Macca

Big win to Seattle. The niners just couldn't get into the end zone. Definitely a fortress there and it's hard to see the Seahawks dropping a game at home. Hell of a lot of penalties in the game as well. The Seahawks defense was just too good and they're going to be hard to beat anywhere in all honesty. That is one loud stadium - decibels levels broken apparently. Big wins to KC, Miami and even the Chargers (that was a real surprise road win) Nice to see the Packers have a big game and the Saints, Denver and Houston won as expected. Came down to the wire at Chicago - fine line between winning and losing sometimes 'cfh'. But the big winners were Seattle, Denver and probably New Orleans. Had a bit of a look at KC's schedule and it's not that tough. This Friday's game (our time) at Philadelphia now has some real significance (apart from the Andy Reid return) Not sure anyone picked 3 road team victories - I'll check again tomorrow. Tough going just to get off the mark hey? At this rate, someone might join up in week 17 and win the whole thing! Loser of tomorrow's game between the Steelers and the Bengals could be in a bit of trouble (although even at this early stage, a record of 9/7 could win 3 or 4 Divisions) The NFC East, AFC North and maybe the NFC North are candidates.

Rather than start another thread, thought I'd post a bit about 'La Vuelta' on this thread. 2 stages to go and it's coming right down to the wire (both stages are being broadcast by SBS from about midnight) Horner leads Nibali by just 3 seconds with tonight's mountain stage to possibly decide things ... General classification Tonight's stage ... click on 'Live Stage' via this link for full coverage from the official site ... Profile ...

TV games for week 2 ... Fri Sept 13 10.25am NY Jets at New England ESPN & OneHD Mon Sept 16 3.00am Cleveland at Baltimore OneHD 6.05am Detroit at Arizona Fox1 6.25am Denver at NY Giants OneHD 10.30am San Francisco at Seattle ESPN & OneHD Tues Sept 17 10.30am Pittsburgh at Cincinnati ESPN ... All the other week 2 games My road team tips this week ... New Orleans San Francisco Minnesota This might be one of those weeks where there aren't 3 'Away' winners. However, it wouldn't surprise me if there are 5 or 6. In the first month last season, there were 7 or 8 road team victories in 3 of the 4 weeks. The Saints should win but they're no certainties. Could be an interesting game tomorrow. You'd expect the Patriots to win comfortably but if the defense of the Jets can stand up, it might end up being closer than people think. Will Rex spring a surprise or 2?

Put you on the 'Ladder' NSC. Huge game next week on SNF - your blokes are at home to the 49ers. Should be a cracker (the 12th man could break all decibel levels!) Yeah, the Chargers really should have put that one away. They just needed to get a field goal to almost guarantee the win. Credit to Houston though.

McKenzie to win mark of the year (standing on Howe's shoulders) Dunn to win 'Jumper punch of the year' Trengove to win the Grand Final sprint.

Welcome aboard 45 ... (I've taken the liberty of adding you to the 'Ladder') In other news ... pertaining to Friday's big Divisional clash between the Pats and Jets, I came across this article ... don't ya just love Rex! ... ... LaDainian Tomlinson: Rex Ryan said he was going to punch Bill Belichick (LT tells the story at about 3.30 into the Video which accompanies the article)

Big comeback win by the Texans - thought the Chargers had a big enough lead. San Diego just seem to have forgotten how to win. Chip Kelly and the Eagles hung on as well - the up tempo offense being a feature of their game. McCoy had a big game for Philadelphia. They're another team that could cause a few headaches in the NFC East. In the tipping comp only 'cfh' and myself tipped 3 winners - strangely enough both our teams lost whilst pantaloons, DemonDave and Gogoroth didn't pick up a point but their teams won. Has the comp got some sort of reverse mozz attached to it already The Ladder 1 - cowboy from hell 1 - Macca and equal 3rd ... 0 - Gorgoroth 0 - pantaloons 0 - DemonDave 0 - 45HG 0 - Norm Smith's Curse It's not too late to enter - details at the top of this page

