NFL Thread 2013-14

kikks said:
I think they rate him as a very good #2 receiver, but not good enough to warrant #1 status. Nicks is their #1 in my opinion, if he can stay on the field.
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Yeah, but Cruz has a higher ceiling of potential. He's only going to get better this year too.
 
kikks said:
I think they rate him as a very good #2 receiver, but not good enough to warrant #1 status. Nicks is their #1 in my opinion, if he can stay on the field.
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They have been having problems with Nicks with on and off field issues. Like you said he has big injury problems and misses training camp now and then. I said Cruz is #1 because Nicks was barely on the field last season. So if he was bad last season, he is going to be worse this season unless they operated on his knees this offseason. Plus how many times did Manning to Cruz when it was 3rd down and something last season. Almost every time.
 
Pouncey brothers... what. the. feck.

Side note: who is the fecktard with the brothers?

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...ar-free-hernandez-hats-club-article-1.1398466

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Crackers said:
Yeah, but Cruz has a higher ceiling of potential. He's only going to get better this year too.
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Don't know if I agree on that, unless you think that the injuries have ruined the Nicks from their last superbowl run! I think Nicks will command more double teams and he's better at high-pointing the football than Cruz is. Cruz is a fecking fantastic wide receiver though, but I don't think he'll ever be the outside receiver that Nicks is/can be. I wonder though, if Nicks still has the speed to create seperation after all his injuries. I guess we'll find out :)


RDCR07 said:
They have been having problems with Nicks with on and off field issues. Like you said he has big injury problems and misses training camp now and then. I said Cruz is #1 because Nicks was barely on the field last season. So if he was bad last season, he is going to be worse this season unless they operated on his knees this offseason. Plus how many times did Manning to Cruz when it was 3rd down and something last season. Almost every time.
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Yeah, I'm not saying Cruz is bad. He is one of the best slot guys in the league! But I feel like a #1 should be able to go outside, command double teams and high-point the ball. I might be biased here from not watching enough Giants games though (although I watched most - Gamepass is awesome). Am I wrong in saying that Cruz is less good at these things than Nicks? Am I too rigid in my definition of a #1?
 
MrMarcello said:
Eagles suffer a huge loss after Maclin tore his ACL.
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Indeed. Seattle also put expensive wide-receiver Percy Harvin on the PUP list because of some hip injury, he might even need surgery which could potentially rule him out for half the season or something.
 
There's a fair few players picking up injuries in practice.

I can't wait to see how the sophomore QBs perform. I think Luck and Wilson will perform the best. I don't think RG3 will last the season.
 
ha_rooney said:
There's a fair few players picking up injuries in practice.

I can't wait to see how the sophomore QBs perform. I think Luck and Wilson will perform the best. I don't think RG3 will last the season.
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In what sense?
 
He's a smart guy, I suspect he'll be more frugal with his forays this year.
 
RG3 will be interesting to watch this season. Last season, Kyle Shanahan (I think that's his name) simplified the reads for RG3 and made use of his stupid athleticism really well, but since he's already got a history of injuries, they are going to need to restrict his running ability substantially and maybe run a more traditional style offense. Not sure how that's going to work considering he's still coming from an injury, but it'll be good to see.

Luck is a great QB who will put up loads of fantasy numbers because his team isn't as good as the others.

Wilson will be generally the same as last year: highly efficient and clutch when he needs to be. The team around him is very good, but he still needs to make plays.

I haven't seen much of Kaepernick other than the two times where defenses raped him (at Seattle and the Superbowl), so I can't really say. I also think he's a bit of a prick, but one can't argue with the kind of production he was putting up on the tail-end of the season and the playoffs. He'll be fine.

One player that's being ignored in all of this is Cam Newton. He's also a prick, but a very good football player on what looks like a very good team too. Him and Carolina could get far this year.

Who has the 'best' year really depends on which team you support, for me that's Seattle so obviously Russell Wilson. :drool:
 
They're lucky enough with RGIII, in that if they want to restrict the athletics, he's not exactly awful at throwing the ball either, certainly not a one trick pony.

Couldn't say too much about Wilson or Luck, though if Indy build the team well, Luck could drive them deep into the playoffs over and over again.

Kaepernick, gotta love how well he times his runs. Of course, with a team like the 49ers, there's a lot of talent taking up defensive attention to give him room.

Hard to guess what's going on with Newton and Carolina, they have that habbit of unexpected results, both good and bad. Bit of consistency and they could be dangerous.
 
Schefter tweeting that the NFL have changed the Pro Bowl to a 'fantasy like draft' instead of the usual AFC v NFC game. Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders will be the 2 captains and there won't be any kickoffs. I don't think this changes much, it will remain a boring, no-real-contact game which I, and many others, will still watch.

On an unrelated note to football, I'm disappointed ESPN America is closing tonight. No more PTI :(
 
That new Pro Bowl system does sound fun though!

ESPN America gone, is that to do with BT Sport and such? I watch that channel a fair bit. :(

EDIT: Does this mean no NCAA coverage anymore?
 
Earthquake said:
That new Pro Bowl system does sound fun though!

ESPN America gone, is that to do with BT Sport and such? I watch that channel a fair bit. :(

EDIT: Does this mean no NCAA coverage anymore?
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I assume the NCAA stuff will be kept on the ESPN branded channel, at least that's where they'll show the MLB games.

It is possible they may not show the same extent of US sports on the 'new' ESPN channel as they did on the dedicated America channel.
 
ha_rooney said:
Schefter tweeting that the NFL have changed the Pro Bowl to a 'fantasy like draft' instead of the usual AFC v NFC game. Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders will be the 2 captains and there won't be any kickoffs. I don't think this changes much, it will remain a boring, no-real-contact game which I, and many others, will still watch.

