2014-2015 NFL Football thread

[iamshack]

If you want to say that the game yesterday is the fluke that teams commonly lose during the season, fine, I'm ok with that. That definitely happens. But that game just continued a trend of being a middle-of-the-road team on offense, scoring in the low/mid 20's, that has continued all season.

 

The Bears offense has fallen from #2 in the league to #17 as of now. They're at the top of the NFC North easily if their offense was #5 in the league right now.

Well, they've also played some fairly decent defenses it seems, in the Bills, Niners, Jets and Panthers. I think they will continue to rise in the rankings.

[LittleHurt05]

The schedule does lighten up a lot in the second half, but they've got to tighten their britches again and win some games that they won't be favored to win.

 

My concern is that this philosophical change of ours (actually building an offense) will be deemed a failure by a successor regime and we go back to the John Shoop/That's my Dick Jauron days.

 

They will be underdogs in 3 of their next 4 games, but should be favored in 6 of the last 7. It won't hold to form of course, but looking at it that way, they probably need to steal one in ATL, NE, GB, or DET to have a chance at 10-6.

[TheTruth05]

Well, they've also played some fairly decent defenses it seems, in the Bills, Niners, Jets and Panthers. I think they will continue to rise in the rankings.

 

This offense was built to beat "decent" defenses, expensively built.

[iamshack]

They will be underdogs in 3 of their next 4 games, but should be favored in 6 of the last 7. It won't hold to form of course, but looking at it that way, they probably need to steal one in ATL, NE, GB, or DET to have a chance at 10-6.

They certainly can beat any of those teams, and honestly, I feel more comfortable on the road than at home these days (yesterday notwithstanding).

[Rowand44]

Logan Thomas was an awful college QB at V-Tech. Why the hell did the Cardinals have him on their roster, let alone in a position to actually have to play in a NFL game?

He's their 3rd string qb, can't blame them too much for that.

[thxfrthmmrs]

If you want to say that the game yesterday is the fluke that teams commonly lose during the season, fine, I'm ok with that. That definitely happens. But that game just continued a trend of being a middle-of-the-road team on offense, scoring in the low/mid 20's, that has continued all season.

 

The Bears offense has fallen from #2 in the league to #17 as of now. They're at the top of the NFC North easily if their offense was #5 in the league right now.

 

I give the yardage a pass because both Jeffery and Marshall were banged up for 3 games or so, and the defenses played to stuff the run against Forte. Rushing has definitely gotten better the past 2 games.

 

The stat that is inexcusable is we are 3rd in the league with 10 giveaways, and yes, Cutler is responsible for 9 of those. If we stop turning the ball over so damn much, it will help both the offense and defense.

[TheTruth05]

I give the yardage a pass because both Jeffery and Marshall were banged up for 3 games or so, and the defenses played to stuff the run against Forte. Rushing has definitely gotten better the past 2 games.

 

The stat that is inexcusable is we are 3rd in the league with 10 giveaways, and yes, Cutler is responsible for 9 of those. If we stop turning the ball over so damn much, it will help both the offense and defense.

 

We'd at least be over .500 that's for sure.

[LittleHurt05]

He's their 3rd string qb, can't blame them too much for that.

 

Carson Palmer hasn't played since week 1. Thomas has been their #2 the last 3 games, just one hit away from being called upon. If you are a team with legit playoff hopes, you need to have a better option than him. (Not to mention, he probably shouldn't even be a #3, but that's another story.)

[Chisoxfn]

Down field as in maybe 10-15 yards down field. They didn't take a deep shot all game.

They barely took a shot in the 2nd half. It was conservative. I thought Holmes was held on the 2nd pick of the game, first pick was just awful and the 2nd pick was still a ball that Jay sailed. Like I said in the preseason, I thought the team lacked discipline and they continue to play with a lack of discipline. Lots of foolish mistakes in the 2nd half (not to mention 1st half with Bennett's drop on that 3rd down that seemed to be the start of the meltdown and of course the punt TD). Just pathetic.

