First

WHAT IS THE MOTTO OF WEST POINT?

DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY, SIR!

It feels lonely here.

Any chance I'm going to play this week Mr. Sherman?

So B, if San Diego wins this week, that is my five in a row...we should have bet. You'll notice I didn't say 6 ;) but I do think they have the best chance of beating Indy. They gave them a run late last year at home.

Actually, I'm first. Who are you going to believe, me or your lying browser?

Do the networks alternate which weeks they get the national doubleheader? I'm in LA, so there isn't any local team, meaning we get the biggest national games each week. Last week, CBS had the doubleheader, and they apparently do this week:

Early games in LA: Colts@Jags, Bears@Steelers
Late game in LA: Dolphins@Chargers

Yes they alternate.

I want to request an Every Play Counts next week on Boldin and Fitzgerald. Not only have they been lighting up the whole year and been receiving little attention for it, but this week they face arguably one of the better cb tandems in the nfc, shawn springs and carlos rogers. Yes i am a redskins fan, but serious, vasher and tillman are having a better year and maybe gamble and lucas but that's it in the nfc. If there is a tandem i left out please tell me. Which reminds me, this is a list of cornerbacks who have played for washington in the past 5 years: champ bailey, deion sanders, fred smoot, shawn springs, carlos rogers. Joe Gibbs, please draft a defensive end this year.

oh yeah darrell green too.

Harmon predicts Steelers to win.

Bears win on the cards.

I won't be at the Steelers-Bears game tomorrow but I will be at Primanti Brothers as soon as the open at 11 getting my spot at the Bar.

I may even stay for the 4 O'clock games.

Niiiiiiiiiice......

New England's Nick Kaczur joins Matt Light as inactive for the Buffalo game.

They will now be accepting volunteers from the audience to play left tackle.

I have no idea who is going to win in the Oakland-New Jersey game. DVOA has Oakland at 16th and the Jets at like 30th. Should I put any stock in that? Oakland has Tuiasosoaphead at QB, though.
I wouldn't hesitate to pick Chokeland if it were in Cali, but the game is in New Jersey.n

#7 -

They generally alternate, but not always.

For example, this year CBS has nine doubleheaders. But due to the US Open in Week 1 they couldn't take a doubleheader on that date, so the league has to give them back-to-back doubles at some later point in the season.

In a typical year somebody will have back to back DHs at least once.

Snow game in Pittsburgh possibly.

Steelers......Bears......Snow.

Someone calm down Chris Berman, he may lose it.......

Looks like Curtis Martin is out. I'm taking the Raiders. The other game I'm torn on is KC-Dallas.

KC is 4-1 agains NFC on the road, Dallas is something like 6-1 aganst AFC at home last couple years. If that helps.

GO COWBOYS!
GO DOLPHINS!
GO BROWNS!
GO COLTS!

And GO STEELERS! Who if they don't win none of those other games really matter.....

Lions and Packers tonight........can't wait.

Nevermind. Remind me never to believe Woodson and Davis for stats again for NFL facts.

Hey Adam, not sure if we want the Jags to lose, we dont want them in a tiebreaker with us....better they keep winning and SD falls into a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Steelers.

"SD falls into a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Steelers"

HAHAHAHAAAA, whewww that was funny!

(face_worried)

where do I ask a fantasy question? oh what the heck...

I have these three spots to fill: WR, RB, and WR/RB
and these to fill them with:
Kennison
K Jones
C Brown
B Engram
D Driver
Randal El
I Bruce

right now i'm leaning toward
WR- Kennison
RB- K Jones
W/R C Brown

wadya think?

Hey Clod....what am I missing re:22?

The only reason Marques Tuiasosoaphead is starting is because Andrew Walter is injured.

Mike Brown will be replaced by Mike Green. Brown has been injured.
Brian Westbrook only has a mid-foot sprain.
McNair will start, Anthony Henry will start.
Nick Kaczur is out. Ashworth will play LT and Gorin will play RT.

Never thought about that with the Jags.......good point.

I stand corrected.

I'm off to Primanti's.......see you guys (and calig) later.........

Calig = Woman

Clod: I'd go with Brown, Kennison, and Isaac Bruce.

Quick fantasy Q of my own:

I can start 3 WRs and 2 RBs.

I have Roy Williams, Drew Bennett, Randy Moss, and Andre Johnson as options at WR. Pick 3.

I have Jamal Lewis (@DEN), Willie Parker (CHI), and Deshaun Foster (TB).
Foster is one. Who is the 2nd? Best on waiver wire is Maurice Hicks and Antowain Smith.

grumble. we're being treated to pats-bills, and only pats-bills, in the early time slot.

oh well. last week we got both steelers-bengals and giants-cowboys. i knew it was too good to last.

Ouch Sid. flip a 4 sided coin.
and what is the weather in NJ? I like Moss on carpet but you have four 0pts or 30 pts WR's there...again flip it.

Here in NYC, it's in the mid-30s with no precipitation.

What about the RB situation?

BTW, I like Chicago (+6.5) and Jacksonville (+9.5). Those spreads have continued to go up all week, and I like getting all the points there.

Curtis Martin is inactive.

Odell Thurman will not start due to a violation of team rules.

Cincy clinches the division with a win over the Browns.

RE: 18

lol. That doesn't help at all.

Here in Israel we actually have the Steelers-Bears in addition to IND-JAX and DAL-KC.

My fear with the Steelers is that they beat CHI and MIN then lose to the Browns.

RE: 30

All we get in the 1 PM timeslot is the Raiders at the Jets. LaMont Jordan returns to play his former team. Curtis Martin misses his first game in forever.
Amazingly, we actually get to see KC-Dallas in NYC. That's the only game I plan on watching today.

Is there a reason it seems like a bunch of people are on the Cardinals bandwagon this week?

