The Weird, Wacky and Awesome World of the NFL - General Banter thread

GoldFour4

I've always genuinely thought Cousins was the better QB of the two of them. RGIII is good but Cousins was a steal for them and was great when they were forced to use him late in the season last year.

Paully D

Arawn wrote: »

Anyone else think the redskins situation is turning into stupidity at this point?

Judging by the way he has carried on lately, Shanahan has well and truly lost the plot. He knows his time is up, but it seems he's on a crusade to get fired and paid as as quickly as possible.

taidghbaby

malistheman wrote: »

I've always genuinely thought Cousins was the better QB of the two of them. RGIII is good but Cousins was a steal for them and was great when they were forced to use him late in the season last year.

Um....are you joking?

taidghbaby

I'm sure some have probably seen this on twitter but some NFL stats!

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/64441086/

Billy86

taidghbaby wrote: »

Um....are you joking?

I was thinking the same. Though Cousins could be a pretty decent starter from what I have seen of him thus far... after his quality game against Cleveland last year it was just weird to not give him the next 2-3 games as RGIII's leg was in pieces and always getting worse. He also should have been the starter for the first few games this year, again where is was clear RGIII was a long, long way from 100%. If he plays well in those games, Washington would know they have a very solid backup and could trade him off after this season or next most likely for a 2nd or 1st rounder, recouping some of what they 'lost' in the trade up for RGIII in the first place.

But Mike Shanahan is a complete ass, so he was never going to do that. Always has been, always will be. This is the end of his NFL career.

Tristram

I don't like Shanahan either but I imagine he will not be wanting for work.

Billy86

Tristram wrote: »

I don't like Shanahan either but I imagine he will not be wanting for work.

I think the game has passed him by somewhat - he is 61 years old, incredibly stubborn, last year was the first time he has made the playoffs since 2005, and he has only won one playoff game since 1998. In fact, those two SuperBowl runs back in 97/98 (with incredibly talented teams) are his only playoff victories outside of that sole other playoff win in 2005. That's not very impressive for a 20 year coaching career, especially given that he has lost 10+ games in three of his last four seasons with a 24-36 record in Washington that could well be 24-39 by the end of the season.

I might be wrong, but I think it's the end of the line to be honest.

Tristram

I agree with your assessment but it seems he is quite highly regarded by some in the nfl.

dobman88

Hi guys, what would be the best NFL app to download? I have NFL Mobile, seems fairly good just a bit hard to follow for a beginner. Is that the best one?

Billy86

Tristram wrote: »

I agree with your assessment but it seems he is quite highly regarded by some in the nfl.

There is some truth to that, but I think his stint in Washington has done his reputation an awful lot of damage (there's a first ), and this season especially had hurt him in that regard. The NFL has been 'recycling' old coaches less and less in recent years which hurts him further again, and I think the GM is beginning to really beginning to become the 'leader' of the franchise more than the head coach, which won't help either as he is (or at least strikes me as) quite a control freak.

Son Of A Vidic

Yesterday like every year, Andre Johnson bought toys for his needy kids charity. He spent spent $17,352.

Billy86

Nice gesture, it's a bit refreshing to have had classy guys like him, Megatron and Fitzgerald as the top receivers after Moss and Owen were tops for so long.

I only saw it this year (video is from last year since it's the best one I could find) but the Calgary Hitmen 'Teddy Bear Toss' game is absolutely awesome. The stadium is just under 20,000 and there is on average about 25,000 bears brought - fans throw them on the ice in the first December game after the Hitmen score their first goal, and bedlam ensues. The teddy bears are then donated to hospitals and charities, some of which the players personally deliver themselves.

Ah feck, the tip of my nose is getting a bit tingly again!

Silver-Tiger

Billy86 wrote: »

Nice gesture, it's a bit refreshing to have had classy guys like him, Megatron and Fitzgerald as the top receivers after Moss and Owen were tops for so long.

Enjoy it while you can.

Justin Blackmon and Josh Gordon are next up!


Speaking of them. The 2012 WR draft class looks great now and will be talked about in years to come.

The below is based on talent and not obvious off field issues.

