NFL 2022-23 Season Thread

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Is Fields like, magnetized against the ball or something?

Luke Getsy is still trying to get Fields to stop coating the football in butter, but it's been tough going.

[Ksyrup]

That glass slipper shattered pretty quickly. Ugly look for NE.

[Edward64]

I appreciate what Matt did for the Falcons during his tenure. He was needed after the Vick debacle. He was never "great" but he was "good". I wish him well.

Indianapolis is promoting Sam Ehlinger to starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders, with veteran Matt Ryan sustaining a Grade 2 shoulder separation against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, coach Frank Reich said. Ryan won't play or practice this week because of the injury, Reich said, but he emphatically stated that the move is intended to be for the remainder of the season.

[SirFozzie]

I saw a story this week about how the Patriots have "one of the best lines in the league". I laughed my ass off.

Now, they've been mostly on the side of good, but several times a game our QB has taken unneeded hard hits because someone (usually Wynn) fucked up badly. There's a reason we're on our THIRD STRING QB.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Is the Pats defense this bad?

We've always struggled against mobile QB's (we like to set the edge and contain, and generally prefer bigger edge guys over quicker LB's), but yeah with Barmore and then Dugger out that was ugly. Lawrence Guy was finally back, but idk if he was 100% and he wouldn't really help vs Fields anyways. So many 3rd down scrambles for 1st's when the game was in the balance in the middle.

[Kodos]

Is some of the genius reputation wearing off for Belichick?

[albionmoonlight]

This isn't an original observation, but the NFL has taken parity to absurd new heights this season.

If I were a fan of the Eagles, Chiefs, or Bills, I'd be thinking Super Bowl or bust this year.

Almost every other team falls into the "they are winning a lot of games, but . . . " or the "they haven't won a lot, but they could put things together and . . . " bucket this year.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Is some of the genius reputation wearing off for Belichick?

It’s a shocker how good coaches look when then have a franchise QB. Vs when they don’t.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by stevew

It’s a shocker how good coaches look when then have a franchise QB. Vs when they don’t.

Belichick--Brady
Tomlin--Big Ben
Payton--Brees

These are all great coaches. Great coaches that any team would be lucky to have.

And they have trouble winning without a HOF QB.

[sterlingice]

What's Andy Reid? McNabb was a very good but not HOF QB so the pile of NFC title games and a Super Bowl was his ceiling there? Then Alex Smith wins him a bunch of games but never really a threat for the Super Bowl. But when you add Mahomes to the mix, the team is elite?

Is it basically that Reid can find you a decent QB that can win you 10 games off the scrap heap (not fair to Alex Smith) - high floor along with high ceiling. He can find the guy that is a quality QB in amongst all the other discarded veterans that others have sent to the scrap heap. He can't make David Mills very good but he can find Alex Smith in a lineup of David Mills, Mitch Trubisky, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, and Alex Smith whereas other teams might have hitched their futures to one of the others?

SI

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

This isn't an original observation, but the NFL has taken parity to absurd new heights this season.

If I were a fan of the Eagles, Chiefs, or Bills, I'd be thinking Super Bowl or bust this year.

Almost every other team falls into the "they are winning a lot of games, but . . . " or the "they haven't won a lot, but they could put things together and . . . " bucket this year.

This is one of the reasons why the Lions current rebuild remains frustrating. In a league with this kind of parity - where teams seem to win games they aren’t supposed to all of the time - the Lions remain consistently terrible. They don’t pull upset victories. Teams in similar situations to the Lions this year have almost all had some measure of success. The Jets and Giants are wining. The Seahawks are in first place. Even the Bears have 3 wins. The Lions just remain… bad.

Unfortunately, Campbell doesn’t seem to be the answer. I don’t know how many coaches have started off 4-19 with a team and then eventually led that team to the playoffs.

Brad Holmes has done some good things, but has made some baffling moves and seems to have ignored major weaknesses.

On one hand, they inherited an absolute mess left behind by Quinntricia, so it could take some time. On the other hand, teams turn things around quickly all of the time in the NFL and win, and are winning, with far less talent.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by stevew

It’s a shocker how good coaches look when then have a franchise QB. Vs when they don’t.

Pete Carroll would like to have a word

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Is some of the genius reputation wearing off for Belichick?

Ehh, his genius is getting the most out of his defensive personnel whether it's turning good players into elite defenses or guys off the street into competent ones, and being very willing to move on from players or schemes once it's obvious something is a sunk cost. He never should've gotten credit as a genius for our offense for so long, but it's also a little unfair to give him too much blame last night when 2 of our top 3 defenders were out for most of the game. Rough night, but there's a lot of young talent on this team due to hitting in recent drafts (and depth as always). Just a different game when the AFC East has the best team and is the deepest division in football.

