2011 NFL thread - a jackspain celebration

[Pies4shaw]

Packers lead Rams 24:3 at half-time. A-Rod has only thrown for 3 TDs, so far.

[Pies4shaw]

Green Bay are 6-0 for the 1st time since 1965 - heady days, indeed!

So, the Packers now head the NFC North on their own with 6 wins from 6 starts after defeating St Louis 24:3 (that's right - no second half score in that game), while OEP's 49ers pleased Packer and 49-er fans alike by knocking off the Detroit Lions (now 5 wins 1 loss) 25:19.

Meanwhile: Sav's Redskins lost to the Eagles (but his punting was splendid); the Patriots have just gone to 5 wins also, after beating Dallas 20:16; Tampa Bay just held on for a good win against New Orleans (Brees was intercepted about 4 and a half minutes from time as the Saints marched toward the lead); the Giants just held on against the Bills and the Ravens, Steelers, Raiders, Bengals and Falcons all had wins.

Which leaves us with the Vikes and the Bears, which starts this afternoon, our time. UPDATE: Vikings lose 39 to 10 - Peterson scores the Vikes' touchdown (again) and a new QB (Ponder, a first round draft pick) got a chance from late in the third (without, as yet, much impact). Hester killed off the game for the Bears, returning the kick-off for a TD, straight after Peterson ran in for the Vikes.

[Woods Of Ypres]

Carson Palmer to the Raiders

[Pies4shaw]

Wow - I thought Mike Brown said he was never going to trade Palmer? I guess the money on offer from the Raiders must have been good enough, then.

[OEP]

Read this:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8234079e/article/jackson-confident-trade-for-palmer-will-keep-raiders-on-track?module=HP11_headline_stack

I can't believe they trade a 2012 1st round pick and a 2013 2nd round pick for a guy that struggles to throw the ball outside the hash mark or over 40 yards.

The Bengals must be laughing their arses off at the Raiders.

Anyway who cares my boys just handed the Lions some whop ass both during the game and after it

In the gold and red corner standing at 6 foot three inches, 215 pounds, the hand crushing, back cracking, new man on the block from San Francisco....Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim HARBAUGH !!!!!

In the baby powder blue corner standing at 4 foot 5 inches, 420 pounds, the foot stamping, tantrum throwing, sook from Detroit....Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim SCHWARTZ

[Pies4shaw]

So, 7 rounds down and the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Green Bay are now 7:0. The record for passing TDs in a season is 50 (Brady 4 or 5 years back). With 7 games gone, the A-Rod now has 20 - and unless the Packers' wheels fall off, he must be some sort of chance to break that record. Of course, he's still around 400 career TDs behind the Great One, so I can still say he isn't half as good as No 4 for a little longer - frankly, because I'm cantakerous, I'll probably still say he isn't half as good as No 4 when Rodgers throws for his 509th TD!

Presti#1's Jets looked much better this week - the offensive line looked like they could just about prevent the opposition from killing Sanchez, so that's a good thing. He was sacked once but threw fairly well. IMO, Rivers choked late in this game - the Chargers were in control until a lucky pick (a bobble in the air from a good pass) was returned to start up the Jets' comeback and I don't think Rivers could be blamed for that but the next interception was (well, yes all right, I admit it) Favre-like and it cost his side a game they might have won.

The Rams played up to all expectations (and consequently lost dismally) against Dallas. Brees put on a masterclass of short passing, in particular, in a 62:7 thrashing of ther Colts (that's right, 8 TDs, 5 passed by Brees, in that score of 62). Peyton Manning was watching from the side and probably feels his injury getting worse - I can't imagine a QB of his stature wanting to come back into a team that could scarcely now make the play-offs, so it might be mothballs for the accurate one until 2012.

The Vikes actually led the Packers at half-time - but the Pack were just keeping the ratings up, I fear, before doing what needed to be done in the second half. At least the Vikes look like the new QB (Ponder) was worth his first-round pick and might be good one day. And, of course, Adrian Peterson rushed for another TD. Once again, I can only beg that this man be given an opportunity to play for a competitive team - imagine the Pack if they had Peterson to rush when A-Rod didn't want to throw: they'd just be unstoppable.

