posted
Which team will remain undefeated the longest? I'll say the Redskins just because that would drive me crazy. The Bengals may stay undefeated until they have to play Indy...then they must lose. And the Bucs will probably lose soon.
Posts: 25 | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
52 points for the Packers with a completely juryrigged offense? What? Thank the Lords of Kobol for the bye week next week - maybe someone productive will come back. Like perhaps a running back.
posted
Sheesh, the Panthers are playing heart attack-inducing games every dang week. Just like they did two years ago.
But couldn't we just steam roller one of these teams?
Big cheers for LT of the Chargers, though. Tied the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown (18) and managed to rush for a touchdown, catch a touchdown pass and THROW a touchdown pass...
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Would David Carr do better if they just got rid of his offensive line? I feel terrible for the kid - he has no chance whatsoever to throw the blasted ball!
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
If they would put David Carr in the shotgun formation, he could get a good head start on the defense that way. All he'd have to do is catch the hike, pivot 180 degrees and run like made for his own end zone.
Sure it'd give up two points each time, but he might be able to survive until next season.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
At the beginning of this season, I was wondering why you would want to come back for yet another season. You're kind of old, kind of unreliable, but you are still the heart and soul of the Green Bay Packers. There was no way that I would even consider you being around for another season after this one.
You've changed my mind. Well, okay, both you and the injury-laden season the Packers' offense is having.
First, due to the slew of recent injuries, I have changed my mind. I would very much like it if a) you would keep yourself alive and healthy and b) come back for one final year to actually play with a complete team, instead of one having been depleted by season-ending injuries. I can't imagine how hard it must be to keep losing essential players like Ahman Green, Javon Walker, and the rest of the receiving corps - let alone continue to play after the departure of Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera. Many of the aforementioned players still on the Green Bay roster are up for free agency and have the talent (and agent) to go elsewhere. There really isn't much to keep them in Green Bay - except you and your devotion to the game.
Look, I'm going to be honest: Aaron Rodgers isn't ready to take over the team. Granted, I have no idea how well (or not) his practices have been going, but he is not and I doubt he will even begin to be emotionally ready to take over the team and do what's needed - keep the team and (more importantly) the city optimistic. He's a very talented player; he just needs to learn in a more... positive... setting.
That's why you need to stay one more year.
I'm not asking for a miracle. I don't want you to stick around until you're old like Vinny Testaverde. That's... actually disturbing. No, just one more season is all I ask.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you've already told Mike of your intentions to retire on the second of January and are glad to be getting out of the game. Maybe you don't love the game and just pretend to be disappointed and disgusted after losses and overly excited when good things happen. Maybe you weren't trying to encourage Fergie to keep his head in the game during the Panthers game.
Far be it from me to know your limits better than you. Don't do anything damaging - but don't take the easy way out and leave because the going got tough for a year. You made it through the Ray Rhodes years. You can make it through one and a half more.
Sincerely,
A Devoted Fan
(Hooray for fits of passion and BOO to injuries. Oh, and Go Badgers! One Wisconsin team's got to do well, right?)
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
| IP: Logged |
now if we can just get the offense going again, I think we're in good shape... and I think that'll happen as the line re-settles and Julius Jones returns. He may not have done well, but I think he is regarded as a real threat at RB and teams played to stop him, resulting in Bledsoe's early success...
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Anyone want to state how they see the rest of the regular season playing out?
I picked the Patriots, the Steelers, the Colts, and the Broncos to win their divisions in the AFC before the season started, and that looks accurate, but in the NFC, I liked the Vikings, and the Panthers to go with Philly and Seattle. I look a bit off there, especially with the Vikes being my pick to lose the NFC title game. Whoops.
From here on out, looking at the schedules, this is what I got:
AFC:
1. Indy 2. Pittsburgh ------- 3. Denver 4. New England 5. Jacksonville 6. Cincy
On the outside looking in, San Diego, and KC.
In the NFC: 1. Seattle 2. Atlanta ----------- 3. Philly 4. Detroit (easier schedule than Chicago) 5. Carolina 6. Washington/NYG or Dallas (i go with Washington but that's my redskins bias showing.
