NFL 2012 Week 8 Thread

It's amazing how loud the Metrodome can get on a 3rd and short during a close game, and how deathly quiet it can get at the end of a blowout.

And Doug Martin is a stud.

Doug Martin: OROY? Gonna be RGIII or Luck isn't it?

Unless RGIII gets hurt, I don't think it's even a contest at this point.

DROY is a much more interesting conversation, with several candidates still in the running. I think Chandler Jones probably wins it at this point, but several players from young teams like Irvin from Seattle and Quinn from the Rams could take it as voters seem to love gaudy sack totals.

Falcons
Raiders
Lions
Patriots
Giants

Falcons at Eagles

Raiders at Chiefs

Seahawks at Lions

Patriots vs. Rams

Giants at Cowboys

Falcons
Raiders
Seahawks
Patriots
Giants

Falcons at Eagles: I'm really not sold on the Falcons as the best team in the NFL; they've had a number of close wins and haven't been entirely convincing. That being said, I'm really not sold on the Eagles. Vick has entered the phase where he no longer has enough mind-blowing athleticism to compensate for his subpar QB skills. Nick Foles, everybody!

Raiders at Chiefs: This has to be the worst game of the year, right? I mean, except for maybe Chiefs at Raiders?

Seahawks at Lions: Russell Wilson QB bandwagon derail or no, the Seahawks defense is legitimately good. They've also got those huge DBs which helps against Megatron.

Patriots vs. Rams: Just because.

Giants at Cowboys: Really hoping for a Dez Bryant blowup here. I need entertainment.

Edit: Just realized I picked all five road teams. That seems . . . dubious.

ESPN just informed me that Andy Reid is 13-0 coming off the bye week. Interesting statistic to consider for the Falcons-Eagles game.

Great, everyone is picking the Giants. They are gonna lose...

Falcons
Raiders
Seahawks
Patriots
Giants

Other random thoughts from last night's game:

- Tampa's offense utterly destroyed the Vikings when Doug Martin was on the field. Not only did he run through the tackles and pick up huge chunks, his presence put the defense on their heels and allowed Freeman to move the ball around. When LeGarrette Blount came in, everything stopped. Martin would get 10+ yards, go off for a rest, and in comes Blount, and he falls down after a yard. Martin has proverbial vision and patience; he gets the ball, moves slowly, waits for the hole, then explodes through it. Blount gets the ball and runs forward and, if there's no hole, he falls down. It was absolutely amazing the difference between the offense in general with either of those two on the field. I know D.J. Ware is the third-down back, but he should also be the "Martin is tired and we're not desperate enough for Blount" back.

- Christian Ponder is not a good QB right now. He's not even close, and everybody, including the Vikings' coaches, knows that. I'm pretty sure I saw two throws more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage all night. When the Vikings were down by three scores and trying to move down the field quickly in the 4th quarter, they ran two consecutive bubble screens to Harvin. Yeah, he's your playmaker, but you're throwing a zero-yard pass and hoping for a run rather than putting some air under the ball. The Vikings' receiving corps is not good, and the team just doesn't trust Ponder to get the ball down the field.

- The Metrodome is a disgusting sh*thole and I cannot wait for it to be blown up. It's ugly, the halls are so packed you can barely move, and the bathrooms are giant troughs that you have to wait 10 minutes to get into. I loathe that place.

- I don't care if he had three TDs, Freeman had a lousy game. He missed several wide-open WRs that would have been big plays. He turned it on in the 4th quarter when the Bucs had that ridiculous 16-play drive where they converted five third downs and he made a bunch of great throws (four of those third downs were six yards or longer), but he was really erratic early.

- Related to the above, Tampa's play calling sucked. Freeman was dinking and dunking rather than putting the ball deep against the Vikings' questionable secondary. Then, as the Bucs had the big lead, they kept running the same play over and over; shotgun handoff to Doug Martin right up the middle. They must have tried that ten times in the second half, and everybody knew it was coming. They weren't even trying stretch plays or power runs, just the same damn play. Very frustrating.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

When LeGarrette Blount came in, everything stopped.

Like I said in the top post, "Seriously, just leave LaGarrette Blount's ass on the bench."

Of course, I spelled his name wrong, but he's just that inconsequential.

Eagles
Chiefs
Seahawks
Patriots
Giants

Falcons
Raiders
Detroit
Patriots
Giants

*Legion* wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

When LeGarrette Blount came in, everything stopped.

Like I said in the top post, "Seriously, just leave LaGarrette Blount's ass on the bench."

Of course, I spelled his name wrong, but he's just that inconsequential.

You spelled his name in a feminine manner. This is the point where, were I a crude individual, I would point out your spelling seems quite symbolically correct.

Blount's always been limited, but he's been spectacularly awful the last few weeks.

Falcons at Eagles (Wait, who did I just pick?)

Raiders at Chiefs

Seahawks at Lions

Patriots vs. Rams

Giants at Cowboys

Kush's stat of the week: Andy Reid is (13-0) the week after a bye week.

Kush15 wrote:

Kush's stat of the week: Andy Reid is (13-0) the week after a bye week.

Filthy skimmer.

Kush15 wrote:

Falcons at Eagles (Wait, who did I just pick?)

Raiders at Chiefs

Seahawks at Lions

Patriots vs. Rams

Giants at Cowboys

Kush's stat of the week: Andy Reid is (13-0) the week after a bye week.

kaostheory's state of next week: Andy Reid is 13-1 the week after a bye week.

Chris Cooley wanted beer negotiated into his new Redskins contract

Chris Cooley tried to get some perks written into his contract when he re-signed with the Washington Redskins on Monday following the injury to starting tight end Fred Davis.

"Literally, I have text correspondence trying to negotiate a case of beer into my contract," he told the DC Sports Bog. "They wouldn't do it. I wanted it in writing so much."

The best line in the story:

Cooley's rejection by the Redskins marks the first time in recorded history that Daniel Snyder has said "no" in a player negotiation. Baby steps.

Baby steps? That is huge for Snyder. Cooley could have asked for beer in his contract and Snyder would have given him a Silver Bullet train. Or, in otherwords, a permanent tap into the Rockies.

Stele wrote:
Kush15 wrote:

Kush's stat of the week: Andy Reid is (13-0) the week after a bye week.

Filthy skimmer. ;)

Sh*t, so I am. I only read the 1st page.

*hanging head in shame*

Kush15 wrote:
Stele wrote:
Kush15 wrote:

Kush's stat of the week: Andy Reid is (13-0) the week after a bye week.

Filthy skimmer. ;)

Sh*t, so I am. I only read the 1st page.

*hanging head in shame*

Fletcher wrote:

Wear the Filthy Skimmer badge with honor. For we have all, at one time or another, been filthy skimmers. And it is our brotherly duty to remind each other, that although the path of the skimmer is quick, it is also treacherous.

Falcons at Eagles

Raiders at Chiefs

Seahawks at Lions

Patriots vs. Rams

Giants at Cowboys

Falcons at Eagles:
Raiders at Chiefs:
Seahawks at Lions:
Patriots vs. Rams (at Wembley):
Giants at Cowboys:

Falcons at Eagles

Raiders at Chiefs

Seahawks at Lions

Patriots vs Rams

Giants at Cowboys

Falcons
Raiders
Lions
Patriots
Giants

Falcons at Eagles

Raiders at Chiefs

Seahawks at Lions

Patriots vs. Rams

Giants at Cowboys

Still smarting from not taking the Bucs over Minny.

Anyways so this week the revised edition of which 'Coach is going to get canned!'

Garret dodged a bullet last week... Probably still in the running depending on the Giants game but I doubt a loss here in any fashion gets him fired. Unless its of such epic proportion and it becomes clear he has no clue what hes doing and the players have quit on him.

Cleveland assumption still remains that coach might be dead man walking but the axe is in the off season.

Norv Turner is probably on the bubble if they manage to lose to the Browns away but.... were not sure if anyone in the SD head office is actually alive to fire him.

KC assumption via Jayhawker is that they are too dysfunctional to fire Romeo.

Andy Reid gets the benefit of the doubt that hes to respected to get canned mid season and especially over a loss to 6-0 Atlanta. Loss this week and next week to N.O on Monday night and he would be neck deep in trouble at 3-5.

Chan Gailey can probably take a mulligan vs Texas but still hes sneakily been at Buffalo since 2010 so he could be in serious trouble later in the season. Honestly who even knew the Bill's coaches name.

and.... then we have Jim Schwartz. Loss to Seattle this week and its 2-5. Not sure what his job security is like but hes been there since 2009 and could be the scapegoat (actual cause) if the Lions flame out.

Assumptions I'm running with for the rest of the league is 1. Bellichik, Harbaugh(s) who would never get fired let alone mid season. 2. Coaches that are so new that they are being given a full season 3. Teams that actually don't have a coach? (Saints).

Btw I just wasted this many words thinking about this and there has been only 20 mid season firings from 2000-2011. So atleast we will get one? ;D

So, if the Rams win, do I get like three points for that game since I'm the only one to pick them?

Falcons
Raiders
Seahawks
Patriots
Giants

Eagles
Raiders
Lions
Patriots
Giants