Sports

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

A lot will depend on how the Niners do in the playoffs. If Jimmy G takes them deep into the playoffs, it'll be a lot harder for the Niners to trade him. How do you stand before your team and fanbase and trade a playoff-winning QB? If they lose badly to the Cowboys, it would be easier to move on from him, but if they get past the first round of the playoffs it gets harder and harder to move on from him. If you trade him away and Trey Lance implodes as a starter while Jimmy G does well elsewhere, it gets messy.

If the Niners go far and Jimmy G says he wants to stay as the Niners' QB, then the Niners are in a bind. I don't know how the Niners' coaches view Trey Lance. If they've decided he's not "the guy" then it's even less likely that Jimmy G gets moved. If the other players have decided Lance isn't "the guy" and they love Jimmy G, then trading away Jimmy G could be disastrous.

It'll be interesting to see how the Jimmy G situation plays out. He's been a good soldier for the last few years as they've debated replacing him. They looked at Tom Brady, Jameis Winston, and others as possible replacements. They traded two firsts to move up and get Lance. Now Jimmy G has them in the playoffs and possibly moving onward. 

[Patriot3]

Oh, please........anybody but the arrogant Brady and his buddy!

Looking forward to all these games.  Enjoy, everyone!

[gardenman]

It's game day! It feels like a month since the last game and it's just been a week. We start out today with the Raiders and Bengals. I think the Joe Burrow/Ja'Marr Chase combo will be too much for the Raiders. It should be a good game though.

Then tonight we get the Patriots/Bills. These teams really, really know one another. It's the first big NFL test of fire for Mac Jones. Can he carry the Patriots to the next round of the playoffs? Eh, maybe not. I think the Bills are the more talented team right now.

It should be a fun day of football though. 

[teganslaw]

Cynthia Frelund has predicted the scores of Wild Card weekend. I like her as a host, but I don't buy into her analytic models. Football relies on more than mathematics since there are so many many factors involved. The models got the Indy-Jax game wrong. (Everyone got that wrong, though.) 

So, I would take these predictions with a grain of salt and hope for some good games. There are bound to be a couple upsets. 

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

Cynthia Frelund has predicted the scores of Wild Card weekend. I like her as a host, but I don't buy into her analytic models. Football relies on more than mathematics since there are so many many factors involved. The models got the Indy-Jax game wrong. (Everyone got that wrong, though.) 

So, I would take these predictions with a grain of salt and hope for some good games. There are bound to be a couple upsets. 

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@teganslaw @gardenman 

I totally agree, I also like Cynthia, but I dont buy into her analytics either...

There's so many different factors that impact an NFL game and so many things the league does to try to even out the competition with salaries, schedules etc erc...Unlike baseball the NFL has a salary cap which each team has to deal with and also a minimum they must spend which evens out the competition (now how a team organization spends their money its all up to them)....Revenue is also shared equally, the Cowboys cant make 100 mill in TV revenue, while the Vikings take in only 5 mill....unlike baseball and Redsox/Yankee's TV revenues compared to teams like Oakland's TV revenue.....The NFL players arent wimps, except for lightning the NFL games are played in all kinds of weather which adds an interesting element! ...The NFL is more of an emotional game too.(not just a contest between a pitcher and hitter 👎😴ZZZZ...In an NFL game you can see the ebb and flow of our friend "mo" (as in momentum).....and its a true team sport---all parts must work together for success--even a great QB needs a good O-line, and special teams are important as well--  

JMHO anything that comes from baseball has to be bad 😄😣....(I HATE baseball.....⚾, to me its boring and the only positive is it cures insomnia).....And Im not alone--- even before the pandemic MLB attendance had been dropping below 70 million; and TV ratings keep declining and went down another 12%.  And baseball's current labor dispute is ill timed and doesnt help either....Meanwhile NFL ratings are UP---The 2021 NFL regular season averaged 17.1 million viewers (TV and Digital) – and experienced the highest regular season average since 2015....And the NFL accounts for 75 out of 100 most watched TV shows!!! No wonder Jeff Bezos of Amazon wants to get more involved...

According to a NY Times article 10/21/21--Baseball, can no longer be considered "the national pasttime" and no longer occupies a central role in the national consciousness, based on measures like game attendance in recent years and even social media relevance. The methodical pace of play alienates some potential fans.  Youth interests are centering around football, basketball, and soccer these days.....

Just me but I wouldnt be surprised if European soccer surpasses the MLB in a few years, its already passed the NHL, NBA watch out...you could be next.......(as far as U.S.based soccer it stinks and is no threat)......

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

Cynthia Frelund has predicted the scores of Wild Card weekend. I like her as a host, but I don't buy into her analytic models. Football relies on more than mathematics since there are so many many factors involved. The models got the Indy-Jax game wrong. (Everyone got that wrong, though.) 

