Predictions and general chat

[StefanAVFC]

Read an interesting article regarding the salary cap ... Basically Brees salary is pretty much prohibiting Saints from signing new players ... Probably true for all teams with a star quarter back ... Article kinda Said the Seahawks had built their success ( ie the team )around not having such a signing

Bree's talking about cutting his salary ... Be interesting to see how it all pans out

 

Brady did a similar thing. Took a cap friendly salary allowing them to spend the money elsewhere.

[BOF]

Yeah the Patriots' dynasty is built around no-one being the star. Then when they became so successful, players would go there on a small wage just for the chance to get a ring. Great idea but hard to implement. Needs a genius like Belichick at the helm.

[tonyh29]

$2880 will buy you a superbowl ticket on ticket master

Think I'll just watch it on TV

[StefanAVFC]

Yeah the Patriots' dynasty is built around no-one being the star. Then when they became so successful, players would go there on a small wage just for the chance to get a ring. Great idea but hard to implement. Needs a genius like Belichick at the helm.

 

Hoping Wilson will do the same. Can't see any reason why he wouldn't. Seems to be more about the game than the money.

[maqroll]

$2880 will buy you a superbowl ticket on ticket master

Think I'll just watch it on TV

Besides the ripoff ticket prices, the Super Bowl is probably the worst playoff game to see live, cuz 1/3 of the seats are scooped up by corporations and sat in by people who don't care who wins. And usually the game is played in a dome or in sunny warm weather.

 

The conference championship games are the best. Give me cold, ice, rain, wind, and fans that bleed their team's colors.

[kurtsimonw]

Yeah the Super Bowl atmospheres are always awful. If they went the football route of segregation of fans it would be fantastic, but then what do fans have to do with the Super Bowl.

[Milfner]

Tickets are on sale for next season's game if anyone has missed it.

[leviramsey]

The Panthers' drive in the 3rd quarter on Sunday lasted 8:12 before ending in a punt, making it the most time-consuming non-scoring drive by a team behind on the scoreboard since 1999.

The bit in italics makes that stat quite arcane

It's kind of critical, though. A team intent on running out the clock to preserve a lead can burn eight minutes off while only moving the ball about 40 or so yards (40 seconds per play => 12 plays in eight minutes times 3.5 ypp is 40 yards).

For a team behind on the scoreboard, and thus presumably with an interest in scoring, to burn eight minutes for nothing is something else.

[kkr]

When Jets tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was arrested for possession of synthetic marijuana outside a Target in East Hanover back in November, police were called to the scene because a woman thought she saw him masturbating in his vehicle in the parking lot, according to court documents.

The redacted incident report from East Hanover police shows that on Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m., cops responded to a call from a woman who said she had parked her vehicle in a spot to the right of a black Cadillac Escalade outside the Target along Route 10. A man was sitting inside the Escalade with the window open, said the woman, whose name was redacted in the incident report. That man would later be identified as Winslow, 30, who lives in Madison.

From the report:

As she exited her vehicle, she commented to the male regarding how cold it was. As she stood near the open driver side window of the Escalade, she observed the males [sic] erect penis. She stated that she believed he was masturbating. [The woman] provided a written statement regarding her account.

By the time police arrived, an officer found Winslow allegedly "slouched in his seat and moving around." Winslow sprang to an upright position when the officer arrived. When the cop asked Winslow what he was doing, Winslow allegedly said he was looking for Boston Market but was lost.

The cop noticed Winslow was wearing "dark colored" sweatpants and wrote that "his genitals were not exposed." But the cop also noticed "two open containers of Vaseline on his center console" and plastic bags marked "Mr. Happy" and empty plastic containers of "Funky Monkey" scattered throughout the vehicle.

