The NFL Preseason Thread.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Ort-man won the starting job. I'm a little disappointed by this, because it probably decreases the chances we'll have to see him looking like a bloated, snot-leaking lout on the sidelines.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I'm surprised Archie Manning wasn't named the Saints' best player.

[Matt Young 0]

Ort-man won the starting job. I'm a little disappointed by this, because it probably decreases the chances we'll have to see him looking like a bloated, snot-leaking lout on the sidelines.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp...tory?id=3541383

 

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Kyle Orton will start as the Chicago Bears opening day quarterback -- beating Rex Grossman in a competition that lasted through training camp and two preseason games.

 

The Bears open the regular season Sept. 7 against the Indianapolis Colts.

 

Orton started 15 games in 2005 and three last season. He's thrown for more than 2,300 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career.

 

Grossman led the Bears to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season but has often been criticized for committing turnovers. He has 30 career starts, with 31 TD passes and 33 interceptions.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

Well, I did pick Matt Stover in the NFL all-time draft, but I don't like him so much that I would consider him to be the GREATEST PLAYER IN RAVENS HISTORY!!!

To be fair, the Ravens don't really have an illustrious history. The genesis of the franchise came out of that lawsuit before the '96 season, and the 2000 season was forgotten about awfully promptly. I'm guessing Stover has been there for more years than most and won because somebody had to. I would've gone with Ray Lewis, at any rate. Maybe he was disqualified for stabbing a guy to death.

 

Reggie White is a tough call for greatest Eagle ever seeing as I bet most people think of him as a Packer. Hard to go wrong with any number of Bears: Halas, Grange, Butkus, Payton, Orton...

 

 

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

To be fair, the Ravens don't really have an illustrious history. The genesis of the franchise came out of that lawsuit before the '96 season, and the 2000 season was forgotten about awfully promptly. I'm guessing Stover has been there for more years than most and won because somebody had to. I would've gone with Ray Lewis, at any rate. Maybe he was disqualified for stabbing a guy to death.

 

What about Ogden then? He hasn't killed anybody (that I'm aware of).

 

The Bradshaw pick was pretty bad too. A team with guys like Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, Jack Ham & Franco Harris and they pick Bradshaw?

[Slayer 0]

greatest Eagle ever

Chuck Bednarik

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

There were some rumors flying around that instead of moving John Tait from right tackle to left tackle, they would just keep him at his position and bring in Chris Simms so that Tait would cover his blind side. That might have been a better option than Captain Neckbeard. Thanks for coming back, Mike Brown and Tommie Harris, now enjoy getting the shit kicked out of you for 43 minutes a game because the offense can't get a first down.

[Guest Vitamin X]

That NFL All-Time Best player list is odd as hell. Here's the questionable picks along with who I would've picked there:

 

Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson. This one is pretty close, but Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow deserve some love here. LT might just be the best here, but it's close.

 

Falcons: Deion Sanders. Kind of a strange pick here, considering that most people know Deion from his time with the Cowboys. I'm not sure who I'd pick over him, though. Cornelius Bennett seems more like it to me.

 

Panthers: Steve Smith. Another questionable, but okay pick. But, since we're going with guys who may not have played their most significant time there, how about Kevin Greene?

 

Ravens: Matt Stover. As mentioned, this is retarded. Ray Lewis, anyone?

 

Saints: Bobby Hebert. HA. No, Archie Manning.

 

Steelers: Terry Bradshaw. Out of one of the most prolific primarily defense-oriented teams in the league, you pick a QB that probably won't even be considered top ten all-time? Tons of great picks to choose from here. Rod Woodson is one, Jack Lambert is another one. Mean Joe Greene as well.

 

I'd also question the Raiders' Marcus Allen and Redskins' Darrell Green, because those two franchises have so many great players, but I guess it's hard to pick from the bunch.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I would rank Don Hutson as the greatest Packer, but I can definitely see the argument for Favre. I just find the difference between Hutson and his contemporaries to be too great to ignore. He would triple the numbers of the second best receivers.

 

I think Atlanta is the worst franchise in the history of the NFL so I can actually see picking Sanders for lack of options. Even the Cardinals have been better.

 

Fred Taylor over Jimmy Smith for the Jags is another big question mark for me.

 

Ricky Jackson is my pick for the Saints.

 

Lilly got screwed for the Cowboys. I can see him not being #1 (although I would rank him there), but #6 is just plain wrong. He's called Mr. Cowboy for a reason.

[Guest Vitamin X]

you could also make an argument for a lot of the 60s Packers, but yeah Favre is definitely an icon for the Packers, recent wounds be damned. In about 5-10 years, most people will forget about the whole thing with the Jets (unless he takes them to a Super Bowl win or something) and remember him as a Packer, just like Montana as a Chief, Unitas as a Charger, and Namath as a Ram.

