2005 NFL season

Yep i'm ready and it looks like a real interesting year.

can't wait either! just got my Colts tickets! :-D

I have been stoked for like a few weeks now. I can't wait till Thursday.

a few week's? i've been stoked since after week 17 of last season. RAIDERS!!!

kerry collins is sending 1k to the american red cross for every td and raider win this season. i'm expecting atleast 40k out of it. if he added in int's it would've been like crazy bling!

I've been to both of the Bolts' preseaon games, and people have been going bananas. Attendance was way up, (close to selling out) and a number of games in the regular season have been sold out since June. Brees has only been playing a few minutes each game, and we've only seen LT on 6 downs. (During which he ran in a 50 yard rushing TD) The opener against the Cowboys is going to be awesome, even without Antonio. We have basically no injuries and I hope it stays that way for as long as possible.

Of course, our schedule this season is a serious beast. To give an example, we have to play the Patriots, Steelers, Eagles and Chiefs (who sucked last year because of a huge number of injuries, but basically have the same team as two years ago when they went 13-3, now healed) all in the month of October. Then, scattered around are games with Buffalo, Denver (twice), KC (again), and Indianapolis AT Indianapolis.

If the Jags get any sort of offensive consistency with the defense, 10 wins and a playoff spot is not out of the question.

If Carl Smith is up to his usual bag of tricks.. the offense will average about 13 points a game and the defense will bail them out for an 8-8 record.

Oh, and Tom Benson is a douchebag. It's like he was just waiting for an excuse to move the Saints and Katrina is it.

Looks like my Vikes won't miss Randy "I smoke marijuana once in a while, Gee, I hope I don't get into trouble with the NFL for saying that." Moss.

Now, we'll have to see if the defense is any better than atrocious, which it's been the last 7-8 years.

Culpepper has looked really sharp this preseason, hitting many different receivers and backs.

Green Bay - best case scenario is 9-7 and a wild card. I'm preparing for 6-10.

Um, he pretty much was.

Of course, all emotional attachments aside, the ethical thing to do might very well be to return to New Orleans; but the sensible thing to do IS to bail on the market that was poor in the first place, that won't be able to handle your team playing there for another two years, and may end up at half its pre-disaster size when all is said and done.

ok, i'm ready. a whole new season - 17 weeks plus change. yay! so new... so beautiful...

I'm stoked. I've been watching all the videos on the Redskins website...somehow they got ahold of some NFL films footage so I've been watching that at work all day. Pats-Raiders on a Thursday night? GREAT start to the season. It will be interesting to have that Monday night double header in week 2 also....can't wait for stuff to start.

24 more hours....

Stuber Picks 'Em Week 1

What can I say? I enjoy being wrong. And I am, a lot. So without further ado, here are my Week 1 picks in tradition with just last year. As if anyone cares.

Week 1

Oakland at New England... OAK will come out blazing, but the NE defense will limit them to <14 pts.
Tampa Bay at Minnesota... regardless of what Week 17 looks like, MIN will be 5-1 by Week 7.
Denver at Miami... Denver's bad day is still better than Miami's good day.
Tennessee at Pittsburgh ... I love McNair, but the Steeler D is pain-inducive.
Chicago at Washington ... Gibbs will start off on the right foot as he comes closer to his former self.
New Orleans at Carolina ... CAR reminds me a lot of PIT, but with a better QB and a more dynamic running game.
Seattle at Jacksonville ... This is the year Leftwich eclipses Vick as the best thing since sliced bread.
Houston at Buffalo ... I like the direction HOU is moving in, but have you seen Losman out of the pocket? No chance.
Cincinnati at Cleveland ... I got nothing but love for Dilfer, I wish him the best.
NY Jets at Kansas City... KC will have a better defense, just not in Week 1.
Green Bay at Detroit... the spread is -3 for GB right now, which basically means even. And I'm optimistic.
Dallas at San Diego... Parcells' defense will be back to form against a Charger O caught off gaurd.
St. Louis at San Francisco... SF is going to have fun trading away next year's #1 pick.
Arizona at NY Giants ... this will be an exciting game, but home field means just enough to win.
Indianapolis at Baltimore ... some of these games are almost too good for Week 1, Ravens D will bring the hurt circa 2000.
Philadelphia at Atlanta... T.O. does the Dirty Bird on the 50, gets fined.

