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Qwerty 42 wrote: The Favre hype is simply preposterous. How anyone could look at the Carolina/ San Diego game and say that the Jets/Dolphins game was better is being ridiculous.

Well, because watching Brett Favre play for Mangini is an invitation to play Benny Hill's laughtrack for an hour.

Actually it was Eddie D's wallet that was so dominant for 15 years. After the salary cap caught up with the Niners... well they have been balls almost ever since. I mean, c'mon, they couldn't afford to keep Jeff Garcia. Good QB, but he isn't that kinda superstar. They have had a couple of "tease seasons".

The Raiders? There is nothing wrong with the Raiders that talent and team confidence can't fix. The only thing I really think is wrong with Davis is just his patience, and I think that is just born of his desire to win so badly now, because he knows he doesn't have much time left.

It's been interesting to watch how Week One has panned out: the AFC seems to be collapsing on itself, with the downfall of NE, Indianapolis, and San Diego. On the Steelers seem to be functioning at normal level while the other divisions try to find teams to fill the power void.

In the meantime, Dallas and Philadelphia behave like the well-oiled machines they are. The playoff implications, finally, of the MNF game are huge.

Downfall? Sure New England's probably done, but other than that, its been one week.

Jee-zus. That AFC hasn't collapsed on its self. It's one week, and not only one week, but the first week. New England is hardly done. Last time the Patriots lost their star QB and were done for the season, they won 3 out of 4 Superbowls.

6 - 10 so far, not that great.

Picks for week 2:

CHI @ CAR
TEN @ CIN
GB @ DET
BUF @ JAC
OAK @ KC
IND @ MIN
NYG @ STL
NO @ WAS
SF @ SEA
ATL @ TB
MIA @ ARI
SD @ DEN
NE @ NYJ
PIT @ CLE
PHI @ DAL
BAL @ HOU

I hate it when New England plays the Jets, because there aren't two teams I hate more, and I want them both to lose. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen.

Very impressed with Chicago, the Giants, and the Eagles in week 1. Hopefully the Dolphins will pull fewer penalties and run it better this week.

I think the story of the week right now isn't Matt Cassel but rather where and when are Baltimore and Houston going to play? Much as with the Sueprdome in '05 the stadium has chunks torn out of the roof and the stadium administrator is saying there is no way they can be ready even granted that they moved the game back to Monday.

They can just move it back to Wednesday or Thursday and then move each of their next games to Monday or Tuesday night. That should give the stadium staff sufficient time to get it ready and enough time for both teams to prepare for their following games.

More likely, bye weeks will be adjusted. The most suggested solution is that Baltimore and Cincy trade byes, letting Houston and Baltimore play that week (8, I believe)

Qwerty 42 wrote:More likely, bye weeks will be adjusted. The most suggested solution is that Baltimore and Cincy trade byes, letting Houston and Baltimore play that week (8, I believe)

...and it looks like that will be the case.

My picks:

Panthers
Bengals
Packers
Jaguars
Chiefs
Colts
Giants *
Saints
49ers
Buccaneers
Cardinals
Chargers
Patriots
Browns
Cowboys

I'm not picking the Texans-Ravens game since it's been moved to November thanks to the hurricane.

* The Rams are starting to remind me of the baseball team in Major League, where it looks like they're trying to make the team suck. If the Eagles could hang 38 on this crap team, I figure the G-men are good for 40-plus.

You know, I think the Redskins could lose 12 or more games this year.

I also wouldn't be surprised if they struggled this year, and there were calls for Brennan by the end of the season.

EDIT: by the way, Buffalo looks VERY good. They've routed Seattle, and are standing proud against Jacksonville. Those two teams had a combined 23 wins last season.

EDIT2: I wish they would call OPI against Burress, because he does it all the time and gets away with it.

The Colts have both positives and negatives to take away from today's game.

-: They didn't look great through three quarters against Minnesota and they very nearly lost what should have been an automatic TD on 1st and goal from inside the one.

+: They answered the bell against a Vikings team that was taking it right to them early with physical play and grim determination. If the team can survive the early run with these injuries, they could get hot late.

Ahhh, yes. true to EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING FORM - it appears the 'phins are being quite handily routed by the pathetic and sad Arizona Cardinals. WHERE IS THE COHESION I SAW IN PRESEASON?! WHAT THE GODDAMNED SHIT IS HAPPENING?! ARE WE THROWING GAMES DELIBERATELY?! DO WE NEED A 1st ROUND PICK THAT BADLY?!

Chardok wrote:Ahhh, yes. true to EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING FORM - it appears the 'phins are being quite handily routed by the pathetic and sad Arizona Cardinals. WHERE IS THE COHESION I SAW IN PRESEASON?!

It's easier to be coherent against second and third team schmucks?

WHAT THE GODDAMNED SHIT IS HAPPENING?!

The post-Marino malaise and general lack of talent still hasn't worn off.

ARE WE THROWING GAMES DELIBERATELY?!

Nope, but you'll wish you had been

DO WE NEED A 1st ROUND PICK THAT BADLY?!

Five or six, honestly, but even then it'll take a few years to turn the franchise around.

In all seriousness, though, the biggest problem I see is that the lines (both offensive and defensive) aren't good. A good line makes everyone better.

