The NFL Thread (may contain spoilers!)

the_jaffa

crunchman said:

the_jaffa said:

Oh dear

You are relying on 4th quarter heroics from Mason Rudolph.  It's not looking good.

It's not going to happen. Probably rightly so. We'd only get destroyed next week.

Looking forward to the Titans beating the Texans and keeping us with that 3rd pick in the '21 Draft. There are a few holes in the team that still need to be filled.

crunchman

the_jaffa said:

crunchman said:

the_jaffa said:

Oh dear

You are relying on 4th quarter heroics from Mason Rudolph.  It's not looking good.

It's not going to happen. Probably rightly so. We'd only get destroyed next week.

Looking forward to the Titans beating the Texans and keeping us with that 3rd pick in the '21 Draft. There are a few holes in the team that still need to be filled.

It could be JJ Watt's last game for Houston.  He could wreck things and Watson is capable of scoring points against the Titans.  It could all go a bit pear shaped for you.

the_jaffa

crunchman said:

the_jaffa said:

crunchman said:

the_jaffa said:

Oh dear

You are relying on 4th quarter heroics from Mason Rudolph.  It's not looking good.

It's not going to happen. Probably rightly so. We'd only get destroyed next week.

Looking forward to the Titans beating the Texans and keeping us with that 3rd pick in the '21 Draft. There are a few holes in the team that still need to be filled.

It could be JJ Watt's last game for Houston.  He could wreck things and Watson is capable of scoring points against the Titans.  It could all go a bit pear shaped for you.

Even if the Texans win, which I still think is unlikely, we’d still have the 4th pick as well as our own 18th I think. Should be good either way I think. 

wesker123

Bills Mafia!!! 

not_the_dj

I only watched the NFC East games last night, need to catch up on the others later but.....woo hoo, Washington in the playoffs!

Sure it wasn’t pretty, and to be there with a loosing record must make a lot of other fans and teams mad, but those are the rules....so bring on ol’Tom and let’s see what our defence can do to get him on his back. 

earwighoney

crunchman said:

I'm a recent fan to the sport, but it seems a lot of teams will be after QB's in the 2021 draft. Is this a normal predicament or is this an anomaly?

Probably less this year than some years.  There have been a lot of good young quarterbacks come into the league in the last 5 years or so.  Mahomes, Watson, and Prescott are the headliners, but Burrow and Herbert look like long term keepers as well.

There are other players who the jury is still out on, but their teams won't be willing to give up on yet e.g. Daniel Jones with the Giants.  When you add the established veterans, there are probably less desparate teams now than there were a few years ago.  You won't see a player like Paxton Lynch getting drafted in the first round this year.

If you look at the projected top ten picks as it stands now:

1: Jaguars - will take a QB

2: Jets - might take a QB, but if they do Darnold will go to a team picking later in the round

3: Atlanta - might take a QB, but Ryan still has a year or two left, and will start somewhere

4: Dolphins - have Tagavailoa.  Won't take a QB.

5: Bengals - have Burrow.  Won't take a QB

6: Eagles - have Hurts.  Won't take a QB.

7:  Lions - won't get a QB better than Stafford for the 2021 seasonm but could trade him and go for a complete rebuild.

8: Panthers - will probably take a QB

9: Broncos - might take a QB, but not 100% certain they are ready to give up on Lock yet.

10:  Chargers - have Herbert.  Won't take a QB.

Some of those teams will take Quarterbacks, but I don't think I can recall a draft when there were only 2 teams in the top ten you could be reasonably certain would take a quarterback. It's possible that the Patriots or 49ers could trade up into the top ten for a QB.

As for your predictions, Lions might in the market for one as there are rumours Stafford will be traded (Rams perhaps), I think the 49'rs are in the market for one to replace Jimmy G who is always injured, Patriots are in to replace Newton, Washington look like they will be in the market for a new QB after letting Haskins go - there's no way Smith is a long term option. Colts, seem to be linked with Carson Wentz due to the Frank Reich link, Steelers could be looking to replace Mason Rudolph as their second string QB, and the major possibility that Drew Brees will retire at the end of the season (Mac Jones?).

Maybe not in the draft but some of the teams will trade/look to free agency.

