NFL 2021 Regular Season Thread

[bhlloy]

TO was made with 5 seconds on the play clock, and you either make Vegas take one there or they take a delay of game penalty which for sure is the end of the game. It just made absolutely zero sense whatsoever.

Especially when you then come out of it and the Raiders just run and you let them get 10 yards anyway. I don't see what on earth Staley was trying to do.

[RainMaker]

I can't remember a scenario in sports where there was so much going on from a game theory perspective.

One thing they didn't bring up on the telecast is that if it was a tie, the Raiders would have to play the Chiefs. A team that absolutely stomped them both times this season.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

TO was made with 5 seconds on the play clock, and you either make Vegas take one there or they take a delay of game penalty which for sure is the end of the game. It just made absolutely zero sense whatsoever.

Especially when you then come out of it and the Raiders just run and you let them get 10 yards anyway. I don't see what on earth Staley was trying to do.

I don't think it mattered. I think the Raiders would have done a conservative run regardless. They were in shotgun and my guess is it would have been a straight handoff. Blame the Chargers run defense for shitting the bed over and over in OT.

[albionmoonlight]

Vrabel should (and probably will) win coach of the year for getting the #1 seed with Henry injured for a lot of the year.

But a shout out to Tomlin for making the playoffs with a QB who is past being past his prime. I look at that Steelers team, and I am impressed with how much they overachieved. That's a credit to great coaching.

Awards like coach of the year tend to go to newer coaches and coaches who have never done it before.

But a season like this one shows you the value of old-guard guys like Tomlin, Payton, and Belichick. Whether your QB is too old, too young, or too Trevor Siemian, these guys really do have a floor of about .500.

[Swaggs]

I was thinking that maybe the Steelers had done something historical by being 2 games over .500 with a -55 point differential, but the Raiders were -65 this year (and 3 games over .500).

Maybe the dude that took over for Gruden should be Coach of the Year. Between the Gruden stuff and Henry Ruggs incident, that's a pretty amazing achievement.

[Swaggs]

Meanwhile, the Broncos and Seahawks finished in last place (both 7-10) with positive differentials.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Maybe the dude that took over for Gruden

The fact that we are both pretty big football fans and neither of us can remember his name I think works in his favor :-)

We all had ZERO expectations for that team once Gruden left. And now they are in the playoffs. That's a great coaching job.

[Ksyrup]

I was wondering if/when the firings were going to happen. Vikings and Bears both fire coaches and GMs.

[bronconick]

And Dolphins fire Flores

[Ksyrup]

I don't follow the Dolphins at all. That's interesting given all of the "trade Tua" stuff. Was he for or against trading him? Wondering if this makes it more or less likely something is going to happen there.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't follow the Dolphins at all. That's interesting given all of the "trade Tua" stuff. Was he for or against trading him? Wondering if this makes it more or less likely something is going to happen there.

I wonder if he also had some strong pro or con DeShaun Watson thoughts that might have led to this.

I'm interested in what our board Dolphins fans think. I didn't even consider Flores' seat warm, let alone hot, so that's a bit of a shocker.

[QuikSand]

Ugh, Flores out and Grier safe, I wanted the exact opposite. Dammit.

[MIJB#19]

Wow. It's bad enough that I wasn't sleeping when the Chargers and Raiders kicked off, but by the time I did fall asleep, the Raiders had just taken the 29-14 lead with 8 or 9 minutes to go. I know, any given Sunday, but waking up to read it turned into an overtime game that could indeed have ended up in a tie... This kind of dramatic change of events can happen in very few sports and the NFL is one of them. I mean, it sounds like it was as dramatic as the score line suggests.

[QuikSand]

I missed it too... but the situation of the Chargers with the FG on the board and defending the Raiders from there is the pinnacle of this weird moment.

Raiders TD = Raiders in, Chargers out
Raiders FG = BOTH IN
Raiders stopped = Chargers in, Raiders out

I mean, the notion of the two teams taking a knee 140 times to run out the entire game was whispered and dismissed... but the notion of an imperceptible deal to do the FG doesn't seem completely out of bounds.

The #SteelerNation had to be SWEATING it, right?

[NobodyHere]

Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy have both been sacked.

I'm sure there's much rejoicing in Chicago and laments in Green Bay, Detroit, and Minnesota.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy have both been sacked.

I'm sure there's much rejoicing in Chicago and laments in Green Bay, Detroit, and Minnesota.

Let's be fair, I doubt there's many laments, as the Bears haven't proven they know how to hire a GM or a Head Coach in a long, long time.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Ugh, Flores out and Grier safe, I wanted the exact opposite. Dammit.

I'd be perfectly OK with the bears going after Flores. I'm kind of surprised the Dolphins let him go.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I wonder if he also had some strong pro or con DeShaun Watson thoughts that might have led to this.

I'm interested in what our board Dolphins fans think. I didn't even consider Flores' seat warm, let alone hot, so that's a bit of a shocker.

