisional competition is without their starting QB for the first four games and you have your best chance to make it in years?

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I think you typoed "PIT" as "CIN" there, buddy.

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CIN lost some key wide receivers during the off season. They still have Green but he can't do it all. I think PIT will take that division and therefore not compete with NYJ for a wild card

CIN also lost Hue Jackson. I don't see Dalton repeating the numbers he got last year with the new crowd, new coordinator. He is also gonna need to fully recover health wise given his injury late last year. Dalton's got a lot he has to overcome and my money is on, he can't do it.

As much as I hate PIT, odds are they will overcome their issues more than CIN will overcome theirs. Ben has succeeded more often in the past than Dalton.

It's not a Begals/Steelers dichotomy.

(Also, I made a mistake, for which I apologize. Obviously, I meant BAL, not PIT, since the Steelers will finish 3rd in the division this year.)

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why would you throw away a season when your main divisional competition is without their starting QB for the first four games and you have your best chance to make it in years?

It all boils down to if you think Fitz is a significant upgrade over Geno. Based on career stats, Fitz. But gut and last years stats doesn't really make me think so. I'm am also arguing that I think it would have been a much better idea for them to wait and look at Geno/Petty in camp and only moved on Fitz if they didn't like what they see. Also if they had waited they could have gotten Foles.

Geno's not a rookie, he's a 4th year player. The Jets know what they've got in Geno. Remember, he's been working with the starters during the whole offseason so far. Look at the deal they did with Fitz. They could have done that months ago. The fact that they finally did it now is down to two things: a) the fact that they realized Fitz wasn't going to blink and b) the prospect of starting Geno in games that matter.

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Also, the Cowboys are back in the Nick Foles sweepstakes, on account of Kellen Moore breakign his ankles. Wild theory? For game one of the regular season, Geno Smith will be the Cowboys backup.

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- The Ravens' issues last year were down to injuries, they'll be a lot healthier by the time the season starts. Reports say Flacco has fully recovered. Don't sleep on Dennis Pitta returning, too.

- The Bengals defence is still pretty good, Dalton's top two targets are still there (Green and Eifert), Brandon LaFell is a capable replacement for either Jones or Sanu and they drafted Boyd, so they it's not like they're as weak as, say, last season's Panthers were at WR. Zampese has been the QB Coach there for years, so it's not like there'll be any sudden shake-ups.

- Steelers have lost key offensive pieces (Heath Miller, Bryant, Bell for the first four games), did nothing to improve their awful line that can't protect Roethlisberger (who as he gets older, can't take all the hits) and didn't do enough to address their defence, which was below average last year. Also still coached by Mike Tomlin.

- The Browns are the Browns.

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The Heath Miller loss is bigger than many people think for the Steelers - he could block and catch passes, and was still one of the best tight ends in the league even if he was past his peak. He was also a trusted outlet for Roethlisberger when he was scrambling around, and the fact that he's lost that coupled with their weak line - and both the Bengals and Ravens have very good pass rush within the division. That's not even touching on the leadership hole he leaves behind.

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Foles is apparently a Chief. I don't think it makes that much sense, tbh, but I guess it means they've given up on Aaron Murray. At least it means my "Geno to the Cowboys" theory is still on.

The fact that the Chargers chose to keep the what's left of Antonio Gates over Green says a lot about his ability to replace Heath Miller. Like I said, he's a bigger loss than many people think for his ability to block and bolster a shitty O-line and for being the first guy Ben looks for when a play breaks down.

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Obviously subject to change based on training camp injuries and such, but yes.

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He didn't choose the Cowboys because Jerry and Stephen Jones essentially said he wasn't as good as Kellen Moore when he became a FA. Andy Reid is the guy who drafted him, so that might have made a difference.

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Well, there's a possibility of a game tonight, apparently they used the wrong paint for the end zones and center field, and it's currently unsafe to play on.

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Fitz was traded to the Jets on March 11th. IK Enemkpali's MVP-clinching moment came 5 months later, on August 11th.

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6th round pick that they traded to the Falcons as part of the trade up two spots to pick Nick Martin. Martin's currently their starting center... so I guess they turned Fitzpatrick into like... a starting O-Lineman's leg, if we're being generous?

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And that's because it upgraded from a 7th round pick because Fitz got enough playing time. I wonder if the Texans sent a fruit basket to IK Enemkpali to say thanks?

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Thus far in the preseason, Bryce Petty is clearly out-playing Geno Smith. It's odd that they're not letting Hackenberg play, but he's a second round rookie so it'd be really hard to imagine the Jets having given up on him already, and even harder to believe they'd cut him. Fitz is the clear starter. If Petty and Smith are playing for one slot on the depth chart, then unless Geno does something in the remaining preseason games that he's never shown before, he's gone - and it's getting harder and harder to pick out a landing spot for him.

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Maybe the LA Kiss have a spot on their roster for him?

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Alex Smith looked like a waste of a roster slot after three years, he picked it up and became an above average starter. Kurt Warner washed out of the NFL before becoming an IOWA BARNSTORMER and eventually becoming a Super Bowl winning QB and nearly winning a second.Players improve at different rates, some need time to mature, some just need to be coached properly instead of being treated like video game players. It's not hard to understand why people cling on to shittos they drafted in the hopes that they'll suddenly flick the switch and become alright to good players.

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- I think Alex Smith hit more than serviceable, fwiw, and I personally think Warner's a future Hall of Famer (borderline, sure, but on the right side of the line), but that's just quibbling.

- Football doesn't have too many examples of late bloomers because the fundamental infrastructure isn't there to enable those kinda people to survive playing the game before they finally make it. It's certainly not common, but it's a lot less uncommon in other sports with different organizational structures.

