2016 NFL THREAD - Super Bowl 51 - Patriots' Day: V - Screw Goodell

[PowerSlave]

Watched the Jed York (49ers owner) press conference and the stupid questions never cease to amaze me.  Some guy asked why he shouldn't be dismissed. Uh, owners don't get fired or dismissed.  Gotta admit, he handled the criticism pretty well.

...if Steelers make it to the dance I want no part of Aaron Rodgers.

Help me out here. What's the connection between the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers?

The super bowl a few years back when he lit the steeler's secondary up. It got a little ugly.

[RoeDent]

Playoff lineup looks good. Something memorable always happens at this time of year, regardless of the teams involved. Some surprises in there too. I mean, who had Oakland, Miami or even Dallas in the playoffs at the start of the season? Bring it on!

[King Postwhore]

I'm glad everyone is counting the Steelers out. 

Everyone is not doing that.  Practically everywhere you look, KC and Pittsburgh are being viewed as the only teams in the AF with any real shot of winning at NE.

Weirdly enough I'm more afraid of KC and I shouldn't be.  I think the Pats match up well against Pitt but that doesn't mean they can't beat us.

[DragonAttack]

'Schedules' for 2017   https://www.fbschedules.com/nfl/2017-nfl-football-schedules.php 

Divisional round comments:  I miss the old days of the early and late afternoon Saturday games (not a fan of the 3pm/630pm conference final starts as well).   Some times the rotations work as to who plays on what days, some times they don't.

The early divisional Saturday game:  I'm ready to watch the best weekend of football of the year, am figuring on Sea/Atlanta, and will enjoy almost every minute.  I have no idea if I'll be awake for the 2nd half or not of the nightcap.  The early game has had its share of being the best of the round (Balto-Denver, anyone?)

Back when the Ravens were always part of the mix, it was amazing how much complaining took place by fans as to what days the games were played, as well as the times.  The divisional round was set in stone before the season even took place, but you couldn't convince some of them of that fact (#1 AFC on Saturday one year, on Sunday the next).  Same with the time of the conference championships.  Since ESPN and NBC got into the TV mix, I have no clue anymore as to how the first two rounds get scheduled.

[TAC]

So I don't get why the 49ers even hired Chip Kelly. Why hire, then fire after ONE year?

[King Postwhore]

So I don't get why the 49ers even hired Chip Kelly. Why hire, then fire after ONE year?

That is on ownership.

[DragonAttack]

One last thing, it helps to be able to smile when you make the playoffs

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=detroit%20free%20press 

https://giphy.com/gifs/falling-YM5sCzJLC9O9i

[Dream Team]

So I don't get why the 49ers even hired Chip Kelly. Why hire, then fire after ONE year?

Classic actions of an organization that doesn't know what it's doing. Hiring him in the first place was a mistake.

[PowerSlave]

So I don't get why the 49ers even hired Chip Kelly. Why hire, then fire after ONE year?

Classic actions of an organization that doesn't know what it's doing. Hiring him in the first place was a mistake.

They're beginning to resemble the browns. Factory of Sadness West.

[pogoowner]

Watched the Jed York (49ers owner) press conference and the stupid questions never cease to amaze me.  Some guy asked why he shouldn't be dismissed. Uh, owners don't get fired or dismissed.  Gotta admit, he handled the criticism pretty well.

That's Lowell Cohn. He loves to stir the pot with stupid questions like that. I'm all for being critical of ownership, but come up with something decent to ask.

And yeah, firing Chip Kelly was not a mistake. Hiring him and pairing him with Baalke was. Should've started with a fresh GM/HC combo last year.

[King Postwhore]

"So in one game Fitzpatrick had as many picks as NE and Dallas combined for an entire season? You have to admit that’s impressive."

This was posted before the Dallas game before butt fumble threw 2 making it 6 for Dallas but it's still funny.

[dparrott]

So both my teams could possibly be knocked out on Saturday.  That should be fun.

[jammindude]

My Seahawks are completely lost as a team.   Such a shame.   The fire of 2013 is gone.   In fighting....injuries....worst OL in the NFL....    They will squeak out a win at home against the Lions....but they will get slaughtered in the divisional.   

I still hold out hope that the core is young enough to give us a better run next year if we get a better OL and an attitude adjustment.

[Cool Chris]

I think I heard the O-Line is the lowest paid in the NFL. They need to stop trying to Frankenstein the line together with guys who played other positions. It's not working.

Otherwise, I think our window for another SB is still open, but only by a crack. Schneider can still evaluate talent well and Carroll has a few years left at the helm. And of course payroll won't become an issue.

