National Football League

[jmdirt]

Re:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/aaron-hernandez-suffered-from-most-severe-cte-ever-found-in-a-person-his-age/2017/11/09/fa7cd204-c57b-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html

Aaron Hernandez suffered the most severe case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy ever discovered in a person his age, damage that would have significantly affected his decision-making, judgment and cognition, researchers at Boston University revealed at a medical conference Thursday.

Ann McKee, the head of BU’s CTE Center, which has studied the disease caused by repetitive brain trauma for more than a decade, called Hernandez’s brain “one of the most significant contributions to our work” because of the brain’s pristine condition and the rare opportunity to study the disease in a 27-year-old.

Hernandez, a former New England Patriots tight end, hanged himself with a bedsheet in April in a Massachusetts prison while serving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd in 2013.
...
There were abnormal, large holes in parts of Hernandez’s brain.

That news came out several months ago, so I'm not sure why the WP presented it like its new info. As we discussed here in September, he's a sample size of one. Did he get it from years of football, a few huge hits in fb, a car accident, was he genetically programmed to degenerate like this? Etc, etc...

 

[movingtarget]

2018 The Worst Draft Class This Decade ?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2743367-matt-millers-scouting-notebook-is-this-the-worst-draft-class-of-the-decade

 

[jmdirt]

So SEA might be in trouble for not following the concussion protocol with R. Wilson Thursday night. The issue I have with this is that the guy who sent him off of the field is not a medical professional. Yes, I want the officials to be aware of player safety/health, but that was not a hit that should have raised too much concern. Initial impact and most of the force was to the chest, and then the top of the helmet hit his chin*. If it would have been a direct hit to the chin, there would have been blood. Plus, if it was significant enough to send RW off of the field, shouldn't Walt throw his flag?

*Part of what made it look worse from WA's perspective I think, is that RW's helmet got pushed up because his face mask obviously made contact with the top of KD's helmet too .

Just to be clear, I'm not claiming to be a medical professional either, nor can I diagnose from watching the hit on TV/PC.

 

[jmdirt]

Re:

2018 The Worst Draft Class This Decade ?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2743367-matt-millers-scouting-notebook-is-this-the-worst-draft-class-of-the-decade

Using his house flipping analogy, The NFL gets players in various states of 'readiness', and should develop them accordingly. IMO the NFL has failed at that (in general, some teams obviously do better than others). Teams go into the draft looking for a mansion that just needs a good cleaning. There aren't too many of those in any draft. When teams get fixer uppers, they don't develop them, they just flip them. Plus, the talking heads like to talk about past draft classes like they knew the hidden gems would be good...I call BS on that. In 2020 we might be talking about how amazing the 2018 class is.

FYI: It was just last year that 'we' were talking about how pathetic it was that Goff and Wentz were the best QBs in the draft. Plus, Dak Prescott came out of that draft too. Three top QBs in one draft...that's amazing for such a weak class huh?!

 

[movingtarget]

Giants coach might be in trouble after losing to the almighty 49ers ! Eli Manning should retire.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

2018 The Worst Draft Class This Decade ?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2743367-matt-millers-scouting-notebook-is-this-the-worst-draft-class-of-the-decade

Using his house flipping analogy, The NFL gets players in various states of 'readiness', and should develop them accordingly. IMO the NFL has be failed at that (in general, some teams obviously do better than others). Teams go into the draft looking for a mansion that just needs a good cleaning. There aren't too many of those in any draft. When teams get fixer uppers, they don't develop them, they just flip them. Plus, the talking heads like to talk about past draft classes like they knew the hidden gems would be good...I call BS on that. In 2020 we might be talking about how amazing the 2018 class is.

FYI: It was just last year that 'we' were talking about how pathetic it was that Goff and Wentz were the best QBs in the draft. Plus, Dak Prescott came out of that draft too. Three top QBs in one draft...that's amazing for suck a weak class huh?!

