DeeSpencer

I tipped the Lions. Indy have some bad injuries and suspensions, so I thought Stafford could make plenty of plays. They tried to lose it with the missed extra point at the end but got the job done. I don't think either of those teams will be good, but I like the Lions more because they were bad last year and got better, where as Indy are a mess outside of Luck. It seems the Bears were good for a half, but against a decent Houston defense the offense just ground to a halt. They double teamed Jeffery and with no Forte or Bennett there's no one else to make a play. The defense dug in for a half but with a weak secondary they can't get too creative and get after the QB. The Texans rookie WR Fuller was great and scorched the Bears. And if the Bears can't run the ball this year they won't win many games. If they do establish the run then they have enough in other places to test teams

Fantastic burn from Del Rio. I know they might've had some momentum but with Drew Brees at home I think the Raiders win < 50 % in overtime. If you lose the coin toss then it's probably < 40%. By going for it you put the other team on the back foot and have a controlled situation. Given the Saints defensive weakness I think it was an inspired decision.

Oh cool, probably before my time in being an NFL fan, either way I think it's a fun topic. I don't like pumping huge hours in to fantasy sports each week, although I probably would in America given the NFL is mostly consigned to Sunday which is half the appeal. Looking at Simmons + friends groupings probability says at least a couple if not a few of the teams in the 2nd and 3rd column of picks end up winning 8 or even 10 games and making play offs. And maybe someone in the first 10 teams falls off a cliff and finishes with 6 wins.

Cincinnati Green Bay Detroit

It might be too late to organise, maybe sometime next week before the 2nd round of games? But I wonder if we could get either 5 or 10 people to do this NFL wins pool that Bill Simmons has done. Could make it worth a point in the tipping Macca? Or just do it for fun. What do you think?

As a Bears fan I thought he was great as well. Quick and accurate release. Might only be a game manager but that's all you need with Denver's defense and their running game looked very good.

Tempted to tip the Panthers but I think I'll just enjoy watching the first game. From a better point of view the Pats with a 6 point spread seems generous even with Jimmy G. A fired up Belichick after a full offseason of preparation can work some magic there and at least keep it close.

Teddy: 65.3% 3231 yards, 14TD, 9 INT, 44 sacks, 88.7 Rtg Bradford: 65% 3725 yards 19 TD, 14 INT, 28 sacks, 86.4 Rtg I think Bradford can play as well as Teddy did last year and in a similar style. Obviously a run heavy offense takes down his number of attempts,, but with more weapons this year the Vikings might open things up a bit. The big questions will be whether he can stay healthy and whether he's good enough to do what's needed to win big games. Teddy last year was good but probably needed to improve to win play off games. That's probably the same level Bradford is at unless the Vikings defense goes to the next level or two.

After watching Hard Knocks I've got a bit more respect for Fisher. Or at least let me put it this way, I understand why he keeps his job and finishes with 7 or 8 wins. He seems competent and certainly isn't Mark Neeld level of crud. That said he must surely be running out of time very soon. Goff's preseason was rough and I think he was overdrafted by going number 1. I remember watching him against a decent Utah defense last year and they picked him off at will and he didn't play in a pro style offense. That said, I'm still a fan of his. He makes all the throws. He's got the temperament. He's physically gifted. I don't think sitting him for a few games/few months/the whole year even will do him any harm.

Welcoming myself back for a new season. And the Vikings go bang and trade something decent for Sam Bradford. Big move. Seems like they don't want to waste the year. Probably good news for the Eagles as well. Bradford made no sense on that roster.

I like him, but not convinced he's clearly better than Kennedy or Kennedy-Harris. Agree with Chaser, in that if someone went out he could come in. Otherwise for the price to get him - mid to late 2nd or early 3rd I think we'll have other priorities.

Ross Lyon doesn't take crap from anybody. It's why he's a great coach but also a potential weakness. Players take after their coaches. So Mundy is the captain as he's the senior player and leader. Fyfe is the superstar with a superstar attitude and wasn't the right choice for captain. Who knows if that's upset him, I doubt it. Plenty of time for him to captain the side later. Freo right now are rubbish. Freo next year will likely be far better. But they still need a tactical improvement and a lot more talent. Fyfe, Bennell, Johnson, McCarthy, pick 3, Sandilands (for 1 more year), that's an improvement but to rebuild it's going to take some sustained drafts and trades. I'm about 90% sure Freo will improve to at least an 7-10 win team next year and Fyfe will sign on and probably captain them in 2018. The 10% chance is that Fyfe gets injured again or Freo get a lot of injuries or Ross Lyon can't adapt at all and Freo struggle along to 5 or 6 wins and Fyfe says stuff this I'm off to join a contender.

