2024 NFL Season discussion thread (not picks)

ArmaniJeanss

So, we go again. Autumn is here, everyone is unbeaten and full of optimism. Time for 18 weeks of mega-action, starting with Baltimore at Kansas City at 1am Friday in a repeat of the AFC Championship game, then Green Bay at Philadelphia (in Brazil) at 1am Saturday, followed by the usual Sunday slate.

Other notable dates

Week 7 Super Bowl rematch Chiefs @ 49ers.

Week 17 NFC Championship rematch Lions @ 49ers.

Thanksgiving 28/29th Nov. Bears @ Lions, Giants @ Cowboys, Dolphins @ Packers. And Raiders @ Chiefs on Thanksgiving Friday.

Christmas Day (a Wednesday). Chiefs @ Steelers, Ravens @ Texans.

Playoffs start the 11th January with the Super Bowl in New Orleans on the 9th February.

Betting

Chiefs and 49ers 6/1 Joint Favs, with the Ravens, Bengals, Lions and Eagles next on the list.

Super Bowl Winner Betting Odds | American Football | Oddschecker

Broadcasting

Sky Sports will broadcast all the stand-alone games, plus 2 games from the Sunday slate. RedZone multi-game coverage will be on Sky Sports Mix which some get for free via VM. Channel 5 UK will simulcast MNF. ITV and Virgin Media Ireland will broadcast 2 of the London games live.

Let's go.

ArmaniJeanss

Week 1 TV Games.

Late Thursday/Early Friday

01:15 Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs - Sky Sports and Sky Showcase (the old Sky One, a free channel)

Late Friday/Early Saturday

01:15 Green Bay Packers at Sao Paulo Eagles - Sky Sports

Sunday

18.00 Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons - Sky Sports

21:25 Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns (featuring Tom Brady on debut commentary) - Sky Sports

Late Sunday/Early Monday

01:15 LA Rams at Detroit Lions - Sky Sports

Late Monday/Early Tuesday

01:15 NY Jets at SF 49ers - Sky Sports and Channel 5 UK

Xavi6

It's good to be back. Here for the three-peat, enjoy the season!

eagle eye

Supposed to be a 1.20am kickoff, not even a sign of it to start yet.

Xavi6

That was a fun play, Xavier Worthy straight into the action.

eagle eye

People were saying this one would be low scoring, 7-7 with six minutes left in the first quarter.

Xavier with a great start to his career with a rushing TD, Derrick Henry got the Ravens score.

The new kickoff set up looks stupid.

eagle eye

Worthy is going to be a superstar I think. I thought it when he was coming out of college, when he joined the Chiefs I was more confident and now two touchdowns in his first game.

Xavi6

Some ending to the game. Lamar had a great night but had to hit Flowers in the end zone. Decided by inches when the Chiefs could’ve been out of sight earlier on, we’ll take it.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122587567#Comment_122587567

Despite it finishing as it did I thought that Chiefs looked as potent as I've ever seen it on offense. There's a lot of playmakers, obviously Mahomes but Pacheco, Rice and Worthy all look very dangerous. Kelce might find himself well down the pecking order for receptions. Noah Gray seems to be a late bloomer too.

padraig_f

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122588129#Comment_122588129

This was my main takeaway as well, the Chiefs had the most drops in the league last season, and won the Super Bowl. If their skill-position players are better this year, it's a scary prospect.

Is it just me, or did Derrick Henry look to have lost a bit of explosiveness? He didn't seem to be hitting the line-of-scrimmage with quite the same force. It's only week 1, but that's just how it looked to me.

With that toe on the line at the end, we were denied an epic finish, because I'm 99% sure Harbaugh was going for 2 if they got it. On the road..Lamar…Derrick Henry…a chance to not give Mahomes back the ball…

Anyway, great opening game to start the season.

eagle eye

Its just like Belichick, they are so good at drafting defenders and picking up udfa's.

They got Mahomes and then Rice last year and now Worthy. They got Hill as well.

But defensively, Marcus Peters, Jones, Bolton and McDuffie are superb players and they've a few more like Nnadi, Karlaftis and Willie Gay. That Watson guy looked good last night too.

When you've got Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes and you are drafting as well as they are it's just scary.

I've said it before because although I'm a Patriots fan I don't wear goggles. Mahomes will take Tom Brady's GOAT throne. They'll keep winning and contending as long as Andy Reid is there and even if he goes they will still do very well so long as Mahomes is there.

This is the third time that I can remember the great HC/QB combination. Bill Walsh and Joe Montana won three, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady won six and Andy Reid and the soon to be 29 year-old Patrick Mahomes have won three.

