NFL - Discussion Thread

Carolina Panthers are interested in Haskins? Is this some kind of revenge by the Carolina management for Ron Rivera poaching Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke. The Panthers are welcome to Haskins.

I was looking at the Philadelphia Eagles starting line up for the game against Washington this weekend and they are severely banged up with second stringers starting. If Washington can't beat them they don't deserve to win the NFC East. It should be a simple case of the Washington defense dominating the game.

I bet you Miami fans are hoping the Bills rest their starters tonight. They should beat out the Colts for the last playoff place if Miami can beat Buffalo. But then again teams like to have momentum going into the playoffs so Buffalo may field a full strength team to maintain their confidence for the games ahead.

If Washinton win the NFC East, their first game is against the Buccaneers at home. I can't see Washington winning that one, the Bucs have too many weapons. I was hoping Washington would be matched up against the Bears as I think they have a chance against them.

It's a must win for the Dolphins regardless whether or not the Bills rest their starters. They have to go in with that mindset since the Ravens, Browns, Colts and Titans all have winnable matchups, and a loss would see them fall out of contention if those other teams do, in fact, win.

If the Phins and those other four teams win, the Colts won't make it. That's rough. Who would've thought that after adding an additional playoff team, an 11-5 ball club wouldn't make it? That's crazy.

With that said, the Bills should rest their starters. I get wanting to lock in the #2 Seed, but they're probably already going to do that since the Steelers are resting against the Browns and the Browns must win since the same scenario exists for them like the Dolphins.

The Saints should also rest their starters and accept the #3 Seed. Brees still isn't 100%, and now he won't have any of their RBs because of Covid Tracing, not to mention he'll be down three of his five starting WRs (with the fourth most likely having to start at RB because they don't have another). The wise thing to do is just rest and prepare for the Rams/Bears/Cardinals.

I don't understand some of these teams with not resting. It's not like homefield advantage means that much this year since most places can't have fans.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jan 3rd 2021 »

The Stage Is Set: The leader in my family's picks, whom I'm two games back (fittingly), picked five different games than me. I'll need to take four to pull off the ultimate comeback, but I'm not confident whatsoever in any of them because it's the final week and a number of the coaches are keeping things close to the vest. Root for me. lol

I'm the lone wolf in the Dolphins game. We picked everything else the same for the early ones.

Bills have come to play. They must really be scared of Pittsburgh if they feel like they need the #2 Seed enough not to rest when the Steelers are also resting. Tua's gonna have to let it loose or the Phins will likely lose out on the Playoffs.

Tua crumbling. Pick six. Only willing to throw short. One more score for the Bills and this is over.

Colts will smell blood and win to send Miami out of the playoffs.

Barkley in at QB for the Bills, but the damage has already been done. Tua will need four touchdown drives in the final nineteen minutes to win (or three with a two pointer to tie). Not happening. What could've been if Fitz didn't catch Covid.

Tua throws his second pick, this one in the red zone when driving. All but over. One quarter left to turn it around, still down big.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jan 3rd 2021 »

And the dagger TD delivered by the Bills, and with backups in the game.

Miami's only hope now is a Steelers (who's currently down to the Browns) or Jaguars Upset. Ouch.

ANOTHER Tua Pick. And ANOTHER Bills TD.

I really hope the kid can turn things around next year. He has some big hurdles to overcome. You gotta be able to pull the trigger downfield. NFL Open is a far tighter window than in college at Alabama. I've seen the mental part of the game like that be the demise of many good QBs.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jan 3rd 2021 »

Mike and Matt have picked differently in the Chargers/Chiefs Game... Looks like we might have a solo winner!

And Matt wins the Regular Season! Congrats, Chosen One!

Mike will finish in second; the Chargers/Chiefs game being the deciding factor.

Dennis and I finish tied in third. If my memory serves me, this is the second year in a row where one of us rolled the dice on Week 17 and lost enough to tie for last. Happened to Dennis last year, and now myself this year.

I knew the Phins Game would be tough to win, but I didn't see it being a blowout. Thought the Steelers might help us out late, but they couldn't and now must play the Browns yet again. I always knew it was a risk going with the Panthers, but I thought it would be close with the Saint's injury and covid list. Jeez, was I wrong. lol

My Broncos upset looked good until the very end when the Raiders went down field and got the extra two for the win. Chargers won as I expected since the Chiefs were resting, but it was close for the first half. And my fifth upset, the Cardinals, lost to the Rams after Murray got banged up some more extremely early.

