2017 NFL Regular Season Thread

As to the end of the Vikings-Saints - as a neutral I can only say OMFG.

I don't think the defenseless receiver rule was an issue - IMHO he just flat misplayed it.
 
I was glad that the Vikings kicker hit the FG that turned out not to be the game winner, but if missed would have been yet another kicker failure for a team that deserved better. I feel really bad for the Saints players who got caught in the "we need eleven guys back on the field so they can kneel out the extra point" roundup five minutes after the game should have and could have been just called. That's a stupid rule that needs to just go.

I will add another verification to the Jackson/Jacksonville comment, and add that even though I won't quote them I'd guess it wasn't even in the bottom five lowlights from Fouts' performance on the day. I consider it a victory getting through one of his broadcasts without kicking in the screen of a TV.
 
My heart is with Jacksonville against the Pats 100% but in a reference to the Pick'em thread it's hard for me to bet against the Pats, especially @ Gillette. The Pats are far more seasoned as a playoff team. I'm not saying they're unbeatable (the Ravens beat them in the AFC championship game in New England a few years ago) but it is a rare occurrence. Pats defense has been bad this year and the Jags at least have a top tier running back which means the Jags can be some threat on offense. Their defense has been unbelievable but so is the Pats offense. If Blake Bortles plays better than his normal self they could win, but that isn't something I'd count on.

Edit: As for Vikings-Eagles game I'm going for the Vikings just so they can have home field advantage in the Super Bowl, and they can finally get it. Or not...

Yes, Eagles beat the Falcons but it came down to the last play, and it's a game the Falcons could have realistically won if they had gotten a touchdown in the final moments. The Vikings have been much better than the Falcons this year. Barely beating the Falcons is not a good sign.

I'm honestly happy if anyone wins besides the Pats though because in that case, the Super Bowl will go to someone who hasn't won before. The Vikings having a home field advantage I can see beating the Pats but not anything else. Btw when they play in the Super Bowl will the dome be open or closed?
 
It mostly depends on Brady's injury.

Given how tight-lipped the Pats have been about it there's a 25% chance Rex Burkhead literally killed Tom Brady and that press conference was just Belichick in a Tom Brady bodysuit (which would explain the grumpiness
 
Proof of concept for karma in football:

Brady whines to Kraft.
Kraft makes Bellyache trade Garoppolo.
Brady breaks hand and ends career.
Bellyache retires.
Kraft wets the bed.
 
Don’t count your chickens. We haven’t reached that yet. That said, I expect sacksonville to take as many dirty hits on Brady as they can get away with. The pats have no viable backups after trading away both Brissett and Garropolo so with him out they’re screwed. He’s also 40. The Vikings, if they reach the super bowl (and supposing the pats do as well) may have a similar game plan in mind. If anyone has a better defense than Jacksonville it’s minnesota, and playing Minnesota IN Minnesota sounds brutal.
 
caketastydelish said:
Don’t count your chickens. We haven’t reached that yet. That said, I expect sacksonville to take as many dirty hits on Brady as they can get away with. The pats have no viable backups after trading away both Brissett and Garropolo so with him out they’re screwed. He’s also 40. The Vikings, if they reach the super bowl (and supposing the pats do as well) may have a similar game plan in mind. If anyone has a better defense than Jacksonville it’s minnesota, and playing Minnesota IN Minnesota sounds brutal.
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Doesn't take "dirty hits." When Brady was younger, and healthier, he still turned from superman to dance-chuck-duck any time he started taking hits. IF he plays at all I expect the kind of pressure that Jacksonville can bring to affect him a lot. I do expect the usual "you cannot hit Tom Brady" flags to be flying a lot though.
 
"If he plays at all..."

I hope you all are right, but I think you're grossly overestimating Brady's injury, based on what's described. It may even be exaggerated just to give Jacksonville a false sense of security. The Pats had insider information on the Steelers because they got one of their old players so they were probably worried about them (and preparing for them), now all that was for nothing. The Pats have overwhelmingly dominated the Jags in the past, but the Jags have been this good in a very long time, and the Pats D hasn't been this bad. Still, don't count Brady and Belichick out. I'm done doing that, and I'm not sure why guys would still do it.
 
caketastydelish said:
"If he plays at all..."

I hope you all are right, but I think you're grossly overestimating Brady's injury, based on what's described. It may even be exaggerated just to give Jacksonville a false sense of security. The Pats had insider information on the Steelers because they got one of their old players so they were probably worried about them (and preparing for them), now all that was for nothing. The Pats have overwhelmingly dominated the Jags in the past, but the Jags have been this good in a very long time, and the Pats D hasn't been this bad. Still, don't count Brady and Belichick out. I'm done doing that, and I'm not sure why guys would still do it.
Click to expand...

Because despite his history of dominance Brady has always had that one weakness if you had a defense that could exploit it. Jacksonville has that defense, in that they can drop seven and still get hits on the QB with four.
 
