American Sports Thread

[Norf Tyrone]

Is there any good websites where you can watch game highlights. Looking for a regular fix of Vikings games.

[AZOffaly]

Sweet mother of god how do you lose that!!! Kaepernick is not the quality QB that was hoped of him. Im no expert but serious poor play calling in redzone.

The chorus about Harbaugh will probably rise now. Great win for the Rams. Makes next week that much more dicey for the Cards.

[Walter Cronc]

How are the Patriots getting on this year?

[AZOffaly]

Is that a wind up? On the off chance you are serious, they started off poorly, had a few very bad performances and Tom Brady was being written off. Since they lost 41-14 in Kansas in week 4 to go to 2-2, they've won 5 on the trot, and massacred the Bengals, Bears and Broncos.

Last night furthers my doubts about the Broncos. I think if they don't get homefield they won't make the Superbowl. They've played 8 games now, 5 at home and 3 away. They've won all 5 home games handily enough, although Chiefs gave them trouble. But of the 3 away games, they've only beaten the 1-8 Jets.  They've lost in Seattle, and were comprehensively beaten in Foxboro last night.

[Walter Cronc]

No, not a wind up AZ. I have a fleeting interest of NFL and I suppose like many people follow the Boston side. Glad to hear they are going well. Could they win a Superbowl?

[AZOffaly]

Well after last night they have the best record in the AFC. They look good at home, but I think they are beatable on the road. Same as Denver to be honest. I think it will probably be one of those two that come out of the AFC, and I think it will be whichever of them has homefield through the playoffs.

If they get to the Superbowl they'll be hard beaten.

[AZOffaly]

After the weekend College Games, and based on last weeks CFP rankings, my updated rankings are...

1   Auburn   33
2   Florida State   28
3   Mississippi State   27
4   Oregon   24
5   UCLA   24
6   Ole Miss   22
7   LSU   21
8   Oklahoma   21
9   Alabama   21
10   Baylor   20
11   Michigan State   20
12   TCU   20
13   Arizona   18
14   Kansas State   18
15   Arizona State   18
16   Notre Dame   18
17   West Virginia   17
18   Clemson   16
19   Nebraska   16
20   Ohio State   14
21   Utah   13
22   Duke   13
23   Georgia   12
24   Louisville   11
25   East Carolina   8

UCLA are the big anomaly.

[Walter Cronc]

Cheers AZ. Always wondered why is home advantage such a big thing in NFL? As you stated some teams look unbeatable at home and away are very poor!!

[AZOffaly]

It can vary. The NFL is primarily an autumn/winter sport, so certainly weather can be a factor in some areas. A QB who can't force passes through the wind is unlikely to prosper on a windy day in the mid west or east coast in December. Equally, a west coast team going east to play in a snow storm, or heading up to Green Bay, can be a huge factor. If you play in a dome 8 weeks per year, like Peyton Manning did in Indianapolis, or Drew Brees does in New Orleans, heading to play a big game on a shitty day in Pittsburgh, Baltimore or Chicago can be a real hard assignment.

So conditions can play a part. Also crowd noise can be a big home field advantage. Places like Kansas City and Seattle (recently) are famous for the noise their fans generate, and while that can be sometimes overstated, it absolutely plays a part on play calling and snap counts, etc, for the visiting offence. They have to put things like silent counts, or hand signals in place to tell the centre when to snap the ball. The other linemen can't move until the snap, but the defense can (as long as they don't cross into the neutral zone). That means that in a hostile, loud environment, with a good defense facing you, offensive linemen get jumpy and you get more false start penalties and more misheard play calls etc. Even the odd bad snap between QB and Centre. I've seen a fair few snaps that went awry in the Shotgun formation away from home because the Centre is waiting for a signal, and the QB might move, or be looking around to check off a play, and the centre thinks that's the signal. Suddenly the QB is scrambling on all fours trying to fall on a loose ball that hit him in the head when he wasn't ready for it.