[Dr. DTVT]

I thought Perfect Strangers made it Baalke wasn't familiar with American customs, let alone American football.

[dparrott]

  They will squeak out a win at home against the Lions....

I'm not even confident of that.

[bosk1]

So I don't get why the 49ers even hired Chip Kelly. Why hire, then fire after ONE year?

Classic actions of an organization that doesn't know what it's doing. Hiring him in the first place was a mistake.

I agree that hiring him was part of them being lost and not knowing what they were doing.  It was clear when they dumped Harbaugh that they didn't have a plan in place to actually fill that void.  Same the following year when they hired Kelly.  But, IMO, it is just as stupid firing him now.  They clearly STILL don't have a plan for what to do now.  And like him or hate him, he's a decent coach who had NOTHING in place to work with.  They had decent starters at the beginning of the year in many positions.  But as a whole, even their starting roster was pretty thin.  The bench was EXTREMELY thin.  Couple that with all the injuries they had at the start of the year, and there was nothing any coach could have done with that team.  The 49ers record is not a reflection on Kelly at all, IMO.  He should have at least been given a chance to see what he could do and to develop some personnel among the player ranks and the coaching staff.  Typical 49ers front office shortsightedness to fire him without any backup plan in place.  I guarantee you that they have no clue who they will hire to fill the void, and you will once again see them scrambling to find even a third tier coach late in the game who is available and willing to come.

[pogoowner]

The problem, though, is that Baalke had to go. He and Kelly's staff weren't communicating with one another from I've been reading. But you're not going to attract a top candidate at GM if you're trying to saddle him with Kelly (I also don't think Kelly has shown enough signs of adapting his offense to the NFL). I think completely cleaning house was the way to go. Now, am I confident in Jed York and Paraag Marathe hiring a good candidate? Absolutely not. But they should at least try.

[bosk1]

The problem, though, is that Baalke had to go. He and Kelly's staff weren't communicating with one another from I've been reading. But you're not going to attract a top candidate at GM if you're trying to saddle him with Kelly (I also don't think Kelly has shown enough signs of adapting his offense to the NFL). I think completely cleaning house was the way to go. Now, am I confident in Jed York and Paraag Marathe hiring a good candidate? Absolutely not. But they should at least try.

Okay, I hadn't looked at it from that perspective.  I guess that makes sense.  Still, I'm with you in having almost zero faith in the ownership to change course and actually make good decisions.  But we'll see. 

[cramx3]

Yea, San Fran cleaning house made sense.  Chip Kelley hasn't shown any ability to be a good NFL coach (Not saying he can't do it, but so far he hasn't shown it) so him getting the boot while not totally fair to him, isn't really a wrong move either.  They need to keep the owner (or the owner's son) out of making decisions though.  They really should have done a full house clean after Harbough though since the organizations seemed like it needed it at that point.

[Dublagent66]

You're right.  Kelly wasn't that good of a coach anyway.  That was evident in Philly.  Not sure why they wanted him in SF to begin with.  Maybe they realized it too late and that's why he's gone after only 1 year.

[cramx3]

You're right.  Kelly wasn't that good of a coach anyway.  That was evident in Philly.  Not sure why they wanted him in SF to begin with.  Maybe they realized it too late and that's why he's gone after only 1 year.

Maybe, I think they just didn't have options.  Chip would be better off coaching in college again where he had success and I think college ball fits his mentality a bit better (having more control).  Oregon has an opening again.

[bosk1]

You're right.  Kelly wasn't that good of a coach anyway.  That was evident in Philly.  Not sure why they wanted him in SF to begin with.  Maybe they realized it too late and that's why he's gone after only 1 year.

They had no contingency plan when they fired Tomsula.  I think he was literally the best they could get.

[PowerSlave]

You're right.  Kelly wasn't that good of a coach anyway.  That was evident in Philly.  Not sure why they wanted him in SF to begin with.  Maybe they realized it too late and that's why he's gone after only 1 year.

They had no contingency plan when they fired Tomsula.  I think he was literally the best they could get.

Considering the circumstances, do the fans in your area feel like Tomsula got a raw deal?

[Dream Team]

Not sure if I should start another thread for this, but was hoping we could once again do a little NFL Playoffs pool. Eleven games total and I could keep track of the standings. Total points would be the tiebreaker for the Super Bowl pick. I'll probably update these Friday but here is what I think:

TEXANS over Raiders
SEAHAWKS over Lions
STEELERS over Dolphins
PACKERS over Giants

[bosk1]

@PowerSlave:  I don't think so.  They were coming for him with pitchforks and torches as well.  The difference is, I think, it was pretty clear that he had lost the confidence of the team.  I don't think that is the case with Kelly.  But remember that when Harbaugh left and they announced Tomsula, they suddenly had mass defections and early retirements that gutted the roster.  I think that speaks volumes.

