🏈🏈 The Essential NFL Thread 🏈🏈 - new poll every week

[Hueristic]

The Cowboys have one of the best offense in the NFL, they should be the favorite. However, only a field goal favorite might be small. I reckon it should be more hehehe.

They aren't looking like it tonight.  It's half way through the third quarter and the Cowgirls only have 59 yard passing, and 132 total offensive yards.  Most of them were from that first drive.  They looked hot for that one drive.

Yeah, that first drive I was like "who stole the fucking chicago defense!" but I was too lazy to post it.

Glad to see Dak get his ass kicked right before the fantasy playoffs as I rage dropped him way back in week 5 and then he garbage timed 24 points on me.
I'll have to look back at who picked him up and see how they did.


edit: Looked back and the guy that grabbed him played him the rest of the season and is in 8th place.

[nutildah]

A great game today, and a great performance by Allen Robinson (flex WR), which helped move my team a little closer to securing a playoff win in our fantasy league. I'm looking pretty unstoppable. Gonna play Wentz over Winston this week, and unless if Wentz eats shit I ought to pull off the V.

What bums me out is a couple of freaks in our league still haven't paid their league dues    and the commissioner said if they don't pay he's just going to refund everybody at the end of the season and then not run the league again next year  

Pretty weak sauce, but what can I do? Scream at the guys to pay their fees? Not really a viable option.

[Hueristic]

A great game today, and a great performance by Allen Robinson (flex WR), which helped move my team a little closer to securing a playoff win in our fantasy league. I'm looking pretty unstoppable. Gonna play Wentz over Winston this week, and unless if Wentz eats shit I ought to pull off the V.

What bums me out is a couple of freaks in our league still haven't paid their league dues    and the commissioner said if they don't pay he's just going to refund everybody at the end of the season and then not run the league again next year  

Pretty weak sauce, but what can I do? Scream at the guys to pay their fees? Not really a viable option.

Sounds scammy to me, he should freeze the accounts that haven't payed. Does he make more by returning everyone's cash than allowing the playoffs? This should have been dealt with before the league drafted not right before playoffs.

I wish I could join leagues and not pay if i don't make the playoffs.
Shit thats a way to just print winnings.


Also Chicago looked great after they got steamrolled that first drive. To be honest I just stopped watching it when it was 28 to 7 or some such thing. Cowgirls deserved gooseegg for that performance.

I guess Trabinsky is safe for another week!

[nutildah]

What bums me out is a couple of freaks in our league still haven't paid their league dues    and the commissioner said if they don't pay he's just going to refund everybody at the end of the season and then not run the league again next year  

Pretty weak sauce, but what can I do? Scream at the guys to pay their fees? Not really a viable option.

Sounds scammy to me, he should freeze the accounts that haven't payed. Does he make more by returning everyone's cash than allowing the playoffs? This should have been dealt with before the league drafted not right before playoffs.

I wish I could join leagues and not pay if i don't make the playoffs.
Shit thats a way to just print winnings.

No, he makes no money... It was all supposed to be done in a gentleman's honor-type fashion. But of course a couple douchebags decided to make it exactly what you said -- playing without paying. Now that they're out of contention they probably won't pay at all. They are all people from my hometown, I'm the only one who lives abroad. I don't know the two guys who didn't pay. Maybe I should call them douchebags on their Facebook pages. Like, under comments left by their relatives or something. On Christmas. Lol.

[Hueristic]

What bums me out is a couple of freaks in our league still haven't paid their league dues    and the commissioner said if they don't pay he's just going to refund everybody at the end of the season and then not run the league again next year  

Pretty weak sauce, but what can I do? Scream at the guys to pay their fees? Not really a viable option.

Sounds scammy to me, he should freeze the accounts that haven't payed. Does he make more by returning everyone's cash than allowing the playoffs? This should have been dealt with before the league drafted not right before playoffs.

I wish I could join leagues and not pay if i don't make the playoffs.
Shit thats a way to just print winnings.

