N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 16 Results/Week 17 Picks
It's the last week of the season. Good luck everyone!
This weeks winner is.....
Congrats Isthismynewlife!!!!!
And our cumulative standings leader
Congrats AJ's MOM!!!
This week's games
Sunday January 3, 1:00 PM
NY Jets at Buffalo
New England at Miami
New Orleans at Atlanta
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
Jacksonville at Houston
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Washington at Dallas
Philadelphia at NY Giants
Detroit at Chicago
Sunday January 3, 4:25 PM
Tampa Bay at Carolina
Oakland at Kansas City
San Diego at Denver
Seattle at Arizona
St. Louis at San Francisco
Sunday January 3, 8:30 PM
Minnesota at Green Bay (Tie Breaker Game)
7 comments posted: Wednesday, December 30th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 15 Results/Week 16 Picks
We're down to the last two weeks of the season folks, every pick counts, see the run of prognostication near-perfection Jrazz has been on here lately!
Hope you have a Merry Christmas, good luck with your picks this week.
This weeks winner is.....
Congrats AJ's MOM!!!
And our cumulative standings leader
Congrats AJ's MOM!!!
With a four point lead over 2nd place and two weeks of picking left, it's going to take some smart picking to get past her.
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
ALSO, THERE IS A SATURDAY GAME THIS WEEK!!!
This week's games
Thurs. Dec 24 8:25 PM
San Diego at Oakland
Sat. Dec. 26 8:25 PM
Washington at Philadelphia
Sun. Dec. 27 1:00 PM
New England at NY Jets
Houston at Tennessee
Cleveland at Kansas City
Indianapolis at Miami
San Francisco at Detroit
Dallas at Buffalo
Chicago at Tampa Bay
Carolina at Atlanta
Pittsburgh at Baltimore
Sun. Dec. 27 4:05 PM
Jacksonville at New Orleans
Sun. Dec. 27 4:25 PM
St. Louis at Seattle
Green Bay at Arizona
Sun. Dec. 27 8:30 PM
NY Giants at Minnesota
Mon. Dec. 28 8:30 PM
Cincinnati at Denver (TIE BREAKER GAME)
[This message edited by lingerdog at 5:42 PM, December 22nd (Tuesday)]
13 comments posted: Tuesday, December 22nd, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 14 Results/Week 15 Picks
I'm really swamped this week so sadly no recap. Congrats to this weeks winners and good luck to everyone this week!
This weeks winner is...
Congrats Jrazz!!!
Our leader in the cumulative standings is...
Congrats AJ's MOM!!!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
ALSO, THERE IS A SATURDAY GAME THIS WEEK!!!
Thurs. Dec. 15, 8:25 PM
Tampa Bay at St. Louis
Sat. Dec, 19, 8:25 PM
NY Jets at Dallas
Sun. Dec. 20, 1:00 PM
Chicago at Minnesota
Atlanta at Jacksonville
Houston at Indianapolis
Carolina at NY Giants
Tennessee at New England
Buffalo at Washington
Kansas City at Baltimore
Sun. Dec. 20, 4:05 PM
Cleveland at Seattle
Green Bay at Oakland
Sun. Dec. 20, 4:25 PM
Denver at Pittsburgh
Miami at San Diego
Cincinnati at San Francisco
Sun. Dec. 20, 8:30 PM
Arizona at Philadelphia
Mon. Dec. 21, 8:30 PM
Detroit at New Orleans (TIE BREAKER)
[This message edited by lingerdog at 9:10 PM, December 16th (Wednesday)]
14 comments posted: Tuesday, December 15th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 13 Results/Week 14 Picks
The NFL's new rule pushing extra points back 10 yards was widely panned as a half-measure throughout the past offseason.
Why not eliminate the extra point altogether or push it back 10 more yards to make it a true test, the critics mused.
Give the competition committee credit for this one. The rule has brought unexpected twists and turns, adding excitement in close games.
The nine extra points flubbed in Week 13 are more than we saw in the entire 2014 season combined. There were three misses in the Chiefs-Raiders tilt alone.
The afternoon's most thrilling matchup was a Panthers-Saints shootout that featured the first blocked extra point for a defensive two-point conversion, recorded by rookie linebacker Stephone Anthony.
The rule has had the intended effect, bringing meaning to a previously meaningless play.
Here's what else we learned in Week 13:
No quarterback is playing better than Russell Wilson. He essentially pitched a perfect game, with his outstanding stats (274 yards passing and three TDs on 27 attempts, 51 yards rushing and a score) telling half the story. Wilson combined confident play from the pocket with quick decisions and vertical throws. He also made Vikings defenders look silly while scrambling. Wilson has 11 TDs and no picks in his last three games.
Vikings fans can console themselves that their defense was missing its best three players. Safety Harrison Smith (knee) and Anthony Barr (groin) quickly joined Linval Joseph (foot) on the sideline. But that doesn't explain why the Vikings' offense didn't score a point and was held to 125 yards total. Teddy Bridgewater received little protection and threw a killer pick before halftime. He can't carry an offense. Adrian Peterson was held to 18 yards. Minnesota's offense was overwhelmed at every position.
It wouldn't surprise us if Seattle made it back to the Super Bowl because its young players are all peaking at the right time. Rookie receiver Tyler Lockett was a huge difference maker as a returner and receiver, with seven catches for 90 yards. Running back Thomas Rawls, who went over 100 yards again, is a star. New starting tight end Luke Willson capably replaced Jimmy Graham with two difficult grabs early. New starting cornerback DeShawn Shead looked fantastic. Rookie pass rusher Frank Clark is coming on strong with two sacks. This group is only getting better.
The Patriots led in this game 14-0, but some disastrous special teams turned the game around. Bill Belichick tried a dropkick for an onside kick try, which failed and gave the Eagles a short field to set up a touchdown. Then the Eagles added a punt block touchdown to close the first half and a Darren Sproles punt return touchdown in the second half. A 99-yard pick six by Malcolm Jenkins at 14-14 added to the insanity. It's only the third time in NFL history that combination of return touchdowns came in the same game.
While the Patriots will be tempted to chalk this up to "one of those days," there are real concerns about this Patriots offense. Tom Brady was hit 13 times in the game. Many of his mistakes -- including his pick six -- came from rushing a throw. He rarely seems to be on the same page as Brandon LaFell, who is exceptionally inefficient on deep throws. Take away all the big plays and the Patriots' frenetic finish, and these teams looked rather even until midway through the fourth quarter. That's not a great sign for New England.
Chip Kelly said he would make some changes after the long post-Thanksgiving stretch, and he notably used DeMarco Murray less. Darren Sproles was more active early in the game. He had 19 touches and Murray had 8. Murray had fewer carries and yards than Kenjon Barner!
This was another dominant effort from Denver's vaunted D, which had some hiccups in recent weeks. The Broncos allowed just four completions to Chargers wide receivers, collected four sacks, forced three turnovers and got a game-changing pick six from Danny Trevathan. When the defense plays to its potential, it takes a lot of pressure off of a first-year starter at quarterback. This is a necessity if the Broncos have Super Bowl aspirations.
As for the Osweiler-Peyton Manning drama, right now it's simple: As long as the Broncos keep winning, Osweiler is going to keep playing.
Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had one of the uglier stat lines in recent memory last week, when he managed just one reception on 13 targets against the Patriots. Osweiler and Thomas showed better chemistry on Sunday -- Thomas picking up six catches for 61 yards on six targets and the game's lone offensive touchdown. This was, by far, the biggest positive development on a quiet day for Denver's offense.
The Chargers are a long way off. They're not 3-9 and have been held to three points in losses to AFC West rivals two out of the past three weeks. Then there's the increasingly depressing environment at Qualcomm Stadium, where thousands of Broncos fans cheered the road team. It's possible Chargers have only one game left in San Diego.
Newton has raised his level of play over the past month, starting a game 11-of-11 for the first time in his career (Week 10), hurling five touchdowns in a game for the first time in his career (Week 11) and completing 15 consecutive passes (Week 13) for the first time in his career. His efficiency in the fourth quarter has been stellar all along, carrying his offense with a return specialist, a journeyman slot receiver and a second-round rookie at wideout. The Panthers have to be slightly concerned about the hits he's taking, but the 6-foot-6, 260-pound signal-caller seems indestructible after shaking off an ankle injury and a helmet-to-helmet hit on Sunday.
Prior to last season, no team had ever captured the NFC South crown in back-to-back seasons. The Panthers have now accomplished the feat in three consecutive years, while becoming the ninth team in history to open the season with a 12-0 record. They haven't lost a regular season game in more than a calendar year. It's a good sign that the NFL's lone undefeated team was able to pull out a sloppy victory despite a trio of first-half turnovers, four touchdowns allowed by the previously stingy defense and two egregious drops by Ted Ginn on a pair of would-be touchdown bombs.
Stephone Anthony became the first player in history to return a blocked extra point for a defensive two-point conversion. The Saints rookie linebacker accounted for eight points, including a 31-yard touchdown on a fumble recovery. The NFL's new rule on extra points has had its intended effect, as it's no longer a meaningless play.
Seven days removed from shredding the Seahawks' secondary in Seattle, the Steelers' offense, led by the indomitable Big Ben, did it again on Sunday night. Roethlisberger was firing on all cylinders to his plethora of Pro Bowl-worthy wideouts, finishing with 364 yards and four touchdowns. It's an absolute delight to watch the Steelers quarterback sling perfectly-timed bombs alongside sharp short routes over and over again to the Three Amigos; Pittsburgh's confidence on offense bleeds through the screen.
Antonio Brown, who had an off day against Richard Sherman and the Seahawks, continued his feverish tear against the Colts, gaining 118 yards and three total touchdowns on eight catches; his 48-yard snag in between two helpless Colts defenders was miraculous. Martavis Bryant gained most of his 114 yards on a physical 68-yard catch-and-run down the sideline for six, using every bit of his 6'4" frame in the process. Following his breakout game, Markus Wheaton (3 for 50) didn't get left out, running a tight curl in the end zone late in the first half for his weekly touchdown.
Pittsburgh's three-headed monster couldn't wreak its havoc on Indianapolis and the league if it weren't for the consistently heroic work of DeAngelo Williams. The 10-year veteran has made Terrible Towelers forget about Le'Veon Bell, kind of, by displaying an effective and eerily similar running style. Williams gains most of his yardage on the ground by staying patient behind his linemen before the right holes open up, often outside the tackles. Sunday night, Williams earned his third 100+-yard performance of the season and proved he could be a workhorse against playoff-caliber fronts.
On to this week’s winner
Congrats devasted30!!!
And the cumulative standings we have a new leader!
Congrats AJ's MOM!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Dec 10 8:25 PM ET
Minnesota at Arizona
Sunday, Dec 13 1:00 PM ET
Buffalo at Philadelphia
San Francisco at Cleveland
Detroit at St Louis
New Orleans at Tampa Bay
Tennessee at NY Jets
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Indianapolis at Jacksonville
San Diego at Kansas City
Washington at Chicago
Atlanta at Carolina
Seattle at Baltimore
Sunday, Dec 13 4:05 PM ET
Oakland at Denver
Sunday, Dec 13 4:25 PM ET
Dallas at Green Bay
Sunday, Dec 13 8:30 PM ET
New England at Houston
Monday, Dec 14 8:30 PM ET
NY Giants at MiamiTie Breaker
[This message edited by lingerdog at 6:20 PM, December 8th (Tuesday)]
15 comments posted: Tuesday, December 8th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 12 Results/Week 13 Picks
If the postseason began today, a losing team, Washington, would host a playoff contest while winning teams — Atlanta and Pittsburgh — would be sent home. Another reason the N.F.L. should switch to a seeded-tournament format.
Dallas Cowboys lose Tony Romo again and must plan for future
The Dallas Cowboys may as well throw in the towel because quarterback Tony Romo is done for the season.
After sustaining yet another hairline fracture to his left clavicle, the quarterback has played his last game for 2015. The injury to Romo came in the third quarter when he was sacked by Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis after what was a miserable performance consisting of only 106 yards, three interceptions and zero touchdowns.
At the time, the Panthers, who were laughably considered the “underdogs” entering into the matchup, were in “dominance” mode. And, even if Romo had not been injured there was little chance that the Cowboys would have turned the game around, being under such a massive deficit (30-6) that late in the game.
