The NFL Thread: 2018 Preseason

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

I concerned about the Chiefs. We had a great year, but man...that offense just can't click all the time and our defense is losing pressure.

I think it's more on QB than anything. KC has good receivers + TE headed by Kelce and bastard Hill, as well as good RBs (especially if they get Jamaal Charles back).

Alex Smith is serviceable QB. That's it. He's not a Tom Brady nor Peyton Manning, Tony Romo nor Matthew Stafford, and definitely not at the level of Prescott nor Carr.

[Trollgaard]

I concerned about the Chiefs. We had a great year, but man...that offense just can't click all the time and our defense is losing pressure.

Welcome to being a fan of an Andy Reid-led team. We dealt with it for fifteen years. Complete lack of clock management and inability to adjust gameplan.

I dunno. Our offense is just hot or cold. In many games it only looked ok because the defense got so many turnovers. Its just so odd.

[Republic of Tacos]

BROWNS! BROWNS! BROWNS! BROWNS!

I want the browns to just ditch the quarterback in a traditional sense and just run the ball. But get smart about and build the team to that end. No wide recievers, or qbs, just lineman, all kinds of half backs, full backs, running backs, and some tight ends. It would be glorious.

Actually. I would love to see that.

[Ranoria]

I concerned about the Chiefs. We had a great year, but man...that offense just can't click all the time and our defense is losing pressure.

I think it's more on QB than anything. KC has good receivers + TE headed by Kelce and bastard Hill, as well as good RBs (especially if they get Jamaal Charles back).

Alex Smith is serviceable QB. That's it. He's not a Tom Brady nor Peyton Manning, Tony Romo nor Matthew Stafford, and definitely not at the level of Prescott nor Carr.

Are you kidding? It's the QB? Did you watch their playoff game against the Steelers? It was absurd. Travis Kelce lost his cool, there were constant dropped passes. Smith's first pass was for 25 yards. Alex Smith might not be Carr or Brady or Mariota, but he deserves a hell of a lot more credit than he gets. Jamaal Charles is done.

KC's main problem is that they have some of the best players in the league but they're constantly injured.

Justin Houston: He's had two full seasons, in his second season he got ten sacks, but in the second full season he racked up 22, an nfl record. Beyond that, in 3 seasons he's gotten another 22.5 sacks, aside from his rookie year, playing in 27 games. The stats are impressive, but he has to stay on the field.

Jamaal Charles: Until this year, he hadn't had a season where he had under 5 yards per carry. He has been able to stay on the field for the most part, but he only played in 2 games in 2011 and 5 in 2015, with 3 this year before being hurt again, and now at 30 years old. He's done.

Derrick Johnson: An absolute STUD. Missed 4 games this year, one of them in the playoffs, but had impressive numbers otherwise, piling up 90 tackle, a pick and sack, and 3 pass deflections. He missed 15 games in 2014 (maybe contributing to Manning's incredible year?), one in 2013, 2 in 2008, etc.

Spencer Ware: This kid's a beast (btw, in Madden, he's absolutely unstoppable. I had Mike Bennet, Watt, and Von Miller on my front 7 and he ripped us up). He missed two games as well this season.

Allen Bailey: only played 5 games this year, 12 in 2015. He's never played a full NFL season despite his success.

Heck, there might be more, but injuries, particularly on the defensive side, are what hamper the chiefs, not Alex Smith.

Oh, and Ryan Succop being clutch AF.

[Ranoria]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... best-ever/

Not that Brandon Marshall's word is law (ex: "Fitzpatrick is elite, Jay Cutler can be MVP) but I completely agree with what he said here. But he forgot my dude Lawrence Taylor.

[New Serrland]

I concerned about the Chiefs. We had a great year, but man...that offense just can't click all the time and our defense is losing pressure.

Welcome to being a fan of an Andy Reid-led team. We dealt with it for fifteen years. Complete lack of clock management and inability to adjust gameplan.

