Let's watch some pro football (2013-14)

jackman · « **Reply #320 on:** 31 Mar 2014, 04:59 pm »

Look out for the Bears this year! They resigned Peanut Tillman for one more year, signed DE Lamarr Houston and signed Jared Allen! The Allen signing caught everyone by surprise and I can't wait to see the guy I've hated all these years wear in a Bears' uniform! It was disappointing to lose Peppers but he appeared to be in rapid decline and was unproductive. The defensive line looks better (on paper) than they looked in years and they have the best receiver core (IMO of course) in the NFL.

It was sad to see Mccown leave but Lovie offered him huge bucks to come to Tampa. He's a good QB and was my favorite player last year. Hopefully Suckler, er...Cutler, will keep the offense moving forward. He's talented and has a great surrounding cast. Go Bears!

roscoeiii · « **Reply #321 on:** 31 Mar 2014, 05:04 pm »

Agreed, the Bears so far have had an excellent offseason. Think I saw somewhere that Peppers was battling foot issues (planar faciatis?), which would explain some of the performance dropoff and the unwillingness to resign. By all accounts Allen is a workout warrior. And he is 2 yrs younger than Peppers.

Solid moves for the Bears. On paper at least.

jackman · « **Reply #322 on:** 31 Mar 2014, 05:20 pm »

Hi Roscoe,

Look at Allen's stats over the past few years. Peppers NEVER put up numbers like Allen put up over the past few years. Allen is a monster and appears to be very healthy. Peppers was due a huge salary this year and he looked pretty bad by the end of the season last year. Maybe it's his foot (although I think the Pack feels he is healthy) and he's an old guy, but in the right defense could probably put up good numbers. The Packers are talking about lining him up at linebacker next year and using him in different packages. I'm a fan of Peppers and hope he does well except against the Bears!

macrojack · « **Reply #323 on:** 31 Mar 2014, 05:52 pm »

Tis the season for getting our hopes up. Most of us do it every year -- except for those in Dallas, Cleveland, Jetsland, Minniapples, etc. This year even Jacksonville is churning out those great expectations.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #324 on:** 3 Apr 2014, 09:35 pm »

I'm bettin Houston will take that superstar defensive player whose name escapes me in the first round and maybe go for a QB with their sixth round pick. It'll be interesting to me to see how soon Manziel is taken. He sure has his naysayers.

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #325 on:** 4 Apr 2014, 12:21 am »

Quote from: jimdgoulding on 3 Apr 2014, 09:35 pm

I'm bettin Houston will take that superstar defensive player whose name escapes me in the first round and maybe go for a QB with their sixth round pick. It'll be interesting to me to see how soon Manziel is taken. He sure has his naysayers.

I like Johnny Football and hope he does well. What makes sense would be late 1st round to second rounder, which is like a 5th round for any other position with the way quarterbacks are inflated in value these days. However I think there are so many quarterback weak teams out there that someone will definitely pick him higher and waste a early pick on him. He won't dance around like that in the NFL, they'll "slow his ass down" in the imortal words of Jack Lambert. But the kid can play ball and I predict a modicum of success for him in the pros, however he's no Payton or Elway or Marino (yes, he was late 1st round, but in that class it was like early 1st) or even Bradshaw. I see Doug Flutie, tough guy, smart, punches above his weight, but serious limitations.

charmerci · « **Reply #326 on:** 4 Apr 2014, 12:51 am »

I saw an espn thing/video about Manziel where the analyst showed several of his plays where he went back looking right at an open receiver, didn't throw to him, looked around and then took off running and made a good run. The guy said, exciting - yes. Good fundamental football - no.

He then said that any GM picking him in the first round will probably lose his job because of this.

Maybe he can learn though...

macrojack · « **Reply #327 on:** 4 Apr 2014, 02:08 am »

This Manziel thing is mostly media generated. The big question is whether or not this is another Tebow situation. Johnny Footfall might have more going for him than Tebow when he hits the bigs but don't hold your breath. The chances of him turning out to be another Russell Wilson appear pretty slim to me.

We don't need to trouble ourselves too much just now. The draft will tell us a little next month and the on field success or failure will follow soon enough. I think he's another Sarah Palin - much ado about nothing. He's just another manufactured celebrity.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #328 on:** 5 Apr 2014, 05:16 pm »

Dang, Jack, ya can't dismiss what he's put on the field. Can you? He's a different animal from Tebow. He has a quick release and can be evasive. He just needs to read as quickly as he can throw. He should benefit from good coaching. We shall see.

jackman · « **Reply #329 on:** 5 Apr 2014, 08:40 pm »

If Manziel gets drafted by the right team, with good receivers, protection and a good running game, I think he will eventually be BETTER than Russel Wilson. He's definitely not a Tebow type player. The kid only had two years of college ball and still needs some maturation, but he has very impressive skills. He's short but Wilson and Breese showed tha short QB's can win in the NFL...with the right offense. He's got a very good arm, is crazy athletic and is a real competitor. I'd love to see him on Philly or KC.

