My gut reaction to the London game:

Thank •••• for the Red Sox.

:D

Its quite obvious that the injuries are killing the Dolphions season. Their team is just lacking any real quality right now. Was happy to see the young QB finally create something at the end. He was having a very 'unfortunate' afternoon before setting up the touchdown.

Just seen on SSN and they are already talking of getting another season match for next season. I guess they will be looking to get two different sides...

Also talk of holding the Superbowl over here in next 10 years! :eek:

Am I right in thinking America will be a bit pissed off if that happened?

It would be like us moving the FA Cup Final to LA!

I don't see any enjoyment in a game where there's stoppages for 75% of the match.

I watched this game on the highlights last night and 2 things stuck out to me;

The atmosphere was more exhibition game that anything else. Largely, I suspect due to the neutrality of most fans. I suppose if we really want true passion, then the NFL needs to set up a London franchise that competes home and away in the NFL.*

The weather and pitch made any attempts to play an attactive, open game impossible.

Which begs the question, if Wembley wants to show case major international events, why at £800 million can it not have a roof?

*One thing I have been reading is that at Bath Uni, the NFL is funding a collegiate team that will take the best talent from Europe and compete on the circuit with US colleges. The students will study British degrees and will also be eligible for Draft Picks in the same they are in the US. I, myself reckon that is a prelude to a UK based NFL franchise. Why not? It would be cool.

As for the SuperBowl in London? February is too cold.

Did I hear the crowd booing Paul Potts when he was introduced to sing the National Anthem?

If so, what was that all about? (It must have been the Palace contingent, as they seem to boo everyone and everything these days)

What killed the atmosphere was Miami's complete ineptitude. The few things they did got a loud response from the mainly MIami-supportying crowd\but the GIants defense kind of screwed things up for anyone wanting a noisy game to watch.

What was fascinating was the amount of nerdy types that are NFL fans. Harmless guys and most of them are the type you'd be happy for your daughter to bring home. The trouble is, while these guys (I'm guessing here) are drawn to the cerebral part of the game with tactics and strategies here they're pants when it comes to being noisy and passionate

Well, it's a great day to be a Redskins fan :D

Enjoyed my trip with Ben to Wembley last night.

It was more laughing than booing, Russell Watson was meant to sing but has been very ill lately.

Ridiculous reaction by the fans - Paul Potts sung the best rendition of our turguid national anthem I've heard in a long time. Credit to Jocelyn Brown also - when was the last time the moronic Wembley hordes cheered a non-British anthem?

I trust the NFL were 'highly impressed' by laughing at Paul Potts, the inane booing of John Terry and the jeers when the Royal Engeers band were announced as the half time act. Christ, what the hell have the Royal Engineers ever done to pis5 anyone off??

And another thing....Mami fans......you are there to lift the team. Not just cheer as the QB finally makes a pass over 10 yards.....which is then ruled out of bounds or cheer a TD when the ball is clearly on the floor having not been caught.

Flaming Dumphins!

You're on the right lines.

The neutrality killed it. What would help further down the line would be when the novelty factor wore off so that say, when San Fran played Dallas in 2014, the vast majority there would be fans of just those two clubs.

All well and good having some planks in their Amsterdam Admirals jerseys but they aint gonna give it large like a diehard fan of one of the teams would and that's only natural.

I was thinking about it a lot last night and I wouldn't go to another one unless it involved Jets, Giants or Chargers. I'd have to be well into one of the teams to make the journey and get involved in the atmosphere.

How is a crowd of 81000 with plenty of empty seats (inc 2 next to me) in a 90000 stadium a sell out?

I see Strath is lying low. Can only assume he's burning his aqua jersey, having now seen the light.

Tony, all is not lost, you can switch teams but stay in the AFC East and support the side which had the 3rd most jerseys on display (much to my surprise I have to admit) ....

















......THE JETS

I didn't boo Paul Potts, but I know a lot of people around me shouted out a cry of "Who?".

The lack of atmosphere was doing my head in. Some people around me were trying to make noise, but they were struggling.

The lack of security presence with the streaker, and the various things that happened would all suggest to me that we won't see another game in a while.