If i were to predict the playoffs, it would be hard since I can't remember if the seeds are reshuffled following each game but here's what I'd have:
Wild Card Round: Cincy over Denver, New England over Jville Philly over Washington, Carolina over Detroit
Divisional Round: Philly over Seattle, Atlanta over Carolina Indy over New England, Pittsburgh over Cincy
Conference Title Games: Indy over Pittsburgh, and Philly over Atlanta
Super Bowl:
Indy over Philly
Anyone else care to share some 2nd half of the year predictions? Doesn't have to be this thorough (and this potentially wrongheaded).
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Jim-Me: Sure looks like Indy's year.
The only other thing I'm gonna predict is Dallas goes 10-6 on the year and wins their first playoff game in a decade or so...
Assuming Julius Jones comes back after the bye.
Dallas has got a real difficult schedule. I could see them getting the wild card. But they still have road games with Philly, NYG, Washington, and Carolina, and at best I'd think they go 1-3 with that schedule. The home games against Arizona, Detroit, Denver, KC, and St Louis look like a stretch where they should grab 2-3 wins, possibly four. That would give them a floor expection of about 8-8, and a ceiling expectation of about 10-6 or 11-5. I have them finishing 9-7, but they may finish 10-6. I really think 1 game will separate NYG, Washington and Dallas, and only 1-2 will separate the NFC East winner, and the cellar dweller.
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Gotta remember, Philly is after the bye week and NYG is after the long break from thanksgiving... traditionally strong games for Dallas.
And this Defense is already something special and getting better... the problem is opposing defenses don't respect the run without Jones in there... if he comes back then expect Bledsoe to go back to his insane quarterback rating... and expect teams to start losing.
key stat: well... I can't get to it, but the cowboys are something like the best team in the league in the red zone with JJ and the worst in the league without him... maybe it's just the NFC, but still, pretty telling.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Jim-Me: Gotta remember, Philly is after the bye week and NYG is after the long break from thanksgiving... traditionally strong games for Dallas.
And this Defense is already something special and getting better... the problem is opposing defenses don't respect the run without Jones in there... if he comes back then expect Bledsoe to go back to his insane quarterback rating... and expect teams to start losing.
key stat: well... I can't get to it, but the cowboys are something like the best team in the league in the red zone with JJ and the worst in the league without him... maybe it's just the NFC, but still, pretty telling.
Don't bet on Bledsoe. He's been on the downside of his career for a long time going. He's a damn sight better than a lot of vet QB's around the league but he's not gonna all of a sudden turn into 1996 Bledsoe when JJ is back. He is what he is, a strong armed, immobile QB, who makes bad decisions and forces throws because he can. He also can be pretty good.
We won't know who will be getting the two playoff slots (maybe three) from this division until the last week or two of the season but this is a huge stretch for my Redskins. Murderous schedule for the whole division it seems, I wonder why.
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Because the NFC East and the AFC West are the two strongest divisions in football today and they play each other this year.
As for Bledsoe, he's a significantly better QB than anything Dallas has had since Aikman retired. And yes, he is 1996 Bledsoe when JJ is in, or when, as they did today, they get the running game going.
When defenses can't T off, pin their ears back, and come after him, Bledsoe has been fantastic. When they've put 8 in the box to stop JJ, Bledsoe has made them pay, significantly. When the Dallas running game is working, they have as much balance and as many weapons as any team in the NFL... big, physical, possession receiver, deep threat, pro-bowl tight end, speedy, tough running back, solid offensive line... and a quarterback who *can* take advantage of his weapons.
Ignore them at your peril...
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
They tried to draw the Bills offsides. This is illegal if they: make sharp motions towards the offensive line, or mimic the quarterback cadence.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
you have to admit the explanation was awesome, though, yes? (the called penalty was "delay of game, defense")
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
You won't give me any hedging on that schedule, JT?
Ok... double or nothing... but if I win can we do something besides Krispy Kremes? that much sugar is likely to give me type II diabetes.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
He suffered ACL, MCL, and PCL damage to his knee yesterday. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Jim-Me: Because the NFC East and the AFC West are the two strongest divisions in football today and they play each other this year.
