NFL Football Thread

[Quadlok]

Do I know the Lions or what? I almost called it. My Lions didn't win, but pretty much everything else I said about the game was true. In true Lions form, they played a stupidly boring game without any scoring whatsoever, and barely managed to lose in the final seconds. I honestly thought they'd pull it out, as they usually do, in their home opener. Oh well.

And shame on you, havok, for picking the Seahawks by four TDs.

I don't know, it sort of made me nostalgic. That sort of game hasn't been seen since the introduction of the forward pass.

Seriously, 5/8 field goals the only scoring by both teams, and I don't think either of them made it inside the ten yard line once.

[LMSx]

The good news is that the Seahawks looked atrocious in the season opener last year against Jacksonville and managed to rebound. The one cause for concern for me is the offensive line, Fraud Monitoring came in for an injured Walter Jones and promptly gave up a sack. This Hutchinson BS has been overplayed by the media but it's still hard to ignore that the Hawks are thinner then they'd like to be up there.

[Falkenhayn]

Well, we had the Pat's number for a half hour and that was it. New England had...1 Penalty ?

In other news, I hope Trent Green is alright. That was a fucking vicious hit.

[Darth Quorthon]

Although it's a bit premature to say I was impressed, I was surprised by the Rams. I was expecting Denver to take that one. If they had managed to finish a few of those drives for touchdowns, that game would have been a blowout. However, I thought the big surprise of the day was Baltimore's stifling of Tampa Bay. I did not see that one coming. Atlanta over Carolina was a mild surprise. And now that the night game is finally starting, the whole Peyton v. Eli thing is getting that much closer to being over.

Oh, and Re: Trent Green - How was a penalty not called on that play? He looked like he was well into his slide to me. It seems like he'll be OK, but I wouldn't surprised to see him miss some playing time.

Edit: I typed "impressed" twice.

[thejester]

So I sit down with breakfast to watch the Colts/Giants game thinking I'd get a half in before class starts, and am instead bombarded by half an hour of 'Lolz the QBs are brothers lol'. Jesus H. Christ, play the fucking game.

[Elfdart]

Although it's a bit premature to say I was impressed impressed, I was surprised by the Rams. I was expecting Denver to take that one. If they had managed to finish a few of those drives for touchdowns, that game would have been a blowout. However, I thought the big surprise of the day was Baltimore's stifling of Tampa Bay. I did not see that one coming. Atlanta over Carolina was a mild surprise. And now that the night game is finally starting, the whole Peyton v. Eli thing is getting that much closer to being over.

I have a lot of crow to eat, too.

Oh, and Re: Trent Green - How was a penalty not called on that play? He looked like he was well into his slide to me. It seems like he'll be OK, but I wouldn't surprised to see him miss some playing time.

Eddie Kennison of the Chiefs blocked Geathers into Green. It wasn't the hit so much, but the way the back of Green's head hit the ground. He was knocked cold. When a 36-year-old QB is the only one on the field making an effort (the Chiefs have enjoyed the besy OL in football the last decade but they played like pussies today) he's going to get taken out. The Chiefs are circling the drain. All but one of their best players are over 30 and the offensive play-calling sucks out loud. The defense might have done better if the offense could have -I don't know-made some 1st downs.

By the way, since when do the Chiefs wear fucking white jerseys for a home game?

[Darth Quorthon]

Eddie Kennison of the Chiefs blocked Geathers into Green.

I didn't see that - I saw the hit on a replay, and Green took up almost the whole screen - I couldn't see much else besides his head bouncing off the turf. I just remember one of the commentators saying that it should have been a penalty.

At least we've got Monday Night Football again, even if I'm not a huge fan of the announce team. I'm curious to see what carries over from this week to week 2 and what was just "jitters".

