The NFL Thread

[Jack Regan]

So the Bills follow up last week's win over Miami by losing to the Jags. Lost Matt Milano to a probably season ending injury too (having lost Tre'Davious White to one last week).

 

[Alan]

Jacksonville have a good team, despite the slow start.

That, and "any given Sunday" is a cliché for a reason.

 

[Jack Regan]

The extra week in London will have likely helped too as no time lost to travelling this week.

 

[Alan]

I had forgotten that, it's a good point.

I'm down for the international games (I'm a filthy Mark-style neutral innit) but the league needs to do better keeping things like travel balanced. Hard tightrope to walk, mind, and Khan's connections in England probably give the Jags a leg up there.

 

[Tony Towner]

The extra week in London will have likely helped too as no time lost to travelling this week.

That's why I had the Jags with the points in my treble

 

[Alan]

In other news, CJ Stroud appears to be Him for Houston.

 

[Jack Regan]

Anthony Richardson out injured again for the Colts, dislocated shoulder by the looks of things (throwing arm too).

 

[Alan]

Zach wins the Wilson Bowl.

 

[Jack Regan]

In a game with three Wilson's, it was actually the two Hall's who helped decided the game in the Jets favour.

The 49ers smashed the Cowboys on SNF, and along with the Eagles have got to be Superbowl favourites. The AFC looks a bit more muddy with the Chiefs, Dolphins and Bills all looking vulnerable.

 

[Tony Towner]

Whereas SF 5-0 looks genuine Philly's looks like a bit of a mirage. They are still a good team, but not on the same level, at least at the moment. After the Jets next week their schedule is
Miami
@Washington
Dallas
@Kansas City
Buffalo
San Francisco
@ Dallas
@ Seattle

Their record will probably be more consistent with the team that they are after that murderers row.

 

[Dire Wolf]

About the London game yesterday: 1st Bills fans are as advertised; fun, friendly, hard drinking and loud. Met lots of genuinely great people from Western New York. The atmosphere they created in and around the stadium was nothing like anything I've seen before. They deserve a great team. What they got was not that. And I don't think there was much more number 17 could have done.

The offense was in neutral for most of the first half. They couldn't run the ball, the o-line was pathetic. The play calling was predictable. It's a statistical fact that when working from under center and using play action Josh Allen is unstoppable. So what did Ken Dorsey do? Call everything in the first half from shotgun. Shotgun runs weren't working and so the Jags were able to stifle the passing game too. Terrible coaching. And the Bills defense could not stop the Jags consistently. They made some good plays up front getting pressure and sacks but the Jags ran the ball at will. They took advantage of the fact that the Bills were starting their 3rd and 4th choice CBs and when Buffalo lost their 2 best run defenders (Milano and Jones) early in the game that was essentially that.

Jags deserved the win, they were the better team. But you have to question the Bills decision to arrive in London on Friday morning and give themselves zero time to adjust. It looked like they were jet lagged and the Jags were handed an even bigger advantage by being in London for 2 weeks. Baffling decision by the NFL, even worse decision by the Bills to effectively double that advantage by arriving so late.

I've been to London 3 times to see my teams play big games. Twice for the Bills, once for Wolves. Every one has ended in disappointment.

 

[Alan]

Alijah Vera-Tucker out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Huge blow for NYJ; he’s a top 5 OT.

It’s the second season in a row that Vera-Tucker has suffered a catastrophic injury while playing away at Denver.

 

[Jack Regan]

Justin Jefferson being put on IR by the sounds of things, if that doesn't kill off any playoff hopes the Vikings have then I'll be surprised. Could encourage a move for Cousins from the Jets too.

 

[Wolf Hunting]

When I watch the games I've recorded, I sit there holding the remote control in my hand and zip through the ad breaks.
Can someone tell me, at the actual game, London or over in the States if it's any different, whilst I'm watching adverts what is actually happening in the stadium?
I get the game is played over precisely 4 quarters of 15 mins but the TV broadcast is around 3 hours. What actually happens on the pitch?
I actually watched a game and waited through the first few ad breaks which were sooooo long, I'd almost forgotten what was going on and all of the atmosphere had evaporated!

 

[Tony Towner]

When I watch the games I've recorded, I sit there holding the remote control in my hand and zip through the ad breaks.
Can someone tell me, at the actual game, London or over in the States if it's any different, whilst I'm watching adverts what is actually happening in the stadium?
I get the game is played over precisely 4 quarters of 15 mins but the TV broadcast is around 3 hours. What actually happens on the pitch?
I actually watched a game and waited through the first few ad breaks which were sooooo long, I'd almost forgotten what was going on and all of the atmosphere had evaporated!

Mainly music playing, replays, updates from around the league, shots of the crowd waving, t shirts being shot into the stands, that kind of thing. On the field it's either a timeout or change of offensive /defensive sides so not that much hanging around for the teams once the coaching is taken into account

 

[Jack Regan]

I've really struggled to watch games without a studio to fall back on. When it's just adverts or a Sky logo during breaks in play then it just seems interminable. It's especially bad when it's the last five minutes of a half with timeouts etc.

 

[Alan]

The worst thing about football season is seeing the same five ads in non-stop repeat each Saturday and Sunday.

Soccer’s uninterrupted halves are a massive part of the appeal to me. No commercials during the course of play? Sign me up.

 

[Tony Towner]

Ha ha ha ha

 

[ROVERT47]

I always stick to the Red Zone.

 

[Jack Regan]

Fall asleep on the settee (thanks Lions and Bucs) with only one unbeaten team left, wake up an hour later with none.