NFL 2014 NFL - Week 5

[GreyWind]

Oakland has a bye.

Thank ******* god.......

Will still lose

 

[Blacky]

Oakland are a bye.

EFA

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

EFA

I'm going to bookmark this for when we destroy Denver.

 

[Dirty Bird]

I'm going to bookmark this for when we destroy Denver.

2014 Raiders to duplicate 2011 Raiders.
6-0 against the AFC West, 2-2 against the NFC West, 0-6 against everyone else.

 

[MarcusP2]

I'm going to bookmark this for when we destroy Denver.

Still be on bigfooty in 2018?

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Still be on bigfooty in 2018?

Never say never.

 

[Blacky]

I'm going to bookmark this for when we destroy Denver.

You'll be Los Angeles by then unfortunately

 

[LeverPuller]

Bengals feel a lot like the 04 Steelers to me.

Im thinking 16-0 (18-1) for Cincy this year.

Wat

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Wat

Make the Superbowl undefeated.

Lose.

 

[nobbyiscool]

Maybe I'm the only one, but I was surprised that Allen was sacked. What did the Raiders expect from him? McKenzie let every talented player they had leave, he replaced them with aging rubbish, and I'm sure I heard somewhere that they're around $50m under the salary cap.

So again, what did people expect? Of course they don't look like an NFL team. Why would they? According to what they're being paid, they aren't really an NFL team.

 

[Burningleviathan]

So do people feel the top end of talented NFL teams in some what smaller this year? Maybe it's just the fact that NE/NO/SF don't seem particularly good this year. GB have been unconvincing at times, same with Atlanta. Pitt and Balt don't look like much of a threat. Feel like it is Seattle and Denver with San Diego, Arizona and Cinci as challengers at the moment

 

[Dagless]

Zach Miller out for an extended period... Luke Willson gets the start.

A pretty talented athletic talent. I've liked the kid for a while, hoping he gets his fair share (Which if he deserves them, he should)

 

[Dagless]

So do people feel the top end of talented NFL teams in some what smaller this year? Maybe it's just the fact that NE/NO/SF don't seem particularly good this year. GB have been unconvincing at times, same with Atlanta. Pitt and Balt don't look like much of a threat. Feel like it is Seattle and Denver with San Diego, Arizona and Cinci as challengers at the moment

Feel like people are just slow to respond to an obvious changing of the guard. NE has been a stalwart team at the top of the AFC for so long, it's awkward not to see them win consistently.

The same thing happened with Pittsburgh, who were decidedly average for a couple of years, but people chose not to notice and still considered them a threat.

The group you mentioned are the obvious dominant teams, but I do feel like there are plenty of teams with amazing rosters outside of a few positions.

Green Bay definitely have the potential to rejoin the elite group if their D can be more like the Saints was in that late 2000's/early 2010's period, not necessarily an elite D but one that would at least take advantage of opponents mistakes.

Buffalo have an extremely talented roster outside of one position that also happens to be pretty dang important.

I think as bad as their losses have been, Carolina/Newton has had their/his best technical passing year, and Hardy's return will help the D. San Fran keep on killing themselves. You see Kaepernick openly miss Crabtree on an easy cross for an easy TD, and then he throws a bullet where only Johnson can catch it in the endzone front corner the next play... Kansas City are pretty good across the board DESPITE injuries. Coaching is an issue at times unfortunately.

I think, if anything we're in the middle ground... We're waiting for the next elite to make it obvious, but I think that team can be one of many.

Then there are teams like Indy, who are so obviously elite/soon to be elite at QB that makes them a constant threat, despite the fact that their roster is well below average in most other positions. That defense is largely atrocious, especially with Mathis out. Rams lost all confidence after Bradford went out, but they're more than talented enough across the board where it matters once they move on. Philly can get there if things fall the right way, especially with the rest of the NFCE on the downturn of their respective 'elite potential' windows at key positions.

Houston's D will be dominant enough to compete, and with the emergence of Hopkins, their next QB should be able to slide in at the same time at a bit of offensive talent to build a unit at once, ala Jacksonville this year in the draft.

Minnesota look pretty set at coaching, which could go a long way to making a good squad. And staying with the North, the Bears have an offense that most would be jealous of, even if Cutler gon' Cutler. That's the price you pay for a gunslinger though. The D needs a rebuild, but I'm not sure if the coaching is there to carry them like the Bears of old.

I like a lot of what the Jets have done as well.

 

[Bucking Beads]

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

I can't wait until Monday. I love a Monday public holiday. Some good games on this week. I am just hoping Carolina finally bounce back. I can't believe how bad our D has been.

