NFL 2016 Week 9: Once You Go Dak, You Never Go Back

[Ramsay B.]

20 minutes ago, Joe Pesci said:

Put money on the Browns next week.

Let's not get crazy now.

[Guest]

Mariota has started to look really good as the year has gone on.  Wheels sure are coming off in Green Bay.  Could McCarthy be in any trouble?

[Joe Pesci]

42 minutes ago, Ramsay B. said:

Let's not get crazy now.

When the Steelers have a season like they are having now, all bets are off. Stranger things have happened.

[Reny of Storms End]

2 hours ago, Trebla said:

To be fair, so do I.  Dallas went YEARS with shaky kickers and always seemed to miss the big kick. This guy seems to always make 'em. 

WHAT. A .GAME. This was supposed to be the game where the Cowboys rookies fell back to Earth. Instead, they were both CLUTCH. Dallas committed a bunch of penalties and their defense got torched by Ben Roethlisberger but they somehow overcame it. 

It was one hell of an exciting game at the end there, whoever has the ball last wins basically. Although at times during the rest of the game there seemed to be flurries of fouls called on both teams that took away some of the excitement. 

I was at the game today, and something that really surprised me was the number of Cowboy fans in the stadium. When things went well for Dallas you could tell. It wasn't as loud as the Pitt fans, not nearly, but still pretty loud for an opposing team at Heinz Field. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, tickets in the 500 sections were going for $350-$400 a ticket. For a ticket in one of the 100 sections it was up to $600-$700, again per ticket. 

[IamMe90]

Wow, Seattle is playing very nicely tonight. Fun game to watch!

[Altherion]

Wow, Patriots vs. Seahawks delivers. Carroll is one of the few coaches who can go toe-to-toe with Darth Hoodie.

[DanteGabriel]

Ugh. As much as I hate the result, that was probably an okay no-call on that 4th down throw to Gronk (though I've certainly seen DPI called in that kind of tussling before). Gronk seemed to be concentrating more on getting the flag than catching the ball. Seemed like kind of an off game for him.

Great game. Tough loss. Wish the Pats had gotten that missed fumble call earlier. But hard to overcome Edelman's fumble and that dumb pick by Brady.

[Maithanet]

I understand that lots of teams struggle scoring touchdowns in the red zone, and often terrible red zone stats are the product of small sample size.  But I have never seen a team with an offense this good in the first 75 yards of the field be this bad in the red zone as the 2016 Redskins.  It's kind of amazing to be honest.  For example, the Redskins lead the league in fewest 3 and outs (only 9% of drives!)  They're 4th in total offense, and they're tied for 2nd in fewest sacks given up.  You would think that they would clearly be one of best offenses in the league. 

But when we get into field goal range, suddenly it all goes to shit.  The Redskins are DEAD LAST in red zone efficiency, scoring a touchdown just 38% of the time.  League average is about 55%, and the Titans(?!) are up at 76%.  In the second half of the Vikings game, the Redskins had 4 possessions, and scored a field goal on all of them.  That is a hard, hard way to try and win a game. 

[Jaime L]

40 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

I understand that lots of teams struggle scoring touchdowns in the red zone, and often terrible red zone stats are the product of small sample size.  But I have never seen a team with an offense this good in the first 75 yards of the field be this bad in the red zone as the 2016 Redskins.  It's kind of amazing to be honest.  For example, the Redskins lead the league in fewest 3 and outs (only 9% of drives!)  They're 4th in total offense, and they're tied for 2nd in fewest sacks given up.  You would think that they would clearly be one of best offenses in the league. 

But when we get into field goal range, suddenly it all goes to shit.  The Redskins are DEAD LAST in red zone efficiency, scoring a touchdown just 38% of the time.  League average is about 55%, and the Titans(?!) are up at 76%.  In the second half of the Vikings game, the Redskins had 4 possessions, and scored a field goal on all of them.  That is a hard, hard way to try and win a game. 

I get that small receivers and smallish RBs who don't move the pile hurt here, but I think the real issue is the Skins are just neurotic about it. They're in their own heads No reason a team with two dominant TEs should struggle this much. 

