Sports

[cristy7]

There's nothing better than Turkey with family, our flag and veterans.  I put several things before the NFL.

[proudlyfromNJ]

---

@cristy7 wrote:

Gardenman,  I am curious as to why you can advertise for the NFL, yet  when I post a comment (totally appropriate) regarding the NFL, my post gets deleted?  Do you work for QVC?  And, so you know...most people can count?  It's really not necessary for you to SPAM the boards with a countdown every week.  Boring and irrelevant.

---

@cristy7.   Wake up, it's a Sports Forum!

[gardenman]

---

@cristy7 wrote:

Gardenman,  I am curious as to why you can advertise for the NFL, yet  when I post a comment (totally appropriate) regarding the NFL, my post gets deleted?  Do you work for QVC?  And, so you know...most people can count?  It's really not necessary for you to SPAM the boards with a countdown every week.  Boring and irrelevant.

---

No, I don't work for QVC. I'm not spamming the boards either. I've been posting in this format on these boards forever. In fact, there used to be an NFL forum here way back when. The beauty of forums is that if you don't like a thread, you can ignore it.

[gardenman]

The first two games broke perfectly for the Redskins. If they take care of business in game three, they'll be back in the playoff hunt.

[gardenman]

And the Redskins took care of business in game three. When you look at their schedule, they've got a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. You've got to think Carolina and New Orleans will both make the playoffs. One as the NFC South champ and the other one as a wildcard, but that still leaves one wildcard slot on the NFC side. Currently, Seattle, Atlanta, and Detroit are a game ahead of the Redskins,  but their schedules make it more difficult for them to win out. If the Redskins win out, and their first real test will be Thursday night against the Cowboys who are in freefall right now, there's a likelihood that they'd earn that final wildcard slot. After the Cowboys they've got the Chargers in LA which is probably their toughest game.

The Redskins final three games are against the Cardinals, Broncos, and Giants. The Cards are a bit of a mess, as are the Broncos and they get the Cards and Broncos in DC which is a help. That Giants offense is kind of offensive right now and I'm not sure they'll be any better in their finale.

The Cowboys are a mess. Apparently it wasn't just Tyron Smith being hurt that was the problem for the Cowboy offense. He came back yesterday and the Cowboy offense did precisely nothing scoring a total of 6 points. Dak Prescott isn't exactly putting the team on his shoulders and willing them to win while Elliott is out. They look like a bad football team without Ezekiel Elliott.

Over the last three games they've scored a total of 22 points. That's hard to do. They've got talented players on offense. Dez Bryant isn't fast and doesn't seem to scare defenses any longer, but he's still pretty good. Jason Witten can still get open. Cole Beasley is a matchup nightmare for a defense. They've got a competent stable of runningbacks. 

Now part of the problem is coaching. Jason Garrett and the offensive staff seem incapable of making mid-game adjustments. If something's not working they just keep trying and hoping it will work. Teams are manning up on the receivers and while any receiver can beat man coverage given enough tme, the offensive line isn't giving Dak enough time for the receivers to get open. The Cowboys need to find a way to scare defenses again.

Dak's losing his confidence and that's not a good thing for a young QB. You want a young QB to be a bit of a gunslinger with a very short memory. Right now Dak Prescott does not look like a gunslinger. He's looking tentative. That's also something of a coaching issue. The coaches need to be telling him to "Just cut it loose and let it fly. Make your read, trust your read, and let it fly. We'll deal with any consequences if the read is wrong, but just get back there and start firing the ball. Trust the receivers to make the play." Confidence is a huge thing for a young QB. Dak does not look confident right now.

[teganslaw]

It's possible that part of the problem with the Cowboys is Jerry Jones and his "war" against the rest of the NFL. That could be lowering the morale of the players because there are too many outside factors going on that they can't concentrate on the game. It looks like the team has just given up on trying to make the playoffs. 

Washington looked good last night. Despite the injuries, their defense stepped up, and though it took awhile, the offense was working. Strange play in the 3rd quarter where the Redskins were 4th and 1, then brought their punting unit on the field, wasted some minutes and then brought the offensive unit back and got penalized for delay of game. What happened there? It looked like something the Colts would do. 

 I also was surprised that Vernon Davis wasn't involved. With Jordan Reed out, Davis is usually the go-to-guy. And Washington better hang on to Ryan Kerrigan; he's a play maker. 

