Sports

[Spurt]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

@Spurt

can you see me grinning from ear to ear?

wow, that was our best game of the season! #ravensnation.

thank goodness we had a good showing today, both defense and offense for a change.

we needed it, especially with the steelers win.

we have a very tough schedule ahead, beginning with the patriots next week. i hope we can keep up the momentum.

as of last week, jtuck had scored 44% of our points for the entire season.....and it is difficult to rely on your kicker for the ENTIRE SEASON. thank goodness the offense stepped up today and the defense is probably #1 after todays games.

the raiders ARE the real deal......i am hoping they go far, it sure has taken them a long time to get back to being a good football team. nice to see. i am going to be very curious now to see if they make that move to las vegas.

i cannot believe how fast this season is going!

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@sunshine45

Yep, I see that grin--- your team was humming on all cylinders today!!!  Peaking at just the right time!!  Rodney Harrison picked the Ravens as the team to challenge the Patriots....the Ravens have beaten them before and are unafraid and up to the challenge.....of course Dungy's pick was the Chiefs....

Poor Raider fans they have a good team and it's heartbreaking to think they might leave the Oakland area for Vegas....hopefully someone will step up the fight for a new stadium so they won't have to move....Of course I should talk when our own ex-Mayor tried his best to steal them away and move them to our city.....after all our NBA Spur's colors are also silver and black---a nice fit.  Of course our Ex-Mayor failed to succeed in luring them away.....but offered them our Dome if they needed an interim place to stay while a new stadium was being built (either in Vegas or Calif).....LOL!!! 

I agree, the NFL season is going by way way too fast.....  What's funny New Year's Day my Redskins play my sister's Giants--what a way to start 2017---LOL!!!

[gardenman]

You can pretty much stick a fork in the Carolina Panthers now. They're done. Losing 40-7 takes away all pretense that they're a good team that got off to a bad start. With a 4-8 record the best they can hope for is an 8-8 record and that's unlikely given how they're playing.An 8-8 record won't get them in the playoffs.

Mathematically the Eagles are still alive at 5-7, but they're heading in the wrong direction. They looked like a team that had quit on the staff in yesterday's game. They haven't been especially focused since week five. Dumb penalties, stupid mistakes and a lack of discipline are killing them. I don't see the Eagles making the playoffs. The Packers are coming to life, The Vikings are hanging in there, The Giants have a three game lead over the Eagles despite not being an especially good team, I just don't see the Eagles getting past all of them for a wild card spot.

The playoff picture is starting to take shape. On the NFC side the Cowboys and Seahawks will likely win their divisions and be the one and two seeds. Detroit will likely win the NFC North, but Green Bay may catch them. We could even see the Vikings sneak in as a wild card but that's looking a bit more doubtful. In the NFC South, God only knows what will happen. Atlanta's been the best team there, but Tampa's coming on. The Saints could even sneak into the picture.

On the AFC side I wouldn't be surprised to see three playoff teams come from the AFC West. KC, Denver and Oakland are all looking pretty promising right now. The Patriots pretty much own the AFC East. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are fighting it out for the AFC North. Whichever of those two teams doesn't win may miss the playoffs though. I'm not sure they'll have a good enough record to get the wildcard. The AFC South can be won by pretty much anyone but Jacksonville.

These last few weeks should have some pretty intense games in them. The two later games on Sunday in week 16 the Ravens/Steelers and the night game between the Broncos and Chiefs could be some of the more intense games we'll see this whole season with massive playoff implications on the line for all four teams.

Given how teams around the league are playing, I'm thinking we'll see some pretty big moves made in the coaching ranks. If the Eagles continue to play as they are, I could see Pederson geting the hook after just one year. The Eagles initially wanted to sign Ben McAdoo, then the Giants beat them to him. Then they had their eyes on Hue Jackson, Dirk Koetter, Adam Gase, Paul Guenther, and were apparently all in on Tom Coughlin before he backed out. (He reportedly backed out when he found out the Giants wouldn't let him bring any of his old staff to Philly.) Pederson was far from their first choice for a head coach and his performance from week five on has been disappointing. Maybe they'll give him another year to grow into the job, or maybe a guy like Tom Coughlin will start to look better to the Eagles. If Sean Payton is fired from New Orleans, he's a guy who could get their interest also. They could even promote from within and give the job to the DC Jim Schwartz, but his defensive guys wre a bit of the problem in recent weeks.

The job in Philly has some interesting pieces to entice a head coach. You've got an up and coming young quarterback in Wentz. Some young pieces in the offensive line that look pretty solid. A decent defensive cast. There are holes at wide receiver, though Paul Turner may be earning more playing time with his six catches for 80 yards yesterday. (Turner's one of those guys who whenever he's been given the chance he's performed, but the staff has been reluctant to give him a chance. He led the entire NFL in receiving in the preseason then got cut. Then was back on the practice squad. Then finally got promoted to the team when Josh Huff got cut. At some point the staff has to believe what they see and use the kid. He's not as big as they'd like, as fast as they'd like, but he gets open and catches the ball. They kept him at full salary on the practice squad so the GM likes him. For whatever reason though the coaching staff just hasn't given him a chance until yesterday. They finally let him play and he puts up a good game.)

