2017 NFL Playoffs - Super Bowl LI Confirmed! Atlanta Falcons vs New England Patriots!

[Anacybele]

Did you read anything I said? I never said that this was the only reason for losing. It's A reason, not the ONLY reason.

I would tell you how they got hurt, but I missed most of the first quarter because of the freaking OT in Dolphins/Browns and they only replayed Rogers's injury later. He got stepped on by one of the Eagles and a toe broke. That's what it looked like to me, anyway.

Well, I'm not going to give up on the season yet, though it already doesn't look great. You just never know what'll happen down the road.

Edited September 25, 2016 by Anacybele

[-Cynthia-]

Nice coverage Chargers. :/

[Anacybele]

Huh, apparently the last time we were embarrassed by the Eagles, the Steelers won the SB. I guess I can hope history repeats itself, but not going to get my hopes up, of course. But I definitely don't want to start thinking this team is overrated. I'm glad they're good at bouncing back from losses, because we need that kind of business next week.

This was just one of those bad days for football. My teams didn't win and I couldn't find the smoked sausage I wanted to eat while watching. (I'm both mad and glad I didn't find it, but still)

And wow, there must be a bad storm or something over in Tampa. The game got suspended due to weather.

Edited September 25, 2016 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

yeah and last time they beat the bengals they lost their star RB for the playoffs and lost in the divisional round

[Anacybele]

Uh...the last time they beat the Bengals was last week, yo, and we haven't lost any RBs yet.

Speaking of which, am I glad Bell returns next week. He better stay healthy. I'm tired of this team being so fragile lately. >_< And these are mostly young guys! They shouldn't be so injury prone.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

yeah but the point is that the last time they beat the bengals in or around week 3 before this season they lost in the playoffs

also who did they beat week 1, because i'm sure there's some stupid stat attached to that too

Edited September 26, 2016 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

And they're currently in a regular season. lol

[Lord Raven]

the point is that the steelers blow

[-Cynthia-]

That's a bit premature. Even the top teams have bad games sometimes (like the Broncos against the Chiefs last year).

[Lord Raven]

yeah i was making a serious point my bad

[Anacybele]

Cynthia, you gotta know that Lord Raven seems to only be serious like half the time he posts. xP

EDIT: Also, to answer your earlier question, Lord Raven, that was the Redskins the Steelers blew out in week 1. Not entirely a spectacular feat, but it did seem to show that the Steelers are behind their dumb playing-down-to-their-opponent days.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Anacybele

[-Cynthia-]

I was saying that so you wouldn't get too 'woe is me' in here. Leave that to the fans whose teams are actually terrible lol.

[Lord Raven]

she'll do it anyway

although our offense needs work, we're still rusty and it's basically week 4

but at least we're not the bears oh boy, we all thought the rams were pathetic week 1 but they got blown the fuck out (EDIT: for three straight weeks) and its possible the score wont show how bad the game went

Edited September 26, 2016 by Lord Raven

[-Cynthia-]

Yeah I think the Ravens are a pretty weak 3-0 team, but undefeated is undefeated.

The Bears are probably the worst team in the league right now. They haven't even been within one score of winning yet, even the Browns and Jags have sniffed victory.

[Anacybele]

I know that, Cynthia. I'm not being all woe is me though, I even said earlier that I wasn't giving up on the season just yet. Like you said, even the best teams have bad days, like the Broncos vs the Chiefs last season. And the Patriots had a bad game against the Chiefs too a couple years ago. And Tom Brady was in it.

Also, the Steelers should bounce back! They have a habit of getting right back up from this kind of thing lately.

Oh, and I don't think the Jaguars are that bad! The truly bad teams are the Bears and Browns right now. lol There might be one or two more teams that are worse than the Jags too.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

the jaguars are that bad, lmao

they were supposed to have this amazing explosive offense (and their defense wasn't really going to be good) but they pretty much have none of that

a lot of teams would've torched them given the way they played tonight. Bortles threw like 200 yards on 40 attempts which is pathetic.

EDIT: they should also not look this flat after three years of rebuilding with Gus Bradley. They look so poor across the board that it makes me wonder if they just plateaued. At any rate if they lose next week then I bet Gus Bradley will be flying on a separate plane home from London.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Lord Raven

[-Cynthia-]

#30 (or 29 if you really want to argue the Dolphins are worse or something) is pretty bad lol. The offensive line is the biggest problem I think. I'd have no issues canning Gus at this point personally, he's had enough chances and the wins just ain't coming.

[Jiac]

Alright Week 4 boyz. Predicting games is fun.

Dolphins @ Bengals - Dolphins have historically done well versus the Bengals, and history has been not nice to the Bengals. *snickers*

Colts @ Jaguars - Colts will be getting defensive starters back from injury hopefully. Bortles may struggle to ignite the offense this game.

