NFL 2009-2010: Part The Second

[phanan]

Seriously though, I think the defense will be okay next year (not great) as the young guys get better. Having an impact pass rusher will help a lot.

Offensively, the line needs to shape up (everybody but Vollmer and Mankins has declined from a couple years ago), Wes Welker needs to have some military-grade ball bearings installed in his knee, and Brady needs to get healthy and figure out how to get the kid to sleep at night.

I think Koppen is still a good center. Move Vollmer to the left with Mankins and that side of the line is solid.

While Brady had a bad day, he still had a decent year considering he was coming off a major injury. I think he does even better next season. He's the least of their problems. In my mind, there are three issues that are very apparent with the Patriots that have to be addressed:

1. They need an explosive pass rusher. Tully Banta-Cain did very well this year - hell, he had 10 sacks. Can't ask for more than that. But they need someone on the other side to really set the edge and help him.

2. They need a legitimate third receiver. Now, I think Edelman will be awesome, but let's face it: Welker probably won't be ready at the beginning of the 2010 season, and even when he comes back, he won't be 100% right away. One of the things this offense lacked was a great third receiver. They missed Jabar Gaffney more than they thought they would. Here's a hunch for this upcoming year - I bet the Seahawks release Deion Branch and his big salary, and he comes back for the minimum to play with Brady again. If you had Branch on the other side of Moss, with Welker and Edelman roaming the slots, that would be very scary.

3. They need a great running back. I like the ones they have, but they don't have a real #1 back, and they need it. Morris, Faulk, and Taylor are great complimentary players, but a young stud in the backfield would make a huge difference.

Fix those three things, and that would be a major upgrade right there.

 

[phanan]

Hewson, Phanan, SR:

Moss' performance. Thoughts? I watched him instead of the ball being snapped for about 15 plays in a row at one point and he jogged every single time. Is he hurt? Did he not give a shit? Did I take his running for jogging? I'm not rendering an opinion here, just soliciting yours.

I think he's had a bit of a nagging injury lately, but he's been able to play still. I don't know, while he did seem to be taking it easy at times, there were other plays where he was wide open, and as Hewson and speedy have mentioned, for whatever reason Brady didn't go to him. I'm as perplexed as the next person. There was one replay where Moss was running a good route and was wide open, and Brady didn't find him, for whatever reason. Mystifying to say the least.

 

[Hewson]

Brady was seen collecting a large sum of ca$h from a known bookie this morning.

 

[toscano]

Hopefully this will put an end to Brady/Montana comparisons.

Montana could have beaten these guys blindfolded.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

Montana could have beaten these guys blindfolded.

I'm as big a Joe Montana fan as anybody, but remind me how Montana did against the Giants in '86 and the Vikings in '87.

 

[toscano]

I'm as big a Joe Montana fan as anybody, but remind me how Montana did against the Giants in '86 and the Vikings in '87.

Oh I thought I was talking about how he would have fared against this incarnation of the Ravens....

 

[Hewson]

Oh I thought I was talking about how he would have fared against this incarnation of the Ravens....

Considering he's 53, probably not very well.

 

[No spoken words]

Kurt Warner had more TD passes than incompletions yesterday.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

Oh I thought I was talking about how he would have fared against this incarnation of the Ravens....

Fun thought experiment, but really, who has any idea? The players are much bigger, stronger and faster now than 25 years ago. The game has evolved a lot since the '80s. And dynasties are harder to come by because of free agency.

You'd have to give Montana some of the same handicaps -- coming back from a serious injury, leading a team that has a lot of weaknesses and injury problems.

Montana's my favorite all-time QB, but my point is that he had some godawful playoff games to go along with some of the best games ever.

If he came into the league in around 2000, I think we'd still be debating who is the best of the three, Manning, Brady, Montana.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

Kurt Warner had more TD passes than incompletions yesterday.

Incredible performance. It would be pretty amazing if he went out a Super Bowl winner.

 

[lazarus]

Incredible performance. It would be pretty amazing if he went out a Super Bowl winner.