When you've got the best HC and the best QB it's very hard to stop.

I just love watching great players unless they are playing the Patriots. 😕

From Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders and Deion Sanders through Junior Seau, Rod Woodson, Reggie White, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and I'll stop there because the list is endless, I just love watching the best.

Mahomes is such a joy to behold, he can consistently do things nobody else would dare try. Chris Jones is fantastic to watch to. They'll lose in the playoffs due to injuries mounting up but they'll win a lot more. I think they'll go close to, if not matching or beating six.

Christy42

Henry has started off the year slow before and picked up. However he does seem a tick slower than before. Ravens are obviously limiting his touches. Hill was out there far more often than I had expected.

Mahomes still looked for Kelce when scrambling on 3rd and 12 so I would guess he will still get a decent share but a lot more players are demanding a target share this year so I would guess Kelce will regress a bit. The Ravens are a good defense and likely focused on well on Kelce.

Look forward to draft season when they start bugging up tight ends with smaller feet to get plays like that in bounds 😉

castletownman

Mentioned on GMFB earlier, but it's insane how Worthy went unpicked and landed at the Chiefs, thus strengthening the most oiled unit in the league. Seems almost unfair, but Chiefs' wheeling and dealing in this era is up there with the best ever in terms of results.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122589847#Comment_122589847

How do you mean unpicked? They drafted him in the first round.

castletownman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122590432#Comment_122590432

Sorry meant to say, not picked by someone before Chiefs nabbed him. Dream draft for them.

eagle eye

Obviously the NFL didn't do their research before planning this Brazil game. The Brazil soccer team are playing a home game against Ecuador tonight. I'd be pretty confident that there won't be many Brazilians watching the NFL game.

AbusesToilets

Jackson did little to silence his critics when it comes to his passing. That miss at the end for flowers was brutal, you have to make that throw.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122590552#Comment_122590552

He completed 63% of his passes, unlucky the pass right at the end to Likely wasn't in bounds. Nobody would be talking about the miss to Flowers if Likely's toe was inbounds.

You have to look at the overall performance, he did quite well with a poor enough offensive line and being under pressure a lot.

eagle eye

The pitch is terrible, players losing their footing everywhere.

Realt Dearg Sec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122590546#Comment_122590546

And any that do tune in casually won't be converted by this. It's been a pretty good close game but like any week one match up there's loads of mistakes, early snaps etc, all made worse by the pitch being a disgrace. They shouldn't do this in week one. I also think they shouldn't really do it on Friday nights but as a spectator it's cool to have games on a night where I'm free from work and can have a few beers.

Packers look like a team that will win a lot of games this year unfortunately, but I don't think Love is as good as these commentators are making him out to be. He's decent, but they are literally comparing him to Rodgers for completing passes to wide open receivers.

Their defense looks very poor right now. But there again, so does the eagles D, and I know they're going to end up being good after a few weeks given who the coordinator is. Week one jitters and lack of chemistry. Two good teams here though.

eagle eye

Saquon Barkley joins a good team and we are seeing a much improved player.

Xavi6

Barkley looked fantastic and will prove to be one of the pick ups of the year. Plenty to like about the Packers too but that didn’t look good for Love at the end.

eagle eye

I'd call that the least entertaining 63 point game I've ever witnessed even though it was a close game all through. Eagles get the win. Barkley the star with 109 rushing and 23 receiving yards and 3 tds. Josh Jacobs looked poor early for the Packers but picked it up in the second half and ended up with 84 rushing and 20 receiving yards.

Jordan Love got injured right at the end of the game, might be a hyper extended knee.

ArmaniJeanss

That game was a complete mess, utterly unenjoyable. Third quarter alone took exactly 50 minutes to complete, thought it would never end.

padraig_f

I guess week 1 is the time for over-reactions, but the Eagles look back. Big upgrades in the two co-ordinator positions, and Saquon (Giants fans have to be absolutely sick watching that...3 touchdowns, wow).

One thing that didn't look quite as good was the tush-push, without Jason Kelce in the middle, but maybe they can rectify that.

Re: Jordan Love

Yeah, I wonder about this too. $50m/year contract for a guy who played one season. A lot of guys look decent for one season. While his numbers last year looked decent, how much of that is La Fleur putting him in good situations? I dunno, but just seems a big risk, giving him that contract, will be interesting to see how goes (badly, I hope!)

Yeah, the pitch was brutal, and really affected the game. I think the d-backs faired worse, a bunch of the big plays were just because the defensive-back slipped.

Itssoeasy

Anthony Richardson threw a bomb over 60 yards in the air.

