NFL 2014-2015 Season: Super Bowl Champion Patriots

[Jiac]

I'm bandwagoning them Ravens and Packers.

Since my team is looking to fix the O-line (finally!) and HOPEFULLY cutting Donald Brown.

Hopefully we get a speedster wide receiver hopefully so Keenan Allen can open up. At this point we have the ability to get some depth on our team.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Vermilia Scarlet

[Randombobman]

I'm gonna bandwagon Seattle or Baltimore. I hate both NE and GB and outside of them i think the hawks have the best shot at the championship but the ravens are always a deepball longshot to get in

Sorry for snapping at you ana, I'm still pissed about the loss but please think about what you're typing before spouting more homerisms.

Also I was joking about the refs getting paid but you have to agree that Cowboys vs Packers is a much bigger money maker for the league than the dirty and reviled Lions...

Edited January 5, 2015 by Randombobman

[Hawk King]

Teams with losing records are undefeated in the playoffs when playing at home. lol

I predicted the outcomes of all the 1st round games with the exception of the cowboys-lions game. I really thought the lions offense would get it together.

Cardinals-Panthers game was just too obvious. Even with Stanton, the Panthers were hot and the Cardinals were limping coming into the post-season.

Joe Flacco and John Harbough are money in the playoffs. As long as they make the playoffs they always win at least 1 game.

Bungles. How long before Marvin Lewis is fired? Marty Schottenheimer got axed in San Diego for failure in the post-season and his regular season records were better than the Bengals of the last 4 years.

AFCCG- Ravens @ Broncos

NFCCG- Packers @ Seahawks

Superbowl- Packers / Broncos

I like the Broncos to win it all.

[Anacybele]

Sorry for snapping at you ana, I'm still pissed about the loss but please think about what you're typing before spouting more homerisms.

Oh wow, I never thought I'd see you say sorry to me for anything. But don't worry about it, I didn't think you were being rude. Although, I never said Suh would be cheap. I figured a guy like him would be expensive because he's really good and all. But I guess I should've mentioned that. Still, he seems more expensive than I thought.

Damn, is nature just out to get the Panthers or something? First Cam Newton is in a car accident, now coach Rivera's house catches fire! It's lucky that everyone is still okay.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Anacybele

[chococoke]

Ravens over the Pats? Damn, Hawk King, you don't have to be like that

On the reals though I could definitely see the Pats losing at home next weekend. I expect to see a spread-pass type offense similar to when NE took on Detroit, with runs coming as more of a "change of pace" as opposed to a legitimate every-down threat

[Team Alucard]

I hate both NE

Man, how can any Detroit/Michigan sports fan hate Tom Brady? I'm gonna assume you're a Michigan State fan. lol

[Jedi]

So yeah in Washington one of my new college instructors had a good laugh that I was a Cards fan because of our terrible

"Worst yardage in a playoff game" Record we set.

Yaaaaaay

he did chill out and say he was hoping we'd win but it did piss me off

[Anacybele]

Yeah, but to be fair, Jedi, the Cards had serious QB issues. You guys were stuck with a crummy fourth string, I think. :P

And Bruce Arians really isn't the best coach either. The Steelers let him go from the OC position because of how many times Ben was hurt under him and their new personnel also didn't fit with his system. And now the Cardinals have at least two injured QBs and it caused your season to take a nose-dive. Arians' system can really work wonders when it succeeds, but it's been known too often to come at this great cost.

Ever since he left, Ben has rarely missed a single Steeler game and now the team has the greatest offense that it's had in decades. Tomlin needs to use his defensive noodle on our D though... (same goes for Dick LeBeau if he isn't retiring yet)

Edited January 5, 2015 by Anacybele

[Dijon Mustard]

And Bruce Arians really isn't the best coach either.

Bruce Arians will very likely be voted Coach of the Year this season. He was voted Coach of the Year with the Colts 2 seasons ago.

[Lord Raven]

Arians is showing to be a much better HC than OC because he also left Luck out to dry in his one year stint with Indy.

Ravens over the Pats? Damn, Hawk King, you don't have to be like that

On the reals though I could definitely see the Pats losing at home next weekend. I expect to see a spread-pass type offense similar to when NE took on Detroit, with runs coming as more of a "change of pace" as opposed to a legitimate every-down threat

How is your pass blocking back? How's your interior? How have they fared with 3-4 Ds? What about 4-3 looks? Do you think our secondary has improved enough to take on LaFell, Edelman, and Tymes? Do you think Hill can mitigate Gronk a little bit?

