Official 2011-12 NFL thread

[GeneralHankerchief]

First things first: Pick 'em, if you're interested (http://www.poolhost.com/). One of these years we need to set up an .Org fantasy league. To play, click "Join Private Pool".

Username: totalwar
Password: totalwar

Okay, I'm cutting this one a little close but we're still in time for the usual Thursday kick-off game, which means after a really long and boring summer and a (thankfully) averted lockout, pro football is once again upon us! Just in time, too - I don't know what I would have done with myself this fall otherwise. Here's my usual predictions, etc.:

NFC East: The "Eagles as Miami Heat" talk is kind of annoying, since I think most (sane) Philly fans such as myself realize that our team is still flawed. Vick, while spectacular when healthy, is injury-prone and our offensive line, to put it mildly, stinks. Instead, and it absolutely pains me to do this, I like Dallas to win this division. They turned around last year after Jason Garrett took over as head coach, and keep in mind this was with Tony Romo injured. Now that they have a legitimate coach and QB, all of those weapons scare me. Fear not though, for the Eagles will grab the top wild-card and demolish whatever crappy team comes out of the NFC West in the first round of the playoffs. As for the other teams in the division, I think the Giants took a step back with all of their personnel losses from last year. They'll be treading water. Lastly are the Redskins, which are apparently a team.

Cowboys
Eagles (wild card)
Giants
Redskins

NFC North: The Packers convincingly won the Super Bowl last season and they're going to be a very tough team to knock out, as pretty much everybody is back for another go-round. Rodgers is a beast, fantasy and otherwise, and the only real regression I could see is if Charles Woodson and the rest of the secondary finally starts remembering their age. The Bears, a year after losing in the NFC Championship game, are going to regress, because I'm still not sure how they were able to get to the playoffs last year. Instead, that vacuum will be filled by the Detroit Lions, who continue to make progress with some excellent players on both sides of the ball but are a year away from contending. The Vikings had their fun a couple of years back but right now I think are in the bottoming-out process.

Packers
Lions
Bears
Vikings

NFC South: This division is ridiculous and is going to be a dogfight between the Falcons and Saints. Since conventional wisdom has it that no team ever repeats in this division, I'm going to say that the Saints take it with the Falcons grabbing the Wild Card. Both teams are simply too loaded to fail right now. The Bucs surprised everybody last year with a 10-6 record and Josh Freeman is a legitimately awesome QB, but right now I just think that they simply don't have enough to contend with the other two teams in this division yet. Lastly, we have the Panthers, who will be better than 2-14, but will still easily lose this division.

Saints
Falcons (wild card)
Buccaneers
Panthers

NFC West: This division sucks.

Rams
Cardinals
Seahawks
49ers

AFC East: The Patriots went 14-2 in a "rebuilding year" in 2010. Yikes! They won't win as many games this year, but they will go farther in the playoffs. The Jets, I think, lost some talent over the offseason, which will come back to bite them when everybody realizes that Mark Sanchez isn't going to get much better than he already is. New York misses out on the wild card, finally causing Rex Ryan to shut up. The Bills will either continue climbing and get near the .500 mark or go 1-15 and get the first overall pick in the draft next year, something tells me it's going to be the former. The Dolphins will realize that they have no real talent on either side of the ball and everybody will be fired at the end of the season.

Patriots
Jets
Bills
Dolphins

AFC North: Steelers-Ravens XXVII continues as both teams are stacked and once again ready to beat the tar out of each other. My roommate, a die-hard Ravens fan and Steelers hater, insists that the Steelers have some kind of hex over his team, so I'm going to go with the professional opinion and say Pittsburgh has the edge, although the Ravens will still make the playoffs, because that's what they do. Moving onto Ohio, what the Browns do will depend on whether Colt McCoy is the real deal or not. The Browns *were* scrappy last year, with a ridiculous schedule yet still beating some good teams. Cincinnati has a rookie quarterback who's not very highly-touted and basically no offensive weapons with a nondescript defense. They will get the #1 overall pick in the draft next year.

