NFL 2022-23 Season Thread

[Ksyrup]

Russ decided killing Denver's season wasn't enough!

#Rams kicker Matt Gay is being placed on IR after a ball thrown by Russell Wilson hit his leg, you can hear the pain in his voice������ pic.twitter.com/UZPBf9vOid

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 26, 2022

[Solecismic]

The latest entry for this strange 2022 season where a few teams rise above a lower-than-average status quo and two different divisions may have sub-.500 winners.

When 5-10 Atlanta (the only team that can't win the NFC South, unless you include teams from other divisions) turned the keys over to Desmond Ridder, their third-round rookie pick this year, starter Marcus Mariota left the team.

Atlanta signed Tennessee's Logan Woodside, a seventh-round pick from 2018 with no career starts, to back him up.

You can sign someone else's practice squad player to your 53-man roster without offering compensation.

When Deshaun Watson returned from his two-year hiatus last month, the Browns released 2017 fourth-rounder Joshua Dobbs, who also has no career starts.

Detroit picked up Dobbs for their practice squad, as they had recently lost their practice squad quarterback, Tim Boyle (0-3 career record), when the Bears decided they wanted four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster.

Tennessee, after losing Woodside, signed Dobbs to their 53-man roster last week. They are faced with a game this week against Dallas. They are banged up and, in a scenario that really isn't that unusual given that all week 18 games are intra-divisional, it doesn't matter at all whether they win it - week 18 against Jacksonville is winner-takes-the-division.

So, Tennessee will rest all their banged-up players, and Dobbs, who has amassed 45 career passing yards in four late-game appearances in his career, was named their starter, just a week after receiving the playbook.

The betting line has only moved from +9 to +13 with the news, as it was already assumed this year's third-rounder, Malik Willis, would get the start.

As an aside, has there ever been a 13-point home underdog that's one win from clinching a playoff spot?

This brings up an interesting question. It's assumed that giving a rookie quarterback a starting role before he's ready can backfire. Not ready for the speed and sophisticated defenses of the NFL, it can affect his confidence. That's even more the case with Willis, who played for now-mid-major Liberty. But does it affect your confidence even more when you're passed over for an emergency start by a guy who has been there a week, and has been available to any team for much of the last four years? This seems like a message to Willis, who has the potential to be pretty good, but has looked lost out there in three starts and parts of six games.

[Carman Bulldog]

Kind of feels like Malik Willis is at the stage where the start would be more beneficial for him in preparation for next week, even with the injury risk. I suppose conversely though another poor performance could hurt him heading into next week. Although I'm not sure playing poor this week would hurt his confidence anymore than getting benched.

As an aside, it's not a completely meaningless. If Tennessee wins and Jacksonville loses this week, Tennessee would only need a win or a tie next week. Not that I see this Titans team beating the Cowboys even with Willis and the rest of their starters.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Through three quarters, how woefully not ready does Willis look compared to a pedestrian but not disastrous stat line for Josh Dobbs?

[Simbo Klice]

Dobbs has shown a much better grasp of running an offense despite only being there 8 days. He’s moving in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield, a necessity with the state our OL is in. His passes have some zip, even though his accuracy isn’t top shelf, there’s no question they should trust him over Willis next week.

[Edward64]

Good to see Treylon Burks playing decently for the Titans.

I think it's fair to say he didn't have a great rookie season with injuries etc. but hoping this gives him the necessary experience for next year.

[Solecismic]

No one has ever been excited about the 2022 quarterback class. If any of them stick as more than a backup, it's a huge bonus, with the exception of Pickett, and he was on the board a long time.

This is better than the 2015 scenario, with Winston and Mariota forced into 1-2, each flawed enough in some way that it didn't pan out for the Bucs or the Titans, despite the investment. Who was even the #3 quarterback from that class? I think undrafted Taylor Heinicke.

Other notable poor draft classes for quarterbacks: 2013 - E.J. Manuel first off the board at #16, followed by Geno Smith in the second round. Mike Glennon (3rd round) stuck around for a while, but was 5-26 as a starter. 2007 was remarkable for JaMarcus Russell at #1, and Brady Quinn sneaking into the first round. The best quarterback in that class was the undrafted Matt Moore. 2000 saw one quarterback chosen in the first 64 picks (Chad Pennington at #18), but #199 turned out fairly well.

If Willis was a complete miss, it's not that big a deal. He'll get another year to put himself in position to contribute.

Dobbs didn't have a great game by any means, but you have to give him credit for learning so much in one week and giving it a good shot. Teams will remember that. Backups who can do that tend to stick in the league a while.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

No one has ever been excited about the 2022 quarterback class. If any of them stick as more than a backup, it's a huge bonus, with the exception of Pickett, and he was on the board a long time.

Would you please tell that to the Atlanta fan base that is convinced that Ridder is a franchise quarterback and the front office would be stupid if they brought in another QB in the off-season?

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

As an aside, it's not a completely meaningless. If Tennessee wins and Jacksonville loses this week, Tennessee would only need a win or a tie next week. Not that I see this Titans team beating the Cowboys even with Willis and the rest of their starters.

