NFL - Discussion Thread

Mike: It all went downhill after Big Ben threw that pick six before half. If he hadn't, I don't think things would've slipped as far out of sight as they did. But they need to make sure to get back on track and not spiral out of control.

Dennis: I'm glad the Redskins won. The Niners are absolutely pathetic. They keep going with Mullens week after week, even when all the fans want Beathard to play since Mullens is crud. I think it's obvious that the 49ers are tanking at this point. You can't tell me they aren't to a certain extent by going with Mullens.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Dec 14th 2020 »

Is there a point to tanking when they've got so many wins already? It seems like at best they'll pick in the 7-10 range.

Actually, there is a reason to tank for them, and that lies in the second tier of QB Prospects. I've seen some Mock Drafts that have both Lance and Wilson also in the Top 10 after Lawrence and Fields, so if the Niners win anymore games, they could lose out on both of them (if they are looking to draft one).

Why else would they continue to start Mullens, who almost all analysts have said has the third best arm of the Niners behind both Beathard and Garopollo? It doesn't make any sense unless you factor in tanking. Seriously, Mullens only wins this year are against the Giants (when they started 0-5) and against the Rams (who have chocked both times this year against the Niners, despite who was a QB). Mullens struggled against the Jets in Week 2 when Jimmy G went down with injury with the game already won. He was so horrible against the Eagles in Week 4 that he was benched for a few weeks. He lost to the Seahawks. He lost to the Packers. He lost to the Saints. He beat the Rams, but that had more to do with the performances of his teammates since he threw 0TDs to his 1INT in that game. He has since lost to the Bills and the Redskins.

Please tell me how starting Mullens over Beathard, after all of those horrible performances, is anything short of the Niners having decided to tank? They haven't even put Beathard in when they've been down 14-17 points in all of the contests outside of the Eagles.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Dec 14th 2020 »

Couldn't tell ya. Maybe you're right, and they do have an exit plan to drop Jimmy G after this season (only 3 mil in dead cap) and after 2021 with even less dead money. Though I'm not sure you can blame any SF qb for losing to the Seahawks, Packers, or Saints with the injuries they've had this year.

I understand with losing to those teams, but in that same sense, the Giants have defeated the Seahawks, the Eagles just beat the Saints, and the Vikings took down the Packers the week before the Niners lost to them. Just saying.

Looks like the week isn't over yet! Matt and I have the Ravens in an upset. If Browns win, Mike only loses one game total this week to only Dennis. If the Ravens win, Matt and I both gain two of Mike while Dennis gains one. Very interesting.

Warrior - My theory, on top of tanking, is that SF are giving Mullens a stack of games to prove whether he should stay with the team, and whether or not to trade him and keep Beathard. And at the same time, there is 0 point in winning, as it only hurts their draft position. And as it turns out, with a run of games his quality has been going down. But the question is, has be proven to be an ok backup QB? He's definitely not starter material, but to be honest he isn't that bad as a backup. They've got to decide whether they want to give Beathard a go, considering that he may play better and lead SF to some wins.

Baltimore @ Cleveland is going to be a shootout. That usually favours the home team. And I trust Cleveland to score points more than Baltimore. Honestly, I have no idea why I tipped Baltimore. Maybe I read Baltimore as the home team?

Ravens just won a wild one. Matt and I gain two, Dennis one on Mike.

Next week looks a little easier. lol

Crazy.

CLE 7-0 BAL
CLE 7-7 BAL
CLE 7-14 BAL
CLE 14-14 BAL
CLE 14-21 BAL
CLE 14-28 BAL
CLE 20-28 BAL (Cleveland missed the PAT)
CLE 20-34 BAL (Baltimore missed the PAT)
CLE 28-34 BAL (Cleveland make a 2XP)
CLE 35-34 BAL
CLE 35-42 BAL (Lamar returns from dropping a #2, to throw a TD on 4th & 5) (Baltimore make a 2XP)
CLE 42-42 BAL
CLE 42-45 BAL (Baltimore make a 55-yard FG with 7 seconds left)
CLE 42-47 BAL (Cleveland try a lateral which no one understands, and end up conceding a safety)

TheChosenOne - 139
Mike - 138
TheLonelyGod - 135
Sanzano - 135

« Last edited by Matt77 on Dec 15th 2020 »

3 upsets for me this week at this point.

There's a conspiracy theory going around... Word is if the Jets are still winless by Week 17 and the Jags only have the one victory, Belichick will intentionally throw the Pats/Jets game in order for the Jets to lose out on Lawrence.

That would be something.

