NFL Thread IV: The Hype Machine Continues

[Jaime L]

This season sucks so far - at least for me, I have heard people joke that they would pay not to see a game, christ, I have season tickets I can't even give a way...

but it looks the Browns are coming to thier senses and have found a an antidote for this enchantment spell Mangini has cast over the organization....

Zanni, I feel your pain. Literally. I'm a Skins fan, and like your Browns this season has been a Hindenburgesque disaster. While the Browns get killed most weeks, the Skins have some of the worst losses any team has ever had.

Agree completely Mangini is just awful. Zorn's your run of the mill bad coach, but Mangini is poison. Was amazing how quickly he teared down any reason for hope based on 2007. I still don't understand how Lerner hired him after the Romeo disaster. Infact he did the exact same thing he tried before: he hired a former Patriot coach (Crennel, Mangini) and paired him with a former Raven exec. (Savage, Kokinis). It's the definition of insanity.

The stat that blew my mind is the Saints defense has scored more TDs than the Browns offense. Words can't describe how insane that is.

But the positive is that I think Lerner wants to go about things the right way. Unlike, say, Snyder. Makes me think eventually he'll get it right.

Jaime/Maithanet: What would you guys do if you were the GM to get this team in a better position to win over the next 3 years?

Agree with a lot of what Maith said. Especially in terms of needs. If we used our first couple picks on O-Lineman, I'd be happy. Infact, it should be an almost entirely offensive draft because we need help everywhere.

Our entire offense is varying degrees of awful ranging from below average (RBs) to atrocious (O-line). The only position we're okay at is TE. Seriously. Need to overhaul the entire goddamn thing. They poisoned the current QB situation. I'm not sure Campbell would've ever made it...but he never had a chance with this organization. The patches they made to WR haven't worked at all. Kelly and Thomas are both firmly on the bust-track and Fred Davis should've never been drafted, but we knew that at the time. They haven't drafted a starting quality O-lineman since Dockery in '03, and he's the only one who seems likely to still be here in 3 years. Chris Samuels, the cornerstone of the offense for a decade, looks to be done. So does Randy Thomas, the team's best guard and run blocker. Don't see either coming back. Rabach is servicable, but probably won't be by as soon as next year. Heyer and Reinhart, our "promising young guys" don't look to be NFL quality. Furthermore, the team's "star"...Portis is now no better than average. Too many years of being a workhorse, plus he's nearing the age where all RBs turn into pumpkins (for prior examples see Jamal Lewis, LT, Shaun Alexander etc.) If he's our starting RB next year, that former strength will also become a weakness. Barring a brilliant offseason, this team is now clearly on the Rams/Browns/Raiders trajectory where the offense can't do anything.

Really we need to overhaul the O-line first of all, spending as many picks as necessary. After that, I'd also go for an explosive young running back or wide receiver. I'm not above going back to the well at this point if the right guy is there. This offense has exactly one playmaker: Santana Moss...and he's neither elite nor young. We need a superior talent, a Chris Johnson/Percy Harvin/DeSean Jackson type to add some explosiveness to the offense. Whether they draft a QB this year or next, I don't have a strong opinion on. Really depends on the guy and the intangibles he brings. All I know is whatever happens, we don't start a rookie passer next year. He'll turn into the next David Carr behind that line. A veteran's fine for the short-term, though honestly I don't see any promising ones of the Brees/Schaub variety out there.

The defense is fine. The mix of young and veteran talent should keep it above average for years and could be great if things click.

...

Really it all comes back to the core issue: Does the team have a front office in place able to implement the needed changes? As long as Snyder is making the decisions through his proxy, Cerrato things will never be built properly. If we had Shanahan or Gruden this year, we'd look better and would probably be 4-3 instead of 2-5, but it would be just hide the shoddy foundation underneath. Not to say, I wouldn't want Gruden or Shanahan...either would go a long way to re-establishing a respectable face for the organization. The number of respected coaches out there jobless right now is astounding, and in terms of re-establishing stability I'd be fine with most of 'em (Shanahnan, Gruden, Cowher, Dungy), all except for Holmgrem whom I've never thought was that good of a coach. These are guys who inspire confidence. But for example, Shanahan, bless him, would want full control to come here, something Snyder would seemingly never do. Remember, he gave that to Schottenheimer and fired him after a year because he no longer could play with his toy. Gruden doesn't seem to require that which is why the rumors of him to the Skins are stronger and maybe he's got the respect (like Gibbs had) to be able to stand up to Snyder and make the football decisions for the team, but who knows if he's any good at that? Still would take that over Snyder and Cerrato.

