NFL 2017 Week 14 Thread

ccesarano wrote:

Wentz confirmed to be out the rest of the season and post-season with a torn ACL. Nick Foles is confirmed to return as star quarterback, and already friends on my Facebook timeline are crying because Wentz was going to take us to the Super Bowl and now we have no chance and I think someone called the waaaaaambulance.

It's a bummer but at least it's not a career-ending injury. Even with Wentz I think our games against the Seahawks and Rams should have been sign enough that we might not have what it takes to even make the Super Bowl, but I guess there have become two separate breeds of Philly fan: the obnoxious one that is precisely what everyone else says we are, and the pessimistic sort like Guru and I that always want us to be the best, but have been in Philly long enough that we're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Fortunately our next game is against the Giants, and if Foles has a problem with that game then I know we're screwed.

Nice typo.

Foles is hot garbage so the Eagles will be one and done in the playoffs as the rest of the components are not good enough to carry a garbage QB like the Denver and Baltimore teams of the past.. So what really really sucks is that Wentz won't get any playoff experience this year thus wasting this entire year... Wentz has been playing so good that he masked a ton of issues and with Foles that will all come up to the surface. The defense especially will go several games in a row with severe tackling problems.

Eagles still need a ton of pieces to really be an SB contender and the NFC looks like its going to be stacked for years to come so its going to be really hard to win in the NFC for a long time.. But regardless the NFC will be the sacrificial lambs to the Pats in the SB until Brady and Belacheat contracts with the Devil come due.

ccesarano wrote:

Wentz confirmed to be out the rest of the season and post-season with a torn ACL. Nick Foles is confirmed to return as star quarterback, and already friends on my Facebook timeline are crying because Wentz was going to take us to the Super Bowl and now we have no chance and I think someone called the waaaaaambulance.

It's a bummer but at least it's not a career-ending injury. Even with Wentz I think our games against the Seahawks and Rams should have been sign enough that we might not have what it takes to even make the Super Bowl, but I guess there have become two separate breeds of Philly fan: the obnoxious one that is precisely what everyone else says we are, and the pessimistic sort like Guru and I that always want us to be the best, but have been in Philly long enough that we're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Fortunately our next game is against the Giants, and if Foles has a problem with that game then I know we're screwed.

Foles has had enough moments of decent play where I'd consider him a solid backup, and, while I'm sure the offense loses some explosiveness, the Eagles still are one of the better NFC teams. I do kind of feel like every NFC good team this year is basically lining up to get beat by the Patriots in the Super Bowl, though. New England appears to be doing its usual "peak late" thing.

Edit: I find it kind of hilarious that GG and I posted very similar things except regarding opinions of Nick Foles.

I still remember everyone singing the praises of Foles in his first year, which is one of the reasons I'm hesitant to put all the money on the talents of Ginger Jesus, as people have referred to him as. He has certainly done some great stuff, but I don't think he's "one of football's greatest all-time quarterbacks" yet. He's young and honestly I'd say this injury was the result of him being reckless, which he's been all season.

Due to my football-friend and I having a sudden sundering during the intervening years of football, I missed out on Foles' sh*t period where he was traded around. However, my perspective was that Chip Kelly is the one who f*cked everything up, and now Foles is considered no good despite all the heaping praise he got his first year. Right now he's going to be comparatively hot garbage but that's also because he doesn't have the rapport and knowledge of the rest of the team Wentz had. Three games is not enough to get that in time for the Championships, so yeah, we're probably screwed out of even seeing the Super Bowl, but I personally wasn't convinced of our odds even with Wentz, and I've had more than enough non-Eagles fans remind me that the entire NFC conference has been uncharacteristically sh*tty this year. Some of that is due to injuries (Jesus Christ Green Bay, you barely won against the Browns in over-time?!?!), but some of it is just because it's an awkward transition year I guess.

I think, given some new trades and time, Eagles can be a much stronger contender, but the odds of us having such a win/loss ratio? Don't know.

Then again, I'm not exactly the most savvy in terms of football so I'm practically talking out of my ass. Also: if I posted "we" in here instead of "The Eagles", apologies. I try not to do that but I'm around people that keep referring to Eagles as "we" in these sorts of discussions and it becomes a habit. I don't want to label the team's accomplishments as my own just because I live about an hour outside the city.

Foles is one of the best backup QBs in the league. He's got starting experience and is definitely above the Brock Osweiler-Connor Cook playoff game we were graced with last year.

Hell, maybe Foles gets hurt and Kaepernick finally gets the call (take a drink).

Then again, I'm not exactly the most savvy in terms of football so I'm practically talking out of my ass

Welcome to NFL fandom

UpToIsomorphism wrote:
Abu5217 wrote:

Link?

Michael Bennett being a PoS

Enix wrote:

Here (or just Google "Michael Bennett")

Damn. Yeah, he's gonna have a bit of a fine.

karmajay wrote:
Then again, I'm not exactly the most savvy in terms of football so I'm practically talking out of my ass

Welcome to NFL fandom

Except cc admits it.

Enix wrote:

I don't know about y'all, but this might have been the best NFL week of the season.

Niners and Jags won, Niners beating a Jags division rival and Jags beating a Niners division rival (and the Seahawks at that).

So yeah, I'm still pretty erect.

*Legion* wrote:
Enix wrote:

I don't know about y'all, but this might have been the best NFL week of the season.

Niners and Jags won, Niners beating a Jags division rival and Jags beating a Niners division rival (and the Seahawks at that).

So yeah, I'm still pretty erect.

IMAGE(http://u.cubeupload.com/MilkmanDanimal/JAYGRUDENFACE.gif)

Don't act like you're not impressed.