Tier 1 (Stars in the making)

Josh Gordon
Alshon Jeffery
Michael Floyd
Justin Blackmon

Tier 2 (Solid starters in the NFL over time)

Reuben Randall
Kendall Wright
TY Hilton
Lavon Brazil
Mo Sanu

Tier 3 (Could go one way or the other)

Stephen Hill
Brian Quick
Ryan Broyles
Chris Givens
Marvin Jones
Jarius Wright

Tier 4 (Bust)

A.J Jenkins

Would anyone disagree with them or add anyone else into the mix?

GoldFour4

When you look at Josh Gordons record it's actually amazing how well he's doing. Being suspended at year at Baylor then having to sit out a year at Utah then being in the supplemental draft. I know people said he was talented but nobody expected this!

D3PO

Justin Blackmon tier 1 really ......

You cant be a star if your constantly suspended. Micheal Floyd is solid but I don't see the star potential.


Jeffrey & Gordon are the stars from that class in that order. Jeffreys catching technique is flawless, as is his positional sense and he gets amazing vertical height aswell. Hes got Megatron potential.

Potential of that kind however is rarely realized so time will tell.

Silver-Tiger

D3PO wrote: »

Justin Blackmon tier 1 really ......

Like i said, i'm just basing it on talent. The end of last season and the few games this season we saw from Blackmon were very impressive. I think he's a monster. If someone kicks him into shape i think he has the star potential.

I'm a Browns fan and i've been following Gordon on every SM platform since we got him and watched all the interviews. I can see trouble down the road. His love of Baylor is unquestionable but he next to never references Cleveland or even the NFL. I can see some agent in his ear shortly trying to get everything they can and i doubt he'll be a model pro in the next few years sadly.

I believe Jeffery is pretty solid off the field aswell. Any bears fans confirm this?

SameOleJay

Aye- Jeffery keeps a very low profile.

Reading back on his projected draft stock now is interesting- there was a fair diveregence in opinions on him. The main concern was that he would struggle for seperation in the NFL. He was widely accepted as having the best hands in the draft.

Brandon Marshall put a lot of work into him in the off-season and a lot of the credit for his improvement has been put down to that. Trestman's playbook has been a massive factor too obviously.

spiritcrusher

Billy86 wrote: »

I was thinking the same. Though Cousins could be a pretty decent starter from what I have seen of him thus far... after his quality game against Cleveland last year it was just weird to not give him the next 2-3 games as RGIII's leg was in pieces and always getting worse. He also should have been the starter for the first few games this year, again where is was clear RGIII was a long, long way from 100%. If he plays well in those games, Washington would know they have a very solid backup and could trade him off after this season or next most likely for a 2nd or 1st rounder, recouping some of what they 'lost' in the trade up for RGIII in the first place.

But Mike Shanahan is a complete ass, so he was never going to do that. Always has been, always will be. This is the end of his NFL career.

Seemingly a factor in RGIII playing those games we all knew he shouldn't have was that he was worried that Cousins would come in and permanently steal his starting spot. Now that doesn't reflect too well on Shanahan yet again but I think it's not reading too far into things to suggest Cousins must be showing some pretty promising signs in practice to have RGIII that worried (and he's a guy who seems pretty confident, even arrogant at times, about his abilities).
At the very least the shambles in Washington has probably made people curious now to see if Cousins has actually kicked on from the promise he showed last year.

D3PO

Silver-Tiger wrote: »

Like i said, i'm just basing it on talent. The end of last season and the few games this season we saw from Blackmon were very impressive. I think he's a monster. If someone kicks him into shape i think he has the star potential.

the problem with guys like Blackmon is they cannot be kicked into shape. Problem players in the NFL don't reform they remain a problem until they dumped from the league as teams get fed up of dealing with the crap they bring with them regardless of the talent or they end up in jail.

Blackmon will never amount to much in the NFL for this reason. Everybody is entitled to one mistake when they make two in their first two seasons you can write them off with a pretty certain level of assurance.