Stuber hit the nail on the head...who would have guessed!?

Oakland looked really good in the first half, but new england really clamped down on lamont jordan in the second and were able to continually pressure kerry collins. I am still impressed by what I saw on offense from Oakland. There will be tons of yards produced in oakland this year.

The raider run defense was pretty damn good too! Corey Dillon had a tough time doing anything for most of the game. But the raider pass defense...wow was that porous. There zone's had giant gaping holes in them. Brady just picked them apart. The pats looked like the old pats we all know and love/hate in the second half.

Great start to the season.

the raiders offense looked horrible. fucking horrible! the o-line played pathetic. that was the worst performance i have probably ever witnessed from a raiders offensive line. the pats weren't even blitzing all that often and yet they were pushing the raiders o-line way back. robert gallery is compared to tony boselli yet he can't even win the starting left tackle job on his own team. a receiver coming into the league usually takes a few year's before they become great. this isn't the case with o-linemen unless you're perhaps a center. gallery constantly gets burned by speed rushers. can he become great? i hope so but he looks merely average to me. grove was on his ass about 5 times this game. seymour schooled walker. pathetic pathetic pathetic. collins...he's gonna look good for all the fantasy teams but he look's sad in games against good defenses. i don't even wanna imagine what jim johnson will do to him in 2 weeks. every time collins dropped back he looked totally uncomfortable. any pass rush at all and he's totally fucked. derrick brooks i hate you! curry i know your achilles was fucked but where were you? lamont did pretty good seeing how he had barely anything to work with. jimmy raye and norv nice job at half time adjusting to the pats 4-3 defensive switch!

the defensive was horrid in the first half. c-wood did his job as always. routt never look's back at the pass. gibson was well typical gibson. shitty fucking angles. i blame all of brady's yard's totally on the d-line. no pressure at all. the raiders had maybe 1 qb hurry all game long. i can only think of d-law's near sack. rob ryan has gotta be one of the dumbest defensive coordinators. i think if he had the right players to fit his system he would be amazing but he's still running the 3-4 defense. the raiders only have 3 natural lb's. he's using 4 de's as lb's. not 1, not 2, not even 3 but 4! these guys are too big and slow to cover wideouts. it certainly will help stop the run but they're gonna get torched over the middle all season long unless they play strickly at a 4-3 base. tommy kelly is the only damn bright spot on the line. burgess will probably get hurt in 2 week's.

special teams coverage still suck. they blocked 2 kicks but that's probably it for the season now. jano doesn't know how to onside kick.

penalty's galore. what's new in raidernation? they're at a 3:1 disadvantage as alway's.

the postive to the game is that they only lost by 10 on the road to the team who has won 21 straight games at home and 3 of the last 4 super bowls. one turnover turned the game around. if they don't beat kc next week the season is most likely over. i fear jim johnson's blitz's in philly...

First week impressions

Gotta give it to New Orleans that was a gutty performance and Horn's final diving catch was outstanding.

Minnesota just puked all over their field. Culpepper better turn it on and try to forget about the old days. Although a consistant running game would help. Hovan and co. handled them easily.

Bolts vs the Boys was a terrific game. It came down to who made the mistake in crunch time and Keenan McCardell's hold of Newman did just that (it ruined the momentum before they got to the goalline). Still SD would have been so much better with Gates its amazing how naked they seemed without him.

9ers narrowly beat the Rams. Nice win for Mike Nolan.

Same could be said for Nick Saban but Miami put the hurtin on Denver. Where was Ron Dayne? Tatum Bell certainly wasn't a factor and Jake the tank did just that.

Lions trounce the Pack and it looks like Walker is gone for the year. The hits keep comin for Favre and company.

