Official NFL 2022-2023 Thread

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, bill5 said:

What a cluster the NFC is! A lot of seriously half-ass teams in the hunt for the playoffs lol

Agreed. The AFC team would be favored to win a Super Bowl against most any NFC but strange things happen in the NFL nowadays. I cannot attribute all of it to league parity either.😎

[Geoff Grace]

The Packers won a game they were expected to lose. It was a great Christmas gift for this fan.  

 

Happy holidays, everyone!  

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[jazzpiano88]

4 hours ago, Geoff Grace said:

The Packers won a game they were expected to lose. It was a great Christmas gift for this fan.  

Same here!  Such a fun game to watch.  Even wore my Green Bay winter cap I got for Christmas.

MIA looked shell shocked as the 4th quarter progressed. 

[Stokely]

I'm not so sure the AFC team would be favored against either the Eagles or Niners, though I'm not sure why the Eagle D had so much trouble with Dallas.  Might not be all that motivated at this point thinking they have the 1 seed (which I don't think they do yet, but it's very likely.)   Dallas also can be very good on O at times.   Minshew should get a chance for a starting job, at least one of the interceptions wasn't really his fault.  

All the wildcard possibles are really excited because I believe the worst team gets to play the 2nd seed in the 1st round, which would be the worst 2 seed in history right now (Vikes).  I say that as a Vikes fan but I have no illusions.  I think the Packers will beat them and possibly the Bears too, both are away games, so the 2 seed is by no means settled.  I think the Niners get it, they looked impressive and their quarterback looks as good as Jimmy G to me.

[Geoff Grace]

Denver Broncos fire coach Nathaniel Hackett after 4-11 start

I can’t say I’m surprised, but I don't know that it’s going to solve the problem. The Broncos are the most decimated team in the league right now, so there's likely to be some improvement next year; but the big question is whether or not Russell Wilson can bounce back.

 

Denver made the Rams look like the best team in the league yesterday. I was rooting for the Rams, but I certainly didn't want to see the Broncos humiliated.

Best,

Geoff

[bill5]

Yeah Wilson has played so bad I think Hackett is a scapegoat but whatever. 

 

Meanwhile the Chargers are looking pathetic against an even more pathetic team. See you next year Chargers.

[GovernorSilver]

I generally avoid posting before the game is over, but now Herbert is kneeling in victory formation to run out  the clock.

 

If NFL rules say you can't get into the playoff if you win ugly, the Chargers would have been done weeks ago.  Luckily for them, the rules say nothing about looks.   Rules do say that losses by Patriots, Jets, and Raiders left the Chargers in the driver's seat.

 

I would have supported firing Staley to hire Sean Payton, but without Bosa and Derwin James for quite a stretch, he somehow got this defense overachieving these past few weeks.   Not gonna go crazy and say he's good enough to prevent an early exit from the playoffs but whatever magic dust he sprinkled to get them in has worked so far.

 

Nothing to say really about the Colts.  It'd be like beating and kicking a man who's already lying on the pavement unconscious.  Where's the fun in that?  Just didn't expect Foles to be this bad as Ryan's replacement.

[bill5]

Putting in Foles was ridiculous no matter how he played. They know what he is. They don't know Ehlinger really; let him finish out the year and get a better eval of what you have there. 

[bill5]

10 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

I would have supported firing Staley to hire Sean Payton, but without Bosa and Derwin James for quite a stretch, he somehow got this defense overachieving these past few weeks.   Not gonna go crazy and say he's good enough to prevent an early exit from the playoffs but whatever magic dust he sprinkled to get them in has worked so far.

Don't kid yourself, he still sucks. Having Ekeler in only on first downs early made zero sense, for example. This team has potential next year, but they need a new coach.

[GovernorSilver]

1 hour ago, bill5 said:

Don't kid yourself, he still sucks. Having Ekeler in only on first downs early made zero sense, for example. This team has potential next year, but they need a new coach.

Kid myself about what?  He's got the defense playing better despite all the missing pieces.  That may just mean he's improving as a defensive coach, but does not prove he's true head coaching material.  Definitely not kidding myself about him reaching the level of Brady-era Hoodie right now that's for sure!

 

Yes I backed off on calling for his firing for now.  I did say he should be fired if they miss the playoffs... but, now that they're in the playoffs, we have to wait and see how he does there.   

 

BTW, he doesn't run the offense.  He seems to leave all offensive decision-making, including how to use Ekeler, to offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. A hands-off head coaching style is fine if your coordinator is a good one.   Lombardi is not a good one.  Staley should be taking him aside and have the "WTF is up with that play-calling?" conversation..   He's got to take responsibility for Lombardi's job performance and do something about it this offseason.

