The Week 16 NFL thread-- 5 hours before kickoff and no thread yet version

[DaddyTorgo]

Fred Taylor on Tom Brady: "I've played with a lot of quarterbacks in my career," Taylor said. "If you put all of them together and form a Voltron, they might be as good as he is."

[Terps]

Fire Coughlin, hire Cowher.

I hope they lose next week too, they don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Terps

Fire Coughlin, hire Cowher.

I hope they lose next week too, they don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

I wasn't even all that upset about the game, like you said, they don't deserve to be in the playoffs. I'll be skiing in Whistler next Sunday and will likely miss my first Giants game in roughly 20 years. They don't deserve my loyalty right now.

I've been on Coughlins side up until today. I have never seen a team so unprepared for such a big game, then make it worse by making no adjustments in the second half.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Fred Taylor on Tom Brady: "I've played with a lot of quarterbacks in my career," Taylor said. "If you put all of them together and form a Voltron, they might be as good as he is."

He just got compared to a Wuerfful/Brunell/Leftwich/Garrard combo.

[Danny]

Yeah, way to drop a backhanded insult

[molson]

The curse of Steve Mariucci claims an eighth 49ers season.

[Lathum]

Singletary out...

[k0ruptr]

yep. Sing is gone. making the twitter rounds now.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Singletary out...

Too little too late.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

Harbaugh to the 49ers? Seems like a good move for both if they go that route.

That's been the talk radio buzz around here since the middle of the year.

[sabotai]

What's the point? There's only 1 game left and then they're done. Why not just wait until after the last game? It's not going to do any good now to fire him.

[RainMaker]

As a Bears fan I loved him as a player, but he was a horrible Head Coach. For all the talk about how tough he was, that team was always unprepared and made countless careless mistakes.

[Crapshoot]

Singletary was gone long ago - this was just the chicken running around after the head had been cut off. Harbaugh has been the talk for a while, but the 49ers have played too well to to end up with the Luck / Harbaugh combo from Stanford that had been talked about. It looks like Andrew Luck will be a Panther next year.

[Matthean]

And it will be interesting to see what he does if Michigan's HC opens up. I think he fits better as a college coach, but we'll see.

[Young Drachma]

Singletary clearly was in over his head in that job. Long overdue move.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

Harbaugh to the 49ers? Seems like a good move for both if they go that route.

I hope not, Harbaugh was my favorite player and I am big fan of his. I would prefer he stay at Stanford or go to a team I could at least sort of root for.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by panerd

Got to love the challenge rules in the NFL. Teams only allowed 2 even if the refs admit fucking up on one of them.

This is actually my #1 problem with the NFL. I think it's ridiculous that whether a call is correct has been turned into a strategy point rather than the league wanting to make absolutely certain that the calls are correct. College has proven that a 60 minute review system can work. Getting the calls correct is not a game you make the coaches play, it's an obligation of the league.

Oh, and screw the Houston Texans defense. I get this text message from my UF graduate brother about 7pm last night - "T-E-B-O-W! learn to love him!" My response - "Mackenzie [my 6 year old] could throw for 300 yards against the Texans."

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

My response - "Mackenzie [my 6 year old] could throw for 300 yards against the Texans."

Maybe the Titans, Ravens, Eagles, or Chargers ought to sign her.

None of their QB's managed to top the 308 Tebow had yesterday when playing the Texans.

[Ksyrup]

Houston Texans

OPP PASSING YDS

277.1 32nd Overall




The Titans could certainly use her.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I've been on Coughlins side up until today. I have never seen a team so unprepared for such a big game, then make it worse by making no adjustments in the second half.

Yes, this sums up the Giants under Coughlin.

He gets routinely outcoached by every other winning team's head coach. That dam Jordie Nelson play is the same exact BS play that Vick threw to his TE last week for the 1st of the 4 TDs they scored in the 4th qtr. How do you not correct that? And it looks an awful lot like a lot of Jason Witten plays the Cowboys have probably burned us on in the past as well. That was simply bad preparation on our part...not to be confused with great coaching on GB's part. They are supposed to test that type of play when you've been burned on it.

