2015 NFL season general discussion thread

[Alsacs]

Well our first good running drive was in the 4th with Hillman that ended in a fg of course. That d line of the Ravens is no joke even without Suggs. And I don't care what happened in Jan. that D came to play. And I can see why they're expected to be a top notch unit this season. We didn't take advantage of the few times wr's were open, like barely overthrowing Sanders in the endzone. Or the first time Peyton's rolled out here in Denver and missed badly on an open DT and there were 2 other wr's wide open. I hope they keep doing that because that play worked great. KC is on a short week also. It's a very nasty place to play in Arrowhead and that's where the 3 points come from, but luckily we're used to it and so is Kubiak. We'll see, can't wait.

Denver had under 300 total yards against a not great Baltimore D. Denver's D is totally legit and is the best balanced D in the AFC.

I get you are going to support Manning, but he either overthrows those verticals to Sanders or doesn't have the accuracy. I think its the damage from his nerves and injuries finally coming how to roost. I think Manning can win with Brady style but Manning is losing it thanks to Father time like everyone will. Brady doesn't throw the deep ball accurately either but he isn't losing arm strength.

I still like Denver to win that division at 11-5 but San Diego and Kansas City will be playoff and division contenders.
I got NE at 12-4, Buffalo at 11-5, Pittsburgh 11-5, Denver 11-5, Indy 10-6, Miami 10-6.

 

[ssbriefcase]

Denver had under 300 total yards against a not great Baltimore D. Denver's D is totally legit and is the best balanced D in the AFC.

I get you are going to support Manning, but he either overthrows those verticals to Sanders or doesn't have the accuracy. I think its the damage from his nerves and injuries finally coming how to roost. I think Manning can win with Brady style but Manning is losing it thanks to Father time like everyone will. Brady doesn't throw the deep ball accurately either but he isn't losing arm strength.

I still like Denver to win that division at 11-5 but San Diego and Kansas City will be playoff and division contenders.
I got NE at 12-4, Buffalo at 11-5, Pittsburgh 11-5, Denver 11-5, Indy 10-6, Miami 10-6.

I would definitely agree on the nerve thing before the arm strength. I'm curious if we'll see his touch on the fades again. I'm just not ready to judge though until at least 4 games in. I'm just happy we have a D in Denver again, it's been a long time. We have very good depth on that side also. We just might have the best pass rush and corner tandem in the league. At least those are the expectations here. Go Broncos and K C.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Denver had under 300 total yards against a not great Baltimore D. Denver's D is totally legit and is the best balanced D in the AFC.

I get you are going to support Manning, but he either overthrows those verticals to Sanders or doesn't have the accuracy. I think its the damage from his nerves and injuries finally coming how to roost. I think Manning can win with Brady style but Manning is losing it thanks to Father time like everyone will. Brady doesn't throw the deep ball accurately either but he isn't losing arm strength.

I still like Denver to win that division at 11-5 but San Diego and Kansas City will be playoff and division contenders.
I got NE at 12-4, Buffalo at 11-5, Pittsburgh 11-5, Denver 11-5, Indy 10-6, Miami 10-6.

I think arm strength is more important on some of those 5-15 yard throws than it actually is on the deep ball. You need to have it to fit balls into tight windows on a lot of short to medium range throws. Manning doesn't really seem to want to throw into tight windows anymore like you see with the other top guys in the league. (Brady, Ben, Rodgers, Brees) I agree the deep ball is a lot about loft and touch, and if you lack feeling in your fingers you probably are relying on muscle memory.

I'll give Peyton the benefit of the doubt for this single game because his Oline looked like Brady's did last year, but if he keeps shying away from the tight throw and relies on screens/checkdowns i'll become more concerned. He also never throws to the opposite hash anymore, probably because he knows he can't generate the power to get the ball there without defenders breaking on the ball.

 

[Alsacs]

I think arm strength is more important on some of those 5-15 yard throws than it actually is on the deep ball. You need to have it to fit balls into tight windows on a lot of short to medium range throws. Manning doesn't really seem to want to throw into tight windows anymore like you see with the other top guys in the league. (Brady, Ben, Rodgers, Brees) I agree the deep ball is a lot about loft and touch, and if you lack feeling in your fingers you probably are relying on muscle memory.

I'll give Peyton the benefit of the doubt for this single game because his Oline looked like Brady's did last year, but if he keeps shying away from the tight throw and relies on screens/checkdowns i'll become more concerned. He also never throws to the opposite hash anymore, probably because he knows he can't generate the power to get the ball there without defenders breaking on the ball.

