* * * * The National Football League - 2011 * * * *

81

did we find out what he was laughing about

somethimes when things are going so bad the only thing you can do is laugh

but i didn't watch the game.

FenwayFaithful

The Jeagler wrote:

team jeagler just clinched a playoff birth :thumbup:

Team Fenway aka The Codeine Purple Dranks just clinched one last night too.

81

Team Arian Nation cliched

as did my other two teams.

The Juggler

Bizarro wrote:

did we find out what he was laughing about

somethimes when things are going so bad the only thing you can do is laugh

but i didn't watch the game.

i don't think its any of our business what he was or wasn't laughing about. if i were him i would have just answered by saying "the other guy told me a knock knock joke. it was funny. next question." :twisted:

norm

if i were a member of the cardinals i'd be laughing too...to keep from crying

eeriepadave

doing pretty well in my yahoo fantasy leagues.

10 Club League (10 teams)- 2nd place, 9-3
Backspacer 2010 (6 teams)- 2nd place, 7-5
yahoo public league (10 teams)- 4th, 7-5
yahoo public league (10 teams)- 2nd, 8-4

The Juggler

the patriots are pretty good......



Patriots more efficient than ever
The 2010 offense is rivaling efficency records set by the 2007 squad

By Doug Farrar
Football Outsiders
Archive

BradyAndrew Weber/US PresswireThe players around him may have changed but Tom Brady is as effecient as ever.

It shouldn't be surprising that the 2007 New England Patriots put up the highest offensive efficiency totals in the history of Football Outsiders' metrics. The 16-0 regular-season team had record-setters in single season touchdown passes (Tom Brady, with 50), touchdowns caught (Randy Moss, with 23) and was especially effective in the first 12 weeks of the season. In those first 12 weeks, the Pats were 54.5 percent better than the average NFL offense, outscoring their opponents by an average of 40.2 to 16.8 points per game. That 2007 team fell back to earth, or at least went from superhuman to merely excellent, in Weeks 13-17. Their offensive DVOA dropped to 28.9%, and their average per-game margin of victory was 29.4 to 17.8.

The 2007 Patriots saw their season end in a surprise Super Bowl loss, but the route back to reality started well before that. The early part of that season featured a virtually unrepeatable pattern of shotgun spreads, deep routes to Moss, receiver screens to Wes Welker and limited access to any sort of running game. Though it was portable (the Pats actually had a higher offensive DVOA on the road than at home that season), it wasn't sustainable.

Through 12 weeks of the 2010 season, the new Patriots offense has been defined by two-tight-end sets, shorter passes overall with more yards after catch, better goal-line running and more sustainable offensive playcalling. If you've seen this different version of the Patriots offense and come away with the idea that it's far less explosive than what Brady was running in 2007, you would be correct. However, the new offense has been just about as efficient, especially when adjusted for opponent, and especially in the last few weeks. The current team has an offensive DVOA of 45.2%, the second-highest total of any team after 12 weeks (since our numbers begin in 1993). It's the exact same figure the 2007 offense finished with after reality set in.

How have the Patriots accomplished this? Primarily with the efforts of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, their two rookie tight ends. Perhaps knowing that he would need a new system that would make Moss redundant, Bill Belichick went back to his 2006 game plan, when the Patriots led the league in two-tight end sets, and Ben Watson was the team's second-most targeted receiver. Where the new Pats have found a difference is in the sheer productivity of their rookies -- Gronkowski ranks second in our cumulative efficiency rankings for tight ends behind San Diego's Antonio Gates, and Hernandez ranks fourth.

In 2007, the Pats threw 71 times to their tight ends for a total of 471 yards, a 68 percent catch rate and 3.0 yards after catch per play. In 2010, tight ends have seen 91 passes for 841 yards -- in five fewer games -- plus a 73 percent catch rate, and 5.9 yards after catch.

Formation diversity is the key to tight end success in the new offense. New England put two or more tight ends on the field on 49 percent of their plays before Moss was traded, and 52 percent of all plays since. But you'll see Hernandez and Gronkowski lined up in different places -- Hernandez might go deep on a seam route out of a halfback position in a shotgun set, and Gronkowski might catch three touchdown passes in a game out of the slot or inline, as he did against the Steelers in a 39-26 Week 10 win.

That's another reason the 2010 team's offensive DVOA is so high this year -- Brady and his crew are doing what they're doing against some of the league's better defenses, and DVOA adjusts for opponent. This is especially true in the passing game, where the Pats have amassed good numbers against four of DVOA's top 10 defenses while facing only one defense (Buffalo) in the league's bottom third. Brady's passing DVOA has shot through the roof recently -- from 50.9% in Weeks 1-9 to an astonishing 111.3% in Weeks 10-12. Throwing for three touchdowns against a top-ranked Pittsburgh defense (and exploiting the Steelers' one obvious weakness that day, vis-a-vis cornerback William Gay's coverage of Gronkowski) has a lot to do with that, but it also raises a larger question: With New England's offensive efficiency actually increasing down the short stretch, can the team transcend regression to the mean that has both plagued and helped it in previous seasons?

