NFL Talk

you dont have to appologize. The simple fact is Seattle pretty much has to make the playoffs, the north is horrible and the east and south have to mutch competition with eachother.. even if AZ pulls some miracle to win the division seattle has a lock on a wild card.. but they will win the division just look at their schedule and find 7 loses its impossible.

then again i wouldnt expect someone who put 3 teams in from the NFC south and 3 teams in from the nfc east to ever look at the schedule. You do realise there are only 2 wild cards? (you have 4)

Oh and while betting sites will fluctuate a point or so I go through Bodog and AZ is -8 there.. but its sanfran who cares.

on that note..

how bout the cowboys being 2½ point dogs to the jags
GB only being 3 point dogs to the bears
The bengals are the dog against KC (a home field thing mostly)
NE being -9 over Buffalo looks sorta promissing cause NE always seems to get weaker but end up playing just as strong. They have also covered the spread 3 of the last 4 games against the bills.

anyone else here bet? got any great picks for week1? its always an interesting week to try betting.

Teasing always gets the better of me..

Im looking at Bmore +9½, Seattle even, dallas +9, GB +10, AZ -1½
paying out at 4/1 (bet 100 win 400)

I know GB prolly worries a lot of people there but if thye had an extra 3 points every game last year they would have won the division (i think i dont rememebr exactly) but the point is they still played most all their games very close.. also helps the bears cant score so it might just be 14-7

Baltimore i think will do good this season, but wont make the playoffs. hopefully mcnair has a good season and takes retirement off his mind

my bad, those will be the records. i have no idea what the strength of scehdule is goin to be like but i shouldnt have said those teams are goin to make the playoffs since a 10-6 team can miss it.

The away team will be this preseason's last previewing team. In the meantime...
Pittsburgh (Part I)

I'm just going to go position-by-position to start off with.
Quarterback. Big Ben is fine under the Wizz - that's not an issue. The backup situation is abysmal. Charlie Batch is alright, but how many people out there have truly watched him since his days in the Motor City? I have plenty. He is very sack-prone, and loves to throw tight throws. Only problem is I feel inexperienced WR's such as Ced and Nate will run their routes wrong and those throws will turn into INT's. Also, downfield Batch throws too high, so the free safety is playing centerfield many times on his throws. While he is at the helm, it would be in his best interests to utilize Willie Parker and Verron Haynes on screens and big Heath Miller. Ward is a safety valve for him, but Batch throws too much into traffic. Backup situation is worse. Brian St. Pierre was just re-signed and he's never taken meaningful snaps in the league. Omar Jacobs is not ready, leaving the emergency QB as Cedric the Entertainer, who played QB in high school. Ward will not take snaps under center.

Running Back - Willie Parker (just re-signed through 2009) is the type of back who will get stuffed on 19 carries in a game, and explode on 4 of them for 12 yards a pop. I had the priviledge of meeting Willie several times in the offseason (at the Clinton, NC Agri Center and also in his own driveway - got a nice autographed picture of us chatting as one of my fave pieces of memorabilia). Verron Haynes is doing the Lamont Jordan of the Jets thing this year...auditioning himself for future workhorse. That being said, he needs more carries in 2006 than just mop-up time and third-down. That will keep Parker at about 20 carries a game and not wear the poor guy out. Dan Kreider is a selfless stud of a FB. Duce Staley and Patrick Cobbs (just acquired from NE, I think that's his name) are non-factors.

Wide Receiver - Hines Ward is everything you could ask for in a possession receiver. He had his own personnel to assist in the hamstring dilemma, but considering his mentality for never being seriously injured in the past, I don't anticipate this to be a problem. Speaking of problems, depth might be an issue here. In hindsight, cutting Quincy Morgan might have hurt the team, because veterans like Batch love throwing to fellow veterans who know how to run routes. Just look at what Terrance Mathis did in 2002 for Tommy Maddox. I'll give you a hint...he made clutch catches in 2 games against the Clowns to lift Maddox's confidence and lead them to victory. #2 is Cedrick Wilson and #3 (in my book) is Nate Washington. Bottom line is, these guys are not going to become household names...ever. What they really need is for rookies Santonio Holmes (who has had a great camp) and Willie Reid (who has had a great preseason) to step up on second and third-and-longs. The other WR is Sean Morey, who is one of their special teams captains and does not field the ball on meaningful plays.

Tight End: Heath Miller. Not since Eric Green have the Steelers had such a versatile weapon to throw to coming off the line. Jerame Tuman has been a capable backup (and sometimes starter through the years), and I question why the team cut draft pick Charles Davis, but hey, I guess keeping 10 guys in the secondary was a priority this year.

