2014 Official NFL Thread

[Vercingentorix]

Ryan Tannehill has the tools and the talent to be a great QB and has tremendous upside, the only thing is that he seems to struggle at times.......Brady will not last the season(my prediction).:nod:

I had a chance to review the game in great detail this morning and I'm not sold on Tannehill yet. He's good, but not great. But he is making good decisions and this trend should become more pronounced with Griese coaching him. For anyone who's not familiar with Griese, his arm was only fair, but his intelligence and execution were exceptional. Moreover he could move a team. The tackling of the Dolphins reminded me of days of old. That swarming defensive mentality was familiar. Let's face it Cameron Wake opened the door for the rest of the defense to really shine. I can't wait until the entire defense is back and healthy. Based upon what I saw they're going to be one very mean monster of a defense. The DB & Safety work was outstanding.

On the offense, I was disappointed that they didn't use Orleans Darkwa more. He was impressive in preseason.

The upcoming Bills game is going to be quite a contest. While the Dolphins have won more than lost in this rivalry, the Bills are much tougher at home. Miami Defense's LB corp is on life support. I give it to the Bills in a close match by 7.

As to Brady, are you talking about him losing the top spot or just surviving the season? Wagering minds want to know.

 

[Doc Holliday]

This video, however, which shows Rice punching this woman, may be a game changer. I believe the criminal case is now almost moot. It's a serious issue, because women are fans too, and they are not going to like this video very much. Rice may be viewed as unsignable, due to the video.

He cost himself a lot of money.

He cost both he & his wife a lot of money.

What's interesting is that if you look at the video carefully, it appears that he spits in her face at the beginning of the video, prior to them entering the elevator. This is probably what led her to go nuts on him once inside the elevator, and it may also look like he did it again just before she charged at him, but this part isn't as clear as earlier on.

The NFL only did this to save face. Had it not been for TMZ, Ray Rice would be back playing football in week 3.

The NFL very likely had already seen this video and chose to only suspend him for 2 games. Meanwhile, they suspend some kid (Josh Gordon) playing for the Browns for the entire season for smoking a bit of weed, a drug that is now legal in two States & will likely be legalized in the majority of States within the next decade. A drug that isn't a performance enhancer, by the way. In a league that has yet to test for human growth hormone (HGH), which is reportedly rampant in the NFL. Many players would definitely not be playing in the NFL were it not for HGH.

There is a lot of hypocrisy involved. I've heard many blame this on Roger Goodell's right-wing NFL agenda. But let's not forget that the beer companies (e.g. Budweiser) give the NFL millions of dollars in sponsorships every year. Beer & alcohol companies don't want pot legalized, for obvious reasons. It'll been a great loss in revenue if more & more people convert from alcohol to pot. Is the NFL now the beer companies' personal lobby group?

 

[Doc Holliday]

The upcoming Bills game is going to be quite a contest. While the Dolphins have won more than lost in this rivalry, the Bills are much tougher at home. Miami Defense's LB corp is on life support. I give it to the Bills in a close match by 7.

The Bills don't have a good record when they're favored to win. I'm kind of hoping that the game will be a pick 'em. So far the Bills are pretty healthy & that'll once again be a key for them this season if they want to finally advance to the post-season again.

With the drama of last season finally behind them, i expect the Dolphins to have a good season. Too many off-field distractions last season.

 

[Vercingentorix]

The Bills don't have a good record when they're favored to win. I'm kind of hoping that the game will be a pick 'em.

Latest line shows the Bills favored based upon their Bears win and the home field advantage. This assuming that the refs allow the Dolphin Linebacker corp to play with crutches.......

