National Football League

[King Boonen]

Not a big surprise. Bridgewater is capable, Just hasn't played much lately. NO have some good offensive weapons.

From the highlights it seemed SEA were a bit sloppy and the Saints had Alvin Kamara and Deonte Harris (despite the fumble). Bridgewater's throwing looked pretty loose, a few passes had to be dragged in. Two non-offensive TDs made a huge difference and that big defensive set with a couple of minutes to go in the 2nd from NO meant SEA were chasing it for the rest of the game.

 

[King Boonen]

Seattle made every imaginable football mistake. They could've lost to Miami although NO played pretty solid defense.
The whole first half the SEA running backs couldn't make a cut without sliding out...they own the field for Chr*ssake! How could you have the wrong shoes?

That must be what the comments about new cleats were on the highlights. Someone's getting fired for that...

 

[Oldermanish]

That must be what the comments about new cleats were on the highlights. Someone's getting fired for that...

They should also take the Offensive Coordinator to the woodshed on some play calling that set NO up.
Glad that the LAR game was more interesting to watch. Didn't catch much else.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Not a big surprise. Bridgewater is capable, Just hasn't played much lately. NO have some good offensive weapons.

Seattle just shot themselves in the foot in different ways:

• SEA first possession ended in punt. NO returned the punt for a TD. (bad special teams, missing tackles)
• SEA's RB Chris Carson fumbles, NO scoops & scores (poor protection of the ball by Carson)

Take those two plays away and it would have been a different day from the actual 33-27 final score.

Credit Bridgewater. He played well enough to win.

For SEA, it was a team loss. 1) Not enough offense, but enough without those two giveaways above. 2) poor tackling at times. 3) poor special teams play. 4) not protecting the ball. The last one (ball protection) is big with Carroll, but I put that on him as much as Carson. Carson has to execute, but that's something HC needs to be working on all week (They will be next week).

 

[Nomad]

No big surprises. Panthers win was bigger than expected. Browns had their chances. Giants got lucky but the young QB Jones was an improvement. Good win by the Vikings as well. Looks like a long season for Denver along with Miami.

Bad deal with the Broncos here: 0-3 start for the first time since 1999 when they were coming off the SB winning season and Elway's retirement. They went 6-10 that year and the way they're playing now they may not even win 6 games! So far this year no sacks and no takeaways - deplorable! And Flacco sacked 6 times by the Pack - the Broncos have an O-line that either gets flagged for holding or allows sacks...take your choice. Elway's masterpiece offense. Lol.

But hey...my shout out for day is Daniel Jones: 336 yards passing and two TDs and also two rushing TDs, including the go-ahead score late in the 4th as Jones rallied his team from an 18-point halftime deficit! Simply magnificent for his first start. I bet Eli was finding that hard to watch. Lol.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

One could argue in NO over SEA it was really a team win for NO, not so much a team loss for Seattle. The Saints actually looked pretty good across the board, even if Teddy still isn't at his past form. Next week they host Dallas, which should be a real test, as Dallas is playing quite well.

I found Cleveland's loss fascinating, in that time and again the Rams stopped them on any long developing pass play, and yet, time and again Mayfield/Kitchens still tried to make such plays work. It was either Mayfield's inability to pull the trigger, inability to step into the pocket, overconfidence in his arm and able to make a play on the run or find a hole in a broken play, or Kitchens inability to drive into Baker's head his need to get rid of the ball quick. I'd also argue they simply didn't run the ball enough, especially when the game was close in the middle, as they ran it fairly well all night. Right now the Browns are 1-2. Next week they play at Baltimore, in what could be a pivotal game for them this season, already.

Nice win for Daniel Jones for the Giants. I think this really is the end of the Eli era, unless Jones gets hurt, or just tanks. Great win also for Kyle Allen. Toss him into the same group I mentioned the other day. Let's see how he does as the NFL studies him. How long is Cam out? He's starting to look like his body is that of a veteran running back.

Another nice, gritty win for the Bills. 3-0, with two of those wins on the road. Now, their competition has been pretty weak, and next week they host the Patriots.

The 1-2 Eagles go to 3-0 Green Bay on Thursday. But the Eagles are better than their record, and only -2 in point differential. There's also still a question just how good the Packers are, and if they are solid on offense.

Hard to think the Raiders could play so poorly. Next up they get the Colts, then Bears, then a bye, then the Packers, then Texans. By that point they may be competing with the Dolphins for yet another really high draft pick. Oddly enough, they aren't in last place, that belongs to Denver.

