Ongoing NFL Discussion Thread V

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

First topic message reminder :

Time for Carolina to pull out some starters me thinks

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Cameron Fleming starts at LT for the Pats tonight

Rest in piece Jimmy my sweet prince

[skins4ever]

If you're a Browns fan, probably best to report back next January

But it's only 1 game?

Please tell me what you see about the Browns (especially on defence) that means they'll win anything beyond 2/3 games this year? Cos I just don't see it

But they have a great QB, WR and an all pro level CB. Surely that's enough talent for any team?

Sorry but having issues reading your message beyond "great QB" due to the uncontrollable laughter I am experiencing

I must be missing when Cody Kessler became a great QB cos RG3 certainly ain't it

But RGIII is a great QB, he said so himself.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

So Bill belichick is a pretty good football coach huh

[GSC]

Cardinals offense draws a blank in a big game again.

Can you build a Championship team around Carson Palmer is an awkward question for the Cardinals.

[Pr4wn]

I watched it. Credit to the Pats but the Cardinals were just awful. The defence was completely underwhelming and they didn't run it enough.

[TM Moot]

Football's back!!

Some great games already and another 2 tonight.

And even a BBC special on Green Bay...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I respect no fan base in the world more than I do the Cleveland browns fan base

How on earth you continue to support that tire fire of a franchise I dunno

RG3 placed on IR btw

[Lowlandbrit]

I've thought for years that the Browns should stop trying to compete with everyone else the 'normal' way and just switch to the triple option or air raid or something. Probably the only franchise that really has nothing to lose.

[Number-25]

RG3 to IR... that will be the least surprising news of this 2016/17 season. The guy is made of glass.

I can't help but have a wee chuckle about it though... does that make me a bad person???

[Pr4wn]

Probably, yeah.

[GSC]

All yours Los Angeles.

Signed St Louis

[Number-25]

Well Kirk, I did not like that.

Redskins are who we thought they were.... same team as last season. Can't run the ball; can't stop other teams running the ball; hang with good teams for a quarter before caving in and getting blown out. Scary bit is, there's no soft schedule this year...it's pretty much all good teams on the slate this year.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

All yours Los Angeles.

Signed St Louis

Good job they signed Jeff Fisher to a new contract huh

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Well Kirk, I did not like that.

Redskins are who we thought they were.... same team as last season. Can't run the ball; can't stop other teams running the ball; hang with good teams for a quarter before caving in and getting blown out. Scary bit is, there's no soft schedule this year...it's pretty much all good teams on the slate this year.

Watched the condensed game on game pass - the redskins offence is just so conservative it is maddening! Also what the heck is Gruden doing? First drive of the season, get it to the oppositions 40 and get a 4th and 1 and you punt???! Way to make a statement Jay jesus

[GSC]

It's conservative because the only way they stopped Cousins from throwing a boatload of picks was to stop him throwing down the field. His arm strength is exposed on those throws.

[skins4ever]

The Steelers knew that if they contained the Skins run game, then they could just play a soft zone scheme and force underneath throws. Totally agree with the point about the 1st drive. If you can't complete in a shootout you have to take some chances. Skins biggest weakness though is still hanging over from last year - DL not getting consistent pressure and stopping the run. We won't scare anyone if they can gash us for 5-10 yards a pop on the ground as LB's will start thinking run first too much. DL needs to step up and help the secondary, because no mater how good our corners (and Breeland had a poor game) they can't cover receivers all day long.

I actually fancy the Steelers for the SB because they are good AND they are lucky. When things keep bouncing your way (literally!) and you can take care of business otherwise, a team is very tough to beat. Big Ben still takes a few too many chances and their D isn't 100% sound, but with that O, especially when Bell is back, they can steam roller teams.

[Number-25]

I know some teams have their best CB follow the other team's best WR around the field and some teams don't. Why though the Redskins chose to make Josh Norman the highest paid CB in the league and then didn't stick him on Antonio Brown all night is beyond me. The one time I saw him on Brown (and I only watched the 1st half cos I knew exactly how the 2nd half was going to play out) he forced a fumble out of him which was ultimately ruled an incompletion.

[Number-25]

It's conservative because the only way they stopped Cousins from throwing a boatload of picks was to stop him throwing down the field. His arm strength is exposed on those throws.

It's when you see Cousins on the same field as a guy like Roethlisberger that you realise just how far he still has to go in his development. He's Mr Average who you could prob win with if every other bit of the team functions well. He won't carry you any distance on his own though.

[Pr4wn]

So they paid how much to Norman to not put him on Antonio Brown?

[GSC]

It's conservative because the only way they stopped Cousins from throwing a boatload of picks was to stop him throwing down the field. His arm strength is exposed on those throws.

It's when you see Cousins on the same field as a guy like Roethlisberger that you realise just how far he still has to go in his development. He's Mr Average who you could prob win with if every other bit of the team functions well. He won't carry you any distance on his own though.

Yeah, I mean that first pick was as bad as it gets for a veteran QB. Under no pressure, soft lob straight to a LB in the middle of the field. He just doesn't have the arm to make all the throws consistently at the NFL level.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I've got no problem with Washington not putting Brown on Norman - the problem is not giving Breeland any safety help whatsoever

Belichick used Revis/Browner like that a lot. Let Revis lock down the #2 WR and then use your other CB on the #1 WR but give that CB the safety help so essentially it's a double team

[GSC]

Surprisingly DeAngelo Hall, a not very good CB, isn't a very good safety either

[Number-25]

Yeah, was gonna say, you do make a good point Olly but the problem with that relative to the Redskins is that the Safety help is DeAngelo Hall who I don't think was as bad a CB as GSC makes out (although he defo wasn't as good as his own hype!!) but he's learning the Safety position. Better to have just had Norman trail Brown IMO.

