NFL Week 5

[JacoLesFlea]

Keep counting chickens.

It's only 5 games into a 16 game season hoss, and a LOT can change in a short time....and that "third" place is a ONE game difference right now.

anyone watching tonights game or is it a nonfactor? Brett might whip out his schwanz and moss may have shaved his beard...vikes will win.....I think

 

[jp58]

"Ok boys, I can't call timeout anymore, so If they go to kick a field goal to win the game, hit a time out right before they snap the ball."

That's the way it happened before, only players usually didn't wait until the very last second for fear of getting caught out of position. Coaches don't have that worry, and subsequently a coach can wait until the entire line gets set.

Icing is fine, calling a time out just as the play begins is a little more questionable.

 

[Gard]

anyone watching tonights game or is it a nonfactor? Brett might whip out his schwanz and moss may have shaved his beard...vikes will win.....I think

Yes I'm watching. I'm expecting a bloodbath, with the Jests hitting FAR-VUH so many times he forgets he has a schwantz, much less if he ever tried texting a photo of it to anyone.

No way the Vikes can go toe-to-toe with the Jets in the New Meadowlands. Doubt it will even be close.

 

[Gard]

That's the way it happened before, only players usually didn't wait until the very last second for fear of getting caught out of position. Coaches don't have that worry, and subsequently a coach can wait until the entire line gets set.

Icing is fine, calling a time out just as the play begins is a little more questionable.

I HATE "icing". Not only that, I've seen a statistical study that shows it not only doesn't work, it may have a slight tendency to give an ADVANTAGE to the kicker!

Sure did in the Falcons/Saints game....

:scowl:

I say they make it an unsportsmanlike penalty, and do away with it completely. If a coach or player recognizes that they have a problem and can convince the referee it is a VALID one, then taking a timeout is fine, but just to "ice" a kicker...

 

[jp58]

Yes I'm watching. I'm expecting a bloodbath, with the Jests hitting FAR-VUH so many times he forgets he has a schwantz, much less if he ever tried texting it to anyone.

No way the Vikes can go toe-to-toe with the Jets in the New Meadowlands. Doubt it will even be close.

I'm of the opposite opinion. That Jets O lead by one of those USC fellows needs to show up.

If Brett can stay on his feet, the Vikes win. If the Jets get to him 8-10 times, they don't have a chance.

 

[thesteve]

I say they make it an unsportsmanlike penalty, and do away with it completely. If a coach or player recognizes that they have a problem and can convince the referee it is a VALID one, then taking a timeout is fine, but just to "ice" a kicker...

What's going to be a "valid" reason? If I'm the coach I'm just going to tell the ref, "oh, I need to make a player substitution."

 

[basstotheface]

Gosh, I'm embarrassed. Good game Giants, hope you do well this season.

My late playoff hopes were doused, I just hope we make it out of wild card.

 

[Gard]

What's going to be a "valid" reason? If I'm the coach I'm just going to tell the ref, "oh, I need to make a player substitution."

....point taken. I would say that is tough on the coach on that one - if they don't have the correct players on the field once they're lined up, it's too late to call the time out.

Once the teams are set, no timeouts, seems the most appropriate.

 

[crucislancer]

I know it sounds stupid, but the 49ers are the best 0-5 team in the history of professional football.

Very very good team, very very bad luck.

They're going to just BLOW UP on someone, and soon....

Not stupid at all, there is a lot of potential in that team, I think more so then in previous years, but there are still some rough edges, and rough edges can cost close games. Plan and simple, they just need a win, and I think if they can just get that the flood gates will open. They really should be 2-3 right now, at the very least.

Next week they play the Raiders. I hope they blow up on them, and then skin the Panthers the week after that.

Without a doubt, it’s been torture watching them play this season.

 

[sloasdaylight]

Tell you what, Alex Smith showed some huge balls last night when everyone wanted him to come out to come back and lead 2 touchdown drives giving them a chance to come back and get their first W, despite all his setbacks.

 

[sloasdaylight]

Vikes are making a game of this yet. The old man's got his 500+ touchdown passes.

 

[sloasdaylight]

Guess not

 

[Lunarfall]

It was a close game, but I called it on their 2nd last drive: Favre throws a game-ending interception like he always does.

 

[MJ5150]

That was definitely some good football. I just hope that offensive line can keep giving him time to throw. Watching Favre air it out to Moss and soon Rice will be fun to watch.

