Just maybe because it is "upset" week in the nfl ...

[J. David Wannyheimer]

We are playing the Chiefs at 4:25

That's unfortunate as I would have preferred real home field advantage.

I'm not sure what to make of this game against the Chiefs. My friend, who is a big Chiefs fan, told me two weeks ago, "we're going to be bad, just watch." He cited the team's OL and receivers as huge problem areas that they just weren't going to be able to make up for. After two weeks, their backs are averaging about 3 yards per rush (Alex Smith is nearly their leading rusher) and their leading receivers are: 1. Travis Kelce (TE) and 2. Anthony Fasano (TE). They've given up six sacks and Smith has been under duress.

So it looks like he was right about the Chiefs, and that the two areas where they are weak on offense right now coincide with the two areas where the Patriots were weak. And Brady is better than Alex Smith, I think we will all agree. Their defense has been poor on both sides of the ball; rhey've given up five passing touchdowns and are giving up 4 and a half yards per attempt on the ground. The question I must ask is how much of that defensive ineptitude is due to playing the Broncos and how much is due to the defense not being very good?

All I know is that if the Dolphins play with the same level of fire, intensity, and unity it displayed against New England, I feel very good about the chances of Miami winning the game. On paper, I think this is a strong match-up for Miami.

However, once again it comes back to what has caused me to finally give up on Joe Philbin. I fully expect this Dolphins team to come out and play flatter than a hardwood floor.

We'll see.

 

[WVDolphan]

How else do you explain the pathetic performance from our beloved Dolphins. OR the Saints loss AND the 49ers loss. Or the New England win with Mr Bunchen throwing for just 140yards. It started off with East Carolina upsetting Virginia tech, from there I know its going to be a long weekend. You get this type of weekends once every month or so. All my picks were shredded.

Easy. They lost to a better team. They lost to a team that has beaten them several times in a row. The game looked almost identical to the game we played at Buffalo just a few regular season games ago. That is not an upset. That is a trend.

Saints lost on the road. Not shocking. I Vbet the Browns on here. I told others in the chat to bet the Browns. The Saints have not been a good road team in recent history.

9ers lost because their QB is hot garbage. I picked the 9ers to finish last in the West. I was not shocked. Harbaugh is an idiot who hitched his wagon to a garbage QB when he had a decent QB in Alex Smith.

East Carolina beating Va Tech was not shocking at all. ECU has been playing mediocre college teams pretty well over the past couple of decades.

Who in the hell was shocked that the Pats beat the Vikings?

 

[chris66]

How else do you explain the pathetic performance from our beloved Dolphins. OR the Saints loss AND the 49ers loss. Or the New England win with Mr Bunchen throwing for just 140yards. It started off with East Carolina upsetting Virginia tech, from there I know its going to be a long weekend. You get this type of weekends once every month or so. All my picks were shredded.

easy. teams arent sure what the opponents tendencies are. By week 4-5 you should start getting a handle on most teams.

difference between good teams and also ran's is the teams ability to adjust once there is film out there.

 

[J. David Wannyheimer]

9ers lost because their QB is hot garbage.

I'm no fan of Kaepernick at all -- and he made some HORRIBLE decisions that resulted in turnovers -- but I have to credit the Bears for playing fearless football in the second half. And the 49ers wilted together as a team.

Bill Lazor needs to be shown the All-22 footage of that game. Your QB throws one bad deep ball? Okay, yell at him. Then dial it up again. Maybe if they'd called that deep ball to Hartline earlier it wouldn't have been freaking meaningless, and maybe he catches it. Drops are drops; they happen and you try again.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

[/B] I am hoping that playing at 5280 feet has an effect on their recovery. Playing at altitude then going to play in heat and humidity, plus the early start on the east coast should be in our favor(early starts usually impact west coast teams. Any #s on what a team does after playing on the road at Mile High? The Rockies seem to believe that the altitude is a detriment to their starting pitchers stamina I would be curious to see if it hurts teams the following week.

I don't do team situational trends like that. I'm not saying they aren't valid in some situations. Some of my friends rely on them. I prefer broad stroke systems that can apply to any team. For example, only a few teams per year will play at Denver and then go on the road again the following week. It might be less than a few. The sample is so small that I don't care to pay attention. It might be 25 or 30 games over a 10 year period. I'm looking for hundreds if not thousands in a 10 year span.

I forgot to mention that the Rams also succeeded on the road after losing as favorite the week prior.

 

[LordTua]

Well, I didn't. I laughed when I saw a bunch of people in my suicide pool get knocked out by them. Browns are underrated because of how criminally inept they can be. Sort of like the Dolphins. They're not free-win tier bad like the Jags, Raiders, and Giants. And when do the Saints ever have anything more than their passing game?

Ingram has been beastly this season. And he was absolutely gashing the Browns before he went down