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Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 7, 2005 9:30:25 GMT -8
The first half of the season has come and gone so I thought we'd take a look at where we stand. So far we can see that there are many challengers for this years SB, and the defending champion Pats, don't look like one of them. They can get back in it though, with a win against the undefeated Colts on Monday night  The Colts are doing great not only with their offense this year, their doing it with their defense. Who can remember this D holding so many opponents to under 14 so many times? The Broncos looked formitable agains the Eagles, look for them to be much like the Patriots have been in the last 2 years, a team without superstars, but with players playing their teamrole to absolute perfection. The other team I'd like to point out as a contender this year is the Steelers. They've got three running backs that can hurt you, and a D' that is a constant top in the league. The tears for me come because I'm a Packers fan. They are 1-7 with their latest fuckin loss. Every single game is like waiting for that one mistake which will cost them the game. sigh I'm already looking forward to next year for the Pack. |
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Post by Far Rider on Nov 10, 2005 12:54:28 GMT -8
Don't forget Carolina and Tampa Bay.
I don't think Pittsburgh can get to the top with the Indianapolis and Denver in the AFC, maybe even San Diego.
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Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 11, 2005 3:34:55 GMT -8
San Diego. It's strange to see such a good team with such a mediocre record, but that's what you get when you only play 3 quarters of the game.
I can still see that blocked FG returned for the game winning TD in Philly. Boy did Marty look pissed.
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Post by Far Rider on Nov 11, 2005 4:52:26 GMT -8
The Browns had Marty for a few years. They were a contender every year, but always found a way to lose, twice in the AFC Championship. It was the same with KC if I recall. Marty can't seem to finish a season anymore than he can finish a game.
SD looked unstoppable the last time I saw them but based on your comments they must have fallen victim to the Schottenheimer choke.
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Post by sneegro9783 on Nov 11, 2005 5:30:54 GMT -8
I still get confused watching football....why does a 60 minute game take 3 hours?
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Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 11, 2005 5:52:41 GMT -8
Perhaps there is something to Schottenheimer (tough name to spell) teams falling short. He does play in a very tough division right now though. With the 6 games against the Chiefs, Raiders, and Broncos, there aren't too many gimees and the Chargers have lost enough to make one believe their out of the AFC West race.
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Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 11, 2005 5:56:06 GMT -8
I still get confused watching football....why does a 60 minute game take 3 hours? One reason I do hate watching football on TV. The fuckin commericials. I watched a game last week where there were three playes and a commerical break after each. the first was a TD, the next was the kickoff (why the fuck do you need a commercial after kickoff?), and the next was the end of the Qtr. It took ten minutes to watch three plays  . If I ever wind up in or near a NFL city I'll probably spend a good bit of time at the games in person. |
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Post by Far Rider on Nov 11, 2005 6:42:58 GMT -8
Perhaps there is something to Schottenheimer (tough name to spell) teams falling short. He does play in a very tough division right now though. With the 6 games against the Chiefs, Raiders, and Broncos, there aren't too many gimees and the Chargers have lost enough to make one believe their out of the AFC West race. Look at the division the Browns were in, though: Houston, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati at the time. Not exactly pushovers, either. Back then a 10-6 record might get you a wildcard spot in the AFC, whereas NFC teams were winning their divisions with 9-7 records. The AFC West is a tough division, but it has been tougher in the past, as had the whole AFC. |
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Post by Far Rider on Nov 11, 2005 6:44:15 GMT -8
I still get confused watching football....why does a 60 minute game take 3 hours? One reason I do hate watching football on TV. The fuckin commericials. I watched a game last week where there were three playes and a commerical break after each. the first was a TD, the next was the kickoff (why the fuck do you need a commercial after kickoff?), and the next was the end of the Qtr. It took ten minutes to watch three plays . If I ever wind up in or near a NFL city I'll probably spend a good bit of time at the games in person. You'll still have to wait for them to play the commercials. |
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Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 11, 2005 7:56:43 GMT -8
Perhaps there is something to Schottenheimer (tough name to spell) teams falling short. He does play in a very tough division right now though. With the 6 games against the Chiefs, Raiders, and Broncos, there aren't too many gimees and the Chargers have lost enough to make one believe their out of the AFC West race. Look at the division the Browns were in, though: Houston, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati at the time. Not exactly pushovers, either. Back then a 10-6 record might get you a wildcard spot in the AFC, whereas NFC teams were winning their divisions with 9-7 records. The AFC West is a tough division, but it has been tougher in the past, as had the whole AFC. The AFC West in my opinion is the second toughest division in the NFL right now. First would be the NFC East. For the Browns division they have Houston, which is a pushover. The Bengals are a exciting team this year, but who have they beaten? Until they beat a tough team their a middle of the pack team at best. The Steelers are up there with the best and will most likely win that division. For the AFC West though, each team is a legitimate contender. The bottom team is the Raiders with Kerry Collins at QB, Randy Moss at WR, and