Yeah, watched all of your game as well as the Packers/49ers match. You started off well but Detroit were too good. As you said, Bush makes a big difference. Our division is wide open with Chicago winning as well today. As for the Packers, we played a very good game and our defence wasn't as bad as what might be indicated by the yardage that the 49ers gained. Kaepernick and Boldin were immense (why on earth did the Ravens let Anquan go?) We just couldn't stop either of them. Whenever San Francisco bring their 'A' game this season, they will beat up on sides. They've got some weapons. It was a terrific match of high quality and I wasn't disappointed with our effort - could have gone either way in the end. Rodgers was his usual self but it wasn't enough. Lacy had a couple of nice carries but the better team won. As for the other games, the Jets found a way to win (ya gotta hand it to Rex ... Geno had a good game!) KC had a big win and they could be in for a decent year. Rams, Colts, Seattle and Pats all had close wins. Not sure what is going on with Steelers? (I picked 'em to win that division ) The Saints winning today throws that Division wide open - are they back in business? Rob Ryan as the Defensive co-ordinator earned his money today - great finish. Miami won a game they had to win. SNF was fairly messy for the most part but it livened up in the 4th quarter. Thought Eli was gonna pull it out of the fire for a minute there but not to be. Overall, a mistake riddled game. Bit of a rusty opening week but we've still got a double header tomorrow! Both games could be close and I'll be interested to see how Rivers goes - he's at the crossroads a bit and I hope he comes good. At one stage a few years ago, he was going to be the next big thing. Edit: I guess the other story was the late tackle on Kaepernick by Clay Matthews - turned out to be quite costly for the Packers. The 'down' ended up being replayed (which led to an immediate touchdown) and then Rodgers copped the 'Evener upper' a couple of plays later! Not only did Green Bay lose out on the deal, we've given the 49ers even more ammunition for our next match ... Egads!

What if Roos gets us to a top 4 spot in his 3rd year? (if he stays on as head coach for that 3rd year) Right now, that seems unlikely, but a top 8 position isn't such a stretch for 2016. It's easy to envisage many Demons wanting to keep him at the helm. However, the 'seamless' changeover is a terrific concept and it's one that I agree with. But it could get a little awkward down the track. What sounds great in theory doesn't always work in practice. No two clubs are alike. Roos to Longmire worked beautifully. Mick to Bucks ... that could turn out to be a disaster. The Pies should have changed their minds on that one. But as a concept, appointing the next coach in the next little while is a great idea in theory. It can have the effect of setting out a long term viable future for the club. Obviously, our situation is vastly different to Collingwood's one. We need to virtually start from scratch. The beauty of it is that Roos has done it before so any pitfalls can be spotted well in advance. Exciting times ahead ...

A couple on this thread who are arguing strongly that we should have picked Wines, actually voted for Toumpas in this poll. Poll - Wines or Toumpas You cannot change what you thought at the time.

We all get a whole bunch of things wrong. It's sport - strange things occur. I've been wrong a stack of times. Tapscott, Watts and Trengove haven't progressed very far when I thought they would. I could give you countless other examples. Better to be wrong on a positive unless it's a 'crazy' positive. By the way, with the aforementioned 3 players, it could easily be a development issue - have we 'developed' Toumpas properly in his 1st year? We'd all have to admit that it's been a turbulent year for the club - not a great environment for a fresh faced 18 year old to come into. It's way too early for an evaluation on Toumpas - that's the error that people are making. Was anyone here at their best when they were 19 years old - at anything!! Give the kid a few more years (in a proper environment with the right culture)

There is no way a 17 year old can be truly evaluated as a footballer. Players get overlooked because they mature slower than others. Some players mature early so therefore get picked early. It's not that complicated. Some players never get any better than their last under age year - impossible to predict that too. For those of you who played competitive team sport, just think about the difference in your own abilities at age 17 as compared to age 23. And more importantly, others around you. However, development is a huge factor as well ... Roos himself has mentioned a number of times how important it is in those first few years of a draftee's career. He has spoken about the right environment, culture and coaching. We've really got ourselves much more than just a coach.

If a Chargers fan suddenly appears on this thread, it may well be the great man! I'm guessing he'd be a fan of the NFL. In other news ... here's a couple of columns from 'Grantland' by Bill Simmons ... AFC Power Poll & NFC Power Poll The Giants are at Big D for SNF on Monday morning (10.30am our time) Always a good match-up and the game often ends up with a close finish.

