NFL 2021 Regular Season Thread

[Thomkal]

Ya know what would be better than a one-game Rams losing streak? A two game Rams losing streak. Can you take care of that for us tonight Seattle? Thanks

[Brian Swartz]

Doesn't it have to be at least two games to count as a streak? /pedantic

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Doesn't it have to be at least two games to count as a streak? /pedantic

/waytoruinmypost Brian

[miami_fan]

Is there a sport that is not dealing with controversy?

Source -- DEA investigation of WFT trainer Ryan Vermillion tied to alleged prescription-drug offenses

[NobodyHere]

Why do good men die while Joe Buck thrives?

[Ksyrup]

That was as close to a soccer flop as I've ever seen in an NFL game.

[Thomkal]

I ask you to do one thing Seattle....to be fair Russell Wilson was hurt for most of the second half

[Vince, Pt. II]

That double-punt was perhaps the best special teams play I've ever seen out of a punter.

[miami_fan]

Sources -- Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson could miss four to eight weeks finger injury

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Sources -- Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson could miss four to eight weeks finger injury

I draft Russell Wilson, the most reliably healthy starter in the NFL over the past decade, and this happens.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

That double-punt was perhaps the best special teams play I've ever seen out of a punter.

It's crazy that double punting is legal.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I draft Russell Wilson, the most reliably healthy starter in the NFL over the past decade, and this happens.

That is the second pro bowl QB hand wrecked by Aaron Donald (both times were complete accidents).

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Sources -- Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson could miss four to eight weeks finger injury

Looks like Jimmy G won't start against the Cards Sunday either. Along with maybe half of the Cards secondary it looks like right now.

[Ksyrup]

So is Jon Gruden going to get Papa John'd, or is he too big a name for that (or is the fact he didn't actually use the N word going to save him)?

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So is Jon Gruden going to get Papa John'd, or is he too big a name for that (or is the fact he didn't actually use the N word going to save him)?

I am sure he was just uneducated, he was unaware that what he said was offensive and/or it is not representative of who he was then or now.

[Vince, Pt. II]

It's it just me, or did the explanation / justification make it worse?

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

It's crazy that double punting is legal.

Totally agree. I love it, but as I was watching I said to myself "that had to be a penalty."

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

It's it just me, or did the explanation / justification make it worse?

Yeah. The excuse that "I like to refer to liars as rubber lips!!" relies on ignoring that he explicitly called out the size of Smith's lips, while also pretending that is a hundreds-of-year-old racist stereotype that is somehow news to Jon Fucking Gruden, in his naive innocence.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Sources -- Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson could miss four to eight weeks finger injury

Watched the game primarily because of Alex Collins, rooting for his resurgence. He is a solid performer but just doesn't seem to have that X factor to be the primary back with 100 yard games. Rooting for him to get better and faster.

[Edward64]

And the Falcons win!

[NobodyHere]

Somehow the Lions are still in this game.

[NobodyHere]

Forget I said anything

[thesloppy]

Oh man

[JPhillips]

I've never seen anything like this Bengals/Packers game. Four consecutive game-winning field goals missed.

[JPhillips]

Make that 5 consecutive misses.

[albionmoonlight]

I know we have a couple of Dolphins fans here. I don’t know how closely yall have been watching the season. What’s the outlook? Before the season, I would’ve held them up as the example of how to build a team. Collect assets, get a good coach, grab the QB when he’s available.

But based on the record, things seem to really be off the rails. What is your take on it?

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I know we have a couple of Dolphins fans here. I don’t know how closely yall have been watching the season. What’s the outlook? Before the season, I would’ve held them up as the example of how to build a team. Collect assets, get a good coach, grab the QB when he’s available.

But based on the record, things seem to really be off the rails. What is your take on it?

Injuries, lack of real star talent around the qb, and general youth of the franchise, give them another year.

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Make that 5 consecutive misses.

Cincy should have lost this game half a dozen times and last year they would have folded in the 3rd quarter.

I love the fight, the drive in this team right now. They are never out of a game.

[Thomkal]

Joe Burrow taken to hospital for a throat contusion

Barkley gets his ankle twisted and out for game against Dallas

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by RendeR

Cincy should have lost this game half a dozen times and last year they would have folded in the 3rd quarter.

I love the fight, the drive in this team right now. They are never out of a game.

I just wish Taylor would be as aggressive as he says he wants to be. The playcalling before both of the missed kicks was way too conservative. Running on 3rd and 5 to set up a 58 yd FG just isn't going to cut it.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I know we have a couple of Dolphins fans here. I don’t know how closely yall have been watching the season. What’s the outlook? Before the season, I would’ve held them up as the example of how to build a team. Collect assets, get a good coach, grab the QB when he’s available.

But based on the record, things seem to really be off the rails. What is your take on it?

sigh


Well, playing without the might-be-the-long-term-QB isn't helping...

But even so, there are just too many missteps in the last couple of years to really inspire a lot of confidence, and I am trying to stay hopeful. They underwent a major rebuild, okay fine... and they seemed to get the good end of player-for-pick trades, getting huge value for Tunsil et al. So, there seemed to be some real optimism, right? The end of the "tank for Tua" season seemed way more frisky than expected, and things seemed to be looking up. They end up getting Tua anyway, and get to surround him with young players - where they focus on critical positions (LT, CB, RT for a left QB) and then being pretty aggressive in free agency in getting "their players"... it really was feeling good coming into the 2020 season. Then the team clearly was a click better off, and went from basket case to bubble victim in one year. There's your setup script for the franchise optimism.

