NFL

[Macca 16,983]

Oh, and who's your new #1? Over the pack? Surely not. I assume you're talking Ravens... they nearly got done by a bottom 4 team last week!

Just having a bit of fun with thst no.1 team - has to be the pack ! RB's and WR's it is then ! Have to look at stats now !

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

WR is tough. SO many of them.

Wow, Eagles bumbling along in this game. Forte the better of the two RBs so far. But he gave up a fumble which the Iggles returned for a TD. Then on the following possession they punt it to Jackson, who fumbles it in the red zone... Eagles hold them up but Babin gets pushed into Cutler, they call roughing the passer (never cal it on Vick, of course), and they turn a certain field goal into a TD.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Eagles season = Over. With that loss we're not going to be able to compete with the wild card teams like Chicago, Falcons, Lions etc... And the Giants are now 3 games clear, Dallas 1 game clear. Even if we went 8-0, we wouldn't make it.

[DemonDave 1,089]

I was watching the live scores DappaDan, it seemed reasonably close on the scoreboard, was it a bad loss in your opinion?

Certainly leaves your mob with a bit of catching up to do in a pretty competititve division...

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

I was watching the live scores DappaDan, it seemed reasonably close on the scoreboard, was it a bad loss in your opinion?

Certainly leaves your mob with a bit of catching up to do in a pretty competititve division...

Was a bad loss, yeah. Though I've seen worse. Important stats:

-There was 2 turnovers each, so on that basis, you would think we should get up, since there was an equal amount of disasters.

-We handed Cutler his second EVER game where he wasn't sacked. EVER!

-We got ten points behind, and midway through the third we were 7 up... from there, there isn't any excuses.

-The last couple of possessions were what hurt us. Maclin dropped two absolute sitters all by himself during the game, then on fourth down he took a catch, and lost his footing a couple of yards short of the 1st down.

-We went for a rare fake punt pass... we had 2 wide receivers completely left alone. The punted got it, and his throw was a few yards short of the WR on the right side. He had plenty of time, a wide open player, it should have happened. And if it did, it would likely have gone all the way to the house.

The Bears played a great game. Cutler was very very good. But the Eagles had this one in the palm of their hand, and like the rest of the year, when the pressure's been on, we completely blow it on multiple occassions.

Devastated.

[Macca 16,983]

Was a bad loss, yeah. Though I've seen worse. Important stats:

-There was 2 turnovers each, so on that basis, you would think we should get up, since there was an equal amount of disasters.

-We handed Cutler his second EVER game where he wasn't sacked. EVER!

-We got ten points behind, and midway through the third we were 7 up... from there, there isn't any excuses.

-The last couple of possessions were what hurt us. Maclin dropped two absolute sitters all by himself during the game, then on fourth down he took a catch, and lost his footing a couple of yards short of the 1st down.

-We went for a rare fake punt pass... we had 2 wide receivers completely left alone. The punted got it, and his throw was a few yards short of the WR on the right side. He had plenty of time, a wide open player, it should have happened. And if it did, it would likely have gone all the way to the house.

The Bears played a great game. Cutler was very very good. But the Eagles had this one in the palm of their hand, and like the rest of the year, when the pressure's been on, we completely blow it on multiple occassions.

Devastated.

Bad luck Dappa but I don't reckon you're quite done yet .

You could be within 1 game in 2 weeks time .

The Eagles surely will take care of Arizona at home and the Giants have a tough one at San Fran .

Then you play each other at NY .

A lot can happen in this League and injuries can play a big part as well . And Dallas will drop a few games you'd think .

The Giants don't get an easy game until week 15 - they've got the Saints away in week 12 , Green Bay at home in week 13 and they've got to go to Dallas in week 14 .

In those same weeks you've got N.E at home ( they're not that good anymore ) then @ Seattle , then @ Miami .

If the Giants win most of their remaining games then it's over but ya never know . 10 / 6 might be enough to win the division .

Edited November 8, 2011 by Nuggets

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

I would agree that 10-6 might be enough (particularly with Philly's strong division record) but with now also Dallas in the hunt, it makes it mathematically more difficult, as they and the Giants still play one another. Also, Dallas' schedule is very ridiculously easy. If it was just the Giants they needed to reel in, that's one thing. But with both? That's gonna be hairy.

Meh. After a 1-4 start, it was always going to be nearly impossible.