 

[Joe.t]

I had a chance to review the game in great detail this morning and I'm not sold on Tannehill yet. He's good, but not great. But he is making good decisions and this trend should become more pronounced with Griese coaching him. For anyone who's not familiar with Griese, his arm was only fair, but his intelligence and execution were exceptional. Moreover he could move a team. The tackling of the Dolphins reminded me of days of old. That swarming defensive mentality was familiar. Let's face it Cameron Wake opened the door for the rest of the defense to really shine. I can't wait until the entire defense is back and healthy. Based upon what I saw they're going to be one very mean monster of a defense. The DB & Safety work was outstanding.

On the offense, I was disappointed that they didn't use Orleans Darkwa more. He was impressive in preseason.

The upcoming Bills game is going to be quite a contest. While the Dolphins have won more than lost in this rivalry, the Bills are much tougher at home. Miami Defense's LB corp is on life support. I give it to the Bills in a close match by 7.

As to Brady, are you talking about him losing the top spot or just surviving the season? Wagering minds want to know.

Brady will get injured, losing all pro Mankins was a huge blow, only an arrogant coach would trade their best offensive lineman and replace him with a nobody, the Patriots will give up a ton of sacks this year, Cameron Wake looked like he was part of the Pats backfield, the opposing teams defenses are licking their chops at the prospect of facing the Patriots offensive line this year, Deion Sanders has already come out and criticized the Patriots prized offseason addition this year Darrelle(toast) Revis for being soft, this team is a mess from top to bottom and I confirm again that they will finish in last place.

The Bills don't have a good record when they're favored to win. I'm kind of hoping that the game will be a pick 'em. So far the Bills are pretty healthy & that'll once again be a key for them this season if they want to finally advance to the post-season again.

With the drama of last season finally behind them, i expect the Dolphins to have a good season. Too many off-field distractions last season.

Although a tough pick I'm picking the Bills in this one simply because I expect the Dolphins to have a let down, last year when they creamed the pants off of the Patriots the following week they stunk out the place with a shutout loss to the Bills.

I see the AFC East as a toss up between the Jets, Bills and Dolphins, the only reason that I picked the Jets is because of their Defense but it could be any one of the three that wins it with the Patriots finishing in last place.

 

[Merlot]

BOYZ!

What's interesting is that if you look at the video carefully, it appears that he spits in her face at the beginning of the video, prior to them entering the elevator. This is probably what led her to go nuts on him once inside the elevator, and it may also look like he did it again just before she charged at him...

The report I heard on WEEI just as the news was coming in is Rice spit in her face twice, after which she went at him with hands down, no doubt screaming just before he decked her knocking her head against the elevator railing and floor.

Goodell now looks like one of the worse violence permissive fools of all times. Only hearing what had happened and not seeing on the first video I thought a 2 game suspension sounded awfully light. I had not seen the video outside the elevator until today. Just on that, dragging an unconscious woman out of the elevator with no medical excuse, he should have gotten 10 games to a full year suspension. After seeing the film inside the elevator maybe Goodell should be made to pay for that 2 game slap on the wrist. I hear social media is exploding with outrage...http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2014/09/social_media_reactions_from_ra.html...and a lot of it is about the hypocrisy of being so easy on Rice until the paying public got to see how shocking the actual brutality was. The film is very conclusive offering more than enough to impose the harshest penalty and Rice should be gone permanently, no official legal proceedings necessary.

Goodell and the Ravens have a lot of explaining to do about what Rice told them to get such a light original penalty. A lot of people want to know what the excuse was to get off so easy.

However, Goodell's embarrassment may pale compared that of Mrs. Rice who chose to marry this garbage only a month after getting punched out cold.

I see the AFC East as a toss up between the Jets, Bills and Dolphins,...

Only you could so easily make yourself look more inexcusable than Goodell and Mr. and Mrs. Rice. THAT'S MY BOY! :lol: :thumb:

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[anon_vlad]

Is there a worse starting quarterback in the NFL now than Eli Manning? If so, who?

He displays poor judgement and seems to lack communication with his receivers. He doesn't throw particularly accurately. He is relatively slow as a runner and not quick at getting off his passes. He used to be much better than average, so I can't call him the Don Phaneuf of football.