Nice officiating, assholes. Ed Hochuli should spend less time showing off his "guns" to his shrieking fanboys in the press box and get his fucking eyes examined. He gave the Donkeys two fumbles they never should have had and cheated the Chargers out of a win. What a fucking wanker!

So Jason Campbell finally shows everybody why he was selected and looks pretty damn decent (though the Saints were short 2 DBs and 1 LB) especially with that last bomb to Moss and some of the crossing routes. It wasn't the kind of performance that makes me think great things but reminds me that this is a team that could end up anywhere from 4-12 to 11-5. Overall the defense was solid especially since they kept getting the short end of the stick off of special teams. So long story short they have a decent chance. Arizona, St Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh all before the BYE are beatable with the away games at Philly and Dallas probably a good bet for a loss. They could very easily end up 6-3 heading into the bye week and some rest just about perfectly mid-season. That's the best case scenario, the flip side being that the Steelers game is the easiest to lose and Cleveland and Detroit could definately be struggles.

Hochulee doesn't blow too many calls, but he did blow some big ones today. I think he realized it, too, but couldn't do much about it. The replay booth wasn't working the first time, and the second time, his angle screwed him (Cutler's empty hand batted the ball forward, making it look like a pass). On review, he made the correct ruling that it was a fumble, but because he blew his whistle, the ball was dead where it hit the ground.

He had no choice but to rule that one by the book; his hands were tied. Unfortunately, it screwed the Bolts.

I just watched the first ten minutes of Steelers/Browns - one first down. Gonna be a dull, dull game.

EDIT: Is there any way to get streamed radio without paying?

You might try the local radio affiliates in Cleveland or Pittsburgh.

Jesus, how the hell did the 9ers win that game? They give up 14 bad points in the 1st, give up eight sacks, and still force OT and win. Do the Seahawks just suck that much this year or something?

Some great games this week.

I saw something today that I don't think I have ever seen... An obscure rule WENT the Raiders way. I think if Davis fires Kiffin (if the rumors are true) it will set the Raiders back to 2006. He needs to eat a little humble pie this time and let him last the season. And while not a complete vindication of some of Davis's recent personnel decisions, how about taking a fourth round flyer on Micheal Bush in last years draft. Nice fucking move. Bush, McFadden is going to be a force in the AFC West running game for a few years to come. Russel looks very unpolished, which he is, being basically a rookie, but he also looks like one of those guys that need to warm up to be good.

In the meantime the Chargers got fucked... I mean FUCKED! Elfdart is a little off in his criticism of Ed Hochulie, just because he rarely blows a call, but holy fuck, did he blow that damned call. On the other hand... Going for two and the win? The Broncos earned that bad call. So the Broncos are 2-0, the Raiders 1-1 and the Chiefs and Chargers are 0-2. The Chiefs are done, (they were done before the season started though) but the Chargers will be fine as long as this toe injury to LT doesn't do what it did to Deon Sanders and they don't get a third loss in a row along with another Bronco win.

In the NFC North the Pack certainly look like the team to beat again. Rogers looks pretty damned good. The Vikings are showing the one certain sign of a young team about to turn the corner. Losing games in the fourth quarter. Once they learn how to close out an opponent, they will be a force. Hopefully this will be Matt Millens last season as GM in Detroit, and although I like and actually know Rod Marinelli, he may need to go along with the rest of his staff and about 70% of the team, a la the Chiefs, and just start all fucking over. I mean, if you are going to suck, at least do it with some promise for the future.

Mike Nolan got a reprieve for at least a week. The Niners just kept on plugging away and scrapping to get that win. O'Sullivan does seem to have a good grasp on Martz's system and just after two games you can see the improvement in the offense. Watching Julian Peterson on Seattle makes me fucking sick. If they would have just ponied up a little bit of cash and faith, they would have one of the best linebacking corps, if not the best, in the league right now. (Peterson, Willis, Lawson, Smith, Ulbrich and Spikes... man that would be nice)
Seattle looks very vulnerable right now and the Rams look they could be 2008's Dolphins. It might actually be the Cardinal's time to win the NFC West. I think the Niners have an outside shot at it if their line can get some cohesion and learn how to fucking pass block.

Quick hits:
Ryan and the Falcons came back down to Earth today.
Cleveland... WTF happened to your offense?
The Panthers might actually live up to their preseason hype from two years ago. 2-0, and they are still going to get Steve Smith back.
The Jets looked about right today.
The Patriots are still going to win the AFC East IF Buffalo doesn't keep getting better. Which leads too..
My favorite pick from last years Draft, Trent Edwards is looking good in Buffalo. With the receivers and running game they have and a good defense, I'm predicting a Wild Card berth or possibly a spoiler for the Pats.
The Giants look great, but we will see when they get into division play.

Teams that are already done:
Chiefs
Dolphins
Lions
Rams
Bengals
Seahawks

On the cusp of being done:
Browns
Jaguars
Chargers
Vikings

So how about Kurt Warner, putting together the 158.3? Could be interesting when the Cardinals play the Jets: two old quarterbacks, two very different styles.

How the fuck are the Patriots doing so well? I finally stopped rooting for them as my second team (I held on for a while because Boston teams are usually my second rooting interest after Philly), but I thought they were going to suck anyway. I bet the Jets fans are wailing and gnashing their teeth: they thought they'd finally have a good team because they got Brett Favre, but they got beaten by a mediocre backup quarterback by the division team that they always take it up the ass from.