National Football League

[Unchained]

Not enough games, IMO.

3 is enough and general public doesn't get the absolute violence and brutality that NFL defenses play with, each play truly trying to kill the guy, knock them out, break them in half, just another bang bang play were a mistake was made many steps before contact, you can't breed crushing contact out of those guys.
Few posters here know the different eras, and Trevor Lawrence in days gone by would have been benched, smelling salts and cold water to face,head and neck back in the game. Many remember NFL before the slide,before in the grasp, before helmet to helmet was bad, I was trained by coaches to use your helmet for everything!! Had to fly arms out to avoid getting called for spearing!!
I feel win win for Denver and Pittsburgh!! Both teams have something, someone who fits in current offense

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Agree on Denver and Pittsburgh. The Steelers are the best fit for Russ. Tomlin's stern control over the team is the exact kind of coaching he needs at this point in his career. And Payton has, at least for now, seemed to have really found his guy in Nix. That Jan 5 game in Denver, hosting KC, looms larger than people may be thinking about.

I doubt Lawrence would have been back in the game, he could barely sit up straight in the cart when they were driving him off. There were plenty of guys concussed in the years gone by that didn't return to games. Though I agree the might have tried to revive him first.

Like I said in my previous post, I'm all for penalizing fake slides, fake runs out of bounds, even late slides, or just not throwing a flag on a late slide - in this case had Al-Shaazir not hit Lawrence with the forearm - no penalty. But I also would be okay if the NFL just eliminated the slide rule. You take off running? You're a running back. Better get used to protecting yourself by learning how to run like one, or drop to the ground real quick before being clobbered.

While I'm of the opinion anyone can do whatever they want with their life as long as you're not hurting others, lying or manipulating them, or forcing your beliefs upon them. And that's why I won't be watching that Rodgers doc. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[jmdirt]

3 is enough and general public doesn't get the absolute violence and brutality that NFL defenses play with, each play truly trying to kill the guy, knock them out, break them in half, just another bang bang play were a mistake was made many steps before contact, you can't breed crushing contact out of those guys.
Few posters here know the different eras, and Trevor Lawrence in days gone by would have been benched, smelling salts and cold water to face,head and neck back in the game. Many remember NFL before the slide,before in the grasp, before helmet to helmet was bad, I was trained by coaches to use your helmet for everything!! Had to fly arms out to avoid getting called for spearing!!
I feel win win for Denver and Pittsburgh!! Both teams have something, someone who fits in current offense

I've been watching the NFL since the mid '70s, and celibrate(d) crushing tackles as much as anyone, but what Al-Shazir did has no place in today's NFL. It was a dirty cheep shot that doesn't evn fit in this century of the NFL.

I find it disgusting that most of the discussion revolves around the slide rule, not the maliciuous hit that could have/might have ended TL's career.

TL initiated his slide 5 yards before he got hit, and was fully commited to the slide 3 yards before contact (at no point did ot look like a fake slide). Al-S could have completely avoided contact, but at the very least been able to just bump TL. His behavior afterward drills home the fact that he does not repsect his peers , nor the game as a whole.

 

[Unchained]

Alpe, it's as if many of the special quarterback protection rules work to some extent, but also have QBs that are having their cake, able to be running back and have different tackling rules. Teams are really taking

I've been watching the NFL since the mid '70s, and celibrate(d) crushing tackles as much as anyone, but what Al-Shazir did has no place in today's NFL. It was a dirty cheep shot that doesn't evn fit in this century of the NFL.

I find it disgusting that most of the discussion revolves around the slide rule, not the maliciuous hit that could have/might have ended TL's career.

TL initiated his slide 5 yards before he got hit, and was fully commited to the slide 3 yards before contact (at no point did ot look like a fake slide). Al-S could have completely avoided contact, but at the very least been able to just bump TL. His behavior afterward drills home the fact that he does not repsect his peers , nor the game as a whole.

