2014 NFL Season Thread

[rams80]

Assuming he's out at least 2 weeks, obviously the best case scenario would be get a bye, have Stanton back for their first game.

The way Stanton was acting Thursday, I think it's a bluff on the part of Arizona (force teams to plan for Stanton, rather than worry about shutting down Arizona's run attack since their other QBs suck.)

He's probably done for the year, but they're going to go with this charade because it is so close to the end.

[DS729]

But let's be honest, the Cards hardly had a shot with Drew freaking Stanton anyway... they might as well tank it in now and get healthy. Decent QB play and that team will get a super bowl, Drew Stanton is far from "decent". He is the third Michigan State QB to bust this year.

[HedleyLamarr]

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

[BBTV]

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

Are they in the playoffs though? I just did a quick check and it looks like if Seattle wins the west, Detroit wins out or finishes 11-5, and the Cowboys lose to the Eagles but then win out (11-5), then Dallas and Detroit would be the WC teams right? If it's PHI and AZ at 11-5 then AZ goes, but if DAL then DAL goes.

It's reasonable to say that even in your scenario, they're not going to the NFCCG, and certainly not to the SB. There's like a 2% chance that they'd get through GB or SEA or PHI or DAL (who beat them when they were whole.) Tanking could get you the 20th pick vs possibly 24-28. While I don't know anything about next year's draft, nor have I compared #20 picks vs higher picks, to me that seems like a pretty significant difference.

Enough to kill moral by blowing what looked like a promising season? I don't know - but not a totally horrible thought.

[HedleyLamarr]

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

Are they in the playoffs though? I just did a quick check and it looks like if Seattle wins the west, Detroit wins out or finishes 11-5, and the Cowboys lose to the Eagles but then win out (11-5), then Dallas and Detroit would be the WC teams right? If it's PHI and AZ at 11-5 then AZ goes, but if DAL then DAL goes.

It's reasonable to say that even in your scenario, they're not going to the NFCCG, and certainly not to the SB. There's like a 2% chance that they'd get through GB or SEA or PHI or DAL (who beat them when they were whole.) Tanking could get you the 20th pick vs possibly 24-28. While I don't know anything about next year's draft, nor have I compared #20 picks vs higher picks, to me that seems like a pretty significant difference.

Enough to kill moral by blowing what looked like a promising season? I don't know - but not a totally horrible thought.

Arizona holds the tiebreaker over both the Eagles and the Cowboys because of head-to-head matchups....the Cardinals beat them both.

The loser of PHI-DAL, as you stated, would be at 5 losses. The worst Arizona could do is go 11-5, and should Seattle get the West, Arizona is guaranteed a Wild Card spot. Arizona holds the tiebreaker over Detroit too due to beating them in Week 11.

[FiddySicks]

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

Are they in the playoffs though? I just did a quick check and it looks like if Seattle wins the west, Detroit wins out or finishes 11-5, and the Cowboys lose to the Eagles but then win out (11-5), then Dallas and Detroit would be the WC teams right? If it's PHI and AZ at 11-5 then AZ goes, but if DAL then DAL goes.

It's reasonable to say that even in your scenario, they're not going to the NFCCG, and certainly not to the SB. There's like a 2% chance that they'd get through GB or SEA or PHI or DAL (who beat them when they were whole.) Tanking could get you the 20th pick vs possibly 24-28. While I don't know anything about next year's draft, nor have I compared #20 picks vs higher picks, to me that seems like a pretty significant difference.

Enough to kill moral by blowing what looked like a promising season? I don't know - but not a totally horrible thought.

I disagree with this. I feel like they'd get pretty much stomped by Green Bay in most cases, so I won't disagree with you there. But they've yet to play Seattle in Arizona, and that home field factor has to hold some merit considering how strong they are defensively. I still think they lose that game, but it's probably closer than you think. And I really don't see the Cowboys or Eagles as favorites over them due to the fact that neither team really has a very strong defense. They match up pretty well with both of those teams, who I think are probably the weakest of the NFC candidates outside of the South.

And the idea of an 11-3 team "Tanking" in order to turn the 26th pick into the 20th pick is absolutely absurd. Like I said, I don't feel like they're the best team in the NFC despite their record, but they have eleven wins. And just look at some of the awful quarterbacks who have won Super Bowls with strong defenses. Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer, Russell Wilson, Jeff Hostetler, ect.

[BBTV]

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

Are they in the playoffs though? I just did a quick check and it looks like if Seattle wins the west, Detroit wins out or finishes 11-5, and the Cowboys lose to the Eagles but then win out (11-5), then Dallas and Detroit would be the WC teams right? If it's PHI and AZ at 11-5 then AZ goes, but if DAL then DAL goes.

It's reasonable to say that even in your scenario, they're not going to the NFCCG, and certainly not to the SB. There's like a 2% chance that they'd get through GB or SEA or PHI or DAL (who beat them when they were whole.) Tanking could get you the 20th pick vs possibly 24-28. While I don't know anything about next year's draft, nor have I compared #20 picks vs higher picks, to me that seems like a pretty significant difference.

