Official NFL Thread: 2014-2015 Season

[KnowItAll]

whoever win the sb will do so because the cards lost two QBs.

so says I.

[South Pender]

whoever win the sb will do so because the cards lost two QBs.

so says I.

Good point. Actually the Cardinals lost a number of starters earlier in the season too, and have had to fight through the attrition all season long. All the more reason to see Bruce Arians as the NFL coach of the year. They lost linebackers Daryl Washington and John Abraham at the beginning of the season (Washington to suspension), and DT Darnell Dockett in TC. Then they lost about the only running threat they had in Andre Ellington several games ago and have been functioning without much a running attack at all this month. Still they've been tough. Last night's game seemed to suggest that the attrition had finally caught up with them.
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For anyone interested, I found this video of the 79-yard tackle-breaking Beast Mode TD romp from last night's game. Speed, power, strength, just throwing guys out of the way, but I don't know about the crotch-grab when he went backwards into the end zone.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2307 ... ard-td-run
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Toppy mentioned the nasty leg stomp by Dominic Raiola in the Bears-Lions game, and the fact that he wasn't ejected (which he should have been). But maybe there's some justice at work here as the league suspends Raiola for one game--and probably the most important game of the season as they go to Lambeau on Sunday to determine who gets the playoff home field and possible bye:

NFL to suspend Raiola for one game
Posted by Mike Florio on December 22, 2014, 3:46 PM EST

Lions center Dominic Raiola said his stomp on the leg of Bears defensive tackle Ego Ferguson was inadvertent. There will be nothing inadvertent about the NFL’s reaction.

Per a league source, Raiola will indeed be suspended one game for the infraction. Raiola will get the official word later this afternoon.

Raiola was fined $10,000 last month for striking Patriots defensive tackle Zach Moore in the back of the head. In that same game, Raiola escaped punishment for deliberately diving at Moore’s legs during a kneel-down play.

Raiola will have immediate appeal rights, with the hearing held quickly and a ruling coming as soon as Wednesday.

If the suspension is upheld, the Lions won’t have their starting center for Sunday’s NFC North championship game against the Packers. But they will have him for the first game of the postseason.

Three years ago, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was suspended two games for a post-play stomp on the arm of former Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith.

[notahomer]

UH-OH, had an exciting MNF game.... Whats next is a passionate Jay Cutler going to lead the Bears to a 40 point win this weekend, with him making a few tackles on special teams?

Missed a lot of the game actually.... Like to get caught up on all the day2day stuff before Christmas. Caught most of the second half. Seems like it was a bit of a back forth battle? Bengals start strong, stumble, Broncos lead for a bit and then they stumble. Manning had his 5 career 4 INT game (first as a Bronco!).

Now I know its a bit of a stretch but it was nice to see the Bengals get in again. Kinda have a history of stumbling around during the big games so it was surprising to see them step up and beat the Broncos. AWFUL weather. Seemed like a rainy November night in Vancouver....!

[South Pender]

Yeah, right,nota...a good Monday Nighter for a change. Well, good in the sense that it was close and back and forth. But boy, did Manning have a bad night--even though he threw for 311 yds--racking up a 61.8 QB rating. I missed a lot of it too. Looks as if both teams have found running backs: C.J. Anderson for the Broncos and Jeremy Hill for the Bengals. Hill is a 6-1, 238 lb. rookie, and he had a tremendous night, picking up 147 yds. on the ground. Not a lot of fun for DBs trying to tackle that guy. This guarantees that the Patriots get the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, with the Broncos now locked into No. 2 (I think). Here's the recap.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412220 ... e=boxscore

[notahomer]

Maybe its my memory but it SEEMS there is more 'storylines' to be settled this last week than prior seasons. Sure most of the playoff spots are spoken for but there is still at least one playoff still up for grabs....NFC SOUTH, IIRC. Winning team will end up with 7 wins, I think, matching a previous low point for a division winner the 2010-2011 Seahawks. If the Panthers win they will actually have a better record since one of their games ended in a tie.... There doesn't seem to be quite as much whining about having a division winner with a losing record hosting a playoff game. Its still happening but not quite as loudly as when the Seahawks pulled it off. Perhaps Seattle did themselves quite a favour by winning that one game they got to host? IMO, there is NO WAY they would have won that game had it been played in New Orleans.....

