NFL 2016

[Ottoman]

I personally feel in todays game you can get away with a weak secondary as long as you can rush the passer, your pass rushers can always make you CB's look good if the QB has little time to process info and make accurate throws. On the other hand you can have a great secondary with weak pass rushing and if you give a quality QB time to throw he'll find open WR's making the secondary look bad. That's just my opinion though I'm sure many will disagree.

As far as Cook, Mckenzie is smart taking him.Stock piling QB's you can develop lead to higher draft picks later down the line. I just don't see any chance cook has to even compete for 1st string, more of lets develop him hopefully he has a few good preseason/meaninglees game and some team falls in love with him and we can trade him for a second round pick. Belichek has done it in the past and I believe Mckenzie did too already when in GB with matt Flynn, but I'm not 100% on that.

 

[Bababooey]

Rivers is capable of putting up elite QB #'s, and has in the past; if he won a superbowl or two, you'd have to put him firmly in the elite qb tier. But even Peyton needed a good, complete team around him to win championships, so rivers isnt going to win anything until he gets more help.
Ladainian tomlinson averaged 25 and 30 carries a game his last 2 years at TCU, and still managed to dominate the nfl when he came to the chargers. He averaged over 300 carries his first 8 years with the chargers, and plenty of catches to boot.
I remember in fantasy football, if you had the #1 pick and picked Tomlinson, you were just about guaranteed to win the championship or at least make the playoffs.

Reggie McKenzie has done good work fixing the raiders, it took 2-3 years of salary cap hell to undo all the bad contracts and draft picks that Al Davis inflicted up on the team. But things are looking up, it will be year 3 of David Carr, they have good young talent on both sides of the ball, and they might be moving to Vegas, if they can get a couple billion to build a nice new stadium there...
Drafting Cook looks like a good move, so long as Carr doesnt take it as a slight. Derek is still under his rookie contract until 2017, so if mckenzie doesnt want to pay him 18-20M to re-sign with the raiders, he'll have Cook waiting to take over as a cheaper option.
One of them will make good trade bait in a year or two, if it comes to that.

I read an article on mark davis, he's well aware of what people say about his hair, and that just makes him more determined to keep it the same. If people want him to change it, they should tell him it looks great and he shouldnt change it. Sounds like he has a little bit of the rebel in him, must have got that from his father...

 

[pop_rocks]

being in the twilight of his career and with the way the chargers are treating their top tallent, i think rivers window is closing
as much as i hate to say it, rings rule and w/o that ring, rivers will not get the respect he deserves
( only 1 qb that i can really think of can be considered one of the all time greats with out winning the big game)

L.T is first ballot hall of fame and one of the legends of the game
he is a super star on and off the field

hopefully the chargers can be a cinderella team in the upcoming season and sqweek into the playoffs as a wild card, but the afc is going to be tough this year

the raiders are on teh rise as is KC
and you have to respect denver and its D

i cant wait for the upcoming season!

 

[pop_rocks]

totally agree with you ottoman about a dominant secondary or line being key to the game
i believe a strong line is where it all starts but teh same could be said wiht a lock down secondary

in baseball they say good pitching beats good hitting and the same can be said about football
good D wins championships

 

[Bababooey]

good D wins championships

We definitely saw that in February, when Denver and Von Miller shut down the league's highest scoring offense. A broken down peyton manning did just enough to win his second ring.

The afc west was a strong division last year, they had the superbowl champs as well as a wild card team. The raiders improved from a 3-4 win team the last few years to 7-9. The Chargers were surprisingly the worst team in that division, winning only 4 games, the worst season in Rivers' career. Rivers led the league in passing attempts, because they really couldnt get anything going on the ground.
Melvin Gordon having microfracture surgery in January isnt going to help their run game. But at least woodhead is healthy, even if he's only supposed to be a 3rd down back.

 

[pop_rocks]

im hoping for better things from gordon this year
/one touchdown would be considered better to me

hopefully the chargers will have a healthier line to provide the opportunity for him to get that first step, but i really like the way this kid runs.
rivers will also benefit from a healthy line

what makes the denver D that much more impressive is that they were able to shut down one of the most exciting offences in the league!
carolina faced some tough competition to get to the big game and denver just shut them down completely

my biggest concern for the broncos this year would be sanchez
im expecting there to be some serious eyes on lynch this preseason( the brock ossweiler clone) and i would not be surprised if he becomes the starter at some point in the season

i wonder if they would ever consider bringing back teebow?