Billy86

That's a good point actually, hadn't even crossed my mind. It was an interesting choice taking Cousins and could have (could still) pay off big down the line if they get good trade value - I remember that was the line of reasoning when they took him despite having so few draft picks and a not-too-stellar squad. But that requires very careful handling to pull off correctly (though if he was a solid backup and nothing more, so long as the rest of the squad improve, RGIII included), and as you said it might not have been handled right at times. Really hard to call.

davyjose

I'm still not sold on Cousins. Obviously the 2012 draft was insane for talent, but we saw what happened when guys like Kolb andFlynn stepped out from the shadows of backup. Time will tell but no way would I pick him ahead of a healthy Griffen.

shamrock55

Rg3 shouldnt see another football till next year, for me looking back i dont really think he should have played any games this year, its clear he is only 50% fit, cousins will play the remainder of games now anyway i think and is more than capable

Paully D

davyjose wrote: »

I'm still not sold on Cousins. Obviously the 2012 draft was insane for talent, but we saw what happened when guys like Kolb andFlynn stepped out from the shadows of backup. Time will tell but no way would I pick him ahead of a healthy Griffen.

If he was as good as some say, he would have been cashed in in the offseason for a decent draft pick regardless of the RGII injury IMO. Especially given the awful standard of QB in the 2013 draft class coupled with so many teams needing a starter at the position, someone would have overpaid.

He's not an NFL starting QB. He makes throws he should make but no more and no less. A backup.

One thing that annoys me is how QB's who play bits and pieces are built up straight away. Keenum's debut meant that the Texans supposedly didn't need to consider taking a QB this year, McCloin was the answer for the Raiders after 10 minutes, it was Pryor 15 minutes before that. All three are not good enough.

Son Of A Vidic

shamrock55 wrote: »

Rg3 shouldnt see another football till next year, for me looking back i dont really think he should have played any games this year, its clear he is only 50% fit, cousins will play the remainder of games now anyway i think and is more than capable

I agree, RG3 was rushed back. Which was absolutely crazy because he didn't really have a proper preseason. It might have been more realistic to be bringing him back at week 8 rather than week 1. One worrying thing about RG3 is, he still has shown an inability to protect himself when running the ball at times. After all his surgeries, he really needs to cop on and run smart. Too often he seems to think he's a RB and almost seeks contact rather than avoiding it like smart QB's do. I fear if he doesn't learn that lesson fast, then I can't see him being around in 5 years time.

Paully D

Who do you lads think is the most underrated player in the league?

My shout would be Daryl Smith (biased though I know). Quietly excellent for the Jaguars for a long time despite being stuck in a poor team and he's carried that to Baltimore this year. He's such an improvement on last seasons Ray Lewis as he's so good in coverage.

Ravens have gone from having a bottom half defense last year to 9th this year and he's been a big reason why.

HigginsJ

Paully D wrote: »

Who do you lads think is the most underrated player in the league?

My shout would be Daryl Smith (biased though I know). Quietly excellent for the Jaguars for a long time despite being stuck in a poor team and he's carried that to Baltimore this year. He's such an improvement on last seasons Ray Lewis as he's so good in coverage.

Ravens have gone from having a bottom half defense last year to 9th this year and he's been a big reason why.

I would say Alex Smith. Was really good for 2 years with 49ers & continuing to do the same thing for the Chiefs. Sure he is not Brees or Brady but he is efficient & a great guy to lead the offense.

From a Giants stand point Linval Joseph has been excellent over the past few years. Excellent against the run & can pressure the QB. Pro-Bowler IMO & free agent this off-season. Hopefully we can lock him up to long term deal.

Arawn

Bhaktari from a packers point of view.

phatkev

Ravens’ Elam on Megatron: He’s old, so we’ll be physical with him

Elam cant have watched to many Lions games!

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/11/ravens-elam-on-megatron-hes-old-so-well-be-physical-with-him/

BizzyC

Best way to bring down a problematic TE..
https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/76733D0AB91019068829629865984_1c853b234fc.4.4.1504540278650491784_JwcbGbfHh5lnXsHApKnHBq8.GpObRtMCGX5lGAKvTmyaSJX.0MPmORr3LpcAc7eg.mp4?versionId=tNmXLueG5XpwPafn7UK_m7wa9X8CfLlc

Phoenix Park

The Patriots beat the Browns?! I can't f..king believe it!

Watched it till about 90 seconds to go in the fourth and they were 12 points down. Said "f.ck this" I'll get stuff ready for work late Sunday night and spent the last three days working and wondering how the season would fizzle out with Gronk's injury looking so bad at the time and a poor home defeat. Avoided all NFL to watch the Monday night game today and now I find out they somehow Brady pulled it off yet again.

Never giving out about people leaving games early again