National Football League

[Alpe d'Huez]

Richardson should be well rested at this point.

Still waiting for Wilson to make that exact throw in the NFL. It could save his career.

I'm waiting for the Titans to run some sort of Air Raid/Greatest Show on Turf offense. Just toss a lot of bombs. Not sure how accurate Levis actually is though.

And let's not forget Jim Druckenmiller, heaving 80 yard throws the same. Then showed up to camp towing a semi truck, like those World's Strongest Man competitions. Too bad he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with his throws. If memory serves, Jim was replaced in SF by Giovanni Carmazzi, who is now a goat farmer.

WAS@PHI - I'll take the Eagles in this game, unless they are behind late. I don't quite trust them to pull out a tight win. But I don't trust the Commanders to be consistent enough either. We'll find out tonight if they are for real and could win that division, or if like Minnesota they are a decent team, that just got a hot start. Lattimore out for Wash. The Eagles are one of the most injury free teams in the NFL.

 

[Nomad]

The battle of the dual-threats tonight. Let's hope it's an entertaining game.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Game went close to what I suspected. Neither QB ran very much. Daniels looked like a rookie with just 4 days to prep. Interesting how neither team completed any real deep passes. I'm not even sure Washington attempted any past about 15 yards. We know Hurts has accuracy problems deep, KC exploited that in the SB two years ago, though he did complete one late to a wide open receiver even a noodle arm like me could make. Eagles offense rode Barkley to the win. Unreal the Giants gave him up so easily. Still, I'll credit the Eagles for getting the job done, and getting a solid lock on first place. In two weeks they travel to Baltimore.

Two big games to watch this Sunday. Ravens at Steelers, and Chiefs at Bills. More on that later.

 

[movingtarget]

Not too impressed with either team. Barkley was the difference. Eagles kicker caught the Moody virus.............. nice final catch by Ertz in garbage time.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Big win for the Eagles and Barkley still looking good.

Chiefs have a big loss in Butker being out. No longer have an elite special teams. I can see them losing by a field goal now.

BREAKING: Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker Is Set To Undergo Knee Surgery

The Kansas City Chiefs are facing some more adversity as they try to keep their unbeaten season alive. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport report that the Chiefs will be without kicker Harrison Butker for 3-4 weeks while he has surgery on his meniscus in his left knee. The Chiefs are...

dailysnark.com

 

[jmdirt]

Big win for the Eagles and Barkley still looking good.

Chiefs have a big loss in Butker being out. No longer have an elite special teams. I can see them losing by a field goal now.

BREAKING: Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker Is Set To Undergo Knee Surgery

The Kansas City Chiefs are facing some more adversity as they try to keep their unbeaten season alive. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport report that the Chiefs will be without kicker Harrison Butker for 3-4 weeks while he has surgery on his meniscus in his left knee. The Chiefs are...

dailysnark.com

They can hope that the guy from the NYJ practice squad will light it up for them.

Pompous ass Butker can recover with god by his side.

 

[Unchained]

When Zach Wilson came on the scene, mountain of reasons for hope, sense of optimism. He really had the chops, then he and his family went to war with greater tri-state, saying that part of the root cause of Jets sucking was too much immoral behavior.
He was going to turn, everything, everyone around because they had been living wrong. There are lots of stories of parents or siblings causing pro athletes heartburn, distraction, LaVar Ball immediately comes to mind, Mahommes doing great despite his family crazies.. but Wilson didn't make it, remember seeing local news people ask first question about football and then about comments his family made. If he would have been great, maybe things would have been different. But he was lackluster despite massive hype.
NFL moms have a place it's usually in Campbell Chucky soup commercials

 

[jmdirt]

The numbers guy on the Dan Patrick show made a point this morning:
Kingsburry has a 69% win record in the first half of seasons, and a 26% win record in the second half (excluding the year that KM whent down). READ: once Ds figure him out, he doesn't/can't adjust. (Disclaimer: it could have been 66% and 29%, but I know it was in the 60s and the 20s...driving. listening, rembering 4 hours later...).

Fansided pointed out that this was his MO in the NCAA too.