 

[Bababooey]

Ah, Tebow. The great Christian hope at quarterback. What's he doing nowadays? Guess he'll always have a job doing broadcasting for the SEC, if he wants it.
To be fair, his accuracy sucks half the time but he was a winner. With his running ability, toughness and low turnover rate, if he's able to complete just enough passes (maybe 18-20 attempts per game) to keep the defense honest he'll win you some games.

It would be hard for the Bolts NOT to improve their running game, since it was pretty much last in the league last year.
Melvin Gordon was a wasted draft pick for many fantasy football teams who thought he would be the next coming of tomlinson. He wasnt even Ryan Mathews.
But like you said, 2016 is a new year and the chargers added Max tuerk, a center from USC, in the 3rd round, and signed FA Matt slauson from the Bears. They also have new OL coaches, including the one the patriots let go, Dave DeGuglielmo. So new faces and healthier players should make for a better year.

Gronk got the cover of Madden 17. Is there still a curse on players who are on the cover of Madden? Hopefully he stays healthy this year, without him patriots offense becomes quite a bit easier to stop. He's the only matchup proof target on that team, you pretty much have to double to triple team him to take him out of the game.

Minicamps have started this week; it's only scrimmages, but at least we'll get a chance to see the rookies.
Frank Gore is still pissed he didn't get a 1000 yds or a 100 yard game last year. He's a warrior, but that's the state of the Colts running attack, which is almost as bad as the Bolts. I'm not sure that a 33 year old RB should be relied on to revive their rushing offense, but Rob Chudzinski is their new Off Coordinator, so maybe he'll dream up some schemes to make them more balanced.

Then again, the Patriots had a bottom 5 (by total yards and yds per attempt) running attack last year and they did all right, to say the least. Of course, they were top ten in total rushing tds, despite their meagar yardage totals, so looks can be deceiving...

 

[pop_rocks]

it looks like tebow is going to be in the booth for now wiht espn
it looks like he is staying in shape tho and i am sure he would gladly step back into the game if asked

i think gore still has some carries in him but he is at that point in his career where he may start showing some wear esp in the second half of the season
it would be nice if the colts could add another piece to their running game

i tihnk gronk is in his prime and will have another productive year
/if there is a madden curse it will manifest in some off the field incident involving an erection that lasts longer than 4 hrs and some type of party boat mishap

belichick brings out the best in his team and i think the pats will be in the mix

the team i hope will come up in the afc south is the dolphins
they added suh to the d last year and were a bust
i was expecting a lot more stompin but he kind of pulled a hainsworth
will this be the year he steps up as a leader on the D?

 

[whadeezlrg]

everyone ALWAYS thinks this season is the year the dolphns return to form...and every year I start kinda thinking the same way...not this year, I'll believe it when I see it...8-8. also I think theyre in the afc east w/ the pats jets and bills...it's still the pats division to lose.

gore just turned 33, he's currently #14 in all time rushing yards, he can break into the top 10 with like 500 more yards...fuckin colts o line better open up some holes for that dude, they don't even need to be big holes.

suh is dirty, his shit is allowed(frowned upon at best) yet bad ass receivers like blackmon and gordon both throw their career's in the garbage because they smoked a little something off the field, even though the way they played the game couldn't lend itself to be detrimental to the health and safety of all of the employees(players) of the nfl as in suh's case...nfl doesn't need to make sense, they're makin dollars.

buccaneers...will they knock the panthers out of the top spot in the nfc south??? I don't know, but I think they could...I suppose atl could also compete this season, julio jones is a lot smaller in person. I saw him at the entrance to mandalay bay about 2 months ago...he seemed a lot smaller than me (not quite 6'2)...I was honestly a bit surprised that one of the top receivers in the game was that small, I know antonio brown is little too but still....