As for Bledsoe, he's a significantly better QB than anything Dallas has had since Aikman retired. And yes, he is 1996 Bledsoe when JJ is in, or when, as they did today, they get the running game going.
When defenses can't T off, pin their ears back, and come after him, Bledsoe has been fantastic. When they've put 8 in the box to stop JJ, Bledsoe has made them pay, significantly. When the Dallas running game is working, they have as much balance and as many weapons as any team in the NFL... big, physical, possession receiver, deep threat, pro-bowl tight end, speedy, tough running back, solid offensive line... and a quarterback who *can* take advantage of his weapons.
Ignore them at your peril...
He is better, but that isn't saying much. If he was actually good, New England and Buffalo would have kept him. Neither was interested. He's very, very hot and cold, and mostly cold. I expect him to take a down turn soon enough. He had plenty of weapons, indeed better or equal weapons in Buffalo in McGahee, Moulds, and Evans. Still it didn't happen.
He's had a ton of problems with consistency and I expect them to continue. I would be shocked if he could equal his '96-'97 era productivity, 4000 yards, 28 TD's, 14 picks, if he can equal that it will be amazing and the Cowboys will definitely make the playoffs. Alas, even with his great TD-Int ratio, I dont expect it to happen. He should be better, having met up with Parcells again but beyond that, I'm not expecting a return to his mid-nineties form.
Division should be a dog fight. Will be interesting, we'll know whether or not my Redskins have any chance at grabbing a playoff slot tonight. If they cant beat this eagle team tonight, even being without their only Defensive Lineman with talent (Griffin is out) which should open up a big game for Westbrook, the Redskins still have to have this game. I expect an Eagle win, because that's what's happened anytime the Redskins have needed a big win for the past 13 years.
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Saints lost again, but at least they didn't get screwed by poor officiating or give it away through poor play. It was actually a pretty well played game, plus I was there, so all in all about as good a loss as you can get.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Congrats to the skins last night. I'm a little worried now because the Eagles have to be appraoching "desperate" and a desperate team that still has weapons makes for a tough opponent next week...
Interestingly enough, Bledsoe is on pace to do almost exactly what you said: 4038 yds, 26 TD, 12 INT. For half the season, anyhow, he's been that productive... and I don't see him getting worse, with the cowboy running game improving as it has.
Edit: was anyone else amazed at Vermiel's call on the goal line? 3pts down, 5 seconds to play, calls a running play to go for the win... just wow.
I have to resort to quoting "Top Gun"-- "gutsiest move I ever saw, man."
posted
I'm not sure which Tampa performance I was more impressed by-- the panthers or their cheerleadersPosts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
Yes, Bledsoe is on pace, I noticed this as well, one problem, every easy, or relatively pass friendly defense on his schedule was in the first half of the year. After facing San Diego, San Fran, Oakland, Seattle, and Arizona in five of his first 8 games, none of which are any great shakes defending against the pass, Dallas must face Philly, Denver, Washington, and Carolina in the second half, and additionally, there isn't really a single cake defense left on their schedule, even Detroit is actually fairly competant when it comes to generating turnovers and stopping offenses (it's their offense that's been killing them, not their defense). The rest of the way, Dallas essentially has one game that can be considered a Lock. And that's it.
I seriouly doubt that Bledsoe's pace continues as it has been with that second half schedule. Remember, if S. Moss continued as his pace preceding the Giants game, he would have finished the year with about 85-90 receptions for about 1850 yards. As much as I love the Redskins, I'm not a homer, he'll be locked up again in a game or two or three, like he was a week ago, just as Bledsoe will run into problems in the second half.
I will agree with you, as I suggested earlier, that Bledsoe should have his best performance this year since the late nineties, but with the schedule Dallas has, I'm not at all sold it will be enough. I'd be astounded if Dallas finishes this year any better than 9-7 and 8-8 will be difficult. Unless the troika Atlanta and Carolina start dropping games soon, looks like we may only get two playoff teams out of the East. If I were to guess, I'd say they'd be NYG, and Washington because of the schedules, records, and tiebreakers they own.
