Threads from the Enemy-Tennessee

[Sevenfeet]

(11-22-2022, 11:26 PM)Nepa Wrote: I understand the excitement TN fans for their team right now, after beating Green Bay away and given the game Tannehill had. He had a QB rating of 127, completing 22 of 27 for 333. A very solid team, very good in the red zone and on 3rd and 4th with short yardage. Henry is extraordinary. I also understand TN fans being upset by not be favored. And they were the first seed last year and the upstart Bengals beat them in a close one.

This game will be very tough for the Bengals and may come down to turnovers, again. But I would say I am sure the Bengals team feels like this is a must win game, given they are already behind the Ravens and only have their toes on the line of a playoff position. Tennessee seems like a shoe-in for their division. So, I find it unlikely the revenge factor outweighs the larger motivation of the Bengals team feeling like they need this one.

Titans AFC opponents yet to face this season:

Bengals
Jags (twice)
Chargers
Texans

The most important in that bunch are the Jags and Texans and ironically those are the "easier" games compared to the upcoming Bengals match and the Chargers, who like us, nearly beat the Chiefs. The Chargers game is in L.A. too. But a win against the Bengals would put us in the proverbial drivers seat.

NFC opponents we haven't faced:

Eagles (the return of A.J. Brown...and that game is in Philly)
Cowboys (Home SNF)

You could easily make the argument that the NFC opponents are tougher matches than any of the upcoming AFC matches, Bengals included. Right now, only the Colts are within any kind of striking range of us. If we win 3 of the 5 AFC matches, I think we're set. If we win 4, then definitely. And I've love to go 1 for 2 with the NFC matches if possible.

[Goalpost]

(11-23-2022, 01:47 PM)Sevenfeet Wrote: Everyone in Nashville is assuming that dude is playing.

He's been on crutches for over a month and just got off them.  How ready he can be?...who knows.  The Bengals have been relatively positive about the process of letting the hairline fracture in his hip heal itself.  That timetable has been met.  Hopefully he is 100 percent healed, which he wouldnt see the field if it wasn't.  From there it's probably a matter of his conditioning.  

[Sled21]

(11-23-2022, 02:09 PM)Goalpost Wrote: He's been on crutches for over a month and just got off them.  How ready he can be?...who knows.  The Bengals have been relatively positive about the process of letting the hairline fracture in his hip heal itself.  That timetable has been met.  Hopefully he is 100 percent healed, which he wouldnt see the field if it wasn't.  From there it probably a matter of his conditioning.  

He'll work his way back in. With the emergence of Irwin and Taylor Chase won't have to play every snap.

[WeezyBengal]

(11-23-2022, 02:11 PM)Sled21 Wrote: He'll work his way back in. With the emergence of Irwin and Taylor Chase won't have to play every snap.

Chase not having to play every snap is big, even beyond this season. 

His usage was crazy. There were games where he was literally playing every down. We cant continue to have him to do this every game. 

[Sevenfeet]

And in a scene where past is prologue...

Mr. Carlson: What, uh, seems to be the big story of the day?

Les: Taxes. Nobody wants to pay them anymore.

Mr. Carlson: I see--

Les: And in other headlines, Thursday is Thanksgiving again.

Mr. Carlson: Ah I see--

Les: Inflation continues. There's more fighting in Africa.

Mr. Carlson: ---

Les: And in football, this may be the week for the Bengals.

Mr. Carlson: Ah!

Les: Or maybe not.

Mr. Carlson: Oh....

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(11-21-2022, 10:50 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I don’t get why they are insulted about the line. It’s not a popularity contest. I get being surprised, but it’s not personal guys.

And a lot of them don’t think much of the Bengals. According to them they were the better team and should have won last year. No reason given. They’re also kind of assuming half a dozen sacks.

They were called a # 1 fraud last year and the Bengals proved it. (I defended them last year saying they won the games so they earned it) but the whine fest over there annoys me.

(11-22-2022, 07:31 AM)michaelsean Wrote: They have five or six wins before the season starts because of that craptastic division. They had a week off and home field and lost. Fraud.  Like I said I argued they were not a fraud, but I’m a sports fan and can change my opinion for petty reasons. Like their whining

Thanks for reading it for me and relaying it so I don't have to waste my time going through Titans fans posts while I 
am supposed to make some pasta salad tonight for a big Thanksgiving meal tomorrow and drinkin' brewskies and 
watching some football with the Fam. They do have a craptastic division, I don't know if they are ready for this team
once again. I think this OL is better than the one they terrorized in our Playoff game we won and this D is even better.

(11-22-2022, 07:40 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Jesus, that's depressing seeing it all written out like that...


