NFL - Discussion Thread

Haha. I thought Antonio Brown said he was done with the NFL? Lol. He is a clown isn't he. I'd love Dallas to get him, because alongside greedy Dak and Zeke, the Cowboys locker room culture will be shot.

Lol, exactly what I thought Matt. Dallas fans are idiots, they think Prescott, Elliott, Cooper, and Brown will be what Aikman, Smith, Irvin, and Sanders were in the 90's when the Cowboys last had a great team. All I see is locker room problems, hope it happens though, it does the Redskins a favour if Dallas self destructs.

Does Jerry Jones still make all the decisions about the team? If so expect Brown to be a Cowboy soon, Jones loves the type of player Antonio Brown is. There's been loads of similar players in Dallas during Jones tenure. Players that come immediately to mind are Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, Terrell Owens, and Dez Bryant. Funny enoughm they all played wide reciever.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Oct 23rd 2019 »

Jerry Jones is extremely powerful. If he wants Brown to play for Dallas, it will happen. That's damning with how many hotheads have played for Dallas at WR. No wonder New England have scored more defensive TDs this season that Dallas playoff wins in the past 25 years

Minnesota sent Washington to 1-7, in a 19-9 win. Keenum got concussed, and Haskins replaced him, going 3/5 for 33 yards, 0TDs and 1INT (dropped by WR). Washington were trailing 9-16 when Cousins ran for no gain on 4th & 1 at MIN 34. Had the Washington WR hung onto the ball, they would've been a slight chance to go and level the scores.

Dennis, you correctly predicted the margin too...

« Last edited by Matt77 on Oct 24th 2019 »

No surprise with that game Matt, it was always going to be a Vikings game. The 'Cousins is pumped up' headlines I'm reading now make me laugh, the guy went 23 out of 26 for 285 yards. Yes, great stats, but the press have missed the fact that the muppet can only do it against mediocre and bad teams. Let's see what his stats are like when he goes up against the top teams in the NFC. Watch Cousins choke and Minnesota exit the playoffs.


Haskins threw another interception in FIVE attempts, oh dear, this boy is a bust...

Just wondering, why didn't the Redskins just keep handing Peterson the ball, he was getting 5.4 yards a carry?

« Last edited by Sanzano on Oct 25th 2019 »

Cousins played very well @ Detroit last week. I get why you're opinion is final on him, since you had to endure him for years, but ever since after the Chicago loss where he made he was very honest in his post-match interviews, he's had 4 MVP-level performances:
10 touchdowns, 1 interception, 10.9 yards per completion, 79% completion rate, and a 132.7 passer rating
No matter how poor the opposition has been, you've got to admit these are good numbers.

The upcoming schedule for Minnesota will make or break theirs, and Cousins' season:
@ Kansas City (potentially without Mahomes)
@ Dallas
vs Denver
@ Seattle
vs Detroit
@ LA Chargers (neutral game. More away fans turn up to LAC home games)
vs Green Bay
vs Chicago
There are absolutely no easy games in there. Not even Denver. Their defense is more than capable of causing damage. If you're right about Cousins, teams will make an effort to stuff Dalvin Cook and force Cousins to choke games away (a 2-6 record, finishing 8-8 and failing to make playoffs). But if I'm right and he has turned it around, with the combination of Dalvin Cook, Minnesota can go 5-3 and finish 11-5, making playoffs as a wildcard team.

EDIT - Oh dear. Cousins is 6 wins and 27 losses against winning teams... He did win his most recent one @ Detroit while they had a winning record, but now they're 2-3-1.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Oct 25th 2019 »

The Panthers vs 49rs game is giving me a headache. The Panthers are the first decent team the 49rs will be facing this season. Just wondering how good the San Francisco defense is, I have a feeling this game will be close and could go either way. I don't rate Jimmy G, I think he's average at best and the starting backup quarterback for Carolina hasn't lost a game yet. Guess I'll have to wait until tonight to see if I backed the right team.

I rate SF solely on their defense. As you rightly point out, Garoppolo is overrated. In fact, I'd almost say Nick Mullens is as good as him. I picked them only because they are at home.

