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NFL (2024 Season)

Started by webny99, February 04, 2020, 02:35:53 PM

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webny99

Quote from: formulanone on November 09, 2020, 07:28:50 AM
But they're 5-3 now...I forgot what it's like to be above .500 this "late" in the season.

And not only that... they're currently in the #7 spot! Not many people saw that coming, but hats off to them: with the Pats two-decade reign of terror in the rearview, I'm happy to see success for Bills, Fins and (maybe someday) Jets alike!

At this moment, with the Ravens at 6-2 almost certain to make the playoffs, it looks like it'll be Colts, Browns, Raiders and Dolphins battling it out for the final two wild card slots.

The NFC picture is considerably more muddled, with the Cardinals (!) actually looking like the most likely Wild Card team, along with the loser of the NFC South, but last night's blowout did little to clarify that picture, as the Saints handed Brady not only the most lopsided loss of his career but also completed a season sweep of Brady, the first time any team has done so in Brady's career. WOW.



thspfc

The NFC really is a mess. The Bucs were loooking like the team to beat until last night. The Saints have beaten the Bucs twice, but they also lost to the Packers, who lost to the Bucs by 28.  :confused: :confused: Then you have Seattle who isn't going to win their division if they keep playing the way they have over their last four games. I think you have the Saints, Packers, and Bucs as obvious playoff teams, and the Seahawks and Eagles (sadly) as probable playoff teams. The last spots will probably go to the Rams and Cardinals, but they are inconsistent and have played weak schedules so far. Maybe the Bears will turn it around as their schedule gets more manageable (their last six opponents have a combined 28-13 record), but they are definitely trending in the wrong direction.

thspfc

Also, don't look now but there are a couple of forgotten teams that are still fighting in the NFC. Vikings have won two in a row, one of which was against the 6-2 Packers. Falcons have won three out of four, despite their best efforts to squander a big fourth quarter lead against the Broncos. If the Cardinals or Rams slip up, and the Bears continue to struggle, one or both of those teams could be in the mix of things by the end of this month.

NWI_Irish96

I don't know if such a proposition exists, but I'd be willing to bet AFC -6 in the Super Bowl right now.
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kurumi

Imagine being told a year or two ago that the Jets would be only 2 games in back of the Pats at mid-season (with a good chance to pick up a game head to head). But another finger on the monkey's paw uncurls (or curls, I forget).
My first SF/horror short story collection is available: "Young Man, Open Your Winter Eye"

webny99

I've kind of thought all season that the NFC has all the big names (Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Wilson...), while the AFC has the superpower-type teams (for sure Chiefs and probably Steelers, and you could debate which other teams are in that category).

But then, there's only 2 teams that haven't notched 2 wins yet, and they're both from the AFC: Jets and Jaguars. So the AFC has definitely got the extremes; at least every NFC team has managed 2 wins, even though in the case of the NFC East 7 of their combined 9 wins have been against each other!

Alps

Quote from: kurumi on November 09, 2020, 09:42:27 PM
Imagine being told a year or two ago that the Jets would be only 2 games in back of the Pats at mid-season (with a good chance to pick up a game head to head). But another finger on the monkey's paw uncurls (or curls, I forget).
The finger curls when the wish is used, per Simpsons.

thspfc

Quote from: webny99 on November 09, 2020, 10:53:53 PM
I've kind of thought all season that the NFC has all the big names (Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Wilson...), while the AFC has the superpower-type teams (for sure Chiefs and probably Steelers, and you could debate which other teams are in that category).

But then, there's only 2 teams that haven't notched 2 wins yet, and they're both from the AFC: Jets and Jaguars. So the AFC has definitely got the extremes; at least every NFC team has managed 2 wins, even though in the case of the NFC East 7 of their combined 9 wins have been against each other!
Mahomes, Jackson, Roethlisberger . . . any of those ring a bell?

webny99

Quote from: thspfc on November 10, 2020, 10:51:56 AM
Quote from: webny99 on November 09, 2020, 10:53:53 PM
I've kind of thought all season that the NFC has all the big names (Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Wilson...), while the AFC has the superpower-type teams (for sure Chiefs and probably Steelers, and you could debate which other teams are in that category).

But then, there's only 2 teams that haven't notched 2 wins yet, and they're both from the AFC: Jets and Jaguars. So the AFC has definitely got the extremes; at least every NFC team has managed 2 wins, even though in the case of the NFC East 7 of their combined 9 wins have been against each other!
Mahomes, Jackson, Roethlisberger . . . any of those ring a bell?

Pardon me for not clarifying: I meant big names that have been established as such by virtue of being around around for many years. That leaves Roethlisberger... who's had a great career and been decent this year, but he's not quite on the level of any of the four NFC players I mentioned.

thspfc

Wait a second, the media told me that the Buccaneers suck because they had one bad game. You mean to tell me that a 7-3 team is good?  :-o

TheHighwayMan3561

Bills get walked off by Arizona on an incredible Hail Mary play.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

Buck87

I loved the smart and unselfish play by Nick Chubb today running out of bounds at the 1 at the end of a breakaway run instead of scoring, enabling the Browns to simply kneel out the clock for a 10-7 win rather than giving Houston the ball back.