Manning isn't done he is just losing his fastball. The team around him will need to pick him up for once. I agree that Denver OL was bad like the NE OL the first 4 weeks last year. Go look what KC did to NE last year on MNF with that bad OL. 41-14 was the final. If Denver OL is not good this week Manning is going to crushed like Brady did and he gets rid of the ball in under 2 seconds.

Houston rushing Manning in Arrowhead is going to be tough as that stadium is the loudest in the AFC.

 

[ssbriefcase]

Manning isn't done he is just losing his fastball. The team around him will need to pick him up for once. I agree that Denver OL was bad like the NE OL the first 4 weeks last year. Go look what KC did to NE last year on MNF with that bad OL. 41-14 was the final. If Denver OL is not good this week Manning is going to crushed like Brady did and he gets rid of the ball in under 2 seconds.

Houston rushing Manning in Arrowhead is going to be tough as that stadium is the loudest in the AFC.

Yeah, you can bet the focus of the OL this week is game planning for Houston. And I'll go a step further on how loud Arrowhead is, I've heard many vets say, that it was the loudest in the entire league not in Seattle.

 

[BuffOrange]

I like KC and the points Thursday. I know Denver is adjusting to a new offense and offensive line, but that was the same defense that gave up 35 and 400 yards passing to New England in January. They couldn't run or pass protect even after Suggs got hurt. KC on a short week is going to be tough for Denver.

Except it wasn't close to the same defense. They were down to about their 11th CB at the end of last year.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Except it wasn't close to the same defense. They were down to about their 11th CB at the end of last year.

I agree with that. But Baltimore didn't get close to the same amount of pressure on Brady as they did on Manning Sunday. The offensive line for Denver is their weakest link on the entire team.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I wouldn't say any division with Rex Ryan and Bill Belichek could ever be considered 'classy'

 

[Alsacs]

Except it wasn't close to the same defense. They were down to about their 11th CB at the end of last year.

Baltimore's D is not a top 5 D in the AFC imo.
Suggs was their pass rush.
Daryl Smith is a stud MLB
Lardiarus Webb played in the playoffs last year but has lost some of skills since he tore his ACL 3 yrs ago.
Jimmy Smith was the guy missing last year but he isn't a shutdown guy.
Kyle Arrington is hot/cold slot CB.

Ravens D looked good against a bad OL Denver team. With a QB who couldn't sling it.

 

[Alsacs]

I wouldn't say any division with Rex Ryan and Bill Belichek could ever be considered 'classy'

Honestly dude your trolling is getting old. Your point adds nothing to the thread.
I know you aren't dumb so if you can't figure out the context out the comment I don't know what to tell you.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Honestly dude your trolling is getting old. Your point adds nothing to the thread.
I know you aren't dumb so if you can't figure out the context out the comment I don't know what to tell you.

Too easy.

 

[Alsacs]

Too easy.

You want me to lighten up? I don't care if you hate the Patriots and Belichick create all the threads you want on that. It gets old when your attack completely goes out of its way to take an unnecessary shot. I really don't care what anyone's opinion is if its on point.

 

[Trueblue25]

First off take the Fins blinders off. Grimes is 32. He is a really good player but I would take each of those 8 guys before Grimes.
I like Miami more than most. Your biggest team weakness is HC. Philbin is a bad HC.

Lol we'll see if you can say even 6 of those 8 had a better season than Grimes when all is said and done.

 

[Alsacs]

I guess I might have jumped the gun. Onto to Jacksonville.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Brady is the MVP through week two.

 

[Orangeman]

I do get a kick...Brady passed for 466 yards on 59 attempts while the Bills' lousy QB had 240 yards on 30 attempts. Any pattern there?

Give credit to the Patriots for recognizing that in the NFL you are absolutely not allowed to play defense in the secondary anymore, and so they pass all the time.

I could only watch the 4th Q, so I have no formal comment on the ridiculous number of penalties, though the Bills had 14 for 140 yards and Pats had 11 for 119...the partisans I speak to said the unsportsmanlikes were unfair against the Bills, keeping with the long-standing tradition of the momentum-killing judgment calls going one-way in this series, but I can't comment.

I will say I saw two crazy calls in the 4Q...Bills QB slides and they throw a 15 yard flag for late-hit..but, and maybe I've seen this once before, the officials (who I've noticed now have headsets on which I'm very uncomfortable with) group together and say no penalty.

Then, on the crucial drive with 4 mins left and the Pats up 5 on a critical 2nd down the Pats throw an incompletion down the sideline where the Bills defender never turned, but also never touched the player he was defending. So the pass hits the Bills player, falls incomplete. Great, clock stops.

