"NFL Football is Back!" 2011 Season Thread

[SlowwHand]

I devalue him as a player because he didn't get **** for points in IDP. I dropped him and haven't seen any mad dash to pick him up.

[SlowwHand]

Suh tossed, denies stomping OL. Delusion and reality for Ndamukong Suh.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/34886/delusion-and-reality-for-ndamukong-suh

[Al B. Sure!]

I devalue him as a player because he didn't get **** for points in IDP. I dropped him and haven't seen any mad dash to pick him up.

There's a difference between real life and fantasy.

[SlowwHand]

Not to Suh.

[Al B. Sure!]

Not to Suh.

What does this even mean?

[-Jrabbit]

He means that Suh's consistent "I'm not dirty, I'm just ballin'" line is obviously not based in reality.

[Al B. Sure!]

He means that Suh's consistent "I'm not dirty, I'm just ballin'" line is obviously not based in reality.

Does Sloww also have a low opinion of the playing skills of James Harrison? Sloww?

[SlowwHand]

Pretty much, yeah.

[Sparrowhawk]

It seems clear that San Francisco at 9-2 will be first to clinch a playoff spot (though they could have helped the cause a lot by beating Baltimore). How long before they clinch (or perhaps before Seattle (4-6) clinches it for them)? If Seattle loses to Washington on Sunday (which is by no means a given), the best Seattle can hope for is 5 straight wins to end the season 9-7 (not going to happen I know), and San Francisco with 5 straight loses to end the season 9-7 (also not going to happen). But even if they end out tied at 9-7 will SF win the tie-breaker? (I could probably figure this out but knew you would ).

....so does it come down to the Red Skins game on Sunday or will it be settled next week, or....?

Note: First tie-breaker within a division is games against each other, which would be 1-1 in my scenario.

/me

[Al B. Sure!]

It seems clear that San Francisco at 9-2 will be first to clinch a playoff spot (though they could have helped the cause a lot by beating Baltimore). How long before they clinch (or perhaps before Seattle (4-6) clinches it for them)? If Seattle loses to Washington on Sunday (which is by no means a given), the best Seattle can hope for is 5 straight wins to end the season 9-7 (not going to happen I know), and San Francisco with 5 straight loses to end the season 9-7 (also not going to happen). But even if they end out tied at 9-7 will SF win the tie-breaker? (I could probably figure this out but knew you would ).

....so does it come down to the Red Skins game on Sunday or will it be settled next week, or....?

Note: First tie-breaker within a division is games against each other, which would be 1-1 in my scenario.

/me

San Fran would have clinched with a victory over Baltimore AND a Seattle loss to Washington. Because Baltimore won, that means San Fran can not clinch this week, regardless of what happens in the Seattle game.

Think about it. San Fran was 9-1 going into Thanksgiving and Seattle was 4-6. Hypothetically, San Fran could lose 6 straight and Seattle win 6 straight and you'd have Seattle at 10-6 and San Fran at 9-7. Had San Fran won (and reached 10 wins), they would have still needed Seattle to lose (which would have eliminated any possibility of the then 4-7 Seahawks from getting 10 wins). If both San Fran and Seattle won, there would be no clinching this week, since the then 10-1 and 5-6 records with 5 games to go could still technically go in Seattle's favor.

But since San Fran lost, the Seattle game is irrelevant for San Fran clinching THIS week but a Seattle loss AND a San Fran win next week would allow the 49ers to clinch (Seattle would then be 4-7 with only 5 games to go and San Fran would have 10 wins and be in the clear).

Of course, Seattle could lose to Washington this week and win next week while San Fran loses next week and San Fran would still not clinch. They still need to win at least one more game while Seattle loses one more. That's ultimately what it comes down to. One more 49er victory AND one more Seattle loss will clinch.

