NFL Thread

[AimingforYoko]

The Jags are really effing up my picks this year, I'm 0 for 3 with these idiots. 

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

Afghan war vet Al Villenueva the only Steeler on the field for the anthem.

ETA. I was listening to BBC World Service this morning and couldn't stop laughing when a sports analyst with a stereotypical British accent explained how Colin Kaepernick definitely had the skills to be on the "pitch" right now.

[Fukui San]

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

Afghan war vet Al Villenueva the only Steeler on the field for the anthem.

ETA. I was listening to BBC World Service this morning and couldn't stop laughing when a sports analyst with a stereotypical British accent explained how Colin Kaepernick definitely had the skills to be on the "pitch" right now.

I love the occasions when British writers try to write about American sports and inevitably use terms that Americans would never use. A comic series Human Target had a baseball storyline where a slumping pro player said that he "wasn't on form", a phrase no American sport would ever use. I'm sure it goes the other way as well. 

[twoods]

Holy crap with that 61 yard field goal, and by a rookie! Amazing.

Edited September 24, 2017 by twoods

[Silver Raven]

4 hours ago, mojoween said:

Send the teams all the fuck over to London and then not even put the fame on Tv.  So what is the point of even going there?

To drum up popularity for a potential London team.

So are all of the dozens of people who heed Trump's call to get up and leave if the players kneel during the anthem, going to wait till the anthem is over and the players have stopped kneeling, or are they going to get up and leave in the middle of the anthem?

[Jx223]

There were some really good games and exciting finishes in today's early block of games. (And also some surprising wins like the Jets and the Vikings winning without Sam Bradford.)  I thought that DeShaun Watson was very impressive against the Patriots. He is looking more comfortable playing QB. I know the Texans lost but he showed a lot of poise and looked pretty good against them. But Tom Brady made a big play at the end, and the Texans didn't get the time out called early enough. I hope DeShaun continues to play well.

I also thought that Jacoby Brissett did a nice job today getting his first win against the Browns. I think he has looked solid the last couple of weeks and hope he continues to show growth as well. 

And exciting ending for Philly too with that 61 yard kick by their rookie kicker. Tough ending for the Giants and also the Lions. Rough loss for the Panthers as well, though I wasn't surprised by them losing to the Saints and am concerned about them. Cam still isn't 100% and now they are dealing with injuries to Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin as well. I hope they can hang in there while they deal with things like injuries.

Edited September 24, 2017 by Jx223

[DrSpaceman73]

New England D really seems to suck this year.  Giving up almost 500 yards a game. 

Colts did all they could to blow a 21 point lead vs the Browns but managed to win. 

[Guest]

58 minutes ago, Jx223 said:

Tough ending for the Giants and also the Lions..

Sadly, we are used to it. At least once a season, we lose one that just is like..... how did that even happen?

[Ohwell]

I'm not from Detroit but I've always kinda rooted for them.  That was heartbreaking.

[merylinkid]

1 hour ago, deaja said:

Sadly, we are used to it. At least once a season, we lose one that just is like..... how did that even happen?

The refs.    It happens because no one will give the benefit of the doubt that will allow a Lions win.    Except Dez did catch it.

[Ohwell]

I agree about the refs. That's fucked up.

Edited September 24, 2017 by Ohwell

[BitterApple]

Is anyone else loving Tony Romo as an announcer? I wasn't expecting him to be good and I'm pleasantly surprised.

[ganesh]

Review needs to go away. It makes the games drag and it's taken the ability to call the game out of the hands of the refs. 

[mojoween]

I am absolutely not loving Tony Romo as an announcer because he's Tony Romo.  Fuck him.

Also fuck the Eagles.  Argh!!

[BitterApple]

Aaron Rodgers is a dream crusher.

[Jx223]

24 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Is anyone else loving Tony Romo as an announcer? I wasn't expecting him to be good and I'm pleasantly surprised.

He's great. He's predicting things before they happen and genuinely seems engaged/excited to be calling the game. You can tell he has a high football IQ. 

[kathyk24]

The Patriots defense is going to give me a heart attack. Romo is good but he needs to let some plays go without talking so much. Deshaun Watson was excellent and he is going to win many games for the Texans. I'd go for a Super Bowl match up between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.

[Calvada]

Packers lucky to get the OT win, thanks to that safety paying just a bit too much attention to Jordy.  They are so banged up - good thing they have another game on Thursday, amirite??  

