I was optimistic about beating Arizona, yes. It's tough to bet on the Lions to win because that Giants defence is still very good, and I could easily see Rodgers-Cromartie and Jenkins shutting down Tate and Marvin and stopping the run. Apple looked like a liability against Dallas though; maybe Apple versus Golladay and Riddick/Ebron versus the Giants LBs is an exploitable matchup. One thing I am pretty sure about is that Stafford is a substantially better QB than Eli at the moment, and if Detroit can force TOs out nof him, Stafford might be able to exploit it and beat the Giants throught the TO battle. Eli didn't look up for it against Dallas. Giants fans wanted to blame the O line, but Eli also isn't playing well even when he has a bit of time. This could be a game where both offences struggle like heck to run and pass the ball, and in that case I'd bet on Stafford to come up with some magic to win. Overall though I'm still not sold on Detroit's defence's ability to turn this game into a quagmire, so New York to win.
Until Cousins' stats come back in line with his actual play I don't see how the train is derailed. The go-to weapon of choice for Kirk fans is always to throw stats around.
I'm listening to @Harambe Alvinegro Week 2 spread picks. Looks like we saw the same thing in the Raiders-Titans game. Corey Davis popped off the screen.
I was a little worried about Davis at the next level pre-draft. Felt like he was "jack of all trades", just kind of did everything okay, didn't really have a go-to aspect of his game. But he looked legit in that game. Good start.
What did you think of mariota in the 2nd half ?? I was really disappointed. I didn't think it was coaching or good defense either that stopped him.
Watching the Ravens-Bengals game.and man, the Ravens defence completely annihilated the Bengals' offensive line. It's like the Bengals grabbed a bunch of fat fans off the streets and said "hey, you wanna play offensive line for us today?" Almost every offensive line block was trashed with ease on almost every play. I knew the Bengals would have it rough with the likes of Ogbuehi to replace Whitworth, but that was... wow. There are no words for that. The Texans and JJ Watt are going to eat. EDIT: Also, Jacksonville has a nasty edge to them this year. Credit to Marrone; this team isn't going to be a doormat vacation destination for overpaid FAs and overmatched youth.anymore. Hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife, cause Jacksonville is good this year and they're taking names.
A couple of talking points: Since @MatthausSammer mentioned Jacksonville above, I'm a sucker for a smash mouth type running game and they finally have it this year with a prototypical smash mouth back in Fournette. They tried going that route with Ivory last season, but the coaching staff wasn't committed to it and was under the false impression that Bortles had the ability to spray it all over the place. If I were the HC or OC of a team, I would build my OL and get a RB in the mold of Fournette. A running game like this can do so many positive things for your football team. I don't think I have to list them here as I'm sure those who are reading are well aware of them. Jacksonville has good talent on paper on defense, but I still need to see more from them to believe they are indeed a good unit. If their defense can't be among the top units in the league, they'll be in trouble in games that they fall behind in early. With Bortles at the helm, they don't have the ability to overcome deficits. That's why the next team I'm talking about is legit, but I'm not completely sold on them..... The Dallas Cowboys. Even when they fall behind, Dak is more than capable of leading them back into the game. As a Skins fan, I was hoping he'd hit a sophomore slump. Unfortunately, he had another good preseason and he looked sharp vs the Giants. I don't see it happening, especially now that Zeke will be able to play all 16. What makes me remain skeptical about them are their defense and Jason Garrett's playcalling in big spots. Garrett is known for shying away from running the ball. And while their defense played well vs the Giants (my next talking point) and they played well vs the run last season, I don't trust their revamped secondary one bit and they can't rush the passer against above average OLs. They still may reach the Super Bowl despite these things, but I don't see them being ahead of the pack vs some other NFC teams who are capable of reaching the Super Bowl as well. The New York Football Giants. I see why @Harambe Alvinegro and Giff chose them to come out of the NFC. The defense is nasty and they got a plethora of passing game options. But the