The 2009 offense may provide the best answer. New England ranked second in the league with a 31.6% offensive DVOA in Weeks 1-12, and fourth with a 24.6% DVOA in the season's final weeks, showing a consistency not seen in previous seasons. And the 2008 Patriots season gives you a good example of what happens when you adjust an offense on the fly in midseason. When Brady was lost for the season in the first 2008 game, adjustments had to be made for backup Matt Cassel, and it took time for everything to coalesce. That's why the 2008 Pats had just 1.1% offensive DVOA in the first eight games, but 31.3% in the final eight. The 2008 Patriots with Cassel were actually more efficient in the second half of the season than the record-setting Patriots from the year before.

Similarly, Brady had to get used to his new tight ends, the increased role of running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, the import of Danny Woodhead and the return of Deion Branch. There have been rough spots, but this new New England offensive trend appears more sustainable. In each of the last three weeks, the Patriots have posted the highest offensive DVOA in the NFL. They did the same in Weeks 1, 3, and 8, but with far more league-average stuff in between. Now -- and just at the right time for once -- New England's gamble on a different type of offense has paid off beyond expectations.

The next step is to finish strong, and the Patriots will face serious challenges in that department. They start with by facing the New York Jets in Monday's climactic tilt, then play the teams that rank second (Green Bay) and fourth (Chicago) in pass defense DVOA. By the time he gets to the final two regular-season games against Buffalo and Miami, Brady might be pushing the 2007 season aside and putting up new all-time numbers -- with an unexpected offense.

The Fixer

mcnabb

what a great trade for the eagles

FenwayFaithful

Bottom line, Jeagler: Brady's awesome

Couple thoughts on the early games:
Wild end to that NO-Cinci game. Sean Payton just out-Belichick-ed Marvin Lewis at the end.
Another wildly underwhelming game for Chris Johnson. The Titans suck.
Big game for the Giants D...do you think Coughlin told Eli "Seriously, just don't fuck anything up today and we'll win by 4 TDs."?
And Chad Henne is pathetic.

The Fixer

FenwayFaithful wrote:

Bottom line, Jeagler: Brady's awesome

Couple thoughts on the early games:
Wild end to that NO-Cinci game. Sean Payton just out-Belichick-ed Marvin Lewis at the end.
Another wildly underwhelming game for Chris Johnson. The Titans suck.
Big game for the Giants D...do you think Coughlin told Eli "Seriously, just don't fuck anything up today and we'll win by 4 TDs."?
And Chad Henne is pathetic.

I don't know how marv lewis still has a job.

FenwayFaithful

Marv Lewis makes Norv Turner look like Bill Walsh.

The Juggler

FenwayFaithful wrote:

Bottom line, Jeagler: Brady's awesome

Couple thoughts on the early games:
Wild end to that NO-Cinci game. Sean Payton just out-Belichick-ed Marvin Lewis at the end.
Another wildly underwhelming game for Chris Johnson. The Titans suck.
Big game for the Giants D...do you think Coughlin told Eli "Seriously, just don't fuck anything up today and we'll win by 4 TDs."?
And Chad Henne is pathetic.

lot of underwhelming games thus far. tonight and tomorrow will be fun though.

underdogs off and running in the 4's...

The Juggler

caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaable guy!

The Juggler

love the old school tampa bay jerseys...

The Juggler

old school defensive battle tonight

mickeyrat

The Jeagler wrote:

old school defensive battle tonight

yes it was. Have to say I'm pleased with the result!!

The Juggler

prior to yesterday the falcons had gone 4 straight games without a turnover. they would have been the first team since 1970 to make it 5 games but had 2 to's yesterday.....this team is pretty damn good. you win the turnover battle, you're gonna win a lot of games.

FenwayFaithful

The Jeagler wrote:

prior to yesterday the falcons had gone 4 straight games without a turnover. they would have been the first team since 1970 to make it 5 games but had 2 to's yesterday.....this team is pretty damn good. you win the turnover battle, you're gonna win a lot of games.

Be honest Jeags, how would our boy Vick&Co. fare tomorrow in a road game against Atlanta? Do you objectively think this Eagles team is better than the Falcons?

g under p

FenwayFaithful wrote:

The Jeagler wrote:

prior to yesterday the falcons had gone 4 straight games without a turnover. they would have been the first team since 1970 to make it 5 games but had 2 to's yesterday.....this team is pretty damn good. you win the turnover battle, you're gonna win a lot of games.

Be honest Jeags, how would our boy Vick&Co. fare tomorrow in a road game against Atlanta? Do you objectively think this Eagles team is better than the Falcons?

The Falcons are NO joke, they are for real. That said the PATRIOTS will win tonight, I hope it snows.

Trivia....How many teams in the NFL have LETTER or LETTERS on their helmet logo?

Peace

FenwayFaithful

g under p wrote:

Trivia....How many teams in the NFL have LETTER or LETTERS on their helmet logo?

This might be a trick question from our friend g under p here, guys.

Steelers
Jets
49ers
Packers
Titans
Raiders
NY Giants
Ravens
Bears

And the Texans logo is in the shape of a T, and the Falcons logo is a bird, but its in the shape of an F...not sure if your counting those...

Did I miss any?