NFL 2011 Regular Season Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

The Raiders have hired Denver defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as their new head coach. While I do not know much about him, Raider fans have to be pleased that the team didn't hire interviewees Marty Mornhinweg or Mike Tice. I do know that the Broncos defense -- not Tim Tebow -- was the main reason Denver won the AFC West. Well, that, and the fact that every team in the division was mediocre at best.

 

[Ockeghem]

The more I read what Peyton Manning has been saying with regard to the Colts organization, the more I believe that he may have played his last game for Indianapolis, which is what some sports writers have been saying for a couple of months. I wonder if Peyton Manning will be the QB for another team next year, or if he will just retire (assuming his neck injury cannot fully heal well enough for him to be at 100%). There are a few teams that could use him, but the list may not be as long as I had once thought.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The Peyton Ticker on ESPN yesterday made it seem like Peyton was a stranger in a strange land when he was walking around the Colts locker room and facilities. He stated he had no idea how his meeting with Irsay would go, and it looks like the Colts are heading in the rebuilding stage of their franchise.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It will be interesting to see how much a team is willing to pay Manning as a free agent, considering no one knows how healthy he is. It's a big risk right now. At this point, I do believe the Colts will end up releasing him. Peyton is refusing to extend the deadline for his $28M option, and the Colts are not going to pay him that much money, considering they will also be drafting Andrew Luck and are in a complete rebuild mode. That March 8th deadline makes it nearly impossible to sign and trade him, too, as his health is still in question.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Well, remember when New Orleans took a flyer on Drew Brees after he hurt his throwing shoulder at the end of his free agent season, and San Diego had Philip Rivers waiting in the wings? It turned out pretty good for the new team.

 

[Patrick_S]

It will be interesting to see how Dennis Allen works out. He did do a really good job with Denver’s defense this past season so taking him away from Denver at least weakens them some so that is a positive. I had heard during the season that he was considered HC material so now we’ll see if the talk was correct.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Well, remember when New Orleans took a flyer on Drew Brees after he hurt his throwing shoulder at the end of his free agent season, and San Diego had Philip Rivers waiting in the wings? It turned out pretty good for the new team.

Different situation. Brees was just entering his prime when he signed with New Orleans. Manning is in the twilight of his career.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Not from the point of view of the San Diego Chargers. They wanted to play Philip Rivers, instead of having a QB controversy. I think it was just luck for the Chargers to rationalize the non-signing of Brees when he hurt the shoulder. The Saints were lucky Brees was able to recover without impact to Brees' throwing ability, it could have gone the other way, and Brees would have been a disappointment (with an arm like Chad Pennington). The Packers had a more-than-ready Aaron Rodgers on the bench for a few years, but Favre would not give up his slot, not matter if he was near the age of Methuselah, and the Packers were afraid to upset their fanbase at the time with a move towards Rodgers when Favre was considered to still have it, but look at how fast the wheels come off in the NFL for QBs (McNabb, Vikings' Culpepper), or even Favre's final season with the Vikings, he overstayed his welcome. If Peyton was fully healthy, he could still play another 3-4 years if he smart in avoiding unnecessary hits (getting the ball off quickly before the defense can lay a paw on him over the course of a season).

 

[Ockeghem]

Well, I'm 7-3 (.700) at this point, with one game to go. I guess it's time to pick a Super Bowl winner. Most people I've read in the press, heard on the radio, or talked to in person are picking the Giants. I'm going with the New England Patriots, even though I am not convinced that they should necessarily be favored by three points (a line that will most definitely go down this week) in this game. Gronkowski will be playing too, despite what some may have been reading. I don't think the injury is all that serious, and even if it were, anyone who follows the Patriots knows that Gronk will be playing in the Super Bowl. One of my concerns is whether Sebastian Vollmer will play. I really hope he is ready to go in five days. I have been mulling about what a final score for this game could be. Here is my pick: New England Patriots 20, New York Giants 13 The score could even be lower (and perhaps closer) than that, since I really believe that points will be at a premium. I think field goals will be an important part of this game, and both teams have very reliable kickers. I wouldn't mind it if the game were decided by a field goal.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

While Gronk may play, the big question is how much will the injury limit him during the game? A high ankle sprain can take several weeks to heal -- we saw how it hampered Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh's playoff loss, greatly reducing his effectiveness. This is still a tough game for me to pick, but I may as well make my choice now. I'm taking the Giants. I do not have much rooting interest in the game, though. I'll probably pull for the Pats because of Brady (former Michigan QB), but really do not care for either team.