That's true but most people agreed that Goff's class potential wise was much better than this year's draft at least with the QBs. Still Watson looks the goods and so do one or two others. A large part of the problem for the Rams was Fisher. McVey really has their offense firing this year.

 

[jmdirt]

The rules committee really needs to fix the idiotic touch-back rule when a team fumbles out of the end zone. The obvious improvement is that if you fumble out of the end zone, you get the ball on the one yard line. I'm not sure how long it has been in the books (pre NFL), but the amazing part is that such a dumb rule has lasted this long.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

Giants coach might be in trouble after losing to the almighty 49ers ! Eli Manning should retire.

To be fair to both teams, it was probably a pick-em before the game. Both teams are at the bottom of the league, though the 49ers have been close in a few game this season, perhaps their record is 'deceiving.' The Giants were contenders to make the playoffs this season, but so many injuries have derailed them. Those not effected seem to be losing interest-probably something more than simply bad play and injuries in play here...coaching staff issues with players is a recipe for disaster. If both the staff and the players were on the same page, they'd be playing harder and probably would have won more than just one solitary game so far.

The coach is definitely in trouble and Eli probably isn't far away from retirement, though I actually see him going for another 1-2 years. Maybe not.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

The rules committee really needs to fix the idiotic touch-back rule when a team fumbles out of the end zone. The obvious improvement is that if you fumble out of the end zone, you get the ball on the one yard line. I'm not sure how long it has been in the books (pre NFL), but the amazing part is that such a dumb rule has lasted this long.

Yes, truly a dumb rule.

 

[movingtarget]

NFL Stalling

http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=pMJKdIFVI6pghfX2HXfSzxRpdoyDWYNWP0BIDre6ytnjor0Aen6J0hnm+xhYZ01eyIxizhfn7rOvbyIapc4Mo4GqBQlINhgov48dQFueTZnZ6+gx8L5x9c4KsAyRIbPtia9cFbXttNVu1cWQhBB3lmssPV/cuoOG&campaign_id=129&instance_id=106304&segment_id=115998&user_id=12d98412e3bcc0522f6cfbf4c21c54e6&regi_id=42685115

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re:

NFL Stalling

http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=pMJKdIFVI6pghfX2HXfSzxRpdoyDWYNWP0BIDre6ytnjor0Aen6J0hnm+xhYZ01eyIxizhfn7rOvbyIapc4Mo4GqBQlINhgov48dQFueTZnZ6+gx8L5x9c4KsAyRIbPtia9cFbXttNVu1cWQhBB3lmssPV/cuoOG&campaign_id=129&instance_id=106304&segment_id=115998&user_id=12d98412e3bcc0522f6cfbf4c21c54e6&regi_id=42685115

families of debilitated former N.F.L. players say the league is obstructing their access to an estimated $1 billion settlement over concussions by reflexively rejecting valid claims and bogging down the process with unreasonable demands

Hmmm. The league Should have deep enough pockets to cover 1 billion. Maybe the league does not have the funds in position to be accessed. Or maybe they they are just being Jack Wagons.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

I don't poke around much anymore into other threads in the Forum. So I just learned that ALPE was let go as a moderator of this forum . Sad, but glad he's not suffering from some terrible disease. Plus much more time for him to spend with wifey, family & bike. So he wins! Will miss his thoughtful NFL commentary in this thread. Go PA!

 

[jmdirt]

Re:

I don't poke around much anymore into other threads in the Forum. So I just learned that ALPE was let go as a moderator of this forum . Sad, but glad he's not suffering from some terrible disease. Plus much more time for him to spend with wifey, family & bike. So he wins! Will miss his thoughtful NFL commentary in this thread. Go PA!

Hopefully he comes back once he feels better about what happened. I like his mod. style, but no one cares what I think! :lol:

Its getting to crunch time...what teams are going to make their push for the playoff other than the obvious ones?

