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

[deuce king]

What a difference a week makes for BucEm

His quarterback got stripped of being a captain, his team lost in the finals seconds of play to the lowly Jets of all teams, and Buc Em made front page headlines in the WIR thread with all his ill-advised quotes.  When it rains it pours. 

 

[reggiekiller]

Josh Freeman is the exact same player he was at K State.

Good size, mobility, mechanics....but completely inable to be effective or win games.  He got drafted off of potential alone, and ended up just staying the same

8000 yards, 44 TDs and 34 INT's, sounds about as mediocre as it gets.

 

[jpzx]

I still think of when the Patriots beat the Jets 49-19 on Thanksgiving last season.... Hmm.....

 

[jjs07]

You guys played EJ ******g Biggers at free safety? The dude can't tackle and has zero ball skills. I'm so glad I won't ever have to see his face in a Bucs jersey ever again.

This is where the cap penalties have hurt the Skins. Secondary will be a problem all year.

EJ Biggers should not be on the team, let alone starting at FS

Next year, will hopefully be different.

 

[buc em]

Raheem Morris has a hard-on for EJ Biggers for life. As long as he's part of your staff he'll keep him there atleast in a reserve role.

Raheem had him guarding Megatron and **** 1 on 1 with no safety help.

 

[stillin729]

I always get ***-rammed when I bet against BB but 12 pts in the NFL is a TON.

I believe 2 games last week had 10+ pt spreads and the dog covered both. (Raiders and Bills)

So torn; I hate when I'm down 0-1 going into Sunday on my picks pool...so demoralizing

 

[theswagofsweetjones]

Espn insider..Mel kippers top rookies after week 1...sorry for not putting a spoiler up...I'm on my phone.
1. Eric Reid, S, San Francisco 49ers
There are easier ways to find your way in the NFL than to line up at free safety on a day when Aaron Rodgers is the opposing quarterback, constantly using his eyes to try to get you not just on the wrong foot, but into the wrong zip code. But Reid held up extremely well to start his career. Only three passes were completed near him, he picked off one and had another called back on a penalty. He showed great closing speed when catches were made in front of him, and he finished with five tackles. He also looked good on special teams, an area I'm always looking at for rookies. If you didn't think Reid was the best this week, just remember the context -- first game, replacing a veteran in Dashon Goldson, and facing Rodgers. Reid stepped in and rose to the occasion in a game that had far more intensity than your typical Week 1 matchup. Remember, this is a guy the 49ers actually traded up for. So far, so good.




{C}


2. Desmond Trufant, CB, Atlanta Falcons
Before you say I have the wrong Atlanta cornerback and that Robert Alford was the better rookie, check the snap counts. Trufant started his first game, was a guy Drew Brees had to be looking to exploit, and didn't even come off the field. Alford was great but saw about half the snaps because he was used in nickel situations. I was really impressed with Trufant's instincts and toughness. This kid plays with confidence. He did an excellent job in coverage -- Brees didn't pass for more than 50 yards throwing in his direction -- and also proved to be a solid
tackler. Trufant is a complete corner with a Pro Bowl future.

3. Star Lotulelei, DT, Carolina Panthers
Seattle ran 26 times for a total of 70 yards on Sunday, and Lotulelei deserves his share of the credit. The Panthers went into the draft looking to upgrade the interior of the defensive line, and they succeeded. Lotulelei was extremely disruptive early in the game against Seattle and made his presence felt against both the run and the pass. I counted six impressive plays overall during the course of the game, a good number from that position. I see Lotulelei first as a run defender, but he moves well and can turn raw power into pocket disruption.



4. Sheldon Richardson, DT, New York Jets
Sure, the QB will get the credit, but remember that the Jets had the chance to win this game first because when Tampa Bay had the lead, it simply couldn't do a thing on offense -- especially when it came to running the ball and running clock. Credit Richardson, who looks capable of wrecking a run game, along with a very good Jets defensive line. (Tampa had 25 carries for 65 yards.) Richardson was active and extremely versatile against the Buccaneers in terms of how he deals with blocks. He has a ton of talent and is working hard to maximize that ability on every snap. And he played pretty much every snap on Sunday.


5. Tyrann Mathieu, CB, Arizona Cardinals
He always makes himself a part of the play. Sheer hustle led to Mathieu's saving a TD late in the first quarter when he dislodged the ball from Rams TE Jared Cook, after making up about 20 yards on a play in which he wasn't even covering Cook, and the Cardinals recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchback. Cook scores, and it's not as close as it ended up. While Mathieu was called for a pass interference penalty and had a few soft tackle attempts, he looked good, and I counted just one pass caught thrown at him as the primary person in coverage. Maybe my buddy Jon Gruden was right, and the Honey Badger belonged in Round 1.



