2015 NFL Week 3

[bhlloy]

Ugh, Stafford really does have a five cent brain to go with that golden arm. Can't run laterally across the pocket with the ball cocked like that

[Vince, Pt. II]

Arizona DB Tyrann Mathieu after the game against the 49ers today: "Their passing game has been simplified so much, it was easy for us to anticipate routes."

That's...extremely worrisome.

[Danny]

Not sure if This came up or not, but I can't stand the direct TV commercial line of don't be this version of the NFL player. I do see they changed mannings already. Just a bad choice in general

[stevew]

I thought high voices Peyton could easily be seen as pretty homophobic. I can't believe that passed the cut.

[TroyF]

Thought that was an incomplete pass, but it was a stupid move.

I was cheering for Detroit to get a TD after the Thomas fumble and was very happy they did. Calvin Johnson single handedly prevented two pic 6's by Talib. The one he actually caught was flippin amazing. The Lions did a very good job on the Denver pass rush today. I was expecting Wade to call some blitzes up the middle, but they never really came.

The Denver OLine is still horrible and will be the reason Denver won't go far if they continue to play like this. You MUST be able to run the ball at least a little bit and this team simply cannot do it.

The defense continues to be amazing. They gave up one TD drive of any substance this game. The other TD was a sudden change. Then the final drive which just ended.

3-0. We'll take it.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Thought that was an incomplete pass, but it was a stupid move.

I was cheering for Detroit to get a TD after the Thomas fumble and was very happy they did. Calvin Johnson single handedly prevented two pic 6's by Talib. The one he actually caught was flippin amazing. The Lions did a very good job on the Denver pass rush today. I was expecting Wade to call some blitzes up the middle, but they never really came.

The Denver OLine is still horrible and will be the reason Denver won't go far if they continue to play like this. You MUST be able to run the ball at least a little bit and this team simply cannot do it.

The defense continues to be amazing. They gave up one TD drive of any substance this game. The other TD was a sudden change. Then the final drive which just ended.

3-0. We'll take it.

Manning looked almost sharp tonight. 75% completion and 335 yards passing and the defense has been great . +6 Turnover ratio and 11 sacks.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Who knows what any of these coaches will do, but Michigan seems the perfect fit for Harbaugh. He can win national championships there and if he does he'll be a legend. In Indy he might win Super Bowls, but he'll never get the kind of adulation he will in Ann Arbor.

I don't think Harbaugh stays at Michigan for life. Just too abrasive and I think he'll want to win a Super Bowl at some point... But I definitely thinks he brings Michigan back to prominence and gets at least a CFP appearance before he's willing to entertain offers.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Our season's first 50-burger. I don't see it as running up the score - you have to keep playing in this league even when it gets out of hand. But I have no idea why Brady played at all in the fourth quarter, let alone that entire 10-minute drive.

You really can't figure that one out? I don't think our defense is good enough to make a serious run at 19-0*, but I absolutely think the single season points record, single season passing yard mark, and receiving TD mark for Gronk are all in play as long as Gronk stays healthy. Tom Brady is pissed, the coaching staff is pissed, the fans are pissed (not that they really matter), and they are absolutely on a rampage even more so than 2007 (which was really just an absurdly talented team.) October 18th will be a primetime bloodbath.

[Solecismic]

The best way to get revenge, and I guarantee you everyone in that New England organization agrees, is to hoist another Lombardi Trophy.

Beating Jacksonville 44-17 or 51-17 makes no difference. No one cares who sets points records. The team that held the single-season points record for almost a decade before the 2007 Patriots squad didn't even make the Super Bowl. Despite the incessant commercials, fantasy football still doesn't win games for teams.

I think we can agree New England has a much better chance of repeating if Tom Brady stays healthy. And, if not, it's better if Jimmy Garoppolo gets a few more snaps here and there anyway.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The best way to get revenge, and I guarantee you everyone in that New England organization agrees, is to hoist another Lombardi Trophy.

Beating Jacksonville 44-17 or 51-17 makes no difference. No one cares who sets points records. The team that held the single-season points record for almost a decade before the 2007 Patriots squad didn't even make the Super Bowl. Despite the incessant commercials, fantasy football still doesn't win games for teams.

I think we can agree New England has a much better chance of repeating if Tom Brady stays healthy. And, if not, it's better if Jimmy Garoppolo gets a few more snaps here and there anyway.

Exactly. one stupid ass goofy play in a 40 point blowout and that pissed off coach and pissed off fan base will be screwed.

