ILNFL sandbox thread, because you shouldn't pass up a chance to LOL @ the NY Giants

I'm not glad the Titans beat the Colts, but I am happy to see that Travis Henry has gotten a second shot after the Bills treated him so bad.

I think a big reason Tennessee's defense is looking better is that their offense is not constantly going three and out like they did with Collins at the beginning of the year. The Titans looked like the worse team in football back in September. I'd like to see what their defensive stats would rank in the last six games or so. Overall for the season they are still at the bottom of the pack, but they got absolutely destroyed by Dallas (w/Bledsoe) and the Chargers in the first month.

I kind of feel for Lovie Smith, either way he goes unless they get a Superbowl birth it will be bad. As bad as Grossman has played, the Bears are still 4th in the NFL in total scoring. I'd have to stay put, as the Bears have been playing pretty good defensive clubs for the last few weeks. They have already clinched the division and have a couple of gomer games with the Rams and Bucs. I'd let it ride for another game and a 1/2 before making that call. Of course, going to a vet like Griese is not quite the same as the Broncos going with Cutler. I'd hope that Griese would be ready to go. I think anything less than a Superbowl birth is going to be a let down for Chicago.

I had a conversation with some guys at work about the possibility of Norm Chow coaching next year's Giants today and we couldn't come up with any good reasons why not.

"I'm not glad the Titans beat the Colts"

you aren't? are you a colts fan?? how can you not be delighted by this underdog success story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tho i wouldn't be shocked if they got killed by the texans next week. but yeah, having a miserable offense does a lot to make life harder for your defense, especially since you often end up giving them bad field position to work with. this is where it becomes apparent how terrifyingly good Chicago's special teams are - if something happened to the defense, I think their STs would be good enough to win them a couple games by itself. anyway i'm not a big football outsiders fan, but they had some interesting stuff on how TEN killed the colts this week:

"The Colts are disadvantaged in their quest to blow teams out because of tempo. Our main statistics, DVOA and DPAR, are based on measuring each individual play compared to the league average. Plays are successful or not based on advancing toward a first down or touchdown. By that measure, the Colts rank first in the league in offense. Conventional statistics, both yards and points, rank the Colts third.

A reason for the mild discrepancy is that the Colts simply do not have the ball as often as other teams. Going into last week’s games, the Colts had eleven fewer possessions than any other team, the equivalent of a full game’s worth of opportunities. On a per possession basis, the Colts average the most yards, the most points, and the fewest punts. The difference in yards between them and second place New Orleans was larger than the difference between New Orleans and 12th place Denver.

Indianapolis gets fewer possessions in part because of their defense’s design. The Colts are built to get the opposition into obvious passing downs. Ideally, this happens when the Colts grab a big lead, as was the case last year. In close games, they rely on making a big play on first or second down and getting the team into third-and-long. The defense focuses on keeping most plays in front of them, requiring their opposition to put together a string of successful plays. Inevitably, a run defense even as bad as the Colts’ will make a stop for no gain.

Also, the more plays the opposition runs, the higher the chances for a turnover. The Colts rank 10th overall in turnovers created, but they rank third in turnovers created per opponents drive.

The Colts would prefer to score quickly, but opposing defenses have adopted the same strategy as the Indianapolis defense. If your personnel are overmatched, prevent the big play and hope to make one big play yourself. The Titans were not perfect at this, giving up two big completions to Marvin Harrison, but they were good enough.

This resulting combination of offensive efficiency, a bend but don’t break defensive philosophy, poor rushing defense, and cautious opposition dramatically limits possessions. The Colts have the longest average drives in terms of plays and time of possession on both offense and defense. Fewer possessions magnify any offensive mistake the Colts make.

A week ago, Philadelphia took this strategy to the extreme by playing exclusively a nickel defense. The Colts responded by gashing them with Joseph Addai. This week, the Titans adopted a cautious defense, but thanks to their athletic linebackers, they were able to play most downs in a base 4-3 defense.

