2009 NFL Season has started!

[Teggy]

Houston missed the 42 yard FG? Wow.

[Thin_J]

I don't know what happened to Baltimore, but man what a terrible showing that was today for them. They finally start to get some offensive momentum going in the fourth quarter and it results in one touchdown, a missed field goal and multiple sacks. Ouch.

And even with that, it's still hard to tell if the Bengals are for real. They're winning games, but several of them have been because the other team drew a lot of key penalties and this game was no different. Their second half play today was pathetic on offense.

I'll look for their next game with Pittsburgh to show whether they're as good as their record says or if they've just been overachieving.

[slackerjoe]

Great finish in the SD/NYG game.  San Diego marched 80 yards down the field for the winning TD as the Giants lose their 4th straight. 

[Teggy]

After near losses to SF and Houston, it seems like Indy's first loss should be right around the corner. Perhaps next week against NE?

[rickfc]

Houston missed the 42 yard FG? Wow.

Yup...My stomach is still in a knot from watching that.  Granted, it's not all Kris Brown's fault.  Had Matt Schaub ran a play at the end of the first half instead of letting the clock run down to the 2-minute warning, they would have probably scored a touchdown instead of giving the Colts a chance to really look closely at that fumble.  Oh well, there were so many factors going against the Texans this afternoon, that I was surprised that they came back and went to the wire with Indy.  The offense was out of sync at first which had a lot to do with Owen Daniels and James Casey both being out at tight end.

Hopefully they can split the series when the Colts come down to Houston in 3 weeks.

[Devil]

After near losses to SF and Houston, it seems like Indy's first loss should be right around the corner. Perhaps next week against NE?

We can only hope!

[Teggy]

Not a terribly pretty win in Philly, but I'll take it. Some tough games on the road ahead.

[PeteRock]

Not a terribly pretty win in Philly, but I'll take it. Some tough games on the road ahead.

I was pretty steamed about the spot on 4th and inches.  But, even despite some questionable officiating, the real issues were dropped passes, a flat offense, turnovers, and a continued inability to stop 3rd and long.  We didn't deserve to win the game.  I don't feel Dallas was any more deserving given how they played, but we had too many missed opportunities.  This is the most schizophrenic Philadelphia team I've ever seen.  Frustrating doesn't even begin to describe this season.

[pr0ner]

I laugh at the Eagles fan calling his team's season frustrating.

[PeteRock]

I laugh at the Eagles fan calling his team's season frustrating.

Mainly because we're supposed to be a decent team yet we struggle with fundamental issues.  There were never any illusions about Washington being a contender.   

[Scuzz]

The Eagles lost to Oakland...........that says it right there.

[Teggy]

Not a terribly pretty win in Philly, but I'll take it. Some tough games on the road ahead.

I was pretty steamed about the spot on 4th and inches.  But, even despite some questionable officiating, the real issues were dropped passes, a flat offense, turnovers, and a continued inability to stop 3rd and long.  We didn't deserve to win the game.  I don't feel Dallas was any more deserving given how they played, but we had too many missed opportunities.  This is the most schizophrenic Philadelphia team I've ever seen.  Frustrating doesn't even begin to describe this season.

Totally agree with you. With the exception of the Austin TD and some of the sacks and interceptions, I wasn't exactly encouraged by the way the Cowboys played. They take way too many stupid penalties and miss tons of tackles. The Eagles seemed to be running into a lot of bad luck with the spots, but trying to get a couple of inches at a time isn't really the way to win, anyway. They got incredibly lucky with the TD where McNabb had everything but his little toe over the line of scrimmage as well.

[Soulchilde]

Baltimore Ravens = no pass rush and TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE corner play.  Turns my stomach to see a once dominate and feared D turned into this shit

[pr0ner]

I laugh at the Eagles fan calling his team's season frustrating.

Mainly because we're supposed to be a decent team yet we struggle with fundamental issues.  There were never any illusions about Washington being a contender.   

I was hoping for .500, maybe a chance at a wild card spot.  Never had any delusions of being a contender.  But 2-6?  Zoinks. 

[leo8877]

Man I just saw on SC that Leinart was put into the game with 10 mins to go, throws an INT, and promptly gets sat again.  Man what a bust that guy is.  AZ better hope Warner can play forever.

[Blackadar]

Houston missed the 42 yard FG? Wow.

"Houston, we have a problem.  We seem to venting something." 

"What's that?"

