So, what have we learned (the 'it's been a while' edition)

Joe Public

Joe Public

Gabibbo's Finest
Today was really my first even close to day back in the game after a good 11 weeks of not seeing any football and, quite honestly, I sucked out loud.

1-5, though there was a small ML parlay in there. But yow.

I didn't see every game, even a majority of them, that probably won't actually happen until at least next weekend (when I may be in Vegas) or certainly the week after when I get back home to the Ticket.

But I did see some things, some of which might be already all to obvious to many of you.

First, this f**king Colts team is begging to lose. Begging. I didn't play Pittsburgh last week, but probably would have and I'd have had my lunch money taken. But this team is going to drop a game very, very soon, hopefully there will be some value in going the other way.

Second, please let Chicago play a team with a good passing game next week so I can bet against them.

KC sucks and I bet them.

Cincy sucks and my Eagles couldn't beat them. And goddammit, if f**king Donovan doesn't stop smiling when he, personally, has turned the ball over four times in a game and he has to jog off the field after another failed third down conversion, my head is going to pop off.

I knew I should have hopped on that Denver train today. I just felt that wouldn't be playing it as safe as I should have been. Good call to those who had the balls for it.

I was stupid to play the over in the night game tonight, this was the second meeting between these teams, outside, in the cold, with Tony Romo just getting back and the Skins having a good secondary. That was just stupid.

Apparently the Jags suck. This one I even could have tried to middle at half via the iPhone, but laid off based on my s**tty morning and the thought of, 'they're up by double digits for crying out loud, it should be fine.' Ugh.

I thought Tennessee was begging to lose a game last week, that played into that bet, and maybe the letdown happens next week, but now I feel like I'm betting on the come rather than capping the game on the board.

Laid off SF, probably shouldn't have, laid off the over in Seattle which I'm glad about because I saw that 48.5 and went 'too high.' That no-play is really almost as good as a win, honestly.

Somehow both Gus Ferrotte and Kerry Collins are starters in this league on good teams. Somehow Ryan Fitzpatrick clawed out a tie with the Eagles.

What almost happened to Charger bettors today could have been the single worst beat since 30 years ago today when Giants ML bettors took and entire fist up their *ss thanks to Herm Edwards and perhaps the greatest play in Eagle history.

Somebody list me out four teams in each conference who can:
a. run the ball
b. win on the road
c. stop the run

Give me those and those will be the teams you bet the rest of the way.

The Raiders are miserable, the Lions are scouting WRs in the draft, and motherf**ker, the Browns need a break tomorrow night.

That is just a small bit of what I saw today, you?
 
I learned the Ravens are one of those teams who can beat the shitty teams, and lose to the good ones.

Check out the wins: Cincy, Clev, Mia, Oak, Clev, Hou

Check out the losses: Pitt, Tenny, Indy, and NYG

I also finally learned that Kerry Collins is legit. I keep waiting for him to fuck up and he keeps proving me wrong. He had a great 2H and threw 2 nice passes to Justin Gage. You couple Collins throws with that good running game, then throw in a great defense, and an excellent kicker, and you got yourself a team.
 
Come on Sammy black , white , green or yellow who cares ....

I learned that I do so much better on the 1 PM games then the 4 pm slate because I just put so much more effort into then. Add primetime games into the does well on list.

1PM: Balt played alot better then the scoreboard but whatever went wrong did so in a big way . Also I mean who really thought Balt was going to win this game ? It was set up just like the COlts game in a sense because it was a terrible spot . I said that in the overnight get together thread and think it was plain as day . Balt playing 3rd straight away off 2 wins and 5th away in 6 weeks . They have rallied to beat CLe in the 4th Q and beat Miami . They were 2-3 pt dogs in those games and while they were undervalued by a FG in each this is the SB Champs !! NYG and Tenny are the 2 best teams . Every week they play well . Only bad game for NYG was @ CLE and people were willing to lay nearly -10 with NY that game ....so really Balt winning would have been a tremendous upset given the situation. Also believe OL Willie Anderson was out and Mason to his credit played with a dislocated shoulder ...

Down in TB it was just typical TB football . They really struggled containing AP early and once they got some momentum Minny barely had the ball. Only 9 minutes the entire 2nd H and 5 minutes the final 18 minutes . Just nothing to say IMO..

Oakland again was the same team. They made a few more plays when they had momentum and tend to do so when teams allow them to hang around . Miami again like vs Seattle was about to widen the lead and had a turnover . last week Pennington threw a pick 6 and this week Ronnie Brown fumbled in the red zone or near it . Miami Special teams isnt so special as Higgins had a 93 yd punt return....

