POLL Bold stuff: Pick your AFC and NFC opponents in the 2017 Superb Owl

[Rock Strongo]

Sure. New England was fundamentally more sound at the end of the day. #1 coach, top 3 QB, top scoring D. Really tough to beat that combination even on a good day and thats why I think they are the prohibitive favorite as new challengers need to emerge from the AFC pool.

The list of QBs that New England faced last year was embarrassing for the NFL imo. The modern game is pretty much based on the AFC having Brady, Peyton and one or two elite defenses every year. The AFC really needs to step up because its basically the NFL version of the NBA East where its one big star (Lebron/Brady) sleepwalking over everyone else.

the nfl could have had epic rivalries across the board between brady and ben and brady and peyton

they moved peyton out of the AFC east...and ben never really panned out as a rivalry the way we and the league probably hoped.

yes, last years QB opposition was embarrassing...but that speaks more to the state of QB play in the NFL than it does anything else.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

I blame Seattle

They spawn coaches that ruin the fun for everyone else

I was shitting on Hot Lanta, not Seattle....

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Sure. New England was fundamentally more sound at the end of the day. #1 coach, top 3 QB, top scoring D. Really tough to beat that combination even on a good day and thats why I think they are the prohibitive favorite as new challengers need to emerge from the AFC pool.

The list of QBs that New England faced last year was embarrassing for the NFL imo. The modern game is pretty much based on the AFC having Brady, Peyton and one or two elite defenses every year. The AFC really needs to step up because its basically the NFL version of the NBA East where its one big star (Lebron/Brady) sleepwalking over everyone else.

Again, hard to blame the Patriots for the quality of their opposition.

You play a dog, you should kick the crap out of it.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

I was shitting on Hot Lanta, not Seattle....

And I was shitting on Seattle

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

The Giants are going to the Super Bowl this season

One of, if not the leagues best defense

Brandon Marshall and a playmaking TE added to Shepard and ODB

if Goofy can play one more great one

 

[Rock Strongo]

The Giants are going to the Super Bowl this season

One of, if not the leagues best defense

Brandon Marshall and a playmaking TE added to Shepard and ODB

if Goofy can play one more great one

marshall is 33. he has a lot of miles on him. hes coming off the lowest number of targets, catches, and yards per game of his career aside form his rookie season where he didnt play much. blame that on the jets i suppose...

lol @ goofy

 

[rmilia1]

And their big strong playoff run from last year.

That ended in the shitter.

And you don't think Shanahan is a loss?

Not especially. We are keeping the same exact offense. Ryan will be given more flexibility and control over the play calling from the line. If anything we should be able to play faster and with more freedom. It'd be different if the QB was inexperienced or we were changing the offense but neither is the case

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

marshall is 33. he has a lot of miles on him. hes coming off the lowest number of targets, catches, and yards per game of his career aside form his rookie season where he didnt play much. blame that on the jets i suppose...

lol @ goofy

He was fantastic the year prior.........No Decker and an awful Fitz, and he definitely half assed it a lot last season

Hoping as just another option, and no Double teams this season, he has one more run in him

 

[Clayton]

Again, hard to blame the Patriots for the quality of their opposition.

You play a dog, you should kick the crap out of it.

Not blaming them. Just stating how things are. Its more of an NFL problem than a New England problem but just like how some draft classes are weak coming out of college, some NFL seasons are weak, too.

Kansas City and Houston are both only a couple of years removed from having the worst record in football (3-4 years) and Oakland is only a few years removed from being a perennial doormat. Denver basically started rebuilding but not really and Baltimore did that after they had their last run, too. Indy has failed to surround Luck with talent and San Diegos team is routinely living on the IR. Cinci has a 'big game' issue and they lost talent last year. Miami had some major coaching issues until recently and they lost Tannehill right when he started playing well.

Its basically a whole conference of 2nd tier teams with the Browns, Jets and Jags living in the basement.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

And I was shitting on Seattle

Far be it from me to stop somebody from dropping a steaming pile on Seattle.....

Sorry about that...