Unfortunately, the unfavorable outcome of the game was determined early for the ‘Boys when Romo threw a pick-six on a pass intended for Jason Witten that was intercepted by Kurt Coleman on the first drive of the game.
Everything pretty much spiraled down the toilet after that play. Romo struggled to complete just 52.4 percent of his passes in addition to another pick six by Luke Kuechly, which was coupled by a horrific ground effort that netted just 31 yards.
With Romo’s health and longevity becoming a painfully obvious and serious issue for the team, it is time for the Cowboys to start looking into their long-term plans for eventually replacing their ailing veteran quarterback.
On the final play of “Monday Night Football,” game tied, the Browns lined up to attempt a field goal to win: The Ravens blocked the effort, running it back for a touchdown and victory as time expired. Cleveland is now 2-9 and Baltimore now 4-7; the play meant nothing to the 2015 N.F.L. season but it was fun to watch.
The elation turned to horror of Browns fans is something you would think they were used to by now, but nope…
Stats of the Week. Russell Wilson is 7-0 at home versus the A.F.C.
Tennessee is on an 0-11 streak at home.
Arizona snapped an 0-6 streak at San Francisco/Santa Clara.
Carson Palmer is on a 22-4 streak.
Kansas City is on a 5-0 streak during which it has outscored opponents, 160-61.
Minnesota leads the league both in rushing yards and in yards per rush.
At 4-7, the Eagles are one game out of first in their division.
This was toward the end of Denver quarterback Brock Osweiler’s second start in the NFL on Sunday night—his first against a 10-0 team led by the greatest quarterback in football today—as flurries swirled near the Rockies. The wind chill, 19 degrees, made even the diehards think three-and-a-half hours outside was just about enough.
Two minutes into overtime. Denver 24, New England 24. Third-and-one, Patriots’ 48-yard line.
In the huddle, Osweiler called two plays; coach and play-caller Gary Kubiak told Osweiler before the play, “You get us the best one.” Osweiler would give a signal once he saw how the Patriots aligned on defense. As the huddle broke, the quarterback told running back C.J. Anderson, “Hey man, just go. Make a play.”
Osweiler got to the line, under center, and surveyed the New England front. He was going to run C.J. Anderson to the weak side (that was his first call in the huddle) but saw something he didn’t like there—maybe an unblocked Rob Ninkovich hovering on the quarterback’s right. Whatever, he switched to a strong-side sweep to the left. “KILL! KILL! KILL!” he called, arms stretched out parallel to the ground. To the left, tight end Vernon Davis and a strong blocking wide receiver, Bennie Fowler, got ready to seal the left side for Anderson.
“It’s a wide toss,” said left guard Evan Mathis, “and if the play goes the way it’s designed, there should be one of our guys on every one of theirs, except for the deep safety. Then the back’s got to make that guy miss.”
“OMAHA!” yelled Osweiler.
(Hey! Isn’t that Peyton Manning’s cadence-starter? Well, it was.)
“Set!”
Anderson, seven yards deep in a classic tailback position, bolted left and took a pitch from Osweiler. Mathis was right. There was a hat-on-a-hat throughout the left end, right tackle Ryan Harris going out to sweep away cornerback Malcolm Butler, Davis eliminating safety Devin McCourty, and, most impressively, center Matt Paradis sprinting out after snapping the ball and cutting down linebacker Jonathan Freeny. The only player left, just as Mathis said, was safety Duron Harmon, angling to the sideline to push Anderson out at the 30-yard line.
“My job,” Anderson said from Denver near midnight, “was just run to the open space, then make the guy miss.” Hugging the sideline, Anderson did that. For the last 30 yards he was all alone, and the Patriots weren’t unbeaten anymore, and there was some mystery in the AFC.
Denver has to feel reborn this morning. With Manning playing so unreliably—14 interceptions in his last six games—Osweiler’s efficiency in his two starts and his 2-0 record should ensure he’ll keep the job as long as he continues to play low-error football… maybe.
On to this week’s winner
Congrats 3 kids30years!!!
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Everyone!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Dec 3 8:25 PM ET
Green Bay at Detroit
Sunday, Dec 6 1:00 PM ET
NY Jets at NY Giants
Arizona at St Louis
Atlanta at Tampa Bay
Seattle at Minnesota
Houston at Buffalo
Baltimore at Miami
Cincinnati at Cleveland
Jacksonville at Tennessee
San Francisco at Chicago
Sunday, Dec 6 4:05 PM ET
Denver at San Diego
Kansas City at Oakland
Sunday, Dec 6 4:25 PM ET
Carolina at New Orleans
Philadelphia at New England
Sunday, Dec 6 8:30 PM ET
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh
Monday, Dec 7 8:30 PM ET
Dallas at Washington Tie Breaker
[This message edited by lingerdog at 6:34 PM, December 1st (Tuesday)]
14 comments posted: Tuesday, December 1st, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 11 Results/Week 12 Picks
Some of you picked really well this week. Others are in the boat with me wondering how our season turned so bad so quickly.
Joining us in the good ship lollipop is Chip Kelly.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ season went up in flames on Sunday afternoon.
Technically, the Eagles are still going to be hanging around the NFC East race because that division is awful. However, the Eagles are a big reason the division is so bad. Even if, somehow, the Eagles win that putrid division, they're not a team that can make any waves in the postseason.
Sunday’s 45-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was absolute futility for the 4-6 Eagles. Doug Martin had 235 rushing yards for the Bucs, including 177 in the first half. Jameis Winston tied an NFL rookie record with five touchdown passes. The Buccaneers had 521 yards on Sunday, the second most in franchise history and the most in 35 years.
Winston is playing well as a rookie, but he was just 18th in the NFL in passing yards coming in. Likewise, the Buccaneers were 18th as a team in total offense. In other words, the Eagles got absolutely shredded by a mediocre team. Can’t blame Mark Sanchez for that.
The Eagles' many failures this season come back, of course, to Chip Kelly. Many people are excited for him to fail in the NFL, and he fed that machine on Sunday.
And maybe Kelly is failing. His offseason moves haven’t worked well. His big gamble, trading Nick Foles and a second-round pick for the expensive Sam Bradford in his contract year, has worked out about as everyone could have guessed: With Bradford playing uninspiring football before he got hurt. And obviously the defense isn’t any better this season, because it had an embarrassing day against a Buccaneers offense that scares nobody.
I don’t think Kelly is going to get pushed out in Philadelphia. That ignores that he had 20 wins the past two seasons. Only seven of 32 teams have posted double-digit wins each of the past two seasons, and Philadelphia is one of them (Denver, New England, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Seattle and Arizona are the others). Some people really, really want Kelly to fail, but he hasn’t yet. This is, however, a bad season. And it can’t be ruled out that Kelly will want out, either to a college job or maybe to theTennessee Titans and quarterback Marcus Mariota (with a ton of draft-pick compensation from Tennessee to Philadelphia, of course). Kelly is a bit of a mystery, so anything is possible. But Philadelphia simply firing him doesn’t add up.
That doesn’t mean the Eagles are going to turn it around this season. They look like a lost team, and they haven’t really played well all season. They have just lost back-to-back home games to the Miami Dolphins and Buccaneers.
At no point since the preseason have the Eagles looked like a playoff-caliber team. That falls on Kelly. He likely is not going to get chased back to college against his will after the season, but this season looks like an obvious step back for him and the Eagles. Sunday was a wake-up call to anyone who hadn't realized that yet.
Speaking of Belichick, how does he keep coaching the Patriots to victory this year?
The Patriots are currently being held together by scotch tape and twine, and here they are at 10-0.
New England beat the Bills on Monday night in a scrappy game, 20-13, one bogged down in endless penalties and official reviews. Bills head coach Rex Ryan basically blamed the loss on his team’s inexperience, saying his team hadn’t learned how to win games like that yet. A lot of stories about the game seemed to buy into that idea, that the Bills made a couple of costly mistakes and the Patriots were able to squeak it out.
That’s all well and good, but what isn’t being discussed is how Tom Brady and Bill Belichick managed to win a game they had no business winning out of sheer imagination, game-planning and execution.
The Patriots’ injury list on offense is getting ridiculous. Julian Edelman, Keshawn Martin and Dion Lewis are hurt, and Danny Amendola came off the field hobbling last night. Someone named Chris Harper dressed at wide receiver for the Patriots last night, and if you say you’d heard of him before a week ago I’d call you a liar. The Patriots’ offensive line had two false start calls on the opening drive at home, and it seemed the big reason why was that this version of the offensive line had rarely played together.
The game was a Rex Ryan special, too. Multiple turnovers, ugly penalties, confused refs — it was low scoring and ugly, just the way the Bills wanted it.
And still the Patriots won.
You could see Ryan understanding that, too. On one of the Patriots touchdowns, James White caught a ball out of the backfield, and a Bills defender missed a tackle on the sideline, allowing White to go in and score. Ryan was livid. He violently threw his headset to the ground, because he knew. He knew you can’t make mistakes against the Patriots.
The Bills were even given the gift of an almost certain Patriots TD taken off the board because of an inadvertent whistle, but it wasn’t enough. The Patriots still got it done.
It also showed why Ray Lewis’ comments before the game, that he thought Rex Ryan was a better coach than Bill Belichick, were so ridiculous. Ryan is a great football coach. He comes up with exciting, creative defensive schemes and his players work incredibly hard for him. But Belichick is a wizard. Belichick may not draft up as interesting a blitz package as Ryan can, but what he does every week is figure out — exactly — what the Patriots need to do to win.
In the NFL Network documentary Do Your Job, Belichick talked about this philosophy in regards to his preparation for the Super Bowl last year against the Seahawks. He and his coaching staff had come up with a list of a few things each player needed to focus on that week to succeed. They had simplified the game to its most concrete terms. They took the endless possibilities in a football game and carved out the three things they needed to focus on to win.
These things change every game for the Patriots, too. Other coaches try to simplify gameplans, but it usually falls back on banalities — We want to establish the run. We can’t give up big plays on defense. The Patriots analyze each team and figure out, very specifically, what they need to do.
They did that on Monday night against the Bills. They kept Tyrod Taylor in the pocket, determined not to let him scramble and get yards on the ground. He finished with one yard rushing. Knowing the Bills would be double teaming Rob Gronkowski, they wanted to get Danny Amendola going in those shifty crossing routes that are so hard to cover — he finished with 119 yards receiving.
Of course, the entire gameplan rests in the hands of Tom Brady. Playing in front of a newly acquainted offensive line, Brady was repeatably able to get the ball out of his hands quickly to open receivers. Ryan’s blitz packages were working, but it didn’t matter because Brady was releasing the ball so quickly. The defensive line kept getting to Brady, but only finished with one sack.
And that’s the thing. It doesn’t matter how many players go down for the Patriots. It doesn’t matter if the offensive line has a ton of experience playing together. If Belichick is making the game plan, and Brady is at the line of scrimmage, the Patriots have a chance to win. They proved that again on Monday night. And while these injuries may soon catch up with them, I’m not counting out New England in any game.
Bonus Stat: Rex Ryan is 4-11 versus Bill Belichick; Tom Brady is 25-3 versus the Bills.
Cam Newton, MVP candidate: While Tom Brady is still lapping the NFL MVP field, but Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is making sure he’s right there if Brady opens the door for anyone else down the stretch.
Newton was very good on Sunday, throwing for a career-high five touchdowns. He now has 20 passing touchdowns and six rushing touchdowns, mostly working with a receiving corps that would have trouble getting playing time in most other NFL lineups. He's been very good for a 10-0 team.
Newton had played 71 career games entering Sunday, and he'd never thrown for four touchdowns in any of them. On Sunday against the Redskins, Newton tossed five scores in the game's first 31 minutes, 8 seconds. That added up to 28 fantasy points just after halftime. He finished the game with 260 total yards, five touchdowns and 30 points
In the 2009 season, Indianapolis and New Orleans both reached 10-0, then met in the finale. Carolina and New England are both 10-0. Stretching back to last season, the Panthers are on a 15-1 run and the Patriots on a 16-1 run.
Bonus Stat 2: Andy Dalton is 4-9 after sundown, 44-16-1 in daylight: Cincinnati has two more night games.
Thomas Rawls: When Marshawn Lynch was a late scratch due to injury, Thomas Rawls was thrown into the starting lineup. And he played better than Lynch has all season. Statistically, he had a better day than Lynch ever has in the NFL.
