2015 NFL season general discussion thread

[Alsacs]

Buffalo crowd was good yesterday.

I think one of Miami-Buffalo is going to make the playoffs. AFC North and AFC South to me look like 1 team divisions and AFC West I think one of SD, KC, Den will make a wild card.

I was actually equally impressed with the NE D thru 3 quarters than I was the O. The front 7 for NE can be top 5 in the NFL.
We have a deep DL and can rotate among C. Jones, R. Nikovich, J. Shered at DE and in the middle M. Brown, S. Silega, D. Easley keep each other fresh and mix in blitzes from J. Collins and D. Hightower get pressure on the QB.

I also think while the NE secondary is significantly weaker than last year by losing Revis that Malcolm Butler is a solid middle of the NFL road #1 CB and we can give Fletcher and Brown safety help with McCourty on the other side.

I know Buffalo fans won't like this but since the Pats caught a break with Dallas being without Romo and Bryant week 5 if the Pats get by Indy week 6 on the road they could be undefeated heading into Denver on Thanksgiving weekend at 11-0. I do not want the Pats to go undefeated after 2007 I hope they lose a game but the schedule opened up for them without Romo and Luck back to back on the road.

 

[longislandcuse]

Buffalo crowd was good yesterday.

I think one of Miami-Buffalo is going to make the playoffs. AFC North and AFC South to me look like 1 team divisions and AFC West I think one of SD, KC, Den will make a wild card.

I was actually equally impressed with the NE D thru 3 quarters than I was the O. The front 7 for NE can be top 5 in the NFL.
We have a deep DL and can rotate among C. Jones, R. Nikovich, J. Shered at DE and in the middle M. Brown, S. Silega, D. Easley keep each other fresh and mix in blitzes from J. Collins and D. Hightower get pressure on the QB.

I also think while the NE secondary is significantly weaker than last year by losing Revis that Malcolm Butler is a solid middle of the NFL road #1 CB and we can give Fletcher and Brown safety help with McCourty on the other side.

I know Buffalo fans won't like this but since the Pats caught a break with Dallas being without Romo and Bryant week 5 if the Pats get by Indy week 6 on the road they could be undefeated heading into Denver on Thanksgiving weekend at 11-0. I do not want the Pats to go undefeated after 2007 I hope they lose a game but the schedule opened up for them without Romo and Luck back to back on the road.

I honestly don't see a game NE should be an underdog in. You guys are catching some breaks with Dallas and while Denver has a good defense, they can't hang on offense and your front 7 will eat Peyton alive.

 

[longislandcuse]

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.

Offensive Line is going to need time to gel. New blocking scheme with 2 new players and a 2nd year Right Tackle. Not sure why Glenn seems to be getting manhandled 2-3 times per game though.. apparently he doesn't want a shiny new contract. Not having Kromer right now probably doesn't help either.

Taylor was decent but there's a reason Bellichek is insanely good against QBs making their first and second starts. He has a top flight front 7 and is a defensive guru.

Taylor's presence, vision and decisiveness left much to be desired. I don't think it's something he can't get better at but he better improve because I did not see a Playoff caliber QB back there yesterday. He also wasn't helped, like we said, by the offensive line (which I think will get better as the season goes along) and, imo, the playcalling. Roman killed us on Series 2-4 yesterday when NE built their lead. Just awful playcalling after the first drive until midway through the second quarter.

NE dared us to go deep and we're going to have to prove to the league we can because as of now, everyone is taking away short routes and loading the box. No reason we shouldn't be gashing teams with Watkins, Harvin, Woods and Clay on intermediate to deep routes. Once that happens, running lanes and the short passing game will open up.

On defense, no clue what to do against NE. I never thought our defense would look that bad. They were completely out-coached, out-played and out-maneuvered and I don't even know what to do differently. NE, when on, is just automatic.

 

[ssbriefcase]

I honestly don't see a game NE should be an underdog in. You guys are catching some breaks with Dallas and while Denver has a good defense, they can't hang on offense and your front 7 will eat Peyton alive.