Don't get me wrong, Manning or Brady wouldn't win in Cleveland, Oakland or Jacksonville! I would love to see him get picked up by a good offensive team or one with a good coach. He'd be great on the Bears with their monster WR's. If he stays healthy, I think he has a chance to do great things in the league. Seattle gave Wilson some great protection and a very good offense, and didn't ask him to win games by himself. I would love to see him try to win in Buffalo or Cleveland!

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #330 on:** 5 Apr 2014, 10:03 pm »

Quote from: jackman on 5 Apr 2014, 08:40 pm

If Manziel gets drafted by the right team, with good receivers, protection and a good running game, I think he will eventually be BETTER than Russel Wilson. He's definitely not a Tebow type player. The kid only had two years of college ball and still needs some maturation, but he has very impressive skills. He's short but Wilson and Breese showed tha short QB's can win in the NFL...with the right offense. He's got a very good arm, is crazy athletic and is a real competitor. I'd love to see him on Philly or KC.

Don't get me wrong, Manning or Brady wouldn't win in Cleveland, Oakland or Jacksonville! I would love to see him get picked up by a good offensive team or one with a good coach. He'd be great on the Bears with their monster WR's. If he stays healthy, I think he has a chance to do great things in the league. Seattle gave Wilson some great protection and a very good offense, and didn't ask him to win games by himself. I would love to see him try to win in Buffalo or Cleveland!

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #331 on:** 6 Apr 2014, 01:01 pm »

I once heard the most important thing for NFL quarterbacks is decision making, and I think it's true. Manning and Brady don't have the biggest arms, but they get rid of the ball asap. Kurt Warner was at his best the year he came out of the arena league where you throw the ball NOW or die. I don't see that in Manziel. And it's what Tebow could never learn. It's why Nick Foles was so good in Phily last year.

The second most important quarterback lesson was from Terry Bradshaw. Mark Malone was starting after Bradshaw's arm was gone. Malone was picking his brain asking when facing a double rotation zone and the Z receiver is.... Bradshaw said, "Whoa up there son, I don't know about all that, I just throw it hard and high and them boys go up for it". Great lesson for young quarterbacks trying to think too much.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #332 on:** 6 Apr 2014, 02:29 pm »

macrojack · « **Reply #333 on:** 7 Apr 2014, 11:59 am »

Johnny Manziel reminds me of A-Rod - a self-absorbed, self-promoting opportunist. He's Sarah Palin, Justin Bieber and Geno Smith all wrapped up in one.

Professional sports have suffered from the ESPN effect. True fans are tiring of the over exposure and Hollywoodization of the games they love. It isn't about tweets and bickering or who has the biggest salary or DUIs or homicides or attendance records or stadium deals or pizza endorsements or WWE style flamboyance. The Super Bowl becomes more over-the-top grandiose and more superficially inflated every year in an effort to pump up the numbers over last year. More games are added. Rules are changed, game times are moved around, venues are swapped - all in the interest of generating more revenue for greedy owners. Every effort is made to sensationalize.
And Manziel wants to be the poster boy for all of that.

But in the end, it must be all about substance rather than superficiality. Guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady bring the attention to themselves by their play, whether they really want that attention or not. Johnny Football appears to be using the sport to get attention, which is what he really wants. He'll flame out.

jackman · « **Reply #334 on:** 7 Apr 2014, 12:23 pm »

It's almost impossible to predict how a young QB will do in this league. That's why there are so many highly touted young QBs who flame out or never amount to anything. The success of a QB is also heavily dependent on the system. All of the successful QBs mentioned in this thread had great offensive lines and great receivers. Warner was one of my favorites and deserves the accolades but lets not forget the other players on tha offense. How many HOF or great players were on the Rams? Holt, Bruce, Faulk, etc. Quick decision making is essential for QBs but Warner was a freak. Do you ever wonder why no other arena league QBs ever made it in the NFL. He was a great talent who happened to play in the arena league.

Manziel is a controversial figure, but it's not fair to compare him to Tebow. He's got a much better release and is a very accurate thrower. The guy is also very young and only played two years of college ball and is still immature. Unlike other college players, including some highly touted guys, he's never been accused of drug offenses, gang affiliation or violence against women or anyone else. He's got a big mouth an is a self promoter. If this makes him a bad prospect, we have to adjust our priorities. I've never seen JM to after an opponent as classlessly as Sherman did last year in the after game interview with Aaron Andrews, yet people defended Sherman because he was a Stanford grad.

