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Punting from the opponent's 40-something yard line with 19 seconds left in overtime was certainly an interesting choice. Talk about a display of zero faith in your squad. It's not like the Bengals moved the football in overtime.

Doesn't make any sense to me. If you have that little faith in your team, then why not go for the win anyway, since not many of those will be coming this season.

 gorgon wrote:
Punting from the opponent's 40-something yard line with 19 seconds left in overtime was certainly an interesting choice. Talk about a display of zero faith in your squad. It's not like the Bengals moved the football in overtime.

Doesn't make any sense to me. If you have that little faith in your team, then why not go for the win anyway, since not many of those will be coming this season.

I agree.
Part of the problem is nothing is gelling on the offense for the Eagles. You can blame Roseman (the GM) but he can only work from what the scouts are telling him. Right now, they have 3 players that are reliable receivers, Ward, Ertz, and Goddard... and Goddard is now hurt.

That Eagles v Bengals game was tough to watch..... even just the "highlights"

The Vikings and Broncos look like train wrecks too.

Finally..... Go Bills!

At least we in Denver have the injury excuse (although the 49ers handling of that makes it even sadder that Elway would not hire Kyle).

Obviously every game is different but after the Chiefs demolished the Ravens ar home, not seeing too many upcoming losses for them.

The Chiefs will lose one that should be an obvious win... That's kind of a Reid thing. Happened every year he was coach of the Eagles.

And Philly has a lot of injury issues too. Like I said a lot of them are conditioning injuries. I played football and ran track, I know what kind of injuries can happen if you don't stretch daily. Pulling up lame after little to no contact - that's conditioning. Most hamstring and groin injuries fall into that.

Crazy take.

I think in 3-5 years (barring injury) Pat Mahomes will surpass Marino, Rodgers, and Brees in career accomplishments. In 10 he'll be second only to Brady and Montana unless he doesn't win another Super Bowl during that time.

Broncos vs Jets tonight..... <puke emoji>

It might be the worst game since this one:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/look-bills-jets-game-is-complete-torture-for-color-blind-people/

And yes I actually watched that TNF catastrophe through just for its comedic horror show value.

Well, That was a thing. TNF was an interesting match up.

This week we will be asking who gets their first Win.

Jacksonville at Cincinnati.
0-2-1 Bengals, thanks to the Eagles, look much better in the stat line than they are.
The Jag are likely to Tiger King them this week.

NYG at LAR.
#3 Offense (LAR) vs the #32(NYG). Giants have a slightly better Defense but ... Not seeing it play out. Jones isn't Eli. LAR Rush game is on point, vs what is an average run Def.
No win for NYG yet.

Atlanta at Green Bay.
Both have top 10 Offenses, but The Packers are better on D. #31 Defense vs Aaron Rodgers and the #6 passing game?
GB takes this one.

Philadelphia at San Francisco
This is going to be so ugly for Philly fans, I may not watch. (yeah I'm an Eagles Fan).
A misfiring Wentz + a depleted receiver corpse vs the #2 Pass Defense? Interestingly, Both teams have top 5 Defenses.
Still, it would take something truly spectacular for an Eagles win.

Finally, The Owen game of the week.
Minnesota at Houston. Both are 0-3.
Someone has to win... right? I mean a second Tie can't happen can it?
Texans have the better Passing game and Defense, Vikings have the better run game.
Not saying much as both teams are bottom 10 on Offense and Defense.
Betting against the Tie, but I have no idea who wins this.
Coin flip says Vikings.

Why are the Patriots so bad this year?
Bill Belichick is getting old and can't teach coaching. Look at his "Coaching Tree", most coming out of his camp have lousy records.
Its telling that the most successful coach to come out of Belichick' program is at a college program.

I'm no NE fan, but I think you have the wrong conclusion there. In fact, Belichick is known to be a great teacher of football. There's a whole system you go through with him, starting with breaking down endless amounts of film. He takes smart young coaches with very little experience and molds them into NFL coordinators, one after another. Look at Patricia's resume before joining Belichick. Josh McDaniels, same thing. Eric Mangini.

His Patriots tree fails because said coordinators go elsewhere and try to replicate the Patriots' formula. And the Patriots' formula is Belichick. He's the real brains behind it all and what they can't replicate is him. I guess O'Brien was probably his most successful disciple from his current NE stint, but note that O'Brien had more experience and was more fully molded -- including being a coordinator at major college programs TWICE -- before joining him in NE. Charlie Weis worked under Parcells going way back, so it's hard to call him a BB disciple. Parcells has an amazing coaching tree, FWIW.