Not so fast. Denver's Oline will be a lot better by then. A lot of new guys up there, and the highest rated guard in football coming into the season Mathis, new team, not one snap preseason will be fine. If you want to talk about who will eat who alive from a D perspective...c'mon man. NE oline will be the ones to worry about Denver's scorched earth D...

 

[longislandcuse]

Not so fast. Denver's Oline will be a lot better by then. A lot of new guys up there, and the highest rated guard in football coming into the season Mathis, new team, not one snap preseason will be fine. If you want to talk about who will eat who alive from a D perspective...c'mon man. NE oline will be the ones to worry about Denver's scorched earth D...

We'll see.. Chris Trapasso posted that Tom Brady averaged 2.00 seconds getting the ball out yesterday. NOBODY is sacking Brady in 2 seconds. 50/50 shot you get him if you're unblocked with that release.

 

[longislandcuse]

If we beat Miami on Sunday, i'll agree. Until then I will be a nervous wreck, hopeful, but a nervous wreck..

The Buffalo Bills are for real (USA Today) Buffalo Bills

Okay, Buffalo fans, you can finally exhale.

After a week of buildup that made a Week 2 divisional matchup feel like a Super Bowl, the Bills couldn’t quite get the Patriots, losing 40-32. No, things didn’t go exactly as planned, but take solace: Your team got down early against the mighty New England Patriots, didn’t quit, managed to cut a big lead down just one possession late in the game before the inevitable Tyrod Taylor interception clinched the loss and moved Tom Brady to 24-3 lifetime against the team with the NFL’s longest playoff drought.

While moral victories are for suckers, the Bills can be pleased with their performance in defeat and look at the rest of the season with optimism instead of the usual dread that accompanies autumns in upstate New York. Buffalo, your Bills are for real.


That Week 1 win over the Colts was a tremendous victory for a number of reasons: the defensive dominance, Tyrod Taylor looking like he could soon be a mid-to-top-tier NFL quarterback and the fact that all of it came against the AFC favorite. There was plenty of reason to get hyped for Week 2 against the Pats, despite that aforementioned dominance. The game was at home, Rex Ryan was getting the whole city (and most of the NFL-watching country) hyped up and the Patriots felt as vulnerable as ever (Week 1 win or not) with a subpar rushing attack and the Bills’ fearsome foursome on defense sure to pressure Brady. That Ralph Wilson Stadium sounded like it was hosting an AFC championship with the calendar in September and the thermometer firmly in the mid-60s is a credit to the eternal hope and support of Bills fans.


But New England quieted things down pretty early after the Bills got out to a 7-0 lead, but after building up their own lead to 37-13, silencing that so-called vaunted defense (Brady would end the game with the most passing yards the Bills have ever given up), the Pats slowed down in the fourth as the offense stalled and Buffalo scored touchdowns on three straight possessions. Buffalo had the ball with a chance to tie but the late New England pick sealed its win. And, yes, while the pessimist could say New England took its foot off the gas in the fourth, an optimist would say “since when do the Patriots ever take its foot off the gas, especially against Rex Ryan?”

We learned Sunday that last week wasn’t a fluke: The Bills are a fine football team with a great defensive coach whose teams tend to have trouble offensively. But with that defense, Buffalo is a definite playoff contender. Consider:


• The team’s schedule is favorable, as the team has gotten its toughest games out of the way in the first two weeks of the season.

• The AFC East happens to have the most favorable AFC divisional schedule this year, facing the AFC South, which means games remain with Tennessee, Jacksonville and Houston.

• The NFC matchup is less favorable — the AFC and NFC Easts play in 2015 — but one of the road games is with Washington, the easiest Buffalo could have hoped for. The toughest home game left on the schedule is the Cowboys, who don’t come to Buffalo until after Christmas.


• With new additions on offense such as LeSean McCoy, a young quarterback with room for improvement and a defense that should be stout enough to stop teams that aren’t defending Super Bowl champions, the outlook is rosy.