49ers 3-0 behind Jimmy G, and a very stout defense. After a bye they host the Browns (see above).

 

[Pricey_sky]

How long is Cam out? He's starting to look like his body is that of a veteran running back.

‘No timetable’ according to Rivera, but he’s definitely out of this weeks game against the Texans.

 

[movingtarget]

One could argue in NO over SEA it was really a team win for NO, not so much a team loss for Seattle. The Saints actually looked pretty good across the board, even if Teddy still isn't at his past form. Next week they host Dallas, which should be a real test, as Dallas is playing quite well.

I found Cleveland's loss fascinating, in that time and again the Rams stopped them on any long developing pass play, and yet, time and again Mayfield/Kitchens still tried to make such plays work. It was either Mayfield's inability to pull the trigger, inability to step into the pocket, overconfidence in his arm and able to make a play on the run or find a hole in a broken play, or Kitchens inability to drive into Baker's head his need to get rid of the ball quick. I'd also argue they simply didn't run the ball enough, especially when the game was close in the middle, as they ran it fairly well all night. Right now the Browns are 1-2. Next week they play at Baltimore, in what could be a pivotal game for them this season, already.

Nice win for Daniel Jones for the Giants. I think this really is the end of the Eli era, unless Jones gets hurt, or just tanks. Great win also for Kyle Allen. Toss him into the same group I mentioned the other day. Let's see how he does as the NFL studies him. How long is Cam out? He's starting to look like his body is that of a veteran running back.

Another nice, gritty win for the Bills. 3-0, with two of those wins on the road. Now, their competition has been pretty weak, and next week they host the Patriots.

The 1-2 Eagles go to 3-0 Green Bay on Thursday. But the Eagles are better than their record, and only -2 in point differential. There's also still a question just how good the Packers are, and if they are solid on offense.

Hard to think the Raiders could play so poorly. Next up they get the Colts, then Bears, then a bye, then the Packers, then Texans. By that point they may be competing with the Dolphins for yet another really high draft pick. Oddly enough, they aren't in last place, that belongs to Denver.

49ers 3-0 behind Jimmy G, and a very stout defense. After a bye they host the Browns (see above).

Very happy with the 49ers start to the season except for the five turnovers ! A change for them to win their ugly games. Their best start since 98 ! Would have preferred the bye to come later in the season but it is what it is. The back end of the season is the test for them with that schedule. Good to see the Bills get a nice start as well. Mayfield not living up to the hype so far but his O Line isn't helping. Mayfield seemed very hesitant even when he did have time to throw.

 

[jmdirt]

NO over SEA away seems like a bit of a surprise after losing Brees?

On paper maybe, but SEA played like crap, and the play calling (from the sideline or in the huddle) was horrible. I can't believe how long the O line has been junk in SEA! Yes, they've had a few "they're getting better" moments, but how can they not put a group together for 10 years?! RW had around 400 yards passing and he also had more rushing yards than the other backs. The O coaches need to watch an entire game, don't break it down play by play, just watch the Fn game and see if you can see what even a casual fan can see. Paralysis by analysis much?!

If they would have had DB, it would have been a blowout. TB played pedestrian at best.

Carson, come on man! Are you a pro or what? I'm feeling or what right now.

BAL vs KC was entertaining, but overall I'm still not seeing good football yet. And speaking of pedestrian QBs, Baker are you listening?

 

[King Boonen]

On paper maybe, but SEA played like crap, and the play calling (from the sideline or in the huddle) was horrible. I can't believe how long the O line has been junk in SEA! Yes, they've had a few "they're getting better" moments, but how can they not put a group together for 10 years?! RW had around 400 yards passing and he also had more rushing yards than the other backs. The O coaches need to watch an entire game, don't break it down play by play, just watch the Fn game and see if you can see what even a casual fan can see. Paralysis by analysis much?!

If they would have had DB, it would have been a blowout. TB played pedestrian at best.

Carson, come on man! Are you a pro or what? I'm feeling or what right now.

BAL vs KC was entertaining, but overall I'm still not seeing good football yet. And speaking of pedestrian QBs, Baker are you listening?

Baker looked like he was fine on quick plays when the throw was already decided and he didn't have to think. As soon as he needed to scan the field and find a man he stuttered. Whether that was down to good coverage/a good pass rush or a poor OL I'm not sure, didn't see enough in the highlights to know. Goff looked good, a few loose passes but overall that guy can find the open man if it's there and his accuracy seemed great. LAR also look like they can give Goff, the WRs and their back time to work and let plays develop. 49ers look like they'll be their first real test in the schedule.

