Well, it's about time to start talking Football again, Isn't it?
Loved this tidbit from the preseason.... (bold mine)
Raiders' Kelly ran to his sideline following the safety, he was heard to utter about Kevin Kolb the worst possible words one football player could say about another: "That boy's scared."
After the game, Kelly had more thoughts on the matter, per the Associated Press. "He is skittish," Kelly said of Kolb. "He is scared back there. Anytime anybody gets close to him, he starts looking at the refs. As a defensive lineman you love a quarterback like that. He ain't even trying to look at the routes no more. He is playing attention to us and you ain't going to get nothing done like that."
I knew this last season. Looks like Skelton is going to be their starter when the season starts.
Speaking of the Raiders, They seem to have some major problems in the Red Zone. Most of their points came from Fgs (4) and takeaways. The Safety was all on Kolb.
I do not think the Vikings can win the Division, but The Bears, Lions, and Packers all have a good shot at wining the Division.
Most improved up til now for the divisions are: NFC North: Bears (Cutler, Carmini, and Forte are no longer injured, and pickups of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery will make that team a team to beat). NFC South: Jaguars (Justin Blackmon should add a lot to that offense, they could win 10 games this year) NFC East: Redskins (The addition of Griffon III will make that offense a lot better). NFC West: Seahawks (The addition of Terrell Owens makes any offense better, and Matt Flynn should be a serviceable QB for years to come)
P.S. anyone want to start a Fantasy Football League?
DeathReaper wrote: Most improved up til now for the divisions are:
NFC North: Bears (Cutler, Carmini, and Forte are no longer injured, and pickups of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery will make that team a team to beat).
NFC South: Jaguars (Justin Blackmon should add a lot to that offense, they could win 10 games this year)
NFC East: Redskins (The addition of Griffon III will make that offense a lot better).
NFC West: Seahawks (The addition of Terrell Owens makes any offense better, and Matt Flynn should be a serviceable QB for years to come)
P.S. anyone want to start a Fantasy Football League?
If the Bears can keep those guys healthy, sure.
First.... The Jags are AFC South... Second... Blackmon is good but he still needs a decent QB.
The Panthers should be improved with CAm having a full off-season and camp.
You honestly think Griff will do well in Shanahan's messed up excuse of a system?
Again, like Blackmon, TO needs a decent QB. They didn't play Tarvaris or Portis last week. Wilson looked ok but....
Go Bears!!!!!! (Really dissapointed I didn't get down to wenbley last year)
But with Cutler, Carmini and Forte back with the additions of Shea McClein (Spelling??) and Ashton Jeffries in the draft and trading for Michael Bush and Brandon Marshall and hopefully Urlacher ready for Sept. 9th the Bears have improved alot, except in its offensive line and if Cutler's getting hit alot it's harder to stay healthy.
Preliminary Predictions
NFC North: Packers
NFC East: Gaints
NFC South: Saints
NFC West: 49ers
Wild Cards: Bears, and either Falcons or Redskins
AFC North: Ravens
AFC East: Patriots
AFC South: Colts
AFC West: Chargers
WIld Cards: Steelers, Texans
I don't think Manning will be enough to get the Broncos to the play-offs, his arm isn't as good and he ahs thrown 3 picks in 2 games, and he didn't play too much time in those games.
I can also see 49ers at least going to the championship game if they play as well as they did last season
Some more thoughts on this preseason...
NFC East
Dallas: Romo looked ...Average. Seems he can't find a rhythm, again walking off the field without finding the endzone. First team D kept SD out as well, but there seems to be a lack of quality in their depth.
Washington: Griffin looked lost at times as his O-line couldn't seem to stop the Chi rushers, and his "big money" receivers (Moss, Garcon) failed to get open. 3 sacks for 19yds is bad for a "mobile" Qb. Special teams was a mix, return TDs on both sides, though both were after the first string was off field.
NY Giants: Like Romo, Eli looked Average, 7 of 14 for 62 yds, though it looked like Coughlin wanted to evaluate his RB corps. Not that they did that much, averaging only 1.6 yards. The D looked decepivly good with 7 sacks, but that was more on the Jets horrid O-line.
Bears over Giants
Packers over Bengals
Ravens over Jaguars
Cardinals over Titans
Eagles over Browns
Patriots over Buccaneers
Falcons over Dolphins
Chiefs over Seahawks
Chargers over Vikings
Colts over Redskins
Steelers over Bills
Lions over Raiders
Cowboys over Rams
Saints over Texans
49ers over Broncos (Sorry MDS)
Panthers over Jets
More pre season thoughts...
NFC North.
Green Bay: Defense looked kinda porous this week. Weeden and McCoy lit them up good with 6 passes going over 10 yds. No run attack to speak of realy... when your best rusher is the QB, something is off.
Minnesota: Much improved with three decent QBs, though Ponder is clearly the starter.Webb has some nice moves and managed to break a 41yd run against a third string D, he could be used in wildcat situations. Decent pair of RBs as well, and some good receivers. This could be the dark horse up north.
Detroit: Not much to not like on this team. They moved the ball well against a normally tough Baltimore D. We will definately be seeing a lot of Stephfon Green (76yd TD run!) and Stafford to Johnson plays. The D shut down Flacco and his back-ups well and showed they had tackling skills.
Chicago: Like NYG (See above) the D was deceptively good, and like NYG it was because of the Wash O-Line being bad. Cutler and Campbell both looked ready to play, though Campbell lacks mobility, which has always been an issue, he makes a decent backup. First and second string D did well, as Wash didn't get an Offensive TD until the 4th Qtr.
This division may be the toughest one to play in this year, all 4 teams look like they could be contenders.
Packers fan here with the Denver Broncos being my local team. Honestly I've got a good feeling about this year for the Broncos. Getting rid of that gak quarterback who loves Jesus a little too much and was carried by his team into the playoffs and replacing him with an epic QB, even if he is a little reduced from the freaking machine that he was pre-injury can only be a positive change. The Broncs were running him pretty light in the pre-season from what I saw so far but they're still making sure that injury is over and done, and they want to get the now Payton Manning trained back ups some field time before it starts to count.
Something I've learned in my many years of watching NFL football...don't take the preseason seriously in any way. Don't worry about wins and losses. Don't get excited about some rookie's performance against 2nd or 3rd stringers. Don't even try to use it as some kind of general barometer. And for heaven's sake, don't bet on it.
My team (Steelers) are facing an interesting year. A number of things have to come together for them -- the new offense, a rebuilt o-line, some new faces on D, a Wallace contract, and of course avoidance of the injury bug. So I understand why some would doubt them. If these things come together -- and I think they have a legit chance to do that -- a SB run wouldn't shock me in the least. The offense is potentially loaded, and some of the new faces on D will surprise people. Still, I can envision anything from 9 wins to 13 wins.
The AFC North will be tough as always. While I don't think the Bengals are ready yet, I just have a feeling they're gonna contend anyway. I think the Ravens are in for a tough year. I can't completely quantify why, it's just a gut feeling.
gorgon wrote: Something I've learned in my many years of watching NFL football...don't take the preseason seriously in any way. Don't worry about wins and losses. Don't get excited about some rookie's performance against 2nd or 3rd stringers. Don't even try to use it as some kind of general barometer. And for heaven's sake, don't bet on it.
or the St. Louis Defence for that matter But it still didn't stop any of the hype over Luck after that opening play which tbh was all Brown's work
*If Matt Cassel can perform well this season, I think the Chiefs can not only get a wild card, but could win the AFCW.
As in if he and his line stay healthy. I'm still not happy that the Chiefs kept him, but at least they did draft a lot of linemen (and a young QB). Anyways...
As a pats fan I'm ecstatic over how our defense looks this year so far. Obviously it's still pre season, but if they continue to build off last year and improve to even middle of the pack it would be a bonus. And it seems like it'd be pretty hard not to improve from the second worst defensive yardage team in nfl history(thank you green bay!!!!!). My prediction for the division winners are.
Afcn-bengals
Afce-pats
Afcs-texans
Afcw-chiefs
Wild card 1-broncos
Wild card 2-ravens
I think the Ravens lack quick-strike potential, especially in the playoffs when everyone really bears down on defense. It's hard to have to put 10 or 12 play drives together every time. Some of that is on Flacco. Some of that is on a very vanilla offense. Some is on his receivers. They seem to have some fast guys now...but are they good *receivers*? I'm not sure.
