2023 NFL Thread

[TheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by DriftinG Z32

I’m not sure if any team has the personnel to stop SF. Especially in today’s NFL where you can’t hit anyone. Philly is not what they were last year, KC is having a down year, Dallas is Dallas, and everyone else is flawed. Outside of injuries I don’t see anyone stopping SF. Getting CMC for next to nothing was more or less an unstoppable cheat code for SF. But then again it’s the NFL and anything can happen.

SF just has so many weapons on offense that they are hard to stop. cant double everyone.

That being said, they are beatable, but you have to play a near perfect game to do so.

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

All I know.... This last stretch of games will seperate the contenders from the pretenders.

I did not expect Philly to get absolutely smoked!
But... I will remind everyone, that they have had to play from behind damn near all season. And they have allowed a lot of points. So their Defense is very suspect.
I feel confident in saying, DALLAS will prevail next Sunday Night.

Philly has been very lucky in their wins, almost like the Vikings from last season. A couple catches instead of drops, or a fumble bounces the other way, and they would be sitting at 5-6 losses. They are 7-1 in 1 score games, which isnt the norm.

I like the Cowboys chances vs them, especially if they play a complete game and limit mistakes.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by DriftinG Z32

I’m not sure if any team has the personnel to stop SF. Especially in today’s NFL where you can’t hit anyone. Philly is not what they were last year, KC is having a down year, Dallas is Dallas, and everyone else is flawed. Outside of injuries I don’t see anyone stopping SF. Getting CMC for next to nothing was more or less an unstoppable cheat code for SF. But then again it’s the NFL and anything can happen.

This is spot on. It's about the personnel. There isn't a team in the NFL who can match up because they don't have the personnel to do it. The Niners have too many capable skill players and you cannot account for all of them AND how they're being used. I have suspected that since last year and saw flashes of it, but I needed to see them beat Philly to confirm my thoughts. The recipe for other team's winning is largely a function of something outside of their control, and that's SF not executing. You saw that early this year with the L in CLE when the K missed two FGs (one of which would have effectively ended the game), and in MIN with soft coverages and that inexplicable defensive call just before halftime.

CMC is important to what they do - no question, but Purdy isn't given enough credit and the narrative around him is completely wrong. If you've watched the games and look at the All-22...very high-level quarterback play. There aren't many QBs in the League who can make those throws, roll through progressions as quickly as he does, and have the awareness in the pocket to operate at a high-level. All of this is being done by the last pick in the draft who isn't necessarily "physically gifted." If you understand coverages and offensive concepts or are into that sort of thing, you will clearly see what he is doing doesn't align with the national narrative of "game manager" and "dinker and dunker". It sounds good and it's a convenient talk track, but it's an uninformed take.

[Josh-PA]

Originally Posted by DriftinG Z32

I’m not sure if any team has the personnel to stop SF. Especially in today’s NFL where you can’t hit anyone. Philly is not what they were last year, KC is having a down year, Dallas is Dallas, and everyone else is flawed. Outside of injuries I don’t see anyone stopping SF. Getting CMC for next to nothing was more or less an unstoppable cheat code for SF. But then again it’s the NFL and anything can happen.

It was a good ole fashioned ass kicking last night. A lot lined up in the 49ers favor with the schedule, etc, but they proved they're the class of the NFC right now.

How the Eagles bounce back in next week's game against Dallas will say a lot about the team's true colors. We'll see.

[lakefront]

Something else the Niners have is an amazing coaching staff. Some of the play designs that get these guys open and with a ton of run after catch.....they have great personnel and coaches that know how to take advantage.

[DriftinG Z32]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

CMC is important to what they do - no question, but Purdy isn't given enough credit and the narrative around him is completely wrong. If you've watched the games and look at the All-22...very high-level quarterback play. There aren't many QBs in the League who can make those throws, roll through progressions as quickly as he does, and have the awareness in the pocket to operate at a high-level. All of this is being done by the last pick in the draft who isn't necessarily "physically gifted." If you understand coverages and offensive concepts or are into that sort of thing, you will clearly see what he is doing doesn't align with the national narrative of "game manager" and "dinker and dunker". It sounds good and it's a convenient talk track, but it's an uninformed take.

Purdy is playing his ass off this season and proving he's a flat-out winner. The "game manger" narrative we hear is for media hot-takes and viewer ratings...can't give him his flowers too soon. Anyone with eyes and a little bit of football knowledge can see that he's able to make his reads/progressions and throws. There's only a hand full of QBs in the league that can do that.

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

The Chiefs aren't as strong as they've been in years past. I think people underestimated the impact of Eric B. and Tyreek Hill departing. Tyreek Hill added a dimension to their offense they haven't been able to replicate.

Just ask the Miami Dolphins!

Hill is doing for them what McCaffrey is doing for the Niners!