 

[Nomad]

‘No timetable’ according to Rivera, but he’s definitely out of this weeks game against the Texans.

Is that the same injury he sustained in one of the preseason games?

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

That all fits in with what I said on Baker. When he pulled the trigger, be that first, second read he was fine. When he stayed in the pocket, he was mostly fine. It was when he tried to scan the field, keep plays alive, find the optimum receiver, he seemed to often be on the run, or force balls and looked like a struggling rookie. Granted, the Rams D deserves credit here, I'm just surprised at the play calling, and decision making, by both himself, and Kitchens, Todd Monken as well (though I think Freddie is calling plays). Kitchens has shown the ability to quickly adapt in the past, let's see what happens now.

Washington is a mess of a team. It's only a matter of time before Dan Snyder fires Jay Gruden. I'm surprised he's kept him on that long, though the problem with that franchise isn't really Gruden. Their problems go way deeper than that. This may sound strange, but anyone recall last year when they were in first place at 6-2? It's been steep downhill ever since. That's when Alex Smith got hurt. Not a HOF QB, but he was rarely given the credit he deserves, especially for his leadership, which they seem to have very little of now. They play the Giants, then Patriots, then the Dolphins. Expect Haskings to start against Miami if the team is 0-5. Problem is, after that they get SF, MINN, and BUF. Teams with stout defenses.

Various power rankings are out. Obviously NE is at the top of all of them. I realize they haven't played any powerhouses yet, but looking at team stats, the Patriots defense is starting to look like the 1985 Bears. They gave up barely 100 yards total offense to the Jets last week, and less than 200 per game average (next best team? SF at 283, followed closely by several more around 300) Their yards per play allowed is a staggering 3.5, with Carolina next at 4.3, then a slew of teams close to that. These numbers are simply amazing. The mere fact they can hold ANY team in the NFL to 100 yards of total offense is astounding. They can't keep this up, that would be impossible, but they don't have to, which is scary for the rest of the league.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Is that the same injury he sustained in one of the preseason games?

Yes, he apparently aggravated it again, though it wouldn’t surprise me if it never healed properly in the first place and they kept it hush-hush.

 

[Nomad]

That all fits in with what I said on Baker. When he pulled the trigger, be that first, second read he was fine. When he stayed in the pocket, he was mostly fine. It was when he tried to scan the field, keep plays alive, find the optimum receiver, he seemed to often be on the run, or force balls and looked like a struggling rookie. Granted, the Rams D deserves credit here, I'm just surprised at the play calling, and decision making, by both himself, and Kitchens, Todd Monken as well (though I think Freddie is calling plays). Kitchens has shown the ability to quickly adapt in the past, let's see what happens now.

Washington is a mess of a team. It's only a matter of time before Dan Snyder fires Jay Gruden. I'm surprised he's kept him on that long, though the problem with that franchise isn't really Gruden. Their problems go way deeper than that. This may sound strange, but anyone recall last year when they were in first place at 6-2? It's been steep downhill ever since. That's when Alex Smith got hurt. Not a HOF QB, but he was rarely given the credit he deserves, especially for his leadership, which they seem to have very little of now. They play the Giants, then Patriots, then the Dolphins. Expect Haskings to start against Miami if the team is 0-5. Problem is, after that they get SF, MINN, and BUF. Teams with stout defenses.

Various power rankings are out. Obviously NE is at the top of all of them. I realize they haven't played any powerhouses yet, but looking at team stats, the Patriots defense is starting to look like the 1985 Bears. They gave up barely 100 yards total offense to the Jets last week, and less than 200 per game average (next best team? SF at 283, followed closely by several more around 300) Their yards per play allowed is a staggering 3.5, with Carolina next at 4.3, then a slew of teams close to that. These numbers are simply amazing. The mere fact they can hold ANY team in the NFL to 100 yards of total offense is astounding. They can't keep this up, that would be impossible, but they don't have to, which is scary for the rest of the league.

Why Gruden wasn't fired after last year is beyond me. In 6 seasons he's a dismal 35-47-1 (.428). The last two seasons he was 7-9 and had only one winning season back in 2015 (9-7) when they went to the playoffs and lost in the WC game. He's 0-3 already and has one of worst defenses giving up 94 pts so far which is tied with the Giants for worst in the NFC.