But what we really need is a strong front office exec. A true GM who has final say over all personnel matters. My dream would be to see Snyder throw a ton of money at Polian or Newsome or AJ Smith or Joe Banner even. Heck, I wouldn't mind bringing back a retired GM: Wolf or Accorsi. A guy who can rebuild the organization from the ground up. A guy with a plan...a plan that he sticks to. Let him hire the coach, and let him work with the coach on the staff, organizational philosophy and the draft strategy. Instead of throwing on another coat of paint, rebuild the structure from the core. The only thing I've read in the last couple months that have given me any hope at all was a line in PFT about Snyder saying that, in effect, Cerrato is on the same hot seat Zorn is on. Whether he's just saying that because he has to, or whether it's actually true remains to be seen. But I hold out an inkling of hope that this is Snyder beginning to recognize he needs to make a change in how he runs this organization. Only time will tell. I'm an eternal optimist so I really do believe every passing moment is another chance to turn it all around. Here's hoping.

[DanteGabriel]

John Riggins on Inside the NFL this week:

"I do have an axe to grind... This is a bad guy that owns this team." He criticizes Snyder's business practices and says his ego is fucking the way the franchise is run. "A man who has the mindset of a child but owns an NFL team." He even said, in a spooky whisper, "This person's heart is dark."

:stunned:

Seriously, if you have Showtime or access to this show, I recommend you check out the Riggins interview about 20 minutes in.

[Gold Storm]

I hope the Browns do not get a QB in the first round of this draft. They have so many needs on both sides of the ball, that a new QB would just get killed. I think they should go defense and go after a top safety like Eric Berry from Tennessee.

[Kalbear]

Depends on the QB. Getting a good QB is someting that every team without one should strive for regardless of whatever other needs they have. If worse comes to worse they can simply not start them and hire a meh QB for a while.

[Jaime L]

John Riggins on Inside the NFL this week:

"I do have an axe to grind... This is a bad guy that owns this team." He criticizes Snyder's business practices and says his ego is fucking the way the franchise is run. "A man who has the mindset of a child but owns an NFL team." He even said, in a spooky whisper, "This person's heart is dark."

Yikes. Looks like Ol' Riggo crossed that bridge, lit a match and flicked it behind him.

While Riggo's not alone among Redskin alums who hate Snyder, his situation is interesting cause for awhile he hosted a radio show on Snyder's own radio station. When Snyder bought the rival, better sports radio station, there was no more room for Riggins' show. Think there's personal some bitterness there...y'know, in addition to what's probably totally valid criticism.

[Quijote Light]

Forty-one called passing plays versus seven called runs. I hate Ron Turner.

[Mexal]

Bengals are pissing me off. They dominated the first three quarters and are now doing everything they can to give the game to Baltimore. This is nerve wracking.

Not to mention we lost Henry for the year, Rivers for the game and now we've lost Geathers. This game is thinning us out.

[Mexal]

Bengals are pissing me off. They dominated the first three quarters and are now doing everything they can to give the game to Baltimore. This is nerve wracking.

Not to mention we lost Henry for the year, Rivers for the game and now we've lost Geathers. This game is thinning us out.

Nevermind. We won, again. Baltimore had 180 total yards. That's just some good defense. We basically have a 3 game lead on Baltimore in the division now.

Hopefully Rivers is ok for next week. Losing Henry hurts. Geathers came back in so he should be ok. And once again, Benson runs for over 100 yards on Baltimore. I really hope that shuts up Lewis now.