EXCEPT THEY THROW A FLAG FOR PI. The official with the best view calls it incomplete (he's looking upfield at the play). The official upfield from the play, looking downfield and blocked), throws a flag. Didn't we JUST go through this last year???? Isn't there NO FACEGUARD penalty in the NFL? How come they didn't get together and huddle and discuss that call like they did the other, less-important-at-the-time call?

Sure the game was a blow-out for a while, but the game is 60 minutes and points count the same whenever they're called. The Bills would have still needed a TD because they ran successive bad two-point conversion plays, but I saw only two penalties called and they were both wrong, leaving me suspicious as heck...

Still, if you're a Bills fan, encouraged that they finally got some pressure and TT seemed to grow a bit.

That was NOT Pass Interference, and if it is, I don't like this game.

 

[Alsacs]

Each team got double digit penalties. Rex committed a stupid one for the Bills and the kid who got hurt committed two stupid PFs. The refs were not why NE won. NE dominated from the mid 1st till the 4th and then fell asleep and Buffalo made plays.

That PI you are complaining about was just as bad as the Fletcher one on Harvin that gave Buffalo a TD. If you don't turn around and make contact its PI.

I honestly thought Buffalo was going to win this game because of their DL and NE's OL in the middle being 3 rookies. Brady is locked in. New England left more points on the board. The NE DL dominated this game. 8 sacks and a lot more hurries. If you want to blame the refs that is weak sauce.

I still think one of Miami-Buffalo will make the playoffs. Next week's game in Miami will be interesting.

 

[Tobias Funke]

I do get a kick...Brady passed for 466 yards on 59 attempts while the Bills' lousy QB had 240 yards on 30 attempts. Any pattern there?

Give credit to the Patriots for recognizing that in the NFL you are absolutely not allowed to play defense in the secondary anymore, and so they pass all the time.

I could only watch the 4th Q, so I have no formal comment on the ridiculous number of penalties, though the Bills had 14 for 140 yards and Pats had 11 for 119...the partisans I speak to said the unsportsmanlikes were unfair against the Bills, keeping with the long-standing tradition of the momentum-killing judgment calls going one-way in this series, but I can't comment.

I will say I saw two crazy calls in the 4Q...Bills QB slides and they throw a 15 yard flag for late-hit..but, and maybe I've seen this once before, the officials (who I've noticed now have headsets on which I'm very uncomfortable with) group together and say no penalty.

Then, on the crucial drive with 4 mins left and the Pats up 5 on a critical 2nd down the Pats throw an incompletion down the sideline where the Bills defender never turned, but also never touched the player he was defending. So the pass hits the Bills player, falls incomplete. Great, clock stops.

EXCEPT THEY THROW A FLAG FOR PI. The official with the best view calls it incomplete (he's looking upfield at the play). The official upfield from the play, looking downfield and blocked), throws a flag. Didn't we JUST go through this last year???? Isn't there NO FACEGUARD penalty in the NFL? How come they didn't get together and huddle and discuss that call like they did the other, less-important-at-the-time call?

Sure the game was a blow-out for a while, but the game is 60 minutes and points count the same whenever they're called. The Bills would have still needed a TD because they ran successive bad two-point conversion plays, but I saw only two penalties called and they were both wrong, leaving me suspicious as heck...

Still, if you're a Bills fan, encouraged that they finally got some pressure and TT seemed to grow a bit.

That was NOT Pass Interference, and if it is, I don't like this game.

As for the unsportsmanlike penalties they were out of control to start the game. Too emotional, a lot of oushing after the play. There was a play earlier in the game where the bills LB face guarded and grabbed Gronks arm, no call,do it happens both ways. I thought the officials were a little quick on the trigger against both team at times, but both also played extremely sloppy throughout.

 

[BuffOrange]

I'm not one to go easy on refs so I can be applauded as "no excuses" guy but obviously they didn't really matter at all in this game. Only quibble would be the OPI's being like 4-0 the last two yrs which for a road team running a pick&roll offense is pretty hilarious but whatever.
More importantly that 1/3 Billion $s in the DL maybe isn't such a great investment if they're just never going to matter ever in their own stadium vs this team. That's 40pts in what 3 of 4 yrs? Pathetic. But hey Aaron Rodgers holds the ball so we can harass him every 8yrs, great.

Not surprised about Miami. Were lucky to win that Skins game. A little surprised they're only -2.5 and not -3 or 3.5 next week though; thought most people considered them slightly better than the Bills.

 

[Orangeman]

I didn't see the first three quarters so can't complain about the officiating except the 4Q which I witnessed. If history holds they probably called a bunch on the Bills so the Pats could build a lead, then threw a bunch of innocuous flags on the Pats to even out the numbers so it doesn't look real bad in the final stat books. Part of my theory.

