2015-16 NFC North/NFL thread

[wadesworld]

I can't wait until a time where the Packers don't have a Favre or a Rodgers. Then we'll see your reaction to mediciore to decent QBs

Yeah.  I won't like it at all.  It's pretty simple.

But we have Hundly ready to push Rodgers out.  So you can keep waiting.

You're the one who brought this up today.  "Hey look!  We're tied half way through the 2nd quarter!  Cutler's awesome!"

[jesmu84]

How about not turn the ball over and set your opponent up for easy points?I don't know. I like that part in a QB. Maybe I'm alone there. Lol.

I was addressing your point mocking the fact that the bears were tied in the first half. Cutler was having a great game to that point.

[DegenerateDish]

I want to set myself on fire after watching second half of Pokes/Eagles.

[brandx]

I was thinking about poking my eyes out.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I want to set myself on fire after watching second half of Pokes/Eagles.

After watching Romo go down, I tried.  Couldn't get the match to light. 

[jesmu84]

So, when is Chip Kelly going to revolutionize the NFL?

[wadesworld]

Packers might not have 22 healthy players by the end of this game.

How many carts do they have available in Lambeau?

[GGGG]

Yeah.  I won't like it at all.  It's pretty simple.

But we have Hundly ready to push Rodgers out.  So you can keep waiting.

You're the one who brought this up today.  "Hey look!  We're tied half way through the 2nd quarter!  Cutler's awesome!"

Hundley will not be Rodgers replacement. Rodgers will be around long after Hundley leaves the team.

[wadesworld]

Hundley will not be Rodgers replacement. Rodgers will be around long after Hundley leaves the team.

I know.  It was a joke.

Although I'm not sure Hundley won't just be a career backup type of player.  Yes, he looked great and is young so you would think will continue to improve.  But so did Flynn for a couple years in preseason and a game in New England.

[jesmu84]

I know.  It was a joke.

Although I'm not sure Hundley won't just be a career backup type of player.  Yes, he looked great and is young so you would think will continue to improve.  But so did Flynn for a couple years in preseason and a game in New England.

That guy has made so much money because of that.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I know.  It was a joke.

Although I'm not sure Hundley won't just be a career backup type of player.  Yes, he looked great and is young so you would think will continue to improve.  But so did Flynn for a couple years in preseason and a game in New England.

I watched Hundley for three years with my beloved Bruins....he couldn't touch Josh Rosen's jock strap, the current 18 year old UCLA QB.   I liked Hundley, but not very smart with the ball and overall decision making, not much touch on his ball.  His feet, strength and grit were huge pluses. 

I would hope that by serving as a backup for a few years in the NFL, he will mature into a smarter QB.  He's a smart guy overall, but plays hurried and panicky too much.  Hard for me to see him as anything but a journeyman.

[wadesworld]

That guy has made so much money because of that.

Yup. He has. Must be awesome for him. 7th round pick, average college QB, and 1 game gets him a starter's contract, to be a career backup.

On another note, the Seahawks are absolute clowns. Every time it looks bleak for them the cheap shots come out. I don't think there's another team in sports I hate more.

[4everwarriors]

Cats in the bag and the bag's in da river, ai na?

[wadesworld]

Mr. August Jayrone Elliot showing up in September.  Liked him since he got his 7 sacks against a bunch of 3rd stringers last preseason.  Big guy with some athleticism.

Also, maybe I'm totally wrong on this, but I don't think Mac would've called that drive that Clements did when we were down 1 in the 4th.  Going no running back the entire drive, bringing Cobb and Rodgers out of the backfield, quick throws to the flats.  I think Mac continues to try to keep the offense balanced is perfectly happy if that means settling for a 2 point lead rather than 7.  I could be totally wrong and maybe Mac came up with that idea, but either way, I loved it.  That's my dream Packers drive.  Obviously you can't go totally pass, but we have the best football player in the world.  Let him do his thing.

[jesmu84]

Mr. August Jayrone Elliot showing up in September.  Liked him since he got his 7 sacks against a bunch of 3rd stringers last preseason.  Big guy with some athleticism.

Also, maybe I'm totally wrong on this, but I don't think Mac would've called that drive that Clements did when we were down 1 in the 4th.  Going no running back the entire drive, bringing Cobb and Rodgers out of the backfield, quick throws to the flats.  I think Mac continues to try to keep the offense balanced is perfectly happy if that means settling for a 2 point lead rather than 7.  I could be totally wrong and maybe Mac came up with that idea, but either way, I loved it.  That's my dream Packer's drive.  Obviously you can't go totally pass, but we have the best football player in the world.  Let him do his thing.

Yup. I've thought that for a while.

[wadesworld]

Yup. I've thought that for a while.

Ditto.

[MU82]

Lol. The guy was 8-8 for 100+ with a TD and no TOs before the pick. What more do you want in a half?

