NFL Discussion Thread - Hall of Fame Game: August 3rd

[mmg]

@VA

Good point in bringing up.

Mike basically set that 49ers team up, those aren't Jim's players, their mikes, that defense is a product of mike, not just the personal and GM.

And josh could've crippled that Denver team for years with trading away Cutler and Marshall and drafting tenor in the 1st

But there is josh, sitting behind the hoody and TB12, and in 2 or 3 years of sitting there he's gonna get another shot and it won't even be off his own merit.

Where's mike now?

 

[651akathepaul]

Where's mike now?

LB/assistant head coach for Minnesota. Vikings also employ Alan Williams as their D-Coordinator who will probably be a HC candidate as early as the end of next year.

 

[do work son]

why did andy reid get hired so fast, chip kelly and doug marrone get hired from college, mark trestman got hired from the CFL after not being in the NFL for 7 years, and the cardinals instead of promoting ray horton went and got bruce arians?

i'm not saying those white coaches are necessarily bad, but if they were black under the same circumstances would they get hired? i mean, lovie smith wasn't a hot commodity anywhere

and saying minorities don't get a chance is not laughable. it's actually pathetic. yeah the NFL is predominantly black, but take a second to notice that the management is majority whites.

chris rock once said "Shaq is rich, but the N who signs his paychecks is wealthy"

*shrugs*

 

[do work son]

oh, let's not forget the colts old coach jim caldwell. he was doing fine with the colts with peyton, peyton gets hurt and the front office gets exposed for being terrible. Irsay clears house and hires Pagano. caldwell just got promoted to OC for the ravens, i wonder how long he'll have to wait for a HC job. whereas guys like gruden and the old steelers coach (can't remember his name for the life of me) get talked about every year as almost being able to hand pick their jobs

 

[shaunhillftw49]

@VA

Good point in bringing up.

Mike basically set that 49ers team up, those aren't Jim's players, their mikes, that defense is a product of mike, not just the personal and GM.

And josh could've crippled that Denver team for years with trading away Cutler and Marshall and drafting tenor in the 1st

But there is josh, sitting behind the hoody and TB12, and in 2 or 3 years of sitting there he's gonna get another shot and it won't even be off his own merit.

Where's mike now?

What? He coached SF for a year when Davis, Willis, Justin Smith , Gore etc were there for years
Its the other Mike's roster

 

[651akathepaul]

why did andy reid get hired so fast, chip kelly and doug marrone get hired from college, mark trestman got hired from the CFL after not being in the NFL for 7 years, and the cardinals instead of promoting ray horton went and got bruce arians?

i'm not saying those white coaches are necessarily bad, but if they were black under the same circumstances would they get hired? i mean, lovie smith wasn't a hot commodity anywhere

Why did Andy get hired so quickly? C'mon, man...And teams been gunnin' for Chip for a few years now. It was bound to happen. He was the first man on a lot of teams lists. Trestman is a QB guru who is a perfect fit for Cutler and I don't know how anyone can discount Bruce at this point. Horton may have been snubbed but it was very evident that Arizona was looking for an offensive oriented coach that could help a team that is in desperate need of it.

Like was mentioned earlier...Lovie supposedly was only interested in two jobs or he would sit this year out. That's not a race thing. That's a Lovie thing. And you also mentioned IF black coaches were under the same circumstances...Well where are those coaches? All I'm saying is I think it's just a year where the hot commodities happened to be white. I think next year you'll see a good amount of black coaches get a shot. Rooney rule adjustments or not.

 

[do work son]

why did andy reid get hired so fast, chip kelly and doug marrone get hired from college, mark trestman got hired from the CFL after not being in the NFL for 7 years, and the cardinals instead of promoting ray horton went and got bruce arians?

i'm not saying those white coaches are necessarily bad, but if they were black under the same circumstances would they get hired? i mean, lovie smith wasn't a hot commodity anywhere

Why did Andy get hired so quickly? C'mon, man...And teams been gunnin' for Chip for a few years now. It was bound to happen. He was the first man on a lot of teams lists. Trestman is a QB guru who is a perfect fit for Cutler and I don't know how anyone can discount Bruce at this point. Horton may have been snubbed but it was very evident that Arizona was looking for an offensive oriented coach that could help a team that is in desperate need of it.

