Official 2010-11 NFL Thread

[chw42]

tampa may be the worst 9-6 team ive ever seen though ....i know they don't make their schedule, but the teams they've beaten: cleveland, carolina, cincinnati, st. louis, arizona, carolina again, SF, washington, and seattle....

 

Which is why they won't make the playoffs unless the Giants and Packers lose next weekend. They'd also have to win. Their strength of victory is terrible.

[knightni]

Giants lose.

 

If the Eagles lose, the Bears clinch the #2 seed.

 

If Philly wins, the Bears just have to either win vs GB or have Philly lose next week.

[witesoxfan]

did you see how badly Houston got Tebowned today? Man, talk about total Tebownage

[knightni]

It was a present from Tebow for Jesus' birthday!

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

/TEBOWNED!

[SoxFan1]

[kapkomet]

 

 

Soxfan got tebowned.

[iamshack]

Ok, bets are down.

 

Bears -2

Raiders +3

Chargers -8

Eagles -14.5

Niners +2.5

Bills +7.5

Saints +2.5

Packers -3

 

Ouch...not a good week!

[Balta1701]

Ouch...not a good week!

Sometimes you should listen to me.

[iamshack]

Sometimes you should listen to me.

Well, to be honest, if you are an NFL bettor, these weeks just happen. The range of possible outcomes is just too great for it not to happen if you wager with any kind of regularity.

 

And I know it is easy to point out poor wagers after the fact, but anyone who posts their plays prior to the games kicking off is going to look like a fool many, many times.

 

In hindsight, I should have hesitated more in betting against the Patriots, but that matchup is historically close and the Bills have played a ton of close games this year. They also lost by 8 at Gillette Stadium in the previous matchup (although that game bounced back and forth between a 1 and 2 touchdown game for most of the contest, to the Pats credit.

 

The Niners under Mike Singletary are 15-4-1 ATS coming off a loss, including 11-0 ATS following a game in which they did not cover the point spread, so that is where that play came from.

 

The Colts play came from the fact that they are just flat-out overrated as a football team, and the Raiders strength of running the ball played well against the Colts' trouble in stopping the run. However, this is starting to remind me of 05' when the Colts couldn't stop the run all season long, only to buckle down and shut the run game down in the playoffs.

 

The Chargers lost a must-win game against a pathetic Bengals team that was without Ochocinco and TO. They came out flat and were clearly overlooking the Bengals and were probably slightly discouraged by the Chiefs blowout of the Titans. In fact, the Chiefs win may have hurt both my Chargers and Raiders plays, as both teams probably would have come out more focused had they had better playoff chances due to a Chiefs loss.

 

 

[iamshack]

Sunday's game against the Packers has been shifted to the 3:15 slot.

[Heads22]

shack, where are you hearing the flex adjustments?

[Kalapse]

Seattle/St Louis will be played at night and the Giants and Eagles games also flexed to mid day.

 

You have to think Bears/Packers would pull the highest ratings of all the flexed games if moved to 7:20. Don't know if there was more standing in their way (I assume there was) but that's the direction I would have gone.

[iamshack]

shack, where are you hearing the flex adjustments?

I just saw a note about it on ESPN.com.

[iamshack]

Seattle/St Louis will be played at night and the Giants and Eagles games also flexed to mid day.

 

You have to think Bears/Packers would pull the highest ratings of all the flexed games if moved to 7:20. Don't know if there was more standing in their way (I assume there was) but that's the direction I would have gone.

My guess is Fox has some sort of choice as to which games they want and they chose the Bears-Packers game, but I don't know either.

[chw42]

I'm pretty sure the ratings are gonna be bad for that Seahawks and Rams game. Both teams are bad and the only demographics they're going to draw are the fans of the two respective teams.

Edited December 27, 2010 by chw42

[JorgeFabregas]

Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but I just read that the Jets had only 10 players on the field during the Hester TD.

