NFL 08 Discussion

[Jake]

No Around the Horn games, but there's so many storylines going on in the NFL, I figured it'd be nice to have a place to discuss them all without cluttering up the Picks threads.

Who is the worst team in the league?
What about this Vince Young saga?
How bout Aaron Rodgers?!

Throw out anything else you all want to. I'll post about these topics in a minute.

[Howlin' Wolf]

Aaron Rodgers is the real deal!

[Jake]

Aaron Rodgers is the real deal!

You ain't kiddin! I'll admit, I was skeptical. I'm a diehard Packers fan who loves Favre, and I didn't think Aaron could pull it off, but I think he's turned Lambeau into Mr. Rodgers neighborhood.

This Vince Young story irritates me. I know you all will blast me and say "You shuoldn't be so harsh, he needs prayer," and this doesn't mean I won't pray for him...but dude needs to grow up! He's 25 and got booed. It comes with the turf when you're an NFL QB. He's had a few years and has never lived up to the hype. If you're going to be an NFL QB, your coach should never have to talk you into going back onto the field! If he can't handle it, he needs to get out of the way, cause he's a waste of a roster spot.

[Howlin' Wolf]

Vince is holding the titans back. They cant cut him because they need to save face, but he and Vick are making it tough for future run first qb's.

[Jake]

Vince is holding the titans back. They cant cut him because they need to save face, but he and Vick are making it tough for future run first qb's.

When the coach says Kerry Collins has taken your job even when you get healthy, you need to look at retirement.

[Jason]

"Washed Up" Warner named NFC Offensive Player of the Week:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/2008/09/16/20080916spt-cardsnb.html

[Jake]

"Washed Up" Warner named NFC Offensive Player of the Week:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/2008/09/16/20080916spt-cardsnb.html

Does anybody else want to point out that he put up stupid numbers against the Dolphins? I mean, I realize you can only beat who you play, but I don't buy into Kurt until I see him play against a team who could win a Pop Warner championship.

[Howlin' Wolf]

Does anybody else want to point out that he put up stupid numbers against the Dolphins? I mean, I realize you can only beat who you play, but I don't buy into Kurt until I see him play against a team who could win a Pop Warner championship.

He threw more touchdowns in the last 8 games of last season than Brady, Manning, Favre, and Romo.

[Jason]

Does anybody else want to point out that he put up stupid numbers against the Dolphins? I mean, I realize you can only beat who you play, but I don't buy into Kurt until I see him play against a team who could win a Pop Warner championship.

You're right. Miami is horrible. We won't really see how good the Cards are until Oct. 5 when they play Buffalo. I envision them probably beating Washington and then perhaps beating the Jets, although the Jets have a strong defense. Can you imagine a 4-0 start for Arizona?

[Jake]

He threw more touchdowns in the last 8 games of last season than Brady, Manning, Favre, and Romo.

See, now that's a good stat. I didn't know that.

[Howlin' Wolf]

See, now that's a good stat. I didn't know that.

thats how i roll, brother

Jonathan Stewart will be the rookie of the year

[jrmitch]

Gotta throw in that Jay Cutler is off to a great start (and yeah, I know, I know.....bad call. Cutler admitted it should have been called a fumble). However, aside from that gift from the Zebras last Sunday these are still pretty stout numbers: 70.3% completion percentage (right behind Warner at 70.4%); 6 TDs; 1 pick. The only guys ranked ahead of him by Pro Football Outsiders after the first two games are Romo, Warner, and Rivers. While it's early yet, his overall game seems much improved over last year.

Cutler was also rated ahead of both Vince and Matt Leinart by several scouts when they all entered the NFL 3 years ago; there's no way I'd take both of 'em together over this kid. Guys, I got to see Elway play - and Cutlers got that kind of arm.

[Jake]

Gotta throw in that Jay Cutler is off to a great start (and yeah, I know, I know.....bad call. Cutler admitted it should have been called a fumble). However, aside from that gift from the Zebras last Sunday these are still pretty stout numbers: 70.3% completion percentage (right behind Warner at 70.4%); 6 TDs; 1 pick. The only guys ranked ahead of him by Pro Football Outsiders after the first two games are Romo, Warner, and Rivers. While it's early yet, his overall game seems much improved over last year.

