2016 NFL Week 1

[bhlloy]

Speaking of questionable decisions, giving Tavon Austin, who is a good slot guy if you have enough other weapons to give him space to work, 42 million is another head scratcher

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Hey, if they keep this up tickets should be cheap by mid season, so that's a positive

Parking won't be discounted

[Suicane75]

Should have brought back the Express instead of the Rams. Case Keenum is effin dreadful.

[Suicane75]

It just hit me. This team cut Nick Foles? He's not great, but at least he has a track record of competency.

[Chief Rum]

Foles was terrible too.

At least this looks more like the D I expected in the second half.

[Suicane75]

I admit I didn't see a lot of Rams games last year, but he had to have been better than this. Of course the fact that they have no receiving threats probably makes any QB look worse than he is. But Keenums throws are awful.

[Chief Rum]

Foles issue from what I understand is that no one believed in him. Doesn't matter if you can throw a better and more accurate ball if your team doesn't buy into you as their leader.

[jbergey22]

ESPN sure swung for the fences with this game. Isnt there a Sun Belt conference game they could have put on instead?

[Suicane75]

Yeah well, they got two leaders now, 1 who can't coach, and 1 who can't throw.

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

ESPN sure swung for the fences with this game. Isnt there a Sun Belt conference game they could have put on instead?

Don't insult the Sun Belt like that.

[Galaril]

Man who the hell will the Rams draft in the first round with the #1 pick next year? Man they drafted Goff and he is not even dressed as the third stringer! Wow! Fisher is a QB killer . I think he got lucky with Steve McNair back in Tennessee.
How the hell do you draft the supposed top QB and he is not at least backup QB?

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Man who the hell will the Rams draft in the first round with the #1 pick next year?

They will watch the Titans draft an OT. Or whoever has the pick now.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Foles issue from what I understand is that no one believed in him. Doesn't matter if you can throw a better and more accurate ball if your team doesn't buy into you as their leader.

Not sure anyone ever accused Goff of being a great leader either, so they may have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire with that one

[Suicane75]

Before Gurley, when was the last time they drafted any sort of difference maker at an offensive skill position?

This team looks certifiably horrible on offense.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

They will watch the Titans draft an OT. Or whoever has the pick now.

Ouch that is right.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Not sure anyone ever accused Goff of being a great leader either, so they may have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire with that one

At least with Goff he had a chance to be a leader and maybe still does. They already knew what they had in Foles.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Before Gurley, when was the last time they drafted any sort of difference maker at an offensive skill position?

This team looks certifiably horrible on offense.

It's phenomenal how terrible they have been at it.

[wustin]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Man who the hell will the Rams draft in the first round with the #1 pick next year? Man they drafted Goff and he is not even dressed as the third stringer! Wow! Fisher is a QB killer . I think he got lucky with Steve McNair back in Tennessee.
How the hell do you draft the supposed top QB and he is not at least backup QB?

They traded that 1st round pick to the Titans to get Goff.

[Chief Rum]

Funny headline I saw:

Fan runs onto field, runs for more yards than Rams offense.

Even as a Rams fan, I find that hilarious.

[tucker rocky]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Funny headline I saw:

Fan runs onto field, runs for more yards than Rams offense.

Even as a Rams fan, I find that hilarious.

Kevin Harlan is a national treasure: pic.twitter.com/CQFjPxkTMX

— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) September 13, 2016

[Julio Riddols]

That wasn't even some 7-9 bullshit.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

ESPN sure swung for the fences with this game. Isnt there a Sun Belt conference game they could have put on instead?

They had a good point about this on Czaban this morning - the NFL got pissy about having Tirico do the Thursday games, but they allowed this?

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

They had a good point about this on Czaban this morning - the NFL got pissy about having Tirico do the Thursday games, but they allowed this?

I don't think they really had a choice. You have Carolina/Denver, NE/Arizona taken away by the other two nighttime slots. Your opening game is the Pitt/Wash. You have to have a West Coast game. What is left? You have Miami/Seattle, but you know CBS was all over that game. (the only time they can show a Seahawks game is when an AFC team plays them on the road). The Chargers were in KC.

So it ended up being the trainwreck we saw last night. That was unbelievably bad.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by wustin

They traded that 1st round pick to the Titans to get Goff.

After watching that game last night, the Rams may end up worse than the Browns. Imagine if the Titans do end up with the #1 pick again and they Marriota recovers from his poor week one to have a good year.

They will again not need a QB. There will again be 8 or 9 QB hungry teams that will want to move up. They'll again hold a loaded gun and get a ransom.

If Marcus develops, the rest of the league is going to HATE the Titans in a few years.

[cuervo72]

Hmm, I guess I could have processed the quoted post a little better. I didn't mean the matchup as much as the announcing booth. ESPN could have at least tried to put lipstick on the pig. The game might have been a snoozer, but at least it could have been made more presentable with an actual announcing team.