[Master of Ossus]

Well, my Niners lost (no surprise there), but I'm cautiously optimistic about their performance. Frank Gore looks like the real deal (170 combined yards including a gaudy running average, 2 TD's, 1 lost fumble), Vernon Davis caught a TD pass in his first ever NFL matchup, Antonio Bryant looked good, and Alex Smith looked non-sucky. All of those are huge improvements over last year's offense (especially the Alex Smith self-upgrade and the Barlow-for-Gore switch). The defense was terrible, as everyone expected, but they finally have something to build with offensively.

[Havok]

8 and 5 with 2 to go. Should be 9 and 4. I wouldn't have picked Carolina if I knew Smith wasn't playing Enh, It's only week one.

49ers: Smith looked a helluva lot better today then last year. The defense also surprised me a little. I'm predicting at least 8 wins this year for my boys!

Trent Green: It wasn't a cheap shot. The tackler was blocked down into Green by his reciever.

Packers: Bret should have hung it up.

Ravens: Uh oh. That defense has some offensive support.

Shaping up to be an exciting season.

[Havok]

Well, my Niners lost (no surprise there), but I'm cautiously optimistic about their performance. Frank Gore looks like the real deal (170 combined yards including a gaudy running average, 2 TD's, 1 lost fumble), Vernon Davis caught a TD pass in his first ever NFL matchup, Antonio Bryant looked good, and Alex Smith looked non-sucky. All of those are huge improvements over last year's offense (especially the Alex Smith self-upgrade and the Barlow-for-Gore switch). The defense was terrible, as everyone expected, but they finally have something to build with offensively.

I think terrible is a little harsh. Everyone who plays the Cards this year is going to have a day like that, especially coverage wise. Even behind that massive line Edge only got 70 something yards and they had pressure on Warner all day. For the quality of players that they have, most of them being free agent castoffs, they did very well. Take away the rookie and 2nd year man fumbles and the defense plays good enough to win that game.

Oh, and they are my Niners

[Elfdart]

Well, my Niners lost (no surprise there), but I'm cautiously optimistic about their performance. Frank Gore looks like the real deal (170 combined yards including a gaudy running average, 2 TD's, 1 lost fumble), Vernon Davis caught a TD pass in his first ever NFL matchup, Antonio Bryant looked good, and Alex Smith looked non-sucky. All of those are huge improvements over last year's offense (especially the Alex Smith self-upgrade and the Barlow-for-Gore switch). The defense was terrible, as everyone expected, but they finally have something to build with offensively.

I think terrible is a little harsh. Everyone who plays the Cards this year is going to have a day like that, especially coverage wise. Even behind that massive line Edge only got 70 something yards and they had pressure on Warner all day. For the quality of players that they have, most of them being free agent castoffs, they did very well. Take away the rookie and 2nd year man fumbles and the defense plays good enough to win that game.

Oh, and they are my Niners

Norv Turner never cut it as a head coach, but as Offensive Coordinator he is one of the best. He knows how to coach TEs and is great at handling QBs as well. Mike Nolan knows his shit with defense. It's just that the team was in salary cap hell for several years and they have very little talent.

I'm not picking against the Ravens anytime soon. All they needed was some average quarterbacking to win a Super Bowl and now they have a proven winner. They walked into Tampa and beat the shit out of a playoff team on opening day.

[Azazal]

Do I know the Lions or what? I almost called it. My Lions didn't win, but pretty much everything else I said about the game was true. In true Lions form, they played a stupidly boring game without any scoring whatsoever, and barely managed to lose in the final seconds. I honestly thought they'd pull it out, as they usually do, in their home opener. Oh well.

And shame on you, havok, for picking the Seahawks by four TDs.

Did you really expect anything different from the Lions? When is comes to snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, they are the experts. Next week Chicago, that should be brutal.

[theski]

Well, we had the Pat's number for a half hour and that was it. New England had...1 Penalty ?

In other news, I hope Trent Green is alright. That was a fucking vicious hit.

Pats rule. Tom Brady is the man..

[Tsyroc]

How about that non-call in the Lions/Seahhawks game?

