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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 11, 2012 9:09:49 GMT -5
Just to get the ball rolling. More to follow.
Cheers.
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Post by 24in93 on Dec 11, 2012 10:51:11 GMT -5
49ers fan checking in. They've got a good shot this year....
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 11, 2012 10:58:56 GMT -5
49ers fan checking in. They've got a good shot this year.... Huge, man, huge. They have one of the best defences-against-the-run in the league if not the best. So, who do you like? Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernick? Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 11, 2012 11:22:30 GMT -5
Seeing as how the 49ers checked in, here's a bit on the Packers (in a world-according-to-Dis kinda way).
The two biggest factors the Packers have to work on in order to compete with the Giants and 49ers, is their pass rush and their front line. A decent pass rush would compliment the efforts of that very young Green Bay secondary which has been playing extremely well of late. Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson are both slated to come back against da Bears, so that will help the pass rush a great deal.
The last two games have also seen the Packers establish a running game of sorts. Because of injuries the Packers have been relying on two youngster; Alex Green and Dujon Harris. Green was drafted two years ago out of U of Hawaii while Harris was signed off the practice squad. They both had an excellent game against Detroit so that made Rodgers' play-action quite effective.
The passing game has taken a bit of turn of late, though. Randall Cobb has been the go-to guy on just about every set of downs. Jordy Nelson is the team's number-1 receiver, but he's out with a hamstring injury. Of the 14 completed passes against Detroit, 7 of them were to Cobb. Nelson's return would help the passing game quite a bit.
No easy games for the Packers these days. They seem to fall behind early and then regroup for a comeback win. Other than the Huston game earlier in the year, the Pack hasn't run up the score at all and they haven't looked like they could do it for that matter.
Still winning games, though.
Cheers.
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Post by Polarice on Dec 11, 2012 11:32:15 GMT -5
How about them Pats last night...if that wasn't a statement to the rest that the league!!
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 11, 2012 12:45:41 GMT -5
They've been making a statement all year, Reap. The Patriots have been rolling up the score of late and their defence is playing to their max. They're looking good at the right time of year.
Conversely, the Falcons are losing at the wrong time of year. Unless they turn it around and stop "finding new ways to win" I don't think the Falcons will be a serious threat regardless what their record reflects.
But, all that said, if previous years are any indication, the hottest team at the right time of year is the one that usually wins the Super Bowl. The Giants are hot right now and they've gone all the way in previous years when this happens.
Cheers.
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Post by 24in93 on Dec 12, 2012 11:52:08 GMT -5
49ers fan checking in. They've got a good shot this year.... Huge, man, huge. They have one of the best defences-against-the-run in the league if not the best. So, who do you like? Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernick? Cheers. I like whichever one gets the W  I feel bad for Alex Smith getting snubbed after all this time but I like what Kaepernick brings. Seems like a more dynamic QB. I'm admittedly a 'fringe' NFL fan so I don't understand the game as well as I do hockey. But I loved the 49ers from the Montana/Rice days. Lost interest when they sucked for so long and am back onboard now that they're a better team and no hockey. I guess you can call me a fairweather fan but they're the only NFL team I've ever supported. The Patriots on Sunday will be a HUGE test to see what they're really made of this year. |
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Post by BadCompany on Dec 12, 2012 13:00:41 GMT -5
I gotta say that I am not all that impressed by the 49ers, though that could be my life-long Rams bias shining through. They've played the improving-but-still-pretty-mediocre Rams twice this year, and were it not for a wide receiver lining up two feet behind the line of scrimmage, causing an offensive lineman to be declared an illegible receiver, the Rams would have won both games. How often have you seen a penalty on an offensive lineman for being an illegible wide receiver? Especially in overtime? Especially on what would have been the game-winning 80 yard TD reception (and NOT to the wide receiver who was out of position)?
But I digress.
The 49ers have a good defense, a hard defense, but I'm not sold on their offense, with either QB. They rely on the run-game too much, but as good as Frank Gore is he isn't an Adrian Petersen. He can grind out a game for you, but I don't think he's going to win it all by himself. And I don't think the defense is good enough to do that either, not against an elite offensive team anyways. They can beat up on patsies like the Rams and Cardinals, but I too will be very interested to see how they do against a real team, like the Patriots.
