2012 NFL Season

LOL!

 

Woodhead is a confusing player. His entire schtick seems to largely depend on no one noticing him. Look at almost every 12 yard screen pass, and you'll notice a distinct lack of coverage.

The reason that is weird is that he's picked up almost 1,300 yards this way over the last two seasons.

To be fair, that's a stupid comparison. Sure, it's relevant if you're asking which one of the two was better. But in assessing Manning on his own? "Didn't do as well as the most successful playoff quarterback ever" doesn't really come off as damning. "Is under 0.500 in the playoffs," more so.

 

Woodhead is the same as the other 2. They are all interchangeable.

And they are all successful because of Brady. Belichick will let any one of those guys walk if they start making too much $.

 

Are the other two here Vereen and Ridley? Because that is categorically not true in their implementation. That would be like saying that Daniel Thomas and Reggie Bush are interchangeable.

Ridley is a bruising back with average speed who does the majority of his work between the tackles, and Woodhead's a tiny, shifty guy whose value is on the outside, largely in sweeps and screen passes. Ridley is broadly comparable to an inferior Corey Dillon or superior Antowain Smith, whereas Woodhead is like better version of Kevin Faulk. Vereen is somewhere in between the two of them. Not fast but not slow, of average build, approximately equally useful in both the passing and running game.

 

You obviously didn't read the article because Barnwell argues, and is 100% correct in, saying W/L records are terrible measures of a QB, especially when you have shit come down to factors that have nothing to do with QB play.

TL;DR Matt Bryant misses that kick "OH MY GOD MATT RYAN CAN'T WIN A PLAYOFF GAME!" Matt Bryant makes that field go "MATT RYAN HAS THE MONKEY OFF HIS BACK! FINALLY." Except he had nothing to do with the play that completely changed the narrative, change Matt Bryant's legacy? Yes. Matt Ryan's? No. Same with Peyton Manning. That blown coverage should not determine the "Peyton Manning Legacy." Just QBs by what they did and then talk about what the rest of the team did.

 

They are all used interchangeably. They run Woodhead inside as much as they do anybody else. Their running game is vastly improved.

Trust me, BB would have no problem dropping any of them. Thats the Patriots way.

And all I know is that Broncos with Tebow win at home in the playoffs and without him? Not so much.

 

Now you're getting ridiculous. They're not interchangable. Vareen can move to WR, catch passes out the backfield and do what he did yesterday. Ridley can't do that. They do run Woodhead inside a lot, I was going to correct MC on that, but he gets in between the tackles and pops out somehow for quite a few yards. And about Tebow...I don't even know if I should respond to that.

 

If it was anyone else it would be cool. He was involved in a murder and to this day has never come clean about what happened. I know I don't know all the facts about the case, but that's because the shirt he was wearing is in a garbage dump somewhere and he hindered the investigation.
And I read a quote from him saying something along the lines of "its terrible the family will never know what happened to their kids". Fuck him.

 

It's like you literally read nothing I just wrote. Whether they're expendable is beside the point.

Let's just look at proportion of receptions versus carries.

Danny Woodhead has 40 receptions compared to 76 carries, an approximately 33/67% split. Shane Vereen has 8 receptions to 62 carries, a 1:8 ratio. Stevan Ridley has 6 receptions and 290 carries, a 1:50 ratio.

Do 33%, 12%, and 2% sound like the same number to you? That is pretty clear evidence that the actual on-field usage of the players is different.

Never mind the fact that Danny Woodhead ran a 40 in the 4.33 range whereas Ridley was up around 4.65, and that there is a 3 inch/20 pound gap between the two players.

 

So when Woodhead went down, they didnt pass it to Vereen or Ridley huh? They completely changed their gameplan, huh?

I read what you wrote and dismissed it. Belichick will swap any one of those guys in any situation. Thats the beauty of his system. I didnt say they were the same players in body type or style. I said he can and will swap any of those guys at any time.

 

Bears hire Marc Trestman. Kind of a risky hire, but I like it. He's a pretty brilliant offensive strategist, and his work with QBs is well known. If he made Rich Gannon an MVP, I have hope for his progress with Cutler. The fact that he never got an NFL job when he was a hot assistant 5-6 years ago is a bit concerning, but who knows.

Also hired Aaron Kromer from the Saints to be the offensive coordinator, mostly in title only as Trestman will be calling plays. Kromer is also gonna coach OL, which should be a huge upgrade from that fucking mouth breather, Mike Tice.

