Sports

[teganslaw]

Another issue: why didn't Pagano challenge the 1st quarter play, which reviewed would most likely have resulted in a Colts touchdown?  Mack was headed to the endzone, but the officials said that he was out of bounds. Film footage showed that it was very close, so Pagano messed up by not challenging. I'm quite sure it would have been reversed, as it looked like Mack did score.

Vinatieri missed a field goal and an extra point. Both were within his range, so what happened? That was unlike him.

On a side note, I mentioned to my husband about burning my Colts T-shirts. He said not to do that (I didn't) but that's how annoyed I am with the whole team right now.

[redwingsgal]

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@yellowBeetle wrote:

Congrats to the Eagles!!

And my second favorite team, the Ravens, blasted the Bengals!!

My husband has picked Detroit to win the Super Bowl this year - so he was happy!

Too bad for Houston - have nothing against the Jaguars, but after all Houston has been through, was rooting for them.

So great to have football back!! Love this time of year!!

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Your husband is a very wise man, @yellowBeetle !!!

The fourth quarter comeback kids did it again!!!

[gardenman]

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@teganslaw wrote:

Another issue: why didn't Pagano challenge the 1st quarter play, which reviewed would most likely have resulted in a Colts touchdown?  Mack was headed to the endzone, but the officials said that he was out of bounds. Film footage showed that it was very close, so Pagano messed up by not challenging. I'm quite sure it would have been reversed, as it looked like Mack did score.

Vinatieri missed a field goal and an extra point. Both were within his range, so what happened? That was unlike him.

On a side note, I mentioned to my husband about burning my Colts T-shirts. He said not to do that (I didn't) but that's how annoyed I am with the whole team right now.

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The good news is the Colts will likely be fine next year. They've got a pretty talented team, but the front office just mangled this season for them. When you make it known you seriously considered firing the head coach, you might as well fire the head coach. He's a dead man to the players. I suspect we'll see the Colts pick up a big name coach (Jon Gruden, Sean Payton being two names that come to mind) this coming off season and the Colts will rebound very quickly.

Head coaches are very important in the NFL and the players have to believe in the coach a hundred percent. When management makes it clear they don't believe in the coach, one of two things happen. One is that the players will rally around the coach and play their tailsides off to prove management wrong. (The Eagles and Buddy Ryan during Norman Braman's ownership of the team.) Or the more likely scenario is that the players will roll over and play dead knowing the coach is a goner, so why risk injury and shortening their own career for him? (Many, many teams over the years.)

The Colts have a pretty talented team with a good roster. They just got the heart cut out of them in the off season. Everyone in that locker room knows the coach is on very, very thin ice. Those who like the coach may start playing tentatively so they don't make the big mistake to cost the coach his job, while those not so fond of the coach will be holding back to save themselves for the next coach.

Trading away a franchise QB is dumb, but the dumbest move any team management can do is make it clear they don't want to keep their current head coach and then keep him anyway. If there was an NFL owners handbook, rule one would be to never ever let anyone doubt that you have complete confidence in the coaching staff. Both the Colts and Saints broke that rule this year. They both tried to flush their head coach, then ended up keeping him after all. It's not the recipe for success in the NFL. It's the recipe for disaster. If you let word escape that you considered firing the coach, you might as well fire the coach. It's kinder for all involved.

[Spurt]

@teganslaw

All the sports analyst say Pagano is gone....but not really his fault, the former GM did nothing to bolster the O line for Andrew nor add good pieces to the defense.  They said Andrew Luck could sit out the entire season, why risk him if he will be pummeled by defenses....Have you heard that? 

Im disgusted with my team too....the turnovers really did us in....and Capt Kirk was at the heart of those too..........

But at least our offense wasn't quite as inept compared to the Giants---my sis and I went over to a mutual friend's house to watch the game and partake in some good snacks.....that Giant/Cowboy game was painful---as predicted the Giants have no O-line, Lou Riddick really raked O linemen Ereck Flowers over the coals---he's awful, there's no running game to speak of and without a vertical threat there was NO offense!!!  And some picked the Giants to win the Division---really!!!  Of course Odell will use this as a bargaining chip with the new contract he wants---the Giants need to use the money on an O-line!

