Official NFL week 3 Thread

[Don Vito Corleone]

What the heck is going on with Min this year? I'm down in the SE and don't get many of their games.

I know a lot of fans blame Ponder but frankly what few plays I've seen show NO decent pass blocking. The receiving core seems lackluster. The highlights on post game shows, at least for their last two games, look like Min is ahead very late in the 4th qtr but then the defense allows a touchdown with only seconds left in the game causing them to lose by a point. I.e., poor defense when they really need it.

I assume you've been watching the games. What, in your opinion, is going on? Are there really that many poor areas of play?

TIA

Fern

Actually their receiving corps is pretty strong - it seems to be a failure to utilize them. The O line is not stellar. Ponder is a strong athlete but tends to telegraph his intended receiver - this has led to many of his picks. In general I don't love Leslie Frazier as a coach - he seems awfully dispassionate and generally their offense feels stagnant, plus the team makes a ton of seemingly boneheaded mistakes.

 

[BUTCH1]

Are you honestly claiming the Patriots don't have an easy schedule? Of the legitimately good teams the Pats play, you get the Broncos and Saints at home, the Falcons and Bengals on the road, a Ravens team that was gutted to pay the salary of a QB who is middling in the regular season and exceptional in the playoffs and a Texans team that needed overtime against the Titans and a Philip Rivers implosion to get wins. The Steelers are reeling, the Dolphins winning streak seems unsustainable, you get multiple games against the cringe-worthy Jets and Bills, and you round out the schedule with the Panthers (pretty bad) and Browns (unbelievably awful). You don't face the Seahawks, Niners, Packers or Bears, but I guess in your defense you also don't get to face Oakland or Jacksonville, so that's something.

Hell, maybe I'm totally off base with the Patriots schedule. Using the ESPN power rankings (which are flawed, of course), the Patriots have 5 games against top 10 teams, 3 games against middle teams, and 8 games against bottom 10 teams. Half of the Patriots schedule is against the dregs of the league. How is that not an easy schedule?

The Ravens won handily last week and Carolina just beat the Giants 38-0 although to be fair I'm not sure if that's the sign of an improving Panther team or the G-men are really that godawful bad. It doesn't make any sense Eli's won 2 SB's, has the O-line gotten that bad?, wow...

 

[Phoenix86]

Just wait until the Broncos play the Eagles on Sunday. It's going to be a slaughter. Peyton might put up more fantasy points than week 1.

I'm more concerned with Broncos v. Cowboys.

edit: holy shit @ their first half of the year, 4 games v. NFC East.

 

[techs]

The Ravens won handily last week and Carolina just beat the Giants 38-0 although to be fair I'm not sure if that's the sign of an improving Panther team or the G-men are really that godawful bad. It doesn't make any sense Eli's won 2 SB's, has the O-line gotten that bad?, wow...

The talk in the NY newspapers and sports radio is that the O line seems to have gotten old all at once. It is also suggested that we are seeing the results of Eli Mannings 20 million a year contract. Once you pay your QB that much you really have to skimp in other areas and the Giants have been just marking time on both their O and D lines and players like Justin Tuck are just a shell of what they once were.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Man Oakland looks bad. That last series was embarrassing.

 

[MrRamon]

I agree.

Niners and the Pack will make the playoffs. Falcons I haven't paid attention to.

The Fish have zero chance. Do they even play against NFL teams right now or just against practice squads? Chiefs...I don't see anything big happening this year except maybe Andy gets them a winning record.

Seahawks are going to be the team to watch. Something special is going on up there.

Lol, wut? Miami zero chance to make the playoffs? We beat the colts on colts turf and then the colts destroyed the 49ers on an away game.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Lol. Great pass from McFadden there.

 

[lupi]

whoops, took a record from poor tommy boy.

 

[lupi]

miami just lost their best defensive player for about 3 games, will be interesting to see how they adjust.

 

[gorcorps]

Lol, wut? Miami zero chance to make the playoffs? We beat the colts on colts turf and then the colts destroyed the 49ers on an away game.

Wins aren't transferable

 

[thraashman]

I agree.

Niners and the Pack will make the playoffs. Falcons I haven't paid attention to.

The Fish have zero chance. Do they even play against NFL teams right now or just against practice squads? Chiefs...I don't see anything big happening this year except maybe Andy gets them a winning record.

Seahawks are going to be the team to watch. Something special is going on up there.

I'd give the Falcons a higher chance of making the playoffs than either the Packers or 49ers. They're all 1-2, however both of the Falcons losses came against teams that are 3-0 and both were by less than a touchdown. And the Dolphins loss came when 5 starters were hurt and unable to play and several more were playing hurt.

 

[rudeguy]

I'd give the Falcons a higher chance of making the playoffs than either the Packers or 49ers. They're all 1-2, however both of the Falcons losses came against teams that are 3-0 and both were by less than a touchdown. And the Dolphins loss came when 5 starters were hurt and unable to play and several more were playing hurt.

We'll discuss it in detail in the new thread. I'm working on the week 4 thread right now.

 

[lupi]

The AFC East stinks, right? The AFC East is 9-3. Every team in the division is 1-0 against the NFC.

 

[lupi]

3. New Orleans (3-0). Saints started 0-3 last year. Allowed 40, 35 and 27 points. Saints 3-0 this year. Allowed 17, 14 and seven points. Rob Ryan for mayor.



Too bad the Ryans suck.

 

[KMFJD]

Great run by Bell vs 'Skins