-Mike

 

[Gard]

30-32 for the season. That's just suckin'....let's see if I can improve a bit this week:

Jacksonville @ Buffalo - Jax beat the Colts last week, so they're great right? No...but they're better than Buffalo! Jax 24 Buffalo 10

Man, Buffalo is hopeless. +1

Denver @ Baltimore - Baltimore seems to have found their passing game, they already have a fair rushing game. Denver won't sneak out of Baltimore with a win like they did out of Nashville. Denver 13 Baltimore 20

Yup. +1

Atlanta @ Cleveland - CLEVELAND ROCKS, CLEVELAND ROCKS!! They actually won a game. Amazing!!! Too bad it won't matter this week. As much as it pains me to pick the Foulclowns (who were VERY fortunate against the 49ers!), I must. Atlanta 27 Cleveland Steamers 9

Credit to Cleveland, they made it more interesting than expected. Still... +1

Kansas City @ Indianapolis - KC on a roll; Indy looking flat. Part of me doesn't trust KC, and doesn't trust Indy looking as flat as they have. However, ignoring evidence is not wise either....tough call...home field 3... KC 20 Indy 23

I'm on a roll, right? +1

Tampa Bay @ Cincinnati - TB was rolling early, going 2-0 out of the gate!!! They're gonna win the NFC South!!!! They're a real contender!!!!! Nope, the wheels are off, and Cincy will take out the frustration of losing to the Brownies on the Yucs. TB 10 Cincy 31

...and that ends the roll. Man, Cincy is awful, and it looks like TO's starting to show his true self - already the second guessing and back-biting have begun... -1

Green Bay @ Washington - Interesting game, Washington is playing way over their heads, won a couple of games they shouldn't have....GB is looking a bit vulnerable, barely squeaking out a win against the Lions, and that 18 penalty disaster in Chicago. However, they're a really good football team, and I don't think Washington is...close, but still GB gets the W. GB 24 Was 20

Well...how'd GB lose this one? -1

St. Louis @ Detroit - St. Louis is another team playing way over their heads. Detroit is a team that is about 4 plays from being .500. Home field will count for the Lions, but it will be close. StL. 17 Detroit 21

Man, Detroit woke up...or StL is THAT bad....or both...don't matter. +1

Chicago @ Carolina - Chicago's weakness against Carolina's strength: offense versus defense; Carolina's weakness against Chicago's strength: offense versus defense. Two teams with pretty decent D, and not so decent O. Cutler is questionable with a concussion. Claussen is just questionable. Low scoring game, Panters manage to remain winless. Chicago 13 Carolina 10

Carolina is worse than I thought.... +1

NY Giants @ Houston - Giants have shown defense now. Houston has a pretty productive offense and a pretty solid D. Depends on which Eli shows up. Home team wins.... NYG 24 Houston 31

Whoops...the "good" Eli showed up... -1

Tennessee @ Dallas - Bleah. Dallas woke up against Houston, Tennessee took a late game nap against Denver. Gut call, just don't think Dallas has their heads all the way together, and Chris Johnson has a great day, ruining another home game for the Cows. Tennessee 21 Dallas 17

Schadenfreude is fun!!! +1

San Diego @ Oakland - SD beats down weak opponents at home, then goes on the road and lays eggs. Oakland is looking to make a statement in their home stadium, and will be up for this one. If SD doesn't show up, this could be embarrassing. It will not be COMPLETELY embarrassing, but a bit... SD 24 Oakland 20

Nope, it was COMPLETELY embarrassing. How does a QB throw for 400+ yards and lose? His team and coaching staff stink, that's how. -1

SNF: Philadelphia @ San Francisco - SF has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory all season. Trend reverses now - Philly's only hope was Mr. Bad Newz, he's out, and they're stuck with Mr. Worse Newz. SF takes out some frustration on a team that is just not going to be ready for it. Philly 13 SF 27

SF is the best 0-5 team in NFL history. -1

MNF: Minnesota @ NY Jets - Minnesota has no business even showing up for this one. The old man may see his last start here, these guys are vicious, and they remember the game he played with them a few seasons ago. Make no mistake, this IS a grudge game for the Jets, and the Whiners are going to be out of their depth. Not even close, blowout time. Whinequeens 13 Jests 31

Well...I wasn't completely right, but I did get another dose of schadenfreude watching Brent giveth and then taketh away at the end. He now has the all-time record in TD passes. And the all time record in INT's....and in fumbles....and in....

+1

My team:

New Orleans @ Arizona - Last matchup, the Saints flatted both Warner & the dreams of the tweety birds. Warner is retired, and there is no replacement for him on the roster. The Saints are playing flat right now, and the locker room is resembling a trauma ward, but they're still way more than Arizona can handle.

Don't know if the NOLA offense will wake up this week, they are getting P. Thomas back it appears, Betts looked solid last week, Ivory looked punishing - if he can learn to hold onto the freakin' ball! - and hopefully whatever is buggin' Drew will be resolved (he's just not looking "Drew-like" so far this season...).

