World of Pageantry

RAIDERS OVER TITANS!!!! THE RRAAAIIDDEERRSSS!!!!!!

formermarcher wrote:Well, if you haven't totally and utterly discredited me yet, I want to put down my picks for opening week:

Skins over Jets (thursday game)
Rams over Giants
Bills over Patriots
Steelers over Ravens
Panthers over Jaguars
Dolphins over Texans
Colts over Browns
Broncos over Bengals
Cardinals over Lions
Packers over Vikings
Chargers over Chiefs
Falcons over Cowboys
Saints over Seahawks
49ers over Bears
Titans over Raiders
Bucs over Eagles (monday night game)

Thats them. Anyone else?

Not trying to discredit, just correct. And I agree with almost all of your Week 1 picks... here's mine:

Redskins over Jets
Rams over Giants
Bills over Patriots
Ravens over Steelers
Panthers over Jaguars
Dolphins over Texans
Colts over Browns
Broncos over Bengals
Cardinals over Lions
Packers over Vikings
Chargers over Chiefs
Falcons over Cowboys
Seahawks over Saints
Bears over 49ers
Titans over Raiders
Bucs over Eagles

I know.

Well, I for one am going to keep track this year with my overall record. How bout you Phantom? Gonna do the same thing?

Wouldn't it be cool if we could start a football pool on here?

You know, we could. As long as someone keeps a thread going all season. Any one want ta?

Chargers Week 2:

Broncos 37
Chargers 13

Why!!?? Why do the Chargers put me through this crap!!!???? Two horrible showings in a row. This season, although it's early, is already ugly. Same problems as last week: dropped passes, bad defense, penalties, miscues, etc. The way the Chargers are playing makes me want to .

In the fourth quarter, the Chargers were so out of it that my parents wanted to go, but I wanted to stay just so that the Broncos fans that were sitting behind us wouldn't make fun of us. Of course, we had to leave, and we stood up, and we made the "walk of shame" going up the stairs. Those Broncos fans could not have been more rough on us. It was embarassing. I hope I never feel that way again, but the way that this season is going, I wouldn't be suprised if it happens many times. It's really hard to see the team you love so much struggle like they are right now. Sometimes, you want to give up on your team, but you can't because you love them too much to leave. I mean, getting heckled by Broncos fans in your own stadium. That hurts .

The Chargers need a win against Baltimore next week or I'll be more of a wreck than I am right now!

Chargers fan for life!!! Never give up!!!

The chargers are not yet that good. I'm thinking they can win maybe a few, but Marty really needs to get his team together, or its a new coach!

The Chargers defense has been absolutely AWFUL their first two games, possibly the worst in the NFL. They've been abused on the ground by Priest Holmes and Clinton Portis, and next week they face Jamal Lewis, the guy who just set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a game this past week.

It's looking to be a long season...

This is for Phantom Phan:

I mean this question in a totally nuetral manner:

Snce Warner seemed to lost his job, what do you think this means for the rams? Will theyhave the rely more on Faulk?

I'll break this down into three sections...

#1 - QB Controversy
No controversy, in my book. Warner has been overrated since Day 1. Yes, he's a wonderful story. Yes, he burst onto the scene with a great season back in 1999. But there IS a reason he was playing in the Arena League before then: he is a capable, accurate passer (66.6% career completion percentage) with absolutely NO mobility (114 career sacks compared to only 202 career rushing yards) and greasy hands (36 fumbles in four seasons + two games). Meanwhile, Bulger is a bright young quarterback with a ton of potential. He's just as accurate as Warner, and while he's not terrifically mobile, he knows how to get rid of the ball in a hurry and not take a sack or a fumble.

Take a look at their stats since the start of the 2002 season:
Kurt Warner: 8 games, 178 completions in 274 attempts (65.0%), 1,773 yards, 4 TDs, 12 INTs, 27 sacks, 13 fumbles.
Marc Bulger: 8 games, 163 completions in 250 attempts (65.2%), 2,062 yards, 16 TDs, 6 INTs, 17 sacks, 4 fumbles.

