NFL Week 6

[Guest Vitamin X]

Oh shit.

 

So, I somehow was able to score really good seats to this weekend's Seahawks-Packers game, but the thing was I didn't realize it, but I'm going to be in a section called "The Hawk's Nest" cheering for the visiting team. This is my first NFL game, by the way, so words cannot describe how fucking psyched I am right now.

 

But if I don't come around later that night, you guys will know what have happened to me.

[Kinetic 0]

Rowdy Seahawks fans crushed your skull with a street sign, got it.

[Guest Vitamin X]

No, they haven't crushed my skull yet.

[Slayer 0]

Rowdy Seahawks fans

They have those?

[Kinetic 0]

No, they haven't crushed my skull yet.

 

I was saying that's what we'll assume happened should you not return from your trip to Qwest Field.

 

And, yeah, I'm sure there are rowdy Seahawks fans. People are already pissed about the Sonics leaving town, the Mariners being awful, and the football team underachieving so far this year. The sight of some Cuban prick in a Packers jersey hootin' and hollerin' in the Hawk's Nest might be enough to push them over the edge.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

1. Who is the best QB in the league up to this point?

Tough call but I'll go with Jay Cutler. He's 2nd in the NFL with 191 PA and has a 65.4% completion along with 10 TD vs. 4 INT and has been sacked only 2 times.

 

2. What the fuck happened to San Diego's running game?

Offensive line and the loss of Lorenzo Neal as others have pointed out. He's still averaging 66 yards per game and I think part of the blame is also facing some tough run defenses in Carolina, New York Jets, and Miami (All rank in the Top 13 Rush Defenses).

 

3. Indianapolis is dead last in the league in rushing and dead last against the run. Baltimore is 4th in the league in rushing and FIRST against the run. Do the Colts need to get lucky again?

I think they're really exposed without Bob Sanders in the lineup and it seems like Sanders gets injured and comes back year after year. With the Colts struggling on offense, they're screwed because teams have shown that they can score (Bears, Jags, Texans) on that defense through the run game AND through the air. Right now, the Colts have to hope that they can put up 27+ a game because what people forget about their SB run was that the Colts were winning low scoring dog fights despite a piss poor run defense. They only had 4 games where their opponents scored fewer than 21 points and they themselves topped 27 points 8 times during the regular season.

 

4. How long does Rod Marinelli keep his job?

Up through week 11 after they only have 1-2 wins on the season.

 

5. Tennessee has two players with 4 INTs this year, and another with 3. By far the most in the league. Can this defense carry them into the playoffs and win there?

Their offense really needs to keep it up. A ton of people mention the 2000 Ravens but they forget how good they were on offense when Dilfer came in as a starter. From week 10 on, the Ravens scored 27, 24, 27, 44, 24, 13, and 34 to close out the regular season. The Titans may win games 13-10 or 17-14 but they need to consistently put up 21+ points in the playoffs if they want to reach and win the Super Bowl.

[Kinetic 0]

The Saints suffer another devastating injury as Martin "Not-so Automatica" Gramatica is put on IR. I don't know what happened to this guy. He was fantastic for years in Tampa, then had that horrible game against Carolina in 2003 and never recovered. Really no reason for him to be on an NFL roster at this point.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

1. Who is the best QB in the league up to this point?

 

Toughie. Purely stats, Brees. He and Reggie Bush are the only reason that team's been competitive this year. His 70% completion percentage is insane considering how often he launches it. In terms of overall game...I can't believe I'm saying it, but Eli. Aside from a few moments in the first game against the Redskins, he's been mistake-free and on-point. That his competition's been awful undermines it a bit. I can't get behind Favre just because so much of his stuff was garbage time against the Cardinals, and he almost singlehandedly played the Jets out of that Patriots game.

 

2. What the fuck happened to San Diego's running game?

 

Tomlinson's injury is huge. He looks awkward and slow. Without Lorenzo Neal he's trying to clear those holes himself, and it's just not working. Also, the injury has them favoring the passing game heavily; I think the RBs only had, what, 18 carries last week? Chambers and Gates have been performing well, so I guess it makes sense.

 

3. Indianapolis is dead last in the league in rushing and dead last against the run. Baltimore is 4th in the league in rushing and FIRST against the run. Do the Colts need to get lucky again?

 

Nah. A lot of that rushing disaster comes from the first couple weeks of the season, when the o-line was a mess. They're improving. They'll also win easily through the air.

