National Football League

[Tank Engine]

Re: Re:

From what I have seen of Taylor this year he is still high up the QB scale talent wise. Most QBs get good money. You are right the end part of the game was not good but he played well for the majority. So many of the good QBs have been injured this year or are struggling so Taylor does not look that bad compared to Newton, Rodgers, Palmer, Ben and many others. He is one of the better mobile QBs that's for sure and he is still young. Those stats don't look flattering but I have not seen him play many games. From what I have seen of the games this season not many of the QBs are setting the year alight with consistently good play. Brady, Prescott, Rivers and Wilson have been up and down same with Wentz.

On what basis has Brady been up and down? 4 games, 4 wins (a couple against decent teams), lowest QB rating for a game 124.2 and no interceptions.

 

[Billie]

Re: Re:

End of the half on MNF was the worst piece of officiating I have ever seen

I just watched the replay. You are right, terrible.

And now Richard Sherman is being fined $9000 (pocket change) for the late hit on Carpenter while the officiating crew will not be disciplined. Lol.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18015351/seattle-seahawks-cornerback-richard-sherman-fined-hit-buffalo-bills-kicker-dan-carpenter

As I mentioned previously, this botched call had a potential impact on the outcome of the game. Had the proper call been made, the 15 yd penalty would have more than likely been a chip shot FG for Carpenter. And with all else being equal in the 2nd half, Buffalo would have only needed a FG to tie instead of a game winning TD in the closing minutes.

That being said though, if Taylor, with 2+ minutes and a short field can't get them in the end zone, then he's not the Bill's answer for a starting QB. That amount of time is an eternity for the likes of Brady, Brees, Stafford, etc.

are you f'in stupid? Taylor was very impressive. Tell me which QB went into Seattle and had better performance last 5 years? Palmer last year must be the only one

"are you f'in stupid?" No...perhaps you are, if you comprehended my last paragraph better and did some research before being so condescending

"The Bills' 31-25 loss to the Seahawks Monday night dropped them to 2-8 in games when they've been tied or within one possession at any point the fourth quarter with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback." ("Analysis of Tyrod Taylor's late-game numbers, update with Seattle game."/The Buffalo News):

http://buffalonews.com/2016/11/10/bills-tyrod-taylors-updated-late-game-numbers/

>Completion Pct - 46.8%
>Interceptions - 3
>Fumbles - 3
>Sacks - 5
>QB Rating - 54.2

Yeah...Taylor was impressive until the last 2 minutes of the game when it mattered. Lol. Quarterbacking in the NFL is all about making things happen at crunch time and getting "W's." Taylor's making 9.5 mil...not exactly chump change for a QB. IMO, if Taylor doesn't improve quickly in this area he'll just end-up being a journeyman backup the rest of his career.

should not have used the first sentence I know.

QB'ing is about more than just the last 2 minutes though. Taylor was very impressive Monday. Don't forget his receiver group is complete garbage. Justin Hunter is his WR2 even though he's been cut by multiple teams this season. And his 2 minute drill itself was very good, the play he hit Woods on the sideline on 3rd down after it seemd like he was sacked multiple times was impressive. He got them down to the 15 but was sacked twice there atleast one of them where Avril got to him right after the snap. On 4th down the odds were against his favour with 2 of his receivers running routes short of the end zone and a third one flat on the ground.

Taylor is obviously not a top 5 QB but he comes in around 12th-15th and that's a good enough region for a team to invest in him as their long term starter. Especially considering he's only 27 years old which is quite young for a starter. Don't forget if you look at top 10 NFL qb's most of them are guys 35 and older (Rivers, Brady, Brees, Romo, Roethlisberger, Palmer). In 5 years time all of them will be gone from the league so a guy like Tyrod becomes even more valuable.