Steelers
Ravens (wild card)
Browns
Bengals

AFC South: I had stopped believing that Houston would ever make the playoffs after seemingly four years in a row of them being bridesmaids, but then Peyton Manning had to go and have his neck complications, making his status questionable at best for the first part of the season and murdering my fantasy team in the process. Since that team is pretty much built around the fact that Peyton is godly at QB, I guess I have to give the division to Houston by default. The Colts, however, will still challenge for a wild card. Tennessee is clearly on a lower tier than the other two teams in this division, but they still have talent and Matt Hasselbeck knows enough to be able to pull a win or two out of his butt. Jacksonville just cut their starting QB and their best player is a runner with creaky knees.

Texans
Colts
Titans
Jaguars

AFC West: I have a soft spot in my heart for the Chiefs for a variety of reasons (most of them having to do with Jamaal Charles) but if San Diego actually realizes that September/October isn't the preseason and don't roll over and die on special teams, then this is going to be a very good year for them. They have a ridiculous QB in Rivers, a #1 receiver who isn't doing a stupid holdout anymore in Jackson, and then a nice pair of RBs in Mathews and Tolbert the Tank. Keep in mind that their D was also rated #1 overall last year. SD is going places. The Raiders went 8-8 last year and won all six games in their division, something which will not be repeated since they lost a lot of talent over the offseason. The Broncos will stabilize after a year and a half under McDaniels, but are still a ways away from contending.

Chargers
Chiefs (wild card)
Broncos
Raiders

Final predictions:
NFC: Saints over Eagles
AFC: Chargers over Patriots
Super Bowl: Chargers over Saints

Good luck to all and let's have a great season! :medievalcheers:

[drone]

Your conference standing predictions are almost identical to mine. I'd say the Eagles beat out the Cowboys (wild card) for the NFC East, drop the Colts to 3rd (Peyton is going to be out for a long time) in the AFC South, and I don't think the Raiders will be last in the AFC West.

[Strike For The South]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceC16yRDFOA

[seireikhaan]

Sad face. It might be a long season with Peyton out. Not doing much in the way of divisional analysis or the like, but this is how I'm calling it:


AFC North- Ravens
AFC West- Chargers
AFC South- Colts
AFC East- Patriots

NFC North- Lions
NFC West- Rams
NFC South- Buccaneers
NFC East- Eagles

Super Bowl- Eagles over Ravens.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

GO DENVER BRONCOS!!

[drone]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceC16yRDFOA
And a year later, a few weeks after winning his second consecutive Super Bowl, that man was canned by Satan Jones. Hence why I put Dallas second in the division.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Very sad about Manning, he was the most fun player to watch in the league.

The Bengals aren't that different from the 10-6 playoff team...but they aren't that different from the 4-12 team either :no:

Dalton is at least as good as Sanchez, and when we won it was by running. Our offense this year is basically an "if andre smith improves the o-line, if the new OC is better, if AJ green is good*, if Dalton can play well enough".

The only loss on defense is Joseph, otherwise our front 7 is better.

*yes


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmO9dMp9F64

(not shown: the two other plays where green was wide open by Dalton didn't throw it quite right)

[Csargo]

I'm surprised by the Dallas over Jets picks. I personally don't think the Eagles are going to be as great as a lot of people expect. They'll still be good no doubt. I think Dallas and the Eagles will be close for the first spot in the NFC East. I agree with pretty much all of GH's picks, but I think the Patriots and Green Bay go to the Super Bowl. The Patriots will win it though in the end.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Great first game.

[Crazed Rabbit]

That was awesome.

What a last play too; that poor Saint trying to make it to the endzone as Packers seemed to cascade over the line at him.

CR

[seireikhaan]

Ug. Ugly, horrible game.