No, he makes no money... It was all supposed to be done in a gentleman's honor-type fashion. But of course a couple douchebags decided to make it exactly what you said -- playing without paying. Now that they're out of contention they probably won't pay at all. They are all people from my hometown, I'm the only one who lives abroad. I don't know the two guys who didn't pay. Maybe I should call them douchebags on their Facebook pages. Like, under comments left by their relatives or something. On Christmas. Lol.

Link my post to their facebook page.

[South Park]

The NFC East is a flustercluck of mediocrity.  Does it even matter who wins that division?  My guess is whoever wins the East is going one-and-done in the post season.

Identify the element which is not like the others.

A. Cowboys
B. Packers
C. Saints
D. Seahawks

If you selected option A you passed the test.

It is incredible that at this point in time in the regular season Washington with a 3-9 record is still alive and could win their division and if anything I want it to happen just to see the faces of all the Dallas and Philadelphia fans in complete disbelief if that happened.

The NFC East does not have any reason to be on the playoffs, maybe an interesting change in the rules could be that even if you are the division champion if that team does not have a winning record then it does not get to participate in the playoffs.

[DireWolfM14]

A. Cowboys
B. Packers
C. Saints
D. Seagulls 49ers

Fixed it for you.  Don't let me catch you slacking again!  

[wheelz1200]

The NFC East is a flustercluck of mediocrity.  Does it even matter who wins that division?  My guess is whoever wins the East is going one-and-done in the post season.

Identify the element which is not like the others.

A. Cowboys
B. Packers
C. Saints
D. Seahawks

If you selected option A you passed the test.

It is incredible that at this point in time in the regular season Washington with a 3-9 record is still alive and could win their division and if anything I want it to happen just to see the faces of all the Dallas and Philadelphia fans in complete disbelief if that happened.

The NFC East does not have any reason to be on the playoffs, maybe an interesting change in the rules could be that even if you are the division champion if that team does not have a winning record then it does not get to participate in the playoffs.

Giants won the super bowl as 9-7 wild card, Pittsburg has too.  Even though I agree, once the playoffs start it's a completely different game anything can happen (although I'd bet on any of the wild card teams against either the eagles or the cowboys (or the redskins  )

[Hueristic]

The NFC East is a flustercluck of mediocrity.  Does it even matter who wins that division?  My guess is whoever wins the East is going one-and-done in the post season.

Identify the element which is not like the others.

A. Cowboys
B. Packers
C. Saints
D. Seahawks

If you selected option A you passed the test.

It is incredible that at this point in time in the regular season Washington with a 3-9 record is still alive and could win their division and if anything I want it to happen just to see the faces of all the Dallas and Philadelphia fans in complete disbelief if that happened.

The NFC East does not have any reason to be on the playoffs, maybe an interesting change in the rules could be that even if you are the division champion if that team does not have a winning record then it does not get to participate in the playoffs.

I would love to see a Jimmy Jones interview after this happens! His interview after the loss to chicago was a thing of beauty!

Giants won the super bowl as 9-7 wild card, Pittsburg has too.  Even though I agree, once the playoffs start it's a completely different game anything can happen (although I'd bet on any of the wild card teams against either the eagles or the cowboys (or the redskins  )

Didn't they do it twice from the wildcard? I find it amusing that Giants fans hate The Patriots but Patriots fans couldn't care less about the giants and actually I always say good on you guys for beating a great team Twice! It's weird, kind of like they are sore winners.

[tyKiwanuka]

Didn't they do it twice from the wildcard? I find it amusing that Giants fans hate The Patriots but Patriots fans couldn't care less about the giants and actually I always say good on you guys for beating a great team Twice! It's weird, kind of like they are sore winners.