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by DriftinG Z32

Purdy is playing his ass off this season and proving he's a flat-out winner. The "game manger" narrative we hear is for media hot-takes and viewer ratings...can't give him his flowers too soon. Anyone with eyes and a little bit of football knowledge can see that he's able to make his reads/progressions and throws. There's only a hand full of QBs in the league that can do that.

I'm not going to give Purdy this much credit when he has multiple All Pro Players starting on that Offense, including the O Line.

There was a very good discussion about this on "First Things First" on FS1.

If you placed ANY of the current Top 10 QBs on the Niners right now, they'd have a similar if not better record.
Purdy is surprisingly good. But he benefits from a Stellar Team on both sides of the ball.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

I'm not going to give Purdy this much credit when he has multiple All Pro Players starting on that Offense, including the O Line.

There was a very good discussion about this on "First Things First" on FS1.

If you placed ANY of the current Top 10 QBs on the Niners right now, they'd have a similar if not better record.
Purdy is surprisingly good. But he benefits from a Stellar Team on both sides of the ball.

That argument constantly comes up and it's a lazy one. Your situation is your situation and parsing it or tossing out hypotheticals to make a point just doesn't hold water. With that logic Tua is only good because he has Tyreek Hill, or Josh Allen would be a pedestrian passer without Stefan Diggs, or Dak would be awful if you took away Lamb and Cooks. But those passers have those players around them and none of these QBs are swapping teams to prove out that fantasy, so it is what it is. And for the record only two offensive players on the 49ers made the All Pro team last year - Kittle and Trent Williams. That will certaintly change this year with one addition - CMC, but the number likely won't multiply.

[lakefront]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

That argument constantly comes up and it's a lazy one. Your situation is your situation and parsing it or tossing out hypotheticals to make a point just doesn't hold water. With that logic Tua is only good because he has Tyreek Hill, or Josh Allen would be a pedestrian passer without Stefan Diggs, or Dak would be awful if you took away Lamb and Cooks. But those passers have those players around them and none of these QBs are swapping teams to prove out that fantasy, so it is what it is. And for the record only two offensive players on the 49ers made the All Pro team last year - Kittle and Trent Williams. That will certaintly change this year with one addition - CMC, but the number likely won't multiply.

Agree, and if there is any QB thats a poster child for this situation, it's Dak Prescott. Has been surrounded by terrific offensive players since the day he was drafted....

[TheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

I'm not going to give Purdy this much credit when he has multiple All Pro Players starting on that Offense, including the O Line.

There was a very good discussion about this on "First Things First" on FS1.

If you placed ANY of the current Top 10 QBs on the Niners right now, they'd have a similar if not better record.
Purdy is surprisingly good. But he benefits from a Stellar Team on both sides of the ball.

He's still executing well. I think the stronger case is Shanahan. He has shown he can get production out of average QBs with his scheme, but Purdy is doing better than shanahans previous qbs.

Originally Posted by lakefront

Agree, and if there is any QB thats a poster child for this situation, it's Dak Prescott. Has been surrounded by terrific offensive players since the day he was drafted....

Sure if you take out the years he didnt have a true #1 wr or the years theyve had a banged up oline. Outside of his rookie season and this season since week 4/5, he hasnt had his starting OL together or Legit WRs that were consistent.

All QBs need talent around them. Look at Mahomes this year with terrible wrs. He doesnt look near as dominating as he did. Brady is one of the only guys who consistently did more with less, and even then, he still had a TE (gronk) with at least 1 good WR (Welker/Edelman).

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by lakefront

Agree, and if there is any QB thats a poster child for this situation, it's Dak Prescott. Has been surrounded by terrific offensive players since the day he was drafted....

*Newsflash*

DAK is currently in anywhere from #1 - #3 for current MVP votes by those who can actually vote.
I have been especially critical of him for years. This season however, he is clearly NOT the same dude. Period.
Why is this? Mike McCarthy is calling the plays.
With Dak playing exactly how he has for the past 6-7 straight games, he is the best QB in the league.
He completely bailed out our entire Defense against a ferocious and desperate Seahawks team. He did exactly what Hurts has been doing... Brought his Team from behind. Even in the small loss in Philly, he was playing lights out.

[lakefront]

Best QB in the league? Hilarious. BTW, who's the #1 choice for MVP right now? Brock Purdy.....it's all about what have you done for me lately.
And since Mahomes doesn't have the same talent around him, is he still the best QB in the league, as everyone has said for years? Or is not not as good because less talent around him?

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by lakefront

Best QB in the league? Hilarious. BTW, who's the #1 choice for MVP right now? Brock Purdy.....it's all about what have you done for me lately.
And since Mahomes doesn't have the same talent around him, is he still the best QB in the league, as everyone has said for years? Or is not not as good because less talent around him?