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

I don't poke around much anymore into other threads in the Forum. So I just learned that ALPE was let go as a moderator of this forum . Sad, but glad he's not suffering from some terrible disease. Plus much more time for him to spend with wifey, family & bike. So he wins! Will miss his thoughtful NFL commentary in this thread. Go PA!

Hopefully he comes back once he feels better about what happened. I like his mod. style, but no one cares what I think! :lol:

Its getting to crunch time...what teams are going to make their push for the playoff other than the obvious ones?

Seattle and the Cardinals are where I expected them to be. Seattle should make the playoffs while the Cardinals won't of course and have a rebuild on the horizon. Fitz and Palmer will probably be gone at the end of the year. The Steelers came good after two early losses. I picked the Eagles as the big improvers this year and I picked the Falcons to go backwards after a horror Super Bowl loss and losing their OC and their defensive coaches. Rams will make it but the Falcons need a run of wins. Panthers have done better than I expected but the biggest surprises for me are the Rams who look like a new team and the Saints. Some people are saying the Rams will collapse still with the hard part of their schedule to come. The Jaguars have been improvers and a few people tipped that to happen before the season started.

The other surprises for me are the Cowboys who will struggle more now, especially with Elliott to serve his full suspension after withdrawing his appeal. Hindsight says he would have been better off serving his suspension immediately. Also the Giants who are having a horror season and last week against the 49ers were terrible. Denver also looks very ordinary. So for me it's more about which formerly good teams are not performing than which teams have made the jump to playoff contention. Rams and Eagles are looking good. As for the Browns even though they have had quite a few close games like the 49ers, the number one draft pick looks almost a certainty. Looks like a quite a few coaching casualties on the way, more than last season anyway with so many good teams not performing.

As long as Brady stays healthy to me it looks like the Patriots are no worse off than last year.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re: Re:

I don't poke around much anymore into other threads in the Forum. So I just learned that ALPE was let go as a moderator of this forum . Sad, but glad he's not suffering from some terrible disease. Plus much more time for him to spend with wifey, family & bike. So he wins! Will miss his thoughtful NFL commentary in this thread. Go PA!

Hopefully he comes back once he feels better about what happened. I like his mod. style, but no one cares what I think! :lol:

Its getting to crunch time...what teams are going to make their push for the playoff other than the obvious ones?

Seattle and the Cardinals are where I expected them to be. Seattle should make the playoffs while the Cardinals won't of course and have a rebuild on the horizon. Fitz and Palmer will probably be gone at the end of the year. The Steelers came good after two early losses. I picked the Eagles as the big improvers this year and I picked the Falcons to go backwards after a horror Super Bowl loss and losing their OC and their defensive coaches. Rams will make it but the Falcons need a run of wins. Panthers have done better than I expected but the biggest surprises for me are the Rams who look like a new team and the Saints. Some people are saying the Rams will collapse still with the hard part of their schedule to come. The Jaguars have been improvers and a few people tipped that to happen before the season started.

The other surprises for me are the Cowboys who will struggle more now, especially with Elliott to serve his full suspension after withdrawing his appeal. Hindsight says he would have been better off serving his suspension immediately. Also the Giants who are having a horror season and last week against the 49ers were terrible. Denver also looks very ordinary. So for me it's more about which formerly good teams are not performing than which teams have made the jump to playoff contention. Rams and Eagles are looking good. As for the Browns even though they have had quite a few close games like the 49ers, the number one draft pick looks almost a certainty. Looks like a quite a few coaching casualties on the way, more than last season anyway with so many good teams not performing.

As long as Brady stays healthy to me it looks like the Patriots are no worse off than last year.

Ya, in AFC the Pats & Stelers are separating from the pack. Then you have the Bills, Chiefs, Jags, & Titans trailing. Of those last 4 teams, not sure who may pull through. But I suspect the Chiefs could falter if Alex Smith performs worse in bad weather as he historically had done.