As for finally getting the best of the Patriots in a meaningful game? Well, there’s always Week 11 — a Monday Night Football showdown in Foxborough.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Not so fast. Denver's Oline will be a lot better by then. A lot of new guys up there, and the highest rated guard in football coming into the season Mathis, new team, not one snap preseason will be fine. If you want to talk about who will eat who alive from a D perspective...c'mon man. NE oline will be the ones to worry about Denver's scorched earth D...

I'm not sure how anyone in the AFC stops the Pats, Brady is getting better. Last year he struggled throwing deep, this year he's hit his deep throws through two games. The AFC outside of New England isn't as good as last year. Denver, Baltimore, and Indy all have issues. I would have to say Cincinnati is the 2nd best team in the AFC right now through two weeks. Dallas could of beat them at full strength, but that's not happening now.

 

[ssbriefcase]

Nov. 29th is a long way off. Who knows what the league will look like by then. People who don't seem to have issues could have major ones by then, and vice versa. Dallas has been supposedly supposed to win for like 10 years now, and haven't done a thing, they don't get the benefit of the doubt imo.

 

[longislandcuse]

Wow, Kiko Alonso may be done for the year? Just saw this. Great player but now you see why Whaley traded him.

 

[Alsacs]

I think its 11-0 or 10-1 NE at 9-2 Denver week 12. Unless NE loses one of Gronk/Brady/Edelman they will dink and dunk all year long. The NE D isn't as good as last year but its got a better pass rush and depth. Peyton Manning can't throw balls to his right that well. When he throws to his left he can get zip.
Buffalo is still too talented not to make the playoffs. I see Buffalo going 10-6/11-5 with that schedule

Nobody in the NFL has a quicker release than Brady. Rodgers has more velocity but he holds the ball a lot longer. Watching Luck vs. Brady against Buffalo was pure experience. Rex Ryan never throws the same look two plays in a row. Luck didn't have the experience to check down that Brady did. New England @ Indy week 6 SNF lookout for running up the score. BB may go for 50. I think the Pats will pound the ball on the soft Colts but they won't take the brakes off for that one even though Indy will get scores in the air but I expect Luck to throw some INTs as well.

Also the NE D got way more pressure than Indy D did against Buffalo. McCoy had an excellent game and dashed the Pats but a lot of those yards were fine as they didn't move the chains.

Buffalo at Miami is a huge game. Loser goes to 1-2.

 

[Alsacs]

I'm not sure how anyone in the AFC stops the Pats, Brady is getting better. Last year he struggled throwing deep, this year he's hit his deep throws through two games. The AFC outside of New England isn't as good as last year. Denver, Baltimore, and Indy all have issues. I would have to say Cincinnati is the 2nd best team in the AFC right now through two weeks. Dallas could of beat them at full strength, but that's not happening now.

If Baltimore doesn't make the playoffs and NE is at home they go to the SB. The only team with stones to go man to man with NE for this period has been Baltimore.
Cincinnati is good in 1pm Sunday starts with Dalton put him at night and he comes a terrible QB. The Bengals do not scare me one bit. Pittsburgh could put a fight but they are easy to score on.
Denver will a tough game but in January outside with any wind Manning and that passing game will be screwed. The Denver OL has to run block A LOT better or they are screwed. NE will play Denver and play eight around the line of scrimmage and dare Manning to throw seem routes with arm.

 

[Melancer46]

Offensive Line is going to need time to gel. New blocking scheme with 2 new players and a 2nd year Right Tackle. Not sure why Glenn seems to be getting manhandled 2-3 times per game though.. apparently he doesn't want a shiny new contract. Not having Kromer right now probably doesn't help either.

Taylor was decent but there's a reason Bellichek is insanely good against QBs making their first and second starts. He has a top flight front 7 and is a defensive guru.

