General NFL discussion thread

[Wood]

It's a sad day.  It looks like Aaron Smith's career is coming to an end.  Good bye D-line, Hello Hall of Fame.   



the Tiki

Aaron Smith is an awesome player and deserves mad props. But he's nowhere close to sniffing the Pro Football Hall of Fame, amigo.

[Homer]

Tebow Time!!!!!!

[elemental]

I find it funny that the NFL goes to London on arguably the biggest day in the premier league, Manchester Derby day.  I would think the NFL would be smarter than that.

Went down to London early watched the derby in a local bar before the Nfl game, not the best day for the glazer family investments

[valance_the_hunter]

The Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady debate has been going on a long time.  Seeing how dysfunctional the Colts are without Manning, and comparing the Patriots when Brady went down (in which they still were in playoff contention) I have to say that Manning wins.

[JasonP]

Went down to London early watched the derby in a local bar before the Nfl game, not the best day for the glazer family investments

I went to a soccer bar to catch the derby and then put on the Bears jersey here in Chicago.  I just found it funny if they wanted coverage, the derby I would assume would take the cake or am I wrong?

[judekill]

The Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady debate has been going on a long time.  Seeing how dysfunctional the Colts are without Manning, and comparing the Patriots when Brady went down (in which they still were in playoff contention) I have to say that Manning wins.

This is the only thing keeping Colts fans from eating a shotgun popsicle. 62 points, I feel like Glee should do an episode about the Saints and bullying. Colts players looked like they were about to cry midway through the 2nd quarter. What a truly awful game.

[valance_the_hunter]

I hope things pick up (prime time wise) next week.

[elemental]

I went to a soccer bar to catch the derby and then put on the Bears jersey here in Chicago.  I just found it funny if they wanted coverage, the derby I would assume would take the cake or am I wrong?

As much as I love the NFL it is never going to be  huge in the UK, there is a core support who will go to one game a year but beyond that most couldn't care about it and the only interest in the Wembley game is that they don't do too much damage to the pitch for the next england game. Yes the manchester derby did overshadow it but any of major teams playing would have done so. The truth is that the London game is a niche game for a niche audience and while the NFL make the right noises about expanding the popularity of the sport, the fact that the London game is not on free to view tv is just the wrong choice. The only way to see yesterdays game was if you had a subscription to the sports station that shows the nfl for the rest of the season. It would make sense to make that one game available to the largest possible audience and maybe get a few new fans.

Yesterdays attendance was significantly down on previous games due to economic factors (tickets were priced the same as an FA Cup final ticket) and sending the same team for a second time. There is talk of 2 games next year or even one team playing an annual game over here, for me this just wont work. One game a year is a celebration of NFL fandom in the UK anymore than that and I think the NFL will see significant diminishing returns.

Any talk of a team in London is a joke, it can't work. NFL team support is rooted in the 80's when it was first shown over here, thats why there is a large support for teams like Giants, Dolphins, 49ers, Bears etc many fans have 10-15 years of supporting a team, they wont drop this team to support a London franchise

[thefreakytiki]

Aaron Smith is an awesome player and deserves mad props. But he's nowhere close to sniffing the Pro Football Hall of Fame, amigo.

 

If you consider:

• He was one of the cornerstones of one of the best 3-4 defenses in NFL history

  - Without a stout front 3, everything else falls apart.
  - Look at the history of opponents ground game ability against him... no existent.
  - How many other NFL Ds tried to switch to a 3-4 once they saw the success the Steelers had... yet they could not find the same success because they focused on LBs first instead of the core front 3.


As it has been said in the past, the men in the trenches never get the accolades they deserve.  So with all of this stated, I fart in your general direction. 


the Tiki



(just let me be a homer here... to hell with logic)

[thefreakytiki]

FWiW I looked up his stats vs current HoFs... outside of the beast known as Reggie White, Aaron Smith's stats are in the ball park.  Now I say all this without any delusions of first ballots but his stats do hold up.   I was initially talking with my emotions and being a homer, but now I am honestly wondering.  


the Tiki

[Wood]

FWiW I looked up his stats vs current HoFs... outside of the beast known as Reggie White, Aaron Smith's stats are in the ball park.  Now I say all this without any delusions of first ballots but his stats do hold up.   I was initially talking with my emotions and being a homer, but now I am honestly wondering.  


the Tiki

 

He's only been to one Pro Bowl, and never made an All Pro team.

