The Big Cat

You guys, Chris Hayes is a hero. Takes a lot of guts to tackle these issues.

And obviously, we're a bit bias here, but it's clear that they just don't do their homework.

The Around the League--turned Around the NFL--podcast guys have changed their tune also. Projected this team as one of the bottom three in the NFL made no sense whatsoever. Projecting less than five wins was equally preposterous considering the last time we hit THAT mark, we started the season with an abysmal 0-8, a low mark that wasn't likely to repeat itself with how and where the roster has been since upgraded.

I'm just glad Naaman Roosevelt was on the team long enough to make your avatar.

MIGHT be?

In a recent interview Ross Tucker said there are really only two things that matter in an NFL locker room: How much money you make How violent you're willing to be

And oh by the way, Seattle on the road is a much different team than Seattle at home. Much.

Ha, okay, sure. A more nuanced analogy is a more accurate one, I suppose. BUT, my point remains, a person WILL perceive weather they're not accustom to more so than those who are. Let me extrapolate my analogy further. That same Arizonian, come December, will head home for winter break and be stymied once again, this time by the heat. Bodies do adapt. And it doesn't take them long. You're right, a Floridian playing in Anchorage will lose his warm-weather affinities QUICK.

I'm sorry, buddy, but this is false. Find a SUNY Fredonia freshmen who grew up in Arizona and ask him/her how they're feeling around the first of November.

But on the flip side, people said the same thing about Miami beating New England.

They're violent men who play a violent sport. There are 1696 of them on game day rosters. One incident a week seems like an avalanche of torrid behavior, but that's due in large part to the 24/7 echo chamber that amplifies it. In reality, even if it was one incident a week (which it's not, really), that's still less than one tenth of one percent of large, violent men being violent.

Hmmm Yeah, I received mine the Tuesday after week 2 last year.

UPDATE: I have yet to receive any. I'm assuming this is the case for others who shared theirs too?

What other guys? The pencil-neck reporters who'd be lucky to make 50K in any other gig? Nah, Sapp makes 500K because he--like all the other former-players who work in TV now--is a celebrity. He's employed to provide star-appeal. The rest of the guys are just working Joes, marginally better at their jobs than the army of 22-35 year olds desperate to get a toe in the door. Top brass need bodies to get the actual work done, and for the NFLN, it's a buyers' market.

Fully agree that the NE/OAK game has zero business being the national game. It's going to be a lousy contest. That said, I'm not sure if that automatically ushers BUF/SD to the front of the queue, but the lineup, in general is pretty awful. If not for the Bills, I'd say the the CLE/BAL game might deserve some more recognition. But the rest are stinkers. Yikes: HOU/NYG IND/JAX TEN/CIN

But can we move it quickly to counter their small ball. Say they take 9 minutes to kick a field goal. If we then take 5 minutes to have to punt, then they take 9 more minutes to kick another field goal, then we take 5 minutes to punt, then suddenly we're a 9 minute TD drive away from being on the ropes. I know that these numbers don't add up, and that it's fatalist to assume they'd be clicking so efficiently on the road, but the best way to get them out of the small ball crap is to put up numbers in bunches, force them to take their shots.

I'm much less concerned about containing their offense as I am about having an answer for it. Not enough has been talked about how we score more points than them. And quite frankly, I don't have the answer.

So..we know their D can be run on. But we know they'll want to take the crowd out of the game by playing small-ball against our D. It'll be critical that we not let them into short yardage situations deep in the count, but what kind of chances to we stand if we have to score in a hurry? This hasn't really been addressed.

Anybody get their coupon codes? I received mine on this date last year (Tuesday following week two).

Instead it was one of those standing wide open in the endzone waiting for the uncontested pass moments...don't drop it don't drop it don't drop it don't drop it. Couldn't have done it with out ya, buddy.

3rd and 36 without having committed a penalty. Tells the only story you need to hear!

/thread (as far as TBC is concerned)

It's tough to take credit when these things write themselves.

Nigel Bradham with two sacks on the play.

Pass to score, run to win.