NFL Talk

I took Friday and Monday off to enjoy these weekend's games (I try to stay away from the Internet at home), and I enjoyed all 500 of them I watched. Steve, I even watched your Seahawks/Lions games in its entirity on Sunday...just for you.

One thing about officiating.

Let's be realistic here...forget player's stats and their past championships or whatever the hell they did. Having a 16.5 avg. per catch means nothing if the guy gets flagged twice a game for unsportsmanlike conduct and a facemask penalty with a minute left in the game. Hell, maybe it makes more sense to know what ref makes what call when the game's on the line, what team commits personal fouls in the game's final two minutes, what ref calls bumping with an elbow offensive pass interference, what coach is too hesitant to throw a red flag, and what false start from the second quarter will trickle down ala Butterfly Effect and change the whole course of the game. It just seems like there's something going back to penalties each week that overrides what the players did.

FACT: OFFICIATING IS AS MUCH A PART OF A FOOTBALL GAME AS ANY PLAY RUN ON THE FIELD. I dunno, maybe officiating means more than how the players play. As if going backwards 80 yards per game isn't enough, it always seems as if 30 of those are at critical times. Sure, you can blame the athleticism of the other team to commit them, but there seems to be a critical penalty late in the game in a good deal of football games. I'd like to see the players play more, but no matter what the stats are, and who played well, it always seemed like the first thing out of the losing team's mouths is, "That penalty cost us that game." And they're right. It's just too bad that's reality.

p.s. That last rant was intended to be a general statement.

i didnt even see the seattle game.. and im sorta glad i didnt ... maybe you can explain how hasselbeck was over 80% completions most of the game and they couldnt get close enough to score?

I remember seeing at one point he was 11-for-12, and they had two field goals blocked and zero points. A few times, they would get into the red zone and get a penalty to make it third-and-ten or more. Then they would get like a 8-yard completion. Since Alexander didn't break any huge runs, it was up to Hasselbeck to chip away at the defense and sustain drives - which he did.

well i know at one point he hit DJ on the 1 or 2 and didnt go for the scored with Alexander (on 4th) Now last year alexander never failed once to convert a 3rd and 1

Originally posted by botankus
I took Friday and Monday off to enjoy these weekend's games (I try to stay away from the Internet at home), and I enjoyed all 500 of them I watched. Steve, I even watched your Seahawks/Lions games in its entirity on Sunday...just for you.

One thing about officiating.

Let's be realistic here...forget player's stats and their past championships or whatever the hell they did. Having a 16.5 avg. per catch means nothing if the guy gets flagged twice a game for unsportsmanlike conduct and a facemask penalty with a minute left in the game. Hell, maybe it makes more sense to know what ref makes what call when the game's on the line, what team commits personal fouls in the game's final two minutes, what ref calls bumping with an elbow offensive pass interference, what coach is too hesitant to throw a red flag, and what false start from the second quarter will trickle down ala Butterfly Effect and change the whole course of the game. It just seems like there's something going back to penalties each week that overrides what the players did.

FACT: OFFICIATING IS AS MUCH A PART OF A FOOTBALL GAME AS ANY PLAY RUN ON THE FIELD. I dunno, maybe officiating means more than how the players play. As if going backwards 80 yards per game isn't enough, it always seems as if 30 of those are at critical times. Sure, you can blame the athleticism of the other team to commit them, but there seems to be a critical penalty late in the game in a good deal of football games. I'd like to see the players play more, but no matter what the stats are, and who played well, it always seemed like the first thing out of the losing team's mouths is, "That penalty cost us that game." And they're right. It's just too bad that's reality.

p.s. That last rant was intended to be a general statement.

I agree with you, even though I sometimes complain about the calls. But I think everybody does that a bit.

It's easy to go back and blame something knowing the end result, but at the time, a team will always have a chance to correct the mistake. Its the good teams that can stop the defence after an interference call or a good offense getting the first down after the holding call.
The only thing I had a problem was the whole red flag thing. Pittsburgh and Jacksonville still won because they played better but I just think it needs to be worked out better. The rules does state that the play can be challenged if the flag is on the field before the snap. I t doesnt matter if the official didnt see it, or the coach threw it sissy or he took too long. It was within the rules, so it should be looked at.
Other penalties like holding, interference and late hits, thats just minor.

Originally posted by forumcrew
well i know at one point he hit DJ on the 1 or 2 and didnt go for the scored with Alexander (on 4th) Now last year alexander never failed once to convert a 3rd and 1

That was a great catch by Jackson; he reached across his body and pulled the ball in around the sideline. After 2 blocked FG's, I guess Holmgren wanted points, which could explain why he didn't go for it.

I will give credit to the Lions Defense for taking almost the same personnel as last year and not allowing any big plays whatsoever against an explosive offense, causing 2 Alexander fumbles (recovering 1), blocking 2 FG's, as well as causing a few 3-and-outs in the third quarter.

Originally posted by Smasandian
The only thing I had a problem was the whole red flag thing. Pittsburgh and Jacksonville still won because they played better but I just think it needs to be worked out better. The rules does state that the play can be challenged if the flag is on the field before the snap. I t doesnt matter if the official didnt see it, or the coach threw it sissy or he took too long. It was within the rules, so it should be looked at.

