NFL Thread v2: The 2020 NFL Season!

[Ranoria]

Honestly my only diss on Marino is that his best year was his second one. Most pro ready quarterback every? Maybe. Ridiculous that he broke 40 touchdown passes twice in his era. But he never came close to that 2nd season again. And besides, who’s better, Marino or Montana? I’ll take Marino all day. But when you’ve got one of the best football teams ever on the other side, including one of the best individual players ever in Jerry Rice, well, it just doesn’t matter.

The problem with stats is they miss the intangibles. Some players make all the other players around them better bc of their amazing personalities. Dan Marino wasn't one of them. But Joe Montana was. And Drew Brees is. Tom Brady is. And I think Baker Mayfield is showing signs he's one. These players don't have to be QBs either. Ray Lewis comes to mind.

A number of LBs having great careers with the Ravens (Paul Kruger, Adalius Thomas, Bart Scott, Ed Hartwell, Jamie Sharper, etc etc..) left Baltimore for big free agency pay days and turned out to be not so great an investment for their new team. Lewis made them all better players and that special talent really be can't be measured.

I disagree on Kruger. Dude was a hell of a player, for a year. He just lost that drive he had, or got old, take your pick. He was about as good in a Cleveland as he was in Baltimore, production wise. But I do understand what you’re saying.

Maybe Marino didn’t have intangibles, but when a quarterback is that good, eh. I don’t know if I’d say Brady is one of those guys either. I’ve never really seen anything outstanding from him, character wise. Just very very good football. I have seen him go at his offensive coordinator, and I’ve gotta say, if I had been McDaniels in that game last year, I’d have benched him in a heartbeat.

[Jerzyland]

The problem with stats is they miss the intangibles. Some players make all the other players around them better bc of their amazing personalities. Dan Marino wasn't one of them. But Joe Montana was. And Drew Brees is. Tom Brady is. And I think Baker Mayfield is showing signs he's one. These players don't have to be QBs either. Ray Lewis comes to mind.

A number of LBs having great careers with the Ravens (Paul Kruger, Adalius Thomas, Bart Scott, Ed Hartwell, Jamie Sharper, etc etc..) left Baltimore for big free agency pay days and turned out to be not so great an investment for their new team. Lewis made them all better players and that special talent really be can't be measured.

I disagree on Kruger. Dude was a hell of a player, for a year. He just lost that drive he had, or got old, take your pick. He was about as good in a Cleveland as he was in Baltimore, production wise. But I do understand what you’re saying.

Maybe Marino didn’t have intangibles, but when a quarterback is that good, eh. I don’t know if I’d say Brady is one of those guys either. I’ve never really seen anything outstanding from him, character wise. Just very very good football. I have seen him go at his offensive coordinator, and I’ve gotta say, if I had been McDaniels in that game last year, I’d have benched him in a heartbeat.

Kruger was not much different. He was drafted by the Ravens in 2009, mentored by Ray Lewis. He cracked the lineup in 2011. Was exceptional in 2012 playing with Lewis, got 9 sacks. He went to Cleveland for the $$$ and slid downward. Never more than 4.5 sacks. Anyway you look at it he declined after 2012. He's done at 30. That's not old for a LB.

Brady is all in. I don't like him much (but if he's been a Raven I'd love him) ...but I don't let any of that color my view. The guy also renegotiates his contract regularly to get better players around him.
Oh, if you weren't BB and benched Brady, you'd better watch your back.

Marino joined Don Shula's Dolphins which was ready to roll when he got there. Shula was the coach of the Balt. Colts when I was growing up. He was an exceptionally good coach and we hated to see him leave, and then later the team.
I lived in South Florida in the 1980s & 90s. I read and heard a lot about Danny and the Dolphins. I think Marino had great coaching before his head got way too big for everyone around him. That in part explains the second season. But no doubt he had great skills.