PS believe whether it was always the plan to play two QB's, or how much was due to Mac's clear lack of lateral quickness, but slight vindication for him. And I do love Kyed calling it the Zapperuder film later haha https://mobile.twitter.com/DougKyed/...jL0EiMw3z2VT7w

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Travis

Pete Carroll would like to have a word

If you ask most Seattle defenders from that era they'd tell you Pete never had a franchise QB

[Solecismic]

Belichick is 6-3 in the Super Bowl. He's won with top-ranked defenses and middle-of-the-road defenses. He's won with Brady throwing all the time and with Brady as a game manager.

There are always those who say Belichick couldn't have won without Brady and vice-versa. The two came together and put together a record during the Salary Cap era that no team probably will ever match.

He has revolutionized the game in several ways. I think the question of whether he's a genius was settled a long time ago.

However, he's 70 and it would be understandable if he doesn't have quite the energy he had for those all-nighters a decade ago.

[Brian Swartz]

Yep. There comes a time with every coach when they can't or won't adjust to changes in the sport.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by Honolulu Blue

This is one of the reasons why the Lions current rebuild remains frustrating. In a league with this kind of parity - where teams seem to win games they aren’t supposed to all of the time - the Lions remain consistently terrible. They don’t pull upset victories. Teams in similar situations to the Lions this year have almost all had some measure of success. The Jets and Giants are wining. The Seahawks are in first place. Even the Bears have 3 wins. The Lions just remain… bad.

That's who the Lions are - not telling you anything you don't know already, of course, but for others who may not be as familiar:

- Bobby Ross won everywhere else he coached
- Steve Mariucci was well-regarded with the 49ers. Maybe he was born on third base or whatever but it was considered a great hire for the Lions at the time.
- Wayne 'we're the best damn 0-4 team in the NFL' Fontes was almost .500 and coached the only really good teams the Lions have had in the Super Bowl Era, including that one playoff win. Nobody was beating Washington in '91, and they made the NFC Championship. But losing three straight wild-card games is ... not good.

There have been bad hires along the way of course. Daryl Rodgers, who preceded Fontes, went so far as to muse aloud to the press 'what does a coach have to do around here to get fired' . But the Lions find.a.way, in true Jeff Goldblum fashion, to screw something critical up. Always. If you look up 'dysfunctional pro sports organization' it should just have a picture of their logo.

True story: I once tried the FOF version of the Lions, signed a unimpressive free-agent QB, and they went on to somehow lead the team the Super Bowl in their first year and lead the league in yards/TDs IIRC despite being unimpressive ratings-wise. So being a complete neophyte in FOF, even I couldn't screw them up as badly as the people who did basically nothing with Heisman winners Andre Ware, and Rodney Peete, and ... and ... and ... Herman Moore, Megatron, Barry Sanders were all great. Stafford was very good for a long time. Spielman. On and on. Combined one playoff win in the Super Bowl Era.

[Ksyrup]

Wayne Fontes was Detroit, and Detroit was Wayne Fontes. I've never seen a guy who so fully embodied the city and team he coached. Maybe Pat Riley with LA. He should still be coaching that team, just on principle. He probably would have underachieved, but it wouldn't have gone completely south. I can't think of the Lions without thinking of Fontes.

When I used to do fantasy sports, my FB team name was Wayne Fontes' Ghost. I even won a couple of years!

[Ksyrup]

And yes, I realize how completely irrational that last post is, but that's the essence of sports fandom, right?

[flere-imsaho]

Pretty much.

[Ksyrup]

Perfect response!

Great! Can they also debut an offense this week? Haven’t seen one all season.

— NormAl (@guamnorm) October 26, 2022

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Wayne Fontes was Detroit, and Detroit was Wayne Fontes. I've never seen a guy who so fully embodied the city and team he coached.

Well, sure. He has 100% (1) of the Lions' playoff victories in the last 65 years and holds the franchise record for both career victories and losses. He was the guy we loved to make fun of, and I think he even enjoyed that role.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

If you ask most Seattle defenders from that era they'd tell you Pete never had a franchise QB

Russell Wilson told reporters he spent four hours working out and rehabbing on the Broncos’ flight to London.

He said he was doing high knees in the aisle while his teammates slept pic.twitter.com/8kjYmmhsFS

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 26, 2022

I think most of the stuff said about Russ is over the top and extremely petty. THIS however is the epitome of doing too much. I know they are not flying on your regular ole British Airways jet but damn, high knees in the aisle while everyone is asleep.

