2009 NFL Thread

[wilson]

Obviously we need one, right? I'm totally cool with this being moved to The Stadium, but I definitely want some kind of central NFL discussion.

Anyway, I was very pleased with the way the Falcons looked today. I was surprised to see the defense look so strong. The offense seemed out of sync to me, but that was unsurprising and I'm not alarmed. If the D can keep it up, this could be a very good team. The Saints appear to have exactly what we expected from them...tons of O, not much D.
And jeez, the Panthers looked like a fucking train wreck. Could be a long season (or two or even three) in Charlotte. If Delhomme is actually falling apart in front of us, the Kitties are in serious trouble. They just committed $45 million (20 guaranteed) over five years to him in the offseason, and they have no semblance of even a serviceable backup, let alone a chosen successor. QB troubles would leave them scrambling to find/groom one while still shelling out to the previous guy. On top of that, the defense looks old to me. They've been very strong over the years, but especially with Peppers unhappy, I could see them not playing to their capabilities this season. Could be a long season in Charlotte.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm a Steelers fan by birth, (yay Troy, get better!) and a Panther's fan because NC finally got a team.
I have one thing to say.
THE PANTHERS SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED!!! 3 QB's, 7 turnovers.
Yay Troy, get better!

[bjornolf]

I think the biggest story of the day was DEFINITELY McNabb's broken ribs. He took a real chance with that run and paid for it. Better to throw it away and kick the field goal. Now we'll have to hear all the Philly fans debating Vick v. McNabb even more. When he plays next, whether that's next game or if he takes of a game or two, every defensive lineman and linebacker they play for the rest of the season will be going after those ribs. This could get ugly for the Iggles. Especially with Vick waiting in the wings.

[Miles]

Rough Day for me.
1. The Redskins lost to the Giants. Credit to the Giants defense, they just wouldn't let our offense get into a rhythm. Our running game was atrocious. I hope we can chalk this up to a combination of first game jitters, and playing against an incredible defense. Though I must admit, with the recent ticket SNAFU and the way Synder has been managing, err I mean owning this team, I'm feeling my loyalty drift away. <sigh>
2. Carolina. Rough breaks. Jake made two key errors but I don't think the score reflects the whole story. You just can't let a team put that much pressure on your quarterback and expect to win. Jake is the scapegoat, but the offensive line needs a good ass whooping, other than the one they got on Sunday.

We'll see how things go for San Diego tonight. They're my last chance at redemption.

Next game.

[DukeUsul]

I had a lot of conflicting emotions yesterday. I've been irate at my hometown Eagles for picking up Vick. What a sleazebag to have wear your hometown's name. Yet I had a hard time rooting against the team yesterday, especially considering how well they played. The Eagles D appears to have suffered little from the passing of Jim Johnson and the departure of Brian Dawkins. And the young guys on offense (DeSean Jackson, Celek, McCoy) look very promising.

With McNabb's ribs being hurt, now it's going to be even more likely we see some Vick this year, and that's when it gets really tough for this fan.

[captmojo]

How does McCown rate as #2 over Matt Moore, for Charlotte?
Moore reminds me of how Delhomme was in his panther debut. He seems to have an ability to move the offense downfield.
McCown is just damned inaccurate. He always seems to zig when a zag is called for. Again...
I see deficiency in the Panther's offensive line but I fear Jake's elbow is telling a tale on him. It could be ratting him out.

[CameronBornAndBred]

How does McCown rate as #2 over Matt Moore, for Charlotte?
Moore reminds me of how Delhomme was in his panther debut. He seems to have an ability to move the offense downfield.
McCown is just damned inaccurate. He always seems to zig when a zag is called for. Again...
I see deficiency in the Panther's offensive line but I fear Jake's elbow is telling a tale on him. It could be ratting him out.

When Moore played the year that Delhomme was out, he sucked. He did look better yesterday, certainly better than McCown. That being said, he also got an INT.

[Ben63]

Great day of football yesterday. It was great to sit down on Sunday and just enjoy the games not having to worry about my team. I was at Heinz Field when my beloved Titans lost to Pittsburgh. Took alot of shit but it was still a great experience, and it's hard to pass up a free Tim McGraw and Black Eyed Peas concert beforehand.

But my thoughts

1. McNabb. Very worrysome for a team projected to go as far as they are. Kevin Kolb is terrible and it is clear Vick isn't ready to be a starter in the league yet. This showed heavily in his last preseason game where he was just a step behind everything. Hopefully for the Eagle's sake this is a 1-2 week thing and McNabb is back soon.

