American Football

[pride_of_notts]

Still can't believe what I watched last night.

Incredible comeback, can't begrudge the Patriots that but can't help but feel gutted for the Falcons, they were superb in that first half.

I agree Falcons was awesome first half but after that they gave Brady way to much time in the pocket in that situation Brady ascends to god tier as QB once that happens. It will be interesting to see what happens to Falcons and if they can bounce back from the Superbowl loss or do a Panthers.

 

[sl1k]

Glory, glory N.E Paaatriots!!

5 times 5 times N.E Pa-triooots!!

We are the greatest.

 

[Ciderhead]

I agree Falcons was awesome first half but after that they gave Brady way to much time in the pocket in that situation Brady ascends to god tier as QB once that happens. It will be interesting to see what happens to Falcons and if they can bounce back from the Superbowl loss or do a Panthers.

You'd think they ought to be fine. That defense is improving, it did all fall away last night (and though they dropped in intensity a lot of that can be attributed to Brady's God-ness, it was the other side of the field where it really slipped away) but they're young and the shoots are there for what could be imposing in years to come, especially with Quinn as coach. And they'll always be a threat on offense, though the impact of Shanahan leaving remains to be seen.

But that'll take some getting over.

 

[Anon]

You'd think they ought to be fine. That defense is improving, it did all fall away last night (and though they dropped in intensity a lot of that can be attributed to Brady's God-ness, it was the other side of the field where it really slipped away) but they're young and the shoots are there for what could be imposing in years to come, especially with Quinn as coach. And they'll always be a threat on offense, though the impact of Shanahan leaving remains to be seen.

But that'll take some getting over.

I dunno, the blocks are there but tricky times ahead for sure. Quinn's defence which had done so well for so long just gave out, and now the guy that gave that offence the shot in the arm will depart. A new coordinator will surely have his own ideas and I'd be intrigued to see who they hire - surely an internal promotion would aid continuity but is there that guy ready to step up?

Definitely their big plus is the roster - their elite players are in their prime and the supporting cast, while already good, is young and ascending.

Evoked memories for me of the Seahawks Packers conference game in 2014. I'm still not over that...

 

[Ciderhead]

Evoked memories for me of the Seahawks Packers conference game in 2014. I'm still not over that...

Oh tell me about it. Though I was half convinced Atlanta were going to run it up the field themselves in ot a la the Cardinals

 

[RavenBish]

I didn't do anything wrong but dare to contribute to the thread yet you saw fit to try and provoke. Why? Strange behaviour for a mod.
.

I wasn't going to reply but it appears you a) didn't get the initial joke and b) don't understand irony. That's all I will say.

 

[kieran_vale]

Think looking back on last night biggest issue for the Falcons was the Pats dominated the time of possession and ran so many plays they were dead on their feet by the end. Outside of the second quarter our D did a better job than it felt at times last night. Was definitely helped by Mack being injured as every running play they called seemed to be some stretch play rather than up the middle and eventually the Pats keyed on it. Think Shanahan as good as I think he is will probably want some of them playcalls in the second half back if he could as well. Can pretty much guarantee after last night and the fact our division plays the NFC South next season then the opener will be Pats-Falcons at Foxborough.

Got some work to do now with out of contract players like Hightower and Butler (RFA) especially. We have one of the highest cap spaces in the league so hopefully we get to keep most of them. I suspect Bennett and Logan Ryan will get overpaid elsewhere but will go with a lot of thanks and appreciation. Also suppose there's what will happen with whether we trade Jimmy G, could be drafting in the top half of the first round for a change potentially as a result.

I guess after that Edelman miracle catch can never again complain about the Tyree helmet catch. It's now even.

 

[Anon]

Agreed on time of possession knackering the Falcons D. Thought it was underrated coming in and they initially did very well, were getting to Brady and aggressive in the secondary. Ran out of gas though at the same time as the Falcons offense started to stall, and that last quarter had an increasing sense of inevitability to it with the Pats WR no longer dropping passes, and Brady's accuracy getting better too.

