2011-2012 NFL Season Thread

[Enigma869]

They are giving up 130 y/g on the ground....

What's your point? You were talking about how bad their secondary is...not their down linemen.

And in your assertion about the NY secondary...50+ less attempts, and 5 less TDs given up than NE. So roughly even.

Huh? How the hell do you come to that conclusion? What the heck do attempts have to do with TD's? Attempts aren't really relevant, especially when you're talking about 7 attempts (not even completions) a game!

NE is giving up a TD every 16 completions....NY, one every 20 completions.

Dude...twist the numbers any way you want to twist them. It doesn't change the fact that only three teams in the entire NFL have given up fewer passing TD's than the NY Giants have. That wasn't an opinion. It's a fact!

FYI - GB is 25th in total defense, 29th in passing....Rodgers better not have an off day.

You are definitely correct about Green Bay's defense. It isn't great. In fact, statistically, it's a bit frightening how similar their defense is to New England's. That said, I think Green Bay simply has more playmakers on their defense and they take the ball away more, giving their offense more opportunities to cover up their shortcomings. This Patriots defense has zero great players. Wilfork and Mayo are the only two players on defense who I would even consider to be average or above average. The rest of their defense is made up of a bunch of undrafted castoffs who no other team wanted (for a reason)! In spite of having Tom Brady, the Patriots defense (of the past) had outstanding (even though nobody ever really talked about them) players. They went from having guys like Bruschi, Harrison, Law, Malloy, Vrabel to guys who shouldn't be starting for any NFL team.

[S2M]

Personally, I think the problem is with scheme, rather than personnel...playing zone is a recipe for disaster - it doesn't force QBs to be accurate. players just have to run to an area....It's bad enough the NE DBs are playing 10 feet off the WRs anyway. And the more the QB scrambles, the more open the opposing WRs get...at least if you played man, the QBs would have to be dead-on accurate.

[Seven Wishes2]

Meanwhile, talented veterans like Sharper, Bullock, and Henderson sit at home, waiting for the phone to ring.

[Enigma869]

Personally, I think the problem is with scheme, rather than personnel...playing zone is a recipe for disaster - it doesn't force QBs to be accurate. players just have to run to an area....It's bad enough the NE DBs are playing 10 feet off the WRs anyway. And the more the QB scrambles, the more open the opposing WRs get...at least if you played man, the QBs would have to be dead-on accurate.

The scheme is clearly a problem, but you're not paying attention if you seriously believe their personnel isn't an issue. This is not a very good group of players, AT ALL!

[YoungJRNY]

The scheme could possibly be the problem because MAYBE you don't have the right personal to fit that scheme. Unfortunately, football is very articulate. Very delicate in how it's set-up within its own players. It's too late for N.E to really adjust to anything that they've been teaching. If they want to fix their defense (which has been on the downfall and in the pits ever since 2009) then they need to keep rebuilding through the draft and use the off-season's and training camps to nail down the schemes the personal they bring in is good for. N.E's defense is rebuilding but they got a lot of young guys who can come around in years to come. Every team goes through it eventually and their living it on the defensive side of the ball.

[AR]

The scheme could possibly be the problem because MAYBE you don't have the right personal to fit that scheme. Unfortunately, football is very articulate. Very delicate in how it's set-up within its own players. It's too late for N.E to really adjust to anything that they've been teaching. If they want to fix their defense (which has been on the downfall and in the pits ever since 2009) then they need to keep rebuilding through the draft and use the off-season's and training camps to nail down the schemes the personal they bring in is good for. N.E's defense is rebuilding but they got a lot of young guys who can come around in years to come. Every team goes through it eventually and their living it on the defensive side of the ball.

Psyched for Sunday yet?

My analysis.

Very difficult to win on the road in the NFL. You will not hear me pounding my chest over my hometown Ravens. It's advantage Steelers this time.

Still going to be a hell of a game and anyone's to win.

Steelers on a roll/Ravens in their head from the beatdown week 1 (tough to return from that)

Injuries: Ben Grubbs on the Ravens OLine missing has hurt them a TON! / Woodley out - hear Harrison might play though.

Should (and better be) a war!

Enjoy!

[Enigma869]

Ravens by a TD.

[YoungJRNY]

The scheme could possibly be the problem because MAYBE you don't have the right personal to fit that scheme. Unfortunately, football is very articulate. Very delicate in how it's set-up within its own players. It's too late for N.E to really adjust to anything that they've been teaching. If they want to fix their defense (which has been on the downfall and in the pits ever since 2009) then they need to keep rebuilding through the draft and use the off-season's and training camps to nail down the schemes the personal they bring in is good for. N.E's defense is rebuilding but they got a lot of young guys who can come around in years to come. Every team goes through it eventually and their living it on the defensive side of the ball.

