NFL - Discussion Thread

I agree. I tipped Chicago only because they are at home, and New Orleans scored just 13 points this week. But I don't rate Chicago this season, mainly because of Trubisky. He hasn't showed anywhere near enough to justify being a #2 pick.

I was tempted to pick Detroit, but that primetime choke (even if they should have won***) was terrible, and will sap their confidence. They scored 1TD (on 4th and goal) and 5FGs, and that's not good enough against Aaron Rodgers.

***While trailing 13-22 on 3rd & 10 at DET 45, Rodgers got sacked, but a penalty was awarded because the Detroit player put his hand on Rodgers' shoulder. Green Bay went down and scored a TD, forced Detroit to punt, and never gave them the ball back on their way to kicking the game-winner as time expired (thanks to a near-identical penalty). Had Rodgers been sacked and no penalty been given, it would have been 4th and 21 at GB 44. Green Bay would've had to punt, and probably would've ran out of time when they got the ball back.

I can't argue with your choking point, buy Cousins has looked good in the past 2 weeks. That Chicago loss where they scored 6pts was a turning point for him. He was pretty honest in his interviews after the game.
44/56 (79% completion) for 639 yards (over 10 yards per pass), 6TDs and 1INT for a 138.5 passer rating in the past 2 weeks.

I think we're all still waiting for Cousins to come good in the clutch. What happened? Do you remember the game where he made the 'how do you like me now' comment? Cousins conceded a fumble-6 to see Tampa Bay go ahead 24-0 in the first half, before he scored 4TDs combined to lead them back to a 31-30 won. Where is that sort of play?

« Last edited by Matt77 on Oct 15th 2019 »

Matt, Cousins used to look good when he played at Washington, he put up some terrific numbers. The only problem was he couldn't do it when it mattered, I don't think nothing has changed, he's had one good game but I am still not convinced, I spent four years pulling my hair out with that quarterback. He almost got 5,000 yards passing in 2016. I am no longer fooled by that guys stats, most of his yards come in garbage time.

As for the Miami running back you mentioned, he probably is taking it easy, he's not daft. No point going all in and possibly getting injured for a team that doesn't want to win. Nobody is going to trade for an injured running back. He's playing a dangerous game though as his stock will drop along with his wages,

Cousins had a great game @ NY Giants, and followed it up by torching Philly this week. 2 weeks. Interestingly, last week ex-Washington LB Zach Brown said that Cousins is the weakest part of Minnesota's offense, and that defenses love seeing him pass the ball. He then proceeded to throw for 333 yards and 4TDs, and Brown got cut yesterday.

I just found out that Drake didn't start the game yesterday. Looks like Miami are either losing faith in him, or are taking their tank to a new level. As promising as he looked last season, if another team offers a 2nd or 3rd round pick and Drake doesn't improve, it may be time to say goodbye. After all, Miami got rid of Jay Ajayi for a 4th rounder a few seasons ago, and now he is retired from the NFL I believe.

I see Trent Williams is going to be traded to an AFC team in the next few hours, at the moment nobody knows who that team is but the rumour is it is Cleveland. I wonder what Washington are going to get for him, anything less than a second round draft pick is terrible as far as the Redskins are concerned, he was their best player and since he's been gone the offence has looked terrible. There's talk of Greg Robinson being involved in the trade, I hope not. The number 2 pick in the 2014 draft has been nothing but a bust since entering the NFL from Auburn.


« Last edited by Sanzano on Oct 16th 2019 »

I'd expect Washington to get a 3rd round pick for him. I think he's more valuable than that, but everyone knows Williams wants out, and will never play a game for Washington again.

Man, the Rams were going crazy yesterday with trades. I get the feeling they know their season is quickly slipping away from them. I don't necessarily understand the Marcus Peters trade. I get you wanted to make room for Jalen Ramsey after sending two first rounders to Jacksonville for him, but only getting a fifth rounder for him was basically nothing. Plus, Talib had to go on the IR and will be out for quite some time. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep Peters and pair him with Ramsey?

