NFL 2014-2015 Season: Super Bowl Champion Patriots

[Anacybele]

God damn it. The last thing the Panthers need right now is Cam Newton getting himself hurt in a fricken car accident. -_-

Also, there are two kinds of people. Those who drive safely and those who drive like idiots. I really do not want to think Cam is in the latter group.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Anacybele

[Dijon Mustard]

The current reports are that Cam is fine (he was taken to the hospital as a precaution) and that the other driver pulled out in front of him.

[Randa]

Hightower has actually improved in coverage a good deal, as well as done a good job filling in as the signal-caller on defense. Jamie Collins has really turned up his game in the past 5 weeks or so, and appears to be making the "second year jump." Also, was Bruschi's cap hit ever in the range of $10+ mil like Mayo? I honestly would rather have that money allocated to a pass rusher or to keep Revis beyond this year

The cap has nearly doubled since bruschi signed his highest, per year 3.2 I believ, contract in '02. A jump from 71'ish, there's some spare thousands there, to 133 is obviusly going to lead to increase in salary. So a 4/12 and 7/49 contract are pretty the same thing, with a lot more years of course. Besides according to pretty much every article on the matter he wants to stay wants to be on a stable team, and there are no good free agent pass rushers this year. This is the year for good pass catchers.

[Anacybele]

The current reports are that Cam is fine (he was taken to the hospital as a precaution) and that the other driver pulled out in front of him.

Oh, well, I read that he was hurt. But this is good to know. And I'm glad that Cam isn't the one at fault.

[Dijon Mustard]

Ah, the updated reports are that Cam has no serious injuries (no fractures, etc.), but probably minor ones.

time for picks

Arizona @ St. Louis- The Rams can pressure with four, and the Cardinals can't run the ball. I don't see the Rams scoring that much, though.

Houston @ Indianapolis- The Colts' issues on D shouldn't get exposed here. Luck will probably bounce back.

Green Bay @ Buffalo- The Packers' OL has improved, so I don't expect this game to be like their loss in Detroit (against a similar D).

Tampa Bay @ Carolina- Unless Cam gets ruled out, I'm not picking the McCown Bucs to win on the road.

Cincinnati @ Cleveland- Dalton may have a rough day against this pass defense, but Manziel is a big question mark.

Pittsburgh @ Atlanta- The Falcons have been looking better on offense. I don't think they can stop Bell or Brown, though.

Jacksonville @ Baltimore- The Ravens should live in the Jags' backfield (plenty of sacks and offsides penalties).

Washington @ New York Giants- Just gonna go with the home team. #analysis

Miami @ New England- I think the Pats can have success running the ball in this one, and their D is looking good.

Oakland @ Kansas City- Jamaal Charles is banged up, but I'm still not comfortable picking the Raiders on the road.

Denver @ San Diego- Even if the Chargers' passing game bounces back, I don't think they have the DL you need against the Broncos.

New York Jets @ Tennessee- Whenever you get the opportunity to pick Geno Smith on the road, you have to take it.

San Francisco @ Seattle- The Niners' running game isn't where it needs to be to win in Seattle. Their line has been below average.

Minnesota @ Detroit- Regardless of which Detroit offense shows up, their defense should do enough to win this one.

Dallas @ Philadelphia- The Dallas secondary should give Sanchez easier completions and more time than he had against Seattle.

New Orleans @ Chicago- Without Marshall, I don't see the Bears keeping up in what should be a shootout.

[Lord Raven]

Jacksonville @ Baltimore- The Ravens should live in the Jags' backfield (plenty of sacks and offsides penalties).

ha ha ha

go fuk urself

EDIT:

EDIT 2:

PLAYOFF ELIMINATION AND CLINCHING SCENARIOS!

CLINCHING

Arizona Cardinals clinch a playoff berth with:

- Dallas vs Philadelphia does not end in a tie

- Detroit loss + Green Bay win or tie

Denver Broncos clinch the AFC West division title with:

- Denver win

Denver Broncos clinch a playoff berth with:

- Baltimore loss + Pittsburgh loss + Cincinnati loss

- Miami loss + Houston loss + Cincinnati loss + Pittsburgh loss

- Miami loss + Houston loss + Baltimore loss + Pittsburgh win

Denver Broncos clinch a first round bye with:

- Denver win + Indianapolis loss + Cincinnati loss + Pittsburgh loss

Green Bay Packers clinch a playoff berth with:

- Green Bay win + Dallas loss

Indianapolis Colts clinch the AFC South division title with:

- Indianapolis win

New England Patriots clinch the AFC East division title with:

- New England win

New England Patriots clinch a playoff berth with:

- Baltimore loss + Cincinnati loss + Pittsburgh loss

New England Patriots clinch a first-round bye with:

- Buffalo loss + Cincinnati loss + Pittsburgh loss + Baltimore loss + Houston loss

- Buffalo loss + Cincinnati loss + Pittsburgh loss + Kansas City loss + San Diego loss

- Buffalo loss + Houston loss + Kansas City loss + San Diego loss + Baltimore loss

ELIMINATION

Buffalo Bills are eliminated from AFC East title contention with:

- Buffalo loss

- New England win

Cleveland Browns are eliminated from AFC North title contention with:

- Cleveland loss

Houston Texans are eliminated from AFC South title contention with:

- Houston loss

Miami Dolphins are eliminated from AFC East title contention with:

- Miami loss

Minnesota Vikings are eliminated from playoffs with:

- Minnesota loss

San Diego Chargers are eliminated from AFC West title contention with:

- San Diego loss

THE FOLLOWING ARE ELIMINATED FROM DIVISION TITLE CONTENTION:

Minnesota Vikings

Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers are eliminated from NFC West title contention with:

THE FOLLOWING ARE ELIMINATED FROM A PLAYOFF BERTH:

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

Oakland Raiders

Jacksonville Jaguars

Chicago Bears

New York Giants

Washington Redskins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

St. Louis Rams

Edited December 12, 2014 by Lord Raven

[Dijon Mustard]

Welp, it turns out Cam does have 2 fractures in his back after all. Get it together, media.

[Anacybele]

Ugh. He can't play like that. Tony Romo had to sit out because of back fractures too. There's no way Cam is going to play. :(

EDIT: And they're the exact same fractures Romo had too. Two transverse process fractures.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Anacybele

[Jiac]

Man, our offense was lazy during the Patriots game. But our defense and special teams stepped up. Though our secondary was also lazy.

[Black Dynamite]

Love the title of this thread. :) Panthers still have a shot at the playoffs!!!! Although it's dependent on the Saints and Falcons losing at least once more than the Panthers. On another note, you guys see that Manziel is starting for the Browns against the Bengals this week? Let's see if the Browns can actually get anything on offense going...

[Lord Raven]

lol yeah they benched Hoyer "The Anal Destroyer" because of his surprisingly poor play over the last 4 or so weeks.

I think the only thing that would make ESPN go more nuts is like if the Browns sign Tim Tebow for some reason.

[Black Dynamite]

Haha yeah seriously, they would eat that shit up like no other. I think the Browns made the right choice though, Hoyer has been underwhelming lately and leading a stagnant offense that is paired with a vicious defense. As someone who likes the Ravens, I don't even mind the Browns as they are such a weak division rivalry and have been as long as I've been a fan of the Ravens. Manziel, if nothing else, gives them a glimpse of hope that their offense might show some productivity, especially when it comes to passing (although their backfield is quite inconsistent at times as well).

[Lord Raven]

Most importantly, Browns fans will stop acting like that douchebag older sibling that keeps complaining about the younger sibling being spoiled and taking everything from them.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

...I'm an older sibling that complains a lot about my younger sibling. And I think my complaints are well-placed. >.>

But anyway, of course NFL.com would list Ben as a recommended start in fantasy... But at the same time, they also listed Heath Miller as a sit. Last time that happened, Heath actually put on a nice show (against the Colts where he caught several passes, one for a TD, and on one play he was left SO wide open that even his slow legs picked up a lot of yards lol). So it's not gonna be all bad.

Plus, this is a shaky Falcons defense these guys are going against, not the Bucs or Jets who have better defenses, I think. NFL.com still has quite an interesting way of jinxing guys in black and gold though. xP

But some awesome news: Le'Veon Bell is offensive player of the week! That guy is totally awesome. :D He's starting to overshadow Antonio Brown as our best offensive weapon. But AB is still kickass too, and I hope to see him AND Bell shine again Sunday!

Edited December 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Randa]

Most importantly, Browns fans will stop acting like that douchebag older sibling that keeps complaining about the younger sibling being spoiled and taking everything from them.

But Baltimore did both metaphorically and literally take everything from them. Except belichick. The jets took him. And I guess the building the cleavland fans took that.

[Lord Raven]

Well, they kept their franchise, franchise records, trophies, and championships. All we did was move the roster, our owner isn't even Art Modell anymore, our owner's a Baltimore native.

I mean Belichick would've been fired after that season anyway. It seems to consistently go unreported that Modell and Belichick did not get along at all. Team was also 4-5 when they moved.

[Randa]

They didn't get any of that back for 3 years though.

[Lord Raven]

Cleveland Sports..

