The NFL Thread

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Baker is amazing.

[Foe]

Agreed, Michigan deserve to drop like a stone.

Speaking of big name teams that are shit, shout outs to Tennessee throwing another one away to BYU & Florida State for only beating Louisiana Monroe in OT because their kicker missed an extra point :harold:

Tennessee are in trouble because their players will quit and they’ve not even played any of their difficult games yet in the SEC.

[Dan]

I can't wait for Alabama to beat them 80-0 with their starters only playing the first half :drool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It's weird seeing a QB smaller than his RB.

[niko_cee]

Is the Cowboys having an 8 year old running their offence a Sean McVay effect thing or is there more to it than that?

[Giggles]

Is the Cowboys having an 8 year old running their offence a Sean McVay effect thing or is there more to it than that?

If Kingsbury and LeFleur have head coaching jobs then anything goes.

[Foe]

Saquan is just so good. I know the browns love baker but seriously, they still look like idiots passing up on him. He’s built to be the best running back in the league for years, even with a shitty offence like the giants have at the moment.

[Dan]

#RunningBacksDontMatter though, and to be fair, they absolutely don't when the alternative is a potential franchise QB.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1170849840424792065

Madness.

He rejected their offer when they called on Saturday so they gave him a fully guaranteed contract. Has to be the biggest given to a UDFA in his rookie season.

[Giggles]

The flea flicker :cool:


https://youtu.be/wFuWv08HhoA

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Foles is on IR and Jags have sent a fifth round pick to the Steelers for Dobbs.

Also, OBJ might be in trouble for wearing a $350k watch during his game.

[Dan]

What are they going to do, fine him? He just paid $350k for a watch, he won’t give a shit.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It sounds like nothing other than A WARNING.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Oh and it's a hideous watch:

https://www.revolution.watch/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/37-Richard-Mille-A-Class-of-His-Own-1024x683.jpg

[Giggles]

Looks like it was a Lego kit.

[phonics]

With the Brown news, how much should I bet on the Patriots to win the Superbowl and what odds can I get.

[Pleb]

4/1 on SkyBet...or 9/2 if you want to go Price Boost.

[phonics]

4 to 1 sounds high for how obvious it is.

[Dan]

You should’ve been betting it all along. It’s too late at this point, we all know it’s happening now.

[Foe]

The patriots smash the steelers and yet sony michel decides to just take the night off. Fuck off.

The steelers just didn’t look good at all. Losing bell and brown maybe wasn’t a great move.

[Gray Fox]

They do always get a fisting in Foxborough though so I wouldn't read great deals into that yet.

Pats don't have to play a play-off team in their first 8 games. They're already there themselves now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Eli Apple and PJ Williams are bad.

[Gray Fox]

What a game that was. Watson played out of his skin, but ultimately they let him get sacked just too much.

Saints are very fun to watch on both sides of the ball. Their defence got to Watson quite a few times, but the Texans just could not pick up Thomas/Ginn and I remember them getting Brees once. Kept the mighty JJ Watt very quiet too.

[Dan]

JESUS. Even the highlights were stressful to watch :D

As has already been said, PJ Williams & Eli Apple are not ideal starters, and I’m not sure Marcus Williams is ever going to learn how to tackle - he did the Diggs thing again to Watson on the rushing TD. I’m also not convinced Lattimore can hold up to the truly elite, physical guys like Nuke, Julio & Evans, which is a problem when two of those guys are in our division.

On the other hand, Cam Jordan is a god, and Trey Hendrickson is making Marcus ‘two first rounders’ Davenport look bad. Jared Cook looked decent, and of course we threw a TD pass to Taysom Hill.

Raiders game was okay too. Josh Jacobs :cool:

[Ian]

Well that went about as well as I expected. I thought Flacco was largely alright but key drops, the rubbish o-line and people nullifying useful plays with stupid penalties cost him.

[Dan]

That DaeSean drop was a heartbreaker for the brand :(

[Gray Fox]

Here we go again...

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[Dan]

Wonder which team leaked that?

[Giggles]

Wonder which team leaked that?


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[Dan]

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Fark. Pretty much the best LB in college out for the year before week 1 - wonder if this will affect whether he declares or not.

And now we’ve lost Markus Bailey from
Purdue :moop: 2020 linebacker class is going to be in trouble if these two decide to stay now.

[thommo]

Hunter Henry suffered a knee fracture, the Chargers really can’t catch a break.

Johnathan Abram undergoing shoulder surgery too, could be out for the season for the Raiders.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hunter Henry is a permacrock.

[Dan]

Abram is on IR now :(

Apparently after he injured himself he just said he'd hit people with his other shoulder instead & played on :cool: He also managed to bend his facemask from all the contact. Dude is a baller, so hopefully he'll come back strong & we get to watch him light people up for a long time.

[thommo]

Darnold now out for multiple weeks with mono. Feels like the Jets season could be completely over by the time he gets back in. At least they have the bye in Week 4.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Who the fuck gets mono these days?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001053741/article/gardner-minshew-is-the-leagues-most-interesting-qb

This is all very strange:


Flint Minshew wanted to name his son Gardner II -- without the existence of a Gardner I.

His father, Billy, wanted his grandson to be named Beowulf.

[Ian]

Beowulf is a proper missed opportunity.

[Dan]

Giving up three sacks to Shaq Barrett :harold: I assume that was Greg Little at LT?

Dolphins have agreed to let Minkah seek a trade :| He’ll look good in a Patriots uniform.

[Gray Fox]

It was a hard watch. The Bucs seemed to twig early on that they could stuff up McCaffery and force Cam to throw.
Once Cam proved repeatedly that he can't throw that was pretty much the game. Samuel and Moore were open loads only for the throw to be behind them or bouncing before them.

Winston didn't look great, but he managed to Godwin and Evans when he needed to.

That's 0-2 for the Panthers now and given they have the Saints in their division you're already looking at needing a wildcard. The NFC is very competitive though so even that will be tough from here.

