National Football League

[The Hitch]

I don't think the schedule will keep dolphins out of playoffs. They play their division obviously, which is hard but not the hardest. The afc south (easily easiest division in football imo) and the Nfc east (2 good teams 2 weaker teams) + chargers and ravens - 2 teams with some strengths and some weaknesses.

Exactly the type of schedule a playoff calibre team should eat up.

 

[blackcat]

hayne plain baby. get on it.

like jerome bettis, but 50lb lighter and runs the 40 yard a second quicker

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

hayne plain baby. get on it.

like jerome bettis, but 50lb lighter and runs the 40 yard a second quicker

It seems the experts are predicting a mediocre season for the 49ers. So Hayne should get a run a some stage.

 

[Amsterhammer]

CLE @ NYJ
GB @ CHI
IND @ BUF
CAR @ JAX
KAN @ HOU
MIA @ WASH
SEA @ STL
NO @ ARI
DET @ SD
BAL @ DEN
TEN @ TB
CIN @ OAK
NYG @ DAL
PHI @ ATL
MIN @ SF

 

[52520Andrew]

Put my predictions out in another forum, I'll share them here as well. Will probably look back on this at the end of the regular season and laugh as things almost never go as predicted in the NFL but oh well.

AFC North
1. Ravens: Easiest schedule of the top 3 teams in the AFC North(although they all are tough this year) although they need to avoid too many injuries and the weapons on offense need to gel.
2. Bengals: Still will be a good team, same story as last year, depends on how Dalton does.
3. Steelers: Great offense, questionable defense, can't outscore everyone.
4. Browns: Still a QB away from being taken more seriously, as per usual.

AFC South
1. Colts: As bad as their defense is, no one in this division is taking them down.
2. Houston: Solid team, Watt is huge for that defense, still need a QB on offense.
3. Jacksonville: Not sold on the offense doing much better but they are gonna prove to be a tough out due to their defense.
4. Tennessee: Rome wasn't built in a day, this roster needs more talent and Wisenhunt needs to work his magic on a talented QB who needs development.

AFC East
1. New England: Other teams are improved but this team will be out for blood this year.
2. Buffalo: Defense is among the best in the NFL and I see a run heavy offense to keep them competitive.
3. Dolphins: Decent team but they need the O-line to protect better and the defense to get stops at the end of games.
4. New York Jets: Good defense although they don't have much of an edge rusher and their QB situation and offense are a mess.

AFC West
1. Denver: Will eventually get around to being a run heavy team(only real chance Peyton has of winning another Super Bowl) with a strong defense but Kubiak has his work cut out for him with that line.
2. Kansas City: Defense among the best in the league but the interior O-line was an issue last year before they lost Hudson to FA.
3. San Diego: Still a decent team due to Rivers but the defense has too many holes to be anything more for me.
4. Oakland: Will be improved this year, could get 6 or 7 wins, still need some work though.

NFC East
1. Philadelphia: Biggest question for them is the O-line(particularly both guard spots) but they are looking to be a good team this year.
2. Dallas: Losing Murray is going to hurt, RB is a devalued position but you need to have someone and teams will make Romo beat them. 8-8.
3. New York: Still a tough out but they continue to be an average to below average team.
4 Washington: Just a mess right now.

NFC South
1. Carolina: Only team that actually has a defense, too bad Michael Oher at LT prevents them from getting a high seed.
2. New Orleans: Could make a case for any team but I think the offense from New Orleans should be a lot of fun even without Graham, should stay that way until Brees goes.
3. Atlanta: Have a renewed focus on the trenches but it will take more than 1 year for Quinn to do his work.
4. Tampa Bay: Still need a lot of work, Winston struggles with interceptions but makes some nice plays in the process.

NFC North
1. Green Bay: Don't see anyone taking out Green Bay here.
2. Minnesota: AP goes off, Bridgewater does well in his second year, the defense continues to do well under Zimmer.
3. Detroit: Still a very solid team, very tough for me to put in this spot.
4. Chicago: Defense needs work and Cutler needs a defense to take all the pressure off of him if he wants to do anything. Fangio helps but it will take time.

NFC West
1. Seattle: Defense not as good and the O-line has issues but they pull through as the NFC West as a whole takes a step back.
2. Arizona: Losing Cromartie hurts them as they can't get away with crazy blitzes to get pressure. Dan Williams and Todd Bowles being gone hurt as well. Offense does better with Palmer healthy but O-line continues to hurt them(although they are better with Iupati).
3. San Francisco: Do better than people expect but just have lost too much from the past year.
4. St. Louis: Good team that is a tough out with their defense but the O-line keeps them from being competitive and makes it tough to evaluate anyone on offense.