Suggs being out hurts. Reed and Lewis aren't they players they were (especially Lewis), but they're still probably two of the team's top four players on defense. I guess I have a hard time seeing them as an ascending team. Last year was their year to break through, IMO.
I'm thinking I will be at the Seahawk vs THE PACKERS!!!!!!!!
me and a bunch of friends are looking at tickets right now, only problem is, no tailgating at the field in Seattle. Like, WTF? there are tons of bars though, but still, no brats and beer in the lot at 8 AM = :(
There's no tailgating in Seattle? Really? Even Detroit who doesn't have parking lots has tailgating. That sucks, I couldn't imagine going to any sort of football game whatsoever and not tailgating all day haha.
I had tickets to park at Reliant Stadium for the Cowboys and Texans game a few years ago and all of the tail-gaiters were taking up 3+ parking spots. It was so packed, people couldn't park anywhere near the stadium. I left 2 hours early and still missed most of the 1st quarter.
If you want to party, do it at home. Get the feth out of the way of people that have actual tickets to the fething game...
NE has the best chance of a big season this year, they only play 4 teams that had winning records last year.
Atlanta is the only other team that has that few.
Based on that metric, Philadelphia and Jacksonville have the toughest each playing 8 teams with winning records.
Based on Win/loss totals NY Giants have the toughest (140-116) and again the Pats have the lightest (116-140).
(Phila. 132-124, Jax. 128-128).
Automatically Appended Next Post: Philadelphia has a tailgater area... They even Tailgate training camp!
I had tickets to park at Reliant Stadium for the Cowboys and Texans game a few years ago and all of the tail-gaiters were taking up 3+ parking spots. It was so packed, people couldn't park anywhere near the stadium. I left 2 hours early and still missed most of the 1st quarter.
If you want to party, do it at home. Get the feth out of the way of people that have actual tickets to the fething game...
Tailgaters taking up multiple spots sucks for sure. But your going to games with 60k+ people. I don't understand how you'd possibly expect just to be in an out regardless of tailgaters....arriving 2 hours before a game is about right to get in, in time for kickoff. Not leaving your house 2 hours before. Assuming you live relatively close. Also most tailgaters I know do have tickets. And have had them for a long time. Who goes just to tailgate with no tickets to the game?
I grew up in Wisconsin, where tailgating is taught in kindergarten. It just seems odd to not have a giant parking lot to party in. I have friends that rent warehouses by the stadium so we can throw a party there, they are set up for rave style parties, so we can make it work for football.
grew up in Wisconsin, where tailgating is taught in kindergarten. It just seems odd to not have a giant parking lot to party in. I have friends that rent warehouses by the stadium so we can throw a party there, they are set up for rave style parties, so we can make it work for football.
grew up in Wisconsin, where tailgating is taught in kindergarten. It just seems odd to not have a giant parking lot to party in. I have friends that rent warehouses by the stadium so we can throw a party there, they are set up for rave style parties, so we can make it work for football.
I know that spot lol
That sounds incredible. When I tailgate it's usually 2 cars with 8 guys and 2grills/coolers, and 2 desi drivers that rotate. We only go to 4 games a year or so though.
Tailgaters taking up multiple spots sucks for sure. But your going to games with 60k+ people. I don't understand how you'd possibly expect just to be in an out regardless of tailgaters....arriving 2 hours before a game is about right to get in, in time for kickoff. Not leaving your house 2 hours before. Assuming you live relatively close. Also most tailgaters I know do have tickets. And have had them for a long time. Who goes just to tailgate with no tickets to the game?
I meant 2 hours earlier than I normally do. I usually leave 1.5 hours before the game and have had ZERO problems making it to my seat, beer in hand, long before kick off. This was absolutely out of control.
I am telling you that most of these tailgaiters did NOT have tickets. They were outside the whole time, watching the game on TVs that brought. I don't know why. I wish they would have done that gak at home.
Wow that does sound pretty Awful. I've been lucky to not have anything like that happen.
So the pats release Jonathan fanene. And are probably gonna seek some of the 3.8 million in signing bonus back. Because he "didn't disclose a medical condition" such as arthritis. Can we say whoops signing. Luckily were pretty loaded at D-line.
Tailgating is a time honored tradition here. Last year we found a beautiful spot, hidden in an old port authority parking lot, which is right on lake Erie.
My motto is: if you can remember the walk to the stadium, you didn't party hard enough.
If Green Bay plays up to their talent level they should take the NFC North. I don't know if they can make a run at another SB unless they finally manage to avoid injuries and fix their defense and run game. Relying on interceptions and Aaron Rodgers going beastmode isn't going to cut it.
grew up in Wisconsin, where tailgating is taught in kindergarten. It just seems odd to not have a giant parking lot to party in. I have friends that rent warehouses by the stadium so we can throw a party there, they are set up for rave style parties, so we can make it work for football.
I know that spot lol
which one? heh
there are a whole subculture that live down there round Airport way
I have 2 friends that rent warehouses next door to each other. 4000+ SF
Before I deployed for '09 bunch my sister husband dragged medown there to some game. Needless to say I remembering eating lots of brats...drinking "Beast"...it was a good time..was a "hurt unit" the following day
Jihadin wrote: Before I deployed for '09 bunch my sister husband dragged medown there to some game. Needless to say I remembering eating lots of brats...drinking "Beast"...it was a good time..was a "hurt unit" the following day
oh, GB, yea, starts at daybreak. Rum and coffee with breakfast is at 6 AM
Been waiting for this thread to pop up and totally missed it
whembly wrote:Rams fan here...
For those across the pond, what do you think of American 'football'?
We're playing the Patriots at Whembly Stadium this year!
Dude off to see it this year, really really excited to go! I will be supporting the rams, no worries there, not the biggest fan of the pats...........
Hlaine Larkin mk2 wrote:Go Bears!!!!!! (Really dissapointed I didn't get down to wenbley last year)
But with Cutler, Carmini and Forte back with the additions of Shea McClein (Spelling??) and Ashton Jeffries in the draft and trading for Michael Bush and Brandon Marshall and hopefully Urlacher ready for Sept. 9th the Bears have improved alot, except in its offensive line and if Cutler's getting hit alot it's harder to stay healthy.
Fellow bears fan here and I agree with everything you said there, as we come into the new season provided that everyone is ready we have a force to be reckoned with and I am really looking forward to seeing the marshall/cutler partnership.
Oh and you see your sig video, I saw that in person, it was such a beautiful move I am pretty sure I was close to destroying my voice shouting until he scored
Can the bears really do anything with gutless cutler playing? Hopefully it clicks with him and he gets it(because I love watching your defense). But he's a ladainian Tomlinson type player. Willing to quit the second it gets too hard. The NFC north this year looks like the NFC south of the last few years. Aka one of the most brutal divisions in football. Cannot wait to watch a good amount of those games.
Chancetragedy wrote: Can the bears really do anything with gutless cutler playing? Hopefully it clicks with him and he gets it(because I love watching your defense). But he's a ladainian Tomlinson type player. Willing to quit the second it gets too hard. The NFC north this year looks like the NFC south of the last few years. Aka one of the most brutal divisions in football. Cannot wait to watch a good amount of those games.
Is Mike Martz still the OC there?
Man was a wizard during the Rams "Greatest Show on Turf". The offense made things look easy.
Chancetragedy wrote: Can the bears really do anything with gutless cutler playing? Hopefully it clicks with him and he gets it(because I love watching your defense). But he's a ladainian Tomlinson type player. Willing to quit the second it gets too hard. The NFC north this year looks like the NFC south of the last few years. Aka one of the most brutal divisions in football. Cannot wait to watch a good amount of those games.
Cutler looked really good till he injured his thumb and we had to make do with Caleb Hanie, who is now Mannings backup in Denver,
On an unrelated note Rex Ryan has dropped Wayne Hunter as starting RT for the Jets
And that sucks to hear about no more Wayne hunter. I was looking forward to the pays abusing their tackles this year. But just about anyone is an upgrade over Wayne sack machine hunter.
No need for that. Noone is in here making fun of the fact that there's only 3 minutes of excitement in a soccer game that last 2+ hours. So stay out of our thread
Anyways have people seen the jaguars are probably gonna have a London game for the next 4 years. Could it be possible London gets an nfl team before LA?