 

[Patrick_S]

I don't care for either team but my gut says go with the Pats. (Of course it might also just be the burrito I eat for lunch.) I'll probably DVR the game and whip through it in quickly after it is over.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I think the Pats will be very motivated for this game. They don't have the perfect season pressure on them. I'm picking the Pats in a convincing win. No score prediction but at the end of the game people will say the Giants beat. Bellechick is mixing up his concoction in his test tubes right now. He'll get the winning formula. This prediction and $5 will get you a Starbucks latte.

 

[Ockeghem]

I am quite encouraged to read that Vollmer will be playing. http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/38105/sebastian-vollmer-expected-to-play

 

[Ockeghem]

The NFL is adding more Thursday night games, which for various reasons I think is a good thing. I just hope that they remain at sixteen regular-season games for the season. I do not want to see the regular season expanded to eighteen (or more in future years) games. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7537208/nfl-adding-more-thursday-games-schedule-commissioner-roger-goodell-says

 

[Patrick_S]

I think the current implementation of the Thursday night game is a joke. Several times this past season one team played on Sunday and then had to fly across country to play a Thursday night game which gives too big of an advantage to the home team. What they really need to do is have 2 bye teams play the Thursday night games so the road team is not at too much of a disadvantage. On another note the finalists for the Hall of Fame have been announced and the only comment I'll make on the list is that Edward DeBartolo Jr should not be in the Hall. I know I have a much stricter standard then most but I simply do not believe team ownership of a successful franchise should be a reason for consideration. I believe owners who actually changed the foundation of the league should be considered for the Hall.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The NFL is adding more Thursday night games, which for various reasons I think is a good thing. I just hope that they remain at sixteen regular-season games for the season. I do not want to see the regular season expanded to eighteen (or more in future years) games. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7537208/nfl-adding-more-thursday-games-schedule-commissioner-roger-goodell-says

I do not like the idea of an 18 game season, either. There are too many injuries now, and adding two more games would just increase that. The battle to reach the Super Bowl seems more and more to be a contest to see which two teams can stay healthiest. I would love to see the preseason shrink to two games, though. Of course, that will never happen without an 18 game regular season due to the lost ticket sales revenue.

I think the current implementation of the Thursday night game is a joke. Several times this past season one team played on Sunday and then had to fly across country to play a Thursday night game which gives too big of an advantage to the home team. What they really need to do is have 2 bye teams play the Thursday night games so the road team is not at too much of a disadvantage. On another note the finalists for the Hall of Fame have been announced and the only comment I'll make on the list is that Edward DeBartolo Jr should not be in the Hall. I know I have a much stricter standard then most but I simply do not believe team ownership of a successful franchise should be a reason for consideration. I believe owners who actually changed the foundation of the league should be considered for the Hall.

I think DeBartolo will have a difficult time getting in because of the controversy that surrounded him giving up the franchise, As for owners making a Hall of Fame, the most ludicrous one is William Clay Ford, Sr. being in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. I guess being the most imcompetent owner in the history of professional sports in this country gets you some honors,

 

[Patrick_S]

I guess it was the burrito. Congrats to the NY Giants on a hard fought vicotry. Oh well, seeing the Pats lose in the post-season never gets old.

 

[Ockeghem]

Patrick, Who happens to be your favorite team in the NFL, if any? I probably should know, but if you've said, I can't recall.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Eli now has more Super Bowl wins than his more heralded big brother, and is 2-0 against Brady in the big game. Two Super Bowl wins gets a QB in the discussion for the Hall of Fame -- Jim Plunkett is the only QB with 2 or more SB wins not in the Hall. Both Eli and Roethlisberger will test that criteria (unless either wins another SB). I got the game correct and ended up 7-4 for my playoff predictions.

 

[Ockeghem]

Congratulations to the New York Giants and their fans on their second Super Bowl in four years. They played well and deserved to win. My family and I watched this game as we do each year. Our younger kids watch it to see the commercials, as it's the only time in our home that we watch them (we mute all commercials during any other show we watch). Anyway, last night, my twelve-year old daughter was really into the game. When bed time came, she pleaded with me to watch the rest of the game, so I let her. After Welker dropped the pass that (IMO) would have sealed the game for New England, and I saw that Eli Manning had enough time to march down the field (all they needed was a field goal), I turned to her and told her that the Patriots weren't going to win this game. Although she looked a bit bummed, I reminded her of the Bruins being the Stanley Cup Champions (we watched that last year as well), and then reminded her that in the past ten years, the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins have (collectively) won seven titles out of ten years, which isn't too bad. That brought a smile to her face, and more importantly, it got her to thinking about the other sports teams that I follow and it lit a small fire of curiosity about a couple of those other teams. All in all, a good night. Scott, I got the game wrong, and was also 7-4 in my playoff predictions. This means, of course, that you and I need to have a playoff.