Macca

The Packers & Vikes have both been hugely disappointing and neither team has any excuses whatsoever. And the Bears have been solid with terrific D and to be perfectly honest, Chicago have shown up the other 2. But it is not over yet in terms of securing a wild-card spot ... there's normally always 2 or 3 teams in each conference that rally late and I'm hoping that GB can be 1 of those teams. As previously stated, we don't have any excuses not to rally late. If we play to our best we can win any of our remaining 6 games. If not, it's a massive fail. @ Vikes, vs Arizona, vs Atlanta, @ Bears, @ Jets & vs Detroit.

But of course Dallas have got the Saints next up ... lose that and then they then play your Eagles in a season definer (decider?) So they could slip to 6 & 7 within 2 weeks and then they'd probably need to win their last 3 to win the division. I doubt that the Saints will slip up with the 1 seed at stake so your Eagles hold the key. And if Philadelphia can somehow rediscover their proper form, they can finish off the season well (much like the Packers, Vikes, Falcons, Jags & Seattle can all rally and finish well) The 2 wild-card spots are up for grabs in the NFC ... for instance, the Bears have almost certainly secured a playoff berth unless they 'lose-out' for the rest of the season.

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8 & 3 now are the Bears ... 2 more wins will probably secure the division. This is after the Vikes & Packers were expected to fight out the NFC North. Wild-card best option for the latter two I reckon. Saints go on their merry way whilst Dallas now control their own destiny after beating Washington today ... last 5 - vs Saints, vs Eagles, @ Indi, vs Tampa, @ NY Giants. That isn't easy but they could get to 9 & 7 and that might be enough.

You can rebuild very quuckly in this league and in this sport. You'll be right

You lost 2 of the 5 most imporrant positions last year (Wentz & left tackle) and still won the big one I didn't even complain when Rodgers went down (twice) ... I blamed Green Bay You just have to wear it Dappa

All teams have to deal with that from time to time so you have to take the good with the bad As we saw with Wentz going down last year, teams can still win with injuries

KC should be able to hold on to the 1 seed ... last 5 - @ Oakland, vs Ravens, vs Chargers, @ Seattle, vs Oakland. I see them winning 4 of those 5 and maybe all 5. Therefore the Pats would probably have to win-out to get to the 1 seed. The Pats remaining schedule is easy with 4 games against divisional rivals but with a trip to Pittsburgh (week 15) which will be telling. The Steelers are the other threat although Houston & the Chargers keep winning. In our conference I see it as a match-race between the Rams & Saints although you never know for sure. As for the Eagles - a gap year? You'll bounce back and the reality is that the NFC East this year is still up for grabs. Just gotta start winning. It's a bit that way in the NFC North too but if the Bears beat the Lions tomorrow, they'll be hard to peg back.

Well I'm old school so I do enjoy a defensive struggle as long as it's not 2 poor offense teams going at each other. A good balance is what I prefer so scorelines of 28 - 24 or thereabouts is what I prefer. A high scoring barnburner is always great value though but I wouldn't want to watch see those types of scorelines all the time. The rapid scoring means we probably won't see the total package. But as Gorg pointed out, 35 of the points came about because of the defenses of both teams. Great QB play all the same ... Goff & Mahomes are super-talented. Having said all that we are going to see more high scoring games and shoot-outs as the rules now are making it harder & harder for defenses. But we seem to be seeing more strip-sacks, pick 6's and points scored from turnovers so the defenses are effectively creating more points. Things might change a bit when the weather turns nasty .. especially those snow-bound games.

McVay has obviously got the smarts in terms of the technical aspects of the game ... seems that way anyway. Handles himself with aplomb whenever I've heard him speak too. And the W/L record speaks for itself ... we're no longer mentioning Wade Phillips as the steadying influence although he may well be playing that role still in terms of influence. Hats off to the bloke, he is doing a fine job.

This one is worth a listen ... X-Files style Limetown And this podcast Homecoming was the forerunner to the newly released TV Drama with the same title (which stars Julia Roberts) The TV series is also very good.

Galaxy Star has only raced in WA but it's easy to get the WA horses confused Wadda ... it has run a number of slick times albeit against moderate opposition without a lot of pressure. To be fair though, the horse hasn't run a bad race in 12 starts (12: 9-3-0) Peaceful State & Prized Icon will both be pushing hard for victory whilst the local horse 'Man Booker' at 17-1 seems overs considering it beat Galaxy Star 2 starts back. The other local with very good form is Material Man. And then there is the other DK Weir runner in Iconoclasm with Craig Williams aboard. As previously stated, it's a good betting race.