But yea, as much of a dominating performance as you can do. Time of possession was 40:00 to 19:54. Total yards was 369 to 215 (though 35 yards was at the end of the game when there was 14 seconds left and the Bengals were playing very very deep). Next week against the Steelers will be interesting.

[Jaime L]

Nevermind. We won, again. Baltimore had 180 total yards. That's just some good defense. We basically have a 3 game lead on Baltimore in the division now.

I'm pretty surrprised by it by it. This one to me had classic "revenge game" written all over it. Especially after what the Ravens did to the Broncos, a similarly structured team (strong fundamental defense, ball control offense), I was expecting them to do the same to the Bengals. Big, big win for the Bengals in their playoff push.

The other thing that caught my eye was the Packers losing to the Bucs. It was closed out with an interception returned for a TD. Between that and the Bears getting steamrolled, think we definitely jumped the gun on the "rise of the NFC North" storyline. Neither team will make the leap until they get their O-line right.

[BLU-RAY]

I'm pretty surrprised by it by it. This one to me had classic "revenge game" written all over it. Especially after what the Ravens did to the Broncos, a similarly structured team (strong fundamental defense, ball control offense), I was expecting them to do the same to the Bengals. Big, big win for the Bengals in their playoff push.

The other thing that caught my eye was the Packers losing to the Bucs. It was closed out with an interception returned for a TD. Between that and the Bears getting steamrolled, think we definitely jumped the gun on the "rise of the NFC North" storyline. Neither team will make the leap until they get their O-line right.

Agreed. I feel pretty dumb about this in particular, I had the Bears and Pack as two of the best teams in the NFC coming into the season.

[Trebla]

Holy frak G-MEN! I turned channels when Giants were up 17-14 and 1st and goal in the Chargers 4 with less than 4 minutes to go! Next thing I know it's 21-20 Chargers. Giants now 0 for 4 since going 5-0.

So how much will Chad Johnson get fined for slipping a dollar to a ref??

Will Tommie Harris get suspended for punching a defenseless player who was face down on the field? Or was an ejection enough?

Will my beloved Cowboys be able to take advantage of the Eagles starting a 3rd MLB and Brian Dawkins no longer being in the middle field?

[Commodore]

my Texans just can't seem to get that signature win, they certainly had their chances

[Mexal]

So how much will Chad Johnson get fined for slipping a dollar to a ref??

He never actually gave it to him. He gave it to his coach.

[Maithanet]

He never actually gave it to him. He gave it to his coach.

I found this to be perhaps the most boneheaded stunt I've seen from him. Bribery isn't funny, and he had to be pretty obvious that he didn't give him the money or else he would have been fined (perhaps ejected for touching a ref).

I gotta say there were a few surprises this week, what with the Giants unable to win at home against the lukewarm Chargers, and the Bengals defense looking as good as it did. But the Packers! What the hell happened? I understand that they aren't on the same level as the Vikes, but the Bucs really looked like a team ready to go winless.

Oh, and for the second time this season, Warner builds a big lead, Lienert goes in and throws picks, Warner comes off the bench to close out the victory. Oh how the mighty draft class of '06 has fallen.

[Mexal]

I found this to be perhaps the most boneheaded stunt I've seen from him. Bribery isn't funny, and he had to be pretty obvious that he didn't give him the money or else he would have been fined (perhaps ejected for touching a ref).

I gotta say there were a few surprises this week, what with the Giants unable to win at home against the lukewarm Chargers, and the Bengals defense looking as good as it did. But the Packers! What the hell happened? I understand that they aren't on the same level as the Vikes, but the Bucs really looked like a team ready to go winless.

Oh, and for the second time this season, Warner builds a big lead, Lienert goes in and throws picks, Warner comes off the bench to close out the victory. Oh how the mighty draft class of '06 has fallen.

He didn't touch the ref and the money was just held out. It was a dollar bill and given back to his coach. It was all caught on the replays. He was just having fun. I don't think the league will fine him as the cameras caught it all. To be honest, I didn't find it that funny either but I'm not at all surprised. Chad is just being Chad. Now if only he could hold onto the stupid football.

