DeeSpencer

Pats 24 - Denver 13 Arizona 27 - Carolina 30

Think you nailed it. Brady gets the ball out so quick a pass rush is irrelevant. I think you have to put 2 on Gronk and maybe even 2 on Edelman at times, then disrupt Brady's throwing lanes and not be afraid to give up a big play every now and then. The issue for Denver is without a great passing game they don't want to sell out and take some risks to force Brady in to a mistake or to get a punt and instead I imagine Denver will die a slow death in this game as NE gradually pull away by sustaining drives.

Overall I agree, there's a gap between them but I don't think a lot of those achievements really indicate the gap, some of those are just popularity awards above and beyond the stats and eye test that tell you Selwood is better. Also this year Selwood's team missed the 8 for the first time in his career and was sat on by heavy tags and often his output suffered and he lost his cool. There were lots of games he didn't do anything significant to help his team win. At one stage I think it was Healy who suggested he take a sabbatical and come back when the team was healthy and more talented. The opposite to that is this year was probably the first time in his peak form that Jones had a class ruckman and 2 other quality inside mids to work with and on several occasions he hit the scoreboard and gathered the big possession totals that seem to draw interest from the media. He was also carrying a significant injury and our 3rd best midfielder for most of the year. My point is, Selwood is ahead of Jones, but there's value in considering just how much better his team has been. I don't think Jones will ever get the reputation Selwood has, but you can see the value improved team performance has had on Matt Priddis who I think is an inferior talent to Jones (better clearance winner but far less skilled) and is now regard as an elite midfielder.

Ref's were terrible. Offensive PI missed, then PI missed the other way on the gutsy 2nd down throw and more. But it makes for a great game when it's physical. GB unlucky with the OT rules and the coin flip. Palmer turned a bad day in to a good finish. Is it nerves or is he found out against the best? Credit to GB defense regardless, Arizona will have to be better running the ball to win the whole lot. Great for Larry Fitzgerald to get the win, hope a few Dees players were watching and learning how sticking with your team can be so rewarding. GB and Rodgers will be back next year if they get the receivers healthy and get Eddie Lacy in a fat camp. Lacy is still a good runner when he's motoring but you can tell he just flounders in the open field when he should punish teams and he doesn't seem to play at a high level for full games yet alone a full season.

Sunday 8.35am Kansas City 16 @ New England 24 Sunday 12.15pm Green Bay 20 @ Arizona 34 Monday 5.05am Seattle 24 @ Carolina 21 Monday 8.40am Pittsburgh 10 @ Denver 20 New England, coach and QB advantage, home field, they just get it done. Arizona v GB, regardless of anything else it's very hard to see how the Pack turn it around so much from when these teams last played. Denver win because Big Ben will get hit down and have to leave the game and Manning will do enough. I don't like either team right now, would back KC and NE to beat both. For whatever reason I just believe more in Wilson and the SeaHawks big game experience than Carolina. The Carolina defense can be amazing but had too many soft days off and their offense is good but I can't imagine them being great in play offs. But this is the game I feel least confident about and I feel like it's going to be a great game, shame I won't watch it!

I'm a bit suss on the Giants as I think they need to fire their GM soon and Eli is 35 and might only have 3-5 years left, but still you're looking at a decent 3-5 years with Eli and Beckham. That alone puts it way above Cleveland. SF is a dumpster fire unless you believe in Kap. Philly, no thanks. You'd have to love Tannehill to go to Miami, but that said Gase will do well with him, if you can do well with Cutler you can make something happen with Tannehill and Jarvis Landry. Tampa probably would've been a good job if you liked Winston but they fired Lovie to hire their OC. Same goes with Tenn and Mariota, I think I'd take him, the number 1 pick (especially if you can trade it) and a more relatively stable and under the radar NFL city than Cleveland.