The other part is the CB coverage. Ok...I get it. They effectively covered Jackson & Maclin last week in press & relied on the front 7 to get to the QB quickly enough to basically give Vick no options but throwing up jump balls deep. So, Fewell wants to appear unpredictable and has his guys play off and defend the deep ball. Well...IT DIDNT WORK IN THE FIRST HALF COACH...GO BACK TO PLAYING PRESS & HIT THE DAM QB!!! Speaking of hitting the QB...I didn't see nearly as much blitzing against Rodgers as I did against Vick. Rodgers is coming off a concussion for crying out loud. The guy will be itching to get rid of the ball quickly under pressure and we seemed to be giving him the underneath throws all day. WTF? By contrast...GB ran pretty much the same defense we run every week & it seemed to work well. We got 1 lucky jump ball from Manningham but otherwise we had to earn everything with precise execution.

The only way the Coughlin-led Giants win is with overwhelming the other team with intensity. Hard to win with that level of intensity every week for 16 games. They managed to pull it off in 07 (of course, not until the playoffs) but that was all intensity, imo. Eli was spot on as well & executed everything perfectly. Right now, Eli is trying to single-handedly win games & that just isn't going to happen against good teams.

They need a coaching staff that WILL...not TRY to...make an offense that works with the players they have. The WR's dont know where they need to be on any given play, Eli doesn't realize this (for some reason...maybe a "coach" should tell him) & therefore keeps throwing the ball where they "should" be and not where they "will" be. Fine to do when there isn't 3 defenders sitting where the untrustworthy WR "should" be...not fine to do when week in week out this keeps being proven over & over. For some reason...I saw a lot of this with Peyton this year as well. Maybe somebody should tell both of them that NEW WRs DONT KNOW ALL OF THE PLAYS AS WELL AS YOUR TRUSTWORTHY VETERANS DO. And maybe somebody should tell Gilbride to simplify things for the offense until these WRs can at least execute something repeatedly.

I don't think Coughlin is really "losing the team" as much as he's simply not able to play the game that coaches play from week to week to appear less predictable. He can't adjust, he (apparently) can't communicate effectively enough to register with the younger players & I don't think staying with him will yield any better results next year, the year after, or the year after that. Same thing, different year. If the Giants can't scare you into giving up...then you have a pretty good shot at beating them because they certainly won't out-think you.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'd like to know what people did years ago, when we had less technology and safety (for cars, players, etc) than we do now. There have been shitty weather games as long as football has been played, and people either went to games or they didn't - and there wasn't mass death. This game is on national TV, so everyone can see it. Play the fucking game like it's meant to be played. Team loses concessions? Oh well. Saints lost a home game one year. Did the Giants let them collect the concessions and parking for that game?

Meh - like I said, the only attraction of this game was the weather. This is just the latest in a series of crappy decisions made by the NFl that is compeltely turning me off of the pro game. I'll be watching whatever college bowl game is on instead. Not watching today's games anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter. But that's why I was looking forward to tonight's game.

Don't worry, you won't be the only one complaining if Super Bowl XLVIII is moved to Tuesday because of concern for the safety of the fans that may have to travel in that weather.

[Ksyrup]

The Super Bowl is like the American Idol finale - the best part of the show is long over and the game is pretty anti-climatic, So it's not much of a must-see for me. Once the college football championship game is over (or gets to half time if Ohio State is playing), then I switch to baseball. I watch the NFL playoffs if I have time.

It would be pretty funny if the first NY SB was impacted by weather, though. Is that this year? I thought that was a few years down the road. I'd definitely find more humor than anger in that - I don't do the party thing, so it wouldn't bother me.

[TroyF]

The Texans do have a horrible pass defense. Nothing Tebow did yesterday ensures he's going to be an average, good or great QB. In addition to the Texans simply sucking at pass defense, they have quit on the season and it's pretty evident.

All of that said, I don't care about the "numbers" as much as I cared to watch how Tebow looked. He stood in the pocket and made throws. He ran a few times when he shouldn't have, but that's not unexpected. He threw the ball decently down the field.

He has to work on the end zone fade routes (I think 5 of his 13 incompletions were on those routes) That's just timing and reps though. Everyone knows Tebow is a project. Things we didn't know:

1) Would Tebow the "leader" get NFL players to support him?

2) Did he have the arm strength to be a starting QB?

3) How quickly would he show improvement?

4) Did he even have the potential to be a good QB?

Well, #1 was in full force in that game. It would have been easy to go into the tank at 17-0 at halftime. He fired them up to play a meaningless game and the team played with emotion. I'm 100% sold on #2 now. He has the arm strength. He threw deep balls, threw strong passes on the run and threw deep outs. Not only do I think he has the arm strength necessary, I think it's far above average. #3? Well, when he was drafted, I had questions if he'd have a 300 yard day in the NFL against ANYONE. Look, it's easy to say the Texans suck, and boy do they ever suck. But how many people thought Tebow would look that good in any NFL game this year?