I suppose:
1) Playing at home
2) 50 % chance they knock Brunell out of the game
3) Either Walt Harris or a LB will be covering Fitzgerald/Boldin at some point

I don't understand how teams can't scheme for Boldin coming out of the backfield. .. and what does it say about the Cardinals that they have a set where their #1 WR starts from the RB position.

RE: 36

I think that's the solution for me. Move to the Middle East so I can watch real football games. :D

Clod, I think Engram might be a good play against SF, but he's not a guy I follow.

Sid, I think I'd sit Bennett or Williams. Johnson's been doing better lately, and Moss is always a threat to blow up. They've all got good matchups, though.

At RB, I think I'd go with Parker. Is Cedric Houston on the waiver wire? (I just picked him up last night because I have Martin.)

RE: 40

Yeah, it came down to sitting Bennett or Williams for me. I think I'm going to sit Williams because of Al Harris.

And yes, I will pick up Houston and waive Parker. Good point.

Here in Los Angeles:

Early
Indianapolis @ Jacksonville
Chicago @ Pittsburgh

Late
Miami @ San Diego

... and Jacksonville doesn't have a chance, no matter how much hype the media puts on them. From here on out they will hype up whoever is playing Indianapolis to the extent possible...

I am, so glad I don't follow the Bears. Otherwise this song would be stuck in my head all season.

adewale oGUNleye
adewale oGUNleye
adewale oGUNleye
adewale oGUNleye

Bad enough we have it just today.

RE: 41

I waived Jeff Wilkins instead of Parker. I don't want to waive Parker until he loses the starting job.
So I'm starting Ced Houston and Foster at RB and Moss, Bennett, and Andre Johnson at WR.

... kiss the Redskins season goodbye...

A bunch of analysts just mentioned them as possible playoff hopefuls. It's the same thing that happened before they went on that 3 game losing streak... everyone jumps on the bandwagon and than the team goes into the tank.

FYI.. Lavar Arrington is most likely out with leg injury. Santana Moss is questionable, but will play.

Antrel Rolle is back for Arizona... he'll be a dime DB. A semi-matchup between him and Carlos Rogers.

Adam: Yeah, if the Jags lose this week, we need them to either win out or lose two more. Either way, it comes down to how many games SD and KC lose (SD must lose one, KC two; or if Jax loses three, either KC or SD can lose two and the other's final record doesn't matter).
Of course, there's always the part about us winning.

RE: 45

I'm not even so sure Washington wins today. I'm pretty sure they'll miss the playoffs. They'll end up 8-8 or 9-7 and miss out.

Curtis Martin is out for the season.

We'll win, Vash. Roethlisberger will come around.

I just wish I could root against the Colts this week :/.

And with 4:15 before waivers close in my league, I dumb Martin and grab Derrick Blaylock. Thanks Sid!

I mentioned this early this morning elsewhere. Do not be surprised if Orton takes a seat should he strugle the first series or two.

Also, to answer post 4, no way. Sherman is going down firing all his bullets. Playing Rodgers is in interests of next year. Sherman cannot count on next year. In fact, from what I hear he is already done.

Which confirms my whacky theory at the beginning of the season. Thompson set him up to fail. He gutted the offensive line and didn't bother to look for any linebacking help. And if someone suggests Robert Thomas in response to this latter comment then that person hasn't seen Robert Thomas play the position. Because calling him a linebacker is like calling Kordell Stewart a quarterback.

The injuries just helped Thompson along.

Crazy?

Well, either Ted Thompson wanted Sherman to fail as coach or the guy is a clueless GM. Either way, as a Bears fan I'm thrilled. Because Sherman is a solid football coach. His only drawbacks (as a coach) are his inability to have his QB play with SOME degree of discipline and a lack of understanding of "risk/reward". At key junctions Sherman regularly chooses the worse option. It's his calling card.

And as I have written repeatedly, Sherman's greatest legacy in Green Bay is his dreadful record as a GM. He has set back the franchise a good five years unless they fall into some players right quick.

UGH. Fox reception is terrible today. And I can't go to the pub to watch it, because I need to record it. Grrr.

Okay, I can fix the problem by standing about 3 feet from the television and not moving at all. Hoo-friggin-ray.

I wish I could afford cable.

1 minute after turning the TV on, I heard the announcer say "confluence."

How predictable.

According to nfl.com gamecenter, there's 0:41 left in the first quarter, and the Bengals just won the coin toss.

You know what... for the past 2 years I thought that David Gerrard was white.

I guess it's a testament to the confluence of Byron Leftwich.

RE: 50

I hope you mean you grabbed Ced Houston, not Derrick Blaylock. Blaylock broke his foot months ago and is on IR.

RE: 53

Yeah, I often have to do that with certain TVs. Stand there and hold the antenna.

Oh my lord, Hines Ward is awesome. Little guy just chugging and spinning and ripping out of DBs' hands.

Wow, Pitt scoring right off the bat.

I can't believe I benched Willie Parker.
Anyway, here's where Chicago is going to need a real QB.

Uh oh... not good for Chicago. Pittsburgh can just punt the ball from here on out...

Well, at least the Stillers found a use for all those screen passes they love to run on 3rd down.

And did you see that lovely tackle by Keisel on the kickoff!??

If Pittsburgh can beat Chicago, like they should, Seattle basically locks up the #1 seed.

So I see the Browns are up on the Bengals. In the unlikely event that Cleveland wins, what does that do to the AFC North race?

Re:#64

Yeah... It looked like there was a big hole there, and I was thinking "Oh no.. Here we go again..." But then Keisel managed to make the tackle.

Jacksonville manages to pin Indianpolis in at their 11... 89 yards later 7-0 Colts.

Not a good sign for Mr. Del Rio's defense.

