2008 NFL Season Thread- The Road to Super Bowl XLIII

[Archon]

Heh, I started watching that video and and ad for fantasy football with Warrenn Sapp came up. Not surprised to see that he was wearing Tampa Bay gear and not Raiders gear in the ad. Heheh.

There is one with him wearing Raiders gear as well.

[Darth Fanboy]

well that isn't nearly as funny.

[Qwerty 42]

"Does my voice really sound like that?"

"Wait, why am I hearing voices?"

[Qwerty 42]

And then there was one: the Giants fall to the Browns big on MNF.

So, in the East, only the Eagles win in week six.

[Havok]

So, in the East, only the Eagles win in week six.

And they really shouldn't have.

The power in the NFL seems to be evening out in the divisions and between the two conferences.

[Dark Flame]

I'm so glad I went to that game! That was the best crowd I've ever been a part of, we made them use 2 timeouts just to get their play in! It was a riot in there. The Browns finally looked like they were playing up to their potential, and manhandled the Giants. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come.

As for the other games, my picks were 7-7, again. I was actually hoping the Dolphins would win, but that was a good call by the Texans from like the 2 yard line. I also watched the Falcons-Bears game, and the finish was stunning. I feel bad for the Bears, but the Falcons had some good plays and a hell of a lot of luck and managed to pull it out.

Also, is anyone else still in stitches from when Dan Orlovsky ran out the back of the end zone?

[CarsonPalmer]

The Giants looked awful on Monday Night, which is unfortunate because they looked very good for a month. The Browns, meanwhile, looked really good for overcoming a lot of penalties, and really pathetic for getting more false start penalties for than my high school team picked up in an entire season. The Browns played well, but Jesus Christ, for those of us who like to see good fundamentals on display, that was a horror show.

[Qwerty 42]

Super early predictions:

San Diego at Buffalo
New Orleans at Carolina
Minnesota at Chicago
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Tennessee at Kansas City
Baltimore at Miami
San Francisco at New York Giants
Dallas at St. Louis
Detroit at Houston
Indianapolis at Green Bay
New York Jets at Oakland
Cleveland at Washington
Seattle at Tampa Bay
Denver at New England

[Falkenhayn]

Picking the Bills over SD? I'm suprised Elfy hasn't appeared (in puff of Brimstone, naturally).

Schobel's got something wrong with his foot, and probably won't play. He can't really get to the QB anymore, but he plays 4 downs and he plays smart, most of the time. If he sits, Chris Ellis will probably get the start, and he's more a pure pass rusher than Schobel, with a good deal more size. How that's going to mitigate his being green as paint remains to be seen.

Also, post-Holdout Jason Peters is playing like a warm body rather than an All-Pro, and Melvin Fowler CANNOT go one-on-one with Jamal Williams. Then again, Fowler didn't practice either, and while Duke Preston dosen't have his experience or football IQ, he's a much better run blocker, and can anchor against the big guys in pass protection, assuming he plays.

But most importantly, Roscoe and Trent will be healthy. James Hardy is progressing, but slower than we'd like, so his appearances ahead of Roscoe will be determined by down-n-distance, and he'll definately show up in the Red Zone. Assuming Perry Fewell gets off his ass and writes up a defensive game plan that trusts CBs other than Terrence McGee to go one on one so he can blitz with Poz and Kawika (cause we won't get pressure otherwise), this game will go well for us.

As it stands, I'm leaning towards SD, even with the bye week.

[Dark Flame]

Technically it's Friday, so it's not too early for my picks.

San Diego at Buffalo
New Orleans at Carolina
Minnesota at Chicago
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Tennessee at Kansas City
Baltimore at Miami
San Francisco at New York Giants
Dallas at St. Louis
Detroit at Houston
Indianapolis at Green Bay
New York Jets at Oakland
Cleveland at Washington
Seattle at Tampa Bay
Denver at New England

And now mine stand out!

