NFL WEEK ONE

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Schedule

 

Thu, Sep 04 Time (ET)

WAS @ NYG 7:00 PM

 

Sun, Sep 07 Time (ET)

1:00

DET @ ATL

SEA @ BUF

NYJ @ MIA

KC @ NE

TB @ NO

STL @ PHI

HOU @ PIT

JAC @ TEN

CIN @ BAL

 

4:15

DAL @ CLE

CAR @ SD

ARI @ SF

 

8:15

CHI @ IND

 

Mon, Sep 08 Time (ET)

MIN @ GB 7:00 PM

DEN @ OAK 10:15 PM

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Some discussion points:

 

1. What team will suffer a catastrophic injury in week one?

2. How well will an injured Shawne Merriman perform against what's certainly going to be a stiff running attack from Carolina?

3. Will a Favre-free Green Bay continue last season's success against a highly-rated Minnesota team?

4. Will the Giants without Osi put enough pressure on Washington to hold court at home?

5. Which team will make a statement in the NFC south? New Orleans or Tampa Bay?

[NoCalMike 0]

Some discussion points:

 

4. Will the Giants without Osi put enough pressure on Washington to hold court at home?

 

People seem to overlook the fact that Strahan retiring might have just as much of a negative impact on the line as well whether Osi was a part of it or not. Osi is great, but it didn't hurt to have an all-pro like Strahan on the other end wreaking havoc as well.

 

So anyways. It's hard to pick against the defending superbowl champs at home, opening the season.

 

This is however, an NFC East division game. And the Redskins minus a second half collapse in their first meeting with the G-men last year would have beaten them twice. Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda.....I know, but hey just saying......

 

Assuming Jason Taylor plays, I will be excited to see Andre Carter finally get the help he deserves on the other end of the D-line.

 

Jason Campbell has had a mixed bag during preseason, looking very good in the first three games, and sorta lost in the last two.

 

My mind is telling me to pick the Giants by about ten points, but it's opening week, football is finally back and my heart will win out for Week 1.....

 

Skins 24

Giants 21

[NoCalMike 0]

From yahoo sports......rule changes are as folllows:

 

— Giving designated defensive players a radio in his helmet, allowing coaches to relay defensive signals just as offensive signals are relayed from offensive coaches to the quarterback.

 

— Eliminating the 5-yard penalties for incidental face masks. Only the 15-yard penalty for grabbing and twisting the mask will be enforced. In addition, officials will be on the lookout for offensive players who latch on to the face masks of defenders in an effort to take them out of plays.

 

— Eliminating the force out rule. In the past, officials could rule a receiver whose feet had not touched in bounds had made a catch because a defensive player had forced him out. Under the new rule, a receiver must land with both feet in bounds regardless of whether or not he is hit while in the air.

 

“We feel that with so many levels of judgment that go into the force-out call, it creates a more consistent play when either you get your feet down for a complete pass or you do not,” says Atlanta president Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee, which proposed the change.

 

— Extending instant replay to cover field goal and extra points and illegal forward handoffs. One reason the rule was added was a play at the end of a game in Baltimore in which Phil Dawson’s 51-yard game-tying field goal attempt for Cleveland bounced off an upright, then off the support behind the crossbar. Officials first ruled it no good because they thought it had hit the crossbar, then conferred and made the correct call.

 

The Browns went on to win in overtime.

 

— Muffed snaps will now be in play if they are not touched, allowing the defensive team to recover. In the past, they were ruled a false start.

 

 

[Mike wanna be 0]

How do you muff a snap without touching it?

 

Also, what the fuck Rich McKay. How about allowing being smart and allowing instant replay on judgment calls instead of saying "Well your judgment sucks so unless they're in it doesn't count"? Receivers on the sidelines are going to get fucking murdered.

[Maztinho 0]

How do you muff a snap without touching it?

 

Also, what the fuck Rich McKay. How about allowing being smart and allowing instant replay on judgment calls instead of saying "Well your judgment sucks so unless they're in it doesn't count"? Receivers on the sidelines are going to get fucking murdered.

 

If I'm reading it correctly the muffed snap would have to be touched by another player other than the center for it to be considered a fumble.

