NFL - Random Opinions

Everybody airs one occasionally, but Lamar now has a track record of having issues with completions in a shortened field with windows that are shifting or need to be recognized before they open. Anticipation accuracy is something that he struggled with in college. He is better at it then when he first came in the league but, when you add the element of everything being in a condensed atmosphere, he remains a beat behind.

His overall accuracy is better than when he was a rookie, but he has to make those throws if the Ravens are going to win tight games.

The Ravens path to a championship hasn't changed, regardless of what the coaching staff wants to do with Lamar - Run the football efficiently, connect on play-action, smother on defense, get ahead early and stay there.

 

Honestly the play to Likely before the Flowers miss probably should’ve been a TD too. He had a lot of room to work with that pass was off target. Not as bad as the Flowers pass of course. But I thought Likely was done after his injury, thought he cracked ribs or dislocated his shoulder the way he landed

 

This is what was missing and is spot on, imo. First off, its no easy task for anyone to waltz into Arrowhead and beat the Chiefs, secondly, the Ravens run game was heavily tilted towards Lamar when you have Henry in the backfield. They must find a way to maybe be tighter or more conservative on offense, allow the RB's to get something going and focus on Lamar using more play-action-pass type stuff and roll with that. Lamar can run extremely well, but it ought to be just for his life, not necessarily built into the offensive scheme. Pass protection and run-blocking would do the Ravens a world of good. But hell, they lost by 1 score.

(my friday morning QB opinion)

 

The refs were full of crap. They called the procedure penalty three times on the first drive and then the Ravens kept lining up the same way and they stopped calling it. Mahomes was hit on the bench side of the out of bounds white line and knocked to the ground and no personal foul? The chiefs beat the Ravens and the refs.

 

I wish the Chiefs were first up so Jawaan Taylor could get called for them again.

 

I watched this today and after Lamar yesterday I died.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zE_5X-1tsio

 

The Packers' season is over like the Jets last year.

 

Karma for making fun of Rodgers last year.

 

We don't know the extent of the injury yet. Let's not get our hopes up prematurely.

 

Absolutely classless........I love it.

 

Ok...

It's been a very busy summer, so my time to shoot the shit has been limited.

Just wanted to get some thoughts on the record before the season starts.

Alphabetical order? Sure, why not... (may skip a few, I'm short on time)

Atlanta Falcons
I see the Falcons as an ascending team in the South. Kirk Cousins is essentially on a two-year contract that will ensure an even keel while they continue to rebuild the roster. I expect them to be competitive in more games than not this season, with an outside chance to push for a division title. There are enough weapons on offense to make splash plays and play keep away. The defense still needs more talent, but this is a division that explosive offense can win in.

And, yes, I'm still in the fringe minority of people that agree with the drafting of Michael Penix.

Baltimore Ravens
If you are in any of our dynasty leagues or follow any of our discussions on the draft, then you already know what I think about Isaiah Likely. His opening day was of no surprise, and I believe he can be a big difference maker for that offense. The Ravens path to a championship has not changed. They need to run the ball effectively, create play action passing attempts, limit mistakes on offense and continue to smother on defense.

I see them as the favorites to win the AFC North.

Buffalo Bills
The Bills drafting of Keon Coleman feels like the perfect pairing in this draft class for Josh Allen. He's a huge target with a massive wingspan that is going to be a redzone specialist immediately in an offense that needs that threat to keep things from being hyper focused on Allen's legs near the goal line. Considering the division, I expect Buffalo to compete for the top spot and have a shot at it going into the final weeks. I don't think McDermott's seat is over the fire yet, but if the Bills were to somehow miss the playoffs this season, then he could be one of the first coaches to be given an airline ticket.

Carolina Panthers
I think the Panthers offense is going to come around quickly and, though my opinion of his prospects haven't changed, Bryce Young should look like a different passer this season. The defense is going to be a large liability, and the Panthers will likely sit at the bottom of the division to end this season.l

Cleveland Browns
I want to say that I believe Cleveland will be in the mix for the division title to end the season, but it feels more like they will be in it until around week 14. I don't think Watson is the answer they paid for, but the remaining roster on offense should keep them competitive in more games than not. However, if this defense clicks and begins destroying offenses early in the season, the Browns might just be able to hold of the Bengals and Ravens down the stretch...

Dallas Cowboys
Dallas feels like a team that is simply fighting off an inevitable decline, which is odd, considering the high-profile young talent they have. In another framing - It feels like the window closed when they got demolished and exited early in the playoffs. This feels like a perfect situation for a midseason implosion that sees the Cowboys miss the postseason.