In the NFC, I agree it woulda been better if Zeke had just served his suspension in the beginning. Now the 5-4 Cowboys have to face December crunch time mostly without Zeke. To make it harder for them, over the next 6 games of Zeke's suspension they host the Eagles, Seahawks, & Redskins, then finish the regular season at the Eagles. Falcons and Lions could make a push from current 5-4 record. But the highest-seeded team so far are the Eagles, Vikings, followed by Rams, Saints, Panthers, Seahawks.

Of those last 4 teams, Rams (7-2) have hard schedule. They are at the Vikings (7-2), vs. Saints (7-2), at Cardinals (4-5), vs. Eagles (8-1), at Seahawks (6-3), at Titans (6-3), vs. 49ers (1-9). They could end up 9-7!

With easier schedule, Panthers (7-3) could make a run. They are at Jets (4-6), at Saints (7-2), vs. Vikings (7-2), vs. Packers (5-4), vs. Buccaneers (3-6), at Falcons (5-4). So could end up at 10-5 or 11-4.

Likewise, the 7-2 Saints could also make a push. Are vs. Redskins (4-5), at Rams (7-2), vs. Panthers (7-3), at Falcons (5-4), vs. Jets (4-6), vs. Falcons (5-4), at Buccaneers (3-6). At this point I like the Saints over Panthers.

Seattle (6-3) with relatively easier schedule than some, will be hard for them with all the players out wih injury or having to play nicked up. Too many to list, but they are lucky to still have CB Lane (failed physical at Houston in the trade for LT Duane Brown), lucky to get LT Brown, & lucky DE Dion Jordan is back in the absense of DE Cliff Avril. So Seattle are at Falcons (5-4), at 49ers (1-9), vs. Eagles (8-1), at Jaguars (6-3), vs. Rams (7-2), at Cowboys (5-4), vs. Cardinals (4-5). Seattle could win all but one of those and end up 12-4. But Seattle is a bit of an enigma and could lose all but one of those, ending up 7-9. S Earl Thomas could be back this week, but any more key injuries and they could easily end up 7-9.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

I don't poke around much anymore into other threads in the Forum. So I just learned that ALPE was let go as a moderator of this forum . Sad, but glad he's not suffering from some terrible disease. Plus much more time for him to spend with wifey, family & bike. So he wins! Will miss his thoughtful NFL commentary in this thread. Go PA!

Hopefully he comes back once he feels better about what happened. I like his mod. style, but no one cares what I think! :lol:

Its getting to crunch time...what teams are going to make their push for the playoff other than the obvious ones?

Seattle and the Cardinals are where I expected them to be. Seattle should make the playoffs while the Cardinals won't of course and have a rebuild on the horizon. Fitz and Palmer will probably be gone at the end of the year. The Steelers came good after two early losses. I picked the Eagles as the big improvers this year and I picked the Falcons to go backwards after a horror Super Bowl loss and losing their OC and their defensive coaches. Rams will make it but the Falcons need a run of wins. Panthers have done better than I expected but the biggest surprises for me are the Rams who look like a new team and the Saints. Some people are saying the Rams will collapse still with the hard part of their schedule to come. The Jaguars have been improvers and a few people tipped that to happen before the season started.

The other surprises for me are the Cowboys who will struggle more now, especially with Elliott to serve his full suspension after withdrawing his appeal. Hindsight says he would have been better off serving his suspension immediately. Also the Giants who are having a horror season and last week against the 49ers were terrible. Denver also looks very ordinary. So for me it's more about which formerly good teams are not performing than which teams have made the jump to playoff contention. Rams and Eagles are looking good. As for the Browns even though they have had quite a few close games like the 49ers, the number one draft pick looks almost a certainty. Looks like a quite a few coaching casualties on the way, more than last season anyway with so many good teams not performing.

