NFL Week #9

[Dutch]

First up, Atlanta @ Tampa Bay

The Bucs are winless at home, so they are due. But the Falcons and their offensive juggernaut are in town so it's would take a pretty significant upset for the Bucs to win. They showed ZERO D-Line pressure last week and that's a recipe for disaster against the likes of Julio Jones.

[Dutch]

Dola

In other news, listening to Bucs AM radio this morning, they noted that the NFL doesn't designate players as Probable anymore.

Only OUT, DOUBTFUL, and QUESTIONABLE. Found that interesting only for an FOF8 perspective.

[miked]

I just wish they would already rule out Rodgers and Martin since I have them both and can't pick anyone up until they are officially "out" instead of "questionable".

[JeeberD]

Cowboys at Brows is a classic trap game. Big win over a divisional opponent, crappy team coming up next with another big game the week after. Hopefully Garrett will have them focused on this week and they come out and dominate.

[wustin]

Mark Daniels on Twitter: "@IMohamed2 @phinsanalysis https://t.co/85BsRwDS1U"

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by miked

I just wish they would already rule out Rodgers and Martin since I have them both and can't pick anyone up until they are officially "out" instead of "questionable".

I'd scratch both of them and then re-adjust if you hear anything different. I don't think Martin has practiced since week #2 and Rodgers is freshly injured...hence the emergency signing of Mike James. Expect Barber to be the only viable option at RB for TB or better yet...look elsewhere!

[SirFozzie]

In honor of the Pats bye week, I give you the Defensive Coordinator's flowchart on stopping the Patriots offense



1) Did we cover Gronk? (N) Great, he just caught a pass and carried half our defense 25 yards downfield. (Y) Goto 2

2) Did We cover Edelman? (N) We just let Tom Brady nickle and dime us all the way down the field. GG no rematch (Y) Goto 3

3) Did we cover the RB coming out of the backfield? (N) What, do they cover these guys in chicken grease or something, they break like 17 tackles and get a first down. (Y) Goto 4

4) Did Blount run the ball? (Y) Ow. Lots of bruises (on the defenders, not on Blount), but at least we stopped them. This play. (N) Goto 5

5) Did we Cover Bennett? (N) WHO LET THEM HAVE TWO GOOD TIGHT ENDS? SERIOUSLY?? DIDN'T WE GET THEM TO SIGN THE TIGHT END ANTI-PROLIFERATION TREATY? (Y) Goto 6

6) Wait, where's Amendola.. did they throw to him.. (Y) Ok, I'm convinced that Belichick has mastered quantum physics where Amendola disappears and reappears in another space. LOOK UP TIME CUBE! THIS IS REAL! I NEED MY TINFOIL HEADSET! (N) Goto 7

7) Chris.. Chris Hogan... whoever he is. We covered him right? RIGHT?? (N) TOM BRADY IS A CYBORG! NO 39 YEAR OLD QB SHOULD BE THROWING 60 yard bombs. He stole Peyton Manning's arm strength, ala Dorian Grey! We need to find the secret cyborging lab underneath Gillette Stadium! (N)Goto 8

8) After all that, did that SOB Brady just twinkletoe his way to running for a first down and not even absorb a hit? (Y) Why did I even become a defensive coordinator? My mother wanted me to be something reputable, like a door to door condom salesman. I hate everything. Fuck Bill Belichick. Fuck Tom Brady.Hail Satan. (N) Goto 9

9) Good news is you stopped the New England Patriots offense.

10) The bad news is, you got flagged for having 22 defensive players on the field.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Dola

In other news, listening to Bucs AM radio this morning, they noted that the NFL doesn't designate players as Probable anymore.

Only OUT, DOUBTFUL, and QUESTIONABLE. Found that interesting only for an FOF8 perspective.

and dola: That was probably because Belichick was listing 30 or so players each week as probable

http://totalpackers.com/2016/08/bill...tal+Packers%29

[cuervo72]

Ugly score bar is ugly.

[miked]

Originally Posted by Dutch

I'd scratch both of them and then re-adjust if you hear anything different. I don't think Martin has practiced since week #2 and Rodgers is freshly injured...hence the emergency signing of Mike James. Expect Barber to be the only viable option at RB for TB or better yet...look elsewhere!