[Luminesa]

Rings make better teams, yes, but better individual players? Not really. You could go to the Super Bowl and have a couple individuals on your team who are just...mediocre. And then some who are great.

You’re also probably the only person I’ve ever met who says Dan Marino’s records were “meaningless”. He had records, they were broken a couple years ago...by Drew Brees and some others, surprise surprise!

Is Shane Vereen a better rb than Gurley because he won a superbowl? I think not.

Gurley is just an outstanding football player, Vereen is a good RB.

[Ranoria]

I disagree on Kruger. Dude was a hell of a player, for a year. He just lost that drive he had, or got old, take your pick. He was about as good in a Cleveland as he was in Baltimore, production wise. But I do understand what you’re saying.

Maybe Marino didn’t have intangibles, but when a quarterback is that good, eh. I don’t know if I’d say Brady is one of those guys either. I’ve never really seen anything outstanding from him, character wise. Just very very good football. I have seen him go at his offensive coordinator, and I’ve gotta say, if I had been McDaniels in that game last year, I’d have benched him in a heartbeat.

Kruger was not much different. He was drafted by the Ravens in 2009, mentored by Ray Lewis. He cracked the lineup in 2011. Was exceptional in 2012 playing with Lewis, got 9 sacks. He went to Cleveland for the $$$ and slid downward. Never more than 4.5 sacks. Anyway you look at it he declined after 2012. He's done at 30. That's not old for a LB.

Brady is all in. I don't like him much (but if he's been a Raven I'd love him) ...but I don't let any of that color my view. The guy also renegotiates his contract regularly to get better players around him.
Oh, if you weren't BB and benched Brady, you'd better watch your back.

Marino joined Don Shula's Dolphins which was ready to roll when he got there. Shula was the coach of the Balt. Colts when I was growing up. He was an exceptionally good coach and we hated to see him leave, and then later the team.
I lived in South Florida in the 1980s & 90s. I read and heard a lot about Danny and the Dolphins. I think Marino had great coaching before his head got way too big for everyone around him. That in part explains the second season. But no doubt he had great skills.

No, Mruger tore it up one year. It was either 9 or 11 sacks, I can’t remember. Honestly I think his production was about even between the team that knew to leave Cleveland and the team that shouldn’t have come.

As for the Brady thing, McDaniels had head coaching jobs elsewhere, and in my opinion, no matter what, no matter how close you two are, the coach is the coach, and he is in charge. Unless it’s Manning saving off the punt team.

[Jerzyland]

Kruger was not much different. He was drafted by the Ravens in 2009, mentored by Ray Lewis. He cracked the lineup in 2011. Was exceptional in 2012 playing with Lewis, got 9 sacks. He went to Cleveland for the $$$ and slid downward. Never more than 4.5 sacks. Anyway you look at it he declined after 2012. He's done at 30. That's not old for a LB.

Brady is all in. I don't like him much (but if he's been a Raven I'd love him) ...but I don't let any of that color my view. The guy also renegotiates his contract regularly to get better players around him.
Oh, if you weren't BB and benched Brady, you'd better watch your back.

Marino joined Don Shula's Dolphins which was ready to roll when he got there. Shula was the coach of the Balt. Colts when I was growing up. He was an exceptionally good coach and we hated to see him leave, and then later the team.
I lived in South Florida in the 1980s & 90s. I read and heard a lot about Danny and the Dolphins. I think Marino had great coaching before his head got way too big for everyone around him. That in part explains the second season. But no doubt he had great skills.

No, Mruger tore it up one year. It was either 9 or 11 sacks, I can’t remember. Honestly I think his production was about even between the team that knew to leave Cleveland and the team that shouldn’t have come.

As for the Brady thing, McDaniels had head coaching jobs elsewhere, and in my opinion, no matter what, no matter how close you two are, the coach is the coach, and he is in charge. Unless it’s Manning saving off the punt team.

Kruger had 9 sacks in 2012, with the Ravens in their SB 47 season. In 2013 he had 4.5 playing for Cleveland, then after that I think he never had even 2 in a year. He was finished after 2016 and then nobody wanted him. Sad.

