Packers go into Chicago and get a win (sound familiar?). Matt Forte gets 2 yards on 9 carries, Cutler throws two interceptions, and Jermichael Finley gets 3 TD’s. Sure they really missed Nick Collins, Clay Matthews didn’t get a sack, and special teams looked special (as in education), but a nice win nonetheless. Go Pack Go.
The Bears played like shit, but I’ll be damned, the offensive line pass protected pretty well. Cutler had happy feet nonetheless though and sailed some balls that should have been big gains. Shitty game all around, and if not for some horrible officiating we’d have still been right in it.
ETA: Also, Briggs and Urlacher were fucking awesome. They ought to go kick Mike Martz in the dick. A couple smacks to Cutler and Knox are deserved too.
good game by the Colts. It’s been a rough one so far this season and I was expecting to watch a blowout tonight, but I was pleasantly surprised. Nice game by the defense as well. They can walk with their heads high after this one.
One thing though, watching Painter throw really makes you miss Manning. They would’ve won this game easily. Tons of easy receptions that sailed or skipped to the receiver.
Detroit Lions 3-0?
Impossible! It’s like if someone found faster than light particles…
Oh.
Not just the AFC East - they’re the last unbeaten AFC team, and hence in sole possession of the AFC lead! :eek:
Cutler had 11 rushing yards on 3 carries (five and a half times the yardage with a third less carries) and Forte didn’t throw any interceptions. Are you sensing a position switch here?
My two cents is that the refs are tightening up on injury fouls - plays that would have been accepted as normal contact in the past is now getting tagged as penalties. Obviously, when a call like that is made against my team, it’s a clear case of referee bias because I’ve seen a hundred plays just like it that didn’t get called.
They are catching the balls before they are being thrown.
Briggs, in particular, was playing with his hair on fire. Yes, I actually feel badly for the Bears defenders who played their hearts out, but were let down by the offense.
(And, that crazy punt return at the end was brilliant.)
I’ve watched the video for that Bears punt return a few times now (missed it live). When the flag was thrown, only one Bears player was in physical contact with a Packer and it was the farthest thing from holding there ever was. The guy who was actually flagged, #21, was almost ten yards away from the nearest Packer. The contact he made could not possibly be interpreted as holding in any reasonable way. That’s the single worst call I’ve seen since Hasselbeck was flagged for a low block while trying to make a tackle in Super Bowl XL.
LeSean McCoy is good enough to be in the top three at RB in the entire NFL, if not #1 based on his overall skill set. But he screwed up that crucial 4th and 1 late in the game that shifted the momentum back to the Giants and it was pretty much all on him. He had gashed the Giants all day on cutbacks and tried it one too many times and couldn’t make the yard. If he doesn’t cut that back he scores a TD on that run. Perfect blocking set up in front and he got antsy. Can’t be the best in the league screwing up pivotal plays like that.
I suspect it’s a heisenberg-type thing. If we were able to observe his anguish, the Vikings would win and it would cease.
But it would be fun, eh?
I couldn’t believe they weren’t putting some runs in their final TD drive to eat up clock and can only assume they feared it might lead to a stall.
ETA: Quirky browser, deleted.
I’m not even talking about the injury calls. I’m talking about things like in the Saints/Bears game where the receiver clearly stepped out on the one yard line, but even after it was review the TD stood.
Because he is only 28 and has not had less than 1000 yards rushing since his rookie season? That does not even count his receiving yards. Injured he is averaging 13.8 yards so far this year and averaged 5.8 in yesterday’s loss. He even has help now with Williams taking reps. The real question is how Spags figures to get a winning record with no WRs and no CBs.
At least they have 7 guaranteed wins against the NFCW and the Bungles. Keep in mind the Rams are losing against good teams. The rest of the NFCW is struggling to get by crappy teams, including each other.
Actually 3-64, but that’s just a nitpick. Either way, you gotta wonder who’s putting tranks in their Gatorade at halftime.
Word. The Cardinals were awful yesterday - Kevin Kolb is giving me conniptions every time I see him drop back. The TD was a lucky heave and hope off his back foot and his internal clock is pretty far off, as he keeps getting sacked when he should have thrown the ball away if no one was open. Also, the Cards still can’t defend properly. It’s going to be a long season.
Unrelated question: how restrictive are the pads and helmets in terms of ability to see what is going on and ability to make a grab for a ball? I have followed the game for the best part of 20 years but have never played (as I am in the UK, opportunities were few and far between when I grew up) though I played rugby a lot and to a decent enough standard. There are comedy moments where people can’t catch a ball in games of rugby but the Antonio Cromartie muff this weekend would have been mopped up by the catcher very easily in a game of rugby, instead of being booted around - so I assume that it must actually be quite difficult to see/get yourself into the correct position to pick the ball up off the ground.
One thing that makes a surprising difference is that [American] footballs are extremely pointy, so they bounce quite unpredictably. Rugby balls, by comparison, are fairly easy to keep track of.
You could never kick a drop goal with an American football, for example- even if you hit it the moment it touched the ground it’d already be sideways.
When I played I remember my peripheral vision being dimished by the helmet. Sometimes you’ll see players looking for a loose ball when it seems like it should be obvious to see.
Pads didn’t seem to matter.