Contast this with McCarthy, a SB winning coach with a winning percentage of .618 in 13 seasons, who was fired last year after two back to back losing seasons (7-9 & 4-7-1).

Usually SB winning coaches can hang around for a few years with consecutive losing seasons before ownership gets restless. But Jay Gruden is not a SB winning coach and has only one playoff appearance in 6 seasons. Maybe his last name had something to do with it. Lol.

 

[movingtarget]

Why Gruden wasn't fired after last year is beyond me. In 6 seasons he's a dismal 35-47-1 (.428). The last two seasons he was 7-9 and had only one winning season back in 2015 (9-7) when they went to the playoffs and lost in the WC game. He's 0-3 already and has one of worst defenses giving up 94 pts so far which is tied with the Giants for worst in the NFC.

Contast this with McCarthy, a SB winning coach with a winning percentage of .618 in 13 seasons, who was fired last year after two back to back losing seasons (7-9 & 4-7-1).

Usually SB winning coaches can hang around for a few years with consecutive losing seasons before ownership gets restless. But Jay Gruden is not a SB winning coach and has only one playoff appearance in 6 seasons. Maybe his last name had something to do with it. Lol.

Never much logic about hirings and firings in the NFL and NBA. Two years ago the Toronto Raptors fired their coach who won the coach of the year award the same week ! The team also won more games pre playoffs than any other team in the NBA. I guess Hue Jackson's demise was a no brainer. The 49ers fired Chip Kelly after one season. He had no receivers,a mediocre QB and a squad full of injured players. Maybe he was expected to walk on water............

 

[Oldermanish]

Never much logic about hirings and firings in the NFL and NBA. Two years ago the Toronto Raptors fired their coach who won the coach of the year award the same week ! The team also won more games pre playoffs than any other team in the NBA. I guess Hue Jackson's demise was a no brainer. The 49ers fired Chip Kelly after one season. He had no receivers,a mediocre QB and a squad full of injured players. Maybe he was expected to walk on water............

Chip's always been paid like he could walk on water. Bigger challenge when you have to pay and motivate pro players, don't have Nike's shadow support and enough extra bodies to field 3 more teams....and Ownership lost their way.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Even crazier is McCarthy and Tomlins' numbers were similar with Tomlin having a little better W/L and one Super Bowl he lost. Yet Rodgers had a problem with McCarthy, which caused him to go. Yet Tomlin's teams always underestimate teams and lose when they shouldn't.

 

[movingtarget]

Chip's always been paid like he could walk on water. Bigger challenge when you have to pay and motivate pro players, don't have Nike's shadow support and enough extra bodies to field 3 more teams....and Ownership lost their way.

Well Jed York had to try something new and givee a first time GM and coach time to do it. Going into their third season, Shanahan and Lynch have a stronger squad and a good start to the season. A shame that some of their first round picks like Reuben Foster diidn't turn out but that's part of the draft, you often don't know what you are really getting until they are on the field in the NFL. Foster had a reputation for off field issues and shoulder problems and that's exactly what they got ! Lynch gave him plenty of chances to turn it around. 49ers have made a good start against some mediocre teams, see if it continues.

 

[Merckx index]

AB may have the last laugh. Legal expert say the Patriots will have to pay him the $9 million signing bonus:

As one source put it, “[New England] fighting to keep that signing bonus now is either a gross misunderstanding of [the CBA’s] rules on voiding signing bonuses or it’s just out of spite. I can’t believe they don’t understand the signing bonus voids in the CBA. There’s just no way. This is just spitefulness. They’re fighting [Brown] completely out of the anger and embarrassment in ownership.”

Patriots failed in their contract with Antonio Brown and Bob Kraft will end up paying him $9M more

It’s clear now that New England did a bad contract structure given what has transpired and the lack of protection that now exists.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Last night's game was fairly ugly, which shows again why I dislike Thursday night football and think it should only be on Thanksgiving, or after a bye week. Several questionable calls, and both teams were sloppy at times. The injuries were also awful. Anytime you see someone carted off the field like that it makes you question what's going on, and it happened twice last night.

Good win for the Eagles I guess. They badly needed it. The loss doesn't really hurt Green Bay that much, providing Adams doesn't miss much time.