Maybe you should argue Kruger had a Brown-out ending to his career. Dude did not earn his contract with them.

[Ranoria]

No, Mruger tore it up one year. It was either 9 or 11 sacks, I can’t remember. Honestly I think his production was about even between the team that knew to leave Cleveland and the team that shouldn’t have come.

As for the Brady thing, McDaniels had head coaching jobs elsewhere, and in my opinion, no matter what, no matter how close you two are, the coach is the coach, and he is in charge. Unless it’s Manning saving off the punt team.

Kruger had 9 sacks in 2012, with the Ravens in their SB 47 season. In 2013 he had 4.5 playing for Cleveland, then after that I think he never had even 2 in a year. He was finished after 2016 and then nobody wanted him. Sad.

Maybe you should argue Kruger had a Brown-out ending to his career. Dude did not earn his contract with them.

There it is, he had 11 in 2014, 4.5 in ‘13, then 2.5 in ‘15, then 1.5 with New Orleans. I really thought that him and Cam Jordan we’re going to be one of the best duos in the NFL. Completely agree that it’s sad though, the guy was fun to watch at his peak. Idk why he left Baltimore, honestly. Him and Suggs would probably still be tearing it up.

How are those two OLBs the Ravens drafted last year doing btw? Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams I think? They both looked like they could eventually be the two dudes off the edge for them.

[The South Falls]

I mean, I'm not sitting out for the next 11 or 12 weeks. I don't think I should be penalized for not knowing about the pick league until last week.

You don't really get how this works. More to the point, the rest of us shouldn't be penalized bc you don't know something. That sword cuts both ways.

I have been thinking of a mathematical way to express both win and percentage rankings in one number, call it maybe the power ranking.

For each player add both their win ranking with their % rank then divide by 2. This creates a smallest number is most powerful scenario. So we can subtract that from 100 for a total power ranking where 99 is the highest possible score.

In that scenario I would be 98.5. Ran would be 97.0. Zurk at 96.0 and so forth. You would be at 89.5. I like mathematics and also fairness to everybody.

Aiight. I think that works pretty well.

[The South Falls]

Kruger had 9 sacks in 2012, with the Ravens in their SB 47 season. In 2013 he had 4.5 playing for Cleveland, then after that I think he never had even 2 in a year. He was finished after 2016 and then nobody wanted him. Sad.

Maybe you should argue Kruger had a Brown-out ending to his career. Dude did not earn his contract with them.

There it is, he had 11 in 2014, 4.5 in ‘13, then 2.5 in ‘15, then 1.5 with New Orleans. I really thought that him and Cam Jordan we’re going to be one of the best duos in the NFL. Completely agree that it’s sad though, the guy was fun to watch at his peak. Idk why he left Baltimore, honestly. Him and Suggs would probably still be tearing it up.

How are those two OLBs the Ravens drafted last year doing btw? Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams I think? They both looked like they could eventually be the two dudes off the edge for them.

Bowser looked in serious competition with Suggs and Williams. He's got 5 tackles this year, and he technically hasn't started a game all year. He seems to be pretty good this year, (for a backup) with one tackle for loss being his highlight against the bills.

Williams has 7 tackles and two sacks on the year, with a projected 6 or 7 sacks to finish the year out. Williams is rocking those dreads, so he's doing alright there. He seems to be the best of the two, despite not starting either.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Eagles over Giants
Falcons over Bucs
Bengals over Steelers
Chargers over Browns
Bills over Texans
Bears over Dolphins
Vikings over Cards
Colts over Jets
Seahawks over Raiders
Panthers over Redskins
Rams over Broncos
Jags over Boys
Ravens over Titans
Chiefs over Pats
Pack over Niners

[Jerzyland]

Kruger had 9 sacks in 2012, with the Ravens in their SB 47 season. In 2013 he had 4.5 playing for Cleveland, then after that I think he never had even 2 in a year. He was finished after 2016 and then nobody wanted him. Sad.

