NFL - Random Opinions

BWW- are you wearing your Bears jersey to the Linc ?

 

Always.

Been to Philly for 5 games in my life and I’ve survived.

 

Awesome. Think you said you stay with a friend when in town; is he in the city, or the 'burbs?

 

Who said it was a "he" ???

 

Maybe it’s an it?

 

He and his wife just purchased a new house in Chestnut Hill. That’s where I’ll be.

 

Awesome! I was just in Chestnut Hill yesterday for brunch with the fam.

 

not far from me. im in newtown square.

 

AFC outlook

Patriots look almost unbeatable
The Colts look like the AFC version of the bears
The chiefs look like injuries may derail their season
The Texans look like pretenders
The AFCN looks like their viagra wore off
Right now I’m hard pressed to find any AFC teams that can even deserve to be on the field with the patriots in the AFCCG.

 

I feel like the opinions on the Patriots are usually too far to one side or another.
When they start a season 2-2 the sky is falling and people think the whole thing is over, usually media driven.
When they start the year playing a bunch of tomato cans and steam roll them they're unbeatable. This team is good but certainly has its faults. After Roethlisberger they havent played an NFL caliber QB and/or team yet.

 

Agreed !!!

Going into week 6, they;

• Were tied with the 49ers for the best winning percentage in the NFL.
• Were tied with the Packers for the #1 Turnover Differential in the NFL (+7).
• Owned the #1 Scoring Differential in the NFL (+24.2).

The only fly in the ointment is that their Opponents' Winning Percentage (in games not involving the Patriots) is a paltry 0.278. Dead last in the NFL.

 

The extreme commentary applies to other teams as well. New England has played and beaten the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills defense makes them more than “NFL caliber”. In fact, the Bills D is the reason the Pats were truly tested in a game this season.

The Bills are making strides on offense, but they’re just a wildcard contender. The o-line was completely revamped this summer and it takes at least six games to gel. The team needs at least one more receiver (like the Pats). They have needs, but the Bills could fill those needs. But clearly their D commands the respect of opponents - or should.

 

Ok, I got a couple hours of downtime this afternoon.

I’ll give my opinion/breakdown on any player/team that anyone wants to discuss.

First to ask has the floor.

 

Mason Rudolph

 

The Thomas shot was really unfortunate in terms of his developmental arc and where he was headed in a rapid fashion.

I've read complaints from just about everywhere on social media, including here, regarding him not pushing the ball down the field. But here's the thing - If a person spent any amount of time actually scouting the kid pre-draft they already know that he is more than capable of hitting the deep ball. One of the arguments against him was that Washington and Ateman were the bigger components in his collegiate success (specifically in the intermediate and long) but I viewed it from the other end of the table. Mason came into the league being able to hit it deep, but his long term NFL success was going to come off of his ability to learn to have patience, take what the defense gives him, limit mistakes and increase his intermediate spot accuracy.

Defenses were going to try and take away the big play, forcing Rudolph to be consistent and march down the field in a pathological fashion.

Here are his stats so far:

Code:

                                                                                            
Year   G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% 1D Lng Y/A AY/A  Y/C   Y/G  Rate  QBR Sk Yds
2019   4  3 1-2-0  63  94 67.0 646  7 7.4   2  2.1 27  76 6.9  7.4 10.3 161.5 102.5 44.6  3  25
Care   4  3 1-2-0  63  94 67.0 646  7 7.4   2     2.1  76 6.9  7.4 10.3 161.5      102.5  3  25

He clearly is taking what the D gives him, limiting mistakes and moving the offense in a standard fashion when given the opportunity.

I don't believe the coaching staff has done him many favors in certain situations, and this is not the same threat at receiver without Brown, but all of the things that I believed would transfer well in his game have.

Now, the question will be about his ability to bounce back and learn from the injury. Not learn to protect himself, because I honestly thought that was a really solid play on his part that just ended in horrific fashion. I'm more interested in how he rebounds mentally from something that would make a lot of people gun shy.

We're probably going to learn a lot about his intestinal fortitude and mental strength over the next couple of weeks.

 

In your opinion; Are the 49ers for real?

 

I have faith in any team that can play solid defense, run the ball effectively and overcome mistakes.

I was one of a very small group of people that had Jimmy G as the top quarterback in his draft class. So long as the running game is clicking he is going to continue to be protected, which is probably a must to keep him healthy for the full season. They can rely on him to win more than one game with just his arm, but I would be cautious about him being exposed for several games.

Luckily, that defense can be filthy in stretches. That gives the offense more opportunities to get the motor running on that ground game.

The problem for them the rest of the way will be the remaining schedule paired with the fact that they already had their bye week.

They should be a 9 win team based on where they are now, but it wouldn't surprise me if they dropped 4 out of their last 5 games due to the caliber of competition and the eventual burden of the grind.

 

after going 1-2 and losing 2 bad games, the Eagles won 2 straight and are 3-2. Carson Wentz looks fine. Some WRs injured. Who wins the NFC East ? Them or Dallas?

 

I picked Dallas before the season started and I'm staying with that for the moment.

The biggest difference between these two teams are the head coaches, IMO.

Put Pederson in Dallas and the Cowboys run away with the East.

Put Garrett in Philadelphia and they struggle to go 8-8.

Dallas has won and lost the games exactly as I had them prior to the season start so I'm not seeing any reason to panic. The Philly game at home right before the bye may end up being the litmus test for what the rest of the season brings. Win that game and they go into the bye with momentum, then come out of the bye to face the Giants in New York. Win those games and they are 3-0 in the division and set to run through a 7 game stretch that will define their season. They finish out the season with Washington at home so if they need a win in the final week to grab the crown they're in pretty good shape.

Philly is a game behind where I expected them to be and they are about to run a 3 game away stretch against quality opponents. I wouldn't be surprised to see them drop all 3 before coming home to beat Chicago going into the bye. They get two home games coming out of the bye but they are against NE and SEA. Weeks 13, 14 and 15 are games they should be favored heavily in so they will get a chance to bounce back into things late in the year, but I'm not sure they will have enough rope left in weeks 16 and 17 to pull themselves into contention.

Right now I have Dallas winning the division with 11 wins and the Eagles getting wildcard spot with 9.

 

i think they should be 5-0. those 2 games were winnable and they had the ball at the end of the game. winning at GB was huge. the 3 road games don't help them at all. some easy games after that. they play at home all of November and only once in December, so that's 7-1 at home vs the road. Huge. I have the reverse. Philly with 11 wins and Dallas and the WC with 10 wins.