Finally a stable week of tipping. Well done Warrior for going for the upset in Philly. I have never rated Buffalo, but I didn't think Philly had what it took to win on the road against a top defense.

Chicago lost the game of who could miss the most FGs, 16-17, at home. They truly are pathetic this season. Warrior, your 'no better than 8-8' prediction was correct, but you just went too early. A win for Miami, Houston's JJ Watt is out for the season with a torn pec (usually 3 month injuries). He will be back for the AFC Championship game at the earliest. Tannessee continues on Dennis, good choice picking SF lol. They put a 50-burger on the above average Carolina defense. Denver lost another close game with 22 seconds left. New England are halfway there.

Dennis - 79
Matt, & Warrior - 76

Well played Warrior13, brave decision taking a banged up Philadelphia to go into Buffalo, not the easiest places to play and contain their solid defense to walk away with the win. After their up and down performances this season I'm not sure what to make of Philadelphia.

Chicago let me down with a missed field goal 4 seconds from time.

Each game in this competition is vital, especially as we've passed the half way mark.

Some tough games to predict next week though, Kansas city against Minnesota I'm struggling with. It's basically a case of is Kirk Cousins going to revert to form and choke or has he turned the corner as a player and lead his team to victory.

I accidentally closed the page before posting

Roughly, I said don't worry about the Chicago tip, because we all did it, and if it had come through, Warrior would've been one correct prediction away from a bonus point for a perfect week. I also said I think Minnesota may edge KC due to their offense and the fact Moore will be paying (despite him playing well).

Then I was about to type this next paragraph. I was going to go on a rant about how Philly are average. But their schedule consists of 3 consecutive home games, and after that there is only 1 non-divisional game, and it's against the tanking Dolphins.

Ugh. Miami traded Kenyan Drake to Arizona...for a glorious 6th round pick. What even is the point of that? There's probably a 20% chance that a 6th round pick will turn into an NFL starter.

EDIT - Combining it rather than triple-posting. Miami choked a 14-0 QT lead, to lose 14-27 @ Pittsburgh. There were several horrific errors from the defense when Miami had a big lead, including a blitz on 3rd and 20 which resulted in a 44-yard Pittsburgh TD. Throw in another WR drop/fumble which was intercepted by none other than Minkah Fitzpatrick, and things looked bleak from quarters 2 to 4. It was clear as day that the Miami coaching staff are tanking this season.

Had Miami been efficient, we would've won that game. Pittsburgh got very lucky, in a primetime game, after trailing by a large deficit. Sound familiar?

« Last edited by Matt77 on Oct 29th 2019 »

It will be interesting to see what happens when the Dolphins play the Jets this week. Both teams have looked dreadful in recent weeks giving away 62 points and only scoring 15. The Dolphins on the other hand haven't looked that bad, they've been competitive against the Redskins and Steelers.

I see Minkah Fitzpatrick got two interceptions in the game against his former team.

Redkskins are now open to trading Trent Williams, should be interesting?

The Dolphins accepting a sixth round draft pick for a starting running back in the NFL is a strange decision. They basically gave him away. That 6th round pick is only going to used as a sweetener for a bigger deal, but even so...

« Last edited by Sanzano on Oct 29th 2019 »

Miami will find a way to tank their way to 2 losses against NY Jets. Make no mistake. The Miami players want to win games, but the Miami Dolphins organisation wants to lose them, therefore the coaches are being instructed/persuaded to try bold (dumb) plays nearly every game.

We had Washington on the ropes when we scored to get to 16-17. By kicking the XP, we would've headed to OT, at home, with all the momentum. Yet we go for a 2XP attempt, which was a screen pass to a WR under enormous pressure.

We had Buffalo on the ropes while 14-9 up, and proceed to throw an end-zone INT and miss out on a minimum of 3 points, which would've been a 3QT lead of 17-9. Yet we fail to score, and instead concede 22 points in the final quarter.

We had Pittsburgh on the roped while 14-0 up. Pittsburgh had the ball at PIT 5 on 3rd and 11, yet we concede a 17-yard pass while Rudolph stood in the end zone. Had we done a simple job, we would've got the ball back at nearly FG range. Then while 14-3 up, on a 3rd and 20 with 26 seconds left in the half, we call a full-blown blitz and they go in for a cakewalk 45-yard TD. 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles didn't help our cause, but that was tanking at its finest.