 

 

[Kinetic 0]

It's the 4th quarter in a packed Louisiana Superdome and the Saints lead by 3. Outside the waterlogged and battered city struggles with the aftermath of another devastating hurricane, but inside the beloved Saints are but one 3rd-and-1 conversion away from sealing a victory against division rival Tampa Bay. Offensive genius Sean Payton calls a daring quadruple reverse, the ball eventually ending up in the hands of Reggie Bush five yards behind the line of scrimmage. He jukes and eludes one tackler, visions of a "Reggie Bush Saves New Orleans" headline in Monday's Times-Picayune dancing through his head. He has one man to beat. Bush spins, is hit, and he fumbles the ball. It's recovered by Cato June and returned 73 yards for a touchdown. The Saints lose, New Orleans reels, and the team is eventually moved to L.A.

 

24-20, Bucs.

[the pinjockey 0]

The rule fucked the Eagles last year against the Bears.

 

On the Bears game winning drive, Kruetz snapped it and it did not touch Griese (or anybody). Therefore it was called a false start on Kruetz. Now it would be a fumble.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Eliminating the force out is one of the best decisions the NFL has made in years. What a stupid idea to arbitrarily decide "Oh, he would've come down inbounds."

 

Guy was out of bounds! Damn right he was pushed out. Pushed out of bounds! No good! 4th down!

[cabbageboy 0]

Predictions:

 

Thu, Sep 04 Time (ET)

WAS @ NYG 7:00 PM: I know the Giants have a ton of injuries and sucked at home last year. But the Redskins don't do much for me either way. NYG by 13.

 

Sun, Sep 07 Time (ET)

1:00

DET @ ATL: Oh geez, who knows what to expect. Detroit's crappy D is a decent first opponent for Matt Ryan, so I'll say he does well enough for the Falcons to win. ATL by 4.

SEA @ BUF: I've never been thrilled with the Seahawks, and while I doubt the Bills as well I do think they can hold serve at home. Buffalo by 7.

NYJ @ MIA: I know the Dolphins may well be improved, but until they win a few I can't really pick them to do much. I'll take Favre and Co. by 10.

KC @ NE: Regardless of whether Brady is hurt or whatever this should be a beatdown. Pats by 17+.

TB @ NO: Hard to know the status of this one with the hurricane and all. I'll take Tampa by 6.

STL @ PHI: The Rams can't be as awful as they were last year, can they? That said, I'll buy into the moderate Eagles hype at least for this week. Philly by 9.

HOU @ PIT: I actually kinda like the Texans and if they stay healthy feel they could be a surprise team in the AFC. So I'll go with the upset here, Texans by 3.

JAC @ TEN: Jacksonville is a team that just doesn't astound me, while the Titans tend to look ugly but somehow win in the end. Vince Young makes just enough plays for TN to win like 13-10.

CIN @ BAL: I have no idea who the Ravens are even starting at QB. Bengals are a dubious team but I'll reluctantly say Cincy by 6.

 

4:15

DAL @ CLE: The Browns may well come back down to earth this year and the Cowboys need to make some semblance of an opening week statement. Dallas by 14.

CAR @ SD: Isn't Steve Smith suspended? Even with a solid running attack I can't see it happening for Carolina here, even with Merriman banged up. SD by 12.

ARI @ SF: Kurt Warner will produce decent results as long as he can stay upright. Who knows how long that will be though. Who knows what this O'Sullivan guy will do....all of these games have question marks it seems like. Arizona by 10.

 

8:15

CHI @ IND: Manning should be back, might be rusty for a quarter or so, and then the beatdown will commence. Colts by 17.

 

Mon, Sep 08 Time (ET)

MIN @ GB 7:00 PM: This most curious game of the week. Minnesota is a real mystery team, capable of being awesome at times and yet if someone stops Peterson they don't have many answers. Rodgers won't be amazing, but he may not have to be. GB by 5.

DEN @ OAK 10:15 PM: I might almost say the Raiders could be improved this year, but I can't in good conscience pick them here. Denver by 4.

[Kinetic 0]

WSH@NYG

DET@ATL

SEA@BUF

NYJ@MIA

KC@NE

TB@NO

STL@PHI

HOU@PIT

JAC@TEN

CIN@BAL

DAL@CLE

CAR@SD

ARZ@SF

CHI@IND

MIN@GB

DEN@OAK

[Red Baron 0]

Can't wait till Sunday. Fifty yard line for the Bills home opener.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

— Eliminating the 5-yard penalties for incidental face masks. Only the 15-yard penalty for grabbing and twisting the mask will be enforced. In addition, officials will be on the lookout for offensive players who latch on to the face masks of defenders in an effort to take them out of plays.