I'm very cautious in this game because our run game could do well against your run D but it feels like we both SHOULD be an even matchup but I can't help but feel we are outmatched as a whole. Here's hoping your struggles as of late weren't too different to the Steelers'.

EDIT: When I asked about pass blocking I was actually asking how good your RB was in pass blocking and receiving, because the receiving part is what the Steelers lost from Bell. Bell wouldn't run against us and Bell's pass blocking was about on par with Harris' (better but not that much).

Edited January 5, 2015 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

Huh, I see. I guess that's where Arians' issues with the Steelers lied then.

[Jiac]

Man I love Aaron Rodgers now. He love The Princess Bride.

His favorite quote is from Vizzini: "“Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Morons."

[Team Alucard]

"Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia", but only slightly less well-known is this: Never bet on the Detroit Lions!"

=(

[Lord Raven]

Yeah, well, your shitty OL was definitively catching up with you and it's hard to predict how teams like that will go especially after that rough stretch against New England and Arizona. At least it wasn't like last year where the division was basically handed to you and then you let it fall and spontaneously combust, this was a legit uphill battle at some points during the season.

The interesting thing is that you guys would have the 2 or 3 seed if you had a better kicker in time for Buffalo. Alas, that's the NFL, where minutia ripples across the season and the seasons beyond.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Lord Raven

[Jiac]

"Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia", but only slightly less well-known is this: Never bet on the Detroit Lions!"

=(

HAHAHAHAHA

But this is a depressing story. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/opinion/what-i-saw-as-an-nfl-ball-boy.html?_r=2

[-Cynthia-]

Yeah, well, your shitty OL was definitively catching up with you and it's hard to predict how teams like that will go especially after that rough stretch against New England and Arizona. At least it wasn't like last year where the division was basically handed to you and then you let it fall and spontaneously combust, this was a legit uphill battle at some points during the season.

The interesting thing is that you guys would have the 2 or 3 seed if you had a better kicker in time for Buffalo. Alas, that's the NFL, where minutia ripples across the season and the seasons beyond.

Green Bay still would have won the division if the Lions had beaten Buffalo (equal division record, common opponents, conference, GB won strength of victory).

[Team Alucard]

Yeah, well, your shitty OL was definitively catching up with you and it's hard to predict how teams like that will go especially after that rough stretch against New England and Arizona. At least it wasn't like last year where the division was basically handed to you and then you let it fall and spontaneously combust, this was a legit uphill battle at some points during the season.

The interesting thing is that you guys would have the 2 or 3 seed if you had a better kicker in time for Buffalo. Alas, that's the NFL, where minutia ripples across the season and the seasons beyond.

Yeah, the OL was definitely the biggest weakness of the team, unless you count the kicking issues but those were mostly resolved once they signed Prater. Its strange too, because the OL was great last year and they retained everyone. Hopefully Warford and Reiff can get back to their rookie form next season, and for the love of god, can we finally get a decent replacement for Raiola in the off-season? The guy is a thug AND and terrible player, which is basically the worst combination possible.

One thing is for sure, the offense needs to be more productive next season, because the defense will not be the same without Suh, and the schedule isn't likely to be as easy.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Team Alucard

[-Cynthia-]

Divisional Round Picks:

Baltimore at New England- Ravens usually play well against the Patriots, but overall I think New England is the safer pick here given how they've played at home this season

Carolina at Seattle- I think that the Panthers can slow down the Seahawks offense, but the Seahawks defense has just been ridiculously good since Thanksgiving. They haven't been playing the strongest offenses overall to be fair, but the Panthers aren't exactly a great offense either.

Dallas at Green Bay- Aaron Rodgers at home has had ridiculous numbers this season and the Cowboys have a suspect secondary.

Indianapolis at Denver- Broncos struggles have mostly been on the road this year, not at home. Colts haven't shown this season that they're ready to join the elite teams.

[Jiac]

Are you allowed to run 2 QBs in a play. (Of course minusing the one where Manziel caught the ball but)

Has it ever been utilized, been successful or is it allowed.