[Walter Cronc]

It can vary. The NFL is primarily an autumn/winter sport, so certainly weather can be a factor in some areas. A QB who can't force passes through the wind is unlikely to prosper on a windy day in the mid west or east coast in December. Equally, a west coast team going east to play in a snow storm, or heading up to Green Bay, can be a huge factor. If you play in a dome 8 weeks per year, like Peyton Manning did in Indianapolis, or Drew Brees does in New Orleans, heading to play a big game on a shitty day in Pittsburgh, Baltimore or Chicago can be a real hard assignment.

So conditions can play a part. Also crowd noise can be a big home field advantage. Places like Kansas City and Seattle (recently) are famous for the noise their fans generate, and while that can be sometimes overstated, it absolutely plays a part on play calling and snap counts, etc, for the visiting offence. They have to put things like silent counts, or hand signals in place to tell the centre when to snap the ball. The other linemen can't move until the snap, but the defense can (as long as they don't cross into the neutral zone). That means that in a hostile, loud environment, with a good defense facing you, offensive linemen get jumpy and you get more false start penalties and more misheard play calls etc. Even the odd bad snap between QB and Centre. I've seen a fair few snaps that went awry in the Shotgun formation away from home because the Centre is waiting for a signal, and the QB might move, or be looking around to check off a play, and the centre thinks that's the signal. Suddenly the QB is scrambling on all fours trying to fall on a loose ball that hit him in the head when he wasn't ready for it.

Good man. Cheers for that!!

[Asal Mor]

Agree about the Broncos, they look very good, however I'd hold off on going all in on them just yet. Manning's playoff record always sticks in my head, and while Denver will be very hard to beat at home, if they end up not getting homefield, and have to go somewhere like Baltimore or New England, watch out. Their schedule has been very favourable so far. They've played 7 games, and 5 of them have been at home!! They've played, and beaten, the Colts, Chiefs, Cardinals, 49ers and Chargers at him, and they've beaten the Jets away. Their only tough away game, they've lost, in Seattle. It looked like a 'good' loss compared to the Superbowl, Seattle's form since has thrown that into doubt a little bit.

Their remaining schedule is obviously going to be weighted towards away games, and there are some challenging ones for them. They are @ Patriots, @Raiders, @Rams, v Dolphins @ Chiefs, v Bills, @Chargers, @Bengals, v Raiders. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that they end 15-1, but it's also not crazy to suggest they might finish 12-4 or thereabouts. That might not be good enough for homefield all the way through.

Fair play AZ. You know your stuff. It's an education reading your posts on here.

[The Iceman]

I don't think I've seen a crazy a season in the past 8 years AZ? Some twists and turns, injuries, trades and sales. Top teams looking average and average teams looking unbeatable. Hard to beat the NFL for action this year.

[magpie seanie]

I don't think I've seen a crazy a season in the past 8 years AZ? Some twists and turns, injuries, trades and sales. Top teams looking average and average teams looking unbeatable. Hard to beat the NFL for action this year.

It really is brilliant for being unpredictable. A team doing poorly can turn around and knock off one of the top guys regularly, especially this season.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

The NFL will stage three more regular-season games at Wembley Stadium in London again next season, including the first-ever division game in England.

The schedule also includes games played on consecutive Sundays in London for the first time.

The Miami Dolphins will return to London for a third time to face the New York Jets on Oct. 4 in an AFC East matchup.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will play the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 25. And, the following week, the Detroit Lions will be back for the second year in a row to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 1.

[AZOffaly]

I think I'll go to this next year. The Lions and Chiefs looks like it could be a good matchup. Jags and Bills will be poor enough fare I'd say, although the Jags might be picking 1st this year, and Bortles is not brutal at QB, so they might be back competitive sooner than we think.

Dolphins and Jets might be a good one because it's in division. (I'm shocked at one of those two giving up a home game in a division game). However the Dolphins look to be a lot further a long. The Offense is in a horrendous state in the Green part of New JErsey.