NFL

On 20/10/2023 at 19:20, Maximus Decimus said:

I know, it's gonna be a classic

Well it was hope you’re still celebrating.  

On 22/10/2023 at 21:27, Irish Saint said:

Maximus becomes the good luck charm of the Bears as they easily defeat the Raiders.  Looking forward to his report.

In other news Bill Belichick gets his 300th career win against the Bills. Our Patriots fan DeeDeuce didn't have the faith to stick with them this week.

Finally,Detroit look more like the Detroit we are used to as they are routed by Baltimore. Before anyone thinks about writing them off they do not play another team with winning record until New Year's Eve when they face the Cowboys.

 

Got back yesterday, and still in recovery mode. Obviously, very pleased by the result and I'm just waiting on the offer of free season tickets by the Bears. I'm really rooting for Tyson Bagent, and there was a lot of positive media about him.

The experience was great, I was comparing it to the Premier League over here and it is very different. Despite being 1-5, it was very much a party atmosphere around the stadium and spirits were high at the tailgating parties with a lot of drinking going on. There was a lot of good-natured mixing between opposition fans and home fans.

As for the game, it goes by really quickly and it's really easy to follow with the play announcers. One criticism from non-NFL fans is that it is so stop start, but it doesn't feel like that when the play is happening. One slight frustration is when they switch from Offense to Defense. I always thought that it takes a bit of time but it's clearly just because of commercials. It's weird when the players are all stood on the field waiting while a band is playing or they're doing a competition on the big screen.

The fans are into the game and knowledgeable, and cheer for TDs etc but I wouldn't say they were as intensely into the action as they would be at a PL game. Maybe it was because they were 1-5, or it's the nature of a longer sport but they are happy enough to miss some plays. If I could compare it to anything atmosphere wise it would be an England RL game outside of the heartlands.

Oddly I thought, the loudest the crowd would get (outside of a TD) is a defensive 3rd down. Also, it's funny that whenever there is a flag, they seem to instinctively know if it is going to be a good or a bad flag. The thing I was most surprised by, was that everybody left with 5 minutes to go and maybe 10-15% were still left at the final play. They hadn't won for over a year, but there was no cheering them off at the end or anything like that - maybe they were too plastered, they certainly enjoy a beer!

It's definitely something I'd do again. Whilst not as intense sporting-wise as a PL game or competitive RL game, it's much more of an event and a spectacle.

Some interesting match-ups this week.

None more so for me than the Jets vs Giants. I suspect I'll forever be bemused by aspects of American culture, and one is that this game is pretty low-key. You'd think the quadrennial New York derby would be the biggest game of the weekend, but it barely gets more than a passing reference in any preview.

The biggest talking point this week was about whether the wheels have fallen off for San Francisco, so it'll be interesting to see how they get on.

Wow what a finish to the Giants-Jets. 

The Giants were 10-7 up after a dire game (with a record number of punts in the first half), and got the ball back with less than 2 minutes on the clock. They failed miserably to see it out and the Jets got it back with 24 seconds on the clock.

Somehow, they got into field goal range, stopped the clock with 1 second left and kicked it only to repeat the process in OT.

Managing the clock is a feature of NFL that I've always enjoyed and definitely leads to exciting finishes.

No less than six of this week's games decided by walk off field goals.

If the play-offs were to commence next week all four teams in the AFC North would qualify as all are above 500 with only the division leader in the other three AFC conferences above 500.

May be of interest ... the Grey Cup (CFL) Final is live and free via CFL+ (google it) on Sunday at 11pm.

Sky Sports have secured the rights to College Football starting today. 

20 minutes ago, Liverpool Rover said:

Sky Sports have secured the rights to College Football starting today. 

Excellent news. Let the barbarity begin.

Joe Burrow joins the quarterbacks gone for the season with torn ligament his wrist. Bengals can forget about the play-offs.

A couple of weeks ago Buffalo sacked their offensive co-ordinator Ken Dorsey. With respect should have been the defensive co-ordinator as they just cannot close out games that they are leading. Then again it's head coach McDermott that is making these calls. Don't make the playoffs this year and he is gone.

Strange, as it may be with the quarterbacks having so much" protection" , I can't remember a season with so many first choice quarterbacks suffering season ending injuries.

1 hour ago, Irish Saint said:

Strange, as it may be with the quarterbacks having so much" protection" , I can't remember a season with so many first choice quarterbacks suffering season ending injuries.

Agreed - maybe it is the return of the D?

Theres been some chat the old saying that ‘defense wins championships’ could be coming back.

