NFL General Discussion

[peasy23]

[Antiochas III]

What a dumpster the NFC is this year.  If Washington beat Green Bay, all 4 NFCE team could occupy the Playoff births as is 

[Brummie Clyde]

59 minutes ago, Antiochas III said:

What a dumpster the NFC is this year.  If Washington beat Green Bay, all 4 NFCE team could occupy the Playoff births as is 

It is amazing how much better the NFC East is doing this season, although I'd bet my house on the Packers beating the Commies

[pozbaird]

Have the Packers officially blamed their last two results on being forced at gunpoint to play a game in London?

[Antiochas III]

4 hours ago, Brummie Clyde said:

It is amazing how much better the NFC East is doing this season, although I'd bet my house on the Packers beating the Commies

[Boo Khaki]

An interesting take on Wilson's struggles. I agree with most of it, as I don't think it's as simple as a fundamental inability to see the middle of the field. The fact he isn't playing outside of the pocket and freebooting on broken plays is definitely a factor, but I also think the preponderance of two-high looks compared to earlier in his career is also serving to exacerbate a pre-existing weakness. It's less easy to determine pre-snap which way the coverage is going to slide over, if the help is going to show a bias at all, and I think that extra uncertainty is making him even more hesitant with reads across the middle.

From what I've seen so far I think a part of the Broncos struggles really are just a bedding-in issue and not really down to Wilson himself, but I still also believe that part of it is people expecting him to come in and perform at elevated Manning/Brady/Rodgers levels when he never has been on that plane of QB'ing, so the underwhelming performance seems even more egregious than it is in reality. I don't really have any evidence for that other than the chatter all last season about 'Denver are just a QB away...'. They never once struck me as a team that was a QB away from being the sort of team that would genuinely threaten the Chiefs and Bills. Having a legit QB would undoubtedly have made them more competitive, as it would to all teams, but I didn't see the SB champion elect that was being mooted, so I don't think it's being fair to say it's all the fault of Wilson or the coaching. The D is genuinely stout, but the OL is a mess and I think they have a collection of serviceable skill position players without any single one of them being a genuine top tier talent, possibly Williams aside.

Edited October 17, 2022 by Boo Khaki

[Ignoramus]

Texans finally fire the cancer that is the pastor-in-chief and all round Sith Lord Jack Easterby. There’s already much more optimism from the sources I follow in the city that had given up on the team and hopefully this means we can get in a quality HC for the next stage in the rebuild. A lot of candidates had basically turned the job down because of his meddling in the background. Young/Stroud, a nice top 10 pick from Cleveland and Gannon from Philly as HC (he was in the final two this year) and we’re cooking with gas.

[pozbaird]

2 hours ago, Boo Khaki said:

An interesting take on Wilson's struggles. I agree with most of it, as I don't think it's as simple as a fundamental inability to see the middle of the field. The fact he isn't playing outside of the pocket and freebooting on broken plays is definitely a factor, but I also think the preponderance of two-high looks compared to earlier in his career is also serving to exacerbate a pre-existing weakness. It's less easy to determine pre-snap which way the coverage is going to slide over, if the help is going to show a bias at all, and I think that extra uncertainty is making him even more hesitant with reads across the middle.

From what I've seen so far I think a part of the Broncos struggles really are just a bedding-in issue and not really down to Wilson himself, but I still also believe that part of it is people expecting him to come in and perform at elevated Manning/Brady/Rodgers levels when he never has been on that plane of QB'ing, so the underwhelming performance seems even more egregious than it is in reality. I don't really have any evidence for that other than the chatter all last season about 'Denver are just a QB away...'. They never once struck me as a team that was a QB away from being the sort of team that would genuinely threaten the Chiefs and Bills. Having a legit QB would undoubtedly have made them more competitive, as it would to all teams, but I didn't see the SB champion elect that was being mooted, so I don't think it's being fair to say it's all the fault of Wilson or the coaching. The D is genuinely stout, but the OL is a mess and I think they have a collection of serviceable skill position players without any single one of them being a genuine top tier talent, possibly Williams aside.

The notion that Denver were merely a QB away from being Super Bowl contenders was utter mince. A QB, a head coach, an offensive co-ordinator, wide receivers with more experience who can stay fit, and at least one Kittle or Kelce type quality tight end… then maybe at least contenders in the AFC West, strong enough to at least make KC’s task harder than it has been.

Edited October 17, 2022 by pozbaird

[RossBFaeDundee]

 

[lichtie23]

My QB1

[Boo Khaki]

Just keeping the seat warm for Tyrod mate 

[pozbaird]

26 minutes ago, lichtie23 said:

My QB1

My QB - and a bloke wearing a blue T Shirt.

 

[Boo Khaki]

This is the sort of stuff that makes no sense. When he is throwing it over the middle he's usually wildly off target as well. It's totally baffling for a guy who has been around as long as he has -

 

 

[Antiochas III]

So who had Wentz missing from week 7?  I guess the good news with him out between 4 to 6 weeks, unlikely to need to give up that 2nd round pick...

[pozbaird]

3 hours ago, Boo Khaki said:

This is the sort of stuff that makes no sense. When he is throwing it over the middle he's usually wildly off target as well. It's totally baffling for a guy who has been around as long as he has -

 

 

Please make it stop, I had been looking forward to my Wembley weekend. Still am - I’ll be getting right behind Rypien as he shreds the Jags.

[lichtie23]

Carson Wentz out for about a month after surgery on his finger 

[GNU_Linux]

Lions DT Levi Onwuzurike done for the season after back surgery.

[BillyAnchor]

I sign up for a daily news email from the NY Times. This was todays feature, which I am pasting below. You usually need a paid subscription to follow any links. 