Rawls had an incredible game in a win against the San Francisco 49ers. He had 209 yards rushing, 46 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Lynch has never had more than 153 rushing yards in a regular-season game, surprisingly enough. Rawls has a 169-yard game and a 209-yard game already as a rookie, the only two games in which he has received more than 20 carries.
Of course this all leads to a bigger picture talk about Lynch and his future. Lynch is slated to make $9 million in base salary next season, and his numbers are down and he is missing games for the first time in his Seahawks career. He'll be 30 years old next year. Rawls is slated to make $525,000 in 2016. It will be hard for the Seahawks to let Lynch go, if they decide on that route. Seeing Rawls play like he has will make it a little easier.
New York Jets: At one point, the Jets looked like a pretty good bet to make the AFC playoffs. Now, they can’t even beat a Houston Texans team quarterbacked by T.J. Yates, who didn’t have an NFL job a month ago.
The Jets, who started 2-1, have now lost four of five. The offense is a mess, and the defense with all those big names hasn’t been too great either.
DeAndre Hopkins had 118 yards for the Texans, and a lot of that came against Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis. Chris Ivory had a quiet day on the ground for the Jets offense, and Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t the kind of quarterback to carry a team.
It was a troubling loss, and it’s not like the schedule is that easy the rest of the way. The Jets play home games against Miami, Tennessee and New England, and on the road against the Giants, Cowboys and Bills. At 5-5, the Jets will probably need to go at least 4-2 the rest of the way to make the playoffs. The team that lost at Houston doesn’t look capable of that.
Notes on former Super Bowl contenders: On January 20, 2013 the Falcons and 49ers met in the NFC Championship game.
Atlanta Falcons: Oct. 4 was a big day for the 2015 Falcons. It’s the last time they had a good performance.
The Falcons have lost four of five, and the only win in that stretch was an ugly 10-7 victory at the Tennessee Titans when Zach Mettenberger had to start for an injured Marcus Mariota. The last win before that came on a Kirk Cousins pick-six in overtime against the Washington Redskins. The team that rolled to four convincing wins to start the season hasn’t been seen in a long, long time.
Sunday’s 24-21 home loss to the Matt Hasselbeck-led Indianapolis Colts was really bad. Now all of a sudden the Falcons are 6-4, barely ahead of the 5-5 Buccaneers and 5-5 Seahawks. And it doesn’t look like the Falcons are up to the task of holding them both off for a playoff spot, either.
The 49ers' front office: Let's remember that the 49ers' big plan was to run Jim Harbaugh out of town, and then hire Jim Tomsula to be the new head coach. Apparently this was going to make for a calmer workplace environment, I guess. Whatever.
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer threw out the possibility of Tomsula being fired at the end of this season (and a new coach perhaps wanting to keep quarterback Colin Kaepernick around). It's hard to even imagine how much dysfunction would have to go into the 49ers firing the guy they wanted to replace Harbaugh, who went 44-19-1, after just one season.
Tomsula hasn't done a great job, but he also is leading a team that had what is likely the worst offseason of any NFL team in history. Firing him after a year is screaming to any coaching candidate out there that your front office is as bad as it gets in the league. Although, it wouldn't take much for anyone to guess that already.
The 49ers are a mess, and apparently they're considering making it an even bigger mess. That Super Bowl appearance seems like it happened so long ago.
On to this week’s winner
Congrats AJ’s MOM
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Everyone!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Nov 26 12:30 PM ET
Philadelphia at Detroit
Thursday Nov 26 4:30 PM ET
Carolina at Dallas
Thursday Nov 26 8:30 PM ET
Chicago at Green Bay
Sunday, Nov 29 1:00 PM ET
New Orleans at Houston
St Louis at Cincinnati
Minnesota at Atlanta
NY Giants at Washington
Tampa Bay at Indianapolis
Buffalo at Kansas City
Oakland at Tennessee
San Diego at Jacksonville
Miami at NY Jets
Sunday, Nov 29 4:05 PM ET
Arizona at San Francisco
Sunday, Nov 29 4:25 PM ET
Pittsburgh at Seattle
Sunday, Nov 29 8:30 PM ET
New England at Denver
Monday, Nov 30 8:30 PM ET
Baltimore at Cleveland Tie Breaker
16 comments posted: Tuesday, November 24th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 11 Results/Week 12 Picks
This week’s winners and losers.
WINNER: the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions players celebrated wildly, dancing on the field, after Green Bay’s last-snap field-goal attempt fell short. Sure, the Lions had not won a game inside the state of Wisconsin in a quarter-century, ending an 0-24 streak. Nevertheless the sight of a 2-7 team wildly celebrating was pretty amusing. Now the Lions are mathematically alive to finish 2-14!
But still…
Loser: Peyton Manning.
Sure, he passed took the top spot for career passing yards, but he threw almost as many complete passes to the opposition as he did his own team. Manning ended with four interceptions and negative-27 passing yards, when sacks and interception returns are taken into account.
I think this is Peyton’s last year, hopefully he gets in one last good performance before the end of the year, lest his last performance have been this one.
In his last dozen starts, Peyton Manning has thrown 12 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions. He has injury problems, and Sunday, he was benched after an interception in a blowout home loss. If that was his final play, Peyton joins some distinguished company. Brett Favre was sacked on his very last snap. In his final appearance, a playoff game, Larry Bird missed an important uncontested layup. On his final play, Jim Kelly fumbled in opposition territory with a playoff game on the line.
Arizona is first in the N.F.L. in offense, third in defense, and Carson Palmer is on a 20-4 streak. Because the Cardinals were a flameout last season, they tend to be overlooked. Statistically they are the N.F.L.’s best team. Their coming game versus Cincinnati may tell a lot about what will happen in the postseason.
In 2009, Indianapolis and New Orleans were 9-0 at this juncture; they went on to meet in the Super Bowl. Carolina and New England are 9-0.
The previous time these teams met in the super bowl was 2004 in XXXVIII. We were treated to a first half defensive struggle. A streaker. A halftime show wardrobe malfunction, and a second half shootout between Tom Brady and Jake Delhomme?! Ending with a field goal for all the marbles after a botched kickoff.
Stats:
Andy Dalton is 4-8 in games played after sundown, 44-16-1 in daylight.
Andy Reid is 15-2 after a bye week.
Tennessee is on an 0-10 streak at home.
Minnesota leads the N.F.C. North at 7-2, but has not beaten a team with a winning record.
Pittsburgh is on a 27-4 stretch versus Cleveland.
The Rams are on an 8-for-51 stretch on third downs.
Jacksonville broke an 0-13 road loss streak (Jax was the home team of record for its London victory).
Since the start of the 2014 season, the Bills are 6-1 versus the Jets and Dolphins, 8-10 versus all other teams.
Baltimore, Denver, Green Bay and Seattle, 2014 playoff teams, all lost at home.
Since the start of the 2013 season, at home Russell Wilson is 1-2 versus Arizona, 20-2 versus all other teams.
At 3-6, Jacksonville is one game out of first place.
On to this week’s winner
While this was a down week for some, myself included, scared&stronger takes the top prize
Congrats scared&stronger
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Everyone!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Nov 19 8:25 PM ET
Tennessee at Jacksonville
Sunday, Nov 22 1:00 PM ET
Indianapolis at Atlanta
St. Louis at Baltimore
Washington at Carolina
Denver at Chicago
Oakland at Detroit
NY Jets at Houston
Dallas at Miami
Green Bay at Minnesota
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia
Sunday, Nov 22 4:05 PM ET
Cincinnati at Arizona
Sunday, Nov 22 4:25 PM ET
San Francisco at Seattle
Sunday, Nov 22 8:30 PM ET
Kansas City at San Diego
Monday, Nov 23 8:30 PM ET
Buffalo at New England Tie Breaker
[This message edited by lingerdog at 8:47 PM, November 17th (Tuesday)]
21 comments posted: Tuesday, November 17th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 9 Results/Week 10 Picks
Week 9, mid-season of the NFL - the great equalizer
This week’s winners and losers.
WINNER: The Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers, meanwhile, beat a respected Green Bay Packers team to move to 8-0 and build a strong cushion for the NFC South lead. Looking a lot different than this time last year when they were in the midst of a losing streak that would be broken with four games left in the season.
Stretching back to last season the Panthers are on a 13-1 run including the playoffs.
How does that really make you feel Aaron?
“Rumor has it that Cutler did the same thing except his was intercepted.” -AJs MOM
Loser: Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn
Down four points. With just over three minutes remaining. Two timeouts left.
The Falcons trailed 17-13 to the Blaine Gabbert-led San Francisco 49ers and stood at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal. Quinn didn’t even appear to consider going for it.
The field goal was good. The ensuing loss was wholly predictable at that moment.
The decision was regrettable immediately. If the Falcons failed to score on fourth down, they would have pinned the 49ers and Gabbert, who had 33 turnovers in his 28 career NFL starts (including Sunday), in a precarious spot trying to salt the game away.
Gabbert started the game well, throwing two touchdowns, but had thrown a bad interception minutes earlier and had taken a brutal hit that knocked him out briefly. If ever the bad Gabbert would emerge, it would be in that spot.
Instead, Quinn went ultra-conservative. After the field goal, the Falcons couldn’t stop replacement 49ers running back Kendall Gaskins (eight rushes, nine yards for his season to that point) on four close-out rushes for 17 yards. Throw in a Gabbert run, and the Falcons watched as the 49ers ran out the clock.
That’s the Falcons’ third loss in four games after starting 5-0. The past three games, the Falcons beat the Tennessee Titans and backup quarterback Zach Mettenberger by three points; they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and rookie Jameis Winston; and then dropped Sunday’s game to Gabbert, starting his first game since Week 5 of the 2013 season, and the roster-gutted 49ers.
Not befitting of a team with playoff aspirations.
Things aren’t all bad for the Packers, the Detroit Lions are 1-7, firing people left and right, and next Sunday play in Wisconsin, where they’ve lost 24 straight. The Lions and the Packers stage an annual home-and-home; 1991 was the last time Detroit won in Green Bay or Milwaukee. The Lions’ 0-24 run inside the Badger State numbers among the worst futility streaks in sports.
Twice the vaunted Steelers secondary allowed Oakland receivers to head down the field for touchdown receptions uncovered by anyone. Pittsburgh began the season by not having anyone cover Rob Gronkowski in a loss to New England. While attention focuses on Ben Roethlisberger’s injuries, Pittsburgh faithful ought to be concerned with the Steelers’ ranking (26th) in pass defense.
Here’s a helpful flow chart for Steelers to use the remainder of the season.
Stat of the Week. Next Sunday the Broncos face the Chiefs: Peyton Manning is 14-1 versus Kansas City.
Buffalo rushed for 266 yards against the cost-no-object Miami Dolphins’ front. On Karlos Williams’s 38-yard touchdown run, guard Richie Incognito, cashiered by the Dolphins in 2013, executed a rare short-side pull and pasted a Miami defensive end at the point of attack.Armando Salguero notes that reaching the Bills’ 3 with 29 seconds remaining in the first half, holding a timeout, the backup coach Dan Campbell let the clock wind down to five seconds. The Marine Mammals didn’t score and didn’t call the timeout, which would have created another offensive play. At least the unused timeout can be donated to charity.
Speaking of Buffalo, they face the Jets this week in the first “color rush” game. Both teams will wear solid color uniforms for the matchup.
We’ll call this one, welcome to the Christmas season.
On to this week’s winner
Congrats scared&stronger
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Everyone!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Nov. 12, 8:25 PM ET
Buffalo at NY Jets
Sunday, Nov. 15, 1:00 PM ET
Jacksonville at Baltimore
Detroit at Green Bay
Miami at Philadelphia
Cleveland at Pittsburgh
Chicago at St. Louis
Dallas at Tampa Bay
Carolina at Tennessee
New Orleans at Washington
Sunday, Nov. 15, 4:05 PM ET
Minnesota at Oakland
Sunday, Nov. 15, 4:25 PM ET
Kansas City at Denver
New England at NY Giants
Sunday, Nov. 15, 8:30 PM ET
Arizona at Seattle
Monday, Nov. 16, 8:30 PM ET
Houston at Cincinnati Tie Breaker
How teams on a bye will spend their time this week.