[Kinetic 0]

Derrick Brooks for the Bucs makes sense. The bar is set so low that only one guy on their list (Lee Roy Selmon) never suited up in the current uniform.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

I would rank Don Hutson as the greatest Packer, but I can definitely see the argument for Favre.

Well, yeah.

 

Wouldn't Jacksonville's franchise player be Mark Brunell? Do they even deserve one? I don't even know who the Texans' guy is.

 

Patriots' franchise player = Matt Walsh

 

From ESPN's Sportsnation page:

The newest SC anchor tells SN that popped collars are lame but she digs pop-tarts.

Haha, the fuck kind of non-sequitur is that?

[Slayer 0]

For the Falcons the only one I could think of off my head is Steve Bartkowski, who was there for ten years and led them to three playoff appearances and was essentially face of the franchise for the red helmet days

 

Looking at their Wiki-page, they did have three other 10+ year lifers, but I doubt anyone outside of lifelong Falcons fans(?) could name them (two of them I'd never heard of, but the other is burned into my head by virtue of being a key player from the fucking 1998 team)

[snuffbox 0]

Sammy Baugh, Redskins.

[MFer 0]

Talk about a debacle for Cleveland...Jesus.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I don't even know who the Texans' guy is.

 

You don't know who Andre Johnson is? Wow.

[Vampiro69 0]

I like what I have seen out of Tim Hightower the 5th round RB out of Richmond. He looks like he should be the backup to Edge, and should chip into his workload as the season progresses.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Giants one was obvious. Good job, ESPN.

[jimmy no nose 0]

Remember last week when Marvin Lewis said Chris Henry would not be welcome back? I guess his mind changed pretty quickly. At least this year his season opening suspension is only 4 games instead of 8.

[MFer 0]

Tatum Bell rant coming up...this guy sucks major dick (so does Brian Calhoun, but he doesn't matter). Yes, the run blocking has been poor but in the Giants game he had 7 carries for a grand total of 8 yards and 5 for 9 a couple days ago against the Bengals. He doesn't even look like he's trying out there. I mean damn, they let Kevin Jones and T.J. Duckett go and brought Bell back to run that new zone blocking system. Bell's nemisis Mike Martz is gone, everything was set up for Bell to come back and prove himself, and it looks like he doesn't give a shit. Most of the other RB's didn't have great stats either but you can tell that they're running harder and better than Bell. Kevin Smith is clearly the #1 guy; the problem is that the next best RB's in line are probably Artose Pinner and Aveion Cason, two career backups that had previous stints with Detroit (particularly with Cason, who's been cut and brought back about 8 different times). The sad part is that Detroit could pick up someone that gets cut from another team, and he'd most likely be the #2 back right away. All I know is that Smith better pan out and stay healthy.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Sign Cedric Benson.

 

If the Colts are smart, and they usually are, Kenton Keith should be on the market soon as a good all-around backup. Mike Hart has looked like a million bucks in preseason so far. Plays like a 3 year pro already.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Those poor, poor Bears...

 

Exhibit A: Kyle Orton career 12-6 record in 18 starts (Rex is 19-11 though)

Exhibit B: Their regular seasons side by side.

- 2006 Rex Grossman (13-3): Completed 54.6% of his passes and threw for 23 TD. Also threw 20 INT and had 8 fumbles. Had a 73.9 QB Rating. Rex was also 26 years old.

- 2005 Kyle Orton (10-5): Completed 51.6% of his passes and threw for 9 TD. Also threw 13 INT and had 12 fumbles. Had a 59.7 QB Rating. Orton was only 23 years old.

 

2007: In 3 games, Kyle had 1 fewer TD (4 vs. 3) and 5 fewer INT (7 vs. 2) than 27 year old Rex Grossman did. Kyle had a 73.9 QB Rating in those 3 games. Fumble issues remain though as Kyle had 2 and Rex had 6.

 

The only upside I can see in this situation

1: Kyle will only be 26 years old.

2: He played game manager well against Green Bay (8/14, 101, 1/0) and New Orleans (12/27, 190, 2/1).

3: The Bears scored quick under Orton (13, 13, and 24 points in the 1st half of his games)

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

As sad as it is, QB is really the least of Chicago's worries right now. They're pinning their running game on a RBBC of Kevin Jones, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, and Matt Forte.

 

NONE of those guys is a starter anywhere else in the NFL aside from Jones in DET, and he's not very good. Find a starting RB worse than any of those guys, please. Four average-below average RBs doesn't equal one good one. Forte's a rookie though, so I could be selling him short. I hope he's exceptional, of course, but given Chicago's track record of drafting offensive talent...yeesh.

 

Their first round draft pick OL anchor needs a backy-otomy. The other option is arguably the saddest OL in the NFL other than Olin Kreutz, who ain't gettin' any younger. Tait's old and creaky, too.

