The Official 2012 Football Season Thread

[|iR|Focalor]

I did not get to see the game    but it looks like the Falcon "D" really stepped up.
It was probably a great game being that the final score was 24-23.

Nah. Problem was the Falcons D DIDN'T really step it up. I mean obviously the whole team did a little better than last week, but the D still ain't playing with the same intensity they were back when they faced Denver in week 2 I think it was. Now THAT was a game I was pretty proud of. They came out amped up and ready to fucking SLAY. We've got Sean Weatherspoon back at linebacker now, but now corner Asante Samuel is injured. He got injured at some point late in the game last week against Arizona, and this week he was out there again playing injured. He ended up aggravating whatever kind of shoulder or arm injury he sustained last week, so who knows if he'll be back in there against New Orleans on Thursday night. It really puts Atlanta in a pinch because he was brought in as the backup to play for Brent Grimes who's out all year on injured reserve. I have no clue who the remaining one or two backup corners are, but I'm certain they aren't anywhere as good as Dunta Robinson and Asante Samuel. Not a good thing when you're facing a division opponent like New Orleans with a quarterback as accurate as Drew Brees and you've gotta field a one-armed corner who isn't going to charge into plays hard, or even worse, a backup corner that isn't going to have the stamina and experience to defend the pass for 4 full quarters. Atlanta's gonna have a tough row to hoe the rest of the year. Everyone knows we're basically handcuffed when it comes to running the ball, so really all an opponent has gotta do is call zone coverage for the linebackers and keep them set up near the line in case of a run play. They see the handoff, all they gotta do is run forward and plug the holes in the line, because Turner isn't powerful enough to bulldoze forward anymore, and Jaquiz Rodgers is too small to push a pile too. Shit's slowly falling apart. Can't handle any more injuries.

If something really bad happens and Matt Ryan gets hammered with a hard sack and injured, we have a decent backup QB in Luke McCown. He's a lot faster on his feet than Ryan, so if the problem becomes the o-line not sustaining blocks, he can probably run to avoid them, BUT, he's not quite as accurate as Ryan, so points won't come as easy.

And after seeing the Giants performance against Green Bay last night... holy shit. They completely face-fucked Aaron Rodgers last night. He had several big passing plays he could've made last night, but he had so much fucking pressure in his face, he never got the chance to scan downfield to see any of it happening, he was too busy dodging a hail of linebackers in the backfield. It was downright scary. If New York keeps up that intensity on defense, they have probably the best shot of any NFC team at another Super Bowl.

[Sgt. Dick]

I saw that the falcons held Martin to 50 yds on 21 carries and Martin is 4th in the league in rushing, even after the 50 yd game.

Ryan had a good game also, he went 26 of 32 (really 27 of 32 because he had a pick  )

[|iR|Focalor]

Yeah, they played "okay" defense, but not as good as they were playing in the first 4 weeks of the season, and certainly not good enough to advance through the playoffs, at least in my opinion.

Watching Carolina play Philly a little tonight... I gotta say, it's pretty pathetic to watch Cam Newton. The dude just doesn't take his job seriously enough in my opinion. He comes out chewing gum the whole damn game, he doesn't seem to be playing with the sense of urgency that he needs to be playing with in order to encourage his teammates to be better. Also, dunno if I'm just now discovering this or he was just having an off night, but he really isn't as accurate with his throws as I thought he was. Passes zipliners too high, passes lobbers and long bombers too short. For a while I've been saying his talent was wasted sticking him with a shitty team like Carolina, but honestly, I don't think he's quite as talented as people wanna make him out to be. Sure, he's a decent QB, sure he's fast on his feet, but the really great QB's are surgical with their passes. I think Cam Newton could be a precision passer, but he just doesn't think he needs to put in the extra effort to get there. If you ask me, it ain't a shame at all that he loses so much at Carolina. Whenever he steps up and gets fucking serious about his job, they'll start winning more.

[Krlll Mule]

From what I've seen so far.....

New England, Baltimore, and Houston are AFC possibilities. I think Houston and N.E. have a game to play before the end of the season and that could determine home field in the playoffs. It looks to me like that winner makes the Super Bowl.

NFC....NY Giants coming on strong but San Francisco is a darn good team and they knock the crap out of you. Those two probably decide the NFC champ, but I still can't count the Falcons totally out. They somehow do whatever it takes...one point wins, last second wins, wins with turnovers, etc. They have an X factor that may just get them through.  Hey, they didn't win all the games they have won by sheer(sp?) luck. They will trash the Saints Thursday night and have a while to rest afterwards. 