Anyway, what BB really churns out in NE are assistants for him, not necessarily future NFL coaches. Jury's still out on Flores, though. We also shouldn't forget that Mr. Saban has been one of the greatest college coaches ever. That has to count.

There have been comparisons to Andy Reid's coaching tree.
Yeah, BB teaches how to be HIS assistant, not someone who could replace him. As the saying goes, "As hire As. Bs hire Cs.". If you don't want to train your replacement, you hire people you can train to not replace you.

Reid's former assistants have had more success in other programs, a few even making their own, and winning with them.

Here’s a look at how Reid and Belichick’s coaching trees compare:

Belichick:
Bill O’Brien, Texans 54–48 (.529)
Matt Patricia, Lions 9–22–1 (.297)
Brian Flores, Dolphins 5–11 (.313)
Romeo Crennel 28–55 (.337)
Al Groh 9–7 (NFL)
Josh McDaniels 11–17 (.393)
Eric Mangini 33–48 (.407)
Jim Schwartz 29–52 (.358)
Nick Saban, Alabama 15–17 (.469) (NFL)
Jason Garrett, Cowboys (via Saban) 87–70 (.554)
Adam Gase, Jets (via Saban) 30–35 (.462)
Joe Judge, Giants

Combined record: 281-330-1
Playoff appearances: 8
Super Bowl titles: 0

Pat Shurmur, Giants (fired) 9-23 (.281)
Todd Bowles, Jets (fired) 26–41 (.388)
John Harbaugh, Ravens 128–81 (.612)
Sean McDermott, Bills 25–25 (.500)
Ron Rivera, Washington 79–67–1 (.541)
Steve Wilks, Cardinals (via Rivera, fired by Cardinals) 3–13 (.188)
Doug Pederson, Eagles 42–28 (.600)
Frank Reich, Colts (via Pederson) 18–16 (.529)
Matt Nagy, Bears 20–13 (.606)

Combined record: 350-307-1
Playoff appearances: 19
Super Bowl titles: 2

How about those Chiefs! 4-0 for several consecutive seasons now!

Reid has the 'tree' advantage, but also as many huge choke jobs as BB has SB rings. I'm no fan of the Patriots, but it is what it is.

That's great from a certain standpoint, all those rings, but it doesn't translate down the line. 12 assistants go to head coaching jobs and the most successful found it at the college level.

My point is once BB leaves, for whatever reason, there isn't anyone who can take over.
It's a philosophy difference.

"Great from a certain standpoint"? Like...winning?

When Belichick leaves the Pats, he'll have a 20+ year legacy that includes 17 AFC East division titles, 13 appearances in the AFCCG, and 9 SB appearances including 6 wins. Is that...not enough? That when he moves on, he'll somehow have done them a disservice?



I have no idea what your angle is here. Is it that Andy Reid is a better coach than Belichick? Andy Reid's wife doesn't even believe that. I have no love of him or that organization but it is what it is.

Not saying he did NE a disservice, but his coaching assistants? That's another story. It's certain he is getting into the Hall, but he isn't likely to take too many others with him.

Belichick's system seems to work with very specific pieces. That's what we are seeing right now. He doesn't have Brady, or Gronk. Cam is a different kind of QB.
Tom was never a runner, Cam is, or has been. There are different skills available with each. BB's system is basically designed around Brady and his. Cam isn't a good fit for it. That's why NE isn't looking as good as they have in the past.

Not doing too bad this year I'm 8-4-1 with my picks on here. Doing about average with my pool though.


This week we take a look at who is gonna get their first!

Lets start with first win.
The 0-4 Falcons host the 2-2 Panthers.
The Falcons Def is on the ropes at #31. the Panthers look strong enough to keep them there.
Dirty Birds go 0-5.

The 0-4 NY Jets Host the 2-2 Cards.
Jets have the #31 Offense and their Defense is average. AZ is going to run all over them.
NY Jets drop to 0-5.

0-4 Houston hosts 1-3 Jacksonville. It seems like there's a theme here.
Houston has the worst run Def going against a team the doesn't run much. Texans passing game should win this one.
Houston gets a W.

The 0-4 NY Giants H... travel to 1-3 Dallas.
The Cowboys are facing yet another tough Def. Too bad they are also facing a bad Offense. Giants have the #32 Off against the #30 Def. Maybe they find a way to keep the Cowboys off the field or something. Still, not looking good for the Giants.
0-5 for the other NY team.

Now the who is looking at their First Loss.
4-0 Buffalo at 3-0 Tennessee.
Bills have a slightly better Off and a slightly better Def. But Titans are coming off an extra Bye, and don't have to travel, so they should be rested.
Still... I'm thinking the lack of practice hurts them
Titans get the L here.