[H Tower]

...Or tiebreakers

[H Tower]

TO BREAK A TIE WITHIN A DIVISION

If, at the end of the regular season, two or more clubs in the same division finish with identical won-lost-tied percentages, the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined.
Two Clubs

1 Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).
2 Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
3 Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
4 Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
5 Strength of victory.
6 Strength of schedule.
7 Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
8 Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
9 Best net points in common games.
10 Best net points in all games.
11 Best net touchdowns in all games.
12 Coin toss

SF won the first game between the two, so they still play each other once more.
SF is 2-0 in the division, with 4 games still to go. SEA is 2-1 in the division with 3 games still to go.

A Seattle loss (or another SF win next week)will not clinch the division for the 49ers, yet.

[Al B. Sure!]

Dude, one more San Fran victory AND one more Seattle loss clinches the playoffs for San Fran. It's not rocket science. This is a very straight-forward playoff situation.

[ColdWizard]

New York Post

Jets guard Matt Slauson played with Ndamukong Suh at Nebraska, but Slauson definitely is no fan of his controversial former teammate.

A day after Suh was ejected from the Lions' loss to Green Bay for another over-the-line incident, Slauson blasted the Detroit defensive lineman as "out of control" and wondered if Suh needs medical help.

"Somebody needs to get him under control, because he's trying to hurt people," Slauson said in an exclusive interview with the Post after practice Friday. "It's one thing to be an incredibly physical player and a tenacious player, but it's another thing to set out to end that guy's career."

Suh, who already has been fined $42,500 by the NFL for dirty play in less than two full seasons and recently met with commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss his behavior, appears to be facing another hefty fine and a suspension after stomping the right arm of Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith in the third quarter of a 27-15 Detroit loss.

Suh was ejected, but Slauson said much more dramatic action is warranted -- and soon -- against the player who was his college mate from 2005-08.

"I have no idea what the league can do, because apparently what they're doing now isn't working," Slauson said. "I don't know what's going on with him, but something isn't right. I mean, they've fined him out the butt, but he still doesn't think he's doing anything wrong. I don't know what they're going to have to do, but something has to be done."

An NFL spokesman said plays from Week 12 that would be reviewed for potential discipline will be done under normal circumstances, after all games are completed.

Suh's postgame explanation that he merely lost his balance also didn't fly with Slauson, who described it as "delusional."

Urgency is necessary, Slauson said, because of the obvious malice in Suh's illegal on-field actions.

"Last year, when he got fined for the takedowns on the quarterbacks, it looked like he was trying to kill them," Slauson said. "I'm all for physicality, but within the framework of the game. I know it takes a different type of person to be a defensive lineman -- you've kinda got to be a jerk who wants to take the quarterback's head off. But you [shouldn't] literally want to kill them like he does."

Suh wasn't considered a head case by NFL scouts after a celebrated career at Nebraska that didn't include any on-field incidents, but Slauson said Suh was a different player in practice while in college.

Slauson said there were at least two ugly incidents involving Suh and other players during practice at Nebraska that Slauson witnessed but that went unreported.

Slauson said "I prefer not to say" when asked if those two practice incidents involved Suh stomping on teammates' limbs or similar cheap shots.

But as a result of those acts and Suh's generally unpredictable temper, Slauson said Suh wasn't popular at all with his college teammates.

"He was well-respected for his ability, but everybody kind of knew who he was," Slauson said. "He wasn't well-liked."

The subsequent problems in the NFL haven't made Suh any more popular within the Nebraska football program, Slauson said.

"There's a lot of people in Nebraska that aren't very pleased right now," Slauson said. "The University of Nebraska has always prided itself on producing high-character guys, and [he isn't one of them]."

Slauson said he doesn't envy Goodell and the rest of the league's discipline makers when it comes to figuring out what's next for Suh.

"He sat down with Goodell, and I assume Goodell laid out everything," Slauson said. "So I don't know if [Suh] was just ignoring him or seriously doesn't understand [the difference between right and wrong]. He's a really smart guy, so I don't know what's going on.

"I don't know if he's got a screw loose or if he's trying to make himself the villain [for marketing purposes], but whatever he's doing is wrong and it's got to be fixed."

[SlowwHand]

Detroit loses Best for the remainder of the year.