2004 NFL Thread - Page 2

I've heard rumors that, with Keenan McCardell pretty much done in Tampa and his agent demanding a trade or a release, that the Bucs may be cooking up a deal with the Dolphins to send McCardell to the receiver-strapped Fins in exchange for some draft picks.

Another nice pick up from Gruden and i'll take Garner over Staley.

garner is not just better then staley he's way better. a way better runner, a way better passer and a way better blocker. he was the raiders big weapon in those years they were winning the afc west and that was with a team who had gannon, rice, brown and porter. last season he was banged up but he's still a young 32 year old back because in his earlier year's he didn't take much of a beating. you don't see many backs basically be a 1000/1000 yard guy. that only happened in 2002.

Garner has talent you simply can't teach. The man is quite versatile and extremely underrated. The guy has skills with and without the football. With Gruden he's going to do major damage on defenses. Garner with a typical scheme doesn't do half as well as with a crafty guy like Gruden and the plays he masterminds. Many underrate Gruden and in my opinion overlook the man's talents. The guy knows what he's doing. The Raiders were junk without him all those years and are junk without him now but he made them dangerous and turned Gannon into a stat chomper during his tenure with Al Davis and co.

yeah, but remember.. Garner hasn't had 200+ carries since 2001 and he has only had three years in his 10 year career with more than 200 carries.. he's a much better back out of the backfield as a receiving threat and not as a 300+ carry bruiser. they still need to pair him with Alstott or Pittman or somebody else, because if he starts the season getting 35 touches a game, he'll be hurt by week four.

As for McCardell.. well, he's a good-not-great receiver, always has been, always will be. Which means he'd be a perfect fit for Miami. I love him to death for what he did in helping put the Jags on the map, but his best days are clearly behind him.

Is it me, or does it seem like there are way more injuries so far in the pre-season than last year? I mean, almost every other day you're hearing about someone getting some major injury.

Headed to the Falcons' first home preseason game vs. Minnesota on 8/20. Pretty psyched to finally see some football up close for the first time this year.

i'm not even sure why they have pre-season games where they let regular starters play. or for that matter, why they have pre-season games at all. i guess they're supposed to try out the new schemes and the new players, but it seems to me like they rarely put up a serious fight in these things anyway, and the risk of losing someone like manning or holmes for the rest of the season should really scare any coach.

Or fantasy footballer.

Good write-up on the whole San Diego/Philip Rivers situation:

ESPN

So, how does everyone feel about the Mannings after reading this? It's funny, I always disliked what they (the Mannings) did on draft day, but I suppose it's true...when you get the upper-hand, take full advantage 'cause you may never get it again.

They obviously realized that NY was a better situation than San Diego. I think the thing I scoffed at was they wanted it hidden and not brought out in the open. Chargers weren't such a bad organization years ago when Bobby Ross took em to the Superbowl but they've been pretty weak over the last few years. Without LT the team would be utterly hopeless.

As for Manning guess what the Giants haven't won a title lately either. The pressure is going to be enormous on Eli and if he falters in any considerable way he'll be a miserable SOB and the press will grind him down. He got what he wished for but i'm not sure he realizes just what a powderkeg NY is.

those fucking poston brothers. the raiders offered c-wood the richest cornerback deal and it's rejected. they probably expect peterson to make more then ray lewis.

hmm... anquan boldin out for 8-12 weeks. they already had shipp out for 12 weeks as well. what's next? mccown and coach green both break a leg and get to stay put for 3 months? you have to feel sorry for the poor cards, never catching a break and all.

its good for them, they werent going anywhere anyway and now they can pick right after the dolphins and get the qb/rb/def help they need


Lt signed in SD till 2011, over under on playoff appearences? im going to say 4

Couldn't be more right canuckle. They get another top pick and as we all know Denny Green knows how to draft and build talent. Besides they have a few recievers that will fill in ok. Bouldin was special though thankfully its not a huge injury.

I never understood why people get all hot and bothered over preseason football, it scares the living hell out of me. I don't even watch the games, how can you? Victory-to me-is making it out of the preseason with my teams marquee talent intact. I can't wait till these damn exhibition games are over.

Preseason is special the first week becus of the long wait that preceeds it, after that as you said it does become a 3 week session of cross your fingers and hope nothing bad happens injury wise

I was watching my Colts at a bar tonight...it was 14-14 at one point. I was pretty fucking drunk and still am. I hope nobody got hurt!

Anybody else catch winslow throwing a punch at titans safety lamond thompson?? this guy might actually be ron artest level nuts

Well, the Jags still can't find a freaking kicker, and Garrard looked pretty mobile playing without four feet of intestines...

