NFL 2016 Week 7: Nobody's Burfict

[Maithanet]

13 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

I felt at the time that Jones' fumble into the end zone would very likely cost us the game and after the fact you can definitely make that case. Still after coming back from 10 down in the 4th quarter only to let Stafford, easily, go 75 yards in a minute for the game-winning score...kinda shifts around the blame. They coulda won in spite of Jones' major fuck up, on the one hand. On the other, they get in the end zone there and maybe the rest of the game unfolds differently. 

The frustrating how thing is how good the offense looks at times and how much it shoots itself in the foot. It's so clear when they go down 10 and suddenly it's like "fuck this" and they march down for two TDs like it's nothing. Why couldn't you do that earlier? And you lose a winnable game like that and you from looking like a real contender to the basement of the NFC East. NFL's real unforgiving that way. 

It is hard to argue that we lose the game if Jones doesn't fumble.  I mean, yes, maybe our offense doesn't come alive late if we are tied instead of down, but it's just as likely that the offense finally gets out of its own way a little earlier if it had the confidence of a touchdown.

You really can't blame this game on the defense.  The Lions were averaging 25 points a game, and we held them to 20, in spite of gifting them good field position several times with turnovers, missed fg, etc.  Yes, the defense got carved up on the final drive (really coulda used Josh Norman out there, eh?)  But it should have never been that close.  The Redskins offense is supposed to lead the way, and against an embarrassingly bad Lions defense we only put up 3 points in the first 50 minutes of the game.  This is what happens when your starting qb and starting rb both have serious turnover problems.  You lose games you shouldn't. 

[sperry]

44 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

I do think the product is suffering this season in large part because of QB play. If it wasn't clear before SNF, the Golden Age of QBs is officially over. A hobbled Russell Wilson is just a guy at best. Palmer's now over the hill. Big Ben's injured (again). Romo's injured (again). Cam Newton is 1-5. All the effortlessness in Rodgers' game is gone - seriously every GB drive feels like a root canal. It's hard to enjoy Luck being marooned on such an awful team with little hope to get better. 

And the up-and-comers, lol. Blake Bortles, Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler are all unconscionably bad, Marcus Mariota, ugh. Remember when people were talking preseason about how the AFC South had 4 young potential franchise guys playing at the same time - uh, how's that working out? I don't know what it is exactly, but even when he's effective the way Jameis Winston plays is so unaesthetically pleasing. I kinda hate watching him play. The best thing about watching Kaepernick now is his hair. RGIII and Manziel, the two most exciting college players of the last 20 years, may never play again. Carson Wentz is reverting to rookie form. No matter how much Case Keenum sucks at his job, Jared Goff still can't see the field. The less said of the 2013 QB class (Geno, EJ Manuel, Mike Glennon) the better. The best you can say is Dak appears competent and Carr has his moments. 

But really when you turn on a football game Sunday, who are you actually excited to watch play? For me the schadenfreude:genuine enjoyment ratio is like 5:1 this year. 

 

 

I don't think QBs are the problem. They need to do a better job of marketing some of the guys who have emerged as elite level QBs, especially with Brees and Brady likely to only be around for a couple more years. The problem is the talent around the QBs, especially o-lines. You have a bunch of potentially elite QBs who are fucked because of poor o-line play.  Newton, Luck and Wilson come to the forefront. Do those guys all of a sudden suck (although Luck is having a good year), or is their atrocious o-line holding them down? I think we know the answer there.

 

The resurgence of defense is also hurting perception, in that two of the best teams in the league, Minnesota and Denver, are teams that people aren't going to watch. Those teams are going to dominate on defense and play conservatively on offense. They're going to win a lot of games, and not be very interesting to watch for the average fan.

[Joe Pesci]

1 hour ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

 I think Thursday Night is kind of its' own thing, and has become recognized as an inferior product by most discerning fans. I rarely watch it unless my team is playing in it, or if the matchup is particularly juicy (and how often does that happen?)

What, not excited for another Thursday night thriller this week of Tennessee vs Jacksonville? 

I think they really screwed Thursday night football by making it all season long instead of just the latter part of the season. In addition, having every team get a primetime game now leads to obvious bad games, which sours viewing. I hate Thursday football now, it had some potential but it's showcasing bad teams too much. Teams playing in primetime should be good, simple as that.

[Jace, Extat]

15 minutes ago, Joe Pesci said:

What, not excited for another Thursday night thriller this week of Tennessee vs Jacksonville? 

I think they really screwed Thursday night football by making it all season long instead of just the latter part of the season. In addition, having every team get a primetime game now leads to obvious bad games, which sours viewing. I hate Thursday football now, it had some potential but it's showcasing bad teams too much. Teams playing in primetime should be good, simple as that.

I think making a flex for SNF (and maybe even MNF) would go a long way. Make the announcement come out by midnight on the preceding Sunday, and then get the best game in primetime. And for fuck's sake let us watch more games in the afternoon. By the time 1:30/2:00 rolls around I'm barely even paying attention these days.

[Jaime L]

55 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

It is hard to argue that we lose the game if Jones doesn't fumble.  I mean, yes, maybe our offense doesn't come alive late if we are tied instead of down, but it's just as likely that the offense finally gets out of its own way a little earlier if it had the confidence of a touchdown.

