NFL - Discussion Thread

Jacksonville are going to finish lower than NY Giants. So there'll be 2 teams looking for Herbert unless Washington trade up. Like I've said before, they need to pick a QB in the 2nd round, or trade up to a pick from 25-32. They can't take a gamble on a QB in a class that's fairly mediocre. Washington MUST pick a wide receiver in the 1st round.

Don't buy into Tannehill just yet. He shows enough, but then out of nowhere he has 1TD 3INT games with a lost fumble. He choked big time against Cincy earlier this season, when Miami had a 17-0 lead and lost 17-27. If he hadn't self-destructed, Miami would be 8-5 right now and certainties for playoffs. I just hope after his 7 week injury layoff, that he's come back with vengeance. In his 3 games back he has thrown 8TDs and 0INTs, and helped one of the most disgusting offenses in the league score decent points (24, 21, 34). But the big thing is, in that time Miami have scored 11 touchdowns and just the 1 field goal.

I think Miami will pick Drew Lock in the 2nd round if he's available. For some reason I can clearly imagine him being the Dolphins' starter. Maybe I can foresee people getting mixed up with Andrew Luck and Drew Lock. It's just a hunch, but I think this guy will be a great player, whoever he plays for.

Started by picking 13 home teams and 3 road teams. Ended up settling on 11 home teams and 5 road teams.

I started at 11 and 5, but ended up switching a 50/50 matchup in favour of the home team. 12 home teams and 4 road teams this week.

This week I won't be giving any info on who I've tipped. The last few times I've done this, you've switched and been successful (Cincy --> Baltimore, Washington --> NY Giants).

Okay. XD XD XD

I wont let you know that I picked the Rams or Bears either. :p

I almost helped you with the Pats/Phins Game, but then the Pats had to go and ruin it. lol

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Dec 12th 2018 »

Actually, I ignored your advice, but Xavien Howard got injured so I switched cause I knew NE would score 30+. I just didn't think we'd score 34 lol.

Lol, telling me you picked LA Rams, at home, versus Nick Foles, doesn't help much...

I also picked Seattle, if that helps.

XD XD XD

:p

I can only laugh.

I even picked the Saints, but I really thought about going for the upset with the Panthers. Seriously, them and Colts were the two games I switched after my first time through.

Yeah, I ended up switching Dallas @ Indy too. Not saying who I switched to though ;)

Blech. Kansas City are thrashing LA Chargers 21-7 after Keenan Allen left the field injured... A weakened WR group and 2nd string RBs will make this very hard for LAC. Although, last primetime game for them they came back from 7-23 down.

Edit - Lol immediately they score a TD.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Dec 13th 2018 »

The Chargers came back again and beat the Chiefs. I had Kansas winning that game comfortably at home. I?m now wondering who the Chargers can upset in the playoffs as they are a decent team with a good quarterback. At the moment I rate them higher than Pittsburgh and New England who are both clearly struggling at the moment. Looks like Kansas can be beaten if you keep up with them, their defense isn?t great.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Dec 14th 2018 »

KC's defense was disgraceful on that 2-point conversion. Good on LAC for trying it, because geez, even I could've passed to that open WR...

This is huge for LA Chargers now. They don't have the tiebreaker over KC, but they can still hope KC lose one and they win out. LAC can legitimately win the #1 seed in the AFC. When I did my rough predictions for the rest of the games, both times I had KC losing @ Seattle, and that hasn't changed. As long as LAC handle Baltimore and Denver, it's theirs.

As for KC, if they do drop to the #5 seed as I predict, they'll likely have to travel to either Pittsburgh or Baltimore. Both teams lost to KC, so that'll be a revenge game no matter what.

Off topic, but who do you have for Miami @ Minnesota? The stats would say it's a Minnesota win 31-13, but you never know what Miami will dish up. They're ranked in the bottom 4 for offense and defense, yet have a 7-6 record. Even though it's a daytime game, this is big for Cousins to respond from the awful performances of late. If Minnesota lose, they could find themselves out of the playoffs temporarily. Essentially, the winner of this game WILL feature in playoffs.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Dec 14th 2018 »

That's an interesting game Matt, if Miami were at home I would have taken them. What bothers me now about this game is that Minneosta have lost their last 2 games and are obviously struggling while Miami in that same period have won both, the second of which was the 'Miracle in Miami' against New England. I just remember from the last couple of seasons that whenever the Dolphins have a huge win the following week they play terrible and lose, it doesn't help them either that the game is played in Minnesota which favours the Vikings who are desperate to get things back on track, another loss for them and their season is essentially over. Sorry Matt, I go Vikings on this one against a flat Dolphins team.