[Dan]

Get Will Grier in there, eh Sir Andy Mahowry

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Giving up three sacks to Shaq Barrett :harold: I assume that was Greg Little at LT?

Dolphins have agreed to let Minkah seek a trade :| He’ll look good in a Patriots uniform.

He's been paid about 64% of his rookie contract apparently so a team will pay fuck all.

[Dan]

Yeah, they’re mostly guaranteed so the team that drafts them is stuck with the money. It’s why Rosen was a bargain too.

[Giggles]

Someone's been editing Wiki already. They're not wrong though.


After his old team, the Miami Dolphins, gave up on the 2019 season, Fitzpatrick requested a trade and was granted permission to seek one on September 12th 2019.

[Pleb]

Jets have a scary defence now.
:baz:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

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Jesus.

[niko_cee]

If only he'd stuck the landing.

[Foe]

If the steelers could stop giving up chunk plays to Tyler locket that would be great please.

Also good if the Texans could just complete a snap cleanly.

[Giggles]

Packers are shitting the bed. Not a chance they win this.

[Ian]

Who are these two pundit-ing on Sky?

Reynolds having to do a lot of the heavy lifting here.

[Ian]

Hold up, is one of them Vince Young??

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Carr attempting to imitate that college QB hit.

[Ian]

Having Fant trying to block Mack worked about as well as you'd expect.

Love Lindsay though.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Get the lawyers, Saints fans.

[Ian]

Really bored of Garrett Bolles now.

[Ian]

I think that's 7 or 8 holds against the two LTs (both number 72, which the commentators are getting much bants out of) so far.

[niko_cee]

Other than actual cheating by officials what is the logic behind blowing plays dead when one team is running it in unopposed?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Other than actual cheating by officials what is the logic behind blowing plays dead when one team is running it in unopposed?

They think they're right and want to show how great they are.

[Gray Fox]

They're even told to let those go as well.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I reckon I could get past Bolles or at the very least he'd end up holding me.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Flacco is elite.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Poor Ian.

[Gray Fox]

Great for drama. Terrible for football.

[Ian]

Flacco's actually been decent so far. Droppy bastards and a grim o-line are part of the issue. And I'm not convinced about Scangarello.

What an annoying way to lose though having been ballsy and gone for the two pointer.

EDIT: Just seen the replay of Chubb, ahem, "roughing the passer" on that last drive. :moop:

There were some ropey calls against both teams for that sort of thing.

[thommo]

Big Ben confirmed to need elbow surgery and is out for the season.

Mason Rudolph, your time is now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Jalen Ramsey wants out.

[Dan]

We all know he's going to end up in New England, but imagine him on the Chiefs :uhoh:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Pats would need to create some cap space (at least $5m) which looks like it might be a bit hard to do.

[Dan]

Please nobody watch the Browns/Jets game.

[thommo]

Please nobody watch the Browns/Jets game.

I watched the whole first half and I am very much suffering for it in work this morning.

[Dan]

I woke up before my alarms this morning so I decided to watch the condensed game & it almost put me back to sleep for good

[Ian]

I just saw a quote from Garrett Bolles saying he "doesn't agree with" his reputation for holding.

Mate, it's a reputation based on the fact you do it more than anyone else in the fucking league.

[Gray Fox]

The era of Eli is finally over.

Jones to start for the Giants on Sunday.

[Pleb]

Please nobody watch the Browns/Jets game.
The first quarter was enough to tear my fucking eyes out :moop:

[Dan]

The era of Eli is finally over.

Jones to start for the Giants on Sunday.

Good idea to get him in now so they can still go 14-2

[Ian]

The Bruce will be holding a candlelit vigil in his honour.

[Dan]

The era of Eli is finally over.

Jones to start for the Giants on Sunday.

If this is the end of Eli he’ll finish his career with exactly the same number of wins & losses (116-116), which is basically just a perfect encapsulation of his career.

[Browning]

I give it til half time.

[Dan]

Get your picks in for another glorious TNF game - Jags v Titans :drool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Jaaaaaaags.

[Pleb]

Well clearly it's Jags.

[Dan]

Wrong thread again :thbup:

[Foe]

Other than actual cheating by officials what is the logic behind blowing plays dead when one team is running it in unopposed?

The issue for me is to overturn a play has to be “clear and obvious”. So if they think it’s an incomplete pass, but don’t call it then the replay has to prove it’s an incomplete pass.

The officials need to call it as they see it. If they call it wrong, they call it wrong.

Blowing it dead is probably to stop someone getting absolutely smashed on a return which the officials though was an incomplete pass anyway. You have to blow the whistle at some point, otherwise the defenders will pick up and run every incomplete pass back just in case.

[Foe]

Also, some thoughts.

1. Starting brees in fantasy was an error. :moop:
2. Oakland got leathered but bar a nightmare second quarter didn’t look that bad. Glad hunter Renfrew has transitioned to an nfl slot receiver pretty well.
3. The jets offence really is unpleasant. Leveon bell better not like football, because if he does he ain’t going to enjoy the season.
4. Miles Garrett needs to stop the penalties. He’s an absolute monster but Jesus Chris, so many flags.
5. All these untested qbs getting a shot is good for the league I think. Hopefully one emerges as a genuine option ala Jacoby birsett. It won’t be luke falk though, he doesn’t have the arm to be a starter. Minshew has a chance though and it would be great if he shone. Very likeable dude.

Miami are going to struggle to lose a game by less than 10 this season.

[niko_cee]

The issue for me is to overturn a play has to be “clear and obvious”. So if they think it’s an incomplete pass, but don’t call it then the replay has to prove it’s an incomplete pass.

The officials need to call it as they see it. If they call it wrong, they call it wrong.

Blowing it dead is probably to stop someone getting absolutely smashed on a return which the officials though was an incomplete pass anyway. You have to blow the whistle at some point, otherwise the defenders will pick up and run every incomplete pass back just in case.

This happens in 99% of cases anyway.

