Macca

Again, Watts' overall game is sitting at C+ and sometimes B- ... he'll need to get better and that's up to Jack. If we get a glut of injuries then the level he plays at right now may well be enough to get game time most weeks. However, if he doesn't improve then he ends up in a similar category with a number of others. To be fair, there are quite a few players on our list in the same boat or worse - Grimes, Frost, M Jones, Terlich, Dawes, Spencer, Lumumba, Newton and a number of others including Begg, Kennedy & Melksham. We have a lot on our list with it all before them ... previously, we had an abundance of players who had very little upside and were no better than C- or worse. .

So you use A grade but nothing else ... so how do you describe players who aren't A grade? I'm genuinely interested.

We nearly all have grading systems - whether it's with a description only and/or with a letter attached (A, B, C etc) I take it you do neither so your future posts won't include a description of a player or a "letter" to help describe that particular player.

Who has the more upside? - I'd say Watts comfortably but upside doesn't always eventuate. Yeah, it's an opinion. What do you think we're here for? So what's your grading system? .

Watts is a C+ player ... sometimes B-. It's been that way for a few years now. Previously, we've had an abundance of D grade players so Watts was an obvious best 22 - then. Now, our list is on the verge of becoming much stronger so Jack will need to become at least B- consistently (or better) in order to be best 22. If he can somehow raise his game to B grade level then he'll be comfortably best 22. It's all in Jack's hands. Everyone has a different grading system but I see a B grade footballer as a player who plays well most weeks and rarely, if ever, gets dropped. A solid contributor who plays his role and can beat his opponent. B+ is very good or excellent and A grade is elite, a gun and a champion of the game. The A grade status is bandied around far too easily - A grade should be reserved for game breakers and genuine match-winners. The draft pick number he was picked at is now quite irrelevant.

Here's a couple of upbeat tracks I came across whilst listening to Jazz24.org The 2nd link sees the track 'Zigaboogaloo' by "Nicholas Payton" cut short at the end but the full song can be heard here Leroy Vinnegar - Ah Que Linda

And if the AFL allow the EFC to replace their banned* players with other players for the length of the bans then you'd assume we'd be able to do the same for Melksham. *Assuming they do get bans

Well, I can't remember what all my predictions were but I had Baltimore, the Saints and Dallas in there somewhere! Seattle too if I'm being honest. In the end I might only get the Pats right (and that was a no-brainer)

So what is your opinion on the actual outcome? All bias and favour aside I reckon they'll be found guilty but the penalties won't be too harsh (in relative terms) But I may be completely wrong. CAS will have to place the PED's at the EFC you'd reckon and that might be hard to prove ... or it may not be hard to prove. Then they have to be comfortably satisfied that the players were administered with these PED's. With so many injections taking place, who knows who got injected with what? The murkiness becomes an ally for the players - like it or not, that's how it could be seen. On the surface it's been a well planned out exercise by Essendon but ultimately it's still going to cost them a lot - they haven't even reached a point where they can start recovering yet.

Well the decision ultimately goes back to Roos ... there's no mystery person that would take the rap. In fact, a lot of people would at least be (in part) responsible including Taylor, Goodwin, Viney & Mahoney. It's not like any of them can proclaim that the recruitment of Melksham had nothing to do with them as individuals - they wouldn't do such a thing anyway. My bet is that it would end up being a shared responsibility with no one falling on their sword or having the finger pointed at them ... that's just how things work, like it or not. There will be no pound of flesh. The club and the members & supporters would just have to wear it. It might even be Roos who would put his hand up but I highly doubt that there would be any repercussions. My stance hasn't changed - if they are found guilty they should receive lengthy bans - whether that happens or not is anyone's guess ... again, I reckon the actual penalties won't be too harsh if they're found guilty - how harsh? Who knows? Maybe half a season or a full season or maybe just 6-8 weeks. I wouldn't be totally surprised if it's a 2 year ban but again, none of us know anything for sure. Despite all the evidence (circumstantial or otherwise) the 34 may in fact be found not guilty again. .