The Colts tried to run through this defense as well, but the Titans were able to control the Indianapolis ground game. Addai and Dominic Rhodes were limited to 95 yards on 28 carries. The Tennessee run defense stiffened considerably in the second half when it allowed 12 yards on 10 running back carries. Peyton Manning is oft criticized for padding his own stats, but at least on Sunday, he should have thrown the ball more often.

The defensive line did its job by preventing the Colts linemen from getting to the second level, but the plays were made by the linebackers. Keith Bulluck, Peter Sirmon, and David Thornton were all over the field. The play of Thornton, in particular, was noteworthy since he left Indianapolis as a free agent. Thornton was never made an offer by the Colts, so he must be pleased on some level to see the run defense struggling without him.

The linebackers were able to stay on the field to stop the run because they excel in pass defense. They played in coverage on a number of plays, and only once, on a pass to Bryan Fletcher, did they give up a big play. Meanwhile, Manning’s first interception came when Thornton whacked Marvin Harrison, forcing the ball loose and into the hands of Sirmon. The second interception came on a great individual play by Bulluck, who read Manning the whole way and made a perfect play on a pass intended for Fletcher."

TEH KOSAR MIGHT BECUM TEH COACHAR.

Reading the paper today, where every move kosar makes is recorded, koachar wants U of M to create a special position for him to oversee the football program. The dude has been insane now for several years. We are seeing the results.

OK, no one cares but me. BROWNS VS STEELERS. This is a time for reflection.

Also, I predict a mention of Derek Andersons big feet within three minutes of cleveland having the ball.

no no, I saw the Kosar thing last night, and it was like Adam Schefter going all, "BERNIE KOSAR* has come out today and said he is interested in having the open coaching job at the UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI*!" and I was like, "Yeah, me too Bernie but shit ain't gonna happen for me either." WTF is with that dude? Solvin' yr mysteries, coachin' yr teams.

* this is my approximation of how Adam Schefter inappropriately SHOUTS the subjects of his statements.

"BERNIE KOSAR has announced today that he is interested in the 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION!"

KOSAR INVENTS COTTON GIN, TURNS EYE TOWARD PEANUT PRODUCTS

i need a kosar fathead now more than ever

http://www.fathead.com/fatheadsweb/_Images/sw/products/large/stormtrooper_lg.jpg
^^^ I think that is him.

KOSAR HAS COME OUT TODAY AND SAID HE IS INTERESTED IN CAPTURING LUKE SKYWALKER

"BERNIE KOSAR: NO ONE CAN HAVE MY PRECIOUS," AGENT REPORTS

''UM people knew that I had been offered the president of the Cleveland Browns job,'' Kosar told the newspaper. ''They knew I wanted to get back into football and asked if I'd be interested in the UM job. At first it was just flattering, but then I thought, 'Yeah, I'd really like to look into it.'''

SURE WHAT THE HELL, GOT NOTHING ELSE GOING ON BESIDES BEING PRESIDENT OF THE BROWNS

I'd pay good money for Kosar to record a duet with Jay-Z.

''Jay-Z knew that I had been offered the president of Def-Jam'' Kosar told the newspaper. ''He knew I wanted to get back into rapping and asked if I'd be interested in a duet. At first it was just flattering, but then I thought, 'Yeah, I'd really like to look into it.'''

"Paris Hilton knew that I had already been proposed to by Lindsay Lohan," Kosar told the newspaper. "She knew I wanted to get back into being a family man and asked if I'd be interested in procreating with her. At first it was just flattering, but then I thought, 'Yeah, I'd really like to look into it.'"

someone really needs to do a "BIMBO SUMMIT MEETING" photoshop w/ bernie kosar, joe theismann, and dan marino post-haste.

Bernie looks like shit!

well he always did

I lived in Indy for quite a few years, so I do follow the Colts. Up until a few years back, Tennessee used to own Indy like NE, especially back when Mora was coach. Both teams got good around the same time. I definitely respect Fisher and many of the players off of their good teams, they played tough but were not a bunch of chumps.

The Colts defense is soooo poor. They don't give up the big plays like they were prone to under Mora, but teams complete like 60% of their passes and run rampent over them. They are not getting the turnovers or sacks like they did the past couple of years. That speed and agression is also being used against them as teams will kill them sometimes on trap plays.

