"Brandon Lloyd however has said he is not quite ready to play football; he did however recently act in a straight-to-DVD zombie movie." NFL 2013 Week 4!

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams
Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs
Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings *
Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans
New York Jets at Tennessee Titans
Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers
Philadelphia Eagles at Denver Broncos
Washington http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG at Oakland Raiders
New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons
Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints

d'oh hatcat!

let us renew our pleas for a miniaturized hatcat autoreplace, surely a kindly mod will look down upon us

http://i.imgur.com/Rfc6Xpn.png

hey there lil fellah

Last week 10-6 (season 32-16)

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams - 49ers, but both clubs have been really meh.
Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Bucs, but this is a pretty much even steven matchup of pretty bleh teams.
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills- Ravens but they have already looked both bad and great, which makes this a pretty good trap game for b-more.
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions- I'm going Lions at home in a slight upset. These games are generally pretty close no matter how good the clubs are and I think Detroit is improved some. Chicago losing Henry Melton for the year is a big loss to that great DL depth they usually have. Melton is pretty solid player.
Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns - Bengals, but these games are generally always close or get really wacky. Cincy has to cut down on the mistakes if they want to take that next step.
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars- Colts were really impressive last week, but J-ville often plays them tough. Indy to win, but look for a closer game than you might expect.
New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs- Give me the Chiefs, but I am not really sold on them and the Giants seem to play better often on the road when things get off.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings- Man, I dont' like either of these clubs- I guess Vikings.
Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans- Seahawks
New York Jets at Tennessee Titans- Titans
Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers- Cowboys
Philadelphia Eagles at Denver Broncos- Broncos
Washington at Oakland Raiders- I guess Washington.
New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons- Pats...both teams are kind of off, but the Pats are better on D.
Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints- Good game! Saints.

I think the Chiefs win too, but how many games will the Giants have to play before winning one? There's definitely something wrong there this year, but I've seen them turn things around many times. It's coming one of these weeks. I'd be surprised if it were in Arrowhead, though.

The Chiefs were too bad last year to just magically become an amazing team overnight thanks to one walrus and one dilfer, it's puzzling.

they had historically bad qb play last year tho. alex smith counts as a serious upgrade. jamaal charles is back from his injury, they've had a couple more players come through on an already loaded defense, esp. dontari poe.

all true and the upgrade from crennel to reid is huge, like really worth stating how much of an upgrade that was.

great nugget from twitter: the Giants averaged 2.4 inches per dropback in the first half vs Carolina

pretty sure my Fins won't beat the Saints on their own field, but I like the fact that it's not considered such a huge leap at this point.

I do feel like the Falcs will hold off the Patsies.

all else equal the pats match up well against the falcons right now, but that offense in the dome, who knows? that atl has no pash rush at all negates some of the advantage of the dome atmosphere, but even so. i think it might com down to turnovers, but you have the give falcons a slight edge, vegas prob has it right at -1.5

i've thought about this game a lot and if the pats play clean on offense they should win, atl is hella overrated.

If the Dolphins weren't so banged up on defense right now I'd put them at even odds with the Saints.
If the Falcons weren't so overrated I'd put them at even odds with the Patriots.

KC has some talent. They got one of the best LB pairs in football in Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. They got a good set of skills guys in Charles, Bowe and now Donnie Avery who came over from the Colts. KC has kind of a tradition of being good at special teams.

I don't think they are ready to challenge Denver or anything, but I can believe they might be in the mix as they are playing a 2-14 club schedule. They only got 5 games left with teams that made the playoffs last year (and one of those is Washington).

Sun September 29 New York Giants
5 Sun October 6 @ Tennessee Titans
6 Sun October 13 Oakland Raiders
7 Sun October 20 Houston Texans
8 Sun October 27 Cleveland Browns
9 Sun November 3 @ Buffalo Bills
10 Bye Week
11 Sun November 17 @ Denver Broncos
12 Sun November 24 San Diego Chargers
13 Sun December 1 Denver Broncos
14 Sun December 8 @ Washington http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG
15 Sun December 15 @ Oakland Raiders
16 Sun December 22 Indianapolis Colts
17 Sun December 29 @ San Diego Chargers

I say pretty possible KC hang's around for a bit.

Now the Jets at 2-1...eh, I don't see them as a 'contenda'.

Falcons offense will be fine, really needs to go into orbit as ATL's defense is where I think they got real problems.

I thought the large hatcat problem was fixed!

To embed the mini-hatcat one may use the url: http://i.imgur.com/Rfc6Xpn.png, like so:

http://i.imgur.com/Rfc6Xpn.png

Yeah, that's been covered. Supposedly, large-hatcat was replaced by mini-hatcat as an autoreplace for the word r edsk in s earlier today, though.

Going back to the mod request thread, I see it's devolved into mayhem.

