NFL Week 4 Thread

The week kicks off with the most unlikable game in history -- the Michael Vick-led Steelers against the Ravens. Nobody wins in this matchup.

Sunday's slate kicks off early with the Dolphins vs. Jets in London.

Other games of note:

Giants at Bills: Eli will either throw 4 TDs or 4 INTs; Taylor has to come down to Earth at some point, right?

Eagles at Redskins: Battle for first/last in East

Raiders at Bears: One franchise is a laughingstock, the other is the Raiders

Rams at Cardinals: Will Arizona ever lose?

Patriots, Titans on byes.

 

Panthers about to go to 4-0 . . . which by mid-November could turn into 4-5.

 

This has to be a new low for the Bears: they are a home underdog. To the Raiders.

 

Excitedly hoping for a Luke McCown-Brandon Weeden SNF matchup.

 

From Football Perspective. Red dot is Aaron Rodgers (Slightly odd alignment of graph. 1 = top rank in career pass TDs (most TDs), and 1= top rank in INTs (Most INTs)):

 

I would fully expect the 49ers to cover the number, whatever it is, vs Green Bay now because of overreaction.

 

Are the Raiders spending the week in the midwest, like the Ravens out west earlier this month?

 

Hell no. The old man's cheapness lives on in the son.

 

With the Packers coming to see the 49ers again, there's a lot of that retrospective about the Smith-Rodgers #1 pick debate. (ESPN had something that 17 of the 23 players taken ahead of Rodgers are out of the league.)

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had Bob McGinn go through his notes from scouts and others before the 2005 draft.

Rich Snead, Tennessee: "He's more accurate than (Kyle) Boller but probably not as athletic."

Jerry Angelo, Chicago: "I'd give Rodgers the edge (over Smith) just because he was easier to evaluate. And there's a little more arm. But the edge is negligible."

AFC scout: "I don't like him. He's a clone of Harrington and Boller."

Old School Packers - April 23, 2005: What scouts were saying about Aaron Rodgers

 

That was interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

Nailed it!

 

The 49ers obviously made the wrong call, but I always hate the "23 other teams passed on Aaron Rodgers!" argument. The reason Rodgers lasted until the 24th pick was because not every team needed a quarterback at that particular time. In fact, IIRC, as soon as the 49ers took Smith there was instant analysis that Rodgers might last until the mid-20s because the other teams were going in different directions. Rodgers was the second quarterback picked. That's not nearly as cringeworthy as the 1983 draft, when Dan Marino was the sixth quarterback taken (and 27th pick overall).
There were also about a dozen pro bowlers or solid starters taken in those 23 picks in 2005, so it's not like the bust rate was any higher than it normally is.