The Official 2012 NFL Thread

[elbacalao]

Hey Brian, Keith Rivers to the Giants for a 5th Round pick, what do you think? I don't know a damn thing about the guy except he was a 1st round guy who likes to get hurt.

I'm just fucking stoked the Giants have tried to do something, OH GOD PLEASE ANYTHING!?!?!?!, to address our need at Linebacker.

Is this guy an unrealized talent or a glass jaw waiting to break again?

Rivers is a solid, but not spectacular Linebacker. Had he been a 3rd or 4th round pick and stayed healthy people in Cinci would have loved him. He was a first round pick though, never played at a level worth that pick and only played in about 50% or so of the games. When the Bengals signed Howard last year to replace Rivers (due to an injury in the offseason ) Howard played better than Rivers ever had. Sometimes a change of scenery is a good thing though. Maybe he'll play really well for the Giants. You didnt give up much for him, and the Bengals were happy to get a draft pick for a guy they would have cut before the season anyway. Win Win. I'd expect him to be a solid player for you. Good run stopper. With the Giants Dline, you dont need much more than solid linebacker play to be great. I hope he works out there. The Giants play in Cincinnati this season, I look forward to watching that challenge.

 

[postcholo]

tom benson buys the hornets basketball team. so who is the first nbaplayer to get a bounty on his ass? lebron? kobe?

Keith Rivers to the Giants for a 5th Round pick

this is what espn said about the pick in 08:

9. Cincinnati Bengals
The pick: Keith Rivers, OLB, USC
What he brings: Rivers doesn't have as much potential as some of the other linebackers in this class, but he's clearly the most complete player in this year's outside linebacker class. Also, he is the kind of player a team wants in its locker room representing the organization. He doesn't have elite top-end speed and he isn't much of a playmaker, but Rivers reads his keys quickly, gets to the ball and doesn't miss open-field tackles. He's going to be better in zone coverage than in man coverage, but he isn't going to get caught out of position very often.
How he fits: Head coach Marvin Lewis is making a statement by adding a good character player in Rivers. He is a very athletic linebacker with playmaking skills and will upgrade a weakness on the Bengals' defense. This team had to get better versus the run. Rivers provides Lewis the ability to be flexible and play a 3-4 or 4-3. He is best suited as a weakside linebacker in a 4-3, but he has the flexibility to play outside or inside in a 3-4 scheme. If LB Odell Thurman returns to form, the combination of Thurman, Rivers and Ahmad Brooks makes this defense much improved.

hey that ahmad brooks guy turned out to be a pretty decent player once he left cincy...

Just as long as he stays away from opposing WRs.

:giggle

well maybe another cheap shot wr is out there looking to get a rule named after him.

from march 09:

"The NFL today approved four new rules that focus on player safety, including the so-called Hines Ward Rule that affects blocking tactics.

The blocking rule makes illegal a blindside block if it comes from the blocker's helmet, forearm or shoulder and lands to the head or neck area of the defender. One of the highlights the NFL competition committee used to portray such a block was the one Ward threw last season that broke the jaw of Cincinnati rookie linebacker Keith Rivers."

 

[Zerox]

"The NFL today approved four new rules that focus on player safety, including the so-called Hines Ward Rule that affects blocking tactics.

The blocking rule makes illegal a blindside block if it comes from the blocker's helmet, forearm or shoulder and lands to the head or neck area of the defender.

The NFL rules are getting so complicated it's hard to remember who can hit who where. And then if they hit each other hard enough, they can't remember anyway....

Bring on the NFL draft!

 

[Eldritch]

Rivers is a solid, but not spectacular Linebacker. Had he been a 3rd or 4th round pick and stayed healthy people in Cinci would have loved him. He was a first round pick though, never played at a level worth that pick and only played in about 50% or so of the games. When the Bengals signed Howard last year to replace Rivers (due to an injury in the offseason ) Howard played better than Rivers ever had. Sometimes a change of scenery is a good thing though. Maybe he'll play really well for the Giants. You didnt give up much for him, and the Bengals were happy to get a draft pick for a guy they would have cut before the season anyway. Win Win. I'd expect him to be a solid player for you. Good run stopper. With the Giants Dline, you dont need much more than solid linebacker play to be great. I hope he works out there. The Giants play in Cincinnati this season, I look forward to watching that challenge.

