State of the NFL

[TheStarOne]

It's going to be a tight race for the Number 1 Draft Pick Bowl.

And do the poor TV ratings, reflect the mediocre and injured quality of the NFL?

Dolphins have won 2 in a row to get to 3 - 4
Jets.........clown show.........The QB is criticizing everybody and the HC is taking shots at the QB
Chargers have donated some losses, but have a two game win streak.... but are in last place
Steelers have the only winning record in the AFC North....lost two in a row
Bengals need a new GM and coach........and maybe a qb
When does Chip Kelly go back to college coaching?
Texans are leading their division ......They may win that division with a losing record.
The NFC East teams, all have winning records.........go figure
The Seahawks have a 4 - 1 - 1 record.........and didn't score one TD in a whole game with an overtime
The Vikings have no Oline
The Ravens have lost four in a row
The Packers are caught in the twilight zone........maybe need a new coach
The Bears, Browns 49ers are on the clock for the first draft pick
The Bucs, Saints, and Panthers could play in the SEC
and the Lions have lost to the Bears and Titans
How much is Andrew Luck getting paid?
ditto Brock Osweiller?
......Ryan Fitzpatrick?
...........Captain Kirk Cousins?
........Andy Dalton?
......Colin Kaepernick?
...Jay Cutler?
and Jared Goff has had some reps with the first team offense in practice
Jeff Fisher kicked the media out of his locker room after the Detroit loss.
And does any coach get the axe before the season ends?

 

[Battlelyon]

And does any coach get the axe before the season ends?

Should be Fisher but it won't be

 

[antone112]

Don't forget about the immense conspiracy against Tim Tebow.

 

[cdumler7]

I'm not going to worry too much about the tv ratings until I see the continued issues after the election and World Series are over. Every election we see this happen but you add in the fact that Donald Trump is a part of this one and yes you are going to see a major drop off in tv ratings at that point. My guess is the NFL sees around a 10% jump after the election is over.

Also the injuries and weaknesses of teams is honestly part of why so many watch the NFL. In any given year teams can emerge that nobody thought possible while teams on paper that look like champions fall off to nothing. It isn't like the NBA that my guess is I could say 4 teams and 2 of those 4 will be in the NBA finals. Or baseball where for the most part you can follow the money to see the teams most likely to have success. Yes you have the small market/budget teams that sometimes emerge but money still talks for the most part. So then you have the NFL where because of the draft set up like it is (hate how the NBA does it) and having a hard cap it makes it tougher for teams to stay on top. Yes you have teams like the Patriots but that is where franchise QB and great coaching pay off big time. Smart teams can for the most part stay on top but the majority of teams do not fall into that category.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

I'm not going to worry too much about the tv ratings until I see the continued issues after the election and World Series are over. Every election we see this happen but you add in the fact that Donald Trump is a part of this one and yes you are going to see a major drop off in tv ratings at that point. My guess is the NFL sees around a 10% jump after the election is over.

Also the injuries and weaknesses of teams is honestly part of why so many watch the NFL. In any given year teams can emerge that nobody thought possible while teams on paper that look like champions fall off to nothing. It isn't like the NBA that my guess is I could say 4 teams and 2 of those 4 will be in the NBA finals. Or baseball where for the most part you can follow the money to see the teams most likely to have success. Yes you have the small market/budget teams that sometimes emerge but money still talks for the most part. So then you have the NFL where because of the draft set up like it is (hate how the NBA does it) and having a hard cap it makes it tougher for teams to stay on top. Yes you have teams like the Patriots but that is where franchise QB and great coaching pay off big time. Smart teams can for the most part stay on top but the majority of teams do not fall into that category.

I think baseball has become less predictable than the NFL actually.....Teams like the Royals and Tribe are becoming the norm in baseball.....