And about the 9.5m that's peanuts for a starting qb. I'd much rather pay Taylor 9,5m than give a guy like Flacco or Cousins 20m. Even if they are paid exact same i'd still rather have Taylor.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

True, officials working the SEA-BUF game last Monday made some mistakes. But not the mistakes you all think. The biggest mistake, not blowing the whistle soon enough on the FG attempt when Sherman hit the kicker. SBNation posted this article with in depth analysis that is spot on, including video of the play (clearly identifying when the whistle blew) and a close-up snapshot of Sherman just before contacting the kicker showing him touching the ball in what I would call an attempt to knock the ball out of the holder’s hands.

SBN article title: "Don't be mad at Richard Sherman because he knows the rules better than the referees"
LINK: http://www.sbnation.com/2016/11/8/13561208/richard-sherman-block-field-goal-seahawks-bills-officials

But to know whether there was a personal foul for UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS, TAKING A SHOT AT A PLAYER IN A DEFENSELESS POSTURE, or ROUGHING THE KICKER you either must know the rule book thoroughly or study it. Looking at the rules (below) that come into play in this case, it is a wonder the officials don't get more calls wrong. You can download the 2016 NFL RULE BOOK at the link below.
RULES LINK: http://operations.nfl.com/media/2224/2016-nfl-rulebook.pdf

Article 2 and 12-2-6h:

ARTICLE 2. RUNNING INTO FREE KICKER. A player of the receiving team is not permitted to run into the kicker before he recovers his balance. See also 12-2-6-h for personal fouls against the kicker.
Penalty: For running into the kicker: Loss of five yards.

RULE 12 - PLAYER CONDUCT
SECTION 1 BLOCKING, USE OF HANDS AND ARMS
ARTICLE 1 - (k) roughing the kicker or holder (see Section 2, Articles 10 and 11);
SECTION 2 PERSONAL FOULS
ARTICLE 6. UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS. There shall be no unnecessary roughness. This shall include, but will not be limited to:
(h) a kicker/punter, who is standing still or fading backward after the ball has been kicked, is out of the play and must not be unnecessarily contacted by the receiving team through the end of the down or until he assumes a distinctly defensive position. However, a kicker/punter is a defenseless player through the conclusion of the down (see 12-2-7-7);

Penalty: For unnecessary roughness: Loss of 15 yards. The player may be disqualified if the action is judged by the official(s) to be flagrant. If the foul is by the defense, it is also an automatic first down.

Did Sherman break Article 2? The kicker, having not yet kicked the ball, had no balance to recover. The intent of Article 2 is to protect a kicker after the ball has been kicked. Even though Sherman touched the ball before it was kicked, it does not matter when Sherman touched the ball. He did touch it and so there is no unnecessary roughness under Article 2.

Did Sherman break rule 12-2-6-h? Rule 12-2-6-h covers a situation that is not applicable to the play in question (tough by just a hair in timing) because the ball had not been kicked when the ball was touched by Sherman, so therefore the kicker was not OUT OF THE PLAY. So, rule not broken. But there is still the defenseless player aspect of the rule. So, let’s examine that. First the rule book defines defenseless posture (12-2-7-a, or just 7-a here), and then defines what the prohibited contact is (12-2-7-b).

12-2-7-a, 12-2-7-b:

ARTICLE 7. PLAYERS IN A DEFENSELESS POSTURE. It is a foul if a player initiates unnecessary contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture.
(a) Players in a defenseless posture are:
(1) through (6) - I omitted as irrelevant to this situation.
(7) A kicker/punter during the kick or during the return (Also see Article 6-h) for additional restrictions against a kicker/punter).
(8) through (11) - I omitted as irrelevant to this situation.

(b) Prohibited contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture is:
(1) forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, even if the initial contact is lower than the player’s neck, and regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him.
(2) lowering the head and making forcible contact with the crown or “hairline” parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body.
(3) illegally launching into a defenseless opponent. It is an illegal launch if a player (i) leaves both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into his opponent, and (ii) uses any part of his helmet to initiate forcible contact against any part of his opponent’s body. (This does not apply to contact against a runner, unless the runner is still considered to be a defenseless player, as defined in Article 7.)

