2011 NFL thread - a jackspain celebration

[Woods Of Ypres]

good on you YFE, im sure you will have a blast and a story to tell

[OEP]

You lucky so-and-so YFE Hope you have an awesome time over there and maybe if your lucky you might be able to snag an autograph or two.

[Yarra Falls End]

Thanks guys, just finished packing ( no pun intended ).

Going on a package through packerfantours.com

Includes accommodation,game tickets,tailgate party and the player autograph cocktail reception

Will fleetingly meet Mason Crosby,Nick Collins and John Kuhn this weekend and have the photo/autograph oppurtunity.Will try and ask Crosby if he remembers Chris Bryan

Should get the chance to post from somewhere while I'm over there and keep you updated.Read that the Packers are having another share release and just waiting the OK from the NFL.Shares are reportedly going to be $US250.Might come back home as a part owner

Keep well guys .

[Pies4shaw]

Well most of the round 10 games are done - although the Pack and the Vikes don't play until Monday night in Wisconsin (and we're all awaiting YFE's report - live on the spot from Lambeau Field - on that one) and one of the big games of the round, Patriots v Presti#1's Jets, is the Sunday night game. Personally, I don't think the Vikes can trouble the Packers but it will be interesting to see whether the Green Bay defensive line can hold out Adrian Peterson and whether Clay Matthews can lay a sack this week - the Packers' pash rush has fallen away a little this season and Rivers almost made them pay last game. Whatever happens, there's a good chance that the Pack will score more than Australia did in the second innings last week against South Africa. The Patriots and the Jets is probably too close for me to make a sensible call but it's always hard to pick against a team with Brady at QB.

Elsewhere, things have changed quickly in the NFL - Pittsburgh (one of my fancies for the SB) were third in the AFC North after last week's loss but they are back on top after knocking off the Bengals 24:17 and an unexpected Ravens' loss to the Seahawks.

And in the biggest game of the round, so far, OEP's 49ers went to 8 and 1 with a 27:20 win over the Giants at Candlestick Park. But the unthinkable has happened for San Fancisco, with Gore hurting his knee after coming in with a sore ankle: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/9392 ... nee-injury . Hopefully there's enough time for him to get his body right before the play-offs. Smith was good today at QB - very solid and only 1 interception thrown, so the 49ers still look to me to be improving.

Meanwhile, the Rams are on what passes for a roll down their way (now with 2 wins for the season after beating Cleveland 13:12), Drew Brees continued New Orleans on their merry way with 7 wins from 10 (albeit the 'Aints required overtime to sneak away with the points this week 26:23 over the Falcons), San Diego lost (again) in the Thursday game and it looks like the wheels have fallen off Rivers' bandwagon, wheels are also falling off in Buffalo (the Bills lost 7:44 to Dallas) and Philadelphia (Eagles fell away in the last quarter again for a 17:21 loss to the Cardinals), Indianapolis are now 0 and 10 for the first time since 1997, Tebow completed 2 passes for a total of 8 yards (!!!) but the Broncos still beat the Chiefs 17:10, Sav's Redskins are officially gearing up for 2012 after being drowned by the Dolphins 20:9, the Texans moved to 7 and 3 with a comprehensive 37:9 thrashing of Tampa Bay, the Titans thumped the Panthers 30:3 and Chicago put Detroit back in its place 37:13 (at least Stafford won't die wondering - he threw 63 passes, 33 of which he completed).

Only 7 more regular season rounds before the play-offs, so things are starting to get interesting.

[OEP]

Well most of the round 10 games are done - although the Pack and the Vikes don't play until Monday night in Wisconsin (and we're all awaiting YFE's report - live on the spot from Lambeau Field - on that one) and one of the big games of the round, Patriots v Presti#1's Jets, is the Sunday night game. Personally, I don't think the Vikes can trouble the Packers but it will be interesting to see whether the Green Bay defensive line can hold out Adrian Peterson and whether Clay Matthews can lay a sack this week - the Packers' pash rush has fallen away a little this season and Rivers almost made them pay last game. Whatever happens, there's a good chance that the Pack will score more than Australia did in the second innings last week against South Africa. The Patriots and the Jets is probably too close for me to make a sensible call but it's always hard to pick against a team with Brady at QB.

