NFL Week 1 (Sept. 5th-9th)

[Magnetic Curses]

i wouldn't have said it

[Magnetic Curses]

i assure you

[kujay]

Right. Peter King on NBC said the same thing, after conceding that up to that point the refs had done pretty well today.

 

Why on earth would he concede that? I agree you could probably take a few weeks and get these guys (and gal, as it were) up to speed, but today I saw blown calls that I've never seen from an NFL crew before. It was absolutely terrible. Sure, nobody "got hurt" and I'm sure that's the weird standard people want to apply, but it shouldn't be. When incredibly blatant false starts aren't noticed, it's obvious the officiating isn't up to par and needs to be addressed (and that's just an example). And I for one don't want to wait until week 8 for it to get better.

 

I didn't mean to suggest I agreed with him. I saw terrible work by the refs in several games today. But I do admit it's tough because even with the regular refs there would be plenty of gripes.

[Guest]

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=320114025

 

You're right, one game against a bad pass defense proves he's dominator.

 

But you said he can't take over games.

 

Okay, let me clarify it for you: he's not a guy who can be counted on to carry an offense. There are a lot of guys who have had great single game performances (or even a handful of them) who aren't great or even good QBs. That he did it once doesn't mean you can expect him to be able to in the future if needed.

 

I think most people would agree that if the running game is taken away and the defense is giving up points, that team is in trouble 9 times out of 10.

 

If a team which has a very good defense (second in ppg allowed, fourth in total yards in 2011) and a strong running game (eighth in rushing yards) isn't playing good defense or running the ball well, they're going to be in trouble? You don't say.

[Magnetic Curses]

that demarius thomas guy is big and fast

[XZero771679666304]

 

If a team which has a very good defense (second in ppg allowed, fourth in total yards in 2011) and a strong running game (eighth in rushing yards) isn't playing good defense or running the ball well, they're going to be in trouble? You don't say.

 

Yeah, that wasn't the best way to put that. The point I was trying to make was that Alex Smith isn't a guy you'd feel good about having to carry a team. If an opposing team was keying in on him, I wouldn't expect much. He's well into the bottom half of guys I'd want at QB if I needed the passing game to come up big. He's a game manager on a team that doesn't require anything more of him (not a lot unlike Trent Dilfer on the Big D/Jamal Lewis Ravens teams, but slightly better).

 

As opposed to guys like Rodgers and Brady who can and have taken over games consistently when the rest of their team has been less than good. Hell, Rodgers is in that position practically every week: no running game, swiss cheese defense.

[Illini Iceman]

Right. Peter King on NBC said the same thing, after conceding that up to that point the refs had done pretty well today.

 

Why on earth would he concede that? I agree you could probably take a few weeks and get these guys (and gal, as it were) up to speed, but today I saw blown calls that I've never seen from an NFL crew before. It was absolutely terrible. Sure, nobody "got hurt" and I'm sure that's the weird standard people want to apply, but it shouldn't be. When incredibly blatant false starts aren't noticed, it's obvious the officiating isn't up to par and needs to be addressed (and that's just an example). And I for one don't want to wait until week 8 for it to get better.

 

I didn't mean to suggest I agreed with him. I saw terrible work by the refs in several games today. But I do admit it's tough because even with the regular refs there would be plenty of gripes.

 

I have seen terrible work by refs in just about every game I have watched in the NFL and college the last couple years. This whole idea that the regular referees were awesome is laughable.

 

At some point maybe the dinosaurs running the leagues will figure out that with today's technology it is ridiculous to do things like have a human randomly put a ball down on the ground and then two guys with a chain come out to confirm within millimeters whether or not it is a first down and act like there is any accuracy at all to that process. It is almost as asinine as having home plate umpires call balls and strikes in the MLB when there is perfectly good technology used on every telecast that would make the strike zone fair and consistent but can't be used in the game because fans supposedly love the "human" element.

[Soul]

Agreed, I'd love to see a tech update to the way games are called.

 

Still though, I haven't seen much in the way of claiming that the regular refs are awesome. It's just that these crews were obviously worse.

