Official NFL Thread

[RockRaines]

If Ron Turner realizes who the better running back is, then I agree that Benson should be pretty important. If it's like last weekend, where he had about four touches going into the fourth quarter, than we might be looking at trouble offensively.

I personally think its Lovie's call which one is used. Someone needs to figure out that Benson is the best back. I really would feel comfortable with Benson and Peterson as our two headed monster.

[redandwhite]

That's the thing with Lovie Smith. He doesn't like change, want change, or even sniff change. It's what killed the Bears last year against Carolina in the playoffs, it's what I believe will kill them this year in the playoffs.

 

Herm Edwards, coach of the Chiefs, against the Colts in the first round had a game plan of running Larry Johnson constantly. He rushed for something crazy, like 8 carries and 15 yards. The entire time at halftime I'm thinking, "the Chiefs are going to change the game plan, they're going to come out firing." What do they do? They continue to run the ball straight up the middle and Johnson and the Chiefs running game finished with 44 yards of offense on the ground in 17 attempts.

 

Lovie is the same way. I argued that I thought the best running back tandem left in the playoffs wasn't as easy as most thought and a lot of that has to do with Benson being a non-factor simply because Lovie Smith does not like change. He simply doesn't get it.

[RockRaines]

Lovie is the same way. I argued that I thought the best running back tandem left in the playoffs wasn't as easy as most thought and a lot of that has to do with Benson being a non-factor simply because Lovie Smith does not like change. He simply doesn't get it.

Agreed, at this point he is still a little offensively retarded. Thomas Jones is a more reliable pass blocker and receiver, but at this point Benson have proven to me that he is adequate enough at both disciplines to warrant him more playing time and more carries than Jones.

[Kyyle23]

That's the thing with Lovie Smith. He doesn't like change, want change, or even sniff change. It's what killed the Bears last year against Carolina in the playoffs, it's what I believe will kill them this year in the playoffs.

 

Right, thats why he changed QBs midway through a game twice in the past 3 years. And thats why he changed Offensive coordinators after one year. And thats why he took out Mike Green, the experienced safety, and put in Chris Harris, a rookie. He just doesnt change anything.

 

Base everything Lovie does on one game, thats really smart.

[knightni]

Sean Salisbury was suspended in October, guess why...

[RockRaines]

Right, thats why he changed QBs midway through a game twice in the past 3 years. And thats why he changed Offensive coordinators after one year. And thats why he took out Mike Green, the experienced safety, and put in Chris Harris, a rookie. He just doesnt change anything.

 

Base everything Lovie does on one game, thats really smart.

You have to admit. When it comes to offense, he is somewhat retarded. Some of his QB choices has been ridiculous, and their downright refusal to make Benson the feature back at this point is hurting the team. He is superior to Jones, and should get more touches, but he wont.

[knightni]

More fun with Sean

[Chisoxfn]

If Ron Turner realizes who the better running back is, then I agree that Benson should be pretty important. If it's like last weekend, where he had about four touches going into the fourth quarter, than we might be looking at trouble offensively.

But remember who got a ton of touches down the strecth of the 4th quarter and in overtime. God Benson is going to be a stud in this league, I can't wait to see him get more and more carries. That said, TJ is a pretty damn good player in himself. I hope the ego's can take a back seat and that we'll be able to use both of those guys a whole lot next year.

[RockRaines]

But remember who got a ton of touches down the strecth of the 4th quarter and in overtime. God Benson is going to be a stud in this league, I can't wait to see him get more and more carries. That said, TJ is a pretty damn good player in himself. I hope the ego's can take a back seat and that we'll be able to use both of those guys a whole lot next year.

This is a VERY opinionated statement:

 

I honestly believe that the team would be better with Benson as the feature back and Peterson as the third down/sub going forward.

[Chisoxfn]

That's the thing with Lovie Smith. He doesn't like change, want change, or even sniff change. It's what killed the Bears last year against Carolina in the playoffs, it's what I believe will kill them this year in the playoffs.

 

Herm Edwards, coach of the Chiefs, against the Colts in the first round had a game plan of running Larry Johnson constantly. He rushed for something crazy, like 8 carries and 15 yards. The entire time at halftime I'm thinking, "the Chiefs are going to change the game plan, they're going to come out firing." What do they do? They continue to run the ball straight up the middle and Johnson and the Chiefs running game finished with 44 yards of offense on the ground in 17 attempts.

 

Lovie is the same way. I argued that I thought the best running back tandem left in the playoffs wasn't as easy as most thought and a lot of that has to do with Benson being a non-factor simply because Lovie Smith does not like change. He simply doesn't get it.

