The NFL and NBA thread

[tygrkhat40]

Well, MLB has decades more time being frugal towards it's players than the NFL or NBA. Plus, high draft choices in the NFL and NBA are expected to take their many times unfinished games right to the highest level of competition, many times with disappointing results. Rarely does young talent in baseball go directly to the bigs. They spend years in the minors, sometimes never getting beyond Double-A ball.

[qwerty007]

Where are the NFLers???

Pre-season is halfway done.

Haynesworth passed his running test.

Favre is back.

Revis is still sitting out.

Roethlisberger played.

Cromartie barely knows his kids....

Let's have at it!!!

[tygrkhat40]

I gotta admit, normally the NFL preseason is a boring affair, but it seems that this preseason is the dullest in memory. Even the topics mentioned by qwerty just don't seem to have much resonance.

Maybe it's because my Bills are so underwhelming this year that I'm not getting too excited. But I'll let you know after I go the Bills' only home preseason game on Saturday. Once I get some live football into me I'll feel different.

[qwerty007]

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

I gotta admit, normally the NFL preseason is a boring affair, but it seems that this preseason is the dullest in memory. Even the topics mentioned by qwerty just don't seem to have much resonance.

Maybe it's because my Bills are so underwhelming this year that I'm not getting too excited. But I'll let you know after I go the Bills' only home preseason game on Saturday. Once I get some live football into me I'll feel different.

Yes, but did you see Chan Gailey give a stern talking too, to those teens who were heckling players?

Players coach, anyone?

[grossnex]

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

I gotta admit, normally the NFL preseason is a boring affair, but it seems that this preseason is the dullest in memory. Even the topics mentioned by qwerty just don't seem to have much resonance.

Maybe it's because my Bills are so underwhelming this year that I'm not getting too excited. But I'll let you know after I go the Bills' only home preseason game on Saturday. Once I get some live football into me I'll feel different.

Brother Tygrkhat I have to agree with you 100% (not that it's very hard to do ). The only excitement I've had this preseason is Eli Manning getting his head split open . Most of the guys on the field for these preseason games are lucky to make the special teams once the season starts. I really could do without a preseason at all. Training camp & scrimmage games with other teams are really all I need.

Brother Keefriff, where have you gone? Brett Favre is back in camp & now that all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, I'm curious as to what your official prediction might be for the upcoming season.

Brother Qwerty, thank you for saving my sanity . This is a thread that I will never have to run from while screaming. I salute you sir.

Less than 3 weeks to go for me. Big Blue open at home against Carolina! Then we get The Manning Bowl in Indianapolis week 2. That one is the Sunday Night Game. We should all get to see it.

I've got my cable provider, but my sister has verizon. She gets the NFL Network. I have a 5 year old nephew who not only knows all of the teams, but he knows the players just by looking at them. My sister buys him the trading cards & magazines. He just sits there studying them like it's quantum physics. I try to watch as many games as I can at their place, just because they get more games than I do.

[keefriff]

I'm here Brother Grossnex....waiting for the season to start. Like you guys both said it's hard to get too fired up about preseason and all the BS that goes along with it. I'm getting pretty fired up for football. I will be honest with you, I'm concerned about the Vikes. Sidney Rice is out for approx 8 weeks, Percy Harvin keeps getting migraines, Adrian Peterson is getting blown up in blitz protection, they have some issues right now. I know it's preseason but it will be hard for them to match last year IMO. They still should have a pretty good defense and I think they will win 10 games or so but Green Bay is on the rise. They scare me. Aaron Rodgers is a darn good QB and they have a powerful team coming back. We shall see.

I like the Giants to at least improve on last years record. Tough divison they play in. All of those teams look to be improved....although it is nice to see Dallas struggle so far in preseason. Washington w/ McNabb should be better. Philly I think is in a very interesting place. Alot of offensive talent on that team. If they can get good QB play from either Kolb or Vick or both they may win that division. We will see about Dallas. I'm not sold yet. Their coach is not the guy IMO and they still have some issues on their O-line to fix.