 

[Brasher]

Brasher’s Week 5 Musings

Minnesota at Green Bay I wish the league would stop scheduling divisional match ups on a Thursday night, you just get a sense that these games would be so much better if scheduled on a Sunday, especially if half of your fantasy football team is made up Packers. Oh well, Aaron Rodgers gets to R-E-L-A-X Sunday whilst we all sweat on covering any early FF match-up lead.

Atlanta at New York Giants Don’t look now but the NFC East ain’t too bad. What was supposed to be a bunch of stocking fillers for the NFC West may turn out to be the factor that ultimately shapes that division. Other than Washington, understandably the Rams and arguably (weakly) a couple of team in the NFC South, every other team in the NFC has fair claim to not just divisional title aspirations but maybe even a trip to the SB.

Baltimore at Indianapolis Former Raven’s RB Ray Rice is arranging an appeal against his indefinite suspension. I’m wondering what will happen if he has his suspension lifted and is signed by a RB hungry team? I can tell you one think though, I’m betting the public outcry will be a drop in the bucket compared to the outrage following Michael Vick’s return.

Buffalo at Detroit So after all the theatrics of the 2013 draft EJ Manual has now been benched in favour of perennial journeyman, Kyle Orton. I hope the Bills have a plan to try and instil some confidence and better development from the sideline because right now they just look like dicks.

Chicago at Carolina Word is Steve Smith was more than a little intimidating in the locker room during his long storied tenure with the Panthers. There wasn’t exactly blood and guts on the field but maybe his former teammates know more about Smith than we do, his pregame comments may have sounded like gamesmanship to some but the Panthers seemed to take it a little bit more seriously than that.

Cleveland at Tennessee Could LeBron James line up as a Tight End for the Browns on his off days? I really can’t see why not, health shouldn’t be an issue; there is more physical contact in the NBA then the modern NFL these days. Over on the Titans sideline, Charlie Whitehurst may get the start again ahead of rookie Zach Mettenburger which makes as much sense as drinking flat beer on a brewery tour.

Houston at Dallas Why is this a live TV game? Does anyone outside the state of Texas care? To be honest I do, what better way to test just how good this Cowboys offensive line is then by matching up against JJ Watts who I am now convinced is not human. There are WRs in the league being paid millions of dollars each year who wouldn’t have caught that intercept against the Bills doesn’t matter how many times you threw it at them.

Pittsburgh at Jacksonville Dare I say it? Are the Steelers shot? Are they too old on defence? I’m too scared of copping the wrath of one particular Steeler fan on this board to say for sure but I do know that the Steelers our dads remember would never lose a game like they did last week and Big Ben can’t carry this team on his own.

St. Louis at Philadelphia What’s wrong with the reigning league 2013 Running Back of the Year Award winner? Nothing. A quick look over the weekend’s results shows that the team with even the marginally better offensive line won most of the contests. McCoy would get more help from the turn-styles leading into Lincoln Financial Field than the patch work quilt of a line being asked to block for him at the moment.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans The recruitment of Josh McCown is turning out to be the head scratching move of the off season. Nonetheless, the Saints are back in the safety of their own dome and if they harbour any thoughts of not going from regular season to off season then this game is their season.

Arizona at Denver This is one of those games that you get when, unless you follow the clubs involved, you couldn’t be bothered watching a single snap but you are going to stay glued to the box score updates all morning. I’m expecting a healthy dose of home town officiating in this one, especially late.

Kansas City at San Francisco Rumour has it that Coach Harbaugh has lost the locker room. Completely understandable I guess, after all it is a brand new stadium and the absent minded Harbaugh probably hasn’t found his way around yet. This also should be a welcome home game for Alex Smith except he used to play at Candlestick and has never seen the turf of Levi Stadium up close before.

New York Jets at San Diego I’m still trying to understand how the Jets were still in that game with the Lions last week with a chance to tie it late. But I do feel for the Jets, once upon a guarantee, you won a Super Bowl with a mediocre QB so that legacy of we can win with ordinary QBing has sort of stuck with the franchise ever since.

Cincinnati at New England Clearly the influence the Patriots used to enjoy in the NFL Front Office is not what it once was. There was a time when there was no way the Pats would have followed a road game on a short week with a team coming off of a bye. For the Bengals this is another one of those statement games so I’ll be avoiding them on the punt like the plague.

Seattle at Washington Yes, Seattle is in the state of Washington. The good people of Seattle will need to wait a week in order to win back their loudest stadium title but when you are from a city that prefers to tweet rather than talk face to face and you get beat by a team where mothers still regularly ring the dinner bell at supper time you were always going to be at a disadvantage anyway.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Would be funny if the Bills tried to sign ryan nassib

 

[Dagless]

With all the talk of mutiny, Harbaugh to the Giants post-Coughlin?

