NFL season 2012

[Starry]

agree entirely with you about d-smith. a few months ago i did wonder about his role and how he'd cope but i think recently he has really stood up for his side and done well.

there is a good article up on nfl.com now that sums things up in a few paragraphs
NFL.com news: Rookie salary system a major discussion point as talks roll on

i've just watched the videos about free agency on there, nnamdi is obviously the big ticket when the lock out is lifted but it's going to be interesting. i'm so ready for them to get this lock out lifted and to start playing a chi-town trip. between leeds and the disaster that has been our close season and the nfl lockout it's been a miserable summer in the starry house ... so far!

 

[Tomo1794]

Another Broncos fan here
I saw them in pre-season at Invesco Field in 05 and at Wembley in October 10 both against the 49ers. However after that first season of 05/06 where they went 13-3 they have been pretty rubbish!
What are their chances like this year as I have somewhat lost interest in the behind the scenes action and only really check the scores?

 

[Shooting Star]

Another Broncos fan here
I saw them in pre-season at Invesco Field in 05 and at Wembley in October 10 both against the 49ers. However after that first season of 05/06 where they went 13-3 they have been pretty rubbish!
What are their chances like this year as I have somewhat lost interest in the behind the scenes action and only really check the scores?

As a Chargers fan I'll try to remain pretty unbiased. The Broncos chances aren't brilliant this year, but they will undoubtedly do better than last season. The QB dilemma between Orton and Tebow still continues (but in a way it's a good dilemma), but you guys drafted Vonn Miller who is class at LB and Dumervill and Ayers will be back to shore up the D. Personally I still think they're rebuilding and thus believe they'll finish 3rd or 4th in the AFC West, but they'll be stronger than last season IMO.

The Wembley match was class. Can't wait to go again this year.

 

[Tomo1794]

As a Chargers fan I'll try to remain pretty unbiased. The Broncos chances aren't brilliant this year, but they will undoubtedly do better than last season. The QB dilemma between Orton and Tebow still continues (but in a way it's a good dilemma), but you guys drafted Vonn Miller who is class at LB and Dumervill and Ayers will be back to shore up the D. Personally I still think they're rebuilding and thus believe they'll finish 3rd or 4th in the AFC West, but they'll be stronger than last season IMO.

The Wembley match was class. Can't wait to go again this year.

Phil Rivers



Have to admit I didn't enjoy the Wembley game that much mainly because we lost and defended shockingly in the safety/cb department in the second half as well as the fact that everyone was jumping on the 49er bandwagon

Looking forward to next year though (if it happens) and hopefully our defence can help grind out results for as we all know 'Defence wins Championships'

 

[Shooting Star]

Haha gotta love a bit of Philip Rivers! I never realised why people disliked him so much but I've only been an NFL fan for two seasons and it seems like he's mellowed somewhat haha.

Yeah the organisers definitely did a brilliant job with respect to the 49ers in giving them homefield advantage and making it as hostile to Denver as possible. It made for an amazing atmosphere (still have the 49ers flags from that day) unless you're a Broncos fan. SF were definitely lucky; that Hail Mary pass down to the 1 from Troy Smith was potentially the more fortunate pass I've ever seen.
For sure, I have a feeling the AFC West will be even more competitive this year, so should be a good one (providing the season starts on time haha).

 

[HastingsSeagull]

Tampa Bay fan and we were never going to do well with no cap. Lost even recent draft picks as we spent sweet f a but still did very well in the toughest division the NFC South. Hope lock out is lifted and we have some money to take some decent free agents if not this season then next.

 

[P.S]

Another NFL fan here. I've made it to all the wembley games so gar and hope that the reason kicks off on time and we're able to get another game this year.

As for teams, I'm a Jaguars fan and am looking forward to seeing our last seasons rookies playing after a year in the pros. Also, the big question of when will Blaine Gabbert start?

 

[brakespear]

Redskins fan here so an average season would be nice Are ESPN still showing matches next season?

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

Looks like NFL games are going to last even longer with more replays as a new rule goes into effect in the new season. It states that every scoring play that happens in the course of an NFL game will be automatically reviewed by the replay official. Just what the game needs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/sh...t-to-get-longer-and-more-repla?urn=nfl-wp3507

 

[SeagullTim]

Looks like NFL games are going to last even longer with more replays as a new rule goes into effect in the new season. It states that every scoring play that happens in the course of an NFL game will be automatically reviewed by the replay official. Just what the game needs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/sh...t-to-get-longer-and-more-repla?urn=nfl-wp3507

That is crazy, could get up to 4 hours plus now.

Anyone up for doing an NSC fantasy league?

 

[Stat Brother]

Gritt23 is your man.
I got a message just as jnr was smashing his arm up, so naturally it got completely forgotten about until now.

 

[Gritt23]

The Leagues I'm running are full, but I am registered in a 3rd League, which still has about 5 places left. So, although it won't be exclusively a NSC Fantasy League, a couple of us are in there already, so if we're fast we could hold 7 of the 12 spots.

It's a Keeper League (2 Keepers) which is nice, because if you get a good group of active players together then they stay together year after year. Only 2 Keepers means it won't get dominated by the strongest team Year after Year.