2/8 1/8 1/8 2/8 3/8. Good job Macca Could find my own tips, had commented on the AFC but didn't do the full list. Shows how open the league is, very little love for Carolina or Arizona and they are in the best position to win the NFC. Similarly I think the Bengals could've won the AFC with a healthy Andy Dalton but no one wanted them for the AFC North. The Pats are the one constant.

Isn't Hue Jackson a sucker for punishment, who in their right mind would sign up to coaching both the Raiders (where he was unfairly sacked) and the Cleveland Browns? Who does that? And he would've been a huge chance for the Giants job apparently. Now he's working for Jonah Hill's character from moneyball and a lawyer with no football experience has control of the 53 man roster.

I've never wanted to punch someone through the screen more than that Bills Defensive Line coach who called out the Hogs. What an idiot. The only thing as remarkable as the Bills making 4 superbowls these days would be them losing all 4 of them to current day NFC East teams.

Haven't been to training post Xmas, but from the few sessions I did see of him there's nothing much to report which isn't really a bad thing. They do the majority of sessions with all players mixed in together these days, but he has been in the midfield group from what I recall. Brayshaw played mainly forward last year with only spurts in the midfield, I expect the same from Oliver. His fitness looks decent for a kid, he's in the lower group but I haven't seen him struggle, probably on par with Brayshaw's last year. I'm been impressed by his agility and his size and shape. I don't actually expect him to do anything at training that would change expectations between now and the intraclub and NAB challenge games.

It's bad, but I'm more concerned that the only player we could trade for had a decent shot of this happening to him. There wasn't another half back flanker/wingman in the right age/game played category who wasn't being investigated for doping? The silver lining is opportunity for Mitch White or Josh Wagner.

The AFL can dictate those kind of things as they get all the money and can therefore negotiate with the governments and stadiums. The NFL is controlled by the teams owners who each get a vote on major decisions like that. It's not independent from the teams like the AFL. Teams need a 2/3rds vote to move so the collective group of owners as 'the NFL' do get to decide on who plays where if a team wants to move. But also these almost all rich people who don't like giving away money so I understand why owners want to move if they can't get a good stadium deal that helps them get richer. California does make it very hard with pubic money which is a good thing, then again an NFL team would return some decent cash to a local area. So it's a shame Oakland and San Diego can't work something out. Those teams belong in those cities. St Louis seems like an even bigger stuff up having to rebuild the stadium so soon and with the owner so keen on developing his own stadium in LA. I'd probably vote yes to the Rams moving if I were a fellow owner just because I don't want to see the city of St Louis ripped off paying so much for a stadium.

I forgot to tip the first two games, cost myself a couple! But I'll go: Seattle 20 Vikings 27 Packers 31 Washington 27 NFC North represent.

Anyway, been off this thread out of disgust in the Pats losing to freaking Miami and costing me the tipping comp. I know they weren't all that fussed about winning but they coughed up the 1 seed by running the ball non stop and didn't protect Brady either. Yuck. I've been driven back to this thread by the mindless Bungals. The fumble is bad but I can see why he was fighting for the 1st down and these things happen. But the Burfict reaction to the INT told you he was losing his focus and he lost complete control. He should get a 4 week suspension from the League and the Bengals should consider firing him and making a statement that they don't stand for stupidity any more. They might fire Marvin Lewis which could be a shame. 2 of his former coordinators are coaching tomorrow. Don't know what Pac Man did, they didn't show it, but he should know better as well. He's been well behaved for a few years now. Arggh. What a waste of a year to go out like that.

Could never ever hire a good offensive coach and his defense was outdated and wasn't ever good at Tampa, who had some good defensive pieces before he came. Their improvement this year was from Winston and the OC who they will likely promote to HC. Messy circumstances but a good move. Head coaches get guaranteed money so I think Lovie is looking at over 10 mil in pay outs. It's the lower assistants who have trouble finding new jobs.

