Macca

Got through by the skin of our teeth ... 2 - 1. Syria hit the woodwork in the last minute from a set piece. Cahill scored twice ... both times with headers. The ageless warrior Now for Panama, Honduras or the USA.

Leaderboard in the comp 4 - Dappa Dan 3 - JV7, Clintosaurus 1 - Go the Biff, Macca 0 - The usual suspects The winners 'curse' seems to have returned @Gorgoroth ... in your case, the curse was delayed for a year by the looks of it We like our curse's at the Demons. Still and all, it ain't over by a long shot.

Got a mate who is a recent convert to the NFL ... and he picked the Giants as his team. This bloke knows a fair bit about team sport and he's well aware of Eli and the 2 x SB wins and Coughlin and all that. He hasn't had a problem with Eli all year but he reckons the Giants O-Line & D-Line are woeful and are the crux of the Giants problems. And coach McAdoo. It's hard for me to comment as I don't watch their games (aside from highlights & Redzone) so I'll take his and your word for it as you both will watch their games (or at least a number of their games) ... as an example of that, I've got a keen interest in tomorrow's game (Vikings @ Bears) because both teams are in Green Bay's division.

I read your earlier post and I agree with your view ...there's some real talent around and there's a good degree of athleticism attached with nearly all of the new breed. On the surface it all looks a step-up from the Kap, RG3 & Luck class. Although I'm still scratching my head about the fall from grace with Kaepernick. Good arms everywhere as well ... was impressed with Prescott today but he just got out-gunned by Rodgers - no disgrace in that. I reckon the QB class definitely runs deeper now - and it's the new blokes that have pushed up the numbers. Brady, Ryan, Ben, Flacco, Stafford, Smith, Rivers, Wilson, Breez & Cousins are all still good though. Even Eli's numbers are still decent - not sure about McAdoo as a head coach. An 0 & 5 start would normally spell doom in New York.

And aside from tomorrow's game there's a big clash coming up in a few days time for your blokes (Eagles @ Panthers) I'm not sure how the players ever find a way to back up again just 4 days later but the match-ups are often very good and I suppose both sides are in the same boat (re prep time) All I know is that it just continues the Friday night 'football' (on the box) and I'm all-in. One of the teams will almost certainly end up being 5 & 1 and well set-up. Newton vs Wentz - bring it on. The Giants will win games soon enough ... they can only hope to play spoiler now and they do have 4 games left within your division.

Go the Vikes hey! And your lads are flying Dappa ... 4 & 1 and 2 games clear of your biggest rival (although instead of Dallas that might be the Redskins now) Winning form is infectious and if you can win at least 2 of the next 3 (@ Panthers (this upcoming Thursday night), vs Washington, vs 49ers) then you're well set-up for the 2nd half of the season. And how 'bout them Jags @Clintosaurus? Like Seattle from the more recent past, your D is often your offense. It's great to see actually ... you'll probably need 10 wins to get it done in your division but 9 wins might suffice. Your schedule isn't tough so it's do-able. @Gorgoroth ... what about those Panthers? 2 big wins on the road and their schedule now looks a hell of a lot easier. @JV7 might be getting a tad concerned Newton is a real talent and if he can hold things together, they're a real show. As for my Packers ... that's a clutch win in big D and Rodgers is just amazing. The WR's really stood up as well and when that happens, we're always a chance. I'm not sure how far we can go with a below average defense but they do have their good days - get the timing right and who knows?

MVP will do ... heading for a 3rd?

Packers @ Dallas is my obvious preferred game to watch - I'm never optimistic with these sorts of games though so I'm hoping for a good showing from Green Bay. If Dallas are allowed to score freely we'll struggle. The other games of real interest are Carolina @ Detroit, Seattle @ Rams & KC @ Houston. Here's Bill Simmons latest column ... What Is the Most Bitter Fan Base in the NFL?

Carolina Kansas City Buffalo

Yankees get through in the AL after defeating the Twins today ... next up for New York is Cleveland. My lads (the Redsox) play Houston. Best of 5 in the first phase can be over very quickly if the road team doesn't win 1 of the first 2 games (or vice-versa) Over in the NL the Dodgers await the winner of the other wild-card playoff game (Colorado @ Arizona) In the other DS match-up, its the Cubs @ Washington. I favour the Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees & Boston to get through to the CS. Well, that's my ideal set of match-ups anyway.

