DeeSpencer

We all knew the SeaHawks defense was good, but who knew it was that good! They played lights out. The additions of Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril to give them the pass rush made all the difference today. And Wilson's early 3rd down percentage was insane. The Broncos D as I predicted were capable of stopping the run and creating chances to get off the field but after watching them take care of the Pats so easily I didn't expect the Broncos secondary to be torched on 3rd down by Wilson and his unheralded receivers. Injuries aren't an excuse as both sides have them but you can see that the Bronco's elite O line was showed up with the back up LT not up to it as well as the Broncos secondary not covering the injuries. Those two combined to make the game much harder for Manning and much easier for Wilson. Watching Wilson win a SB, Kap go close, Luck, Dalton and Newton make play off runs I do wonder if the new rules are making QB play a bit less important and the saving of about 16 million dollars on having a rookie QB instead of a Franchise QB is worth while. But then you see Brady, Brees and Manning all make the play offs as well. But then the teams at the bottom of league with rubbish rookie QBs (Minn, Buff, Jacksonville, Cleveland etc) will tell you otherwise. It does make me worried about my Bears. We've spent the 16 mil on Cutler so we don't have the money to spend on the top defense and we don't have the gun QB to show for it either. I feel teams with mid level veteran QBs on big pay cheques are stuck in a cycle they can't break or afford to break. Cowboys, Lions, Cardinals, Giants, there'd be a few who agree I think. Anyway this SeaHawks team was a massive victory for Carroll with his GM and his drafting and developing. They've pretty much drafted an elite defense with early and late picks and drafted a gun QB in the third round. The draft v develop question will kind of raise it's head but I think they've been outstanding at both. Carroll's bond with his players and his development of not only a select bunch of players but of the whole organisation as improving football players says a lot for a positive coach. I'm hoping the change from Neeld to Roos brings out a similar culture for us. The PED and Adderall issue does linger over this team a little though. They have to stay clean now to back it up.

Wow the highs and lows of this thread. From his initial anger at the medical system which you could kind of tell was his frustration but then his positive attitude through chemo and the follow up. As if tragedy can be any worse but I do wish we got to hear from him when things went south again. I hope people were there for him. Sadly in the nearly 4 and a half years since his first post Melbourne haven't become a good side and now reading about Watts, Scully and Jurrah depresses us all. But it sure gets put in to perspective. Also sad is that Dean Bailey late last year obviously found himself in a very similar situation to Twosheds.

But remember Kap probably has the best O line in football as well as the 3 quality receiving options in Crabtree, Boldin and Davis. Any above average QB has tremendous success with that talent around him and the 49ers defense IF (and it's a big if) they aren't playing Seattle in Seattle! For Seattle to win the superbowl they are going to have to run the ball on the Broncos which the Pats showed today is incredibly hard. I don't see Seattle getting enough offense unless Lynch gets over 100 rushing. Then their defense will have to get enough pressure on Manning. For the talk of their dominant secondary with Sherman, Chancellor and Thomas it wont matter because Manning will find mismatches on back up corners and linebackers, he simply has too many weapons. It's going to have to be the front 4 of Seattle stopping the run and putting pressure on Manning. My tip is low scoring and very close and one of the QB's will get a final drive to either cement the legacy (in Peyton) or make one for themselves. Could be a bit similar to the 2008 SB between New England and NYG.

As a bears fan I'm thinking Zimmer is a good hire who's defense can become the best of a bad bunch in the NFC North and then with a running game you can control games and be a reasonable team. Or that's what I was thinking until you hired Norval as OC!!! Chasing the franchise QB always seems to be the plan but with 2 years coming up playing outdoors I wonder if you aren't better off sticking with Cassell who I think can be ok. Use the first round pick on the best talent available and build a defense and the rest of the offense around ball control and run. Draft a QB in the second or third round when you aren't overspending and let them develop at whatever pace they need. That's the tactic that worked well for the two teams in the NFC teams playing today as well as for the Eagles.