I would look at how Flores has handled the offensive coaching staff since he got there. He had three offensive coordinators in three seasons including this year hiring co-coordinators, neither of whom had any experience in the job. That is a lot of change on the offensive side of the ball that still results in the offense the Dolphins put on the field this year. An offense that gone from 28 to 18 and back to 24 in offensive DVOA. I have no clue how the overall offensive talent on the Dolphins is rated around the league. If it is rated highly, it has to do better than it has. I don't think anyone expects Flores to coach up the offense but if he can not get people in who can, then it makes sense for him to go.

I don't think that he should have lost his job mainly because I don't think Tua is the answer. I do understand that if the rest of the organization believes Tua is the answer, it does not make sense to give Flores possibly a fourth chance to hire the right people to get Tua to a Joe Burrow/Justin Herbert level.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I'd be perfectly OK with the bears going after Flores. I'm kind of surprised the Dolphins let him go.

I think he'd make a great fit there

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I would look at how Flores has handled the offensive coaching staff since he got there. He had three offensive coordinators in three seasons including this year hiring co-coordinators, neither of whom had any experience in the job. That is a lot of change on the offensive side of the ball that still results in the offense the Dolphins put on the field this year. An offense that gone from 28 to 18 and back to 24 in offensive DVOA. I have no clue how the overall offensive talent on the Dolphins is rated around the league. If it is rated highly, it has to do better than it has. I don't think anyone expects Flores to coach up the offense but if he can not get people in who can, then it makes sense for him to go.

I don't think that he should have lost his job mainly because I don't think Tua is the answer. I do understand that if the rest of the organization believes Tua is the answer, it does not make sense to give Flores possibly a fourth chance to hire the right people to get Tua to a Joe Burrow/Justin Herbert level.

My possibly jaded take (MIA fan, pro-Flo) would be that the fundamental mistake Miami made this year was with their offensive line - they spent a third early draft pick there after two last year (in concept, fine) and basically went all in with the "the young guys will come together" as the OL approach. Didn't even sniff Charles Leno or Mitchell Schwartz or Mike Remmers. All in on the kids.

And after several weeks, the team was circling the toilet with the worst OL in the league, the offense was a trainwreck, and even with a healthy Tua it wasn't getting much done.

They had to scrap most of the playbook and shift gears to a quick-action mostly-RPO gameplan, to take advantage of Tua's strong suits, and also accommodate the miserable Ol play. They did so, and went on a streak of beating a number of mostly bad teams.

This is not a heroic story... but it wasn't Flores who made the decision to go super-young along the OL, it was Grier. He either fell for the "sunk costs" fallacy, or just wanted to bet on himself that his hand-picked guys (two of them major reaches by the draft day consensus) would work out and the line would play well.


The offense was not NFL caliber this season, period. I'd set 60% of the blame in the front office, 20% of it with the coaching staff, and 20% of it on the emerging limitations of the young QB. Apparently the front office believes that they themselves are doing just a bang up job, and have acted accordingly.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't follow the Dolphins at all. That's interesting given all of the "trade Tua" stuff. Was he for or against trading him? Wondering if this makes it more or less likely something is going to happen there.

I've heard both that he is in favor of trading Tua and that he was the one pushing for Watson. His comments during the early season trade talks did nothing to shut down rumors, but that could've been because he knew Ross was pushing for it.

I'm in favor of keeping Tua for another year and spending the cap space on surrounding him with the best possible chance to succeed.

I am not in favor of sacrificing our future for a rapist who might not even be able to play.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

I've heard both that he is in favor of trading Tua and that he was the one pushing for Watson. His comments during the early season trade talks did nothing to shut down rumors, but that could've been because he knew Ross was pushing for it.

Ross's comment today that they aren't pursuing a Watson trade makes this the likely scenario. Maybe it was the largest part of a wider difference of opinion with the GM, but it's hard to get past a HC who doesn't want your current "franchise" QB and would rather trade for a guy a year out of the league who might be criminally charged and/or suspended at any moment.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by bronconick

And Dolphins fire Flores

Fuck Ross up the ass with a giant rusty, flaking hot poker. Horrible decision.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Ugh, Flores out and Grier safe, I wanted the exact opposite. Dammit.

Same.

[larrymcg421]

Firing Flores is just absurd if you don't have someone in mind to take over. I mean, it feels like we're going back to a Sparano/Cameron/Philbin/Gase type hire.

[RainMaker]

So Flores got fired because the GM took the wrong QB in the draft?

[spleen1015]

If Flores was any good, the wrong QB would have been the right one!

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Firing Flores is just absurd if you don't have someone in mind to take over. I mean, it feels like we're going back to a Sparano/Cameron/Philbin/Gase type hire.

Wow, when you just put 'em all in a row like that, you realize just how bad the Dolphins have been at hiring coaches.

[larrymcg421]

They were 9-4 in games where Tua played most of the snaps. And he did it with no running game and the worst OL in the league. Still some issues to work out for sure, but I haven't given up on him yet.