Supposedly the Seahawks player was blocked into the punt returner? Geeze, he was barely touched and then as he was leveling the punt returner the ball hit him in the back of the helmet. Even worse, that call was reviewed and they still said the defender was blocked into the punt returner.

Not a very good start for the zebras IMO.

[Quadlok]

How about that non-call in the Lions/Seahhawks game?

Supposedly the Seahawks player was blocked into the punt returner? Geeze, he was barely touched and then as he was leveling the punt returner the ball hit him in the back of the helmet. Even worse, that call was reviewed and they still said the defender was blocked into the punt returner.

Not a very good start for the zebras IMO.

it doesn't take much to knock someone off balance at that speed, and it did look like thats what happened. I can buy that he was blocked into the reciever, although the hit was early by about half a second.

[Haminal10]

If you had told me on Saturday that my Ravens would lay a 27-0 smackdown in the Bucs, I would have though you were crazy.

My thoughts afterwards?

"Holy shit. We have an offense."

The only this that was missing was Miami not laying a goddamn egg in the 4th quarter against the Steelers.

All in all, it could be a veeery good year.

[weemadando]

Indeed. Very very happy that someone at the Ravens organisation finally realised that its important to move the ball on offense. Not just stop it moving on defense.

[Darth Fanboy]

I'm not picking against the Ravens anytime soon. All they needed was some average quarterbacking to win a Super Bowl and now they have a proven winner. They walked into Tampa and beat the shit out of a playoff team on opening day.

An NFC playoff team. I don't think they will hold up once they have to play teams like Pittsburgh, Indy, or Cincy.

[Darth Quorthon]

I know it's premature, but man, do the Raiders look like shit. If the first half is any indicator, raider nation is in for a long year.

OK, who picked against the Vikings? Seriously though, Childress' insistence on running the ball when it was constantly being stuffed got a bit irritating. Taylor had 88 yards on 31 carries. That's not even three yards a carry! Still, a win is a win and I'll take it, but I still think 9-7 is the most reasonable expectation I can lay on the Vikes.

And congratulations to Seattle on a great acquisition.

[Darth Garden Gnome]

The only thing more embarrasing than Marty Schottenheimer's play calling is the Raider's O-line. That thing pretty much disintegrated anytime Brooks took more than two seconds (literally!) standing in the pocket.

But jesus, I know why the Charger's will never go anywhere, and it's the uber conservative Martyball scheme. Run, run, run into 8-9 men in the box! For chrissakes, call some play-action you jackass, you've got LaDanian fuckin' Tomlinson, don't waste him. Tomlinson was superb, by the way, but his efforts in the second half were stifled by ineffective use of the forward pass. Of course, once Phillips did air the thing out, bam! Touchdown.

[Elfdart]

As a Charger fan, Marty gets a special dispensation because he kicks the living shit out of those goddamned Oakland Raiders nearly every time he plays them -for 22 years!

For once, Martyball made sense because the Raitards have a lousy OL, so they weren't going to be on the field much anyway. I liked the way Marty went for it on 4th and Goal and effectively ended the game in the 1st quarter.

Shawn Merriman rules. He is like Derrick Thomas, Andre Tippett or Lawrence Taylor, only Super-Sized. He got three sacks, caused three more and completely fucked the Raitards' offense to the point where Oakland's QBs were still in full panic after he was pulled from game during garbage time. The motherfucker just races by any lineman who tries to block him and hurdles the hapless backs who try to cut him.

Philip Rivers was awesome considering he only threw 11 passes. I love the way the ball is thrown the instant that back foot plants. Pure pussy. The best was the 38-yard throw to Willie Parker. Warren Sapp used his last reserve of strength to get to Rivers, who threaded a needle with his pass in spite of Sapp hammering him to the ground. Then Rivers turned to Sapp and told him the results: First and Goal! Sapp pitched a fit because any score and the game was over. Rivers promptly put the Raitards out of their misery with a flip to Antonio Gates.

Oakland has spent high picks on their offensive line, and brought in TWO coaches (not including Art Shell who is himself an OL coach) to get them to play. Eight sacks, 129 yards of total offense and zero points. What they're doing is not working. In fact, it just plain sucks.