- The Hackenberg situation is weird, because the Jets won't just come out and say "He's a work in progress, and we feel it's better for his future development if he not play yet" or "Petty and Smith are fighting for a roster slot, so we need to take longer looks at them" or whatever their reason is, which opens the door to some crazy speculation that can't be good for anyone.

- Freeman at least had like one good season, which is two more than Geno.

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In Freeman's case, it was being traded to the Vikings and thrown in the lineup before he'd had time to learn their offence that really killed his career. He's never been any good since.

US sports with their franchise model, rookie drafts and - particularly for the NFL - lack of a real minor league system are structurally configured against late bloomers. Randy Johnson's probably the best example in US sports, and baseball has the best minor league system in US sports. It's more common (though obviously bot that common) in sports like soccer, where most of the world operates promotion/relegation systems that allow players who peak later in lower divisions climb higher and make their mark when they';d otherwise be forgotten - Jamie Vardy and Rickie Lambert are more recent examples, off the top of my head.

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6th round pick that they traded to the Falcons as part of the trade up two spots to pick Nick Martin. Martin's currently their starting center... so I guess they turned Fitzpatrick into like... a starting O-Lineman's leg, if we're being generous?

About that leg... https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/768803882990505985

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No need to carry 4 QBs, there'll always be a Matt Flynn or whatever you can pick up as a veteran presence when Romo inevitably gets hurt.

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No need to carry 4 QBs, there'll always be a Matt Flynn or whatever you can pick up as a veteran presence when Romo inevitably gets hurt.

So about that...

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... e-in-back/

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On the plus side, my "Geno to Dallas" theory is viable again!

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http://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-rams/ ... goff-knows

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you this, without comment.

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Cowboys and Vikings will now commence fighting over the corpses of Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith. Sorry, friends.

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Mcclain good too. Claiborne also isn't a total idiot

Which McClain are you talking about? Rolando McClain's suspended for 10 games and doesn't even have a locker at the practice facility. Terrell McClain's played 16 games in a season once (and didn't start any of them). Claiborne's reported to have had a good camp, but I'll believe it when I see it in actual games - he's pretty much been a bust in his game action so far. The rest are a completely uninspiring bunch, and they don't have a Belichick level coach to make chicken salad out of their collection of chicken shit.

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Fuck, I really like Teddy B and the Vikings too.

Though this now raises the potential of a Bears dark horse run which I'd be interested to see as well.

Based on their preseason performances, this is about as likely as the Browns winning their division. The Lions are far more likely to be the team that benefits most from Bridgewater going down. Also the NFC South.

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Mcclain good too. Claiborne also isn't a total idiot

Which McClain are you talking about? Rolando McClain's suspended for 10 games and doesn't even have a locker at the practice facility. Terrell McClain's played 16 games in a season once (and didn't start any of them). Claiborne's reported to have had a good camp, but I'll believe it when I see it in actual games - he's pretty much been a bust in his game action so far. The rest are a completely uninspiring bunch, and they don't have a Belichick level coach to make chicken salad out of their collection of chicken shit.

Rolando but he seems to be a man without a country? Apparently he tested positive for drank? This is bizarre

And right after he was suspended, he skipped OTAs, which is his right, but pissed off the coaching staff.

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Fuck, I really like Teddy B and the Vikings too.

Though this now raises the potential of a Bears dark horse run which I'd be interested to see as well.

Based on their preseason performances, this is about as likely as the Browns winning their division. The Lions are far more likely to be the team that benefits most from Bridgewater going down. Also the NFC South.

The Lions went 4-0 in the preseason in their 0-16 season. I don't trust preseason performances.

Pre-season records don't matter, but the awful performance of the starters does.

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AFC East

New England Patriots (1)
Miami Dolphins
Buffalo Bills
New York Jets

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens (3)
Cincinatti Bengals (5)
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns

AFC South

Houston Texans (4)
Jacksonville Jaguars (6)
Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs (2)
Oakland Raiders
Denver Broncos
San Diego Chargers

NFC East

#Six Seed
New York Giants (4)
Washington Redskins
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys

NFC North

Green Bay Packers (2)
Detroit Lions (5)
Minnesota Vikings
Chicago Bears

NFC South

Carolina Panthers (1)
Atlanta Falcons (6)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals (3)
Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers

Wildcard Round:

Texans def Bengals
Ravens def Jaguars

Falcons def Giants
Cardinals def Lions

Divisional Round

Chiefs def Ravens
Patriots def Texans

Cardinals def Packers
Panthers def Falcons

Championship round:

Patriots def Chiefs

Panthers def Cardinals

Super Bowl

Patriots def Panthers

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Roethlisberger's played all 16 games 3 times in his 12 seasons, is 34 and behind a mediocre at best line. Their star running back is suspended for 3 games, and their #2 wideout is suspended for the season. They lost their experienced, star tight end, and replaced him with whatever's left of Ladarius Green. They didn't significantly improve a below average defence from last season. They're still coached by Mike Tomlin. Tell me again why people are picking them to win their division?

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1. Ben's injuries are indeed a high concern, but he's been playing the best football of his career these past two seasons. His age doesn't matter here.

Age makes players more susceptible to injury - it's a natural part of the aging process. Ben can't keep getting hit like he has all through his career.

2. Our line is most decidedly

not

"mediocre." Since Mike Munchak came to Pittsburgh to be our OL coach in 2014, our OL has been one of the

best

in the league. David DeCastro just came off a Pro Bowl season. Our line was riddled with injuries last season (Beachum tore his ACL six games in and Pouncey was out from the start) and took a step back from 2014, but not by much. Firstly, Pouncey came back from a far more severe injury in 2014 and looked just like his old All-Pro self - I expect him to repeat that here. While Beachum's departure is a significant loss, he was gone most of last season and Alejandro Villanueva filled in admirably though not excellently. While I have heard he struggled in preseason I don't expect that to last during the regular season. With Pouncey, Foster, and DeCastro, we arguably have the league's best interior line and run blocking and I expect that to continue.