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Not especially. We are keeping the same exact offense. Ryan will be given more flexibility and control over the play calling from the line. If anything we should be able to play faster and with more freedom. It'd be different if the QB was inexperienced or we were changing the offense but neither is the case

I think you will find out differently.

 

[rmilia1]

I think you will find out differently.

I'm happy to extend the same wager to you as I did Soxfan. You name the prize

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

Not blaming them. Just stating how things are. Its more of an NFL problem than a New England problem but just like how some draft classes are weak coming out of college, some NFL seasons are weak, too.

Kansas City and Houston are both only a couple of years removed from having the worst record in football (3-4 years) and Oakland is only a few years removed from being a perennial doormat. Denver basically started rebuilding but not really and Baltimore did that after they had their last run, too. Indy has failed to surround Luck with talent and San Diegos team is routinely living on the IR. Cinci has a 'big game' issue and they lost talent last year. Miami had some major coaching issues until recently and they lost Tannehill right when he started playing well.

Its basically a whole conference of 2nd tier teams with the Browns, Jets and Jags living in the basement.

Perfectly stated

 

[Clayton]

Perfectly stated

It basically just leaves New England and Pittsburgh at the top and who knows how much juice Big Ben has left?

Pretty much everyone else is leaning on the idea that they are going to have some major improvement from the draft that is going to send them over the top. Thats not a good position to be in when challenging a team with the best coach, a HOF QB and a top defense.

 

[soxfan1468927]

It basically just leaves New England and Pittsburgh at the top and who knows how much juice Big Ben has left?

Pretty much everyone else is leaning on the idea that they are going to have some major improvement from the draft that is going to send them over the top. Thats not a good position to be in when challenging a team with the best coach, a HOF QB and a top defense.

And for this year, also improved significantly it seems.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

It basically just leaves New England and Pittsburgh at the top and who knows how much juice Big Ben has left?

Pretty much everyone else is leaning on the idea that they are going to have some major improvement from the draft that is going to send them over the top. Thats not a good position to be in when challenging a team with the best coach, a HOF QB and a top defense.

I think the window has closed on Pitt....Ben at this point is a lock to miss some games, in those games, they tend to lose, and lose out on any shot of playing the postseason at home.......And as great as Bell is, he also has a knack for missing the most important games

 

[Clayton]

I think the window has closed on Pitt....Ben at this point is a lock to miss some games, in those games, they tend to lose, and lose out on any shot of playing the postseason at home.......And as great as Bell is, he also has a knack for missing the most important games

I think that window is open.

I think the window is just barely open for Kansas City but it would require Bennie Logan and KPassagnon to both step in and solidify that dline so the Chiefs would actually have a really good defense and not a 'bend but dont break' defense. Not something thats too terribly likely but not out of the picture, either.

Tennessee, Oakland, Baltimore, San Diego and maybe Miami are wildcards but they'd need some things breaking the right away. I think you'll probably see 2 contenders from that list once the season ends.

Denver and Cinci might be a year off from coming back but they could also be in the mix, too.

Still, Patriots should be better than what they were last year and probably going to be a 13-15 win team entering the playoffs.

 

[Manster7588]

Pats dominated a larger percentage of the game than the Falcons dominated. And that's quite a back track.

Not the game I watched. We can sayvthe pats git lucky, and in a way they did because Atlanta was clueless down the stretch. Truth is Pats played great when it mattered most and took advantage of Altanta mistakes. All that matters is in the end NW WON the game.

 

[soxfan1468927]

Not the game I watched. We can sayvthe pats git lucky, and in a way they did because Atlanta was clueless down the stretch. Truth is Pats played great when it mattered most and took advantage of Altanta mistakes. All that matters is in the end NW WON the game.

I posted numbers to back that up a few posts later.

 

[USCDoom]

The Giants are going to the Super Bowl this season

One of, if not the leagues best defense

Brandon Marshall and a playmaking TE added to Shepard and ODB

if Goofy can play one more great one

If I used the 2015 NY Giants Defense to Predict the 2016 Season for the NY Gianys how would that have turned out?