NFL 2021 Regular Season!

[Kirby101]

The you have the AFC west where everyone is 6-5 except the Chiefs who are 7-4

There are scenerios where in 2 weeks there is a 3 way tie for division leader.

[MRP]

I know it's early to be making such declarations, but, could the best quarterback out of this year's rookie class be....Mac Jones? Think about it, Trevor Lawrence hasn't exactly set the world on fire in Jacksonville, Trey Lance is currently riding the bench in Frisco, Justin Fields has gone through growing pains in Chicago, and Zach Wilson has bounced between mediocrity and bust with the Jets. Meanwhile, Jones, seen as an afterthought when he was picked late in the first round by New England is cruising right along with the AFC East leading Patriots and, from what I've seen, is playing better than any of the others. With Jones being molded like clay in the hands of Darth Hoodie and his padawan, Josh McDaniels, the kid could end up being the steal of the draft, perhaps even a budding star. Who saw THAT coming?

He could be ,but he also went to the organization with the best existing team in place (except for the 49ers but Lances was behind a good starting QB there) so was going to be in the best position to do well of all the QBs selected. Wilson. Lawrence, and Fields had zero chance of having a good season the moment they were taken by the teams that drafted them. The jury on them won't be deciding until year two or three if they survive that long. Even QBs like Aikman and Peyton looked horrible their first years because they were drafted by bad teams who had to build around them. I'm not saying I think any of the others are going to be great QBs, I don't, I just think it's too soon to be certain of anything about them because they could have been great and were still going to have terrible seasons based just on who drafted them. The idea that drafting a QB with a high pick will make them a savior that turns around a franchise is largely a myth, but one everyone wants to believe. A great QB can make a good team great, but cannot make a bad team good.

-M

[worstblogever]

My big question for the Panthers next season is what they do about QB? Ruhle is not even a question for me because I wrote that off as a So Long And Thanks For All The Fish in the off season any way.

But does the front office think that Cam or Darnold are going to be the top guy?

The Panthers need to rebuild at all the skill positions on offense, except for McCaffrey (and he can't stay healthy). They should just completely reboot.

Damn Russell; what happened to

LOL

Seattle is now 3-8 and would be jockeying with the Jets for a spot in the draft - except that the Jets hold Seattle's 1st round pick! Its possible the Jets could end up with the fourth and fifth picks. Not that it will help them.

What happened to Seattle. and Wilson.

Seattle's playoff streak being broken was predicted for the past three years. They never fixed their O-line. And the Legion of Boom were all gone... they just had Bobby Wagner left. The real shocker is that they held on this long.

But Russell Wilson falling apart... that's been the oddest part. He just seems disinterested out there.

Cross off LSU. Brian Kelly bolted Notre Dame for the bayou. It's been speculated that Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC because he feared getting his head beat in while playing in the SEC. Would Ruhle still take the Sooners job? Probably. Could he take over in South Bend? Maybe.

Meanwhile, back in the pros, with the 5-6 Deadskins, having played one less game are technically ahead of my 5-7 Eagles in the Wild Card race.

The WFT are now the #7 seed and the Vikings are currently on the outside looking in.

[worstblogever]

WEEK 13 "WHO'S COOKIN' ON THE HOTSEAT?/FIRE THIS COACH!" DISCUSSION
ALREADY RESIGNED/FIRED BEFORE WEEK 6: Jon Gruden (Raiders) , RESIGNED/FIRED! THEY’RE FIRED!

GUYS WHO WERE ON THE HOT SEAT THIS SEASON, BUT FOR THE MOMENT LOOK SAFE: Kliff Kingsbury (Cardinals) , Mike McCarthy (Cowboys), Zac Taylor (Bengals)



10. Matt Ruhle, Panthers: The Panthers started 3-0, but now are 5-7… they opened up looking like they proved Sam Darnold was a successful reclamation project, but once injury removed Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina offense, Darnold looked like he was back to being a draft bust again… and then HE got hurt. The team got a boost in the arm from the play of XFL V. 2.0 star P.J. Walker, and then s*** the bed by inviting Cam Newton back in town to get to TDs from the 1 yard line in Arizona, steal all the glory in that win on the road, and have immediately realized why no other teams signed Cam Newton off the street.

Point being, this team has lost 7 of its past 9 games since their hot start, Matt Ruhle has not developed anyone into being a credible starter for this team going forward, and McCaffrey might be the most injury prone non-QB in the league that they still foolishly built their offense around. McCaffrey is also now gone for the final 6 games of the season, so get ready to watch the embarrassing swan song for Cam Newton with the franchise who drafted him (Cam got benched after a 5.8 QBR through three quarters against the Dolphins on Sunday).