Either Brady or Gronk go down and the Patriots are simply not the favorites to win the Super Bowl. If all the Patriots needed was cheating allegations to win, they would have won about 10 straight Super Bowls as they have been around for a long, long time.

Simply put, the Patriots with a healthy Brady and Gronk are the best team in the AFC right now and I'm not sure it's real close. But they better stay really pissed off, because if that offense has an off game in the playoffs, they will not win a title. It isn't nearly as good as it was last year. That will come back to hurt them if the O has a bad day at the office in January.

If they do win, it will be because they are the best team in the league. . . . not because of any anger at how they have been treated. That BS only goes so far. The Patriots didn't go without a title for as long as they did because they stopped paying attention to details and stopped being angry., They didn't win because they weren't the best team, had some unlucky injuries, had a few horrible calls go against them and played a couple of better teams.

If they don't win this year it will be one of those reasons. Nothing more, nothing less.

[molson]

Bellichick has always been slow to pull his starters in blowouts. Two seasons ago, no other QB got a single passing attempt all season. The year before that, the backup QB got 4 attempts all season. Watching the end of Pats' blowout wins is always a little scary. I don't know if the purpose is running up the score. They don't really strike me as an emotional team. There was a big contrast in expressed emotion between the Bills and the Pats last week both before and during the game, for example - it always seems as though whoever the Pats are playing are more emotionally-driven than the Pats are. Maybe they're all just masters at keeping it all in, but, I think there's more going on here than rage-winning. I don't think that really works in the NFL, I've seen too many teams talk shit all week and fall flat on their face. Bellichick just tends to use his best players whenever, and doesn't like to run the team differently in garbage time. Gronkowski broke his forearm blocking on an extra point kick on a late TD with the Pats up by 35. I don't quite get it, but Bellichick does know more about football than me and has had some success in this league, so, keep doing what you're doing Bill.

[BishopMVP]

I'm not saying I agree with it, and I'm not saying it actually makes the players any better. But I am saying it's clearly playing a factor in why we're throwing the ball up 20 in the 4th quarter against Buffalo instead of making a more concerted effort to kill clock or leaving the starters in and continuing to run the normal offense late against Jacksonville.

Although, as Molson points out, this is a Belichick trademark. Even on defense Chandler Jones played 98% of the snaps two seasons ago (and he's the one who took Gronk's spot on the PAT blocking team)... I believe Rob Ninkovich played every single snap last year before the meaningless Week 17 game where we actually did sit a few starters. Devin McCourty is close to 100%.

[Coffee Warlord]

Per Deadspin this morning, since they started tracking it, no team has ever ended every drive in a punt. No turnovers, no nothing. Every drive ends in a punt.

Till the Bears yesterday.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Per Deadspin this morning, since they started tracking it, no team has ever ended every drive in a punt. No turnovers, no nothing. Every drive ends in a punt.

Till the Bears yesterday.

I guess the positive you can take out of that is that it meant Cutler didn't throw a pick 6.

[Butter]

I was wondering what Steve Smith was going on about after his last touchdown yesterday, I was glad Deadspin gave us a lip reading.

But it was kinda fun to see Baltimore lose again after the CBS announcers spent so much time talking about how Flacco and others were basically saying "we shouldn't be losing to this team" as though the Bengals haven't made the playoffs 4 years in a row and the Ravens could just will themselves to the win if they wanted it enough.

[MizzouRah]

What offense better - Mizzou or Rams?

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I was wondering what Steve Smith was going on about after his last touchdown yesterday, I was glad Deadspin gave us a lip reading.

Okay, can you give a brief synapsis of what Deadspin says Steve Smith was saying? Because I don't know what you're talking about.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

What offense better - Mizzou or Rams?

Depends. Do the Rams have to face SEC defenses?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Okay, can you give a brief synapsis of what Deadspin says Steve Smith was saying? Because I don't know what you're talking about.

He was turned and talking to... nobody after his 2nd touchdown catch and apparently says:

"24? Trash.
27? Trash.
43? F**kboy.
20? *unknown insult*"

These all being numbers of some of the Bengals secondary. Looks like it was actually SBNation that had this.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Arizona DB Tyrann Mathieu after the game against the 49ers today: "Their passing game has been simplified so much, it was easy for us to anticipate routes."

That's...extremely worrisome.

