2024 NFL Discussion

[ClownLurch]

When the NFL was first shown over here in Channel 4s start up days in the early 80s (we only had 3 channels prior) most had to pick their team rapidly.
Super Bowl highlight snatches had often been shown in 70s on sat afternoon sports tv shows as filler if an event was cancelled, cameras broke down etc so a few were already betrothed.
Starting from a position of no knowledge whatsoever I opted for The Lions due to being big Elmore Leonard, Tamla Motown, Iggy Pop and Alice Cooper fan. No wonder I drifted away from the game before the 90s.
However I liked to watch Denver due to John Elway being just about the most exciting player around back then and his dragging of them into four super bowls was a heroic feat in itself.
I also saw the first pre season game at Wembley Stadium, London between The Cowboys and The Bears in 1985. The Cowgirls being the most impressive thing on display as the big name players were obviously taking it easy. The second half was better as the newbies, trialists etc were let loose by both teams to scrap for a job.

However Ive kept faith with The Lions ever since despite knowing next to nothing of their personnel both on and offfield. I think this may be the biggest year in their history with Kansas being the only team clearly better than them according to the experts.
There’s a bloke from Seattle gets in our local pub and he chats NFL with anyone willing and he’s been upbeat about The Lions chances these last two seasons. He’s even more positive about them for this coming season.
Fingers crossed. Rooooaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr etc

 

[Ceez]

I just hope that Nick Chubb is able to start the season for the Browns. He could easily be said to be the main player on offense. Right now he is still listed as PUP (Physically Unable to Perform). At least he is back on the active roster and, being declared as PUP, there is no mandatory time he has to stay out. He just needs to pass a physical.

I'm interested to see Chubb and how he comes back this year. Running backs careers usually end suddenly. I mean that their production can go from a career average of 4.2 per carry to 2.3 over night, one season to the next. Chubb is one of the better backs in the league but injuries like he sustained can be career altering. Lose that initial quick burst on your 1st step or the ability to cut as hard as they did before can completely tank their career.

That being said he is one of the hardest working backs in the league and has always been in the best shape. He squats more than any other back in the league and blows his teammates away with his weight room workouts from the stories I've listened to. High character guy too, something that can't be said about your QB LOL!

I'm not sure Watson will ever be what he was on the Texans. After acting like an ass with the Texans and missing all of the 2021 season and than another 11 games of the 2022 season, the suspension for "sexual misconduct" (if that's what you want to call it..22 lawsuits filed by different women isn't coincidence imo, Bill Cobsy-esque) had at that point kept him out of football for almost 2 seasons. He's looked awful in his return, imo it's karma but alas I digress. In 6 starts he threw for 7 TDs and 4 picks for 1115 yards before getting hurt and looked absolutely nothing like Watson on the Texans. If it's "ring rust" we should see this year but I've seen players in the past lose a full season and come back only to be out if the NFL shortly after, Leveon Bell is a prime example among many others. I'll admit comparing a QB to a RB isn't ideal but it's just an example. His contract is also atrocious..

Outside of that Garret Miles and the rest of that defense is top notch. If Chubb comes back and is 70% of what he was, that defense continues to do what it did last year and Watson can just manage the position Cleveland has a real shot at the AFC championship and maybe getting to the SB.

I won't bet against Black Jesus though, the Chiefs are the new Patriots. Mahomes is the greatest talent I've ever witnessed play the position. And to think my team drafted mitch trabisky with the number 2 pick where Mahomes was selected 10th overall and Lamar Jackson was drafted 32nd...the Bears as an organization are absolutely awful. She needs to sell the team. Not sold on Caleb Williams either. I would have traded down with Washington and gotten a litany of picks and grabbed Jayden Daniel's at the 2 instead of Williams.

