The Official NFL 09-10 Season

Well we got away with one last night thanks to a stupid Bills player.

I did think Brady looked a little rusty to start the game, but soon, settled in and ended up going 39-55 12 each that went to Moss and Welker...regardless of how you get it, a wins a win. Were definetly going to have to get better, while the offense did a good job moving the ball, there just wasn't that finish, several times we got down to the 35-40 and couldn't convert.

Anyways, I'll take the win....

Could anyone possibly imagine what it must be like to be a Bills fan?
 
Rick Meyer said:
Well, I'm not voting the spread. But, I will submit my W-L record for the week.

Pittsburg
Miami
Baltimore
Philadelphia
Denver (what can I say? I’m an eternal optimist when it comes to the Broncos. I still can't believe that Orton is our Quarterback. GOD. Kill me. Besides, the Bengals stink)
Minnesota
NY Jets
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Dallas
Arizona
NY Giants
Seattle
Green Bay (again, optimist here. Ugh. Losing Cutler was just, ugh.)
New England

San Diego
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Hey, not bad:

Pittsburg W
Miami L
Baltimore W
Philadelphia W
Denver W
Minnesota W
NY Jets W
Indianapolis W
New Orleans W
Dallas W
Arizona L
NY Giants W
Seattle W
Green Bay W
New England W

San Diego W

I posted a 14-2 record this week. Week 2 is going to be much more difficult though.
 
    • 9/10 8:30 ET At Pittsburgh -5 Tennessee 35.5
    • 9/13 1:00 ET At Atlanta -4 Miami 42.5
    • 9/13 1:00 ET At Baltimore -8.5 Kansas City 38
    • 9/13 1:00 ET At Carolina -1 Philadelphia 44.5
    • 9/13 1:00 ET At Cincinnati -1.5 Denver 44.5 (Orton rips it up :))
    • 9/13 1:00 ET Minnesota -3 At Cleveland 39.5
    • 9/13 1:00 ET At Houston -4 NY Jets 43.5
    • 9/13 1:00 ET At Indianapolis -7 Jacksonville 44.5
    • 9/13 1:00 ET At New Orleans -11.5 Detroit 48.5
    • 9/13 1:00 ET Dallas -3 At Tampa Bay 41.5
    • 9/13 4:15 ET At Arizona -6.5 San Francisco 47
    • 9/13 4:15 ET At NY Giants -6 Washington 40
    • 9/13 4:15 ET At Seattle -7 St. Louis 43.5
    • 9/13 8:20 ET At Green Bay -3 Chicago 43.5
    Monday Night Football Betting Lines
    • 9/14 7:00 ET At New England -10 Buffalo 46.5
    • 9/14 10:15 ET San Diego -6.5 At Oakland 43.5
    Click to expand...
I went 10-6, not a great start.

Good work Rick.
 
Rick Meyer said:
I'm not sure why Gary Kubiak gets all this coaching credit. He hasn't really done anything. Thing is, as a lifelong Bronco fan, I can tell you that Shanahan taught Kubiak everything Kubiak knows. But, Shanahan didn't teach him everything Shanahan knows. You just can't teach the offensive "gift".
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I think that all this criticism of Kub's is coming way too soon... this team is still extremely young and building. I would give him at least one more season before ripping him up. Granted, Sunday's performance was less than stellar...

About Shanahan -
His firing personally affected me (my dad was the linebacker's coach for the broncos, and was let go in the clean house operation), so it's hard for me to look at it totally subjectively.... Yes, I think it was an absolute bonehead move. Mike Shanahan STILL is an offensive genius. However, in my own opinion, there may be more reasoning behind it than we think. Mike wasn't exactly the best manager of his money... we were still paying people like Travis Henry and Javon Walker - expensive players that were either flukes or were traded quickly. That could possibly be a factor, but nothing big enough to constitute a sporadic firing IMHO.

I'm not rooting for the Bronc's but I'm not rooting against them... I'm just following the places that Shanny could go - Washington and Dallas.
 
samrwamr said:
I think that all this criticism of Kub's is coming way too soon... this team is still extremely young and building. I would give him at least one more season before ripping him up. Granted, Sunday's performance was less than stellar...