Atlanta: Searching for a piece of kryptonite.
Indianapolis: Firing the O-line coach, or firing the head coach, or both of them. Something has to be done when your QB is getting hit so much he ends up with a lacerated kidney.
San Diego: Emailing Mante Teo’s girlfriend.
San Francisco: Wondering why they didn’t get invited to wear their new uniforms for a color rush game.
22 comments posted: Tuesday, November 10th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 8 Results/Week 9 Picks
This is going to be a super short recap this week as big things are moving so I’ll cut to the chase and plagiarize our co-commish, minus some edits on my part.
“The Panthers sure pulled one out last night! I actually went to bed early in the 4th when I thought they had it in the bag. What is UP with the officiating? Especially against teams from Carolina? First Duke and now this???
Good luck against the Packers Sunday. I can assure you they'll come in all full of piss and vinegar after their poor showing Monday night. What fans here fail to see is how ineffectively they are playing on both sides of the ball. Here's hoping you stay undefeated!”
How people really feal about the Panthers this year.
Completion %72.4 340 yrds 0 td 1 int
That’s the stat line for Peyton Manning from Sunday’s victory over the Packers. If you had told me at the start of the season that Peyton Manning would throw for 340 yards and no touchdowns I would have laughed at you. Bu that’s exactly what He did as the Broncos defense shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers who completed 63.6% of his passes for only 77 yards.
On to this week’s winner
Not just her Broncos were hot this week - so was AJs MOM as she managed to get 'em all but one, due to the Falcons not showing up.
Congrats AJs MOM!!!
And in the cumulative standings there was a little pushing and shoving keeping it a close race, though Lingerdog maintains a lead of 4 as the first half of the season comes to an end.
Congrats Everyone!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Nov. 5, 8:25 PM ET
Cleveland at Cincinnati
Sunday, Nov. 8, 1:00 PM ET
Miami at Buffalo
Green Bay at Carolina
St Louis at Minnesota
Washington at New England
Tennessee at New Orleans
Jacksonville at NY Jets
Oakland at Pittsburgh
Sunday, Nov. 8, 4:05 PM ET
Atlanta at San Francisco
NY Giants at Tampa Bay
Sunday, Nov. 8, 4:25 PM ET
Denver at Indianapolis
Sunday, Nov. 8, 8:30 PM ET
Philadelphia at Dallas
Monday, Nov. 9, 8:30 PM ET
Chicago at San Diego Tie Breaker
there are only 13 games this week as 6 teams are on a bye.
[This message edited by lingerdog at 6:05 PM, November 3rd (Tuesday)]
16 comments posted: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 7 Results/Week 8 Picks
This week’s winners and losers.
WINNER: Rob Gronkowski
Patriots leading the Jets 23-20 with 1:18 remaining, New England faced second-and-3 on the Jersey/B 15. Rob Gronkowski, uncovered by anyone, caught the touchdown pass that represented the final margin. Sweet.
Though Gronkowski entered the game with 65 career touchdown receptions — and though Gronkowski to that juncture in the contest already had 10 receptions — the Jets’ defense allowed him to jog up the field uncovered. Jersey/B brought a seven-man blitz, a puzzling call since a sack would have left New England well within field-goal range, and the Jets had all their timeouts. What Jersey/B needed in this situation was to hold the Patriots to a field goal. Instead came an all-out blitz — leaving four defenders to guard five receivers. For Jersey/B, the whole down was a Sour Warhead.
Loser: JOSH MCCOWN
You have to feel for Josh McCown. He is on the road against maybe the best pass rush in the NFL, which is enough to worry about on its own. And now he has to deal with slippery floors and brick walls, too.
McCown took eight hits on the day — seven from the Rams and one from the wall — but actually played fine, all things considered. He threw for 270 yards on 32 attempts. Cleveland’s problem is that it just couldn’t hold on to the ball. The Browns lost fourfumbles, including two strip-sacks by William Hayes. It was that kind of Really? day for the Browns. Even when McCown was avoiding Rams, he was getting hit by walls, and even as Joe Thomas was keeping Robert Quinn relatively in check, Hayes was doing damage on the other side. All of that and Todd Gurley being absolutely ridiculous was more than enough for St. Louis.
Speaking of Gurley, how awesome was this?
Stats of the Week. The Panthers are on a 10-0 streak in the regular season going back to last year.
But how are they doing it?
Carolina beat up Sam Bradford and the Eagles offense this week, and it meant a decisive win even without Cam Newton playing his best.
It’s worth talking about just how impressive Ron Rivera’s run in Carolina has been lately. How Rivera and Sean McDermott manage to piece together a top-flight defenseevery year with Popsicle sticks and duct tape is beyond me. The Panthers have played half of their games without Luke Kuechly, are starting Charles Tillman and Roman Harper — combined age, 66 — in the secondary, and were so desperate for edge-rushing help with Charles Johnson out that they sent a pick to Chicago for Jared Allen. Oh, and they came into the week ranked fifth in defensive DVOA. It’s kind of amazing.
But there’s talent on that side of the ball outside of Kuechly. Thomas Davis is about as steady as it gets now that the football gods have decided to spare him, Kawann Short has turned into a problem (for offenses) as an interior pass-rusher, and Josh Norman is now a black hole for receivers. Their presence explains how the Panthers can remain great on defense even with the aforementioned injuries. How they’ve managed to put together the 11th-most efficient offense in the league with Ted Ginn and Corey Brown is an entirely different story.
It starts with the running game. Carolina was fourth in rushing DVOA beforeJonathan Stewart ran all over the Eagles, who had one of the best run defenses in football. Stewart is hitting his stride after a slow start, and part of that is this offensive line playing better than most would have expected. Trai Turner, who Carolina took in the third round a year ago, is turning into a star, and Ryan Kalil is healthy and playing as well as any center in football.
The Panthers averaged 4.03 yards before contact per rush yesterday, comfortably their best mark of the season and more than enough for a guy with Stewart’s talent. Carolina’s formula is simple: It’s going to play great defense, run the ball well, and let its quarterback make the occasional spectacular throw to put it over the top. Through seven weeks, it’s worked like a charm.
Lamar Miller and the Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins have a new approach on offenseand a lot of it revolves around giving the ball more to a back who averaged 5.1 yards per carry last season. Crazy, I know.
Under Joe Philbin early this season, the Dolphins couldn’t figure out to just give the ball to Miller. But interim coach Dan Campbell wants to run the ball, and Miller is up to the challenge. He had 175 rushing yards on 14 carries, all in the first half. The Dolphins had a huge lead over the Texans, have a Thursday night game at the New England Patriots, and it made no sense to keep playing Miller (a lesson Bill O’Brien needs to learn, but we’ll get to him soon). Miller also had 61 yards receiving, and had two long touchdowns.
Miller is a talented back, and maybe a shift in scheme, with more I-formation looks with Ryan Tannehill under center, will do well for him. So will simply getting the ball. Miller had 13, 10, 7 and 7 carries before Philbin got fired. Now maybe we have another clue why Philbin got fired.
We're near the halfway mark of the regular season and five teams still remain undefeated.
The 6-0 Patriots, Packers, Broncos, Panthers and Bengals all have perfect records through seven weeks. That's the most ever this deep into the season since the merger in 1970.
Odds are the five teams will fall at least once this season -- only the '72 Dolphins and '07 Patriotshave finished the regular season undefeated.
The list of perfect teams will drop to at least four after Week 8 with thePackers facing the Broncos on the road in a juggernaut Sunday Night Football matchup. The Packers play the Panthers in Week 9 and theBroncos square off against the Patriotsin Week 12 and meet the Bengals in Week 16.
The Patriots probably have the best chance to run the table if they get by the Broncos. Many football pundits have the Pats as the best team in the NFL, but they looked beatable for the first time this season in a 30-23 win against the Jets on Sunday.
There have been 31 teams to start 6-0 during the 12-team playoff era and 29 have reached the January tournament, per the Boston Globe. On average, teams that opened the year with six consecutive victories wrapped up the year with a 13-3 record, with 65 percent (20 of 31) of those teams finishing the year with 13 or more wins.
There's been plenty of debate for which undefeated team is the best. Luckily for us, those teams will start battling each other in the coming weeks.
Maybe if one of those games were being played in London people would actually want to watch.
On to this week’s winner
Congrats devasted30!!!
What a week! devasted30 made a nice jump on the stats, thanks to an almost perfect picking record, missing only Buffalo and San Diego - both favored teams. She gets the week and jumps to third place overall, thanks to her dead-on tie-breaker pick of 44.
We've also got a newbie - redsox13 with 7 correct
Rounding out the rest of the field we have
2. lingerdog
3. MissesJai
4. AJ’s MOM
5. 3kids30years
6. nowiknow23
7. Manningup26
8. scared&stronger
9. redsox13
10. Jrazz
11. Isthismynewlife
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Everyone!
We've got the final London game this week (Lions/Chiefs - won't that be like kissing your sister) and just a couple of more bye weeks which will help in securing more points for you pigskin pickers!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Oct. 29 8:25 PM ET
Miami at New England
Sunday, Nov. 1 9:30 AM ET
Detroit at Kansas City
Sunday, Nov. 1 1:00 PM ET
Tampa Bay at Atlanta
San Diego at Baltimore
Minnesota at Chicago
Arizona at Cleveland
Tennessee at Houston
NY Giants at New Orleans
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
San Francisco at St. Louis
Sunday, Nov. 1 4:05 PM ET
NY Jets at Oakland
Sunday, Nov.1 4:25 PM ET
Seattle at Dallas
Sunday, Nov. 1 8:30 PM ET
Green Bay at Denver
Monday, Nov. 2 8:30 PM ET
Indianapolis at Carolina Tie Breaker
How teams on a bye will spend their time this week.
Buffalo: Still trying to figure out how they lost to the Janguars.
Jacksonville: Petitioning to move their team to London.
Philadelphia: Re-sodding Lincoln Financial Field. It’s really sad when you can’t even get your own grass to root for you!
Washington: Going on a diet after the Redskins defensive vets dine and dash leaving the tab to be picked up by the rookies to the tune of $22,159.04 -- tip included.
17 comments posted: Tuesday, October 27th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 6 Results/Week 7 Picks
This week’s winners and losers.
WINNER: LANDRY JONES AND MARTAVIS BRYANT
With the Steelers defense doing its part against the Cardinals, the burden weirdly fell on the Pittsburgh offense to scrape together enough points to pull off one of the more impressive wins of the year. For a while, that didn’t look promising with Michael Vick at the helm. Vick was 3-of-8 for 6 yards — six! — before leaving the game with a hamstring injury, which actually turned into a blessing for the Steelers.
Landry Jones’s postgame attire easily pegs him as a guy who didn’t expect to play yesterday, but the former Oklahoma quarterback made the most of his chance. Jones was 8-of-12 for 168 yards and two scores, including the 88-yard dagger to Martavis Bryant to put the Cardinals away for good. Before that jaunt came a soaring catch in the back of the end zone.
For the second straight week, the Steelers barely squeaked out a win, but with the NFL’s current leader in QBR still wearing a headset on the sideline, that’s all anyone can really ask. After Ben Roethlisberger injured his knee, the Steelers have held on against a dangerous Rams team, lost to the Ravens on a Thursday night (which barely counts), beaten the Chargers in San Diego, and knocked off the Cardinals. This is a team that’s now 4-2 with one of the league’s best quarterbacks injured for most of the year. With Roethlisberger possibly coming back next week against Kansas City, the Steelers are entrenched on the inside track for a wild-card spot.
Bill Barnwell wrote this morning about how this surprising Steelers defense has kept them alive during this stretch, but yesterday was just another reminder of where the offense’s ceiling exists if the pieces are intact. With Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh already had the makings of a lethal passing attack (just ask the Niners), and now Bryant is back in the picture. Losing wildly overlooked left tackle Kelvin Beachum to a torn ACL is a major blow, but with a full arsenal of skill-position players, this still has a chance to be one of the more potent offenses around. The moment Roethlisberger hit the turf in St. Louis, it felt like the Steelers’ season could be over, but somehow, they look ready to make a run.
