General NFL discussion thread

[zip a tone]

RRRRAAAAIIIIIDDDEERRRRRRSSSSS!!!!  But that could just be geography talking.  Go silver and black!!

[Wood]

Dare I say it?  My Redskins are looking good!

They are...but I would also remind you that:

San Fran was 4-0 in the preseason last year
Dallas and Minnesota were each 3-1
Buffalo and Miami were tied 2-2 with New England and the Jets
Etc...

Preseason records and stats mean NOTHING.

[Jeff B.]

Dare I say it?  My Redskins are looking good!

Don't worry, Shanahan will finda way to screw it up 

I do happen to like Santana Moss for fantasy football though.  People think he's out of gas but he looks good imo.

[Spigs]

They are...but I would also remind you that:

San Fran was 4-0 in the preseason last year
Dallas and Minnesota were each 3-1
Buffalo and Miami were tied 2-2 with New England and the Jets
Etc...

Preseason records and stats mean NOTHING.

And most importantly, Detroit went 4-0 in the preseason the year they went 0-16 in the regular season. Biggest example (IMHO) of the irrelevance of the preseason.

[Wood]

In fairness to the Redskins, while I still think they're CLEARLY the cellar of the NFC East, the offense won't be as dismal as feared.  That said, let's remember that the contending teams throw plain vanilla in the preseason, and Beck/Grossman haven't seen ANY of what they'll see in the regular season. I laugh at the ESPN pundits talking about Washington looking good against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Ummmm, you guys are professional at ESPN, shouldn't you have the depth of understanding to note that Washington isn't seeing the regular season blitz and zone coverage schemes from either unit? 

[Lawrence]

Well, we are halfway through the pre-season and I really don't know how I feel about my Cowboys. 

I look at a team that is almost the exact same team as last year only now it has a healthy Romo and has subtracted Roy Williams, Marion Barber, Wade Phillips, and Leonard Davis. At this point our only real free agency move has been Rob "the beer gut" Ryan? I don't think coaches count though. We did re-sign  Sensabaugh, i'll assume most of you don't even know who that is, why? Because he was a sub-par safety to begin with.

I guess the only real hypothetical talent we signed was Tyron Smith the offensive tackle we drafter 9th overall. So far though the kid looks fantastic and hopefully will be an anchor for years here but its his rookie year so I expect him to get Romo killed a few times this year.

At the same time I am excited to see what Ryan does with Demarcus Ware (arguably one of the best Linebackers in the game.) While it's just the pre-season he has already shown that Ware will be attacking quarterbacks and bringing chaos to offenses from everywhere on the field. Why Wade never used him in that capacity I have no idea.

I will also note that with Jason Garrett now running the ship and the departure of Marion Barber; Felix Jones has arrived. If you give the guy at least 17 touches, he gives you 100 yards every game; the stats show that. The big question is can he stay healthy? I'm also excited that we will hopefully get to see a full year of Dez Bryant and Tony Romo working in tandem. Dez might be a knucklehead but when he is on the field the kid is a beast. I want to see him give us the energy that Desean "don't drop the football in front of the end zone, dumbass" Jackson gives the Eagles.

I just hope we have a much better year than last year. That shouldn't be too hard to accomplish.

[Jeremy G]

Well, what I was talking about was the first string defense. There seems to be some good chemistry going on.

I'm not ready to drink the John Beck kool aid yet. I also am like what I'm seeing with Tim Hightower

[valance_the_hunter]

One thing about preseason which means something…especially to giants fans, is that terrel thomas is done.  I'm no giants fan…but that's a real bummer, that guy is spot on.  As a niners fan the one thing i'm looking forward to this season is the talking heads not getting my hopes up even when we're 1 and 5 cause are division is garbage.  god, i can't wait for opening day, i loathe august baseball.  Actually, august is the worst month in all of sports.

[thefreakytiki]

Chris Johnson still not signed because he wants to be the highest paid "playmaker" in the NFL.

Michael Vick gets a $100M contract.

Is Fantasy Football officially skewing the paydays for certain players?  I think it is having a ripple effect on the salaries which in turn will have a serious effect on teams who do not manage  the overall payroll. 

