NFL Talk

Yeah, the Jets looked good. My Steelers were lucky to squeak that one out. Was pretty happy with our new acquisitions- Rodgers, Metcalf, Gainwell, Smith and Ramsey. Our O line (coughBroderickJonescough) needs some work, as does our run defense. Interested to see what the rest of the season holds.

Will be rooting for your Bills against the Ravens tonight, @canprime

I’m glad NFL football is back!
 
Today is a good reminder that week 1 is always weird. Jets and Colts look like offensive powerhouses, Detroit looks anemic, and a host of weird, uncharacteristic play all around. Seems like a low scoring week 1 in general too, curious to see how it plays out tonight.
 
Hell of a Sunday night game! Baltimore looked so good for about 3 quarters, but couldn’t put the Bills away. Then the Henry fumble and that was all the opening Buffalo needed to take control. I can’t believe so many fans bailed on that one - don’t they know who they have at quarterback?! I’ll probably regret staying up for this one when my alarm goes off at 6 tomorrow morning.
 
This is the least surprising week one in recent memory. The only surprise for me was the Colts blowing out the Dolphins. That just tells me Mike McDaniel might be out of a job by week 9.

As a Panthers fan who doesn't bother following the team anymore, Jesus. Blown out by a middling Jaguars team. Bryce Young still looks lost. This is year seven of their rebuild; they look no closer to a playoff berth than they did at the start. Back to crossing my fingers for the #1 pick, I guess.

Brutal loss for Baltimore. They had total control of that game. Worse yet, as far as playoff seeding goes, it counts for two losses.
The Jets lost though and if the Bills can’t topple the Ravens they’ll be tied for first so all is not lost
Eh, no matter how good the Patriots are this year, it's not like they're winning the division. I picked them to grab a wildcard spot.
Detroit looks anemic
This could be a week-one thing, or it could be a long-term issue. They did lose both of their coordinators over the offseason.
 
Well I'm happy with the outcome but what I feared would be a problem was a problem. The Bills once again had little answer for a strong rushing team with an extremely mobile quarterback. Hell Henry alone almost had as many rushing yards as the Bills. Then of course Lamar was Lamar.

Obviously game one is not a guarantee of anything going forward but Baltimore and Buffalo look like the top two contenders for the AFC this year. However both look like they could be susceptible to strong offensive teams running up the score on them. Both of them can obviously score, but you can't rely on running up the score to win week after week. Still a strong showing for both and thanks to some luck I get to enjoy the rest of the week looking forward to week two.
 
Eh, no matter how good the Patriots are this year, it's not like they're winning the division. I picked them to grab a wildcard spot.
That was my attempt at sarcasm. The Bills should be able to sleepwalk to a division title this year. They don’t even play the same sport as the other teams in their division.
 
Monday night game had a similar Uno Reverse Card energy as last nights game. One team seemingly cruising to a W through three quarters and then everything flips and tje other team roars back for a win.

I couldnt believe how bad McCarthy made the Vikings offense look... an offense that Sam Darnold had humming last year... but then suddenly it started to click. It was only the Bears and I don't think the Vikings will win as many as last year... but it was encouraging.
 
The combination of staying up late watching BUF/BAL the night before and my early wakeup Monday meant I was asleep at 9 last night in my recliner so I didn't get to see much. I was really curious to see each offense. The little I saw looked okay for Chicago, but Williams still seems like he's slow to process what he sees or he was just playing very conservatively.
 
I couldnt believe how bad McCarthy made the Vikings offense look... an offense that Sam Darnold had humming last year... but then suddenly it started to click. It was only the Bears and I don't think the Vikings will win as many as last year... but it was encouraging.
I refuse to challenge my priors on McCarthy, so the narrative I'm going with is Sam Darnold still sucks and the combination of KOC, the offensive line, and the receivers is enough to make any QB look good.
The little I saw looked okay for Chicago, but Williams still seems like he's slow to process what he sees or he was just playing very conservatively.
It's still relatively early, but I don't think he has it.
 
I refuse to challenge my priors on McCarthy, so the narrative I'm going with is Sam Darnold still sucks and the combination of KOC, the offensive line, and the receivers is enough to make any QB look good.

It's still relatively early, but I don't think he has it.

No... that 4th quarter wasn't enough to sell me on McCarthy... especially after those first three quarters... but I don't want to do what people do to Purdy and discount everything about his game because of his coach and teammates. Of course Purdy's first start looked better than McCarthy's so, jury is definitely out.

And Caleb Williams is way too slow at processing... if hes ever going to get there he has the coach that should help, and he'll probably look better against schemes that are less exotic than Flores', but still he should be further along if he is as good as he was supposed to be.
 
And Caleb Williams is way too slow at processing... if hes ever going to get there he has the coach that should help, and he'll probably look better against schemes that are less exotic than Flores', but still he should be further along if he is as good as he was supposed to be.
Of the QBs taken #1 overall since 2000, most of them are league average at best.
  • Michael Vick
  • David Carr
  • Carson Palmer
  • Eli Manning
  • Alex Smith
  • JaMarcus Russell
  • Matthew Stafford
  • Sam Bradford
  • Cam Newton
  • Andrew Luck
  • Jameis Winston
  • Jared Goff (Dak was the best QB in the draft, taken in the fourth round)
  • Baker Mayfield (Allen is the best QB in the draft, and maybe the league, but I don't think you could be mad at Mayfield #1)
  • Kyler Murray
  • Joe Burrow
  • Trevor Lawrence
  • Bryce Young
  • Caleb Williams
  • Cam Ward
I bolded the players I think were worthy of the #1 pick.

TBD on Williams and Ward, though I'm not optimistic about Williams anymore.
 
I'm not out on Williams, but I really didn't like him in college. I'm not articulated enough to put it into words, but for some guys, I think the average fan's gut reaction to seeing them play is sometimes the best indicator of whether or not they're going to be a star or not at the NFL level. Williams would be one such guy for me, but we'll see. Sometimes it takes awhile. Mayfield certainly looked like a bust up until about 2 years ago and I do think there are some guys on that list (Lawrence) who could have been good, but their teams ruined them. It's early though, and Williams had an almost wasted year 1 with that staff the Bears had. And these guys just don't play much in the preseason either. A lot of quarterbacks over the weekend, established and not, didn't exactly light it up and looked tentative out there. I don't think they have their timing and it feels like more and more each year that September turns into a second preseason.
 
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