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Community Tailgate News & Rumors

Community Tailgate: Which 0-2 Teams Will Make The Playoffs?

September 22nd, 2015 at 4:47pm CST by Zachary Links

With the NFL season underway, we have a whole new series of topics to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

Two weeks into the season, we have many teams who have yet to grace the win column. Of course, it’s very early, and those clubs have another 14 regular season games to right the ship. We want to know which of the following 0-2 teams you think are going to wind up making the playoffs:

  • Bears
  • Colts
  • Eagles
  • Giants
  • Lions
  • Ravens
  • Saints
  • Seahawks
  • Texans

When the Pro Football Rumors writing team made predictions for the 2015 season a couple weeks ago, all of us picked the Colts to win the AFC South. However, after losses to the Bills and Jets to start the season, many of us would probably like a re-do. On Monday night the Colts’ offense line was rather porous and reliable veteran Frank Gore coughed up a costly fumble near the goal line. Quarterback Andrew Luck stands as one of the brightest young signal callers in the game, but it won’t mean much if the rest of his offense is slumping.

The Colts aren’t the only contender stumbling to start the season. Chip Kelly‘s Eagles were a sexy pick to win the division but there are issues on either side of the ball and Kiko Alonso‘s injury won’t help matters. The defending NFC Champion Seahawks have also been a disappointment and their defensive struggles have only strengthened the case for Kam Chancellor as he continues his holdout.

Of course, plenty of teams have gone 0-2 to start the year and wound up with a playoff birth. Of the teams that are winless so far, which ones do you think are headed to the postseason? Let us know in the comment section below!

Community Tailgate: NFC East Outlook

September 21st, 2015 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NFL season underway, we have a whole new series of topics to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

When the Pro Football Rumors writing team made predictions for the 2015 season a couple weeks ago, all of us picked either the Cowboys or the Eagles to win the NFC East, and all but one of us expected both teams to make the playoffs either as the division winner or a Wild Card team. Two weeks into the season, however, the outlook for the NFC East has become much cloudier.

The defending division champs are 2-0, but neither of the Cowboys‘ wins has been particularly pretty, and the team will now be without its two offensive stars, Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, for at least the next few weeks, and possibly for two months or more.

The Eagles, meanwhile, played one of the worst games of this young season yesterday at home against Dallas, with DeMarco Murray failing to get anything going against his old team, while Sam Bradford and his wideouts struggled to get into any sort of rhythm. After two games, Murray has somehow compiled just 11 rushing yards, and Philadelphia’s new-look squad has yet to pick up a win.

Elsewhere in the NFC East, the Giants are also winless, leaving Washington as perhaps the division’s strongest – or at least most hopeful – team at the moment, which seemed extremely unlikely three weeks ago when Jay Gruden named Kirk Cousins the new starting quarterback. Washington lost its opener against a Dolphins team with postseason expectations, but looked great in Week 2 running the ball against a strong Rams defense.

Given how the season’s first two weeks have gone, how do you see the rest of the season playing out in the NFC East? Will the Cowboys be able to withstand the loss of two of their best players? Will the Giants or Eagles rebound and make a run? Or will Washington shock the world and take control of the division? Let us know in the comments section what you think!

Community Tailgate: Week 2 Upsets

September 18th, 2015 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NFL season underway, we have a whole new series of topics to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

The second week of the NFL’s 2015 regular season got underway last night, and we couldn’t have asked for a wilder, more bizarre ending than what we got from the Broncos and Chiefs in Kansas City. Thursday night’s game will be hard to top this weekend, but as NFL executive Michael Signora tweeted last night, 13 of the 17 games on the schedule so far have been within a single score heading into the fourth quarter.

Heading into the weekend, we want to get your thoughts on Week 2’s slate of games, with a specific focus on potential upsets. The following teams are currently underdogs by at least a field goal, according to Bovada.lv:

  • 49ers at Steelers
  • Lions at Vikings
  • Buccaneers at Saints
  • Chargers at Bengals
  • Texans at Panthers
  • Washington vs. Rams
  • Raiders vs. Ravens
  • Jaguars vs. Dolphins
  • Cowboys at Eagles
  • Seahawks at Packers
  • Jets at Colts

In all likelihood, at least a couple of these teams will pull off upsets this weekend, and it’s possible a handful will come through. Which underdogs do you like to pick up Week 2 wins? Weigh in below with your thoughts.

Community Tailgate: Texans QB Situation

September 17th, 2015 at 5:20pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

With the NFL season underway, we have a whole new series of topics to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

Despite lacking a franchise-caliber quarterback last year, the Texans finished 9-7 and nearly made their first trip to the playoffs since 2012. The team responded in the offseason by trading Ryan Fitzpatrick to the Jets for a conditional late-round pick. Fitzpatrick started 12 games, completed over 63 percent of passes, and threw 17 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 2014. The 32-year-old is career journeyman who has never been a world-beater, but he did fare respectably enough last season to rank as Pro Football Focus’ (subscription required) 12th-best QB out of 28 signal callers who played at least 50 percent of their teams’ offensive snaps.