This whole football season has gone by too fast! Here's to ya whomever you root for.....   It's a game, enjoy it while it lasts.

[|iR|Focalor]

Speaking of San Fransisco...

If I'm QB Alex Smith, I'm pretty god damned pissed that they decided to sideline me and send Colin Kaepernick out in my place. Smith's done nothing but help his team win all season so far, and now he's kinda-sorta being punished for it. Not the first time he's ever been stepped-over too.

On the other hand, Kaepernick seems to be pretty good QB too. When I started watching the game the other day, I was like, "What the hell? Who is this tight end they have playing quarterback?" I don't think I've ever seen a quarterback built quite like this guy. He's about as muscled up as Tim Tebow, but he's definitely leaner. Just from looking at how chiseled his upper arms are, he looks to be .001% body fat.

But if I had to compare New York's defense's best game of the season (last night against Green Bay, DEFINITELY) with San Fran's defense's best game of the season, it still looks like San Fransisco and everyone else in the NFC doesn't have a fucking prayer against them. Aaron Rodgers is probably the most elusive QB in the NFL currently, and they made him look completely fucking impotent. They had 5 or 6 sacks on him. NO ONE sacks him that much. In my opinion, anyone who wants to take New York out is gonna have to play LIGHTS OUT on defense to prevent them from scoring and then just hope your offense can barely skate by on enough consecutive plays to outscore them.

I'd like to think that Atlanta has what it takes to go all the way this year, but I just don't see how it's gonna happen. It NEEDS to happen this year, though. From all the talk, it looks like Tony Gonzalez is gonna be retiring at the end of the season. There's a very slim chance that he could return for one more year, but I don't think it'll happen unless Matt Ryan and everyone else gets down on their knees and begs him. If you look at Atlanta's choice of runningbacks over the last 10 years, they have a pretty out-of-whack conception of what a good runningback should be. While all the other teams have these tall Superman looking runningbacks (Steven Jackson, Arian Foster, etc), Atlanta always seems to go with smaller, shorter guys. It worked great with Michael Turner for a while. He was a human bowling ball up until he got hurt 2 or 3 seasons ago. But now he rarely EVER rolls through anyone. In fact the only time all season I saw him play well was right after his DUI arrest when he was probably in hot water with the management and wanted to make himself look good. If Atlanta can't do shit in the playoffs this year, I'm pretty sure they're gonna start making some moves at the HB position to try to get someone besides Turner who can actually create a running threat rather than forcing poor ole Matt Ryan to have to pass for every yard they want to earn.

[Krlll Mule]

I've seen Kaepernick in two games and he looks like the real deal.  He made a few bad decisions/throws, but he obviously knows the offense and checks off to better plays when necessary.  He's quick on his feet and has a really strong arm.  I think the kid has a bright future.  I agree, you have to feel for Alex Smith; he may not play 1st string ever again (barring an injury to Kaepernick).  He's not going to be a hot commodity on the open market, so he may as well grab the clipboard and go along for the ride.

Gonzalez is probably THE BEST tight end to ever play and seems to physically have another year in him.  Class guy to boot.  He's going to be a big loss if he retires.  And I agree with your assessment of the Falcon running backs....they need changes from within or bring in another guy.  You guys want Ingram?   

[|iR|Focalor]

I'd take Ingram over Turner at this point, definitely. He may not be pulling off amazing juke moves on defenders like he was at Alabama, but at least he's got SPEED and little bit of ability to pick through a line now and again. Michael Turner has NO speed anymore. He's not even a decent option for a pass anymore because he constantly drops check down passes, and if he does manage to snatch a pass in open space, even the slowest linebacker in the NFL can close on him and run him down quickly. I dunno how many years Turner has left on his contract, but I'll be surprised if they don't cut him after this season and take the cap penalty anyway. I honestly don't see that anyone else in the NFL would be willing to trade for him unless they are THAT desperate for someone, ANYONE, to fill a HB uniform. Honestly, if I were running the Falcons, I would keep Turner on board this year while digging in my pockets for enough change to hire on some desperate free agent sitting on his couch at home and praying for a miracle. It would seem like a waste of money to most people, but I'd be willing to bet that even a middle of the list free agent runningback that you could pay slave wages to would have a faster 40 than Turner.

[|iR|Focalor]

Drew Brees! 54 consecutive games with a touchdown pass AND COUNTING to break the late great Johnny Unitas' record!

...and then he meets safety William Moore of the Atlanta Falcons.

