NFL 2016

[Quetzal]

I wonder who the Broncos will look at for QB in the draft. Brock Osweiler doesn't seem like a franchise guy, but maybe he will be. I think they take one, there are actually several available. There just isn't an Andrew Luck or John Elway this time.

He does have the benefit of being familiar with the team and the playbook. Did he really have an all-star performance during the season? I sort of tuned out to the Broncos when they entered that "They might not even make the playoffs" segment of the season.

 

[Quetzal]

Well not really. I was at that parade. And trust me... nobody was wearing orange.

Manning provided just what the team needed, when it needed it. Lets not forget that with Brock the team also struggled to score points and it only got worse as the season ended. Brock was struggling to beat a very poor San Diego team and Peyton came in and gave the team a much needed confidence boost.

Brock is good but he still wasn't the right guy (just yet).

Speaking of San Diego, I would like to see them do some work next year. I always liked Rivers and he performed pretty well throughout.

 

[Town Heretic]

He does have the benefit of being familiar with the team and the playbook. Did he really have an all-star performance during the season? I sort of tuned out to the Broncos when they entered that "They might not even make the playoffs" segment of the season.

He looked respectable this year, not great. In the range where you might wonder what would happen with development. He's tall, strong and mobile.

Here were his stats on the year.

1,967 yds total, 245.9 yds avg. (21st), 7.1 pss avg. (23rd), 61.8% comp (22nd), 10 tds, 6 int, 86.4 rat. (25th)

Now that's not great, but consider that he's still beating out a number of NFL starters, all of whom have more experience at the position. And he played half a season's worth of games. So, double the yds and tds and ints and put that qb under center with anything like this team's defense, shore up the line a little.

What would he do with a year at the helm and the concentration of the coaching staff? That's what's really intriguing about him.

 

[Quetzal]

He looked respectable this year, not great. In the range where you might wonder what would happen with development. He's tall, strong and mobile.

Here were his stats on the year.

1,967 yds total, 245.9 yds avg. (21st), 7.1 pss avg. (23rd), 61.8% comp (22nd), 10 tds, 6 int, 86.4 rat. (25th)

Now that's not great, but consider that he's still beating out a number of NFL starters, all of whom have more experience at the position. And he played half a season's worth of games. So, double the yds and tds and ints and put that qb under center with anything like this team's defense, shore up the line a little.

What would he do with a year at the helm and the concentration of the coaching staff? That's what's really intriguing about him.

I would really like to see it. But a lot of that is dependent on what Peyton does, right? The coaching staff are going to put their money on him again barring any sort of injury or early season collapse.

 

[Nathon Detroit]

Speaking of San Diego, I would like to see them do some work next year. I always liked Rivers and he performed pretty well throughout.

Rivers is a solid competitor. Obviously being a Denver fan we love to hate Phillip but in reality I have always had a great deal of respect for him and he never gives less than 100%.

 

[Quetzal]

Rivers is a solid competitor. Obviously being a Denver fan we love to hate Phillip but in reality I have always had a great deal of respect for him and he never gives less than 100%.

Do you think they will be competitive this upcoming season? Or do you foresee another blow out?

 

[Nathon Detroit]

Do you think they will be competitive this upcoming season? Or do you foresee another blow out?

In all honesty.... I don't see much coming from the Chargers anytime soon. Do you?

 

[Quetzal]

In all honesty.... I don't see much coming from the Chargers anytime soon. Do you?

Not really. But I like thinking of hypothetical situations. For example, what if Rivers all of a sudden played for New England or Denver or a team that isn't horrible.

 

[Town Heretic]

I would really like to see it. But a lot of that is dependent on what Peyton does, right? The coaching staff are going to put their money on him again barring any sort of injury or early season collapse.

Likely and not without reason. His first full game tune-up was in the playoff game with the Steelers. He looked rusty and inconsistent, as he had in closing for the regular season, home field securing game, but as with that game moved the ball effectively enough to help the Broncos win. What comes next is why Peyton might not retire. He still looks rusty against New England, but it's New England, still one of the best teams in the league, and he puts up a modest 176, but with 2 tds and 0 ints, ending with a pretty good 90+ rating on the day and more than assisting Denver in reaching the SB.