Yeah, but at least you get one absolutely stunning game every year - the one after the midseason bye* week!

*does not apply to wildcard round bye weeks

[Tenburg]

BROWNS! BROWNS! BROWNS! BROWNS!

I want the browns to just ditch the quarterback in a traditional sense and just run the ball. But get smart about and build the team to that end. No wide recievers, or qbs, just lineman, all kinds of half backs, full backs, running backs, and some tight ends. It would be glorious.

Nine linemen, a running back and a tight end to block

[Ranoria]

I want the browns to just ditch the quarterback in a traditional sense and just run the ball. But get smart about and build the team to that end. No wide recievers, or qbs, just lineman, all kinds of half backs, full backs, running backs, and some tight ends. It would be glorious.

Nine linemen, a running back and a tight end to block

That'd be absurd, lol.

Now, wildcat with Terelle Pryor? I have no clue why they abandoned that. XD

[Idzequitch]

BROWNS! BROWNS! BROWNS! BROWNS!

I want the browns to just ditch the quarterback in a traditional sense and just run the ball. But get smart about and build the team to that end. No wide recievers, or qbs, just lineman, all kinds of half backs, full backs, running backs, and some tight ends. It would be glorious.

Just go wildcat formation every other play like the Dolphins used to do with Ronnie Brown?

[Ranoria]

I want the browns to just ditch the quarterback in a traditional sense and just run the ball. But get smart about and build the team to that end. No wide recievers, or qbs, just lineman, all kinds of half backs, full backs, running backs, and some tight ends. It would be glorious.

Just go wildcat formation every other play like the Dolphins used to do with Ronnie Brown?

You know what would be interesting?

The CHiefs/Falcons running wildcat with Tyreek/Julio or Taylor Gabriel.

[New Serrland]

Just go wildcat formation every other play like the Dolphins used to do with Ronnie Brown?

You know what would be interesting?

The CHiefs/Falcons running wildcat with Tyreek/Julio or Taylor Gabriel.

If I have one of the best (if not THE best) WRs in the league I don't want them anywhere on the field but lined out wide. No time for them fooling around in the backfield on Wildcat formations.

[Ranoria]

You know what would be interesting?

The CHiefs/Falcons running wildcat with Tyreek/Julio or Taylor Gabriel.

If I have one of the best (if not THE best) WRs in the league I don't want them anywhere on the field but lined out wide. No time for them fooling around in the backfield on Wildcat formations.

Terelle Pryor denies this.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

I think it's more on QB than anything. KC has good receivers + TE headed by Kelce and bastard Hill, as well as good RBs (especially if they get Jamaal Charles back).

Alex Smith is serviceable QB. That's it. He's not a Tom Brady nor Peyton Manning, Tony Romo nor Matthew Stafford, and definitely not at the level of Prescott nor Carr.

Are you kidding? It's the QB? Did you watch their playoff game against the Steelers? It was absurd. Travis Kelce lost his cool, there were constant dropped passes. Smith's first pass was for 25 yards. Alex Smith might not be Carr or Brady or Mariota, but he deserves a hell of a lot more credit than he gets. Jamaal Charles is done.

I'm not talking about defence. Their defence is as good as it gets. I'm talking about offence.

I'm also a Steelers fan (2nd team, but watched them longer) and what I have to admit is that Steelers defence is nowhere near elite, especially at the backfield, and isn't coached like an elite secondary. I am going to be honest about their lack of a X-factor within their secondaries since Polamalu retired, and I'm going to be honest about it now. No shit Alex Smith looked serviceable there.

Alex Smith is reliable and somewhat a safe option for QB, I get that. But the point is that Alex Smith is not the quarterback that can deliver KC to the stage beyond Division Semifinals. KC hasn't had that dominant factor in QB for such a long time and Smith isn't one.

But, I'm also not advocating for them to pick a risky route and try to go what Broncos did with Cutler over Plummer and so on. He's serviceable QB, as I've said earlier. Just not the one who'll lead KC into more than 1 playoff victory.

