NFL 2016-17 Regular Season Discussion (1 Viewer)

[Winston T. Boogie]

Did you notice his little smile at the end of that? He was positively giddy!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I went 10-6 on my picks last week.

This week:

Texans over Pats
Steelers over Eagles
Cards over Bills
Panthers over Vikings
Bengals over Broncos
Packers over Lions
Ravens over Jags
Dolphins over Browns
Giants over Redskins
Raiders over Titans
Seahawks over Niners
Bucs over Rams
Chargers over Colts
Jets over Chiefs
Cowboys over Bears
Saints over Falcons

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

OK, I'll do my picks a little differently this time out and just pick tonight's game...

Texans at Patriots - People may not know that Jacoby Brissett has been tutored and mentored for years by a guy named Bill Parcells. The "Big Tuna" is rumored to be flying in to watch his favorite student play against the Texans tonight. According to Parcells this kid is ready and is going to surprise you. Pick: Patriots

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I am very curious to see what happens. By all accounts, Brissett is very smart, which is why the Pats drafted him so high.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Until a couple of days ago, I had never heard of Jacoby Brissett. This is what I think of every time I hear that name:

 

[Malcolm R]

According to Parcells this kid is ready and is going to surprise you. Pick: Patriots

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Belichick vs. Bill O'Brien may have been one of the biggest coaching mismatches ever. The Pats had a perfect game plan and executed it flawlessly, while I have no idea what the Texans were trying to do. How many times did they just run Lamar Miller into the middle of the line on first down? With Hopkins being well covered, I rarely saw them try to get the ball to their fine rookie WR Fuller. It appears that New England is going to sweep the first four games with no Brady or Gronk, who sat on the bench for most of this one. You can just hand them the division title right now.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Until a couple of days ago, I had never heard of Jacoby Brissett. This is what I think of every time I hear that name:

If that's what you think of then I'd think of that name a lot...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It's being reported that Jacoby Brissett may have a torn ligament in his thumb which may require surgery. If that's the case and Jimmy G is unable to go next week, we may see Julian Edelman at QB vs. the Bills. Could the evil genius pull out another win with Edelman at QB?

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Well, it appears they could add T.J. Yates to the roster soon. It is also possible they have Garoppolo ready by the time next Sunday rolls around. At this stage it seems like Belichick could go down to the nearest nursing home and coach up somebody's nana to play QB and still destroy whoever they play.

Plus this next game is against Buffalo a team that just stabbed their head coach in the back, can't play offense one week, can't play defense the next, they have to travel to Foxborough to play the Patriots on their home field...it just does not look good for Rex and Rob.

My guess would be the Patriots bring in Yates, coach him up, and make the starting QB a game time decision.

I think the verdict is in...Bill Belichick is the greatest coach in the history of the NFL. It's insane what he has been able to accomplish at a time when it is a far more complex job than when Vince Lombardi roamed the sidelines. It has been amazing being able to watch the man work and you are not a football fan if you don't appreciate what this guy has done.

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's not fair to compare coaches or even players from this era to previous eras. Who knows what Lombardi could have accomplished today? The game and the rules of the game, both on and off the field have changed too much as well as other issues such as nutrition, salaries/revenues, expanded player/talent pools, method of travel, number of games, training, facilities and analytics. I think Belichick is the greatest coach of this era! I hate it when people from previous eras are dismissed so easily by some people. It's not their fault they lived in their time and not today. Some day, the same thing is going to happen to Belichick, in which some future coach will be talked about him being the greatest coach of all-time. It's not fair to Belichick and it's not fair to whomever that future coach is.

Anyhow, not trying to debate anybody here, but it's a topic that's always bother me as it pertains to coaches and players comparisons whether it's baseball, basketball, football or any other sport. The old guys get marginalized and we forget how good they were in their era of that sport. Otherwise, I'll have no further comment.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I was not comparing them just pointing out the fact that it is a far more difficult and complex job now than it was then. Hey, I love Lombardi but the fact is his playbook would not encompass even the first 10 pages of for example, Belichick's playbook.

If you handed Bart Starr the Patriots playbook in 1967 it would be like you just handed him the Encyclopedia Britannica in a foreign language...like aliens descended from outer space with a football playbook.

The game has come a long way from the toss power sweep. In some ways Lombardi and Belichick are the same in that their players won/win games because they execute better and are more fundamentally sound. This is something they both emphasized but where it becomes something totally different is when it comes down to the chess match on the field. This is where Belichick towers over other coaches. His game plans are different every week. He has completely dissected what the other team is capable of and will do and prepared his players for it to the extent that they are far ahead of their opponent. Lombardi bowled teams over through pure force of running a simple play over and over and forcing the other team to stop it. You always knew what was coming the challenge was to stop it when Lombardi and his players just keep pummeling you with it and have executed that play a million times.

