NFL 2016/2017

[dbdynsty25]

Scott....best "6 wins max" team, ever!

Biggest fluke 10 win team ever. Seriously, it's a freakin' miracle every week. Between the penalties and up and down units (as you mentioned), I have no idea how they've won 10. Makes zero sense to me.

[Rodster]

f*** that. I want the Bears to win as many games as possible. The draft is a crap shoot

The draft is a crap shoot. Look no further than Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott. In fact Jerry Jones was ready to move up to get Paxton Lynch. Now his team is 10-1 with a rookie QB and Romo is on the bench probably for good.

you don't start winning until you learn how to win.

Are you somehow related to Yogi Berra?

[Aristo]

To be fair, PK, the beginning of that game looked like the Raiders completely overlooked Buffalo. The offense was out of sync, the defense seemed to be clueless, and they did some prep for Kansas City already (with that game coming up on a Thursday).

But as they've done all season, Carr and Mack just will not let their respective units be sh*tty for an entire game. It's becoming the "norm", which is both sad and cool at the same time. Sad that they haven't played a complete game all season, but cool that they've done this enough that when they went down 24-9, I told my wife "the Raiders are still going to win this game. I have no idea how, because they look flat and sh*tty, but they're going to win this game"...and BELIEVE it. Not just hoping, but Carr has been masterful in the 4th quarter and overtime, which the media has well documented so I won't ramble about it here.

Oakland is a really, really good team. They are rarely good for 4 quarters, but their best stretch of 2-or-3-quarters will beat a lot of teams in the league, especially on offense. And the defense does JUST ENOUGH to force a game-changing turnover, week after week. People can see their stats and them being in the bottom third of the league, but on 3rd downs and on turnovers, they're very opportunistic.

Scott....best "6 wins max" team, ever!

I'm heading to KC for the game Thursday night. This one has "can't miss" written all over it. It's going to be a war.

[TCrouch]

Scott....best "6 wins max" team, ever!

Biggest fluke 10 win team ever. Seriously, it's a freakin' miracle every week. Between the penalties and up and down units (as you mentioned), I have no idea how they've won 10. Makes zero sense to me.

LOL a fluke would be 1 or 2 wins. But they just don't blink no matter what happens in the game, and offense plays for the defense and vice versa. Just such a complete team that can go into a game with a gameplan, and then when something goes wrong, have the weapons to adjust mid-game and find what works...then explode in a heartbeat for multiple scores.

And Carr is going to be the MVP, unless the stretch run exposes chinks in his armor. KC, SD, and Denver all on the road are going to be brutal games. All 3 could be losses, but I don't see how they will when the defense ALWAYS seems to find itself after halftime (in their current 6 game winning streak, no QB has had a 100.0 passer rating against them, as bad as their stats would appear to be). They're opportunistic, and Mack is just a freak of nature. He's now deciding to crank up the impact at the most important parts of the game.

That last sack, for example, he just sort of trotted in to the backfield like he was sleepwalking. The INSTANT that tackle dropped his heel and his weight was shifted, Mack exploded into him and bulled right through him for the sack/strip/fumble recovery to ice the game. He's just learning so many ways to affect the game..this coming a week after he beat a TRIPLE TEAM for the same sack/strip/fumble recovery to end the Carolina game. Just an unbelievable talent to watch, and he's still getting better.

It's not fluky when you have an MVP-level quarterback playing his best football and a game wrecking edge rusher who can defend the run as well as anybody (outside of looking completely lost on the Try-hard Taylor zone read yesterday).

It's OK, you can admit they're good without having to use the word "fluke" or "lucky" or anything, I promise

[dbdynsty25]

It's OK, you can admit they're good without having to use the word "fluke" or "lucky" or anything, I promise

I already said they were good, I just don't have any f*cking clue how they have 10 wins. No idea. I mean a few games in I knew my prediction of 6 was gonna get trounced, but I thought MAYBE they'd end with 9-10...not be there after 12 games.

