2012 NFL Season Thread

[FiddySicks]

If anyone's watching the Dallas-Seattle game, the refs just missed Golden Tate launching into Sean Lee's neck and nearly knocking him out. Instead they called a penalty on the Cowboys for tapping Wilson out of bounds. It's funny how the NFL loves to talk about a "safer" game then has refs turn an eye to that. It's still the same game and they still love the "big" hits. I almost can't watch the NFL with these morons reffing the games.

Edit: Here's what I'm talking about. No penalty

I thought it was a clean hit. Its not like he nailed him from behind or even the side. He hit him right under the chin strap and he can't be considered a defenseless player. Not Tate's fault Lee wasn't looking at him.

He also launched himself off the ground and used his helmet as a weapon, though.

That's exactly what I'm saying. Tate basically sets and launches himself helmet-first right into the top of Lee's chest. That's the kind of hit that can seriously injure someone. (A la Hines Ward on Keith Rivers a few years back.) I'm not being a sore loser or anything, the Cowboys got killed today. But I just think it's silly how the NFL is trying to make the game "safer" but then they have officials not call blatant penalties like that.

It was about as clean of a block as you can get. Maybe his helmet made too much contact, but it wasn't blatant spearing.

[GFB]

Oh well. SF is legit. Wasn't expecting a win tonight anyway.

[NEW.ERA]

San Francisco is dangerous. Would love to get another crack at them in January

[pmoehrin]

I don't think there should have been any doubt that San Francisco wasn't for real considering what they did last year and in week one on the road against a very good Packers. But whatever was had to be answered tonight.

They're in that group of teams along with the Packers, Patriots, Ravens and Texans where even though its only week two you can basically pencil them in for the playoffs. There's just too many weapons on that team to where you can't tell me that 10 wins isn't a given with this team. They have argubly the best defense in the NFL, along with maybe the best running attack in the NFL, and a competent passing attack. I like them because I'm not big fan of your average NFL team being able to throw the ball 250 yards a game as is the case now. This is a ground and pound offense that can throw if they wanted to but chooses not to and can still be highly effective.

I don't want to be taken as someone who thinks that's the only way you should be able to play. If every team in the NFL played like the Niners I would say the same thing about too many teams running the ball and not throwing it. I just don't think one style of play should just become the norm for what all 32 teams do. To me that's boring and I think it is starting to happen. The Niners I see as one of the last holdouts of going to the pass the ball 1st, 2nd and 3rd down philosophy that seems to have taken over the league.

[sc49erfan15]

I love checking this site, Twitter, Facebook, etc., and seeing people talk about how good the 49ers are. But I just can't quite get on with the "Favorite to win the NFC" train yet... maybe it's just me trying to rationalize things, not wanting to be the early season favorite that fizzles down the stretch, I dunno. I feel like the 49ers were 3 plays away from losing this game, but also 3 plays away from winning by 25. The consistency isn't quite there yet.

[STL FANATIC]

The Niners do look good, but believe it or not, the NFC West has the best record in football right now. Each of the four one today.

The point not being that the division is necessarily great, but that it might not be the simple path for the Niners that many probably anticipated.

[oddball]

Picking the Bucs as my favorite team when I was young was such a dumb idea. 25 points given up in the 4th. Ronde Barber should just retire.

The loss stings, but with a lot of new faces and a new coaching staff coming off a horrid year, I think we should expect some hiccups. This team showed a lot of fight and I think we saw a lot of positives out there. The main issue in this game was the O wasn't able to get many long drives, by the end the D was completely gassed out there. That being said they did put together some drives there. I think there is reason to be optimistic about the Bucs.

Positives? Okay. 3 Int's in the first half turned into touchdowns. A couple of long bombs by Freeman... and that's it. Holy cow, if you can't win a game with 27 points there is something horribly wrong. What is that? Simple. Schiano's completely horribly play calling. Sure the players need to play, but when you're up 14 points in the 2nd half and up 27-14 and you can't hold it because your freakin' utterly conservative and predictable play calling, that's a huge problem. There are 5 years olds that could call a better game than Schiano did today. This isn't frickin' Colgate on your schedule Schiano, it's the freakin' NFL. When you have an opponent down, you keep your foot on their neck until they give up. A little... no a lot more aggressive in the play calling next week if you have a lead... the big question is if you have a lead.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

i'm not sure which was worse to look at - the cowboys play on the field or the seahawks uniforms. both are ugly to watch.