 

[Nomad]

When Zach Wilson came on the scene, mountain of reasons for hope, sense of optimism. He really had the chops, then he and his family went to war with greater tri-state, saying that part of the root cause of Jets sucking was too much immoral behavior.
He was going to turn, everything, everyone around because they had been living wrong. There are lots of stories of parents or siblings causing pro athletes heartburn, distraction, LaVar Ball immediately comes to mind, Mahommes doing great despite his family crazies.. but Wilson didn't make it, remember seeing local news people ask first question about football and then about comments his family made. If he would have been great, maybe things would have been different. But he was lackluster despite massive hype.
NFL moms have a place it's usually in Campbell Chucky soup commercials

His mom was the one that everyone was mistaking for his GF. Lol. She must have found the fountain of youth - she looks like she's in her 20's but she's 51 & mother of 6 kids (btw, there's another Wilson out there playing QB: Issac; 4-star recruit starting as a FR at Utah - that's right Utah and not BYU).

If Wilson turns out to be a bust this is another example that BYU QBs don't fare very well in the NFL. Other than Steve Young who was a #1 OA (3xSB winner, SB MVP & HOF) & good ole Jim McMahon (2xSB winner), they don't succeed in the league. And since the early days of legendary coach Lavell Edwards, BYU is noted as a QB U with a heavy emphasis on the passing game. Currently, there's only two other BYU QBs in the league - Taysom Hill, undrafted by the Saints in 2017, who's had a position change to TE & Jaren Hall, 5th rd pick in 2023 (Vikings), who was traded & currently on Seattle's practice squad.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Honestly disappointed by Hall, so far. He looked good in college, and better than good in I think it was the Senior Bowl, and Combine, Pro Day. Then okay in the pre-season last year. But in regular games he looked lost, and didn't show much improvement this year. Max Duggan had the same problem. I compare them to Jake Haener from the same draft, who actually has looked like he can make it in the NFL. Maybe not as a starter, but like he could be the next Chad Henne (not a bad career at all).

NY definitely the wrong city (and media) for Zach. He would have been better off landing somewhere like Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, Cincinnati (yes, I'm well aware those teams don't need a QB I just think his moral compass pointed closer to that direction, so to speak).

True on Kingsbury. But I think with Washington it's more than that. I think Daniels is more hurt than he leads on. He's not a big guy. Bigger than Bryce Young, but still, for a dual threat guy his frame is not built for colliding with NFL linebackers, safeties. And he looked like that last night. It also wasn't entirely their offense. As the game went on late their D couldn't stop Barkley. And what was with that blown 4th and 2? Why not kick a 45 yard FG to go ahead? I think that turnover took a lot of wind out of their sails. Was that Kliff? Or Quinn?

The Commanders schedule is however favorable, and they absolutely should win at least 10 games, and likely make the playoffs.

Pompous ass Butker can recover with god by his side.

I don't follow social junk much, but if I remember correctly, he was not saying God loved him, but God hated people he disliked. So I don't see how that helps him with his injury.

 

[Potomac]

So the commanders have been one of the big surprises of the season.
The OC hire was derided before the season started, but has earned high praise the first half of the season.
I wonder if the Commanders offense had succeed because they were unkown and teams didn't know how to prepare for them.
But these last two losses make me think the rest of the league has now got the measure of the commanders and know how to contain them.

 

[jmdirt]

Alpe, makes a good point that it can't all be put on Cliff, but that is certainly a piece of it. WASH is a solid team, especially since they are building this year.

 

[Nomad]

He's not a big guy. Bigger than Bryce Young, but still, for a dual threat guy his frame is not built for colliding with NFL linebackers, safeties.

Daniels is listed at 6'4" 210 lbs which is a little light for an NFL QB these days (average weight for a QB is 224 lbs). However, the most prolific dual-threat QB in the league, Jackson, is only 215 lbs (6'2"). The other good dual-threat QB, Hurts, is the biggest at 223 lbs (6'1").

Daniels had over 600 carries in his college career (ASU/LSU) with no injuries of note. However, like you said he's now dealing with NFL caliber LBs & safeties that hit awful hard. That being said though, it nothing more than mind-boggling that Jackson has carried the ball 1039 times for 6300 yds over 7 seasons without sustaining a major injury. And the league has never seen anything like his dual-threat ability. He holds a bunch of NFL QB rushing & TO records including the first player to pass for 3000 yds & rush for 1000 yds in a single season. Plus he's already a 2 x MVP. The only thing missing is a SB title.

