Week 17 Discussion Thread

[VirginiaCavs]

I assume the main discussion point will revolve around motivation.

Which teams still care about winning. While Bruce Arians' Cards seem to be playing hard to the finish this year as they did last year, the Giants look fade-worthy.

No odds out for Jags/Titans as the jury still seems out on the effort to be expected from Jags. I posted in my Titans rsw article that they gain nothing from winning and Prov1Colt I think is right to say that the Jags should rest their players and let Titans show their cards and come to Jax in the wildcard round.

Interesting the Panthers are underdogs at Atlanta with betting love on Atlanta bc they need it more. But wouldn't Carolina still gain by winning?

 

[VirginiaCavs]

My initial leans:

Tampa Bay +8

Carolina +4

Raiders +7.5

49ers +4

Colts -4

Broncos -3.5

Dolphins +3

Jags +7 (waiting for it)

49ers, Broncos ML Parlay

 

[B.A.R.]

Looking forward to the NBC Sunday Night Game.

 

[Zeke]

No doubt, wish they had that Sunday night matchup every week. By 8pm I'm usually footballed out, half shitfaced & ready for bed in anticipation of the 4:30 am alarm.

 

[Johnnyonthespot]

Bill obrien and all the other geniuses that run shotgun from 1/2 yard line and choose to throw challenging passes instead of running. Losers. Bill obrien is an overated fucking clown of jeff fisher mold.

 

[Johnnyonthespot]

Aikman brought it up earlier in the day saying biggest change from his days are modern day retards like obrien impressed with themselves running shotgun from up close. Fullback, wildcat, i dont give a fuck, but not not tj yates with a forced fades and traffic throws. He should be so fired, he sucks so bad.

 

[ProV1Colt]

But O'Brien is a QB wisperer Johnny
*eyes rolling*

 

[Marsski]

Let's play find the team that will quit. There's always a few that mail it in the last week.

My criteria:
1.Road team
2. Nothing to play for

So I throw out anyone with playoff possibilities or other reasons to play hard. In this case, I tossed Cleveland, Buffalo, Jax, Carolina, New Orleans, KC. Also, threw out Cincy because of Marvin Lewis last game...

Contenders:
Bears @ Viks
Cowboys @ Philly--just got eliminated from playoffs. but Zeke back in second game is he gonna lay down?
Packers @ DET--shut out last week but maybe that was good Viks D? I didn't see the game
Houston @ Indy showed signs of quitting vs Pitt??
Jets @ NE--maybe too much of a hated rivalry??
Skins @ NYG
Zona @ Sea
Oak @ Chargers
SF @ Rams

OK, so I got 9 on my list. Will be back later this week to discuss the options....thoughts welcome from those who watch these teams often

 

[KJ]

I would imagine QBs auditioning for jobs elsewhere will be giving max effort, backups, etc...defensive efforts for those above teams might suck

 

[Zeke]

Marski you should also factor in home teams with playoff seeds etched in stone. Vikings & Philly fit this so I wouldn't be too quick to back them.

 

[brewers888]

But O'Brien is a QB wisperer Johnny
*eyes rolling*

I have a bad feeling he will be whispering in the ear of Christian Hackenberg with the Jets next season.

 

[VirginiaCavs]

Doesn't oakland really wanna spoil things for rival chargers? They also played Eagles very tough

Jimmy g maybe auditioning to play in Jax, KJ?

Isn't Buffalo still in playoff contention? Miami final home game

Hundley's Packers are barely better than Browns

Bruce Arians' Cards played hard last year and seem to be doing so again this year

I think Houston looks like they've given up. Without leader both on offense and defense. Indy kept fighting vs Balty on the road and they had fought at home vs Denver as well

 

[brewers888]

There is a report that Arians is out with the Cardinals.

 

[brewers888]

Doesn't oakland really wanna spoil things for rival chargers? They also played Eagles very tough

Jimmy g maybe auditioning to play in Jax, KJ?

