NFL WEEK ELEVEN- Proving grounds.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

CLE @ BAL

NYG @ DET

NO @ HOU

KC @ IND

OAK @ MIN

MIA @ PHI

SD @ JAC

ARI @ CIN

TB @ ATL

CAR @ GB

PIT @ NYJ

CHI @ SEA

WAS @ DAL

STL @ SF

NE @ BUF

 

TEN @ DEN

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Few games this week have teams in positions to totally take control or take a big step back.

 

Seattle looks like the best team in the NFC west, which isn't saying much. They have plenty of weaknesses, but they're up against the anemic Bears with the same ol' ? at QB, and a piss-poor running game.

 

The Colts stubbed their toe once, are ripped up all over the field, but they're up against KC with no LJ and an iffy QB situation. I think calling the Colts "struggling" is outrageous right now, considering their only losses were against The AFC Pro Bowl Team and an extremely talented and horribly coached San Diego team. Nowhere else this season have the Colts looked bad. If they lose here, though, they're going to have a tough time getting a home game in the postseason. KC loses and they're toast.

 

Can the Chargers carry momentum into Jacksonville and get a tough road win? Jacksonville would be TIED with the Colts overall if they win and the Colts falter again. Ditto Tennessee, who has a very winnable one, but Denver is a tough place to play.

 

Detroit and the Giants have the same record right now, sackable QBs, and great pass rush.

 

Cleveland is in good wildcard shape if they can kick a division rival down the stairs. Baltimore can get to .500 here; make or break time to salvage a season.

 

Gonna be some big wins and terrible losses this week, folks.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe]

Detroit and the Giants have the same record right now, sackable QBs, and great pass rush.

 

 

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. The Giants' O-Line is very good. Eli doesn't deal with pressure exceptionally well, but it's not on his blockers.

[cabbageboy]

Here are predictions for this week's games:

 

CLE @ BAL: The Ravens look flat out done and the Browns are quite improved. Cleveland by 7.

NYG @ DET: Lions are a tough team at home, Giants need a win this week. I'll go with the Lions by 3 in a good game, thus starting the Giants into their usual 2nd half slide.

NO @ HOU: It's impossible to figure out the Saints, but Houston hasn't been too great after a hot start. Saints by 10.

KC @ IND: Okay the Colts played as bad as humanly possible last week, but even with the injuries it has to stop here. I mean it's Brodie Croyle for crying out loud. Indy by 20.

OAK @ MIN: What a matchup. The hopeless Raiders vs. the Vikings without Peterson. I'll go with the Vikings simply because it's in MN. Vikings by 4.

MIA @ PHI: Another week, another Dolphins loss. But not by much. Philly by 6.

SD @ JAC: The Chargers back on track? I really don't think so. Quinn Gray might not be much, but Jack Del Rio won't let him throw it enough for 6 INTs. Jags by 7.

ARI @ CIN: Another tough one to figure. The Bengals in theory should be better but the Cardinals have looked competent at times. Arizona by 3.

TB @ ATL: This is another curious game. Since Tampa is at least somewhat decent I'll go with them by 7.

CAR @ GB: Packers are on a roll and the Panthers are really, really not. Green Bay by 14.

PIT @ NYJ: The Steelers are pretty good but they don't seem great yet. I think they might struggle a bit to put the Jets away. Pittsburgh by 7.

CHI @ SEA: Neither of these teams exactly rock my world, but something tells me the Bears will make some kind of late season surge. Chicago by 4.

WAS @ DAL: It amazes me that some people continue to hype the Redskins even after that 52-7 nightmare. Cowboys should beat them, though not as bad as that. Dallas by 17.

STL @ SF: This has to be the worst game of the week. I know the Niners have 2 wins, but they may well be the worst team in the league. Rams will get a payback win here by 10.

NE @ BUF: The Bills have been on a bit of a jobber roll lately, but it obviously stops here. NE by 21.

 

TEN @ DEN: Oh joy, just what the world needs....the Broncos making a surge. Denver by 3 on an Elam FG, the usual.

[Failed Bridge]

I think calling the Colts "struggling" is outrageous right now, considering their only losses were against The AFC Pro Bowl Team

That reminds me of a conversation that took place on some sports outlet where they asked if the Pats would win or lose to a team comprised of the rest of the AFC East's best.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Ricky Williams has been reinstated, but won't be eligible to play until week 12. The Dolphins are unsure if they'll bring him in, though.

 

Also, Dolphins to start John Beck at QB this week against the Eagles. Maybe Andy Reid will take it easy on the fellow Mormon. I'm interested to see how Beck does.