So DRS "hotspot" shows that Lyon nicked the ball (from 3 different angles) yet that is ruled inconclusive? Why have the technology if it's not going to be trusted? Human error I can deal with if it doesn't involve technology but this decision looked quite clear cut according to hotspot. We're supposed to be trying to eliminate the howlers. Otherwise the day/night test and the pink ball is turning out to be a resounding success (so far) ... I can see more scheduling of day/night tests in Australia (and not just in Adelaide) The Melbourne and Sydney Tests will probably remain day games but you never know. .

Seattle have been the biggest disappointment ... they should have come out all guns blazing after blowing a SB winning chance. Just proves once again that you've got to take your chances when those chances present themselves - unless of course they get on a run and contend again. At 5 & 5 they've got some catching up to do - that's entirely possible with their run home but they still have to get it done. They may luck-out in week 17 if Arizona have nothing to play for (I'd expect the Cardinals to secure the 2 seed - they could clinch that 2 seed in week 16 at home against Green Bay) Detroit are the other big disappointment amongst other teams. Packers at 7 & 4 is about 1 win less than my expectations - however, losing 4 of 5 with a multiple MVP winning QB is unacceptable. If it becomes 5 of 6 the fans may riot Gorgo is rightfully disappointed with his Rams whilst the 49ers fans on this thread must be quite annoyed. Atlanta promise a lot and then falls away - they can get back on track but it needs to happen now. There's some really good stories too with the Panthers, Cinci, Vikes & Arizona. My smoky team to get "hot" at the right time are the Steelers ... the Giants with Eli could cause a bit of damage too (if, as expected, they now win their division)

My vote was B because I was hoping that the club might have recruited at least one ready-made top player. That doesn't mean I'm disappointed though as the rest of the trade period seems to have worked out really well (at least on the surface) To recruit any more than 4 good to excellent players in any given year is very difficult ... that's why it takes longer these days for a club to extract itself from the bottom reaches of the ladder. I prefer to look at our recruiting from the end of the 2012 season onwards ... out of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 off-seasons we look to have picked up about 9 (3 per year on average) good to excellent players ... Viney, Hogan, Salem, Brayshaw, Tyson, Vince, Garlett, vandenBerg and the now retired Cross. 15 others recruited in that time period all have a chance of becoming good players or better ... Kent, Petracca, Stretch, Lumumba, JKH, ANB, Harmes, Dawes, O-Mac, Newton, Michie, White, Max King, Frost & Hunt - a number of those 15 won't make it to good status of course but on an overall basis, it's a more than tidy return for those 3 off seasons. At a guess I'd say we may get 3-4 of those 15 to end up being at least good players (Petracca especially) so our return for those 3 off seasons could end up being 11-12 good players (or better) Add to that this year's crop and the list is starting to look like a proper AFL list capable of winning more games than it loses. And why would we not think that our recruiting in the 2015 off-season would not mirror at least the last 2 previous off-seasons? Out of Begg, Melksham, Kennedy, Oliver, Weideman, Hulett, Mitchell King & Wagner we could expect to end up with at least 3 good to excellent players. That quite conceivably brings our tally of good players brought in over 4 off-seasons to at least 14-15. Compare that with our return from '07 - '11. There's a lot to look forward to. .

They played God without asking me - The incredible human toll extracted by state-sponsored doping Just a reminder of where it can all lead - those who want to give up the fight against drugs in sport because it's all too hard need to be careful what they wish for. The above linked story applies to the East German doping program but it could equally apply to the current Russian doping program or the Chinese swimming doping program ... or indeed it could apply to a doping program which is a lot closer to home. Note: if the above link doesn't work try copying and pasting the link to google.

The Panthers have now won 15 games in a row dating back to last season. The best record in the NFC since the merger in 1970.