 

[EagerBeaver]

He has not looked good preseason or this game but he is trying to learn a new offense so that is part of it.

 

[Vercingentorix]

Cameron Wake looked like he was part of the Pats backfield

You mean he wasn't??....LOL I thought I saw him whispering plays to Brady in the second half....:lol:

 

[Doc Holliday]

Is there a worse starting quarterback in the NFL now than Eli Manning? If so, who?

Tony Romo. The Cowboys will never win anything relevant as long as this overrated & overpaid bum continues to be their starting QB. Definitely one of the dumbest QBs in the game if you ask me.

Jay Cutler. Same reasons i gave for Romo.

 

[anon_vlad]

I agree with you that Romo and Cutler play stupidly. However, I still think that Eli is worse as he is appears not only to be slow-witted, but slow-footed and a poor passer as well. On many of his throws, the ball wobbles in the air like a wounded duck.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I agree with you that Romo and Cutler play stupidly. However, I still think that Eli is worse as he is appears not only to be slow-witted, but slow-footed and a poor passer as well. On many of his throws, the ball wobbles in the air like a wounded duck.

If he is so terrible how did he win 2 Super Bowls, being named MVP in each one? By accident?

 

[Merlot]

Oy Vey,

If he is so terrible how did he win 2 Super Bowls, being named MVP in each one? By accident?

Yes, a freak helmet catch, and Welker dropping the ball. Either was freaky as hell. He can be good, but that defense saved his seasons both times just to get to the playoffs.

Anon is talking about the present. Manning sucked, he never gave his team a chance to win at all. That is only one game. But he was bad all of last year too, leading the league in interceptions, getting only 18 touchdowns, and a QBR of 69.4. He's always been streaky, leading the league in INTs 3 times.

I agree with you that Romo and Cutler play stupidly. However, I still think that Eli is worse as he is appears not only to be slow-witted, but slow-footed and a poor passer as well. On many of his throws, the ball wobbles in the air like a wounded duck.

There's some badly overpaid quarterbacks like Romo, Flacco, E. Manning, Cutler, and Bradford. Three of them haven't even sniffed a Super Bowl. Flacco at 6 years and almost $121 million is an epic disgrace.

Meanwhile, Goodell's job could be in some trouble. There are reports coming out that he was told what happened inside the elevator by the police. His excuses about never having known what went on inside would then amount to boldface lies if that is true, never mind that seeing an unconscious body being dragged by one of his players should have been more than enough for severe penalties. Then when he interviewed Rice and his then fiance' reports say he had them both in the room together, which is contrary to victim-perpetrator investigation protocol. More and more the NFL/Goodell's handling of Rice looks like it was based on profits and image, not a due process investigation.

I don't know why the state didn't push the case except for the wishes of the wife and the NFL element. But if Owners like Robert Kraft of the Patriots (who has significant pull) and others get involved Goodell could be in trouble. Certainly owners make sure Goodell gets their views strongly.

:crazy:

Merlot

 

[Doc Holliday]

Back in July, both Peter King & Chris Mortensen stated that their NFL league sources had told them that Goodell had seen a video from inside the elevator that hadn't been made public, on which he had based his suspension on. Now he denies having ever seen that video, which is difficult to believe if we are to believe that they put in some effort in investigating this case considering the amount of effort put in when investigating past cases.

But we now hear that the casino stated that the video had been available, but for whatever reason the NFL never asked to see it. If true, this is gross incompetence on the part of Goodell and his cronies, and makes you wonder what the hell Peter King & Chris Mortensen were talking about earlier on.

Chris Rock tweeted yesterday that Ray Rice wasn't banned for punching his fiancee. He was banned only because a video surfaced of him punching his fiancee.

You have to wonder what exactly is going on inside Roger Goodell's mind. Some guy punching his fiancee unconscious warrants only two games suspension, while you suspend another for an entire season for having smoked a bit of weed during the offseason? WTF?? In what decade does this idiot live in?