[Ripper]

I think calling the Colts "struggling" is outrageous right now, considering their only losses were against The AFC Pro Bowl Team

That reminds me of a conversation that took place on some sports outlet where they asked if the Pats would win or lose to a team comprised of the rest of the AFC East's best.

 

 

They would lose by roughly 50 points.

 

Saying otherwise is kinda ridiculous.

[Kinetic]

No blackout in Atlanta this week, hopefully. This is one of the rare opportunities I have to watch the Bucs play without having to leave the house.

[2GOLD]

Ricky Williams has been reinstated, but won't be eligible to play until week 12. The Dolphins are unsure if they'll bring him in, though.

 

Also, Dolphins to start John Beck at QB this week against the Eagles. Maybe Andy Reid will take it easy on the fellow Mormon. I'm interested to see how Beck does.

 

Well if they bring him back, he'll be back out of the league by week 14 or 15. And I can't believe it took the Dolphins this long to go to Beck. Might as well see if he is the quarterback of the future before they snag that top five draft pick. If they don't need to worry about quarterback, running back or a primary receiver then that makes the wish list a little shorter. I still think they should find another wide out though, Ginn still doesn't strike me as a prime option.

[Mike wanna be]

Ricky Williams has been reinstated, but won't be eligible to play until week 12. The Dolphins are unsure if they'll bring him in, though.

 

Also, Dolphins to start John Beck at QB this week against the Eagles. Maybe Andy Reid will take it easy on the fellow Mormon. I'm interested to see how Beck does.

 

Well if they bring him back, he'll be back out of the league by week 14 or 15. And I can't believe it took the Dolphins this long to go to Beck. Might as well see if he is the quarterback of the future before they snag that top five draft pick. If they don't need to worry about quarterback, running back or a primary receiver then that makes the wish list a little shorter. I still think they should find another wide out though, Ginn still doesn't strike me as a prime option.

They had to give Lemon the opportunity...he didn't play THAT badly. 58% completion percentage, 4 rushing touchdowns, 3:4 TD:INT...

[MFer]

This is sure to make Czech smile.

 

Oh, and Freeney's officially done.

[2GOLD]

 

I think it's possible that Aerosmith is insulted to have one of their songs associated with the return of Rex Grossman. At the very least, they could have found a way to use I don't want to miss a thing for his return. It seems more fitting.

[dh86]

I think calling the Colts "struggling" is outrageous right now, considering their only losses were against The AFC Pro Bowl Team

That reminds me of a conversation that took place on some sports outlet where they asked if the Pats would win or lose to a team comprised of the rest of the AFC East's best.

 

 

They would lose by roughly 50 points.

 

Saying otherwise is kinda ridiculous.

 

The Pats would lose to a team quarterbacked by JP Losman by 50 points???!!??

[Guest Vitamin X]

Maybe he's thinking Chad Pennington here.

[Ripper]

No actually I saw AFC and missed the "east"...okay. I could buy them staying in that game.

[Zetterberg is God]

Whatever minute chance the Bills have of winning this week depends on Marshawn Lynch playing, and it's looking like he probably won't so a serious ass kicking is on the horizon.

[Your Paragon of Virtue]

Yeah everybody is skeptical about him playing, but really if he does that would still not help much. It`s gonna be in Buffalo, which has been a pretty tough place to play this year, but I think that the Pats blow the game open in the fourth, after the game stays relatively close for two and a half or three quarters. Thats being positive.

[cabbageboy]

Am I the only one who doesn't think the Miami Dolphins are THAT bad of a team? Yes, they are winless but take a look at these losses:

 

Washington 16-13

NY Jets 31-28

Houston 22-19

NY Giants 13-10

Buffalo 13-10

 

The Dolphins have had rotten luck and can't catch a break. I would think they are actually a better team than either the Rams or 49ers.

[Failed Bridge]

No actually I saw AFC and missed the "east"...okay. I could buy them staying in that game.

Just staying in that game? Half of the AFC East is on IR so I think the Pats could win that one.

[Vampiro69]

Cards- Bengals is an interesting game to me. Every game the Cards have lost is by 7 or less. The Bengals have an offense that could give the Cardinals trouble because Bertrand Berry is out for the season with an injured triceps (again). This means the Cards will be without Berry and Okefar for the rest of season.

 

However the Bengals haven't had much of a defense. If the Bengals can get to Warner the Cards wings will be clipped.