[surfergirl]

New Orleans will probably want a 1st round draft pick for Payton, maybe more.

[ProfD]

IMO, the Chargers should not fire head coach Brandon Staley. The team needs a few more players on both sides of the ball. They might need a better offensive coordinator too.

 

OTOH, the Broncos had to move on from head coach Nathaniel Hackett who's been in over his head since he walked into the building without QB Aaron Rodgers.

 

It doesn't help that the Broncos decided to give QB Russell Wilson the keys to the entire castle at this point in his career. Mr. Let's Ride is clearly running on 2 flats and a donut. The Seahawks knew better.😎

 

[GovernorSilver]

1 hour ago, surfergirl said:

New Orleans will probably want a 1st round draft pick for Payton, maybe more.

 

There's no guarantee he'd take the Chargers job anyway if Staley were fired.   He could end up somewhere else, like Dallas.

 

But yeah, not liking the asking price to trade for Payton, who as you point out, is still technically under contract.

 

 

[GovernorSilver]

2 hours ago, ProfD said:

IMO, the Chargers should not fire head coach Brandon Staley. The team needs a few more players on both sides of the ball. They might need a better offensive coordinator too.

 

OTOH, the Broncos had to move on from head coach Nathaniel Hackett who's been in over his head since he walked into the building without QB Aaron Rodgers.

 

It doesn't help that the Broncos decided to give QB Russell Wilson the keys to the entire castle at this point in his career. Mr. Let's Ride is clearly running on 2 flats and a donut. The Seahawks knew better.😎

 

 

I agree.  Not a fan of impulsive firing, unless Staley is caught pulling a Jon Gruden - a terrible enough act that the team has no choice but to fire him.   That said, I wouldn't put it past Dean Spanos to make yet another poor decision on this matter.

 

Not giving Herbert a legit deep threat to throw to is a criminal waste of his talents.  This better be addressed this offseason.   And I've come to agree he needs another upgrade at tight end.  Everett is more athletic than the 2021 starting TE but that's about it.   He's not making opponents lose sleep scheming how to stop him like a Kelce or Kittel.  Defense needs more legit depth, not more backup safeties who can't tackle or play special teams.

 

Colts fired Frank Reich on impulse, then hired Jeff Saturday.  Apparently the owner thought he was being a genius, hiring JS.  Wow has that worked out well.   Frying pan to the fire.

 

Broncos hiring Hackett showed a similar outsmarting oneself mentality.

 

[bill5]

3 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

Kid myself about what?  He's got the defense playing better despite all the missing pieces.  That may just mean he's improving as a defensive coach, but does not prove he's true head coaching material.  Definitely not kidding myself about him reaching the level of Brady-era Hoodie right now that's for sure!

 

Yes I backed off on calling for his firing for now.  I did say he should be fired if they miss the playoffs... but, now that they're in the playoffs, we have to wait and see how he does there.   

 

BTW, he doesn't run the offense.  He seems to leave all offensive decision-making, including how to use Ekeler, to offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. A hands-off head coaching style is fine if your coordinator is a good one.   Lombardi is not a good one.  Staley should be taking him aside and have the "WTF is up with that play-calling?" conversation..   He's got to take responsibility for Lombardi's job performance and do something about it this offseason.

All fair points. I'd just like to see them stay healthy for once!

[bill5]

1 hour ago, GovernorSilver said:

Colts fired Frank Reich on impulse, then hired Jeff Saturday.  Apparently the owner thought he was being a genius, hiring JS.  Wow has that worked out well.   Frying pan to the fire. 

 

Nah. I think he knew he was throwing a dart which odds are wouldn't work out, but that the season was history so why not do the  PR move and hire the very popular Saturday and see how it goes. But really Vince Lombardi could come back from the grave and not coach this team to glory. You gotta have the horses (pardon the pun). They need help all over, but mostly the OL and a QB.

[GovernorSilver]

2 minutes ago, bill5 said:

Nah. I think he knew he was throwing a dart which odds are wouldn't work out, but that the season was history so why not do the  PR move and hire the very popular Saturday and see how it goes. But really Vince Lombardi could come back from the grave and not coach this team to glory. You gotta have the horses (pardon the pun). They need help all over, but mostly the OL and a QB.

 

I doubt Reich would have allowed the Vikings to come back from trailing 33-0, but that's just me, lol.

[ProfD]

I agree that the Colts firing head coach Frank Reich was impulsive and incorrect.

 

As @bill5 mentioned, fix the OL & bring in a better QB & O think luck, er, fortunes would change in Indy.

 

The  Colts defense is usually decent except for the meltdowns against the Cowbums and Vikes.

