|
Well teams are either finished with their week 8 games, or about to finish or will be finished tonight/tomorrow night, which will mark the halfway point of the season, unless your team had an early bye, in which case you can grade them next weekend. (oh God, the season is going so fast ![]() Here's a little format to use: Team: Record through 8 games: Offensive grade: Defensive grade: Special Teams grade: Coaching grade: Overall grade: Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Most disappointing players(3): Short summary: Team: Washington Redskins Record through 8 games: 4-3-1(fuuuuuck that tie today....) Offensive grade: B- Defensive grade:B- Special Teams grade:C Coaching grade:B Overall grade:B Most outstanding/surprising players(3):Jamison Crowder, Kirk Cousins, Jordan Reed Most disappointing players(3): Josh Doctson, DeSean Jackson, Bashaud Breeland Short summary/rationale: The record through 8, if you had asked most fans at the beginning of the season, they would probably take. In retrospect it's disappointing because they had a real shot at being 6-2 going into the bye. Lost after taking the lead with a minute left in Detroit and then blowing the kick in overtime vs the Bengals. Still, it doesn't put us out of the thick of things. The team got a B overall based on the individual component grades, and the fact that they don't totally crumble with adversity. In previous years, after missing the field goal in OT, the Skins definitely would have let the Bengals march and get their own field goal shot. Instead, they didn't quit and caused another turnover. On offense, things are clicking really well between the 20s, which, if that was the only thing to grade on, they would be an A+. Cousins is moving the ball very effectivley and we have good but not great running backs while our TE corps is outstanding. The Red Zone woes knocked this grade to a B-. The defense is in the lower half of the league but have improved week to week for the most part. They also get graded on a curve since like 70% of the salary cap resources are dedicated to offensive players. Special Teams, despite today's fuckup, is generally reliable, at least in the kicking and punting game. Coverage remains an issue. Coaching - I like Gruden, and he's definitely a great schemer and offensive minded coach, but his clock management skills have to improve. He seems to have a good bond and rapport with the players, though. No real surprises on my outstanding list - Crowder is one of the most dangerous return men and receivers in the league right now, IMO. Cousins has finally started to pick up where he left off last season except in the Red Zone, and Jordan Reed is just insanely good. Disappointments are 1st round pick being wasted on a position where we have a lot of depth and then winding up on IR and not contributing. DJax may have finally outlived his usefulness to us - he bitches about not getting the ball then drops an easy TD vs the Eagles, and he's having trouble getting open even in an offense where we always have someone open - maybe because he's dinged up a lot more now. Breeland makes the list because I genuinely believe him to be one of the up and coming young corners in the league, but he isn't playing up to the standards that he's made us expect from him in pervious seasons, when he single handedly shut down Dez, etc. Overall, I would say I'm satisfied, but not happy, with the first half performance of the team, taking all things into account. We appear to be one of those teams that could either win or lose any given Sunday, as long as they play sound fundamental football, which is such a marked departure from the teams prior to last season. I will have meaningful football to watch into November for the first time in consecutive seasons since I was a teenager in the 1990s. So, how's your team doing? NattyBo fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Oct 30, 2016 |
![]() |
|
![]()
|
# ? May 14, 2024 00:01 |
|
Team: Baltimore Ravens Record through 8 games: 3-4 Offensive grade: D Defensive grade: C- Special Teams grade: C+ Coaching grade: F Overall grade: D- Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Uh, Wallace? Mosley looked ok before injury except that drat fumble. Not a single player but most of the guys on the team aren't straight up Bad. But whole is less than sum of parts. Tucker has rebounded well from his down year last season. Most disappointing players(3): Devin Hester. Flacco. Kamar Aiken. Zuttah. General Franchise Grade: D Short summary: Team started off looking like they would overachieve this year, but injuries and general ineptitude have led to a collapse of sorts. I don't expect the team to win another game(very few at the most). Franchise is directionless, we're not really built to do anything well. Pop Dog made a good point that there's no area where, when healthy, we're insanely weak(except arguably QB), but that doesn't change the fact we have no real marquee talent on this team. And that will drag us down. This franchise does not look to contend this year or in the near future unless we get big time playmakers. But this team doesn't seem to really try for them, and so we fall short. Our QB is also broken, and I don't think he'll be fixed under the Harbaugh regime. Harbaugh has to go. Maybe Newsome too if he can't pick us good offensive talent. Kawalimus fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Oct 30, 2016 |
![]() |
|
Team: Houston Texans Record through 8 games: 5-3 Offensive grade: C+ at home, F on road Defensive grade: curved up B Special Teams grade: B- Coaching grade: B Overall grade: C Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Will Fuller V, Jedeveon Clowney, Lamar Miller Most disappointing players(3): road Brock Osweiler, DeAndre Hopkins, Brian Cushing Short summary: The Texans are a team of contrasts. At home, we're an exciting, fun team to watch. On the road, we are gar-bagé. J.J. Watt is out for the season, so our defense is playing on a tightrope. Regardless, we have a winning record and lead our division. Am I disappointed in my team? Yes, I expected us to at least compete in our road games. The Texans still control their destiny and I'm still not counting out an 11-5 record, but c'mon you guys, make some plays outside of Houston!
