2025 NFL Season Thread

[devo22]

didn't necessarily expect him to pick the Giants, but happy to see him go to the NFC. I've always respected the Ravens, and Harbaugh was a big reason for that.

[Erick Estrada]

It will be interesting to see if he can rise above the NY Giants/Jets suck. I'm not sold on Dart but they do have some decent young pieces to work with.

[Erick Estrada]

I'm excited for Steelers fans. For years now they have wanted a losing team to cheer for. Now they are going to get that.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'm excited for Steelers fans. For years now they have wanted a losing team to cheer for. Now they are going to get that.

I know there's a lot of "be careful what you wish for" going around, but we as Flames fans should know that the mushy middle is the worst spot to be in. Tomlins Steelers have been in "9-8 and a Wild Card beating" purgatory for way too long now. Steelers fans don't necessarily want a losing team, they simply want to stop treading water.

Mike Tomlin is a good dude, without a doubt. I have been frustrated with his coaching and both his staff and personnel decisions for a long time, but I hold no grudge against him, on the contrary. He's served the organization exceptionally well, but much like with Harbaugh in Baltimore, it was simply time for something different. We'll see how it plays out, but I'm excited for a fresh start.

[Sylvanfan]

Sports in the 2020's. People would rather have the worst team with the first pick than a playoff team. Some days I think they don't even want a Championship team anymore because it usually means players needing to get paid and an eventual decline and they'll only see those downsides as opposed to enjoying seeing the team in a Superbowl. People take these losses way too hard in this silly social media era. It's not everyone...but man is this board that way in general these days.

It was time for Tomlin to move on because it is hard to do that job for this many years. But I do think some Steelers fans deserve a 7 year period of hopelessness .

[devo22]

no offense man, but "people take these losses way too hard" is hilarious coming from a guy who cheers for a team that went to 5 of the last 6 Super Bowls.

[Erick Estrada]

Yeah but the reason you have been treading water isn't because of Tomlin and more because the Steelers don't draft as good as they used to and they haven't been able to replace Roethlisberger. I don't think Steelers fans realize what a feat it was to avoid losing seasons with the likes of Picket, Trubisky, Rudolph, Wilson, Fields, and 42 year old Rodgers. That list of junk would be lucky to win 4-5 games a season in any other city. Raiders fans got a first hand look at how bad Picket is this season. His streak of not losing IMO is one of the greatest feats in the history of the NFL when you consider how many teams can go from division winner one season and out of the playoff next.

I do understand that things got stale in both Baltimore and Pittsburgh. One difference between the organizations is that the Ravens were at times not living up to expectations while the Steelers were overachieving. I believe the Ravens have enough talent on the roster where they could get a coach bump but I think for the Steelers it's going to go the other direction and once you go that route, you never know how long it's going to take to get back to where they were under Tomlin. Some organizations like the one I cheer for never seem to be able get out from perennial mediocrity. I'm sure a fresh start may be exciting at first but not winning for years is tough and it sounds like the owner doesn't like the word rebuild which is troubling for a team that probably needs to do what the Raiders did this season. At least you had the decades of games mattering every season to look back on I guess.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by devo22

no offense man, but "people take these losses way too hard" is hilarious coming from a guy who cheers for a team that went to 5 of the last 6 Super Bowls.

I've been here for over 20 years as a Chiefs fan. They went 22 years between playoff wins and had some tough losses in that span. You make it sound like I started cheering for the he Chiefs in 2019.

[troutman]

Is Dante Moore going back to school to avoid being drafted by Cleveland?

Good news for Sanders.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah but the reason you have been treading water isn't because of Tomlin and more because the Steelers don't draft as good as they used to and they haven't been able to replace Roethlisberger. I don't think Steelers fans realize what a feat it was to avoid losing seasons with the likes of Picket, Trubisky, Rudolph, Wilson, Fields, and 42 year old Rodgers. That list of junk would be lucky to win 4-5 games a season in any other city. Raiders fans got a first hand look at how bad Picket is this season. His streak of not losing IMO is one of the greatest feats in the history of the NFL when you consider how many teams can go from division winner one season and out of the playoff next.