In other games, the Jaguars upset the Raiders, the Steelers (who look like a play-off team again to me) condemned the Cardinals to 5 losses in a row, the Panthers beat Sav's Redskins (who are now slipping off the pace), the Chiefs shut out the Raiders at Oakland (!!!) 28:0 (just as well Davis didn't live to see that), the Bears got over Tampa Bay, Tim Tebow finally looked like he might have been worth Denver's pick to get him (Broncos 18:15 in extra time over the Dolphins, who are now 0:6) - mind you Tebow's Broncos were scoreless with 2m and 44 s left in the last quarter, so I emphasise "might have been worth", the Texans accounted easily for the Titans 41:7, the Lions lost their second in a row (now 5:2) to Atlanta 23:16 and the Browns beat Seattle 6:3 in what must have been a riveting game - the Browns had about 70% of the possession in this game and still couldn't get the ball into the end zone (memo - someone needs a QB - Brett, where are you?).

OEP's 49ers had the bye, as did some of the other better-looking teams, like the Bills, the Patriots and the (New York) Giants.

My big prediction for next week is that the Packers WILL NOT win (they have the bye). The Jets also have a bye, so interest on Nick's will probably focus on the 49ers, who have the Browns at Candlestick Park. A decent effort from San Francisco should see them leap into serious play-off contention near the half-way mark of the season.

The big game of round 8, though, has to be the Patriots vs the Steelers, in Pittsburgh. Will Polamalu finally catch Brady and snap his legs off like twigs? Can Big Ben throw for another 5 TD game? Can he repeat this week's performance (longest TD pass in Steelers' history at 95 yds)? Both QBs are having good seasons and each team has a great rushing back, so this should be the game of the round. If the Patriots' offensive line holds, you can't see anything stopping Brady but if the modern-day steel curtain can cut through, I can see Troy P running back a couple of interceptions for TDs. This game really is a mouth-watering prospect for the neutral observers. For anyone who doesn't know what I mean mentioning Troy Polamalu, here's a link to a video of some of his best tackles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBGvFXmx_A8&feature=related

Truly, if Troy came to Collingwood, you'd have to think seriously about moving Heater off the half-back flank! Imagine what would happen if this man caught up with Nick Reiwoldt in a GF.

[Pies4shaw]

So, in round 8 (although the Chiefs and the Chargers are still playing: Chiefs lead 10:0 early in the second), a few things became clearer.

First, the Colts without Peyton Manning are a pointless exercise. They are now 0 wins, 8 losses after losing 27:10 away to the Titans.

Secondly, New Orleans are not as hot as I thought - they contrived to lose to the Rams, who now have their first win for the season.

Thirdly, nor are the Giants, who struggled to take a win coming from behind against the 0:7 Dolphins.

Fourthly, the Steelers and OEP's 49ers are. The 49ers took out the Browns and although they didn't appear all that fluid up front, they did a good defensive job and Gore's running game was outstanding (31 carries for 134 yards and a TD - this might have been the running performance of the week, if only he could catch like Peterson, as well - see the Vikes, below). The Steelers kept the Patriots down 25:17 in a tough affair which never really reached the heights. Brady always looked threatening, though, and the Patriots could easily have won if things had gone their way (the refs missed a TD with a little under 5 minutes to play - although Brady followed it up a couple of possessions later, there was too little time; also Polamalu forced a safety by punching the ball back into the Patriot end-zone - brilliant thinking by a wonderful player but I don't think the Steelers should have been allowed those 2 points). Anyway, the 49ers, Steelers and Patriots all look like they'll be there at the business end.

The Vikings won another game (now 2:6), this time away against the Panthers. How did they do this? Well, it seems the coaching staff has finally realised that you can't just have Adrian Peterson run the ball all the time for touchdowns, great though he undoubtedly is. Today, plan B involved - you guessed it - throwing it to Peterson, as well. So, AP rushed one TD and received for another. 21 caries for 86 yards and 1 TD is a good day's work for a running back but add 5 catches for another 76 yards and a second TD and you are looking at greatness.

In other games, the Ravens trailed badly against the Cardinals but came back to pip them 30:27, the Texans downed the Jaguars 24:14, the Bills got to 5 and 2 after shutting out Sav's Redskins by 23 points, Detroit bounced right back after losing 2 in a row and are also 5 and 2 after demolishing Tebow's Broncos 45:10, the Eagles are on the up (now 3:4) after a 34:7 demolition of the Cowboys and the Bengals also look to be in play-off contention after a powerful 34:12 win over the Seahawks.