Wild Card Matchups:
Colts @ Bills
Browns @ Steelers
Ravens @ Titans

Bears @ Saints
Rams @ Seahawks
Buccaneers @ Redskins/Giants (final game still happening as I'm typing)

Some good matchups if everyone is healthy. Seahawks will murder after the close call today if Goff can't play (but I think he will). Colts/Bills, I think, will be an ugly, defensive game. Will the Ravens get some revenge for last year against the Titans? How will Browns/Steelers & Rams/Seahawks Part III turn out? Will the Saints go down early in the playoffs again? Very interesting.

Something funny: The Bills Coach said they played their starters because they didn't want to somehow play the Dolphins in the Wild Card Round. However, them winning would guarantee them the #2 Seed, and Miami could only be the #7 Seed if they and the Colts both lost. lol I think he's scared of the Steelers, and he should be. Having to play the Colts, Steelers and then the Chiefs (most likely path) to get to the Super Bowl would be gnarly.

Easiest Path in my option would have to be the Bucs. Get to face the below .500 NFC East winner, then the Packers (assuming Seahawks & Saints win) which they already defeated earlier this year, and then the Saints/Seahawks (both not looking good as of late).

Most improbable path to the Super Bowl? Could you imagine if the Giants sneak in with a Redskins loss (game still in progress), and then they beat the path of Buccaneers, Packers, Saints, and then Chiefs in the Super Bowl. That would be crazier than any of their previous runs with Eli. (Not looking likely since Redskins seem to be in control of the Eagles right now.)

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jan 3rd 2021 »

Congrats Matt, well played. I'll take second, though I'm a little peeved that the Chiefs lost a game to the Chargers to decide it lol. So to be clear we are doing a new group for the playoffs? I'm assuming Matt will create it again.

Some great games for next week. Every single one of those should be a good game, especially those AFC games. I think the Saints and Bucs will win easily, but anything could happen.

Lets just keep a mental note. No use creating a whole new league.

I am sorry, but the Eagles should be forced to drop to #9 Overall in the Draft (where they would be picking if they had won) after that blatant move to lose. Going to your third stringer when Hurts has you only down a field goal? That is unacceptable. It was absolutely disgusting having to watch that when there are guys on the team trying to win one more and go out on a high note.

Well done Matt for winning the competition.

Why did Philadelphia throw that game away, they were resting their starters and they only needed a Touchdown, they would have been in good shape the following week. Tanking games for a higher draft pick is not the way to do things. Giants fans are upset.

People are already saying Tua is a bust...

Josh Allen and the Bills look like they are gong to give the Chiefs a challenge. I might even pick them.

Chase Young is just a downright menace... The guy's a monster, definately the best defesive lineman in the next couple of years, some teams are putting three guys on him.

The Eagles only would've fallen three spots in the draft. I doubt that would've changed much in the prospect they get, unless they'll be going for a QB since Wentz is done for them. No excuses for throwing the game. People got on Miami's case last year before they started winning; the NFL should have a serious talk with the Eagles about tanking on a National Broadcasted Game.

I don't think Tua is a bust, but he could easily become one if he doesn't get out of his own head. You've got to throw the dang ball and stop wussing out with the dang check down passed. That won't win games, and when fans are in stadiums, they'll be calling for your head if you keep that up.

Bills have a very tough path to the Super Bowl. Most likely Colts, Steelers, and then Chiefs. That's rough. Two extremely physical team in the Colts and Steelers, and then nothing but burners with the Chiefs. Chiefs definitely have to be the favorites, especially with having the one and only bye.

Chase Young had a heck of a season, but the Redskins front office are to credit for his success. He wouldn't have had as great of a season without Payne, Allen and Sweat, and so the same with them in regards to Young being on the field. You literally can only double one of them each play with your five lineman, meaning the other three all have one on ones to get to the QB. Like I said before the season, basically a younger model of the 49ers.

I think we all deserve a hand for bringing it this year. All of us finished above 170 Wins (67% Correct Rate). That's remarkable.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jan 4th 2021 »

Yeah, the Eagles had nothing to play for. But that was still pathetic to pull Hurts near the end of the game. If they had started Sudfield for the whole game nobody would've cared, really. And it wouldn't have been a big deal if it was a 1pm game instead of the primetime game. The reason it got flexed into that slot is that there's a rule in week 17 that states if there is a game with independent playoff implications, that game must be flexed into the primetime slot. And this game was the only game that didn't depend in some way on other games (Washington only needed to win).

