National Football League

[leftover pie]

Re:

All teams from the AFC East won this week, when did that last happen?

From an article: "The (AFC) East’s four teams all won their opening games Sunday, the first time that’s happened since the NFL realigned in 2002."

woaah. way to go AFC East.

As more and more is uncovered about the Giants' "missteps" on Sunday night I wonder if the team are wishing they could get a do-over on Eli's "no trade clause" "$31 million signing bonus" "$65 million guaranteed" contract.

This is a guy who told his running back not to score (even though it would have given them a 10 point lead), chucked it away on third down to stop the clock (ok wasn't his intention, but that's the result), and who wasn't really sure how many timeouts the other team had left, $65 million? really?

 

[52520Andrew]

Ravens signed Jason Babin to bolster depth after losing Suggs for the year. I would imagine we see him taking on a rotational role in pass rushing situations as they really need that edge rusher opposite Doom.

 

[stefan357965]

The gratest sport!

 

[the delgados]

The gratest sport!

If you want a good laugh, go to Deadspin and type Matt Cleary in the search bar. He's an Australian journalist who was sent to cover the NFL debut of a former Aussie rules rugby (or is it football--I dont know) player and the liveblog results are fantastic. Comedy gold.
Here's a little teaser:


There Righto. Where are we? Having another break. Is it half-time yet? Do they need it? No one’s sweating. OK. Niners kick off ... and the ball sails over the endzone and into the ether. And the Vikings have the ball. And ... there’s another break. Top stuff.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Had to look it up. Hilarious stuff.

Carlos Hyde again. Can run, Carlos Hyde. He notches another five yards. Hasn’t been a break for a while. Surely we’re due. Kaepernick, sneaks ... no yards. The Niners are third and five .... 12 yards out from the honeypot. Oh, there we go. Timeout. Someone wants to explain the 8,000 moves in the play book again.

Second and 10 now the Vikings. Teddy B ... flings it guts, nice pass. And they pick up 12 through ... someone. A huge man. And Teddy’s rolling his team downfield through Peterson, who makes one yard. Time for a break? Yes it is. A fellow is injured. A Niners man. And we’ll go to a break.

...Time for a break.

Nobody tell poor Matt that he spent three hours watching about 11 minutes of actual football.

 

[the delgados]

Re:

Had to look it up. Hilarious stuff.

Carlos Hyde again. Can run, Carlos Hyde. He notches another five yards. Hasn’t been a break for a while. Surely we’re due. Kaepernick, sneaks ... no yards. The Niners are third and five .... 12 yards out from the honeypot. Oh, there we go. Timeout. Someone wants to explain the 8,000 moves in the play book again.

Second and 10 now the Vikings. Teddy B ... flings it guts, nice pass. And they pick up 12 through ... someone. A huge man. And Teddy’s rolling his team downfield through Peterson, who makes one yard. Time for a break? Yes it is. A fellow is injured. A Niners man. And we’ll go to a break.

...Time for a break.

Nobody tell poor Matt that he spent three hours watching about 11 minutes of actual football.

Really, his liveblog should be made into a play. So funny.

 

[jmdirt]

I wondered why foxxy hadn't been commenting lately so I check and he earned a lifetime ban.

 

[Amsterhammer]

Need Another Reason To Hate Tom Brady? The QB Thinks A Trump Presidency “Would Be Great”

More proof that too many hits cause brain damage.

http://contemptor.com/2015/09/16/need-another-reason-to-hate-tom-brady-the-qb-thinks-a-trump-presidency-would-be-great/

 

[the delgados]

Need Another Reason To Hate Tom Brady? The QB Thinks A Trump Presidency “Would Be Great”

More proof that too many hits cause brain damage.

http://contemptor.com/2015/09/16/need-another-reason-to-hate-tom-brady-the-qb-thinks-a-trump-presidency-would-be-great/

Just another example of a dumb-ass uber-rich athlete whose head is so far in the clouds that he has either no clue or doesn't care about the everyday plight of many.
Reminds me of when golfer Phil Mickleson threatened to move out of California because he was going to have to pay a little more to support some reform to help poor people. Guy probably makes at least 20 million a year to play golf. Wtf is wrong with people like him?
It would be great if those who interview the likes of Brady followed up with a simple question: "When is enough enough?"