Lamont Jordan at RB. I stated over at THC the Raiders should have run Jordan more at the start of the season and wouldn't you know it the Raiders started winning soon after doing just that. The Chargers will overtake the Chiefs if they finish their games, but the Broncos will win it this year. I have to agree with you though about the AFC. They've definitly taken the lead in elite football clubs the past couple of years. The Patriots have been a class act, the Colts have been there with them, now you have the Steelers, and as mentioned the entire AFC West. Whereas outside the NFC East the other divisions are an embarrassment. The NFC North will be won by a either a Bears team with a rookie QB, or a Lions team with no visible standout on offense at all. The South has the Panthers who aren't much of anything without Steve Smith, and the Falcons and are a run only club. There is just one thing though that always drives me to watch every second I can of these games though, and thats that on any given Sunday any team can 'shock' the world and beat the unbeatable  . |
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Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 11, 2005 7:59:17 GMT -8
One reason I do hate watching football on TV. The fuckin commericials. I watched a game last week where there were three playes and a commerical break after each. the first was a TD, the next was the kickoff (why the fuck do you need a commercial after kickoff?), and the next was the end of the Qtr. It took ten minutes to watch three plays . If I ever wind up in or near a NFL city I'll probably spend a good bit of time at the games in person. You'll still have to wait for them to play the commercials. I know, but at least in a stadium I'm looking for a hotdog and beer, and that live crowd is just soo much better than a couch in a livingroom. Oh, and did I mention cheerleaders!!! ;D |
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Post by Far Rider on Nov 11, 2005 11:33:37 GMT -8
Look at the division the Browns were in, though: Houston, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati at the time. Not exactly pushovers, either. Back then a 10-6 record might get you a wildcard spot in the AFC, whereas NFC teams were winning their divisions with 9-7 records. The AFC West is a tough division, but it has been tougher in the past, as had the whole AFC. The AFC West in my opinion is the second toughest division in the NFL right now. First would be the NFC East. For the Browns division they have Houston, which is a pushover. The Bengals are a exciting team this year, but who have they beaten? Until they beat a tough team their a middle of the pack team at best. The Steelers are up there with the best and will most likely win that division. I was speaking of when Schottenheimer was the coach at Cleveland. The AFC Central was probably the toughest division in the NFL at the time. Yes, the AFC is getting pretty good again, but the Panthers are nothing without Steve Smith??? What about Jake Delhomme? Steven Davis? DeShaun Foster? Nick Goings? Ricky Proehl? Kris Mangum? Carolina is as deep in running backs than Pittsburgh is! They have two first team quarterbacks and although they are a little thin at WR they are not exactly "nothing" without Steve Smith. Look at last year - with all the injuries they had they still had a chance to win the division. Say what you want to about running teams but Pittsburgh has made a living off of running the ball and playing defense. |
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Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 11, 2005 12:27:49 GMT -8
I was speaking of when Schottenheimer was the coach at Cleveland. The AFC Central was probably the toughest division in the NFL at the time. Ahh, your speaking before my time there Mike. I really got into football say about 10 years ago. I believe Marty was coach of the Chiefs back then. Last year they also had Mushin Muhamud (spelling?) who is now with the Bears. He helped make up for the loss of Smith. Delhomme is a better than average QB, but without Smith he doesn't have many other options at WR. Proel's good for that one critical catch you may need at the end of the game, but on average he's a quiet player. Davis is a very talented runner, but once again without the passing game we simply see the defense line up and expect run all the way. Foster is speedy, but any well disiplined defense should be able to stop a speedy running back before he gets to the open field. Last year they challenged in a division that Atlanta dominated, the bucs were domante, and the "aints" were medeocre. They lost in the last week to the Saints with a spot on the line. I was very hopeful they'd make it instead of the Rams, but what are going to do? The Packers have a 1-7 record this year. Their point differential is still plus 10 though on the year. That one win as a 49 point stomping on the Saints while almost all of their losses have been by less than 10 points. I'll blame it mostly on injurys to starting WR, RB, and the offensive line, but the point is that week in and week out they've been competitive. This would be the same with Carolina in my opinion. Smith is like Javon Walker on the Packers, he's a game-breaker and his level of play right now is improving everyone's abilities. Take him away and the rest are still as good, but they have everybody elses attention now. My bad on the calling them nothing, but without Smith they certainly aren't contenders. |
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Post by Far Rider on Nov 11, 2005 13:19:06 GMT -8
Your profile says you are in Japan. Do they have any football teams?
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Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 12, 2005 4:14:33 GMT -8
Your profile says you are in Japan. Do they have any football teams? They have soccer, which they call football. The only real close thing they have is rugby teams. I've had the pleasure of scrimaging against a few local teams whenever I'm in town, but as far as American football, the only time they have that is in the preseason when the NFL sends two teams to play in the Tokyo dome. I'm actualy a little upset because I had a chance to watch that game this year (Colts Vs. Falcons) and I passed it up because I didn't want to be on a bus that long and waste a whole weekend. I think I wound up wasting it anyway so too bad. |
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