I also don't have much sympathy for the Giants, who really should've won more than 6 games if they wanted to be in the playoffs. This is realistically a blessing for them as they have a draft pick I believe 8 slots better than they would have if they made the playoffs.

Good game guys. Like Warrior said, we all did very well. If we count the BAL @ PIT game that the website missed, and also the one tie game, out records were:
Me: 177-78-1
Mike: 176-79-1
Warrior: 172-83-1
Dennis: 171-84-1
I switched from LA Rams to Arizona and Philly to Washington, but in the end they cancelled each other out. That Chargers game was the difference.

I watched basically the entire 2nd half of Washington @ Philly, and you could call it a tank job or experimenting. But I would've thought you give Jalen Hurts the entire game to play, given it was primetime too. They need to know whether Hurts is a starter, not whether Sudfeld is a backup. As soon as they benched Hurts, it was a massive relief, and it meant the Washington D-line didn't have to worry about a dual-threat QB. Like Mike says, NY Giants didn't deserve playoffs with a 6-10 record. Their record outside of the division was 2-8.

Dennis, massive congratulations on Washington making playoffs! Yes a 7-9 record is bang average, but both losses to NY Giants and one to Detroit should've been wins. They could've easily finished with a 10-6 record. Unfortunately the flip side is that Washington don't get access to a top QB prospect. Washington are a QB away from being a regular playoffs team.

I find is really annoying how so many people are calling Tua a bust. I'd say about half of all NFL fans are calling Tua a bust, and about a third of Miami fans are too. Yes he has been conservative (not his fault), but he ends the season with 11TDs and 5INTs. The offensive coordinator needs to go. He doesn't trust Tua with his playcalling. Many top QBs have had poor, or even awful rookie seasons. Look at Josh Allen. In his rookie season he threw 10TDs and 12INTs, and looked like a bust for sure. Now he is arguably a top 5 QB. Also keep in mind that Miami have had tonnes of WR injuries. Tua is throwing to Parker and Gesicki, and the rest are 2nd or 3rd stringers. Also in the Buffalo game, there were apparently 11 WR drops. And Tua still threw for 361 yards.

Still, given that Miami were expected to finish with a record somewhere between 4-12 and 6-10, a 10-6 record is a massive achievement. The Cleveland coach will win it simply because they made playoffs, but Flores is my COTY. Cleveland were expected to be an outside chance of making playoffs, while Miami were expected to get a top 10 pick.

Mike - We'll probably just keep the playoffs competition here. We can make our tips within a post, and place is in a spoiler.

I'm with you on Tua, he's definitely not a bust at this point. But I'd hesitate to call him a franchise quarterback yet, either. It's pretty telling when the coach puts the backup in at the end of games to make big plays. He's just not trusted with those plays yet. I think he'll get there. He's safe with the ball and accurate. My concern for him is that he'll top out as a Teddy Bridgewater or Alex Smith on the 49ers type QB. The type of guy that won't lose you games but won't win you them often either.

Too early to tell either way.

Exactly. Will he stall at Bridgewater or Smith level because of his fear to throw into tight windows? Or will he ascend to Wilson or Brees caliber like most analysts thought his potential could be? Only time will tell. Some people are just too quick to react. I get it, Burrow looked good with his weapons at times and Herbert absolutely stole the show with those receivers in Los Angeles, so Tua doesn't look so good (especially how things turned out in the final two games, not to mention that Broncos loss). But you can't give up on a guy that quickly, not with his potential, even more so after only being a year out from a severe hip injury. It has got to be about the long run, which Flores has expressed from when he was first hired.

At this point, I'm most interested about where some of these QBs will be next year. Will the Eagles try to restore things with Wentz, or move forward with Hurts or a draftee? And if Wentz is out, will the Colts snatch him up, like most presume, to pair him with that ex Eagles Coach? And what about Dak? Will he finally get paid from the Cowboys, or will they franchise tag him or risk losing him in free agency? Will the Raiders stick with Carr? Will the Broncos continue with Lock? Will anyone give Beathard a shot after almost leading the 49ers to two wins over playoffs teams with the most decimated roster in the league? Will anyone shot the world on draft night and draft a QB when they already have one (ie the Vikings)? Can't. Wait.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jan 5th 2021 »