2018 NFL Football

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If Josh Allen is the guy the Browns want, they should probably go Barkley at #1. The Giants are apparently sold on Darnold and will likely take him if he's available (and if not, and Barkley's gone, Chubb). The Jets are rumoured to be enamoured with Baker Mayfield. You'd then be able to get Allen at #4, and you'd have added your QB of the future and a running threat to an offence that has Njoku, Landry and Gordon (assuming he stays clean) at the skill positions and invested in the O-Line last season. That's a potentially really good offence, even if Taylor's starting to begin with. Plus, if someone steals Allen from them, they get saved from the most likely bust of the top QBs in this draft and they end up with choosing from whoever's left of Mayfield, Darnold and Rosen.

My personal theory, based on absolutely nothing, is they take Barkley at #1, trade #4 to someone like the Bills at 12 and pick up Jackson. Jackson's a mobile QB in the mold of Tyrod Taylor, so they'd be able to build an offence around Jackson's skill set without putting him in until they're convinced he's ready. It makes more sense than having the alternative be an immobile QB like the Texans inexplicably went with. Plus, at 12, there'd be less pressure for the QB to start right away a d they can just ride with Taylor until they think he's ready.

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My personal theory, based on absolutely nothing, is they take Barkley at #1, trade #4 to someone like the Bills at 12 and pick up Jackson. Jackson's a mobile QB in the mold of Tyrod Taylor, so they'd be able to build an offence around Jackson's skill set without putting him in until they're convinced he's ready. It makes more sense than having the alternative be an

immobile QB like the Texans inexplicably went with.

Plus, at 12, there'd be less pressure for the QB to start right away a d they can just ride with Taylor until they think he's ready.

Watson doesn't strike me as being immobile

That's the point. He's a very mobile QB. The alternatives on the 2017 Texans roster (Savage, Yates, Heinke, the corpse of Josh Johnson) are not. You can't design a playbook to get the best out of your mobile first round draft pick if you also have to make sure that Tom Savage can run it. Similarly, if you're the Browns, and you have Tyrod Taylor as your starter, then you either gimp Taylor by designing the playbook to ensure that your rookie pocket passer can run the offence in the event that Taylor is hurt/ineffective/loses the job in camp or put the rookie into a situation where you have to cut out plays you've put time and effort into coaching because he doesn't have the necessary skillset to run them. Nobody benefits from that situation.

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Fuck the NFL and Goodell for the way they exploited Ryan Shazier, btw, and also fuck the Steelers for slapping him in the face while they did it. I'm glad he's progressing, and that's great for him. I sincerely hope he's able to make as full a recovery as possible But watching a young man who should be in the prime of his life struggle to walk the short period just so the NFL can get a heartwarming moment during their draft and stop everyone from booing that ratfuck Goodell for five fucking seconds and then slapping him in the face by having to announce the guy who's supposed to take the job he loved? That's fucking low. Fuck everyone involved in that with the exception of Shazier. Also Edmunds, I guess. But everyone else can get fucked.

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What if, I don't know, Shazier actually wanted to walk out and announce the pick? Kinda overreacting and showing your steelers hate right now.

I mean, he's said he wants to play again, it'd be a pretty big slap in the face if you drafted a guy to play his specific position in the first round. The bigger complaint about my statement is that I confused the two Edmunds brothers and the one they drafted is a safety, so the Steelers are off the hook. The lengths the NFL went to to get people to not boo Goodell were pretty low, still. Personally, I'd have had him announce a day two or three pick so his excellent progress isn't being used as a human shield for Goodell.

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We still have Dion Jordan, Bobby Wagner, Shaquil Griffin, Byron Maxwell, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor on defense. That would be decent by most people's standards. I bet we are still in the top half of the league. And since the whole offense is build around Russell Wilson I don't think the OLine is the highest priority. You can't have everything.

Well, the Seahawks *might* have Kam Chancellor. There's a scan in June that likely determines whether he'll even play again, let alone playing next season.