As long as Brady stays healthy to me it looks like the Patriots are no worse off than last year.

Ya, in AFC the Pats & Stelers are separating from the pack. Then you have the Bills, Chiefs, Jags, & Titans trailing. Of those last 4 teams, not sure who may pull through. But I suspect the Chiefs could falter if Alex Smith performs worse in bad weather as he historically had done.

In the NFC, I agree it woulda been better if Zeke had just served his suspension in the beginning. Now the 5-4 Cowboys have to face December crunch time mostly without Zeke. To make it harder for them, over the next 6 games of Zeke's suspension they host the Eagles, Seahawks, & Redskins, then finish the regular season at the Eagles. Falcons and Lions could make a push from current 5-4 record. But the highest-seeded team so far are the Eagles, Vikings, followed by Rams, Saints, Panthers, Seahawks.

Of those last 4 teams, Rams (7-2) have hard schedule. They are at the Vikings (7-2), vs. Saints (7-2), at Cardinals (4-5), vs. Eagles (8-1), at Seahawks (6-3), at Titans (6-3), vs. 49ers (1-9). They could end up 9-7!

With easier schedule, Panthers (7-3) could make a run. They are at Jets (4-6), at Saints (7-2), vs. Vikings (7-2), vs. Packers (5-4), vs. Buccaneers (3-6), at Falcons (5-4). So could end up at 10-5 or 11-4.

Likewise, the 7-2 Saints could also make a push. Are vs. Redskins (4-5), at Rams (7-2), vs. Panthers (7-3), at Falcons (5-4), vs. Jets (4-6), vs. Falcons (5-4), at Buccaneers (3-6). At this point I like the Saints over Panthers.

Seattle (6-3) with relatively easier schedule than some, will be hard for them with all the players out wih injury or having to play nicked up. Too many to list, but they are lucky to still have CB Lane (failed physical at Houston in the trade for LT Duane Brown), lucky to get LT Brown, & lucky DE Dion Jordan is back in the absense of DE Cliff Avril. So Seattle are at Falcons (5-4), at 49ers (1-9), vs. Eagles (8-1), at Jaguars (6-3), vs. Rams (7-2), at Cowboys (5-4), vs. Cardinals (4-5). Seattle could win all but one of those and end up 12-4. But Seattle is a bit of an enigma and could lose all but one of those, ending up 7-9. S Earl Thomas could be back this week, but any more key injuries and they could easily end up 7-9.

The Bills are a schizo team and now they have benched Tyrod Taylor. Last year it looked like they might not even re-sign him. They are a week to week proposition. Kansas will probably make the playoffs but something tells me they won't do much when they get there. With the Rams schedule they have the chance to show whether they are a danger in the playoffs or not. Yes Seattle has some injury concerns but the last person they want to get injured is Russell Wilson. The wheels seem to have fallen off the Redskins, and also the Raiders who I expected to be improvers after last year. The Vikings are looking pretty solid. Elway really has to sort out the QB mess at Denver.

 

[jmdirt]

Isn't "clocking" the ball intentional grounding?

EDIT: Item 3: Stopping Clock. A player under center is permitted to stop the game clock legally to save time if, immediately upon receiving the snap, he begins a continuous throwing motion and throws the ball directly into the ground.

That's the "answer", but why did they add that rule? Wasn't it the Marino rules at one time?

 

[Archibald]

Re: Re:

Of those last 4 teams, Rams (7-2) have hard schedule. They are at the Vikings (7-2), vs. Saints (7-2), at Cardinals (4-5), vs. Eagles (8-1), at Seahawks (6-3), at Titans (6-3), vs. 49ers (1-9). They could end up 9-7!

With easier schedule, Panthers (7-3) could make a run. They are at Jets (4-6), at Saints (7-2), vs. Vikings (7-2), vs. Packers (5-4), vs. Buccaneers (3-6), at Falcons (5-4). So could end up at 10-5 or 11-4.

