2005 NFL season - Page 2

If that GB secondary isn't better by Week 8, I'm throwing in the towel.

And what happened to ATL today?

anya your bears would only love to have griese as their qb. he played pretty good last season. he can thank chucky.

sterling sharpe is doing the game tonight. that's great in my opinion. the espn crew is fucking hidious.

Gries gives the Bucs an average present and no future. Orton gives the Bears an average present with a bright future.

Atl-Vick is overrated and they have no recievers that could help him out.

gave up on grossman have we? orton will be lucky to amount to what brian griese is.

Minnesota is a huge dissapointment. I've always thought Culpepper was a tad overrated but its shocking seeing him turn the ball over this much. They better get the ship on track fast but a consistant running game would go a long way in helping that.

Cincinatti doing it again. Palmer looks to be a huge stud this year.

GB loses to Crennel and the Browns. Try having a better offseason this year eh guys?

Sterling Sharpe ain't bad at all. But Shannon Sharpe, the man has horrible diction, the way he speaks goes beyond street talk and into a plain old speech impediment.

"Thoath boyth bettuh geddup tooduh lon cuzz duh glocks iz tickin!"

Michael Irvin can be rather articulate when he wants to, and almost always is on radio.

If Orton amounts to nothing he'll equal Brian Griese.

It can't be all no Moss why Culpepper is so bad.

i'm sorry but michael irving and articulate do not go together.

Fuck!

you're fucking hilarious. griese's not that bad.

can you say scott linehan?

moss did not push off! bullshit.

Right, Moss should have had two tds. He may have motioned a push off, but he didn't on the first TD...if anything he pushed off on the second (first credited) TD catch, although it was a fucking gorgeous grab.

The Chiefs...wow, they are looking decent on D this year. They shut down Lamont jordan every time he seemed to get going. The Colts have a solid D this year, peyton throws 0 tds, and the pats are 1-1?! Shenanigans!!!

San Francisco...I still believe you can win the NFC west, but jesus christ Philly just handed them their asses.

Atlanta...they continue their streak of being very uneven on offense. Granted, Seattle actually played with heart in this game, something they rarely do.

Tampa Bay is looking pretty damn formidable. Their Defense may not be the same cover 2 it was 5 years ago, but their offense has taken a huge step forward. I think they might surprise everyone this year.

But so far, I think the clear top dog right now is the Steelers. They lose duce, bettis, and end up being better off at running back with willie parker. Their defense is fucking phenomenal (houston has some weapons, tennessee last week not so much). Big Ben is looking better than last year as far as comfortability with throwing the ball down the field. Cowher is putting more faith in his arm.

i wouldn't exactly say they shut lamont out. norv or jimmy fucking raye totally abandoned the run in the 2nd half. plus lamont busted that 54 yarder that was brought back because of a holding penalty on walker that had nothing to do with the play. fucking dipshit walker. i hate all the raiders fans that are saying that was a bad call because it had nothing to do with the play. it doesn't fucking matter! fazer you're right about the moss td. that was a clean td for sure but there was more "pass interference" on that play then the one he got called for. i have absolutely no faith in kerry collins winning close games. if rich was still there the raiders would've won last night. collins can't throw those jump ball passes for shit. he's not even giving the receiver's a chance to catch the ball. ron curry may have ruptured his achilles for a third time. i hope i'm wrong. it looked like he was reaching down there anyways. the only glimmer of hope is that he didn't get carted off. @ philly next week...

I disagree about the defense. They're stopping the run like they haven't since the early Sapp/Culpepper days. I would have been happy only giving up 80 yards a game. To have given up 80 yards combined in two games (and holding McGahee in check the way they did) has me delirious. And we've got a pretty favorable schedule coming up -- at Green Bay and Detroit at home -- so 4-0 looks like a good possibility.

As for Griese, he's not there to put up McNabb/Manning-esque numbers. He's there to run the offense and not make mistakes and make the throws when he has to. Hell, they had a scoring drive yesterday where he never threw the ball once. We held the ball for almost 39 minutes. I'll take that over Griese going 32-45 with 4 TDs and 2 INTs and we lose 42-30.

The Raiders were ROBBED of a win last night, pure and simple. That late flag against Moss was pure, unadulterated bullshit.