Isn't Buffalo still in playoff contention? Miami final home game

Hundley's Packers are barely better than Browns

Bruce Arians' Cards played hard last year and seem to be doing so again this year

I think Houston looks like they've given up. Without leader both on offense and defense. Indy kept fighting vs Balty on the road and they had fought at home vs Denver as well

Jimmy Garoppolo isnt auditioning for anyone at this point. The Niners are going to lock him up with a huge deal.

 

[VirginiaCavs]

Titans -6 vs Jax.

So we're taking an off-day it seems

 

[KJ]

I've heard that Arians is leaning towards retiring but it's not definitive

 

[VirginiaCavs]

Considering how poor the Titans have looked lately I feel like -6 may be an overreaction. Maybe oddsmakers want people to think Titans will win automatically, being at home and needing the win, by making the line so high. I feel like this happened with UNC vs Pitt. Jags backups will play hard and its not like no starter will see the field on defense.

Mariota's leg is probably bothering him secretely

 

[Marsski]

Doesn't oakland really wanna spoil things for rival chargers? They also played Eagles very tough

Jimmy g maybe auditioning to play in Jax, KJ?

Isn't Buffalo still in playoff contention? Miami final home game

Hundley's Packers are barely better than Browns

Bruce Arians' Cards played hard last year and seem to be doing so again this year

I think Houston looks like they've given up. Without leader both on offense and defense. Indy kept fighting vs Balty on the road and they had fought at home vs Denver as well

Good call on Buffalo. Im going to edit them out above...

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Bill obrien and all the other geniuses that run shotgun from 1/2 yard line and choose to throw challenging passes instead of running. Losers. Bill obrien is an overated fucking clown of jeff fisher mold.

Obrien is a total Jeff fisher. His biggest strength isn't on the field IT WAS LUCK TO BE COACHING WITH THE PATRIOTS!

Not a big fan of this guy either?

If I'm the owner I have one question to Bill obrien after the season?

What exactly were you watching in training camp that made you believe that Savage was a better option to start than Watson?

Hmmm???

Like for a so called qb genius I'm not buying that monnacker - he gets labelled a Qb genius by the same crew that loves Jeff Fisher. Lol. Inside old boys clubs pump these low caliber coaches up.

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Considering how poor the Titans have looked lately I feel like -6 may be an overreaction. Maybe oddsmakers want people to think Titans will win automatically, being at home and needing the win, by making the line so high. I feel like this happened with UNC vs Pitt. Jags backups will play hard and its not like no starter will see the field on defense.

Mariota's leg is probably bothering him secretely

I would normally side with a potential resting spot here except for 2 legit factors.

1- Jags already rested vs 49 ers. They laid down in that game. I don't see them laying down again, too much pride in their defense.

2- Mularkey and Mariotta are crap. Their defense is a joke.


I see the jags possibly winning outright ir a narrow victory.

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Speaking of teams I've noticed something-

I firmly believe if you lose a Super Bowl like Atlanta and Seattle did I think it's the best move to clean house and start fresh.

Once a team loses in that fashion they struggle mightily for the next 3-5 years.

Seattle window is over. They paid a lot of cash to the same guys who couldn't deliver the suierbowl.

Atkanta is done. Julio is getting old. Matt Ryan will be 35 before they can recover.

A better strategy is to release abd trade star players and start over with a new crew.

Once you lose like they did pretty much they aren't getting back to the big dance for 15-20 years.

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

With the pats getting back to back buklshit calls go their way for review is the league making the pats win it again by ensuring them home field.

Perhaps in terms of money if Brady wins numver 6 the league will make millions in videos history promos.

They need something to Maje the league look. Good and what better way to say look we have the best qb ever playing right now.

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Aikman brought it up earlier in the day saying biggest change from his days are modern day retards like obrien impressed with themselves running shotgun from up close. Fullback, wildcat, i dont give a fuck, but not not tj yates with a forced fades and traffic throws. He should be so fired, he sucks so bad.

