Football Season

I am glad I never count out Seattle, with QB Russell Wilson. They are surging, once again.

Both teams played well, when I watched last night's game between Minnesota and Seattle, with Minn. QB Cousins playing up to his ability, which is not always the case,
but Seattle edged out the win, not surprisingly, later after I turned it off.

I think Baltimore or KC, goes to Superbowl, against Seattle or Saints.

Jerry was right though too, that Buffalo could do better than expected, which they already have achieved, but could continue. Not to Superbowl, though, imo….
 

I think Baltimore or KC, goes to Superbowl, against Seattle or Saints.

You could be right. ... I guess I shouldn't count out the Saints or Seattle. I just haven't seen enough NFC games this year.
NO > Sea > 49ers . in regular season games. So what does that say ... NOTHING! ..😀
 
Oh, go ahead and guess anyway, Bonnie! :LOL:

We don't mind at all! (y):)… we enjoy your input, and who knows, you might be just as good at guessing and predicting the future, as anyone else!
:unsure::unsure::unsure:

I forgot that I probably shouldn't have counted out the Packers. That might give them an edge, if I do, :sneaky:but I will be bold and count them out, anyway. Prognosticating is very inexact! :ROFLMAO:
 

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I agree with you, Bonnie. Ravens and 49ers. The only other teams I'll be keeping an eye on are Seattle (never count Wilson's magic out) and the Saints. Pats (sadly for me) are falling apart and IMHO are going nowhere.

Per the rankings at above site, Pats are still up there Dave.
 
Can you explain how OSU (and 'bama) can produce a 'football machine year
after year without NCAA violations? I've been wondering about that?
OSU has the best team in the Big Ten, period. Looking down the road for at least next season, the same thing. Meyer built a nice team with the use of his scholarships. Now, Day has to get them to play together.

For ‘Bama, every kid in the south wants to play for the Tide. Just like basketball at Duke, if a kid is lucky enough to get a scholarship to play there, they will step up.
 
OSU has the best team in the Big Ten, period. Looking down the road for at least next season, the same thing. Meyer built a nice team with the use of his scholarships. Now, Day has to get them to play together.

For ‘Bama, every kid in the south wants to play for the Tide. Just like basketball at Duke, if a kid is lucky enough to get a scholarship to play there, they will step up.

Ryan Day, at the ripe old age of 40, is doing a fantastic job as a new first year head coach!
 
OSU has the best team in the Big Ten, period. Looking down the road for at least next season, the same thing. Meyer built a nice team with the use of his scholarships. Now, Day has to get them to play together.

For ‘Bama, every kid in the south wants to play for the Tide. Just like basketball at Duke, if a kid is lucky enough to get a scholarship to play there, they will step up.
As I've said before. Some of these school are pro football mills. They have their academic sides but in the main they are the NFL's minor league systems. I would prefer that they stop this scholarship scam and provide only academic scholarships.

They could still stay in the football business, pay their athletes a minor league salary, same as baseball, but separate it from the supposedly legitimate academic portion of the school. When I listen to athletes who have spent 4 years of "study" and sound like they would have trouble spelling "cat" if you gave the the "c" and the "t", it tells me that the standards of these school must be woefully inadequate.

Give the same kids as today, the opportunity to tryout and play if they measure up but, please, let's not confuse this with education. And by all means, if a young person wants to attend class AND play ball, that's OK, as long as they are required to meet the same educational levels of the non sports related students.
 
COLLEGE FOOTBALL AT OKL
Mike Tomlin - a leader of men. Fantastic job this year.
Old man: It is difficult to make any decent statement regarding the "Hated Steelers," they of the Bradshaw era.

Their new qb has a really neat name DUCK HODGES, as a qb he needs to learn how to Duck!


Now a detour to college ball :
OKLAHOMA IN 1970=80'S
DaveA on Student-Athletes

All I know for a fact is Oklahoma built a fancy dorm for it's football players, when coach Barry Switzer was running the program.
Switzer was an excellent football coach, but a crass human being. He picked up enough polish after he became an adult, but this
guy was 100% crude. He did not care what his players did, as long as they won.
Females with good sense would detour to avoid walking close to the players dorm.
This was one very fancy dorm, and the lack of punitive sanctions on OU players are doing 'boyish things ' was difficult to accept.

DAVE A on lack of academics in football mills: Remember Dexter Manley, Washington Redskins-illiterate!
I suppose instead of the 'backstreet' payoffs to players, we might as well go ahead and pay them. How much is far beyond any solution I could offer, but something needs to be done about the 'mask' that college football players are student-athletes'

Another facet: College football is the MINOR LEAGUES for Pro Football, there is nothing else available for the 'kiddies' to practice their skills,
in preparation for their Pro Skills and the draft.
 