Something to do with drawing inspiration from College Football schemes and wide eyed NFL defensive coordinators.

I’m yet to be fully convinced we’ve seen a full change from it being a ‘quarterback’s league’ - the next few weeks and the playoffs will reveal all.

An off-field blow to the jaguars

https://talksport.com/sport/1668953/jaguars-jacksonville-nfl-employee-accused-stealing/

On 05/12/2023 at 16:52, Gerrumonside ref said:

Agreed - maybe it is the return of the D?

Theres been some chat the old saying that ‘defense wins championships’ could be coming back.

Something to do with drawing inspiration from College Football schemes and wide eyed NFL defensive coordinators.

I’m yet to be fully convinced we’ve seen a full change from it being a ‘quarterback’s league’ - the next few weeks and the playoffs will reveal all.

As a relative newcomer to NFL, my observation has always been that the balance is with the offense, and it seems easier to score than to defend. I've seen many games go basically back and forth, and often in the last couple of minutes teams find it easy enough moving the ball down field. Also, coming from watching RL, there looks to be a lot of space to exploit.

However, watching the Jets the last few weeks has made me realise how hard it can be. Not only do they find TDs hard to come by, but a first down is like a mini-victory.

35 minutes ago, Maximus Decimus said:

As a relative newcomer to NFL, my observation has always been that the balance is with the offense, and it seems easier to score than to defend. I've seen many games go basically back and forth, and often in the last couple of minutes teams find it easy enough moving the ball down field. Also, coming from watching RL, there looks to be a lot of space to exploit.

However, watching the Jets the last few weeks has made me realise how hard it can be. Not only do they find TDs hard to come by, but a first down is like a mini-victory.

Ah, historically (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s) having the best defense was the key to a championship winning team.

This was particularly true in the playoffs and Super Bowl when historically playcalling became less risky and more conservative.

However there has been a change in this in that the NFL became more of a quarterback’s domain and versatility at the skill position became key.  The quarterbacks en masse are expected to contribute much greater scrambling ability than those previous eras.

Coaching also changed in the constant evolution of NFL tactics between offence and defense - many taking their inspiration in schemes from the college game that were previously thought incompatible with the pro game.

This is the era you have entered as a new watcher of the sport so I understand with that context your comments.

My biggest gripe with the modern game is the pass interference call. Tho you rarely see this called on a " hail mary" pass at end of the game when there is all sort of shenanigans going on. Look at last week's Mahomes haul Mary against the Packers with Kelce virtually pushed to the ground at any other time of the game I'm sure pass interference would have been called.

Anyhow today is D day for me. I bet the 49ers at the start of the season to win the Superbowl with a smaller bet for them and the Bills to reach the final.  Bills virtually have to win out to reach the playoffs. 

As for the Jets as a long suffering fan they are a basket case. I fell for the hype of Rogers i( it's been so long I'll clutch at any straw) even if he was fit it would have made no difference.  They hired Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator having been let go by the Broncos after his 4-13 record. Watching the Jets now you can see even their much acclaimed defence have had enough. Coach Salah may be kept for another year being able to fall back on Rogers injury if so he can  thank the owner  as other coaches have been sacked with better records.

2 hours ago, Irish Saint said:

My biggest gripe with the modern game is the pass interference call. Tho you rarely see this called on a " hail mary" pass at end of the game when there is all sort of shenanigans going on. Look at last week's Mahomes haul Mary against the Packers with Kelce virtually pushed to the ground at any other time of the game I'm sure pass interference would have been called.

Anyhow today is D day for me. I bet the 49ers at the start of the season to win the Superbowl with a smaller bet for them and the Bills to reach the final.  Bills virtually have to win out to reach the playoffs. 

As for the Jets as a long suffering fan they are a basket case. I fell for the hype of Rogers i( it's been so long I'll clutch at any straw) even if he was fit it would have made no difference.  They hired Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator having been let go by the Broncos after his 4-13 record. Watching the Jets now you can see even their much acclaimed defence have had enough. Coach Salah may be kept for another year being able to fall back on Rogers injury if so he can  thank the owner  as other coaches have been sacked with better records.

I heard plenty of off-season gripes about the O-Line and it's painfully obvious now. Rodgers would of course have been better but he wouldn't have turned them into contenders.

Hard Knocks. An NFL programme that follows a team  from pre-season . As i stated earlier in the thread no featured team in the history of this programme has ever hosted a home play-off game. This season it was the Jets enough said. Then with 8 games remaining the Dolphins became the featured team. After last nights defeat surely they couldn't collapse  in the final few games of the  season like they did in the final three minutes last night.

