Official NFL thread 2023-2024

[Geoff Grace]

36 minutes ago, ProfD said:

Looks like the Vikings won in the arm and legs of the recently acquired QB Josh Dobbs.

 

After trading away two (2) of their best defensive players, the Commanders went to Foxboro and came out with a win.😎

 

Congrats on the Commanders' win, ProfD. It sounds like their defense rose to the challenge.

 

The Packers had a similar result today, after having traded away one of their best defensive players, the Green Bay defense held the Rams to just three points. Their offense looked better as well, with Aaron Jones starting to look more like his old self; and Jordan Love saying "not so fast" to his critics.

 

I should add that the Rams played behind backup quarterback Brett Rypien for the whole game, so the Packers D had some help; but it looks like things are beginning to gel on both sides of the ball for Green Bay.

 

The Rams, on the other hand, continue to struggle. Both teams have been decimated by injuries, and plagued by inexperience. (The Packers are currently the youngest team in the NFL, and the Rams are the second youngest.)

 

The Vikings, on the other hand, showed that, with Josh Dobbs, they can still play a good game against average teams. Perhaps they can't yet be ruled out for a potential Wild Card spot.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[bill5]

2 hours ago, ProfD said:

Looks like the Vikings won in the arm and legs of the recently acquired QB Josh Dobbs.

 

Yeah Dobbs is IMO better than most give him credit for. Not a guy you want as your QB of the future, but a more than capable backup. 

 

Quote

After trading away two (2) of their best defensive players, the Commanders went to Foxboro and came out with a win.😎

Yeah they beat up a 12-yr old basically  But hey, a win's a win.

 

Eagles won in close and exciting game, but not a very "good" one, meaning both teams made way too many mistakes. The Eagles almost all but handed the Cowboys the game at the end. 

[bill5]

2 hours ago, Geoff Grace said:

The Rams, on the other hand, continue to struggle. 

 

They are paying the piper for trading away all of those high draft picks and spending big on FAs. Nacua has been a great find, but they have too many holes. The D is still good and Stafford still has a year or three left in him I think, so if they can regroup via draft or FAs next year, they should have a shot. 

 

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, bill5 said:

Yeah they beat up a 12-yr old basically  But hey, a win's a win.

That's not a regular 12-yr old. There's a future Hall of Fame coach in charge.

 

The Bills look real average against the Bengals. They refuse to run the ball. 😎

[bill5]

23 minutes ago, ProfD said:

That's not a regular 12-yr old. There's a future Hall of Fame coach in charge.

 

Irrelevant to this year's team.

 

 

Quote

The Bills look real average against the Bengals. They refuse to run the ball. 😎

I have maintained for quite some time that the Bills are overrated pretenders, as is Allen. 

 

[Geoff Grace]

The more I learn about Josh Dobbs, the more impressed I am. His circumstances yesterday were very similar to Baker Mayfield's start with the Rams last year. Dobbs was in Minnesota for a few more days than Mayfield was in LA before his start, but Dobbs had no first team reps because he was there as a backup. The Vikings had to teach him the cadence on the sideline before he was thrust into the game, and still he led the offense to 28 points on the road against the #6 defense in the league.

 

In addition to being athletically gifted, Dobbs is smart: he earned 4.0 GPA in aeronautical engineering in college.

 

Josh Dobbs replaces injured Jaren Hall, leads Vikings' comeback win

 

Takeaways from Josh Dobbs' debut as Vikings QB

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[GovernorSilver]

Josh Dobbs worked out better with the Vikings than I had anticipated - at least for this one game.  

 

Rooting for him to keep doing well, and hoping it's not just one lucky game.

 

Watched the Cowboys lose yet again to the Eagles.  What separates Dak from the great NFL QBs is his handling of late 4th quarters, when his team is trailing and they need him to make plays.  That's when the pressure gets to him and he starts making mistakes.

[bill5]

Daniel Jones out for the year with a torn ACL. I know he still has a pricey contract going, but if NY can nab either Williams or Penix in the draft, IMO they'd be nuts not to. 

[ProfD]

6 hours ago, Geoff Grace said:

In addition to being athletically gifted, Dobbs is smart: he earned 4.0 GPA in aeronautical engineering in college.

 

Yep. Whenever living out his football dreams comes to an end, QB Josh Dobbs  won't have any problems finding a *real* job.😁

 

2 hours ago, bill5 said:

Daniel Jones out for the year with a torn ACL. I know he still has a pricey contract going, but if NY can nab either Williams or Penix in the draft, IMO they'd be nuts not to. 

Tough tear.

 

QB Daniel Jones' contract basically says the G-Men won't be drafting a QB in the 1st round.  They will draft players to help QB Jones.😎

[bill5]

I see the logic there, but I wouldn't count on it. If they draft a QB, that QB will be cheap to save money paying off Jones. I wouldn't count it out. 