Like was mentioned earlier...Lovie supposedly was only interested in two jobs or he would sit this year out. That's not a race thing. That's a Lovie thing. And you also mentioned IF black coaches were under the same circumstances...Well where are those coaches? All I'm saying is I think it's just a year where the hot commodities happened to be white. I think next year you'll see a good amount of black coaches get a shot. Rooney rule adjustments or not.

not withstanding andy and arians then. chip kelly and doug marrone? sure teams have been hot for kelly, but marrone? trestman is an offensive guru? if he was such a guru why has he been out of the NFL for 7 years?

 

[stillin729]

Thread derailed just in time for the Conference Championships

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Luck's old OC Pep Hamilton coming to the Colts to replace Arians. Hope he does well. Good to see another brother (like Caldwell) getting a shot to be OC in the pros....

 

[651akathepaul]

Never said Trestman was an offensive guru. I said a QB guru. And while arguments can be made against Marrone, again, there still needs to be more african-american candidates. The selection just wasn't there this year. Him being out of the NFL is irrelevant in terms of his coaching ability. Maybe the CFL provided the best chance at that position at the time he was hired...Who's to say? Fact is, everything I've heard of the guy...He really knows his stuff. That's what should take precedent. Not skin color.

We can go back and forth, but I don't want to play a hand in derailing my own thread, so I'm done.

 

[651akathepaul]

3TFO: 49ers @ Falcons, NFC Championship

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Sam Monson | 2013/01/18

Atlanta has finally got the playoff monkey off its back. They may have made tough going of it, but the Falcons did not crash out of the playoffs at the first time of asking as many had been predicting. After racing out to a big lead, aided by the Seahawks bungling of their final possession of the half, the Falcons then conspired to lose the lead and hand Matt Ryan the ball needing to score with under a minute remaining. Ryan came up big and the Falcons escaped with a win they really should have had locked up before even entering the fourth quarter.

The 49ers, by contrast, were far more convincing in their display against the Packers, taking them down for the second time this season and leaving Green Bay with losses to San Francisco book-ending their season.

Can Ryan and the Falcons now play to their best with the pressure of getting their first playoff win lifted from their shoulders? Will the 49ers finally run into a poor game from Colin Kaepernick to derail their march to the Super Bowl? Let’s take a look at three of the most important matchups that will dictate which side comes away victorious.

Containing Kaepernick


Last week the Green Bay Packers acted like the notion of Colin Kaepernick running the ball had never even occurred to them. They showed no indication that anybody on the defensive coaching or playing staff had ever even seen this new witchcraft called the ‘read option’, and they compounded matters by playing an endless run of man coverage, ensuring that if the rushers up front strayed from their lanes Kaepernick could simply scramble into open field with everybody in coverage having their backs turned to him, blissfully unaware of the threat.

The bottom line is they defended the threat of Kaepernick and the 49ers’ offense about as poorly as it is possible, and the Falcons need to do a better job or they will get just as badly gashed. One thing going in the Falcons favor already is that Atlanta plays largely zone coverage on the back end, limiting the plays where coverage defenders will have their backs to the threat. The Falcons in coverage will have their eyes on the quarterback and see early when he takes off to scramble. The bad news is that they have some of the poorer tackling players in the league once they do recognize that threat.

Asante Samuel’s tackling ineptitude is the stuff of legend by now, but Thomas DeCoud has matched him with 21 missed this season. Sean Weatherspoon, their best linebacker, isn’t far behind with 15, and Dunta Robinson has missed 13 as he elects to go for kill shots rather than wrap-up tackles more often than not. Atlanta has six defenders that have missed more than 10 tackles this season, meaning that even though they might recognize the problem sooner than the Packers did, they aren’t guaranteed to be able to come up and do anything about it. Russell Wilson took off scrambling six times last week and earned 58 yards and a touchdown, forcing two missed tackles in the process. Kaepernick is, if anything, even more dangerous in the open field.

The other area the Falcons need to be prepared for is the option offense that the 49ers can deploy. They saw a pretty conservative version of this last week against Seattle, but the 49ers are far more creative and varied with their playbook. Defending the option is all about assignment football, and last week Atlanta seemed to be relatively well prepared for what they would see from the Seahawks. San Francisco will show them far more variants, with more options to contend with, from both sides of the formation, and the Falcons need to be prepared to defend it with everybody in the front seven aware of their assignment.