[albionmoonlight]

I just read that Matt Ryan has $12 million in base salary fully guaranteed for next year. Good for him. Ooof for the Colts.

[Kodos]

It’s good work if you can get it.

[Coffee Warlord]

Sounds like the Bears sending Robert Quinn to Philly for a 4th (and paying a good chunk of Quinn's salary).

[Solecismic]

Reports are the Broncos will fire their first-year head coach if he can't hack it against the Jaguars in their annual game across the pond this week. Russell Wilson is likely to play, but nothing definitive yet.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Reports are the Broncos will fire their first-year head coach if he can't hack it against the Jaguars in their annual game across the pond this week.

You pay $4.65 billion for something, you expect it to work right out the box.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Reports are the Broncos will fire their first-year head coach if he can't hack it against the Jaguars in their annual game across the pond this week. Russell Wilson is likely to play, but nothing definitive yet.

I always find situations like this interesting. Shouldn't the GM be canned also for clearly not doing their job?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I always find situations like this interesting. Shouldn't the GM be canned also for clearly not doing their job?

I'm a big fan of the idea that if a team goes 10 years without winning a playoff game then the team should sold.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I always find situations like this interesting. Shouldn't the GM be canned also for clearly not doing their job?

I was prepared to tell you that it would be ridiculous to fire the GM. Going back and reading the story from after they hired Hackett and some of the stories about his reign, I still think it would be ridiculous to fire George Paton or Hackett to be honest but it is a much tougher decision than I had thought.

[stevew]

Since when has Walmart overpaid for labor?

[Ksyrup]

Hackett has demonstrated that he is not ready to step up to the head coach role. Having to hire a "game management coach" 2-3 weeks into the season is ridiculous. It brings to mind FSU bringing back Mickey Andrews to help Taggart structure summer practices. That's a clear indication someone is over their head.

In terms of offensive woes, I guess the general rule is you should be able to find the best way to use the talent you have and make it work. The big question is QB. We all know what we thought before the season about Wilson - but what do we think now? Is there an offensive scheme where he plays at an all-pro level, or are you stuck with a 33 year old who can only play at a 43 year old level? There have been plenty of offensive "geniuses" made to look stupid by poor QB play.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Reports are the Broncos will fire their first-year head coach if he can't hack it against the Jaguars in their annual game across the pond this week. Russell Wilson is likely to play, but nothing definitive yet.

I, for one, appreciate the subtle use of punnery in this post.

[flere-imsaho]

It feels to me that front offices can get too caught up in the pursuit of a HC who is a genius at one particular part of the game (becuase you can squint at Bill Belichick and decide that's how you get success), not realizing that, IMO, the true path to a HC's success is how well they set up and manage the entire coaching/playing organization, which includes stuff like hiring the right assistants, giving those assistants the right support/leeway/etc..., and many other things besides.

But most of these front offices (and certainly owners) are rank amateurs when it comes to understanding things like organizational development and organizational effectiveness, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me.

[Ksyrup]

I realize the Broncos have a new ownership group so there's a lack of continuity from 10-15 years ago (although maybe Elway should finally have some accountability...), but Hackett feels to me like another Josh McDaniels. In the first couple games when he always struggling with in-game decisions, I joked that he's Josh McDaniels on a 7 second delay. But it's kinda true - except Hackett came into a team with SB expectations. And even if we now see that's not close to reality, he may still pay the price.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

It feels to me that front offices can get too caught up in the pursuit of a HC who is a genius at one particular part of the game (becuase you can squint at Bill Belichick and decide that's how you get success), not realizing that, IMO, the true path to a HC's success is how well they set up and manage the entire coaching/playing organization, which includes stuff like hiring the right assistants, giving those assistants the right support/leeway/etc..., and many other things besides.

But most of these front offices (and certainly owners) are rank amateurs when it comes to understanding things like organizational development and organizational effectiveness, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me.

I did not have time to elaborate yesterday but this is where I was going and why I thought it might be time to consider firing the GM. I am assuming that the Broncos thought Hackett would be their version of Sean McVay. It may be an oversimplification but the one thing I remember from McVay's first year was he turned everything on the defense side over to Wade Phillips. I have to think being able to take one side of the ball off his plate and hand it over to one of the best defensive minds in the game while getting familiar with the role of head coach had to benefit McVay greatly. Not to mention, Phillips was a guy who has been a head coach or an interim head coach on six separate occasions. I have no idea if McVay quietly had some of the blips that Hackett has had but I feel like if he did, Phillips would have stepped up somehow to get McVay back on track or even prevented the blip from occurring in the first place.

