NFL: ***Official Week 14 Thread***

[jbindm]

It's the ultra-rare intriguing Thursday night game! Saints at Falcons. A loss for Atlanta would essentially eliminate them from contention for the NFC South title and make it a two team race between New Orleans and Carolina.

The Browns fired GM Sashi Brown. Jimmy Haslam has already confirmed that Hue Jackson will return as head coach in 2018. So he's already hamstrung his own GM search by publicly declaring that the next guy won't be able to bring in his own head coach. No word yet on Paul DePodesta, the chief strategy officer and Moneyball guru.

I've said it before but it bears repeating: If you're going to fire a coach or a GM, then you might as well fire them both and start over. It's pretty uncommon for what amounts to an arranged marriage to work out. There are exceptions - Les Snead and Sean McVay seem to be working out pretty well for the Rams. But most of the time it backfires. Look at the dumpster fire in Indy with Chris Ballard and Chuck Pagano. I'd bet everything I own that Pagano is out on his ass after this season. And why he got another year is beyond me.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

A Vikings win guarantees them the NFC North. After that it is playing for a bye and home field advantage. Right now they have the tiebreaker for home field but the Eagles are right there. The Vikings have the head to head tiebreaker with the Saints and Rams so they essentially have a 2 game lead on them.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Falcons survive 3 Matty Ice picks and win with defense - 20-17. That last pick of Brees to essentially ice the game away was video game-like.

It was one hell of a game - wish the first half and the ISU-Iowa game didn't overlap.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

I see George Iloka successfully appealed his one game suspension for his hit on Antonio Brown so it is just a fine.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...innati-bengals-one-game-suspension-overturned

For anyone that didn't see it

 

[jbindm]

I heard a clip of Drew Brees blasting the NFL and the Thursday Night games. His words would carry a little more weight if his team hadn't just suffered a tough loss.

But he's mostly right. I don't know if there are more injuries on Thursday night games. If there are studies showing that then I haven't seen them. But it is a consistently poor and sloppy product. It's too short of a turnaround time for these guys to be at their best, and it makes for crappy football. I can understand the NFL not wanting to lose that revenue, but there has to be an alternative solution. What about adding a second prime time game on Sunday or Monday night?

 

[Doc]

I heard a clip of Drew Brees blasting the NFL and the Thursday Night games. His words would carry a little more weight if his team hadn't just suffered a tough loss.

But he's mostly right. I don't know if there are more injuries on Thursday night games. If there are studies showing that then I haven't seen them. But it is a consistently poor and sloppy product. It's too short of a turnaround time for these guys to be at their best, and it makes for crappy football. I can understand the NFL not wanting to lose that revenue, but there has to be an alternative solution. What about adding a second prime time game on Sunday or Monday night?

I agree with you 100%. The Thursday NFL games have to go for the good of the game and its players. I’m a little more torn on college. Theoretically, making college kids play on weekdays would be worse, but they seem like they do a better job of not having the teams do that Sunday-Thursday turnaround.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Vikings game not on locally. For some reason an all nfc matchup Vikings Panthers is on CBS but here cbs always goes to the Chiefs.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Vikings game not on locally. For some reason an all nfc matchup Vikings Panthers is on CBS but here cbs always goes to the Chiefs.

Yes, I just turned on the TV and get Chiefs on CBS and Packers vs Browns o FOX. In fact the announcer on FOX just wondered how that game ended up on CBS

 

[stormchaser2014]

Packers would be the ones to lose to the Browns.

 

[Cyched]

Packers would be the ones to lose to the Browns.

Strangely not surprised to see Kizer and Gordon carve up our defense in the 1st half.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Yes, I just turned on the TV and get Chiefs on CBS and Packers vs Browns o FOX. In fact the announcer on FOX just wondered how that game ended up on CBS

NFL on TV used to make so much more sense. NFC on FOX, AFC on CBS, intraconference games belong to the network of the visitng team. While that rule still generally holds, you now end up with NFC games on CBS (that seems to be the most common) or AFC games on FOX. It just isn't simple anymore.