Cinncy/Steelers still have some stuff to settle too. As do a variety of teams including the division winner in a few divisions. Like the Seahawks chances, IIRC, they'll be hosting the Rams. Nice way to relax after an overdose of tryptophan and various other holiday goodies.....

[South Pender]

Well, here we are at Week 17, and there's still a little drama remaining before the playoffs. Mainly seedings to be determined. All games this week are on Sunday. Here are the previews and odds.

1. Sunday, Dec. 28, 10:00 a.m. PST

Jaguars at Texans: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Odds: Texans by 9.5

Colts at Titans: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412281 ... ab=preview; Colts by 7

Browns at Ravens: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Ravens by 13.5

Bills at Patriots: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Patriots by 5

Jets at Dolphins: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Dolphins by 6

Bears at Vikings: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Vikings by 6

Chargers at Chiefs: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Chiefs by 1

Eagles at Giants: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Giants by 2.5

Cowboys at Washington: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412281 ... ab=preview; Cowboys by 4.5

Saints at Buccaneers: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412281 ... ab=preview; Saints by 4

2. Sunday, Dec. 28, 1:25 p.m. PST

Lions at Packers: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Packers by 7.5

Panthers at Falcons: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Falcons by 3.5

Rams at Seahawks: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412281 ... ab=preview; Seahawks by 12.5

Cardinals at 49ers: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412281 ... ab=preview; 49ers by 6.5

Raiders at Broncos: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412281 ... ab=preview; Broncos by 14

3. Sunday, Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m. PST

Bengals at Steelers: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... ab=preview; Steelers by 3.5

Game Notes:

1. Morning games. Chargers at Chiefs and Browns at Ravens have playoff implications. If the Chargers win, they're in, and the Ravens are out. If the Chargers lose and the Ravens win, the Ravens are in, and the Chargers are out. Ravens should win easily, but the Chargers-Chiefs game should be a good one.

2. Afternoon games. Three of the five have playoff implications:

Lions at Packers will decide the NFC-North title, with the loser dropping down into the 5th or 6th seed. A tie would give the title to the Lions--and would prevent the Seahawks from getting the No. 1 seed with a win over the Rams. Of course, a tie is extremely unlikely.

Panthers at Falcons will decide the NFC-South title. Whoever wins goes to the 4 seed; the loser goes home.

Rams at Seahawks. The Seahawks will sew up the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win, coupled with anything but a tie in the Packers-Lions game. Some good news for the Seahawks: Russell Okung will start at LT. There's also a chance that Max Unger will play at centre, although he's a game-day decision. This could be a battle. The Rams won the first game between the two in St. Louis.

Cardinals at 49ers. Nothing at stake for the 49ers, but a loss by the Cardinals would drop them down to either the 5th or 6th seed. The Cardinals are reeling and will be starting 3rd-string QB, Ryan Lindley. Expected to be Jim Harbaugh's last game with the Niners. The players seem to like Harbaugh and so might play hard for him.

3. Sunday Nighter. This one should be a real battle (as long as the Bengals show up). A win for the Bengals gives them the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs; a loss and they drop to No. 5. A Steelers win, and they go to the No. 3 seed; a loss and they go to No. 5.

[South Pender]

More speculation about the Bears:

Full-blown Bears house-cleaning could be coming
Posted by Mike Florio on December 27, 2014, 10:32 AM EST

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s predictions regarding the team’s future could end up being a lot more accurate than many of his passes this year.

Cutler recently acknowledged that “everyone could get axed.” There’s chatter in league circles that that could indeed be the case.

By “everyone,” the scuttlebutt includes everyone. From coach Marc Trestman to G.M. Phil Emery to team president Ted Phillips, who has held the position for nearly 16 years.

Cutler could still stay, depending on who gets the coaching job going forward. With Mike Shanahan, who traded up to draft Cutler nearly nine years ago, making it clear that he wants to get back into the NFL, Shanahan becomes the obvious pick to try to turn Cutler around — if ownership decides not to bite the bullet on the millions still owed to Cutler under the contract negotiated by Emery or to give Cutler away to another team to avoid paying the money.

Regardless, big changes could be coming in Chicago after one of the worst seasons the franchise has endured.
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I'm sorry to see this happen to Marc Trestman. Seems like a high-quality guy, but may lack the gravitas, authority, and toughness to be HC of an NFL team.

