NFL 2013

[Mithas]

No one wants to win the NFC East this year.

[Paelos]

No one wants to win the NFC East this year.

It's a train wreck. The Giants are actually in the hunt, which is fucking disgusting from both an "I hate them" level, and a "This shouldn't be" level.

[Tannhauser]

Week 8 is mostly over and I can't tell who are favorites in some of these dumpster fire divisions.  Giants are two games out of the lead FFS.  Oh LOL at the Steelers.  Atlanta is for real. Real in the sense that they really suck.

I ASSUME THE JETS WILL LEAVE THE TOP TEN.  AGAIN.

[Paelos]

Atlanta was DOA the moment they signed their QB to a multimillion dollar deal, and subsequently cut all of their trench player talent. The fans were just delusional enough to believe that skill players somehow win you games.

Green Bay is performing much better without their skill guys because they've developed a running game. And their line play has improved from terrible to passable.

Denver had a hangover until the second half, then they took some Anacin and got over it.

Dallas continues to do really REALLY stupid shit. The coach isn't coaching, and owner is still trying to play GM. Meanwhile the best receiver is off the leash and trying to bite every hand he can.

[Sjofn]

The Giants are totally making a run, boys! 


(seriously why is our division so bad)

[K9]

The Bengals aren't brilliant, but they aren't half bad either.

I'm also really impressed by the Bills D in general. There's not enough of an offence there for them to carry, but I see them being a growing force.

[Shannow]

The Giants are totally making a run, boys! 


(seriously why is our division so bad)

Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder and whoever owns the Eagles.

That's why.  Enjoy!

[HaemishM]

And I repeat, LOL COWBOYS. That game was just all sorts of  What the hell was wrong with Romo? He should have eaten that shitty Detroit secondary ALIVE. But he just didn't. Their running game is dogshit without Murray and isn't great with him. Really though, with the way their defense played for the first 3 quarters, the Cowboys should have been running away with it. And yet, they just can't put 60 minutes together against any sort of decent offense. And Dez Bryant is quickly heading into Terrell Owens land - he has the talent to be a #1 wide receiver, but he needs to shut the fuck up and play. Also, he needs a coach because the Cowboys do not have a coach. Garrett just either can't or won't take hold of this team by the scruff of the neck and make them play championship football. I can only guess that it's Jerry Jones that is the real problem - he doesn't let the coach have final authority and so guys just don't respect the coach enough to be professionals. I reiterate - this team will not win the Super Bowl again as long as Jerry Jones is alive. They are a fucking joke with way too much talent to be this bad. Oh and Calvin Johnson - that man is a freak. Catching balls with guys just draped all over him is sick. What was sicker is how open he got in the 2nd half.

Denver took way too long to get going but once they did, it was way over. The Redskins do not have a good enough defense to have kept them down for as long as they did. Griffin is still not right and I don't think he's going to be right the rest of this year. The fact that every team in the shitpile of a division that is the NFC East has a shot at the playoffs at this point is just disgusting. Otherwise, they should shut RGIII down and let him recuperate for next year. Denver meanwhile needs to figure out why they are starting so slow. They have got to figure out the pass blocking, because Peyton had way too much scrambling to do early.

The Green Bay/Minnesota game was glorious. Holy fuck, Minnesota is just a shitty team. Their defense can't stop either the run or the pass. They can't throw the ball for shit with any of the three QB's they have on the roster - and that situation is not improving this season. Too bad they beat Pittsburgh because they need to be in the #1 draft pick sweepstakes next year and both Tampa and Jacksonville are beating them at that as well. With Adrian Peterson on the roster, there is no reason the QB shouldn't be able to find Jennings wide open SOMETIME... or Rudolph or Patterson, both of whom have the talent to be good. Ponder just runs at the first sign of trouble and their line didn't seem able to block anyone either. AP is averaging 4.5 yards a carry. The Vikings ought to be in lots of 3rd and 4 or better situations with that kind of running game but it isn't helping. They are just awful. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers is a beast and Jordy Nelson is an elite receiver.

[sickrubik]

Most of broncos points have come in the 3rd quarter. All year, this has been the case. They have been quite open with the fat that they view the first half as "let's play around with some plays and see what they do" and then they adjust at halftime. Sometimes "playing around" scores them 14+ points. As for the Offensive Line? I've been discussing this all season. Injuries. Injuries Injuries. We got a somewhat still injured Orlando Franklin back, but we're just banged up.

