2012 NFL Season Thread

[Island_Style]

Alex Smith will be a Jag next year with Roman his HC.

[rainmaker17]

And for us matchup/logo dorks, the Broncos and Packers losing ensures this Super Bowl will not be a rematch of any prior game.

[Kramerica Industries]

Right now, a Super Harbaugh Bowl sounds very enticing.

Of course, we also came close to that last year, and instead got missed chip shots and multiple botched punts.

[ninersdd]

Right now, a Super Harbaugh Bowl sounds very enticing.

Of course, we also came close to that last year, and instead got missed chip shots and multiple

botched punts.

Those certain players won't be playing next week at least.

[sportstar1212]

So I was 0 for 2 in my picks today. Hopefully, that won't be the case tomorrow.

[Kramerica Industries]

Right now, a Super Harbaugh Bowl sounds very enticing.

Of course, we also came close to that last year, and instead got missed chip shots and multiple

botched punts.

Those certain players won't be playing next week at least.

Yeah. Jim Harbaugh snatched up Billy Cundiff to store away on the inactive list as some sort of trick to make sure he doesn't sabotage the Ravens season again. Brothers helping brothers once again.

[dfwabel]

Alex Smith will be a Jag next year with Roman his HC.

And that is not good.

With MJD off foot surgery and a young Justin Blackmon, if signed, expect lots of checkdowns to Marcedes Lewis.

EDIT: Also know that Smith is under contract for two more years. If he is traded/cut after the new league year in mid-March, Smith is due a $1 million roster bonus. If traded/cut on or after April 1, his $7.5 million base salary for 2013 becomes fully guaranteed.

[FiddySicks]

Kapernick is only doing to Green Bay what Adrian Peterson did to the Packers D two weeks ago.

I'm still not buying that he is better than Alex Smith unless he can get them into the Super Bowl, which Smith nearly did last year. Then we'll see.

Having watched the Niners as much as I have over the years, and having watched Kaepernick nearly every weekend of the season both with the Niners and at Nevada, I can tell you he is head and shoulders better than Alex Smith. Smith was an awful quarterback who became serviceable as of late, but he's never been great. There was a reason that even after the Niners did so well last year they were still looking for other options at quarterback. He has aspects to his game that Smith has never had.

[rams80]

You know, at some point NFL DCs are going to look at Rams game film from this season and figure out how to limit the damage from these guys. I'm surprised they haven't already.

[OnWis97]

I REALLY hope a Harbaugh loses next week. I don't want to hear about Harbaugh Bowl from now until the Super Bowl. ESPN will be all over it this week and will be unbearable if both teams win next week.

[thespleenenator]

I REALLY hope a Harbaugh loses next week. I don't want to hear about Harbaugh Bowl from now until the Super Bowl. ESPN will be all over it this week and will be unbearable if both teams win next week.

Speaking of ESPN

[Kramerica Industries]

I REALLY hope a Harbaugh loses next week. I don't want to hear about Harbaugh Bowl from now until the Super Bowl. ESPN will be all over it this week and will be unbearable if both teams win next week.

I'm not picking on you here, but it's unbelievable how the media has ruined novelties like that for many of us.

I like to think a Super Harbaugh Bowl would be one of the most memorable matchups in the long history of the NFL. Yet there's the simultaneous dreading of the media (especially ESPN) losing their sanity over it, and making everyone sick of it before the game is even played.

[rainmaker17]

I REALLY hope a Harbaugh loses next week. I don't want to hear about Harbaugh Bowl from now until the Super Bowl. ESPN will be all over it this week and will be unbearable if both teams win next week.

I'm just glad it's not a week-long Brady vs. Manning fest.

[CS85]

I am happy and sad about what happened this week:

HAPPY because....

• the Peyton Manning oral-pleasure fest that pollutes Earth has once again fallen silent
  
• Aaron Rodgers, holy football god that graces our mortal coil, is out of the playoffs
  

SAD because...

• the Broncos orange home unis are no longer to be seen
  
• Ravens/Ray Lewis storyline perpetuates
  

[IceCap]

Surprised no one brought this up yet.