Titans @ Texans - Titans defense looks weak, and Mariota failed to jumpstart that offense. The Titans are looking like a sloppy team right now unfortunately.

Browns @ Redskins - Redskins offense looked better 2nd quarter and on versus the Giants. The Browns have had strokes of luck yet still lost to the Dolphins. However, I believe in the upset because Terelle Pyror is a beast receiver, and the Redskins' Run Defense looked incredibly weak versus the Giants, who haven't been running the football effectively lately.

Seahawks @ Jets - despite Fitztragic's terrible play versus the Chiefs. I don't think the Seahawks have the playmakers on offense to compete with this strong Jets defense. Furthermore, Russell Wilson got pretty banged up versus the 49ers despite their dominant victory. I think Fitzmagic can win this game.

Bills @ Patriots - This is a very tough pick. I think the Bills, at this point in time, can upset the Patriots. However, Bill Belichick's team is way more disciplined and likely will have a good gameplan in containing Tyrod Taylor. I somewhat believe this game could go either way, since Rex Ryan could exploit Brissett's inexperience and still contain the Patriots run game.

Panthers @ Falcons - The Panthers looked weak versus the Vikings. That could change because this is a divisional game, however, the Falcons appear to have a lot of momentum in their 2 game win streak.

Raiders @ Ravens - It seems ridiculous that I'm picking against the Ravens here. But, the Ravens just nearly lost to the Jaguars. The Raiders defense seemed to do a great job in giving Mariota a hard time, and their offense was actually fairly productive. I think they can cause the upset.

Lions @ Bears - Lions were weak against the Packers at the start of the first half. Yet the team started gaining speed around the 2nd half. Jay Cutler is injured, I think this'll be tough for the Bears.

Broncos @ Buccaneers - If a team who failed to score a single point in their first game of the season goes ahead and beats you with 37 points on the board. Your defense must suck. The Broncos offense may not be the best, however, it is productive. The Buccaneers are facing an even more vicious defense, I don't see them pulling this out at all.

Rams @ Cardinals - Cardinals also have been looking surprisingly weak. I wouldn't be surprised if they get it back together, but the Rams always appear to have something up their sleeve versus the NFC West. I think the Rams could take the game here.

Saints @ Chargers - Shoot-out. I think the Chargers secondary is much better than the Saints. Although, the offense was weak versus the Colts we were missing Antonio Gates and King Dunlap, due to injury and illness. Hopefully, officiating is way better this time around. The officiating was hilariously poor for Chargers @ Colts.

Cowboys @ 49ers - Dak Prescott is a stud. That's all I need to say.

Chiefs @ Steelers - Chiefs forced Fitzmagic 5 picks. The Steelers could barely muster 3 points versus the Eagles. Steelers offense and defense are looking weak. Chiefs can take this game with their strong defense, and productive offense

Giants @ Vikings - Vikings looking strong even without Adrian Peterson. Though, this could be the annual Eli is going to win a game somehow this season game.

I'm going bold with choosing a lot of away games this time around. I also have the Browns winning and the rest of the AFC North losing. While, I have the entire AFC West winning. This'll be a very interesting week.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Jiegg

[Anacybele]

#30 (or 29 if you really want to argue the Dolphins are worse or something) is pretty bad lol. The offensive line is the biggest problem I think. I'd have no issues canning Gus at this point personally, he's had enough chances and the wins just ain't coming.

Yeah, but I still think putting up a really good fight against the Packers said something. The Packers struggled a bit, but they're still a good team.

Now for my picks.

Dolphins vs Bengals: Bengals are still a good team despite being 1-2 and the Dolphins really aren't. Plus, the Bengals are tough at home and they get Eifert back.

Colts vs Jaguars: I see this going either way, but I think I'll make a wild guess and say Colts. Even though I'd rather see the Jags win.

Titans vs Texans: Texans are just sloppy sloppy sloppy, even if they WERE against the Patriots. The Titans at least have a little talent going for them.

Browns vs Redskins: I'm actually picking the Browns this time because the Redskins are still lolbad and the Browns actually put up a good game against the Dolphins with a third string QB. I mean, the Browns with some QB depth! Crazy!

Seahawks vs Jets: Russell Wilson got hurt and the Jets still have a good D.

Bills vs Patriots: This'll be close, methinks, but Pats are still too good at home and it looks like Belichick can have them win no matter who's at QB.

Panthers vs Falcons: Falcons lately have not been able to do much vs these guys. And they're kind of bad right now.

Raiders vs Ravens: The Ravens, despite being 3-0 are playing it real close to some not so great teams. The Raiders are a good team and I think they have a good shot at winning this. It could go either way though, really.

Lions vs Bears: The Bears are just lolbad right now.