Big Giants fan here In 2007/2008 they had a wild card spot, but in 2011/2012 they won NFC East with a pathetic 9-7 record. Nevertheless on their two recent SB runs they only had one home game and won 7 games on the road (if you count the SB as road game too), which is quite an accomplishment. Both times they won at Lambeau (2008 with those arctic temperatures), had that dramatic NFC championship game at the 49ers with that muffed punt from the 49ers shortly before end of regular time and then beat the Patriots as huge underdog in both SB's, in 2008 with that miraculous helmet catch from Tyree. They surely weren't the best team looking at the whole season, but they got hot just at the right time and thats all that matters. You can play god-like from September to December, but if you don't show up in January, it means nothing.

I have nothing but respect for what the Patriots were able to do in the last ~15 years and are still doing. Bill & Tom is such a legendary combo. They never had the best players or the most talent, but Belichick is able to get the very best out of every player and Brady just makes everyone around him better.
I think people are just a little bit done with the Patriots being dominant for so long. It's like Hamilton winning the F1 every year, Bayern taking the Championship in german Bundesliga nearly every year or Roger Federer just winning every match (apart from the Finals at Roland Garros to Nadal) in his prime. But it's not like people begrudge the success; they are just bored with seeing the same guy/team winning over and over again.

[Hueristic]

Big Giants fan here ...

tyKiwanuka, I really enjoy reading your posts and actually I love the quality of the posts in this thread from everyone and wish I had more merit to spread on them I owe you one for this post and thanks for the detailed explanation of those seasons.


NOW for some fun, I have a playoff spot locked up so this week isn't a make or break on one of my teams so I will play a consensus lineup from you guys.

1/2 PPR 1QB 2WR 2RB 1Flex

Drew Brees NO - QB
Sun 1:00 pm vs SF

Ryan Fitzpatrick Mia - QB
Sun 1:00 pm @ NYJ

Tom Brady NE - QB
Sun 4:25 pm vs KC

Michael Thomas NO - WR
Sun 1:00 pm vs SF

Julian Edelman NE - WR
Questionable
Sun 4:25 pm vs KC

DeVante Parker Mia - WR
Sun 1:00 pm @ NYJ

Austin Ekeler LAC - RB
Sun 4:05 pm @ Jax

Phillip Lindsay Den - RB
Sun 1:00 pm @ Hou

Mark Ingram II Bal - RB
Sun 1:00 pm @ Buf

Chris Carson Sea - RB
Sun 8:20 pm @ LAR

Travis Kelce KC - TE
Sun 4:25 pm @ NE

Hunter Henry LAC - TE
Sun 4:05 pm @ Jax

Austin Hooper Atl - TE
Sun 1:00 pm vs Car


I've highlighted my picks and as you can see I'm gambling on those as I'm shooting for the highest ceiling. My opponent is in second place and I have 4th locked up so I just would like to throw as many points as possible up.

So whoever posts the best Lineup gets some merit and I will play whichever players get the most votes.


I really should do this for my other team because if they lose I may drop out of the playoffs but I don't want anyone to blame but myself on that one!
All I can say on that one is the rams better not drop another turn on me I'm playing Woods and Kupp.

[DireWolfM14]

@Hueristic
I like that you took Phillip Lindsay @ Houston over Mark Ingram @ Buffalo.  Brady at home vs. KC is also a good gamble, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Breeze have a good statistical day (despite prying for him to lose big!)

had that dramatic NFC championship game at the 49ers with that muffed punt from the 49ers shortly before end of regular time

That's still a painful memory, but I felt vindicated that my team lost to the eventual champions.  That was a great superbowl game as well that year.

[vella85]

I'm hoping for a better Sunday then last Sunday when it comes to betting. Last Sunday would have to be one of my worse ever with many underdogs winning and the underdog I did take didn't win lol just my luck. I have voted for the Seahawks as I don't trust the Rams as they have been hit and miss all season and the Seahawks are in top form which I think will continue against the Rams. Right now for me the Packers look to be the best pick, I'll look for some value in other games to add to my Packers parlay.