|
![]() |
|
Team: New England Patriots Record through 8 weeks: 7-1 Offensive grade: A Defensive grade: B Special Teams grade: B Coaching grade: A+ Overall grade: A Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Tom Brady - Not surprising surprising, but 73% completions, 12 TD's, 0 Ints, 9.8 YPA so far. He's been on fire and hitting a ton of deep passes which is something that he hasn't really had reliably since Moss. Martellus Bennett - Was expected to be a complimentary player but while Gronk and Brady were out, he was Garapollo's main target and hauled in 27 of 35 targets and 4 TD's. Jimmy Garapollo - He looked like rear end up until the first 6 quarters of this year in getting the Patriots to a 2-0 start. Most disappointing players(3): Logan Ryan - Having a poor year, eventually benched for Eric Rowe as the 2nd CB. Stephen Gostkowski - Having some issues with kicks I guess Jabaal Sheard - I mean I guess we could say he's not providing enough of a pass rush? It's tough to find a 3rd guy that's really disappointed over what was expected of them, maybe Nate Solder has been a bit iffy in pass protection at times? Short summary: I expected the Patriots to go 1-3 or 2-2 if things went well to start the season without Brady, and then Brady to need a little time to acclimate to the offense. instead they went 3-1 and Brady has been lights out, which leads to a 7-1 team. A ton of praise has to go to the coaching, they've had excellent game plans against everyone except I suppose the first Bills game, but an injured rookie QB and Edelman isn't exactly something you can expect to win with. But this offense is reliably out-scheming opponents, getting guys open and clamping down on defense in the red zone, and generally being in position to make plays on defense and ST which just points to very good coaching. Tom Brady is playing out of his god damned mind right now. On 3rd down, he's currently 28 for 38 with 25 first downs and a perfect passer rating. Overall, he's at a 134 passer rating. The receivers have also been very good, with Gronk being ridiculous, Edelman being good, but not quite what he has been the last two years, and Bennett, White, Hogan and Amendola all providing a ton of options so he can pick on the worst of opposing defenses. Blount has been better then expected as well, though he is not a standout running back, he is a solid hammer to end games or pick on dime defenses. He's been getting way more work then you'd expect so far due to circumstances (160 rushes, 600 yards) and probably will be used a bit less in the 2nd half of the season. James White has also been a bit better then expected, but is still an average to below average player overall. Dion Lewis is also practicing finally, and if he can be anything like he was last year, oh my god. The offensive line is a problem, and has been for the last two seasons, but it's been an overcomable problem, but a good front four would be a significant problem for the Patriots at this point. Nate Solder has given up a number of sacks and the offensive line overall has given up a large number of hits and pressures. They've been much better run blocking at least, and they've been much better and significantly more reliable then last year at least. On defense, they're taking bend but don't break to hilarious levels. They're giving up a large number of long completions and long runs, a ton of 1st downs, but... few points. Part of that is the level of opposition and injuries but... the rest of the season holds the Seahawks, 49ers, Jets, Rams, Ravens, Broncos, Jets and Dolphins, so that's probably not changing much on defense for the Pats. The Pass rush has been anemic, but for the most part they've been content to drop into deep zones and tackle everyone in front of them. This must be a scheme choice because why not force Osweiler or Landry Jones to beat you, or possibly being forced to do this due to problems with CB #2 and whomever's at safety across from McCourty. When they blitz they tend to get home and tend to save it for important plays and have tended to look a lot more exotic in the red zone. The linebackers have been good, but gimpy due to nagging injuries. That's the main area which should hopefully improve as the season progresses. Special teams has been a mixed bag.... Too many fumbles, and Ghost has been a bit erratic on FG's, but the coverage units have been very good and Ryan Allen has been fantastic punting. Overall I'm stoked, if this team stays healthy they should be favorites for the Superbowl and what more could you possibly want then that? They have weaknesses and areas of concern, but they also have Brady, Gronk and a bunch of secondary options who can score 30 a game reliably.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Indianapolis Colts Record through 8 games: 3-5 Offensive grade: B- Defensive grade: D Special Teams grade: C Coaching grade: F Overall grade: D Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Andrew Luck, Ryan Kelly, Jack Doyle Most disappointing players(3): Patrick Robinson, Anthony Castonzo, Robert Mathis Short summary: The Colts shocked everyone this offseason when they didn’t fire either head coach Chuck Pagano or GM Ryan Grigson, instead extending both of them and “tying them at the hip” as a means of resolving the tensions between the two that Jim Irsay perceived as the real reason for the team’s struggles. The draft and FA went in line with their new mission statement (rebuild the OL, get some playmakers on defense), and things looked set up for a season where greatness was not necessarily expected, but the team could very realistically overachieve and retake the division from Houston. Instead, the 2016 Colts have been an exercise in frustration. Injuries have decimated both sides of the roster. The defense has given up huge drives late in games. The pass rush is literally nonexistent, the coverage is maddeningly inconsistent, and 90% of the defensive players tackle like they’re trying to impress LaRon Landry. Andrew Luck is playing as well has he ever has, but the team leads the NFL in dropped passes and he leads the NFL in being sacked. Rookies on the OL are promising but still raw and prone to mistakes, while the veterans have seemingly regressed. Is your team struggling? Have them play the Colts, and even if they manage to lose they’ll do so while putting up their best numbers of the season. The offseason FA moves have proven to be inconsequential, while the team sits on $13 million in cap space they evidently didn’t feel they needed to spend. The biggest positive news story to come out of the season is Adam Vinatieri breaking the consecutive-FGs-made record, a milestone that epitomizes Pagano’s time here. Any adjustments that work are forgotten about the next week, the team is undisciplined on the field and outcoached in almost every game. The 3 wins they’ve eked out this season have been all Luck, a formula that Pagano seems happy to keep riding as long as he can, which thankfully doesn’t seem to be all that much longer. Despite all this, I have optimism for the future. Not for this season, because this team is so incredibly flawed and poorly-coached that even if Houston collapses and we limp to a division title we’d just be easy pickings for some other AFC team in the Wildcard round. At this point I’m officially rooting for us to tank the rest of the year and clean house, because this team is actually set up very well for a new regime to take over. Luck and Hilton are both locked up long-term, there aren’t any bloated contracts that need to be expunged, the cap situation is very good, and the team should be drafting in the top 15 of a draft that conforms very nicely to their major needs. We successfully accomplished Suck for Luck, now let’s just Bear It for Garrett.
|
![]() |
|
Team: The New York Jets Football Association of America Record through 8 games: 3-5 Offensive grade: C- Defensive grade: D- Special Teams grade: D+ Coaching grade: F Overall grade: D- Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Quincy Enunwa, Bilal Powell, Cherone Peake Most disappointing players(3): Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall, Calvin Pryor Short summary: Only reason offense grades as high as it does is because of some legit emerging talent at WR from low or even UD picks, and the run game flashes some ability. Enunwa made modest contributions last year, which for a 6th round rookie pick of Idzik is a goddamn miracle. He has stepped up this year despite the shitshow around him and shows #1 potential. Bilal Powell continues to impress more and more despite his lack of playing time. Of course this is offset by Ryan Fitzpatrick's absolutely hideous play, which isnt too surprising, but Brandon Marshall is having a very bad year, dropping balls left and right, and not constantly bailing out Fitz like he managed last year. These two havent simply regressed to the mean, theyve regressed to the other extreme. I knew last year was a fluke and we would see regression but this is a bit mich. Defense blows rear end. Literall every single starter has regressed, save for Sheldon who of course were getting cute with playing him at LB and in coverage (though he makes the best he can of it) and probably the least notable of em all our journeyman nose tackle who I guess is playing well. Revis and Pryor have regressed HORRIBLY. Revis is literally playing like a bottom 5 CB. They are getting burned over and over again. Want to embarras the jets? Throw deep every drat time. Youll probably break some records. Special Teams? Ive seen good, Ive seen bad. I dunno. The missed fgs, bad punts etc seem to stick out more to me than any of the good plays. Coaching is abominable. Not knowing how to use players. Continuing to start poor players when better players have emerged. There is almost no adaptability - week in and week out the defense is getting burned, lost, confused and beaten in the most predictable ways. There were certainly a few minor (at least they seemed minor at the time) concerns about the coaching last year, and it turns out everything bad has reared its ugly head this year for the Jets. This is arguably a bottom 3 team this year.