Looking at former Redskin coaches-How about those Rams looks like McVay has Goff on track and he doesnt need Kirk Cousins....of course on the other hand....Kyle Shannon and the 49ers didnt do very well..................

But @teganslaw  then there's the Bengals and their big Goose Egg---what is going on with them....bye bye Marvin I think this will be his last year as their head coach....JMHO!

Oh well---onward with week 2......

[Spurt]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

@Spurt

just got home......we went to a local seafood restaurant that we frequent and got steamed crabs, steamed shrimp,  and drinks!

that game was SWEET to watch.

we have not won in that stadium since 2011 and today we did it BIG!

the defense really worked its magic and 20 points is nothing to sneeze at either.

maybe flacco sitting out the pre-season was a good thing also?

RAVENS for the win today!!!! woooohooooo

was definitely NOT happy with the redskins loss.

very glad the raiders won!

was hoping the browns would come through with a win, but it wasnt to be......

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@sunshine45

Some of the analyst were raving about the Raven's defense---they say they are for real and they will win a lot of games for the team.....

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Congratulations to the Cowboys on the win last night, but jeez, where were the Giants? That Giant offense looked horrible. Their defense was okay, but the Giant offense was largely non-existent. It's not all O'Dell Beckham Junior's fault for not playing. The team has to play better than that.

Based on the little we've seen, I'd have to rate the Eagles/Cowboys at the top of the NFC East, the Redskins a tick below them, and the Giants bringing up the rear. Sad to say, if we don't see more from the Giants, they may be competing with the Jets for that first overall pick. Their offense is truly offensive in the wrong kind of way. They have an advantage in having a longer week to prepare for next Monday night's game against the Lions, but if they don't start to play better football, the Giants will lose a lot of games.

I was shocked by the score in the Texans' game. The Jags have a lot of good players and they actually played good football yesterday. The Jags wisely kept the ball out of Bortles' hands as much as possible (11-21 for just 125 yards) but were able to score without getting Bortles too involved. That will likely be their blueprint this whole season. That defense of theirs with ten sacks was very impressive. Getting Calais Campbell was a big pickup for them.

Tonight we'll get a chance to see if the Saints will play for Sean Payton, or roll over and play dead. When the front office openly tries to trade your coach to three other teams in the offseason, it's generally not a great idea. For whatever reason, the players and assistant coaches tend to not buy in when the front office makes it clear they don't want the head coach in that job. We saw the Colts roll over and play dead yesterday and I wouldn't be shocked to see the Saints do the same tonight. Being a nationally televised game might help motivate the players a bit, but I've got a bad feeling about the Saints this year. 

The Bengals may be a team playing to get their head coach fired. We'll have to see what happens there over the next few weeks, but they played a badly beaten up Ravens team at home and got their heads handed to them. I'm not sure a week's gone by since the start of training camp without the Ravens losing a starter to the injured reserve list, but they got killed by the Bengals.

Two more games tonight and the first week will be done! We'll still have to wait until next week to see Tampa and Miami, but the early reviews after one week gives us some idea of which teams look to be competitive and which are not.

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@gardenman

I agree with you about the Giants....that came was downright PAINFUL to watch....with no running game and Giants not even planning nor thinking about one, the defense just put their ears back and went after Eli and their inept Oline....what weapons did he have Marshall was covered and their TE not a threat....3 lousy pts---OUCH!!!

After the Redskins got settled down a bit at least the Redskins moved the ball --- Pryor dropped some passes and one of the INT was down at the goal line so there is a bit of hope-(just quite turning the ball over please!!!)

I bet both the Redskins and Pierre Garcon are rethinking the decisions that were made ....I bet the Redskins would love to have him back....and Garcon sees a dismal season ahead with the 49ers........He's 30 and cant wait for the rebuild even if Cousins lands on the team......So I bet theres some regret and playing Monday Morning QB.....

One thing @gardenman  do you see the NFLPA's agreement with the league to have less practices especially in pads, and not playing the starters much having an impact on injuries players are experiencing and it also explains some of the rust....so the first 4 games seem to be more getting in game shape and getting in rhythm....what are your thoughts on this??? And everyone else @redwingsgal @teganslaw  @Shelbelle @brandiwine 

@sunshine45   @AuntG  feel free to jump in with your thoughts........