Penalty: For unnecessary roughness: Loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down. The player may be disqualified if the action is judged by the official(s) to be flagrant.

During the play in question, Carpenter is a defenseless player. No doubt. But did Sherman commit any of the prohibited acts defined in 1 through 3 above? No. Per to the rule book it was not a personal foul. Examining the rule book’s definition of prohibited contact (1-3) gives understanding to the official’s comment that the contact was not “severe” enough to be called a foul against a defenseless player. What about Roughing the Kicker? See Article 10.

Article 10:

ARTICLE 10. ROUGHING/RUNNING INTO THE KICKER. No defensive player may run into or rough a kicker who kicks from behind the line unless such contact:
(a) is incidental to and occurs after the defender has touched the kick in flight
(b) is caused by the kicker’s own motions
(c) occurs during a quick kick or a rugby-style kick
(d) occurs during or after a run behind the line
(e) occurs after the kicker recovers a loose ball on the ground
(f) occurs because a defender is pushed or blocked (causing a change of direction) into the kicker
(g) is the result of a foul by an opponent

Item 1. Roughing the kicker. It is a foul for roughing the kicker if a defensive player:
(a) contacts the plant leg of the kicker while his kicking leg is still in the air
(b) slides into or contacts the kicker when both of the kicker’s feet are on the ground. It is not a foul if the contact is not severe, or if the kicker returns both feet to the ground prior to the contact and falls over a defender on the ground.
Note: When in doubt, it is a foul for roughing the kicker.

Penalties:
(1) For roughing the kicker: Loss of 15 yards from the previous spot (personal foul) and an automatic first down. The player may be disqualified if the action is flagrant.

Defenders are always taught to avoid contact with the kicker unless the defender can get a piece of the ball, and go full gas until the whistle is blown. If a defender rushing the kick contacts the ball, then kicker protections go by the wayside. This is covered by rule 12-2-10-a (10-a above). The odd part of the field goal attempt is that Sherman was so far offside he touched the ball before it was kicked. The best a defender can typically do is get a piece of the ball after it is kicked. But timing of when the ball was touched really does not matter. The officials went with the intent of the rule. Since Sherman got a piece of the ball the officials could not call it roughing the kicker.

But the whole situation would have been avoided if the officials had blown the whistle when Sherman jumped offside unabated. If the whistle had been blown when it should have, Sherman would have to stop, and then if he plowed into the kicker you have a personal foul with possibility for ejection. So, why is it when a defender (e.g. DE) jumps offside unabated when a QB is in the shotgun the whistle blows immediately and the play stops? And why didn’t the officials blow the whistle when Sherman jumped? It was a relatively simple mistake by the officials to not whistle the play dead before Sherman had a chance to complete his part in the play. Just blow the d*** whistle. But, like it or not, the worst Sherman can get is a 5-yard penalty, NOT a 15-yard PF.

Hope that clarifies the not so obvious. Because sometimes when it looks like a this or that, it is not this or that. It is something else. Same analogy applies sometimes to the question of "What is a catch", right?

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

On the heels of the officiating topic, here is an interesting SI MMQB article on "Full-Time Officials Won’t Solve NFL’s Ref Problems".
LINK: http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/11/09/nfl-officials-refs-full-time-bills-seahawks-mailbag

Strong stance from Pereira. I wondered why. “If they went full-time,” he said, “what effect would it have? Basketball officials work basketball all the time; they get criticized all the time. Baseball umpires, same thing. We have maybe 19 games a year for our officials. Look at the accuracy rate. It’s pretty damn incredible. There’s maybe 155 plays a game, with 10 significant decisions to be made on every one. And what’s the accuracy—maybe 96 percent? There’s going to be mistakes. I think the officiating right now, overall, is excellent. I don’t want all these new officials that would come in all at once. What it comes down to for me is whether full-time officials would really improve officiating, and I don’t think it would.”