I still think there will be a lot of QB moves during the closed season.

the_jaffa

There is a fair bit of chatter about the Dolphins looking at their options with Tua too. They need to decide whether he really is the right, long term, option or whether going for Justin Fields or someone with their 3rd place pick might actually be a better option.

I'd like them to stick with Tua really but he's not really shone this year in the way it was hoped. Comparing his performance with that of Justin Herbert who went one pick after him and it looks a bit like a poor choice. Fingers crossed he can develop a lot over the off-season and that we can improve the offense to give him a few more options to throw to.

earwighoney

the_jaffa said:

There is a fair bit of chatter about the Dolphins looking at their options with Tua too. They need to decide whether he really is the right, long term, option or whether going for Justin Fields or someone with their 3rd place pick might actually be a better option.

I'd like them to stick with Tua really but he's not really shone this year in the way it was hoped. Comparing his performance with that of Justin Herbert who went one pick after him and it looks a bit like a poor choice. Fingers crossed he can develop a lot over the off-season and that we can improve the offense to give him a few more options to throw to.

I've seen the rumours about the Dolphins lacking confidence in Tua and as they have two 2 first round picks they are in a strong position. Tua had an absolute nightmare of a match against the Bills, but the Bills are very good.

Justin Herbert had an outstanding season, I don't think anyone could have predicted he would have had the season he did.

It seems Sewell might be the highest non QB drafted, quite a few teams have awful O-Lines, the Bengals could use him for sure but I think the Dolphins will draft him at 3.

the_jaffa

It's a huge step to get rid of a top 5 pick after only a year and would be a big admission of a mistake. I can't really see it happening. A better change would be a more effective Offensive Coordinator as I think a lot of the issues have been down to Chan Gailey and his play calling. Tua does need to start throwing further down the field though rather than the short sideways passes.

Perhaps he has lost some confidence after a few dodgy performances, some poor play calling from Gailey and it has all mounted up. I can't help wondering how Ryan Tannehill might have been had he been with the Flores Dolphins.

The Bills were very very good yesterday though.

crunchman

earwighoney said:

As for your predictions, Lions might in the market for one as there are rumours Stafford will be traded (Rams perhaps), I think the 49'rs are in the market for one to replace Jimmy G who is always injured, Patriots are in to replace Newton, Washington look like they will be in the market for a new QB after letting Haskins go - there's no way Smith is a long term option. Colts, seem to be linked with Carson Wentz due to the Frank Reich link, Steelers could be looking to replace Mason Rudolph as their second string QB, and the major possibility that Drew Brees will retire at the end of the season (Mac Jones?).

Maybe not in the draft but some of the teams will trade/look to free agency.

I still think there will be a lot of QB moves during the closed season.

A lot of those teams you mentioned aren't picking in the top ten though.

San Francisco are at 12, New England at 15.  Washington, Colts, Steelers, and New Orleans are all playoff teams and will be picking after pick 20.  edit:  after pick 18.  Forgot there are two more playoff teams this year.

There aren't as many QB needy teams near the very top of the draft as there often are.  It does depend on what happens with veterans like Stafford and Ryan.  They might well get traded, but there is no guarantee of that.  You might well find that Stafford or Ryan end up on a contender like the 49ers or Colts.  I know Frank Reich has a connection to Wentz, but with the Colts roster I'd rather have someone like Stafford.

earwighoney

crunchman said:

A lot of those teams you mentioned aren't picking in the top ten though.

San Francisco are at 12, New England at 15.  Washington, Colts, Steelers, and New Orleans are all playoff teams and will be picking after pick 20.  edit:  after pick 18.  Forgot there are two more playoff teams this year.

There aren't as many QB needy teams near the very top of the draft as there often are.  It does depend on what happens with veterans like Stafford and Ryan.  They might well get traded, but there is no guarantee of that.  You might well find that Stafford or Ryan end up on a contender like the 49ers or Colts.  I know Frank Reich has a connection to Wentz, but with the Colts roster I'd rather have someone like Stafford.

I never said anything about the top 10!

crunchman

earwighoney said:

crunchman said:

A lot of those teams you mentioned aren't picking in the top ten though.

San Francisco are at 12, New England at 15.  Washington, Colts, Steelers, and New Orleans are all playoff teams and will be picking after pick 20.  edit:  after pick 18.  Forgot there are two more playoff teams this year.