[vicfurth]

I looked at the hit quite a few times (unfortunately missed the game). I do realize there is a major size difference between Tate and Lee. I also see three illegal things:

1) Tate launched into Lee

2) There was unmistakable helmet contact, incidental or not

3) Tate doubled back on a player to 'jack him up', which the NFL made illegal

Regardless of the lack of flag, Golden Tate will be giving up some golden dollars to Goodell this week. It should've, though, been an undoubtedly easy flag.

[BlueSky]

So BlueSky, out of curiosity, how good/bad/one sided were the Refs in last weeks' Saints-Redskins game?

In response to your borderline jackassian question, they made one questionable call that I already wrote about only because the game announcers also questioned it, which IMO eliminates (or at least reduces) any homer overtones. I really pride myself in being as objective as any fan can be, for example pointing out the horrible PI call against the Vikings in the NFC Championship game. I have no problem calling the Saints' performance horrible or giving credit to the opposition (RG3 was phenomenal) or acknowledging that if there's one team that traditionally makes rookies look like All-Pros, it's the Saints.

Fan or not, it's obvious to everybody that the Saints were so horrible last week and this week, especially on defense, that one bad call (or more) wouldn't have mattered. This team has the same stink the '07 team did...Brees an INT machine and throwing just awful picks at critical moments and a D that couldn't stop an offense comprised of you, me, and 9 other random people from this board. So far at least it looks like a long season for the Saints and their fans. But we'll see. The '07 Giants also went 0-2. Remember them?

If anyone's watching the Dallas-Seattle game, the refs just missed Golden Tate launching into Sean Lee's neck and nearly knocking him out. Instead they called a penalty on the Cowboys for tapping Wilson out of bounds. It's funny how the NFL loves to talk about a "safer" game then has refs turn an eye to that. It's still the same game and they still love the "big" hits. I almost can't watch the NFL with these morons reffing the games.

Edit: Here's what I'm talking about. No penalty

I thought it was a clean hit. Its not like he nailed him from behind or even the side. He hit him right under the chin strap and he can't be considered a defenseless player. Not Tate's fault Lee wasn't looking at him.

He also launched himself off the ground and used his helmet as a weapon, though.

That's exactly what I'm saying. Tate basically sets and launches himself helmet-first right into the top of Lee's chest. That's the kind of hit that can seriously injure someone. (A la Hines Ward on Keith Rivers a few years back.) I'm not being a sore loser or anything, the Cowboys got killed today. But I just think it's silly how the NFL is trying to make the game "safer" but then they have officials not call blatant penalties like that.

In the NFL, this is known as a "block." Clean hit.

[sc49erfan15]

If anyone's watching the Dallas-Seattle game, the refs just missed Golden Tate launching into Sean Lee's neck and nearly knocking him out. Instead they called a penalty on the Cowboys for tapping Wilson out of bounds. It's funny how the NFL loves to talk about a "safer" game then has refs turn an eye to that. It's still the same game and they still love the "big" hits. I almost can't watch the NFL with these morons reffing the games.

Edit: Here's what I'm talking about. No penalty

I thought it was a clean hit. Its not like he nailed him from behind or even the side. He hit him right under the chin strap and he can't be considered a defenseless player. Not Tate's fault Lee wasn't looking at him.

He also launched himself off the ground and used his helmet as a weapon, though.

That's exactly what I'm saying. Tate basically sets and launches himself helmet-first right into the top of Lee's chest. That's the kind of hit that can seriously injure someone. (A la Hines Ward on Keith Rivers a few years back.) I'm not being a sore loser or anything, the Cowboys got killed today. But I just think it's silly how the NFL is trying to make the game "safer" but then they have officials not call blatant penalties like that.

In the NFL, this is known as a "block." Clean hit.

