NFL Week 11: Magic Mike

[Cosmo]

A few days late on this because I finally had some time to read through it, but Kent Babb's takeout on Miami coach Mike McDaniel is tremendous.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...um=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most

Paywalled, but I figure enough people here have a WaPo sub to enjoy it.

Anyway, onto the games.

Thursday night
Cincinnati at Baltimore (-3.5/46.5), PRIME

Sunday early
N.Y. Giants at Washington (-9.5/37.5), FOX
Pittsburgh at Cleveland (-3.5/36.5), CBS
Chicago at Detroit (-10/46.5), FOX
L.A. Chargers (-3/44.5) at Green Bay, FOX
Las Vegas at Miami (-12/47.5), CBS
Dallas (-10.5/42.5) at Carolina, FOX
Tennessee at Jacksonville (-6.5/39.5), CBS
Arizona at Houston (-4/47.5), CBS

Sunday late
Tampa Bay at San Francisco (-11.5/41.5), FOX
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo (-7/40.5), CBS
Seattle (-1/46.5) at L.A. Rams, CBS

Sunday night
Minnesota at Denver (-2.5/43.5), NBC

Monday night
Philadelphia at Kansas City (-3/45.5), ABC/ESPN

BYE: Atlanta, Indianapolis, New England, New Orleans

 

[TigerVols]

This is the type of game the Titans of old used to win out of the blue; alas, these are not the Titans of old. They are sneaky terrible.

 

[outofplace]

The AFC North teams knocking the snot out of each other this weekend should be fun. The Ravens and Browns got it started by beating up on one another last week.

Bengals at Ravens should be great. Both teams are on a short week after tough losses. It is the best team in the division vs. the one people keep insisting is better.

The Steelers and Browns have both played quite a few games to the wire, including their victories last week. I expect no different in meeting No. 2 of the season for those teams in Cleveland, but I wouldn't be shocked to see one or both of those teams fall on its collective ass during the second half of the season.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

How did we avoid Tennessee-Jacksonville on Thursday?

 

[playthrough]

The Sunday nighter looks a lot better today than it did three weeks ago.

 

[Batman]

The Sunday nighter looks a lot better today than it did three weeks ago.

For as much **** as the Broncos have taken this year, and as much ridicule as they rightly endured after the Dolphins debacle, they've quietly moved into the "not so ****ty" category. Won three in a row, with two of those against the Chiefs and Bills, and are knocking on the door of the wild card picture. And I know every team says this, but if they could've made a few more plays against the Raiders and Commandskins in the first two games their season looks a lot different right now.
They don't have an easy schedule the rest of the way, but the AFC is so even right now that they can still salvage a playoff berth out of all of this mess. Every team except the Patriots is still within three games of the No. 1 seed.

 

[MileHigh]

They're done with the Chiefs. Chargers twice. At Raiders. Vikings and Browns at home. Gotta go to Houston and Detroit. Patriots at home on Christmas Eve in a non-flex situation.

 

[Junkie]

Deshaun Watson is out for the year with a broken bone in his throwing shoulder. Nice trade, Haslam.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

I guess this goes here.

 

[goalmouth]

There are more catastrophic injuries now then before football was made "safer".

 

[BTExpress]

Nobody wants to wear pads anymore.

 

[Junkie]

There are more catastrophic injuries now then before football was made "safer".

Isn't this true in every sport? Guys are bigger and faster. Physics can explain a lot of this.

 

[User 149557]

[Sees Andrew Berry’s name, Throws phone in the pool]

 

[Junkie]

View attachment 16706

[Sees Andrew Berry’s name, Throws phone in the pool]

Berry and his group are looking pretty bad right now. They decided PJ Walker and DTR were viable options if something happened to Mr. Massage. ... And this entire odyssey cements my feeling that the Browns' best owner since 1964 is still Art Modell. And that explains everything.

 

[outofplace]

Berry and his group are looking pretty bad right now. They decided PJ Walker and DTR were viable options if something happened to Mr. Massage. ... And this entire odyssey cements my feeling that the Browns' best owner since 1964 is still Art Modell. And that explains everything.

They have won games with Walker this season. They certainly have a decent shot to beat the Steelers Sunday with him.

 

[Junkie]

They have won games with Walker this season. They certainly have a decent shot to beat the Steelers Sunday with him.

They beat SF because Moody missed a chippy at the buzzer and they beat the Colts with some enormous assists from the officials down the stretch. I'd say they won in spite of him more than with him. Either way, leaving Walker as your QB1 if your actual QB1 goes down is general manager malpractice. They're capable of beating Pittsburgh because in the NFL the unexpected almost happens often enough to be the expected. But I've seen this story before. And so have you.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Browns starting Dorian Thompson-Robinson Sunday.

 

[outofplace]

They beat SF because Moody missed a chippy at the buzzer and they beat the Colts with some enormous assists from the officials down the stretch. I'd say they won in spite of him more than with him. Either way, leaving Walker as your QB1 if your actual QB1 goes down is general manager malpractice. They're capable of beating Pittsburgh because in the NFL the unexpected almost happens often enough to be the expected. But I've seen this story before. And so have you.

I read that they are planning to start Dorian Thompson-Robinson, not Walker. They already tried that earlier in the season against the Ravens and it did not go well. Then again, the Ravens are very good.

I wasn't suggesting that Walker was good in that game. They did get incredibly lucky with Moody's miss and horrid officiating against the Colts, but the defense is outstanding and they will be able to run the ball. Maybe they are thinking of mixing in a heavy dose of designed runs by Thompson-Robinson Sunday.

Edit: TSP beat me to the Browns starting DTR. SMH.

 

[Roscablo]

They're done with the Chiefs. Chargers twice. At Raiders. Vikings and Browns at home. Gotta go to Houston and Detroit. Patriots at home on Christmas Eve in a non-flex situation.

As a season ticket holder, the Patriots at home on Christmas Eve night is miserable.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

As a season ticket holder, the Patriots at home on Christmas Eve night is miserable.

Pats radio color guy Scott Zolak also co-host of a midday talk show. Has been moaning about this game since training camp. Now, his fellow hosts have banned the topic entirely on the grounds it's just too cruel to poor Zo.