Okay so lets talk some football. Give me three teams that you think have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs who didn't last year.
Now I know we all know our way around these boards so we need some reasoning, not just lists. Here's my three.

SF 49ers - Good defense w/ some good young players and some nice offensive players in Gore, V. Davis and Crabtree. IMO, Arizona is dropping back this year without Warner and Seattle isn't there yet although I think they will be improved. I like the 49ers to win that division.

Oakland - No I haven't been doing gravity bongs for the last three hours, I really do think they have a chance to make the playoffs or maybe even win the division. I'm serious.....about the Raiders part. They have a very solid defense and if they can get anything from Campbell they can win some games. Chargers have some issues right now. Jackson the WR and more importnatly their starting left tackle, can't remember his name, are both holding out. I like the Raiders to make some noise in that division. Chiefs and Denver? Not this year IMO.

Atlanta - I think the Falcons are in for a better season than last year. M. Turner was hurt for parts of last year and they really missed him. Good QB w/ Matt Ryan and decent options w/ Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. I look for them to contend with Saints for division and be in a battle for Wild Card spot.

Maybe I should have only said one since there may be only a few who you guys think have a shot. So what do you guys think? Who's got a chance?

[qwerty007]

Originally Posted by keefriff

So what do you guys think? Who's got a chance?

I think what we should do is have a weekly contest. List the games and just pick 'em. No spread, nothing.

Then we can figure something out for a prize...I dunno. Winner with the highest number of games right gets the guy with the lowest number of games right to change avatar to his team emblem for the week? Maybe winner has EVERYONE in the contest change their pic for a week?

Whaddya think?

Ties are settled by picking the Monday Night game total points.

Anyone up for it?

(Steelers emblem is gonna look GREAT on TiCat, Grossnex, Keefrif!!! lol)

[qwerty007]

RULES:

This is a straight "pick the winner" contest.

All picks must be in before the kickoff of the first game. If you are late, you automatically lose that (those) games.

Just post a message in the NFL/NBA thread with your picks.

TieBreaker

Post an amount for "Total Points Scored" of the Monday night game. First Monday..2 games...total points for both games added together. (this is a tiebreaker...closest to the total is winner...PLUS or MINUS) Only one person can have a number, but in the unlikely event there is a tie after that (e.g. total points scored in the game was 40...poster 1 had 38, poster 2 had 42)...like The Price Is Right...it'll be closest without going over - in this case, 38 wins. But only in the case of a points tie.

There is NO point spread in effect...just pick 'em.

The Weekly Prize

Poster with most selections right will have ALL OTHER MEMBERS WHO ENTERED CONTEST change their avatar for ONE WEEK, to the EMBLEM / PICTURE of the team of the winners choice.

(in a lot of ways, when pride is factored in, it's worth more than money...I can't imagine putting a Cowboys star there, if there is such a fan here!!!)

NO CHANGES ALLOWED, once picks are made...(but we're all gentlemen here, aren't we?) Once you pick 'em, they're locked in.

Questions? Suggestions?

Good Luck!!!

THU, SEP 9 TIME (ET)
Minnesota at New Orleans 8:30 PM
SUN, SEP 12 TIME (ET)
Miami at Buffalo 1:00 PM
Detroit at Chicago 1:00 PM
Oakland at Tennessee 1:00 PM
Cincinnati at New England 1:00 PM
Carolina at NY Giants 1:00 PM
Atlanta at Pittsburgh 1:00 PM
Cleveland at Tampa Bay 1:00 PM
Denver at Jacksonville 1:00 PM
Indianapolis at Houston 1:00 PM
San Francisco at Seattle 4:15 PM
Green Bay at Philadelphia 4:15 PM
Arizona at St. Louis 4:15 PM
Dallas at Washington 8:20 PM
MON, SEP 13 TIME (ET)
Baltimore at NY Jets 7:00 PM
San Diego at Kansas City 10:15 PM



Addendum


We are going to try and make this as fair as possible...so for those who don't know; Each week the bookies in Las Vegas come out with a betting line for each game, choosing a favorite and an underdog. The following is the early betting line for week #1.

