Nfl 2010

[Eric***]

Big test tonight for my Jets on both sides of the ball. If they want to compete at all in the AFC, Baltimore is just the kind of measuring stick I want to see them open the season with.

It's entirely possible I'll be proven wrong, but I don't see why people are so nuts about Baltimore. Boldin + not sucking last year = Superbowl? I guess I'm just missing something.

I feel like that with a number of teams, however. Dallas, NYJ, Baltimore, Cincinnati, etc. I'm not sure why these teams are so great. I do buy into the hype for some teams (Atlanta, Houston, Green Bay), so I'm not sure why my brain interprets that as anything different. I suppose that's part of what makes the season interesting: watching stories unfold. No disrespect meant to anyone -- the hype machine just occasionally perplexes me.

Tough week for the Eagles: about 4-5 huge injuries, and now Michael Vick probably thinks he should start. Wonderful.

[R_of_G]

FWIW, I don't buy into the hype either on any teams, but there are several reasons I want to see the Jets matchup with Baltimore.

For starters, Baltimore has a top caliber defense and I'd like to see how the Jets' offense performs against that.

They also have a very strong running game featuring Ray Rice which will allow me to see how well Jenkins and the other run stoppers fare against a talented back.

A good running game sets up the passing game and that WR group for the Ravens core goes deeper than Boldin. I would imagine Boldin will be Revis' responsibility, but I want to see Cromartie and the kid Wilson and the rest of the DBs handle Mason and Stallworth and Houshmanzadeh and Todd Heap.

Not ready to put anyone in the playoffs based on a roster alone, but Baltimore is a team that "should" be good.

[Commodore 64***]

New year. Same Browns.

[sunvalleylaw]

Seahawks did well over th 49'ers who came into the game favored, and ended down by 25. The Seahawks' massive personnel changes and re-shuffling might be fun to watch. Seems the changes are focusing the vets too, and they are bringing their games up. Good to see local Lawyer Milloy have a good game too. I would not bet on a playoff year or anything, but who knows. And at least they are moving forward.

[piebaldpython***]

Tough week for the Eagles: about 4-5 huge injuries, and now Michael Vick probably thinks he should start. Wonderful.

Well, the D looked better than expected. Kolb went down and don't be surprised if the Iggles keep him on the shelf so that Vick can play. He brings an added dimension that most QBs don't have and Kolb just seemed a little shell-shocked out there because of the WORST coach in the league, Andy Reid. Good Lord Almighty, he is STUPID!!

Reid, the doofus, had NO business in the FIRST game of the year, screwing around with Kolb's head by bringing Vick in on certain downs. That's fine to do after the kid gets comfortable in a couple of weeks and by then the kid knows it's not a quick hook.

[Tig***]

Interesting opening weekend.

No kidding! I was rather pleased to see my hometown team actually beat the Colts. I like Payton Manning's incredible talent and devotion to the game, and he played well (unlike his line) Sunday, but this was revenge time, baby!

I saw promise in the Jets/Sanchez last year, and I think they are one of the teams to really watch this year. I also enjoyed seeing the Redskins (or any other team) win over the Cowboys.

I love watching the Saints play, and I'm a fan of the Eagles, so this should be a fun year. I got interested in football again when my son started getting into it a few years ago. My wife is also a long time football fan, and she knows more than most guys it seems.

[marnold***]

Marnold, what a tough one to deal with for the Lions. First Stafford goes down, then that call at the end. I know it was the "right" call but it's the rule itself I have an issue with. So many other things are left to an official's discretion that I find it hard to think most officials wouldn't say Calvin caught that ball. I guess the upside is that the Lions were competitive right up to the last play of the game. I hope Stafford makes it back sooner rather than later.

Brutal. That's all I can say. Talk about a worst case scenario. Stafford gets hurt, raising the spectre of "injury prone." After that, the offense can't move the ball to save its life until the final drive (where did THAT come from?). Then they miraculously pull it out, only to have it taken away because of a "tuck rule"-like situation.

