"NFL Football is Back!" 2011 Season Thread

[Al B. Sure!]

Feels like the Eagles are getting talked about a lot but they are the team making all the big moves.

Former Packers DT Cullen Jenkins has signed with the Eagles.


Mike Sims-Walker signed with the St. Louis Rams.

[Donegeal]

Sims-Walker to St. Louis is huge.

If you remember back to the begining of the season, the Rams aquired WR Mark Clayton from the Ravens (I think) just before the season started. With Bradford throwing the ball, Clayton exploded as one othe top WRs then got injured in week 3 or 4 ending his season. With Clayton back to full and now adding Sims-Walker, the Rams have a very potent receiving duo.

By the way, Arizona, with Kolb, isn't even going to win the division, much less make the playoffs. The Rams are going to win the NFC West and surprize alot of people.

[demonbinder]

Kreutz likely not coming back to Bears. Already telling others on team he won't be back. More trouble on the O-line.

[-Jrabbit]

WTF, Bears!

I know he's aging, not Pro Bowl caliber these days, but experience is invaluable on the O-line, especially at center, where Kreutz routinely called the adjustments and hot reads. Not to mention, he ruled in the locker room. It would be sad to see a true leader walk.

[Sparrowhawk]

Those little guys stick together.

Enough about Flutie and BK already....oh, you meant ........

/me

[demonbinder]

Kreutz even said he would take a one year deal for less than he made last year, but Bears said no. Door is still open, until he signs elsewhere, but it doesn't look good. Now they'll have to figure out what to do there.

Then they go and sign another Dallas castoff, Marion Barber. But at least that should be an upgrade from Chester Taylor. Also got DT Amobi Okoye from Houston

[Al B. Sure!]

Vernon Gholston, Amobi Okoye, Roy Williams... The Bears are stockpiling first round busts?

[Ben Kenobi]

If ind it funny that apparently working with Reid makes Vince Young good, but not Kolb.

[SlowwHand]

Roy Williams stunk up the joint in Dallas, but he had good years in Detroit. He's big and could answer the challenge. I think it was worth the Bears gambling.

[Al B. Sure!]

Plaxico Burress has returned to New York.... as a Jet.

[-Jrabbit]

Enough about Flutie and BK already....oh, you meant ........

/me

Originally referring to Brees and Sproles, two more undersized NFL successes on the BK Love Train.

[Al B. Sure!]

Brandon Marshall has Borderline Personality Disorder:

The Dolphins' wide receiver says he was diagnosed earlier this year with borderline personality disorder, which has been known to stem from things such as unstable personal relationships, a negative self-image and a fear of failure. He made the decision to go public with the issue to raise awareness, and says he plans to eventually lobby Congress for funding to assist research efforts.

"For so long, I've been just trying to get help. I've been seeking help," Marshall said after practice Sunday during an interview session where he spoke for more than 30 minutes, the first 20 or so without taking a single question. "I've been talking with doctors since I've been in the NFL. No one has ever helped me. So I was praying there was a treatment out there for what I suffered from and there was."

Marshall told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for a story published Sunday that he has spent $60,000 on treatment for the disorder, which according to the National Institute on Mental Health is "a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior."

"BPD is a well understood psychological disorder. It's not a form of misbehavior," Mary Zanarini, a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School who treated Marshall this summer, told the newspaper.

The NIMH says the disorder affects about 1 in 50 adults, making it more common than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

"There comes a time in a guy like myself's life, with everything that I've been through, that you become bulletproof to the critics and to what the world thinks of you," Marshall said. "Right now, today, I am vulnerable. I am making myself vulnerable. And I want it to be clear that this is the opposite of damage control. The only reason why I'm standing here today is to use my story to help others who may suffer from what I suffer from."

[Al B. Sure!]

Originally referring to Brees and Sproles, two more undersized NFL successes on the BK Love Train.

That's funny:

Drew Brees: Height: 6-0
Mike Vick: Height: 6-0

Oh right. Vick killed precious dogs so he doesn't get the Ben idol treatment.

[Al B. Sure!]

Former Arizona RB Tim Hightower was traded to the Redskins for 14-year veteran DE Vonnie Holliday and a draft pick.

Seahawks cut star LB Lofa Tatupu.

[Donegeal]

Bears sign former Seahawks Center Spencer, so Kreutz is done in Chicago.

[SlowwHand]

Former Arizona RB Tim Hightower was traded to the Redskins for 14-year veteran DE Vonnie Holliday and a draft pick.

Seahawks cut star LB Lofa Tatupu.

Good for him.

[SlowwHand]

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins have acquired running back Tim Hightower from the Arizona Cardinals for defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday and an undisclosed draft pick.

Interesting. Holliday is pretty old.

[MRT144]

Former Arizona RB Tim Hightower was traded to the Redskins for 14-year veteran DE Vonnie Holliday and a draft pick.