Taylor's presence, vision and decisiveness left much to be desired. I don't think it's something he can't get better at but he better improve because I did not see a Playoff caliber QB back there yesterday. He also wasn't helped, like we said, by the offensive line (which I think will get better as the season goes along) and, imo, the playcalling. Roman killed us on Series 2-4 yesterday when NE built their lead. Just awful playcalling after the first drive until midway through the second quarter.

NE dared us to go deep and we're going to have to prove to the league we can because as of now, everyone is taking away short routes and loading the box. No reason we shouldn't be gashing teams with Watkins, Harvin, Woods and Clay on intermediate to deep routes. Once that happens, running lanes and the short passing game will open up.

On defense, no clue what to do against NE. I never thought our defense would look that bad. They were completely out-coached, out-played and out-maneuvered and I don't even know what to do differently. NE, when on, is just automatic.

The play-calling drove me absolutely insane. New England was begging Tyrod to beat them over the top, and with the receivers that Buffalo has, they should have taken far more shots; they were WAY too conservative for most of the first half. I'll take a one on one between Sammy/Percy/Woods and the Patriots iffy corners all day; and hitting on it just twice would probably be enough to get the Patriots to start leaving two safeties deep again, which would open up the run game more (which was pretty solid regardless).

 

[Alsacs]

Jets actually showed their D might be one of the best in the NFL. Jets beat the Colts by 13 in Indy. AFC East has 4 solid teams. I want the teams to be decent so none of them get high draft picks in this year's deep QB draft.

 

[longislandcuse]

Jets actually showed their D might be one of the best in the NFL. Jets beat the Colts by 13 in Indy. AFC East has 4 solid teams. I want the teams to be decent so none of them get high draft picks in this year's deep QB draft.

Jets are solid. I like their defense and they have weapons on offense...BUT Ryan Fitzpatrick is a ticking time bomb. He will give you 4-6 good games and then start imploding and throwing awful interceptions left and right, then its either ride it out or Geno time.

Indy would not win one divisional game in the AFC East. They can't handle the Buffalo or NY defense, probably couldn't handle Miami's and are not beating NE anytime soon.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Jets are solid. I like their defense and they have weapons on offense...BUT Ryan Fitzpatrick is a ticking time bomb. He will give you 4-6 good games and then start imploding and throwing awful interceptions left and right, then its either ride it out or Geno time.

Indy would not win one divisional game in the AFC East. They can't handle the Buffalo or NY defense, probably couldn't handle Miami's and are not beating NE anytime soon.

Colts are terrible. Most overrated team in football coming into the season.

 

[Alsacs]

Nick Saban to the Colts this offseason. Book it. Bama job is going to get to him and Pagano/Grigson will be fired and Saban will run that team and with Andrew Luck at QB Saban would be a contender.

 

[Alsacs]

Jets are solid. I like their defense and they have weapons on offense...BUT Ryan Fitzpatrick is a ticking time bomb. He will give you 4-6 good games and then start imploding and throwing awful interceptions left and right, then its either ride it out or Geno time.

Indy would not win one divisional game in the AFC East. They can't handle the Buffalo or NY defense, probably couldn't handle Miami's and are not beating NE anytime soon.

I agree I think with the AFC South and NFC East crossover games all 4 AFC East teams could go 8-8 or better.
Fitzpatrick is what is going to hold them back. He wasn't good last night as the Jets D dominated the Colts offensively and they barely got 20 points.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Nick Saban to the Colts this offseason. Book it. Bama job is going to get to him and Pagano/Grigson will be fired and Saban will run that team and with Andrew Luck at QB Saban would be a contender.

Luck has the most turnovers in the NFL since the start of 2014.

 

[Alsacs]

Luck has the most turnovers in the NFL since the start of 2014.

He hasn't had a supporting cast at all. The OL has been garbage their RBs have been hurt or awful, TY Hilton is a good WR but IMO isn't worth that kind of money. Their D is garbage outside of Mathis and Davis.
Colts have wasted Luck's rookie contract. They had giant amounts of cap space and wasted it on not good players. With this being Luck's last year before his cap number goes up with his option year the Colts will need to dump salary. They wasted a first round pick on Philip Dorsett over Malcolm Brown. They traded a 1st rounder for Trent Richardson. Used another first rounder on Boerjn Werner from Florida State.

