NFL 2013 Discussion Thread

[rael ramone]

I'm with @flynnibus on this one. This is the head coach. He should be held to higher standards. The Ravens and the Steelers have a rilvalry. That does not give either team license to taunt the other. Yes he acted alone, but if the attitude is allowed to continue, it can go down through the ranks and then they have an even bigger problem. And if coaches from other teams think that they can do this and only get fined, the NFL now has a bigger problem. If they want to make the point that this is unacceptable behavior, they must make the point.

Before each game, the ref asks the head coach who is the 'keep back' coach - who's job it is to keep everyone out of the white stripe.

The league also made a point of emphasis before that week to stay out of that white stripe.

It's that important to the league.

Tomlin was the head coach. He went into the 'field of play', on the other side of that white stripe. And it affected play.

The fine partially fits the crime. Without the team losing a draft pick, the team gets off easy. Suspending him isn't a good substitute for it, since they aren't going anywhere this year anyway.

 

[rael ramone]

Jaguars win their third straight game? Is this real life? I thought they wouldn't even get 3 wins this season after they way they played earlier in the season.

They may win out. Buffalo & Tennessee at home, and then finish at Indy in a game that may very well mean nothing for the Colts seeding. And if they 'get help', that may mean playoffs...

 

[rael ramone]

Wade Phillips will act as the interim head coach for the Texans.

Personally, I'm not a fan of firing coaches during the season. It seems like at the end of the season, the change is good, but then they stick with that coach for the next season, and they bomb that season as well. It's kind of like a false-hope. Meanwhile, I still don't know why Jason Garrett is a head coach.

On one hand, once the decision is made to get rid of the person, as long as he's on the sideline he's a lame duck. Oftentimes the decision is made before the year is out and the coach is given the option of finishing the year or exiting - and sometimes they choose to leave.

It does seem kinda callous to fire a guy who had a health scare before the season is out.

But if they truly think that his presence is hurting the team, then he should go. Kinda like Lane Kiffin...

 

[flynnibus]

They may win out. Buffalo & Tennessee at home, and then finish at Indy in a game that may very well mean nothing for the Colts seeding. And if they 'get help', that may mean playoffs...

PIPE DREAM

The Titans was the only win that meant anything.. the browns are looking for a QB from the stands.. and beating houston twice (barely). The titans and colts aren't going to be the same as houston

 

[rael ramone]

Now that we are in crunch-time, and we are 3/4 of the way through the season, I will update my rankings and whatnot.

NFC North
1. Lions
2. Packers
3. Bears
4. Vikings

NFC East
1. Eagles
2. Cowboys
3. Giants
4. Redskins

NFC South
1. Saints
2. Panthers
3. Buccaneers
4. Falcons

NFC West
1. Seahawks
2. 49ers
3. Cardinals
4. Rams

AFC North
1. Bengals
2. Ravens
3. Steelers
4. Browns

AFC East
1. Patriots
2. Dolphins
3. Jets
4. Bills

AFC South
1. Colts
2. Titans
3. Jaguars
4. Texans

AFC West
1. Broncos
2. Chiefs
3. Chargers
4. Raiders

NFC Playoff Seeds
1. Seahawks
2. Saints
3. Eagles
4. Lions
5. Panthers
6. 49ers

AFC Playoff Seeds
1. Broncos
2. Patriots
3. Bengals
4. Colts
5. Chiefs
6. Ravens

Wild Card Playoffs
49ers @ Eagles (Eagles)
Panthers @ Lions (Panthers)

Ravens @ Bengals (Bengals)
Chiefs @ Colts (Chiefs)

Divisional Playoffs
Eagles @ Saints (Saints)
Panthers @ Seahawks (Seahawks)

Chiefs @ Broncos (Broncos)
Bengals @ Patriots (Patriots)

Championship Games
Saints @ Seahawks (Seahawks)
Patriots @ Broncos (Broncos)

Super Bowl
Seahawks vs Broncos (Seahawks)

MVP
1. Peyton Manning
2. Russell Wilson
3. Cam Newton

Coach of the Year
1. Andy Reid
2. Bruce Arians
3. Ron Rivera

Rookie of the Year
1. Eddie Lacy
2. Keenan Allen
3. ???

I just did the ESPN playoff machine. Baltimore's sched is too tough. In fact, if BAL/PIT/NYJ/MIA/SD/JAX all finish 7-9, then the Jags go in. And the closest thing to 'out on a limb' on that one happening is their last game in Indy. Indy will not only be locked into the 4 seed, but they aren't nearly as good as they have been. All the other teams look like 7-9 finishers. Would Gus Bradley get any coach of the year consideration after getting that flotsom into the tourney?

If Aaron Rodgers is 'all' that is wrong with the Packers, if he's back they can get in. 9-6-1 takes the division.

Week 17 Cowboys/Eagles looks like a lock to be flexed to Sunday night. Winner takes division (and I suspect it's Dallas).