Not much to say in KC. NO made the plays in teh 2nd H and thats why they won. They settled for 3 FGs and have a huge issue IMO in punching th eball in the end zone. They get the big plays but otherwise they seem to struggle and settle for FGS from what I have seen. KC played fairly well again. They moved the ball well in the 2nd H but 1st time settled for a FG after having 1st and goal inside the 5 , then a TD , then a drive which stalled around the NO 40 where they punted and that was really it . They had the ball around 3 minutes left and Thigpen was INT on 4th down losing by 10pts.....nothing really to take from this other then KC continues to play better .....

Colt game was close . I had Houston all over the place but feel lucky they covered because Indy punted 1 x and scored on every possession in the 2nd H . they had 3 TDs and settled for a FG near the Houston 10 yd line late . The 1st H had 6 scoring possessions in 8 but with 5 FGs . Indy just dominanted the ball and the Texan defense is officially terrrible IMO. Also Sanders was deactivated before game time so dont get cray about Slaton;s big day......

GB needed a win after some tough losses and lets face they are better then CHI. Also CHI has owned GB . Orton tried to gut it out here and the Bears defense has been struggling for weeks. At this point Chi is truly a 500 team nothing more .....AJ Hawk seemed to do well @ MLB...

Just a terrible game by the Philly offense @ Cincy they barely manged a 1st down in OT . Credit Cincy for playing with heart but two killer missed FGs byGraham....

Det gave another solid effort and Car did enough to win . they ran and ran all over DET . Delhomme and the passing game just not in sync probably has something to do with the OL and lack of targets minus Steve Smith. Det actually moved the ball fairly well ...

Suprising 2nd H @ ATL. I thought the game would be close but suprised at how it played out . Denver just kept the ball out of DEns hands and the key play was the Ryan INT on the 2nd H drive. Obviously killed a drive but came after DEN opened the 2nd H with a long TD drive so the momentum was killer . Plus the ATL defense wore down some ....

Didnt look at the other games much .

For next week .....

Think Cincy @ Pitt is a tough matchup with both teams of long and tiring games . I wonder what CIncy will have left . I know people will look to play the bengals but Steelers or pass IMO .....bengals played 5 QUARTERS and kinda heartbreaking not to win in then have to travel while Pitt was home...

No way I take TB laying 9 pts . Think DET might get win NUMERO UNO .......!!

Tough games : Philly @ Balt , Minny @ Jax , Car @ ATL

Depending on NE's health have to look at them STRONGLY IMO !!

Denver playing well but sign me up for OAKLAND +10 ....

SD needs a win and has always played INDY tough so lean them at home...

probably lean GB but prefer the UNDER 53.

two most interesting games that are lined just might be NYG @ ARIZONA and Jets @ Titans ........lean both dogs .......:cheers:















 
Sammy Meatballs Jr., how you doing are you Sammy's son?

---Hey whatever happened to that Swedish Meatballs dude? I haven't seen him around here lately. Must be Todd Palin's agent....and things aren't going well for Todd right now. I think he just got deactivated. Swedes if you need to pay your debts get back in here we'll keep you away from the bookies.

However,------ Sammy, Sammy Jr. and Swedish Meatballs, no klu klux clan get togethers in here.
 
New Orleans, Denver, I think these are teams you have to know how to "time". Early in the season they were overvalued. Now everybody coming into this week was starting to see, hey, these guys are frauds. And so the points became very attractive.

On the other hand, these games were "urgent" as can be for Denver and NO. As bad as they were looking could it get any worse?

Kansas City is a bad team. I think we needed 10 there even though it was against a crap fraud in Denver, and it was certainly possible KC could cover, ---but by the rule, you do not rely on a really bad team like that without double digits. No matter the circumstance.

----I think Atlanta is a much better team than KC and really made some more sense to take them. But at the same time Denver is quite a bit worse defensively then NO in my opinion. Brees is a star, New Orleans has a history of playing good back against the wall and they were in a dome, so even though away in a dome. Albeit NO didn't play good back to wall LW after a bye. I don't think ATL was a terrible pick all in all, they had been great at home, but maybe one of those things were ATL had been covering big every game at home and with NO looking bad it was too easy.

-----Jacksonville against Tenny. Playing a team because "tenny is due for a loss" is not a good angle. Jacksonville hasn't shown anything all year.



