Macca

With my Red Sox out of things, I'll be hoping for a Cardinals triumph ... Wild-card playoff games Wednesday 10am Oakland at Kansas City Thursday 10am San Francisco at Pittsburgh American League match-ups (begins Friday our time) LA Angels vs Kansas City/Oakland Baltimore vs Detroit National League match-ups (begins Saturday our time) Washington vs San Francisco/Pittsburgh LA Dodgers vs St Louis Most of the playoff games will be covered by ESPN radio (hopefully that link will work - if not, try tunein)

Plenty of teams have won Super Bowls without 'AAA' QB's. The key is to be good to excellent in all areas but not be deficient in any one area. Teams can also get "hot" when it matters. We've seen so many teams come from nowhere to win the whole thing ... Baltimore, Packers, Giants, Steelers and even New Orleans were a bit of a surprise (before the start of their SB winning season) With regards to injuries (or such like) every team gets them but you don't want to lose a franchise player like the Vikings have. Losing AP means losses. Bridgewater possibly stepping up counters that but imagine if both of them were firing? Detroit still need to win big games on the road and the Panthers loss in week 2 was telling. The Lions have to get it done and if they do, I'll give them credit - not before. They've still got 6 tough road games to come and a few at home that will be tough. Like Dallas, I wouldn't be going all in on the Lions. The teams I've got my eye on are Arizona, the Chargers, Ravens & Colts. Again, the Cardinals need to get it done on the road so the jury is also out on them. Same with the Chargers. The other 2 (Ravens & Colts) are dangerous. The Bengals need to win when it matters - in the playoffs.

Too right ... KC played a great all round game Alex Smith was terrific all night and played the best game I've seen him play (although I haven't seen him play a lot of complete games) ... Brady was un-Brady like. The Patriots defense was awful whilst KC's was very good. Davis, Charles, Kelce & Bowe were all first rate and there was a lot to like about the Chiefs. New England have their issues but we've said that before. They were terrible today ... according to Belichick they "Need to do everything better" I started watching his press conference but found myself dozing off 1 minute in The crowd broke the all time decibel level as well.

I agree but I guess if we're going to start critiquing all the weaknesses of all the teams then where do we start and finish? No team is strong in all areas for any sort of length of time. QB's get more focus because of the nature of things ... defenses less so except in the case of 1 or 2 teams. Bad defenses are just not a juicy enough story. There are numerous examples of that and Geno & the Jets is another one. On an overall basis the Jets are not a good team but Geno will be the one copping the heat. In my eyes we haven't seen a big enough sample size with Geno but if he gets replaced soon then that might be the end of him. If Dallas self destruct the focus will be on Romo. Flacco copped it for a long time until the Ravens won that Super Bowl. The scrutiny will remain on a few other QB's unless they can somehow get their teams over the line against the good teams on a consistent basis.

No change at the top of the leaderboard in the tipping comp ... 1 - Dappa Dan 0 - The rest of us poor souls I almost feel like I had a win by getting 2/3 but unlike what the 'Meatloaf' song indicates, getting 2 out of 3 in this comp is a fail. Next week is the 2nd of the bonus weeks with 2 points up for grabs ... week 5 games ... remembering that anyone can join in the "fun and frivolities" at any time - there is no cut off point for anyone wanting to enter the comp. 3 picks but they must be all road teams and they must all win in order for you to pick up a point (or points) Hoping for a KC win tomorrow and I'll tip them in a close one ... 28-26

Big win for Dallas and credit must be given to Romo (today) He was well protected and he therefore took full advantage. As much as I'm critical of Romo that doesn't mean I wouldn't like him to do well (sorry Dappa) Murray their key RB had a huge game for them which helps but again, we've been burnt by the Cowboys previously so I'm not sure that they can be trusted yet. Apart from going to Seattle in a fortnight they've got some winnable games coming up ... vs Houston, @ Seattle, vs Giants & then vs Washington. Win 3 of them and they'd be 6&2 and well placed. No guarantees with any of those match-ups though. The other big story is the Saints ... they're now 1&3 but luckily for them, the Panthers & Falcons both lost and they're only one game back in the NFC South. They'll need to start getting on the winning list pronto all the same ... next 4 ... vs Tampa, @ Detroit, vs Green Bay & then @ Carolina. They'll probably beat the bucs but after that ....

