2021 NFL Season

[ATrain]

Lamar "Not my MVP" Jackson.

[King Bootz]

Dolphins on the way to beating the Ravens.

Let this be an indication to the folks that think winning in the NFL is easy, it ain’t l

This is a point we will always agree on.

There have only been a couple winless teams in NFL history. Which means that even the worst teams in the league, year in, year out, won as underdogs once or twice. Maybe as heavy underdogs.

And to that same point just 1 team to go the entire way undefeated.

Just because on paper you should beat a team doesn't make it a guarantee that you will.

[MJW]

This is a point we will always agree on.

There have only been a couple winless teams in NFL history. Which means that even the worst teams in the league, year in, year out, won as underdogs once or twice. Maybe as heavy underdogs.

And to that same point just 1 team to go the entire way undefeated.

Just because on paper you should beat a team doesn't make it a guarantee that you will.

Absolutely.

And sure, there will be games where it's obvious a bad team has checked out for the season. You still shouldn't RELAX, and a real contender should be as prepared to beat those teams as any others (See: Lions game last year.) But people talking that way about Ron Rivera's Washington team, like Rivera isn't a great coach, or like they can't still sneak into the 7 seed? Nah. That's silly. We had like 16 games against Rivera in the South. We should know that his teams will be ready to compete. If we're not, we will lose.

[King Bootz]

And to that same point just 1 team to go the entire way undefeated.

Just because on paper you should beat a team doesn't make it a guarantee that you will.

Absolutely.

And sure, there will be games where it's obvious a bad team has checked out for the season. You still shouldn't RELAX, and a real contender should be as prepared to beat those teams as any others (See: Lions game last year.) But people talking that way about Ron Rivera's Washington team, like Rivera isn't a great coach, or like they can't still sneak into the 7 seed? Nah. That's silly. We had like 16 games against Rivera in the South. We should know that his teams will be ready to compete. If we're not, we will lose.

I really don’t have a great feeling about this Washington game. We have seemingly more guys injured than we did when we left New Orleans. Washington is only 2-6 but they are a scrappy team and not easy to beat. Rivera will absolutely have this team ready to play, much like they were in the playoffs. We were as healthy as ever in that game with the exception of Vea and won by 10. Going to back Washington with a beat up roster? Hmmmmmmm

[MJW]

Absolutely.

And sure, there will be games where it's obvious a bad team has checked out for the season. You still shouldn't RELAX, and a real contender should be as prepared to beat those teams as any others (See: Lions game last year.) But people talking that way about Ron Rivera's Washington team, like Rivera isn't a great coach, or like they can't still sneak into the 7 seed? Nah. That's silly. We had like 16 games against Rivera in the South. We should know that his teams will be ready to compete. If we're not, we will lose.

I really don’t have a great feeling about this Washington game. We have seemingly more guys injured than we did when we left New Orleans. Washington is only 2-6 but they are a scrappy team and not easy to beat. Rivera will absolutely have this team ready to play, much like they were in the playoffs. We were as healthy as ever in that game with the exception of Vea and won by 10. Going to back Washington with a beat up roster? Hmmmmmmm

I agree with you. I'm terrified we aren't razor sharp off the bye and get caught flat footed in a game you know Rivera would love to have.

[MJW]

I don't think I've seen many young QBs as mishandled as Tua has been.

I'm not saying he'd justify his pick. I don't know. But it really doesn't seem like Flores has any real plan for him, or his role, or his development. He plays, he doesn't play, he's a co-starter, he's healthy enough to be a backup but not start, etc.

A big part of it is injuries, which you knew would be a thing with him. But I'm not sure we're any closer to knowing if Tua is a part of their future than we were the night he was drafted.

[MJW]

It sounds lazy, like I'm referencing their shared Samoan heritage, but this reminds me A LOT of the Titans and Marcus Mariota. They committed to Mariota, that's the big difference. But you never really had any clue if the guy was "the guy" or not. You liked a ton of thing with both of them - accuracy, mechanics, maturity, etc. But it felt like something was missing.

[Swashbuckler]

That's a bad loss for the Ravens. They are lucky they didn't lose last week too and aren't in what would basically be a 4 way tie for 1st place in the division. I don't know how much longer it's going to be until Lamar Jackson leaves the Ravens with as many questions as they have answers going forward.

