Sports

[AuntG]

Will Tom Brady ever retire??

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Not a good first half for the Redskins. The Falcons are playing like a desperate team and playing well. Can the Redskins come from behind in the second half?

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@gardenman

CONGRATS to the FALCONS and their fans!!!

The Redskins played horribly---!!!!  John Keim summed rather nicely "The Redskins played an abysmal all-around game in losing 38-14 to Atlanta"......

Redskins went into the game with lots injuries and players who were out were--LT Williams, WR Crowder, RB Chris Thompson, WR Brian Quick, OL Casey Dunn, DB Kenny Ladler and CB Adonis Alexander. 

It was the same ole story with Alex Smith who STILL hasnt got in sync with TEs and WRS....even BEFORE the game Coach Gruden was puzzled by the lack of being timing between QB and receivers. And Smith holds on to the ball too long, and he's been lambasted for his double clutch move.....He was off target on his throws....SMH!!!  On a couple plays he remembered his TEs.....and ran for a first down and those were his highlights!!!  He's nothing but an Andy Reid system QB!!! Im joining the LETS PUT IN COLT gang!!! 

Moses and Schreff were questionable but both played and left the game due to injury, Moses came back into the game later and played hurt and then came out again.....And as the Olines injuries continued to mount --no one could make holes for AP......

The Redskins need to get rid of former 1st round pick, WR Doctons!!!!PLEASE!!!!  He's oft hurt and ineffective!

The DCoordinator said it will take a couple weeks for Clinton-Dix to adapt to the Redskins D, but what was the excuse for the rest of the defense?????  And after one of the FEW nice stops---Norman makes a STUPID penalty and gives the Falcons the ball and a first down!!!  There were other stupid penalties too...........

What an awful exhibition!!!  I at least expected the DEFENSE to play better!!!!  And those O-line injuries are killers--Lauvo, Scherff, and Moses...The O-line includes a rookie left tackle in Geron Christian, a left guard who is a natural tackle in Ty Nsekhe and a right guard in Tony Bergstrom who is best at center ..

I expect the Eagles to WIN 1st place in NFC East 

[gardenman]

Atlanta really needed the win and played that way. I wouldn't give up on the Redskins yet. Their next five games are Tampa, Houston,  Dallas, Philly, and the Giants. I would think the Skins would be favored against Tampa, the Giants and probably Dallas. Houston's been playing well lately. Philly's coming on (hopefully.) If they win three of those games they'd be 8-5 with three to play. That's not a bad spot. They end with the Jags, Titans and Eagles, so they should be favored in one or two of those games.

Atlanta is a tough team to beat when they're playing well. Alex Smith is a system QB who tries to avoid the big mistake more than he tries to make the big play. He's not a gunslinger type of QB. A Wentz, Goff, Mahomes, Rodgers, Brady type QB is always looking for the home run. An Alex Smith type may try for the big play, but more often than not will check down for the safe play. It doesn't make him a bad QB, but it keeps him from being great.

[yellowBeetle]

@Spurt

Well I know how disappointing that was for you ... it was just not their day. I was bouncing back and forth between the Redskins and Ravens. Think I heard that Adrian Peterson only got 17 yards?? And maybe it is time for Colt!

I really thought they would win this ... but Atlanta was just too much for them....

Thks for the kind words about the Eagles! I think the NFC East division winner will be a closely fought battle down to the end among the Redskins, Cowboys, and Eagles ... no team is a stand-out ... yet!!

[gardenman]

And the Rams go down in a shoot-out! Drew Brees is going to be a handful this year. He's playing the best football of his career right now.

[teganslaw]

The Game of the Week didn't disappoint. I had forgotten how agile Brees is, escaping sacks.With the season he is having, Brees could be a candidate for MVP.

NO and Carolina haven't played each other yet. The NFC South division could go to the final weeks. 

[Mary Bailey]

I'm so happy Drew Brees won and of course The Bears.

note to self:  every week wear Bears PJs and go to Farm & Fleet before game

[gardenman]

So, what do we know after all but one game has been played in week nine? The Patriots are still the Patriots and likely to win the AFC East. The Dolphins are hanging in there, but barring a big problem, the Pats likely have the East and a first round bye. 