...the NFL needs to do something about college football. There's way too many bad QBs starting in the NFL. There's like 8 QBs under 38 y/o who are good, 2 in mid-30s who used to be good but are currently terrible this year, 4 who are okay but clearly a step down, and then a sea of meh-to-crap. Might be time to finally create an NFL minor league system for players out of high school so there's more QBs/OL actually prepared for NFL play.

Might be a thought, but I just think a lot of the younger QB's are just learning and aren't just studs out of college like 
say Mahomes, Allen, Burrow and Herbert are. Lamar as well I have to include. Big drop off after these top 5 though that
is for sure. The Jets are benching Wilson for Mike White BTW.

(11-22-2022, 08:09 AM)Rubekahn29 Wrote: Well this week Tannehill won’t be much better than the competition we’ve played. The Titans have scored over 20 points 4 times but more than 24 points 1 time, whereas we have scored over 24 points in 6 of our last 8.

I believe they put up over I don’t care so much about the QBs they play, because if our offense is putting up the points they’ve been, they will compete with anything. Our defense is built to play against these good QBs, because many of these good QBs want to take shots and we don’t typically give up huge plays (now CTB scares me a little).

But like I said Tannehill is closer to those quarterbacks on that list, than the elite ones we play later this year. I think that’s why it’s important we grab this one.

Nice post as usual. We compete with the QB we are handed. Doesn't matter if it is Dalton or Mahomes.

We can get the job done against anyone. Backups actually give us more of a problem cause there isn't much film and some
other unknown reasons that I don't know. Hope Tannehill plays, CTB just cannot be beat on those double moves on play action.

Because yeah, CTB does scare me a little too.

[*jason*]

(11-23-2022, 02:09 PM)Goalpost Wrote: He's been on crutches for over a month and just got off them.  How ready he can be?...who knows.  The Bengals have been relatively positive about the process of letting the hairline fracture in his hip heal itself.  That timetable has been met.  Hopefully he is 100 percent healed, which he wouldnt see the field if it wasn't.  From there it's probably a matter of his conditioning.  

I'm not an orthopedic surgeon or anything, but it seems to me like Ja'Marr was putting up 150 yards on that hip, and if his needed to, he could've continued walking on it. The crutches were solely for the purpose of letting it heal. I'd wager that he kept his conditioning going in a pool or by some other means. I'm not downplaying the injury, I just think the visual of crutches are putting people's heads in a place they may not need to be.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(11-23-2022, 01:56 PM)Sevenfeet Wrote: Titans AFC opponents yet to face this season:

Bengals
Jags (twice)
Chargers
Texans

The most important in that bunch are the Jags and Texans and ironically those are the "easier" games compared to the upcoming Bengals match and the Chargers, who like us, nearly beat the Chiefs. The Chargers game is in L.A. too. But a win against the Bengals would put us in the proverbial drivers seat.

NFC opponents we haven't faced:

Eagles (the return of A.J. Brown...and that game is in Philly)
Cowboys (Home SNF)

You could easily make the argument that the NFC opponents are tougher matches than any of the upcoming AFC matches, Bengals included. Right now, only the Colts are within any kind of striking range of us. If we win 3 of the 5 AFC matches, I think we're set. If we win 4, then definitely. And I've love to go 1 for 2 with the NFC matches if possible.

Cool to see the perspective of a Titans fan, as I don't want to go on your boards. Cannot disagree with anything.

Going to be a fun game this Sunday regardless of who wins IMO.

With your injuries at Corner you better get pressure without the blitz is all I can say or Burrow could torch you.

Burrow is on his game right now and we have the best passing Offense in the NFL.

It goes without saying we need to slow down the King. I like our chance with Reader back.

Anyways, thanks for your perspective.

[*jason*]

(11-23-2022, 01:45 PM)Sevenfeet Wrote: Henry was asked about this a few weeks ago since he hasn't had a "75 yards to the house" moment this season. He doesn't think so. Now everyone ages and running backs are no different. I do think that defensive secondary players have gotten better at keeping him from that huge score since they always go for his feet now which seems to be easier to stop him by tripping rather that approaching him waist up (which is asking for a highlight reel-stiff arm).

Doesn't Henry tend to have his monster games as the season wears on?... Like from here on out?

[*jason*]

(11-23-2022, 01:47 PM)Sevenfeet Wrote: Everyone in Nashville is assuming that dude is playing.

He is.

[Soonerpeace]

The Bengals are a bad matchup for the Titans. Our run defense when we beat them last year caused them problems. A lot depends on Tannehill. I actually think we are really rolling. I look for another 31-17 like game.