[Chisoxfn]

Bears threw 35 passes yesterday. Only 10 landed more than 10 yards beyond the LOS. Only one of those was beyond 20.

The play calling in the 2nd half was atrocious. Add in some offensive penalties and it got worse.

[thxfrthmmrs]

I don't think Jay is dumb or does dumb things. I think Jay is incredibly confident, to the point of arrogance, and perhaps selfishness, in his abilities. The bad interception that was intended for Holmes was not a "dumb" throw, btw. It was an errant throw, yes, but he was open. Up until that point Jay had been extremely accurate (granted, the emphasis was on short passes yesterday), and that one just got away.

 

You can't just look at passes that were actually intercepted, but the passes that are almost intercepted as well. Admittedly, I didn't watch the full game yesterday, but I did see Cutler wasn't as aggressive and used a stable of check down passes to Forte. But if you want to go back to the GB and the Jets game, I counted that he made at least 5 throws that could've or should've been intercepted if the defender held on to the ball or reached out a little further. You are sitting there and think WTF is Jay thinking?? Yes, those passes will turn into turnovers over time.

 

It seems like he constantly plays with fire, or he would panic and throw an off the back foot pass under pressure instead of just simply throwing the ball away or scrambling out of pocket. If that's not dumb, then I don't know what is.

[GoSox05]

Carson Palmer hasn't played since week 1. Thomas has been their #2 the last 3 games, just one hit away from being called upon. If you are a team with legit playoff hopes, you need to have a better option than him. (Not to mention, he probably shouldn't even be a #3, but that's another story.)

 

 

Who were they going to bring in that was going to be any better?

 

When you get down to the third string QB, you might as well put in a young player with upside.

[iamshack]

They barely took a shot in the 2nd half. It was conservative. I thought Holmes was held on the 2nd pick of the game, first pick was just awful and the 2nd pick was still a ball that Jay sailed. Like I said in the preseason, I thought the team lacked discipline and they continue to play with a lack of discipline. Lots of foolish mistakes in the 2nd half (not to mention 1st half with Bennett's drop on that 3rd down that seemed to be the start of the meltdown and of course the punt TD). Just pathetic.

Didn't Marshall have his hands on the first int?

[chw42]

Didn't Marshall have his hands on the first int?

 

And he would have caught it if there wasn't pass interference. The idea of throwing into triple coverage isn't smart, but that INT also shouldn't have happened because there should have been a penalty. For an officiating crew that gave out 25 penalties a game coming into the game, they sure decided to swallow their whistles for something so obvious.

[chw42]

They barely took a shot in the 2nd half. It was conservative. I thought Holmes was held on the 2nd pick of the game, first pick was just awful and the 2nd pick was still a ball that Jay sailed. Like I said in the preseason, I thought the team lacked discipline and they continue to play with a lack of discipline. Lots of foolish mistakes in the 2nd half (not to mention 1st half with Bennett's drop on that 3rd down that seemed to be the start of the meltdown and of course the punt TD). Just pathetic.

 

I thought he got held when I saw it live, but it looked like he kind of got tangled with the LB on the replay. I thought it was a good no-call. The first interception though...that was blatant pass interference.

[LittleHurt05]

Who were they going to bring in that was going to be any better?

 

When you get down to the third string QB, you might as well put in a young player with upside.

 

I agree, but that's not Logan Thomas. In 2012 he had 18 TDs and 16 INTs. In 2013 he had 16 TDs and 13 INTs. In college. In the ACC.

[bmags]

I agree, but that's not Logan Thomas. In 2012 he had 18 TDs and 16 INTs. In 2013 he had 16 TDs and 13 INTs. In college. In the ACC.

 

Seriously, can't believe that guy ended up with a pro career.

[Kyyle23]

Seriously, can't believe that guy ended up with a pro career.

 

The NFL is bizarre sometimes. Look at Matt Cassell, dude played zero college football outside of occassional mop up

[Chisoxfn]

Didn't Marshall have his hands on the first int?