On the plus side, Cam Newton officially hauled as my Manning replacement for fantasy. :beam:

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Packers defense made it a little too interesting at the end there for me to be comfortable, but it's good to see the offense is ready to pick up where they left off.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Good sports day. Bengals beat browns, in your face dumb espn people. Stosur beats Serena "brat princess" Williams in straight sets. Redskins win an entertaining game vs giants, and then the jets pull through for me in pickem...well I was rooting for dallas but oh well.

Colts getting crushed was the least surprising result. Chiefs losing that badly was surprising. Newton passing for 422!?

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Ravens pwnt the Steelers!

[stratigos vasilios]

Which team finished bottom last year? I'll support them since I don't have a team. Unless you guys would like to convince me?...

[GeneralHankerchief]

Strategos, the Carolina Panthers finished worst in the league last year at 2-14, and they actually looked good yesterday despite losing.

Also, Matt Stafford :sweetheart:

also the Eagles didn't look too bad themselves

[a completely inoffensive name]

Raiders take it all this year. guaranteed.

[stratigos vasilios]

Cool that's my team! Go Panthers! Let's improve the 2-14! I'll try follow as much as I can, then get into the banter on here :thumbsup:

[GeneralHankerchief]

Tom Brady close to breaking the single-game passing record. He's at 511 right now I think, record is 554. Crazy. :dizzy2:

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

What you guys think of the Denver Broncos?

[GamezRule]

LETS GO LIONS LETS GO!

[TheLastDays]

Why did I only see this thread now?

So, new bet: How many times this season will we hear: "The Panthers actually looked good last night, despite losing"?

[GeneralHankerchief]

Well, we're already at two. I'm going to use the formula "number of games Cam Newton plays -3".

[TheLastDays]

Well, we're already at two. I'm going to use the formula "number of games Cam Newton plays -3".

That's why I asked. So will they actually get three wins or will Newton deliver three bad games?

Anyway, since I'm not a US resident my fandom to US American Sports is pretty videogame related and I'v loved Philadelphia since I played the Flyers on NHL 97, so I picked Philadelphia in the poll, though I'm not really sure they'll make it.
I like the Steelers a lot too, so I have my AFC candidate as well. Don't really know enough to make an educated guess who'll actually win it all..

[GeneralHankerchief]

I'd say it's a combination of wins, bad games, and Newton getting hurt. Just seems like it's going to happen.


Anyway, since I'm not a US resident my fandom to US American Sports is pretty videogame related and I'v loved Philadelphia since I played the Flyers on NHL 97, so I picked Philadelphia in the poll

I knew I liked you. ~:pat:

[Csargo]

Well, we're already at two. I'm going to use the formula "number of games Cam Newton plays -3".

3 Ints and 1 TD but still a good game for Cam Newton. I guess yards is all that matters:shrug:

[TheLastDays]

It's a shame all I get to watch over here is one game a week. Going to be Packers - Bears next sunday. I predict the Bears doing better than everyone would think.

[Veho Nex]

Raiders take it all this year. guaranteed.
:thumbsup:

Just because I root for no other team in football. Oakland Raiders for super bowl, each year, every year.

AlsoPot bellied import can kick like a mule. This guy is my hero. (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/15/janikowskis-field-goal-was-63-yards-but-raiders-want-64/)

[Cecil XIX]

Redskins haven't looked this good in quite a while, and it was certainly a nice change of pace to see their usual forth quarter resurgence actually result in a win. They've got some newcomers who're impressing.
Can't wait 'til week six.

[TheLastDays]

I haven't seen their game last week but I was impressed with Grossmann in their opening game against the Giants.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Not surprised. Not surprised at all.

[GamezRule]

Go Lions go!

[Sasaki Kojiro]

It's criminal that they called back that bears TD...would have been one of my favorite plays all time.

[GeneralHankerchief]

It's criminal that they called back that bears TD...would have been one of my favorite plays all time.