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https://twitter.com/LacesOutShow/status ... 8574638082

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tie = better than last year. tie != win

It's the Browns best start to a season since 2004. Lost in the jokes about the Browns is that arguably they should have won, since the Steelers' first TD by Connor was helped by a bad roughing the passer call on a Miles Garrett sack. I don't think you can read too much into the result as to how good or bad the Steelers or Browns are, though. The weather was a big factor in both offences having issues, and as much as Scot wants to deny it, the Steelers have a clearly established routine over the last few years of playing down to the quality of their opponents. The Browns defence looked pretty good though.

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Convenient that you ignore the bad calls against the Steelers (illegal block that should have been a personal foul, obviously ball changing direction off the browns player on that punt return)

Also, if I remember correctly, I said Jacksonville in the playoffs doesn't count as playing down, as they were a good team, and that Baltimore games are almost always close. Of course Steelers play down to lesser competition. Almost always lose at least one game on the road to a lower quality team. Steelering is an actual meme among steeler fans.

But thanks for bringing up my name for no reason. I haven't even posted in this thread since like the draft or something.

I brought it up because we have an ongoing disagreement about this.

I'll happily concede the point about the punt call. I hadn't seen it until you mentioned it, and it was clearly a muffed punt.

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That play to tie the game from the Browns was

so good

. Then they Brownsed up the chance to take the lead...

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Zane Gonzalez is looking for a new job on Monday.

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Why are we shitting the bed against the Bortortle?

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That is in fact a genuine picture of Ryan Fitzpatrick.

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Because Jacksonville is possibly the best team in the AFC

They're good, but let's not go too far.

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The Pats were bad today, but at least they weren't so bad that a starting corner retired at half time. Thanks Buffalo, we can always count on you to cheer us up.

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Because Jacksonville is possibly the best team in the AFC

They're good, but let's not go too far.

How many AFC teams do you think are better?

The Chiefs definitely. The Broncos and Bengals have been looking pretty good so far, too, there's a case for one or both of them being ahead. I also think Patriots will be better when they get Edelman back and if they can get the RBs healthier and the O-Line settled, but that's projecting/optimism and they aren't better right now.

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Jerry Jones is going to offer Gordon

so much money

, though.

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As great is this could be for the Patriots, I'm concerned about the idea of shipping a guy with his documented issues to a state where recreational marijuana use is legal. I hope he stays clean, but I'm sure you're all aware how hard that can be for an addict.

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It's rough running into Fitzpatrick in the wrong part of his cycle
should have known better

He suffers from Derek Anderson syndrome - when he's the back up forced to play, there's no pressure to keep the job and he achieves his potential. The second the job is his, and he's playing with all the pressure of a starting QB and needing to keep playing well not to get benched, they crumble under the pressure.

i cant believe that a conditional 5th was the most anyone was willing to risk

and they cut Coleman to make room for him

I mean, with his history, with another long suspension hanging over him and after he went to seek treatment in the off-season, would you offer anything higher or make it not conditional on him not rediscovering his love for the stuff that got him in trouble in the first place? As for the point about Coleman, Coleman isn't very good. Gordon is.

EDIT: Nevermind, apparently it's not conditioinal, but the Pats get a 2019 Seventh back if he doesn't play in 10 of the remaining 14 games.

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Cool, so the Pats traded a 5th rd pick for a 7th rd pick? Dope. And used money they could of used on Dez? Dope.

I honestly don't get this Josh Gordon thing. What evidence is there that he can play beside 10 good games 5 years ago?

I mean, Josh Gordon's stats were better on a per game basis than Dez Bryant last season, despite having worse QBs, an 0-16 team and only playing 5 games.

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C'mon now, Sam Darnold's on pace to maybe equal or break one of Peyton Manning's records. I mean, sure it's the record for most interceptions in a rookie season, but that's progress for Jets fans.

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Izzy what are you gonna do with yourself when Brady retires?

Nothing. Depending on who replaces him I might have to get a little more used to losing, but that happens to every team in American sports at times.

Jump to a different bandwagon obv

Fuck you, I'm not a band wagon fan, I grew up in Boston.

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The Jags sure aren't looking like the best team in the AFC so far today.

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Jesus Christ this game.