[iamshack]

So I have made my predictions for the NFC Playoff picture.

 

Getting the 2nd seed instead of the 3rd seed is going to be huge in the grand scheme of things. That win was HUGE for the Bears yesterday, as it would give us the tiebreaker if we finish tied with the Eagles as division winners of the North and East, respectively.

 

Here are my seeding predictions:

 

1. Atlanta - reasonably soft schedule, although they have a huge game against TB on the road this week and a big game left with the Saints in Atlanta which would solidify the number 1 seed if they can win.

 

2. Bears - wins against Detroit and Minny are a must. Final game against GB could be huge. Probably need a split against NE and NYJ to get to 11 wins and the HUGE second seed. A loss in the final game of the season could move them all the way down to the 6th spot or even out of the playoffs entirely, as a 10-6 Bucs team could possibly edge us out in a tiebreaker amongst common opponents

 

3. Philly - two games left with Dallas serves as a bit of a bad break for the Eagles, and one huge game in NY against the Giants, which the Giants are going to need more than Philly. I'm guessing Philly wins 4 of their final 5 and finishes tied at 11-5 with the Bears. They would then lose on a tiebreaker as a result of the Bears victory yesterday. This 3rd seed is really a brutal seed, as you will see below.

 

4. St Louis - the winner of any division, regardless of record, gets seeded higher than Wild Card teams. This is something that will eventually be changed hopefully, and this season should make that point clear.

 

5. New Orleans - will probably finish below Atlanta in the South division, although their matchup on Dec 27th will probably determine the division winner. As it stands, the Saints have the tougher schedule, with matchups in Baltimore, at Atlanta, and against Tampa to finish out the season.

 

6. Green Bay - giving the nod to the Packers in front of the Giants at this point, since the Giants have been decimated by injuries. This seed could be determined by the game between the two teams at Green Bay the day after Christmas. Then of course, the Packers and Bears square off the final game of the season in Green Bay. However, if the Packers and Bucs finish tied here, it is possible the Bucs could hold the tiebreaker as they may only have 4 conference losses, as the Packers might have 5 should they lose to Chicago.

 

On the outside looking in:

 

1. NYG - just so devastated by injuries, they are limping along right now. They have Philadelphia, Green Bay, and Washington twice on their schedule, as well as a slightly dangerous Minnesota team. Were they completely healthy, I would probably put them in there instead of GB, but I don't see them winning that game in GB and I don't see them finishing any better than 10-6.

 

2. Tampa Bay - Tampa's season basically boils down to this week's game against Atlanta. If they can pull off the upset, they actually have a very good chance to make the playoffs as they get Washington, Detroit and Seattle the following three weeks, two of them being at home. They then travel to New Orleans the final week to play the Saints. My guess is they lose both the divisional matchups, but they could finish at 10-6 and possibly earn a spot over a 10-6 Bears team that does not win the north division because of a tiebreaker edge against common opponents (this obviously depends on what Tampa does against upcoming opponents (Detroit, Washington, and Seattle). They could also beat out Green Bay in a tiebreaker, although this is unlikely.

 

 

Wow, these last 5 weeks are going to be absolutely wild in the NFC! Every game will be huge for every possible contender, with the Cowboys, Lions, and Redskins all having a big chance to be spoilers.

 

The 3rd seed will get absolutely screwed by having to play a team such as the Packers/Bears/Bucs or NYG while the 5th seed will probably play the NFC West division champion.

 

One key for Bears fans, don't finish in a 10-6 tie with Tampa Bay!

BTW Balta, I will take some credit for getting this pretty darn close a month ago....see, I'm not ALWAYS wrong

[zenryan]

Which is why they won't make the playoffs unless the Giants and Packers lose next weekend. They'd also have to win. Their strength of victory is terrible.

 

 

 

If Atlanta wins tomorrow night then the Bucs need to win at NO and have only of of either the Packers or Giants lose.