 

4. How long does Rod Marinelli keep his job?

 

The Lions let Matt Millen stick around forever, but they've been a lot more fickle with coaches. He gets quietly canned in week 16, so Detroit can go after a hot coordinator off a team that's just going to miss the playoffs.

 

5. Tennessee has two players with 4 INTs this year, and another with 3. By far the most in the league. Can this defense carry them into the playoffs and win there?

 

I don't think they keep up the turnover pace, but the defense is annihilatingly nasty in all facets. I think they lose to somebody in the playoffs, but get there handily. They'll start to lean more heavily on Chris Johnson down the stretch when they really need to; once he's handling 18-20 carries a game, they'll kill clock more easily in those low scoring games. And the less fatty fat Lendale has to get on the respirator, the more damaging he'll be on the few times he gets in the game.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Oh shit.

 

So, I somehow was able to score really good seats to this weekend's Seahawks-Packers game, but the thing was I didn't realize it, but I'm going to be in a section called "The Hawk's Nest" cheering for the visiting team. This is my first NFL game, by the way, so words cannot describe how fucking psyched I am right now.

 

But if I don't come around later that night, you guys will know what have happened to me.

 

Seahawks Stadium (Qwest Field) is awesome. You're going to have a fantastic time. I guess it's your first NFL game so you have no basis for comparison, but the noise level, sight lines and all that jazz are phenomenal.

 

Rowdy fans, yeah they exist. But these guys are northwest rowdy, not Oakland rowdy. You'll be fine.

 

 

 

[Guest Vitamin X]

Seahawks Stadium (Qwest Field) is awesome. You're going to have a fantastic time. I guess it's your first NFL game so you have no basis for comparison, but the noise level, sight lines and all that jazz are phenomenal.

 

Rowdy fans, yeah they exist. But these guys are northwest rowdy, not Oakland rowdy. You'll be fine.

 

That's what I figured. The tickets were $40 and the seats look incredible.

 

It's the seats under the sign of Qwest Field, facing the endzone. Meaning if the scoreboard were to suddenly fall forward for some reason, I'd be instantly crushed to the hilarity of many, I'm sure. It's an aisle seat and in the 2nd row, too. Damn good for that price, and I'm tailgating with a bunch of Portland-based Packer fans before the game, so I'm not worrying about food and drink which I know can be expensive.

[ivpvideos 0]

When I went to a Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens game in Cleveland with Raven gear on, some random 50 year old drunk guy tried to tackle me and beat my ass. Luckily I was with ten other people and it was taken care of. Good times.

[The Niggardly King 0]

You shouldn't have a problem, I mean fuck... when I went to a Raider game a few years ago decked out in my LT powder blue jersey and went crazy as the Chargers spanked that black and silver ass... nobody gave a fuck. I mean shit, Raider fans were starting up conversations with me... even the crazy dressed up Mexican ones.

 

But I wasn't just a lone Charger fan in their section... if I was... then fuck, I would have said fuck it.

[CanadianChris 0]

The Saints suffer another devastating injury as Martin "Not-so Automatica" Gramatica is put on IR. I don't know what happened to this guy. He was fantastic for years in Tampa, then had that horrible game against Carolina in 2003 and never recovered. Really no reason for him to be on an NFL roster at this point.

You're using "devastating" ironically, right?

[RepoMan 0]

I'm sure there are rowdy Seahawks fans, but I would never think of Seattle of being a place visiting fans should be intimidated off. Probally because I think of everyone from Seattle being coffee house intellectuals.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Yeah, speaking as someone that actually lives in the Pacific NW, people can be pretty passionate about their sports. The Rose Garden comes to mind, especially when it comes to Laker fans there.

[Broward83 0]

Did the bullshit court case filed by Texas AnM against Seattle eventually get thrown out over that whole "Home of the 12th Man" nonsense?

[Kinetic 0]

The Saints suffer another devastating injury as Martin "Not-so Automatica" Gramatica is put on IR. I don't know what happened to this guy. He was fantastic for years in Tampa, then had that horrible game against Carolina in 2003 and never recovered. Really no reason for him to be on an NFL roster at this point.

You're using "devastating" ironically, right?

 

See, I thought the rest of the post would make it obvious. Yes. Yes, I was.

[sfaJack 0]

Did the bullshit court case filed by Texas AnM against Seattle eventually get thrown out over that whole "Home of the 12th Man" nonsense?

