jellydonut's NFL MEGA POST

[Russzilla]

[Russzilla]

[Russzilla]

HUGE game tonight as MNF gets a second straight meaningful game. Tonights Saints-Seahawks tilt should determine who will have HFA in the NFC at the end of the season.

[jellydonut25]

[Russzilla]

[jellydonut25]

The crowd is DEAD during those games, there's no tailgating allowed, the players hate playing there, the attendance is poor, logistics take a hit with certain players not being allowed to cross borders for various reasons, I hope Toronto implodes into a hole in the ground.

[jellydonut25]

After 12 weeks of play and 13 weeks of season, here's how I see things (I do this as how capable I think a team is of winning vs any other given team right now, which is why some decent teams might be fairly low, because they are in funks):

1.) Seattle Seahawks - I know the weather was bad, and Brees is more of a dome guy and Seattle's good at home and all that...but on a neutral field, does anyone think New Orleans would have won that game last night? This is the best team in the NFL running away.
2.) Denver Broncos - Those two wins over the Chiefs to me are really impressive considering the Chiefs have shown an ability to hang with these guys.
3.) New Orleans Saints - Yes, they got depantsed last night. Yes, they are vulnerable on the road. Yes, the defense is only slightly improved. But they still have Drew Brees.
4.) Kansas City Chiefs - The loss to the Chargers was a bit of a fluke. They aren't quite as good as the Broncos, but I think that game Sunday could have maybe gone the other way if a KC receiver could hang onto the football every now and then. They're on a 3-game skid, but they've proven to me that they're legit and with Washington up next, they'll be right back on track very soon.
5.) Carolina Panthers - This team is on fire right now. Winners of 8 in a row, they stopped a hot Tampa team COLD. The race between them and New Orleans (which gets underway this week and potentially decided a couple weeks later) is just about the only thing that's gonna keep me watching football right now.
6.) Cincinnati Bengals - Andy Dalton is playing AWFUL and they're still finding ways to win. If he can get his head screwed on straight, they're a very scary team.
7.) New England Patriots - Here's the thing with this team: they're good. They've been good for YEARS. They haven't been GREAT, however, since the year they went 16-0. Since that time, they've done little more than rest on their laurels, the arm of Tom Brady, and the top of what is quite possibly the worst division in football. Getting 11-12 wins per season just isn't all that impressive to me when you get 6 spotted to you because your division sucks. A fluke win over Denver and the ineptitude of the Texans is the only thing keeping them from finding themselves at 7-5 and in a fight for the division with Miami (who would blow it anyway).
8.) Detroit Lions - They're 4-1 in the division, the schedule isn't too difficult the rest of the way, and I think Matt Stafford has put his string of bad games behind him.
9.) San Francisco 49ers - Kaepernick goes over 200 yds for like the second time this year...They are benefitting from a weak schedule and a year wherein nobody seems to want to win.
10.) Philadelphia Eagles - I know Dallas is ahead of them in the division, but this team is on fire since Foles got healthy, and in a division that may go down to the wire, that week 17 matchup against Dallas could be huge.
11.) Dallas Cowboys - They are holding the rest of the division at bay, and I still think this is the NFC East winner, but I also never discount terrible coaching. Jason Garrett could find a way to blow this for them.
12.) Baltimore Ravens - Big win on Thursday. Maybe this team is getting back on track? It will be interesting. Remember, they were counted out last year after being 9-5. This year, they have a chance to be 8-6 at the same point of the season.
13.) Arizona Cardinals - They ran into a hot Philly team. That defense is still good and they have a shot at bumping San Fran out of the race.
14.) Indianapolis Colts - This team is who I thought they would be...the problem is the Texans aren't who I thought THEY would be. They're in a skid, and this is the point where they'd find themselves fighting for a Wild Card spot if anybody in their division were any good. They'll probably finish 10-6.
