2017-2018 NFL thread

[KOMO1211]

grew up about a 5min drive from Arrowhead Stadium, so needless to say im a Chiefs fan. been a fan as long as I can remember. always room on the bandwagon.

[xskarma]

I've finally made my own decision about my Superbowl guess.

When push comes to shove, I think the NFL is a quarterback driven league, which means the teams with a proven and good quarterback will prevail. That doesn't mean one of the other QB's might not turn into a proven QB this post season, it's just that I prefer to gamble on those that have already proven it. That leaves Eagles, Vikings, Rams, Chiefs, Jaguars, Titans and Bills off my list.

Of the remaining teams in the AFC it's just the Steelers and Patriots and I don't trust the Steelers. They've had too many big moments where they screw up. Which leaves the Patriots in the AFC.

In the NFC it leaves all of the NFC South and I don't trust the Falcons offense to deliver against the defenses they are up against in the playoffs which leaves the Panthers and the Saints. Saints have OWNED the Panthers this season. So Saints it is.

Between the Patriots and the Saints, I'm going to disregard their earlier match up this season. Neither team was what it is today. Both teams have HoF caliber QB's, so there's going to be little difference in that regard, which brings up the second big factor in the NFL: coaching. And there I trust Belichick implicitly over Payton.

So I end up with the Patriots, yet again. I don't like it. I dislike betting on my own team and I think they've shown their patch work front 7, their lack of pass rush pressure and their lack of healthy receivers is a HUGE problem, but I can't honestly bet against them. I think there's a good chance they will run into a team that will expose those flaws but, for now, they seem to just continue to find a way regardless of those issues.

So, Patriots it is.

[Kazer]

Who’s your favorite NFL team?
49ers

How many years you been a fan?
Born into it (From Northern California)

What makes you a fan?
First, family tradition, second they are the local team and finally they have a rich history of winning. Now not so much, but a history of it.

How do you feel about band wagoners?
Annoying but I understand it. People only want to support winners. The team appreciates it but plastic fans do stick out. Not many of them around right now, but in the past its been a noticeable issue.

The amount of plastic New England fans on the west coast that have no idea where Gillette Stadium is even located is sickening.

[xskarma]

From twitter:

Teams that are eligible for Hard Knocks inclusion in 2018:

49ers
Broncos
Brown
Chargers
Ravens
Redskins


Would anyone feel comfortable betting against the Niners getting the call? I wouldn't. Win streak at the end of the season building hope going into next season, still plenty of new draft picks and team building to do (and likely a free agent or 2), interesting coach and GM and most importantly studly new QB that looks like a model and has singlehandedly turned the prospects of the team around.

I mean, I'd probably watch it if it's the Niners, and I'm not even a fan of Hard Knocks.

[Kazer]

I don't see how out of those choices it wouldn't go to the niners. Not just me being a homer because its my team either.

I guess the Redskins QB fiasco could be an interesting watch to see how they handle FA/Draft/Camp. Cousins deal should of been done already if they wanted to keep him, which with his play I don't think they would want to keep him. They can't franchise tag him again without him costing over $30 million and no team would be that silly.

That means they have to draft or get someone from free agency which could be entertaining watching them go after the table scraps in Minnesota or something and trying to put a team together.

All in all I don't think Washington signs up for that level of humiliation no matter how entertaining it could be for people to watch.

[Deleted]

The Niners did their own little mini version of Hard Knocks this season so they'd probably be up for it too. Go Youtube "Brick by Brick" if you care (half the featured players in it weren't there at the end of the season )

[xskarma]

@Pendulous

[Grube]

How is Hard Knocks picked? Does the network or league make a team do it or can they decline? Not sure why any team would want to if they had a choice.

So is CJ Spiller just their guy they use to fill their roster then release when they need someone else for depth because they know another team won't sign him? That actually sounds like a good gig actually.

[Faltemer]

By saying "other', the implication is that I'm a Lions fan/talking about the Lions by saying 'other'.

Fair enough, guess I just took it the other way but reading it now that makes sense.

[xskarma]

How is Hard Knocks picked? Does the network or league make a team do it or can they decline? Not sure why any team would want to if they had a choice.

That list is the list of teams that cannot decline when asked, I think. There's some politics involved, but it's a joint decision between the network and the NFL offices and the teams. I don;t think there's an official guideline on how it works.

So is CJ Spiller just their guy they use to fill their roster then release when they need someone else for depth because they know another team won't sign him? That actually sounds like a good gig actually.

He's been signed and released a whole bunch of times this season by the Chiefs, so you could probably view it like that. Pendulous noticed it at some point, so I figured it would amuse him to see it happen again.

For Spiller it's probably good business to be signed. Once signed you are guaranteed your salary for this week, and in the playoffs the salary is a fixed amount for all teams set and paid by the NFL offices. That amount is not very high though. Spiller got 52k for his usual appearances per week and this week in the playoffs he;s only getting 29k.

Still, that's 29k more than he had last week and if the Chiefs win and he stays on the roster he can get another 29k for the Divisional round, 54k for the conference championship and 59k or 111k (depending on win or loss) in the Superbowl.

The Superbowl payment is pretty shitty, cause they are getting that money, but they have to work 2 weeks for it and not the typical 1 week. I suspect most players would be glad to get it though if it means a chance at a ring.

[Milchshake]

Please please let this be true. From NFL rumor queen Michael Silver:

With the Indianapolis Colts expected to fire head coach Chuck Pagano as soon as the 2017 season ends, one name is already being rumored as a possible replacement — Seahawks offensive line coach and assistant head coach Tom Cable.