We don’t know if Ruhle is gonna get straight-up “FIRED!” but we think with college openings at Oklahoma and Notre Dame, that one of those elite programs are going to try to bring the guy who saved Baylor back to the NCAA this offseason. Seems a hell of a lot more realistic than whoever started rumors about Kliff Kingsbury leaving Arizona for the Sooners now that they’re actually good.


9. Vic Fangio, Broncos (LUKEWARM SEAT) : 6-5… you would think a team around .500 wouldn’t have a coach on the chopping block, but you have to consider… This team started 3-0 and some chuckleheads thought they might win the division… But wiser people noted that trio of victories were against the Jets, Giants, and Jaguars, who were a combined 0-9 at that point?

Denver came back to Earth fast. They know this is a lost season and if you needed any more proof, it was when they traded Von Miller to the Rams for a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick in 2022. This is after spending weeks trading away every late-round draft pick they had to get any competency at the LB position they could. If you STILL needed proof, it would be this past week’s game where Teddy Bridgewater pulled a matador act on a turnover and let Darius Slay go the other way for the touchdown. Fangio has buried his starter in the press for it, and while Bridgewater deserves getting skewered for it… look at that replay. There’s MULTIPLE Broncos players on the field who flat out quit on that and made no effort. And that’s indicative that this team has quit on him, even for what their record is. He’s throwing Bridgewater under the bus, though, because he’s got to do SOMETHING to look like he hasn’t checked out, either, like his players. You can check the tape earlier in the year and see defensive captain Courtland Sutton walk off the field towards the sideline after an INT was thrown, making no effort to pursue the defender with the ball.

We’re going to point out that Denver came off their BYE week, and went out and beat the Chargers, picking off Justin Herbert twice, and Patrick Surtain returning one for a TD in a 28-13 win… where the Chargers outgained the Broncos by 55 yards, but still… y’know… turnovers were the difference and Bridgewater only had one turnover that didn’t get run all the way back. Expect this team to keep bouncing back to .500 and sneaking back above that mark over the next few weeks as they play KC, then Detroit, and then have to travel to an ascendant Cincinnatti team…


8. Robert Saleh, Jets (LUKEWARM SEAT): Look, we’re gonna say it… we thought this was a solid hire. It probably still is… but the Jets looked AWFUL through the first 3 weeks, even for Gang Green. They got shut out against the Denver Broncos in Week 5, struggling to get even 162 total yards of offense. After that loss, they got an early BYE week so they had extra time to prepare to travel to New England, and they probably needed a whole MONTH if they were gonna have a chance based on how it went. The Jets lost 54-13 in a lopsided loss that is one of the worst in recent history for the Jets… and that’s saying something.

Even though Saleh is a defensive guru, the Jets now at the bottom of the NFL in points per game allowed at 30.5 PPG, and last in point differential at -135. They have rotated through an injured Zach Wilson, one-game-fluke-hero Mike White, and Joe Flacco only to settle back on Wilson, who managed only 145 yards, an INT and a fumble against the pathetic Houston Texans… the Jets at least rushed for 157 yards as a team to get the win. They look poised to head into the NFL Draft with two picks in the Top Ten, (owning Seattle’s first round pick in the Jamaal Adams trade), perhaps two in the Top Five depending on how things play out.

A first year head coach usually doesn’t end up on the chopping block… But it can happen. Steve Wilks went 3-13 in one year in Arizona and the locker room knew his OC was a joke, and they just gave up on him. So no matter how fired up people were to play for Saleh in San Francisco, if things don’t reverse course with the Jets, he could end up a “one and done” guy. Especially if that defense doesn’t start stopping someone… anyone, or it looks like this staff has taught Zack Wilson ANYTHING about how to play QB.


7. Mike Zimmer, Vikings: Minnesota entered Week 12 as the #6 seed in the NFC. They promptly went back out and got beat by the 49ers on Sunday, had a late play while trying to come from behind where they had to waste a time out when Kirk Cousins lined up behind his right guard instead of his center, lost Dalvin Cook for the year to injury, and now are back under .500 and on the outside looking in within the NFC Wild Card chase, looking up at, of all teams, the WFT. They should be able to get back to .500 in a mercy game against the Lions (who will play their asses off to avoid 0-16-1), before the Steelers come to town. Yes, they have the Bears twice in their final four games and that might help them out… but they also play the Packers again AND the Rams. Zimmer began this season on the hot seat, and until he has a playoff spot locked up, he should remain on it. Maybe even if he gets into the postseason and exits early, the Wilfs might decide to move on.

