NFL 2022

[WickerBill]

We're nearly done with two weeks. Your thoughts so far? It'll be interesting to watch Buffalo tonight. I'm making an assumption they'll win by 10+.


- Joe Burrow has Andrew Luck written all over him if his line keeps matadoring. Everyone's talking about the sacks, but the hits he's taking right after he releases the ball are worse.
- The first two weeks have been chock full of boring first halves and wild second halves. I'll take it.
- As a Broncos fan, I really hate the Raiders, so it's always fun to watch them lose. But for them to lose with Josh McDaniels as their HC? *chef's kiss*
- Speaking of the Broncos, my prediction pre-season was that they'll look rough until halfway through the season, then will come on like a train but it'll be too late. I just didn't expect the JV-level penalties and coaching.
- Lord, help our Colts.

[nrc]

I'm pretty happy with where the Bengals are right now. We just need to correct some things and... Oh sorry, I was channeling my inner Zac Taylor for a moment. :saywhat:

We all had high hopes when they spent $70M on linemen with seemingly good credentials that we'd see Burrow standing tall in the pocket throwing dimes all day. Yeah, no.

Instead we come out with the same script as last year, Burrow getting beat up but managing to work late game magic to win the game. Or rather coming up just short so far this season.

It didn't help this year that Burrow lost practice time to an appendectomy and I think it was a mistake not to give the new line any snaps in preseason. But I'm focused on Zac Taylor, his game planning, and play calling. It's all too predictable.

Every team has run the same kind of defense against them since mid-last year. Deep safeties with pressure underneath. Every week. And every week the offense comes out and struggles until the second half when Burrow goes into hero mode.

Last year they didn't have the talent on the Oline to counter that. Now they do, at least on paper, but they're still getting out-schemed. It's not easy for a new Oline to jell coming out of the box against a series of elite pass rushers. But they knew that was the assignment since the schedule came out and they blew it.

I'm with you, they're at risk of blowing the opportunity that they have with Burrow. They need to put protection first, second, and third on the priority list. Max protection on every passing down. Maybe the offense grinds to a halt for a while but Burrow will make plays if they're there and eventually the Oline and running game will come together.

:mad:

[SteveH]

I'm with you, they're at risk of blowing the opportunity that they have with Burrow. They need to put protection first, second, and third on the priority list. Max protection on every passing down. Maybe the offense grinds to a halt for a while but Burrow will make plays if they're there and eventually the Oline and running game will come together.

:mad:

Why is that so difficult for some teams to figure out said the long-suffering Bears fan? They have to give the most important offense player on the team a chance and many don't.

I knew this season for the Bears wouldn't be much. Their future was trashed when they traded up to draft Trubisky one position earlier. :rolleyes: He never worked out. He's starting for the Steelers now. Saw a little of Steelers game on Sunday, he's still the same old Mitch. He is a best a backup, not a starter.

The Bears are now trying to rebuild a team that has been deficient, especially on the O line for years. Not so sure Fields is any better than Trubisky. He sure stepped in it big time after the game. https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1571906271170666497?s=20&t=aYOoE12Q3BeAvP6P2bTJkw

[TravelGal]

Why is that so difficult for some teams to figure out said the long-suffering Bears fan? They have to give the most important offense player on the team a chance and many don't.

Haven't any of them watched "The Blindside"? I should think they would watch it just for Sandra Bullock alone.

[WickerBill]

Steve, I do think you have a reasonably good head coach now. You can instantly see what his subtraction has done to the Colts.

[TravelGal]

Thanks for starting this thread, WB. I miss the PoolHost days of having to pay attention. This made me look. The G Men are 2-0. I nearly fainted. TravelGuy must be cheering them on from heaven.

[nrc]

Somewhat closer to expected results for the Bengals this weekend. Hopefully the break from elite pass rushers will help them get protection sorted out. They're still too predictable based on formations.

The quick turnaround to the Dolphins on Thursday will make things interesting. The Dolphins will be a good test.

[WickerBill]

Was week 1 "fake Kansas City" and the next two weeks are the real KC?

As a fan elsewhere in the AFC West, I sure hope so. They look beatable - they did not look beatable in week 1.

[nrc]

On top of that the Chargers and the Raiders seem to have regressed so the AFC West looks wide open. But it's early. KC started slow last season as well.

[TravelGal]

Somewhat closer to expected results for the Bengals this weekend.