Elsewhere, things have changed quickly in the NFL - Pittsburgh (one of my fancies for the SB) were third in the AFC North after last week's loss but they are back on top after knocking off the Bengals 24:17 and an unexpected Ravens' loss to the Seahawks.

And in the biggest game of the round, so far, OEP's 49ers went to 8 and 1 with a 27:20 win over the Giants at Candlestick Park. But the unthinkable has happened for San Fancisco, with Gore hurting his knee after coming in with a sore ankle: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/9392 ... nee-injury . Hopefully there's enough time for him to get his body right before the play-offs. Smith was good today at QB - very solid and only 1 interception thrown, so the 49ers still look to me to be improving.

Meanwhile, the Rams are on what passes for a roll down their way (now with 2 wins for the season after beating Cleveland 13:12), Drew Brees continued New Orleans on their merry way with 7 wins from 10 (albeit the 'Aints required overtime to sneak away with the points this week 26:23 over the Falcons), San Diego lost (again) in the Thursday game and it looks like the wheels have fallen off Rivers' bandwagon, wheels are also falling off in Buffalo (the Bills lost 7:44 to Dallas) and Philadelphia (Eagles fell away in the last quarter again for a 17:21 loss to the Cardinals), Indianapolis are now 0 and 10 for the first time since 1997, Tebow completed 2 passes for a total of 8 yards (!!!) but the Broncos still beat the Chiefs 17:10, Sav's Redskins are officially gearing up for 2012 after being drowned by the Dolphins 20:9, the Texans moved to 7 and 3 with a comprehensive 37:9 thrashing of Tampa Bay, the Titans thumped the Panthers 30:3 and Chicago put Detroit back in its place 37:13 (at least Stafford won't die wondering - he threw 63 passes, 33 of which he completed).

Only 7 more regular season rounds before the play-offs, so things are starting to get interesting.

Yeah the big fella is hurt but not down for the count, thank God

His backup Kendall Hunter (taken pick 118) is a rookie with a lot of potential. From what I've read He's a very good open field runner and can quickly find the open hole and accelerate into it, seems to be able to make significant gains (6+ yards a carry) on every run and can find the end zone. His down side, at the moment, is that he's still undersized for the NFL and as such can't push the pile in congested situations or run over the bigger players. All-in-all not a bad short term backup but due to the lack of size he won't last long as an every down RB before it takes a toll on his body.

Wouldn't be surprised to see the 9ers sit Gore for the next 3 maybe 4 games (Cards, Ravens, Rams and Cards again), 2 of those teams are in the bottom rankings for defense (Cards and Rams) while the other is ranked 3rd and has a bruising run defense that the 9ers may not want to risk an injured Gore against. That still gives him 3 weeks to find form with one of those games against the Steeler's run defense which will run him into form very quickly.

As a 9er fan I gotta say I'm bloody excited about not only this season but the future as well. Got a great list, still not sold on Smith though but he's starting to win me over, and a great coach. The future looks bright for once

[Yarra Falls End]

In Toronto at the moment and flying back to GB tomorrow am for the Bucs game.
Too much to try and write now but will do when I return to Melbourne.

Just like to introduce you to new friends John,Nick and Mason.

http://packerfantours.com/photo_gallery ... 8.jpg.html

[Pies4shaw]

In Toronto at the moment and flying back to GB tomorrow am for the Bucs game.
Too much to try and write now but will do when I return to Melbourne.

Just like to introduce you to new friends John,Nick and Mason.

http://packerfantours.com/photo_gallery ... 8.jpg.html

Good to hear from you, YFE. I guess we get to meet your new friend Aaron, too, soon?

I'm observing a self-imposed moratorium on post-match reports on Green Bay, pending your full report of your exploits - it's nearly killing me Were you able to keep Adrian Peterson out of the end zone? In the meantime, I'm watching old 49ers SB victories and giving myself nightmares about what could happen in January if Alex Smith finally turns into the reincarnation of number 16.

Hope the trip is proving to be everything you hoped it would be. Last Monday night must have been fantastic!

[Pies4shaw]

Just watched the Thursday night game between the Jets and the Broncos. Little to say about this one, except that the Jets still need a new offensive line and that I did not enjoy watching this game. It was a great advertisement for using a digital video recorder and a lot of fast-forwarding!

Seriously, the Jets got a TD because their running back fumbled the ball on a 2 yard run, whereupon the pigskin bobbled forward and the left-guard fell on it across the line.

That piece of good fortune looked like it was going to win the game for the Jets until Sanchez threw an interception at about his own 20yd line and the Broncos ran it back for a TD and then Tebow, whose main passing strategy seems (to this humble observer) to be to throw the ball away over the side-line, accidentally completed a pass (whilst apparently trying to throw the ball away) for good yardage and a critical 1st down with about 2 minutes to go in the 4th. The fact that Tebow completed a pass in such ridiculous circumstances on a crunch play caused either extreme confusion or extreme mirth in the Jets' defensive line - whichever it was, they then all ran to the right side of the offense and let the 240lb QB run in a 20 yard TD to the left with about 58 seconds on the clock. True to form, the Jets' offensive line then failed to protect Sanchez at all as he tried to bring the ball down-field and had to toss a hail mary with 7 seconds to go. Thus, the Broncos won a comedy of errors by 4 points.

Seriously, if that is what the Broncos bring to the NFL, the NFL needs to think about reducing the competition to 31 teams.

Not that I don't like to watch a good, hard defensive line at work - but the Ravens, the Steelers and the 49ers, eg, are all capable of making an entertaining offensive play, as well.

If this is what grid-iron used to look like before West Coast Offense was invented, then those of us who like to see the odd pass actually reach its target all have a lot to be thankful to Bill Walsh and the 49ers for.

[OEP]

Just watched the Thursday night game between the Jets and the Broncos. Little to say about this one, except that the Jets still need a new offensive line and that I did not enjoy watching this game. It was a great advertisement for using a digital video recorder and a lot of fast-forwarding!

Seriously, the Jets got a TD because their running back fumbled the ball on a 2 yard run, whereupon the pigskin bobbled forward and the left-guard fell on it across the line.

That piece of good fortune looked like it was going to win the game for the Jets until Sanchez threw an interception at about his own 20yd line and the Broncos ran it back for a TD and then Tebow, whose main passing strategy seems (to this humble observer) to be to throw the ball away over the side-line, accidentally completed a pass (whilst apparently trying to throw the ball away) for good yardage and a critical 1st down with about 2 minutes to go in the 4th. The fact that Tebow completed a pass in such ridiculous circumstances on a crunch play caused either extreme confusion or extreme mirth in the Jets' defensive line - whichever it was, they then all ran to the right side of the offense and let the 240lb QB run in a 20 yard TD to the left with about 58 seconds on the clock. True to form, the Jets' offensive line then failed to protect Sanchez at all as he tried to bring the ball down-field and had to toss a hail mary with 7 seconds to go. Thus, the Broncos won a comedy of errors by 4 points.

Seriously, if that is what the Broncos bring to the NFL, the NFL needs to think about reducing the competition to 31 teams.

Not that I don't like to watch a good, hard defensive line at work - but the Ravens, the Steelers and the 49ers, eg, are all capable of making an entertaining offensive play, as well.

If this is what grid-iron used to look like before West Coast Offense was invented, then those of us who like to see the odd pass actually reach its target all have a lot to be thankful to Bill Walsh and the 49ers for.

Yeah Tebow (or as I've nick named him - "bad throw") has a really long throwing action which in the NFL means death for a QB because it gives the pass rushers to much time to reach the QB, plus it makes it easy for the CB and Safeties to read the pass. Tebow's main strength at the moment is his running power but to date he hasn't really been tested physically by a defense when he puts his head down and takes on the tackler. Could you imagine if he did that to the likes of Ray Lewis, the doctors wouldn't being talking in terms of weeks for his return they'd be talking in terms of years.

Against the weaker teams he'll have some success but against the stronger teams he'll flounder. I really can't see him coming anywhere near being a quality 1st string QB even with extensive training, his throwing action and accuracy are just dreadful.

[Pies4shaw]

I don't think, eg, Montana, Bradshaw, Favre, Ken Anderson or Tom Brady are losing much sleep just yet worrying about Tebow chasing down their records. John Elway seems unnecessarily excited, though - I know he's on the Broncos' management but it's just a question of good taste, IMO.

[Yarra Falls End]

I'm assuming the Packers TB game wasn't shown live in Australia this morning.

It is 9 20 pm here at ther moment and I have dragged myself away from the bar and the NYG-Eagles game.

A brief summary is we won, Mathstay punted more times today than he has all season, No 12 threw an interception and Crosby missed a 29 yard FG attempt.And I have never been so cold in my life as during the game. Monday night was a balmy summers night compared to todays 31 feels like 25 temperatures.That's about -1 to -5 C.No snow though.

Rodgers had an oridnary game by his standards yet threw 3 TD.TB total yards was 400+ against about 380.The defence seem to allow alot of short passing yards.Their RB also had a good game.We seem to struggle against the power RBs likePeterson. The press are making a bit of a deal how are we are playing 3 gamesin 11 days and I think the defence were saving themselves for Detroit.Remember Detroit were the last team to defeat GB some 17 games ago.

Highlights in the game for me were,Mathstays first punt were he baulked the rusher and then managed to fumble the ball across the line a la Vivian and his head in a famous Young One's episode and the TB receiver trying to hurdle a standing Packer defender on a 4th down play.

Time to leave GB in the morning and start heading home via Vancouver.P4S if you can,you need to visit Lambeau once in your life but I'll post more about that in the coming weeks.

[Pies4shaw]

I'm assuming the Packers TB game wasn't shown live in Australia this morning.

It is 9 20 pm here at ther moment and I have dragged myself away from the bar and the NYG-Eagles game.

A brief summary is we won, Mathstay punted more times today than he has all season, No 12 threw an interception and Crosby missed a 29 yard FG attempt.And I have never been so cold in my life as during the game. Monday night was a balmy summers night compared to todays 31 feels like 25 temperatures.That's about -1 to -5 C.No snow though.

Rodgers had an oridnary game by his standards yet threw 3 TD.TB total yards was 400+ against about 380.The defence seem to allow alot of short passing yards.Their RB also had a good game.We seem to struggle against the power RBs likePeterson. The press are making a bit of a deal how are we are playing 3 gamesin 11 days and I think the defence were saving themselves for Detroit.Remember Detroit were the last team to defeat GB some 17 games ago.

Highlights in the game for me were,Mathstays first punt were he baulked the rusher and then managed to fumble the ball across the line a la Vivian and his head in a famous Young One's episode and the TB receiver trying to hurdle a standing Packer defender on a 4th down play.

Time to leave GB in the morning and start heading home via Vancouver.P4S if you can,you need to visit Lambeau once in your life but I'll post more about that in the coming weeks.

Yes, please do.

Thanks for the match report. The Packers game was advertised last week in the program guide as being on One HD but they substituted it with something else. I've only seen highlights - I saw Raji fall over the line for his one-yard TD "run". I'm glad I wasn't under him when he landed!

So, A-Rod 31 has TDs for the year and possibly 9 more matches to go - he's certainly on track to break some records.

[matrightyeh]

anyone bet on nfl?

[blackmissionary]

Thanks for the match report. The Packers game was advertised last week in the program guide as being on One HD but they substituted it with something else.

Yeah, OneHD is seemingly set on abandoning the NFL. Last season's coevrage was good, three Sunday games and the Monday night game. Now on Monday our time it's usually four hours of NASCAR.

[Pies4shaw]

Thanks for the match report. The Packers game was advertised last week in the program guide as being on One HD but they substituted it with something else.

Yeah, OneHD is seemingly set on abandoning the NFL. Last season's coevrage was good, three Sunday games and the Monday night game. Now on Monday our time it's usually four hours of NASCAR.

This coming round, they have games advertised for Friday morning (Thanksgiving over there), including the Packers v the Lions live (at about 4.30am, I think - but check because I'm writing this from memory) and the 49ers game. So, if they don't change the scheduling, looks like we'll have a few games to watch before the weekend and then one on Monday (I don't think they are showing replays of other games Monday overnight this week).

The NASCAR coverage has been seriously in the way, though, over the last few weeks.