On a different note, i'm being told that the Buffalo Bills have officially been sold to Terry Pegula & his wife Kim for a record-number amount.

 

[EagerBeaver]

But we now hear that the casino stated that the video had been available, but for whatever reason the NFL never asked to see it. .

Not totally true- the video was unavailable except to the police because this was an active criminal investigation. The media is totally misreporting on this. Any time criminal charges are made, the cops (Atlantic City PD) direct a casino to give them the video. The video would not have been available to the NFL. They asked for it, and were told it is not available because the AC cops have it. TMZ got it because the Casino (Revel) closed for business a week ago, a copy was made and it was leaked. Probably by Revel security which is all out of a job right now and needs TMZ's money. The Casino is closed.

I have been involved in a few legal cases in which surveillance video was requested due to a fight at a bar and the cops already had gotten the video in most cases before I could ever get to it. Once the cops seize it, you then have to wait until the criminal case is over, and Rice's is not over. Furthermore Mohegan Sun/Foxwoods will never give you surveillance video without a court order. In the case of Revel they can't be ordered to do anything since they closed for business, and no longer exist.

Frankly the tape should not have been leaked to TMZ as there is a pending criminal case and it is evidence in that case. But Revel's security force got laid off and they need the money, and TMZ was happy to pay them for a copy of the video.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Frankly the tape should not have been leaked to TMZ as there is a pending criminal case and it is evidence in that case. But Revel's security force got laid off and they need the money and TMZ was happy to pay them for a copy.

Pending? The investigation is over & the prosecutors chose to send him to counselling instead of charging him. That's why the prosecutors and the NFL are both being lambasted in the media since yesterday for basically handing Rice a slap on the hand.

 

[EagerBeaver]

The charges were still pending when the NFL suspended him - my understanding is that they were dropped later. The NFL would not have had the chance to see the video because at that time the charges were still unresolved.

 

[Vercingentorix]

Regarding Ray Rice, shouldn't we be applauding that the NFL is finally starting to pay attention to their player's as role models for our society. For too long this facet of the game has been ignored in the quest of performance and statistics. The NFL, unlike other areas of football, exists solely for the observer. Thus it has a responsibility to convey the correct message for our culture. While the NFL is ramping up its efforts, the press is pursuing it like a rabid dog. Chastising its efforts doesn't seem productive, while encouraging it should lead to positive affect.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Pending? The investigation is over & the prosecutors chose to send him to counselling instead of charging him. That's why the prosecutors and the NFL are both being lambasted in the media since yesterday for basically handing Rice a slap on the hand.

In a criminal case, if the main/only witness is not cooperating, the prosecution is fucked. You have no idea what the prosecution thought they would get at trial in giving him that deal, but my guess is that this lady was going to back Rice, and tell a jury she provoked him. Then the Prosecutors look like a bunch of assholes in open court. The prosecutors usually know how a case will go in, and if it will not go in clean, they say "fuck it!" and cut a deal. I have only seen a few trials where the witnesses were totally non-cooperating and the prosecutors ended up having to dismiss on their own motion, and in those cases they were taken by surprise. It is rare that this happens, because in discovery you take statements from the witnesses and if they aren't going to help you, you know it, and you know that if you try the case you will look like total assholes who have wasted the taxpayer's money. Most prosecutors are political animals and generally try to avoid this situation, except for the Duke lacrosse team prosecutor who was an idiot and got disbarred. This was a very rare case of severe prosecutorial misconduct, and he relied on the testimony of one person who was completely and totally discredited as an unrepentant liar (and nutjob).

This is what the prosecutor would have had to roll out to the jury in Court:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/09/us/ray-rice-nfl-janay-rice/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

[anon_vlad]

If he is so terrible how did he win 2 Super Bowls, being named MVP in each one? By accident?

Actually, in my post #47, I wrote "He used to be much better than average..."

I don't understand what has happened to him last season and perhaps this one.