- Good in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, mediocre in the 90s, still made playoffs one year

- Lose team for 3 years, go into around 14 years of mediocrity and now they have a decent coach, a good front office and despite Manziel being on ESPN 24/7 he's nothing close to a locker room cancer AND he works pretty damn hard so their franchise's future is looking good

20 years of mediocrity.

Baltimore sports..

- Awful team until around 57 or 58 where Unitas was signed by the Colts and took them to back to back championships in 58 and 59. Won a Super Bowl in 1970 after a whole decade worth of being too close but not doing it.

- Bob Irsay buys the franchise and runs it to the ground, fans stop showing up because nobody's doing shit about renovation and he's trying to bankrupt a city with a ton of crime problems and massive debt or he'd move the team.

- Team sucks ass in the 70s and the 80s

- Team moves out of Baltimore in the middle of the night in 84, fans are *not* aware this is happening, Irsay lies straight up to the Baltimore media that they're fucking stupid and he's not going to move the team

- the rest of the 80s progress without football, 90s progress without football until the Baltimore Stallions spend 2 years in the CFL and win a grey cup; 96 the Ravens come to town and are poor from 96 to 99. Billick revitalizes franchise, wins Super Bowl.

- Did I mention the Orioles made the playoffs twice between 83 and 2012? They had to deal with that too, as well as losing a basketball team to DC.

30 years of mediocrity including 12 years of zero football.

As I said, whiny older sibling that complains too much about the younger sibling. Browns fans irritate the mess out of me and I hope they continue to either not make playoffs or continue to make a deep run only to lose in the AFCDR or AFCCG.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Lord Raven

[Randa]

1. Manziel is not a good long term prospect. He still has decision making problems, yes he made plays in Buffalo, but to be honest buffalo missed a relatively easy pick off of an ill-advised through over the middle. He ran when he could've passed, which would've gained more yard and let the receiver get out of bounds and stop the clock.

2. Cleveland hasn't won shit since Otto grahm's days. And when thing start looking up, the owner moves the team, not in the middle of the night, rather in the middle of the season. The only time it has happened in any sport and crushed the team.

3. Also Baltimore had the single all time best QB in Johnny U, not that either of were alive but point stands, and have three Super Bowl wins. Cleveland has none, to this day. They haven't even appeared in a single one. That's like me complaining about the 73 years the soxs didn't win anything, despite them winning three in the last ten years.

Tbh I don't really care that the team moved, I don't like the fact Model did it in the middle of the season.

[Anacybele]

Baltimore had the best QB of all time? I would've thought it was Dan Marino, that guy that played for the Dolphins. I see a lot of praise for him. I've never heard of this Johnny U guy though. Then again, I seem to find myself a little lacking in knowledge here a lot lately... ._.

Marino playing for the Dolphins is pretty fitting though. Look at his name. lol marine refers to the water. Miami is in Florida, right by the sea, with a sea animal as the team name. Haha.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Dijon Mustard]

Baltimore had the best QB of all time? I would've thought it was Dan Marino, that guy that played for the Dolphins. I see a lot of praise for him. I've never heard of this Johnny U guy though. Then again, I seem to find myself a little lacking in knowledge here a lot lately... ._.

Good arguments can be made for a few quarterbacks. A lot of people think the best ever is Joe Montana. Pretty much every advanced stats guy thinks Peyton is the best ever, and by a significant margin, from what I've read.

[Lord Raven]

Johnny Unitas is the father of modern quarterbacking and he is probably the reason pro football is popular so whatever skills he had were amplified in the face of the media. However he introduced the two minute drill and pioneered the timing patterns you see many offenses running these days. He also had a modern throwing motion, which is why you hear some people being awarded the "Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award" and he was much closer to a modern day QB than those QBs of the 50s and 60s

To put it into perspective he had a year where he threw around 3300 yards, 33 TDS, and 18 interceptions or something. Around 10 years ago Brady threw 28 TDs, 15 Ints, and like 3500 yards and led the league in TDs/yards. That was also a day where passing games were unsophisticated and more about going deep on third down and using play action. The league relied much more on a great RB than QB. Montana is another GOAT candidate that didn't have a season like that in his career either. That Colts team was one of the first teams with a balanced offense. Funny thing is the Steelers ownership didn't think he'd amount to anything so he was released but called/scouted by Baltimore.

Marino was also an all-time great but in comparison was merely a benefactor of the 1978 rule changes emphasizing illegal contact. Same could be said about Dan Fouts but Fouts wasn't in a movie.

