Sports

[brewhaha]

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman

I was impressed with the Eagles' defense against the Raiders particularly Jenkins and Cox......however, the offense with "St. Nick" at the helm looked more like a target for angry Eagle fans ready to pelt him in snowballs........sorry but without Wentz it will be interesting to see how far the Eagles can go in the playoffs..

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But gardenman will continue to pick them. Remember when he was pointing out Nick Fole's shortcomings after he was traded?

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman

I was impressed with the Eagles' defense against the Raiders particularly Jenkins and Cox......however, the offense with "St. Nick" at the helm looked more like a target for angry Eagle fans ready to pelt him in snowballs........sorry but without Wentz it will be interesting to see how far the Eagles can go in the playoffs..

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Yeah, Nick is hot and cold as a QB. You're never sure what you'll get. The week before he threw for four touchdowns and likely could have thrown a few more. This past week he was cold and couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. The defense the two previous weeks was horrible, but Nick saved them. This week Nick was horrible, but the defense saved him. I have no idea what to expect against Dallas. Doug is only having the team do a walk through today and tomorrow with just a full practice on Friday. We'll see what happens. 

The hope is Nick has three hot games for the playoffs. One of the scary things about the Eagles is that they tend to come out of byes flat. Under Andy, the Eagles almost never lost after a bye. Under Doug, they need to wake up and play. Our first playoff game will be after a bye.

You just never know what will happen with a QB. Derek Carr looked worse than Foles last week and he was a preseason favorite as a MVP candidate. Aaron Rodgers came back and threw three (I think) interceptions before going back to the IR. Nick could hit 90% of his passes in the playoffs and waltz all the way through as Super Bowl MVP. He could also throw five interceptions in the first game and get blown out. Carson was more predictable and reliable, but he's gone, so we've got Nick. It makes it very interesting. The good news is the defense and running game can keep us in games when Nick is cold, but if you've got a hot Nick and the defense playing well, the Eagles are unbeatable. Getting both of them playing well at the same time is the challenge.

[Spurt]

The end of the regular season........  Here's my picks:

Packers/Lions---Going with the better QB no Aaron Rodgers in this game....--LIONS!

Texans/Colts-Going with the COLTS

Bears/Vikings-Dont know if Vikings will be resting folks, but they still have more talent than the Bears--VIKINGS!

Jets/Pats-Will Beli rest his starters???????  Ill go with the better team again-PATS!

Redskins/Giants-The Redskins have the better team, this is a rival game so anything can happen...but going with my REDSKINS!!! Also the Giants seem to be quarreling amongst themselves Collins and Apple.....the Giants are a real mess!!!

Cowboys/Eagles--Will the Eagles be fine tuning their offense with Foles at the helm....the Eagles offense really struggled against the Raiders....The Cowboys are disappointed that their playoff hopes have ended....and in an local interview Witten looked like he was going to cry....Ill still go with the EAGLES in this game since they will be focused on their next game....while the Cowboys are looking forward to the after game New Year's Eve Party.........

Browns/Steelers-Will the Steelers be resting players?????  Have the Browns just thrown in the towel and are dreaming of that #1 draft pick????????? Even with the Steelers backups in there, the Steelers are still the better team---STEELERS for the win!

Panthers/Falcons-this game is still in play to see who will make the playoffs.......The Falcons just seem to be lacking something they dont seem to have real fire/determination even in that game against the Saint....so Ill go with THE PANTHERS!

Bengals/Ravens--The Bengals decided to play the last couple weeks, but they go up against one of the better defenses in the Ravens.....but then there's the wildcard in Flacco at their QB position....but the Ravens must have a win to get in the playoffs, so Im going RAVENS

Bills/Dolphins-The Bills need a win and then some help to make the playoffs so Im going BILLS

Saints/Bucs-Another case of will players be rested.....Ill just go with the playoff bound SAINTS!

Jaguars/Titans-Ill go with the JAGUARS!

Chiefs/Broncos--The Broncos looked pitiful against the Redskins....and if Osweiler is your QB thats one of the main problems...Chiefs are in the playoffs so I'm going with the better team--CHIEFS FOR THE WIN....Broncos look like they have checked out..........

Raiders/Chargers---The Raiders almost got an upset and a win against the #1 NFC seed the Eagles, but they shot themselves in the foot time and time again....going with THE CHARGERS the team that is playing better and still has a slim playoff hope!!!

Rams/49ers-The Rams are steam rolling ahead with an overall balanced team.  The 49ers found their QB now they just need to add some more pieces in the upcoming draft-watch out for them next season...I think Sean McVay wont let off the gas and will be fine tuning his team for a big playoff run--going RAMS!!!

Cardinals/Seahawks--WOW-just when you thought the Seahawks were dead in the water---they woke up and found a way to win!!!  Can they do it again this week in order to try to get a playoff spot?  The Cardinals have played tough, but Ill go with the SEAHAWKS who still have a chance at the playoffs............