 

Finally! I've always thought it was unfair that a RB could not only grab a defender's facemask in a "stiff arm" (A real Payton stiff arm would be squarely on the helmet shoving him aside like the peon the defender is) but basically do a yank and throw forcing the defender to the ground and not get called. Same goes for offensive linemen utilizing such methods on blitzers/defensive linemen.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I'll be doing my picks in the KKK Thread, but I'll comment on these discussion questions.

 

 

 

1. What team will suffer a catastrophic injury in week one?

The Chargers.

 

2. How well will an injured Shawne Merriman perform against what's certainly going to be a stiff running attack from Carolina?

See Question #1.

 

3. Will a Favre-free Green Bay continue last season's success against a highly-rated Minnesota team?

Minnesota is overrated and losing McKinnie hurts. Also the Packers will be fired up for this one after what happened in the off-season. There might be rough waters ahead for the Pack, but they should take this game and it might be easier than people think.

 

4. Will the Giants without Osi put enough pressure on Washington to hold court at home?

No. Campbell has looked pathetic in the pre-season, but this is still a talented team that still made the playoffs last year despite the tragedy they went through. New York happened to get hot at the right time, and now have lost their two best pass rushers to retirement and injury. I have the Redskins heading to the playoffs and the Giants playing golf in January and it starts on Thursday.

 

5. Which team will make a statement in the NFC south? New Orleans or Tampa Bay?

Saints. History suggests it. Since the creation of this division, no team has won it in back to back years and I don't believe Tampa can either with the key members of their passing game one step away from retirement. New Orleans has problems on defence as always, but for now they are healthy on offence and there is just too much firepower there for Tampa to handle.

 

Extending instant replay to cover field goal and extra points and illegal forward handoffs.

 

I like both, but it is the change that wasn't made that bothers me. They really need to do something about Pass Interference calls. Those things often determine the outcomes of games and coaches really need to have the ability to challenge them.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

1. What team will suffer a catastrophic injury in week one? San Diego.

 

2. How well will an injured Shawne Merriman perform against what's certainly going to be a stiff running attack from Carolina? We'll see. I still give the nod to San Diego for the week.

 

3. Will a Favre-free Green Bay continue last season's success against a highly-rated Minnesota team?

The jury's obviously out on Aaron Rodgers, but I haven't written off Green Bay. I'm certainly not disputing how invaluble Favre was, but he wasn't the only reason for the Pack's success last season. Green Bay comes out ahead.

 

4. Will the Giants without Osi put enough pressure on Washington to hold court at home?

In two games against the Giants last year, the Skins had 260 and 309 net yards, both below their season average. At home in week one, the Giants will do just fine.

 

5. Which team will make a statement in the NFC south? New Orleans or Tampa Bay?

New Orleans. They finished 7-5 last year, rebounding after an 0-4 start. To me, that's a sign of growing pains, not a team on the decline. The Bucs won both games against NO last year, but I still think New Orleans has something to prove.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I'm certainly not feeling the Browns winning the AFC North this year. That said, at no point in the preseason did they look as awful as they did Week 1 against the Steelers last year so it's not totally hopeless.

 

In other words, I have no fuckin idea what's going to happen.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Some discussion points:

 

1. What team will suffer a catastrophic injury in week one?

Conventional wisdom says to go with McNabb having his annual knee blowout, but that'll wait until the Eagles seem like they have a chance for the playoffs. I think I'm going to go with Brett Favre, which will make Packers fans simultaneously laugh at the Jets' misfortune in an I-told-you-so manner, as well as cringe when they realize they got rid of their franchise legend for a 4th round pick since the Jets won't have a shot without Favre.

 

2. How well will an injured Shawne Merriman perform against what's certainly going to be a stiff running attack from Carolina?

Carolina's offensive line isn't that good, so Merriman may not even have that strong a challenge ahead of him, plus they got enough big guys on the defensive line that it won't matter. Merriman will be fine.