The Pats will be hosting or visiting in the AFC Title game, we can all say that on the first day of the season every season.........That is certainly partially due to Belichick and Brady and the way that organization is run, but it also has a lot to do with the fact that Cleo Lemon is still in the discussion for the best QB not named Brady in the AFC East in the last 15 years......The overall product, especially in the AFC, has really gotten awful, and the fact that Big Ben has become a human car wreck, it definitely isn't helping

Not good in Week 8, probably much earlier, I can tell you that the Pats/Broncos/Vikings/Seattle/Cowboys, is probably as long as the list gets in terms of what teams have a shot at being in the SB

This has become the norm in the NFL now

 

[cdumler7]

I think baseball has become less predictable than the NFL actually.....Teams like the Royals and Tribe are becoming the norm in baseball.....

The Pats will be hosting or visiting in the AFC Title game, we can all say that on the first day of the season every season.........That is certainly partially due to Belichick and Brady and the way that organization is run, but it also has a lot to do with the fact that Cleo Lemon is still in the discussion for the best QB not named Brady in the AFC East in the last 15 years......The overall product, especially in the AFC, has really gotten awful, and the fact that Big Ben has become a human car wreck, it definitely isn't helping

Not good in Week 8, probably much earlier, I can tell you that the Pats/Broncos/Vikings/Seattle/Cowboys, is probably as long as the list gets in terms of what teams have a shot at being in the SB

This has become the norm in the NFL now

Did you really see the Cowboys as a Super Bowl contender before the season started though? What about the Vikings after AP and Bridgewater went down? Or how about the Broncos starting a 7th round 2nd year guy in Siemian? To me from your list the only teams I would have maybe assumed would be in the running would be the Seahawks (and even there with how good AZ has looked the past few years wasn't sure the Seahawks should be in the discussion) and Patriots. So just as I said some surprise teams have emerged to the top that many did not think would be there. Yes you still have your usual teams like the Pats but I wouldn't say the NFL has become predictable.

As for baseball here is a great article to show that the relationship between money and winning is still very strong. Yes you have some very smart teams with their money like the Royals or this year the Indians but for the most part the teams in the playoffs are still usually the big spenders. Now in the playoffs because it is such a shortened window small market teams stand a much better chance but over the entire season you would see things tilt towards the bigger spenders...

Don’t Be Fooled By Baseball’s Small-Budget Success Stories

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

Did you really see the Cowboys as a Super Bowl contender before the season started though? What about the Vikings after AP and Bridgewater went down? Or how about the Broncos starting a 7th round 2nd year guy in Siemian? To me from your list the only teams I would have maybe assumed would be in the running would be the Seahawks (and even there with how good AZ has looked the past few years wasn't sure the Seahawks should be in the discussion) and Patriots. So just as I said some surprise teams have emerged to the top that many did not think would be there. Yes you still have your usual teams like the Pats but I wouldn't say the NFL has become predictable.

As for baseball here is a great article to show that the relationship between money and winning is still very strong. Yes you have some very smart teams with their money like the Royals or this year the Indians but for the most part the teams in the playoffs are still usually the big spenders. Now in the playoffs because it is such a shortened window small market teams stand a much better chance but over the entire season you would see things tilt towards the bigger spenders...

Don’t Be Fooled By Baseball’s Small-Budget Success Stories

The Cowboys? I stated many times, as a Giants fan, that Dak scared me to death once Romo went down, and I also thought Zeke was by far the best player in the draft...But I get your point

On the Vikings, I agree on AP, I always thought the Bridgewater loss was way overblown, he was a game manager, and not a special one IMO

Broncos, Ive said over and over, you don't get much worse than the 2015 version of Peyton Manning, so yes, I thought they were legitimate SB contenders......