I really don't know who to pick in that one. On one side, Ramsey is an upgrade over Peters. But at the same time, he's been out for like a month and will be responsible to cover Julio Jones all game long. If he really had bad pain all along, that could be a nightmare. Both teams must wins. Rams will spiral out of control if they lose, especially since they still have to play the Seahawks and 49ers once again each. Falcons are already a mess, and I can't believe they didn't fire Quinn after he lost to the Cardinals. If they lose again, and at home no less to a struggling team, you'd have to imagine they will let him go. I get they're beat up again, especially on their O-Line and Defense, but there is no excuse for losing this many games with the sheer talent on their roster.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Oct 16th 2019 »

LA Rams are going all-in again. If they don't win a SB within 2 seasons, they are in big trouble. They have ageing players picked up in free agency, and have traded away their 1st round pick for the next 2 drafts. Not to mention the fact Gurley has arthritic knees, and is becoming more injury-prone lately.

I read some stats about the Atlanta defense that explain why they're doing so badly this season. I can't recall exact numbers, but in 2017/18 (year after the disaster) their defense improved to become an average unit. But apparently that was only in terms of points defense. In terms of yardage, they were one of the worst teams yet again, but Atlanta didn't realise that. It was because their offense played slow, methodical drives, meaning the opposition's offense had less time on the field to score points.

Then in 2018/19 the defense supposedly went back to being one of the worst. It was blamed on all the injuries they had. But nothing changed. The yardage defense had always been terrible from 2015-2018. And now this season they are conceding huge points like in 2016/17, and people think the defense has downgraded. But it's because Atlanta have their old offensive coordinator from 2016 back, and the offense is playing more like it did back then.

Atlanta didn't change their defensive players too much. They thought a change of game plan would fix it. But they didn't realise the defense has been horrible every year. They need new players to complement a change in game plan.

Two first round picks and a fourth for Ramsey? I have to question that trade, I personally think the Rams overpaid. He's not worth that.

I see the Patriots are after a full back, they hosted three yesterday to replace the injured Sony Michel. I personally haven't heard of any of them: tight end/fullback Orson Charles, fullback Ricky Ortiz and running back/fullback George Aston.

I haear the Patriots are looking to trade for A.J. Green, just what the NFL needs, the greatest quarterback ever to be paired up with one of the best wide recievers in the league. If that happens it almost guarantees the Patriots another championship.

Injury reports are making it even more difficult picking winners this week. I'm either going to lose four games to you guys or be up four games if my selections are correct. I just don't like the home teams this week but history tells me no way do all nine of my away teams win. I'll have to have another look today at some point...

"You all's gonna have to see the type of swag I bring"
- Jalen Ramsey

This is a huge win for Jacksonville. Yes they get two 1st rounders, but most importantly they've got that locker room cancer out of the club for good. From the "He trash" comments about Josh Allen, to refusing to play because he wanted a trade, Ramsey has too much form with this kind of behavior.

The Cincy coach has said he won't be trading AJ Green, but who knows how true that statement is. While he;s not that old, Cicny need to look towards the future. If they can get one or two 1st rounders for him, they should let him go. By the time Cincy are contending for playoffs again, Green may be past his prime.

I worry about New England. By that, I mean I worry how good they are and will continue to be. They're a good chance to go 16-0 again, and have brought in good young talent over the past few drafts for pennies. Given that any QB-needy teams will either go to the draft, or already have a competent backup, it leaves New England as the only possible destination for Josh Rosen once Miami cut/trade him. He has been benched for Ryan Fitzpatrick, so that is the end of his Miami career. NE can get him for probably a 4th round pick, and have him sit as a backup for 2-3 years while Brady continues to play. Once he retires, Rosen will be there waiting to step in. He'll be a good QB in a good team.

I need to bring up Baker Mayfield as well. His stats have been UGLY this season. We all thought he would naturally take the next step in his development, but he has failed to throw more than 1TD in any game this season, and has thrown at least 1INT in every game. His stats:
56% pass accuracy, 249 yards per game, 7.6 yards per pass, 5TDs & 11INTs, and a 66.0 passer rating

I wonder if Baker Mayfield's career is going to mirror Rick Mirer's. Mirer was the second player selected in the 1993 draft and set rookie records in his first year as a quarterback for Seattle. His second year saw a rapid decline in production. It turned out the guy couldn't throw the ball on his left side and NFL defenses just contained him to the left side. I wonder what NFL coaches have spotted in Mayfield to suddenly neutralize him.

New England must be cheating somehow, it's unheard of for a team to stay on top for almost twenty years. Their record during that time is outstanding, Tom Brady is walking around with 6 Super Bowl Rings and it could have easily have been one for each finger. That organisation is doing something right and it's not just having Brady and Belichick, although it does help.

