2014 NFL Season

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by nik-

smoke weed ... season

kill a guy while drunk driving ... 10 games

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/...-11-conditions

He also missed all of last year, though that was self imposed to try and lessen this suspension.

As for Gordon....He isn't suspended "just" for smoking weed. He has failed as many as 5 different tests according to one reporter as well as a pending DUI charge. His "year" is a result of repeatedly ignoring NFL rules as he showed no intention of changing. I have little doubt he would be playing this year if he wasn't so dumb about his decisions.

[Luder]

Go Titans!

[Red Slinger]

I think the teams that were already strong that improved are the Broncos, Patriots, Saints and Packers.

I think Seattle may improve on offense with Wilson growing as a QB and having Harvin back to start the season but I'm not sure if they'll be as devastating on defense.

I don't like the looks of the 49ers at the moment and I think they may take a step back, as will the Panthers.

I think the AFC will once again come down to Denver and New England with the home team likely winning. I think it will be Denver.

For the NFC I think Seattle has a real shot at repeating but Green Bay and New Orleans will push them. If Seattle plays on the road against either of these teams I think they'll lose.

Denver over Green Bay in the Superbowl

[Senator Clay Davis]

So Michael Sam was brave coming out before being draft. Brave because it was career suicide, not because he's gay, but because he's a Tebow level distraction because of ESPN. And then when you have assclown extradonaire Jerry Jones signing him to the practice squad...and then having a press conference for it (has to be a first)...and then start selling a practice squad player's jersey in the pro shop (which they are)...

Sam is essentially being exploited by ESPN and now the Cowboys, all while his career has little to no chance of succeeding now because he's become such a distraction (but Jerry loves attention more than plastic surgery so...). I feel pretty bad for him, outside forces have done more to destroy his career than his announcement did.

[Blaster86]

Career move wise, you're right, Dallas was probably the worst team for him to go to in that regard. I think Sam has his blinders on, just wants to make an NFL team and prove he can do it so badly that he took a deal with the Devil which could will make everything worse for him.

edit - Could? This is the Cowboys... will

[Free Ben Hur!]

Originally Posted by nik-

smoke weed ... season

kill a guy while drunk driving ... 10 games

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/...-11-conditions

Yep, there's something seriously amiss with the NFL disciplinary code. Weed shouldn't even be on the NFL's panel of drug tests imo. Even then, it should be a team managed issue from an education, rehab and disciplinary point of view under a league policy with administrative guidelines and negotiated within the collective agreement.

Why should a player be suspended at all for smoking Mary Jane if it's not proven that he was on the NFL's time when he was high? In Washington and Colorado use is now legal. The league doesn't suspend players when they get drunk only when drunkenness leads to an incident of some kind. The league needs to stop dealing with the weekend warrior pot smoker and put more thought and consistency into issues that are obviously significant. Guys like Aldon Smith and Jim Isray, for example, whose behaviours are pretty clearly indicative of people with serious dependency issues.

Probably half the actions taken by the league office (Goodell) look politicized to me. Watch what will happen to 49ers Ray MacDonald if the allegations of domestic abuse have merit. The pendulum will swing severely because Goodell so futzed up the Rice suspension in the first place and then he came out with a revised policy once he himself probably sobered up. I can't think of a more logical explanation for how a guy who beat the #### out of his girlfriend got only two games.

And if part of the intent of the current disciplinary code is to uphold the pristine image of the NFL, then all NFL personnel including the league office and team administrations should be subject to the same substance abuse testing that the players are (not ped's but recreational drugs like coke and mary jane). Maybe Isray's problems could have been identified by an authority prepared and capable of dealing with them rather than the enabling culture that has existed in Indianapolis for years.

[Cheerio]

The Colts are the 4th best team in the AFC but I believe in a 1 game playoff they have a decent shot of beating the Bengals, Broncos or Patriots. They should cruise to yet another easy AFC South crown and the #3 seed in the AFC

[M*A*S*H 4077]

I believe the AFC road to the Super Bowl goes through Foxboro and the winner of tomorrow's game will be crowned NFC Champions

[browna]

Have to say, the night before the Champions get their due and start the NFL season, really tough personally to get up for the season after last season. Having gone to the NFC Championship game and being part of that atmosphere may never be matched for me, and although it wasn't a perfect season, it's going to be tough to beat as a fan of the team.

Don't get me wrong, still be into the games, but the pressure off with that team winning last year, deservedly so IMO, tones down some of the stress levels week in and week out. Maybe...this team is still at a high calibre, didn't lost that much of significance, is still young, etc. so there's no reason there should be a big drop off in play and results. That said, there are a bunch of factors that matter to get to the playoffs and beyond.

As dominant the Seahawks were in the Superbowl, it took bounces (Late win Week 1 vs CAR, Schaub throwing the pick to Sherman to turn that game around late, coming back from 21 vs TB, and the other way, dominating Indy the first half, but not putting up points and losing etc) to get where they got, as do all teams who win.

From the preseason, Wilson is significantly better, as hard to believe it is. Well, actually, its not hard to believe, he struggled the last half of the season to be consistent..he ramped it up in the playoffs, his best football since late October of 2013 were the NFCC and SB. For better or worse, the guy got divorced, and didn't take a day off from studying the game to be better. The work ethic, commitment and passion the guy has is unmatched...and the guy is in his early 20's and 3rd year in the league.

