The Lonely NFL Thread (complete with tumbleweeds)

[TitoFan]

Bump.

Frankly, I'm tired of talking about Trump and Biden. (and COVID)

So back to one of my favorite subjects... the NFL.

Few storylines going on this year.

Tom Brady with the Buccaneers and the Patriots without Tom Brady.

This is one of my favorites. Brady, as far as I'm concerned the QB GOAT, left the New England Patriots this year after 2 decades and went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So naturally the storyline began about whether the Patriots could succeed without Brady but with their HOF'er coach, Bill Belichick... and whether Brady could take the Bucs to the Super Bowl. In other words... was it Brady? Or was it Belichick that were mostly responsible for all those Super Bowl wins in New England during their great dynasty. I'm a Brady fan... so naturally I'm rooting for the Bucs to go as far as they can this year. Realistically they won't win the Super Bowl... but a deep run in the playoffs would be good enough. Belichick isn't doing too bad without Brady... but they still have a losing record... and will probably miss the playoffs. So that would sort of make it Brady 1, Belichick 0.

COVID effect on teams and games.

Probably should've put this one first, since it's the huge white elephant in the room. Teams IMO have done a pretty admirable job of fielding teams and playing a halfway decent schedule. I guess the NFL should be commended also. There have been teams missing starters due to being put on COVID injured reserve... but that just tests the resilience of the team to win with backups. My own personal favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, got screwed on their schedule when their game against the Baltimore Ravens was moved several times (gameday) because of COVID. They ended up playing the game later in the following week... affecting their bye week, and forcing them to play about four games in quick succession. That was part of the reason they lost their undefeated record (they were 11-0 at one point). Still... I knew they would eventually lose... as they're not an undefeated caliber team. It was weird at first watching teams play in front of cardboard fans and piped in crowd noise. But one gets used to everything, I guess... and the games themselves have been great.

Good and bad surprises.

One surprise has been the NFC East being so bad. The Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Redskins (sorry... they'll always be the Redskins to me even though now they're formally the Washington Football Team... or the team without a name). They ALL have losing records, but one of them has to win the division... one of those quirks of playoff formats. Still... the Redskins and Giants have been showing signs of life. Traditionally bad teams that have surprised with how good they are this year include the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills, both with a good chance to make the playoffs. Gotta feel good for both Cleveland and Buffalo, not exactly hotbeds of championship teams in any sport.

Passing of the torch from some old ATG quarterbacks to some hot shot new ones.

Tom Brady is 43, which is astounding that he's still playing at a level to succeed in the NFL. Future HOF'er Drew Brees of the Saints will be 42 next month and is still lighting it up. (Well... not right now 'cause he sustained a few cracked ribs and a punctured lung a couple of games back). Aaron Rodgers (Packers) is 37. Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers) is 38. Philip Rivers (Colts) is 39. You figure there's gonna be a lot retirements pretty soon. Meanwhile, you've got some young studs making their own mark for greatness. Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) is 25. Lamar Jackson (Ravens) is 23. Josh Allen (Bills) is 24. A complete changing of the guard.

[SlimTrae]

Wow 6-8 record? Can't remember last time NE ranked so low. But darn those Jets 1-13?
Browsing the rankins, I don't know who plays for the AFC East Bills @ 11-3. Will they best Steelers 11-3? How much does Big Ben have left?!

That be cool to see both Brady & Ben to retire & get inducted same year! I'm about an hour away from Hall of Fame-have yet to go there.

Is Kansas that great? 13-1? Or will they fold under the lights & pressure of the playoffs?

On the other side, whew that NFC East looks atrocious! Washington is atop the division at 6-8? LMAO! When I was a kid mid 1970s, NFC Central had that kind of record, they were referred to as the Black N Blue division where the winner made it to the playoffs with 9-7 or 8-8 records.


Got no clue on how good my Packers are, I just see a damn good record 11-3!
N.O, Tampa & LA seem to be the ones vying for a SB.


So I will go
Pittsburgh vs Kansas AFC title game
New Orleans vs Green Bay NFC title game

SB: Steelers vs Saints 29-23

[SlimTrae]

Ok, I will go upset of Bucs over Saints!!!
Go Brady!!

But I think AFC takes the Lombardi.

[TitoFan]

I love to see someone talking NFL.

Maybe if the NFL puts a team in the UK, there'd be a little more interest.

Anyway, I like your spirit, Slim.

Steelers over the Saints in the SB?? Damn... I'd LOVE to see that. Steelers are my favorite team... but they still look like an 11-3 first playoff round loss team to me right now. It's unfortunate... but they seem to have fallen off the cliff.

Your Packers are pretty damn good. As long as they still have Rodgers at QB... they always have a chance. Some are picking them to represent the NFC in the SB. I wouldn't bet against them.

Nothing personal against KC... but I'd love to have someone knock them off this year. There are two fan darlings this year (read "perennial losers") who are making a great account of themselves: the Browns and the Bills.

Either one of them making it to the AFC Championship Game would be a feat.

Tampa Bay I'd love to see make a deep run into the playoffs, because I'm a Tom Brady fan and that would totally cement his GOAT status.

Good to see a fellow NFL fan, especially at this time of year.

[palmerq]

Bloody ell the jets do the only thing that could maybe make their season worse and win two games in a row :S now they aren't getting the number one draft pick, the shaguars are leading that race(to the bottom:S).