I think what makes more of a difference is what we see in how they play. There's a few good players, and some elite footy going on. The Vick and McCoy factors particularly. But so much has gone wrong. What got them feared last season was their big-play ability. Jackson and Maclin in space. But since they got to 10-4 last season, they are 3-8, and in that time I haven't seen a single game that they won with that explosive footy that was a hallmark of the team when Vick took over.

I would be all for the Eagles making 7-1 in these last 8 games, if they were playing their best. But they've played exactly 1 good game this season, and 7 mediocre/poor games. They'd have to mirror that to even have a chance. I just don't see it happen.

Not to worry. It's not AFL. But it does suck that it'll be months before I can cheer on a team that can maybe make finals/playoffs.

In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye on the pack. I like the way they play. And maybe the 49ers.

[Macca 16,983]

I would agree that 10-6 might be enough (particularly with Philly's strong division record) but with now also Dallas in the hunt, it makes it mathematically more difficult, as they and the Giants still play one another. Also, Dallas' schedule is very ridiculously easy. If it was just the Giants they needed to reel in, that's one thing. But with both? That's gonna be hairy.

Meh. After a 1-4 start, it was always going to be nearly impossible.

I think what makes more of a difference is what we see in how they play. There's a few good players, and some elite footy going on. The Vick and McCoy factors particularly. But so much has gone wrong. What got them feared last season was their big-play ability. Jackson and Maclin in space. But since they got to 10-4 last season, they are 3-8, and in that time I haven't seen a single game that they won with that explosive footy that was a hallmark of the team when Vick took over.

I would be all for the Eagles making 7-1 in these last 8 games, if they were playing their best. But they've played exactly 1 good game this season, and 7 mediocre/poor games. They'd have to mirror that to even have a chance. I just don't see it happen.

Not to worry. It's not AFL. But it does suck that it'll be months before I can cheer on a team that can maybe make finals/playoffs.

In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye on the pack. I like the way they play. And maybe the 49ers.

Yeah I agree , the Eagles are going to have to play a lot better - looked out of sorts against Chicago .

Anyway I'll prob do top 12's 10's 5's tonight - Oakland @ San Diego this Friday ( our time ) Beauty !

Might even try and tip the winners this week - post that on the weekend - San Diego to win against the Raiders to start off .

15 games next Sunday / Monday btw

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Yup. SD for mine. How is that division, by the way. Even Tebow is only a game from everyone else's .500...

[Macca 16,983]

Well here goes with the top 12 teams and top 10 QB's - I'll do the WR's and RB's in a day or so ,

1 - Green Bay

2 - Baltimore

3 - N Y Giants - tough next 5 games

4 - 49ers - this week will tell a tale ( vs Giants )

5 - Pittsburgh

6 - New Orleans

7 - New England ( They might be in trouble )

8 - N Y Jets - Back in it ?

9 - Houston

10 - Chicago - Cutler the key

11 - Detroit

12 - San Diego - 45pts vs the Packers - decent effort

KC , Philadelphia , Buffalo have been dumped ( for now ) and Atlanta and Cinci are unlucky

QB's

1 - Rodgers

2 - Brady - is he on the wane ? 34yo now .

3 - Brees

4 - Eli - a bit maligned

5 - Ben

6 - Vick - if the Eagles start winning he could go to no.3 or 4

7 - Rivers

8 - Newton - how good is this bloke gonna be ?

9 - Cutler - starting to come good .

10 - Stafford

Ryan , Flacco , Schaub , Smith and Romo could all be in the 7 - 10 range

Edited November 9, 2011 by Nuggets

[Macca 16,983]

Top 5 RB's

1 - Peterson

2 - Forte

3 - McCoy

4 - Gore

5 - Jackson

Turner , Jones-Drew and Tate are right up there .

Top 5 WR's

1 - Smith

2 - Wallace

3 - Welker

4 - Johnson

5 - Fitzgerald

Boldin, Jennings and Maclin aren't too shabby either .

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Harsh on McCoy, but I guess Peterson has to be first, and Forte has receiving yards.

Top 5 WRs is a funny one. Just cos it seems to change wildly every year, and if you don't have a good QB, you'll never look that good.

1: Smith. Wow. Is it the Newton effect? Or the other way round?

2: Welker. Has a good QB, and should probably be further down. I reckon he gets no love mostly cos he's a shortarse. But his height is the only down point. He's awesome otherwise.