To replace Fitzpatrick, Houston made a couple of two-year signings: They added free agent Brian Hoyer on a deal worth $4.75MM guaranteed, and re-signed Ryan Mallett for $7MM. Neither was on Fitzpatrick’s level in 2014. As a member of the Browns, Hoyer started 13 games, ranked 24th out of PFF’s 28 qualifying QBs and also put up worse traditional numbers than Fitzpatrick (55.3 completion rate, 12 TDs, 13 INTs). Mallett amassed similarly uninspiring stats in three games with Houston, completing 54.7 percent of passes and averaging a meager 5.3 yards per attempt.

Hoyer and Mallett competed during the summer for the starting job – a battle that Hoyer won. However, his stay atop Houston’s QB depth chart didn’t last long. After going 18 of 34 for 236 yards, a score and a pick in Week 1, head coach Bill O’Brien pulled Hoyer in favor of Mallett in the Texans’ 27-20 loss to the Chiefs. Mallett fared well in relief (8 of 13, 98 yards and a TD). That was enough for O’Brien to name Mallett the team’s starter for this Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

While the season is only a week old, it appears QB is primed to weigh down a fairly talented Texans team in 2015. With that in mind, did the organization handle the position properly during the offseason? Instead of Hoyer and/or Mallett, should they have signed a different free agent? Were they wrong to jettison Fitzpatrick, who is now the Jets’ starter and turned in a solid opening week performance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Community Tailgate: Week 1 Surprises

September 16th, 2015 at 6:50pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NFL season nearly underway, we’ll have a whole new series of topics to discuss in the coming weeks, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

After months of build-up and anticipation, the NFL season got underway this past week, and seeing all 32 teams in action made us reconsider some of the some of the things we thought we knew about them. Of course, one week of regular season games is too small a sample size to prove anything definitively, but there were certainly plenty of teams and players that looked much better or worse than we expected.

Are the Bills really as good as they looked during their win over the Colts? Will Marcus Mariota turn the Titans into a competitive team? Has Dan Quinn made the Falcons‘ defense an above-average unit? Are the 49ers a better club than their disastrous offseason suggested?

There were plenty of surprises in Week 1. We want to know which ones caught your eye. Which teams and players were you most unexpectedly impressed by or disappointed in? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

Weigh In With Your NFL Predictions

September 10th, 2015 at 5:36pm CST by Zachary Links

With the NFL season nearly underway, we’ll have a whole new series of topics to discuss in the coming weeks, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

The 2015 NFL season officially kicks off in just a few hours! In advance of tonight’s contest between the Steelers and Patriots, the writers at Pro Football Rumors weighed in with projections for the upcoming year. We’ve predicted which teams will earn playoff berths, which clubs will win their respective conferences, the Super Bowl champion, and the winners of the league’s major awards.

Can the Packers still finish as a top team despite the absence of Jordy Nelson? Three of our writers say yes and have picked Green Bay to win it all. However, the Colts are also picked to make noise in 2015 behind Andrew Luck, who wound up as a popular pick to win MVP.

We gave you our thoughts – now we want to know what you think! Let us know in the comment section who you think will win the Super Bowl, MVP, and all of the other major awards this season.

 

 

Community Tailgate: Kam Chancellor’s Holdout

September 9th, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NFL season nearly underway, we’ll have a whole new series of topics to discuss in the coming weeks, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

Speaking to reporters today, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll confirmed that star safety Kam Chancellor is continuing his holdout and has yet to report to the team. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, that means Carroll and his club expect to take the field in Week 1 without Chancellor in the secondary.

“He’s not here right now, so he’s not playing,” Carroll said. “That’s that.”

When Chancellor, who wants the Seahawks to rework his contract, began his holdout earlier in the summer, many observers were skeptical that he would stay away from the team this long. For the most part, players who hold out eventually relent before the possibility of missing game checks becomes a reality. Conversely, many teams are willing to at least temporarily placate their players by moving some salary around and giving them a little extra money up front — the Seahawks did that with Marshawn Lynch a year ago.

In this case though, neither side appears willing to budge. Chancellor just signed his contract two years ago, and it runs through the 2017 season, so the Seahawks are understandably hesitant to set a precedent by giving their star safety a raise already. On the other hand, Chancellor is one of the leaders of one of the league’s best defenses, and will earn base salaries of just $4.55MM in 2015 and $5.1MM in 2016. Given the lack of longevity for most NFL players’ careers, it’s hard to blame the 27-year-old for wanting to maximize his earnings while he can.

With Chancellor poised to miss the Seahawks’ first game of the year, he’d become the first player who signed a contract under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement to miss game action due to a holdout, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network. Rapoport notes (via Twitter) that Carson Palmer was the last player to extend a holdout into the regular season, sitting out the first six games of the 2011 season before the Bengals traded him to the Raiders.