This is quite a fascinating journey that you've undertaken DJ. If we can get past Syria we're then up against either Panama, Honduras or the USA (there's an outside chance it might be Costa Rica but they should qualify automatically) That home & away fixture would be held in mid to late November(?) But first things first ... we have to get past Syria and that won't be easy. The pitch over there looks like it could be substandard but I remember reading once that the Socceroos had to play a qualifier in Vietnam during the height of the Vietnam war and the pitch had to be swept for land mines! That would sharpen the senses a tad. Put's a whole new complexion on dribbling the ball hey?

Leaderboard in the comp 3 - JV7 2 - Dappa Dan 1 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, Macca 0 - Take a wild guess This week is even harder and we're all playing for 2 points ... best of luck!

There's more than a few niners fans here that wouldn't be too happy haha ... they all post here from time to time and a couple have entered into the tipping comp (both now and previously) And where the hell is @cowboy_from_hell ... he's normally all over this thread. Although, I sometimes take decent breaks from this place (the footy threads) whenever it suits so that's probably all it is.

Quite a good game today ... if Josh Doctson hangs on to that catch with 50 seconds left Washington would have probably won the game. KC's 461 yards of total offense was impressive though. Both QB's were good. Hunt is a real mover - he's got a terrific step that beats defenders.

Arnie must have got them going ...

Yeah, terrific player. At both RB & WR too. Amazing talent. You'd be thinking KC at home but Washington have been decent so far. The Redskins passing yards are up there whilst KC passing defence is allowing 257 yards per game. KC to win but it might be a close one.

New England, Dallas & Atlanta all lose at home after going in as hot favourites. A week is definitely a long time in this sport. Not sure who the biggest winners are this week but the Bills, Rams, Lions, Eagles, Broncos, Steelers & Panthers are all now sitting at 3 & 1 (along with the Falcons, Packers & KC [3-0] ) If I had to pick a team to watch it might be the Panthers ... but the Rams, Eagles, Bills & Lions are all looking good. As for the standout players ... Winston, Watson, Goff, Gurley, Bell & Newton all had big days. Watson is the big story for mine - big numbers and he looks the goods.

Normally that Steelers/Ravens match-up produces fireworks. It's one of the early games tomorrow and it's bound to be close. And a little nasty (hopefully)

We haven't seen the end of these type of incidents though ... but, as previously noted, players aren't used to being ousted for that type of indiscretion so there might be some easing up on field. We'll find out soon enough. The NFL media will probably be on the lookout for anything untoward.

Not sure I picked it Dappa ... but I've given my thoughts previously so I'll leave it there. Your game kicks off at 7am ... you watching live?

Over there, that's seen as a somewhat hefty penalty. So, by their standards, he hasn't gotten off lightly. If we judged things by our standards, we might see it differently. I know I do. But again, I'm not pointing the finger at the player but more so the actual indiscretion and the penalties involved.

Here are the games again for those who still need to do their tipping ... SNF (Colts @ Seattle) is an ordinary match-up with Luck not playing but MNF could be decent (Washington @ KC) Pittsburgh/Baltimore are fierce rivals and Oak/Den, Det/Min & the Rams/Cowboys could all be interesting. But finding 3 road winners? There should be bonus points allocated

Unless Atlanta lose their way, they can wrest control of home field advantage all the way to the SB. They look like men on a mission. They score freely and are strong at QB, WR, RB and their defence is better than decent. They do have to go to New England & Seattle but they've got Dallas at home in the dome. And the SB is being played indoors as well.

Well ... with all due respect to the Bears, I judge this team against the best teams. Losing today's game would have been a diabolical outcome. As it stands, our only real strength is at QB & WR so losing Adams is a blow (I'm assuming that he'll miss a few games at least) We're at Dallas next up and that's a game I would really want to win ... we've already lost to Atlanta so we can't afford to lose too many of those head-to-head tie-break situations. @ Big D is a toughie. Just winning the NFC North is going to be a tough ask though. We're at the Vikings in week 6 after @ Dallas. As for the change needed in the NFL, I'm generally quite happy with how it's all run. Especially with the structures of the divisions, conferences and playoff procedures. The sport itself is very exciting in it's own, unique way.

You're probably right dc But I'm hoping that we'll somehow have the whole PED program exposed for what it was. It's a false hope but you never know.