 

[Nomad]

Panthers Reportedly Eyeing Two Bryce Young Replacements

The Carolina Panthers have two quarterbacks on their radar that could replace Bryce Young in 2025.

oldnorthbanter.com

It sounds like it's over before it even got started. Lol

 

[movingtarget]

Panthers Reportedly Eyeing Two Bryce Young Replacements

The Carolina Panthers have two quarterbacks on their radar that could replace Bryce Young in 2025.

oldnorthbanter.com

It sounds like it's over before it even got started. Lol

At least they get another high draft pick..............

 

[movingtarget]

So the commanders have been one of the big surprises of the season.
The OC hire was derided before the season started, but has earned high praise the first half of the season.
I wonder if the Commanders offense had succeed because they were unkown and teams didn't know how to prepare for them.
But these last two losses make me think the rest of the league has now got the measure of the commanders and know how to contain them.

The new GM , Adam Peters had a very good reputation at the 49ers. They didn't want to lose him in his role with John Lynch but they didn't want to stop his promotion ambitions either. Looked like he was going to replace Lynch but then Lynch extended his contract after turning down a big salary job at Amazon. Sounds like the Commanders are happy with his moves so far and he knows how to build a roster.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I honestly question if Daniels is as big as he's listed. He looks much more thin than that, and not quite as tall. He's big enough to play in the NFL, but as a dual threat? I don't see him lasting doing so. Shades of RGIII.

I'm all but certain Young is done from the Panthers, who will hope to get maybe a 3rd round pick for him in the off-season, if lucky. His contract is bloated because of how high he was drafted, making it harder. But unless Tepper insists they keep him, he's done. Wherever he ends up, it will be pitched like he's competing for the starting job, but he won't be the #1 QB coming into camp for any team.

I used archive.ph to access that NYT/Atlantic article. It's speculation is no more than anyone else could guess, and it may as well have been written by a bot. Like most people they seem certain the Raiders will draft Shedeur Sanders. To me this borders on foolishness, unless Shedeur really plays lights out, elite. Close to CJ in 2023 level. He's much more likely to bring a circus of attention with him, and his helicopter father will every Monday be on social media letting the world know what the team did wrong by his boy. This is the absolute worst thing for the Raiders. That team needs to look inward, gain discipline, hard work, nose to the grindstone. They don't need a huge spotlight and to base their future on hype and buzz.

 

[Nomad]

I honestly question if Daniels is as big as he's listed. He looks much more thin than that, and not quite as tall. He's big enough to play in the NFL, but as a dual threat? I don't see him lasting doing so. Shades of RGIII.

You have to go by their measurements at either the combine or their pro day. These are verifiable measurements certified by strength & conditioning coaches with no funny business involved. The players are measured & weighed in their socks/bare feet to the nearest 1/8 of an inch.

Daniels at his pro day was measured at 6'3 5/8" & 210 lbs with a 32 1/2 " arm width. By comparison, Jackson at his pro day was measured at 6'2 1/2" & 216 lbs with a 33 1/8 " arm width. Interestingly though, Jackson is listed at 205 on the team roster - I found an article that said he's lost ~10 lbs since coming into the league (probably for better endurance so he doesn't get "gassed" like AR. Lol).

Keep in mind, RGIII tore his ACL in his sophomore season at Baylor & re-tore the same ACL later on in his NFL career. I think he was damaged goods when he came into the league.

As I said before, no injuries whatsoever with Daniels in college. And his running style is not to go head-on & collide with the defenders (like Tebow did) but use his incredible speed & agility (4.35) outrunning the defense going out-of-bounds as much as possible. Last year at LSU he rushed for 1134 yds on a mind-blowing 8.4 average per carry! A lot of his runs looked like this where he just simply outruns defenders to the sideline:

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/kS5JjW7c-xo?si=yATneVtfk3XGTq_c

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

You have to go by their measurements at either the combine or their pro day. These are verifiable measurements certified by strength & conditioning coaches with no funny business involved. The players are measured & weighed in their socks/bare feet to the nearest 1/8 of an inch.