[MJW]

That's a bad loss for the Ravens. They are lucky they didn't lose last week too and aren't in what would basically be a 4 way tie for 1st place in the division. I don't know how much longer it's going to be until Lamar Jackson leaves the Ravens with as many questions as they have answers going forward.

The Dolphins containing Lamar? Look, that's gonna happen. The Jaguars contained Josh Allen. The Rams contained Brady. Blah Blah Blah. When it starts happening nearly every week (see Mahomes this season) then you have a real problem.

The bigger issue is, this doesn't look like a John Harbaugh team. Sloppy. Dumb penalties. Blown coverages. Bad tackling. The Ravens have stayed relevant almost every season for 22 years by NOT playing that way. This was the kind of Ravens football that almost got Harbaugh fired 3 years ago.

[ATrain]

That's a bad loss for the Ravens. They are lucky they didn't lose last week too and aren't in what would basically be a 4 way tie for 1st place in the division. I don't know how much longer it's going to be until Lamar Jackson leaves the Ravens with as many questions as they have answers going forward.

The Dolphins containing Lamar? Look, that's gonna happen. The Jaguars contained Josh Allen. The Rams contained Brady. Blah Blah Blah. When it starts happening nearly every week (see Mahomes this season) then you have a real problem.

The bigger issue is, this doesn't look like a John Harbaugh team. Sloppy. Dumb penalties. Blown coverages. Bad tackling. The Ravens have stayed relevant almost every season for 22 years by NOT playing that way. This was the kind of Ravens football that almost got Harbaugh fired 3 years ago.

This is the byproduct of relying on an athlete posing as a QB to do their 12 year old birtday magician routine every Sunday. It's parlor tricks, nothing more. There's only so many times a rabbit can be pulled from a hat or a card can be made to "disappear" before the act loses it's luster.

The Ravens have been medicore to bad all year. Lamar gets credit for these comeback wins, but why have they been behind so much so often? When Lamar's Madden routine doesn't work, they fall apart.

Even at Brady's advanced age and questionable performance over the past month, I'd still take him every day and twice on Sunday over these gimmicky athlete QBs.

[Swashbuckler]

That's a bad loss for the Ravens. They are lucky they didn't lose last week too and aren't in what would basically be a 4 way tie for 1st place in the division. I don't know how much longer it's going to be until Lamar Jackson leaves the Ravens with as many questions as they have answers going forward.

The Dolphins containing Lamar? Look, that's gonna happen. The Jaguars contained Josh Allen. The Rams contained Brady. Blah Blah Blah. When it starts happening nearly every week (see Mahomes this season) then you have a real problem.

The bigger issue is, this doesn't look like a John Harbaugh team. Sloppy. Dumb penalties. Blown coverages. Bad tackling. The Ravens have stayed relevant almost every season for 22 years by NOT playing that way. This was the kind of Ravens football that almost got Harbaugh fired 3 years ago.

The latter I've noticed more than anything else. If I was a Ravens fan I'd be a little worried that perhaps the team is tuning Harbaugh out. If I wanna go full conspiracy with it (and sometimes I do) I think they're cognizant of the fact that Jackson is getting the quote "Winston Treatment" of a 5th year option being exercised and beyond that it's murky at best. Guys aren't supposed to talk about that stuff but "lame duck" is the kind of stuff that leads to a locker room that isn't focused come game time. In the Winston Era it was hard to tell with us because we were so freaking sloppy for years anyway and none more than the QB himself.

Save for the Ravens locker room no one wants to see Jackson succeed more than me but I've also seen enough John Harbaugh teams to ask "It can't be anything else can it?"

[Swashbuckler]

The Dolphins containing Lamar? Look, that's gonna happen. The Jaguars contained Josh Allen. The Rams contained Brady. Blah Blah Blah. When it starts happening nearly every week (see Mahomes this season) then you have a real problem.

The bigger issue is, this doesn't look like a John Harbaugh team. Sloppy. Dumb penalties. Blown coverages. Bad tackling. The Ravens have stayed relevant almost every season for 22 years by NOT playing that way. This was the kind of Ravens football that almost got Harbaugh fired 3 years ago.

This is the byproduct of relying on an athlete posing as a QB to do their 12 year old birtday magician routine every Sunday. It's parlor tricks, nothing more. There's only so many times a rabbit can be pulled from a hat or a card can be made to "disappear" before the act loses it's luster.