The Chargers against Baltimore will be an interesting game, l think if the Chargers win out and get homefield advantage through the playoffs they are going to be hard to beat as they do not give up as can be evidence by their come from behind victories. What are the chances of an all Los Angeles Super Bowl? The Rams against the Chargers.

Haha, you're spot on about Miami. I just wonder if this season will be different, since Miami should've been eliminated from playoff contention. 2 weeks ago Josh Allen underthrew a wide-open WR on the last play of the game. Miami should be 5-8 right now, but instead are a good chance to make the postseason.

If LA Chargers do get the #1 seed, they have a great chance. They have a habit in the regular season of either choking huge leads against bad teams (for eg: 19-7 lead, at home, against Denver, and they lost) but playing well against good teams. There are no bad teams in playoffs, so it will suit them. What will hurt, is that assuming the AFC seeding is LAC, NE, HOU, BAL, KC, TEN, Kansas City should beat Baltimore on wildcard weekend, and then they would travel to LA, where they won early in the season.

Chargers didn't win that game, nor did Chiefs lost it either. Horrible officiating decided the outcome of that game. Kansas City was called for Pass Interference in the end zone on that last drive, but there was none whatsoever - it was a makeup call for a missed helmet-to-helmet on Phillip Rivers earlier in the drive. The very next play, the touchdown catch, there should've been an Offensive Pass Interference on the Wideout who caught the ball. Those refs are going to hear a lot back from the League Office after that horribly called game.

I had Chiefs losing to Seattle a few weeks ago, but there is absolutely no way that will happen now. After a win this week over the 49ers, Seattle will clinch the a playoff berth. That, added to the Chiefs looking to kill their next opponent much like the Pats will be this week after their own royal screw up, and I have the Chiefs winning out to keep the #1 Seed. They might even blow out the Seahawks, depending on if the Seahawks decide to rest some of their players (like they should since they basically can't improve their playoff seeding).

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Dec 14th 2018 »

I watched the highlights. I thought my country's officiating in sports was over the top, but geez. You're right, those penalties were shockers.

That's a good point about Seattle. I think week 16 is too early to rest starters though, so it'll come down to motivation to win.

I see draft day has been moved to Las Vegas for 2019, not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

Turns out the Giants made the right decision drafting Barkley with the number 2 pick of the 2018 NFL draft because other than Baker Mayfield the other highly touted quarterbacks have been pretty average at best, I don't see anything in any of them that says NFL superstar but with Barkley you can already see he has that label stamped all over him. The Giants media department must love him, the guy is going to sell a ton of number 26 NY Giants jerseys. I might get one myself.

Once again I'm off to a losing start this week, and once again I've been incredibly unlucky. The Chiefs should have won that game. I see the Cleveland Browns are underdogs against Denver, I'm beginning to believe in the dawgs and am going to tip them.

I can't work out why Dallas are heavy underdogs against Indianapolis, I fancy the Cowboys to win that one. The biggest underdogs of the week though are Miami who go to Minnesota, sorry Matt, I see Minnesota blowing Miami away this week with Cousins having a big 300 yard 3 Touchdown type of day.

I'm still undecided on a few of the other games though, especially the Ravens hosting the Buccaneers and the Steelers agains the Patriots. Commons sense tells me the Patriots will be annoyed about losing last week and will want to win badly but I cannot discount Pittsburgh at home even if they are on the slide. This is a grudge match both sides will be up for.

I knew Barkley was the best player in the draft and should've been selected by Cleveland, but I wondered whether he'd be as good as everyone said he'd be and whether he would take time to develop. Boy oh boy, he's already the best RB in the league imo and this is his rookie year. If NY hadn't picked him, they would've selected Darnold.