Lombardi was brute force, Belichick is purely cerebral. Different styles entirely and I think in any era a Belichick coached team would beat a Lombardi coached team because Belichick like everybody else always did, would know exactly what was coming.

I think if there could be a fantasy game where you have Belichick coach against another coach of a different era it would be the most fun to see him go against Bill Walsh. That would be a coaching match-up for the ages.

 

[Robert Crawford]

You missed my points! Anyhow, I'm not going to debate it any further.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I understood your point and I agree you can't really compare across the eras because so much about the game and the players has changed. But I'm not trying to argue or debate my point was what coaches would you love to see coach against each other?

Don't you think it would be fun to see Bill Walsh go against Bill Belichick?

 

[Malcolm R]

It's being reported that Jacoby Brissett may have a torn ligament in his thumb which may require surgery. If that's the case and Jimmy G is unable to go next week, we may see Julian Edelman at QB vs. the Bills. Could the evil genius pull out another win with Edelman at QB?

More recent reports indicate it is just a sprain and will not require surgery. It reportedly occurred in the third quarter of the game, and Jacoby continued to play until the end. So given 10 days rest, I think either Jacoby or Jimmy will likely be ready to go against the Bills.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I understood your point and I agree you can't really compare across the eras because so much about the game and the players has changed. But I'm not trying to argue or debate my point was what coaches would you love to see coach against each other?

Don't you think it would be fun to see Bill Walsh go against Bill Belichick?

No, unless, it's a level playing field for each coach to compete with the same advantages and football education as today's coaches. But, you can't do that because the game has evolved into a different type of football than what was played in those past eras.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Week 3 Picks

Cardinals at Bills - Well this game does not even seem fair. This sort of seems like putting Mike Tyson in his prime in the ring with a little old lady. Arians is mad, he wants his team to destroy somebody to demonstrate that they really are the most talented roster in the NFL...hello Buffalo. You know it is bad when even NASA astronauts are tweeting what idiots Rex and Rob are and how they are destroying the Bills, true story. Pick: Cardinals

Raiders at Titans - Jack Del Rio spent most of the week trying to figure out what a Titan is so he could stage some sort of shenanigans in the locker room to motivate his team. As far as Jack knows a Titan is a pick-up truck. So, he plans to drive a pick-up truck with a giant set of testicles in the back into the locker room over a bunch of pumpkins painted up to look like heads with a Titan helmet on them. Despite this lunacy and the Raiders players realizing that this is Del Rio's idea of "coaching" they win the game anyway. Pick: Raiders

Redskins at Giants - Neither team is sure they want to win this game because it may give them an advantage in terms of winning the division and getting into the playoffs...which they both have considerable trepidation about. After discussing the possibility of a tie and agreeing to that, Eli forgets they had this conversation and throws a TD pass to win the game in the final moments. Pick: Giants

Browns at Dolphins - The Browns are considering starting a different QB in all 16 games this season. Jeff George and Johnny Rehab are sleeping in a tent outside the stadium waiting for their turns. Pick: Dolphins

Ravens at Jaguars - OK, the Jags have had it rough their first couple of games but a team named after a large predatory cat should be able to beat a team named after a noisy squawking bird. I mean that's just the law of nature isn't it? Pick: Jaguars

Lions at Packers - Something about Lions vs Packers games always makes me think of Thanksgiving. The Lions can play offense. Matt Stafford has been pretty awesome in his last 15 starts. Aaron Rodgers has been overall pretty mediocre in his last 15 starts (outside of some crazy lucky throws) and right now rates as one of the worst QBs through two games. The Lions were actually better than their loss to the Titans in week 2 having had 3, yes 3, TDs called back on penalties. I watched these three plays and 2 of those calls were horrible calls by the refs. The Packers have yet to find their offense. Last season the Lions beat the Packers at Lambeau and it took a Rodgers Hail Mary to beat the Lions in Detroit. Truth is the Packers have become one of the teams I just don't trust this season so far. Pick: Lions

Broncos at Bengals - OK, this likely will be a game decided by the defenses. Trevor Siemian appears to be the cheapskate's (you can't call John Elway a "poor man") Brock Osweiler. I guess that means that Big John made the right choice not paying the more expensive version of Brock. The Red Rifle prevails here though. Pick: Bengals

Vikings at Panthers - The Vikings so far really like this Bradford guy. Bradford looks like he is in an offensive system that suits him better than any he has played in so far...OK, it's just been one game. The Vikings defense has allowed fewer points than the Broncos. Pick: Vikings