"Our anger at our idiot kicker for missing that mother#$*%ing field goal"

[Freezer-TPF-]

I don't understand why Philly kicked that long field goal with 4 minutes left and no timeouts.  That compounded the mistake of losing timeouts on bad spot challenges.  What was the spread on the game again?

Dallas's tackling and penalties were atrocious--they were lucky to steal a win.

[msteelers]

I don't understand why Philly kicked that long field goal with 4 minutes left and no timeouts. 

Nobody does. It was a bad play call. Even if Reid was confident that his defense could stop the Cowboys, then he STILL should have gone for it on 4th down. Best case scenario is you keep the drive alive, worst case scenario is the Cowboys are still on their side of the field and your defense can potentially get the ball back.

[Graham]

Yesterday there was a lot of bad football.  A lot of ugly football.  Then there was really ugly football (the Packers losing to the Tampa Bay Bucs in their throwback uniforms).

[leo8877]

Wow what happened in Denver, it sounds like there's more Steelers fans there than Broncos fans.

[deadzone]

This is a team that could make it to the Super Bowl.

They are clearly the best team in football right now. They don't have a weak spot at all. Offensively they can beat you to through the air or on the ground, and on defense they cause havoc and force a lot of turnovers. I don't think they go undefeated, but they have a really good shot at representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.

I agree with saying the Saints are the best team in football right now, but I'm not ready to jump on their bandwagon quite yet.  I really can't properly evaluate them.  They played the Jets in the middle of a 4 game losing streak, the Giants in the midst of a 3 game losing streak, the Eagles when they didn't have their starting QB, a bad Buffalo team in the midst of a 3 game losing streak, a Miami team that hasn't won a game outside their division, Detroit and a decent Atlanta team.

They're explosive, that's for sure.  But I'm not convinced that they're really a great team, nor that they can compete in a tough, physical game.  But then again, I'm not sure they'll play one this entire season.  This may be one of the least-tested teams going into the playoffs.  I see only 3 challenging games and they have two of those at home (the Patriots and Dallas).  The only road game they have that looks tough is at Atlanta, who plays in a dome.  

I remain a skeptic when it comes to the Saints.  I think there's little doubt they make the playoffs and will play at home, but I wonder what will happen when a tough, physical team punches them square in the mouth.  They remind me a bit of the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams teams.  But that team, for all its regular-season success, barely won one Super Bowl because they had a hard time physically competing in close games.  

I am so confused with the Saints this season.  Given any other season, I would agree with you outright on every point.  Being a Saints fan is the very definition of being a skeptic because you are normally just waiting for the inevitable collapse.  This season though, I just don't know what to think.  8-0 man, first time in franchise history!  The thing I keep going back to that makes me think this might be our season is the way that they are winning.  Blowouts, comebacks, and everything in between it all seems to be there and the end result keeps on coming out as a win.  

I can say as long as I have seen the Saints play and been a fan, I have never seen them maintain the intensity or be as complete of a team as they seem to be this season.  Anything can happen but seriously?  Down 24-3 at halftime only to come back and win the game 46-34 coming off of a 48-27 win against the Giants?!  Really?  That to me is impressive and I think it indicates how deep the Saints are and gives us a glimpse of a Superbowl contender this year.  

The hardest thing for me has been dealing with the fact that the Saints being down doesn't necessarily mean that they are out.  It's completely confused my beer-fueled-what-the-hell-are-you-doing temper tantrum response and left me with a vague feeling of hope that's just not normal for me to associate with being a Saints fan.      

The rest of their schedule is in a word SCARY though.  Lot's of teams with nothing to lose and more losses than wins.  This is classic Saints choking material.  We shall see what is in store for us and if they are for real.   

[leo8877]

Big Bengals - Steelers showdown next weekend...I hope the good Bengals show up!

[msteelers]

Big Bengals - Steelers showdown next weekend...I hope the good Bengals show up!

So do I! And that the Steelers still win by double-digits. 

[Isgrimnur]

Canadian Press

The NFL has suspended Eagles cornerback Joselio Hanson for four games for violating the league's ban on performance enhancing substances.

The league announced Hanson's suspension Wednesday. He will be eligible to return for Philadelphia's game against the New York Giants on Dec. 13.

Hanson's lawyer, David Cornwell, says his client was suspended after testing positive for a diuretic before last year's NFC Championship Game against Arizona.

[leo8877]

BENGALS!!!!!!

[Teggy]

Man, Tampa really blows. All they had to do was slow down Miami for 20 seconds and I would have been a whole lot better off in my survivor pool 

[Teggy]

Infuriating watching this Cowboys team play. They look like high schoolers. Oakland, Washington and Giants up next, but no real point, because this team can't win a playoff game.