 

Frank Reich will land on his feet and become OC or HC somewhere else. 😎

[GovernorSilver]

Nick Saban and Broncos rumor mongering

 

As Urban Meyer showed us, success at the college level doesn't always translate to NFL success.  OTOH, Jimmy Johnson, Bobby Ross, Jim Harbaugh, etc. did pretty good.

 

Can't really see 71-yr-old Saban giving up the cushy Alabama gig to go to Denver but who knows....

[ProfD]

2 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

Can't really see 71-yr-old Saban giving up the cushy Alabama gig to go to Denver but who knows....

I remember when he strolled in to coach the Miami Dolphins. Lasted one season before he hauled azz back to college.😁

 

Head coach Nick Saban has been sitting on a lilypad at Alabama ever since his meltdown in Miami.  No need for him to jump off now.😎

[bill5]

7 hours ago, ProfD said:

I agree that the Colts firing head coach Frank Reich was impulsive and incorrect.

I like Reich but disagree. He's a great guy but not HC material.

 

Quote

The  Colts defense is usually decent except for the meltdowns against the Cowbums and Vikes.

The Colts' D is actually quite good, esp considering the horrible O.  But I think Buckner's contract is coming up soon and he and Leonard are the keys to this D. 

 

 

2 hours ago, ProfD said:

I remember when he strolled in to coach the Miami Dolphins. Lasted one season before he hauled azz back to college.😁

 

Head coach Nick Saban has been sitting on a lilypad at Alabama ever since his meltdown in Miami.  No need for him to jump off now.😎

Agreed. I would be shocked if he left Alabama for anything other than retirement or death. 

[bill5]

11 hours ago, surfergirl said:

New Orleans will probably want a 1st round draft pick for Payton, maybe more.

Easily. I think (repeat I think) he's worth it though. 

[Geoff Grace]

Raiders bench QB Derek Carr, will start Jarrett Stidham vs. 49ers

Best,

Geoff

[GovernorSilver]

I guess they're thinking of trading up in the NFL draft for a QB in case Jason Statham or whatever his name is doesn't show promise.

[ProfD]

Raiders ownership has already committed to keeping head coach Josh McDaniels around. 

 

QB Jarrett Stidham was in New England when McDaniels was offensive coordinator. 

 

I cannot help but to wonder if QB Derek Carr was never the guy McDaniels had in mind to run his offense. 

 

37 minutes ago, GovernorSilver said:

I guess they're thinking of trading up in the NFL draft for a QB in case Jason Statham or whatever his name is doesn't show promise.

If so, it would make sense for the Raiders to bench QB Carr in order to keep him healthy for trade bait. 

 

There's no shortage of teams that will be interested in QB Carr if he becomes available. 😎

[Geoff Grace]

I wonder if Davante Adams feels like a victim of bait and switch.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[ProfD]

4 hours ago, Geoff Grace said:

I wonder if Davante Adams feels like a victim of bait and switch.

Excellent question especially if QB Derek Carr gets traded. 

 

Of course, the Raiders probably feel they  are paying WR Davante Adams well enough to play with whoever they bring in as QB1.😁😎

[GovernorSilver]

\

4 hours ago, Geoff Grace said:

I wonder if Davante Adams feels like a victim of bait and switch.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

 

I think he's been in the game long enough to understand that best laid plans don't always come to fruition.   

 

I don't think he expected the Raiders season to go in the direction it has, to the extent that the Raiders decide to bench Carr to prevent him from becoming damaged goods for a potential trade.

 

I recall he welcomed the trade because he'd be reunited with his college QB but I can't imagine him demanding another trade so he could follow Carr to whatever team Carr lands on.

[Geoff Grace]

In the video linked to below, Davante Adams referred to Derek Carr as, “one of my really good friends,” adding that Carr was “the reason why I came here in the first place. I wouldn't be here right now, if he wasn't here.” It’s true that Adams is being paid really well to be in Las Vegas; but he turned down the same amount from the Packers, so it’s more than that. There were reports that Davante was dissatisfied with Green Bay’s management, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the biggest factor was a chance to “reunite the band.”

Davante Adams comments on Derek Carr being benched

One reason I’m glad I’m a musician instead of an athlete is that we get to work with whomever we please (as long as they also want to work with us). I wouldn’t be surprised if Adams asks for a trade if Carr winds up off the team. He might not necessarily follow Carr, but Las Vegas might not be where he wants to stay either.

Best,

Geoff

[GovernorSilver]

I don't know if Davante Adams is the kind of player who demands a trade whenever things turn a little sour, or if he's more the type to soldier on through lean years like Keenan Allen has done with the Chargers.

 

Stidham turning out to be another Brock Purdy would help matters.  😁