As to why Jay Gruden wasn't fired at the end of last season I only have two guesses. One is that with Alex Smith at QB they were 6-2 and in first place. They lost him, and they went 1-7 the rest of the way. So I'm guessing Snyder thought the team was on a right track. The only other reason is that you usually want at least some idea who you might get next as a coach before you fire someone. Take a look at the Raiders firing Jack Del Rio, and hiring Jon Gruden. They had inside knowledge that Jon was interested in coaching again, and interested in returning to Oakland. That made it easier to fire Del Rio. Similar happened when Pete Caroll came to Seattle. So it's possible that Washington did some searching and found no one they thought they could get to replace Jay.

This of course doesn't apply to interim coaches, like what Cleveland did last year. Those guys are temporary while the team spends the next few months looking for their ideal coach. This quite likely will happen to Jay soon.

 

[movingtarget]

Last night's game was fairly ugly, which shows again why I dislike Thursday night football and think it should only be on Thanksgiving, or after a bye week. Several questionable calls, and both teams were sloppy at times. The injuries were also awful. Anytime you see someone carted off the field like that it makes you question what's going on, and it happened twice last night.

Good win for the Eagles I guess. They badly needed it. The loss doesn't really hurt Green Bay that much, providing Adams doesn't miss much time.

As to why Jay Gruden wasn't fired at the end of last season I only have two guesses. One is that with Alex Smith at QB they were 6-2 and in first place. They lost him, and they went 1-7 the rest of the way. So I'm guessing Snyder thought the team was on a right track. The only other reason is that you usually want at least some idea who you might get next as a coach before you fire someone. Take a look at the Raiders firing Jack Del Rio, and hiring Jon Gruden. They had inside knowledge that Jon was interested in coaching again, and interested in returning to Oakland. That made it easier to fire Del Rio. Similar happened when Pete Caroll came to Seattle. So it's possible that Washington did some searching and found no one they thought they could get to replace Jay.

This of course doesn't apply to interim coaches, like what Cleveland did last year. Those guys are temporary while the team spends the next few months looking for their ideal coach. This quite likely will happen to Jay soon.

The Packers let that one get away but the Eagles really needed it. Couldn't understand the late play calls for Green Bay. Rodgers should have closed out the game.

 

[Oldermanish]

The Packers let that one get away but the Eagles really needed it. Couldn't understand the late play calls for Green Bay. Rodgers should have closed out the game.

It reminded me of another painful game....pass instead of run? "Just hand it to me, I'm right here."

 

[SHAD0W93]

It reminded me of another painful game....pass instead of run? "Just hand it to me, I'm right here."

Yea, no excuse for 4 straight pass plays but the Seahawks dug themselves into that hole. They had to pass because they let time wind down and only had 1 timeout left if they wanted to use all 4 downs. Lynch wasn't solid on needing 1 yard and Patriots had 8 defenders in the box. It didn't help that Browner knew the play was coming as you can see him point to Butler on where to go and that Wilson stared down the receiver. The Seahawks got too excited after Kearse's catch.

The Packers play calling was closer in line to the Steelers against the Patriots in 2017(?) when they had all the time to prepare for a play and they went with a slant and only one route was being run.

Patriots should win by two scores over bills.
Saints v Cowboys will be interesting.
Steelers v Bengals could turn into a tie.

 

[The Hitch]

As I watch the matches afterwards and then dont want spoilers i cant really comment much here.

But I did want to say, to comments last week about the Pats, they may be the best team in the league, but Jesus did they get an even easier schedule than usual. So far none of their opponents have had a win. At all. They are 0-9.

The Bills this weekend are the only team with a winning record they have in the whole first half of the NFL. Let that settle in. The meh Bills who themselves have beaten 3 #1 pick contenders so far, are the only remotely decent team the Pats have to face in their first 8 games.

The second half is obviously harder ( i mean it could not get any easier). They do have to go to Baltimore, Houston and Philadelphia and get KC but crucially at home.

But thats still so much easier than what the other AFC contenders have. As its been for most of the decade but even worse this year.

Their most likely challenger KC, who has been looking even better s far, have a brutal schedule. twice the chargers, the whole NFC North, Texans and Colts and thats on top of the @ Jags and vs Ravens they already had.

The usual formula of winning the easy games and the one big home game to get the number 1 seed over a team that had to do 5 times as much to get to the same win total,

But i do think whoever comes out of the NFC could really challenge them. They will have had so few challenges up o then this season.

As long as its not the refs choosing the Rams again.

 

[SHAD0W93]

If the Chiefs play the Patriots the same way as last year or how they both are playing now they have no chance. If it's a high scoring game on boths sides, the Chiefs need to slow it down and actually have drives. Otherwise they'll find themselves in the same situation.