[Hueristic]

@Hueristic
I like that you took Phillip Lindsay @ Houston over Mark Ingram @ Buffalo.  Brady at home vs. KC is also a good gamble, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Breeze have a good statistical day (despite prying for him to lose big!)

had that dramatic NFC championship game at the 49ers with that muffed punt from the 49ers shortly before end of regular time

That's still a painful memory, but I felt vindicated that my team lost to the eventual champions.  That was a great superbowl game as well that year.

So you wouldn't make any changes?
Not even Flex?

[morvillz7z]

I had almost no time to go through this week's matchups and pick some bets for tomorrow, that's why i decided to 100% tail on anything that's posted here. So if you have anything prepped up...please share! A quick look at the lines, Steelers and Titans spreads on the road seem good to me. Titans highest scoring team in the league @36 points (LAST 3).

Rams with a single vote so far (@nutildah) 1-7

[tyKiwanuka]

NOW for some fun, I have a playoff spot locked up so this week isn't a make or break on one of my teams so I will play a consensus lineup from you guys.

To make this a real gamble, I would take Fitzpatrick and pray for another crazy game from him. Brady will put up some numbers, but nothing huge I think. Chiefs run defense is terrible and I think Bill will exploit that and run all day on them. As I wrote earlier, the secondary of the Jets is pretty decimated with Poole and Adams out and Maulet being doubtful as of now. Odds suggest that the Dolphins will have to play catch-up, so some more throwing from Fitzpatrick is to be expected, although we might be in for a low scoring affair. The rest is fine I think.


Decided to have two plays this week.

First is the 49ers ML over the Saints at around 2,15. Saints didn't impress me recently. The results are ok, but they are struggling with a thumb-injury plagued Brees. 49ers have the best pass defense by far, so I don't see much happening through the air for the Saints, which has always been their bread and butter with Brees. Saints already struggled mightily against the Panthers and that win at the Falcons on Thanksgiving was kind of weird too. Saints had to settle for a lot of field goals in that one and that might not be enough against these 49ers. It has to be noted, that they had some more days to prepare for this one.
The 49ers otoh did impress me a lot. They were close to winning at the Ravens, who are arguably the best team right now in the NFL. They will have RB Breida available again, which should help a lot against a good Saints run defense. What worries me is that SF is in some kind of letdown spot here. Coming off such a tough loss at the Ravens and then having to play on the road again the week after against a very good home team, could cause some issues. But this is already priced in and the 49ers are the better football team overall for me.

Second bet is the Panthers ML over the Falcons at around 2,70. Hard to find some arguments for this bet, it's mostly some gut feeling. Panthers sacked Rivera and Fewell has taken over as interim coach. I got the feeling that Rivera somehow lost the locker room and the players wanted Rivera gone. They were successful. Now everything is set to zero and it's up to the players to prove themselves again. Afterall they are still alive for a wildcard spot and should try to keep those hopes alive. During that stretch to get rid of Rivera, they had some embarassing losses, which included a 3-29 home loss to the Falcons. So even though there is already some hate in a divisional game anyway, the Panthers will seek some revenge on top and show that the loss at home was just a tank job. I might be totally off with my gut feeling, but the Falcons are no world beaters this season as well. Both teams are a bit unpredictable, so lets see which team shows up for whom.

[nutildah]

NOW for some fun, I have a playoff spot locked up so this week isn't a make or break on one of my teams so I will play a consensus lineup from you guys.

1/2 PPR 1QB 2WR 2RB 1Flex

Drew Brees NO - QB
Sun 1:00 pm vs SF

Ryan Fitzpatrick Mia - QB
Sun 1:00 pm @ NYJ

Tom Brady NE - QB
Sun 4:25 pm vs KC

Michael Thomas NO - WR
Sun 1:00 pm vs SF

Julian Edelman NE - WR
Questionable
Sun 4:25 pm vs KC

DeVante Parker Mia - WR
Sun 1:00 pm @ NYJ

Austin Ekeler LAC - RB
Sun 4:05 pm @ Jax

Phillip Lindsay Den - RB
Sun 1:00 pm @ Hou

Mark Ingram II Bal - RB
Sun 1:00 pm @ Buf

Chris Carson Sea - RB
Sun 8:20 pm @ LAR

Travis Kelce KC - TE
Sun 4:25 pm @ NE

Hunter Henry LAC - TE
Sun 4:05 pm @ Jax

Austin Hooper Atl - TE
Sun 1:00 pm vs Car


I've highlighted my picks and as you can see I'm gambling on those as I'm shooting for the highest ceiling. My opponent is in second place and I have 4th locked up so I just would like to throw as many points as possible up.