6. Pete Carroll, Seahawks Yes, Carroll gave this city a Super Bowl. That was… some time ago. This team is 3-8 and that’s not necessarily because Russell Wilson missed 3 games. We knew it would be bleak any time they ran Geno Smith out there instead of Russ, it was gonna be rough because Chris Carson’s done for the year, as well. We want to point out that it’s not just that the O-Line never got rebuilt… and that even with Russell Wilson’s medical miracle month to come back from a severed tendon in the middle finger of his throwing hand…

Wilson came back to get shut out 17-0 on the road versus Green Bay. That was the first shutout of Russell Wilson’s career. In week 11, their offensive line had Russ under duress the whole game, and prior to getting a fourth quarter TD, the Seahawks went 20 straight drives without scoring a touchdown. The final score was 23-13, but it wasn’t even that close… Arizona had Colt McCoy moving the ball with relative ease and were it not for 2 missed FGs and a missed XP from their kicker, they would have been up by two scores for practically the entire game. On Monday Night Football this week, Russ had 5 consecutive three-and-outs against the WFT… it’s the third time this year the Seahawks managed that much consecutive futility in a game.

The Legion of Boom is GONE. This defense is no longer scary, it’s Bobby Wagner and a bunch of scarecrows in the secondary (Jamaal Adams is great against the run, but gets torched in coverage a LOT). Through their first ten games, they are giving up 399 YPG, last in the NFL and 31st against the pass (they’re not much better than the Ravens, who are 32nd in that stat). Offensively, they’re 31st in YPG, with only the woeful Texans doing worse. Just… Jesus. They’re kicker’s also only 69% accurate (31st in the NFL), so at this point, they’re failing at all three phases of the game.

Our reason why we think Carroll won’t be fired no batter how bad this year gets (they’re more likely to force his hand and make him retire)… Even though he’s a kooky 9/11 truther who keeps violating NFL policies for practices and getting the organization fined (he kind of has a track record of cheating, but he’s not Belichek so it’s not thought about)…. Our reason he won’t be fired is Pete Carroll is under contract now until 2025. That’s a lot of money to eat, no matter how awful this squad is going to get, and we think their best case scenario is once Wilson gets back will be to overachieve down the stretch and maybe end up third in the division... but we are thinking they’re going to finish last. And if they’re lucky, they can convince Carroll to retire, because we don’t think he has a rebuild in him.

[worstblogever]

5. Joe Judge, Giants (LUKEWARM SEAT): We don’t believe Joe Judge should have ever been a head coach. His prior experience before getting the gig in the Meadowlands with the G-Men was serving as special teams coordinator/wide receivers coach in New England (a team not regarded well for its WR corps during his tenure). His QB is living blooper reel Daniel Jones (who had two embarrassing INTs in yet another primetime game this team doesn’t deserve the spotlight for). His team’s preseason was marred by a massive brawl with THEMSELVES where the pileup of players throwing haymakers tumbled onto their starting QB who ended up at the bottom of the mound of humanity, enraging Judge so he made his players run gassers like they were back in high school JV, and resulting in one veteran filing to retire immediately, rather than play for him any more. Two other veteran players announced their retirement before the preseason was over.

This guy’s team loathes him, and the New York media are salivating at all the ink they can lay out simply by getting his players to throw him under the bus. His only hope for any job security was that he’s coaching in the worst division in the NFL right now, where practically any of the four teams in it could accidentally stumble into a division title to get destroyed in the first round of the playoffs. At least, that was the case before Dak Prescott screwed his foot back on and went out slinging the ball around. While the Eagles and WFT look like they’re starting to trend in the right direction, that is not true in New York.

The Giants are now 4-7 after an upset over the Eagles that was more about “Philly can’t get out of their own way” than any kind of competency by New York in a 13-7 win. Daniel Jones led the offense to those meager 13 points even though the defense forced 4 turnovers to get him some short fields, but he didn’t have a turnover, which is truly a rare feat for the kid. Don’t get too excited for this squad to get a winning streak going, as they travel to Miami to face Tu’a and the Dolphins, who are looking for their fifth win in a row, and trying to get back into the AFC playoff hunt with some teams fading down the stretch.


