NFL 2011 Season

[Axl4Prez2004]

Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd was in jail Thursday after authorities accused him of trying to set up a drug distribution network in the Chicago area and arrested him after he allegedly agreed to buy a kilogram of cocaine from an undercover agent.

According to the federal complaint, Hurd was arrested Wednesday night after meeting with the agent at a Chicago restaurant. The complaint contends Hurd told the agent that he was interested in buying five to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute.

Every time I think NFL players could not POSSIBLY be more stupid...something like this happens.   

[AxlsMainMan]

Giants, Jets, Raiders, and Packers all upset this week - pretty wild.

[faldor]

Alright, now having sat through an entire Tim Tebow game I can give a little better judgement on the guy.  He might be good someday.  He's not there right now though.  The Broncos have played well with him as their starter and they've caught teams at the perfect times, but they're still not a great team.  Good, yes, but not anywhere near the elite of the NFL.

I will say though, he did show glimpses of greatness today.  He reminds me a lot of Vick early in his career, and any QB of the like.  He's a dynamic runner and can throw a good ball, he just struggles to make quick reads.  He holds onto the ball way too long waiting for guys to get open, that he is either sacked or forced to leave the pocket and take off downfield.  It's also tough to make a final judgement based on that one game because the Broncos overall played pretty poorly.  Way too many mistakes as far as turnovers, penalties, and bad plays.  They got off to a great start, but turnovers killed them in the 2nd quarter and the Patriots never looked back from there.

Patriots lost their top pass rusher, Andre Carter, to a knee injury early in the game.  The defense actually played better after he left, but I think that was just a coincidence.  It's never good to lose a double digit sack guy, although I don't really see how the defense can get any worse.  But again, they played much better from the second quarter on and continue to make big plays when needed.  I still don't think they have what it takes to win in the playoffs, but then again there aren't many great teams in the NFL this year so if there was any year to win with a defense like they have, this would be it.  I just think Baltimore and Pittsburgh would be tough matchups for them in the AFC.  Defenses that could slow down their offense, and put up plenty of points on their defense.

[GeorgeSteele]

^ Having seen 3 of his games now, I'd agree that that's a pretty fair assessment.  Maybe the hype (positive and negative) will now die down a little.  Yes, he can be a good NFL quarterback, but no, he's not winning the Super Bowl this year.  Even the playoffs might be in doubt now that the Chargers are on fire. 

[Malcolm]

Go Patriots

[faldor]

Go Patriots

If they win out they get the #1 seed in the AFC.  I'm still not sold on them, especially on defense minus Andre Carter.  But Big Ben did not look good last night, that would bring Pittsburgh down a peg.  Granted, San Fran's D is legit, but still he's obviously not healthy now and I'm not sure he will get much better for the playoffs.  Baltimore got spanked by San Diego this week and have struggled on the road this year.  Joe Flacco has been shaky.  The Jets have just not been very good this year.  Houston is still a bit of a mystery.  GREAT running game, Andre Johnson, a good defense, but TJ Yates? 

And with the Packers finally losing and getting severely banged up on the offensive line, the NFC seems to be a little more open to the public.  The Saints might have the best offense in football, but can they win on the road, outside, in the playoffs?  I'm not sure they can roll into a 10 degree Lambeau Field and win.  Or even a 40 degree San Francisco.  Again, San Fran is kind of coming on strong.  Their defense is just so good.  Their offense is not, and it's tough to imagine a defensive oriented team winning with offensive being the name of the game these days, but they're looking pretty solid.

Bottom line, the NFL is as wide open as it's been in some time.

[D]

Drew Brees isn't Dan Marino

Give me some hits guys!

http://donniehoward.blogspot.com/2011/12/drew-brees-isnt-dan-marino.html

[Drew]

I've always liked the Dallas Cowboys and I think it's time to find a new quarterback and another defensive coordinator.

[Loaded NightraiN]

Drew Brees isn't Dan Marino

Give me some hits guys!

http://donniehoward.blogspot.com/2011/12/drew-brees-isnt-dan-marino.html

LOL

You're missing the Super Bowl Rings

[faldor]

I've always liked the Dallas Cowboys and I think it's time to find a new quarterback and another defensive coordinator.

I don't know, I think Tony Romo is a good enough QB to win with.  Granted, he hasn't performed well under the brightest of lights, but he's certainly among the top 10 QB's in the league.  Not sure you give up on that so quickly.  Let's face it.  Their defense has never been all that great with him at the helm, and they've lacked a running game.  Obviously passing wins games these days, but you need to be somewhat complimentary along the way.

[Axl4Prez2004]

I've always liked the Dallas Cowboys and I think it's time to find a new quarterback and another defensive coordinator.

I don't know, I think Tony Romo is a good enough QB to win with.  Granted, he hasn't performed well under the brightest of lights, but he's certainly among the top 10 QB's in the league.  Not sure you give up on that so quickly.  Let's face it.  Their defense has never been all that great with him at the helm, and they've lacked a running game.  Obviously passing wins games these days, but you need to be somewhat complimentary along the way.

Faldor, you are great for 2 reasons:
1:  Smokin' hot chicks always appear below your screen name, and
2)  Most of the time, you post the truth...as you have done here.
 