Yeah Rodgers is frustrated but if he wasn't frustrated you'd be a bit alarmed! There are a number of highly touted teams that have hardly fired a shot this year including the Vikes, Packers, Falcons, Eagles, Jags, Dallas & Seattle. All are likely to miss winning their respective divisions unless 1 or 2 of them get on a winning run. And that is unlikely. 1 or 2 can snag a wild-card but any of the 7 still need to start winning consistently. And just like McCarthy & Rodgers, the coaches & QB's of those 6 other teams would be mighty frustrated. The weird bit is that all 7 teams are all quite capable of playing at a much higher level. Dallas & Seattle could get there but neither team inspires me. Maybe the Vikes but they've been largely unimpressive as well. So really, the best that could be hoped for is a wild-card spot or 2 for those 7 aforementioned teams. The reality is that the NFC has 2 dominant teams with the Bears on the improve and then it falls away dramatically. Can anyone see an NFC Championship game that doesn't include the Saints & Rams? For once, it's much more competitive in the AFC with any number of teams vying for top dog. The Chargers & Texans are nipping away at the top 3 and neither of those 2 teams are going away in a hurry. That's the way I see it after week 11.

That makes sense then Gorg ... I couldn't remember your exact wording. I would do a full review, put in some different people around McCarthy and then put him on notice. But not sack him If things don't improve in the next 12 months you then make the move. His record on the back of a supreme Rodgers previously gets him a bit more time. But if I was an opposition fan I might think differently but there are no consequences for opposition fans Do opposition fans want GB to be successful? ?

Hey Gorg I couldn't find your post where you compared McCarthy to Fisher but were you being serious? Fisher no playoff series vs McCarthy with at least 8 playoff series, 3 NFC Championship games and a SB win. McCarthy is miles off Belichick but so are most Head coaches Fisher is more like Neeld ... correction, Neeld is way worse. I reckon GB can do better than McCarthy however so it is all relative and context has to be factored in. It is fair to say that McCarthy leans on A-Rod far too much but Fisher did not want to use Goff at all - didn't rate the young gun. How do you rate McVay?

As for the $1Million Railway Stakes to be held at Ascot (WA) on Saturday, here is the field after the barrier draw. Willie Pike is on the favourite 'Galaxy Star' but the race is a very open affair and therefore a good betting race. Material Man is good odds as are a few others.

Early doors sees DK Weir having 8 horses nominated for the Ballarat Cup He made mention of 'Tradesman' too ... said his last run was pleasing (2 lengths off the winner and running on in the 1800m G3 Eclipse Stakes) One for the exotics and a former best bet from the crew here.

I'm with you Wadda ... we need to put in a submission for the greater good. And that 'greater good' is more of the folding stuff for the A Day at the Races crew.

Points remain scarce for all and we've only got 6 weeks to go ... only the 1 point available this week but any point is invaluable of course. To use racing parlance we've travelled 1200m into the 2000m WFA Classic with JV & Gonzo leading the field upon settling down. Layz is sitting right behind the leaders in the ideal spot whilst GtB, Clint, Dappa, DZ & the master are sitting on the speed ready to make their runs. And then we have the swoopers from the back (titan, Gorg, Macca & Dave) who have had the easy runs sitting off the speed. Gorg (with Jared Goff on board) is the renowned strong finisher amongst the backmarkers so it's anyone's race! We've past 'Chiquita Lodge' Good luck all! Leaderboard in the comp 6 - JV7, Dr. Gonzo 5 - layzie 4 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, Dappa Dan, Dee Zephyr, DeeSpencer 3 - titan_uranus, Gorgoroth, Macca, 2 - DemonDave Week 12 Lines With Cousin Sal | The Bill Simmons Podcast (Ep. 444)

Ha ha ha! The concept has certainly been a huge talking point over the last 2 days ... the whole thing kicks off sometime in January but the entry fee for any of the potential horses is a one-off $500 fee with no additional fees and all the money raised from the entry fees goes to charity. They have obviously thought the whole thing through properly and a host of trainers, jockeys & owners are fully endorsing the concept.

Yeah I was only catching up with the scores because of work Dappa but the numbers were ticking over like an odometer. I just got home and have taped the game so am eager to watch. This is the new NFL hey ... the best teams are just racking up the big scores. And the defense is another offense. Seattle started that trend with the 'Legion of Boom' and it is being continued on by the looks of it.

The voting is Australia-wide, you have to register to vote and you get 1 vote only. And that vote enables you a chance at having the horse you voted for to be running around for you. Acting like the owner for the day. The additional $500k prizemoney is to be shared amongst 14 fans who are lucky enough to a horse running for them. Pays right down to 14th.

Wow! ... will watch later. Big win in the whole scheme of things for the Rams. The 2 seed is there for the taking but you'd need the Saints to slip up to get to the 1 seed