 

[Merckx index]

That guy Mark Cleary's take on an NFL game sounds like Phil Liggett's take on a road race. Except Cleary seems to know a little more about what he's talking about.

Interesting article on rugby. While the 49ers' Jarryd Hayne has shown some promise as a RB or kick returner, it seems that rugby players may have more to offer the NFL on defense than offense.

despite rugby’s primeval appearance and violent reputation, some of football’s most forward-thinking coaches say it is actually light years ahead when it comes to one of the few skills these sports still have in common: the art of tackling.

The Seahawks began studying rugby for tips on tackling in 2012 and became so enamored with their effectiveness that coach Pete Carroll subsequently released an instructional video on YouTube urging other coaches to adopt its superior, safer techniques.

It didn’t take long for the idea to spread. Ohio State implemented rugby-style tackling in the build-up to the 2014 college-football season and proceeded to miss fewer tackles than any team in the country on the way to a national title, according to Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer.

“After watching the tapes, I personally am thinking of going to Australia to get some of those dudes,” [Michigan State HC Mark] Dantonio said. “They knock the stuffing out of people.”

While an average of 89 tackles were made in NFL games last season, top-level rugby games like those in the World Cup produce an average of 221 tackles per game, according to a 2011 study by the British Journal for Sports Medicine.

Rugby coaches say the simple act of taking a ball carrier to the ground can be divided into six sub-categories, ranging from a textbook “profile tackle,” in which the defender makes contact with the near pectoral region of the ball carrier, to “smother tackles,” where two players combine to bring down a runner.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/what-the-nfl-can-learn-from-rugby-1442335267?tesla=y

The AFC E may be the toughest division in the NFL this year, but the next toughest might turn out to be the NFC W. It's teams couldn't all win in week 1, because two of them played each other, but the 49ers and Cardinals were pretty impressive in winning against opponents outside the division, though maybe not really strong ones. The key thing I think is that if the 49ers can field a fairly strong defense, then there will be no patsies in this division. Except for the AFC E, that doesn't seem to be the case in the rest of the NFL. The NFC N has the Bears; the NFC E has Washington; the NFC S has TB, and the other three teams appear fairly weak. The AFC N has the Browns, the AFC S has everyone except Indy; the AFC W has the Raiders.

At least that is the take at this point, but no doubt there will be a lot of surprises. Remember the Titans won their opening game last year against a much stronger opponent, KC, behind Jake Locker--then won exactly one more game the rest of the season. Rodgers and GB were so scared of SE that they didn't even throw in Sherman's direction. Miami whipped NE. The 49ers beat Dallas easily.

 

[the delgados]

Remove helmets and reduce concussions. No way are players going to hit opponents like they're behind the wheel of a mac truck without the equ
ipment they wear and drugs they are on.
A lot of 'tackles" I see in the NFL are head-on collisions, where the receiver of the tackle just falls over as if he just ran into a wall.

 

[The Hitch]

I went 12-4 this week. Just some comments on how my picks and comments worked out.
Pit @ NE

Correct. Easy prediction

Indy @ Buffalo

Correct. I think my analysis was spot on - "Luck has struggled in these kind of games. Indy have been good by beating easy teams. Buffalo looks good enough all round to win this at home."
Also happy that for some reason most thought Indy were favourite.



GB @ Chicago
Correct. As I said. You just can't pick Bears against Rodgers.

KC @ Houston
Correct. KC pulls the upset, and like I said - don't trust hoyer

Carolina @ Jacksonville
Correct. Easy prediction

Cleveland @ Jets
Correct. Again pleased with my analysis "The slightly less of a shambles better team at home." Considering both teams had some major lol moments

Seattle @ St Louis

Totally wrong. Wrong about Foles needing time. I thought it would be close but that Seattle have more.

Miami @ Washington
Correct. though Miami not as legit as I thought theyd be. Still 1-0 is 1-0.

New Orleans @ Arizona
Correct. Better team at home won

Detroit @ San Diego
Correct.

Baltimore @ Denver
Correct. My analysis was good " Flacco could outplay Peyton, but Denver have such a strong all round team.
"

Bengals @ Raiders
Correct. Though i expected more from the Rrrrrrrrraiders

Titans @ Bucs
Incorrect. Got it totally the wrong way out. Thought Bucs would be good and Titans suck

Giants @ Cowboys
Correct. As I said this game could go either way. Giants punched above their weight. I thought teams were quite even but Dallas D can't be that bad if they want to go far.

