Official NFL thread 2023-2024

[bill5]

Watson had me eating crow today for sure! But until he does it week in and out, I maintain the Watson experiment was a failure....

 

 

[GovernorSilver]

I'm guessing Young might have been fine in Houston.  The Texans might have a better coaching staff than the Panthers.   Whatever DeMeco Ryans and his assistants are doing to develop CJ is obviously working.

 

Texans players have mentioned how hard CJ works to progress in his understanding of the Texans system and the pro gram, always asking questions.    But Young reportedly was also a hard worker.

[bill5]

Also Young has squat for weapons. 

 

What I expected to be a bore between Washington and Seattle was a good game but Washington blew some coverage on Seattle's last drive to kick the game-winner.

[GovernorSilver]

Joy to pain for Commanders fans within the course of 60 seconds.    Howell led a final offensive drive which ended with his TD pass with about a minute left.  But even 30 sec. was too much time left for the Seahawks offense to respond.  2 clutch passes by Geno Smith to get into FG range was all it took.

[bill5]

Yeah but IMO Washington's future is finally bright with this QB. Best they've had since Cousins easily. 

 

Meanwhile the Jets and Raiders are boring me to tears. So glad I'm not a Raiders fans and only reason to feel similar for the Jets is the hopeful return of Rodgers next year 

[GovernorSilver]

I have not seen any reason to make a argument against Sam Howell having a bright future as a Washington Commander.   The potential he has demonstrated outweighs his newbie struggles.

 

My comment about the final minute of the game should not be read as a criticism of Howell since the comment included a mention of him leading a TD drive to tie game.  Just a comment on the thrill of victory quickly turning into agony of defeat, without any finger pointing.

 

The Jets are showing why the Chargers win over them was not exciting to me.  Beating the Jets, and the Bears the week before was not a sign the Chargers D had finally advanced to an elite level.  The Lions showed Staley's system is has flaws that can be exploited by the better QBs in the NFL.

[bill5]

Yeah I'm afraid it's another "see ya next year" for the Chargers. Ditto Washington, but clearly they knew that when they jettisoned Sweat and Chase. I think we're seeing the legit contenders emerge...which oddly might not include the Bengals, who I really thought would handle the Texans. 

[GovernorSilver]

That's a given regarding the Chargers.

 

Staley's defensive system puts his players  in bad spots - too much cushion, etc.  He is unable to adjust to what the better offenses are doing to beat his system.    He struggles to utilize players who have not already been in his system for a couple of years.     Kellen Moore has made faster progress in figuring out how to fit his offense and his personnel together.

[kpl1228]

22 hours ago, bill5 said:

Watson had me eating crow today for sure! But until he does it week in and out, I maintain the Watson experiment was a failure....

 

 

Agreed 100%----Browns fan here. Agreed about Watson. Killed me inside when they got him in the first place.

They shouldn't be 6 and 3 at all, they're just not that good. Yet here we are. Team is seriously banged up and not that deep yet playing with a ton of heart now.

The team that's making me less of an NFL Grinch is Detroit. What a wonderful story. Impossible to not root for them and that town no matter who your team is.

[GovernorSilver]

yup, I don't mind the Lions continuing to win, even at the expense of the Chargers.    There's no secret to what the Lions do to win - run the ball a ton with their dual back attack, complement that with a short passing game.  So if you know what they're going to do every game, but you still can't stop it, you're not a good coach.

 

Beating the Chargers helps build on an already strong case to fire Staley too.

[Dave Bryce]

2 hours ago, kpl1228 said:

The team that's making me less of an NFL Grinch is Detroit. What a wonderful story. Impossible to not root for them and that town no matter who your team is.

 

Agreed. 

 

I’m a native Philadelphian, so I’m not feeling that NFL Grinchy this year…but I am definitely psyched for the Lions and their fans.

 

dB

[bill5]

4 hours ago, kpl1228 said:

Agreed 100%----Browns fan here. Agreed about Watson. Killed me inside when they got him in the first place.