Fred Taylor looked good and didn't get hurt, but Leftwich doesn't look like he's progressed all that much in a year's time. I mean, Miami's good, but they had five starters sitting out on defense last night.

Kyle Brady's done.. Wrightster proved he's got enough to take his spot, so at least we get to dump more salary.

Yeah, that was a pretty decent game. I love seeing the Colts win, but I'm going to try to stick with my Chargers one more season. I can't stand Drew Brees, but the Chargers defense actually looks decent this season.

This guy wants to be one of the top pricks in sports history. All I can say is I wish Atwater and Lott were still playing.

I'm just hoping that he's stupid enough to say something like " I'm not afraid of Ray Lewis or Ed Reed, Bring em on" before one of the two ravens-browns game this yr.

hey savannah, how did hugh douglas look? without him having a resurgence im not expecting much more than a 7-9 outta them because the secondary needs the pass rush to come up big to cover its ass.

Douglas has had a crappy camp so far, but showed some bursts last night, breaking up a pass and getting some penetration. I think Del Rio et al is just hoping to see some life from him, and they got a bit of it. This coming week against Tampa will be an interesting test.

Truer words have never been spoken.

it's all about the assassin jack tatum. he'd knock off all their heads.

Any thoughts on primetime returning and forming the greatest trash talking duo the world has ever seen with ray lewis

I know Brooks and Quarles didn't play, but I'm not at all happy with the way the Bengals ran the ball on the Bucs last night. That score was not indicative of the way Rudy Johnson mowed through us early on.

vic carucci definitely likes rookie QB losman :
wow, he sure loves this kid! if losman was half as good as carucci says he was (and carucci is usually a pretty level-headed reporter), i'm thinking he's going to relegate bledsoe to the bench before the season is over. did anyone see that game?

he was going to anyway, if only becus the bills are going to go 7-9 or 6-10 and are going to start planning for the future around week 12

Well, the AFC East has weakened quite a bit, it wont be long before it turns itself back around (Miami almost never has losing seasons, and Buffalo is maybe a season away)... but the team I'm most concerned with is the NY Jets. They've improved their WR core with the addition of McCareins, they've vastly improved their linebacking trio by replacing Jones and Lewis with Barton and Vilma, last years #4 pick DT Dewayne Robertson has a year under his belt and is in amazing shape, and they've added depth to their offensive line by signing Kendall.

Now everything isn't rosey, their secondary-though improved-is still an enormous question mark, but they're fairly solid in every other facet of the game. They've always been one of the least penalized teams in the league, their special teams has been solid under Mike Westhoff, their line is solid on both offense and defense and they've got solid players at the skill positions.

Solid, I've said that quite a bit, and that's the problem. They're going to get raped by the cap during the offseason, with Kareem McKenzie, Chad Pennington, Shaun Ellis, John Abraham and LaMont Jordan all hitting free agency simultaneously. So for all intents and purposes, this may very well be the best Jets team I'll see for a while and being solid simply isn't enough. So I'm looking forward to a run at the Wild Card, but honestly what can I expect? They're not going to beat the Pats, and next year they'll be even worse off. And what pisses me off the most is, they should have won the title in 99, hell, if Curtis Martin-who never fumbles-hadn't chosen the biggest game of his Jet career to lose the football they may have won it 98... then Belichick leaves and does with the Patriots what he was supposed to do with the Jets. I mean, not winning is one thing, but not winning and seeing one of your rivals steal your coach and win two championships because of said coach is mind bogglingly frustrating... and now the Jets are prepped for a sharp decline in the coming years while the Patriots are stacked like never before.

Damnit. Why do I even watch the NFL.

Biggest surprise of the year, I am calling it right now.

San Francisco 49ers will win the NFC West.


I am hearing good things about Rashaun Woods out of camp. And Brandon Lloyd has a lot of skill. Kevan Barlow has proven his worth already. And that defense still has a lot of Blitz left in em.

If Rattay could only keep his groin together, I think that prediction might come true...oh and the seahawks would have to explode too (explode in the bad way, not the good sports way)

Wow seems like you're going out on huge limb there Fazer. I give you props for that.

Still no way it happens with those QB's and Dennis Erickson helming that ship.

Btw anyone see Couch the other night? I thought the GB offense would be good for him. Guy looked like a practice squad QB out there.

fazer. isnt woods hurt? might just be minor but i heard he's got some injury... niners do have a shot becus that division looks real weak

rams have no oline
cards suck and their two only hopes got injured
seahawks?? they dont seem to have that "it" thing that most dominant teams possess and theyll still suck on the road this yr to the tune of 2-6

Yea woods has hamstring issues, but nothing that should keep him from playing on opening day. Arnaz Battle is filling in for him as the 4th Reciever and apparently he is looking pretty good too.