Yea, I didn't think about Cutler when I started this thread; but I like the guy. I think he plays the game the right way and he's a blast to watch. Everybody has been given a call at some point in their career, so nobody should hold that one against him.

[Howlin' Wolf]

Question: Did Jay Cutler walk into a barbershop and say to himself, "My helmet always messes up my hair, anyway … can we make it look like I always just took off my helmet?"



Cutler is playing like a 10 year veteran.

[VerbumReale]

Does anybody else want to point out that he put up stupid numbers against the Dolphins? I mean, I realize you can only beat who you play, but I don't buy into Kurt until I see him play against a team who could win a Pop Warner championship.


If you're going to question Warner's numbers against Miami then it should be pointed out that most of Rodger's numbers came against a horrible Detroit team.

I will concede he's done well and I know he's got that sick QB rating but it's only two games and as I said one of them was against Detroit. I am not taking anything away from him, but I am not quite ready to call him the real deal just yet. He's got a big test this weekend with big D. If he can put up good numbers against them then I'll be impressed.


Plus it bears mentioning that when we talk about Warner we are talking about someone who has already proven himself. The guy has won a Super Bowl. Between the two; Warner is the real deal, Rodgers; we'll see.

But I am old enough to remember when Green Bay fans were sure that a certain Don Majkowski was the real deal.

[rossid]

Good bye Lane Kiffin.

Hello ???

[jrmitch]

Good bye Lane Kiffin.

Hello ???Same crappy treatment Al gave to Shanahan. I feel bad for Kiffin. :(

[lilmikey]

The Redskins are doing really well this year. I think that Zorn is getting into to the groove with every game and I am glad to see he is trusting Jason Campbell a lot more. Chris Horton is looking really promising. And i also think that they need to utilize Betts a lot more especially in the red zone.


I am looking for them to do great things this year.

[rossid]

Kiffin may end up being another Shanahan. Won't get his money, for a while, and will be successful long-term.

[rossid]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3622637

Thank goodbness for Warren Sapp.

Sapp says Kiffin treated unfairly, blames Davis for Raiders' mess

ESPN.com news services

Updated: October 2, 2008, 5:42 PM ET


How dysfunctional are the Oakland Raiders? So dysfunctional that Warren Sapp warns anybody who asks him about signing there to stay far away.

"Nobody tells you how bad it is," the former defensive tackle said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL." " ... any person that calls me on the telephone, [I tell them] do not go anywhere near Oakland."

Sapp, who retired after the 2007 season -- his fourth with the Raiders -- said that Lane Kiffin, fired this week by owner Al Davis, never got a fair chance in Oakland.

"He came in there with a change of mentality. The whole system," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL." "He changed how the locker room looked because it was going to take that kind of overhaul for Oakland to become the proud franchise we all knew it was."

Sapp said Oakland won't change for the better until Davis doesn't own the team anymore.

"[Davis] is the common equation," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL." "You take him out, put him at home watching film or whatever he is doing -- you have a functioning football organization. But once he comes over the top, he goes and starts moving it around.

"Al Davis knows football -- it's just '60s and '70s football. That's what it is. He's thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field -- deep ball, deep ball, deep ball."

Sapp even said that Davis would call in plays when Sapp was playing for the Raiders.

"I remember the first two weeks I was there, we played a preseason game. Somebody came up one time and said, 'We're going deep right here, dog.' I said, how do you know? He said, 'The phone just rang.'

"All the preparation that goes into a week of work is there, the practicing that you have to put in order to do these things, sometimes [Al Davis] messed with that part of it and that's what kills you," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL."

[ZippyApplePants]

Same crappy treatment Al gave to Shanahan. I feel bad for Kiffin. :(

I feel bad for him too.

[VerbumReale]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3622637

Thank goodbness for Warren Sapp.

Sapp says Kiffin treated unfairly, blames Davis for Raiders' mess

ESPN.com news services

Updated: October 2, 2008, 5:42 PM ET


How dysfunctional are the Oakland Raiders? So dysfunctional that Warren Sapp warns anybody who asks him about signing there to stay far away.

"Nobody tells you how bad it is," the former defensive tackle said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL." " ... any person that calls me on the telephone, [I tell them] do not go anywhere near Oakland."