3: Megatron. What a terrifying, terrifying footballer.

4: Wallace.

5: Fitzgerald. Been in my top 5 for years. Or at least would have been since 2007ish, was I a fan. What a pro.

[Macca 16,983]

Harsh on McCoy, but I guess Peterson has to be first, and Forte has receiving yards.

Top 5 WRs is a funny one. Just cos it seems to change wildly every year, and if you don't have a good QB, you'll never look that good.

1: Smith. Wow. Is it the Newton effect? Or the other way round?

2: Welker. Has a good QB, and should probably be further down. I reckon he gets no love mostly cos he's a shortarse. But his height is the only down point. He's awesome otherwise.

3: Megatron. What a terrifying, terrifying footballer.

4: Wallace.

5: Fitzgerald. Been in my top 5 for years. Or at least would have been since 2007ish, was I a fan. What a pro.

What makes me chuckle is how the "experts" in the States change their opinion on all things NFL on a weekly basis .

But , they kinda have to cos a lot can change in a week .

For instance - that Giants win in New England changes 2 divisions dramatically - question marks everywhere

And if the 49ers beat the Giants this week they'll be 8 / 1 and there will be pundits jumping on board big time .

I wish they would play 20 games instead of 16 so we could get another month of it but I spose with 16 it makes every game vital for the contenders .

And I really rate McCoy btw but I thought I'd give 2nd to Forte this week because of his game against your blokes . Peterson is an absolute gun .

Edited November 9, 2011 by Nuggets

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

What makes me chuckle is how the "experts" in the States change their opinion on all things NFL on a weekly basis .

I've been thinking that for weeks. The worst part of the media thinking the Eagles were "back" after smashing Dallas was the fact that you KNEW everyone would be quick to jump on their backs as soon as they dropped a game.

And if the 49ers beat the Giants this week they'll be 8 / 1 and there will be pundits jumping on board big time .

If they're not already, they're fools. Haven't seen a bad game from them.

I wish they would play 20 games instead of 16 so we could get another month of it but I spose with 16 it makes every game vital for the contenders .

Yeah. Then it'd be more like our footy. And yeah, would be nice just to have more sport to watch, and more variety in competitors. There's some talk of making it an 18 game season.

And I really rate McCoy btw but I thought I'd give 2nd to Forte this week because of his game against your blokes . Peterson is an absolute gun .

Perhaps... But then McCoy had over 100 yards from scrimmage... and no turnovers. Tough one to call. Certainly on the season, Forte's marginally ahead. Peterson's the front runner here, but is somewhat vulnerable. Shame all three are NFC. Going to be competing with one another for the pro-bowl spot.

[Adzman 2,154]

Dappa Dan and Nuggets. Neither of you have Arian Foster in your top 5 running backs??? Lets not get carried away by who has rushed the most yards this season thus far. Foster did miss 2 games and was clearly hurting game two. Since he has come back there has not been a back as good as Foster. My texans were dead in the water without him. Since he has bounced back we have started to shake up the AFC. With our schedule, we could take top seed in the AFC...maybe.......but we are talking about the Texans.

Jay Cutler ahead of Matt Ryan? Each to their own.......

[Macca 16,983]

Dappa Dan and Nuggets. Neither of you have Arian Foster in your top 5 running backs??? Lets not get carried away by who has rushed the most yards this season thus far. Foster did miss 2 games and was clearly hurting game two. Since he has come back there has not been a back as good as Foster. My texans were dead in the water without him. Since he has bounced back we have started to shake up the AFC. With our schedule, we could take top seed in the AFC...maybe.......but we are talking about the Texans.

Jay Cutler ahead of Matt Ryan? Each to their own.......

Yeah , found it hard to leave Ryan out - it's actually quite hard to do these top 10 , 12's etc - you have to leave quality players out - fun trying though .

Have a go yourself Adzman - I'd be interested in your views - and I'll have a good look at Foster for next weeks best lists !

Smith and Flacco are getting better as well but ya can't fit em all in .

I'll have a go at trying to tip the winners sometime on the weekend - let's see who can get the most hey ? San Diego to win tomorrow for starters .