Agreed. That was awesome.

[TheLastDays]

Favourite play of the game, they even fooled the cameramen :laugh4:

Although the Bears didn't do as well as I thought they would.

[drone]

Why is Vick complaining to the media about not getting any flags when he is constantly getting hammered on each play. Shouldn't he instead be having words with his epically bad O-line?

Philly has done a good job through the years with their player acquisition, but they seriously dropped the ball this year. High priced corners don't win games, linemen do.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Why is Vick complaining to the media about not getting any flags when he is constantly getting hammered on each play. Shouldn't he instead be having words with his epically bad O-line?

Philly has done a good job through the years with their player acquisition, but they seriously dropped the ball this year. High priced corners don't win games, linemen do.

I can't really blame Andy (for once!) for going after the corners in the offseason; they were our Achilles heel last year. And to be fair, he did draft a guard in the first round this year, it's just that said guard has sucked so far. It's incredibly frustrating to see everybody come down on us though for the whole "Dream Team" thing when all of the Eagles fans over the summer knew that this had a very high likelihood of happening.

For now, I'm riding the Lions bandwagon and enjoying it immensely. :2thumbsup:

[drone]

And now I get to listen to Skins fans whine for a week. All is right in the world. :2thumbsup:

[Centurion1]

its good to be a packers fan we are on top and im not really threatened by anyone to be honest.

i guess i have to start actually hating th elions since they are an actual threat now instead of secretly cheering for them.

[TheLastDays]

its good to be a packers fan we are on top and im not really threatened by anyone to be honest.

i guess i have to start actually hating th elions since they are an actual threat now instead of secretly cheering for them.

Well, your offense is good, granted, but it's not infallible, had it's breakdowns against the Bears.
Your run defense is fantastic or at least was fantastic against the Bears. That could have to do with their O-Line's runblock though.
The pass defense has massive holes and there are quarterback-receiver sets in the league who will take much more advantage of that than Cutler and his crew.

[Centurion1]

Well, your offense is good, granted, but it's not infallible, had it's breakdowns against the Bears.
Your run defense is fantastic or at least was fantastic against the Bears. That could have to do with their O-Line's runblock though.
The pass defense has massive holes and there are quarterback-receiver sets in the league who will take much more advantage of that than Cutler and his crew.

we have one of the best pass defenses in the league. our offense is nigh on unstoppable if rodgers is playing well (which he always is) our run defense is the only lacking facet but it is still decent.

our run game is average but i would give john kuhn the ball on any 3 and goal or 3 and one and be 70% of conversion. james starks is getting better and ryan grant is a very solid rb.

The bears regardless of how they do this year were still at the end of the day a very serious superbowl contender last year.

[TheLastDays]

Don't get me wrong, the Bears are a good team but those interception (apart from maybe the first) were all Cutler's fault, not the achievment of the Pakers' pass defense.
The Bears TD by Davis showed the problems of the Packers secondary.

The run defense played well, but, granted, that could well be the problem of the Bears running game rather than an exceptional play by Green Bay.

I agree on your pass offense, and you'll need it when playing against better quarterbacks and receivers than last sunday.

[Centurion1]

the saints?

our game has only gained since last season to be honest with ryan grant back and jermichael bad dude finley as well we are looking hilariously strong.


you cant be serious about pass defense we easily had top three last year along with a gorgeous turnover ratio.

[TheLastDays]

They looked bad last sunday against a struggling offense, that's all I can say :tongue:
I only get to watch one game a week here in Austria so that's the first I saw of the Packers this season.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I think it's much too easy to overrate the good teams and underrate the bad teams in the NFL. Heck, the steelers almost got beaten by curtis painter.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

http://i56.tinypic.com/slpn4j.jpg

[Populus Romanus]

Poor, poor Seahawks.:bigcry:

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

I think it's much too easy to overrate the good teams and underrate the bad teams in the NFL. Heck, the steelers almost got beaten by curtis painter.



