2017 NFL thread v. Patriots Dynasty

[TAC]

Dolphins entire Defense is a bunch of punks. Holy shit!

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Yeah Talib is the exception to the Broncos, not the norm.

And how about Lynch escorting Talib towards the tunnel. Way to be a teammate to Crabtree.....






 

[black_biff_stadler]

Marshon Lattimore is now looking like the league MVP.

[black_biff_stadler]

Atlanta is the only NFL team to have had a 253 yard receiver and allow one as well (not in the same game, obviously; I'm referring to Plaxico Burress in 2002.)

Also, today was Julio Jones' third 250-yard game. No other player even has two.

[TAC]

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix?

Sounds like a Trump tweet!

[black_biff_stadler]

Right up there with Dick Trickle and Rusty Kuntz.

[Dream Team]

3 dropped passes already. Come on guys 

[Cool Chris]

"Snatching chains on the field, like what you accomplish? You hard? You tough? That make you tough?" Crabtree said last year.

Said the guy wearing a fucking necklace during an NFL game. To paraphrase a famous auntie, "You go to the NFL to play football, not for a fashion show."

[Dream Team]

Ben 17 seconds to drive into FG range, no problem  .

[KevShmev]

Which never happens if the refs call Hundley getting cracked in the helmet on 1st down, which everyone but the officials apparently saw.

Typical NFL.

Great catch by Brown at the end, regardless.  He willed them to that win, despite the sloppy play, the turnovers and Tomlin not having his team ready to play.

[mikeyd23]

Great catch by Brown at the end, regardless.  He willed them to that win, despite the sloppy play, the turnovers and Tomlin not having his team ready to play.

Great catch indeed. Ben had a better game than the stat sheet might indicate, but I agree Brown kicked it into another gear towards the end and was fantastic. The Steelers defense looked a mess though, did they even watch film on the Packers?

[King Postwhore]

The Steelers better be ready for the Pats in 3 weeks.  It's obviously an important game.

[mikeyd23]

The Steelers better be ready for the Pats in 3 weeks.  It's obviously an important game.

It is, but I honestly don't know what it will tell us.

If the Steelers win, I still think the Pats would beat them in the playoffs.

If the Pats win, I still think the Pats would beat the Steelers in the playoffs.

Either way, I'm still working with the "I'll believe it when I see it" Train of Thought when it comes to Tomlin beating Bill in the playoffs. That said, I am certainly looking forward to their regular season match up.

[King Postwhore]

To win in the playoffs Tomlin needs to get their bravado and believing they can, then he must up his coaching game.

[Stadler]

Yeah Talib is the exception to the Broncos, not the norm.

And how about Lynch escorting Talib towards the tunnel. Way to be a teammate to Crabtree.....

Crabtree has kind of earned whatever "respect" he gets (or doesn't) from his teammates. 

[Dr. DTVT]

Right up there with Dick Trickle and Rusty Kuntz.

You forgot about the backup QB, Dick Shiner.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Shiner

[Dream Team]

Which never happens if the refs call Hundley getting cracked in the helmet on 1st down, which everyone but the officials apparently saw.

Typical NFL.

Great catch by Brown at the end, regardless.  He willed them to that win, despite the sloppy play, the turnovers and Tomlin not having his team ready to play.

The refs said he was a runner at that point. GB only got flagged 3 times all game, there were plenty of calls that went against Pitt all game. That isn’t the reason they won. I guess the way it works is that the Steelers only pay off the refs in the 4th quarter.

Anyway, I don’t pay attention to the noise. Ben made a whole bunch of sick throws yesterday, including that dime to AB at the end.

[mikeyd23]

The refs said he was a runner at that point. GB only got flagged 3 times all game, there were plenty of calls that went against Pitt all game. That isn’t the reason they won. I guess the way it works is that the Steelers only pay off the refs in the 4th quarter.

Anyway, I don’t pay attention to the noise. Ben made a whole bunch of sick throws yesterday, including that dime to AB at the end.

I agree on all points. He was ruled to be a runner who put his head down.

Like I said before, Ben was better than the stat sheet shows. 2 picks, but one was a random deflection. Besides that one other pick, Ben was really, really good.

[T-ski]

I'm pretty sure helmet to helmet is a penalty regardless if the QB is considered a 'runner'.

[KevShmev]

Oh, stepping up in the pocket to try to avoid the rush makes you a runner now?  Interesting.

The Steelers defense looked a mess though, did they even watch film on the Packers?

I don't think it was a matter of watching film so much as it was a Tomlin-coached team thinking yet again that they can just show up and beat a bad team (which the Rodgers-less Packers are).

The Steelers better be ready for the Pats in 3 weeks.  It's obviously an important game.

The Steelers are either gonna have to beat the Patriots twice (in week 15 to get home field and then again in Pitt in the playoffs) or beat them in NE (which is the likely scenario if NE wins week 15).  I give them little chance to do either.  At this point, it's just a matter of who is going to play NE in the Super Bowl.