I am sure that half of the unaccounted 9,000 were due to having the first 5 rows covered and unavailable for use. You can argue that at any time during the 3+ hours 5% of people were buying food/drinks or in the loo. Certainly when it was raining heavily many on the lower tier behind one goal evacuated to the concourse.

Saying all that there were still many seats unoccupied, probably tauts that did not sell their tickets.

I don't know particularly about the "atmosphere" on Sunday but I do know the games I've been to in the US aren't always that loud. It doesn't have to be loud to create an atmosphere.

I've been to Cleveland, where the Dawg Pound is supposed to be "where it's at" and the atmosphere wasn't loud except for when they were defending third downs. Same in SanFran.

Same in most US sports - Yankees fans don't make much noise generally but when it's late in the game and their pitcher has a couple of strikes on the board, the noise level makes the hairs on your neck stand up.

You can't always judge these things based on "soccer" experiences, IMO, as the fans are a different breed althogether.

COuld have been a Patriots game for all the tops I saw

Interesting nookie - I commented elsewhere that I was surprised by the amount of Jets shirts (possibly the 3rd most jerseys on display yesterday) and someone else commented on Pats.

It's certainly a smart jersey is the Pats one.

I've just looked back at the 1990 results and for the teams to have been 9-0 and 10-0 the match must have been in Week 11. However, the 49ers didn't play the Giants then - any idea when this was?

All week, SportsCenter has been saying how this is a first but I'm sure it's not but can't find evidence to the contrary!

The Giants were 10-1 when they played the 49ers in Week 13 that season... sorry, I know I'm sad :D

Pardon me for enjoying time with my daughter after getting back. :rolleyes:

Good to see those who I met yesterday. Enjoyed it in spite of the result. :)

Prior to the Pats/Cowboys game, there had only been 4 previous instances of 5-0 teams playing each other (3 home wins, 1 draw)...

I knew it was late in the season. Did 49ers win that one? Seem to recall Giants being 13-3 but then the post season being a revenge mission as they then beat the teams that beat them in regular season.

Yep, the 49ers won. Not sure if they were unbeaten at the time but they finished 14-2, I think. And yes, the Giants finished 13-3 before winning the Superbowl.

:eek:

If anyone wants an ending to a game watch last nights one!!

:eek:

Favre's pass at the end completely summed up what an amazing man he is, still, even at 38. An 82 yard reception with the first play of overtime was typical Favre.

And all the coming after I thought Denver had messed up the clock at the end of regular time meaning Elam had to rush his kick (in reality, he sauntered on and plopped it over like there was no rush at all!)

Man, I'd kill to try and get up to Green Bay this season as I'd love the chance to see him play at Lambeau Field.

Worth staying up for but I now owe my g/f dinner - I bet her the Broncos would win!

Ben and I thought FedEx Field was very noisy when we saw the Redskins v Dolphins game in Sept.

Might have had something to do with there being 90,000 people there and it being the first game of the season but the Skins fans were going mental on most Dolphin 3rd downs

I think that this maybe my first forray on this thread. I'm a Cowboys fan, have been since the early 90s when NFL first hit our screens on C4. When I lived with my parents, it was a great SUnday nights viewing as my old man is a 49ers fan.

I admit, I have not followed it as closely over the past 5-6 years for reasons unknown really (Cowboys failure to live up to their 90s billing possibly ;) ) but this season the bug has returned.

Enjoyed watching the game at the weekend between the Dolphins and Giants. Even though it wasn't the greatest match to have season game in the UK was awesome with the possibility of more to come.

Does anyone watch the Sky Sports coverage, especially the highlights shows Total Access?

Yep, 3rd downs are crazy, it seems, for most home sides.

I think most of the atmosphere is just the general "buzz" of the place rather than the noise particularly.

I would note that I saw two cr*p games last season:
Browns v Saints in Cleveland - Browns hit 80 yard TD pass first play, crowd goes mental,called back for a penalty, no TDs until Q4 after that, Frye was his usual sh*t self!!! Bush made his debut for the Saints but had little impact.

49ers v Vikings in San Fran - Finished 9-6 to the Vikings, I think. Definitely wasn't a TD! Seems I'm jinxed.

