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NFL 2017: And Now It Begins!

Mr. Chatywin et al.

By Mr. Chatywin et al.,
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Iskaral Pust Council Member

Iskaral Pust

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The Bears weren't as bad as feared today.  It'll still be a long, miserable season but Hicks and Cohen did really well on their debut and the Bears were pretty unlucky not to snatch a win against the reigning NFC champs on that final drive.  One fortunately (for Atlanta) disrupted pass and two bad drops in their first three attempts from close range were all that kept them from scoring a winning TD before Atlanta finally got to Glennon only on the fourth attempt.  But if the Bears are going to rely on the RBs this much then they need one deep threat WR like a Jordy Nelson to give them another option and keep some opposing defenders from plugging the running lanes. 

Seahawks unfortunately had the very same problems as last year: the O-line looks terrible both on pass protection and the run, and the offense can't convert enough in the RZ.  I couldn't tell if Lacey was having a poor game too or if it was all down to the linemen.  That receiving corp is still pretty thin, even if Baldwin is still bad-ass and Richardson made some decent grabs late on. Jimmy Graham continues to drop more balls than puberty.  On the plus side, Wilson is healthy and the defense looks good in the pass rush and secondary.  Perhaps it's just the reality of economics that having a top tier QB means you have to skimp somewhere in the squad.  They're basically betting all the chips on Wilson and the defense, and hoping that's enough.  It seems like the Packers have fewer shortcomings despite also paying for a top tier QB.  Packers' defense may have cost less but it was very effective against the cut-price Seattle O-line.  Seattle has the balance wrong in the squad unless that O-line magically improves. 

Although it might sound partisan, despite the terrible O-line Seahawks would've won today but for some very biased inept refereeing.  It's less outrageous when the blown calls are somewhat balanced.  Chalking off the pick-6, ejecting Lane and no PI for Graham in the EZ were the three biggest of the bad calls.  I'm sure referees hate the Seahawks but you can't call games that one-sided.  

The Rams have jumped out to an early lead in this division (*snigger*), but Seahawks should still take the division comfortably and hopefully improve the O-line in time for the playoffs  

I'm sure I've said it before but the NFL is a masterclass in how to manage demand.  The season is much shorter than the other pro sports, so there is less fan fatigue from over-saturation, and the season starts in September when we're all desperate after three months with nothing but fucking baseball to watch. 

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Jace, Extat Council Member

Jace, Extat

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21 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Showed some signs of life when Watson came in, but yeah, that offense looks really bad.

Their defense might be too good to get them in the top 3 draft pick club though.

 

18 minutes ago, briantw said:

Yeah, they were less embarrassing when Watson was at QB, but man every time they pressured him he fell the fuck apart. I can see why they wanted to keep him as the backup to start the year.  Savage was just too awful to keep it that way.

Remember, boys. Kaepernick isn't on a team for FOOTBALL REASONS.

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Jace, Extat Council Member

Jace, Extat

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8 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Yeah, he'd be an improvement over Hoyer, Tolzien/Brisset, or McCown, methinks. It's complete bullshit.  

I'll give the 49ers a pass of sorts, as a divorce there was years in coming. But nobody else.

Meanwhile, who the fuck is this Chris Ballard fuck in Indy? I knew it wasn't going to be Good, and I started damn near every Ram I could get my hands on in fantasy, but fuck me with an unlubed bat broken over the head of Bo Jackson if a SINGLE player on the team looked even passingly competent at his position.

Make no mistake, gentlemen, the Rams were in no way impressive in this game. The routes were uninspiring, and the run blocking was very milquetoast to say the least. It just so happens that the Colts couldn't cover basic passing patterns or maintain gap discipline against moderately interested rushing attempts.

This team is even worse than it was last year.

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sperry Council Member

sperry

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How much money is Alex Smith going to get next year on the market? Next year could be the most QB jobs open we've ever seen.

 

For sure open:

Niners

Browns

Jets

Broncos

Jags

Strong possibility of being open:

Redskins

Cardinals

Bengals

Outside chance:

Steelers (if Roethlisberger retires)

Ravens

 

 

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Mr. Chatywin et al. Council Member

Mr. Chatywin et al.

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9 hours ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I'll give the 49ers a pass of sorts, as a divorce there was years in coming. But nobody else.

Why are you giving them a pass? Per coach Chuck Pagano, they beat the breaks off of the Colts.

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Mexal Council Member

Mexal

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3 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

 

@Mexal, good god, how bad was Dalton? He scored @mcbigski -3 points in FF.

About as bad as you can imagine; he had 5 turnovers. He turned the ball over twice within the opposing 15 yard line, a third time on downs and threw 3 other interceptions. He also missed passes to open receivers that would have resulted in touchdowns (one had 5 steps or more on the CB and Dalton threw it out of bounds). Hell, if you want to sum up Dalton's play today then just reflect on the fact that Dalton threw the ball out the back of the end zone intentionally on a 4th down when down by 20 points.

That being said, the offensive line was as bad as Dalton and a huge contributing factor to Dalton's terrible day. They couldn't block anyone and will continue to not block anyone. Our best OL, the replacement for Zeitler, went down with a knee injury in the first quarter and it was a dumpster fire from the first snap. Our Center is the worst in the league, LT the worst in the league, RG not even replacement level and RT mediocre. And Dalton is one of the worst 3 QBs in the league when dealing with pressure because he has zero feel for manipulating a pocket or running through progressions while under pressure. 

