2016 NFL Regular Season Thread

['7']

Isn't it time for one? First game is (ugh) Thursday night with a Super Bowl rematch. Broncos v. Panthers. A season opener is pretty much the only Thursday night football that I can stomach considering you do sort of want your big roll-out on a big TV watching night. The rest of Thursday football can go take a hike...all we get out of this are substandard games and more injuries.

[MadDog2020]

Isn't it time for one? First game is (ugh) Thursday night with a Super Bowl rematch. Broncos v. Panthers. A season opener is pretty much the only Thursday night football that I can stomach considering you do sort of want your big roll-out on a big TV watching night. The rest of Thursday football can go take a hike...all we get out of this are substandard games and more injuries.

And this year we not only get a full slate of Thursday nighters, but also a full slate of COLOR RUSH GAMES!! [emoji19] I fvcking hate Goodell... I really fvcking hate him. But negatives aside, it's good to have football back. Looking forward to Thursday night and this weekend.


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[NJDevs4978]

lol I don't get the whole purpose behind that color rush thing.  Other than it being an excuse to sell more jerseys I suppose (although it's not like they couldn't find another excuse to wear different jerseys).  But really whoever in their PR department convinced them that was a good idea should be fired on the spot.

And yeah this Thursday night is the only one that makes sense cause it's the only one that isn't on a three-day week for NFL teams.

Edited September 6, 2016 by NJDevs4978

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Also something to look forward to this year - it's the dress-rehersal for London Expansion!  Thrill as YOUR Indianapolis Colts choose NOT to take their bye the week after the London game (under the guise of "too early in the season"), potentially knocking down the final logistical barrier for a London NFL football team to move into Wembley/Twickenham, throwing three other teams' road schedules completely off the wall.  

There's also a Mexico City game, but even Goodell isn't that stupid.  

All the "frills" aside, it's good to have football back - this should be a fun season.  

['7']

5 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

And this year we not only get a full slate of Thursday nighters, but also a full slate of COLOR RUSH GAMES!! I fvcking hate Goodell... I really fvcking hate him. But negatives aside, it's good to have football back. Looking forward to Thursday night and this weekend.


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Dont get me started in this color rush nonsense. It's descended into college level of ridiculousnes

The day is coming where every NFL team will have 16 different jersey for all 16 games. And they will invent every excuse imagineable for it. How the hell do you keep an identity with all these gimmicks?

Fwiw...the Dolphins should wear there Marino era uniforms (they wore if for the NYG game last year) EVERY GAME.

Ready for Dolphins/Jets in 2021 in Tajikistan?

 

Edited September 7, 2016 by '7'

[MadDog2020]

Dont get me started in this color rush nonsense. It's descended into college level of ridiculousnes

The day is coming where every NFL team will have 16 different jersey for all 16 games. And they will invent every excuse imagineable for it. How the hell do you keep an identity with all these gimmicks?

Fwiw...the Dolphins should wear there Marino era uniforms (they wore if for the NYG game last year) EVERY GAME.

Ready for Dolphins/Jets in 2021 in Tajikistan?

 

Actually, the uniforms they wore in that Giants game were the circa 1966 uniforms, but I agree- I wish we'd go back to those permanently, or a variation of a past throwback like the Marino era jerseys... The color rush jerseys are a joke and one day we'll look back at them the way we do the FoxTrax glowing puck and 90's NHL throwbacks- ideas we knew were horrible at the time, but are simply products of their era. 'The kids' like this sh!t. Once 'the kids' grow up and become adults, they'll wonder what the fvck they were thinking.


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[nmigliore]

On 9/6/2016 at 10:39 PM, MadDog2020 said:

Actually, the uniforms they wore in that Giants game were the circa 1966 uniforms, but I agree- I wish we'd go back to those permanently, or a variation of a past throwback like the Marino era jerseys... The color rush jerseys are a joke and one day we'll look back at them the way we do the FoxTrax glowing puck and 90's NHL throwbacks- ideas we knew were horrible at the time, but are simply products of their era. 'The kids' like this sh!t. Once 'the kids' grow up and become adults, they'll wonder what the fvck they were thinking.


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Ha, I used to be so enamored by alternate jerseys when I was younger. Despite being a die-hard Devils fan I still bought a Blue Jackets road blue jersey (with the green face thing on the patch) because I thought it was so cool (ok, it wasn't an alternate uniform but I just loved the jersey in general)... and I was so gaga over the Bruins' 3rd jersey - the bear head on yellow and jagged black around the bottom. If I were a more spoiled child, I would've had many more... I was nuts for 3rd jerseys.