Cutler just can't get it done against the Packers - that last interception was pure amateur hour. There's more than a touch of "Romo" about Jay. The Packers pass defense was quite good today ... the Bears only scoring 17 points at home against a team that can score as well as Green Bay just isn't going to cut it. By the way, every team gets injuries, not just Chicago The Lions are odds on to choke when the heat gets turned up. Same as Houston haven't proven anything yet and the Steelers shouldn't be written off, Detroit need to win some big games away from home and ... they can't be dropping games at home that they shouldn't. The jury is still out. They've got a chance to gets some wins up with their next 5 though ... vs Buffalo, @ Minnesota, vs New Orleans, @ Atlanta & vs Miami ... they'll need to win at least 3 of those games and more likely 4 of them because after that, it gets very tough for them. The truth is that no game is a guaranteed win for the Lions. Rodgers was immense today and there was one play he pulled off that was incredible - trouble was that we committed a penalty in the process so the TD that we might have scored was disallowed. Our pass defense was quite good but our run defense wasn't good. Lacy played ok but we only achieved 56 yards of run out of our running backs. Chicago's defense had no answer to the precision of Rodgers but I'd prefer it if he had a couple more quality targets. As much as I want the team to improve in other areas our strong point can definitely get better. Can't ever complain about winning @ Chicago though ... as you indicated, your blokes visit Lambeau in a few days - Bridgewater will hopefully come up for the game for your fans. Could be a close one.

Too funny 'cfh' You've got to be happy with Bridgewater ... great effort considering it was his first game starting off. I thought Atlanta were beaten fair and square and just beaten by a better side on the day. Our division just got a whole lot more interesting after today's results. To say I'm relieved with the Packers winning is an understatement. The bonus is the road win within the division - vital. I can R.E.L ...... A.X (for now) I'll leave the SNF result aside for later on but in other results ... The Steelers blew a game they should have won. Houston are now 3&1 but I'm not convinced - their next 3 are @ Dallas, vs Indi & @ Pittsburgh. Baltimore look dangerous again and Indi are back on track The Chargers might be a real challenger for Denver in the AFC West The Eagles went close but their offense cost them - 22 yards rushing vs 218 yards rushing was a telling statistic. Like Green Bay, the niners would be breathing a huge sigh of relief Any win is worth celebrating in this league.

I've always been a fan of Eli and the way the Giants play on offense generally. Eli is a big occasion player and I get that - players like that are exciting to watch. They get criticised for not doing it all the time but that's never bothered me - it's how they're wired and I accept them for who they are. Fantasy sports people would argue with me but I could care less Give me Eli or Big Ben over Romo or a few others, anytime. Getting the job done when it counts is what matters. Eli and Big Ben have been 'A' grade when it matters but unfortunately for both of them, neither of them are surrounded by the weapons that they once had (although Donnell for the Giants is a giant of a man and looks the goods already - he was immense in the red zone today) The Giants and Steelers can never be underestimated whilst they've got their QB's at the helm. I reckon Cousins just had a bad day - all players have those days and I wouldn't be writing him off just yet. He looks like he's got a bit of a "gunslinger" in him and again, those sort of QB's are great to watch.

4 interceptions for Cousins - a nightmare. Another blow-out on a Thursday night but not many were predicting that the Giants would be dishing out the punishment. The NFC East might be alive after all. The Giants do this all the time - write 'em off and back they come.

Eli is having a night out so far ... he's damn good when he wants to be. Turnovers costly for Washington

Completely forgot that the Miama @ Oakland game is being played in London I guess that it's technically Oakland's home game which would make Miami the "road" team. Anyway, for expediency's sake, and for any other games played at neutral venues, any team listed as the "road" team can be included in your tips in the comp. Anyone who wants to change their tips because of this new information can do so - just delete your original tips and post up your new tips in a different post.

TV games ... Friday 10.30am NY Giants at Washington (ESPN) Monday 3.00am - 9.30am RedZone (ESPN ... "Every Touchdown From Every Game") 3.00am Green Bay at Chicago (7mate) 6.30am Philadelphia at San Francisco (7mate) 10.30am New Orleans at Dallas (7mate & ESPN) Tuesday 10.30am New England at Kansas City (ESPN) All the week 4 games BS Report Not part of my tips but I reckon the Giants will get up tomorrow ... 23 - 21

Just the one point on offer this week ... Week 5 is worth 2 points ... after that, the other bonus weeks are week 8, 11, 14 & 17. (All those weeks are worth 2 points except week 17 which is worth 3 points) All the other weeks are worth 1 point only. I had a look at the week 5 games and couldn't find one "lock" ... it's the toughest comp in the free world.

