NFL 2013-14

[icvu42]

Way to lay an egg Miami.... Philbin must go!

[Zeppo]

Worst Redskins season in my lifetime. While the 3-13 record matches the worst record in franchise history (1994, within my lifetime), this season is the first time since 1961 (1-12-1) in which they lost 8 games in a row. Meanwhile many including my pessimist Dad are convinced that RGIII is done as an NFL calibre QB, and therefore the pricey trade to the Rams to draft him was worse than a waste. That along with the indefensible $17M cap penalty enacted by the league against the Redskins the last two seasons have ensured awful Redskins seasons for years to come. I'm not quite as pessimistic, but after this debacle of a season it's very hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel.

Dan Snyder is young and so will most likely continue to be the worst owner in all of American professional sports until after I am dead and buried. Although I like to believe he could pull a Steinbrenner and figure out how to be a good owner of a successful team, it does not appear likely.

I'm not sure whether it's better that the Shanahans get fired and the organization start all over again trying to build a team, or to give them one more year without the $17M salary cap penalty to try to plug the holes and see if they can't get back to where they were last season and build from there. Consensus is of course that the Shannies need to go, but who the hell is a candidate to be a better head coach? Who in their right mind would want to come to work for the supreme ass hat? I'd think the best bet would be to first hire Polian or some other high quality GM to run the thing, and let him find a good, fresh, new head coach. But I don't see that kind of thing happening with the Danny in charge.

[wco81]

Way to lay an egg Miami.... Philbin must go!

Couple of weeks ago, when the Dolphins had the inside track, there was even talk about him for coach of the year.

Hows the OL play been against the Bills and Jets?

They were supposedly a marginal group before the controversy led to them essentially losing two starters for the latter half of the season.

[XXXIV]

All of the 374 Rams fans in North America thank the Redskins!

[JackB1]

J E T S
JETS JETS JETS!!!!!

Cya Fins

[Danimal]

I was going to post a nice tirade on a bunch of things but I decided this Bears team is not worth wasting my energy on.

See you next year.

[XXXIV]

I was hoping for a better finish to the Rams season but the hawks are the better team.

The refs were terrible....Once again embarrassing officiating from goodells goons. clearly roger he is nothing but a pimp.

The way they totally lost control of the game was mind boggling....

roger goodell= Scumbag.

[XXXIV]

I was going to post a nice tirade on a bunch of things but I decided this Bears team is not worth wasting my energy on.

See you next year.

I thought they had it....

Oh well...

Game coming up!

Go Eagles!

[MizzouRah]

All of the 374 Rams fans in North America thank the Redskins!

Dammit.. Texas needed to lose!

[MizzouRah]

I was hoping for a better finish to the Rams season but the hawks are the better team.

The refs were terrible....Once again embarrassing officiating from goodells goons. clearly roger he is nothing but a pimp.

The way they totally lost control of the game was mind boggling....

roger goodell= Scumbag.

I hope Seattle gets waxed in the playoffs.

I'm fine with the BS after the whistle stuff, but call it both freaking ways!!!

[wco81]

How did the Packers end up with so much time of possession advantage?

Turnovers were even. Cutler only had 24 pass attempts? I see Forte had a good game but were they trying to control the ball, yet had only 25 minutes of possession?

They still put up a lot of points but with their defense and Rodgers, you would think the game plan is to rely on winning a shootout?

[XXXIV]

I'm fine with the BS after the whistle stuff, but call it both freaking ways!!!

Maybe next life time...That was pretty disgusting.

[10spro]

I'm fine with the BS after the whistle stuff, but call it both freaking ways!!!

Maybe next life time...That was pretty disgusting.

The game was never in doubt for the Hawks. But all that extra crap after a call is made and the inability for the zebras to tone it down, tuned me off and I switched back the the Bears-Packers game after the 3rd quarter. Rams had only thing in mind today and that was to humiliate Tate who was golden. He behaved like a kid last time in St Louis after scoring a TD and obviously Fisher's men didn't want to forget that.

[XXXIV]

The game was never in doubt for the Hawks.

No it wasnt!

What is in doubt is the motivations of the old fucks officiating it.

They were nothing less than disgraceful! Incompetent at best!

They do not deserve jobs in this f***in league ...But ya know what....Maybe I am thinking of the league I fell in love with in the mid 70s and not this disgusting nba wannabe GARBAGE!

[RobVarak]

I was a bit confused by the crazy-ass fumble play. First of all, nothing diminishes the stupidity and carelessness of the Bears D for not grabbing the ball.

That said, if it was a fumble (and I think it was), Rodgers' hand clearly propelled the ball forward before it was advanced into the end zone. The replay clearly shows his hand making contact with the ball after it slipped out. How is this not an illegal touching of the sort that the Steelers were flagged for last week?