49ers Cornerbacks vs. Falcons Wide Recievers


Last week one of the marquee matchups to watch was how Julio Jones and Roddy White did against the Seahawks duo of Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman. The end result was a mixed bag. They were targeted 16 times when covered by those corners, but caught only eight of those passes for 126 yards and a touchdown. In fact, 47 of those yards came on the touchdown, which saw White beat Sherman over the top on a deep route before getting in his face with a little trash talk. Outside of that pass the Seattle pair held the Falcons’ receivers to just 79 yards from 15 targets, while breaking up three passes.

San Francisco might not have Richard Sherman, but their corners are nothing to sneeze at, and it remains an interesting battle. Matt Ryan went deep eight times against the Seahawks, staying aggressive despite an excellent unit. The 49ers have the fourth-best deep (20+ yards in the air) completion percentage in the NFL, and the fourth-best yards per attempt figure on those passes. They also ranked sixth in the league defending balls thrown deep and outside the numbers, so whatever the Falcons choose to do it won’t be smooth sailing. Tarrell Brown has yet to allow a touchdown this season, and Chris Culliver has had some excellent games in deep coverage.

It might not have quite the same obvious marquee feel as it did last week, but the battle between the Atlanta receivers and the San Francisco corners is one that will go a long way toward determining the Falcons success on offense. They need to remain aggressive and get the better of this fight if they are to hang with the points that San Francisco can put up.

Sam Baker vs. Aldon Smith


At one point Aldon Smith was the fashionable pick for Defensive Player of the Year when it seemed all but certain that he would break the single-season sack record. Since the Miami game in Week 14, however, he failed to record a single sack and hasn’t earned a positive pass-rushing grade for any game. That isn’t to say that he has been completely blanked, because on those four games he has recorded 16 pressures and knocked the quarterback to the ground three times. He was never as good as the hype suggested at that point in the season, but nor is he merely the by-product of Justin Smith, as some want to now claim.

He will go up against Falcons LT Sam Baker for much of the game. Baker was a first-round pick but has been playing far closer to bust status than stud status so far in his career. This season has seen him improve dramatically, however. In 2010, the last time he saw a full slate of games, Baker allowed 10 sacks, but this season that number is just six, and his Pass Blocking Efficiency score has taken a notable upswing too. He finished the year 26th in that regard, level with Carolina’s Jordan Gross, and represents a far sterner test for Smith than might have been the case in years past.

The Falcons need Baker to hold up because Matt Ryan’s numbers plummet under pressure. This season his passer rating when he is kept clean in the pocket is 110.6, and he has thrown 27 touchdowns to just eight picks, completing 74.1% of his passes along the way. When he feels heat however, his passer rating nosedives to 63.8, he has thrown only eight touchdowns to match eight interceptions, and completed just 52.4% of his attempts.

If the 49ers can win that battle and get pressure on Ryan their prospects of progressing to the Super Bowl improve dramatically and, conversely, if the Falcons can keep their quarterback free of pressure they have a far better shot.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

https://www.profootballfoc

cus.com/blog/2013/01/18/3tfo-49ers-falcons-nfc-championship/

 

[651akathepaul]

3TFO: Ravens @ Patriots, AFC Championship

Spoiler

=Warning: Spoiler!Steve Palazzolo | 2013/01/18
So here we are again.

The Baltimore Ravens head to New England to take on the Patriots in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game. Not only is this a rematch of last year’s AFC Title game, but the two teams went down to the wire in Week 3 with Baltimore coming out on top by a point. The rivalry is emerging as one of the league’s best, and of course this postseason has the added storyline of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis’ pending retirement.

Baltimore is fresh off an upset of the No. 1 seeded Denver Broncos in a hard-fought double-overtime game, while New England disposed of the Houston Texans 41-28. It remains to be seen if the Ravens’ extra efforts in the Denver altitude will have a lingering effect this week, especially with the Patriots’ penchant for running an up-tempo, no-huddle offense. Defenses are challenged by the pace of the offense every week, but Baltimore’s five-plus quarters in the thin air could make it even more difficult on Sunday.

Whether it’s Lewis’ swan song or Tom Brady’s quest for the elusive fourth Super Bowl ring, this game abounds with storylines and drama — and a trip to New Orleans is on the line.

There are a number of key matchups in the game, so let’s take a look.

