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NFL 2016

subrob

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Probably the only raider fan to say this...but it was actually a no brainer to go for two...if we would have lost jack would have taken the blame...not the team...lot of pressure losing the season opener what? 12-13 years in a row? That would have been a blow to the raiders momentum this season...but he insulated them from that possibility...regardless of oitcome... no "same ole raider" talk... I guess that's my point...THAT was the motivation for going for two at end...and I ain't bitchin...that's top tier coaching shit man....
 

subrob

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Here's my two cents on the Vegas thing...
I don't think Nevada is going to bite on 750 mil...I think people are more aware now than ever that not one single cent should come from the public...ever..on a billion+ project that is never gonna pay off...for anyone but team and league...who are already billionaires...
It's the future...and I hope it starts now...in Oakland...the NFL needs to step up and fund these things themselves...period...and the raiders belong in Oakland as much as any team in any sport anywhere...
If they have to go somewhere it's LA....the chargers don't belong there and no one will care...if the raiders go to LA as the "second fiddle" in the rams stadium the second fiddle status will last about 1 game...shit...it wouldn't even materialize to begin with...ha..I love the rams are back home though
But if they end up in Vegas they will still be my team...shit...I would prob see them more often...
 

Bababooey

Horse-toothed Jackass
Veteran
Yeah, Raiders look like they're going to be a contender soon, if not this year then next year and possibly for several more seasons after. It had to take Al Davis passing away for them to recover (Al was responsible for a lot of their early success, but the last 10 yrs of his ownership saw a lot of questionable draft picks and FA signings) but theyre looking young, talented, and their salary cap situation is finally stable.

In this post-recession era, it's always iffy for tax payers to help fund stadiums that mostly profit billionaires, but i always figured Vegas would be able to use a new stadium for other events (concerts, fights, etc) much like Jerry Jones is doing with Jerry-World, i mean ATT stadium. Vegas is a prime destination for big time events like that, but i suppose the casinos have the capacity to host those events as well.

The raiders moving to LA would make sense, as they have a built in fan base from their time in So-Cal. Plus, Silver and black is a cool color scheme, and everyone with a pirate fetish in so-cal will be able to come to raiders games fully decked out in their pirate costumes without shame...

Bills host the Jets tonite. The Ryan brothers may have gotten the defense back on track (only gave up 13 pts last week) but they have forgotten the offense (only scored 7 pts), and Rex goes up against another former employer.
I admire the Ryan brothers for being plain spoken (out spoken) but it does get old after a while hearing them talk about how good they are when their teams struggle to reach .500. What did jimmy johnson used to say? You gotta walk the walk if you wanna talk the talk? Well, with the ryan bros it's been mostly talk and very little walking...
 

VERMONSTAH

Active member
Jerry jones reminds me of al davis only in that with them around it seems like more of a "handcuff" to his teams then an actual blessing.
 

Hemphrey Bogart

Active member
Veteran
The Bills must win tonight. If they fall to 0-2, the Ryan's are going to have egg on their face....again.

Carolina 14 point favs vs the 9ers?? Carolina is at home and they're looking for their first win, but I'd take that bet right now anyway. Wouldn't be surprised if that 9er D makes it a closer game than anyone expects.

HB.
 

Bababooey

Horse-toothed Jackass
Veteran
Jerry jones reminds me of al davis only in that with them around it seems like more of a "handcuff" to his teams then an actual blessing.

I think Jerry, the last couple of years, has been pretty good at letting others make roster decisions. He passed up Manziel to take a center in the 1st round of the draft two years ago, and that center is now a pro bowler while manziel is, you know...
Also, he had a chance to sign johnny football this offseason and passed on it, wisely. I think jerry's son stephen jones is taking more command of the team/roster, and that is a good thing, he seems wiser and more conservative than jerry and especially al davis.
The 'Boys have still not had a good record the last year or so, because of never ending injuries to Romo, but im not sure you can blame that on jerry, and they finally do have a capable backup now in Dak. Once Prescott gets some more experience under his belt, maybe they can finally move on from the Romo era...