[Lathum]

I hope the Giants hire Flores, but they won't because they are dumb.

[stevew]

Gettleman resigned

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

They were 9-4 in games where Tua played most of the snaps. And he did it with no running game and the worst OL in the league. Still some issues to work out for sure, but I haven't given up on him yet.

Yeah, I'm not seeing him as being the problem there.

[Honolulu_Blue]

With regime changes and uncertainty in Chicago & Minnesota, all we need is that douchebag Rodgers to leave Green Bay and the division could the Lions' for the taking!!

It's time to restore the roar!

[GrantDawg]

Tua is going to be a solid NFL quarterback. Well, he will unless the coaching carousel and front office shenanigans ruins him. I would take him on my team in a heartbeat.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

With regime changes and uncertainty in Chicago & Minnesota, all we need is that douchebag Rodgers to leave Green Bay and the division could the Lions' for the taking!!

It's time to restore the roar!

Was there a roar before?

[Brian Swartz]

There was a loud purr at one point. In the 90s.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Was there a roar before?

You really don't remember Tobin Rote? Led the Lions to their last championship.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Wow, when you just put 'em all in a row like that, you realize just how bad the Dolphins have been at hiring coaches.

yeah, that kinda hurt to read it out in white and black like that

[Kodos]

Good thing they ran off that underperforming Shula in the 90s!

[RainMaker]

I don't know if Tua will be good or not but that team wins 11 games with Justin Herbert.

[larrymcg421]

They might've won 11 with Tua if he wasn't out for most of 4 games.

Not saying Tua is as good as Herbert, but Herbert would've had to do it without Ekeler and Allen, and while dropping from a good OL to one of the worst.

[RainMaker]

Maybe I'm not watching enough Chargers but their offensive line looked like trash last night and half their receivers can't get open or catch. Jared Cook was their biggest threat last night in the receiving game.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I wonder if he also had some strong pro or con DeShaun Watson thoughts that might have led to this.

I'm interested in what our board Dolphins fans think. I didn't even consider Flores' seat warm, let alone hot, so that's a bit of a shocker.

I was surpised too, i saw one headline this morning suggesting he was on the hotseat, but thought it was click bait and ignored it.

There must be a schism between Flores and Grier, and Ross chose Grier.

Whether that’s over Watson or Tua, or even Tua or Herbert from last year, is an interesting one, as Ross has come out today and stated that he’s not pursuing Watson.

I thought Flores was a good coach, classy and exuded confidence - sad to see him go.

[spleen1015]

I saw today that Flores and Grier disagreed on a lot and Grier won. Can't remember where it was. I've looked at a lot fo NFL crap today.

[molson]

I don't mean to be difficult, but I just want to see the Dolphins hire Matt Nagy

[Swaggs]

I can't imagine Flores will be out of a job for long. I know that odds are that he gets another job in the next couple weeks, but he seems like he would make an amazing college coach.

[Solecismic]

It's certainly a strange firing. Owners are usually quite predictable about these things when you look at won/loss records. This is an outlier based on the model I constructed from about a decade of firings.

Next season is the 50th anniversary of the undefeated season (and 49 seasons since their last Super Bowl win). Will they wear special patches?

[Coffee Warlord]

Bears fans and media not .... thrilled with McCaskey's press conference.

Originally Posted by Article

What the Bears chairman said in an hour-long press conference should be enough to kill the faith of even the most ardent fan. On the day the team fired general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy after a 6-11 season (good), McCaskey announced that unremarkable, apparently unremovable team president and CEO Ted Phillips would retain his title (bad) and that, in an organizational shift, future GMs no longer would report to Phillips but to McCaskey (from very bad to worse).

McCaskey admitted Monday that he’s a football fan, not a football expert, which is somewhere between amazing and criminal. He has worked for the franchise for 30 years. You’d think some knowledge would have seeped in under the door along the way. Whenever the new general manager does feel the need to report to George, it should be a hell of a conversation.

...


The Bears have hired former NFL general manager Bill Polian, 79, as a consultant in the hiring process for a new general manager and coach. One more time: McCaskey has been in the family business for decades, yet needs help in figuring out who’s who, what’s what and where the men’s room is? The Bears did the same thing in 2015, hiring longtime NFL executive Ernie Accorsi to lead a search that ended with the hiring of Pace and coach John Fox. What’s Curly Lambeau doing these days? And you wonder why my hands want to tear out my hair.

[RainMaker]

So the last hour was basically George McCaskey saying his mom still wants him to run the team, he trusts Ted Phillips implicitly, he's read Bill Polian's book, thinks Olin Kreutz is a liar and he's never heard of https://t.co/Mm89QgcIA5.

Your Chicago Bears, everyone!

— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) January 10, 2022

[JPhillips]

The Bengals have shown that they can beat anyone, but they've also shown they can lose to anyone. I'm pretty comfortable with the Raiders matchup, but hope kills.