[Elfdart]

Picking the Bills over SD? I'm suprised Elfy hasn't appeared (in puff of Brimstone, naturally).

Actually, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Bills not only won the game, but administered an ass-kicking while doing so. West coast teams traveling to the eastern time zone for the 1 PM EST game usually get whipped. The Chargers might also be looking past the Bills and thinking more about the London game against the Saints, so that's another reason. I'm picking the Bolts, but if they got slapped around like Tina Turner I wouldn't be all that shocked.

[Cos Dashit]

Went 7 - 7 last week, now I'm 50 - 38 (0.568) overall.

Picks for week 7:
SD @ BUF
NO @ CAR
MIN @ CHI
PIT @ CIN
TEN @ KC
BAL @ MIA
SF @ NYG
DAL @ STL
DET @ HOU
IND @ GB
NYJ @ OAK
CLE @ WAS
SEA @ TB
DEN @ NE

[Elfdart]

I'll take the Chargers, Saints, Bears, Steelers, Titans, Ravens, Giants, Cowboys, Texans, Packers, Jets, Patriots, Redskins and Buccaneers.

[Qwerty 42]

Dallas CRUSHED by the Rams. Who would have thought?

[CmdrWilkens]

Skins survive by the barest of margins and once again it was turnovers defeating themselves. if Portis rumbles with that ball and holds on then we are looking at a clock draining drive for a field goal (maybe a TD) with the score shifting to 17-0 and 3 on the clock. That said they still get the W and to keep them out on 6 attempts inside the 10 shoudl have the defense pretty pleasd with themselves.

[The Spartan]

I was sweating a little bit in the fourth quarter, but we managed to pull it out for this game, never trailing. As we should. There's no reason for us to lose to the freaking lions.

[Falkenhayn]

DJ's a class act.

SD's got no time outs, 1:55 left, 1st n' Goal. Trent takes three knees, Bills win 23-14.

The Arch-Fucker of New England would certainly have given SD's defense the "respect" of attempting a 1st n Goal hold from the 9 with the game already in the bag. Of course, saying your coach is classier than bill belicheck isn't saying, well, anything at all.

However, I wanted DJ to go for the 30-14 win. Then I realized that was just enthusiasm, and there's no need to rub faces in piss, pad stats and risk folks getting hurt.

I am also convinced that Trent is actually some kind of Robot.

[Havok]

Bye bye Mr. Nolan. I hope you land a job somewhere else next season. I.N.T. O'Fumblin is probably going to be hitting the bench as well soon. Another 3+ turnover day pretty much saw to that. If Shawn Hill isn't AT LEAST getting more reps in practice this week, I am going to be fucking pissed. He should already be penciled in as the starter for Seattle for an easy game to come in on. And don't give me any of this "It's only his 7th start" BULL SHIT. O'Fumblin has been in the league for 6 years. Aaron Rodgers is only on his 7th start and he was ripping apart the Colts today. And fuck Mike Martz and this "Best QB I have ever coached" BULL FUCKING SHIT. He has obviously lost his ability to evaluate talent, if he ever actually had it. (See the state he left the Rams in.) I mean, good move... Lets get the LIONS BACKUP QB to JOHN KITNA to start for us. Alex Smith could have been doing this.

So now that I got that out, (and believe me, it is NOT all out) who will take over as interim HC and who may be possible candidates for the job after the season ends. If they give it to Martz... well, I'm not a fair weather fan as you all know, but I will be sorely tempted to stop watching their games for the remainder of the season.
Hopefully, the hand it over to Singletary. He has the best coached and most consistent squad on the team and I don't know how you could possibly not want to play hard for the guy, whether out of respect or fear.

