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The Everything NFL Thread v2.0

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I got that part just fine, but the problems with going West is basically superfluous? Although, now that I actually went and checked the matter, Cardinals are 6-2 at home and 2-6 elsewhere and Chargers are 5-3 at home and 3-5 elsewhere, so this is more outrageously rewarding than I thought!

To take this a step further, lets look at the Jets. They finished 9-7, obviously missing the Playoffs, but not by much. The Jets were 4-4 on the road this year. The four wins were against Miami, Buffalo, New England, and Tennessee- all four of these teams are in the eastern part of the country and 3 of them finished with a record above .500. The four losses were against San Diego, Oakland, San Francisco, and Seattle- all four of these teams are on the west coast and none of them finished with a record above .500.

Is it merely coincidence that they lose on the road to inferior teams such as Oakland and Seattle but defeat top-notch foes like Tennessee, New England, and Miami? I don't think so.

Btw, I'm not a Jets fan. They were just a good example.
 
Ok, stop celebrating about your god damn chargers
they didnt deserve a wild card seed and they'll lose it anyway
(waits for the flaming to start)

Who the hell are you talking to? Noone mentioned praising the chargers since like mid last page....
 
I believe the deciding factor in the SD / Indy game will be the health of Bob Sanders/Jeff Saturday. I would assume they are going to play, but does anyone know for sure?

They have both been injured on numerous occasions this year, so even if they are in uniform, the question remains, will they be their normal pro-bowl caliber selves?
 
The West/East part is valid, but Miami, the Dolphins, and Patriots are not top-notch foes. None were among the only seven most playoff deserving teams (Titans, Colts, Ravens, Steelers; Giants, Panthers, Falcons)
 
You forgot the Titans in there, who are certainly among the league's elite. As I said earlier, the Jets defeated the Titans, Patriots, and Dolphins on the road (and the Bills, but that isn't all that impressive). I may have exaggerated when saying "top-notch" regarding the Pats/Dolphins but nevertheless, they are +.500 teams.

The teams they lost to were not +.500.
 
Bill Parcells's revival was winning 7 games by an average of 5 points against horrendous teams. They were not revived - they were 4-4 against non-West teams!!


And last year, they would have lost those games, so yeah, there was a revival. Parcells doesn't have control over the teams the Dolphins play.

UltimoVenusaur, are you totally obsessed with tradition or what? The best x amount of teams should play in every playoff in every sport! Period! Who cares about some 'system'? The system SEEDS the teams wrongly every year at the fucking least.

It's not about tradition, it's about the best way to run a regular season. If you disregard division Championships, then you'd have to find a better way of running the regular season, which would mean having each team in the conference play each other at least once. Not only would that be a headache to schedule, it would ruin divisional rivalries, and from a league standpoint, would totally be cost-ineffective.

Now, if your argument is seeding, then yeah, maybe they should have it so that the team with the better record hosts the game no matter what. That would be practical. But doing what you and every other overreactionary talking head or Boston whiner is suggesting would be impractical and very hard to initiate.
 
Not to be depressing, but lets pretend we are the Lions. Yes, the hapless 0-16 Lions that get the first pick in the upcoming draft.

Who would you draft?

The assumption by ESPN and the like is that Sam Bradford is heading to Detroit. But is this the right move?

There is an offensive Tackle at Alabama, Andre Smith, a concensus All-American that is projected by many to go 2nd overall. My question is, should he go first?

When the Rams took Orlando Pace #1 they won the Super Bowl. When the Dolphins took Jake Long #1 they went from 1-15 to division winners and maybe more. Pace and Long are/were both tackles btw.

Should the first step for the Lions be the O-line, the QB, or something else? What do you guys think?
 
Not to be depressing, but lets pretend we are the Lions. Yes, the hapless 0-16 Lions that get the first pick in the upcoming draft.

Who would you draft?

The assumption by ESPN and the like is that Sam Bradford is heading to Detroit. But is this the right move?

There is an offensive Tackle at Alabama, Andre Smith, a concensus All-American that is projected by many to go 2nd overall. My question is, should he go first?

When the Rams took Orlando Pace #1 they won the Super Bowl. When the Dolphins took Jake Long #1 they went from 1-15 to division winners and maybe more. Pace and Long are/were both tackles btw.

Should the first step for the Lions be the O-line, the QB, or something else? What do you guys think?
Well, the Dolphins also got Pennington as well, which also helped them. So if the Lions could score both a good QB and draft a Tackle #1, they might replicate the Dolphins' success, lol.
 
You forgot the Titans in there, who are certainly among the league's elite. As I said earlier, the Jets defeated the Titans, Patriots, and Dolphins on the road (and the Bills, but that isn't all that impressive). I may have exaggerated when saying "top-notch" regarding the Pats/Dolphins but nevertheless, they are +.500 teams.

The teams they lost to were not +.500.

I did not forget them - it was the exact point of me leaving it out (I had no reason to negate what you said since it was actually correct.)

They may have beaten the Patriots and Dolphins on the road, but they lost to them at home then, so that is not a stellar indication of success, but more like inconsistency!

