2024-2025 NFL thread

Jerry Jones told the Cowboys not to start Cooper Rush today so he wouldn't get a 500K bonus for playing 55% of snaps this season.
 
I liked the way the Panthers finished out the year, taking out Atlanta on the road. Seems like, with the right additions, they have a solid foundation to build on. I could see them getting to 8 or 9 wins next year and at least be in the hunt for a playoff spot later in the year.
 
PTOHeel said:
I liked the way the Panthers finished out the year, taking out Atlanta on the road. Seems like, with the right additions, they have a solid foundation to build on. I could see them getting to 8 or 9 wins next year and at least be in the hunt for a playoff spot later in the year.
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They did look better as the season went along.
 
I was wrong about Bryce Young. I had given up on him after the first two games of this season. I didn’t think he was an NFL-caliber QB. But he was much better after he was reinserted into the starting lineup and improved as the season went on. He looked like an absolute star today. His accuracy is fantastic and he’s learned to make quick decisions. I’m all in now. I look forward to seeing what he can do next season.
 
Icky Mettle said:
I was wrong about Bryce Young. I had given up on him after the first two games of this season. I didn’t think he was an NFL-caliber QB. But he was much better after he was reinserted into the starting lineup and improved as the season went on. He looked like an absolute star today. His accuracy is fantastic and he’s learned to make quick decisions. I’m all in now. I look forward to seeing what he can do next season.
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He closed a lot of ground on Stroud in that time.
 
Too many bad jokes... Mayo out in NE.

With the right GM - that's a very good job IMO. You've got your QB on the cheap for the next few years.
 
Anyone else think Sean McVeay was a moron for sitting his offensive starters yesterday against Seattle? Sure they were locked into the playoffs as the NFC West champ. But unlike KC, Buffalo and Philly, all of which had not only clinched divisions but seeding as well, the Rams had something to play for/lose.

And lose they did. The game to the Seahawks. And the #3 seed to the Bucs. So now, instead of starting the playoffs against Washington, the Rams will host the Vikings. And, should they find a way to win [yes, I know they beat them in the regular season], they will likely face the Lions in the divisional round.

Just mind-numbingly dumb to me.
 
Link:Tony Romo Committed the Weekend’s Biggest Broadcasting Blunder

The linked article is critical of Tony Romo bragging about how he "knew" Denver was going to run a fake punt, but not announcing that knowledge until after the fake punt had been executed.

Back in the 1970's in one of Oakland Athletics and Cincinnati Reds World Series games it was usual at the time to split the play by play calls between the network announcer and the local guy. And the third guy in the booth was the color guy, Tony Kubek. The set up was, IIRC, Rollie Fingers was pitching, Gene Tenace catching, and Johnny Bench at bat. Fingers was being real careful about not giving Bench any good pitches to swing at and worked him up to a full count. Then Tenace gets up and makes a wide gesture to the right, the universal sign for a pitch out and intentional walk, so as to not give Bench one down the middle he could swing at. As soon as he did this, the Kubek asked the local announcer something like, "Do the A's have a play where on a full count, the catcher calls for a pitch out for an intentional walk, but then throw it down the middle for strike three?" The local announcer replied with something like, "If they do, I've never seen it." And of course, Fingers threw a blistering fastball right down the middle for strike three. Bench never even got the bat off his shoulder.

As a follow-up, there was a newspaper cartoon strip of the day, "Gil Thorp," about a high school football/baseketball/baseball coach. In one of the strips, the exact same thing happened, only the high school player, one of Gil Thorp's players, was ready and hit the pitch for a home run. When the player finished circling the bases, Gil Thorp congratulated him on not be fooled by the fake intentional walk. And the player responded, "Yeah, I wasn't fooled and I bet Johnny Bench will never be fooled again."
 
uncsig said:
Anyone else think Sean McVeay was a moron for sitting his offensive starters yesterday against Seattle? Sure they were locked into the playoffs as the NFC West champ. But unlike KC, Buffalo and Philly, all of which had not only clinched divisions but seeding as well, the Rams had something to play for/lose.

And lose they did. The game to the Seahawks. And the #3 seed to the Bucs. So now, instead of starting the playoffs against Washington, the Rams will host the Vikings. And, should they find a way to win [yes, I know they beat them in the regular season], they will likely face the Lions in the divisional round.

Just mind-numbingly dumb to me.
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This didn't age well. NFL playoffs are inherently unpredictable. The only thing teams can do is make sure they are at their best.

Sean McVay, I think, has earned the benefit of the doubt. Is there a better or more successful coach in the league right now?
 
superrific said:
This didn't age well. NFL playoffs are inherently unpredictable. The only thing teams can do is make sure they are at their best.