[DemonDave 1,089]

OK heres my stab at this weeks winners (in bold):

Arizona at Philadelphia

Tennessee at Carolina

Houston at Tampa Bay

Washington at Miami

Jacksonville at Indianapolis

Denver at Kansas City

Buffalo at Dallas

New Orleans at Atlanta

St. Louis at Cleveland

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati

Baltimore at Seattle

NY Giants at San Francisco

Detroit at Chicago

New England at NY Jets

Wow there are some super tough games to pick this week. I was tempted to think the Colts will break

their duck against a pretty uninspiring Jags, but they were just awful against Atlanta last week and Painter

will clearly be looking for new employment next year. Roll on Luck for them!

[DemonDave 1,089]

And to backup my predictions, I've placed a 14 leg multibet on with all of the above, with the exception

of the the Chargers-Raiders game which had already started, for the juicy odds of $388.30

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Dappa Dan and Nuggets. Neither of you have Arian Foster in your top 5 running backs??? Lets not get carried away by who has rushed the most yards this season thus far. Foster did miss 2 games and was clearly hurting game two. Since he has come back there has not been a back as good as Foster.

Nope. Couldn't disagree more. I was looking at averages per attempt. McCoy and Forte average more than a yard more than him per go, which is ENORMOUS in reality. Not only that but there have been games where McCoy DIDN'T get used as much as, say, Peterson and Jones-Drew who you HAVE to use. So no... Not only are there a handful of RBs that have been as good as Foster, there's a few that have been a LOT better. We're not the only ones who think this too. Which is not to say that Foster isn't a great weapon, but even since his injury, he's not up there with the big 3. You could easily have him ahead of that bunch from 4th onwards though, I'll give you that.

My texans were dead in the water without him. Since he has bounced back we have started to shake up the AFC. With our schedule, we could take top seed in the AFC...maybe.......but we are talking about the Texans.

Looking good. And best of all, no-one's taking about them despite the fact everyone thinks they'll take their division. Good position to be in. No pressure.

Jay Cutler ahead of Matt Ryan? Each to their own.......

They're tough those lists though. I think the Cutler love comes with the fact that everyone feels guilty that he gets sacked SO much. And the fact that now that they've stopped the sacks, he's showing how well he CAN throw. Is it enough that I WANT to like Ryan, and I WANT to hate Cutler ?(like everyone else) I agree though, I think his 15 minutes of fame won't last. He's part of that reeeeaally long list after the top five where you could place whoever wherever you like, and explain it pretty sensibly. ie, Ryan this year hasn't been as good as last year. Also, Cutler and his stats are pretty well the same in most areas. I liken it a bit to Eli (on a much smaller scale obviously). I hate Eli with a passion, and I don't think he's a top 5 QB in the league. But his production this year is what you have to go on, and in the end, I look ridiculous NOT putting him in the top 5. And in that sense, Cutler's not been awful. He's no McNabb...

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

And to backup my predictions, I've placed a 14 leg multibet on with all of the above, with the exception

of the the Chargers-Raiders game which had already started, for the juicy odds of $388.30

I'm not a gambler. How does that work? Do ALL of those teams have to win?

My picks:

Already picked SD... ouch.

Atlanta to beat Saints.

Carolina to get some reward finally.

Steelers over Cincy. Ben to give Dalton a lesson.

Tough one here.... I'll go Rams over Browns.

Buffalo to smack around Romo... I hope.

Colts to finally win one against Jags.

Chiefs to beat Tebow... I mean Broncos.

Redskins to beat Phins.

Iggles over Cards.

Texans over TB.

Ravens to smash Hawks.

Lions to smash Bears. No way Cutler will keep a clean uniform 2 games in a row.

I hate to say it, but 49ers are due to lose one, and Giants have a LOT to play for in the next 4 weeks. Hope I'm wrong.

Jets to smack leaky Pats... who will be the news of the week. 3 in a row.

Green Bay to trample Minnesota. Want to pick against packers at some point. This will not be the game. [censored] Rodgers is amazing.

[Macca 16,983]

Tips - winners in bold type

Eagles v Arizona

Carolina v Tennessee

Houston @ Tampa

Miami v Washington

Jags v Indi

KC v Denver

Dallas v Buffalo

Atlanta v New Orleans

St Louis @ Cleveland

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati

Baltimore @ Seattle

49ers v N Y Giants

Chicago v Detroit

N Y Jets v New England

Packers v Minnesota

Virtually the same as DemonDave except for the Rams game

Good luck with your bet btw Demon ! You left out the Packers game but we can assume you're not picking the Vikes at Lambeau yeah !

