NFL Thread 12-13

[Brown Notes]

Just looking around the box scores, some things stood out.

Chris Johnson .04 YPC ouch.
Brandon Weeden 5.1 QB rating, about his ERA in the minors.
Donald Brown 5.3 YPC and a TD with a rookie QB against the Bears, nice.
Reggie Wayne targeted 18 times, clearly Luck's go-to.
Sam Bradford able to put up some solid numbers with absolutely nothing around him.
Vikings sucked on 3rd down and were dominated in TOP yet somehow won.
Gabbert 2 clutch plays to tie, maybe he's not so bad.
CJ Spiller career game, same for Sanchez. That was a weird one.
Frank Gore has still got it. Braylon Edwards still doesn't.
Carolina total failure running the ball. Wow, less than a YPC even trotting out Newton.
Doug Martin had a way better opening day than my boy Trent. Martin is clearly their bell cow.
Payton Manning is back with a vengance. 400 club.
Steelers meh. When you have one runner averaging 4.8 YPC maybe give that guy the ball more than the dude getting 1.8? Nice one Todd.

That's all I got this morning.

 

[franklin]

Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure that never happened.

Really?

I watch football casually so maybe I got a different angle than the rest of you. What I heard in commentary all last season was Alex Smith in the "so underrated he's overrated" category minus the overrated part. I remember Kurt Warner pushing him after there 4-1 start, for example. I heard nothing but how overly criticized he has been (in the past), how many offensive coordinator changes he's been under, how aweful his O line used to be at protecting him, & how he's overcome all that to grow into an elite QB.

To me, it's well past time for crying foul like Kooter MCR was & time to give the guy the dues he's earned.

 

[leftyjace]

Go Niners!

 

[UGLI baby]

We play a two QB league. I jumped the gun for Newton last year too and he's the reason I won. Hoping to strike gold twice.

Ok, makes more sense in a 2 QB league. Hopefully he doesn't get hurt. He looks tiny out there.

 

[//r00t 4 Jazz]

Tannehill had 3 INT's, I'm no expert but when two of the INT's are tipped balls by the DE who's to blame more the OLine or the QB, also his first INT was his fault but the WR did him no favors (I am really starting to hate Naanee) the ball was to him just the DB made a break/play for the ball and the WR just sat and watched.

Overall pretty much what I thought from the preseason, pretty good D as 24 of HOU's points are off back to back to back to back (yes 4 in a row) TO's in the 2nd qtr and only 6pts the rest of the way.

 

[Brown Notes]

Tannehill had 3 INT's, I'm no expert but when two of the INT's are tipped balls who's to blame more the OLine or the QB, also his first INT was his fault but the WR did him no favors (I am really starting to hate Naanee) the ball was to him just the DB made a break/play for the ball and the WR just sat and watched.

Overall pretty much what I thought from the preseason, pretty good D as 24 of HOU's points are off back to back to back to back (yes 4 in a row) TO's in the 2nd qtr and only 6pts the rest of the way.

A big part of rookie QB problems have to do with using seams in the line to throw your pass through. Weeden was terrible at this too and is probably why he overthrew a bunch of receivers. Watch Brees and Brady, those guys will slide just a little and throw through the line. It comes, or doesn't, with experience. You can't throw over those guys most of the time with any velocity and it's dangerous to lob balls around.

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

As a 49er fan thought I'd add my thoughts

Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure that never happened.

Alex was way underrated last year by experts on Espn and NFL network alike except for the former qb's employed by both networks, who recognized he helped win games. Alex didn't put up the numbers other elite qb's did for two reasons, first he had to learn a new offense once again, so the playbook was scaled back. Second they are old school with their ground and pound style, but when the 49ers needed him to step up and make a play he did. Warner of NFL network had smith in his top 5 most of the season

BTW, I said this in the off-season. Alex Smith will end up in the top five in MVP voting.

If he plays like he did Sunday he should be, but this 49er defense might be the best defense since the ravens superbowl team causing Alex to be overlooked.

Really?

I watch football casually so maybe I got a different angle than the rest of you. What I heard in commentary all last season was Alex Smith in the "so underrated he's overrated" category minus the overrated part. I remember Kurt Warner pushing him after there 4-1 start, for example. I heard nothing but how overly criticized he has been (in the past), how many offensive coordinator changes he's been under, how aweful his O line used to be at protecting him, & how he's overcome all that to grow into an elite QB.

To me, it's well past time for crying foul like Kooter MCR was & time to give the guy the dues he's earned.

truer words have never been spoken. I've never seen a qb go through more crap then Alex has... A new OC every year. Coach Nolen using Alex as a scapegoat to try to make himself look better at Smith's expense, no offensive weapons the first few years. An offensive line that was so bad he got injured, being coached by Mike Singleterry who's idea af a game plan is to say "were going to hit you in the mouth". Neither Nolen or Sing had any faith in Alex. Twice I thought there was no way Alex would resign in SF. The patience he showed has paid off, in comes Harbaugh, first thing he does as a new head coach is give Alex the playbook long before Alex resigned, and talked about the crap Alex had to go through. The rest is history. Alex is a damn good qb.