 

Final score Arizona 24- Cinny 20.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Am I the only one who doesn't think the Miami Dolphins are THAT bad of a team? Yes, they are winless but take a look at these losses:

 

Washington 16-13

NY Jets 31-28

Houston 22-19

NY Giants 13-10

Buffalo 13-10

 

The Dolphins have had rotten luck and can't catch a break. I would think they are actually a better team than either the Rams or 49ers.

 

Normally, having experienced a 4-12 season recently myself, I could see how you would say that. However, with teams that really have had bad luck against them, they'd normally be ranked pretty high statistically but just can't seem to catch a lucky break here or there. Take a look at this- The Dolphins offense isn't terrible, but it is rather average. They're ranked 11th in the league in rushing, and 19th in passing. However, it appears that their Achilles heel is their run defense- 30th in the league, although they're 5th against the pass.

 

This goes to my point a couple years ago wherein I kept insisting that run defense is pretty much the most important thing that goes into winning football games. The top ten run defenses this year are Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Minnesota, Tennessee, Dallas, New England, Green Bay, Detroit, Giants, Seahawks, and Redskins. With the exception of Baltimore and Minnesota (who have their own ineptitude issues elsewhere on the team that grossly overshadow their advantage on the front defensive seven), these are all probably playoff teams.

 

All those three point losses happen because they can't stop a team from running it down their throat when it comes to a close game, and the teams that are beating them don't mind winning ugly. Throw in the fact they have a first year head coach, and it's a disastrous year.

[Ripper]

No actually I saw AFC and missed the "east"...okay. I could buy them staying in that game.

Just staying in that game? Half of the AFC East is on IR so I think the Pats could win that one.

 

I mean, if you are counting out injured players. Damn thats just stacking the deck.

 

I still don't think they would win though.

[AboveAverage484]

I like to think that the Broncos aren't as terrible as many people seem to believe. The only teams they've lost to so far this year have turned out to be pretty good, although they did get trashed by almost all of them, and they've beaten a few teams this year like the Steelers and the Bills who aren't throwaways, especially now that more people are putting the Steelers in the AFC title game (against the Pats, natch) the past couple weeks.

[Cheech Tremendous]

Bill Simmons seems to think that this is the best NFL season of all-time. Is there anyone else here who feels that way? In my opinion, this is the worst NFL season that I can remember. It's been totally void of any interesting storylines or on the field performances. There have been a few unpredictable moments (Peterson's yards record, for one), but the whole thing just feels like a 19 week march to the inevitable Pats Super Bowl win. How is that fun for anyone?

 

I guess the playoffs are shaping up nicely with 6 legitimate teams, each with rabid fanbases. But until then, there's not much to get excited about, right? Am I off base here?

[Cartman]

Nah bill is the one off base. For Patriots fans it's a great season. I'm sure fans of the Cowboys, Packers, Steelers, and a few others would think so too, but that's just cause they're winning.

[Ripper]

A team in the NFC South is going to make the playoff with maybe 7 wins.

 

I am going to have to disagree with him.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan]

Bill Simmons seems to think that this is the best NFL season of all-time. Is there anyone else here who feels that way? In my opinion, this is the worst NFL season that I can remember. It's been totally void of any interesting storylines or on the field performances. There have been a few unpredictable moments (Peterson's yards record, for one), but the whole thing just feels like a 19 week march to the inevitable Pats Super Bowl win. How is that fun for anyone?

 

I guess the playoffs are shaping up nicely with 6 legitimate teams, each with rabid fanbases. But until then, there's not much to get excited about, right? Am I off base here?

 

I have to disagree with your notion here. This season has been filled with interesting storylines like the Pats march to 16-0, Tom Coughlin and the Giants, and the resurgnce of Brett Favre and the Packers among other stories. I think its great that there are now dominant teams in the NFL rather than overall parity. Ive been totally engrossed in the Pats dominace and flirting with 16-0 and I HATE the Pats. The playoffs are coming up and nearly every team this year has a legitmate shot at the playoffs.

[KingPK]

Thing is, outside the Pats and Dallas, there really isn't another "dominant" team. A majority of Green Bay's wins have been fairly close affairs and the other contenders (Indy and Pittsburgh) have fairly embarassing losses to their records (vs. San Diego and Arizona respectively). The rest of the league is just plain mediocre and it shows in the games. Teams blow out their opponents one week and shit the bed the next.

 

If I were a fan of any other team, I'd be pretty unenthused by the season this year.

[MFer]

I'm excited for the fact that the Lions are playing a meaningful game in November for the first time since Millen took over.

 

Also, I think it'll be a pretty fun race for the last few playoff spots seeing as there's seven 5-4 or 4-5 teams in each league.

[USC Wuz Robbed!]

How is losing to San Diego embarrassing?