2022 NFL midterm observations, surprises and disappointments

[italian pat patriot]

Biggest surprise
Positive Seattle Seahawks
Negative Los Angeles Rams

 

[Mike the Brit]

Cyrus Jones top punt returner.

Time was, time was ...

 

[Toofy]

Time was, time was ...

My my my.... Marcus Jones....

Cyrus you live rent free still in my head...

 

[crawhammer]

Josh McDaniels and the LVR are a big disappointment too. So much for winning the offseason. Adams is having a good season but there's absolutely nothing else in their passing game. Now injuries are adding up including we won't see Waller again until December. They probably should lean on Josh Jacobs a bit more as he's quietly having a very good season.

I thought Chandler Jones was going to be a nice fit for their defense playing opposite Maxx Crosby but Jones has been a major zero so far. Their defense is dead last in takeaways too which is a really bad area to suck.

Watch out if they lose to the pathetic Colts who are an organizational circus act right now. One might be inclined to fire the head coach with a loss there.

 

[venecol]

Where is the roster that bad?

Not TE,RB,WR,DB,DL,LB,K,KR

OL has effected the QB play. Punter has effected field position.

 

[Triumph]

View attachment 47226

 

[patfanken]

The surprises like the Seahawks, Vikings, Giants, Titans continuously hanging around and the Eagles being undefeated are because the league has become that bad.

The Pats hanging around with the roster they have is a big surprise, but they now have a chance of making the playoffs for reasons stated above.

The NFL as a whole is the worst brand of football I’ve seen since 2008. The league is really lacking true super star players. Too many rosters have no namers and JAGs starting. The direction the league is going is the biggest disappointment.

You still must be under the illusion that one or two players make or break teams. No offense but that kind of thinking just pisses me off. Fortunately the game we ALL love just doesn't work that way, even though it is being sold that it is all about the stars. Of all the franchises in the league Pats fans SHOULD be immune to that mind set. We have seen great offenses win. We have seen great defenses win. We have won when healthy. We have won when got hit with the injury bug. We won because we had a deep roster that could survive injuries, because that is how they were built. We won because we had good coaching, smart TOUGH, and versatile players that could survive the adversity of a LONG NFL season.

The Pats had more "stars" in the late 90's but never survived when some of those "stars" got hurt . Those teams were all top heavy with no quality depth to survive injuries And so despite the stars, those teams were always just breaking even and there wasn't anything left to make a worthy playoff run.. So many NFL games end up being one score games. Over the past 2 decades we have won FAR more of our share of those games than most of our rivals BECAUSE it wasn't about the stars, but more about having quality depth throughout the roster.

THIS team has yet to prove that they can win those kind of games for a variety of reasons. But the fact remains this IS just the first half of the season.

My first half observations -

1. I read recently that if you had bet the 8 point or more underdog all season, you can buy a LOT more lottery tickets than the rest of us. Or move into your new home, depending on how you want to spend your winnings.

2. Geno Smith AND the Seahawks are a GREAT story. Was he always this good, but was in a bad system and bad coaches OR has he just gotten better and smarter over the years and found the system and coaching he can thrive in NINE years later. Meanwhile the Seahawks was EVERYONE's favorite to be drafting #1. Instead they are leading what was SUPPOSED to be the NFL's the toughest division. ....... AND that is why they play the games.

3. Shocking failures of the Rams, Bucs, and Packers are only matched by the equally shocking successes of the Seahawks, Jets and Giants. ....... AND that's why you play the games..

4, The NFL idiots from 354 Park Ave. has tried to its best to legislate defense AND ST's out of the NFL game. So why is scoring down so much this season. I find it hard to believe its as simple as playing 2 deep Safeties and all of a sudden offenses can't put points on the board. Now I love a great defensive struggle on the field, but I'm 75 and likely to die soon, so I am NOT in the league's prime demographic (the people who want the league to look like a video game ) Therefore, I'm looking for many more PI's and defensive holding calls during the 2nd half. To boost offensive scoring. BTW - I love they way the refs have been calling those calls so far this season.