 

 

Link

 

 

[leviramsey]

I think the greatest statement in Inappropriate Parking Lot Behavior History was issued Friday, on the heels of news that Jets tight end Kellen Winslow was cited for public lewdness and possession of synthetic marijuana in New Jersey after a woman in a Target parking lot alleged to police that she saw Winslow with his penis out in the car. His publicist, Denise White, said: “Kellen pulled over to a parking lot to smoke what he thought at the time was a legal substance. He changed his clothes in his vehicle as not to smell like smoke when he returned home. There was absolutely nothing inappropriate that took place, and if there was police would have investigated further and charged Kellen, which they did not.” Riiiight. Synthetic marijuana is available at all the gas stations where I fill up. And it’s quite legal. And I change my clothes in Target parking lots all the time! Winslow pleaded not guilty to the pot charge, and police didn’t charge him with lewdness because the woman did not choose to file charges or come forward to testify against him. Dom Cosentino of NJ.com reported that two open jars of vaseline were found on the console of his vehicle by police, and when an investigating officer approached the car, “Winslow sprang to an upright position.”

[villa4europe]

dont think ive ever asked this / seen this asked before, anyone remember ken thomas for channel 4 NFL in the 80s, published a load of books - 

 

 

anyone else have him as their chemistry teacher in kiddy?! got me in to the NFL, never stopped talking about it, still lives in kiddy, still got A8 NFL on his license plate

[maqroll]

The league is considering eliminating the extra point kick, which I think is overdue. They might replace it with this: A TD scores you an automatic 7 points. You can go for 8 points by running or passing from the 3 yard line, but if you fail, you drop down to 6 points. 

 

I like...

[leviramsey]

Stupid change. It's only being done to speed up the game for TV. Cutting the play clock would make more sense.

If I was going to change things, I'd say that, unless the player who scored the TD leaves the game to never return, the player who scored the TD has to kick the try (technically, the NFL usage is that a touchdown results in a try-at-goal... this was the original rugby terminology); if another player scores the try, then the coach is given the opportunity to decide whether to disqualify the TD scorer from the rest of the game or to decline the score.

[leviramsey]

Alternatively, defer the tries until the end of the game. Retain the option of taking a 2 point conversion immediately.

If the score is tied at the end of regulation, then each team gets to take a kick for each TD which they didn't go for 2.

So if the scores go

Team A scores TD: 6-0

Team B kicks FG: 6-3

Team A scores TD: 12-3

Team B kicks FG: 12-6

Team B scores TD: 12-12

Team B successfully goes for 2: 12-14

End of regulation

Team A gets two kicks to equalize, right after the other.

(if the deferred tries would not change the result, then don't bother taking them)

[maqroll]

 I prefer the league's idea. Much more straight forward.

[Tegis]

Mike Pettine hired as Cleveland Browns' next coach

The Browns announced Thursday that Mike Pettine has been hired as the team's next head coach.

Pettine, most recently the Buffalo Bills' defensive coordinator, cut his teeth working under Rex Ryan with the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets. Cleveland's search began mere hours after the 2013 season ended when the team fired Rob Chudzinski after only one season.

Pettine was a relatively late entrant into the Browns' exhaustive look for a new leader, but we believe he's an excellent choice. Pettine's defenses in New York and Buffalo were creative and difficult to prepare for. His Bills squad finished fourth in FootballOutsiders' 2013 defensive metrics.

 

Link

Edited January 23, 2014 by Tegis

[leviramsey]

Digging through my RSS backlog, I stumbled upon this from October: fantasy NFL as TV shows

Adrian Peterson is Modern Family

Is Adrian Peterson really the best player in Fantasy? Probably not. But, year-after-year he is consistently among the best. Usually, there’s not much separation between the top running back and the fifth highest scorer, but you can always count on AP to be one of those five guys. No one else is really in that conversation. That’s why he was the unanimous first pick – He always delivers, making Peterson an easy pick.