[Guest]

peyton manning still rules

[Guest]

That should finish this one off.

 

I hate rooting for the Broncos, but it's good to see Manning play well tonight.

[ConstableRabbit]

Right. Peter King on NBC said the same thing, after conceding that up to that point the refs had done pretty well today.

 

Why on earth would he concede that? I agree you could probably take a few weeks and get these guys (and gal, as it were) up to speed, but today I saw blown calls that I've never seen from an NFL crew before. It was absolutely terrible. Sure, nobody "got hurt" and I'm sure that's the weird standard people want to apply, but it shouldn't be. When incredibly blatant false starts aren't noticed, it's obvious the officiating isn't up to par and needs to be addressed (and that's just an example). And I for one don't want to wait until week 8 for it to get better.

 

I didn't mean to suggest I agreed with him. I saw terrible work by the refs in several games today. But I do admit it's tough because even with the regular refs there would be plenty of gripes.

 

I have seen terrible work by refs in just about every game I have watched in the NFL and college the last couple years. This whole idea that the regular referees were awesome is laughable.

 

At some point maybe the dinosaurs running the leagues will figure out that with today's technology it is ridiculous to do things like have a human randomly put a ball down on the ground and then two guys with a chain come out to confirm within millimeters whether or not it is a first down and act like there is any accuracy at all to that process. It is almost as asinine as having home plate umpires call balls and strikes in the MLB when there is perfectly good technology used on every telecast that would make the strike zone fair and consistent but can't be used in the game because fans supposedly love the "human" element.

The whole spot-chain dynamic is one of the most asinine things in sports.

[Magnetic Curses]

i think they let bumblebee man into the broncos post-game press conference and peyton took like 5 questions from him.

[Magnetic Curses]

andrew luck is joel david moore on steroids.

[Soul]

Well, he sure received a heck of a lot of coverage for someone who got plastered and looked pretty mediocre. But I get that he's the #1 pick and everyone wants to hear how he did. If he accounts for 4 turnovers next week too, it's not going to be a great story for him.

[Soul]

Sooo glad the pukey Steelers lost. Good job Manning :)

[Guest]

Brees has now thrown a touchdown in 44 consecutive games, three shy of Unitas's mark of 47. Brady's current streak of 33 is the fourth longest in history.

[Formerly Snayke]

I knew the Rams gave Stafford too much time for a comeback.

[Banedon]

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1181336/151670468_extra_large.jpg

[Guest]

http://i.imgur.com/RLzYh.jpg

[UMFan83]

http://i.imgur.com/RLzYh.jpg

 

Ahh, the value of an elite receiver, right Jerry Angelo?

[Soul]

....and even then, he's still got his hand up.

[sneakypower]

if anything, the Rams didn't give him enough respect right there

[Banedon]

Stop me if this sounds familiar...

 

“We beat ourselves. They really didn’t beat us,” Jarrett Bush said, via Mike Woods of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “We just have to hunker down and make sure we’re gap sound and get on the same page. Obviously, small things being miscommunicated on the field become big things, so they exploited us and that’s what happened.”

 

As a reminder, here's Clay Matthews last month talking about the playoff loss...

 

“We picked the most inopportune time to play our worst ball,” linebacker Clay Matthews tells Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports. “The fact is, [the Giants] didn’t beat us; we beat ourselves. We need to play our best ball when it counts. This year, I expect us to be right back where we should be.”

[Guest]

Seems to me the replacement refs weren't completely incompetent in week 1. Some bad calls here and there, but nothing that makes me want to demand the return of the other refs. Probably only gonna get better and better each week going forward. I think the NFL is going to end up getting the better end of these negotiations when all is said and done.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Seems to me the replacement refs weren't completely incompetent in week 1. Some bad calls here and there, but nothing that makes me want to demand the return of the other refs. Probably only gonna get better and better each week going forward. I think the NFL is going to end up getting the better end of these negotiations when all is said and done.

Maybe not incompetent but wildly inconsistent from the action I saw.