Chancetragedy wrote: No need for that. Noone is in here making fun of the fact that there's only 3 minutes of excitement in a soccer game that last 2+ hours. So stay out of our thread
Anyways have people seen the jaguars are probably gonna have a London game for the next 4 years. Could it be possible London gets an nfl team before LA?
Well the NFL does want a London based team,
Although it would be hellish for travelling teams in their division (AFC/NFC Far East)
Yah, it's already hard enough to go to the west coast and a 3 hour time difference. I couldn't imagine going from west coast to London for an 8 hour time change... But I guess that's why they get payed millions of bucks haha.
Jacksonville/Baltimore: Jax needs a QB.... 16 of 31 combined with Justin Blackmon only getting 4 doesn't look good. Of course, the O-line needs to stiffen up too which could factor in.
Baltimore is known for its tough D, though. so would have been a rough game for anyone.
Flacco was a beast against a pedestrian Jax D. Dennard may have won himself a spot for Jax with that pick-6.
Arizona/Tennesee: Kolb looked better, maybe being called out last week helped him see his issues. Even witht he pair of sacks. Again, the O-line was out of sync with the plays which didn't help the pressure situation, as the late pick-6 showed. Of course having Fitzgerald as a target didn't hurt.
Despite the numbers, Locker looked comfortable, since the Arizona secondary was spotty in coverage and got burned for some big yardage, 3 plays over 25 yards. Tenn's Defense got burned on short yardage plays, Arizona was 10-19 on first downs. But with Fitzgerald stretching the field...
Cinncinati/Green Bay: Wow..... the Bengals Offense looked awful. Next to no rush, unable to convert 3rds, what passes they did complete though showed a big weakness in Green Bay's secondary. Red Zone Def was bad, allowing Rodgers (a non running QB) to rush for 2 TDs.
The Kilted Samurai wrote: Looking for my Bengals to finally make back to back seasons for the first time in 30 years =P lol
These are my Bengal inspired Space Marines btw ( I use Space Wolf rules with them as well as Blood Angel allies under 6th edition rules)
Fighting Tigers of Veda?
I've seen their scheme before, mine exaggerates the stripes more and has more white in it. When i made the scheme I had actually never heard of the Fighting Tigers of Veda ironically. Just came up with the scheme one summer and rolled with it =) lol. I like mine more obviously.
As far as yesterday's preseason game goes I'm not worried, since it is preseason but Dalton's erratic play does bother me. While I'm completely sold on AJ Green from last season I want to see more from Dalton this season before I start believing in him. A consecutive playoff season would help here lol. I'm very happy though with the play of the new guys though especially Marvin Jones our 5th round WR from Cal and frackin Vontaze Burfict turning out to be a steal as an undrafted free agent. Just hope he doesn't lose his cool =P.
So since its Sunday I've been thinking about football. And I must say 2 weeks is seeming like forever. Especially with how bad my teams looked in the pre season. Although I know it means very little.
However I can't wait to see the pats running game this year. Ridley looks like he could be Arian foster light. Even has the same blank look facial expressions. And Jeff demps is FAST like your not catching him if he breaks it fast. With that said, the offensive line looks horrible.
Grossman is no jake the snake. But watching him take the bears*coughcough* to the Super Bowl was amazing.
And I don't know why, but the nfce never really interests me. It's probably because 3/4 teams are my least favorite teams in football for various reasons. The giant for sb42/46, the redskins cause they were my childhood bullies fav team, and the eagles cause I hate Philly. The north looks like a warzone this year though and it's got me pumped.
Well in the 2 games this week The Eagles looked BEAST. D-line causing all kinds of problems for QBs and O-line looking mostly solid.. Foles could be a starter in a year or so. Vick had best work on staying healthy or he could be gone next year.
So far in 3 game the Eagles have impressed, especially against 2 powerhouse teams, Pitt and NE. Next up; the NY Jets, will Tebow be ready? Then they ease in to the season by heading back to Cleveland.
Dallas on the other hand... Ugh... what a mess. Took them 3 games for Romo to find the Endzone and that was against the Rams. Oakland stifled them and SD beat them. Their next is Miami. One last game to get ready for the season and NYG.
Speaking of the Giants...Lost to the Jags, curbstomped a ragged looking Jets, and dropped one to Chicago. Flashes of the SB winners but still looking for a decent rhythm section I suppose. Next up NE before hosting Big D in the season opener.
Finally from the NFC East: The Redskins. RGIII looked comfortable but the O-line was still porous, decent numbers considering the pressure he was under from a mediocre Colts D. Grossman was near perfect against the 2s&3s of Indy.
3 (preseason) games in and that O-line is still not gelled. Looking at the teams they played (Buffalo, Chicago, Indy) it is easy to see where the one comes from. Next for them is Tampa Bay before heading to the Big Easy.
I don't know.. the penalties have been killing what should be a high power offense, their D-line has been allowing some big runs and their D-secondary gives up a lot of big plays.
Their win in Miami started out as a fieldgoal battle with Ryan finally finding the endzone in the 3rd. Lots of big yardage play especially in the pass game but 6-16 on thirds and penalties undid a lot of that. Atl has a resurgent Jax next, and if the D-line doesn't stiffen up Murphy will hurt them. Season opener doesn't look bad at an average KC. In fact they seem to have only one serious challenge before their bye.
I agree it's never to early to talk trash. Such as I can't even explain in words how excited the JETSjetsjestsjets ineptitude on offense makes me. That tebow throw from the panthers game literally right into the hands of 4 panthers without a jet player within 5-10 yards was hilarious.
kronk wrote: Ooh. I hope we get to play the Jets this year! Let me check the schedule!
Edit: YAY!
Monday Oct. 8 at New York Jets # ESPN 7:30 p.m.
Schaub has been looking good. Holliday needs to protect the ball better on returns though, he could become a Hester kind of threat. The schedule looks good until Sept 30, then the 4 week stretch going into the bye looks rough, minus that Jets game. 3 of the 4 Primetime games look good though.
Looking at Philadelphia's Prime time games (5 total), Only one looks like a dull game; Cincinnati. The others NY Giants, New Orleans, Carolina, and Dallas should be really good match ups.
Dang lotta Bears fans here! I'm pretty excited for this handegg season. I'd LOVE to see some new blood in the superbowl (Texans...looking at you here)
Obviously, i'd like to see the bears in the Super Bowl too. We'll see!
I can't believe how bad these refs are. Like the striking refs seem like they're the epitome of perfection compared to these guys. And I'm referencing the 10 minute interval in the pats/giants game. Where the refs didn't know how to handle a double foul, and announced 3 different things that were only half right...
Lets look at the Primetime schedule..... Lots of games jump out as worth watching. For me its the NFC East match-ups Wks 1,4 &13. I think the Wk 17 game between NYG and Philly will get flexed to Sunday night as it could decide that division.... no other match up that week looks like it will have that much importance with the exception of Bears/Lions.
Thursday (NFLN) - Sunday (NBC) - Monday (ESPN)
Week 1 Cowboys at Giants1 - Steelers at Broncos - Bengals at Ravens/Chargers at Raiders
Week 2 Bears at Packers - Lions at 49ers - Broncos at Falcons
Week 3 Giants at Panthers - Patriots at Ravens - Packers at Seahawks
Week 4 Browns at Ravens - Giants at Eagles - Bears at Cowboys
Week 5 Cardinals at Rams - Chargers at Saints - Texans at Jets
Week 6 Steelers at Titans - Packers at Texans - Broncos at Chargers
Week 7 Seahawks at 49ers - Steelers at Bengals - Lions at Bears
Week 8 Buccaneers at Vikings - Saints at Broncos - 49ers at Cardinals
Week 9 Chiefs at Chargers - Cowboys at Falcons - Eagles at Saints
Week 10 Colts at Jaguars - Texans at Bears - Chiefs at Steelers
Week 11 Dolphins at Bills - Ravens at Steelers3 - Bears at 49ers
Week 12 Patriots at Jets2 - Packers at Giants - Panthers at Eagles
Week 13 Saints at Falcons - Eagles at Cowboys - Giants at Redskins
Week 14 Broncos at Raiders - Lions at Packers - Texans at Patriots
Week 15 Bengals at Eagles - 49ers at Patriots - Jets at Titans
Week 16 No game - Chargers at Jets - Falcons at Lions4
Week 17 No game - TBD (flex scheduling) - No game
1 Kickoff game is Wednesday, Sept. 5 on NBC
2 Thanksgiving night on NBC
3 Flex scheduling on NBC can begin Week 11
4 Game is on Saturday, Dec. 22
I will win all the picks! Or not. I don't care so long as the Texans make a good run in the play-offs. We're very strong this year (crosses fingers for good health)!