Loser: THE BILLS’ FRONT FOUR
Coming into the season, there were some people who thought the various quarterbacks of the AFC were in for a world of trouble against the Buffalo defense. Rex Ryan had consistently trotted out top-10 units as the Jets head coach, and with Kyle Williams, Jerry Hughes, Mario Williams, and Marcell Dareus, there was a chance this was his most talented group to date.
Through five weeks, the Buffalo defense was solid — 10th in DVOA, ninth against the pass — but not nearly the unit many envisioned before the season. A tough schedule is part of that. According to Football Outsiders, the Bills faced the sixth-toughest slate in the league in their first five games, and that was before they played the second-ranked Bengals.
Still, a team with that much talent up front ranked a disappointing 24th in run-defense DVOA, and the terrifying pass rush we expected just hasn’t been there. Before yesterday, the Bills ranked 29th in pressure rate. Only the Cowboys, Eagles, and Falcons had gotten after opposing quarterbacks less often. The Bengals added to those struggles when Andy Dalton came away with a clean sheet — no sacks, no hits — while throwing for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Buffalo’s run defense wasn’t much better. The Cincinnati running backs gained 106 yards on their 24 carries for an average of 4.4 yards a pop, and Jeremy Hill seemed to have a little more burst than he’s had most of the season.
To make matters worse, Bills mainstay Kyle Williams had to be helped off the field in the second half, and his knee injury is bad enough that he’s already been ruled out for Buffalo’s game against the Jags in London next week. The Bills are still better than most of the defenses throughout the league, but with so much uncertainty on offense — EJ Manuel started yesterday, so even the occasionally spectacular play from Tyrod Taylor wasn’t available — this is a team that needed to stonewall opponents on a weekly basis to make a push for the playoffs. That just hasn’t happened, and as injuries like the ones to safety Aaron Williams and Kyle Williams continue to mount, their postseason chances are getting even slimmer.
I can’t let a week go by without talking about my Panthers notching another win. This one finally seems to be getting some people to take Carolina seriously.
Not that Josh Norman has been informed.
“Please continue to give us your responses of negativity. Keep fueling us with hate. We’ll take that and turn it into positive stuff.” — Josh Norman, CB, Panthers
That’s Norman ripping into all the Panthers haters after Carolina went to 5-0 this week with a win over the Seahawks. It must be frustrating for him to constantly be told how terrible he is despite being one of the best players on an undefeated team. If he wants to a break from all that negativity, he should totally check out Josh Norman’s Twitter feed, which is about 90% filled with Josh Norman retweeting people telling him how awesome he is.
But what to make of the Seahawks. So shortly removed from a Superbowl they almost won, things are not going well for the land of the 12th man.
When Pete Carroll struggled as a head coach during his first stint in the NFL, and when Southern California was in its rebuilding phase during his early years in Los Angeles, there was a talent gap that explained some of the shortcomings.
That is why Carroll, above all others in the Seattle Seahawks hierarchy, is struggling to understand where his current team stands now. A team with starting talent the envy of many in the NFL could at 2-4 be arguably the biggest disappointment in the league through the first six weeks.
"I haven't really been in this kind of situation with a really good team where it felt so much different and the results are flipping," Carroll said.
The Seahawks sit at a crossroads headed into Thursday's game at San Francisco, beginning a critical two-week stretch that will determine where this season goes. Seattle is already facing long odds to reach its goal of making the playoffs. Only 8 percent of teams since 1990 that have started 2-4 ended up playing in the postseason.
Then there are the fourth-quarter meltdowns, especially the past two weeks in losses to Cincinnati and Carolina when the Seahawks' vaunted defense has been picked apart. Instead of coming through with clutch plays, the Seahawks have been left asking questions about why glaring mistakes are being made in the closing minutes.
"We're not perfect. Like I said, the last couple of years we could've been on different pages and been getting away with that," linebacker Bruce Irvin said. "But this year, it's bitten us in the butt twice."
The Eagles (3-3) have won two straight to move from last place in the NFC East into a tie with the Giants (3-3) for first. The teams meet again in Week 17.
Neither team looked sharp in front of a prime-time audience. They combined for seven turnovers and 21 penalties.
"That's bad football," Coughlin said.
I agree coach. I watched the miserable slow death that was this Monday night football game.
Murray had his best game since joining the Eagles after a record-breaking season in Dallas. The All-Pro led the NFL in rushing last year and broke Emmitt Smith's single-season club record but had struggled in Philadelphia. He entered the game with 130 yards this season. He added 109 yards and a touchdown, but when you’re play the Giants, who doesn’t?
No Fry, the Giants do indeed suck.
Bradford had a pair of third-quarter interceptions on poor throws, including oneLandon Collins picked in the end zone. But Philadelphia's defense bailed him out.
"We need to improve on offense," coach Chip Kelly said.
Again coach, I agree.
The only thing worse than watching this game, I imagine would be having to watch Phillip Rivers get hit again.
Chuck Pagano and the Indianapolis Colts attempted perhaps the worst trick play in NFL history on Sunday night against the Patriots.
Trailing New England 27-21 in the fourth quarter and facing fourth-and-3 from their own 37-yard line, Pagano sent out the punt team. But then nine players, including punter Pat McAfee, set up wide to the right. Off to the left, receiver Griff Whalen stood over the ball as the de facto center, with only safety Colt Anderson behind him. Whalen then snapped the ball to Anderson, who was quickly swarmed by most of the Patriot defense.
After the game, Pagano said he was hoping to get a good matchup to make a play or force the Patriots to substitute players and get a too-many-men penalty or some such explanation for the horror that occurred.
What we do know is that what happened, happened, and that Pagano took the blame. What we can assume is that he has conceived of other trick plays that we have not yet been fortunate enough to see.
Bill Belichick said that he expected the Colts to try some trick plays in the game. “A gadget game in the kicking game—onside kick, some kind of fake. It’s something they’ve done in the past. We didn’t know what the play was going to be, obviously.” Yeah, of course, “obviously,” coach! Why would you feel the need to even add that word? How would you, Bill Belichick, know the specific play an opponent would run? It’s an absurd notion, and I don’t know why you would even allude to such a thing.
Stat of the week
500
In San Diego’s 27-20 loss to Green Bay on Sunday, Philip Rivers became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 500 yards and zero interceptions in a game and lose. That performance is Rivers’s career in a nutshell: nice-looking stats but nothing to show for it. There will be much debate about his Hall of Fame credentials one day. But I say he should be in. Is it because he is one of the top quarterbacks of his generation? No. It’s because we want to see this face forever cast in bronze.
On to this week’s winner
Congrats everyone!
Rounding out the rest of the field we have
2. nowiknow23
3. scared&stronger
4. devastated30
5. AJ’s MOM
6. Jrazz
7. 3kids30years
8. Ascendant
9. MissesJai
10. Isthismynewlife
11. Manningup26
12. WastedTime12
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Everyone!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Oct. 22 8:25 PM ET
Seattle at San Francisco
Sunday Oct. 25 9:30 AM ET London Game
Buffalo at Jacksonville
Sunday, Oct. 25 1:00 PM ET
Minnesota at Detroit
New Orleans at Indianapolis
Pittsburgh at Kansas City
Houston at Miami
NY Jets at New England
Cleveland at St. Louis
Atlanta at Tennessee
Tampa Bay at Washington
Sunday, Oct. 25 4:05 PM ET
Oakland at San Diego
Sunday, Oct. 25 4:25 PM ET
Dallas at NY Giants
Sunday, Oct. 25 8:30 PM ET
Philadelphia at Carolina
Monday, Oct. 26 8:30 PM ET
Baltimore at Arizona Tie Breaker
How teams on a bye will spend their time this week.
Chicago hoping Alshon Jefferies stays healthy. What's the difference between Marty McFly and a bears fan? Eventually Marty McFly stopped going back to 1985.
Cincinnati Planning their night of trick or treating. Their team colors already match.
Denver will be casting lots to see who gets to appear in Elway's next commercial.
Green Bay will be eating cheese and shopping for insurance.
[This message edited by lingerdog at 6:36 PM, October 20th (Tuesday)]
14 comments posted: Tuesday, October 20th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 5 Results/Week 6 Picks
This week’s winners and losers.
WINNER: Tyler Eifert
Andy Dalton will get most of the credit for the Cincinnati Bengals' fantastic comeback on Sunday, and he deserves it. But Eifert needs a ton of credit too.
Forget Eifert's two touchdowns, which came when the Seahawks seemingly blew coverages. His circus catch against tight coverage for 25 yards with less than two minutes left put the Bengals in position to tie the game with a field goal.
When Dalton was criticized for struggles last year, rarely was it mentioned that he was without weapons like Marvin Jones and Eifert last season. Eifert is clearly a difference maker. His return from missing 15 games last season has given a new dimension to an offense that is playing very well right now. We've known for a couple weeks that Cincinnati is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.Eifert's big step in his third season is one of the reasons why.
Loser: NICK FOLES
For the most part, the Rams did all they needed to against the Packers. Green Bay’s run defense bottled up Todd Gurley on a majority of his carries, but when he tore off a 55-yarder early in the fourth quarter, it was still just an 11-point game. On that drive, the Rams managed to get the ball inside the 10 before Foles threw an ugly interception — his third of four on the day — to Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in the end zone.
Foles would throw another on the Rams’ final drive, which mattered more to bettors than anyone else, but the truth is that without the miscues from Foles (and the missed field goals from Greg Zuerlein), St. Louis put together a viable bid to slay Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field. The Rams ended Rodgers’s nearly three-season streak of not throwing an interception at home and then added another for good measure.
With right guard Rodger Saffold missing most of the game with a shoulder injury, some shuffling along the Rams offensive line meant Foles was under siege. The Packers hit Foles 12 times, but none of the horrendous interceptions were the result of an altered throw or a batted ball. Tight end Jared Cook deserves some of the blame for cutting his route short on the ugly pick-six by rookie Quinten Rollins, but that doesn’t explain away some of the other decisions Foles made. The Rams’ ability to stick with two of the league’s best teams in consecutive weeks is encouraging, but they have to know they let this one slip away.
Winner: Todd Gurley
The Rams lost, but it wasn't Gurley's fault.
There shouldn't have been much thought that Gurley's big game against the Cardinals last week was a fluke, but Gurley erased any doubt Sunday. He looked great in a 159-yard game at Green Bay. He had a 55-yard run. He ran tough when he had to, and had the quickness and speed to peel off big plays. The Rams gave him 25 carries before the third quarter was even up, which isn't wise for a player coming off an ACL surgery, but hopefully they'll understand that soon and not run him into the ground by mid-November.
The Rams lost because Nick Foles was really bad. He completed 11 of 30 passes for 141 yards and four interceptions, one of the ugliest lines a quarterback will put up all year. And kicker Greg Zuerlein missed three field goals. And still the Rams lost by just 14 points at Lambeau Field. A big reason the Rams didn't get entirely blown out was the effort of their star rookie running back.
LOSERS
The winless Detroit Lions and Jim Caldwell: One of the reasons Caldwell got the job as Lions head coach was that he was the one who would "fix" Matthew Stafford. Well, no. Stafford is playing the worst football of his career.
Caldwell told Stafford at halftime against the Arizona Cardinals that he was benching him if he threw another interception. Stafford threw another interception in the third quarter and Dan Orlovsky came on. Caldwell said after the game that Stafford is still his starter because duh, but it's not like there's some light at the end of this tunnel.
Stafford has six touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. The guy with maybe the NFL's strongest arm rarely completes anything downfield anymore. The terrible offensive line factors into that, but Stafford isn't providing much value to the offense. He's not good at being a safe quarterback and is not making any plays anymore either. The coach who was supposed to fix Stafford hasn't done it.
And now what of Caldwell? His flat-line sideline demeanor has always been held against him in public opinion, but the Lions seemed to take on that persona in a listless blowout loss. They're 0-5, the only winless team in the NFL. Will it get worse from here? Stafford is getting paid too much for the Lions to move on from him. Will they just find someone else who can "fix" Stafford if Caldwell can't get his team to play better the rest of the way? It might depend how bad it gets. And judging by Sunday, it might get really bad.
Winner: Old Guys
The Thursday Night Football game that featured the Colts and the Houston Texans was highly competitive, despite the fact that Indianapolis started 40-year old backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who had just spent the previous days in the E.R. fighting an infection.