 

[CoKane]

Not surprised at all. Hopefully this makes something change. Knowing our coaches and front office though, nothing will. Just make a profit baby, don't worry about wasting one of the best QBs ever while he's in his prime

 

[jdoggivjc]

Not surprised at all. Hopefully this makes something change. Knowing our coaches and front office though, nothing will. Just make a profit baby, don't worry about wasting one of the best QBs ever while he's in his prime

If I didn't know better I'd say you were talking about the Lions (except half of the Lions fans blame everything wrong with the team on Stafford and think everything would magically be better if someone else were starting).

 

[CoKane]

If I didn't know better I'd say you were talking about the Lions (except half of the Lions fans blame everything wrong with the team on Stafford and think everything would magically be better if someone else were starting).

I would cry tears of joy if Brett Hundley suddenly even became half as good as Stafford is

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

NFL on TV used to make so much more sense. NFC on FOX, AFC on CBS, intraconference games belong to the network of the visitng team. While that rule still generally holds, you now end up with NFC games on CBS (that seems to be the most common) or AFC games on FOX. It just isn't simple anymore.

I think the intent was to make the Vikings/Panthers game as close to a national game as possible. It's just that we fall into the Chiefs' viewing area so we got the Chiefs.

 

[jdoggivjc]

I would cry tears of joy if Brett Hundley suddenly even became half as good as Stafford is

Part of me wishes the Lions didn't sign him to his contract this extension, he left at the end of this season (like that half of the fan base wishes he had done), and he signed with a real playoff contender and showed what idiots Lions fans are. I mean, never mind the Lions haven't had a a 100-yard rusher in like 5 years, the O line is inconsistent at best (and that's being kind), and, outside of today (where the Lions just collected its sixth TO) the D is softer than wet Charmin, receivers drop half the passes thrown their way, and coaches send out only 9 or 10 players to the field - this whole mess is Stafford's fault, dammit.

For the record, I'm like a lot of "Lions fans" here - I have my primary team who isn't the the Lions (it's the Falcons - has been since 1991), and then cheer for the Lions on the side.

 

[SerenityNow]

As a Bengals fan, I've always been a fan of Marvin Lewis. But, it' time for them to find someone else. I'm tired of the undisciplined football and lack of progress in the post season. Losing to the Bears at home by 19 is the final piece for me. Maybe some new blood will change some things, starting with the lack of discipline.

 

[jdoggivjc]

And as someone who follows the Lions, I'd be really interested in seeing the Lions blow this game against the Bucs and lose out. Why? Because I want to know what kind of a "Lions follower" I'm going to be going forward. I'm one of those that thinks Caldwell has to go if they want to move forward. One of the biggest problems with the Lions historically is the Ford family putting loyalty ahead of business sense, and they will hold onto nonperforming coaches and office staff because they're "good people". The big fear is Bob Quinn (a great mind from the Patriots who was hired to run the Lions a few years back) has no real decision-making power and is nothing more than Martha Firestone-Ford's puppet. After all...



Anyway, my point is I don't want the Lions backing into the playoffs so it forces Quinn (if he has any real decision-making authority) and/or Martha Ford to make a real decision - are they going to run the Lions like a business and get rid of the guy that has been a mediocre (being kind) coach who failed to win the division with Rodgers sitting out the bulk of the year and the Vikings using a 3rd-string QB, or are they going to continue to run this team like a family hobby, keep around their friends regardless of results, and continue to deal with the same mediocre crap year after year? Because if it's the latter, my interest is going to decline to a "passing interest" because it's what's on TV.

 

[CoKane]

The only way that gets confirmed as a catch is if the Browns are playing Iowa State instead of the Packers

 

[CoKane]

LOLBROWNS