The OFFICIAL 2015 NFL Thread

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Cowboys get desperate and sign Cassell from the Bills to replace Romo. Be interesting to see how the Dallas public respond to that signing.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Probably quite pleased - especially as Brandon Weeden is now the #1.
Mind you, Jerry “You won’t find a more gifted passer” Jones seems to like our old outcast quite a lot. It'll be more interesting to see how long it will be til he changes his tune about Weeden, & either Cassel or Kellen Moore is thrown in to, *cough*, "save their season"....not long I suspect.

 

[Bladders]

I used to love Kellen Moore at Boise State, would love to seem him get a game in the NFL.

 

[Bladders]

What's not to like!!

I'm going to take 'tackle better' to mean tackle like a rugby player.
Also I'm not so sure you'd hold the same opinion of rugby if the players were dressed like American footballers.
Which is kind of the moot point I'm, clumsily, making. (Sorry I had a tougher than expected ride this morning - no pads)

There is nothing more annoying in the NFL than you're blizting Linebacker steaming through on the opposing QB looking for the big hit and then whiffs and over pursues as the QB sidesteps and runs 12 yards for a first down

 

[Bladders]

NCAA College Football

For those interested in the college game, I posted this on last years thread.

It can get confusing with all the bowl games and different conferences.

I personally prefer my Saturday nights watching college than Sundays watching NFL (unless its the Bengals)

Anyway, hope this helps.

A Quick Guide to College Football

College football is split into the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and FCS (Football Conference Subdivision) mainly (as well as Division II and Division III),

The FBS the one that you want to pay attention to as that is the highest standard. In the FBS there are 124 colleges, who play in 10 conferences, plus 4 Independents.

The Big 10 - Northern Midwest mainly
The Big 12 - Southern Midwest and Texas
The Pac-12 - West Coast
The American Athletic Conference (Formally the Big East)
The South-Eastern Conference (SEC)
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

Those are the main 6, which all until this year had automatic BCS (Bowl Championship Series) bids- more on that later, and there are also four other, smaller conferences:

The Mountain West Conference
The Sun-Belt Conference
The Mid-American Conference
Conference-USA

The number of teams in each varies, but 10 to 12 is the norm, with some conferences splitting the teams into two divisions (usually East & West etc) . There are also teams such as Army, Navy, BYU and Notre Dame who are not a part of any conference. These are called independents.

The Bowl Championship Series was a system for determining a national champion, as well as for putting teams into other prestigious bowls. The BCS bowls are:

The Rose Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl
The Sugar Bowl
The Orange Bowl
The National Championship Game

This year, the Rose and Sugar were used as Semi Final games for the National Championship match up.

Which teams get into these Bowl games are determined by which teams win the 6 BCS conferences, who each get a bowl berth, as well as 6 other teams, with a maximum of two per conference. The other determinant is the BCS ranking of each team. The BCS rankings are determined by a poll of coaches as well as computer rankings and another poll.

The top two teams in the BCS rankings did go into the National Championship Game, and the other bowls select their participants from the rest of the teams who are eligible. Some bowls have ties to certain conferences, so the winner of a conference will go to a certain bowl game. For example the Rose Bowl was always played out between the Pac-12 and the Big 10 Champions. Teams from non-BCS conferences can qualify if they win their conference and finish in the top 12 in the BCS rankings.

The rest of the bowl games are traditional end of season games, which have ties to certain conferences or teams, and provide teams who finish with a record better than .500 a big day out and good money for the University.

Before the BCS came in in the 1990s, the national champion was the team who finished top of the polls- with the Associated Press poll tending to carry the most weight. The AP poll is no longer a part of the BCS rankings as they refuse to name the BCS national champion as their number one automatically.

There's a lot to learn, but you'll get there in the end. I've probably just confused everyone even more, so if you have any more questions then stick them down here and I will do my best to answer them for you.
​

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

I think Rex Ryan will choke at the Bills just as he failed to deliver at the Jets. Like his old man Buddy Ryan he is a good defensive co-ordinator but he ain’t a head coach.

 

[Bladders]

I think Rex Ryan will choke at the Bills just as he failed to deliver at the Jets. Like his old man Buddy Ryan he is a good defensive co-ordinator but he ain’t a head coach.

I think Rex is a 2 season HC, he got the Jets to the AFC Championship game early in his tenure there.

I think his style works early, then once that runs thin and gets tiresome his teams get worse.


Good win against Indy in week 1, blown away by the Pats though.