Enough to kill moral by blowing what looked like a promising season? I don't know - but not a totally horrible thought.

Arizona holds the tiebreaker over both the Eagles and the Cowboys because of head-to-head matchups....the Cardinals beat them both.

The loser of PHI-DAL, as you stated, would be at 5 losses. The worst Arizona could do is go 11-5, and should Seattle get the West, Arizona is guaranteed a Wild Card spot. Arizona holds the tiebreaker over Detroit too due to beating them in Week 11.

My bad - I thought Dallas beat them.

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

Are they in the playoffs though? I just did a quick check and it looks like if Seattle wins the west, Detroit wins out or finishes 11-5, and the Cowboys lose to the Eagles but then win out (11-5), then Dallas and Detroit would be the WC teams right? If it's PHI and AZ at 11-5 then AZ goes, but if DAL then DAL goes.

It's reasonable to say that even in your scenario, they're not going to the NFCCG, and certainly not to the SB. There's like a 2% chance that they'd get through GB or SEA or PHI or DAL (who beat them when they were whole.) Tanking could get you the 20th pick vs possibly 24-28. While I don't know anything about next year's draft, nor have I compared #20 picks vs higher picks, to me that seems like a pretty significant difference.

Enough to kill moral by blowing what looked like a promising season? I don't know - but not a totally horrible thought.

I disagree with this. I feel like they'd get pretty much stomped by Green Bay in most cases, so I won't disagree with you there. But they've yet to play Seattle in Arizona, and that home field factor has to hold some merit considering how strong they are defensively. I still think they lose that game, but it's probably closer than you think. And I really don't see the Cowboys or Eagles as favorites over them due to the fact that neither team really has a very strong defense. They match up pretty well with both of those teams, who I think are probably the weakest of the NFC candidates outside of the South.

And the idea of an 11-3 team "Tanking" in order to turn the 26th pick into the 20th pick is absolutely absurd. Like I said, I don't feel like they're the best team in the NFC despite their record, but they have eleven wins. And just look at some of the awful quarterbacks who have won Super Bowls with strong defenses. Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer, Russell Wilson, Jeff Hostetler, ect.

They would be shut out against SEA. I think in most cases, home field advantage is overrated, and I definitely think so in AZ's case. If SEA can come in to a hostie environment in Philadelphia and completely shut down a good offense (albeit with Mark Sanchez), then AZ will score negative points. It would be the first game in NFL history with a final score of 17 to -10.

I absolutely think the Eagles would be favored against them (though if/when it gets to that point, who the heck knows what the Eagles QB situation will look like). They were better than them the first time around despite taking the loss (a challenge flag would have changed that), and their defense has been playing really well (especially against the run) and I don't think that a backup Qb would beat them, despite Larry Fitzgerald being able to do pretty much anything he wants against them.

Vegas might make AZ -1 or something, but IMO that would mean that money is on PHI.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I struggle with the Cardinals, because it feels they've lucked through the season. However, it takes a lot of hard work to luck into 11 wins -- you can't always catch the other team on a bad day, even if it feels like that's what's happened with them. I noted early in the season that Arizona just keeps on winning, and at that point they were something like 7-2. Rounding to 11-3 from that point is pretty great.

I also don't have any much confidence in Arizona to win a single playoff game. If they open on the road at New Orleans, I could totally see the Saints figuring it out for a game. Atlanta had their number too.

We'll see how the Seahawks do against Arizona in two weeks at Arizona. If they come away with another 19-3 or similar win, then yeah, clearly the Seahawks are the class of the NFC.

Also, I take exception to Russell Wilson being lumped in the class of Trent Dilfer. Wilson has a career 98.9 QB rating, has 69 passing TDs to 24 INTs, and has run for 10 more. He doesn't have Peyton Manning numbers, but he hasn't needed to.

[DS729]

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

The Divisional Round of the playoffs isn't the benchmark for most teams, the Cards have the talent outside of the QB position to be playing for Super Bowls. As BBTV said, they could still very easily miss the playoffs if Detroit and Dallas/Philadelphia don't lose more than 1 game down the stretch (completely plausible). The Cards don't beat GB, they don't beat Seattle, they'll have a tough time with Philly and Dallas/Detroit, it's safe to say they're not winning a super bowl this season.

[BBTV]

I struggle with the Cardinals, because it feels they've lucked through the season. However, it takes a lot of hard work to luck into 11 wins -- you can't always catch the other team on a bad day, even if it feels like that's what's happened with them. I noted early in the season that Arizona just keeps on winning, and at that point they were something like 7-2. Rounding to 11-3 from that point is pretty great.

I also don't have any much confidence in Arizona to win a single playoff game. If they open on the road at New Orleans, I could totally see the Saints figuring it out for a game. Atlanta had their number too.