The Bills must win tonight. If they fall to 0-2, the Ryan's are going to have egg on their face....again.

Carolina 14 point favs vs the 9ers?? Carolina is at home and they're looking for their first win, but I'd take that bet right now anyway. Wouldn't be surprised if that 9er D makes it a closer game than anyone expects.

HB.


Bills forgot their defense and lost to the Jets at home last night, and now face the cardinals and patriots their next 2 games, so very possible they could go 0-4 to start the season. I dont know the statistics, but i doubt many teams that start off 0-4 make the playoffs. If the bills dont make the playoffs again for the 16th straight year, does that mean the ryan bros are fired?

Panthers are favored by almost 2 TD's at home vs the Niners.
Needless to say, i think Cam is a better QB than Case, and their offense is better than the Rams (except maybe for Todd Gurley) and their defense too. Plus the Panthers are well rested, having played 10 or 11 days ago, while the niners played monday night and have a short week.
Still, hemphrey is right: the niners D looks way better than last year. Arik Armstead and especially Deforest Buckner are two studs in the middle of the defensive line that will eat up blockers and get pressure up the middle. I think theyre still a year or two away from being consistently dominant, but the championship niners teams in
the 90's were always strong up the middle on defense, from the defensive tackles to the safeties. Having a hall of famer at QB helped too; Gabbert is showing some courage moving on the chains on scrambles, but i expect kaepernick will eventually take over as starter when he's fully healthy and has more practice reps.
 

pop_rocks

In my empire of dirt
Premium user
420club
to say that carolina is better team than the rams is an understatement
we are talking orders of magnitude better
this is going to be a real test for san fran
a win here would be huge

and if gabbert is able to pull a win out of the hat, i would not be surprised to see kaep riding the bench for quite a while

raiders belong in cali
if not oakland,LA would welcome them wiht open arms
but the chargers have first choice of moving and the chances of them getting the stadium deal they want in san diego is just about nil
even tho LA does not care one bit about the chargers, this has nothing to do with what the fans want
its all about making ultra-rich even richer

that said, the season has gotten off to a great start
yeah footbaw!
 

Storm Shadow

Well-known member
Veteran
Forte is looking like the Steal of the Draft so far.. 4th round in my league...

He looks like a true old school every-down workhorse RB1 ..

Every year this guy is under drafted and puts up stats.. i always doubt him and he always produces.. finally on a good team...this dude is going be Top 5 RB all season barring injury
 

Bababooey

Horse-toothed Jackass
Veteran
I think the Rams have talent on both sides of the ball, just need better QB play. Without any threat of a passing attack, opponents can just focus on Gurley; without the ability to sustain drives, their defense ends up staying on the field too long and eventually gives up scores. I expect to see Goff sooner rather than later unless Keenum steps it up.

Forte is perennially underrated every year, although i dont think he'll have many more 3 TD games this season. I think he'll finish top 10 or 15 at his position, not top 5, but i could be wrong...

The Bills have fired Off Coordinator Roman Gabriel. I don't think you can blame the loss last night on him, his offense scored 24 pts (an additional 7 pts were scored by the bills defense) on a pretty good defense. The Bills gave up 37 pts to the Jets and made Fitzpatrick look like Roethlisberger, but you know, the defensive asst head coach is the head coach's brother so HE'S not going to get fired, lol...
 

VERMONSTAH

Active member
Man forte is MASTERCLASS at avoiding punishing blows, everytime i see him run i see a brilliance most backs cant comprehend or execute, being shifty and not being a detritment to the first down yardage needed therein. Lots and lots of backs will lower a shoulder and follow a block, or shift so many times east and west that they end up shifting 20 yards to go nowhere.........when i watch forte play i see a genius at finding the only way through without taking unnecc. damage.


Bababooey im a giants fan since gifford ran the ball, I am always looking for an excuse to hate on jerry lol.
 