Broncos vs Buccaneers: I don't think I need to explain this one.

Rams vs Cardinals: The Cards just got squashed like bugs vs the Bills. The Rams have an even better defense than the Bills did, methinks.

Saints vs Chargers: Saints are just struggling lately.

Cowboys vs 49ers: Dak Prescott is good, yo. And the Niners still aren't that great.

Chiefs vs Steelers: Yes, I'm still picking my guys here. 1. Last week's disaster does NOT mean they're automatically a weak team now, it was one bad game. 2. JUICE IS BACK BABY. Can't wait to see Bell in action! Juice is his nickname. lol But he should add a much needed spark to this team because he can be a game changer (Chargers game last year, anyone? ;D) 3. The Steelers have a recent history of bouncing back really well. 4. The last time they lost two games in a row was like two years ago or something. 5. They're always better at home. I do think this will be a shootout though, because of the injuries to our defense. -_-

Giants vs Vikings: Vikings are doing surprisingly well, so I think I'll pick them. Even though I like Eli and would rather see his squad win.

Man, I picked a lot of road teams this time. o.o

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

I just made an impulse buy

http://hicatee.com/joe-flacco

[Jiac]

what color?

[Lord Raven]

Black because the other colors looked stupid

[Anacybele]

That reminds me, I think AB has some "Business is Boomin'" t-shirts or something like that. I need to get me one someday. :P

Also, turns out that not all of the people who were injured vs the Eagles will be out for the Steelers this Sunday, thank goodness. Timmons is fine, he just had a puncture wound on his leg treated (wonder how the heck that happened), and so far, I'm not seeing anything saying that Jarvis Jones or Robert Golden will be out. Shazier is listed as "very questionable" though, god damn it. WHY CAN'T HE EVER STAY HEALTHY. ;_; I swear this guy could be Polamalu 2.0 if he just stays freaking healthy. Polamalu was a safety who could run all over the field picking off passes and play at the line like a LB, and Shazier is pretty much the reverse, a LB that can also run all over the field like a safety or CB and pick off passes.

Eli Rogers is also "very questionable" but I'm not that worried there. We can be fine with AB, Wheaton, Heyward-Bey, and Coates at WR. I really think Hey-Bey needs to be doing what they've been trying to do with Coates. Coates is promising so far, but Hey-Bey is just a safer option right now given how many deep balls he caught from Ben last year. He filled in for the injured Bryant admirably.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anacybele

[-Cynthia-]

Dolphins @ Bengals- Having to go to overtime to beat the Browns (on their third string QB) at home gives me almost no confidence in the Dolphins

Colts @ Jaguars (London)- I really don't have confidence that the Jags can close a game out here.

Titans @ Texans- Texans at home after a long week against a bad Titans offense. The Mularkey heavy running plan just doesn't work.

Browns @ Redskins- Browns are just not a very good team...again.

Seahawks @ Jets- Jets D Line against the Seahawks O Line seems like a mismatch, Wilson is banged up, 1 pm road game for a West Coast team.

Bills @ Patriots- Nice win for the Bills last week, but do you want to pick against the Patriots right now, especially at home?

Panthers @ Falcons- Panthers can return to form here...I think. The Falcons are much worse defensively than the Vikings, though their offense is more explosive.

Raiders @ Ravens- I want to pick the Raiders here because the Ravens aren't that good despite their record, but it's a 1 pm game on a consecutive cross country road trip for the Raiders.

Lions @ Bears- Cutler is injured and the Bears aren't good with him anyway. Not a team I want to pick against anyone pretty much.

Broncos @ Bucs- Bucs D is just terrible. Broncos are kind of under the radar for the defending Super Bowl champs- might be the best team in the league.

Rams @ Cardinals- Rams have won two in a row- that means it's time for them to lose terribly on their inevitable road to 7-9. Last week may have been a trap game for the Cardinals...unless they're just not that good but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Saints @ Chargers- Saints on a long trip after a short week. Their defense is just terrible.

Cowboys @ Niners- I'm thinking the Niners are who we thought they were and week 1 was just an anomaly.

Chiefs @ Steelers- I think the Steelers can bounce back at home here, with Bell back. Could easily go the other way though.

Giants @ Vikings- All right, all right I'll stop picking against the Vikings they're actually pretty good and stuff I guess.

Edited September 27, 2016 by -Cynthia-

[Anacybele]

Yeah, I forgot to mention what makes Bell a potential game changer. You add him, and you basically add an RB, WR, and blocker all in one package. When the Steelers were still looking for some dudes to play WR behind AB, Bell was pretty much the no. 2 receiver as well as the starting RB. There's a reason he's regarded as the most complete back in the league and arguably the best. He just needs to start keeping his off-the-field shit straight.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anacybele