KC runs all over the Jets. Glad i'm not the Jets defensive coordinator.

Willie Parker goes crazy on the Titans. Really nice win by Pittsburgh.

Palmer continues to show promise as he dealt Romeo Crennel his first loss (Get use to a lot of em) in Cleveland.

Giants go Arena League on Zona. Giant D looked solid.

Glad I didn't pay to see the Washington Chicago game.

Seattle folds to Jacksonville. Why not run Alexander more? Holmgren could be out of work soon if this continues.

Indy lays the smackdown on Boller, Lewis and the Ravens. That Indy defense looked really good tonight gonna be interesting to see how things come along for Dungy and crew this year.

Great week for football.

As a niners fan, GOD DAMN it felt good to see the niners jump all over the rams early. Tim Rattay had shown flashes of brilliance when healthy. If he stays healthy, the niners could compete to take the NFC west this year!? Brandon Lloyd was making brilliant plays. Kevan Barlow and Frank Gore could be a great duo this year also. The offensive line finally played with some quality. The defense played brilliantly. Julian Peterson is going to have a pro bowl year in that 3-4. Great win.

New Orleans pulled out a gutsy performance. Gotta give them a lot of credit...but feel good stories aside, Carolina gave that game away. They should never have let New Orleans get up on them 14-7.

Seattle...jesus, fire mike holmgren already. Rebuild. Allow Shaun alexander to leave next year so the niners can sign him. This team has been going nowhere for 7 years now.

Kansas City...do i smell a running back controversy? The minute priest holmes slips up, larry johnson is going to jump all over that starting job. I don't think either of these guys' egos can handle a running back by committee in KC.

Arizona...yeesh they looked pitiful.

Pittsburgh looked great...against a defense that has one solid player in Keith Bulluck. I need to see another good game from big ben against a somewhat decent D to dispell the idea of a sophomore slump. Although, if willie parker continues to play like this...ben won't need to throw more than 10 times a game. Willie parker gives the steelers the speed and power that duce staley never had. I think Duce may have lost his job. Bettis will still have the short yardage and goal line stands, but I don't think willie parker was a fluke. The guy was picking up blitzes, catching passes, showing patience for holes to develop like a veteran.

San Diego...my second team behind the niners. What a pitiful showing. Although Dallas showed some panache on offense, San Diego did EVERYTHING they could to continue giving Dallas free first downs. All of San Diego's 3rd down penalties lost this game for them. They gave dallas too many lives and eventually Bledsoe is going to find open recievers if you keep giving him 4 downs. I hate to think no antonio gates cost them the game, but you gotta believe in san diego's last 4 downs inside the 10 that they would have scored on one of those tries had brees been throwing to gates in the endzone rather than justin peele.

One more thing...Miami's defense was simply brilliant. My jaw was consistently on the ground seeing the defense sniff out plays and their goal line stands. Miami was literally playing on denver's side of the line for most of the game. They just dominated that team. Jake plummer couldnt complete a pass for like 2 quarters. That was a damn impressive showing by that defense. Even though frerotte and the offense got a lot of highlights, this game was totally won by the miami D.

The defense might have had a little to do with it.

That game should have been like 40-14. Yes, they threw deep more and Jimmy Smith is the ageless wonder, but two staples of Carl Smith's "offense" are still loud and clear - inability to convert 3rd and 1 and the field goal.

Kudos to the Saints for a fantastic finish. First time everyone in the country's been rooting for the Saints since the Niners/Saints battles in the late 80s/early 90s, I'll bet.

Not to be heartless, but can we stop all this "the Saints are America's Team now" talk? What happened in New Orleans isn't going to make me root for the Saints any more or less. I'm rooting for the people of New Orleans to recover from this. The Saints will give their fans three hours of respite every Sunday, and that's great, but I don't feel any need to adopt them as some kind of show of support. This just smacks of the media trying to create a story.

Besides, they're in my division -- let 'em beat the Panther and Falcons twice and that's it.