Offensive Line: The ultimate strength of this team...just as long as NO ONE gets hurt. Left to right, Tackle Marvel Smith is a Pro Bowler with an occasional injury bug. He was spelled by Trai Essex during the Indy game and absolutely blown up by Dwight Freeney. Guard Alan Faneca is the best in the business, IMO. Willie Parker should be taking HIM out to dinner for that 75-yard TD run in the Super Bowl. Center Jeff Hartings keeps proving his constant critics wrong by making the Pro Bowl every year. Backup Chukky Okobi has a neck injury and the good news is it's not considered career-threatening, for he is the heir-apperent to Hartings. There's also some dingleberry named Phillip on the roster as the third Center. Kendall Simmons, normally Right Guard, has been taking snaps at Center in the preseason, and it's not looked good for him. He has diabetes, so if he keeps that away, he will have another solid season at Guard. Right Tackle Max Starks was a surprise last year. Look for him to get a contract extension after the 2006 season.

That's it for the offense. Here's a little tidbit: With the recent extension for Ike Taylor, the Steelers will have NO unrestricted free agents after the 2006 season.

Pittsburgh (Part II)

Going to the defensive side of the ball.

Defensive Line - Aaron Smith, though he's made the Pro Bowl in the past is underrated and the best 3-4 end in the game. I'd be curious, however, to see how he does this year with a contract extension looming on the horizon. Big Casey Hampton clogs the middle in the same fashion as Rent-a-Slob Ted Washington, and that's key for the 3-4 defense. With speedy linebackers coming off the end, Hampton must often taken on 2 or 3 blockers and still try to divert the off tackle run. He does a good job of that, and that's why he is the single most critical element of the defensive squad. When he was hurt in 2004, Chris Hoke stepped in and got the job done. I was shocked when that happened. On the left end, Von Oelhoffen is in New Jersey, leaving Brett Keisel with a promotion. He's not as quick as Kimo, IMO, but he disrupts enough to cause a bit of havoc. He will get as many sacks as Kimo, however.

Linebackers - The strength of the defense, but again, just as long as no one gets hurt. Okay, maybe only 1, because James Harrison is a monster as a backup. Before Porter really turned it on last year, many Steeler fans were calling for Harrison to take Porter's spot at ROLB. At left is Clark Haggains (also a guy I met in the offseason). Look for him to have a big year with those zone blitz packages LeBeau will be dialing up for him. Against Cleveland last year, Haggans went unabated to the QB on about 10 consecutive defensive plays. That was mostly Cleveland's fault, I'll give it to them. Inside, James Farrior is a (former) All-Pro who knows his role better than anyone on the team, and Larry Foote, who I did not like when he first came into the league, has made strides. He is the only starter still in the game during mop-up duty, and that is attributed to lack of depth at this position. Bottom line: keep these LB's healthy, and they'll be all over the field.

Secondary: Okay, unless there's something I really missed, there are 10 DB's on the active roster: Townsend, Colclough, Taylor, Smith, Polamalu, Clark, Carter, McFadden, Iwuoma, and Logan. They got four freakin' free safeties, for crying out loud (Logan played FS when Flowers was SS). This means, somebody better get the job done, because free safety is actually their weakest position back there. Ryan Clark is the starter, and I believe he will be displaced by Anthony Smith as soon as he is ready. Corners are actually a strength for them again this year, as usually it's their weakest link. Look for McFadden to challenge Townsend for the starting job. I don't think Colclough will take it. Taylor is fine at the other CB position. And we all know what Polamalu can do.

Special Teams - Jeff Reed is fine, Gardocki held off FA Barr b/c he could hold better on field goals, and Warren is a solid LS. After the disaster in the 2001 AFC Championship game on special teams, Cowher's made it a priority to address that. Therefore, there are 3 guys who made the teams just b/c they are studs in the kick return/coverage department: Morey, Kriewaldt, and Iwuoma.

Teams will have trouble running on them but, as years past, will be able to move the ball on this defense. Only problem is, after they let the opponent march 50 yards to the 30, they put the clamps on. Offensive-wise, they will take their lumps but they need to hope it doesn't take until week 5 to find their groove. Schedule in November is favorable.

Prediction: 11-5, with a 2-3 start.

" Hines Ward is everything you could ask for in a possession receiver. He had his own personnel to assist in the hamstring dilemma"

This isnt against Ward at all. I think he is one of the better recievers out there.

But this is about TO. Remember how everybody thought he was disruptive to the team because he got his own personal to fix the hamstring. Lookie here, Hines Ward did the same thing, but without the media.

I just hate NFL related media. They ****ing suck.

Originally posted by Smasandian
" Hines Ward is everything you could ask for in a possession receiver. He had his own personnel to assist in the hamstring dilemma"

This isnt against Ward at all. I think he is one of the better recievers out there.

But this is about TO. Remember how everybody thought he was disruptive to the team because he got his own personal to fix the hamstring. Lookie here, Hines Ward did the same thing, but without the media.

I just hate NFL related media. They ****ing suck.

YAY back to T.O. lol he got a standin ovation from the Dallas crowd. looks like they love em Dallas, which goes to show you that they didnt care or make a big deal out of the training camp situation. It was just the media stirring up shit and the shitty ESPN analyst.

fans love anyone who can put points on the board.. if TO doesnt perform in games or causes problems they will wanna lench his ass.