 

[pop_rocks]

I have to admit I have a soft spot for the fins’ having spent some time in fla but yeah, the pats have that division in the bag, unless something crazy happens

Im not condoning suhs behavior and I think he takes a lot of cheap shots,but you ahev to admit, he is a force on defense
I figured he would mix in well wiht the existing pass rush and hopefully emerge as a leader
He has the potential to be “that piece” on any team that puts their D into the next level

Gore can still tote the ball but I think his best years are behind him
The colts need to add someone new to compliment their passing game and move foreward

i dont think the bucs are quite there yet and carolina was tough against div opponents, but i actually like winston as a QB and hope he lives up to his potential on and off the field

 

[whadeezlrg]

totally agree about suh, he's a monster but his antics after the whistle really kill my respect for his game...I suppose I like to see players respecting each other and their short careers a bit more....though you might catch me screaming "knock his fucking head off" a time or two during the season lol

gore's best seasons are definitely behind him, it's too bad my niners didnt get him a ring, and then the colts decided to stink up the joint last season...but a declining gore is still a starting caliber back that can take on a heavy workload...if the oline can get him some gaps he'll make the most out of em. I still think he's capable of 700+ yds this season.

bucs have been making all of the right moves imho, winston, martin, and evans are all some playmakers, and now lovie smith isnt around to fuck it all up. panthers D won't be quite as strong this season- at least in the back end...and their offense completely lived and died on the back of cam...there isn't enough pieces to repeat imho. or even really get that close for that matter. I gotta keep in mind though, that I've lost a lot of money(mainly on parlays) betting on the bucs to do something...

 

[iTarzan]

LOL! Luck got hurt preseason game 3, then another game 1. He never played one game healthy. Gore on the other hand single handedly lost 2 games possibly three because he turned into a fumbler. A goal line fumbler too. Gore was unhurt and playing when the joint was being stunk up. Go look at team injuries. The Colts season was ruined by injuries. There OL was devastated.

The league isn't getting saved this year. This year the Colts are going to wipe teams out. Now that Manning is gone there are only 5 QBs that have thrown 40 or more TDs in a season.

Manning 2 took him 7 years and 8 more to do it again
Rodgers 1 took 7 years
Brady 1 took 8 years
Brees 2 took 10 years
Stafford 1 took 3 years and never close again.
Luck 1 took 3 years.

Eli, Cutler, Rivers, Romo, Wilson, Newton and Roethlisberger have never done it. THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE. Never did it!

Luck is going to toss 40+ again and probably have a streak of them. It is going to be a scrapbook type year. Glory filled newspaper headlines all year long in Indy as they go 14-2 and win the last game they play in 2017 and Gore gets a SB ring.

 

[pop_rocks]

Glory filled newspaper headlines all year long in Indy as they go 14-2 and win the last game they play in 2017 and Gore gets a SB ring.

woohoo!
you heard it here first folks!!
colts win!!

 

[iTarzan]

We will all get to watch the season unfold.

 

[pop_rocks]

totally agree about suh, he's a monster but his antics after the whistle really kill my respect for his game...I suppose I like to see players respecting each other and their short careers a bit more....though you might catch me screaming "knock his fucking head off" a time or two during the season lol

im the same way
love smash mouth football, but you play to the whistle
no need for the cheap stuff
hopefully suh will clean up his act

 

[pop_rocks]

We will all get to watch the season unfold.

im with you man!!
cant wait for football

 

[whadeezlrg]

and yet gore is still the best rb the colts have had since I can remember...he had no problems holding onto the ball and getting a thousand in the bay(behind a decent at best OL in 2014)...the colts are just a poorly assembled team with too much focus being put on skill positions and not the trenches where it all starts...if that o line isn't shored up luck might actually get killed this season...and if gore wasn't there in pass pro(unlike the colts o-line), Luck would have died in the pocket last season...I'd be pissed at the GM, for not selling the farm to make the o-line a unit of studs to protect the second coming of quarterback jesus while he's on his CHEAP rookie contract...

 

[iTarzan]

LOL! You keep drawing first blood.

If the Colts were the most injured team and they finished 8-8 with 4th and 5th string QBs and in your opinion they stunk up the joint then what did the 5-11 Niners do? Hell only 6 teams in the NFC had a better record than the Colts using 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th string QBs, lost 3 starters on the DL and never used the same OL twice.

and yet gore is still the best rb the colts have had since I can remember.


