[Archived] Nfl 09

[RibbleValleyRover]

Surprised and really glad that the Packers won. Still a lot of areas to improve but so does every team.

Yep, it was a great win but still the offensive line poses some problems. The defence was immense that night, stopping a pretty potent Dallas offense. Bring on the 49ers!

Tough game against the Chargers coming up Abbey, how you see that going? I think i read somewhere that Orton was 50/50 to start.

[ABBEY]

more like 1/99.

if last weeks simms shows were ryhmes with ducked.....sky,beer and off monday

BRING THE DOLTS ON

[ABBEY]

dolts hahaha must have been drunker than i thought last night lol.

[Rovermatt]

The Giants did their very best to p!ss it all up the wall again this week. 34-31 after OT and they go to 6-4. They'll be lucky to walk away from Mile High with anything on Thursday. Major changes needed.

[ABBEY]

SIMMMSSSSSSS U TURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD BUCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET

[ABBEY]

refs...cheat

simms....sucks

mcd........onside kick wtf?

st.....wtf??

looking like mcd is the new ince

[ABBEY]

cower time?

[American]

overreaction time?

This team was never going to be great considering the schedule and number of changes. The best hope was always 10-6 and most realistic 8-8.

Remember, Jimmy Johnson went 1-15 in his first season.

[ABBEY]

stella and vodka reaction charlie.

but this was shambolic.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Good win for the Packers last night, very decent 1st half performance, second half the 49ers fought back but we held on. The win keeps us in the NFC wild card race.

2 bad injuries though to key players by the looks of it, both Al Harris and Aaron Kampman suffered knee injuries. More details later today but it looks like both could be out for the rest of the season.

[sleepyjack]

Packers looked better yesterday. Rogers showed what he can do with protection - he now has 22 touchdowns (3 rushing) vs 43 sacks. I think the defensive injuries might hurt them come the Ravens game in week 14, but yesterday the Ravens didn't impress me at all. 3rd team in a row to blow an opportunity to beat the Colts.

Can't see past the Giants for Thursday night's game against the Broncos. Giants at least had some offense yesterday, whereas the Broncos look to be in freefall. McDaniels having a go at the Chargers linebackers before yesterday's game was a pretty good teamtalk for the opposition, and Moreno and Marshall almost having a Batty/Le Saux moment can't do much good for team morale. Broncos will probably end 9-7 for the season; any better and they'll grab a wildcard spot.

Anyone want to make some predictions on the playoffs yet? NFC seeds will be the Vikings and Saints (10-0 for the first time ever!), with Cowboys (unfortunately) and Cardinals winning their divisions. Wildcards are anyone's guess, but I'm going for the Packers and Falcons.

AFC seeds are gonna be the Colts and Patriots, with Bengals and Chargers taking the divisions. Wildcards for me will be the Steelers and whoever wins the Miami/Jacksonville game in week 14.

[Shevchenko]

Anyone want to make some predictions on the playoffs yet? NFC seeds will be the Vikings and Saints (10-0 for the first time ever!), with Cowboys (unfortunately) and Cardinals winning their divisions. Wildcards are anyone's guess, but I'm going for the Packers and Falcons.

Yeah that is by no means a safe bet. We´re almost in December now...so cue Romo starting to suck.

[T4E]

Great win for Denver last night. Superb on defense and the line protected Orton very well indeed.

The Giants have problems.

[ABBEY]

Watched this morning.....10/10!!!!!!!!!!

[RibbleValleyRover]

I was supporting the Broncos the other night due to the wildcard race . Looking at our run in there's a great chance of the Packers getting the wildcard, if results go to form.

[Rovermatt]

Great win for Denver last night. Superb on defense and the line protected Orton very well indeed.

The Giants have problems.

Agreed. They've simply collapsed since the 5-0 start and Thursday night's debacle was further evidence that changes are needed. Big changes. I'd be very much in favour of Gilbride and Sheridan getting the boot from their respective co-ordinator positions. The frequency with which opposition receivers are running wild through the secondary is astonishing. The Giants have two of the best DEs in the NFL in Tuck and Umenyiora but those guys can't pressure the QB on every play. And the offensive play-calling is just as bad.

[RibbleValleyRover]

My prediction:

NFC

Saints

Vikings

Cowboys

Cardinals

Wildcards

Packers

Eagles

AFC

Colts

Pats

Chargers

Bengals

Wildcards

Broncos

Steelers

[modes98]

I'd be very much in favour of Gilbride and Sheridan getting the boot from their respective co-ordinator positions.

The frequency with which opposition receivers are running wild through the secondary is astonishing.

The Giants have two of the best DEs in the NFL in Tuck and Umenyiora but those guys can't pressure the QB on every play. And the offensive play-calling is just as bad.

All for it! Neither of them seem to have a clue what they are doing or are even willing to change things up.

Every play you knopw that whether it is a run or a pass they will get positive yards and come 3rd down, if it goes that far, they will pull a long play out.