So what is the difference between a high school game and NFL game? I mean other than the obvious talent and skill level differences, atmosphere, etc. People going to a HS game expect players and teams to make mistakes. Lots of them. They also expect officials to make mistakes. So after a HS game if there are some bad calls made by officials, you can almost always point to several mistakes by players/teams that may have cost a team the game. So as a result, people will talk but really don't get all that upset. And as a player, that is how you have to look at it, whether it is HS or NFL. Even in the NFL there are multiple mistakes players and teams make that had those mistakes not been made could have affected the outcome. The difference is NFL fans expect perfection, not so much by players, but by officials. But as the article points out that is an unreasonable position to take.

Ever wonder why NFL ratings are down? Part of the reason might be unreasonable expectations of perfection, and the resulting complaining that occurs when it is not perfect. What do you do if at work you are exposed to co-workers complaining about work-related things? You have two choices, joint in or walk away. Just might be all the complaining going on about things in the NFL is causing some fans to just walk away.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Anyone see the wild end to the Broncos-Saints game? I have to say, if I were the Saints I'd be livid. The announcers didn't focus on it, even mention it, but replays showed that when Justin Simmons jumped over the center, he clearly hit his foot on what I believe was center Justin Drescher, you could see Simmons foot bounce off the line when he was at the top of his leap, and to the best of my knowledge this is a penalty.

This same exact topic was discussed when Seahawk Bobby Wagner likely hit his foot on the center doing the same thing, but that was more questionable. This seemed obvious to me.

Ugly collapse by the Panthers. Their season is essentially done.

Packers defense looked awful, and their offense erratic.

So much for Matty Ice and his 4th quarter comebacks. Showing that stat doesn't mean what people make it out to.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

From what I have seen of Taylor this year he is still high up the QB scale talent wise. Most QBs get good money. You are right the end part of the game was not good but he played well for the majority. So many of the good QBs have been injured this year or are struggling so Taylor does not look that bad compared to Newton, Rodgers, Palmer, Ben and many others. He is one of the better mobile QBs that's for sure and he is still young. Those stats don't look flattering but I have not seen him play many games. From what I have seen of the games this season not many of the QBs are setting the year alight with consistently good play. Brady, Prescott, Rivers and Wilson have been up and down same with Wentz.

On what basis has Brady been up and down? 4 games, 4 wins (a couple against decent teams), lowest QB rating for a game 124.2 and no interceptions.

i could have written that better. I meant to say Brady and Prescott have been good. Rivers, Wilson, Wentz and many others have been up and down.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Anyone see the wild end to the Broncos-Saints game? I have to say, if I were the Saints I'd be livid. The announcers didn't focus on it, even mention it, but replays showed that when Justin Simmons jumped over the center, he clearly hit his foot on what I believe was center Justin Drescher, you could see Simmons foot bounce off the line when he was at the top of his leap, and to the best of my knowledge this is a penalty.

This same exact topic was discussed when Seahawk Bobby Wagner likely hit his foot on the center doing the same thing, but that was more questionable. This seemed obvious to me.

Ugly collapse by the Panthers. Their season is essentially done.

Packers defense looked awful, and their offense erratic.

So much for Matty Ice and his 4th quarter comebacks. Showing that stat doesn't mean what people make it out to.

Can't believe the Saints lost that ! Panthers do look done after leading 17-0 ! Packers are off their game this year. Good win to the Eagles. Vikings slide continues.

 

[movingtarget]

True, officials working the SEA-BUF game last Monday made some mistakes. But...

Thanks for that. I have been looking for a copy of the rule book ! I would like to see more rules simplified but refs are human and they get it wrong sometimes in all sports even after video replays !

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

I missed the Saints and the leapfrog move over the center. Caught parts of the Packer-Titans tilt. GB just too many injuries but may survive in that division. But props to Titans and nice work by Mariotta.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

You can download the 2016 NFL RULE BOOK at the link below.
RULES LINK: http://operations.nfl.com/media/2224/2016-nfl-rulebook.pdf

Thanks for that. I have been looking for a copy of the rule book ! I would like to see more rules simplified but refs are human and they get it wrong sometimes in all sports even after video replays !

