NFC North / NFL Thread 2017-18

[mr.MUskie]

Too bad Cutler isn't available.

[GooooMarquette]

John Hadl?

[Jockey]

Harley-Davidson's profit plummets on weak motorcycle sales

Kaep must ride a Harley.

[MU82]

Harley-Davidson's profit plummets on weak motorcycle sales

Kaep must ride a Harley.

He must be big in NASCAR, too, because their ratings have really tanked. Their honchos would give their left lugnuts for anything close to NFL ratings.

And it's kind of funny, because no sport wraps itself in 'Merica! the way NASCAR does.

[Tugg Speedman]

Mike McCarthy Snaps At Reporter For Asking About Colin Kaepernick
https://deadspin.com/mike-mccarthy-snaps-at-reporter-for-asking-about-colin-1819612931

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=353&v=WLgweGJq5m0

"Did you just listen to the question I just answered?" snapped McCarthy. "Okay, I got three years invested in Brett Hundley, two years invested in Joe Callahan, the quarterback room is exactly where it needs to be."


I'm not sure if the quarterback room really is exactly where it needs to be.

[jsglow]

Mike McCarthy Snaps At Reporter For Asking About Colin Kaepernick
https://deadspin.com/mike-mccarthy-snaps-at-reporter-for-asking-about-colin-1819612931

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=353&v=WLgweGJq5m0

"Did you just listen to the question I just answered?" snapped McCarthy. "Okay, I got three years invested in Brett Hundley, two years invested in Joe Callahan, the quarterback room is exactly where it needs to be."


I'm not sure if the quarterback room really is exactly where it needs to be.

But it is the Packers way.  And while it won't help this year (and no 'import' could possibly learn the system), it is they way they successfully roll.

[tower912]

What was the name of the Packer QB that got rich on the basis of one good game against the Lions?  Whatever.  Bring him back, too.

[jsglow]

What was the name of the Packer QB that got rich on the basis of one good game against the Lions?  Whatever.  Bring him back, too.

Matt Flynn

[GooooMarquette]

As long as we are throwing all names on the table, I'll add Ty Detmer....

[TinyTimsLittleBrother]

What's Blair Kiel up to these days?

[4everwarriors]

Ryan Leaf, bros, hey?

[Mutaman]

John Hadl?

a one. a two, a one. two, three.

[Sir Lawrence]

Jerod Evans, Virginia Tech, to the practice squad.

[MU82]

If I were the Packers, I don't think I'd bring in Kaepernick, either - and it's obviously not because I think Kaepernick lacks the talent to play QB in the NFL.

You're 38% of the way through the season. You have brought along young QBs in your system. See what they can do. It really IS the Packer way, as others have said.

And, yes, they don't need the added circus that Kaepernick would bring at this point. Although the reason for the distraction would be different, it's similar to coaches not wanting to deal with the Tebow circus.

I thought Kaepernick would need to be signed by Week 3 to have a chance to play in the NFL this season. Teams are too far down the road now, especially to deal with the circus.

[rocket surgeon]

  i'd give t.j. rubley another shot before the dude who's sorry now.  at least rubley might think twice about calling an audible 

[rocket surgeon]

If I were the Packers, I don't think I'd bring in Kaepernick, either - and it's obviously not because I think Kaepernick lacks the talent to play QB in the NFL.

You're 38% of the way through the season. You have brought along young QBs in your system. See what they can do. It really IS the Packer way, as others have said.

And, yes, they don't need the added circus that Kaepernick would bring at this point. Although the reason for the distraction would be different, it's similar to coaches not wanting to deal with the Tebow circus.

I thought Kaepernick would need to be signed by Week 3 to have a chance to play in the NFL this season. Teams are too far down the road now, especially to deal with the circus.

that's kinda what mccarthy said.  callahan is one hungry man.  didn't he actually get more snaps than hundley?  he didn't look that bad and he knows the system.  won't be surprised if hundley has a short leash

[MU82]

Looks like Trubisky and the Bears will luck out and not have to go against Luke Kuechly on Sunday. Although this injury doesn't appear serious, he's still in concussion protocol and unlikely to play this week.

The Panthers' fine safety, Kurt Coleman, might be back 2 weeks early from his injury, though. And our starting center, All-Pro Ryan Kalil, also is expected to return.

My boyz are ready to start a new winning streak after a tough loss to Philly.

[MerrittsMustache]

Looks like Trubisky and the Bears will luck out and not have to go against Luke Kuechly on Sunday. Although this injury doesn't appear serious, he's still in concussion protocol and unlikely to play this week.

The Panthers' fine safety, Kurt Coleman, might be back 2 weeks early from his injury, though. And our starting center, All-Pro Ryan Kalil, also is expected to return.

