NFL 2022: The playoffs thread

tboon wrote:

You assume the Communists have any brains at all. Recent and not-so-recent evidence suggests otherwise.

Oh I wasn't predicting that's what they will do. I merely said "should".

fangblackbone wrote:

And select another Dwayne Haskins...
Our record drafting QBs is not great. Under the best circumstances, they play well for another team.

That may be true, but it's not like there's any other choice. Eventually you hope that you stop drafting the David Klinglers and Akili Smiths and you start getting the Carson Palmers and Joe Burrows.

Imagine if the Chiefs didn't draft Patrick Mahomes just because they hadn't drafted a good QB once in their entire 58-year existence up to that point.

OTC has an interesting article on Rogers's cap impacts in a couple of different scenarios. His contract does not look very favorable to the team in terms of trading him, or in a straight retirement (which does not seem likely at all to me).
I'd like to see him gone and for the team to get some nice draft picks in return. Am I wrong in thinking GB would have to be pretty convinced they're 100% done with him to take the cap hit?

I was just looking at the cap numbers for teams in 2023 and was wondering how in the name of Zeus' butthole will either Tampa or New Orleans even field a team next year given their cap positions. Both are close to $60M over the cap and neither are in a position to cut or waive their ways out given that so much of those hits are coming from deferred signing bonuses belonging to free agents. Tom Brady alone counts $35M against Tampa's cap and he isn't under contract so there is no leverage to restructure it at all. Minnesota is in dire position too, but nothing compares to the downright financial Armageddon faced by those two NFC South teams.

Given the fire sales those two teams are going to have to undergo, even with the coaching change, it looks like the smart money is on the Colts to take the NFC South in 2023.

Paleocon wrote:

Given the fire sales those two teams are going to have to undergo, even with the coaching change, it looks like the smart money is on the Colts to take the NFC South in 2023.

The Colts are welcome to the NFC South. It's the football equivalent of a trash pile full of dumpsters and tires, all of which are on fire.

The Saints have been in cap hell for a better part of a decade and have always figured their way out of it. Maybe they finally reached the end of that dirt road? The Bucs are screwed because they don't have anything resembling a QB next year (and yes I know Blaine Gabbert is on the roster; I also doubt TB12 is coming back, but he surprised us last year so who knows?).

ATL is probably due for a rebound. The Panthers remain in purgatory because of the lack of coach and QB. A Wilks/Darnold runback is a recipe for an eternity of 6-win seasons.

Enix wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

Given the fire sales those two teams are going to have to undergo, even with the coaching change, it looks like the smart money is on the Colts to take the NFC South in 2023.

The Colts are welcome to the NFC South. It's the football equivalent of a trash pile full of dumpsters and tires, all of which are on fire.

The Saints have been in cap hell for a better part of a decade and have always figured their way out of it. Maybe they finally reached the end of that dirt road? The Bucs are screwed because they don't have anything resembling a QB next year (and yes I know Blaine Gabbert is on the roster; I also doubt TB12 is coming back, but he surprised us last year so who knows?).

ATL is probably due for a rebound. The Panthers remain in purgatory because of the lack of coach and QB. A Wilks/Darnold runback is a recipe for an eternity of 6-win seasons.

Oops. The Falcons then. And from the looks of it, they have an even better cap position and a ton of picks.

Nobody actually wins the NFC South. Somebody just loses slightly less than everybody else.

Re: Qaaron.

GB has had an elite QB for thirty years. That's crazy.

Good luck to them without that.

Enix wrote:

The Saints have been in cap hell for a better part of a decade and have always figured their way out of it. Maybe they finally reached the end of that dirt road?

They haven't figured their way out for a couple years now. Why do you think Sean Payton ran off?

They had $41 million of dead money in 2021 and $43 million of dead money this year. And they are still at least a couple of years from getting anywhere close to cap healthy. They've been steadily shedding more talent than they've been adding, and they've got more shedding still to do.

Paleocon wrote:

Tom Brady alone counts $35M against Tampa's cap and he isn't under contract so there is no leverage to restructure it at all.

Tampa's cap is gonna eat sh*t for one year with Brady's departure, because they pushed a bunch of money out into void years that will come due. But most of their money is tied up in productive players that they could restructure or extend without it being a mortgaging of the future. (They would be better off if they hadn't picked up Devin White's option year though - why does anyone in Tampa think Devin White is a good player?). Tampa needs to do exactly what New England did, and make their first post-Brady year a take-your-cap-medicine season. They should still be able to retain their important talent.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Nobody actually wins the NFC South. Somebody just loses slightly less than everybody else.

OK, Pryzbylewski.

An unnamed NFC exec told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler to watch for the Indianapolis Colts as a trade destination for Aaron Rodgers.

That probably makes more sense than any other option, because that's a Jim Irsay move if ever there was one.

I would die laughing if Rodgers shows up to Indianapolis and ends up looking as suddenly washed as Matt Ryan did.

*Legion* wrote:

(The Saints) been steadily shedding more talent than they've been adding ...

