NFL 2010 Regular Season Discussion Thread - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Angell 

When I've watched the replay, what I see is a player who is more concerned about celebrating the completion and TD than he is about anything else.  How many times do you see a player complete, or nearly complete a play, and a micro-second later he is moving in some form to celebrate.

 

Players today enter a Twilight Zone where they are more concerned about celebrating than they are about winning.

Johnny,

This is what I was thinking when I saw the Redskins player return the fumble for a touchdown before the first half ended last night.  After he got into the endzone, he did a flip in celebrating the touchdown.  Had he dropped the ball, I'm not certain that it would have been a touchdown.

On another sports program today, I heard the host say that umpires (or zebras in general) ought to be held accountable for making bad decisions.  (This particular host asserted that the call was wrong, and that the umpire ought to have been reprimanded.)  All I know is that I really don't like the rule as it stands at present.
 

There's just some things you can't teach, and being a great QB is one of those things.  Sanchez is not a great QB.  He's not even good.  You can't teach a guy pocket awarness and how to move in the pocket, or step outside it and make a throw on the run.  Sanchez has shown that he doesn't have that ability, and probably never will.  Even Romo, with all of his issues, showed he can do that very early as a starting QB.  The thing about Sanchez, he doesn't need to be great.  All those blunders on defense and the Jets held them to only 10 points.  I think we will see Brunnel in a game soon. 

I think Sanchez will be fine. He played one of the best defenses in the league, and he didn't make any big mistakes..

Sanchez' biggest problem is that he is not mobile enough.  He is almost no threat to pick up a first down on his own if he has to.  I'm not saying you have to be a Vince Young.. certainly Tom Brady isn't.. but you have to be able to get the defense to respect that you are willing to run if you need to. And Sanchez basically doesn't... in part because damn is he slow on his feet.

Pretty happy with KC's defense last night.

Ah yes.  Another typical start to a charger season.  The game started after 9pm for me and I decided not to watch it.  I recorded it and deleted it without watching it.  Norv Turner cannot get his teams ready to play early in the season.  It's ridiculous.  A 50+ yard run for a TD and a 90+ yard punt return for a TD?  Gimme a break.

Turner has been saying this could be the best charger team he's coached.  Let's see, they are missing three critical players: McNeil, Jackson, and Merrimen.  Yeah, I know Merrimen is on the team but I don't think he played last night and I think he's finished as an impact player.  Maybe he can get back to just good.  Thanks to hard-nosed, cut-off-your-nose tactics, the chargers don't have one of the best left tackles playing for them  this  season.  I think if they'd shown a little flexibility, McNeil might have joined  the team for his original salary.  Instead, the chargers take every chance they can to make it a bitter  pill to swallow  to play.

I'm not too upset about Jackson, he has character issues and just may not be worth the trouble.  However, from what I read, the chargers are taking every  opportunity to scotch any trade for Jackson.  Of course Jackson is also pricing himself out of the market.

The first year Turner coached the chargers, 2 playoff wins.  The second, 1 win.  The third, zero wins.  Do I detect a trend?

They missed a golden opportunity to take a 1 game lead over every team in the division, but noooooo, not the chargers.

Ah well,  I'm used to it.  Takes  the pressure off of an undefeated season.

I think the Jet's game validated the chargers dumping  Cromartie.  Lots of talent, but no skill.  That last penalty on him was a ticky tack call, though.  The best offensive play they had was LT.  I still don't understand why you get rid of a 1400 yard runner.

Oh man, if the Jets don't live up to the coach's hype, it's going to be a long year for them.  Except for their defense, I just didn't see anything special about them.  I know, things can change.

I picked the Texans to defeat the Colts, and the Ravens to defeat the Jets.  But I lost the Chargers - Chiefs pick.  That KC defense was good.  But I was more impressed with the first half of the Patriots defense on Sunday -- they looked (and are) much younger than recent teams they have fielded, and it was nice to see some quickness back there for a change.  They get the Jets in New York next week, and the Dolphins get to lose to the Vikings.

Johnny,

I didn't realize that Cromartie could be that bad.  Sure, that interception was fun, but those penalties were a bit silly.  Heck, I think I could have grabbed a receiver and mauled him before the ball left the QB's hands.   I'm now pleased the Patriots didn't show any interest in him, especially since I have seen their 'new' secondary over the weekend, and I like what I see.

BTW, side note: I like the Lions defense, and especially their front four.  It may have only been the Bears, but stopping any team four times from five or less yards out is in my book very impressive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Merryfield 

The defensive line is definitely much improved. Unfortunately, the linebackers and secondary are still quite bad. It's a start, though, since last season all three units of the defense were bad.

Yes, the secondary is suspect.  I've thought this about the secondary of the Patriots for a few years (even when they won two of their three Super Bowls).  Still, the Patriots are improved in this area.  Perhaps the Lions have a rookie or two that we don't know all that much about whom will shine in the secondary?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Merryfield 

The biggest surprises to me over the weekend were the Seahawks beating up on San Fran and the Chargers losing to the Chiefs. I know it's a Norv Turner team, but San Diego should not be losing to a poor team like KC. Houston beating the Colts did not surprise me at all -- I think the Texans are going to be very good this year.