They shouldn't be 6 and 3 at all, they're just not that good. Yet here we are. Team is seriously banged up and not that deep yet playing with a ton of heart now.

The team that's making me less of an NFL Grinch is Detroit. What a wonderful story. Impossible to not root for them and that town no matter who your team is.

Agree on all counts. I couldn't believe how they grossly overpaid for him. I get they're tired of QB busts but wow. (And Denver didn't learn from that and did the same stupid thing, with even less of a QB doh!) 

 

I have good friends who are Lions and Colt fans, so I hear and talk more about those teams than others. I'm not a "Lions fan" but would like to see them win it as much as anyone just out of pity. Ditto the Browns. Their last titles were in the 50s and 60s respectively. Yikes 

[bill5]

2 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

 

Agreed. 

 

I’m a native Philadelphian, so I’m not feeling that NFL Grinchy this year…but I am definitely psyched for the Lions and their fans.

 

dB

I'm cool with Philly winning it all. Really anyone but KC, so KC will probably take it, sigh

 

Side note, I'm kinda a stats geek, so when I see something like this I find it interesting: AZ TE McBride's 131 receiving yards were the most by a Cardinals TE since Hall of Famer Jackie Smith posted 149 receiving yards in Week 4 of the 1970 season.

 

AZ has long been a notorious TE wasteland, but 1970, wow

[bill5]

Bills losing to the Broncos - lol

[GovernorSilver]

this is apparently an NFL record 6 games decided in one week by a FG.  Bills-Broncos being the 6th.

 

I don't love or hate the Bills or the Broncos but that was an epic screwup by the Bills special teams.  Broncos kicker missed a FG attempt, but the Bills lined up with 12 men on the field to give him another chance.  

[Geoff Grace]

I'm happy with the win, even if it's winning ugly. Considering that none of my three favorite teams have a winning record, I'm happy to see any kind of a win.

 

Also considering where Denver started, going from their embarrassing, historic loss against the Dolphins to beating the Chiefs and the Bills, I'm pleased with their progress.

 

I only regret that their current, three-game, winning streak began against the Packers. 

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, bill5 said:

Bills losing to the Broncos - lol

Bills committed 4 turnovers. Still had chance to win if defense wasn't porous and special teams didn't make a bone-headed mistake. 😎

[bill5]

Just read the recap. That's embarrassing

[ProfD]

Bills could totally miss the playoffs if they don't find a way to right the ship immediately.

 

as with the Jets fortunes after QB Aaron Rodgers' injury, sports pundits will have to rewrite their narratives if the Bills and Bengals fumble and the Dolphins and Lions make it into the playoffs.

 

Right now, this football seaaon isn't going as projected. Still entertaining though.😎

[GovernorSilver]

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

Bills could totally miss the playoffs if they don't find a way to right the ship immediately.

 

 

I see they fired OC Ken Dorsey.  Will this really fix their offensive problems - especially turnovers - or is this just the HC deflecting blame by throwing his OC under the bus?  Stay tuned...

 

With all 4 AFCN teams threatening to make the playoffs, the Bills playoff chances are not super great.

[surfergirl]

Let me see if I've got this straight, Sean McDermott is the HC/DC and the defense had 12 men on the field and OC gets fired.

Makes sense, you can't fire yourself. 

 

 

[GovernorSilver]

The Texans upset of the Bengals is more amazing when you realize they were down to their 4th string center, missing their top receiver and rusher, etc.  CJ Stroud was not mistake-free, but he made this win possible, and remains relatively solid with ball security for the season.    

 

His top receiver against the Bengals was Noah Brown,originally drafted by Dallas in 2017, came over to Houston in 2023.   Don't recall his name at all despite watching my share of Cowboys games.   Texans fans apparently believe Dalton Schultz is an elite TE but his name doesn't quite ring a bell in my head like Mark Andrews, Kittle, or Kelce.  Not to be dismissive of these guys, but Stroud's armory isn't exactly like, say, what Brock Purdy has.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38886191/texans-able-escape-stroud-uncharacteristic-day

[ProfD]

4 hours ago, surfergirl said:

Let me see if I've got this straight, Sean McDermott is the HC/DC and the defense had 12 men on the field and OC gets fired.

