2015 NFL thread

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**whembly**

Breotan wrote:
whembly wrote:

St. Louis fans are talking about (kiddingly of course) to load up the vans and head to foxboros to get "our" 2002 SB trophy back.

Send them by Pittsburgh and have them get the SB XL rings they stole from the Seahawks while they're at it.

Did the Pats somehow know the Seachickens were going to throw the ball at the end of the game?

**Alpharius**

Yes - but ONLY because that was an obvious, if inexplicable, pick play.

Right?

**Ghazkuul**

Alpharius wrote:
Yes - but ONLY because that was an obvious, if inexplicable, pick play.

Right?

"those whaskawhy wabbits think ize gonna use the best rusher in the weague to got this 1 yrd for a touchdown, hurr hurr hurr, Ize gonnsta throws it and be twicky."

And then the patriots win the super bowl due to massive idiocy on behalf of the seachickens.

**Ensis Ferrae**

whembly wrote:

Did the Pats somehow know the Seachickens were going to throw the ball at the end of the game?

Wrong SB mate....

And the record should reflect that we passed that ball, in order to ensure that we didn't take the 49th Lombardi home to Seattle.... Such is our disdain for the club from San Fran.

**gorgon**

Breotan wrote:
whembly wrote:

St. Louis fans are talking about (kiddingly of course) to load up the vans and head to foxboros to get "our" 2002 SB trophy back.

Send them by Pittsburgh and have them get the SB XL rings they stole from the Seahawks while they're at it.

Fine, I'll field that. For starters, bad reffing is a different thing from cheating.

And 75-yard rushing TDs, INTs in the red zone, umpteen dropped passes by a TE, etc. have nothing to do with either.

And let's be real -- your 2005 squad was nice, but nothing more than that. It simply managed to negotiate an extremely weak NFC. Even if you gave the Seahawks back a few calls, they probably still would have come up a little short, even though the Steelers played their worst game of the playoffs by far, and Roethlisberger looked like a nervous little kid in the worst performance of his entire career. Both of your recent Seahawks squads would MURDER your 2005 squad.

Sometimes you have to let it go and realize your team lost to a better team. The 1995 and 2010 Steelers squads weren't better than the teams they faced, and they lost. Similarly, I'm not going to claim that the 2001 and 2004 Steelers squads would have won SBs absent the Pats' cheating. They would have had plenty of trouble with a loaded Rams team, and even though they crushed the Eagles earlier in 2004, the Eagles had an excellent team that clearly came ready to fight in that SB (at least until McNabb started puking in the huddle). They may very well have lost both SBs anyway.

**Alpharius**

gorgon wrote:

Sometimes you have to let it go and realize your team lost to a better team.

Agreed!

Without the games to distract from the issues, fans had more time to ponder the NFL's discipline policies, its commissioner and its overall credibility during an uncomfortable offseason.

Yes, the draft, the scouting combine and training camp were all designed to keep the league in the headlines long after the footballs stopped flying last February. But since the Patriots beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, those headlines have also been filled with news about scandals ranging from trivial ("Deflategate") to life-or-death (concussions and domestic abuse).

For those who only checked back in when their fantasy draft took place last week, here's a quick rundown of where things stand with kickoff now less than 48 hours away. (Not in order of importance):

DEFLATEGATE: Last week, Tom Brady and the Patriots got a favorable ruling from a New York judge, meaning the quarterback will be available when New England hosts Pittsburgh in the league's opener Thursday night. The NFL has appealed the ruling — hoping another court will uphold Commissioner Roger Goodell's four-game suspension of the quarterback for a plot to deflate footballs before last season's AFC title game. The league claims it is appealing "to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game." Something to watch: What will the NFL do if an appeals court reinstates the suspension in, say, November, when the playoff chase is in full force?

RAY RICE: As has been the case since last November, the running back is eligible to play and available, after a judge overturned his season-long suspension following his arrest for punching his fiancée on an Atlantic City casino elevator. There are a few teams in need of a veteran runner: Cleveland and Dallas come to mind. The NFL has always been a place of second chances, but not so much for a 28-year-old running back who was thought to be on the downside of his career before his suspension.

ADRIAN PETERSON: He is back with the Vikings after an offseason in which he wasn't initially eager to return, saying he felt a lack of support from the team and the state. The 30-year-old running back missed all but one game last year because of a child-abuse case and has been assured he'll make the $13 million he's owed this season even if he gets hurt. Peterson pleaded no contest last year to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son. Earlier this summer, a Texas judge reduced his probation from two years to nine months already served.