Wow, pretty good that you have both Brees and Brady. Was it like that all season for you? The only change I would make is switching Kelce for Henry. NE defense could potentially stop some yards for you there. I've had Henry as my starting TE for most of the season and he's paid off more often than not.

I'll close the poll early, we're up to a record 10 votes. Sticking with my guns and the Rams for this one.

I should really try to find a place to watch the game tomorrow morning but I'm pretty far removed from anything American-like at the moment. Things I miss the most about home:

- good cheese and fresh milk
- Taco Bell
- my Xbox
- watching NFL games whenever I damn well choose

You'd ask: can't you just livestream games and/or buy the NFL premium digital package (or whatever)?

A: NO! Every bit of internet data is metered here and I pay about $1 a GB. When I do have a data signal, which is about 50% of the time, its seldom strong enough to livestream something. YouTube videos can be a pain to load, and Netflix is out of the question. I had a NFL radio app on my phone so I could listen to games that way, but its just not really the same as watching them... Its like 40% of the experience.

[Hueristic]

Wow, pretty good that you have both Brees and Brady. Was it like that all season for you?

Yeah, that was a treat!
Some idiot dropped him when he was injured and Teddy Bridgewater was on fire, I scooped him right up.

The only change I would make is switching Kelce for Henry. NE defense could potentially stop some yards for you there. I've had Henry as my starting TE for most of the season and he's paid off more often than not.

It's funny you've mentioned this as I had it that way when I was making the original post and decided to pop Kelce back in because I just don't think I can trust the Chargers front 5 and Rivers this week. But yeah that choice was torturing me and it should be fun to find out what happens. i think they should both kick serious ASS this week and i managed to steal Hooper (I scooped him a month ago and have just been putting him in the IR spot: I don't think the guy who dropped him knew yahoo had added IR) just so no-one can pop him in against me if he goes on a tear now that hes back on the field.

I'll close the poll early, we're up to a record 10 votes. Sticking with my guns and the Rams for this one.

You looked lonely up there so i joined you.

I should really try to find a place to watch the game tomorrow morning but I'm pretty far removed from anything American-like at the moment. Things I miss the most about home:

- good cheese and fresh milk
- Taco Bell
- my Xbox
- watching NFL games whenever I damn well choose

You'd ask: can't you just livestream games and/or buy the NFL premium digital package (or whatever)?

A: NO! Every bit of internet data is metered here and I pay about $1 a GB. When I do have a data signal, which is about 50% of the time, its seldom strong enough to livestream something. YouTube videos can be a pain to load, and Netflix is out of the question. I had a NFL radio app on my phone so I could listen to games that way, but its just not really the same as watching them... Its like 40% of the experience.

HAH you spying on me! I'm drinking a milk right now, bummer you don't get to catch the games i've been really looking forward to it each week this year.

[DireWolfM14]

How about them 9ers?!?

What an amazing finish to the game, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the 4th quarter.  I knew Brees wasn't gonna make it easy, but god damn, Jimmy Garoppolo's legacy will take shape in these types of moments.

Woohoooo!  Go 49ers! 

[ralle14]

The Chiefs and the Seahawks are my only bets for today since I missed the other matches. The Patriots hasn't lost at home but with their recent form looking shaky at the same time scoring less and less I slightly favor the Chiefs on this matchup. For the Seahawks they got my vote and unit because they have a better road record and the odds seems way too close than it should've been.