The Ravens finally get revenge against the Broncos for the 1987 AFC Championship Game. [/ClevelandTrolling]

[The_Admiral]

[illwauk]

Been through much darker times as a Packers fan than this, and the fact that Colin Kaepernick is proudly reppin' MKE makes it much easier to take. Ted Thompson and Dom Capers better figure something out though.

[DarkJourney]

Love how everyone feels sorry for Alex Smith. He's a good guy and all but this is the NFL. It's big boy time.

Go Niners!

[ninersdd]

That game was incredibly stressful and even more disapoitning for me. The Broncos' defense just couldn't make the important stops. The obvious one being the last second touchdown in the 4th quater, but if they stop the Ravens touchdown drive just before half that would have made a huge differenrce in the game. Just a lot of missed oppurtunites and being unable to put the Ravens down.

Also, boy, did Torrey Smith make Champ Bailey look old and slow.

That may very well be the worst loss in Bronco history.

I thought the Ravens win was 30% them playing well and 70% the Broncos crapping the bed. To give up a deep ball in that spot is simply inexcusable.

People can say what they want about Manning, but no question Rahim Moore was the goat in that game.

The whole defense was the goat in my opinion. The secondary look out of sorts and confused the whole game, especially Rahim Moore and Champ Bailey. Plus Elvis and Von were nonexistent, I think their names were each called once in the game. Big credit to the Ravens o-line for taking them out of the game.

And all the penalties were dumb ones, there's no reason you should have a drive where the defense has 4 offsides penalties on their home field.

When Peyton Manning gives the defense 35 points, there is no reason they should lose.

Denver, I believe had the most sacks in the league, yet didn't get one until OT. In addition, the only fumble they recovered was a terrible snap by Baltimore.

I can understand not passing for it on 3rd and 7 since you want to burn as much valuable time from the clock for the Ravens. However, I'm perplexed by the knee at the end of regulation. Like KA said, Prater is capable of kicking it 50+(despite his bad attempt eariler). You also had all three timeouts, so throws anywhere on the field could've been made.

[BlueSky]

That should be a fumble. Peyton has two hands on the ball (albeit very briefly) before the ball comes out.

I thought that would be called a Tuck Rule incomplete pass. Was surprised it was ruled a fumble.

Manning just pulled a Favre!

Yes he did. That was almost the exact same throw as Fav-ruh made to Tracy Porter in the '09 NFC Championship. Ironically, Porter is now a Bronco.

Holy crap, James Jones. Do these cornerbacks not understand the concept of "playing defense"?

THIS.

@jayfeely

It's actually against the NFL rules to kick a practice ball in overtime on the field. Had ref's tell me that twice this yr

Mike Pereira confirmed...but added that there's no penalty for it either. You know the Competition Committee's going to change that.

What's most surprising here is that there's no blanket rule giving the officials the power to call an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty if something occurs that they judge inappropriate (or is, as this seems to be, actually against the rules). You can't spell out every possible scenario in any set of rules so it would seem wise for the officials to be empowered to prevent anything that gives one team an unfair advantage.

To the Broncos - how in God's name do you...

1. Allow the long TD pass? I could've done what the defender did, fall backwards and flail pathetically.

2. Not go for a first down when one more would've put the fork in the Ravens?

3. Kneel with 30 seconds, 2 timeouts, and Peyton Manning?

John Fox is a fine coach but those are three just mind-boggling errors for a team to make, especially in the playoffs.

As for Kaepernick...wow. Every time he goes up a level, like from college to pros, backup to starter, regular season to playoffs etc., I think, "Okay, he's gonna fold under the pressure." I may still be waiting for that to happen as the guy runs around in the Super Bowl.

As for today...Go Seahawks!

Though if the Falcons do manage to win I may have to consider going to the NFC Championship game. There are $60 tickets available right now on StubHub for today's game and I expect reasonably priced tickets to be out there again next week if it comes to that. For comparison, the cheapest tickets to the NE-HOU game are $129 right now. Not as high as I thought they would be but still double the price here in Atlanta.