Blog Talk Football

Football Talk - Your Opinion Counts

NFL Drama

Is Week 2 Developing Into Nightmare Scenario For Your Team?

by

What could possibly go wrong in Week 2 of the 2016 season?

You could lose your starting QB: Jimmy Garoppolo for the New England Patriots, who will miss the Week 3 game against the Texans on Thursday Night Football.

You could injure your starting RB:

We are still waiting on MRI details for these players to know whether we will see them Week 3.

You could injure one of your standout defensive players: 

You could be at the bottom of your division already.Are the weeks 2 teams letting you down?

  • AFC East:
    • Patriots 2-0
    • Jets 1-1
    • Bills 0-2
    • Dolphins 0-2
  • AFC North:
    • Steelers 2-0
    • Ravens 2-0
    • Bengals 1-1
    • Browns 0-2
  • AFC West:
    • Broncos 2-0
    • Chiefs 1-1
    • Chargers 1-1
    • Raiders 1-1
  • AFC South:
    • Texans 2-0
    • Titans 1-1
    • Jaguars 0-2
    • Colts 0-2
  • NFC East:
    • Giants 2-0
    • Eagles 2-0 or 1-1, depending on the results of Monday Night Football
    • Cowboys 1-1
    • Redskins 0-2
  • NFC North:
    • Vikings 2-0
    • Packers 1-1
    • Lions 1-1
    • Bears 1-1 or 0-2, depending on the results of Monday Night Football
  • NFC West:
    • Cardinals 1-1
    • Rams 1-1
    • 49ers 1-1
    • Seahawks 1-1
  • NFC South:
    • Buccaneers 1-1
    • Panthers 1-1
    • Falcons 1-1
    • Saints 0-2

With only a couple games under their belts, some of these teams are clearly in a good place, while others are looking at a bleak picture for the remainder of the season. With fans judging their attendance on how likely their team can pull off a win, a slow start could mean poor home team help from the fans.

Of course, it is only Week 2. If you start judging your team when they have a sluggish start, you could be damning them to a bad season when all it would take is a little more support from the fans. A strong showing from the home crowd goes a long way to bring up the spirits of a losing team. But fans are pretty tough on a team with a bad record, so those with 0-2 records have to really play good from here on out to get their fans back into the building. Otherwise, they will need crying towels to get through the season…

 

2015 Week 6 Notes And Predictions

by

Week 6 PredictionsThe Falcons (5-0)traveled to New Orleans (1-4) for a Thursday Night battle of NFC South teams. They were the favorites, even Micheal had picked them to win. But Drew Brees played decently and the Falcons offense looked like the Buccaneers on week 1, turnovers making it easy for Brees to put points on the board.

Why is it that a dominating team can look like the Keystone Cops on the National stage? How can a weak looking defense turn into King Kong for one night? Is it the limelight?

Revenge is a dish best served deflated…

A game that is getting a lot of life in the media is the New England Patriots (4-0) going to Indianapolis for a grudge match with the Colts (3-2). As you may remember, the Colts warned the officials about the air pressure in the Patriots’ balls. This shoved Tom Brady and the Patriots into the DeflateGate Tornado. The media was relentless on Brady and he received a 4 game suspension after the dust settled. Brady contested the punishment and won a reprieve when a judge overturned the decision of the NFL. Of course, the NFL is appealing said decision, but the courts will not hear this case until after the Super Bowl next year.

But expect the Patriots to embarrass the Colts in this game. Their offense has been playing with an edge never seen before. Brady throws the ball as though he is trying to wound his opponents. His supporting cast (Gronk, Edelman and Blount) are playing lights out. Belichick is orchestrating a defense that puts the ball back into Brady’s hands quickly.

Is the Super Bowl in their future? Is a perfect season in their future? It is very possible!

Week 6 Predictions

Thursday – Falcons (5-0) over the Saints (1-4) (yeah, Micheal missed on this one Saint won handily)

Sunday –

  • Cincinnati Bengals (5-0) over Buffalo Bills (3-2)
  • Denver Broncos (5-0) over Cleveland Browns (2-3)
  • Chicago Bears (2-3) over Detroit Lions (0-5)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) over Houston Texans (1-4)
  • Minnesota Vikings (2-2) over Kansas City Chiefs (1-4)
  • New York Jets (3-1) over Washington Redskins (2-3)
  • Arizona Cardinals (4-1) over Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)
  • Tennessee Titans (1-3) over Miami Dolphins (1-3)
  • Seattle Seahawks (2-3) over Carolina Panthers (4-0)
  • Green Bay Packers (5-0) over San Diego Chargers (2-3)
  • San Francisco 49ers (1-4) over Baltimore Ravens (1-4)
  • New England Patriots (4-0) over Indianapolis Colts (3-2)

Monday Night – Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) over New York Giants (3-2)

What are your picks? Let us know in the comments or on the Blog Talk Football Fan Page!

Lazy Journalism

by

I read about the Buccaneers a lot. But I have been noticing that a lot of writers are pigeon holing the Bucs in ways that are easily disputed with a look at the actual game tape.

Porous Offensive Line

Last year, the offensive line was porous. Actually, many called them a turnstile. This year, the offensive line was able to keep Jameis Winston off the ground a lot better than last year’s line would have. The two rookies on this line are actually the strong part of this line. Veteran Guard Logan Mankins has actually been the weak link in a few of the games, with his false starts and getting beat for a sack in a couple games. In this article about what’s at stake in week 5, the author makes a point to call the offensive line porous. Obviously they are not looking at the tape.

Surging Pass Defense

In another article praising the Buccaneers for being tied for second place for fewest passing yards allowed, the author does not look at the fact that the great pass defense numbers could easily be explained by a bad run defense and the fact that the Buccaneers are usually behind early in the game and teams start running the ball more to use up time on the clock. Only the game against the Saints did the Bucs show up good against the run and the pass when they were able to sack Drew Brees a few times.

This is part of the reason that I do not like to write about other teams, it is way too easy to fall victim to the misconceptions that some from not seeing the actual games of teams that you may be writing about.