Denver needs better O line play if Manning returns. Carolina's front got into the backfield too easily and often. I was worried that if anything made this a Seattle II debacle that would be it. But Peyton mostly got the ball out of his hands faster, did a great job of reading the blitz. He only got real help out of Sanders and part of what was wrong with the Bronco offense is tied into the sudden lack of production out of what should have been their surest pair of hands.

Anyway, I could see Peyton thinking about a part two, if Elway is interested. The sell isn't difficult. He doesn't have to produce the yards he once did, though he can produce more. He just has to do better on ints than he did in the regular season, which was partly the product of injury. So you won this year. Take a promising young qb in the draft and let Manning do even better. That's one way to look at it.

The last time a team won with a fine game manager and made a move at the qb position it ended with the SB winning coach on a tv network within a couple of three years. Don't change what worked unless you have to.

That said and while I completely understand Peyton wanting to write a better year than the last as his professional epitaph, I still hope he retires. The ending can't be any better and he really doesn't have anything to prove after the New England game or in any event. His legacy as an all time great is cemented. The rest is what?

 

[Town Heretic]

Not really. But I like thinking of hypothetical situations. For example, what if Rivers all of a sudden played for New England or Denver or a team that isn't horrible.

If you could get Rivers on a good or great team they'd be instant contenders. A lot of people miss how good he is.

 

[Quetzal]

Likely and not without reason. His first full game tune-up was in the playoff game with the Steelers. He looked rusty and inconsistent, as he had in closing for the regular season, home field securing game, but as with that game moved the ball effectively enough to help the Broncos win. What comes next is why Peyton might not retire. He still looks rusty against New England, but it's New England, still one of the best teams in the league, and he puts up a modest 176, but with 2 tds and 0 ints, ending with a pretty good 90+ rating on the day and more than assisting Denver in reaching the SB.

Denver needs better O line play if Manning returns. Carolina's front got into the backfield too easily and often. I was worried that if anything made this a Seattle II debacle that would be it. But Peyton mostly got the ball out of his hands faster, did a great job of reading the blitz. He only got real help out of Sanders and part of what was wrong with the Bronco offense is tied into the sudden lack of production out of what should have been their surest pair of hands.

Anyway, I could see Peyton thinking about a part two, if Elway is interested. The sell isn't difficult. He doesn't have to produce the yards he once did, though he can produce more. He just has to do better on ints than he did in the regular season, which was partly the product of injury. So you won this year. Take a promising young qb in the draft and let Manning do even better. That's one way to look at it.

The last time a team won with a fine game manager and made a move at the qb position it ended with the SB winning coach on a tv network within a couple of three years. Don't change what worked unless you have to.

That said and while I completely understand Peyton wanting to write a better year than the last as his professional epitaph, I still hope he retires. The ending can't be any better and he really doesn't have anything to prove after the New England game or in any event. His legacy as an all time great is cemented. The rest is what?

My big concern is how much of the strategy rests on the effectiveness of their defense. The Super Bowl was a great example. The defense scoring a touch down coupled some exceptional boots by McManus set them up for victory. Newton didn't stand a chance. I suppose my question is, with as well as special teams/defense performed, do you think Brock could have won that game, too? We are talking a lot about Denver's offense when I would argue their most effective offensive weapon came when they didn't even have the ball.

 

[Nick M]

Denver needs better O line play if Manning returns. Carolina's front got into the backfield too easily and often.

No doubt. There were several big runs by Denver against Carolina and they were all when he called the plays at the line of scrimmage. That is what he brings to the table that so few other QBs can do.

 

[Town Heretic]

My big concern is how much of the strategy rests on the effectiveness of their defense. The Super Bowl was a great example. The defense scoring a touch down coupled some exceptional boots by McManus set them up for victory. Newton didn't stand a chance. I suppose my question is, with as well as special teams/defense performed, do you think Brock could have won that game, too? We are talking a lot about Denver's offense when I would argue their most effective offensive weapon came when they didn't even have the ball.