|
![]() |
|
Team: The New York Football Sweep DV Under The Ruggers Record through 8 games: 4-3 Offensive grade: C Defensive grade: B Special Teams grade: B Coaching grade: C- Overall grade: B- Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Sterling Shepard, Janoris Jenkins, Landon Collins Most disappointing players(3): Eli Manning, The two Tackles Short summary: The Giants are mediocre, average, and that's exactly what was to be expected. What wasn't expected was that the offense would be the worse unit. The Offensive line is real bad and it's messing up everything. The run blocking is awful. The Pass blocking goes from acceptable to atrocious on any given play depending on whether Flowers actually manages to make contact with his assignment. As a consequence the Run game is poo poo and Eli is shook. Eli looks pretty bad so far. He's making very errant, rushed throws because he clerly doesn't trust his tackles (Would you trust Marshall Newhouse?). Our stellar WR core doesn't have enough time to get open before Eli dumps the ball to our terrible TE's or RBs. I hate Larry Donnell. He can't block for poo poo and when he catches the ball he always goes for extra yardage and has about a 60% of fumbling. Of course, some of these problems might be fixed with better playcalling, but our gameplans are shiiiit and the offense only seems to click in hurry up situations when Eli has more control. We might very well still have the best WR corp in the NFL but you'd never know it because Big Mc can't loving use them creatively. McAdoo has been a thoroughly disappointing HC so far. He's just there. He's boring, he's dumb looking, he has no personality and now it's clear he's just towing the Mara line, our very own jason garrett. The defense has been the good part. only reason I didn't rank them as an A is because until the Rams game they simply refused to generate turnovers or sacks. All our pickups are doing well, although Jenkins is probably the only one playing up to his contract, funnily enough. Vernon is okay, he gets pressure but doesn't bring anyone down. Snacks is fine. Eli Apple, our #10 overall pick, has been okay in what action he's seen. The real revelation has been Collins. Landon played out of position last year and sucked, but this year he's getting to be the thumper he is and he's probably one of the best safeties in the league right now.
|
![]() |
|
Collins wasn't just out of position last year they were like, moving him around every game just to put the right amount of bodies on the field. As a rookie who didn't even know the whole playbook. He was still the leading tackler on the team iirc.
|
![]() |
|
49ers: F This is as much effort as they've put in
|
![]() |
|
Team: Panthers Record through 8 games: 2-5 Offensive grade: B Defensive grade: D Special Teams grade: C Coaching grade: D Overall grade: D Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Andy Lee, Daryl Worley, and that's it Most disappointing players(3): heh. Kony Ealy, Kawaan Short, Mike Remmers The Panthers were counting on young players to produce. Injury compounded inexperience, and the Panthers see themselves looking up at the rest of the NFC south at 2-5. It should be mentioned they've lost three games by 9 points and could easily be 5-2 with a secondary that was quickly coming together. Instead, the season is on the brink and the Panthers are going to have to pull a rabbit out of their hats to make it back to the playoffs. Primarily they've been slaughtered by injury. They've trotted out a different set of DBs every single week. When they're mostly rookies on top of that, there's no chance for them to gel, or get experience together, or figure out what the gently caress is going on. The result is the Panthers have been forced to play basically straight up in the backfield, and the result has been QBs like Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, and others that are really good at the route tree just eating them alive. The other glaring weakness in the defense has been at DE. Charles Johnson has fallen off a cliff, and Kony Easy has dispelled any notion the superbowl was a breakout performance. Without any consistent pass rush out of their base sets, and without the ability to add any complexity into their coverage schemes, the Panthers have been gouged. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers tackle situation has been abysmal. A rough early schedule put them against two of the best defenses in the league in the first three weeks. Injury to Oher has forced Remmers to switch sides and struggle, effectively taking both tackle positions out. There's very little depth behind Stewart, which is an issue considering his relative inability to stay healthy. Cam has been obliterated, and it appears the refs are willing to allow defenders to do it with impunity, since his playing style exists legally somewhere between "NFL Quarterback" and "tackling dummy." There's reason to be hopeful. After a bye week and 2 weeks of practice, the Panthers' secondary looked good against a team you'd think would outmatch them. Daryl Williams has begun to come into his own at right tackle. Cam looks to be shaking off the cobwebs from his week 1 battle royale against Denver. Still, the hole is deep, and the Panthers are going to need some help to dig themselves out of it.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Seattle Seahawks Record through 8 games: 4-2-1 Offensive grade: D Defensive grade: A Special Teams grade: B Coaching grade: B- Overall grade: B Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Cliff Avril, Earl Thomas, Christine Michael Most disappointing players(3): Russell Wilson, Tyler Lockett, Thomas Rawls Short summary: The Seahawks entered the season with a title-caliber defense and an offense that looked like it's ready to take the next step forward. