NFL Open Thread

[fhrblig]

Week 10, and COVID is creeping right back into the picture. Big Ben is out with it, the Broncos' OC Pat Shurmur is out with it, Aaron Rogers is supposed to be back, but it wouldn't surprise me if he struggles.

The Broncos will be lucky if the QBs aren't hit with it today, seeing as Drew Lock tested positive for it last Saturday. It could have sidelined Teddy Bridgewater. The Broncos really were THAT close to having Kendall Hinton at QB again, because Brett Rypien was inactive and there's no way to make that change the day of the game. They did sign a QB off of someone's practice squad, but I doubt they'd even be eligible to play today if needed. As long as this shit is still out there, every team's 53-man roster should be eligible to play every week. Seriously, that rule is stupid in normal times, let alone when there's a highly virulent disease knocking people out of games.

*** Be forewarned, I'm going to blather about my team more than usual today. I'll put these handy asterisks at the end of the rant so you can skip over it if you like. ***

Assuming they aren't hit with a slew of positives today, the Broncos have to win this game. Trap game? Nah. You have to be actually good to have the luxury of trap games. This is just a game they must win. They're going into the bye after this and could be 6-4. That's amazing considering nobody really expected that at the start, let alone after a 4-game skid where they looked like ass. Having OC Shurmur out could be a blessing in disguise, considering everyone here is frustrated with his play calling. Here's the weird thing, he had to change up the game plan significantly against the Cowboys because of all the OL injuries and the fact that Noah Fant was on the COVID list. That's how they ended up racking up so many rushing yards, he was forced to run it more. Everyone's fear was that he'd go back to the same BS of running out of shotgun or 11-personnel because Fant was back, even though they've shown they're not good at that and Fant can't (or won't) block for shit. Now, we'll have plays being called by Mike Shula and others. It sounds like it's probably going to be Shula calling the pass plays and Mike Munchak calling the runs, but there's also others involved. I guess we'll see if things could be worse without Shurmur than with him.

I do have a very interesting note about the Eagles-Broncos series, though. They've played 13 games since the merger. When the winning team scores 50+ points, that team goes to the Super Bowl.
2017: Eagles win 51-23, won Super Bowl LII
2013: Broncos win 52-20, lost Super Bowl XLVIII
In addition, the 2005 Broncos beat the Eagles 49-21. Then they made it to the AFC Championship Game where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl XL champion Steelers. If only they'd kicked a FG to go with those 7 TDs. It's hard to picture either of the 2021 versions of these two teams being capable of scoring 50+ points, but if one of them does then hang on to your hats.

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This week our early CBS game is Browns at Patriots. Hey, cool, that's the one I really wanted to see. I'm curious to see if the Browns can keep up their post-OBJ momentum. I guess I have to pull for the Patriots for my teams' playoff positioning, but I honestly don't have a dog in the fight. I just hope both teams have fun. After that will be the Eagles-Broncos. On Fox, we're stuck with the Cowboys AGAIN, but at least this time it's the most competitive game on FOX's early slate so I guess I'll learn to live with it. They're hosting the Falcons, and I gotta say I'm sensing another Cowboys loss. The Falcons aren't great but it seems like they're getting overlooked and snagging some good wins because of it. They are probably motivated to make up for that bizarre onside kick disaster from the last meeting, too. SNF is Chiefs at Raiders. Nothing good can really come from this game for my team, but I guess I'd like to continue seeing the Chiefs struggle. Monday night will be the Rams at Niners, and I expect the Rams to win though NFC West division games are pretty unpredictable. Still don't know if Von Miller is playing for sure, and that might determine how much of it I watch.

The rest:

Jags at Colts - This game could be awful, and yet it could be interesting. I can't bring myself to pick the Jags, but this game depends on which Carson Wentz shows up.

Bills at Jets - Obviously the Jets aren't very good, but the Bills have been pretty sketchy lately. They'd better wake up soon, or they could find themselves in KC territory. There's so much parity this year that nearly everyone is still in it. The Bills can't afford to drop this game.

Lions at Steelers - Come on, Lions. You CAN do this. You've been granted a huge gift by the Football Gods with Big Ben out. If you can't beat Mason Rudolph, you might as well go winless the rest of the way and get the top pick in the draft. In other words, please win soon because I really REALLY don't want the Broncos to lose to you guys.

Saints at Titans - I'm still pulling for Trevor Siemian, but this is probably too much to ask. The Titans are too good.

Bucs at Teamies - Come on. This will be a bloodbath. Tom Brady after a bye? The WFT gonna die.

Panthers at Cardinals - It's not likely, but... what happens if PJ Walker goes off and gets a win here? Do they still bench him next week for Cam? They're paying Cam a LOT to come back for the second half of the season. I don't think it ends up being an issue, since I'm sure the Cards will win.

Vikings at Chargers - This could be a good game. I'll obviously be pulling for the Vikes to help us out, but the Chargers are just better overall.

Seahawks at Packers - I will be a bit surprised if the Packers win. Most QBs have struggled coming back from COVID and I don't think it'll be any different for Rodgers. It'll be interesting to see how Russell Wilson looks coming back from that finger injury.

Bears, Bengals, Giants, and Texans all are on bye.

Here's hoping the COVID monster doesn't claim any more guys before the games start.

[WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4]

@fhrblig As a Vikings fan, I can all but guarantee we will screw it up. We're like 4 possessions away from a really good record this year, but have now lost enough times for it to be the expected outcome. Hence, more losing.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@fhrblig Since you picked the Cards to win, they’re probably going to lose now

Yeah, the cards were all hit with covid a few weeks ago, now the rest of the league seems to be getting hit pretty hard. A Viking’s lineman was hospitalized this week. That’s the first I’ve heard of a football player getting hit that hard by it.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/vaccinated-vikings-player-hospitalized-with-covid-19-issues-2021-11-10/

[PowderHound]

@fhrblig Lord help me if the Bills lose this game

[fhrblig]

@dipodomysdeserti That would be par for the course. WFT is spanking the Bucs right now, too.

[derp]

@wasgtithengtothennovathengtinowa4 said in NFL Open Thread:

As a Vikings fan, I can all but guarantee we will screw it up. We're like 4 possessions away from a really good record this year

This is what's always amusing to me about vikings fans. "well if things were different, they'd be different but they're not so they're not". A hundred reasons why they're good even when they're not. A thousand excuses for their fucking abysmal performance year after year after year.

Expecting anything other than abject mediocrity from a MN professional sports team is foolish at best. They will never, ever win a Super Bowl.

[nickhasanexocet]

@fhrblig said in NFL Open Thread:

I'm curious to see if the Browns can keep up their post-OBJ momentum

Answer: Nope.

Longer answer: Patriots look like they are lot better than their 5-4 record.

[Punkgoose17]

@fhrblig

1. The Steelers never use a FB. Derek is just on the team as a favor to TJ.
2. Mason Rudolph has never done any arm workout in his life.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@nickhasanexocet said in NFL Open Thread:

@fhrblig said in NFL Open Thread:

I'm curious to see if the Browns can keep up their post-OBJ momentum

Answer: Nope.

Longer answer: Patriots look like they are lot better than their 5-4 record.

The Browns have a tendency to do that.

[glemon]

@fhrblig how about those Lions, still without a win

[fhrblig]

@glemon But they can't lose them all now!

[WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4]

@derp Nailed it.

[frinesi2]

@fhrblig here's my contribution to NFL-related topics:

The Ravens have A-10s.