Not using this as an excuse in any way, shape or form. Bears blew this one fair and square and cemented their standing as the worst Bears defense in my lifetime. The only bright side is listening to the tortured logic of meatheads all week who will try to dump all of this game on Cutler.

[XXXIV]

The only bright side is listening to the tortured logic of meatheads all week who will try to dump all of this game on Cutler.

Enjoy it. I will!

And to start it off....here is my tortured logic....

His laughing and acting like a f***in idiot on the field before they had won the game created bad karma.

[Danimal]

The only bright side is listening to the tortured logic of meatheads all week who will try to dump all of this game on Cutler.

Or listening to the cum gurgling of his supporters. There is plenty of blame to go around and Jay is not free of it. The guy had FOUR 3 and outs in the first half. I would love to know if any other QB in the league has more 3 and out drives then him. I doubt he is back this team isn't fixable in a year and the Bears won't pay him what he can get.

The Bears might be the only team to force 3 turnovers and come away with -7 points.

Jefferies fumbles and drops a pass that would of kept the last drive alive. Ridiculous roughing call on Rodgers accounts for 3 points. Also if Chris Conte is on this team next year, I might personally have to go break his leg. Guy missed a sure fire INT and who knows how many tackles but the the last TD pass in inexcusable.

Bears went from 10-6 to 8-8 and still missed the playoffs, someone needs to answer for that but Emery will use injuries as an excuse because its his ass on the line this time.

[Brando70]

That said, if it was a fumble (and I think it was), Rodgers' hand clearly propelled the ball forward before it was advanced into the end zone. The replay clearly shows his hand making contact with the ball after it slipped out. How is this not an illegal touching of the sort that the Steelers were flagged for last week?

I wondered the same thing. That entire play was a f***. Everyone on both sides clearly thought it was an incomplete pass, and for once the referees didn't blow the whistle even when in real time it looked like they should have.

Incredibly disappointing two-week swing as a Bears fan after the Packers and Lions gift-wrapped the division. I really have no desire to watch another football game this season.

[vader29]

The game was never in doubt for the Hawks.

No it wasnt!

What is in doubt is the motivations of the old fucks officiating it.

They were nothing less than disgraceful! Incompetent at best!

They do not deserve jobs in this f***in league ...But ya know what....Maybe I am thinking of the league I fell in love with in the mid 70s and not this disgusting nba wannabe GARBAGE!

[XXXIV]

[DivotMaker]

The only bright side is listening to the tortured logic of meatheads all week who will try to dump all of this game on Cutler.

Or listening to the cum gurgling of his supporters. There is plenty of blame to go around and Jay is not free of it. The guy had FOUR 3 and outs in the first half. I would love to know if any other QB in the league has more 3 and out drives then him.

Matt Schaub, Houston Texans.

[RobVarak]

I would love to know if any other QB in the league has more 3 and out drives then him. I doubt he is back this team isn't fixable in a year and the Bears won't pay him what he can get.

Dan, do you have Sunday Ticket? I think you might be grossly overestimating the quality of QB play in the league at large. Don't let the facts get in the way, bud.

I'm not formatting this, but here are the rankings by team through today. Bears have the 7th fewest 3 and outs in the league. So only about 25 QB's have more than Cutler.

Three and Out Drives
Team Three and Out Drive Percentage Total Drives Three And Out Drives
1 San Diego Chargers 12.90 155 20
2 Denver Broncos 15.71 191 30
3 Detroit Lions 17.84 185 33
4 New England Patriots 18.52 189 35
5 Philadelphia Eagles 18.62 188 35
6 Kansas City Chiefs 20.00 185 37
7 Chicago Bears 20.35 172 35
8 Atlanta Falcons 20.36 167 34
9 Dallas Cowboys 20.47 171 35
10 Houston Texans 20.53 190 39
11 Carolina Panthers 20.63 160 33
12 New Orleans Saints 20.71 169 35
13 Arizona Cardinals 20.86 187 39
14 Green Bay Packers 21.02 176 37
15 Seattle Seahawks 21.05 171 36
16 Washington Redskins 21.43 182 39
17 Indianapolis Colts 22.73 176 40
18 Cleveland Browns 23.37 184 43
19 Minnesota Vikings 23.91 184 44
20 Miami Dolphins 24.04 183 44
21 Oakland Raiders 24.04 183 44
22 Cincinnati Bengals 24.06 187 45
23 Pittsburgh Steelers 24.29 177 43
24 San Francisco 49ers 24.43 176 43
25 Tennessee Titans 25.00 172 43
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25.00 176 44
27 Buffalo Bills 25.62 203 52
28 Baltimore Ravens 26.42 193 51
29 St. Louis Rams 27.33 172 47
30 New York Giants 28.34 187 53
31 New York Jets 29.73 185 55
32 Jacksonville Jaguars 30.98 184 57

Source: http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats ... tage/2013/

This is actually my second-favorite Cutler myth busted this week. After listening to yokels talk about how fast Peyton McCown gets rid of the ball and how Cutler holds on to it too long, I had to drop this knowledge on some turds:

% of passes released in under 2.5 second

McCown 41.8%
Cutler 46.8%
Source: Pro Football Focus

When you consider the defenses faced by the two QB's and the playcalling to account for McCown's arm issues, it's even more ridiculous.

