NFL 2008

[Guest Kou]

Doug Flutie needs to make a comeback to the Oakland Raiders.

[Toe]

Doug Flutie needs to make a comeback to the Oakland Raiders.

...but he has to wear the same mid-drift exposing jersey he wore in college.

[JStarr]

Doug Flutie needs to make a comeback to the Oakland Raiders.

...but he has to wear the same mid-drift exposing jersey he wore in college.

Toe, between that line and your exploding man-crush on J.P. Losman, you have now crossed further toward the Katsuya Zone.

If you start talking about players' tight pants, we will need webcam video to prove you're not wearing a dress...or a scan of your birth certificate to prove that you were born male.

Edited August 23, 2008 by Sinistarr

[alldaws1]

Texans receiver Harry Williams fractured his spine against Dallas in a collision with his own team-mate. Apparently he was paralysed from the neck down on the field but has since regained feeling in his arms and legs. He's going to have surgery to fix his C3 vertebrae and neck ligaments this weekend. Shame this happens as often as it does. Fortunately it sounds like he'll be able to make a decent recovery.

[Cactus Drags]

Doug Flutie needs to make a comeback to the Oakland Raiders.

...but he has to wear the same mid-drift exposing jersey he wore in college.

midriff*

Doug Flutie needs to make a comeback to the Oakland Raiders.

...but he has to wear the same mid-drift exposing jersey he wore in college.

Toe, between that line and your exploding man-crush on J.P. Losman, you have now crossed further toward the Katsuya Zone.

If you start talking about players' tight pants, we will need webcam video to prove you're not wearing a dress...or a scan of your birth certificate to prove that you were born male.

Y'know, when I'm defending American football to the legions of retarded Brits, the one stumbling block I don't have an swer for is when I'm asked why they wear the tight pants. I honestly don't have a clue, and I've never been able to find out. Is there an actual reason other than some old owner liked seeing his boys backsides?

[Mr. X]

Doug Flutie needs to make a comeback to the Oakland Raiders.

...but he has to wear the same mid-drift exposing jersey he wore in college.

midriff*

Doug Flutie needs to make a comeback to the Oakland Raiders.

...but he has to wear the same mid-drift exposing jersey he wore in college.

Toe, between that line and your exploding man-crush on J.P. Losman, you have now crossed further toward the Katsuya Zone.

If you start talking about players' tight pants, we will need webcam video to prove you're not wearing a dress...or a scan of your birth certificate to prove that you were born male.

Y'know, when I'm defending American football to the legions of retarded Brits, the one stumbling block I don't have an swer for is when I'm asked why they wear the tight pants. I honestly don't have a clue, and I've never been able to find out. Is there an actual reason other than some old owner liked seeing his boys backsides?

I'm pretty sure it has to do with tight uniforms make it harder for an opposing player to pull you down compared to what a loose uniform would allow.

[livid]

And the fact that it keeps the knee/thigh pads in there instead of flying out randomly.

[TheArsenal]

I'm listening to the Giants/Jets game on WFAN radio. It's scoreless at halftime, but the Giants back-up kicker just missed a 42 yard field goal attempt after a good Giants drive in the last two minutes. Lawrence Tynes needs to get well really quick. This kicker was missing field goals in the other pre-season games too.

Looks like Osi Umenyiora has taken a bad hit and injured his knee. He's getting it x-rayed, but Giants need him to be ok.

[livid]

Not necessarily. While he's a very talented player, they seem to have a million DE's who have good enough talent to start on more than half of the teams in the league. If he were out, it definitely wouldn't help them but I wouldn't necessarily say they'd be doomed, either.

[naiwf]

If Osi's out that's only taking away our best defensive player, no big deal. With Strahan retired he's pretty much the one guy on the team the Giants can't afford to lose.

[livid]

No, Eli's the one on the team they can't afford to lose because well, let's face it, while he's not necessarily going to light the world on fire (though he has the ability to), if you put a guy less talented than him back there, they're fucked.