True. Think about this. American football has several hundred rules. Soccer has 13, and soccer officials sometimes still miss things.

But the game could benefit from simplification of the rules, like what a catch is and reducing the rules about pass interference (offensive & defensive), or rule changes that allow the players to just go play. And when you think about that, I would not be surprised if part of the reason the refs failed to blow the whistle on the Sherman/ Carpenter contact is they were coincidentally too busy watching or thinking about other things at that moment.

 

[movingtarget]

I thought Dallas had blown it by not running the clock down. Two stupid face masks by the Steelers in the last minute one of which was picked up by the refs cost them the game. Completely crazy when the Dallas player had already been stopped. What a game by Elliott. Dallas keep finding ways to win. Cardinals struggled to beat the 49ers. They are off their game like the Packers this year. Sounds like the 49ers had a much better defensive effort this week.

 

[Eshnar]

I didn't watch PIT - DAL yesterday. Can anybody tell me why PIT haven't made a single conversion out of all their TDs?
I mean, I saw they always went for 2... but why

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re:

I didn't watch PIT - DAL yesterday. Can anybody tell me why PIT haven't made a single conversion out of all their TDs?
I mean, I saw they always went for 2... but why

This is what ESPN reported:

The Steelers have made a habit of attempting 2-point conversions early in games hoping to dictate the tempo over the last two seasons, often with great success.

It stopped abruptly against the Cowboys. Four times Pittsburgh went for 2. And all four times the Steelers came up short, forcing them to chase points.

"We want to be aggressive," Roethlisberger said. "We practice it every day. We need to be better at it."

 

[Tank Engine]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch PIT - DAL yesterday. Can anybody tell me why PIT haven't made a single conversion out of all their TDs?
I mean, I saw they always went for 2... but why

This is what ESPN reported:

The Steelers have made a habit of attempting 2-point conversions early in games hoping to dictate the tempo over the last two seasons, often with great success.

It stopped abruptly against the Cowboys. Four times Pittsburgh went for 2. And all four times the Steelers came up short, forcing them to chase points.

"We want to be aggressive," Roethlisberger said. "We practice it every day. We need to be better at it."

I guess that's true for the first two attempts. The Steelers got the early turnover and I guess they were trying to maintain the momentum (if it fails, then you've still got the 6 points, so it still feels good).

In the case of the last two attempts, they were obvious choices, since the Steelers were 1 point up after a touchdown relatively late in the game. Being two points up at that point rather than one is no real advantage, whereas being three points up is.

Why they failed each time is a different question. It's not like the Dallas defence is that great. They play fairly traditional "bend but don't break", but not as well as in the Staubach (or even Aikman) era. The missed conversions certainly made a difference at the end, since the Steelers could not play conservately on the final drive.

I've been impressed with Prescott's maturity. Taking that into account, it was amazing he was still available at the end of the 4th round, given his college figures.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch PIT - DAL yesterday. Can anybody tell me why PIT haven't made a single conversion out of all their TDs?
I mean, I saw they always went for 2... but why

This is what ESPN reported:

The Steelers have made a habit of attempting 2-point conversions early in games hoping to dictate the tempo over the last two seasons, often with great success.

It stopped abruptly against the Cowboys. Four times Pittsburgh went for 2. And all four times the Steelers came up short, forcing them to chase points.

"We want to be aggressive," Roethlisberger said. "We practice it every day. We need to be better at it."

I guess that's true for the first two attempts. The Steelers got the early turnover and I guess they were trying to maintain the momentum (if it fails, then you've still got the 6 points, so it still feels good).

In the case of the last two attempts, they were obvious choices, since the Steelers were 1 point up after a touchdown relatively late in the game. Being two points up at that point rather than one is no real advantage, whereas being three points up is.

