Jeff Porter's Football Talk

[JEBar]

Patriots 9-3 @ Chargers 8-4. The Patriots' brutal schedule portion continues, Wk 9-Den, Wk 11-@Ind, Wk 12-Det, Wk 13-@GB, and now @ SD. Next they host Mia. Pats are 3-1 so far through this portion, so if they can go 5-1 or 4-2 through that, it'll be very impressive. I don't know what to think about SD. They could win this game, or they could lose by 17. At this moment, ESPN says it's Pats -4. Do the oddsmakers know something we don't? They usually do. But if I was a betting man, which of course I am, I would take SD and the pts, since NE had to travel..

I continue to be surprised at how lightly many folks regard Phillip Rivers .... as his former coach at NCSU said, all he does is win .... he does so without a steady stream of highly regarded teammates

Jim

 

[Jeff Porter]

I continue to be surprised at how lightly many folks regard Phillip Rivers .... as his former coach at NCSU said, all he does is win .... he does so without a steady stream of highly regarded teammates

Jim

Well, he has had Antonio Gates for many years. :-) Did he have Ladanian Tomlinson for very long? Don't know for sure, probably 2-3 yrs?

He has had quite a career. In 9 seasons, he's started every game. Very impressive! He's led the league for a season in passing yds, TDs, and completion %. And QB Rating. He's thrown for 4000+ yds 5 times, and will probably do it this year for a 6th. The Chargers won 9+ games in 5 seasons, and probably will again this year for a 6th. You are right Jim, all he does is win. Maybe this will be their year! Record of 4-5 in the playoffs, which is not bad.

I only see 2 not-so-good years, where his TD/INT were 21/15 and 27/20.

 

[Ty]

Having a down day today, can't get motivated to respond to any Elio threads, so I feel the need to come over here and talk some football.

A really great schedule of games this week:

Steelers 7-5 @ Bengals 8-3-1. Steelers gotta win if they want to keep playoff hopes realistic. And technically, with a win they pull within 1/2 game of the Bengals for the division crown.

Ravens 7-5 @ Dolphins 7-5. Another coin-flip game. I'm big on three stats determining who wins an NFL game: who does well on 3rd down, who wins the turnover battle, and who gets pressure on the QB on pass plays. In this game, I look for those three stats to give you your winner.

Colts 8-4 @ Browns 7-5. Forget about Hoyer or Manziel, Cleveland is in same boat as Steelers. Gotta win to keep playoff hopes realistic. The Colts are a bit like the Packers and Broncos: if the usual starting QB plays, they have a great chance to win. Luck is excellent.

Bills 7-5 @ Broncos 9-3. Denver is very good with Manning at home. Bills front 4 is probably the best in the NFL. Look for Manning to do the needful to get the ball out of his hands quickly. Would love to see Denver lose, but don't think it'll happen.

Chiefs 7-5 @ Cardinals 9-3. Since Palmer got injured, Cards offense has been unable to score many pts. By my unofficial count, about 28 pts in about 2 1/4 games. And 8 of those pts were in garbage time in their last game against a not-that-great Falcons defense. Not gonna win many games if you can't score, even with AZ's excellent defense. This game hopefully will be as good as the rest listed here. Go Chiefs! Oh man, gotta mention the Cards' remaining schedule: KC, @ Rams, Seahawks, @ 49ers. Ibuprofen for the Cards.

Seahawks 8-4 @ Eagles 9-3. Hawks are 5-1 in last 6, Eagles are pretty much winning 2 for each game they lose. There are 5 offenses that score a ton of pts this year, and the Eagles are one of them. Seattle has to find a way to slooooooww them down. If "ifs" were "fifths", we'd all be drunk... BUT ... if Seattle can get a road win in Philly, and KC can get a road win in AZ, there is a tie for the lead in the NFC West. The more likely scenario is Philly and AZ both win at home.

