It's Poll Time - Who is going to win each division!

Saveyoself · 2012-05-26T02:45:14.089091+00:00

Haha, before I went in like a homer and picked the Lions, even though I think the Packers are more likely if I'm being 100% honest, there was one vote for the Bears and Vikings, but none for the Lions.

Saveyoself · 2012-05-26T02:43:25.069928+00:00

The Cowboys are always that way though. I mean, they have some crazy talent. Just can't bring it together. Every year with them is a possibility. I mean, it isn't like they were far from winning this last year...

alixxlove · 2012-05-26T02:25:21.881083+00:00

Understood.

robert32907 · 2012-05-26T02:24:35.759979+00:00

You and me both.

alixxlove · 2012-05-26T02:22:28.727111+00:00

I wouldn't even say they say exactly what's on their mind. A lot of the time it's an exaggeration brought on by a weird internet societal norm to be over the top.

Saveyoself · 2012-05-26T02:16:43.070396+00:00

Lol at the current state of NFC East. Giants ahead by one vote, the rest tied.

robert32907 · 2012-05-26T02:08:23.493644+00:00

That might be true, but I'm not 100% sold that he's their man in the long term anyway. Along that line of thought, if they struggle this year and have a high draft pick, they could pick up a top QB and go from there knowing that the talent level around him will also be going up.

robert32907 · 2012-05-26T02:01:26.573224+00:00

I'm not expecting them to be a top 5 defense or anything either, but I do expect our big play potential to help us win some games. We were very high in the league in turnovers last year and increasing the pass rush with Fairley will hopefully maintain that.

robert32907 · 2012-05-26T01:51:16.368544+00:00

The secondary is young and growing. Before Delmas went out we were hanging in there. He was gone for both the New Orleans game and the last Green Bay game during the regular season and his presence was missed sorely. It's not entirely accurate to say we didn't address the secondary at all in the draft, we just didn't address it early. We picked up a couple guys a little later that will compete for backup jobs. We also picked up Jacob Lacey, who isn't going to strike fear in anyone's heart but finished last year on a really strong stretch of games. He and Aaron Berry, who is already being called our likely breakout player, will trade off on CB #2 duties.

Our #1 pick from last year was injured the entire season. But despite his little run in with the law, he's all healed up and he has bulked up and increased his muscle mass significantly. I expect his presence to be felt in the pass rush as Suh is still likely to be drawing double coverage.

Overall, our defense had a lot of young players who are expected to continue their development. That gives plenty of reason for optimism for improvement. Depth in the back 7 may still be an issue, but no worse than it was.

The last thing in terms of helping the defense is the expectation that with Smith, LeShoure, and Best all healthy at the beginning of the year that our run game won't be as atrocious as it was in 2011, extending drives and giving the D much needed rest.

robert32907 · 2012-05-26T01:19:54.995765+00:00

I still don't think the Bears will be able to compete offensively is Stafford stay healthy. We've seen a progression from him throughout his career and even a slight improvement over what he's already doing would put him in the upper echelon of QBs.

I think the Bears defense is better than ours, but doesn't have the same upside potential, so if things go well for us there and they lose a player or two to age related injuries, I could see the Lions ending up with the better defense, especially in terms of big play (Sacks/Ints/Fumbles) potential.

robert32907 · 2012-05-26T01:15:56.404141+00:00

The thing with the Rams is that their plethora of young talent and upcoming draft picks means that in 2-3 years time they have potential to be a force. I do think it will be another year before we start seeing that potential realized.

robert32907 · 2012-05-26T01:14:43.770425+00:00

Week 17 too!

beardown__ · 2012-05-26T01:13:57.313175+00:00

I would understand them not paying him if he wasn't such a crucial safety valve in the pass game. If he were to hold out, I think they'd miss him faster than they are willing to admit. There has been a somewhat effective, yet subtle, PR campaign to downplay his importance. Shrewd business in one sense, but it could backfire big time, especially since it could send waves through the lock room.