And I wouldn't want it any other way.

[Master of Ossus]

Not my best effort by any stretch of the imagination. I went 9-7 for the weekend, but anything that makes money....

[Metatwaddle]

I hope the Pats can do well this year without Adam Vinatieri and Deion Branch. They looked okay last weekend, though.

Mostly, though, I just care about the Eagles. The Giants looked pretty decent against Indianapolis last weekend. Next week's game will be a tough one, but I think we'll win.

[theski]

OMG.. Oakland and the Packers are soooooooo bad... Yuuuuuuckkkk

[Elfdart]

I'm not picking against the Ravens anytime soon. All they needed was some average quarterbacking to win a Super Bowl and now they have a proven winner. They walked into Tampa and beat the shit out of a playoff team on opening day.

An NFC playoff team. I don't think they will hold up once they have to play teams like Pittsburgh, Indy, or Cincy.

They get two shots at the Bengals and Steelers. Think there's a good chance of them splitting both and going 2-2 or 3-1. They have just the right defense to screw up the Colts and just the right offense to keep Manning and Harrison standing on the sidelines for 35-plus minutes. Barring injury, this team is a Super Bowl contender. Of course, by saying that, I've cursed them to 4-12.

Speaking of shitty records, 6-9 last week.



Dolphins > Bills
Panthers > Vikings
Bengals >>>>>>> Browns *
Bears >>>>>> Lions *
Colts > Texans
Saints > Packers
Giants > Eagles
Ravens >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Raiders
Buccaneers > Falcons
Cardinals > Seahawks
49ers > Rams
Broncos > Chiefs
Patriots > Jets
Chargers > Titans
Cowboys > Redskins
Jaguars > Steelers

* Both of these games could have been competetive, possibly with an upset win. That is, until numbskull players on the underdog team decided to shoot their mouths off. Roy Williams, whose offense scored all of
6 points last week bragged about how close they were to scoring 40. The Bears' defense is MUCH better than Seattle's. Then Kellen Winslow Jr bragged that a Browns DB nobody has ever heard of will shut down Chad Johnson, a wideout with a track record of torching the best Corners in the league. I used to watch Winslow's father play. He was cocky as hell, but he was cocky about his own accomplishments, which were the stuff of legend. Junior's are the stuff of bullshit big fish stories.

I picked the Panthers, Cowboys and Broncos because they are well-run teams and I can't picture them losing back-to-back games this early. Ditto for the Giants and Buccaneers.

The Redskins' fabulous new offense? 16 whole points. Al Saunders is the most overrated assistant coach in NFL history. He was a receiver coach with the Chargers under Don Coryell when Charlie Joiner was already a sure Hall of Famer at the position and had already taught his teammates the art of receiving. He was an assistant with the Rams under Mike Martz when they lit up the scoreboard like a pinball machine and most recently with the Chiefs under Dick Vermiel. In all three cases, he was a Johnny-come-lately to teams that were already loaded with talent and already had the Air Coryell system of offense. What Saunders excels at though, is brownnosing nitwit owners/ halfwit journalists, and stabbing fellow coaches in the back, including his superiors. I'm surprised Joe Gibbs wanted anything to do with him, since Gibbs was also one of Don Coryell's padawan learners. Fuck Al Saunders.

Speaking of overrated offensive coaches, Tom Walsh of the Oakland Raiders is a joke and a half. This is his second run in Oakland and their offense blows harder than before. The line can't protect for two seconds, let alone three. So what does Walsh call? Long passes from a seven-step drop (>3 seconds to throw). The Raitards have a strong-armed QB and the best jump-ball wideout in the NFL. Why not throw quick fades out of a one or three-step drop (<1.5 seconds). The line might be able to hold that long, and the QB is going to get pummeled anyway... why not? I'll tell you why not: Because Tom Walsh is a shitty OC, that's why!

The Raitards are looking at 2-14 and I love it!