A good coach would make the changes now. A lot of us were surprised when Neeld held back in his first off season. Time will tell and you may be correct but I can see at least 2 'contracted' players being moved on (traded?) Last year Morton, Martin and Gysberts were moved on despite being contracted. Roos is a smart bloke and he'll study tape and figure out who is worth keeping. He will have watched a number of our games live as well. 11-13 changes is my guess (including rookies) Remembering we might have to give up a couple/few players for a young midfielder. We should be a very active player in the off season - we need midfielders. Making multiple list changes can be viewed as a major positive. Especially if the net gain is 6-8 good players.

We've got massive issues with our list. Our players are so used to 'giving up' that the biggest task Roos will have is sorting out who is fair dinkum and who isn't fair dinkum. I'm expecting 11-13 players to be gone in a few months time (including rookies) Another 9/10 could go at the end of 2014. Neeld cleared out a lot of deadwood but any coach could have done that. We need to stop overrating our list. Instead of trying to find a reason to keep a player, think the opposite. I'll bet that's how Roos is thinking - a player must have one very good quality otherwise you're usually wasting your time. We've got about 20 players (max) who can take us forward. The great bit about snaring Roos is that we now have a real opportunity to recruit some good experienced talent. If we can aim to bring in 6-8 good players out of all our new recruits in the next few months, we'll be doing very well.

Still amazes me that some people here genuinely believe that Moloney was the only one who spat the dummy in 2012 - just about all of them did (they just hid it well) There was a 'work to rule' in place and most of our players have been playing 'selfish' for the last 2 years. 1%ers - they don't exist at our club - hopefully Roos can change that but he has a mammoth task. In 2012 - Frawley, Garland, Jamar, Davey, Green, Rivers, Sylvia, Bate, Dunn, Trengove, Watts, McKenzie, Bartram and Howe were largely ineffectual in most games. Yet they don't cop any real heat? Only Jones, Grimes and McDonald could hold their heads up from that 2012 season. In many ways, 2012 was worse than this season. I'm not advocating bringing Moloney back. That relationship is over. Just wanting to add some balance and context. Moloney reflected the rest of the playing group. And it continued on into this season - 2 wins and a pitiful percentage.

Just trying to keep it real. Thought I was being rather optimistic anyway ... 11-12 wins in 2015 is quite a quantum leap from where we are right now. Many things will need to fall into place for that to happen. We're not going anywhere special as a team unless we get an influx of a number of very good footballers. Paul will know this and hopefully he's got an eye on a number of recruits. Roos might only get 7 or 8 wins out of this list next year unless something dramatic happens. That dramatic happening could occur of course, and I hope it does. However, the aberration in sport should nearly always be ignored. In this thread, Paul Roos' team for next year, Paul can only find room for 13 definite starters from our existing list. I tend to agree with him - we've got a lot of work to do to bring this list up to scratch. And besides, isn't 'speculating' on what might happen in the future par for the course on these forums? What are we supposed to say and do? A 'no limits' attitude is fine and dandy, but unfortunately we're hamstrung by the laws of the National Draft and the Salary cap as to how much a club can progress in any given year. In a perfect world we'd bring in 10 'A' grade midfielders for next year. The reality is that bringing in 2 or 3 'A' grade midfielders is more of a realistic aim - and that would be a big step up. I'm ecstatic with the Roos appointment but he's no miracle worker. We need lots of quality players and we need them now. I can see another 12-13 players being let go in the next few months (15 went last year) Contracts won't save some either - Martin, Morton and Gysberts were all contracted to our club for season 2013 (before they were traded)

Just a walk in the park for Peyton ... threw for 462 yards, a 141.1 passer rating and 7 touchdowns with 0 interceptions (the best since 1969) He's all class. Looks like Denver are heading for another big year. Early doors but The AFC West Divisional title seems to be heading the Bronco's way already. KC with Andy Reid could rack up a number of wins but Denver looked very good. The Ravens looked to be out of synch. They did score 27 but to give up 49 points is not great by Baltimore's standards. Maybe the call will come for Ray to make a comeback!