The Colts came out on top, 27-20, which was Hasselebeck’s second win in a row for the team. This also made Hasselbeck the first 40-year old quarterback to win back-to-back games since 2010 when Brett Favre accomplished this milestone playing with the Minnesota Vikings.
Additionally, Hasselbeck managed to blow past Hall of Famers Steve Young, Troy Aikman and Kurt Warner in career passing yards, which is an amazing accomplishment.
Speaking of old guys, Hasselbeck’s two touchdown passes were caught by 34-year old All-Pro receiver Andre Johnson, who had been mostly invisible until Thursday night’s breakout performance. He had six catches for 77 yards and the two big scores.
Additionally, 32-year old running back Frank Gore scored a rushing touchdown in Thursday’s game. Gore posted 98 yards at a pace of 4.45 yards per attempt — his best game since joining the Colts.
Lastly, we must not forget about the oldest kicker in the NFL, 42-year old Adam Vinatieri, who went two-for-two in field goals, sailing the football through the uprights for 48-yard and 42-yard field goals.
The Colts were constantly under pressure to score with Houston right on their tail for nearly the entire game. Every score the Colts made was accomplished by players 32 years of age and older — not so shabby for a bunch of “older” dudes.
How old, see picture below from Colts practice.
In college football news there was a strange alignment as the coach on Saturday of both teams known as USC, were no longer coaches on Monday.
Bad coaching decision of the week: You are down 17 points to the defending Superbowl champions in the third quarter. You have the ball on the 5 yard line but need only two yards for a fresh set of downs.
Now, maybe at that point you assume the Patriots will not score at all in the fourth quarter, and it makes no difference in what order you score 17 points. That's a terrible assumption, but it must be what Jason Garrett was thinking, because he sent on the field-goal team. Dan Bailey made it to make the score 20-6. The Cowboys didn't score again.
You’re on the five yard line facing the defending champs, you must go for it.
On to this week’s winner
Congrats scared&stronger
Rounding out the rest of the field we have
2. lingerdog
3. nowiknow23
4. Jrazz
5. AJ’s MOM
6. devestated30
7. 3kinds30years
8. Manningup26
9. MissesJai
10. WastedTime12
11. Isthismynewlife
12. Ascendant
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Everyone!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday ...
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
Thursday Oct. 15 8:25 PM ET
Atlanta at New Orleans
Sunday, Oct. 18 1:00 PM ET
Cincinnati at Buffalo
Denver at Cleveland
Chicago at Detroit
Houston at Jacksonville
Kansas City at Minnesota
Washington at NY Jets
Arizona at Pittsburgh
Miami at Tennessee
Sunday, Oct. 18 4:05 PM ET
Carolina at Seattle
Sunday, Oct. 4 4:25 PM ET
San Diego at Green Bay
Baltimore at San Francisco
Sunday, Oct. 4 8:30 PM ET
New England at Indianapolis
Monday, Oct. 19 8:30 PM ET
NY Giants at Philadelphia Tie Breaker
How teams on a bye will spend their time this week.
Dallas will be scouring the internet for Troy Aikman’s unlisted cell number.
Oakland Will be taking the Rams lunch money.
St. Louis will spend its time imagining a new home in LA.
Tampa Bay will trade next year’s first overall pick for an extra bye week.
[This message edited by lingerdog at 5:50 PM, October 13th (Tuesday)]
18 comments posted: Tuesday, October 13th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 4 Results/Week 5 Picks
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 4 Results/Week 5 Picks
This week’s winners and losers.
WINNER: Josh Norman
With Luke Kuechly out, the Panthers have been forced to look elsewhere for their game-changing plays on defense, and Josh Norman has been providing them. Norman added two more picks yesterday, giving him a league-leading four on the year, as the Panthers moved to 4-0.
Norman walked the first interception in for a score and made the second look just as easy, feasting on an underthrown ball from Jameis Winston. He was far from perfect on the day — Vincent Jackson, his primary assignment, still managed 10 catches as he found a few holes in the Carolina defense — but Norman added another pass breakup on a deep throw up the left sideline to go along with his pair of picks. At some point, quarterbacks may learn that 34-year-old Charles Tillman is a better target.
Loser: The Dallas Cowboys
Tony Romo was only a couple of feet away, pulling on a sock with his one good arm, but the tone in Jason Witten’s voice made it sound like the Cowboys quarterback was nowhere to be found. Witten was fielding the most popular question in the Dallas locker room last night — the one that asked how he and the rest of the still-standing Cowboys would be able to improve upon a 2-2 start as the injuries mount. “We don’t look at it that way,” Witten said. “Ultimately, when you lose your two franchise players like Tony and Dez, it’s tough, but that’s what happens in this league.”
It rarely happens like this, though. Star quarterbacks across the league — Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, and even Drew Brees — are either playing hurt or missing time, but at least the Steelers still have Antonio Brown. Luck should be back on Thursday. And when the Saints needed a game-winning drive in overtime, even a hampered Brees was better than not having him at all. Even Jerry Jones, speaking in a hushed tone just outside the Cowboys locker room about Brandon Weeden’s game-tying drive, was able to admit that his team and the Saints were in different hands last night. “It’s not quite apples and oranges when the guy on the other side of the deal is Brees and you’re dealing with a guy as limited as Weeden,” Jones said. “And we were.”
Trying to scrape together points without one of the league’s best quarterbacks and possibly its most physically dominant receiver was already a difficult road for the Cowboys, and it didn’t get any easier after Dallas lost two more parts of its makeshift offense. After picking up 54 yards on his three carries, Lance Dunbar was spun to the ground on a kickoff and fell back awkwardly on his knee. Jason Garrett said Dunbar will undergo further tests today, but Jones said it best about a play that made everyone watching wince with a simple “I don’t like it.”
The Dunbar injury came after Brice Butler had to leave the game with a pulled hamstring. The Dallas receiving corps was down to Terrance Williams, fifth-round pick Devin Street, Cole Beasley, and a hobbled Witten, all fielding passes from Weeden. You’d think the Cowboys might be able to compensate by turning to the running game, which made them such a dominant unit a year ago, but it’s never that easy. Dallas finished fourth on offensive DVOA last season precisely because of the harmony between its running game and Romo and Bryant’s ability to break a defense’s will by extending drives.
The Cowboys finished 3-of-12 on third down against one of the worst defenses in football last night. Moving the ball on the ground is always going to be a challenge for an offense without a viable deep threat. Joseph Randle finished with just 26 yards on his 11 carries after heading to the bench following his risky goal-line move, and Darren McFadden wasn’t much better. The Saints had safeties lurking around the line of scrimmage throughout the game, and even an offensive line as good as Dallas’s will struggle when losing the numbers game.
At 2-2, the Cowboys are still tied for the lead in the NFC East, but anyone watching the Dallas offense for the past seven quarters knows how steep the climb is going to be without Romo and Bryant.
Loser: Teddy Bridgewater
The game plan that Wade Phillips deployed yesterday — which I believe is called “unleash hell” — toed the line between effective and cruel. With DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, Denver boasts maybe the best pass-rushers in football, but against a shaky, shorthanded Vikings offensive line, Phillips wasn’t going to let those guys have all the fun. The Broncos blitzed on exactly half of Minnesota’s dropbacks — the fourth-highest rate in the league so far this week — and the result was absolute havoc. Teddy Bridgewater was sacked seven times and hit 11 times overall, and a good portion of the damage was done by players in the back seven.
The Broncos are 4-0, and they’ve done it by leaning on what might be the best defense in football. Bruising Bridgewater is one thing, but Denver also made Adrian Peterson’s life miserable. Being Adrian Peterson, he managed a 48-yard score that helped keep Minnesota alive, but outside of that carry, he had just 33 yards the other 15 times he ran the ball. Right now, the Broncos are comfortably the best defense in the league by DVOA, and they look like a group without any noticeable holes at any position. Denver’s struggles on offense are very real, but this defense might just be good enough to overcome them.
What can be said about Andy Dalton: We’re all waiting for The Andy Dalton Collapse, but week after week it’s looking like we might be waiting a lot longer than we anticipated.
Dalton looked very good again in an another impressive Cincinnati Bengals win. The Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs 36-21 and Dalton completed 17-of-24 passes for 321 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. This just continued his hot streak. Dalton came into this week with a better quarterback rating than Tom Brady. He has been tremendous. Dalton threw it great against the Chiefs, and had a really athletic scramble on a third and 4 in the fourth quarter, avoiding the rush to get 8 yards.
The Bengals are Super Bowl contenders, and a big reason is Dalton. That might sound weird, but it has played out four weeks in a row to start the season.
Justin Tucker saves the day. The Baltimore Ravens earned their first win for the season in a close overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-20, on Thursday Night Football.
It was a 52-yard field goal made by kicker Justin Tucker in the Ravens’ second possession in overtime that sealed the win for Baltimore. Overall, Tucker was responsible for 11 of the Ravens 23 points scored in the game.
At one point in the third quarter of the game, the Ravens trailed the Steelers by 13 points. Thanks to Tucker, who made three total field goals late in the game, the Ravens squeaked ahead while the Steelers struggled to gain momentum, losing their lead along the way.
One could certainly wonder if the game would have taken a different course if the Steelers had Ben Roethlisberger playing instead of Michael Vick behind center. In the end, it doesn’t matter to the Ravens because a win is a win and the team desperately needed it get one on the books.
The Miami Dolphins are now 1-3 after a messy loss to the New York Jets in London, 27-14 and coach Joe Philbin has lost his position with the team after this miserable turnout.
The Jets were able to gain 425 yards on offense and the Dolphins couldn’t do anything to stop running back Chris Ivory from piling up a career-high 166 yards at Wembley Stadium. Dolphins tackle Ndamukong Suh only made three tackles and the first one didn’t come until the third quarter.
Between Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall and Ivory, the Dolphins defense was nearly neutralized. The Dolphins failed to make big plays offensively, went 0-for-12 on third downs and 0-for-4 on fourth downs.
At the end of the game, quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed only 19 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he was sacked three times. The Dolphins’ ground game was a disaster, only managing 59 yards.
On to this week’s winner
Yay Me
Rounding out the rest of the field we have
2. scared&stronger
3. nowiknow23
4. Manningup26
5. AJ’s MOM
6. Isthismynewlife
7. devastated30
8. WastedTime12
9. Ascendant
10. 3kids30years
11. MissesJai
12. Jrazz
In the cumulative standings we see just how close things have been with eight pickers within four points of each other, and a tie for the lead between Isthismynewlife and myself.
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday and MNF games will be due at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday morning.
A few notes that will really help in tabulating the games each week.
Please keep abreast of pick deadlines, no one likes a missed pick because they were late.
Also, when making your picks the best way for us would be for you to copy the teams as I’ve posted them and simply delete the team you don’t want, keeping your picks listed in the order I have originally posted them. It just makes running the spreadsheet easier and less prone to error.
Also, the spellings are what trigger the awarding of points, so if you change “NY Giants” to “New York Giants” the spreadsheet won’t award your pick. Misspellings will cause the same situation.
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
It’s never too late to start, who will win next week, will it be you?
Thursday Oct. 8 8:25 PM ET
Indianapolis at Houston
Sunday, Oct. 11 1:00 PM ET
Washington at Atlanta
Cleveland at Baltimore
Seattle at Cincinnati
St. Louis at Green Bay
Chicago at Kansas City
New Orleans at Philadelphia
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay
Buffalo at Tennessee
Sunday, Oct. 11 4:05 PM ET
Arizona at Detroit
Sunday, Oct. 11 4:25 PM ET
New England at Dallas
Denver at Oakland
Sunday, Oct. 11 8:30 PM ET
San Francisco at NY Giants
Monday, Oct. 12 8:30 PM ET
Pittsburgh at San Diego Tie Breaker
Bye weeks continue this week, and though we don’t get a break from making our picks four lucky NFL teams do.
Carolina will be strategizing on how to not be considered the worst undefeated team in the NFL.
Miami will be searching for their next, next head coach.
Minnesota will be wishing they were Green Bay.
The Jets will be wishing they weren’t the Jets.
[This message edited by lingerdog at 5:48 PM, October 6th (Tuesday)]
15 comments posted: Tuesday, October 6th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 3 Results/Week 4 Picks
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 3 Results/Week 4 Picks
Week 3 winners and losers
WINNER: CHUCK PAGANO
When the Titans kicked a field goal to go up 13 points late in the third quarter, the Colts’ disaster season was about 18 minutes from becoming reality. The history for 0-3 teams and the playoffs is miserable. And although Indianapolis’s chances in the paper-thin AFC South are never that bad, had it fallen to Tennessee, the rumbling around the Colts might have been too much for Chuck Pagano to outlast.