It just seems it's one of those things that is going to be reviewable to death at every point in it's existence, as a scoring play, a turnover of possession, being open to a coach's challenge, that to sack that all off on whim on the field seems odd. The ball is always run back, and when it is uncontested, which it very often is, there is really no risk of anyone getting smashed. I recall the Pats benefiting from one in the past few seasons in a play-off game and it struck me as odd at the time.

It's a cautionary tale for VAR in our football. There are too many flags, and too many things getting re-reffed in the NFL, but the clamor is always for more and more 'correctness', and then you get things like the above which just seem to sit completely at odds with that philosophy. It's dull to watch flag after flag, everything being subject to review and annulment, and it's the end state of video review.

[bruhnaldo]

The issue for me is to overturn a play has to be “clear and obvious”. So if they think it’s an incomplete pass, but don’t call it then the replay has to prove it’s an incomplete pass.

The officials need to call it as they see it. If they call it wrong, they call it wrong.

Blowing it dead is probably to stop someone getting absolutely smashed on a return which the officials though was an incomplete pass anyway. You have to blow the whistle at some point, otherwise the defenders will pick up and run every incomplete pass back just in case.

Proving it's an incomplete pass I feel like is one of the easier calls to make though.

[Dan]

Hold up, I’ve not even put the final thing up yet! Gotta add in the game or the week (wonder what that will be) and the player prediction (you can probably guess that one too)

I’ll do it tonight & tally up the scores from last week.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Also, in the wrong thread.

[Dan]

Boy, there is some terrible football being played on national television at the moment.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Antonio gone again.

[Giggles]

The gift that keeps on giving.


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[Sir Andy Mahowry]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001056873/article/nfl-investigating-alleged-antonio-brown-text-messages

[Dan]

What games are you watching this week Foe?

I’m hoping Georgia/Notre Dame is on ESPN but I’ll probably stream it anyway.

[Foe]

There’s a load on bt sport. Definitely recording Georgia Norte dame (hoping the dogs knock them out, notre dame needs to be out the playoff discussion early).

Auburn v Texas A&M at 8.30 is interesting. A&M need a win, and auburn have bo nix at qb do will be a big test for him.

Texas Oklahoma state is on too, but unsure if I will watch that.

Signed up to espn player free trial to get game day from 2, might see whats on there. It’s only a tenner a month...

[Dan]

Michigan v Wisconsin is the other one I'm looking at. Also got Tennessee/Florida at the same time (5pm) which could be a hilarious car crash. LSU/Vanderbilt is worth a look too.

Auburn/A&M is the pick of the 8:30 games, although Washington/BYU & UCF/Pitt could be quietly interesting, and Louisville/Florida State is the Tennesee/Florida of the middle set of games.

Notre Dame/Georgia is the big one for the day, but Oklahoma State/Texas might be the better game to watch. Oregon killing Stanford has some interest as well I guess.

--

Did some scouting for the first time in a while this week, looking at Tua & Jonathan Taylor, and currently going through Justin Herbert. Taylor is a beast, as you'd expect - kinda got 'Saquon at 80%' vibes from him - and one of those two QBs is clearly better than the other one. I'll let you guess which one it is, but it's Tua, and it's not close.

[John]

I saw a few clips of Tua Letters and his power and accuracy on quick release throws seems pretty bonkers.

[Gray Fox]

#TankingForTua

[Dan]

He's accurate everywhere (his short accuracy might actually be worst, as he occasionally lets a loose one go on a screen or a dump off), but his deep accuracy was what really stood out to me - there's a video on YouTube of all of his dropbacks from the regular season & it's littered with plays where he throws 30+ yards down the field & drops it perfectly in stride. He navigates the pocket well & keeps his eyes downfield under pressure, and he's a good enough athlete to extend plays or be a legit running threat. The real worry with him is that he had a bunch of knee & ankle issues last year & his two worst games were against Georgia & Clemson, which are basically the only two teams he faced with legit NFL talent all over the defence. Oh, and the Alabama WRs are all fucking disgusting as well.

Justin Herbert once cried in the huddle. We'll leave it there for now.

[Dan]

Jonathan Taylor destroying Michigan already :drool:

Also, this is a relatively poor deep ball from Tua:

1175448042641788931

Henry Ruggs is going to break the 40 record this year.

[Dan]

1175241364197576704

Unfortunate :D

EDIT: This Michigan game is now so far out of hand (Wisconsin up 21-0) that the Fox team are now just talking about Smackdown moving over. Wisconsin have just picked off Patterson & they recovered a fumble inside their redzone in the first quarter.

Jim Harbaugh needs to go, and whoever the backup QB is for Michigan is probably worth throwing in as well.

[Foe]

Good start for auburn. Boy was flying.

See what kellen mond can do.

[Dan]

Yeah, I've got Washington on but the highlight just came up & he looked two gears faster than everyone else.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1175458088813551616

Ok...

[Foe]

I’m really not sold on kellen mond at all.

Kyle field is just incredible though. I’ve actually been to college station and stood outside it (and the names of all the first round legends ie Von Miller). College station/bryan must be a miserable place to live because the university and A&M football is all that’s there..

[Giggles]

It really is desolate.

[Dan]

UCF in trouble at the moment, losing 21-7 to Pitt.

[Foe]

No national championship this year then.

How’s their true freshman qb doing? Beat out Brandon wimbush (who is pretty shit tbf). Shame they’d don’t have milton back.

[Dan]

No national championship this year then.

How’s their true freshman qb doing? Beat out Brandon wimbush (who is pretty shit tbf). Shame they’d don’t have milton back.

Just turned over to this & they're up 24-21 now having just scored on a punt return.

I think he's been playing well - think he carved up Stanford last week - but not actually seen any of him beyond a few highlights. I'm always tempted to buy a Milton jersey :(

EDIT: 31-21 now. I think they're okay.

[Dan]

Just turned over to this & they're up 24-21 now having just scored on a punt return.

I think he's been playing well - think he carved up Stanford last week - but not actually seen any of him beyond a few highlights. I'm always tempted to buy a Milton jersey :(

EDIT: 31-21 now. I think they're okay.

