NFL 2022 Season

[TheBigIguana]

Smith should be a good fit for the ravens but by most accounts the Bears offered him a very good deal in the summer. Hopefully he gets what he wants from them but not sure it makes sense to pay middle linebackers a good chunk of salary space.
At least they can franchise tag Jackson if can't get a deal done.

It's always a good deal according to the team lol

 

[Yank]

Anyone watch or listen to Pat McAfee? It's a lil too pro nfl at times, but still better than most NFL coverage, I'd also recommend it to anyone who'd like to learn the game. Especially those who didn't grow up or play around it, they cover a lot of concepts pretty in depth.

Anyways, he paid 4 million for a highlight package, and as I said extremely positive in his coverage.


The NFL sent him a letter about showing the NFL films logo lol. The litigation in this country just never ceases, America that is.

Here's a link him ripping the NFL if anyone is curious

 

[Kev The Rat]

Looks like Burrow has been exposed without Chase. Fortunately for them , the next few games aren’t that tough. Hopefully he won’t be back in time for the Chiefs game.

 

[Tree13]

Looks like Burrow has been exposed without Chase. Fortunately for them , the next few games aren’t that tough. Hopefully he won’t be back in time for the Chiefs game.

Imagine Stafford not having Kupp to throw to, or Mahomes not having Kelce. Same impact. You're right though, getting Chase back fit in time to play KC will be key for the Bengals.

But some key points in last night's AFC North slugfest:

1) the Browns can run the football. Chubb is pretty much an elite RB and the Cleveland OL is powerful.

2) Bengals run D is not a strength, and the absence of DJ Reader at defensive tackle (injured) has weakened it further. He's 50/50 at the moment to be fit in time for KC.

3) Cincinnati's #1 and #4 corners (Awuzie and Flowers) both left the game injured. Cleveland capitalised on this (as they should).

4) Cincinnati's OL still isn't making any impact in the running game. Way too many 3 and outs on offense meant that the defense spent too long on the field. Improving in this area would have a bigger influence on the Bengals' playoff prospects than anything else they can hope for.

5) Browns D is above average. With a well-designed gameplan they can slow down most offenses, and they definitely had a well-designed gameplan last night.

The AFC North is always competitive, always tough. A bigger challenge most years than some of the cupcake divisions.

 

[mezzrow]

Sound on, Enrico is calling...

 

[Kev The Rat]

Imagine Stafford not having Kupp to throw to, or Mahomes not having Kelce. Same impact. You're right though, getting Chase back fit in time to play KC will be key for the Bengals.

But some key points in last night's AFC North slugfest:

1) the Browns can run the football. Chubb is pretty much an elite RB and the Cleveland OL is powerful.

2) Bengals run D is not a strength, and the absence of DJ Reader at defensive tackle (injured) has weakened it further. He's 50/50 at the moment to be fit in time for KC.

3) Cincinnati's #1 and #4 corners (Awuzie and Flowers) both left the game injured. Cleveland capitalised on this (as they should).

4) Cincinnati's OL still isn't making any impact in the running game. Way too many 3 and outs on offense meant that the defense spent too long on the field. Improving in this area would have a bigger influence on the Bengals' playoff prospects than anything else they can hope for.

5) Browns D is above average. With a well-designed gameplan they can slow down most offenses, and they definitely had a well-designed gameplan last night.

The AFC North is always competitive, always tough. A bigger challenge most years than some of the cupcake divisions.

Agree with all of the above, except for the point about Mahomes as he hasnt missed a beat without Hill who is probably a superior weapon to Kelce. He's just adapted as all the greats do. And obviously Burrow still has Higgins and Boyd, who are clearly starting calibre.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Would be good if the Packers could actually use some picks today on a receiver, rather than stockpiling them to use on defence every year, only for the defence to not even improve. Still pretty fuming they used both first rounders on defence last year, only to then give up their extra second to trade up for a guy, when they could have got him a few picks earlier and kept both 2s.

 

[Tree13]

Agree with all of the above, except for the point about Mahomes as he hasnt missed a beat without Hill who is probably a superior weapon to Kelce. He's just adapted as all the greats do. And obviously Burrow still has Higgins and Boyd, who are clearly starting calibre.