So yea, expect it to get worse unless the Bengals figure out how to fix the OL which is unlikely to happen given they gave the keys to a bunch of young kids who suck.

3 hours ago, sperry said:

How much money is Alex Smith going to get next year on the market? Next year could be the most QB jobs open we've ever seen.

 

For sure open:

Niners

Browns

Jets

Broncos

Jags

Strong possibility of being open:

Redskins

Cardinals

Bengals

Outside chance:

Steelers (if Roethlisberger retires)

Ravens

 

 

Dalton will be the starting QB for the Bengals next season. 

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sperry Council Member

sperry

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37 minutes ago, Mexal said:

About as bad as you can imagine; he had 5 turnovers. He turned the ball over twice within the opposing 15 yard line, a third time on downs and threw 3 other interceptions. He also missed passes to open receivers that would have resulted in touchdowns (one had 5 steps or more on the CB and Dalton threw it out of bounds). Hell, if you want to sum up Dalton's play today then just reflect on the fact that Dalton threw the ball out the back of the end zone intentionally on a 4th down when down by 20 points.

That being said, the offensive line was as bad as Dalton and a huge contributing factor to Dalton's terrible day. They couldn't block anyone and will continue to not block anyone. Our best OL, the replacement for Zeitler, went down with a knee injury in the first quarter and it was a dumpster fire from the first snap. Our Center is the worst in the league, LT the worst in the league, RG not even replacement level and RT mediocre. And Dalton is one of the worst 3 QBs in the league when dealing with pressure because he has zero feel for manipulating a pocket or running through progressions while under pressure. 

So yea, expect it to get worse unless the Bengals figure out how to fix the OL which is unlikely to happen given they gave the keys to a bunch of young kids who suck.

Dalton will be the starting QB for the Bengals next season. 

 

Maybe. But they can get out of his contract for nothing after this year. I've always been of the opinion that he was a not particularly good quarterback surrounded by absurd talent. We'll see what happens, but when you factor in preseason as well they have just been brutal so far this year. How excited are you to roll with Dalton at that price when you've got a guy behind him who could probably provide a pretty reasonable facsimile at a fraction of the cost.

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Manhole Eunuchsbane Council Member

Manhole Eunuchsbane

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1 minute ago, James Arryn said:

So, the Niners winning, not so much? They'd actually win like 6 straight home openers, I think. Bad day for the rebuild, too. Foster with the dreaded 'high-ankle sprain' a few minutes in and Thomas might as well have sat out from what I'm reading. Sigh. 

Yeah, that was a hard game to watch. The only highlight really was a spectacular one-handed, leaping interception by Tartt. As much as I hate to say it I think I'm going to be living vicariously through the Raiders this season. That was an enjoyable game.

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Mexal Council Member

Mexal

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Just now, sperry said:

Maybe. But they can get out of his contract for nothing after this year. I've always been of the opinion that he was a not particularly good quarterback surrounded by absurd talent. We'll see what happens, but when you factor in preseason as well they have just been brutal so far this year. How excited are you to roll with Dalton at that price when you've got a guy behind him who could probably provide a pretty reasonable facsimile at a fraction of the cost.

I hear you. You're not wrong in that they can get out of the contract. I just know the Bengals and it's not something they would consider. That being said, McCarron isn't the answer (same issues as Dalton without any of the experience) so I'd rather keep Dalton than run with him, even if he does cost more. At this stage, the QB that has looked the most interesting has been Jeff Driskel but not likely he'll get a shot any time soon (that and he's now in IR).

Ultimately though, unless the Bengals draft a QB like Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Brady or Wilson (covers the spectrum of pocket movement), they won't have a chance with this OL. It's that bad.

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Fiddler Council Member

Fiddler

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I guess I must be in the minority, but I like the new Lions uniforms.  I especially liked them when they played away at the Bills with the blue pants

Yesterday's Lions game was interesting for me.  First pass by Stafford had the people who hated on the Lions for the contract shouting "See, he sucks!!!".  Then you see that his receiver was knocked down right as he let the ball go.  Next we see a bad snap/drop on a punt which eventually saw the punter run it out of the endzone to about the 8 - 10 yard line.  A play on which he tore every ligament in his knee.  Then there is a kickoff which the returner, inexplicably, lets the ball roll to him in the endzone and thinks "hey, I should try and return this now."  Which ends before the 10 yard line.

After all that, the Cardinals were up 10-0.  The Lions defense looked really good.  Held Johnson in check.  Pressured Palmer all day, even without sacking him much.   Tackled well when called upon.

Now after a good win, there are stills some questions:

Are the Cardinals any good?  Was yesterday a good defensive performance by the Lions or is Palmer done.

Will the Lions be able to run the ball this season?  Their line didn't run block very well at all yesterday and they will need to do a better job going forward.

Will special teams be better?  Huge gaffes on special teams caused major problems, need to clean that up.

Anyway, after yesterday I am sticking by my 7 to 9 win prediction for this team, but they looked good.

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