National Football League

[Alpe d'Huez]

I'm not picking every game this week/season, but want to see these and will pick a few:

MIN @ STL - Shaun Hill leads Rams to win at home!
OAK @ NYJ - Derek Carr, here's your chance. But I expect a 2013 Geno Smith-like performance from him (ie, rookie mistakes).
CIN @ BAL - This could be a terrific game. The Bengals are still good, but the Ravens look improved from last year.
SF @ DAL - I would not be surprised if Dallas wins, but this could be a really good game.
IND @ DEN - The Broncos will be very up for this one, and win 44-38.
NYG @ DET - The Lions impressed me with their depth and hustle in the pre-season. The Giants were 4-0, but Eli played terrible. So...
SD @ ARI - This looks like a terrific match-up of two teams on the rise. I went with home team.

 

[Sciocco]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/08/06/eagles-nfl-discussing-possible-kelly-green-uniform-change/

Do it!

Also, I'm hoping for some quality regression from Foles and a nice dud of a season for Philly Eagles. Mathematically eliminated by week 14, I can dream. Go flyers (hockey!), **** football (though I'll probably end up at a Rutgers U. game this fall).

It's looking good so far!

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

I'll go first

No I was... with my usual HFA picks.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

It's looking good so far!

Yes only so far...
Great comeback by the Eagles. Love it.

 

[Sciocco]

Yes only so far...
Great comeback by the Eagles. Love it.

Yea....... I spoke too soon.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

That self-called "expert" who watched 10.000 hours of game film (yep, I didn´t forgot it, because it was too grotesque even by low writer/pundist/"expert" standards) and praised Glennon last year looks like a real fool now... No actually he looked like one from the second he stated that BS on nfl.com

Whatever, this Glennon isn´t even the starter, with the Bucs, who are going with a journeymen. Must be great this Glennon.
OFC butter arm Glennon is not.

 

[Pricey_sky]

A nice win for the Panthers tonight without the injured Cam Newton. Defence look's solid again despite the Bucs 2nd half comeback.

Still hopeful they can feature in the playoffs again this season.

 

[leftover pie]

I'd suggest everyone now run and put a cheeky 5-er on the titans.

what did I tell you?

 

[ChewbaccaD]

Well, first opening game win for the Panthers in a long time. I'll take it even if we almost blew it.

What really tweaks me is that I'm moving to the west coast, and will not have TV, only intertubes. The NFL has no option for me to see my Panthers live, I have to wait until the game is over to watch...and I'm not good at avoiding the scores...

 

[Pricey_sky]

Well, first opening game win for the Panthers in a long time. I'll take it even if we almost blew it.

What really tweaks me is that I'm moving to the west coast, and will not have TV, only intertubes. The NFL has no option for me to see my Panthers live, I have to wait until the game is over to watch...and I'm not good at avoiding the scores...

We still have Cam to come back too so all in all we will take that with the Saints losing as well. can you not find a stream Chewwy? The game was not live over here in England either but I managed to find one.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

LOL. PM putting on his usual regular season show...
Even in Germany the press joked about him last February. Saying he is the best RS QB ever would be like calling someone like Klose the best "Vorrunden-Spieler" of a WC. They had their fun, no doubt (me too BTW).

Anyway, as I said, I don´t take his games serious anymore...
He´ll falter under pressure, no matter what, 60-6.000 or not... Nice rhym, isn´t it.

 

[Oldman]

what did I tell you?

Only watched part of it but Jake Locker looked totally comfortable. Bout time he calmed down.

 

[Oldman]

Yeah, sometimes my english is a little confusing.
But you got it right...
Like with the Bears 80s defense; they exposed the posers (like Pagel), but couldn´t stop the real great ones (Marino).