It's hard to say the defense played well when you lose and give up a ton of yards, but given the amount of time they were on the field, they played their rear ends off. Suh and Vanden Bosch are as good as advertised, if not more so. The d-backs, especially Delmas, landed some crushing hits. They made some huge plays when necessary (turnovers, goal-line-stand). They basically made two huge mistakes that cost them. Otherwise they gave the team a chance to win--what more do you want?

I guess the good news for me is that the Wolverines beat the Irish and my fantasy team is kicking butt and taking names.

[marnold***]

Well, the D looked better than expected. Kolb went down and don't be surprised if the Iggles don't keep him on the shelf so that Vick can play. He brings an added dimension that most QBs don't have and Kolb just seemed a little shell-shocked out there because of the WORST coach in the league, Andy Reid. Good Lord Almighty, he is STUPID!!

Reid, the doofus, had NO business in the FIRST game of the year, screwing around with Kolb's head by bringing Vick in on certain downs. That's fine to do after the kid gets comfortable in a couple of weeks and by then the kid knows it's not a quick hook.

I was not in the least bit surprised to see him mismanage his time outs at the end of the game. He seems to have a knack for that.

[NWBasser]

Seahawks did well over th 49'ers who came into the game favored, and ended down by 25. The Seahawks' massive personnel changes and re-shuffling might be fun to watch. Seems the changes are focusing the vets too, and they are bringing their games up. Good to see local Lawyer Milloy have a good game too. I would not bet on a playoff year or anything, but who knows. And at least they are moving forward.

Yeah, that was great game to watch!

It seems Carroll is a better fit for the team and at least they look competetive this year. I saw a completely different D this game from last year. Last season was nauseating to watch.

[R_of_G]

Reid definitely turned in the worst coaching performance I saw yesterday, particularly burning the time outs early in the 2nd half. Not sure how I'd handle the Kolb/Vick thing as far as which one to go with when both are healthy, but I know that I wouldn't use Vick as a gimmick player for a "package of downs" like Reid used him until Kolb went down. Vick plays best when he's out there down after down. He's like a hockey goaltender that needs to face a few shots before he's really "ready". Vick can't turn on and off what makes him special by flipping a switch.

No kidding! I was rather pleased to see my hometown team actually beat the Colts. I like Payton Manning's incredible talent and devotion to the game, and he played well (unlike his line) Sunday, but this was revenge time, baby!

I'm always happy to see the Colts lose, and I root for the Texans as I have family in Houston.

Oh, and unless Shonn Greene has a legendary night tonight, my fantasy team will be opening 0-1.

[Eric***]

To PBP and Marnold, I agree with you about Reid.

The Michael Vick experiment, which seems to exist solely so that Reid can prove how how knows something nobody else does, is annoying at best. The fact that Vick actually played well this week is just obnoxious, because now Vick thinks he's all that (he was quoted as saying something like "I think we would have had a chance to win if I had played all four quarters") and Reid can claim that he's justified with keeping Vick around.

The clock mismanagement, breaking Kolb's rhythm with Vick substitutions, wretched O-line personnel/play, putting obviously concussed players back out on the field, and not adjusting the game plan for Kolb just add fuel to the fire. I think that expectations for Kolb were too high coming into this season, and this game probably didn't do him any favors. He played like ***, but now he's injured, people are down on him, and his backup had a great game.

Wonderful.

[Eric***]

I know that I wouldn't use Vick as a gimmick player for a "package of downs" like Reid used him until Kolb went down. Vick plays best when he's out there down after down. He's like a hockey goaltender that needs to face a few shots before he's really "ready". Vick can't turn on and off what makes him special by flipping a switch.

I think the main downside of the substitutions is for the primary QB, not for Vick. Vick can't read a defense well enough to be an effective passer, so his main threat is as a runner. I'd say that's the sort of skillset that is well-suited to pop in and out of a game. The problem is that your main QB never develops a rhythm in that scenario.