Playoff projections

NFC

1. Green Bay
2. Philadelphia
3. Seattle
4. Carolina
5. Minnesota
6. Detroit although Arizona should be close

AFC

1. New England
2. Indianapolis
3. Baltimore
4. Denver
5. Cincinnati
6. Really close here for me between Kansas City, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh, I will go with Kansas City

 

[52520Andrew]

My picks for this week as submitted to the pick 'em league I am in

CLE @ NYJ
GB @ CHI
IND @ BUF
CAR @ JAX
KAN @ HOU
MIA @ WASH (went with this game in my survival league)
SEA @ STL
NO @ ARI
DET @ SD
BAL @ DEN
TEN @ TB
CIN @ OAK
NYG @ DAL
PHI @ ATL
MIN @ SF

 

[Eagle]

The Colts defence is so bad, Bills leading 0-24, Tyrod Taylor looking good

 

[Merckx index]

Interesting that the opening games feature two QB matchups that repeat meetings in major college bowl games. The one probably most NFL fans are aware of is Winston vs. Mariota, TE at TB; they played against each other in the semifinals of the bowl series last year. Mariota definitely won that matchup, and though I post at half time in this game, he’s well on the way to winning this time around, too. He’s thrown four TD passes, the first coming on just his third pass attempt as a pro, and has a nearly perfect QB rating. In fact, for one half at least, he has achieved something that is extremely rare among QBs: more TD passes than incompletions. Has any QB ever had a better start to his NFL career? Winston has started in the opposite direction, literally as well as figuratively, as his first pass as a pro was picked off and run back for a TD. Since then, he’s thrown another pick and one TD.

Edit: Mariota joins Tarkenton (1961) as the only QBs to throw 4 TD passes in their first NFL game. Mariota is the first to throw two in the first quarter, and I assume the first to finish with a perfect passer rating. Also preserved that TD passes > incompletions.

The other matchup is Andrew Luck vs. Tyrod Taylor, who I didn’t even know was playing, let alone starting, for Buffalo. They met in the Orange Bowl five seasons ago. Luck dominated in a game that arguably did as much as anything to forecast future NFL stardom for both him and his coach at the time, Jim Harbaugh. But Sunday, Taylor shone while Luck threw two picks and had a pretty poor game as Indy lost. Score 1 for Rex and the defense.

We’ve also seen already at least two missed extra points as a result of the new rule that puts the ball more than 30 yards from the uprights. I think there were just two missed PAT all last season, so two in just the first few games of week 1 gives you an idea of how much difference the distance makes. It hasn’t affected the outcomes of any games yet, but it almost certainly will eventually, and it should also encourage coaches to go for two more often.

 

[red_flanders]

Looks like another long season for Raider fans.

 

[jmdirt]

I'm in awe at the amount of random shifts and streaks today.

 

[52520Andrew]

Suggs out for the year for the Ravens is a really big loss for them.

Tyrod did have a spectacular play in that Orange Bowl game for a TD but outside of that, Stanford dominated them.

Here is that particular TD, just in case you are curious the guy who caught the pass was none other than David Wilson, quite a freak athlete who ended up getting drafted at the end of the first round in 2012 by the Giants. Sadly he had fumble issues(not something you want to have with Tom Coughlin as your coach) and neck injuries got to him at the end of the day but he was quite a lot of fun to watch through college. He apparently is focused on track and field now, in particular the triple jump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xObTy9YaBE

 

[The Hitch]

NBC hit gold with the SNF. What an amazing game.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

No kidding. It looked like another game the Cowboys would blow, and another where the ball tipped in the Giants favor. But in the end, the better team won in a great 4th qurater.

I too am a little surprised by some of the games yesterday. Mariota's performance was indeed amazing. I loved his ability to pull the trigger on quick reads.

Hoyer sure was on a quick leash for Houston. But Mallett was no better. Same in Cleveland with McCown and Manzeil.

Seattle's loss I think many of us will agree wasn't a total shock. A little surprise in that the Rams offense got going maybe. But this seems to be the early days of one team moving up, and another perhaps starting down, even though I fully expect Seattle to win the rematch later this season.

Suggs out for the season is indeed a major blow to the Ravens. Former DPOY, on a team with a lot of young defensive talent, this really hurts.

Both the Raiders, and Browns really underwhelmed me. Carr getting hurt didn't help. Hope he's okay for next week.

 

[red_flanders]

Carr wasn't doing jack squat before he got hurt except overthrowing everyone. And watching his receivers drop the passes which were on target. Pathetic.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Yeah, it looked ugly. And I'm a Raiders fan. I didn't see much of it, but it looked like they were still in the 2nd game of the pre-season.

The teams that must have felt the biggest win yesterday were the Bills, because they badly needed it and have a lot of talent, plus Taylor played great. A loss would have been "back to normal - bad". And St. Louis. I think everyone agrees this team is stacked with a lot of talent, much of it young. But everyone has been saying they have serious offensive, mostly OL and WR needs, so to score this much on Seattle and win has to be a huge confidence boost. Quick show of hands, who here would have had Wilson throw a quick slant pass on that 4th and 1?

The Chiefs have to be walking away happy as well. All the talk of new WRs, and Smith didn't even need them to toss 3 TDs.

The Packers must have also felt like they hit the jackpot getting James Jones back, and cheap. Jordy who?