It settled out of court. Seahawks get to keep using the "12th man" phrase, but have to pay a licensing fee to A&M and publically acknowledge that A&M owns the trademark on it.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

3. Indianapolis is dead last in the league in rushing and dead last against the run. Baltimore is 4th in the league in rushing and FIRST against the run. Do the Colts need to get lucky again?

I think they're really exposed without Bob Sanders in the lineup and it seems like Sanders gets injured and comes back year after year. With the Colts struggling on offense, they're screwed because teams have shown that they can score (Bears, Jags, Texans) on that defense through the run game AND through the air. Right now, the Colts have to hope that they can put up 27+ a game because what people forget about their SB run was that the Colts were winning low scoring dog fights despite a piss poor run defense. They only had 4 games where their opponents scored fewer than 21 points and they themselves topped 27 points 8 times during the regular season.

 

Sanders does go through this nearly every season because he's a suicidal hitter and he's small. Did the same thing in college, and he'll never stop until he breaks his neck twice. Guys that play like that don't have long lifespans in the league, which is fine, but he'll be healthy by the playoff chase, which is also fine. I refuse to believe in Kerry Collins, so Indy still has every shot to win the division.

 

What's really screwing the Colts is injuries on the O-Line. Addai's having a hell of a time because of it, which in turn screws over the play-action passing game, which is Manning's bread and butter.

[Perfxion 0]

Early

Chicago at Atlanta: CHI by 7.

Miami at Houston: MIA wins by 14. This is the game that gets alot of people fired in Houston. Plus Matt gets benched for good.

Baltimore at Indianapolis: Ugly game but Balti wins by 6 and has the ball for 40 mins of game time.

Detroit at Minnesota: Minn by 10.

Oakland at New Orleans: NO can't fuck this one up. NO by 9.

Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets: Jets win by 12. Brett throws for TDs.

Carolina at Tampa Bay: toss up of the week. Carolina just seems to be the better team and wins by 3.

St. Louis at Washington: Redskins win by 17 and everyone claims they are the team to beat in the NFC. Nevermind losing badly in week one against the one team with a better record than them.

 

Late

Jacksonville at Denver: JAC finally wins a game by more than 3 points. They win by 7.

Dallas at Arizona: Dallas gets a 20 point spot, then Zona rodes it down to a 8 point win.

Philadelphia at San Francisco: Philly wins this one without needing a running back. By 10.

Green Bay at Seattle: Hmmm, tough one, Sea only plays good at home. So I will say they win by 3.

 

SNF

New England at San Diego: If Brady was on the field NE wins by 17. IF LT was playing well, SD by 17. Since both teams are just painfully average, I say NE by a game winning fieldgoal.

 

Football on Monday night

N.Y. Giants at Cleveland: NYG in a blowout. They will "Madden" them and win by 21.

[CanadianChris 0]

The Saints suffer another devastating injury as Martin "Not-so Automatica" Gramatica is put on IR. I don't know what happened to this guy. He was fantastic for years in Tampa, then had that horrible game against Carolina in 2003 and never recovered. Really no reason for him to be on an NFL roster at this point.

You're using "devastating" ironically, right?

 

See, I thought the rest of the post would make it obvious. Yes. Yes, I was.

Thought so, but I'm sick right now, so a bit slow on the uptake.

 

Without Gramatica, the Saints probably win in Denver and aren't in near as bad shape as they appear to be right now.

[Kinetic 0]

CHI@ATL

MIA@HOU

BAL@IND

DET@MIN

OAK@NO

CIN@NYJ

STL@WSH

CAR@TB

JAX@DEN

DAL@ARZ

PHI@SF

GB@SEA

NE@SD

NYG@CLE

 

 

 

[HarleyQuinn 0]

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that owner Al Davis has received a letter from the NFL informing him that the Raiders are subject to discipline for publicly accusing the Patriots of tampering with Randy Moss.

 

- Gotta love that it's Mort reporting this (whom Davis ripped too in his press). Rumors are it could be anywhere from a fine to multiple draft picks lost, which would be "just" what the next head coach would need to help re-build this team.

[RepoMan 0]

Did the bullshit court case filed by Texas AnM against Seattle eventually get thrown out over that whole "Home of the 12th Man" nonsense?

It settled out of court. Seahawks get to keep using the "12th man" phrase, but have to pay a licensing fee to A&M and publically acknowledge that A&M owns the trademark on it.

 

I thinks it's BS anyone tradmarked "Home of the 12th Man." Everyone uses that kind of termanology. The Bills put the 12th Man on the Wall of Fame in 1992.

