2024-25 NFL Thread

[GB Warrior]

Vikings have 3 draft picks and quite the hefty list of free agents

[MU82]

Quite a conundrum with Sam the Sham. If everything around him is close to perfect, he throws some nice passes to quality receivers. But put him in a big game, or give him some trouble to navigate, or make him have to process quick decisions, and ... yikes!

Obviously, the Vikings can't give him a long-term contract. Would they even consider franchising him now?

Is there another team out there that will be willing to roll the dice on him with the kind of contract that, say, Tampa gave Mayfield? Given the QB shortage, probably.

[CreightonWarrior]

Glad the Vikings are out. I seriously dislike the Vikings.

Will be supporting Detroit the rest of the Playoffs. They were always my 2nd favorite team.

Go Bills personally. But I think of all the NFC North im cool with the Lions success. I respect the way Dan Campbell does things and they've been pretty beat up in my recent memory.

[tower912]

The 4th down play that Darnold got sacked on because Jefferson fell was a bad play design.   They showed it from behind and the other receivers all ran in straight lines for 15 yards.  Nobody read blitz.  Nobody but Jefferson got just past the first down stripe and looked for the ball.  There were no hot reads and nowhere to go with the ball once Jefferson tripped.
   Darnold cost himself a lot of money.  The Vikings OC and O-Line did him no favors.

[The Sultan]

They should have punted there. The risk was too high given that the Vikings would get the ball first in the second half.

[cheebs09]

It always seemed like the Vikings were nowhere near as good as their record. Always seemed to eke out wins. Granted, at the end of the day, you are what your record says you are.

[RJax55]

Quite a conundrum with Sam the Sham. If everything around him is close to perfect, he throws some nice passes to quality receivers. But put him in a big game, or give him some trouble to navigate, or make him have to process quick decisions, and ... yikes!

Obviously, the Vikings can't give him a long-term contract. Would they even consider franchising him now?

Is there another team out there that will be willing to roll the dice on him with the kind of contract that, say, Tampa gave Mayfield? Given the QB shortage, probably.

If Darnold had won a few playoff games, I think that would have put the Vikings in a pickle. But given his final two games, I think it is pretty easy to have him walk and hand the position over to JJ McCarthy. That was the plan all along anyway.

I think the Vikes resign Daniel Jones, and Jones is KO's next redemption project at QB and insurance for McCarthy.

[The Sultan]

Yeah, I think the Vikings wait and see what the market looks like, but I doubt there is any chance they franchise Darnold now.

[WhiteTrash]

If Darnold had won a few playoff games, I think that would have put the Vikings in a pickle. But given his final two games, I think it is pretty easy to have him walk and hand the position over to JJ McCarthy. That was the plan all along anyway.

I think the Vikes resign Daniel Jones, and Jones is KO's next redemption project at QB and insurance for McCarthy.

Darnold to the Raiders as a bridge QB?

[tower912]

Darnold's value is diminished, but he should still find work.  How injured is Dak?  The Raiders.  Jets. (Irony) Giants.  Cleveland.  Indianapolis.

[tower912]

Deion to Dallas is so batcrap that it makes perfect sense.

[cheebs09]

I could see a journeyman seeing KOC's work with Darnold and be willing to go to MN to revive their career. Although, Daniel Jones might be that guy.

[MU82]

It always seemed like the Vikings were nowhere near as good as their record. Always seemed to eke out wins. Granted, at the end of the day, you are what your record says you are.

On the basketball board, brew and TAMU sometimes use metrics to discuss the "luck" factor. If there's such a thing in the NFL, the Vikings must have led the league. They reminded me some of the 2001 Bears, who used smoke and mirrors to go 13-3 in the regular season but lost twice to Green Bay and then were crushed in the playoffs.

So maybe the Vikings were what their record says they were through 16 games, but that means they also were what their record said they were these last two.

[RJax55]

I could see a journeyman seeing KOC's work with Darnold and be willing to go to MN to revive their career. Although, Daniel Jones might be that guy.