When Franklin was going to be out last week and we had to shuffle multiple players along the O-Line, I talked about that being part of the blueprint for Indy's success, and hey, guess what, that panned out. However, JD Walton should be back by the Chargers game (13 days to decide), and that should help tremendously, even though Ramirez has been great at Center.

[Yegolev]

Wife just showed me the Grand Finale of the Detroit/Dallas game.  That was fucking awesome.  Thank you, Fantasy Football.

[Paelos]

Seattle deserves to lose this game against the Rams. Good grief, did half the league forget that linemen are important?

[Paelos]

This was a tough week. I had a lot to consider with the way some of these teams are playing, and how they are responding to injuries. Seattle takes a large tumble because I'm starting to see that their offensive line is a gigantic problem. They are living on defensive talent, and a functional offense would blast them right now. Green Bay moves up because they have worked past the injuries, developed a running game, and are still putting up large point totals with basically one named receiver. I questioned how they would respond, and they have responded in a big way. The Saints are scary too, and if you're not considering them as a possible Super Bowl Champ, you need to take a second look. With their schedule and scoring potential they could easily go 12-4 or 11-5 and wrap up a #1 or #2 seed in the NFC. Plus Ryan has retooled that defense into a top 10 team in sacks, top 5 in opposing passer rating, and top 5 in points against.

Paelos Power Rankings Week 8:

1 - Denver
2 - KC
3 - Saints
4 - GB
5 - Seattle
6 - SF
7 - Indy
8 - NE
9 - Cincy
10 - Detroit

[sickrubik]

Sounds like there's a lot of action at Dove Valley, with the Broncos pursuing trading for Jared Allen.

Yes. yes please. god yes.



With ten minutes to go before the deadline, sounds like all trade talks over Allen are now dead. :(

[ghost]

That's a shitty list-  No Jets.

[HaemishM]

My top 10 list is a bit different.

1 - Denver
2 - Saints
3 - KC
4 - SF
5 - GB
6 - Seattle
7 - Indy
8 - Cincy
9 - NE
10 - Detroit

I'm torn on #10. Detroit really shouldn't have won that game, but then Dallas should have made that game a rout so... I could easily switch out Carolina or San Diego for Detroit because I think both teams are inconsistent. They are world beaters one week and chumps the next. San Diego's offense can be frightening even without a running game. Carolina's defense is apparently playing lights out. And Detroit has Megatron and Reggie Bush.

I think San Fran is better than Seattle overall, they are just now starting to play like it. And it's a tossup on GB or Seattle being better and Indy did beat both SF and Seattle. Seattle's road form is just not good. If they have to go through New Orleans, forget about it. And yes, I did put KC 3rd even though they are 8-0 - I want to see how that defense handles Denver before I'm convinced they are better than both New Orleans (whose defense is back in a big way) and Denver. The best team KC has beaten is Dallas... and they aren't in the top 10.

Also, I really wish a taunting penalty on a TD like that bullshit Golden Tate picked up last night would erase the TD. Fuck him. He's quickly becoming one of my most hated players. I wish someone would have just clotheslined his douchey ass on that pass last night.

[sickrubik]

The best team KC has beaten is Dallas... and they aren't in the top 10.

Which is true of the Broncos too, to be fair.

Edit: Speaking of the Chiefs, NFL Forbids Chiefs From Creating Their Own Schedule Again Next Season   

[K9]

Y'all need to rate the Colts higher than 7th. They are a better team than the pack and the 49ers for sure; hell they've beaten the Seahawks, 49ers, and Broncos. Other than that curious loss to the chargers (all teams have bad weeks) they've found ways to win. Toss in the league's ~4th hardest schedule and you really need to put them higher on those lists. Green Bay needs to be lower; I know Aaron Rodgers is elite, and they're doing impressive stuff with what they have, but their only win against a top-10 team is against the Lions, who are as inconsistent as they come. The rest of their wins are against garbage teams (Washington, Cleveland, Minnesota, Ravens). They have also lost to the 49ers and Bengals. The 49ers have only lost to better teams, the Seahawks and the Colts; there's no way they can be lower than Green Bay. Sure, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, and it's hard to see why they are better, but on the face of it they are the better team.

