Shhhhh, I'm here to get away from the M word

I haven't watched the cowboys first two games so I'm not 100% on how they are rolling at the min.

I did watch some pre season game and I'd usually be confident but our D is dropping penalties all over the joint and ever run seems to make 7+ yards per carry. Our D has been quite woeful to be honest.

Interesting will be who lines up at QB. I'm hoping he goes with Davis again.

  On 17/09/2014 at 12:33, Macca said:

With the Super Bowl rematch between the Seahawks and Broncos coming up on Monday (7mate ... 6.25am) it might be worth having a look at the soundbites and highlights of the Super Bowl played between these 2 teams (produced by NFL films)

Seattle / Denver 1st half (approx 8 mins)

Seattle / Denver 2nd half (approx 9 mins)

Uuuuhhmmm no thanks Macca.

Welker will be back but again I just don't see us being able to put enough defensive stops on the Hawks and the offence can stall at times again secondary heavy teams.

  On 17/09/2014 at 20:44, Cards13 said:

Uuuuhhmmm no thanks Macca.

Welker will be back but again I just don't see us being able to put enough defensive stops on the Hawks and the offence can stall at times again secondary heavy teams.

Ha!

Just wasn't your day but a lot of teams can only dream of making a Super Bowl ... Denver still had a terrific year. It's not all or nothing with the way I view sport. Any win, anytime in the NFL should be enjoyed.

Gonna be tough at Seattle for your blokes all the same ... especially with them coming off a loss.

Anyone who's is interested the tab does allow you to multi up division winners. I went with:

Cincinnati in AFC north

Philly in NFC east

Patriots on AFC east

Denver in AFC west @ $4.64 odds.. That is very good value

Then another:

Cincinnati

Indiana

Philly

Patriots

Denver

Green Bay @ $21.34 odds

Then one involving everyone:

Cincinnati

Indiana

Philly

Patriots

Carolina

Denver

Seattle

Green Bay

@ $79 odds

Edited September 18, 201410 yr by JV7

My tips for this week are

Houston

Green Bay

Colts

Tips - week 3

San Francisco

Baltimore

Indianapolis

Liking the line-up of the Thursday night games ... home from work on a Friday and you get a double dose of football. Ideal.

Could be a close one tomorrow but a loss will hurt the Falcons more than the Tampa ... Atlanta by a field goal

San Fran

Indy

Green Bay

No AP for quite a while I think. In the end it's probably the best thing to do. He was in the team but that was changed pretty quick. I have no idea for tips this week.

Indy

Houston

Chicago

  On 17/09/2014 at 09:13, Macca said:

Fixed

There's nearly always around 3 new teams that make the playoffs ... often any of those 3 are teams that have played playoffs more recently. Can't remember the last time Buffalo made it though.

Big game for your blokes this week @ Arizona - an early in the year ... "season definer?"

Big game, sure, but not a 'season definer' as I'm pretty confident our season's been defined already - we just aren't at the level we need to be to stay competitive in the NFC West. Our schedule is pretty tough and I don't think we're consistent enough on offence to get the job done.

Buffalo hasn't made it since 1999. Then there's the Browns and Raiders in 2002, and the Rams in 2004, and the remaining 28 teams have made it at least once since 2007. That's not so bad. 22 of those 28 have made it in the last four seasons. The change-over rate is pretty good, notwithstanding the sustained success of the Patriots, Packers and Steelers over that time.

  On 18/09/2014 at 12:53, titan_uranus said:

Big game, sure, but not a 'season definer' as I'm pretty confident our season's been defined already - we just aren't at the level we need to be to stay competitive in the NFC West. Our schedule is pretty tough and I don't think we're consistent enough on offence to get the job done.

Buffalo hasn't made it since 1999. Then there's the Browns and Raiders in 2002, and the Rams in 2004, and the remaining 28 teams have made it at least once since 2007. That's not so bad. 22 of those 28 have made it in the last four seasons. The change-over rate is pretty good, notwithstanding the sustained success of the Patriots, Packers and Steelers over that time.

Interesting stats especially the fact that 28 teams have made the playoffs since 2007. That's terrific for the league but it's real pity that right now, a number of player's general behavior off the field has been so abhorrent.

Anyway, the whole conference (the NFC) might be a lot closer than what we thought previously in terms of how the seedings & wild-cards may end up. Seattle losing last week gives a lot of the other teams hope. The Seahawks will probably still win all or 7 of their home games but on the road, it might be a different story for Seattle. I reckon they'll drop one home game but that may or may not matter.

I was looking at both sides when describing the 49ers/Arizona game as a season definer - if Arizona lose it puts them somewhat behind the 8 ball and if they win, the same can be said about San Francisco. Also, Arizona would go to 3/0 if they win with a number of winnable games coming up for the Cards.

Of the teams that missed the playoffs last year I reckon the best chances lie with Baltimore, Chicago & Arizona. The jury is out for Atlanta, Buffalo, Houston, Detroit and Pittsburgh. Of course, it's early days but if any given team doesn't make an impact in the first 5 or 6 games, their season can slip away very quickly.

