The Everything NFL Thread: 2011-2012 Season (plus free agency I guess)

[Killah]

I doubt the Saints and Falcons will give up against them, despite neither of them having no Defenses to speak of.

Er, what? The Saints had the #4 defense in Yards per game allowed (including #1 in passing yards allowed) and #7 in points per game allowed, while the Falcons were #16 in YPG allowed but #5 in PPG allowed. While they may not be elite defenses, both were young last year and only got better through free agency and have the potential to be top 10 defenses again this year.

The way I see it, the AFC and NFC are going to be more balanced this year than they have in a while. Most people seem to agree that the Patriots, Packers, and Eagles belong in the top 3, with the Steelers not far behind. After that, the Saints/Ravens/Falcons/Jets round out the top 8 with four in each conference. However, there's a lot of teams in the NFC that should definitely improve on their records from last year, namely the Giants, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Lions. While this may be the most optimistic time of the year, I expect that the NFC will be very competitive this year, and in all likelihood there will be a couple 10-6 teams missing the playoffs come January.

 

[Shinryu]

Well, Niners giving Culpepper a workout now...not such a bad ideal IMO; he was on the hot track until 2005 when injuries pretty much left him a shell of his former self. But still, he's not at that horrible of an age (34) and is a skilled veteran who I would gladly pick over another year of Fucker Smith again. And at any rate, Niners need a good backup, which they lack and since most of the good vets have signed or retired, Culpepper can easily fill that void.

Shame Kapernick is far from ready...he didn't look the worst during the preseason game, but he has quite a bit of ways to go to being starter ready, plus if they feed him to the dogs right now that could pretty much destroy him mentally. But hell, even I'd like to live with Kapernick and the fact he's a rookie over that Smith I hate so much.

 

[TheValkyries]

Er, what? The Saints had the #4 defense in Yards per game allowed (including #1 in passing yards allowed) and #7 in points per game allowed, while the Falcons were #16 in YPG allowed but #5 in PPG allowed. While they may not be elite defenses, both were young last year and only got better through free agency and have the potential to be top 10 defenses again this year.

Take a look at the Saints season and point out all the strong Offenses the played that year. But the stats for the defenses of those teams were inflated by not only the ease of schedule, but also by the insane offenses. More efficiency in an offense means less time of possession for opposing offenses. That's why the New England Patriots (Who had an anemic 8th worst defense in the league in YPG and 3rd worst in the pass) finished 8th in least points allowed per game. Hard to score in a game where you only have the ball for 20 minutes.

The way I see it, the AFC and NFC are going to be more balanced this year than they have in a while. Most people seem to agree that the Patriots, Packers, and Eagles belong in the top 3, with the Steelers not far behind. After that, the Saints/Ravens/Falcons/Jets round out the top 8 with four in each conference. However, there's a lot of teams in the NFC that should definitely improve on their records from last year, namely the Giants, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Lions. While this may be the most optimistic time of the year, I expect that the NFC will be very competitive this year, and in all likelihood there will be a couple 10-6 teams missing the playoffs come January.

Yeah, forgot about the Lions and the Giants. The latter will definitely be a top threat coming round the bend into the playoffs. Things are definitely more interesting in the NFC than the Eagles bandwagon would like you to believe.

 

[123wert50]

Why do the Saints keep getting RBs? (Drafting Mark Ingram, etc.)

 

[Killah]

Because their leading rusher last season was an undrafted rookie and they had 9 rushing TDs the entire season.

 

[DM]

Lol, any team's pass rush is going to look good when they go against the Bears. Their offensive line is arguably the worst in the league and Martz's system has always allowed a ton of sacks/hits/hurries.

Very true, but when your team gets about 4 sacks over the course of an entire season, you take what you can get.

Giants are not going to make much noise this year, missing too many key pieces. Lions are well on their way, but I don't see them clearing the hurdle to the playoffs just yet. Looks like the usual NFC suspects again this season, probably same story in the AFC as well. The Haves and Have-Nots rarely change.

 

[Run-DMG]

Speaking of the Bills, they've already given up on Maybin. I guess not being able to get a sack against the Bears was the final straw.

 

[123wert50]

I live in Buffalo, I must say the did pretty good.

Shawne Merriman was a beast, great return from Bears and his 2 sacks knocked them out of field-goal range.

:3

 

[CaptKirby]

The NFL is a crazy league, the Lions could certainly make the playoffs. If the Raiders had somehow cohered like they eventually did in the pre-season and not the first 4-5 weeks of the season, they would have gone from a decade of futility straight to the playoffs with how well they started playing.

 

[DM]

Tom Cable still got a raw deal out there (obviously), he and that team were just starting to turn the corner together. blah blah Al Davis blah blah.

 

[Nozizaki]

Er, what? The Saints had the #4 defense in Yards per game allowed (including #1 in passing yards allowed) and #7 in points per game allowed, while the Falcons were #16 in YPG allowed but #5 in PPG allowed. While they may not be elite defenses, both were young last year and only got better through free agency and have the potential to be top 10 defenses again this year.

The way I see it, the AFC and NFC are going to be more balanced this year than they have in a while. Most people seem to agree that the Patriots, Packers, and Eagles belong in the top 3, with the Steelers not far behind. After that, the Saints/Ravens/Falcons/Jets round out the top 8 with four in each conference. However, there's a lot of teams in the NFC that should definitely improve on their records from last year, namely the Giants, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Lions. While this may be the most optimistic time of the year, I expect that the NFC will be very competitive this year, and in all likelihood there will be a couple 10-6 teams missing the playoffs come January.

Lol wut? The Giants had a terrible Offseason. They lost Kevin Boss and Steve Smith, and Manning had a terrible season last year. If it wasn't for that dynamic duo rushing last year the Giants would've been under .500 and I expect them to be this year.