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Parcells doesn't have control over the teams the Dolphins play.

If you disregard division Championships, then you'd have to find a better way of running the regular season

But doing what you and every other overreactionary talking head or Boston whiner is suggesting would be impractical and very hard to initiate.

But he has some control over how poorly they win over horrendous teams. The Dolphins are not the high flying team that people want them to be.

If you disregard bids for division leaders, then it means you use it scheduling and no more, which is perfectly fine; no one is arguing for some convoluted formula a la the BCS when there are more games and less teams. I do not know why I am rebutting you at all, however, because...

You prove that you are utterly ignorant and must resort to bigotry to polemicize what you disagree with. It is not overreactionary when this ruins every sport nearly every season (with extreme luck it may not, or in the case of MLB a mere 8 teams and only 3 divisions may facilitate less of this occurring, but even then not nearly always). Being a Boston sportswriter has nothing to do with anything here, but rather merely reflects your sheer, ignorant bigotry. It is not overreacting, but rather the simple, fucking only logical solution. The only people who are against it are those who senselessly blind themselves in the supposed paragon that they think tradition is.

Now, there is one alternate set of reasons - arrogance and a desire to get in the playoffs work no matter what dictate both that teams want a situation in which their teams can get in despite actually dominant ones and also that most any team has to believe that their team will be one of the dominant ones if not in the former category. No one wants to think that they will be the team who misses or wants to throw away an easy out into the playoffs.
 
Very interesting matchups here, however here's who I like:

Atlanta vs. Arizona = Atlanta has an extremely powerful running game/good passing game and Arizona's defense has proven to be incosistent.

Minnesota VS. Philly = My favorite matchup, very explosive running backs however Westbrook has McNabb so I like them here.

Miami vs. Baltimore = Another really intriguing match. Ravens power defense vs. the unpredictable wildcat offense that has matured alot throughout the year. I still think the Ravens defense will hold through.

Indy vs. San Diego = Colts, both teams are hot but I'm really liking how Manning has turned this team around.
 
As for the Lions, they could use a franchise QB, but he will get killed behind that offensive line if they don't upgrade it. They are fortunate though in that they have Dallas's first rounder thanks to the Roy Williams trade, so I think they ought to go with a QB first overall and an OT with the second first rounder. They have Gosder on the right side, so an elite LT would go a long way. Plus, I'm hoping they won't throw the QB to the fire right away, but with the way Flacco and Ryan played this season I'm sure they're mighty tempted.
 
They still have Kitna to lean on for another year or two, so I'd say the first pick should be an OL; maybe even both first-rounders. In the second round they can pick their QB of the future and let him learn for a bit before letting him play.

But here's the thing: their defense is what's so terrible about the team. They traded Shawn Rogers and the fun defense was the joke of the NFL this season. Their offense (at least with Kitna behind center) was really never the big problem, especially with the way Kevin Smith has been playing I'm more worried about the other side of the ball. They need to draft some run-stopping DTs and probably a safety.
 
They still have Kitna to lean on for another year or two, so I'd say the first pick should be an OL; maybe even both first-rounders. In the second round they can pick their QB of the future and let him learn for a bit before letting him play.

But here's the thing: their defense is what's so terrible about the team. They traded Shawn Rogers and the fun defense was the joke of the NFL this season. Their offense (at least with Kitna behind center) was really never the big problem, especially with the way Kevin Smith has been playing I'm more worried about the other side of the ball. They need to draft some run-stopping DTs and probably a safety.

Eh, I think Kitna could be gone. He had complained that him being put on IR was just an excuse and he wasn't hurting that badly. Plus, he is like, what, 38 now? I could see both picks on lineman too - probably the first on one of the very good OTs, and maybe the second on a C like Unger or Mack? Although that would be kind of high for them. The defensive class in general looks pretty deep so they'll be plenty for them to choose from.
 
picking ravens / min / arizona / chargers but these teams all match up so well that its almost impossible to choose. im picking arizona and san diego because they are momentum teams and they have all the weapons to be successful. being at home doesnt hurt either for those two.

edit:
God Manning MVP...that's disgusting.

how? he turned his 3-4 team into an 12-4 team that are the favorites of many to go to the super bowl.
 
Yeah Go Giants.
Honestly, seeing how the teams have been playing this year, it'll probably end up being titans vs giants in the superbowl. Colts might beat the titans and the panthers might beat the giants though ( they're seeking revenge for that overtime loss)
 
To touch on a few things...

1. After watching the Chargers in the second half of the season, I can tell you they are a much better team than their record would indicate. People are all up in arms over the Patriots not making the playoffs but the Chargers making it, but all they do is look at stats and not actually watch games to see how the team plays. The Chargers have one of the best QBs in the AFC (who shamefully did not make the pro bowl), an amazing running back who is now back to normal after going through some struggles (which everyone does from time to time, it was sickening to hear people crucify LT like they did). They have an underrated defense that can get the job done when it counts. The only weakness of the Chargers I think is, surprisingly, Norv Turner. I've never been a fan of the guy, and I'm not sure how he is still actively coaching in the league. The Chargers are a VERY explosive team, as they showed Sunday night by annihilating the Broncos (rofl @ pro bowl QB Jay Cutler). I think the Chargers Colts game will be a close one, and it won't be over until the very last seconds.