The Bucs played hard for their rookie QB and played well off of their bye. I'm surprised that the Packers are so inconsistent. I think it's due to a horrible offensive line. Rodgers has played well despite the offensive line but really, they've given up 36 sacks and 50+ QB hits in 8 games? That's just plain ridiculous.

[ZANNI_1276]

Some Week 9 observations….

CIN might in fact be for real...Defense just absolutely swarmed Flacco and give him no room to operate the entire game and Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall are the two best CB tandems in the league, they really are the reason CIN is able to get after the QB the way they have this year, stellar performance by CIN secondary by hawking the ball and shutting down BAL passing game letting the front 7 just pin their ears back and go after Flacco. But I was really more surprised how CIN was able to punch the ravens in the mouth on the ground with Benson that kid has finally figured it out. CIN in mind is now the favorite in the North and now maybe the second best team in the AFC behind the untalked about, yet solid Colts - I would put CIN 2a and NE 2b right now in the AFC. All three teams have an offenses that can just flat out and score and have really balanced Defenses.

Colts should have lost that one but they seem to have lady luck on the shoulders right now, which happens when good teams are playing great but hats off to HOU - how many times do you think Brown would miss that FG out of 10 times? But he did...Peyton is the best non head coach in the AFC right now, I am not kidding or being a smart allek, I am saying he is the best OC in the league. Oh and by the way he is arguably the best QB in the league.

What is the deal with Bears? Is Ron Turner drinking buddies with Culter by calling passing 95% of the time? If and when they remember they have a really good back in Forte their offense will be for the better, at least they started to remember he can catch out of the backfield yesterday. But letting that kid just air it out constantly is going to do little for that ballclub other than pile up losses, I know the line is having some issues but they need to incorporate the ground game if they are going to be so pass happy just to balance it out. Tommie Harris should be suspended by the way, I am surprised about that, and I always thought he was classier than that - I hope it was maybe frustration or just the heat of the moment. Either way he should be sitting a few games out for that, uncalled for and no place for that type of crap.

Dallas looks like they can be taken off life support finally. Did Roy Williams have any balls overthrown to him or have to stretch (what an assehole). But if they can figure out and remember they have a running game and pretty decent defense they can get right back in the mix, especially in a division nobody really seems to want to win…Giants are, how do I say it. Playing so bad. 4 straight and yesterday was a must win and they just couldn’t do it. I think what is most alarming is the play of the defensive line, which was supposed to be the teams backbone has really not done its job. Also someone needs to tell Brandon Jacobs that after you sign a nice big contract you still have to play….

Saints - you guys think they are for real? I think bringing in Williams to run the Defense has done wonders and I know they are undefeated but there is still something that just nagging at me and don't get me wrong - they are playing well and probably the most exciting team to watch with Brees under center but I am not sure if I am buying into them being tops in the NFL. And now they have a decent running game too. Though it looks like they are the class of the NFC but does anyone think that the NFC is marginally weaker this year compared the AFC?

The dogs – Washington ran a clinic on how not to tackle for 60 minutes. Woeful.

Tampa notches a win in the retro unis, Fisher going to Vince Young looks to be working for now. The race is on for the number one pick with Tampa, DET, STL, CLE, OAK and KC and after watching some of the WAS game looks like they are going to be joining the derby too minus arguably their best player for a few weeks. By the end of the year much of that should be settled due to the inner division games between the chiefs and raiders and the fact CLE squares off with DET, OAK and KC before the end of the year leaving the other teams on their own to totally flounder and play as inept as possible with the hopes of becoming a top 5 selectors. How depressing.

In non playing news, and I am only bringing it up because it has a huge implications on the upcoming offseason for WAS, possibly CHI and DAL fans. The Browns have come to their senses and have opened discussions with Mike Holmgren to come to the organization in a “Bill Parcells type” of role as president of football operations. He is one of the bonifyed football minds out of work this year that any of those teams would consider for running their teams this next year. This would slim down the selection for any of those other teams to Cowher, Shanahan or Gruden (get to him in a minute) because the Browns are wanting to get this done BEFORE the end of the year and not in the offseason so they can beat everyone to the punch.