Edit:

 

Edited September 8, 2016 by nmigliore

['7']

There has been some complaining regarding the treatment of Cam Newton. How because he is so enormous and inclined to take off that refs don't offer him the respect that traditional pocket passers get. It's all BS. When he's in the open field he's a runner like everybody else until he goes into a slide. If he's in the pocket and he gets hit in the head...it's 15 yards. Same as for everybody else

I didn't see enough of the game to see any instances where he was popped in the head and they missed it...but it's week 1 for the refs too. The last helmet to helmet was the correct call...he was speared, but he also intentionally grounded the ball. The penalties offset. That's the rule. If you want to change it to where a personal foul blow to the head of a QB wipes out a grounding then fine, but as of last night the correct call was made.

 

['7']

http://m.palmbeachpost.com/news/sports/football/fans-threaten-boycott-after-dolphins-discuss-anthe/nsWJ4/

The NFL is sweating bulletts over this behind closed doors. Especially on 9/11. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Same ol' AFC East.  Everyone might be 0-1 by the time Sunday is over.

[NJDevs4978]

I actually thought the Fish would stay in the game against Seattle cause their d-line would crush Seattle's bad o-line.  It was same old Rex against the Ravens, that's why I picked Baltimore in a suicide pool - his old team owns him as badly as he owns Fitzpatrick (and I'm fully expecting 0-2 and the season to be over by Friday).  A ton of compelling games this week, the majority went down to the wire with some wild finishes.

Edited September 11, 2016 by NJDevs4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Dolphins did a nice job, but when you come that close you gotta get it done at the end.  A little deflating, but at the same time it was both an away game in a tough building and a loss to an NFC opponent.  Could've been worse.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

BB and Puppet trying to win this game on the backs of their defense.  That hasn't been a good idea in NE in years.  Enough with Blount's one and two yard runs.  Let Garrapollo throw some more.  

Yep, of course the D is getting carved right up.  So fvcking predictable.  

Edited September 12, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Wow...two huge breaks with the holding penalty and the missed FG.  Got a lucky one.  Solid first game for Garrapollo.  

[MDPucks]

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Wow...two huge breaks with the holding penalty and the missed FG.  Got a lucky one.  Solid first game for Garrapollo.  

After the BS holding penalty on Bennett killed a probable TD drive I'd say that karma evened that out.  Without Brady, Gronk, and a patchwork O-line on the road vs. a Super Bowl contender.

Fitzgerald is just a pure beast.

['7']

Say what you will about the bad snap...I thought the holder corrected it just fine. Catanzaro just cant be trusted 45 and out.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

7 hours ago, '7' said:

Say what you will about the bad snap...I thought the holder corrected it just fine. Catanzaro just cant be trusted 45 and out.

Indoors, that is simply a FG that you have to make.  And I agree, I thought the holder did a fine job setting it up.  Catanzaro just Finkled it.

Didn't expect the Pats to win that one (especially without Gronk), so this win feels like a major bonus.  That defense is just impossible to trust at the end of games though. 

[nmigliore]

Pretty impressive win by the Pats all things considered. 3 Brady-less games to go, all of which are at home against stiff but beatable teams, and the cherry on top is that the rest of the division lost. 

Lots of exciting games this week but I think Raiders/Saints was the best. Jack Del Rio has a massive pair of balls, man.

['7']

This was a rare game where everybody had N.E. penciled in for 0-1 before it actually happened. That's a dangerous thing, even without the players they were missing it was made out that Brady/Gronk is somehow the entire franchise. Arizona can't exactly be trusted in a big spot either.

Garroppolo isn't Brady but the guy played an amazing game in tough circumstances. He had great chemistry with his receivers as well. All on the same page. The routes were crisp, the ball placement was good. You wouldn't know that Garropolo wasn't throwing to these guys for 5-6 years.

And yea the Patriots defense did give up some plays late for the FG to be set up. That does tend to happen. But that happens most everywhere in such an Qb-WR pitch and catch league where pass defense is forbidden. Look how many 3rd and 15+ are converted every week. Plus you have receivers running around with these sticky catch everything Beckham gloves and PI flags are just everywhere. A lot of passes every week are thrown sometimes for trying to draw a PI. I mean this was always done but never with the frequency it is now. The Giants last year would lob it up to Beckham so often, even passes HE couldn't catch just hoping some panicked CB would tackle him.

Edited September 12, 2016 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

5 minutes ago, '7' said:

This was a rare game where everybody had N.E. penciled in for 0-1 before it actually happened. That's a dangerous thing, even without the players they were missing it was made out that Brady/Gronk is somehow the entire franchise. 

For me, it was more that I thought missing a top offensive weapon and the offensive being in makeshift mode would make things very difficult for Garoppolo.  And to fill in for one of the best ever to play on top of everything else...I was fully prepared to give him a mulligan if yesterday had been a tough day for him. 