Falcons looked like ass their first half, but pulled it together in the second half. Well, almost. The Seahawks very nearly handed them a chance at overtime, but Vick just couldn't get his shit together. Still, I think they'll improve as the season continues.

Cheers to the Panthers, they should have won last week as well.

Yeah, I think having a Monday night game vs. the Eagles, then having to travel across the country to face the Seahawks 6 days later was probably a nightmare for the team. It's hard enough to play a game 6 days later after MNF, let alone fly to the west coast and do it. A lot of folks on the local sports talk shows here had predicted that this would be a tough game for the Falcons.

But the Steelers didn't have a tough time of it. The Texans' fans were awfully tough on their own team. I listened to it on Sirius, and heard lots of boo-birds out there. Hopefully the Steelers can kick a dog when he's down, in the New England Patriots next week.

Not that I agree or disagree on the Griese comparison, but why the hate for Orton? The kid's only played two pro games.

Texans fired Chris Palmer today. Hard to believe, especially in the nepotism-filled NFL, but he may have coached himself out of the league.

You know hellpaso, I think Kerry Collins will be just fine. I have seen both raiders games this year though, and quite a few last year and I don't really understand Norv Turner's play calling. I know he likes the power running game, but I think the most obvious strength of the team is the vertical game. Its fine and dandy if you have gotten moss to by into your system and getting him to run more crossing routes but jesus christ, the guy can't be covered down field. Early in the game, especially against the chiefs I felt the raiders were playing pretty conservatively.

I don't think the problem lies with Kerry, I think the problem lies with the playcalling. They need to take more shots down field early. They aint gonna shut out anyone, so they better get on the board early. I am a big lamont jordan fan and love the pickup, but moving the ball methodically with short runs and passes isn't going to work for this offense.

Alright, time to push the panic button.

Green Bay might very well be staring 1-9 in the face right now.

I totally agree with this. Norv Turner is a pathetic head coach. Offensive Coordinator yeah but not head coach.

The Vikings suck, as they always do and as I knew they would. Every year they're expected to contend, at least according to the press, and every year they dissapoint. Can't the idiots at SI figure out that they're just not winners already?

Green Bay is shit, as expected. Detroit may be a team on the rise but they've yet to really prove anything.

Hmmmmm.... Orton's looking pretty damn good for a 4th round rookie thrown into the fray, the D is looking solid as ever.... could this be the Bears year to take the NFC North?

What a terrible feeling for a Cowboys fan. That was just brutally hurtful.

The poor Saints couldn't catch a break tonight. Reality is gonna set in big-time now...


Fun win by the 'Skins though.

fuck the Redskins.

why do announcers say things like "Bill Parcells has never lost when up by 13 in the 4th quarter" or
"so and so has never had a punt returned for a touchdown in his career" (which happened Sunday, followed by a return for a TD)

damn it - there was no reason for that loss. Brunell and Santana Moss owe someone thier first born after that.

WTF...offense from the redskins?!

That Redskin offense isn't quite as stale as it use to be. Brunell benefits.

Guess the Cowboys are gonna need to retool that defense a little more huh?

And it wasn't Clinton Portis either, %!#^&*$^@!

Actually, if you watched the game, the defense was and is incredible. They shut them out until the middle of the last quarter. The Redskins just got lucky using the same exact play twice - Brunell long shot to Santana Moss up the middle - and got away with it within two minutes.

Mistake by the Cowboys for falling for it twice, but you can't knock the defense. Ware, Nguyen, Spears, Newman, Williams, among others, were all over the Redskins. 6 sacks, 56 tackles and an interception is not bad by any stretch of the imagination.

First off....Giants are looking more solid than I've seen in at least 3 years...maybe more. Some trouble with their defensive secondary, but still solid. O and D lines are standing strong.

As for the 'Skins, I fell asleep when it was still 13-0, Dallas. Woke up this morning and saw the final score...couldn't find any highlights until i went to Redskins.com and found they had all the highlights. Unreal!! Also saw Gibbs afterwards in the locker room...the guy looked happier than i'd seen him in a LONG time. Incidentally, their site is definitely one of the better ones ive seen. highlights and more up pretty quickly.

anyway.....skins have seahawks, broncos and chiefs comin up...not an easy schedule. Giants have Chargers next sun night....hopefully they can still take on their offense like others have been these first 2 weeks.

(yes, I'm a giants fan and an NFC East enthusiast.)