 

3. Will a Favre-free Green Bay continue last season's success against a highly-rated Minnesota team?

Absolutely. Substitute highly-rated for overrated in that sentence, and it'll be much more accurate. Brett Favre didn't lead them to the Super Bowl, the team did. Mike McCarthy's gutsy, aggressive playcalling, the gelling of the offensive line getting used to the zone blocking schemes, multiple weapons on offense to throw to, and the emergence of Ryan Grant all complemented Favre nicely, and it'll work wonderful for Aaron Rodgers. I think at worst, Rodgers will be a Phillip Rivers-type quarterback and will have similar success. Personally, I'm more worried about the defense, in particular the defensive line. They've got practically no one in the middle there now that Corey Williams is gone, Justin "bust" Harrell's ass is hobbling around as is run-stuffer Ryan Pickett, and Johnny Jolly is busy downing codeine and is awaiting a probable suspension from THE LEAGUE (not to mention trial later this month). On the bright side, they've got tremendous depth at linebacker and in the secondary. They've even been practicing a 3-4 defense and even flashed a really extreme package that had two linemen, four linebackers and five defensive backs. Link here. Barnett said this about that scheme:

“It’s definitely something you might see more of,” Barnett said. “We brought out the four linebackers out there moving around, see the quarterback a little confused, pointing at this guy, that guy. If we continue to grow with that scheme, we’ll bring more of it and more of it.”

So that could be pretty interesting to see how it develops. But, I still think the NFC North is Green Bay's to lose. Minnesota has absolutely no passing game, and an aging defense. What exactly have they done to improve so significantly from last year? I think Detroit might end up finishing better than they will.

 

4. Will the Giants without Osi put enough pressure on Washington to hold court at home?

Yeah, the Giants will be fine. The battle for that division is going to mostly be between Dallas and New York, anyways.

 

5. Which team will make a statement in the NFC south? New Orleans or Tampa Bay?

Tampa Bay. They had a good year last year, and can build on that success this year, plus New Orleans may get wrecked again soon so they might have that whole distraction thing again this year that they had in 2005, when they finished 3-13.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

I'm certainly not feeling the Browns winning the AFC North this year. That said, at no point in the preseason did they look as awful as they did Week 1 against the Steelers last year so it's not totally hopeless.

 

In other words, I have no fuckin idea what's going to happen.

 

Wild card, my friend, wild card! Who's starting QB week 1? Hasn't been much between Anderson and Quinn from what I've seen.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

1. What team will suffer a catastrophic injury in week one?

Mike Brown will be out for the year after Game 1 once again, but a catastrophic injury is one that takes a team from contending to bad, not bad to bad, so disregard. I'll say Cleveland.

 

2. How well will an injured Shawne Merriman perform against what's certainly going to be a stiff running attack from Carolina?

Quite poorly. This guy's a knucklehead for trying to come back.

 

3. Will a Favre-free Green Bay continue last season's success against a highly-rated Minnesota team?

Yes, but the Favre-free Green Bay won't sustain that success over the entire season. The defense is very good, and that'll be enough to keep Peterson in check while the Packers win a close one.

 

4. Will the Giants without Osi put enough pressure on Washington to hold court at home?

No. Their success is predicated on defense, which has been severely compromised, Redskins will notch an upset.

 

5. Which team will make a statement in the NFC south? New Orleans or Tampa Bay?

Neither

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I'm certainly not feeling the Browns winning the AFC North this year. That said, at no point in the preseason did they look as awful as they did Week 1 against the Steelers last year so it's not totally hopeless.

 

In other words, I have no fuckin idea what's going to happen.

 

Wild card, my friend, wild card! Who's starting QB week 1? Hasn't been much between Anderson and Quinn from what I've seen.

 

Based on the local radio shows, it looks like Anderson will be fine by Week 1. They were saying if the last preseason game was a regular season game, he probably would've started. The QB debate hasn't really been at the forefront the last couple weeks due to Quinn's mediocre play in the preseason.

 

Just finished watching 2 eps of "The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame . . ." on ESPN Classic. Ernest Byner's fumble and Art Modell moving the team were the subjects. Nothing like an hour of that to bring down a homer Clevelander.

[KingPK 0]

Well, the Browns won the North in my Madden franchise. Granted they did it with a 7-9 record, but still.....

 

Seriously I can't wait to get this season going.

[naiwf 0]

Some discussion points:

 

1. What team will suffer a catastrophic injury in week one?

2. How well will an injured Shawne Merriman perform against what's certainly going to be a stiff running attack from Carolina?