I couldn't agree more. I knew before the game even began that we'd be inundated with drippy sentimentality and mauldlin emotional displays, but I was still surprised at how much it was constantly harped on during the game.

And I wanted to hit Terry Bradshaw in the kidneys after his self-serving little ego trip to the stricken area. He was in every single shot they filmed, huggin' them poor Negroes and spouting homespun bible bullshit. Sheesh.

And I think that game spoke more to how overrated the Panthers are than to how motivated the Saints were.

What made the Bolts look naked was their amazing lack of a pass defense. Keenan, Reche, etc, did a perfectly good job throughout the game catching balls, the game just happend to hinge on a few plays where we needed Antonio's super clutch endzone motherfucker stacking abilities. Also, I wonder how much of a home field advantage we have if 50 percent of the crowd are always fans of the opposing team. When we lost last night, the entire stadium was cheering.

On a lighter note, pass defense seems to be the only thing that we don't do pretty damn well. (Yes, I understand that that might be the most important thing in the game) The revamped special teams was putting foot to ass, with big Darren Sproles regularly returning punts to the 50 yard line. I think his shortest return the whole game was to the 35, no shit.

Yeah, I think it's pretty much a sure thing that Duce ain't getting that job back. You can't blame Cowher. Parker is exactly what we need. And because he's young and free of injuries, he'll only get better.

Micah, how in the world did I miss that you're a fellow Steelers fan?

And I recorded the game, and watched it back and loved it. I was extremely worried after that first Titans drive went right down the field and scored, but then the clamps went on, and that was it.

Headed to the Falcons/Eagles game tonight, which should be fun. My friend that I have tickets with told me he talked with a friend that has similar "nosebleed" seats like ours, and they sold their tix for $800. Yikes. And watch for me on MNF tonight. I'll be the small speck in the upper level with the red shirt on. I'm sure you'll see me easily.

Jump! Jump!!

Dude, just grab onto the blimp that distributes the discount coupons and float your way down to the field.

Watching the end of the Packers/Lions game yesterday, I couldn't help but feel bad for Brett Favre. There were a couple of shots of him on the sidelines late in the game after he threw an interception, and the look on his face was one of, "Well, this is how this whole season is going to be." He looked totally down and disspirited which, as much as I loved rooting against him when he played the Bucs, is pretty sad to see.

Jesus, the Saints get ballwashed for one of the only times in there 40 year history and people are already bitching like no tomorrow. The Eagles get talked about ad naseum, surely your bitching could be better directed at that than the Saints getting some talk for a fucking week.

Just don't watch if you care that much. Let us enjoy this simple pleasure for a short while. It made pretty much everyone I know feel really good for the first time in weeks. Even my girlfriend called me up to see if I watched the game, and she was laughing and talking about and I can't remember her EVER sitting through an entire football game.

I assure you that the media will be back to ragging on them in a matter of weeks.

And I can't remember ever feeling better about a win in my life. It felt like the fucking Super Bowl.

Matt, you didn't find the sudden bandwagon-jumping just a little, well, insulting?

"Hey national sports media, thanks for actually giving a damn about our team for a change. And all it took was the largest national disaster in generations! Gee, thanks!"

Whatever. I've always liked the Saints. Still waiting for them to get back to the playoffs.

But Sunday's highlight was watching my Fins trounce the Broncos. Next week when we play the Jets we might actually face Jay Fiedler at QB. I hope we pound him into the turf.

All the national media, when it comes to football season, jump on the same damn story each week. Next week all three of the pregame shows will do a feature on Willie Parker, bet $$ on it. They all copy each other and it's one of the main reasons I stopped watching the pregame shows.

I don't find the Saint bandwagon jumping at all disgusting. Because I know in three weeks it'll be relegated to the footnote section and they'll be onto something else. That is, until Tom Benson makes the official notice that they're moving to San Antonio, or LA, or Alaska, or whatever.