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Yeesh, that was an ugly game. Hopefully Gordon can stay clean and get healthy, and Edelman finds his groove quickly, because this offence looks bad with only really Gronk as a threat. Michel is looking like a wasted first round pick thus far. The D looked like it's really missed the players that were out. It's not tiome to panic yet, but if the Pats don't pick it up soon, there's a real chance they won't make the play-offs.

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KC is clearly #1 in the AFC, c'mon. The Jags lost to Blaine Gabbert and half of Marcus Mariota.

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The Mayfield one is worse than any of those. NEITHER GUY EVEN WENT DOWN HOW THE FUCK WAS THAT ROUGHING THE FUCKING PASSER?

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Browns were screwed today.

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If this keeps up for in the second half, the idea of the Jags being the best team in the AFC is dead, right?

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But the Bengals tho.

I mean, they're almost certainly #2 right now. Although if Brady and Gordon get a good thing going, then the top of the AFC is suddenly pretty spicy.

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Right now, KC are by far the best team in the AFC. Then there's a group of teams significantly behind them - Chargers, Bengals, Ravens, Patriots, Dolphins - who're flawed and inconsistent, and another behind them, which is like the Jags, Steelers and such, who're practically bipolar with their inconsistency.

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Also, I feel all Colin Kapernick's collusion case against the NFL should just be every pass of Nathan Peterman's career. Slam dunk victory right there.

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Their defence got shit-canned by the Cowboys, who're missing key parts of their O-Line and have been the definition of mediocrity this season. That speaks to issues beyond just play-calling and injuries - arguably their defence, far from being the best in the league as people said in pre-season, isn't even top two in their division. There are three teams at 3-3 in their dumpster fire of a division- none of whom have a positive points differential - and right now, I wouldn't say the Jags will make it to the play-offs.

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I think the best team in the AFC South is whichever of the Titans and Texans gets their QB healthiest fastest.

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It's more like someone's got to fail to lose the AFC South.

Derek Anderson has been with the Bills for 10 days. He's now the starting QB while Josh Allen is out with his elbow injury. Much like the Brissett/Tolzien situation last year, literally nobody thinks this is the wrong move. Not even Nathan Peterman's mom. Hell, if he;s being truly honest, not even Nathan Peterman himself thinks this is a worse idea than playing Peterman again.

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Jacksonville being the buyer is surprising given fournette and yeldon being in the mix. They should have found a cheaper trade that better fits. Hyde is probably worth a 5th round pick to the jags, but I personally think Hyde is worth more in general. Browns should have held out for more value and or a different buyer

Hyde's been playing okay, though he was clearly the third best RB in Cleveland. I'm not actually surprised by this signing, Fournette's had a lot of little injuries in his career and Hyde is the kind of back who can contribute on all three downs in a way that maybe Yeldon can't. Aside from covering for Fournette while he's hurt - which this might signal is more serious than thought - I'm betting they figure they can rotate Fournette out and ease his workload so he's not hurt as much.

His case against the NFL is just clips of Peterman playing

yeah but now he can add Derek Anderson
presumably

oh yeah you lump them both together.

you start off with derek anderson in a presentation then you get to be like


BUT WAIT THERES MORE.

Then roll with the Peterman clips.

I don't know, at least with Anderson there's a legitimate "He's been here for like 10 days and was signed off the street after not being in a training camp" defence.

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And I as I typed that out, THE BORTORTLE HAS BEEN BENCHED.

Buckle up, Jags fans, it's CODY KESSLER TIME!

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John Gruden, 17th October: "We're not tanking."

Also John Gruden, 22nd October: *Trades best WR to the Cowboys to collect another 1st round pick*

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Based on current standings, the Raiders have the 4th, 9th and 15th picks in the 2019 draft.

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Won't give up a second rounder for Earl Thomas, won't give up a fifth rounder for Josh Gordon, gives up a first rounder for Amari Cooper

lol Cowboys

They really dropped the ball on this one, so I guess they have a lot in common with Cooper.

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Oakland is tanking and doing what I would love to do if I were ever in charge of a franchise by trade pieces and acquiring draft picks. My issue comes with that I believe Gruden is a garbage talent evaluator.