Maybe you should argue Kruger had a Brown-out ending to his career. Dude did not earn his contract with them.

There it is, he had 11 in 2014, 4.5 in ‘13, then 2.5 in ‘15, then 1.5 with New Orleans. I really thought that him and Cam Jordan we’re going to be one of the best duos in the NFL. Completely agree that it’s sad though, the guy was fun to watch at his peak. Idk why he left Baltimore, honestly. Him and Suggs would probably still be tearing it up.

How are those two OLBs the Ravens drafted last year doing btw? Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams I think? They both looked like they could eventually be the two dudes off the edge for them.

They are looking pretty decent. Williams was a scratch last week. We could have used him.

Back to Kruger, he got a $40 million dollar contract for 5 years. Cleveland gave up on him after three years. I'd say that's a clear fail. I always wondered if he had a run in with Johnny Football over there. Paul was a Mormon and went on his 2 year mission after his freshman year. He came out of Utah as a sophomore, never graduated. He might not have meshed so well with that squirrelly crew in Cleveland, but I dunno. Have to wait for his memoirs.

IIRC, he got seriously stabbed while in college, but he recovered. He was a tough young man when it came to that.

[Jerzyland]

There it is, he had 11 in 2014, 4.5 in ‘13, then 2.5 in ‘15, then 1.5 with New Orleans. I really thought that him and Cam Jordan we’re going to be one of the best duos in the NFL. Completely agree that it’s sad though, the guy was fun to watch at his peak. Idk why he left Baltimore, honestly. Him and Suggs would probably still be tearing it up.

How are those two OLBs the Ravens drafted last year doing btw? Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams I think? They both looked like they could eventually be the two dudes off the edge for them.

Bowser looked in serious competition with Suggs and Williams. He's got 5 tackles this year, and he technically hasn't started a game all year. He seems to be pretty good this year, (for a backup) with one tackle for loss being his highlight against the bills.

Williams has 7 tackles and two sacks on the year, with a projected 6 or 7 sacks to finish the year out. Williams is rocking those dreads, so he's doing alright there. He seems to be the best of the two, despite not starting either.

SHHHHHH! SHUSH! GOLDANGIT! ...WE PLAY HIS TEAM NEXT WEEK!!!

[Ameriganastan]

Antonio Brown getting sued twice.

[Jerzyland]

You don't really get how this works. More to the point, the rest of us shouldn't be penalized bc you don't know something. That sword cuts both ways.

I have been thinking of a mathematical way to express both win and percentage rankings in one number, call it maybe the power ranking.

For each player add both their win ranking with their % rank then divide by 2. This creates a smallest number is most powerful scenario. So we can subtract that from 100 for a total power ranking where 99 is the highest possible score.

In that scenario I would be 98.5. Ran would be 97.0. Zurk at 96.0 and so forth. You would be at 89.5. I like mathematics and also fairness to everybody.

Aiight. I think that works pretty well.

Tell Kohr.

We probably should exact a penalty for missing more than three weeks. Like subtracting 3.0 from the power ranking total for fourth week missed and each subsequent one thereafter. One guy, forget who, would have a 92.5 yet he's only played one week out of five, but he went 12-3. It just seems like that's too high a power ranking for only making 15 picks out of 78 game to pick. Doing well one week can be a fluke.

[Jerzyland]

Antonio Brown getting sued twice.

Not a Bengal quality crime spree quite yet. Steelers might keep him.

[Ranoria]

There it is, he had 11 in 2014, 4.5 in ‘13, then 2.5 in ‘15, then 1.5 with New Orleans. I really thought that him and Cam Jordan we’re going to be one of the best duos in the NFL. Completely agree that it’s sad though, the guy was fun to watch at his peak. Idk why he left Baltimore, honestly. Him and Suggs would probably still be tearing it up.