Romo's underrated. 
Rob Ryan's an idiot for giving the other team an added incentive to win.
That said, a strong head coach would never put up with that shit from a coordinator.
Can you imagine a Patriots coordinator pulling that shit under Belichek?  Nope?  Me neither.
Ryan will pull what Garrett lets him pull.

That Cowboys-Giants game is gonna be fun to watch no matter who wins.

[tim_m]

Bye Dallas! No playoffs for you! 

[Axl4Prez2004]

I just watched every play of that Dallas-NY game...Dallas should be ashamed of themselves. 
That was some of the worst tackling and coverage by a secondary I've ever seen, and I'm a Vikings fan for God's sake!  That's REALLY saying something.
To pin the loss on Romo would be a mistake.  Dallas got their asses kicked in every phase of that game.

[Bodhi]

Good for Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

BUT I think we all know if the Raiders or Chargers had anything resembling a competent head coach....

[Axl4Prez2004]

Good for Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

BUT I think we all know if the Raiders or Chargers had anything resembling a competent head coach....

true dat.
Jeff Fisher would be an improvement to both of those teams.

[AxlsMainMan]

Not sure why Tomlin would play Big Ben - I'd probably rest him even this Sunday against The Broncos.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Not sure why Tomlin would play Big Ben - I'd probably rest him even this Sunday against The Broncos.

Is Mewelde Moore still hurt?  If so, isn't it down to just Isaac Redman with Mendenhall's ACL tear?
They'll need someone who can sling it a little better than Batch.
Besides, once they're up 3 touchdowns, Ben can rest.
Steelers win this game...and win it big!

[faldor]

Not sure why Tomlin would play Big Ben - I'd probably rest him even this Sunday against The Broncos.

Is Mewelde Moore still hurt?  If so, isn't it down to just Isaac Redman with Mendenhall's ACL tear?
They'll need someone who can sling it a little better than Batch.
Besides, once they're up 3 touchdowns, Ben can rest.
Steelers win this game...and win it big!

Moore is still hurt, not sure when he'll be ready to go.  Ben obviously HAS to play.  You can't just assume you'll beat the Broncos without him, even though I think they probably could.  Redman is good enough to carry the load, and their defense is still very solid.  But they've turned into more of a passing team, so Roethlisberger is going to be needed for them to succeed.

With that being said I hope that the Broncos can somehow find a way to beat the Steelers, or at least the Bengals knock off the Texans to make the Patriots road a little smoother.  I still don't feel all that warm and fuzzy about the Patriots chances.  Despite their 13-3 record, and home field throughout the playoffs.  Their defense is just so bad and their offense gets off to such slow starts, I don't think they can afford to do that in the playoffs.  You may be able to get away with that against the Dolphins, Bills, and Broncos.  But I don't think the Steelers or Ravens would crumble like those teams.

As for the upcoming games.  Pretty much everyone seems to be picking the Bengals to upset the Texans.  I realize the Texans played poorly down the stretch, but that was after they clinched a playoff spot.  Maybe they just coasted at that point and focused on getting healthy.  They did alright with Yates at the helm prior to that.  I'll still pick the Bengals though, as I'd much rather play them next week than the Steelers.  Which leads me to obviously picking the Steelers over the Broncos.  I don't care who's hurt, or how badly.  They are just a far better team than the Broncos.  I think it'll be comical to watch Tebow against that Pittsburgh defense.  He has been AWFUL of late, just when I was starting to give him some props.

In the NFC, something tells me the Giants will lose at home to the Falcons.  They're just so inconsistent.  They look like they can beat, or at least compete with any team in the NFL one week, then look horrible the next.  The Falcons do have last years playoff experience under their belt but struggle out of a dome, so I will pick the Giants just because they're playing better right now.  But it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the Falcons go in and beat them 24-10.  And I think the Saints may be the best team in football right now, so I have to pick them to beat the Lions.  However, I don't know if they can win AT Green Bay in the cold, so they might need some help along the way to get to the Super Bowl.

Not the sexiest of picks, as it seems to be along with the mainstream, but that's what I'm going with.  For now.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Bad news for ya Faldor, I'm picking the Pats to go to the big dance!
The only team I see with the potential to take you out in the AFC is Baltimore.

In the NFC, I'm sticking with the Green Bay Peckers.

[faldor]

Bad news for ya Faldor, I'm picking the Pats to go to the big dance!
The only team I see with the potential to take you out in the AFC is Baltimore.

In the NFC, I'm sticking with the Green Bay Peckers.

Well I guess I should just sell my playoff tickets now since you just gave the Pats your stamp of approval.  Damn you! 

I actually think Pittsburgh is the best team in the AFC.  BUT, they're banged up and Baltimore beat them twice this year when they were healthy.  Baltimore came into Foxboro 2 years ago and whooped the Pats in the playoffs, but I think this years team is better than that 10-6 squad sans Wes Welker.  Honestly though, the Patriots could win the Super Bowl this year or lose to the Bengals in the divisional round.  Neither would shock me all that much, as I honestly don't know what to expect from them.  And that goes for the entire NFL to be honest.  I wouldn't be shocked if the top 3 teams in either conference won the Super Bowl.  Usually you can narrow it down to a couple favorites, but I think all 6 have a legitimate shot.