Sean McVay, I think, has earned the benefit of the doubt. Is there a better or more successful coach in the league right now?
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McVay is great, but my NFL HC rankings, based on 2024 performance and outlook for 2025:

1. Reid -- Kansas City
2. John Harbaugh -- Baltimore
3. Campbell -- Detroit
4. McDermott -- Buffalo
5. Sirianni -- Philadelphia
6. McVay -- LA Rams
7. Quinn -- Washington
8. Jim Harbaugh -- LA Chargers
9. Payton -- Denver
10. Bowles -- Tampa Bay
11. Canales -- Carolina

So McVay is definitely elite, but not the top of the list.
 
lawtig02 said:
McVay is great, but my NFL HC rankings, based on 2024 performance and outlook for 2025:

1. Reid -- Kansas City
2. John Harbaugh -- Baltimore
3. Campbell -- Detroit
4. McDermott -- Buffalo
5. Sirianni -- Philadelphia
6. McVay -- LA Rams
7. Quinn -- Washington
8. Jim Harbaugh -- LA Chargers
9. Payton -- Denver
10. Bowles -- Tampa Bay
11. Canales -- Carolina

So McVay is definitely elite, but not the top of the list.
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Idk. McVay has been coaching for eight years. He's had one losing season, and two trips to the Super Bowl with one victory. His winning % is .606. And he has done it all without an elite QB. Goff is eh. Stafford is good but very very far from elite. Reid got to coach McNabb and then Mahomes. Plus, Reid has been around so long that it's not a good comparison to these younger guys. Let's just leave him out.

I had forgotten that John Harbaugh has been coaching so long. I get him and Jim confused sometimes. And John also won a SB with a mediocre QB (but has never even made it with Lamar Jackson).

Dan Campbell and Sirianni are too new to be considered for the list. You can't judge coaches on how they do in an upswing cycle following suckitude. Let's see how they do when the personnel resets. Also, the Eagles were really successful before Sirianni so there's a front office effect. Or maybe a division-sucks effect.

McDermott has coached in one of the worst divisions in football, which helps explain his gaudy regular season stats. It's not that hard to be good when you're beating up on the Jets and Dolphins four times a year -- and in recent years, the Patriots too. By contrast, the NFC West is the deepest division in the NFL, I think. Three of the four teams are consistently good, and the Cardinals are only sometimes pushovers.

I'm a Rams fan, so biased, but I'm not a strong fan and don't pay all that much attention to the NFL. So only a little biased. I would put McVay and Harbaugh basically tied at the top, based on what I just read. If you want to put Harbaugh first, OK. I won't argue with that.

Note: I just noticed that you wrote based on 2024 performance. I don't think that's a way to judge coaches. You need a fuller body of work to distinguish good coaches from guys who get to work with good rosters.
 
superrific said:
Idk. McVay has been coaching for eight years. He's had one losing season, and two trips to the Super Bowl with one victory. His winning % is .606. And he has done it all without an elite QB. Goff is eh. Stafford is good but very very far from elite. Reid got to coach McNabb and then Mahomes. Plus, Reid has been around so long that it's not a good comparison to these younger guys. Let's just leave him out.

I had forgotten that John Harbaugh has been coaching so long. I get him and Jim confused sometimes. And John also won a SB with a mediocre QB (but has never even made it with Lamar Jackson).

Dan Campbell and Sirianni are too new to be considered for the list. You can't judge coaches on how they do in an upswing cycle following suckitude. Let's see how they do when the personnel resets. Also, the Eagles were really successful before Sirianni so there's a front office effect. Or maybe a division-sucks effect.

McDermott has coached in one of the worst divisions in football, which helps explain his gaudy regular season stats. It's not that hard to be good when you're beating up on the Jets and Dolphins four times a year -- and in recent years, the Patriots too. By contrast, the NFC West is the deepest division in the NFL, I think. Three of the four teams are consistently good, and the Cardinals are only sometimes pushovers.

I'm a Rams fan, so biased, but I'm not a strong fan and don't pay all that much attention to the NFL. So only a little biased. I would put McVay and Harbaugh basically tied at the top, based on what I just read. If you want to put Harbaugh first, OK. I won't argue with that.

Note: I just noticed that you wrote based on 2024 performance. I don't think that's a way to judge coaches. You need a fuller body of work to distinguish good coaches from guys who get to work with good rosters.
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Now THIS is the type of discussion we should have more of on this board! Don't get me wrong -- I think McVay is great. I just can't ignore what Reid has done recently (and yes, I know lucking into Mahomes is a once-in-a-generation thing), and I have a man crush on Campbell. I don't have any affection for the others (especially the Harbaughs), but it's hard to ignore what they've done. The wildcard in my rankings was Canales at 11. I have an enormously vested interest in that, but I REALLY love what he did in year 1, and for the first time in a long time, I feel invested in the next few years of Panthers football. It may be awful, but that's nothing new. The chance to have a team that's relevant this time of year trumps everything else.
 
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