Whoa...this is a guy that benched Mike Green pretty much right at the beginning of the season in favor of a late round rookie (Chris Harris) or that made a quick change and brought Danial Manning into the starting lineup. Aside from the QB position (and I personally have long backed Lovie on the QB situation), this guy has never been afraid to make a change.

 

Heck, Lovie made a ballsy move last year by benching Orton in favor of Rex when he came back. Lovie's history has shown that he will play the guy that he feels will be best. He won't play the guy that makes more money or that has been the long term starter in the past and thats why I like Lovie so much and I think thats why the players respect him so much (you know you'll get your shot if you play well; there aren't any politics with Lovie).

[Jordan4life_2007]

I personally think its Lovie's call which one is used. Someone needs to figure out that Benson is the best back. I really would feel comfortable with Benson and Peterson as our two headed monster.

 

That makes a lot of sense. Let's bench a guy that's rushed for over 2500 yards the last two years for Peterson? Benson is playing better. But not enough to supplant TJ. And TJ is still a much better blocker. That's key when you know teams are gonna be throwing crazy ass blitzes at Rex pretty much all game.

[RockRaines]

That makes a lot of sense. Let's bench a guy that's rushed for over 2500 yards the last two years for Peterson? Benson is playing better. But not enough to supplant TJ. And TJ is still a much better blocker. That's key when you know teams are gonna be throwing crazy ass blitzes at Rex pretty much all game.

I said going forward, meaning next year. I think Benson is head and shoulders a better runner than TJ at this point and has looked good in pass protection and receivng of late. Peterson is good at pass blocking. Thats my thought process in case you were wondering.

[T R U]

Cam Cameron is the new Dolphins head coach..

 

We have needed an offensive minded coach for quite some time.. I am excited about what he is going to be able to do with Ronnie Brown, they need to just pound away with him

 

Rowand, how you feel?

[Jordan4life_2007]

I said going forward, meaning next year. I think Benson is head and shoulders a better runner than TJ at this point and has looked good in pass protection and receivng of late. Peterson is good at pass blocking. Thats my thought process in case you were wondering.

 

I took "going foward" as this Sunday and hopefully the SB. My mistake. And, yes, TJ is probably gonna have to go somewhere else. I agree that Benson has done a good job catching the ball. Blocking? I still don't see it. And let's say he is better, he's still nowhere near the blocker TJ is. Atleast not at this point.

Edited January 19, 2007 by Jordan4life_2006

[Chisoxfn]

Cam Cameron is the new Dolphins head coach..

 

We have needed an offensive minded coach for quite some time.. I am excited about what he is going to be able to do with Ronnie Brown, they need to just pound away with him

 

Rowand, how you feel?

I think this is a solid hire. Cameron has done a great job in San Diego. That said he has a whole heck of a lot of weapons that make things easier on an OC.

[T R U]

TRU, can you go a little deeper in the Brown talk? Only reason I ask is I have him in a keeper league, and I'm 95% that i'm keeping him, but I can keep 4 out of these 5.

 

R.Brown-Tory Holt-Larry Fitz-Lawerence Maroney-Marc Buldger

 

Buldger seems to be the odd man out, but Brown was a big disappointment for me, and Ricky might come back correct?

 

Yes, Ricky Williams' agent has already said that he will return to Miami, of course if they want him which im pretty sure they will. However, I still doubt thats going to change Brown from getting a big chunk of carries per game.

 

There were numerous times this year when Ronnie would just be pounding off 5-7 yards per run and all the sudden they just stopped running the ball and decided to throw it. They strayed away from Brown so many times and I blame that in part to Saban completely inept to the offensive side of the ball, and also the fact that Mike Mularky wasn't allowed to run his own system but to run variations of Linehans system they had run the previous year. Brown has only had 3 games in his career where he had over 25 carries and what a shock, we won all 3 of those.

 

Now that we have Cameron I think that we are going to have much smarter play calling and I think that he isnt going to abandon the run like Saban/Mularky had this past season. I really think Brown is going to flourish under Camerons play calling, Cameron has produced prolific offenses in San Diego the past 3 years and I think Miami has just as many weapons as San Diego has.

 

Fantasy wise, yeah hes been a disappointment in his two seasons but ide say thats mostly because he was only getting around 15 carries per game thus far. If they can get him the ball 20-25 times a game every game theres no reason he cant put up 1500 yards and 12-15 TD's. Hes also an amazing receiver and SD used LT a lot in the passing game which should also boost for Brown this upcoming season.

 

Finally, Cameron is reunited with Hudson Houck who was the OL coach in SD before coming to Miami. They have worked together before and I think if they bring in a couple players for the OL and since there is familiarity there between the system it should be another thing that helps Brown out. I really think hes going to have a big year next year, hell he had 1,008 yards this year in 12 games with poor OL play and pathetic play calling.