  On 18/09/2014 at 13:59, Macca said:

Interesting stats especially the fact that 28 teams have made the playoffs since 2007. That's terrific for the league but it's real pity that right now, a number of player's general behavior off the field has been so abhorrent.

Anyway, the whole conference (the NFC) might be a lot closer than what we thought previously in terms of how the seedings & wild-cards may end up. Seattle losing last week gives a lot of the other teams hope. The Seahawks will probably still win all or 7 of their home games but on the road, it might be a different story for Seattle. I reckon they'll drop one home game but that may or may not matter.

I was looking at both sides when describing the 49ers/Arizona game as a season definer - if Arizona lose it puts them somewhat behind the 8 ball and if they win, the same can be said about San Francisco. Also, Arizona would go to 3/0 if they win with a number of winnable games coming up for the Cards.

Of the teams that missed the playoffs last year I reckon the best chances lie with Baltimore, Chicago & Arizona. The jury is out for Atlanta, Buffalo, Houston, Detroit and Pittsburgh. Of course, it's early days but if any given team doesn't make an impact in the first 5 or 6 games, their season can slip away very quickly.

Think Arizona can go to 2-1 and still be easily in the race, same with the 49ers at 1-2. Don't think you'll miss the NFC wildcard with 10 wins this year, my word Arizona were stiff last year.

NFC: Definitely 3 teams in the west who can make playoffs, 3 teams from the North, 3 teams from the south and probably just the Eagles in the East is my take. Arizona the best of the NFC teams who didn't make it last year, throw a blanket over Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta.

AFC: 2 teams from the West (sorry KC), 2 teams from the North (Cinn and Baltimore) I've written off Pittsburg, 2 teams from the South (Houston and Indy) and I'd still say 4 teams from the East, all of Miami, Buffalo and the Jets look good enough for 8 wins if they split their division games and take some games from the Pats. Think we'll get an 8-8 AFC wildcard and like last year it might be a battle to see who's good enough in the late season cold to get the job done.

  On 18/09/2014 at 12:53, titan_uranus said:

Big game, sure, but not a 'season definer' as I'm pretty confident our season's been defined already - we just aren't at the level we need to be to stay competitive in the NFC West. Our schedule is pretty tough and I don't think we're consistent enough on offence to get the job done.

Buffalo hasn't made it since 1999. Then there's the Browns and Raiders in 2002, and the Rams in 2004, and the remaining 28 teams have made it at least once since 2007. That's not so bad. 22 of those 28 have made it in the last four seasons. The change-over rate is pretty good, notwithstanding the sustained success of the Patriots, Packers and Steelers over that time.

Your defense will lift once Aldon Smith comes back and Kap can't play that badly. Though the biggest issue from the Bears loss is what is Harbaugh doing? He abandons the run with a lead in a game against the awful bears run defense. Mind boggling.

There's something a little Malcolm Blight about him I think. A little the longer he coaches the more he gets caught up in his own brand of crazy. The whole drama about trading him to Cleveland was fascinating stuff.

  On 17/09/2014 at 05:27, JV7 said:

If we lose to the bucs I'm changing teams

No Roddy White, no offensive line. Probably wont matter but I'm hoping my old favourite Josh McCown can prove his worth.

  On 18/09/2014 at 23:45, Georgiou R.R. Martin said:

No Roddy White, no offensive line. Probably wont matter but I'm hoping my old favourite Josh McCown can prove his worth.

This is unfamiliar I don't know what it's like to follow a football team that is dominating

  On 18/09/2014 at 23:39, Georgiou R.R. Martin said:

Think Arizona can go to 2-1 and still be easily in the race, same with the 49ers at 1-2. Don't think you'll miss the NFC wildcard with 10 wins this year, my word Arizona were stiff last year.

NFC: Definitely 3 teams in the west who can make playoffs, 3 teams from the North, 3 teams from the south and probably just the Eagles in the East is my take. Arizona the best of the NFC teams who didn't make it last year, throw a blanket over Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta.

AFC: 2 teams from the West (sorry KC), 2 teams from the North (Cinn and Baltimore) I've written off Pittsburg, 2 teams from the South (Houston and Indy) and I'd still say 4 teams from the East, all of Miami, Buffalo and the Jets look good enough for 8 wins if they split their division games and take some games from the Pats. Think we'll get an 8-8 AFC wildcard and like last year it might be a battle to see who's good enough in the late season cold to get the job done.

Arizona still have to visit Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, St Louis & Dallas ... they've also got home games against Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco on Monday ... St Louis also represents a challenge for them at home ... a win on Monday can give them the confidence to go on a bit of a streak but a loss can create doubt.

Like Detroit, the Cards need to start winning important games like the one coming up on Monday. I still rate the 49ers quite highly despite a number of pundits predicting that they'll drop back to the field so in my eyes, it won't be easy for Arizona to get over the line.

