NFL 2014

[walto]

yeah, Beckham was unbelievable, dude only played 12 games and put up the numbers that he did. hopefully he can stay healthy, what a superfreak...

He was like football's answer to Dominique Wilkins! Some truly amazing plays.

[MRS]

I can cover that as I saw every Rams game this season (with that defense, they are simply far more interesting than the Chiefs).

The Rams are a QB away from being a very dangerous team. And a team that could go deep into the playoffs. They have a fairly stout three-headed running game that benefits mostly from the excellent blocking the O-line and TEs provide. Cory Harkey and Lance Kendricks may not be the best pass catching TEs out there, but they're both towards the top of the league when it comes to run blocking. Tre Mason was last years Zac Stacy. I just hope that next year he isn't this years Zac Stacy.

And if they get Brian Quick back at 100% health, the fivesome of Quick, Britt (as hard as that is to believe), Givens, Bailey, and Austin should be one of the best WR corps in the NFL.

Their defense doesn't even need to be discussed. We all saw how fucking badass they were this year.

BTW, I think Britt is a FA this year. I certainly hope they resign him. He really started showing that he could live up to the hype the second half of the season.

Our defense was the biggest let down of the season full stop. Against the run we steered far clear of the hype going in, what a sieve through the first half. Personally, I'm on board with your receiving core assessment but that's a tall order Nordberg, esp. with Austin pretty much out of the backfield and Cook costing us two games on drops. I think more highly of Mason but you could be right, we'll see. What does a QB away mean anymore in this league for a middle/shit tier team (not being a smart ass)? A fucking hair away from beating Dallas, took a total dump during the late stretch. Laurinaitis/LB core was a total disappointment. And all the press thought the secondary would get exposed. Throw more to Stedman. For another New Year's Day I shall stare at my Sunday Ticket bill. We're still 9-7 with Joe Montana and that's been the the handicap for over a decade. Please stay in St. Louis.

[Mo Noyz]

Perhaps I wasn't clear concerning Mason, but I think very highly of him as well. I was simply making the point that Stacy was thought of as highly coming into this season based on his performance in the second half of the season last year.

As for the defense, they got off to a slow start. But, it's hard to argue against what they did in the second half of the season. The back-to-back shutouts were no fluke. And in the second half of the season they gave up something like the thrid least points.

I certainly share your fondness of Stedman Bailey. He is the hidden gem of the NFL, IMO. If they start next season with Quick, Britt, and Bailey (in whatever order on the depth chart), I'd be content.

And I still have faith in Bradford. If he can at least be Alex Smith-like, this team could be a serious contender. Their biggest downfall is the division they play in.

[Mo Noyz]

Scott! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I missed you...

Nice of you to say.

Thanks.

[MRS]

The back-to-back shutouts were no fluke.

I neglected this in response, two awesome games to watch (Rams games! And the Peyton beatdown!), utter submission, the sack total was king. I don't care if it was Oakland and Washington. Sorry Jason. I think the consecutive shoutout record is 3 games by the Chargers? Pri Hagafen?

[Mo Noyz]

Yeah, and they continued to play hard until the end. Their season ending game in Seattle was FAR closer than the score indicated. The pick six, and fumble at the goal line for a touchback, completely changed that game. Outside of those two plays the teams seemed pretty evenly matched.

I'm excited to watch them next season. I honestly think they'll be one of the top teams in the NFC.

[jon abbey]

so if the Cowboys win, Seattle basically gets a bye into the conference championship game against the winner of GB/DAL, since they'll get the winner of ARI and their 10th string QB or CAR. if Detroit beats Dallas, then GB is the one who gets a bye.

[Mo Noyz]

Carolina scares me...

[Captain Hate]

Good stuff from Kevin Sheehan http://espn980.com/blogs/kevin.php

Allen's Unshackled Report Card

Dec 31, 2014 -- 12:14pm
Bruce Allen just finished up his “State of the Crumbling Union” speech. He appeared to be the only one that didn't realize it was crumbling. He gave very little information other than the breaking news that Hawaii now has telephones.

One year ago, he got the title, the authority, the autonomy, and a boatload of cap space. Most importantly to many around town and in the organization, he was able to rid himself of Mike Shanahan. After distancing himself from the disastrous 3-13 ugliness of a year ago and putting most of it on Mike, he bathed himself in the freedom of an unshackled organization.