5. Has there EVER been a team that has gone 4-1 in their last 5 games and the perception of the team is that they suck. The HC is an idiot and most of his staff should be fired. ?????????

Last year at this time we were in the top 5 of EVERYONE's power rankings. Then we struggled the rest of the way and crawled across the finish line only to be oned and done in the playoffs by a much better team. THIS year we have struggled mighty to get to a 5-4 season. Can the team get better and go 5-3 against the iron of their schedule?

We shall see.

 

[Triumph]

View attachment 47226

Weak gifs wont refute the facts that I have presented.

From Football Outsiders which analyzes NFL teams from all angles objectively.

Pats..............Ranked
Special Teams - 3rd
Defense - 5th
NE overall - 13th best team in the NFL at this point.
Meyers - 15th
Henry - 12th and he is largely ignored.
Stevenson - 21st and he shares carries with Harris.


Marcus Jones leads the NFL in KO returns.
Judon leads the NFL in sacks
Jack Jones is an NFL Corner to be feared.

But the team is no good you see. The coaching is no good either.

 

[venecol]

The notion that having talented players is not important to win it all in these recent NFL seasons is disproven by the last 3 SB winners (Rams, Bucs, Chiefs) which were top heavy in talent w/ good to great QBs.

All teams have 53 players. All teams have different levels of talent amongst their players. Usually, the team with the most talent in key positions wins the games. Talent matters.

Just look at Tua, who had very poor efficiency metrics last season. All of a sudden, he's at the top of the league in efficiency. Did he just wake up one morning and "got it" or was the team surrounding him w/ talented skill players make the difference. No doubt it was the later.

The only team I can say has consistently won with a lack of high end talent is the Titans. Vrabel has done a good job of getting his team to perform. Even when Henry went down last season, they kept on winning. But at the end the lack of talent on his team always stops them from going to the big show.

Look at the 2020 Patriots, a team completely devoid of talent. They sucked.

Bill gets it. He went on a record FA buying frenzy in '21, going after talented skill players, or so he thought. Talent matters.

 

[venecol]

Weak gifs wont refute the facts that I have presented.

From Football Outsiders which analyzes NFL teams from all angles objectively.

Pats..............Ranked
Special Teams - 3rd
Defense - 5th
NE overall - 13th best team in the NFL at this point.
Meyers - 15th
Henry - 12th and he is largely ignored.
Stevenson - 21st and he shares carries with Harris.


Marcus Jones leads the NFL in KO returns.
Judon leads the NFL in sacks
Jack Jones is an NFL Corner to be feared.

But the team is no good you see. The coaching is no good either.

That's all fine but the Patriots faced one of the lowest SOS/SOV schedules in the league during this 1st half.

Now, they have the 2nd hardest schedule in these next 8 games. If they can perform like they did in the 1st half, I'll become a believer. I have my doubts.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

The notion that having talented players is not important to win it all in these recent NFL seasons is disproven by the last 3 SB winners (Rams, Bucs, Chiefs) which were top heavy in talent w/ good to great QBs.

All teams have 53 players. All teams have different levels of talent amongst their players. Usually, the team with the most talent in key positions wins the games. Talent matters.

Just look at Tua, who had very poor efficiency metrics last season. All of a sudden, he's at the top of the league in efficiency. Did he just wake up one morning and "got it" or was the team surrounding him w/ talented skill players make the difference. No doubt it was the later.

The only team I can say has consistently won with a lack of high end talent is the Titans. Vrabel has done a good job of getting his team to perform. Even when Henry went down last season, they kept on winning. But at the end the lack of talent on his team always stops them from going to the big show.

Look at the 2020 Patriots, a team completely devoid of talent. They sucked.

Bill gets it. He went on a record FA buying frenzy in '21, going after talented skill players, or so he thought. Talent matters.

Of course talent matters. You are arguing with the wind again. The debate is whether lots of mid level talent is preferred to a smaller amount of high end level talent. You seem smart but commonly obfuscate.