These last few weeks of the season are going to be mighty interesting to watch. I dare say quite a few front offices are already making calls and planning for contingencies depending on which head coaches are available after this season. There are likely to be some pretty big name coaches floating around after this season.

The fight for that first overall pick in this year's draft is now largely down to Cleveland and the Niners. My money's on Cleveland though I wouldn't be shocked to see them win a game or two to lose that first overall pick.

[Spurt]

@gardenman

What's this rumor Ive been reading about----the Eagles want DeJack back???????????????????????

[teganslaw]

Nice win Monday night! Luck had one of his best games, Hilton and Moncrief did well, and TE Dwayne Allen scored three touchdowns! He should play like that all the time. The Jets have played tough games before, but this year the whole team has collapsed.

The Colts are tied for first place in the AFC South. Tennessee isn't far behind, either. There are four more games to go, one of them against Oakland. That will be a good  one.

I read that the Eagles might reunite with DJax in the offseason. That Washington will be concentrating on Cousins; contract, and also working on a new contact for Garcon. Wasn't Jackson a problem in Philly and that's why the team let him go.

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman

What's this rumor Ive been reading about----the Eagles want DeJack back???????????????????????

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I personally think it's a bad idea, but Doug Perderson was on the staff when Andy drafted DeSean and could use a playmaker at wide receiver and supposedly wants D-Jax back in Philly. I personally have doubts about his durability, his speed over the short term, his attitude, and lots more. 

I'm not sold on the intelligence of this coaching stafff. They don't seem willing to believe what they see much of the time. In the OTA's, minicamps, and training camp, you kept hearing certain names pop up as playmakers. On offense it was Paul Turner and Kenjon Barner a wide receiver and running back. On defense it was two cornerbacks in Aaron Grymes and CJ Smith and a defensive end in Steven Means. In the preseason games the fans got to see those guys in action and they all flashed whenever they were near the ball. Naturally we cut three of the five and only kept Barner and Means on the roster. (The other three went to the practice squad and at least two of them are now back on the active roster.

Kenjon Barner has done a brilliant job returning kicks this year and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry as a running back. There's just one problem, he's only had 24 carries. The coaches just don't use the kid. Paul Turner was just activated two weeks ago and finally got some passes thrown his way against the Bengals where he racked up 80 yards on six catches. Our cornerbacks have been a liability all season and CJ Smith and Aaron Grymes haven't seen the field. Our pass rush has been anemic at best lately and Steven Means racked up god pressure numbers in the preseason, but he's typically inactive every week.

Coaches talk a lot about a meritocracy, where the most deserving players get rewarded. Those five guys, three rookies and two young vets in Barner and Means, have all excelled when given the chance, but this staff just doesn't give them the chance. If you want to win football games, you put your best playmakers on the field. From the first OTA, those five guys flashed and stood out from the crowd. They did everything they could do to earn playing time and they've gotten next to none. That's on the coaching staff. They say Turner is too small and slow, but he got 80 yards on six catches when given the chance. They say Barner is fourth on the depth chart at running back but he gets more yards per carry than anyone else at the position. CJ Smith, Steven Means, and Aaron Grymes don't even see the field.

With the playoffs realistically nothing but a dream, this staff should rotate those guys in to see if what we saw all through the preseason was real or a mirage. The coaches clearly didn't believe what they saw. If those guys turn out to be real, then the coaches should hang their heads in shame. Paul Turner only got his chance to play when two starters went down.With those guys back this week we'll likely find him back on the bench.

I have serious doubts about the intelligence of this coaching staff and that's something you just can't fix without changing the staff. Those five players were the stars of training camp and the preseason games and their reward was to get cut or sit on the bench. That's not how a Bill Belichick would coach a team. That's not how any smart coach would coach a football team. You put your best players on the field and let them compete. I think this staff is too loyal to veteran players, having recently played themselves, and that loyalty cost us a chance to develop some really good young kids. It's very hard to argue that the guys startng in front of those five deserve the starts more. The only reason those five kids aren't playing, and likely playing well, is the coaching staff. Now that same staff wants to bring back an expensive, disruptive, injury prone wide receiver. Sure, what could possibly go wrong there?

[Spurt]

@teganslaw @gardenman

CONGRATS to the Colts TEGAN!!!  GREAT GAME!!!

The Redskins have the talent, but the play calling in the red zone is downright dreadful causing the team to settle for FGs instead of TDs which is costing us games....

Both De Jack's and Garcon's contracts are up after this season and it looks like the front office has decided to re-up Garcon's instead of DeJacks.....De Jack still has speed and can stretch the field.....he's behaved pretty well with the Redskins, although he has been saying he wants the ball more....but even with TE Reed out with an injury they are going more with Garcon, Crowder, and Davis over De Jack......and then there is injury proneness with DeJack too....and we also have rookie Doctson (currently on IR) but they think he has the height and speed and youth and cheaper too and could replace DeJack (and we have to find a way to pay Cousins too)...although some of Cousin's throws in last week's game may have taken away a buck or two.......probably not but he really forced the ball and made some bad throws.....