The best thing about the Cooper trade is that we can both mock John Gruden for being a lying sack of shit trying to lose his way to Vegas AND the Cowboys for giving up a first round pick for a receiver who'd try to catch a cold and fucking drop it. It's win-win for fans of 30 NFL teams, less so for poor Raider fans who're enduring this right before the team fucks off to Vegas and Cowboy fans who're Cowboy fans so fuck 'em.

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I mean, what if they aren't tanking and just suck?

Both is a

far

more likely explanation of the evidence.

for a receiver who'd try to catch a cold and fucking drop it.

like why can't this just be the reason that he was traded?

I mean, it's probably one of numerous reasons why he's being traded. The offer was way too good for a player with his history of drops. But he was still the Raiders best receiver, and it fits a pattern of evidence that Gruden isn't trying to win this season.

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The Raiders are the worst team in the NFL. There is no competition. Nick Mullens is no superstar, but somehow the Raiders made him look like one.

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Nathan Peterman threw three interceptions in a game and significantly lowered his career interception rating.

Nathan Peterman has thrown as many pick sixes as he has touchdowns. At some point, you have to wonder exactly what he's got on the coaching staff to keep getting chances to play and be described as a competent NFL QB when there are undoubtedly superior talents posting in this very thread.

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The Jags are a classic team that got good, then got way too full of themselves. They lack leadership and discipline (especially on Defence) and that's what's costing them. A coaching change to a disciplinarian type would be pretty good for them, and Tom Coughlin's already with the team, just sayin'.

The latest in the Peterman Chronicles: For the second time this season, the Bills have decided to go with a guy they pulled off the street a week ago over him.

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I don't think the offensive situation is as big a deal as some people make out - there's a clear decline, but there are obvious reasons why and the bigger reasons are outside of anybody's control - rather, I think it's being used by the defensive players as cover for the fact that they have a lot of raging egomaniacs and nobody keeping them in check. The offense didn't let the Cowboys score 40 points, after all.

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BARKLEYMANIA IS RUNNING WILD ON THE JETS

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33 years to the day after Joe Theismann's career was ended, and with Joe Theismann watching, Alex Smith getting Theismanned is the most yikes moment of football this week.

Also we can add Colt McCoy to the growing list of evidence that Colin Kaepernick can rely on in in his collusion case.

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The team was bad and the schemes were bad, so there is reason to believe if he came back under a coach that didn't suck it would be better, but let's not act like he was Andrew Luck or something.

Statistically speaking, his career stats prior to this season were overall better than Andrew Luck's...

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I mean, I'm half--trolling with that last comment, because while it's true, the difference is pretty marginal (passerwise, anyway, Kaepernick's run game is way better) and I absolutely know QB stats are to do with way more than just how well the QB played. Having a functional offensive line is the difference between a QB being a star and ending up sacked into oblivion like David Carr, which is the major areas Kaepernick's teams have been better than Luck's, but then, TY Hilton is a better skill position player than any Kaepernick had. Reaally, the difference in passing ability as observed by their actual play wasn't as big as you're trying to make out.

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I mean, I'm half--trolling with that last comment, because while it's true, the difference is pretty marginal (passerwise, anyway, Kaepernick's run game is way better) and I absolutely know QB stats are to do with way more than just how well the QB played. Having a functional offensive line is the difference between a QB being a star and ending up sacked into oblivion like David Carr, which is the major areas Kaepernick's teams have been better than Luck's, but then, TY Hilton is a better skill position player than any Kaepernick had. Really, the difference in passing ability as observed by their actual play wasn't as big as you're trying to make out.

This is simply untrue. Kaepernick has exactly one year where he outperformed or marginally underperformed on a similar sample size. 2012 kaepernick threw just above 200 passes while luck threw 600. 2013 kaepernick outperformed luck. 2014 luck significantly outplayed kaep. 2015 luck missed over half the season but still was slightly statistically higher than kaep but both were god awful . 2016 luck significantly outperform kaep who was one of the statistically worse qbs for a 3rd year straight.

