NFL 2019 Season Discussions

[Zzzptm]

As a Cowboys fan, I'm not at all pleased with how Jerry Jones is messing around with Zeke Elliott's contract. This is a guy that makes a huge, HUGE difference on the field. Just give the man his money and get him playing, already! Pollard is good, but how about having him on the field WITH Elliott? Heck, even if Elliott just blocks like an old-school fullback, it would be awesome for the running game. Give Prescott plenty of options as he gets into a new passing game and the 'Boys can do all right.

[Zzzptm]

Antonio Brown...

There are nearly 2,900 players on the combined 32 NFL rosters right now. Only one player is refusing to participate because he doesn’t like his helmet. - Andrew Siciliano

Gotta agree with Siciliano, there's no good reason to not update one's helmet. Get some new headgear and get out there and play some ball, man!

[Zzzptm]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/08/30/ezekiel-elliott-jerry-jones-dallas-cowboys-contract-holdout

So maybe the Cowboys come out of their first 6 games with a 5-1 record without Elliott because only one team in those games, the Saints, is considered a real contender. To me, that stinks. A team that wants to make a run at a championship needs to be able to beat those other contenders. Win-loss record doesn't mean a thing once you face a team in the playoffs. *Quality* wins against solid teams is what counts. Sure, 5-1 looks good as a starting record, but if Elliott is the puzzle piece needed to make it 6-0, get that piece in place!


At least the Cowboys have a QB... Cam Newton is in a boot, Andrew Luck resigned his commission, and Jimmy Garoppolo seems to have misplaced his 49ers-saving golden halo...

[Jack the Stripper]

^^^ It does look like they have some cushy games in their first six but I wouldn't be confident of them being 5-1 without Zeke. You giving them the Packers win as well?

I know Elliot's stocks have risen since he signed his contract but he has two years remaining on it and he is now effectively holding the whole organisation to ransom. I'm not entirely in the loop on his contract dispute but is Jerry Jones willing to renogoiate and its just a numbers thing? Or is Jones just flat out refusing to renogoiate and holding him to his current contract?

[Typhon]

^^^^^^
I agree with Jack.  I'm not up to date with the details, but looking at it from a business standpoint, a deal is a deal.  If you give EE more money and then he has a so-so season, would he be willing to take a pay cut the following year?  Shut the heck up and play.

[Zzzptm]

That's the gamble... I'm thinking EE is still young and agile enough, he's not likely to have a so-so year.

It's quite likely that the deal gets done after maybe the first 2 or 3 games. If the 'Boys falter, Jones comes up. If they do just fine and look strong at the RB position even without EE, then Elliott comes down.

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to the Bears-Packers game on Thursday. I'll take it as an augury for the level of play this year.

[Jack the Stripper]

Don't they have a collective bargaining agreement in place? If Zeke is fully fit both mentally & physically surely he's in breach of his contract by sitting out?  Same goes with Antonio Brown and the helmet fiasco. Some of these highly paid NFL stars act like absolute prima donna's.

[Jack the Stripper]

Well that was a stinker to kick off the season, the Packers 10 beat the Bears 3 in an uneventful Snoozefest while also pouring cold water on all that Trubisky hype.

[Zzzptm]

Oh man, that Packers/Bears game was pitiful. Worst moment: Chicago starting to get an offense together and then blowing up their momentum with penalties, getting that 1st-and-40 at one point.



Sunday's NFC East action was better football by far. Eagles came back from behind very convincingly to beat Washington and the Cowboys showed that their new Offensive Coordinator knows how to get Dak to distribute the ball to multiple receivers, spread out over short, medium, and long ranges. Zeke being on the field gave the offense one more weapon and that line looks good. Hope their health holds out, they can be contenders.

Next game I saw was the Steelers doing a doormat impression, because the Patriots walked all over them. Punting on 4th and 1 and going for a FG inches from the goal line is no way to beat the Patriots!

[Typhon]

Antonio Brown of the New England Patriots has been accused of raping a woman who worked as his trainer, citing a federal lawsuit filed earlier yesterday in Florida.

This has been all over the news in my area today.  I figured this guy would not make it through the season without some kind of controversy, but I did not think it would be this soon. 

[Zzzptm]

Antonio Brown of the New England Patriots has been accused of raping a woman who worked as his trainer, citing a federal lawsuit filed earlier yesterday in Florida.

This has been all over the news in my area today.  I figured this guy would not make it through the season without some kind of controversy, but I did not think it would be this soon. 

Less than 24 hours, I think... guy's full of surprises.

Passed on the Bucs-Panthers last night, read about Carolina going down hard this morning. Apparently, Carolina's front line is shaky and it's pretty easy to get to Cam Newton right now.

[Zzzptm]

Week two... I've started a mutual fund, ticker symbol ZEBRA, that focuses on firms that make penalty flags for NFL games.

It jumped up by 7 during the Vikings-Packers game, and again by another 7 during the Saints-Rams game. 

Seeing Big Ben and Brees go out with injuries was definitely a letdown, both for those players individually and for their teams that were hoping that this would be The Year. I hope they recover soon... and that their teams' offensive coordinators figure out what schemes work best with the backup QBs.

I watched the Saints-Rams and that game definitely went south for New Orleans after Brees went out and their defensive TD got called back. Saints did as well as they could, with the refs all but playing for the Rams. Again.

Also caught Falcons-Eagles. That one started slow and then eventually the offenses got warmed up and started getting some scores on the board. Ending was good on that one, plenty of excitement.

Of course, I watched Dallas-Washington. Wonderful fun, with Washington giving a good game. That new OC for Dallas looks to be the golden boy of the moment, with his plays really gelling for Dak Prescott, who is proving that he *can* throw some long bombs with accuracy and efficacy. Last season, Dallas' offense was cramped into run, short passes, and mid-range passes. That let defenses play close and stuff things up. Now that the deep zones are options, defenses have to spread more in order to not get gashed. If Dallas' front line can stay strong, Dak will have a great year. Maybe even The Year.

And the Browns won last night!

[Zzzptm]

Missed my posting Monday due to power outage here...

... but Dallas' game against the Dolphins wasn't the walkover everyone expected. Dak Prescott got his head back together and delivered a solid second half performance, along with the rest of the team.

Giants may have something with that young feller, there... and the Saints surprised everyone with Bridgewater not just holding on, but getting things going against the Seahawks. Well done, Nawlins!

Saw a snippet of the GB-Philly game last night - don't write off Philly yet for the year, they got a solid unit, just have to find their way through the injuries.

Baker Mayfield's enshrinement at Canton looks like it will get postponed, possibly until some time after he's retired from football, and provided he delivers on his promise to lead the Browns to a playoff game.

[Zzzptm]

Week 4 had a disappointment for the Cowboys, lost by 2 points to the Saints in a defensive slugfest.

Defense won things for Chicago, they may very well have their act together enough to be a contender this year. Browns also look like they've righted their ship and are ready to go forth and conquer.

Vontaze Burfict finally got suspended for the season. Good. He's been a dirty player for years, does not belong on the field.

[Vyn]

Where's the KC report?

Kansas City...Mahomes continues to function at a stratospheric level. Their new defense is looking like their old defense, except they have promise. The O-line needs to, as always, try and give the QB more than one fourth of a second in the pocket.

Looking forward to the Colts tomorrow.

The Browns should seriously consider signing Antonio Brown. They'd have an excellent foundation to earn the title "Violence Against Women R Us".