Basically the only way they won’t bring Holmgren on is because he will not want the job. But he doesn’t want to coach and he wants an opportunity where he is in absolute charge, which he would be without a doubt and he is reportedly very interested in the situation. He would then be able to put a veteran GM in place, Ron Wolf is one candidate that has been mentioned and has been directly contacted by the team but some reports saying Holmgren would potentially tap as GM and (they have mended the fences) with and if Holmgren or whomever would come in they would have the opportunity to evaluate Mangini (fine print: means show him the door). Then he and his team would put their own guy and system in and here is where that would maybe get interesting because two other names floated around in these discussions are Steve Mariucci and Jon Gruden, both Holmgren disciples that would jump at the chance of building an organization and having the opportunity to get back on the sidelines working for their former boss. The Gruden option I find intriguing but in mind I have a hard time believing he would be willing to cede power or work under Holmgren again but he is a local kid that maybe open to such an agreement and but Mucc maybe be the smarter fit ego wise, but it would be a coups getting Holmgren/qualified GM and either a MUCC or Gruden. Again all speculation but if they were to go the Gruden route WAS maybe Dallas and any other team would essentially be in a bidding war for the services of Shannahan and Cowher. Not sure if any of it will happen but it is Holmgren’s opportunity to turn down but one, as a fan I love the fact they are trying to fix it by brining in qualified minds and I have always really admired and respected Holmgren as a football guy, would love to see him on the North Coast building the team the right way and two, it looks like the Mangini nightmare is going to come to an end(cue the chior music!)…As a footnote Randy Lerner has gone on record to say that money will not factor into fixing this organization because it is the one resource he currently does have, translation: If I have to fire another coach and pay him and his staff I will on top of the new guys I will have to pay. Must be nice to have that kind of dough…

[awesome possum]

Will Tommie Harris get suspended for punching a defenseless player who was face down on the field? Or was an ejection enough?

I think the ejection will be it after officials take a look at the replay. What I saw during a replay, granted it was a long view of the play, was the offensive lineman on top of Harris, shoving his face into the ground. Harris then pushed himself up, got on top of the lineman and punched him in the facemask. He was goaded into the action, rather than acting like a classless thug. Still unacceptable and stupid on his part... just not as stupid as it first seemed at the time.

I hope we get a clean sweep of coaches after this season. Lovie can maybe stay, the players really do respect him, but Babich needs to be replaced by a defensive coordinator who can actually call plays and make a defense able to stop ... anything. Ron Turner needs to go. The offensive line and WR coaches need to be chased out of town with torches and pitchforks.

The offensive line is absolute crap and the wide receivers have a case of Bears wide receiver-syndrome. They simply run their routes and then give up. If Cutler is scrambling, they sort of just saunter back and forth, unsure of what to do because it has probably been drilled into their heads that they just run the route and that's it rather than trying to make a damned play.

Things are only going to get worse from here on out. No momentum, no attitude, no more confidence. What looked like a 9-7, 10-6 season at the beginning now looks like we'll be lucky to pull out 8-8.

[Mexal]

Some Week 9 observations….

CIN might in fact be for real...Defense just absolutely swarmed Flacco and give him no room to operate the entire game and Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall are the two best CB tandems in the league, they really are the reason CIN is able to get after the QB the way they have this year, stellar performance by CIN secondary by hawking the ball and shutting down BAL passing game letting the front 7 just pin their ears back and go after Flacco. But I was really more surprised how CIN was able to punch the ravens in the mouth on the ground with Benson that kid has finally figured it out. CIN in mind is now the favorite in the North and now maybe the second best team in the AFC behind the untalked about, yet solid Colts - I would put CIN 2a and NE 2b right now in the AFC. All three teams have an offenses that can just flat out and score and have really balanced Defenses.