3 head coaches fired so far - Eagles, Titans, Dolphins. Cleveland will be next. Then we wait and see on Detroit, Indiana, St Louis, San Diego. San Fran, Can't rule out New Orleans. Plus the Giants. Cowboys apparently won't change. I'll go with 8 teams looking for a new permanent coach by the end of the week. Could be more. Brutal.

Pats Steelers Washington 3rd tip was hard, but had to mix it up and go different from the other contenders.

Wow. Any given Sunday stuff today. Fantastic. Michael Bennett said it best about the rams: "The Rams, they play good football against us. They just don’t play good football against everybody else." Surely the Pats wanted to take the wind, which is fair enough. It's unlikely either team score a TD on the first series of OT in a 20/20 game, take the wind knowing you'll have an advantage in the subsequent field goal battle. Belichick doing the team thing by not hanging out his player, although you have to wonder why Brady doesn't do the coin toss? AFC: Think Denver wins tomorrow to get in, win out for the 2 seed. Cincy the 3 seed, Baltimore might trouble them next week either way. Houston lock up the 4 seed. KC the 5. Then I think the Jets can do it and get the 6, although Jets - Bills should be a ripper. NFC: Carolina and Arizona probably win. Seattle stays in the 6 seed. Washington are the 4 obviously. When it comes down to it will either of the Vikings or Packers want to win next week?? I'd take Washington away over Seattle at home.

Pittsburgh New England Carolina Forgot about the Saturday night game, bummer. Carolina might rest a few but hopefully Cam gets the job done. I'm not tipping Houston with Brandon Weeden starting. I know it's blasphemy around these parts but happy for the Bears to tank it out the last 2 weeks. Not a lot to be gained from beating Tampa this week.

KC Carolina Arizona

Seattle - with the amazing stat of Jimmy Clausen becoming one of only a few QB's to face the same opponent on a different team. He failed to score last time with the Bears in week 3. Washington New England

He's reached Neeld level in the press conferences as well. The only saving grace for him might be that the franchise is suffering through similar turmoil as San Diego with uncertainty about their future. And maybe the Bradford-Foles situation wasn't his choosing. Either way I can't see how the Rams would let Fisher be in charge of the next OC or develop the QB of the future they surely must draft.

I can support the decision to go for it on 3rd down. A 48 yard field goal to go to OT isn't exactly great odds of winning the game. The FG is probably 90% and winning in over time against a good team on the road is probably about 40% depending on the coin toss. A quick out increases the odds of the FG and you never know when you'll get a blown coverage and the winning TD. What seemed to be the issue from what I've read was Norv's play call. There wasn't a lot of help for the O line and there seemed to be a lot of receivers in the middle of the field when the pass could only go to the sideline. A bad mistake and loss for Teddy but otherwise a good game and learning point for him. Unless they create an unbelievable defense I can't see Teddy winning much if he progresses to Alex Smith style safe QB. Running the ball is fine but you need at least enough of a pass threat to open up the run. Anyway, the last 2 Thursday nights combined with the Bears missing FG's and throwing a win last week has led me to my continued belief that the rest of the NFC North only exists to support the Packers. Because just when they start looking awfully shaky the other 3 teams all conspire to gift them the division. I guess it's better than the AFC East where the teams just roll over for the Pats every year besides a Rex Ryan team that decides to make it more comical before losing.

Cinci Arizona Carolina

Yet at the same time totally believable. It's the Browns. Pre game I think it was Steve Young saying the Browns can't be influence by the past and have to make decisions based on what really is right but I feel for them because they just can't seem to win no matter what they do. Not even the other perennially bad teams in the NFL compete with their level of misery. So with their history you'd say they needed to win every game they can, build confidence in their coach and build a winning feeling. But the other side of that is they need a top draft pick and to get one right for once and they need to decide if Manziel (or even Davis) is the long term QB. Plus they need to find the right coach and the right GM. I think they have the right coach but not the right GM. I'm really glad no poor bugger on here follows the Demons and Browns.