On another note, I hate the Chargers but I'm excited to see what Harbaugh can accomplish with them. He's eccentric and makes me laugh and I also love the way he coaches and his players love him. He was very successful in San Fran during his time there. I think everyone's overlooking the Chargers this year

 

[jaylach]

It's an interesting reaction I didn't expect. I come from hockey world, and know that game really well. Where I live, there are a few NFL fanatics, and NFL gambling fanatics. In the High School, maybe 10% of the kids cared about American football, so I picked my rebuilding team of the year and claimed to love it, so I could talk with them but not have to be bothered learning useless to me info. If they asked about the Chiefs and I said I loved the whatevers, I was in the conversation. I had a foot in the door. I wasn't rejecting their passion for a game.

I find many adults similar. I go to a social gathering and am asked about an NFL team. If I say I don't like the game, I'm a snob. If I say I like the woeful whatevers, I'm a sad case not worth discussing with, but at least a fan. Sometimes, it leads to funny conversations. I can only name about 3 or 4 NFL players, but I can skate out of a serious talk.

If we had a hockey thread, I'd get banned, because there, we're talking religion!

A lot of people have a lot of themselves tied up in team loyalties. It's a lot of how they identify themselves, and they get genuinely hostile and see not liking their team as insulting. It's part of them. If you like their rival, they can get weird. But if you like the punching bag team with zero hope, hey, everyone can talk to a harmless fool.

Ah, I think I understand better as to what you are saying now. Seems sort of like when I watch a game, NFL or college, that means nothing to me I always tend to pull for the underdog.

I'm interested to see Chubb and how he comes back this year. Running backs careers usually end suddenly. I mean that their production can go from a career average of 4.2 per carry to 2.3 over night, one season to the next. Chubb is one of the better backs in the league but injuries like he sustained can be career altering. Lose that initial quick burst on your 1st step or the ability to cut as hard as they did before can completely tank their career.

That being said he is one of the hardest working backs in the league and has always been in the best shape. He squats more than any other back in the league and blows his teammates away with his weight room workouts from the stories I've listened to. High character guy too, something that can't be said about your QB LOL!

I'm not sure Watson will ever be what he was on the Texans. After acting like an ass with the Texans and missing all of the 2021 season and than another 11 games of the 2022 season, the suspension for "sexual misconduct" (if that's what you want to call it..22 lawsuits filed by different women isn't coincidence imo, Bill Cobsy-esque) had at that point kept him out of football for almost 2 seasons. He's looked awful in his return, imo it's karma but alas I digress. In 6 starts he threw for 7 TDs and 4 picks for 1115 yards before getting hurt and looked absolutely nothing like Watson on the Texans. If it's "ring rust" we should see this year but I've seen players in the past lose a full season and come back only to be out if the NFL shortly after, Leveon Bell is a prime example among many others. I'll admit comparing a QB to a RB isn't ideal but it's just an example. His contract is also atrocious..

Outside of that Garret Miles and the rest of that defense is top notch. If Chubb comes back and is 70% of what he was, that defense continues to do what it did last year and Watson can just manage the position Cleveland has a real shot at the AFC championship and maybe getting to the SB.

I won't bet against Black Jesus though, the Chiefs are the new Patriots. Mahomes is the greatest talent I've ever witnessed play the position. And to think my team drafted mitch trabisky with the number 2 pick where Mahomes was selected 10th overall and Lamar Jackson was drafted 32nd...the Bears as an organization are absolutely awful. She needs to sell the team. Not sold on Caleb Williams either. I would have traded down with Washington and gotten a litany of picks and grabbed Jayden Daniel's at the 2 instead of Williams.

On another note, I hate the Chargers but I'm excited to see what Harbaugh can accomplish with them. He's eccentric and makes me laugh and I also love the way he coaches and his players love him. He was very successful in San Fran during his time there. I think everyone's overlooking the Chargers this year

The last I read Chubb will miss at least the first four games. I am also not a Watson fan at all. Personally I wish they would start DTR (Robinson) but they seem to insist on trying to make the Watson investment pay off. I was against it when they got him...