15.) Pittsburgh Steelers - Tough loss on Thursday, but if there's one thing I know about the Steelers, it's that they're never out of it until they're OUT of it...in two weeks they play Cincinnati.
16.) New York Giants - Winners of 5 of their last 6, it might wind up being a matter of too little, too late, but at least we can say it was more than likely their running back situation all along.
17.) Miami Dolphins - Give them credit for the occasional win despite the locker room issues...but I can't help but think that will catch up to them.
18.) St. Louis Rams - They're not giving up...but they just aren't that talented...
19.) Buffalo Bills - Scoff all you want, but here's the thing (and I say this with a DEPRESSED/DESPONDENT tone in my voice): This team is much better than its record. You don't beat the Panthers and Ravens, and take KC and Cincy to the limit if you're a bad football team. The problem with this team is (and this is WORSE than being a bad team), they just don't know how to win. If this team were 4-8 right now, with their only wins coming against the Jets, Dolphins, Browns, and Falcons, I'd know they're just a bad team and need time to develop. Losing the way they're losing and beat the teams they're beating...this is a solid football team that can't get out of its own way. I legitimately believe they COULD beat just about anybody ranked below them here (and some ranked above too), but they'd find a way to blow it. That's worse than just being bad, imho.
20.) San Diego Chargers - Talk about teams that don't know how to win. What is this team's problem? Year after year things are there for them and they refuse to just take the reins.
21.) Chicago Bears - This team is in a FUNK, and the loss to Minnesota is the exclamation point. !
22.) Tennessee Titans - With Ryan Fitzpatrick as their QB, some more last-second losses are probably a guarantee.
23.) Atlanta Falcons - It's POSSIBLE (though somewhat unlikely) that this team is getting healthy and will put together a string of wins at the end here to prove they were just massively injured up to this point.
24.) Oakland Raiders - I'd give McGloin the starts the rest of the way to see if maybe, just MAYBE he's a potential QB of the future.
25.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Three wins in a row coming into the game against the Panthers was impressive, honestly. Showed they hadn't quit.
26.) Jacksonville Jaguars - This team is a QB away from turning the entire thing around.
27.) New York Jets - Geno Smith is spiraling out of control. If they can't get him a string of at least good games down the stretch, this might be another QB that Ryan ruins.
28.) Cleveland Browns - They need a QB badly, but then again, how does your defense allow the Jaguars to march downfield on you?
29.) Minnesota Vikings - Another team that might be better off just laying down, getting a good draft pick, and nabbing a QB.
30.) Washington Redskins - Only because I think they could beat the two teams below them right now.
31.) Green Bay Packers - With Aaron Rodgers, they're in the top half. Without Aaron Rodgers, they're incapable of winning.
32.) Houston Texans - Wanna hear some pathetic stats? Outscored 172-90 in the second half combined this year; a point differential of -82. With a -93 point differential total, that means they're actually about as good as a .500 team in first half. In their losses, they've been outscored 151-49 in the second half, an average of approximately 15-5. They've scored a grand total of 4 second-half TDs in their losses, only one of which has come in the 3rd quarter, and two of which were when the game was essentially already lost.
To add insult to injury and highlight just how SAD it is that they have lost 10 in a row: They've only trailed in the first half in 5 of their 10 losses, and only by more than one score in two of those games (San Fran and St. Louis). They are in the top 10 for yards on both offense and Defense, but in the bottom 5 for scoring in both. They've had the best field position all year of any team in the league on both sides of the ball...and somehow have STILL managed to lose over and over and over. That's coaching, plain and simple. Second-half adjustments.

