midseason + shit thursday night game = NFL WEEK 9 thread on friday

there are some games

carolina and new orleans are turrible yall. THE WHOLE GODDAMN NFC SOUTH STINKS

I know I'm not alone, but 2014 is the year I really quit giving a shit. (Maybe I say this in the middle of the season every year? I dunno. But I even started off this season with so little enthusiasm.)

i've enjoyed watching various games but there is like nothing interesting to talk about

i'm crazy about this season but that obv has a lot to do w/ the team i root for and the division they're in.

Denver and New England seem like the only great teams. And New England looked terrible for a stretch. There aren't a whole lot of good storylines this time around. I dunno, maybe this is the year the Lions actually do something

Even the Jets imploding barely gets me to crack a smile.

I've seen some good back and forth games, but the defense is pretty laughable this year. Maybe it is trying to avoid head to head, but I have seen tons of just horrible open field tackling. Most teams really can't play defense until they get into the red zone and shorten the amount of space to cover.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1S9imhCcAAo947.jpg

HALF WAY ASSESSMENT OF PRIMARY PLAYOFF CONTENDERS--

Denver looks pretty hard to beat at this point. Teams got three options to beat the Broncos: force turnovers, keep them off the field or actually try to run with them and hope you get the ball last. I'd love to see how they match up with Philly.

AZ- Still really haven't seen them play except on highlights. They had talent the past couple years just had terrible QB play, so I buy the improvement. Palmer is solid enough at QB. Coach seems pretty smart.

NE- I think they are getting some production out of new people. Gronk is starting to play more like Gronk and that other young TE seems pretty good. They could use a burner to open up things. Defense is ok but they don't seem to make the big play against the good teams anymore.

Dallas- I think the biggest thing is keeping Tony Romo and other keys healthy. You still expect them to do the stupid in key points as a club. Other than Jville and maybe the Bears, their schedule is really competitive. I can't see them playing better than .500 down the stretch, so will 10-6 get it done?

Philly- They look great at times. They throw away alot of balls and the nature of their offense if they get stopped 3 and out a couple times can wear down their defense. Defense has good games, but I think they have to rely on blitzes and trickery for success as I have seen some clubs push them around running the ball some.

Detroit- Haven't seen them play much. They always had some talent, I think it may be they are just not playing stupid as much getting bad penalties etc.

Packers- I don't trust these guys. They can play great, but I think Rodgers works past some issues on their offense and their defense can be grinded down.

Chargers- Seem to be pretty solid all the way around team, but I don't know that they have the big play in them on o or d.

Indy- They have looked great but at times they seem to just have quarters where they are lost as hell. They did the same thing last year getting up big on teams and then crazy rallying to win. Rofflesberger lights you up for 500+, you know that any of the big QB teams could do so too. They probably got a playoff ticket nearly punched, as it is weak. Can't see Houston catching them and the other two are the dregs.

Seattle- Identity Crisis. They seem pretty average this season, part of the hubub seems to be that they are trying to force into a passing game that they might not really be ideally suited to run.

Niners- They are very solid and are going to be getting people back who could produce. I think they will hang around and be a club people don't want to play.

Cincy- Green hurt takes away the big bang on the offense. Dalton is ok, but I think would fit more on a team where you run the ball more, which would help defense. (See Seattle issues...)

Bmore- They seem pretty decent this year, I'm kind of interested to see how they play out.

Steelers- Maybe they are dead or maybe they are getting good, I can't really quite tell yet as it changes week to week.

KC- Solid but I think their division is too strong for them to get over the top.

Bills- Don't know bout them Bills.

Saints- Not surprised they have played better. I think a big thing is if the defense improves. They got a big advantage that they are in a weak division.

There are some other decent clubs like Miami, Cleveland, Carolina, Houston, Giants etc. that can play a team tough some weeks. I don't think any of them got real expectations of getting over other clubs in their division to get to the playoffs.

interesting run down. broncos do seem clear of the pack for the moment. baltimore are definitely the dark horses/birds. none of the better nfc sides are clicking yet but we'll see what happens thru november.