Fast forward today: While Brees and Kaep looked ok in the playoffs (given the strong SEA defense), PMs weak arm was fully exposed. We just have to watch every SEA game this year to see which QB is a pretender and which is not. In a SEA game you don´t need 3/4 strong throws Simms mentioned, but at least a dozen (how it should be)...
Don´t know what happened to Rodgers. But he is a great QB, no matter how bad he looked (didn´t see the game). We know McCarthy is a coward, thus playing the conservative not-to-lose short passing game (which then OFC loses you games (playing conservative, no matter what); just ask Norv the Smurf) vs SEA is much likely.

I said last year before the playoffs: The only chance vs SEA is to attack deep in the 50/50 one-one situations (high variance; you either lose big, or win big). OFC you can´t do this if you have a QB on your team that can´t make all the throws.
So my hope is: Many teams copy SEA defense, thus once we will have the best QBs on the field (good in all aspects; accuracy, reading defenses, and having a good arm. Not only 2/3 of it)

Hope this post clarifies it all.

Most important observation. PM's floating wobblers are pretty easy pickings. I think Kaepernick is the best suited to this opportunity because he can move well and can risk a hit without getting knocked out to buy time. Having said that the playoffs show what happens to errant passes against SF or Seattle defenses (assuming SF secondary gets back up to speed). The other thing SEA will do is lay off a prime receiver in a crossing pattern to set him up for a big hit. See the Superbowl coverage and you'll note every Denver receiver was given room to catch something...once. Not sure how many seasons they can restock fast/hard hitting CBs and LBs but any high-payed receiver knows a career ending scenario when the see it.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

What really tweaks me is that I'm moving to the west coast, and will not have TV, only intertubes.

Which isn't so bad if you have good bandwidth.

As to moving to the West coast, I'd do that in a heartbeat if I could. Lucky you (unless you're moving to Bakersfield or somewhere like that). Leaving Oregon to move to the east coast was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life.

That was a fun Sunday. Lots of upsets. I too was right on Denver, and mostly agree with Foxxy. In fact, if Denver and Seattle played again next week, I think the Seahawks would win again by double digits. With Indy losing, I made it through week 1 of Survival football!

The Dolphins win over the Pats was great! They won the game outright and looked nothing like the Incognito Dolphins. The supposedly improved Patriots defense looked very average. Though one has to wonder if the heat and humidity wilted the Patriots.

Nice to see the 49ers wake up, but it was really the Cowboys, especially Romo, who handed them the game. Tony threw some great passes, and they were able to run the ball, but typical Romo tried to force two really, really poor throws early, and dug them into a hole. That second int in the endzone was just ugly. Classic Romo.

That was a good win for the Panthers, and with the Falcons upending the Saints, a good start for that division.

Horrible coaching and play calling by the Chiefs. They hardly ran Charles at all, and with Bowe out, Smith had no one to throw to. So what were they thinking?

Whatever speech Chip Kelly gave the Eagles at halftime worked.

Despite the Raiders loss, Derek Carr played better than expected against a tough pressuring defense. But I have to wonder tossing him to the wolves like this all the time may hurt his psyche over time. If the Raiders don't finish at least 7-9 I'm all but certain Dennis Allen will be gone, though Reggie McKenzie should be fired first.

Maybe the Rams should have kept Michael Sam?

 

[Merckx index]

TMZ released the full video of Ray Rice belting his now-wife. It ain’t pretty. Several NFL players are calling for him to be permanently banned from the league. And it doesn’t say much for the woman that she would marry him after this incident, let alone come to his defense. Sounds like a classic enabler.

There’s even speculation that if it emerges that Goodell saw this complete video before he decided on the two-game suspension, he could lose his job. Watch what Rice did to her on that elevator, and ask yourself, WTF was Goodell thinking? And the way he carelessly takes off her shoes and moves her legs around when she's still partly inside the elevator, unconscious on the floor. Doesn't show the slightest bit of regret or compassion at that moment, acts like she's some stranger he got in a fight with and couldn't care less what happened to her.

This may also increase the pressure on the 49ers to suspend McDonald prior to the completion of the investigation on his DV incident. He played against Dallas.