 

Meanwhile the Chargers are trying to get to .500. I admit I expected more this year, but that team seems cursed. 

[ProfD]

6 minutes ago, bill5 said:

I see the logic there, but I wouldn't count on it. If they draft a QB, that QB will be cheap to save money paying off Jones. I wouldn't count it out. 

Players like QB Daniel Jones have guaranteed contracts.

 

Another team would have to be willing to trade for QB Jones in order for the Giants to save money.😎

[bill5]

Drafting a rookie QB saves money.   I'm saying keep Jones if need be (which would need be because no one will want him) and have an open QB competition.

[ProfD]

14 hours ago, bill5 said:

Drafting a rookie QB saves money.   I'm saying keep Jones if need be (which would need be because no one will want him) and have an open QB competition.

Understood. I don't believe QB Caleb Williams or QB Michael Penix Jr. will fall far enough in the draft nor will the G-Men trade up to get either one of them.😎

[Stokely]

See, that game was as Vikings as you can get.  Play a miracle game against an average team--one the road!-- and squeak one out with a quarterback playing for his 7th (or something like that) team that probably doesn't even know the name of your plays yet, and without your best player (Jefferson).

Always liked Dobbs in interviews.  As someone said, that dude is a brainiac.   Literally a rocket scientist iirc   

He had some head-scratcher throws missing at least one wide-open outlet pass for no good reason I could see.  The below-to-average quarterbacks do that--D. Jones from the giants a good example.  He'll make a nice tough throw then zip the next one 5 yards over the head of a back in the flat.   

Dobbs got out of at least one pash rush on that last drive that would have been a sure Cousins sack and likely a fumble.  End of the game at any rate.

The last 3 minutes of that game have been pretty much the first I've seen of them this year.  I really haven't watched much NFL.   

 

[bill5]

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

Understood. I don't believe QB Caleb Williams or QB Michael Penix Jr. will fall far enough in the draft nor will the G-Men trade up to get either one of them.😎

They're currently tied for the third overall pick and their starting QB is out, their #2 is hurt as well, and their best receiver (TE Waller) is also out for the year. They may not have to  

[GovernorSilver]

Rams signed Carson Wentz as Stafford's new backup, to replace Brett Rypien who was the now previous backup.  Rypien was waved after the 20-3 loss to the Packers.

 

Vikings could have signed Wentz instead of trading for Dobbs.  I doubt Vikings fans are crying themselves to sleep over this decision - I too would have rather gambled on Dobbs over the more experienced, but not proven to be very good Wentz.

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, GovernorSilver said:

Rams signed Carson Wentz as Stafford's new backup, to replace Brett Rypien who was the now previous backup. 

Interesting that it took so long for the Rams to realize QB Brett Rypien wasn't the right backup for the job.

 

A few decent QBs are sitting on their couches and still in football shape.

 

Although he's in the broadcast booth, I'm a bit surprised that QB Matt Ryan hasn't gotten a phone call unless he turned it down flatly.😎

[bill5]

2 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

Rams signed Carson Wentz as Stafford's new backup, to replace Brett Rypien who was the now previous backup.  Rypien was waved after the 20-3 loss to the Packers.

 

Vikings could have signed Wentz instead of trading for Dobbs.  I doubt Vikings fans are crying themselves to sleep over this decision - I too would have rather gambled on Dobbs over the more experienced, but not proven to be very good Wentz.

I kinda sorta disagree. Overall, Wentz is actually a good QB IMO...most of the time. But right when you think you have an answer at QB, he drives you crazy with stupid decisions/throws, sometimes mind-numbingly bad ones. Still, I'd take him over most if not all backup QBs right now. 

 

As for Ryan, from what I heard (didn't see enough to say with confidence), he was so immobile for the Colts (whose OL was a seive, but still) and just looking not good enough in general that it's scared teams away who feel he's fallen off a cliff. It's a shame, as from what I know he's a real stand-up guy. I still cringe when I think of that SB and his fumble that ultimately sealed the Falcons' fate.

[bill5]

And Will Levis named the starter for the Titans, wow. Didn't see that coming but it makes sense. Tannehill is banged up and probably also about to fall off a cliff. See what you have with Levis. 

 

The AFC South in general is interesting; three have rookie QBs as their starter (though RIchardson is out for the year with the Colts) and Lawrence isn't far removed from his rookie year either. If Levis and Richardson pan out, this division would boast the best QBs of any division. Of course there's a lot more to a winning team than that, but it starts there.

[GovernorSilver]

 

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

Interesting that it took so long for the Rams to realize QB Brett Rypien wasn't the right backup for the job.