But, that said, we would still have lost. If they'd had to then Pittsburgh could just have run the ball through our D-Line even more than they did and won that way instead.

[Number-25]

Redskins sign Cullen Jenkins.... well that'll fix it!

I wonder if he can run block and also run with the football for more than 4 yards... both at the same time??

[GSC]

They probably overachieved a couple of years too early. They won a bad division on an easy schedule and Cousins magically managed to stop giving the ball away for half a season.

At least they resisted paying him.

[skins4ever]

While I have little confidence in our run game, it's hard to critique it too much on the back of MNF. Steelers were too far ahead by the 3rd qtr so they pretty much abandoned the run. Problem we have is, while Jones may be good enough over time, we need him making chunks of yards regularly even if it's not big gains. That way we can use PA more and open up the pass game. Steelers had confidence they could stop the run and defended the pass pretty well with a scheme designed to hide their flaws. If they were ever likely to bite on PA though, I think we'd have done better in passing. BE interesting against the Boys with their DL also weak. Could be a lot of running next week!

PS, I actually liked Jeff Fisher when he was at the Oilers/Titans, but how is he holding on to his job now? Has to be #1 candidate for the early season boot.

[GSC]

Think Dallas will chew up the clock in that game. Not sure Washington will have the same success. Dallas gets 0 pass rush though, so they're likely to sit in zone and wait for Kirk to throw them the ball as Pittsburgh.

[GSC]

I think Dallas will win though.

Not sure the Skins can replicate what the Giants did in the run game against Dallas last week and Dak will make enough throws down the field to take advantage of loaded boxes.

[Lowlandbrit]

PS, I actually liked Jeff Fisher when he was at the Oilers/Titans, but how is he holding on to his job now? Has to be #1 candidate for the early season boot.

Supposedly he's getting an extension

[Breadvan]

The 49ers Rams game was so bad I was fast forwarding the highlights. How Goff must be feeling after the other rookie QBs had good opening games and he's currently 3rd string?

[Number-25]

To be honest skins, I still think much of our problems go back to coaching. Particularly what we saw on Monday night. Gruden has a Plan A and that's it. If Plan A isn't going well in a game then there is no Plan B - he doesn't seem able to make in game adjustments. On Monday night, the Steelers played a soft zone scheme all night with Safeties and LBs dropping off and often just rushing 3 linemen. Everyone knows the strength of our offense is the pass catchers. They limited the damage they could do with soft zone and we kept just playing the same way. Why not throw some runs from 4 WR sets? Maybe some draw plays? Maybe a bootleg or two? Enough of those things to give the LBs and Safeties more to think about than just taking away the downfield passing game.

Gruden never seems to have a plan B and it hurts us.

[Number-25]

So bored now with the Josh Norman not covering Atonio Brown chatter.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Huge game tonight - with their upcoming schedules, whoever doesn't win probably ends up 0-4 and very much on the edge of the abyss already

[Number-25]

Such is the life for all us fans outwith the perennially good teams Olly. You wait 8 months for the season to start and then just cross your fingers that it's not all over by the end of the September. I've had too many seasons like that.

[GSC]

Eh, Normans brought it upon himself by running his mouth. Peterson backed it up, Sherman did also. Can't spend the offseason talking about being the best then spend week 1 covering Sammie Coates while the #1 WR has Breeland on ice.

He wants no part of Beckham, week 3 is gonna be funny.

[Number-25]

Like I say, I'm bored with it.

[Lowlandbrit]

Bills have fired their OC, because clearly that's where all their problems are...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Bills have fired their OC, because clearly that's where all their problems are...

Such an hilariously run organisation. Genuinely a train wreck

[Pr4wn]

They scored 31 points last night but gave up 37. To be fair though, Rob Ryan has had spectacular success wherever he's been.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

This Garappolo kid looks OK

[GSC]

Cowboys and Redskins defenses currently making these offenses look like the 2007 Patriots

[crazy_dave23]

This Garappolo kid looks OK

#benchbrady #thesecondcoming

[GSC]

A competent QB would have about 3 TD passes by now on the Dallas defense. Everybody is open.

[Lowlandbrit]

So, if Jacoby Brissett does well, do you make Garoppolo or Brady the back-up?

[Number-25]

So Kirk Cousins takes another step closer to career back up status. Really bad start to the season from him - he's left a lot of points on the field by just flat out missing standard throws. Good decision so far not to award him a long term contract.

Bad news is though, 2 games in and the Redskins season is pretty much done.

Offseason wishlist.... a new HC, a new QB, a new DC and a D-Line.

[GSC]

Backup is kind.

He wad an abomination today. That game should've been a blowout.

[Number-25]

Yeah, can't argue with that GSC... mind you, I wouldn't even back him to hold a clipboard or run a scout team properly at the moment.

We should have 40 points today but thanks to the Kirk we came up well short of that.

Mind you, he's not the only problem... that defense is horrible. In fairness though, we're only playing with a 5 defense cos the D-Line and OLBs might as well not be there!

[skins4ever]

I'll argue the positives of that game if I ever find any.

One thing I will say, I saw that flag on Norman for the hands to the face. he err brushed Bryant's facemask. How can you be so picky about that and not flag the blatant hits to the helmet Newton suffered last week? Seems we are in for another inconsistent season from the refs again.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

If the Patriots players could stop getting injured that would be good plz

[GSC]

The NFL has always been reactionary on stuff like that. Hits to the head became a talking point so they cut it down.

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