Higgins and Boyd probably should have done better last night, but the combination of a poor running game and falling behind early meant that Cincinnati had to go pass-heavy and that in turn made the game slightly simpler for Cleveland's D.

Cleveland then cranked that pressure up by running the ball well and chewing up lots of clock, so that when Cincinnati did get possession they had to try for progressively more and more passes, of greater length and therefore more risk of turnover or incompletion. Just a really good strategy from Cleveland's coaching staff.

Mahomes certainly has missed Hill. That's why Kelce, a TE, is now his #1 receiving target. And in turn that's why, were Kelce to be absent, it would have an impact on Mahomes. Losing a guy mid-season to an injury is not the same as a guy moving on at the end of his contract.

 

[Kev The Rat]

Higgins and Boyd probably should have done better last night, but the combination of a poor running game and falling behind early meant that Cincinnati had to go pass-heavy and that in turn made the game slightly simpler for Cleveland's D.

Cleveland then cranked that pressure up by running the ball well and chewing up lots of clock, so that when Cincinnati did get possession they had to try for progressively more and more passes, of greater length and therefore more risk of turnover or incompletion. Just a really good strategy from Cleveland's coaching staff.

Mahomes certainly has missed Hill. That's why Kelce, a TE, is now his #1 receiving target. And in turn that's why, were Kelce to be absent, it would have an impact on Mahomes. Losing a guy mid-season to an injury is not the same as a guy moving on at the end of his contract.

Mahomes has not missed Hill at all you can look at his stats for evidence. Highest qb rating most passing yards etc with WRs with questionable backgrounds. And up until last week leading the league with most 25 yard plus pass plays.

They’ve been times when Hill was out injured for weeks at a time when he was in KC.

Mahomes record in that period? 4-1, 63 comp%, 374 pass yards per game, 8 TDs, 1 INT, 103 QB Rating

 

[Prevenger17]

Mahomes is decent tbf. If he keeps up his current pace, I reckon he'll get another ring before the end of his career

 

[Tree13]

Mahomes has not missed Hill at all you can look at his stats for evidence. Highest qb rating most passing yards etc with WRs with questionable backgrounds. And up until last week leading the league with most 25 yard plus pass plays.

They’ve been times when Hill was out injured for weeks at a time when he was in KC.

Mahomes record in that period? 4-1, 63 comp%, 374 pass yards per game, 8 TDs, 1 INT, 103 QB Rating

I'm not questioning the output.

I'm questioning the fact that the share of the load amongst his receivers is skewed heavily towards Kelce.

The TE has 47 catches from 60 targets in the seven games so far, for 7 TDs and 553 yards... And 222 of those yards are AFTER the catch. The next most targeted receiver on the KC roster is Juju Smith-Schuster with 34 catches from 48 targets, for 494 yards and 2 scores. Juju has even more YAC than Kelce with 312 in seven games.

The next two WRs on the list, Hardman and Valdes-Scantling, have fewer catches combined (41) than Kelce has on his own, fewer TDs (6) and only slightly more yards (587).

Kelce is Mahomes' #1 target. This is kinda odd for a QB who is lauded by some as the best passing QB of all time, because the numbers suggest he's repeatedly hitting Kelce on short routes but the TE is elite enough to turn these short passes into big gains. The stats show that Mahomes either struggles to find Hardman and Valdes-Scantling or just doesn't trust them.

Ergo my original point: take Kelce away and Mahomes will be affected, just as you observed that Burrow missed Chase last night.

 

[Kev The Rat]

I'm not questioning the output.

I'm questioning the fact that the share of the load amongst his receivers is skewed heavily towards Kelce.

The TE has 47 catches from 60 targets in the seven games so far, for 7 TDs and 553 yards... And 222 of those yards are AFTER the catch. The next most targeted receiver on the KC roster is Juju Smith-Schuster with 34 catches from 48 targets, for 494 yards and 2 scores. Juju has even more YAC than Kelce with 312 in seven games.

The next two WRs on the list, Hardman and Valdes-Scantling, have fewer catches combined (41) than Kelce has on his own, fewer TDs (6) and only slightly more yards (587).

Kelce is Mahomes' #1 target. This is kinda odd for a QB who is lauded by some as the best passing QB of all time, because the numbers suggest he's repeatedly hitting Kelce on short routes but the TE is elite enough to turn these short passes into big gains. The stats show that Mahomes either struggles to find Hardman and Valdes-Scantling or just doesn't trust them.

