The 2012 NFL thread

[OEP]

Great to see Ray back on the field again, a magnificent career and great that he's leaving on his terms.

[blackmissionary]

Seahawks eliminate the Redskins. Redskins dominated first quarter, up 14-0, but had nothing offensively after that. Seahawks just couldn't put the score on the board, but eventually the weight of territory and possession had its desired effect. RG3 was crippled from the start, finally leaving the field in the fourth quarter.

[OEP]

[blackmissionary]

Not only couldn't RG3 run effectively, but his passing was also off more than usual. Should have chucked Cousins in a lot earlier - if he'd had the opportunity to make a couple of early passes, game could have turned out quite different. As it was they struggled to get to midfield.

[blackmissionary]

Ravens at Broncos, followed by Packers at 49ers on Sunday, Seahawks at Falcons and Texans at Pats on Monday, all on OneHD.

[Yarra Falls End]

I predict next weeks games to be the Seahawks @ Green Bay and Patriots @ Denver.

Feel pretty confident my Packers will turn the tables of the week 1 result.
Week 1 Packers had 6 rookies debut and no running game.Forget about the last half against the Vikings, Packers just ran 3 and out plays to show SF nothing, knowing that the Vikings were never a threat to score.Packers now have a more balanced offense and I think a large part of the regular season was to have the defense peaking for the playoffs.

Interesting stat about the defenses is that the 49ers rely heavily on their core unit, playing something like 80% of plays and if Smith wasn't injured that number would be over 90%.Packers on the other hand have done the opposite.

Ah the romance of sport.Rodgers a California native and 49er fan playing against Kapernack born in Wisconsin and lifelong Packer fan.

[OEP]

Kap's going to feel terrible after beating the Packers if he was a life long fan of theirs.

[sixpoints]

Broncos score TD's from both a punt return & a kick off return. But Ravens win with a FG in extra time. Sensational game. Manning gave up a crucial turnover in OT that set Ravens up for the field goal. Ravens 38 Broncos 35.

[blackmissionary]

Harbaugh Bowl it is.

[die4pies]

Can Baltimore send off Ray Lewis with a SB ring?

My guess is Harbaugh Ravens 28 def San Fran Harbaughs 17

Baltimore's defense too strong for Kaepernick. Alex Smith may even get called up at some stage too.

[OEP]

That's hilarious D4Pies

[punkologist]

Does anyone want to join me at the Imperial Hotel (Bourke st, Melbourne) for the game.

$75 gets you entry to the separate room with beer, food and "beerleaders"(yes the Budweiser beerleaders haha) included.

[Pies4shaw]

I'm sitting on the fence for this Superbowl. I can see reasons why both teams can win. And I like both of them, so I don't have a particular preference. You have to say that the Ravens certainly deserve the berth, despite their underdog status, after knocking over Peyton's Broncos (despite the punt-return and kick-return TDs that the Ravens allowed) and comfortably accounting for New England. On the other hand, the 49ers look to be the more complete team (baby at QB notwithstanding).

I'm not sure whether we have any one-eyed Ravens fans who post in this forum but I wish OEP very good luck for San Francisco - and just remember, whatever the outcome of this game, the 49ers' "Five Greatest Games" pack will still contain 5 Superbowl victories and the Ravens' will not.

And best of all, of course, our beloved 'Pies can't lose this.

[OEP]

The Ravens and 9ers face off in the Super"Harbaugh", who will be victorious?

Here's my take on the teams chances (staying as neutral as possible ):

The Ravens - have a stout defence that's capable of creating numerous turnovers and generally beating the hell out of the opposition offensive players, pretty much hammering them into submission (see Patriots game). With the experience they have all over the field their bloody hard to fool and read offensive plays very well. The main downfall I see with this defence is the flip side to the benefits of their age (in key positions) and that is the loss of quickness and speed that results from a long NFL career due to injuries.

On the offensive side, well were do you start, Flacco after a average start to the season seems to have found his mojo and then some turning talented but not overly feared offence into a very, very dangerous group capable of scoring big numbers and fast. Their receiving corp (WR and TE) is talented and bloody tough led by evergreen Boldin (who most people believe eats concrete sandwiches for lunch). Turning to their RB's it's hard to go past Ray Rice who's a smash mouth runner who loves finishing a run hitting the defenders and who the Ravens will use to pound the ball inside and wear down the 9ers inside duo of Willis and Bowman. The offensive line is talented but can leak sacks. The only real downside of the Ravens offence is it's lack of depth at either the QB or RB position, if they have any significant injuries to Flacco or Rice they'll struggle mightily.

The greatest team playing in the NFL, the masters of disaster, the most leathal offence on the pla....eh ahhhhh (clears throat ) I mean the 49ers - Defensively they have the best inside duo in the competition in Willis and Bowman, two of the most violent safeties in the league, a solid team of corners capable of hawking the ball and a defensive line with a (seemingly) healthy Justin Smith back to monster offensive linesmen. Oh yeah and Aldon Smith (knew I forgot someone ). As per the Ravens this is a defensive unit built on the philosophy of violence wins over in the end and man are they a violent group of individuals . Speed for this group generally isn't an issue but the lack of rotations through the group could be given they use the same core personal for the bulk of every game so if an injury occurs the replacement may struggle because of lack of NFL game time.

The offence under Smith was good and even at times dangerous but since the change to Kaepernick (yup had to look the spelling up) occurred has truly become multi faceted and lethal and, like the Ravens, capable of scoring heavily and fast at any time. The WR's and TE's are very talented, though it's worth noting prior to Kaep's emergence Crabtree couldn't be considered the player he is now. They have a great RB in Gore who like Rice is a brutal tackle to tackle runner used to beat the hell out of opposition defenders, plus they have a pretty long and talented number of RB's waiting on the bench. Again like the Ravens they have a talented offensive line that can leak sacks but can also push the line. The 9ers have much greater depth than the Ravens in nearly every position but have an over reliance on Crabtree in the passing game which could cause issues if the Ravens decide to focus on him and take him out of the passing game forcing Kaep to look elsewhere and possibly upsetting his rhythm on the biggest and most pressure filled day of his sporting life. Oh yeah and it's the biggest and most pressure filled day of a young and inexperienced NFL QB's sporting career and that may get the better of him.

All-in-all this is set to be an brutal encounter between two very, very tough and talented teams that could go either way. My take is the 9ers by a TD - yeah no bias there

[Pies4shaw]

What can you say?

The build up to the Superbowl is in full swing.

Randy Moss has called himself the greatest wide-receiver ever (Jerry Rice says "Hello") ...

... and Ray Lewis has just emphatically denied using an allegedly performance-enhancing deer-antler spray.

I kid you not: http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2012/story/_/id/8897412/super-bowl-2013-ray-lewis-baltimore-ravens-agitated-denies-using-ped