Eagles cut some decent players as well, but when given the choice between decent and good.... good wins. Kafka is out Edwards is in at #3 QB. Hanson, Hall, and Dixon all made the cut list. Nice thing is some of the cuts will find a job somewhere else.
Dallas at NY Giants Indianapolis at Chicago Philadelphia at Cleveland
New England at Tennessee
Atlanta at Kansas City
Jacksonville at Minnesota
Washington at New Orleans Buffalo at NY Jets
St. Louis at Detroit Miami at Houston San Francisco at Green Bay Seattle at Arizona
Carolina at Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh at Denver
Cincinnati at Baltimore San Diego at Oakland
Dallas at NY Giants Yes
Indianapolis at Chicago Yes
Philadelphia at Cleveland Yes
New England at Tennessee Yes
Atlanta at Kansas City Yes
Jacksonville at Minnesota No
Washington at New Orleans Yes
Buffalo at NY Jets No
St. Louis at Detroit Yes
Miami at Houston Yes
San Francisco at Green Bay Yes
Seattle at Arizona No
Carolina at Tampa Bay Yes
Pittsburgh at Denver No
Cincinnati at Baltimore Yes
San Diego at Oakland No
Dallas at NY Giants Yes
Indianapolis at Chicago Yes
Philadelphia at Cleveland Yes
New England at Tennessee Yes
Atlanta at Kansas City Yes
Jacksonville at Minnesota yes
Washington at New Orleans Yes
Buffalo at NY Jets No
St. Louis at Detroit Yes
Miami at Houston Yes
San Francisco at Green Bay No
Seattle at Arizona No
Carolina at Tampa Bay No
Pittsburgh at Denver Yes
Cincinnati at Baltimore Yes
San Diego at Oakland No
Wow, can't believe it has come around this year already! Go 49'ers! I started supporting you as a glory-supporting 10 year-old all those years ago, but then through the bad years as well!
Hopefully Sky Sports will get their UK TV coverage sorted out soon, I have heard there are still contract wranglings going on? Does anyone know if this is usual ?
Sitting through this year for the Dolphins is going to be like preforming corneal surgery on myself. Topped with the family being a contingent of Massholes, the twice a year beatings and record shattering sessions that they call games are never fun.
aosol wrote: Sitting through this year for the Dolphins is going to be like preforming corneal surgery on myself. Topped with the family being a contingent of Massholes, the twice a year beatings and record shattering sessions that they call games are never fun.
I finally gave up on the Fins 3 years ago after 20 years of pain. Land Shark Stadium, J-Lo, and the Williams sisters wrapped it up for me. I love to hate them now.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Yahoo picks, I'm in.
Dallas at NY Giants Indianapolis at Chicago Philadelphia at Cleveland
New England at Tennessee
Atlanta at Kansas City
Jacksonville at Minnesota
Washington at New Orleans Buffalo at NY Jets
St. Louis at Detroit Miami at Houston San Francisco at Green Bay Seattle at Arizona
Carolina at Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh at Denver
Cincinnati at Baltimore (Bengals fan but judging by what I have seen this preseason the injuries will play a huge factor and I see them losing this one by a touchdown or two)
San Diego at Oakland
Yeah, good news about the BBC, I may watch some games myself. I used to be skeptical about American football , but once you figure it out, it's good stuff. Complex, but rewarding. My adopted team this year will be Tampa Bay, purely because in my view they have the best emblem Arrrrrrr!!!
I actually like the confidence ratings. But I'm in no way opposed to gettig rid of them if that's what everyone wants. I kinda feel like they add that extra little OOMPH too the picks
Chancetragedy wrote: I actually like the confidence ratings. But I'm in no way opposed to gettig rid of them if that's what everyone wants. I kinda feel like they add that extra little OOMPH too the picks
I like the confidence ratings. Leave them. It's a put your money where your mouth is sort of thing.
I had thought that 1 meant the pick you have the most confidence in, since it read from left to right. Clearly, that is wrong. A 1 is the pick you have the LEAST confidence in.
Patriots making me feel good today. Spreading the points around in classic style, and Ridley and their run defense have been really pleasant surprises. Here's hoping those continue to be as good, and this isn't an anomaly.
Mannahnin wrote: Patriots making me feel good today. Spreading the points around in classic style, and Ridley and their run defense have been really pleasant surprises. Here's hoping those continue to be as good, and this isn't an anomaly.
Ridley, jones, and Hightower, cunningham and Wilson made me soo happy today. Best part is they're young so they're only gonna get better as the season progresses. Imagine if jones gives us 13+sacks And a couple of strips and plays on the run like that all year? Then our offense runs the ball like they did today? Our front 7 is basically defensive lineman a bunch of whom can run. So it's gonna be crazy hard to run on us this year. Well see how the pass defense holds up.
I'm so pumpedon the patriots. and glad I was the only one besides reaper who understands how good this 49'ers defense is!!!!!
Honestly I don't even care. The refs are better already than they were in the pre season. And I don't know if I could handle another eddy Hercules rant about how the offensive lineman was just overpowered. "good" refs make mistakes all the time. Everything is reviewed now anyways. I say who fething cares. The "real" refs get payed 150k a year for a part time job screw them.
And ps talk about tanking my picks this week lol. I'll be lucky to finish 8-8
Hlaine Larkin mk2 wrote: Well the refs only messed up on call last night when manning went hurry up and tried to catch the Steelers with 12 men on the field (which they did)
Yeah, I saw that one. Manning was pissed that he didn't get the call. But, if that's the only call they missed that game, they did a good job.
There was some issue in the Seahawks game were they were given a 4th time-out. While they still lost, it allowed them time to get off an extra play where they nearly scored the winning TD. Can you imagine that gak that would be hitting the fan right now if they had scored? That would be ALL that the talking-heads would be harping on.
While there hasn't been a game-changing blunder yet, it's just a matter of time. I hope that either the learning curve for these refs is steep and we'll see fewer mistakes, or the real refs will be back soon.
Hlaine Larkin mk2 wrote: Well the refs only messed up on call last night when manning went hurry up and tried to catch the Steelers with 12 men on the field (which they did)
Yeah, I saw that one. Manning was pissed that he didn't get the call. But, if that's the only call they missed that game, they did a good job.
There was some issue in the Seahawks game were they were given a 4th time-out. While they still lost, it allowed them time to get off an extra play where they nearly scored the winning TD. Can you imagine that gak that would be hitting the fan right now if they had scored? That would be ALL that the talking-heads would be harping on.
While there hasn't been a game-changing blunder yet, it's just a matter of time. I hope that either the learning curve for these refs is steep and we'll see fewer mistakes, or the real refs will be back soon.
Yeah the only official who could see the 12th man couldn't see the Broncos Centre snap the ball so it's fairly harsh to hold it against them, but Denver could have challenged it.
And Seahawks fans if they had won would of said it made up for that superbowl loss against the Steelers
EDIT: The officials also let the Steelers call a TO after the play clock reached 0 but the steelers failed to find the end zone on the next 2 plays and settle for a FG
Mannahnin wrote: Patriots making me feel good today. Spreading the points around in classic style, and Ridley and their run defense have been really pleasant surprises. Here's hoping those continue to be as good, and this isn't an anomaly.
Ridley, jones, and Hightower, cunningham and Wilson made me soo happy today. Best part is they're young so they're only gonna get better as the season progresses. Imagine if jones gives us 13+sacks And a couple of strips and plays on the run like that all year? Then our offense runs the ball like they did today? Our front 7 is basically defensive lineman a bunch of whom can run. So it's gonna be crazy hard to run on us this year. Well see how the pass defense holds up.
I'm so pumpedon the patriots. and glad I was the only one besides reaper who understands how good this 49'ers defense is!!!!!
Apparently the replacement refs are extended through till at least week 3
Only saw one iffy call in the Ravens match but I only watched the first half
And I think the Eagles @ Ravens could be a very onesided affair is Vick plays as poorly as he did on Sunday and if the Ravens are still on fire Sorry Helgrenze
Actually.... the replacement Refs did call a bad game in Cleveland. Philly got flagged 12 times for -110 yards, Cleveland got 3 for -35. Most of those were "false starts", One I know was bad, the player coughed... flag "false start"... Or Offensive pass interference on a player running his route and the defender backing into him..... Most of the penalties against the Eagles were on the offense... My guess is, was one of the refs had problems overcoming his dislike of Vick. of course the 4 picks and 1 fumble didn't help either...
