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The 700 Level - Home of the Ginger Jesus.

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,382
Brandon Graham said he tore his triceps, out for the season.
Devestated by that
He's not just a generational dude to have in the locker room but he was playing really well and making big plays for this defence every week
Going to be real tough to replace
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
19,182
Very sad way to go out for Brandon but it is what it is and the rest of the team need to rally around him.

On the game, best win if the season so far, better than the Bengals win IMO. It really was comprehensive on both sides of the ball.

Defensively they had the ball moved on them easier at times than they are used to but that's expected against decent QB and quality receivers. After the first two series Fangio worked things out and they were lights out from there outside of junk time and an outrageous PI call that led to their 2nd TD. Fangio took the gloves off and that defensive line obliterated what is a decent rams O line which took Puka and Kupp out of the game.

Offensively they grinded away in the first half like normal, worse the opposition down at the front and reaped the awards in the 2nd half. Hurts was not asked to do too much and he protected the ball. Saquon was relentless and was rewarded with long range TDs to wrap the game up. Special mention to Cam Jurgens who has admirably replaced Kelce and is savaging defenders up front. I do still find it somewhat odd this offence can't score in the first quarter, it has to be coaching and scheme but I guess there is something to be said for adapting and figuring it out on the go.

Big picture wise, dem Boyz did us a favour by beating the commanders. That really wraps up the division, we would have to lose 3 of our last 6 whilst commanders win out for it to even go to a tie breaker.

The two seed (at minimum) is just about done too. Both the NFC south and West winners will be at 12 wins at the most but I doubt either will be more than 10 wins so again we would have to lose 3 of the last 6 for there even to be a chance at a tie breaker. Both Atlanta and TB own the tie breaker but I can't see a realistic scenario where that comes in to play.

The one seed is alive IMO, I give us a 30-35% chance with Detroit still having GB, MIN, BUF and SF all in the schedule. Realistically we probably need to win 5 from 6 though.

Ravens next which with our win and the Washington loss seems like a bit of a free hit in what will be a very tough out. I don't expect us to win but I think seeing what we will see if we make the SB will do this team a world of good, that being a MVP calibre QB whether it is Mahomes, Allen, Lamar or even Stroud or Herbert.
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,382
Just looking at the standings and man it's tough to see how we dont get either the #1 or #2 seed
3rd seed is 3 full games behind us due to divisions

Agreed the 1 seed is alive, i dont think we'll beat the Ravens next week (Check Lamar's record against the NFC) but i think we can run the table otherwise

Which means we need the Lions to drop two games and i think at least one of them needs to be the packers.
They have CHIx2, Bills, Niners, Packers and Vikings... think the #1 is very live.
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,382
Defensively they had the ball moved on them easier at times than they are used to but that's expected against decent QB and quality receivers. After the first two series Fangio worked things out and they were lights out from there outside of junk time and an outrageous PI call that led to their 2nd TD. Fangio took the gloves off and that defensive line obliterated what is a decent rams O line which took Puka and Kupp out of the game.

Both TD's beside the junk time to Kupp were off pathetic PIs!

If Land Clarke and his pals didnt stick their nose in where it wasnt needed this game is legitimately a 41-13 laugher.
Even the offsetting penalty on Dickerson/Jergens (i cant recall who) was f**king horseshit.
Turned a first and goal from the 1 into a FG attempt. Zebras legitmately gave the Rams about 12 points of added points.

Not to mention the fumble they missed and had to be challanged and almost blew that call too. And that Jalen Carter is getting held on half the pass rush snaps he plays without a call.
Christ they were bad today
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
19,182
Both TD's beside the junk time to Kupp were off pathetic PIs!

If Land Clarke and his pals didnt stick their nose in where it wasnt needed this game is legitimately a 41-13 laugher.
Even the offsetting penalty on Dickerson/Jergens (i cant recall who) was f**king horseshit.
Turned a first and goal from the 1 into a FG attempt. Zebras legitmately gave the Rams about 12 points of added points.

Not to mention the fumble they missed and had to be challanged and almost blew that call too. And that Jalen Carter is getting held on half the pass rush snaps he plays without a call.
Christ they were bad today
Yep the refs made some perplexing calls.

Yes the first TD was off a dud PI call too however I give the Rams an even money chance to score the TD on the next play as they were driving well at that point. The 2nd one though was an even worse call that turned what should have been a 50 yard FG attempt in to a 1st and goal at the 3.

