Dappa Dan

Every year it's close. Eagles have the 2-0 division record. Giants 0-2, Skins 0-1 and Dallas 1-0... Every year it comes down to that metric. And Eagles have the start to stay in it now thanks to a ridiculous kick. I still have Dallas comfortably taking the division. But Eagles will have to be thereabouts now. The draw isn't too bad either, somehow. Yeah they're a damn talented football side. A lot will depend on pass rush. If Lawrence gets to Goff, things will get dicey. How good is a high octane offense tho. All those good receivers. Goff has the weapons. I'll tune in.

Yeah. Wentz deep ball isn't accurate. That's why I asked. Goff has this awkward pocket presence that they identified on the weekend, how he doesn't step up, backs out to give himself more time which is something that plays into the hands of the opposition. Thing is, that's fixable. He doesn't lean on his athleticism like Wentz. He's more like a Brady/Manning style passer that lives and dies by his accuracy and release. All the stuff you can measure and can't really fix, like release time, accuracy, decision making etc... Goff's got those in spades. Wentz has got out to the early lead, but I think Goff has the potential to go past him. Albeit not by a lot. I see Wentz more as currently a Rothlisberger type. Big heavy lad who moves great and can throw. His attitude is exemplary, and he's a great leader. But when it comes down to that last play in that clutch game for the title, and you need a quick accurate pass. I think Goff might be the guy you lean towards. Good time to be Eagles and Rams.

@Macca Did anybody get ANY right? lol Quick scroll back I think most people I looked at whiffed on all three. Impossible week to pick.

God I hate him. You'd think by now he'd start getting to the point he won't be making all the other teams his [censored]. Seems to me he's either stayed exactly the same, are even marginally improved what with his new receivers. You and I with our sparkly new QBs, we're supposed to compare them to Brady? Ugh. Speaking of QB comparisons... Where do Wentz and Goff sit now?

In other news folks. 61 yards. 61. Sixty-one. Biggest at the Linc. Biggest by an Eagle. Rookie playing his second game. After missing a 40 yarder earlier. Against a division Rival with OBJ playing and dominating... to make them go 0-3 with their vaunted defense, Eli, JPP, Marshall... Eagles might not do much this year. But wow. That was as good as it's gonna get this year. The hair on the back of my neck is still on end thinking about Wentz charging in to hug the kicker he met a fortnight ago. I'm not saying it's Tom Macdonald at Subi.... But it's something.

Every year we get a new bunch of teams that have to be watched. Rams, Jags, KC... And a list of about six that are next tier... Pack, Skins, Pats, Titans, Raiders, Cowboys... NFL is football Mecca. Even in a "defense first" year like this year. Well. No need to misunderstand just cos you're sheltered. I hate America more than most, but until you live there, and are black, you don't qualify to claim any intellectual high ground. In the world of demonland? You're a smart man. And nothing if not entertaining... But... Let me put it this way. Stand in front of my mate Jesse (not Hogan), and tell him you know more than him about kneeling at a football game in the name of race relations. I bet you wouldn't. You don't know as much as you think you know... People are entitled to their own opinion. Some footballers realise they're lucky to have the privilege their bodies and athletic prowess allow them, and want to do something with it. Why hate? You've certainly proven in our little community here that you are smart enough to know that you are NO authority on USA race relations. Correct me if I'm wrong? (honest request, not being glib). On the subject of the runoff rule being stiff... You know I love my Eagles. A few years ago (2013) Chip Kelly got his bunch of spuds to the division title. A year later (2014) he got them to the exact same finish (10-6) and because of the rules... missed out by a hair. A season later, he was 7-9 (good enough for second in the NFC east), and out of a job... and his career has yet to recover. Probably won't recover. At no point in the 2014 season, as an Eagle fan, did ANYONE complain about the rules. Not Chip, not Lurie, not any fans. Noone called for a change. We all came into the season knowing what needed to be done to make playoffs. We all accepted it and competed in full knowledge. Your rule, in game, might be hard to watch unfold. But everyone knew it. Everyone adhered. What no-one talks about is how, as AFL fans, we all think it's our privilege to [censored] about it. NFL fans? They know their place. It's more important to them to win according to the rules everyone else plays by, than to win if they get a sneaky rule change. Maybe Cotchin/Hall get past a suspension. Maybe Buddy gets away with a curve on his set-shot approach that noone else in the history of the game gets away with. Not in the NFL. The only recent instance is the tuck rule, which was pretty brutal. And that was 15 years ago!!! Otherwise, everyone is on board. They have a disaster of a commissioner running the thing. They have controversies that are so bad (concussion) that it's actually made players in our own club walk away. And yet, everyone in the league understands.... we all can whine... but in the end, we respect the rules of the game. If we didn't make it, we weren't good enough. Long story short. Falcons won. Noone's disagreeing. Noone's bitching. They can lament... That's football fandom. But Falcons won. Man. I wish we could have some of that in AFL. Pies fans have been ringing in 3-4 months after Queens birthday claiming they only lost cos of the umpires. NFL fans would be laughed out of town for that behaviour.