About Shanahan -
His firing personally affected me (my dad was the linebacker's coach for the broncos, and was let go in the clean house operation), so it's hard for me to look at it totally subjectively.... Yes, I think it was an absolute bonehead move. Mike Shanahan STILL is an offensive genius. However, in my own opinion, there may be more reasoning behind it than we think. Mike wasn't exactly the best manager of his money... we were still paying people like Travis Henry and Javon Walker - expensive players that were either flukes or were traded quickly. That could possibly be a factor, but nothing big enough to constitute a sporadic firing IMHO.

I'm not rooting for the Bronc's but I'm not rooting against them... I'm just following the places that Shanny could go - Washington and Dallas.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong. I love Kubiak. To me he will always be remembered as a great Bronco; first as a capable backup to Elway and second as a right hand man to Shanahan who helped get us our Super Bowl wins. I just don't think that translates to Head Coaching success. I think it takes more than knowledge. It takes creativity and an almost zen-like understanding of the game. I'm just not sure he has either one of those. And, as Jerry Glanville once said, this is a Not For Long league. I would not give a coach more than 3 years to make the post season. He went 6-10 in his first year then 8-8 in 2007 and 8-8 in 2009. That's plenty of time to rise above mediocrity, if not just in their overall record but in one of the phases of the game. But, the Texans just haven't been anything but average in Offense, Defense or Special Teams. McDaniels only gets this season in my book because it was his choice to blow up the Offense. Had he not done that and ONLY tweaked the Defense, I might have given him two years before I'd be calling for his head.

You are probably right about Shanahan and his money matters. I hear there were other factors involved as well; Shanahan apparently stopped running decsions by Bowlen. No matter how comfortable you get in your job that is going to rub any boss the wrong way. Especially, if you haven't gotten to the playoffs in a few years.

Having said that, I think Bowlen would have been wise to push his ego to the side and sit Shanahan down and say "we need to bring in a money-guru-slash-GM and a guy who can help us bring back the Defense to at least an acceptable level." For those who think Shanny was getting stale I couldn't disagree more. All one needs to do is really look at his numbers and his Offensive stats; the man has not lost one touch. Sure, he struggled with the Defense. But, he doesn't have that creativity and zen-like-understanding of that side of the ball. So, when he coaches next year you will see the instantaneous change to Offense and the running game of whichever team he inherits. And, to shut up his critics, he will probably go with a 3-4 defensive minded coordinator from the get-go. Though, I don't think the 3-4 is better. It's just whats "in" right now. Even though its been around for decades. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he hires the newly fired Kubiak and Alex Gibbs to help install his Offense and Line, respectively.

Let's just hope he goes to Dallas or Washington. My big fear is that Norv Turner will lose his job this season (and he probably will) and Shanahan will be a Chargers coach.
 
Rick Meyer said:
Don't get me wrong. I love Kubiak. To me he will always be remembered as a great Bronco; first as a capable backup to Elway and second as a right hand man to Shanahan who helped get us our Super Bowl wins. I just don't think that translates to Head Coaching success. I think it takes more than knowledge. It takes creativity and an almost zen-like understanding of the game. I'm just not sure he has either one of those. And, as Jerry Glanville once said, this is a Not For Long league. I would not give a coach more than 3 years to make the post season. He went 6-10 in his first year then 8-8 in 2007 and 8-8 in 2009. That's plenty of time to rise above mediocrity, if not just in their overall record but in one of the phases of the game. But, the Texans just haven't been anything but average in Offense, Defense or Special Teams. McDaniels only gets this season in my book because it was his choice to blow up the Offense. Had he not done that and ONLY tweaked the Defense, I might have given him two years before I'd be calling for his head.

You are probably right about Shanahan and his money matters. I hear there were other factors involved as well; Shanahan apparently stopped running decsions by Bowlen. No matter how comfortable you get in your job that is going to rub any boss the wrong way. Especially, if you haven't gotten to the playoffs in a few years.