And... what the hell? Jeremiah Trotter (PHL) and Kevin Mathis (ATL) get tossed in pre-game warmups. This isn't college.. those guys are dumbasses.

All-pro LB vs. second-rate nickelback. Advantage: Atlanta.

No. When you're a Saints fan all you can do is take the scraps they give you. When you wallow in mediocrity for 40 years, attention is attention, even when you're getting made fun of (which is often).

And Jacob, that quote from Aaron Broussard: If its Aaron Broussard, President of Jefferson Parish on this whole Katrina situation, I know him very well. My dad and he are friends and went to school together. I find the fact that he is being quoted on the internet entirely hysterical.

Wow, what a horrible game by McNabb.

Akers didn't help, either.

Anyway, I hope these two teams meet up in the conference championship again, only with Trotter back on D for my Iggles

Wow, what a game. I can barely talk. A pre-game fight on the field, and 2 fights in the stands by me--one resulting in 2 guys rolling down 8 rows of seats--plus a guy who was talking smack got manhandled by the cops when he elbowed one of them in the face, not realizing that it was a cop that grabbed his arm.

That place was as loud as I've ever heard it tonight. Good for the Falcons, I'm happy for them. One guy called a sports talk station today and said, "So what's going to be the Falcons' excuse when they lose again tonight?" Well, according to the braintrust at ESPN and the NFL Network, the Eagles' excuse is that Trotter got tossed.

Trotter probaby would have made a significant difference only because the guy pass rushes like a mo fo, but the way vick was rolling out of that pocket and the way warrick was making cuts, i think atlanta would have still taken it.

As for the falcons...14 points? is that it? Vick looked really good in the pocket, but they still got no wide reciever help except for that BEAUTIFUL play action pass dropped in behind the double coverage to jenkins. The falcons need to be able to score more with the weapons they have.

The eagles just didnt look right the whole game. They didnt seem to maintain a focus from play to play. Granted Atlanta's front 7 got some PRESSURE on mcnabb, but still kind of a disappointing performance from that offense.

Vick misfired several times. There were WRs open everywhere. On that last play of the first half, when they lined up for the hail mary, Roddy White was wide open in the middle of the zone, and Vick lobbed it like 10 feet over his head. And they would drive down the field fine, then Vick would turn the ball over. I think had he not kept fumbling, they could've scored more, but Akers missed 2 FGs for the Eagles also. I was surprised that Atlanta's D shut them down as much as they did. 14 points was all they needed.

They didn't throw much to Crumpler, and when he did, he wasn't on target. That first INT was thrown behind him. Vick had his moments, but he wasn't as sharp as he looked in the pre-season. I'd say both QBs were thrown off their game a bit by the respective defenses' pressure. That one shot McNabb took from Lavalais looked painful.

vick looked really good in the pocket? what the hell! he made kerry collins look like montana on thursday night. like what martianman said he was misfiring. he missed white by about 20 yards at the end of the 1st half (he wasn't in the endzone by the way). he threw for about 50 yards after the 1st quarter, 150 for the entire game. he actually did throw the ball to crumpler a lot. half of his balls went his way. same 'ol same 'ol. pathetic. vick will never learn. mora's advice to him is"just do what you do". yeah that's gonna help him.

oh and since when has jeremiah trotter pass rushed like a mo fo?

I said it after the Packers lost those two offensive lineman (and then did nothing to help on either side of the ball), and I'll say it again...Favre should have retired in the off-season. He's my all-time favorite player, and can still sling like no other QB, but his team is a total disgrace. I don't ever want to see him leave, but I surely don't want to see him go out like this.

By looked good in the pocket, I meant that Vick actually attempted to stay in the pocket to give a look to his second and third read rather than booking once his first read was not there. He was off, but I attribute that to game 1 and a blitzing defense. He attempted to be a quarterback yesterday, which was something he hasnt done much of in his career.