Why they failed each time is a different question. It's not like the Dallas defence is that great. They play fairly traditional "bend but don't break", but not as well as in the Staubach (or even Aikman) era. The missed conversions certainly made a difference at the end, since the Steelers could not play conservately on the final drive.

I've been impressed with Prescott's maturity. Taking that into account, it was amazing he was still available at the end of the 4th round, given his college figures.

The Cowboys have been good to watch this year, especially the two rookies Prescott and Elliott.

 

[BullsFan22]

Great win by the Seahawks! Short rest, a number of injuries, travel from Seattle to Boston, Patriots having rest with a bye week, at home and playing arguably the best football in the league and no real significant injuries. The Seahawks played a much more efficient game, despite another slow first quarter or so. 7 lead changes, great plays, great routes, great catches, tough, grinding runs, chess game between two great coaches, Wilson had a good game and the Seattle defense held firm as only they can in the last New England drive. First Patriots interception of the season. A blocked field. This game had it all.

In the grand scheme of things this shouldn't have a big impact on either team's season, but the win means more for Seattle because of the SB rematch and having something to prove. The game wasn't so different to the SB actually. Wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see these teams square off in the SB.

 

[movingtarget]

Great win by the Seahawks! Short rest, a number of injuries, travel from Seattle to Boston, Patriots having rest with a bye week, at home and playing arguably the best football in the league and no real significant injuries. The Seahawks played a much more efficient game, despite another slow first quarter or so. 7 lead changes, great plays, great routes, great catches, tough, grinding runs, chess game between two great coaches, Wilson had a good game and the Seattle defense held firm as only they can in the last New England drive. First Patriots interception of the season. A blocked field. This game had it all.

In the grand scheme of things this shouldn't have a big impact on either team's season, but the win means more for Seattle because of the SB rematch and having something to prove. The game wasn't so different to the SB actually. Wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see these teams square off in the SB.

At this stage I think the Seahawks are looking good for the playoffs. Panthers are not going to be there and the Cardinals are not the team they were last year. Patriots, Cowboys and Seahawks are the most impressive at the moment. The Broncos are not that convincing at the moment. The Falcons and Eagles have been patchy but still playing well. Pittsburgh and the Packers have to pick it up and the Panthers season never really got going.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

That was a good game, and a well coached game. Lots if stuff going on under the surface from both coaching staffs. I don't generally like SB repeats, but I'd be okay watching these two teams play again.

Looks like Gronk may have a punctured lung from that hit by Earl Thomas. Will miss at least one game (Pats play 49ers next).

Now that they are 8-1, is anyone ready to give the Cowboys some credit? The other team no one is talking about is Kansas City, who sits at 7-2 in the league's toughest division, tied with Oakland for first, with Denver at 7-3 just behind, and San Diego at 4-5, having lost every game by a touchdown or less.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

That was a good game, and a well coached game. Lots if stuff going on under the surface from both coaching staffs. I don't generally like SB repeats, but I'd be okay watching these two teams play again.

Looks like Gronk may have a punctured lung from that hit by Earl Thomas. Will miss at least one game (Pats play 49ers next).

Now that they are 8-1, is anyone ready to give the Cowboys some credit? The other team no one is talking about is Kansas City, who sits at 7-2 in the league's toughest division, tied with Oakland for first, with Denver at 7-3 just behind, and San Diego at 4-5, having lost every game by a touchdown or less.

The Chargers would have been in a much better position if they finished off some of their earlier games. The Raiders and Kansas are looking good as well. The 49ers have been the least penalized team all season and what happens in their closest loss ? They decide to give away a large amount of penalties in a game that could have gone either way. It remains to be seen whether it was a case of the 49ers improving a lot or the Cardinals struggling to be the team they should be. I still think the Cardinals are a long way off last year's form and need a run of wins to convince anyone. 49ers keep finding ways to lose even when they play well. Kaep had his usual up and down game and Torrey Smith dropped a ball with no one near him late in the fourth quarter. TD and the win gone begging ! Sums up the 49ers year.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Regarding what was going on under the surface at the SNF game, first, how does Gronk finish the game with a punctured lung? Amazing! From both positive and negative side. As player freak on the + side, but brings up health/player concerns on the flip side. Also on the negative side, in hindsight, we now understand why Gronk did not get targeted as much by Pats play calling after that hit. After the hit, Gronk may have been out there more as a decoy.