He could be a good fit. Obviously Coughlin's Giants are great Talent Developers on a Team that has defined itself by developing talent. Sounds like he's a very smart LB without a ton of natural athletic, which can be a great value in a Safety and D-Line rich 4-3 like the NYG. I'm happy to see him join up, I just hope we pick a decent LB in the draft like Nick Perry, Donta Hightower or Zack Brown. We'll see who is available way down at 32, but I'm hoping some good LB will slip down with the QB Bonanza everyone is trying to cash in on and the follow up in need for DE and CB that goes with it. I think I'd like a good blocking TE in the second round.

 

[Zerox]

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Clyde Gates has a message: Believe in Miami.

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sport...e-gates-pushes-believe-in-miami-movement.html

Nevermind that part about Gates having two receptions for 19 yards in the entire 2011 season. Believe. BIM.

(because actually, dumping diva clubgirl-slappin' WR Brandon Marshall is genius when you are switching to a Green Bay Packers style West Coast offense that requires intelligent receivers who can run precise short routes).

BIM

 

[Zerox]

We'll see who is available way down at 32....

Yo dawg you have pick #32? That's like inadvertent shit-talking. Love it!

Must be weird to be Super Bowl champs facing the draft and wonder "what holes do we need to fill?" Then realize the main problem is hiring carpenters to add a new addition to the Super Bowl trophy case.

 

[SteelerFanatic]

 

[Eldritch]

Yo dawg you have pick #32? That's like inadvertent shit-talking. Love it!

Must be weird to be Super Bowl champs facing the draft and wonder "what holes do we need to fill?" Then realize the main problem is hiring carpenters to add a new addition to the Super Bowl trophy case.

Well...



Truth be told though, we do have some good sized holes that need to be filled. Our entire LB corps is mediocre since Antonio Pierce retired and TE is a big question mark since we lost Kevin Boss to free agency and even he was a gap filler from when we decided to walk away from Jeremy Shockey. A legacy of epic front 4 work and some good work keeping CB and Safety in good shape has allowed us to cover our gaps there, and a surprising WEALTH of developed talent at WR let us hide the need for a TE who can catch, but we could sure use some help with all that talent in Philly trying to clean out the drama that crippled them last year and knock us off our rightful Divisional throne.

Now why, with NE sure pissed about getting upset by the Big Blue Football Machine AGAIN, do you BIM?

 

[Marlowe]

Well...



Truth be told though, we do have some good sized holes that need to be filled.

 

[Zerox]

Now why, with NE sure pissed about getting upset by the Big Blue Football Machine AGAIN, do you BIM?

NE is a weird team, their defense was unbelievably bad in the regular season then during the playoffs their defense played quite well. That can't last.

And that whole two TE thing won't be so easy to duplicate, a whole offseason for defensive coordinators around the league to get a handle on it. Brady and Welker are old and gotta be getting burned out by now, and their running game is inconsistent.

I read somewhere that Miami and New England both have five picks in the first 105 picks of the upcoming draft, that's like a goldmine. I wish the Fins would not use a #8 pick on Tannehill at QB, looks like a reach. OTOH the last time they picked a QB in the first round was Marino in '83, so that shows how long they've ignored QB in the draft and how they've suffered for it. But with Luck and RGIII already spoken for I'd rather see a stud defensive end/OLB (think Aldon Smith) lining up opposite Cameron Wake so teams would stop double-teams on Wake, a WR that fits the West Coast Offense, or even a solid RG/RT.

I say that QB Matt Moore is better than most people realize, twice he's been thrown in the deep end on two different NFL teams after the "golden boy" QB went down with injury, and both times he played well considering the circumstances (he did not have a losing record last year). IMHO he will have a QB rating of 90 or higher in the new Packers-style offense, and Reggie Bush is a helluva good receiver for a RB. Or is 2012 the David Garrard comeback story? It could happen...

The division problem is...the Pats went to the SB and still have a bag full of draft picks, Sanchez is happy the Jets finally picked up a QB less accurate than him, and Buffalo signed Mario Williams to chase quarterbacks. Shit. A rebuilding year in Miami for sure.