Or not. They're now 35-34 down & get the ball back with 56 seconds to play but no timeouts.

And the QB takes two terrible sacks to lose them the game :D

[Foe]

Thank god Georgia won that. First half was awful, second was pretty good.

Tennessee lost again (to Florida tbf). They are not a strong team.

Funny that UCF lost their streak at someone like Pitt.

Notre dame have a pretty stout o line, and their wr (crawpeel?) and Te looked perfectly capable of making it up at the next level. The TE in particular.

I bloody love hale Fromm though. He just wins. He’ll be at the least a reliable backup in the NFL. If he lands in the right spot he might even get a chance starting. Under rated passer at Georgia, they just like the run game.

[Foe]

Oh and LSU joe burrow (mr Ohio football) is playing his way into the NFL. Having a great year and looked awesome last year too. Avoid injury and he gets picked in April.

[Foe]

Guess where Deondre Francois is now Dan.

[Giggles]

He's on fire this evening.

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[Dan]

Thank god Georgia won that. First half was awful, second was pretty good.

Tennessee lost again (to Florida tbf). They are not a strong team.

Funny that UCF lost their streak at someone like Pitt.

Notre dame have a pretty stout o line, and their wr (crawpeel?) and Te looked perfectly capable of making it up at the next level. The TE in particular.

I bloody love hale Fromm though. He just wins. He’ll be at the least a reliable backup in the NFL. If he lands in the right spot he might even get a chance starting. Under rated passer at Georgia, they just like the run game.

Pitt exist solely to fuck up one teams season every year - they should've taken Penn State out last week as well. I'd not heard of the Notre Dame TE but he did look pretty impressive, so will have to keep an eye on him. Chase Claypool is solid, but he'll probably end up being a day three guy, especially in this DISGUSTING class of WRs.

As for Fromm, he'll start, and he'll be Andy Dalton at worst. His arm is pretty average, as is his athleticism, but if he ended up at New England we'd all be fucked for another 20 years because he could pretty much walk straight in & run that system.


Oh and LSU joe burrow (mr Ohio football) is playing his way into the NFL. Having a great year and looked awesome last year too. Avoid injury and he gets picked in April.

Hot take, I think I might actually end up grading Joe Burrow higher than Justin Herbert. I'll have to give him a proper watch, but he's been really impressive this season from what I've seen & at this point in time he's a legit Heisman candidate. That LSU/Alabama game on November 9th :alan:


Guess where Deondre Francois is now Dan.

McDonalds? I feel like I've seen this, but can't remember where it is. You can never rule out Florida Atlantic, but something in my head says it's somewhere even worse.

EDIT: Hampton :D I had seen it - thought it was somewhere starting with an H & Hampton did go through my mind (although I was thinking it was something like Hampton & Richmond), it just didn't ring any bells as an actual college team so I assumed that was from something else.

--

Oh, and HOLY SHIT THAT UCLA/WASHINGTON STATE GAME WAS RIDICULOUS:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmBOvdO_8UA

:cab:

[Foe]

Fromm is absolutely worlds better than the likes of Jarrett stidham and josh dobbs so yeah, you’re right. who he surplants though I’m not sure. Big Ben maybe in Pittsburgh? Would the pats take him now they’ve traded away Hoyer?

Got that ucla game recorded I think so may just skim through it in a day or two when i run out of NFL.

Bama/LSU will be wild. Pretty sure I’m supposed to be out that day, so will need to find an excuse to cancel..

[Giggles]

That look :cool:

1175814541927747585

[Dan]

Fromm is absolutely worlds better than the likes of Jarrett stidham and josh dobbs so yeah, you’re right. who he surplants though I’m not sure. Big Ben maybe in Pittsburgh? Would the pats take him now they’ve traded away Hoyer?

Got that ucla game recorded I think so may just skim through it in a day or two when i run out of NFL.

Bama/LSU will be wild. Pretty sure I’m supposed to be out that day, so will need to find an excuse to cancel..

He's probably going to go in the back half of the first round, so Chargers, Patriots & Saints could be in play - Steelers just gave up their first rounder for Minkah so not sure they'll be in the mix for one a QB early. Titans & Bucs could be options in the early second round if things fall correctly. Maybe also the Colts, depending on how Brissett does this year.

[Giggles]

Getting walked over by the Broncos says it all about where this defence really is :face:

[Foe]

Has some abducted Matt Ryan?

[Giggles]

The Jets look like the 1980’s Eagles.

[Giggles]

The Packers offense is absolute turd.

[Giggles]

Just seen the Philadelphia Detroit score :cab:

[Giggles]

Also, where in the name of fuck is everyone this evening? Is it some sort of holiday over there?

[bruhnaldo]

The Dolphins are just awful and the only other game I have right now is Pats-Jets so... i'm sure the 4pm game will be more lively for me on here.

[Giggles]

This chancer of a Baltimore QB is the luckiest NFL player I’ve seen in years.

[niko_cee]

:D

I thought Baltimore needed to lean more on the 'run around a bit and then throw a hail mary' strategy when they weren't running the ball.

49ers really pushing the envelope on ways to turn the ball over here. Steelers are hopeless though.

[bruhnaldo]

Saquon apparently hurt which makes sense.

[John]

Jones actually looks like a player.

[bruhnaldo]

Imagine being a Bucs fan sheesh.

[Ian]

Still not a takeaway or a sack for Denver this year. When you've got Chubb and Miller in there that's really not acceptable.

[Giggles]

Is Denver's run game regarded as any good because if they're not then this Packers defense is nowhere near the hype.

[Ian]

I think our interior line is decent-ish just now, got a couple of good running backs and Flacco runs play action a fair bit which I guess helps. I mean for all that we're still only 14th in the league on the ground, so....

[Giggles]

There were so many tackles last night where initial contact was 3-4 yards past the line. It's like AJ 'stat machine' Hawk never left.

[Dan]

This chancer of a Baltimore QB is the luckiest NFL player I’ve seen in years.