3. Will a Favre-free Green Bay continue last season's success against a highly-rated Minnesota team?

4. Will the Giants without Osi put enough pressure on Washington to hold court at home?

5. Which team will make a statement in the NFC south? New Orleans or Tampa Bay?

 

1. The Colts. Don't know why but that just popped into my head.

 

2. Merriman won't finish the game. If the Carolina OC is worth his pay he will run multiple guys at Merriman, and they will attempt to cut block whenever they can. I think the Merriman injury was catastrophic pre week one which is why I didn't answer the Chargers to # 1.

 

3. The Packers won't win this game, so I guess that's a no.

 

4. No. I think we'll lose by about 8 unless Eli starts this year the way he finished last year.

 

5. Nawlins will do it for the people, and then lose 3 of the next four or something like that.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

Are there any plans to do that Yahoo Pick em thing like last year?

 

I'd be down for that if it happened.

[fazzle 0]

Can't wait till Sunday. Fifty yard line for the Bills home opener.

 

 

My seats aren't that good, but I'll be traveling 800+ miles next weekend to be at the Bills home opener too!

 

[jimmy no nose 0]

I have one of those $10 knockout league going where you can only pick a team once throughout the year and this week is rough for that. Blowing the New England pick week 1 seems like the safest bet, then Philadelphia, Dallas, and Indy. There are so many question marks with most of the other teams I would think have easier games this week that there just isn't a lesser team I feel comfortable using here.

[MrRant 0]

Can't wait till Sunday. Fifty yard line for the Bills home opener.

 

 

My seats aren't that good, but I'll be traveling 800+ miles next weekend to be at the Bills home opener too!

 

 

Have fun.

 

 

But lose.

[fazzle 0]

Can't wait till Sunday. Fifty yard line for the Bills home opener.

 

 

My seats aren't that good, but I'll be traveling 800+ miles next weekend to be at the Bills home opener too!

 

 

Have fun.

 

 

But lose.

 

 

Won't happen.

 

I hope.

 

 

(Hell, I just hope I don't get kicked out of the stadium again by fucking stupid ass security for something I didn't even do)

[Hawk 34 0]

Are we doing a Survival Pool again?

[WCS 0]

Some discussion points:

 

1. What team will suffer a catastrophic injury in week one?

I'm not even going to speculate on this for fear of bad juju being brought onto the Skins. So, I'll say no team suffers any catastrophic injuries just to be safe. That's right, I'm a wuss.

2. How well will an injured Shawne Merriman perform against what's certainly going to be a stiff running attack from Carolina?

Carolina's not as good as they looked against the Skins, and San Diego's defense is not just Merriman and 10 other stiffs. I see the "vaunted" Carolina attack getting off to a slow start, but it'll pick up once they get into division play. As for how Merriman himself does, he probably won't be playing as many snaps as previous, so his impact will be lessened. Not enough to get Carolina the win, though.

3. Will a Favre-free Green Bay continue last season's success against a highly-rated Minnesota team?

Entirely possible and probably likely. Minnesota's missing their 2nd best o-lineman, and Tavaris Jackson's got a bum knee. I'd be shocked if AP had more than 5 runs for positive yards all day. Eventually, Minnesota's D-Line will get tired from being out there too long, and then it'll be bombs away on that secondary.

4. Will the Giants without Osi put enough pressure on Washington to hold court at home?

This is going to be one ugly game, since neither team plays well at the beginning of the season or on national TV (at least in the regular season, natch). The pressure will be reduced slightly, but the Skins have a 2nd year guy starting on the right side of the o-line and have looked like donkeypoo in the last couple of preseason games. I got the Giants edging out a snorer 14-13, with neither team looking particularly good. Both teams will be much better later on in the season, though.

5. Which team will make a statement in the NFC south? New Orleans or Tampa Bay?

Which team ended up in last place last year? I'll take them for $500 Alex.

 

 

[Red Baron 0]

Can't wait till Sunday. Fifty yard line for the Bills home opener.

 

 

My seats aren't that good, but I'll be traveling 800+ miles next weekend to be at the Bills home opener too!

 

 

Have fun.

 

 

But lose.

 

 

Won't happen.

 

I hope.

 

 

(Hell, I just hope I don't get kicked out of the stadium again by fucking stupid ass security for something I didn't even do)

 

 

I might not be coming back, or if so, not in one piece.

 

 

GO HAWKS!