At any rate, even Johnny U didn't win as many championships as the 50s Browns teams and the early 60s Browns teams. And even the 70s-80s had a good slew of Browns teams that had the same issues as the Eagles of the 2000s; couldn't win the big one.

Randa nobody knows shit about how well a QB will translate to the pros, especially one who came off the bench unexpectedly and still didn't play poorly. The worst case is that they'll be able to get a decent team that changes QBs a lot or they'll find a gem. Manziel is hella talented lol he may just need more time to learn.

Things were not looking up for that Browns team are you kidding? They were an old team and a corpse of those great 80s teams led by Kosar. It even took Newsome another three years to make that team mediocre. And if Belichick stayed in Cleveland would he still be as good as the Belichick we know today? The answer is no.

Also Randa the team moved in the offseason. It was announced in the middle of the season. It's not like citizens woke up one day and their team was gone but the colors changed and they kept their records. Fans actually had the ability to fight and get their history back.

Colts fans did not have the same luxury and Johnny Unitas' records belong to the Indianapolis Colts franchise, not the Baltimore Ravens. The Colts were moved in the middle of the night after their belligerent drunk of an owner Bob Irsay ran the team to the ground in the 70s. Imagine what the current Redskins fans are going through except your team later moves and the NFL flips the middle finger to your city for 12 years.

There's a very good reason the Colts suddenly became relevant again in 98, and only part of it was Peyton Manning. The other part was Bob Irsays death in 97. Jim Irsay decided it would be a better idea to hire a GM - Bill Polian - for football operations. Colts were pretty bad in the 80s and 90s.

Fuck yes we have two super bowl wins but it doesn't stop the Browns from somehow altering history and saying the wins should've been theirs. That's a huge breach of chaos theory.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

I see... Interesting. I would say Peyton Manning is past his prime now though. He's outclassed by Brady, Rodgers, and probably a few others these days, I think.

[Randa]

Randa nobody knows shit about how well a QB will translate to the pros, especially one who came off the bench unexpectedly and still didn't play poorly. The worst case is that they'll be able to get a decent team that changes QBs a lot or they'll find a gem. Manziel is hella talented lol he may just need more time to learn.

actually you can to a certain degree. you just can't get swept up in physical ability. for example the number most people feel is important, the speed someone runs a 40, its useless. the measurement for physical ability never, with the exception of position drills, actually occur. with the exception of receivers, you dont run in a straight line for 40 yards, you dont do a cone drill, you dont run square or M drills. lets go look at the Leaf V. Manning debate, Leaf has all the potential and talent, but he needs to improve mentally. Manning doesn't has a lower ceiling, doesn't have the same are, but he is mentally ready to go pro. Leaf is the biggest bust in sporting history Manning is a top 5 QB all time. hell look at the luck V rg3 argument, RG3 has the big arm, all the talent in the world, complaints mental, and selfish (which was dismissed at the time, i did the same to be honest didn't think it would make a difference lo and behold). Luck is ready to come in and play he is ready, but he doesn't have the same physical talent. you can project how a QB will do, if you ignore the physical talent instead of ignoring the mental inefficiencies (not intellectual inefficiencies but not understanding a playbook or being able to go through your read progressions).

Things were not looking up for that Browns team are you kidding? They were an old team and a corpse of those great 80s teams led by Kosar. It even took Newsome another three years to make that team mediocre. And if Belichick stayed in Cleveland would he still be as good as the Belichick we know today? The answer is no.

the belichick years:

6-10('91)

7-9('92)

7-9('93)

11-5('94)

3-4 start, then the announcement. iirc the first 8 games were the hard part of their schedule.

well the team must have been great heading into the belichick tenure right?

12-4('86)

10-5('87)

10-6('88)

9-6-1('89)

3-13('90)

a worse record every year. belichick's record didn't decrease until his last year.

so yes things were looking better.

Also Randa the team moved in the offseason. It was announced in the middle of the season. It's not like citizens woke up one day and their team was gone but the colors changed and they kept their records. Fans actually had the ability to fight and get their history back.

yes Indianapolis stole the colts. i never anything contrary. i'm not arguing against that fact. i'm saying that something worse happened when Moddel moved the team. you literally stole not only the team from the city as irsay did, but he stole and all motivation for the team actually win. there is documentary with interviews of players openly saying, the team gave up and they didn't feel any reason to win. also very few teams move without being stolen. the only ones that come to mind are the titans, got run out of Houston, and the raiders, lets be honest they belong in Oakland.

Colts fans did not have the same luxury and Johnny Unitas' records belong to the Indianapolis Colts franchise, not the Baltimore Ravens. The Colts were moved in the middle of the night after their belligerent drunk of an owner Bob Irsay ran the team to the ground in the 70s. Imagine what the current Redskins fans are going through except your team later moves and the NFL flips the middle finger to your city for 12 years.