Likewise, the 7-2 Saints could also make a push. Are vs. Redskins (4-5), at Rams (7-2), vs. Panthers (7-3), at Falcons (5-4), vs. Jets (4-6), vs. Falcons (5-4), at Buccaneers (3-6). At this point I like the Saints over Panthers.

Seattle (6-3) with relatively easier schedule than some, will be hard for them with all the players out wih injury or having to play nicked up. Too many to list, but they are lucky to still have CB Lane (failed physical at Houston in the trade for LT Duane Brown), lucky to get LT Brown, & lucky DE Dion Jordan is back in the absense of DE Cliff Avril. So Seattle are at Falcons (5-4), at 49ers (1-9), vs. Eagles (8-1), at Jaguars (6-3), vs. Rams (7-2), at Cowboys (5-4), vs. Cardinals (4-5). Seattle could win all but one of those and end up 12-4. But Seattle is a bit of an enigma and could lose all but one of those, ending up 7-9. S Earl Thomas could be back this week, but any more key injuries and they could easily end up 7-9.

Saints up last night, while the Rams got trounced. Seattle's chance to join them at 7-3 against Atlanta tonight?
Thought the Rams offence would have done better than that. Perhaps a good grounding for them not to get carried away with the recent hype? Not like their opponents have been A-grade... Keenum must be having a giggle...
Saints v Rams next week will be interesting, before they face the Panthers - get over those two and it's pretty much downhill from there for the Saints...

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Of those last 4 teams, Rams (7-2) have hard schedule. They are at the Vikings (7-2), vs. Saints (7-2), at Cardinals (4-5), vs. Eagles (8-1), at Seahawks (6-3), at Titans (6-3), vs. 49ers (1-9). They could end up 9-7!

With easier schedule, Panthers (7-3) could make a run. They are at Jets (4-6), at Saints (7-2), vs. Vikings (7-2), vs. Packers (5-4), vs. Buccaneers (3-6), at Falcons (5-4). So could end up at 10-5 or 11-4.

Likewise, the 7-2 Saints could also make a push. Are vs. Redskins (4-5), at Rams (7-2), vs. Panthers (7-3), at Falcons (5-4), vs. Jets (4-6), vs. Falcons (5-4), at Buccaneers (3-6). At this point I like the Saints over Panthers.

Seattle (6-3) with relatively easier schedule than some, will be hard for them with all the players out wih injury or having to play nicked up. Too many to list, but they are lucky to still have CB Lane (failed physical at Houston in the trade for LT Duane Brown), lucky to get LT Brown, & lucky DE Dion Jordan is back in the absense of DE Cliff Avril. So Seattle are at Falcons (5-4), at 49ers (1-9), vs. Eagles (8-1), at Jaguars (6-3), vs. Rams (7-2), at Cowboys (5-4), vs. Cardinals (4-5). Seattle could win all but one of those and end up 12-4. But Seattle is a bit of an enigma and could lose all but one of those, ending up 7-9. S Earl Thomas could be back this week, but any more key injuries and they could easily end up 7-9.

Saints up last night, while the Rams got trounced. Seattle's chance to join them at 7-3 against Atlanta tonight?
Thought the Rams offence would have done better than that. Perhaps a good grounding for them not to get carried away with the recent hype? Not like their opponents have been A-grade... Keenum must be having a giggle...
Saints v Rams next week will be interesting, before they face the Panthers - get over those two and it's pretty much downhill from there for the Saints...

Vikings looking pretty good. The Chiefs are showing who they really are, God knows how they lost to the Giants. The Raiders and Cowboys are done for the season.

 

[jmdirt]

Yes, the Vikings look solid. Zimmer needs to keep it that way by keeping Keenum as the starter. Bridgwater may be the future of the team, but Case is hot, and locked in with the team. NOLA, NE, PHI look good. Even though LAR dropped one, they are fine. I can't decide about JAX.