2. Mike Shanahan did deserve to be fired. He's a prick and his team is lucky as hell.

3. Miami is, unfortunately, not all that amazing. As much as I'd love to see them do well in the playoffs, they just won't. The Ravens will dominate them.

4. AFC East = Strongest division in AFC? I'll have to disagree with that. I think it looks strong because none of their records are terrible. But when you look at each team individually, none stick out to me as being anything special. Maybe the Pats with Brady, but without him they're just average. The South is probably the strongest, followed by the North. At least the East is stronger than the West!

5. As far as coaches getting fired and stuff, the problem with these teams is not the coaching. The real problem with these hapless teams is the ownership. Teams have owners that don't know shit about football, and do a very poor job running the franchises as a whole. Yeah, some coaches are just bad, but seriously how successful are you gonna be when you continue to bring in a new coach every year or two or maximum three? Look at the teams in this league that have been consistently successful over an extended period of time. Then look at the coaching changes (or lack thereof). The best way to build a team and make it a consistent contender is to stabilize your staff and stick with your coaches, even if they struggle from time to time. If your coach knows his job is intact, he'll be more comfortable and succeed more. If your players know they'll be working with the same guy for a while, they can get used to them and build a relationship. The recipe for success in the NFL is solidarity and comraderie, not individual talent and constant changes.

6. I had to scroll up to remember what number I was on. Now that the playoff seeds are set, I'll redo my predictions for how the playoffs will play out. In the AFC the Ravens will beat Miami and the Chargers will beat the Colts. In the NFC the Falcons will beat the Cardinals and the Vikings will beat the Eagles. In the AFC Divisional round, the Ravens will beat the Titans (!) and the Steelers will beat the Chargers. In the NFC the Giants will beat the Falcons and the Panthers will beat the Vikings. AFC Championship game: Steelers beat the Ravens. NFC Championship game: Giants beat the Panthers. Super Bowl: Steelers over Giants 24-19

7. I had to go back and add this point after I saw the Steelers' 2009 opponents. Looks like they went from the hardest schedule in the NFL to arguably the easiest, as they face all 4 teams from the AFC West and NFC North. Aside from their divisional opponents, the other two teams they face are the Titans and Dolphins. I see the Steelers at least going 14-2, with a legitimate shot at 16-0 if they can take care of the Titans and sweep the Ravens. Probably won't happen though, but it's nice to dream.
 
Well, let's see how accurate I can be this time, lol. I still think that first time was a bit of a fluke (and some bias):

Atlanta vs. Arizona:
Yeah...the Cardinals are the kings of basically the worst division out there, that is the primary reason they're in (as well as the Seahawks melting down this year). Atlanta is a bit new to this, with a rookie QB and all, but at least they've been winning games. Winner = Atlanta

Minnesota VS. Philly:
I like Philly here, they've worked pretty damn hard to make these playoffs, and I don't think they're going to let up here. They've struggled, but they have...uh...heart. Winner = Philly

Miami vs. Baltimore:
(More bias here), but I like Miami, they've definitely manage to make a huge turnaround from last season. Baltimore, I'll admit I'm not too familiar with, but it should be fun to watch. Winner = Miami

Indy vs. San Diego:
Argh...why these two, I like them both >.>
Anyways, I'm going with the Colts in this one; yes, San Diego probably managed what, one of the un-likeliest comebacks this year, but the Colts have been pretty hot as well, winning their past 9 and rallying from their own slowish start. Winner = Colts
 
There were a lot of good picks for MVP this year, but Manning plays a position where intangibles count for as much as statistics. He did what he did without much of a running game and with his defense hurting most of the year. Personally, I would have liked to have seen a defensive player like James Harrison, DeMarcus Ware or even Ed Reed take it home this year, but Manning's a good enough choice.
 
There's too much to write about for each team, and these matchups can really go either way, essentially defining the term "wild-card" to the fullest. Soooo...:
ARZ > ATL
MIN > PHI
IND > SD
MIA > BAL
 
k my picks:

Arizona over Atlanta
Philly over Minnesota
Indy over San Diego
Baltimore over Miami

the baltimore pick is the one i'm shakiest on just because everyone is taking them which is never a good thing in the nfl
 
Arizona over Atlanta

Arizona is soft on defense, Roddy White and Turner will have big days but Warner will have a big day and will the Cards to a win.

Minnesota over Philly

The big play ability in Westbrook and AP will be big factors in this game, but I think the key player here is Bernard Berrian, if he gets some long balls Minnesota will easily pull this out, if he doesn't AP and the rest of the offense will have problems doing anything.

Indy over San Diego

No way San Diego wins this, Peyton is on a roll and the Charger secondary has been god awful all season, I'm expecting a shootout but I just don't see the Chargers winning.

Baltimore over Miami

Baltimore beat them before, and I don't see any reason why they won't do it again. Pennington's arm will come into play here late when they need a big play, but he won't be able to deliver.
 
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