Prediction: Foles has a great stretch and takes the Eagles to the Super Bowl, thus inciting an entertaining offseason QB controversy going into 2018 training camp. Wentz, his confidence shaken, goes into the season as the backup and Foles reverts to form. When Foles is finally benched in week 9 (going 2-6), Wentz comes in and is not the same player. 2018 Eagles finish 5-11 and we all ponder what might have been.

Seriously, though, him being out sucks - he, and the Eagles team, are fun to watch. The game yesterday with the Rams was really really good. My other games were Washington being destroyed by the Chargers and Dallas-NYGiants, which was a close game until the 4th, but godawful to watch.

If Foles wins Super Bowl he'll be trade bait.

The last time Nick Foles played football, he threw for 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 65% completion, and a 105.9 passer rating, over two games, both wins.

If we've learned anything this year, it's not to count out QBs when they've finally gotten away from Jeff Fisher. (Those two Foles games were in Kansas City, his only post-Fisher action until now.)

Nick Foles, Case Keenum, and Jared Goff walk into a bar.

Jeff Fisher isn't in the bar, so all of them have a good time.

/fin

No one is going to call Foles an elite QB. But the guy is the epitome of the average QB becoming a crafty veteran once he understands his limitations and the consequences of not respecting them. He's exactly who the Eagles need to ride out the season.

Of course, that makes winning a Super Bowl a lot harder, because the odds that he can have more than one game in which he puts the offense on his back is unlikely. But he probably will have one of those games. But I don't think he will lose any games on his own if the rest of the offense remains intact.

Just saw this in another forum I frequent:

It's sort of comical to think that Nick Foles, Case Keenum, and Jared Goff will all start playoff games. Maybe Keith Null is considering a comeback?

Sean Mannion will be the new hot backup QB to trade for to make into a starter.

This Pats-Fins game is turning out to be pretty good. This ain't the same Miami team that quit against the Panthers a few weeks ago.

Enix wrote:

This Pats-Fins game is turning out to be pretty good. This ain't the same Miami team that quit against the Panthers a few weeks ago.

By pretty good you mean a total trampling? Who the hell is Kenyan Drake and why is he on my FFL squad?

Spoiler:

Of course Brady will win the game with 3 touchdowns in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter, but still.

Headline this AM: "Cutler outplays Brady"

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/PJoLp4gDIqjYs/giphy.gif)

garion333 wrote:

Headline this AM: "Cutler outplays Brady"

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/PJoLp4gDIqjYs/giphy.gif)

Had to vary the image up a bit?

*Legion* wrote:

334 passing yards for Garoppolo. Dude looks legit. Very effortless thrower, generates power even when he can't get his feet into it. Belichick did a good job on him, he looks way more impressive than his college draft tape.

Worth the gamble, at least. Now the franchise needs to get him some receivers. Though it looks like Marquise Goodwin may have his first 1000 yard season. Way better than I ever expected from him.

Matt Waldman also likes what he's seeing and he references your BFF:

2. I'M SOLD ON JIMMY GARAPPOLO
I had concerns about Garappolo at Eastern Illinois. He had reactionary moments to pressure. Paired with the wrong team, Garappolo's game could have regressed to a place where Blaine Gabbert comparisons could have come to bear.

Fortunately, that didn't happen and Garappolo worked with the best pocket passer of our generation. Last week, I said it would take something especially noteworthy to be higher or lower on Garappolo while he acclimates to the 49ers.

I think I saw some of those noteworthy things and they are along the same lines of what I've seen from Goff: quiet feet and pocket toughness. These first two plays illustrate his skill at delivering the ball efficiently within a compressed area and/or timeframe and with the requisite power and accuracy for the rhythm of the play.

It was also encouraging to see Garappolo stand tall and make a throw with Jadaveon Clowney bearing down. As with any quarterback, too many of these hits can alter his attitude in the pocket but for now, Garappolo has shown poise and toughness.

His posture while throwing used to annoy me because it hinted of a passer worried about getting hit. However, his body of work shows that he's a quick-thinking, efficient thrower who often anticipates fast enough to protect himself from contact. As long it doesn't impact his results, I'm on board with him as potentially a low-end fantasy QB1 in 2018 if his key supporting staff stays healthy and intact.

He's a dynasty QB1 value based on what I've seen.

tboon wrote:

Seriously, though, him being out sucks - he, and the Eagles team, are fun to watch. The game yesterday with the Rams was really really good. My other games were Washington being destroyed by the Chargers and Dallas-NYGiants, which was a close game until the 4th, but godawful to watch.

I was at the game. It was the first time I had ever been able to see the Cowboys live, having been a fan for 40 years. While the win was cool, I can 100% agree that it was godawful to watch. The fact that it was cold as hell and my socks were wet made it that much worse.

Interesting how all day yesterday this thread was giving the super bowl to the Pats and then they lose to Miami last night.

Stele wrote:

Interesting how all day yesterday this thread was giving the super bowl to the Pats and then they lose to Miami last night.

I feel like every once and a while Jay Cutler has to have one of those games that makes you sit around and wonder why he wasn't nearly as good of a QB as he could have been, and that was last night.

Really felt like without Gronk out there to threaten the middle the Dolphins defense just beat the crap out of the Pats receivers at the line, and that screwed everything up.

Stele wrote:

Interesting how all day yesterday this thread was giving the super bowl to the Pats and then they lose to Miami last night.

Don't knock the time honored tradition of giving the super bowl win to the Pats all season just so it's less painful if they win or more satisfying if they lose.

Not so different than Pat fans annointing the team so they can brag all season or claim conspiracy and general unfairness if they lose.

Edit: Not worth it