National Football League

[Alpe d'Huez]

Here's what I'm looking for when watching today:

Was it Denver's defense, or the way Cam played, that was an issue last week with Cam getting hammered? SF's defense looked stout against the Rams, can they cause the Panthers offense problems?

Dallas and Washington are both 0-1. If Neither team wants to start 0-2. If Dallas does, and Dak doesn't play well, is it an issue for the Cowboys? Washington was widely criticized for not lining Josh Normal up against Brown last week, and just covering half a field, even in man coverage. Will he line up against Bryant?

There was very bad blood last year between Cincy and the Steelers, with the Bengals essentially blowing a likely win due to stupid play by first Burfict (still suspended), then Jones, the Steelers were too hurt to really continue on in the playoffs.

The Dolphins defense looked especially tough against the Seahawks last week, and the team more focused than they have in some time. Will that stay true against the Patriots?

The Chiefs and Texans are both 1-0. The winner will take a nice step towards saying they are their division's best team.

The Titans and the Lions both came off tough losses where they looked good at times. Which team will rise up?

The Ravens defense looked quite good. With RG3 now headed to a career on the bench (or no career) how bad will this game be for the Browns who now must acknowledge this season, 1 game in, is a total rebuild.

Seattle was 0-2 against the Rams last year. This game in LA might be interesting.

The Jags lost a tough game to GB, and the Chargers lost a heartbreaker to the Chiefs. But back home, how will the SD fans show?

Atlanta goes to Oakland for the Raiders home opener, right after Vegas said it could find a new stadium for the Raiders to move into (and a semi dome with a clear roof and open walls at that). How will the team, fans and city react today?

Sam Bradford gets his first start for the Vikings, at home against the Packers. Both teams are 1-0 and I'm sure would love to get a leg up on the other.

On Monday, Carson Wentz gets another game to show the Browns should have drafted him, against the struggling Bears.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

CIN@PIT
TEN@DET
BAL@CLE
DAL@WSH
NO#NYG
SF@CAR
MIA@NE
KC@HOU
SEA@LA
TB@ARI
JAX@SD
ATL@OAK
IND@DEN
GB@MIN
PHI@CHI

 

[movingtarget]

As predicted by some people the Rams defense showed up against Seattle while the 49ers did the opposite to last week. Pete Carroll looked like an angry dad !

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Here are some takeaways I got from this week:

As I stated before the season, injuries are going to be a toll.

I've not been one to toss Jay Cutler under the bus, but that int he tossed when he hurt his hand was just an ugly pass, especially considering he has one of the strongest arms in the NFL. Mistimed, misread, and underthrown.

Big props to Sam Bradford. He played excellent, and took a lot of hits. The Vikings don't have much of a back-up to Peterson, but I still think the OL does most the work anyway. I can't possibly see him playing with a torn meniscus, but who knows.

As good as Garappollo was playing why do I have a feeling the Patriots will beat the Texans on Thursday with Jacoby Brissett? That mask Wes Welker wore was something. Google it if you haven't seen it.

And just after RG3 gets hurt, McCown gets hurt, leaving the Browns to start...Cody Kessler. Who? The Browns have found Charlie Whitehurst on the street, and are signing him. The Browns shouldn't have let Connor Shaw walk. Johnny who??

Brissett and Kessler will see their first NFL starts...while Jared Goff still rides the pine. Who would have predicted this after the draft?

In more positive news, two weeks in a row Carson Wentz looks like the real deal. Let's see how he does against the Steelers this coming week. Right now, Pittsburgh is the best team in the NFL if you ask me.

Marcus Mariotta...if you saw any of that game you'd conclude he is amazing. Not just amazing play, but gritty play, in a lot of tough plays and tough situations.

Very happy for LA football fans. What a great win for the Rams, and love those colors, only wish they had been blue and white, and Roman Gabriel there to light the torch in the coliseum.

The Seattle offense looks astoundingly anemic, two games in a row now. Granted, Wilson probably isn't as mobile as he could be, but he is spending a lot of time scanning the field, and trying to force balls without getting picked, and their OL can't seem to do much of anything. Seahawks also just got fined and lost a future draft pick.