Hoping for better luck in Baltimore in 5 weeks!

I had the Bronco´s to win also and felt they might sneak it in overtime after Elams kick. The guy is a machine and is so compossed.

They paid for Cutlers fumble on the one yard line, he still needs to step up a level and is making a few too many rookie mistakes.

I should have bet with my heart though, Favre´s "final" monday night football it was written in the stars

Wanted to get round to adding my 2p worth on Sunday, starting with Wembley.

First of all the stadium is awesome. The catering, however, is not. Not great when you've got a diabetic wife who has to eat at certain times.

While the first half was pretty bad (making Eli Manning look like Vince Young on the TD), I didn't think the Dolphins were too bad in the second. However in a role reversal from recent years the defence stepped up while the offence let the team down.

And you could argue that Amani Toomer was our best player (2 drops, 2 penalties). ;)

Cleo Lemon clearly isn't the answer at QB. The quotes that he never misses workouts mean nothing, he is too hesitant to make decisions and offline on too many throws (the one where he led Hagan out of bounds was one I think any competent QB makes).

Did anyone else notice that the Dolphins punter was fully ready to go ahead of every third down play. There's confidence in the offence!

Good to see Jason Allen play. Looks like he might have a future after all. Jesse Chatman wasn't bad either, and Justin Peelle should be the starting TE for ther rest of the season IMO.

Possibly the first time you can clearly say something was Cameron's fault. The clock-management was terrible on the TD drive - why take all the time-outs prior to the two-minute warning?

(And don't ask about the Booker/botched snap turnover. Not the time to try that one with a wet ball.)

On the other hand, smart coaching by the Giants. Keep the ball, nothing fancy, work the clock and field position.

All that said, if a couple of other things go our way (the Allen interception that was called back, the fumble that bounced right to Shockey, the botched play on the goalline) who knows what happens?

Good atmosphere, but definitely not a home game. You can't say otherwise. I can't imagine what a team with a real home advantage (e.g. Seattle, Green Bay) will feel when they travel overseas.

And yes, I do regret not saying something to Wayne Huizenga when I passed him outside Wembley. :bash:

And from other games...

• Matt Turk. :D
• If the Patriots run up the score on the Redskins what on earth are they going to want to do against the Jets (who started the camera/spying affair)? I can see this game being very nasty with cheapshots aplenty.

There was something in a Peter King column after he won the week 1 game in Buffalo - the Denver FG unit make a big point of practicing getting onto the field and getting the ball kicked without the benefit of a time-out. Sounds like it was worth it again (I haven't seen any of last night's game, so don't know how much time was left).

They were saying yesterday that the average team tries to execute a field goal under the circumstances (i.e no time out) in 18 seconds.

Denver have twice this season done it in under 12

:eek:

How long do Rugby kickers take? Seems like ages (more angles, admittedly).

For some reason the figure of a maximum of a minute springs to mind from when they place the ball

Rugby players have a fairly long amount of time available to them. The ex Argentina fly half used to take ages.

I used to play fly half and have kicked both types of ball. A rugby ball was easier, but I only kicked an American Football about ten times. Also kicking from the touchline is much more of an art than in front of the posts.

Kicking off a hard surface must be supremely difficult - astro, waterbase or whatever.

Favre was awesome last night

It was amazing.

I think I've already watched more games this season than last and the excitement level has been excellent - even some of the lesser matchups this season have produced good games.

Is there something to be said for the intensity provided by playing less games rather than the saturation that football and cricket seem to suffer from? Admittedly, the strain on the body wouldn't allow an NFL player to play 46 games a season but a shorter season seems to generate much more quality. September to the end of January/first week of February... 5 months of competition!

Also, the sh*t coming out of the Skins camp is hilarious about the Pats being disrespectful to them by not letting up.

I don't get it - in other sports you get fined for not playing to your potential whereas the Pats are supposed to not try for half the match.

What about the paying public who've turned up for 60 minutes of football, not 30 minutes then a load of messing around while the Skins try and make the score look respectable...