[SoxAce]

49ers fired Mike Singletary tonight.

[iamshack]

49ers fired Mike Singletary tonight.

As much as I love the guy, it's the right move for the 49ers going forward.

 

I was shocked at how emotionally volatile Singletary was in his tenure there. I assumed he would be much more stoic in his approach, but clearly he's a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve.

 

The instability at the qb position really hurt them, and that is trickling down to the rest of their offense with the failure to really develop Crabtree and Vernon Davis much more this season.

 

There is no reason this team couldn't have been a "Jets-lite" sort of team this season, and yet they have been difficult to watch and atrocious more than not.

 

I'm sure Mike will catch on somewhere else, although I doubt as a coordinator. Probably going to have to go back to a linebacker's coach somewhere, unless he wants to drop down to the college ranks.

 

Come to think of it, maybe that would be where he was better off anyways...where he could really have an impact on young kids before they get spoiled and corrupted by all the money and the NFL lifestyle.

[soxsoxsoxsox]

Giants lose.

 

If the Eagles lose, the Bears clinch the #2 seed.

 

If Philly wins, the Bears just have to either win vs GB or have Philly lose next week.

 

Philly has two easy games at home. Against 3rd string QB Joe Webb and the Vikings, and then the Cowboys the final week.

It's a shame if we lose to the pack we'll drop to the #3 seed and then host them a week later.

 

Gonna be an epic game at Lambeau.

[iamshack]

Philly has two easy games at home. Against 3rd string QB Joe Webb and the Vikings, and then the Cowboys the final week.

It's a shame if we lose to the pack we'll drop to the #3 seed and then host them a week later.

 

Gonna be an epic game at Lambeau.

I wouldn't say that game against the Cowboys is easy...I guess it depends on the status of Kitna...

[iamshack]

Just looking ahead to the Bears possible playoff routes...

 

1) Beat Green Bay on 01/02 = a bye week, then a probable rematch with Philadelphia or the Giants in Soldier Field on 01/15 or 01/16, then a possible matchup with Atlanta in Atlanta or at Soldier Field against the Saints or Giants in the NFC title game

 

2) Lose to Green Bay on 01/02 = rematch with Green Bay on 01/08 or 01/09 at Soldier Field, then a possible rematch with Philadelphia in Philadelphia, followed by a mathup with Atlanta in Atlanta or New Orleans in Solider Field in the NFC title game

 

The route should we lose next week in Green Bay is infinitely more difficult unless Philadelphia were to lose to Minny or Dallas.

 

Huge, huge game for the Bears, probably as big a game as any for any team already guaranteed a playoff spot.

[MurcieOne]

Just looking ahead to the Bears possible playoff routes...

 

The route should we lose next week in Green Bay is infinitely more difficult unless Philadelphia were to lose to Minny or Dallas.

 

Huge, huge game for the Bears, probably as big a game as any for any team already guaranteed a playoff spot.

 

Totally agree. This team cannot rest on their accomplishments. I am really happy with the way the team has played this year but the Bears need to go into Lambeau and knock the Packers out of the playoffs. I don't think the Bears can afford to miss out on the bye week and I don't think anyone wants to play Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the playoffs. So either win or give him a concussion.

[DrunkBomber]

Theyve been talking about the Bears game all morning on ESPN. I guess you need to play an east coast team to get that kind of coverage. I was at the game yesterday and a few things that caught my attention were, the Jets pass rush or lack thereof. I was shocked to see how much time Jay was getting to throw behind our line.

 

The Jets secondary is brutal. Revis had Bennett covered pretty well but Knox and company torched the rest of the secondary, especially Cromartie.

 

Its also amazing to see what Cutler can do when he has time to throw. When he steps into his throws theyre basically always right on target. He also did a good job moving around and giving his receivers time to get open.

 

Despite the big day from our passing game we still have issues at WR. Lots of dropped passes and giving up on routes.

 

Julius Peppers is big.