If Rosen gets picked up by the Pariots and becomes another Steve Young it will without doubt make Belichick the greatest NFL coach the game has ever seen. Only Joe Gibbs with the Redskins has managed to win Super Bowls with different quarterbacks (three). I'm not even sure (Bill Walsh had Montana and Young but young didn't play) if a coach has managed the feat with two different quarterbacks. Maybe Don Shula in the early 70's thinking about it did it with two, Griese and Earl Morrall.

We all picked the Chiefs. Who would've thought that. jk lol

Uh-oh. Mahomes just went down. Looks like it's his knee. Almost appeared as though he dislocated it and the trainer popped it back into place on the field. Needed assistance off the field, but he started walking on his own once near the locker room. Hope he's okay.

If that's the case, it it a big positive. Whenever you see the words "serious knee injury" and a player walking straight off the field, getting support from all players, it's not a good sign. First indication to me is that it's an ACL, and if that's the case his season is over.

I know it's a different injury, but I can't see it being a coincidence that he has a serious knee injury at the same time he has a slight ankle injury. Surely there has to be a link. And if that's the case, the KC medical staff need to ask themselves why they didn't give him a week off.

Maybe Matt Moore can win a Superbowl

EDIT - KC won 30-6 after trailing 0-6. And Mahomes has a patella dislocation. He will have an MRI tomorrow to see whether he has ligament damage.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Oct 18th 2019 »

I think that's short for a dislocated kneecap, they take about six weeks to recover from. It'll probably slow the Chiefs down but I think they have enough talent on that team to still reach the playoffs where they will have a fresh Mahomes back.

I had another look at this weeks games and I've still got 9 away teams, it was 11 before. I have a bad feeling about this week.

Struggling with the Green Bay Vs Oakland game, Aaron Rogers has an ankle injury and hasn't practiced and all three of his top recievers are banged up. If it wasn't for the fact I'm trying to reduce the number of away teams I'm picking this week I'd take a gamble on Oakland who have vastly improved from last year.


« Last edited by Sanzano on Oct 18th 2019 »

No no no Dennis. It's a trap that the media and/or Green Bay have set people. The same thing happens with Brady all the time. This 'injury' he has will be very minor, and won't affect his ability to play at all. Plus Green Bay are at home. By all means tip Oakland if you want, but to me Green Bay are one of the easier tips this week.

I've always been on Green Bay Matt, I just get spooked when I read the future Hall of Fame quarterback is injured and his three top wide recievers are banged up. Oakland aren't playing too bad lately but because the Packers are at home you have to give them in my mind an automatic 7 point lead and I think the Green Bay defense is good enough to stop Oakland from getting within 10. I can't wait to see what games I get wrong this week, they all look like certainties to me even if 9 of them are away teams.

Like Dennis, the Raiders/Packers Game gave me some pause. Not because Rodgers is a tad banged up, but because it just seems like a one of those weird games where the Raiders come to play. Sort of like the Colts against the Chiefs a few weeks back.

Let's be real: there are so many toss up games this week. I'm sure we'll each pick a few different games from each other, but the current trend is we'll all split. Either one of us gains a game or two, or we just end up where we are now. This year has been that crazy. In my opinion, whoever wins this year in our group is the person that got the luckiest. Even if I win, I'll be calling mulligan. Last year was a much better metric on how good each of us are at picking. Sure, I pulled away late last year, but that had more to do you two picking upsets and me picking WAY conservative just because I was leading.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Oct 18th 2019 »

Rodgers still managed to pull off a (questionable) comeback win on Monday with those same injuries. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic as I usually am with Green Bay, but I would be stunned if Oakland win.

Alvin Kamara is out, and will not play @ Chicago. And Mahomes has avoided ligament damage, and will miss 3-6 weeks.

And Lonely God, I think the second half of last tipping season was a fair indicator. Apart from that early week where you cleaned us up, we stayed within the huge margin you set us (might have been +8 by midseason). In the second half of this season, we'll learn who the true tipper is. I worry about Dennis because of all his upset picks, and I worry about myself because I'm 3 behind, and am tipping conservatively this season.

I'm looking forward to tonights games, there's some interesting ones. Dallas vs. Philadelphia gave me problems. I've gone for Philadelphia on the strength of Wentz playing well and they are on a roll but I have this nagging thought in my head that Dallas won't lose four straight with the last one being at home in front of their fans against their arch rivals now that the Redskins are no longer a factor. I'm still concerned about having nine away teams...

Dennis? Philly on a roll? They got thrashed 20-38 against Minnesota last week.

It will be a tough game to tip, but if that is your reasoning, take another look at the matchup.