Only a couple of players, obviously angry and with wounded pride at the time, said that

Gibbs, Al Saunders, etc said they had no problem and it was their fault the Skins were in that position anyway (38-0 down)

As a Skins fan, I'm hoping that if we get 24-odd points up against the hapless Jets on Sunday that we run the score up a bit, but knowing Gibbs we won't. Not that the toothless tiger that is the Skins offense will put up 24 points anyhow :D

I just don't understand how you could "ease off" as such. Just kneel three times and punt?

It's not like football where you can easily time waste!

Love Total Access. Good show - different presenters and pundits means you don't get bored with the same people that you might do if they didn't rotate.

Handy for betting at times if you watch the interviews. Can be quite handy to gauge the mood in the camp i.e. last week with the positive attitude around San Diego despite the fires, you just knew the Chargers would come out firing.

Think you might be being harsh here (although the rest of your post was accurate.)

His use of the time outs got Miami to within 3 points with 1.54 left on the clock. A decent onside could have made those time out calls look very intelligent and Miami would have had a great chance to force at least overtime. For what it's worth, I was willing the Giants to hold on and I felt nervous when the TO's were called as I thought he got it right.

There's an unwritten etiquette in American sports (well, NFL and baseball - no idea about the others) that says once a game is won you don't rub it in by racking up points or going for big plays. That's why most teams, if they're 30-odd points up in the final quarter and 4th and 10 on their opponents' 20 yard line, will run the ball and let the other team have possession rather than kick an easy field goal to increase that lead. And in baseball, teams won't bunt if they're a stack of runs ahead (other than the Yankess, but they are the biggest bunch of scum in sport, so that's hardly surprising).

Of course, Belichick's never been one for etiquette (nor, some might say, fair play) hence going for it on fourth down twice when the game was well won. I think that's the issue people have with the Skins-Pats game.

As for the noise factor, Fins @ Skins on the opening day was tremendously loud.

You have to remember though, that the second time he had his replacement QB in. Why should Cassell not be given the chance to run some plays? If it means putting him in the pressure of a 4th and long, why not? Tough shit if the Skins hadn't turned up for the first 45 minutes, that's their problem.

And as for baseball, if you're the away team, in the 9th, 8 or 9 runs up, why should you ease off knowing that the home team still has another inning? Unlikely it may be that they comeback but I'd still want as much lead as possible.

As I also said, what about the PAYING crowd? I bet the Pats fans wouldn't have wanted to watch the Pats lying down just to make the Skins feel better about being outclassed by one of the two best teams in the league. Should Miami be p*ssed off too that at 35-14, the Pats bought Brady BACK in after resting him on the previous drive only for Brady to manufacture a score by going deep?

Sorry, hope that didn't come across as argumentative, I just don't understand this "easing off" mentality...

I wonder if Kieron Fallon could cite this thread in his defence at "easing off"... :D

You are absolutely correct - but that's how it seen. I'm sure there are instances of baseball teams not going for sac bunts or hits to be sportsmanlike and having it bite them on the backside. I'm not disagreeing with your principals. Just telling it how it is. :)

And Tom Coughlin bemoaned the paying crowd at Wembley booing when Eli Manning (as is absolutely correct) took those knees. I think the last thing on any coach's mind during a game is making sure the crowd get their fill of entertainment.

The one rule the NFL could do without is taking a knee to end the game

It would be much more exciting if teams had to run running plays and try not to fumble

You'd get the RB just taking the ball and dropping to the floor instead...!

I happen to agree with you, especially when regarding NE's back-up QB, even though I am a Redskins fan, but as Ben says, the debate has been about the 'unwritten rule'

Then again, i wasn't moaning when the Skins put up 50+ points against the 49ERs two seasons ago

That'd technically be a knee

under nookie law they'd have to be hit by a defender to be classed as down

Trust me nookie, when you've bet on their being less than 38 points and the score is 20-17, that moment when the clock and other conditions mean the QB can 'knee' out the clock is a truly great feeling :p :lux:

How awesome was Brett Favre's throw on Monday night? The first touch down pass that he threw was pretty good but the second to win the game at the start of over time was very special indeed.

The one point I wanted to make is the 'easing off' issue that has been raised by the fact that the Patriots are whipping teams at the moment. They beat my boys a few weeks back for our one and only defeat of the season but we did manage to get 27 odd points against them all the same, not quite the 48 odd that they got though.