Rams at Buccaneers - The Buccaneers have a better offense than the Seahawks and the Rams are not at home. Pick: Buccaneers

49ers at Seahawks - The Seahawks used to be really tough to beat at home. Now they appear not to have an offense. The Seahawks are another team I don't trust. Pick: 49ers

Jets at Chiefs - The Chiefs so far have played two very good quarters of football this season. Other than that...not so impressive. The Jets are tougher than people think and may be better on both sides of the ball than the Chiefs...even with Brandon Marshall out. Pick: Jets

Chargers at Colts - This would/could/should be a showcase for two of the leagues best QBs. Luck is saddled with a team with so many issues both on and off the field he should demand a trade. I just hope the Chargers do not lose another major player to injury in this game. Pick: Chargers

Steelers at Eagles - The battle of the Keystone state! Before the game the veteran Big Ben asks the rookie Carson Wentz what the 33 on the back of a Rolling Rock bottle means. Wentz is so deep in thought trying to solve the mystery that he spends most of the game on the sideline chugging the beer as he tries to figure it out. Pick: Steelers

Bears at Cowboys - Yup, Brian Hoyer gets another NFL start. Pick: Cowboys

Falcons at Saints - Can't really trust either of these teams and neither team really seems to be able to play defense so could be a high scoring fun game to watch. Pick: Falcons

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Fairly dismal on my week 3 picks so far standing at 5-10 going into tonight's game.

So, a few comments on yesterday's action...

First, how about Carson Wentz and the Eagles? They appear to be playing some very good football and Wentz is playing really well.

How about the Bills? Looking like they were in an ugly downwards spiral Rex and Rob pull out a huge win.

How about Carson Palmer? This guy looks just horrible so far this season. 4 interceptions yesterday at the Bills! Has he fallen off that Peyton Manning cliff?

How about the Seahawks? They found their offense.

How about Dak? All the talk in Cowboy land is about Tony having lost his job for good and trading him at the end of the season.

How about the Vikings? The Vikings defense sacked Cam Newton 8 times and intercepted him 3 times.

 

[Malcolm R]

How about Dak? All the talk in Cowboy land is about Tony having lost his job for good and trading him at the end of the season.

They should move on from Romo. He's getting older, is injury prone, and has not demonstrated that he has the skills to get the team to the SB. If Dak is playing well, they should just continue with him and see where he takes them.

Same goes for any rookie/replacement QB's who play well. It would seem best for the team to let them continue, rather than automatically benching them when the veteran returns.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Yes, I think the Cowboys should just take their time with bringing Romo back. Hard to anoint Prescott just three games into his career but he is playing well and brings things to the table Romo does not. If Romo is out 8 to 10 weeks that's a good sample to look at what Dak is. I would also consider he just beat the Bears, a team many people think of as one of the worst in the NFL, and a Redskins team that was playing pretty terrible. If Dak still is winning games, not making turnovers, and playing well halfway through the season I think the Cowboys would decide they have found their new QB. It would allow them to attempt to trade Romo, at 36 this season, whose best days are likely behind him. And oddly, because this is the NFL, and the league is starved for QBs the Cowboys may even get something decent in return for Romo. I mean Sam Bradford got Philly a 1st round pick.

I also think Jay Cutler gets traded by the Bears at the end of this season because the only reason they kept him this long is they were saddled with his horrible high priced contract. I think the Bears really want Jimmy Garoppolo and the asking price for him probably starts at two number ones with additional stuff thrown in. After seeing him beat the Cardinals and destroy the Dolphins for two quarters all those NFL scouts that thought he was "Rodgers-like" are now probably saying "See, we told you!"

The question now is do the Patriots still want to trade Garoppolo? I wish he had not gone down to injury because if he played against the Texans and Bills the way he was playing against Miami it would have made for a very interesting situation for the Patriots with a 39 year old Brady. Sure, Brady would have stepped right back into the job against the Browns but at the end of the season there would have been some really interesting conversations taking place about what they do about Jimmy. Because you know the trade offers would pour in for him and they would need to decide do we want to keep the kid, who could be the next big thing, or keep a 40 year old Brady on the field next season. Plus sports radio here in Boston is pretty much loaded with calls about how the QB in Belichick's system does not matter...and hilariously that Brady is "overrated" because even the third string guy or Matt Cassel can win games playing on a Belichick coached team.

Personally, I don't think it is possible to "overrate" a QB that has taken his team to 6 Super Bowls, won 4, and does nothing but win games for his team. But fans can be fun...

One of the great things this season so far though has been seeing young QBs playing well on several teams. Carson Wentz topping the list. But Presscott and Siemian have been nice stories too. This league needs QBs desperately so hopefully all these young guys turn into real players.