NFL Thread - 2009-10

[Big Sexy]

Even with Urlacher I didn't think the Bears were going to make the playoffs. They are the third best team in the division and I'd like to see a decent argument to the contrary.

I'd also like to pull a Woody Paige and "look at the schedule." They still have another game against the Pack, they have to face Minnesota twice, they have tough home games against Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and they have to go on the road to face Seattle, Atlanta, and Baltimore. I see them going 8-8 at best.

 

[NSL]

Even with Urlacher I didn't think the Bears were going to make the playoffs. They are the third best team in the division and I'd like to see a decent argument to the contrary.

I'll agree they were already the 3rd best, but there was a case for them being in the hunt for the division crown. With Urlacher, their defense could've carried them through some wins, and maybe even to an 11-5 record, which would have gotten them into the playoffs, if not the division title. Him being hurt definitely drops them to below them, and possibly just above the Lions if they improve as much as everyone says.

I'd also like to pull a Woody Paige and "look at the schedule." They still have another game against the Pack, they have to face Minnesota twice, they have tough home games against Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and they have to go on the road to face Seattle, Atlanta, and Baltimore. I see them going 8-8 at best.

The schedule is definitely not friendly. Urlacher could have forced some of these teams to try and beat them with the pass, but now they can just run all day over them. There's probably going to be a couple shootout-style games, with scores ending up around 35-31 or 31-30. They're lucky to have Cutler back there then, because he's definitely a gunslinger, and will put points up.

 

[Big Sexy]

I'll agree they were already the 3rd best, but there was a case for them being in the hunt for the division crown. With Urlacher, their defense could've carried them through some wins, and maybe even to an 11-5 record, which would have gotten them into the playoffs, if not the division title. Him being hurt definitely drops them to below them, and possibly just above the Lions if they improve as much as everyone says.

I just don't think they are as good as everyone expected them to be. Their defense wasn't very good last year even with Urlacher and there was no sign of that really changing much. Yes they have Matt Forte who had a great rookie season, but you know what other running back has had a great rookie season for them before? Anthony Thomas, and do you know where he is? Exactly, out of the league. I need to see more then just one good year before I call the guy a great running back. As far as Cutler goes, yes he's a good quarterback , but he has no one to throw to. Hester is a number two at best and the rest of the guys are basically slot receivers. He has no legitimate number one target. His gunslinger mentality isn't going to work without a guy like Brandon Marshall. We saw that last night with his 4 picks.

 

[Ty Burna]

Da Bears are hurting big time right now. Not only did Urlacher go down for the season, but another starting linebacker Tinoisamoa went down with an injury too, albeit not as serious as Urlacher's, but he will be out for a good amount of time with a sprained PCL. I believe their starting right guard had an injury during the game last night, and their secondary is far from completely healthy.

As far as their season goes, (and as a Vikings fan, go ahead and say I'm biased, I'll try to be as unbiased as I can) I thought the NFC Norris would be between the Bears and the Vikings this year, with the Packers as a possible dark horse to win it. After watching the game last night, I think it's safe to say it's between Green Bay and Minnesota now. Adding up the injuries the Bears defense has now, and the inability to run the ball effectively, I don't see them making it to .500 this year now. Cutler may be able to salvage their season, but he did not play well at all last night with his 4 INTs. That could be from 1st game jitters, and playing in Green Bay for your first regular season game as a Bears QB, not a friendly place to start. Regardless, if Cutler doesn't up his performance quickly, they could be out of the division race before it begins. By week 4 they possibly could be 0-3, with games against Pittsburgh and Seattle left to go. Green Bay and Minnesota meanwhile have Cincy and Detroit respectively in week 2, and then St. Louis and San Fran respectively in week 3.

Urlacher and Tinoisamoa being hurt is going to severly hurt their run defense, and probably their pass defense as well. Their DLine definitely picked up the pace last night, but with the secondary and the linebacker corps banged up as badly as they are, I dont' see how a solid DLine is going to be able to make all the stops this year. With the addition of some of their defense getting older, they're losing stamina as well. So this could be a rough first year for Cutler and Chi Town.

 

[X]

This is definitely a huge blow for the Bears. Not only is he their best player, but he's the heart and soul of that team and their leader in the locker room and on the field. Their defense is going to be seriously hurting now without Urlacher's presence.

