Football (NFL/College)

Looking forward to this year! I was born and grew up near Pittsburgh, so I'm a lifelong Steelers fan. So far the team has had a great offseason and pre-season. Hoping the trend continues. Good luck to your Panthers, @tsi

Heavy Sigh...   My Niners just traded away Trey Lance for a 4th round pick to the Dallas Cowboys.   I know Shanahan is known for giving all the way up on guys in a hurry, so he probably didn't have a chance in SF -  but they used 3 #1 picks for the kid and never even gave him a shot.    My nightmare - since I hate the Cowboys with a passion - is that Dak Prescott will get hurt and Trey Lance will ball out for the Cowboys.      I honestly can't believe how sad that is.

I thought I was done being shocked by crazy trades after the Cardinals dumped Isaiah Simmons for a 7th round pick  (why couldn't the Niners get in on that?   Trey Lance for Isaiah Simmons straight up would have been a steal for us)    

At least the real games start soon.

One point I saw made on Twitter is that you have to credit the Niners for finding success in spite of the Lance failure. How many teams could blow that many high picks on a QB and come out the other side competitive?

If it makes you feel any better, those first-round picks who flame out almost never improve with a change of scenery. A third organization is now convincing itself that Sam Darnold is a worthwhile NFL player. I'm sure he'll do reasonably well in Purdy's absence, but that's all Shanahan. I could probably complete 50% of my passes in his offense.

The Lance thing is wild. I don't fault them for cutting their losses because they're too good for a project QB now. That said, I do fault them for moving up to draft him. He was always going to be a project and moving up to #3 was brazen. If I were them, I would've moved up for Justin Fields. The jury's still out on Fields, but he could've been good in Shanahan's offense with those weapons.

The list of players they could've moved up to draft, though... I'd be a little sick if I were a Niners fan. To pick third in the 2021 draft and come away without a great player is rough. Ja'Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, Penei Sewell, Patrick Surtain, DeVonta Smith, Micah Parsons, and Rashawn Slater were all drafted in the top 15.

Dude... that Micah Parsons pick.   If they had stood pat and not moved up they could have still grabbed parsons.   To think about an edge rush combo of Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons backed up by Fred Warner...  dear god.  And they could have used the first rounders in the next two years to grab O-linemen or a corner.   

The defense is stacked as it is but my gosh it could have been monstrous if they skip the Lance trade.   But, they lucked out getting a serviceable QB at Mr. Irrelevant so...  shrug.

And the next 24 hours is going to be huge for my nephew.   He's on the roster bubble for the Jets right now.   Good things he's got going for him -  he shares an alma mater with Aaron Rodgers and has become best friends with Sauce Gardner... and also had a couple of very strong pre-season games.    But as a 3rd rounder on the 4th year of his contract he's more expensive than some of the undrafted free agents battling him for the back up safety spot.    Hoping he hangs on... but I feel pretty confident that if he does end up on the wrong side of the 53 man math that another team will grab him. 

It's going to be an interesting season.   I've got my fingers crossed over here that the Eagles stumble and that Geno Smith turns back into a pumpkin   🙂     

And hoping for my son's sake - and yours TSI - that Bryce Young is the tiny QB exception that proves the rule. 

@panthercult What position does your nephew play? Wishing him good luck!!

Posted by: @akajomiha

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@panthercult What position does your nephew play? Wishing him good luck!!

My nephew plays Safety -  Ashtyn Davis.  He started a bunch of games two seasons ago - but last year only got a handful of reps at safety (though he did get a game sealing interception) and mostly played special teams.

Best of luck to your nephew, PC. Pretty cool to know someone in the league, especially a relative.

I'm fairly confident the NFC is a two-horse race between Philly and SF. I think the Cowboys and Seahawks could be good, but nowhere near the level of the other two.

I was glad the Panthers went up and got a QB this year given the fact that the NFC is so weak. If they draft right over the next two years, they could be a threat in a terrible conference. I'm just not sold on the QB they got.

Just an update that my nephew did in fact stick on the Jets 53 man roster.    He was on screen a minute during Hard Knocks this week but he's so low key he isn't very interesting as a TV subject.    I'm wondering if they'll focus on him more in next week's episode where they deal with final roster cuts...  anyway, just a week away (well a week and a day) from the first game of the season.

Got my fingers crossed that Brock Purdy is a real NFL quarterback and last season wasn't just a blip or mirage.   And hoping the Niners get Bosa's contract figured out so his holdout doesn't extend into the season.

Congrats to Ashtyn, that's awesome. You and I are going to be rivals the first week, @panthercult, me being a Steelers fan and all. It will be an interesting first game. Looking forward to it!

Posted by: @akajomiha

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You and I are going to be rivals the first week, @panthercult, me being a Steelers fan and all. It will be an interesting first game. Looking forward to it!

Should be a decent game.    Assuming the Niners get Bosa's deal done this week (fingers crossed) that should be enough time to get him into the Steelers game.      Pittsburg has a good defense with a fierce pass rush, so hopefully our running backs can just grind the Pitt linebackers to dust and keep Purdy clean.     SF has a tough schedule this year and a lot of HIGH expectations.   Going to be a challenge this season.

Anybody want to make some ill-fated playoff predictions with me?

AFC:

1. KC
2. BUF
3. CIN
4. JAX
5. MIA
6. BAL
7. LAC

NFC:

1. PHI
2. SF
3. GB
4. ATL - couldn't go all chalk, could I?
5. DAL
6. SEA
7. DET

SB: KC over SF

Heyo! A sports ball thread!

Looking for my Bengals to slay the 9ers dragon in the SB this year. 

@panthercult That's rad! I'll be rooting for him! Cool he's tight was Sauce too (Another Cincy guy, ha!)

@akajohima My condolences for your fandom. 😁

As much a I hate to say it, as long as Pickett progresses, I think the Steelers fan nish 2nd in the AFCN and make the playoffs over the Ravens. I could see them getting in over the Chargers. 

NFC is wide open behind the Philly and San Fran. I'm rooting for the Lions and Falcons over there myself. Lions are a fun team/story and Ridder is such a good dude I want him to succeed even though I didn't think he was an NFL QB personally (hoping I'm wrong for sure). 

Solid playoff predictions TSI - though selfishly I'm hoping Geno Smith gets overconfident and turns back into the guy who couldn't lead the Jets and Seattle stumbles.   (I hate the Seahawks so much).

I'm kind of eager to see the Bears.   The hype train has been building for Justin Fields and I want to see if he takes Jalen Hurts type strides this year or if he just is what he's been.

Just 24 hours until the season kicks off -  woo hoo.

As a Seattle transplant, I have to at least wish the Seahawks well. The NFC is so bad that I can't really see them missing the playoffs.

The Philadelphia offense is so good that I don't think you can compare Fields to Hurts. DJ Moore is a huge upgrade, but the Eagles... phew. I think most NFL QBs would find some success in that offense. Last year they had the best offensive line in football, two of the best receivers in the league, and an offensive genius at the helm. I thought Fields would be an excellent pro. I no longer think that's the case, but it's difficult for me to say how much of that is his fault. The situation he was drafted into was about as bad as it gets. No protection, no weapons, and bad coaching.

The more football I watch, the more I wonder how many QBs can transcend their circumstances. Even Drew Brees didn't become Drew Brees until he got a great coach and notable receivers around him.