[sunshine45]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

@Spurt

just got home......we went to a local seafood restaurant that we frequent and got steamed crabs, steamed shrimp,  and drinks!

that game was SWEET to watch.

we have not won in that stadium since 2011 and today we did it BIG!

the defense really worked its magic and 20 points is nothing to sneeze at either.

maybe flacco sitting out the pre-season was a good thing also?

RAVENS for the win today!!!! woooohooooo

was definitely NOT happy with the redskins loss.

very glad the raiders won!

was hoping the browns would come through with a win, but it wasnt to be......

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@sunshine45

Some of the analyst were raving about the Raven's defense---they say they are for real and they will win a lot of games for the team.....

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@Spurt

LOL, i wish i would have heard some of that! most here in baltimore are complaining that the ravens get very little respect from the analysts and commentators. even though we had a good game, the analysts seemed focused on how poorly dalton and the bengals did, instead of focusing on how well the ravens did.

T Sizzle (terrell suggs) has become a great team leader. ray lewis would be proud. we brought in some fresh players and overall it looked pretty good yesterday.

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

I kind of have a pet theory that a lot of the injuries come from over training. I think many of the no contact injuries are coming from muscles getting stronger than the ligaments and tendons securing the muscles to the bones. We're seeing lots of no contact injuries where a guy is just running and pops a knee or Achilles. I think less emphasis on strength training and more on flexibility might lower the injury rate. Realistically, how strong does a player have to be? Do you need a cornerback who can bench press three hundred pounds?

As to the rust, I think a lot of that comes from not playing the starters much in the preseason. Teams are so intent on avoiding injuries that they hardly play the starters. It was almost laughable how little the Eagles' starters played in the preseason.

I really like the idea of a two game exhibition season and an eighteen game regular season, but with each player limited to sixteen regular season games. (With the exception of specialists like punters, kickers and long snappers who could play all eighteen.) Essentially you're giving the players two bye weeks and forcing teams to give bench players a chance to show what they can do. You'd probably have to expand the rosters a bit,, but it would be interesting to watch coaches deciding when to rest their starting QB or other starters. Make each team rest their starters once in each half of the season to spread out their wear and tear.

[sunshine45]

@Spurt

i really believe that FLACCO sitting out of the preseason was a good thing for him and for the team. he wasnt GREAT yesterday, but he was good......and of course he had the defense to reallly back him up. that is one thing that i always have loved about the ravens. we dont play that "elite qb" game or focus all of our attention on our qb. we try to build a team that works together and focuses on a broader aspect of the game.

of course, lots more football to be played and you just never know from one week until the next.....hopefully lots of GOOD football!

[Spurt]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

@Spurt

just got home......we went to a local seafood restaurant that we frequent and got steamed crabs, steamed shrimp,  and drinks!

that game was SWEET to watch.

we have not won in that stadium since 2011 and today we did it BIG!

the defense really worked its magic and 20 points is nothing to sneeze at either.

maybe flacco sitting out the pre-season was a good thing also?

RAVENS for the win today!!!! woooohooooo

was definitely NOT happy with the redskins loss.

very glad the raiders won!

was hoping the browns would come through with a win, but it wasnt to be......

---

@sunshine45

Some of the analyst were raving about the Raven's defense---they say they are for real and they will win a lot of games for the team.....

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@Spurt

LOL, i wish i would have heard some of that! most here in baltimore are complaining that the ravens get very little respect from the analysts and commentators. even though we had a good game, the analysts seemed focused on how poorly dalton and the bengals did, instead of focusing on how well the ravens did.

T Sizzle (terrell suggs) has become a great team leader. ray lewis would be proud. we brought in some fresh players and overall it looked pretty good yesterday.

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@sunshine45

Well at least someone noticed and it was analysts I respect like Lou Riddick and Booger McFarland.  I hate it that the national media seems to concentrate on just a few teams (the teams in a large TV market or a sports show host's favorite team etc, or they are the players BFF....) .  I know exactly how you feel being an NBA Spurs Fan.....they will give us a milisecond mention (good team) or they HATE Coach Pop....and that's our 15 seconds of "fame".......that's why poor Kawhi Leonard got very few votes although most coaches and players say he is the best offenseive/defensive combo player in the league..... I HATE the bias!!!  Good Luck next week to the Ravens!