Sir Andy Mahowry

[Giggles]

Did you see some of the "close your eyes and chuck it" throws he was at last night? 99% of the time they're hitting the ground or worse.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

There were a few passes that should have been picked 100%

[Giggles]

He has all the physical stuff so it can probably be coached out of him.

[Dan]

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This was his best play of the game.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He has all the physical stuff so it can probably be coached out of him.

There have been improvements and tbf Arrowhead stadium against Mahomes led Chiefs is a damn hard game.

I feel a lot more positive about him having to pass the ball this year opposed to last.

[Dan]

Without actually looking I’d imagine his overall passing stats so far this year are a pretty decent representation of where he is as a passer, you’d just prefer him to produce those numbers consistently rather than huge highs & lows.

[Browning]

I mean, he faced two of the worst defenses in recent memory which sure helps.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Dak faced the same yesterday but didn't exactly do all that much.

He's passing the ball a lot better (although there were a lot more shaky throws yesterday) from last year, you can see the improvements that have been made.

[Giggles]

What a time to make your point.

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[John]

That's great. :D

[John]

I see you, Mahow.

[Gray Fox]

Between that and literally eating horseshit, there's some special fans in Philly.

[Dan]

Oh shit, fresh off breaking Tim Tebow’s record for most consecutive games with both a passing & rushing TD, Houston QB D’Eric King has decided he wants to sit out the rest of this year to preserve his redshirt, presumably with the intention of transferring (although Jim Nagy thinks he might convert to WR).

He’ll be the next QB at Oklahoma :drool:

EDIT: Nevermind, he plans to stay & just wants another year to develop & get his degree. (https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/27687204/uh-qb-king-redshirt-rest-19-plans-return) Still seems a bit weird, but okay.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/back-to-school-antonio-brown-reenrolls-at-central-michigan-165102681.html

Brown has apparently re-enrolled in classes at Central Michigan University, where he played for three seasons. He's doing the following online courses:

MGT 312 - Introduction to management

ENG 303WI - Technical writing

REL 334WI - Death and dying

SOC 323 - Racism and inequality

Death and dying? :cab:

[Ian]

He's planning to escalate his dickheadery.

[Giggles]

King and Bulaga injured. Back to normality.

[Dan]

Penn State v Maryland :cab:

[Dan]

And now we have North Carolina giving Clemson a game with their true freshman QB. Sam Howell looking very promising early on in his college career.

Some good games today - Alabama are playing Ole Miss, Notre Dame are home to Virginia & Washington are playing USC at the minute, there's also one of the good mid-tier clashes in Wake Forest/Boston College, and we have Ohio State against Nebraska later tonight, along with Mississippi State against Auburn & Kansas State/Oklahoma State, with Washington State/Utah as the 'PAC-12 AFTER DARK' game.

In NFL news, Melvin Gordon will be playing on a snap count this week.

EDIT: Chazz Surratt is making plays on the North Carolina defence, which is even more impressive as he's a converted QB now playing linebacker. His brother Sage has been just as impactful as a WR for Wake Forest (they actually played against each other a week or two ago), so keep an eye out for them in the 2021 draft (probably).

1178060396000878592

[Giggles]

1178370077634285568

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Should be kicked out of the league.

[Giggles]

Does nobody here watch the NFL any more?

[Dan]

Yeah, we just all talk about it on Discord now.

Vontaze Burfict is still a sack of shit & Baltimore have collapsed when I needed them are the two main things to take away from the early games.

[John]

Nick Chubb. :cool:

Get fucked Mahow.

[Giggles]

Yeah, we just all talk about it on Discord now.

Vontaze Burfict is still a sack of shit & Baltimore have collapsed when I needed them are the two main things to take away from the early games.

I always thought Discord was a work thing like Slack. Though I'm suppose that would still work.

[Ian]

Discord is predominantly a gamer thing.

If I'm not watching the Denver game I tend to be watching Redzone while doing other stuff.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Our defence, bar Judon and Humphrey, is rancid right now.

Tony Jefferson needs to be cut.

[Foe]

Nick Chubb. :cool:

Get fucked Mahow.

Georgia really did have it good with rbs. Gurley, Chubb, michel and now even swift.

Funny that the NFL guys thought the ravens were special after dismantling the dolphins. Nope. The dolphins are just 0-16 worthy.

[Foe]

How about Kyle Allen at Carolina by the way? The panthers took will grier #100 in the recent draft and injury aside, he’s not getting near the field any time soon. Even heinecke didn’t look that bad either.

[Ian]

Denver first team in NFL history with no sacks or takeaways in the first three games? Yaaaas.

And yet I'm sure I read that going into this week the defense was still somehow ranked 9th or something like that.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Probably on yards.

[Foe]

And there’s Von.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

A wild sack appears!

[Foe]

Another qb buckled in trubisky.

NFL will ban tackling next year to prevent this.

[Ian]

A sack! :pards:


Probably on yards.

Yeah I just meant it's unusual to only do it incompletions and run stops with nothing big, as such.

Also the guy who's doing the colour commentary on the Broncos game sounds like Fozzy Bear.

[Ian]

And one for Chubb too. That's more like it.

[Ian]

Well that was nearly an unpleasant turnabout after the crap Flacco throw.

[Ian]

Some of the attempts to bring Minshew down this half. :face:

[Ian]

Well this is all getting a bit unpleasant.

[John]

Minshew and Daniel Jones both look a good deal better than Kyler.

[John]

Bucs v Rams is a proper game.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Marcus Peters almost had his head removed by an O-Lineman.

[Ian]

The players must have really enjoying chucking away the Bears game at the last minute given they're now trying to reeanact it. Twats.

[Dan]

DEFENCE :drool:

Teddy almost ruined everything taking that horrible sack, and the line probably gave up more penalty yards than we had passing, but that’s two huge wins the defence has stepped up without Brees & getting Sheldon Rankins just helps that extra bit.

Can’t wait for us to bottle it against Arizona & Jacksonville now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Burfict out for the rest of the year.

Goodbye dickhead.