[leo8877]

This is a crazy game in Indy!

[Devil]

Awesome game.

Glad BB went for it.

Maroney must go.

[leo8877]

Awesome game.

Glad BB went for it.

Maroney must go.

I don't get that call on 4th and short...I mean they were on the 30!  Punt it!

[Devil]

They probably should have played it safe, but if you have Brady, Moss, Welker, Faulk, etc. and you think that should be enough to get two yards (and they may have) to end the game, you might take a chance. He did and blew it.

This wasn't about not trusting the defense, it was about trusting the offense too much. 

The problems were the time outs that they lost and fucking Maroney putting on a uniform and being allowed on the field.

[Chaz]

In the past, BB has definitely taken the 4th and short risk and had it pay off.  However, with the game on the line and on Indy's 30, that's a mighty big risk to take.  It seemed like a decent idea at the time, but in hindsight, they probably could have won if they hadn't gone for it. 

Unfortunately, after Indy scored, they pretty much just stopped trying.  They shouldn't have run the ball out of the endzone, and the last play they ran just made it obvious that they'd given up.  Oh well, it was fun until the end.  I just hate contributing to a f***king Manning undefeated streak.

[Devil]

All this means is that they have to go to Indy, if they get that far, and probably not getting a bye.

That's pretty big, but at least I'm confident they can win in Indy.

[Thin_J]

The Indy/NE game was definitely pretty epic.

And LOL at Pittsburgh. Swept by the Bengals.

Only bummer is they're still definitely in the run for a wildcard shot.

[disarm]

Manning had a great quote about Reggie Wayne in the post-game interview...

"It's hard to say it was his best catch ever because he's made so many, but it sure was timely"

i think that pretty well sums up the way the Colts have managed to pull off so many late-game victories over the years...pulling off amazing plays at just the right time.  great game

[leo8877]

The Indy/NE game was definitely pretty epic.

And LOL at Pittsburgh. Swept by the Bengals.

Only bummer is they're still definitely in the run for a wildcard shot.

LOL?  The Bengals are 7-2 and playing awesome football.  They would be 8-1 if not for a fluke play in the first game of the season against Denver.

[denoginizer]

I love the decision by Belichick.  Even though it didn't work out.

He is the only coach in the NFL who would have done that. 

[rickfc]

I love the decision by Belichick.  Even though it didn't work out.

He is the only coach in the NFL who would have done that. 

Yeah, he's the only coach in the NFL that would risk giving Peyton Manning a 29 yard field.  That was a bone-headed decision any way you slice it.

[denoginizer]

I love the decision by Belichick.  Even though it didn't work out.

He is the only coach in the NFL who would have done that.  

Yeah, he's the only coach in the NFL that would risk giving Peyton Manning a 29 yard field.  That was a bone-headed decision any way you slice it.

Last team to have the ball wins.  Belichik knew if he punted that the game was over.

NFL coaches all go by "the book" so they have an excuse when things don't work out.  It shields them from criticism. Belichick doesn't care what the media or fans think.  He just does what he thinks is the best thing to win.  I'd rather put the game in Tom Brady's hands to convert 2 yards.  It didn't work.  But I have no doubt that the Colts would have scored if the Pats punted anyway.  

What the patriots should have also done was let Addai score instead of tackling him on the 1 yardline with ~1:30 left.  All they would have needed was a FG.

[rickfc]

I love the decision by Belichick.  Even though it didn't work out.

He is the only coach in the NFL who would have done that. 

Yeah, he's the only coach in the NFL that would risk giving Peyton Manning a 29 yard field.  That was a bone-headed decision any way you slice it.

Last team to have the ball wins.  Belichik knew if he punted that the game was over.

This isn't even close to true.  Especially when you have a good defense.

NFL coaches all go by "the book" so they have an excuse when things don't work out.  It shields them from criticism. Belichick doesn't care what the media or fans think.  He just does what he thinks is the best thing to win.  I'd rather put the game in Tom Brady's hands to convert 2 yards.  It didn't work.  But I have no doubt that the Colts would have scored if the Pats punted anyway. 

He would be in a much more defensible position had they been closer to midfield.  Even though he would never admit it publicly, I'd be willing to wager that he wishes he could take that one back and punted.

What the patriots should have also done was let Addai score instead of tackling him on the 1 yardline with ~1:30 left.  All they would have needed was a FG.

This one I can agree with.