So, yeah. Defensive struggle.

Only the Steelers' D would allow Orton and the Bears to march right down the field on them...

Terrible missed tackle by Joey Porter. Complete whiff behind the line of scrimmage leads to a 15 yard gain by Thomas Jones.

Don't tell me Tice lied again. He said Moore would start. He's killing my fantasy teams.

Tom Brady gets looked at on the sidelines as all New England stops breathing.

That was classic Orton in the redzone.

Woah... Peyton Manning just stumbled over his own two feet!

... he is human after all...

Looks like the Jaguars might be able to stop them this drive... 3rd and 15+ from the Indy 3.

Manning slips after the snap, falls back for a sack at the IND 2, and gingerly walks off the field.

This could be very interesting.

Sid:

He has looked better today.

C'mon, focus on the positive. ;)

Cleveland just RAN on 3rd and 7? Are they giving up already?

And that was a terrible throw by Roethlisberger. Maybe his hand really is a distraction.

Wow, talk about confidence.

Manning sets up in his own End Zone... Jacksonville gets a decent rush and he throws a dangerous pass over the middle. It got tipped up but no interception.

Did Orton throw an interception, fumble a snap, or muff a handoff?

Corey Dillon has been horrible this season.
Fantasy busts at RB: Kevin Jones, Curtis Martin, Julius Jones, Corey Dillon, Ahman Green, Priest Holmes, Jamal Lewis, Deuce McAllister, and more...

Indianpolis punted from their end zone. Pearman caught the ball at around the IND 45 and no one was within 10 yards of him. He got to the 26 yardline, and now JAX just drawed the Colts defense offsides...

they flashed up a graphic that said:

teams to start 13-0:
1934 chicago bears
1972 miami dolphins
1998 denver broncos

then the announcers said, "yeah, but only one of those teams won the super bowl." (pause.) "actually two of those teams." (pause.) well, i waited, but he didn't point out that there was no super bowl in 1934. i went and looked it up, and those bears (featuring bronco nagurski) went 13-0 and then lost the championship game to the 8-5 giants. unfortunate.

Great, isn't it, Sid? My starting RBs? Cory Dillon and Julius Jones.

Over where we're watching, we think Brady may have tweaked a hammie. He was limping on the tail end of that scramble, slid down without getting hit, then limped more when he got up.

Well, that was badly underthrown by Ben...

Ben for two drives 143.75.

Yeah, and I have it pretty bad as well. I drafted Jamal Lewis 11th in all 3 of my leagues.
I desperately wanted to draft 3rd, but I got stuck drafting at the end in all my leagues.
If you drafted top 3, chances are you're in good shape. If you didn't... Culpepper, Moss, McAllister, Jamal Lewis, Joneses, etc.

Oh, I should mention whoever wound up with Edge (the 4th or 5th pick in most leagues) also wound up in good shape.

ok, what's an "Illegal Crackback"? Not that I'm complaining...

Auction leagues > draft leagues.

Frye in Cleveland certainly seems to be sparking that offense nicely.

Cincinnati's defense is proving that they really do suck. They just got boosted in DVOA because of their excessive amount of INTs. Similar to KC of a few seasons ago...

I had the 8th or 9th, I forget. BUT I had good intuition. I picked up Delhomme, Bulger, Smith, and Johnson. If my RBs weren't a disaster, I'd be running away with the league. As it is, I'm second in points (and, amusingly, third to last in standings).

Cleveland just scored again. Dare I hope?

Correy Dillion has been fine when he plays Sid. Not as good as expected, but hardly a bust. Unfortuantely, he hasn't played much.

I love that the anouncers informed me in the MIN/STL game that "Joe Vitt told me that STL came here to win today" Thanks for clearing that up, I thought they came to intentionally lose.

I drafted edge at 5th :) And then Dillion at 12th :( in my main league. But hey I clinched the number one playoff seed in that league at 10-1 so I cannot complain.

Whoever does the NFL.com play-by-play for Buffalo home games should be commended for his detailed work. Two examples:

3-5-BUF44 (4:04) (Shotgun) J.Losman pass incomplete to S.Aiken. Thrown away after pressure: R.Seymour. Receiver at 50, right sideline.

3-4-BUF33 (14:01) D.Branch right end pushed ob at BUF 23 for 10 yards (L.Fletcher). Reverse, handoff from T.Dwight after original handoff from T. Brady.

Pass... interference... off... wha? They still call that? For that? Huh?

And STOP CALLING SCREENS ON THIRD AND LONG!

Fnor:

What was that you were saying? :)

Marques Tuiasosoaphead has made some really bad throws. He looks awful out there.

Wow, if they can keep this up, Pittsburgh's going to have an insane jump to weighted DVOA this week.

How come 5-yard holding and a 15-yard facemask penalties offset?

It doesn't matter to the Colts (who were screwed by the call) as Manning goes 65-yards to Harrison for the TD on the first play.

Chicago's D is looking worse than anyone the Steelers have played since the Browns.

RE: 92

That's what I hate about head to head leagues. I have a similar situation in one of my leagues.

Huh. Whoever is doing NFL Gamecenter for NE/BUF has been putting lots of nice little extra details in the play-by-play entries, like "flare left" or "pass tipped at goalline". Cool!

Am I the only one who loves the handoff to the fullback on short yardage plays?

Are you kidding me! Mathis bites on the play fake / double move and let's Harrison get behind him... did you even watch tape of the Indianapolis offense?

And good job by Indianapolis if they thought he was susceptible...

BTW it was a 10-yard holding offsetting a 15 yard PF.

To be fair, despite that rash of penalties, this game has been really clean. One delay of game due to a challenge, one block to the back on a punt, and then a wierd offensive pass interference and then a defensive holding. That's it. Good stuff.