I agree completely with everything. I do see weird spin about slide being blamed, I see the slide as a technique deployed almost exclusively by QBs. I think that forward motion will often have a defender in motion for a tackle, which everyone wants to a confirmation tag touch that runner is down by gentle contact rather than crushing blow. Also way too much responsibility on defensive players helmet and no responsibility for when offensive players rise up or down creating cracking heads, it's going to happen, should be called far less. Malicious contact, whatever, helpless, open field cheap shots, after the whistle. All of it. But sliding is an anti football move and ref should not require that sliding player be touched to confirm that they are down. A deliberate slide should be considered player making himself down, declared helpless and clock and play should stop, It's all a crazy choreography of am I preparing for a tackle or a tap out, and defenders guess wrong often, but once body is committed to tackling motion at double digits, 4 point something 40 speed schit is going to happen.
Dirty play should be dealt with but different downfield tackling standards for QBs should be made formal rules rather than gentlemen's agreement not to slam someone when they are showing the give up move of sliding.
If you slide or any version of baseball feet first anything you should be down without contact by defender. Intentionally slide move or not.
If a player slides in current rule climate and gets up ,rare for sure and tried to run, 15 from original line of scrimmage.

 

[Nomad]

I've been watching the NFL since the mid '70s, and celibrate(d) crushing tackles as much as anyone, but what Al-Shazir did has no place in today's NFL. It was a dirty cheep shot that doesn't evn fit in this century of the NFL.

WTF? Did you ever watch Romo play? Al-Shaair's hit would be considered child's play compared to some of the cheap shots Romo dished out. Lol. And I don't recall Romanowski ever apologizing for some of the injuries he caused.

View: https://youtu.be/dWCB7Z6SeS0?si=XjYsjpYnWjZIikrC

Romanowski was a dirty player but he put the fear in many offenses & literally had QBs shaking in their boots. And he was a winner - 4xSB Champ (2xPB). Over 1000 tackles & 40 sacks in his career. Keep in mind, LBs need to the meanest & toughest hitters on the team. The LBs I played with in HS & college were downright mean SOBs. Hard hitting, mean LBs are the impetus of any good defense.

I thought a one game suspension was appropriate for a first time offense but he gets hit with 3. Maybe with his appeal it'll be revised to 2 games.

And let's get the violins out & start singing kumbaya for poor Trevor Lawrence. A big, strong QB (6-6, 220) making big bucks ($55m - tied with a few others for 2nd highest QB salary!) playing in a violent sport where as a QB, everytime he takes the field, defenders will be gunning for him.

 

[Nomad]

Alpe called it right:.

Jags QB Lawrence to IR, likely ending his season

The Jaguars are placing quarterback Trevor Lawrence on injured reserve, likely ending his season.

www.espn.com

Lawrence needs to hit the reset button, get his injuries taken care of it & figure out WTH went wrong with the season! What's being lost in all the attention on the hit, is his colossal failure in winning this season after the owner had publicly stated that this year's Jags were the "best team assembled...ever!" (In case anyone hasn't noticed, the Jags sit at 2-10 & currently tied with the Giants & Raiders for the worst record. Lol).

Lawrence was deemed a "generational talent" coming out of Clemson - with comparisons being made to Peyton Manning. He was supposed to the franchise QB & make the Jags SB contenders. None of that has happened, but he was rewarded with a huge contract making him one of the highest paid QBs! Lol

 

[Nomad]

Like I said in my previous post, I'm all for penalizing fake slides, fake runs out of bounds, even late slides, or just not throwing a flag on a late slide - in this case had Al-Shaazir not hit Lawrence with the forearm - no penalty. But I also would be okay if the NFL just eliminated the slide rule. You take off running? You're a running back. Better get used to protecting yourself by learning how to run like one, or drop to the ground real quick before being clobbered.

One of the best comments I've heard about this.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

But Al-Shaazir was still wrong for hitting him with his forearm. That's the key issue here. His appeal was denied, and he'll serve all 3 games. He has not been suspended before, but gotten into a handful of skirmishes, which I'm sure didn't help.

Lawrence is indeed out for the season. He apparently also needs shoulder surgery (non throwing arm), so they just called it done. The Jags once promising season is a throwaway now.

When I lived in Connecticut sometimes Romanowski's name would come up and ever so often he'd appear on some show, as he was born there, had family there. One story that came out was when Romanowski first got into the league Charles Haley (then a DE/LB on SF) repeatedly bullied and harassed the then rookie to "toughen him up", much worse than Richie Incognito to Jonathan Martin, (this was well accepted in the old days). Plus, at that time Haley was undiagnosed as bipolar, and one hour would be Dr. Jekyll, and the next Mr. Hyde, with well documented violent outbursts. It really did a number on Romanowski, and in turn pushed him into being one of the most vicious players in NFL history.