All in All I think that's what I come away. Teams this time in the season are what they have shown to be. NO and Denver had shown to be wildly inconstent, sometimes showing pretty solid efforts "team" wise. Pretty consistently bad defensively, but when offense is clicking good enough to stay in any game and win a few. So that is why I think they are pretty un-safe bets in general in any game they play. Reason they can look so awful though is because their offense can't click everygame, it is inconsistent. BUT when it does, it is dynamic, keeps defense off field, and keeps them in every game. So you never know what you will get from those two teams. Jacksonville had been consistently bad, Tenny had been consistently good. So then that merits a play right? Jax didn't ever show they had any offense to surprise like NO and DEN.

What else, Miami had shown to be what they had been all season, a team that can't blow ppl out. New England was first time implementing wild cat. Indianapolis showed what they had been all season, a team that fails to blow ppl out as well and a team that HAS to win close games. Tony Dungy was commenting on this before NE to Madden, they have to play like NE used to play, keep it close and hope to pull it out in the 4th. --CHI had shown to be what they were all season -- struggle vs. pass. Remember Brian Griese 400++ ?? And then Kerry Collins. Pack were desperate and they can pass. Baltimore had shown vs. Indianapolis vs. a passing offense they can be vulnerable. I am wondering on Balts, I am not sure how good they are yet. I think they are a matchup team.

run the ball
win on road
stop the run

These are very good points. NFL is not like college---both teams are going to come to play every week ---therefore, all we have to do is find the better team. AND at this point in the season, we already know the answer. The body of work is there for us to see. The key is seeing the inconsistencies, the teams like NO and DEN, they can fuck with you. I also think those teams are streaky, they can get hot and cold. Gotta know how to time them. I would only play them ONE way, and that is against them, but you have to be selective in doing that.

SportsNut and Sammy mentioned consistency in a post earlier. That's what the NFL is. Defense, run the ball.

I am a little surprised by Philly because they have proven to be a pretty consistent team. -----So this was a hard situation. We are talking about forecasting "bad play" in a team that has been consistently solid. But I think it's possible if you are really detailed. Donovan last Monday we should of saw it coming. Defense played about as well as they had all year vs. Cincy but hard to cap McNabb throwing 4 picks unless you saw his mechanics and footwork start to decline Monday night ---- and I think they were.

Dallas started out so hot and then they went in the crapper. This is hard stuff to cap. Dallas had showed weakness on defense though early in the season, I thought that Green Bay win was awfully impressive though.

I just know now we have a body of work, a solid sample size.
 
How the fuck was Alex Smith drafted #1??

Think about that f'r sitting back living the life for being a piece of shit.
 
This is the reason these guys all struggle because their decision making is too slow, JT Osullivan is guitly of that- Alex SMith also, and most young QB's---- BIG BEN is also very guilty of that also but he is also 6'8 and 400 pounds of muscle and cannot be sacked--

I think Big Ben is the worst qb in the NFL against the blitz. Not only his decision making, but his big body takes a long time to wind up. He can be pretty sloppy in his footwork and has trouble alot of times with that body of his.

I am starting to think he is overrated. He wasn't that impressive in the super bowl run. He had a crap last year for Cowher throwing picks. He is throwing picks this year.

Leftwich looked like the better qb when he is in there. Now he has a much better release and decision making and IMO should be in the game when Pitts plays Batlimore and some of these blitzing natzi's.

BUT, Leftwich is inconsistent too. That's why he is out of Jax. QUARTERBACK POSITION is a very inconsistent position. It is very interesting, it really is. Donovan is having trouble now but he is top 3 qb when he is on. Eli Manning last year before their super bowl run looked like a sloppy player. Romo at times I think is overrated, he is very sloppy in his movements, the way he brings the ball back, holds it lightly, hence so many un-forced fumbles. Kurt Warner looked like Garbage for awhile. A-lot of these qb's are sloppy and that gets them in trouble. Warner was playing laissez fair back there like Romo, they are real loose in their shoulders. Vinney Testaverde holds the ball the same way.

---Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer similar. These guys can't anticipate?? are you kidding me. They are super bowl qb's. Why has their play diminished? Systems, and qb position is so damn fickle. So damn fickle.

Peyton Manning looks like shit from time to time forcing the issue. Brett Favre looks like crap many a times. Palmer, Hasselback, all have been on and off. JEff Garcis looked like God in Philly. A streaky position. I mean shit Maddux in Pitt from Arena, Shaun King had a few good years, qb's are more like RUNNING BACKS Alot of ppl can come in and do a good job, but only few can remain staples in one place and be centerpieces. QB is HARDEST position in football to evaluate.