In the EXACT same number of games, Bulger has almost 300 more passing yards, 12 more Touchdown passes, 6 fewer Interceptions, 10 fewer sacks, and 9 fewer fumbles. How is this even an issue? I understand Warner's the sentimental favorite, but quite simply, his performance the past year-plus has been AWFUL and he's nowhere near deserving of the starting QB job in St. Louis.

#2 - RB Marshall Faulk
Everyone seems to consider Mike Martz an "offensive genius," but what sort of "offensive genius" uses an All-Pro running back on only 9 rushes in the first game and 18 in the second? I am utterly baffled by why the Rams aren't handing the ball off to Faulk at least 20-25 times per game. In 2001, Faulk got 16.25 carries per game, averaged 98.7 YPG, and the Rams went to the Super Bowl. Last year, Faulk got 13.25 carries per game (a significant drop), averaged only 68.1 YPG, and the Rams missed the playoffs. So far this year, Faulk is averaging 13.5 carries per game and 42.5 Yards per game. This is not a good trend. How difficult is it to understand that you need a solid running game to succeed in the NFL? Right now, there are eight teams that are 2-0. SIX of them are in the Top 10 Rushing Offenses in the NFL. The Top 10 Rushing Teams in the NFL are a combined 16-4 after two weeks. HELLO?!

#3 - The Rams as a team
Overrated. Terribly overrated. Yeah, they fooled me too, because they have so much potential. Well, offensively, at least. But they don't use it because their coach is a moron. He's having trouble chosing a QB? Has he looked at the stats sheets recently? And he's got the 29th rated rushing offense in the league, but can't figure out he needs to run his ALL-PRO RUNNING BACK ten more times per game? Remember those rushing stats I posted above? Their defense is okay, but not great. And this week, they're playing a Seahawks team that looks like a legitimate title contender: their offense has been running strong, and their new defense (led by legendary defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes) has been putting hard licks on opponents.

The Rams are looking at a 7-9 or 8-8 season, no better.

ok lets change gears for a little bit.... ive been a dormant cowboys fan but after that monday night football game, im starting to believe in the big TUNA haha... this has a great set of wide recievers.. the problems lie in the running back position.. i dont think hambrick can get the job done.. he talked a lot in the offseason how he was gonna be great, i know its only the third week but he hasnt realli shown that he is a solid running back.... that was one of the best monday night football games in a long LONG time..

my comment on seattle before..... WHOA CRAP where they come from.. seattle is on a role right now.... i know one of their victories were over the hopeless and pathetic cadinals but if your a seahawk fan there is something to get excited about...

Hmmmm charges, so much potential and weapons..... we can juss leave it at that... hopefully they can get back on track

Something that is really surprising is the eagles not playing well.. Loosing to the bucs and the pats have shown some weaknesses in their game.. their offense did not do ANYTHIN against the bucs, which showed the might of the bucs defense.. it was scary seeing how good that defesene was.. 2 weeks combined for 10 points is just embarassing.... they have to take advantage of this bye week and fix some things on offense.... especially that offense of line

DBbaby wrote:ok lets change gears for a little bit.... ive been a dormant cowboys fan but after that monday night football game, im starting to believe in the big TUNA haha... this has a great set of wide recievers.. the problems lie in the running back position.. i dont think hambrick can get the job done.. he talked a lot in the offseason how he was gonna be great, i know its only the third week but he hasnt realli shown that he is a solid running back.... that was one of the best monday night football games in a long LONG time..

my comment on seattle before..... WHOA CRAP where they come from.. seattle is on a role right now.... i know one of their victories were over the hopeless and pathetic cadinals but if your a seahawk fan there is something to get excited about...