The Ravens have been medicore to bad all year. Lamar gets credit for these comeback wins, but why have they been behind so much so often? When Lamar's Madden routine doesn't work, they fall apart.

Even at Brady's advanced age and questionable performance over the past month, I'd still take him every day and twice on Sunday over these gimmicky athlete QBs.

You're going to have to help me out. What about the Ravens offense is gimmicky? If you have a QB who can haul ass and gain yards on the ground you do it. Not only that, it's ideal because it proves another wrinkle to any given offense. Yards are yards (#EXCITING!) no matter how you get them. Baltimore ain't exactly the poster child of a healthy roster these days either. Especially at RB. If yours is the best scrambling QB on this side of Michael Vick you'd be crazy not to utilize it as an offensive contingency plan. Like... I get where you are going with this because save for his locker room, no one wants to see Lamar Jackson succeed more than me. His passing game leaves a lot to be desired but he at least takes care of the ball too. The fact he is able to do this without a real notable WR corps only strengthens the argument to how effective he really is. I want to see the "Madden" routine end too but I'm not seeing how at this exact day how Greg Roman as an OC is supposed to draw up anything else.

But to wrap this up, about 50 years ago some dude name Francis showed up and wowed the world scrambling for sometimes 30 yards a pop when a play broke down and it won the Vikings countless games. No one had seen anything like it before and we can thank his effectiveness in his day as the reason why we're still always searching for "The Ultimate Weapon" and if anything it sounds like you want to see designed running plays to be done away with. That is not a good idea given the rest of the talent on the team. But I slightly agree to the extent that every time Jackson takes off he is at risk of some moron trying to light him up. I hold my breath when he takes off sometimes.


Regardless of how I feel about Jackson, his fate will be decided in the playoffs and it is always there that the mettle of every man and his teammates is tested.

[Dread]

Ravens Oline is subpar and that is really hindering what they want to do on offense. When they can't run between the tackles and pass protect they are very limited.

I don't care if you have Tom Brady, Mahomes, or Lamar Jackson at QB, if you have no threat of a run and limited in pass pro capabilities your offense will struggle.

I think that is potentially the fatal flaw with the Rams, which the Titans exposed.

[MJW]

Ravens Oline is subpar and that is really hindering what they want to do on offense. When they can't run between the tackles and pass protect they are very limited.

I don't care if you have Tom Brady, Mahomes, or Lamar Jackson at QB, if you have no threat of a run and limited in pass pro capabilities your offense will struggle.

I think that is potentially the fatal flaw with the Rams, which the Titans exposed.

Agreed. If we get a bit better from our hopefully healthy corners, our rush WILL get home in the rematch. Things will work out differently.

[King Bootz]

The Ravens are fortunate to be 6-3 with all of the injuries they've sustained. Just off the top of my head, both starting OTs, starting LG, their top 3 RBs (top 4 if you include Murray who's injured currently) top corner and a starting ILB are all on IR and done for the year.

[Dread]

The Ravens are fortunate to be 6-3 with all of the injuries they've sustained. Just off the top of my head, both starting OTs, starting LG, their top 3 RBs (top 4 if you include Murray who's injured currently) top corner and a starting ILB are all on IR and done for the year.

For sure. I get injuries are part of the game and thus can't be excuses. But the Ravens have been ravaged by the injury bug. Which just makes what Lamar has done to have them at 6-3 pretty remarkable considering their schedule, which is among the hardest in the NFL this season.

[King Bootz]

Detroit Stafford showed up tonight

[13F11B]

If the Rams get a loss tonight the Buccaneers really screwed the pooch by losing to the WFT. Massive opportunity lost.

[kaimaru]

Detroit Stafford showed up tonight

Two weeks in a row.

[Pirate Life]

If the Rams get a loss tonight the Buccaneers really screwed the pooch by losing to the WFT. Massive opportunity lost.

Since the Rams are still chasing the Cardinals in their division, not sure it's a massive opportunity lost. If the Rams can beat the Cardinals in the second meeting and pick up another game on them somewhere else then maybe. At this point, if we see the Rams in the playoffs, it's at Tampa.

[kaimaru]

Wow, a bad SF team is ass whipping the darlings of the NFC. The Rams is the Eagles super team. And that Eagles super team did so well.

[13F11B]

If the Rams get a loss tonight the Buccaneers really screwed the pooch by losing to the WFT. Massive opportunity lost.