 

[Shatner's Bassoon]

For those interested in the college game, I posted this on last years thread.

It can get confusing with all the bowl games and different conferences.

I personally prefer my Saturday nights watching college than Sundays watching NFL (unless its the Bengals)

Anyway, hope this helps.

A Quick Guide to College Football

College football is split into the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and FCS (Football Conference Subdivision) mainly (as well as Division II and Division III),

The FBS the one that you want to pay attention to as that is the highest standard. In the FBS there are 124 colleges, who play in 10 conferences, plus 4 Independents.

The Big 10 - Northern Midwest mainly
The Big 12 - Southern Midwest and Texas
The Pac-12 - West Coast
The American Athletic Conference (Formally the Big East)
The South-Eastern Conference (SEC)
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

Those are the main 6, which all until this year had automatic BCS (Bowl Championship Series) bids- more on that later, and there are also four other, smaller conferences:

The Mountain West Conference
The Sun-Belt Conference
The Mid-American Conference
Conference-USA

The number of teams in each varies, but 10 to 12 is the norm, with some conferences splitting the teams into two divisions (usually East & West etc) . There are also teams such as Army, Navy, BYU and Notre Dame who are not a part of any conference. These are called independents.

The Bowl Championship Series was a system for determining a national champion, as well as for putting teams into other prestigious bowls. The BCS bowls are:

The Rose Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl
The Sugar Bowl
The Orange Bowl
The National Championship Game

This year, the Rose and Sugar were used as Semi Final games for the National Championship match up.

Which teams get into these Bowl games are determined by which teams win the 6 BCS conferences, who each get a bowl berth, as well as 6 other teams, with a maximum of two per conference. The other determinant is the BCS ranking of each team. The BCS rankings are determined by a poll of coaches as well as computer rankings and another poll.

The top two teams in the BCS rankings did go into the National Championship Game, and the other bowls select their participants from the rest of the teams who are eligible. Some bowls have ties to certain conferences, so the winner of a conference will go to a certain bowl game. For example the Rose Bowl was always played out between the Pac-12 and the Big 10 Champions. Teams from non-BCS conferences can qualify if they win their conference and finish in the top 12 in the BCS rankings.

The rest of the bowl games are traditional end of season games, which have ties to certain conferences or teams, and provide teams who finish with a record better than .500 a big day out and good money for the University.

Before the BCS came in in the 1990s, the national champion was the team who finished top of the polls- with the Associated Press poll tending to carry the most weight. The AP poll is no longer a part of the BCS rankings as they refuse to name the BCS national champion as their number one automatically.

There's a lot to learn, but you'll get there in the end. I've probably just confused everyone even more, so if you have any more questions then stick them down here and I will do my best to answer them for you.
​

Which team would you recommend watching in particular? I quite enjoy the college game but I must admit I like my games a bit more defensive and scrappy. Any pro-style teams who I can see on ESPN?

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

Not sure if this has been posted – in yesterday’s Bleacher Report. They would be using Spurs ground

Boris Johnson on potential NFL franchise

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

I don't mind a couple of International Series games a year with different teams - but I really, really hope a franchise never bases itself over here...terrible idea IMO.

 

[Bladders]

Which team would you recommend watching in particular? I quite enjoy the college game but I must admit I like my games a bit more defensive and scrappy. Any pro-style teams who I can see on ESPN?

Mmmm, not sure I can pick a specific team for you. Defences in College wont be as fast as NFL teams and there aren't any shutdown D's like the Ravens/Steelers from a few years back.

2011 was quite a good year from memory when LSU #1 beat Alabama #2 9 - 6 in a real hard defensive tussle. The National Championship game however that between these two teams was lopsided in Bama's favour.


I suppose the simple answer would be to watch the top ranked teams, these will have the best players and the best recruiting classes so its SEC, PAC-12, BIG 10 and BIG 12 teams mainly. In recent years I'd say the top SEC teams have had some of the best D's but looking at last years bowl results they all lost from memory and some by big scores.

Having the better players tends to translate into a more pro style offence as well as teams can run and throw the ball in a pretty balanced way. Lesser teams will tend to run the Option and Triple Option a lot more, which again is more run based and takes the risk out of the QB's arm.

If you like rapid offence with all types of funky crazy plays then it has to be Oregon, though having seen them this year lose at Michigan State they were far from the fast paced Offence from the last 5 years or so. Not sure their new QB is quite upto it yet and following Mariota (Now at the Titans) will be a tough ask.