[Russzilla]

^Some assessments about your posts of The past NFL week...

Just give the NFC Championship trophy to Seattle right now. Nobody is beating them on that field. I haven't seen a HFA like this in a long time. Both sides of the ball just feeds off of that frenzied crowd. You're pretty damn good if you can keep Brees under 200 yards passing.

Say what you want about my Pats, you're only given the teams that are on your schedule. But I disagree with you on this point. Minus the Jets, the AFC East is much improved. Just look at the Bills and even the Dolphins. Those two teams ARE much improved. That being said, Brady is still showing why HE is still the best QB in the league. (yeah I said it) Even with the early offensive problems, he still finds ways to win games. And he and Belichick are still the best at making second half adjustments. And that Denver win was no fluke. Take away those 3 or 4 TO's in the first half that gave Denver good field position almost each time, and they basically hold Denver to pretty much nothing. Again, second half adjustments. Which brings me to...

Denver. I'm not as sold on them as I used to be. I think KC lost that game more than Denver won. I do not trust Manning in cold weather games. And it's going to be COLD wherever he plays in the playoffs. And that Denver defense is suspect. If they get the right team that has good balance on both sides of the ball come playoff time, they can be knocked out again.

My Cowboys. History shows they're about to fall this month. The division is there for the taking. At Bears, home against GB, at Washington, home against the Eagles. More than likely, for the 3rd year in a row, that Week 17 game against Philly will be for the NFCE title. This time though, the game is at Jerry World, and not on the road. Nick Foles is ballin' right now. But how much longer until we see the Nick Foles we've seen before. If it weren't for some ticky tack calls, especially when Foles threw that stupid INT, the Eagles probably would've lost that game in the end.

Kubiak and Shanahan better sell there homes, because they're done at the end of the season. And I'm fine with that. Mainly because I can't stand the Deadskins and their diva QB, and Houston, well, 10 straight losses says it all. It's gonna be fun final 4 weeks to watch.

[Russzilla]

[jellydonut25]

[Russzilla]

Honestly Jelly, in this day and age of free agency and parody in the NFL, the days of GREAT teams are over. Great teams win year after year and win championships on a consistent basis. The last teams to have success like that were my Boys in the early to mid 90's and the Pats in the early 2000's. (with Denver sandwiched there in between maybe, although I don't know if those were GREAT Broncos teams) Even your Bills teams from the early 90's were great teams. They just didn't win a Super Bowl. I don't know how good E.J. Manuel will prove to be, but your team is just a consistent QB away from being relevant again. I know i'm on the outside looking in, but it looks like they just need a QB, and a reliable WR to contend in the AFCE.

[jellydonut25]

I don't think the days of the GREAT team are entirely over...

the early 2000s Patriots were a great team. The mid 2000s Steelers were a great team.

As for the Bills, what they need to do to be relevant is WIN. Losing by fumbling TWICE within like 50 seconds of game time is a joke.

[jellydonut25]

The ACC/Big10 title games have a lot to live up to after how fun this SEC title game has been.

[Russzilla]

[O.Supreme]

Wow... hasn't been much talk here in a while. Anyway, today is pretty exciting 16 games and pretty much every playoff spot will be determined today. Sure many teams are "in", but I cant recall in recent history where pretty much every spot 1-6 in both conferences could change based on the outcome of the last games. I guess that parity for you. Not really much difference between a #1 and a #6. I guess if thats what the NFL was going for, they've accomplished it. I also get the mentality that for the fans they've designed things so that a team can turn itself around in 2 or so seasons if they make smart picks and trades. But I still miss the dynasties of the 70's-90's. In just about 11 hours all the dust should have cleared, and we'll know the 2013 playoff scenarios. Go Nine-ers!

[jellydonut25]

It's become EXTREMELY common in recent years. The new NFL scheduling basically dictates that this happens every year. They save so many division games to the end of the year, which prevents anything from being decided.

[DannyBeane]

My Bengals won, the Steelers were knocked out of the playoffs. Today was a good day

[jellydonut25]

[Hybrid Gojira]

Bengals won. Steelers out, Ravens out...

Tho I don't see us beating NE at their place. Too inconsistent on offense. Here's to hoping.

[DannyBeane]

[briizilla]

FLY EAGLES FLY
ON THE ROAD TO VICTORY
FIGHT EAGLES FIGHT
SCORE A TOUCHDOWN 1,2,3
HIT EM LOW
HIT EM HIGH
AND WATCH OUR EAGLES FLY
FLY EAGLES FLY
ON THE ROAD TO VICTORY

[O.Supreme]

My picks for Wild-Card Weekend

Chargers@Bengals -Bengals
Chiefs@Colts -Chiefs
Saints@Eaglers -Saints
49ers@Packers -49ers

[jellydonut25]

[mrbluehair]

Manning did a face palm when Succop missed the field goal. The last team anyone wants to face is the Jeckyl and Hyde a Bolts.

Terrible call or not, they got in and best all the big name teams to get there. Now do I think they will do anything? As a fan I'm conditioned not to think so.....however they can play scary good when you least expect.

[Russzilla]