My top 10 would look like:

1 - Indianapolis
2 - Denver
3 - New Orleans
4 - Kansas City
5 - Seattle
6 - San Francisco
7 - Cincinnati
8 - Green Bay
9 - New England
10 - Detroit

[Paelos]

The Colts have 2 great wins and 2 bad losses. That doesn't bode well for them in the playoffs. That's why I have them where they are.

[HaemishM]

The Colts have been inconsistent, which is why they aren't higher on the list. That loss to the Chargers really hurt their standing in my eyes, because I don't think the Chargers defense is as good as it was in that game. But like I've said all season, after 1 and 2, most of it's a tossup. Hell, these days I'm not even sure about Denver or New Orleans. Denver's defense is just not as stifling as I expected.

My ranking of GB higher than both the Colts and Seahawks is because when push comes to shove, I think Rodgers is a better QB than Wilson or Luck because of his experience - and that shows in how little talent he has to throw to right now. Luck is going to be missing Reggie Wayne something fierce against defenses like Arizona, Cincy and KC. Wilson's supporting cast is good but not great and both Rice and Harvin are injury prone.

[Paelos]

If anybody watched that Seattle offensive line against the Rams, I don't think anybody could take them seriously as a super bowl winner right now. A lot of that is injury, but man, it was horrific.

There were 7 sacks on Seattle in one game. SEVEN. Denver only has 11 all season.

[Segoris]

There were 7 sacks on Seattle in one game. SEVEN. Denver only has 11 all season.

O-line is even worse in comparison when remembering that Sea has a mobile QB, Den has a stationary turret that people still can't reach.

[sickrubik]

Franklin being back this week helped the broncos tremendously. Plus, screens.

[K9]

The average height of the remaining Seattle receivers is less than 6 feet tall. 

[sickrubik]

yeah, the receivers are part of the seattle puzzle.

[Nevermore]

Trying to pass from your own endzone in overtime might not have been the best of ideas, Cincinnati.

[Sjofn]

 

I want all OT games to end like that for the rest of the season, MAKE IT HAPPEN PEOPLE.

[Ghambit]

I give this win to Jonathan Martin.  Hopefully his leave of absence woke the team up a bit.
Also, protip to the media:  odds are there's likely a problem with a team or its coaching when the most gifted/smartest player on your team (2nd generation ivy league Stanford grad) takes a walk, especially after being incessantly hazed for 2-years and misused by coaching staff.

Kinda sick that they'd label him as having an "emotional issue" that requires some kind of treatment.  Seriously??  LMAO   Apparently the football world is that stupid.  As if in a professional environment a guy is just supposed to sit there and take it.

Look for some backlash by the end of this week that goes against the team and hopefully Martin gets to play for a proper organization.  Not the phins.

[kaid]

If anybody watched that Seattle offensive line against the Rams, I don't think anybody could take them seriously as a super bowl winner right now. A lot of that is injury, but man, it was horrific.

There were 7 sacks on Seattle in one game. SEVEN. Denver only has 11 all season.

I have a hard time excusing injuries on a teams performance when you look at the crap the packers have had to handle and are still winning in convincing fashion. When all but one of our WR got broken we said fuck it lets do this running game thing and they did and its working well for them. Rodgers may only have one named WR but my god in that last game some of those passes. He threw a couple huge receptions that basically were an inch from the defenders ear hole. One of the commentators even mentioned that if you think a pass may be coming put your hand by your ear hole because that is probably where the ball is going to be coming.

[kaid]

I give this win to Jonathan Martin.  Hopefully his leave of absence woke the team up a bit.
Also, protip to the media:  odds are there's likely a problem with a team or its coaching when the most gifted/smartest player on your team (2nd generation ivy league Stanford grad) takes a walk, especially after being incessantly hazed for 2-years and misused by coaching staff.

Kinda sick that they'd label him as having an "emotional issue" that requires some kind of treatment.  Seriously??  LMAO   Apparently the football world is that stupid.  As if in a professional environment a guy is just supposed to sit there and take it.

Look for some backlash by the end of this week that goes against the team and hopefully Martin gets to play for a proper organization.  Not the phins.