Obviously the Seahawks defense is just amazing. And looking at that game I really thought it was like get to 20 points and you'll probably win kind of game. The Seahawks found a way to make amazing plays whilst the 49ers didn't. But I think a lot of it is on Kap. The first intercept was a shocker (then again Wilson had the fumble on the first play) and the end zone INT just wasn't quite a good enough throw. I get NFL players are a different bread of athletes than AFL or practically any other but I think Kap needs to ditch the headphones and casual clothes and shape up a bit. He just doesn't look smart enough to be a clutch QB and if you don't look it you might not be it. That's harsh on a guy who's a great talent but perception can be reality. At the same time Richard Sherman. Not sure if I hate you or love you but I'd gladly have you playing half back flank for the dees. Oh and Manning or a receiver will likely win the MVP if the Broncs win the superbowl but my tip for the real difference maker is Terrence Knighton the big DT from Denver. He was largely responsible for shutting out the Pats running game and he had a big sack. Plus his nickname is Pot Roast!

Marsh not had a shot? He's 30, played 7 tests. Has a shield average of only 35 and only 31 this year. Plenty of off field troubles as well. Marsh is selected because they want him to succeed not because he's earned it or shown any signs that he will. I really hope they play Doolan or Faulkner ahead of Marsh. The one positive of this squad at least is that by including 2 back up number 3's and a buck up all rounder the writing is well and truly on the wall for Watson. The Chris Rogers dream wont last for ever either I guess so within 12 months we could need an opener (?Marsh), number 3 (Doolan/Hughes) and have Faulkner in at 6. The other surprise is that they aren't taking Wade on this tour. They seem keen to avoid the question of who the next keeper is even though I think Wade has done enough to still have that spot.

Chiefs 27 Colts 31 - Chiefs the better team but I'm hoping for some Luck Saints 24 Eagles 30 - Too cold for the saints Chargers 13 Bengals 24 - Defense 49ers 16 Packers 14 - Defense

The AFC really is a bit of a mess isn't it. Denver and New England just don't fill you with confidence the way they play defense and no Gronk takes the pats offense down a peg. They have to do something about targetting knees. Not just a fine but a straight hit to the knee of a defenseless receiver should be a week off. Indy are shot and at the end of the day it's still Andy Dalton at QB for the Bengals. Can he beat one of Brady or Manning in the play offs? I'd say so. But two in a row like the ravens did last year? KC are every shot to beat Indy week 1 but then how do they beat Denver? They've tried twice and can't. And the last wildcard - Miami or Balltimore maybe, they shouldn't beat the bengals. The 49ers struggle the same way that Cinncinatti do when you talk about beating good teams 2 weeks in a row. They're every chance to beat whoever they come up against week 1 from the NFC North or East but then likely taking on New Orleans before then getting Seattle (or vice versa) - good luck with that. The play offs always throw up surprises but with their records at home I can't see how the NFC championship game wont be played at either New Orleans or more likely Seattle and how the home team wont win. I suppose the biggest factor is injuries that's about it.

And most of them have either been right or worked out right. But that was a head scratcher although Gould is one of the best kickers of all time so it's a huge surprise we missed it. Season is over now for the Bears but with our defense it's been over in reality since very early. Tough decisions coming up on Cutler, Melton, Peppers, Tilman and many others for the bears.

Reason why I don't mind this 1. Jetta does have reasonable skills 2. His tackling and agility/sidestep are towards to top of our talent 3. Whilst he's been on the list for ages he's never had consistent preseasons 4. It's nice to have a more experienced Indigenous player. And I don't mean that as a reason why I'd keep him but now we have kept him it's a positive And mainly 5. He was the final round of the rookie draft. When you see what we got in the third round and even from the third round of the main draft we were taking athletic smokies so we clearly didn't have a lot of names left on the list.

I'd say Vick is done with the eagles unless Foles has a huge dip in form. That said I'm not convinced Foles is the man for them either but I'd keep him as the presumptive started and hit the draft again. Vick should be out looking for work and might make sense backing up a read option QB in Washington, Seattle or even the 49ers. As for the NFC East what you really need to do is call up Indy and ask to swap with them in to the AFC south. Imagine 6 games a year against Tenn, Houston and Jacksonville. That's the gift that keeps on giving. At least the poor old NFC East has decent QB's in Romo, Manning and RGIII to navigate.