Also despite the Colts having a worse o-line lucks ability to get the ball out + just the sheer number of pass plays they ran actually make the advanced pass blocking stats look reasonable.

Percentages are a far more comparable stat (as is passer rating) on account of being much less affected by the sample size (which is affected by quality of running games and the running ability of the QB, both areas that would tend to lower Kaepernick's passing stats, as well as team performances which affects game planning) and prior to this season, Kaepernick was broadly equal or better than Luck at these stats. Which again, doesn't tell the whole story, but does demonstrate that it's not like Kaepernick has been *that* much worse a QB than Luck. Note also I'm talking about stats prior to this season, because that's when I actually compared them and Luck's been allowed to play up to his potential this season, finally.

Kaep has never proven to be able to run an offense that is not tailor designed around him. This is why he is not a backup. No team is going to bring in a qb who will need a separate playbook as a backup qb.

I do think he is being blacklisted. But take the idea that he probably isn’t back material, don’t know how much of a coach he can be (big part of backup qbs), he hasn’t played professional football in about two years, and the media circus that would happen when he is signed, it really shouldn’t be surprising that he remains unsigned.

Plenty of teams do that already. Luck's division is a perfect example - Mariota and Watson can do things with their legs that Gabbert and Weedon could never do. Likewise, Jacoby Brissett can't throw the ball like Andrew Luck, but has a major advantage in his mobility. There's a very logical case that if Watson (for example) was backed-up by Kaepernick, the Texans might be able to make even better use of Watson's legs as they wouldn't have to limit that part of their playbook in case of injury.

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Technically luck can't throw the ball like brisett either seeing as they had him "pinch hit" for luck on a hail Mary earlier this year

Touche, although Luck's arm strength hasn't seemed like a problem in any games they've played.

If he's being blacklisted the bold can't be true but if the bold is true then he's not be blacklisted. There's a fine line between "teams don't want him b/c X reason(s)" and some conspiracy to keep teams from signing him. I feel like the biggest piece of evidence AGAINST his collusion case is that he was given an opportunity in both Denver and Baltimore and he burned those bridges. The NFL, as in life, has more to do with just being "good" but you also need interpersonal skills and I think he has 0 of those.

Oh come on, that's grossly overstating the case. Denver was an "opportunity" that came when he was still the 49ers QB, required him to take a 40ish% pay cut and didn't even come with a guarantee of the starting job. There aren't many players who'd take that, especially when their competition to start is Blaine fucking Gabbert. Any man-baby GM that wants to hold that against him shouldn't be in the job, tbh. As for the Ravens, that opportunity disappeared because Biscotti prevaricated over the issue and his girlfriend went all Miko Grimes and fucked it up for him, neither of which have anything to do with Kaepernick's interpersonal skills (and BRent Grimes still has a job despite his wife).

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Kaep has way more than 3 places he can be a backup for.

I think he's just saying that Kaep would be a better fit in places that already have a starting running QB.

I mean, Kaep went 3-16 in his last two years in SF. It's possible that Kaep is decent on a good team but at the end of the day winning is what matters the most in the NFL.

https://overthecap.com/position/quarterback/

With the exception of Foles and a few others, it seems like the highest paid backups are 8 million a year though there are alot that are less than 7 million. Kaep already passed on 7 million and teams might have not wanted to pay more than 7 million for a QB that was benched and had a losing record.

There's a major difference between turning down $7m a year for 2 years (not necessarily guaranteed, either) when you're sure to make $14.3m over one year and you're not being offered a better situation - both would entail being in competition for a starting job - and taking $7m or less on the open market.

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Everyone assumed they would, but they forgot to account for the fact that John Elway is a hypocritical Conservative man-baby.

In sad news for Bro, the BORTORTLE has been benched. Cody Kessler, who went 0-8 for the Browns, is the new Jags starting QB. Insert comment about Kaepernick's collusion case here.

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He's also put up good numbers for a long time in an era that's pretty unfavorable to his position. The evolution of the game towards more passer-focused game plans, the growth of the running-back-by-committee and such. I think he's more deserving and got a better case than Terrell Davis (who is already in). I'm not sure he's a first ballot HoFer, though, if only because of the quantity of guys who're ahead of him and the NFL's shitty selection process.