Patriots Pass Offense vs. Ravens Pass Defense

Despite boasting one of the top running attacks in the league, the Patriots’ offense still runs through Brady. He hasn’t played well in the Patriots’ last three playoff losses, and their success will likely depend on his ability to play at his expected Pro-Bowl level. He posted a season-high +7.4 grade in the first matchup with Baltimore, and he was particularly effective throwing to the intermediate (10-20 yards) level, going 8 of 10 for 125 yards on such throws. The Ravens blitzed him on 17 of his 44 drop-backs, and that’s where Brady did most of his damage, going 12 of 15 for 155 yards and a QB rating of 109.7. How will the Ravens match up with Brady’s targets this week?

Covering Welker

Wide receiver Wes Welker is never an easy cover, but the Ravens have done a nice job of slowing him down with cornerback Ladarius Webb. Unfortunately, Webb is out for the season and the responsibility will fall on CB Corey Graham who starts at LCB in the base defense before kicking inside to cover the slot in sub packages. Welker has taken his usual spot among the best in the league, averaging 2.04 Yards/Route Run when lined up in the slot, while Graham is in the middle of the pack among slot cornerbacks with his 1.30 Yards/Cover Snap. It’s not a terrible performance by Graham, but it’s certainly a downgrade from Webb who surrendered only 0.88 Yards/Cover Snap in the slot last year, before giving up only 0.32 through 92 snaps this season. Graham’s ability to keep up with Welker may be the most important matchup for the Ravens on Sunday.

Covering Hernandez

This matchup will be less cut and dried compared to Welker, as tight end Aaron Hernandez lines up all over the formation. He’ll see a number of Ravens defenders, but look for the Patriots to exploit the matchups that find him covered by a linebacker. Whether it’s Lewis (-8.7 pass coverage) who, despite his exceptional career and team leadership has clearly lost a step in coverage, or LB Dannell Ellerbe (-6.4 pass coverage), the Patriots should be able to win the matchup — especially as Hernandez appeared to have his explosion back last week with 57 of his 85 receiving yards coming after the catch.

Covering the Running Backs

The final piece that could be a struggle for the Ravens is the running backs. Last week, RB Danny Woodhead was supposed to be a big part of the Patriots’ game plan but a hand injury sidelined him early in the game and RB Shane Vereen took over his role. Vereen didn’t miss a beat with 124 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Like Hernandez, the Patriots running backs will line up at a number of spots, so expect Lewis and Ellerbe to move with them if the Ravens are in man coverage.


Ravens Pass Offense vs. Patriots Pass Defense

The Ravens also have a number of receiving weapons at their disposal, as evidenced by QB Joe Flacco’s 613 yards passing in the playoffs already. The deep passing game is a huge part of his arsenal, and his 92 regular season attempts were the second-most in the league — and last week he completed four of six deep throws for 185 yards and three touchdowns. It remains to be seen how much pressure he will face this weekend. The Patriots blitzed him only three times on his 47 drop-backs in Week 3, this despite the fact Flacco grades at+19.0, with a QB Rating of 96.4, against traditional four-man pressure, but his numbers drop to -10.7 and 76.4 when he is blitzed. The Patriots have stepped up the pressure since adding CB Aqib Talib, increasing their blitz frequency from 17% of the time before his acquisition, to 33% over the past eight games.

What is clearer is who Flacco will be throwing to.

Covering Smith

No wide receiver saw a higher percentage of deep throws than Torrey Smith, who was targeted beyond 20 yards 42.3% of the time in the regular season. In fact, 36 of his 114 targeted passes have been ‘go’ routes, so his ability to stretch the defense is a huge part of the Ravens’ offense.

In New England, head coach Bill Belichick generally keeps his cornerbacks on the same side regardless of the matchups, but the late acquisition of Talib has expanded the options on defense. Talib has been used to shadow opposing team’s top wide receivers at times, and he did so last week against WR Andre Johnson. While Talib does not boast outstanding numbers (1.74 yards/cover snap), he’s taken to the added responsibility and Belichick has trusted him enough to play a lot more varied coverages in the secondary.

The Patriots did not assign a cornerback to Smith in the first matchup, but Talib was not on the roster at the time. Whether Talib flips sides or not, he’ll see plenty of Smith who has received 54% of his targets from a right wide receiver spot, which is opposite Talib’s natural left cornerback position.