It will be huge, no matter what happens, Washington's playoff hopes will likely rest on how they perform in December. They open the month at Arizona, and then finish with Dallas, and NYG at home, and Philly on the road. How Washington performs there will likely define who gets in the playoffs in the division, and how many teams.
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well, for the schedule, it is a bear, but I think you really underestimate this Dallas team.
Three weeks in a row, the top offense in the league, either in points or yardage, came in. None of them left with more than 13 points.
They can shut down anybody and have an incredible balance on offense... and that gets better for them with the pending returns of Julius Jones and Patrick Crayton. Sometimes, when your third receiver coming back is important, itmeans your team is looking for excuses, but in Dallas's case, it just shows how deep they go.
And BTW, Jimmy Johnson agrees with me. On Friday I gave Dallas a 1 in 6 chance of getting to the superbowl this year. On Sunday, Johnson picked them to be the NFC representative.
As for your skins, 3 division games is obviously going to have a big impact... but, I think the next three games are going to tell a lot about Washington... Oakland and San Diego are much better than their records... and while Tampa Bay may not be as good as theirs, they are going to be revved up to prove that they are.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Jimmy's their former coach, that's like asking Dan Snyder what he thinks of the Redskins. I could care less what Johnson thinks about the Cowboys prospects.
Let's put it this way, I think that all four teams will have in front of them, a second half schedule that will define if they're good enough to do damage in the playoffs. Not one of us has an easy road although the SOS is disparate for all of us. Anyone making the playoffs will have earned it, anyone missing them, should have been in ahead of the rep from the NFC North, whomever they end up being.
Crayton's very good btw, any idea why he got in Parcell's doghouse?
As for how it plays out:
NYG 3-1 to win division Washington 4-1 Dallas 9-2 Philly 6-1
I still think Philly has a shot, but McNabb has to find out how to get wins while hurt, and they got to use their brains and get Westbrook in positions to help them. Give him 15-20 carries minimum and 25-35 touches per game. They don't do that, they won't sniff the playoffs, they do, they can. Reggie Brown and Greg Lewis are much better WR's than anything they had in the pre-T.O. era w/McNabb. They're fully capable of coming back and making this a four team race till the midnight on Sunday.
As for selling Dallas short. I don't think so, I expected you guys to sweep my Redskins, and battle for a Wild Card this year. The latter is still definitely possible as is a Wild Card. I'm just not sold on the offense (ditto the Redskins offense which is still sputtering at best whenever they play a good team), and the defense, while not bad, is not as elite as you think it is either. We'll see what happens. I'm just glad the NFC East is back. It's been dead for far, far too long. Remember, from the fall of 1986 through January of 1996, the NFC East grabbed every Super Bowl the Niners failed to grab, seven of ten (3 for Dallas, and 2 a piece for NYG and Washington) The good old days appear back again (although the '93-'95 era wasn't that great as NYG, Phoenix/Arizona and the Redskins stunk and the Eagles were erratic).
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Does anybody know what the music is that ESPN uses behind their defensive unit intros? They use "Who Are You?" by The Who behind the offensive team intros. I recognise the music but can't for the life of me think who it is! Anyone help?
Posts: 867 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was shocked to hear Yes's "Cinema" on Fox's Sunday show, but I wasn't paying attention to ESPn's music.
Crayton is not in Parcell's doghouse... he's hurt. They thought he had broken his ankle on a late catch against the Giants. Parcells was needling him publically about holding on to the football better, but I wouldn't count that as "in the doghouse".
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm not talking about now, several weeks ago word was that he was in the doghouse, I saw this from multiple sources. Didn't really understand why as he seemed to be quite productive whenever he was getting looks.
Btw, you might want to check out scout.com, they handle a ton of sports forums, including the admittedly problematic "The Ranch" which has been a Cowboys forum for about half a decade. CPND (the Redskins site) has been around in various incarnations since 1995, and great debate can be had there.
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
