NFL - Discussion Thread

Warrior, the NY Giants are pathetic. Since SF sacked Carr 7 times, they will probably do the same to Eli, especially since last week Eli was sacked 7 times too. I'm seriously tempted to tip SF next week, as long as Tom Savage isn't QB (he was re-signed for a 3rd time yesterday). Then after NY Giants, it's the Buccaneers, who have arguably a worse D than Oakland. These next 2 weeks are the perfect opportunity to test Mullens and see if he is a one-game wonder or not. If he can't perform then the job is Beathard's again.

No matter who they choose as the QB, they will get hurt. I guess Mullens should be thankful he got sacked 0 times and was facing a team who average 0.88 sacks per game. And hey, if you choose Mullens, Beathard is saved from the pain. If you choose Beathard, Mullens is saved from the pain.

The problem with Beathard, if a team trades for him, is that he doesn't stand up in the big moments. I agree he's played very well considering the o-line he has, but he hasn't finished his work. Personally I don't see any team wanting him, as harsh as it sounds. Capable QBs are passed on year after year (eg Buffalo trading away AJ McCarron, and now have 3 very average QBs on their team).

Honestly if I were SF, I would start Beathard and trade Mullens to a team who is desperate and force them into handing over a 3rd round pick. Then I'd keep Beathard as the backup QB for next season. But for the fairy tale, I want Mullens to get the nod

And lol, don't trust Gruden. He has consistently lied all season long. I have no idea what he's been smoking this year.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Nov 2nd 2018 »

I know the Giants are horrible, but they clearly have a better Pass Rush than Oakland. I'm not saying they will win, but they will definitely get more pressure on Mullens than Oakland did. I wouldn't be surprise if they got 3+ sacks in next week's game against the Niners. I don't want to take away from Mullens' performance on Thursday, but the kid was hitting receivers that had no one around them. Sorry, but that makes every last throw not that difficult to complete.

Mullens will definitely get to start next week and probably against Tampa Bay as well - unless Eli plays good and the Giants get the W - but neither of those games will be pretty for him. Again, Oakland barely put him under pressure, only four times on his thirty drop backs. Even if the Giants and Buccaneers still have mediocre defenses, they will each be a step up from the tanking Raiders. Furthermore, after those next two games, the Niners' schedule gets ridiculous. Whether it's CJ or Mullens, they are going to get beat up with that terrible O-Line.

I disagree about CJ completely, but that's only because I've been able to watch/witness how horrible the Niners' defense presently is. I can give them the pass with the Packers Games since Aaron Rodgers is amazing, but that's about it. They gave up four touchdowns in their first meeting with the Cardinals, and then two touchdowns in the last ten minutes (when up 12 and the game won) in their second meeting. They gave up forty to Rams, the most by any team the Rams have yet to face this year. They also allowed the Chargers to continue to score when they faced them, even after CJ kept crawling back with the offensive. Only one team has given up more points that the Niners' horrible defense: Oakland. Enough said. lol

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Nov 3rd 2018 »

After I made that post I went and watched the game highlights, and god how disgusting is that Oakland D?!?! I agree now, Mullens had it very easy. There were some impressive throws, but most were simple. Heck, even I could've passed for 3TDs against them, and I've never ever played as a QB in my life lol. That Pierce Garcon TD when he had about a 20 metre radius around him is just one hideous example. I'll probably tip NY Giants now, just cause they're still due for a win.

Actually I forgot about that LA Chargers game. That changes a lot. Still, imagine if he made that 1st down late against Green Bay to get the win. He's been so frustratingly close to breaking out. I read completely conflicting information about CJ. Some say that he's been better than most think, and others say he's been bitterly disappointing. I'll take your word though.

I predict Mullens will start next week, get benched after 3INTs, and then Beathard will get beat up and intercepted himself. Then whoever gets the start against Tampa Bay will pass for 3TDs and 0INTs, and keep the starting job for a week, before they get benched when they get beat up by quality opposition. Or maybe I'm getting slightly carried away... Anyway, it's going to be interesting to see what happens.

After all, if either Beathard or Mullens (or both) can keep playing solid football, there are 2 teams by the name of Miami and Washington keep on a QB.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Nov 3rd 2018 »

We shall see, I guess. We all know Mullens will get the nod against the Giants, and he might win if the Giants finally bench Eli. The kid might get a lucky string of easily winnable games, much like Jimmy G at the end of last year.