Bababooey

Horse-toothed Jackass
Veteran
Right on, Vermon. So the typical Giants fan's order of hatred for divisional opponents goes like this:
#1 (hated): Cowboys (and Jerry, since he's much more high profile than your typical owner).
#2: Philadelphia - because of their proximity to the NY area and their general uncouthness (is that a word?)
#3: Washington (?)

Would you agree? I'm just pulling this out of my @ss...

Having watch Forte for the better part of a decade, when he was often the only good thing about our offense, he is very skilled at avoiding big hits. He just seems to be able to slide or duck past most straight on hits, pretty impressive for a taller (6'1") tailback. He's smart enough to realize that, yeah, if he lowered his head and tried to drive forward he may pick up an extra yard or two but then he'd take a lot more shots and wouldnt stay as healthy and available as he has been throughout his career. Add his pass-blocking and pass-catching skills and he's probably the most well-rounded back in the league, and the numbers show it too (i think he regularly finishes top 5 in yards from scrimmage for backs).
I wasnt too happy to see him go, but i also realize the bears are looking to make over their team, get younger all around. He wasnt the most expensive back in the league, but langford is getting paid like 1/10 of what forte is making with the jets; that's extra savings to sign competent defensive players, which the bears need, badly.
 

Space Toker

Active member
Veteran
To all the not so bright that make things about the latest (non) issue or who went down or what impossible mountain there is to climb, you should get down on your knees and worship all the greatnesss and goodness that is the Patriots! I'd like to say what I'd like to do to that Goodell bla bla bla but I know better... hey take out our phenomenal QB that was the ultimate underdog and rose to total greatness, so many coaches and players did well along the way, any other team and that would be respected or even worshipped. Go ahead continue doubting us, the 2nd QB did great, the 3rd did pretty good and will do great, they could put a ball boy out and he would do great, time to give credit where it is long overdue.... GO PATRIOTS!!
 

Space Toker

Active member
Veteran
Just saying show some more love and less hate than in the past and all teams will be better off! I don't know what was or wasn't said here so forgive me if I jump to conclusions... but I am sayng we were underdogs for a long time before we became good, I tend to respect those that have to battle hard to get where they are instead of just handed to them like so many powerhouses in times past, and the Parcells and Beillichick Pats did just that and deserve a ton of respect instead of petty BS for that! Haters hate on, you will always continue to look like fools as a result but if that is what you want go ahead, we will eat your lunch and shine on doing it! Go Patriots!!!
 

Bababooey

Horse-toothed Jackass
Veteran
Maybe all the patriots hate is because of jealousy of their success. When they won 3 superbowls in 4 years, starting 15 years ago, they were a good story. Like you said, it was a feel good success story of a franchise that historically had not had much success but finally made good.
Then they've been dominant pretty much ever since, and usually when you have dynasties like that, opposing fans get tired of always seeing them contending for 'chips. Patriots fatigue, if you will.
I know when the Bulls were winning all the championships in the 90's with Jordan and Pippen, a lot of basketball fans were getting tired of them winning all the time, and not just fans of rival teams, just nba fans (at least, non Bulls fans) in general were like 'give someone else a chance, please!'

Plus the cheating crap, which was marginal at best, just added more fuel to Patriots haters. Which we dont need to bring up again, it's been debated ad nauseum here and all over tv/internet/social media. If you believe the patriots cheated, no earthly power is going to convince you different, and vice versa.

Patriots did well to beat the Cards and 'Phins, and face two more winnable games against the Texans and Bills. Even if Garappolo misses time with his shoulder (throwing) injury, there's more than a 50% chance they'll be 4-0 when Tom Shady, I mean Brady, comes back. :)

They'll make the playoffs again, probably have home field advantage throughout, and who are threats to them in the AFC?
Broncos, Texans, Ravens and Steelers are 2-0 in the AFC besides the Pats. Out of those teams, probably the Steelers are the most well rounded. Colts are 0-2 and even if Luck He-Mans them into the playoffs like he's done before, he'll probably get stomped by the Patriots like he always does. That's no knock on Luck, just acknowledging he cant play defense as well as offense.