Pouncey is an excellent player (even if his off-field judgment is suspect), but I disagree on Foster and DeCastro (to some extent). Tackels are a definite issue. Beachum was the second best lineman the Steelers had, and Villanueva isn't anything like as good. Harris is probably better, but he's also hurt a lot.

3. Bell being suspended 3 games is no big deal at all. D-Will was amazing in his place most of last season. This isn't the 2014 WC game against Baltimore where losing Bell left us to rely on a washed-up, sign-a-week-ago Ben Tate.

Williams is 33 (which in running back years is like 50) and always hurt.

4. Bryant being suspended is significant but should not cripple the offense. So soon people forget that Brown can single-handedly burn

any

secondary in the league, save for the Seahawks. Coates stepped up well during the playoff game against the Broncos, and was specifically drafted as a Bryant clone. The passing attack should be fine.

I mean, sure Bryant can beat anyone, but if he's not open, where do you go?

5. Miller was old and not a very big factor in the passing attack last season. While his blocking will certainly be missed, Miller was no longer a "star" tight end in the receiving sense and was not a big loss. Green's absence is concerning, however.

Miller was also the glue that bound your offence together, he was very much a leader (if not the leader) and Ben's first look when he's in trouble. Replacing him as a tight end is relatively easy - he was on the downside of his career - but replacing him as a leader? Not so much, and I don't see anyone who can step up to replace him in that sense.

6. Our defense was not "below average" by any stretch of the word last season, and this common talking point among non-Steelers fans is a pet peeve of mine. Statistically, we were #11 in Points Allowed (the key defensive stat), #3 in Sacks, and #3 in Takeaways. While our secondary continues to need improvement, our pass rush has gradually improved every season - Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt (who has been criminally overlooked) are a mean tag-team of interior linemen, Bud Dupree had a very promising rookie showing, Timmons remains an elite inside linebacker, and Shazier is a fearsome force to be reckoned with so long as he avoids injury (see his monstrous contribution in the WC game vs the Bengals). The only area we were below average in defensively was Yards Allowed, which is not surprising considering the state of the secondary and also rather meaningless compared to Points Allowed.

Can I amend that to "average", then? They padded their stats by playing a lot of garbage teams last season (Browns twice, 49ers, Rams, Chargers, Colts and Ravens after they lost their QBs). I'll give you that they're improving, though.

7. I don't know why you apparently have a problem with Tomlin. He's never had a losing season. Arguably his biggest flaw as a coach is that he takes too many gambles for extra points.

He's not a very good coach, and it's easy to never have a losing season when two games each year are against the Browns. He was carried to two Super Bowl titles by talent drafted under Cowher and coached by Bruce Arians (aka the second best coach in the NFL) and Dick LeBeau.

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Bradford to the Vikings

Puts the Vikes back in contention. They'll likely make a WC berth now.

It's a fucking terrible deal, giving up a 1st and a 4th for a guy who's not that much better than Shaun Hill and presents a problem when Teddy's back. The Roseman and Pederson went all Zed and Maynard on the Vikings, which I guess makes Bradford The Gimp. Approriate considering how often he's injured...

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Also, the Eagles got better with this trade, I rate Daniels as a QB.

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Over the course of their careers, Hill's been a more accurate passer (62% to 60.1%), has thrown longer per pass (6.8 yds to 6.5 yds), thrown more of his passes for TDs (4.1% to 3.4%) and has a better overall QB rating (85.2 to 81.0). Bradford's ahead in interception percentage (2.3% to 2.5%). Hill's not been on better teams than Bradford, and has been a backup everywhere, meaning he's playing with people he's had fewer snaps to get chemistry with. He can do the job the Vikings need Bradford to do, has more experience of the Vikings offense, isn't an injury risk and doesn't cost a 1st and a 4th.

This is The Josh Freeman Debacle all over again.

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Also, the Steelers moved to

improve

add to

affect their secondary by trading for Justin Gilbert.

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Oh, apparently the fourth rounder upgrades to a second if Bradford plays 80% of the snaps and the Vikings win the Super Bowl. At least that pick's safe...

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Bradford's played all 16 games twice in his career. He's played just under 2/3rds of the possible games he could have thanks to injury (63/96). I maintain that they just sent a 1st and a 4th to the Eagles for a guy who isn't a noticeable upgrade over Shaun Hill (and will get hurt again anyway).

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There need to be more than fines for the individual players. At worst, that was a coordinated attempt to injure a player which directly won them the game, at best, they're teaching some really questionable techniques in Denver. Half of those hits look like players deliberately launching themselves helmet first at Cam's head, and it seemed a lot worse after half time. The point where he took a really nasty one from Von Miller is the point at which the game turned around.

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Like, with that quantity of shots he took from players launching themselves at him with either no regard for their own safety or malicious intentions, there have to be serious consequences. Player or coach suspensioins, fines for the team and coaches should be considered on top of that. In fact, I'd say there's a coherent case to be made for making the Broncos forfeit the game. I don't think that'd be fair, personally, but at some point, the NFL needs to get serious about such behavior,

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I agree with you guys except for that forfeit part. I don't think we need to go that far yet. If that team keeps doing it then yay go that far. Refs should have thrown alot more flags than they did

I mean, I said I didn't agree with it, but it was a one point game, and after the hits started getting really blatant, Cam's performance dropped markedly, and if there's evidence of sustained targeting of the head by order of the Broncos coaching staff, do you not think it's fair for them to have a win they got by blatantly cheating and mocking the rules to be taken away from them? I mean, that's the ultimate sanction that the NFL has to be prepared to use purely to absolutely discourage that kinda behavior. That win could mean the difference between making the play off and not, and if Cam had been seriously injured - which he absolutely could have been on some of those plays, especially when he was tied up by one player and another launched himself at him like a fucking missile - then Carolina's Super Bowl hopes go in Derek Anderson's hands, aka season over.