I'm not sure. He might have, or he might have tried to do too much and turned the ball over more. I trust what's between Peyton's ears a lot more and given the restrictions of the offensive scheme, I don't know what advantage the kid really would have given in the face of that pressure. And then I think about a better line and a healthy Manning coupled with Thomas out of his production funk...

No doubt. There were several big runs by Denver against Carolina and they were all when he called the plays at the line of scrimmage. That is what he brings to the table that so few other QBs can do.

I could see him wanting to amend the impression of last season and with a little more help, doing just that.

 

[Quetzal]

Looks like they want to keep Luck in Indy!

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is about to start the final year of his rookie contract. And team owner Jim Irsay is going to throw some huge numbers at Luck to keep him in Colts blue.
Luck will be playing 2016 under a $16.1 million one-year extension of his original rookie deal. Once that ends, the check-writing begins.

"It's going to be a big number," Colts owner Jim Irsay told WISH-TV. "It's going to be a shocking number, nine figures and probably a $20 million starting point per year, but again we will find the right number to get to."

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-s...-s-contract-will-be--shocking--163748100.html

 

[Nick M]

To some people it was offensive that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had more than just a "million dollar contract" because they made more than that a season during the 80s. The markets will bear what they can bear. If they fans aren't willing to pay, then his 20 mil/season will change. And that isn't figuring in the cap.

20mil is some serious money, even after the sports taxes are taken.

 

[Town Heretic]

To some people it was offensive that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had more than just a "million dollar contract" because they made more than that a season during the 80s. The markets will bear what they can bear. If they fans aren't willing to pay, then his 20 mil/season will change. And that isn't figuring in the cap.

20mil is some serious money, even after the sports taxes are taken.

Sounds right. As to Quet's note, of course we're keeping Luck. This last year was an injury riddled mess, but he's still got more upside than every other qb playing.

 

[Quetzal]

Sounds right. As to Quet's note, of course we're keeping Luck. This last year was an injury riddled mess, but he's still got more upside than every other qb playing.

I am pretty excited to see what Indy can put together next season. Luck is too good to have such a tough year like this one. Can only get better from my view.

 

[Nick M]

Sounds right.

You know what isn't right? The SEC trying to claim Von Miller. What a joke. The Big Ten does that stuff too. I was watching Nebraska on a show called Big Ten Elite on BTN. One problem, they weren't in the Big Ten.

 

[Nihilo]

I am pretty excited to see what Indy can put together next season. Luck is too good to have such a tough year like this one. Can only get better from my view.

Nah, he can keep right on playing like this. Everybody said the same thing about Favre. The guy's as good as he's going to be. Nothing wrong with it, but he's not going to win two rings let alone four or more. It's a pleasure to not only watch him play, but to listen to him talk about the game. There's nothing like a player who just lives and breathes the game like Luck and Brady do. If Luck were going to be something markedly better than he has already shown, he'd have shown it. How do I know, because he reminds me of Brady, who said, when asked about what it was like to win three rings so early, and (I believe) I quote, "Is this it?" Acknowledging that he had, at 27 done all there was to do in the NFL as a quarterback. He had become Joe Montana. Joe Montana didn't win that many rings that young. There was no reason for Brady to think that he couldn't win the SB three of every four years going forward, because he was so young, just then beginning to crest physical ability wise. He was only going to get better at the football, mental aspect of his game, and his body was just maturing. There's literally nothing to justify thinking that he's going to just sail off into the NFL sunset collecting a ring for each finger. I really don't think some people really understand Brady's situation when he was that young. Some of you recognize how absolutely incredible stat-wise he's been over just the past 10 years or so. That's after the three rings. He was good enough to win three rings with almost literally quote-unquote unremarkable stats, which, some people really think is important, in some way. These same people, I feel like, are kind of embarrassed over what just happened on Sunday. Peyton won his second ring. That was a huge deal. Manning not only increased his SB wins by 100%, but he pulled even with his grimacing brother also, making Archie, being tied with Brady and Montana for most SB wins as a QB or QB's dad.

Archie, Tom, and Joe, is what I'm saying. There's time, for Archie or Tom to distinguish themselves. Will they? Or will they honor the original?

 

[Nihilo]

In case it wasn't extremely clear in all that, I really, really like, Andrew Luck.