 

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that owner Al Davis has received a letter from the NFL informing him that the Raiders are subject to discipline for publicly accusing the Patriots of tampering with Randy Moss.

 

- Gotta love that it's Mort reporting this (whom Davis ripped too in his press). Rumors are it could be anywhere from a fine to multiple draft picks lost, which would be "just" what the next head coach would need to help re-build this team.

 

Sorry to rain on your parade but:

 

MORT CONFIRMS THE LEAGUE OFFICE HAS NOT THREATENED THE RAIDERS WITH SANCTIONS

Posted by Mike Florio on October 9, 2008, 4:41 p.m.

 

There was a somewhat bizarre item on ESPN.com this morning, which gave credence to a recent non-ESPN report suggesting that the NFL already has determined that the Raiders violated league rules in connection with an accusation by owner Al Davis that the Patriots tampered with receiver Randy Moss in 2007. The initial non-ESPN report indicated that the league already has determined that the claim of tampering made by Davis was and is false.

 

Since then, however, the ESPN.com story has been revised to reflect what we understand (and what we reported) to be the true state of affairs. Thus, the current report from Chris Mortensen (who also was the subject of verbal stink bombs from Davis last week) is that the league has advised the Raiders that, if they have evidence of tampering, they should produce it.

 

And Mort was clear in his retutation of the report from Tuesday that we exposed as premature at best, downright false at worst: “An NFL source firmly denied to ESPN that the Raiders were threatened with sanctions in the letter.” (Indeed, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello has said as to the report of correspondence threatening sanctions against the team, “No such letter was sent.”)

 

The new version of the ESPN.com item concludes with this Editor’s note: “In an Oct. 9 story on ESPN television and ESPN.com, information that indicated ESPN had confirmed facts regarding possible sanctions in a letter from the NFL to the Oakland Raiders was incorrectly characterized due to internal editing. The report should have indicated that ESPN confirmed the existence of a letter asking the Raiders to provide evidence of tampering.”

[sfaJack 0]

I thinks it's BS anyone tradmarked "Home of the 12th Man." Everyone uses that kind of termanology. The Bills put the 12th Man on the Wall of Fame in 1992.

The Aggies have their traditions and cling to them unlike any other cult school/alumni base you've ever seen. Frankly, it's all they have anymore.

 

Oh, and during the Seattle lawsuit, A&M acknowledged that they had previously sent similar 'cease and desist' requests regarding the 12th man to the Chicago Bears and...the Buffalo Bills. Both teams supposedly complied with them. Seattle didn't; thus, they got sued.

 

 

[Guest C*Z*E*C*H]

The "12th Man" thing is the lamest slack-jawed yokel bullshit in the world, and it's even worse when these teams retire #12 for "THE 12TH MAN!" or some shit, so it's only fitting that it originated out in Buttrape, Texas, or wherever the hell. Just as bad: expansion teams that retire #1 "for the fans, because the fans are #1." Sorry, Tracy McGrady, you'll have to change your unifrom number. 1 is retired for the fans. Anyway, it's just stupid pandering that we could all do without. Hats off to Seahawks fans for their ability to SCREAM REALLY LOUD, too bad this won't ever make your team worth a damn.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Hey they lost a Super Bowl almost as recently as the Bears did!

[Kinetic 0]

I was just going to say that. Czech's no-coast bias is really showing here.

 

Oh, and Texas A&M is in College Station, which is fairly close to Houston. Buttrape is about 45 minutes outside of Sweetwater.

[Skywarp! 0]

I don't know about Seattle, but in my limited scope of professional sports stadiums, the harassment and tempers are so bad in Philly's stadiums that I usually only go to games there in neutral clothing.

 

Hell, some drunk frat boys started smack with me at the Phillies/Nationals game recently simply because I wore a t-shirt that said "Chicago." Yeah, it was blue, but it bore no Cubs logo, didn't use the Cubs' font, etc. It wasn't a sports shirt, period. It's the kind of shirt that you buy on vacation. You know, when you travel and gain appreciation for other parts of the country instead of never broadening your horizons and hating every city with a sports franchise that isn't within 20 miles of the suburb in which you live. Yeah, it was my fault for wearing the shirt and expecting civility to begin with, but still.

 

It's the kind of place where you can constantly see beligerent middle-aged men with small children pick fights with innocent 16-year olds with no shame or self-awareness of how pathetic they seem.