NFL Running Thread - Week 3 with Mark Moseley and Jeff Reed

Although, considering his name and the mustache, I actually think the sunglasses complete the ensemble.

 

After that last play, I think we all know who's going to get drunk into the wee of hours of the night tonight.

 

Had to go back a few pages to find it, but this sums up my thoughts on starting Vick. After Week 1, I had the Eagles pegged for a 6-10 team, 7-9 at best.
Now? With the way Vick is playing, and the way other teams are shaping up, they might be a bonafide playoff team. Yeah, I know. Vick has shined against Detroit and Jacksonville. But the next two weeks are Washington and San Fran, two very winnable games right now. They hit a rough patch the next few weeks (Atlanta, Tennessee, Indy), then have a bunch of division games and one with a Minnesota team that might be in freefall on the back half of the schedule.
As of right now, there's no reason they can't go 4-2 in the division, beat San Fran and Minnesota, and maybe steal two other games. That would put them at 10-6, which might be enough to win what has quickly become a mediocre NFC East or at least snatch a wild card. Reaching the Super Bowl might be a longshot, but if you can get in the playoffs you never know.
Bottom line, the schedule is weak enough for Vick to continue lighting it up.

 

Sunglass-wearing Sparano...?


Or Bernie Lomax?

 

That's my point on all of this. Maybe Reid caught a little bit of Week 1 and realized that with Vick (and more important, a weak Washington and Dallas/Giants struggling) and thought... "screw rebuilding. we can win this thing".

Starting Vick all year may not help them find a long-term solution at QB BUT it could land Reid a long-term deal (ala Childress last year after the fast strart) and buy Reid more time if this "rebuilding" team makes the playoffs.

 

This is genius.

 

Related to Tony Sparano?

 

I know it was a Styx reference, but I found this when searching google images and had to share.

 

The whole "let's see him do it for more than 10 quarters" thing is chickenshit.

How about after 14 quarters? Then, it'll be "let's see him do it for more than 14 quarters." Etc....

It's so easy to say that, knowing that at the first sign of trouble, you can come back with "TOLD YA SO!!!!"

Good job.

How about we all just sit back and enjoy Michael Vick? I mean, is ANYONE playing better football right now?

M-V-P!!
M-V-P!!
M-V-P!!

 

It is very simple, fanboy. Vick has shown flashes of brilliance mixed in with large amount of shit his entire career. If you weren't so busy bowing down before the dog killer, you would know that, too. That is why it is a little early to say he needs to do it for more than two games.

I guess you are ready to put Mark Sanchez in the Hall of Fame, too. He has been pretty spectacular the last two games. I guess Charlie Batch should hold on to the job in Pittsburgh, too. I mean, it was only four quarters, but he did throw three touchdown passes. Nevermind the past. He played great for an entire four quarters!

 

I've got to say this: If I'd been fortunate enough to attend the Steelers-Bucs game Sunday, I'm reasonably certain that I wouldn't have had a HUGE BLANK SQUARE in the middle of my field of vision during the entire afternoon, as I did thanks to the lovely folks at DirecTV.
So the in-person experience still has that going for it.

 

Since so many posters seem to have nothing better to do than than drool over the dog killer, let's annoy them with a Steelersjack.

The Steelers talked a good bit about everybody having to pick up the slack with Roethlisberger out. So far, it seems to be working It is very early, but the defense looks a heck of a lot more like the 2008 unit that led the league than last year's mess. (Funny how that works. When you see something of note only three games in, you look at the track record, too).

For the Steelers fans on here, do you think this unit can be that good again? Eh, lets see the haters chime in too, just to keep it interesting.

There are some positive signs. For one thing,the offenses they have faced so far aren't awful. The Falcons, Titans and Bucs are a combined 6-0 when they play opponents other than the Steelers. Tennessee has averaged 33 points per game in its two victories. Atlanta has averaged 33.67. Only Tampa Bay has struggled in its other two games offensively, scoring 18.3 per game.

The Steelers lead the league in average points given up at 11 per game. They are second in sacks with 10. They have forced 10 turnovers, including five interceptions, something that was sorely lacking a year ago.

Sure, some of it is just getting healthy. Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith are back after missing most of last season. James Harrison played the final month or so of '09 with a shoulder injury that basically left him playing with one arm.

Bryant McFadden's return seems to have helped, too. Roddy White kicked his ass in the opener, but he has been better since then. McFadden was the team's best corner before he broke his arm in '08. William Gay even looks more like his '08 self now that he is back in the nickel role.

More importantly, Lawrence Timmons has been outstanding after struggling through injuries and the learning curve at inside linebacker last year.

It also helps that this team is running the ball. Rashard Mendenhall is fourth in the league with 332 yards rushing so far, averaging 5.2 per carry.

The downside is easy to see, too. The corners may be improved, but they aren't great. The defense is aging and could easily break down as the season goes on. If Polamalu gets hurt again, they will probably falter once more.

So, is this real? Or is this an aging defense ready to fall apart as the season wears on?