After a gritty win last week, the Raiders defense shows a lot of warts in a loss. Poor pass rush, even when Mack wasn't doubled. Holes in the secondary. Ouch. Big props to Dan Quinn. A players coach who has his guys motivated in Atlanta.

I'm not sure what to make of Denver, or Carolina. Both won, both looked good. But something seems a bit amiss with both teams.

The last two seasons Giants fans say their team lost some games they should have won. Here's the second week in a row they can be grateful they won games they maybe should have lost.

Can someone explain to me why Greg Roman lost his job as OC of Buffalo? His offense just put up yards and points against a tough Jets defense, but their own defense gave up 37 points. How is that loss his fault?

Don't toss out Blane Gabbert for Kaepernick just yet just by looking at stats and highlights. Gabbert played fine for 3+ quarters for the Niners against one of the best defenses in the NFL. When things got desperate, he made desperate decisions, but he didn't cost them the game. Not more than anyone else.

And don't toss out Kirk Cousins for the same reason. If there's distension in the locker room over this, now, that would be a killer.

Remember all that talk about the Chargers being the worst team in the NFL? After coughing up a three TD lead over KC you'd think it's possible still, but they wiped the floor with Jacksonville. Even after losing Danny Whitehead, and supposedly Rivers now has unknown targets he's throwing to, he was deadly across the entire field. And the SD defense that was supposed to stink, was all over Blake Bortles.

Yes, they lost in week 1 to NE, but Arizona looked very impressive against TB. Not just on offense, which they were, but on defense they gave Jamis Winston all sorts of trouble.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Here are some takeaways I got from this week: ...

From what I saw of the Vikings game Bradford did well. Rodgers seemed to be a bit off his game. if the 49ers are ever going to beat Seattle it will probably happen this week. It will probably be a grinding type of game similar to Rams and Seattle with two dodgy offenses being outdone by good defense. The Rams win did not surprise me and they did have the best defense or second best last year and the worst offense which looked really bad against the 49ers. Their defense obviously picked up for their first home game but the offense is still bad. I don't see Gabbert getting benched unless by mid season the 49ers have had a poor season. Kaep is even worse. 49ers have a bad schedule especially the first five games. They looked good in patches against the Panthers and were only down by 7 at halftime but they could not pressure Newton and the Panthers WRs caught everything that was thrown to them. When the 49ers were down by 10 in the last quarter McDonald dropped a ball he should have caught with the line wide open. That was the game done but at least they showed some fight against a much better team on paper.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Re: Re:

Here are some takeaways I got from this week....

From what I saw... They looked good in patches against the Panthers and were only down by 7 at halftime but they could not pressure Newton and the Panthers WRs caught everything that was thrown to them. When the 49ers were down by 10 in the last quarter McDonald dropped a ball he should have caught with the line wide open. That was the game done but at least they showed some fight against a much better team on paper.

Oh, it's more than just "on paper."

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Here are some takeaways I got from this week: .

That was the game done but at least they showed some fight against a much better team on paper.

Oh, it's more than just "on paper."

Of course. The 49ers are a team firmly in rebuild mode. There is hope and there is reality. Most fans don't expect a much different season to last year, even with the new coach. It takes time. Their offense is looking better at least but last year it was trash.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Damn. Patriots defense. Patriots everything. October 23rd they play at Pittsburgh. Can't wait.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Right you are, especially with the players out. NE has won two close ones against a couple pretty good teams in AZ and MIA. Houston does not compare to those two opponents, and frankly Ostweiller looked terrible. Surprise, surprise, right? But even so, 27- freakin-0? With what the PATS have done so far, Bellicheck is burying the Bellicheat image. He has my vote for best HC of all time. And props to Brissett. He played pretty well. Not quite like Garoppolo, but good enough. Have to say though, Bellicheck could prolly win with any team's practice squad QB.

 

[Billie]

Texans are very badly coached. 4th time since start of last season where they put up these complete utter stinkers. ATL, MIA, their playoff game against KC and now against a team starting their 3rd string QB on 3 days notice. 2 last ones they didn't even score. Other 2 they were down over 40-nil.