But to compare....
Dallas 13/86 - NYG 4/33
ATL 2/12 - KC 2/25
Wash 12/127 - NO 12/107
Detroit 3/27 - STL 7/65
NE 3/20 - Tenn 3/30
Hou 4/35 - Miami 7/78
NYJ 5/34 - Buff 6/34
Minn 5/47 - Jax 4/25
Chi 7/48 - Indy 3/19
Tampa Bay 4/35 - Car 6/65
Ari 10/102 - Sea 13/90
SF 8/66 - GB 10/77
Denver 6/49 - Pitt 8/52
Balt 6/50 - Cinc 3/41
SD 9/78 - Oak 6/35
Goddamn what an awful game last night. Especially since I took the bears. Jaycut ruined a perfectly good defensive performance by the bearcubs. And my pick, off to another crappy start second week in a row now haha. At least Ive consistantly got the confidence points thing right haha.
I don't think anyone was expecting the green bay defense to be this good. That game had what like 10+ sacks total from both sides combined? Including what 2 fumbles and 3-4 picks or something? I figured the green bay offense got figured out to an extent and their defense was gonna be a lot like last year. Oh how wrong I was lol. And yes the bears o-line and offense play calling was atrocious. Add the fact that forte's ankle got rolled up hard and the bears stood now chance. But I will say this. That fake field goal was one of the coolest things I've seen so far this year. And I saw a LOT of confidence rating 1's even from the 2 that picked GB.
So I heard an amazing take on a local sports radio station yesterday. It was about the NFL claiming to be all about "health of the players". Basically it's that's this statement is such a crock of crap that's its sickening. So they removed 2 a days and limited the amount of contact in practice, great right? Well then after that they implemented Thursday night games all season long. So now 2 teams the ravens and eagles play 4 games in 17 days to start the season.... 4 games in 17 short days........ How is that possibly safe for the players? They have recovery time where? It's clear all the nfl cares about is money and not played safety. And yet it continues to claim otherwise.
So let's say Vick gets a groin sprain in the next eagles game. That's typically a 2 week injury. But instead he'd miss 3 games because of it. And say if he decides to play instead of miss 3 games to a 2 week injury and then he tears his groin muscle. Then what? I'm surprised the eagles and ravens haven't been screaming bloody murder about how rediculous this is.
Not to mention Thursday night games quality is going to SUCK like the packers bears game. Cause honestly how good can the on field production be after 3 days to rest and game plan?
IMO, the ONLY, absolutely ONLY thursday professional football to be played, should be the traditional Thanksgiving day games!!! that means, Packers/Lions, Washington/Dallas games.... thats fething it!
Agreed. A third late game on Thanksgiving is fine. Thursday night all season long is motivated only by money (okay, and probably a few really rabid fans).
Yah don't get me wrong. I'm sure a LOT of people are pumped about football 3 days a week. I am clearly not one of those people. And another thing about the nfl and player safety. How long till they get their 18 game season implemented? You know the owners want it. Also I'm sure the players will be rabid for more money as well and will probably cave eventually.
Yah I like college. But it doesn't hold the same weight as the nfl for me. I do love college's seemingly faster scoring pace. But the whole bowl system and championship game a month after the season just doesn't really get me psyched like most nfl games.
College doesn't do it for me. Seems like kid ball, missing defense.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Pats/Cardinals game is very good so far. Tough defensive battle, with the Cardinals embarassing our O line a good bit.
Hernandez getting hurt could really suck, though. I hope he's okay and they're just being cautious.
Holy crap. We got lucky with that reception spot with Edelman, but missing the two point coversion means we're done. Three and out for AZ is not looking likely the way this game has gone.
Automatically Appended Next Post: ...all over now bar a miracle turnover.
And the miracle happened only to have replacement officials call a bullgak holding call on gronk to bring the TD back. Only to have ghost choke away a FG. WOW what a game.... And good for the cardinals what a win.
I take back all previous defense of the replacement refs ;p. and the pats need to pay Brian waters already. Good god our O line ;(
Haha yah poor kronk still in the lead ;p. at one point I thought I was going 4-12 this week lol. I seriously can't get a hold of what teams are doing yet. I agree this could be one wild and fun season!!!
whembly wrote: Guys... check out the Redskin/Rams game...
The officiating is absolutely horrid... the announcers are ripping them...
Meltdown... commence...
Yeah that was the ugliest game I have seen in a long time. Just goes to show how important that officiating is, and when it is not done properly the game can go into meltdown.
Feel a bit sorry for the Redskins, and even for the guy at the end who lashed out at Finnegan (he should have controlled himself, but.. well we all know what that guy is like).
Good though with the game coming up in Wembley. I was fearing the worst about it being a completely 1-sided affair, but now after NE's performance, and also the Rams looking far more solid, hopefully will be a good game!
Well Denver tried but failed. The officiating was pretty poor but John Fox was kinda dumb challenging a 5 yard penalty when it was clear he was wrong.
I was surprised by the lack of an onside kick attempt though, it seemed like Fox had a bit too much faith in his defence who only really looked solid in the 4th quarter
Hlaine Larkin mk2 wrote: Well Denver tried but failed. The officiating was pretty poor but John Fox was kinda dumb challenging a 5 yard penalty when it was clear he was wrong.
I was surprised by the lack of an onside kick attempt though, it seemed like Fox had a bit too much faith in his defence who only really looked solid in the 4th quarter
Meh, i can understand why Fox threw the challenge flag though. These replacements are so woefully in over their collective heads, the players are taking major advantages of them, and so you really can't trust any call they're making.
Hell, the officiating this year is even worse than the travesty the NHL puts on! You can't sink much lower than that in pro sports.
The one thing I don't like about these refs is how they apparently don't even know how/where to spot the ball. And they seem scared and are getting bullied by coaches and players alike.
I don't even care about the Inconsistancy of fouls. Just know where and how to spot the damn ball. And how to keep things flowing....
Have these refs even been vetted properly? Seems like these guys -- being not even high-level college refs -- would be easier for gambling interests to influence. And how do you tell the difference between incompetence and intentional mischief in this case?
Last I heard, there's still no talks schedualed sadly...
I just hope that things don't spirill so out of control that we start seeing major injuries due to these refs being completely unable to control the game.
The Broncos/Flacons game last night was appauling to try and watch. Over an hour just to finish one fething quarter of play?! Hell, by the time the sports came on on the late local news, (about 11:45pm for me), they were still playing the 4th quarter!
This is probably going to become a point of contention with these refs...
LeSean McCoy was a guest of the WIP midday show this week and gave some of his thoughts on the replacement referees. Only, his criticisms weren't about the bad calls or generally slow manner that they run the game, it's that these guys are just unprofessional and act more like fans.
McCoy said pretty plainly that he thought the replacement refs were getting bullied and mentioned how one started stuttering when Ray Lewis "puffed up his chest" after a call. This is certainly something we've suspected watching games. Especially in that last one against Baltimore, there were a lot of late flags that came after guys (from both sides) appealed for them. They'd turn to the ref or yell at him about a flag, and the ref would oblige.
Obviously, that's not how its supposed to work. But even more absurd, McCoy says, is that these guys seem starstruck and act more like fans.
"I'll be honest, they're like fans.," McCoy said. "One of the refs was talking about his fantasy team, like ‘McCoy, come on, I need you for my fantasy,' ahhh, what?!"
Now, maybe the guy is just joking around, but clearly McCoy didn't take it that way. And frankly, given that these guys don't know the players at all, its not professional to joke around with them anyway.
This whole replacement ref thing has really become a farce.
I think it's something the league definitely needs to get sorted as soon as possible. Spotting of the ball has been terrible, but more importantly I think there is far more likelihood now of a big injury happening or even worse - it's obvious that the players don't respect the refs, and the play on the field is starting to reflect that. Citing the STL/Washington game last weekend, some really bad tackles, and even fowls (blocks in the back etc.) were being made that the refs didn't spot. This is encouraging others to do the same if they know they can get away with it. The refs start to lose control, and so more liberties are taken. Unless something is done soon, I think it's only a matter of time before we get someone's star QB or receiver with a broken bone from a dodgy tackle. Is that what it is going to take to get things sorted?