And now it's the other way around, Jacksonville needs a tie (or win) against Tennessee, regardless of what they do in Houston today. Although in theory, Jacksonville could still end up winning tie-breakers over the AFC East second place team for the final wild card. That was barely an option for Tennessee.

[Ksyrup]

So, does Harbaugh losing last night make it more or less likely he's in the NFL next year? PFT tweeted that he was headed to Denver (not as a news report, just a prediction).

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So, does Harbaugh losing last night make it more or less likely he's in the NFL next year? PFT tweeted that he was headed to Denver (not as a news report, just a prediction).

Does he want to go back to the NFL? He will never have the control he has in Michigan right now. It depends on what he really desires more, a Super Bowl win or National Championship for his alma mater.

[Ksyrup]

Yes, he wants to go back. He almost ended up Minnesota last year and when asked about goals recently, he mentioned something to the effect that winning a CFB championship would be nice but the SB is the ultimate pinnacle of FB achievement.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Yes, he wants to go back. He almost ended up Minnesota last year and when asked about goals recently, he mentioned something to the effect that winning a CFB championship would be nice but the SB is the ultimate pinnacle of FB achievement.

Then he should go. He is not getting any younger an his stock not likely to get much higher than right now.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Yes, he wants to go back. He almost ended up Minnesota last year and when asked about goals recently, he mentioned something to the effect that winning a CFB championship would be nice but the SB is the ultimate pinnacle of FB achievement.

He did recently announce that he’d be staying at Michigan next year - since both McCarty and Edwards will be back. That being said, he could definitely make the move. Maybe going back to Indy, though the lack of a QB doesn’t make that job too appealing. Harbaugh and Wilson in Denver would be an interesting mix of a couple of Class A complete weirdos.

[QuikSand]

Is there any situation where it doesn't benefit him to "announce he will stay for next year" right now?

[Ksyrup]

An off-season where both Harbaugh and Payton are in play would be interesting. Although between buyouts and compensation the Saints would expect, both of them are going to cost quite a lot.

[Thomkal]

So I had to look up who the heck Cardinals QB David Blough is

[bhlloy]

Didn’t watch Hard Knocks then? Married to an Olympic 400m hurdler IIRC.

[Solecismic]

The Bears are up to 80 total yards aside from Fields's rushing yardage.

The Lions tried Blough as an emergency starter for five games a couple of season back. He lost them all and it wasn't pretty. So they finally declined to keep him on the practice squad this season and he bounced around a bit and when Arizona was adding QBs like Pokemon cards after the Murray injury, he slotted in behind McSorely. Looks like he's doing better than in any of his Lions games - he wasn't exactly interception-avoidant.

Poor Teddy Bridgewater. Didn't even make it through his first game back without another injury. Gotta wonder if he could have been a decent starter if he didn't accumulate injuries far more quickly than Garoppolo. I also wonder if Mac Jones might actually be good if he ever gains maturity.

Nice game from Brady so far. And Evans.

[SirFozzie]

The ATL have a last second FG attempt to win. Just like every other week it seems.

I mean, seriously, it seems like at least 7-8 games decided late for ATL.

[SirFozzie]

Stat of the wow.. er.. Now.

This will be Tom Brady's NINETEENTH Division Title. That's... Insane.

[NobodyHere]

Let's go Jets!

I think having the Seahawks lose will turn the next Lion's game into a win-and-in situation.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Let's go Jets!

I think having the Seahawks lose will turn the next Lion's game into a win-and-in situation.

Yeah, about the way that game started..

[SirFozzie]

That is the greatest muffed punt in the history of ever, won't count, but still.

[Solecismic]

It's a nothing on the stat sheet, but what Camarda just did was absolutely phenomenal.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

It's a nothing on the stat sheet, but what Camarda just did was absolutely phenomenal.

Saved the division title.

[SirFozzie]

Here's that play. Just amazing to recover and get it away (even though it came back, it saved the Buccaneers roughly fourty-fifty yards of field position because the retake took it to the 10)

https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/s...60287409426434

[Edward64]

I watched bits and pieces of the Falcons game. Desmond Ridder was decent today (or was it the Cardinal's defense?).

Good that he seems to be improving for the past 3 weeks.

The Falcons went for it on 4th down just before the half. I was thinking they purposely want to lose so they move up the draft.

[Thomkal]

:::sighs at the Cardinals and Panthers:::

[GrantDawg]

Ridder was serviceable, but that was with both Cardinal CB out. He still hasn't thrown a TD in three games and is averaging 5.3 yards completion. He may end up being a decent back up, but nothing is jumping out as a quality starter

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[Danny]

Stidham looking way better than Carr

[Solecismic]

Watching that last fumble, it's obvious the Vikings have the Packers right where they want them. Just not quite time to start the comeback.

[Ksyrup]

I ran across this today and with a bunch of Matt Patricia haters here, I thought you might enjoy it.

Matt Patricia learning the Patriots scheme pic.twitter.com/IJEFn2C7mB

— Savage (@SavageSports_) December 31, 2022

[Ksyrup]

Well, just saw a report that Denver reached out to Harbaugh. Let the games begin!