4. David Culley, Texans: Houston is sitting at 2-9, with the first win coming from when they beat lowly Jacksonville in Week 1 before they rattled off eight straight losses and then upset the Titans (Tennessee had 5 turnovers to hand it to them). Those first seven L’s were, frankly, a series of games where opposing coaches have utterly dismantled a team led by rookie 3rd string QB Davis Mills.

The Texans have the second worst point differential in the league, behind only the Jets by a a smidge. They are scoring less than 15 points a game and their offense ranks 32nd in yards per game (about 30 yards fewer than Seattle, who are 31st in YPG). Their defense isn’t much better, sitting at 29th in yards per game. They shipped Mark Ingram off before the trade deadline, falling back on David Johnson (who hasn’t had a good season since… what 2016?) as their main offensive weapon. Brandin Cooks is pulling his hair out that he couldn’t managed to get himself traded to an actual football team before the trade deadline. It doesn’t look like anyone is going to manage to take serial sexual predator DeShaun Watson out of Houston in a trade, either, a move that’s hovered over this team’s fate for almost nine months now. Everyone thought things would get better when Tyrod Taylor came off of the injured list, and he went out and threw 3 INTs in his first game back.


So… we’ve covered that the Texans are BAD right now. We’re going to say that their misfortunes are not a product necessarily of bad coaching, but a TON of bad front office decisions, because obviously, that’s the case. It sucks that a guy who’s considered such a nice dude like David Culley, who’s waited his whole life for a head coaching gig, could get the blame if he couldn’t turn the chickens*** roster he was given into chicken salad. But that can be the cruel nature of NFL coaching gigs…



3. Urban Meyer, Jaguars: Jacksonville’s preseason was filled with self-inflicted wounds caused by decisions from Meyer, from hiring coaches without vetting them properly (strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle), bringing in Tim Tebow as a possible TIGHT END option that was nothing but a media distraction, and acting like he’s the smartest guy in the NFL because of his college success. I’m no coaching expert, but having a rookie QB throw over 50 times in his first start MAAAYBE isn’t a winning formula, even if he is a butt-chin wonder like Trevor Lawrence.

And about that game… the Houston Texans, regarded as many as a candidate to be the worst team in the NFL this year… the Jags got blown out by THAT team. One that doesn’t have a first or second day draft pick until 2022. One that doesn’t have DeShaun Watson, and keeps letting Arizona poach its Pro Bowlers. THAT Texans team wiped the floor with Urban Meyer’s squad, and to their 16th consecutive loss. They’d continue to lose 20 straight as a franchise, including #19 n Week 4 they blew another double-digit lead to the Cincinnatti Bengals, and more importantly… Urban Meyer trended on Twitter for lying to his team about “visiting his grandkids” and not flying back to Jacksonville to instead, go out to get free lap dances in the bar of his Cleveland restaurant because… well, I guess that’s what happens when you got a title with Ohio State. THAT… is not what you want to make headlines for after a month into the season… zero wins, poor development on Trevor Lawrence, and having someone rub their ass on your junk in your own dive bar.

Urban Meyer has helped escaped being fired because, simply… other, juicier embarrassing stories have dropped courtesy of the Las Vegas Raiders’ clusterf*** rollercoaster drama, and Aaron Rodgers’ going full lunatic anti-vaxxer with the Packers’ franchise apparently letting him do whatever he wants for fear he might sit out. “Urban Meyer ditches his team for a lapdance in his bar” is… not as spicy a tale right now.

This team just got handled by the Falcons, who entered the game in one of the most dismal offensive droughts of Matt Ryan’s career, and this week have to travel to the West Coast to play the Rams, who haven’t won a game in a month and are looking for a creampuff to right the ship. The Jags still have games against the Jets and Texans this year to decide draft position, and if they’ll be picking high enough to get the top offensive lineman in the draft to try and protect Trevor Lawrence in Year Two. Seriously, that’s what they have to look forward to.




2. Matt Nagy, Bears: Matt Nagy was considered one of the hottest young coaches in the league before the Double-Doink happened like 3 years ago, but it made something snap in the guy. He spent that entire off-season talking about it, and making his players relive that trauma, and they responded by getting worse afterwards. The Bears have been shy a QB this whole time, finally giving up on Mitch Trubisky to draft Justin Fields… but Nagy kept insisting he would go with Andy Dalton. If you’re going with the Red Rifle at this stage of his career, you’re pretty f***ed. Their defense? They still have DPOTY candidate Khalil Mack. It’s statistically still a Top 10 defense the NFL. Truly, this is a team that can live up to the Bears’ legacy in the Windy City…

Matt Nagy caved to the pressure of fans and put Justin Fields in at the start of October, and got two wins in his first two games… however, in Week 6, they got handled by Green Bay, and Aaron Rodgers barked at fans, “I STILL OWN YOU!” And nobody is questioned the validity of that statement, because it’s true. In Week 7, they got blown out 38-3 by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, and the story out of Chicago is that Justin Fields is getting sacked at a rate not seen for any rookie QB since David Carr was getting his brains bashed in for the expansion Texans. They’re now 4-7 after barely beating the Lions 16-14 on Thanksgiving… and that’s the thing… at least they didn’t lose, but it’s sad they could barely win and only manage 16 points against a team so inept.