[Arkinesia]

If there is anything I would give more credit to Atlanta for collapsing so badly rather- Brady attempted 50-something passes so no shit he's going to get very high numbers with that. Happens when their running game was mostly stuffed.

But let's not kid ourselves. The fact that Brady had 62 pass attempts in that Super Bowl guarantees it'll be the bulk of his highlights when he gets his first-ballot HoF induction as soon as it's allowed.

He practically won that game on his own. Sure, there were other factors, but mounting such a comeback is impossible without the quarterback stepping up and having the game of a lifetime, and who better than Tom Brady to ask that of?

I also figured out, incidentally, the formula behind the win% number ESPN adds in game views. 99.6% of the time a team is down by 25 points, they lose the game. Prior to the Super Bowl teams behind by that margin at any point in the game were 4-1057 in overall NFL play history.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

If there is anything I would give more credit to Atlanta for collapsing so badly rather- Brady attempted 50-something passes so no shit he's going to get very high numbers with that. Happens when their running game was mostly stuffed.

But let's not kid ourselves. The fact that Brady had 62 pass attempts in that Super Bowl guarantees it'll be the bulk of his highlights when he gets his first-ballot HoF induction as soon as it's allowed.

He practically won that game on his own. Sure, there were other factors, but mounting such a comeback is impossible without the quarterback stepping up and having the game of a lifetime, and who better than Tom Brady to ask that of?

I also figured out, incidentally, the formula behind the win% number ESPN adds in game views. 99.6% of the time a team is down by 25 points, they lose the game. Prior to the Super Bowl teams behind by that margin at any point in the game were 4-1057 in overall NFL play history.

I agree that Brady did play a huge role in it, and that his highlights will probably feature plenty of plays from that SB come his time in Canton (2023 or 2024), but Atlanta also making critical mistakes in 2nd half helped. Their defence collapsed and offence dissipated into the thin air come 2nd half.

I'm also giving a huge credit to Brady for being a huge part of that Super Bowl win. 62 pass attempts and doing well (especially with running game stuffed so no complementary offence really), or heck getting more on fire and fire come every passing quarter? Hey, that is a first-ballot worthy effort. Very few QBs do that and they're all in the consideration for best QBs (Montana did plenty at Notre Dame and obviously he's won many SBs, Manning did make many comebacks on his half and Brady obviously has the same reason).

But he's not the most dominant factor behind it I feel; Atlanta just having a WTF, Atlanta-esque collapse played big role as well. Especially because you don't see leads that big get overturned.

ESPECIALLY.

The one I recall that went this comparable in fashion once before that was 2006 AFC Championship Game between Indy and NE. Indy was trailing by 21 at halftime, then won by 4 due to splendid performance by Manning and Indy surprisingly was able to play defence for once. Who knew that NE defence would go down like that? A huge collapse on their behalf as well.

Now, before I head to bed....I just have one question to say. Why the hell didn't Brady get the Super Bowl MVP?

[Frenline Delpha]

I'm still salty that he even has one.

If Peyton Manning wasn't such a choker in the big games, he probably wouldn't.

Blasphemy.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

If Peyton Manning wasn't such a choker in the big games, he probably wouldn't.

Blasphemy.

To be fair, it was very rare that Indy had in any way a good defence And that year, they won the Super Bowl.

As Packers the last few years have shown, there's no point making the playoffs with excellent QB performance and strong offence overall if your defence is like meh at best. For those who doubt this, Super Bowl XLVIII is there for you as well. But then that Denver defence got super ugly without Von Miller for the season, so....

[Luminesa]

If there is anything I would give more credit to Atlanta for collapsing so badly rather- Brady attempted 50-something passes so no shit he's going to get very high numbers with that. Happens when their running game was mostly stuffed.