Thoughts on our teams off season ins and outs?

I have a hunch we'll see Lang leave. Guard isnt a position we normally pay big on, let alone one of Lang's age, some teams out there have masses of cap room and Lang deserves a nice contract. Should then see a 4th in comp come back in 2018 too.

Think Shields will sadly see his career cut short, and although he's still situationally decent Peppers probably is too expensive to keep. Datone Jones is probably gone.

I reckon we'll definitely try to retain Cook, Tretter and Hyde, but Eddie Lacy is the interesting one. Durability issues, and unlikely to get a fat contract elsewhere, i reckon it might be wise to keep him in a limited capacity role alongside Montgomery - and switch them depending on the opposition to keep both fresh.

Draft wise I'd like to see us go corner, then pass rush with the higher picks. Mid round RB too would be nice to compliment/replace Lacy.

 

[Stagat]

I remember feeling optimistic when I read about the coaches who got brought in to replace Rex and co. No idea who'll be our QB next year. No idea if Tyrod will be kept on. Team said to be interested in Romo but come on

Question to anyone here who cares to answer; if neither of the above, who might we have at QB?

 

[Anon]

I remember feeling optimistic when I read about the coaches who got brought in to replace Rex and co. No idea who'll be our QB next year. No idea if Tyrod will be kept on. Team said to be interested in Romo but come on

Question to anyone here who cares to answer; if neither of the above, who might we have at QB?

Bills would be mad to move on from Taylor without someone better lined up. Ever since I've been watching NFL theyve been chasing a QB and to their credit they found one on the cheap from the Ravens.

...and now they want to move him on, just a bizarre situation to me. He's not great, but they could easily get much worse (again) if they do go elsewhere.

With the pretty decent o-line at Buffalo, and playing with McCoy and Watkins, dont think its a bad shout for Romo to consider it tbh. I just cant see him switching the climes of Texas for Buffalo. Romo surely has to go somewhere with decent protection otherwise he'll last 5mins.

 

[Stagat]

Bills would be mad to move on from Taylor without someone better lined up. Ever since I've been watching NFL theyve been chasing a QB and to their credit they found one on the cheap from the Ravens.

...and now they want to move him on, just a bizarre situation to me. He's not great, but they could easily get much worse (again) if they do go elsewhere.

With the pretty decent o-line at Buffalo, and playing with McCoy and Watkins, dont think its a bad shout for Romo to consider it tbh. I just cant see him switching the climes of Texas for Buffalo. Romo surely has to go somewhere with decent protection otherwise he'll last 5mins.

I like Taylor. Probably like him more than his talent deserves for some reason but aye, I'd like to see him stay, and for the reasons you mention too. Better the devil you know and that.

He's not going to win you a Super Bowl is he but it could be worse. Cleveland, Houston type worse.

 

[Tom_CUFC]

Difficult off-season for the Vikings in store with significant problems to address all across the O-line and no 1st round pick to help, although with rumours of Bridgewater being out the entirety of next season too then it's looking like a pick well spent as it'll keep us competitive again.

I expect us to offer Peterson a restructured and reduced deal and for him to tell us to do one. I'd like to keep him if we could but it would have to be on a much more friendly deal and if he's not willing to do that then it's time for us to move on. Not convinced McKinnon is the answer but we can only really throw a 4th round pick at it really with the other areas that need addressing.

The emergence of Adam Thielen last seasons means we probably don't need to actively look for any top end WRs, but we must get Laquon Treadwell involved this off-season. If we do then I think we have a decent receiving core when you factor in Rudolph, a big redzone threat, but what we need is a change in approach on offense to utilise them. Bradford may have had a record setting completion % this year but even I'd have managed 50% with the amount of swing passes we threw, need to be a bit more ambitious, our receivers have shown they're capable of making those deeper routes work.

