Sports

[teganslaw]

Yellowrose, good to see you posting in this forum again. Maybe winless teams can be dangerous, but I doubt Miami is one of them. I have Dak and Zeke on one of my fantasy leagues, so the Cowboys have to do well this week.  (Apologies to SPURT and Gardenman). 

The Colts waived Chad Kelly when he returned from suspension. If another team doesn't sign him, he could return to the Colts practice squad. With the quarterback problems around the league, I wouldn't be surprised to see him elsewhere. 

An article recently made the case for teams to sign Kaepernick. (Somehow I knew this would come up.) With all the baggage attached to him, it isn't happening, but he still remains in the news. 

The Saints aren't putting Brees on IR. They anticipate that he might be back before the 8 week deadline IR would have. 

Gardenman, Darnold expects to be back by week 5 when the Jets play the Eagles. 

[gardenman]

@teganslaw 

I'll worry about week five when it gets here. Right now I'm worried about week three. We've got 13 guys on this week's injury report and it looks like out starting trio at wide receiver will be rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Mack Hollins, and Nelson Agholor. When your fourth and fifth string wide receivers end up having to start, it's not a good thing. If one of those guys goes down then Darren Sproles becomes a wide receiver. If another one drops then Miles Sanders becomes a wide receiver.

Kaepernick would have been signed by either the Ravens or Seahawks in the last two years, but in each case he wanted $20 million and they weren't willing to pay that much. At this point in his career he's not worth $20 million.

It'll be interesting to see how long it takes Brees to come back. Thumbs are very important on a quarterback's throwing hand. More so than any other finger. If that thumb doesn't feel right, it'll seriously affect his play.

There are lots of rumors of the Eagles trading for Jalen Ramsey. I'm not so sure about that. His fit just feels off to me. The Eagles are a predominantly zone team, Ramsey wants to play man-to-man. He's had issues with his coaches and teammates. The Eagles like team-first guys. I suspect he'll go to Seattle instead. The price tag seems a tad high too. I'm hearing anything from a first-round pick and a starter to two first-round picks. That's a lot to give up.

[redwingsgal]

Here I am again for my wrong guesses.  But here goes:

Titans over Jags-  Could be a close one, but I am taking Titans

Raiders over Vikes- I love your sci-fi reference, even if you did cross universes, @Spurt 

Chiefs over Ravens- Big win

Falcons over Colts- Ryan over Brissette.  Sorry, @teganslaw 

Pats over Jets- I do hope LaVeon does well, he is my FF RB

Cowboys over Fins- This could get ugly

Broncos over Packers- Please!

Bengals over Bills- Prob a toss up game

Lions over Eagles- Please be kind to my boys, @gardenman 

Cards over Panthers- Kyler is better than Cam

Bucs over Giants- yawn

49ers over Steelers- Easy win

Saints over Seahawks- The team will win with Teddy

Chargers over Texans- Rivers is the key

Browns over Rams-Big upset

Redskins over Dolphins- Please, @Spurt 

Good Luck to everyone's teams this week!!!  RESTORE THE ROAR!!!

[Spurt]

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@redwingsgal wrote:

Here I am again for my wrong guesses.  But here goes:

Titans over Jags-  Could be a close one, but I am taking Titans

Raiders over Vikes- I love your sci-fi reference, even if you did cross universes, @Spurt 

Chiefs over Ravens- Big win

Falcons over Colts- Ryan over Brissette.  Sorry, @teganslaw 

Pats over Jets- I do hope LaVeon does well, he is my FF RB

Cowboys over Fins- This could get ugly

Broncos over Packers- Please!

Bengals over Bills- Prob a toss up game

Lions over Eagles- Please be kind to my boys, @gardenman 

Cards over Panthers- Kyler is better than Cam

Bucs over Giants- yawn

49ers over Steelers- Easy win

Saints over Seahawks- The team will win with Teddy

Chargers over Texans- Rivers is the key

Browns over Rams-Big upset

Redskins over Dolphins- Please, @Spurt 

Good Luck to everyone's teams this week!!!  RESTORE THE ROAR!!!

---

@redwingsgal 

The Redskins play the Bears and you have the Dolphins....I could only wish... 

[gardenman]

The Jags likely won their way out of the Tanking for Tua sweepstakes by crushing the Titans last night 20-7. Gardner Minshew may just be playing his way into being the full-time starter in Jacksonville even when Foles is healthy again. The kid's doing good.

I'm not sure the Jags are really planning to trade Jalen Ramsey since they played him last night. Why play a guy you're trying to trade? What if he'd gotten injured? You'd lose both the player and the trade? I suspect they'll say the value wasn't there and they're keeping him and working out their differences, but we'll see what happens.

[teganslaw]

I didn't watch the game last night, but there were a lot of pass interference penalties called. Tom Brady called out the refs about it; apparently he was watching the game, but got fed up with all the penalties. "Just let them play!"  The NFL seems to have a major issue with this and needs to rethink pass interference. 

Titans fans want Mariota replaced. They aren't too happy with Vrabel right now, either. It's going to be a long season for Tennessee.

Taco Charleton is now with Miami. That was fast. I wonder if he will start this coming Sunday when they face Dallas. 

@Spurt, Samaje Perine is now with the Bengals, although he's mostly special teams. I don't think he'll be in their long term plans, either, so it doesn't sound good. 

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

I didn't watch the game last night, but there were a lot of pass interference penalties called. Tom Brady called out the refs about it; apparently he was watching the game, but got fed up with all the penalties. "Just let them play!"  The NFL seems to have a major issue with this and needs to rethink pass interference. 

Titans fans want Mariota replaced. They aren't too happy with Vrabel right now, either. It's going to be a long season for Tennessee.