[*michaelsean*]

(11-23-2022, 05:23 PM)Sevenfeet Wrote: And in a scene where past is prologue...

Mr. Carlson: What, uh, seems to be the big story of the day?

Les: Taxes. Nobody wants to pay them anymore.

Mr. Carlson: I see--

Les: And in other headlines, Thursday is Thanksgiving again.

Mr. Carlson: Ah I see--

Les: Inflation continues. There's more fighting in Africa.

Mr. Carlson: ---

Les: And in football, this may be the week for the Bengals.

Mr. Carlson: Ah!

Les: Or maybe not.

Mr. Carlson: Oh....

There’s another slightly more famous Thanksgiving scene

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(11-23-2022, 09:23 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Might be a thought, but I just think a lot of the younger QB's are just learning and aren't just studs out of college like 
say Mahomes, Allen, Burrow and Herbert are. Lamar as well I have to include. Big drop off after these top 5 though that
is for sure. The Jets are benching Wilson for Mike White BTW.

Former Busts, Retreads, Past-primes, Has-beens, and Hopes...
Marcus Mariota (29)
Baker Mayfield (27)
Jacoby Brissett (29)
Jared Goff (28)
Matt Ryan (37)
Andy Dalton (35)
Taylor Heinicke (29)

With new additions of older guys who used to be good but currently stink...
Aaron Rodgers (38)
Tom Brady (45)
Matthew Stafford (34)
Russell Wilson (34)

Young starting QBs who stink...
Zach Wilson (23)
Daniel Jones (25)
Trevor Lawrence (23)
Justin Fields (23)
Davis Mills (24)
Kenny Pickett (24)
Mac Jones (24)


Out of that list, who honestly has a good shot at turning it around and being good for at least 3 years? Maybe Fields if he learns to complete more passes than rushing attempts? Maybe Trevor Lawrence? That's about it and I listed 19 QBs and there's quite a few "serviceable but never going to be great" guys in the remaining list like Carr, Tannehill, Prescott, Cousins, Garoppolo, Murray, and might as well throw Geno Smith probably being the new Tennehill in that category, I guess?

That puts my count at 26, with 2 (maybe 3 if Murray decides to mature and focus on football) I am still somewhat holding out hope for. Out of 32.

If you don't have Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, or Tua Tagovailoa, do you feel any other team is confident they 100% certainly have their QB position set for the next 5+ years right now?

[CJD]

(11-22-2022, 08:06 PM)Sevenfeet Wrote: QBR (invented by ESPN in 2011) is a harder metric to grasp, especially since there are 6 major metrics that it is following and the first one has a number of moving parts. Contrast that to passer rating (which is a real NFL stat) which is only about passing yards/completion percentage/TDs/sacks and nothing more.  Some of the metrics are subjective at best.  For example, there is a "discount" for garbage time stats, that is a QB that gets a whole bunch of yards when the game is out of reach. I'd love to see how that's calculated and if someone has to manually determine that.

As for the names on this list, I think Lamar Jackson would like to have a word with you on whether Joe Burrow is a better QB. But let's discuss Marcus Mariota since we Titans fans are very familiar with him and his game play since he started for us for years. No one is saying that Mariota is better than Burrow...heck, he'd probably agree. (And Mariota was loved in Nashville as a great human being, but he was a middling, inconsistent QB). But QBR helps Mariota in that running the football is considered to be something that gooses the metric. And Mariota has always done well there (as has Lamar Jackson).

And then there's the "degree of difficulty" metric for a play. So I expect that a QB isn't rewarded much if he checks down a lot, but gets points for harder, down the field passes. Then you get freaks like Mahomes who can pocket pass in tight windows down the field, run the ball AND do freaky off-schedule stuff that kills defenses (like what happened to us twice now).

So a passer rating is certainly easier to wrap your brain around. But QBR was supposed to rate the entire package of the athlete, so to speak.

Right. I think QBR is an incredibly subjective statistic, which makes it very difficult to rely on for much, especially since it will only ever really matter on ESPN's website, since other websites will not be interested in broadcasting a competitor's confidential statistic. It seems even ESPN's own employees don't regard it as worthy of consideration, since their QB rankings never match the QBR stat.

It seems to me based on your response and some other responses that running the ball is too heavily accounted for in QBR, but even that isn't something Tannehill holds over Burrow. I imagine if the general fanbase of the NFL were to rank each attribute of a QB (accuracy, arm strength, touch, athleticism, pocket awareness, ability to read a defense etc), Burrow would come away ranked higher in almost every category compared to Tannehill, arm strength being the only one I'd call a toss up between the two.