[Toppy Vann]

More speculation about the Bears:

Full-blown Bears house-cleaning could be coming
Posted by Mike Florio on December 27, 2014, 10:32 AM EST

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s predictions regarding the team’s future could end up being a lot more accurate than many of his passes this year.

Cutler recently acknowledged that “everyone could get axed.” There’s chatter in league circles that that could indeed be the case.

By “everyone,” the scuttlebutt includes everyone. From coach Marc Trestman to G.M. Phil Emery to team president Ted Phillips, who has held the position for nearly 16 years.

Cutler could still stay, depending on who gets the coaching job going forward. With Mike Shanahan, who traded up to draft Cutler nearly nine years ago, making it clear that he wants to get back into the NFL, Shanahan becomes the obvious pick to try to turn Cutler around — if ownership decides not to bite the bullet on the millions still owed to Cutler under the contract negotiated by Emery or to give Cutler away to another team to avoid paying the money.

Regardless, big changes could be coming in Chicago after one of the worst seasons the franchise has endured.
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I'm sorry to see this happen to Marc Trestman. Seems like a high-quality guy, but may lack the gravitas, authority, and toughness to be HC of an NFL team.

It seems to me that Trestman hubris has led to his downfall.

What a fool to think he could walk into a brand new NFL team and be the QB whisperer and focus on play calling that didn't work out including that ill fated FG attempt on 2nd and 7!!!! What a stupid incident - now just one of a number.

http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/bears-d ... t-all-come

This is a pretty good summary of what happened. One writer's interpretation.

[KnowItAll]

the teams I cheer for are not as good as the teams that win

[notahomer]

the teams I cheer for are not as good as the teams that win

Thats been my experience in following NFL teams....until the latest version of the Seahawks
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Missed the first half of the Seahawks game. Looked a bit rough as they were trailing 6-0 but eventually did what it took (including scoring on defence!) to put the Rams away. #1 seed in the NFC lets hope they have a solid playoffs!
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Watched most of the Steelers/Bengals. Both teams have a key offensive player in the MASH unit as a result of this game. Steelers won fair/square but, IMO, this game was a little bit closer than the score showed. Both teams (especially the Bengals) had better pick up their games because this was not playoff type football, IMO. The Steelers did MORE than enough to win but you gotta protect the ball better to do well in the playoffs. Apparently BigBen was not feeling well pregame but he did more than enough to get the W.....

Also kinda interested in what the fuss was all about between one Bengal player and Coach Tomlin? Sure it'll be explained on NFL network. I'll be sick of hearing about it by Tuesday....
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Wildcard Weekend is coming up next weekend. Best all-round slate of playoff games, IMO. The following week, the divisional round is usually not quite as good. Those teams with the byes for Wildcard are often head/shoulders better than the wildcardweekend winners..........

[South Pender]

Good to get your take on the night game, nota; I missed it. I caught the Seahawks game, although I was going back and forth with the Lions-Packers. Both games came out the way I'd hoped. I didn't think the Seahawks played their best today, but, once again, the defense pulled it out. The 'Hawks have now given up 39 points in the last 6 games--6.5 pts./game. They'll benefit from the week off. I thought undrafted 2nd-year guy Patrick Lewis played pretty well at centre against a really great Rams D-line, but the Seahawks will be better on offense with starter Max Unger back at centre for their first playoff game. They'll have their first-string O-line intact for the first time in a while, and that should help Russell Wilson stay upright. Here's the recap of that one. The Seahawks did have the better of the play, but it seemed closer to me than the 20-6 score would suggest.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412281 ... &tab=recap

The Packers-Lions game was interesting. Aaron Rodgers re-injured his already-tender left calf and had to be helped off the field. But he came back in and was obviously unable to move around much, limping through the rest of the game. Still, he could still kill the Lions with his arm and proceeded to do just that. A phenomenal, gutsy performance by Rodgers--as I've said many times before, my choice for the best quarterback in the game. He put up a 139.6 QB rating while hobbled with a calf injury, and put on a quarterbacking clinic today. Here's the recap of the Packers' 30-20 win:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... &tab=recap

The NFC-South winner was decided today, with the Panthers thrashing the favored Falcons 34-3 and ending up 7-8-1. The Panthers will host the Cardinals in next weekend's wild-card game. And the Lions will go to Dallas in the other NFC wild-card game. Here's the recap of the NFC-South showdown (or should that be beat-down?):

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201412280 ... &tab=recap

So the Seahawks and Packers get next week off and hope that the wild-card teams beat each other up.

