2016 NFL Regular Season Thread

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, nmigliore said:

The Phins fans here are going to really hate me when I say this but they really haven't looked like a playoff team, regardless of who the QB is. Their post-bye schedule has been really soft - Jets twice, Chargers, Rams, 49ers, Cardinals - and outside of this most recent game against the Jets, they've won by a TD or less against each of those teams. Outside of beating the Steelers at home in Week 6, they've lost to every competitive team on their schedule. They kind of feel like the Lions of the AFC - it hasn't always been pretty but somehow they sit 9-5.

At least they beat those soft teams though.  And just think about how differently both the Dolphins' AND the Browns' seasons look if the Dolphins lose that game (which they almost did)...Browns aren't winless and who knows what happens with the Dolphins. 

I do think that next season can be tough for the Dolphins (teams that fatten up their records on the crappier teams and seem to come out of nowhere sometimes get knocked around the following season), but that's next season.  Right now they've got a pretty good shot to get into the playoffs.  Even just getting in is huge for them, even if they don't fare well upon getting there.

But it's a weak AFC this season.  I've gotta think Miami would at least have a shot to take out the 3 or 4 seed...not saying that they will, but they could win a game against those teams.  Probably would be hard for them to go into Pitt or Baltimore.

[NJDevs4978]

The Dolphins are a LOT like last season's Jets IMO, only they'll make the playoffs at 10-6

[Daniel]

1 hour ago, nmigliore said:

The Phins fans here are going to really hate me when I say this but they really haven't looked like a playoff team, regardless of who the QB is. Their post-bye schedule has been really soft - Jets twice, Chargers, Rams, 49ers, Cardinals - and outside of this most recent game against the Jets, they've won by a TD or less against each of those teams. They did beat the Steelers at home in Week 6 but they've lost to every other competitive team on their schedule. They kind of feel like the Lions of the AFC - it hasn't always been pretty but somehow they sit 9-5. I think just getting into the playoffs should feel like a win (especially with the current QB situation); anything else from there would be gravy. 

You're not really telling us Dolphins fans anything we don't know.  Saturday might be the first time the Dolphins beat any team decisively all year, and that includes the Browns.  Dolphins could easily be 5-9 right now instead of 9-5.

That being said, if the O-line is healthy the Dolphins can hang in there with anyone, save maybe the Patriots. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

20 minutes ago, Daniel said:

You're not really telling us Dolphins fans anything we don't know.  Saturday might be the first time the Dolphins beat any team decisively all year, and that includes the Browns.  Dolphins could easily be 5-9 right now instead of 9-5.

That being said, if the O-line is healthy the Dolphins can hang in there with anyone, save maybe the Patriots. 

Patriots are not unbeatable.  Yeah, they could win a Super Bowl.  They could also get knocked out in their first playoff game.  There isn't a single AFC or NFC team that looks invulnerable this season. 

Getting two potential home games is huge for the Pats...they really need that this season.  They can't screw that up again, even though neither the Chiefs nor the Raiders are really THAT scary...even in their own buildings.   

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Another great article about the joke without a punchline that is Roger Goodell:

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/12/20/hurley-roger-goodell-has-quit-his-fight-to-uphold-integrity-of-nfl/

['7']

On 12/19/2016 at 3:34 PM, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Patriots are not unbeatable.  Yeah, they could win a Super Bowl.  They could also get knocked out in their first playoff game.  There isn't a single AFC or NFC team that looks invulnerable this season. 

Getting two potential home games is huge for the Pats...they really need that this season.  They can't screw that up again, even though neither the Chiefs nor the Raiders are really THAT scary...even in their own buildings.   

The Chiefs building itself is actually a great home venue when the fans are into it. It's not brought up that often as one of the true NFL madhouses but it really is so whoever else has to go in their may have some trouble. But absolutely the Chiefs can be had, they're balanced and solid but who really trusts Alex Smith vs. Belichick. I think they'd go into play NE tough and lose 28-21 similar to last year. Something like that. Reid has done a terrific job with that franchise though from the pits they were in after the Jovan Belcher tragedy. 

Reid has his warts but would've been a good hire for the Jets after 2012. Jets lost their last 3 to go 6-10 but Ryan was retained.