This is why destpile me living in Pittsburgh, I am not a Steelers fan. :laugh4:


Denver Broncos (which suck at the moment) and my other fav team Packers (hehehehehee) :book2:!

[GeneralHankerchief]

RIP Al Davis... for all the jokes made about the guy the past few years, he pretty much *was* the Oakland Raiders. A sad day.

[seireikhaan]

Indeed. Rest peacefully, Mr. Davis. Won't be the same without you.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Oh yeah!!!! :bounce:

[Centurion1]

6-0

at least something in my life is going my way.

[TheLastDays]

In other news, the "Dream Team" has actually won a game! I fear for the Philadelphia season ^^

[A Nerd]

I've noticed that the Bears are playing the Bucs (old school orange uniforms for the win! :D ) in London on Sunday, why is this? Every year the NFL plays in England I am perplexed. I didn't think American football was very popular over there.

[Csargo]

Apparently it is popular enough because they plan on doing it for at least a few more years.

Sasaki you should skip this week so I can catch up. :bounce:

[TheLastDays]

Well, I'll see the Packers - Vikings tomorrow, my hopes for a close game are pretty low but at least I'll see some nice passes :D

[Sasaki Kojiro]

J-E-T-S TEBOW! TEBOW! TEBOW!

[Crazed Rabbit]

Insightful football commentary. (http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/eagles-having-postmodernist-shortstorybook-season,26702/)


Eagles Having Postmodernist Short-Storybook Season
PHILADELPHIA—With a complete lack of ordered structure, a highly compromised cast of characters lacking a true protagonist, and no coherent resolution in sight, the Eagles—who began the season widely heralded as the best team in football—are enduring a postmodernist short-storybook season. "Taken as one body of work, the disjointed and almost halting series of vignettes that is the ordeal of the Eagles' weekly games—the empty victories, the shattering losses, and the sense that nothing good or pure can survive it all—is, in the best and bleakest traditions of postwar literature, compelling almost in spite of its inherent despair," said critic Michiko Kakutani, writing about the Eagles' "gorgeously incoherent chronicle of desperation and futility" in a review for The New York Times. "That they still have an outside chance of winning the NFC East adds just the right touch of meaningless, ultimately destructive hope to the whole narrative. Recommended." Kakutani also took time to deride the as-yet undefeated Green Bay Packers' season as "a barely credible litany of unattainable flawlessness showcasing the worst aspects of the American male-power fantasy."

CR

[Sasaki Kojiro]

https://i39.tinypic.com/xeluzd.gif

[Crazed Rabbit]

Reality Is Now Indistinguishable From Tim Tebow Fan Fiction (http://deadspin.com/5867199/reality-is-now-indistinguishable-from-tim-tebow-fan-fiction)

How is this happening?

CR

[Martok]

....And the most miserable Vikings season in 27 years finally stumbles to a merciful end. Not since I was 8 were we this bad!

Here's hoping next season we're not so pathetic. Gah!

[Martok]

I mean, honestly. Tarvaris Jackson!? What were they thinking?
I'm sure Brad "The Village Idiot" Childress could tell you.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Tebow.

[Centurion1]

Tebow.

/end thread



PS: I love him but my Pack is going to win it all..... again.

[Cecil XIX]

Deus Vult!

[Martok]

Steelers out; Martok sad.

[a completely inoffensive name]

TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOWTEBOW TEBOW TEBOW

Christians: 1
Steelers: 0

[GeneralHankerchief]

Saints-Niners was game of the year. No question. I can't see how anything's going to top that one.

[Martok]

NFC results: good. The Lions and the Saints are out, which makes me very happy! Ideally I'd like to see a Packers-49'ers matchup for the conference championship, but neither will I be distraught if the Giants manage to topple Green Bay.