There's a very good reason the Colts suddenly became relevant again in 98, and only part of it was Peyton Manning. The other part was Bob Irsays death in 97. Jim Irsay decided it would be a better idea to hire a GM - Bill Polian - for football operations. Colts were pretty bad in the 80s and 90s.

so we agree that the irsay's are a bunch of assholes. doesn't change anything though.

Fuck yes we have two super bowl wins but it doesn't stop the Browns from somehow altering history and saying the wins should've been theirs. That's a huge breach of chaos theory.

nor am i defending that sentiment, i think that sentiment is about as dumb as the steelers fans who declare that they've won 9 superbowls, because the ones the pats won should've been theirs. its a stupid sentiment. but you cannot deny that you took the team. like tennese can't deny they took the titans, or in three years LA can't deny they took the rams, or whoever the hell wants raiders wont be able to deny they took the raiders. (no idea why any city would want the raiders but its gonna happen)

Edited December 11, 2014 by king ranting panda

[Lord Raven]

Luck is ready to come in and play he is ready, but he doesn't have the same physical talent.

I'd argue Luck is more physically talented than RG3 or rather their body types are too different to judge. Are you going to say RG3 has more physical talent than Cam Newton? Because Luck is exactly as talented as Newton...

you can project how a QB will do, if you ignore the physical talent instead of ignoring the mental inefficiencies (not intellectual inefficiencies but not understanding a playbook or being able to go through your read progressions).

Manziel doesn't really have the mental deficiencies that RG3 has, especially because he doesn't have an owner or a coach licking his balls everyday.

3-4 start, then the announcement. iirc the first 8 games were the hard part of their schedule.

It was a 4-5 start. Literally already matched the number of losses and over halfway through the season. The team wallowed in mediocrity in Baltimore until Billick took over; the offense scored quite a bit in the first year (no defense though) then tapered off when Baltimore somehow became the team with a QB controversy nearly every week until Week 1 of 2008. Again, it took Ozzie and the whole Ravens FO to rebuild that roster for another few years. I have to read The War Room again, because there were definitely a lot of flaws in Belichick's plan in Cleveland that he fixed in time for New England.

yes Indianapolis stole the colts. i never anything contrary. i'm not arguing against that fact. i'm saying that something worse happened when Moddel moved the team. you literally stole not only the team from the city as irsay did, but he stole and all motivation for the team actually win. there is documentary with interviews of players openly saying, the team gave up and they didn't feel any reason to win. also very few teams move without being stolen. the only ones that come to mind are the titans, got run out of Houston, and the raiders, lets be honest they belong in Oakland.

Ever seen the 30 for 30 "The Band that Wouldn't Die"? Here's some shots of shit Irsay's done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnepDGSs2Cs

Basically Irsay not only fucked with the media and fans for years, he alienated them all through the 70s and made it very difficult for them to enjoy coming to games, meddled in the teams affairs and basically was Dan Snyder before Dan Snyder, and had been shopping the Colts between 79 and 83 and outright lying to an entire city about it. Literally just days before they moved he said "I'm not moving the goddamn team" and was always abrasive with the Baltimore media. On top of that, constant belittling and firing coaches, overriding his GM's decisions (you know why they picked John Elway instead of trading the first pick? Because Irsay went completely behind Ernie Accorsi's back to do it), and sending Jim Irsay and some of his other dudes to other cities year in and year out to shop the colts.

so we agree that the irsay's are a bunch of assholes. doesn't change anything though.

Yeah it does because Modell at least tried to make the team competitive in the early 90s and didn't move the team in the middle of the night. Irsay just gave his fans no reason to come, then blamed the lack of funding for a stadium on the fans. Modell may have been a terrible businessman but he didn't run a franchise to the ground and jolt. On top of that the NFL gave them a team back 3 years later - sure they had to wallow in 15 years of mediocrity before their team is looking up and being competitive again (and it's not just Johnny Manziel but I can see him being a bright spot - it's a lot of subtle things that I can provide upon request) but Baltimore not only had a team wallow in shitty football for 14 years but get outright alienated by the owner of the team and then watch that team go to another city for 12 years. It required very extenuating circumstances, and at least the Browns fans got to get their history back because the Colts history belongs to the Indianapolis franchise. I don't know how you can declare it worse, they just lost their roster while Baltimore lost a roster, an entire team, and an entire history.

As far as the history books say, all of Luck's records etc are going to be compared to Unitas'. All of Joe Flacco's records will be compared to... Vinny Testaverde or some shit.