My boyz are ready to start a new winning streak after a tough loss to Philly.

Luke Kuechly is one of my favorite current players in the NFL but how much longer can he keep playing? He's only 26 and is clearly still one of the best in the game, but he's getting concussed on plays where he doesn't even take a shot to the head. It's getting scary for him.

[Babybluejeans]

Luke Kuechly is one of my favorite current players in the NFL but how much longer can he keep playing? He's only 26 and is clearly still one of the best in the game, but he's getting concussed on plays where he doesn't even take a shot to the head. It's getting scary for him.

I've thought the same thing about him and Jordan Reed (who seemingly gets concussed every game). It's not something we'd pay any attention to in the past, but now it's top of mind.

Bill Simmons has a nice article today about how the NBA is on its way to surpassing the NFL because it's been able to better adapt to changing cultural and media landscape (by, for one, connecting with fans through social media in a deeper way). https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/10/20/16507636/week-7-nfl-picks-mailbag-nba

And that's happening while, at the same time, we watch football on Sundays and constantly confront the damage these guys are doing to themselves - not just gross-looking injuries, but existential damage, to echo Benny's point in the other NFL thread.

[TinyTimsLittleBrother]

I'm not sure I fully agree with Simmons because I think football is more ingrained into the culture than basketball is.  But I guess they said the same thing about baseball 50 years ago right?  And then there is this:

Sport / Age of average viewer

PGA Tour   64
ATP           61
NASCAR   58
MLB           57   
WTA           55   
NFL           50   
NHL           49   
NBA           42   
MLS           40   

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2017/06/05/Research-and-Ratings/Viewership-trends.aspx

And college basketball and football are older than their professional counterparts.

[CTWarrior]

I love basketball, but after the first 10 games or so, I cannot bring myself to watch the NBA much, because the individual games don't matter.  Unlike other sports, the standings basically don't change after 20 games unless there are major injuries.  And at that point you still have more than 75% of the season to go.  So the whole point of the season becomes just staying healthy if you're good and trying to tank and not alienate your fans if you are not.  Really, you can pick from 4 or 5 teams the teams that will be playing in the finals before the first game is played.  Lately even the first round of the playoffs is a snooze because there are two types of series.  The ones where you know who is going to win and the ones where it doesn't matter who wins because they are going to lose in the next round.  The conference finals and finals are usually interesting, and I watch those, because it is excellent basketball.

I think the younger people who like sports for fantasy and highlights, the NBA is great.  But I like games that matter more than anything.

[MU82]

Luke Kuechly is one of my favorite current players in the NFL but how much longer can he keep playing? He's only 26 and is clearly still one of the best in the game, but he's getting concussed on plays where he doesn't even take a shot to the head. It's getting scary for him.

They aren't even sure this latest injury was a concussion, and he's already back to doing most things at practice. The injury itself was nowhere near as scary as last year's when he was crying and disoriented as he left the field - not even close.

But yes, I do get what you're saying. It's a shame that this can happen to Kuechly or anybody else. He's one of my faves, too, a great tackler and very possibly the best MLB in the league. The Panthers have two other very good LBs but they will miss Luke against a team that runs as well as the Bears do.

Bill Simmons has a nice article today about how the NBA is on its way to surpassing the NFL because it's been able to better adapt to changing cultural and media landscape (by, for one, connecting with fans through social media in a deeper way). https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/10/20/16507636/week-7-nfl-picks-mailbag-nba

And that's happening while, at the same time, we watch football on Sundays and constantly confront the damage these guys are doing to themselves - not just gross-looking injuries, but existential damage, to echo Benny's point in the other NFL thread.

Remember that Simmons is probably the biggest NBA fan this side of Screamin' A Smith and therefore I question his objectivity on an issue like this. Despite its "problems," the NFL is still miles ahead of the NBA by just about any measurable metric to measure fan followings, viewership, etc.

But who knows? 20 or 40 years down the line, we could be saying, "Boy, Simmons sure has it right. The NBA is even bigger than the NFL on Mars!"

[🏀]

Any measurable metric? That's easy, what's more popular outside of the US?

[Dish]

By the next labor agreements in at least MLB and the NBA, you'll see the number of games on the schedule shrink. MLB's proposed plan with expansion to Portland and Montreal, while realigning and cutting to 156 games makes a lot of sense.

NBA regular season will be vastly different soon. Shrunk down to 74-78 games, with in season tournaments (like FIBA) taking place. The play in tournament for the last playoff seeds seems to be gaining momentum too.

Shorter seasons in those sports, along with less travel, should make for better product.

The NFL should have at a minimum of four bye weeks for each team.

[TinyTimsLittleBrother]

Did the Bears just give their quarterback this nickname?

https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/922110217344700416