And you believe Bryce Young weighs 205? Or that it's impossible to gain weight in order to make yourself seem heavier than you really are walking around? Come on.

Daniels still looks on the skinny side to me. Not built to be a dual threat. I don't care how little he got hurt in college. I question how well "dual threat" truly works, or lasts, in the NFL anyway. Lamar is an anomaly, a total phenom. Like no player I have seen before, or sense. Except for being the Aaron Judge of football and folding in the playoffs.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

A handful of Sunday games. I left a whole lot out.

BAL@PIT - Game of the week, hopefully. Steelers coming off some close wins, but Ravens are a better team in most every way. But they have a habit of playing to the level of their opponent.
IND@NYJ - Jets are a total dumpster fire, a team of hired guns, which isn't a team. Can AR come alive for Colts? I'd like to see it.
ATL@DEN - I list this because it could be close.
SEA@SF - 49ers gelling. Seahawks coming apart?
KC@BUF - For some reason I sense a controversy coming after another slow, grinding game, Chiefs style, as they keep the Bills explosive plays at bay. I like KC by 1 point, late.
CIN@LAC - Bengals need to go 6-1 to have a real playoff shot. I think they're done. Chargers have one of the stiffest defenses in the league. Best when it comes to points.

 

[movingtarget]

Pittsburgh have a great recent record against the Ravens. Think it will be close. Maybe a FG in it Ravens to win.

Colts and Jets a similar game at a lower level. Colts to win with their run game.

Falcons and Denver. Think Denver wins with the better defense,

Most people picking the 49ers but the Hawks are coming off a bye and will be desperate. 49ers also might have Trent Williams out. 49ers by one score.

Do the Bills break the Chiefs win streak ? Only if Cook and Allen get enough rush yards. Bills in a close one.

Bengals and Chargers should be a contrast in styles. Is this the game where the Chargers finally give up a lot more points ? Chargers defense has been consistently good and Herbert is playing better. Chargers by 3.





.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Terrific win for the Colts, and Richardson. Awesome seeing Jets fans with paper bags over their heads! Jets fall to 3-8!

Ravens have to be kicking themselves in the loss to the Steelers. So many mistakes, penalties, missed FGs. Ran well in the first half, then all but gave up running Henry in 4Q. Shades of their loss to the Chiefs last year. Good, conservative win for the Steelers. Wilson didn't play great, but only one bad pass.

Crushing loss for the Bears. 9th loss in a row to GB.

Titans actually looked good in a losing cause. Levis actually played good,

Lions put up another 50 point win. Are they really this good? Or are the Jags ("best Jags team ever") really that bad? Or both? 645 yards of offense, 7 TDs on O, 8.5 yards per play for the Lions!!!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Incredible win by the Bills. Didn't think they could put up that many points on KC, especially with players out on offense.

Amazing comeback by Geno Smith for Seattle. Heroic, clutch final drive! NFC West the tightest division in the league. Up for grabs.

Very impressive game by Bo Nix. And credit to Sean Payton. As arrogant as he can be, he knows football, and knew what he was seeing in Nix. Equally impressed by Denver's defense, again. Week 18 match-up with the Chiefs, in Denver, could be pivotal. Especially if Denver is about 9-7 at the time, and fighting for a playoff spot.

 

[Nomad]

Great performance by Nix as you pointed out. Best game passing this season so far - 307 yds, 3 scores & no picks. Dominating defensive effort. A solid win all the way around & playoff hopes are very well alive (though they need the Chargers to start losing). On the other side, what a terrible performance by Cousins. Couldn't even manage one TD pass. Lol. Is it time for a change with Penix, Jr?

The Chiefs finally went down - it was inevitable. There will be no undefeated SB winning team this year, so the 72 Dolphins are safe again for another year. Lol.

Nice performance by Tua. It's good to see that at least one Bama QB is performing well in the NFL.

 

[BullsFan22]

Seahawks showed their grit. While the Cardinals lead the division now, it’s very much open. The two Cards vs Seahawks games could very well determine the division title. 10 wins could be enough to win the division this season. Massive head to head next weekend.