Thursday night: Bears vs American Disasters

That's such a funny nickname for the team, Jerry. Thanks for the laugh!(y):sneaky:

We could offer light funny nicknames for other teams too...?

Pats I would say...
"The perennial "favorites" picked to win, by 'experts' whether they win or LOSE " :LOL:

KC...
"From rags to riches"

SF ...
"Other teams' cast-offs"


Saints?
"The always close but not quite, team? ":sneaky:

OR, "The team that should have gone to the Super bowl "
OR...
"the team that suffered from the worst ref non-call in NFL history" ?

Seattle and Green Bay...
the "Often down, but never out teams " ??

Chargers... the best QB who hasn't ever won anything:cry:
:ROFLMAO:
 
12-5-19
Tried to send Kaila, DaveA, Oldman, Marie 5656, Old and in the way a Pm last night, Two hours of frustration-Yaaaaaa!
Did get one off to Bonnie.
This pc is a terrible mess,
My Pc guru was here last week attempting to figure out why this one site is screwed up. (He is a self-taught guy) not really a guru, but he knows more than I do.
This one site does not operate as it should. He piddled with it, said, "I just don't know.'
 
I don't know who I think will win those 2 Sunday games noted above….

I will guess Saints over 49ers, by small margin, and maybe in an overtime period.
By a field goal kick, 31 - 28 ? :unsure:

I will guess, sadly for me, KC over Pats... but I can handle someone else having success. :)
I cant handle guessing that score, though. :ROFLMAO:

28 - 14? :oops:
 
I loved George Blanda! One of my favorite players on the "old" Al Davis Raiders. Also one of the last of the old-style, straight ahead kickers. Remember how everyone laughed at the Detroit Lions in 1966 for using soccer-kicker Garo Yepremian?

Every once in a great while coach John Madden would throw in a trick play where Blanda would come out to kick a FG but then pass to try for the first down. Worked sometimes, too!

Anyway, back to current business:
++++
NFL Week 14 Predictions
NY Times by Benjamin Hoffman, Dec. 6, 2019. Annotated by Lethe200, in italics.

Thursday’s Matchup: Chicago beat the Cowboys, 31-24
Everyone picked Dallas to rebound – and everyone was wrong. They fell behind by 24-7 in the third quarter and ultimately lost 31-24. Mitchell Trubisky of the Bears continued his resurgence, throwing three touchdown passes and running one ball in. The TV shot of Dallas owner Jerry Jones sinking his head into his hands said it all.

Chiefs at Patriots, 4:25 p.m., CBS (note: all TV times EST)
Pick: Patriots
KC’s Patrick Mahomes is 0-2 in his career against the Patriots. NE (10-2) and KC (8-4) are in far different positions this season, regardless of the standings. Their records cover up fatal flaws: the Patriots’ offensive shortcomings and the Chiefs’ inconsistency. But KC is trending upward, while the Patriots seem to be unraveling at an inopportune time.

Life is never easy for an opposing QB in Foxborough, Mass., and NE’s defense is certainly up for a big challenge. But after Mahomes came close twice last year, it may finally be his time.

Disagree. Maybe NE’s O will rise to the occasion – KC’s D is vulnerable to good passing. But they have not looked like the precision offense Belichick likes to run over the past four games. Can they get back on track? The Pats lost to DeShaun Watson and Lamar Jackson – and Mahomes is playing smarter now, if not so showily as his 2018 MVP year.

49ers at Saints, 1 p.m., Fox
Pick: Niners
To say the 49ers (10-2) have had a strong pass defense this season is an understatement. They have allowed one QB (Andy Dalton, Wk 2) to throw for more than 300 yards, two others (Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray) to throw for 200 or more, and held every other QB including Lamar Jackson, to fewer than 200. SF’s average of just 134.2 passing yards allowed a game would be the lowest mark since the 1976 Bucs held opponents to 129.8.

That pass defense will be tested vs the Saints (10-2). The 49ers will plan to force NO into a run-heavy approach that is not ideal for the Saints. If SF’s offense can score against a Saints defense (yielding 20.7 pts/game), SF can rebound after last week’s loss to Baltimore.

Agree. Niners know this is a must-win for them, to keep pace with Seattle’s easier schedule. Concerns about the Niners’ D’s front four health is real; Fred Warner won Defensive Player of the Month for November, but with the season loss of Armstead, SF needs Dee Ford (hamstring) in there to give Nick Bosa a chance to rush Brees. Richard Sherman’s (knee strain) leadership has enabled the SF young secondary to improve tremendously from 2018, but he’ll be needed under the noise pressure in NO. None of the other secondaries have experience in critical, noisy games, giving Saints QB Brees a mental advantage he will use.

