Here’s the place to discuss all our shoulder-pad wearing favourites. All are welcome… even Cheatriots fans. 
In that case… Go Pack Go 
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The mood for the padded professionals over here is a bit muted. Even in a normal year, it takes a bit for people to realize that a new season has come (with temps still summery, outdoor activities, etc), but this one has seemed to have quite a bit less notice.
Could be that people who would normally travel/attend games, now cannot. TV hasn’t really pushed it either. It will be a totally different world for the production—empty stadia, lackluster NFL hierarchal fan communication…any number of reasons.
I had forgotten that Opening Weekend was here until someone asked me about it. Just not feeling the NFL this year. See if that changes.
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wanted the eagles to trade carson wentz instead of extending him on a massive contract. rarely been more irritated at being right, he’s regressed to a stunning degree. my man joe burrow is the real deal though
edwards-helaire from LSU was made for reid’s screen game, his KC teams have always started well but they are looking extremely impressive
now that i’m out of pittsburgh it’s easier to admire that organization. roethlisberger is a scumbag but when he’s on the field he’s elite
I might be wrong, but the impression I always got was that it didn’t really generate much hype or interest publicly until Thanksgiving, then it really gathered moment through xmas and into the playoffs
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yeah it’s obvious to the untrained eye. you’re a rams fan iirc so perhaps you saw the INT he threw in the end zone against them–his front end flew open and it looked like a pick before it even left his hand. his mechanics are a mess, no attention to detail, doesn’t set his feet on those ‘smoke’ screens and consistently throws behind the receiver–high school kids make those throws. obvious indictment of the coaching staff. it’s a cliche around here to say he misses frank reich’s coaching, but what other conclusion can be drawn? he’s gone from a world-beater to average to a liability
only chance of foisting him & that contract on somebody else is the colts reuniting him with reich and having him take over from rivers in a year or two, but doubt they’d even be interested
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For the more casual inside viewing public, that is a fair assessment. However, for spectators and full-on TV fans, it revs up almost from the start. And, once September gets going (mid-month usually), it gets more attention.
This year has been such a mind-screw, it has been difficult to get any real enthusiasm. May take some time to get that back.
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here for an esoteric semi-victory lap over the australian former rugby player jordan mailata, who was drafted by the eagles as an offensive tackle in 2017, and actually had to play last night
he struggled with stunts, twists, and recognizing blitzers, and had a killer false start shortly after coming on, but overall he was pretty good. consistently won in one-on-one pass protection and moved people in the run game. not just better than the 38 year-old jason peters, but better than the kid from washington state who they drafted too imo
prescott threw for another 500 yards but the cowboys lost again, to the browns. not sure why or how their defense is so bad. vander esch is hurt & byron jones left, but still
Bills fan here…it’s been a long time since we were any good…still waiting for someone to pull the rug out from under me. Is Josh Allen really actually good? 
Bills have Christian Wade stashed on practice squad…don’t know much about him, other than he played Rugby at some point, and looked fairly explosive during preseason last year. It’s a weird deal, I think he’s on some exempt list, so he will be with the Bills all year, but can’t play. I guess it’s next year a decision has to be made about what to do with him.
the question was always about allen’s accuracy, there’s general skepticism that it’s something that’s develops dramatically during a professional career. through four games he’s completing 71% of his passes. teams will adjust to certain things they’re seeing and take away some of the easier throws they’re scripting for him, but it’s hard to put a four-game stretch like this down as a blip
allen was even more raw than wentz when he came into the league, even though he was more experienced. but he’s even more athletic and has an even bigger arm, and unlike wentz, his accuracy as a passer is trending upwards
Haha, got screwed on the interception though! Never in a million years.
Nice to see Jackson tearing league apart. He’s the qb i wanted when we got Allen.
Here’s the ‘interception’ that was upheld after review.
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Must be due to Brady, surely? Pittsburgh looking good today- they will be the main threat to KC in the AFC this year, I feel.
Fully expecting us to lose tonight; we always disappoint when we’re expected to beat the 49ers.
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nobody cares, but i’ve waited my entire life for kentucky to beat tennessee at neyland stadium
kentucky curb-stomped them 34-7 yesterday. pickford ruined that for me too
packers O line is looking sorry here against tampa
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seems to happen more often in recent years, but ngakoue is a really good in-season addition for baltimore. i think they’ve got the steelers next week, there’s a good argument that they’re two of the three best teams in the league, along with the chiefs. roethlisberger is a vile character but still an elite QB when he’s healthy enough to play. easier to respect that organization now that i don’t live there
i’m disappointed in carson wentz’s lack of development, but i have to say, he’s one tough son of a bitch. taken a ton of big hits the last couple of weeks and he stands in there and makes the throw without flinching–favre & eli manning are two examples of guys who would throw the ball to the other team instead of taking it on the chin
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It’s like watching Fulham vs Burnley. Only @ShadesOfRed would watch.
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During my sophomore year, my Ethiopian college roommate and I went to see U2’s Joshua Tree in Oakland. A few skinhead types started pushing us around. A huge guy with a Cal shirt stepped in to help us. So did some of his other massive friends. The skinheads bolted. The gentleman came up to me and I thanked him. He asked where we were from and I told him we were students. He said he had played football at Cal. Years later I realized he was Ron Rivera, who now coaches the Washington football team.
Rooting for him in his fight against cancer. YNWA, Ron.
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I’m not sure that there’s any such thing.
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Just read that the Denver Broncos managed to have all of their quarterbacks exposed unmasked to a single positive, so have no QBs for a game today. Might even watch part of that for the absurdity
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It’s not just the NFL though, is it? It’s the whole freedom-loving western world.
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