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I would like to mention the otherside of it: Cam took those head shots, hard. One was at the end of the game after he was seemingly knocked unconscious earlier in the game. I know he's the MVP, and he's important to the team in a 2 minute drive situation, but concussion protocol is supposed to be not a joke. Every time a big time player is kept in a game towards the end, despite being probably concussed, it makes concussion protocol more and more of a joke.

100% agree. If the NFL was taking concussions seriously, it'd mandate a timeout that doesn't count against either team and thoroughly check the suspected concussion before the game resumes. It's the only fair way to ensure neither team gets an advantage from such a situation.

Also, let's not forget what exactly won the game, and not blame it solely on the headshots.

I mean, yeah, they almost lost the game despite it, but the head shots are the only reason it was that close to begin with.

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Izzy, Decastro hasn't allowed a single sack the past two seasons. Please refrain from commenting on the Steelers (a team I know you hate) when you clearly don't watch them.

I watch the Steelers plenty. I also never said DeCastro was bad, just that I don't rate him as highly as some people do. World of difference there, bro.

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100% agree. If the NFL was taking concussions seriously, it'd mandate a timeout that doesn't count against either team and thoroughly check the suspected concussion before the game resumes. It's the only fair way to ensure neither team gets an advantage from such a situation.

This is already in place. There are a bunch of guys in blue hats that are concussion experts, and medical personnel up in the booth that can call a medical timeout at any time. But this guys seem to be of the "fight doctor" quality. "I know you have a broken hand, but if you tell me you can fight then we'll start it up".

That's not what the rule is. The rule is, if the spotter says you might have a concussion, you need to come out of the game and get checked. The game isn't stopped until he's assessed, which means a)
nobody wants to be wrong and pull a star player from a close game thus directly affecting the result and b) there's an incentive for teams to go headhunting, if only to get the opposing QB pulled out of the game for assessment.

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The Bears performed in a manner consistent with their shaky preseason. Against better teams with better QB play (Osweiler wasn't great today) they could get smashed. Unless something changes, they'll be the bottom team in the NFC North this season, because the Vikings got by (against the Titians, mind) with a really good defensive performance. Certainly based on that performance, the Bradford trade was unnecessary. Speaking of which, the evidence that the trade made the Eagles better was on show today.

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They are supposed to make sure a guy gets tested when warranted. There was definitely enough smoke there to look for fire.

That's not the point I was making, though.

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[*] Colts defense could be historically awful. That is absolutely embarrassing. Colts GM badly needs to be fired, because that defense has been god-awful for years and several drafts have not changed that. Lions aren't pushovers as expected but I'm still skeptical of them. Difficult to get a proper read on them until they play teams that aren't as bad defensively.

The sad thing is, they won't even be the worst defence in the league this season since the Saints D theoretically exists.

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I guess I'd better revise my Pats prediction to perfect season.

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There worrying thing for the Cards is that Carson Palmer looked at times like the Panthers finally got revenge for what the Cards did to Jake Delhomme.

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There are a lot of analyst's saying Arizona will win NFC. They should all have their mouths shut now

Zona is still good. The Pats are just real good.

Now we've seen all the teams play, the Cards are still a contender in that dumpster fire division.

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Jeff Fisher's contract suggests otherwise, Poker. Plus, I think the biggest problem with the Rams is whoever's making personnel decisions, so depending on how the dynamic plays out behind closed doors, I'd personally be more worried is I was Les Snead, the GM.

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How is fisher's contract setup right now? If he somehow gets big money despite being fired then I think you are right. I assume Les Snead does not have such luxary

It's up at the end of the season, so if they decide to get rid of him, I assume they'll let him walk for nothing at the end of his contract and hope that he leads them to a high draft pick rather than cut bait after their bye.

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I was reminded by this by PFT, Jeff Fisher could become the NFL's career coaching loss leader if the Rams go 6-10 or worse.

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Then yay if Rams don't win the NFC west or get wild card he should be gone at end of season with as many chances he has had

Cardinals best suited to win that division but they won't win NFC conference title

I think it's too soon to write off the Cards after one game, I'd like to see a larger sample before I write Palmer off as being Delhomme'd and against the best coach in the NFL focusing on defence because he's missing 5 offensive starters including his QB, top receiving threat, left tackle and dual threat running back. They weren't *that* bad that they can't chalk it up to a bad game and move on and be fine.

I read a thing this morning that's saying that Keshawn Johnson claims that it was Snead and the other guy that wanted Goff and not Fisher. Not that it really excesses Fisher but yeah.

I see the Rams have already commenced job saving mode.

the Rams need better guys.

better offense built around gurley and a better coach.

woo hoo


Jeff Fisher is the late 90s early 2000s Denver Nuggers of NFL coaches.

Stuck in mediocrity with occasional blips which lead to nothing in the end.

Mediocrity is generous to Jeff "6 winning seasons in 20 full seasons as a head coach (and a 1-6 record in his part seasons combined (1-5 in 1994 with the Oilers, 0-1 with this year's Rams), a losing record in play-off games (5-6) and haven't won a play off game since 2004" Fisher,. Granted, half of those winning seasons he went 13-3, which is a big factor that despite all the losing and 8-8 seasons, he's still just about had a winning career record.