GREG HARDY: The linebacker missed all but one game with the Panthers last season after being convicted of domestic violence. The conviction was thrown out on appeal when his accuser failed to show up to testify. The Cowboys signed Hardy in March. A month later, Goodell suspended him for 10 games, but that penalty was reduced to four games by an arbitrator.

RAY McDONALD: Last week, the former 49ers defensive lineman was indicted on one count of raping an intoxicated person. He'll be arraigned Sept. 25 and faces up to eight years in prison. In March, the Chicago Bears signed McDonald to a one-year contract, but they released him two months later after his arrest in a separate case — for allegedly breaking down a bedroom door to get to his former fiancée and their infant.

RICHIE INCOGNITO: The former Miami Dolphins guard sat out 15 months after being suspended as the primary offender in the bullying complaint made by Jonathan Martin. Incognito went unsigned last season, but is slated to start for the Buffalo Bills. Martin, 26, played for the 49ers last year, signed with the Panthers for this season, but then retied during training camp.

CONCUSSIONS: Not so much a scandal, as a widening crisis. Payouts on the potential $1 billion concussion settlement between the league and former players are being delayed while as many as a dozen appeals are being heard. Other lawsuits from several former Chiefs and St. Louis Rams, including Neil Smith and Roy Green, are pending in Missouri, where it's possible team officials could have to testify about whether they hid the risk of repeated head injuries. How game officials handle head-to-head contact and return-to-play issues for players who may have suffered concussions will stay under the microscope. And then, there is the movie "Concussion," due out at Christmas.

**kronk**

Alpharius wrote:
I don't want all the hilarious comments from delusional Steelers, Colts, Rams and Eagles fans to get lost among all the injury updates and RB2/WR3 talk!

December 13, fether!

Go Texans!

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ensis Ferrae wrote:
whembly wrote:

Did the Pats somehow know the Seachickens were going to throw the ball at the end of the game?

Wrong SB mate....

And the record should reflect that we passed that ball, in order to ensure that we didn't take the 49th Lombardi home to Seattle.... Such is our disdain for the club from San Fran.

Well played sir. I'd find a golf clap .gif, but feth the seahawks.

Go Texans!

Automatically Appended Next Post:

CONCUSSIONS: Not so much a scandal, as a widening crisis. Payouts on the potential $1 billion concussion settlement between the league and former players are being delayed while as many as a dozen appeals are being heard. Other lawsuits from several former Chiefs and St. Louis Rams, including Neil Smith and Roy Green, are pending in Missouri, where it's possible team officials could have to testify about whether they hid the risk of repeated head injuries. How game officials handle head-to-head contact and return-to-play issues for players who may have suffered concussions will stay under the microscope. And then, there is the movie "Concussion," due out at Christmas.

The NFL is "Too Big to Fail", but this is a huge black eye for the league, and will cost them much more than 1 billion dollars when all is said and done.

Do the right thing. Pay the money to the retired players and their families that made the league what it is while getting paid jack gak. Teach kids to tackle properly. Continue to fine/suspend players that tackle with the head or target the head. Don't be a dick.

**Ensis Ferrae**

kronk wrote:

Do the right thing. Pay the money to the retired players and their families that made the league what it is while getting paid jack gak. Teach kids to tackle properly. Continue to fine/suspend players that tackle with the head or target the head. Don't be a dick.

This.

Also, I know I'm fairly heavily biased, but I can only hope that with more and more teams that play high level football turn to Rugby for guidance on proper tackling techniques, that Rugby grows even more in the US. It could very well be a big win-win for both football and the US Eagles national team

**Ghazkuul**

Patriots beat the Stealers and within hours they are complaining that the Patriots cheated...wow.

**Alpharius**

Well, keep in mind that the NFL controls those headsets and had this to say about it:

NFL vice president of football communications Michael Signora released a statement explaining that communications equipment falls under the jurisdiction of the league, and that the headset issues were a function of a power issue at the stadium that the league fixed during the game.

“In the first quarter of tonight’s game, the Pittsburgh coaches experienced interference in their headsets caused by a stadium power infrastructure issue, which was exacerbated by the inclement weather,” Signora said in the statement. “The coaches’ communications equipment, including the headsets, is provided by the NFL for both clubs use on game day. Once the power issue was addressed, the equipment functioned properly with no additional issues.”

Given all that's happened lately, you'd hope the League was on top of such things.

Also, the Steelers players themselves realized that ultimately, they got outplayed:

Inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who handles the defensive calls from coaches, said the calls were not smooth Thursday night, but "with no-huddle [offense], that's always going to be a problem."

"I'm not going there [about New England's past]," Timmons said. "I feel like we should have played better. If we would have executed better, I think we would have had a better outcome."