Hmmmm charges, so much potential and weapons..... we can juss leave it at that... hopefully they can get back on track

Something that is really surprising is the eagles not playing well.. Loosing to the bucs and the pats have shown some weaknesses in their game.. their offense did not do ANYTHIN against the bucs, which showed the might of the bucs defense.. it was scary seeing how good that defesene was.. 2 weeks combined for 10 points is just embarassing.... they have to take advantage of this bye week and fix some things on offense.... especially that offense of line

The big tuna, eh? I have been a life-long Cowboys fan and I can tell you that the problem is the defense. In both the Atlanta and NYG game, the Cowboys were leading at one point. Both teams came back but the Cowboys barley escaped the Giants. Then the offense fails right after and the defense gets tired real quick.

Seattle had the makings last year. This is the year they are going to prove it. A game against the Cardinals was just what they needed to prove themselves. Its like free shots. We know the Seattle has somewhat of an offense...and even shutting out a team like Arizona says something about the defense.

The Charger potential lies with the rookies. When they traded Seau they traded a good role model for the young rookies to follow. If they want to win, someone has got to step up and make big plays constantly. The Chargers dont have those kind of players yet.

I'm surpirsed too, that the eagles are doing poorly. They suffered no great injury, the only thing that has really changed was the stadium, and thats hardly ground for a reversal. But then again, the NFC East is totally upside down, with the Skins leading, the Cowboys in second place, and the eagles trailing. They just need to get thier act together.

Referring to the previous two posts:

DALLAS - You've got to cut Troy Hambrick a little slack. He's only been in the league a few years, and he's spent all that time stuck behind Emmitt Smith, so he's really never been able to PLAY. He's got loads of talent and is pretty sure-handed, so let's see what he can do this season. If he ends up close to or over a thousand yards rushing, he'll be fine.

SEATTLE - Holmgren knows what he's doing, and now that he's not trying to do EVERYTHING (ie, GM & Coach), the Seahawks are soaring. They've now won six straight dating back to last year, and their weakness from last year (the defense) is putting out vicious licks under new coordinator Ray Rhodes.

SAN DIEGO - The Chargers have a lot of young players and are very raw and rough. I think they'll get better as the season progresses as long as they don't get demoralized by the bad start. They looked better today, but not great.

PHILADELPHIA - Sorry to do this to you again, FM, but I've got to disagree with you. The Eagles have been absolutely SHELLED with injuries, and almost all of them have been on defense. That's why they're struggling so badly. I mean, take a look at just their DEFENSE'S injury list for this week:
J. Green, DE (out for season, broken ankle)
D. Burgess, LB (out for season, Achilles' tendon)
P. Grasmanis, DT (out for season, Achilles' tendon)
J. McDougle, DE (out for week, Ankle/Hip injuries)
R. Hood, CB (Probable, Hamstring)
B. Dawkins, S (Doubtful, Foot)
B. Taylor, CB (Doubtful, Foot)
B. Whiting, DE (Doubtful, Hamstring)
C. Simon, DT (Probable, Arm)

That's NINE injuries just on the defense alone, including FIVE on the defensive line... and considering that most teams only carry about eight defensive linemen on the roster (3-4 Ends and 3-5 Tackles), that's a huge amount of injuries. It's not like they're all scrubs, either: Dawkins, Taylor, Whiting, and Simon are all 1st team starters, so the Eagles' have been playing with basically half of their defense injured.

A bit more puzzling is the struggles of Donovan McNabb. While I *do* think that he is a slightly over-rated QB, he's still much better than he has been playing so far.

i dont think holmgram is the Gm anymore.. i think they cut that out of his job descirption after last year..... im pretty sure he is only the coach for right now...

For the cowboys.. they should start avien cason.. i know he is a reciever but they should put him to the running back position...

DBbaby wrote:i dont think holmgram is the Gm anymore.. i think they cut that out of his job descirption after last year..... im pretty sure he is only the coach for right now...

Right, that's why I said "now that he's not trying to do EVERYTHING." Holmgren is just coaching this year.