Date & Time Favorite Spread Underdog
9/9 8:30 ET At New Orleans -4.5 Minnesota
9/12 1:00 ET At NY Giants -7 Carolina
9/12 1:00 ET Miami -3.5 At Buffalo
9/12 1:00 ET Atlanta -2.5 At Pittsburgh
9/12 1:00 ET At Chicago -7 Detroit
9/12 1:00 ET At New England -5 Cincinnati
9/12 1:00 ET At Tampa Bay -3 Cleveland
9/12 1:00 ET At Jacksonville -2.5 Denver
9/12 1:00 ET Indianapolis -2.5 At Houston
9/12 1:00 ET At Tennessee -6.5 Oakland
9/12 4:15 ET Green Bay -2 At Philadelphia
9/12 4:15 ET San Francisco -2.5 At Seattle
9/12 4:15 ET Arizona -4 At St. Louis
9/12 8:20 ET Dallas -3.5 At Washington

Monday Night Football Point Spread

9/13 7:00 ET At NY Jets -3 Baltimore
9/13 10:15 ET San Diego -5.5 At Kansas City

The favorite is the first team. The amount of points they are favored is next, followed by their opponent. Location is denoted by the game being "at". This has no bearing on the game/results of the contest...it is only an added tool to help you in your decision making process.


GOOD LUCK TO ALL

(except the Dallas fans, of course! )

[grossnex]

Originally Posted by keefriff

I'm here Brother Grossnex....waiting for the season to start. Like you guys both said it's hard to get too fired up about preseason and all the BS that goes along with it. I'm getting pretty fired up for football. I will be honest with you, I'm concerned about the Vikes. Sidney Rice is out for approx 8 weeks, Percy Harvin keeps getting migraines, Adrian Peterson is getting blown up in blitz protection, they have some issues right now. I know it's preseason but it will be hard for them to match last year IMO. They still should have a pretty good defense and I think they will win 10 games or so but Green Bay is on the rise. They scare me. Aaron Rodgers is a darn good QB and they have a powerful team coming back. We shall see.

I like the Giants to at least improve on last years record. Tough divison they play in. All of those teams look to be improved....although it is nice to see Dallas struggle so far in preseason. Washington w/ McNabb should be better. Philly I think is in a very interesting place. Alot of offensive talent on that team. If they can get good QB play from either Kolb or Vick or both they may win that division. We will see about Dallas. I'm not sold yet. Their coach is not the guy IMO and they still have some issues on their O-line to fix.

Okay so lets talk some football. Give me three teams that you think have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs who didn't last year.
Now I know we all know our way around these boards so we need some reasoning, not just lists. Here's my three.

SF 49ers - Good defense w/ some good young players and some nice offensive players in Gore, V. Davis and Crabtree. IMO, Arizona is dropping back this year without Warner and Seattle isn't there yet although I think they will be improved. I like the 49ers to win that division.

Oakland - No I haven't been doing gravity bongs for the last three hours, I really do think they have a chance to make the playoffs or maybe even win the division. I'm serious.....about the Raiders part. They have a very solid defense and if they can get anything from Campbell they can win some games. Chargers have some issues right now. Jackson the WR and more importnatly their starting left tackle, can't remember his name, are both holding out. I like the Raiders to make some noise in that division. Chiefs and Denver? Not this year IMO.

Atlanta - I think the Falcons are in for a better season than last year. M. Turner was hurt for parts of last year and they really missed him. Good QB w/ Matt Ryan and decent options w/ Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. I look for them to contend with Saints for division and be in a battle for Wild Card spot.

Maybe I should have only said one since there may be only a few who you guys think have a shot. So what do you guys think? Who's got a chance?

Great stuff Brother Keefriff .