JoJo and Hall played fantastic yesterday but the secondary hasn't been great all year. They've given up quite a bit of passing yards though a lot of that was due to not having a 3rd corner and their safeties being a liability in coverage. I think they've found the third corner in Morgan Trent and they've played a lot of 2 deep to give the safeties room to move. Trent was great yesterday which also freed up the safeties. The other thing was the front 4 getting pressure on Flacco without having to blitz an insane amount of times and without Odom. But yea, yesterday was Joseph's coming out party so to speak, at least since his rookie year where he was fantastic too (had two broken foots over the last two years which has held him back). He had 1 beautiful interception, 5 passed defenses, several tackles. It's scary how good Hall and Joseph can be as a tandem and that's exactly how they play. There is no shadowing on this team.

I think right now, the Bengals have a top 5 rushing D, something we never expected to hear.

I don't think the Bengals are quite at the level of NE/Indy yet but we're close. We need to beat Pittsburgh again this week though I think it'll be incredibly hard to do in Pitt.

Colts should have lost that one but they seem to have lady luck on the shoulders right now, which happens when good teams are playing great but hats off to HOU - how many times do you think Brown would miss that FG out of 10 times? But he did...Peyton is the best non head coach in the AFC right now, I am not kidding or being a smart allek, I am saying he is the best OC in the league. Oh and by the way he is arguably the best QB in the league.

He is the best QB, has been for years. That team is as good as Manning, always has been. I do think there will be issues with the defense now that they lost Sanders and Jackson for the year. It just hasn't happened yet. And there is no running game. If the Super Bowl goes through Indy like it looks like, they will be hard to beat. If it goes through anywhere else with weather, a ground game should keep Manning off the field. I think Cinci/Pittsburgh are built to beat the Colts in the cold.

Saints - you guys think they are for real? I think bringing in Williams to run the Defense has done wonders and I know they are undefeated but there is still something that just nagging at me and don't get me wrong - they are playing well and probably the most exciting team to watch with Brees under center but I am not sure if I am buying into them being tops in the NFL. And now they have a decent running game too. Though it looks like they are the class of the NFC but does anyone think that the NFC is marginally weaker this year compared the AFC?

They are for real. NFC is always weaker than the AFC but I think NO can play with any of the top teams in the AFC. They're offense is so good and their defense is very opportunistic.

In non playing news, and I am only bringing it up because it has a huge implications on the upcoming offseason for WAS, possibly CHI and DAL fans. The Browns have come to their senses and have opened discussions with Mike Holmgren to come to the organization in a “Bill Parcells type” of role as president of football operations. He is one of the bonifyed football minds out of work this year that any of those teams would consider for running their teams this next year. This would slim down the selection for any of those other teams to Cowher, Shanahan or Gruden (get to him in a minute) because the Browns are wanting to get this done BEFORE the end of the year and not in the offseason so they can beat everyone to the punch.

Basically the only way they won’t bring Holmgren on is because he will not want the job. But he doesn’t want to coach and he wants an opportunity where he is in absolute charge, which he would be without a doubt and he is reportedly very interested in the situation. He would then be able to put a veteran GM in place, Ron Wolf is one candidate that has been mentioned and has been directly contacted by the team but some reports saying Holmgren would potentially tap as GM and (they have mended the fences) with and if Holmgren or whomever would come in they would have the opportunity to evaluate Mangini (fine print: means show him the door). Then he and his team would put their own guy and system in and here is where that would maybe get interesting because two other names floated around in these discussions are Steve Mariucci and Jon Gruden, both Holmgren disciples that would jump at the chance of building an organization and having the opportunity to get back on the sidelines working for their former boss. The Gruden option I find intriguing but in mind I have a hard time believing he would be willing to cede power or work under Holmgren again but he is a local kid that maybe open to such an agreement and but Mucc maybe be the smarter fit ego wise, but it would be a coups getting Holmgren/qualified GM and either a MUCC or Gruden. Again all speculation but if they were to go the Gruden route WAS maybe Dallas and any other team would essentially be in a bidding war for the services of Shannahan and Cowher. Not sure if any of it will happen but it is Holmgren’s opportunity to turn down but one, as a fan I love the fact they are trying to fix it by brining in qualified minds and I have always really admired and respected Holmgren as a football guy, would love to see him on the North Coast building the team the right way and two, it looks like the Mangini nightmare is going to come to an end…As a footnote Randy Lerner has gone on record to say that money will not factor into fixing this organization because it is the one resource he currently does have, translation: If I have to fire another coach and pay him and his staff I will on top of the new guys I will have to pay. Must be nice to have that kind of dough…

If I were you, I'd want Holmgren and Gruden. I'm not a fan of Marriucci (even though he always picks the Bengals). He wasn't great in Detroit and while he was good in SF, never really thought it was his team.