How do you see this situation playing out now that Chancellor is on the verge of missing the Seahawks’ opener? Will he or the Seahawks eventually give in? Will he be traded? Or will the stand-off drag on throughout the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Community Tailgate: How Will Patriots, Brady Do In 2015?

September 3rd, 2015 at 6:03pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re still a week away from the start of regular-season battles on the NFL gridiron, but there’s no offseason when it comes to debate amongst fans. This summer, we launched a new series here at PFR known as the Community Tailgate. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

On the NFL’s final day of preseason games, it was an off-field story that stole all the headlines, as Judge Richard Berman announced his decision on the DeflateGate case, vacating Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension. While the NFL has already appealed Berman’s decision, the league didn’t seek an injunction or push for an expedited schedule, so the appeals process will almost certainly drag on through the end of the year. That means Brady appears free to play in all 16 regular season games for the Patriots this season.

When a four-game suspension loomed for Brady, there was speculation that the Patriots’ string of consecutive division titles could come to an end. Now that he has been cleared to play, the Super Bowl MVP will enter the season with a little extra motivation, and that’s certainly worked out for him and the Patriots in the past — in the midst of the SpyGate controversy in 2007, the Patriots went 16-0, led by Brady’s 50 passing touchdowns.

Brady is eight years older now, but he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, and the Patriots did win Super Bowl XLIX in February. Betting site Bovada.lv has adjusted its forecast for New England, giving Brady the third-best odds to win the MVP – behind Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers – and assigning the Pats the second-best odds to come out of the AFC, behind the Colts.

What do you think? Will Brady and the Patriots come out firing like they did back in 2007? Will a stressful offseason have an impact on their play on the field? How do you see the 2015 season playing out for Brady and the Patriots? Weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts!

Community Tailgate: Who Will Lead NFL In Receiving?

August 28th, 2015 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re still a couple weeks away from the start of regular-season battles on the NFL gridiron, but there’s no offseason when it comes to debate amongst fans. This summer, we launched a new series here at PFR known as the Community Tailgate. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

Earlier this week, we discussed and debated which running back would lead the NFL in rushing yards in 2015, with Marshawn Lynch, Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy, Eddie Lacy, and Jamaal Charles among the players receiving votes. While picking the league’s leading rusher isn’t easy, identifying the receiving champion may be even trickier. After all, for the most part, we can predict which backs will get 20 or so carries a game — it’s sometimes harder to determine how quarterbacks will spread the ball around to their various receivers.

Still, there are some strong candidates at the wide receiver position, and many of them are the same players who were at the top of the league’s receiving-yard leaderboard a year ago. Betting site Bovada.lv lists Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant, Odell Beckham, Demaryius Thomas, Randall Cobb, T.Y. Hilton, and A.J. Green as the favorites to lead the NFL in receiving in 2015, and all nine of those players ranked among the league’s top 13 in receiving yards per game a year ago.

Among the dark horses, there are some intriguing second-year wideouts, such as Mike Evans, Jordan Matthews, Brandin Cooks, and Amari Cooper. Alshon Jeffery and DeAndre Hopkins, who lost key WR teammates in the offseason, are also viewed as reasonably strong candidates to battle for the crown. Unfortunately, two other potential contenders – Jordy Nelson and Kelvin Benjamin – have already gone down with season-ending injuries.

What do you think? Will one of the players listed above lead the NFL in receiving yards in 2015, or will a deeper sleeper emerge and earn that honor? Who will lead the league in receiving yards this season? Weigh in below with your thoughts!

Community Tailgate: 8/27/15

August 27th, 2015 at 8:03pm CST by Zachary Links

We’re still a few weeks away from the start of regular-season battles on the NFL gridiron, but there’s no offseason when it comes to debate amongst fans. This summer, we launched a new series here at PFR known as the Community Tailgate. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

Today, we’re discussing defensive lineman Mike Daniels and his contract demands. The Packers want to lock Daniels up, but with the regular season just two weeks away, the two sides are “far apart” on extension negotiations. Set to earn a base salary of $1.542MM in 2015, Daniels is looking for a salary in the neighborhood of $10MM annually. The Packers, meanwhile, have made multiyear proposals averaging “several million less” per year.

At first glance, $10MM per season seems pretty steep for the former fourth round pick, who only has one season as a starter under his belt. However, Daniels’ camp seems to be inspired by recent deals for Corey Liuget and Cameron Heyward, who each cracked an AAV of $10MM on their recent pacts. On the other hand, the Packers have talked players like Randall Cobb and Bryan Bulaga into signing below-market deals to help keep their core in tact, and they could be putting pressure on Daniels to do the same.

Do you think Daniels deserves a deal in the vicinity of $10MM per year? What kind of contract do you think he’ll get? Let us know in the comments!

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