Brinsanity · 2012-05-25T23:09:34.625449+00:00

Or a mythological gremlin like creature. Take your pick.

ac91 · 2012-05-25T23:07:40.293919+00:00

You elicited my first burst of laughter all day. Poor Bengals.

ezenbrowntown · 2012-05-25T23:05:59.396360+00:00

Haha. If he had been in Detroit at the beginning of his career things would have been pretty rough for him. Now, if he was a rookie coming into the league now and got drafted by the Lions, somehow got the starting position and went from there, he could definitely be great. What a weird hypothetical.

ezenbrowntown · 2012-05-25T23:04:36.948430+00:00

The reasoning behind Peyton is just that he is basically a coach in and of himself. If he was given the ability to take over an offense the way he did, I think he could have largely reproduced his success. I could be wrong.

As far as dome vs. outdoors, I really wish someone would do some statistical analysis on the topic because it's hard to determine just how significant the impact is.

brcreeker · 2012-05-25T22:27:03.044640+00:00

I would say it might be incongruent with talking about it a lot.

Edit: I was having context issues. Please ignore this statement.

Brinsanity · 2012-05-25T22:25:00.504456+00:00

Sokay. I didn't word that as well as I could have, that might be part of the issue, but also, Niners fans are out in force. I understand, the same thing happens any time you say something about a team's QB.

ezenbrowntown · 2012-05-25T21:53:44.490370+00:00

I didn't even mean just that, although Belichick is the best coach in the league and that can't hurt. I just meant the timing in terms of Bledsoe being hurt when he was. If it had happened earlier, Brady might not have been ready and could have flopped hard. If it had been later, there could have been a long drawn out QB battle and it's hard to say how long Belichick would have stuck with Bledsoe.

Brinsanity · 2012-05-25T21:49:19.999870+00:00

I can't follow you.

Brinsanity · 2012-05-25T21:48:49.968428+00:00

...

It means that you aren't in a safe passing environment like Smith was.

Brinsanity · 2012-05-25T21:47:57.162522+00:00

Where's the context for any of it? That was my point.

ezenbrowntown · 2012-05-25T21:32:05.809846+00:00

Well, he's no different than Romo in that respect, but QBs don't get the same kind of opportunities. Anyway, you aren't wrong. I didn't come here to bash Tom Brady, but I do think if he ended up somewhere else he wouldn't be held in quite the same regard as he is in NE. The same goes for pretty much any top tier QB though. Brees wasn't recognized in San Diego for instance. I feel like Peyton might be the only QB in the last 15 years who would have been nearly as successful as he was, regardless of where he went.

Brinsanity · 2012-05-25T21:28:49.161742+00:00

Yards aren't irrelevant. It's a direct correlation with how much the QB was relied on overall. I would say that it is overblown, but definitely not irrelevant. There is also a direct correlation between teams who throw for the most yards and success. The top 5 passing teams in terms of yards were all in the playoffs, held both of the top seeds, 4 won their divisions, and 2 went to the Super Bowl. The top 10 QBs from 2011 in terms of yards are all considered tier 1 or tier 2 QBs. Players on that list have won 8 of the last 10 Super Bowls, and that isn't including the one by the Colts, so it's effectively 9 of the last 10 Super Bowls have gone to top 10 QBs in terms of yards in 2011. There context to fill in there and a caveat hovers around Big Ben, but the point is, yards aren't irrelevant.

Actually, I would have thought Smith would have a higher TD total just for all the times his defense and special teams got him in good position.

Percentages is not the "fairest" way. No single stat is the "fairest" way by itself. Personally, I tend to lean towards QBs who have to put their team on their back in order to compete. That's tough to determine strictly by stats, but basically it means a QB who has to carry his team is usually going to be better in my eyes than one who gets carried by his team.

sosuhme

TROPHY CASE

sosuhme

TROPHY CASE

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