There is no precedent, that I know of, for any player with such a stark resume getting HOF consideration.

Add to that the very difficult position he plays (no more than 3 or 4 defensive lineman from an era will typically get into the Hall), and he's part of a great list of "Hall of Very Good" players.

FWIW, the most similar players to him are:

Wayne Martin
Jerry Sherk
Tom Scott
John Zook
Robert Porcher
Tommy Hart
Adewale Ogunleye
Gary Walker
Mike Hartenstine
Houston Antwine

Many of those guys were terrific players, but we're not talking HOF caliber here.

I also might note that his OWN PEERS failed to name him to the Top 100 players, in spite of naming 15 other defensive ends to the list.

[thefreakytiki]

Sports illustrated's All Decade team...

Aaron Smith
Team in 2000s: Pittsburgh Steelers
Seasons in 2000s: 10
He's the upset pick of the team. But the mostly anonymous body of work over the decade makes the 1999 fourth-round pick a worthy choice. The Steelers were the top-rated defense three times in the last half of the decade, and the 6-5, 298-pound Smith's ability to shed blocks as a 3-4 defensive end and stop the run was a vital part of their success. "He can't be blocked," defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. Well, almost.


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/2000s/12/05/nfl.decade.team/index.html#ixzz1biOX64VY


the Tiki

[Benestro]

The Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady debate has been going on a long time.  Seeing how dysfunctional the Colts are without Manning, and comparing the Patriots when Brady went down (in which they still were in playoff contention) I have to say that Manning wins.

Absolutely. As a Colts fan the biggest thing this injury has shown is just how great Peyton really is.  He has been covering up for a pathetic defense for years.
I went to the game last night with my Manning jersey on and I wanna say that Saints
fans were really cool. Sure I got heckled a bit and maybe the beating they gave us eased the tension a bit, but still they were really cool.
Its just hard to believe that the Colts team I watched last night is the same team that won the division last year minus one guy.

[Wood]

Sports illustrated's All Decade team...

Aaron Smith
Team in 2000s: Pittsburgh Steelers
Seasons in 2000s: 10
He's the upset pick of the team. But the mostly anonymous body of work over the decade makes the 1999 fourth-round pick a worthy choice. The Steelers were the top-rated defense three times in the last half of the decade, and the 6-5, 298-pound Smith's ability to shed blocks as a 3-4 defensive end and stop the run was a vital part of their success. "He can't be blocked," defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. Well, almost.


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/2000s/12/05/nfl.decade.team/index.html#ixzz1biOX64VY


the Tiki

You're confusing, "Was he a very good player?" with "Does he have a shot at the Hall of Fame?"

I'm sure there are some very cute ladies that eat at your restaurant, but how many of them are hot enough to be on the cover of Vogue?

Different hurdle rates.

[thefreakytiki]

You're confusing, "Was he a very good player?" with "Does he have a shot at the Hall of Fame?"

I'm sure there are some very cute ladies that eat at your restaurant, but how many of them are hot enough to be on the cover of Vogue?

Different hurdle rates.

STOP MAKING SENSE!   


the Tiki

[InspectorSpacetime]

The Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady debate has been going on a long time.  Seeing how dysfunctional the Colts are without Manning, and comparing the Patriots when Brady went down (in which they still were in playoff contention) I have to say that Manning wins.

manning has been covering up both the decline of the colt over the last few years but also the shoddy moves by the gm. that doesn't make him a better qb than brady though.

[valance_the_hunter]

Chris Berman really needs to add sunday night football to the come on man segment of monday night football, cause this was another stinker.

I was looking forward to this game all week too…but it turned into a blowout.

[Chris Campbell]

My wife was very happy with the Eagles' victory. Defense finally putting it back together. On the other coast, the Seahawks ... Oh man.

[thefreakytiki]

Being a Steeler fan living in Boston felt REALLY good yesterday... who woulda thunk it would be so profitable as well?   

One tough week down, one more to go for the Steelers.  Next Sunday night has Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore.  OUCH!  I hope Woodley is OK.



the Tiki

[Wood]

Reid is always money after a bye. He's 13-0 in fact.

Looking better but still haven't won against a tough opponent.