Defense really needs very little work, the only real dilemma being Chad Greenway who is a FA again, if he doesn't retire then I'd have him another year, if he does then we'll probably need to find a starter somewhere, but old/bust seems to be the story of most of the FAs at that position. With Trae Waynes improving expect us to move on from one of FA CBs, logic would dictate the 38 year old Newman but he was very good last year, so if he doesn't retire he may get the nod over Captain Munnerlyn. Only other issue on defense is what to do with Sharif Floyd, undoubtedly a good player but injured far too often, he may be a cap casualty with us having plenty depth there (although we'd need one of them to progress significantly to starting calibre).

So onto the O-line, which probably needs 3 new starters at least. Boone did OK at guard, if not as well as expected, pre-injury so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Matt Kalil also improved last year before injury, so he probably gets re-signed. Cincinnati's ProBowl guard looks like target #1 based on what I've read, and there's options in FA at right tackle as well, this is where I'd expect most of our money to go as well as our first pick in the draft.

I am content with Bradford, but he is going to hold the ship steady rather than drive us deep into the playoffs, and from where we were this time last year as a team with Bridgewater progressing all the time, I'd have expected us to be serious Superbowl contenders going into next season. As it is, the most optimistic we can be is to get into the playoffs, probably on the back of a Packers season that follows how they started this one for the entirety of it. I am not convinced about Pat Shurmur as OC, he did try a few new things when he came in but we didn't really get any better (arguably worse) and were far too conservative, I hope a full off-season will allow him to do things entirely his way and see a radical overhaul of our offensive playbook and playcalling, but I would be surprised. There's also continuing issues with Mike Zimmer's health, if that carries on it can only be a disruption as well.

 

[Renegade]

Anyone grab International Series tickets? I thought they were on general sale this morning, but seems they were sold out during pre-sale. Need to get myself on the next mailing list.

Don't have much to add to the Superbowl comments, but it made up for a pretty mediocre/poor regular season and playoffs for the NFL. Absolutely incredible. Not taking anything away from the Pats, Brady and Belichick deserve their plaudits, but that was the biggest choke-job I've seen since I started watching, the Patriots were absolutely dominated for 40 minutes of the game. If the Falcons do any of a number of obvious or simple things in the second half, they win that game. Edelman's catch is up there with Kearse's in terms of flukiness, the Patriots were always winning after that. It must be tough to be an Atlanta sports fan, it was heartbreaking from a neutral's perspective, can't imagine how they felt watching B&B collect the Lombardi for the 5th time. Sickening.

 

[.V.]

Got tickets for Ravens Jags last week.

 

[Bobbin']

Yeah, got Saints Dolphins tickets.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Long but v good if you've got an evening to spare:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p04st1yv/oj-made-in-america-part-1

 

[Renegade]

Is that part of the 30 for 30 ESPN did for OJ? I watched part one and lost track of it last year, can't believe the BBC have picked it up if so.

EDIT: ah, I see it won an Oscar.

EDIT #2: apparently 30 for 30 released a documentary on the XFL earlier this month. This should be fun.

 

[Camborne Gills]

Glory, glory N.E Paaatriots!!

5 times 5 times N.E Pa-triooots!!

We are the greatest, and most hated bunch of cheats in history.

Corrected for you, and as for the Pats.....................................................

 

[kieran_vale]

Normally I wouldn't even bother expecting any news on the Pats at the start of free agency but unusually been a major player handing out a big contract to Stephon Gilmore from Buffalo. Means we'll lose Logan Ryan most likely but that was kind of expected. Happy enough with Gilmore though.

Also looking like we are negotiating with the Saints for a trade sending them Malcolm Butler and us getting Brandin Cooks. I like Cooks as a player however I would much rather have a possible top 10 corner in Butler simply because I value the position of CB a hell of a lot more than WR where in the Pats system we've largely managed with guys who can plug and play. Not too keen on this one if it happens.

Really hoping we can hang on to Hightower also.

