adam

Caldwell seems like a safe pick. I thought the Ravens regressed a lot this year, and they were no offensive juggernaut last year. We will miss Schwartz and his bone headed decisions, that is for sure.

Actually, after listening today on the radio, they had some great points why it would not be: 1. It is Detroit, enjoy the city 2. The team is tied to Stafford, and some do not think he is a franchise QB 2a. Stafford said he doesn't need to be coached 3. More money offered elsewhere 4. You have to play the Bears and Packers twice a year, and AP twice a year, not an easy division 5. Did I already say you would have to live near Detroit 6. Team has a few superstars, and then no one else. One injury away from being more mediocre

https://twitter.com/NFL_ATL/status/422870617138819073 Just think how they felt when a drunk Jim Schwartz came off the plane instead. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown...36877--nfl.html This is a good point, DET seems like a better core over TEN yet he chose the Titans. It must be Nashville over Detroit.

Seattle looks really overrated, barely beat NO at home, and they got all the calls. They hold no call, NO WR's push off OPI. If it wasn't for the NO kicker woes again, that game would've been even closer. Seattle has a great Defense, and Bennett was dominant. He will look great in the Windy City next year. I suspect it is going to come down to SF at SEA and NE at DEN. Both are great games. I don't know if CAR can hang with a hobbled Steve Smith. Cam will eventually implode. NE is rolling like usual, and I can't see Denver losing twice at home in the same season with Peyton at QB.

Yeah, from Roy Williams to Marshall and Jeffery is an impressive turn around at any position. Literally worst to first in 2 years.

Actually, the league changes its playoff format every 10-12 years, so I don't know what is actually tradition anymore: From 1978 through 1989, there were 3 division winners and 2 Wild Card teams From 1990 through 2001, there were 3 division winners and 3 Wild Card teams From 2002 through 2013, there were 4 division winners and 2 Wild Card teams

Very true, Lovie is probably still the coach if that was the case. In the end, 1 more team only adds 1 more Wild Card game, which is more revenue for the league and the last team involved, but it is not such a huge change that detracts from the purpose of the playoffs.

Unlike other sports with 82+ games, in reality it makes more games meaningful. Just think how many more teams would be "alive" in December if there was a 7th seed. Also, if they went to only one bye, then that #1 seed becomes even more critical to achieve.

Exactly, 8 teams is half the conference, which is too much IMO. 7 is the last number that can work without changing the playoff structure of Wild Card, Divisional, Conference rounds.

I like it, it would make more meaningful games in December with a bunch more teams still alive. Also, it would help us out a lot, in 2 out of the last 3 years, we would've been the 7th seed: 2011 Bears 8-8 Titans 9-7 2012 Bears 10-6 Steelers 8-8 2013 Cardinals 10-6 Steelers 8-8 Also, I love playoff football in general, even with the Bears out, I watched every game last weekend. Additionally, it would reduce the number of teams with a bye to 1 per conference, which to me is better. Any 2nd place team shouldn't get something that big. A home game is one thing, but a bye and a home game is a lot for finishing 2nd. This also only adds one game to the playoffs by adding a team and taking away a bye for the 2nd seed. If they do this and give home games to the teams with the best records, that would be the best format. A Division winner only guarantees you a playoff spot.

This is great news and makes sense since he didn't receive any bonuses as part of the deal. I bet this is going to be a trend going forward to allow teams more flexibility with the cap space.

Yeah they did, just like against us as well. Refs really kept this game close.

A very satisfying Packers loss tonight. That has to be the worst way to lose, at home, with 0:00 on the clock and nothing you can do about it. The kick looked like it was almost blocked but the GB player seemed like he was way offsides.

Agreed, I am still pissed about last week, but it is nice to see them lose with Rodgers sitting there on the sideline as Kaepernick leads the 49ers down on the last drive. The game never should've been that close with all the holding not called, but in the end it has to sting for GB who lost to SF last year in the playoffs. Now SF gets arguably the easier matchup in CAR and GB gets the 21st pick as the worst team in the playoffs. I also got some satisfaction out of the Philly loss, so overall not a bad weekend. This sets up for some great games next week.

I trust Emery and Trestman more than I ever trusted Jerry and Lovie.

The refs never call holding on GB, on the 4th down pass to Cobb, someone was mugged with a headlock from behind right in front of Rodgers and no call.

Dalton makes you appreciate having Cutler as our QB.

I still believe Tucker is safe because they could be interviewing people already, so I have to assume there is a reason. There is not much deception to any Cover-2 or 4-3 defense. If you have the right personnel, it can be effective, but if not, you can really get torched. No other defense seems to be so bang or bust. I would like to see a 3-4 at least considered, but unless we can improve our tackling and discipline, the scheme doesn't really matter.

So far so good, SF up at half. I would rather see them pull away blow them out in the 2nd half.

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I think Tucker would be gone by now so we could be interviewing potential candidates. To me this means he is getting a pass due to the injuries.

It's not like all the GB players like sub zero temps though, so in the end I think the weather is a wash and may actually give SF an edge since they are the better running team and defense. The only thing that sucks is that we shouldve been playing at home today.

I thought we could use a thread to discuss the current games, if anyone is watching. The Indy game was crazy, Luck got some luck when Brown fumbled in the Red Zone and the ball bounced off a players helmet right to Luck who dove into the endzone. Glad to see Philly lose, but their offensive performance against the Saints really showed how bad our defense was. Brees throws 2 INTs and wins. McCoy longest run was 11 yards. GO SF!!!!

I just don't think you can discount players stats because the stats don't support a certain position or point of view. Superstars are still really good, even on bad teams. They make the other players around them better. The red flag is when you improve the talent around a player and the play of that player does not improve as much as the talent. Just look at Cutler's numbers "with no one" and with the current team: His best yards per game before this season was 231.9 and that improved to 238.3 this year. A 6.4 yard improvement from 2011 to 2013. With all these stud playmakers, and all we get is 6 yards? TD/INT Ratio - 2013 was his 3rd best year, not his best, though he had the best talent and O-Line he ever had. 7.4 yards an attempt? Tied for 2nd best, and again with the best supporting cast. The only noticeable improvement was his Comp% at 63.1, up from 60.5 in 2009. Now the interesting part is this could be that the receivers are actually better and making the tougher catches, not that he is more accurate, which is an interesting perspective. He could be the same guy but the receivers are bringing the completion % up. So in the end, we know exactly what we are going to get from Cutler. After 8 years in the league, he is not going to magically change, and this was evident this year because technically he was very similar to what he has always been. He is going to average around 230 yards passing, and have a TD/INT Ratio of about 1.5. If you include fumbles, his TD to Turnover ratio is going to be very close to 1:1. I still don't see why we are paying him that much but I guess knowing what we are going to get every week is better than what we've had in the past. Eight now he is very similar to Jim Everett from the Rams. Both were 1st round picks who have/had one Pro Bowl and one season with more than 4,000 yards passing somewhat early in their careers and never really did much after that. I really really really hope Cutler proves me wrong and blows this comparison out of the water. Otherwise, we know what to expect for the next few years.

Plus you have the rookie pool, so if you take out the projected $2 million, that is $7 million for Slauson, Fiametta, and the rookie pool. That sounds about right, and makes the Cutler deal even worse if that is the case, because essentially that means no impact FA's will be brought in.