Until then, color me unimpressed.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 12, 2012 15:50:22 GMT -5
Huge, man, huge. They have one of the best defences-against-the-run in the league if not the best. So, who do you like? Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernick? Cheers. I like whichever one gets the W I feel bad for Alex Smith getting snubbed after all this time but I like what Kaepernick brings. Seems like a more dynamic QB. I think the 49ers are a bit more explosive with Smith calling the plays. He seems to get more offense out of them, but that's just me. I find Kaepernick to be a bit more unpredictable, which is a good thing too. The 49ers have the supporting cast as well. The Patriots are serving notice to the rest of the league. They've been winning big of late and they just handed the Texans their butts. The only other blow out the Texans have had this year was against Green Bay. These are the only two loses they've had. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 12, 2012 18:36:14 GMT -5
I gotta say that I am not all that impressed by the 49ers, though that could be my life-long Rams bias shining through. They've played the improving-but-still-pretty-mediocre Rams twice this year, and were it not for a wide receiver lining up two feet behind the line of scrimmage, causing an offensive lineman to be declared an illegible receiver, the Rams would have won both games. How often have you seen a penalty on an offensive lineman for being an illegible wide receiver? Especially in overtime? Especially on what would have been the game-winning 80 yard TD reception (and NOT to the wide receiver who was out of position)? But I digress. The Fail Mary pass did it for me, and for Coach McCarthy as well. The official who made signaled touchdown apparently couldn't make the cut to officiate the Lingerie Football League. I remember the game well. The Packers offensive live was dominated in the first half giving up 8 sacks. Coach McCarthy said at halftime that his club had to start running the football in the second half. The Packers did just that but could only muster four field goals, still good enough to take the game away from the Sea Hawks, who ended up with one late 4th-quarter referee-assisted drive. And what some folks don't talk about was another offensive interference call (the receiver used the GB CB as a launching pad) before the Fail Mary. The 49ers have allowed only 14.2 PPG. I don't know, man ... those inter-divisional games are tough ... teams tend know each other very well. I think the Cards know the 49ers well enough with a win and a tie against them this year. I really don't know the Cards at all, BC, but if there's one area maybe the Cards might want to upgrade the front line. They've given up 31 sacks and Bradford is the future of the franchise. Losing him would hurt St Louis as much as it would the Packers if they were to lose Aaron Rodgers. Having said that, the Packers have been drafting OL two of the last three years and it's entirely possible they're going to draft another next draft. Protecting Rodgers has been the priority for quite a while now. And a great offensive line can create a great running game. GB's run has become effective over the last two games. They'll need to continue that if they have any hope at all at the Prize. Alex Green was drafted by the Packers two years ago. He's the default-RB with James Starks out for a while, but he's running into the holes harder than I've ever seen him. He's backed up by a recent signing (off the practice squad) of DuJuan Harris who had an impressive debut with the Packers last week. FB, John Kuhn is a dependable 1-yard kinda guy. Can't have enough linemen for the rush or to protect Rodgers. I mean, he's been sacked only 42 times this year ...  Cheers. |
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Post by seventeen on Dec 13, 2012 1:52:02 GMT -5
Having said that, the Packers have been drafting OL two of the last three years and it's entirely possible they're going to draft another next draft. Protecting Rodgers has been the priority for quite a while now. And a great offensive line can create a great running game. Can't have enough linemen for the rush or to protect Rodgers. I mean, he's been sacked only 42 times this year ... Cheers. The game is won in the trenches, gentlemen. You can have whoever you like running the offense - Elway, Favre, Marino, Montana, Brady or Manning and if they don't get time to make their plays, their team loses. Conversely, almost any twit can look good if he's got all day to pass the ball. Offensive lineman are the most underappreciated players in the game and probably the most important, though they don't sell tickets, naturally. They're also the smartest players, but that's not relevant to this discussion. Pick the team with the best offensive line as the one most likely to win. |
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Post by franko on Dec 13, 2012 7:03:15 GMT -5
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 13, 2012 9:41:14 GMT -5
Having said that, the Packers have been drafting OL two of the last three years and it's entirely possible they're going to draft another next draft. Protecting Rodgers has been the priority for quite a while now. And a great offensive line can create a great running game. Can't have enough linemen for the rush or to protect Rodgers. I mean, he's been sacked only 42 times this year ... Cheers. The game is won in the trenches, gentlemen. You can have whoever you like running the offense - Elway, Favre, Marino, Montana, Brady or Manning and if they don't get time to make their plays, their team loses. Pass protection is key, but I remember Packers C, Jeff Saturday, saying that there has to be a running game as well. He said something along the lines of this; having the front line continually drop back and protect the QB eventually tires the line out. There has to be some running in the game so as to change it up for the front line. On the other side of the coin, a good pass rush can make an adequate secondary look much better than they actually are. Right now it seems to be the reverse. The Packers have an almost non-existant pass rush, but the secondary has been keeping them in most games. And it's a young secondary that sometimes consists of 2, maybe 3, rookies/first-full-year players. Not if your name is Tim Tebow. True, but the same can be said for a great pass rush too. Cheers. |
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Post by 24in93 on Dec 17, 2012 8:13:16 GMT -5
Well after blowing a 28 point lead in the second half, the Niners pulled out the win in New England. They let their foot off the gas and Brady made them pay. Thankfully they had enough left in the tank to put up a couple of quick scores and put the Pats away. Next week they have the high-scoring Seahawks in a battle for 1st in their division. I'm liking these late season tests.