Ahhh November, the month that so often sees Jay Cutler go from hero to zero. Played injured when he shouldn't have which you respect but also frustrates. He still played ok and a huge part of this loss is on the fact we just couldn't run the ball this week. Was the week for dominant front 7 defense though with Carolina and St Louis getting it done. Oh and Strafford I don't want to make things worse but there's a big fat sleeper team out west with one hell of a defense, one hell of a rookie head coach and a good friend of yours no doubt at QB. GB and CHI have hit the skids with injury. The NFC East dont deserve 1 play off spot yet alone a WC. And the Carolina bandwagon is powered by the defense but steered by Cam Newton and Riverboat Ron. A visit to Jacksonville (they wouldn't dare go 2 in a row would they?) will see the Cardinals move to 6-4, they couldn't possibly take an NFC wild card could they? Are you on the Carson Palmer express yet Strafford?

I just think it's a bad pre snap read to throw in to 2 deep safties then once the play unfolds he should see the underneath coverage and be even more scared as he then can't be long or deep. Much safer to take a shot out wide or angle in at the seems between the corners and safeties that the linebackers probably wont be covering as they'll be up watching AP. And deep balls down the middle don't test true arm strength as much as the deep darts between the seems and down the sides because the only way to catch them generally is to put air up under the ball. You see QBs throw fast and deep and over throw receivers all the time. If you've got a good receiver you are much safer to put some air under it, the proviso being the guy is double covered. All in all it was a poor play call, poor read and poor throw and a typical Ponder mistake. But he came back an played great (Or good enough to torch Washington's rubbish defense) anyway so 1 mistake per game can be tolerated.

No play caller ever says go long up the middle to 2 deep safeties. It's Ponder's inability to either read the defense pre snap or vision to see the play. Whatever you make of Ponder's accuracy, mobility, heart, arm strength it's his lack of vision that is his greatest undoing. Misses open receivers and then throws in to coverage.

Please never mention Thursday night football as prime time. You can almost feel the hatred that everyone has towards it haha. Felt bad for Ponder doing such a great job of rebounding from an awful start to playing a pretty good game then getting injured on a desperate attempt to score. Cassel looks like the Vikings best quarterback. I think Freeman gets another shot right at the end of the year but right now the Vikings future is probably going to be in the draft with another QB with Cassel as back up. With a top 5 pick and some good QB's coming out of college you have to ask if it's worth persevering with Ponder or Freeman in any role next year. Washington's offense is still handy but that defense is a complete mess. Conceding that amount of points to the Vikings despite doing an ok job on special teams and not huge turnovers or even getting torched by AP is embarrassing.

Well shock horror I can't believe it the bears did it! Although we caught a lucky break with McClellin not only playing the game of his life but taking out Rodgers. From then on it was just a matter of playing something close to decent defense. Green Bay looking very silly now not getting an adequate back up BEFORE preseason so the player gets full reps in OTAs/camp/preseason and preseason games. That was the reason why Wallace looked rubbish and McCown looked better than most starters. No doubt having the bye week and knowing he was going to start helped McCown as well. Best bit about the win - according to his twitter Cam Schwab was fulfilling a life long dream going to GB to watch the pack. Sucked in mate. Spend your pay out some other way. Bears season on the line again though this week. Beat Detroit and go to the top of the NFC North and we are every chance to win the division or a wild card. Lose and we are in trouble. Not that I expect us to win or make the play offs. The defense is just too banged up and rubbish.

Another great MMQB article. And written by a woman! And yet we put up with dribble like Mark Robinson's trash on the Essendon sage and Damian Barrett's sliding doors segment on AFL.com.au

Whilst we are on rule changes the other thing the NFL must do at the end of this season is scrap the redskins nickname. It's appalling.

Nope only way to get positional play back is to paint big lines across the field and enforce how many can be in each segment of the ground at a time. Changing from a bench to soccer style subs would only mean more talls and smalls are replaced by midfielders and guys who can play flexible positions. Thus ruining one of the great things of our sport that it's not based purely on guys of a specific size and shape. Luckily for the AFL we already have those lines placed on the field. Not to mention umpires who do nothing when the play is at the other end or middle of the ground (goal umpires). All we need to do now is enforce a rule that says at any stoppage of play (ball up or throw in) each team must have 3 players inside each of the respective forward or back 50's.