It's an absolutely clean hit. He led more with his left shoulder than his helmet, hit Lee right under his left shoulder, I'd show that gif to my team as an example of "how to block downfield" and "friendly reminder, be aware of your surroundings." That's the type of hit that, if it happens to you, you get up and give him a helmet slap and say "nice hit."

That said, he'll probably get fined.

[See Red]

I don't think it's a clean hit, he lowers himself to launch up towards the neck/head area. He gets his helmet right under Lee's chin, and since the NFL expanded their rules on defenseless players to include crack-back blocks, it's not a legal hit. Especially a bad call when you add in the fact that they called the Cowboys for a soft little two-handed shove as Wilson was going out of bounds.

That looks like launching to me -- left his feet and used his helmet to initiate contact.

[rams80]

So BlueSky, out of curiosity, how good/bad/one sided were the Refs in last weeks' Saints-Redskins game?

In response to your borderline jackassian question, they made one questionable call that I already wrote about only because the game announcers also questioned it, which IMO eliminates (or at least reduces) any homer overtones. I really pride myself in being as objective as any fan can be, for example pointing out the horrible PI call against the Vikings in the NFC Championship game. I have no problem calling the Saints' performance horrible or giving credit to the opposition (RG3 was phenomenal) or acknowledging that if there's one team that traditionally makes rookies look like All-Pros, it's the Saints.

Actually, I was curious if they appeared to be obviously pro-Redskins. There was a decent amount of suspicion going around in the Rams chatroom that Dan Snyder had bought the refs in the Rams-Redskins game yesterday. (At least in the first half; the second half we suspect a furious bidding war was going on behind the scenes between Snyder and Stan Kroenke)

[BlueSky]

So BlueSky, out of curiosity, how good/bad/one sided were the Refs in last weeks' Saints-Redskins game?

In response to your borderline jackassian question, they made one questionable call that I already wrote about only because the game announcers also questioned it, which IMO eliminates (or at least reduces) any homer overtones. I really pride myself in being as objective as any fan can be, for example pointing out the horrible PI call against the Vikings in the NFC Championship game. I have no problem calling the Saints' performance horrible or giving credit to the opposition (RG3 was phenomenal) or acknowledging that if there's one team that traditionally makes rookies look like All-Pros, it's the Saints.

Actually, I was curious if they appeared to be obviously pro-Redskins. There was a decent amount of suspicion going around in the Rams chatroom that Dan Snyder had bought the refs in the Rams-Redskins game yesterday. (At least in the first half; the second half we suspect a furious bidding war was going on behind the scenes between Snyder and Stan Kroenke)

Then I apologize...it sounded like you thought I'd blame the refs for the Saints' poor performance. Should have clarified that before responding. Mea culpa.

[Billy B]

It's hard for me to make a decision on the Golden Tate hit without seeing it at a slower speed, but I'm inclined to say it's a clean hit. Yes, he lowered himself to make the hit, but that was to give him a better target at making contact with the torso. Again, it's hard to tell at full-speed, but I think if any contact was made with the helmet it was purely incidental. The Cowboys player wasn't paying full attention to everything else going on around him and paid for it.

If you want to see a dirty play, the end of the Bucs-Giants game is a pretty good example. It wasn't illegal or anything, but doing that when your opponent is taking a knee is certainly dirty. Just take the loss like a man and don't be a sore loser by taking cheap shots when you know the other guy isn't trying to hit you. If Schiano wants his players to play until the final whistle, he should make that point before they give up a huge second half league.

[infrared41]

I like them because I'm not big fan of your average NFL team being able to throw the ball 250 yards a game as is the case now. This is a ground and pound offense that can throw if they wanted to but chooses not to and can still be highly effective.

I don't want to be taken as someone who thinks that's the only way you should be able to play. If every team in the NFL played like the Niners I would say the same thing about too many teams running the ball and not throwing it. I just don't think one style of play should just become the norm for what all 32 teams do. To me that's boring and I think it is starting to happen. The Niners I see as one of the last holdouts of going to the pass the ball 1st, 2nd and 3rd down philosophy that seems to have taken over the league.