GOOD LUCK EVERY ONE!!! AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[Spurt]

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@brewhaha wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman

I was impressed with the Eagles' defense against the Raiders particularly Jenkins and Cox......however, the offense with "St. Nick" at the helm looked more like a target for angry Eagle fans ready to pelt him in snowballs........sorry but without Wentz it will be interesting to see how far the Eagles can go in the playoffs..

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But gardenman will continue to pick them. Remember when he was pointing out Nick Fole's shortcomings after he was traded?

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@brewhaha

 your right  .......and he's firecely loyal to his Eagles.... 

Im fiercely loyal to my Redskins too...but Im screaming at em and cussing them out...LOL

[yellowBeetle]

Wow! Hard to believe it is Week #17!!!

Well, here goes.....all Sunday afternoon games!

1:00

DET over GB

MINN over Chi

IND over Hou

CLE over Pitts.....I know this is highly unlikely but it would be so delightful!

NY JETS over NE....another one I would love to see...

NY GIANTS over Redskins....Eli will finish with a big win!

PHI over Dal...but I think this could go the other way...

4:30

JACK over Tenn

BUF over Mia

BALT over Cin

LA CHARGERS over Oak

ARIZ over Sea

LA RAMS over SF....but this could go the other way with Garoppolo on a roll

CARO over Atl....but Atl will still get the Wild Card if my prediction about Sea losing holds

KC over Den

NO over TB

Good luck to all!!!

[yellowBeetle]

I wanted to comment about the Eagles and their playoff chances.

First let me say I really hope they go all the way!! 

But I have to be realistic and even before Wentz was injured in Week #14,  there were some doubts concerning the Eagles that were being bandied about by the pundits. The principal one is the fact that the majority of the Eagle wins have been against less than stellar teams. Yes they beat the Chargers and the Panthers and the Rams (barely). But their other wins were against frankly mediocre teams like the Giants, Bears, etc. They lost to KC in week #2 ... and they lost really badly to Seattle several weeks ago with Wentz still there. 

So it is fair to ask if they are really as good as their 13 and 2 record would indicate. I think they are really good....but maybe not quite as good as one would assume a 13 and 2 team to be!

I was so disappointed in Foles' performance Monday night. He has real talent...and can be truly great...but Monday he looked very much like a back-up. To be fair, Carr looked dreadful too. Maybe part of it was the weather...bitterly cold and windy. Time will tell...but there isn't much time left!

And the defense has been erratic. They came through this week but were really off for several games.

So the bottom line for me is that I am really glad they have home field advantage....because in all likelihood their first playoff game will be against either the Saints or the Panthers. ( I am thinking as it looks now in the Wild Card round that the #3 seed Rams will knock off the #6 seed Atlanta or Seattle. And the #4 seed Saints will play the #5 seed Panthers...that could go either way, but whichever team wins will then play the Eagles, again if the Rams win.)  And honestly, I am not confident that the Eagles will be able to beat either the Saints or Panthers. But I hope they will!! 

[yellowBeetle]

@Spurt

That picture of the New Year's cat at the bottom of your predictions post is absolutely priceless!!!! Love it!!!

And Happy New Year to everyone who posts here and reads this thread!!!!

[gardenman]

Regarding the Eagles' record, you can only play the teams on your schedule. You have no control over that. They've won 13 of the 15, with losses only to KC and Seattle on the road, and both teams are hard to beat in their stadiums. If you go back to the preseason rankings regarding strength of schedule, the Eagles were tied in tenth for the hardest schedule. The Colts had the easiest strength of schedule. Now, the strength of schedule changes over the course of the season, but the Eagles did not have the easiest schedule by a long shot. The Eagles are the only team in the league with 13 wins so far despite a fairly taxing schedule.

[yellowBeetle]

@gardenman

I think what the pundits are getting at when they say the Eagles have not played a majority of their games against winning teams is the fact that many of the teams they have beaten have turned out to have had much poorer records this season than originally predicted. So in that sense the Eagles have had an easier schedule because many of the teams that were considered tough challengers at the beginning of the season have fizzled out and done poorly.

It has been a topsy-turvy year in a lot of ways!

[gardenman]

@yellowBeetle

Yeah, but you can only play the teams on your schedule. The Eagles contributed to the teams we played being weaker than expected by beating them. Had the Eagles lost twice to the Redskins and Giants, their records would be better and the Eagles would have just nine wins instead of thirteen. If we'd also lost to the Cowboys we'd only have eight wins and everyone would be calling us a mediocre team. If you beat all of the teams in your division twice (as the Eagles have done with every team but the Cowboys who they play on Sunday) then there are six wins that go on your side and six losses that go to them, making them look weaker.

The Eagles schedule wasn't the easiest in the league, but they still have the best record in the league. A lot of teams had easier schedules and ended up with worse records. Most of the "experts" had the Eagles winning just eight or nine games this year. They've won thirteen so far. I'm pretty happy with that.