I read that it's a unwritten rule whereby teams who have clearly one a game 'ease off' but surely this doesn't mean that teams can't do what they do naturally to what has proven to be devastating effect by the Patriots this season. If a team is good enough to do that, then why shouldn't they?

Wasn't there an unwritten rule in football that if you kick a ball out for an injury you should return it? Look what happened to that kicking off with the Arsenal v Sheff Utd game.

I simply do not agree with it at all.

Looks like it will be the first match of two unbeatens so late in the season... (taken from http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=090...o&confirm=true)

One of the most highly anticipated non-playoff games in recent memory takes place on Sunday when the New England Patriots visit the Indianapolis Colts in the league's first matchup of teams who are unbeaten this far into a season.

Agreed.

Taking out the knee is wrong.

A team have earnt those four downs and should be able to use them how they please.

But I also agree with icing the kicker. I see nothing wrong with that.


With regards running up the score, when your miles ahead why not throw in your reserves? If then you are still racking up points, that fine in my books. Surely it's a no brainer, the one time players can fight for a starting berth.

That promises to be a pretty good match up to be honest ... looking forward to it. They have been builing it up all week on Total Access :p

Sports Center on ESPN have barely mentioned anything else all week.

IMO, this IS this years Superbowl. Either that or a prelude to the AFC title game.

One of these two will win it all. No other team is even close at the moment.

Probablyy right but there's one team who's suddenly back in devastating form and that's the best team of last season - the Chargers.

Three thumping victories in a row following a 1-3 start (bear in mind two of those losses came on the road against teams with a 13-1 record so no shame there) has got me excited.

Jets and Giants are my teams but I also closely follow San Diego simply because LT is superhuman (a power Tom Brady has evidently acquired!!) Obviously they're yet to reach the prowess of the Pats and Colts...for now.

Remember the Pats went to Qualcomm as underdogs in January, were outplayed yet somehow won. Wouldn't surprise me if the Chargers managed to plot their revenge at some stage in the play offs, especially if they carry on recent form.

The best team usually wins the Superbowl.....but it's not always the case. Just ask the '98 Vikings or the '06 Chargers.

Just talked myself into a bet with that last post.

That said, my effort at trading on Betfair this year has been dire!

Took San Fran at 50 - now 530
Took Jets at 55 - now 1000 (at least I managed to trade a chunk of this off pre-season at 50)
New Orleans at 17 - now 50
Denver at 22 - now 200

and even Dallas which I took at 7.8 are now 14!

Tactic worked well last year with £70 on Indy at 8.00 (we'll forget the £40 on Carolina!!!)

Agreed. Similarly the Saints have got their season back on track and could the NFC Superbowl candidate. Nowhere near as strong as hlaf the AFC though!!!

Looking forward to seeing Maroney back for a full match and seeing what NE can do with a decent (not great) running game to back up the passing game.

Also, will the defence of the Pats last the season? It's not getting any younger... Seau, Bruschi, Vrabel, etc, etc

I'll wish you well with it, but fear you might end up hating Norv Turner by season's end. :(

Maybe true but I challenge you to listen to a complete Chargers commentary with Hank Bauer and Josh Lewin and tell me that you're not hooked on San Diego and their chances. These guys could make Palace sound good!!

Grogan!! He should have started over Tony Eason. Though we would still have lost to the Fridge. Beating the Fish in the AFC game was good enough for me! :p:

My best mate at the time (the two of us were just ten) hated Grogan. He despised his long neck for some reason.

And what was that thing he had taped to his arm? Looked like a wider than usual lollypop stick or something. Very odd. (Typical, Google Images lets me down for once.)

As an NFL fan, I'm hoping Sunday is an open contest, a shootout between the two best quarterbacks in the NFL, a spectacular occasion where both teams leave everything on the fie...

Actually, screw that. I hope the Colts piss it. The real sportsmen of New England already have their world title. ;) :lux:

Bold but arguable statement, but I see what you're saying.

I was only taking the mick... but in all seriousness, there's surely no-one better than Brady and Manning right now?