To contend, a team just can't win the games it's supposed to win. In the AFL, North did this for years and it's really only this year where they've started beating a few other serious contenders.

10 wins might secure a wild-card in the NFC as you've suggested but getting to 10 wins is easier said than done. As we all know, Arizona won 10 games last year and missed the playoffs.

I wouldn't be writing off the Steelers just yet but they will need to get a hurry on ... however, they're my favourite team in the AFC so I'm a tad biased. I'm tipping that the Jets will somehow be in contention going into week 17 and I'm not convinced with Houston just yet. The Saints and Colts need to get on the board.

Trying to tip winners is a nightmare so far this year ... Seattle, Colts, Pats. Saints, Eagles & Cinci "should" all win on Monday but every other game is up for grabs in my opinion. I wouldn't be all that confident that all the above 6 teams will definitely win either ... there's bound to be at least one upset in those 6 games that those teams are involved in.

  On 19/09/2014 at 01:08, JV7 said:

This is unfamiliar I don't know what it's like to follow a football team that is dominating

28 to zip already ... there goes my day off!

Good for you obviously ... the Falcons are back?

28 to zip already ... there goes my day off!

Good for you obviously ... the Falcons are back?

Edited September 19, 201410 yr by JV7

  On 19/09/2014 at 01:33, JV7 said:

I guess McCoy & Martin missing from the bucs line up doesn't help an already average side but no roddy for the falcons. It is an unbelievable start but I'm not getting too carried away... Devon Hester is putting on a clinic, he's been a great FA pick up so far

Made a horrendous tip here. I forgot that Lovie Smith is a part time defensive whiz (missing McCoy) but also a full time fool who screws offenses. He can never hire an offensive coordinator who can buy his QB some time in the pocket. It's like he hates offensive lines. And dont even get me started on Hester. Completely wasted his potential on offense in Chicago. You'd think Lovie Smith would know better than to punt straight to him.

My feeling with the game was that Atlanta are still suspect up front on offense and defense, so if the game was tight late Tampa could get some sacks and make some plays and win a close one. As soon as Tampa became uncompetitive it was always going to be a big Atlanta win at home. But this is one of the biggest blow outs I can remember in the NFL.

Viewers are switching over to "The Mysteries of Laura" in the States.

The 2nd half could resemble a preseason game

  On 19/09/2014 at 01:58, Macca said:

Viewers are switching over to "The Mysteries of Laura" in the States.

The 2nd half could resemble a preseason game

Because the first half didn't?

The mysteries of laura was described as the worst of the knew dramas by grantland. I expect it will pop up in prime time on one our channels!

Poor CBS spending so much on this crap. Should've just left it with NFL Network, I don't mind Mike Mayock.

  On 19/09/2014 at 02:10, Georgiou R.R. Martin said:

Because the first half didn't?

The mysteries of laura was described as the worst of the knew dramas by grantland. I expect it will pop up in prime time on one our channels!

Poor CBS spending so much on this crap. Should've just left it with NFL Network, I don't mind Mike Mayock.

Yeah, I knew that but they'll be switching over anyway.

The line-up of Thursday night games is actually quite good as compared to previous years - at least it was before the season started.

The next 2 Thursday night games have lost their impact somewhat (Giants/Wash & Vikes/Packers) but after that it livens up again ... (Indi/Texans, Jets/Pats, Chargers/Broncos, Saints/Panthers) The Giants/Washington game will still command a big audience regardless (unless it's another blowout)

Could the record be broken?

  Quote

The biggest blowout in NFL history was the 1940 matchup between the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. The Bears beat the Redskins 73-0. The thing is, the Redskins were not a horrible team that disappeared after a few years. The crazy thing about this game: It was the 1940 Championship game! It was the 2 best teams in the NFL that year, and the Redskins had the better record!

  On 19/09/2014 at 03:00, Macca said:

Could the record be broken?

There is a chance! I don't know what to read into this peformance... I think it's more so the bucs have been terrible rather than the falcons been awesome.

On a side note, I'm heading to a falcons game in November against the cardinals, absolutely pumped. Travelling to the states for 4 weeks and while staying in New York doing a day trip to the dome. They better put up a good performance!

Edited September 19, 201410 yr by JV7

  On 19/09/2014 at 03:08, JV7 said:

There is a chance! I don't know what to read into this peformance... I think it's more so the bucs have been terrible rather than the falcons been awesome.

On a side note, I'm heading to a falcons game in November against the cardinals, absolutely pumped. Travelling to the states for 4 weeks and while staying in New York doing a day trip to the dome. They better put up a good performance!

Running up the score is often frowned upon in the States with a number of obvious exceptions (New England being one - historically)

Tampa have just scored a TD so I'd say Atlanta will cruise through now.

Good luck with your trip - that particular game you're seeing will probably be a vital one for both teams the way things are panning out.

Have they stopped scoring yet?