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed the offense so far. Wilson is playing through multiple injuries and his mobility is completely shot, crippling the offense as a result. Rawls went down with a broken leg and while Michael has had moments of brilliance, the running game has suffered without Rawls' presence. In addition, the cheap investment on the offensive line is proving to be a fatal flaw. This line is bad, and the left tackle position is already a carousel of lovely injured players. It's a bad situation all around. That said, the defense is still playing at an outstanding level, although they're prone to getting gassed because the offense can't sustain time of possession. This unit is also dealing with key injuries -- Kam Chancellor and Michael Bennett went down with multi-week injuries, exposing some critical holes on that side of the ball. Special teams is what it is. Jon Ryan is still an elite punter, but Steven Hauschka went through a worrying slump. He cost the team a win last week by shanking a 28-yard FG he makes 99 of 100 times. Tyler Lockett is playing through a knee injury and it shows -- he hasn't been close to the electric playmaker he was last year. As for coaching, I haven't been as down on Darrell Bevell as I usually am, but not committing to the run game with Wilson hobbled is a major head-scratcher. Also Tom Cable is poo poo and needs to be fired. Overall, this team has a lot of problems, but they control their destiny in the NFC West and still have a decent shot at double-digit wins. If they want to make a deep playoff run, however, they need to find a pulse on offense. This is a dangerously one-dimensional team and the defense can only do so much by themselves. A lot will depend on when (or if) Wilson can get back to full health.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Chiefs Record through 8 weeks: 5-2 Offensive grade: B+ Defensive grade: B+ Special Teams grade: B+ Coaching grade: B+ Overall grade: B+ Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Tyreek Hill - Many KC fans figured he'd be another quick little gadget player in a line of failed gadget players (Dexter McCluster, De'Anthony Thomas), but he's turned into a legitimate deep threat WR, and is already one of the best returners in the NFL. Marcus Peters - Has actually improved on his DROTY rookie season. QBs have stopped throwing to him over the past few games. Spencer Ware - Huge tank who can outrun DBs and run routes out of the backfield Most disappointing players(3): Demetrius Harris - dropped passes, bad blocks, just overall makes too many mistakes. Albert Wilson - KC's #3 WR last year has now been leapfrogged by Tyreek Hill and even DAT. I don't think he plays special teams either? Mitchell Schwartz - Not very disappointing, but I feel like he has given up a few more pressures than a top-flight RT should. Maybe not, just needed a 3rd player to list here. Short summary: All those B+s would be A- and As if not for the Steelers game. Can't give anyone an A after that! But overall this Chiefs team feels really good and balanced. Defense: Secondary is super young and talented, both Gaines and Peters are very good, and Steven Nelson/DJ White are inconsistent but flash quite often. Best safeties in the league in Eric Berry, Big Ron Parker and Dirty Dan Sorenson. OLB is the weak spot of this defense, but Dee Ford looks better this year compared to last. Chris Jones and Ramik Wilson are two recently-promoted starters and both looked great against the Saints and Colts. Offense: The OL is much better than last year. WRs are MUCH MUCH better than last year. Chris Conley has actually developed. Feeling good.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Buffalo Bills Record through 8 games: 4-4 Offensive grade: C The offense was bad the first two weeks, then Greg Roman was fired and Anthony Lynn decided to feature LeSean McCoy. Now it's pretty one-dimensional, but at least that dimension owns. Defensive grade: C+ Sometimes, this defense looks good. It shows flashes of dominance, sometimes it even keeps it together for a whole game. Other times, it gets shredded by Ryan Fitzpatrick, surrenders 269 rushing yards to the Dolphins, and otherwise gets completely dominated. Special Teams grade: B Coaching grade: C The coaches seem slow to adjust, especially on the defensive side of the ball. However, I do have to give Rex credit for firing Greg Roman. It was a head-scratcher at the time, but it's paid off well. Overall grade: C+ Most outstanding/surprising players(3): LeSean McCoy Everyone knew Shady was good, but he hasn't looked this dominant in two years. He just straight-up took over the offense following an 0-2 start and sparked the entire team to a 4-game winning streak. Lorenzo Alexander Who ever heard of a player breaking out at 33? Alexander has an eye-popping 9 sacks and 3 forced-fumbles. Not bad for a journey-man veteran who was just supposed to be coming off the bench now and again to spell Shaq Lawson. Zach Brown This guy is everywhere on defense. Great range, reads plays well, and tackles well. Most disappointing players(3): Sammy Watkins(dead) Sammy Watkins owns when he's healthy. He hasn't been healthy this season. That's a problem. Tyrod Taylor He looks to have regressed a bit from last year, particularly in terms of accuracy. You shouldn't be sailing a pass so hard your 6'4 wide receiver can't get it. Then again, said receiver is literally Justin Hunter, so he probably would have dropped it anyway, but the point stands. Short summary: This has been a season of streaks. The season started at 0-2. including an embarrassing home loss to the Jets, which was followed by a 4-game winning streak, which included shutting out the Patriots on the road(granted, they were without Brady and Gronk). Now the team is on a 2-game losing streak after getting dominated by the Dolphins and Patriots. Neither game was as close as the final score indicates. The Bills are 1-3 in the AFC East, and next week's game is in Seattle: not exactly a promising proposition. It would appear the Bills will once again finish short of the playoffs.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Record through 8 games: 3-4 (0-3 at home) Offensive grade: C- Defensive grade: D Special Teams grade: C (F for the kicker) Coaching grade: C Overall grade: C- Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Bryan Anger - Doing a solid job punting, which he does a lot of. Jaquizz Rodgers - Played really well being the feature back after Doug Martin got hurt. He just got hurt though so that sucks. Mike Evans - Considering he's the only real option in the passing game he's been producing despite being game planned for. Most disappointing players(3): Jameis Winston - Thought he was going to have a great year after shredding Atlanta in week 1. Accuracy issues are apparent and doesn't trust his receivers outside of Evans. Roberto Aguyao - You know. Short summary: Offense - The oline has been a bright spot. Quizz has been good for what he is. The offense really needs Doug Martin back, he makes the offense go. Winston has been pretty inaccurate but that's the norm for him. The Bucs have no receiving threats outside of Evans so teams can scheme to take him out and then force Jameis to make bad decisions. Defense - Pass rush has been inconsistent and disappears at times. The corners have been ok to good but man the safety combo of Chris Conte and Bradley McDougal has been a complete disaster. The Bucs at best will finish 8-8 and at worse 6-10.