In Omar R. Khan I trust.   


the Tiki

[JimN]

Chris Johnson still not signed because he wants to be the highest paid "playmaker" in the NFL.

Michael Vick gets a $100M contract.

Is Fantasy Football officially skewing the paydays for certain players?  I think it is having a ripple effect on the salaries which in turn will have a serious effect on teams who do not manage  the overall payroll. 

In Omar R. Khan I trust.   

I hadn't thought about fantasy football skewing paydays but it's an interesting question.

I think the Eagles may regret giving that mega-contract to Vick. They'd better hope he can maintain or surpass the kind of production he had last year. Personally, I'm rooting against him. 

[ojedi]

I hadn't thought about fantasy football skewing paydays but it's an interesting question.

I think the Eagles may regret giving that mega-contract to Vick. They'd better hope he can maintain or surpass the kind of production he had last year. Personally, I'm rooting against him. 

It's undeniable that Vick has a great season last year. That being said I think that contract is steep. If I heard right $40 million guaranteed. I can't deny that Vick is a phenomenal talent, but a) he's an injury risk (especially if continues to get beat down like he did against Cleveland) b)if you look towards the end of last season defenses started playing better against him. Teams now have a full year of Vick footage to use to scheme against him. This is similar situation to his final years with Atlanta. Teams got better and better at scheming him.

As far as Chris Johnson goes, I think he needs to get a huge raise. Highest playmaker? Probably the highest paid skill position player excluding QB's. He is vastly underpaid.

Although an interesting thought, I don't think fantasy football is part of these paydays. Yes the stats that run fantasy football, are part of the equation, but if ff didn't exist stats would still be the driving force of these salaries. We must remember stats existed before fantasy football was around. And in most cases one great season drives up a player's "worth".

[Wood]

Chris Johnson still not signed because he wants to be the highest paid "playmaker" in the NFL.

Michael Vick gets a $100M contract.

Is Fantasy Football officially skewing the paydays for certain players?  I think it is having a ripple effect on the salaries which in turn will have a serious effect on teams who do not manage  the overall payroll. 

In Omar R. Khan I trust.   


the Tiki

What the media needs to do is stop reporting the "headline" number as though it matters. NFL contracts aren't guaranteed, so unless you look at the structure of the deal, it's very difficult to ascertain what it's really like in comparison to peers.

Vick's deal is really a 3-year, $40 million contract and the guaranteed portion and structure of incentives and roster bonuses makes it a 2-year deal if the Eagles want out.  That's good business. One thing you have to say about the Eagles -- in spite of a lack of Super Bowls -- is that they're the best run team in terms of cap flexibility in the NFL. Year in. Year out.

[JimN]

What the media needs to do is stop reporting the "headline" number as though it matters. NFL contracts aren't guaranteed, so unless you look at the structure of the deal, it's very difficult to ascertain what it's really like in comparison to peers.

Vick's deal is really a 3-year, $40 million contract and the guaranteed portion and structure of incentives and roster bonuses makes it a 2-year deal if the Eagles want out.  That's good business.

It's smart to have an out although, if $40 million of the deal is guaranteed then opting out after 2 years would cost them $20 million a year for his services. If they actually want out after 2 years that would likely mean he was hurt or wasn't playing at a high level so... ouch.

One thing you have to say about the Eagles -- in spite of a lack of Super Bowls -- is that they're the best run team in terms of cap flexibility in the NFL. Year in. Year out.

I don't think we have to say that but it's definitely an area of strength.

[Jim B.]

Please, everyone, be kind to Chris today, because --

Lance Briggs wants out of Chicago.

[Spigs]

Cross posting this from the Fantasy thread but if anyone is interested I set up an 11 O'clock Survivor League on Yahoo. 

For those who don't know, a Survivor league is where each week you pick one team to win their game.  If you pick correctly you move onto the next week, if your pick loses you are eliminated.  The catch is you can only pick each team one time per season so if, for example, Wood takes his Eagles in week one to beat the Rams, he than cannot pick them for the rest of the season.

Sign up through yahoo fantasy, I don't believe there is a limit but if there is it'll be first come first served.  You do not need an invite from me, just log in and search for the group.