I don't think this is eliminates the Bears from contention though. Mainly because I didn't think they were contenders to begin with. Cutler still has far too many issues, and they simply don't have enough talent to make it to the playoffs. Should be another forgettable year for Chicago fans.

 

[NSL]

I don't think this is eliminates the Bears from contention though. Mainly because I didn't think they were contenders to begin with. Cutler still has far too many issues, and they simply don't have enough talent to make it to the playoffs. Should be another forgettable year for Chicago fans.

I can get saying that they weren't contenders to win the NFC, but they were at least in the discussion to win the division. Rodgers is a solid QB, but the Pack still only went 5-11 last year. No matter your views on Favre, the Vikings have a good team, and should improve on last year's performance. Unfortunately, this division will likely only send 1 team to the playoffs. There's too many other teams in the East and South that will be better than whoever finishes second, and you can't forget the West, where Seattle and San Francisco could see huge improvements.

 

[Athena]

I still think it was funny that all the Bears fans immediately thought superbowl after they traded for Cutler.

4 interceptions later and the captain of the team out for the year say otherwise.

 

[Athena]

Well with McNabb out for 1-3 weeks, we may be seeing the Michael Vick experience once again

 

[CH David]

I still think it was funny that all the Bears fans immediately thought superbowl after they traded for Cutler.

4 interceptions later and the captain of the team out for the year say otherwise.

And exactly who are you to say what Bears fans think?

Yeah, losing Urlacher is a big fucking blow to the team. No one will deny that, and if they do, then I should bitch slap them. He is the quintessential MLB when healthy, and I'm sure many of you would agree having him when he is healthy is a big boost to a team. So the defense is in trouble no doubt.

But for those to say the Bears had no chance in hell to start the season, why? Every team, even the fucking Lions have a chance at the start. No matter if it is logical or not. Is it because of no receivers? Defense is older? They need another legit corner to overtake Nathan Vasher. He is horrible, and slow as fuck. That is for sure. But the defense looked good last night, especially for the first three quarters. Then that play with Vasher fucked it up. I mean even with an offense that only produced 13 points, the Bears had a chance at winning the game.

I mean hell, the Vikings didn't look that great yesterday, good yes great no,t he Packers sure as shit didn't look great yesterday, except their defense, which I admit I underrated. Besides, there are 16 more weeks to play, anything can happen in 16 weeks/15 games. I'm not giving up on the Bears, even though none of you have given them a chance. There is still a lot of football to be played.

 

[TwistofRKO]

Uhh, no. McNabb might not even miss this week, and if he did he'd be back in week 3. Vick would never start as our QB, did you see him versus the Jets, against 3rd stringers? He's not ready.

 

[Shocky]

I had the Bears as my pick to win the NFC North because I wasn't sold on the Packers and I'm pretty sure Favre will collapse as usual come week 8 to 10. However, this is before Jay Cutler once again reaffirmed to me his status as the most over rated quarterback in the league. Yes, he has power, no, he is not a good professional starting quarterback. Jay Cutler had the keys to the car in Denver, but that bullshit attitude of his won't fly in the Windy City.

Urlacher is the heart and soul of the Bears, and as he goes, the team goes. The Bears looked to be a tough pick by me at least, but now the reality is, they are a .500 ball club at best.

 

[NSL]

So, McNabb went down in the 3rd Qtr of Week 1, and will miss at least 1 week. Kevin Kolb is getting the start in his place, since Michael Vick is not eligible until Week 3. I had thought that is McNabb missed more than a week, Vick would just get the start, and all would be right with the Eagles. No...

They had to go out and sign Jeff Garcia, perhaps the best starting QB available on the FA market. He'll back-up Kolb this week, but then what? If McNabb returns healthy, he'll obviously get his job back, but then what do they do with 3 back-ups? Kolb would seem to be the man out of a job, since they aren't about to drop Vick, and literally just signed Garcia. But, Kolb is too good to just cut. He has the potential to be a service-able back-up, and is surely cheaper than the other 3. If McNabb misses time, then Garcia would likely assume the starting job, with Vick and Kolb backing him up, but Donovan isn't exactly missing the season here. Maybe 3 weeks at most.

What do you think they'll do? Because I have no idea...