I think that Daniel Jones. It is why he decided to join the Vikings after his release when other teams were reportedly interested.

[MU82]

The Athletic has an interesting piece on the lure of - and often eventual disappointment in - hiring offensive-coordinator "geniuses" as head coaches. Within the article:

Here's a quick look at the head coaches for the top five offenses by EPA per play this season, according to TruMedia:

1. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens: Harbaugh has never called offensive plays, but he's had No. 1 offenses in Baltimore with multiple offensive coordinators and has developed multiple young quarterbacks into playoff winners. Lamar Jackson is arguably the greatest quarterback development success story in league history.

2. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills: McDermott has never called offensive plays, but he's had top-five offenses in Buffalo with three offensive coordinators. Josh Allen is one of the better quarterback development stories in recent years.

3. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions: Campbell has called offensive plays at times but is not known primarily for his play calling and does not call plays now. Jared Goff is one of the better quarterback redemption stories in recent years.

4. Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bowles has never called offensive plays, but he's had top-10 offenses in consecutive years with different offensive coordinators. Baker Mayfield is one of the better quarterback redemption stories in recent years.

5. Dan Quinn, Washington Commanders: Quinn has never called offensive plays, but he's had top-10 offenses with four different offensive coordinators across stints with two franchises. Matt Ryan had one of the great MVP quarterback seasons under Quinn in Atlanta. Jayden Daniels was a rookie success story this season.

Succeeding on offense requires finding talented, driven quarterbacks. It requires organizational effort to support those quarterbacks. Those efforts may or may not include having an offensive play caller as head coach.

To drive home the point, consider the head coaches for the bottom-five offenses by EPA per play:

32. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns: Stefanski is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year and a veteran offensive play caller, but he could not stop Deshaun Watson from becoming the costliest failed quarterback acquisition in league history.

31. Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders: Pierce never called offensive plays and had only two seasons of NFL coaching experience before becoming head coach. The Raiders never gave him a competent quarterback.

30. Brian Callahan, Tennessee Titans: Callahan is the Titans' offensive play caller and was hired largely for his abilities in that realm. He could not stop the young quarterback he inherited, Will Levis, from becoming the only QB in league history to have two games with at least eight sacks and a pick six.

29. Brian Daboll, New York Giants: Daboll was the Giants' primary play caller in 2024 and was hired largely for his abilities in that realm. He could not stop Daniel Jones from flaming out as the starting QB.

28. Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots: Mayo never called offensive plays. His rookie quarterback, Drake Maye, looked promising.

[Pakuni]

The Athletic has an interesting piece on the lure of - and often eventual disappointment in - hiring offensive-coordinator "geniuses" as head coaches. Within the article:

Here's a quick look at the head coaches for the top five offenses by EPA per play this season, according to TruMedia:

1. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens: Harbaugh has never called offensive plays, but he's had No. 1 offenses in Baltimore with multiple offensive coordinators and has developed multiple young quarterbacks into playoff winners. Lamar Jackson is arguably the greatest quarterback development success story in league history.

2. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills: McDermott has never called offensive plays, but he's had top-five offenses in Buffalo with three offensive coordinators. Josh Allen is one of the better quarterback development stories in recent years.

3. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions: Campbell has called offensive plays at times but is not known primarily for his play calling and does not call plays now. Jared Goff is one of the better quarterback redemption stories in recent years.

4. Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bowles has never called offensive plays, but he's had top-10 offenses in consecutive years with different offensive coordinators. Baker Mayfield is one of the better quarterback redemption stories in recent years.

5. Dan Quinn, Washington Commanders: Quinn has never called offensive plays, but he's had top-10 offenses with four different offensive coordinators across stints with two franchises. Matt Ryan had one of the great MVP quarterback seasons under Quinn in Atlanta. Jayden Daniels was a rookie success story this season.