It would be more amazing if Jesus ignored his prayers and sent him home a loser.

 

[No spoken words]

Yeah, sorry SeattleVertigon, Warner doesn't have enough Indie cred for Laz's tastes.....

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I can't wait for these games this weekend. They should all be pretty damn good. Especially looking forward to the two NFC match ups.

 

[Imperor]

It would be more amazing if Jesus ignored his prayers and sent him home a loser.

 

[No spoken words]

I can't wait for these games this weekend. They should all be pretty damn good. Especially looking forward to the two NFC match ups.

My thoughts exactly. On paper, the NFC Games look like they should be greatly entertaining.

 

[bono_212]

Don't know if this has been posted before, but please allow me to interrupt more intellectual football discussion to share this gem:

YouTube - LT Dance

 

[Hewson]

What could make him do something so ridiculous?

The real LT must be rolling over in his crackhouse that this fool is being called by the same name.
Its almost enough to make me root for the Jets and Rex Ryan's 70" waistline Sunday.

 

[speedracer]

Hopefully this will put an end to Brady/Montana comparisons.

Montana could have beaten these guys blindfolded.

This is a terrible post. One game is evidence of almost nothing.

If you want to argue on the basis of Montana and Brady's careers instead of cherry-picking, go ahead.

 

[speedracer]

I'm as big a Joe Montana fan as anybody, but remind me how Montana did against the Giants in '86 and the Vikings in '87.

The 1986 Giants were an outstanding team. The 1987 Vikings, not so much -- they had a 303-265 regular season points for-allowed split in the non-strike games, an average of 22.1 points allowed per game.

This year's Ravens had a 391-261 regular season split, 16.3 points allowed per game.

Great QBs are allowed to have stinkers once in a while.

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

Great QBs are allowed to have stinkers once in a while.

agreed, i mean Romo pretty much had stinkers all of 2008

 

[Screwtape2]

Hopefully this will put an end to Brady/Montana comparisons.

Montana could have beaten these guys blindfolded.

Only if he brought those 49ers teams with him...

Brady had a bad day but so did the whole team. The Patriots are a team in transition that lost too much out of injury, age and the off-season. They remind me of last year's Colts. Good enough to make the playoffs but too many flaws to go very far. I'd expect them to bounce back next season.

 

[Hewson]

Wonder if she was strug-gl-ing...

Olivia Namath Arrested -- Main FanHouse

Namath's Daughter Faces Charges
01/11/2010 01:32 PM ET By AP

JUPITER, Fla. (Jan. 11) - Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath's 19-year-old daughter has been arrested in South Florida.

Olivia Namath faces charges of possession of liquor by a person under 21 and two counts of possession of marijuana, including possession with the intent to sell. She has been released on bond.

According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, a deputy smelled marijuana in a car driven by Namath during a traffic stop Sunday. Authorities found bags containing a green leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana in the car's floor board and trunk. They also found a bottle of rum and beer bottles.

The deputy's narrative states that Namath denied knowing about the drugs.

A message left with Joe Namath's attorney was not immediately returned.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Hopefully this will put an end to Brady/Montana comparisons.

Montana could have beaten these guys blindfolded.

the 49ers had a super team.

the super team in the NFL is dead, thanks to parity. you have to take all these things into account when making comparisons... it's harder to put a good team together and keep them together now, which makes the pats ability to hang on for this long all the more impressive.

fact of the matter is the patriots, right now, are not that good.

do me a favor... take your delorean, rev up the flex capacitor, crank that bitch up to 88, head back to san francisco circa 1989, take out joe montana's knee, bring him back... to the future!... and tell him to take over a team with no running game, a moody wide reciever, and oh yea, take away his #2 receiver and all of his defense and ask him to make the playoffs.


is tom brady as good as joe montana? i don't know. honestly, probably not. but to say that this is the loss that proves that brady isn't montana is just silly.

 

[lazarus]

Wonder if she was strug-gl-ing...

Olivia Namath Arrested -- Main FanHouse

Apparently that same daughter had a kid when she was 16.

Wow.