Fantasy football players who started Chubb must have hated it, as well as anyone who bet on Cleveland -3.5.

webny99

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on November 15, 2020, 08:25:35 PM
Bills get walked off by Arizona on an incredible Hail Mary play.

My goodness. That wild finish is the talk of Western New York - and honestly probably most of the country - this morning.
And all the jokes about the Hopkins trade only rub salt in the wound because we LOST to the Texans in the playoffs this January.  :-(
Two of the most excruciating losses in NFL history to two different franchises in a span of 10 months, and Hopkins was on the other side of the ball for BOTH.

And yet, you still have to love the Cardinals, who are the perfect underdog story and wildly entertaining, having now scored 30+ points in 5 straight games. Not to mention they're now first in the NFC West with tiebreakers over the Rams and Seahawks.

Big John

Quote from: Buck87 on November 15, 2020, 09:04:28 PM
I loved the smart and unselfish play by Nick Chubb today running out of bounds at the 1 at the end of a breakaway run instead of scoring, enabling the Browns to simply kneel out the clock for a 10-7 win rather than giving Houston the ball back.

Fantasy football players who started Chubb must have hated it, as well as anyone who bet on Cleveland -3.5.
He could have taken a knee or slid at the 1 so the clock would continue running.

Buck87

Quote from: Big John on November 16, 2020, 05:49:44 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on November 15, 2020, 09:04:28 PM
I loved the smart and unselfish play by Nick Chubb today running out of bounds at the 1 at the end of a breakaway run instead of scoring, enabling the Browns to simply kneel out the clock for a 10-7 win rather than giving Houston the ball back.

Fantasy football players who started Chubb must have hated it, as well as anyone who bet on Cleveland -3.5.
He could have taken a knee or slid at the 1 so the clock would continue running.

This was his first game back after missing several weeks to injury. While I agree staying inbounds would have been better regarding the clock (as it would have meant just 1 kneel down instead of 2), I'm fine with what he did as it avoided the risk of re injuring himself by trying to slide or possibly getting nailed from behind by a defender if he slowed down to take a knee.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: Buck87 on November 15, 2020, 09:04:28 PM
I loved the smart and unselfish play by Nick Chubb today running out of bounds at the 1 at the end of a breakaway run instead of scoring, enabling the Browns to simply kneel out the clock for a 10-7 win rather than giving Houston the ball back.

Fantasy football players who started Chubb must have hated it, as well as anyone who bet on Cleveland -3.5.

Apparently the line started at -2.5 and went to -3, so those betters either won or pushed. It was fairly late when the line went to -3.5.

I don't see too many people betting on the Browns anyway due to their non-popularity, and sports gambling within Ohio isn't legal to add to the "home team effect", so there probably want much win/loss to speak of.

thspfc

I don't get why people are so astounded when players go down/out of bounds intentionally. It's not a new tactic, and it doesn't take a football genius to understand that it's better to keep the clock moving than score in some situations. And obviously players aren't thinking about bettors or their fantasy stock while playing.

Alps

Quote from: Big John on November 16, 2020, 05:49:44 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on November 15, 2020, 09:04:28 PM
I loved the smart and unselfish play by Nick Chubb today running out of bounds at the 1 at the end of a breakaway run instead of scoring, enabling the Browns to simply kneel out the clock for a 10-7 win rather than giving Houston the ball back.

Fantasy football players who started Chubb must have hated it, as well as anyone who bet on Cleveland -3.5.
He could have taken a knee or slid at the 1 so the clock would continue running.
This brings to mind a recent game I saw. Just before the end of the game, I believe the score was tied. The team with the ball threw an interception to the other team. They then quickly tackled the guy. That enabled there to be one or two more plays that resulted in a FG and lost the game for the first team. If they hadn't touched the other guy, let him run around for a bit, time would have run out and it would have gone to OT.

1995hoo

Quote from: Alps on November 16, 2020, 09:02:32 PM
Quote from: Big John on November 16, 2020, 05:49:44 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on November 15, 2020, 09:04:28 PM
I loved the smart and unselfish play by Nick Chubb today running out of bounds at the 1 at the end of a breakaway run instead of scoring, enabling the Browns to simply kneel out the clock for a 10-7 win rather than giving Houston the ball back.

Fantasy football players who started Chubb must have hated it, as well as anyone who bet on Cleveland -3.5.
He could have taken a knee or slid at the 1 so the clock would continue running.
This brings to mind a recent game I saw. Just before the end of the game, I believe the score was tied. The team with the ball threw an interception to the other team. They then quickly tackled the guy. That enabled there to be one or two more plays that resulted in a FG and lost the game for the first team. If they hadn't touched the other guy, let him run around for a bit, time would have run out and it would have gone to OT.

