Official NFL 2007 Thread

[Maxx]

Anderson should be just as successful on the Lions as he is on the Browns, given they've got just as talented recievers for him to throw to. I'd say do it, cause you haven't had an effective quarterback in forever. Of course they could also hold the pick and draft Colt Brennan for the hell of it, Mike Martz should be able to find a way to make him successful

[Pepsi]

Anderson should be just as successful on the Lions as he is on the Browns, given they've got just as talented recievers for him to throw to. I'd say do it, cause you haven't had an effective quarterback in forever. Of course they could also hold the pick and draft Colt Brennan for the hell of it, Mike Martz should be able to find a way to make him successful

[Maxx]

Anyone they plug in is going to get killed. At least if they get Anderson they won't have to worry about finding a QB while they build up the line.

What would you have them do Pepsi?

Edited December 24, 2007 by ISawMaxxyKissinSantaClaus

[HailtotheYo]

I'm just hesitant about a guy that has had one good year.

Which is a year far better than Harrington or Kitna ever had, and is one more year than anyone they draft has. He's done it (albiet one year) as a starter in the league, on a team that isn't all that wonderful.

The best move for them, would be to trad off that 1st rounder for someone else's first rounder and a low 2nd or third rounder. Then boost the Line. Seriously, boost the fucking line Matt.

[livid]

Anyone they plug in is going to get killed. At least if they get Anderson they won't have to worry about finding a QB while they build up the line.

What would you have them do Pepsi?

[Lowerdeck]

You mean the Lions will do something with their first rounder other than draft a wide receiver?

Pats are now 15-0. And somehow couldn't beat the 22 pt spread against Miami. At least it's nice knowing Laurence Maroney can actually do some running game for the Pats.

[Maxx]

Its against the Dolphins, I wouldn't get too attached those kinds of games from him

Edited December 24, 2007 by ISawMaxxyKissinSantaClaus

[HailtotheYo]

seriously ? Maroney is freakin awesome .... the Pats just aren't built/gameplanned to have a dominant running game. It has nothing to do with whether or not Maroney is good enough because he is.

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

QB is at the bottom of the list of the Lions concerns. They need linebackers, cornerbacks and offensive lineman. If they waste a 1 & 3 on a guy like Derek Anderson, it'd top the list of bonehead moves for Matt Millen.

[gunnar hendershow]

You mean the Lions will do something with their first rounder other than draft a wide receiver?

Pats are now 15-0. And somehow couldn't beat the 22 pt spread against Miami. At least it's nice knowing Laurence Maroney can actually do some running game for the Pats.

Well if Tom wasn't trying to hit Moss so he could set all those records the Pats would've beat the spread.

[VerbalPuke]

Here's something to consider, there is a good chance that Roy Williams could find himself traded this off-season. It's been reported through various sources in Detroit that his heart is in Texas, so a move to Dallas or Houston in free agency in 09 is a strong possibility. You think the Texans or Cowboys wouldn't want Roy next to T.O. or Andre Johnson? So if Roy is indeed ready to leave Detroit, we could find ourselves picking up an extra pick this year. Or he might just stay for the final year in his contract.

I think it's time for the Lions to cut the rest of the cancers and dead weight as well. This includes people like Kalimba Edwards, Shaun Cody, Jeff Backus, Shaun Rogers, Boss Bailey, Teddy Lehman, Paris Lenon, Fernando Bryant and Mike Martz and Stan Kwan in the coaching department. A lot of those guys mentioned have made some nice plays here and there, but none of them can sustain anything consistent, and are usually more of a detriment to the team than anything else.

They really need to build both lines, while also adding players in the secondary and linebacking group. I'd love to see us re-sign T.J. Duckett, he's been very effective for us and has been an excellent change of pace for Kevin Jones. Speaking of which, we need to find a way to keep Kevin Jones, because he also would like to get out of Detroit (the case being that he has been under utilized and wants to go somewhere he'll be used more, I can't blame him).

In the case of Derek Anderson, it's possible that if he came to Detroit he'd excel with the weapons we have on offense. On the other hand, he could also be yet another Lions QB that is annihilated due to the lack of a decent offensive line. One thing that helps him is his mobility, and it should be noted than more than a few of Kitna's sacks have been his own fault. It's due to his inability to scramble out of the pocket and his tendency to hold the football for far too long. In fact, the offensive line did a solid job against KC and Dallas, and Kitna still played bad games.