Edited December 21, 2016 by '7'

['7']

2 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Another great article about the joke without a punchline that is Roger Goodell:

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/12/20/hurley-roger-goodell-has-quit-his-fight-to-uphold-integrity-of-nfl/

Not a surprise as the Giants have been an NFL darling forever and will always get this unfair preferential treatment. The rest of the league, especially the NFC East needs to keep making noise about this. Don't let them get away with it.

Steelers are in the same boat. Tomlin should've been suspended for being on the field trying to trip Jacoby Jones. That was very blatant. 

Last year they made a bit of a scumbag move in that Woody Johnsons wife was forced to enter the stadium through some freight elevator because they wouldn't let her use her regular entrance because the Jets were technically the "road" team during last years game in December. Of course she's not a member of the Jets personnel, and her husband owns half the stadium so regardless she should've been shown some courtesy at least. And yea...this is billionaire squabbles but I still saw it as a petty slight from an elitist and lordly organization who tries to carry themselves as the Yankees or Canadiens of football but are not even close.

Edited December 21, 2016 by '7'

[Daniel]

3 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Another great article about the joke without a punchline that is Roger Goodell:

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/12/20/hurley-roger-goodell-has-quit-his-fight-to-uphold-integrity-of-nfl/

Sorry, but this is just sour grapes from a Patriots writer and hating on Goodell just for its own sake.  McAdoo's headset wasn't working, and the walkie talkies were being used in the ref's full view, which is much different from all the other incidents cited in the article which were done secretively.  (Although, the Cowboys and Washington being punished for exceeding a salary cap that didn't exist was pretty ridiculous and I thought so at the time).  In any event, the team and McAdoo were fined and they lost a draft pick, albeit a mid-round one.   You could argue that the punishment should have been more stiff, but this is hardly an outrage.

[NJDevs4978]

They didn't lose a draft pick, it was lowered several spots in the fourth round

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, Daniel said:

Sorry, but this is just sour grapes from a Patriots writer and hating on Goodell just for its own sake.  McAdoo's headset wasn't working, and the walkie talkies were being used in the ref's full view, which is much different from all the other incidents cited in the article which were done secretively.  (Although, the Cowboys and Washington being punished for exceeding a salary cap that didn't exist was pretty ridiculous and I thought so at the time).  In any event, the team and McAdoo were fined and they lost a draft pick, albeit a mid-round one.   You could argue that the punishment should have been more stiff, but this is hardly an outrage.

You have to admit that there seems to be no rhyme or reason to how Goodell dishes out punishments...he makes this sh!t up on the fly, no consistency at all...that's where my beef lies.  Dropping a draft pick in any given round to a little lower in that round?  What the hell is that?  That's just fvcking bizarre. 

[Daniel]

6 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

You have to admit that there seems to be no rhyme or reason to how Goodell dishes out punishments...he makes this sh!t up on the fly, no consistency at all...that's where my beef lies.  Dropping a draft pick in any given round to a little lower in that round?  What the hell is that?  That's just fvcking bizarre. 

I know with the Brady suspension, Goodell gave a written, and pretty detailed explanation as to the rationale for the penalties imposed.  I don't know if he's supposed to in every instance and the media just generally doesn't report on it.  But unless you want an even bigger rule book that tells you the exact penalty you're going to face for every conceivable violation you're not going to have that much consistency.  Every situation is different.  That's just the way the world works.

Overall though, I don't really get all of the Goodell hatred, other than people just seem to hate sports commissioners.  I mean, there are some things about the NFL that drive me nuts, like excessive commercial breaks and over doing it with the rule book.  As to the former, if networks are going to shell out that kind of money for broadcast rights, they're going to demand that they squeeze in as many commercials as possible.  With the rules, that's a product of the competition committee which is made up of coaches and team owners. 

And even more tangentially, this doesn't compare to the Kovalchuk penalty, which was pretty outrageous.  First, you had a bunch of teams doing the same exact thing and they were not penalized at all.  Second, I've read the part of the NHL CBA that talks about cap circumvention.  It was really intended to apply to situations where players are paid under the table so as to avoid a larger cap hit.  There was nothing secret about the Kovalchuk deal, and the Devils acted in accordance with what the league seemed to permit in many earlier instances.  If the league wanted to put a stop to it, and saw the deal as a sufficiently egregious example that they were likely to persuade and arbitrator, that was fine.  You just can't impose such an onerous penalty when it wasn't even clear that you were doing anything wrong.