same issues from last season still remain. Their OL, especially their tackles, are complete garbage. Paul Perkins is trash and I know their coaching staff won't trust Gallman until he can correct his ball security issues. The Giants could still try looking for some RBs that are available. Mark Ingram probably was ripe for the taking in the preseason. Alex Collins is available. Trust me, there's nothing good about Paul Perkins. I was shocked @Harambe Alvinegro took him in fantasy lol. Another issue I see with this football team is their head coach. I'm not a believer by any means. He lacks the man management skills necessary to run a successful program and his offensive game plans aren't good enough for me to overlook that. I'd honestly consider promoting Spags by next season. Seattle's running game. I touched on this a week or two ago. Eddie Lacy needs to go ASAP. He should have been cut before the season started. I know Pete Carroll has some balls, so I'm anticipating him also cutting ties on the Rawls project -- a RB who I never liked, even during his first year -- and finally give the keys to Chris Carson, with Prosise mixing it up with him. Carson passed my eye test when I saw him in the preseason and I didn't see anything to change my mind in the few touches he got vs GB. With Seattle having issues on their OL still, having an effective run game will do wonders for their offense and Chris Carson is the guy on that roster that will be able to deliver.
PFF ranked Kirk 29th best QB in Week 1. LOL! Wonder where all of the Kirk Hive who was pushing the air yards stat from PFF last year is now. 11th most time to throw in the league, but all of the blame goes on the OL. https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-ranking-the-qbs-from-week-1
Forgot about one other thing I wanted to mention: The Atlanta Falcons offense. I'm not a fan of the Shanahan way of doing things, but I can't argue with the results. I'm not a fan of the zone blocking running system because it's requires more mobile, and often times, lighter OL, for it to work. Shanahan gets away with it because it's darn effective in the run game and the defense has to respect the run. I'm not as confident when another coach tries to implement it. I just don't see how the running game will be as effective as it was under Kyle with Sarkasian. And when you have a light OL and the run game isn't working as good as you hope, it gets exposed in clear pass blocking scenarios. With the run game declining some in Atlanta (for the record, I still think they will be effective), more will be put on Matty Ice's plate and we've seen what happens when we ask MORE of Matty Ice. I don't see their offense being dynamic with Sark like it was under Kyle.
Ironically, the only Jags fan I know went underground this year. He didn't even show up for our fantasy draft.
I was watching the Thursday night game on-and-off, and while I think it's shameful how O'Brien treated Watson in that sham of a QB competition and Watson clearly gives them the best chance to win, Watson appeared to showcase a lot of the same limitations I saw at Clemson. Inconsistent accuracy, below-average veĺocity, didn't go through progressions particularly quickly. I still don't quite see it with him.
It may not be time for a divorce between the Saints and Adrian Peterson, but it's definitely time for an annulment https://t.co/TehSPwwpdk— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 15, 2017 Should have gone to New York.
I went against my instincts and took him "becuz last year's stats" basically. I played myself. Also, Glennon is an unmitigated disaster, and I want to apologize to @Harambe Alvinegro for defending him and thinking he could be a solid game manager. Just because he's tall doesn't make him good at scanning the field. Just because he's conservative doesn't make him smart. And just because he has all the mobility of a giraffe shot in the leg doesn't mean he has pocket presence. I'm sorry.
No need to apologize. We've all defend a player who ended up being trash. No one is perfect in their evaluations.
I feel for anyone who took Sammy Watkins thinking maybe he'd do something in LA. Goff pretty much mirrored Kirk yesterday with locking on to a WR and throwing checkdowns. At least Goff didn't get happy feet after a second in the pocket. Goff locked into Kupp every time he was in the game and also just threw to his TEs and Gurley.
Definition of denial. That's three games. Also, he was not bad yesterday. That's silly.— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) September 18, 2017
Is @KirkCousins8 turning into a game manager? https://t.co/NdfS8gIU3P— The Junkies (@JunksRadio) September 18, 2017