We'll see how the Seahawks do against Arizona in two weeks at Arizona. If they come away with another 19-3 or similar win, then yeah, clearly the Seahawks are the class of the NFC.

Also, I take exception to Russell Wilson being lumped in the class of Trent Dilfer. Wilson has a career 98.9 QB rating, has 69 passing TDs to 24 INTs, and has run for 10 more. He doesn't have Peyton Manning numbers, but he hasn't needed to.

To their credit, much like successful card players, you have to be in position to get lucky, and they've done that. Catching a break when you're down 30 points doesn't really matter and doesn't get noticed.

Is anyone comparing Wilson to Dilfer? If so that's just silly. While we don't know what he's really capable of because not much is being asked of him (doesn't mean he can't be a star QB, just that we don't know he is), he's certainly proven to be a smart, mobile, and decisive QB who doesn't just "manage the game" (which is the STUPIDEST phrase I've heard of in regards to football), he can win a game.

Maybe a better comparison (right now at least) would be Simms or Bradshaw (championship winning QBs overshadowed (in one case at least) by their team's defense and not given a lot of credit) with the potential to be maybe a Roethlisburger or someone on that next tier (probably not top tier though.)

[rams80]

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

The Divisional Round of the playoffs isn't the benchmark for most teams, the Cards have the talent outside of the QB position to be playing for Super Bowls. As BBTV said, they could still very easily miss the playoffs if Detroit and Dallas/Philadelphia don't lose more than 1 game down the stretch (completely plausible). The Cards don't beat GB, they don't beat Seattle, they'll have a tough time with Philly and Dallas/Detroit, it's safe to say they're not winning a super bowl this season.

To repeat. The Cardinals clinch a playoff spot today if Dallas and Philly don't tie. That is set in stone.

[Sport]

This is going great.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Is anyone comparing Wilson to Dilfer? If so that's just silly. While we don't know what he's really capable of because not much is being asked of him (doesn't mean he can't be a star QB, just that we don't know he is), he's certainly proven to be a smart, mobile, and decisive QB who doesn't just "manage the game" (which is the STUPIDEST phrase I've heard of in regards to football), he can win a game.

Maybe a better comparison (right now at least) would be Simms or Bradshaw (championship winning QBs overshadowed (in one case at least) by their team's defense and not given a lot of credit) with the potential to be maybe a Roethlisburger or someone on that next tier (probably not top tier though.)

Calling out BucFan here.

Simms is an interesting comparison. He won two championships (although he only played in one), and was generally known as a good quarterback in his time.

But really, there can only be a few great quarterbacks at a time, and there are often several very good ones. Wilson is in the latter category, and he got there pretty quickly.

[FiddySicks]

FWIW, I mainly put that in there to see how long it would take a Seahawks fan to lose their :censored: and whinge like they always do

[HedleyLamarr]

What does an 11-3 team gain by tanking? Especially when they're in the playoffs (that's assuming no Eagles-Cowboys tie tomorrow).

They get 10 days to prepare for Seattle and a game against a San Francisco team that may be ready to quit in Week 17. They get to play for a bye, and worst case scenario, having to play the NFC South team that sucked the least (I hesitate to use 'champion' there).

The defense is plenty good to carry the team to at least the Divisional Round.

The Divisional Round of the playoffs isn't the benchmark for most teams, the Cards have the talent outside of the QB position to be playing for Super Bowls. As BBTV said, they could still very easily miss the playoffs if Detroit and Dallas/Philadelphia don't lose more than 1 game down the stretch (completely plausible). The Cards don't beat GB, they don't beat Seattle, they'll have a tough time with Philly and Dallas/Detroit, it's safe to say they're not winning a super bowl this season.

Point 1: The Cardinals will clinch a playoff spot at around 11:30pm tonight, assuming the Cowboys and Eagles don't finish with a tie. Which means, they'll be drafting anywhere between 21-32 n the Draft....not much of a talent difference in those 12 spots in the draft.

Point 2: The Cardinals would be better off signing some veteran QB and at least trying to win. Sure, they won't be favorites against the top teams, but anything can happen in the playoffs.

Point 3: We're talking about the Arizona Cardinals here. This isn't a team that gets to double-digits in wins and makes the playoffs very often. To tell that team and their fans "Hey, you're 11-3 but you're down two QB's....you should forgo the last two games and get ready for 2015" is pretty stupid.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

FWIW, I mainly put that in there to see how long it would take a Seahawks fan to lose their and whinge like they always do

Trolling is the lowest form of communication

[Sport]

Manziel looks terrible. two interceptions, every throw is high, he can't run out of pressure. I love every second of it.

[Tigers6884]

Holy ! I was hoping the arrogant, cocky, overrated Johnny Manziel would be defeated by the Bengals, but I wasn't expecting a game as lopsided as this!

[DG_ThenNowForever]

The Bills should realign to the NFC.

[Brass]

Looks like the Patriots are going win their sixth consecutive division title. Yay.