Eagles @ Falcons
Incorrect, but I feel unlucky. Eagles did enough to win
Vikings @ 49ers
Way way off. vikings looked like worse team in the league. 49ers not that bad afteral

 

[leftover pie]

Re:

That guy Mark Cleary's take on an NFL game sounds like Phil Liggett's take on a road race. Except Cleary seems to know a little more about what he's talking about.

Interesting article on rugby. While the 49ers' Jarryd Hayne has shown some promise as a RB or kick returner, it seems that rugby players may have more to offer the NFL on defense than offense.

if he was a touch faster I think he'd be great on punt coverage, his open field-broken play tackling skills would be very good.

Rugby Union (the other rugby to the style Hayne plays) is a truly beautiful and brutal game, "the game they play in heaven", the world cup is coming up, could be worth jumping on board and taking in a few games - the US has a team and they've been getting more and more competitive as time goes on.

 

[leftover pie]

Re:

I wondered why foxxy hadn't been commenting lately so I check and he earned a lifetime ban.

I just checked the "recently banned" thread - so many people in there.

. . .I really would love to read a foxxxy rant on Eli, his contract, his blunders. . . . oh well, what can you do.


you can't fight moderation!

 

[red_flanders]

I'd rather hear informed commentary than rants, but maybe that's just me...

 

[Catwhoorg]

GB @ Chicago
Correct. As I said. You just can't pick Bears against Rodgers.

But the Packers can pick the ball against Cutler...

Bad-dum tish

 

[Tank Engine]

Re:

I'd rather hear informed commentary than rants, but maybe that's just me...

Shame, because Foxxy would have a field day about Eli's blunders in the last two minutes against Dallas and it could only appear to be informed comment. Throwing a pass away in the heat of play is one thing, but telling your RB not to score in the huddle when it would put you two scores up in the last two minutes

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ing-says-he-told-rashad-jennings-not-to-score

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Unfortunately, Foxxy went with the nuclear option.

DEN@KC - I anticipate a fairly low scoring game.

 

[The Hitch]

Yeah I'll go for chiefs too.

Broncos @KC

 

[Amsterhammer]

DEN @ KC - I was majorly unimpressed with Peyton.

How about we happily forget about the late, unlamented fascist?

 

[the delgados]

Re:

DEN @ KC - I was majorly unimpressed with Peyton.

How about we happily forget about the late, unlamented fascist?

Ha! Don't sugar-coat things,Amsterhammer. Tell us what you really think.
Pro sports are inherently fascist, no?
p.s. I don't say that as though it's a good thing.
p.p.s. I don't mean to derail the topic of conversation. Sorry.
p.p.p.s. Go Bills!

 

[Tank Engine]

Re:

DEN @ KC - I was majorly unimpressed with Peyton.

We all got that wrong (I'm including myself). Turnovers killed Kansas in a tight game.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

No kidding. I'm not going to say they dominated the game, but the Chiefs clearly were the better team. Five turnovers, the killer late, a very costly holding penalty on the D with 1 min to go, and no third down conversions. Wow.

The other thing that came to mind is that while Manning looked feeble at times, hs play not fitting Kubiak's offense at all, in the no huddle or two-minute drill he pretty much looked like the PM of old, save some wobbly throws and loss of arm strength. Can Denver switch to that now? Or on a dime when needed?

 

[jmdirt]

So far I've been unimpressed with all of the teams that I've watched this season. I had to look at the menu to make sure that I wasn't still watching preseason...sloppy football. That's not to say that I haven't been entertained, it just isn't the quality that I expect.

I didn't see the Bills or Titans games Sunday I hear that they looked good.

As for Maning, he doesn't look like he did in his prime, but he's upper-mid among the QBs I've watched so far this season.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Re:

DEN @ KC - I was majorly unimpressed with Peyton.

How about we happily forget about the late, unlamented fascist?

Well how ya been? I guess you can't receive PM's because I have 2 that have never been delivered to you. Anyhow your pick was wrong.

Not sure if it is just me but seems like Peyton is working out a different way to play this year?