 

[venecol]

Of course talent matters. You are arguing with the wind again. The debate is whether lots of mid level talent is preferred to a smaller amount of high end level talent. You seem smart but commonly obfuscate.

That's the point I was making. The last 3 SB winners were all top heavy in talent.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

That's the point I was making. The last 3 SB winners were all top heavy in talent.

Wasn't the 2019 SB winner the NE Patriots? They were not top heavy. 2020 and 2021 were the Bucs and Rams who are "one and done" teams that now suck. Remind me how that is an argument for top end talent? You are arguing if a team goes all in with veterans and top end talent they might flash and win one SB before sucking for years after?

 

[venecol]

Wasn't the 2019 SB winner the NE Patriots? They were not top heavy. 2020 and 2021 were the Bucs and Rams who are "one and done" teams that now suck. Remind me how that is an argument for top end talent? You are arguing if a team goes all in with veterans and top end talent they might flash and win one SB before sucking for years after?

2019 season SB winner were the Chiefs. I'm not arguing anything. I'm simply pointing out that the last 3 SB winners were all top heavy in talent. I'm not arguing that's a long term winning model at all. We now have the Eagles with a lot of top end talent leading the league. The Bills and Chiefs are on the AFC side. All 3 teams are the SB favorites.

 

[Toofy]

I think rams were the outlier otherwise the best QBs in town won it when they had a stellar cast . Bills have it this year .

Can it be done for a long period. Probably not. Let's see how chiefs fare in post season without hill.

I believe pats talent this year is pretty good and we got lucky with the draft . I did not anticipate this class to be so productive.

If Mac even becomes 80% the player he was last year we should be in the reckoning. Nobody anticipated Mac to fluff out so much . Is it coaching i donno.

But this team has talent. Meyers breaking out is a huge win along with Judon in beast mode. If only the QB could pass.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

2019 season SB winner were the Chiefs. I'm not arguing anything. I'm simply pointing out that the last 3 SB winners were all top heavy in talent. I'm not arguing that's a long term winning model at all. We now have the Eagles with a lot of top end talent leading the league. The Bills and Chiefs are on the AFC side. All 3 teams are the SB favorites.

My mistake. Pats were the 2018 SB champions in February 2019.

The Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill (top end talent) for draft picks so they seem to not buy the top end talent argument. I don't know what to make of the Eagles. The Bills look like a team built around draft picks and a lot of mid level talent which scares me. The Jets too actually. The Lolphins look like a flash in the pan for 1 or 2 years to me, and then trash.

The Bucs, Rams, and Lolphins seem like top end talent teams to me. All 3 seem lost. The Chiefs, Bills, Eagles, and Jets seem like mid-level talent teams to me, and I think they will be tough for years to come (except it appears the Jets missed on their QB pick - I am really sad for them ).

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

If Mac even becomes 80% the player he was last year we should be in the reckoning. Nobody anticipated Mac to fluff out so much . Is it coaching i donno. But this team has talent. Meyers breaking out is a huge win along with Judon in beast mode. If only the QB could pass.

Agreed.

Who would have thought it was so tough transitioning to throwing to all 3 levels? Makes me appreciate Brady, Mahommes, etc., even more. Let's hope it clicks with Mac, but I now think Macs growth will be gradual, not a "click" with a breakout game.

 

[mgteich]

.

Observations


6 - The Pats lead the NFL in offensive turnovers with 17 and the Eagles are the best at not giving the ball up with only 3 turnovers.

THE REST OF THE STORY
6a. I think PHI has 18 turnovers.
6b. We have played 9 games. Many have played only 8.
6c. The patriots lead the league in giveaways.
6d. The patriots have a turnover differential of 0, just as many takeaways as giveaways,

https://www.footballdb.com/stats/turnovers.html

BOTTOM LINE
The patriots Defense is one of the very best at taking away the ball. If the Offense can be average in giveaways, the team should be in good shape,

 

[Brewskies]

If I had a disappointment this season it is Mac Jones even with the bad offensive line he is still a major disappointment. My surprise is Bailey Zappe. Looking forward to next season and which QB hangs

 

[venecol]