I love you, Bettis.

I'm wondering how long the Indianapolis/Jacksonville game can have exactly the same score as the Pittsburgh/Chicago game.

7-0, 7-3, 14-3, both games.

Ben in three drives 156.25.

Huh. Whoever is doing NFL Gamecenter for NE/BUF has been putting lots of nice little extra details in the play-by-play entries, like “flare left� or “pass tipped at goalline�. Cool!

That's Buffalo stadium. If every play-by-play guy in the NFL did that, I think Aaron would die of happiness.

Buffalo is pathetic. How do you not show up at home against the division leading 3 time Super Bowl champion Patriots?
I know Moulds is suspended and McGahee has a virus, but there is no excuse. Could the defense show up? They still can't stop the run without Pat Williams.

The steelers need to get a kickoff specialist. How many touchbacks have they had this year? I have no idea, but it can't be high.

Man I'm pissed. In San Jose all we get is early Oakland NYJets and late 49ers at Seattle. Plus Detroit Green Bay tonight. How is this possible? How can the network deals be so bad that this could ever happen? Is it too much to ask to watch Indy Jack or Chi Pitt? or even KC Dallas? Do the networks know that they're forcing people to buy packages?

Well, if the QB'ing thing doesn't work out for Kyle Orton, I'm sure he's got a good future in the adult film industry...

Wow did the officials miss an obivous PI call in the MIN/STL game. Johnson threw a perfect bomb to Robinson and just before the ball got there and Robinson started raising his hands Ivy grabbed one of Robison's arms and held it down.

I think this happens alot because th sideline ref cannot see through the players and the others are too far away. Sadly I think Defensive Backs are taking advantage of this as I see it more and more.

Note to Antwaan Randle-El: STOP SUCKING.

Is it me, or is the ball popping out a lot in this game? ARE fumbles; fortunately Ced Wilson recovers.

Alvis Whitted just had a deep ball hit him right in the chest. He didn't put his arms up or anything, it looked like he was playing soccer or something.

Does Jacksonville always play so chippy? They seem to be extra aggressive on every play, even when they don't get flagged for it.

The Colts are really good.

Jacksonville is getting killed with the 15 yard penalties. As if the Colts needed any help...

The upset is not happening today. 13-0 and back to Indy to host San Diego.

If the browns pull a miracle, I just might be able to root for SD next week....

We've secretly replaced Drew Bennett's hands with giant stone replicas. Let's see if anyone notices.

OK not that good.

Hooray questionable calls. One could say that Townsend was in position for the throw by jumping the route, and muhammed ran into him. Da Bears better not get points off this.

On the last drive Harrison just had the exact same play as the Pollard TD that was overturned for the Lions against the Vikings.

He caught the ball on the sideline, and tapped his toes, but after his right foot was down the ball moved from his chest to his waist. To me it looked like he was still chasing possession and he didn't control the ball to his waist. But it was a very very close call...

I like the trickery by Indianapolis too... if it works they are up 21-3... but you have to wonder if their chances would be better just running their offense... Hunter Smith throwing a pass or Peyton Manning?

Only in the NFL can you get a penalty for standing still.

(@Townsend)

Am I the only one that's thinking that Orton isn't playing that badly today? Pittsburgh's defense is covering players really well, so I can't blame Orton too much for completion percentage.

and now townsend hurt himself tackling Orton. What a weird series of plays.

Pat: I agree with you wholeheartedly. I've only seen two bad throws that weren't rushed, and one of them was only a couple inches above the guy's hands (in the endzone, though).

Jaguars are PATHETIC. They get the ball with 2:20 left, down 14-3. They try to RUN OUT THE CLOCK! As expected, they fail miserably, giving the Colts yet another chance to score.

Sid:

Post 91. EXACTLY. Only when I brought it up at the time everyone cracked on me. Even Aaron chimed in writing that if I had any "research" to justify my stance that the Chiefs were just lucky as opposed to being good then post it. Otherwise, I should just hush.

Glad to know there are a few people around with a semblance of common sense. How anyone can watch the Bengals defense and term them anything other than "mediocre" baffles me.

Boy, am I regretting starting Bears D. And not starting Roethlisberger.

NOOOO! Cowher prevents the bizarro Indy/Jax Pit/Chi link from continuing, as Indy goes up 17-3 and Pittsburgh walks off the field at the half. Dangit!

Oh, and would someone PLEASE teach Dick Stockton (I think) to pronounce people's names right? Seriously - he's screwed up Muhsin's first name, Polamalu's last name, and Robbie Gould's last name. OK, the first two aren't that easy names, but it's not like the guy's never heard their names before.

Ben for the half 130.6.

Pat: You missed the beauty of "T J Hosh-man-zah-day." He refused to say his name until around the third quarter, when he finally got it right.

Lights go out at the meadowlands.

Re: 133 - Is he saying "Gould" or "Gold"? For some unfathomable reason, Robbie the kicker has insisted it's "Gold." There we go, a family who can't pronounce their own name.

YES! The Oakland-Jets feed has a problem, so we're getting another game instead for now ... but ... Cincy-Cleveland? I guess that's the closest one right now.

ATT YDS TD LG
J. Bettis 1 1 1 1

I'm so easily amused.

Doh, the feed is back :( Just in time to see the Raiders miss a FG.

It's actually pronounced "Goa'uld." He now possesses the kicking strength of ten men.

The lights at Giants Stadium went out, and so did the game feed. LMAO!

The lights go out on the Jets season...

Re: 131

Haven't been watching the game, but CLE had a short field for both TDs -- 56 and 19 yards. Other two drives were 6 plays -5 yds.

Even with a two touchdown lead i don't see why the colts are ever running at this point

Lots of people mispronounce their own last names. Especially in this country where many immigrants tried to hide their ethnic origins. I knew swedish brothers (they were in their 90s) whose lasts names were Rodberg and Roberge respectively.