But let's not kid ourselves. The fact that Brady had 62 pass attempts in that Super Bowl guarantees it'll be the bulk of his highlights when he gets his first-ballot HoF induction as soon as it's allowed.

He practically won that game on his own. Sure, there were other factors, but mounting such a comeback is impossible without the quarterback stepping up and having the game of a lifetime, and who better than Tom Brady to ask that of?

I also figured out, incidentally, the formula behind the win% number ESPN adds in game views. 99.6% of the time a team is down by 25 points, they lose the game. Prior to the Super Bowl teams behind by that margin at any point in the game were 4-1057 in overall NFL play history.

4-1057...

TOM BRADY GIVES NO CRUDS ABOUT YOUR ODDS OR VEGAS.

OH MY GOSH. THIS MAKES IT EVEN BETTER. WHAT THE FLIP.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

But let's not kid ourselves. The fact that Brady had 62 pass attempts in that Super Bowl guarantees it'll be the bulk of his highlights when he gets his first-ballot HoF induction as soon as it's allowed.

He practically won that game on his own. Sure, there were other factors, but mounting such a comeback is impossible without the quarterback stepping up and having the game of a lifetime, and who better than Tom Brady to ask that of?

I also figured out, incidentally, the formula behind the win% number ESPN adds in game views. 99.6% of the time a team is down by 25 points, they lose the game. Prior to the Super Bowl teams behind by that margin at any point in the game were 4-1057 in overall NFL play history.

4-1057...

TOM BRADY GIVES NO CRUDS ABOUT YOUR ODDS OR VEGAS.

OH MY GOSH. THIS MAKES IT EVEN BETTER. WHAT THE FLIP.

There, there. Calm down. Nobody wants you to die of heart attack from orgasmo

[Arkinesia]

But let's not kid ourselves. The fact that Brady had 62 pass attempts in that Super Bowl guarantees it'll be the bulk of his highlights when he gets his first-ballot HoF induction as soon as it's allowed.

He practically won that game on his own. Sure, there were other factors, but mounting such a comeback is impossible without the quarterback stepping up and having the game of a lifetime, and who better than Tom Brady to ask that of?

I also figured out, incidentally, the formula behind the win% number ESPN adds in game views. 99.6% of the time a team is down by 25 points, they lose the game. Prior to the Super Bowl teams behind by that margin at any point in the game were 4-1057 in overall NFL play history.

4-1057...

TOM BRADY GIVES NO CRUDS ABOUT YOUR ODDS OR VEGAS.

OH MY GOSH. THIS MAKES IT EVEN BETTER. WHAT THE FLIP.

For some popcorn time, here are the other four five 25+ point comebacks (so the correct figure is 5-1057 until LI):

32 points: Buffalo vs Houston, AFC Wildcard (1992 playoffs)
28 points: San Fran vs New Orleans (1980 regular season)
26 points: Buffalo vs Indianapolis (1997 regular season—fun fact: Jim Harbaugh was the Colts' quarterback)
25 points: St Louis (Cardinals) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987 regular season)
25 points (2): Cleveland @ Tennessee (2014 regular season, biggest road comeback in league history)

My favorite has to be the Buffalo vs Houston game. What a damn game that was. The stories of fans scrambling to get back into the stadium always crack me up.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Yet the Green Gang still have a Lombardi to their name. I don't know what to think of that. I'm envious as the Jungle still doesn't have one. I take it you don't like the Jets.Is it because of that one year they knocked you out of the playoffs?

There has always been a rivalry, starting in the Boston Patriots years. I started watching football in the late 1980s when I was about 6 years old or so (and those were the bad years with Victor Kiam and James Orthwein). For most longer term Pats fans (excluding younger Patsfans and the bandwagoners that inevitably came out of the woodworks when we started winning) it all starts in the 1996 postseason. We had Bill Parcells as head coach (and Belichick as assistant) and during the preparation for Super Bowl XXXI (Pats v Packers) the Jets contacted Parcells with a view to luring him away from us.

