NFL 2013 Preseason: When it almost counts

[Jon Wolfwalker]

I just want to see how Geno does this weekend with the first team offense. It should be interesting.

[Rhom]

I'm interested to see what Kaepernick does and how much he'll play considering he's barely been on the field at all.

[awesome possum]

I used to have a positive opinion of Jim Schwartz but his team is a bunch of assholes. Two late hit penalties in the first quarter. The Lions are punks.

I don't see how anyone outside of Detroit could have a positive opinion of that douchecanoe. He coached a dirty squad in Nashville and moved the dirtiness up north with him. Hell, he's the guy who tried to pick a fight with another coach on the field because he slapped his back too hard during the after-game hug.

I personally can't wait for the Lions to shoot themselves in the foot again this year and get him fired.

[Rhom]

I don't see how anyone outside of Detroit could have a positive opinion of that douchecanoe. He coached a dirty squad in Nashville and moved the dirtiness up north with him. Hell, he's the guy who tried to pick a fight with another coach on the field because he slapped his back too hard during the after-game hug.

I personally can't wait for the Lions to shoot themselves in the foot again this year and get him fired.

The Harbaugh incident is all I can ever think of when I think of Schwartz. (Well, that... and "I see your schwartz is as big as mine!"

I loved Harbaugh's response when asked about it later: "I was just really revved up, and it was totally on me. I shook his hand too hard, and I really went in. It was a strong slap-grab handshake … A little too hard, the handshake."

:lol:

[childe roland]

I am surprised that quite a few of you think Rams are not any good. They went undefeated against their division opponent last year. They have a great D. The Offense has all the pieces now to compete with the bog boys. I think they have the potential to be the second best team in the division. Based on what I have seen of Bradford in the preseason (I know, laugh away :P ) he will be good this year, mark my words. He looked like the player I saw at college level. He has some weapons. Don't sleep on Chris Givens @ the WR position.

Late to this but I can break down things that are gonna make the Rams not great this year. Safety position is crazy thin right now. Alec Ogletree cannot handle pass coverage at all. Jo Lonn Dunbar missing for 4 important games. Have yet to see anything special outta Tayvon this preseason and finally a pretty damn good division. If you need a sleeper for fantasy tho I love Givens

[Jace, Extat]

Panic time!! Pre-season means everything!

No need to get snippy, just pointing out that Mr. Brady was in the game for a significant amount of time and accomplished very little. It pleases me. So let me have false hope for a little bit.

[Fez]

Yeah, I actually hope Schwartz gets canned quickly and replaced by a Trestman type coach. Stafford to Calvin is so fun to watch, but the culture of that team blows.

It's like they're so overjoyed not to be a pushover anymore that they are throwing themselves around like big dogs even though they're just middle of the pack. Act like you've been there before is a lesson they didn't learn.

Doesn't "Act like you've been there before" usually apply to teams that have had success in the past and therefore should be embarrassed to be so exuberant?

For Lions, they haven't really even been middle-of-the-pack before; even with Barry Sanders I'm pretty sure they only made the playoffs once. They've been consistently terrible since the '50s, and therefore haven't been before and so shouldn't need to act like they have.

Personally, I think they take things too far; but I'm a fan of any team that develops any sort of culture/personality beyond "cold, faceless, professionalism" that so many coaches demand. Its why I'll never turn on Rex Ryan, despite being such a blowhard, for instance.

The NFL is an inherently violent game, that's most of the appeal of it, so long as they aren't going for the head or other permanent injury on purpose, I'm fine with a dirty team.

[Maithanet]

No need to get snippy, just pointing out that Mr. Brady was in the game for a significant amount of time and accomplished very little. It pleases me. So let me have false hope for a little bit.

I do think that the preseason gives some indication that the perceived gap between the AFC and NFC is real. There are four quarterbacks in the AFC that have won a super bowl, and all of them have had at least one poor/humbling game against an NFC squad. Yes it's the preseason, but when the first team offense of the Patriots, Broncos, Ravens and Steelers are all getting manhandled, that doesn't bode well for the conference. I know the NFL is cyclical, and that the NFC (specifically the NFC East and SF) dominated in the 80s and 90s, only to have the AFC become the dominant conference in the late 90s and through the 2000s. But it looks like it has swung back in a pretty big way. Most of the AFC's best teams (and best quarterbacks) are all getting old, whereas the NFC has a long list of very good quarterbacks that are either just starting or in their prime.

[Maithanet]

For Lions, they haven't really even been middle-of-the-pack before; even with Barry Sanders I'm pretty sure they only made the playoffs once.

With Barry Sanders, the Lions made the playoffs in 1991 (where they lost the NFC Championship game to the Redskins), 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997. They also reached the playoffs in 1999 the year after he retired. Nonetheless, they have only WON a playoff game once in the entire Super Bowl era, which is simply terrible.

[Prince of the North]

It's like they're so overjoyed not to be a pushover anymore that they are throwing themselves around like big dogs even though they're just middle of the pack. Act like you've been there before is a lesson they didn't learn.