[fletcher21]

Crabtree is playing lights out. I'd love to see him get a chance at a rematch with Sherman. Very doubtful, but nothing would please me more than seeing Sherman get exposed for a game winning td by the same guy he verbally destroyed when he was in San Fran

[10spro]

Crabtree is playing lights out. I'd love to see him get a chance at a rematch with Sherman. Very doubtful, but nothing would please me more than seeing Sherman get exposed for a game winning td by the same guy he verbally destroyed when he was in San Fran

It's football, you talk crap all the time. Threats and bullying are quite common where there's a lot of emotions among rivalries no matter which sport you watch.

Sherman doesn't t need the Crab to show him where they are respectably today. He missed an easy TD yesterday where he didn't need to jump.

#25 has been beaten badly a few times this season already by players that are not in Crabtrees' caliber.

Would teams continually try to expose him after being burned once or twice? Take your own risks.

The Seahawks' secondary lost a key man yesterday in thrashing Newton' Panthers. Earl Thomas left early in the game with a broken leg and tweeted later that he was hinting about retiring. Dude just came back yesterday from another injury and is only 28. He'll be back.

[pk500]

You better hope the Raiders get home field in the playoffs. No chance in hell Oakland goes to New England and gets a road win, especially with that bottom-four defense. The opportunism bubble bursts at some point, probably in sub-freezing weather against Belichick and Brady.

Let's look at Derek Carr's career numbers in two cold-weather road games in December:

2015: QB rating of 77 and 79
2014: QB rating of 64 and 59

Take the boy out of Oakland or Fresno, and he'll learn the temperature drops below 50 in December.

One other stat: Only one bottom-four defense like Oakland's has made it to the conference championship game in the last decade -- the Patriots in 2011.

I wouldn't mind seeing Oakland buck these trends. It's good for football to see the resurgence of traditional powers like the Raiders and Cowboys. But I think Oakland can evade the statistical odds for only so long.

[TCrouch]

Not going to have to wait long to find out...temps should be in the teens in KC in 3 days.

And you could look up all sorts of stats for Carr the first two seasons, and there's one thing that's consistent---the numbers go up from 2014, to 2015, and again another leap in 2016.

There's no way he's going to throw for 300 yards in the snow, but I wouldn't be so quick to discount him. The cold weather games have been against some of the best defenses in the league, too (KC and Denver), and squaring off against Aaron Rodgers in Lambeau last year...that's a tough out for a young QB. That will remain true this year.

When Oakland commits to the run, it is capable of playing January football in the cold. Whether they can DEFEND it, though....that's doubtful, and no way they can spot a playoff team 15 points and hope to come back. They still haven't shown anything yet...other than the fact that they're vastly better than past Raider teams. And I don't see anything from New England's defense that tells me that they're going to lock down the Oakland offense--UNLESS the offense completely implodes in the cold (and we'll know that for certain pretty quick here, as KC and Denver have much better defenses than NE does sans Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones).

That bar is so low, though, that it's not tough to be higher than that. I still think they're a year away from being a complete team, but this is definitely a good, entertaining team.

[pk500]

I like to see Oakland run. Latavius Murray went to high school about 10 miles from my front door, at a rural school that's in the smallest enrollment class in New York state. Great success story.

[Aristo]

It's time.

[TCrouch]

It's time.

Hell yes!

Wait, aren't you new to this rivalry?

Welcome to one of the best rivalries in professional sports. And, I officially hate you this week.

[Aristo]

No, I'm not new. My family moved to KC from St. Louis in 1982. I had seasons tickets for much of the Schottenheimer era.

In 1997, I saw Elvis Grbac hit Andre Rison for a game winning TD as time expired in Oakland for the Monday night game. I was with my brother, and we both just looked at each other and said we better leave. We weren't wearing red, as our ride refused to bring us if we did. BART was on strike. So we celebrated on the way out of the stadium by chanting "f*** Jeff George," who KC had tried to sign. He had a terrible game, and soon we had Raider fans chanting it with us.

I moved back to St. Louis in 1998, but I'm a Chiefs fan for life.

And it looks like I'm driving up for the game Thursday night! Gonna be be cold but awesome!

[Aristo]

And, I officially hate you this week.

[TCrouch]

No, I'm not new. My family moved to KC from St. Louis in 1982. I had seasons tickets for much of the Schottenheimer era.