The Eagles coach has lost the locker room by the looks of it and I reckon the owner probably wants him out too. Detroit underperformed in the first half of the season and like Chicago, they are now starting to play well - they've got some decent weapons. If they can beat Green Bay at home next week they've got an outside chance of finishing on 9 wins ... their last 4 - @ Rams, @ New Orleans, vs 49ers, vs Chicago are all winnable. The Packers last 5 are ... @ Detroit, vs Dallas, @ Oakland, @ Arizona then vs Minnesota ... at our best we would win at least 3 to get to 10 wins but our best only happens fleetingly these days. The division winner may well come down to week 17 involving at least 2 teams and possibly 3 or even all 4 teams. Minnesota have also got a tough run home and your blokes have got some very winnable games in the run home. Chicago should win their next 2 for starters (vs 49ers, vs Washington) .

The NFC North is up for grabs ... I wouldn't even rule Detroit!

7mate are covering all 3 games tomorrow but ESPN are only doing the Panthers @ Dallas match (8.30am)

New England Arizona Giants

Week 12 games The Thanksgiving games all have a bit riding on them ... the Eagles and Dallas cannot afford to lose whilst the Packers/Bears game could be closer than people think. Packers should win but we need to continue to bring our best game. Carolina have a chance to go 11 & 0 and if they do then talk could turn to them going through the season undefeated (4 of their last 5 games are divisional match-ups) Tossing up whether to include them in my tips ... same with the Eagles. 1 point only to play for this week but weeks 13, 15 & 17 are bonus weeks (week 17 is for 3 points) Leaderboard in the comp 5 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_ hell 4 - JV7, Georgiou R.R. Martin 2 - Macca 1 - titan_uranus 0 - The rest

Seattle's best is still very good but will they be able to snare a wild-card berth given their schedule? Pittsburgh at home next up won't be easy and they still have to visit Minnesota & Arizona. We can almost certainly assume that the NFC East won't produce a wild-card but there's still a number of teams in the NFC that are in the running for a wild-card berth ... those teams on 4 wins will probably have to win out but 9 wins might do it. However, there nearly always seems to be at least one team that comes from nowhere to challenge - might that team be Tampa? One of Minnesota or Green Bay will probably get one wild-card. Atlanta need a win and they need it asap. In the AFC Pittsburgh seems to be the best team that isn't leading their division ... KC's run home isn't all that difficult either. The Bills & Jets have claims but I favour the Steelers & Chiefs. One of Indi or the Texans are a chance too. I reckon Denver & Cinci will hang on and win their divisions whilst the Pats, Panthers & Arizona will win their divisions barring a huge turnaround in form. The NFC North is still undecided in my opinion whilst any number of teams could win the AFC South & the NFC East. Detroit & Chicago could both play spoiler in the NFC North. Both are capable on their day. One thing is for sure - from here on in we'll start to see elimination games for a number of teams.

The Packers certainly brought their A game today ... all round we were very good whereas in previous weeks we've been awful in all 3 phases. Stopping AP was key and once we stopped him, it was a quite academic. But it's only 1 win and only 1 loss ... both teams are 7 & 3 - there's any number of good teams that have W/L records that are worse. I'd count Seattle, Dallas, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Indi & the Ravens as good teams who for one reason or another have had average or poor returns this season. Detroit are another team who should have done a lot better. Dallas might sneak in but they'll need other teams to help them get in. The Eagles are doing their bit to help but Dallas will need the Giants to do the same - and who knows with Washington? And how about those Panthers? ... 10 & 0 is just remarkable all things considered. They've got a few tough games in their run home but they should get to 13 or 14 wins - and that will probably be enough for the 1 seed. The Panthers already hold the head to head advantage over the Packers so it's really only Arizona who could challenge them for the top seed ... and the Cardinals host the Packers in week 16.

Leaderboard in the comp 5 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_ hell 4 - JV7, Georgiou R.R. Martin 2 - Macca 1 - titan_uranus 0 - The rest GRRM makes a move whilst I doubled my score and moved into the bronze medal position (Gorgo's domain)

...and Leicester on top of the table ... who would have thought? The title race is wide open.

The regular season is all about getting enough points to get into the final 16 Vancouver have been good enough to make the playoffs in the recent past but have been abysmal once making it. To be perfectly honest, I don't take it too seriously but enjoy watching the games ... and playoff hockey is fabulous.