LMFAO!!!!

Bruh.... I give credit where it is due. SF is currently THE best team in the league.

But you're being a Homer now. SMFH

He’s good. But we seen how valuable he was: down Trent Williams and Deebo. He went 0-3.

He has multiple teammates more valuable to the team than him. FACT.

I'm done with this subject. *peace

[lakefront]

Homer? I have no love for SF, not a fan at all. And if that isn't
the pot calling the kettle black....
Just said that what you accused Purdy of is the exact thing most folks would say about Prescott. No need to get upset.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

*Newsflash*

DAK is currently in anywhere from #1 - #3 for current MVP votes by those who can actually vote.
I have been especially critical of him for years. This season however, he is clearly NOT the same dude. Period.
Why is this? Mike McCarthy is calling the plays.
With Dak playing exactly how he has for the past 6-7 straight games, he is the best QB in the league.
He completely bailed out our entire Defense against a ferocious and desperate Seahawks team. He did exactly what Hurts has been doing... Brought his Team from behind. Even in the small loss in Philly, he was playing lights out.

Dak is playing good football this year, no question. And he may win the MVP. He's certainly in the conversation. Brock Purdy is the odd's on favorite right now through Week 13. If he wins it, I presume he will have deserved it. I have no issue with that. We'll see what happens.

You're the Cowboys fan so you would know better than I, but it seems Dak is playing about as well as he's played in a few other seasons in his career. Dicing up bad teams in the regular season is one thing, but where it matters is the postseason. The Cowboys thought they won the lottery when Dak emerged, but he's essentially Tony Romo 1.5. Sure he throws for more yards (marginally) and puts more points up on the board (marginally); however, he still comes up small in big moments, just like Romo did. And when I say big moments, it's the postseason. The end result is the same, the path there just looks a little different. I'm not trying to be shady, just calling balls and strikes.

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

Dak is playing good football this year, no question. And he may win the MVP. He's certainly in the conversation. Brock Purdy is the odd's on favorite right now through Week 13. If he wins it, I presume he will have deserved it. I have no issue with that. We'll see what happens.

You're the Cowboys fan so you would know better than I, but it seems Dak is playing about as well as he's played in a few other seasons in his career. Dicing up bad teams in the regular season is one thing, but where it matters is the postseason. The Cowboys thought they won the lottery when Dak emerged, but he's essentially Tony Romo 1.5. Sure he throws for more yards (marginally) and puts more points up on the board (marginally); however, he still comes up small in big moments, just like Romo did. And when I say big moments, it's the postseason. The end result is the same, the path there just looks a little different. I'm not trying to be shady, just calling balls and strikes.

I definitely need and expect much more from Dak going into and through the Playoffs, absolutely! That has been the biggest issue.
I am speaking from a YTD or now pov.
Clearly his coaching and system changes are indeed working.
This is the best he's ever looked IMO.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

I definitely need and expect much more from Dak going into and through the Playoffs, absolutely! That has been the biggest issue.
I am speaking from a YTD or now pov.
Clearly his coaching and system changes are indeed working.
This is the best he's ever looked IMO.

Fair enough. Seems we're aligned on Playoff performance being key. Now, do me a favor and carve up Philly this week.

Sincerely,
A 49ers fan

[Josh-PA]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

*Newsflash*

DAK is currently in anywhere from #1 - #3 for current MVP votes by those who can actually vote.
I have been especially critical of him for years. This season however, he is clearly NOT the same dude. Period.
Why is this? Mike McCarthy is calling the plays.
With Dak playing exactly how he has for the past 6-7 straight games, he is the best QB in the league.
He completely bailed out our entire Defense against a ferocious and desperate Seahawks team. He did exactly what Hurts has been doing... Brought his Team from behind. Even in the small loss in Philly, he was playing lights out.

The fact that he's played 10 teams at or below .500 hasn't hurt his MVP level of play either.

Edit: I just looked - the pass defense rankings of his opponents:
Seahawks - 23rd
Commanders - 32nd (last)
Panthers - 4th
Giants - 20th
Eagles - 29th (piss poor)
Rams - 15th
Chargers - 31st (2nd to last)
49ers - 14th (I was surprised when I realized Dallas lost to them worse than the Eagles did - we got 9 more points )
Pats - 16th
Cardinals - 12th
Jets - 3rd
Giants - 20th

Average - 18.25

Edit 2:
For comparison sake, Jalen has played against an average pass defense rank of 15.5 and Brock Purdy is 18.91 (so Brock has had the easiest pass defense opponents).

[TheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by Josh-PA

The fact that he's played 10 teams at or below .500 hasn't hurt his MVP level of play either.