Seahawks cut star LB Lofa Tatupu.

Our whole LB corp is bad right now and tatupu is over the hill.

[MRT144]

Bears sign former Seahawks Center Spencer, so Kreutz is done in Chicago.

Who will Bears fans blame now?

[Donegeal]

Management and coaches.

[-Jrabbit]

Gotta blame the GM, Angelo. They are way under the cap and a half-million apart on a 1-yr deal for Kreutz.
Monumentally stupid IMHO.

He hasn't signed anywhere yet, so cooler heads may still prevail. (Or maybe I'm just hoping...)

[Guynemer]

Knowing that I'm a big pessimist (realist) by nature, how hopeful should I be about the upcoming Lions season?

They seem to be a trendy wild card pick, and I just don't get why. Yes, the defensive line should be dominant. The back seven still sucks; the receivers consist of Megatron and any given warm body yanked off the street; the offensive line is mediocre on their best days; the quarterback is as likely to tear every ligament in his body as he is to throw a TD. What am I missing?

[Lord Avalon]

What am I missing?

The Kool-aid? I think the Lions will make a run at the playoffs, but I don't know if they'll get in. As a longtime Lions watcher, I'll believe it when I see it. And then I'll do a triple-take.

[-Jrabbit]

Knowing that I'm a big pessimist (realist) by nature, how hopeful should I be about the upcoming Lions season?

They seem to be a trendy wild card pick, and I just don't get why. Yes, the defensive line should be dominant. The back seven still sucks; the receivers consist of Megatron and any given warm body yanked off the street; the offensive line is mediocre on their best days; the quarterback is as likely to tear every ligament in his body as he is to throw a TD. What am I missing?

I'm officially predicting the Lions will finish higher than 4th place. Presumably they get a soft-ish schedule. Adding Tulloch behind those stud tackles is potentially lethal. LeShoure gives them a nice thunder-and-lightning RB combo.

If you don't want to be bitterly disappointed, set your sights on a .500 season. But if they can keep the QB upright, they have a shot. Sure, why not?

[SlowwHand]

The Lions are going to rock. If not this year, very soon.

[Ben Kenobi]

Albert, Bresus is a damn good QB. Pity the Chargers treated him like dirt so LT was robbed out of a superbowl ring.

[SlowwHand]

Phillip Rivers is very good, but I don't see him on any commercials here. I've seen Brees.

[Ben Kenobi]

Winning the superbowl will do that. Not much Cherger hype out here.

[SlowwHand]

Did you see the commercials with Eli Manning? They always had Peyton in them, too.

[Al B. Sure!]

Knowing that I'm a big pessimist (realist) by nature, how hopeful should I be about the upcoming Lions season?

They seem to be a trendy wild card pick, and I just don't get why. Yes, the defensive line should be dominant. The back seven still sucks; the receivers consist of Megatron and any given warm body yanked off the street; the offensive line is mediocre on their best days; the quarterback is as likely to tear every ligament in his body as he is to throw a TD. What am I missing?

Lions suck.

The only thing going for them is that the rest of the NFC North seems to be in a malaise with no desire to improve. The Packers have made zero additions and lost defensive stalwarts Cullen Jenkins and Nick Barnett. The Vikings added McNabb but lost their best WR and will probably lose the Williams Wall. And the Bears, almost laughably, are stockpiling former first round busts and Cowboys rejects.

That means that, on paper, every other team in the NFC North besides the Lions has gotten worse!

The Lions secondary is still questionable. The addition of Eric Wright is a worthy flyer since Wright had some moments in Cleveland but ultimately was a disappointment. Durant and Tulluch are not elite but are good enough. Really, the Lions may be counting on hearkening back to the 2007 Giants with their defensive line. Remember, the Giants defense was dominant but only because of that super-talented defensive line that more than made up for a really weak secondary and linebacker corps. It's conceivable that the questions in the back 7 may not matter when you have a D-line like that...

Offensively, the running game will likely improve with Best and Leshoure. I would not be surprised to see the Lions play an almost Brian Billick in Baltimore offense with 2 TE's (Pettigrew and Scheffler), two backs, and Calvin Johnson as a lone receiver. It's not the most exciting offense but they have the personnel for it and it might protect Stafford.

Which brings me to the weakest link on the Lions: that china doll of a QB.

Whatever problems the other teams have, they still have Rodgers and Cutler (and who knows? Maybe a resurgent McNabb). That gives them a clear edge over the Lions and their quarterback.


The Lions will probably go 7-9 or 8-8, helped by the fact that all other teams in the NFC North seem to be regressing.


And, I have to ask, who is picking the Lions to make the playoffs? Wildcard? Not possible. Not with the current teams in the NFC. One of the big dogs (GB, CHI, PHI, NYG, ATL, NO, and even TB and DAL) would have to take one hell of a fall for a Lions' wildcard spot to be possible.