Group: 11 O'Clock Survivors
Group ID: 24552
Password: VinceB

Any questions or issues registering please PM me.

[Christopher Stark]

Please, everyone, be kind to Chris today, because --

Lance Briggs wants out of Chicago.

He did that a year or 2 ago as well.  He's one of those guys that's just unhappy and the front office won't give in

[Jeremy G]

Cross posting this from the Fantasy thread but if anyone is interested I set up an 11 O'clock Survivor League on Yahoo. 

For those who don't know, a Survivor league is where each week you pick one team to win their game.  If you pick correctly you move onto the next week, if your pick loses you are eliminated.  The catch is you can only pick each team one time per season so if, for example, Wood takes his Eagles in week one to beat the Rams, he than cannot pick them for the rest of the season.

Sign up through yahoo fantasy, I don't believe there is a limit but if there is it'll be first come first served.  You do not need an invite from me, just log in and search for the group.

Group: 11 O'Clock Survivors
Group ID: 24552
Password: VinceB

Any questions or issues registering please PM me.

Just joined.

[Spigs]

Alright ladies and Gentlemen, it's that time of year again, tonight the season officially kicks off!  I hope the grill is prepped and ready and the beer is cold cause it's time for some football!  In addition to a standings update this season I'm going to include a list of the weeks best or most compelling games, highlighting what I see as key match-ups of the week and hopefully prompting some good natured trash talking!

2011 Week 1 Standings

AFC East                           AFC South                 AFC North                AFC West
Patriots 0-0                   Jacksonville 0-0             Pittsburgh 0-0            Kansas City 0-0      
New York 0-0                 Indianapolis 0-0             Baltimore 0-0             San Diego 0-0
Miami 0-0                      Houston 0-0                  Cleveland 0-0            Oakland 0-0
Buffalo 0-0                    Tennessee 0-0               Cincinnati 0-0            Denver 0-0

NFC East                            NFC South                NFC North                NFC West
Philadelphia 0-0               Atlanta 0-0                  Chicago 0-0               St. Louis 0-0      
New York 0-0                  New Orleans 0-0           Green Bay 0-0            Seattle 0-0
Washington 0-0               Tampa 0-0                   Minnesota 0-0            San Francisco 0-0
Dallas 0-0                       Carolina 0-0                 Detroit 0-0                Arizona 0-0

Week One Match-ups To Watch
NO @ GB - New Orleans is fired up after an embarrassing first round exit from last years playoffs and Green Bay is looking to make an early statement against a good team to set the tone for their title defense. 
IND @ HOU - Can Houston capitalize on Manning's absence to take the first step towards earning their first ever playoff spot?
PIT @ BAL - 2 Teams that always play a hell of a game.  Pittsburg's O-Line isn't looking their best and that could be trouble against a Baltimore team that looks to be going for broke this season.

Football is back and I for one could not be happier!

[JimN]

Football is back and I for one could not be happier!

Ditto, although I may not be able to watch much of tonight's game.

I liked your "games to watch". Here are two more:

Atlanta @ Chicago: the heavily-hyped Falcons are favored to win this game but it's the Bears, not Atlanta, who advanced to the conference championship last year. Chicago has won 5 of their last 6 home openers and are definitely capable of beating the Falcons. I expect it to be a close game.

Philadelphia @ St. Louis: Will the "dream team" win this one? Probably, but they've significantly re-shuffled their o-line and the Rams have a good defensive front (and a good defensive HC who's very familiar with the Eagles) so that match up could be a big determining factor in this game's outcome. Sam Bradford is coming off a strong rookie year but going up against a stacked Eagles secondary might prove difficult. I wouldn't predict this will be an upset but I think the Rams are more capable of winning this game than people might think...

... I'd say the same for the Vikings against the often slow-starting Chargers. The Vikes are clearly a team in transition and consequently, they're being written off but there's still enough talent there for them to be very competitive and they seem excited to be playing for new coach Leslie Frazier. I'm too biased to list this as a "game to watch" but I'm hoping the Vikes pull off an upset!

Jim

[Jeppe]

  Wooo! 


I'll be cheering for both Vikings and Giants this season.