[King Postwhore]

The thing is Kev they're talented team that could beat the Pats. I think the coaching staff holds them back.

[Dublagent66]

Sounds like Dallas.  Only difference is, Pitt somehow finds a way to win.  I think it's called playing with heart or something...

[King Postwhore]

For sure.

It's weird that the Pats match up well against the Steelers.  The Ravens give them the fits.

[bosk1]

Sounds like Dallas.  Only difference is, Pitt somehow finds a way to win.  I think it's called playing with heart or something...

There's a lot to be said for that.

[mikeyd23]

Sounds like Dallas.  Only difference is, Pitt somehow finds a way to win.  I think it's called playing with heart or something...

There's a lot to be said for that.

Eh, not too sound overly cynical but "playing with heart" doesn't mean much at the end of the day. I think it's just something most have romanticized when it comes to sports. Talent wins games. Talented players play well. Talented teams win. I think occasionally, "heart" or some other intangible can definitely play a part or factor in somewhere, but I think those situations are the exceptions not the rule.

In regards to the Steelers, they are a talented team that's why they have been winning games. Dallas on the other hand is discovering that Dak just might not be Jesus dipped in Joe Montana and that maybe he struggles without Zek. That all seems about right to me.

[El Barto]

Playing with heart means everything. Just look at Cam Newton and imagine if he had the same amount of giveashit as Brady or Wilson.

Also, did anybody notice that after Suggs's strip-sack last night he stood there and posed for the cameras while everybody else was fighting for the ball? He was finished playing and preparing to celebrate before it devolved into a scrum and was still a live ball.

[mikeyd23]

Playing with heart means everything. Just look at Cam Newton and imagine if he had the same amount of giveashit as Brady or Wilson.

Are we combining "playing with heart" and "work ethic" into the same thing? I think work ethic is incredibly important for pro-athletes but from where I sit, that's a different thing.

Work ethic has a tangible attribute to it. Playing with heart is a completely intangible notion. I'm not saying it means nothing, I'm just saying I don't think it's a major factor in success and/or failure in sports like we sometimes make it out to be.

[bosk1]

Playing with heart means everything. Just look at Cam Newton and imagine if he had the same amount of giveashit as Brady or Wilson.

Are we combining "playing with heart" and "work ethic" into the same thing? I think work ethic is incredibly important for pro-athletes but from where I sit, that's a different thing.

I'm not sure I would say they are the same thing, but I would say they are very closely related.  Without overthinking it too much, I would say "playing with heart" loosely equates to "work ethic + desire." 

[El Barto]

There's some overlap, for sure. However, I'd say they're both subjective and hard to pin down. If I had to conjure up a definition for heart in this context it'd probably be something like "an overriding competitive spirit." That goes beyond work ethic. Emmitt Smith punishing the Giant's D-line with a dislocated shoulder is the perfect example. Cam Newton giving up is the opposite. They both seem to me to be manifestations of the same thing.

[Stadler]

Playing with heart means everything. Just look at Cam Newton and imagine if he had the same amount of giveashit as Brady or Wilson.

Also, did anybody notice that after Suggs's strip-sack last night he stood there and posed for the cameras while everybody else was fighting for the ball? He was finished playing and preparing to celebrate before it devolved into a scrum and was still a live ball.

Work ethic is a subset of playing with heart.   The biggest criticism of Cam Newton is that he doesn't know what he needs to do to be better.   He clearly works hard - you don't maintain that level of physicality without "working hard", but it's also working smart.    Exploring every possible avenue to be better than you were the day before, not just the things that lead to better stats.    Not just reading run defenses to make your runs go a little longer, but picking up blitzes better, picking up ticks from defensive players, running different cadences at the line of scrimmage so that your receivers get half a step on the secondary, and your line gets the jump on the defensive line. 

[TAC]

Pretty sure he's all heart when planning end zone celebrations and press conference attire.

[Dublagent66]

Pretty sure he's all heart when planning end zone celebrations and press conference attire.

   Too funny Tim.

There's some overlap, for sure. However, I'd say they're both subjective and hard to pin down. If I had to conjure up a definition for heart in this context it'd probably be something like "an overriding competitive spirit." That goes beyond work ethic. Emmitt Smith punishing the Giant's D-line with a dislocated shoulder is the perfect example. Cam Newton giving up is the opposite. They both seem to me to be manifestations of the same thing.

I remember that game like it was yesterday.  Talk about heart and desire.  Doesn't get any better.  Now days, injured players are too much of a liability.  They're not even allowed to play.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Geno Smith to start for the G-Men this weekend. The rookie to get a look later this season as well.  Eli handled the situation with absolute class. I'm thinking he ends up in Jacksonville next season.

[Dublagent66]

Not surprising, but the Giants problems go way beyond an aging QB.  McAdoo also might be getting his hat handed to him soon.

[pogoowner]

What a joke. I don't know how anyone could look Eli Manning in the eye and tell him he was being benched for Geno Smith. Eli is not what he once was, but quarterback is pretty far down that team's list of problems. McAdoo can't hang on to that job much longer.