And yes I ama niner fan true and true. So my prediction may be partly based on blind allegiance to the team that Joe built.

But still, the NFC west is one of the weakest divisions. And one or two things go wrong for the other 3 teams, and the 49ers find a good chemistry. It is really possible that they could take the division.

Seattle SHOULD make it to the NFC championship game this year, but I agree that they seem to lack that "it" factor. Although I like hasselbeck alot, and that playoff experience last year should go a long way as far as his development goes. Their defense could be an issue now though.

Arizona...haha, good luck Denny Green. He has a nice core. Should be fun to watch if nothing else.

St. Louis...maybe now that Warner is officially gone the team can fulfill its potential. Bulger is still going to be eating a lot of grass with that o line. And marshall's body is not as reliable as it used to be. Although jackson could be an interesting fill in for marshall if he goes down at all this season.

What is the deal with leonard little? Is he suspended or what? I remember he got in trouble AGAIN for something alcohol related earlier in the year.

hm... no, i don't think they can outgun the seahawks. not this year.

since we're all enjoying a nice little walk on the limb, here goes my prediction for this year's biggest surprise: lions. they won't win their conference, but they will start winning games on the road and finish at around 8-8. mariucci knows his football.

Why is everyone so high on Seattle? This is a team that did not win ONE SINGLE GAME on the road last year, and is basically the same team this year.

Seattle's a trendy pick because of their offense and because people are tired of picking the Eagles, only to have them fail in the playoffs.

They also have a pretty good secondary, but even the world's best secondary can't cover for 10 seconds if you can't put any pressure on the QB. Besides, teams can just run on them and not throw.

Holmgren isn't an elite coach anymore IMO and their def is iffy some young mixed with a lot of old and they dont really have a MLB. Alexander's in a contract yr so he's good for 1500/12 but do koren robinson and darrell jackson really scare anybody, i would argue that they're just a product of the team havin so many options. Jerramy Stevens has to step up for this team.

im looking forward to martz being fired

Anybody have any info on any of the nfc north teams? how do udeze/caroll look? who will win it???

Seattle's Road record last year was atrocious. I can't believe how a team that should have been so dominant last year just could not put it together on the road at all.

Its things like that, that keep me from getting too high on the hawks.

so what does everybody really think seattle will lose all their game's on the road? by the way they actually won 2 road game's last year and one of their losses at baltimore in ot was one of the worst rob jobs in the history of the game. if they can split their game's on the road which is reasonable to think so and play as well at home as last season then they could possibly get a bye in the 1st round of the playoffs. then anything can happen. seattle aren't a great team but they are pretty good. one of the better nfc teams for certain. jackson and robinson aren't product's of the system either. a guy drafted in the top 10 and another who was a good reciever for the florida gators get good grade's in my book. they're both talented they just need to hang on to the ball more. their d has improved this season as well. they d-line mainly. adding tubbs and winstrom will help out. i can see them going to the super bowl. not saying they will but i can see it. i don't think carolina are a one year wonder so it's gonna be hard. as long the panthers can go .500 after their first 6 game's then they should be fine. their schedule at the beginning of the season is killer.

I would just like to throw in that I'm seeing my first NFL game live this year. Nov 28. Seattle vs. Buffalo. I can't wait as I've been wanting to go see a live game for as long as I can remember.

Well, Eli Manning just won the NYG starting job last night.. as soon as Warner threw that 4th quarter pick that was returned for a TD.. Coughlin won't put up with that crap.

Welcome to the NFL, Eli!

Seattle will be fine this year, and considering how this could possibly be a "down" year for the NFC, the NFC West and a first round bye in the playoffs will be theirs to lose.

Awesome! NFL games are mucho fun. I love going, but it's so damned expensive anymore I'd prefer to stay at home and watch on TV. However, I never pass up a chance to go to a stadium I've never been to, or to see a potentially historic game live.

Hey didn't you get the memo? Its a not a down yr, it's "parity".

Good for eli, i don't like the whole manning family but i dislike warner even more.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/2682788
Please oh please let this trade happen. Bears need a pass rusher in the worst way.

And another receiver wouldn't hurt the Dolphins either.

Buckhalter tears patella tendon in right knee

And the NFL preseason needlessly takes another players season away from them, why they play five meaningless exhibition games is beyond me (oh wait, I forgot about the money).

Sure there's money to be made in the pre-season, but if you lose two quality starters and your team is 4-7 down the stretch, you're going to lose money as fans bail and you don't get that playoff boost. And your games most likely won't get national play as the networks opt for the teams in contention.

Then again, most teams don't even sniff the playoffs and so I guess are willing to take the chance in exchange for some extra revenue.