[TroyF]

Final thoughts about the weekend:

- Andrew Luck was simply sensational. That was one of the best QB performances you are ever going to see.

- The Patriots are the best coached team on the planet. But you already knew that.

- The Rams are one of the worse coached teams on the planet. You knew that too.

- The Broncos OLine and QB looked good enough to compliment that defense. They were better than I thought.

- I think TB could surprise a lot of people this year.

- Carson Wentz could decide the fate of 3 general managers and it looks like he is already on his way. The Browns GM will never survive trading out of the slot and passing on him if he becomes a star. If Goff fails and Wentz doesn't, the Rams GM will be gone. And of course the Eagles GM. . . who will get a very big contract extension and a GM of the year at some point.

- Is the Dolphins defense that good or is the Seattle offense that bad?

- After a slow start, Brock looked very good for Houston.

- AJ Green officially owns Revis Island and will be opening up site seeing tours to the public next week.

- Gutsy, gutsy wins from both the Raiders and Chiefs

- I hope the Steelers offense stays healthy this year. Get Bell back in a couple of games. No injury to Brown, Bell, Big Ben or Deangelo. I want to see how many points this team can score.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Hmm, I guess I could have processed the quoted post a little better. I didn't mean the matchup as much as the announcing booth. ESPN could have at least tried to put lipstick on the pig. The game might have been a snoozer, but at least it could have been made more presentable with an actual announcing team.

Maybe, but I don't know many announcers who could have saved that game. I watch more football than I should. I probably have some disease or something. That game? I think I've had more enjoyable trips to the dentist than watching that game.

That was as bad as it gets.

As an FYI, you should probably plan an outing with your family on December 15th. Make sure the children are out of the house, the pets can't turn on the TV by accident and you stay far away from sports bars. That's the night the Rams get their only other nationally televised tilt. They play at Seattle. I know the Rams have had the Hawks number. I just don't see it this year.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by TroyF

- Andrew Luck was simply sensational. That was one of the best QB performances you are ever going to see..

C/Att Yds Avg TD INT Sacks QBR Rating
QB1: 31/47 385 8.2 4 0 2-17 89.4 119.5

QB2: 31/39 340 8.7 3 0 1-8 89.6 128.6

So, one of these QBs was "simply sensational" and put on "one of the best QB performances you are ever going to see" and the other QB, the winning one, mind you, wasn't even mentioned! Which is which?

Also.... No respect!

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I don't think they really had a choice. You have Carolina/Denver, NE/Arizona taken away by the other two nighttime slots. Your opening game is the Pitt/Wash. You have to have a West Coast game. What is left? You have Miami/Seattle, but you know CBS was all over that game. (the only time they can show a Seahawks game is when an AFC team plays them on the road). The Chargers were in KC.

So it ended up being the trainwreck we saw last night. That was unbelievably bad.

Since the 49ers got that slot last year I was kind of thinking they could have designed the schedule to the Raiders got that slot this year. I suppose they could have never known that we would be looking at a Gabbert vs Keenum matchup though.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by TroyF

- Is the Dolphins defense that good or is the Seattle offense that bad?

I think you will see Seattle change their approach as the season goes on. They are fully capable of modernizing their talent on offense and becoming an explosive offense. When they had Lynch they liked to wear down the other team and create opportunities of play action but they no longer have Lynch to play that way.

It really took a lot away from their offense with a hobbled Wilson as well. He was not moving well.

With that said I do think the Dolphins defense is underrated.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

C/Att Yds Avg TD INT Sacks QBR Rating
QB1: 31/47 385 8.2 4 0 2-17 89.4 119.5

QB2: 31/39 340 8.7 3 0 1-8 89.6 128.6

So, one of these QBs was "simply sensational" and put on "one of the best QB performances you are ever going to see" and the other QB, the winning one, mind you, wasn't even mentioned! Which is which?

Also.... No respect!

If you saw the game, the differences between the two was striking. Not insulting Stafford at all. He took what was given to him and played a fantastic game. He wasn't throwing it deep and he wasn't throwing it into coverage. I think I read something where Stafford only threw 7 passes 10 yards or more down the field all game.

Luck was 11-13 for 203 yards on passes thrown 10 yards or more down the field.

Again, no disrespect meant. Stafford had a terrific, terrific game. I just thought Lucks was better and also more important. (there were a lot of people ripping on Luck last year when he got hurt)

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Really? They're holding Goff back to get better than this guy? If this is the team this year, they need to just stick Goff in and let him learn.