I was on the NFL reddit reading about Philip Rivers possibility not re-signing with San Diego.

and a comment was discussing in the Saints offense:

"Brees drops back to pass, passes it to Rivers, who throws it back to Brees, who throws to the wide open Jimmy Graham. They cannot stop this 2 QB set." lol

[Lord Raven]

Yes, there's no reason why you can't.

As for successes, it's okay for a random gadgety play every once in a while but it would be a waste. That's one less blocker/chipper, one less blitz pickup, and one less receiver, as well as some surreal shit that most likely won't work. You also can't pass forward more than once behind the line of scrimmage.

I remember some year where we just randomly had Troy Smith pass the ball to Flacco on a weird reverse play. It was really stupid but Flacco also almost got a rush TD, receiving TD, and passing TD in a single game and if he were more equipped to play WR (which a 6'6" man isn't) then he would not have lost his balance and made it in. We also got kinda desperate on offense against the Jets and did this with Tyrod/Flacco, but it was super useless (as was almost anything else we tried on offense) after like the first two plays.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Lord Raven

[Jiac]

Yes, there's no reason why you can't.

As for successes, it's okay for a random gadgety play every once in a while but it would be a waste. That's one less blocker/chipper, one less blitz pickup, and one less receiver, as well as some surreal shit that most likely won't work. You also can't pass forward more than once behind the line of scrimmage.

I remember some year where we just randomly had Troy Smith pass the ball to Flacco on a weird reverse play. It was really stupid but Flacco also almost got a rush TD, receiving TD, and passing TD in a single game and if he were more equipped to play WR (which a 6'6" man isn't) then he would not have lost his balance and made it in. We also got kinda desperate on offense against the Jets and did this with Tyrod/Flacco, but it was super useless (as was almost anything else we tried on offense) after like the first two plays.

If it was Andrew Luck blocking...I doubt it be one less blitz pickup but I see.

[Lord Raven]

I don't think you want your QB to be going up against a blitzing LB, especially since an RB is much "denser" than a QB, even if it is someone like Luck.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

...Okay, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm glad my Steelers lost now. News says Ben might get knee surgery and Bell still wouldn't be able to play even if the team had beaten the Ravens. Those birds might've just saved Steeler Nation from even worse embarrassment.

It still stinks that such an awesome, record-breaking season had to come to such a crummy end though. :(

Edited January 6, 2015 by Anacybele

[chococoke]

How is your pass blocking back? How's your interior? How have they fared with 3-4 Ds? What about 4-3 looks? Do you think our secondary has improved enough to take on LaFell, Edelman, and Tymes? Do you think Hill can mitigate Gronk a little bit?

I'm very cautious in this game because our run game could do well against your run D but it feels like we both SHOULD be an even matchup but I can't help but feel we are outmatched as a whole. Here's hoping your struggles as of late weren't too different to the Steelers'.

EDIT: When I asked about pass blocking I was actually asking how good your RB was in pass blocking and receiving, because the receiving part is what the Steelers lost from Bell. Bell wouldn't run against us and Bell's pass blocking was about on par with Harris' (better but not that much).

Shane Vereen is the passing back. He's a pretty effective pass catcher and it also above average when it comes to pass pro. That being said, he's been a bit underwhelming this year when utilized more than little.

The interior of our O-line will be the biggest key of the game. When healthy, they've blocked decently well, certainly well enough to allow Brady time and comfort in the pocket. When even 1 of the lineman is injured, shit hits the fan hard. There is absolutely no interior depth on this time currently.

I don't know if Baltimore's secondary can contend with the receiving options Brady has. Tymes probably won't see many snaps, but I expect Edelman, LaFell, Gronk, and Tim Wright as well to cause problems all over the field (assuming the Ravens aren't pressuring Brady on every dropback)

[Lord Raven]

The thing is that Gronk may be the only receiving threat that will give us significant issues, because last week we did a decent job preventing the Steelers from getting massive gains on us. Looks like our Corner and Safety play, while still not amazing, has stepped up, because we finally got coverage sacks last week.

Our interior DL is ridiculous. Brandon Williams, Haloti Ngata, and a rotation between Canty, Tyson, Jernigan, etc. I think preventing Brady from stepping into pocket will be key, since he can't roll out all that effectively. I also don't think they try to go deep that much (especially if we end up playing two high safeties which we tend to do) so hopefully we can get some tackling, but Gronk is scary.