On an unrelated note to football, I'm disappointed ESPN America is closing tonight. No more PTI :(
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You can download the PTI podcast instead if you need your fix.
 
Earthquake said:
That new Pro Bowl system does sound fun though!

ESPN America gone, is that to do with BT Sport and such? I watch that channel a fair bit. :(

EDIT: Does this mean no NCAA coverage anymore?
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No clue.

Went to watch the Pittsburgh MLB game last night and was getting some message about there being a technical problem. Channels gone now.

Looking at it, it seems the MLB games will be broadcasted as normal on ESPN. No clue what's gonna happen with college football amongst loads of the other stuff they aired on America. Classic is also gone. BT are cnuts if we're going to have loads of stuff taken away.
 
So what do people say, is Johnny Manziel the next Michael Vick (quality wise!) or the next Tebow? My gut tells me the latter..
 
Never seen Manziel play, but I'm very much enjoying the circus he is bringing with him. Hopefully he makes to the NFL.
 
forevrared said:
Riley Cooper and Luis Suarez would be great friends.
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Riley apologized and the Eagles while not suspending or cutting him have condemned him - Suarez meanwhile remained unrepentant and his organization actually tried to attack the victim.

I don't think Riley Cooper is a racist, but I do think he is a horrible drunk.
 
He's going to draw so many hit on a defenseless receiver flags this year. It should be interesting to watch.
 
It'll be ugly for a few weeks but then it'll die down. It should.

Think Whitlock gets it right here

Let's all learn from Cooper's gaffe
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Jason Whitlock

UPDATED AUG 2, 2013 2:31 AM ET

We, the media, will blow this Riley Cooper teachable moment. It’s what we do when it comes to race. We look for good guys and bad guys, villains and heroes. We choose the politically correct path rather than the road to understanding.

Riley Cooper, a receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, did and said something very, very stupid and disgusting. Drunk and partying in a sea of whiteness, Cooper apparently lashed out at a black security guard and threatened to "fight every n****r here".

A cellphone camera captured Cooper’s ignorance. It took a month, but the blogosphere unearthed the video and broadcast it to the world. The Eagles reacted responsibly, fining Cooper and forcing him to confront his mistake publicly with the media and privately with his teammates.

Watch what he said. Warning: Language is universally considered to be offensive . . .



I don’t expect the media to respond as responsibly. Too many of us will think the solution is for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend Riley Cooper. Too many of us will think Riley Cooper in no way reflects on all of us.

Well, I’ve been young, drunk, filled with athletic testosterone and partying in a sea of blackness. I’m glad there were no cellphone cameras then. I’ve been middle-aged, drunk, filled with non-athletic cholesterol and partying in a sea of blackness. I’m glad no one recorded the foolish thoughts I’ve uttered when I assumed no one around me would be offended.


Maybe most of the people working in the media are perfect, immune to impure, biased thoughts or actions. I’m not. And no one I know is. What happens with age and maturity is we get better at combatting our biases and keeping them from spilling out of our mouths. When we intellectually evolve, we get better at seeing the stupidity of our biases and not letting them dictate our actions.

I’m extremely distrustful of anyone who claims they’re free of biases. They’re dishonest or delusional.

For the most part, Riley Cooper handled his apology flawlessly. He forthrightly expressed the proper remorse and humbly answered every question.

“This is the lowest of lows,” Cooper said. “This is not the type of person I want to be portrayed as. This isn’t the type of person I am. I’m extremely sorry.”

There’s no room for Cooper to be totally honest. The media — social and legitimate — won’t allow Cooper to be transparent. What was captured on tape is a reflection of what type of person Cooper is.

He’s flawed. He’s a product of America’s conflicted melting pot. That is not a knock on America. We have racial issues because we’re the most diverse nation on the planet. We have trouble working through those issues because dishonesty and simple-mindedness are rewarded.

Like all of us, Riley Cooper is biased. He needs to admit that to himself so he can adequately combat his biases and be a force for positive change.

I used to be proudly homophobic. I used the F-word regularly. In 1998, while sitting in the New England Patriots press box, I got in a back-and-forth exchange with Pats fans and cracked a “joke” that ended with me asking, “Drew Bledsoe gay?”

The ensuing controversy started the process of me recognizing and realizing the utter ignorance of my homophobia. I used to be offended when people analogized the struggle for gay equality with black people’s struggle for equality. I now get it and understand their struggle benefits our struggle and the overall fight for fairness.


I hope Cooper is allowed to evolve. I hope we don’t demonize him to the point that he becomes John Rocker II and more entrenched in bigotry. I hope Cooper confronts who he is. He didn’t threaten to fight every n****r because there’s no bigotry in his heart and mind. He did it because he has failed to deal with who he really is.

He’s in the same denial most of us are in. I’m talking about all of us — black, white, brown and yellow.

I want to make one other point before I finish. Cooper’s transgression isn’t much of a locker-room issue for the Eagles. There are bigots of every color on sports teams. The beauty of sports is that teams force participants to put aside their biases and work together. Working together is different from liking or respecting each other.

Cooper isn’t a coach or executive with the power to hire and fire people based on his racial biases. Cooper is a player. He’s a 25-year-old kid with immature thoughts. His teammates will move on as long as he plays at a high level.

Racial slurs fly on football fields somewhat regularly. It’s a violent game that brings out the worst in people. My junior season at Ball State, I played against a white Northern Illinois defensive tackle who N-bombed me most of the afternoon. I kept shouting at his mostly black defensive teammates about why they would tolerate such a flaming idiot. The next year, the same guy was the most courteous opponent I played against all season.

Let’s help Cooper evolve and mature. We might be surprised by the results.
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Turns out you were right, pre-season football is a massive waste of time.
 
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