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I read an article on how a police officer talked a guy off a ledge from a suicide attempt by talking about football. The number of comments that were essentially "Good thing the guy wasn't a Browns fan, he would have jumped" was as high as expected.

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How is fisher's contract setup right now? If he somehow gets big money despite being fired then I think you are right. I assume Les Snead does not have such luxary

It's up at the end of the season, so if they decide to get rid of him, I assume they'll let him walk for nothing at the end of his contract and hope that he leads them to a high draft pick rather than cut bait after their bye.

Then yay if Rams don't win the NFC west or get wild card he should be gone at end of season with as many chances he has had

Cardinals best suited to win that division but they won't win NFC conference title

In other news, the rumour mill says Jeff Fisher has signed a new contract extension, but the team hasn't announced it because it'd be bad PR to announce something like that right after the team gets shut out by the 49ers.

Couple this with the talk that Goff was Snead's guy and I guess we know where this is going...

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Who are these people, and what have they done with the Browns?

Well, the special teams are still the Brows with that defensive 2 pointer...

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SOUND THE ALARM DANGER DANGER JACOBY TIME HAS BEEN BROUGHT UPON US

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I guess the Browns escaped captivity.

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[*] Massive upset by the Titans. Didn't see or follow that game so I have no idea what happened.

Stafford was having a good day until got hit low (which should have drawn a flag but didn't) and his accuracy went to shit. It was like the one play that didn't draw a penalty, lots of flags thrown in that one. The Titans were garbage, but put up two decent drives at the end to score two TDs and win.

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Also, I hope Matt Flynn and TJ Yates are sitting near their phones, if Jimmy G's out for next week, one of them might be starting QB for the Patriots next week...

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Brissett actually did okay. Maybe get someone else in case he goes down too but I'd expect more out of him than a Yates/Flynn type with only a few days to prepare. I'd support picking up Peyton Manning for a couple games though because that would be hilarious.

I think "Patriots are screwed" is overstating the Texans' chances. I don't think the Texans are screwed either but I doubt they have more than a 40% chance of winning, especially if Gronk comes back.

Brissett threw 9 passes in more than a half of football. Now, that's at least partly a consequence of Jimmy G making actual dolphins want to sue for defamation before he got hurt, meaning the Pats just ran all second half and drained the clock, but it's slightly worrying considering how close it got.

Given that the Pats are on a short week, Brissett will probably start, now I think about it. Also makes Yates a more likely signing - whilst Flynn is familiarish with the system (from the 2015 preseason), Yates played for the Texans last year in broadly the same system and is more familiar with the Texans defensive personnel and scheme, in the event that the Pats need him to start.

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If houston starts 3-0 i will need to rethink afc south

[optimistic homer]They won't.[/optimistic homer]

Still need to rethink it. The Jaguars are seriously disappointing, they have the roster to win that division but they're just... not good. Maybe the problem was coaching all along. Sunday was Gus Bradley's 50th game as a head coach. He's 12-38 - 169th out of 170 of all the NFL coaches who've had that many games as a head coach. The only one behind him was Bert Bell, who managed to avoid being fired because he also owned the Eagles. That's not all down to bad roster.

Rumors of Arizona's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Yeah, Palmer looked back to being his normal self. I said it was too soon to write them off after last week, and that performance proved me right.

The Seahawks are in

serious

trouble. There's no way they make it back to the playoffs IMO with such stiff competition for the WC in the NFC

Let's not make the same mistake with the Seahawks you literally just commented on with the Cardinals. Their defence is still legit - they've conceded 19 points in two games - and have has Rawls and Wilson hobbled by injuries the last couple of weeks. Don't get me wrong, there are reasons to be concerned about the Seahawks, but "serious trouble" is going too far. Against the Rams, you could see how much Wilson's ankle was hurting them, there were several sacks or near sacks that a healthy Wilson could have avoided and bought time to make a play with his mobility.

Like I've been saying for weeks, the Vikings are for real. Their defense is elite. I've been hearing people talk about there being something wrong with Aaron Rodgers all morning, mentioning his leg and his confidence.

Going back to last season, he's on a 14 (?) game streak without a passer rating of over 100, and his yards per attempt are drastically down. There's something wrong with Rogers. It might be his o-line, though, cutting Sitton because they weren't willing to pay him what he wanted seems like a poor move right now. The growth from the Vikings D is pretty impressive, though. It helps that Bradford and Diggs seem to have instant chemistry, though some of the hits he took should worry Vikings fans.

Brissett actually did okay. Maybe get someone else in case he goes down too but I'd expect more out of him than a Yates/Flynn type with only a few days to prepare. I'd support picking up Peyton Manning for a couple games though because that would be hilarious.

I think "Patriots are screwed" is overstating the Texans' chances. I don't think the Texans are screwed either but I doubt they have more than a 40% chance of winning, especially if Gronk comes back.

Brissett threw 9 passes in more than a half of football. Now, that's at least partly a consequence of Jimmy G making actual dolphins want to sue for defamation before he got hurt, meaning the Pats just ran all second half and drained the clock, but it's slightly worrying considering how close it got.

Given that the Pats are on a short week, Brissett will probably start, now I think about it. Also makes Yates a more likely signing - whilst Flynn is familiarish with the system (from the 2015 preseason), Yates played for the Texans last year in broadly the same system and is more familiar with the Texans defensive personnel and scheme, in the event that the Pats need him to start.

Jimmy G has a sprained AC joint, so it's likely they'll bring someone in today. I'm half worried that Belichik might get cocky and decide that Julian Edelman is enough of a back up option for two games rather than bringing someone else in, especially if the Browns get to their first choice before they do...