If it is only an interim job and they open up the job at the end of the season, this is my short list...
Singletary (If he is or isn't the IHC, he deserves the chance to take over or the chance for a fresh start and a full offseason in charge)

Marty Schottenhiemer (He may not have the hardware, but if he was still in SD, they wouldn't be as inconsistent as they have been the last two seasons and he can turn teams around that suck)

Mike Holmgren (I know he is retiring after this season, but he always said that SF is his dream job, and if the opening is there and he isn't a HC somewhere, he is going to be severely tempted and he will be courted, and again, he can turn a team that sucks aroundand he can fix the biggest problem the Niners have, QB)

[starslayer]

You got your wish, Hav. Singletary it is. No article yet, but they talking about it on ESPN.

[Havok]

You got your wish, Hav. Singletary it is. No article yet, but they talking about it on ESPN.

I really should be a professional NFL analyst.

[Elfdart]

The 49ers have no offensive line. O'Sullivan could be swapped out for Montana in his prime and their offense would still fail.

By the way, about 95% of Charger fans are hoping Nolan does get the axe. We need a new DC pronto. Soft zones and pinkie tackling make want to barf.

[Elfdart]

ESPN FINALLY REPORTS THAT NOLAN HAS BEEN FIRED
Posted by Mike Florio on October 20, 2008, 8:11 p.m.

In a moment that was surreal to those in the know, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported at roughly 7:52 p.m. EDT that 49ers coach Mike Nolan could be fired tonight.

Mort vowed that he and others, such as John Clayton, were monitoring the situation.

Apparently, the monitoring didn’t include checking FOXSports.com or PFT. Because both sites already had posted an item on Jay Glazer’s report that Nolan has already been fired.

And at roughly 8:04 p.m. EDT, Mort reported that Nolan has been fired, with no credit given to Glazer.

We assume that the crawl will soon say, “ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that the 49ers have fired coach Mike Nolan.”

Meanwhile, the guys at the ESPN Monday Night Countdown desk are propping up Nolan and blaming the 49ers, clearly ignoring the fact that Nolan had full control for three seasons over personnel, and that the team has flat-out sucked.

“I’m disgusted,” Chris Berman said.

Now he knows how every 49ers fan felt during most of Nolan’s tenure.

SINGLETARY ACCEPTS NINERS COACHING JOB
Posted by Mike Florio on October 20, 2008, 8:13 p.m.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that Mike Singletary has accepted the position of head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

[starslayer]

Elfdart, what makes you think that Nolan will be a good DC for you guys? I don't know much about his Skins tenure, but the 9ers D is 25th in the league right now, and it's Nolan's baby. They're his people and it's his scheme (the scheme, I think, is the real problem). I'd be praying that the Bolts don't hire him.

[Havok]

Elfdart, what makes you think that Nolan will be a good DC for you guys? I don't know much about his Skins tenure, but the 9ers D is 25th in the league right now, and it's Nolan's baby. They're his people and it's his scheme (the scheme, I think, is the real problem). I'd be praying that the Bolts don't hire him.

Well actually, the D that is in SF is not what he likes or runs. Nolan likes a pure 3-4. The hybrid that SF has right now is a necessity based on personnel. (smaller middle linebackers that are faster and not as strong and have a harder time shedding blocks of interior offensive lineman and not an effective enough nose tackle)
He has already shown, that with talent, he is an excellent coordinator and he has an aggressive attitude that SD could use.

[starslayer]

Well actually, the D that is in SF is not what he likes or runs. Nolan likes a pure 3-4. The hybrid that SF has right now is a necessity based on personnel. (smaller middle linebackers that are faster and not as strong and have a harder time shedding blocks of interior offensive lineman and not an effective enough nose tackle)
He has already shown, that with talent, he is an excellent coordinator and he has an aggressive attitude that SD could use.

I stand corrected. So what scheme would work best with what SF has now in terms of players? Franklin was supposed to be that good nose tackle we needed, but that hasn't worked out, and I somehow doubt the middle linebackers will be going anyway anytime soon. Would the 49ers benefit from a switch to a straight 4-3, or is there some other scheme they can use that might actually be effective?