With Osi out, they'd still have a very good defensive line, just not as menacing. But they'd still be good. I'm not saying that Osi isn't a great player and they wouldn't miss him. I'm just saying that if he were to be out for an extended period of time, it wouldn't be the end of the world for them as you seem to be saying. I mean, they'd still have a very good secondary (when they're not banged up) so that would only help their defensive woes, as it would lead to coverage sacks. Plus they have Renaldo Wynn who while not as good as Osi is still serviceable. Plus, they could just slide Kiwanuka down to DE until Osi was able to return. Again, don't get me wrong, Osi's the most talented player on that defense now but that doesn't mean his loss would automatically fuck both the defense and the team, for the year.

I just think that losing the key players on offense (Manning or Burress) would hurt them significantly more than it would to lose Osi because their defense would still be good without him but their offense would be significantly worse.

Edited August 24, 2008 by Livid

[naiwf]

The QB doesn't really count since nobody has a quality back up these days. If Strahan was still on the team then losing Osi wouldn't be a backbreaker, but you're basically acting like losing both of our starting DE's is not a big deal because we have depth. The only reason we had depth last year was because we could slot in guys to spell the starters. When your starters are out, then backups play more often and get exposed for being guys who shouldn't start. That also means 3rd and 4th stringers will get playing time when/if someone else gets hurt or tired. The Giants' success last year was predicated on getting pressure on the QB. If Osi's out that means our two best guys at our biggest position of strength won't be there. It's the kind of thing that can ruin a season early on regardless of how well Eli plays.

It's similar to the Chargers possibly losing Merriman. LT, Rivers and Gates get a lot of the hype, but Merriman is a huge part of their team that can't be replaced. 10-18 sack guys are worth their weight in gold, especially when they get those numbers while dealing with double teams.

[mystikz]

speaking of backups, the colts are so lucky peyton manning never misses games, because if Jim Sorgi ever had to play a real game they'd be so fucked.

[alldaws1]

They'd be alright, they have the Hefty Lefty and the Mighty Righty on their roster as well >_>

[JStarr]

Not sure why Burress would be considered SO essential to the offense, either. I'd figure a receiving corps of Tyree, Smith, and Sinorice Moss (who's allegedly catching everything short of the clap this preseason) might just sneak up on people. Umenyiora'd be a much bigger loss than Burress. And this has nothing to do with scoring the Giants' defense in a fantasy draft last night. Nothing at all. Really.

I'll give you Eli, though. And I can't believe I just said that.

[alldaws1]

Burress was a touchdown beast last year, Eli's go-to guy. Toomer's old and the other receivers aren't much better than average. With the loss of Shockey as well, if Burress went down it would be a significant blow to their passing game. They do have a good crop of backs though, and Derrick Ward & Ahmad Bradshaw have shown they can make a few plays in the passing game too. I think losing Burress would be as bad for the offense as losing Umenyiora would be to the defense.

[Cactus Drags]

Not much more than average? They have receivers that can catch with their heads!

[livid]

What I mean is that the loss of Osi won't automatically cripple the team and take them out of the playoff race. It certainly isn't going to help them but it's not going to change them enough that their playoff aspirations go out the window hand-in-hand with Osi's health.

I think the loss of Burress/Manning would hurt the team A LOT more than the loss of Osi would because they have depth, like you said. They don't have that type of depth at QB or WR. Sure Smith and Moss are good but they're small and then without Shockey, they basically have no red zone threat. Their offense would pretty much mirror that of the Bills the last few years. With good WR's, just that none of them are bigger than opposing DB's

[alldaws1]

The playoff race is so close in the NFC, especially in the East where it's likely both wildcards could come from, any significant loss of personnel could be detrimental to a team's playoff hopes. I think you lose Osi, you lose a significant amount of pressure on the QB and if it's in a divisional game or against a team with a potent passing offense that could easily drop them out of the Playoffs.

Edited August 24, 2008 by AD

[naiwf]

The playoff race is so close in the NFC, especially in the East where it's likely both wildcards could come from, any significant loss of personnel could be detrimental to a team's playoff hopes. I think you lose Osi, you lose a significant amount of pressure on the QB and if it's in a divisional game or against a team with a potent passing offense that could easily drop them out of the Playoffs.

Exactly. Romo & McNabb would easily pick the back seven apart if they have time, and if we can't get pressure on those guys it's going to look a lot like the early portion of last year did when we were giving up 35 points a game.