The league needs young cats like Mcvay.

Not people like fisher or obrien?

If winning is all that matters then why are Obtien and fisher worshipped?

They don't win anything!

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Even Oakland offense coordinator is a Mcvay look a like. Mcvay 2.0.

He looks like mcvays twin.

Need younger skinnier guys calling plays not barrel chested ego maniacs like obrien and fisher. The gane has passed both obrien and fisher by.

The gane has passed Obruien so much that Bill Im stuck in the 1980's thought that Tom Savage was better than Deseab Watson.

 

[VirginiaCavs]

I would normally side with a potential resting spot here except for 2 legit factors.

1- Jags already rested vs 49 ers. They laid down in that game. I don't see them laying down again, too much pride in their defense.

2- Mularkey and Mariotta are crap. Their defense is a joke.


I see the jags possibly winning outright ir a narrow victory.

Jags didn't rest vs 49ers, they played like crap on the west coast like they always do.

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Jags didn't rest vs 49ers, they played like crap on the west coast like they always do.

After the Seattle win it was hard to focus. They were probably living off the Seattle win and didn't prepare for San Fran

 

[VirginiaCavs]

After the Seattle win it was hard to focus. They were probably living off the Seattle win and didn't prepare for San Fran

After beating Seattle we played Houston and destroyed them at home. That was to clinch the playoffs. We then sucked on the west coast like we did vs Arizona and like we always do.

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

After beating Seattle we played Houston and destroyed them at home. That was to clinch the playoffs. We then sucked on the west coast like we did vs Arizona and like we always do.

Time difference and west coast is an adjustment. Plus niners are getting better and they likely have the best qb in the league.

I think Garropolo might be the top qb in the game pretty fast.

 

[VirginiaCavs]

From ESPN: "The Jaguars have lost 9 straight games in the Pacific Time Zone by average of 19.8 points."

It's more than just an adjustment for the Jags, it's a real problem.

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Jags defense looks good though.

Looks like a pro bowl laden defense.

 

[Zeke]

Let's keep this in perspective. The Jags have THE lowest SOS in the entire league. Their SOV is less than impressive also. The fact that the choice of teams below them they will face in the first round is a joke is the only reason they may get a playoff W but I think it will be a struggle.

 

[mogo]

Pats signed James Harrison

 

[Zeke]

Just saw that on local news. Was he playing like shit in Pitt this year? Read he played very little.

 

[mogo]

Just saw that on local news. Was he playing like shit in Pitt this year? Read he played very little.

he didn't really play at all but with his history with the team would have preferred he go just about anywhere else

 

[VirginiaCavs]

Let's keep this in perspective. The Jags have THE lowest SOS in the entire league. Their SOV is less than impressive also. The fact that the choice of teams below them they will face in the first round is a joke is the only reason they may get a playoff W but I think it will be a struggle.

Agreed. But we can rock Pitt in a rematch and match up well with Pats with the pressure we can put on Brady

 

[rambler882]

Giants losing Collins and now the "cancer" talk I am not certain how this team cares. Redskins showed an effort last week and I assume they won't just lay down. The only angle I can think for the Giants in terms of motivation is "do it for Eli". But if the other team is equally motivated to win....and your team is quite a bit worse....Redskins -3 might be a play. Clearly heavily backed by public and is a road favorite but I think I might lock it in.

-3 at -115 on 5D
-3 at -135 on Bovada

 

[Gandolf]

Just saw that on local news. Was he playing like shit in Pitt this year? Read he played very little.

Liability in pass coverage as they've been rushing edge LBs less and using more CB blitzes. Should thrive with Hoodie as he'll have him moving forward most of the time. Still very strong vs. run.