6. Geno Smith, QB, Jets
An important thing for Smith was to show he could hurt a defense by extending plays to throw. I think it was a little overstated that Smith is a "mobile" quarterback heading into the draft. He's a decent athlete, but if you think running is a part of his game he wants to rely on, you haven't watched him enough. But Smith can extend plays -- he's a smart mover, not a runner -- and that's what matters. He made good connections with Kellen Winslow, in particular, and seemed to rise to the moment when he knew a play needed to be made. He wasn't perfect by any stretch, but the Jets won the game and Smith made the plays when he had to.





7. Robert Alford, CB, Falcons
He came through with an impressive pass breakup early in the game, then followed it up with a pick late. The important thing is Alford looked like anything but a rookie against Brees and the Saints. He didn't get as many snaps because he worked more out of the subpackages in obvious pass situations, but he was never a liability. Despite the result, the Falcons have to be pleased with early returns with their two corner picks.




8. Jordan Mills, OT, Chicago Bears
How would you have answered this question a week ago: "Jay Cutler plays a full game against the Bengals -- how many times is he sacked?" The answer turned out to be zero, and Mills deserves his share of the credit. A lot of people have called Kyle Long the surprise stud on the O-line, but Long was just OK against Cincy, and it was Mills who has much greater positional value. In the fourth quarter, the fifth-round steal was involved in two critical plays. On fourth-and-1, the Bears picked up a key first down with Mills getting the necessary movement. On third-and-6, Bears RB Michael Bush didn't get the first down, but Mills sustained a block against Rey Maualuga and drew a personal foul penalty against Maualuga that iced the game. Great start.





9. D.J. Fluker, OT, San Diego Chargers
As far as I'm concerned, you can throw out any numbers that attempt to tell you how Fluker did in a vacuum. I say that because Fluker was average at best on film, but the guy he often had to block happens to be the best defensive player in football. And for most of three quarters, J.J. Watt wasn't a devastating factor in the game. Fluker got out of his stance quickly, showed good feet and played a fundamentally sound game overall. Now, Watt got him off balance plenty and certainly spent his share of time in the backfield, but Fluker can at least say Watt doesn't have a sack going into Week 2.



10. EJ Manuel, QB, Buffalo Bills
He nearly pulled off the stunning upset of the Patriots but came up just a little short. Manuel delivered a few great strikes that were right on the money, including a pair of TD passes on which he showed great touch and also did a good job using his eyes to move defenders. But he also didn't throw the ball down the field all that much (5.8 yards per attempt) and will need to get a little more confident in his reads. Still, a promising start for a guy who was coming off an injury break.



11. Alec Ogletree, OLB, St. Louis Rams
He didn't come through with any difference-making plays, but he flashed his tremendous athleticism on a number of occasions, and finished the game with seven tackles, which was tied with Mathieu for most by any rookie in Week 1. He also started for what should be a strong defense. As this kid gains seasoning, he's only going to get better.





12. Tyler Eifert, TE, Cincinnati Bengals
We really didn't see him stretch the Bears defense like I think he eventually will, but he was thrown at exactly five times and finished with five catches. Think he'll see more targets? Perhaps best of all, I thought he delivered some very good blocks in the run game, something I'm sure the coaches will notice in film sessions. He's going to catch everything you throw at him, but if Eifert blocks like this, he'll be a star.



13. Larry Warford, G, Detroit Lions
He started at guard, moved well and maintained his blocks, and the Lions looked as multiple on offense as we've seen them in the past couple of years, with a run (and screen) game to go with the typical shots down the field in the direction of Megatron. Warford had to have graded out really well when the coaches reviewed Week 1 and looks like an immediate upgrade.





14. Jarvis Jones, OLB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Maybe this is a little high for Jones, who didn't get the start, but I really liked what I saw in his limited time. I had him with at least partial credit for a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage. I think as he sees more time, Pittsburgh will see how disruptive he can be. The Steelers are known to bring young defenders along slowly as they pick up the scheme, but Jones should see his share of action.


15. Kiko Alonso, LB, Bills
The Patriots really went after Alonso in coverage, because they throw so often underneath. They appeared to target him a handful of times and were pretty effective. But I thought he looked good against the run, reacted well to make tackles against the pass. He picked up five tackles overall and pursued well.

 

[elpablo21]

Trufant

 

[steevoo1]

Patriots 27-13.
Taking NE tonight.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Eric Reid really did look good on Sunday... He's gonna be good.

 

[jjs07]

Raheem Morris has a hard-on for EJ Biggers for life. As long as he's part of your staff he'll keep him there atleast in a reserve role.

Raheem had him guarding Megatron and **** 1 on 1 with no safety help.

Everyone is expecting Meriweather to get injured getting off the bus on Sunday, so we'll probably see Biggers getting extended PT...yet again

Aaron Rodgers is probably licking his chops.

*Eric Reid looked like a a difference-maker in the making. 49ers got a real good one back there at safety. Reid has the ballhawk mentality along with the intimidation factor. Perfect fit on that defense.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

You know how #12 gets when he finds a "target".

