NFL (2024 Season)

[1995hoo]

The Redskins released Alex Smith. Fully expected, and fully understandable given his cap hit combined with his hampered mobility, but still a sad coda to his time in DC. What a comeback story, though.

[CoreySamson]

The Redskins released Alex Smith. Fully expected, and fully understandable given his cap hit combined with his hampered mobility, but still a sad coda to his time in DC. What a comeback story, though.

I would like to see the Texans pick him up since Watson won't be playing for them anymore.

[webny99]

Drew Brees has announced his retirement after 20 years in the NFL and 15 years with the Saints.

[Roadgeekteen]

Drew Brees has announced his retirement after 20 years in the NFL and 15 years with the Saints.

Poor Falcons and Panthers. Brees finally retires and now they have to deal with Brady.

[kevinb1994]

Drew Brees has announced his retirement after 20 years in the NFL and 15 years with the Saints.

Poor Falcons and Panthers. Brees finally retires and now they have to deal with Brady.

Nah, I'm all for it. The less fun those teams have, the merrier.

[webny99]

Drew Brees has announced his retirement after 20 years in the NFL and 15 years with the Saints.

Poor Falcons and Panthers. Brees finally retires and now they have to deal with Brady.

The NFC South has always been a competitive division even with Brees. Except for the past few years, it usually comes down to the wire just like the NFC East. It's also the only division where all four teams have made the championship recently.

[ilpt4u]

The NFC South has always been a competitive division even with Brees. Except for the past few years, it usually comes down to the wire just like the NFC East. It's also the only division where all four teams have made the championship recently.

Not quite on that last point
NFC South:
Bucs: LV
Falcons: LI
Panthers: L
Saints: XLIV

NFC West:
49ers: LIV
Rams: LIII
Seahawks: XLIX
Cardinals: XLIII

Of course, the current NFC South and West are basically one division that split into two (the old NFC West: Rams, 49ers, Saints, Falcons, Panthers), with the Cardinals (old NFC East), Seahawks (old AFC West), and Bucs (old NFC Central) added

[thspfc]

Brees retiring is that best thing that will happen to the Saints this offseason. Now they can stop thinking about the inevativble playoff implosions spearheaded by Mr. Regular Season Stats, deal with their terrible salary cap situation, and stop supporting the sexual abuse of children (though the third one is not Brees' fault). Long story short, the Saints are my least favorite team in the league and I can't wait for them to stink again.

[webny99]

It's also the only division where all four teams have made the championship recently.

Not quite on that last point
NFC South:
Bucs: LV
Falcons: LI
Panthers: L
Saints: XLIV

NFC West:
49ers: LIV
Rams: LIII
Seahawks: XLIX
Cardinals: XLIII

You've got me there, although I was actually referring to the NFC title game, not the Super Bowl (this changes the years for the Cards, Seahawks, and Saints).

I almost said "in the past six years" or "the most recently of any division", but I couldn't think of a non-clumsy way to word it.

[thspfc]

I would be shocked if the Bucs don't win the NFCS in 2021. There's just no one else who is relevant. Saints are in shambles. Falcons have no defense and a first year coach. Panthers have no quarterback.

[webny99]

Brees retiring is that best thing that will happen to the Saints this offseason. Now they can stop thinking about the inevativble playoff implosions spearheaded by Mr. Regular Season Stats, deal with their terrible salary cap situation, and stop supporting the sexual abuse of children (though the third one is not Brees' fault). Long story short, the Saints are my least favorite team in the league and I can't wait for them to stink again.

I get that your problems with the Saints are probably deeper rooted than just Drew Brees, but how about an ounce of respect for the guy who just finished a HOF career...

(Personally, I don't have anything against the Saints. Their unbelievable back-to-back-to-back-to-back January implosions make me feel just a tad sorry for them, if anything, although it's hard not to think of Bountygate when bad stuff happens to them.)

I would be shocked if the Bucs don't win the NFCS in 2021. There's just no one else who is relevant. Saints are in shambles. Falcons have no defense and a first year coach. Panthers have no quarterback.

The Bucs are the favorite, but I would not be stunned if any of the other three teams won it. Their games within the division are always wild and unpredictable.

[thspfc]

Brees retiring is that best thing that will happen to the Saints this offseason. Now they can stop thinking about the inevativble playoff implosions spearheaded by Mr. Regular Season Stats, deal with their terrible salary cap situation, and stop supporting the sexual abuse of children (though the third one is not Brees' fault). Long story short, the Saints are my least favorite team in the league and I can't wait for them to stink again.

I get that your problems with the Saints are probably deeper rooted than just Drew Brees, but how about an ounce of respect for the guy who just finished a HOF career...

(Personally, I don't have anything against the Saints. Their unbelievable back-to-back-to-back-to-back January implosions make me feel just a tad sorry for them, if anything, although it's hard not to think of Bountygate when bad stuff happens to them.)

I would be shocked if the Bucs don't win the NFCS in 2021. There's just no one else who is relevant. Saints are in shambles. Falcons have no defense and a first year coach. Panthers have no quarterback.

The Bucs are the favorite, but I would not be stunned if any of the other three teams won it. Their games within the division are always wild and unpredictable.

So, like, five blowouts and one close game? So wild and unpredictable.

[webny99]

Their games within the division are always wild and unpredictable.

So, like, five blowouts and one close game? So wild and unpredictable.

Score(s) aside, from a historical perspective they're unpredictable. The Saints whooping the Bucs 38-3 was one of the most surprising results of the year. The Falcons were underdogs against the Panthers on TNF Week 8 and won easily. Meanwhile, they were favored in Week 11 against the Saints with Brees out and lost handily.