Yeah, since they were listed as questionable, I had no roster room and would have had to cut somebody (waivers are Thursday AM). Luckily they were both declared out Wednesday night and I was able to move them to inactive and pick up 2 dudes.

[NobodyHere]

So during the 1st quarter a Brown's player gets ejected for fighting.

I guess that's one way to beat traffic

[miami_fan]

Shouldn't someone have converted Byron Maxwell to linebacker or safety by now?

[CrescentMoonie]

Eli gonna Eli.

[thesloppy]

Lions are magic

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Eli gonna Eli.

Guy is mindboggling to watch.

[CrescentMoonie]

Two 1st quarter INTs by Luck and the Colts are still ahead 14-3.

[Suicane75]

Phil Simms is a pure, grade A, idiot.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Phil Simms is a pure, grade A, idiot.

Has anyone brought up that factor in declining ratings? That a lot of the announcing crews either suck, or are bland and indistinguishable from each other?

[cuervo72]

I'm not sure anyone actually touched him.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Phil Simms is a pure, grade A, idiot.

Just like Eli, but between em they got my team to 4 Super Bowls.

[thesloppy]

Phil Simms is a mushmouthed dipshit.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

bland and indistinguishable from each other?

That's been true of NFL crews -- aside from the A and maybe B units -- for as long as I can remember though.

[sabotai]

Eli calling an audible: Hey, we got "Brown Penis"! "Brown Penis"! "Brown Penis"!

Moleman's post on Vine

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

That's been true of NFL crews -- aside from the A and maybe B units -- for as long as I can remember though.

Maybe it's a case of today's A/B units being weaker then, or just being tired of their shtick (Jeeeem!). For the AFC, I'd have no issue with listening to Dick Enberg or Charlie Jones -- heck, even Don Criqui or Bryant Gumbel -- all day long. Ditto Summerall, Lundquist for the NFC/CBS. Stockton was even tolerable, if not good. Same goes with color guys like Madden, Olsen, Brookshier (Trumpy seemed a little prickish at times). Maybe it's a matter of being a kid looking up to these guys, vs being older and making comments before they do or catching stuff that they miss (or flat out correcting them).

[wustin]

Did you know the Raiders were a running team?

[stevew]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Has anyone brought up that factor in declining ratings? That a lot of the announcing crews either suck, or are bland and indistinguishable from each other?

It's amazing how much worse everyone else is than Collinsworth and Michaels.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Maybe it's a case of today's A/B units being weaker then, or just being tired of their shtick (Jeeeem!). For the AFC, I'd have no issue with listening to Dick Enberg or Charlie Jones -- heck, even Don Criqui or Bryant Gumbel -- all day long. Ditto Summerall, Lundquist for the NFC/CBS. Stockton was even tolerable, if not good. Same goes with color guys like Madden, Olsen, Brookshier (Trumpy seemed a little prickish at times). Maybe it's a matter of being a kid looking up to these guys, vs being older and making comments before they do or catching stuff that they miss (or flat out correcting them).

I hadn't thought about Charlie Jones in quite a while, so you got me to thinking. His last NFL game was in 1996.

Enberg hasn't done an NFL game since 2009, Stockton was demoted from the B-unit after 2006. I could do the rest but you get the idea.

Anywhere from a decade to two decades have past since most (if not all) those guys you mentioned have been NFL announcers.

Styles change, fans change, audiences change. Believe me, I get it (it was play by play that got me into the radio business after all) but even I'm not sure how much marketability some of those classic guys would have today. It's just a different world.

[Julio Riddols]

I think the market for old school, classic, no bullshit sports coverage is a big one, just nobody has tapped it yet. All fans really want is a guy who knows what he is talking about, gets names right, and doesn't do any of the things Phil Simms does.

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

I think the market for old school, classic, no bullshit sports coverage is a big one, just nobody has tapped it yet. All fans really want is a guy who knows what he is talking about, gets names right, and doesn't do any of the things Phil Simms does.

A million times this.

I've listened to exactly two NFL games with the volume on this year, because I was watching with friends. The first one (I think it was Simms, I may be wrong though), when referring to a receiver who only used one hand to try and make a catch said, and I quote, "he should have double handed it", not "use two hands" or "both hands", but "double handed it".