[gardenman]

Apparently there's a lot of room on the Dak Prescott bandwagon if anyone wants to hop on. Lots of Cowboy fans are now calling for him to be benched and Cooper Rush given a start. Dak hasn't exactly picked the team up and carried them, but he's not getting a lot of help either. I don't see JJ letting Dak get benched, but the fans in Dallas are hopping off his bandwagon in a big hurry and lining up behind Cooper Rush. Some are now comparing Dak to RGIII as a one year wonder that the league figured out.

Dak's in a tough spot. He's not really good at throwing guys open, and guys aren't getting open on their own. Defensive backs aren't scared of the Cowboy receivers and play them man to man and play them tight. (Which limits your ability to throw them open. Very often the defenders are looking back to Dak while they cover the receiver making it easy for them to jump a back shoulder pass.) Defenders know the Cowboy's routes and run them for the receivers. Dak's game is to hit an open receiver, but if no one's open, to take off and run for whatever yardage he can get. No one's open and teams are often spying him to prevent him taking off and running. He's then forced to throw into coverage, which has led to the five picks, throw the ball away, or take a sack. His options right now aren't great. His offensive line is having issues protecting him and he's on a very lonely island surrounded by lots of sharks. So, you want to be an NFL quarterback you say? Ha!

The Cowboys need to adjust their routes. Add some unpredictability to them. Try to find some more speed/quickness in receivers so maybe someone can get open. Give Dak a chance to have success. Right now, he's got no chance. 

[Spurt]

---

@sunshine45 wrote:

enjoy the turkey and the games everyone! may you all have a wonderful day filled with family, friends, love, good food, and peace.

we will have all of the games on the tv.

hope to be getting a ravens win on monday night......1st ever ravens game in person for me!

---

@sunshine45

Enjoy the game and I hope you have fun and the Ravens win!!!

[Spurt]

---

@gardenman wrote:

The more I look at that Redskins' schedule, the more I think they have a legiitmate shot at the playoffs. The Giants, Cowboys, Chargers, Cardinals, Broncos and Giants again, aren't bad opponents for those last six games. Going 5-1 or even 6-0 isn't out of the question.

The Falcons are another contender for a wildcard spot, but they play the Saints twice, the Panthers, the Bucs twice, and the Vikings over their last six games.The Bucs games are pretty winnable, but they'll have a fight with the rest. If they go 2-4 or 3-3 they'd end up at 8-8 or 9-7.

The biggest hindrance for the Redskins will be Detroit. Their schedule is pretty comparable to Washington's with games against the Vikings, Ravens, Bucs, Bears, Bengals and Packers. That's not an especially intimidating lineup given how those teams are playing. The Redskins would need Detroit to lose three of those games and I'm not sure I see three losses in there. They could lose to the Vikings without a lot of trouble. (We'll find out later today.) The Ravens are hot and cold. The Bucs, Bears and Bengals are a mess. Green Bay could have Aaron Rodgers back at the end. The Vikings, Ravens and Packers could come through and eke out wins however giving an opening to the Redskins.

I'm assuming the Panthers and Saints will make it in with at least a 10-6 record which will leave just one wild card slot left. The Seahawks have a pretty brutal four game stretch with the Eagles Jags, Rams, and Cowboys (with Elliott back.) Given their injuries in the secondary, it's not hard to see them losing three or four of those games which would leave them at 8-8 or 9-7.

My money right now would be on Detroit taking that last wildcard slot, but next on the list would be the Redskins. They can't afford to lose another game, but their only real tester of a game seems to be the Cowboys and they're in a bit of a freefall right now.

The Redskins just need to find someone other than Vernon Davis to catch the ball and open up the field a bit. Kirk Cousins could just will the Redskins into the playoffs if they catch a break or two. (I don't think they'd go far once they got there, but they could sneak in.)

---

@gardenman

I know you Eagle fans...you just want the Redskins to do well...so you can meet them in the playoffs and beat them and easily move on to the next round of the playoffs......  

[Spurt]

---

@gardenman wrote:

The first two games broke perfectly for the Redskins. If they take care of business in game three, they'll be back in the playoff hunt.

---

@gardenman

That game set the NFL back 20 years....OY!!!!!  Vernon Davis seemed to be left out of the game plan entirely????? It looked like they were using him only as a blocker with the makeshift O line instead of a receiver........Kerrigan, Brown, and Fuller played a good game on D...What was up with that botched 4th and 1 play---SHEESH!!!  The Redskins need to play better even against teams with losing records ......  to quote Jim Mora---PLAYOFFS???? PLAYOFFS????