[bruhnaldo]

Between fines and lost wages Burfict has lost over $5m from on field incidents. FUCK!

[Foe]

Nice start for mike mayock as GM.

I was looking at the schedules and redskins @ Miami is very definitely the best chance either has at a win this season. The loser could legitimately go 0-16.

Arizona have enough about them they’ll scape a win somewhere. The redskins didn’t have anything against a giants team with a rookie qb and no barkley. Miami are just devoid of talent.

Miami would be best placed to just concede the game to get the #1 pick. Otherwise they’ll end up having to trade the redskins for it.

[Gray Fox]

The only difference between Redskins and the Dolphins is that the Redskins are actually trying.

Their game is going to be the ultimate shit-off.

[Dan]

Nice start for mike mayock as GM.

I was looking at the schedules and redskins @ Miami is very definitely the best chance either has at a win this season. The loser could legitimately go 0-16.

Arizona have enough about them they’ll scape a win somewhere. The redskins didn’t have anything against a giants team with a rookie qb and no barkley. Miami are just devoid of talent.

Miami would be best placed to just concede the game to get the #1 pick. Otherwise they’ll end up having to trade the redskins for it.

The general thought seems to be that Mayock had control over the draft, while Gruden was responsible for the free agents, hence all the guys in the draft being guys with great football character & the free agents being Burfict & AB.

In other news, Bradley Chubb tore his ACL yesterday & is done for the year :(

[Gray Fox]

Bradley Chubb gone for the season. Miller back to doing it all himself.

[Foe]

The general thought seems to be that Mayock had control over the draft, while Gruden was responsible for the free agents, hence all the guys in the draft being guys with great football character & the free agents being Burfict & AB.

In other news, Bradley Chubb tore his ACL yesterday & is done for the year :(

You’re probably right there, given the clelin Ferrell pick and draft call.

Will be interesting if the giants turn out to have been right all along about qbs and jones turns out to to be the best of the first rounders.

Haskins looked extremely shaky. Then again, he doesn’t have a lot to work with.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Haskins is a project for sure, Jones looks a lot more polished.

[Dan]

You’re probably right there, given the clelin Ferrell pick and draft call.

Will be interesting if the giants turn out to have been right all along about qbs and jones turns out to to be the best of the first rounders.

Haskins looked extremely shaky. Then again, he doesn’t have a lot to work with.

Haskins was a one year starter, and he's not very mobile. He's the Josh Rosen of this class - you need to put weapons & a line around him, but if you can develop him he's a franchise pocket passer.

Daniel Jones is a great example of fit being as important as talent (if not more in a lot of cases). He absolutely is not the most talented QB of the bunch, but he's a solid all rounder who got the perfect fit in pretty much every way, so you're probably going to end up getting the best possible Daniel Jones in New York, whereas you might not end up getting the best possible Dwayne Haskins or Drew Lock (or Josh Rosen again) just because their situations don't turn out to be as good.

[Dan]

I got bored earlier so just for Foe here's my current CFB top 25:
1. Ohio State
2. Alabama
3. LSU
4. Oklahoma
5. Clemson
6. Georgia
-
7. Auburn
8. Wisconsin
9. Texas
10. Notre Dame
-
11. Florida
12. Penn State
-
13. Iowa
14. Washington
15. Oregon
-
16. Utah
17. UCF
18. Michigan State
19. Virginia
20. Oklahoma State
21. Wake Forest
22. Boise State
23. Michigan
24. USC
25. Texas A&M

I had Alabama top for the last couple of weeks but Ohio State look every bit as good on offence & are probably better on defence right now. LSU sneak over Clemson for the same reason, with Georgia at the bottom of tier one because they're the most conservative by far & I don't think they can score with the other five teams ahead of them, but they still have a strong shot at grinding out a win against any of them. I don't like having Clemson down at five, but they've not been firing on all cylinders so far & I can't really say I'm convinced they'd beat any of the teams ahead of them if they played on a neutral field tomorrow. They're going undefeated & winning the ACC though, so they'll be in the playoffs & by that point they should be rounding into some proper form.

Top 10 teams were easy, then after that you quickly descend into a huge bunch of teams who are all basically as good as each other - I could probably just put the next 20 teams in a random order within one huge tier & feel okay about it, so there will probably be some big fluctuations between those teams until a few of them start to separate themselves from the pack.

Current playoff picture is Ohio State, Oklahoma & Clemson as dominant champions of their conference, then whoever gets out of the SEC from the other three.

[thommo]

A bit of a shaky start last night with a fumble on the first drive and a turnover on downs in midfield on the second, but the Steelers got it together in the end. Some interesting formations and play design (with a fair bit of wildcat) and the two RBs were great all night.

The Bengals look truly awful though. The offensive line were under so much pressure throughout and when they did get the ball moving on a couple of occasions, they ended long drives with really bad turnovers.

[Dan]

Yeah, the Bangles would have had as much chance in that game.

RIP JuJu though.

[Foe]

Really interesting development in college with California putting it into law that colleges cannot prevent student athletes gaining endorsements from 2023. NCAA is going to have to get involved and relax their rules or the recruitment will be so swathed by whichever states allow similar laws.

Right now, athletes will be fancying UCLA/Cal/USC so that they can earn their way in case it goes wrong with injury or not quite making the grade for the draft.

Other PAC 12 schools are raging.

[Ian]

I've somehow only just seen the Burfict hit.

Honestly I'd just ban him for life.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Also it's crazy that this hit didn't result in any penalty yards due to offsetting penalties and the player wasn't banned/fined:

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[thommo]

Heaven forbid me ever defending anything to do with the Patriots but the other camera angle does show Jones leading with his shoulder. Allen is also getting tackled from behind, dragging him down and causing the helmet to helmet contact. Just really unfortunate it ended up with Allen having to go off.

[Dan]

Yeah, I thought that one was more unfortunate than malicious. They really do need to figure out a way of protecting people from ducking their heads though, as defenders are pretty much helpless if the ball carrier decides to duck at the last second.