Smart players never trust umpires. Plus you never know if someone's cheating and yelling out touched anyway. Spoil the ball through and worry about the call later. If the goal umpire called the touch 30m away then review it, but if a field umpire thought it was touched then unless they were hallucinating then I agree, just get on with the game.

He's 27, had a career best of 46 goals in an attacking side, he'll cost a lot of money and a high draft pick for a team that's traded away it's first pick already, he seems very happy at the Crows and we've invested heavily in Weideman, want to keep Hogan on a big deal and Watts is coming out of contract soon as well. Yes he'd fill a big hole. But I can't see it happening.

I was pleased to here Roos talk about the room for development but also how Clarry has won over his team mates by playing the right way. That would make me feel pretty chuffed as a young fella. You can see why Roos is well known as a players coach, he's been frustrated over the last two years but think his care for his players in genuine.

Clarry is good to go. Can't wait to see him play.

Viney, Jones, Tyson. They need to be getting 80+ disposals between them, using them well, covering the ground in attack and defending and stopping the 3 best midfielders from the other side. They'll have help from a heap of players in the rotation but if we are to afford the luxury of Vince back, Vanders forward and not overdoing young mids it will probably be these 3 doing it. Click the box in the top left of the quote and then hit delete. Will get rid of it. Bug with the new site.

It's hard to argue with a beautiful safe clearing handball. Just a matter of how risky we want to be. You're probably right, in that area of the ground the clearing handball is a wise decision. But in general Melbourne need to handball forward more and break out of packs, not go back behind them. Again, so many positives with him, I just think if he develops a bit of smoothness around the rough edges he'll get better and better. That's my main point.

A very sweet handball, but the Salem kick is just as good if not better. Although next step for Clarry is probably to hold the ball in a bit more and get the exit out the front of the stoppage where Vince and Viney are or even sneak a tight handball to Jetta and run it out the open side. But that's nit picking. A bit more work on his left hand handball should be part of his development as well. I'm sure he's seeing both sides of the stoppage and has the vision. A good left will see him able to really open up the field. Even his right hand I think he holds the ball up and punches it a bit much. I think he can smooth it out a bit and make sure he's hitting team mates spot on. I find it exciting knowing that Oliver has a lot of traits that are really hard to teach - hardness, vision, agility, presence and still lots to work on with his body and skills (which are at a solid baseline as well, it's not like he's a mile off).

Impact is hard to judge. But Brayshaw's tackling, hardness and direct style of footy was instrumental is us scoring against better teams I think. His impact was greater than his stats or talent. He lit us up at Geel, QB'day, North game, Tigers game. Even round 1 he made a big difference. Clarry has shown me some special abilities but Gus set the bar pretty high. I'd drop a footy in front of Clarry in a pack situation and he'd do some great things. Playing on him I wouldn't lay a finger on him. I'd roll a footy out in front of Brayshaw in space and I expect similar. He's such a natural tackler I wouldn't want to pick up the ball, and if he gets the ball he's so determined to get it on to a team mate in a good spot.

That's true. But then again he was back off the mark by a step or two and handball sideways, yet it was smothered. Would like to know how that happens. Then he picked up and drilled a pass what I thought was a good 15m easily. But the ump didn't like that one either. So multiple efforts it was!

I've said the same thing the whole time and if Vanders and Brayshaw are good to go then it might come down to Harmes, Matt Jones or Oliver. Oliver is the obvious choice but Matt Jones has impressed and Harmes does a lot of good as well. Less rotations means it's harder to even out the spread of game time but 70% is reasonable, the question might be for how long can he run out his stints on the ground. 70% is fine as long as he's not tiring whilst he's on. I get the feeling he's still much more suited to being on the ball than forward, yet he'll have to rest forward a fair bit.

I loved Viney when he started in 2013. Then I loved Tyson in 2014. Couldn't help but enjoy Brayshaw last year. Now already moved on to Oliver. Yet after all that I'm still really keen to see what Petracca can do, but I'm loving the idea of him getting to start as a forward and support Hogan. We need a bit more outside run and skill, but surely young players would be excited getting to play with those names above.

I mean only in terms of his readiness for AFL. Long term it was great to see a kid push himself to exhaustion. He's got the fitness to run out 70% of a shortened practice match against mainly a 2nds side. How is that not of some concern to whether he's ready to take on a super fit GWS midfield.

Was fantastic around the contest again. He needs to learn to stay down more as a forward and crumb, he won't be taking pack marks from out of position too often (he might from a nice sit!). Plus cramping (and spewing up) after 71% TOG is a worry as well. His spot in round 1 will be determined mainly by whether the coaches think he has the fitness. Form wise he's done enough already