2-2 Vegas at 4-0 KC
The only thing the Raiders do better than the Chiefs is Run Def.... and not by much.
I don't think Carr can out gun Mahomes
KC goes to 5-0

1-3 Vikings on the road to 4-0 Seattle
Neither team is good against the Pass, Seahawks Can hope their #3 run defense will hold up against the #5 Run Offense.
On the other side of things, their #3 pass game is going against one of the worst pass Def in the game.
Seahawks move to 5-0

Finally, The battle for Pennsylvania.
1-2-1 Philadelphia, takes the turnpike to 3-0 Pittsburgh.
Can Wentz and P-squad All Stars find a way to win this one? Philly fans can hope. Really its all they got right now.
I don't think this ends with a tie, though it might be close. Going against the grain here and saying hope wins.
Steelers drop to 3-1.

I have not been following closely enough, but have there been any more game delaying cases of COVID yet this season?

Titans may have to forfeit their game against the Bills if it cannot be played. Right now their player/team staff positive total is at 24.

Could this be the oncoming pre-mature end of the NFL season this year then?

Well, The Tenn/Pitts game was "postponed" until.... Oct 25 and the Pitt/Balti game that was scheduled is being moved to their mutual Bye week on Nov 1.

It is being reported they have no positive tests as of today though.

The NFL had no real plan compared to any other league. Apparently they thought it was going to just go away. They could have built in extra bye weeks to allow for game movement. They were lucky with the Steelers/Titans game that bye weeks were available. As the season goes on, they'll have to decide whether to call forfeits or extend the season (and that doesn't seem feasible past a certain point).

You can say that baseball didn't bubble their sport either, but baseball is built to allow for game rescheduling because rainouts are a thing. Worse come to worse they play doubleheaders. The NFL doesn't have that flexibility. They look ridiculous. They had more time than any other sport to figure it out and didn't. Wait until cases really increase heading into winter.

I've enjoyed the NBA bubble because I really love basketball, but none of these leagues should have started back up. At least the NBA executed it very well.

Cam Newton with COVID and causing the delay of the Pats/broncs game. The Broncos should pray for a forfeit.....

The Cowboys look just awful this year. I imagine it will only get worse with Prescott injured.

 gorgon wrote:
The NFL had no real plan compared to any other league. Apparently they thought it was going to just go away. They could have built in extra bye weeks to allow for game movement. They were lucky with the Steelers/Titans game that bye weeks were available. As the season goes on, they'll have to decide whether to call forfeits or extend the season (and that doesn't seem feasible past a certain point).

You can say that baseball didn't bubble their sport either, but baseball is built to allow for game rescheduling because rainouts are a thing. Worse come to worse they play doubleheaders. The NFL doesn't have that flexibility. They look ridiculous. They had more time than any other sport to figure it out and didn't. Wait until cases really increase heading into winter.

I think it's naturally harder for the NFL though, by dint of how big just their player rosters are, without even getting into coaches, their assistants, medical staff and the amount of media/cameramen required.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, Dak's injury was pretty gross.

It's also the nature of the game itself. A lot more face-to-face intense contact in football than baseball, or even basketball.


On my "predictions", after going 5-3 this week, I am 13-7-1 for the season.

And well, This was the week for the "going to lose one they shouldn't" for the Chiefs.

Are the Titans legit this year? I have not watched enough of their games to know..... but their record looks pretty solid so far.

Until NFL defenses figure out Ryan Tannehill (I cannot believe I am typing that sentence but that shows what Gase does for anyone not named Peyton) or Derrick Henry catches the injury bug - legit.

There are 3 teams currently fighting for the chance to be last. lets look at how the Owens will likely fare this week.

Falcons 0-5 at Vikings 1-4.
Atlanta's 4th ranked pass game is going against a horrid pass D. Their run D should hold Minnesota down.
Falcon score a W.

Jets 0-5 at Dolphins 2-3
Neither team is showing much, but Miami is slightly better.
Coinflip says Dolphins.

Giants 0-5 host The TEAM 1-4!
2 rancid Offenses (32 & 30) face good Defenses (5 & 7). Washington has the better pass game.
Giants lose a close one.

Bonus,
Ravens 4-1 at Eagles1-3-1.
Philly will have some fans in the stands.
They also have the better Defense, and passing game. Could be an interesting game if the Eagles can stop the Ravens run game. They have been known to stifle the run so...
I think the Eagles find a way to win this week.

Added bonus.
Cardinals at Cowboys.
I don't expect Dalton to play up to the level of Dak. He's going to be facing a stiff pass rush that has 11 Sacks. Dallas' Defense is in the toilet.
This one goes against the Cowboys.