|
![]() |
|
Team:Cincinnati Bengals Record through 8 games:3-4-1 Offensive grade:B Defensive grade:F- Special Teams grade: D- Coaching grade:F Overall grade:F Most outstanding/surprising players(3):Andy Dalton,AJ Green,Brandon Lafell Most disappointing players(3):Geno Atkins,Karlos Dansby, Tyler Boyd Short summary: The exodus of coaches and players have definitely taken its toll on the team. The offense has moved the ball fairly well due mostly to Andy and AJ, but has been woeful in the redzone. Tyler Eifert finally coming back should fix most of those problems. The defense is really bad y'all, and it hurts to watch. Considering this is nearly identical team to a year ago is really weird. The biggest problem is that we had to replace nearly all of the position coaches, and it has had a tremendously negative affect. Penalties, blown coverages, and missed tackles have plagued the team all year and will continue to do so. The special teams has also been bad. Mike Nugent early in the season was lights out from inside 50 yards, but the last few games he has imploded. Kevin Huber has been uncharacteristically bad this year, and Alex Erickson may somehow be worse than Brandon Tate. I didn't know that was possible. In conclusion, this team is bad. At least the offense should be fun to watch. korrandark fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Oct 31, 2016 |
![]() |
|
Team: Your first place Atlanta Falcons Record through 8 games: 5-3 Offensive grade: A They're not ridiculously talented, they just find a way to make things work for them. I don't know if they are really the "best" offense in the league, but they sure as hell can score. Defensive grade: D- Special Teams grade: B? Matt Bryant is good. Coaching grade: B- The coaching staff has felt like they're making things up on the fly at times. It's hard to figure out what part of this year's success is blind luck and what part is genius since a lot of their organizational decisions seem to push against crowd logic. Overall grade: B- Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Matt Ryan - He doesn't suck. Finally getting the chance to throw the ball downfield sometimes without fear of losing his head. His average runs are above his career average, too. He's getting blocks but he's still a smart guy who makes some clutch throws to stay out of worst case scenarios. Tevin Coleman - Who the gently caress is Tevin Coleman? We wish him well on the road to recovery. Devonta Freeman - I have to give it to the Falcons. For all the seemingly dumb draft day things they've done, they have cobbled together an excellent RB tandem. Vic Beasley - Not a bust. Seriously, the Atlanta sports media thought it was over for him when the Falcons decided to move him because it seemed like they were looking for a miracle. He's got 7.5 sacks so far after being moved to the strong side. It looks like he's preying on the inferior blockers on that side. Suddenly, they have a player to build around, I guess. Keanu Neal? - 3 forced fumbles and he fits their bend don't break scheme. Much better than expected, probably about as good as could be hoped. The question will always be if they could have done more with a different draft strategy. I'm not an NFL encyclopedia, so I'm not the person to figure that out. Most disappointing players(3): The defense is always the biggest disappointment but it surprisingly could be a lot worse. Short summary: Offense - All the loving yards. Defense - There's no way they can keep allowing this many points and keep winning games. The Falcons are a lot of fun to watch. Part of that is probably how many points their defense gives up meaning a lot of their games are a lot closer than they should be.
|
![]() |
|
Lance of Llanwyln posted:Team: Buffalo Bills Agree with almost everything, except for the disappointing players. Taylor has had a few inaccurate throws, but a majority of them are ones competent receivers still catch. His decision making has been great and his rushing and ability to escape pressure have been outstanding. He was certainly the best offensive skill player on the field yesterday. I'd put Gilmore, Darby, and Clay as the three biggest disappointments.
|
![]() |
|
korrandark posted:Team:Cincinnati Bengals Pretty much agree with all of this. It sounds hyperbolic but the defensive issues have been here forever, but in years past the personnel was good enough to overcome the endless penalties, missed assignments, etc. Not so this year, and the coaching has been abysmal overall. Paul Guenther and Marvin Lewis should both be updating their resumes but frankly I'll be shocked if either are let go. The o-line has also been pretty bad which has been a bit of a surprise.
|
![]() |
|
fsif posted:Agree with almost everything, except for the disappointing players. Taylor has had a few inaccurate throws, but a majority of them are ones competent receivers still catch. His decision making has been great and his rushing and ability to escape pressure have been outstanding. He was certainly the best offensive skill player on the field yesterday. I think Bills fans should be ecstatic about Taylor. How often can you sign a backup QB (well, to that point in his career he was) in free agency who goes on to be a very competent starter?
|
![]() |
|
thrilla in vanilla posted:The o-line has also been pretty bad which has been a bit of a surprise. Cedric Ogbuehi has been especially bad. He gets beat on passing downs nearly every time.
|
![]() |
|
tadashi posted:I think Bills fans should be ecstatic about Taylor. How often can you sign a backup QB (well, to that point in his career he was) in free agency who goes on to be a very competent starter? Yeah, they're thrilled with what they've gotten from him, but I understand the reluctance to sign him to a long term deal considering he does have some issues and his playstyle tends not to age well. I think they will end up doing that though, he's shown enough for long enough that I think he's a solid franchise quarterback.
|
![]() |
|
I remember going to a Chiefs/Ravens preseason game at M&T a few years ago, and Tyrod was playing for the Ravens. At one point he rolled out and juked the gently caress out of our new rookie OLB Justin Houston and I thought to myself a) drat that QB is sick and b) why the gently caress did we draft this bum rear end linebacker
|
![]() |
|
CaptainYesterday posted:Most disappointing players(3): road Brock Osweiler, DeAndre Hopkins, Brian Cushing ![]() The numbers aren't there but he's still catching anything that comes his way and is remotely catchable. It's not his fault Brock can't stop throwing it to whoever's covering him instead
|
![]() |
|
ShakeZula posted:Team: Indianapolis Colts The Colts get a big fat F for not drafting Jordan Howard in the 5th.