 

[Zerox]

Giants have the toughest schedule for 2012, Patriots have the easiest. Hey wait aren't those the two Super Bowl teams?

 

[Eldritch]

Giants have the toughest schedule for 2012, Patriots have the easiest. Hey wait aren't those the two Super Bowl teams?

Niners get cake of course, joys of NFC West. I'd like to just have the Giants take division and do some fine tuning this year, because the season after is a MUST win Superbowl.

 

[elbacalao]

Giants have the toughest schedule for 2012, Patriots have the easiest. Hey wait aren't those the two Super Bowl teams?

The Bengals are right in the middle of the pack in SOS. Cool. I wondered how the Patriots got to have the easiest SOS this season and then it dawned on me....they must be playing the NFC West. Checked the schedule. Yup. That explains why the 9ers have one of the easiest SOS's as well.

 

[Zerox]

Niners get cake of course, joys of NFC West. I'd like to just have the Giants take division and do some fine tuning this year, because the season after is a MUST win Superbowl.

The NFC West looks a bit tougher than last year with a new gunslinger QB in Seattle, Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, maybe Jeff Fisher can get the St Louis QB's mind right againlike his rookie year....the Niners best be using their first three draft picks on defensive backs.

The Giants had such a strange run, on life support most of the season, get into the playoffs and simply win four more games. It looks so simple.

But how they gonna stop RGIII in Washington?

 

[Marlowe]

Wait, I thought Fitz had been in Arizona for a while, and still lost a Superbowl.

 

[Zerox]

Wait, I thought Fitz had been in Arizona for a while, and still lost a Superbowl.

Well yeah, but the main reason the Niners run defense is so good is because it's so easy to pass on them.

 

[Eldritch]

The NFC West looks a bit tougher than last year with a new gunslinger QB in Seattle, Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, maybe Jeff Fisher can get the St Louis QB's mind right againlike his rookie year....the Niners best be using their first three draft picks on defensive backs.

The Giants had such a strange run, on life support most of the season, get into the playoffs and simply win four more games. It looks so simple.

But how they gonna stop RGIII in Washington?

The same way we stop the great Tom Brady.

[youtube]eC_ucbiqKoQ[/youtube]

Hall of Fame Quarterbacks? No big thing when you're a Giant.

The West does look better this year, but I still think the talent of the other 3 vs. the talent level of the 49ers is a fucking joke. The Niners are going to walk all over that Division this year. Last year they were just figuring out how to be winners. That team had been so rotten for so long, they didn't even no how to win when they had the talent and were supposed to win. The were losers as a lifestyle choice. NOW they have blood in their teeth, now they know what winning feels like and I think will be a team that can face off with anyone in the NFL at an even shake or better. The 'Hawks, Cards and Rams just can't claim that kind of girth this year, even if they are improved.

 

[Zerox]

The same way we stop the great Tom Brady.

[youtube]eC_ucbiqKoQ[/youtube]

Hall of Fame Quarterbacks? No big thing when you're a Giant.

The West does look better this year, but I still think the talent of the other 3 vs. the talent level of the 49ers is a fucking joke.

Never saw that JPP ditty before, pretty clever and well done. Their D-line sure brought the heat in the playoffs.

The NFL is a fickle bitch, you see it all the time when a team has an amazing turnaround, then the sophomore slump. It's kinda hard to be a surprise team when you go 13-3.

Harbaugh sure looks like a special coach though, whatever magic it takes to keep a team together and focused, he has it in spades. But damn the Niners secondary was their Achilles heel in the playoffs, it was painful to see the Saints and then Cruz shred'em so easily. The Cards game late in the year was the harbinger, they simply could not stop Fitzgerald in that loss. Draft a DB stud plz!

Fukkin' guy Victor Cruz, not even drafted. What a find! Love the draft steals like him, Terrell Davis and Tom Brady. Speaking of stealing, how is Ryan Leaf?

 

[Zerox]

C'mon now, Rolando McClain is not a bust:

http://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland...09/oakland-raiders-nfl-draft-picks-best-worst

 

[stigeon]

SOS shit talking?

the problem with that is you are basing it off of LAST YEAR. when the teams were all, you know, different. sure it has some basis for discussion but it's hardly the end-all be all of how tough a team has to play to get wins.