 

Their top receivers are gone. They have an unproven second year TE as their top receiving option. Oh, and crapass Marty Booker.

 

All of this around the worst QB situation east of the Mississippi creates the perfect storm of relentless suck. I'll be fuckin' amazed if they go 6-10 (3 division wins, @ ATL, @ STL, and one win at home against either TEN, NO, PHI, or TAM. The more I dissect the situation, I have them finishing as one of the worst teams in the NFC. Worse than either the Niners or the Rams, but not both.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

The Bears won't be THAT bad. Their offense was HORRIBLE and they still managed to win 7 games with a few more that they could have just as easily won.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

As sad as it is, QB is really the least of Chicago's worries right now. They're pinning their running game on a RBBC of Kevin Jones, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, and Matt Forte.

 

NONE of those guys is a starter anywhere else in the NFL aside from Jones in DET, and he's not very good. Find a starting RB worse than any of those guys, please. Four average-below average RBs doesn't equal one good one. Forte's a rookie though, so I could be selling him short. I hope he's exceptional, of course, but given Chicago's track record of drafting offensive talent...yeesh.

 

Their first round draft pick OL anchor needs a backy-otomy. The other option is arguably the saddest OL in the NFL other than Olin Kreutz, who ain't gettin' any younger. Tait's old and creaky, too.

 

Their top receivers are gone. They have an unproven second year TE as their top receiving option. Oh, and crapass Marty Booker.

 

All of this around the worst QB situation east of the Mississippi creates the perfect storm of relentless suck. I'll be fuckin' amazed if they go 6-10 (3 division wins, @ ATL, @ STL, and one win at home against either TEN, NO, PHI, or TAM. The more I dissect the situation, I have them finishing as one of the worst teams in the NFC. Worse than either the Niners or the Rams, but not both.

 

It's funny you said that, because for all the hoopla around the QB situation, it really is about the offensive line and the running game. Hell, the Bears have had success in the past with serviceable QB play (Steve Walsh in 1994 was 8-3 with 10 TD vs. 8 INT, Jim Miller was 11-2 in 2001 with 13 TD vs. 10 INT, See Orton in 2005) but it's always been predicated on a stout defense and smashmouth run game.

 

The Bears have a good enough "committee" for a 3rd down back in Peterson/Wolfe but they need Forte or Kevin Jones to step it up. It's not like they need to be running for 4.5 yards a carry or anything either, even a mundane 4 works.

 

2007 (Top 2 RB): 3.4 YPC

2006 (Top 2 RB): 4.1 YPC

2005 (Top 3 RB): 4.3/5.1/4.1 YPC

 

The run game will be interesting to watch the next couple pre-season games. They did nothing this week but were solid the first week.

Week 2 (Forte/AP/Wolfe): 15 carries for 33 yards (2.2)

Week 1 (Forte/AP/Wolfe): 17 carries for 117 yards (6.9)

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

The Bears are probably going to be pretty awful. There's no optimism to be sensed around here.

 

Man, that long-term extension to Lovie Smith looks really fucking bad right about now. Guy obviously doesn't have a fucking clue. He plays the part of the Brilliant Secretive Football Coach, but in reality, he sucks at his job and hires an ass-licking society instead of a capable corps of assistant coaches. "There's no rhyme or reason why Kyle is starting this game, so don't worry." No, I am worried. Go coach a mid-major.

[Guest Vitamin X]

But hey he said on the day he was hired, "We're going to beat Green Bay." and that's what he did. Since he was hired in 2004, he's gone 6-2 against the Packers, including two season sweeps (2005 and 2007).

 

Would you guys really rather have Dick Jauron back? Oh wait, no! Dave Wannstedt.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

Okay, but coaches aren't hired to beat the Packers. He also said "we went away from the run because eventually they're going to stop that anyway," his contribution to the great pantheon of Patently Ridiculous Bears Head Coach Statements, joining Dick Jauron's "it's not my show, but I'm on that show," Wanny's "we had a long-distance conversation, you know, on the telephone," and Ditka's whole who you crappin' rant. Unlike the rest of those, which are just silly, that line from the Seahawks postgame demonstrates some pretty scary-bad coaching acumen. You don't give up on the run because it's going to be stopped, you give up on the run because it has been stopped. I'm football retarded and I know that.

 

EDIT: oh the other great Dick Jauron wtf is "we're going to get this guy in the building and we're gonna get his football information."

 

Oh and "he wasn't in an athletic rhythm yet" as an explanation for an incompletion (read: slow). You know what, Leo, I would rather have Dick Jauron back if the Bears are going to suck.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Everyone says a dumb thing at one point or other. Get over it.

[snuffbox 0]

When will the Patriots sign Joe Horn?