The new music facility at my alma-mater was donated by a 3rd generation German who insists his name (Weber)is Web-BER instead of VAY-ber.

Imagine the Pats defense actually getting a shutout.

Joey Porter sacks Orton at the 2. Wow.

Web-BER??? I've never heard anyone pronounce it that way, weird. WEB-er, sure. Or WEE-ber

Nice holding penalty, Sean "ST Ace" Morey...

Tunch Ilkin, the Steelers broadcaster, keeps pronouncing a gutteral "h" in Muhsin Muhammed's surname. But Tunch is from Turkey, so it makes sense.

Michael Cloud must die.

Pats going in for a score and Cloud stone-hands (an admittedly not great pass) into a Buffalo INT.

How exciting is the Raiders-Jets game? It looks like edge of your seat excitement!

And Hobbes takes it right back on a nice INT on a long bomb to Parrish. To the surprise of Pats fans, a Pats DB played side-by-side with a receiver, jumped up, and pulled it away from the receiver.

Is NE-Buffalo turning into an interception-fest?

How bad is JP Lostman? So bad that even the New England defense can't make him look like a competent QB.

The Jets traded their first rounder for a guy who can't catch, and a 2nd rounder which they used on a kicker who can't kick off. Brilliant moves.

Curses! Stupid slippery field...

What's up with the o line? If I can't complain about them, who can I complain about? :(

I love you, Jerome Bettis! You are a human tank.

I really am starting to wish that the Bears would bench Orton. I really liked the idea of continuity for a while, but they're getting dangerously close to the playoffs, and that would be a disaster. I actually enjoy watching the Bears this season, but when that offense comes on the field, I find something else to do... of course it has to be something really quick, since they're 3 -and-out consistent.

Ben 113.2.

Re:#58

You can complain about Sean Morey...

#161: And replace him with what? Grossman isn't any better, and hasn't been able to practice all year. When your only viable QB is a rookie, you need to expect to have a sluggish offense.

Let me guess -- TMQ will complain about Buffalo allowing that WR hitch TD to Troy Brown.

Re: No. 145
you mean like "Theismann"?

Oooh! It's all knotted up in Tennessee!

C'mon Rams!!!

I think Thomas Jones just set the out-of-bounds sliding record at something like 15 yards. That was hillarious.

Um... guys? An 18 point lead doesn't mean you are allowed to stop tackling...

Why is Tuiasasopo (sp?) starting for Oakland? Is Kerry Collins injured?

For the love of God, Cleveland, get a hold of yourselves!

Oh, I get it, their line is so bad, they'd rather let Tuiasasopo than Collins get sacked a bunch and possibly injured.

Man, I wish that were a real kick so I could make another bad stargate joke.

Ok, who the heck is going to buy a 52 yard FG attempt in the snow at Heinz field?

Re: 163 - I'd just replace him with Grossman. He was much better than this - he has a bit of accuracy. And if Grossman gets injured again, then your questions are answered, and you know its just time to get rid of him. What have they really got to lose, with no real hope in the playoffs? A team just cannot get very far with such a pathetic practice-squad offense.

That was a give up call.

Just really, really weak. You are down by a kajillion, you supposedly have a good defense, you HAVE to go for it.

Field goal kicker punts?

Please........

Hah! Look at Bettis run! Not bad for an old, fat guy...

RE: 93

Well, Deuce was good when he played also. He's still a bust.

Kyle Brady: 4 catches, 3 fumbles

So simulataneously Bettis breaks a long run and the Vikes score another touchdown.

grumble, grumble......

Wow. I really wish I could tell what the heck is happening in the Pitt/Chicago game. Haynes runs up the middle, and I'm like "okay, it looks like he gained a yard... hey, what the heck, that looked like the ball flying up..."

Sigh... Some things never change...

Um, Mr. Whisenhunt? The draw to Verron Haynes on 3rd down is a little old...

The Jets are going to win. Amazing. They're blowing their chance at a good draft pick.

What? You gotta be kidding me. There's no way he had posession before going out of bounds. I don't care if he was pushed, he was drifting backwards anyway. Horrible call.

And the rule is stupid anyway. If you push him out, it should be incomplete.

Oh, and I'm talking about the Jets TD there.

#176: I still don't see how you can say "Well, we'll find out about Grossman" and that's somehow better than letter a rookie that has some promise develop. The Bears aren't going to win in the playoffs with Grossman if they can't win with Orton. The Bears are a young team. Their D will be around for a good while. But the Offence, the WHOLE offence, needs work. You by no stretch of the imagination can pin this all on Orton, because aside from him, the only player that's coming close to performing is Jones.

Rookies play like this, even post-Roethlisberger. What you have is a rookie with pretty good potential. Like I said, in the first half, when the field was actually throwable, I only saw two bad unrushed throws, one of which was a throw that any starter in the NFL could make. Cut the kid some slack.

Oh my! A TD in the Raiders- Jets game!

Who is that wearing Kyle Orton's jersey, and how do the Bears keep him around?

Normally, the refs screw the Jets so the Jets lose. Now, they're screwing the Jets so that the Jets win.
Phantom touchdown. McCareins was like 3 yards out of bounds.

Well, maybe there's still a game going on Pittsburgh...

Poor Gould missing the PAT. Perhaps only the strength of 3 or 4 men.

RE: 92

Bulger and Delhomme were good picks?

There will be fingers wagging at Ike Taylor in the film room this week.

RE: 93

I love that the anouncers informed me in the MIN/STL game that “Joe Vitt told me that STL came here to win today� Thanks for clearing that up, I thought they came to intentionally lose.

It's not as obvious as you would think. Watch the Raiders today.