After coming back to knock off the Titans, Pagano told his players, “That’s as big of a win that I’ve ever been a part of in my life. I’ll cherish that for the rest of my life.” Can you blame him? The issues for the Colts are no less real simply because the Titans didn’t hold on to their lead, but now the Colts get to face those issues at 1-2 instead of 0-3. Pagano hasn’t shied away from intensifying the pressure he’s facing as the coach of a team with Andrew Luck and Super Bowl aspirations, either. He turned down a one-year extension this offseason, and amid rumors of discord between the coaching staff and the front office, Pagano didn’t mind taking a few shots at the Colts’ roster construction after falling to the Jets last week.
Those shots are probably warranted. Every move the Colts made in free agency — and in most of the other offseasons of the Luck era — has gone nowhere. That doesn’t lie at Pagano’s feet, but if his team had fallen yesterday, it would be him — and not general manager Ryan Grigson — facing reporters all week. It’s going to take more than last-second wins over teams in the AFC South for Pagano to stick around in Indianapolis, and although yesterday may not have been enough to save the Colts’ season, it may have been enough to save Pagano’s.
Loser: St. Louis Rams
If you can’t beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, at home, when they score just 12 points and lose their quarterback to a knee injury, then it’s probably just not your season. The fact that the Rams beat the Seahawks in week one might make me scratch my head all year.
Tom Brady is more about winning than he is about numbers. However, getting to 400 TD throws is a nice stat to have under your belt, even if you are Tom Brady, he of four Super Bowl wins, and deflated balls.
Why is Steve Smith retiring? The old man is the best (only) weapon Baltimore has this year and is a weekly highlight reel. He could start for any team in the NFL and make an impact at least one more year after 2015.
Colin Kaperknick is not a good NFL quarterback. He may go off for a huge game here and there as the season develops, but as a passer he is below average. Being a good fantasy QB because of his legs will not help San Francisco in the win column this year. He threw four picks against Arizona, two of which were returned for TDs.
Only three teams in history have started the season 0-3 and made the playoffs. None have made it to the Superbowl.
Ravens, Saints, Lions and Bears fans can go ahead and start talking about next year, becaue this season is over!
On to this week’s winner...
Congrats Ascendant!!!
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Isthismynewlife!!!
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday and MNF games will be due at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday morning.
A few notes that will really help in tabulating the games each week.
Please keep abreast of pick deadlines, no one likes a missed pick because they were late.
Also, when making your picks the best way for us would be for you to copy the teams as I’ve posted them and simply delete the team you don’t want, keeping your picks listed in the order I have originally posted them. It just makes running the spreadsheet easier and less prone to error.
Also, the spellings are what trigger the awarding of points, so if you change “NY Giants” to “New York Giants” the spreadsheet won’t award your pick. Misspellings will cause the same situation.
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
It’s never too late to start, who will win next week, will it be you?
Thursday Oct. 1 8:25 PM ET
Baltimore at Pittsburgh
Sunday, Oct. 4 9:30 AM ET London Game
NY Jets at Miami pick is due by 12 p.m. ET on Thursday
Sunday, Oct. 4 1:00 PM ET
Houston at Atlanta
NY Giants at Buffalo
Oakland at Chicago
Kansas City at Cincinnati
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Carolina at Tampa Bay
Philadelphia at Washington
Sunday, Oct. 4 4:05 PM ET
Cleveland at San Diego
Sunday, Oct. 4 4:25 PM ET
St. Louis at Arizona
Minnesota at Denver
Green Bay at San Fransisco
Sunday, Oct. 4 8:30 PM ET
Dallas at New Orleans
Monday, Oct. 5 8:30 PM ET
Detroit at Seattle Tie Breaker
Bye weeks begin this week, and though we don’t get a break from making our picks, Tennessee and New England will be enjoying a week off somewhere nice and warm.
[This message edited by lingerdog at 7:51 PM, September 30th (Wednesday)]
19 comments posted: Tuesday, September 29th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 2 Results/Week 3 Picks
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 2 Results/Week 3 Picks
Week 2 winners and losers are an intriguing bunch.
WINNER: The Browns, Jaguars and Raiders
Predicting what might happen in Week 2 is always a perilous task. Teams that looked great in Week 1 (the Titans) inevitably falter, and teams that looked hapless (the Raiders) may not be that bad after all. Four of the weekend’s five biggest underdogs (Jacksonville, Oakland, Tampa Bay, and Dallas) won outright yesterday, with the Bucs, Raiders, and Jags ruining survivor pools nationwide.
Jacksonville’s passing game, replete with its crop of receivers from last year’s draft, looked as potent as it ever has since (Blake) Bortles service began, and the Bucs managed to show some life against Drew Brees in a place he’s historically torched inferior teams. The most impressive win of the weekend, though, goes to the Raiders. Derek Carr lit up a talented Ravens D; with ample press protection all day, he was free to show off his arm in a way he hasn’t been with Oakland’s typical dink-and-dunk approach.
Loser: The Bears
The Bears were not embarrassing against Green Bay in Week 1. In fact, they almost looked respectable. When you’re a Bears fan, you take hope where you can find it. The Packers didn’t move the ball at will, and even though Aaron Rodgers still fired three touchdown passes and hung 31 points on the board, the Bears appeared, for the most part, to be an NFL team. It was a nice surprise, and one that lasted for all of one week.
There’s no good place to start in describing how much of a mess Chicago was against the Cardinals. David Johnson brought back the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Jay Cutler got hurt — again — while futilely trying to prevent a pick-six. The Bears managed only 59 yards on Jimmy Clausen’s first eight drives. Larry Fitzgerald caught eight passes and three touchdowns. And to top it off, the Bears were penalized 14 times for a franchise-record-tying 170 yards. Losing Cutler was bad news, but even without their starting quarterback, this was the sort of debacle that was supposed to be a memory with John Fox in charge. Oh well, at least the Cubs are good.
I can’t let today go by without apologizing for my mocking of Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning went back to an offense that looked suspiciously like the one he’d run the past three seasons and quieted his critics with an improbable come-from-behind 31-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night.
The Chip Kelly freshness seems to be wearing off in Philadelphia as they struggle to find some offensive production. DeMarco Murray, signed by the Eagles to a five-year, $40 million contract to be the starting running back, has felt the brunt Philadelphia’s inability to block. Murray is getting first contact in the backfield on average this season. Last year with the Cowboys, he wasn't first hit until 2.8 yards past the line of scrimmage, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Seems like I’m forgetting something, hmmm, what could it be?
.
.
.
Oh yeah, the Panthers won again! Woohooo!!!! Now if only I can get some correct picks this week.
On to this week’s winner
Congrats WastedTime12
Tie breakers can make a difference and this week with so many coming in with 8 correct picks they were the difference between 1st and 6st place.
Rounding out the rest of the field we have
2. devastated30
3.Manningup26
4.Isthismylife
5.Ascendant
6.AJ’s Mom
7.Jrazz
8.MissesJai
9.3kids30years
10.nowiknow23
11. scared&stronger
12.lingerdog
And the cumulative standings.
Congrats Isthismynewlife
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday and MNF games will be due at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday morning.
A few notes that will really help in tabulating the games each week.
Please keep abreast of pick deadlines, no one likes a missed pick because they were late.
Also, when making your picks the best way for us would be for you to copy the teams as I’ve posted them and simply delete the team you don’t want, keeping your picks listed in the order I have originally posted them. It just makes running the spreadsheet easier and less prone to error.
Also, the spellings are what trigger the awarding of points, so if you change “NY Giants” to “New York Giants” the spreadsheet won’t award your pick. Misspellings will cause the same situation.
Please make sure you have a pick listed for each game, measure twice cut once.
It’s never too late to start, who will win next week, will it be you?
Thursday Sept. 24 8:25 PM ET
Washington at NY Giants
Sunday, Sept. 27 1:00 PM ET
Cincinnati at Baltimore
New Orleans at Carolina
Oakland at Cleveland
Atlanta at Dallas
Tampa Bay at Houston
San Diego at Minnesota
Jacksonville at New England
Philadelphia ay NY Jets
Pittsburgh at St. Louis
Indianapolis at Tennessee
Sunday, Sept. 27 4:05 PM ET
San Francisco at Arizona
Sunday, Sept, 27 4:25 PM ET
Buffalo at Miami
Chicago at Seattle
Sunday, Sept. 27 8:30 PM ET
Denver at Detroit
Monday, Sept. 28 8:30 PM ET
Kansas City at Green Bay (Tie Breaker)
[This message edited by lingerdog at 6:11 PM, September 22nd (Tuesday)]
23 comments posted: Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 1 Results/Week 2 Picks
Welcome back to Football Season!!!!!
Week 1 winners and losers are an intriguing bunch.
WINNER: Tennessee Titans
The Titans look to have made a good pick in the first round of the draft. You won’t be the first person in your fantasy league to put in a waiver request for the Titans’ rookie quarterback. Mariota was nearly flawless in the Titans’ season-opening win at Tampa Bay, going 13 for 16 for 209 yards and four touchdowns. In fact, “nearly flawless” isn’t even really accurate, since he finished the game with a rare perfect QB rating of 158.3.
Loser: Peyton Manning
In the NFL regular-season opener two years ago, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning threw seven touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens.
On Sunday, the only touchdown Manning threw was the one that was intercepted and returned to the end zone by Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith. The man who had a streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass snapped at 51 last December has now gone two straight regular-season games without a passing touchdown.
But hey, at least the Broncos got the W.
Don’t worry Peyton, Nationwide is on your side, oh and AJ’s MOM
In head scratching news, and I don’t mean my co-workers lice scare, I’m talking about the Rams taking the Seahawks to task this week. Sure, the final score was close, but the Seahawks were potentially one play from back to back Superbowls, and now they’re losing to the Rams. Kam Chancellor, keep your phone on, your agent should be calling soon.
The biggest losers of the week had to be the 49ers. Oh sure, they beat the Vikings 20-3, but they had to do it while wearing these.
These have got to be the ugliest uniforms since the Green Bay throwback uniforms.
Seems like I’m forgetting something, hmmm, what could it be?
.
.
.
Oh yeah, the Panthers won!
On to this weeks winner
3kids30years.
Welcome to the SI Pigskin picks pool, congratulations on a big win right out of the gate!
Coming in 2nd we have Isthismynewlife, followed by myself, 4th is scared&stronger, 5th is Jrazz, 6th is Manninup26, and in 7th co-commish AJ’s MOM without whom I would have to sit down and figure out the winner each week. 8-10 is MissesJai, nowiknow23 and devastated30, with WastedTime12 and Ascendant round out week one of our contest.
Remember, it’s never too late to start, who will win next week, will it be you?
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 12 p.m. ET. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday and MNF games will be due at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday morning.
Thursday Sept. 17 8:25 PM ET
Denver at Kansas City
Sunday, Sept. 20 1:00 PM ET
New England at Buffalo
Houston at Carolina
Arizona at Chicago
San Diego at Cincinnati
Tennessee at Cleveland
Detroit at Minnesota
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Atlanta at NY Giants
San Francisco at Pittsburgh
St. Louis at Washington
Sunday, Sept. 20 4:05 PM ET
Miami at Jacksonville
Baltimore at Oakland
Sunday, Sept, 20 4:25 PM ET
Dallas at Philadelphia
Sunday, Sept. 20 8:30 PM ET
Seattle at Green Bay
Monday, Sept. 21 8:30 PM ET
NY Jets at Indianapolis
Good luck this week! 
[This message edited by lingerdog at 6:22 PM, September 17th (Thursday)]
25 comments posted: Tuesday, September 15th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks Week 1
Howdy ho, all you fellow football connoisseurs. It’s time to lay down the rules and present the games for Week 1 of our S.I. Pigskin Picks Pool.
For those of you new to the pool and players needing a refresher (it has, after all, been a long summer), here’s the scoop on how we pull this together:
HOW WE PLAY
This will be a confidence pool – you simply need to pick the teams you feel confidently will win. If the team for each game you pick wins, you get a point; if the team you pick loses, you get nadda-nuttin’-zilch.