It's on NFL.com, and is called "Keeper league". The LIVE Draft is Sunday 31st July. One word of caution though, the owner of teh League does appear to have moved the draft time back, and it's currently showing as about 3am on the Monday morning. I'm currently trying to get him to confirm whether this is really the case or not. If it is, I will have to pull out of that League and look for another one.

How many of us would be interested in playing a NSC fantasy league? If it's 5 or 6, then we'll all just find and join an existing one, but if we are up to (or near 12) then it would be worth setting one up ourselves.


BTW, the CBA is looking a matter of hours away now. May even get voted on by players and owners today (although I did think teh next Owners meeting wasn't until tomorrow, but some sources are reporting it now being Wednesday). I think it's the Bears who have informed their players to be ready for training camp to open Friday.

Take a deep breath and wait for a rush of moves in Free Agency.

 

[Gritt23]

Draft Time for that League is fine ...... 10pm our time, on 31st July 2011.

Once registered and logged in on NFL.com, you should be able to go to Fantasy, and find "Join a League", then you can search by League name or Draft time. If you want to join and have problems getting on, then give me a shout and I'll try to help you through it.

 

[willyfantastic]

id quite like to join, or if anybody would like to create a fantasy league im up for that too. how is the draft done, iv never done fantasy 'football' league before

 

[Gritt23]

id quite like to join, or if anybody would like to create a fantasy league im up for that too. how is the draft done, iv never done fantasy 'football' league before

12 players, in a standard "snake draft", which means the order reverses from one round to the next. You get a random position in the Draft Order, say 5th (out of 12). Whoever is at no.1 in the draft order is "on the clock" and get a timer counting down from 1 minute (maybe 1 min 30 in the first round) to make their selection. they select, Chris Johnson, and the person at position 2 is on the clock, and can chhose anyone who hasn't already been drafted yet, and chooses Adrian Peterson.

You're sat at no. 5, so probably go for, Ray Rice (with CJ, AP, Foster and Charles already selected). The person at position 12, is obviously sat with the last pick in the first round at 12, so the "snake" then gives him first pick (13th overall) in the second round, and it flows from there.

The amount of picks overall depends on the League, it may be a 14 man roster, I've seen up to 32 man rosters in Dynasty Leagues! Standard is 14 or 15, and you then have a Roster to select a team from each week of the season. Standard line-up is QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, K, and a Defence/Special Team.

As the season goes along you can cut players, pick up Free Agents (or take them off waivers) or trade with other managers. the key difference with our Soccer Fantasy games is that if you pick someone, that player is YOURS, and no-one else can have him.

 

[terryberry1]

Nfl = rugby for girls

 

[Gritt23]

Nfl = rugby for girls

ROFL. Just one example of the toughness of these players, and there are many examples.



Boldin was knocked unconscious, stretchered off, and the Head Coach said he'd be out for "an indefinite period, having suffered fractured paranasal sinuses" along with neck and spinal injuries .... 3 weeks later he caught 2 TDs against the Panthers.

 

[terryberry1]

ROFL. Just one example of the toughness of these players, and there are many examples.



Boldin was knocked unconscious, stretchered off, and the Head Coach said he'd be out for "an indefinite period, having suffered fractured paranasal sinuses" along with neck and spinal injuries .... 3 weeks later he caught 2 TDs against the Panthers.

Its probebly a wonderful game, but to me they are a bunch of overpaid, over padded and over excited blokes running around in tights. I'm not fishing, I'm just saying what i think. Do you see Rugby players with crash helmets? Erm..... No. Do you see them in tights? Erm...... No. To me its a game for girls. Im suprised their "Soccer" players are not wearing helmets too. Find American sports sooo dull. Starting and stopping the game constantly is not for me. Just ruins it. I watched the super bowl for first time last year. Was the most shockingly boring thing i have ever seen. Iv'e had more fun watching paint dry

 

[brakespear]

edit - didn't read date of post quoted and got confused

 

[sten_super]

Its probebly a wonderful game, but to me they are a bunch of overpaid, over padded and over excited blokes running around in tights. I'm not fishing, I'm just saying what i think. Do you see Rugby players with crash helmets? Erm..... No. Do you see them in tights? Erm...... No. To me its a game for girls. Im suprised their "Soccer" players are not wearing helmets too. Find American sports sooo dull. Starting and stopping the game constantly is not for me. Just ruins it. I watched the super bowl for first time last year. Was the most shockingly boring thing i have ever seen. Iv'e had more fun watching paint dry

It's certainly not as instantly accessible as football, but if you spend enough time watching it to understand what's going on and the tactics behind it it's a great game.

Incidentally, the padding is because the contacts are so intense that there would be deaths without it. The players get a run at each other and pretty much any kind of tackle (aside from hair and testicles!) is fair game, so the contacts are massive. This is different to rugby, say, where the manner of physical contact is carefully regulated so as to avoid serious injuries and punishing contact.

There's an article on the Guardian website at the moment about the nature of brain injuries suffered by American football players as a result of the ridiculous physicality of the game.
The NFL star and the brain injuries that destroyed him | Science | The Guardian