Ravens at Bills, 1 p.m., CBS
Pick: Ravens Agree
The Ravens (10-2) beat SF last week in a messy rain, lending credence to an offense once written off as a gimmick. The Bills (9-3) have a strong secondary, and rushes the QB well, but the D is weak at linebacker. That leaves the team prone to plays in which Raven’s potential MVP Jackson finds yardage even when everything seems to have collapsed.

Seahawks at Rams, 8:20 p.m., NBC
Pick: Seahawks Agree
The Rams got WRs Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks back last week and smashed AZ. The Seahawks (10-2) are tied with the 49ers, Patriots, Ravens and Saints for best record. Bettors think the Rams are equal to the Seahawks, but I don’t see it.

Lions at Vikings, 1 p.m., Fox
Pick: Vikings Agree.
If the Vikings (8-4) win, they’ll have an 83% playoffs chance. Lose and it drops to 53%. Vikes’ Stefon Diggs is averaging a whopping 18.1 yards per catch, ranking fourth in the NFL. The Lions (3-8-1) have already allowed 53 passing plays of 20 or more yards this season, which is the third most of any team.

Broncos at Texans, 1 p.m., CBS
Pick: Texans Agree
The Texans (8-4) have Deshaun Watson, one of the NFL’s best QBs, up against Denver’s Drew Lock, its least experienced QB for 2019. Unless Watson breaks a bone, nobody can see the Broncos pulling off an upset.

Titans at Raiders, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Pick: Titans
During the Titans’ current three-game win streak, the Titans (7-5) outscored opponents by 108-69, with RB Derrick Henry rushing for 496 yards and Tannehill throwing for six touchdowns. The surge has the Titans trailing Pittsburgh in the wild-card race by just a tiebreaker. A road game against the struggling Raiders (6-6), who have scored a total of 29 points over the last three weeks, does not seem likely to interrupt that forward momentum.

Agree. Sigh. Josh Jacobs, outstanding rookie RB, has an injured shoulder and missed practice this week. If he doesn’t play on Sunday, Raiders O has even more difficulty scoring. QB Derek Carr’s outstanding 2016 year is looking like an outlier, and fans are starting to call for a trade or outright cut next year.

Colts at Buccaneers, 1 p.m., CBS
Pick: Buccaneers
The 31-17 final score made it seem as if the Colts were manhandled by Tennessee last week, but 14 of the Titans’ points came in a span of three minutes of the fourth quarter, thanks to a pair of huge defensive plays. Beyond that, Indianapolis actually matched its division rival in everything but the run game, where Jonathan Williams’s ineffectiveness got him benched. If Indianapolis (6-6) thought running against Tennessee last week was hard, it will be worse against the Buccaneers (5-7), who allow just 76.2 yards a game on the ground. Only one RB (Chris Carson/Seahawks) has broken 100 yards against them in 2019.

Steelers at Cardinals, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Pick Steelers Agree
Pittsburgh (7-5) kept itself in the playoff picture with a win over Cleveland, but Tennessee is pushing hard for the AFC’s second wild-card spot. Pittsburgh has a defense that may be the third best in football in overall balance and production, but its offense is so weak that assuming a win on the road is dangerous. The Cardinals (3-8-1) were routed by the Rams, with a terrible OL performance (QB Kyler Murray was sacked six times).

Bengals at Browns, 1 p.m., CBS
Pick: Browns Agree
Bengals QB Andy Dalton’s return as starter helped end the team’s losing streak (which dated to last season) at 13 games. Beating the Browns (5-7) in Cleveland seems beyond Dalton’s reach, but keeping the game close is more realistic than it would have been if rookie QB Ryan Finley were starting (Bengals were 0-3 trying Finley out).

Redskins at Packers, 1 p.m., Fox
Pick: Packers Agree
It is not that Washington (3-9) hasn’t shown serious improvement while riding high on a two-game winning streak, but rather the Packers (9-3) are a more talented and experienced team. QB Aaron Rodgers is 16-3-1 in his previous 20 starts at home and figures to have strong numbers regardless of Washington’s recent strides.

Pride will be on the line, but little else will be in these three games, none of which have any playoff implications:

Panthers at Falcons,
1 p.m., Fox
Pick: Falcons no opinion
The Panthers (5-7) have the best record of the bunch, but fired Coach Ron Rivera on Tuesday to get ahead of the feeding frenzy for coaching candidates after the season.

Chargers at Jaguars, 4:05 p.m., Fox
Pick: Chargers no opinion - but I wonder what LAC QB Rivers' problem is? He's been ultra-reliable for years, but the last four games he's been awful.

Dolphins at Jets, 1 p.m., CBS
Pick: Jets no opinion

Monday’s Matchup
Giants at Eagles,
8:15 p.m., ESPN
Pick: Eagles
Daniel Jones is in a walking boot to protect his sore ankle and is expected to sit this game out. Elisha Nelson Manning IV is expected to be back under center for the Giants (2-10). Beyond the chance to see a franchise icon in action, the switch to Manning shouldn’t make a huge difference for the Giants, who are enduring an eight-game losing streak. But with Philadelphia’s offense working through some issues, Manning might be able to make the Eagles (5-7) sweat just a little.
 