Can't blame him that much, though. While the announcers have said "he should be used to kicking in this kind of weather", while the weather sucks in State College, it doesn't snow that often before late November, and they're done by then.

Plus the snow is coming down really fast. That field's gotta suck.

Incidentally, regarding Gould's last name - has he really said that it's pronounced "Gold"? Wow. They pronounced it wrong his entire time at Penn State, then.

Uh, yeah.
Delhomme: 2600+ yrds, 28 TD 13 INT
Bulger: ~2300 yrds, 18 TD 9 INT

And Bulger was only in half the year. He served me very well.

Now I can switch over to Roethlisberger, now that the wheels have fallen off Carolina and StL is in the middle of their Ivy League renaissance. I think I've done pretty well.

Debate topic:

RESOLVED: Tom Coughlin is a bad coach, because his big "strength" is his disciplinary tactics and yet he can't keep a team from jumping off sides 46 times in one game.

AHAHAH, they were numbering people saying "Look at all these guys in the box" So they do the ROLB, the RDE... and then start numbering steelers. Bettis was the eigth guy in the box!

Charlie Frye just doesn't sound like the name of an actual person to me.

He just scrambled for a first down at the 12 though.

And all of a sudden it's a game. (If the Raiders make the 2pt conversion)

Geez... everytime I look at the Jax-Indy game, Jacksonville has fumbled the ball away...

Re: 186 - Yes, you're right... I'm more down on the Bears receivers, but there they really have no options. At least I've seen Grossman throw some pretty passes.

But I can agree that allowing continuity and development would be great, especially given the Bears' history.

Thank you, CBS, for switching to Bengals-Browns from Jaguars-Colts.

Pat, 195:

True, it doesn't snow that much early in the winter. (Of course, I've been there when it's snowed in February, and stuck around until May.)

Yup, really surprised me, too. Apparently, he was afraid to correct the pronunciation his Special Teams coach was using until he had hit a few FGs first.

Why bother challenging this? If it gets overturned, instead of a TD, the Raiders get the ball on the 1 inch line, and have 4 tries to ram it in there.

OK, I guess it will make them take more time of the clock before they score, which is good for the Jets.

But I don't think it's getting overturned anyway.

WHY DID THEY NOT GO FOR 2???

Oh, these assholes just switched to the Cle-Cin game from Ind-Jax. I don't care how close the battle of the orange helmets is, I was WATCHING that game!!!

Note to Antwaan Randle-El: STOP SUCKING!!

Oakland is trying so hard to lose the game. They didn't even go for 2, when that's really their only chance.

Go Cleveland!

Oh, that sounds weird to say...

J.P. Losman in a nutshell:

Last Play: 1-10-BUF 34(8:08) J.Losman pass incomplete to R.Parrish. Pass bounced to receiver at BUF 39, left side.

Indeed, calig. GO LEPRECHAUNS!

Thanks for pointing that out Travis, now I can switch to a decent game. (Who ever thought that I would say that regarding Cin-Cle)

Wow, what happened in the Carolina game?

Fake FG for houston gets them a first down at the tennessee 25. game tied at 10

Ok, I just heard an announcer say that most NFL coaches work for 18-20 hours a day. No one works his much. After a week you would be worse than useless without drugs. And even with drugs you would become more and more erratic. I always love these myths about NFL coaches getting 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night, CEOs working 70 hour weeks (sure if you counting chartered plane rides and hotel swims as working).

Have any of these people tried to function on 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night on an extended basis? It is impossible to do it and maintain any sort of mental or physical sharpness. Not to mention the fact that you will constantly be dosing off, and might start hallucinating after a two weeks even without drugs.

On a more personal note

Talk about lucky and I am 5/5 against the spread and 4/5 on the over/under. This must be to make up for some really poor weeks I had earlier in the season :).

Hey, since I'm only getting the online gamecast, as a semi-Bills fan, do they really look as terrible as the stats would indicate? Who is worse, the OL or Losman?

To the sighs of relief of Pats fans everywhere, Flutie comes in to relieve Brady.

Wow, now I KNOW the officials are on the Jets' side today. One of them just assisted on a tackle of Tuiasasopo.

Re: 195 - Yeah, that's exactly what he told the Chicago media. All the time he was there, apparently.

Fitzpatrick (Stl) isn't playing very well.

Generally when you're trying to pooch the punt, you don't blast it through the endzone, Mr. Gardocki...

70 hours isn't outrageous. If you work every day, that's 10 hours a day. You could sleep 8 hours a day, and still have 6 left over for personal time.

I'm in grad school for molecular bio, and I KNOW some of my classmates work 60 hours a week, and they still go out drinking with me a couple nights a week. I'm sure there must be some that work 70.

Aaaand the steelers go into prevent. Doh.

Blocked FG in Houston-Tennessee...

Yeah, but the point is CEOs don't work 70 hours a week. I am sure lots of people with two jobs do, or professors working towards tenure, and lots of other people. But, CEOs spend a large amount of time golfing flying in planes and such that is considered "working".

Colts/Jags: It's a ballgame.

Well, Losman threw a TD pass.

Unfortunately it was to New England...

Still a game in Jacksonville. JAX down by 8 with 1:54 left...another onside kick coming.

Dick Enberg's favorite verbal tick: "He's wide open!" If a QB completes a pass, the receiver is wide open no matter how many other defenders are in the screen.

Patriots win, Jets win, Bucs win, Vikings win.

Ah, OK, I get it. Ooops.

JAX kicks off deep with 3 timeouts remaining.

What the heck is going on with Browns/Bengals? Please, Browns, please....

To answer my own question, two automatic first-down penalties on the browns when they were holding. Idiotic.

If gamecenter is to be trusted.

What a stupid penalty in the Cle-Cin game. What an idiot.