|
![]() |
|
Kalli posted:I think they will end up doing that though, he's shown enough for long enough that I think he's a solid franchise quarterback. I feel like Bills fans of all people should be able to appreciate the level of Taylor's play. He's a pretty loving stark contrast to Trent Edwards or EJ Manuel.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Las Vegas Raiders Record through 8 games: 6-2 ![]() Offensive grade: A - Derek Carr and his merry band of Crab/Coop are balling out of control. Defensive grade: D+ They were on a pace to set the record for most yards given up in a season, but somehow someway are able to generate turnovers which prevents this from being an F. With all the rookies/FAs we're just hoping it's taking time to gel together. Perry Riley from Washington was a great pickup. Special Teams grade: A-, aside from Janos kicking last Sunday (which ultimately didn't lose the game) Marquette King is having a great year including setting the record for longest rush on 4th down ever. Return game isn't too shabby either Coaching grade: A+ (do penalties count under coaching? If so B). Del Rio has now won 3 or 4 games this year by going for it on 4th down. 5-0 on the road. Record for most penalties in a game? I want off this fuckin ride. (no I dont) Overall grade: A- (A++++ in context of the last 15 years) Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Derek Carr, Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, the Offensive line, Marquette King Most disappointing players(3): Dan Williams (NT), Ben Heeny (MLB), Sean Smith (NT) Smith has been playing better but those first few weeks were rough. Short summary: if the Raiders Defense can gel together (and Mario Edward Jr / Aldon Smith come back) I can see the Raiders definitely venturing into playoffs barring catastrophe. Probably a year or two away from making a serious SB run though.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Chicago Bears Record through 8 games: 2-6 Offensive grade: D+ Until Cutler's return, it was the lowest scoring offense in the league. I think it still is. The offensive line and the new OC both looked overmatched early on, but both have improved. Jordan Howard looks legit. Defensive grade: C- Injuries have ravaged this unit, particularly the secondary. They do fairly well with what they have, and the pass rush is starting to show signs of life as Leonard Floyd figures things out. Special Teams grade: D+ Connor Barth is bad at his job. Pat O'Donnell is not much better, and there have been some coverage issues. Coaching grade: D+ I like what Fangio has done given all the 3rd and 4th stringers in the secondary, but I'm not sure about everyone else. Fox's clock management skills and conservatism are maddening at times, too, and he genuinely believed Hoyer is better than Cutler. Loggains has improved from where he was at the start of the year, but 16.4 ppg is pitiful no matter how you slice it. I can understand the hot seat reports. Overall grade: D+ Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Cody Whitehair, Jordan Howard, Jerrell Freeman. I did not think Whitehair would adjust to center so quickly, he's been a revelation. Freeman tackles just about everything and is a major upgrade over the bums we trotted out to play ILB the past couple seasons. Most disappointing players(3): Bobby Massie, Alshon Jeffrey, Connor Barth. I'm not sure about these choices. I think we expected Massie to struggle with pass protection, and he has. Jeffrey has not been awful by any means, but I think Bears fans expected a bit more from him given his (likely) free agency. Barth makes us miss Robbie all that much more, even if Robbie's play was starting to slip. Short summary: No one expected much from the Bears this year except for a bit of improvement, especially on the defensive side of the bar. They've failed to meet these modest expectations. Injuries certainly are a major factor. Losing Cutler for a long stretch of time and countless other key players on both sides of the ball does handcuff the coaching staff, exposing a lack of depth which is the legacy of years of poor drafting. At the same time, there's been some baffling playcalling, questionable coaching decisions on Fox's part, and times where they take far too many penalties. In general, the team feels inconsequential and does not seem close to mattering again. There are some brightspots, though: the interior of the offensive line is fantastic, some young players are starting to emerge (Meredith, Howard, Whitehair, Goldman, Callahan), and more of Pace's draft picks are making an impact. They just have a long way to go, talent wise, especially if they are moving on from Cutler after this year.
|
![]() |
|
fsif posted:Agree with almost everything, except for the disappointing players. Taylor has had a few inaccurate throws, but a majority of them are ones competent receivers still catch. His decision making has been great and his rushing and ability to escape pressure have been outstanding. He was certainly the best offensive skill player on the field yesterday. Tyrod has a bizarre skillset, but overall the good that he does still outweigh the bad. To me the strangest attribute he has, is that despite being pretty inaccurate throwing, running alot, and throwing on the run he does not turn the ball over. All of those things should lend themselves to increased fumbles and interceptions but not with Taylor. I've even seen him several times scrambling and he looks completely out of control with the ball only secured with one hand and his arms are flailing around and nothing bad ever happens to him. I think Taylor has a special kind of sense/awareness that protects him from making disastrous throws and makes him extremely elusive. That is truly part of his magic. His fatal flaw is short and intermediate passing. He usually does not completely whiff on receivers like EJ but he does not hit them in stride and he has an inconsistent level of zip on the ball like he will bullet a ball that needs to be thrown with air and lofts the balls that need to be threaded and thrown in front of his receivers. It is hard for him to get into a rhythm passing and he abandons/doesn't trust the pocket enough. That said he is perhaps better off outside the pocket anyway. The deep ball is there so that the other teams don't infinitely stack the box. He throws a decent (not amazing) deep ball that is effective mainly because other teams have to then actually cover our receivers. My concern with the Bills is that they have a very specific way they need to win football games. I call it the "Run or Die" Offense. The Bills with even moderate success running are difficult to beat because running successfully causes all of Tyrods strengths including the deep ball, and his own running ability to be significantly amplified. When the Bills are behind and they have to pass all of Tyrods weaknesses are instead amplified. Now running to set up the pass is not a new concept but this Bills team is pretty extreme in this regard. If it can run it can do everything. If it can't run it can do nothing.
|
![]() |
|
Febreeze posted:Team: The New York Football Sweep DV Under The Ruggers I agree with all of this, well said Febreeze. I'm pretty surprised how well the giants defense has been playing, although they still don't really get pressure ever and I still hate how it's built (and the DC) but as long as it's working I can't complain too much. It's really hard to say anything else about the team because Eli and the line are playing like rear end and it's kind of hard to tell how anything else should look. I don't really blame the team for getting fooled by that one good year Donnell had (and Tye seemed like he might be pretty good before this year too) but it seems like TE might be another one of those positions Reese doesn't really care about so I doubt we'll get an upgrade if there isn't somebody available in free agency. Dwayne Harris is also really overpaid but at least our special teams are just mediocre instead of bad, so whatever I guess. In general the giants are just kind of there but it's hard not to feel a little pessimistic, both because I am a naturally negative person about sports (go Knicks) and also because the rest of the division seems to be on a much brighter track than the giants do. Things can always change, of course. I still remember how scared I was of RGIII and Chip Kelly. The only other thing I have to add is that I'm also pretty annoyed with the team brass in terms of how they handled the Josh Brown stuff, especially given their attitude towards player conduct in other cases. Apparently arguing over headphones gets you cut but getting suspended for beating your wife gets you statements of support from the owner until the NFL decides to actually do something.
|
![]() |
|
Ummagumma posted:Most disappointing players(3): Alshon Jeffrey, Outside of the first half on Monday, I don't think he should be in the disappointment category. Most of his bad stats are from Hoyer's inability/unwillingness to get him the ball. Once he and Cutler got on the same page he caught everything thrown his way and caught the game sealing score.
|
![]() |
|
The Colts get a big fat F for not firing the terrible GM and head coach and instead giving them 4 year extensions. At least Luck got paid. God this team sucks. I can't believe they have 3 wins.
|
![]() |
|
Blitz7x posted:Team: Las Vegas Raiders Pretty much agree with all this and although you mention him, gonna give Perry Riley a bit more love. Also, I'd like to see Smith swapped out for Nelson. Almost every single big play smith has given up, Nelson was nowhere to be seen and that is his contain. Smith was playing a lot better last few games before his injury. I'd also give the defense a C-. Lots of yards given up but the forced turnovers and 3rd down conversion rate have led to three straight pretty good performances. Also, glad you pointed out Dan Williams, he's been real bad.
