Ongoing NFL Discussion Thread V

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

First topic message reminder :

Love this Texans D. They're amazing without Watt. Scary.

Amazing is a bit far - they're pretty good, nothing special.

Number one D in the NFL without their best player.

They're one of about 8 teams to hold that tag - and lets face it it's measured in yards...in points the #1 D was the Pats.

No great defences out there this year, just a lot of pretty good ones. If they had Watt, maybe they'd be great...but they don't

[Number-25]

Gutted about all these injuries to key players that the Redskins are working through just now. Jonathan Allen being likely done for the year is a real punch in the guts.

[GSC]

How sweep it is.

I have no idea how Wentz completed that pass to Clement

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Eagles look good - although I'd be a little worried about Wentz's escape acts against the blitz...worked last night, won't work for 16 weeks. he needs to start reading it better pre-snap. Love watching that Eagles D line, Fletcher Cox bull rushing grown men into the QB is great to watch.

Looks like we could be set for a Wentz/Brady MVP race

[Number-25]

LOL at the Redskins' injuries now... 3 starting offensive linemen now down.

That aside, it's the same problems that just haunt the Redskins from one season to the next... can't convert 3rd downs, can't get off the field on 3rd downs, defense prone to giving up big passing plays and an inconsistent, at best, running game.

Last night summed it all up perfectly... the game turned late in the first half when we failed to convert two 3rd and 1s and off the back of them the defense have up two big pass plays that resulted in TDs. Went from 10-3 up to 17-10 down amd then 24-10 in the blink of an eye... game over.

[GSC]

Yeah neither team came out of that game well, Hicks done for the year, Peters likely to follow him (and then to retirement).

At least we should have Darby for next week. SF at home should be as big a gimme as you get at this level, then a reeling Denver team before the bye.

[GSC]

Also D.J Swearinger...can't cover

[Number-25]

LOL... you don't find yourself on your 4th team in 4 years if you can cover.

[Number-25]

Kirk Cousins is now 0-6 on MNF.

Not sure if that means anything or not in a team game but it's interesting nonetheless.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Cousins presents a similar issue Cincy has with Dalton - he can be very good, he can be very bad. Ultimately he needs everything to be perfect around him if the team is going to go anywhere, and for me, that means you need to look to get a QB in the draft. Otherwise you're sat in this weird football purgatory of 8-8, 9-7, 7-9.

I have no idea why 49ers are apparently willing to give him all the money in the world, when they're going to be in position to draft a QB high again (weirdly everyone gets on the Browns for passing on Watson, but not the 49ers...)

[Number-25]

Yeah, I have no idea what to make of Cousins anymore. I do think you need a good running game if you're going to go far with him though because he can't elevate the offense to the point where you can win consistently with him and the passing game alone.

We have many issues at the moment but I think some of them could be eased if we had a good running game. It's just abject.

[GSC]

The weird thing is it isnt an OL problem.

The backs are average but so are the Eagles and they can trample teams that can't stop the run.

So probably a coaching thing.

On Cousins, hes good enough to win with and he gets this offense inside out (given its complexity, don't overlook this). You'd be insane to let him walk. You need to build the roster around him rather than drafting a QB and still needing to build the roster. And good QBs are hard to come back (pro tip, draft whoever the Browns don't want)

[GSC]

(weirdly everyone gets on the Browns for passing on Watson, but not the 49ers...)

Because they traded the pick to the Texans (which they originally got from the Eagles for Wentz) who then selected Watson.

[GSC]

LOL... you don't find yourself on your 4th team in 4 years if you can cover.

Lol i didn't even realise he was the guy who bit on play action and vacated the throwing lane to Agholor on the last TD. Also didn't he whiff badly on Agholor week 1 for the first TD.

Please resign him

[skins4ever]

Skins problems are twofold. Injuries and lack of receivers stepping up. In Reed's case, both.

The numbers tell the story; despite being injured Reeds our leading receiver by receptions, and Thompson #2. Thompson leads in yardage by a country mile. Davis has the best YPC. That's our #1 & #2 TE and 3rd down back leading in all the primary receiving categories. Hell, Thompson has 2/3 the yardage of our supposed top 3 receivers combined! That paints the picture that Cousins isn't finding an open receiver most of the time so is checking down to the TE's and Thompson. Now if he were getting pressure all the time that would colour the picture, but he's not. His receivers are just not getting open. Pryor in particular needs to step up big time as this is effectively a contract year for him. As for Doctson, sorry but he's got failure written all over him. Grant is, in effect, a nobody and he's outplaying the '1st round talent'.

If we could only stay on the field longer, converting more 3rd downs, the D wouldn't be exposed as much.

Injuries on D are highlighting the poor depth. We are hurting without Norman in there and we've needed a marquee FS for years. The focus on the draft has to be on getting a dominator back there if there's one available. And we need another MLB to partner Brown.