----There is less difference in qb's in this leage than ppl realize. The kid in NE is proving that right now. I just think the bottom line is getting someone in the right system that does not turn the ball over.

----Big Ben is the most overrated qb in my opinion.

----Drew Brees is the best qb in the league. Him or Peyton. Bree's don't turn it over at all.

----That's what I like from Jason Campbell, he doesn't turn the ball over.
 
Well, if there's one thing I know about, even if I haven't watched a lot of football lately, it's the Eagles.

The Eagles begin and end with Brian Westbrook. Very few people believe this is true, but it's a fact. If you hold down Westbrook, you will almost certainly win the game. Not so much because Donovan is a bad QB--though he does have his days--but because the Eagles refuse to bring in another WR that you have to double team. This consistently leaves second tier WRs fighting man coverage and Donovan under pressure from some sort of blitz.

This means he's forced to put passes in tight spots and make reads as quick as anybody. That's why, when he's on he looks like the best QB in the game and when he's off he looks like he did yesterday, four turnovers, balls in the dirt, etc. It's also why the Eagles are such a great screen team. First because Westbrook is so talented (in vision and ability), but also because it's how they use all that extra pressure you can send against you.

Remember the one year the Eagles had TO and suddenly teams were forced to back off a bit, double TO, give Donovan more time and play more zone, he f**king ran it up. Because if you left TO singled up, he'd beat you, and if you doubled him up, Westbrook could come out of the backfield on a linebacker and go for 25 a shot.

I would agree with the quick decisions angle. I think that's obviously the only reason you see guys like Collins and Ferrotte still getting the playing time they do. They're not mobile, they don't have the strongest arms (any more), but like Dilfer at the end of his career, they could manage a game and make enough good decisions to warrant them keeping their job.

In a related note, these are the guys I tend to have the most trouble 'capping. I look at them and think, 'Kerry Collins? Are you kidding?' And then the whole rest of the team steps up and makes me look like a moron--or worse, he marches them down the field like he's f**king Joe Montana.

Teams with decent QBs I feel I can 'cap better because, as O is saying, at least there's a consistency there. For example, if I go and bet on Gus Ferrotte and the guy puts up three picks on the day I kick myself for trusting him with my money. But if I go bet on Tom Brady and he does that I know that it wasn't meant to be on that day because the guy so rarely does that.

In a related note, and I'm sorry I didn't say this before the game, but that spot with the Eagles yesterday is one you would never lay that number with. They may have even covered, but that's one of those classic spots for them where they throw in a clunker. Frankly, if that game would have been at home they might have even lost it.

Something about non-conference games against bad teams, those AFC teams just give them fits, mostly because they decide they can mail it in.
 
Something tells me this league is going to catch up to Matt Ryan. Mostly history, but I just feel it.

Remember how great Big Ben was in his rookie season? Then he came back to the pack. I'm not saying the guy might turn into a horrible QB, but he's kind of having a Derek Anderson season this year, hopefully for his sake, he's no Derek Anderson.
 
Joe Public said:
Well, if there's one thing I know about, even if I haven't watched a lot of football lately, it's the Eagles.

The Eagles begin and end with Brian Westbrook. Very few people believe this is true, but it's a fact. If you hold down Westbrook, you will almost certainly win the game.
Click to expand...

The problem is the person whos holding down Westbrook is Andy Reid.

The Eagles had 18 third downs yesterday and threw on EVERY SINGLE ONE of them. Needless to say, they only converted 3 of them...

They threw the ball 58 times. They ran the ball 15 times. In a game that was played in fairly strong winds. Against a team with one of the worst rush defenses in the NFL.

Also, when you have 4th and 1 with 1:40 left in overtime on your own 30 and your playing the Cincinatti Fucking Bengals, you go for it. You need to win the game. A tie is as good as a fucking loss. He gave up.

Unfuckingbeliveable. And dont even get me into the fact that the quarterback didnt know the game could end in a tie!?!? He even said after the game that hed hate to see what would happen if the Super Bowl or a playoff game ended that way. You have to be kidding me. Wheres that covers emoticon of the guy ramming his head into the brick wall when you need it??

I done with this team until theres a new coach and a new QB. Ive never been a huge fan of Reid and have thought he needed to go for a while now, but I was a Donnovan guy for a long time...yesterday sealed his fate with me. Im done.
 
The thing that makes me sick is theyre so clearly setting up McNabb for the fall

Then theyre gonna bring in Kolb and Reid is gonna get 2 or 3 years to groom him because hes fucking Luries wife or something...