Not if your a Cards fan.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

He was turned and talking to... nobody after his 2nd touchdown catch and apparently says:

"24? Trash.
27? Trash.
43? F**kboy.
20? *unknown insult*"

These all being numbers of some of the Bengals secondary. Looks like it was actually SBNation that had this.

I'm okay with it until he drops the unknown insult. That's when shit gets real.

Haha, no shocker, Steve Smith is still Steve Smith. Thanks Butter.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Per Deadspin this morning, since they started tracking it, no team has ever ended every drive in a punt. No turnovers, no nothing. Every drive ends in a punt.

Till the Bears yesterday.

Like I said enjoy John Fox as your HC.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Like I said enjoy John Fox as your HC.

I don't think you can blame John Fox for Jimmy Clausen.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interested to see if KC can remain the only NFL team to never lose at Lambeau. Should be a fun matchup and Reid has had a long time to gameplan for this one.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Grover

I don't think you can blame John Fox for this travesty of a team the prior management built.

Fixed.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Interested to see if KC can remain the only NFL team to never lose at Lambeau. Should be a fun matchup and Reid has had a long time to gameplan for this one.

You're going down! Aaron Rodgers is going to discount-double check your defense all night long!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by stevew

I thought high voices Peyton could easily be seen as pretty homophobic. I can't believe that passed the cut.

I think people these days get themselves worked up to be offended at pretty tame stuff to feel self-important and relish the victim role, fueled by shame weight of social media.

So I'm glad to see a company willing to put something out that is risqué for once (although, to be fair, until you pointed it out, it never occurred to me to put one with the other).

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

...(although, to be fair, until you pointed it out, it never occurred to me to put one with the other).

I never made the connection either.

[Grover]

I'd never thought of that connotation either.

I'm just offended at how bad the commercial is.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Fixed.

Or for his starting QB and 2 best WR's being injured.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Or for his starting QB and 2 best WR's being injured.

All I know is what I saw in Denver with Fox. Great example of Kubiak replacing Fox was in the game last night.Kubiak showed a long FG attempt and forced Detroit to use one of their timeouts early in the game. Mind games that John Fox just never used. Reminds me of Shanahan being cerebral enough to think of every strategy to use to their advantage. Kubiak picked up some good things from the tan man of Denver. Kubiak is getting 2 thumbs up from me with how he's leading this team. It was a great choice by Elway IMO.

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by Grover

I'm just offended at how bad the commercial is.

+1

The only one I find remotely funny is the one with Andrew Luck.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Grover

I'd never thought of that connotation either.

I'm just offended at how bad the commercial is.

That's the funniest part of this little sidebar conversation actually. You're dead on correct--it is easily the worst of those commercials. They're all mostly lame, but they're usually good enough to at least get a chuckle out of me. The Peyton one is just dumb and not funny.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by BillJasper

+1

The only one I find remotely funny is the one with Andrew Luck.

Yeah the Luck one is the best. First part with the fantasy stuff, apparently Luck is very anti-fantasy, so that is funny. And his line is simplistically awesome in the second part: "I happen to not be wearing a shirt." lol

[Suicane75]

My friend and I were having a discussion about those commercials last week. At least with the Rob Lowe ones they tried to make the other Rob Lowe have normal character traits, with these new crop of commercials they're just trying to be as dumb as possible. Hi, I'm Suicane. And I'm Suicane with a bag of cheetos for a penis.

[EagleFan]

So, for football season DirecTV decided to dump the commercials with the smoking hot chick in a bikini to go with lame "hi I'm" commercials. Rather stupid business decision.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

So, for football season DirecTV decided to dump the commercials with the smoking hot chick in a bikini to go with lame "hi I'm" commercials. Rather stupid business decision.

Not really. How many people really would have remembered those bikini commercials were for DirecTV? I didn't until you mentioned it. These ones are obviously for DirecTV. Much, much smarter business decision.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Depends. Do the Rams have to face SEC defenses?

Probably worse..

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Not really. How many people really would have remembered those bikini commercials were for DirecTV? I didn't until you mentioned it. These ones are obviously for DirecTV. Much, much smarter business decision.

Yep.

And I've actually quoted at least one of those spots a couple of times already, despite relatively few exposures to them.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Yep.

And I've actually quoted at least one of those spots a couple of times already, despite relatively few exposures to them.

Has any one of those commercials left you with a positive feeling towards DirecTV?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Has any one of those commercials left you with a positive feeling towards DirecTV?

Isn't a commercial that entertains you but you can't remember what it is for just a completely waste of money? Even one that leaves you with a mediocre feeling is better than no feeling at all.

