2025-2026 NFL Season Thread

[dcowboy7]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Meh so you don't mind teams losing important players in games that don't matter/count? Got it.

Then dont play them as you do have 90 in camp.

[bootsy]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Yeah it's just pre-season, all I care about is getting through the games healthy and finding a reliable #3 receiver and possibly #4 as well since Austin and Bryant are injury-prone.

Well you told us that we were fine at WR about a month ago. LOL. I'm hoping Miles/Witten will be ready for the opener. I like what I saw out of Ogletree and Beasley but until we see them in a real game it is hard to tell. We'll need someone to take over what Robinson did for us last year because you know the inevitable Miles and Dez hamstring injury is coming right up.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by dcowboy7

No decision has been made yet on 18/2.

The problem with 16/2 is how do you replace all the lost $$ from those deleted 2 weeks.

It's going to stay at 16/4 because the players are never going to agree to 18 regular season games (and the CBA requires the players to agree to any change) and neither side is going to give up the money the preseason games bring in. The players are paid based on the league's total revenue and preseason games bring in plenty of money so as much as many of the players hate preseason games it's too valuable to give any games up.

I've got to go back to my tirade about how we need to get the real referees back. I truly believe I know the rule book better than these replacement refs. However, I'll let Pro Football Talk explain the worst call of the week:

On a pass to Cowboys receiver Andre Holmes, Chargers safety Eric Weddle applied an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit. The ball bounced around and Chargers linebacker Donald Butler came up with the interception before it hit the ground.

Following yet another extended discussion after the play, the officials gave the ball to San Diego and marked off the personal foul against the Chargers for the illegal hit. The correct move, as anyone who pays attention to NFL football knows, would have been to wipe out the interception, give the ball back to the Cowboys, and mark off the penalty against the Chargers from the previous spot.

Making this one even more glaring is the fact that the interception by Butler was subject to replay review, since it happened in the final two minutes of the half. Even then, no one figured out that the ball should have remained with the Cowboys before the ruling on the field was upheld.

And so the Cowboys lost what should have been a first down on the San Diego 15 with 53 seconds left in the second quarter.

I know this is just the preseason but these refs aren't suddenly going to get better once the regular season starts. The NFL and refs aren't far apart in their negotiations and it's time to get a deal done. We're halfway through the preseason without a deal and it's starting to look like a very real possibility that we're going to start the season with replacement refs.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...-in-san-diego/

[fatediesel]

Per Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean:

The #Titans have made a decision on their starting QB for the regular season -- it's Jake Locker, sources say

Locker will start the regular season opener against the Patriots on September 9. He'll be behind center on Thursday vs Tampa Bay #Titans

https://twitter.com/jwyattsports

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by R3P0

you guys crack me up its preseaosn, you honestly think the teams getting dominated IE Baltimore by Detroit this week is how its going to play out. COME ON MAN!

Their starting secondary has had real problems with starting wrs... Your right because Kirk cousins or Curtis painter wins a game in the forth it really says nothing about the teams in the long run, I think everyone writes off quality franchises preseason records because they know they've got the history and staff in place to justify going 2-2/1-3. where watching the redskins players get hurt and tore up vs the bears #1s I don't think it's a stretch to be worried.

[fatediesel]

Per Jay Glazer:

Bills have informed Shawne Merriman that they are releasing him today.

Bills feel he's much better suited for a team that uses a 3-4 than a 4-3. Just texted w Merriman who confirmed they have released him

[dcowboy7]

Question on the colts game yesterday on the play Luck slid into the endzone & they called it a TD:

It seemed like Colllinsworth said that once the QB slides he is declaring himself down & the ball is placed at the beginning of the slide.
I thought it was where the knee hits....is Collinsworth right ? i never heard that part of the rule before unless i just didnt understand him.

They ruled it a TD but if Collinsworth is right there is no way that was a TD & even going by the knee i freeze framed it & it still was short.
The regular replay officials are still in & they said it was a TD but wow.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Per Jay Glazer:

COME TO THE SKINS!!!!!!!

[hakstone]

Originally Posted by dcowboy7

Question on the colts game yesterday on the play Luck slid into the endzone & they called it a TD:

It seemed like Colllinsworth said that once the QB slides he is declaring himself down & the ball is placed at the beginning of the slide.
I thought it was where the knee hits....is Collinsworth right ? i never heard that part of the rule before unless i just didnt understand him.