Lol, all hell will break loose if they bench Eli. Remember what happened last season? He was benched for 1 game, and then started the next week after several members of staff were fired. But I like your thinking I want Mullvember to be a thing (it doesn't rhyme, but it's apparently a thing now) now that Brocktober is over.

If he does get a nice win streak, it won't be the same as Garoppolo's. He had some quality wins in there like Tennessee and Jacksonville. Beating the 1-7 Raiders, 1-7 Giants, and 3-4 Buccaneers will be no achievement. If he goes 0-2 in the next 2 weeks, his chance will be gone.

Pretty good week for all of us. ;)

?!?!?! -2 once again is NOT a good week for me, at all. I trail you by TEN now.

Washington fell on their faces in a big game, and as predicted, you tipped Atlanta... Seattle decided to give their best (and in red-hot form) RB EIGHT carries, which he made 60 yards from. As predicted, you and Dennis tipped LA Chargers. LA Rams layed an egg on defense, and as predicted, you and Dennis tipped New Orleans. Thank god you bizarrely tipped Baltimore. C'mon Lonely Master, you must know by now that the Pittsburgh Dogs are back in business?

Ugly game for Washington. So, so ugly. Their supposed improved pass D layed an egg completely, and Adrian Peterson rushed for 1.9 yards per carry. Dennis, what did I tell you about Peterson's inconsistency!

Ugly game for Miami too, but it was only made to be a good result because NY Jets were deplorable. Sam Darnold threw 0TDs and 4INTs (one was a pick-6), taking his tally to 14 interceptions in 9 games. This so called HOF rookie QB class is looking to be filled with busts...

WannaBeLikeMike - 94 (108)
Sanzano - 88 (147)
TheChosenOne - 84 (123)

I needed another home team, and I thought Baltimore had a better chance of defeating Pittsburgh (since they did earlier in the year) than Seattle did against the Chargers. Both games were still pretty close, so I don't mind losing one of the two. Achieving a perfect week is nearly impossible, so I never go into a week thinking I can do that very thing.

I'm guessing we all picked Dallas tonight? Or did someone go with the upset?

All Dallas need is to score 2TDs and they will win. Tennessee love playing games where they only score FGs. Also Dallas are 3-0 at home. If anyone goes for the upset here, it's purely out of desperation.

When Pittsburgh lost at home to Baltimore earlier in the season, they were a mess. Now the Dogs are back in full force. It won't be long until they scrape some more wins. They are certainties to win the NFC North. Baltimore just aren't good enough, and Cincy aren't going to beat Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. In fact, no NFC North team will get a wildcard spot. LA Chargers / Kansas City will get #5, and Jacksonville #6.

Bloody hell Warrior13! I thought you said you were going to drop games this week. You only got one game wrong, and I must admit I was surprised it was that one. I hade the Steelers winning that game at home all day long, like Matt said, they've started of slow but are now becoming a force.

I'm annoyed about Washington, I can't figure them out. Last week they go to Dallas who have the 6th rated run defense in the league and Adrian Peterson runs for 156 yards. This week they are at home to Atlanta who have the 25th rated run defense in the league and he can only get 1.9 yards a carry. It's almost as if Peterson needs a couple of weeks to recover before he puts in a stellar performance again. No way is Washington winning the NFC East, as soon as they come up against a team that can pass they will get beat, they just can't keep up with high scoring teams.

I'm not impressed so far with these heralded rookie quarterbacks that were constantly compared to the class of 83. Apart from Mayfield the other three are looking average, bordering busts at the moment. I remember the class of 83 and Marino in particular was setting the league alight, Elway not so much, he was struggling at Denver but he still showed flashes of brilliance amongst the interceptions he was picking up. Kelly was in the USFL making everyone wish he had opted for the NFL he looked so good.

I've now dropped another game to Warrior13 making me 6 games behind so I now literally have to pull back one game a week until the end of the season to beat him and in his current form I can't see that happening. It all went wrong for Matt and Me in one of the early weeks, I think we dropped a whopping four games in one week!

...you're right! He's 11/12!!! Thank god Baltimore lost, otherwise he would've been headed for the impossible perfect week! And I customised the settings so that a perfect week gives a bonus point, so phew!

