2018 NFL & College Football Discussion Thread

[steelers_pens_fan]

I think the Texans will be good. 12-4 good? That may be pushing it.

[Daniel]

I think the Texans will be good. 12-4 good? That may be pushing it.

Oh I agree they'll be better, but not even close to 12-4. Teams just don't make 8 win jumps, and the other teams in the division (Jags excluded) are better than last year.

For them to go 12-4, Deshaun Watson would have to play as well as he did last season, with no hiccups or injuries at all, every player that missed time last year on the defense would need to return at 100% immediately, even those with spotty records over their careers, and the offensive line would need to jell immediately.

What's the likelihood of all of those things happening? I think pretty slim. People are way too pie in the sky on Watson. He lost half the games he played in, and the stats he put up are thrown off by the garbage time TDs against KC when they were playing prevent and the runaway game vs the Titans where they lost Mariota. Nine of his 19 TDs come from those two games. Then there's the three wins he picked up, against Mariota-less Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.

I just don't understand the ridiculous level of hype here.

[steelers_pens_fan]

Oh I agree they'll be better, but not even close to 12-4. Teams just don't make 8 win jumps, and the other teams in the division (Jags excluded) are better than last year.

For them to go 12-4, Deshaun Watson would have to play as well as he did last season, with no hiccups or injuries at all, every player that missed time last year on the defense would need to return at 100% immediately, even those with spotty records over their careers, and the offensive line would need to jell immediately.

What's the likelihood of all of those things happening? I think pretty slim. People are way too pie in the sky on Watson. He lost half the games he played in, and the stats he put up are thrown off by the garbage time TDs against KC when they were playing prevent and the runaway game vs the Titans where they lost Mariota. Nine of his 19 TDs come from those two games. Then there's the three wins he picked up, against Mariota-less Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.

I just don't understand the ridiculous level of hype here.

He was ridiculous in college. People want that in the pros. It's entertaining and good for business. We'll see if he can keep up the momentum. Then on top of that, add in some big defensive names coming back and you have a big hype machine. Ignoring the fact that the Jags won't be awful (not buying that 6-10 at all) and Tennessee should be good (most people forget the Titans exist for whatever reason). I think that division will have a big logjam at the top with three teams capable of 8-10 wins. And then you have the Colts, with an Andrew Luck who when last checked on, wasn't throwing regulation balls yet. I hope he heals and goes to another team. Indy deserves a few decades of futility after pissing away one of the best QB prospects ever.

[kirmie]

I haven't seen any of this, but apparently Jahvid Best in the NFL's AFFL thing so he's kind of playing football again. Crazy.

[steelers_pens_fan]

Jay Cutler's wife has a reality show. This wouldn't be interesting in the slightest, except it features Jay Cutler in all of his apathetic, uncaring glory. The man just doesn't give a ****.

[steelers_pens_fan]

Walt has 8-8 for Pittsburgh, I have 9-7. Unless they have gotten creative all of the sudden, their LBs will be a big problem. Offense should be fine, secondary should be fine, DL is great if they only played more than 2 at a time.

[Daniel]

Walt has 8-8 for Pittsburgh, I have 9-7. Unless they have gotten creative all of the sudden, their LBs will be a big problem. Offense should be fine, secondary should be fine, DL is great if they only played more than 2 at a time.

I was just shocked to see Edmunds listed as the boom pick. I thought everyone hated that selection. Definitely expected him to be most likely to bust.

I have no idea what to expect from the Steelers next year. That division looks weak AF.

I mean, I feel like Cleveland really improved, but they improved from one of the worst teams ever to just a regular bad team, so ya know.

[steelers_pens_fan]

I was just shocked to see Edmunds listed as the boom pick. I thought everyone hated that selection. Definitely expected him to be most likely to bust.

I have no idea what to expect from the Steelers next year. That division looks weak AF.

I mean, I feel like Cleveland really improved, but they improved from one of the worst teams ever to just a regular bad team, so ya know.

Yeah they should still win the division, but their out of division record will be terrible thanks to a tougher schedule and a defense that is LB heavy despite having big holes at LB. They apparently think Tyler Matekevich will fill that hole, and as good of a story as that would be I have my doubts.

I feel that a lot of people have softened on the Edmunds pick. I just hope he's good at this point. My only thing is that they have a team full of strong safeties, when they really need a proper free safety. They think Sean Davis can rebound and fill that role. I'm skeptical.

[ifthethunderdontgetya]

I had Edmunds going at pick 8 to the Bears, so I guess I was higher on him than the NFL.

In other news, here's what Rich Tandler has to say about our supplemental draft pick, Adonis Alexander.
~

[Daniel]

I had Edmunds going at pick 8 to the Bears, so I guess I was higher on him than the NFL.
~

Other Edmunds. Tremaine is a beast, and the Bills got a steal IMO.

[Castiron]

I didn't know DeMarco Murray retired.

[steelers_pens_fan]

I didn't know DeMarco Murray retired.

Probably couldn't find work. He was at the 30 year wall. And there are a ton of young RBs out there. He may unretire if someone gets hurt though.

[Castiron]

Probably couldn't find work. He was at the 30 year wall. And there are a ton of young RBs out there. He may unretire if someone gets hurt though.

That seems to be the thinking. I don't imagine he has much tread left after a few of those high volume years in Dallas, either.

[Daniel]

Still fairly surprising that no team picked him up. Gore is still chugging along at 35. Ought to be a place for him somewhere on a roster.

[steelers_pens_fan]

Roquan Smith not reporting to camp yet. Wonder if Bosa set a trend.