Sounds like he put up with that shit for a couple years which is about a year longer than I would have. Given his education I would simply say to the fis coaching staff either get this fixed to at least have people act like professionals/trade me/ or I quit and go use my education to make money in a non hostile working environment.

[ghost]

No one wants to win the NFC East this year.

No in should win the NFC East this year.

[HaemishM]

I want all OT games to end like that for the rest of the season, MAKE IT HAPPEN PEOPLE.

Fuck's sake, but did Cincy's coaching staff just give that game away? Little more than a minute to go, Cincy offense around the Miami 40 yard line. 2 shitty runs, then a 3rd down pass that might as well have been a hail mary? THE FUCK? Were you even trying to win? Why wouldn't you throw a screen, or a short slant, or something really high percentage and try to 1) give your kicker something easier than a 54-yard field goal, or 2) try to get the first down AND keep the clock running so Miami wouldn't have time to try a tying field goal? So ok, that one works out and they go ahead with 40 seconds left - and their defense blows it. Cut to OT and the Bengals are down around the Miami 40 again, too far for a field goal. Run, run, stupid shitty long pass that doesn't work and now they have to punt. THE FUCK? It was the same sequence of equally ineffective play calling as in the 4th quarter. Maybe that shit was audibled by Dalton but whoever was responsible needs to be running some fucking laps. They basically gave the game away. Miami's offense certainly didn't deserve that many chances, though I will give their defense credit for causing so many turnovers. Dalton threw two really bad balls that were picked and one that the receiver just gave away for an INT. That tip drill INT should never have been thrown - the guy had like 4 Dolphins around him.

As for the Fins, I can trace everyone of their offensive issues last night to that shitty O line. They can run block but they cannot pass block for shit. As a result, the coaches aren't calling any long passes and Mike Wallace is mostly useless when Tannehill gets all of 3 seconds to pass the ball or get stuffed.

[Ghambit]

Their line is not better/worse then the types of lines the Pats have on occasion.  It's just the phins dont know how to:
a) scramble their qb
b) do a 3-step offense
c) keep guys that could help them with a + b

Sherman (the OC) has taken a veritable beatdown in SoFla over his ineptitude at coaching and calling this offense.  Stubborn college-coach jackass is he; knows not how to properly use the pieces he has and takes way too long to adjust to a game.  If the phins don't make the playoff he'll likely be fired.

[HaemishM]

Ahh Mike Sherman. I am well familiar with him from his days as the Packers' head coach. I actually blame him for almost ending Brett Favre's career early. He was also responsible for their first losing season since 1991 (4-12 in 2005). He had a terribly bad habit of getting a lead, then coming out in the 3rd quarter and his entire offensive plan was run on 1st and 2nd down, then when that didn't work, call a really shitty conservative play on 3rd down that usually failed. He'd spend the whole 3rd quarter on 3 and outs and when the opposing team came back, he'd have to rely on Favre to win the game late in the 4th. He also couldn't evaluate defensive talent worth a fuck, and spent much of his reign there drafting shitty cornerbacks like Ahmad Carroll who didn't understand what pass interference was or how to avoid it. He got them to the playoffs all but that last year on talent, especially Favre and Ahman Green's talent, but he was a terrible coach at adjustments. I was so glad to see the back of him.

[sickrubik]

If anybody watched that Seattle offensive line against the Rams, I don't think anybody could take them seriously as a super bowl winner right now. A lot of that is injury, but man, it was horrific.

There were 7 sacks on Seattle in one game. SEVEN. Denver only has 11 all season.

I have a hard time excusing injuries on a teams performance when you look at the crap the packers have had to handle and are still winning in convincing fashion. When all but one of our WR got broken we said fuck it lets do this running game thing and they did and its working well for them. Rodgers may only have one named WR but my god in that last game some of those passes. He threw a couple huge receptions that basically were an inch from the defenders ear hole. One of the commentators even mentioned that if you think a pass may be coming put your hand by your ear hole because that is probably where the ball is going to be coming.

Well. Rodgers is arguably the best QB in the game right now. Wilson is... not.

re: Jonathan Martin. It sounds like he broke a bit and sought out help for himself.  Also, being bullied/hazed could be compounded with any emotional issues already present.

[K9]