How'd that work out for him? 4 and 12. And let's be honest. This year's 4 and 12 was much worse than last year. They had a much easier schedule facing a parade of lower-tier quarterbacks like Fitzpatrick, Henne, Whitehurst, McCown, and Hill. They had cap room for the first time and a supposed franchise quarterback who was finally healthy and coming off his first full offseason of work.

Bottom line, the season stunk and it started with an unshackled but very unimpressive 2014 offseason.

Let’s do some grading.

1. Allen's first move was the new coach. He hired Jay Gruden.

Grade: Incomplete

Comments: There’s a chance Gruden is in over his skis but it’s not totally clear at this point. What is clear is that his team got worse as the year went on. It’s also clear that his team was undisciplined much of the time. Additionally, his quarterbacks regressed and his team rarely seemed to have answers before, during, or after the games. Other than that, we don’t really know much.

2. Allen's 2nd move was the decision to unchain Jim Haslett.

Grade: F

Comments: Even though he attempted to give Haz some help with 2 free agent acquisitions and some defensive draft picks, Haz has never been able to get more out of less. The best coaches find ways with good teaching and scheme to get something out of nothing. Haz never did. Finally, the team realized it and parted ways with him this morning.

3. DeSean Jackson.

Grade: A

Comments: Wide receiver wasn’t on the list but pouncing on the unexpected availability of Jackson worked out. It was a gamble but they got him on the relative cheap and he performed at a high level. You could argue the team would have been 1-15 without him.

4. Brian Orakpo franchised.

Grade: D-

Comments: The only good thing that keeps this decision from being an F is that it was much better than signing him to a long-term deal which is what Haslett probably preferred. Bottom line, a 1/2 of a sack in six games and then hurt….again. Orakpo isn’t a franchise player. Hopefully, Allen now understands this to be true.

5. D’Angelo Hall re-signed.

Grade: B

Comments: This was the right move given the limited secondary talent on the roster. It’s too bad D-Hall got hurt because he would’ve helped.

6. Chris Baker re-signed to a 3-year deal.

Grade: D

Comments: The injury to Cofield forced him to play more nose tackle than they had hoped but his overall impact at any position along the defensive front was less than average.

7. Jason Hatcher.

Grade: C-

Comments: The team’s biggest free agent acquisition was hurt more than healthy but when he was healthy, he was inconsistent. The Jacksonville game was a major tease. He never played anywhere near that level the remainder of the year. It would help if he were surrounded with better players.

8. Shawn Lauvao.

Grade: C-

Comments: Individual offensive line performance play is perhaps the most difficult to evaluate but it certainly seemed that Lauvao’s first year fell far short of the 4-year $17 million dollar deal he got.

9. Ryan Clark.

Grade: F

Comments: He was obviously well past his point of usefulness, hence the reason the Steelers weren’t interested in bringing him back.

10. Andre Roberts.

Grade: D

Comments: We found out recently that the acquisition of Roberts was really pushed by Robert Griffin. Bad choice. Roberts was brought in to be a #2 and yet he wasn’t much of a #3. He dropped at least one pass per game and gave the team very little as a returner after the preseason.

11. Colt McCoy.

Grade: B

Comments: They brought him in to be the 3rd-string QB and he led the team to two of its four wins including the stunning upset in Dallas. That’s worthy of a B-grade. It’s not worthy of thinking he could be a full-time starter.

12. Tracy Porter.

Grade: F

Comments: This didn’t cost much but they took a chance on an injury-prone player who remained injury-prone. They shouldn't have been surprised.

13. The Draft.

Grade: Incomplete.

Comments: Breeland looks like a potential star at corner. Murphy is a run-stopper at this point....not much of a pass rusher. Grant never really got a chance. Same with Moses and Long. It’s far too early to grade a draft after one season but this one doesn’t appear to be anything special at this point.

14. The offseason included several acquisitions (Hayward, Sharpton, Jordan, McGlynn) that intended to upgrade special teams and position depth.

Grade: D-

Comments: Bad special teams and no depth anywhere. Add to that, they let Sharpton go and he landed in Chicago as a contributor.

15. Undrafted players like Tress Way andSilas Redd.

Grade: A

Comments: Way was very good and Redd will be a factor in the future.

Overall, armed with huge cap space and all but a first-round draft pick, Bruce Allen’s first unshackled offseason GPA was a 1.69 with 2 Incompletes. He's on academic probation.