How are those two OLBs the Ravens drafted last year doing btw? Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams I think? They both looked like they could eventually be the two dudes off the edge for them.

Bowser looked in serious competition with Suggs and Williams. He's got 5 tackles this year, and he technically hasn't started a game all year. He seems to be pretty good this year, (for a backup) with one tackle for loss being his highlight against the bills.

Williams has 7 tackles and two sacks on the year, with a projected 6 or 7 sacks to finish the year out. Williams is rocking those dreads, so he's doing alright there. He seems to be the best of the two, despite not starting either.

Nice nice. I was surprised they were able to snag Williams in the third, with everyone saying that he was a borderline first rounder, but I loved the pick. Can never have too many pass rushers. And dreads are always a plus. I’d have them but unfortunately I’m white, so it doesn’t look badass.

[Jerzyland]

Bowser looked in serious competition with Suggs and Williams. He's got 5 tackles this year, and he technically hasn't started a game all year. He seems to be pretty good this year, (for a backup) with one tackle for loss being his highlight against the bills.

Williams has 7 tackles and two sacks on the year, with a projected 6 or 7 sacks to finish the year out. Williams is rocking those dreads, so he's doing alright there. He seems to be the best of the two, despite not starting either.

Nice nice. I was surprised they were able to snag Williams in the third, with everyone saying that he was a borderline first rounder, but I loved the pick. Can never have too many pass rushers. And dreads are always a plus. I’d have them but unfortunately I’m white, so it doesn’t look badass.

The hair only really matters in a man's musical careers, not football.
Now you should put on some UB40, smoke a spliff and suck down a bottle of red red wine. You still won't be a badass, but the good news is ...you won't care about it anymore, like the rest of us.

[Ranoria]

Nice nice. I was surprised they were able to snag Williams in the third, with everyone saying that he was a borderline first rounder, but I loved the pick. Can never have too many pass rushers. And dreads are always a plus. I’d have them but unfortunately I’m white, so it doesn’t look badass.

The hair only really matters in a man's musical careers, not football.
Now you should put on some UB40, smoke a spliff and suck down a bottle of red red wine. You still won't be a badass, but the good news is ...you won't care about it anymore, like the rest of us.

I can't legally drink...I do it anyway, but only to not look like a prune, and I'm a big dude, so I've never actually felt it lol. Not sure what the other stuff is, unless a spliff is a blunt.

[Ameriganastan]

Week 6 picks.

Eagles over Giants
Falcons over Bucs
Bengals over Steelers
Browns over Chargers
Texans over Bills
Bears over Dolphins
Vikings over Cardinals
Colts over Jets
Seahawks over Raiders
Panthers over Redskins
Rams over Broncos (Please be merciful, Rams...)
Jags over Cowboys
Ravens over Titans
Chiefs over Pats
Packers over 49ers

[Luminesa]

Week 6 Picks! (Even if New Orleans is on a bye.)

Eagles over Giants
Bucs over Falcons
Bengals over Steelers
Browns over Chargers
Texans over Bills
Bears over Dolphins
Vikings over Cards
Colts over Jets
Seahawks over Raiders
Ravens over Titans
Redskins over Panthers
Rams over Broncos
Pats over Chiefs
Packers over Niners

[Jerzylvania]

Picks are underlined.

Eagles @ Giants
Buccaneers @ Falcons
Steelers @ Bengals
Chargers @ Browns
Bills @ Texans
Bears @ Dolphins
Cardinals @ Vikings
Colts @ Jets
Seahawks @ Raiders
Panthers @ Redskins
Rams @ Broncos
Jaguars @ Cowboys
Ravens @ Titans
Chiefs @ Patriots
49ers @ Packers

IMHO, this is a tough slate of games. Anyhoo, here's my week 6 NFL picks ...which are subject to change. (I am now 2-1 in games I've switched off the original pick)

Interesting stat.... Marcus Mariota’s 72.3 QB rating is fourth-lowest in the league. Could be that Delanie Walker's absence makes a big difference.