2. Newsflash- Adrian Peterson is really, really good. Granted, it took the Vikings the whole 1st half to get going against Cleveland who shouldn't be very good this year. With Peterson carrying the load, Favre should be able to spread the ball around to his receivers. Percy Harvin looks very promising. Three problems with the Vikings: 1. O-Line didn't give Favre alot of time; 2. Bernard Berrian was non-existant. They need him to stretrch the field to free up the box for AP; 3. Special teams. I realize Cribbs is great, but it wasn't just that play, their special teams was not very good all day.

3. Drew Brees is the most accurate QB in football and he has a great cast of receivers. This will be the best offense in the NFL this season and it will take pressure of that bad defense. Don't have to play too mcuh D when you can put up 45 every week.

4. Detroit still sucks. They wont go 0-16, but they wont be much better than that. Though they might win more games than the Rams.

5. Crazy ending to Denver Cincinnati game, but both teams are bad.

6. Joe Flacco seems to be the real deal. I realize this was the Chief's defense, but the Ravens really have something going with Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, and LeRon McClain. If Baltimore's defense performs as usual, they will go places this year, though it will be tough to get back to the AFC championship game.

Eh that's enough for now I'll post more later, class at 1.

[weezie]

3. Drew Brees is the most accurate QB in football and he has a great cast of receivers. This will be the best offense in the NFL this season and it will take pressure of that bad defense. Don't have to play too mcuh D when you can put up 45 every week.

4. Detroit still sucks. They wont go 0-16, but they wont be much better than that. Though they might win more games than the Rams.

Drew Brees really gets a big kick out of running up the score on the Lions. He does it every chance he gets. Yeah, banging away on a rookie led team, great stuff.

The Lions weren't completely awful for a change. Stafford has guts and they didn't give up or moan about the atrocious referees. All in all, not a horrible debut for the youngster.

[Turk]

Great day of football yesterday. It was great to sit down on Sunday and just enjoy the games not having to worry about my team. I was at Heinz Field when my beloved Titans lost to Pittsburgh. Took alot of shit but it was still a great experience, and it's hard to pass up a free Tim McGraw and Black Eyed Peas concert beforehand. ~snip~

Eh that's enough for now I'll post more later, class at 1.

Wow, Ben, tix to the opener?!? You're not wasting any time tearing the town apart, eh? Nice job!! Hopefully the yinzers were good-natured in their joshing... The game had me nervous from the jump, and the Titans appeared to me like they were on a mission. If they keep that up all season, they will be a serious playoff threat again.

[Ben63]

Great day of football yesterday. It was great to sit down on Sunday and just enjoy the games not having to worry about my team. I was at Heinz Field when my beloved Titans lost to Pittsburgh. Took alot of shit but it was still a great experience, and it's hard to pass up a free Tim McGraw and Black Eyed Peas concert beforehand. ~snip~

Eh that's enough for now I'll post more later, class at 1.

Wow, Ben, tix to the opener?!? You're not wasting any time tearing the town apart, eh? Nice job!! Hopefully the yinzers were good-natured in their joshing... The game had me nervous from the jump, and the Titans appeared to me like they were on a mission. If they keep that up all season, they will be a serious playoff threat again.

Yeah most of the guys were fine, though there were two exceptions. That game was a clone of their playoff game against Baltimore last year. Tennessee dominated the 1st half and didn't get any points to show for it and it came back and bit them in the ass. Pass defense is a major concern for me but other than that I was pleased with the performance despite the loss.

[Rolvix]

Wow. I looked at the NE vs Bills score about 20 minutes ago, and the Bills were winning my over 10. I turned on the TV and saw the last crazy 30 seconds, what a game! How did NE pull it out???

[DukeUsul]

Pats had a great drive, came down, scored with a bit less than 2 mins left.

Decided NOT TO onside kick it. Kicked normal. The Bills returner caught it in the end zone, thought about it, then ran it out. Got out past the twenty and then the PATS STRIPPED IT!

Pats had the ball at around the Bills 30 yd line with a bit over a minute left. Two plays maybe? Brady passes for another TD.

Both those TDs they went for 2 and missed.

Lesson: dude, just take a knee.

[Lavabe]

Did you see the highlights of the 50th year all-time Pat's team?

[bjornolf]

I can't BELIEVE how the Bills lost that game. I feel bad for them, especially since they had a chance to break the streak. Not to mention they could have gotten a HUGE leg up in their division. Ouch. What a way to lose. I thought Oakland had a shot against San Diego there at the end, too. Ah well, 'tis life.