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Post by CentreHice on Jan 13, 2013 16:46:49 GMT -5
Not having a favourite NFL team, I've found the 3 games so far this weekend very entertaining.
Baltimore eludes an imminent loss vs. Denver with a late TD pass. Then Manning throws an interception to set up the winning OT FG.
Kaepernick....geez that guy looked like he was playing in the CFL....I've never seen an NFL QB with that much room to run. How could the Packers allow that to continue? It's as if they weren't prepared for it at all....certainly couldn't adjust to it.
Just saw the Falcons narrowly escape a complete collapse. Can't imagine the Seahawks' fans...they almost pulled it off.
Wonder if New England/Houston will be as exciting.
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Post by CentreHice on Jan 13, 2013 19:59:32 GMT -5
January 20
3:00 49ers-Falcons
6:30 Ravens-Patriots
Did anybody here have that scenario at the beginning of the season?
EDIT: And is it just me, or is Howie Long too intense or what? Does he have a sense of humour at all?
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jan 15, 2013 12:39:08 GMT -5
Was listening to "Monday Morning QB" on TSN. Jesse Palmer was saying we're seeing the evolution of the QB with the likes of Kaepernick, RG III, Newton, et al.
It's hard to argue this observation but at the same time I'm hoping he's wrong. We've seen quite a few rushing QBs come into the league recently and I don't like it. Not because the Packers didn't have an answer for K-nick, but because the game reminded me of a college bowl game. Some were saying the Packers might better off if they were to fire Def Coord, Dom Capers. I highly disagree with that. The Packers were last in team defence in 2011 but ended up improving to 11th overall in 2012.
Interesting tib bit from the game; never realized the flu went through the Packer locker room during the week leading up to their game. The Packers didn't bring it up, but the announcers did. I'm glad they didn't dwell on it.
Speaking of the Packers, I'd like to see them beef up their front and defensive lines during this draft. Forget about RBs and receivers. Protect the franchise; Aaron Rodgers first, then work on the pass rush and secondary. They're getting left behind in the conference very quickly.
Pro Line - my picks for last weekend. Won on everything but the GB game:
GB/SF - tie
Balt/Den - tie
Sea/Atl - tie
Hust/New Eng - NE -8.
Not surprised Baltimore took out Denver. Ray Lewis' return helped, but I also read near the end of the week that Manning isn't all that successful in the playoffs. His record now stands at 11W - 10L in the post season. I also read that out of all the teams in the 11-game winning streak only two were playoff teams. One of them was the Bengels and the other one was the Ravens. The rest were non-playoff teams. I noticed how cold Manning looked during the game. He never once looked comfortable. Good on Baltimore for winning that one.
Really liked the Seattle/Atlanta game. After the GB game killed my ticket I really wanted the Seahawks to win this one. Atlanta finally proved that they can beat a good team so that was good for them. However, I'm looking forward to seeing how Seattle looks next year too. A young team that's pretty close to going over the top next year.
The Texans just seem to be a great regular season team (like Manning for that matter). They just seem to be marking time. New England is in the juggernaut mode, but they only beat Huston. They have Baltimore coming up and I'll be betting a tie again. Brady's record against the Ravens is less than stellar. In fact, he's had problems with them in the past.
My picks for this weekend:
SF/Atl - SF -4
Bal/NE - tie (within 3 pts either way)
Will be doing the Super Bowl in Mexico.
Cheers.
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Post by franko on Jan 15, 2013 12:53:20 GMT -5
gotta admit that I didn't think the Packers would be playing this coming weekend. I had their D in my fantasy pool and they let me down far too many times.
NE by 6 is my bold prediction.
SF by 7
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Post by 24in93 on Jan 15, 2013 13:16:50 GMT -5
Well I'm thrilled the 49ers are in the conference game again this year. I think they'll make it to the Superbowl this time around. Pats-49ers for the Superbowl. Lucky me, I'm headed to Las Vegas for work that week and arrive in the early afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday. Just in time to place a wager on my '9ers. Good times. ;D
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Post by jkr on Jan 16, 2013 15:47:43 GMT -5
Well I'm thrilled the 49ers are in the conference game again this year. I think they'll make it to the Superbowl this time around. Pats-49ers for the Superbowl. Lucky me, I'm headed to Las Vegas for work that week and arrive in the early afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday. Just in time to place a wager on my '9ers. Good times. ;D Your job is sending you to Vegas in February? Sweet. |
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Post by 24in93 on Jan 16, 2013 22:02:26 GMT -5
I'm certainly not complaining.  |
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Post by franko on Jan 20, 2013 21:52:09 GMT -5
boy was I wrong. once again, the reason I don't lay out money for such things.
go niners.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jan 20, 2013 22:48:30 GMT -5
I had two tickets. The first one was with SF -4, but it had a tie between Ravens/Patriots. Lost that one.