I agree with your take on the Vikes, but from where I'm sitting I think they need to be more run oriented on offense this year anyway. Losing Sydney Rice is huge, but if they can control the clock & keep that defense rested, they stand a really good chance of claiming a high seed in the playoffs. I don't think that they can realistically expect the same season from Farve. AP & the O-Line need to step it up this year. But, who expected Visanthe Shiancoe to have the season that he did last year? Farve is a master at making receivers better than what they really are.

On the 3 teams that I can see making the playoffs this year, who sat out last year:
NFC
I can definitely see Atlanta making the playoffs this year. They will have a much easier schedule this year & that division is not that tough at all. Very good QB & running game which should be enough to compete within the NFC South.

Of course I'm thinking with my heart here, but I can see the Giants getting back into the playoffs. The defense can't be as bad as it was last year. Those front 4 guys are too good. The running game needs to step it up (just like the Vikes) to keep the defense rested & control the clock. If we see Eli winging it all over the field again, it could be a long season for the G-Men.

I like your pick with SF, but I'm not convinced yet. Mike Singletary is a very good coach who's maximizing the talent that he has. I just don't know if they have enough on offense to get it done. But, that division is also not very tough at all. We'll have to see what Matt Leinart can do after sitting behind Kurt Warner for a few years & learning the system.


AFC
The possibilities are endless in the AFC this year. My 1st pick would be Tennessee getting back in. I don't know how far they can go, but they have enough on both sides of the ball to get it done IMO. If they didn't start out with all that Vince Young nonsense last year, then they would have made it. Young isn't the best statistical QB in the league but he does everything that he can to win. He reminds me of Doug Flutie if Flutie would have had a rocket for an arm.

Miami is very intriguing to me. I love their coach & Henne proved he can play in this league last year. Decent multi-headed running game & a tough defense down there. Usually it's the second year when Bill Parcells' built teams make the leap to playoff contenders.

I like your Oakland pick, but not so much for anything that they've done exactly. I just think that the rest of the division took some big hits. Denver sent Brandon Marshall to Miami, KC is a bigger mess than Oakland & who knows how devastating it will be for SD losing that playoff game to the Jets at home this year. They show the beginning signs of a team that's tuning out it's coach.

I know that's more than 3, but I got a little carried away .

[grossnex]

Originally Posted by qwerty007

THU, SEP 9 TIME (ET)
Minnesota at New Orleans 8:30 PM
SUN, SEP 12 TIME (ET)
Miami at Buffalo 1:00 PM
Detroit at Chicago 1:00 PM
Oakland at Tennessee 1:00 PM
Cincinnati at New England 1:00 PM
Carolina at NY Giants 1:00 PM
Atlanta at Pittsburgh 1:00 PM
Cleveland at Tampa Bay 1:00 PM
Denver at Jacksonville 1:00 PM
Indianapolis at Houston 1:00 PM
San Francisco at Seattle 4:15 PM
Green Bay at Philadelphia 4:15 PM
Arizona at St. Louis 4:15 PM
Dallas at Washington 8:20 PM
MON, SEP 13 TIME (ET)
Baltimore at NY Jets 7:00 PM
San Diego at Kansas City 10:15 PM


OK...here are the rules:

All picks should be in before the kickoff of the first game. If late, you automatically lose that game.

Just post a message in the NFL/NBA thread with your picks.

Post an amount for "Total Points Scored" of the Monday night game. First Monday..2 games...total points for both games added together. (this is a tiebreaker...closest to the total is winner...PLUS or MINUS)

There is NO point spread...just pick 'em.

Poster with most selections right will have ALL OTHER MEMBERS WHO ENTERED CONTEST change their avatar for ONE WEEK, to the EMBLEM of the team of the winners choice.

(in a lot of ways, when pride is factored in, it's worth more than money...I can't imagine putting a Cowboys star there, if there is such a fan here!!!)

NO CHANGES ALLOWED...(but we're all gentlemen here, aren't we?)

Once you pick 'em, they're locked in.

Questions?

I'm all in Qwerty my brother. I'm pushing all my chips to the middle of the table. I'm just going to need a day or so to think about those games.