The AFC North is going to be a dogfight with the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals all in the fight. The Steelers have the lead, but barely. The AFC South is likely Houston's. They have a two (if Tennessee wins tonight) or three game lead over everyone else. The Colts are rallying a bit lately and might sneak back into things, but making up three games is a challenge. The AFC West is KC's barring a complete collapse. The Chargers (two games back and playing well) should keep the Chiefs focused.

The NFC East is up for grabs between Washington, Dallas and Philly. The Giants are trying to lose their way into that first overall pick in the spring. (Along with Cleveland, Buffalo, Arizona, the Niners and the Raiders.) It's kind of interesting that most of those teams have their QB, or QB of the future already on the roster. The Giants could end up with the sixth pick in the first round and still get the top QB assuming another team doesn't trade up for a guy. Cleveland has Mayfield, Buffalo has Allen, the Cards have Rosen, the Niners have Garopollo, and the Raiders have Carr. You can make a good argument that none of them need a QB. You can also make a decent argument that all of them need a QB. Do any of them invest yet another first round pick in a QB? A quick look around the league shows that Denver, the Giants, Jags, Dolphins, and Bucs figure to be looking for a QB.

Back to the NFC East. The health of offensive lines will be big down the stretch. The Eagles have a banged up Peters and Lane Johnson likely out for a few weeks. The Redskins are decimated on the line. The Cowboys are dinged a bit. Oddly the Giants have the healthiest (but least effective) offensive line. I like the Eagles' depth at o-line. If I had to pick a team to win the East right now, it would be the Eagles. A good defense, a good passing game that's likely getting better with Golden Tate, and some of the injured guys coming back. We'll know more after the Eagles/Cowboy game next week. 

The NFC North is up for grabs. The Bears and Vikings look like the class right now, but the Packers can't be ignored. Those head to head games will nearly certainly determine the eventual winner. I'm not sure any of those teams will emerge with enough wins to get a wild card though. They're apt to beat each other up too much. The NFC South is in the hands of the Saints for now. Cam Newton has played well since the fourth quarter of the Eagles' game and as long as he's playing well they can compete with anyone. Don't rule out the Falcons either. They're on life support but have lots of weapons. A desperate team is dangerous. One of the wild cards will likley emerge from the NFC South.

The NFC West is owned by the Rams.Their defense is their liability, but they score so much it covers that up. (They've given up more points than every other team in the NFC West but the Niners.) They've scored a heck of a lot more though. Only the Chiefs have scored more points in the NFL this year. Seattle might claw their way into that second wild card slot.

A good guess for the Super Bowl would be the Chiefs versus the Rams, but the Patriots will give the Chiefs a good fight. That Rams defense needs to get a bit stifffer. They're scoring a lot which covers up the defensive issues a bit, but if they find themselves against a really good defense that limits their offense, they'll need that defense to rally. Home field advantage in the playoffs may not be an advantage for the Rams. They don't have a huge, noisy fanbase and the LA weather is conducive to a good scoring team. Beating the Saints, VIkings or Eagles in a playoff game in LA may not be easy for the Rams if they don't get that defense playing at a higher level. With Gurley and their o-line, they may be better playing outside on the road in January than playing in LA.

Tonight we get to see if Dallas or Tennessee wants to be in the playoff hunt. A loss by either team would be bad for them. Dallas has a new toy in Amari Cooper, but Cooper hasn't been all that impressive lately. That Dallas defense is keeping them relevant. Opposing defenses know that if they shut down Ezekiel Elliott and contain Beasley, the Cowboys are largely toothless. Will Cooper change that? I'm just not confident in Dak Prescott getting the ball to him relaibly. We'll have to see how that plays out over these last few games. 

[teganslaw]

Rodney Harrison thinks that the team to watch is the Chargers.  He said that they're a better team right now than the Chiefs. KC gets all the headlines, but LA Chargers are a better rounded team in all aspects, according to Harrison. The Chargers have won their last five games, and are quietly working their way through the AFC West. The only problem is that the Chargers often make mistakes to cost them games. if they eliminate those and keep on playing like they have been, the AFC West could be interesting. 

Players need to watch what they say. Pittsburgh proved to Flacco just how tough they are, and Atlanta didn't consider Washington's defense so "scary" like Swearinger described it. 

[brandiwine]

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@AuntG wrote:

Will Tom Brady ever retire??

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As soon as his wife tells him to.  HAHA