[wilson]

Wow. I looked at the NE vs Bills score about 20 minutes ago, and the Bills were winning my over 10. I turned on the TV and saw the last crazy 30 seconds, what a game! How did NE pull it out???

The Patriots did not pull it out. The Bills (more specifically, Leodis McKelvin) giftwrapped the game.

[DukeUsul]

I had two FFL games last night. In one, I was losing by 7 when the OAK-SDC game started. I had Antonio Gates, the only player for either of us left to play. In my other league, I was up by 15 when the OAK-SDC game started. He had Antonio Gates, the only player for either of us left to play.

Gates scored 8 pts last night. Pefect!!! Winner winner chicken dinner - both leagues

Just bragging

[rockymtn devil]

My quick hit thoughts from Week 1:

1. Not sure who the more pitiful NFL franchise is: the Bengals or the Bills. Except for one season this decade, Cincinnati has been the Bungals for the entirety of my football watching life (20 years or so). The Bills, on the other hand, have had success. But, they've also had decent talent in recent years and wasted it. While watching their meltdown last night on MNF, I had a sense of deja vu all over again. Then I remembered that we've all seen this movie before. It happened on October 8, 2007 against the Cowboys.

2. The Steelers--it pains me to say--will miss Troy Polamalu a lot. That defense will be solid without him, but his presence frees up the rest of the playmakers to cause damage. They weren't the same in the second half against the Titans.

3. Welcome to the Jay Cutler experience Chicago Bears. I'm no Broncos fan, but even I had to grin while watching Cutler implode in his Bears debut on Sunday. With the best young receiving corp in the NFL, Cutler was a turnover machine and a mediocre QB. Why did anyone expect him to be better with the WRs the Bears have? Truth be told, Cutler is a QB whose ego far exceeds anything he's done on the field: he has a career sub .500 record (he actually hasn't had a winning record as a starter since he was in high school...in 2001); he is the only QB in NFL history to have his team fail to make the playoffs after having a 3-game division lead with 3 games to play; despite his penchant for red-zone interceptions (especially in games that matter) he threw his teammates under the bus last season and blamed them for the meltdown; he cried his way out of Denver, but not before comparing himself favorably to John Elway; he's a royal db. Now he'll bring his turnover show and Vanderbilt-haircut to Chicago. I'm not sure who I want to fail more: Cutler or Favre. Ok, it's Favre, but barely. Which brings us to...

4. I don't believe Favre will continue the conservative streak we saw this weekend. He's too big of a narcissist (T.O., Ochocinco and Brandon Marshall wrapped into one) to let Adrian Peterson be the man on that team. Plus, at some point Favre will have to make plays and I don't think he has anything left (when he tried to throw on Sunday, he looked awful). I'll go out on a limb and say that, during next off-season, the Houston Texans will be touted as the team who is just a starting QB away from the Super Bowl. And, sometime in mid-August, Favre will relocate to Houston. The Texans will go 7-9. Favre will shed crocodile tears, talk about loving the game but not being able to physically play again, retire, and then immediately begin scouting another sucker of an owner/GM. And the media--especially Peter King of SI--will eat it up and make sure we know every single detail about Favre's life in Mississippi while deciding which NFL team to set back another few years.

5. Enjoy it while it lasts Adrian Peterson. NFL stud RBs have a shelf-life at the top of 2-3 years. Backs this decade who, at one point, were viewed in the same light as Peterson: Edgerrin James, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Ricky Williams, Jamal Lewis, Shaun Alexander, Larry Johnson, Ladainian Tomlinson. RBs just take too much of a pounding to last much longer than a few seasons.

6. It's only one week, but the Patriots look old. The defense will be a problem all year, and the OLine will allow Tom Brady to get hit a lot. He isn't Ben Roethlisberger, and Brady generally doesn't do well when he gets hit (see Super Bowl against NYG). The Pats will win the division, but I don't see them winning the Super Bowl.

7. Another team (or unit) that looks old is Baltimore's defense. They gave up a lot of points and yards to a terrible Chiefs offense last week. Luckily the Ravens offense looks better. They'll need those points.

[wilson]

Tirico is right...Miami's two-minute drill is fucking abysmal.

[wilson]

Tirico is right...Miami's two-minute drill is fucking abysmal.

...and yet, they should have just scored. Ginn can't just let that ball hit him in the hands.