Brees is up there but had an awful first four weeks, Palmer's solid but not on their level, Favre's all-time accomplishments are much deserved but he's not the player he was (though having a great season)... then you're down to Roethlisberger, Rivers, Hasselbeck: all great QBs but too inconsistent to be considered as good as Brady or Manning.

Manning (that's Eli) versus Pennington already happened in Week 5. And yes, it was a shootout as the 35-24 scoreline will confirm. :p

:D

That's the Chad Pennington who's riding the pine this week. :)

I just think the excitement of NFL would increase even more if teams had to run it or throw it instead of taking a knee. Imagine some of the result's you'd get. How exciting is it when a defense causes a fumble? Imagine that with less than a minute to go. :)

You mean like the Bus fumbling in the red zone a couple of years back and nearly costing the Steelers the match? :D

Now that was a crazy game. Vanderjagt's FG attempt after that was somewhat reminiscent of that Andy Gray free kick that was featured in the Eagle Eye book.

I would add Tony Romo to the list of in form QBs :p

Here you go

Forget all the hype about Indy v New England

THIS is a finish......

http://hotair.com/archives/2007/10/2...y-vs-millsaps/

I've watched that numerous times now and it is amazing.

Wow. Best play ever!

This runs it close, if only for its surreal finish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAxu9Rfm77M

Without even clicking... Stanford band?

Aye.

Did the TD stand?

Yep.

Just looked up details on Wikipedia. Apparently Cal and Stanford play for a trophy called The Axe. When Stanford are in possession of it apparently the score from that game is changed, so when Cal win it back they have to have it corrected again. :D

BTW the Stanford Marching Band seem to have quite a history, and I don't just mean walking up and down in straight lines. :eek:

Stanford's QB that day? John Elway.

That's just daft :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Band

Some classic pranks

:D

Weirdos :D

Ahh. The old Stanford -- Cal play :)

Love that one. He drills the band member in the endzone :D

The shame from John Elway's point of view is that he commanded a great drive in its own right.

LIke having four kings at poker and the other guy comes back with four aces.

(Didn't use the royal flush in my analogy as the royal flush of all plays was O'Brien to Walker Wk 3 1986!!)

Admit it, you had to watch Eastenders with the Mrs last night as well. :sob:

Just a question - why do the Pats ALWAYS have Brady on their injury list? Apparently he's "probable" due to a shoulder injury - the same one he's had for 4 seasons, no doubt!

Never believe Belichick's injury reports.

Cannot wait for tonights big game :)

I woke up waaaaaaay too early this morning. Fell asleep with ESPN News on last night... so when I woke up they were doing bits on the game. I sat up and watched.... and couldn't go back to sleep. So far whenever they've asked anyone to make picks... it's been 3 to 1 for NE.

Interesting theory on the Redskins-Jets game on the BS Report podcast. Basically they thought that as the Jets reported the Patriots for videotaping and stirring up the Patriots to crush everyone then the Redskins should blame the Jets for losing 52-7 last week, and take revenge accordingly. Guess we'll see how that one works out!

Looking forward to the big game as well. Working tomorrow but am planning to stay up for all of this.

No, but I did watch the legendary double-headed coin on Only Fools & Horses c1982/3 :p

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Jets TD after 13 seconds

First lead at home this season since we played that pish team from Forida!!

Antonio Cromartie, about a 109.5 yard missed-FG return for a touchdown. :eek:

Vasher's record setter last year was 108. So if it was 109... I think that'll be a new record.

What about Hester?

Cant waite for tonights game. I'm a huge Pats fan and am actually feeling quite nervous. Its been mentioned before about our defense. Its an ageing unit but im hoping experience and tactical awareness will get them through tonight. Really hope Marvin Harrison is out. He hasnt practiced all week so hopefully they wont risk him.

Word on the Pats official BB service is that Vrabel is expected to start but Benjamin Watson is a big doubt, hasnt trained since picking up that ankle injury against Dallas. Brady number 2 isnt a bad replacement tho.

Think the running game will be used more by us tonight. Maroney has been getting a lot of press coverage and could play a major role.

Dont have to be in the office till 12 tomorrow. Bring it on!!