Remember how all those super annoying "HeadOn" commercials led to massive profits for that company?

[EagleFan]

I would purposely avoid buying something just because they have stupid advertisements. Stupidity should not be rewarded.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, then what if I said that I though having a hot chick in a bikini to sell satellite TV was pretty fucking stupid?

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Galaril

All I know is what I saw in Denver with Fox. Great example of Kubiak replacing Fox was in the game last night.Kubiak showed a long FG attempt and forced Detroit to use one of their timeouts early in the game. Mind games that John Fox just never used. Reminds me of Shanahan being cerebral enough to think of every strategy to use to their advantage. Kubiak picked up some good things from the tan man of Denver. Kubiak is getting 2 thumbs up from me with how he's leading this team. It was a great choice by Elway IMO.

Kubiak might've also learned some things during the 8 years he coached in Houston. I rate Kubiak and Fox about equally - definitely find it hard to give 2 thumbs up to the guy who thought forcing Peyton Manning under center with that O-Line was the best course of action. It's been obvious to anyone watching the games Manning needs to be in shotgun, how does the head coach/offensive "guru" not see that during training camp or preseason?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Has any one of those commercials left you with a positive feeling towards DirecTV?

Absolutely a net positive.

They've used one of the relative few pro athletes that I find genuinely likable and actually care about, and they've done so in a way that highlights his ability to go to great lengths to make himself the butt of a joke. (The willingness to be ridiculous is really PM's strength as a marketer). And they get another half point of credit for using his brother in another spot.

Could the spot(s) be better? Sure, same as with most spots really. From a professional standpoint they used an exceptionally well-liked celebrity (last I saw, circa 2013, his Q-score was on par with Michael Jordan) that has tremendous (personal) brand awareness, they played to one of his strongest suits in designing the spot and they maintained their focus on an existing campaign (the whole "don't be that guy" bit) Creatively, it's a winner.

edit to add: Given my low amount of TV viewing, I doubt I could identify more than a couple dozen current ads off the top of my head. This one has aired for, what, two weeks? And I'm already referencing it in unrelated conversations without being prompted, I can tell you who its for and I'll still actively stop to watch it if it airs & I notice. Yeah, I'd say that's a positive outcome for them (albeit one with limited potential since I've been with Dish for more than two decades)

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Kubiak might've also learned some things during the 8 years he coached in Houston. I rate Kubiak and Fox about equally - definitely find it hard to give 2 thumbs up to the guy who thought forcing Peyton Manning under center with that O-Line was the best course of action. It's been obvious to anyone watching the games Manning needs to be in shotgun, how does the head coach/offensive "guru" not see that during training camp or preseason?

I agree with that and many including me think it was a move to get Manning to hang it up over the offseason.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I agree with that and many including me think it was a move to get Manning to hang it up over the offseason.

Then I'd have a lot more questions for Elway/Kubiak. I'm on record as being a Brock Osweiler skeptic, but do even his supporters think he'd be a better starter for a team with Denver's defense? This isn't a situation like New Orleans where it's going to get ugly real soon with their cap situation, even if Drew Brees plays well they probably have a 10 win/NFC Divisional Round ceiling, and it might be better to start the rebuild early. Denver's still the 2nd best AFC team (unless you're a Cincinnati believer) with a legitimate SB chance and they'd rather start Brock Osweiler over Peyton Manning??? I don't buy it... I think Kubiak is just a coach who believes his system is so great it took a whole lot to get him to adjust to his players strengths instead, which isn't the mark of a good coach.

[Arles]

Denver's issues seem to be:

1. Peyton changing how he's played for 16 seasons to going under center.
2. Denver's OL with guys either new to the team or in different spots (many never playing together).

The first seems to be better with the pistol/shotgun lineup and time should fix option 2. Denver has already won two of their toughest 4 road games and their OL hasn't even gelled yet. I'd be pretty optimistic if I was a Broncos fan. If the OL can get a little better (esp run blocking), they could be a tough out with that defense and those WRs.

[tucker rocky]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...r-jared-allen/

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I think Kubiak is just a coach who believes his system is so great it took a whole lot to get him to adjust to his players strengths instead, which isn't the mark of a good coach.

That take on it would require me to believe that this also doesn't involve Elway's ego.

[Kodos]

When has Kubiak been impressive as a head coach? He seems like a very good OC, but I haven't been impressed with him as the HC.