I understand if it happens once to a team. Can't happen 4 times in less than 20 games though

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

The run of bad luck also appears to have hit in NE. But they don't have long to wait for Brady's return. The latest bad luck is this, third string QB Jacoby Brissett has a torn ligament in this thumb that may require surgery. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...jury-updates-on-patriots-qbs-thumb-and-return They may very well get to start a practice squad QB.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

No time to post (out trying to get the last riding in before the cold hits!). Some good matchups this weekend.
Carolina vs. Minnesota
Denver vs. Cincy
Oakland vs. Tennessee
Washington vs. NY Giants
SF vs. Seattle
Pitt vs. Philly
Dallas vs. Chicago

 

[movingtarget]

Big wins by the Bills, Vikings and Eagles. Wentz is looking good as is the team. Early days but the signs don't look good for the 49ers and the Bears. The 49ers will be forced to pick up a first round QB in the next draft and many expected them to do it this year with all of the problems they have had with that position. Nice start to the season by the Ravens.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Agree on the Vikings, who looked awesome taking out the Panthers, especially on defense, and Sam Bradford played great.

I thought the Eagles might win on a fluke at home, as you could say the Steelers defense still isn't that good, but the Eagles just rolled over them. Pittsburgh's highly touted offense looked good on the first drive, and after that, the Eagles defense just completely stymied them, and for the third game in a row Wentz looks like the real deal.

I wasn't so sure about the Broncos after they beat Carolina, but this win over Cincy was a gritty tough one. Trevor Siemian played very well.

As to the 49ers, since Gabbert had such a flat game, and the Niners are in total rebuild, I wonder when they'll just toss the season, roll the dice, and see what Kaepernick can do.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Agree on the Vikings, who looked awesome taking out the Panthers, especially on defense, and Sam Bradford played great.

I thought the Eagles might win on a fluke at home, as you could say the Steelers defense still isn't that good, but the Eagles just rolled over them. Pittsburgh's highly touted offense looked good on the first drive, and after that, the Eagles defense just completely stymied them, and for the third game in a row Wentz looks like the real deal.

I wasn't so sure about the Broncos after they beat Carolina, but this win over Cincy was a gritty tough one. Trevor Siemian played very well.

As to the 49ers, since Gabbert had such a flat game, and the Niners are in total rebuild, I wonder when they'll just toss the season, roll the dice, and see what Kaepernick can do.

According to Chip Kelly he isn't even thinking of replacing Gabbert at the moment but a week is a long time in sport. Mid season will see Kaep back if this continues but no one expects Kaep to be the answer as his previous form was even worse. I would not be surprised to see them both gone at the end of the season, it will all depend on who the 49ers can pick up and whether they can turn things around. They certainly copped a beating at Seattle. Two late touchdowns flattered the scoreline. They are a young team but their defense was as bad as their offense yesterday. Rebuild continues. I am sure there will be plenty of roster shake ups to come.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re: Re:

Agree on the Vikings, who looked awesome taking out the Panthers, especially on defense, and Sam Bradford played great.

I thought the Eagles might win on a fluke at home, as you could say the Steelers defense still isn't that good, but the Eagles just rolled over them. Pittsburgh's highly touted offense looked good on the first drive, and after that, the Eagles defense just completely stymied them, and for the third game in a row Wentz looks like the real deal.

I wasn't so sure about the Broncos after they beat Carolina, but this win over Cincy was a gritty tough one. Trevor Siemian played very well.

As to the 49ers, since Gabbert had such a flat game, and the Niners are in total rebuild, I wonder when they'll just toss the season, roll the dice, and see what Kaepernick can do.

According to Chip Kelly he isn't even thinking of replacing Gabbert at the moment but a week is a long time in sport. Mid season will see Kaep back if this continues but no one expects Kaep to be the answer as his previous form was even worse. I would not be surprised to see them both gone at the end of the season, it will all depend on who the 49ers can pick up and whether they can turn things around. They certainly copped a beating at Seattle. Two late touchdowns flattered the scoreline. They are a young team but their defense was as bad as their offense yesterday. Rebuild continues. I am sure there will be plenty of roster shake ups to come.

The 49ers lost a ton of players these past two seasons, due to retirements and trades.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

So, three games into the season, here are some quick thoughts.

We have 5 teams that are 3-0. New England, Denver, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Minnesota. The real surprise there are the Eagles, but would you have thought the Vikings with Bradford, and no Peterson would be 3-0 as well?

