The Steelers/Ravens are almost a 100% lock for the 5th seed...Cleveland and Indy have the remaining two right now.
Miami, Raiders, NE and Chargers...are behind them.
Indy has Ravens, Steelers, Packers and Titans twice..and a H2H with Vegas.
They have a one game lead...two on LA.
Cleveland has a H2H with Vegas this week...tempted to bet on that one. Raiders almost HAVE to win this game to ensure a post-season birth...its an important one.
Chargers look like a potential top seven team with Herbert...and have a pretty easy schedule...Bills, KC and Vegas x2. [Reply]
it's not necessarily the volume of penalties - but WHEN they occur, and in what context.
He could have thrown only 4 flags against the chiefs versus the raiders, but guess what - 2 of them prevented scores - and one non-call prevented another. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJJasonp:
it's not necessarily the volume of penalties - but WHEN they occur, and in what context.
He could have thrown only 4 flags against the chiefs versus the raiders, but guess what - 2 of them prevented scores - and one non-call prevented another.
I get that but if he were doing it on purpose - to forward a specific agenda, you'd see that manifested in wins and losses over time.
Clete Blakeman is just a shitty ref. Not part of some grand conspiracy. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wazu:
Before I learned they wouldn't have fans, I was kind of looking forward to seeing SoFi stadium. It seems like a pretty marvelous venue. I hope it succeeds, at least for the Rams. But every time they show it now it's just blah. Who cares? Might as well play at a high school field. Also, no idea what BAU means or stands for.
Originally Posted by BlackOp:
Herbert looks great...and their stadium is really, really nice.
FWIW...Patriots 12th man, Clete Blakeman is handling the Pats/Bills game. What are the odds he allows NE to drop to 2-5, almost certainly ending their season?
NE is a bad matchup for Buffalo.
If NE wins it's because they did to Allen what they do to every other QB; drop a shit ton of light guys into coverage and dare teams to run.
It doesn't work against teams like the 49ers.
It works against teams that have no run game, or decide not to use the run game i.e Chiefs and Bills.
Bills can't stop the run. Patriots run the football.
Bills have no run game and are pass heavy. The Patriots defense keys in on the pass game at the sacrifice of the run game.
The Bills play right into what NE likes to do.
The Patriots probably will beat the Bills and the refs have nothing to do with it. Look at the damn matchup.
Another "bold" prediction: NE's offense gets "healthy" in this game. The Bills defense can't stop a nose bleed. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RaidersOftheCellar:
Is it possible that Belichick is tanking for Trevor?
They’ve looked flat-out terrible lately, after looking like a top-tier AFC team early on.
If they lose to the Jets, all will be clear.
I don't believe in this stuff, but I'll play along because the SNF was so boring.
Anyway, I doubt it. They already have 2 wins. Plus, they have at least 4 games left against opponents that are really bad against the run. A couple that are bad against both. They could luck into a win.
And finally, check the Jets schedule. There's not one game on that thing the Jets should win. Not one.
At best the Patsies will be fighting a couple other two-win teams for the right to be second. [Reply]
So the Browns couldn't score against Oakland but they looked like the 99 Rams against the Bengals a week prior. And the Bengals couldn't stop Cleveland last week but this week their defense looked like the 85 Bears against the Titans, who have been running wild over everyone. [Reply]