As for the 49ers, in my opinion they are the class of the NFL.

 

[candrew]

Doug Martin had a way better opening day than my boy Trent. Martin is clearly their bell cow.

I have both these guys in two different fantasy leagues.

Martin has a little swagger to him - I like his upside.

Richardson will be fine - just needs more reps. As I said before, the guy is a freak - kind of like Eddie George before all his injuries.

He looks like he was born to be a RB.

 

[Gyp Rosetti]

Really?

I watch football casually so maybe I got a different angle than the rest of you. What I heard in commentary all last season was Alex Smith in the "so underrated he's overrated" category minus the overrated part. I remember Kurt Warner pushing him after there 4-1 start, for example. I heard nothing but how overly criticized he has been (in the past), how many offensive coordinator changes he's been under, how aweful his O line used to be at protecting him, & how he's overcome all that to grow into an elite QB.

To me, it's well past time for crying foul like Kooter MCR was & time to give the guy the dues he's earned.

Yes, really. There's a difference between being praised and being deemed the second best quarterback in the league. The former took place and rightfully so. The guy's endured a ton of ****. But the latter never even remotely came close to occurring, especially after unbelievable years from Brees, Brady and Stafford to name a few.

 

[Brown Notes]

I have both these guys in two different fantasy leagues.

Martin has a little swagger to him - I like his upside.

Richardson will be fine - just needs more reps. As I said before, the guy is a freak - kind of like Eddie George before all his injuries.

He looks like he was born to be a RB.

I don't watch a lot of ESPN but in case people didn't see it, here's the hit he laid on Coleman. Trent looked kinda unexplosive most of the time but yea, he'll be great.

 

[Nate505]

Sheesh that looks f'ing painful.

 

[Bronco70]

I'm an Alex Smith fan, and a huge 49ers fan, but I am realistic about Alex. He is a good QB, and a good fit in SF, but he does not belong on the list of elite QBs.

Not yet...

 

[UGLI baby]

Got hooked up with NFL ticket computer style today. WOoooooooOOO.

 

[The Thriller]

Who to start?

1. Alshon Jeffery?

2. Stephen Hill?

3. Eric Decker?

1. The GB Packer defense looked horrible against the Niners. With Marshall and Forte commanding most of the Packer attention, I could see Jeffery exploiting favorable matchups and having himself a ball game. Cutler also chucks the ball more than Sanchez. With Green Bay being at home and in a practically must win situation, I could see their offense really letting loose to try and build a lead. If that's the case, I could see the Bears trying to catch up and chucking the pigskin around to try and match.

Of course, Cutler could suck... Or Marshall could get most of the balls thrown... Or perhaps Chicago plays keep away and keeps the ball on the ground?

2. The Steeler (pass) defense didn't look so hot against the Broncos. Thomas has a big and fast target that the Steelers couldn't contain. Hill is like a Randy Moss type receiver, tall, long, and super fast. I could see Hill giving the Steelers trouble.

I also see the Jets trying to pound their way to victory or Sanchez showing why they traded for Tebow...

3. Decker was a huge disappointment for me against the Steelers. But against the Falcons, he'll need to step up. Since he didn't find the endzone last week, maybe he will this week?

Who would you start and why?

 

[candrew]

I think you hit the nail on the head with your first point about Jeffrey.

I'd like to see Hill do it again before starting him.

Demaryius Thomas is going to be Manning's #1 - you can book it. I don't think Manning has had a guy to throw to with the kind of skills Thomas has since Rodney Harrison. Decker will probably get a decent amount of catches; but most of them will be in the slot position.

 

[Gyp Rosetti]

I'd start Decker.

 

[Hotdog]

I'm an Alex Smith fan, and a huge 49ers fan, but I am realistic about Alex. He is a good QB, and a good fit in SF, but he does not belong on the list of elite QBs.

Not yet...

Can you imagine if the Niners got Peyton this year. Damn that team would be good. Niners are loaded and play as physical as any team I have seen. I want to know what Harbaugh is teaching them. Niners aren't my team and I still say that.

 

[UGLI baby]

I think you hit the nail on the head with your first point about Jeffrey.

I'd like to see Hill do it again before starting him.

Demaryius Thomas is going to be Manning's #1 - you can book it. I don't think Manning has had a guy to throw to with the kind of skills Thomas has since Rodney Harrison. Decker will probably get a decent amount of catches; but most of them will be in the slot position.

Rodney Harrison lol. Wrong black guy name.

 

[The Thriller]

Sheesh...

James Jones gave me nothing...

Luckily, neither did Alshon Jeffery (who I benched), Nelson (my opponent's WR), and Marshall (opponent's WR).

So while it really would have been cool to have seen Jones go off yesterday in a shootout, it's not that bad since my opponent's 2 stud receivers had pretty crappy games too.

Hopefully, Decker and Steve Smith come through. I have Garcon as well... But, I have him on the bench right now with his foot injury a concern... Decker is due for a big game... Right?

I have Hill on the bench... Garcon/Steve Smith/Decker are just too proven at this point...

 

[candrew]

Rodney Harrison lol. Wrong black guy name.

LOL - good catch.

Marvin.