Let's just see how this guy does on the field before declaring him a failure. The NFL is full of violent, drug using thugs who happen to be good at football. Johnny is a self promoter immature kid and we don't even know where he's going to be playing. I think he has the skills to be great, and the possibility of being a bust. His on the field decision making looks pretty solid and he has great physical skills. If he keeps his mouth shut and focuses on football, he could be an impact player.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #335 on:** 7 Apr 2014, 02:16 pm »

Quote from: macrojack on 7 Apr 2014, 11:59 am

Johnny Manziel reminds me of A-Rod - a self-absorbed, self-promoting opportunist. He's Sarah Palin, Justin Bieber and Geno Smith all wrapped up in one.

Professional sports have suffered from the ESPN effect. True fans are tiring of the over exposure and Hollywoodization of the games they love. It isn't about tweets and bickering or who has the biggest salary or DUIs or homicides or attendance records or stadium deals or pizza endorsements or WWE style flamboyance. The Super Bowl becomes more over-the-top grandiose and more superficially inflated every year in an effort to pump up the numbers over last year. More games are added. Rules are changed, game times are moved around, venues are swapped - all in the interest of generating more revenue for greedy owners. Every effort is made to sensationalize.
And Manziel wants to be the poster boy for all of that.

But in the end, it must be all about substance rather than superficiality. Guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady bring the attention to themselves by their play, whether they really want that attention or not. Johnny Football appears to be using the sport to get attention, which is what he really wants. He'll flame out.

You have stronger opinions about Manziel than me. I don't believe he, himself, is a hype machine

. Wanna give you a shout out for your obviously thoughtful reply to include- "who has the biggest salary or DUIs or homicides or attendance records or stadium deals or pizza endorsements or WWE style flamboyance". Man, that's as rich as anything I've read on AC. You just made me a card carrying fan with that!

If Oakland can give Matt Shaub some protection and some guys to throw to, I'm thinking they might be better offensively than they have been in years.

macrojack · « **Reply #336 on:** 7 Apr 2014, 02:52 pm »

Jim - Oakland is in the same division as Denver. I haven't seen their schedule for 2014 but I have seen numerous comments as to the murderous lineup they face this year. Oakland will have a nearly identical schedule. I would expect that, no matter how much better they play this coming year, they will need a string of miracles to keep them out of the AFC West basement.

That run on sentence you liked so much in my previous comment came about because I thought about it before I typed it out. Maybe I should do that more often.

Jackman - Your observations are valid and well reasoned. Only comment concerns Sherman's interviewer. It's Erin, not Aaron.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #337 on:** 7 Apr 2014, 03:09 pm »

Quote from: macrojack on 7 Apr 2014, 02:52 pm

Jim - Oakland is in the same division as Denver. I haven't seen their schedule for 2014 but I have seen numerous comments as to the murderous lineup they face this year. Oakland will have a nearly identical schedule. I would expect that, no matter how much better they play this coming year, they will need a string of miracles to keep them out of the AFC West basement.

That run on sentence you liked so much in my previous comment came about because I thought about it before I typed it out. Maybe I should do that more often.

Jackman - Your observations are valid and well reasoned. Only comment concerns Sherman's interviewer. It's Erin, not Aaron.

jackman · « **Reply #338 on:** 7 Apr 2014, 04:19 pm »

Hi Macro,

I could never keep her name straight! Too distracting looking at those big boobs!

Also, don't get me wrong, I've been wrong on so many young QB's, it's difficult. The new rules are very QB friendly and a young guy has a better chance these days than in previous years. Manziel could be a massive bust, but I don't think he will (assuming he doesn't get stuck in Oakland, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Buffalo, etc.). There are lots of bad teams out there and it's not fair to expect a young guy to carry a team. Russel Wilson is a good example. Seattle brought him up slowly and did not ask him to carry the team in the playoffs last year. He had great run support and great protection, along with a very smart coach. Put him in Cleveland or Minnesota and I don't think he would look as impressive. Manziel is not a big guy but he's crazy athletic, fast with a decent arm. I'd love to see him study under Drew Breese for a couple years and run that offense. Long-term, it would be much better than being "the man" playing for a bad team.

Lastly, I hate flashy players and can't say I like some of the things I've heard from Johnny Football. My favorite QB is Aaron Rodgers, possibly the quietest, most humble QB in the game, and IMO, the best one in football. It would be great to see someone tell JM to just be quiet and let his play speak for itself. I officially sound like a geezer!

Here is what Kurt Warner had to say about Manziel...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000338460/article/mayock-johnny-manziel-new-no-1-qb-in-2014-nfl-draft

Cheers,
J

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #339 on:** 12 Apr 2014, 02:21 pm »

I ran across this in my gallery and the number one Dallas Cowboys here on AC (in absentia, dammit) came to mind. Here ya go, Sat, and whadda think the Pokes are gonna do next season? Eight and eight sounds about right to me. Couldn't happen to a nicer owner and brilliant mastermind of a GM. Not.

You know I love ya, bro. Doesn't Tonito Romo look like a killer? What the heck, I hope he has a better year in spite of his boss.