As far as trotter, yes that guy pass rushes like a mofo. When he blitzes, he is coming full speed through that O-line...granted he tends to miss a lot of cut backs and overpursues a lot, but he still goes all in

if he was checking off to his 3rd and 4th options he would've thrown more balls then just to crumpler. he's still just an athlete who's behind the center's ass. good luck to the falcons on winning a game when they're down by 4 with a minute and change left in the game with no timeouts.

It's ONE GAME.

I tend not to hype up or write off anyone until after week 2's games. Even then, it all depends. Fuck, look at last week when GB was sitting at one-and-freakin'-four and managed to come back win the division.

Chavez, you know me. I'm also a Red Sox fan, so I like to freak out and pull the plug really early. That being said, we scored 3 points against Detroit, and lost our best WR for the year. We still have 15 games to go, but I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing.

Ah, I missed the "Rommel" bit.

I agree that week one didn't look good. My own philosophy is to not push the panic button unless week 2 is filled with poor play-calling and rife with penalties. I said it above, I see 6-10 as being the absolute bottom for the talent this team has.

Stuber Picks 'Em Week 2

Last Week: 7-9 (7-9)

So i picked some underdogs and I picked some home team favorites. It didn't work. But I do sincerely believe that 2005's Week 2 will look a lot more like we thought Week 1 was going to. So here goes...

Baltimore at Tennessee... Baltimore needs to do a lot better than Kyle Boller to resemble Dilfer's Ravens.
Buffalo at Tampa Bay... Tampa looked pretty good, but Cadillac gets officially broken in by the Bills Defense.
Detroit at Chicago... This is a wish pick, no 2-0 teams allowed in the NFC North.
Jacksonville at Indianapolis... Indy scores 40+ pts in a game for the first of 8 games in which they will do so.
Minnesota at Cincinnati... Will the Viking's No. 1 WR please stand up?
New England at Carolina... New England can shut anyone down, and I am in awe of that.
Pittsburgh at Houston... Willie Parker will not rush for 161 again, he'll only get 140.
San Francisco at Philadelphia... Tim Rattay will NOT be this year's breakout player.
Atlanta at Seattle... I'm a Vick-doubter, proud of it. But Seattle will fall at home.
St. Louis at Arizona... As much as I want T. Holt and S. Jackson to bounce back, my heart belongs to the Cards.
Cleveland at Green Bay... never pick against #4 will I.
Miami at N.Y. Jets... Herm knows how to get his team back on track, even if his QB throws like a girl.
San Diego at Denver... LT & Co. get back to .500. Will Denver be 1000-yd rusher-less this year? Possibly.
Kansas City at Oakland... This will be a very good game, but that KC Def will shine late in the game.
N.Y. Giants at New Orleans... I don't like jumping on bandwagons, but I do think New Orleans would win even without a Hurricane.
Washington at Dallas... Brunell will look rejuvenated, but Bledsoe already does.

I'll eat my hat if this happens.

you hat is safe. 0-0 at the half.

Joey Harrington is horrible. They guy has 3 huge wr, huge te, and a really good back and he can't pull it together. Bears up 31-6 just about at the half.

I think T.O. is healthy and back. 5-143 and 2 td's. McNabb is healthy too.

a shootout it is not. whoduhthunkit?

Man, Culpepper is disappointing a LOT of fantasy players. throws an INT 0:16 into the 2nd half.

Bears are running away with it.

Can we call the Bucs's D dominant now?

Can we say that Cadillac is Rookie of the Year?

YO HO THE PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME!!!!

(Yeah, drunk)

Brian Griese is still the Bucs QB so I wouldn't gloat too much. Losman isn't that good a QB, and in week 1 they beat a Minn team that seems lost. Cincy held them to 8 points.

That said w/ GB and Det up next the should be 4-0 if they get avg. QB play.

Jaguars get a 'moral' victory in holding the Colts to 10 points, but if they're really serious about challenging for the division title, they're going to have to come up with a better game plan on the road. They couldn't pass-block with eight guys on the line. Not to mention Donovin Darius, Reggie Hayward and Leftwich all went down in the 4th quarter with various injuries. It could be the walking wounded for a while in Jax.