 

[Renegade]

Is the Cooks trade a straight player swap? I agree with you, Butler is a more valuable asset, he could be one of the top corners in the game. Cooks blows hot and cold, seems like a younger D-Jax to me, though used more in the short passing game in NO. I think it says a lot if the Saints are willing to trade him already after Michael Thomas outperformed him last season in his rookie campaign.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Adam Schefter‏Verified account @AdamSchefter
Stunner: Texans trade Brock Osweiler AND 2018 2nd-rd pick to CLEV for Browns to take Osweiler contract off Houston books, sources tell ESPN.

 

[Bobbin']

Hahahahaha

 

[RavenBish]

paying $16m for a 2nd round pick is certainly one way to get rid of all that cap room they have I guess.

I don't think it's a bad move either - depends how serviceable you think Osweiler can be or if you're just stashing him for 2/3 years and eating his contract all for a 2nd rounder.

 

[Bobbin']

There's talk now that they may just release him

 

[RavenBish]

side note - Bengals O-line is in dumpster fire territory next season after losing Whitworth and Zeitler. You've got a line of Ogbuehi - Boling - Bodine - Johnson - Fisher currently and Boling is the only one who isn't a human turnstile. Not to mention you've got Dalton and Jeremy '2.3 ypc' Hill behind that shambles. 'kin hell.

Top 5 pick next year looking at this team. I can only hope we cut Pacman now Kirkpatrick has signed - and for the love of god don't re-sign Peko.

 

[Renegade]

It took about a year and a half too long, but finally everyone has realised that Brock Osweiler is absolutely useless/irredeemable. I should have put a bet on my Jimmy G to Browns call. I love the Alshon Jeffrey to Eagles trade also, Eagles were desperately missing a #1 receiver and Jeffrey definitely is one if he has his head screwed on. On a one year deal, absolutely worth the risk.

 

[Tom_CUFC]

Frustrating day 1 of FA for the Vikings, as it is every year, but this year more than most as we really needed to make a splash on the offensive line, and even more so when you consider we don't have a first round pick (although we probably have just enough ammo to climb into the back end of round 1 if needs be).

Ricky Wagner was never really in the Vikings conversation but him going to Detroit is a bit of a kick in the balls. Zeitler was probably our #1 target but we couldn't compete with moneybags Cleveland, and I'm sure Whitworth was on the radar but he went for the early retirement package. Having missed out on those 3 it would've been nice to keep Matt Kalil as someone who is at least better than the human turnstile that is TJ Clemmings, but Carolina were clearly wooed sufficiently by his brother to throw more money than sense at him. Having lost him we thought we'd have a swing at Okung, I mean he hasn't got an agent so how hard can it be? Nope, minor league LA Chargers instead for him, although not as disappointed about that one. Having fucked all that we even made a swing for Alshon Jeffrey, who chose a ONE YEAR DEAL over coming to the Vikings, thanks mate.

In the end we end up with Riley Reiff from Detroit who will probably play LT. Nothing to shout home about but he's probably an upgrade on Kalil so it could've been worse.

 

[Anon]

I still don't think Garapolo will be traded. If the supposed price is really steep, it would indicate to me that BB sees him as Brady's heir, and wont be allowed to leave.

From the Browns position, despite the gains made on the o-line theyve got so many holes and without a known promising QB it makes sense to build out the roster with high picks. Giving up something major for JG when they dont know anything near as much about him as Pats staff would be totally daft.

Re: Jeffrey. I reckon that's more betting on himself to get a big deal next year, rather than disliking moving to the Vikings.

For the Packers, got Perry back for a reasonable deal given the timing, although we lost Hyde to the Bills - he's a loss, very versatile across the already thin secondary. Tretter's gone too but his injury record is terrible.

 

[Renegade]

Have you seen how many picks the Browns have? I think they are willing to give up something silly for their future QB in this off-season. The sticking pointing will likely come from the Pats end judging the reports.

 

[Anon]

Have you seen how many picks the Browns have? I think they are willing to give up something silly for their future QB in this off-season. The sticking pointing will likely come from the Pats end judging the reports.

Surely them giving up something silly goes against their system though - and in that case, why not go with Wentz in the first place. And they've got a roster full of holes.

Saying that, JG has now tweeted "peace out Boston"...

I wonder what the price is.