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... lman-no-2/

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Let's not make the same mistake with the Seahawks you literally just commented on with the Cardinals. Their defence is still legit - they've conceded 19 points in two games - and have has Rawls and Wilson hobbled by injuries the last couple of weeks. Don't get me wrong, there are reasons to be concerned about the Seahawks, but "serious trouble" is going too far. Against the Rams, you could see how much Wilson's ankle was hurting them, there were several sacks or near sacks that a healthy Wilson could have avoided and bought time to make a play with his mobility.

The thing is with the Cards, while there were some concerns about Palmer and their defense, they still performed

okay

against a strong contender and lost the game off a bad snap. The Seahawks have now had two terrible performances in a row against weak opponents. My concerns are less about the defense and much more about their O-Line, which as expected has opened the season disastrously. They still have to play the Cards twice, the Jets, the Pats, the Pack, and the Panthers. Even some of their mid-level match-ups - such as against the Bucs, Falcons, even the Eagles - look like tough games for that offense.

Germain Ifedi's been out hurt - getting him back should help with the O-Line issues. They're also impacted by Wilson's injury - the O-Line is built to protect a mobile quarterback, which means they have more athletic and mobile guys who tend to sacrifice pure strength in order to maintain blocks while Wilson is moving around. If they're forced to stand still and protect a stationary QB (as Wilson was against the Rams), then they're out of their element.

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I panic about the Patriots QB situation, but thank God the Browns exist to put such thoughts in perspective - assuming Cody Kessler starts with McCown injured, they'll be starting their 26th QB since returning in 1999. When Brissett starts Thursday, he'll become the 5th Patriots starter in the same timeframe. The Browns are truly the heroes the rest of the NFL needs, but the city of Cleveland does not deserve.

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Starting Brissett is most likely the right move sure... not signing someone else, though? Signing someone now at least gets them time to learn the playbook for the Bills game if Brissett shows he's not ready against the Texans or gets hurt. Edelman may have a perfect passer rating in the post season, but one pass on a trick play doesn't mean he's ready to play QB in the NFL. He was a mediocre QB at Kent State, primarily a runner rather than a passer, and the last time he was a QB was what... eight years ago? I think not signing a QB for these two games is a mistake.

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- Praise be to Clipboard Jesus - perhaps the most Brownsian player in the NFL is a Brown. I wonder what odds I can get on him starting in Week 4?

- Vikings G Alex Boone on the new stadium's crowd noise: “There’s a lot of times where we can’t hear the center. We could barely hear the snap count today a couple times — a couple false starts, because guys wouldn’t know when the snap was going. I’m not saying it’s the fans’ fault, but I’m just saying, it would be nice if they would shut the fuck up a little bit.”

- The Bears are fucking terrible. #asexpected

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I panic about the Patriots QB situation, but thank God the Browns exist to put such thoughts in perspective - assuming Cody Kessler starts with McCown injured, they'll be starting their 26th QB since returning in 1999. When Brissett starts Thursday, he'll become the 5th Patriots starter in the same timeframe. The Browns are truly the heroes the rest of the NFL needs, but the city of Cleveland does not deserve.

Additional points: It's the first time post-merger when a team not playing replacement players during a strike started five different QBs in five games. (Manziel, Davis, Griffin, McCown, Kessler). The Packers have had five starting QBs since week 4 of 1992. The Browns have had 32, and didn't even exist for three years of that time. Fun fact: Seneca Wallace is on both those lists.

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I only saw the first half last night, but damn Wentz is the real deal.

The Steelers-Eagles game next week is going to be a tough one.

Don't crown him yet. Yeah, he's looked real good, but he's only played the Browns and the Bears, who're two of the worst teams in the NFL thus far.

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Fun Fact about the Browns QB situation of the day: The active Browns QBs, Kessler and Whitehurst, have made fewer starts at QB between them (9, all Whitehurst) in the NFL than starting WR Terrelle Pryor (10).

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https://twitter.com/michaelirvin88/stat ... 9184508928

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Fair warning, after the Pats beat the Bungalo Bills next Sunday, I'm probably going to smugly quote all the pessimistic predictions of the Patriots record while Brady is suspended and gloat really, really obnoxiously.

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Well that's clearly not true right. They certainly have a weakness. Their QB only threw for 103 yds and Blount had to carry the rock 24 times. They have a very clear and defined weakness. It just doesn't matter. Which is terrifying.

They have a clear and defined weakness for one more week, then they replace the third round rookie they did a stellar job protecting with their game plan with Tom fucking Brady, a guy who's at worst in the conversation for Greatest QB Ever, who happens to be pissed off and motivated to an extra degree on account of the injustice of Deflategate.

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Personally, I'm extremely okay with this situation.

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Don't give me that, I grew up in Boston.

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Welp, Jacoby Brissett apparently tore a thumb ligament against the Texans, and might need surgery. In other words, right now, Julian Edelman is the starting QB for the Patriots...

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Fortunately, the Pats are only playing the Bills, so it doesn't matter. I could play QB for the Pats and beat the Bills.

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Don't the Patriots have a backup TE who was a QB in college?

AJ Derby was a backup at Arkansas and a starter at the mighty Coffeyville Community College.

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This is an excellent piece on Jacoby Brissett.

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I mean, even if the Pats lose to the Bills, they'll still be a game ahead of the rest of the east and get Brady back, and apparently Belichick really doesn't want to have to free up the roster slot..

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In fact, if Edelman starts, I'm quietly confident that he'll become the 8th player since 1960 (per PFR) to score a rushing, receiving and passing TD in the same game. If Belichik's feeling like making a point, maybe he'll handle return duties and attempt to become the first to do that and also return a punt or kick off for a TD.