And then yesterday, down 18, the Packers score and go for two and Simms start chastising them about not going for 2 until they needed it. Ummm. Then, when they miss the 2 point conversion and score a TD on their ensuing drive to cut it to 5, he doubles down and says that because they missed the two point conversion, now they need another TD instead of a FG.

He's just a moron.

[bhlloy]

The thing that really gets me is when something completely fucking obvious to anyone with half a brain happens and the announcers realize it 20 seconds later.

"Oh, I think he might have fumbled there" just as the defense emerges from the pile with the ball
"Hold on, there might have been a flag on that play" with three obvious yellow flags in the shot and the referee is getting ready to turn his mike on

Simms is especially bad with that shit, but so are a lot of them. Maybe ex-players with brain injuries aren't the best choices? Personally give me Gruden theee times a week - I know his shtick can get tiresome but at least he knows the game and isn't a complete moron

[albionmoonlight]

It is always nice to beat the Niners in SF.

Growing up as a Saints fan when they were together in the NFC West, I remember the yearly beatdown that they got from those Montana/Rice/Lott teams. Makes me that much happier to beat them there now.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Growing up as a Saints fan when they were together in the NFC West

There was a feeling of comfort seeing the two together in the score tickers yesterday.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

The thing that really gets me is when something completely fucking obvious to anyone with half a brain happens and the announcers realize it 20 seconds later.

"Oh, I think he might have fumbled there" just as the defense emerges from the pile with the ball
"Hold on, there might have been a flag on that play" with three obvious yellow flags in the shot and the referee is getting ready to turn his mike on

Simms is especially bad with that shit, but so are a lot of them. Maybe ex-players with brain injuries aren't the best choices? Personally give me Gruden theee times a week - I know his shtick can get tiresome but at least he knows the game and isn't a complete moron

How much of this is that the cameras are so much better now, though? I can't begin to imagine what they actually do in the booth, but aren't they calling the game while watching it live? Football has always been one of those sports where I have a really, really hard time following the game unless I'm watching on TV.

Which doesn't really account for the discrepancy between current announcers and past announcers, but I do wonder if (like officials) we are harder on announcers now because we can SEE everything so much more clearly and quickly than in the past.

[Julio Riddols]

I'm hard on Phil Simms because he can't speak words properly, let alone detail what a player might have been thinking or should have been doing or could have done on a play. It seems like he is watching the game through a screen door covered in dirt and relying on a spotter to tell him what happened in full while he tries to give a voice to thoughts that have no basis in reality.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

How much of this is that the cameras are so much better now, though? I can't begin to imagine what they actually do in the booth, but aren't they calling the game while watching it live?

Most (nearly all?) do afaik. I never could do shit in the booth while watching a monitor, it's like my brain went numb & I fell into watching instead of talking. For the TV stuff these days they have to split their attention to talk through replays & such, but live action should be called from looking at the field typically.

[CrescentMoonie]

More excitement in the first 2:39 of this game than I expected all night.

[cuervo72]

So yeah, from now on just plow into the kicker at the end of the half.

[CrescentMoonie]

Sherman jumps offside, obliterates the kicker despite the whistle having already blown, and somehow he gets 5 yards and the kicker isn't allowed to try the kick due to trainers coming onto the field.

NFL refs suck out loud.

[bhlloy]

Fucking garbage refereeing

[CrescentMoonie]

The refs need to be replaced at halftime.

[bhlloy]

And doubling down on complete incompetence costs the Bills the points. What a shit show

[VPI97]

It's the new end of game strategy. If a team sets up for a game winning field goal and has no timeouts, all you have to do is jump way offsides and take out the kicker. Five yard penalty, but the kicker can't kick.

[CrimsonFox]

Sherman with the Pick!
Go Hawks!

[JonInMiddleGA]

My FB feed suddenly blew UP about ...whatever the hell happened. Between ESPN twitters & the FOFC I now at least know the gist of what set 'em off.

[CrescentMoonie]

Okay, these officials need to never work another pro game, ever.

[CrimsonFox]

When did the NFL get so wussy. What are these taunting penalties? Sheesh.

[bhlloy]

If that 3 points ends up being the difference in the game there might be singed bits of Ryan brothers all over the field

[CrimsonFox]

Nooooooooo!

[CrimsonFox]

And very very quickly this game sucks

[CrescentMoonie]

How do you not go for the FG and onside kick there?