#4 will be answered down the road.

I'm not convinced Tebow is going to be a superstar, or even an average QB. Having said that, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this plays out over the next couple of years.

The one thing I'm looking forward to most is the psychotic ends of the spectrum. The "Tebow is a pro bowler already" crowd will justify a 100 yard, 4 interception day while the "Tebow sucks" crowd will find any reason they can to pick apart a 300 yard comeback win.

It's going to be comical watching both sides on a week to week basis. I'm just looking forward to watching the ride and enjoying it. The Broncos are not a good football team right now. And the defense, running game and special teams won't be fixed next year. Denver will be getting a top 3 pick this year, and even if we didn't have Tebow, we need more than a QB. If Tebow bombs next year, we get the #1 pick and we'll pick Barkley or some other hotshot. To each his/her own.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The Super Bowl is like the American Idol finale - the best part of the show is long over and the game is pretty anti-climatic, So it's not much of a must-see for me. Once the college football championship game is over (or gets to half time if Ohio State is playing), then I switch to baseball. I watch the NFL playoffs if I have time.

It would be pretty funny if the first NY SB was impacted by weather, though. Is that this year? I thought that was a few years down the road. I'd definitely find more humor than anger in that - I don't do the party thing, so it wouldn't bother me.

Nah it will be in 2014.

[Ksyrup]

One thing I'll say about Tebow, is that he's being set up to fail with that team as it stands. They suck so bad, his true ability/talent may never come through because your dogpiling a crappy team on top of a rookie's natural development/mistakes. He could easily be the next Tim Couch or David Carr - maybe the right guy, but definitely the wrong team. And by the time he escapes, he's so shellshocked and he's got a year or three of ugly stats that he'd be lucky to be buried on the depth chart of another team as an insurance policy.

Also - if Tebow bombs next year, we may be in line to draft Andrew Luck.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by sabotai

What's the point? There's only 1 game left and then they're done. Why not just wait until after the last game? It's not going to do any good now to fire him.

I think they have wanted to fire him for a while but the NFC West is so bad that only yesterday was he officially eliminated from the playoffs. Might as well give the team a shot to make the playoffs (and I guess the longshot of winning the NFL title that making the playoffs brings with it)

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

One thing I'll say about Tebow, is that he's being set up to fail with that team as it stands. They suck so bad, his true ability/talent may never come through because your dogpiling a crappy team on top of a rookie's natural development/mistakes. He could easily be the next Tim Couch or David Carr - maybe the right guy, but definitely the wrong team. And by the time he escapes, he's so shellshocked and he's got a year or three of ugly stats that he'd be lucky to be buried on the depth chart of another team as an insurance policy.

Also - if Tebow bombs next year, we may be in line to draft Andrew Luck.

I do think there are a handful of differences between Carr and Couch.

Tebow can move around the pocket. Unlike Carr/Couch, the team can move the pocket to help protect him. Rollouts, play action roll outs, QB draws, etc. Those are all things that Carr/Couch couldn't do and I think it will make a difference.

I think the key to the shellshocked type of thing all comes down to one guy. . . Ryan Clady. If he comes back and is a dominant LT again, the line will slide into place a lot better. If he continues to suck, then everything else on the line gets ugly and Tebow gets more into what you are talking about.

Thing is, it doesn't matter. A young QB rarely steps into a good situation. Steve Young was absolutely hammered in Tampa Bay. He was sacked 68 times in his first 19 starts. Carr was sacked something like 83 times in his first 19 starts, but he was also immobile.

If we'd been slightly worse, Luck came out and we drafted him, Luck would be in the same situation and a lot of the Tebow haters would be on board with that. Tebow is simply going to have to deal with what he has. I won't give him a pass just because his team sucks. Even QB's on bad teams can show special traits. (Aikman, Young, etc.) On the other side, I'm not going to use stats as the end all when looking at him. I'm much more interested in accuracy, pocket presence deep balls and fortitude than I am at 300 yards or 135 yards.

[Radii]

Pennsylvania's Gov. weighs in on postponing the sunday night game:

Pennsylvania Governor: Postponement proves U.S. a 'nation of wusses' - ESPN

"We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything," Rendell added. "If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

lol?