The AFC playoff picture has the Patriots (No. 1 seed) and Broncos (No. 2) taking next week off. No. 3 seed Steelers will host No. 6 seed Ravens next weekend, while No. 4 seed Colts will host No. 5 seed Bengals in the other wild-card game. The Steelers have to hope that the knee injury to Le'Veon Bell isn't serious, and the Bengals have to hope that
A. J. Green's concussion won't keep him out next weekend.

[South Pender]

Well Black Monday has arrived with a bunch of NFL firings. Let`s start with the Bears, who have fired GM Phil Emery, HC Marc Trestman, and OC Aaron Kromer. Here, from Pro Football Talk, are the stories:

Emery: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... hil-emery/

Trestman: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... stman-too/

Kromer: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... on-kromer/

I think Kromer was done when he revealed that it was he who had bad-mouthed Cutler. We`ll probably see DC Mel Tucker cut loose too. A complete house-cleaning in Chicagoland.

Also in New York (Jets) where both GM John Idzik and HC Rex Ryan were shown the door:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... with-ryan/

In Atlanta, HC Mike Smith got the axe:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... ike-smith/

I guess the Smith firing was inevitable, but, on balance, he did a pretty decent job with the Falcons. I think we'll see him pop up as a HC in the NFL in the not-too-distant future

It looks as if Jim Harbaugh will indeed take the Michigan HC job:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... -official/

Frankly, I think the 49ers will regret this. They've been tough under Harbaugh, and I see some regression (which started this year, I guess) next year.

[South Pender]

Here's a piece about Paul Richardson, the Seahawks' rookie WR, followed by a video of that phenomenal catch in yesterday's game against the Rams.
UNSUNG HERO: PAUL RICHARDSON

The rookie wide receiver has been getting progressively better during the team’s winning streak: no catches in the Week 12 win over the Cardinals; one catch the next week against the 49ers; two receptions the following week against the Eagles; three the next week against the 49ers; and five in last week’s win over the Cardinals.

Against the Rams, Richardson had a team-high five catches for a season-high 60 yards – including 32-yarder along the sideline that displayed the array of attributes that prompted the Seahawks to select him in the second round of May’ NFL Draft.

And it was needed because starting wide-out Jermaine Kearse was inactive because of hamstring injury.

“I had to make a play,” Richardson said of his big catch in the eight-play, 56-yard drive to a Steven Hauschka field goal on the first series of the second half. “I was singled up. I was pressed. I knew what the play was. I knew there was a chance it would come my way. So my thought process was, ‘Get a release and then make a play on the ball.’ I got a release, I beat the guy and it was a 50-50 ball. But as a receiver, you don’t like those. You have to make it a 90-10, and you make it 100 percent when you secure the catch.”

Richardson did that, with style points, as he went up and over Rams’ cornerback Jenoris Jenkins and then made a reaching grab.

“He stacked the guy and made a great play,” QB Russell Wilson said. “Obviously, his speed is unmatchable. He gets down the field pretty quick. He just attacked the football. He’s strong.”

http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photos/v ... ba579caecb

Richardson, taken in the 2nd round of last spring's draft, showed 4.33 sec. speed at the combine. At 6-0, 183, he's a slightly bigger version of DeSean Jackson, with about the same speed. He has come along nicely in his rookie season and could develop into a legitimate deep threat for the 'Hawks. The other rookie WR, Kevin Norwood, also caught passes yesterday (2).

[Sir Purrcival]

Marc Trestman fired by the Bears today.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... 54562.html

Kind of sucks for Trestman. He is better than his record shows and that franchise seems pretty dysfunctional to turn around in two seasons.

[South Pender]

Kind of sucks for Trestman. He is better than his record shows and that franchise seems pretty dysfunctional to turn around in two seasons.

On the other hand, the franchise wasn't dysfunctional when Lovie Smith left it prior to the 2013 season. The dysfunction has set in during Trestman's tenure there, particularly during the 2014 season.