[Kohr]

Week 6 Picks! (Even if New Orleans is on a bye.)

Eagles over Giants
Bucs over Falcons
Bengals over Steelers
Browns over Chargers
Texans over Bills
Bears over Dolphins
Vikings over Cards
Colts over Jets
Seahawks over Raiders
Ravens over Titans
Redskins over Panthers
Rams over Broncos
Pats over Chiefs
Packers over Niners

What source do you get the games from? I'm curious because you're always missing one game. In this case it's Jaguars @ Cowboys. Do you have a pick for that one?

Picks are underlined.

Eagles @ Giants
Buccaneers @ Falcons
Steelers @ Bengals
Chargers @ Browns
Bills @ Texans
Bears @ Dolphins
Cardinals @ Vikings
Colts @ Jets
Seahawks @ Raiders
Panthers @ Redskins
Rams @ Broncos
Jaguars @ Cowboys
Ravens @ Titans
Chiefs @ Patriots
49ers @ Packers

IMHO, this is a tough slate of games. Anyhoo, here's my week 6 NFL picks ...which are subject to change. (I am now 2-1 in games I've switched off the original pick)

Going against your own home team formula for TNF, I see. We'll see if it pays off for you...

[Jerzylvania]

Week 6 Picks! (Even if New Orleans is on a bye.)

Eagles over Giants
Bucs over Falcons
Bengals over Steelers
Browns over Chargers
Texans over Bills
Bears over Dolphins
Vikings over Cards
Colts over Jets
Seahawks over Raiders
Ravens over Titans
Redskins over Panthers
Rams over Broncos
Pats over Chiefs
Packers over Niners

What source do you get the games from? I'm curious because you're always missing one game. In this case it's Jaguars @ Cowboys. Do you have a pick for that one?

Going against your own home team formula for TNF, I see. We'll see if it pays off for you...

It's Philadelphia vs. New York (but in NJ). Check the map, dude. Virtually an hour drive. This pretty much negates the formula in my view. Maybe not seeing that aspect will pay off for you Kohr. But NYG isn't too good.

[Kohr]

What source do you get the games from? I'm curious because you're always missing one game. In this case it's Jaguars @ Cowboys. Do you have a pick for that one?



Going against your own home team formula for TNF, I see. We'll see if it pays off for you...

It's Philadelphia vs. New York (but in NJ). Check the map, dude. Virtually an hour drive. This pretty much negates the formula in my view. Maybe not seeing that aspect will pay off for you Kohr. But NYG isn't too good.

I have to pick some upsets to keep things interesting, and road division game are always tough. The Eagles are reeling right now too, and the Giants almost won last week...

[Jerzylvania]

I have to pick some upsets to keep things interesting, and road division game are always tough. The Eagles are reeling right now too, and the Giants almost won last week...

We have to pick winners mostly, not upsets. For that, trick is to decide which is the most pertinent information about the game. There's a lot of garbage info out there that is useless. As for upsets, I sometimes get a last minute/day gut feeling for some of them. Others are because I feel a team is ready for a letdown bc of x, y or z reasons and pick their opponent. Either way, upsets are harder to pick than winners but they are most satisfying.

As for the NYG, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

[Kohr]

I have to pick some upsets to keep things interesting, and road division game are always tough. The Eagles are reeling right now too, and the Giants almost won last week...

We have to pick winners mostly, not upsets. For that, trick is to decide which is the most pertinent information about the game. There's a lot of garbage info out there that is useless. As for upsets, I sometimes get a last minute/day gut feeling for some of them. Others are because I feel a team is ready for a letdown bc of x, y or z reasons and pick their opponent. Either way, upsets are harder to pick than winners but they are most satisfying.

As for the NYG, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

I absolutely agree. Most of the fun for me is being able to figure out the upsets. If you pick all favorites, it's not as interesting, and you're probably going to be wrong.