And on the flip side, you can't knock the Skins defense either. Keeping Dallas to those two field goals instead of touchdows allowed the one point victory.

What was the deal with Arrington sitting for a lot of the game btw?

He only played in the 3-4, is that right?

Indeed. That was horrible. And a season spirit sucking game to boot.

no hate really i just don't think griese is a bad qb like anya makes him out to be. griese has been good in the past (1 amazing year in denver and he played quite well last season) and especially now with the situation he's in being coached by gruden, having a great defense and a very good young running back i think he'll do a fine job for the bucs.

the playcalling has been horrible, especially in the second half of the pats game and even the second half against the chiefs. no halftime adjustments at all. you couldn't get by doing that against the 49ers let alone the defending super bowl champs. jimmy raye has dropped the fucking ball. how about let lamont run the damn ball in the 2nd half jimmy! collins was a total pussy against the chiefs. there were many times he could've thrown the ball down the field to moss but he'd just check it off for a little pass in the flat to jordan. he's been totally off on all throws. he's considered one of the better deep ball throwers in the game yet he's been underthrowing the ball virtually everytime. those jump ball passes in the endzone he's been doing it as well. everytime he get's touched he fumbles the ball away. fuck, the raiders are lucky he has thrown an int so far. he's absolute worst quality though is his decision making. I HATE DERRICK BROOKS!

norv turner 'the offensive coordinator' is overrated. the dude did the job in the early 90's with arguably one of the greatest teams of all time. what did he do in san diego and miami? virtually nothing. his teams were lucky to be in the top half of the offensive statistics. guys like himself and jimmy raye are running the same exact system they were running over 10 year's ago. it doesn't even seem to me that they put new wrinkles into it. it's virtually impossible for the raiders to get a good coach anyways. who the fuck wants to go there? they'll just be a puppet like the rest of em. the one guy they had who did it his way left town because al davis hated him having control and overshadowing himself. even john fox who was the defensive coordinator during the mike white years just got up and quick during training camp for "unknown" reasons.

and to make a horrible start to the season even worse ronald curry did in fact tear his achilles...again. obviously he rushed back to quick.

I hate the Redskins more than anyone in the NFL.

but

Gregg Williams is the best thing the Redskins have going for them. That guy is a GREAT defensive coach. I got to give that to them.

Daniel Schneider is the main reason for my strong dislike of that team. He's an ass.

Fair enough. We all have teams we loathe for whatever reasons. I used to despise Pittsburgh, just because there was an asshole in our berth when I was in the Navy who WORSHIPPED them, one of those guys that would stand up and scream "IN YOUR FACE" and point and gesticulate wildly whenever Pittsburgh did something remotely successful. It took me YEARS before I could stand to even watch them play again.

The Cowboys and Redskins are two horrible, maybe average teams that played a close game. The most either of those teams can hope for is the same record they had last year.

If the Eagles just would've gone out and got a running back, the rest of the NFC would've become moot.

The Chargers and their fans have been looking forward to this game since last year. Add to that the fact that the Chargers lost two games they could have won, 4th quarter leads in both games, they are going in to this game like it's the Superbowl. Maybe the only one they'll see for a long time.

ehm, starv... are you saying the cowboys lost because al michaels jinxed them?


anyway, i think the 'skins, may have actually done themselves a disfavor by nailing those amazing late TDs, cause now they're stuck with brunell and the man is awful. i don't know if ramsey is much worse - i've never seen him play - but i do know that brunell was slow and off-synch with his receivers the whole game (except those two bombs to moss). and it wasn't all just a result of the dallas D being aggressive.

Stuber Picks 'Em Week 3

Last Week: 7-9 (14-18)

It's been a rough couple weeks for a lot of us. Some of our teams should be 2-0 instead of of 1-1 or 0-2. Some of our teams should be 0-2 instead of 2-0. To those of you in the latter, you're lucky and it's all going to end horribly. I've been on the losing end of the majority of my picks... barely. Perhaps I can make up the difference here in Week 3. Besides, anyone can pick winners after Week 10, it's that first half that can be deceiving.