I need an AFC team...any suggestions?
 
There were two decisions yesterday that were somewhat controversial by Andy, both of which I reluctantly agreed with. That said, I thought he called a horrible game. Or he and Marty called a horrible game, whatever.

I thought the one where he chose to kick the tying FG was the right call and I thought the punt when they were basically in their own redzone was the right call.

Neither had a lot of balls, but I thought they were right and, sadly, a tie is better than a loss. Not much, but a little.

The larger point, however, Smoke is absolutely right on, and that is Andy's continued belief that you can win, outside, in the cold, or wherever the hell you are, by throwing the ball 50 times a game and going away from someone like Brian Westbrook.

It is unbelievable.

I saw TJ Houshmanhoweveryouspellit coming off the field yesterday screaming that he was open and he needed to be getting the ball and all I could think was, if Westbrook wasn't such a team guy, that would be him.

Andy basically lost that game before they ever took the field with that game plan. If he didn't lose it then, he ended up losing it by not recognizing Donovan wasn't having a good day and adjusting accordingly.
 
I need an AFC team...any suggestions?

The Cleveland Football Browns.

Lots of room on that bandwagon. I can get you a nice cushy seat, too, Joe knows people.
 
And I agree with you, they're totally setting Donovan up for the fall, but what they're doing is creating a situation like Griese had in Denver after Elway left. Elway made the people around him better. Donovan, like it or not, makes guys like Reggie Brown and Jason Avant better.

So now if they run Donovan out of town you'll see the passing game drop off, at least in the short term, and it all fall back on Westbrook--which will end up in us wasting the best years of B-West's career.
 
I agree Joe. This was a game that went into OT, all 5 quarters, and to let Westbrook only have 14 rushes is bullshit. Remember this is a Bengal defense that hasn't stopped anybody this year. Reid seems to have fallen in love with the pass again. He holding that team down.
 
Andy Reid, in his day after news conference just was asked why they didnt run the ball more against the woeful Bengals rush defense.

His answer: we werent successful with the run in the first half....

In the first half, Brian Westbrook has FOUR FUCKING CARRIES FOR SIX FUCKING YARDS. How the fuck do you know if you can run the ball successfully when youve tried to run the ball FOUR FUCKING TIMES

I hate Andy Reid more than Ive hated any of my teams coaches in my history of sports fandom...and that includes Rich Kotite....yep...Andy Reid is lower on my shitlist than RICH FUCKING KOTITE
 
Joe Public said:
Somebody list me out four teams in each conference who can:
a. run the ball
b. win on the road
c. stop the run
Don't know about winning on the road, but here are some teams that can run and stop the run.

AFC
Tennessee Titans (7th in NFL rush ypg, 10th in NFL in rush defense)

Baltimore Ravens (3rd in NFL rush ypg, 3rd in NFL in rush defense)

New York Jets (9th in NFL rush ypg, 4th in NFL in rush defense)

NFC
New York Giants (1st in NFL in rush ypg, 8th in NFL in rush defense)

Minnesota Vikings (4th in NFL in rush ypg, 2nd in NFL in rush defense)

Washington Redskins (5th in NFL in rush ypg, 5th in NFL in rush defense)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Good post, Orange.

I look at that list and fear two teams above all else. I fear the Jets and the Giants. Because both--and I'm surprised I am saying this--have QBs that know how to win in the playoffs.

Add that to a team that can run and stop the run, and you've got something.

I think Minny is a threat, because that run game is so good. Same with that run defense, but Gus worries me. Not as much as a rookie Joe Flacco does, though.

I'm surprised not to see some other teams in that list. But that's a very good starter list, particularly as we head down the stretch here. Great post.
 
Andy Reid has NO confidence at all. The game has passed him by. He stands on the sidelines and is in good favorable 3rd and short situations, and he has no faith in the running game.

Andy Reid cannot make ingame adjustments at all he just cannot do it. He panicks in tight games.

yesterday was not surprising as we may have had 2 of the worst coaches playing each other, thats whythe game ended in a tie, because both teams were so bad offensively-

Eagles have a good D, that is saving Reids ass, can you imagine if REID coached Detroit or the Bengals? They would never win a game.
 
You certainly see how far Reid takes that team when Westbrook's out. They're beyond one dimensional and it's open season on McNabb.
 
Joe Public said:
Good post, Orange.

I look at that list and fear two teams above all else. I fear the Jets and the Giants. Because both--and I'm surprised I am saying this--have QBs that know how to win in the playoffs.