Modern Family is not the funniest show on TV, despite what the Emmys say, but it is easy entertainment. Basically, it’s Arrested Development without the continuous, complex running jokes or dark subject matter. You turn it on, have your laughs, enjoy the half hour, and then completely forget everything that happened. It’s a show that doesn’t require hyper-focus: you can answer e-mails while it’s going on or chop some broccoli and not really miss anything important. Just plug AP into your lineup and keep him there until he goes on bye, no need to ever really think about it.

Brandon Marshall is Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks is intriguing, terrific and just plain weird. Like when people watch me run sprints on a treadmill for half an hour only to see me pull my pack of cigs out of the cup holder, walk out the door and hack a dart as my cool down. Beats a 5-minute walk. They honestly have no idea what’s going on. Outside of me having serious issues, of course. That’s basically Brandon Marshall. He’s flighty, and perpetually plagued by spurts of wacky behavior. Frankly, I wouldn’t be stunned if that weird shadow floating on the curtain in the “Red Room” was actually just B-Marsh. I feel like he’d fit right in with Coop, the Man from Another Place and Laura Palmer’s doppelganger, as long as he enjoyed a crisp cup of black coffee, one blacker than a moonless night. Which I’m sure he does, because really, who doesn’t? Or maybe he was simply the soul occupying the Log Lady’s faithful piece of petrified wood.

Another shared trait? Quality. Even at its worst – like Marshall’s Miami adventure – Twin Peaks was still pretty great. And when it hit, it went off. And don’t underplay the similarities between the enigmatic puppet masters sitting at the helm: David Lynch and Jay Cutler are both distant, capricious and love cigs!

Dwayne Bowe is Entourage

It was once good, briefly, and everyone stuck with it just waiting for the turnaround that never materialized.

Tom Brady is The Wire

Peyton Manning is The Sopranos

Aaron Rodgers is Mad Men

When we’re talking high-end, prestige, only the best will do. Debuting in the late-90s, The Sopranos stormed onto our screens and revolutionized television. It gained instant notoriety, accolades and became ubiquitous in culture. Well, maybe not as much as Peyton Manning. Every Sunday, there’s a 66.2-percent chance that Peyton is concurrently appearing in at least two different commercials at any given moment between all the games. He’s everywhere. And he too generated similar hype upon entering the league, claiming awards shortly thereafter.

Tom Brady followed The Wire model, beginning as complete unknown, only to immediately vault himself into the elite over the course of one season. Some thought Brady was a fluke. No way he could replicate that type of performance again. When the Patriots failed to make the playoffs the following year questions were raised about Brady’s ceiling, mirroring The Wire’s sophomore excursion form the projects to the docks. Both underrated seasons in retrospect. Then Brady won back-to-back Super Bowls and The Wire executed two of greatest seasons in the history of the medium. A stretch guaranteeing both a spot in the Hall of Fame.

When it looked like another show would never come along to join the Sopranos/Wire class, here comes Mad Menand its perpetually passed over star, residing on the “small market” of cable, AMC. Being hidden away on a channel in the 400s actually worked in its favor. There wasn’t immediate pressure, but once people got a glimpse, they were in. And, it’s one of the few programs ever that has basically been as good or better as it’s gone on. It’s clearAaron Rodgers is the heir apparent to Brady and Manning at his position, and at different points of their careers, they’ve all been considered “the best quarterback in the game” – both in real life and in Fantasy.

Peyton had the title for a bit, then Brady wrestled it loose and eventually Rodgers came and knocked them both out. But just how The Sopranos has gained momentum again as the “greatest show ever”, the resurgent Manning has currently been playing that way himself. It won’t last though; by season’s end it’s Rodgers you’ll want. He’ll ultimately be better. The way the Broncos are rolling at the moment, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Peyton take a two-week vacation when you need him. Delivering a Sopranos-esque blow to your championship hopes.