Color me cautiously optimistic. Quite glad it wasn't Bevell.

 

He does to a degree, although Belichick knows enough that he understands some players are better suited for different situations. If memory serves it was against STL where they ran a hurry up with Ridley constantly running the ball. I'm pretty sure Bill knows he can't run it between the tackles 3 straight times with Woody in the game.
However, he does have them do any numbers of things because he doesn't want to be predictable. Simply because Woodhead or Vereen is in the game doesn't mean he's not going to run it off tackle, and if he only gets 2 yards then so be it.

 

Not really or at least not in the same way, and to the degree that it involved Woodhead, yes. Ridley caught one pass all game, and Vereen was used out of the slot and at wideout, while Woodhead is used out of the backfield in either designed screens or (more often) as a dump off.

Next question.

 

Chip Kelly to the Iggles!!! Nice! I think...

 

So much for him staying put.

How do the Bears fans feel about their hire?

 

Methinks either the Eagles gave him total control, or Oregon is losing scholarships for that whole recruiting infraction thing. NCAA proving a point and all.

As for the Bears, I mentioned my opinion above. Interested to see what D26 the Seer has to say.

 

Fuck.

That was my one word reaction to the hiring, especially after hearing they basically passed on a few guys (Arians being the main guy and who I would've liked to have seen hired). Seemed like they could've had Arians, but instead decided on Trestman.

I'll say this: Phil Emery has some balls. Arians would've been a much safer hire, but Emery obviously sees something significant in Trestman.

Trestman is supposed to be the "QB whisperer," and it sounds like he was basically brought in to help "fix" Jay Cutler and turn the offense around. If the Bears offense flounders for the next couple of years, expect Trestman's tenure in Chicago to be short (and Emery's, for that matter, if the Trestman hire blows up in his face). It is a BIG risk for Emery, but he dove in. Now he has to put an offensive line around Cutler to make it work.

It is going to be an interesting year in Chicago football. I wasn't excited about the hire, but I am intrigued. I'd like to see what he can do, and if he can turn that offense around. I am really hoping they keep the defensive coaching staff and players together. That unit can still be a top end unit if they keep everything together, and all it would take to make the offense better is better protection combined with a little bit of improvement from Cutler and they could be a playoff team next year.

 

What are the odds of Urlacher staying? Quite a few people, like Mike Lombardi, feel like Lovie was his guy and since Lovie is out, he'll be out also.

 

After seeing quotes from Trestman's press conference this morning, I'm pretty excited. He stressed multiple times in the first few min how important protecting the QB is, how everything revolves around that position, and how excited he was to "get his hands on Cutler". Now the first part seems common football sense, but everyone who has seen the absolutely retarded way the Bears OL has shaped up the last 3 years knows its not the cause. Trestman clearly sees that issue and wants to address it. He also talked about being adaptable offensively. And also specifically talked about getting TEs involved. Two things that didn't happen at all for the Bears this year.

Arians was a safe hire to be sure, but the guy has been a respected top OC for a long, with the Steelers and the Colts, and even though he stepped in admirably this year, you have to wonder why he hasn't gotten a gig. Trestman was a riskier hire to be sure, but he does have HC experience. Its no riskier than hiring a college coach, if may be in between the two in terms of "jumps" as he was managing a team of successful professional athletes the last 5 years. And he has brought in a great staff with Emery thus far. At the very least, he is going to bring some new and innovative offensive thinking to Chicago, something that hasn't been present this century, regardless of the franchise's success.

As far as Urlacher. The only negative so far in the coaching shift (well losing ST coach Dave Toub hurts, but replacing him with DeCamillis eases that) was that they announced today that Rod Marinelli wouldnt be back. Now how much was he directly responsible, considering Lovie was a defensive mind? I'm not sure, but it probably won't help locker room wise.

So that brings us to Urlacher. Given he loved Lovie, and now is losing his DC, I could indeed see him leaving. As a fan, that would upset me as he has been the face of the franchise for a long time. However, from a football perspective, he's missed significant time two of the last four years and isn't the same player he once was. And while a leader, he was a quiet leader, so you aren't missing a huge spark from the locker room. So I'm not sure. If asked me to guess, I'd say he's gone and you'll see Briggs step up in his absence to become a more vocal presence.