That was impressive. Roos is just so footy smart and he seems to see it all. Great presence and you can't help but want to listen to him. Reckon Watts will stay now and if Roos can't turn Jack into a footballer, no one will. Same deal for Col (although Sylvia can play some very good footy when he wants to) Players will want to come to our club and play under Paul. We've picked up more than just a coach - the overall package with Roos is ultra impressive. If we can land Geoff Walsh on top of Roos, Bartlett and PJ, we'll have quite a team.

I like the concept of your team 'AF'. We might be able to trade* for another experienced midfielder (preferably aged 22-24). How that can be done is the tricky bit, but if we can trade for one and as you suggested, pick up 2 free agents, that could give us 3 new experienced midfielders. Couple that with our 1st round draft pick and a possible PP, we could therefore, in theory, bring in 5 new midfielders who can all play. Improvement would be expected from Viney and Toumpas so things can turn around very quickly with the right moves. It changes the dynamics and the make-up of the side quite dramatically. It's what we need. Instead of Jones carrying the can, suddenly we'd have real depth in the midfield - in one off season. * We might have to give up some picks or trade 1 or 2 of our listed players for that experienced midfielder.

I like the 2 (3?) year appointment and I like the idea of a possible succession plan. Roos can re-build the list and he can help instil a great culture. We're coming from a long way back and if he can get us to a viable and relevant position within 3 years (say 11-12 wins) then he'll have done marvellously well. Anything above that would be a bonus. Whether Roos stays on after 2 or 3 years remains to be seen. We really are a special case and comparisons with Port Adelaide could be made but I'm not so sure. We have a poor list and a lot of our players are really low on confidence. It's a mammoth task to get this list to play winning football on a consistent basis. Many on our list have only experienced heavy losses so the mindset needs to be fixed - Roos can do that. The biggest change that could have an immediate impact is the level of AFL assistance we might get. Roos can help get some talented footballers (midfielders) to the club as well (obviously our needs are immediate) Roos might get us to be a 7 or 8 win team almost immediately but the improvement from there could be slow or we might even stall on that amount of wins. However, if we were able to inject the list with quality players in the next 2 off seasons, we could take a leap to 11-12 wins in his 2nd year at the helm. That is a big ask but you never know. I'd like to see the club bring in 3 'ready to go' midfielders for next year who can play. I'm almost expecting that to happen now that Roos has been appointed. A great coach can get 7 or 8 wins out of an fair/average list. So we'll need to bring a number of good footballers into the club in the next few months to get to that fair/average standard. It's entirely possible (especially with free agency and with some extra 'assistance' from the AFL) We've now got some real hope

Ohhh Yeeahh!

Got 4 for the tipping comp so far ... just a reminder to the following posters that the comp starts this week (if you'd like to participate) Details of the comp can be found at the top of this page ... Dappa Dan Cards13 QueenC Whispering_Jack DemonDave 45HG titan_uranus Norm Smith's Curse Strafford DirtyDees DDC New Age Hipster daisycutter rpfc Striker 475 Adzman MFC4Life JT9 the master Dr Gonzo belzebub59 Good Times Grimes old dee Demon Land 7 biggestred america de cali Demon2 jezzzza Entry is free! Yes, you heard it - FREE entry And what's more, there is no prize for the overall winner! ... just bragging rights.

Once again, here are the week 1 TV games. Great 1st up game too ... reckon the Broncos will prevail but it could be another close one. Packers are back at San Francisco in a tough opener for my blokes. The Falcons/Saints game should be a beauty but there are a number of other big match-ups. If I had the time, I'd watch all 7 games that are being broadcasted Fri Sept 6 10.30am Baltimore at Denver (OneHD & ESPN) Mon Sept 9 3.00am Atlanta at New Orleans (Fox1) 3.00am Minnesota at Detroit (OneHD) 6.15am Green Bay at San Francisco (OneHD) 10.30am NY Giants at Dallas (OneHD & ESPN) Tues Sept 10 9.00am Philadelphia at Washington (ESPN) 12.15pm Houston at San Diego (ESPN) ... here are all the other games in week 1 For those interested in seeing how your team is rated for this season, here's a couple of podcasts from Bill Simmons and Cousin Sal. They discuss the relative merits of each team in an 'overs and unders' format ... AFC (part 1) ... NFC (part 2)

3 'away' winners for week 1 ... New England Miami Houston