Official NFL 2022-2023 Thread

[GovernorSilver]

2 hours ago, bill5 said:

I don't buy "never," but it is the exception. If you think of SB winners, esp in recent years, almost all had a franchise, upper-tier QB. 

 

As for tanking, I suspect rarely if ever a team tanks. At least, players and coaches don't. I could see an owner and/or GM sticking with a lesser QB who is perhaps an unknown because it's win/win. If the guy pans out, great. If not, you get that high draft pick for someone else. But overall their mentality is win, always. And as you said a QB drafted high is no guarantee of an elite QB. Zach Wilson seems to be the latest example.....

 

Yeah, my friends just texted me about Zach Wilson getting benched in favor of an ex-Western Kentucky QB.

 

Jets must be thinking "switching to a Western Kentucky QB worked for the Pats, maybe it'll work for us!"

 

Getting a franchise QB is hard!  So many things have to come together for your team to be in a position to acquire one, and much of it is governed by dumb luck.  And even if your team is in the right position to draft a 1st-round QB, your GM better know what he's doing, or he'll end up with another Butt Fumble Sanchez or Joey Harrington.  That's why most NFL teams have to make do with a QB who may not be a superstar, but can at least be trusted to make clutch throws and hand off to RBs without screwing up.  

 

I was just rereading on how the Colts ended up drafting Peyton Manning.  It started with Jim Harbaugh breaking his hand while punching Jim Kelly in the head.  Without Harbaugh, the Colts went 3-13, and thus won the #1 overall pick.    Talk about weird luck and circumstance!

[bill5]

5 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

 

Yeah, my friends just texted me about Zach Wilson getting benched in favor of an ex-Western Kentucky QB.

Jets must be thinking "switching to a Western Kentucky QB worked for the Pats, maybe it'll work for us!"

 I'm impressed you knew the connection!

 

 

Quote

Getting a franchise QB is hard!  So many things have to come together for your team to be in a position to acquire one, and much of it is governed by dumb luck.  And even if your team is in the right position to draft a 1st-round QB, your GM better know what he's doing, or he'll end up with another Butt Fumble Sanchez or Joey Harrington. 

I think it's only partly knowing what you're doing. As you said it's partly luck. You can study game film and read stats and analyze a player 100 diff ways but there's no way to know if college success will translate to NFL success.  

 

Quote

I was just rereading on how the Colts ended up drafting Peyton Manning.  It started with Jim Harbaugh breaking his hand while punching Jim Kelly in the head.  Without Harbaugh, the Colts went 3-13, and thus won the #1 overall pick.    Talk about weird luck and circumstance!

Wow that is nuts lol. And then they sucked at the right time to get Luck (the year of "Suck for Luck"), too bad their GM was a moron who didn't provide the franchise QB a top OL. You get a guy that highly rated and your next priority MUST be a great - not OK, but great - OL. I don't care what other needs you have. doh. 

 

[bill5]

Bills vs the Lions was quite a game! I really thought the Lions would win somehow. Hopefully the other games aren't snoozefests (although a snooze is tempting...). 

[bill5]

If the Giants even make the playoffs it will be by default because they're pretty bad. 

[ProfD]

The Giants do not have enough firepower on either side of the ball to make any noise in the playoffs.

 

The Vikings are a better team than the Giants but they won't get too far in the playoffs either.

 

I hate typing it but rhe Cowbums are playing well on both sides of the ball at the right time. They could become the NFC team to beat. 😎

[bill5]

Really nobody impresses me in the NFC. If they win the SB, the AFC should hang its head in shame. 

[Stokely]

I wouldn't be all that surprised to see Titans vs Niners.   The Titans played the Chiefs tight at home with a very raw backup quarterback that could do almost nothing in the pass game.  Sure if I had to bet I'd take the Chiefs but I doubt anyone wants to play TN especially in the cold.  Both the Bills and Dallas could take it all if they played well consistently.

 

[Geoff Grace]

46 minutes ago, Stokely said:

I wouldn't be all that surprised to see Titans vs Niners.

 

Same here. Derrick Henry could carry the Titans to the Super Bowl, and the 49ers could take Jimmy Garoppolo there too. It's a case of one player carrying a team vs. a team carrying one player.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[bill5]

Agree to disagree. Sure anything is possible but both of these teams had their chances recently in playoff games or SBs with IMO more talented teams and couldn't get it done. Neither Tannehill or Jimmy G is good enough; they've proven that. 