In the event of a tie between players in total games picked correctly for the week, the tie-breaker will be the Monday Night Football (MNF) game where you will need to guess the total of the final score. The tied player closest to the final MNF score without going over will be that week’s winner. In case of a tie within a tie with the MNF score, we’ll have one of MH and DS’s fur babies point to a user name onscreen to determine the ultimate winner.
There are two exceptions for the MNF games in terms of the tie-breaker: On Week 1, there are two MNF games being played, so the tie-breaking game will be the last game being played – Minnesota at San Fransico. MNF ends after Week 16, so on week 17, the tie-breaker for that game will be the last game played for the day (teams/times are TBA due to possible NFL flex scheduling).
The player with the most correct picks at the end of the regular season wins the illustrious title of “S.I. – Pigskin Picks Champion!” That’s it – just a title and accolades from your fellow players. No money, no autographed footballs, no Super Bowl tickets – just bragging rights. After the season, those players interested in continuing through the playoffs and onto the Super Bowl will be entered into another pool. Should you win that round, again, you win nothing – just another title. If you’re into titles, great. If you need cash, try your luck in the $1B March Madness Pool.
Updates with the winners and information on the next week's games will be posted each week on a new thread sometime on Tuesday.
PICK DEADLINES:
Your picks for the week will be due no later than Game Day at 11 a.m. CT. to include the Thursday night and Thanksgiving Day games. You may enter all your picks for the week then or just for the game being played on Thursday night or Turkey Day. Picks for the Sunday and MNF games will be due at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday morning. Don’t worry about remembering all of this as I’ll post pick deadlines each week. The season starts on Thursday, September 10th, when the New England Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers
HOW TO POST PICKS:
Simply copy the games listed as below and then paste them into your reply thread. Then, it is INCREDIBLY helpful if you simply edit the information down to JUST the teams you are picking to win. I take the information you provide and copy/paste it into a mega-sized Excel spreadsheet which needs to have the order of the games match, so please refrain from using the bold or italic features as the less editing I have to do, the better. Next to the tie-breaker game (which will always be clearly noted), place your guess as to the total score of the game. To help you figure that out, research – *cough, cough*/earmuff the children/don’t Google this at work – the over/under for each game which can be freakishly accurate at times.
REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF – (BOLDED TO SHOW ITS IMPORTANCE):
In fairness to all players (and to help keep my sanity), it is each player’s responsibility to ensure that they have a team selected for each game and/or clearly indicate who their winning pick will be. If changes are made, they must be made by the deadline indicated for each week on your original posting OR THE PICK WILL NOT COUNT. The edited post time stamp will determine whether or not a pick is in on time. I will do my best to “catch” picks that are not listed but in the end, it is up to each player to review the number of teams they have picked to ensure they match the total number of games being played in a given week.
Finally, we really want you to enjoy the next seventeen and change weeks, so sit back, have fun making your picks and let’s get ready for some genuine smack talking!
N.F.L. Games – Week 1
Thursday, September 10
8:30 PM ET
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Pick is due by 11 AM CT, Thursday, September 10
Sunday, Sept. 13 1:00 PM ET
Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans
Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars
Cleveland Browns at New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams
Miami Dolphins at Washington Redskins
Sunday, Sept. 13 4:05 PM ET
New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals
Detroit Lions at San Diego Chargers
Sunday, Sept. 13 4:25 PM ET
Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos
Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders
Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, Sept. 13 8:30 PM ET
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys 8:30
Monday, Sept. 14 7:10 PM ET
Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons
Monday, Sept. 14 10:20 PM ET
Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers - TIE-BREAKER GAME
Any questions? Please PM me.
Good luck everyone and have fun!
15 comments posted: Saturday, September 5th, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks 2015/16
Wait...what??? Were those whistles I heard last night? Was that laundry being strewn around stadium fields?
Oh, Boy!!!! Put away that beachwear and strap on the helmets, compression pants and pads, folks – IT'S TIME FOR FOOTBALL!!!
The fresh scents of ocean breezes and ‘Smores burning over the campfire are soon to be replaced by extremely large, sweaty and smelly guys fighting over a sphere measuring 11” long and 22” in circumference which once housed bacon.
For the (??)th year in a row, S.I. is offering up for all of you Couch QB’s the chance to pit your football smarts (and lucky guesses) against your fellow members’ in what we like to call the “S.I. Pigskin Picks Prognosticator Pool.”
This post is just an hors d'oeuvre – a little sumptin’, sumptin’ if you will – to whet your appetites for the upcoming seventeen weeks of smash ‘em and crash ‘em known as the NFL.
We like to keep things simple here on S.I., and this pool is no different. We play in a confidence pool format in which you will carefully chose a winner from the two teams playing in each game for each week to earn a point for a win and a stale donut for a loss. I then employ the services of Ajsmom and her elaborate Excel spreadsheet to compile the data on a weekly basis to determine our winner – that being the picker who has the most winners in the week. If that’s you, you will be crowned the pool’s Weekly Winner!
At the end of the season, the player with the most correct picks overall is crowned:
“S.I. Pigskin Picks 2015/2016 Champion”
But wait – there’s more!
If we’re all playing well and getting along nicely, we go into the Playoff and Super Bowl rounds and crown yet another Champion for that pool. Woo Hoo!!! Lookie that – numerous chances to win! The fun never seems to end!
So if you think you absolutely, positively cannot live without participating, kindly reply to this thread as to your interest and I’ll be back in a few weeks (once the preseason shenanigans have ended) with the full blown rules, schedule and other important information.
Jump on in – the water’s FUN!!!
Lingerdog
a.k.a. “The Commish 2.0”
9 comments posted: Saturday, August 22nd, 2015
N.F.L. Pigskin Picks - Week 5 Results - Week 6 Games
Topic: N.F.L. Pigskin Picks - Week 5 Results - Week 6 Games
Miami and Oakland were the teams on a bye this week, but you came here to talk about football and there hasn’t been football in Miami or Oakland for the last ten years.
As for this week’s Thursday night game, it was more of the same just a different victim as Green Bay treated us to another blowout as they crushed Minnesota.
And in quick succession we find ourselves with no more unbeaten teams just five weeks into the season. Meanwhile Oakland and Jacksonville are still in the hunt for the O-fer award. For those not in the know, that’s the last team to get into the wins column. Will we see a team go 0-16, with Oakland and Jacksonville in the running we could see two.
Carolina found a way to win, be it the improbable punt return for a TD after the returner was interfered with, or well honestly I’m not sure how they did it. From running backs that have never played a down for the panthers and receivers who can’t hold onto the ball to a quarter back who once had to be restrained because of his mobility and now seems to be tied to the pocket, somehow they got the W. Let’s face it, I’m not complaining about that.
The Browns were victorious this week moving to .500 on the season. Browns fans, don’t get too excited, you were playing the Titans. Those Eagles just seem to keep winning moving to 4-1. But save a win over Indianapolis I’m waiting for a real test for a team ranked near the bottom in defense, and 23rd in the league in rushing yards. It’s nice to have Jacksonville, Washington and St. Louis on your schedule early, Eagles fans prepare, real games are coming.
The Giants get another win on their seeming to be though as yet proven turn around. I’m all for Giants wins, but seriously, put the ball in Larry Donnell’s hands, my fantasy team would be much appreciative of it.
After being one game from the Super Bowl two years ago the fall of the Falcons is one of the things that has most surprised me over the past season and a half. They were a team that finally put back to back winning seasons together, they finally got over their playoff choking ways under Matty Ice, and haven done so reverted to the falcons of previous years. Maybe it’s something in the water, maybe it’s opposing defenses figuring out the falcons offensive schemes, whatever it is they are only producing a football like substance in Atlanta these days, as likely to lose the game as win it in the final quarter.
The Saints, like the Falcons are another team that has seemingly forgotten how to win consistently. Even with top five passing yards and top ten rushing production they have dropped games to Atlanta, Cleveland and Dallas with wins over horrible Minnesota and Tampa Bay the only bright spots for a team that seems adrift.
I can’t think of anyone happier for the bye week than New Orleans. Rest up boys, the schedule doesn’t get any easier when you come back.
After scoring ten points to tie things up in the fourth quarter the tank ran dry for Houston in overtime as Dallas squeaked by improving to 4-1.
Could it be that Dallas is actually a contender this year? Their only loss has come at the hands of the 49ers, with wins over a gaggle of teams that are to put it kindly, a bunch of losers. Their upcoming schedule features plenty of division match-ups and mostly tough non-division opponents. Cowboys fans treasure week ten and eleven. That’s when you face Jacksonville and enter your bye week because from where I’m sitting your season is about to begin if you are to truly be contenders.
Obligatory Tony Romo interception meme.
In other football news Buffalo gets by a banged up Megatron and the Lions, Indianapolis beats the Ravens, The Steelers get the W over Jacksonville and Peyton Manning puts up 479 yards as Denver beats Arizona.
The Cardinals had the mistaken notion in the first quarter that you can settle for taking a field goal for each Denver touchdown and still win. I haven’t seen that work out for very many people. Know who you are playing and get to the end zone or go away empty handed because no matter what Peyton will drive the length of the field and put up six.
San Francisco Showed Alex Smith the door again as they beat the Chiefs. But seriously KC, you can’t have every good thing happen to you right now.
There’s not much to say about San Diego over the Jets, one it was the Jets, and two they pounded them to the tune of 31-zip. The last time I saw a beating that bad someone got caught between me and a box of fresh donuts. Just saying.
In a bid to silence those saying his time as a champion is passed Tom Brady led New England over the Bengals by the tune of 43-17.
Wins like a boss, still can’t get a high five.
Onto the Monday night action where we find the Potomac Drainage Basin Indigenous Persons versus The Seahawks.
How's this for a frustrating hat trick: Percy Harvin had three touchdowns called back because of penalties.
"Well, the first one I was cool with," he said. "I was like, 'OK.' Then when the second one happened, I was like, 'Wow.' And then when the third one happened I just flipped my hands down. I couldn't believe it."
That aside the Seahawks did get the win although the game was much closer than I would have thought.
Onto the standings for this week.
Coming in first this week with 14/15 correct is sportsfan
Woo Hoo! Way to go, sportsfan!
Coming in second with 13/15 correct was L-dog with a closer but not over tie breaker score than MadeOfScars in third with 13/15, fourth was AJ’s MOM being chased by devastated 30 in fifth, tesla in sixth, and MissesJai in seventh. Closing out the top ten with a tie for eighth was Chria and purplejacket4, followed by ray-ray in ninth and Ascendant closing it out in tenth.
In the overall race for the non-existent trophy, devasted30 has amassed a comfy lead of five points.
Woo Hoo! Way to go, devasted30!
Don’t worry it’s a long season and with good picks it’s still pretty much anyone’s game. purplejacket remains in second place from last week’s standings, while AJ’s MOM holds down third. In fourth is MadeOfScars, fifth ray-ray, sixth tesla and sportsfan in seventh. Chria is holding it down in eighth with Ascendant in ninth and L-dog slipping into the ten spot.
It’s been awesome to put on the commissioners hat this week but all good things must come to an end. Your regularly scheduled commissioner will be back at the helm kicking butt and taking names next week.
N.F.L.Games
Week 6
Thursday pick due by 11AM CT Thursday 10/9; Sunday/Monday picks due by 11AM CT Sunday 10/12.
Thursday, October 9th
7:30 PM CT
Indianapolis at Houston
Sunday, October 12th
NOON CT
Jacksonville at Tennessee
Baltimore at Tampa Bay
Denver at NY Jets
Detroit at Minnesota
New England at Buffalo
Carolina at Cincinnati
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
Green Bay at Miami
3:05 PM CT
San Diego at Oakland
3:25 PM CT
Chicago at Atlanta
Dallas at Seattle
Washington at Arizona
7:30 PM CT
NY Giants at Philadelphia
Monday, October 13th
7:30 PM CT
San Francisco at St. Louis – TIE-BREAKER GAME
Teams on Bye Week: Kansas City, New Orleans
Remember your tie-breaker everyone, it can be the difference between first and second, or eighteenth and nineteenth for that matter.
Have fun, everyone!
Good luck!
Jr. Commissioner L-Dog
25 comments posted: Tuesday, October 7th, 2014