Add that to a team that can run and stop the run, and you've got something.

I think Minny is a threat, because that run game is so good. Same with that run defense, but Gus worries me. Not as much as a rookie Joe Flacco does, though.

I'm surprised not to see some other teams in that list. But that's a very good starter list, particularly as we head down the stretch here. Great post.
Click to expand...

I really believe you have to throw Collins in with Eli and Favre as QB's that can win you a playoff game right now. Collins is playing really well right now. Frerotte is playing horrible, so I count out the Vikings. Campbell and Flacco have both been decent, but I don't know if I can trust Flacco yet. I like Campbell.
 
I don't trust Campbell vs. a playoff defense.

I would trust Collins at this point, though you just know that guy's going to implode at some point.
 
Joe Public said:
Something tells me this league is going to catch up to Matt Ryan. Mostly history, but I just feel it.

Remember how great Big Ben was in his rookie season? Then he came back to the pack. I'm not saying the guy might turn into a horrible QB, but he's kind of having a Derek Anderson season this year, hopefully for his sake, he's no Derek Anderson.
Click to expand...

Big Ben wasn't great in his rookie season. He was playing the part of Kerry Collins in the first half of this season. He would pass 10-15 times per game, but aside from that, the Steelers had an incredible O-line and run-game.

The biggest and best thing he did that season was make <strike>a</strike> THE tackle during a fumble return.

You may be right about Ryan, but it sure appears to me that he's doing great regardless of who he plays. They've lost a few, but who doesn't? They HAVE won, even on the road, against Green Bay, and they beat Chicago. So it's not like they've only played cupcakes like Detroit and Oakland. They're 6-4 (4-1 home, 2-3 away) in what is arguably the toughest division in football (of course, the argument would be from the NFC East). They spanked and shut out the raiders, as well they should, but they actually did it. Ryan has over 2100yds (league avg is half that) with 11tds and 6 picks.

He's doing well. Don't do him the disservice of comparing him to Ben.
 
Joe Public said:
Something tells me this league is going to catch up to Matt Ryan. Mostly history, but I just feel it.

Remember how great Big Ben was in his rookie season? Then he came back to the pack. I'm not saying the guy might turn into a horrible QB, but he's kind of having a Derek Anderson season this year, hopefully for his sake, he's no Derek Anderson.
Click to expand...


Matt Ryan and ATL success all due to SCHEDULE . It seriously couldnt be any easier . What was their tough game ?
 
SportsNut said:
Matt Ryan and ATL success all due to SCHEDULE . It seriously couldnt be any easier . What was their tough game ?
Click to expand...

They won @GB, but besides that they have lost all their tough games. Lost at Tampa, at Carolina, and at Philly. In the NFL though every game is tough imo unless its a bottom 4 or 5 team in the league (which is 3 of their wins). Still think Ryan is going to be an absolute stud. I loved him in college and love his demeanor, smarts, along with his arm now. This was a terrible football team last year and I know that have a new coach and Turner, but I believe Ryan is the main reason for the success.
 
They had somewhat tough games . Thats sort of my point though his biggest tests were Philly , TB and Car which he played fairly well in all of them. I wasnt knocking him or ATL just the hype has gotten way ahead of the product IMO . They beat a bunch of terrible teams. The win @ GB almost shouldnt count as a good win because GB was without a bunch of key defensive players and it was the 1st game Aaron Rodgers played with the shoulder issue.

I am not knocking Matt Ryan as I also think he is fine but the reason ATL has done fairly well is the weak schedule they played . They havent faced many good defenses and dont think they cracked 14 when they did. they are headed in the right direction for sure but 2008 IMO is attributed to playing Oak , Det , KC ,etc.

In the end ATP I do agree Ryan has made alot of big throws when he needed to and ATL being able to run the ball has taken the pressure off him . Still he has to make throws when called upon and for the most part has done that . I just see ATL possibly being in a CLE type situation where perception gets ahead of them creating some expectations . They probably havent even played 1 road game in 1 of the top 10-12 toughest places to win yet IMO and in a given year you might have 3 or 4 of those ....

:shake:
 
SportsNut said:
two most interesting games that are lined just might be NYG @ ARIZONA and Jets @ Titans ........lean both dogs .......:cheers:
Click to expand...

Possible NFC & AFC Championship Previews. Hope the pub hits the favs and drives the lines up. I too like both dogs in these matchups. Decent spot for both IMO - should be close games either way.
 
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