RE: 213 Panthers/Bucs

3rd down efficiency:
TB: 10/17 59%
Car: 1/10 10%

4th down:
Car: 0/2

Simms: 20/27, no turnovers
Caddy: 29 rush, 112 yards, 2 TD

Panthers INT in the red zone late in the 4th, returned to mid field, followed by a Bucs drive and Williams TD run on 3rd and 9 at the 11 yard line.

man, oakland is letting cedric houston and vincent askew churn out first down after first down to run out this game. now thats what i call defense. TD! SEE YA!

1st down Colts. Game over.

Colts got the first down, game effectively over.

if the colts can grab one more first down the number of first downs for each side will be the same as the score.

Colts win as well.

Becephalus - are you basing this on anything in particular? I won't disagree if you say that CEOs are overpaid, but from my admittedly limited experience, they do consistently work 80+ hour weeks. At least within the accounting, insurance, hedge fund, I-banking, and software industries (plus law partners), 80-100 hour weeks are not uncommon for senior executives.

ARGH. The rest of the season would've been so much easier had Cinci lost to Cleveland. Oh well. History now.

Indy clinches the division win and #1 seed in the AFC playoffs. So now I can stop seeing those "the Colts haven't clinched anything yet" posts. (And start seeing the "Manning can't win the big game" posts.)

#233 - The first of those holding penalties didn't look like a penalty to me. But I had the sound turned off and didn't hear what the announcers might have been saying. That would have made it 4th and 8 from the CLE33 with :51 left.

Re: 238 - But not before Jags were able to nearly equal the Dolt's yardage.

Wish I could have seen the end of the game.

Not that this matters much at this point in the season, but the STL special teams looked aweful today. Particularly thier return teams and the coverage on kickoffs.

E. James' success rate should take a hit after today's game. JAX D played well against the run.

A lot of pretty pissed gamblers right now, I bet. Last line I saw, Indy was favored by 9 over Jax. They were up by 23 midway through the 4th quarter, then allowed two garbage TD's (including one 2pt conversion), and Jax covers.

I don't care though. The only bets I had on Indy were teasers, and those came out fine. :)

Phil Simms on the NE Patriots:
"They're gonna go to the playoffs, I don't care what anybody says."

Umm, everybody says they're going to the playoffs, Phil.

Wild:

1-10-MIN 42 (1:16) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass to T.Holt to MIN 27 for 15 yards (B.Williams). FUMBLES (B.Williams), RECOVERED by MIN-D.Sharper at MIN 23. D.Sharper to MIN 37 for 14 yards (K.Curtis). FUMBLES (K.Curtis), RECOVERED by SL-O.Pace at MIN 37.

#249 I caught that too. Brilliant insight from Boomer.

Houston and Oakland lost on purpose.

At least, that's the way it seemed.

R.Bironas kicks 43 yards from TEN 30 to HST 27. T.Washington (didn`t try to advance) to HST 24 for -3 yards. Lateral to J.Mathis to TEN 26 for 50 yards (R.Hill). PENALTY on TEN-R.Hill, Face Mask (15 Yards), 13 yards, enforced at TEN 26.
1-10-TEN 13 (:00) (Field Goal formation) K.Brown 31 yard field goal is No Good, Wide Left, Center-B.Pittman, Holder-C.Stanley.

Wow, what a painful finish for Houston.

Well I have only known two CEOs personally and both of them told me they rarely put in more than 30-40 hours of actual work. They siad there are "workaholics", but that much of the "work" most CEOs claim is traveling on planes between locations, attending events (like dinners, lunches, etc. and time spent in hotels or on the phone thinking or talking about work).

If I added the time I spent traveling to work and the time I spent thinking about work onto my work week I would probably easily reach 60 hours myself.

I could be wrong and these guys could just be outliers but from eveything I have seen or read I doubt it is.

Back to the NFL...

Anyone rpovide a brief synopsis of the CLE/CIN game and how the browns kept it close (CIN mistakes, CLE good play etc.)?

Definitely seemed that way for Oakland. Tennessee, I'm not so sure. I mean, why return that last kickoff so far?

lol at comment 251 Aaron, I feel bad you are so harried for the system's choices.

Sweet! We DO get KC-Dallas in NYC! I know somebody said it earlier, but I just couldn't believe it.

Did Houston shank that FG on purpose?

I don't know about CEOs, but lawyers can work a whole lot. I have a friend in NYC who from Mothers Day til early August got Friday evenings off. I mean he worked from wake to sleep every day except friday.
Well, that isn't entirely true, he got 3 days off total during that time.
Of course this was only because they had several really big cases, now he is back to working normal crazy hours.

Argh. Return the opening kickoff 87 yards? 1st and 10 at the Denver 10 for Baltimore. :-(

Huh. The Miami/San Diego game on CBS isn't in HD.

For those of you who see that game: Yeah, it's that nice outside in SoCal today. I think I'm going to skip the afternoon games and Do Something.

Umm, my quote from Simms earlier wasn't actually from Simms. It's from some other white guy on the CBS studio show. Boomer maybe?

KC has looked great so far, except that the receivers can't catch.

How'd Moats look on that 40 yard TD run? I read that Shanahan wanted him, which makes the spidey sense go off...

Regular lawyers aren't really comparable to CEOs, since when you become a partner (the CEO equivalent), you get greater control over your own schedule. It also varies widely by firm. I think the median is about 50.

For more Anecdotal evidence, my father is a VP, and he works a lot, but it's by choice. The other VPs don't work nearly as much as he does, and I'm pretty sure they do the 40 and leave every week. I think 70-hour CEOs is a myth created by overcontrolling CEOs and their ilk to make it seem that they're working twice as hard to intimidate/inspire their employees.