My Newest Mock Draft:
NYJ 1. Trevor Lawrence QB Clemson
JAX 2. Justin Fields QB Ohio State
CIN 3. Penei Sewell OT Oregon
LAC 4. Ja'Marr Chase WR LSU
DAL 5. Gregory Rousseau EDGE Miami (FL)
CAR 6. Kyle Pitts TE Florida
ATL 7. Trey Lance QB North Dakota State
MIA 8. Micah Parsons LB Penn State
PHI 9. Patrick Surtain II CB Alabama
NYG 10. DeVonta Smith WR Alabama
DET 11. Kwity Paye EDGE Michigan
SF 12. Zach Wilson QB BYU
DEN 13. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah LB Notre Dame
MIN 14. Christian Barmore DT Alabama
CHI 15. Christian Darrisaw OT Virginia Tech
NE 16. Jaylen Waddle WR Alabama
LV 17. Carlos Basham Jr. EDGE Wake Forest
BAL 18. Rashod Bateman WR Minnesota
WAS 19. Caleb Farley CB Virginia Tech
ARI 20. Jaycee Horn CB South Carolina
MIA 21. Travis Etienne RB Clemson
TB 22. Rashad Weaver EDGE Pitt
IND 23. Shaun Wade CB Ohio State
CLE 24. Aidan Hutchinson EDGE Michigan
NYJ 25. Tyson Campbell CB Georgia
JAX 26. Samuel Cosmi OT Texas
TEN 27. Wyatt Davis OG Ohio State
BUF 28. Zaven Collins LB Tulsa
GB 29. Alex Leatherwood OT Alabama
PIT 30. Rashawn Slater OG Northwestern
NO 31. Jevon Holland S Oregon
KC 32. Jay Tufele DT USC

That would be crazy but not unexpected from Belichick. Also impossible to prove. That game last night was awesome, sadly I got it wrong. This week looks less upset-y, but it seems like I say that every other week lol. Only 1 upset for me so far, but I'll go through on Saturday morning and look it over.

Reminder that games start being played on Saturdays starting this week. Shouldn't make a difference with picks, but I don't want anyone to miss out by forgetting.

« Last edited by steelersrock01 on Dec 15th 2020 »

Warrior - WR is a bigger need than LB, as good as Parsons may be. Our defense is already, dare I say it, a top 8 unit. Tua needs another WR. If there isn't one available that's worthy of a pick 8, trade down a few spots.

I have 1 upset pick, but it's probably more of a 50/50 game anyway. Going conservative this week.

Jets fans hate Belichick anyway as he took on the job of head coach and then resigned to take on the Patriots. If I remember correctly he wrote his resignation on a knapkin. It would look too suspicious if the Patriots lost against the Jets. The Jets are destined to go winless this year.

Matt: Definitely. If Chase is there when we're first on the board, they'll nab him. If in the 10-15 range, I think they will nab Smith or Waddle. Parsons was too good to pass at that point, and LB is still a weak point for the Phins. We desperately need some Edge Rushers, a Safety, and at least one Linebacker if we ever wanna go deep in the playoffs.

Dennis: I wouldn't put it past Belichick. Would you like to go up against Lawrence/Tua/Allen for six of your seventeen games for the next decade? No thank you.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Dec 16th 2020 »

Ironic that it looks like the AFC East is still going to be the power house division in the AFC and the Patriots are going to be the cellar dwellers after dominating it for the last twenty years. The AFC East will have the best quarterbacks from the draft in the past three years. I don't think Belichick will be around much longer to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he calls it a day after this season and becomes an anylst. He's getting old now and doesn't need the stress of being a head coach. The guy's got eight Super Bowl Rings (two with the Giants as a defensive co-ordinator). He had a bit of luck with all of those rings, he had Brady at the Patriots and Lawrence Taylor with the Giants.

You never know. Lance or Wilson could fall to the Pats in the middle of the 1st Round, or they could trade up for one of them. That, or roll the dice on a Trask or Jones. They could even try to trade and resurrect the careers of either Wentz or Darnold. But they have to something as Cam is clearly not the answer.

Chargers pull the upset. Raiders likely done.

DENNIS!!! YOU MISSED PICKING THE SATURDAY GAMES!!!

Thanks for the heads up Warrior13.

I hear the Jets are thinking about sticking with Darnold. After watching a YouTube video yesterday even Trevor Lawrence wouldn't be able to do anything with the Jets. I was horrified to see the number of dropped passes and the 1 or maybe 2 seconds if he is lucky that Darnold has to get the ball away. The offensive line is terrible. Jets would be better of trading the number one spot for three number ones and using them on two offensive linemen and an an elite wide reciever. Trevor Lawrence will not help the Jets the team does not have the pieces around him.

Dennis, that's pretty much my opinion on everyone thinking Lawrence is going to save the Jets. He is a much better prospect than Darnold is, and Darnold is by no means a good QB at the moment, but I don't think Lawrence would succeed there either. The problem with not taking the elite QB prospect and building a better team first is that if you stick with Darnold for 1 year or 2 if they take his 5th year option, is that if they draft well they now have a decent team around him, but if he hasn't improved they're stuck in that 7-9/9-7 spot where they're a "qb away". And if they don't draft well they're in the same spot they're in now. Then you're stuck like the Bears, who are paying both Trubisky and Foles for bad QB play.

I think if there is a consensus #1 QB prospect available and you need a QB you have to take that guy. Darnold is not the problem, but he is a problem. I think a lot of people are hoping Darnold can have a Tannehill-like renaissance on another team, but I don't think it's going to happen. Tannehill put up league-average stats on those Dolphins teams. Darnold is just about worst in the league. I'd like for him to do well (preferably on the Steelers, traded for a 3rd round pick).

The problem with building the team before getting the QB is that you have to get really lucky to get a guy like Wilson, Romo, or Prescott late in the draft or as an undrafted and hope they can come in and be elite or at worst, above-average. Cause you can't win consistently in the playoffs without a QB. When's the last time a team without a very good QB won the Super Bowl? Peyton on the Broncos, I guess.