You were talking like this about the Falcons D last year. Fat load of good they did. edit: I'd be lying to tell you I had the opportunity to watch Steelers vs Jags (I was moving into a college dorm) but the scoreboard says the Steelers put up 42 points. Now I know the Steelers are known to put up a lot of points but 42 is way too much for the type of defense you are describing. Why would they be better qualified for that kind of a shootout with the Patriots?
 
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caketastydelish said:
You were talking like this about the Falcons D last year. Fat load of good they did. edit: I'd be lying to tell you I had the opportunity to watch Steelers vs Jags (I was moving into a college dorm) but the scoreboard says the Steelers put up 42 points. Now I know the Steelers are known to put up a lot of points but 42 is way too much for the type of defense you are describing. Why would they be better qualified for that kind of a shootout with the Patriots?
Click to expand...

Because of all the things you might say about Rothlisberger, "gets squirrelly when he takes a few hits" is not at the top of the list. Also last time I checked the Patriots have neither Antonio Brown on the outside nor LeVeon Bell in the backfield.
 
The Pats themselves beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh. A controversial call was a part of it, but I don't think you're giving the Pats enough credit.
 
caketastydelish said:
My heart is with Jacksonville against the Pats 100% but in a reference to the Pick'em thread it's hard for me to bet against the Pats, especially @ Gillette. The Pats are far more seasoned as a playoff team. I'm not saying they're unbeatable (the Ravens beat them in the AFC championship game in New England a few years ago) but it is a rare occurrence. Pats defense has been bad this year and the Jags at least have a top tier running back which means the Jags can be some threat on offense. Their defense has been unbelievable but so is the Pats offense. If Blake Bortles plays better than his normal self they could win, but that isn't something I'd count on.

Edit: As for Vikings-Eagles game I'm going for the Vikings just so they can have home field advantage in the Super Bowl, and they can finally get it. Or not...

Yes, Eagles beat the Falcons but it came down to the last play, and it's a game the Falcons could have realistically won if they had gotten a touchdown in the final moments. The Vikings have been much better than the Falcons this year. Barely beating the Falcons is not a good sign.

I'm honestly happy if anyone wins besides the Pats though because in that case, the Super Bowl will go to someone who hasn't won before. The Vikings having a home field advantage I can see beating the Pats but not anything else. Btw when they play in the Super Bowl will the dome be open or closed?
Click to expand...
I am saying in advance that if NE wins this game I am going with NE to win the SB, and if NE loses but Philly wins I am going with Philly to win the SB. However... I don't feel confident about NE winning this game. I think that Brady's Achilles heel is the pass rush and Jax can deliver on that. I say Jax should blitz, blitz, blitz... blitz like the wind and let the chips fall... if they sit back in zone rushing only 3 or 4, Brady will shred them, especially with Gronk... but if they blitz they will make him throw quickly and increase the potential of making a mistake. Jax offense has to play like they did at the Steelers house, but it will be a relatively warm day... so things should be even easier. Bottom line... I'm putting aside my usual New England loyalty and saying "Go Jax Go!"

EDIT: I'm actually hoping for Jax v. Eagles... Fly Eagles Fly
 
caketastydelish said:
The Pats themselves beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh. A controversial call was a part of it, but I don't think you're giving the Pats enough credit.
Click to expand...

I give them plenty of credit. Brady does only have one weakness that anyone has ever found, and very few teams are equipped to exploit it. Someone already mentioned that the Ravens beat them in Foxboro "against all odds," and in fact the Ravens did that because their defense was built to exploit that one weakness. They could rush four and deliver hits on the quarterback relentlessly. The time that KC dismantled them on national television before they went "on to Cincinnati," KC had the front to rush four and deliver a relentless series of blows on the quarterback. Atlanta last year was built to rush four and deliver hits on the quarterback, they just didn't have enough depth up front to sustain that through a game where they had to face the number of plays they had to face. So the path to beating the Patriots is pretty clearly laid out, it's just that very few teams are built to follow it.
 
Jax is one of those teams for sure. I said blitz, blitz, blitz, but I think you've identified it much better. The key is pressure, pressure, pressure... if they do it with Texas-twists fine, snake-eyed fine, dropping a D-end into coverage and sending a D-back or LB, fine... sending 5, fine... if they can do it with the front 4 alone, even better... but whatever it takes, they have to keep bringing pressure. If they try to stop Brady with coverage they will be shredded, especially since Gronk is nigh impossible to cover one-on-one...

Brady is running out on the field now for warmups. He has a large visible bandage wrapped on his right hand (he supposedly got stitches that need to be protected) and apparently plans to wear a glove on his right hand during the game... although he isn't wearing it for warmups.
 
Maybe I’m paranoid but I think the refs might be biased in this one. They tend to like the Patriots a lot...

The inappropriate hit in Gronk was one thing but the PI call was absurd.
 
It's funny cause I texted my sis (diehard Pats fan) at the beginning of the game that they were setting Gronk up for that hit from the very first snap. They were double-teaming him right out of the gate but it was sneaky, with the safety playing off just enough to bait Brady into throwing it to him but close enough to knock him back to 1955 like Marty's Delorian as soon as he caught it... and that's exactly what happened.

And yes the Interference call was typical Brady-Rules homecooking of the highest order. They basically gave NE a TD.
 
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