I couldn't agree more. Thanks to the passing explosion, NFL football has gotten kind of boring. I'm not saying every team should run the 49ers offense, but it is great to watch a team that isn't passing 8 out of every 10 plays.

[rams80]

So BlueSky, out of curiosity, how good/bad/one sided were the Refs in last weeks' Saints-Redskins game?

In response to your borderline jackassian question, they made one questionable call that I already wrote about only because the game announcers also questioned it, which IMO eliminates (or at least reduces) any homer overtones. I really pride myself in being as objective as any fan can be, for example pointing out the horrible PI call against the Vikings in the NFC Championship game. I have no problem calling the Saints' performance horrible or giving credit to the opposition (RG3 was phenomenal) or acknowledging that if there's one team that traditionally makes rookies look like All-Pros, it's the Saints.

Actually, I was curious if they appeared to be obviously pro-Redskins. There was a decent amount of suspicion going around in the Rams chatroom that Dan Snyder had bought the refs in the Rams-Redskins game yesterday. (At least in the first half; the second half we suspect a furious bidding war was going on behind the scenes between Snyder and Stan Kroenke)

Then I apologize...it sounded like you thought I'd blame the refs for the Saints' poor performance. Should have clarified that before responding. Mea culpa.

No problem. For what it's worth, I'm blaming the Saints' defensive failings on one Steve "Kumbayah" Spagnuolo. I can only assume that his response to the bounty issue was to further cut down on "actual tackling" rather than reinforce fundamentals since that gets people hurt, by golly, and we can't have that.

[JQK]

Clean block. No flag needed.

[cameroncrazie07]

I don't know it's probably some combination of me just being a Cowboys homer, really liking the way Sean Lee plays, and hating Golden Tate, but I'll always think that's an illegal hit. I just don't see where he leads with his shoulder at all but that's just my opinion, and we all know what they say about opinions.

Also on the final play of the Tampa Bay and New York game I have no problem with what the Bucs did. You have to remember that this team lost their final 10 games last year and basically quit near the end. Schiano is trying to give this team that kind of "no quit" attitude and playing until the final whistle is apart of that. Plus if they did somehow get a turnover from that and won the game we would've been praising them for doing it.

[STL FANATIC]

So BlueSky, out of curiosity, how good/bad/one sided were the Refs in last weeks' Saints-Redskins game?

In response to your borderline jackassian question, they made one questionable call that I already wrote about only because the game announcers also questioned it, which IMO eliminates (or at least reduces) any homer overtones. I really pride myself in being as objective as any fan can be, for example pointing out the horrible PI call against the Vikings in the NFC Championship game. I have no problem calling the Saints' performance horrible or giving credit to the opposition (RG3 was phenomenal) or acknowledging that if there's one team that traditionally makes rookies look like All-Pros, it's the Saints.

Actually, I was curious if they appeared to be obviously pro-Redskins. There was a decent amount of suspicion going around in the Rams chatroom that Dan Snyder had bought the refs in the Rams-Redskins game yesterday. (At least in the first half; the second half we suspect a furious bidding war was going on behind the scenes between Snyder and Stan Kroenke)

It never crossed my mind that the refs would have been paid for (and still sounds silly), but there's no question that the first 25 minutes of that game was probably the worst officiating I've ever seen in a football game. And it was, unfortunately, all slanted in one direction (intentional or otherwise). What appeared to be a great comeback and narrow victory for the Rams probably should have been a relatively run of the mill game with the Rams controlling play and the Redskins making a few plays to keep it close. Instead, the refs turned it into a game that the Rams trailed 21-6 in at one point.

I've maintained for some time that NFL officials have a bias against the worst teams and/or for the best teams. I don't go so far as to say it's some sort of conspiracy or order carried out by the league. I just know that week after week the worst teams end up on the short end of the stick of the calls in their games, and it of course always goes without attention because the media isn't inclined to give a hoot about the bad teams. And I thought the replacement refs were getting a bad rap as people seemed to forget how bad the regular officials often were.

But then yesterday happened, and that was just a combination of all the worst things. I'm so happy the Rams managed to come out of that with a victory.