Next week, the Jets are away to the Bills in a must-win game, the Saints have a chance to regroup at home to Tampa Bay, the 49ers travel to the Redskins and have another chance to consolidate what is effectively second position in the league (6:1 behind the Packers, 7:0 with the bye and just ahead of the Steelers, 6:2), the Bengals vs the Titans and the Browns vs the Texans are both important games, the Giants and the Patriots (both 5:2) is probably the match-up of the round (along with the Ravens vs the Steelers - a real battle of the defences in that one) and the Packers travel to San Diego - based on what I saw of Rivers at QB last week, the Chargers aren't too likely to stop Green Bay but - who knows - maybe the Pack will be sluggish coming off the bye. There are, of course, other games - but not too much to get excited about, although the Bears and the Eagles will probably put on a better showing than their present rankings suggest.

[Woods Of Ypres]

I'm a Colts fan, and looking at the schedule, I cant even see us beating anyone this season. possibly Jacksonville in a couple of weeks but thats it.
Looking like we could end up with the #1 pick. Peyton's days are numbered, so Andrew Luck would be ideal.

[OEP]

Boy did Tebow look bad. I mean the Lions were making him throw the ball and giving him very little time to do it and the guy just came apart. Other QB's didn't have great games, just look at Drew Brees's stats (1 TD, 2 INT, and 6 Sacks), but Brees looks capable of performing at a higher level even if you didn't know his is a great QB. Unfortunately for Tebow he "looked" completely out of his depth when made to throw and not being allowed out of the pocket to either pass or run. He may improve but in the NFL improvement is expected to occur in the very short term and he just doesn't look ready.

The question is who do Denver bring in ?

On my 49ers they have a very good run to the playoffs with only a few games that should really test them, but based on their current form all are realistically winnable. My problem is their still very weak at the QB position, Smith is playing OK but is only doing the basics with Gore being left to do the rest. What happens if Gore gets injured or has a form slump, I just don't believe Smith is capable of stepping up to fill the gap especially against the better teams.

The 9ers look awesome on the defensive side and have a very, very solid Offensive Line, one of the best TE's in the league, a WR (Crabtree) capable of becoming one of the best if given the opportunity and a solid no.2 in Ginn Jr (and amazingly with Braylon Edwards as a 3rd string WR, oh how the mighty have fallen). Then of course they have Gore at RB who is, in my opinion, one of the top 3 RBs in the NFL. So as I said before the only weak spot is at QB which unfortunately is the most important position in the offensive but who knows Harbaugh may just be able to turn him into the QB the 9ers drafted him to be. Fingers and toes crossed

[Pies4shaw]

[Pies4shaw]

[OEP]

[Pies4shaw]

Wow - some fantastic finishes in round 9.

The Packers went to 8:0 barely, after just holding out San Diego. The big difference in this game was that A-Rod didn't get intercepted, whereas Rivers was picked three times (twice in the first quarter for return TDs and at the death to snuff out his team's last-ditch comeback attempt). Pity I couldn't watch this one.

The Giants just snuffed out the Patriots at the death - the lead changed 4 or 5 times in a great last quarter.

And the Ravens just pipped the Steelers at the post in a very enjoyable game.

Meanwhile, OEP's 49ers continued on their merry way - despite the best punting in the history of the universe (!), Sav's Redskins couldn't string a couple of competent plays together and were never in the hunt. That no. 21 for San Francisco looked OK, too - reminded me of Franco Harris, just a little. As long as he stays fit, the 49ers must be a chance.

The Steelers, the Bengals and the Ravens are locked in a three-way battle in the AFC North - each has won 6 games - but the Steelers have lost one more (having played all 9 games). It is scary to think that the Steelers, as well as they have been playing, might yet miss the play offs. The Patriots are on top of the AFC East, just ahead of the Jets on percentage but the Jets are looking a more realistic chance of making the playoffs after Brady's team fell to its second loss in succession. Until late the last quarter, the Patriots didn't really look like stringing any consistent passing plays together and at the moment they look very different from the team which raced out of the blocks in the early rounds of the season.

At the moment, though, it looks to me like the 4 best teams are all from the NFC. With the Pack, the 49ers, the Giants and the 'Aints all in good form, it looks like it will take something special to make the Superbowl from the NFC side of the draw.

[Yarra Falls End]

So where do you guys get the time to watch all the games and know the players across the league?

Pack have now won 14 straight with the Vikings next Monday night.I arrive in Green Bay on Saturday night and will be at the game as well as the following game against our old NFC central rivals Tampa Bay.

Made a pledge before the SB that if GB won,making the pilgrimage to Lambeau Field when the Pack rule the world was the right time. Mrs YFE was in agreeance with a side trip to NYC promised for her, but the uncertainity with the lockout put the plans on hold.Then about a month ago she said "go and see the packers and catch up with your family in Canada".So after 30 years of following the Packers from afar,I finally get to fulfill the dream.

[Pies4shaw]