Amazing what an OL does. I remember when I first started watching NFL. I was thinking, ok, I get the WRs, RBs, QBs... I get that you need CBs to stop the great stars.... and you need DEs to get to the opposition passers and sack them... But what's the big deal about the OL? 5 guys who seem to soak up money and let you down all the time? Then I saw Jason Peters, Evan Mathis and others dominate.... Then I saw what a good OL does at Dallas over the last few years. Now I get it. This game is won and lost in the trenches. Zeke is a good player. Dak isn't awful. But they're NOTHING without that line blocking for them. Boys will be a force for many years to come with them in there. Rams with Whitworth are seeing what happens when you give a young talented kid time in the pocket. First he finds a few WRs with slant routes and check downs. Then he gets confident and starts spreading it to Gurley. Then he gets really keen and starts hitting the WR they picked up only a couple of weeks ago for some ridiculous catches. All the while the lanes are opening up for Gurley, and he's currently the highest scoring RB in football. All because Goff has protection. It's a beautiful thing. People will tune in specifically for that offense now. Oh... and the best player at Rams isn't even on offense. Their D goes ok as well.

Wow. I totally forgot. Yeah I did. It was fun, but from memory only about 4 guys stuck around. @Kraken on here did mostly cos he was making me coffee every morning and wanted to have someone to smacktalk every day. I'd be happy to do it again for next year. I'll give everyone a simple run down of it closer to the date. Yeah, unfortunately, you get out of it what you put it. I wouldn't say it's a LOT of work... But you should check in a couple of times a week. Basically, you need about 30-60 minutes on draft day to make sure you get the guys you want. You can autopick as well, and that usually works out well. After that it's a system of picking up guys on waivers that come in, particularly running backs, through injury. Hunt this year is a great example. Would have been on not too many lists in leagues, then Ware happened, and Hunt is outdoing Zeke at the same stage last year. If you don't pay attention to who's out, who's coming in for them etc etc... you can easily end up with a team that loses every week because you don't drop your injured guy, or guys who have byes.

How 'bout them Rams Gorg!! Man that was fun to watch. Tripled their viewership for the rest of the season now. Watkins, Woods, Kupp... That's 3 that will be among the best in the league... With Gurley running it, and Goff slinging it near perfectly all day. And they have a great D, though they didn't play great today.

I get what you're saying, what I mean though is that the running of it is easier if you just have a league. Means no-one has to do the sums. But yeah, probably gets us off this thread... or even worse makes this thread all about fantasy NFL, which isn't what we're looking for. I'll keep floating it each year until we get enough bites. The way I see it there's probably 6 guys in here that definitely have the league-wide knowledge to make a good fist of fantasy. Yourself, me, Gorg, JV.... and a couple of others I forget.

Yeah. Would actually be super time consuming if, say, 8-10 players played. Also, people will lose interest if they lose even one guy. Have you played fantasy before? The site makes it good and easy. If we had enough guys pay attention, I wouldn't mind setting it up and running it.

AND JUST LIKE THAT!!! Gurley man!

Picked up Kupp after week 1 in fantasy, he's looking good for me. In a team with Hopkins, OBJ and Cobb he nestles in comfortably. Also have the Gurley man who is currently RB2 in fantasy.

Miami, Denver, Pittsburgh

Why do we not have a fantasy comp for players on here?

WOO HOO! My first points of the year thanks to Arizona being marginally less terrible than Indi. Meanwhile. KC. Damn fine football team.

I feel like everyone will pick very similarly this week. I'll take Pats, Cards and Titans.

Yup. I like the memes celebrating them being over .500 for the first time in 7 years.

Really liked the Rams today. And thought the boys have really turned up. Giants are a good side, and especially good D. Early days but they're my #1 side. Weekend still belongs to KC though.

Ah ok. I thought it was more like the shudder you'd do cos you're picking the pies... lol Meh. Pretty stinking horrible game. Lots to like, but more to build on.

My boys took care of you. Time to show them some respect.

And blocks. Superstar.

All sensible (except for the 6 games part. Seems he's playing the year now). I reckon though it's a more-or-less league-wide opinion that while Zeke is good, it's the OL that makes this team. They made two rookies of the year in Dak and Zeke. If they're all there, fit and playing... then I don't think it matters who they give it to. personally I have Boys at 12-4... possibly 14-2... at WORST 10-6 as you say, on the strength of that OL and Dak. Also I think their D will improve a lot. They've put a lot of work into it. Lee is still there, Lawrence, Taco. They've snuck up on us.

Wow. Eagles? I'm a fan, but jeez. I can't see us getting anywhere near Giants or Cowboys... and probably struggling against Skins TBH.

Steelers, Panthers, Colts for me... Don't forget to pick @Kraken