The second ticket had SF -8 and Ravens -4. SF brought me down there. Oh, and so did the Habs on the same ticket.
Out $4 bucks!
Great games today, though. Atlanta still can't close the deal. Second-straight week they've let a substantial lead go. A dynamic, but fragile team. San Fran defence played well today, but they're going to have to be better against the Ravens. Kaepernick is the real deal and his team believes in him. Might see the 49ers moving up in the draft if/when they move Alex Smith.
The Ravens were the better team today. New England started out alright, but the Baltimore defence played very tough today. At one point it seemed there was a different Patriot going down every few sets of plays. Big-time hits by the Baltimore d. That defence will be tough to crack in New Orleans.
Super Bowl prediction; San Fran is unbeaten in their last five Super Bowls. Baltimore is a rejuvenated team and I think they've had the harder road to the final. Safe bet for me: Tie, -3 points either way. Long-shot odds for me: Baltimore -4.
Cheers.
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Post by CentreHice on Jan 20, 2013 23:07:58 GMT -5
It's the SUPHAR BAUGHL......
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jan 21, 2013 18:26:25 GMT -5
gotta admit that I didn't think the Packers would be playing this coming weekend. I had their D in my fantasy pool and they let me down far too many times. NE by 6 is my bold prediction. SF by 7 I had no doubt they'd make the post season. However, I doubted they'd be able to take on one of the top teams to move on. The Packers only found their running game in the last five/six games of the season. That's significant because we continue to see what a good ground attack can open up. Play-action passing or running, the QB option. How Dom Capers couldn't adjust to that play was really hard to fathom. The defence had no answer and that play, run continuously, not only made it hard to defend, it made it hard to watch! I thought I was watching a bloody college bowl game. Then we saw how Atlanta defended it. I'm hoping they used the Packer game film to develop a strategy for it and while they lost the game, Kaepernick wasn't nearly as effective as he was against Green Bay. But, I'd say that that defence was probably the best thing for Kaepernick. It forced him to play a conventional football game and I actually liked watching him excel in that as well. This kid is only 22 years old, but his teammates believe in him. Back to the Packers; it was their defence that won them Super Bowl XLV. They went dead last in team D the following year, but they were able to bring it back to a respectable 11th this year. They had some key injuries right out of training camp that they couldn't recover from, I think anyway. But, then I think about SB XLV and that team had something like 16 regulars on the IR, but they still won. Anyway, if you're doing an NFL pool next year please let me know. I'll share whatever player info I have and we can go from there. I'm not a well of information, but I follow the NFL. Heck, tell you what ... if you're interested why not consider a HabsRus NFL pool next year? There's a few NFL fans here in the community. I think it might be a pretty even tournament. Something to think about anyway. Cheers. |
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Post by 24in93 on Jan 21, 2013 20:27:55 GMT -5
Go Niners!!!
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Post by seventeen on Jan 22, 2013 1:23:14 GMT -5
I was shocked, shocked, I tell you! Not because the teams I'd like to see win, lost, but because they won!
My streak on sports teams is god awful. All and I mean all my favourite teams lose To have both win in one weekend (and to have the Raptors beat LA on the same day) is mind boggling. I know, however, that it won't last. Somehow, the NY Giants will be awarded the Superbowl in 2 weeks. The Habs will lose all 48 games and the Jays will miss the playoffs again. It seems like I burned all my luck in the 70's.
Nah, it's just a cycle and I'm going to start winning again. I can feel it. ;D
PS, I'm hoping for San Fran by a nose, but wouldn't mind seeing Ray Lewis go out a winner as well. Can they tie?
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Post by franko on Feb 3, 2013 21:01:24 GMT -5
and then there are times I should bet.
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Post by CentreHice on Feb 3, 2013 22:44:14 GMT -5
That was a hold by Smith. Both hands grabbing the receiver's jersey, slowing him up. Should've been called.
A comeback for the ages more than likely thwarted by a non-call.
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Post by franko on Feb 3, 2013 22:58:24 GMT -5
true, though I'm not sure he would have landed both feet inbounds.
I'm just glad the Ravens won because of Harbaughs whinging!
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