Several teams that for one reason or another (injury, stupidity, laziness, poor coaching...) are sliding down and even out.

Has there been more missed field goals than ever this year?

EDIT: and Walsh misses a big one!

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re:

Yes, the Vikings look solid. Zimmer needs to keep it that way by keeping Keenum as the starter. Bridgwater may be the future of the team, but Case is hot, and locked in with the team. NOLA, NE, PHI look good. Even though LAR dropped one, they are fine. I can't decide about JAX.

Several teams that for one reason or another (injury, stupidity, laziness, poor coaching...) are sliding down and even out.

Has there been more missed field goals than ever this year?

EDIT: and Walsh misses a big one!

I know right? Even with all Seattle costly turnovers in the beginning, Seattle should have won that game as they out stated the Falcons. But I'm blaming that loss on Carroll who made the idiot decision to go for a first down (touchdown actually with only 7 seconds left in the half and no time outs remaining) instead of kicking a field goal from the Atlanta 21. Here's the play by play:
4th and 1 at ATL 17
(0:07 - 2nd) (Field Goal formation) J.Ryan pass short middle to L.Willson to ATL 21 for -4 yards (minus 4! yards).
Well defensed by Atlanta. No confidence in kicker Blair Walsh I guess. But those 3 points, tho not game winning, were sorely needed at the end.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re: Re:

Yes, the Vikings look solid. Zimmer needs to keep it that way by keeping Keenum as the starter. Bridgwater may be the future of the team, but Case is hot, and locked in with the team. NOLA, NE, PHI look good. Even though LAR dropped one, they are fine. I can't decide about JAX.

Several teams that for one reason or another (injury, stupidity, laziness, poor coaching...) are sliding down and even out.

Has there been more missed field goals than ever this year?

EDIT: and Walsh misses a big one!

I know right? Even with all Seattle costly turnovers in the beginning, Seattle should have won that game as they out stated the Falcons. But I'm blaming that loss on Carroll who made the idiot decision to go for a first down (touchdown actually with only 7 seconds left in the half and no time outs remaining) instead of kicking a field goal from the Atlanta 21. Here's the play by play:
4th and 1 at ATL 17
(0:07 - 2nd) (Field Goal formation) J.Ryan pass short middle to L.Willson to ATL 21 for -4 yards (minus 4! yards).
Well defensed by Atlanta. No confidence in kicker Blair Walsh I guess. But those 3 points, tho not game winning, were sorely needed at the end.

And the challenge in the 4th quarter didn't help either. I was confident that the Hawks would make a final push and make it interesting. Injuries, depleted defense (more guys went out yesterday!), turnovers, more penalties, more disappointing play from the OL, and they still had a chance to win the game!!! The Redskins game and this one last night should have been W's, IMO. Carroll needs to take the blame. Walsh was solid for three of the first FG's, but that last one was just a choke. He was a afraid to put more juice on it for fear of missing wide, well, he went for precision and came up short. I don't know how long they'll keep him in Seattle. Another loss by the Hawks and they will need to start thinking about personnel changes in the offseason. The two home games they've lost this season were more due to bad play calls and stupid mistakes. Could easily be 8-2 now and looking good for the division, even with injuries. I suppose it's still early to call the division for the Rams, especially as LA has a tougher schedule, but the Hawks should have taken advantage. The injuries are just becoming too predictable though. Perhaps I should give them credit for not giving up and making it so interesting when the odds were against them.

 

[jmdirt]

Re: Re:

Yes, the Vikings look solid. Zimmer needs to keep it that way by keeping Keenum as the starter. Bridgwater may be the future of the team, but Case is hot, and locked in with the team. NOLA, NE, PHI look good. Even though LAR dropped one, they are fine. I can't decide about JAX.

Several teams that for one reason or another (injury, stupidity, laziness, poor coaching...) are sliding down and even out.