Taco Charleton is now with Miami. That was fast. I wonder if he will start this coming Sunday when they face Dallas. 

@Spurt, Samaje Perine is now with the Bengals, although he's mostly special teams. I don't think he'll be in their long term plans, either, so it doesn't sound good. 

---

@teganslaw 

Hey TEGAN!  

So Taco is back on the menu....and just in time to play his old team......but if he's thinking revenge the rest of the team is tanking for Tua.....

Well glad that Perine got picked up by the Bengals...he was given a lot of chances with the Redskins, but other players just beat him out.....

Yep, Mariota has never lived up to expectations, and Minshew outplayed him....I think its time the Titans moved on.....

Well it doesnt bode well for my Redskins on Monday Night....we have enough problem with holding penalties and it seems the refs are paying particular close attention to holding. ...Brady sent a tweet "too many penalties, just let us play" and maybe Brady's tweet will carry some weight with the League and the refs will stop this madness....(things did calm down a bit in the 3rd quarter)

..its getting a bit ridiculous about some of the ticky tack penalties they've been calling.....I thought I was watching an NBA game...LOL!!!  

SB Nation has all the Blogs for all 32 teams:

I was looking at some of the NFL fan polls and they asked Colt's fans who did they think would be the first NFL coach fired, the results:

Jay Gruden--- 26%

Doug Marrone 25%

Ron Rivera      22%

Pat Shurmur    19%

Bill Obrien        8%

Could happen but I think our DC goes first....

I see the Colts signed Chad Kelly to their practice squad.

Oh Oh your Darius Leonard is still in concussion protcol, I know the NFL is being cautious but how long does this concussion process take to clear players.......I sure hope our Jordan Reed finally is FINALLY cleared and gets to play....

GOOD LUCK THIS WEEKEND!

@gardenman 

YIKES!  Did you see some of the predictions from some of the NFL Network crew....one guy took the Eagles out of playoff contention.....  (due to injuries)....like I said can we please give teams time to settle in a bit....SMH!!!

[Spurt]

With the Giants pulling the plug on Eli (boy is my sister upset).....and going with Daniel Jones....when will the Redskins go with Haskins....Some local reporters said week 11, others are predicting week 6 against the Dolphins....While Haskins has a strong arm and playmaking ability, and intangibles--- intelligence (quick learner) work ethic, and fearlessness on the field.  However,..Haskins still has a LOT to learn..  he still needs to work on his footwork, going through progressions, not to mention learning a pro offense that Jay Gruden is unwilling to simplify. His footwork causes bad throws, he's had problems with cadence and false starts by the OL, and slowness going through progressions caused him to hold onto the ball too long and take hits.  He's a work in progress.....

AND Case has performed pretty well.... He doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he’s decisive with his reads, picks up the blitz, and displays overall command of the offense.  In fact, the passing offense has actually been one of the bright spots for the Redskins, and in particular rave reviews for rookie WR Terry McLaurin, "scary Terry"......Its the defense that has caused the Redskins problems and the running game hasnt lived up to expectations either....... 

[gardenman]

Marcus Mariota is one of those guys who came out of college with great promise until a combination of constantly changing offensive coordinators and injuries largely doomed him. He'd be a good reclamation project for the right team. He needs stability though. He needs to be in one system and to have that system become second nature to him. If you're not planning to keep the same head coach, OC and QB coach for three or four years, don't pick up Mariota. If he'd landed with an Andy Reid type coach coming out of college, chances are he'd be an MVP candidate now. Sadly for him, he didn't end up with an Andy Reid type coach intent on developing a young quarterback. He's been learning a new system almost every year and rehabbing injuries almost every year.

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

It's way too early to be making predictions. The Eagles injuries aren't helping matters any, but most are short term. Sudfeld may actually be back this week or next. Alshon Jeffrey and DeSean should be back by week five or so. Goedert may be back this week or next.

The Eagles are somewhat lucky in where the injuries have occurred. The offensive line is solid. The starting QB is good. The DB's and linebackers are largely healthy. The defensive ends are healthy. The runningbacks are largely healthy. (Corey Clement's shoulder injury should be okay in a week or two.) The defensive tackle position has taken more hits than you'd like, but we've been pretty good at plugging that problem in the past.

Wide receiver looks scary losing two top guys, but Mack Hollins is pretty darn good when he gets the chance and this gives rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside a chance to get some needed experience. As injuries go, these are largely survivable. If you lose your center or offensive tackles life gets scarier. If you lose your starting QB life gets scarier. Losing defensive ends is also bad.

I'm not overly concerned with how things are going so far. Barring a rash of more injuries we should be okay for the next few weeks. That game next week at Green Bay on Thursday night is a concern. But first we have to get past Detroit this week. If we get a bit of momentum going our way, and the injured players start to come back, the team can get on a roll.

This is a pretty resilient team. The Atlanta game was a bit of a shock losing three of your top three offensive players in the first eleven plays. That just doesn't happen all that often. Even then the Eagles almost came back and won on the road. All the Eagles have to do to make the playoffs is finish ahead of the Cowboys and we play them twice yet. They've got some pretty tough games coming up also. If they run into the wrong injuries (left tackle, Dak, Zeke, Demarcus Lawrence, etc.) their season could look a lot different. 

It's way too early to say much of anything. I don't see the Giants or Redskins being all that competitive this year, so it's likely a two-horse race for the NFC East title. As long as the Eagles stay in striking distance of the Cowboys, they'll have a shot. The Cowboys caught a break by the Saints losing Brees, but they still have to face the Packers, Rams, and Patriots, plus the Eagles twice, so there are some likely losses on their schedule. I don't see them going 16-0.