Saints DB's are banged up, Porter is out 2-4 weeks with a sprained MCL, Sharper is still on PUP and ineligible for another 2 weeks (but back for the Steelers game), Prioleau is questionable with a chest injury, Reis is IR'd with a major shoulder injury. Hopefully they get Harper back, and Greer can stay with Fitzgerald while P. Robinson gets his rookie baptism by fire against whoever the Tweets put out as #2.

I keep hoping the offense shows up...and this is the week they do:

New Orleans 38 Arizona 20

...and I'm STILL waiting for the offense to show up. 13 snaps inside the Card's 20, and NO TD's. That's PATHETIC. Add to that the defense forcing 4 fumbles and not recovering ONE.

I'm pretty content with the D, they held the Cards to under 200 yards, which should be more than sufficient for the former #1 offense to easily put a team away with. :scowl:

Hopefully they right the ship soon...they're only 1 game out of 1st (Tampa fans, don't get comfy in 2nd place in the NFC South, that won't last past this coming weekend...), and 1 game off the NFC's best record, so it's not PANIC time yet.

-1

----------------------------------------------------------------

8-6 this week, so an improvement; gives me a season standing of 38-38, so back to at least .500.

Still gotta do better!

 

[jp58]

The Pack lost because they aren't the same team with half of their starters out. Not to mention that Donovan seems to have been the piece missing in Washington.

The skins are looking hard to beat, and they are quickly outperforming the 8-8 I had them slated at.

 

[thesteve]

Coming in at 34-28...here's my list of winners:

Jags over Buffalo
Cincy over TB -1
ATL over Cle
Rams over Lions (though I hope I'm wrong) -1
Indy over KC (welcome to 3-1)
Pack over Skins -1
DA BEARS over the Painters (unless Cutler throws for -13 yards again)
BAL over Denver
Giants over Texans (okay...I bought NYG D-Line big time)
NOLA over AZ (Cards are terrible) -1
Tenn over Dal
San Diego over Oakland (and the streak continues) -1
Iggles over Niners (even with Kolb)
Jets over Vikes (get Favre a crutch)

I went 9-5 this week. I actually thought I did a lot worse. The Chargers loss put me in a mental tailspin. The Bolts are easily the best 2-3 team in the NFL. If they had half of a special teams corps they'd be 5-0.

Also props to Detroit on their first win of the season. I know I didn't pick them, but I was cheering for them.

That being said, I'm at 43-33 now.

 

[jive1]

Still, playing poorly, they're one game out of 2nd place, and tied for the 2nd best record in the NFC. I'll take that, because they're likely to start playing SAINTS football any game (they're also potentially likely to NOT do so... ).

Considering the history of futility and losing seasons that have marked the franchise, do you really want them playing Saint's football?

But seriously, the loss of Bush is huge. He does alot even when he doesn't touch the ball. His ability to motion as a receiver/back and create mismatches are what get the other parts of the offense going. As long as he's in there, you have to put a helmet on him giving other receivers a chance to get open. There isn't anyone on the Saints that have Bush's ability to do that. And in an offense that likes timed passes, you need a guy like that there or else you'll get more interceptions because the safeties can roll coverage if they don't have to keep an eye on the backfield. I put lots of the Saints struggles on offense on not having Bush.

The media can call him a bust or whatever, but he's a lynch-pin in the Saints offense. I don't think they will be explosive without him. Good enough to win games, but not the dynamic offense we saw last year.

 

[MJ5150]

I already said all that jive. Quit copying me.

-Mike

 

[Gard]

Considering the history of futility and losing seasons that have marked the franchise, do you really want them playing Saint's football?

But seriously, the loss of Bush is huge. He does alot even when he doesn't touch the ball. His ability to motion as a receiver/back and create mismatches are what get the other parts of the offense going. As long as he's in there, you have to put a helmet on him giving other receivers a chance to get open. There isn't anyone on the Saints that have Bush's ability to do that. And in an offense that likes timed passes, you need a guy like that there or else you'll get more interceptions because the safeties can roll coverage if they don't have to keep an eye on the backfield. I put lots of the Saints struggles on offense on not having Bush.

The media can call him a bust or whatever, but he's a lynch-pin in the Saints offense. I don't think they will be explosive without him. Good enough to win games, but not the dynamic offense we saw last year.

It definitely isn't HELPING.



Good news: He's expected back on the field for...drumroll (Mike will love this! ) 10/31/2010 versus the Steelers.



I think getting Pierre Thomas back this weekend will be huge, actually. Not only is he an exceptionally reliable RB from a rushing (and not FUMBLING) standpoint, he's deadly in the screen game, and has excellent skills in catching the ball.

But yeah, losing Reggie has really sucked....