I watched the 'highlights' of the NYJ @ MIA game, and there are some horrific turnovers from Darnold. It's clear that all 4 of the rookie QBs need a better supporting cast until they can be fairly judged. That's why I think it was a huge mistake by all 4 clubs to play them this season. Cleveland had Tyrod Taylor who's a below average starter, NY Jets have Josh McCown who had his best ever season last season, Buffalo had AJ McCarron until they traded him away, and Arizona had Sam Bradford before he stunk the joint up with below 100 yard games. Apart from Mayfield, it's clear that the others aren't ready to play NFL just yet.

The QBs to watch for will be Lamar Jackson and Mason Rudolph. Jackson definitely needed this year to develop, but it's good that he takes 1-3 snaps every game. He has the potential to be anything, and if he busts as a QB, he could easily play WR or RB. Rudolph was projected as an average QB, but 1-2 years sitting behind Ben Hislastname could give him the development the other QBs never had.

Yeah, my first 2 weeks were terrible. If I did better I would be sitting at about your record right now, since my weeks 3 and 4 were good. To be honest we've all had really good tipping seasons, but it's just that Warrior is above and beyond what we are, and you don't make as many rash upset picks as I do.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Nov 5th 2018 »

...Warrior!!! You are ranked 70th overall among ALL tippers on the website!!! That ranks you as inside the top 0.6% of tippers!!! (70th/11,877)

Although you may be going down slightly. Tennessee are somehow beating Dallas 21-14!

Tennessee beat Dallas IN Dallas 28-14 after trailing 0-7! The NFC East title hopes of Dallas are basically over now

« Last edited by Matt77 on Nov 5th 2018 »

Matt, Warrior 13 being in 70th place in a competition that has 11,877 competitors is impressive, even more so when you think that vast majority of them will be American fanatics and have been brought up on NFL football and will be a lot more astute on the game than us. You're relatively new to the game and up and until last year I have been away from it since 1993 and to be honest it is not the game I remember, it looks relatively the same but it's now different. Gone are the days of smashmouth football, now it's an ariel game where you can't touch the quarterback. Plus I miss John Maddens commentary.

As for Tennessee beating Dallas, I had Dallas, I was sure Elliot would have a big game and Amari Cooper will catch a couple of Touchdown passes along with a 100 yards in his debut game in what looked like an easy home game. Looking at it now I'd say Dallas will be looking at another quarterback and the Dallas fans will be unhappy that they gave up a first round pick for a wide reciever who couldn't impact an easy game more than he did.

All of a sudden Washingtons win against Dallas last week doesn't look so impressive. Philadelphia are winning the NFC East.

The problem wasn't really the O of Dallas. Their D allowed Tennessee a 76% completion rate on 3rd downs! Dak's INT was ugly, especially since a TD would've given them a 14-0 lead, but he isn't the problem. Replacing Dak with a backup QB will accomplish nothing, and they will finish too high to draft another QB. Tennessee do have a pretty solid D themselves. After all, I said Dallas needed 2TDs for a win, because I thought they could keep the inept Titans to 13 or lower. Instead they allowed 4TDs.

In fact, I think the real problem Dallas have is Jerry Jones.

The tipping website we use actually will be the opposite if what you said. It's an Australian website which is predominantly used for AFL tipping, hence the name Footytips. But even so, we're all doing very well regardless. 4 years ago I knew 0 rules of NFL and had absolutely no interest in the sport. I guess that's why I still make rookie mistakes and am last in our comp.

And Dennis, do NOT jump on Philly's bandwagon. Remember when they choked a 17-3 lead against Tennessee, and a 17-0 3QT home lead against Carolina? Their running game is a complete mess at the moment, and injuries haven't stopped mounting. Washington still have a shot, as long as they can split with Philly. After all, Washington beat Green Bay and Carolina.
Next up: @ Tampa Bay

« Last edited by Matt77 on Nov 6th 2018 »

Problem is though Matt is Washington have just lost their pro bowl offensive guard Brandon Scherff for the season. The Redskins have just hired a couple of guards I have never even heard of before to replace him. There's a couple of more injuries in key places as well, Paul Richardson at wide reciever is another and I think one of the cornerbacks in the secondary is going to be out for a while. Not looking good. I don't understand why Alex Smith is playing so conservative this year, at the beginning of last year when he was with Kansas City he was lighting up the scoreboard throwing highlight reel touchdowns to receivers on deep patterns. All he does at Washington are little 10 yard dump passes. I'd like to see him take a few chances and air out the football a bit more. Now with Scheriff gone for the season all that is going to happen is he is going to get sacked a lot.