Having said that, I think Bowlen would have been wise to push his ego to the side and sit Shanahan down and say "we need to bring in a money-guru-slash-GM and a guy who can help us bring back the Defense to at least an acceptable level." For those who think Shanny was getting stale I couldn't disagree more. All one needs to do is really look at his numbers and his Offensive stats; the man has not lost one touch. Sure, he struggled with the Defense. But, he doesn't have that creativity and zen-like-understanding of that side of the ball. So, when he coaches next year you will see the instantaneous change to Offense and the running game of whichever team he inherits. And, to shut up his critics, he will probably go with a 3-4 defensive minded coordinator from the get-go. Though, I don't think the 3-4 is better. It's just whats "in" right now. Even though its been around for decades. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he hires the newly fired Kubiak and Alex Gibbs to help install his Offense and Line, respectively.

Let's just hope he goes to Dallas or Washington. My big fear is that Norv Turner will lose his job this season (and he probably will) and Shanahan will be a Chargers coach.
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I agree with you about Kubiak - to a certain extent. I believe Gary does have creativity and a profound understanding of the game. He may not be the most vocal leader or express his understanding the best, but I think he'll be a successful head coach nonetheless. Again, it may be difficult for me to be totally objective as he's been a great friend of ours since my dad played with him in the 80's - I can't help but take a strong pro-Kubiak stance haha.
I think their owner Bob McNair made an extremely stupid gaffe by saying this year in an interview that "Great coaches don't go 8-8". True, they don't. But that just fired up Gary's seat at the absolute wrong time. They are (were?) expected to be a playoff team this year - to go and put the ultimate pressure on your coach at a time like that is just dumb. Give him this season. (I'm talking to McNair, not you Rick haha) Remember Gary was viewed as a savior from Heaven above when he went down there... Massive billboards and full front page pictures. I think the team is still very much on the rise, although it may have taken much slower than we hoped or expected...

Anyways - we can't be totally sure that Bowlen didn't sit Shanahan down and tell him that he wanted to bring in a GM... for all we know that could be exactly what Bowlen said and Mike just wouldn't have that. The way it played out, I don't think Shanahan or Bowlen expected any firings to happen. Now, it's a shame that it went down like it did, especially because of the McDaniels/Cutler debacle that ensued, but when it comes down to it owners make the best decision they can for the benefit of the team, no matter how big of a name it is. Mike understands that and I don't think truly holds any resentment... Nonetheless I'm very excited to see where he ends up... and if it's San Diego I might just vomit.
 
Ryan Paige said:
Maybe it's a Houston team thing.

I recall Jeff Fisher's early tenure with the Oilers. Three straight 8-8 seasons (immediately followed by a Super Bowl appearance). Granted, his team moved to three different cities in that time, but still....

When you're rebuilding from a pretty low point in a pretty strong division, giving a guy an extra couple of years is not out of the question. Though if they keep playing like they did on Sunday, it's a good bet he won't last past the season.
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Yeah, I can honestly agree with you that a teams ownership is ridiculously important. Hence, the Patriots and the Steelers continual success vs. the Lions and Jets continual mediocrity.

I mean, they were 2-14 the year before Kubiak took over. So, he has made some strides. And, in true Shanahan disciple fashion has already showed a penchant for avoiding the cellar.

samrwamr said:
I agree with you about Kubiak - to a certain extent. I believe Gary does have creativity and a profound understanding of the game. He may not be the most vocal leader or express his understanding the best, but I think he'll be a successful head coach nonetheless. Again, it may be difficult for me to be totally objective as he's been a great friend of ours since my dad played with him in the 80's - I can't help but take a strong pro-Kubiak stance haha.
I think their owner Bob McNair made an extremely stupid gaffe by saying this year in an interview that "Great coaches don't go 8-8". True, they don't. But that just fired up Gary's seat at the absolute wrong time. They are (were?) expected to be a playoff team this year - to go and put the ultimate pressure on your coach at a time like that is just dumb. Give him this season. (I'm talking to McNair, not you Rick haha) Remember Gary was viewed as a savior from Heaven above when he went down there... Massive billboards and full front page pictures. I think the team is still very much on the rise, although it may have taken much slower than we hoped or expected...
Click to expand...