Not sure if the media will harden him or make him cry...

 

[Burningleviathan]

Feel like people are just slow to respond to an obvious changing of the guard. NE has been a stalwart team at the top of the AFC for so long, it's awkward not to see them win consistently.

The same thing happened with Pittsburgh, who were decidedly average for a couple of years, but people chose not to notice and still considered them a threat.

The group you mentioned are the obvious dominant teams, but I do feel like there are plenty of teams with amazing rosters outside of a few positions.

Green Bay definitely have the potential to rejoin the elite group if their D can be more like the Saints was in that late 2000's/early 2010's period, not necessarily an elite D but one that would at least take advantage of opponents mistakes.

Buffalo have an extremely talented roster outside of one position that also happens to be pretty dang important.

I think as bad as their losses have been, Carolina/Newton has had their/his best technical passing year, and Hardy's return will help the D. San Fran keep on killing themselves. You see Kaepernick openly miss Crabtree on an easy cross for an easy TD, and then he throws a bullet where only Johnson can catch it in the endzone front corner the next play... Kansas City are pretty good across the board DESPITE injuries. Coaching is an issue at times unfortunately.

I think, if anything we're in the middle ground... We're waiting for the next elite to make it obvious, but I think that team can be one of many.

Then there are teams like Indy, who are so obviously elite/soon to be elite at QB that makes them a constant threat, despite the fact that their roster is well below average in most other positions. That defense is largely atrocious, especially with Mathis out. Rams lost all confidence after Bradford went out, but they're more than talented enough across the board where it matters once they move on. Philly can get there if things fall the right way, especially with the rest of the NFCE on the downturn of their respective 'elite potential' windows at key positions.

Houston's D will be dominant enough to compete, and with the emergence of Hopkins, their next QB should be able to slide in at the same time at a bit of offensive talent to build a unit at once, ala Jacksonville this year in the draft.

Minnesota look pretty set at coaching, which could go a long way to making a good squad. And staying with the North, the Bears have an offense that most would be jealous of, even if Cutler gon' Cutler. That's the price you pay for a gunslinger though. The D needs a rebuild, but I'm not sure if the coaching is there to carry them like the Bears of old.

I like a lot of what the Jets have done as well.

It feels like a transition year, as you are saying. Question marks will remain over SD and cinci come playoffs due to past failures. Maybe that's a bit harsh. You could probably throw the Giants in there as they seem to be clicking on offense again. There are a lot of ifs-and-or-buts with a lot of teams though. I just feel that there isn't anyone to challenge Seattle/Denver this year all things being equal. It is only week 4 so plenty of time for things to change but it feels like we had a few years where three/four teams could win it from the start with a couple of smokies thrown in. This year, maybe not so much.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Harbaugh to dolphins via trade is the rumor

 

[Brasher]

If there is a rift with Harbaugh and the players I have no doubt it stems from that final play in the NFC Championship game in Seattle.

As most know, I am an Alex Smith fan, watching him on MNF just confirmed for me once again that Harbaugh made the wrong decision in handing the reigns to Kaepernick and essentially running Smith out of town.

Smith is one of the smartest QBs in the league, Kaepernick one of the dumbest who relies soley on his physical talents. It will be interesting when the two match up this weekend, if KC win I won't be as upset with the lose as I will be with the fact Smith should still be a 49er.

 

[Dagless]

The 9ers would have never ever won with Smith, no matter how smart he is.

 

[Brasher]

The 9ers would have never ever won with Smith, no matter how smart he is.

We haven't won with Kaep either

 

[BomberWatson]

Weren't the Niners something like 1/13 on 3rd down in that NFC Title Game against the Giants (with the only 3rd down conversion coming on the last play in regulation)?

 

[Dagless]

Weren't the Niners something like 1/13 on 3rd down in that NFC Title Game against the Giants (with the only 3rd down conversion coming on the last play in regulation)?

Yes... Smith had every opportunity to win that game and didn't come close.

We haven't won with Kaep either

yet you've certainly gotten closer with a worse team.

 

[Sven]

Brasher’s Week 5 Musings

Houston at Dallas Why is this a live TV game? Does anyone outside the state of Texas care? To be honest I do, what better way to test just how good this Cowboys offensive line is then by matching up against JJ Watts who I am now convinced is not human. There are WRs in the league being paid millions of dollars each year who wouldn’t have caught that intercept against the Bills doesn’t matter how many times you threw it at them.

It was the ultimate west coast football play - a 2 yard pass with 79 YAC!

BTW - really liking the matchups this week. With the Vikings game out of the way early I'm really conflicted as to what Sunday games to watch.