Shouldn't be a surprise, really.  While Turner is coaching, the chargers are going to be slow out of the box, it's just a given.  Even when they have what is considered a "soft" opening schedule.  Yes, they have no business losing to the Chiefs, but that's the chargers.

Trent Dilfer obviously has some sort of man-crush on Phillip Rivers. Despite Rivers' prima donna act last night with all the on-field tantrums, Dilfer was constantly trying to explain away that behavior with ongoing praise about how Rivers is such a hard worker and an "ultimate competitor". Puh-leeze. Rivers' ego barely fits into the stadium. A real leader and competitor would have more self control and not berate his teammates on national television.

Sanchez proved me wrong for sure, let's see if he can keep it up. 

Are there any good NFC teams this year?  I guess the Packers and Saints right now?  I can name 5-6 AFC monsters that I don't think an NFC team can beat.

Andy Reid still plans to start Kolb...

I'm curious.  I realize repeating is tough, but, why do you think any AFC team is better than The Saints?

There was a period in which the SB was a ho-hum game and not very competitive (i.e. the NFC always won).  Now we've entered a phase in which the game is competitive and the AFC wins more often than not.  However, wasn't Indy the favorite last year?  Didn't they lose to a team that had lost 4 straight regular season games?  No matter who gets there, I don't see that changing.

I'm an AFC fan, so I'd like the AFC to have the lock on the game, but they don't.

Scott,

I amended your sentence above, because I know you unintentionally left off one of your favorite teams:

"I cannot answer for Steve, but the Saints, Packers, and especially my 2-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are the only NFC teams that really impress me so far, too. Of course, it's early and a lot can change between now and the playoffs."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Merryfield 

Not sure I understand the "favorite team" reference. The Bucs just register as another NFL team on my radar.

 

The Bucs have been one of those early surprises, but I expect them -- as well as Chicago and Kansas City -- to come back down to earth soon. I think Tampa is only the third best team in their division.

Scott,

It was just a bit of fun.  I know you're not a Tampa Bay fan.

I think the Chiefs could be a surprise, maybe even a 10-6 team.  Then again, it was I who picked the Lions to win six games last year.

I was pulling for the 49ers last night.  But turnovers -- ugh.  

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ockeghem 

 

 

I think the Chiefs could be a surprise, maybe even a 10-6 team.  Then again, it was I who picked the Lions to win six games last year.

 

I think the Chiefs will come down to earth very soon.  Their QB is not very good.  I believe he has a very low qb rating.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Angell 

I think the Chiefs will come down to earth very soon.  Their QB is not very good.  I believe he has a very low qb rating.
 

Matt Cassel is certainly nothing like the QB he was when he took over in New England a couple years ago when Tom Brady was injured, guiding the Patriots to an 11-5 finish. I guess there's something to be said for coaching and talented teammates.

Kassel was dubbed 'the Legend' in our household during that season.  We were just joking around, of course.

In their 16-0 year, the Patriots were very good, but not quite good enough.  That catch in the Super Bowl was awesome, however.  And the Giants deserved to win.

The Lions ought to pass to Calvin Johnson more and more.  I don't understand why they don't do this, and I fail to understand why they appear to be an almost completely different team than they were during the exhibition season.  They looked like they were improving then; now they look as though they have regressed.  I still don't have that many problems with their defense, but goodness that offensive line is not very good.

I took the Jets last night.  I didn't see how Miami could win, although they sure did make the game close.  The AFC East is going to be quite interesting this year.  Early on, the Jets have the upper hand within the division.  But there's a long way to go.

Do the Saints cut Utley for his placekicking woes?  The Falcons got a minor miracle in OT with that chipshot miss, but they did what they had to do in regulation, which was play keep-away with the ball so the Saints offense were kept off the field enough to keep the score close.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Merryfield 

The team that has pleasantly surprised me so far is Pittsburgh. I really thought they would struggle, between missing Big Ben, their patchwork offensive line, and trading away Santonio Holmes. Instead, they have looked very good, and their defense has been tremendous so far.

.

As a Pittsburgh fan, I've long maintained that Roethlisberger can be as much of a curse as a blessing at times. I've never bought into this idea that the whole team, and its success, rests on his shoulders. Batch & Dixon have usually proven to be very good when called upon, so I'm not overly surprised at the team's success behind them and without Roethlisberger.

It's my dream that they'd consider letting Batch start even after Ben's suspension is over, but I suppose they pay Ben too much money to be a back-up. But like Andy Reid in Philly, the team should select whatever combination of players gives them the best chance to win, not just who's "expected" to start. I would rather see the Steelers continue behind Batch/Dixon, who have proven they can drive the team to a win with its current roster, than have the team switch back to Roethlisberger, who in all likelihood will be kind of rusty after four weeks away from the team.