Now, the flip side is creeping up. Look at the big free agent moves from the 2020 offseason... clearly overpaid Byron Jones to be a solid CB2, they paid Kyle Van Noy a strong 3yr deal to get what they expected and then released him after one solid but not great season, they pay medium money for DL Shaq Lawson only to trade him for LB Benardrick McKinney after one decent season, and then they release McKinney before he ever plays a down for them. That does not really flatter the front office.

Now let's look at the draft picks... not the trades for picks, but the players themselves. We'll just grade Tua as an I for now, no weight. But they reach for the LT they let everyone know they wanted in Austin Jackson, and by early season two he's already on to the "well, let's see if maybe he can be salvaged by playing left guard" stage, that's not great. They reach again with a late 1st for CB Ighbinoghene, who now mostly can't even make it to the active roster, a perpetual healthy scratch because he can't play football well. They go back to the OL in the early 2nd to reach again (compared to mock draft consensus) to take a poker blocking RT from a smallish school - and he too is being moved inside already, but at least might be okay as a RG. They convey to the world they want WR Jamar Chase with pick 3 in this year's draft, but trade out of the pick needed to get him and when he's gone they nonchalantnly just take "the next guy on the list" like the dummies in your fantasy league. Maybe Waddle will prove to be the real deal... Chase already looks the part for sure.

So specifics aside, the easiest thing to see/say is that they could have had the potentially awesome battery of QB Justin Herbert and WR Jamarr Chase to build around... and instead they have Tua and Waddle, who'd be going far later in hypothetical re-drafts, based on what we see now. I confess I was all in for Tua over Herbert and they were by no means on an island with that choice, but... if they clean house in the front office in a year or two, it will be the narrative above that wraps it all up.


Overall - I think this feels like a lost season. All they can really hope for is Tua getting healthy, getting out there, and showing them that he can really play. If that happens, and Waddle has a solid rookie campaign, then that's enough, even if it's just replaying the down-the-stretch 2019 season again, where they are a tough out despite being on target for an early draft pick. But, where the trajectory felt like a very steep upward shot 18 months ago... and made them a semi-sexy pick to make noise this year... right now, I'm mostly glad I didn't take the plunge for the first time in decades to buy myself an NFL jersey, because that Miami #1 might feel pretty lonely in a dozen washloads.

[Thomkal]

Man poor Giants, now Daniel Jones being evaluated for a concussion.

[Coffee Warlord]

Bears dead last in yards per game, put up more anemic numbers today, and still somehow win.

[Brian Swartz]

Impressive showing by the Lions. Losing on another long field goal in a game they should have been out of but held the lead in the final minute. Only Jacksonville is keeping pace. Atlanta has a worse point differential but has won twice.

Fail Finds A Way. The Lions Way.

[Thomkal]

My beloved Cardinals are 5-0 for the first time since 1974. (when I was 8 years old)

[GrantDawg]

Good bye again, Jon Gruden.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[bronconick]

Gruden resigns from a bunch of racist and homophobic emails (from his ESPN account??).

[Lathum]

Jon Gruden just released an official statement. This is insane. pic.twitter.com/Y9JJOIZJDc

— Joe (@BarryOnHere) October 12, 2021

[miami_fan]

Two things.

1. I did not realize this was part of the WFT investigation. Man, there must be some deranged stuff among those emails.

2. Him resigning has to be a result of him telling Mark Davis that the Michelin Lips comment was the only thing that was problematic in those emails.

[Lathum]

given the toxic masculinity that likely runs rampant in the NFL, I suspect there are a LOT of out of touch middle aged white dudes who think this way. Most of them are just smart enough to not leave a paper trail.

[miami_fan]

Oh one more thing.

The things that are sent to work email address huh?

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Oh one more thing.

[miami_fan]

Damn we are old!

[JPhillips]

It's simply amazing how dumb and entitled some guys are. DOn't ever put shit like that in writing. How do people not know this?

[albionmoonlight]

A guy being made to suffer a literal consequence for being a racist homophobic piece of shit is going to really piss off the "NFL is too woke" crowd.

[jbergey22]

I mean its fine that he got fired or resigned. But why were they reading his emails in the 1st place and releasing it to the public?

[albionmoonlight]

Also Urban Meyer has to have the biggest shit eating grin on his face right now

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I mean its fine that he got fired or resigned. But why were they reading his emails in the 1st place and releasing it to the public?

Part of the Feds raid on WFT for their dirty trainers.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I mean its fine that he got fired or resigned. But why were they reading his emails in the 1st place and releasing it to the public?

Source - Jon Gruden out as Las Vegas Raiders head coach

The emails came to light during the NFL's investigation into workplace misconduct with Washington, as "the league was informed of the existence of emails that raised issues beyond the scope of that investigation," according to NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy. Senior league executives reviewed the content of more than 650,000 emails, including the one the Journal reported was written by Gruden to Allen. The NFL sent pertinent emails to the Raiders for review.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Part of the Feds raid on WFT for their dirty trainers.

Thanks for that! That would explain why they were reading them.

My follow up question would be. Since his racist emails had nothing to do with what they were searching for isn't there some sort of privacy law against this sort of thing. Not defending it but I am just curious. This could open up an entire new can of worms in the NFL as I think Lathum said above. I would speculate a lot of these old time coaches think like Gruden.