Since the Rams are still chasing the Cardinals in their division, not sure it's a massive opportunity lost. If the Rams can beat the Cardinals in the second meeting and pick up another game on them somewhere else then maybe. At this point, if we see the Rams in the playoffs, it's at Tampa.

You are not sure. Really?!?

Well, it's not just that the Rams lost. The Cardinals lost. The Saints lost. The Rams lost. Three teams that all have good records and are in the hunt

A win against the hapless WFT would have put the Buccaneers one game ahead of the Rams, in a tie with the Cardinals, and two games ahead of the Saints. Good teams do not lose often. Having three of them lose on the same weekend is fairly rare. The games against the WFT coming off a bye should have been an easy win (at easy as a win as you can get in the NFL) and would have put the Buccaneers in a very good position. A win would have also kept pace with the Packers. It was an NFC game which could also be critical when it comes to seeding. If that is not a massive opportunity I guess you just have a different opinion of what massive is.

[Dread]

49ers have had the Rams number in the Shanahan v McVay era.

Lots of football left this season.

[Phantom]

Rams lost!

Now I feel better

[mdb1958]

Lotta crazy stuff could happen for week 11.

Steelers could take the division lead. Patriots.

I'll stop there...

[mdb1958]

Would anyone agree with me that the NFL is pushing parity right now.

"The many hard fought victories"

[Digital_Damage]

What a crazy couple of weeks this was.

[Dread]

Would anyone agree with me that the NFL is pushing parity right now.

"The many hard fought victories"

Kyle Shanahan has led the 49ers to 5 consecutive "hard fought victories" against Sean McVay's Rams.

[mdb1958]

Teams scrambled to sign their DT's from their practice squads.

[Pirate Life]

Since the Rams are still chasing the Cardinals in their division, not sure it's a massive opportunity lost. If the Rams can beat the Cardinals in the second meeting and pick up another game on them somewhere else then maybe. At this point, if we see the Rams in the playoffs, it's at Tampa.

You are not sure. Really?!?

Well, it's not just that the Rams lost. The Cardinals lost. The Saints lost. The Rams lost. Three teams that all have good records and are in the hunt

A win against the hapless WFT would have put the Buccaneers one game ahead of the Rams, in a tie with the Cardinals, and two games ahead of the Saints. Good teams do not lose often. Having three of them lose on the same weekend is fairly rare. The games against the WFT coming off a bye should have been an easy win (at easy as a win as you can get in the NFL) and would have put the Buccaneers in a very good position. A win would have also kept pace with the Packers. It was an NFC game which could also be critical when it comes to seeding. If that is not a massive opportunity I guess you just have a different opinion of what massive is.

Your first post mentions the Rams, that’s it. Currently a wild card team. Bucs are currently winning their division.

[Sdbucs]

Put $25 to win $1000 before the season on Bucs, Titans, Cardinals, Chargers winning their divisions

Not looking too bad but the Chargers scare me

[13F11B]

You are not sure. Really?!?

Well, it's not just that the Rams lost. The Cardinals lost. The Saints lost. The Rams lost. Three teams that all have good records and are in the hunt

A win against the hapless WFT would have put the Buccaneers one game ahead of the Rams, in a tie with the Cardinals, and two games ahead of the Saints. Good teams do not lose often. Having three of them lose on the same weekend is fairly rare. The games against the WFT coming off a bye should have been an easy win (at easy as a win as you can get in the NFL) and would have put the Buccaneers in a very good position. A win would have also kept pace with the Packers. It was an NFC game which could also be critical when it comes to seeding. If that is not a massive opportunity I guess you just have a different opinion of what massive is.

Your first post mentions the Rams, that’s it. Currently a wild card team. Bucs are currently winning their division.

Yeah, on MONDAY night I usually don't post about SUNDAY. However, if you read the thread you would have seen the post about the other losses that were made on Sunday. I agree though I could have helped you out with the context of the weekend. The fact that the Buccaneers are winning the division right now does nothing to mitigate the fact that facing an inferior opponent on the weekend other contenders lost games was a missed opportunity. if you see it differently then feel free to do you.

[nybf]

Ruggs has been ordered to appear in court. Seems he missed a court mandated alcohol test.

No link, I saw it on the bottom line.

[King Bootz]

[MJW]

Former Rams RB Zac Stacy...egads. Look up the video.