[panerd]

Originally Posted by Radii

Pennsylvania's Gov. weighs in on postponing the sunday night game:

Pennsylvania Governor: Postponement proves U.S. a 'nation of wusses' - ESPN



lol?

Did he really say that or was that from the onion or something? What an idiot!

[molson]

"If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

LOL - I totally missed that part of this - holy shit what an idiot.

I mean, the Chinese part has nothing to do with anything. He really had to crowbar that in there.

Oh, and of course, if he wasn't such a "wus" in declaring a state of emergency and closing the highways (retarded logic, but I'm trying to follow his reasoning here), they might have been able to get the game in.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

Oh, and of course, if he wasn't such a "wus" in declaring a state of emergency and closing the highways (retarded logic, but I'm trying to follow his reasoning here), they might have been able to get the game in.

In fairness to the clueless git, I thought it was the mayor of Philly who declared most of the "emergency" while about all I've found statewide was a "Code Blue" that allowed the state to house the homeless at shelters.

[Passacaglia]

Is the game going to be televised?

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Is the game going to be televised?

Yes, on NBC. It was their game this week.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Yes, on NBC. It was their game this week.

Thanks, I figured it would, I just didn't see it on my DVR.

[AFShadow]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I do think there are a handful of differences between Carr and Couch.

Tebow can move around the pocket. Unlike Carr/Couch, the team can move the pocket to help protect him. Rollouts, play action roll outs, QB draws, etc. Those are all things that Carr/Couch couldn't do and I think it will make a difference.

I think the key to the shellshocked type of thing all comes down to one guy. . . Ryan Clady. If he comes back and is a dominant LT again, the line will slide into place a lot better. If he continues to suck, then everything else on the line gets ugly and Tebow gets more into what you are talking about.

Thing is, it doesn't matter. A young QB rarely steps into a good situation. Steve Young was absolutely hammered in Tampa Bay. He was sacked 68 times in his first 19 starts. Carr was sacked something like 83 times in his first 19 starts, but he was also immobile.

If we'd been slightly worse, Luck came out and we drafted him, Luck would be in the same situation and a lot of the Tebow haters would be on board with that. Tebow is simply going to have to deal with what he has. I won't give him a pass just because his team sucks. Even QB's on bad teams can show special traits. (Aikman, Young, etc.) On the other side, I'm not going to use stats as the end all when looking at him. I'm much more interested in accuracy, pocket presence deep balls and fortitude than I am at 300 yards or 135 yards.

Actually Al Wilson on 104.3 The FAN mentioned the key will be Ryan Harris as Tebow is a lefty. But I agree Clady is the leader of the line and needs to start playing like it.

[Ksyrup]

The Chinese stuff was weird, but he's right - we've become a nation of wusses, and what they did goes against everything football is about.

[DaddyTorgo]

LMAO @ Gruden: "I hate all these booth reviews under 2 minutes...they ruin the two minute drills of the offense."

Heaven forbid we get the calls right Gruden you douchebag.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The Chinese stuff was weird, but he's right - we've become a nation of wusses, and what they did goes against everything football is about.

Okay Mr. "I don't have any interest in watching a single game despite it being week 16 and there being games with playoff implications all over the place", please tell us what football is all about. Figuring out a way for 40,000 cars to be dug out of 12 inches of snow in a parking lot and then being filed into a road with a 1/4 mile of visibility?

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Logan

please tell us what football is all about. Figuring out a way for 40,000 cars to be dug out of 12 inches of snow in a parking lot and then being filed into a road with a 1/4 mile of visibility?

Yes

[kingfc22]

And Brees with a Favre like mistake

[panerd]

Someone really needs to look into if Dree Brees owed money to anyone. Two horrible flip passes that luckily for him have only resulted in one touchdown instead of two.

[Atocep]

I love how they quoted him as saying he's not a 19 interception guy.

He threw 18 in '07 and 17 in '08, but he's not a 19 interception guy!

[DaddyTorgo]

Brees really does remind me of Favre, I gotta say.

Made that comment to my brother before I even saw that in the thread here.

GO FALCONS!

[kingfc22]

Time for ATL's defense to get a 3 and out.

[DaddyTorgo]

ugh. boo ATL

[Radii]

what a horrible spot, sheesh

[DaddyTorgo]

Wow - that's a fucking horrible spot. Seriously?!?!

[DaddyTorgo]

Shame the Falcons lose - they outplayed N.O.