Osi hasn't been doing that bad but Tuck has vanished considering the level he used to be at.

Impressed with the options developing at WR but they are really to young and inexperienced to have stuck everything on this season. I think we'll end up even but it has been a poor year. We need a new MLB in the draft, Spikes(this year) or McClain(next year). Also we are testing a highly rated kicker to replace Tynes and/or Feagles, long over due.

Jacobs has really dropped off as well. Gilbride is running him out wide everytime, when everyone knows Jacobs does most damage running down the middle and buidling up the speed. I just hope this is our "rebuilding" year.

[sleepyjack]

[Rovermatt]

All for it! Neither of them seem to have a clue what they are doing or are even willing to change things up.

Every play you knopw that whether it is a run or a pass they will get positive yards and come 3rd down, if it goes that far, they will pull a long play out.

Osi hasn't been doing that bad but Tuck has vanished considering the level he used to be at.

Impressed with the options developing at WR but they are really to young and inexperienced to have stuck everything on this season. I think we'll end up even but it has been a poor year. We need a new MLB in the draft, Spikes(this year) or McClain(next year). Also we are testing a highly rated kicker to replace Tynes and/or Feagles, long over due.

Jacobs has really dropped off as well. Gilbride is running him out wide everytime, when everyone knows Jacobs does most damage running down the middle and buidling up the speed. I just hope this is our "rebuilding" year.

Good blog post here by Superfan who contributes to the Giants site.

[sleepyjack]

Since nobody other than me wants to hear more praise of Drew Brees' (statistically) greatest quarterback performance in modern times, I figured I'd have a look at the Giants, too. My housemate is a Giants season ticket holder so I've been paying a lot of attention to them, as well as going to a preseason game against the Panthers and the recent game against the Chargers.

First of all there seems to be a huge confidence problem. After the beatings by the Saints and Eagles, the team has become a shell of itself. Not the dominant playoff bound run-first Giants of last year. They seem over reliant on Eli to get them a lead. 60% of plays in the last six games have been passing plays. In 2008, they passed 49% of the time. They have just six rushing plays for 20 or more yards. Last season they had 24.

The reason for the drop off might be that the O-line isn't helping out with the run. David Diehl and Rich Hedgecock are blocking awfully on the left side, which I thought was Brandon Jacob's favoured route. So it's even harder for Jacobs to try to wear defenses down. Jacobs doesn't have any 100-yard games, but at this point a year ago he had four 100-yard rushing games and 11 touchdowns.

For the Cowboys game Danny Ware will be out and Ahmad Bradshaw is hurting so Jacobs should get more than the 12 carries per game he's averaged since you were 5-0. Hopefully the plays called are for runs between the tackles, where he's dominant.

On the other side of the ball, I think Osi is your biggest problem. He can't defend the run, and at this point in his career only a so-so pass rusher. The Broncos ran 31 times against the Giants and he came up with zero tackles. You should throw Mathias Kiwanuka in, and use Jonathan Goff to replace Antonio Pierce. Giants fans over here and the NFL Network can't stop talking about what a prospect Goff is, but he's not being used.

I honestly think the Giants only need a few small changes to see big improvements. Problem is, with the Cowboys, Eagles and Vikings still to come, it seems to be too late.

[Rovermatt]

As Osi is my favourite player, I have to disagree. The guy still has plenty left in him, however the last time he played a full season Michael Strahan was on the other side. He's still weaning himself back from a major injury and his performances have not been that bad this year. I'm not entirely sure Osi is there to defend against the run though. Tuck is the bigger DE obviously but Umenyiora's speed and ability mean that he is there almost for the sole purpose of getting at the QB.

The problems are not at the line. It is the secondary where the Giants are having most problems. The pass defense in the last month or so has been embarrassing and I'm really not confident about their chances of stopping that slippery @#/? Romo from finding the likes of Austin, Crayton and Williams on Sunday. The Dallas meeting is the biggest game of the season thus far.

[T4E]

Broncos consolidated that win over the Giants with a comfortable expect victory against KC. 8-4 now and, looking at the games left this season, I would expect to finish 10-6 at best. That will be good enough for a wild card spot, and a 10-6 record with the schedule we had this season would be fantastic.

[American]

I was expecting 8 wins, so anything else is a bonus. Great with the Ravens losing, as they have the tie-breaker against us. Should be able to beat KC and the Grayders again, so 10 should be doable.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Packers still in the hunt for a wildcard after a ugly win against the Bears. I can see us surprising some teams in the playoffs, very doubtful we can go all the way with so many question marks hanging over the team. I can tell you this though, if we can sort our o-line and special teams in the off season then I can see us being a major force in the NFL. Rodgers has shown how good a quarterback he is and there is potential there.

BTW Charles Woodson, if he isn't a serious contender for DPOTY then the award is a joke. the guy has been immense all season for the pack.

I wish i had stayed up and watched the Eagles-Giants game, by the looks of it, it was cracker.(well from a neutral viewpoint anyway).