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No. I've never booed Santa Claus.

Edelman main strength in college was as a running, mobile QB - he rushed for 1,300 yard his final season before the draft, scored 22 rushing touchdowns compared to 30 passing and 31 interceptions. If he's playing QB, then Belichick and McDaniel are likely to take advantage of his running ability - see the rushing TD Brissett scored on Thursday. He's already passed for a TD, recieved TDs, and returned punts for a TD in his career - he's only missing a rushing TD, and this might be his best chance to score one. Running or threatening to run wildcat-style plays by lining up AJ Derby (or anyone else who can throw the ball) at RB and running some kind of trick play is also a very Belichickian thing to do, especially in an attempt to create favorable match-ups for his 4th string QB by forcing the opposing defence to account for trick play shenanigans. It's not just blind optimism, it's knowledge of what Edelman's historical strengths and weaknesses are as a QB and how Belichik likes to use players and game plans to achieve victory.

Sidebar: Checking his college stats reminded me he also punted some in college, so he's probably the third string punter if Gostkowski and Allen go down.

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Darth Belichik is working his magic.

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https://twitter.com/JOSH_GORDONXII/stat ... 5679878144

Sounds like issues in his personal life, which would explain the timing.

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Grigson should have been done around the point he traded a first round pick for Trent Richardson. His acquisition of players has been abominable. Pagano, eh... you can only do so much with the players you have.

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I'm currently wishing the Pats had started Edelman at QB.

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3-1 without Brady is pretty good - better than most predicted - but the way the Pats lost today is disappointing. It was a mistake to try and work through on the back of Brissett alone when Jimmy G went down - and when Jacoby was hurt, they really should have brought in a QB. He clearly wasn't healthy today, and it limited the already limited playbook he was running. It's not a big deal because Tommy's back, but eh, you still wanna win every game, especially division games.

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The Pats one is superb, it even captures Belichik's expression when he's facing questions he doesn't want to answer.

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Clipboard Jesus is playing QB for the Browns because Kessler is hurt. if Kessler's out next week, it's time for starting QB number 27 since they came back into the league...

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Casual 400 yard game from Tommy on his return. It's important to remember it's only the Browns, and the real test will be when he faces an actual NFL team, but still... Tommy's back!

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I think as big an impact was made by Ben throwing an interception on the play he got hurt as the actual injury.The Dolphins seemed a lot more fired up and confident after that anbd it showed in their play.

Either the broadcasters of the Saints/Panthers game need to fix their line of scrimmage, of one of the Saints DTs was chronically getting away with being offside. Every time Red Zone showed Carolina on offence, it looked like there was at least one infraction from one guy.

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In terrible news for all fans of pro football, the L.A. Kiss are apparently folding.

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That's giving Dak too little credit, imo. He's passed for 200+ yards in all his games, completed 2/3rds or more of his passes in all games bar one, thrown a single interception to 7 TDs, had a passer rating of over 100 in all bar one of his games and has a passer rating for the season so far of over 100, good for 5th in the league behind Ryan, Stafford, Rivers and Bradford (at least, in terms of eligible players - Brady and Garoppolo are better and so is punter Tress Way of Washington overall). I'm not saying there won't be reversion to the mean, but that's far from being carried by the OL and Elliot. Arguably, Elliot is benefiting from teams knowing that Dak can beat them through the air, and so they can't just stack the box to stop Elliot running on them.

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The Jaguars are in basically the opposite situation to the Colts. They've got a coach/GM combo where the GM has provided talent and the coaching staff hasn't done anything with it, unlike in Indy where the coach has probably done the best he could with the awful roster he's been stick with. Both Bradley and Grigson need to go - good moves in those directions could make those teams contenders in the AFC South, rather than just leaving Houston as the division winners basically be default.

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Browns parting with Gordon "one way or another" before Tuesday. This rubs me the wrong way man. I know it's a business, I know it's about winning but man...you should of got rid of him before he got out not after. It's just not right, man.

I mean, Gordon's stint in rehab might be covered by medical insurance or something, and cutting him now meant he was still covered. That or something like not wanting to add extra stress by cutting him at a low point so he can get better are my guesses. Well, or Browns being Browns, I guess.

Speaking of the Browns, RIP Jamie Collins' career...

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Nice onside kick, Boswell.

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AFC

New England Patriots
Oakland Raiders
Baltimore Ravens
Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos

NFC

Dallas Cowboys
Atlanta Falcons
Seattle Seahawks
Detroit Lions
New York Giants
Carolina Panthers

Texans < Chiefs
Ravens > Broncos

Lions > Giants
Seahawks < Panthers

Chiefs < Patriots
Ravens < Raiders

Panthers > Cowboys
Lions < Falcons

Raiders < Patriots
Panthers > Falcons

Patriots > Panthers

Patriots are clearly the best team in the NFL. NFC is difficult, but I think the Panthers defense is getting better - the front seven are upping their performance which takes pressure off the young secondary, who're also developing - whilst their offence will be helped by Cam drawing attention to the hits that teams they've played thus far have been able to get away with, and if they up their line play and running game a fraction, they can make the Super Bowl (and lose) again.

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My take on the Dak-Romo debate:

Romo should start and he probably will, BUT he will then get hurt AGAIN because he's made of duct tape and glass, Dak goes back and makes a crucial rookie mistake in the playoffs. Cowboys lose.

Prescott should start and probably will. Romo leaves by trade or getting cut at the end of the season.

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Clean hit, good call holding up the rules on injury timeouts and forcing kicker to leave the game as indicated by the fucking injury rules. Sorry haters.

Blandino's already admitted it should have been an unnecessary roughness foul, which would have let the kicker stay in the game.

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He's also now been fined for it.