Wild weekend. I was going to say I couldn't remember more opening day upsets, but on further reflection, I think I probably thought that last year, and the year before that...Anyway, amazingly, I'm already eliminated from the elimination tournament. I thought Miami was a very safe bet to lose to NE. But before everyone writes off the Pats, I think the last time they lost their opening game was also the last time they won the SB. Or at least they lost their opening game the season they last won the SB.

 

[Amsterhammer]

Rice terminated......

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Are you saying Wilson is a pretender at QB?

Wilson is the real deal. He makes excellent in game decisions with the ball. I would guess he is one heck of a preparation guy also.

 

[Oldman]

Rice terminated......

Hope so. That punch and her head hitting the elevator grab rail was serious. Probably affected her judgement.
He definitely could give a sh*t the way he dragged her off the elevator. If Goodell did see this footage the NFL will have to find a serious way to deal with it. Think of that hospitality corporation CEO that had to resign for kicking a friend's dog in the elevator...

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

TMZ released the full video of Ray Rice belting his now-wife. It ain’t pretty. Several NFL players are calling for him to be permanently banned from the league. And it doesn’t say much for the woman that she would marry him after this incident, let alone come to his defense. Sounds like a classic enabler.

There’s even speculation that if it emerges that Goodell saw this complete video before he decided on the two-game suspension, he could lose his job. Watch what Rice did to her on that elevator, and ask yourself, WTF was Goodell thinking? And the way he carelessly takes off her shoes and moves her legs around when she's still partly inside the elevator, unconscious on the floor. Doesn't show the slightest bit of regret or compassion at that moment, acts like she's some stranger he got in a fight with and couldn't care less what happened to her..

I agree on all of that. If anyone wants to see other players and media ppls comments on it here is the B/R LINK. And for once, I agree with Olberman who called Goodell's handling of this a failure. Someone must have paid Goodell off to make the decision he did. It makes one wonder anyway.

Goodell eventually caved into the pressure on domestic abuse... he may revist this case again if ppl scream load and hard enough.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

"Roger Goodell is paid millions to maximize revenue, protect the interests of the league and ensure future growth.", as stated in this:
B/R Goodell/Rice link
Bleacher report link above about why it may take public outcry for NFL to change its stance on domestic abuse.

This was a good post then and NOW.

Maybe Roger Goodell (a$$Hat) should go ahead and resign.

NFL prides itself on knowing all things going on in the league. Now they say that they did not even have the video / viewed the video before they handed down the 2 games. WTF.

Roger a$$hat was all informed on the Bounty-gate. He handed out SACKS like it was no big deal. Then someone knocks out his girl and its 2 games. LMAO @ roger a$$hat! Next Superbowl comes here and I'm sure he will need to avoid most restaurants and public places. Around the quarter / marigny/ garden district, metarie...etc... people still have signs up about him. Never forget or forgive around here.

 

[ChewbaccaD]

We still have Cam to come back too so all in all we will take that with the Saints losing as well. can you not find a stream Chewwy? The game was not live over here in England either but I managed to find one.

If you can point me in the direction of a stream, I would be elated.

Cam coming back will be great, though the consistency that Anderson showed will be hard to match. Good to know there's another Panthers fan here.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Here is what I wonder: Even before the "in the elevator" section of video was released, what did people actually think happened just before we saw the "outside the elevator" video with her unconscious and dragged out? Didn't anyone in the NFL or Raven's organization put 2+2 together and draw the conclusion he'd somehow knocked her unconscious?

I also find it hard to believe this video went from the hotel's security staff, leaked to TMZ this morning, and the NFL had no idea of it's existence. Anyone investigating the initial matter who doesn't have shiit for brains would have gone to the hotel and asked about the elevator cameras.

So if Goddell and the NFL claim "We weren't sure until now" I call total, unequivocal, BS. If it's not BS, it's completely negligent and irresponsible.