Detroit Lions
I think the Lions are the frontrunners of the NFC to go to the Super Bowl. This feels like a team that has worked through a lot of the different issues that they needed to last season in preparation for a 2024 that could see them dominate. This could end up being the best offense in the NFC and, if the defense shows up with more than just the potential they possess, they could be the most well-rounded team in the entire league.

Green Bay Packers
There is no other team in the league, in my opinion, that feels like I'm being sold wolf tickets more than one I read an analysts take on why the Packers should be considered a legitimate post season contender. They just come off as a team waiting for the bottom to fall out. Before the injury to Love, I would have expected them to be highly competitive to begin their season before lulling out down the stretch. Now, it feels more like they will simply yo-yo throughout the season.

Jacksonville Jaguars
This feels like the season where everything should come together for the Jags and put them in contention to win the AFC South. A leap over the Texans is available, but the Titans and Colts are going to rapidly come together as complimentary football teams, which may make the South the most interesting division in football. I would not be shocked if Jacksonville ended up with a streak of wins that sees them hovering at the top of the AFC with the likes of the Chiefs, Ravens and Dolphins for a few weeks.

San Francisco 49ers
I expect the 49ers to remain extremely competitive, but I also believe the rest of the NFC West is going to be strong enough to keep SF from being the big dog in that conference with a lot of 1-1 records against division rivals. I don't see them returning to the Super Bowl, but I don't believe a cliff fall is imminent. More likely that they are in every game but struggle to comeback when needed.

Washington Commanders
Sneaky pick to stay in the hunt for the NFC East down the stretch. If Philadelphia misses a couple steps the window of opportunity is going to open up for a team that is just lingering close enough to jump through it. I can easily see the Commanders being that team.

Be back to edit in some more in a few...

 

I'm obviously the most biased opinion on this board, but here's my take... they aren't trying to continue to rebuild the roster. They THINK they have it already. Whether they really do or not is an entirely different question, but the new defensive coaching staff believes they have all the puzzle pieces.

I think the most important aspect of the team that has been ignored is the defensive line. With injuries in 2022, Grady Jarrett was the only legit starter down the back stretch. They signed Onyemata for 2023 but still lacked depth - which really showed when Jarrett got hurt. So while all the focus in the offseason was "they lost their top two sack leaders", the interior is now strong enough and deep enough to help the outside pass rushers.

The media also focuses on the CB position as needing more, but the secondary-heavy coaching staff insists that they love what they have and that Mike Hughes and last year's draft steal Clark Phillips will be able to pair effectively with A.J. Terrell. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm expecting Kevin King to be added back to the main roster for more depth before too long - maybe even this coming week.

On offense, it's not rocket science. Atlanta wants Cousins and Penix to be point guards distributing the ball to their playmakers, not a one-man show like Michael Vick or a rookie savior like Matt Ryan. Simple accuracy is what they lacked from Mariota, especially on deeper throws. Ridder truly wasn't bad but was rushed into starting - and it showed in his decision-making, particularly in the red zone. They want someone to throw the ball to Kyle Pitts, not three yards behind and five yards downfield from Pitts, and they paid a fortune to Cousins because he has proven he can do that.


A little more fun: what makes the 2022 and 2023 offense truly laughable for former HC Arthur Smith is that he based his system on run, run, set up the deep shot - and he kept insisting on taking those deep shots rather than sticking with shorter throws. So who were the two absolute worst deep passers in the league in 2022? Mariota, followed by Taylor Heinecke - who Smith chose to put in as starter down the stretch instead of Desmond Ridder with the 2023 season on the line.

I knew Mariota was bad with deep ball accuracy, but I didn't know that about Heinecke until I saw this:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/79668521?pr=true

 

Brock Purdy is going to be paid big next season because Jerry Jones just set the bar stupid high for Dak Prescott. 49ers window could be shrinking quicker than expected and who knows if they would have paid Aiyuk had they known.

 

That Carolina defense is going to need more than a 2025 offseason to get rebuilt...

 

Making Carr look like Montana is not a good thing.

 

If the Steelers didnt have TJ Watt on defense, they wouldnt be the Steelers we all expect.

 

Going to be some big clumps of shit hit the fan in Cincinnati if this game continues as it is right now.

 

Every time I look up, Watt is making a play. Just disrupted Cousins. Great player.

 

And he has caught every pass headed to him today. Looks like the guy too me that will pay off.

 

The Colts lost but Adonai Mitchell looked special. 1 reception on 5 targets for 2 yards but he was overthrown on two walk-in TDs where he blew by his man and then I noticed he did so again when a deep bomb to the redzone was tossed to Pierce (which was caught).