 

[Gandolf]

One of the best features of this week is with 8 games for both Fox and CBS we get to go deep into the broadcast talent pool. Fox is surprisingly deep with announcers:

Carolina @ Atlanta - Joe Buck, Troy Aikman
Chicago @ Minnesota - Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay - Thom Brennaman, Chris Spielman
Dallas @ Philadelphia - Kenny Albert, Ronde Barber
Green Bay @ Detroit - Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth
Washington @ NY Giants - Sam Rosen, Matt Millen
Arizona @ Seattle - Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston
San Francisco @ LA Rams - Joe Davis, Brady Quinn

I'd say the top 7 are all pretty competent week to week.

CBS on the other hand, has only a handful of top tier talent:

NY Jets @ New England Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
Cincinnati @ Baltimore Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts
Oakland @ LA Chargers Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon
Jacksonville @ Tennessee Greg Gumbel, Trent Green

After that, the dropoff is noticeable:

Buffalo @ Miami Andrew Catalon, James Lofton
Houston @ Indianapolis Tom McCarthy, Steve Beuerlein, Steve Tasker
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta
Kansas City @ Denver Beth Mowins, Jay Feely

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Fox is the best.

Personal favourite is Charles Simms and his partner.

 

[Sammy Meatballs]

Joe buck is ok but reminds me too much of a husky strip bar DJ with his over the top style

 

[D-Woww]

Ugh Tom McCarthy does CBS games? He is the Phillies play by play guy and by all accounts he is a gem of a human being and people love him, but hearing him call a game is pretty painful.

 

[D-Woww]

In terms of the coaching talk, the fact that team would even entertain the concept of interviewing Fisher is beyond silly. Of course, that doesn't mean they wont.

Bill O Brien is my least favorite coach in the NFL. Even when they had Watson, they were losing games bc BOB is a conservative pussy. There is no worse attribute in a HC than being conservative and play not to lose, and that is BOB to a T. Not even joking, I would rather have Fisher, but that isn't a compliment to Fisher as much as it just shows how much I despise how BOB calls a game.

 

[VirginiaCavs]

Jags down to +3 or +3.5 all of a sudden what?

 

[Coverdatspred]

9 point swing in the Niners and Rams line since the open. The Rams are going to lie down.

 

[Alan Tongue]

https://sports.yahoo.com/week-17-ch...resting-starters-season-finale-230452121.html

 

[aplous]

Love Jimmy G and the 49ers this week. Talk about a team that is having fun and playing well. Rams not only resting Goff, Gurley, Donald but also would prefer to lose IMO and potentially visit Philly rather than Minny. Line has swung nearly 10 points but I think it is the correct move.

 

[aplous]

Niners -3 is a steal....Jimmy v. Sean Mannion...basically no home field edge

Others....Baltimore laying DD in a must win and they seem to struggle to put away shitty teams at home. Lean Bengals to hang around and make it interesting. Same thing with Arizona who looked great last week, comments from their guys suggest they'd love to knock Seattle out of the playoffs and get to 8-8.

I haven't been this excited for a Chiefs regular season game since week 1 at NE. Mahomes boner so strong. I don't think he'll go off as he'll be playing without weapons against a good D and I'm sure Andy will be vanilla, just excited to see him sling it.

 

[brewers888]

In terms of the coaching talk, the fact that team would even entertain the concept of interviewing Fisher is beyond silly. Of course, that doesn't mean they wont.

Bill O Brien is my least favorite coach in the NFL. Even when they had Watson, they were losing games bc BOB is a conservative pussy. There is no worse attribute in a HC than being conservative and play not to lose, and that is BOB to a T. Not even joking, I would rather have Fisher, but that isn't a compliment to Fisher as much as it just shows how much I despise how BOB calls a game.

I can't tell you how many arguments I have had with Jets fans who are jerking themselves off at the thought of O'Brien coaching the Jets next season. As much as I hate Todd Bowles I would rather throw away another season with him than hire O'Brien.

 

[gamblinjunkie]

Thoughts on a 4TT that pays 2:1
Bills +4.5
Denver +3.5
SF +3.5
Chargers -1

 

[C-MAN]

3/4 of those are teased across 0...could hit but not a fan of that strategy. Would rather have KC +10.5 (and prob Oak +15) personally.