You might have to sky plus a few as some of the best matches are on at or later than 1:00am unfortunately, especially PAC-12 game as most are based on the West Coast.


However, from what you said I get the feeling you like your football in the mud and a bit more of hard nosed running game so I'm going to say BIG-10 for you.

Michigan, Penn State, Rutgers, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin etc .

 

[Shatner's Bassoon]

Mmmm, not sure I can pick a specific team for you. Defences in College wont be as fast as NFL teams and there aren't any shutdown D's like the Ravens/Steelers from a few years back.

2011 was quite a good year from memory when LSU #1 beat Alabama #2 9 - 6 in a real hard defensive tussle. The National Championship game however that between these two teams was lopsided in Bama's favour.


I suppose the simple answer would be to watch the top ranked teams, these will have the best players and the best recruiting classes so its SEC, PAC-12, BIG 10 and BIG 12 teams mainly. In recent years I'd say the top SEC teams have had some of the best D's but looking at last years bowl results they all lost from memory and some by big scores.

Having the better players tends to translate into a more pro style offence as well as teams can run and throw the ball in a pretty balanced way. Lesser teams will tend to run the Option and Triple Option a lot more, which again is more run based and takes the risk out of the QB's arm.

If you like rapid offence with all types of funky crazy plays then it has to be Oregon, though having seen them this year lose at Michigan State they were far from the fast paced Offence from the last 5 years or so. Not sure their new QB is quite upto it yet and following Mariota (Now at the Titans) will be a tough ask.

You might have to sky plus a few as some of the best matches are on at or later than 1:00am unfortunately, especially PAC-12 game as most are based on the West Coast.


However, from what you said I get the feeling you like your football in the mud and a bit more of hard nosed running game so I'm going to say BIG-10 for you.

Michigan, Penn State, Rutgers, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin etc .

Great stuff, cheers. I'd earmarked Michigan v BYU to watch on Saturday, as it's on at a decent time and I'd like to see how Harbaugh's doing, so hopefully that'll be a good game.

Are there any decent podcasts available, do you know?

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Having been a massive football fan for 30 years, I still find it odd that I have never got into college football very much. I'll look out for a couple of teams results (Wisconsin & Florida St.) but I cant say I've sat and watched a game properly since TVS used to show College football highlights in the late 80's / early 90's. I really should make more of an effort, but when you don't have BT Sport its a bit difficult these days!

Just seen that, if Brees cant go for the Saints on Sunday, the back up in the Big Easy is Luke McCown - ex Browns & Bucs like his brother Josh. How on earth are those 2 still bouncing around the league...and more importantly, why did they have to both end up in Cleveland along the way

 

[Bladders]

Great stuff, cheers. I'd earmarked Michigan v BYU to watch on Saturday, as it's on at a decent time and I'd like to see how Harbaugh's doing, so hopefully that'll be a good game.

Are there any decent podcasts available, do you know?

Just checked the listings on BT/ESPN and cant find that game being shown. What time/channel have you seen it on as I fancy it too!!


Not sure on pod casts, wouldn't mind finding one myself.

 

[Hotchilidog]

I sometimes listen to the Championship Drive podcast from ESPN. I preferred it when it was just the ESPN College football podcast with Ivan Maisel and the late Beano Cook. The get round all the major conferences each week. It's daily so be prepared to keep up but if you need your college fix then it's a decent place to start.

 

[Bladders]

Boise State @ Virginia should be a good one. On tomorrow night late on ESPN.

 

[Bladders]

I sometimes listen to the Championship Drive podcast from ESPN. I preferred it when it was just the ESPN College football podcast with Ivan Maisel and the late Beano Cook. The get round all the major conferences each week. It's daily so be prepared to keep up but if you need your college fix then it's a decent place to start.

I think I have that APP on my phone. Will check it out.

Cheers.

 

[Shatner's Bassoon]

Just checked the listings on BT/ESPN and cant find that game being shown. What time/channel have you seen it on as I fancy it too!!


Not sure on pod casts, wouldn't mind finding one myself.

ESPN Player, Saturday at 12 Eastern Time.

 

[Bladders]

ESPN Player, Saturday at 12 Eastern Time.

Do you pay an extra subscription for that?

Is it College pass?

 

[Shatner's Bassoon]

Do you pay an extra subscription for that?

No, in fact I don't have ESPN. It's an NFL Gamepass type deal. To be honest, I thought it was you who'd told me about it.