Makes sense, you can't fire yourself. 

Special Teams has 12 men on the field. You're right. Same difference.  HC ultimately responsible.

 

Yet, the will throw another coach under the goal post before firing himself.

 

Neither the OC or OC is out on the field committing turnovers.

 

Heaven forbid they bench QB Josh Allen for having a huge number of turnovers at this point in his football career.

 

2 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

The

His top receiver against the Bengals was Noah Brown,originally drafted by Dallas in 2017...

 

Texans fans apparently believe Dalton Schultz is an elite TE but his name doesn't quite ring bell...

 Both players came from within the state of Texas having played with the Coebums.

 

Until they continue winnkng, Texans will not get the media coverage to make their players household names outside their fanbase.😎

[GovernorSilver]

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

 

 

 Both players came from within the state of Texas having played with the Coebums.

 

Until they continue winnkng, Texans will not get the media coverage to make their players household names outside their fanbase.😎

 

When I think of Cowbums receivers I think of Ceedee Lamb and TY Hilton, though I haven't kept up enough with the personnel to remember if Hilton is still there.  I just don't remember this Noah Brown who led Texans receivers in the win vs. the Bengals.   So the notion that CJ has more weapons than Bryce doesn't quite hold up.  No offense to Brown but he is not Lamb.   CJ's receivers are more like what Tom Brady had in his early years - no super stars,  mostly  justveterans who know how to do their jobs.

 

CJ's OL situation doesn't look much better than Bryce's either with that 4th string center in there.

[bill5]

  

4 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

Texans fans apparently believe Dalton Schultz is an elite TE but his name doesn't quite ring a bell in my head like Mark Andrews, Kittle, or Kelce. 

I wouldn't say "elite" but he's only a modest notch below that IMO. Dallas would have loved to have kept him, but there are always tough choices to make with only so much money to go around. 

 

As for the Bills, I have maintained this year and last they and Allen in particular were overrated. People remember his flashy plays and flashy runs but only now are realizing he's basically the same mistake-prone QB he's always been. The Bills are about a gnat's whisker from a full dumpster fire IMO.

[GovernorSilver]

I'm watching the Texans-Bengals highlights again on Youtube.   Stroud made some some amazing throws.  He had Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. at Ohio State, which was a more talented WR duo than what he was working with here.  What he did to Georgia with only one of those 2 available should have shown that he wasn't just the beneficiary of great weapons.   That said, this Tank Dell kid might develop into something.

 

Gotta give Noah Brown credit though for breaking tackles to add YAC and set up the winning FG.

 

 

[Geoff Grace]

Deshaun Watson needs shoulder surgery, out for rest of 2023

 

Browns rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will start this Sunday against the Steelers.

Best,

Geoff

[bill5]

I can't believe how cursed the Browns are. He looked last game like he might be turning a corner. What a hideous move this was. I swear they could draft Penix and Williams both in the draft next year and both would bust. They could trade for Mahomes and he would suddenly suck (or get hurt). Just ouch.

[ProfD]

47 minutes ago, Geoff Grace said:

Deshaun Watson needs shoulder surgery, out for rest of 2023

This fella hasn't played a full season in 3 years. 😁

34 minutes ago, bill5 said:

I can't believe how cursed the Browns are. He looked last game like he might be turning a corner. What a hideous move this was.

The Browns knew he was injury-prone before they signed the deal. 🤔

 

After this season's rash of QB mega-contracts and seeing which teams end up in the playoffs, the landscape will change. 

 

Teams will draft and develop QBs instead of paying them $50M/year after a good season or two.

 

A franchise QB should be able to win more than a few games especially if he's being paid like a winner. 😎

[bill5]

53 minutes ago, ProfD said:

This fella hasn't played a full season in 3 years. 😁

The Browns knew he was injury-prone before they signed the deal. 🤔

 

He wasn't injury-prone when they signed the deal   But yeah, this has had bad mojo from the start