As far as baseball, I think as many big spenders are left on the outside looking in on the postseason, as are making it.......Not many saw the Royals coming 2 years ago, or the Mets last year (yes, they spend like a small market team), or the Tribe this season..........Tampa a few times in the past decade, the Pirates, etc...........Think baseball is becoming more and more unpredictable due to the revenue sharing and luxury tax issues, the league seems to be finding more and more balance every season

I bet I could eliminate more NFL teams from postseason contention on Day One every season, than I can with MLB teams....Im excluding the entire AFC South, which should be eliminated from being permitted to play in the postseason, on Day one

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Interesting list of QB's... I think Dalton is playing really well the last year and a half, no idea why they'd be wanting a new QB. And as the 22nd highest paid QB, I think he's outplaying his salary.





As for Luck. He's the reason that team isn't the Browns but with a worse line. He's not been their issue, just like he wasn't last year when Indy was spending more on defense than any other team in the league. All three of their wins have been him bringing them back. They lost another one when he gave them the lead with 30 seconds and another when he had them up by 14 with under 3 minutes left.

It's not their top 10 passing offense that is losing them games, it's their awful O-line, bottom 4 defense, bottom 10 run game.

Lions best offensive game of the year... Against the Colts
Jags best offensive game of the year... Against the Colts
Bronco's best offensive game of the year... Against the Colts
Bears best offensive game of the year... Against the Colts
Houston's best offensive game of the year... Against the Colts...

You see a trend there?

You can't keep blowing money on worthless FA's and miss entire draft classes and compete in the NFL. The entire 2013 draft is no longer on the Colts. Of the 2014 draft you have 1st round pick given up for Trent Richardson, Moncrief who has 70 yards this year, and a tackle who's just getting owned.

Andre Johnson, Trent Cole, Gosder Cherilus, Laron Landry, Donald Thomas, Ricky Jean Francois... You can't keep making 30 year old busts your major FA targets. If your QB has a 112 QB rating in the 4th quarter and you are the #1 scoring 4th quarter offense and can't win, maybe look at that defense which allows more points in the 4th quarter than any other team.

 

[cdumler7]

The Cowboys? I stated many times, as a Giants fan, that Dak scared me to death once Romo went down, and I also thought Zeke was by far the best player in the draft...But I get your point

On the Vikings, I agree on AP, I always thought the Bridgewater loss was way overblown, he was a game manager, and not a special one IMO

Broncos, Ive said over and over, you don't get much worse than the 2015 version of Peyton Manning, so yes, I thought they were legitimate SB contenders......

As far as baseball, I think as many big spenders are left on the outside looking in on the postseason, as are making it.......Not many saw the Royals coming 2 years ago, or the Mets last year (yes, they spend like a small market team), or the Tribe this season..........Tampa a few times in the past decade, the Pirates, etc...........Think baseball is becoming more and more unpredictable due to the revenue sharing and luxury tax issues, the league seems to be finding more and more balance every season

I bet I could eliminate more NFL teams from postseason contention on Day One every season, than I can with MLB teams....Im excluding the entire AFC South, which should be eliminated from being permitted to play in the postseason, on Day one

Well on many of those you would have been in the minority. I remember the day that Romo went down many in the media said the Cowboys season was over. Throw in the suspensions/injuries on the defense just seemed like too much.

I will agree that the Bridgewater injury was a bit overblown but I didn't see them being where they are right now especially with Bradford at the helm.

As for the Broncos just go look at season predictions and you will see most figured the Broncos would be lucky to go 8-8 this year especially when Siemian was named starter. I'm with you on Manning. I know the Broncos won the Super Bowl but I think his contributions especially in the regular season are a little overblown. Playoffs he helped out a bit more mostly by just not turning over the football at the same rate he did in the regular season but it was a bad year for sure.

AS for the NFL I guess when I look at the fact that 5 of the 12 playoff teams change almost every single year that is a pretty decent turnover. Now baseball did have pretty high turnover this year compared to last year but a big part of that is the fact that both seasons had 3 teams make the playoffs from one division. And again just look at the money. 9 of the top-13 top payrolls made the playoffs. 3 of the 4 that didn't make it were just barely outside the playoffs. Really the only big spending team that was down right terrible this year was the Angels. Cleveland is the only team outside of the top half of the payrolls in baseball that made the playoffs this year.