[jazzpiano88]

2 hours ago, Geoff Grace said:

 

Same here. Derrick Henry could carry the Titans to the Super Bowl, and the 49ers could take Jimmy Garoppolo there too. It's a case of one player carrying a team vs. a team carrying one player.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

 

Same here.  But could just as easily be a LIV rematch.

I'm betting on 49ers magic with new acquisition to at least be in the SB.  Jimmy has something to prove.

[Stokely]

Well, they don't have to beat past teams, or be as good as past teams....just better on one day than the ones playing this year   Neither of those Giants teams that won with Eli were great during the season.   Every team this year looks flawed at times, KC maybe the least so, more than other years I can recall.  Seems more wide open.   Weather makes a difference, as does home field.  Say if TN goes to KC and it's snowing and blowing, the run game becomes a huge factor.  As I say though if I had to bet I'd still pick the Chiefs.

[Geoff Grace]

Alex Rollins and Kurt Warner have pretty good takes on Green Bay’s offensive problems this season:

The NFL (suddenly) stopped blitzing Aaron Rodgers

Packers Continue Their Slide | Kurt Warner NFL Week 11 Green Bay & Aaron Rodgers Game Tape

These are both very good YouTube NFL channels, IMHO. Worth a look, even if you don’t care about the Packers.

Best,

Geoff

[GovernorSilver]

The Ravens @Jaguars game has a thrilling finish!  Trevor Lawrence was up and down, but came through with a TD pass, and 2-pt conversion to secure the lead.   Then the Ravens 67-yd FG shot fell short, leaving the Jags with the victory

[bill5]

Yep just saw that! I was amazed that they came back in that game. And I would not have been surprised if Tucker made that FG - so close! A lot of close games today. Falcons should have won but whoever calls their plays should be fired. They were gashing Washington all day on the ground and have a terrible QB, so they get down to the 2 at the end of the game needing a TD to win....and pass. INT. lol 

[bill5]

PS bout them Chargers?   Granted it was against the lowly Cardinals but at 6-5 they aren't out of it. When do Allen and Williams return (if ever)? 

[GovernorSilver]

14 minutes ago, bill5 said:

PS bout them Chargers?   Granted it was against the lowly Cardinals but at 6-5 they aren't out of it. When do Allen and Williams return (if ever)? 

 

Allen actually played, although he was probably put again on a "pitch count", like last week's game, to reduce the odds of reinjury to his hammy.  Carter led the WRs this time with 7 catches.

 

Defense was porous as usual against Kyler and his weapons.   

 

But Herbert got just enough help on the final drive to lead them to the winning TD and 2 pt conversion at last minute - eerily like the Lawrence and the Jaguars.

[Geoff Grace]

Well, that's that. At least Green Bay gave it a good fight tonight.

 

I hope the Packers rest Aaron Rodgers for awhile, so we can see what Jordan Love can do.

 

Congrats, Dave, on the Eagles' win.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[bill5]

Remember when the Colts and Steelers were good teams?

[ProfD]

Commanders made Sunday's game too close for comfort. Defense should've played better. But, I'll take the win especially on my b'day. 😁

 

The Packers aren't going to shut down QB Aaron Rodgers despite his tender ribs and inflamed lung.

 

Seems Packers could have used Rodgers' injury to give QB Jordan Love more game time experience.

 

Nope. Rodgers has the Packers hamstrung for these two (2) years. Reminds me of Big Ben and the Steelers before he finally retired.😎

[Geoff Grace]

Hey, HaPpY belated BiRtHdAy, ProfD!  

 

Congrats on the Commanders' win. They seem to have a reasonable chance of making it to the postseason this year.  

 

Yeah, the Packers are in decline for now. They tend to do best when their investment in young players pays off, as it did a little over a decade ago when they last won the Super Bowl with the one of the league's youngest teams.

 

Being a fan of 1) the Packers, 2) the Rams, and 3) the Broncos usually provides me with at least one contender to root for; but this year is a real drought! On the bright side, they should all get better draft picks and easier schedules next year, especially the Broncos, who are just plain bad. As for the rest of this season, I'm rooting for my fourth and fifth favorite teams: the Vikings and Titans, respectively. (I imagine that @Griffinator and @meccajay are pretty happy with how the Vikings and Titans are doing. I hope that @Griffinator and @meccajay are doing well these days...)