 

[NSL]

Kansas City has signed former Bears wideout, Bobby Wade to a 1 year deal, worth about 745K to help them out at clearly their thinnest postion. They have Dwayne Bowe to start, who in my opinion was robbed out of a trip to Hawaii last year, and then a group of slot guys that shouldn't really be starting. Mark Bradley and Bobby Engram are both OK, but neither stands out as a #2, especially in a division that has tough defenses, and big play passing attacks. After those three, there's really no one. There's also no threat at TE in the passing game, and their backs aren't exactly known as pass-catchers either.

I think Wade helps a lot, because he is now the obvious #2, pushing Bradley and Engram back into roles they fit a little better. Do you think this is all they need to complete their offense, or are they still a player or two short?

 

[NSL]

Don't you worry Bears fans...There may be a light at the end of this tunnel...

Apparently the Bears have contacted Derrick Brooks. For those of you living under a rock, he was one of the top playmaking LBs in the league during his time with Tampa Bay. He can pass rush, stuff the run, or drop into coverage, shown by his multiple INT returns for 6. I'm not saying he's as good as Urlacher, but he's certainly a qualified replacement. He's an aged veteran, so he won't be in there on every down, but he is a good player to stick in the middle and direct the team around him. If he stays around longer, the tandem of him and Urlacher next year could wreak havoc on North QBs...

 

[NSL]

Coming into the 2009 season, all that we knew for sure about the Raiders was that Heyward-Bey would be a bust, and the defense would be in the top 10. Then, Michael Bush stood out in camp, and Richard Seymour solidified the front 4, making their defense a top 5.

Watching the game on Monday, you couldn't help but noticed how physical they were playing, and how well everything was working for them. Are they the next team to go from pretender to contender? Or, was it just a case of San Diego being off their game, and making Oakland look good in the process?

 

[BooCocky]

Jamarcus Russell impressed me, he was still a little inaccurate at time but he was at least staying in the pocket and completing his throws and he was capable of making every throw on the field.

Anyways, this was just a case of it being a rivalry game in Oakland in front of all the wonderful fans they have. They were playing physical, but most teams do that when opening up a season. I expect them to fall because they aren't there yet, I do expect them to make strides and improve off of last year but I do not expect them to compete.

 

[NSL]

Jamarcus Russell impressed me, he was still a little inaccurate at time but he was at least staying in the pocket and completing his throws and he was capable of making every throw on the field.

Russell was close to making a believer out of me. His pocket presence impressed me, and he even made a few nice blocks on running plays.

Anyways, this was just a case of it being a rivalry game in Oakland in front of all the wonderful fans they have. They were playing physical, but most teams do that when opening up a season. I expect them to fall because they aren't there yet, I do expect them to make strides and improve off of last year but I do not expect them to compete.

I don't expect them to be in the "big picture" of the AFC, but with the division falling apart, they could stand a chance at the division if the string enough wins together. San Diego didn't look strong at all, and if any of those injuries are serious, they could go straight back to 8-8. Denver had a tough time beating Cincinatti, so I can't see them easily beating a number of teams on their schedule, and then there's Kansas City. This division will be won by a 9-7 or 8-8 team, so why not Oakland?

I'm not saying I buy it right now, but if they keep this up, there's a chance.

 

[NSL]

Kind of sad this thread got no love...Figured it'd be a hit...

Anyway, after Monday night's first game, I guess and argyument could be made for Brady to be Week 1 MVP. He started off rough, but definitely came through when it counted, and was 12/14 on the final 2 drives.

Here's my problem with him getting the "award" though. The Patriots were supposed to beat the Bills. It wasn't supposed to be close, either. I wouldn't knock anyone for giving it to him, but my votye still goes to Adrian Peterson.

 

[X]

Kind of sad this thread got no love...Figured it'd be a hit...

Anyway, after Monday night's first game, I guess and argyument could be made for Brady to be Week 1 MVP. He started off rough, but definitely came through when it counted, and was 12/14 on the final 2 drives.

Here's my problem with him getting the "award" though. The Patriots were supposed to beat the Bills. It wasn't supposed to be close, either. I wouldn't knock anyone for giving it to him, but my votye still goes to Adrian Peterson.

I'm getting kind of sick of everyone shitting on the Bills. The Bills are a good fucking football team. They started off 5-1 last year, and the only reason they ended up 8-8 was because of a horrendous rash of injuries that plagued their entire team. Add in Terrell Owens to that mix and a healthy team? That's a good football squad, the Bills are good enough to win 8-10 games this year (then again they had a few injuries last night as well).