Rashad Jennings is The Blacklist

I hadn’t really heard much about either until this week. But there certainly seems like a lot hype behind it right now. My expectations for The Blacklist may actually be lower than the floor of the Mariana Trench, mainly because it’s on NBC. It’s equivalent to how no one thinks Rashad Jennings can’t be useful because he’s on the awful Raiders. But Terrelle Pryor could be a tremendous asset to Jennings’ productivity – he possess something I like to call “Spader upside”. James Spader is terrific. Not always given “Grade-A” material to work with, but he always puts a unique spin on all of it and, for the most part, enhances everyone around him.

While Oakland doesn’t win games, Pryor’s ability to remain upright behind that sieve of an offensive line – serious, I’ve never seen such big people take up so little space – does give the rest of The Raiders’ skill players an opportunity to post points. Darren McFadden wasn’t necessarily having a good year before the injury, but his Fantasy numbers were incredibly stable. Jennings is going to get the ball, I’m not overly concerned with a banged up Marcel Reece shouldering too much of the load, so he’s worth a shot. And who knows, Spader may actually make The Blacklist a watchable affair, but both only get one shot to make me believe.

Doug Martin is Homeland

Remember Doug Martin’s rookie season? Off the charts awesome. Causing some to, moronically, draft him over Peterson as the first player taken in Fantasy drafts. People bought into Homeland the same way. The first season was shockingly good. Or so we thought. On closer inspection, while being fairly consistent, it really just had a few “Holy Shit” moments everyone remembers. Martin was its clone, scoring over 40-percent of his yearly point in three games.

It’s not all entirely his fault however, as Homeland’s creators are completely to blame for its downturn. Showtime stepped in and changed the course of the plot so the star could still be prominently featured. But it wasn’t the same. He had no purpose and was eventually told to go away. His character was actively hurting the show.

Josh Freeman has been on a precipitous decline since last November. Starting with a 27-21 overtime win against the Panthers; the victory masked his poor play. Starting with that game, Freeman’s posted a QB-Rating above 80 just once, and he didn’t even toss a TD in that loss to The Falcons. Now Freeman too as been placed on the sidelines like Brody, giving both Martin and Homeland an opening to actually live up to their initial press. Week one didn’t go well for either, and if they remain at this quality for another two weeks, I’ll officially give up hope.

Mark Ingram is Sons of Anarchy

Because they both suck.

Riley Cooper is All in the Family

Because I like easy jokes.

Jerome Simpson is the Untitled Pat Mayo Project

Because I’m the only person who is intrigued by either.

C.J. Spiller is Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under is rollercoaster of emotions. Some weeks it’s a literal crack high other weeks it will send out into a deep state of depression. But you let its sinus curve of watchability dissuade you from watching, because it hits its highest peak at the very last moment. But be warned, it’s certainly not for everyone. You want to be riding the momentum of watching back-to-back great series coming before watching, you’ll need to have built up patience. Ditto for C.J. Spiller. He’s going to be frustrating working through his injuries and the new offense that just doesn’t seem to fit him… yet. Of course, he’s no lock to turn it around, so if your team’s stumbled out of the gates early, probably best to avoid. But, if you currently sit 4-0 or 3-1, Spiller’s the type of upside risk that can give your season the best ending possible.

Darren Sproles is the X-Files

Darren Sproles contributes in weird ways: running, receiving and returning. And, he’s established himself, along with Danny Woodhead, as premier genre players – they are far more credible within the PPR game. Just like X-Filesdid with Sci-Fi. It was an above average series, but against its own genre it was one a level of it’s own, mainly due to its proclivity of churning out sensational stand-alone episodes multiple times a year. But overall, it was consistent procedural, not unlike Law & Order: SVU, that played up to its odd theme, always outperforming its perception.