Michael Silver of the NFL Network floated Cable’s name in a Tweet on Saturday writing that Cable “will get serious consideration.”

One connection between the Seahawks and Colts could make this make a lot of sense. Ed Dodds, who spent 10 years with Seattle from 2007-16 and for the last three was the Seahawks’ senior personnel executive, became the Colts’ vice president of player personnel last spring.

Cable also has previous head coaching experience, having gone 17-27 with the Raiders from 2008-10 including 8-8 in his final season in 2010.

Seattle desperately needs coaching changes on the offensively side of the ball. Anything that gets Cable off the Seattle staff is a good thing.

I'm sure Cable's first act as head coach will be to draft a volleyball player with the intention of converting them into a Right Tackle.

[MAGAmobile]

Waiting with baited breath for coaching changes. I don't expect to hear anything for several weeks though.

[eschatological]

Who’s your favorite NFL team?
The Buffalo Bills

How many years you been a fan?
31ish years? Family's been season ticket holders for 28 years. I myself am 36.

What makes you a fan?
When we immigrated to the States, we landed in Buffalo. The people here are the greatest, and accepted us unconditionally. My dad worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and Bills games on Sunday were the only times I got to spent any real time with him, because as an immigrant kid, we had really weird, strict bedtimes, like 8 o clock til I was like, 13, lol. It probably also helped that I went through puberty during our 4 Superbowl run. I think the events around that time in your life tend to shape who you become.

How do you feel about band wagoners?
I hate them. It's never been a problem in Buffalo. But in 1999, when I was 18, I went to Boston for university. I spent the next decade in Boston, and it was an insufferable time to be around Boston sports fans. You couldn't find an admitted Patriots fan anywhere in that city in 1999, and they had JUST been to the SUper Bowl in '95 (which most "Pats fans" probably don't even remember). The only Red Sox fans were all like, retirees. Obviously while I was there came the rise of Tom Brady and the Patriots, and everyone was suddenly a Patriots fan but probably couldn't name the mascot on the old helmets. During that decade, the Pats cheated their way to 3 Super Bowls, the Red Sox broke the curse, the Celtics won a championship for the first time since the 80s, and even the Bruins won a couple Stanley Cups, iirc. It was truly an obnoxious time to live in Boston and not be a Boston sports fan. Don't get me wrong, Boston is a great city......but I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate their sports fans, specifically because most of them aren't true sports fans. The Bills have been selling out a 70k stadium in a city of 230k people for 30 years straight, and Pats fans were nowhere for a decade and a half, and if they were at Foxboro, they were wearing paper bags on their heads.

[MAGAmobile]

Cardinals going to be a different team next year. Palmer is also retiring.

Marvin Lewis was given a 2 yr contract by the Bengals.

[Crissi]

And Marvin will coach for 2 more years for Cinci

[Grube]

With both Palmer and Arians gone, I wonder if Fitzgerald will retire too.

There are rumors that Denver is going to interview McAdoofus for QB coach. That would be interesting.... Then again, Gary Kubiak's son that has no experience was the QB coach after McCoy got fired so it might be an improvement as long as they don't let him near people.

[MAGAmobile]

Likely going to depend on who they bring in if Fitzgerald stays. I can see 1 more season for him, but no more.

[Saladbar]

The Bengals deserve any derision they get for keeping Lewis. I defended him for a long time because he did make Cincy relevant again, for a while, after a long stretch of being crap. The Steelers playoff loss was the last straw as far as I was concerned. Before the Bengals even imploded in that game, he had a deer in the headlights look on the sideline. I just don't think he has what it takes to lead his team in big games. The extension is just baffling, unless you assume the management doesn't really care about winning big.

[draynay]

Saints

17 years

I hated the Rams for leaving LA and then winning the super bowl made it that much worse. So I always rooted against them, caught a prime time game of Saints vs Rams the next year so I was all for the Saints, who had an interesting team that year, a young QB had to take over as starter, they had Ricky Williams, I started to like them. Then in the playoffs they knocked off the reigning champ Rams and that clinched it. Probably doesn't hurt that I'm half Cajun and liked their team colors and logo.

Bandwagon fans that admit it are OK, its when they try and pretend they've been through all the ups and downs that they're intolerable. For me, when I started following the Saints they had 0 playoff wins in franchise history, but they got that first win right after, I wasn't around for the 'aints and I don't pretend to be, but there were still plenty of lean years, a hurricane, and a NFL witch hunt. I keep my Aaron Brooks jersey around so nobody can accuse me of being a bandwagon fan .

[Crackleslap]

Falcons

2 years

I got into the NFL because I was bored and decided to watch superbowl 50. (Also watched 48,49) After the game concluded I decided I enjoyed it enough to give a full season worth a shot. So I watched a full season of the NFL an absolutely loved it. i went into the season with no favorite team. Just decided who my team was based on how much the team interests me. That was the Falcons. Now I'm Falcon birdbro 4 lyfe. Got a Julio Jones jersey only a few days ago!

I might be a little bandwagon myself, but I don't really consider myself a bandwagon. Sorta just chose the Falcons mid season who ended up in the superbowl. Kinda peculiar team to pick to favorite though. I work at the airport and I see NFL attire being worn all the time and it's all seahawks, patriots, steelers gear and wonder why. (I also see a lot of Golden State Warrior) Bandwagons can be annoying when complain seasons going rough then come back and pretend they were there the whole time when things go well.

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@xskarma I also hate you for nominating my absolute worst superbowl matchup for this playoff season. Patriots v Saints? Come on man, that would be like sticking screws into my eyes. I would be so salty that I would have to root for the Patriots.