2016-2017 NFL Thread

[Vetali]

Picks short and simple:

New England Tom Bradys

Birds

And then they took TEs with the next two picks...but they made sure to grossly overpay only one of them at least.

And traded a first rounder for Trent Richardson.

[Crackleslap]

6am start for me tomorrow. Gonna have to go to bed before 12 for once. (If i dont want to fall asleep during the game) xD

[xskarma]

He's 39.

10 char.

Brady's downfall will be slowed recovery time and lack of (quality) practice time because of that. That's not an issue right now though. The further we get, the more likely it is going to happen.

I very much doubt that anyone else will be the starter but Brady next season. But we are definitely in a season to season period where it concerns him.

The Patriots see him every day, have him in the trainers room, watch him as he recovers from games. I'm 100% sure that Belichick and Caserio will know when it's time.

What they do with Jimmy Garoppolo next season will speak volumes about what they feel Brady's timeline is, and I trust those guys above everything to do what is right for the team. Even where it concerns Brady.

[Pendulous]

Entire packer locker room getting the flu could spell disaster for the tam. Already picking Atlanta because I want them to go all the way, but that could be a bad thing for Green bay. Either way, wanting desperately for either NFC team to win it all.

[Dormie]

I kind of doubt Belichick will coach after Brady retires.

[Grube]

Brady's downfall will be slowed recovery time and lack of (quality) practice time because of that. That's not an issue right now though. The further we get, the more likely it is going to happen.

You never know. Players just random hit the wall and go from being one of the best at their position to barely being able to play without warning pretty often.

[Pendulous]

Pat McAfee is my spirit animal

https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/st...882253826?s=09
https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/st...03973652926464
https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/st...06364783632385

[xskarma]

You never know. Players just random hit the wall and go from being one of the best at their position to barely being able to play without warning pretty often.

Like Manning? Cause in my opinion Manning didn't hit any other walls then his body giving up on him with regards to recovery. His last 2 years were marred by injuries he couldn't shake, or only got past with significant time away. Manning could have played as a rich man's Chad Pennington for a while longer, but his body just wasn't recovering from the game abuse anymore.

The same thing is probably already happening with Brady. In public he said not long ago that you need to have a careful balance between rest and practice, and that he used to always practice all out but that he's found that actually practicing all out sometimes isn;t the best preperation. That sounds good, but I'm honestly pretty sure that his new found insight into what makes good preparation is largely fueled by his body just not standing up to the rigors of all out practice week in week out and a game on Sunday any more.

Brady is getting better year over year, in the way he works on his weak points and the way he prepares and handles the games. If you look at what he did against the Texans, throwing 4 or 5 deep balls, I would have told you last year he didn't have the ability to do that anymore. He got challenged several times last year, especially by the Broncos, to throw it deep along the sideline, and he never took those shots, and on the rare occasions he did, he never connected. This year, starting in early, early training camp, it's been a point of emphasis. They did bucket practice after every practice, trying to throw a ball in a far away bucket. And it's worked. All during the season he has been connecting on deep balls, to Hogan, but also to other receivers. It's part of his package now that if a defense dares him to throw it deep, that he will take those shots.

So this year it was deep balls, last year it was his mobility that he worked on, resulting in better pocket movement and even some occasions where he took off running to get easy yards. Every year the past few he's worked on something like that to hone his game. And he's a better all round quarterback for it now.

But that doesn't stop the flow of time and eventually it's going to catch up. Eventually, like Manning, he'll have nicks and scrapes that don't heal well enough or quick enough and it will start affecting his game if he has to play a full season.

So, I don't think Brady will hit any "walls" other than his body just not being able to withstand the bumps, bruises, scrapes and hits anymore on a week to week basis. But that's just getting old, not his abilities suddenly flat lining.

[Vetali]

The neck injury probably shaved a 2-3 years off Mannings career.

[Pendulous]

I don't wanna jinx it, because it's two weeks away and our managers are bad at changing schedules willy-nilly, but I'm off Super Bowl Sunday.

Gotta work tomorrow though, so no conference finals for me.

[xskarma]

The neck injury probably shaved a 2-3 years off Mannings career.

Well, that's why I said rich man's Chad Pennington. His neck injury had nothing to do with his nagging injuries in his last 2 years. That was just his body getting old. Younger QB's shake those injuries off and just suit up and play.