 

[Back in the fold]

I’d hate to have to ban a moderator for trolling. JK

I’d love to see the mods going fisticuffs . There hasn’t been any real excitement around here since Colin went back to Mars .

 

[jaylach]

Can't blame everything on Watson as to the Cleveland's loss to Dallas but he was a big factor. PLEASE give me Robertson as the starting QB!

 

[Fishmanic]

Great game starting now on Sunday Night football. Lions vs Rams. They played each other in playoff last year...Lions won. Two good teams will make for an interesting game to watch. Lions are favored by 5 points.

 

[Ceez]

Can't blame everything on Watson as to the Cleveland's loss to Dallas but he was a big factor. PLEASE give me Robertson as the starting QB!

Hes the catalyst. Not worth the money he was gifted. Than again, neither is Prescot.

Speaking of QBs, Williams looked awful today. Most of it wasn't his fault imo. They didn't give him anything easy like running play action or bootlegs to get him outside the pocket. They gave him a complete 100% pro style offense (a ton under center) that a QB with 6-7 years experience would get. They need to dumb down the playbook for the first 4-6 games and let him slowly integrate. Everything looked awful on the offensive side of the ball. Still not sold on him as the number 1 pick either. I think he was the 3rd or 4th QB in the draft behind Daniel's, Penix and possibly McCarthy

 

[Fishmanic]

The Pats won but I think mainly their defense saved them. Brissett did not really have that great a game. I mean, 121 passing yards is pretty dismal.

 

[Fishmanic]

Lions/Rams game went into overtime.
Lions won coin toss and scored a touchdown to win!
Overtime rules in my opinion are not fair. The team that wins the coin toss gets first possession. If they score a touchdown they win. The other team does not get a possession at all. Not fair.

 

[Ceez]

Lions/Rams game went into overtime.
Lions won coin toss and scored a touchdown to win!
Overtime rules in my opinion are not fair. The team that wins the coin toss gets first possession. If they score a touchdown they win. The other team does not get a possession at all. Not fair.

I thought they had changed this a few years ago but I guess I was wrong. It isn't fair since both teams had 4 quarters to reach a tie at the end of it and the outcome can be decided by a coin toss/luck not by skill

 

[Fishmanic]

The overtimes rules in the playoffs are much fairer as both teams are allowed at least one possession and they play till the tie is broken.

 

[jaylach]

I agree that the OT rules need changed. As it currently is if the team with the ball first scores a field-goal the other team DOES get to have the ball but if the first team scores a TD it is game over. It is also game over if the team first on defense scores a safety. In my opinion they should play an entire quarter regardless of scoring like it is in basketball.

 

[Fishmanic]

They only play for 10 minutes for regular season OT. if no team scores, the game ends in a tie.

 

[jaylach]

They only play for 10 minutes for regular season OT. if no team scores, the game ends in a tie.

That doesn't really bother me as I don't mind a game finishing in a tie but the scoring opportunities should be the same for both teams. I DO think it should be a full quarter instead of 10 minutes...

 

[jaylach]

What a weird game between my Browns and the Jags! Browns won 18-13 but it should have by much more. Browns defense was pretty much as good as is expected. Shoot, in the first half, they only gave up 16 net yards. Last week in a loss the defense only gave up a total of ~260 yards against Dallas.

The Browns are just killing themselves with stupid mistakes! For instance the Browns scored and kicked off. The ball was fumbled by the Jags and the Browns recovered but it didn't count as the kicker was beyond the 50 yard line before the ball was touched; no play and another penalty against the Browns. Come on dude! On a return you are the last resort so why are you running downfield like you are going to bust apart the return?

And then the Browns got a safety to go up by 5 at the end of the game and the Jags declared that they were gong to do an onside kick... I can't say that I like the kickoff rule changes but since when can you attempt an onside kick on the free kick after a safety? Browns recovered the kick but this just seems wrong. I don't think that I like these kicking changes at all but a win is a win...