Watch Arizona win the whole thing

The Arizona Cardinals would probably not make the TV lords happy, but hey I don't think they have won a title since the Manhattan Project was being done in their stadium.

this guy, breeland on the hatcats playing well

wonder if this broadcast will mention the large protest of the name outside the stadium today

there's a linebacker on the texans named Whitney Mercilus and they pronounce his last name merciless and it is chilling every time the announcers credit him for a sack or tackle

mark sanchez at QB in philly now!

yes and playing very well (that pick that just happened wasn't his fault at all - deflection from philly receiver hands)

What happened to foles???

fell on his left shoulder which he had hurt a little during that physical http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG game

i think merciless might've actually made that hit

tannehill & fish o-line look great

i would never actually root for the iggles, but i do want sanchez to do well. just to make jets fans feel that much worse

i miss earlier this season when the chargers were good

oh, weedenpaws

possible broken clavicle for foles?

that fins/bolts result is baffling but, the lopsidedness aside, it looks like miami is actually good. i feel like this is the kind of game in the last couple years where they got found out after looking okay early in the season, but they have put together a string of pretty good performances now.

thought sanchez looked great -- not horribly crushed about foles being out tbh. which is not to say that i'm encouraging a qb controversy.

yeahhhhhh INT

Gronk's on fire

oh shit

cant believe the punter got that away, but i guess i will take it

best punt returner

also lol @ simms trying to call a penalty, fuck you bro

Haterz

Drop it Simms

it's shoulder to shoulder, asshole

you'd think simms would be more grateful for those 2 rings bill got for him

mike carey pwned simms, lol

No good!

This may be the best showing from pats D so far this season

that's a helluva play

liking this ayers guy

Hindsight is 20/20 and all, but going for it on 4 & 6 seemed like a crazy call to me

yeah with a diff qb it would have been a good spot for a lil qb punt.

aw coming back

don't need to bother mike carey on this one fellas

There it is

no prob vereen is on it

that was pretty hilarious. always ints when these qbs go head to head, seems like.

poor welker :(

i enjoyed the INT though

welker looks bad this year

he's still coming down

lol

also broncos special teams are a complete joke

with the money they have invested in the front end the back half of their roster must be garbage

so . . . was skip bayless right about something?

no

getting reallllyy tired of yellow flag on every other play in the nfl

whew

broncos, maybe unimpressed with brady's couple of long throws, have been playing just 1 high safety in the 2nd half

i guess pats are into the wind this quarter too

http://deadspin.com/all-hail-daren-bates-who-committed-a-truly-magnificent-1653807007

lol

can anyone explain what's going on in Rams/49ers

that catch!

that's a dumb challenge

GRONK

ok Twitter explained it, lol49ers

that was a dumb 2pt decision too. exactly which team is john fox coaching today?

what happened w/ the niners game?

jeez what a catch

Crabtree makes a catch at the goalline, winds up being ruled not being a TD, Kaepernick tries to sneak it in and fumbles, Rams recover in endzone

lol that's good work

surprised teh broncos oline looks so bad this game, denver has really been dictated to on both sides of hte ball

wait did sf go for the win when they couldve tied it?

9ers wanted to emulate the wrenching ole miss loss, kudos chaps

harbaugh losing it i hope

lol @ sudden decision to go for it on fourth and one
i wonder if they don't like the defense once they're on the field, do they false start on purpose

pats d showed up in a pretty big way today

Ending to rams niners was great. Fuck harbaugh.

pats d was strong across the board but it was a banner day for hightower and collins as every down lbs, those guys were everywhere.

terrell suggs is such a worthless human being

otm that was horrible coulda ended blounts career

Terrell Suggs on the personal foul on Blount: “He was running and he was still up and moving the pile. I assessed the play. That was the only way I could get him down without him gaining more yards. I wasn’t trying to get him hurt. I was just trying to get the big guy down. Whatever.”

Whatever.

what an exciting rollercoaster ride the '14 steelers are. unless the season takes another serious swing they are realistically on for 11-5 which i definitely didn't see coming when they were losing at home to the bucs and looked like the worst team in the division.

last 3 weeks, patritos & steelers 3-0 each at home

pats 121 pts / 1208 net yds
pitt 124 pts / 1343 net yds

foles out 6-8 weeks, ryan out for the season

steve weatherford drinks mangosteen juice

that is totally unsurprising to me

Remember when the Pats and Steelers were both toast? Oh yeah that was like 3 weeks ago.

Colts and Pats should be an interesting match up in a couple weeks.