And for the G-Men. :rolleyes:

[nrc]

Watching Tua get his eggs scrambled last night (probably for the second time in a week) I'm wondering if anyone has done as good a job as CART did of dealing with concussions back in the '90s. By basing it on what seemed to be a completely objective test process and doing a baseline at the beginning of the season they completely removed this question of whether a conflict of interest was at play.

That's supposed to be the role of the independent neurological consultant in the NFL, but I wonder whether that's sufficient when you're dealing with a player who has been through the protocol and has a sense of what they're looking for.

I was happy for the win but sorry to see Tua go down. The defense is playing well but the Bengals needed to be tested on deep balls with Baltimore coming up.

[WickerBill]

I don't understand how he was allowed to play Thursday... but I bet it's based on the fact they got him back in the game on Sunday. Some speculation there's a loophole there.

Both were mistakes, obviously. That hit he took on Thursday night was pretty mundane. Tua was 5/6th of the way to the major concussion already, IMO.

[TravelGal]

Article in today's paper about NFL "reexamining" concussion protocol. I didn't read it. Sorry.

[nrc]

NFLPA terminates unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant involved in Tua Tagovailoa's concussion evaluation during Week 3 game vs. Bills

https://www.nfl.com/news/nflpa-terminates-unaffiliated-neurotrauma-consultant-involved-in-tua-tagovailoa-

[nrc]

Wickerbill right now.

https://media.tenor.com/qKgJogcC9U0AAAAC/tony-romo-terrell-owens.gif

https://twitter.com/MBFantasyLife/status/1583054193224429569

[WickerBill]

He's very Super Bowl Shuffle, without the dominant all around team.

[nrc]

If Washington DC can file a consumer protection suit against the Washington Commanders can I get my money back for my 1990s Bengals season tickets?

[devilmaster]

If Washington DC can file a consumer protection suit against the Washington Commanders can I get my money back for my 1990s Bengals season tickets?

Lions fans first. Demonstrably worse.... for a long long time. lol

[nrc]

Bills deserved to lose tonight for their horrible red costumes. Oh well.

Colts made history today. Or am I looking at that wrong? :D

[nrc]

The Bengals 22-18 victory over the Patriots is the 1st time this score has been recorded in NFL history. Scorigami - the 1075th unique score.

[WickerBill]

The Bengals 22-18 victory over the Patriots is the 1st time this score has been recorded in NFL history.

That's very odd, considering ~14 to ~28 are very common final scores.


How 'bout them Broncos?

:cry:

[nrc]

That's very odd, considering ~14 to ~28 are very common final scores.


How 'bout them Broncos?

:cry:

Come on man! Get it together. You have to beat the Chiefs this weekend! :D

[TravelGal]

Common man! Get it together. You have to beat the Chiefs this weekend! :D

:laugh::laugh: I rarely watch "commentaries" but last weekend found myself seeing the talking heads after a game. One of them was Phil Simms, who was adamant that either the QB or the coach had to go at Denver. He never minces words, does he?

[WickerBill]

The whole "bench Derek Carr in favor of a backup I brought with me from New England" is sooooo Josh McDaniels.

[nrc]

Well, what started out as an epic NFL showdown really took a terrible turn tonight. I deeply hope that Damar Hamlin has a full recovery.

I guess I'm not allowed to wonder how the NFL is going to sort out this sticky scheduling problem until we're given the okay by the media that the timing is appropriate.

[WickerBill]

I think we're allowed to discuss that here, just not on Twitter.

My assumption is that they'll just go on winning percentages (which is technically what they do anyway). Won't be fully fair, but it'll be more fair than trying to reschedule that game or calling it a tie.

[TKGAngel]

Well, what started out as an epic NFL showdown really took a terrible turn tonight. I deeply hope that Damar Hamlin has a full recovery.

I guess I'm not allowed to wonder how the NFL is going to sort out this sticky scheduling problem until we're given the okay by the media that the timing is appropriate.

Vic Carucci brought it up on Buffalo TV this morning. According to the NFL bylaws, the game needs to be played within two days of pausing. That said, Goodell has final discretion here. There is a part of me that thinks that the league is waiting for a prognosis update on Hamlin before making a decision.

Interestingly, the NFL is denying that they were going to force the teams to resume play last night. Joe Buck referred to the 5-minute warmup hiatus no less than 4 times on air. I admire the coaches of both teams for the "f-this" attitude and going to the locker rooms.