Or, to put it another way:

gorgon wrote:

Sometimes you have to let it go and realize your team lost to a better team.

The Steelers didn't seem to have an answer for Gronkowski. Or Edelman. Or the no-huddle. Or...

However, the Patriots also appear to be back into that frustrating to watch 'bend but don't break' defense. And their run defense looked suspect.

Still, off to a good start though!

**Ghazkuul**

I was talking about the movement on the defensive line. Several steelers thought the pats were cheating by doing that.

**Alpharius**

That's really not even worth talking about as it is 100% legal - provided there's no 'neutral zone infractions'/contact, of course!

EDIT:

This is great!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/ben-roethlisberger--steelers--upset--about-patriots--defensive-formations-125657675.html

In the immediate aftermath of the false start penalty, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger could be seen vehemently arguing the call with officials. Here's what he told reporters in the game's aftermath.

“In my years of playing, a defensive guy can’t bark stuff or move in the middle of a cadence. The ref said, 'We didn’t go in the neutral zone,' and I agree with him. I wasn’t arguing that part. I was arguing the fact that he shifted in the middle of a cadence, and I thought that there was a rule against it. Maybe there’s not — maybe it’s an unwritten rule — I don’t really know.

"So, that’s what I was more upset about. They do that. We saw it on film that the Patriots do that. They shift and slide and do stuff on the goal line, knowing that it’s an itchy trigger-finger-type down.”

As it turns out, there's no rule against disrupting a team's cadence with a defensive line shift, so long as it doesn't involve "words or signals." To recap, the Steelers knew the Patriots used this tactic from watching film, committed a false start penalty on the sequence anyhow, and then complained about it afterwards.

Pittsburgh's sour grapes are awful similar to the Baltimore Ravens' complaints about New England's ineligible receiver formations during the playoffs this past January — a legal play at the time that the NFL later disallowed during the offseason. As was the case then, it's probably best for folks not to cry foul on plays that are allowable under NFL rules, if only because it makes the other team seem better prepared.

**Ghazkuul**

Alpharius wrote:
That's really not even worth talking about as it is 100% legal - provided there's no 'neutral zone infractions'/contact, of course!

exactly, but they are still complaining lol

**gorgon**

Because comprehension seems limited among a fanbase that thinks football began in 2001, Roethlisberger wasn't saying that the Pats were CHEATING. He thought it might be a PENALTY. And in fact there are some kinds of movement you can't make to induce a false start. What the Pats were doing with their "shifts" wasn't illegal, but it was gamesmanship.

The headsets...well, that was what it was. It's something that happens a lot at Gillette and is fairly rare in other stadiums. Sure, it walks and quacks like a duck, but what can you do? Obviously the Pats want to rub the rest of the NFL's noses in it, and as a result things will probably get worse for them before they get better. That's their call. It had little to do with the outcome, either way.

Actually, I expected something along the lines of 49-14 given the major growing pains the Steelers' defense showed during the preseason. On offense DeAngelo Williams played great filling in, although he wasn't the threat in the passing game that Bell is. It's when they have all three killer Bs that the offense really hums -- Bryant running the deep stuff, Brown running all those intermediate routes, and Bell killing you underneath.

So yes...the Pats' defense is a cause for concern considering the Steelers racked up a ton of yards without two key weapons. But it's only game 1.

**Alpharius**

No.

The article is fairly clear - Roethlisberger was WRONG and it seems odd to complain about something being against the rules that...isn't against the rules.

It just makes your team look unprepared.

Either way, both teams have lots to improve upon and both teams will definitely be in the AFC championship mix.

**Chute82**

Steelers headsets playing the pats radio play by play broadcast. Spy gate, deflation gate,and now radio gate...
Green Bay pre season complained about radio problems at pats stadium .

**gorgon**

Alpharius wrote:
No.

The article is fairly clear - Roethlisberger was WRONG and it seems odd to complain about something being against the rules that...isn't against the rules.

It just makes your team look unprepared.

I think you need to re-read the last sentence of my first paragraph. It's accurate. Those "shifts" were attempts to induce false starts, not defensive adjustments. Gamesmanship.

**Alpharius**

Wow.

That's....

OK.

At this point the Steelers should let it go and realize they lost to a better team.

**helgrenze**

While the headsets are the jurisdiction of the NFL, the "power problem" was a stadium issue. The NFL doesn't own the stadium, nor control the "infrastructure".
Any competent electrician could fix what is alleged to be a "Known issue". They could also cause said issues.
Especially since the problem "was exacerbated by the inclement weather".

Given the location of the stadium, one would have to wonder why this "issue" with the "infrastructure" and "weather" is still an issue.

