-
Smogon Premier League is here and the team collection is now available. Support your team!
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
The Everything NFL Thread - 2013-2014 Edition
- Thread starter Killah
- Start date
- Status
The Ravens seem to win when you pick against them, so I'm going to take this as a good sign for our playoff hopes :-)
Yes, who can forget their impressive wins over 4-10 Tampa Bay, 4-10 Atlanta, 2-12 Houston, 4-10 Jacksonville, and 5-9 Tennessee. Let's not forget those wins against slumping Carolina and Indianapolis!
It's a travesty when a 10 win team fails to make the playoffs when an 8 or 9 win team does, but let's not delude ourselves into thinking Arizona is actually a great football team. Sure, they'll be better than some of the teams that make the playoffs (Indianapolis and the #6 seed in the AFC at least) but they are clearly #7 in the NFC at best. If they can beat San Francisco in week 17 to secure a wild card, I'll eat my hat.
(they won't)
It's nice to see a team like Arizona have success with a respectably talented yet young roster, but just because they play in the toughest division in football, doesn't mean they're great by association. They have yet to prove themselves worthy of being a playoff team with only win within divisional play, and with their remaining two games being @Sea and vs SF, they're looking at finishing 1-5 versus NFC West opposition.
The Cardinals I feel have a lot of great pieces in place, but they still need a strong QB and a better RB. Bruce Arians has shown to be an excellent coach, and their defense is set for years to come. If they can address at least their QB need in this upcoming draft, they can still ride Mendington until another first round RB comes along.
Carson Palmer is good enough dude. He had a crappy first seven games but has been really really good after the Seattle game. And it was expected. He was in a new team(his 3rd in 3 years) so it was to be expected. Plus, during his bad stretch while learning the offense he went up against the 49ers, Bucs, Panthers, Saints, Rams, Seahawks and Lions defenses. That is brutal on any qb. I doubt even Rodgers could put up decent numbers against that.. let alone if he was with a new team. I'm actually really excited about their chances next year.
Eh, 2011 Rodgers during that crazy mid season run could probably destroy just about any defense ever.
Eh, 2011 Rodgers during that crazy mid season run could probably destroy just about any defense ever.
...yeah, he's gonna need to be really, really good the next couple of years to wipe the dirt off his name. I do hope the best for Palmer though :)
as a guy who doesn't follow the cardinals, what about arians screams excellent coach? the cardinals had a massive upgrade at qb with a weak schedule, a turn around from last year seemed inevitable considering they had a good defense. if you want to say hes improved a defense, the cardinals were 6th in dvoa last year with a less experienced pp. i just feel like we toss around excellent coach a lot as it is. imho a lot of "excellent" coaches just seem pretty mediocre in several areas whether it be clock management, offensive playcalling, their role in drafting, etc. i don't think there are many excellent coaches in the league at all maybe 3-5 max. im also willing to bet rex ryan is just a better coach than bruce arians and everyone was calling for his head...i mean he got a team with mark sanchez to the afc championship twice entirely off of how well he improved and coached his defense...i don't see any difference in what arians is doing this year except the defense was already well established before he took over. if it's because of indy, it's the same thing - a massive upgrade at qb, a weak schedule, and a very lucky string of wins from 7 pts or less (and then getting murdered by baltimore in the playoffs). before anyone asks, i think tomlin is mediocre and i think john harbaugh is too so meh.
btw you mentioned rbs, this guy seems pretty good why cant ellington be the starter: http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/gamelog/_/id/15893/andre-ellington
i mean averaging 5.9 ypc is insane lol, as someone who doesnt pay attn to this team that much, why isnt he the starter? seems like poor coaching decisions to me >__>
also i don't think the cardinals are going to find a qb in this draft worth replacing palmer for atm. honestly palmer is having a middle of the road season, 21/17 is bad but he really isn't costing his team games and he at least is competent enough.
I agree with this, I probably overstated Arians' value. My post was largely off the top of my head. Still, Arians has thrived with his recent teams (Pittsburgh and Indianapolis), and Pittsburgh's downturn after his departure shows that he was at least one factor contributing to its success (obviously there are others, like age and injuries and learning new systems). Additionally, I held off on judging Ellington right away because I haven't seen enough of him to make a more informed decision. It's possible he's the next Jamaal Charles, but it's also possible his high YPC can be attributed to the fact they've used him only sparingly and he's more of a speed back than Mendenhall. This is why I suggested in my post they attempt to address their QB issue first, so they can have more time to evaluate Ellington. I probably should have phrased it better. Also regarding the QB class of this coming year, I did realize after leaving my computer that there isn't really a candidate this year that would be much of an upgrade over Palmer. They do need to replace him though, as he's probably the biggest factor holding them back from being much better.
Hmm, I don't see how Harbaugh can be mediocre(I also think Tomlin is good, but whatever). He is really damn good at clock management and puts trust in his players when he should. Just watch the end of any game. He is also really amazing at 'counter teaming' imo. Usually if he knows going in that he has to "take away the passing game" then he finds way to do it. Examples being how much zone they ran again the 9ers in the superbowl to punish Kap relying on his feet vs how much man+rush they ran against Detroit on Monday. Plus, he is one of the best at mixing in players that other coaches would usually bench as "2nd string" because he is great at evaluating+utilizing their niche. Example, the ravens almost always have a two-headed running attack because every RB does different things. They don't just bring the backup in when the starter needs a break.
Finally, the record speaks for itself. Harbaugh has one of the best records in the history of the NFL.
I could go on and on lol, but you don't get a record like that w/o being good.
Solely addressing why the Cardinals don't make Ellington the starter, as his fantasy owner, I had been wondering that myself. According to Arians himself, he doesn't believe Ellington's frame can endure the rigors of being an every-down back. He is 5'9" 199 lbs, so there is legitimate cause for workload concern, but it's still probably overblown. Ellington is by far the best talent in Arizona's backfield.
Well, Jamaal Charles is 2 inches taller and the exact same weight (which I guess would make him even thinner), so I'm not sure why workload concern would be an issue. Just because you have a heavy workload does not necessarily mean you are running between the tackles. Jamaal Charles is a nearly every down back, but he typically does not run between the tackles much because they tend not to call those types of inside run plays. If Ellington is as good as his early stats indicate, he could be utilized in a very similar manner. The Cards would need to build their offense around that though, and adjust their blocking schemes and personnel accordingly. I think, currently, their line is built more for a power inside running attack than outside.
yeah, I think you've got a point with offensive scheme. When the Cards signed Mendenhall, they expected him to be their feature back while Ryan Williams competes for backup duties. Obviously they have to reconsider their offense during the offseason, perhaps making it more West Coast, featuring Ellington as a Sproles or Vereen type of role while still giving him his carries. The guy is just too good not to implement into the offense.
Expert analysis of upcoming games paint a bleak picture for Dallas
The Giants are having their worst season since 2009, Eli is having the worst season ever by a QB and no one gives a damn because there are TWO teams in the division who are a bigger joke. Welcome the nfc east, where starting 0-6 and finishing 6-10 can be considered as the 2nd best season in the division by a team and a qb who throws 25 INTs in 14 games goes completely under the radar. Man this division is so bad that the Giants can to go back to MEDIOCRITY next year and win the division comfortably.
I'm honestly not surprised that the Dolphins lost and I'm not even surprised how they lost. I don't even think the great Payton Manning could win with this offense line that played today.
- Status