|
![]() |
|
tadashi posted:Team: Your first place Atlanta Falcons Another Falcons fan here? ![]() I'll add to what you said. Defensive grade: D- : Hard to argue based on the sheer amount of points they have given up, however, a lot of those points have come in garbage time and when playing a very soft cover three zone. When they have switched out to man defense, given the speed and agility of our young guys, they have fared well. I mentioned in the other thread, switching to man shut down Green Bay's final drive...I wish they would do more of it. They also are light years ahead of where they have been in terms of pass rush. Beasley is showing up, Clayborn has been great, Freeney has proven to be a worthy signing, hell even Brooks Reed has been applying pressure. With some better play, and experience for the youngsters (Neal, Jones and Campbell) I think this unit could do really well. Grady Jarrett is a loving boss, Tru is one of the best in the league, and when Alford isn't grabbing people he is a solid #2. Special Teams grade: B? : I'd give them an A. Their special teams this year is actually very good and Bryant and Bosher are both excellent. Coaching grade: B- : Shanahan and his game plans have been outstanding, but Quinn/Smith and the defense have been suspect. I hope DQ puts his stamp on this defense and we start seeing more than just flashes of being good. I applaud DQ and his 4th down decisions, I have no gripes with him other than this defense not doing as well as I thought it would. Overall grade: B- : I'd put them at a B+. They are 5-3, have one of the best offenses in the league, an MVP candidate in Matt Ryan and arguably the best WR in football in Julio. They are a couple missed calls, and weird plays away from 7-1 and have beaten both Superbowl participants last year (even though Carolina is trash this year), went into Seattle and played them well enough to win and same with a very underrated San Diego squad. Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Vic Beasley busting out has been both outstanding and surprising. Keanu Neal has been an amazing addition to the defense, dude is going to be special. Tyler Gabriel has really been cool to watch, which has surprised the poo poo out of me. Most disappointing players(3): Ryan Schraeder has taken a step backwards from last year. Ricardo Allen I thought would build off his season last year, but he has regressed. Jalen Collins can't even get on the field and as a 2nd round pick that is hugely disappointing. Short summary: The offense, while they most likely cannot sustain the pace they are on, looks like it can put enough points to hang with the best defenses in the league. The defense is very young and inexperienced, they are going through some growing pains at the moment but if they can continue to learn and gel, could transform into a good unit with Neal, Jones, Campbell, Beasley, Jarrett, Clayborn, Trufant and Alford at it's core. The pass rush is showing up, which is very promising. Put an average defense with this offense and they can make some noise.
|
![]() |
|
warcrimes posted:Pretty much agree with all this and although you mention him, gonna give Perry Riley a bit more love. Also, I'd like to see Smith swapped out for Nelson. Almost every single big play smith has given up, Nelson was nowhere to be seen and that is his contain. Smith was playing a lot better last few games before his injury. I'd also give the defense a C-. Lots of yards given up but the forced turnovers and 3rd down conversion rate have led to three straight pretty good performances. Also, glad you pointed out Dan Williams, he's been real bad. Ooh yeah Reggie Nelson.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Eagles Record through 8 games: 4-3 Offensive grade:C- Defensive grade: B+ Special Teams grade: A Coaching grade:C Overall grade:C+ Most outstanding/surprising players(3):Carson Wentz, Jordan Hicks, Darren Sproles Most disappointing players(3):Entire WR corps, Zach Ertz, Jason Kelce General Franchise Grade: C Then they started out 3-0. Wentz is the real deal, and I don't think there's any more denying that. I'm not saying he's going to be Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, but he looks legit, and I hope we see him around for at least the next 10 years. Defense looks pretty stout, as I had anticipated through the preseason. Jordan Hicks seems to have picked up where he left off after having his season cut short due to injury last season. Malcolm Jenkins deserves a shoutout because he's been good as well. The biggest weaknesses are at the corners, and a lot of that is due to injuries and inexperience. "Wide 9" was a cringeworthy term in this town, after being utilized during Andy Reid's last season here, an ill-fated 4-12. However, it seems that the Eagles finally have the personnel on defense that can properly execute the technique. So far so good up front. Special teams has been amazing, with two kickoff returns for TDs this season, and Caleb Sturgis is looking like one of the better kickers in the league. The reason I'm not giving them an A+ is because the punt return unit gave up 30 yards on a 4th and 8 fake punt scramble against Dallas in a crucial part of the game. It might be harsh and please tell me if it is, but that just can't happen. Offense... where to begin. Outside of Wentz and Sproles, it has been lackluster in the skill positions especially. Up front, the lack of Lane Johnson was quite evident against the Redskins, with rookie Hal Vaitai being thrown around like Winston Justice out there. However, he has played very well since that game. The big weakness right now seems to be up the middle with Jason Kelce. He's undersized to begin with, but it's become more glaring in the last couple of seasons. This has turned into several holding calls and outright being pushed into the pocket. He's also had some sloppy snaps and a couple of false starts. I don't see him being an Eagle for much longer. We're still waiting on TE Zach Ertz to break out. He's been targeted a bit less this season than last, and that could all be due to progressions, but when he is, he's not making much of it. He seems to never be able to generate any RAC, and he's dropped a couple of big passes this season, one was a sure fire touchdown. The WR corps is easily one of the worst in the league. Jordan Matthews would be a WR2 anywhere else. DGB is still very much a project that might never come to fruition. Nelson Agholor is a first round bust. Josh Huff is probably going to prison. I don't know what else to really write here, other than I hope Wentz's best years aren't wasted trying to throw to inferior, incompetent players that can't play. The RB situation is in limbo at the moment. Darren Sproles has been amazing, but even though he got an RB1 workload against Dallas, I hope this isn't a trend going forward. He's too small and old to take that sort of abuse. Doug Pederson pretty much gave a vote of no-confidence to our existing RB1, Ryan Mathews, after a couple of ill-timed fumbles this season, with one that arguably cost them the Lions game. I'd like to see more of Kenyon Barner and Wendell Smallwood in the rotation, especially if they're not high on Mathews. (a note on Smallwood: yes, he did fumble on his only snap in the 4th against Dallas, but I still maintain that was a terrible time to have him see his first action of the entire game) Coaching-wise, I have no big complaints about any of the