It was probably Pass Interference but it was a throw into triple coverage. There was zero reason to throw the football in that situation. All things considering, its funny cause results haven't worked out, but from a pure evidence perspective, Jay has been far better this year then years past and it still doesn't seem to matter. He just makes some really poor decisions and inopportune times. Play calling was just pathetic though. I'd have thought John Shoop was calling the game for most of the 2nd half. Just so vanilla and bland and I don't understand why we aren't throwing some deep shots down the field to keep them honest...not to mention we have Alshon on the team.

 

Also, is it me, or does Jay throw a lot of picks/near picks in the direction of Holmes. Dilfer was on today and continues to say this is the best he's seen Jay look and he's totally bought in and doing things right, etc, and to be patient. Jay is so much more poised, etc, and it is pretty evidend to me, but results aren't pretty. Albeit, in a lot of the games, his plays were magnified because other people made some pretty brutal mistakes (see special teams...costly drops..costly penalties...defense giving up a ton of points in 2nd half..Forte fumbles...Marshall fumbles..etc). All that said, he's the QB. Still, season is early but losing the two most winnable games on schedules hurts (Buffalo / Carolina). Carolina is in 1st place in their division though and Lions lost, which was huge.

 

The NFL is just all about paradoy. Key to this season is if team can start doing little things right. If they can, I still think they sneak into playoffs, if not, they are in trouble and we should see some pretty big changes (none of them being Jay or Trestman...barring some unforeseen disaster) and most of them being defense / special teams.

[Chisoxfn]

I thought he got held when I saw it live, but it looked like he kind of got tangled with the LB on the replay. I thought it was a good no-call. The first interception though...that was blatant pass interference.

It still looked to me like the LB initiated the contact and Holmes bailed out. Not sure if he catches the ball as the throw was still high but the contact, etc, created a wide open lane for an easy pick. At least the read / decision was good as a good throw without contact and that is a nice completion.

[Kyyle23]

It was probably Pass Interference but it was a throw into triple coverage. There was zero reason to throw the football in that situation. All things considering, its funny cause results haven't worked out, but from a pure evidence perspective, Jay has been far better this year then years past and it still doesn't seem to matter. He just makes some really poor decisions and inopportune times. Play calling was just pathetic though. I'd have thought John Shoop was calling the game for most of the 2nd half. Just so vanilla and bland and I don't understand why we aren't throwing some deep shots down the field to keep them honest...not to mention we have Alshon on the team.

 

Also, is it me, or does Jay throw a lot of picks/near picks in the direction of Holmes. Dilfer was on today and continues to say this is the best he's seen Jay look and he's totally bought in and doing things right, etc, and to be patient. Jay is so much more poised, etc, and it is pretty evidend to me, but results aren't pretty. Albeit, in a lot of the games, his plays were magnified because other people made some pretty brutal mistakes (see special teams...costly drops..costly penalties...defense giving up a ton of points in 2nd half..Forte fumbles...Marshall fumbles..etc). All that said, he's the QB. Still, season is early but losing the two most winnable games on schedules hurts (Buffalo / Carolina). Carolina is in 1st place in their division though and Lions lost, which was huge.

 

The NFL is just all about paradoy. Key to this season is if team can start doing little things right. If they can, I still think they sneak into playoffs, if not, they are in trouble and we should see some pretty big changes (none of them being Jay or Trestman...barring some unforeseen disaster) and most of them being defense / special teams.

 

Jason, this word is your enemy. Every time, lol

[witesoxfan]

Can we just take a moment and talk about Kyle Orton?

[Rowand44]

Can we just take a moment and talk about Kyle Orton?

The best of all time. No doubt.

[GoSox05]

Can we just take a moment and talk about Kyle Orton?

 

His mustache has magical powers.

 

Also, just when you think the Lions are turning the corner. They pull a Lions.

[witesoxfan]

His mustache has magical powers.

 

Also, just when you think the Lions are turning the corner. They pull a Lions.

 

That was such a sweet win. That catch Sammy made at the end of regulation was ridiculous. It was such a bad throw and he just deflected it to himself.