So, I would take these predictions with a grain of salt and hope for some good games. There are bound to be a couple upsets. 

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@teganslaw 

This certainly has been an NFL season of surprises and not just because of covid either....!!!! So many entertaining games this year!

[Spurt]

I thought this was rather humorous from Twitter......😄

There's a rumor that Dan andTanya Snyder will be on the Today show for Washington's name reveal. It’s a historic day for the WFT.  Plus I heard if Dan sees his shadow on Groundhog Day it’s 6 more years of hell.....🙄🏈

[sunshine45]

give me your opinions please...... still working on my roster for this first week.

BEST quarterback that will LOSE this weekend?

BEST defense/special team that will LOSE this weekend?

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

looking forard to a long weekend of football!

thanks for all of the great notes gang! i have my post season fantasy football that starts and i need to pick some players for this week. it is a one and done so i need to choose my players very carefully this week. i need to have some that will play well game but lose in the end. 

anyone else doing some betting this week?

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No gambling here. I last played a football pool way, way back in high school. (It was kind of illegal back then, so don't tell anyone.)

As to which players should have a big game. Ja'Marr Chase is kind of hard to beat in the Cincy/Vegas game. Whenever I watch the Bills, Cole Beasley has a big game. He'd be my pick in the Bills/Pats game. The Eagles/Bucs game is harder to pick. I wouldn't pick Mike Evans as Darius Slay is likely to mirror him and no one's had a big game going against Slay this year. Gronk could come up big, but I expect the Eagles to double him with Avonte Maddox and TJ Edwards. I don't think Fournette will have an especially big game. I kind of like Quez Watkins for the Eagles. He plays well every week and is lightning fast. He's apt to make a big play or two down the field. Devonta Smith is always open, but only gets the ball thrown his way four or five times a game. (Weird, but true.) I think the Eagles will rotate running backs, so I'm not sure any one of them will have a big game. Miles Sanders (hand) and Jordan Howard (stinger) are coming off injuries. Boston Scott isn't loved by the coaches for some reason. The same with Kenny Gainwell. They're both really good backs but don't get many carries. If his ankle is fully back, a big if, then Jalen Hurts may be the Eagles' leading rusher.

In the Cowboys/Niners game, I'd go with Cee Dee Lamb. He's special. The Steelers/Chiefs is tricky. Tyreek Hill would be my pick if he was healthy, but he's not all that healthy right now. Travis Kelce is always a pretty safe choice. And in the Cards/Rams game, Kyler Murray may have the most rushing yards and TDs. The Rams tend to get most of their pressure up the middle of the defense, which is great if you're facing Tom Brady, but not so great if you're facing Kyler Murray. Kyler will just zip around that inside pressure and be gone up the field. Containing him is the big challenge.

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@gardenman @sunshine45 @teganslaw 

No gambling for me either.....but my brother who is in a league asks for my advice especially about my team..He's done okay!..I havent gambled since we used to do the "Football Squares" at work:

How do you play squares in football betting you ask?

Gather a group of players and ask each person to pay a set amount of money to enter the game. Assign teams and score numbers to a 10x10 grid, then have players bet on 1 square on the grid. Whoever's numbers matches the scores for each quarter wins!

Sadly our Executives put a stop to the game....they didnt want gambling in the work place.  We used to play "poker" with our payroll check number, but they put a stop to that too----no more office fun, thats why I work from home now....😕

[gardenman]

Speaking of weather, tomorrow's game in Tampa is supposed to have a 95% chance of rain and winds gusting 40 MPH. That could help the Eagles as it may ground air Brady a bit. If the game devolves into a running contest the Eagles probably have the upper hand. 

And speaking of hands, Miles Sanders is expecting to play with his broken hand that he had surgically patched together three weeks ago. It shouldn't be an issue. That type of hand surgery typically involves stabilizing the fracture with pins/plates and once those are in, the hand is stable again. It's just a question of waiting for the soft tissue and incision to heal. That's typically a ten-day to two-week timeframe, so he should be good to go. He's practiced all week and has had no issues, so we'll see. 

The Bucs have a great run defense up the middle, so running between the tackles isn't ideal, but they're weak on edge runs. If you can get wide on them, you can run pretty easily on them. The Eagles will test their perimeter run defense. Our center, guards, and tackles are pretty athletic and love to pull and get out on the edge defenders. We'll crash a WR or TE down on the edge rusher to pin him inside then sneak out the guards/tackles to block the LBs and CBs. When a 200 pound CB sees 385 pounds of Jordan Mailata heading his way at full speed, he tends to get distracted and forget about tackling the runner. Survival becomes more of an issue for him.