I've long had a fetish for mobile QBs and fear of injuries have kept them from being the destructive force I assumed they'd be after 2012. But the one area they're still really valuable is in the red zone. Offenses are at a disadvantage in the tight space of the red zone unless the defense has to account for the QB - then the numbers game changes. And sure enough the team's punching above their weight in red zone efficiency (i.e.: Tennessee, Carolina, Buffalo..hell even SF is decent in that end now) are generally the ones making good use of their mobile QB. Heck even the comically slow Kirk Cousins has had some success with the surprise QB draw. Dude ran for 5 TDs last year. 

Anyway it's a long way of saying I think this offense is way more polished and sustainable than 2012, but I do miss what RGIII could in the RZ. Hope they figure it out because the schedule only gets tougher. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

The Vikings just aren't fun to watch, and the Skins aren't much better. I wonder how many passes went for 5 yards or less.

[Maithanet]

13 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

The Vikings just aren't fun to watch, and the Skins aren't much better. I wonder how many passes went for 5 yards or less.

I think we've been really good to watch this year.  Save the nationally televised opener vs Pitt, every single one of our games has been very close.  Lots of intermediate passes is a lot more exciting than 3 yards and a cloud of dust. 

18 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

I get that small receivers and smallish RBs who don't move the pile hurt here, but I think the real issue is the Skins are just neurotic about it. They're in their own heads No reason a team with two dominant TEs should struggle this much. 

I've long had a fetish for mobile QBs and fear of injuries have kept them from being the destructive force I assumed they'd be after 2012. But the one area they're still really valuable is in the red zone. Offenses are at a disadvantage in the tight space of the red zone unless the defense has to account for the QB - then the numbers game changes. And sure enough the team's punching above their weight in red zone efficiency (i.e.: Tennessee, Carolina, Buffalo..hell even SF is decent in that end now) are generally the ones making good use of their mobile QB. Heck even the comically slow Kirk Cousins has had some success with the surprise QB draw. Dude ran for 5 TDs last year. 

Anyway it's a long way of saying I think this offense is way more polished and sustainable than 2012, but I do miss what RGIII could in the RZ. Hope they figure it out because the schedule only gets tougher. 

It is hard to understand why we would be so bad in the red zone.  Yes, DJax is a terrible red zone receiver, but that's about it.  We have a capable O line and two effective receiving tight ends.  Matt Jones and Rob Kelley are not small backs (235 and 230 lbs respectively).  Cousin's strength is supposed to be accuracy on short/intermediate passes and pre-snap reads, both essential skills in the red zone.  Although I suppose Cousins absolutely atrocious ball fakes aren't helping anything. 

[Jaime L]

3 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

The Vikings just aren't fun to watch, and the Skins aren't much better. I wonder how many passes went for 5 yards or less.

That was peak Bradford. Ended with a solid line but spent very little of the game actually trying to threaten the defense even though the protection was decent until the end.

And Joe Barry tried to help by diligently putting our 3rd best CB on Diggs for 90% of the game even though he showed zero ability to be able to stay with him. Vikings only have one very good receiving option - this isn't rocket science. I mean when we signed Josh Norman to a $75m contract, did Joe Barry salivate about how badly he'd be able to shutdown Adam Thielen in that moment? I swear we have the Forrest Gump of coordinators. 

11 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

Matt Jones and Rob Kelley are not small backs (235 and 230 lbs respectively).  

I know his nickname is Fat Rob but he really looks small out there. I may be discounting him a bit - he's strong for sure but I don't feel like he's like a Latavius Murray/LeGarrette Blount type who just bulldozes piles. And Matt Jones has never run with as much power as his size. 

But how about Ty Nsehke? Didn't seem to miss Trent Williams at all which is shocking. I'm convinced Bill Callahan is God at this point. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

21 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

I think we've been really good to watch this year.  Save the nationally televised opener vs Pitt, every single one of our games has been very close.  Lots of intermediate passes is a lot more exciting than 3 yards and a cloud of dust. 

Eh, close doesn't always mean good. 

[Maithanet]

5 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

And Joe Barry tried to help by diligently putting our 3rd best CB on Diggs for 90% of the game even though he showed zero ability to be able to stay with him. Vikings only have one very good receiving option - this isn't rocket science. I mean when we signed Josh Norman to a $75m contract, did Joe Barry salivate about how badly he'd be able to shutdown Adam Thielen in that moment? I swear we have the Forrest Gump of coordinators. 

I know his nickname is Fat Rob but he really looks small out there. I may be discounting him a bit - he's strong for sure but I don't feel like he's like a Latavius Murray/LeGarrette Blount type who just bulldozes piles. And Matt Jones has never run with as much power as his size. 