[bosk1]

Not sure if I should start another thread for this, but was hoping we could once again do a little NFL Playoffs pool. Eleven games total and I could keep track of the standings. Total points would be the tiebreaker for the Super Bowl pick. I'll probably update these Friday but here is what I think:

TEXANS over Raiders
SEAHAWKS over Lions
STEELERS over Dolphins
PACKERS over Giants

Do a separate thread.  We can keep it going through the playoffs.

[KevShmev]

I have to say, this is the least excited I've been about the playoffs in a long time.  I am sure part of it is because the Broncos aren't in it, but this was a pretty blah season, and with some ugly games on the horizon this weekend, the usual excitement for playoff football just isn't there for me.

Getting back to the blah season, how many games were there that made you think, "Dang, this game is awesome." I can't think of any.  USC/Penn St last night in the Rose Bowl was far better than any NFL game I saw this season.

[King Postwhore]

I always feel that way with Wildcard Weekend.  The games are never good.  The week after awe hell yeah!

[pogoowner]

The problem, though, is that Baalke had to go. He and Kelly's staff weren't communicating with one another from I've been reading. But you're not going to attract a top candidate at GM if you're trying to saddle him with Kelly (I also don't think Kelly has shown enough signs of adapting his offense to the NFL). I think completely cleaning house was the way to go. Now, am I confident in Jed York and Paraag Marathe hiring a good candidate? Absolutely not. But they should at least try.

Okay, I hadn't looked at it from that perspective.  I guess that makes sense.  Still, I'm with you in having almost zero faith in the ownership to change course and actually make good decisions.  But we'll see. 

The thing they have going for them is that they're the only team that can offer a totally clean slate at GM and HC. And they do have a ton of cap room and plenty of good draft picks to work with. So if the candidates are convinced York won't meddle with football decisions (and as much as I hate Jed, he really doesn't, he basically let Baalke run amok), it may be attractive.

[PowerSlave]

Getting back to the blah season, how many games were there that made you think, "Dang, this game is awesome." I can't think of any.

Dallas vs. Pitt was an extremely exciting game.

[hefdaddy42]

Well, this season for the Panthers ended, appropriately, in disappointment.

In finishing 6-10, we lost 6 games by 3 points or less. Those are games that we found ways to win last season, but lots of factors led to it not working out this year. However, our core players are among the best in the league at their positions, our defense was among the league leaders in both sacks and interceptions, and we will have plenty of money to spend in the off-season, so I remain optimistic for the future.

My Super Bowl prediction: Green Bay over Kansas City.

[bosk1]

The problem, though, is that Baalke had to go. He and Kelly's staff weren't communicating with one another from I've been reading. But you're not going to attract a top candidate at GM if you're trying to saddle him with Kelly (I also don't think Kelly has shown enough signs of adapting his offense to the NFL). I think completely cleaning house was the way to go. Now, am I confident in Jed York and Paraag Marathe hiring a good candidate? Absolutely not. But they should at least try.

Okay, I hadn't looked at it from that perspective.  I guess that makes sense.  Still, I'm with you in having almost zero faith in the ownership to change course and actually make good decisions.  But we'll see. 

The thing they have going for them is that they're the only team that can offer a totally clean slate at GM and HC. And they do have a ton of cap room and plenty of good draft picks to work with. So if the candidates are convinced York won't meddle with football decisions (and as much as I hate Jed, he really doesn't, he basically let Baalke run amok), it may be attractive.

Yeah, but any candidates will also likely look at how they have treated their coaches under this ownership regime.  I wouldn't take that job if I wasn't desperate.

[Dr. DTVT]

Getting back to the blah season, how many games were there that made you think, "Dang, this game is awesome." I can't think of any.

Dallas vs. Pitt was an extremely exciting game.

As was Baltimore @ Pitt (week 16)

[mikeyd23]

I have to say, this is the least excited I've been about the playoffs in a long time.  I am sure part of it is because the Broncos aren't in it, but this was a pretty blah season, and with some ugly games on the horizon this weekend, the usual excitement for playoff football just isn't there for me.

Getting back to the blah season, how many games were there that made you think, "Dang, this game is awesome." I can't think of any.  USC/Penn St last night in the Rose Bowl was far better than any NFL game I saw this season.

I'd chalk about all this up to the fact that there are a lot of bad to mediocre teams in the league. The product really isn't good at this point.