 

[rael ramone]

PIPE DREAM

The Titans was the only win that meant anything.. the browns are looking for a QB from the stands.. and beating houston twice (barely). The titans and colts aren't going to be the same as houston

As I said in my other post above, not really.

Baltimore is the class of the 'have-nots', but the schedule is too tough. Everyone else is terrible.

And there's no 'committee' that decides who gets in and who doesn't. The Jags (who would 'easily' be the worst team to qualify for the playoffs in a non strike year) have 3 winnable games ahead of them (2 by hosting teams that is playing inferior to them at present, and 1 that is locked into their seed and may be resting). And the tiebreakers look good for them. 2 wins vs Tenn, 2 vs Hou, 1 vs Cle. 1 vs Buf. and 1 vs a Colts team resting it's starters doesn't mean less to the tiebreakers. That equals 7 AFC wins - and if everyone else finishes 7-9 none of them will have that.

 

[flynnibus]

The idea that it's 3 games they will win is the pipe dream.

As for the rest of your playoff picture
Colts resting... uhh.. they have a history with that mistake and you won't see them do that again
Titans do have a chance to win 3 more.. (cards, jax, texans)
The Dolphins do have a chance to win 3 more.. (steelers, bills, jets)

You're hoping you'll get in with a tiebreaker with 7 wins.. The dolphins are the most likely scenario to make sure that case never happens.

 

[PUSH]

Aaron Rodgers will not play versus the Falcons. I had a feeling he wouldn't, but is still holding out hope. Regardless, I expect Flynn to be a lot better than he was last week (which wouldn't even put him at an average level). With a full week of practice under his belt, and without playing 5 quarters of football the prior week (not to mention the extended week of rest for the rest of the team), I think Flynn can get the job done against Atlanta. I would not be surprised should the Packers lose, however.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Bad weather coming for the Ravens game tomorrow. My parents are questioning whether they'll be able to make it down to the city, and they've tried selling their tickets with no luck.

 

[jw24]

Since there's been so much talk about the Jaguars and their playoff hopes, this article explains very clear what needs to happen: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/12/jacksonville-jaguars-playoffs/

Bottom line, a lot of dominoes need to fall and the Jaguars need to take care of business. A lot of football left to played. All these playoff permutations and scenarios for both conferences...drive me crazy! I don't think about those until the last two weeks to be honest. For the Giants, it's simple, win out and hope for the Eagles and Dallas choke with both losing at least 3, if not, all of their games in December. I'm not thinking about the wild card because that's out of reach at the moment and too many permutations and scenarios to consider!

 

[flynnibus]

Bad weather coming for the Ravens game tomorrow. My parents are questioning whether they'll be able to make it down to the city, and they've tried selling their tickets with no luck.

We're debating what to do because of the ice. My area is predicted to be ice storm the entire time and it's already a 2hr drive. Minnesota is bringing their weather to the game!

 

[PUSH]

Sounds like there are weather issues with a few games. I've heard of three games (Ravens, Packers, and Broncos?) that are supposed to have bad weather conditions.

 

[Lucky]

I just saw an ad posted on my gym bulletin board for tickets to tomorrow's Redskins-Chiefs game. Asking face value. Ain't gonna happen.

EDIT Sunday 9 AM: it's snowing already & the ad now reads "best offer."

 

[PUSH]

I just saw an ad posted on my gym bulletin board for tickets to tomorrow's Redskins-Chiefs game. Asking face value. Ain't gonna happen.

There is a telethon going on here today for Badger Camp (a special needs camp), and one item being auctioned was tickets to the Packers/Falcons game tomorrow. I believe two tickets went for 40 dollars. We probably would've bid on them if it wasn't for the weather tomorrow.

 

[PUSH]

To go along with the weather thing, here's an article stating the expected weather conditions for some of tomorrow's games (scroll down a bit to find them).

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000293554/article/sunday-primer-week-14

 

[afar28]

With the Falcons being a dome team, going out to play in the cold snow of Green Bay might be difficult. And considering that the Falcons obviously aren't the best this year, I think Green Bay has the edge.

 

[Megalodumb]

With the Falcons being a dome team, going out to play in the cold snow of Green Bay might be difficult. And considering that the Falcons obviously aren't the best this year, I think Green Bay has the edge.

We're just laying low this year, waiting to strike in 2014. All part of the plan.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

How in the world can they see in Philadelphia?

 

[afar28]

Tons of snow in the games right now. Eagles-Lions is crazy, with the Steelers-Dolphins, Bengals-Colts, Ravens-Vikings, Atlanta- Green Bay and Chief-Redskins having less, but a good amount.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

How in the world can they see in Philadelphia?

I'm wondering the same thing about Baltimore! My parents couldn't go. And now Fox HD is broadcasting in Spanish, so they have to watch the SD channel