And then for Seattle, how does a team with arguably the worst OL in the NFL all of a sudden become kind of good? My take is, Russell Wilson started to come out of it the previous week and really did vs Pats by the play calling. Before the Pats game, due to Wilson's lack of mobility, Seattle played more run to set up pass. But vs Pats SEattle played more pass to set up the run. In the future, look for more plays using Russ's mobility involving pass plays to set up the run. And I mean explosive plays. Roll outs, naked boot legs, moving the pocket, let alone scrambling. Seattle offense is about to become really dangerous. As Doug Baldwin said post-game regarding the Russ we are about to see, "unleashing the Dragon".

 

[movingtarget]

Regarding what was going on under the surface at the SNF game, first, how does Gronk finish the game with a punctured lung? Amazing! From both positive and negative side. As player freak on the + side, but brings up health/player concerns on the flip side. Also on the negative side, in hindsight, we now understand why Gronk did not get targeted as much by Pats play calling after that hit. After the hit, Gronk may have been out there more as a decoy.

And then for Seattle, how does a team with arguably the worst OL in the NFL all of a sudden become kind of good? My take is, Russell Wilson started to come out of it the previous week and really did vs Pats by the play calling. Before the Pats game, due to Wilson's lack of mobility, Seattle played more run to set up pass. But vs Pats SEattle played more pass to set up the run. In the future, look for more plays using Russ's mobility involving pass plays to set up the run. And I mean explosive plays. Roll outs, naked boot legs, moving the pocket, let alone scrambling. Seattle offense is about to become really dangerous. As Doug Baldwin said post-game regarding the Russ we are about to see, "unleashing the Dragon".

Do you think the Seahawks should have released Christine Michael ?

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Regarding what was going on under the surface at the SNF game, first, how does Gronk finish the game with a punctured lung? Amazing! From both positive and negative side. As player freak on the + side, but brings up health/player concerns on the flip side. Also on the negative side, in hindsight, we now understand why Gronk did not get targeted as much by Pats play calling after that hit. After the hit, Gronk may have been out there more as a decoy.

And then for Seattle, how does a team with arguably the worst OL in the NFL all of a sudden become kind of good? My take is, Russell Wilson started to come out of it the previous week and really did vs Pats by the play calling. Before the Pats game, due to Wilson's lack of mobility, Seattle played more run to set up pass. But vs Pats SEattle played more pass to set up the run. In the future, look for more plays using Russ's mobility involving pass plays to set up the run. And I mean explosive plays. Roll outs, naked boot legs, moving the pocket, let alone scrambling. Seattle offense is about to become really dangerous. As Doug Baldwin said post-game regarding the Russ we are about to see, "unleashing the Dragon".

Do you think the Seahawks should have released Christine Michael ?

Yes. But they may be able to resign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers. Some teams that are possible suitors, like PIT, don't usually sign a player with his running style. PIT likes tough guys who dish out punishment, but CMIKE avoids contact, which is why I believe Seattle waived him with punishing Rawls returning. Even SEA's Procise is a tough runner for a lighter guy. With this waiver Seattle is being true to who they are. They'd like a runner in the mold of Lynch, and Rawls, Procise, and Alex Collins are more like that. Couple days ago I was certain Seattle would relegate CMIKE to 3rd string, so the waiver was a bit of a surprise but makes total sense based on what I just wrote here.