The people who run the NFL owe it to the league, the players, the fans, even the refs themselves - I absolutely love this sport, and what is happening at the moment is to the severe detriment of it.
In the Bills/Chiefs games on Sunday, there was a blaitent forearm to the throat that was only flaged because the entire sideline was screaming at the ref.
Feth, the guy who threw that disgusting armbar move should have been ejected! (even the commentators were miffed as to why there was no ejction). Instead, the refs off-set it with a bullt 'phantom' holding call... I've also been seeing alot more high tackles with guys aiming for opposing players' neck & head area as they take an opponent down, and some pretty nasty chop blocks that have gone uncalled.
If the league doesn't get off their arses and get a deal hammered out with their real reffs, I can see it getting to the point that the players will simply refuse to play anymore citing serious safety concerns.
Like I said...have these guys even been vetted properly?
The ultimate blame for this situation goes on Goodell, of course. In his arrogance, he decided that we'd watch the NFL regardless of how bad the refs are. He's probably mostly right. But for a guy who proclaims to be all about integrity, this replacement ref nonsense is incredibly hypocritical.
Goodell is no Rozelle or Tagliabue, that's for sure. Those guys had the players' respect.
helgrenze wrote: This is probably going to become a point of contention with these refs...
LeSean McCoy was a guest of the WIP midday show this week and gave some of his thoughts on the replacement referees. Only, his criticisms weren't about the bad calls or generally slow manner that they run the game, it's that these guys are just unprofessional and act more like fans.
McCoy said pretty plainly that he thought the replacement refs were getting bullied and mentioned how one started stuttering when Ray Lewis "puffed up his chest" after a call. This is certainly something we've suspected watching games. Especially in that last one against Baltimore, there were a lot of late flags that came after guys (from both sides) appealed for them. They'd turn to the ref or yell at him about a flag, and the ref would oblige.
Obviously, that's not how its supposed to work. But even more absurd, McCoy says, is that these guys seem starstruck and act more like fans.
"I'll be honest, they're like fans.," McCoy said. "One of the refs was talking about his fantasy team, like ‘McCoy, come on, I need you for my fantasy,' ahhh, what?!"
Now, maybe the guy is just joking around, but clearly McCoy didn't take it that way. And frankly, given that these guys don't know the players at all, its not professional to joke around with them anyway.
This whole replacement ref thing has really become a farce.
Players learned in week one that they can get away with cheap shots.
Week two, I've seen several late hits and cheap shots that weren't called. Did you see the Cowboys/Seahawks game? The block where the Seattle receiver was blocking for the QB and left his feet to hit the defender in the head that was looking the other way? That would have been 15 yards last year. This play
Week 3 and 4? Watch out. Players are going to get blown up!
This isn't a matter of missing some calls. Hell, the old refs would miss calls here and there. BUT, the old refs were professionals and wouldn't take crap from the coaches or players. And I truly believe that they had the players' safety in mind and were quick to throw the flag on late hits, leading with the helmet, and so on.
Yah there was a brutal fore arm to Stevan Ridley's throat on a tackle in the pats cardinals game too. Ridley got up and freaked out and it was almost a scuffle. So rediculous. And as much as I've opined for the old days where some of this stuff was allowed(I like defensive football more than offensive football). This is just going down a really bad path.
While that is pretty funny. There is defensive holding in the rules.... It would be better if it was intentional grounding on the defense or something.
Chancetragedy wrote: While that is pretty funny. There is defensive holding in the rules.... It would be better if it was intentional grounding on the defense or something.
There was one like that as well along with "The NFL is holding" "Our salaries"
Well Carolina has @8 weeks to fix those O-line issues before facing the Eagles pass rush.
NY however.... They face the Eagles next week with a damaged and depleted secondary. That one could get ugly for NY, especially if Philly is 3-0 going in.
Yep, I had 10 points on NY and you had 6. Everyone else... fail! Not too bad!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
helgrenze wrote: Well Carolina has @8 weeks to fix those O-line issues before facing the Eagles pass rush.
NY however.... They face the Eagles next week with a damaged and depleted secondary. That one could get ugly for NY, especially if Philly is 3-0 going in.
Yes but, you have to consider the Eagles weak O line against Big Blue pass rush. No I'm not a Giants fan. Not even a NFC guy.
I was gonna do more points. Because I believe the giants are going 12-4/13-3. But Hakeem Knicks, Bradshaw, and Webster being out scared me a little bit.
Yep, I had 10 points on NY and you had 6. Everyone else... fail! Not too bad!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
helgrenze wrote: Well Carolina has @8 weeks to fix those O-line issues before facing the Eagles pass rush.
NY however.... They face the Eagles next week with a damaged and depleted secondary. That one could get ugly for NY, especially if Philly is 3-0 going in.
Yes but, you have to consider the Eagles weak O line against Big Blue pass rush. No I'm not a Giants fan. Not even a NFC guy.
Philly has had some injury issues on the Oline, but they are not that weak. The loss of Patterson is the biggest issue, with his replacement going down as well they need to beef up that spot. Losing the Center didn't help either but the backup did ok.
Alright time to slap Kronks balls back on the habachi top. Today's the day my picks are better!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Leading the week so far. How have the games been? Haven't been home all day. Decided getting crushed by spacewolves/GK was more fun;p. Go patriots!!! Screw the Baltimore wahhhhhhhvens.
How was the refs handing Baltimore a good finish? Garbage game. I'm probably not watching the nfl till the real refs are back. And this is coming from a big defender of the scab refs... Wompwomp
Chancetragedy wrote: How was the refs handing Baltimore a good finish? Garbage game. I'm probably not watching the nfl till the real refs are back. And this is coming from a big defender of the scab refs... Wompwomp
For me personally it was a good finish
A) The last kick of the game decided it
B) It capped a great offensive drive admittedly helped by penalties
C) Tom Brady didn't beat the Ravens in the Regular Season for once
And as a "Soccer" fan for alot longer I'm more accustomed I would say to sloppy/poor quality refereeing so at least personally it doesn't irk/annoy me as much
The officiating is awful. It was still mostly a good game, but they need to get that gak fixed. I'm seriously considering tuning out until the real refs get back.
Yah ok. Admittedly I'm a bit bitter over the finish;p. however I'm not a person that hates a game cause my team lost. It's how my team was stripped of a win because of horrendous officiating. It was a great game through 3 quarters. Then phantom defensive holding and PI started showing up. But when a late defensive end was tackled by a tackle with no call in the middle of that... I say no thanks. I'm taking a stand against these idiotic owners who wont just grandfather in the refs that are established for a pension.
Chancetragedy wrote: How was the refs handing Baltimore a good finish? Garbage game. I'm probably not watching the nfl till the real refs are back. And this is coming from a big defender of the scab refs... Wompwomp
...And as a "Soccer" fan for alot longer I'm more accustomed I would say to sloppy/poor quality refereeing so at least personally it doesn't irk/annoy me as much
+1 this.
It's a crying shame how the NFL is being ruined by absolutely crappy officiating, but the first three weeks are basically giving longtime NFL fans a taste of what passes as 'professional officiating' across "Soccer" and the complete farce that is the NHL...
No one's suffered a brutal season-ending injury yet due to a highly illegal hit.
One the other hand, crap like this is missed by all 4 officals all the time in the NHL;
I watched 3 games yesterday. Well, I listened to 3 games while I painted miniatures and did a bunch of laundry.
During the first quarter of the Dallas Cowboys game, I thought the refs only knew 2 words: False Start. Crap in a hat, they called at least 6 on the first 2 drives.
During the Texans Game, I didn't notice anything glaring. Maybe some ticky-tac interference calls on either side that should have been called, but both sides seemed to benefit. Also, I'm a fan of let the players play, so long as there is no risk of injury.
Then the Game of the Week. Wow. That was absolute crap. There were 6 scuffles in the first quarter, showing that the refs had zero control in this game. I didn't agree with some of the interference calls. It took them FOREVER to review plays. I'm fine with them running off the field after the kick, though. It's not a reviewable play (good or no-good field goal call), and Billicheck (spelling?) just wanted to scream at someone. I'd be damned if I was going to be that someone, either.
After the game, the late night news said that the talks between the NFL reps and refs ended with "significant differences" remaining and no scheduled date for the next meeting.