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[bill5]

32 minutes ago, ProfD said:

Nope. Rodgers has the Packers hamstrung for these two (2) years. Reminds me of Big Ben and the Steelers before he finally retired.😎

And the Colts for one more year with Ryan...and the Broncos for like 100 yrs with Wilson lol 

[Geoff Grace]

1 hour ago, bill5 said:

Remember when the Colts and Steelers were good teams?

 

I remember Johnny Unitas and the Steel Curtain. Great teams!

 

I also remember seeing Unitas play in person at a Chargers preseason game in 1973. He was well past his prime, but it was fun to watch.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[bill5]

I met Johnny Unitas years ago at some sports memorabilia thing. Long knowing him at one of the all-time greats, I found out about it at the last second and drove almost 2 hrs to get there just as he was leaving. He signed something for me and I basically just mumbled "thanks" and always regretted not saying more. The odd thing was - I guess because he was so much yesterday's news - it's not like he had bodyguards or photographers around or anything, he was just this older guy at some local event that if you didn't know better could've just been somebody's dad or even grandfather who happened to be there. After he gave me his signature, he walked to his car out in this grassy field where the other cars were like he wasn't anyone special, which was the attitude he always had - just total class and humility, despite being one of the if not the greatest QB ever. So many players could learn so much from a guy like him.   

 

The 70s Steelers, remember them too. Ironically probably the best of all of those teams, the 76 version, did not win the SB. 

 

But really I was thinking more modestly back to the Manning Colts and Big Ben Steelers.   

[GovernorSilver]

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

Commanders made Sunday's game too close for comfort. Defense should've played better. But, I'll take the win especially on my b'day. 😁

 

 

Always nice to celebrate your b'day with a win!  Happy Birthday, Brother D!

[GovernorSilver]

Anthony Richardson is seeing himself projected to go to the Colts on some mock drafts.... and having second thoughts about declaring for the NFL.

 

Today's Colts organization looks more like the one that John Elway refused to play for than the one that drafted Manning and hired Tony Dungy.

 

 

[bill5]

Which is why I loved it every time Elway lost - they should have drafted him anyway. As for Richardson, no big loss, he's the classic athletic QB who makes bad decisions and is a very inconsistent thrower. He would be smart to not declare and try to improve next year because he's a mid-round pick at best. IMO really this draft class isn't nearly as strong at QB as some seem to think, similar to last year -

[GovernorSilver]

While I don't condone players not cooperating with the draft, I can see why some resorted to extreme measures to avoid becoming part of a dysfunctional organization.

 

My friends who were fellow Charger fans and I hated Eli Manning for threatening to sit out his rookie year if the Chargers didn't trade him away.

 

But then the Chargers left San Diego.  We felt abandoned, so we abandoned them too.  It was suddenly easier to see the Chargers organization for what it is - dysfunctional and bit rotten starting from the very top - owner Dean Spanos.  

 

Not defending Eli here.  It was irritating to see him win two Super Bowls - partly with his own talent, but also with a lot of help around him, including a great defense.   It's just that after the move to LA, I just don't care anymore if a draftee gets into that kind of drama on draft day.   Actually, I'm more likely to     and laugh at the entertainment.

 

I started watching the Chargers again when Justin Herbert was in his rookie season.  My friends though haven't forgiven the Chargers.  We joke about which team should get our allegiance next.

 

 

[bill5]

Yeah that's gotta be tough for someone who is from or lives in a city and their team moves. You kinda want to root for them but kinda not and want to kill the owner lol. Although it seems to me sometimes it's not all their fault if the city doesn't cooperate. I remember when the Colts left Baltimore, their stadium was a dump that had little if any upgrades since the 50s Unitas hey day and the city ignored Irsay when he asked for either serious improvements or a new stadium, so he left and IMO that is on them. Now the way he left was out of line, but IMO not the leaving itself. 

[GovernorSilver]

Dean Spanos wanted out all along.  Didn't matter what San Diego offered.

 

It was the reverse of Barron Hilton, the first owner of the Chargers, who immediately moved them from LA to San Diego, worked with the city to get the stadium built, and even served as AFL president for a year.

[ProfD]

Unless an organization lays out how it plans to rebuild and/or get better, I can certainly understand a draftee not wanting to walk into a dysfunctional situation. 

 

I know athletes are paid to entertain but contrary to some beliefs, no amount of money equals "just shut up and play".   

 

An athlete should be concerned about their overall well-being beyond getting paid.

 

Considering the play of some of these NFL offensive lines, their QBs should be concerned.  That's why Stafford and Fields are sitting on the sidelines.😎