It had help, though. Where Sproles has Drew Brees & Sean Payton activity working to put him in the right spots to excel. X-Files had Mr. Breaking Bad himself, Vince Gilligan thinking up storylines. Homeland creators Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon were staffers too. Not to mention the crazy schemes the likely-deranged, and darkly hysterical Darin Morgan would jot down in his scripts. But it didn’t matter who was propping it up after David Duchovny, when the talent bolts, it’s an abyss from which nothing can escape. Once Sproles loses even a modicum of lateral quickness, he’s finished. Don’t think it happens this year, but like Mulder’s abrupt exit, those skills can demilitarize at any moment.

Khiry Robinson is Beavis and Butthead

They both share the key to Scott Engel’s heart.

Shane Vereen is Life And Times of Tim

The insane antics hard-luck Tim and his crazy crew of cartoon counterparts are the perfect stash. There’s only three seasons and each episode is just two, 11-minute shorts. You can bang out the entire thing in short order – it’s a quick hitter. Shane Vereen can provide the same short-term appeal. You’ll only get him for a brief period, but that’s all you’ll need to be satisfied. Only difference, now is the time to check out Vereen, where as any time is the right time for some Tim. We’re far enough away from his breakout Week 1, and equally distant from his return that his value will probably be as low as it ever gets. And… I’ve heard he may be the lost member of “Scaternology”, and when people find that out there’s not shot you’ll be able to pry him away.

Julio Jones is Shaq Vs

Roddy White is Pros vs Joes

Shaq Vs featured Shaq taking on a string of athletes at the peaks of their powers. Like when he beat Michael Phelps in the pool! It was stylish, smooth and significantly better than its look-a-like. That’s Julio Jones.

Pros vs Joes was clearly working on a sizably smaller budget, thus they could only attract washed up athletes, clearly past their prime. Every now and then they’ll score a big, napping giant current names – like the episode with Antonio Gates, Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb. But that rarely happens. Overall, it’s significantly worse. That would be Roddy White.

David Wilson is The Office (UK) & (USA)

Whether it’s Jim and Pam or Tim and Dawn, David Wilson has the same “will-they, won’t they” potential in him. But mostly, whenever you start him, you just sit there and cringe watching the awfulness unfolding slowly in front of you. You see it unfolding, but there’s nothing that can stop it. Like when Michael Scott invites his co-workersover for a dinner party or David Brent decides to rug a cut for charity. That’s what happens when you fuseFlashdance with MC Hammer

Sidebar: I figured out the perfect value of player I’d be willing to give up to gamble on Wilson: Stevie Johnson. A low end WR2, that is ultimately replaceable. That would be all I’d be willing to give.

[Tegis]

Pro bowl was pretty good for a change. I enjoyed it, and team-mates hit each other good

TJ Ward on Gordon

 
And Derrick Johnson put a heavy one on Jamaal Charles

[Tegis]

NFL Honors:

» AP Most Valuable Player: Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos

» Defensive Player of the Year: Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina Panthers

» AP Coach of the Year: Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers

» AP Offensive Rookie of the Year: Eddie Lacy, RB, Green Bay Packers

» AP Defensive Rookie of the Year: Sheldon Richardson, DE, New York Jets

» Salute to Service Award: John Harbaugh, head coach, Baltimore Ravens

» Fantasy Player of the Year: Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

» Greatness on the Road: Nick Foles, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

» AP Comeback Player of the Year: Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers

» Don Shula High School Coach of the Year: Mike Grant, Eden Prairie (Minn.) H.S.

» AP Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos

» Pepsi Next Rookie of the Year: Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers

» GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Year: Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

» Deacon Jones Player of the Year: Robert Mathis, DE, Indianapolis Colts

» Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year: Charles Tillman, CB, Chicago Bears

» Bridgestone Performance Play of the Year: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions

» FedEx Air Player of the Year: Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos

» FedEx Ground Player of the Year: LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles


Hall of fame class:

Michael Strahan

Andre Reed

Walter Jones

Derrick Brooks

Aeneas Williams

Claude Humphrey

Ray Guy

Edited February 2, 2014 by Tegis

[Tegis]

Kyle Shanahan to be Cleveland Browns' next OC according to nfl.com