When you look at the rest of Broncos staff, they are really inexperienced in the roles they have. I heard they have first time coordinators on offense, defensive and special teams. Everybody is learning on the job. The only real old head on the staff is Dom Capers and well having to bring in another old guy to help with game management says all you need to know about his role. Every other first time head coach in the league this year has at least one coordinator or assistant head coach who had done that role before. I am all for giving people their first chance at a coordinator job but everybody can't be learning on the job at the same time. If I am the GM, I feel like that has to be a part of the conversation when you interview Hackett. According to reports, McVay wanted Phillips. Maybe the GM did ask and Hackett did not want a more experienced coach on his staff.

[Ksyrup]

Brady looks terrible. He's made 5-6 bad throws. They can make excuses about lack of weapons or OL but some of his throws are just bad. It's weird to see.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Brady looks terrible. He's made 5-6 bad throws. They can make excuses about lack of weapons or OL but some of his throws are just bad. It's weird to see.

Lack of weapons? He's got one of the top 5 most productive receivers before age 30 in NFL history plus Chris Godwin.

The line has issues, but it's not like NE put a great or even good line in front of him every year.

[Ksyrup]

He throws a nice jump ball to Evans for a big gain, then misses an open guy in the EZ and almost throws a pick on the next two passes, followed by basically a sack.

[cuervo72]

Good? I mean, the thing with Brady is that he's never really faced any adversity. Yes, he's lost three SB. When you've been to TEN, whoopie. I'm sure Dan Marino sheds a tear for him.

I mean, Manning "only" won two, and he at least toiled through a 3-13 rookie season. Brady won right out of the gate, and hasn't really stopped since. Heaven forbid he go out on a down note, assuming he actually does.

[Ksyrup]

I don't really care that it's happening. To me, what's more interesting is that it's an entirely unforced error. Didn't know when to say when. And it might cost him his marriage? That's a pretty big fail for a guy who's had it all for 20+ years.

[Solecismic]

Brady's numbers are decent this year, especially when you consider they gave up running the ball after week one.

But this 22 points tonight is their second-highest total on the year and they've lost five of six.

All that matters is winning. You look at him and he flat-out misses throws these days - throws he seemingly never missed in the past. He's not Goat anymore, but still a top-half NFL quarterback.

I hope he doesn't hang on, like Favre. Tampa Bay is a lousy team right now and he's no longer good enough to carry them anyway.

[NobodyHere]

I liked the Andy Reid State Farm commercial.

[albionmoonlight]

Brady is the greatest ever, in large part due to his longevity. So it makes sense that he's going to hang on too long. You don't know you've hung on too long until it happens.

Also, Mike Sando was speculating that we might all be too hasty in assuming that this is his last year. Jimmy G is gone next year. Trey Lance hasn't played meaningful football for three years. What if Brady takes a low salary deal to go back home and finish his career with the 49ers?

[albionmoonlight]

dola--that seems unlikely to me. But my jaw wouldn't hit the floor if it happened.

[miked]

Not sure what else he can do. They don't run the ball, their defense has not been stout. He threw a TD in the 4th quarter that was called back due to holding (that was not even near the play). Then he got the yards back, and Fournette gave them a false start on 4th goal from the 3 to settle for a FG. He's thrown 1 pick all year and has been missing lots of players. Maybe some of this is their shitty coach who could not cut it with the Jets.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Also, Mike Sando was speculating that we might all be too hasty in assuming that this is his last year. Jimmy G is gone next year. Trey Lance hasn't played meaningful football for three years. What if Brady takes a low salary deal to go back home and finish his career with the 49ers?

I just had this discussion with my boss. If he really is getting a divorce, what else does he have other than seeing his kids every so often? I think that increases the chance he plays next year.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Brady is the greatest ever, in large part due to his longevity. So it makes sense that he's going to hang on too long. You don't know you've hung on too long until it happens.

I was actually thinking this the other night. I didn't use to think so before, but do think Brady is the GOAT. And he will, unfortunately, tarnish his career some with a mediocre ending (and adversely impact his family).

[Ksyrup]

Has anyone fallen as far as fast as Russell Wilson?

"I heard Lamar was leading us in high-knees..."

Justin Tucker and the Ravens trolled Russ on the plane home �� @BRGridiron

(via @marlon_humphrey) pic.twitter.com/JyFxz4mXjM

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 28, 2022