Browns vs. Steelers. Damn Time-Warner and the NFL Network. I'll try to listen on radio. One advantage is no Gumbel and Collinsworth.

Bernie's sounding more and more like some shopping bag lady.

Gumbel/Collinsworth are pretty entertaining, Fake Dirty Vicar.

how did the Browns wind up with ATL's receivers last night

pathetic.

The Browns are the next Arizona Cardinals, forever doomed.

is there a more pathetic, useless running back than reuben droughns? just asking.

Droughns is a pretty solid fullback, but I have no idea why people think he can play running back. Next year, though: Adrian Peterson? McFadden?

yes, drafting a RB in first round is a must, Droughns is just average at best and can't run outside.

On top of that the Browns need an o-line (LeCharles Bentley looks to be gone for next season as well) and some sort of pass rush.

they can't defend against the run either and their secondary has one starter remaining. Starting CB Gary Baxter snapped BOTH his patella tendons on the same play. move the team to LA, it's over

Poor Crennel. :(

Droughns is a good player if you match him up with a fast scat back type player.

I wonder how that 5-7 back Garrett Wolfe from Northern Illinois will do in the pros. Joe Morris did pretty good for the Giants back in the 80s. I've seen Parcells say that Morris' size was actually a benefit as he would get "lost" behind the linemen and then was a hard target to hit as his center of gravity was so low.

I like the games on the NFL network. At least they are only trying to sell me on watching more football instead of some crap show Fox has the announcers hawking every two downs. Collinsworth is much better at working a game than being one of those guys in a studio. Collinsworth does actually pick up some pretty good game situation obervations. Anything is better than that MNF abomination crew, if you listen to them, you won't even know they are watching a football game.

Benching Droughns this week as he earned 3.83 points = rare good move on my part.

hey do you guys know ben utecht? we were buddies in high school!

well, he's the colts TE dude now that dallas clark is out. that's about all i know about him.

as i've said a zillion other times, i knew rick proehl (from the st. louis rams) from my high school days.

That game was just sad, sad, sad. O-line problems, receivers that can't catch a cold, and poor pass rushing. They need help everywhere. In the draft I'd go for some o-line or pass rush help first.

"as i've said a zillion other times, i knew rick proehl (from the st. louis rams) from my high school days."

DUDE... how old are you??

"(LeCharles Bentley looks to be gone for next season as well)"

whoa when was this announced?

I didn't really watch the game, but in the one snippet I caught collinsworth was talking up ted washington and how he's ALL THE BROWNS NEED for run defense. i thought that was funny in light of FWP's 9,000 yards or whatever. also lol @ K2's cheapshot.

That was the worst broadcasting of any game I've ever seen. WHO the FUCK ever got the ridiculous idea that the laid-back Bryant Gumbel would make a good play-by-play man? And when Marshall Faulk was doing the sideline reporting about some stupid shit right at the exact moment that a big 20-yd play happened. I just wanted to shout, "By the way people, there is a football game going on."

And yes, the Browns still suck. How the hell did they beat the Chiefs last week?

Why the hell would the Browns draft a running back when they don't even have an offensive line? I don't care how good a running back you are. If you don't have a line, you're nothing (adieu, Edgerrin James).

aidsy: i am 36. proehl graduated 2 years ahead of me.

CARSON PALMER CORNHOLE CLASSIC

http://www.carsonpalmer9.com/img/cornhole_classic.jpg

Titans at Houston. . .that was some great damn football.

Congratulations to Come Frye With Me and all their supporters, goodbye playoffs :(

man, the Saints' offense is fun to watch.

um, wow

also: lol @ Al Michaels reading NFL teams the riot act for game-break pryo

Hi. WTF did Reggie Bush just do to space and time?

John Madden wants to marry Reggie Bush.

(also, lol at Micheals and Madden going out for steak and potatoes after the game.)

That jersey comment was funny though.

You got to love the Saints.

Karney, wtf?

On-side kick, WTF?!

Sean Payton, Coach of the Year.