Ergo my original point: take Kelce away and Mahomes will be affected, just as you observed that Burrow missed Chase last night.

Im just saying he has replaced Hill by spreading it round the other (far weaker) WR's while Kelce is just doing what he has always done. If Kelce left, then the WR's would likely have to shoulder some more of the load, and I am sure they would. Another 20 catches to this point between them maybe if an average TE was brought in a replacement?

Look at Rodgers who loooks lost without Adams in tow. Mahomes has handled the change perfectly. No, I wouldn't fear losing Kelce at all with Mahomes still there.

 

[Tree13]

Im just saying he has replaced Hill by spreading it round the other (far weaker) WR's while Kelce is just doing what he has always done. If Kelce left, then the WR's would likely have to shoulder some more of the load, and I am sure they would. Another 20 catches to this point between them maybe if an average TE was brought in a replacement?

Look at Rodgers who loooks lost without Adams in tow. Mahomes has handled the change perfectly. No, I wouldn't fear losing Kelce at all with Mahomes still there.

That's just it though. He HASN'T spread it around. You just said yourself "Kelce's doing what he's always done".

Show me another top-tier QB who's #1 target is a TE who turns short passes into big gains via YAC.

Conversely, look at all the top QBs who throw long passes to WRs in difficult coverages at high speed.

Kelce is a luxury every QB would LOVE to have. He's elite. To suggest Mahomes wouldn't miss his #1 target, the guy who turns his low-risk short passes into big gains, is silly.

Kelce is basically the key to KC's offense now. Mahomes knows it, that's why he keeps throwing the ball to him!

EDIT: Mahomes & Josh Allen (Buffalo) have near-identical stats this season. Allen's reliance on Steffon Diggs is pretty clear... His TE is the 5th most targeted receiver.

Diggs has more yards than Kelce but with less YAC, demonstrating that Allen is throwing longer passes to his #1 target than Mahomes is to his.

Turn to Cincinnati: Burrow targets Chase more than Mahomes does Kelce. But Chase has more yards and less YAC than Kelce. Burrow, like Allen, is throwing longer, more difficult passes to faster-moving targets than Mahomes is.

Kelce is carrying Mahomes.

 

[Kev The Rat]

That's just it though. He HASN'T spread it around. You just said yourself "Kelce's doing what he's always done".

Show me another top-tier QB who's #1 target is a TE who turns short passes into big gains via YAC.

Conversely, look at all the top QBs who throw long passes to WRs in difficult coverages at high speed.

Kelce is a luxury every QB would LOVE to have. He's elite. To suggest Mahomes wouldn't miss his #1 target, the guy who turns his low-risk short passes into big gains, is silly.

Kelce is basically the key to KC's offense now. Mahomes knows it, that's why he keeps throwing the ball to him!

Bt Hill was the main man before - caught over a hundred passes last year and is on record breaking form this year, yet his production hasnt been missed with the trio of receivers stepping in.

Why wouldnt the same be true of Kelce if he was replaced? An average TE would have caught 25 balls at this stage in the Chiefs offense, so its only another 20 receptions between the WR's who would obviously be targetted more often. To me, that would obviously occur, no problem.

As for the YAC I just think thats a facet of Chiefs style of offense, rather than anything else, there is a focus on medium range passes rather than a reliance on the deep ball.

 

[Tree13]

Bt Hill was the main man before - caught over a hundred passes last year and is on record breaking form this year, yet his production hasnt been missed with the trio of receivers stepping in.

Why wouldnt the same be true of Kelce is he was replaced? An average TE would have caught 25 balls at this stage in the Chiefs offense, so its only another 20 receptions between the WR's who would obviously be targetted more often. To me, that would obviously occur, no problem.

As for the YAC I just think thats a facet of Chiefs style of offense, rather than anything else, there is a focus on medium range passes rather than a reliance on the deep ball.

Apologies, I edited my post while you were replying.

The YAC is clearly a feature of Kelce's individual skill as a player. The only other Chief to come close to it is Smith-Schuster, as I already pointed out. It can't be called a facet of the style of offense if the majority of the receivers don't deliver it.

More to the point, YAC is created by the receiver, not the QB. QBs with big yardage + low YAC are clearly better passers than QBs with big yardage + big YAC.