Can't learn if you're injured within one series because you play like a deer in headlights. Who could've seen this coming?
October

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I still like Jared Goff better than Christian Hackenberg or Cardale Jones (or the MSU kid), and I don't want to overreact to one bad game but he's not a top 10 pick right now imo. I like his accuracy and quick release and he at least makes quick decisions, but he really struggled with any semblance of pocket awareness and those last 2 picks were brutal (as well as the fumble his team recovered late).

April

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

If people are even debating who you traded up to get at #1... it's a good sign you probably overpaid for the pick.

That was also my read on Goff this year... very accurate, really quick release, tall, went through progressions well, and as soon as there was any pocket pressure everything fell apart. The tools are there for a great NFL QB, but I do not see it going well if he's asked to start from Day 1.

(Though at this point I'll also add I have absolutely zero faith in Jeff Fisher to develop him or any offensive player. Baffling that they're sticking with him with a young team and QB in need of development.)

Originally Posted by TroyF

- Carson Wentz could decide the fate of 3 general managers and it looks like he is already on his way. The Browns GM will never survive trading out of the slot and passing on him if he becomes a star. If Goff fails and Wentz doesn't, the Rams GM will be gone. And of course the Eagles GM. . . who will get a very big contract extension and a GM of the year at some point.

I assume the Browns will be targeting either Watson, Kaaya, or next April's small school QB du jour (Cooper Rush?) with their pick or the Eagles one, so that'll be the guy people judge their decision to pass on Wentz on. They'll certainly have the draft capital to move up if they need to.

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

If Sherman is not the best, the fraternity of elite corners above him is not large.

Put me down as another guy who doesn't understand what tactical advantage it is to stick guys on one side or another regardless of who they're covering.

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

I think, at least in situations of covering someone like Brown, the idea is to keep from getting your defense unbalanced against your wishes. If you're going to go man up with one CB, and rotate coverage behind the other, then switching sides could open up wide swaths of open field if the offensive route combos are put together the right way. It's not just switching the CBs around, it's the rest of the coverage scheme having to be adjusted.

I don't know that I agree with it, but I think that's at least part of the theory.

That makes sense why you might not have your CB lock on if they go in motion, and even boundary side vs wide side, but put me down in the camp that doesn't understand teams who are so adamant about L/R. The Seahawks do it with Sherman a lot too (though I think they did it less last fall), but it's the NFL, your safeties should be able to flip coverage schemes if it's a simple & obvious pre-snap read.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by TroyF

If you saw the game, the differences between the two was striking. Not insulting Stafford at all. He took what was given to him and played a fantastic game. He wasn't throwing it deep and he wasn't throwing it into coverage. I think I read something where Stafford only threw 7 passes 10 yards or more down the field all game.

Luck was 11-13 for 203 yards on passes thrown 10 yards or more down the field.

Again, no disrespect meant. Stafford had a terrific, terrific game. I just thought Lucks was better and also more important. (there were a lot of people ripping on Luck last year when he got hurt)

To be fair, it's H_B. He probably saw every minute of that game.

[Arles]

The Rams have always been a 4-5 win team, they just had the dome in St. Louis to help them steal 2-3 games a year with the noise and their pass rush. In LA, they won't have that advantage. I'd be surprised if they reach 6 wins this year.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

That makes sense why you might not have your CB lock on if they go in motion, and even boundary side vs wide side, but put me down in the camp that doesn't understand teams who are so adamant about L/R. The Seahawks do it with Sherman a lot too (though I think they did it less last fall), but it's the NFL, your safeties should be able to flip coverage schemes if it's a simple & obvious pre-snap read.

I don't understand why there is so much talk about this lately (not just here).
It is a bio mechanics thing. Flipping hips, back pedaling and eye control all totally change side to side.

Do offensive tackles chase premier DEs side to side?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by tucker rocky

Kevin Harlan is a national treasure: pic.twitter.com/CQFjPxkTMX

— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) September 13, 2016

Kevin Harlan is the best.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by TroyF

If you saw the game, the differences between the two was striking. Not insulting Stafford at all. He took what was given to him and played a fantastic game. He wasn't throwing it deep and he wasn't throwing it into coverage. I think I read something where Stafford only threw 7 passes 10 yards or more down the field all game.

Luck was 11-13 for 203 yards on passes thrown 10 yards or more down the field.

Again, no disrespect meant. Stafford had a terrific, terrific game. I just thought Lucks was better and also more important. (there were a lot of people ripping on Luck last year when he got hurt)

Yes, I did see the game.

Maybe I wasn't as blown away by Luck's performance, because I'm just really quite used to see quarterbacks playing "simply sensational" and putting up some of the "best QB performances you are ever going to see" against the Lions defenses. It's old hat nowadays!

Also, on a decent number of those plays the receiver was wide open or essentially uncovered, a hallmark of the Lions' defense. On that one long pass to Dorsett Slay fell down.