Hard Knocks available on Sky Sports coach McDaniel does use some colourful language. An enjoyable insight into the running of an American Football Team

On Saturday the Steelers will start with third string quarterback Mason Rudolph against the Bengals.

Will Rudolph save Christmas for the Steelers?

From The Upshot:

As we entertainment last week of the regular season some thoughts.

Firstly, a shout out to our Browns fan Wiltshire Rhino hasn't been around for over two years, hope you are well and celebrating the Browns making the play offs.

Next up our Steelers fan R LWinger,every year about a month before the season starts I get a pm from him enquiring am I running the NFL comp again and he finishes saying hope the Steelers have a better season. Well under Mike Tomlin the Steelers are about to have their 17th consecutive non-losing season only BIll Belichick and Tom Landry have longer consecutive non losing seasons. Speaking of Belichick I wonder if Sunday will be his last game coaching the Patriots. 

Sunday night and last game of the regular season Bills at Dolphins. Bills lose and they are probably out win and they will be number 2 seed. Dolphins lose they will go to Kansas. Josh Allen has to lead the Bills to victory No team featured in hard knocks has ever hosted a home play off game.

Finally, well done to the Texans surprise team of the year

As for the NFC imo  from the start of the season it's always been the 49ers tho like to see the Lions cause an upset.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bills-fan-shot-and-killed-outside-hard-rock-stadium-after-bills-dolphins-game

Americans and their guns

Bill Belichick winner of six superbowls as Head coach of the Patriots  has " let go"  In total Belichick has eight rings having won two as defensive coach of the Giants. A lesser known fact Belichick whilst defensive coach of the Jets was offered the position of head coach. He resigned after one day and went to New England were he replaced Pete Carroll  The rest as they say is history.

Pete Carroll  who eventually ended up at the Seahawks coached them to their first superbowl was today was also relieved of head coach duties tho will stay with the Seahawks as an advisor.

Pete Carroll comes across as a 72 year old who consumes drinks with too many e numbers. 

Belichick will want to keep on coaching.The yearly mis-firing Chargers have been mentioned.  Time will tell.

47 minutes ago, Irish Saint said:

Bill Belichick winner of six superbowls as Head coach of the Patriots  has " let go"  In total Belichick has eight rings having won two as defensive coach of the Giants. A lesser known fact Belichick whilst defensive coach of the Jets was offered the position of head coach. He resigned after one day and went to New England were he replaced Pete Carroll  The rest as they say is history.

Pete Carroll  who eventually ended up at the Seahawks coached them to their first superbowl was today was also relieved of head coach duties tho will stay with the Seahawks as an advisor.

Pete Carroll comes across as a 72 year old who consumes drinks with too many e numbers. 

Belichick will want to keep on coaching.The yearly mis-firing Chargers have been mentioned.  Time will tell.

I hoped Washington might be in the running but our new ownership group have started doing things that will scare him off like having basketball people brought in to review football players at high levels.  

Also there’s some talk that in Washington the majority owner is keeping away from the limelight and wants group decision making with the smaller owners brought In.  Which means whoever does become our head coach will have a lot of senior relationships to manage instead of one boss like a Jerry Jones figure.

The only positive is we tanked well enough to pick up the number 2 draft pick and might be on course for much needed change at Quarterback plus some investment in the offensive line.

11 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I hoped Washington might be in the running but our new ownership group have started doing things that will scare him off like having basketball people brought in to review football players at high levels.  

Also there’s some talk that in Washington the majority owner is keeping away from the limelight and wants group decision making with the smaller owners brought In.  Which means whoever does become our head coach will have a lot of senior relationships to manage instead of one boss like a Jerry Jones figure.

The only positive is we tanked well enough to pick up the number 2 draft pick and might be on course for much needed change at Quarterback plus some investment in the offensive line.

Belichick will want to keep on coaching he will want that record of being the coach who has won the most games. At 72 he doesn't have the time to build a team that is why I think could be the Raiders. Have even heard the Cowboys mentioned. Apparently  their love the limelight owner has stated that it is not definite that McCarthy will be head coach next year. Cowboys I don't care them who beats them.

As for quarterbacks the draft is hit and miss. Josh Allen is a free agent after the play- offs. Will he stay at the Bills? 

This season will be remembered for the teams who made the play-offs with back up quarterbacks even the Bengals came close in thar crazy AFC North.

Meanwhile at One Jets Drive. They bowed to the wishes of Mr Rodgers got the offensive coordinator he requested and two of his old wide receivers from Green Bay and all for diddley squat.