Succeeding on offense requires finding talented, driven quarterbacks. It requires organizational effort to support those quarterbacks. Those efforts may or may not include having an offensive play caller as head coach.

To drive home the point, consider the head coaches for the bottom-five offenses by EPA per play:

32. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns: Stefanski is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year and a veteran offensive play caller, but he could not stop Deshaun Watson from becoming the costliest failed quarterback acquisition in league history.

31. Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders: Pierce never called offensive plays and had only two seasons of NFL coaching experience before becoming head coach. The Raiders never gave him a competent quarterback.

30. Brian Callahan, Tennessee Titans: Callahan is the Titans' offensive play caller and was hired largely for his abilities in that realm. He could not stop the young quarterback he inherited, Will Levis, from becoming the only QB in league history to have two games with at least eight sacks and a pick six.

29. Brian Daboll, New York Giants: Daboll was the Giants' primary play caller in 2024 and was hired largely for his abilities in that realm. He could not stop Daniel Jones from flaming out as the starting QB.

28. Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots: Mayo never called offensive plays. His rookie quarterback, Drake Maye, looked promising.

Read the article and found it pretty silly. It basically comes down to "if you want  a good offense, you need a good quarterback," which seems to be the biggest "duh" in sports journalism.

[Billy Hoyle]

The 4th down play that Darnold got sacked on because Jefferson fell was a bad play design.   They showed it from behind and the other receivers all ran in straight lines for 15 yards.  Nobody read blitz.  Nobody but Jefferson got just past the first down stripe and looked for the ball.  There were no hot reads and nowhere to go with the ball once Jefferson tripped.
   Darnold cost himself a lot of money.  The Vikings OC and O-Line did him no favors.

On many of the plays Darnold only had about three seconds to drop back before the pocket collapsed. And watching the tape many of those sacks occurred as Vikings receivers still had their backs to the QB. He had no chance last night.

I don't think there was a "luck factor" for the Vikings. They lost four games to two teams, both of which prioritized blitzing Darnold and overwhelmed the O line.

[tower912]

Billy, you remember when Joey Sunshine was the QB in Detroit.   I distinctly remember a late game, 4th down, do or die call.   4th and 5-ish, 4 receiver set, all 4 receivers ran two yards, turned and stopped.  Not a single receiver went past the sticks.  Harrington completed the pass, the receiver was stopped a yard short, ballgame, Harrington's fault.(?)
I bring this up because for two games, I saw Darnold get blown up.  No max protect packages.  No route adjustments against the blitzes.  I don't know if that is because he failed to make adjustments at the line or if there were no adjustments to be made in with the play call and package.  Regardless, as bad as Darnold was, he got zero help from his line or his OC.

Maybe I am just too used to watching Goff go to St. Brown and LaPorta on quick hitters every time he reads blitz.  And them reading it and looking for the ball one second after the snap.

[The Sultan]

Read the article and found it pretty silly. It basically comes down to "if you want  a good offense, you need a good quarterback," which seems to be the biggest "duh" in sports journalism.

Not only that, but there are plenty of successful coaches who have called plays as offensive coordinator. Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFluer and Mike McCarthy are examples. Andy Reid actually didn't call plays until he became a head coach - he was a position coach prior to getting the head gig with the Eagles.

[WhiteTrash]

I see the Packer QB coach retired; is this a material hit to the Pack?

[Jockey]

I see the Packer QB coach retired; is this a material hit to the Pack?

No. Not a big deal.

Besides, we need to get all of the Golden Domers out of the he building.

[WhiteTrash]

No. Not a big deal.

DAMN!!! 

[GB Warrior]

I see the Packer QB coach retired; is this a material hit to the Pack?

Tom Clements was the main voice in the room encouraging Jordan to throw back-breaking interceptions. Invaluable mentorship.

[Uncle Rico]

I see the Packer QB coach retired; is this a material hit to the Pack?

Maybe?  Rodgers gave him a lot of credit with his development.  On the other hand, Rodgers judgement leaves a lot to be desired