I mean, you could argue that the neck injury made him throw differently and that he needed his leg strength more, and that those nagging injuries to his legs were only a problem cause he needed them to throw and if his neck had been alright it would have been less of an issue, but I think he would have been effected by it regardless. His neck injury just made it all the more obvious.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't wanna jinx it, because it's two weeks away and our managers are bad at changing schedules willy-nilly, but I'm off Super Bowl Sunday.

Gotta work tomorrow though, so no conference finals for me.

Can you use the fact your schedule has you off for that day, right now, as an excuse to have that day off should they still want to change it in the coming 2 weeks? Or are your schedules not final till the week of?

[Pendulous]

Can you use the fact your schedule has you off for that day, right now, as an excuse to have that day off should they still want to change it in the coming 2 weeks? Or are your schedules not final till the week of?

There have been times where people have gotten in trouble for not working scheduled days that were changed two days prior, on the same work week. Welcome to the U.S., where employees have zero power.

[Grube]

Like Manning? Cause in my opinion Manning didn't hit any other walls then his body giving up on him with regards to recovery. His last 2 years were marred by injuries he couldn't shake, or only got past with significant time away. Manning could have played as a rich man's Chad Pennington for a while longer, but his body just wasn't recovering from the game abuse anymore.

Nah, not Manning. He was never the same after the Rams game 2 years ago, but that was injury related. Champ Bailey is an obvious one. He fell apart during the 2012 season before he had injuries the next year. Went from being shut down to not being able to cover anyone.

Jerry Rice kind of too. Not sure if he had injuries his Raiders/Seahawk year though.

[xskarma]

Packers are the walking wounded atm. Toss in a flu going around this could get ugly.

I'm not that worried about the flu, but you are definitely banged up and the Falcons are definitely in better health. I think it will probably matter.

Might as well do my picks this week-end, cause it comes down to this point.


Packers at Falcons: Falcons. Walking wounded about the Packers is about right. I think when these teams play, when healthy, that Rodgers is a better QB than Ryan, and he would definitely give the Packers the edge. Trouble is, they are not healthy. Both teams have had issues, but I think Green Bay's problem is more significant. Atlanta's offense is perfectly able to hang with whatever Rodgers cooks up and Atlanta's defense has had it's injuries, especially at D-line, but I think it's still significantly more healthy than the Packers. I think in a close game like this, that health is an important factor. Having more of your good players on the field will eventually give you an edge, and an edge is all you need.

Steelers at Patriots: Patriots. I would pick against my own team if I honestly thought the match up was not in our favour, but I think it is. Much has been made about how the Patriots defense is overrated cause they haven't played any one good at QB, well, guess what, neither have the Steelers. Best rated QBs the Steelers have played in their last 9 games are Andy Dalton and Matt Moore. So if it then comes down to who has the better edge, I think our offense against their defense more than cancels out any edge their offense has on our defense.


I think homefield advantage for both teams I picked is also a pretty nice benefit that will help them. Regardless of what happens, I think we will have a really good Superbowl, all the left over teams can put on a show when they are clicking.

[draynay]

And traded a first rounder for Trent Richardson.

That was a service to the NFL, got Manziel in a Browns uniform, consolidate all the suffering in Cleveland.

[Darth Belichick]

"Someone" (had to be a Pats fan) pulled the fire alarm at the Steeler's hotel at 3am last night.

[xskarma]

"#Patriots love Martellus Bennett’s toughness. Example: He plays with a cracked bone & bone chips in his ankle. Surgery likely this spring" from Rapoport on twitter.

I knew it. I knew he had to still be battling injuries, even if he was still playing and practicing. He's not been the same player in the back half of the season that he was in the first half.

[Deleted]

Packers at Falcons: Falcons.

73-65 or so. I don't trust either defense to get many stops, but the Falcons should have one or two more than the Pack.


Steelers at Patriots: Steelers.

last years Patriots (with Gronk) - last years Chiefs (sans Tyreek Hill) 27:20
this years Steelers - this years Chiefs 18:16 (and it was not as close as it sounds)

So overall: this years Steelers > this years Chiefs > last years Chiefs < last years Patriots > this years Patriots. Not exactly perfect math, but enough for me to narrowly pick the Steelers. Especially if they should go for a premeditated helmet to helmet for the third game in a row and get away with it again...

[xskarma]

Especially if they should go for a premeditated helmet to helmet for the third game in a row and get away with it again...

I'll be honest, I worry about injuries in this game. Steelers play dirty.

[Blueobelisk]

I'll be cliche and think both top seeds win. New England and Atlanta win today.