I think the 2011 49ers prove just how valuable replacing a terrible coach with a good one can be

but I can believe they might be in the mix as they are playing a 2-14 club schedule.

yeah playing a last place sched plus significant upgrades @ coach + qb (even tho i really dont trust alex smith too much) = nfl success

you can totally trust alex smith, all he is is reliable, which alone makes him an above average qb. he has progressed into a terrific qb for a team that has a way to win games without throwing for 300 yards every week. he will complete at least 60% of his passes for around 7 yards/attempt and won't turn the ball over. you are not winning a super bowl with him nowadays, but he'll get you to the playoffs if you can run it a little and have a defense.

it's true, you are not winning a sb w/ him

drudge siren for the premature birth of the mike glennon era

http://www.runofplay.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/diplodocus.jpg

I would say Jacksonville is a sure bet to pick up Josh Freeman if he actually does get released by Tampa Bay, but his regression from his rookie year to the present has basically made him no better than Chad Henne. There's no upside.

I like Freeman. I hope some team with a good coaching staff grabs him as a backup, retrains him, and reboots his career.

When you say "you will not win a Super Bowl with him", you really mean they won't be a top-5 team with him right? Because QBs who "you will not win a Super Bowl with" seem to still win 2-3 times a decade.

not in the last 10 years tho, and i don't think that's a coincidence.

thing is they tend to stop saying it after that qb wins. as long as you do that you are magically never wrong.

wow. so wise. very wry. such observation.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-presents/0ap2000000250293/NFL-Films-Presents-Horsin-around-with-Eric-Berry

i apologize if my rye-ness brought bad vibes to i<3nfl. pls enjoy tonights nfc west contest between perpetual disappointments GORAMS and sudden disappointments 9ers. watch as sam bradford sails majestic 6 yard passes throughout the dome in front of at least 20,000 fans!

make that tomorrow night

not in the last 10 years tho, and i don't think that's a coincidence.

I dunno, look at Flacco and 07 Manning, I remember hearing "you'll never win a Super Bowl with him" in regards to both those guys.

Don't forget that Alex Smith was very close to the SB in 2011, before Kyle Williams fumbled it away

that atl has no pash rush at all negates some of the advantage of the dome atmosphere

^that's last year's vintage. Falcons have been putting decent heat on this season esp. with the addition of Umenyiora. This year's achilles heel is on the other side of the ball: O-line.

well you will know better than i, but i have seen and heard nothing good about atl getting after qbs this year, and isn't biermann out now too?

do you think the o-line is even worse than it has been in recent years? one thing i think that is underrated about matt ryan is his ability to get shit done without protection. i do think esp. how NE is looking up front this year that they will get plenty of pressure, but i don't know whether that will really tell.

Flacco and E. Manning are good contrasts to a steady eddie type like Alex Smith. they might fuck you over one game but they also might win you a couple others, and while that's not really what you want over 16, that is more like what you want at qb in single elimination when usually you have to pull something extra out against one or two top teams. imo.

also, even tho i like eli and flac a lot more than some folx around here, that anyone might even think to compare alex smith to them shows the guy has come a long way.

Don't forget that Alex Smith was very close to the SB in 2011, before Kyle Williams fumbled it away

It's true, but Alex also did not play well in that game.

also being in the super bowl is not winning it. theory i just made up: rex grossman was the death knell of dilfers in the current era.

i think it was kyle orton

Kyle Orton got them to the playoffs, Grossman got them to the SB (and promptly lost it).

wtf is wrong with my brain. I went back to look at the Bears' 2006 season and what I remember happening didn't happen. o_O

Oh okay, what happened actually happened. It just happened in 2005.

sorta think orton is more of a dilfer-manager type. plus trent dilfer said that orton was the most underrated qb in football in like 2010. game(manager) recongnize game (manager).

kind of funny how not that long ago, before the neo-QB revolution, game managers were all the rage in the league. hell, in 2000, only 17 teams even averaged over 300 yards/game.

just doing my pick em and there are loads of interesting contests this week, nearly every game.

Bmore at Buffalo - if the ravens lose this game, which is a real possibility, that seems like a big deal
Chicago at Detroit - divisional so anything can happen but great game and could find out a lot
Giants at Kansas - it is hard to believe NYG is so bad or that KCC is good but both could be easier after this
Pittsburgh at Minnesota - again, stillers are a hard team to write off however bad they look, but a loss here would put a bow on it
Dallas at San Diego - feel like both these teams are trying to be good, and a chargers win keeps them in that particular contest, whereas a dallas win does make them look good after 4
Philadelphia at Denver - any outcome where philly doesn't get beaten up makes this fascinating
New England at Atlanta - same as boys/bolts maybe?
Miami at New Orleans - i am totally skeptical about miami but if they win here ppl have to reallt take notice

why are there 15 games and just 2 teams with a bye?