Also, back in 2015, the Falcons ended the 14-0 Panthers perfect season. And in 2019 the 1-7 Falcons beat the 7-1 Saints as one of the biggest underdogs of the season, which ended up costing the Saints a bye.

[kevinb1994]

Their games within the division are always wild and unpredictable.

So, like, five blowouts and one close game? So wild and unpredictable.

Score(s) aside, from a historical perspective they're unpredictable. The Saints whooping the Bucs 38-3 was one of the most surprising results of the year. The Falcons were underdogs against the Panthers on TNF Week 8 and won easily. Meanwhile, they were favored in Week 11 against the Saints with Brees out and lost handily.

Also, back in 2015, the Falcons ended the 14-0 Panthers perfect season. And in 2019 the 1-7 Falcons beat the 7-1 Saints as one of the biggest underdogs of the season, which ended up costing the Saints a bye.

I guess ARS was right about being Underdog

[thspfc]

So many big free agent signings around the league this week. Patriots get a bunch of guys, including two meh WRs and two solid TEs. Bears sign Andy Dalton. Dolphins sign Will Fuller. Vikings sign Patrick Peterson. Bills sign Mitch Trubisky. Giants sign Kyle Rudolph. Buccaneers retain Lavonte David, Shaq Barrett, and Chris Godwin. At this point the Bucs don't have a single area of their roster that is not top 5 in the league except for maybe running back, but there have been rumors that they're going to get James White. Plus, they still have both their offensive and defensive coorinators. The only things stopping them from at least winning the NFC again are injuries or a lack of motivation after winning it all, but I don't worry about that with Brady at the helm.

[webny99]

Bears sign Andy Dalton. ... Bills sign Mitch Trubisky. ...

Poor Bears fans.

I like this from the Bills angle - Matt Barkley is a great guy and was an OK backup, but Trubisky is a big upgrade.

[thspfc]

Huge news: Dolphins trade the 3rd overall pick to the Niners in exchange for the 12th overall pick and a boatload of other draft picks. Only logical explanation for this is that the Niners are going to draft a QB. With every passing team that finds a starting quarterback, it looks more and more possible that the Jets are going to hang onto Sam Darnold, which is a terrible move on the part of the Jets IMO.

[webny99]

Huge news: Dolphins trade the 3rd overall pick to the Niners in exchange for the 12th overall pick and a boatload of other draft picks. Only logical explanation for this is that the Niners are going to draft a QB. With every passing team that finds a starting quarterback, it looks more and more possible that the Jets are going to hang onto Sam Darnold, which is a terrible move on the part of the Jets IMO.

Wow. Now for a full month of speculation: I have a prediction, but I'll keep it to myself. Looks like the Dolphins also traded with the Eagles to go from 12th back up to 6th (so maybe the Eagles' season finale tank was worth something after all...)

As for the Jets, I wouldn't be so opposed to sticking with Darnold if it wasn't such a great QB class. I think he could improve significantly under the new scheme and still be the guy - and yet, there are several other QB's in the draft that could be better than Darnold even if he is the guy. If they do stick with Darnold, it would make sense to trade down and get a haul for the number 2 pick.

[Zeffy]

I dunno what the Eagles are doing anymore. Frankly, I have pretty much zero faith in this season at this point.

[Alex]

I dunno what the Eagles are doing anymore. Frankly, I have pretty much zero faith in this season at this point.

And Howie Roseman appears to have no worries about his job security.
It appears to me that they have few aspirations for the 2021-22 season beyond rebuilding.

From the Bleeding Green National Eagles blog:

Howie Roseman definitely isn't on the hot seat

This much shouldn't come as a surprise. Despite playing a key part in the Eagles' downward trajectory since February 2018, Roseman was spared from any criticism in Jeffrey Lurie's postseason press conference. The Eagles' much-maligned general manager is in very good standing with the owner.

Today's trade down only reinforces that perception. It was a move that appears to be made with a long-term focus in mind. It's a decision that's going to take some time to fully evaluate. Lurie is trusting Roseman to lead the Eagles through a rebuild and get back on track.

Good news for those who still have faith in Philly's GM. Bad news for the many who would like to see him gone.

[MinecraftNinja]

Aaron Jones is back on the Packers.

[webny99]

Bills Stadium, formerly Ralph Wilson Stadium for much of this century and then New Era Field from 2016-19, is now Highmark Stadium.

I don't love it, but joked, "it's the high mark of the new era at the Ralph" 

[hobsini2]

It's official. The NFL is going to a 17 game season.
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-owners-approve-enhanced-schedule-with-17-regular-season-games-per-team
The extra game has all NFC teams on the road this year. 1st place in the division plays 1st place in the other division and so on.
AFC East vs NFC East
AFC North vs NFC West
AFC South vs NFC South
AFC West vs NFC North

So your matchups are:
Washington @ Buffalo
NY Giants @ Miami
Dallas @ New England
Philadelphia @ NY Jets
Seattle @ Pittsburgh
LA Rams @ Baltimore
Arizona @ Cleveland
San Francisco @ Cincinnati
New Orleans @ Tennessee
Tampa Bay @ Indianapolis
Carolina @ Houston
Atlanta @ Jacksonville
Green Bay @ Kansas City
Chicago @ Las Vegas
Minnesota @ LA Chargers
Detroit @ Denver

[KCRoadFan]

When will the ACTUAL SCHEDULE - as in, a list showing which team plays which other team, and on what date - be out? That's what I'm most interested in.

[hobsini2]

When will the ACTUAL SCHEDULE - as in, a list showing which team plays which other team, and on what date - be out? That's what I'm most interested in.

Usually comes out the 2nd or 3rd week of April before the Draft.
Since 2005, the earliest is April 6th and the latest (last year excluded) was April 23rd.
But there are reports that it could be as late as May 13th.