Bears also won't do as well this year.

 

[CaptKirby]

How is losing Steve Smith the problem? Losing Osi is a problem. Giants are still at least a .500 team.

DM, any time your team is better than .320 for the first time in a decade, you have to fire the coach.

 

[Run-DMG]

The Giants don't need Umenyiora at all. Pierre-Paul has looked fantastic in practice and the preseason thus far.

Giants are still at least a .500 team.

Lolwut? What killed the Giants last season were the crazy amount of giveaways they had. They have a great defense that features arguably the best defensive line in the league and a highly underrated offense.

Tom Cable still got a raw deal out there (obviously), he and that team were just starting to turn the corner together. blah blah Al Davis blah blah.

Get real, the Raiders were still bad last season. Six of their eight wins came from division game and there is no way they'll sweep their division every year.

 

[Killah]

I don't care how good the Giants may have been last year, but they're playing the NFC West this year. Assuming they can go 4-2 in the division, they'll probably make the playoffs this year!

But, if you insist, the Giants had the #5 rated offense in YPG (10th in passing, 6th in rushing) and 7th in PPG, while the defense was 7th in YPG Allowed (9th in passing, 8th in rushing) yet 17th in PPG Allowed. Their major problem was turnovers, which are inherently random. If Manning can stand to hold on to the ball and not throw as many interceptions, they will make the playoffs.

 

[THE_IRON_...KENYAN?]

Lolwut? What killed the Giants last season were the crazy amount of giveaways they had. They have a great defense that features arguably the best defensive line in the league and a highly underrated offense.

just give up, bro. this year isnt gonna be the giants year. not when you have a guy who makes brett favre look like tom brady and not when your team chokes all the time. you guys used up all your clutch tokens in the 2008 playoffs when you won the superbowl.

you are just setting yourself up for a disappointing season

 

[Run-DMG]

just give up, bro. this year isnt gonna be the giants year. not when you have a guy who makes brett favre look like tom brady and not when your team chokes all the time. you guys used up all your clutch tokens in the 2008 playoffs when you won the superbowl.

you are just setting yourself up for a disappointing season

First off, I'm not a Giants fan. I just know a good team when I see it.

A good portion of Eli's interceptions were from his receivers tipping passes. Even if that wasn't the case, there is no way Eli will come close to throwing 25 interceptions again.

 

[Steamroll]

Did Goodel seriously just postpone the supp. draft for Pryor? Damn it, he should just say "Screw you, always next year bitch."

 

[Shinryu]

I don't get it, what's with the extra controversy over this Pryor fellow? I thought it seemed kinda clear cut to me, he accepted improper benefits while in college (tatoos or whatever the fuck it was), NCAA gave him a suspension, so he decided fuck the system/college and hired an agent to get into the supplement draft. So yeah...are there some new rules or something that would prevent him from being in the draft no one cares about? Or for that matter is it really worth all this hassle for a QB that has long enough shots to make it into the NFL anyways?

 

[WaterBomb]

lol, Giants receivers did tip an unusual number of passes last year. But you can't always blame the receiver for that, especially if the ball is thrown too high. Eli tends to overthrow so this doesn't surprise me.

The Giants are not a bad team by any means. They are a solid organization with good coaching and front office staff that can consistently put out >.500 teams. Unfortunately, they're kind of doomed to be that perennial 10-6 wild card team that never makes it to the Super Bowl because they are just short of being strongth enough. Eli isn't the man who is going to make that happen, so they're gonna have to wait for the next franchise QB.

 

[TheValkyries]

lol, Giants receivers did tip an unusual number of passes last year. But you can't always blame the receiver for that, especially if the ball is thrown too high. Eli tends to overthrow so this doesn't surprise me.

The Giants are not a bad team by any means. They are a solid organization with good coaching and front office staff that can consistently put out >.500 teams. Unfortunately, they're kind of doomed to be that perennial 10-6 wild card team that never makes it to the Super Bowl because they are just short of being strongth enough. Eli isn't the man who is going to make that happen, so they're gonna have to wait for the next franchise QB.

Except for that one year, where he did do it for them. But as a Patriots fan, I too, like to think that year never happened.


Speaking of which anyone else notice how uncomfortable Ochocinco looked on the Patriots sideline in their preseason opener? He was quiet the whole time, was never the center of attention at any point, and was trying to soak in every word Brady said to him. He looks like he's really trying to fit in, he just doesn't feel it yet. Which is interesting because he definitely saw that the only way to fit in at New England is to play well, so I can't wait to see him actually turned loose.

 

[Nozizaki]

just give up, bro. this year isnt gonna be the giants year. not when you have a guy who makes brett favre look like tom brady and not when your team chokes all the time. you guys used up all your clutch tokens in the 2008 playoffs when you won the superbowl.

you are just setting yourself up for a disappointing season

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was within the the bottom 5 by the new QB rating, either way, they aren't going anywhere. Eagles are clearly better and I bet the Cowboys and Redskins each steal a game (Good Rex Grossman will show up).

 

[YTP]

The Falcons are apparently talking to somebody major. Hopefully it's on the defensive side of the ball. I'm pretty convinced with the offense right now.

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/beaubock790

 

[Shinryu]

So...who the hell is Josh McCown?

 

[dloosh13]

Speaking of Pryor and the sup draft, he has been declared eligible. However, because of the way he tried to cheat the system, he cannot practice or play with any team until week 5.

Really though, he should've been ineligible from the start

 

[Steamroll]

Meh, I think Goodel was nice in letting him be eligible. But I guess the 5 game suspension is just his way of saying he should've stayed in NCAA.