[The Ginger Kid]

I don't know why I should be surprised by the overwhelming opinion of "experts" picking the Saints, but I am surprised by their reasoning, especially the constant knock on the Bears D. Yes, it's not as good as it was. But what about the Saints D? Seems to be overlooked in all the discussion. It used to be that you always picked the better defense in playoff time, and the Bears are clearly still a MUCH better defense than the Saints.

 

Whatever, it will make the Bears 37-17 NFC victory all the sweeter.

[Kalapse]

I don't know why I should be surprised by the overwhelming opinion of "experts" picking the Saints, but I am surprised by their reasoning, especially the constant knock on the Bears D. Yes, it's not as good as it was. But what about the Saints D? Seems to be overlooked in all the discussion. It used to be that you always picked the better defense in playoff time, and the Bears are clearly still a MUCH better defense than the Saints.

 

Whatever, it will make the Bears 37-17 NFC victory all the sweeter.

What's odd is how 'experts' are using the Saints 27-24 victory as a positive giving that as a reason why they'll beat the Bears but at the same time they use the Bears' 27-24 victory over the Seahawks as a negative and one of the reasons why they'll lose on Sunday. I really don't get it, the Bears' D gives up 24 points and suddenly they're bad but he Saints' D gives up 24 and they're on a roll, playing with intensity and have momentum going into Sunday's game.

 

Talk about hypocrisy.

[T R U]

I don't know why I should be surprised by the overwhelming opinion of "experts" picking the Saints, but I am surprised by their reasoning, especially the constant knock on the Bears D. Yes, it's not as good as it was. But what about the Saints D? Seems to be overlooked in all the discussion. It used to be that you always picked the better defense in playoff time, and the Bears are clearly still a MUCH better defense than the Saints.

 

Whatever, it will make the Bears 37-17 NFC victory all the sweeter.

 

I wouldn't say they are clearly a MUCH better defense.. its the 11th ranked defense vs the 5th ranked defense.. Both of them pretty much give up the same amount of yards per game (294 to 307) and the ppg is only about a 4 point difference, its not like its lopsided in one direction here. If you want to talk about stuff being clearly much better, I would say the Saints offense is clearly much better than the Bears offense. With the Bears weak point being pass defense (Its still good, but they are better against the run) and the Saints being the #1 passing team in the league I wouldn't be shocked to see New Orleans win this game.

[Soxbadger]

Its because experts want to feel good and pick NO. They get a happy feeling when they see on their little sheet that they picked NO to be in the Super Bowl.

 

Thats why atleast on ESPN the only expert without a heart (computer) picked the Bears.

 

Im glad we are the underdog, and my score prediction is a bold 27-10.

 

I think the Seahawks were a better team than the Saints. If the Saints played any games without Brees they would not be in the playoffs, if Duece went down maybe they arent the 2 seed. Seahawks over came injuries to their top 3 offensive players, and then played the Bears at full strength.

 

I dont know maybe Im just to big of a Bears fan to understand. But I feel like im pretty fair in my critiques, and I just dont see where these experts are coming from. Its a home game in an outdoor stadium, its supposed to snow.

 

And I dont get how you knock the Bears defense when they are playing the Saints. Maybe they are not the #1 defense anymore, but all they have to be is better than the Saints defense.

 

PF PA

A. 427 255

B. 413 322

 

Team A has the most points scored and the least points against.

 

Team A has to be the Saints right?

Edited January 20, 2007 by Soxbadger

[Jordan4life_2007]

I wouldn't say they are clearly a MUCH better defense.. its the 11th ranked defense vs the 5th ranked defense.. Both of them pretty much give up the same amount of yards per game (294 to 307) and the ppg is only about a 4 point difference, its not like its lopsided in one direction here. If you want to talk about stuff being clearly much better, I would say the Saints offense is clearly much better than the Bears offense. With the Bears weak point being pass defense (Its still good, but they are better against the run) and the Saints being the #1 passing team in the league I wouldn't be shocked to see New Orleans win this game.

 

Yes, the Bears are CLEARLY a better defense than the Saints. It's just that we're expected to hold every team to 10 points or lower, while the Saints can give up 24 and people say "wow!"

 

And the overall stats don't really tell the truth. Our last 4 games or whatever brought us a little back down to earth stats wise. There are many reasons for our slippage the last half of the season (I never ever want to see Devin Hester at cb again). Do you know last week was the first time in I believe 6 weeks that we had both our starting corners play the same game? We had our starting safety out. The Tank Johnson thing. And just overall boredom. These guys aren't robots. We had everything clinched by week 14. It's not surprising to see the intensity slip a little. And the d wasn't nearly as bad last week as many are making it out to be. First of all, you can't even fault them for the TD that came directly off of a Rex turnover that had them inside the 20. Second, their leading receiver was Darrell Jackson with a whopping 49 yards. Yeah, Alexander went off in the second half. But he got stuffed when it counted. In fact, the Seahawks were 0 for their last 7 on third down last week.

