Schedule looking better by the day

[halps80]

We can't predict how these teams will be playing by the time we face them. That said, I'm confident of three things:
1. The colts loss was exactly what we needed.
2. Everyone we face will give us their best game
3. We are much better than we've looked so far, particularly on O, with the emphasis on #3.

 

[Hawknballs]

1. The colts loss was exactly what we needed.

Uh.

LOL?

Losing is never a positive when you play only a 16 game schedule.

That sort of mentality might work in baseball when you need a slump before a spark of bringing up some new talent or a blockbuster trade when you play hundreds of games.

 

[halps80]

1. The colts loss was exactly what we needed.

Uh.

LOL?

Losing is never a positive when you play only a 16 game schedule.

That sort of mentality might work in baseball when you need a slump before a spark of bringing up some new talent or a blockbuster trade when you play hundreds of games.

That mentality builds character and will pay off in the long run. A little adversity can work in their favor, especially a young team like this that has gotten used to having things work out for them late in close games. I've seen enough teams sleepwalk through the regular season and have no edge in the playoffs to be confident in this. The loss hurts now, but it will be looked back upon as a turning point. I guarantee they will look much sharper from here out.

 

[C-Dub]

I think 13-3 will lock up home field and I'd say San Fran and ATL seem the most likely candidates for losses. But I have a feeling that there could be a WTF? loss yet in this team and the record will be 12-4. I hope I'm wrong. That Saints game is going to be so huge! Glad it's at home.

We play @SF and NO in back-to-back weeks, so that will be tough physically and mentally. I don't think we can do worse than 13-3 with the way SF and NO are playing.

These tiebreakers will be huge when it comes down to seeding for HFA. Even the Packers will be back up near the top come end of season.

 

[C-Dub]

We can't predict how these teams will be playing by the time we face them. That said, I'm confident of three things:
3. We are much better than we've looked so far, particularly on O, with the emphasis on #3.

I agree with #3. This team is built to have long-term success this season and win the ugly ones.

I have many doubts with Denver once the season progresses...especially with Manning's arm and him in the weather. Plus their defense is not good, but it should get better with a few returning players.

SF is my main concern in the NFC followed closely by the Saints, but I think they're more of a pretender (much like the Chiefs).

 

[Lords of Scythia]

There's really only 2 games I'm really worried about now. @SF and NO and they are back-to-back. CANNOT go 0-2 during that stretch.

Tenn - not a real threat, ok defense, should be a blowout
@AZ - short rest Thursday game, division game, not to take for granted...but they look like shit.
@STL - division game, not to take for granted...but they look like shit.
TB - the team is imploding, should be a blowout
@ATL - Julio out for season?, White hurting bad, RB woes, defense looking soft, road game in a dome
Minn - they suck, blowout
@NYG - hahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahaha
AZ - division game, not to take for granted...but they look like shit.
STL - division game, not to take for granted...but they look like shit.

Edit: Atlanta is better than what they are, but they are a team that looks like they've given up hope. This is a great week for a bye for them, but until a see a spark from them, I'm not worried.

The SF game might be for the division and the NO game might be for playoff position--maybe even for the #1 seed--so I dare we could lose both or go one and one and be just fine depending on the scenarios.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

No road game is an easy win.

And all those easy games aren't going to get us a lot of respect. The Houston, Indy, and New Orleans games will say far more about us.

What would really say a lot about us will be to go into SF and REAM them, especially if they're close behind us in the standings.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

1. The colts loss was exactly what we needed.

Uh.

LOL?

Losing is never a positive when you play only a 16 game schedule.

That sort of mentality might work in baseball when you need a slump before a spark of bringing up some new talent or a blockbuster trade when you play hundreds of games.

That mentality builds character and will pay off in the long run. A little adversity can work in their favor, especially a young team like this that has gotten used to having things work out for them late in close games. I've seen enough teams sleepwalk through the regular season and have no edge in the playoffs to be confident in this. The loss hurts now, but it will be looked back upon as a turning point. I guarantee they will look much sharper from here out.

I can see your point about this loss: Good team on the road, injuries, time zone, early game, second road game in a row, ect. They barely beat us, not a blow out or anything. There is a lot to be taken from this loss, especially early in the season.

 

[HansGruber]

We can't predict how these teams will be playing by the time we face them. That said, I'm confident of three things:
3. We are much better than we've looked so far, particularly on O, with the emphasis on #3.

I agree with #3. This team is built to have long-term success this season and win the ugly ones.

I have many doubts with Denver once the season progresses...especially with Manning's arm and him in the weather. Plus their defense is not good, but it should get better with a few returning players.

SF is my main concern in the NFC followed closely by the Saints, but I think they're more of a pretender (much like the Chiefs).

I hope the Saints aren't as good as the Chiefs.

The Chiefs aren't pretenders at all. They look very balanced and are physically battering teams. They remind me a lot of Seattle. A team built to win close games that is balanced well enough to match up against anybody. That defense is absolutely dominant. They've been killing it with all the turnovers and big plays. Alex Smith has looked really good, too. Typical smart football, doesn't turnover the ball, and he actually looks like a better passer since leaving SF.

KC is legit, probably the best overall balanced team in the AFC. They're going to beat Denver at least once and make some serious noise in the postseason.

New Orleans isn't nearly as balanced as KC. They've got Brees, and a great offense, but their defense is average to slightly below average. They actually remind me a lot of Denver.

New Orleans and Denver will both be early exits in the playoffs. Those teams with snazzy offenses and mediocre defenses generally don't fare well in the postseason. All the talk about Denver's awesome offense just reminds me of the 2007 Patriots - best offense in the history of the game, averaging 500 yards a game and something crazy like 40 points per game, but they got beat in the Superbowl by a 9-7 wildcard NY Giants team (who was more physical and had a better defense).