19 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Aaron Rodgers is a dream crusher.

As a Packers fan, this makes me smile, but I know it's not fun being on the other side.  I remember in the early to mid 90s when the Pack couldn't buy a victory against the Cowboys.  It was always Aikman, Irvin, Harper, Emmitt, or Novacek with the dagger in the Packers' heart.  And the best thing about Rodgers, as I always say, is that what will bug him is the pick-6.  After all, he now has TWO for his career.  It drove me nuts when Favre just chalked those up to the cost of doing business.  He had 31 in his career.   

[pennben]

I am sick to death of the Bears playing Glennon, and we are only 3 games into the season.  And make no mistake, they won today in spite of him, not because of him.  We have our first rounder sitting on the bench.  He is the future and it is time for him to be in these games and getting experience.  Honestly, he'd already make the offense be better because he would consider throwing it more than 10 yards during the game.  

Whoopie, we won, but we are going nowhere and getting nothing positive with Glennon.  It is so frustrating to again and again and again waste good defenses for want of a good, hell, even a mediocre offense. /Rant over.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

5 hours ago, twoods said:

Holy crap with that 61 yard field goal, and by a rookie! Amazing.

I was all prepared for the nail-biting in OT because I swear, Eagles-Giants games over the years are responsible for 90% of my grey hair.  I think I'm still in shock.  And although it played in Philly's favor, I HATE when a TD is not a TD.  Ridiculous.

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, kathyk24 said:

Romo is good but he needs to let some plays go without talking so much.

Agreed.  I was in another room for a while so I didn't know who that was but he didn't have an "announcer" voice and he was talking too much.  Then I was surprised to see it was Romo.  I guess he'll get better at it. 

[evilmindatwork]

16 hours ago, xaxat said:

Afghan war vet Al Villenueva the only Steeler on the field for the anthem.

ETA. I was listening to BBC World Service this morning and couldn't stop laughing when a sports analyst with a stereotypical British accent explained how Colin Kaepernick definitely had the skills to be on the "pitch" right now.

 

14 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I love the occasions when British writers try to write about American sports and inevitably use terms that Americans would never use. A comic series Human Target had a baseball storyline where a slumping pro player said that he "wasn't on form", a phrase no American sport would ever use. I'm sure it goes the other way as well. 

I usually lurk around here but couldn't resist contributing to this. A friend's husband is a pretty well received sports writer but he grew up in Europe. He loves, loves, loves football and baseball and sometimes covers them in a professional capacity (though, rarely)-- it's funny to me because he has way more in depth knowledge of both than I do (California born and raised), but he often uses terminology that Americans would never use. Since he works here, it obviously is fixed during the editorial process, but I notice it because he'll use them in casual conversation. 

[xaxat]

Say what you will about the league, they are hella good at promotion.

That's a great ad.

 

ETA. They had to have considered using a shot of Alejandro Villanueva. I wonder why they didn't

[MarkHB]

Is that Pat Tillman at 0:45? Damn.

[merylinkid]

Von Miller has to get what has to be the most nitpicky unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the history of the game  and he is all broken up about how the penalty hurt his team.   He's saying that he knows better than that, it's not what he teaches the rookies, he knows he has to control his emotions out there.

Odell Beckham gets in the end zone and urinates like a dog.   He's looking at a fine.   "Celebrations" like that are why the League cracked down on End Zone celebrations.   His reaction?    Oh well, whatever happens out there, happens.    Odell needs to grow the hell up.   His diva act was getting old last year, at 0-3, no one is going to put up with it any longer.

[twoods]

Why don't they close down the concession stands and bathrooms during the anthem so everyone is forced to stand up? Better yet, why doesn't every armchair asshole stand up at home during the anthem instead of sitting down and drinking a beer?

Yeah...that's what I thought.

[Fukui San]

On 9/24/2017 at 11:43 AM, Popples said:

I found it inspiring that the Baltimore Ravens remained in their locker room during their whole game against the Jaguars yesterday.

[mojoween]

Two restaurants in rural northern New York have declared that they will no longer show the NFL because of the protests.

Ok, so I don't mean to sound like a harpy but what the everloving fuck.  Louis Riddick said it best this morning - why are we focusing on the protest and not the REASON for the protest?  It makes me sick.  I've never been to those two restaurants and I won't start now.

There was a great picture posted...somewhere...that the headline said something about respecting the anthem while these two chicks in Patriots shirts were shouting with the ugliest looks on their faces.  Yeah.  Way to respect the anthem, harridans.