I guess the only weak spot on the Pats i could see so far is that they're sorta kinda giving up more points than an elite defense should, about 20 per game so far. So they can be scored on, and the Steelers certainly have the playmakers to put up a bunch of td's against them, if they meet in the playoffs. But the Pats have a great secondary, some elite talent at linebacker, so it wouldnt surprise me if they start locking teams down on defense as the season progresses.

Chargers whipped up on an up and coming Jaguars team, Raiders lost at home to a middle of the road Falcons team, Rams almost blanked the Seahawks after looking terrible vs the Niners, and the Niners kept it within one score against the Panthers on the road until Cam led his team to 3 straight scores (helped by two Gabbert INT's in the last 5 mins), eventually leading to a 19 pt win. So yeah, Panthers (favored by 13.5) beat the spread.

Now that Gabbert turned a one score game into a 3 score game with 2 TO's late in the 4th qtr, im thinking his lease got a bit shorter, and maybe we'll see The Kneeler come off the bench if Gabbert continues to make more minus plays than plus plays. I havent liked kaepernick's play the last year plus, he wasnt accurate half the time and the other half it seemed like he was running for his life (but w/o a plan once he got outside the pocket); that's not all on him of course, he had a bunch of surgeries during the offseason and with more competent blocking and running game and pass catchers there's a chance he could run that college offense to perfection and run all over teams like they did a few years ago... Including my bears during one monday night game.
 

Bababooey

Horse-toothed Jackass
Veteran
Whoa whoa whoa, stop the music.

So Andrew Luck had a couple of bad turnovers in the 4th qtr yesterday, leading to a colts loss and the final margin of victory for the broncos.
Speaking from experience (the qb of my team is the Human Interception disguised as a QB), Luck has 5 TD's and 1 INT and 1 lost Fumble in 2 games this year, so not bad overall. Pretty decent actually, still more than a 2-1 TD to TO ratio.
Overall for his career his TD to TO ratio is still very much positive, and he's still only into his 5th or 6th year in the league. Most great QB's have the highest TO numbers earlier in their career but then settle down with experience/getting better. That includes Peyton, Brees, Roethlisberger, etc; except for maybe Brady, Young and Montana, not sure if those guys ever had negative TD-TO ratios in a season, even early in their careers.

What can you say about Luck? Yeah, he takes chances to make plays, and sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. And yeah they're 0-2 this year, but they started 0-2 in 2014 and finished with 11 wins and a trip to the AFC championship game, where they were lost by 38 pts because the game balls were slightly deflated. :)
In fact, every year Luck has been healthy and played 16 games, the colts havent won less than 11 games, including his rookie year.

Luck is capable of putting the team on his shoulders and willing them to the playoffs, but you wish he didnt have to. Trying to do everything himself just exposes him to injury, which finally caught up to him last season. Maybe a new coach and GM next year will finally put together a competent defense and offense around him, and he can save the He Man routine for when it really matters, like in the playoffs.

Btw, All Day got hurt yesterday; no one thinks it's a serious injury, but Bradford looked good passing out of the shotgun, and the Vikes defense is still top 5 or 3, maybe theyre better off without AP?

Other injuries to note: Von Miller lost his pass rush edge partner Demarcus Ware to a broken arm (ouch, i suppose he can play with a cast on but this could limit that broncos D significantly), Arian Foster got hurt again (does it really matter where, he's pretty much a walking injury report at this point in his career), Woodhead hurt his knee (more carries for Melvin Gordon, who's making up for a terrible rookie season and showing what's he's capable of), and Garropolo sprained his AC joint after landing on his throwing shoulder after being knocked down while tearing up the 'Fins (3 TDs in the 1st half). He hasnt been officially ruled out for Thursday night against the Texans, but that's a quick turnaround.
 

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