Yeah but that was round 1 and a Bengals special effort with brainless penalties and dumb coaching that got us to that win. Don't get me wrong I like the Bengals and watched Hard Knocks, really like some thing Marvin Lewis does but also doubt whether he's quite championship quality. The bears can beat good defensive teams with the offense at its best. But any team with a good offense will beat us. Hence the giants got close even with their O crawling along and Wash, Saints and Lions beat us. 4-3 seems to hold up really well when you get a pass rush from the front 4. I'm thinking Giants superbowl runs and when the bears have been good. Seattle at the moment are the same. But when you don't get anything from consistently rushing 4 I like the flexibility a 3-4 provides. The league is heading that way as well. Time for Trestman to make a statement on his defense after this season. I know he wanted to keep a good thing going but now that's over he has to show he can get a coordinator to shape a defense. Otherwise he's just the inverse of Lovie.

Yep heads up football is what they are preaching in high schools now and it should slowly follow through to the Pros. The idea is you tackle with your head up. That way your arms and shoulders make the contact not the helmet. They will react to the targeting of the knees as well. It's come about from players not being allowed to go high so they now go low. The other thing that the NFL needs desperately is a MRP. I know our one is a joke but they hand our indiscriminant fines that don't touch the surface on what these guys earn. They then rarely hand out suspensions but the most recent guy got his 2 game downgraded to 1. The two 1 game suspensions before that got let off on appeal. NFL is a lot of ways would be much easier to get clear definitions of illegal hits considering all the camera angles in HD and the helmets and so forth. If they are serious about preventing concussion then a simple MRP and demerit system will do wonders for weeding out dirty players. A proper fines and carry over point system will allow players to actually understand what they've done wrong.

Schiano is out Neelding the great man himself. Just replace Freeman with Moloney and a few other names and you get Mark Neeld at Melbourne. A power hungry fool is Schiano. And that cannon might just be Tampa's version of Melbourne's bugle. Anyway my frustrating sports fan life continues with the Bears. We finally get a coach in who has a clue about offense, O line play and protecting and utilising your above average QB in Cutler and our successful defense goes over the hill age wise and then has injury after injury. 3 DT injured, 2 starting line backers injured, gun CB Tillman playing on a dodgy knee and most of the rest of the defense is average as well. Bears are 4-3 and we've been in the games in the losses but the combined win total of our opponents isn't pretty (Minn, Cinn, NYG, Wash). Anyway it might be a slow decline for the bears this year with Cutler out injured. Wouldn't be surprised that despite being 4-3 now we finish 6-10 or 7-9. Major off season remodeling of the defense coming up. The offense got retooled nicely last year and this year we should re contracted Cutler and have contracts and talent in place on the O line, at TE and receiver. Defense need the past rush and front 7 completely remodeled and fresh talent in to the secondary. Change of plans to get back to good special teams would be nice as well. Losing our special teams coach to KC was a big loss. Seeing what Rob Ryan has done with the saints and watching Rex get the Jets back and going this year I think it might be time that the Lovie Smith 4-3 Tampa 2/cover 2 is out and we go for a 3-4 defense.

If you dont think Cross is AFL standard anymore then that's the reason not to go for him

I didn't read it as sinister. I saw it more as Lyons being contracted is happy to stay in Adelaide. Adelaide are happy to keep him. Both have the potential to move but it would take a good offer to both and in-particular Adelaide for it to happen.

Michie, pick 40 I agree. But Vince and Lyons are going to take value. Roos did some cheap trades but he also gave up a bit. Pick 28 for Marty Mattner, pick 28 for Mumford, pick 15 for Jolly. Plus at Sydney he was often trading in strong drafts for mature guys who no one was really sold on. Vince and Lyons in some ways have more value than that and their contracts mean we have to pay up. Giving away both pick 20 and the Sylvia pick would be a shame but if it got the deal done then it might be required. We can't trade pick 20, 40 and the Sylvia pick for just players though. We need to get some draft picks back and preferably in the top 40 to get some more youth in.