Heres a couple comments:

1. I've been drinking Beer since 11.

2. YAY STEELERS!

3. Kyle Orten is poo.

5. This is two weeks in a row the Browns have gotten my hopes up only to blow it late. I hate you Cleveland.

H. JEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!!

6> GO COWBOYS! AND DOLPHINS!

Shanahan also wanted Maurice Clarett

My anecdote was just showing that it IS humanly possible to work really awful hours for a while, as long as you know an end is in the future.

Wow, the Cowboys defense looks absolutely helpless against KC.

270: I don't think anyone doubts Clarett's talent. His (lack of) work ethic and maturity and a poor attitude are what cost him a career.

re 267 good move outside, excellent downfield block and speeeed

Kaveman, I'm with you there.

But now that you mention that, I'm thinking of how Moats has barely seen any time this year because he didn't know the playbook well enough until a couple weeks ago.

He's certainly got the quickness and speed, but we Eagles fans are questioning his work ethic until he can show us something.

Hey Steve Young....who is soft now Nancy Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the Redskins-Cardinals game, the first 5 drives have ended on turnovers. There were also a fumble and interception overturned by penalties.

5 turnovers so far in the 1st quarter of the Cardinals/Redskins game. No punts. 3 Cardinals possessions, 3 turnovers. 2 Redskins possessions, 2 turnovers (and one more negated by penalty).

Oh yes, it's craptacular.

jebmak-

I wasn't really contesting that. Working 12-16 hours a day 4 or 5 days a week is doable (there have been two periods in my life where I averaged over 60 hours a week for a month fairly easily, if very unhappily)

My orignial comment had to do with someone claiming NFL coaches worked 100-140 hours a week, which is clearly absurd, and I compared that myth to the idea that CEOs are all these wrokaholic no life types who's sole desire is to see their company succeed. From my experience they are just normal people, (albiet usually very intelligent/capable and very very rich people).

Wow - what an irritating game. Burress absolutey *mugs* Sheldon Brown, and they call interference on the Eagles. Then, the bogus Roughing the Passer call on Thomas, who reached Elisha approximately 0.05 seconds after he released the ball. Here is when I start to think one of the refs has money on the Giants.

Thank God for Brian Dawkins -- if that's any other member of the secondary, Manning gets free, and probably throws for a TD.

I love how, as the announcers are talking about how good Bledsoe is at throwing it downfield, and the defenders need to be careful about getting beat deep, CBS shows a graphic at the bottom of the screen:

Drew Bledsoe
1 completion of 40+ yds in last 259 attempts

And now KC's defense looks helpless against the Cowboys.

#280:

That's interesting to hear. I've been following the game on a Giants MB, and they're all moaning that the Eagles own the refs because of an uncalled block in the back on Moats' TD, and the no-TD ruling on the Jacobs 3rd down run.

Good lord the Redskins suck a lot.

The craptacle (that's like spectacle) that is the WAS @ ARI game has just shown us its 7th turnover (3 for WAS, 4 for ARI). 5 minutes and change until half.

Re: coaching work weeks

I don't have personal knowledge of NFL hours, but I do know about what is expected at the major college level and some of those I coached with had NFL experience. If our hours were different, I'm sure it would have been noted.

Film study and game plans have to be completed as soon as possible so that changes can be installed starting with Monday and Tuesday practice. You have to be there well before 7 am. And often work til midnight (with recruiting calls even later). By Thursday, "the hay is in the barn" and you can catch up on sleep. Friday morning is personal time.

Bottom line -- lots of work starting Sunday with grading of Sat game film and analysis of opponent to start on game plan. No more than 5 hours sleep Sun, Mon, Tues. Maybe a little more on Wed.

#283:

Yeah, amazing how your home team can color your own perception. The block in the back was there -- I didn't see it until they showed it replay aftewards - twice. While commenting on how well the WRs were blocking. And the Jacobs non-TD call was... interesting. I guess they couldn't see the spot of the ball well enough.

Now, I'm starting to wonder if the refs are thinking, "Okay, if we totally blow a couple of blatant calls for *both* sides, nobody can accuse us of bias, right?" Sure, guys -- just total and complete incompetence.

I like laughing at Redskins fans. Maybe by now they understand what "regression to mean" means. 2-6 on third down against the Arizona Cardinals.

Is the stat line on Drew Brees right? 17/26 for 104 yards midway thru the 2d Q?

one problem i have with these "workload" statistics that get bandied about is i have never heard this statistic about the hours NFL coaches work broken down for the regular season and off season. i imagine there is quite a difference.

5 carries, 89 yards, 2 TDs. Runs of 40, 20 and 19 yards. Nice work for Ryan Moats.

RE: 138

A lot of athletes can't pronounce their own names.

I'm glad Philadelphia has shown up to play today.

Fumble by Green and the Cowboys return it deep into KC territory. Marcus Spears for 56 yards!

Moats looks like the real deal, but I'm not going to get too excited -- Greg Lewis looked like a potential stud WR last season, and he hasn't been worth a damn this year. Dropping that first big pass today summed his season up quite well.

Somehow the Eagles are tied with the Giants at the half.

God bless Ryan Moats.

RE: 187

The Bears are a Super Bowl contender with a real QB. Grossman is a lot closer to a real QB than Kyle Krenzel.

Re: 161, 164, 176, 187

Mwah-ha-ha, everything is going according to plan. See link on my name.

Fnor, I think you're far too accustomed to playing for next year. If your team can be in the playoffs, you don't want to be developing your rookie QB. You want to win. Grossman has not looked like a great quarterback, but he has looked better than Orton in the games he's played. He gives the Bears a better shot at winning. That is what counts.

Dallas has the lead. Wow. Every turnover in their last 5 games has been turned into a TD.

Wow, KC is really screwing up the end of the first half.