Just what Washington need, Fitzmagic...

« Last edited by Sanzano on Nov 6th 2018 »

Washington is being decimated by injuries. They lost their two starting Guards on Sunday for the season. They be in a whole lot of trouble.

Dallas is obviously the same old, 8-8 team that we've come to know over the past decade. They went down the field on their first three drives, yet only came away with seven points after a missed field goal and an interception by Dak. After that, Titans adjusted and Dallas couldn't do anything on offense. Philly has to be the favorite, now more than before, to win their division. If they don't, I would honestly be shocked.

I did read about those injuries. They will hurt no doubt. But they are still 5-3, with a certain win next week against Tampa Bay. Fitzpatrick is hot and cold. He did throw 2INTs against Carolina. But, if Washington lose next week, their season is over.

Alex Smith had the most talented WR group in the league at KC. Now he has second rate WRs that are constantly injured. He could go for long passes, but will they even come off? I think a lot of that comes down to coaching too. If the coaches don't want long passes, there will be none. He needs to try go long against Tampa Bay though. Their defense is atrocious.

Philly are favourites now, but they need to make up the ground though. Any upset losses will be soul-crushing, and they can't afford them. We could easily see a team win the NFC East with a 7-9 or 8-8 record, and a capable team like Atlanta miss out with a 9-7 record.

Miami travel to Lambeau Field next week. When I first saw it I was horrified, but the more I think about it the more it reminds me of @ Atlanta last season. Miami were hopeless with Cutler, and Atlanta were coming off the SB, but Miami won 20-17 (20-0 in the 2nd half). It's such a shame Albert Wilson is out for the season. He was making Osweiler look like a Pro-Bowler, and now the offense is one of the league's worst.

Way-too-early playoffs:

New England
Pittsburgh

LA Chargers
Houston
Kansas City
Jacksonville

------------------------------

New Orleans
LA Rams

Green Bay
Philly
Minnesota
Carolina

« Last edited by Matt77 on Nov 6th 2018 »

I agree with most of your predictions Matt, I think though Cincinnatti will squeeze their way into the playoffs as a AFC wild card and I also think the Falcons will get in as an NFC wild card. You can't rule out teams that can put 30 points on the board regularly. Years ago the motif was defense wins championships, I personally think that has changed and it is now explosive offenses win championships.

Why are New Orleans messing about with Dez Bryant? They're doing fine without him. The guy hasn't caught a pass in the NFL in good knows how many weeks. Don't the Saints realise they might unsettle the team bringing him on board. The guy was on the decline anyway, that's why Dallas got rid of him.

That's exactly what I thought with NO at first too. But it turns out they're surprisingly thin at WR. They're having a look at quite a few WRs though, so chances are he won't make the cut. But NO are in a win-now mode, and even if Dez is past his time, he could have enough productive games to be useful (similar to Adrian Peterson at Washington).

Cincy are getting quite a lot of injuries on defense. It puts a lot of responsibility on Andy Dalton, and he can't keep putting up close to 30 points a week (although he's been doing exactly that this season). Also, AJ Green is injured too I heard. I think they're going to fall just short, but will be agonisingly close to playoffs.

I agree Atlanta are on the rise, but when I do rough calculations I just can't find room for them. New Orleans will win the division, and Carolina are 2 games ahead. Green Bay and Minnesota are both good enough to get a spot, whether it's winning the division or getting a WC spot. Basically Atlanta's only hope is either to beat Carolina again and have the tiebreaker on them (while gaining an extra game), or for Green Bay, Minnesota, and Chicago to all beat each other equal times.

Looks like it's more than a rumour, Dez Bryant has signed a contract with the New Orlean Saints. It should be interesting to see what happens when the Cowboys face the Saints on November 29th. The last time an angry wide reciever went up against the team that slighted him he caught three Touchdown passes.I'm of course referring to Randy Moss who the Cowboys didn't draft because of his off-field problems. That was a Thanksgiving game as well...