[MadDog2020]

Rex and Rob Ryan both fired.


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['7']

Anthony Lynn to coach the final game at Metlife for Buffalo

Can't say Rex's tenure with Buffalo was a total failure. I mean some games were absolute hideous failures (the blown lead vs. Oakland a few weeks ago) but he did about as well as you'd expect with Tyrod Taylor at QB and Sammy Watkins always banged up.

His Buffalo tenure finished up at 15-16...if he coached this week it would be 16-16. Is that really so horrific? Do they have anybody better lined up? Who the hell is taking that job it's probably about as desirable as the Jets wit the added benefit of coachng in a backwoods north pole

Edited December 27, 2016 by '7'

[MadDog2020]

Anthony Lynn to coach the final game at Metlife for Buffalo
Can't say Rex's tenure with Buffalo was a total failure. I mean some games were absolute hideous failures (the blown lead vs. Oakland a few weeks ago) but he did about as well as you'd expect with Tyrod Taylor at QB and Sammy Watkins always banged up.
His Buffalo tenure finished up at 15-16...if he coached this week it would be 16-16. Is that really so horrific? Do they have anybody better lined up? Who the hell is taking that job it's probably about as desirable as the Jets wit the added benefit of coachng in a backwoods north pole

I actually think Lynn may be their guy. I mean I'm sure they'll conduct a search, but I've heard the Pegulas really like Lynn.


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[NJDevs4978]

lol that's pretty ruthless to fire him with only the Jet game left, guess they wanted to make sure he had a losing record.

['7']

11 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

lol that's pretty ruthless to fire him with only the Jet game left, guess they wanted to make sure he had a losing record.

I really don't get this level of animosity towards him in Buffalo. Let's go ahead and give him the Jets win...that's back to back 8-8 seasons with Tyrod at QB...who was he throwing to last year? Clay-Hogan-Woods and a rookie/hobbled Watkins. McCoy was hobbled and ineffective so Tyrod also doubled as their best running back along with Mike Gilislee.

['7']

How much do you want to bet Rex is on the phone with Woody right now begging him to be allowed out there with the Jets captains for the coin toss in his hat and green sweater vest?

[NJDevs4978]

Apparently part of the reason he was fired now was he wouldn't bench Tyrod for this week while the Bills want to protect themselves monetarily and start EJ Manuel this week

[Beezer34]

30 minutes ago, '7' said:

Can't say Rex's tenure with Buffalo was a total failure with Tyrod Taylor at QB and Sammy Watkins always banged up. If he coached this week it would be 16-16. Is that really so horrific?

No, it really isn't.... and don't think for a second that wasn't the reasoning being the timing of this. His roster over these last 2 seasons wasn't bad.. but it wasn't 10-11 wins worthy either. It was about average, which is where he had them. At 16-16, his Bills tenure would've been a better overall percentage (.500 ) than that of Doug Marrone, Chan Gailey, Perry Fewell, nose Jauron, Mike Mularkey, Gregg Williams.. and every other Head Coach that organization has had since Wade Phillips was hired in 1998. So how do you make sense of firing the best HC your franchise has had in 20 years?? --through smoke & mirrors, that's how!

..if I'm Rex, I put the TV career on hold after this, and crave vengeance. I gotta believe Todd Bowles seat just got white hot.

['7']

3 minutes ago, Beezer34 said:

No, it really isn't.... and don't think for a second that wasn't the reasoning being the timing of this. His roster over these last 2 seasons wasn't bad.. but it wasn't 10-11 wins worthy either. It was about average, which is where he had them. At 16-16, his Bills tenure would've been a better overall percentage (.500 ) than that of Doug Marrone, Chan Gailey, Perry Fewell, nose Jauron, Mike Mularkey, Gregg Williams.. and every other Head Coach that organization has had since Wade Phillips was hired in 1998. So how do you make sense of firing the best HC your franchise has had in 20 years?? --through smoke & mirrors, that's how!