Until someone gets seriously hurt by a no-call or there is an obscenely poor call that costs someone the game, we're stuck for the long haul. The NFL will shove this down our throats until we ALL stop watching.
That's why I'm done watching. The owners dont get it. And the frustrating thing is I'm going through the same bullgak with the red sox ownership. Which made me ravenous for football as my sports fix. But this is unbearable, so with that I bid you adieu nfl. Till you get your heads out of your butts. And with no hockey, and basketball coming soon. This has been a bad year for me and sports ;p
whembly wrote: Wow... Packers got jipped bad by the replacement officials...
you mean the Seahawks right?
That 3rd and short pass that Rodgers threw that was cleanly defended and the Ref's threw a flag for Pass Interference.
Did they even see the play?
The defender was clearly going for the ball, there was no penalty yet PI was called and that drive finished with the packers getting a TD they should not have had.
The ref's were good the first 3 quarters and stunk it up in the 4th quarter.
The Sehawks D played a great game and without that gift PI call the Packers would have lost the game anyway, so all is well.
P.S. how do you get back to the pick league, I could not find it after week 1.
I gave up watching after the first half due to the game being boring as feth what with a penalty flag being thrown after almost every single play.
It seemed like they were trying to over-officiate at that point with some of those "calls", and then they botched it up big time when they missed a blaitent personal foul on the Seahawks and instead tossed the flag for a little rub in the face on the Packers...
At least i didn't see any highlights of the refs tossing their hats onto the field for no reason though!
whembly wrote: Wow... Packers got jipped bad by the replacement officials...
you mean the Seahawks right?
That 3rd and short pass that Rodgers threw that was cleanly defended and the Ref's threw a flag for Pass Interference.
Did they even see the play?
The defender was clearly going for the ball, there was no penalty yet PI was called and that drive finished with the packers getting a TD they should not have had.
The ref's were good the first 3 quarters and stunk it up in the 4th quarter.
The Sehawks D played a great game and without that gift PI call the Packers would have lost the game anyway, so all is well.
P.S. how do you get back to the pick league, I could not find it after week 1.
I disagree... BOTH teams got shafted throughout the game...
But the last sequence that lead to Seahawk's TD was horrid...
There was an offensive PI that spotted the ball around the 15 yard line...
Golden Tate PUSH a packers defender (blatent offensive PI if I ever seen one) in the back just before trying to catch the ball...
Then, replay after replay, it shows that the Packers player actually caught the ball... one ref said TD and other said no catch by Offensive player... the refs were a couple of feet apart .
And the sequence that lead to the Packers TD was also horrid...
The Phantom PI call on the Seahawks that took a 3rd and short, and the subsequent punt the Packers would have had on that drive and turned it into a 1st down situation, and ended up with a Packers TD, was insane. That was a clean defensive play, yet they call PI.
So even if the Seahawks did not get that last TD, the packers should not have had theirs either, end result the same.
"Then, replay after replay, it shows that the Packers player actually caught the ball"
That is a joke right? Have you seen the video? both players have their hands on the ball, that is simultaneous possession and that goes to the Offense.
There were a lot of bad calls in the game though.
If I were a player I would donate part of my salary to get the regular ref's back on the field.
If anything though the result works out in the real refs favour (And by extension everyone else) as they now have this as a huge piece of leverage in their negotiations
Chancetragedy wrote: . And screw you too kronk for beating me with PICKING SEATTLE ;p all in friendly competition of course ;p
Sorry, man. After watching Seattle's D manhandle the cowboys last week, I had to pick them versus your struggling Packers.
Hlaine Larkin mk2 wrote: If anything though the result works out in the real refs favour (And by extension everyone else) as they now have this as a huge piece of leverage in their negotiations
I'm betting that was their strategy. "After someone gets hurt or there is a series of f-uped games, they'll agree to our terms."
The NFL's strategy has been. "Pay the Refs? Why? The fans are too addicted to the NFL to stop watching. We can run any old scab out there. In fact, let's run out that guy from the Lingerie League... LOL!"
Time will tell who wins, but I'm betting the refs will get at least 90% of their demands when all is said and done.
So let's ignore phantom PI's. Cause those things happen with real refs too. So the Seahawks have been given an extra timeout, and a TD that they didn't deserve. The 9ers got an extra timeout/review or whatever. There were 6 fights in the pats v ravens game with no flags or warning. There have been multiple spots of the ball over 10 yards from where they should be. And a plethora of other stuff. I've been watching football for 15+ years with a good grasp on rules and such. And I cannot remember a time that even half of this crap has happened in the span of 3 weeks.
Ron Borges had an article saying how the owners would only have to give up 60k each for the next 6 years or something to get this done. How rediculous is that?
Ron Borges had an article saying how the owners would only have to give up 60k each for the next 6 years or something to get this done. How rediculous is that?
I thought the big sticking point that had the real refs digging their heels in was that the NFL wants them to quit any current full-time job they have in order to get full coverage & a pension from the league?! (at least, that's how the Canadian media has been reporting it)
But at the same time, a large number of the officials apparently only make like $25000 - $40000/year, which makes it almost impossible for them to support a family if they're not allowed to seek out other work during the rest of the year that they're not actually on the field.
The outcome last night caused a $150-250 million swing in sports books.
So I'll say it again. Is the NFL completely comfortable that these guys -- who will likely go back to making peanuts reffing games in Division III college ball, etc. -- are above fixing games?
Not saying that was that's what happened in this case. But can we be reasonably sure?
Hmm I thought it was the pensions for certain guys. And that the nfl didn't want to grandfather in a bunch of the refs for a pension plan. I could totally be wrong about that though. Either way were talking about owners making million-billions of dollars and not wanting to give up thousands for the clearly essential referee's.
While I don't think that was the case in any particular game I've seen, can you imagine the repercussions that would follow a fixed game by the replacement refs?
That's honestly something I haven't thought about. Wow...
kronk wrote: While I don't think that was the case in any particular game I've seen, can you imagine the repercussions that would follow a fixed game by the replacement refs?
That's honestly something I haven't thought about. Wow...
And how would we know, especially when "errors" can be so easily chalked up to incompetence? The door is WIDE open.
Goodell is a joke. How can he talk so much about the integrity of the game and allow these kinds of dangers to fester?
kronk wrote: While I don't think that was the case in any particular game I've seen, can you imagine the repercussions that would follow a fixed game by the replacement refs?
That's honestly something I haven't thought about. Wow...
As much of a clown car as this season's becoming... hell I wouldn't be surprised at all at this point.
kronk wrote: While I don't think that was the case in any particular game I've seen, can you imagine the repercussions that would follow a fixed game by the replacement refs?
That's honestly something I haven't thought about. Wow...
And how would we know, especially when "errors" can be so easily chalked up to incompetence? The door is WIDE open.
Goodell is a joke. How can he talk so much about the integrity of the game and allow these kinds of dangers to fester?
It's not so far above reasoning to me. I mean, what was it week 2 that the "Social Media" people caught a replacement ref sporting his favorite team's gear while on a vacation... a day before he was supposed to officiate that team? What if he hadn't been caught? Or, if he was caught, but only AFTER the Saints played (and lets say for arguments sake they actually won that game)?
I would also be surprised if Ed Hochuli (sp?) wasn't at the negotiating table, as he is himself, a lawyer when not in zebra costumes... then again, they may not want someone with biceps that big intimidating the owners?
Personally, I think that the refs should have their own contract yes, BUT that it should be directly tied to the players as well. I say this because many of the refs (back judge, umpire, etc.) are right in the thick of everything, and they aren't wearing pads. To be honest, that is quite the scary proposition, because most of the umpires are no where near as big as an NFL player (Ed H. aside of course). When you compare them with other contact sporting officials, the NFL guys I think have it worse. I mean, look at hockey (who may not be playing again) and Rugby Refs. In hockey they wear generally the same gear as players; And in Rugby, the Refs that I've seen tend to be as big and athletic as at least a third of the players on the field.
Personally, I think that the refs should have their own contract yes, BUT that it should be directly tied to the players as well. I say this because many of the refs (back judge, umpire, etc.) are right in the thick of everything, and they aren't wearing pads. To be honest, that is quite the scary proposition, because most of the umpires are no where near as big as an NFL player (Ed H. aside of course). When you compare them with other contact sporting officials, the NFL guys I think have it worse. I mean, look at hockey (who may not be playing again) and Rugby Refs. In hockey they wear generally the same gear as players; And in Rugby, the Refs that I've seen tend to be as big and athletic as at least a third of the players on the field.