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Can we at least agree that the NFL's process for selecting HoFers is bullshit that creates an artificial logjam and ensures deserving guys don't get in?

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How about you sign 1 guy that can catch a football beside CMC? Also Cam needs some "stay healthy" voodoo

I could see Cam not playing for the Panthers next season. I don't *think* it'll happen, but if his "new normal" is taking days off and his arm strength is down, I could see them moving on - or shutting him down for the season a la Andrew Luck and seeing if that helps.

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Holy shit we actually won

The refs threw so many flags on the Patriots I thought they were going to have to start using the Terrible Towels.

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(For clarity's sake, I don't mean that in an "OMG, the refs are biased against the Pats" kinda way, I mean it in a "Holy shit, I don't think I've ever seen a Patriots team play with that little discipline in my life" kinda way.)

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The Patriots played like one of the worst teams in the league against Pittsburgh, tbh.

Gruden bringing THE NATHAN PETERMAN EXPERIENCE to the Oakland practice squad might be the biggest "Fuck you" to a fanbase I've seen. Like, we all know you're leaving, you don't have to rub Nathan Peterman's quarterbacking skills in their faces too. That's just cruel.

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If the refs had a decent union, they'd have been called together and told to just call it exactly as it's written in the rules. A couple of weeks of that, and we'd either get the rules changed or coaches who want to keep their jobs and win games coaching players to not hold or interfere on ever goddamn play.

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On a separate note, it's this shit that's why the Steelers are relying on the Browns to win to get into the play-offs. It's unforgivable for the team's official media people to be uninformed enough to make a big deal about a guy who has been out since week 4, let alone for the DC who is supposed to be preparing his defence properly to play their division rivals claiming he's going to be a real threat to them. Jesus.

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The Steelers can't be compelled to take part, so it won't be them. Assuming no coaches get fired or retire or get traded, it'll be the 49ers, Raiders, Giants, Lions or Washington. My Tier list is 49ers (probably the most interesting story to tell of a team trying to get better) > Raiders (Because they're a shit show who doesn't even know where they're playing next season) > Giants (very possibly the first QB drafted in this class) > Washington (a lesser shit show than the Raiders with a QB overcoming a major injury) > Lions (Big fat "meh")

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The O Line play could well be a QB thing if Foles is better at identifying what the opposing D is doing and communicating it to his line. Unlike linemen in stances, after all, the QB's in a position to take a big picture look at the way the D is setting itself up and thus can prepare his linemen to block for him most effectively. As for the defence... I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure there's a reason that Chris Long has a Nick Foles shrine int he locker room and there isn't a Carson Wentz one.

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Well, Cody Parkey's probably packing his shit ready for the word he's getting cut right now.

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I change my mind constantly but at this very moment I'd say Pats over Eagles in the Superbowl. NE isn't overwhelming favorites in the AFC because they have notable weaknesses, and to me that's when Belichick coached-teams are at their most dangerous in the play-offs, when teams take them too lightly. Philly with Foles just has this it factor where the faith his team have in him makes them all suddenly better, plus they're real mad at the Saints for destroying them during the season.

Ask me tomorrow and I'll tell you that it'll be Chargers/Saints or Chiefs/Cowboys or whatever, though.

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Yeah, that was a blatant case of pass interference. But it equalled out the equally blatant face mask on Goff that went uncalled on the prior drive that forced the Rams to take the FG. The refs didn't cost the Saints the game, they screwed both teams equally with their ineptness.

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Right call in the end, but that's going to be talked about forever. There was clear and obvious evidence that the ball

just

missed both thumbs and the shoulder when you put the pictures together.

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Aside from the video replay, which was pretty conclusive for me, the really convincing think is how Edelman reacted to it. If he had even the slightest suspicion he touched it, he'd have turned and gone for the ball rather than leaving it. It's like a textbook play that should be reviewed - it looks one way in real time, 'cause everyone thought he'd touched it, but the replays show he didn't. You can't call it karma if they got the call right.