I didn't mean to start a debate about whether QBR is or is not a legitimate statistic as much as I was just pointing out that using it to claim that Tannehill is playing as well as Burrow right now is bad and will cause you to lose credibility in non-echo chamber discussions.

Regarding Lamar Jackson, he does one thing better than Burrow and that's run the ball. I understand that running is part of the arsenal that a QB has, as you alluded to with Mariota, but it's clear as day that Burrow is the far superior passer of the football. Funnily enough, I recall a recent Burrow interview where he said that, in some ways, he is kind of glad he isn't the same athlete that Jackson is because, if he were, he probably wouldn't have fine tuned his passing accuracy and ability to read the defense, the two things that have made him a millionaire.

[Daddy-O]

(11-22-2022, 06:26 PM)RegularGuy22 Wrote: Hey there, Sevenfeet, it's refreshing to see an opponents fan come in here and show some brains and common sense and be able to chat with members here without the usual mud slinging and insults. It's a flucking game, that all. Why some fans from any team act like their very life depended on 'their" team winning or not. Earlier this year after Bengals-Dolphins game there were "fans" on their forums that were mad as hell that a Miami Dolphin thug didn't return the injury to Burrow that Tua suffered. Childish immaturity at the highest level. I really wonder about the IQ level and brain function of some of these people.

As far as this game I look at it as a 50/50 chance of a Bengals win as I always do. When they are on, they can beat anybody but when they are off they look like misfits and embarrassing. (See Browns Game on MNF). When the Bengals win a few games the local media is all gushing over them only to see them forget to show up the next week. That's why... I always have a conservative thought about any game they play. Any team on the schedule is dangerous, I don't care their record. Vikings were rolling along playing well hitting on all 8 and look what Dallas did to them Sunday.

That's the NFL in a nutshell, either you come to play or you lose.  There are teams that have 1 or 2 superior players that make a huge difference, like Mahomes, Henry, Parsons, but for the most part all of the games come down to which team executes better that particular week.  It always seems as though 1 or 2 plays decide each game.

[KillerGoose]

(11-23-2022, 10:49 PM)jason Wrote: Doesn't Henry tend to have his monster games as the season wears on?... Like from here on out?

Yes, he does. Since 2016, Henry averages 4.26 yards per attempt in weeks 1-8 with a total of 34 TDs on 910 rushes. In weeks 9-EOS, he averages 5.43 yards per attempt with a total of 41 TDs on 726 rushes.

If there is any consolation, Henry has some really forgettable outings. This isn't necessarily his fault as he is creating for himself really well, but the Titans offensive line is a bottom tier line. He doesn't have much room to work with. 

[Rubekahn29]

(11-24-2022, 11:14 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: Yes, he does. Since 2016, Henry averages 4.26 yards per attempt in weeks 1-8 with a total of 34 TDs on 910 rushes. In weeks 9-EOS, he averages 5.43 yards per attempt with a total of 41 TDs on 726 rushes.

If there is any consolation, Henry has some really forgettable outings. This isn't necessarily his fault as he is creating for himself really well, but the Titans offensive line is a bottom tier line. He doesn't have much room to work with. 

This is what makes me feel better. I feel like the reason the Browns always dominate us running is their line is so good. I feel we struggle more with great lines than stud running backs. We have enough good LBs/CBS/Safeties to take care of Henry.

[*jason*]

(11-24-2022, 11:14 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: Yes, he does. Since 2016, Henry averages 4.26 yards per attempt in weeks 1-8 with a total of 34 TDs on 910 rushes. In weeks 9-EOS, he averages 5.43 yards per attempt with a total of 41 TDs on 726 rushes.

If there is any consolation, Henry has some really forgettable outings. This isn't necessarily his fault as he is creating for himself really well, but the Titans offensive line is a bottom tier line. He doesn't have much room to work with. 

Not to mention he's in a very Corey Dillon (with the Bengals) situation where everyone knows it's coming. He's pretty damn impressive.

[*jason*]

(11-24-2022, 11:25 AM)Rubekahn29 Wrote: This is what makes me feel better. I feel like the reason the Browns always dominate us running is their line is so good. I feel we struggle more with great lines than stud running backs. We have enough good LBs/CBS/Safeties to take care of Henry.

That's part of it, but you also have to factor in Baker Mayfield killing us too. He's pretty subpar when he's not playing us. To me that points to something the Browns staff is doing against us. It's undeniable they have our number and it's ***** annoying...

[*jason*]

I like these Titans chumps that show up when we're about to play them. They're cool and respectful, and it sorta plays out like a crossover team podcast.