Sapp, who retired after the 2007 season -- his fourth with the Raiders -- said that Lane Kiffin, fired this week by owner Al Davis, never got a fair chance in Oakland.

"He came in there with a change of mentality. The whole system," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL." "He changed how the locker room looked because it was going to take that kind of overhaul for Oakland to become the proud franchise we all knew it was."

Sapp said Oakland won't change for the better until Davis doesn't own the team anymore.

"[Davis] is the common equation," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL." "You take him out, put him at home watching film or whatever he is doing -- you have a functioning football organization. But once he comes over the top, he goes and starts moving it around.

"Al Davis knows football -- it's just '60s and '70s football. That's what it is. He's thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field -- deep ball, deep ball, deep ball."

Sapp even said that Davis would call in plays when Sapp was playing for the Raiders.

"I remember the first two weeks I was there, we played a preseason game. Somebody came up one time and said, 'We're going deep right here, dog.' I said, how do you know? He said, 'The phone just rang.'

"All the preparation that goes into a week of work is there, the practicing that you have to put in order to do these things, sometimes [Al Davis] messed with that part of it and that's what kills you," Sapp said on "Inside the NFL."

This may be it for me. It's not that I am looking to jump on some other team's bandwagon, and it's not that I think Kiffin was the second coming of Bill Walsh or anything, I just don't know how I can root for a team owned by such a megalomaniac. He used to be one of the great minds in the NFL but now he makes Mr Burns from the Simpsons look reasoable. I was reading Mike Shanahan's comments today about when, during his dispute with Davis, he told him he didn't even want the $250,000 that Davis owed him for himself and asked him to give it to charity or the Oakland public schools and he wouldn't even do that. I just thought "Do I really want to root for a team owned by such a dirtbag?"

[VerbumReale]

Kiffin may end up being another Shanahan. Won't get his money, for a while, and will be successful long-term.

I don't know if he is another Shanahan. At USC he definitely showed himself to be something of an offensive wiz but I think it's a little presumptuous to call him another Mike Shanahan. I think he's got a great future, but I think for now anyway it is going to be in college. Word is that Syracuse is interested in him but something tells me he would like something in the Pac-10.

If he takes an NFL job I think it will be as an assistant or a coordintaor. Maybe he goes and works on the same staff as his dad in Tampa. I think there will be a great deal of NFL head coaching vacancies in the off-season but I don't see Lane Kiffin as a serious candidate for any of those. But I could easily see him being brought in one of those staffs. If Childress is fired in Minnesota (my 2nd favorite team and perhaps my new favorite) as I suspect he might, I could see them going after an established name like Marty Schottenheimer. You gotta figure Marty would love bringing in a former Raider coach on his staff.

[rossid]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?page=hotread4/raiders

Did you see this article?

There is a comment that Al still IS the Raiders. Isn't it like FDR serving four terms? I mean there ARE limits.

[Dan!]

Tough week for the Cowboys, especially after they looked like a likely Super Bowl pick after the first few weeks. What has been the worst news: Romo, Pacman or the trade for Roy Williams at the cost of 3 drafts picks?

[lilmikey]

I am disgusted with the Redskins/Rams game. What happen was the the Redskins played like they feel that they didn't need to try.

[EyeHeart3D]

Pack, Vikings, and Bears all tied at 3-3....this week will be VERY interesting with the Pack playing the Colts and Bears and Vikings playing each other!

[Jason]

Tough week for the Cowboys, especially after they looked like a likely Super Bowl pick after the first few weeks. What has been the worst news: Romo, Pacman or the trade for Roy Williams at the cost of 3 drafts picks?

Their loss to the Cards. ;)

[The Unknown Gomer]

Their loss to the Cards. ;)

Panthers vs Cardinals yesterday: Panthers come from behind to take it 27-23! Woot! Sorry, Jason!

Normally I wouldn't have been paying attention, but this was the one game D and I got tickets for for the season. Much better end result this year than last year, when not only did they lose, we froze our butts off going to a game in November. October game and seats 14 rows down instead of right at the top was a nice way to spend a nice sunny afternoon.

Here kitty kitty kitty...

93896

[3D NC fan]

Go Cardiac Cats! Panthers come from behind to beat the Cardinals!

I'm glad you got to see the game, Karen. I was stuck at work listening to it on the radio.

[Jason]

I watched the game and was sorely disappointed.