..if I'm Rex, I put the TV career on hold after this, and crave vengeance. I gotta believe Todd Bowles seat just got white hot.

I can't believe there is even a thought of retaining Bowles with how this season has fallen apart. 7-9 is what the Jets should've been this year with the schedule, more injures expected (we were fortunate in 2015) and regression (though who could expect this kind of regression from Revis) 6-10 I guess you could swallow as long as they were competitive and got bad breaks

4-12 is what's about to happen and this is a BAD 4-12. This is a not ready for game-day, locker room disorder, blowouts/quitting left and right when the going got tough, poor clock management, poor in game management, outcoached constantly 4-12. Bowles is overwhelmed and not mentally capable of this. He needs to be let go for his own good, for his own health.

There are issues with Rex, but if we get passed over by the other worthwhile candidates Rex WILL be hanging out there. And even though we'd be going back to that well he is a better option than Bowles. All Rex's usual ranting and raving is just background noise at this point anyway.

Plus he STILL hasn't had a good (nevermind great) QB to work with. Give me Rex + Romo and I'll take my chances.

[Beezer34]

1 hour ago, '7' said:

He STILL hasn't had a good (nevermind great) QB to work with. Give me Rex + Romo and I'll take my chances.

Mark Sanchez, Kellen Clemens, Michael Vick, Tim Tebow, Geno Smith, Mark Brunell, Tyrod Taylor, EJ Manuel, Matt Simms, Greg McElroy.

That's the: *REX 10* as I like to call them. Those are the QB's he's had to play with since 2009. And those ain't just the backups either who played preseason either. ALL TEN played regular season games under Rex. With those 10, Ryan went 65-68.

[NJDevs4978]

The problem I have with defending Rex and saying he had no QB is that his DEFENSES the last several years have been progressively worse, and he inherited a good defense in Buffalo that turned sour.

[MadDog2020]

The problem I have with defending Rex and saying he had no QB is that his DEFENSES the last several years have been progressively worse, and he inherited a good defense in Buffalo that turned sour.

His defenses allowed three 200-yard rushers this year, with Ajayi accounting for two of those. Rex ain't what he used to be.


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[NJDevs4978]

And all things considered Tyrod Taylor isn't THAT bad and doesn't deserve to be thrown in with the Jets' QB slop, particularly considering the lack of receivers other than Watkins who was a shell of himself this year.  Would you sign up for a 37 TD, 14 INT statline from your QB?  I would, that's what Taylor's done the last two years and that's just passing.  You throw in running TD's (and add fumbles) it's 47 total TD's and 20 turnovers.   Last season aside we're lucky when our QB's even get to a 1-1 ratio of TD/turnovers.  If Rex did have the QB play of the other nine guys on that list he'd be 4-12 or 5-11 this year.

Edited December 27, 2016 by NJDevs4978

['7']

16 hours ago, NJDevs4978 said:

And all things considered Tyrod Taylor isn't THAT bad and doesn't deserve to be thrown in with the Jets' QB slop, particularly considering the lack of receivers other than Watkins who was a shell of himself this year.  Would you sign up for a 37 TD, 14 INT statline from your QB?  I would, that's what Taylor's done the last two years and that's just passing.  You throw in running TD's (and add fumbles) it's 47 total TD's and 20 turnovers.   Last season aside we're lucky when our QB's even get to a 1-1 ratio of TD/turnovers.  If Rex did have the QB play of the other nine guys on that list he'd be 4-12 or 5-11 this year.

I suppose so, he's still a heavily "managed" qb in terms of his throws in that they give him a limited playbook and with very few reads to make. He can't really read a defense but he has a good arm and can run very well. They don't want him dropping back and scanning a field too often...he's best on the roll-out. I would still rank him bottom 1/3rd of qb's but...towards the top of the bottom third.

I just wonder though, if the Jets get rid of Bowles and get cold shouldered by every coach worth a damn that will potentially be out there...Rex will be hanging out there as well. It may just be a forced marriage of We have nobody else to turn to...and you have nobody else to turn to unless you want to DC somewhere oh go work at ESPN.