I'm agnostic on Cutler, just a long-time observer.

This is his M.O. For stretches -- even fairly long stretches -- he can look like a dominant, top-5 QB. It's why he makes ridiculous money and it's why many GMs and coaches have drooled over him.

But he makes the kind of mistakes no top-5 QB makes, and building a team around a QB like that is dangerous. You pay him a ton of money, eating up salary cap you could use to upgrade at other positions, and you don't win.

Do Rodgers, Brady and Roethlisberger make mistakes? Of course. Do they make the same mistakes over and over and over and over and over again? We all know the answer to that one.

Of course Clausen isn't better than Cutler. If he were, he'd already be a starter in the league. The Bears have put themselves in a position in which they are screwed with Cutler and screwed without him.

Cutler is one of those vexing athletes, the kind coaches and GMs are convinced they need to win but one who ultimately proves he is not a winner. You're scared to dump him because you have nobody better and you don't want to dump the guy who, under the "right" coach/coordinator, becomes the next Favre. So you keep him and, all too often, watch him perform like Favre at his worst.

The guy has played on some pretty talented Denver and Chicago teams, and he has won exactly one playoff game while serving up some amazing choke jobs.

So ...

Cutler goes 8-for-8 and has the Bears in decent position. He then throws a pick-6 and gets hurt trying to make the tackle, and the Bears go on to lose big.

Talk about the perfect example of "microcosm of his career."

[GooooMarquette]

I have a degree from Vandy, so I would have LOVED for Cutler to be a star.  But as MU82 says, he is a very talented guy...who has an incredible knack for making big mistakes.  The Bears gambled that he could reduce his mistakes - he can't - or that they could build a team around him that is strong enough to cover for them - they haven't - so now are in the difficult position of just living with him until they can find someone else willing to take him.  It sometimes happens when you bet the farm on a guy with raw talent, but not much else.

[Spotcheck Billy]

I watched Hundley for three years with my beloved Bruins....he couldn't touch Josh Rosen's jock strap, the current 18 year old UCLA QB.   I liked Hundley, but not very smart with the ball and overall decision making, not much touch on his ball.  His feet, strength and grit were huge pluses. 

I would hope that by serving as a backup for a few years in the NFL, he will mature into a smarter QB.  He's a smart guy overall, but plays hurried and panicky too much.  Hard for me to see him as anything but a journeyman.

I guess you didn't see him during pre-season, he started out like in your quote but in the last game he was not hurried or panicking at all, very poised for a rookie after just 1 semester in QB school.

[GGGG]

The road of so-so quarterbacks is littered with those who looked good in pre-season.  He was playing against second team defenses that weren't specifically scheming against him.

[MerrittsMustache]

So ...

Cutler goes 8-for-8 and has the Bears in decent position. He then throws a pick-6 and gets hurt trying to make the tackle, and the Bears go on to lose big.

Talk about the perfect example of "microcosm of his career."

I agree with this comment, in a vacuum. That is about the Cutler-est scenario possible. However...

The pick-six wasn't necessarily on Cutler. Bennett ran a stutter route designed to get the DB to close in, before the receiver continues on his route. Cutler threw to Bennett on the stutter and when he then continued, the ball was behind him. Even Cutler's release was awkward because he presumably saw Bennett start moving as he was releasing the ball. Having said that, we don't know if the play was designed that way and Cutler botched it or if Bennett faked out his own QB. AZ was in man coverage so Bennett shouldn't have sat down, which makes me think it was a misread by Cutler but Jefferson said that he didn't think Cutler knew what Bennett was doing so who knows? Either way, it was very Bears-like.

[brandx]

The pick-six wasn't necessarily on Cutler.

They never are. It wasn't his fault when he threw one in the 1st game either.

Just think about it. He throws more INTs every game than Rodgers has thrown in the last 2 1/2 years at Lambeau Field. That is why the Bears are losers. It's not the coach, it's not the OC, it's not the receivers, it's not the game plan. It is Jay.

It's amazing that the defense never makes a great play against AR or that GB receivers never make a mistake on a route..

[GGGG]

They never are. It wasn't his fault when he threw one in the 1st game either.

Cmon...don't selectively quote him.  Merritts specifically went into details about the play and how it most likely WAS his fault.

[Spotcheck Billy]

The road of so-so quarterbacks is littered with those who looked good in pre-season.  He was playing against second team defenses that weren't specifically scheming against him.

was just commenting how much he improved from week 1 to his 4 TD game vs. the Saints

he was panicky/unsettled in his 1st appearance

[wadesworld]

The road of so-so quarterbacks is littered with those who looked good in pre-season.  He was playing against second team defenses that weren't specifically scheming against him.

He played against the Eagles starting D and did well, but not against a team that had gameplanned for the Packers offense.