Brady is coming off of one of the most serious injuries an athlete can have. And he threw for nearly 400 yards, completed 40 passes for an insane 73% completion percentage, and led his team down the field to score two TDs in less then two minutes. Yeah, how unimpressive.

Adrian Peterson is a good choice though. I'm biased though, so I'll be giving my vote to Brady naturally

 

[NSL]

Re-read my post X...I didn't shit on Brady, or the Bills

I'm getting kind of sick of everyone shitting on the Bills. The Bills are a good fucking football team. They started off 5-1 last year, and the only reason they ended up 8-8 was because of a horrendous rash of injuries that plagued their entire team. Add in Terrell Owens to that mix and a healthy team? That's a good football squad, the Bills are good enough to win 8-10 games this year (then again they had a few injuries last night as well).

I'm not shitting on the Bills. I thought they had a shot at the playoffs last year, and the injuries killed them. I was just stating that the Patriots were supposed to win that game, and they were supposed to win by a lot more than 1 point.

Brady is coming off of one of the most serious injuries an athlete can have. And he threw for nearly 400 yards, completed 40 passes for an insane 73% completion percentage, and led his team down the field to score two TDs in less then two minutes. Yeah, how unimpressive.

Did I once say Brady was "unimpressive"? I said he started rough. If you deny that, you're delusional. He wasn't on point with his passes, and he wasn't following through. He looked shaky in the pocket. he started to pick it up heading into halftime, and then really got it all together to close the game. He got the win, that's all that mattered.

Adrian Peterson is a good choice though. I'm biased though, so I'll be giving my vote to Brady naturally

 

[X]

I was more just speaking in general NSL, I know you weren't shitting on the Bills, but you just made it sound like the Patriots were terrible or something.

Yeah, Brady was definitely off in the first half. That's what happens when you haven't played an NFL game in a year. He was shaky in the pocket, and he overthrew a few passes, and made a few mistakes. He made up for it in the second half though, and you can clearly see how much he calmed down during that second half. That last quarter he was just as cool as a cucumber, calmly slinging that ball all over the field.

I'm not denying Brady was shaky, but if you look at his stats...the fact that this was one of his less impressive games, and he had nearly 400 yards and completed nearly 40 passes with 2 TDs is pretty damn impressive. That's Brady when he's off!

Brady's the MVP of this week for me.

 

[RVDgurl]

Drew Brees. Believe the hype, people. Brees is going to be lighting up defenses all year long. He threw for over 350 yards and had 6 TD passes. Those are some pretty damn good numbers for week 1. I understand that New Orleans played Detroit and the Lions are probably going to be pretty terrible again this year, but the numbers are still staggering any way you look at it.

MVP, Week 1 - Drew Brees

 

[X]

Drew Brees. Believe the hype, people. Brees is going to be lighting up defenses all year long. He threw for over 350 yards and had 6 TD passes. Those are some pretty damn good numbers for week 1. I understand that New Orleans played Detroit and the Lions are probably going to be pretty terrible again this year, but the numbers are still staggering any way you look at it.

MVP, Week 1 - Drew Brees

Brees is another solid choice, definitely. But that Lions secondary is the definition of atrocious, I think the school I work at has a better secondary lol.

Brees is definitely one of the top five QBs in this league, and he's going to be a serious contender for MVP this year.

 

[BooCocky]

LOL, I have two, first it is the Steelers Special teams. They blocked a Field Goal, forced Bironass to miss another, Sepulveda had four punts inside the twenty, and there return game was pretty good.

The other one goes to Ben Roethlisberger, he only threw 10 incompletions against a pretty good defensive unit, he led two potential go ahead drives up until the Ward fumble, he was able to complete passes all game under pressure, and he did this without a solid running game, and with an offensive line that looked lost at times. Without our Special Teams and Roethlisbergers clutch performance, the Steelers walk away the losers on opening day.

 

[X]

Kansas City is not going to be a contender this year, and everyone in that organization knows that. Really it doesn't matter how many WRs they pick up, they won't be contending, so they're in fine shape. Scott Pioli has a gameplan for that organization, and he's going to take it very far I feel in the future. Bobby Engram is fine as a number two, and I agree with you that Bowe is a great, great talent.

They don't really have a problem, because I think they all realize they aren't going to be competing in the playoffs this year.