Has there been more missed field goals than ever this year?

EDIT: and Walsh misses a big one!

I know right? Even with all Seattle costly turnovers in the beginning, Seattle should have won that game as they out stated the Falcons. But I'm blaming that loss on Carroll who made the idiot decision to go for a first down (touchdown actually with only 7 seconds left in the half and no time outs remaining) instead of kicking a field goal from the Atlanta 21. Here's the play by play:
4th and 1 at ATL 17
(0:07 - 2nd) (Field Goal formation) J.Ryan pass short middle to L.Willson to ATL 21 for -4 yards (minus 4! yards).
Well defensed by Atlanta. No confidence in kicker Blair Walsh I guess. But those 3 points, tho not game winning, were sorely needed at the end.

Yes, bad play call! RW is in "run for my life mode" so he makes some bad decisions (doesn't get rid of the ball, doesn't go down, throws into triple coverage...). BUT we all know the O line isn't good so play calling needs to be made with that in mind. SEA is getting hammered by injuries too. Also, SEA didn't capitalize on Locket's returns (200ish yards).

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Yes, the Vikings look solid. Zimmer needs to keep it that way by keeping Keenum as the starter. Bridgwater may be the future of the team, but Case is hot, and locked in with the team. NOLA, NE, PHI look good. Even though LAR dropped one, they are fine. I can't decide about JAX.

Several teams that for one reason or another (injury, stupidity, laziness, poor coaching...) are sliding down and even out.

Has there been more missed field goals than ever this year?

EDIT: and Walsh misses a big one!

I know right? Even with all Seattle costly turnovers in the beginning, Seattle should have won that game as they out stated the Falcons. But I'm blaming that loss on Carroll who made the idiot decision to go for a first down (touchdown actually with only 7 seconds left in the half and no time outs remaining) instead of kicking a field goal from the Atlanta 21. Here's the play by play:
4th and 1 at ATL 17
(0:07 - 2nd) (Field Goal formation) J.Ryan pass short middle to L.Willson to ATL 21 for -4 yards (minus 4! yards).
Well defensed by Atlanta. No confidence in kicker Blair Walsh I guess. But those 3 points, tho not game winning, were sorely needed at the end.

If you have that much doubt about your kicker, he shouldn't be there.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re: Re:

Yes, the Vikings look solid. Zimmer needs to keep it that way by keeping Keenum as the starter. Bridgwater may be the future of the team, but Case is hot, and locked in with the team. NOLA, NE, PHI look good. Even though LAR dropped one, they are fine. I can't decide about JAX.

Several teams that for one reason or another (injury, stupidity, laziness, poor coaching...) are sliding down and even out.

Has there been more missed field goals than ever this year?

EDIT: and Walsh misses a big one!

I know right? Even with all Seattle costly turnovers in the beginning, Seattle should have won that game as they out stated the Falcons. But I'm blaming that loss on Carroll who made the idiot decision to go for a first down (touchdown actually with only 7 seconds left in the half and no time outs remaining) instead of kicking a field goal from the Atlanta 21. Here's the play by play:
4th and 1 at ATL 17
(0:07 - 2nd) (Field Goal formation) J.Ryan pass short middle to L.Willson to ATL 21 for -4 yards (minus 4! yards).
Well defensed by Atlanta. No confidence in kicker Blair Walsh I guess. But those 3 points, tho not game winning, were sorely needed at the end.

If you have that much doubt about your kicker, he shouldn't be there.

Little bit of Lynyrd Skynyrd here... you got that right.
I can't count the number of times I wish Seattle still had Houschka, who suffered from an terribly erratic long snapper (Nolan Frese) who is also not snapping for Seattle or any other NFL team this year. New long snapper (Tyler Ott) has been spot on and combining him with Jon Ryan, well, friggin Blair Walsh self admittedly has no excuses - it's all on Walsh. Seattle just did not want to pay Houschka what he was worth.