NFL Week 14 open thread

[wxwax]

Peyton Manning pulls the Raiders offside on his second drive. Got a first down out of it. On 2nd-and-3 Peyton was under center. Just before the actual snap, he dropped his left arm away from under center. The defensive tackle saw the movement and went early. A couple of weeks ago in a shotgun, Manning flapped his fingers just before the snap, drew the Chargers offside.

The NFL has tried to eliminate obvious body movement by the QB. But Mr. Manning finds ways around it. I have a man crush, I'm afraid.

Also, Georgia State has a man in the NFL? Wow, that's unbelievable. 5 years ago the school didn't have a football team. There's not really a campus, even, just a collection of buildings downtown. I'm impressed that the professional football talent sieve (via Canada) was able to sort and save a guy from such an obscure program.

[Pruitt]

That game was great...

... to sleep through.

So I think the definition of ultimate sports loser is someone who not only passionately follows a horrible team, not only goes to their games and pays $70 + for a ticket plus parking, concessions etc... but a guy who spends hours getting his silver and black makeup on and putting on his elaborate costume to sit in the front row of the end zone just to be seen briefly on camera.

[wxwax]

There's a certain noble dignity in faithfully supporting your team through a decade of failure. One thing's for sure, after something like that, you sure do appreciate the good times when they come. And in the NFL, heck, in all U.S. professional sports, some degree of success for everyone is almost built into the system.

I feel worse for fans of the less wealthy soccer teams in Europe and elsewhere. They begin each and very season knowing there's no hope of a trophy. For some, the only victory is avoiding relegation. That these clubs survive is a testament to the hold clubs have on their local community.

Manning sets more records. His detractors yawn. Moreno... is he an example of a rising tide lifting all boats? The Broncos are clicking and Moreno benefits?

[packa7x]

I'm excited...I'll be at the NY Giants vs New Orleans Saints game Sunday. First pro game for me since Halloween 2010. A friend of mine scored seats with club access.

[Pruitt]

There's a certain noble dignity in faithfully supporting your team through a decade of failure. One thing's for sure, after something like that, you sure do appreciate the good times when they come. And in the NFL, heck, in all U.S. professional sports, some degree of success for everyone is almost built into the system.

I feel worse for fans of the less wealthy soccer teams in Europe and elsewhere. They begin each and very season knowing there's no hope of a trophy. For some, the only victory is avoiding relegation. That these clubs survive is a testament to the hold clubs have on their local community.

Believe me Wax - I am full of noble dignity.

You are so right about the soccer teams in Europe. And when one of these teams does somehow manage to get up into the division, they are almost always swatted away and are often left a financial shambles from their attempts to compete with the big boys.

My focus is very Anglo-centric, but think of Swindon, Bradford and Portsmouth.

The Browns and Bills aside (and my Raptors as well) you are right - the system here is rigged to create competitive balance. It takes real institutional incompetence to keep a team irrelevant for more than 5 or 6 years in a row.

[wxwax]

Man, I feel so bad for Portsmouth fans. They are tremendous, the racket they make every match is fantastic. And their club teeters on the edge of extinction thanks to shady owners and terrible deals.

[packa7x]

Peyton Manning pulls the Raiders offside on his second drive. Got a first down out of it. On 2nd-and-3 Peyton was under center. Just before the actual snap, he dropped his left arm away from under center. The defensive tackle saw the movement and went early. A couple of weeks ago in a shotgun, Manning flapped his fingers just before the snap, drew the Chargers offside.

The NFL has tried to eliminate obvious body movement by the QB. But Mr. Manning finds ways around it. I have a man crush, I'm afraid.

Rule #1 about being on the defensive line. WATCH THE BALL. WATCH THE FREAKING BALL. You're so close to the ball, there's no excuse to jump offsides. It happened to me once in HS football and I was yelled at twice in the game and a 3rd time during film. The only thing worse is getting a false start as a center.

[Nancy]

Peyton Manning pulls the Raiders offside on his second drive. Got a first down out of it. On 2nd-and-3 Peyton was under center. Just before the actual snap, he dropped his left arm away from under center. The defensive tackle saw the movement and went early. A couple of weeks ago in a shotgun, Manning flapped his fingers just before the snap, drew the Chargers offside.

The NFL has tried to eliminate obvious body movement by the QB. But Mr. Manning finds ways around it. I have a man crush, I'm afraid.

I have a man crush on him too, and I'm pretty obviously a woman. He's the most compelling player in the game, but even I slept through a good part of the Thursday game. Tried to finish it last night, got another good nap out of it.

Also, Georgia State has a man in the NFL? Wow, that's unbelievable. 5 years ago the school didn't have a football team. There's not really a campus, even, just a collection of buildings downtown. I'm impressed that the professional football talent sieve (via Canada) was able to sort and save a guy from such an obscure program.

I love it when guys from obscure programs find their way into the league. Jerome Simpson and Mike Tolbert are both from Coastal Carolina. Heck, I didn't even know Coastal had a football program.

[Bengals1181]

I have a man crush on him too, and I'm pretty obviously a woman. He's the most compelling player in the game, but even I slept through a good part of the Thursday game. Tried to finish it last night, got another good nap out of it.



I love it when guys from obscure programs find their way into the league. Jerome Simpson and Mike Tolbert are both from Coastal Carolina. Heck, I didn't even know Coastal had a football program.

and Tyler Thigpen was their QB.

[wxwax]

I have a man crush on him too, and I'm pretty obviously a woman. He's the most compelling player in the game, but even I slept through a good part of the Thursday game. Tried to finish it last night, got another good nap out of it.

I completely understand why Al Davis wanted to move. That's a horrible stadium with zero atmosphere. They really need a custom-purpose building.