Reckon I could get 5 or 6 wrong here cos N.E , Lions , Giants , Saints and the Bucs can all win ,

Foxtel 5am game is New Orleans @ Atlanta , there is no 8.15am game - grrrrrr

SNF is the Pats at the Jets and MNF is Green Bay vs Minnesota .

Once again ONEhd are replaying 2 games from 11.30 Monday night - Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati followed by Detroit @ Chicago .

[Macca 16,983]

That last post of mine should have read Jags @ Indi

If Indi lose this week and Miami win then Luck goes to Indi I reckon .

After this weekend they've got ( in order )

v Carolina

@ New England

@ Baltimore

v Tennessee

v Houston

@ Jacksonville

[Macca 16,983]

I'm not a gambler. How does that work? Do ALL of those teams have to win?

My picks:

Already picked SD... ouch.

Atlanta to beat Saints.

Carolina to get some reward finally.

Steelers over Cincy. Ben to give Dalton a lesson.

Tough one here.... I'll go Rams over Browns.

Buffalo to smack around Romo... I hope.

Colts to finally win one against Jags.

Chiefs to beat Tebow... I mean Broncos.

Redskins to beat Phins.

Iggles over Cards.

Texans over TB.

Ravens to smash Hawks.

Lions to smash Bears. No way Cutler will keep a clean uniform 2 games in a row.

I hate to say it, but 49ers are due to lose one, and Giants have a LOT to play for in the next 4 weeks. Hope I'm wrong.

Jets to smack leaky Pats... who will be the news of the week. 3 in a row.

Green Bay to trample Minnesota. Want to pick against packers at some point. This will not be the game. [censored] Rodgers is amazing.

The Charger's are making it hard for themselves now hey ? They've got a fairly tough home stretch .

Game of the round I reckon is The Giants at San Francisco - huge impact on the Eagles and Dallas . The 49ers can set up the rest of their season with a win .

Chicago v Detroit is another beauty . Ditto N.E @ the Jets , Atlanta v The Saints and Houston @ Tampa . Denver @ KC is a huge one for KC now .

Another great round of games .

I know this will never change because of tradition and the Americans love of College Football but I'd like to see games stretched out from Thursday night football right through to MNF( from the 1st round of the season ) I've only just started watching College but I can see myself getting hooked on it !

Edited November 12, 2011 by Nuggets

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Really? The College game (I'm sort of a default Crimson Tide fan), I just can't keep up with.

As for the big games... The NFC East is going to be the big game division week in week out from here on in, I think. Or at least be up there. Mostly because of the profile of teams like Giants and Dallas, and how close that division might end up being.

I would LOVE it if they did what the AFL did. Gave us something to watch 5 out of 7 days. They have enough games to do that. You could even divvy it up so that clubs play Sunday and Monday night games for half a season... then a bye to readjust... then go into less favoured time slots so everyone gets a go at it. Would be awesome. Football that often! Standings/ladder would be pretty hard to follow too, but we love that.

Question for all NFL acolytes here.

How in favour of the "conference" and "division" system are we in terms of the AFL?

I'm 90%+ in favour of it. The only reason not to be would be the lack of enough teams. The idea that you'd obviously put interstate teams all in one division, and the Vics in another, whoch would mean they'd travel more. And that it's non traditional... IMO though, tradition has to at least in part be overlooked, as there's really not a lot in an 18 team comp that's the same as the traditional all-in ladder.

[Macca 16,983]

Was thinking about the conference / division thing the other day .

Can't ever seeing it happening "cos it's too American" but it might add a bit of interest .

We do have a real issue in the last part of the AFL season with "dead" games and teams already preparing for the next season .

Having a lottery system for the draft may help keep Teams stay competitive for longer .

Though I don't like the idea of a "Final 10" it wouldn't surprise me if the AFL brought it in .

As for conferences and divisions you could have a North East , a South West and 2 South East divisions but it will most probably never happen Dappa and I'm not a big fan of it to be in the AFL - though I really like how the Americans do it . .

If the AFL change anything it may be to implement the "Final 10"

As for College football - it is as you said "hard to keep up with". I tend to just watch the last qtr of some games ( there's 5 of them on Sundays - ESPN and ESPN 2 ) Most of these televised games are "good team" match-ups .Oregon (7) are at Stanford (4) on ESPN at noon Sunday ( our time ) A chance to see Andrew Luck .

Edited November 12, 2011 by Nuggets