NFL 2017 Super Bowl Thread

The Jags fan side of me is LOL'ing pretty good right now.

Not as hard as I will be when they hire Mularkey though.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I feel like the McDaniels news results from:

A) Luck's shoulder is worse than publicly reported.
B) McDaniels finally actually met Jim Irsay.
C) A and B

Or D) Belichick is retiring.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I feel like the McDaniels news results from:

A) Luck's shoulder is worse than publicly reported.
B) McDaniels finally actually met Jim Irsay.
C) A and B

Probably C, but also consider the possibility of a D: I would not be surprised if there are Belichick succession plans being discussed in New England.

Edit: Well there it is in that La Canfora tweet.

McDouche strike again!

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVZQyB-WsAA2zht.jpg)

Edit: Dayum

Twitter doesn't disappoint:

(I think he meant "lam" sted "lamb" but I'm sure it's hard to type with a busted shoulder.)

So the Colts already hired 3 assistants, including defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, for McDaniels' staff.

Apparently these coaches will remain in Indy in those jobs. Which I'm sure whomever the next coach actually is will *love*.

So, since it won't be McDaniels, where does that leave the Colts?

GM Chris Ballard has some work to do. They supposedly have 2-3 interviews lined up, apparently they had some suspicion that this could happen.

They previously expressed interest in interviewing Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub, and I don't think that interview ever happened, so I'd bet money he's one of those interviewees-to-be.

They also requested to interview fired Seahawks DC Kris Richard, and there was a date for that interview, but if it actually went through, it seems to have been done quietly. He's a good bet for one of the other interviewees in wait.

Other options include the Eagles staff. You've got OC Frank Reich, QB coach John DeFilippo (who practically every team with an opening had on their radar), and even DC Jim Schwartz (ehhhh, really?).

The Colts were interested in fired Seahawks OC Darrell Bevell for the OC job under McDaniels, and apparently they are now considering him a candidate for the head coaching job (ehhhh, really?).

Going deeper, Arizona interviewed Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores, so if Indy wants a little payback on New England, they could look at poaching him instead. Arizona interviewed Mike Munchak too. Both of the Lions' coordinators, Teryl Austin and Jim Bob Cooter, interviewed for that team's job.

We also have the retreads. Jim Caldwell was fired from the Lions, maybe a Caldwell Face return to Indy? Jack Del Rio is a year removed from a turnaround season with Oakland, but he looks like he might be destined to be Pat Shurmur's defensive coordinator for the G-Men. I've even seen some left field suggestions, like Tony Dungy returning to coaching to take over Indy. But by far my favorite retread idea... Bruce Arians.

My prediction? I think it's Dave Toub or John DeFilippo. Since they're apparently keeping the defensive coordinator that McDaniels wanted, I don't think a defensive head coach makes sense. Toub and Ballard crossed paths when Ballard was in Kansas City. DeFilippo is the kind of young rising offensive guy that the Colts want to pair with Andrew Luck (provided he's not in fact a corpse, which may or may not have factored into McDaniels' willingness to make the big 180). I'd round out my top 3 most likely candidates with Darrell Bevell, although I don't understand it, but they are expressing direct interest in him, so, I guess.

My dark horse is Arians. I'm not convinced that retirement was 100% his idea, but if Arizona was nudging him out, he wasn't going to go start over from scratch somewhere else. Going back to Indy with Luck (maybe) could be a different story. Not the most likely, but my longshot pick.

Jeff Fisher.

garion333 wrote:

Jeff Fisher.

He will help draft a bunch of star players then coach them up to back to back 4-12 seasons until Indy hires a new head coach who immediately takes them to the playoffs. Sounds like a good plan!!

TheGameguru wrote:

https://kotaku.com/backup-quarterbac...

Errrr....

EA trying to sell packs to make up for Battlefront II not having loot boxes yet.

Finally managed to create a gif of Cooks' hurdle:

IMAGE(https://im4.ezgif.com/tmp/ezgif-4-83f2a3db35.gif)

That gif makes that play look even stupider than it did the first time.

I keep watching that to see if he might have had the angle had he just gunned it to the sideline.

Paleocon wrote:

I keep watching that to see if he might have had the angle had he just gunned it to the sideline.

I think he could have just cut and dived on the inside no problem. The defenders momentum was going towards the sideline. Jumping was definitely not the right move either way.

EvilDead wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

I keep watching that to see if he might have had the angle had he just gunned it to the sideline.

I think he could have just cut and dived on the inside no problem. The defenders momentum was going towards the sideline. Jumping was definitely not the right move either way.