There are about twenty reasons the Bears lost today before getting to Cutler.

Some of my gems heard on sports talk radio as I drove home for an hour from a family holiday after the game:

1. Marc Trestman was too stoic after the fumble TD. He should have thrown his clipboard.
2. The Bears should have hired Mike Singletary as defensive coordinator when they didn't offer him the HC job.
3. Cutler didn't talk to his teammates enough and isn't a leader like Rodgers.
4. They gave the ball to Forte too much
5. Alshon should have made that routine 3rd and long catch!
6. They blitzed too much.
7. They didn't blitz enough.


It was an entertaining drive, that's for sure.

(Edit) Dan, I'm not equating your argument with the call-in guys, honestly. I was just totally amused by the stuff I heard tonight.

I do think Trestman made a bit of a tactical error on the second to last Bears drive (the one where Jeffery couldn't haul in the 3rd down). In my world, with that defense he needs to do whatever he can to keep the game in his offense's hands. When he got stuck in the 2nd and long after Marshall's stupid illegal formation penalty, I think he should have looked at it as a 4-down situation. I'd have preferred 2 or 3 low risk throws to going for all 15 yards at once, failing and punting. Anyway...

[Danimal]

I'm not formatting this, but here are the rankings by team through today. Bears have the 7th fewest 3 and outs in the league. So only about 25 QB's have more than Cutler.

Rob you're funny. First my statement was mostly just ranting. I'm pretty sure he isn't dead last...

I'm not sure how team statistics answer my question anyway. With the amount of turnover at QB this year in the league team stats are pretty pointless when figuring out where an individual QB ranks in this category don't you think?. Greenbay is 14th on that list do you think Rodgers has more three and outs than Cutler? An yes I realize Jay played 2 more game than he did this year.

Second I didn't say Jay Cutler was the reason we lost but he certainly plays a part in it. Four 3 and outs in the first half and another slow start, when your the QB some of that falls on you. There was one reason the Bears were in this game today IMO and it was Matt Forte. Other players didn't deliver like they should on offense.

If you think Cutler is going to be a franchise QB for this team, and by your constant defense of him I have to assume you do that's great. Personally I'd prefer Trestman get his own QB and I'd also prefer that they allow the defensive coordinator to install his own system. As I said when they fired Lovie, I'm all for it if you blow the whole thing up. I never did and still don't get why people thought this team was going to compete by bringing in an offensive coach.

Unfortunately this is a crappy QB draft and the Bears have bigger problems to fix the QB so I don't know what you do. I just know one thing if he thinks he is getting Flacco money from the Bears he is out of his mind. He is also not worth using the franchise tag with the cost of it. I don't know what the Bears do but my hunch says there is a greater chance he is gone, than staying here.

[RobVarak]

My take on Cutler is that they should do whatever will result in the most competitive team next season. You don't get the confluence of weapons they have very often and they can't be looking to compete in 2-3 years. It has to be now.

If that means back-loading a long-term deal with Cutler to free up more cap space next year for the defensive rebuild, that's fine. If he has to go that's fine too, but next year's starter absolutely can't be Josh McCown or a rookie. If they need to franchise him, it would be problematic. That would lock up a lot of money that they need for defensive FA's. I could see them franchising him just to gain some leverage on a long-term deal, but that's a bit of a risky game that GM's often threaten but seldom execute.

Before the last two weeks I would have agreed with you about Mel Tucker, but now I've got to say that I'd have no problem with seeing him launched. The playcalling and lack of communication on the defensive side of the ball is not just atrocious, but it also has nothing to do with the talent of the squad. There's no reason for an NFL team to field a defense that is so ill prepared and confused on so many key downs.

If it's Tucker or someone else, they should obviously play whatever system the DC wants. The job of rebuilding this defense is going to be a hell of a challenge for Emery.

Incidentally, I went back through Mike Pereira's twitter. The batting of the ball by Rodgers on the fumble/TD wasn't illegal because it was unintentional. So that's one question answered, at least.

[Sudz]

Cleveland fired their coach after 1 year?