We have 4 teams that are 0-3. Cleveland, Jacksonville, Chicago and New Orleans. The Saints being the surprise, but perhaps Jacksonville too. Some tough losses. Having seen some of the Browns, they showed no quit in them this last week.

Who thought the Panthers would be 1-2? Or the Bengals? Dalton leads the league in sacks at 12. Tied with...Cam Newton.

The Rams are 2-1, but have a point margin of -17. The Chiefs are also 2-1, but +20.

The four Chiefs DB's all have interceptions, and rank in the top 10 on ESPN's number cruncher (tied with many others, still impressive). Marcus Peters has four picks already, and 11 directly deflected passes. Both league leaders.

In point difference, the Eagles lead the league at +66. They play @Det, @Was, then home against Minnesota. The Vikings play the Giants and Houston at home, then Philly. Could both teams be 6-0 at that time? Numbers show the Vikings have one of the most stingy defenses in the NFL. More on that in a moment.

In three games Drew Brees has thrown a whopping 1,062 yards. Over a full 16 game season, that's nearly 5,700 yards, almost 300 more than PM's record. He's not an anomaly though. Cousins, Stafford and Ryan have all thrown over 950 and are on track to break 5,000 yards easily. The league leader in rushing? LaGarrotte Blount, at 298, that's it. Welcome to the new NFL.

Seattle's defense is first in yards, and 2nd in yards per play (Vikings) and 2nd in points (Eagles). Russell Wilson got hit and a bit hurt again, this time with a sprained MCL. His injuries affect his mobility, which he badly needs with their patchwork OL. Is it too late to get Max Unger back? After heading to the Jets, they get a much needed week off.

Call it weak competition, a fluke, or destiny to fold, but the Falcons are averaging 7 yards per play on offense. That's a yard and a half more than the league average.

 

[Billie]

Mark Schlereth had a great tweet friday. About Gabbert: 'sometimes I question if he's really right handed'. Watching the game sunday I kept thinking about this. He's so bad.

If Kaep can't go or isn't allowed by Baalke atleast they should try Driskel or Ponder.

It completely blows my mind how the 49ers have somehow won 5 games with Gabbert at QB.

Also just read about Fitzmagic. He was so lucky last year DB's kept dropping his passes.

 

[Billie]

Re:

In three games Drew Brees has thrown a whopping 1,062 yards. Over a full 16 game season, that's nearly 5,700 yards, almost 300 more than PM's record. He's not an anomaly though. Cousins, Stafford and Ryan have all thrown over 950 and are on track to break 5,000 yards easily. The league leader in rushing? LaGarrotte Blount, at 298, that's it. Welcome to the new NFL.

Luckily there's still Mularkey with 2 Fullbacks in on the same play

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

So, three games into the season, here are some quick thoughts.

We have 5 teams that are 3-0. New England, Denver, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Minnesota. The real surprise there are the Eagles, but would you have thought the Vikings with Bradford, and no Peterson would be 3-0 as well?

We have 4 teams that are 0-3. Cleveland, Jacksonville, Chicago and New Orleans. The Saints being the surprise, but perhaps Jacksonville too. Some tough losses. Having seen some of the Browns, they showed no quit in them this last week.

Who thought the Panthers would be 1-2? Or the Bengals? Dalton leads the league in sacks at 12. Tied with...Cam Newton.

The Rams are 2-1, but have a point margin of -17. The Chiefs are also 2-1, but +20.

The four Chiefs DB's all have interceptions, and rank in the top 10 on ESPN's number cruncher (tied with many others, still impressive). Marcus Peters has four picks already, and 11 directly deflected passes. Both league leaders.

In point difference, the Eagles lead the league at +66. They play @Det, @Was, then home against Minnesota. The Vikings play the Giants and Houston at home, then Philly. Could both teams be 6-0 at that time? Numbers show the Vikings have one of the most stingy defenses in the NFL. More on that in a moment.

In three games Drew Brees has thrown a whopping 1,062 yards. Over a full 16 game season, that's nearly 5,700 yards, almost 300 more than PM's record. He's not an anomaly though. Cousins, Stafford and Ryan have all thrown over 950 and are on track to break 5,000 yards easily. The league leader in rushing? LaGarrotte Blount, at 298, that's it. Welcome to the new NFL.