Psyched for Sunday yet?

My analysis.

Very difficult to win on the road in the NFL. You will not hear me pounding my chest over my hometown Ravens. It's advantage Steelers this time.

Still going to be a hell of a game and anyone's to win.

Steelers on a roll/Ravens in their head from the beatdown week 1 (tough to return from that)

Injuries: Ben Grubbs on the Ravens OLine missing has hurt them a TON! / Woodley out - hear Harrison might play though.

Should (and better be) a war!

Enjoy!

No other game in between mattered much to me since week 1. You should feel the buzz here in Pittsburgh. It's absolutely ridiculous. Every radio station, every television spot, every street corner is talking about this game and what happened in week 1. Probably the most buzz since the championship game in '08 with Steelers/Ravens. I'm getting jacked up too and drinkin' my ass off for this one. In the words of Bart Scott: "Can't Wait!" Since week 1, the tides have turned. Pittsburgh's offensive line since Max Starks came back has protected Ben and we actually implemented a underneath passing attack while Balty's offensive line has been struggling and Flacco has been near the bottom of the league leading his offense.

Harrison will be playing, so is Worlids, so it'll be Worlids and Harrison on the outside with Timmons going back inside where he's best at with Foote/Farrior. I also heard Ngata was nursing a thigh injury and didn't practice for 2 days and was limited yesterday in practice. All I know is, Heinz Field is the toughest place to play and it'll be the craziest of the year. Wish I was there.

[Seven Wishes2]

The Steelers take this one by 10. They're on a roll, and Flaccid is horrible on the road.

[Enigma869]

Miami at Kansas City - Kansas City is on a roll and Miami just plain sucks, which means Upset City! Nahhhhh...I'm not taking the cheese. Chiefs by 14.

Atlanta at Indianapolis - The Colts are on their way to a "perfect season" (in reverse), and I don't see Atlanta ruining their quest. Falcons by two TD's.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans - Time for the Saints to bounce back after laying an egg last week. Saints by 10.

NY Jets at Buffalo - The Jets are on a bit of a roll with two straight wins and they really have to make it three to be taken seriously as a contender. Jets by 3.

Seattle at Dallas - Even the Cowgirls can't fuck this one up against a really bad Seattle team. Cowgirls by 10.

Cleveland at Houston - Houston is one of these teams who always manages to play down to the competition and I suspect that this week won't be any different. Houston wins a close one by 3.

San Francisco at Washington - The NFL season has a natural rythym to it, and San Francisco is due for a letdown. I like the Redskins in the upset by 3 this week.

Cincinnati at Tennessee - Ultimately, I believe these are two mediocre teams, which should result in an entertaining game. Chris Johnson has apparently decided to retire and the Bungles are playing inspired football and probably have a better defense than many think. Titans by 3.

Denver at Oakland - Soon enough, the dopes in Denver will finally figure out what everyone else has known forever...Tim Tebow is not even a backup NFL QB, period, end of story! This is a game I'm thankful that I don't have to watch. Between Carson Palmer and Tim Blows, this will be the equivalent of a fucking root canal! Raiders by 10.

NY Giants at New England - Bad matchup for the Patriots on a lot of levels. The Giants have the best pass rush in the NFL. Eli is ranked ahead of every QB in the NFL this season, not named Rodgers or Brady. New England's secondary is a fucking train wreck. When you add all those elements up, the Patriots should lose by 30. Not happening. The Patriots have lost back to back games exactly twice in the past 8 seasons. I truly believe this game is a "gut check" game for the Patriots. They continue to have a brutal schedule, so they're going to be forced to beat teams with winning records. The Giants will definitely put up some points, because the Steelers are the only team who really didn't score endless points against this putrid defense this season. I think the Patriots will score more. Patriots by 10.

St. Louis at Arizona - A not so classic matchups between 1-6 teams. St. Louis is coming off their high of smoking the Saints last week, and I suspect that they'll still be hung over from last week's victory. Cardinals by 7.

Green Bay at San Diego - San Diego should be a desperate team, but based on the awful division they play in, they can keep losing and still potentially make the playoffs (a system the NFL DESPERATELY needs to correct)! I suspect that Green Bay will lose eventually, but this won't be the week. I do think this will be a tough matchup for the Packers, because their defense isn't great. Packers by 9.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh - For some reason, I thought this game was in Baltimore. Pittsburgh and their fans want revenge from the complete thumping Baltimore laid on them in week one of the season. The Steelers definitely need this game more (to avoid going 0-2 in the division and losing 0-2 in head to head mathcups). Joe Flacco is simply not a good NFL QB and Ben Roethlisberger is. I think the Ravens have the better defense and that will ultimately be the difference in the game. I like the Ravens by 3.