Regardless, there were 2 flags thrown on the play they eventually wiped out (the late hit), but only 1/2 refs with a view of the PI threw a flag, and he had the worse view to boot...why no conference there? Doesn't make sense, just doesn't.

Regardless, goal is make playoffs, still in realm of possibility

 

[Alsacs]

I didn't see the first three quarters so can't complain about the officiating except the 4Q which I witnessed. If history holds they probably called a bunch on the Bills so the Pats could build a lead, then threw a bunch of innocuous flags on the Pats to even out the numbers so it doesn't look real bad in the final stat books. Part of my theory.

Regardless, there were 2 flags thrown on the play they eventually wiped out (the late hit), but only 1/2 refs with a view of the PI threw a flag, and he had the worse view to boot...why no conference there? Doesn't make sense, just doesn't.

Regardless, goal is make playoffs, still in realm of possibility

The Jaime Collins PF flag picked up was the right call. Manuel started sliding right when Collins went for a tackle and there was barely contact.
THe PI call you are complaining about was PI on Buffalo. The LB never played the ball and made contact with Lewis while the ball was in the air. I see you didn't complain about a similar PI called on NE when Harvin went deep and the same call was made on NE.
The flags were even the whole game and not given to NE in the 4th to even it out. Blame your HC for having an overcharged team and them committing a ton of dumb PF penalties. My god your theory is a complete conspiracy theory and not giving the Pats D any credit for shutting down the Bills offense for 3 quarter.

 

[longislandcuse]

I'm ready to concede 2 games per year to the Pats until the Belicheck/Brady reign of terror is over.

No matter how good we are, and on paper Buffalo is way more talented than NE, we just can't stop Brady. Even last year with a top 5 defense that shut almost everyone down including Aaron Rodgers, Brady still destroyed us. He's just so in sync with Gronk and Edelman and those short quick passes.

Our defense made zero sense, huge cushions when we knew the Pats love the short quick passing game to negate our pass rush. Dion Lewis, who Rex didn't apparently know his name, killed us. The Pats can take 3 rookie lineman and make our Front 4 look pedestrian. I'm just over it lol. Onto Miami and the fight for the WC.

As far as the officiating goes. It didn't play a part but I rarely see a team so upset and getting nonstop 15 yard penalties aside from us vs NE. Those refs were way too emotional. 15 yard penalty on Rex because the ref couldn't handle being chewed out on a bull**** call against Watkins!? Cmon now. However, the refs didn't make a difference. They were just typically bad. Our defense of all things cost us this game. Also, Offensive series 2-4 killed us as NE built a 14 point lead. Wayyyyy too cute/conservative play calling.

Buffalo is still a work in progress while NE is a well oiled machine. Hopefully we can represent ourselves better when we meet again later in the season.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Lot's of talk about New England's short game, but the Bills got beat deep a bunch yesterday and not by Wide Receivers. The Patriots did a great job taking advantage of mismatches and exploited them with Gronk and Lewis especially..

Still in the end New England's defense was just average and the Bills had the ability to put points on the board, but you can't turn the ball multiple times and expect to beat them. Turnovers and Sacks were the difference in the end.

 

[longislandcuse]

Lot's of talk about New England's short game, but the Bills got beat deep a bunch yesterday and not by Wide Receivers. The Patriots did a great job taking advantage of mismatches and exploited them with Gronk and Lewis especially..

Still in the end New England's defense was just average and the Bills had the ability to put points on the board, but you can't turn the ball multiple times and expect to beat them. Turnovers and Sacks were the difference in the end.

Yea, for 99% of the NFL, a great defense can keep it close while your offense finds its way. Buffalo, for all the turnovers and a 15 minute period of ineptness, put up 32 legit points and almost made a impossible comeback. However, NE is that 1% of the NFL that, if on its game, can shred any defense including Buffalo, Seattle etc.

Pretty awesome that Brady, two games in, looks as good as ever, maybe better.. Super excited about that

 

[Melancer46]

Was a fun experience being at the game even if Buffalo didn't win. The way I see it, you know the defense is going to be good/borderline elite most of the time, so I'm really not worried about them at all. The Patriots offense is just so difficult to stop because if you try to play up tight, they'll run those pick plays to death, and if you sag off a bit so that they can't do that, they'll just hit you over the middle on a quick slant.

Offensively, McCoy finally looked like the McCoy Buffalo was hoping they were getting. Looked way healthier than he did a week ago. Karlos continues to look good. The receivers all did their thing (though they struggled to get open for much of the game, which is a bit concerning against the Patriots secondary). The offensive line looked abysmal though, and Tyrod struggled with his pocket awareness for most of the game. It was an up and down game for him, but in the end, he did an okay job. This Bills team still looks like it should be a fringe playoff team to me.