As an on-ice Hockey official, I get my skates, helmet w/half-visor, 'girl's athletic support', shin pads & elbow pads.
I'm wearing nowhere near the same level of 'modernized full-plate armour' that the players are wearing, since my shin & elbow pads are also smaller than a player's for example... And pucks hurt alot when a player thinks you deserve to get hit by one!
True I've got more protection than any football official, but let's not kid ourselves that us hockey refs aren't going to get hurt just as easily as our football counterparts! For one thing, getting hit by an errant football isn't going to kill you. An errant slapshot, well, that can potentially kill you!
And while it's not quite official. Local radio stations and Adam Shefter are reporting the lockout is ALMOST OVER for the officials. They could be back as soon as this Sunday! FOOTBALL FOR THE FOOTBALL GOD!!!!!
Chancetragedy wrote: And while it's not quite official. Local radio stations and Adam Shefter are reporting the lockout is ALMOST OVER for the officials. They could be back as soon as this Sunday! FOOTBALL FOR THE FOOTBALL GOD!!!!!
Thank the Football Gods! I guess the amount of anger over Monday night's result finally got the league to pay attention and pull their collective heads outa their arses!
Or else all it took was Obama saying the NFL needs the real refs back ASAP...
Yah it's official. And from reports it looks like the league/owners are the ones that broke and made a bunch of concessions. Good job real refs now don't screw up;p
Chancetragedy wrote: Yah it's official. And from reports it looks like the league/owners are the ones that broke and made a bunch of concessions. Good job real refs now don't screw up;p
apparently the league HQ's complaints line answering machine had well over 70,000 complaints on it by Tuesday morning!
Hahaha serves the owners/nfl right. They deserved every single ounce of crap thrown back in their faces over this. And I screwed up my stupid picks this week. Stupid Thursday night football every week lol.
Piston Honda rallied this week with his picks to close the gap between 1st and 2nd. I did not expect Philly to be able to hold off the Giants this week.
although technically The cowboys have the #1 defence in the nfl before today, but if Cutler doenst have an awful day and end up onm the floor 8 times the Bears should win since they have been a tad more consistent than the cowboys
Based on Yards per game sure.. but based on points allowed not really. Dallas has alloed @3 points per game more than Chicago. Houston is number 1 in that stat.
Yards allowed is no real indication of defensive success.... Seattle (2-2) has allowed only 25 more yards than Dallas over their 4 games while Atlanta has allowed @100 yards more and is still 4-0.
Points allowed is a more realistic measure..... The Titans have allowed 151 points.
Chancetragedy wrote: Yah not picking Thursday nights game really screwed me this week. Also surprised GB rallied. I'm still convinced they aren't "that" good.
I agree the packers are not that good this year.
That Bears team had everything firing on all cylinders Monday night. They looked really good.
Why panthers seem on the up and up? Remember it took Detroit 2-3 years to get away from the 0-16 season. I know they took a step back this year but still. I'm sure the panthers will be fine. They have a couple really good pieces in place to build off of. On both offense and defense.
What's getting me this week is. Arizona or St. Louis.... Both look pretty tough this year. And I just cannot get a grasp on the supposedly crap NFC west lol.
kronk wrote: I cannot wait for Monday night. We (the Texans) rarely get a Prime Time game and we're firing on all cylinders right now!
Dear Rex Ryan,
Please play Tebow. Please, please, please put him in...
I want Tebow in for the Texans- Eagles too... Dear Texans D-line, I'll send you guys a basket of cookies or something for every sack you lot get on that pillock.
kronk wrote: I cannot wait for Monday night. We (the Texans) rarely get a Prime Time game and we're firing on all cylinders right now!
Dear Rex Ryan,
Please play Tebow. Please, please, please put him in...
I want Tebow in for the Texans- Eagles too... Dear Texans D-line, I'll send you guys a basket of cookies or something for every sack you lot get on that pillock.
2 problems with this comment...
1) Tebow doesn't play for the Eagles.... he plays for the Jets.....
2) The Texans and the Eagles don't play each other this year.
Didn't you know? Tebow is in every living thing on the planet. He is what makes up the galaxy. He is both the eagles and the texans. He is legend*puke*
kronk wrote: I cannot wait for Monday night. We (the Texans) rarely get a Prime Time game and we're firing on all cylinders right now!
Dear Rex Ryan,
Please play Tebow. Please, please, please put him in...
I want Tebow in for the Texans- Eagles too... Dear Texans D-line, I'll send you guys a basket of cookies or something for every sack you lot get on that pillock.
2 problems with this comment...
1) Tebow doesn't play for the Eagles.... he plays for the Jets.....
2) The Texans and the Eagles don't play each other this year.
Yep.
HAHAHAHA!!! Tebow (and Rex Ryan) is on the NY Jets whom the Houston Texans play on Monday night!
So for some reason despite making my picks and saving them. Our league decided I didn't pick the games and I missed TNF for a second week in a row wtf.....especially cause I had picked St. Louis for 4 points.....
kronk wrote: I cannot wait for Monday night. We (the Texans) rarely get a Prime Time game and we're firing on all cylinders right now!
Dear Rex Ryan,
Please play Tebow. Please, please, please put him in...
I want Tebow in for the Texans- Eagles too... Dear Texans D-line, I'll send you guys a basket of cookies or something for every sack you lot get on that pillock.
2 problems with this comment...
1) Tebow doesn't play for the Eagles.... he plays for the Jets.....
2) The Texans and the Eagles don't play each other this year.
I just got a concussion XD wow. Can't believe I did that.
Chancetragedy wrote: So for some reason despite making my picks and saving them. Our league decided I didn't pick the games and I missed TNF for a second week in a row wtf.....especially cause I had picked St. Louis for 4 points.....
Hmmmm
:/
Are you sure you clicked on save picks at the bottom of the screen?
does it show that you picked other game for the week?
Yah I was positive I hit it. And when I went to check this evening nothing was picked. Meh, should have checked this afternoon. So I missed the most/least tiebreaker and tonight's game. Edit*and the chance for a 15 pointer ;(
If it happens again yah I'd like to have it reported. Honestly they'll probably just say you need to hit the save changes button. They did that to us in one of my FFL last year when some dude had 3 bye week guys play after he changed his line up. I even saw him do it.
Some bad decision making on the part of Kolb there in the 4th.... going 4& out in the red zone is a bad sign for any team. Plus the Rams had pressure on him all night. He does not function well when under heavy pressure like that.
Chancetragedy wrote: Yah I was positive I hit it. And when I went to check this evening nothing was picked. Meh, should have checked this afternoon. So I missed the most/least tiebreaker and tonight's game. Edit*and the chance for a 15 pointer ;(
Kolb was under huge pressure though and it's very hard to operate as a QB when you're being hit alot
Agreed... but getting sacked 9 times didn't help. As for Bradford, yeah he only completed 7, but 2 went for TDs so.... Arizona also only had 45 yards rushing... as opposed to the Rams 111, no run game hurts the pass game.... But it was the Rams Red Zone defense that really won it for them... 2 4&outs in the 4th ... ya gotta get those points.
Sa I don't understand how Thursday happened, my picks I made Thursday stuck. They are still there today. So I guess I must have not hit save changes. Even though I swear I did and I know I've made the picks twice. So well see next week I guess haha.
Hlaine Larkin mk2 wrote: And having watched the Eagles game Vick really lost them the game with that goal line fumble, as well as 2 others
Eh, I dunno. Easy to make the case that the Steelers would have won handily if not for all their drops and stumbles. The ball was a greased pig out there for both sides.
Also, my Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are ranked for the first time since 1999! Woot woot!
What I want to know, looking at this weeks rankings, is how the Feth is FSU ranked higher than Georgia??? For feths sake, I know that UGA got curb stomped by a top 10 team, but FSU got beat by a nobody!
Pittsburgh got a way with alot of holding and ather stuff, especially their offense. Of course, it is hard for the refs to see the holds that happen in a double team. Even some friends of mine who are Steelers fans say they should have gotten called more.
I am pretty sure I was close to destroying my voice shouting until he scored 
Does anyone know if this is usual ?
Arrrrrrr!!!
t 'phantom' holding call... 