In a cool story, the Bills have signed Micah Hyde to their practice squad, and he's going to retire at season's end. He may not see the field at all, but he's going to forever be known playing for that team, and it will be nice to see him end his career there.

 

[movingtarget]

Justin Tucker on the hot seat ?

Justin Tucker entered the season as one of the most accurate kickers all time, arguably the best ever at the position. Now he's viewed as a possible liability, having missed a career-high eight field-goal tries this season. Two of those came Sunday, along with a missed extra-point attempt, meaning that, on his kicks, the Ravens lost out on seven points in a five-point defeat. A similar scenario played out in the 18-16 loss at Pittsburgh three weeks ago. Baltimore perennially fielded one of the best special teams outfits in the NFL for years, led by Tucker, but those units have cost the team dearly this season in key moments.

 

[movingtarget]

Ravens suspend WR Diontae Johnson one game for refusing to enter Week 13 loss to Eagles

 

[jmdirt]

Ryan Leaf was the guest host on the Dan Patrick show this AM. He was entertaining enough, and his opinions weren't too far out. Of note, while talking about others, he referred to himself as an NFL bust. He also celebrated the 10 year aniversary of his prison release yesterday.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Ryan Leaf was the guest host on the Dan Patrick show this AM. He was entertaining enough, and his opinions weren't too far out. Of note, while talking about others, he referred to himself as an NFL bust. He also celebrated the 10 year aniversary of his prison release yesterday.

Ryan Leaf was really good covering the Rich Eisen show when I think Eisen was overseas for the NFL network a couple years ago. I don’t remember if it was a day or the whole week but he talked about a lot of topics, most of all how he was a bust.

View: https://youtu.be/2y5g9UfCVnI?si=7VjgYkFMGbGGtN-T

 

[Nomad]

But Al-Shaazir was still wrong for hitting him with his forearm. That's the key issue here. His appeal was denied, and he'll serve all 3 games. He has not been suspended before, but gotten into a handful of skirmishes, which I'm sure didn't help.

Lawrence is indeed out for the season. He apparently also needs shoulder surgery (non throwing arm), so they just called it done. The Jags once promising season is a throwaway now.

When I lived in Connecticut sometimes Romanowski's name would come up and ever so often he'd appear on some show, as he was born there, had family there. One story that came out was when Romanowski first got into the league Charles Haley (then a DE/LB on SF) repeatedly bullied and harassed the then rookie to "toughen him up", much worse than Richie Incognito to Jonathan Martin, (this was well accepted in the old days). Plus, at that time Haley was undiagnosed as bipolar, and one hour would be Dr. Jekyll, and the next Mr. Hyde, with well documented violent outbursts. It really did a number on Romanowski, and in turn pushed him into being one of the most vicious players in NFL history.

3 games is absolutely ridiculous. I thought the league might downgrade to two - possibly even one game. What a sad state of affairs - you have 6-2, 228 lb player clobbering a 6-6, 220 lb player & the league gets all bent out of shape.

Speaking of Romo - here's his take on the hit. He does say it was dirty, but he liked the hit nonetheless (who would have thought. Lol). He says back in his day, he would hit with the crown of his helmet & not use a forearm. He applauds Al-Shaair's aggressiveness & says it's unfortunate now that Al-Shaair will have a reputation in the league as a dirty player.

View: https://youtu.be/bLG9a5Icw9U?si=GCwHuqoz8YX40_AO

 

[Nomad]

View: https://youtu.be/QQBCzxTj3wQ?si=6etZjN0rjM-6SjT6

Richard Sherman's harsh criticism of the league's suspension & condemnation of Al-Shaair. Says Lawrence slid late & has to expect getting clobbered. He mentions the league is only concerned with "player safety" when it comes to offensive players with overprotection granted to them. As far as the "couch critics" who are appalled by Al-Shaair's hit, he said they should go "watch another sport like soccer." Lol. I couldn't agree more.