Nor me ... was tempted to pick the Eagles, Pats or the Panthers but in the end, I just had a guess (which is my usual way of tipping) There will be road winners of course and there's always a surprise road winner or 3.

Tough week (again) Green Bay (a hit & hope) Miami New Orleans

Yeah, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, Dappa. You do make good points though and the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. I'd happily admit that our development and coaching has been way below standard but I still believe a top player will find his way to the top as an individual regardless. All the best players are self driven. The club exiting our veterans from '07 onwards the way we did was truly awful as well. Our general list management and our ridiculous youth policy was flawed as well. A lot of unforced errors were made. Back to the NFL ... Rodgers tells Packer fans to relax (thanks Aaron, I feel so much better now )

Am I on the wrong thread all of a sudden? We should rename the thread ... NFL (and other random utterances and rants)

Morton, Cook, Gysberts, Strauss, Blease, Watts, Scully, Sylvia, McLean and a few others wouldn't have been much better elsewhere. In fact, a number of them have gone elsewhere and they're no better. Too much is made of "better systems" ... we've had "state of the art" facilities since the Junction oval and where's it got us? To me, if a player wants to be the best, it's up to the player. Any coach can only do so much. Most of the top players I played footy and cricket with were self driven - and that's at suburban level. Nah, we just picked badly but ... the draft is a glorified lucky dip anyway. The errors were in effect, forced on us. I'm not making excuses either because on a number of other fronts, we've been less than deplorable.

The smaller clubs banding together might help but (A) I can't see it happening and (B) even if it did happen, it's 3 or 4 small clubs against all the big clubs. Something needs to be done however and at least we'd have a combined voice. But you know what? If that combined voice was heard we'd probably be told to merge with each other. In principle, the non awarding of a PP to us has a knock on effect to the other smaller clubs. They may not realise it yet, but if they get themselves into strife both on and off the field like we did, they ain't going to be getting much help to recover. The Saints had better watch themselves and so to the Doggies. We might scramble our way out but it's a long road back. The reality is that the change of thinking needs to come from the top and at the top, they're hell bent on the AFL remaining at the top of the tree. The small clubs don't represent much money to the commission so therefore, we're expendable. We are disadvantaged against and then ridiculed and punished because of errors* made ... we're then disadvantaged against even further. Re the footy ... I must say, I've really enjoyed the finals but I have watched very little footy this year in the lead up ... being starved of it probably helped. I do, of course, watch or go to every Demons game but I used to be nuts on footy. *Many of those "errors" were picking the wrong 17 year old kids ... we were somehow supposed to know beforehand that we were picking one bust after another. I've grown to hate the draft.

Yep, and because a number of people often only care about footy and their particular team, they often don't know any better. Take the fixturing for example ... I've come across a number of people who seem to think that we deserve a poor fixture (in financial terms) because we're a poor side. Now, the AFL might think that way but that doesn't make it right. There are numerous other examples of inequities in the AFL but again, because the sport is so tribal, not many are even interested in the big picture. Many supporters just cop it and come back with "That's just the way things are" ... it's such a lame response. We've for the most part had a great product but the people running the sport seem to be obsessed with crowd numbers, TV viewers & making money. The big clubs are pandered to and because of that, the smaller clubs (the ones that aren't being heavily subsidised) are therefore under constant pressure. Right now that pressure is on us, the dogs, the saints and to a lesser extent North. I fully expect Brisbane to be looked after even though they're apparently 12 million in the red. If that were us ...... Anyway, the way the AFL run the sport could be described in some ways as negligent but ... I've long suspected that there's a hidden agenda to merge 4 of the Melbourne sides.