Chicago at Philadelphia - Two teams riding modest 2 game winning streaks. I like the Eagles to keep rolling. Eagles by 4.

[YoungJRNY]

Going with multiple upsets this week. According the the NFL, the upsets there but who know where so here goes:

Titans over Bengals by 7
Jets over Bills by 10
Cowboys over Seahawks by 17
Falcons over Colts by 14
Chiefs over Dolphins by 10
Saints over Bucs by 13
49'ers over Redskins by 10
Texans over Browns by 10
Raiders over Broncos by 6
UPSET: Giants over Pats by 7
Cardinals over Rams by 3
UPSET: Chargers over Packers by 6
Steelers over Ravens by 10
Eagles over Bears by 13

[AR]

I hate having to wait around until 8:20 for Ravens and Steelers.



NFL RedZone in 20 minutes at least.

[Enigma869]

Thank you to the NFL for giving me a Sunday night game that I actually can't wait to watch! This is a nice change, given some of the AWFUL football that has been on in prime time this season.

[AR]

Thank you to the NFL for giving me a Sunday night game that I actually can't wait to watch! This is a nice change, given some of the AWFUL football that has been on in prime time this season.

Brady needs to get himself in gear. I need some fantasy football points from him!

[S2M]

Eli bailed out by TWO lame PI calls....must be same officials that worked 42.

[Seven Wishes2]

Two ATROCIOUS PI calls at the end of this game. The first one, gets called maybe once every three times it happens. The second one, in particular, on Brown, was the LAMEST PI call since Reggie Wayne cheated his way into a bullshit 2006 AFC Championship "win" for the Colts against the Pats. YOU DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER make a call like that at the end of a game to GIVE a team a win.

Sorry, but the refs simply STOLE this win - and probably, the season - from the Patriots. Welker and Edelman both got MUGGED on third down passes in this game, and there was no call - for what was, at very least, the same amount of contact that they flagged the Pats for in the final 30 seconds.

This is the kind of game that makes the NFL a joke. These are the kind of games that cost teams their seasons. This was the worst-officiated game since the last Pats-Giants Super Bowl. What bullshit.

[Enigma869]

Eli bailed out by TWO lame PI calls....must be same officials that worked 42.

Nothing lame about the calls dude. Call the fucking game what it was...horrible clock management by the Patriots offense when they were driving for the go ahead TD. Same exact problem as in the Super Bowl. You simply don't leave that much time on the clock and put it in the hands of a defense who can't cover ANYONE! As for the PI calls, the rule clearly states if the defender doesn't turn to look for the ball (which they clearly didn't), it's pass interference, so you should be far more pissed off at some awful defensive backs than you are at officials calling the game according to the rulebook!

[S2M]

It was poor clock management...they should have ran on 2nd and 3rd....but the fact remains - that first PI call on Arrington was bull....NY player initiated contact...plain and simple. Second one was UNCATCHABLE.

[Enigma869]

Second one was UNCATCHABLE.

You better rewind your TiVo dude! The ball landed in the end zone, less than 5 yards from its intended receiver. That hardly makes a ball uncatchable, even though Eli simply threw it up to nobody in particular!

[Seven Wishes2]

Eli bailed out by TWO lame PI calls....must be same officials that worked 42.

Nothing lame about the calls dude. Call the fucking game what it was...horrible clock management by the Patriots offense when they were driving for the go ahead TD. Same exact problem as in the Super Bowl. You simply don't leave that much time on the clock and put it in the hands of a defense who can't cover ANYONE! As for the PI calls, the rule clearly states if the defender doesn't turn to look for the ball (which they clearly didn't), it's pass interference, so you should be far more pissed off at some awful defensive backs than you are at officials calling the game according to the rulebook!

The second call was BULLSHIT, John. That play gets flagged maybe 1 out of 10 times. With so much at stake in a situation like that...no way. Cruz had no chance to catch that ball either way.

The Pats played like shit, either way. I doubt at this point that they're going to make the playoffs. Teams have figured out how to stop Brady, who is starting to become a mediocre QB. Even on that last drive...you're right. Terrible clock management (especially since they were down to one timeout), and Brady missed two wide open targets to Gronkowski, and made a lousy throw on the ball Gronk made a beautiful catch on on 4th down.

Brady is starting a decline. He's become a turnover machine. He can't handle any pressure...he's getting flustered like a rookie QB. New England, with their schedule, will be lucky to finish at .500. This is the worst loss in the regular season they've had since they got demolished 34-0 by the Bills to start the '04 season, the final championship the Pats will celebrate with Brady and Coach B. The game has passed BB by - he has made one atrocious personnel decision after another the past two years...lets people who have no business putting on an NFL uniform start, and releases guys who just about any team would love to start...guys who have been All-Pros.

