Macca

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.

As pointed out in the above post by 'TL' you've got both us & Adelaide getting pick 15 in the final wash-up. In the above scenario I believe the Crows would get pick 15 (I think) I'd take it anyway as I believe the only way we'll definitely get Dangerfield is give up picks 2 & 3 (with no strings attached) In effect, we'd then lose pick 20 & Clark for pick 10. Again, in my eyes a good deal because I didn't think Clark would play again ... Instead of pick 20, we get pick 10 - that's a win (in theory) although ... pick 20 in 2009 was Fyfe

Loyalty is a two-way street and a player's career can be very short. What needs to be sorted out are players having a soft year and then leaving as a free agent or otherwise at the end of that soft season. We've experienced that at our club on more than a couple of occasions (including this past season) Trade them out the year prior if they're seriously looking elsewhere - a good coach will know a players intentions. Enough of this holding out that we've seen at our club - that sort of thing hurts us in a number of ways. It's an unwanted distraction for supporters, fellow players and coaches alike. We're in many ways restricted from chasing other free agents (because of the possible downgraded compo) List management and other decisions on other players is affected. Said player can have an intentional "soft" year to avoid injury. The coach is put into an unenviable position all season. Jones and Garland become free agents after next season and need to be re-signed asap. Jones is an obvious required player and Garland less so. I hope we can re-sign both players before the trade week starts. We've opened up negotiations with Jones and he would be expected to re-sign you'd reckon.

Dawes, Clark, Ablett, Scully, Buddy, Goddard, Thomas, Judd, Betts and numerous others left their clubs for money. Money talks. Just about every player has a price. Dangerfield would have his price.

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

Clubs can often distrust the draft but will often still jump at the chance at a high end draft pick. The lure of the "possible" A grader is still very strong. An established star doesn't = pick 2 or pick 3 but because of a number of old factors and new factors, one high end draft pick sometimes might get the deal done for an established star New factor ... If the compensation ends up being scrapped for a free agent, clubs will be highly concerned about losing a star free agent for nothing. Their hand might be forced before a player qualifies for free agency Old factors ... An established star player may be wanting out from his club for a variety of reasons along with possibly being able to earn a decent amount of extra money elsewhere. Money talks. A club then might end up in a situation where it takes what it can get. But ... then there are all the buyers - outbidding each other to get the star. We'll need to offer picks 2 and 3* to get Dangerfield and we'll have to pay him a lot of money (almost certainly a lot more than the other clubs) However, Dangerfield is not the only contracted A grader. We've got the picks* that other clubs want so we can afford to shop around where other clubs might not be looking. *Assuming we get pick 3 for Frawley

If we don't get Dangerfield we may get someone else of his ilk. Picks 2 & 3* are prized picks for other clubs regardless of how they feel about the draft or drafting. There may be another star in the pipeline that we've got our eye on - that's just my presumed assumption, not a statement of fact. Or ... we might end up doing 2 deals with both those 2 picks ... 2 x Tyson/Salem type deals. Effectively we could end up with 2 more "Tyson" types and 2 prospects at say ... picks #10 & #12. In the end, we felt we were blindsided by the Scully defection but once Hogan starts playing to his capabilities, we'll have had a huge win with that deal ... imagine if Scully was still here on big money? A 'C' grader. What started out as a huge negative is turning into a huge positive. If GWS had any real supporters they would be filthy about the Scully situation and they would be scratching their heads about letting Tyson go. Roos has a history of turning someone else's negative into a positive ... he proved that at the Swans. We'll be bringing in some established talent or unearthed talent - Roos will make sure of it. *Assuming we get pick 3 for Frawley

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.

I jinxed your team ... as soon as I start projecting wins you know what comes next! I watched your game as well as my Hammers against the reds (a 3-1 triumph) and, the highlights of the other games. Chelsea will be happy with their point at City. Leicester coming back was just freakish - they just took the game on and United had no answer. van Gaal has some sorting out to do. Next week you're at home to my team and usually, I'd be thinking a Man U win ... not so sure now A couple of good match-ups coming up on the weekend ... Sat 9.45pm (Liverpool vs Everton) and 2.30am Sunday (Gunners vs Spurs)

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 )

And might that be because there's interest in Clark elsewhere? Or perceived interest ... To be brutally honest, I don't see Clark playing much footy going forward ... if he does, he does. Once he's not our player, the care factor becomes zero. We need to concern ourselves with stuff that we can control. He wants out so play hard ball and get the best deal. He's played 4 games in 2 and a half years and is injury prone. Lumumba on the other hand is ready to go. I couldn't care less about Lumumba's beliefs and him having a strong stance on various matters - that's none of my business. Footy clubs are made up of all types and in the end, the players just get on with it. The bloke can play good footy and rarely misses games. He would strengthen our side quite a lot and would be a walk-up start.

I reckon the club is handling this whole Clark saga quite well and our plan could work out to a nicety. It seems that Jackson & Roos are using their vast years of experience in order to get the best possible deal for the club. Our plan from the start might have been to get a 4th round draft pick for Clark (as a starting point) That pick could, in theory, be banked and then let the other clubs get in a mini bidding war (as opposed to a major bidding war for an A grader like Dangerfield) Blindsided? ... maybe we saw things coming this time? If we can believe the hype, a straight swap for Lumumba is now on the cards and that's a hell of a lot better result than a 4th round draft pick. The Pies may have arrived at this decision in order to get an early settlement with our club. Of course, nothing has been confirmed so it's all guess work here. In effect, we could end up with Lumumba for nothing (let's face it, not many of us were expecting Clark to play again) Although ... I reckon we might have to sweeten the deal a little to get it done.

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.

I'd trade both picks 2 & 3* for Dangerfield. That would have to satisfy Adelaide but we may be able to eke out a deal where we get their first round draft pick back. Don't count on it though. Maybe their 2nd round draft pick? The other thing to remember is that he'll have other clubs chasing him as well. We can offer a good trade but don't underestimate the other clubs ... those clubs may be prepared to give up some talented players in order to get him. The only thing that can be taken for granted is that we're at least in the running ... and, we'll probably have to pay overs. In effect, Dangerfield is now involved in an auction. Any club would want him. He's a difference maker and unlike the lottery draft, you know what you're getting. *Assuming we get pick 3 for Frawley.

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.

I was talking about the rumour that the Saints might draft Petracca with the no.1 pick and the effects there on. That story mentions that they've put the no.1 pick on the table - they still can or could draft Petracca if they wish. My observation was that the Petracca thread hasn't been posted on for over a week and all things considered, that seems a bit strange considering how many here are/were enamoured with him.

Yep, it's either/or depending on the results. It's odd how people tend to view future drafts without looking back at how things have panned out previously. Aren't we supposed to learn from history? ... or maybe people are taking that saying "Never look back" a tad too far. The momentum for Petracca has slowed dramatically since we've heard the Dangerfield rumours and the rumour that the Saints might take Petracca with their first pick. Petracca has gone from the next "big thing" to ... who's Petracca? (the Petracca thread is now on the 2nd page in the Draft and trading board) One minute he's the savior of our midfield woes and next minute ...

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?