[The Wedge]

What is the deal with Bears? Is Ron Turner drinking buddies with Culter by calling passing 95% of the time? If and when they remember they have a really good back in Forte their offense will be for the better, at least they started to remember he can catch out of the backfield yesterday. But letting that kid just air it out constantly is going to do little for that ballclub other than pile up losses, I know the line is having some issues but they need to incorporate the ground game if they are going to be so pass happy just to balance it out. Tommie Harris should be suspended by the way, I am surprised about that, and I always thought he was classier than that - I hope it was maybe frustration or just the heat of the moment. Either way he should be sitting a few games out for that, uncalled for and no place for that type of crap.

I'd like to go on the record thanking Mother Nature for delivering a picture perfect 65 degrees and sunny November Sunday so that I did not have to see one snap of the Bears / Cards debacle. Gotta get that sunshine while it exists, yo.

As far as the Bears go, the best they can do is pray that Cutler is not paralyzed / brain damaged this season (or next). Get realistic with expectations and build/grow the O line and let the younger guys in the defensive backfield get more experience. It's the NFL, so putting a few pieces together can make a huge difference. The Bears need to find those pieces. Maybe they'll find them in the fourth and fifth rounds of the draft....

[ZANNI_1276]

I think right now, the Bengals have a top 5 rushing D, something we never expected to hear.

I don't think the Bengals are quite at the level of NE/Indy yet but we're close. We need to beat Pittsburgh again this week though I think it'll be incredibly hard to do in Pitt.

Look - and this is coming from a guy that hates the Bengals... One, they have perhaps the most balanced offense in the NFL with Beson running the way he is, Palmer being fully rehabbed back to form as a premier QB and OchoCinco deciding he wants to play football they have become arguably the most balanced offense in the league, O line plays nasty and they have bigger physical recievers (though Henry is got hurt) Coles small only in stature, he is one tough dude and it looks like he has caught on to the offense finally. I am not saying they have the best or the highes octane offense but they are the most complete. And I think they can compete on the level of NE and are just a shade below the Colts - maybe that it is. The Defense, though the secondary gives up yards it is always to secondary options like you mentioned due to he safeties, but with the emergence of any sort of nickle back that can cover they will be effective. And the defense has shown they are not just a flash in the pan, they can stop the run and have shown this year that they can get after the QB. Looks like Marvin has finally put his stamp on the defense after all these years, people forget he used to be one of the premier defensive minds in the game before he was captaining the Botany Bay over there on the Ohio...

He is the best QB, has been for years. That team is as good as Manning, always has been. I do think there will be issues with the defense now that they lost Sanders and Jackson for the year. It just hasn't happened yet. And there is no running game. If the Super Bowl goes through Indy like it looks like, they will be hard to beat. If it goes through anywhere else with weather, a ground game should keep Manning off the field. I think Cinci/Pittsburgh are built to beat the Colts in the cold.

I agree he has been the best. Granted he isn't the sexy pick like Brady or Brees but he very well might go down as the best QB to play the position that I have ever seen, and I am taking the Montana's the Marino's and Elway's into consideration but relax guys, he is not there yet but he will make a case for himself before it is all said and done. Watching him work a defense over is really fun from a fan standpoint because he understands the game like few people I have ever seen and he just sees everything in slow motion the way he reads defenses.

The Colts will be tough in the Dome but we are only half way there this year, lets see how the last part of the season shakes out. But I do agree with you to a certain point if you drag those guys out in the cold and are able to keep Peyton off the field a team like PIT, NE and even to a certain degree CIN have a chance to beat the colts but even then they are going to be one tough out.