[R_of_G]

It appeared to me that Vick was having much more success once he was the primary QB then when he was the "wildcat" guy. I agree that his primary weapon is the run, but he still has a solid NFL arm. Not saying I would start him over a healthy Kolb, yet, but I think he's more dangerous when he's out there every down instead of sporadically which tips the defense that it's likely to be a running play.

[Commodore 64***]

Kolb is the next Scott Mitchell. A backup who had a few good games, and then everyone thought he was Joe Montana.

I thought McNabb looked pretty young and limber yesterday. I'll never understand the Phillly fans, *****ing and complaining that they *only* got to the playoffs. I'd take Andy Reid over the Cleveland coaching carousel, although I seem to be one of the minority who likes Mangini.

[Eric***]

he's out there every down instead of sporadically which tips the defense that it's likely to be a running play.

Yup, I agree with that, and that's a good point.

[piebaldpython***]

I thought McNabb looked pretty young and limber yesterday. I'll never understand the Phillly fans, *****ing and complaining that they *only* got to the playoffs. I'd take Andy Reid over the Cleveland coaching carousel, although I seem to be one of the minority who likes Mangini.

Yeah, McNabb looked good and spry yesterday. He dropped some poundage during the off-season instead of insisting that he bulk-up like he did with the IGGLES.

As to we Philly fans..........it's not just about the playoffs. His demeanor drove us nuts for 11 years. He's fumble or throw an INT and he's on the sideline having laughs with guys. How about showing he gives a crap??? He had talent up the wazoo......but he was stubborn and bull-headed as could be about things (like his conditioning). He was in great shape with us.....for a Fullback though. It slowed him down considerably.

As to REID....he stinks up the joint terribly. We have had a good amount of talent throughout the years, but his brain-dead decisions have exasperated us to no end.

As to the Browns......I feel your pain brother. There was a time where we had our own moron-of-the-year for coaches too.....until we got a hold of the bombastic Buddy Ryan. He was a loose cannon but he coached our D well and such.

[Eric***]

I thought McNabb looked pretty young and limber yesterday. I'll never understand the Phillly fans, *****ing and complaining that they *only* got to the playoffs. I'd take Andy Reid over the Cleveland coaching carousel, although I seem to be one of the minority who likes Mangini.

I get what you're saying. Reid has built a successful program, and McNabb was a great QB while he was here. The thing is...try to imagine that the Browns are loaded with talent. Favored to win the Superbowl. They mow down competition during the regular season

But...then the star QB wets the bed during a crucial playoff game, starts playing like ***, blames it on his teammates and/or not being supported by the team/city/fans/players, and never seems to mind almost getting there but never reaching the top. Oh, and he reminds you of every single way in which he ever felt mistreated, by a city and a team that cater to him. Also, this QB goes and *****es to national media outlets all of the time.

Take that and repeat 3-4 times. Add in the wasted talent of the rest of the team during those not-quite years and some huge, gaping areas for improvement that said QB never had any interest in addressing. Add in a coach who, after proving he's a great coach, got so caught up in his own ego that now he refuses to change or learn because it would mean that he was wrong.

McNabb was great, but all of those little things add up. I don't know of any other way to describe it. I hope you're wrong about Kolb, but I also hope the Eagles will part ways if he truly is the next Scott Mitchell.

[Commodore 64***]

From an outsiders standpoint, I always thought the Eagles offense was nearly devoid of talent save for McNabb and Westbrook. I thought the Eagles were amazing for the talent they had...

[Eric***]

From an outsiders standpoint, I always thought the Eagles offense was nearly devoid of talent save for McNabb and Westbrook. I thought the Eagles were amazing for the talent they had...

I'd say that during the NFC championship era, the defense, o-line, and maybe some special teams players (Akers) were very good. In particular, Brian Dawkins comes to mind; he was sort of the anti-McNabb as a player.