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NFL 2013 Preseason: When it almost counts


DanteGabriel

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I'm so unexcited about this upcoming Jets season, the Red Sox damn well better make the playoffs so that I'll have another sport to keep watching until the NBA starts back up.

The only plus is that I may get to watch some other teams more than I usually do since I doubt I'll make the effort to go to the sports bar (only place I can see the games since I don't have NFL Sunday ticket or the like) every week; its too expensive to just be disappointed time and again.

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I'm so unexcited about this upcoming Jets season, the Red Sox damn well better make the playoffs so that I'll have another sport to keep watching until the NBA starts back up.

The only plus is that I may get to watch some other teams more than I usually do since I doubt I'll make the effort to go to the sports bar (only place I can see the games since I don't have NFL Sunday ticket or the like) every week; its too expensive to just be disappointed time and again.

You can join me in being a Bengals fan for the year! We need another one around here.

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I feel quite strongly against suspension for use of Marijuana. Who the fuck is the NFL to say you can't smoke dope, especially in fucking Colorado!?! At the very most I think it should be at the Clubs' discretion. (Yes, I know that employers can make a determination on punitive action for drug usage, I'm saying that in this case it's wrong)

Also, Awesome Possum; the Cardinals are a defense, Larry Fitz, and Carson Palmer. The Vikings are Adrian Peterson. All the offensive guys they added this year are great... Christian Ponder is still the QB, and Joe Webb is still on the roster.

I'm so unexcited about this upcoming Jets season, the Red Sox damn well better make the playoffs so that I'll have another sport to keep watching until the NBA starts back up.

The only plus is that I may get to watch some other teams more than I usually do since I doubt I'll make the effort to go to the sports bar (only place I can see the games since I don't have NFL Sunday ticket or the like) every week; its too expensive to just be disappointed time and again.

Just take solace in the thought that your team is going to fire the best Head Coach they've had since Darth Hoodie.

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Just to show how ridiculous the idea of "player safety" has gotten in the NFL. Bears rookie Jon Bostic was fined $21k for this hit during the Chargers game. That appears to me to be the very definition of a huge legal hit. Meanwhile, the hit that knocked Dustin Keller out for the year (and maybe for his career) was deemed as perfectly OK.

You can join me in being a Bengals fan for the year! We need another one around here.

I'll be rooting for them after Week 1, unless they beat down on the Bears so badly that I must hate them for the rest of the year.

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You can join me in being a Bengals fan for the year! We need another one around here.

I am unfortunately precluded from ever rooting for the Bengals. When I was studying abroad in the UK, I met several Brits who had randomly become big fans of the NFL, and one of them had picked the Bengals as his team because his last name was Palmer and Carson Palmer (no relation) was the Bengals QB at the time. We developed a football rivalry that lasts to this day, and for me to slink over to his side and becoming a temporary Bengals fan would lead to untold shame.

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I'll be rooting for them after Week 1, unless they beat down on the Bears so badly that I must hate them for the rest of the year.

Have you been watching Hard Knocks to see if you can get some inside information on how the Bears might fair? Also, how is the OL working out so far? I see really great things about Kyle Long but haven't been paying attention to the rest.

I think the Week 1 game is going to be great. CBS is sending their top broadcasting crew so it should have a fairly wide audience.

I am unfortunately precluded from ever rooting for the Bengals. When I was studying abroad in the UK, I met several Brits who had randomly become big fans of the NFL, and one of them had picked the Bengals as his team because his last name was Palmer and Carson Palmer (no relation) was the Bengals QB at the time. We developed a football rivalry that lasts to this day, and for me to slink over to his side and becoming a temporary Bengals fan would lead to untold shame.

That's a shame. Guess you just need to watch the Red Zone and become a fan of everyone.

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Have you been watching Hard Knocks to see if you can get some inside information on how the Bears might fair? Also, how is the OL working out so far? I see really great things about Kyle Long but haven't been paying attention to the rest.

I think the Week 1 game is going to be great. CBS is sending their top broadcasting crew so it should have a fairly wide audience.

I haven't seen it yet, but I just got HBO so I'm going to catch up. Although from what I've read/seen it's going to be a huge test right out of the gates for the Bears as the Bengals are a pretty complete team. It should also be a good test for that Bengals offense as the Bears D looks like it hasn't lost a step from last year. Bostic has been really good so far and the D line has been getting consistent pressure without Peppers or Henry Melton in the lineup.

The OL is going to be better, but that's not saying a lot. I read on PFF that so far through the first two preseason games Kyle Long has the best grade among the entire rookie class. From what I saw in the Chargers game, he is going to be an absolute beast. Just manhandling people like it was nobody's business, though I'm sure Geno Atkins may have a thing or two to say about that. The RT spot is going to be a weakness as right now its between J'Marcus Webb and Jordan Mills, a fifth rounder. Mills looked good against the Chargers, but the Chargers are a shadow of what they used to be.

Either way, I agree, its going to be a really good game. I have it marked down as a loss for the Bears but I hope its close.

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I haven't seen it yet, but I just got HBO so I'm going to catch up. Although from what I've read/seen it's going to be a huge test right out of the gates for the Bears as the Bengals are a pretty complete team. It should also be a good test for that Bengals offense as the Bears D looks like it hasn't lost a step from last year. Bostic has been really good so far and the D line has been getting consistent pressure without Peppers or Henry Melton in the lineup.