NB While Tomlin is saying Bryant is not available, I'd actually try getting him on a trade. I think with a change of scenery he'd be an upgrade over Doctson at this stage.

[GSC]

I don't think you can realistically parachute a receiver into this scheme midseason.

Pryors struggled because he barely knows what he's doing at WR, let alone running a complex offense like the Skins. Big ask for Bryant to pick that up midseason.

Besides, why trade actual capital for a guy who could vanish for 2 years at any given time

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Just when you think the Pats D might be showing signs of life, Hightower tears his pec and is done for the season.

[GSC]

The dreaded torn boob

[GSC]

Gutted we missed out on hiring offensive gurus Adam Gase and Ben McAdoo

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Everyone seems to love Gase - but Miami are the flukiest team in the league. Even when everyone lauded him for his Bears run, they only had the 21st best offence in the league.

He must have some media pals he's buddies with

[GSC]

That was the biggest crock of QB guru **** in league history.

"He got Jay Cutler to throw 7 less INTs than the previous year!"

He also threw the ball 80 less times and had 7 less TDs and in general had a very mediocre year

[Number-25]

From a Redskins' persepctive, today's game against Dallas is shaping up to be a trainwreck... 2 starting offensive linemen already ruled out (Williams and Long) and 2 others questionable (Scherff and Moses). Back up Tackle (Nseke) is also out. Starting ILB also went to IR this week... partly to make way on the roster for all the O-Linemen we've had to sign off the street!!

[Number-25]

LOL... Scherff officially out of tonight's game now.... this is going to be ugly.

[GSC]

Worst performance of the season and we'll win by 23. I'll take it.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

You were playing the 49ers

[Number-25]

What Olly said

[GSC]

Can't play the Skins every week

[Number-25]

[Number-25]

Redskins offense can move the chains so well but is just atrocious inside the opposition 25.

[Number-25]

LOL at the Redskins and the different ways they find to make an arse of things... in red zone looking to go up 20-7... BOOM an minute later we're down 14-13.

[GSC]

Nothing wrong with settling for field go- oh

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Jay Gruden calling a timeout there with his offence at midfield at 2nd and 5 with 1:45 left on the clock...punts the ball back to Dallas with 1:10 on the clock.

Ever heard of clock management Jay

[Number-25]

Nope... Jay's clock management is legendary bad.

As is his redzone playcalling... appallingly conservative.

[Number-25]

Redskins offense having its usual mid-game slump now.

Pretty much every game this season, the offense starts well and slumps from midway through the 2nd quarter to midway through the 4th quarter. It all points to bad in-game coaching and an inability to adjust to what the other team is doing IMO.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Your QB has 400 yards passing, another 50 on the ground and you run it up the middle with Lamar Miller on 3rd and 4 when a first down wins the game

Go to hell Bill O’Brien - you deserved that loss

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Goodbye sweet prince

[GSC]

Jay Ajayi. I guess I'll take it

[Pr4wn]

For a fourth round pick? I'd take him too.

[Lowlandbrit]

Imagine telling people a year ago that the Pats would trade their backup QBs for all of Phillip Dorsett and a second round pick.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Ajayi deal looks good but his knees are apparently made of nothing

And yeah the Pats have botched the backup QB situation - should’ve dealt Jimmy in the off season

[GSC]

It's a 4th rounder and he makes peanuts for the next 2 years, his legs could turn to jelly for all I care

[Pr4wn]

Some crazy trades today, what are the Panthers thinking??

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Some crazy trades today, what are the Panthers thinking??

That getting a 3rd rounder for a fat WR who needs a contract who can’t seperate is good business?

[Pr4wn]

Getting a third rounder for a first-round talent WR who has played below his best because of injury in a season where you're 5-2 is not good business.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Benjamin was picked first round but he does not have first round talent. Also playing below your best because of injury is an actual bad thing!

Speaking of actual bad things

The Browns have our Browns’d Themselves

[JDizzle]

Think the Browns have actually dodged a bullet though tbf.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Think the Browns have actually dodged a bullet though tbf.

Oh yeah it’d have been an utterly mental trade - but that they thought they had it complete when they when they didn’t...jeez!

[GSC]

Kelvin Benjamin leads the league in garbage time production. Cams best football has come when he doesn't play.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

In final confirmation he has no idea what is going on anymore, Bill Simmons calls this Pats offence (ranked #1 in DVOA, and top 5 in most other metrics) the worst Tom Brady has ever had.

He must've missed that year he was throwing to Hooman, Austin Collie, Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins in an AFC title game in Denver...

[GSC]

I'm pretty lukewarm on the Jimmy Cassel trade

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

We've botched it - should've sorted it out in the off season and kept Brissett (rather than trading him for a WR who's played like 10 snaps since he's been here).

Although a high 2nd rounder is a decent pick still

[Sponsored content]