You really can't blame this game on the defense.  The Lions were averaging 25 points a game, and we held them to 20, in spite of gifting them good field position several times with turnovers, missed fg, etc.  Yes, the defense got carved up on the final drive (really coulda used Josh Norman out there, eh?)  But it should have never been that close.  The Redskins offense is supposed to lead the way, and against an embarrassingly bad Lions defense we only put up 3 points in the first 50 minutes of the game.  This is what happens when your starting qb and starting rb both have serious turnover problems.  You lose games you shouldn't. 

Oh, I don't lay primary blame on the defense. But when you're up 4 and the other team has to go 75 yards in a minute to win the game you have to love your chances. We had a 91.8% win probability after Kirk put us ahead. To then give up the game-winning TD, that's an absolute stomach punch and largely undoes any goodwill I would've felt about a decent defensive performance otherwise.

50 minutes ago, sperry said:

I don't think QBs are the problem. They need to do a better job of marketing some of the guys who have emerged as elite level QBs, especially with Brees and Brady likely to only be around for a couple more years. The problem is the talent around the QBs, especially o-lines. You have a bunch of potentially elite QBs who are fucked because of poor o-line play.  Newton, Luck and Wilson come to the forefront. Do those guys all of a sudden suck (although Luck is having a good year), or is their atrocious o-line holding them down? I think we know the answer there.

I wasn't really going into the specific reasons QB play is down, just noting it's been materially worse than last year. Because the reasons themselves are all over the board. Palmer and Rodgers are showing clear regression for whatever reason. Big Ben, Romo and Wilson got injured. Big Ben and Romo have two of the best lines in the game. You can blame Wilson's O-line for his injury though he's had a paper mache line as long as he's been there and he's been ridiculously successful. The difference is after years of taking too many hits, he finally took one he couldn't just shake off (like Luck last year). With Newton it's hard to say - I'm guessing his O-line is part of it (though his sack % is roughly in line with this career average). Some could be regression to the mean or just getting fat and happy after a 15-1 Superbowl run. Not sure we can point to any one thing. 

For all these reasons and more, from a quality offensive football standpoint, this hasn't been the best year. The only guys playing demonstrably better are Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford, and I fell asleep twice writing that sentence. There's certain guys that are just fun to watch play the position well and overcome all the things that, lesser game manager QBs get hung up on. I'm talking Wilson, Big Ben, Palmer and Rodgers especially. And this season as a whole, but this last week especially, has felt like more of a slog as a result. 

Fortunately I'm sure Siemian vs. Osweiler tonight will flip that script. 

[Joe Pesci]

5 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I think making a flex for SNF (and maybe even MNF) would go a long way. Make the announcement come out by midnight on the preceding Sunday, and then get the best game in primetime. And for fuck's sake let us watch more games in the afternoon. By the time 1:30/2:00 rolls around I'm barely even paying attention these days.

Yeah having options of what games to watch without having to pay for the ticket or game pass is something the decline in ratings may bring about someday soon I'd hope. I'd also be thrilled if they would bring back the Saturday games once the college regular season is done. Used to love those.

[Kalbear]

Hey look, it turns out that having an OLine not completely suck is worth something

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

9 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Hey look, it turns out that having an OLine not completely suck is worth something

Worth kissing your sister, apparently.

[Jace, Extat]

20 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Huh. Tonight we found out it was Hauschka and the Arizona kicker who were killed by Negan.

Seriously, what does this mean?

[Kalbear]

Just now, Pony Queen Jace said:

Seriously, what does this mean?

It's a walking dead reference.

[Jaime L]

Brock Osweiler is 4/11 for 20 yards and up 6-0. He is really sticking it to Elway. 

[Jace, Extat]

2 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

It's a walking dead reference.

Oh. Sorry.

1 minute ago, Jaime L said:

Brock Osweiler is 4/11 for 20 yards and up 6-0. He is really sticking it to Elway. 

I want to see the unskewed numbers.

[Jaime L]

2 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Oh. Sorry.

I want to see the unskewed numbers.

Applying QBR's proprietary formula and factoring in opponent adjustments he's playing at a 2007 Brady level. 

[Jace, Extat]

I only need 200 more yards and 3 more TD's out of Anderson to have a shot in Experts.

[SkynJay]

Good to see the Broncos Offense can do something if they are not holding every other play.

[Jaime L]

Oh, Brockstar....

[Jace, Extat]

3 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

Oh, Brockstar....

Eh, he can use some of that 37 million guaranteed to get a some new hands to replace those Brockster claws.

Also, Bill O'Brain and his Texans are just as putrid as the rest of the South, fuck anyone who says otherwise. They're not even as good as the 13 and 14 Colts, who sucked outside of the division but at least rose to basic competitiveness.

[SkynJay]

I am a huge homer so I love it but I really don't see how that isn't an incomplete pass.  If someone had touched him they would have certainly called it forward motion.

[Jace, Extat]

DUDE! DRAG YOUR DAMN TOE!!! PRESS THE 'A' BUTTON!!!

[Jaime L]

If you took some random 6'7" guy from the street and had him play QB, it would look like Brock Osweiler, right? 

7 minutes ago, SkynJay said:

I am a huge homer so I love it but I really don't see how that isn't an incomplete pass.  If someone had touched him they would have certainly called it forward motion.

I think it was a fair call. The ball was coming out of his hand before his arm came before. No defender required.