MileHighGuy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122595118#Comment_122595118

Yep, it was a jaw dropping throw, pressure, almost on his back foot - certainly a far from ideal platform and threw a dime 65 yards in the air. The best I have seen for a long time.

MileHighGuy

Bo Nix with 71% completion % so far….. (1.7 ypa however)

eagle eye

Lions win in overtime. Fantastic game.

Itssoeasy

So, I know it’s after one week but the giants and panthers are awful.

The giants are paying Daniel jones 40 million a year for garbage. The patriots surprised me yesterday and the other two teams in the afc east didn’t light the world on fire so it might be an exciting division this season.

The bengals didn’t look great but they were missing Tee Higgins which is a big part of their offense.

I know the score in the SNF game but haven’t watched the game beyond the highlights.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122596473#Comment_122596473

Just on the Bengals this is the sixth consecutive season they've lost the first game of the season, they've went 0-2 or worse in each of those seasons.

Realt Dearg Sec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122596473#Comment_122596473

The Jones contract is unforgivable. If you watch the off season hard knocks with the giants, it's a very interesting look at how the NFL works at the managerial level, but what's amazing is just how Luke warm (at best) everyone is about Jones, but the GM just didn't seem to have the courage of his convictions to be aggressive about replacing him. There's a sense of resignation in the lead up to the draft that they're stuck with him so just going to try and give him some weapons, but it's so clear everyone knows he isn't the guy.

eagle eye

I don't like the Jets but I have sometimes pitied them.

Anyhow I'm looking forward to tonight's game because a lot of so called experts are saying they have a real shot at winning the game.

They have a 40 year old QB who had his worst ever season in 2022 and then missed 2023. A young man can come back fine from missing a year even though not all of them do but a 30 year old missing a full season is a much bigger thing and much harder to get back from. So there's the difficulty of recovering all your skills for a man that age after a year out and then the possibility that he was already regressing even before the injury.

I expect the 49ers to win easily tonight.

eagle eye

McCaffrey inactive tonight, apparently injured in light practice earlier. Huge loss for the miners.

eagle eye

Aaron Rodgers finishes 13/21 for 167 yards, 1 TD and 1 int.

Easy win fir the niners,

Christy42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122596572#Comment_122596572

Let's see if they can match the Colts 0-9-1 in the past 10 week 1s. Granted the Bengals have tended to improve more than the Colts have in those seasons.

Xavi6

Tua is having a shocker so far. James Cook, on the other hand, is not.

eagle eye

I think.its going to get worse for the Dolphins in this second half.

Xavi6

A pick six so yep, worse!

eagle eye

Another concussion for Tua by the looks of things. It was a clean hit, body to head. I hope he's okay, these concussions might end his career.

eagle eye

Skykar Thompson in for Tua, thinks are going to get a lot worse now.

Carcharodon

Dolphins lost me money but hope Tua is ok, not looking good for him long term with this concussion stuff again plus he was very poor before that, never a fan of him in regards to football ability, definitely has flashes and can do really well with that style of offense but he will never be that guy to get you over the line when it matters. Miami might have a rough season

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122610821#Comment_122610821

The left side of the Dolphins offensive line was horrendous, Tua was under fire all night, he had no chance.

Carcharodon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122611027#Comment_122611027

That’s a fair point, you are only as good as your weakest link as they say, I don’t think he is awful just not a guy that will carry a team all the way or even be that solid guy for years

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122611059#Comment_122611059

I agree, when you get time and you have Waddle and Hill, and Achane, it's pretty easy. When you meet the best defenses it's a while different ball game.

Christy42

It seemed like a crazy dive from Tua. He could have slid for the first down but dived down head first.

I doubt it but I feel he should consider retirement for his own sake.

ArmaniJeanss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122611232#Comment_122611232

Difficult with his big contract of $150M+. If he voluntarily retires he isn't due any of it, and I think he would actually owe the Dolphins for the signing-on bonus portion he has already received. Better scenario financially would be if the league itself retires him.

I do understood that the the counter-argument would be that $150M won't be any use if he doesn't have his health, and he has already earned enough to live an extremely comfortable life if he is sensible. But a lot to walk away from, especially coupled with his likely own belief in his ability and that everything will be fine.

ionadnapokot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122611346#Comment_122611346

Hope he retires and takes that 150m with him, plus damages from the Dolphins.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122611232#Comment_122611232

Well it was a very strange one, he got hit hard by a chest. You never expect a concussion to happen like that.

The_Kew_Tour

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122611725#Comment_122611725

Ah stop

ELM327

If you're not a good QB with those two (Hill and Waddle) to throw to, you'll never be. Time to move on. It was time to move on last year.