In 1997, I saw Elvis Grbac hit Andre Rison for a game winning TD as time expired in Oakland for the Monday night game. I was with my brother, and we both just looked at each other and said we better leave. We weren't wearing red, as our ride refused to bring us if we did. BART was on strike. So we celebrated on the way out of the stadium by chanting "f*** Jeff George," who KC had tried to sign. He had a terrible game, and soon we had Raider fans chanting it with us.

I moved back to St. Louis in 1998, but I'm a Chiefs fan for life.

And it looks like I'm driving up for the game Thursday night! Gonna be be cold but awesome!

Ah, I thought you just switched from the Rams to Chefs. My bad!!!

You still suck.

And I still remember the feeling of that game, when I thought Oakland had it won. Screw you again for bringing it up.

[Danimal]

Chiefs are going to get their arse kicked.

[fletcher21]

This will be the first solid Thursday night game in a while. Last week was ok, but most Thursday games are blowouts or feature crap teams. I really hope it's a close game tonight. No skin in the game for me, but I'd like to see Oakland win. Janikowski deserves to win a sb. Dude is the biggest bad ass to ever kick in the nfl.
27-21 DAAAAA RAAAAAIIIIIDDDDDDAAAAASSSSS

[TCrouch]

I wish I was that confident. The weather will play a factor, and last time they met the Raiders inexplicably only tried rushing 17 times in an almost-never-happens monsoon in Oakland. The Chiefs only real weakness is their D-Line outside of Dontari Poe getting hurt and IR'd, and Latavius Murray is back for this one (over a 6.0 ypc average against KC), and he was missing in game 1.

The problem for the Raiders is traveling on a short week after a late game on Sunday, jumping 2 time zones, into a freezer, against a team every bit as good as they are. Unless they can pressure Alex Smith early and chew up yards on the ground with Murray, I don't see them looking as crisp and consistently great in offensive execution in this one. They're certainly CAPABLE, but it would have to be a level of effort like they mustered against Denver earlier in the season to pull it off. And Alex Smith is not Trevor Siemian. He will not make mistakes.

And there's this...Oakland is like top-10 against the pass outside the numbers. But in the middle of the field? Bottom 3 or 4 against opposing tight ends and slot receivers. And Travis Kelce is coming off a monster stretch. So yeah, there's that.

But unlike most seasons, I'm not just expecting them to get rolled. I think it will be close, and if it stays close, then Oakland could pull it out in the 4th quarter. I think it's a 50/50 tossup on this one, which makes the game that much better with so much at stake.

[fletcher21]

I like Oakland. When the Chiefs and Raiders meet in December, it's a tough guy game. Oakland is mentally tougher. If they can stop spencer ware and kelce, I think they win easily. Kc will get a late td but it won't be enough.

[TCrouch]

Oh, I agree. IF they stop Ware, Kelce, and don't let Maclin or Hill bust a big play, sure they'll win.

But that's a lot of big ifs. They're certainly capable of stopping them, but the Raiders haven't shown once all season that they're capable of stopping them for an entire game. They'll give up some big plays. But if the offense is even within sniffing distance as the game winds down, all bets are off.

[fletcher21]

Just put $50 on Oakland to win straight up. Carr to Crabtree and cooper? Murray trucking people? Jankowskifrom 50+? Let's go!!!

[TCrouch]

That's one area I think they definitely have an advantage. Peters will bite on double moves, and Gaines is a disaster attempting to cover Crab or Coop, whoever he draws on any given play. But the question is whether Carr will have time to get those throws off. They didn't have to face Houston in game 1, and they already had a miniscule amount of yards (fewer than 300).

They CAN win, and nothing would please me more than going to bed with a Raider win and knowing that they're 2 games up with 3 to play. Those names you mentioned will be a major factor in it. But man...the deck is stacked against them tonight. They can compete, but is this young team ready to really take that next step?

We're about to find out.

[fletcher21]

Derek carr has a lot of poise, and the Raiders have shown they never quit. As someone without a team, I like Oakland and Tampa Bay. I think it all comes down to ware tonight. Keep him below 100 yds from scrimmage and Oakland wins. He's the X factor more than kelce or anyone else on the kc offense.

[TCrouch]

Osemele out. That's massive. Ouch.

[XXXIV]

Chiefs Tyreek Hill is who the Rams thought Tavon Austin would be... Have not given up on Tavon but first time since Sayers says alot.

EDIT: WOW!