[Maxx]

seriously ? Maroney is freakin awesome .... the Pats just aren't built/gameplanned to have a dominant running game. It has nothing to do with whether or not Maroney is good enough because he is.

Edited December 24, 2007 by ISawMaxxyKissinSantaClaus

[HailtotheYo]

A good back is going to succeed no matter what system he's in. Edgerrin James did just fine in the Colts pass heavy offense, same with Marshal Faulk in the Rams and Robert Smith on the Vikings. Great backs take whats given to them, and make the most out of it. He's got three 100 yard games this season, the only one close to being impressive is against Buffalo, who are at least decent against the run. His stats against the Jets and the Dolphins aren't impressive at all, being that those are 2 of the worst defenses in the league. With the Pats offensive line he should be doing far better than he is, no matter how many carries he's getting.

First of all, he's only played in 12 games this year. Despite only 166 carries he's got 789 yards. That's good for 4.8 per carry. That's damn good. So what if he's only got three 100 yard games on the season ? The Pats DONT RUN. He's only had 15 or more carries in FIVE games this year. Yes, that does make a difference. I don't care who you are ... if you aren't touching the ball, you aren't going to get numbers (even though he's got good ones considering). About 1/3 of his carries have come when all the Pats were doing was running out the clock. He HAS taken what was given to him and made pretty damn good with it.

He's got 4 TDs this year. If thats what you define as "freakin awesome" than I guess you're happy with it. Me, I look for a little more out of a back. Don't give me the "He splits carries" arguement, cause everyone splits these days. If he's so "freakin awesome" he'd be able to find the endzone more often.

Wow, really ? That's a joke. You KNOW that the Pats pass first, and pass to score. How many times have you seen them pass inside the 10 on multiple plays in a row ? Seriously, it's no fault of his that his TD's are low. It's the nature of the offense he's in. The Pats run because they simply HAVE TOO at times. No, it isn't that he 'splits carries.' Its that the Pats don't run. Please, watch the games, you'd know better than that crap you wrote above.

but for most of the games this year he looked like he was afraid of any contact, and until he gets over that he's not going to be an elite back, he'll just continue to lose carries to Kevin Faulk or Sammy Morris.

I don't know what you were watching to get that. ALL the backs that come out of Minnesota run hard. That's how they're taught. Maroney has no problem with contact. Kevin Faulk has already proven more than once that he isn't the man to be in the backfield. He's stuck around because he's a great receiver out of the backfield. If you'd paid attention, you'd know that Maroney is getting Faulk's carries for the most part now, not the other way around. I don't see Morris being much of anything next year. He's IR, he's done in the Pats offense as far as significance is concerned.

He's not even the best RB in his division, Ronnie Brown when healthy is leaps and bounds better, and Marshawn Lynch is just as good if not better than Maroney too.

Ok, so ? That doesn't mean he's not damn good. Last time I checked it was the NFL .. you know, where the BEST players play. You don't have to be THE number one RB to be a damn good one.

The Pats have an amazing passing offense, and clearly they're more confident in that than they are in their running game, otherwise you'd see Maroney get more touches and more goal line carries. Its Belichick, he'd never rely soley on the passing game like he has been, unless he isn't that confident in his running game, and Maroney's poor play has something to do with that.

Please, show me the poor play ... please. It isn't there. Bill isn't "relying" on the pass game, he's going with it because no one can stop it. Why would he run if he didn't have too ? Their offense is designed to throw, that's why he doesn't get more touches, and that's why they throw inside the 10. Besides, everyone knows that it's hardest to run inside the ten. Seriously, anyone that knows football knows that.

Edited December 24, 2007 by HailtotheKing

[Maxx]

If he's the amazing back you describe him as, he'd get touches in the red zone because he could score in the red zone. You're crazy if you think Belichick wants to have to throw inside the redzone almost every time. No matter how spectacular your offense is, once your in the redzone, you want to avoid passing because you have a much shorter field for your recievers to work with. Thats a fact. I don't care what recievers you have, if you can run it and score in the redzone, you're going to do that as there's less of a chance of a turn over. So why don't the Pats, who never, ever been one dimensional on offense avoid running in the red zone? Must not have the same faith in Maroney as you do.