Dallas shouldn't be heavy underdogs at all. I could easily see them winning that game. I guess the betting agencies jumped on the bandwagon after Indy ended Houston's winning streak. But remember, 2 weeks ago Indy lost 0-6 to the Cody Kessler-led Jaguars...

I think we need to give the QBs time though. Darnold, Rosen, and Allen are surrounded by disgraceful offenses and o-lines, so once they are given a better supporting cast we can properly judge them. But these are my early grades for them:

#1 - Mayfield
64.4% completion, 19TDs, 10INTs, 2 lost fumbles, 262 yards per game, 7.7 yards per play, 93.4 passer rating
He's already showed why Cleveland decided to go risky and select him. He has a knack of responding to criticism, and whenever he has a bad game he follows up with a good one. His accuracy has drastically increased under a better offensive coodinator. Ultimately he's not afraid to go for big plays and scouts were spot on about his leadership qualities. 8/10.

#3 - Darnold
55.9% completion, 12TDs, 15INTs, 1 lost fumble, 210 yards per game, 6.7 yards per play, 69.5 passer rating
It's very hard to judge him. He has some good games and some horrendous ones. He leads the league in INTs and dropped INTs which is concerning, but he has drastically improved his fumbling numbers. But when Darnold has played well (Denver, Indy, Buffalo), NY Jets have looked like playoff contenders at times and scored lots of points. There's a lot of upside, as he's a prototype QB with all the characteristics that suggest he has a future. There's potential for him to be a bust, but it hasn't been as bad a start as people make it out to be. 6/10.

#7 - Allen
52.4% completion, 10TDs (5p, 5r), 9INTs, 2 lost fumbles, 159 yards per game (excl. rushing), 6.3 yards per play, 62.8 passer rating
I could smell bust on Allen the moment he was drafted, but he's surprised me. Yes the INTs need to decrease, but he's arguably a better rusher than Jackson and keeps plays alive (nearly won Buffalo the game against Miami after spinning out of 4 Miami tackles). If he sees an opening, he'll chuck it downfield, and while it hasn't come off a lot, he has a positive attitude and won't be a game manager type. If he can improve his accuracy downfield, he has a big future, but that's a big if. 6.5/10.

#10 - Rosen
55.4% completion, 10TDs, 12INTs, 2 lost fumbles, 174 yards per game, 6.1 yards per play, 68.3 passer rating
He's no doubt the hardest to grade. He's been spotty like Darnold, but just like him, he's on an awful team. The Arizona o-line has to be one of, if not the worst o-line in the NFL, yet Rosen has survived injury and put up numbers which aren't horrific. His footwork has still remained up to his high standards, and that should help him long-term. Of all 4 QBs, he looks the most likely to bust, but he needs to play in a strengthened Cardinals team to show whether he can last in the NFL. 5.5/10.

NY Giants and Denver did very well avoiding these QBs. The bottom 3 all have potential to have great careers, but no joke all 3 could be backups within a few years if they don't improve. Even Cleveland did well, considering logic said they would choose Darnold. Barkley, Ward and Chubb are impact franchise players who will be as influential as a QB.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Dec 15th 2018 »

Houston barely escaped the lowly Jets 29-22. After leading 16-3, they were trailing 19-22 before the comeback. They've got to be careful that they don't let this form slump last any longer. Darnold played very well despite the loss.

Cleveland squeezed past Denver 17-16. It's a hard place to win at, so that was a big win for Cleveland. There were too many soul-crushing INTs from Keenum, and the rushing game never got going. Well done Dennis. You tipping Cleveland makes up for the Minnesota mistake, and you're level with me once again.

I would not say Cleveland won that game, nor its previous one either. Like you said, Keenum was horrible last night. Clearly, the Broncos lost that game (much like how Cam Newton and Carolina did against the Browns last week). Houston almost lost their game as well, but I guess pulling out a win is the difference in a playoff team like the Texans compared to the Broncos that are not.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Dec 16th 2018 »

Cleveland had their fair share of screw ups too. A red-zone INT and a fumble while in Denver territory were nearly fatal. Add in that only 1/3 4th down calls were successful (including failing to kick a FG late, leaving the door open for Denver to score one themselves). While following that game, I felt like Cleveland were always in control when they weren't screwing up.