 

As far as the Saints d goes, they're 23rd against the run this year. Their secondary is old and slow. Even Saints fans admit this much. Fred Thomas has been getting pwned! all season long. They're very prone to giving up huge passing plays. In fact, in their last 6 games, they've given up atleast one td pass of over 20 yards. Has anybody outside of diehard football fans even heard of their LBs? They've got a couple of good DEs. That's it. Bottomline: if we protect Rex, it's a wrap.

 

Its because experts want to feel good and pick NO. They get a happy feeling when they see on their little sheet that they picked NO to be in the Super Bowl.

 

Thats why atleast on ESPN the only expert without a heart (computer) picked the Bears.

 

Im glad we are the underdog, and my score prediction is a bold 27-10.

 

I think the Seahawks were a better team than the Saints. If the Saints played any games without Brees they would not be in the playoffs, if Duece went down maybe they arent the 2 seed. Seahawks over came injuries to their top 3 offensive players, and then played the Bears at full strength.

 

I dont know maybe Im just to big of a Bears fan to understand. But I feel like im pretty fair in my critiques, and I just dont see where these experts are coming from. Its a home game in an outdoor stadium, its supposed to snow.

 

And I dont get how you knock the Bears defense when they are playing the Saints. Maybe they are not the #1 defense anymore, but all they have to be is better than the Saints defense.

 

PF PA

A. 427 255

B. 413 322[/b}

 

 

Team A has the most points scored and the least points against.

 

Team A has to be the Saints right?

 

 

Well, to be fair, if you take away the 3 defensive scores and, of course, the 6 returns by Hester, they've got us beat by a good 50 points. Thats not the point. They have the better offense. I don't think anybody is denying that. The Colts have had a better offense than the Pats for years. Where has that gotten them? We have the better football team.

[The Ginger Kid]

I wouldn't say they are clearly a MUCH better defense.. its the 11th ranked defense vs the 5th ranked defense.. Both of them pretty much give up the same amount of yards per game (294 to 307) and the ppg is only about a 4 point difference, its not like its lopsided in one direction here. If you want to talk about stuff being clearly much better, I would say the Saints offense is clearly much better than the Bears offense. With the Bears weak point being pass defense (Its still good, but they are better against the run) and the Saints being the #1 passing team in the league I wouldn't be shocked to see New Orleans win this game.

 

You're overlooking one of the most important defensive statistics, takeaways. The Saints won only one game this year in which they turned the ball over more than their opponent. I think there's a far greater likelihood of the Bears creating more turnovers than they commit this weekend and it will be the difference, not to mention Devin Hester.

 

And I don't agree about the Saints offense. They produced 8 more TD's than the Bears this season yet the Bears as a team scored more points. I know they're damn good, but the way they're being portrayed as this unstoppable force you'd think they were the second coming of Montana and the 49ers. I hope they read their own press.

[Soxbadger]

Well if you take away all the turnovers by Rex Im sure that our defense has given up less points.

 

The problem is that you cant just compartmentalize the game.

 

The Bears have scored more points and been scored on less times. There are a variety of reasons for this, turn overs, field possession, defense, etc. Its just people act like the Bears can not score points, when through out the season including the playoffs the Bears have scored more points than the Saints.

 

Last week without 1 defensive or special teams td the Bears scored the same amount of points as the Saints. They even had 1 negated for a block in the back.

Edited January 20, 2007 by Soxbadger

[Jordan4life_2007]

Well if you take away all the turnovers by Rex Im sure that our defense has given up less points.

 

The problem is that you cant just compartmentalize the game.

 

The Bears have scored more points and been scored on less times. There are a variety of reasons for this, turn overs, field possession, defense, etc. Its just people act like the Bears can not score points, when through out the season including the playoffs the Bears have scored more points than the Saints.

 

Last week without 1 defensive or special teams play the Bears scored the same amount of points as the Saints. They even had 1 negated for a block in the back.

 

Oh, yeah, I'm not trying to say they don't count. But if you go strictly by offensive scores, they've got us beat pretty good. And you're right, people totally underrate what this Bears offense can do -- especially when Rex is on. I'm damn confident he'll be on Sunday.

[Soxbadger]

And the Bears kicked more fg's:

 

Gould: 32/36

Carney: 23/25

 

The Bears settled for FG's in many more games beause of the leads they had. Because if you look at XP's both Carney and Gould kicked 47.

 

We shall see on Sunday though. Either Ill look really stupid, or really right.