She's the one on the right:

 

[Imperor]

I wouldn't mind Ram-ing it down that broad's way, if you get my meaning.

 

[AnnRKeyintheUSA]

do me a favor... take your delorean, rev up the flex capacitor, crank that bitch up to 88, head back to san francisco circa 1989, take out joe montana's knee, bring him back... to the future!...

Joe had worse than knee surgery. In 1986, he had surgery on a bad disc in his back- the kind that could have ended his career or left him paralyzed. Yet he returned and won two more Super Bowls. (It was a Giant who hurt his back, Jim Burt)

Brady has never been and will never be Montana. But then again, no one is. Look at the rosters over the years, he had many different recievers and running backs, yet he won consistently.

He never had Rice until the 1985 season. By then, Clark was gone. The myriad of running backs they used were in and out the door quickly. Roger Craig was probably the longest lived, but there were so many different ones I have lost count. Same with tight ends.

What you mean by super team is more like the 70's Steelers, because they won with the same basic bunch of stars. Not true with the 49ers, their lineup on offense and defense changed over the years, yet they continued to win- even with Steve Young. It was a great organization, one that, thanks to Denise DeBartolo York's screwing over her brother Eddie, is no more.

Story on Joe's back injury, surgery and miraculous, successful return to football:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065470/index.htm

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

What you mean by super team is more like the 70's Steelers, because they won with the same basic bunch of stars. Not true with the 49ers, their lineup on offense and defense changed over the years, yet they continued to win- even with Steve Young. It was a great organization, one that, thanks to Denise DeBartolo York's screwing over her brother Eddie, is no more.

you've proven my entire point about super teams right there... steve young. today a team could never afford to keep a steve young and joe montana on the same roster, because of the salary cap... not to mention the fact that their third quarterback was steve bono, who was pretty good in his own right.

yes, there was turn around on the 49ers roster. yes, they were an incredibly well run organization. but it's not like they were using spare parts around montana. you're talking some of the greatest to ever play the game. who are the great offensive weapons on the patriots super bowl championship teams? name them...

also... joe montana had his worst statistical season the year he came back from his back injury. the 49ers went 10-5-1 that season, and montana didn't win another super bowl until 3 years after montana was injured. in fact, montana almost lost his job after the back injury to steve young. he didn't win another ring until the 49ers beat the bengals in the super bowl in '89. who's to say tom brady won't win two more super bowls three years down the line?


again... i hold joe montana to be better than tom brady. but if there was anyone who i would consider to be closest to montana, it would be brady. the comparisons are impossible to ignore... brady even has a dan marino... a quarterback who, in reality, is more skilled and has better stats, but doesn't have that "it" factor, and doesn't have the rings to compete.

brady has become less joe montana/regular guy and more flashy, hollywood uber-celebrity in the past few years... i will give you that. but their careers are very similar.

 

[Dalton]

Yeah, sorry SeattleVertigon, Warner doesn't have enough Indie cred for Laz's tastes.....

He bagged groceries. All of those little fucks where mesh hats. What's more indie than that?

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

He bagged groceries. All of those little fucks where mesh hats. What's more indie than that?

i bagged groceries in high school. We didn't wear mesh hats, but if someone was a shit to me their eggs and bread got put on the bottom of the bag underneath all of the heavy stuff. Also if they were real assholes, i would position the bags in the trunk of their car in such a manner that they would fall over and spill out first time asshole turned a corner.

Back then most people knew better than to fuck with the grocery baggers. We might have been insignificant little twats, but we could sure fuck up someone's day if they were a total douche.

 

[Dalton]

i bagged groceries in high school. We didn't wear mesh hats, but if someone was a shit to me their eggs and bread got put on the bottom of the bag underneath all of the heavy stuff. Also if they were real assholes, i would position the bags in the trunk of their car in such a manner that they would fall over and spill out first time asshole turned a corner.

Back then most people knew better than to fuck with the grocery baggers. We might have been insignificant little twats, but we could sure fuck up someone's day if they were a total douche.

This was equal parts funny and sad.