Patriots 9-3 @ Chargers 8-4. The Patriots' brutal schedule portion continues, Wk 9-Den, Wk 11-@Ind, Wk 12-Det, Wk 13-@GB, and now @ SD. Next they host Mia. Pats are 3-1 so far through this portion, so if they can go 5-1 or 4-2 through that, it'll be very impressive. I don't know what to think about SD. They could win this game, or they could lose by 17. At this moment, ESPN says it's Pats -4. Do the oddsmakers know something we don't? They usually do. But if I was a betting man, which of course I am, I would take SD and the pts, since NE had to travel.

Falcons 5-7 @ Packers 9-3. Will list this game here, since we have Packers and Falcons fans on this forum, PLUS the Falcons can take a huge step towards 1) a division win, and 2) respectability, if they can somehow go to Lambeau Field and get a "W". Packers can continue to ignore all the tie-breakers for the division lead if they keep winning, since they are 1 game ahead of the Lions.

The Falcons need another win outside their division... Packers fit that bill as they are outside. Unfortunately, the Saints (7th in points, 2nd in yards, 3rd in passing yards and 8th in total yards) is a better team than the record shows and have an easy schedule where their strongest competitor is the 5-7 Bears... Plus, they play the Falcons at home.

The poor Falcons(12th in points, 9th in yards, 6th in passing yards and 25th in total yards) play the 9-3 Packers and the 7-5 Steelers... and the Saints in the Superdome.

Alas. Well, the Falcons knocked the Cardinals around.... any given Sunday (or Monday), right?

 

[Jeff Porter]

The Falcons need another win outside their division... Packers fit that bill as they are outside. Unfortunately, the Saints (7th in points, 2nd in yards, 3rd in passing yards and 8th in total yards) is a better team than the record shows and have an easy schedule where their strongest competitor is the 5-7 Bears... Plus, they play the Falcons at home.

The poor Falcons(12th in points, 9th in yards, 6th in passing yards and 25th in total yards) play the 9-3 Packers and the 7-5 Steelers... and the Saints in the Superdome.

Alas. Well, the Falcons knocked the Cardinals around.... any given Sunday (or Monday), right?

As Chris Berman says... "that's WHY.... they PLAY.... the GAMES." Dang right, the Falcons beat the Cardinals, they can win some more games yet!

 

[JEBar]

I'm glad that Johnny Football will be on the bench this weekend ....


“After thorough evaluation and talking to the staff, we feel Brian gives us the best opportunity to win on Sunday,” Pettine said. “This is a football decision and those are always going to be based on what we think is best for our team. Brian has led our team to a 7-5 record. I’m confident that we can get the entire offense playing at the level needed to accomplish the goals we set at the beginning of the season. Those goals are still very much attainable.”

taken from this link ===> http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/12/02/jo...=maing-grid7|main5|dl33|sec1_lnk2&pLid=575418

 

[JEBar]

Thursday Night Football .... Cowboys VS Bears .... the so-called experts seem to favor Dallas .... it will be interesting to see if the Cowboys can come up with a new and innovative way to lose the game

Jim

 

[Jeff Porter]

Thursday Night Football .... Cowboys VS Bears .... the so-called experts seem to favor Dallas .... it will be interesting to see if the Cowboys can come up with a new and innovative way to lose the game

Jim

Romo played hurt and he played well. Dallas offensive line is amazing, Romo has lots of time to throw. Plus Dallas can run the ball very very well. Put that together with no turnovers, and Dallas will be tough to beat. It was 35-7 at end of 3rd. Dallas cruises to win 41-28.

 

[JEBar]

was Dallas's running game really that good or was the Bears defense really that bad

Jim

 

[Jeff Porter]

I'll straddle the fence and say it's probably a bit of both. Dallas' running game has been good for quite a while this season, 2nd in the league at 149 yds per game, and Chicago's run defense gives up 112 yds per game for the season. That puts the Bears in the middle of the league. So to give up 194 rush yds to Dallas, not so good.

Plus, Chicago couldn't run the ball at all. At one point in the 3rd qtr I think, they had 10 runs for 20 yds.

Dallas is using up Demarco Murray at RB. He touched the ball 41 times last night. Will he be available when the playoffs roll around? Dallas fans hope so!

 

[JEBar]

I wonder how many folks picked the Panthers whoooop up on the Saints .... Russell Wilson looked good .... Peyton Manning not throwing a TD pass was major news ....

Jim