Also, that California law will be the breaking point that forces other states to change their laws to help avoid schools losing loads of top recruits - USC just got a commitment from a 5 star QB in the last few days, so you can already argue it’s making a difference. Good on them really - I think Josh ‘selfish rich boy’ Rosen was part of the group campaigning to push it through as well.

[Foe]

Yeah, I thought that one was more unfortunate than malicious. They really do need to figure out a way of protecting people from ducking their heads though, as defenders are pretty much helpless if the ball carrier decides to duck at the last second.

Also, that California law will be the breaking point that forces other states to change their laws to help avoid schools losing loads of top recruits - USC just got a commitment from a 5 star QB in the last few days, so you can already argue it’s making a difference. Good on them really - I think Josh ‘selfish rich boy’ Rosen was part of the group campaigning to push it through as well.

Yeah it’s a bit mental. I mean it’s 4 years away so it’s not going to help any of the current bunch. I get schools not wanting to pay players directly, it’s an education system, they feel they shouldn’t and actually it prevents big rich schools just throwing money at recruits.

Mental that a player can’t get an endorsement or profit from their image elsewhere though. As long as it’s adequately protected like it seems so there’s no competing obligations it should work. The amount that your likes of tua/swift/etienne/Clemson qb I’ve forgotten the name of would get is wild. Actually it might make players fancy going to slightly smaller schools where they can play, rather than sit as a backup at a huge college. Was it Leonard fournette or Todd gurley that nearly got banned for their family selling signed merchandise? That’s mental. If the college don’t like it and think it’s going too far, stop playing the kid and play someone else. But winning.

Ohio state look scary good this year. Clemson stuttering so would be interesting if they continued to stutter but win, would a 1-loss non SEC champ get in ahead of them? Ie if bama lost to LSU and LSU won the SEC undefeated...

[bruhnaldo]

There's no scenario where an undefeated Clemson falls to #5 tbh.

[Dan]

They’ve been less impressive than any of the other teams in their tier, including Georgia, and probably even Auburn & Wisconsin.

As the undefeated national champions & knowing they’re almost guaranteed to win the ACC without a loss again this season it’s hard to imagine them ending the season outside the top four, but right now - assuming we’re ranking on who the best teams have been this season - they have no business being ahead of Ohio State & Alabama, at least.

Also didn’t realise the endorsement thing was that far in the future. Plenty of time for a million appeals.

[Foe]

Think it’s more likely the ncaa tries to manipulate their rules, rather than appeal. California law is California law, if the governer wants it (and why wouldn’t they if it can attract top talent to the state) then it goes through.

[igor_balis]

Any good websites for match reports?

[Foe]

You not like nfl.com ?

It’s pretty comprehensive.

[Giggles]

The yanks don't really do them, not well anyway. You'll get a generic AP description that everyone will carry and then it's all HOT TAKES and FIVE REASONS, etc.

[Ian]

I missed the news on Chubb. Fuck.

[Giggles]

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[Dan]

1180325839969423360

Savage :cool:

Also, fuck you Iowa for utterly shitting yourselves & losing 10-3 against Michigan. Not seen the game but I'd wager it was Nate Stanley's fault.

EDIT: 23 of 42 passing with 3 INTs. Nate Stanley is still trash.

[Foe]

I really like Iowa as a team. Great stadium, sentimental tradition, nice unis. It would be great if they could get good enough to properly compete. They don’t seem that far off..

[Dan]

They’re always pretty solid as a top 20-30 team in the country, they just need someone who isn’t a UDFA draft prospect at QB to get them challenging the teams above that.

Nate Stanley v Shea Patterson is the most offensive QB matchup for two top 25 teams with draft eligible senior QBs I can think of in recent years.

I watched a CFB Nerds video recently that previewed that game & they said that if you put the best parts of Stanley & Patterson together you’d have a good NFL QB, but unfortunately they’re both more bad than good individually.

I could see either/both of them getting drafted as seventh round dart throws, but I’m not sure either make it as anything more than backups, if they even manage to stick in the league.

[Giggles]

Is this London game on terrestrial?

[Gray Fox]

I think Sky1 only unfortunately.

[Giggles]

That’ll do.

[Giggles]

Is this the Bears that can’t be run on?

[Giggles]

That challenge the Buccaneers lost was bullshit. It was offensive interference as plain as day.

[Dan]

The Bucs' front seven has been pretty good so far this season, problem is their DBs aren't at the same level. I'd like to see them stick with most of them, though, as they're mainly rookies or second year guys, but they'll need a couple of players to step up if they're going to pull their weight on defence.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

That challenge the Buccaneers lost was bullshit. It was offensive interference as plain as day.

It was indeed.

[Giggles]

This cunt on Redzone needs to stop that Berman style ‘whoop’ shit immediately.

[Giggles]

Rudolph went down like a sack of shite there.

[Foe]

Someone is going to get a pasting. Rudolph knocked out and like a zombie. Then being forced to walk off himself. Looks like he’s been popping pills all night. Poor lad deserves better than that.

[Giggles]

Where’s Cam Newton?

[Gray Fox]

Where’s Cam Newton?

He's got a gammy foot and is out a few more weeks.

[Foe]

Don’t need him. Run CMC is carrying them.

[Giggles]

Christian McCaffrey. You’re a grown man.

[niko_cee]

Oakland were really going full Spurs until that idiot ran into the kicker for the Bears. Why on earth would you do that? Just let them kick the ball away and you win the game. Must drive coaches insane.

[Giggles]

That might shut Minshew up for the week.

[Ian]

I'm excited to see how we blow this one.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Rivers is all over the place.

