The elite talent at the QB position in the NFL are very good in that situation. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t had a running game, or very good protection, when he won a Super Bowl. The Saints’ running game hasn’t been great, and they throw the ball quickly to help protect the QB from questionable line play, yet Brees has had success. I’m not sure the O Lines in Indy and Denver, or NE, are all that great.
I think, in part, what makes an elite QB is the ability to have success despite the surrounding team, not because of it. I think almost any top 15 QB could win a Super Bowl if they have the proper surrounding cast and play well for a bit. I think Joe Flacco and Eli Manning are proof of that.
That says a lot more about the franchise than Flacco. As long as you compare Joe Flacco to the scrubs in the NFL, he’ll look great. But he is one of the most overpaid players in the history of the NFL.
Bengals are 6-3 and playing at home, so in theory that’d be a tall order. Pittsburgh should be a win, and Jacksonville is almost a guaranteed win. My high school team could beat Jacksonville.
Yeah, fast reads and decision making and a quick release can make up for a lot of protection concerns, and Flacco’s missing a lot of those skills. I’m not saying he’s a great quarterback - I’m just saying that he’s not the biggest problem the Ravens have right now.
Well, yeah. That’s pretty much what the last line of my post meant:
Jesus, Hamlet has to be having an aneuryism by now. You know, I don’t ever wish for injuries to an opposing team, especially not their starting QB. So much is invested in a team’s success at that position and protecting him and it’s very rare that a backup will come in and outplay the injured starter for any length of time, unless the starter was balls to begin with. This isn’t the case with Rodgers.
I hate to imply schadenfreude on Hamlet in terms of the Bears losing Cutler, but there it is. Now the playing field between the teams is completely level.
Anyway, this has been a bad season for injuries all around and I hope it stops. Initial reports are that Rodgers isn’t too severely injured, but you never know with these things.
I’m still sore at Kimo Von Oelhoffen, if it matters any. I still think that was a dirty play in 2005 that robbed the Bengals of a chance to advance and Carson Palmer of a confident career. But whatever.
So I come out of a previous commitment, turn on the radio, and hear: “Packers 10, Bears 7.” I cheer up a bit. Then he says “Aaron Rodgers likely won’t return after being taken to the locker room with a shoulder injury.”
Gulp
This game suddenly didn’t seem all that important. I suppose it’s only apt to have yet another starter get injured; why stop now?
Seneca Wallace is not instilling a lot of confidence this first half. Nor is that defense. I suppose the bill for all the injuries had to come due some time. Just wish it didn’t have to include Rodgers and come against the Bears.
I still cannot believe he didn’t. That was clearly a catch after the initial bobble…possession was established and both feet were still in bounds before the receiver hit the turf. Clear as fucking day. Unreal. McCarthy must be channeling his inner Marvin Lewis (known for not challenging easily recognizable challengeable plays, or inexplicably challenging plays that have no business being challenged).
Eh, it’s really bad taken in isolation, but I bet if you asked most NFL players if this is par for the course in NFL/NCAA locker rooms they’d probably say it was. Not “normal” per se, but not exactly shocking either. And I’m sure similar stuff is said in the course of most good natured trash talk.
I have no doubt that Incognito over-did it and probably has no concept of boundaries, but I don’t find this particularly shocking.
Wow. What a recovery. And Lacy…pounding the rock. Why don’t the bears have this same option with Forte, given equal shitty backup QB’s and allegedly equally shitty olines?