If I understood the tv guys correctly then the NFL doesn't use the draft lottery like the NHL does. Many people don't like that here in the great warming north but I think it should be mandatory for these leagues... It just seems such a bad idea to definitively reward finishing last, although I am also sceptical if there is anyone who does actually try to lose, all these playing staff gits are playing or coaching for their careers but still.. I'm all for the draft lottery, it can also lead to hilarious situations like Buffalo tanking and then Edmonton getting macdavid...

Brady's great and all and good for him I certainly wouldn't mind him winning again but I'm hoping someone else wins it this time, Brady has had his time but if he does win, we'll all we can do is say hats off Brady... And maybe take off any hats we have..

[palmerq]

And what are the bills doing this year.... Somethings not right here :S... Bugger it I don't care if they are media darlings I hope they win it...

Although I've adopted Seattle and jaguars as my favourite teams now, not that I'm a real fan of either please note, they're just the two I watch each week now...

I think Seattle deserve another superbowl for their consistency over the years.

[SlimTrae]

I love to see someone talking NFL.

Maybe if the NFL puts a team in the UK, there'd be a little more interest.

Anyway, I like your spirit, Slim.

Steelers over the Saints in the SB?? Damn... I'd LOVE to see that. Steelers are my favorite team... but they still look like an 11-3 first playoff round loss team to me right now. It's unfortunate... but they seem to have fallen off the cliff.

Your Packers are pretty damn good. As long as they still have Rodgers at QB... they always have a chance. Some are picking them to represent the NFC in the SB. I wouldn't bet against them.

Nothing personal against KC... but I'd love to have someone knock them off this year. There are two fan darlings this year (read "perennial losers") who are making a great account of themselves: the Browns and the Bills.

Either one of them making it to the AFC Championship Game would be a feat.

Tampa Bay I'd love to see make a deep run into the playoffs, because I'm a Tom Brady fan and that would totally cement his GOAT status.

Good to see a fellow NFL fan, especially at this time of year.

NFL was my 1st sport as a kid- it got overshadowed by NBA. At the time Milwaukee Bucks were always a team in contention late 70s. & the NFL Packers sucked big time. Dan Makowski or something...So my knowledge of Steelers is ancient man!! I still replay the Steelers Cowboys 35-31 SB in my head, days of Bradshaw & Staubach.

To this day Lyn Swan is still my favorite WR. IMO he was the one that started the catch-the ball, with a toe, slightly inbound- play! Franco Harris was the 1st back I remember hearing on a regular basis. Although it would be Toney Dorsett & then Emmit Smith I considered my favorite runners.

I was old enough to remember how their defense became known as the Steele Curtain Joe Green L.C. Greenwood...I 4got the other names LOL! I think I faded from NFL around the time Curtain & Bradshaw best days were gone 1981ish. I'll watch a few games but havent watched an entire season in decades. Boxing, music & Vagina became a bit more important from age 17-40s

Bloody ell the jets do the only thing that could maybe make their season worse and win two games in a row :S now they aren't getting the number one draft pick, the shaguars are leading that race(to the bottom:S).

If I understood the tv guys correctly then the NFL doesn't use the draft lottery like the NHL does. Many people don't like that here in the great warming north but I think it should be mandatory for these leagues... It just seems such a bad idea to definitively reward finishing last, although I am also sceptical if there is anyone who does actually try to lose, all these playing staff gits are playing or coaching for their careers but still.. I'm all for the draft lottery, it can also lead to hilarious situations like Buffalo tanking and then Edmonton getting macdavid...

Brady's great and all and good for him I certainly wouldn't mind him winning again but I'm hoping someone else wins it this time, Brady has had his time but if he does win, we'll all we can do is say hats off Brady... And maybe take off any hats we have..

I've seen a few games where it seemed like they were trying to lose that last game or 2 (by taking players out) I'm like why? If they get hurt on a play, it won't matter, they'll suck with or without an injury.

[TitoFan]

Bloody ell the jets do the only thing that could maybe make their season worse and win two games in a row :S now they aren't getting the number one draft pick, the shaguars are leading that race(to the bottom:S).

If I understood the tv guys correctly then the NFL doesn't use the draft lottery like the NHL does. Many people don't like that here in the great warming north but I think it should be mandatory for these leagues... It just seems such a bad idea to definitively reward finishing last, although I am also sceptical if there is anyone who does actually try to lose, all these playing staff gits are playing or coaching for their careers but still.. I'm all for the draft lottery, it can also lead to hilarious situations like Buffalo tanking and then Edmonton getting macdavid...

Brady's great and all and good for him I certainly wouldn't mind him winning again but I'm hoping someone else wins it this time, Brady has had his time but if he does win, we'll all we can do is say hats off Brady... And maybe take off any hats we have..

You know... that is not such a bad idea. One thing that totally rubs me the wrong way is how the TV commentators harp on the Jets trying to win a game. Really?? So now making sure you finish last is part of the game? Yeah... I don't know what the right answer is. Maybe a draft lottery wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. Only problem with that is imagine if the Chiefs were to get the 1st pick of the draft... LOL. It would be like what you said about Buffalo and Edmonton.

In fact, I admire the Jets for trying to win. How bad would it look for the game if they didn't... all because of a draft pick? Usually this isn't such a big deal, because winless teams are not all that common in the NFL. But geez... even the commentators are cheering for the Jets to throw games. Something definitely wrong with that.

[palmerq]

Well the NHL draft lottery is pretty good, if you qualify for the play offs you're not eligible for the lottery, and the chances of teams increases the closer to the bottom they are. The NHL does like the first ten picks or something as a lottery so the Canucks lost a place a couple of years in a row, there's a few other rules in there too, either way I like it better than just the straight last place finishers get the pick automatically.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_NHL_Entry_Draft