 

[movingtarget]

Regarding what was going on under the surface at the SNF game, first, how does Gronk finish the game with a punctured lung? Amazing! From both positive and negative side. As player freak on the + side, but brings up health/player concerns on the flip side. Also on the negative side, in hindsight, we now understand why Gronk did not get targeted as much by Pats play calling after that hit. After the hit, Gronk may have been out there more as a decoy.

And then for Seattle, how does a team with arguably the worst OL in the NFL all of a sudden become kind of good? My take is, Russell Wilson started to come out of it the previous week and really did vs Pats by the play calling. Before the Pats game, due to Wilson's lack of mobility, Seattle played more run to set up pass. But vs Pats SEattle played more pass to set up the run. In the future, look for more plays using Russ's mobility involving pass plays to set up the run. And I mean explosive plays. Roll outs, naked boot legs, moving the pocket, let alone scrambling. Seattle offense is about to become really dangerous. As Doug Baldwin said post-game regarding the Russ we are about to see, "unleashing the Dragon".

Do you think the Seahawks should have released Christine Michael ?

Yes. But they may be able to resign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers. Some teams that are possible suitors, like PIT, don't usually sign a player with his running style. PIT likes tough guys who dish out punishment, but CMIKE avoids contact, which is why I believe Seattle waived him with punishing Rawls returning. Even SEA's Procise is a tough runner for a lighter guy. With this waiver Seattle is being true to who they are. They'd like a runner in the mold of Lynch, and Rawls, Procise, and Alex Collins are more like that. Couple days ago I was certain Seattle would relegate CMIKE to 3rd string, so the waiver was a bit of a surprise but makes total sense based on what I just wrote here.

49ers could use him but I am sure they won't pick him up.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Regarding what was going on under the surface at the SNF game, first, how does Gronk finish the game with a punctured lung? Amazing! From both positive and negative side. As player freak on the + side, but brings up health/player concerns on the flip side. Also on the negative side, in hindsight, we now understand why Gronk did not get targeted as much by Pats play calling after that hit. After the hit, Gronk may have been out there more as a decoy.

And then for Seattle, how does a team with arguably the worst OL in the NFL all of a sudden become kind of good? My take is, Russell Wilson started to come out of it the previous week and really did vs Pats by the play calling. Before the Pats game, due to Wilson's lack of mobility, Seattle played more run to set up pass. But vs Pats SEattle played more pass to set up the run. In the future, look for more plays using Russ's mobility involving pass plays to set up the run. And I mean explosive plays. Roll outs, naked boot legs, moving the pocket, let alone scrambling. Seattle offense is about to become really dangerous. As Doug Baldwin said post-game regarding the Russ we are about to see, "unleashing the Dragon".

Do you think the Seahawks should have released Christine Michael ?

Yes. But they may be able to resign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers. Some teams that are possible suitors, like PIT, don't usually sign a player with his running style. PIT likes tough guys who dish out punishment, but CMIKE avoids contact, which is why I believe Seattle waived him with punishing Rawls returning. Even SEA's Procise is a tough runner for a lighter guy. With this waiver Seattle is being true to who they are. They'd like a runner in the mold of Lynch, and Rawls, Procise, and Alex Collins are more like that. Couple days ago I was certain Seattle would relegate CMIKE to 3rd string, so the waiver was a bit of a surprise but makes total sense based on what I just wrote here.

49ers could use him but I am sure they won't pick him up.

Besides Steelers, B/R reported the Bronocs, Packers, and Viks might be interested in Michael. Packers just signed him. Dude has plenty of potential, and hence was a former 2nd round pick.

 

[BullsFan22]

I think Rawls coming back from injury has a lot to do with the Hawks waving Michael. This is a dangerous team going forward. With Rawls coming back, Graham playing well, Wilson's movement looking better and better AND the defense getting reinforcement with Bennett, among other others coming back from injury. Beating the Pats, arguably the best team in the league at the moment, at Foxborough, with the Pats coming off a bye and the Hawks having a short week of recovery...this is big for them, even if it doesn't have huge playoff implications at the moment.