 

A few decent QBs are sitting on their couches and still in football shape.

 

Although he's in the broadcast booth, I'm a bit surprised that QB Matt Ryan hasn't gotten a phone call unless he turned it down flatly.😎

 

I would have taken one of those other decent QBs, relaxing on their couches as you say, over Wentz if I were the Rams. 

 

Then again maybe they all turned the Rams down and/or asked for too much money, and Wentz was the the one vet QB who said yes to them.

 

I admit to recency bias, having been dumbfounded by his decisions, throws, etc. as a Washington Commander.

 

Wentz over Dobbs... that's a good one.  😄

[Geoff Grace]

I’ve seen Wentz play well and poorly. I hope he’s at his best if he ever takes the field for the Rams. 
 

The last I heard, Matthew Stafford was expected to return after the bye week; so the backup quarterback may be moot.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[ProfD]

13 hours ago, bill5 said:

I kinda sorta disagree. Overall, Wentz is actually a good QB IMO...most of the time. But right when you think you have an answer at QB, he drives you crazy with stupid decisions/throws, sometimes mind-numbingly bad ones. Still, I'd take him over most if not all backup QBs right now. 

QB Carson Wentz was never good as a Washington Commander.🤣😎

[GovernorSilver]

Chargers GM Tom Telesco apologized to the Charger DBs for bringing in JC Jackson in the first place.  

 

Then JC kind of spun it like he did his best, it's all the Chargers' fault.

 

Now the Patriots are reportedly not taking him with them to Germany.  They already demoted him from the starting lineup after the loss to the Commanders.   He got torched by Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins in both Chargers and Patriots uniforms.

 

The thought in Chargerland was JC was going to return to his Pro Bowl form under The Hoodie, because the Chargers' maligned defensive system and coaching was holding him back.  Clearly this has not worked out as expected for JC.  I can only guess something is up with JC Jackson, whether it's depression or something else.  He was once an elite cornerback. 

[bill5]

9 hours ago, ProfD said:

QB Carson Wentz was never good as a Washington Commander.🤣😎

lol - IIRC yeah, he was somewhat erratic with the Colts but more so with the Commanders. Still, as an inexpensive backup, I maintain that's an easy call. Backups are backups for a reason.

[ProfD]

Carolina 1st round draft QB Bryce Young doesn't look too much better than da Bears undrafted rookie QB Tyson Bagent.🤣

 

Of course, both teams are young and rebuilding.

 

It will be interesting to see how the Panthers build around QB Young over a year or two. 

 

Similarly, as Bears QB Bagent gets more reps before heading back to the pine, some team(s) will be inquiring about him.😎

[bill5]

Agreed. In fairness, Young has so little around him to work with. Next year if they're smart, they will not be stingy on FA spending to get weapons for him, esp as they don't have a #1 pick next year...but above all, make sure they have a solid OL. Learn from the mind-numbingly stupid mistakes of teams like the Texans (David Carr) and Colts (Andrew Luck) who got what could have been an elite QB for many years to come, but couldn't be bothered to protect him with a good OL. 

[bill5]

Today I have a choice of watching Browns vs Ravens or Packer vs Steelers.

 

I think I'll go rake leaves lol

 

Edit: and right out of the gate, Watson throws a pick-six. IMO the Watson experiment can officially be called a failure. The Browns are truly cursed 

[GovernorSilver]

Browns have managed to climb out of the hole.   They were trailing 24-31 when they batted Lamar's pass into the air for a pick 6.  Hopkins missed the extra point though so it's 31-30 Ravens.  Pretty good battle between the AFCN leader and a Browns squad that is tied with the rest of the AFCN at 5-3. EDIT:  Browns mounted a final, run-heavy drive to milk the click and kick the winning FG for a 33-31 upset.

 

CJ Stroud out-passes Joe Burrow for a Texans 30-27 win over the Bengals.  This follows a 470 yd performance by Stroud the previous week.

 

Dobbs is having another good game for the Vikings.  Leading 27-19 over the Saints with 4 min. to go.

[bill5]

Two big wows on the Browns' comeback, never would have predicted that and on the Texans who have to be considered legit now with the rookie QB. I have to wonder how he and Young would be doing if they were drafted by the other team...

[ProfD]

12 hours ago, bill5 said:

IMO the Watson experiment can officially be called a failure.

Not so fast. A 100% healthy version of himself might be even more productive.

 

QB Dobbs continues to befuddle sports talking heads who had the Vikes on life support when Capt Kirk went down.

 

Great win for young Texans. Winning tough matchups will be a huge boost to their confidence as a team.

 

IMO, QB CJ Stroud due to his size will be better than QB Bryce Young who looks smaller than his listed height and weight. 😎