Chicago and Nagy are hoping they get Justin Fields back from a rib injury to play against Arizona this week, in what could be one of the most lopsided games on the schedule if Kyler Murray returns from injury, himself, looking to prove something.


1. Dan Campbell, Lions : Detroit honored Thanksgiving tradition by going out in losing in front of a national audience, to a Bears team missing both Justin Fields and Khalil Mack 16-14… managing just 239 yards of offense and committing ten penalties in a single game. They’re now 0-10-1, and their remaining schedule has six opponents… the most winnable game left is probably when they have to travel to Seattle on Jan. 2nd to play the Seahawks. And when going TO Seattle is your best hope for a win, no matter how bad they look at the moment… that’s kind of bleak. They’re now almost a lock to have the #1 pick in the draft, in any event. It would figure that there’s no clear top QB prospect coming out this year to replace Jared Goff.

We always say that first year coaches are not usually on the hot seat, but Dan Campbell is a former Tight Ends coach who yells about getting up again and again to bite your opponents’ kneecaps, which starts out like some inspiring Captain America speech but ends up sounding like a meek little chihuahua. He’s close to motivating… but not close enough.

At least they can’t be the first team to go 0-17. They have to fight and claw to make sure they don’t end up being the first to go 0-16-1.

[Kirby101]

Nice to see Brian Flores off the list after Miami wins 4 in a row.

[worstblogever]

Nice to see Brian Flores off the list after Miami wins 4 in a row.

Coaching his way out of the hot seat, to be sure.

Same with Ron Rivera, and the WFT's reversal of fortune. Hell, there was a point this year where I thought Belichek was in trouble, and uh... not so much now.

[babyblob]

Coaching his way out of the hot seat, to be sure.

Same with Ron Rivera, and the WFT's reversal of fortune. Hell, there was a point this year where I thought Belichek was in trouble, and uh... not so much now.

Belichek was never in trouble. Guy has 6 rings. Kraft was not going to axe him for a bad season with a rookie QB. That man is set for life in New England unless he really shits the bed.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Belichek was never in trouble. Guy has 6 rings. Kraft was not going to axe him for a bad season with a rookie QB. That man is set for life in New England unless he really shits the bed.

I've probably said this before: Darth Hoodie could go 0-17 and his job wouldn't be in jeopardy. Belichick can call his own shots one when he leaves.

[BeastieRunner]

The Rams have gone 0-3 since getting Miller and the Broncos have been 2-1 without him.

[Scott Taylor]

Hey at least we get to play the Jaguars this week. Can't lose that one. Can we? Can we.

[BeastieRunner]

Hey at least we get to play the Jaguars this week. Can't lose that one. Can we? Can we.

I dunno ... all the "bad" teams are winning a lot more when they're not supposed to.

[babyblob]

I dunno ... all the "bad" teams are winning a lot more when they're not supposed to.

I have my tin foil hat thought. A bit into the season the people who run the sports betting sites and gamblers were yelling about how the underdogs were not winning and the spread was always being covered and profits were down and people were not making as much money. Then all the sudden the underdogs were winning like gangbusters.

Seems kind of odd. I wonder if Elvis and the free masons have a hand in this?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I have my tin foil hat thought. A bit into the season the people who run the sports betting sites and gamblers were yelling about how the underdogs were not winning and the spread was always being covered and profits were down and people were not making as much money. Then all the sudden the underdogs were winning like gangbusters.

Seems kind of odd. I wonder if Elvis and the free masons have a hand in this?

Well, on the flip side, you had scores of people in suicide pools from coast to coast who bitched about being knocked out by bad teams who bushwhacked good teams this season. I should know, I was one of those complainers.

[babyblob]

Well, on the flip side, you had scores of people in suicide pools from coast to coast who bitched about being knocked out by bad teams who bushwhacked good teams this season. I should know, I was one of those complainers.

i remember the week you said you got knocked out. I felt pretty bad for you.