That said, Luck was great. He really was. He's a very good quarterback and it was good to see him rebound after a tough year (though it was MUCH better to see him rebound and still lose), but Lions really only have two starting caliber players in their defensive backfield - Slay and Quin.

As for being "more important" that is true from an Indy and national perspective, but definitely not a Detroit one. This was Stafford's first test without Calvin Johnson in the line-up. There were also a lot of questions heading into this season whether the offense would be the crap show it was during the first 8 games last year or the decent one that showed up in the last 8 (i.e., Before Jim-Bob Cooter and After Jim-Bob Cooter).

While this game was very positive for the Lions offense without Calvin Johnson, it was against the Colts. The Colts defense isn't the best and, in addition, they came into the game with a ton of injuries and suffered even more during the game. I'm not sure if this was the stiffest test. Also, Stafford needs to show that he can do this kind of thing consistently. He's show flashes of brilliance and great games before only to regress horribly the next week.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Yes, I did see the game.

Maybe I wasn't as blown away by Luck's performance, because I'm just really quite used to see quarterbacks playing "simply sensational" and putting up some of the "best QB performances you are ever going to see" against the Lions defenses. It's old hat nowadays!

Also, on a decent number of those plays the receiver was wide open or essentially uncovered, a hallmark of the Lions' defense. On that one long pass to Dorsett Slay fell down.

That said, Luck was great. He really was. He's a very good quarterback and it was good to see him rebound after a tough year (though it was MUCH better to see him rebound and still lose), but Lions really only have two starting caliber players in their defensive backfield - Slay and Quin.

As for being "more important" that is true from an Indy and national perspective, but definitely not a Detroit one. This was Stafford's first test without Calvin Johnson in the line-up. There were also a lot of questions heading into this season whether the offense would be the crap show it was during the first 8 games last year or the decent one that showed up in the last 8 (i.e., Before Jim-Bob Cooter and After Jim-Bob Cooter).

While this game was very positive for the Lions offense without Calvin Johnson, it was against the Colts. The Colts defense isn't the best and, in addition, they came into the game with a ton of injuries and suffered even more during the game. I'm not sure if this was the stiffest test. Also, Stafford needs to show that he can do this kind of thing consistently. He's show flashes of brilliance and great games before only to regress horribly the next week.

I think we can agree both defenses need some work. It'll be interesting to see how their seasons progress from game 1 until game 16.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by TroyF

- The Rams are one of the worse coached teams on the planet. You knew that too.

The only thing that explains Jeff Fisher at this point is he's an ex-KGB agent that has dirt on everyone in the NFL.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I don't understand why there is so much talk about this lately (not just here).
It is a bio mechanics thing. Flipping hips, back pedaling and eye control all totally change side to side.

Do offensive tackles chase premier DEs side to side?

I was always more of a free safety or a zone cover guy not press man, but while the difference between slot & boundary coverage was obvious I can't recall feeling I was better mechanically one side or the other. And I thought the whole point of tackles was that you want the better one protecting the QB's blindside, which is why guys occasionally get "promoted" from RT to LT. (Plus I think intuitive chemistry with the guy(s) next to you is a little more important in such tight quarters there.) This suggests that CB's in zone coverage schemes do it for the same reason - that right handed QB's tend to prefer looking & throwing to their right, which is why guys like Sherman and Norman are LCB's not RCB's. (If Steve Young was still in San Fran maybe we could see if they adjusted, but who's the best lefty NFL QB right now, Kellen Moore?)

Obviously other very good players like Talib, Revis, Butler, Verrett move around a lot, and last year when Seattle was struggling with CB's on the opposite side and had to release Cary Williams, they started matching Sherman up across the field, suggesting it's more personnel or scheme based than something inherent in his mechanics.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Speaking of questionable decisions, giving Tavon Austin, who is a good slot guy if you have enough other weapons to give him space to work, 42 million is another head scratcher

yeah, wtf. he must have percy harvin's agent to get that dramatically overpaid.

[tucker rocky]

Originally Posted by tucker rocky

Kevin Harlan is a national treasure: pic.twitter.com/CQFjPxkTMX

— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) September 13, 2016

Originally Posted by Butter

Kevin Harlan is the best.

The look on Jeff Fisher is priceless.
A meme of this is needed.

[Buccaneer]

Rams will be ok once:

1. They fire Jeff Fisher.
2. They move to the new stadium.
3. Change to Blue/White colors.

[cuervo72]

Those uniforms really do suck hard.

[albionmoonlight]

Best part of that call was when Harlen said something like "They are surrounding that man like . . ." and then he stopped because he was clearly about to say something impolitic like "he had a bomb." Then he paused while he tried to think of a crime that was serious enough to warrant the first half of his statement, but not so serious that he'd get in trouble.

I think "robbed a bank" was the right call.