Well, obviously, I am a diehard Bronco fan and always have been since pre-Elway. So, I have a soft spot for Kubiak. He will always be associated with Denver and as long as it doesn't hurt Denver's chances I will be rooting for him personally, if not the team. I just think that much of the hoopla surrounding him could be directly linked to the success he had in Denver under Mike Shanahan. But it wasn't his Offense. It was Mike's. Hopefully, for his sake, he proves me wrong. I was just never convinced that he would be able to take what he learned from Shanny and make it his own. But you are right about the undue "comments" the Houston ownership made. That doesn't help. As a matter of fact, that speaks to ownership and their responsibility in helping to build a consistently competitve team. It could be why they haven't gotten over the hump. But, its only been 7 years. I just think that within 7 years, in this age of parity, good ownership should find 1 billion reasons to field a 9 win team, at bare minimum.

samrwamr said:
Anyways - we can't be totally sure that Bowlen didn't sit Shanahan down and tell him that he wanted to bring in a GM... for all we know that could be exactly what Bowlen said and Mike just wouldn't have that. The way it played out, I don't think Shanahan or Bowlen expected any firings to happen. Now, it's a shame that it went down like it did, especially because of the McDaniels/Cutler debacle that ensued, but when it comes down to it owners make the best decision they can for the benefit of the team, no matter how big of a name it is. Mike understands that and I don't think truly holds any resentment... Nonetheless I'm very excited to see where he ends up... and if it's San Diego I might just vomit.
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You could be right as to how the firing went down. No one knows for sure except the two of them. But, I have to tell you, I had a feeling it was going to happen. I thought it might happen last year. When it didn't and we didn't make the playoffs this year, I was in a bit of a panic. I began to breathe a sigh of relief when it didn't happen right away, then BOOM!, the axe fell. Obviously, I am a big fan of Mike Shanahan. I will just always show a tremendous amount of respect for the man who finally got the monkey off of Denver's back. But, you are right. Bowlen might have said, "bud, please, work with me" and Mike might have said "up yours".

Either way, like Kubiak, I will always have a soft spot for Mike Shanahan. I hope to GOD he does not end up in the AFC West next year. I'd like to be rooting for him to succeed, providing it doesn't hurt Denver's chances.
 
Alright this weeks picks....

Carolina at Atlanta
Minnesotaat Detroit
Cincinnati at Green Bay
Houston at Tennessee
Oakland at Kansas City
New England at NY Jets
New Orleans at Philadelphia
St. Louis at Washington
Arizonaat Jacksonville
Tampa Bay at Buffalo
Seattleat San Francisco
Pittsburghat Chicago (This should be a high scoring game, I bet both defenses put up more points than both their offenses do)
Baltimoreat San Diego
Cleveland at Denver
NY Giants at Dallas

Indianapolisat Miami

Mine are also in bold.
 
damn you JConners...SD is doomed? i know i know...Flacco Schmacco. Come on now. Home opener at the Q, the Chargers can't lose this one. Am i too hopeful for my own good?
 
damn you JConners...SD is doomed? i know i know...Flacco Schmacco. Come on now. Home opener at the Q, the Chargers can't lose this one. Am i too hopeful for my own good?
Click to expand...

Haha....I think its my hatred for the Chargers which makes me pick against them all the time.

Also, LT is out this week.
 
I actually don't think the Chargers will miss a beat without L.T. Not to take anything away from him. I just think that Sproles is good and having 1 talented back is enough. Having said that, I picked Baltimore.
 
Geez, who would have thought. Chiefs burned too many time outs in the first half, couldn't get a field goal off before halftime that would have tied the game. Damn

We are 0-2 now
 
The Broncos are faring better than I expected. Granted the Browns aren't a powerhouse, but Denver tied their second best defensive start in 50 years. They gained yards in the air and on the ground, and Orton is doing the one thing that no Bronco QB has done in awhile: making smart choices. It's still going to be a long season, but I like what I am seeing so far.


Oh, and GO JETS!
 
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