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Let's go Jets!

I think having the Seahawks lose will turn the next Lion's game into a win-and-in situation.

There is very little chance that the Seahawks lose to the Rams at home next week and even less of a chance that the Lions go to Green Bay and beat the Packers.

Given how the season started, the fact that the last game they play has playoff implications for them is pretty remarkable. This late season run has been fueled by some solid offensive play and the emergence of Hutchinson, James Huston (a 6th round pick with 7.5 sacks in 7 games) and some other young players on the defensive side of the ball does create some potential building blocks for the future.

[Swaggs]

I wonder when the Steelers and Ravens will discover the forward pass…

[BishopMVP]

Why did the rulemakers at both the NFL and college level decide a few years ago they'd allow RB's to push the QB forward on sneaks? Najee Harris basically carried Pickett there.

[Swaggs]

That and the TE in motion stopping to push the QB on sneaks.

[BishopMVP]

Can't believe this Steelers team is entering Week 18 with a chance at a playoff berth, but the other options are a Patriots team that drastically limited their ceiling by hiring the wrong OC and has thrown away multiple games on baffling gaffes, or Tua less Miami. 7 playoff teams is too many haha

[Swaggs]

I read an article earlier this week that said Tomlin had only played (I think) just one game where his team was out of contention for the playoffs. It may have been one season, but I think it was just one week 17 game a few years ago.

[stevew]

Lions/Packers likely on Sunday night next week for all the Collinsworth fans.

[PilotMan]

Tomlin haters can get bent after this season. He's really outdone himself. This team was deep in a hole, and I they still are in the fight somehow. The man is a top shelf coach. No idea how this team stayed in that game. They were getting cut open.

[Solecismic]

Are there seriously any Tomlin haters left out there? What more does the guy have to prove?

Though I'm not liking the 7th playoff team in either conference all that much. There are far too many upsets in the NFL playoffs to want to reward eight-loss teams with a bonus chance.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by stevew

Lions/Packers likely on Sunday night next week for all the Collinsworth fans.

Where this year’s Lions will become yet another sad footnote in that douche bag’s career. (Aaron Rodger not Collinsworth. I have nothing against Collinsworth.).

[JPhillips]

The AFC might shake out so that 5 teams play their first playoff game against a divisional opponent.

Bengals/Ravens
Bills/Pats
Chiefs/Chargers in round 2

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Are there seriously any Tomlin haters left out there? What more does the guy have to prove?

Though I'm not liking the 7th playoff team in either conference all that much. There are far too many upsets in the NFL playoffs to want to reward eight-loss teams with a bonus chance.

There are a vocal minority of Steelers’ fans that expect Super Bowls every season and don’t appreciate that other teams are also trying to win. The biggest beefs that people seem to have are that he doesn’t have much of a coaching tree (showing he doesn’t hire or develop innovative assistants) and that he falls in love with draft prospects (particularly on defense) and reaches for them (missing often - examples Jarvis Jones, Artie Burns, Terrell Edmunds, and Devin Bush recently, although Edmunds has been very good this season).It’s ridiculous and he would have a new job by the end of the day if they ever let him go. Most Steelers fans appreciate what they have and take pride in having only had three coaches since 1969.

It’s crazy to think that Cowher and Tomlinson are the only living men that have been their head coach. The Browns have had 8 since 2010.

[albionmoonlight]

Saints finally mathematically eliminated (though that writing had been on the wall for a while).

But I am happy that the team showed heart and kept fighting and improving. I did not want to fire Dennis Allen after one season, and I think that he's shown enough to keep the job.

The team has no first round pick and is way the heck over the cap and will likely be rolling out Andy Dalton next year. So it isn't like the near-term future looks bright.

But this also didn't turn into a Urban Meyer/Nathanial Hackett situation post- Sean Payton. And that possibility was there. So things could be worse.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

There are a vocal minority of Steelers’ fans that expect Super Bowls every season and don’t appreciate that other teams are also trying to win. The biggest beefs that people seem to have are that he doesn’t have much of a coaching tree (showing he doesn’t hire or develop innovative assistants) and that he falls in love with draft prospects (particularly on defense) and reaches for them (missing often - examples Jarvis Jones, Artie Burns, Terrell Edmunds, and Devin Bush recently, although Edmunds has been very good this season).It’s ridiculous and he would have a new job by the end of the day if they ever let him go. Most Steelers fans appreciate what they have and take pride in having only had three coaches since 1969.

It’s crazy to think that Cowher and Tomlinson are the only living men that have been their head coach. The Browns have had 8 since 2010.

There's also a subset of fans who don't like him for the same reason they like Pickett, but hated Kordell.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

So I had to look up who the heck Cardinals QB David Blough is

Wait, he's with the Cards now? Last I had checked he was hanging on with the Lions.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Wait, he's with the Cards now? Last I had checked he was hanging on with the Lions.

Yeah all their QB's were either injured and/or terrible, so Blough came off the scrap heap (practice squad) and will likely not be heard of again once the head coach is fired.