[Dan]

I got bored earlier so just for Foe here's my current CFB top 25:
1. Ohio State
2. Alabama
3. LSU
4. Oklahoma
5. Clemson
6. Georgia
-
7. Auburn
8. Wisconsin
9. Texas
10. Notre Dame
-
11. Florida
12. Penn State
-
13. Iowa
14. Washington
15. Oregon
-
16. Utah
17. UCF
18. Michigan State
19. Virginia
20. Oklahoma State
21. Wake Forest
22. Boise State
23. Michigan
24. USC
25. Texas A&M

I had Alabama top for the last couple of weeks but Ohio State look every bit as good on offence & are probably better on defence right now. LSU sneak over Clemson for the same reason, with Georgia at the bottom of tier one because they're the most conservative by far & I don't think they can score with the other five teams ahead of them, but they still have a strong shot at grinding out a win against any of them. I don't like having Clemson down at five, but they've not been firing on all cylinders so far & I can't really say I'm convinced they'd beat any of the teams ahead of them if they played on a neutral field tomorrow. They're going undefeated & winning the ACC though, so they'll be in the playoffs & by that point they should be rounding into some proper form.

Top 10 teams were easy, then after that you quickly descend into a huge bunch of teams who are all basically as good as each other - I could probably just put the next 20 teams in a random order within one huge tier & feel okay about it, so there will probably be some big fluctuations between those teams until a few of them start to separate themselves from the pack.

Current playoff picture is Ohio State, Oklahoma & Clemson as dominant champions of their conference, then whoever gets out of the SEC from the other three.

Update after week 6:


Ohio State
Alabama
LSU
Oklahoma
Clemson
Georgia
-
Wisconsin
Texas
Notre Dame
-
Florida
Auburn
Penn State
Oregon
-
Utah
Michigan
Wake Forest
Boise State
Washington
Michigan State
Iowa
-
Virginia
SMU
Baylor
Arizona State
Minnesota

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Memphis
Cincinnati
-
UCF
Oklahoma State
Texas A&M

Memphis & Cincinnati both deserved a spot, but I went with Minnesota as the last team in. Just couldn't justify booting out Washington or Michigan State like the actual AP poll has. We have Florida/LSU, Texas/Oklahoma, Alabama/Texas A&M, Penn State/Iowa & Wisconsin/Michigan State next week, so we could get some serious movement in the rankings, especially with Clemson/Florida State & Georgia/South Carolina thrown in there too.

[Ian]

Flacco's run. :drool:

[Ian]

Our Super Bowl run starts now.

[thommo]

Colts looked really impressive last night. Their running game just tired out the Chiefs so well, and for once, Mahomes looked vulnerable.

[Gray Fox]

Keeping Mahomes off the field is the best strategy and their defence is the reason they'll make the play-offs but wont win the big one.

Also Jay Gruden has fallen on his Colt McCoy shaped sword.

[Dan]

1181283279514660864

XFL have announced their first batch of players in their player pool. I'd say I've heard of roughly twenty of them.

[Giggles]

That’s 18 more than me.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

They should extend offers to Antonio and Vontaze.

[Browning]

As if there's a Saquon Edwards and a Barkley Edwards...

[Dan]

The real shocker is that there aren't really even any good names - Handsome Tanielu is about as good as it gets.

[Giggles]

I quite like Storm Norton.

[Giggles]

Baker’s at the wheel :harold:

[Dan]

Jesus Nick Bosa :drool:

Cleveland need to throw picks at Washington for Trent Williams, their line is killing them. Well, that are sloppy turnovers - Callaway juggling the ball to let the 49ers have a free turnover was a great way for him to return from suspension.

[Giggles]

How long before Beckham Jr starts throwing hissy fits about the woeful inaccuracy too.

[Gray Fox]

They had him throwing the ball and taking carries last night so he's probably already been moaning.

[Dan]

1181283279514660864

XFL have announced their first batch of players in their player pool. I'd say I've heard of roughly twenty of them.

Oh God, there are five days of these.

1181637997349031938

Think I know about the same amount of these lot. Ronald Ollie is probably the most notable name from this lot, but there are a few other guys from the 2019 draft class, and we even have the first player with college eligibility remaining (Kenny Robinson, West Virginia).

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Arthur Brown :cool:

I was SURE he was going to be the next Ray Lewis.

He was shit and couldn't even make an AAF roster.

[Browning]

I've heard of one of those, following on from 2 yesterday. Of the 3 players total that I've heard of... 2 are kickers.

[Dan]

Kickers are people too.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1181984200678920193

Some proper names in this pool.

[Dan]

Dimitri Flowers & Tanner Carew :drool:

Also, holy shit Robert Meachum must be forty by now.

[Dan]

1182158474815430656

Hard to tell the difference from normal Ed, to be fair.

[Dan]

Georgia bottling it against South Carolina here Foe

CeeDee Lamb making it look like the Texans defence don't have arms with the number of tackles he's broken on his TDs.

EDIT: This Georgia/SC game has been a battle to two coaches trying to coach as badly as possible to ensure they lose.

HOT ROD NO :cry:

--

Clemson beating the shit out of Florida State, who still can't block & still don't have a QB that can throw the ball to the right team.

[Foe]

Georgia were awful there. Jake Fromm really struggled too... they Don’t have the same offence as last year.

That’s a great way of throwing away a place in the CFP. Tbf, I have no idea why LSU were below them. Hopefully they spank Florida and then bama on 9th nov.

[Dan]

The number of three yard runs they had on second & long was disgusting - it felt like their entire offensive gameplan was 'run hard, work the clock & hope Jake can convert on third down'. They need to change their offensive philosophy if they're going to have any chance of competing against the rest of the 'big six', and at this point you have to wonder whether they should actually be in the next tier down with the likes of Auburn, Florida & Notre Dame.

We've got some very talented freshman QBs playing already, by the way. Ryan Hillinski looked good for South Carolina before he got hurt, Sam Howell was impressive for North Carolina against Clemson a couple of weeks ago, Hank Bachmeier is keeping Boise State rolling, and Jaden Daniels looks to have just won the game for Arizona State.

EDIT: I should be watching Florida/LSU, but I just can't pry myself away from Louisville/Wake Forest.

I'm now trying to flick between both those games, Penn State/Iowa, the UFC & the Yankees/Astros ALCS game :uhoh:

[Giggles]

Is todays UK game on BBC or Sky One?

[Gray Fox]

Looks like it's a Sky Sports job.