Edit: I just looked - the pass defense rankings of his opponents:
Seahawks - 23rd
Commanders - 32nd (last)
Panthers - 4th
Giants - 20th
Eagles - 29th (piss poor)
Rams - 15th
Chargers - 31st (2nd to last)
49ers - 14th (I was surprised when I realized Dallas lost to them worse than the Eagles did - we got 9 more points )
Pats - 16th
Cardinals - 12th
Jets - 3rd
Giants - 20th

Average - 18.25

Edit 2:
For comparison sake, Jalen has played against an average pass defense rank of 15.5 and Brock Purdy is 18.91 (so Brock has had the easiest pass defense opponents).

Can only play whos on your schedule. The Cowboys' offense, especially once they got the full offense implemented after week 5/6, has been lights out and is blowing out teams that have caused issues for some of the other top teams. The Cowboys have scored the most point most of these teams have given up, and given them their biggest blowouts of the season. The Eagles for example won their 2 games vs the Commanders by a combined 10 points.

the rest of the season though will be the real test. If Dak continues to play great, efficient football, there is no doubt he will be the MVP. Hes currently leading the league in the least amount of turnover worthy plays, big time throws, top 5 in Depth of target, #2 in EPA (behind brock), and is top 5 in basically every efficiency metric. All while missing basically a full game of snaps by sitting out the 4th in a lot of these games.

Has games remaining (Rankings per PFF)
vs Eagles - #10 Defense #4 pass rush #27 in coverage
vs Bills - #6 Defense #13 pass rush #4 in coverage
vs Phins - #3 Defense #4 pass rush #5 in coverage
vs Lions - #13 Defense #14 pass rush #26 in coverage
vs Commies - #26 Defense #23 pass rush #23 in coverage

4 top defenses that can get to the QB and cause issues.

[UncleWede]

Things are turning up for Uncle, even if the Vikings sit at .500

I'm +$280 going into week 14 on pool play I'm in for 1/2 and 1/4 on SB $500 squares, so need to turn a few more quarters to be playing with house money in February.

Somebody mentioned Dobbie catching passes?? He'd get broken unless you start feeding him sammiches now.

[Josh-PA]

Originally Posted by TheWatchGuy

Can only play whos on your schedule. The Cowboys' offense, especially once they got the full offense implemented after week 5/6, has been lights out and is blowing out teams that have caused issues for some of the other top teams. The Cowboys have scored the most point most of these teams have given up, and given them their biggest blowouts of the season. The Eagles for example won their 2 games vs the Commanders by a combined 10 points.

the rest of the season though will be the real test. If Dak continues to play great, efficient football, there is no doubt he will be the MVP. Hes currently leading the league in the least amount of turnover worthy plays, big time throws, top 5 in Depth of target, #2 in EPA (behind brock), and is top 5 in basically every efficiency metric. All while missing basically a full game of snaps by sitting out the 4th in a lot of these games.

Has games remaining (Rankings per PFF)
vs Eagles - #10 Defense #4 pass rush #27 in coverage
vs Bills - #6 Defense #13 pass rush #4 in coverage
vs Phins - #3 Defense #4 pass rush #5 in coverage
vs Lions - #13 Defense #14 pass rush #26 in coverage
vs Commies - #26 Defense #23 pass rush #23 in coverage

4 top defenses that can get to the QB and cause issues.

It should be a very interesting end to the season. The 49ers look to have the easiest next 5 games, but the Eagles end with what should be 3 lay ups (any given sunday...), so while Sunday is important it really doesn't drastically change the Cowboys chances at the division or 1 seed - unless they lose, then those dreams are pretty much dead.

I think the 1st seed and the bye week will determine who is the NFC rep for the superbowl. I can't see giving the Whiners, Girls or Eagles an extra week off and home field advantage and any of them losing after.

[TheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by Josh-PA

It should be a very interesting end to the season. The 49ers look to have the easiest next 5 games, but the Eagles end with what should be 3 lay ups (any given sunday...), so while Sunday is important it really doesn't drastically change the Cowboys chances at the division or 1 seed - unless they lose, then those dreams are pretty much dead.

I think the 1st seed and the bye week will determine who is the NFC rep for the superbowl. I can't see giving the Whiners, Girls or Eagles an extra week off and home field advantage and any of them losing after.

if cowboys win sunday, it basically locks up the 9ers as the #1 seed.

I could see 9ers eagles and Cowboys all finishing 13-4. 9ers have the h2h tie breaker over both. Eagles and Cowboys will come down to who the eagles lose to and who the cowboys lose to. If Cowboys lose to lions and Eagles lose to an NFC team, Cowboys hold the tie breaker. If Cowboys lose to Phins or Bills, they would need the eagles to lose to an NFCE team.

So while its not a win and your division winner, it is a big game as it sets you up for a potential division title for the Cowboys. And if Eagles win, it basically guarantees them the division.