 

[Nomad]

Lawrence is indeed out for the season. He apparently also needs shoulder surgery (non throwing arm), so they just called it done. The Jags once promising season is a throwaway now.

The Jags still have two home games left that the fans will have to painfully endure. Imagine the empty seats & angry fans that do bother to show up. Lol. I see the Jags signed John Wolford - the AAF guy. Maybe he'll see some action if "noodle arm" is stinking things up.

Looking at the schedule, I see the Jags play the Raiders on the 22nd. What a turd game that's going to be. It might the battle for the worst record & the rights to the #1 OA pick. One thing is for certain, it'll be a ratings disaster. Lol.

 

[SHAD0W93]

UCLA Fired OC Eric Bieniemy After Finishing The Season Ranked 117th In Total Offense

Eric Bieniemy’s tenure at UCLA is over after one season. The Bruins are parting ways with Bieiemy, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator and NFL running back joined UCLA’s coaching staff in 2024 as the offensive coordinator and assistant...

dailysnark.com

Grass was not greener on the other side for EB and kills any remaining head coaching chance.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Great game tonight. Gritty win for Detroit, as GB played very well. I don't know how many players the Lions are going to get back from IR, but they are playing so well right now. Next week's game hosting the Bills looms very large.

What surprises me is that an NFL team with a young QB didn't sign Bienemy to be anything. Not an OC, not a QB coach, not a passing game coordinator. I said like three years ago I heard rumors he didn't interview well, but there's got to be more to it than that.

If the Raiders played anywhere near how they have the last couple weeks they should beat Jacksonville. There are a lot of sorry Raider fans who want the team to tank, lose out on purpose, presumably thinking Shedeur Sanders will go #1 overall and is the next CJ Stroud. I'm not one of them. Losing is for losers. Raiders should have started Aiden O'Connell from week 1, and never hired Luke Getsy (who Davante Adams wanted).

Sherman said basically the same thing Brady did, just with his own style. I'll stick with what I said before about the slide rule.

I have a real hard time disliking Romanowski. He was on the Raiders his last couple years, and I wish he had played with them his entire career. Though maybe in a twisted way he did need his first few years to be on SF where Haley kicked his ass and helped turn him into the tough player he became.

Respect to Ryan Leaf for completely turning his life around. He's very candid, and seems completely for real.

 

[Sciatic]

Great game tonight. Gritty win for Detroit, as GB played very well. I don't know how many players the Lions are going to get back from IR, but they are playing so well right now. Next week's game hosting the Bills looms very large.

What surprises me is that an NFL team with a young QB didn't sign Bienemy to be anything. Not an OC, not a QB coach, not a passing game coordinator. I said like three years ago I heard rumors he didn't interview well, but there's got to be more to it than that.

If the Raiders played anywhere near how they have the last couple weeks they should beat Jacksonville. There are a lot of sorry Raider fans who want the team to tank, lose out on purpose, presumably thinking Shedeur Sanders will go #1 overall and is the next CJ Stroud. I'm not one of them. Losing is for losers. Raiders should have started Aiden O'Connell from week 1, and never hired Luke Getsy (who Davante Adams wanted).

Sherman said basically the same thing Brady did, just with his own style. I'll stick with what I said before about the slide rule.

I have a real hard time disliking Romanowski. He was on the Raiders his last couple years, and I wish he had played with them his entire career. Though maybe in a twisted way he did need his first few years to be on SF where Haley kicked his ass and helped turn him into the tough player he became.

Respect to Ryan Leaf for completely turning his life around. He's very candid, and seems completely for real.

Agree it was a great game. Watching few drives by each team, watching Love and Goff taking their time to find their open receivers, it occurred to me I can’t remember the last time a Seahawks quarterback could sit pretty calmly in the pocket—maybe the Super Bowls teams, but since then flimsy offensive lines.

 

[movingtarget]

Bill Belichick, University of North Carolina discuss vacant head-coaching position

 

[jmdirt]

UCLA Fired OC Eric Bieniemy After Finishing The Season Ranked 117th In Total Offense

Eric Bieniemy’s tenure at UCLA is over after one season. The Bruins are parting ways with Bieiemy, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator and NFL running back joined UCLA’s coaching staff in 2024 as the offensive coordinator and assistant...

dailysnark.com

Grass was not greener on the other side for EB and kills any remaining head coaching chance.