Kirk Cousins was the same as before. Some really nice throws with a great arm, and some bad passes with two pics. Someone on that staff has to get them to work on game management, before they try doing much more.

Nice that Jadeveon Clowney played some, and looked healthy.

The Cowboys lost Dez Bryant for a few weeks. Though Romo was sharp to all receivers, really. Jacksonville lost Luke Joeckel for what may be a while, right when it looked like he was going to maybe live up to some potential. But still, the team that may have gotten the biggest blow was the Ravens losing Suggs.

 

[the delgados]

Re:

NBC hit gold with the SNF. What an amazing game.

All thanks to Manning's bone-headed play that made the Dallas win possible. I don't get why the Giants think he is worth 60 million in guaranteed money. That's crazy.
Any Buffalo Bills fans here? If so, high fives. Their new quarterback looks like a keeper. This team is good to go deep in the playoffs.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

You should visit the NY area or listen to sports radio out here. It's not "Eli Manning". It's, "Two-Time Super Bowl MVP, Eli Manning".

Oh, you care to question it? The canned response is, "How many Super Bowl MVPs does your QB have?"

 

[Tank Engine]

Re:

You should visit the NY area or listen to sports radio out here. It's not "Eli Manning". It's, "Two-Time Super Bowl MVP, Eli Manning".

Oh, you care to question it? The canned response is, "How many Super Bowl MVPs does your QB have?"

You could say that the coach called a stupid pass play at the end of the Dallas game, but that such an experienced, awe inspiring quarterback should just throw it away in such a scenario is utter stupidity. I'm not complaining though.

I saw the end of the Rams-Seahawks game, which was a real rollercoaster (as their last couple of games have been).
Unlike the Giants, Carroll played to win rather than not to lose, but it worked out as in the Superbowl. It could have turned out differently if the overtime kickoff had been kicked into the ground rather than the air (or had they gone for a crossing pattern on 4th and 1 ).

I then had the Broncos-Ravens game on in the background. Never really got into it though. When two quarterback superbowl MVPs are playing and the only touchdowns (and longest gains) come from turnovers, it says a lot, even if the two defenses are very solid and it is week 1.

 

[leftover pie]

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

 

[Sciocco]

Eagles lost already, Bradford *** awful according to the stats line. Nice... Less BS on the radio during commute by a few weeks in.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Great win for the Falcons and Dan Quinn, whom the team seemed to be solidly behind. Really looks like his defense especially believes in him.

Bradford was very sharp in the third quarter, and the last pick wasn't his fault. But I have to say he, or their vaunted offense, wasn't super inspiring. Glad he didn't get hurt though. Combination of high priced RBs Demarco Murray and Ryan Matthews had a combined rushing total of...13 yards on 11 carries.

Good win for 49ers. Showed they can still play smash mouth football.

 

[stefan357965]

Uuuuuuh great!

 

[jmdirt]

I was listening to Tiki and BT this morning, and Tiki used the word 'rhythm' to describe a team that is playing well. Maybe that is a better word than momentum to describe how random events and streaks align.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Every season on average six teams make the playoffs who didn't make it the previous year. Six. That's half the total teams that make the playoffs. So after week 1, here are six (almost!) teams that might do that. But a look at some upcoming games may reveal much more.

1. Kansas City - Very solid defense, offense looks alive. Experienced team and coach. Next two games host Den, then @GB. Well know more then.
2. Buffalo - Even more solid defense, offense can grind out wins. Motivated players and coach. Bills host Patriots next Sunday. Get ready!
3. Atlanta - I was impressed that both lines looked good, and their D has confidence. Travel to NYG, then @DAL. Favorable schedule late. Lots of home division games, @TB, @JAX.
4. San Diego - They have the talent, and win a gritty game, but same division as Denver and KC. @ Cincy next week.
5. St. Louis - Even more talent, but same division as Seattle, AZ and SF doesn't help. @Wash next week, then @Dallas
6 tie. Miami - More talent than in previous years. Next @Jax, then BUF. Schedule tough late. Games @Phi, Dal, Bal, @SD, Indy, NE.
6 tie. Philadelphia - Still a big ? When Bradford was on, he looked sharp. But they also stalled, couldn't run, didn't throw deep, and D sketchy. Host Dallas next week.

On the flip side, which teams did make the playoffs last year, who won't this season? Detroit and Cincy come to mind. Maybe, dare I say, Seattle, after they lose in Green Bay next week?!

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Great win for the Falcons and Dan Quinn, whom the team seemed to be solidly behind. Really looks like his defense especially believes in him.

Bradford was very sharp in the third quarter, and the last pick wasn't his fault. But I have to say he, or their vaunted offense, wasn't super inspiring. Glad he didn't get hurt though. Combination of high priced RBs Demarco Murray and Ryan Matthews had a combined rushing total of...13 yards on 11 carries.

Good win for 49ers. Showed they can still play smash mouth football.

49ers did well but their opposition were terrible.