Edge, Faulk or Dickerson > Gore

the colts are just a poorly assembled team with too much focus being put on skill positions and not the trenches where it all starts.

And yet they were in the AFC championship game in 2015. They were injured in 2016. The OL was in ruin. Luck was hurt.

The Colts didn't just decide to stink up the joint. Unfortunate shit happened.

This year I think unfortunate shit is going to happen to the league and teams that play the Colts.

I like the Colts chances as much as any team in the NFL this year.

 

[whadeezlrg]

yeah but the niners were expected to be bottom feeders in 2015(and were coming off of literally the worst offseason in nfl history regading retirements, coaching change etc.), the colts were favored to to go the superbowl, niners technically met their albeit poor expectations of last season(2015), while the colts simply failed to live up to their expectations and capabilities. the worst thing that ever happened to the colts was arians going to AZ. the afc was anybodys conference in 2014, the entire afc couldnt lick the nfc's cleats in 2014(see superbowl 49)...the niners went to 3 straight nfc championships and a superbowl in between...gore played for the colts his next game after playing in the nfc championship...all I'm saying is blaming gore is easy enough to do on the surface but the colts are going nowhere fast without some serious o line improvements and a coach preferably not named pagano....that is my unbaised evaluation of that team, you dont have to agree or like it

james hasn't been a colt for 10 years, and faulk for nearly 20...like I said, since I can remember. lol

all time rushing yards leaders-

1. Emmitt Smith+ 18,355 1990-2004 2TM
2. Walter Payton+ 16,726 1975-1987 chi
3. Barry Sanders+ 15,269 1989-1998 det
4. Curtis Martin+ 14,101 1995-2005 2TM
5. LaDainian Tomlinson 13,684 2001-2011 2TM
6. Jerome Bettis+ 13,662 1993-2005 2TM
7. Eric Dickerson+ 13,259 1983-1993 4TM
8. Tony Dorsett+ 12,739 1977-1988 2TM
9. Jim Brown+ 12,312 1957-1965 cle
10. Marshall Faulk+ 12,279 1994-2005 2TM
11. Edgerrin James 12,246 1999-2009 3TM
12. Marcus Allen+ 12,243 1982-1997 2TM
13. Franco Harris+ 12,120 1972-1984 2TM
14. Thurman Thomas+ 12,074 1988-2000 2TM
15. Frank Gore (32) 12,040 2005-2015 2TM
16. Fred Taylor 11,695 1998-2010 2TM
17. Adrian Peterson (31) 11,675 2007-2015 min
18. Steven Jackson (32) 11,438 2004-2015 3TM
19. John Riggins+ 11,352 1971-1985 2TM
20. Corey Dillon 11,241 1997-2006 2TM

so by the look of it, gore needs only 240 yds this season to surpass both james and faulk...easy money.

 

[iTarzan]

James won the NFL rushing title his rookie year and then the next year. Then he was leading after 6 games the 3rd year when KC cheap shot him out of bounds. James could have won 7-8 rushing titles in a row if that didn't happen. Has Gore even won one title? Gore has played 11 years and James played 8.5 years. After 11 years Gore is sucking hind tit behind James.

Gore 12,040 yards rushing. 3150 yards receiving.

James 12,246 yards rushing 3364 receiving

Gore 72 TDs James 81 TDs

Seasons over 1500 yards Gore 1 James 4

Seasons over 1700 yards James 1 Gore ZERO

NFL rushing titles James 2 Gore ZERO

NFL yards from scrimmage titles James 1 Gore ZERO

James was going to be the greatest running back of all time without that knee injury. Even with the injury he was better than Gore in every measurable way.

Having a season destroyed by injuries is not stinking up the joint. The niners stunk up the joint even though they were predicted to stink up the joint doesn't mean they didn't stink up the joint.

For the record Faulk has the same number of years and 6800 yards receiving and 2 yards from scrimmage titles. Faulk was better than Gore too.

Dickerson had 4 rushing titles and 4 scrimmage yards titles. Yes he was better than Gore also.