Rest of the offense,as last year is always going to be committee. Losing Tate isn't a big deal. Harvin appears healthy (for a few weeks). Rice retired. Luke Willson and Zach Miller, who took a pay cut, will be solid at TE. Baldwin and Kearse will step up. Wilson of course always a threat to run, and if his studying has paid off, his decision making, game management, and knowing where his options are by slowing the game down, will make all those guys better.

Of course, Lynch will do his thing quietly but amazingly consistently, but Christine Michael, though hurt tomorrow, will get more touches this year.

Defense, the big thing will be still getting to the QB. Losing a great vet like Bryant and especially Clemons appear to open a couple holes, but we'll see, Pete Carroll's been there long enough and had enough competition week in and week out to coach up the next breed at whatever position, that much has been clear the last 3 years. Avril is still there, as is Bruce Irvin and Michael Bennett.

LB with Wagner and Wright should be improved through another year of experience with young hungry guys. All of which, as they managed to put together last year, gives the QB that much less time to make decisions...and receivers don't want to cross the middle with the hard hitting young guys to meet them, and then Sherman and Maxwell on the corners that make QB's think twice. Seattle got only a small handful of penalties this preseason for illegal contact, as refs are supposed to call things a bit tighter, so not concerned that Seattle's secondary won't properly adapt.

Of course, Earl Thomas, who along with Sherman got a big contract, is now running back punts. Not thrilled about that, and we'll see how long that lasts. Can't have the team's best defender, a hard hitting guy who can read the play and react, risk getting rolled up on in a pile on some meaningless punt...so we'll see.

As with all teams, the Superbowl hangover, increased press coverage wherever you go and whatever you do, and teams gunning for you even moreso, make this a tougher season. Even though the team may be just as good, if not better, on paper and on the field than last year, it's still going to be tough...the last half decade, teams winning the SB the year before haven't done that great the next year. Plus, its still the toughest division in football, and the intra-division games with STL, ARI and of course SF will be extremely physical and intense. With the AFC West as the cross over, there's a couple tougher games (DEN and KC) in there than the AFC South last year.

Still need those in game breaks to get home field for the playoffs, which is key for anytime, and a tangible advantage and CenturyLink. But, Wilson looks just as good, and Carroll and John Scheinder have the proven capability to get the most out of players and of rosters. Seattle has as good a shot as any out of the NFC, and with this the last year before the vault opens for Wilson at $20m+, and the decisions that have to be made in other areas, Seattle's window is as wide open this year as it will be for the next 5+. Hopefully everything works out as it did last year, both with the talent, execution, and with the breaks.

And....go 'Hawks.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by browna

blah blah blah

Go Cards!

[rubecube]

That was an exhilarating dissertation.

[troutman]

Did he talk about the Hawks so much before they were good?

[Pagal4321]

####ing finally, this season took far too long to start! As a Vikings fan I don't have any post-season aspiration but I just hope the team is competitive in all it's games and that Bridgewater takes the starting job at some point (my guess is Week 5).

[habernac]

Pagal, did you start a pick 'em league? I missed it if you did.

[KelVarnsen]

Football!!!!!

[CedarMeter]

Go hawks!

[Pagal4321]

Originally Posted by habernac

Pagal, did you start a pick 'em league? I missed it if you did.

I didn't start one, do we usually have a CP one? I don't remember, we usually have a survival pool.

[Free Ben Hur!]

Nice post on the Hawks Browna. You are right. Seahawks fans should temper their expectations a bit. It is very very hard to win the Superbowl and prohibitively difficult to repeat. Many Seahawks fans, young ones in particular, are pretty chipper these days.

Being a fan since the late 70's I'm drinking in every moment of this championship season but I won't be crushed if another SB isn't the cards this year. Too many random things can happen in a season. Instead what I'm most happy about is the way Seattle won last year with a defence that at least gets mentioned as one of the best in history and the fact that they crushed the historically best offence in NFL history in the SB. The only thing that would have made it better was if it were the Patriots instead of the Broncos. The other thing that makes a long term fan happy is that finally, finally the franchise appears to be putting down some roots as a team with a record of success and those intangibles that may earn them the kind of legacy as the Steelers, Cowboys, 9ers and Pats. Lastly, Russell Wilson has won as many Superbowls as the vaunted Drew Brees and Aaron Rogers. That makes me happy.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Pagal4321

I didn't start one, do we usually have a CP one? I don't remember, we usually have a survival pool.

Usually we have both. If I remember, I'll put one together later tonight, we'll just skip the Thursday game on it. I'd do it now, but I'm "working"

[Red John]

Nice to finally have football starting again!

This Broncos team is much better than last years but also has a way tougher schedule. That said the AFC is rather weak so another 13-3 season should clinch homefield all the way through again which will be important because as we found out last year New England isn't so dangerous when they have to play on the road.

Tonight's game is going to be intriguing. No championships are won in week 1 but it will likely give us a glimpse as to whether or not this might be a hangover season for the Seahawks and if the balance of power has shifted over to GB in the NFC.