The OL is going to be better, but that's not saying a lot. I read on PFF that so far through the first two preseason games Kyle Long has the best grade among the entire rookie class. From what I saw in the Chargers game, he is going to be an absolute beast. Just manhandling people like it was nobody's business, though I'm sure Geno Atkins may have a thing or two to say about that. The RT spot is going to be a weakness as right now its between J'Marcus Webb and Jordan Mills, a fifth rounder. Mills looked good against the Chargers, but the Chargers are a shadow of what they used to be.

Either way, I agree, its going to be a really good game. I have it marked down as a loss for the Bears but I hope its close.

I was going to ask about Bostic. He wasn't on my radar at all leading up to the draft and I felt like I had a fairly good pulse on the LBs given I thought the Bengals needed one but I completely missed on him. From all that I've read, he looks great out there, flying to the ball and making some serious hits. Any issues with him in coverage?

Bengals will definitely be a test for you because of our DL and your OL but we do have issues with QBs who can allude pressure (Romo, Ben), something that Cutler is pretty good at. And as you said, the Bears defense, the best in the league last year according to FO (I think), still looks to be super strong.

I cannot wait. Hard Knocks is just making it harder. Last night's episode was hilarious and the HK crew is spending more time on the players and less on football. But what i love about it is getting that inside look into why a player does or doesn't succeed. Take Taylor Mays for example. The kid has all of the natural talent in the world but comes across as an idiot who isn't truly working his ass off to be where he needs to be. Paul Guenther, our LB coach, called out everyone in a meeting to be just like James Harrison because Harrison starts working out at 6:15am. He's the first one there, last one to leave and he is focused. That is something Mays isn't and some of the other guys with ridiculous natural talent but not the head or work ethic to succeed. I love that look since it validates what we think we know but can never see at practice.

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I was going to ask about Bostic. He wasn't on my radar at all leading up to the draft and I felt like I had a fairly good pulse on the LBs given I thought the Bengals needed one but I completely missed on him. From all that I've read, he looks great out there, flying to the ball and making some serious hits. Any issues with him in coverage?

No more than usual for a rookie. He got a pick-6 in his first game, but was also burned once or twice in coverage. He's been so good though that there have been rumblings about the Bears possibly just cutting DJ Williams (who has been injured since the first weekend of training camp) to put Bostic in immediately.

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No more than usual for a rookie. He got a pick-6 in his first game, but was also burned once or twice in coverage. He's been so good though that there have been rumblings about the Bears possibly just cutting DJ Williams (who has been injured since the first weekend of training camp) to put Bostic in immediately.

Speaking of Bostic, he was fined $21k for his hit against the Chargers which is ridiculous since it was perfectly legit from what I remember seeing. This fining shit is out of control.

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Speaking of Bostic, he was fined $21k for his hit against the Chargers which is ridiculous since it was perfectly legit from what I remember seeing. This fining shit is out of control.

Yeah, there's also the fact that NFL.com is calling the hit "spectacular". Way to have your cake and eat it too NFL.

I really feel for the bind that defensive players are in (particularly linebackers and safeties who need to protect the middle of the field). Bostic isn't a millionaire or anything, his rookie salary is ~ 400k for the year. Obviously that isn't chump change, but the NFL needs to pay well for a reason - because it physically takes a huge toll on your body and very likely shortens your life. A fine of 21k is pretty significant when it's 5% of your annual salary. And for a hit that most football fans would describe as just a good hard tackle? That's rough.

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Yeah, there's also the fact that NFL.com is calling the hit "spectacular". Way to have your cake and eat it too NFL.

I really feel for the bind that defensive players are in (particularly linebackers and safeties who need to protect the middle of the field). Bostic isn't a millionaire or anything, his rookie salary is ~ 400k for the year. Obviously that isn't chump change, but the NFL needs to pay well for a reason - because it physically takes a huge toll on your body and very likely shortens your life. A fine of 21k is pretty significant when it's 5% of your annual salary. And for a hit that most football fans would describe as just a good hard tackle? That's rough.

Here's the other thing. Veterans and rookies get paid something like $900-1700 a week or thereabouts during training camp. He doesn't start making money until his game checks come in. He might not be able to cover that right now. I hope they give him some time; I don't know the process.

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I hope he appeals and wins. This hit - a textbook big hit - was fined but the hit that maybe ended Dustin Keller's career (a dive right into the knees) wasn't. Complete bullshit.

I don't think Swearinger's hit should be fined either. I think neither hit should be. If you're fining for both hits, defensive players have nowhere left to hit.

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I don't think Swearinger's hit should be fined either. I think neither hit should be. If you're fining for both hits, defensive players have nowhere left to hit.

It really too often feels like defensive players now get fined for doing their job. You can't hit high, you can't hit low, and based on the Bostic Hit, apparently you can't hit middle either. What the hell are these defensive players supposed to do?

Even where the NFL is right in trying to eliminate hits to the head, they're seemingly mindless about the way they enforce it. The league office is quite clear on record that if it's a blow to the end only because the offensive player ducks his head at the last moment, the defensive player is still going to be fined the same. What the fuck do they think this is, the Matrix? They can't stop time if the offensive player does something unexpected. NFL is completely averse to it, and it won't be perfect, but the only way you can be even remotely fair about it is to ascertain intent. If the defensive player is lined up for a good clean hit to the torso, it's bullshit to fine that. I don't know what else to say.

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I just noticed that ESPN has the current lines for preseason games! How much of a degenerate do you have to be to gamble on the preseason? And how can you possibly guess who's backups are going to do better?

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