[mojoween]

Before Colin very quietly took a knee in protest that no one noticed for two weeks I would love to go back through archival footage and see what players were doing during the anthem.  Both before and after 9/11.

[ganesh]

33 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Two restaurants in rural northern New York have declared that they will no longer show the NFL because of the protests.

And no one is going to go because they won't show the games. That lasts a month tops. 

 

18 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Before Colin very quietly took a knee in protest that no one noticed for two weeks I would love to go back through archival footage and see what players were doing during the anthem.  Both before and after 9/11.

I'm surprised no one has done a piece on this yet. It's got to be in the works. 

[Lunata]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

Two restaurants in rural northern New York have declared that they will no longer show the NFL because of the protests.

Ok, so I don't mean to sound like a harpy but what the everloving fuck.  Louis Riddick said it best this morning - why are we focusing on the protest and not the REASON for the protest?  It makes me sick.  I've never been to those two restaurants and I won't start now.

There was a great picture posted...somewhere...that the headline said something about respecting the anthem while these two chicks in Patriots shirts were shouting with the ugliest looks on their faces.  Yeah.  Way to respect the anthem, harridans.

I think there's plenty of other restaurants in NY that will gladly accept their clientele and air the NFL games as well. Those restaurants think they're making a statement and they are, it's that their stupid for turning away business over something that's politicized.

[ganesh]

15 minutes ago, Lunata said:

Those restaurants think they're making a statement and they are, it's that their stupid for turning away business over something that's politicized.

It's always a crock when any establishment turns down legitimate business. We'll see how far that lasts. 

[Bastet]

I love the reaction to Gruden praising the officials:  "What did you just say? ... I don't even know you anymore."

[Jx223]

I am glad that the Cowboys got the win tonight against the Cardinals. This ended up being a nice bounce back game for them. They started out shaky on offense and defense but came alive at the end of the first half and throughout the second half. Dak and Dez did a nice job of hustling to get the team going with their TDs. DeMarcus Lawrence also played well tonight. 

I also thought that Larry Fitzgerald was very impressive tonight for the Cardinals. He made some great catches, especially that one that he wrestled away from Orlando Scandrick.

Edited September 26, 2017 by Jx223

[mojoween]

It's irritating that Dak Prescott is so damn good-looking.

[roamyn]

 Color me very pleasantly surprised in how Jerry Jones handled the beginning of the festivities.  He struck a good balance, recognized his players' concerns, and validated them, then got the team to agree to kneel before and stand locked arms for the anthem.

Who thought Jerry Jones would be the voice of moderation & balance?

[Ohwell]

On 9/25/2017 at 0:48 PM, merylinkid said:

Odell Beckham gets in the end zone and urinates like a dog.   He's looking at a fine.   "Celebrations" like that are why the League cracked down on End Zone celebrations.   His reaction?    Oh well, whatever happens out there, happens.    Odell needs to grow the hell up.   His diva act was getting old last year, at 0-3, no one is going to put up with it any longer.

When he first became popular with his catches, I kinda liked him and his silly hair, even though he played for one of my "enemies."  Now, he's become a jackhole.  That was the most disgusting show of a "celebration" I've ever seen.  He needs more that just a fine; he needs a suspension.

[mojoween]

Cancelling Directv, throwing out season tickets and burning jerseys because of ANTHEM PROTESTS and yet supporting teams with domestic abusers, murderers/accidental killers and drug abusers is the DUMBEST FUCKING THING I HAVE EVER HEARD.

[ganesh]

It's  also a lie because no one is doing it. 

[roamyn]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

It's  also a lie because no one is doing it. 

Well one guy in Pissburgh burned his jersey & posted it on FB.

It's burning money.  We never got rid of hubby's $125 LeBron jersey when he embarrsed us on Nat'l TV.  And when he came back, we didn't have to spend more to get another one.

[ganesh]

No, I've seen the burning of the shirts. I totally buy that however stupid it is. I'm saying they're not throwing away season tickets; they're probably selling them on stubhub or where ever if at all. They're not giving up NFL redzone because they still play fantasy and have $100s riding on it. They're also not standing up in their living rooms when the anthem is played. They wouldn't need furniture because they'd be standing all the time because it's played for figuratively everything. 

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, ganesh said:

It's  also a lie because no one is doing it. 

Some guy posted a video of himself burning his NY Giants tickets for next weekend.  Smart guy - they already have your money, idiot...