They ruled it a TD but if Collinsworth is right there is no way that was a TD & even going by the knee i freeze framed it & it still was short.
The regular replay officials are still in & they said it was a TD but wow.

As part of the rule allowing the QB to slide and not get hit, the ball is down as soon as he starts the slide.

[dcowboy7]

Oh so Collinsworth was right.
That makes the TD call one of the worst ive eve seen then.

[hakstone]

I didn't see the play, maybe it wasn't considered a slide, especially if he wasn't in danger of getting hit. A slide has to be feet first.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by hakstone

I didn't see the play, maybe it wasn't considered a slide, especially if he wasn't in danger of getting hit. A slide has to be feet first.

It was definitely a slide and was a blown call. He went feet-first into the end zone and clearly started his slide at the one yard line because he was going to get hit. For some reason the replay booth (which as previously mentioned are not replacements) did not buzz the refs and have them take another look. There's video of the slide in the link below.

The funny thing is on the play earlier the Colts also scored a touchdown but the refs reviewed the play and ruled it wasn't a touchdown. Although it looked like the running back's knee was down before the ball crossed the plain I did not think there was indisputable video evidence and the TD definitely could have stood, in which case the slide never would have even happened.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...content_stream

[fatediesel]

Ryan Tannehill has been named the Dolphins starting quarterback for week 1.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...g-quarterback/

I was looking over the league's starting quarterbacks and there are 9 quarterbacks expected to start week 1 that are rookies or 2nd year players. In addition it could possibly become 10 if Russell Wilson beats out Matt Flynn for the starting job.

Rookies: Tannehill, RGIII, Luck, Weeden
2nd Year: Newton, Ponder, Locker, Gabbert, Dalton

[Bigdog]

Ok can a freaking 9 billion dollar a year industry just pay the refs what they want, amounting to about 65 grand per team! How fn cheap are they going to be, it's perfectly clear the current crop of high school refs and cast away lingerie league refs are not ready for this!

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Bigdog

Ok can a freaking 9 billion dollar a year industry just pay the refs what they want, amounting to about 65 grand per team! How fn cheap are they going to be, it's perfectly clear the current crop of high school refs and cast away lingerie league refs are not ready for this!

Refs hold all the cards now. NFL should be happy the refs don't raise the stakes. what leverage does the NFL have after some of the goofs we've seen and how there will only be more once the games matter?

Refs can sit back, put their feet up and essentially say, "if you want those guys deciding games, go right ahead. we'll be here when you wise up."

by week 3 the regular refs will be back.

could you imagine a playoff game / division deciding game / conference championship / SUPER BOWL with these refs?

NFL / Goodell, whoever just has to suck it up, pay them and have them sign a 10-15 year ironclad contract that this sh*t can't happen again to at least secure themselves some stability with normal refs for the next decade or so.

[MaCruz]

Later on this afternoon, Jags owner Shahid Kahn and Commissioner Goodell will announce that the Jags will play 1 home game in London for the next few years totaling to 4 games.

If we can't sell tickets at home, so why not play 1 home game overseas in London.

[StereoMike]

[StereoMike]

I must admit, I'm a little bit surprised that Tannehill will start. I thought they would "protect" him because our receiving corps is in bad shape and the right side of the O-line is still a mess. RT Jonathan Martin will probably get more comfortable at his new position as the season progresses, but right now he's struggling. We signed RG Artie Hicks to be a back-up, but right now he's #1 on the depth chart. John Jerry is overweight and doesn't fit the zone blocking scheme.

But hey, if Tannehill is good enough, why wait?

[dcowboy7]

Maybe they want to pull "an indy" go 2-14 then draft barkley #1.

Sounds like a plan to me.

[StereoMike]

Seahawks' Russell Wilson reportedly to start Friday

According to Danny O'Neill of The Seattle Times, Wilson appears to be the choice to start this week. O'Neill is basing Wilson's nod on "multiple indications" following the team's Monday meetings.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported later Monday that Wilson indeed will be the starter vs. the Chiefs.

Starting Wilson in this game would be par for the course considering the unconventional way in which Carroll has gone about, and quite possibly butchered, determining the Seahawks' starting quarterback this offseason

A 5th rookie QB to start on Week 1? That would be crazy!