I'd guess it has something to do with the London game. Wouldn't be surprised to see another week with a two-team bye for the second London game.

refs have brutalized NE today

ah

um

uncoordinated professional athletes

collinsworth OTM that this has happened once before this year

Patriots got straight up shafted on that spot smh

HIOLY

hahahaha THIS GAME what the hell

So was the "Mr. Wendell" clip before a commercial break a reference to the Pats' center?

pats totally got screwed on that spot but hey

ryan and jones, both perfect there

holy shit falcs

throwing on talib might not be working matty

oh man

talib <3

they didn't get over the hump but give a lot of credit to the refs for doing what they could for the falcons

lol

well, that was pretty comfortable in the end

It's always interesting to watch every generations great college quarterbacks become humbled by the NFL game and become immortalized with the "man, he was great when he was in college, but he sucked in the nfl". Welcome to the club, Sam Bradford!

man what happened at the end of that game jesus

http://www.click2houston.com/image/view/-/22186032/highRes/1/-/maxh/360/maxw/640/-/diad8nz/-/New-Document.jpg

nice to get a win over the texans of the nfc

"The Broncos are now averaging 44.8 points per game, which is more than the Buccaneers or Jaguars have scored all season."

lol. yeah Peyton has already thrown for more TDs than some starters will all year.

Who beats Denver at this point? I know it's still early in the season, but I haven't seen any other team that could even keep it close.

Any team once the playoffs start.

lol

it's not impossible that they lose one of the back to back games at gillette and arrowhead. doesn't seem all that likely tho, does it? i guess if they are 14-0 and someone other than manning starts in houston. or even in oakland, who knows what brock osweiler is capable of

once it gets cold peyton's neck is gonna stiffen up and they'll lose their first playoff game again

apparently the jags/broncos line 2 wks from now is at 28 points.

ha wow

heroic if ultimately futile work http://deadspin.com/eagles-respond-to-peyton-manning-audible-by-yelling-pa-1428548149

papa john btw is clearly a sociopath

they have to rest peyton after they get 2 scores clear in that game, i.e. about 7 minutes in. nothing would haunt a team more than losing their record setting maybe best ever qb in what looks like his best season of football to a freak injury in a blow out against the 2013 jax jags

papa john btw is clearly a sociopath

― lag∞n, Monday, September 30, 2013 3:39 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark

100%

that was ridiculous

that's a nice drive and an important score. beautiful shifty run by marcus thigpen on 3rd and 9 made it. miami not going away.

ugly play fins

Tannehills solid but you cant force a fuckin pass like that jesus

it is hard on those quick timing throws, the qb is just supposed to get the ball out. the receiver sure didn't help and probably the playcall could've been better. tannehill does seem to be the kind of guy who tries to make things happen tho, so there will be some wild throws. still, i think you'd rather have that mentality and the promise of developing better instincts for those situations than a 'safe' qb who is scared to make a play, e.g. sam bradford

Yea i mean i got faith in dude just frustrated!

yeah i like him. miami is better all over than i expected. i was looking at the schedules and i think pats might have to beat them home and away to win the division. i think miami can maybe should win the rest of their fixtures on the road. i am starting to believe - 11 wins is realistic. this and the 4 game stretch after will be key - if they have a winning record at half way they will definitely hit 10+ wins.

saints are a good team and seem to have miami totally figured out since the half

New Orleans on offense is just some crazy CFL/Techmo bowl passing game. Why run?

Why can't the Saints play the Broncos next week? It's just like when the Greatest Show on Turf was going on, they didn't play the Colts which was the beginning of the Manning passing run. That was a game I would have like to have seen, as it would have been a pinball shootout.

that would be a fun superbowl. manning revenge subplot.

altho, just to be clear, fuck denver

christ, lol miami

Yikes, da Bears have the Saints next week. Bears got to be smart and be able to control the clock in that one. Cutler and others can't make mistakes like they did in Detroit.

Oh yeah, they are also talking that Vince Wilfork is out for the year for the Pats. Last time he got hurt, their defense had problems.

congrats Saints, didn't expect us to win this one, better team clearly won, etc etc

Awesome subplot to this game was WR Mike Wallace and CB Keenan Lewis playing against each other for the first time since they were kids. Best friends growing up. Lewis talked Wallace into trying out for their HS team. Got drafted by Pittsburgh together and even roomed together. Both got their FA contracts elsewhere this year but still kept in close contact. Trash talked each other all week. Traded jerseys after the game.

still laughing at the "Papa John's!" thing

If the line is anywhere close to 28 I'm taking the Jags. I dont know what kind of coach Fox is but I don't feel he's going to have the Broncos playing full tilt and Peyton will likely get pulled at some point. Plus 28 is just such a huge line - the underdogs typically have done well vs. such massive speads haven't they?