Yeah, I agree. I think it's not only "act like you've been there before" but, perhaps more importantly, "act like you'll be there again". I think, at least sometimes, it's a confidence thing.

[awesome possum]

The Lions could have been one of the biggest underdog stories in the NFL with tons of people rooting for them. They were headed in that direction in 2011 when they made the playoffs for the first time in forever. Hell, I even grudgingly rooted for them at first but then they were just such terrible sports that by the end of the season just about everyone who wasn't a Detroit fan loathed them. And that's all on Schwartz. He just exudes petty douchiness and as a result the team has followed suit.

[Jabronius Maximus]

I know there's no stock in the pre season, but the Pats O-line looked pretty bad yesterday. They are the Patriots, so they'll probably fix any nagging issues heading into the season. That said, it'd be pretty nice to see a pedestrian O line and some Brady sack-fests this year.

[Jaime L]

Relevant to our recent discussion on which division is best Redskins GM Bruce Allen just called the NFC East "the SEC of the NFL".

To me that just means our GM is terrible at making analogies. The NFC East was the SEC of the NFL but that ended in like the mid 90s. I'm down with the notion the NFC East may be the most competitive division top-to-bottom this year, but overwhelmingly the best? Heck no. Every team in this division needs to prove it can play defense this year. In that sense it's as un-SEC like as it can get.

[Fez]

With Barry Sanders, the Lions made the playoffs in 1991 (where they lost the NFC Championship game to the Redskins), 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997. They also reached the playoffs in 1999 the year after he retired. Nonetheless, they have only WON a playoff game once in the entire Super Bowl era, which is simply terrible.

Okay, thanks. That's what I was thinking of.

[Ramsay B.]

No need to get snippy, just pointing out that Mr. Brady was in the game for a significant amount of time and accomplished very little. It pleases me. So let me have false hope for a little bit.

I was just kidding. I hope Brady and company fail miserably, also. Kind of like reverse psychology. Maybe, just maybe they will finally suck or at least struggle some.

[Lord Flashheart]

I know there's no stock in the pre season, but the Pats O-line looked pretty bad yesterday. They are the Patriots, so they'll probably fix any nagging issues heading into the season. That said, it'd be pretty nice to see a pedestrian O line and some Brady sack-fests this year.

I was just kidding. I hope Brady and company fail miserably, also. Kind of like reverse psychology. Maybe, just maybe they will finally suck or at least struggle some.

I'm not a Patriots fan, but you guys are dreaming. No offense gets the ball out of the QB's hand faster than the Pats.

In other news, The NFL still runs ESPN. Not that ESPN had any journalistic integrity left.

[Maithanet]

Relevant to our recent discussion on which division is best Redskins GM Bruce Allen just called the NFC East "the SEC of the NFL".

To me that just means our GM is terrible at making analogies. The NFC East was the SEC of the NFL but that ended in like the mid 90s. I'm down with the notion the NFC East may be the most competitive division top-to-bottom this year, but overwhelmingly the best? Heck no. Every team in this division needs to prove it can play defense this year. In that sense it's as un-SEC like as it can get.

Yeah, I think the case could even be made that the NFC East is the weakest division in the NFC. The West has four teams that all play legit defense, and offensively the worst of them has Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald. The South has the resurgent saints, the up and coming Panthers and the possibly Super Bowl ready Falcons (also tampa bay). The North is likewise pretty solid with Green Bay looking great, Minnesota coming off a playoff birth, Chicago possibly finally past their O line struggles, and Detroit ready to show that it was 2012, not 2011, that was the anomaly.

In comparison, the Eagles look terrible on defense, and who knows if Chip Kelly's offense will really win. The Redskins are one injury prone knee away from irrelevance. The Cowboys still look to have O-line problems, as well as depth issues. You never know what you're going to get with the Giants, but some years they just can't put it together.

EDIT-Spelling and completeness

[Mexal]

No need to get snippy, just pointing out that Mr. Brady was in the game for a significant amount of time and accomplished very little. It pleases me. So let me have false hope for a little bit.

I feel like I've seen this type of comment on here before. I can't for the life of me remember when...it's bothering me.

[Jabronius Maximus]

I'm not a Patriots fan, but you guys are dreaming. No offense gets the ball out of the QB's hand faster than the Pats.

It's like the Spurs in the NBA. They look a little shaky in preseason, might be washed up, etc etc and then they go out and dominate. But still, a man can dream. I'd like to keep this false hope for a couple more weeks lol

[Maithanet]

It's like the Spurs in the NBA. They look a little shaky in preseason, might be washed up, etc etc and then they go out and dominate. But still, a man can dream. I'd like to keep this false hope for a couple more weeks lol

All things come to an end. In the NBA, it usually happens gradually as older teams can still compete in the playoffs (like the Celtics taking the Heat to game 7 in 2012 or the Spurs doing the same this year). But in the NFL, it can happen very fast. Erodings skills + increasing injury risk is a wicked combination. The Patriots have had slightly inflated numbers for a few seasons now on account of 6 games every year against the pitiful AFC East, but nothing lasts forever. Is this the year that B&B goes down? I wouldn't count on it, but it's certainly possible.