Originally posted by Lord Evolution
YAY back to T.O. lol he got a standin ovation from the Dallas crowd. looks like they love em Dallas, which goes to show you that they didnt care or make a big deal out of the training camp situation. It was just the media stirring up shit and the shitty ESPN analyst.

Oh I seriously think that the fans good judges of character....

Overall, analysts suck. And really, why does having ex-professional players as analysts? I know they've played the game, but alot of them just play it. I think to be a good analysis, you need a brain. Not Shannon Sharpe.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Overall, analysts suck. And really, why does having ex-professional players as analysts? I know they've played the game, but alot of them just play it. I think to be a good analysis, you need a brain. Not Shannon Sharpe.

I love playing the game where I count how many times my friends and I make a point minutes (sometimes quarters) before an analyst does. It's startling. 😐

Yeah..

Or the very obvious point. For example, " a good QB is a QB who throws more TD's than INTS, and can take the ball downfield to win the game."

No shit sherlock (I betcha you havnt heard that remark in awhile)

But my biggest pet peeve is when your team is losing and all they talk about is how good the player on the other team is playing..usually somebody is being hyped soo much, you want to kill somebody. For example, Big Ben in his rookie year.
Its like they cant actually analyze the play properly. For example again, somebody throws the ball and the defender makes a nice play, but instead of saying why it was a nice play, or what happened, they go, " play by Newman, anways, hope bout that nice throw by the QB....he really winged it in there.." Even though the play was broken up by the defender, they still rave and rant about the QB.

John Madden is the best at the obvious, but I love him. He's too easy to make fun of, so I don't. At least he's enjoying himself. The uptight "color" commentators who utter nothing but useless one-liners for most of the networks are the guys that bug me the most.

Yeah...John Madden is pretty obvious.

Another guy was the dude from ESPN.

"The key to running in football is to run between the whites upfield. If you see white, your running the wrong way."

Last but not least...
Miami

Have you ever heard their theme song? It's something like, "We are the Dolphins...Miami Dolphins." In a nutshell, it sounds like every other team's attempt at a theme song "everybody" can enjoy.

But I digress, for kickoff is only 13 hours away. I really like this team on all phases except for Quarterback, Offensive Line, and Secondary.

Only 1 guy returns from a secondary that formerly had big names such as Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain. They will need to improve quick if they plan on making the playoffs. But still on defense...this front seven is absolutely monstrous. And I mean downright frightening. Holliday, Taylor, Traylor, Carter, and Thomas to name a few of them. Wow.

I watched a lot of Auburn over the past twenty or so years, and I don't know why, but in recent years, I rooted more for Ronnie Brown than Cadillac Williams. Maybe I liked his tough style and ability to run through tackles. He's a better back, IMO. Miami did good with him. As far as Ricky Williams and Sammy Morris are concerned, I hear Dazed and Confused II: Training Camp is accepting casting calls.

Sure Randy McMichael is a big-time player. I just don't see it on a consistent basis. Maybe it's just when I'm watching, but the guy seems to always be fumbling or dropping passes. (watch him catch 9 balls tonight, heehee).

Prediction: 9-7 (miss playoffs)

This weekend is officially the best weekend of the entire year. Sure, playoffs are fun but those only consist of small portions of two days. And forget New Year's, Spring Break, your Birthday, blah blah blah stop boring me. This is it.

Thursday: NFL Kickoff...Defending Champs versus Nick Sabin's Fins.
Friday: College Game (PITT again) or get out of your house and see a high school game, why don't ya
Saturday: College football with 2 kick-ass Saturday Night Games.
Sunday: NFL Sunday, week numero uno with a Sunday night game featuring the Manning Bowl.
Monday: Not 1, but 2 Monday Night Games...and thank God one of them starts early like they did last year when the Saints played one time at 6:30, I believe. But this time it was planned.

I'm off from work Friday and Monday.

My mom's in a weekly poll at work. I actually told her to take the Fins this thursday with the points (4 and 1/2). I hope my Steelers prove me wrong, but it's kinda hard with all the bad luck they've had.

wait... someoen is giving her miami +4 1/2 ????? I hope that didnt happen too recently because the game opened at that line but the line has wayyyy changed to miami -1 1/2

Some office pools close off their lines the weekend before. Sounds a bit crazy, but often it's the easiest way to manage everything.

For instance, there's a general one going around in my town with a Wednesday deadline (but the points are given the weekend before. If they change, advantage gambler).

or disadvantage gambler depends which side of the line you take. Anyone who took Pitt -4 1/2 is gonna be a bit upset lol. THat is always a risk though. I generally wont place a bet until Friday unless I think a line is really favorable and will go the other way. Like the fact that Seattle opened at like -3 1/2 cant beat that shit, now its -6 1/2