Seattle's defense is first in yards, and 2nd in yards per play (Vikings) and 2nd in points (Eagles). Russell Wilson got hit and a bit hurt again, this time with a sprained MCL. His injuries affect his mobility, which he badly needs with their patchwork OL. Is it too late to get Max Unger back? After heading to the Jets, they get a much needed week off.

Call it weak competition, a fluke, or destiny to fold, but the Falcons are averaging 7 yards per play on offense. That's a yard and a half more than the league average.

The Seahawks seemed to have gotten early byes the last couple seasons, if memory serves me right. Certainly one of the past couple of seasons. Getting a bye after only 4 games is strange to me, particularly so when it's happened in recent years. Having said that, it could be very important for Wilson. Latest reports say he's recovering super fast and should be able to go against the Jets. Not sure if I'd play him. The Jets will not be a walkover, though if the Seahawks play as well as they did against the 49ers (admittedly weaker than the Jets at this stage of the season), it shouldn't be an issue to have Boykin start over Wilson. Then another week off with the bye? That should give Wilson a good amount of rest and making sure he's 100%.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Mark Schlereth had a great tweet friday. About Gabbert: 'sometimes I question if he's really right handed'. Watching the game sunday I kept thinking about this. He's so bad.

If Kaep can't go or isn't allowed by Baalke atleast they should try Driskel or Ponder.

It completely blows my mind how the 49ers have somehow won 5 games with Gabbert at QB.

Also just read about Fitzmagic. He was so lucky last year DB's kept dropping his passes.

Gabbert and Kaep are plain bad. 49ers had the second worst offense last year but they did not draft a quality wide receiver or QB as cashed up as they were and still are. They picked up a defender Beedles as a free agent ! I would not be surprised to see Ponder get a shot at some stage at QB but the 49ers cut Driskel and he got picked up by the Bengals I think. 49ers had the chance to pick up Paxton Lynch in the draft and but decided on picking defenders. Driskel was a late round pick. Another mediocre season could mean the end for their GM Baalke.

 

[leftover pie]

I manage to watch Dallas v Chicago this weekend, Hoyer was really really really really bad, his throws were just so random, some were hot - some were just miles away, you can't plan around that.

Not surprised they lost, they were never in it, Dallas looked really good on the other hand, Romo - save your back buddy - stick to the sideline, Prescott has got it covered.

 

[movingtarget]

I manage to watch Dallas v Chicago this weekend, Hoyer was really really really really bad, his throws were just so random, some were hot - some were just miles away, you can't plan around that.

Not surprised they lost, they were never in it, Dallas looked really good on the other hand, Romo - save your back buddy - stick to the sideline, Prescott has got it covered.

The few times I saw Hoyer last year he was bad and still is it seems. But Bradford is doing well at the Vikings and Wentz is going great guns at the the Eagles. Cardinals need a win this week against the Rams.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Regarding Hoyer, people may recall how hot/cold he was last year with Houston, and a disastrous playoff game. People love to bash Jay Cutler, but the fact is, he gives them their best chance at winning, by far.

As to Prescott, I'm thinking Romo's injury is a blessing in disguise for the Cowboys. He's not Romo, but he's playing very well, and this is great prep for the future, as Tony doesn't have much left in the tank. When it comes time to turn the page, and that time will be soon, the Cowboys may already have their next franchise QB. Having said that, we're three games into the season, we haven't seen teams fully analyze Prescott and try to find and exploit his weaknesses, and he's playing behind a great OL, and has a stellar new RB to hand the ball to. So, time will tell. But so far, so great.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

As for Carolina and Cincy, I'd just quote "R-E-L-A-X". Seattle? Not so much. All depends what happens in the next few games. Playing Wilson this week vs a strong Jets DL, compounded by a horrific Hawk OL (you get what you pay for... their entire OL payroll is around $6M), if Russ cannot move well it could be trouble for Wilson's health. Getting RG Ifedi back, IF they get him back after being out 2 weeks from a high ankle sprain, should help. If Russ can keep from getting re-injured through the first-half of the season, by mid-season Cable's magic typically has a way of getting results on the OL, then Hawks should be ok. But no Russ, no playoffs.