TV games ... Friday 10.30am NY Giants at Washington (ESPN) Monday 3.00am - 9.30am RedZone (ESPN ... "Every Touchdown From Every Game") 3.00am Green Bay at Chicago (7mate) 6.30am Philadelphia at San Francisco (7mate) 10.30am New Orleans at Dallas (7mate & ESPN) Tuesday 10.30am New England at Kansas City (ESPN) All the week 4 games BS Report Despite the week's games having a number of matches without great appeal, we'll still get to see a number of good match-ups. All 5 TV games have some appeal. The Panthers @ Baltimore is another big game and I guess if Foxtel was still covering their 2 games, we'd probably get to see it in all likelihood. What's happened to the Foxtel coverage of games anyway? Did 7mate get exclusive rights?

Cutler can play his position well and right now, he's doing quite well but ... he's a bit of a sook sometimes and is a bit too over confident for my liking. He may have matured but he's nowhere near elite until he can get the job done when it counts. Super Bowl wins changes everything - for many of the fans of the Ravens & Giants, both Flacco and Eli would be revered. Eli won 2 and I maintain that when it counted, he stepped it up where others have fallen away. He's never been elite but we could say the same about Big Ben. In the end, it's always about the wins and getting the job done when it counts. If the Packers are to get it done, it has to start happening right now. Falling to 0 & 2 within the division could be very costly. At some stage, I'm concerned that the Lions will start realising their potential. Wild-card spots might involve a bunfight with teams in the NFC South and the NFC West. In other words, a team in the NFC North in all likelihood has to win the division to make the playoffs. The Pats will probably get on a winning streak and close out the AFC East early but ... they won't want to lose to KC this week. Arizona and the Chargers are the interesting teams to watch ... both teams are renowned for finishing off the season well but both have started well and the only loss that occurred was when they played each other. Like last year, I reckon the Eagles will get better as the season goes on. 3 wins under the belt helps with confidence. As for the AFL - they are just a money making concern with very little regard for the future of the competition. It's become a corporation and even though the NFL can be described the same way in terms of the "money", their sport is run so much better in terms of every team getting a fair crack at it. The scheduling is fair, revenue sharing is done properly and the divisions and conferences are a cut above how we do things here. Gil wants to change the way the fixture works after 17 rounds and I believe that's at least a step in the right direction. Double-up blockbuster games hurts the smaller clubs and I could go on forever about all the other inequities

I'd argue that we had a great defense in 2010. The Stats back it up - we're just not remembered that way because of what has happened since. Green Bay had a top defense in 2010 and it's a shame that that fact isn't recognised by many so called experts and pundits. We leaked points to a ridiculous level in the season following our Super Bowl win but still managed to win 15 regular season games - I was quite concerned about that at the time and said so many times on this thread. If you can remember back that far Dappa, you'll recall that I was not very confident at any stage during that season and when we lost that first playoff game to the Giants, I wasn't completely surprised. Resting our starters in week 17 and then having the week off didn't help but it was our defense that cost the Packers that year. I'm the first to admit my teams weaknesses but I'd also argue that it's easier said than done to just have a top defense. I'm convinced that the Packers have been trying to improve things in all areas but when you win a Super Bowl, for all sorts of reasons, the money for free agents just dries up. We've drafted a whole bunch of defensive players in recent times but we all know how the drafts work - often drafting doesn't work. There's a lot of luck involved. I believe a team can get to the playoffs with a dodgy defense but ... they'll need to be very good on offense to make it and also, it's doubtful that any team with a dodgy defense will get very far in the playoffs. Last season we miraculously made the playoffs despite not having Rodgers for half the season - rather than giving credit to our defense, I reckon the Packers making the playoffs last year had much more to do with the Bears and Lions not getting it done when they had their opportunities. Both teams blew it. As for this season, it's our offense that bothers me the most. Our strength has suddenly become quite ordinary - couple that with a dodgy defense and it could be a very long season for Packer fans. Then again, we might turn things around. Need to get a hurry on though and if we can't eke out a win against our most hated rival this week, we might be in a spot of bother Finally, defense wins Championships (generally) and the Packers Super Bowl winning season of 2010/11 was no different. Woodson, Matthews, Williams, Hawk and a number of others all had terrific seasons.

Dappa was intimating that we won a Super Bowl with "no defense" He wasn't necessarily talking about what has happened since ... if he was, then he would had to have mentioned that our defense has been hurting us and costing us games. He said "No defense never seemed to hurt Green Bay" Is what I've said too hard for you to understand? Or do you just want to hang [censored]?