 

[Clyde Frog]

They really gonna mention Reid's second pick and play it down by saying it was called back on a penalty. It was a free play thrown into double coverage That dude looked great though. If you watched the game not knowing anyone's reputation beforehand you'd assume he's someone the defense relies on. He gave good reason to think the defense will rely on him with that secondary. There was also a time he could have lit up Rodgers in the open field and possibly get away with it but he chose to let up so he's cool in my book.

 

[do work son]

Raheem Morris has a hard-on for EJ Biggers for life. As long as he's part of your staff he'll keep him there atleast in a reserve role.

Raheem had him guarding Megatron and **** 1 on 1 with no safety help.

Everyone is expecting Meriweather to get injured getting off the bus on Sunday, so we'll probably see Biggers getting extended PT...yet again

Aaron Rodgers is probably licking his chops.

*Eric Reid looked like a a difference-maker in the making. 49ers got a real good one back there at safety. Reid has the ballhawk mentality along with the intimidation factor. Perfect fit on that defense.

and the cowboys traded the pick to draft a center at the end of the 1st round. albeit, he's a good center. but man did they lose on value

 

[Peep Game]

Raheem Morris has a hard-on for EJ Biggers for life. As long as he's part of your staff he'll keep him there atleast in a reserve role.

Raheem had him guarding Megatron and **** 1 on 1 with no safety help.

Wade Phillips and Alan ball

And the bengals didn't get one sack?

Special teams Alan Ball

Starting corner Alan Ball :x

 

[fraij da 5 11]

They really gonna mention Reid's second pick and play it down by saying it was called back on a penalty. It was a free play thrown into double coverage

Yea once Rodgers see's hes getting an offsides call he goes deep/endzone every. single. time. He DGAF if his man is covered, hes gonna try to get a freebee. And usually he gets it.

 

[jjs07]

and the cowboys traded the pick to draft a center at the end of the 1st round. albeit, he's a good center. but man did they lose on value

Just glad he's not in the NFCE

It was only one game and I'm sure he's going to have ups/downs, but he looked REALLY good against an elite passing offense on Sunday.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

 

 

Raheem Morris has a hard-on for EJ Biggers for life. As long as he's part of your staff he'll keep him there atleast in a reserve role.

Raheem had him guarding Megatron and **** 1 on 1 with no safety help.

Wade Phillips and Alan ball

And the bengals didn't get one sack?

Special teams Alan Ball

Starting corner Alan Ball

Exact can be said about Jarrett Bush...

 

[deuce king]

Very happy and pleased with what I saw out of Eric Reid on Sunday.  Hope he keeps up the good work. 

 

[larrydavid]

Can't even lie, Reid looked like the goods.

Just randomly flying into the picture on a run and if the ball was floated at all dude was making a play on it, interested to see how he deals with playing in coverage going forward once SF's garbage secondary is under pressure and their offense isn't hitting on all cyclinders.

 

[blackboyfly]

After wishing/hoping/praying that Cooper or Warmack would drop and Dallas could select one of them Reid was by far the player I wanted most in the draft. And he's looked amazing in the short amount of time we've seen him. But honestly for Dallas Oline was a much bigger need then Safety. A defense can survive with a scrub safety if they have 6+ really good players on defense which Dallas does. A team won't survive (or Romo for that matter) if they only have 1 and a half decent offensive linemen.

 

[buc em]

Sheldon Richardson is a beast. Dee Milliner....not so much.

 

[niketalker23]

However, Kaepernick, who threw for a career-high 412 yards against Green Bay on Sunday, has the statistical backing to prove he is an excellent quarterback in the classic sense: He has dominated from inside the pocket.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, since last season, Kaepernick has thrown just two interceptions on 204 pass attempts from inside the pocket. The NFL averages for interceptions thrown inside the pocket is one every 38 passes. Kaepernick is at a clip of one every 102 passes from inside the pocket.

His pocket success doesn’t stop there. Kaepernick is completing 66.2 percent of his pocket throws, compared to the league average of 62.2. His yards-per-attempt average of 9.1 leads the NFL.

This is just more proof that Kaepernick is as solid with his arm as his feet. He has to be considered much more than simply a running quarterback.

Link

 

[keel252]

Star, Reid and honey badger are gonna be very good players for their franchise. I like Ogletree too dude is a freak on the field.

 

[blackboyfly]

However, Kaepernick, who threw for a career-high 412 yards against Green Bay on Sunday, has the statistical backing to prove he is an excellent quarterback in the classic sense: He has dominated from inside the pocket.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, since last season, Kaepernick has thrown just two interceptions on 204 pass attempts from inside the pocket. The NFL averages for interceptions thrown inside the pocket is one every 38 passes. Kaepernick is at a clip of one every 102 passes from inside the pocket.

His pocket success doesn’t stop there. Kaepernick is completing 66.2 percent of his pocket throws, compared to the league average of 62.2. His yards-per-attempt average of 9.1 leads the NFL.

This is just more proof that Kaepernick is as solid with his arm as his feet. He has to be considered much more than simply a running quarterback.

Link

Amazing that he fell to the second round. Shows how much these scouts know.