Lethe 200
Alex Karras defensive, Lions tackle, after retirement wrote a sports column before he was 'mongo' and on Tv teased Garo Yepremian unmercifully for stating, "I kick a touchdown. I kick a touchdown.'

My thinking is this" Pats have to lose at least another game+ Pick KC ,

Raven must lose at least one more+ pick Bills

Saints VS 49's-would you buy Saints
I'll keep picking Ravens, Pats and 49's to lose, after they lose I'll go back to saying, 'Oh yea, they'll win this week.


There has not been than many upset this year,but-Las Vegas picked cowboys 13 times to win= less than 40% accuracy
This weeks easy picks
The NFL East Conference will lose all of it's reaming games; when they play each other it will be 0-0 ties.
Redskins
Giants
Vikes
and the best hohum team of the year.
 
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I no longer watch pro ball.
I'm with you - mostly quit watching at least 10 years ago. Whenever I do try to watch a couple of minutes of it, It now seems more like "pro wrestling" every day.

But I love my Buckeyes. They play for the Big 10 championship tomorrow evening at 8. Last I checked they were 16.5 point favorite. Go Bucks.
 
The NFL East Conference will lose all of it's reaming games; when they play each other it will be 0-0 ties.
Redskins
Giants
Vikes

You've given up on Minn Vikings possibly making it into a wildcard playoff position? :unsure:

They'd only need to win more games than the hapless Rams, this year, to do it. Someone has to make it into that #2 wildcard spot. ;)

OH, maybe you meant that your team will lose to Vikes.

That is funny (tho regrettable and sad) about the fate you gave the games for NFC East teams. Will all tie at 0-0. :LOL:

It might be a record setting situation, when for the first time in history, :oops:they'd need to go down the entire list of tie-breakers, in order to give the division to a team because they are all so LOW on # of wins, rather than all tied at a high # or none are over .500 %.:rolleyes::sneaky:
Gotta laugh.

Is it time to disallow a team for playoffs if they end up less than .500?
Or some other alternate method of giving teams with more wins for the season, the wild card instead?

What do you people think?
I understand why most like the "divisions" method, but some years it seems too skewed for teams that don't have nearly as many wins as a team in another division.

NOT referring to any team in particular, Jerry!:D
 
Pick: Chargers no opinion - but I wonder what LAC QB Rivers' problem is? He's been ultra-reliable for years, but the last four games he's been awful.
I've wondered about this, too! He's a good QB, but doesn't seem able to lift his team at all, when needed. I haven't understood that, for years, now.
 
but fired Coach Ron Rivera on Tuesday to get ahead of the feeding frenzy for coaching candidates after the season.

This struck me as odd, because even with this timing being ahead of other teams, and seemingly giving them a head start,
still, they cannot interview any possible coaches from the more successful, playoff contending teams....
Oh, maybe they want to take a college coach?
 
Kaila says it is time to exclude any team from the playoffs with a won-lost record of less than 500.
I entirely agree: there is a bunch of blah, blah below, merely reinforcing Kaila's statement


Dumb me-the Vikes are not in the NFl East Conference, it should read:
A list of mediocrity known as the NFC East.
Eagles-
Cowboys
Redskins
Giants
It is entirely possible that the conference champion may be below .500 and that would be a shame!
Yes, any team at or below 500 or should be banished, you do not reward mediocrity.

However, there were four times when one conference put three teams in the playoffs. Twice in the
AFC and twice in the NFC East

In 2006 and 2007, two wildcard came from the NFC East, in 2006, the Giants slid into the playoffs with an 8-8 record.
When one conference is so dominate as to place three teams in the playoffs- that means the entire conference bullied the other teams
none conference teams. This is an anomaly, I don't care if they do have the best record to qualify as a wild card team, no .500 team should
be in the playoffs.

The NFC has five good teams with winning records: 49's. Settle, Packers, Vikes, Saints
If I were in charge, I would exclude any .500 team from the playoffs,-that includes a divisional champion with a .500 record.

It is possible the NFC East may have a divisional champion with a record of .500 or less, that should not be!
 
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Buckeye and drifter:
You'll have a point on college ball
Watched those 'cornfeed' boys from Okl beat Baylor.
You can't beat 'Beef' on defensive and offensive line.

LSU vs Georgia=both teams have 'corn feed' boys on DL and OL, difficult to pick winner, will go with LSU due to QB

Ohio State-gott'a go with those big old 'corn feed' boys; more beef

(Baylor had a WR named Zeno-don't you know he hated it when teachers said: "Okay everybody were going to line
up in alphabetical order.")
 

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