Covering Boldin

On the other side of Smith is Anquan Boldin, who will also kick inside to play in the slot in 3-WR packages. His more physical approach to the game offers a different challenge from Smith. He’s caught all but two of the 78 on-target balls thrown his way, and he’s picked up 216 yards over the past two weeks. When lined up outside, he’ll see either Talib or CB Alfonzo Dennard who is fresh off making our PFF All-Rookie Team. Dennard’s 1.26 Yards/Cover Snap ranks in the middle of the pack among cornerbacks, but he’s allowed a league-low 78 yards after the catch.

When Boldin moves inside to the slot, it will likely be CB Kyle Arrington getting the nod. He’s given up only 0.71 yards/cover snap in the slot and he’s graded at +5.2 since Week 10.


Patriots Running Game vs. Ravens Run Defense

One of the stories of the season in New England is the dedication to the running game that has the Patriots ranked seventh in the league in rushing yards, adding a balanced dimension to their pass-first attack. On the other side, Baltimore historically has been one of the most difficult teams to run against, but less than stellar pay up front, combined with injuries to both Lewis and OLB Terrell Suggs have forced the unit to take a step back this season. Both players were forces last week, however, combining for a +6.6 grade against the run.

New England’s offensive line has proven a stellar run blocking unit, particularly at center where Ryan Wendell is our top run blocker at the position (+24.2). He’ll be matched up against the oversized, yet underwhelming duo of DT Ma’ake Kemoeatu and DT Terrence Cody who combine for 710 lbs of mass (listed), but only a -7.1 combined run stop grade. In addition to Wendell, Patriots OT Nate Solder and OG Logan Mankins split Player of the Game Honors last week on the strength of their fantastic work in the running game where they combined to grade at +5.2.

While Brady has been one of the main culprits of recent Patriots playoff losses, the well-balanced running attack may be just what they need to take some pressure off him and leave them with some margin for error.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/01/18/3tfo-ravens-patriots-afc-championship/

 

[do work son]

i didn't know discussing NFL head coaching candidacies would be derailing an NFL discussion thread. *noted*

 

[DeadsetAce]

i didn't know discussing NFL head coaching candidacies would be derailing an NFL discussion thread. *noted*

 

[651akathepaul]

i didn't know discussing NFL head coaching candidacies would be derailing an NFL discussion thread. *noted*

You know better. Once a few "others" get involved then it becomes more than a discussion about coaching candidates. No need to be snarky with me man.

 

[coltfanb]

who honestly cares if any black coaches didnt get hired, get over it...

 

[mmg]

who honestly cares if any black coaches didnt get hired, get over it...

Don't be a ****

 

[stillin729]

i didn't know discussing NFL head coaching candidacies would be derailing an NFL discussion thread. *noted*

Plays stupid *noted*

 

[do work son]

i didn't know discussing NFL head coaching candidacies would be derailing an NFL discussion thread. *noted*

You know better. Once a few "others" get involved then it becomes more than a discussion about coaching candidates. No need to be snarky with me man.

my bad. i thought we could have a mature discussion without people turning it into a race war. i clearly overestimated NT

 

[cash money 1999]

the team is the owners property , they should hire who they please

 

[fear the ibis]

who honestly cares if any black coaches didnt get hired, get over it...

Word. Slavery too. Black people need to just get over both.

 

[memo]

 but marrone 

Marrone was hired because he's good with QB's, which has been Buffalo's problem for over a decade, but more importantly because there's a huge Syracuse following in upstate NY, which also follows the Bills just as hard.

The Bills knew they were going to pick him before this season even started. Kelly gave Marrone plays to run from the Bills early 90's playbook to see how they could handle running them and get their QB used to running them, they're more than likely going to pick Syracuse's QB in this draft too.  

 

[cash money 1999]

Word. Slavery too. Black people need to just get over both.

slavery? c'mon man its not even comparable 

 

[651akathepaul]

Ray Horton to Cleveland as Defensive Coordinator. Awesome hire. Man, I like that Browns team. Horton will only be there for one year. With that D, he'll be hired as a HC with the quickness after next season ends.

 

[illmatic34]

not withstanding andy and arians then. chip kelly and doug marrone? sure teams have been hot for kelly, but marrone? trestman is an offensive guru? if he was such a guru why has he been out of the NFL for 7 years?

Syracuse's football program was basically dead and Marrone got them to a respectable level again. As for Trestman, NFL teams undervalue coaches and players all the time...that's why Welker is probably not going to get a fat pay check from the Pats and Hue Jackson was fired after one season.