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I agree with broncos decision to try the 62 yarder. Their kicker has made them in practice and you have no timeouts. Either you punt and play for the tie or you go for it. Punting and playing for the tie is something I would not have done either. Too many ties already this year

Upsets by TB and KC yesterday give TB a playoff chance and KC a chance to take the west from the Raiders

I wouldn't call the KC win an upset.

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The Rams have signed Fisher and Snead to new contracts.

As a reminder, today is December 4th, not April 1st.

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Ravens and Steelers both making it relies on Miami losing to the Bills, which I don't think is going to happen - in which case, Ravens @ Steelers in week 16 is basically an elimination game.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/machin ... 00874516~1

Dolphins < Ravens
Raiders > Titans

Raiders < Patriots
Ravens < Chiefs

Chiefs < Patriots

Packers < Falcons
Giants > Lions

Giants > Cowboys
Falcons < Seahawks

Giants < Seahawks

Patriots > Seahawks

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Now you know how it feels to be a Pats fan like every year, PEG. :p

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Not just PEG...

PEG is the only Raiders fan who matters.

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Yeah. Suck it izzy. You don't know shit. Playoffs woo

Baltimore could and should have won that game, but they choked it away. If you can beat MATT MOORE and the Dolphins, you'll get smashed by KC.

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That wasn't representative of the Chiefs in the same way that the Steelers are clearly better than their 34-3 loss to the Eagles a week earlier. Both were early season games that featured bad starts by the visiting team that left them in big holes that limited their options as they played better to some degree later in the game. Smashed might be a slight exaggeration, but play-off football, at Arrowhead (assuming they win the division, which with the Broncos playing for pride and the Raider starting MATT MCGLOIN), with KC being a better team? KC should win that game.

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On a lighter note (lol), JaMarcus Russell was removed from the NFL record books thanks to Dontari Poe taking his spot as the heaviest player to throw a TD pass.

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still the heaviest to throw an interception

Touche. But at least that's a stat more in keeping with his stature in the history of football.

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PIT > KC

We

dismantled

the Chiefs in our early-season match-up. While our offense has been less capable during our late-season streak, our defense has tightened up considerably, as said. I don't think Reid, Smith, and the Chiefs offense can keep up with a consistent-if-not-as-spectacular Steelers offense with a capable and healthy Steelers defense putting up a fight. The Chiefs defense is certainly potent, but our O-Line has been top 3 in the league this year. I'll bet more on Big Ben's horse than Alex Smith's.

Chiefs have a better record against a marginally tougher schedule than the Steelers. You're putting way too much stock in a single game, early in the season, at Heinz Field instead of Arrowhead. Lest you forget, a week earlier, the Steelers were destroyed by the Eagles, are you saying they're going to the Superbowl?

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Picks are a first this year, 4th rounder this year. Bradford's under contract for only one year, at $14m plus a $4m roster bonus. Bridgewater's cap hit next year is like $2.1m. Peterson is interesting to look at, they've got roughly $23m in cap space right now, they could save $18 by cutting Peterson fairly early in the off-season.

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My thinking is that the Vikes will keep Bradford around until training camp at the earliest so they can see how Bridgewater's recovering. After all, Bridgewater suffered a potential career ending or changing injury, assuming he does make a comeback, he may not be the same player he was before. If he's ready to come back for the start of next season, they can wait for someone else's QB to get hurt and offload Bradford to them for an exorbitant price. If he's not ready, and shows no sign of being ready, then they keep both because Bridgewater's contract is cheap and re-evaluate next off-season. If they sign #Bradford to a long-term extension, that probably means Bridgewater is done, at least as a Viking and possibly a pro.

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We're potentially two plays away from Michael Crabtree QBing an NFL team in the play-offs, and McGloin's already hurt...

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Personally, I think the Matt Ryan for MVP case significantly undersells the fact that he's on the same team as Julio Jones. Having the best receiver in the NFL makes your job a lot easier if your putting together an MVP contending season. Mohammed Sanu is a pretty good #2, and he's got one of the best dual threat running backs in the NFL in his backfield. Brady would be the clear MVP if he wasn't unjustly suspended for the first four games, especially if you consider the tools he has to work with compared to Ryan. That's why I think Carr is the MVP. The performance of his replacements emphasises how good he is, and the fact that Cooper and Crabtree are among the worst receivers in the NFL in terms of dropping catchable balls means this stats are diminished by his receiving crops.

Either that, or Johnny Hekker, because the Rams would have been so, so much worse without his exceptional punting gaining them valuable field position.

[Bella]

Also, comeback player of the year is Jadaveon Clowney. When he was hurt for his first two seasons, he was getting called a bust by some people, yet he's back to being the exceptional player he was in college and was a key figure in his defence overcoming the loss of JJ Watt to lead the league in yards per game.

[Bella]

Yes, that was a typo. I fixed it.

[Bella]

Yes, that's why the Steelers scored all those TDs last week against KC...

[Bella]

#asexpected

[Bella]

I mean, the Steelers were about as good as I expected (though marginally better, the O-Line performed better than expected), the fact that I didn't expect them to make the play-offs had more to do with Baltimore and Cincinnati being better teams on paper and having their own issues (Baltimore's end of season collapse and Cincy's failure to show up), thus giving the Steelers one of the weaker divisions in football. In the play-offs they beat Miami minus their starting QB, who blew you out in the regular season meeting (albeit early on, but with all three Bs available) and is a close game with a healthy Tannehill (thought Steelers are marginally favored given that it's at Heinz Field) then were a holding call away from overtime against the Chiefs, whose offence failed to show up. Then you faced a good team, who actually showed up and predictably got the same treatment you usually get during the Tomlin era.