On tonight's C'Mon Man, they showed an Arkansas high school game from last week where one team was leading by one point and had 4th and 32 from around their own 10-yard line with six seconds left in the game. All the quarterback had to do was run around for six seconds to kill the clock. Instead, he immediately took a knee. Of course, on fourth down that means a turnover and the clock stops. The other team promptly kicked the game-winning field goal.
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commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

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—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

thspfc

Quote from: Big John on November 16, 2020, 05:49:44 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on November 15, 2020, 09:04:28 PM
I loved the smart and unselfish play by Nick Chubb today running out of bounds at the 1 at the end of a breakaway run instead of scoring, enabling the Browns to simply kneel out the clock for a 10-7 win rather than giving Houston the ball back.

Fantasy football players who started Chubb must have hated it, as well as anyone who bet on Cleveland -3.5.
He could have taken a knee or slid at the 1 so the clock would continue running.
It didn't matter. Houston had no timeouts, so it would only have been the difference between two Cleveland kneels and one. Going out of bounds was probably the smarter choice actually. Falling intentionally, especially in a small space, can be awkward and dangerous if you don't do it correctly.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: Alps on November 16, 2020, 09:02:32 PM
Quote from: Big John on November 16, 2020, 05:49:44 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on November 15, 2020, 09:04:28 PM
I loved the smart and unselfish play by Nick Chubb today running out of bounds at the 1 at the end of a breakaway run instead of scoring, enabling the Browns to simply kneel out the clock for a 10-7 win rather than giving Houston the ball back.

Fantasy football players who started Chubb must have hated it, as well as anyone who bet on Cleveland -3.5.
He could have taken a knee or slid at the 1 so the clock would continue running.
This brings to mind a recent game I saw. Just before the end of the game, I believe the score was tied. The team with the ball threw an interception to the other team. They then quickly tackled the guy. That enabled there to be one or two more plays that resulted in a FG and lost the game for the first team. If they hadn't touched the other guy, let him run around for a bit, time would have run out and it would have gone to OT.

This happens because the offense is immediately out of the element they're familiar with...and their one and only instant is to tackle the defender who intercepted the ball. In the meantime, the defender who caught the ball should immediately go down anyway instead of trying to do too much. Even if he isn't touched, they'll stop the clock within a second or two as his forward progress is considered stopped.

Theres a lot of situational awareness that takes place during certain moments of the game. When it's done wrong....you're on the wrong highlight reel on ESPN.

TheHighwayMan3561

Vikings win in Chicago, which they never do going back the last 20 years.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

webny99

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on November 17, 2020, 09:22:13 AM
Vikings win in Chicago, which they never do going back the last 20 years.

I joked that the Bears beat the Vikings to a 5-5 record, ironic given that the Bears started 5-1 while the Vikings started 1-5!  :)

thspfc

#323
Quote from: webny99 on November 17, 2020, 10:12:12 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on November 17, 2020, 09:22:13 AM
Vikings win in Chicago, which they never do going back the last 20 years.

I joked that the Bears beat the Vikings to a 5-5 record, ironic given that the Bears started 5-1 while the Vikings started 1-5!  :)
Yeah, the Bears were fake. I'll give credit where credit is due. Looking at their remaining schedule I only see one surefire win - Jacksonville in week 16. Detroit has won four of their last seven, Minnesota has won three in a row, Houston is better than their record says, and we know what Green Bay is. Chicago could end up losing nine of their last ten games when the season is over. I can only remember a few comparable collapses. Carolina last year started 5-3 and finished 5-11. Indianapolis last year started 5-2 and finished 7-9. Carolina in 2018 started 6-2 and finished 7-9. Minnesota in 2016 started 5-0 and finished 8-8. Atlanta in 2015 started 6-1 and finished 8-8. One thing that all those teams had in common was injuries, and lots of them, but you can't really say that about Chicago right now, which is what makes them different.

NWI_Irish96

My 2 cents from someone who's watched > 90% of Bears games dating back to the early 1980s:

The Bears have a very strange dynamic in that they are Top 5 in the league in terms of defensive talent and at the same time Bottom 5 in the league in terms of offensive talent, and it's been this way to varying degrees for going on 30 years. What makes this really unusual is that it has persisted through a variety of GMs and coaches. I don't know if there is some weird nostalgia about the 1985 team or if coincidentally they've all been really bad at identifying offensive talent.

To be more specific, the offensive line, which is the most underrated position group in the game in terms of importance. With an elite offensive line, you can have a productive offense with less than elite skill players. An elite offensive line forces you to put 8 defenders in the box to be able to stop the run, which opens up the passing game, and it forces you to rush 5+ defenders in order to get pressure on the QB, which makes covering the receivers much harder.

For a converse example, consider my college alma mater, Notre Dame. They have, hands down, the best offensive line in college football. If you look at QB, RB, and WR, they don't come close to matching Clemson but that line gave them the ability to take them down.

The Bears as an organization just don't get it.
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