[Mo Noyz]

Andre Roberts may not have worked out, but considering how much promise he showed in Arizona, one can hardly blame Allen for taking a shot on him. His 2012 season showed that he was solid WR2 material.

I had thought that Arians simply couldn't figure out how to use him in 2013, but perhaps that really wasn't the case.

Either way, the Redskins are in absolute freefall mode yet again. At least RGIII started showing more promise towards the end of the season.

[Mo Noyz]

To follow up on my Panthers comment last night.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... -cardinals

[Captain Hate]

Andre Roberts may not have worked out, but considering how much promise he showed in Arizona, one can hardly blame Allen for taking a shot on him. His 2012 season showed that he was solid WR2 material.

I had thought that Arians simply couldn't figure out how to use him in 2013, but perhaps that really wasn't the case.

Either way, the Redskins are in absolute freefall mode yet again. At least RGIII started showing more promise towards the end of the season.

I'm glad to have these types of comments again.

[jon abbey]

Carolina scares me...

their win streak has come against lousy teams, the other three teams in their division, a fading Cleveland team, and today's debacle.

that had to have been the worst playoff game I've ever seen, like the NFL's equivalent of these endless 6-6 vs. 7-5 bowl games. thankfully it's done, now on to the actual playoffs.

also Bill Simmons pointed out that ESPN paid $100M just to broadcast that one game, yoiks.

[walto]

I hate the Baltimore secondary. They never seem to look for the ball.

[Mo Noyz]

Carolina scares me...

their win streak has come against lousy teams, the other three teams in their division, a fading Cleveland team, and today's debacle.

Thanks for the incomplete information, but the New Orleans Saints finished the season 1st in yards per game, and 9th in points per game. The Falcons finished 8th in yards per, and 12th in points per.

Both of those teams were playing for a playoff spot at the time. And Carolina held them to 10 points collectively.

Awful teams? Yes. Defensively. But in the current NFL where offense is pretty much everything, teams don't ascend to those offensive ranks because they're "lousy".

Yesterday they held an admittedly crippled offense to 78 total yards setting a new record. Didn't have to be pretty. That's still a HUGE accomplishment.

Dismiss all of that if you want, and they may very well lose next week. But my statement stands, and for very good reason.

[walto]

Scotty, is my impression of the Ravens' defense right? Excellent line, decent line-backers, bad secondary? I didn't see their last game with Pittsburgh when Ben R. had 6 TD passes against them, but I did see the Pats game and yesterday's win. The corners and safety seem to chase the receivers around but never look up to see when/whether a pass is coming. There were a couple plays when three guys were intently focused on some receiver who was watching a ball for a pretty long time. The catches were made on these long passes before a single member of the secondary had any idea that passes were on their way, and while the receiver, surrounded by defenders, was basically waiting to catch them.

I ask because (1) I realize my impression is just based on a few plays; and (2) I'd hate to see Brady pick them apart next week. Thanks.

[Mo Noyz]

Your impression pretty much sums it up, walto. They've had serious issues with the secondary ever since Jimmy Smith went down for the season. They've even had to use Anthony Levine at CB/NB, which ISN'T good considering he's a safety.

Though, the problems you mention are more on the coaches than the players.

I wish I had better news for you, but I don't foresee Brady even having to work hard at eating them alive next week.

The problem coming in was that the AFC contenders are largely weak. The Patriots and Broncos (mostly due to defense) are just heads and shoulders above the rest. Not like in the NFC where you've got a lot of teams playing really good football right now. I felt coming in that the Cardinals and Lions were the only weak links in the NFC, but that the Broncos and Patriots were the only legitimate contenders in the AFC.

And even if Manning were at the top of his game, which he clearly isn't, I can't see them beating the Patriots in Foxboro. So...

[Captain Hate]

Yeah I don't see any AFC teams able to stop New England. The NFC is where the competition is yet I still have to think Seattle will emerge on top which means I boycott the Super Bowl yet again; although seeing either of those teams lose would be very enjoyable.

[Mo Noyz]

The NFC is suddenly as heads and shoulders over the AFC as it was back in the 80's and 90's.

[walto]

Thanks, Scott. Looks like I've got a couple of unpleasant weeks in front of me....

But, you know..."On any give day!" "That's why they play the game!" "I can dream, can't I?" Etc. Etc. {All the other cliches we hopeless schmucks mutter into our damp pillows}