But how about Ty Nsehke? Didn't seem to miss Trent Williams at all which is shocking. I'm convinced Bill Callahan is God at this point. 

Not changing the coverage on Diggs was absolutely inexcusable.  Either put Norman on him or straight double him.  It's not like any of the other WRs were doing anything.  Diggs had 164 yards, Kyle Rudolph added 69 more, and the entire rest of the Vikings offense contributed just 98 yards. 

Nsekhe was awesome.  Shame he isn't four years younger or he would be looking at a huge payday.  Even still he'll get some real money, there just aren't enough good OTs in the league.  He's 31 and will be an RFA this offseason, I doubt we'll be able to afford to keep him. 

[dbunting]

16 hours ago, Trebla said:

To be fair, so do I.  Dallas went YEARS with shaky kickers and always seemed to miss the big kick. This guy seems to always make 'em. 

WHAT. A .GAME. This was supposed to be the game where the Cowboys rookies fell back to Earth. Instead, they were both CLUTCH. Dallas committed a bunch of penalties and their defense got torched by Ben Roethlisberger but they somehow overcame it. 

Yeah I am a Cowboys fan and my friend is a Steelers fan so this game has been circled all year. We both expected to lose if that makes sense. Great back and forth battle. The one thing I found amusing was the commentators saying Pitt had done a great job of containing Elliot(before that last drive), "he is being held to just over 5 ypc"...really? Getting over 5 ypc is not being contained, that means he gets a first down every two touches, then as an after thought they would remember his 85 yard td reception. 

Have to wonder if Tomlin is ready to reconsider that whole 2 pt conversion thing?

[Trebla]

17 hours ago, Reny of Storms End said:

It was one hell of an exciting game at the end there, whoever has the ball last wins basically. Although at times during the rest of the game there seemed to be flurries of fouls called on both teams that took away some of the excitement.  

Ben Roethlisberger didn't lose at the end as much as he simply ran out of time. Had there been another 40 seconds or so left I'm pretty confident Pittsburgh would have scored again. 

3 hours ago, dbunting said:

Have to wonder if Tomlin is ready to reconsider that whole 2 pt conversion thing?

Yeah, you'd think. After they missed the first 2pt'er they spent the rest of the game chasing those missed points with more 2 pt attempts. It's like throwing more money at bad money. 

In other news, Alshon Jeffrey has been suspended 4 games for violating PED rules. 

 

[Ice Queen]

11 minutes ago, Trebla said:

Ben Roethlisberger didn't lose at the end as much as he simply ran out of time. Had there been another 40 seconds or so left I'm pretty confident Pittsburgh would have scored again. 

Yeah, you'd think. After they missed the first 2pt'er they spent the rest of the game chasing those missed points with more 2 pt attempts. It's like throwing more money at bad money. 

In other news, Alshon Jeffrey has been suspended 4 games for violating PED rules. 

 

Time for Tomlin and Haley to go. The team is unprepared and unmotivated, and the play calling sucks. 

[Jaime L]

It was the best Sunday of the NFL season. Cowboys-Steelers might have been game of the year so far. Broncos-Saints and Patriots-Seahawks were both really compelling. And several other solid, close games between good teams. 

Also it needs to be said - Dak Prescott is really good. I know he's got all kinds of advantages like a dominant O-line and a fantastic RB but still for a 4th round rookie to be completing 66.8% of his passes and putting up a 14/2 TD/INT ratio is nuts. He's only had 2 games with a passer rating below 100. He's been clutch in the 4th quarter. He makes Zeke better with his ability to run. I mean WTF. When's he gonna look like a rookie? 

Browns had 8 chances to draft him and decided not to. Jets chose Christian Hackenberg. Texans chose to pay Brock Osweiler eleventy billion dollars. And instead a team who already had a great QB got him. Makes me a little bitter, gotta say.  

[Kalbear]

No one kvetching about how the Seahawks punctured Gronk's lung? 

With a shiv?

Sorry, the last part may have been made up, got it from Breitbart

[Nictarion]

The Bengals Oline is absolutely atrocious. It's as bad as any I've seen in a recent memory. I do not understand how Paul Alexander keeps his job. 

It must be fun to be a Cowboys or Raiders fan right now. Those Olines are fantastic. That's how you build a winning team. Guess it's time to start thinking about the draft. Which is pathetic considering how bad the AFC North is this season.