Tomlin was a big part of the personnel decisions though. It's not like Kevin Colbert and Omar Khan have made these decisions without Tomlin at the table, on the contrary - there's few NFL HCs who have had as much power and influence as Tomlin. He's obviously earned that, but it then makes little sense to absolve him from any blame. The revolving door of QBs is as much on him as on anybody else.

I realize not having a losing season is an impressive feat, but ultimately it's not worth a lot when you don't win a single playoff game in 10 years. In all honesty, I can't recall a season I was as indifferent about as this past one, simply because the outcome was predictable from day 1. Maybe things will get much worse now, who knows. But I'll take the risk.

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

You make it sound like I started cheering for the he Chiefs in 2019.

not at all what I wanted to imply, sorry if it came across way. Was simply funny given you've just witnessed a dynasty (and I still see success for the Chiefs in the coming years). I know how long the Chiefs' drought was before that.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by troutman

Is Dante Moore going back to school to avoid being drafted by Cleveland?

Good news for Sanders.

I think it's more him wanting a bit more experience as a starter. It seems like an extra year of leading a good NCAA team can benefit players. Plus with the NIL and the transfer portal, he can still play NCAA and do pretty well for himself. Anyone who's a high pick as a QB is likely heading to a bad team. If the Browns want him that bad...they can roll over this year's draft capital for next year.

[Erick Estrada]

If he was avoiding any team it would be the Jets and I can't fault him for that. At this point I have to think they has surpassed the Browns as most most dysfunctional organization in the NFL.

[Senator Clay Davis]

The Jets are not a good organization, but they are actually really well set up right now. Eight picks in the first two rounds in the next two years, including five firsts. Lots of cap space too. Will they mess it up because it's the Jets? Most likely. But also they did make the moves to get all those picks with some excellent trades, so maybe they have more competency than previous Jets regimes.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I've been here for over 20 years as a Chiefs fan. They went 22 years between playoff wins and had some tough losses in that span. You make it sound like I started cheering for the he Chiefs in 2019.

I get the same cheering for New England. Was there for Steve Grogan and Tony Eason getting obliterated by the Bears and the garbage teams before. I’ve paid my fan dues.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

The Jets are not a good organization, but they are actually really well set up right now. Eight picks in the first two rounds in the next two years, including five firsts. Lots of cap space too. Will they mess it up because it's the Jets? Most likely. But also they did make the moves to get all those picks with some excellent trades, so maybe they have more competency than previous Jets regimes.

Yeah but Woody.....

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by devo22

not at all what I wanted to imply, sorry if it came across way. Was simply funny given you've just witnessed a dynasty (and I still see success for the Chiefs in the coming years). I know how long the Chiefs' drought was before that.

Well having seen a team win, it's great and all. But the next day a working schmuck like me needs to get on with life just the same. So my advice is enjoy the game and a longer season.

In the 90's the Chiefs cycled through retread QB's and still did a bit with guys after that. But I still watched the games and was excited to see them as did most others. These days people would say blow up the team fire Schottenheimer, tank hard and hope you're the team that drafts Peyton Manning. Sounds great until you cycle through Guenther Cunningham, Herm Edwards, Todd Haley, and Romeo Crennel and missed out on the rare top pick who can turn a NFL team around.

I do think Tomlin likely had run his course as it's hard to keep a H.C. job for that long. Eventually its hard to mix up the message without it getting stale. EE makes a good point that applies to a lot of Head Coaches. An elite level QB makes them all look really good.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Sudden intrigue: Sam Darnold did not practice today after he "felt something" in his oblique. Still thinks he's going to play, but is literally the only player on the injury report listed as questionable or doubtful.

[chummer]

nm

[Cheese]

Gonzalez practising for the Pats today. Expectations he clears protocol.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by habernac

I get the same cheering for New England. Was there for Steve Grogan and Tony Eason getting obliterated by the Bears and the garbage teams before. I’ve paid my fan dues.

That's the first Superbowl I remember watching. As a 9 year old kid I was more of a Dolphin's fan in those days because Dan Marino had got my attention during the 84 season for what he had done. I was very annoyed that the Patriots with their stupid logo of a Wimpy guy snapping a ball with a dumb hat had beat the Dolphins who happened to be the only team to beat the 85 Bears. 40 years ago already, if you get the rematch this year I think it's more likely the Pats are on the right side of a 46-10 game this time.