There aren't as many QB needy teams near the very top of the draft as there often are.  It does depend on what happens with veterans like Stafford and Ryan.  They might well get traded, but there is no guarantee of that.  You might well find that Stafford or Ryan end up on a contender like the 49ers or Colts.  I know Frank Reich has a connection to Wentz, but with the Colts roster I'd rather have someone like Stafford.

I never said anything about the top 10!

I did in my post that you quoted.

I said that there were less QB needy teams in the top ten than there usually are, although that could change depending on what some teams do with their veterans.

earwighoney

the_jaffa said:

It's a huge step to get rid of a top 5 pick after only a year and would be a big admission of a mistake. I can't really see it happening. A better change would be a more effective Offensive Coordinator as I think a lot of the issues have been down to Chan Gailey and his play calling. Tua does need to start throwing further down the field though rather than the short sideways passes.

Perhaps he has lost some confidence after a few dodgy performances, some poor play calling from Gailey and it has all mounted up. I can't help wondering how Ryan Tannehill might have been had he been with the Flores Dolphins.

Good call on the Dolphins OC

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/dolphins-part-ways-with-offensive-coordinator-chan-gailey-after-one-season-per-report/

crunchman

Steelers fans would love it if you took Randy Fichtner off our hands.  You could have no running game and have Tua throwing 55 passes a game.

When I can predict the play calls though, there is a problem.

not_the_dj

Very late night/early morning for Washington fans. 

Proud of what they did, especially Taylor Heinicke stepping up. 

https://youtu.be/oaD_djtqlmc

crunchman

Pity they didn't win.

Is Heinicke good enough to be a long term option?  You aren't likely to get one of the top rookies picking at 19.  It might make sense to give Heinicke next season.

I have the dilemna about staying up late for the Steelers game tonight.  I'd like to stay up, but I'm not sure it is sensible.

not_the_dj

crunchman said:

Pity they didn't win.

Is Heinicke good enough to be a long term option?  You aren't likely to get one of the top rookies picking at 19.  It might make sense to give Heinicke next season.

I have the dilemna about staying up late for the Steelers game tonight.  I'd like to stay up, but I'm not sure it is sensible.

He’s young enough and proved himself last night more than enough to be in the conversation. All the fan groups and pages are positive for him. Coach Rivera was full of praise in the post game press conference, so we’ll see. 

Alex Smith did amazing to get us in the playoffs, a miracle really he came back at all. So much respect for that guy, but he can’t be the future. 

Staying up on a Sunday night is a big ask. The Washington game last week was in the same slot and I got up to watch the 40min Gamepass version for that before work on the Monday, after making sure I hid from social media till I’d watched it. 

Last night I was up till 4:30am, no way I could have done that with work the next day, despite having a nap on Sat eve and I got a bit of sleep in between 10pm and 1am ready for kick-off. 

Nothing like watching it live though, and should be a great match-up tonight! 

crunchman

not_the_dj said:

crunchman said:

Pity they didn't win.

Is Heinicke good enough to be a long term option?  You aren't likely to get one of the top rookies picking at 19.  It might make sense to give Heinicke next season.

I have the dilemna about staying up late for the Steelers game tonight.  I'd like to stay up, but I'm not sure it is sensible.

He’s young enough and proved himself last night more than enough to be in the conversation. All the fan groups and pages are positive for him. Coach Rivera was full of praise in the post game press conference, so we’ll see. 

Alex Smith did amazing to get us in the playoffs, a miracle really he came back at all. So much respect for that guy, but he can’t be the future. 

Staying up on a Sunday night is a big ask. The Washington game last week was in the same slot and I got up to watch the 40min Gamepass version for that before work on the Monday, after making sure I hid from social media till I’d watched it. 

Last night I was up till 4:30am, no way I could have done that with work the next day, despite having a nap on Sat eve and I got a bit of sleep in between 10pm and 1am ready for kick-off. 

Nothing like watching it live though, and should be a great match-up tonight! 

Have texted my boss asking for tomorrow off.  I've got 4 days of leave carried over from last year that I have to use by the end of February.  Not much else to use it on.

not_the_dj

Nice one, enjoy the game. 

wesker123

C'mon Bills!!!