Macca

Still no one off the mark in the tipping comp ... just the 1 point on offer this week. There's probably a couple of more obvious road chances this week but who knows? It's another tough week.

Well, I can come to terms with things quite quickly once things become quite obvious. The NFL almost certainly won't be doing a back-flip on this new ruling - not this season anyway. So pass-rushers are just going to have to adapt otherwise they run the risk of being ejected ... at least it applies to all the teams so in a way, it's fair. I don't like it but the new ruling is almost certainly here to stay.

The classic example is Peyton ... used in a primarily conservative way out of the pocket by Tony Dungy he ends up at Denver where Elway uses him the same way but with very few deep throws. Result ... 2 SB's and 1 SB victory (at Denver)

Having both is risky though ... I reckon if a QB is capable enough inside the pocket a good coach can then give that QB eniugh help to still win more than lose. Most of Brady & Peyton's passes were/are over very short distances.

There is lot to be said for a top quality QB to just play like Peyton or Brady layz. Both pocket-passers who because they had/have limited scope outside of the pocket, that is where they stay primarily. It is often a little boring but a very effective way of playing the position. Rodgers at Green Bay spends way too much time outside the pocket ... thus, he gets injured a lot.

Well done to Gus, Max & Clarrie but especially Brayshaw. A great comeback story. Max should have received more votes given his stellar season but it is a midfielders medal because it is a midfielders game. But a lot of the midfielders don't really have a direct opponent more so an opposite number where as Max needs to beat a direct opponent. And he does so to great effect and has great influence especially with his taps to advantage (at least 15 taps to advantage in 17 games ... comparable to clearance numbers) The coaches award has more lustre in my opinion mainly because the coaches are probably the best people to judge who the best players are.

Ha ha ha! I know he plays for a rival of yours Dappa but Eli was simply great twice in 2 playoff series. He was superb. A big occasion player who has never been much better than B grade in nearly all his regular seasons. In swimming he would be regarded as a negative-splitter ... some players are like that - they need the brightest lights shining on them to perform at their best. Foles was like that too and I hope he gets another shot at that glory. You've got a more than handy back-up to Wentz but I'm betting that the 49ers wouldn't mind him on their roster right now. Apart from tomorrow's game ( Pittsburgh @ Tampa) there's a beauty coming up this Friday - Vikings @ Rams. A big big game for more than a few reasons. And no one scored a point in the comp so we're all still in the Gold medal position!

The reason I thought you could do ok without Wentz was that Foles had had a very good year under Chip Kelly (27 TD's and only 2 interceptions) and Pederson had a chance to tap into that. I thought you could still win a playoff game but Foles went 2 steps further of course. Plus it was late in the year and you only had to win 1 more game to secure the 1 seed with a week off and a home final. With Rodgers twice and now Garoppolo, nothing was secured team wise so writing off the season was the logical conclusion given the strength of both teams otherwise. Plus the Eagles were a far better all round team than what the 49ers are now or what the Packers were in both those years. The circumstances were vastly different although I don't believe anyone could have foretold what Foles went on to do. He was 'Eli-like' for a month!

Have you 3 back-ups ... Mullins, Beathard, Heneghan? Any of them any good layz? Shame about what happened to Garoppolo ... if it's any consolation the Packers season went South last year and in 2013 when Rodgers broke his collarbone in both years. Like no other sport, your season is suddenly over without warning when the QB is such an important fixture in a team and then goes down. Hopefully one of your back-ups can perform.

I've had a small wager on Max tonight - 10.00 seems overs too. Such a dominant season will surely be rewarded with at least a top 3 finish ... would be a popular win amongst the footy public too. Go Big Maxy!

Yep ... and the niners look like losing Garoppolo to an ACL injury. Non contact too. I'm surprised there aren't more ACL injuries on the artificial surfaces that have no give in them. You've got to feel for their fans, all the same. The Buffalo win is an absolute surprise ... and to a lesser extent the Giants & Tennessee wins. Bears leading the NFC North although any of the 4 teams could win that division. I'd like to be confident in questioning the Pats chances but they'll bounce back as they always do.

Who knows? It's hard enough trying to add 1 top player to a list but we'll do our best. Taylor's track record to date has been very good so there's no reason to believe that he won't continue to produce the goods. It could be that we add 2 top teenagers who show a fair bit in their first 2 years... so it's not necessarily about the next year with regards to building a top-of-the-range list. Free agents, trade for talent - we might have a few departures that gives us a good net return such as moving up in the draft order. We'll probably turn over 6-8 players with retirements, delistings & trades so we could assume that we'll have about 6-8 new players. And I'd rather have an excess of top players to cover for those years where you have more than your fair share of injuries. In fact, you can never have enough good players if you're looking for sustained success.

Just a heads-up for next weekend ... there are no fewer than 17 Group races being held across 3 venues across 3 days (Friday Evening - Moonee Valley, Saturday - Randwick, Sunday - Caulfield) 5 Group 1's including the Moir Stakes, Epsom Hcp, Metropolitan Hcp, Flight Stakes & Underwood Stakes. And the Group 2 Premiere Stakes at Randwick should have 5 'Everest' runners engaged. Brave Smash & Nature Strip should both be running in the Moir Stakes whilst 'Grunt' will clash with Charlie's Appleby's big import 'Blair House' in the Underwood. The 2 Guineas Prelude's are being held on Underwood Stakes day as well. That's on top of 2 Grand Finals in the 2 biggest codes in the Country being played on the same weekend. That's what you call a big weekend in sport.