[Silver Raven]

I wonder if all of those bandwagoners who were buying Villanueva jerseys are going to burn them now he said he was embarrassed for his standing by himself.

Sports Illustrated's new cover discusses the anthem kneelers, but what a surprise, Colin Kaepernick is nowhere to be seen.

[merylinkid]

6 hours ago, Moose135 said:

Some guy posted a video of himself burning his NY Giants tickets for next weekend.  Smart guy - they already have your money, idiot...

I would be very surprised if those were the actual tickets.   A lot of faux outrage but they will be back at the games.   Of course, he could have been burning his tickets because they are 0-3 and not because of the anthem thing.

4 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

I wonder if all of those bandwagoners who were buying Villanueva jerseys are going to burn them now he said he was embarrassed for his standing by himself.

Sports Illustrated's new cover discusses the anthem kneelers, but what a surprise, Colin Kaepernick is nowhere to be seen.

They aren't.   They are claiming that Villaneuva was "forced" to apologize for going out.   Except Villaneuva did not apologize.   He explained that he asked to be in front so he could see the flag.   He just got a little too in front.  

[Fukui San]

First they came for the Muslims, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not Muslim.

Then they came for the Blacks, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not Black.

Then they came for the Football players, and—
HEY! DON'T FUCK UP MY FOOTBALL, ASSHOLES!

Edited September 28, 2017 by Fukui San
Workshopping the bit

[mojoween]

Update - both restaurants in northern New York were taken aback at the negative reaction they received on social media and are reconsidering their decision to stop showing NFL games.  What a shock.

One of the owners said he didn't have a problem with kneeling or locking arms, he was upset with the Steelers in particular.

Also, the sign they posted on the restaurant door that was since taken down said they were mad at the "Pittsburg Stealers."

[ganesh]

39 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Update - both restaurants in northern New York were taken aback at the negative reaction they received on social media and are reconsidering their decision to stop showing NFL games.  What a shock

Huh. It's like making money and staying in business is more important.

[Silver Raven]

Charlie Daniels announced on Twitter that he's boycotting Thursday Night Football tonight.

And a new hashtag was born:

#BoycottThursdayNightFootballOnWednesday

[twoods]

Typical dumbass. Love all the other idiots for burning things they already paid for. Nobody cares that a small handful of snowflakes are going to boycott football. The NFL is bigger than them, and will still make their billions off the rest of us.

[Irlandesa]

On 9/25/2017 at 4:30 PM, mojoween said:

Before Colin very quietly took a knee in protest that no one noticed for two weeks I would love to go back through archival footage and see what players were doing during the anthem.  Both before and after 9/11.

I remember what they were doing.  There was a lot of looking bored.  Looking down.  Looking around.  Clearly just waiting for it to be over so they could go out and do what they're paid to do. That's one of the funniest things about this.  While I'm sure there are people who say the pledge or stand during the national anthem full of pride and focus, the fact that it is such a routine from a young age means that for a lot of people it has become simply a ceremonial step we go through before the fun begins and there's no real engagement.  Even before all this happened, I used to remember laughing at the people in the crowd during these moments with their hands weakly at their chest (if they put them there) and their mouths singing (if they were even singing) in between chomps of gum.  You could just see the "blah de blah de blah" in their heads. 

But use that time to try to make a statement and engage a conversation?  Oh fuck no!

18 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Sports Illustrated's new cover discusses the anthem kneelers, but what a surprise, Colin Kaepernick is nowhere to be seen.

Yeah.  The conspiracy to pretend that before this thing blew up to the highest levels of government, the league wasn't content to just freeze him out. What started as a small protest a while ago has grown into a national conversation.  Sometimes the wrong conversation but a conversation nevertheless.

That is why I appreciate that many players who have spoken out have tried to bring it back to Kap and what his actual message was.  And why I was a bit disappointed in Charles Woodson on the MNF Countdown for saying he wished Kap had chosen another gesture so his message wouldn't have been able to be so easily spun into an argument that it's anti-military.  I get why he thinks that but a) any negative statement about certain aspects of policing automatically gets spun into that person being anti-heroes (Not in the cool cable show way), b) I can't think of what "other" gesture would have been noticed this much and c) if it wasn't an anti-military accusation, it would have been something else.  Anything else.  This isn't about protecting the feelings of the military; this is about avoiding having a conversation about race. 

Edited September 28, 2017 by Irlandesa