AFC results: poor. The Steelers -- my favorite team (after the Viqueens) -- are out, while the Patriots -- my least-favorite team in football (after the Cowboys) -- have cruised to yet another easy victory. Unless the winner of today's Texans-Ravens game is able to pull off an upset next weekend, I'll definitely be rooting for the NFC champion in the Super Bowl.





Saints-Niners was game of the year. No question. I can't see how anything's going to top that one.
Wish I'd been awake to watch that one! *sigh*

[GeneralHankerchief]

Giants-Niners in the NFC Championship game. Just like everyone was predicting for the entire second half of the season. :laugh4:

[Csargo]

Saints-Niners was game of the year. No question. I can't see how anything's going to top that one.

Agree completely.

[seireikhaan]

Well thank goodness. I was concerned for a while that Caldwell was going to be spared in spite of this generally awful season. Man had no idea what he was doing without Peyton. At this point, assuming that we don't get a Cowher, I guess I'm hoping for Hue Jackson, or else some unheard of underdog. Just please, no hiring any Martys or that Broncos O Coordinator that people seem enthralled with for some unknown reason.

[drone]

I was surprised Caldwell lasted this long, I figured he would be canned at the same time the Polians were. Just a brutal convergence of problems this year, losing Peyton, not having the offseason to prepare for not having Peyton, and the poor draft classes taking their toll. I'm just wondering what uniform Peyton will wear next year...

[GeneralHankerchief]

I'm really excited for this matchup. Super Bowl 42 was the best game I've ever seen and these two teams match up pretty well against each other. This was the one I was hoping for out of the four, but only if it ends in a Giants victory. NFC East needs to redeem itself... :juggle2:

[Martok]

I'm the opposite: Of the "final four" teams, this is the matchup I care about the least (I was hoping for Niners vs. Ravens). I'll still be rooting for New York, but only because I don't want NE to win.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Root for the Patriots! Root for Vengeance!

[Gregoshi]

I'll agree that this was perhaps my least desirable matchup. I don't like either team and I can't decide who I dislike (I'll be nice) more, though I think the Patriots have a slight edge in that category. This does not feel like the day of the Super Bowl - just a normal Sunday. I'll watch the game so that I know what happened and for the commercials and maybe, just maybe, during the game I'll perceive a greater evil and then root for the other team.

[Cecil XIX]

I'm really excited for this matchup. Super Bowl 42 was the best game I've ever seen and these two teams match up pretty well against each other. This was the one I was hoping for out of the four, but only if it ends in a Giants victory. NFC East needs to redeem itself... :juggle2:

So GH, do you think things could have gone better? :laugh4:

Much as I hate saying this after the fact, I'm glad the Giants won. The Patriots have this air of entitlement about them (Didn't Brady say he watched the last Super Bowl illegally over the internet?) that it's nice to see them taken down a peg. I'm also very impressed that no matter how badly the Giants in a game or over a season, they can still come back. Mentally it's very impressive.

[GeneralHankerchief]

And this is why I wanted this to be the matchup. What a nail-biter. My night ended with me hugging a bunch of delirious Giants fans and belting out "Auld Lang Syne". Yeah, the hype may get really annoying and I can totally understand that, but strip that all away at the end and only the game matters, and Giants-Patriots seems to regularly provide a great one these days.

Not quite on the level of Super Bowl XLII, but I'll still take this experience any day of the week. And this is coming from an Eagles fan.

[seireikhaan]

Pretty good game. Glad to see the Giants pull it out. Eli > Brady. :beam: Safety was one of my favorite plays ever.

[Martok]

The Patriots have this air of entitlement about them (Didn't Brady say he watched the last Super Bowl illegally over the internet?) that it's nice to see them taken down a peg. I'm also very impressed that no matter how badly the Giants in a game or over a season, they can still come back. Mentally it's very impressive.
+1

The Giants aren't my favorite team, but I have to admit it was kind of cool to see how they overcame a rocky season and often inconsistent play to ultimately come out and win the Big Game.