2014 NFL Season (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

Noll's first year was less than glamorous, as the Steelers went 1-13 (including thirteen consecutive losses) before history was made. But the players that were eventually drafted -- including five(!) future Hall of Famers in 1974 -- were among the best ever to play the game. Noll was both a defensive and offensive coordinator at times with Pittsburgh. And he was so very good at getting his teams prepared for games.

Did you mean to say he drafted 5 hall of famers in one draft? That's astounding. I doubt it was ever done before or after the 1974 draft.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Did you mean to say he drafted 5 hall of famers in one draft? That's astounding. I doubt it was ever done before or after the 1974 draft.

It was actually four future Hall of Famers -- Lynn Swann (#21), Jack Lambert (#46), John Stallworth (#82) and Mike Webster (#125). It is widely considered the greatest single draft in NFL history, or maybe even pro sports history. The closest any other NFL team came to this was the 1964 Cowboys, who drafted three future HoF players.

Heck, the Detroit Lions can go decades between selecting a single HoF player.

 

[Ockeghem]

Scott,

Thanks for the correction. I realized after I posted that Greene was drafted much earlier.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

No problem, Scott. Four future Hall of Famers is still very impressive, especially since the Steelers were selecting later in the rounds (21st spot). Also, Noll was responsible for drafting almost all those great players from those Super Bowl teams, including HoF players Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Jack Ham, Mel Blount, and Franco Harris, plus the four already mentioned -- that's 9 Hall of Famers, just off the top of my head (there could be one or two more that I am missing).

 

[RobertR]

I've never been a Steelers fan, but anyone who follows pro football has to respect and admire what Noll achieved. They truly became a team for the ages.

 

[Patrick_S]

Noll was a good coach that had one great team and really didn't do anything else after that team started to age.

 

[Ockeghem]

Scott,

I may have mentioned this before. Our minister is a huge Steelers fan. He and I were discussing Noll this past Sunday, his accomplishments, and the Steelers in general. During the six-year span in which Pittsburgh won four Super Bowls, it was (perhaps ironically) one of the years in which they did not win it whereby they had perhaps their best defense ever.

That team (1976) began 1-4 and after they lost Bradshaw, the defense was virtually unstoppable. I remember being told what they did years ago and not believing it. They gave up two touchdowns during the remaining nine games of the season. They also had five shutouts and allowed an average of just over three points-per-game. I don't think any defense will ever register a year like that again. I am very happy to have seen so many of those games from the 1970s.

 

[Ockeghem]

I hadn't been following this story at all. It kind of caught me off guard. I hope he's set financially after having played two seasons.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/11307830/new-york-giants-shut-injured-rb-david-wilson

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The writing's been on the wall with regard to David Wilson for awhile -- last year's neck injury really put his future in question. Hopefully he didn't spend all his signing bonus

 

[Patrick_S]

It's just days away, is everyone ready for some football?

 

[schan1269]

You betcha...Colts and Luck are ready to do something in the playoffs...(with the preeminent sucktitude of the other three teams...shoe-in)

 

[Patrick_S]

You have to admire the Colts. Afters years of winning they picked the perfect year to suck and got Luck.He is one of the few hyped College QBs that has actually done something in the NFL.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I'm ready for the season - - but the local Detroit Lions are not. Another year... another sucky football team. "Rebuilding Since 1957!"

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's just days away, is everyone ready for some football?

Is young Carr, the savior for Raider Nation? On the NFC side, will Eli Manning continue his decline with a new offensive scheme? Chances are both of my teams are going to suck big time. I've thought about cancelling my Sunday Ticket subscription, but I'll probably allow a DirecTV representative to talk me into keeping it for a discounted price.

 

[Dheiner]

New thread?

Do we not even look on the front page?

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/330241-2014-nfl-season-pre-draft-to-disney-world/

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread appears to be talking about the soon to open new season while that other thread was talking about pre-draft stuff back in March.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Chances are both of my teams are going to suck big time.

Same here. Not really approaching the season with a lot of enthusiasm at this point. I'll probably just look for a competitive matchup each week regardless of the teams.

- Walter.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

While the Lions will suck, I have some hope for the Steelers. They should at least be competitive. I agree with Robert that the Raiders look pretty bad, too, but it is too early to make a determination on the Giants. They have not looked good in the preseason, but they have started out slow before and actually won the Super Bowl. Besides, the rest of their division is pretty bad, too, which will help.

Speaking of being helped by playing in a bad division, has any team been more fortunate to where they play than the Patriots? Once again, they are surrounded by bad teams and have probably clinched the division title before opening day!

My division and wild card picks:

AFC division winners:
Patriots, Broncos, Colts, Steelers (homer pick)
AFC Wildcards:
Bengals, Chiefs

NFC division winners:
Packers, Eagles, Saints, Seahawks
NFC wildcards:
49ers, Bears

Super Bowl:
Saints over Patriots

As for the Lions, they did almost nothing in the offseason to fill their needs -- only adding a much needed 2nd receiver (Golden Tate). Their defense, which is horrible, was not addressed at all. They wasted their first round pick on a tight end with bad hands (the 2nd time GM Mayhew has done so). Their new coach, Jim Caldwell, was about the least inspiring choice possible. The only thing that may keep them out of last place is that the Vikings are not any better.

 

[Patrick_S]

I don't see much hope for the Raiders, they will win 6 possibly 7 games but that is about it. Too bad they are not in the NFC East, they would be a playoff contender.

It really does depend on which division you are in, if the Pats were in the AFC West they wouldn't even be a playoff team but coming from the East they'll make the playoffs.

Interestingly Win the Super Bowl or not this appears to be Jim Harbaugh's last year with the 49ers according to all the beat writers that cover the 49ers.
He is kind of an ass and his act is wearing very thin these days but I'm surprised that they think even if he wins it all he will be gone.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The Pats trade former backup QB Ryan Mallett to the Texans for a conditional 7th round pick - the NFL equivalent of a cup of cold Sanka and a dirty snot rag. I remember Mallett being a hot young prospect at Michigan, who fled to Arkansas when RichRod became UM's head coach (also known as the Dark Days in Ann Arbor). He had some promise early on as Brady's understudy in New England, but just didn't develop. It says a lot about Houston's QB situation that he's being talked about as being the possible starter soon.