I think it's time for the Pats to part ways with BB. He has no idea what he's doing anymore.

[S2M]

Second one was UNCATCHABLE.

You better rewind your TiVo dude! The ball landed in the end zone, less than 5 yards from its intended receiver. That hardly makes a ball uncatchable, even though Eli simply threw it up to nobody in particular!

And that NY defender had his head turned around when defending that Gronk drop? Selective officiating.....

On another note: The receiver isn't entitled to a free path to an underthrown ball...so the DB gets a penalty for merely existing? And this 'head wasn't turned' excuse is the lamest call in football. Just because a player's head is turned doesn't mean he is 'playing the ball'...it's a bail-out call.

[S2M]

Eli bailed out by TWO lame PI calls....must be same officials that worked 42.

Nothing lame about the calls dude. Call the fucking game what it was...horrible clock management by the Patriots offense when they were driving for the go ahead TD. Same exact problem as in the Super Bowl. You simply don't leave that much time on the clock and put it in the hands of a defense who can't cover ANYONE! As for the PI calls, the rule clearly states if the defender doesn't turn to look for the ball (which they clearly didn't), it's pass interference, so you should be far more pissed off at some awful defensive backs than you are at officials calling the game according to the rulebook!

The second call was BULLSHIT, John. That play gets flagged maybe 1 out of 10 times. With so much at stake in a situation like that...no way. Cruz had no chance to catch that ball either way.

The Pats played like shit, either way. I doubt at this point that they're going to make the playoffs. Teams have figured out how to stop Brady, who is starting to become a mediocre QB. Even on that last drive...you're right. Terrible clock management (especially since they were down to one timeout), and Brady missed two wide open targets to Gronkowski, and made a lousy throw on the ball Gronk made a beautiful catch on on 4th down.

Brady is starting a decline. He's become a turnover machine. He can't handle any pressure...he's getting flustered like a rookie QB. New England, with their schedule, will be lucky to finish at .500. This is the worst loss in the regular season they've had since they got demolished 34-0 by the Bills to start the '04 season, the final championship the Pats will celebrate with Brady and Coach B. The game has passed BB by - he has made one atrocious personnel decision after another the past two years...lets people who have no business putting on an NFL uniform start, and releases guys who just about any team would love to start...guys who have been All-Pros.

I think it's time for the Pats to part ways with BB. He has no idea what he's doing anymore.

In reality, Brady has 10 INTs....9 TIPPED balls...ONE garden variety.

[Seven Wishes2]

The Pats would be 7-1 with Rodgers as their QB. That's all you need to know.

[S2M]

The Pats would be 7-1 with Rodgers as their QB. That's all you need to know.

I'm not sure what you are trying to say.

Rodgers has a fantasy team behind him. Sure he's more mobile...but he is surrounded by more talent than Brady has EVER had. And his defense sucks almost as bad as NE's....he's been lucky 2 weeks in a row.

[AR]

Here's to a fun late night game tonight however it turns out.

[S2M]

Here's to a fun late night game tonight however it turns out.

Good luck....

[Seven Wishes2]

He has slightly better WR's and the teams are about equal with respect to TE and RB play. The O-Lines are a wash, too. The Packers' D, with the exception of today, is quite a bit better than the Patriots'. No, Brady is fast becoming a mediocre QB.

[S2M]

He has slightly better WR's and the teams are about equal with respect to TE and RB play. The O-Lines are a wash, too. The Packers' D, with the exception of today, is quite a bit better than the Patriots'. No, Brady is fast becoming a mediocre QB.

Packers' O-line is way better than NE's...and before today's game - GB was 25th defensively. Which is sure to fall after today's 'effort'

Like I said earlier....Rodgers better not have an 'off' day.....

[Ehwmatt]

He has slightly better WR's and the teams are about equal with respect to TE and RB play. The O-Lines are a wash, too. The Packers' D, with the exception of today, is quite a bit better than the Patriots'. No, Brady is fast becoming a mediocre QB.

Packers' O-line is way better than NE's...and before today's game - GB was 25th defensively. Which is sure to fall after today's 'effort'

Like I said earlier....Rodgers better not have an 'off' day.....

Wow... we agree!

The Packers are not going to repeat this year. I just don't see it happening.

[S2M]

He has slightly better WR's and the teams are about equal with respect to TE and RB play. The O-Lines are a wash, too. The Packers' D, with the exception of today, is quite a bit better than the Patriots'. No, Brady is fast becoming a mediocre QB.

Packers' O-line is way better than NE's...and before today's game - GB was 25th defensively. Which is sure to fall after today's 'effort'

Like I said earlier....Rodgers better not have an 'off' day.....

Wow... we agree!

The Packers are not going to repeat this year. I just don't see it happening.

Not surprising....I'm rather objective when it isn't MY team.....