auxiliary coaching, but Big Doug is a big reason for the grade given. At first, he was aggressive, and it worked. Going for it on 4th down, etc. Since the bye week, he seems to have gone away from that, and the culmination of all of this was in the 4th quarter against Dallas. Around 5-6 minutes left, up 7, on the Dallas 30, 3rd and 8. It's a very makeable FG from a guy that hit (twice really) from 55 in the same game. You've been throwing screens all game that haven't been working. So what do you do? You throw a screen, and you lose yards. Now a fairly easy FG becomes more questionable. You threw backwards, and ended up backwards. So Instead of a 47 yard attempt it's somewhere in the low 50's. Okay, fine, go for the kick. But you don't. You punt it, and Dallas ties the game. Then when there's under a minute left, Dallas has the ball pinned deep, 3rd and 18, and you have all of your timeouts and Darren Sproles is your punt returner, you decide not to take any of them, and go to overtime. You never get the ball back, and the Cowboys win. That is the definition of playing not to lose. Doug, what happened? Did you realize that you're in a playoff race and get scared? I know you're a rookie head coach, and it's a difficult job, but when you make mistakes that are glaringly obvious to anybody with half a brain watching, you have to take some stock and learn from it. I hope you do. Overall, this is definitely a team that's indicative of its record. Not terrible, but not great either. It'd be nice if they can make the playoffs, but that's looking seriously in doubt especially now being 0-2 in the division and Dallas looking like the class of the NFC. If they lose to the Giants this weekend, and with the tough schedule coming up, it's over Johnny. But we'll see. shyduck fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Nov 3, 2016 |
![]() |
|
weird Asian candy posted:Another Falcons fan here? It is TAYLOR Gabriel you savage < ![]()
|
![]() |
|
Team: Green Bay Packers Record through 8 games: 4-3 Offensive grade: C+ Defensive grade: B Special Teams grade: B- Coaching grade: B- Overall grade: B- Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Ty Montgomery, Mike Daniels, Nick Perry Most disappointing players(3): Clay Matthews, Eddie Lacy, Sam Shields, Damarious Randall, Jared Cook, Aaron Rodgers Short summary: Injuries and wasted opportunities are the theme for the Packers this year. Rodgers took awhile to shake out whatever throwing issues he had, but has improved over the last two weeks to being close to normal, for him. Lacy never got on track before his injury, Shields and the rest of our CBs being out has turned what should have been a top-5 defense into a sieve. The run defense has been pretty good, with the exception of the Cowboys game, which isn't unexpected. Mike Daniels has been amazing, Nick Perry finally playing worth a drat. Montgomery may be our bizarre answer at RB, not like we really had a run game anyway, but might as well go Air Raid on this bitch if we can't run block anyway. It was a team that started out with a lot of hope and promise, and now we'll likely limp into a playoff spot due to the middle of the NFC being fairly weak, and get knocked out in the first or second round. Can't run, can't defend against a team with a decent o-line. Not forcing turnovers. Just not our year again.
|
![]() |
|
Team: Minnesota Vikings Record through 8 games: 5-2 Offensive grade: D Defensive grade: A Special Teams grade: B- Coaching grade: B Overall grade: All things considered, ![]() A Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Jeff Locke has been outstanding at pinning teams within their own 10 on punts. Andrew Sendejo was much maligned after signing a new contract last year, but already has 4 turnovers so far this year. Cordarrelle Patterson: Is starting to work his way into playing time, and has been a great S/T player beyond his usual kickoff returns. Adam Thielen has worked his way into playing time and has shown to be incredibly reliable making tough catches. Sam Bradford Most disappointing players(3): Charles Johnson was the No. 2 receiver, is now the No. 4. Has done nothing with any playing time. Blair Walsh has missed several PATs and FGs. The entire Offensive Line, but especially TJ Clemmings https://twitter.com/pff_sam/status/793424278947557376 Short summary: It has been a very strange year for Minnesota thus far. Bridgewater dislocates his knee in a preseason practice ![]() The year started out better then anyone's wildest dreams, going 5-0 with the Defense looking absolutely dominant the whole way, beating the Packers in the opening game for US Bank Stadium, and the Panthers in Charlotte. After the bye week the defense has looked good (vs the Eagles) and bad (against The Bears). The offense has been unspectacular at best and down right awful at worst. They currently rank 29th in total yards, 23 in total points. Most of this can be blamed on the Vikings oline, as it is Seattle bad (maybe worse), currently averaging 2.6 ypc (for the whole season) and giving up 11 sacks, and 2 dozen QB hits in the past 2 games. The recent news is Norv Turner has resigned as the OC, and Pat Shurmur will be the interim OC. If this is will improve things is foggy at best. But, it couldn't be worse... Right? ![]() The Vikings special teams are all over the place depending on where you want to focus on. Blair Walsh has been god awful. Missing several FGs and PATs, but Jeff Locke has been really really god drat good, and has been locking opposing teams inside their own 10 yard line at an incredible rate. The punt return unit has been good overall when S/T superstar Marcus Sherels is returning kicks, and the kickoff units have been solid overall (with the lone exception of the Josh Huff kickoff TD,) and Cordarrelle Patterson is still one of the most dangerous returners in the NFL. A level head says we are 5-2, leading the NFC North and still have one of the top defenses in the NFL. The offense may be bad, but with even slight improvement the team would return to being really good. A person looking to panic would say that we lost badly to the Eagles, and the Bears. If this level of play continues even the game against the Lions this week in Minnesota looks like a lose. Time will have to tell to see how it all shakes out, but Mike Zimmer has shown to be a really good coach and the smart money is them getting back to playing winning football. Paint Crop Pro fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Nov 3, 2016 |
![]() |
|
Team: Detroit Lions Record through 8 games: 4-4 Offensive grade: B Defensive grade: F- Special Teams grade: B Coaching grade: C- Overall grade: C Most outstanding/surprising players(3): Matthew Stafford, Travis Swanson, Kerry Hyder Most disappointing players(3): Ziggy Ansah, Haloti Ngata... ![]() Short summary: When Matthew Stafford plays perfectly, the Lions win. There is nothing else keeping them afloat. The defense is the worst in football and the running game has been less than anemic since Ameer Abdullah went on IR. A lot of other people are on IR too. Ironically, the most vulnerable position the Lions had entering the season, wide receiver (all four of them!), has not had any trouble with injuries... for now.
|
![]() |
|
![]()
|
# ? May 14, 2024 00:01 |
|
Flikken posted:It is TAYLOR Gabriel you savage < See, he is so surprising I don't even know his name! ![]() He is awesome though, and I am thankful for T. Gabriel.
|
![]() |