I can't imagine he'll ever play in the NFL ever again, though one never knows. He's not going to play this season, the Ravens were right to cut him (but should have before), and he'll be toxic to any other team, maybe forever.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Anyway, amazingly, I'm already eliminated from the elimination tournament.

Not yet, at least per how Hitch defined the rules. In Survival Football, you now have 1 strike against you. But you can't pick Miami again this season.

The other tournament, Elimination Football, begins after tonight's games, and you have to pick two teams that won't win the Superbowl before next week's games.

 

[Merckx index]

So if Goddell and the NFL claim "We weren't sure until now" I call total, unequivocal, BS. If it's not BS, it's completely negligent and irresponsible.

I can't imagine he'll ever play in the NFL ever again, though one never knows. He's not going to play this season, the Ravens were right to cut him (but should have before), and he'll be toxic to any other team, maybe forever.

Agree completely with this. I saw part of Harbaugh’s press conference and was really disappointed.

“Why didn’t you see the video before?”
“Don’t know.”
“Why didn’t the NFL see the video before?”
“Don’t know.”
“How did seeing the video change your beliefs of what had happened?”
“Don’t want to get into that.”
“Before today, you strongly defended Rice. How do you feel about that now?”
“That’s a personal matter.”

At a minimum, he should have been apologizing, on behalf of the Ravens and the NFL, for being completely out of touch with the outrage ordinary people have over this. Supposedly the police instructed the hotel security, or whoever had possession of the video, not to show it to the NFL while they investigated. I find it hard to believe that the NFL couldn’t have made a deal with the police allowing them to see it, given they needed all the information they could get. Or failing that, temporarily suspending Rice and postponing a final ruling till they could see the entire video. They must have known that the entire video was going to come out sooner or later.

Brother Jim was asked again about MacDonald, and basically refused to comment. At this point, I’d say this other Ray will be very lucky if all he gets is a lengthy but finite suspension. If there is no video, maybe he will skate, relatively speaking. But his girlfriend supposedly has bruises, so it may be hard for the NFL or the 49ers to treat him differently from Rice. I mean, really, what kind of domestic violence could a player commit that would limit his suspension to six games? Did Rice do anything in the elevator that guys committing DV don't do? DV is not a matter of just shouting and screaming.

The positive side of this, though, is that it shows just how much the public does affect the NFL’s decisions. Goodell acted quickly to increase the minimum suspension for DV after the outrage over how short it was, and I’d bet today their decision was less from seeing the video than from seeing the public response to the video. I think those tweets from other players made the Ravens realize that Rice would never be accepted in the locker room.

We also saw the role public influence plays in the Sterling saga. And just today, another NFL owner is giving up control of his team for basically the same reason, not even trying to contest the charges against him. I know some people have serious misgivings of these trials by internet, but public opinion makes an important counterbalance to individuals like Goodell who just don't seem to get it. We don't vote for him, but he understands that he can't **** off large numbers of us.

 

[the delgados]

Here is what I wonder: Even before the "in the elevator" section of video was released, what did people actually think happened just before we saw the "outside the elevator" video with her unconscious and dragged out? Didn't anyone in the NFL or Raven's organization put 2+2 together and draw the conclusion he'd somehow knocked her unconscious?

I also find it hard to believe this video went from the hotel's security staff, leaked to TMZ this morning, and the NFL had no idea of it's existence. Anyone investigating the initial matter who doesn't have shiit for brains would have gone to the hotel and asked about the elevator cameras.

So if Goddell and the NFL claim "We weren't sure until now" I call total, unequivocal, BS. If it's not BS, it's completely negligent and irresponsible.

I can't imagine he'll ever play in the NFL ever again, though one never knows. He's not going to play this season, the Ravens were right to cut him (but should have before), and he'll be toxic to any other team, maybe forever.

I'd like to say he's done, but then I heard Ray Lewis weigh in on the matter as the host of Monday Night Football. This only matters to the likes of Goddell because the smoking gun was found. And good on TMZ for finding it.