Maybe they need to reconsider the buzzer.

since you watched the game how laughable is the Roy Williams statement that the lions were close to putting up 40 points? lol and now hes garunteeing a win over the first team to shutout brett favre EVER. IN GB.

Originally posted by botankus

Maybe they need to reconsider the buzzer.

Maybe. They never had this problem before they took out the buzzer. I know coaches will problaby take advantage of it, but maybe the refs should throw the flag for coaches "mistakenly" hit the buzzer.

Or allow the refs to see if the flag was thrown before the snap.

Brooks stat line for Chargers game- 6 completions, 7 sacks. My god, they were saying in the paper that they benched Brooks not because he sucked, but because they were worried about his safety because his line was so atrocious.

I'm glad my TV and Internet was down so I didn't have watch that shitty display. At least I didn't have my hopes up for once with the Raiders. Saw another 4-12 season all the way. Picking Gallery instead of Big Ben might go down as one of the worst draft decisions ever. Gallery has been a huge bust.

Jerry Porter needs to be traded or cut. He's a poor man's TO without the talent.

well he does have a lot of talent... but they want too much for him i dont think anyoen is giving up a first round pick.. especially becasue the teams that need him would have a fairly good first rounder. Even 4-12 doesnt sound too plausible for Oak right now.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Maybe. They never had this problem before they took out the buzzer. I know coaches will problaby take advantage of it, but maybe the refs should throw the flag for coaches "mistakenly" hit the buzzer.

Or allow the refs to see if the flag was thrown before the snap.

Just make sure the buzzers work. Last go-around there were faulty buzzers. And yes, penalize the coaches who accidentally sit on it, get thumb-happy, etc....

Don't forget, you're always going to have coaches who will say,"But I pressed the button! It's not my fault your contraption doesn't work!" whether they actually pressed it or not. Something to consider.

Hmmm...maybe the Lions' secret for putting up 6 TD's is newly re-signed Az-Zahir Hakim.

Originally posted by botankus
Just make sure the buzzers work. Last go-around there were faulty buzzers. And yes, penalize the coaches who accidentally sit on it, get thumb-happy, etc....

Don't forget, you're always going to have coaches who will say,"But I pressed the button! It's not my fault your contraption doesn't work!" whether they actually pressed it or not. Something to consider.

Hmmm...maybe the Lions' secret for putting up 6 TD's is newly re-signed Az-Zahir Hakim.

Yeah.

I just know that this hasnt happened before, so something isnt right.

Call me crazy, but I'm calling a Vikings win over the Panthers this week.

maybe because atl sorta owned um? Smith will be back this week right? and that panther D has to be pretty fired up after giving up 250 yards on the ground !. Vikes are commited to the run but they still sucked at it. Taylor got 2.5ish yards a carry but they stuck to it and got him like 30 carries. It will be interesting but I think carolina bounces back.

Pitt has gone from a pk game to now a 2 point favorite on the road vs the jags. I guess they are really counting on ben playing.

Yeah, Steve Smith or no Steve Smith, I don't see Carolina playing dead for 2 weeks in a row.

I dont know, maybe the offensive without Smith is pretty much dead. Keyshawn cant be the number 1 guy without somebody good with him like Glenn or Smith.

Foster has to have a huge game to win.

well smith is actually questionable for the game and may not play. Drew Carter filled in for him pretty well though. Hes basicly a rookie he played very little last year, but he is a product of OSU, he may have some skills and at 6-3 hes another nice sized target to go with keyshawns sure handed ness. Delhomme is a good QB and I think they can still have a decent pass attack. Foster/williams do need to combine for a good day though. Although the key here is the D if the panthers D shows up the offense wont need much.

oh and man the lines suck this week its like looking at college lines.

Week 2 Picks
Buffalo at Miami - Miami
Carolina at Minnesota - Carolina
Cleveland at Cincinnati - Cincinnati
Detroit at Chicago - Chicago
Houston at Indianapolis - Indianapolis
New Orleans at Green Bay - Green Bay
N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia - N.Y. Giants
Oakland at Baltimore - Baltimore
Tampa Bay at Atlanta - Atlanta
Arizona at Seattle - Seattle
St. Louis at San Francisco - St. Louis
Kansas City at Denver - Denver
New England at N.Y. Jets - New England
Tennessee at San Diego - San Diego
Washington at Dallas - Dallas
Pittsburgh at Jacksonville - Jacksonville

Some serious seperation in the NFC South could occur come 4:30 Sunday.

Buffalo at Miami - Miami
Carolina at Minnesota - Carolina
Cleveland at Cincinnati - Cincinnati
Detroit at Chicago - Chicago
Houston at Indianapolis - Indianapolis
New Orleans at Green Bay - New Orleans
N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia - N.Y. Giants
Oakland at Baltimore - Baltimore
Tampa Bay at Atlanta - Atlanta
Arizona at Seattle - Seattle
St. Louis at San Francisco - St. Louis
Kansas City at Denver - Denver
New England at N.Y. Jets - New England
Tennessee at San Diego - San Diego
Washington at Dallas - Washington
Pittsburgh at Jacksonville - Jacksonville

Most of these games are pretty 1 sided.. ill differ on a few close ones.