 

[PDay8810]

As for Luck. He's the reason that team isn't the Browns but with a worse line. He's not been their issue, just like he wasn't last year when Indy was spending more on defense than any other team in the league. All three of their wins have been him bringing them back. They lost another one when he gave them the lead with 30 seconds and another when he had them up by 14 with under 3 minutes left.

It's not their top 10 passing offense that is losing them games, it's their awful O-line, bottom 4 defense, bottom 10 run game.

good post...I never understood the Luck slamming.

 

[PDay8810]

I remember the day that Romo went down many in the media said the Cowboys season was over.

The media...season over without a game being played

I hate the media almost as much as an opinion based on the media's opinion. Lotta sheep out there

 

[cdumler7]

The media...season over without a game being played

I hate the media almost as much as an opinion based on the media's opinion. Lotta sheep out there

Not saying I agreed with that opinion as many of us on the Broncos board were hoping the Broncos would draft Dak and I figured that OL/Running game would keep them in most games. I just think when people saw a big name like Tony Romo go down people thought that the Cowboys would really struggle. Any time a team loses the starting QB though the media goes into panic mode. I think teams are showing though that some of these young guys shouldn't be underestimated so quickly and that the NFL still can have games won without a star QB at the helm.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

Agree on Luck

Dalton strikes me as a QB that wins and performs well in games Cincy should win, and predictably plays poorly in games you don't expect him to play well

 

[PDay8810]

Not saying I agreed with that opinion as many of us on the Broncos board were hoping the Broncos would draft Dak and I figured that OL/Running game would keep them in most games. I just think when people saw a big name like Tony Romo go down people thought that the Cowboys would really struggle. Any time a team loses the starting QB though the media goes into panic mode. I think teams are showing though that some of these young guys shouldn't be underestimated so quickly and that the NFL still can have games won without a star QB at the helm.

All I'm saying is like politics, if a football fan needs the opinions of the media to form theirs then stupidity rules

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Agree on Luck

Dalton strikes me as a QB that wins and performs well in games Cincy should win, and predictably plays poorly in games you don't expect him to play well

I think I'd agree there, he definitely isn't a great or elite QB yet because of that. But I think that's kinda the story of the entire team to be honest. Pats game that D just fell apart.

 

[cdumler7]

All I'm saying is like politics, if a football fan needs the opinions of the media to form theirs then stupidity rules

Very true...I would also add that the national media guys especially should not be listened to. They do not have the time to invest in looking into all 32 teams as much as they need to and actually give sound analysis to us fans. Heck for the Broncos almost every single national analyst that I have listened to didn't even know who Trevor Siemian was before he started week 1 but they automatically assumed he has to be worse than Peyton Manning even after the season Manning had.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

All I'm saying is like politics, if a football fan needs the opinions of the media to form theirs then stupidity rules

I think people completely dismiss preseason as useless.....And although it of course never tells the entire story, it made me a believer in Dak, while everyone just chalked it up as "means nothing, its the preseason"

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Now here's a question..

What should the NFL do about kickoffs? With the goal being to reduce kickoff returns, the 25 yard line starting field position has caused more teams to start kicking high and trying to pin teams deeper on returns than a touchback. The league obviously wants to limit injuries on that play? Any ideas?

One, and I haven't really thought it through completely is going with 9 men kickoff formations. More chance for bigger returns with fewer players out there (think 4 on 4 hockey), more emphasis IMO on the kicking team to get speed out there instead of size on kick coverage, and a lot more desire to kick touchbacks.

 

[PDay8810]

I think people completely dismiss preseason as useless.....And although it of course never tells the entire story, it made me a believer in Dak, while everyone just chalked it up as "means nothing, its the preseason"

I was all over Dak in January, but never dreamed he'd play at this level outta the gate.
Poise & commitment to date are off the charts

 

[megalodon30]

Parity stinks.