Taysom Hill, subtraction by addition.

Coach of the Year finalists: Shanahan, Pederson, Daboll

Comeback Player of the Year finalists: CMC, Saquon, Geno

Offensive Rookie of the Year finalists: Purdy, Walker, Wilson

Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists: Sauce

Spoiler:

Technically Hutchinson and Woolen are also finalists for DROY

Geno has got to be a lock right?
The only others I care about is Pederson and Purdy.
Purdy is obvious because the narrative is Warner on steroids depending on the next few weeks.
And I'd pick Pederson because I am really impressed with the Jags. I know Legion has been pushing the "this is the year" with them for a decade. But I think they finally graduated into relevance this year.

I think the Jags and the Bengals are the two teams that really impressed me the most this year.

Calling it: Daboll, Smith, Purdy, Sauce.

Niners Niners Niners Sauce

Ben Watson sharing an interesting story about getting interviewed by the Browns:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/hmIF1Nh.png)

Glad I'm off that drug

Surprised Watson signed with Cleveland after that. He had other options.

fangblackbone wrote:

Geno has got to be a lock right?

Depends on how you think about the award I guess.

I have a hard time with "comeback player" meaning "I came back from my own crappiness". Usually, Comeback Player is someone returning from some adversity. Being a mediocre player doesn't really seem like adversity.

The NBA has the Most Improved Player award, and if the NFL had that, I think Geno runs away with it.

But when it comes to my pick for Comeback Player, it's a biased choice, but I'm giving it to the guy who's coming off of back-to-back season ending injuries. I think this year has made people forget that there were a lot of rumblings about CMC's future (or possible lack of) as an elite player after managing to play only 10 total games across the past 2 seasons.

The thing about CMC as Comeback Player is that he benefitted tremendously from a trade to a contender. So did he pull a comeback or did he just get put on a much, much, much better team?

Geno arguably played much better than in prior years. Does that mean he came back from his own crappiness? Maybe, but to me it still counts.

Pink Stripes wrote:

The thing about CMC as Comeback Player is that he benefitted tremendously from a trade to a contender.

2022 CMC (Panthers, weeks 1-6): 4.6 ypc, 65.5 rush yds/gm, 46.2 rec yds/gm, 0.5 TDs/gm

2022 CMC (49ers, weeks 7-18): 4.7 ypc, 67.8 rush yds/gm, 42.2 rec yds/gm, 0.9 TDs/gm

His individual stats hardly moved, except for touchdowns, thanks to being on a team where more drives ended in scores. But there was no massive shift in production when moving to the 49ers. It's just that the production was now being applied to meaningful games, and making an impact in meaningful situations.

Makes sense for sure.

I can change the context too though. Instead of "I came back from my own crapiness," it would be "I was once in the spotlight and sputtered. Then I climbed my way back to relevance."

fangblackbone wrote:

I can change the context too though. Instead of "I came back from my own crapiness," it would be "I was once in the spotlight and sputtered. Then I climbed my way back to relevance."

I guess, though really "once in the spotlight" is more like "I was a bottom tier starter in my first and second year". He career before this year was even less relevant than Rich Gannon's pre-Oakland career.

Now, that all said, Tommy Maddox won the Comeback Player award back in the day, so I can't argue that there isn't precedent for someone like Geno getting it.

He career before this year was even less relevant than Rich Gannon's pre-Oakland career.

Isn't than more of an argument for Geno?

I liked Gannon in Washington. He wasn't lights out but he moved the offense which I will take any day over high upside but constant 3 and outs.

edit: looks like my memory was fuzzy on that. His WAS stats are not great.

Sorry, one more Cowboys mocking image:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/NeiHdiM.jpg)

Jeff Saturday is getting a second interview with Indy. His 1-7 record as an interim made him a clear favorite for the position.

Panthers brought in Frank Reich and Kellen Moore for second interviews and did a second interview with Steve Wilks. If Wilks doesn't stay in Charlotte (which would be a shame if he didn't), apparently ATL is interested, according to some vague and thinly-sourced Twitter rumors.

The Falcons need a DC (Dean Pees retired), and Wilks isn't getting any calls to be an HC outside of Charlotte. I mean, I guess it's possible that the Panthers keep Wilks as DC. But this is the same franchise that shipped out Steve Smith and Cam Newton because each dawg house can have only one alpha.

I’m fine with the coach of the year candidates but it’s still disrespectful that Sirianni wasn’t even nominated. I hope the team makes that another chip on the shoulder.

Enix wrote:

Panthers brought in Frank Reich and Kellen Moore for second interviews and did a second interview with Steve Wilks.

I don't know how anyone looks at his Indy tenure and thinks Frank Reich is the guy to get. I'm on board with Wilks getting the job.

It's funny how hot the market was with Harbaugh and Payton, and then Harbaugh abruptly pulled out to stay in Michigan for at least another year, and now Payton is supposedly leaning towards staying in TV another year, after Dallas and both LA teams decided to stay put at coach.

I think anyone remotely affected by the stench of Carson Wentz should get a mulligan