[adz1La]

...wtf


http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8697360/kansas-city-chiefs-player-commits-suicide-team-facility

[|iR|Focalor]

Had tickets to see the SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome tonight. For a minute last week, I was considering scalping the tickets off for a $100 dollar profit each, but the guys I was going with would've bludgeoned me to death with their bare hands if I sold their tickets and ruined their weekend. Glad I didn't. My team didn't win, but they came pretty damned close. If you didn't see it on TV, you missed one of the greatest SEC Championship games in recent history. I was proud of my Dawgs, even though they did end up losing it. They came so close to pulling off a miraculous last second comeback. Less than 20 seconds on the clock, down by 4, and they drove it all the way down to inside the 10 yard line. I have NO FUCKING IDEA why the coaches didn't tell Aaron Murray to spike it down there and stop the clock so they could set up a play better than the one they did. Clock was ticking, no timeouts, and someone at the line of scrimmage tips the ball as it's released. A VERY covered receiver short of the goal line reaches back from his route to snag it... dunno why the pinhead didn't just let it hit the ground to stop the clock and get one more play to try it again... but of course he catches it and there ain't shit Georgia can do but watch helplessly as the last 10 seconds of the clock runs off and ends the game.

Still, I gotta say, they played well. I was honestly expecting them to fall on their faces and let Alabama run away with the game, but they actually had the lead for the majority of the game. They played hard like they SHOULD'VE been doing all year when they barely edged out wins against teams that should've been highly outmatched. But they did make a couple of mistakes with EXTREMELY STUPID penalties that might've helped Alabama get more points than they should have if they hadn't committed them.

Also proud of my friends. None of them ended up punching any of the annoying god damned Alabama fans on the subway train after the game. A couple of them really deserved it too.

Alabama better tighten their shit up against Notre Dame though. They did good tonight, but really they got lucky that Georgia ain't always exceptional at stopping the run. They came out passing in the first quarter, and they got shutdown doing it from the good pass rush Georgia was giving them. They figured passing wasn't gonna get it done, so they started running on every play, and finally started piecing together sustained drives. From what I saw of Notre Dame last week, they aren't violent runners, but they do enough to get it done and usually move the chains. But they also passed like nobodies business and were picking up about 15-20 yards or more every pass. Notre Dame ain't gonna go quietly. And I like Alabama and Nick Saban, they're my second favorite team next to Georgia, but they've already had 2 titles in the last 5 years as well as 3 BCS Title appearances. I'm kinda hoping Notre Dame beats them.

...wtf


http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8697360/kansas-city-chiefs-player-commits-suicide-team-facility

Something tells me that if you gave the dude a good thorough blood and/or hair analysis, you'd find that buddy's been sticking himself with lots of steroid syringes. Can you say Chris Benoit?

[Sgt. Dick]

I like Alabama and Nick Saban, they're my second favorite team next to Georgia, but they've already had 2 titles in the last 5 years as well as 3 BCS Title appearances. I'm kinda hoping Notre Dame beats them.

I thought the Gators were your second favorite team 

Pulling for Notre Dame    I think even Mark Richt and the Bulldog Players would say 
I'm hoping after you have some time to think through this, you will return to your senses and be the SEC fan that I know you are 

[Sgt. Dick]

Unranked Wisconsin puts up 70 on 12th ranked Nebraska 
Nebraska beat Wisconsin in the regular season 30-27.  Wisconsin brought it yesterday, rushing for 539 yards.Either Nebraska was overrated or Wisconsin is a lot better than their 8-5 overall and 4-4 conference record.
I checked Wisconsin's games and saw that all 5 of their defeats were by 3 points each, with 3 of them being in overtime.
After reading that, I can see that Wisconsin was alot better that other 8-5 teams.
I think they will play Stanford in the Rose Bowl, that is going to be a physical game with both teams trying to dominate the game through rushing.   

[adz1La]

Pulling for Notre Dame    I think even Mark Richt and the Bulldog Players would say 
I'm hoping after you have some time to think through this, you will return to your senses and be the SEC fan that I know you are 

if bama wins again, imo it isn't much of an SEC winning streak anymore..not for that fan base especially

[|iR|Focalor]

REW DEE REW DEE!

[Krlll Mule]

I'm just not an SEC first guy.  Call me a traitor, but I have a method to my madness....Alabama fans as a whole get a bad rap because of their uber "We're the Best" "EVER!" "Forever" attitude. And the average Joe fan seems to be following suit. What these folks need is a good dose of humility.  N.D. 34 - AL 23.  The silence will be golden.