**Alpharius**

And yet now we're hearing that "headset issues" are in fact quite common...

...around the entire league.

http://larrybrownsports.com/football/brian-billick-pizza-delivery-guy-headset/273442

This one's real interesting too:

http://larrybrownsports.com/football/mark-sanchez-headset-problems-pittsburgh-2011/273429

Now clearly the Patriots brought this on themselves with Spygate, but it might be time to pump the brakes on this one.

What happened here is that the Steelers were out-played.

They lost to better team.

Of course on any given ~~Sunday~~ Thursday, any team can certainly beat another - but also for the last 14 years or so, the Partiots have been pretty good against everyone - and especially against the Steelers (8 wins, 3 losses).

So...yeah.

**Chancetragedy**

Man this years NFL thread sucks so far. I'd most assuredly rather talk fantasy and how much the jets are gonna suck this year than the crap that's going on in here.

Whembly any word from the Rams on Gurleys status? I know he's out this week but do they seem optimistic? He was the guy I had slated as the next CJ2K or AP.

**Ghazkuul**

"Did you see the bird that flew onto the field during the 2nd half of the patriots game? It clearly distracted the stealers defense which let the pats score, I bet you those sneaky patriots trained that bird to fly like that!"

Please keep the conspiracy theories going people, it makes me laugh

**helgrenze**

The Brady suspension was all so Ensis wouldn't play him this week in FFL.
That Soundwave will do anything to gain an advantage.

**Alpharius**

Whatever it takes!

Anyway...I keep hearing the NFC is 'wide open', but aren't the Seahwaks still by far the team to beat still?

**whembly**

Chancetragedy wrote:

Whembly any word from the Rams on Gurleys status? I know he's out this week but do they seem optimistic? He was the guy I had slated as the next CJ2K or AP.

He won't play this week... and maybe not next week either.

But, the kids been very impressive and that'd be the best draft in a long time if he truly does become the next CJ2k/AP.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Alpharius wrote:
Whatever it takes!

Anyway...I keep hearing the NFC is 'wide open', but aren't the Seahwaks still by far the team to beat still?

Not really...

I'd say Green Bay is numero uno in the NFC.

**Chancetragedy**

Yah the Seahawks always seem like they are on the verge of falling off a cliff. If Kam holds out for a while it could get rough for them. Or they could just continue to dominate like they have and keep the train a Rollin. It will be interesting to see.

My AFC picks are
Patriots
Steelers
Broncos
Colts
Chargers(WC)
Dolphins(WC)

NFC
Cowboys
Packers
Seahawks
Panthers
Eagles(WC)
Bucs(WC)

**Ensis Ferrae**

helgrenze wrote:
The Brady suspension was all so Ensis wouldn't play him this week in FFL.
That Soundwave will do anything to gain an advantage.

Lol, I honestly wasn't paying that much attention to my bench... apparently I got saddled with Romo as the first QB I drafted, so he was auto-started. For as bad as he chokes, he does have a tendency over the past few years to do fairly well in fantasy scoring... Guess I can hope for that.

In the only other league I do, I had Gronk playin, and the Pats kicker, so that gave be a bit of a jump on the weekend.

**Hlaine Larkin mk2**

Chancetragedy wrote:
Yah the Seahawks always seem like they are on the verge of falling off a cliff. If Kam holds out for a while it could get rough for them. Or they could just continue to dominate like they have and keep the train a Rollin. It will be interesting to see.

My AFC picks are
Patriots
Steelers
Broncos
Colts
Chargers(WC)
Dolphins(WC)

NFC
Cowboys
Packers
Seahawks
Panthers
Eagles(WC)
Bucs(WC)

Can't see Tampa rebounding straight to the playoffs this year, Minnesota, Detroit, Cards and the Giants are all better teams pushing for a WC berth

**Chancetragedy**

I know the bucs prob won't make the playoffs, but I always include one WTF?!? Team making the playoffs cause it always seems to happen. And I'm an FSU guy so I'd like to see ol' crablegs do something haha.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also I know it's not the NFL, but I miss Jim Harbaugh and his rediculous blow ups already. Just watching the Michigan game laughing my ass off at the Harbaugh antics.

**kronk**

Chancetragedy wrote:
Yah the Seahawks always seem like they are on the verge of falling off a cliff. If Kam holds out for a while it could get rough for them. Or they could just continue to dominate like they have and keep the train a Rollin. It will be interesting to see.

My AFC picks are
Patriots
Steelers
Broncos
Colts
Chargers(WC)
Dolphins(WC)

NFC
Cowboys
Packers
Seahawks
Panthers
Eagles(WC)
Bucs(WC)

You misspelled Texans!