On October 14th, shortly after the WAS @ MIA game, Dennis, you said:

The Tank Bowl, yesterday nights game has been described as one of the worst NFL games in Modern NFL history as Miami successfully continued their plight to get an imperfect season. Disgraceful, Miami should have won that and now be investigated by the NFL for their 'Tank for Tua' season. Miami has a chance to go 3-1 in the next four games, I expect them to win at least one of them otherwise they are flat out cheating and if they are not made an example of other NFL teams will follow suit when they know they have no chance of reaching the playoffs and coming last will get them a potential NFL superstar in the following years draft. I just hope Tua turns out to be another Ryan Leaf to stop teams tanking in future years.

You called it Dennis, amazingly. Miami should've won their last 2 games, and last 3 if you include the Washington game that happened before you posted. But alas, they didn't, and we all know why.

EDIT - Washington came out and said they were open to trading Trent Williams, but then Williams changed his mind, and has reported back to work with Washington

Miami acquired LA Rams CB Aqib Talib, AND a 5th round pick, and will send LA Rams a late 2021 pick (likely 6th or 7th rounder). Miami will pay his salary while he is out injured. Essentially Miami have bought a 5th round pick for $4.2 million.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Oct 29th 2019 »

I'm a bit confused as to what Trent Williams is up to. My understanding of the situation is that he has reported back to the Redskins but will not take part in any games for this season. By reporting back now means he is only contracted to play one more season with the Redskins whereas if he hadn't reported back he would be legally bined to play two seasons for Washington. I still don't think he will be playing for Washington again, his decision to return is just a tactical one in his favour.

Derrius Guice is back practicing, Washington might as well give him the rest of the season off to get fully fit and continue using Peterson who is chasing the all-time leading rusher title and needs the money to pay of debts.

I wonder how long it will be before the NFL commissioner states that any team found guilty of tanking will forfiet their first pick in the upcoming draft. If Miami get away with it and Tua turns out to be an NFL superstar other teams will follow suit and it will ruin the game.

We have to remember that Oakland were tanking last season, before they got a few late wins to ruin their chances for the #1 pick. Oakland weren't punished, and neither will Miami, as unfair as it is. In Australia we had a team in 2009 lose draft picks as punishment for tanking, and it instantly put teams off.

EDIT - Trent Williams is a bigger clown that Antonio Brown. He failed a physical at Washington because of "discomfort with his helmet and the fitting of it."

« Last edited by Matt77 on Oct 30th 2019 »

I did my tipping, and this is the week I am being brave. I have picked 7 home teams, 6 road teams, and the London game. I have also tipped 2 upsets; one of which is extremely risky.

This should be interesting, I have 10 road teams. Matt if you have a week like last week you could be four in front of me Sunday morning. A few tricky games this week, Jaguars vs Texans and Kansas vs Minnesota being the two main ones for me. I'd take the Dolphins over the Jets this week as I believe Miami are playing better at the moment except I don't trust them, as you pointed out Matt, when it looks like they have a chance to win the ball game some questionable plays start appearing.

To me, Jacksonville have been punching above their weight all season. They have a 6th rounder as the starting QB, a running back who has misleading stats, and an inconsistent defense. Logic says Houston's elite passing game should be enough to win by 10+. But logic flies out the window with Houston. They can put a 50-burger up and also win @ Kansas City in the space of 2 weeks, but then they have some inexcusable losses sandwiched in.

I struggled with MIN @ KC. I usually go with the home team when in doubt, but Minnesota are the superior team at the moment. It was a tough one to pick.

Miami have put their star CB Xavien Howard on the injury reserve, meaning he will not play again this season. It is sensible for Miami to do it, but it's another action that proves without a doubt, Miami are tanking.

Oh dear, looks like I will have to pick the NY Jets... Disgraceful really, putting their best players away for when they feel like competing. Howard must love this, he still gets paid.

As for the Minnesota game, looks like I'll have to go with Cousins which I'm not happy about either.