Cobresol

His job is safe because he's great at being a puppet, not because he's great at his job. Granted, it's arguable that being a puppet is his job, but his public perception and vocal decision making is so clearly wrong that he's proven incompetent at best at the wide range of other aspects of his job.

The Jags blew a 17 point lead and have been outscored 75-10 since then. Then again, they at least led by 17 points at a point in time this year. Jags for now mostly because they don't appear to be able to stop anyone.

This game was brutal to watch whether you were a Browns or Steelers fan. The Steelers have legitimate defensive issues [which can be exploited by competent offenses]. The Browns have the seeds of a competitive team.

Since Mallet is an ex-Pat and O'Brien was the Pats OC, might that expedite the time needed for him to learn the Texans' system? What is the expectation for what week he may start? Is it all contingent on when Fitz implodes? Because that shouldn't take too long.

Honest dumb question: Some posit that pass-defense flags have been initiated/increased of late to decrease injuries (at least across the middle). But wouldn't allowing more defensive holding/contact mean that receivers would be less likely or able to gain position across the middle, or at least enough to lead to a 'big hit'?

I would pay money to the NFL if they dropped the Super Bowl halftime spectacle or merely produced one that wasn't a complete waste of time.

10-6

The first 3k QB was Johnny U; in 1960. Prior to 1979 (the 19 years from 1960-1978) a QB only threw for 3,500 yds or more twice. Both times it was Sonny Jurgensen. In that same time there were 28 instances of 3k+ QBs. Then came the 'Blount rule changes'. 152 3500 yd and 305 3k QBs in the 23 years between 1979-2003. In that era came the first instances of 4k, 4500 yds, and 5k, too (53 4k+ to be exact, with only ONE 5k QB). After a number of years of Peyton Manning getting manhandled in the playoffs, 2004 saw the rise of 'illegal contact'. Since then, in a mere 11 years, there have been 183 total 3k+ QBs, 65 of which are 4k+ and seven who were 5k+. While there won't be the 10x increase in 3k QBs like there was post-Blount rule, there will almost certainly be a 10x increase in 5k QBs due to illegal contact enforcement (and a projected triple jump in 4k QBs). QB TD trends aren't as drastic, but they show a similar rise in 'top level' or 'high end' numbers.

RE: Polamalu: Tyvon Branch's cap hit is worse than Troy's and while he's six years younger he only played in two games last year. He hasn't really displayed skills on par with the top 10 Safeties in the league either. His cap hits increase each of the next three years. William Moore is also paid as a top 10 Safety and doesn't really have the reputation of one. His cap hits get progressively higher the next three years. Antrel Rolle is paid as a top three Safety and is certainly not considered one. At least he had the benefit of it being the last year of his deal. Michael Griffin is the fifth highest paid Safety and will be a $8+ M cap hit each of the next three years. It's not that any of those guys are bad, but they suffer from the same 'overpaid' factor as Troy. Few of them provide easier 'outs' as Troy's. It's a matter of perspective. Troy is popular and used to be one of the best Safeties in the league. Those other guys don't have that reputation. Their contracts are arguably as bad. More people have heard of Troy and he's older. That's why he's on the list over equally deserving candidates.

Romo over Flacco. Troy's contract isn't that bad. It is technically bad since the dead cap hold is worse than the cap hit through next year, but the cap hit after this year is only $4.5 M then 2.25 M. It may be the worst S contract by default, but it's only because so few S (particularly of his age) are talented enough to ever get contracts like the one Troy has.

Yeah between MTBI and QBs being money makers 'old school' football is pretty much done. The AFL/CFL is what the game is going to be.

Does anybody have NFL Replay and/or the 'all 22' coverage? Is that worth it?

Isn't DVOA close to a "+/-" stat?

What BradyFan81 said. This is turning into the equivalent of MLBs steroids era. Passing stats are ridiculously inflated.

I'm not manipulating reality. I'm observing a bias toward certain types of QBs either based on the 'Super Bowl win only' result and/or the 'elite/franchise QB only' arbitrary tag (a QB having a lone good season does not make him 'good' for the rest of his career, see: Rypien, Mark). The stats speak for themselves... In the salary cap era (1994-present): 18 different QBs have made an AFCCG. 11 of those made multiple trips. Only six won SBs. Meanwhile in the NFC the #s are 23, 10 and nine 27 different SB QBs in 20 years and only seven multiple SB QBs 13 different in 10 years with only four multiple SB QBs Eight different SB QB winners in 10 years Nine different SB QB winners in 13 years 10 different SB QB winners in 14 years Sure, Brady won three SBs in four years. He hasn't won one since in 10 years. Brees, Peyton and Rodgers only have one. Those facts are inconsistent with a 'count da ringz' argument. People don't realize this because of media/fan narrative bias.