Cincinnati at Chicago... Not that I think CIN is anywhere near being "for real", but da Berrs can't compete in a shootout.
Atlanta at Buffalo... Can the Bills' offense show up this week? Absolutely.
Cleveland at Indianapolis... This may get very ugly.
Tampa Bay at Green Bay... If Berman can pick it, so can I.
Jacksonville at NY Jets... That Jaguar D against Chad's arm? I don't think so.
Oakland at Philadelphia... UPSET special!! Randy vs. T.O. Is the next overblown sports topic.
Tennessee at St. Louis... McNair will fight this losing battle and will more than likely come away injured and hobbling.
Carolina at Miami... Miami at home is an interesting proposition, but Carolina HAS to show some consistency.
New Orleans at Minnesota ... Tice may or may not be out of a job come Wild Card weekend, Haslett WILL.
Arizona at Seattle... this was a home-team pick. I couldn't pick more away teams than home teams. Sorry, Kurt.
Dallas at San Francisco... Some see an upset on the way, not me.
New England at Pittsburgh... NFL Champions tend to play like Champions.
NY Giants at San Diego... "Still dislike Eli Manning" you say? Yes, very much so.
Kansas City at Denver... Shanahan should be and will be done.

Open date: Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Washington

If Dallas looses to the 49ers, they are in deep shit.
I don't expect that to happen, and I am a die hard 49ers fan, but the Niners are not a good team, and if they beat Dallas the Cowboys are in a world of hurt. I think Dallas is still the favorite, but I think a upset within the realm of a reasonable possibility..something I would not have said when the season begins.

Fins win!!!!!! There is a God!

That was a game the Bucs would have totally bumbled away the last two seasons. I'm still not happy with every kick return seeming to draw a penalty, and I wonder why we were unable to adjust to Green Bay's defensive adjustments in the second half. And too many deep balls being caught (although there were some crappy interference calls against us).

But watching us actually have a running back able to close the game out? Makes it all worth it.

And we're 3-0 with two fairly easy games coming up. This could be fun.

"fairly easy", huh? We'll see about that on the 16th.

Oh Carl Smith, you asshole. You almost cost the Jaguars a game they should have won going away.

Thank god the defense stepped up when it needed to, and Jimmy Smith still knows how to make plays.

Here's a hint, Carl. Draw play on 1st and 10? Ok, nice call. Draw play on 1st and 10 when you've run it 24 fucking times in the same game before? Not such a good call.

What's wrong with Peyton Manning? He's killing Fantasy owner with his inability to get the ball in the end zone. Who's watching and can say what is wrong.

Cincy may be 3-0 but it's not that impressive. 6 turnovers by the Bears and only 24 points. The Bears shut them down for the most part exxept 2 scores late. Ig the Bears had a real qb they probably would have won.

But Chad Johnson was funny after his 1st td catch. He did a jig in the end zone.

Buffalo time to pass protect and put Holcomb out there.

Raiders need to stop putting Jordan out as receiver and start passing more. Collins still hasn't thrown a pick.

Big win by Miami. Freotte looks plenty capable and Ronnie Brown ran well. With how good that defense is playing above average offense will win for them everytime.

It should have been a much easier win, but we made all kinds of stupid penalties. Too many damn personal fouls.

Jesus, the friggin' Steelers' defense went belly up in the 2nd half, mainly in the 4th quarter. Missed tackles, missed tackles, missed opportunities. All they had to do was hold the out of timeouts Pats out of FG range for under 2 minutes. They return the KO like 35 yards, then on 2 essentially naked screen plays, get another 30-something yards, and bam--they're in FG range. Ugh. Ever hear of covering the back out of the backfield, guys? There's other jobs besides rushing the passer. Big Ben doesn't lose the game on INTs, but still has issues with the pass rush after he's gotten knocked down a few times. He starts to get happy feet too quickly. I don't know how long the secondary will last with Ike "I give everyone a 15 yard cushion" Taylor starting. And lastly, what the hell was Randle El thinking when he tried to pitch it to Ward? We had our chances, and blew it.


On the flip side, Atlanta makes a nice statement by beating the Bills in Buffalo. JP Losman got harrassed all day long, and the Atlanta D gives up lots of yards on the ground, but controls the passing game--or rather, helps Losman control it. Vick looked pretty sharp in the game, and definitely picked his spots to throw vs. run. Lots of timely turnovers helped as well.

LT smash!

192 rushing yards
28 receiving yards
21 carries
3 rushing tds
and 1 td thrown to Keenan

P.S. Next year, I predict that Darren Sproles will be the #1 pick for punt returners.