There are 17 other clubs who get knocked off in the pursuit of the flag ... we are just the last team that it's happened to. Our loss will be old news soon enough. It might even be better to lose a prelim than a GF. That grief stays with you. You've always got to go back to what your realistic expectations were at the start of the season. Many here were saying that to play 1 final was a pass mark. We won 2 finals. Sure, the exit was inglorious but it nearly always is. A close loss in a prelim might have hurt even more. I reckon the Tigers exit is a way bigger story as they were supposed to win the flag weren't they? As I said in a previous post, our list is not yet equipped to seriously challenge ... need another 4-6 top players ... do that and the expectations to win big will be realistic.

Yeah they've all got to be road teams Gonzo and the Vikes & KC are at home. If you don't get this message in time I wouldn't be too concerned ... we're all still sitting on zero points and tomorrow's games are tough.

Osborne was up against some very good types Wadda ... Jungle Cat, Home of the Brave, Land of Plenty, Showtime, Peaceful State etc. It was an authentic Group 1 field and Osborne Bulls was first time up in a Group race (albeit handicap conditions) Carrying only 55 kgs it had a real chance and it was only beaten by 1.3 lengths - it wasn't far away. The winner (Jungle Cat) looked all class though. Definitely one to follow as it can obviously carry weight. It's performances in Dubai certainly stacked up.

It's not like we've got a star-studded team that was supposed to win the flag. We've got about a dozen top players of which 2 weren't playing. Premiership teams more often than not have at least 16-18 top grade footballers on their list. So we're about 4-6 top players short yet still won 2 finals and played in a preliminary final ... playing 1 final only would have been par when equating the number of top players that we have. So the list needs to be improved much as it always needs to be improved. We will all know when we've got a star-studded list (if it happens) As a pointer, one only has to look at the teams that won multiple premierships over the last few decades. That is how good you need to be just to win 1 premiership.

9 lots of tips in so far ... a shout-out reminder to @titan_uranus @Dr. Gonzo & @DeeSpencer Sports IIlustrated ( MMQB) Week 3 Preview (Andy Benoit) And if you want to view the following videos you'll have to follow the links to youtube.

A few standout's out of yesterday's racing ... The Autumn Sun stormed home to win the 'Golden Rose' in commanding fashion ... now a 2.80 favourite for the Caulfield Guineas with daylight to the rest The Irish import Jungle Cat stole the show in the 'Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes' ... ran 01.22.31 for the 1400m @ Caulfield which is a very slick time at that course. Was paying way overs too. Next up is the 'Toorak Hcp' according to the trainer. Looked very impressive yesterday carrying the big weight. Night's Watch won very well and is now guaranteed a start in the 'Caulfield Cup' (8-1 third favourite) but will run a week earlier apparently in the G1 Caulfield Stakes over 2000m ($1Million) We snagged 1 winner from 4 out of our best bets yesterday but also picked up a 2nd & a 3rd whilst our 4th pick came 5th. Ellicazoom looked a winner but didn't quite finish off and Sin To Win had every chance but is one to follow. Night's Watch was our winner. Osborne Bulls met up with some very classy types but still ran a close-up 5th. Best Bet Strike Rate 28: 8 - 5 - 5 Australian Group & Listed Races Watch Night's Watch win the 'Naturalism Stakes' here And watch Jungle Cat win the 'Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes' here

We'll be back ... better than ever! Not a good day today but we won 2 finals and disposed of the Cats & Hawks in the process ... fans of those 2 clubs would be just as annoyed as us but neither of those 2 teams won a final. We need to add some talent & pace as well as Hogan & Lever. And that is quite an achievable target so we need to get to work. We're still a work in progress and we're still behind a few clubs right now (notably Richmond, Collingwood & the Eagles) To bridge the gap we need to improve the list and get more games into our young talented players. Again, it's not a reach to say that we could bridge the gap as early as next season. Chins up fellow Demons, we live to fight another day.

The feature races clash with the footy but not to worry ... I'm recording all the racing and will just keep checking my balance at Laddies. Hopefully a win/win/win/win etc etc with the Demons taking absolute precedence.

3 best bets in ... Caulfield Race 7 No.10 Night's Watch $2.90 (was 3.90) Caulfield Race 9 Number 2 Ellicazoom $4.60 Caulfield Race 8 No 4 Osborne Bulls $6.50 Combined odds 85-1 (100-1 Boosted) Good luck all and Go The Mighty Demons

With the Tigers bet done and dusted here are the remaining 6 best bets ... Saturday Midnight EPL Match Score +2.5 Goals & Manchester United Win ($2.45) vs Wolves Sunday 11pm Ligue 1 (French League) Rennes vs PSG Win & Match Score +2.5 Goals ($1.87) EPL Sunday @02:30 Brighton v Tottenham. Tottenham Win $1.75 EPL Sunday @22.30 West Ham v Chelsea Chelsea Win/Over 2.5 goals match total $2.15 West Coast v Melbourne either side u/15.5 pts $2.55 Caulfield Race 8 No. 4 Osborne Bulls Plc $2.40 105-1 but with 'Odds boosted' that comes to about 120-1. Good luck all and Go The Mighty Demons!

Good odds for Ellicazoom DZ ... I'm a fan and the horse is from the Hayes clan as well. Big fields at Caulfield so the dividends will be up - especially for trifecta punters like me. I've included 'Santos' in a Box5 trifecta as well as 'Seabrook' at good odds. Santos just needs a good possie on the pace and we know how well Seabrook can finish.

Ha ha ... I like the Tottenham call DZ but I can't bet against my Hammers no matter how bad we're traveling! I've never bet against the Demons or Packers either. I fancy the Spurs to score a few too ... they'll be smarting from their CL defeat same for PSG which is one of my tips (see above) Have you got anything in the Championship that I can add-on?