The Pats were definitely very careful with Garoppolo, and though I think they overdid it, I understand why...that would've been OK, except that Blount is the kind of back who can have a lot of minimal gain (and loss)-type carries...he's more of a guy who can flourish again poor-against-the-run and worn-out defenses.  The Pats went to Blount a little too much. 

They got away with some bad clock management too, at the very end...if the Cards get that FG to go up, that would've been a lot less time to work with than they should've had.  That missed FG did cover up a lot.  But Week 1s are always kind of crazy to begin with.  One of those games where you're just very happy to come away with a win, because it definitely could've gone the other way...as both the Jets and the Dolphins, who easily could've won their games, saw for themselves. 

 

['7']

Also have to be fair. Miami impressed me in defeat yesterday. It's not easy going into that building and holding Seattle to basically 6 points all game.

And also you're going to see a lot more kickoff returns this season. Because of the touchback-out to the 25 rule...you saw a bunch of teams try to kick it between the 5 yard line and 2 yards deep into the endzone. That tempts the returner to try and run it out and good coverage teams will generally get to him before he crosses the 25...and if you can wrap him up there or perhaps on occasion jar the ball loose...you've done your job.

['7']

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

For me, it was more that I thought missing a top offensive weapon and the offensive being in makeshift mode would make things very difficult for Garoppolo.  And to fill in for one of the best ever to play on top of everything else...I was fully prepared to give him a mulligan if yesterday had been a tough day for him. 

The Pats were definitely very careful with Garoppolo, and though I think they overdid it, I understand why...that would've been OK, except that Blount is the kind of back who can have a lot of minimal gain (and loss)-type carries...he's more of a guy who can flourish again poor-against-the-run and worn-out defenses.  The Pats went to Blount a little too much. 

They got away with some bad clock management too, at the very end...if the Cards get that FG to go up, that would've been a lot less time to work with than they should've had.  That missed FG did cover up a lot.  But Week 1s are always kind of crazy to begin with.  One of those games where you're just very happy to come away with a win, because it definitely could've gone the other way...as both the Jets and the Dolphins, who easily could've won their games, saw for themselves. 

 

Yes I really didn't get the clock mgmt at the end. Belichick needed to leave himself more time in case Catanzaro actually made that FG, instead 15 seconds ticked off and then a TO was called. I really didn't get what was going on there. Maybe he forgot he actually had one in his pocket. But other than that it's hard to get on him he coached a perfect game on the road with a rookie QB.

You know what that reminded me of? Game 2 of the NFL season after Brady tore up his knee and they beat the Jets on the road in 2008. When they had had Cassel come in and win. That game, and last night are efforts where Belichick really impresses me. Sometimes when he leans too much on Brady and top end star power he tends to get a bit sloppy. But I think he really relishes being an underdog and counted out. Which is what they were last night in AZ.

 

['7']

And yes week 1's are the nuttiest. And I would agree with Mike Francesa that they're also usually the poorest at predicting what kind of NFL season we're going to have. Bad teams won yesterday...great teams lost. It's is very rarely a good predictor of what is going to come.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

13 minutes ago, '7' said:

And yes week 1's are the nuttiest. And I would agree with Mike Francesa that they're also usually the poorest at predicting what kind of NFL season we're going to have. Bad teams won yesterday...great teams lost. It's is very rarely a good predictor of what is going to come.

I'll never forget when Lawyer Milloy went to Buffalo (Bledsoe was already there), and the Bills completely waxed NE in Week 1 by a count of 31-0...some people were actually starting to suggest that the Patriots had kept the wrong QB (Brady threw four picks that day, and Bledsoe was coming off a strong overall first season in Buffalo, though as was his pattern in NE, he tailed off in the second half of that first year with the Bills). 

Well, all NE did was lose just one more game the rest of that season, while Buffalo (who started 2-0) finished that season 6-10.  Bledsoe didn't even pass for 3000 years on that season (a dubious feat he would repeat the following year).  And of course, in the final game of the year, it was NE killing the Bills by a 31-0 score. 

And of course, a couple of seasons ago I went to the Dolphins-Pats season opener in Miami, where the Dolphins pretty much curb-stomped the Pats in the second half and won very convincingly.  Just like the team that got killed by the Bills, the Pats went on to win the Super Bowl.   

Very easy to overreact to Week 1s, especially with so much time before the next game, and with nothing to compare it to...not like baseball, where there's a game within a day or two to wash the bad taste out of your mouth.  A whole week of seeing 0-1...and those Week 1 losses can also just feel so costly sometimes...especially if it's a divisional loss. 

[NJDevs4978]

I actually thought being without Gronk would be a bigger issue than being without Brady but yeah they LOVE it when they can circle the wagons. Probably the last time the Pats were a nine point underdog was 2001.