[TravelGal]

Vic Carucci brought it up on Buffalo TV this morning. According to the NFL bylaws, the game needs to be played within two days of pausing. That said, Goodell has final discretion here. There is a part of me that thinks that the league is waiting for a prognosis update on Hamlin before making a decision.

Interestingly, the NFL is denying that they were going to force the teams to resume play last night. Joe Buck referred to the 5-minute warmup hiatus no less than 4 times on air. I admire the coaches of both teams for the "f-this" attitude and going to the locker rooms.

I think you're right about waiting for the prognosis. At least his vitals are back to normal today.

I was watching this on ESPN, not ABC so I had the ESPN announcers. The first words they said on air (not by Buck) were that the teams WOULD BE GIVEN 5 minutes to warm up. It didn't say those 5 minutes started now. There was a phrase before that that I can't recall exactly but it indicated that *when they were ready to resume,* they WOULD BE GIVEN 5 minutes to warm up. That's lost now in the furor but it is what happened. Once again we have Jack Blabber Buck to blame.

[nrc]

Yeah, I think it's possible that the talk about resuming was entirely the local crew running on auto-pilot while the NFL was being consulted.

Calling it a no-contest and going by percentages will have a lot of impacts. The Bills will only need to beat the Patriots for the first seed. The Bengals will be locked into the third seed with no reason to play next week and could end up having to go to Buffalo, a team they could have beaten to avoid that.

[nrc]

Oh BTW, the NFL is turning me into an old man shouting at clouds when it comes to sports betting. The fact that they're suddenly vigoruously embracing it after decades of distancing themselves as much as possible is a bit much to take. The stadium is plastered with it and every other commercial seems like a sports book ad. Maybe it's because Ohio just legalized it.

I've never had a problem with people wanting to throw away a little money for entertainment, but it seems hypocritical to be so deeply invested in social justice causes while you vigorously promote habit forming behaviors that only make it harder for disadvantaged people to get ahead.

[WickerBill]

First time I went to England, I was shocked at the betting advertisements on TV and on seemingly every billboard. My English friends were/are similarly aghast at our pharmaceutical advertisements.


Yay, now America has both. :(

[SteveH]

I’m all in on the Bengals. I really like Joe Cool. :thumbup:

[stroker]

So let's assume for the sake of discussion that Aaron Rodgers really is on the Trade list. What's he worth?

[nrc]

I’m all in on the Bengals. I really like Joe Cool. :thumbup:

Me too. :D

Of course, at this point I'd like some of his teammates to chill out a bit on the smack talk. Going into Arrowhead is tough enough without stirring them up by calling it "Burrowhead."

[nrc]

So let's assume for the sake of discussion that Aaron Rodgers really is on the Trade list. What's he worth?

Tough question. How many years do you suppose he has left? If a team had everything they needed to make a Super Bowl run in the next two years I could see someone giving up their first two or three picks depending on where they stand in the draft.

[WickerBill]

Tough question. How many years do you suppose he has left? If a team had everything they needed to make a Super Bowl run in the next two years I could see someone giving up their first two or three picks depending on where they stand in the draft.

The Cowboys come to mind, with a loony enough owner to do it, and a head coach with a proven Rodgers track record.

[stroker]

The Cowboys come to mind, with a loony enough owner to do it, and a head coach with a proven Rodgers track record.

I doubt GB would let him stay in the NFC and I think the Cowboy fans would revolt if they gave up Dak for Rodgers. I'm seeing a lot of media pushing the Jets and I think they'd gamble with the Patriots being weak and the Dolphins being inconsistent. The Raiders (having Davante Adams) makes the most sense to me in some ways...

[WickerBill]

I doubt GB would let him stay in the NFC and I think the Cowboy fans would revolt if they gave up Dak for Rodgers. I'm seeing a lot of media pushing the Jets and I think they'd gamble with the Patriots being weak and the Dolphins being inconsistent. The Raiders (having Davante Adams) makes the most sense to me in some ways...

Ahh, the Jets... you're projecting him to basically follow the Favre path. :)

[stroker]

Ahh, the Jets... you're projecting him to basically follow the Favre path. :)

Well, the owner is claiming he's willing to spend money and Namath has already said he'd allow his number 12 to be used by Rodgers...

[TravelGal]

Well, the owner is claiming he's willing to spend money and Namath has already said he'd allow his number 12 to be used by Rodgers...

:eek::eek::eek: