NFL Week 4

[brian]

I think most people are overreacting about the Pats. Short of a crazy rash of injuries they'll probably still get to about 10-6 which might well win that division by three games.

I'll be curious to see what the NFCN record against the AFCE is at the end of the season (It's 3-2 now, but that Buffalo win against Chicago looks like a real outlier at this point).

[EdRomero]

It's a combination of things, but it mostly just seems like the Pats got really old really quick. And where they are young they're not really especially very good. They'll probably win that division because even an old Brady is vastly better than the other QB options in the AFC East, but it's hard to believe they're going to do much in the playoffs.

But they aren't really that old, they are the 11th youngest team in the NFL.

I think the main problem is the OL and the play calling. OL isn't allowing Brady to go past the first read or two in his progression and so he's throwing almost exclusively to Edelman or Gronk. To counter this teams usually run a different set of plays that include screens, slants, etc. Seems McDaniels almost refuses to change from the plays that he designed years ago and he expects them to still work.

He also refuses to run against a team that sucks against the run but has two great pass rushers with terrific crowd noise go against terrible pass protection. And I'm sick of hearing that receivers need to earn Brady's trust. Ten years ago, Brady trusted Jermain Wiggins and JR Redmond.

As for the defensive coordinator, Revis looks lost and Chandler Jones suddenly forgot how to contain running backs. Did they suddenly become bad or is the coach fucking things up?

I think Andy Reid and Alex Smith deserve a lot of credit for last night, and, who knows, maybes KC becomes an offensive juggernaut.

[Ryan]

10-6 is actually disastrous enough around here to warrant this kind of reaction. They can't sniff the SB as constituted, or even if they get better but have to win a couple road games to get there, and anything less is a failure. YOU DONT EVEN KNOW.

[brian]

10-6 is actually disastrous enough around here to warrant this kind of reaction. They can't sniff the SB as constituted, or even if they get better but have to win a couple road games to get there, and anything less is a failure. YOU DONT EVEN KNOW.

I even wrote (and obviously deleted) they'd have to win two road games to make the Super Bowl which of course isn't happening. And unless Tom Brady discovers some fountain of youth I don't think their prospects are getting better any time soon. This is either the beginning or the middle of the end. But I'd kill to have those kinds of complaints.

[Rush2112]

As for the defensive coordinator, Revis looks lost and Chandler Jones suddenly forgot how to contain running backs. Did they suddenly become bad or is the coach fucking things up?

I think Andy Reid and Alex Smith deserve a lot of credit for last night, and, who knows, maybes KC becomes an offensive juggernaut.

They've been missing tackles but last night I noticed them slipping as they tried to cut back to make the tackle, etc. I wonder if the equipment was wrong for natural grass or something. Yes they played like shit but there were lots of plays that the Patriot player fell while trying to make that "football move."

[HaulCitgo]

I noticed that from a bunch of players. Hard to say whether that's equipment or the speed of the game for some guys. Ninkovich in particular seemed behind. Id say there was probably something to the shoes. Also agree about KC. That's a great place to watch a game and the night before the Royals had a fan base fired up that really doesn't need firing up for football. So at Miami and at KC aren't the worst losses in the world. Reasonable chance these guys step up and beat Cincinnati no matter how good they've looked and I do think they've been the best in the AFC so far. Ultimately, the D will come around and win them some games in the middle part of the season. Maybe Gronk will get his step back and committing to the run game would help the OL in pass protect and Brady with some play action to get the ball downfield.

[brian]

If they played in a real division they might have an issue but if they do worse than 4-2 against that dreck the Hoodie should be fired on the spot.

[Pruitt]

If they played in a real division they might have an issue but if they do worse than 4-2 against that dreck the Hoodie should be fired on the spot.

I will point out that technically the Bills are in first, and although their winning record was a decade ago, they have been so disappointing that their QB has been benched. THAT's how bad this division is.

[Johnnie]

Open speculation from 101 ESPN St. Louis that the Rams are back in LA next year. Chatter starts at 18 minutes.

[brian]

Open speculation from 101 ESPN St. Louis that the Rams are back in LA next year. Chatter starts at 18 minutes.

There goes my free seats for the Lions game vs. the Rams in St. Louis next year (though seeing the Lions in Los Angeles would be better (other than the fact the chances of getting stabbed in LA are much better).

[L-Jam3]

If they're still in St. Louis, you can get shot if you just go to the suburbs, put on blackface, and raise your hands.

[sancarlos]

If they're still in St. Louis, you can get shot if you just go to the suburbs, put on blackface, and raise your hands.

Hell, St. Louis proper is not exactly Mayberry, either.

[brian]

If they're still in St. Louis, you can get shot if you just go to the suburbs, put on blackface, and raise your hands.

Hell, St. Louis proper is not exactly Mayberry, either.

Say what you want about St. Louis, but I'd feel a fuckton safer walking around downtown STL in a Lions jersey for a Lions/Rams game than I would just about any other city (though that's probably more because no one in STL really cares about the Rams.)

[sancarlos]

Both LA and St. Louis are ambivalent about pro football, so if you get stabbed, it probably isn't over football, in either case. Of course, urban core areas can be dangerous in any major city. But, just reacting to your comment - without any handy stats to back this up - I feel safer in downtown LA than downtown St. Louis, and South Central LA is likely no scarier for a white suburbanite like me than is East St. Louis.

[brian]

Both LA and St. Louis are ambivalent about pro football, so if you get stabbed, it probably isn't over football, in either case. Of course, urban core areas can be dangerous in any major city. But, just reacting to your comment - without any handy stats to back this up - I feel safer in downtown LA than downtown St. Louis, and South Central LA is likely no scarier for a white suburbanite like me than is East St. Louis.

No, that's not my argument. You're 100 percent right. But if there's any crossover between the kinds of yahoos that go to Dodgers games and a potential NFL team, then my point is that getting stabbed for doing nothing is a non-zero possibility. (Though it's hard to imagine anyone in LA having that kind of passion for a team that they just got from St. Louis, granted).

[howard]

(Though it's hard to imagine anyone in LA having that kind of passion for a team that they just got from St. Louis, granted).

That passion is preserved for teams they just got from Oakland

[Sabo]

If they're still in St. Louis, you can get shot if you just go to the suburbs, put on blackface, and raise your hands.

Hell, St. Louis proper is not exactly Mayberry, either.

Say what you want about St. Louis, but I'd feel a fuckton safer walking around downtown STL in a Lions jersey for a Lions/Rams game than I would just about any other city (though that's probably more because no one in STL really cares about the Rams.)

Downtown St. Louis is still the only place where someone threatened to kill me.

Go Rams!

[brian]

If they're still in St. Louis, you can get shot if you just go to the suburbs, put on blackface, and raise your hands.

Hell, St. Louis proper is not exactly Mayberry, either.

Say what you want about St. Louis, but I'd feel a fuckton safer walking around downtown STL in a Lions jersey for a Lions/Rams game than I would just about any other city (though that's probably more because no one in STL really cares about the Rams.)

Downtown St. Louis is still the only place where someone threatened to kill me.

Go Rams!

I could swear I've seen dozens of people threaten to kill you.

[Ryan]

The ideal scenario is that the Chargers win the West, the Broncos come to New England for the divisional round, Peyton chokes, and Brady retires before they get shut out in Cincinnati.

The part about the Bengals going to the Super Bowl isn't really ideal, but I have very few other viable options.

Obviously amending this because San Diego is garbage