The NFL tried to block Parcells from being head coach anywhere else as he was under contract with us and then the Jets announced Bill Belichick would be the new head coach with Parcells as special consultant. In the end the NFL shifted some draft picks from New York to us and Parcells became their head coach anyway, taking a few more coaches (like Al Groh) and also some players with him to New York. It was Belichick's first brief tenure as Jets head coach, a later second tenure lasted only one rambling press conference "I resign as HC of the NYJ".

Pete Carroll became our new head coach (he had coached the Jets in 1994) and when Carroll was fired, we got Belichick back after he resigned hours after being named Jets head coach (apparently he didn't trust new Jets owner Woody Johnson). Then Jets linebacker Mo Lewis injured our QB Drew Bledsoe and we were forced to look to a 6th round draft pick called Thomas Edward Patrick Brady jr. The rest is history, including 5 Lombardi trophies and the awesome Thanksgiving 2012 game.

TL;DR version: the reason we hate the Jets is because they are an unscrupolous dishonest franchise engaging in shady moves constantly trying to mess with the Patriots. Well, the Belichick-Brady era is a very satisfying payback for all the shady stuff they pulled in the 90s. Its actually quite ironic that since "spygate" they are the only team that has gotten caught violating Goodell's second memorandum.

This is why having right owner with right mindset is very important.

Robert Kraft, Pat Bowlen, late Lamar Hunt (bless his soul), Mara and Rooney families have been excellent owners with their focus and attention on producing not only a team aiming to win every year (barring obvious years with need of rebuilding and whatnot), but also being classy owners with right interest and establishing the strong team culture for the team. No surprise we remember of Patriots, Broncos, Chiefs (aside from their 2000s miseries), Giants and Steelers have been so successful the last few decades and people love these organisations. They are the epitome of what you want as your boss!

Obviously Jerry Jones and Al Davis had their golden touch for first few years....then lost it. But they both won 3 Super Bowls and their teams are very well remembered for both their history and recent miseries. This is why greed and personal interests hurts even the owners with best intent....thank god their sons are doing a lot better job running their organisation.

With Irsays it's hard to say. Irsay did make a great decision in hiring Polian and letting him do the rest, but the other times things didn't go well for the Colts at all. Mixed bag really, but can't comment more than that because hey, they at least have a Super Bowl ring compared to the guys right below.

Yeah, Mike Brown and Woody Johnson. Oh bloody. I'm not even going to talk about Jets and Bengals irrelevance (Bengals still haven't won a playoff game in 25 years, hence irrelevance) and good part of that comes from their owner who only cares about making money and not necessarily improving the team.

[Republic of Tacos]

Just go wildcat formation every other play like the Dolphins used to do with Ronnie Brown?

You know what would be interesting?

The CHiefs/Falcons running wildcat with Tyreek/Julio or Taylor Gabriel.

Gabriel is a former Brown.

[Idzequitch]

You know what would be interesting?

The CHiefs/Falcons running wildcat with Tyreek/Julio or Taylor Gabriel.

Gabriel is a former Brown.

Antonio is a Brown. Just not a member of the Browns franchise

[Partybus]

This is just speculation on my part, but, it seems most, if not all people, are talking about Atlanta folding in the second half, but I feel that the breakdown really began at the end of the half, three defensive off side penalties (ie. three first downs) on the final drive giving the Pats field goal range and getting them on the board (three points is three points). IMO that must have affected the Bird's and Pat's locker rooms at the half, could the momentum not have shifted, as completely, had the Pats not been able to score prior to the half? Just wondering what some others feel about this theory...

[Luminesa]

[/b]

4-1057...

TOM BRADY GIVES NO CRUDS ABOUT YOUR ODDS OR VEGAS.

OH MY GOSH. THIS MAKES IT EVEN BETTER. WHAT THE FLIP.

There, there. Calm down. Nobody wants you to die of heart attack from orgasmo

Orgasm? Nah. Dying of laughter? Absolutely.