We did get one back though when Sirriani changed his mind about taking that penalty lol. You shouldn't be allowed to do that but it seems they did a pretty good job of sowing doubt that they were actually asked what their decision was and claimed the ref just assumed it.

Just looking at the standings and man it's tough to see how we dont get either the #1 or #2 seed
3rd seed is 3 full games behind us due to divisions

Agreed the 1 seed is alive, i dont think we'll beat the Ravens next week (Check Lamar's record against the NFC) but i think we can run the table otherwise

Which means we need the Lions to drop two games and i think at least one of them needs to be the packers.
They have CHIx2, Bills, Niners, Packers and Vikings... think the #1 is very live.
Having a closer look at this, in regards to the division we are 3 ahead in the loss column and 2 ahead in the win column. On WAS off week we play Panthers at home so I think it is fair to say we are a legit 3 games ahead. Let's say worse case scenario we lose 3 of the last 6 and WAS run the table (Exceedingly unlikely). In that case as long as the 3 losses don't include DAL or NYG, we win tie breaker based on divisional record (Thanks cowboys).

In regards to two seed being the floor, the NFC West winner will be on 12 wins at the maximum and the way that lottery of a division is going, it's likely to be 10 IMO. In the NFC South both ATL and TB own the tiebreaker against us as they represent our only losses but their ceilings are 12 and 11 wins respectively. So winning 4 of 6 guarantees 2 seed or above but in reality we probably only need 2 wins.

The one seed we will need some things to go our way. I agree we can jot down BAL as a loss. Lamar doesn't lose to the NFC and playing them on the road is hard enough without it being off the back of a late Sunday game across the country. After this week though I like our schedule the rest of the way, not just the opponents but the fact we potentially don't get on a plane again until the NFC championship game with our only road fixture in the last 5 being at WAS so winning the last 5 if we need to is a possibility.

This far out, the tiebreaker is hard to predict. Let's say we go 5-1 to finish and DET drop two meaning we both finish 14-3. In that case, as long as our one loss is BAL or PIT our conference record would be 10-2. DET would also be 10-2 assuming one of their projected two losses is the bills. If their two losses were in the conference we would win the tiebreaker and similarly if our one loss was in the NFC they would win the tiebreaker. Diving further, assuming we both go 10-2 in the conference, then common games come in to play with those common games and projected record in this scenario being per below

Rams - Both 1-0
Bucs - Both 0-1
Cowboys - Us 2-0, them 1-0
Jags - Both 1-0
Packers - us 1-0, them 2-0 OR 1-1

So, as you allude to above, the DET/GB game is all important at this stage because it decides the tie breaker. If DET win that game we are both 5-1 against those opponents or they lose and we win the tiebreaker 5-1 vs 4-2. The reason this is so important is the next tiebreaker is SOV and DET is well ahead on that metric.
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,382
Really interested to see this Baltimore game
I think that defence is gettable but Lamar just doesnt lose to NFC teams, typically too hard to prepare for him on a short week but this year he's running less and using his arm. It's a more traditional Lamar (in so far as he can be) this year

Their WRs arent anything special, and we shouldnt fear them with our secondary. If we can win early downs with King Henry in the backfield, and force Lamar into 3rd and long, i trust our defence to get enough stops to give us a chance to win the game
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
19,182
How do we see Saquon's bid for the MVP?

If the season ended today I think he should get it but I think Jos Allen would get it as it's essentially a QB award.

He probably needs the Bills to drop a couple of games to be a real shot but I think he is absolutely ahead of Lamar as of today.
 

Haffa

Guest
Messages
16,506
He probably needs to break Dickersons all time rushing record and potentially the All Scrimmage too.

If he balls out again this week it’s going to be hard to make a case against him. We all know how much better he has made this team.
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
19,182
Giants earlier scored their 2nd first drive TD for the season which is two more than us.

Over/under of if/when we finally do it?

Doubt it comes this week. Surely the following week against Panthers is a shot.
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
19,182
Anyone getting eagles 2023 vibes from the chiefs? They were outright lucky today and that's the 3rd game they should have lost and didn't die to the other team being inept at the end of a game.

Maybe they'll do a penrith and switch the flick in the playoffs but their form looks fake at the moment
 

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