Colts need to blowout the front office more than the coach but to get somebody like Nick Saban they will need to give him complete control.

Luck is a great player and because his cast has sucked he has been given a pass from those turnovers. He forces passes because he puts it on himself to make plays.

 

[longislandcuse]

One thing I noticed watching NE/Buf and Indy last night was the lack of short routes against the Jets blitz.

On one play in particular I noticed the Indy WR go in motion and line up on the far side. Revis, I believe was on the WR and Revis played off while Cromartie was in tight coverage on the near side. Luck dropped back and Revis backpeddled immediately giving a 8-10 yard cushion. The Indy WR went deep and Luck got pressured waiting for the route to develop.

Brady/NE would have noticed Revis playing off and his man would have cut off his route short for a quick hitting 5 yard pass that would turn into an additional 5-10 yards before Revis could come back to the play and make the tackle.

 

[Alsacs]

One thing I noticed watching NE/Buf and Indy last night was the lack of short routes against the Jets blitz.

On one play in particular I noticed the Indy WR go in motion and line up on the far side. Revis, I believe was on the WR and Revis played off while Cromartie was in tight coverage on the near side. Luck dropped back and Revis backpeddled immediately giving a 8-10 yard cushion. The Indy WR went deep and Luck got pressured waiting for the route to develop.

Brady/NE would have noticed Revis playing off and his man would have cut off his route short for a quick hitting 5 yard pass that would turn into an additional 5-10 yards before Revis could come back to the play and make the tackle.

Revis/Cromartie are good CBs but they got major help from a good NYJ DL and Luck holding onto the ball.
Against NE Brandon LaFell will be back week 7 and they will spread the Jets out and get rid of the ball in under 2 seconds.

 

[Cusefan0307]

He hasn't had a supporting cast at all. The OL has been garbage their RBs have been hurt or awful, TY Hilton is a good WR but IMO isn't worth that kind of money. Their D is garbage outside of Mathis and Davis.
Colts have wasted Luck's rookie contract. They had giant amounts of cap space and wasted it on not good players. With this being Luck's last year before his cap number goes up with his option year the Colts will need to dump salary. They wasted a first round pick on Philip Dorsett over Malcolm Brown. They traded a 1st rounder for Trent Richardson. Used another first rounder on Boerjn Werner from Florida State.

Colts need to blowout the front office more than the coach but to get somebody like Nick Saban they will need to give him complete control.

Luck is a great player and because his cast has sucked he has been given a pass from those turnovers. He forces passes because he puts it on himself to make plays.

Grigson's terrible I agree, but I'm not sure Saban is the answer. He quit in Miami after he hand selected Culpepper over Brees and realized that was a mistake. I agree the entire OL/DL needs to be rebuilt, but total control for coach/GM hasn't really been the answer.

Sean Payton might be available if New Orleans turns into a cesspool with Brees now hurt. He and Luck together would be interesting.

 

[CuseCPT]

I've been a Miami fan my whole life. I'm not sold on this Dolphins sqaud and have always been skeptical about Tannehill. I obviously hope I'm wrong, but if i were a betting man I'd say Miami doesn't make the playoffs and Philbin gets sacked. Jarvis Landry is legit though, I will say that much. Still, you struggle at Washington and lose to Jacksonville so I don't think my pessimism isn't totally unwarranted.

 

[Alsacs]

AFC East today:
Eagles beat the Jets.
Pats dropped a 50 burger on the Jaguars
Bills thus far 2 drives 2 TDs up 14-0 on the Fins.

The Jets man if they had a middle of the league QB would be scary. Give them Matthew Stafford or Eli Manning would be a SB team.
New England is going to run up on the score on people this year when they can.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Miami stinks. Philbin is terrible.