Yeah, well the proof of that pudding is in the eating (or the face planting as it may be). But I wonder if there was a scenario where he could have gotten the two yards. He didn't make the cut early enough to be the inside guy and the lead defender looked like he had the sideline cut off depending on their relative speed.

After watching that game I think the Patriots lack of pass rush and defensive talent in general got super exposed. It's been like this all season but the Eagles really were aggressive and took it to them where other teams were more conservative. It probably didn't help that they sat Butler (who played 98% of snaps in the regular season) and the Eagles O-line was phenomenal (I think the real MVP).

Next year the Pats linebackers will get a boost with Hightower but the corners will get a downgrade when Butler moves on. They also are in major need of a successor to Brady. Should be an interesting draft.

Congrats to the Eagles. Well deserved.

Paleocon wrote:
EvilDead wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

I keep watching that to see if he might have had the angle had he just gunned it to the sideline.

I think he could have just cut and dived on the inside no problem. The defenders momentum was going towards the sideline. Jumping was definitely not the right move either way.

Yeah, well the proof of that pudding is in the eating (or the face planting as it may be). But I wonder if there was a scenario where he could have gotten the two yards. He didn't make the cut early enough to be the inside guy and the lead defender looked like he had the sideline cut off depending on their relative speed.

He is real quick on his feet. I think the inside would have worked and possibly the outside. At the least it would have given him a chance to try to break a tackle. Unfortunately it is impossible to accelerate when your legs are 4 feet off the ground

It's good tackling, one of the rare instances of it in this game (and in the whole league, tbh). See how the defender comes in with his head up? He's looking to wrap up a smaller guy short of the sticks, not knock him back to Pro Bowl Weekend (like the trailing defender on the play, sigh). I think Cooks figured that most guys would have just gone at him head first and he'd just fly over top. Joke's on him, though.

Colts plan to interview Frank Reich.

Also, Josh McDaniels' agent told him he was making a mistake by backing out of the Colts job.

Gronk is reportedly considering retirement. Apparently he has the idea of becoming an action movie star:

According to a report from Bill Burt of local Massachusetts newspaper The Eagle-Tribune, Gronkowski is thinking about giving up football to pursue a career in acting. Gronk has supposedly spoken with Hollywood legends Sylvester Stallone and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who told him they believe he could make millions if he starred in action films.

It all seems a bit silly, but the next paragraph is where the nugget of reality is, I think:

Burt also reports that Gronkowski has told friends that injuries have taken a toll on him, which makes sense. With the concussion that knocked him out of the AFC Championship Game, Gronkowski has now suffered just about every significant injury a football player can have. The 28-year-old has torn his ACL, broken his arm and undergone back surgery on three different occasions since college.

The beating he has taken is absurd, and given that he's made money and has 2 rings already, it won't be a shock at all for him to pull a Calvin Johnson and bail.

I wish him well in Death Wish XVII, The Transporter 6, and Gronk Cruise: Mission Unstoppable

(I'd watch all of those!)

Also, a Gronk retirement lends more fuel to the fire that Belichick might be retiring much sooner than we all think. I won't be surprised if McDaniels is the head coach next season.

Like Legion said, Gronk has the money, titles, and fame a professional career can bring. If leaves right now, his next 50 years arguing to be much better than if he tries to play another five. And with the squabbles over Brady, Belichick and Kraft, it probably is a good time to just make a clean break.

We'll see if he can act. But he made an appearance on Top Chef (where he and Padme heated stuff up), and I can see him going to the reality TV path. He could do something like Norman Reedus' Ride, and make bank for going on vacation and partying. That sounds more like a Gronk post football career move.

Yeah I don't see Gronk being a great actor, but who knows. I would not be surprised at all if Belichick leaves this off season, I think I would be more surprised if he stays.

LeapingGnome wrote:

Yeah I don't see Gronk being a great actor, but who knows.

There is useful precedent here.

IMAGE(http://www.pastposters.com/cw3/assets/product_full/(JamieF)__StoneCold(2).jpg)

Not to mention we've already seen Gronk warming up his action movie chops:

He does do a video show on nick as well right now.

People love Gronk.

I hate the Pats and even I'm slightly enamored by him.

He's a big goof. He only stands to lose more of his brain cells. He's on 8m 9m for the next two years. He could easily transition into some other job and still be relatively very well off. Its not like he would be retiring from QB money.

I think it's already becoming apparent that the NFL is suffering from a skills position gap players that arnt QBs that are protected by the rules + on better money.

The prediction was this would trickle down to the average future talent. It's already happening.

And doesn't he only spend his ad money? All his salary dollars are invested/not getting touched? Kinda like Marshawn Lynch did?