That's not really accurate. He was on loan to UCLA from the NFL. The plan all along was only one year.

 

[jmdirt]

Agree it was a great game. Watching few drives by each team, watching Love and Goff taking their time to find their open receivers, it occurred to me I can’t remember the last time a Seahawks quarterback could sit pretty calmly in the pocket—maybe the Super Bowls teams, but since then flimsy offensive lines.

it occurred to me I can’t remember the last time a Seahawks quarterback could sit pretty calmly in the pocket—maybe the Super Bowls teams, but since then flimsy offensive lines.

Not even then, Russ was just really good at scrambling after the 1.1 seconds that he got from the O line.

 

[jmdirt]

DET doing a KC last night...figuring out a way to win...the difference is DET looked good for most of the game.

I like how Dan coaches, but going for it on 4th down, on their own 30, while leading isn't gutsy, its not smart. Going for it on the last 4th down wasn't quite as bad, but...

 

[SHAD0W93]

That's not really accurate. He was on loan to UCLA from the NFL. The plan all along was only one year.

Oh I never heard he was on loan, is he supposed to go back to the Commanders then or any team can get him?



Then big win for the Lions! They’ve had some real tight games but like the Chiefs figure it out. Their defense is pretty banged up so this break for them will be nice. I agree, those two turnovers on their side of the field almost cost them the game. Going for it on fourth down instead of the field goal was the right call, their defense had been getting torched all game and there was enough time for a potential tying field goal or worse a touchdown. Campbell trusted the best offense to get it done and they continued to show why they’re the best offense in the league. They just need some of their defensive starters to come back, otherwise every game in the playoffs is going to be a shoot out. The early bye has definitely kicked their butt.

Aidan Hutchinson Expected to Return From Injury If Lions Make Super Bowl

Huge news for the Lions.

www.si.com

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I read another article about Hutchinson, that his leg break was so "clean" and not a compound fracture, that he's rapidly healing. I think the other article said he could be back by the NFC championship game even. Still, just to suit up for the SB, if the Lions get there, would be something amazing.

I can’t remember the last time a Seahawks quarterback could sit pretty calmly in the pocket—maybe the Super Bowls teams, but since then flimsy offensive lines.

Matt Hassleback is your answer.

I like how Dan coaches, but going for it on 4th down, on their own 30, while leading isn't gutsy, its not smart. Going for it on the last 4th down wasn't quite as bad, but...

Very paradoxical decisions. In one viewpoint, his offense is so potent, he's confident he can get the yards. But on the opposite, his defense is so banged up, and the GB offense is good, he shouldn't expect his defense to hold them - which is what I think led to his late decision.

Oh I never heard he was on loan, is he supposed to go back to the Commanders then or any team can get him?

I think he was joking. Eric couldn't even get an OC job in the NFL during the off-season last year. I was hoping the Raiders would at least interview him for OC, but they didn't. It's both surprising, and I'm sure frustrating for him, that he's not at least an OC in the NFL. You can easily say Mahomes and Reid are the Chiefs. But at the same time, their offense was much more potent when Eric was OC than the way they now beat teams by death of a thousand papercuts, even if Andy always called the plays. And is Eric really to blame for the mess in Washington last year? I heard some players thought he was kind of strict, compared to the laid back Dan Quinn, but I've never heard anyone say he's a bad coach. I mean, crap, the Raiders hired Luke Getsy, and the Jets hired Nathanial Hackett. And what about Press Taylor with the Jaguars? John Kafta with the Giants? You can't possibly convince me Eric is worse than those guys.

 

[movingtarget]

Weird situation with Bieinemy. It's almost like the Andy Reid association has hindered him getting good jobs. Should be a few as usual in the NFL soon to be vacant, some already are . I can't see Bill B coaching a college team either. He was close to getting the Falcons job last season. At the same time I don't think many teams will show interest in Bill , maybe a few in the bottom half of the league although the 49ers sounded him out about the DC's job in the off season. As it turned out the 49ers didn't have the players on defense anyway and their best players got hurt. Expecting them to go all in on O line and defense in the next draft as they won't have much money for free agency re re-signing Purdy, Lenoir and hopefully Greenlaw.