Compare Maroney with Marion Barber, the better back to come out of Minnesota, and you can see Maroney shys away from contact much more. Everyone says it, Maroney himself even mentioned he'd rather avoid contact and run to the outside than pound it up the middle.

Belichick is NEVER one dimensional offensively unless he has to be, so something is up. After all, the Vikings had Cris Carter and Randy Moss, Colts had Marvin Harrsion and Reggie Wayne, Rams had Torry Holt and Issac Bruce, they all found time to run the ball and do it effectively. Its debatable whether or not the Pats passing attack is better than any of those, their coach certainly is better than those teams, and still those teams found time to run the ball, and do it effectively because tehy had backs that they trusted.

I'll give you Maroney didn't get as much playing time this year because of his injury, but of the games he did play in, how many actually looked like he was? He put up about 5 stinkers this year. You've got no explanation besides "OMG PATS ONLY PASS" for why Maroney gets so few touches. He got 6 against Miami the first time, only 16 in the shalacking of the Redskins. He doesn't even get touches in garbage time! There's more that than the Pats just choosing not to pass.

I figured Maroney would put of the kind of numbers Barber is putting up this year, as I was sure he'd be a redzone threat. He's not. If he were, he'd get touches down there. Pats have the recievers that can stretch the field and keep safeties back, and a very good O-line, that should be a recipie for success for Maroney, and its not. Why do you think they almost lost to Philly and Baltimore? Because they locked down the passing attack, forcing the Pats to run more, and found it quite easy to snub Maroney.

His average is inflated as his best numbers come against terrible defenses. He was next to useless against the Steelers and Ravens, and barely effective against the Eagles. Those games had horrible passing conditions and they still only let Maroney carry it a total of 29 times in those 3 games. Clearly Belichick and crew don't have the same resounding confidence in Maroney that you do.

We'll see how effective he is in the playoffs, or if his recent string of good games is due to incredibly inferior opponents.

[Trey]

Something I noticed is that with his lack of carries, his great offensive line, and the fact that the defense is always playing the pass, I would think he should be getting more then 4.8 yards a carry. I know, for most backs that's great, but when every defense is playing every play like it's 3rd and long, the room is there to run. Personally, I think they aren't running him so that he doesn't get injured, but it seems to me he does shy away from contact, and if he doesn't get over that come playoff time, that could pose a serious problem.

[Maxx]

Plus that 4.8 average is skewed thanks to his 11.1 yard average on sunday against the Dolphin's joke of a defense. Of course that 11.1 average is exactly what Trey is talking about. The Dolphins only played the pass, Maroney tore them up, that should have happened alot more this season, but it didn't.

[The Third Dukes]

If the Skins beat a depleted Cowboys team, is Joe Gibbs the official Coach of the Year?

[Cactus Drags]

He lost any chance of being COTY when he called those two timeouts back to back.

http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com/2007/12/wha...t-call-two.html

[Maxx]

Mike McCarthy is far more likely to get Coach of the Year. Joe Gibbs is getting lucky, he's not making any amazing decisions, although it is impressive they've kept the team together in the wake of tragedy, but the players are responsible for that too.

Clearly Jason Garrett is coach of the year, as he's lead the Cowboys to a 13 win season without ever reavealing himself as the true head coach

[alldaws1]

Here's something to consider, there is a good chance that Roy Williams could find himself traded this off-season. It's been reported through various sources in Detroit that his heart is in Texas, so a move to Dallas or Houston in free agency in 09 is a strong possibility.

Are you crazy? Two Roy Williamses on the same team?! That'd just be confusing >_>

I can't see Dallas going for Williams anyway. I still see Terry Glenn playing at least one more season barring injury, Patrick Crayton's too good to be a fourth string receiver and we have Sam Hurd who looks like he could develop into a decent receiver as well. The more realistic option for us I think is drafting WR this year (damn Browns playing well, we could have had a really good pick <_ and keeping owens witten glenn crayton as our main threats. if retires perhaps going after another experienced receiver would be an option but not long we have those three wideouts jason at te.>