Some boy Snyder though, he has a future in politics.

 

Good morning. The owner of the Washington Commanders has survived numerous allegations in the image-conscious N.F.L.

Daniel SnyderGeoff Burke/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

Billionaires’ club

By now, this is a familiar story: A powerful Washington denizen scrambles to hold onto his position while facing misconduct accusations. The institution I want to tell you about today, though, is not Capitol Hill or the White House, but the N.F.L. The person: Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Commanders.

Snyder faces allegations of malfeasance, some direct and others under his watch, that are as varied as they are extensive: sexual harassment, racism, witness intimidation, financial malpractice and office dysfunction. The latest round came when ESPN reported last week that Snyder had told people that he had accumulated dirt on other team owners and league personnel.

The saga has significance beyond sports. In a league that is one of America’s most popular cultural institutions, now pulling in about $18 billion in annual revenue, Snyder is one of just 32 team owners who have deep influence over how the N.F.L. conducts itself. So his case is a lesson in how elite figures exercise power, particularly to advance their own agendas.

With each revelation, fans and critics have called on the N.F.L. to step in and make a change. I’ve covered the league for 15 years, and in today’s newsletter, I’ll explain how Snyder has remained in control of the team. (The answer has nothing to do with football success — Washington, a storied franchise that won three Super Bowls in the ’80s and ’90s, has rarely been competitive since. The team is 2-4 this season and last in its division.)

Snyder has denied wrongdoing, and the team asserts that it has transformed its culture, while pointing to an earlier business dispute as the source of its problems. “For over two years there has been an active and well-funded campaign to spread false and malicious stories and accuse Dan Snyder of things that never actually happened in an effort to coerce the Snyders to sell their team,” a Commanders representative said in a statement.

N.F.L. team owners will convene in New York today for a quarterly meeting, where they will almost certainly discuss Snyder, at least informally.

Roger Goodell, the N.F.L. commissioner, testifying before a House committee about the Commanders.Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

The accusations

Snyder has owned the team since 1999, but in recent years his grasp has become more tenuous. As he has resolved some complaints, others have emerged. The image of a mismanaged organization has persisted. The allegations include:

Targeting other owners. Snyder instructed his lawyers to hire investigators to gather any damaging information on other owners and even on the N.F.L. commissioner, Roger Goodell, according to the ESPN report. His lawyers called those details “categorically false.” While such tactics would be unheard-of among the selective club of team owners, there’s no question that Snyder has tested his peers’ patience over the past two years. The mere possibility of his having collected compromising information could give him leverage against fellow billionaires used to privacy.Snyder’s representatives have also accused three former part-owners of the team, who sought to sell their stakes in 2020 and were bought out by Snyder last year, of engaging in a smear campaign to force him to sell the team.

Sexual harassment claims. More than 40 women have said they were sexually harassed or verbally abused while working for the team, including more than a dozen cited in a pivotal Washington Post article in 2020. The Post also reported that in 2009, the team reached a confidential $1.6 million settlement with an employee who said Snyder had sexually harassed and assaulted her; he denied the allegation. The news came after team cheerleaders told The New York Times in 2018 that they had been required to take part in a topless photo shoot and a night out with male sponsors. Altogether, the accounts showed that a toxic culture had taken hold, and the team said it would investigate.The N.F.L. soon took over that inquiry, which affirmed that widespread disrespect and harassment marked the team’s workplace. As a result, the team was fined $10 million and Snyder was told last year to step away from the club’s day-to-day operations. The N.F.L., though, was criticized for keeping the details of its findings private, prompting the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to begin its own investigation, saying that what happens in the N.F.L. has implications for workplaces across America.The committee found another claim of sexual harassment against Snyder, which led to a second N.F.L. investigation and which he has also denied. Financial malfeasance. A former employee said the team kept two sets of books to conceal revenue that was supposed to be shared with all 32 N.F.L. clubs. The House committee forwarded the accusation to federal regulators. Personal attacks. The committee also found that Snyder had tried to interfere with the N.F.L.’s first investigation, again by using private investigators, this time to harass and intimidate witnesses, and that he had sought to deflect blame onto Bruce Allen, the longtime team president whom he fired in 2019. Longstanding resistance to changing the team name. For years, Snyder rejected pressure to change the name of the franchise from the Redskins, long considered a racist slur. He relented in 2020 during a national reckoning over race because of pressure from, among others, FedEx, whose name is on the team’s stadium. The franchise went by the Washington Football Team before adopting the Commanders nickname ahead of this season.

Snyder’s staying power

The allegations against Snyder have prompted recurring negative headlines for the N.F.L., which is a deeply image-conscious organization.

Snyder has shown no signs of selling the team. Can the league force his hand? Removing Snyder would require a vote by 24 of the league’s 32 clubs, generally a high bar to clear. Some owners are awaiting the results of the ongoing investigations, yet they are also mindful that Snyder has been unable to secure government subsidies to help him build a new stadium. Local lawmakers have cited the turmoil at the club as a reason for backing away from a deal.

You may be wondering: Could a stadium really matter more than accusations of misconduct? That priority for some owners reveals a cynical reality of the N.F.L.: Most everything comes down to money.

Related: The N.F.L. has dealt with many off-field crises. Here’s how it stays popular.

[Antiochas III]

 

 

[Boo Khaki]

This is why I laugh at the Chargers fans who foam at the mouth about the Spanos family being 'cheap' and claim the NFL should force them to sell the team.

There are far, far worse owners out there than the Spanos lot, and there's also no evidence whatsoever that they are in any way 'cheap'. The family just isn't anywhere close to as rich as a lot of their counterparts.