Gameweek 4

kmart6

Sunday, Sep. 28
Atlanta @ Carolina 1:00 PM FOX
Cleveland @ Cincinnati 1:00 PM CBS
Houston @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM CBS
Denver @ Kansis City 1:00 PM CBS
San Francisco @ New Orleans 1:00 PM FOX
Arizona @ New York Jets 1:00 PM FOX
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX
Minnesota @ Tennessee 1:00 PM FOX
San Diego @ Oakland 4:05 PM CBS
Buffalo @ Saint Louis 4:05 PM CBS
Washington @ Dallas 4:15 PM FOX
Philadelphia @ Chicago 8:15 PM NBC

Monday, Sep. 29
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh 8:30 PM ESPN

Bye Week
Lions, Colts, Dolphins, Patriots, Giants, Seahawks


Sky Sports Games

Sunday
Cleveland @ Cincinnati 6.00pm
San Francisco@ New Orleans 6.00pm (Active)
Washington @ Dallas 9.00pm
Buffalo @ St Louis 9.00pm (Active)
Philadelphia @ Chicago 1.30am

Monday
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh 1.30 am

Last Week's Predictions
11-5

Season Predictions
26-21

Chucky the tree

jesus, do they ****ing have to show dallas every week?



Sunday, Sep. 28
Atlanta @ Carolina 1:00 PM FOX
Cleveland @ Cincinnati 1:00 PM CBS
Houston @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM CBS
Denver @ Kansis City 1:00 PM CBS
San Francisco @ New Orleans 1:00 PM FOX
Arizona @ New York Jets 1:00 PM FOX
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX
Minnesota @ Tennessee 1:00 PM FOX
San Diego @ Oakland 4:05 PM CBS
Buffalo @ Saint Louis 4:05 PM CBS
Washington @ Dallas 4:15 PM FOX
Philadelphia @ Chicago 8:15 PM NBC

Monday, Sep. 29
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh 8:30 PM ESPN

davyjose

Sunday, Sep. 28
Atlanta @ Carolina 1:00 PM FOX
Cleveland @ Cincinnati 1:00 PM CBS
Houston @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM CBS
Denver @ Kansis City 1:00 PM CBS
San Francisco @ New Orleans 1:00 PM FOX
Arizona @ New York Jets 1:00 PM FOX
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX
Minnesota @ Tennessee 1:00 PM FOX
San Diego @ Oakland 4:05 PM CBS
Buffalo @ Saint Louis 4:05 PM CBS
Washington @ Dallas 4:15 PM FOX
Philadelphia @ Chicago 8:15 PM NBC

Monday, Sep. 29
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh 8:30 PM ESPN

LuckyLloyd

Atlanta @ Carolina 1:00 PM FOX Doing it at home against bad teams and doing it away against good opposition are two different things. Until Matt Ryan does the latter, I would expect them to struggle in games like this.
Cleveland @ Cincinnati 1:00 PM CBS The Bengals should be deflated after the heartbreaking OT loss in the Meadowlands. I think Cleveland may start Quinn. Either this team is nowhere near as good as everyone thought - or just Anderson is. I'm thinking the latter.
Houston @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM CBS Houston can't stop the run. And we saw what happens last Sunday when you can't stop the run vs the Jags.
Denver @ Kansas City 1:00 PM CBS Kansas have been awful. Denver have been great.
San Francisco @ New Orleans1:00 PM FOX Plumping for the upset. Martz and O'Sullivan have got something cooking. Allied to a good ground game and some playmakers on defense, San Fran are better than people are willing to buy I think. Plus, New Orleans are bad on both lines and have a poor secondary. Another shootout I reckon.
Arizona @ New York Jets 1:00 PM FOX Arizona stayed on the East Coast this week. The Jets NEED this one. The story so far as been Favre and the offense - but imo the real problem is that we have made three QBs look awesome. A failure to get pressure against Warner and he will mutilate us. Hit him a few times and he will fumble and make mistakes. ONE TIME.
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX Griese throwing 67 times a game is not a recipe for success in the NFL. That said, I think home advantage will make this one really close. Green Bay lost to a very good team on Sunday though - and they should have enough to edge it. Would not bet on them beating the spread though.
Minnesota @ Tennessee 1:00 PM FOX Battle of two good defensive football teams. Flip a coin. Guess I'll take the home team.
San Diego @ Oakland 4:05 PM CBS lol Oakland.
Buffalo @ Saint Louis 4:05 PM CBS lol Saint Louis.
Washington @ Dallas 4:15 PM FOX Washington have had two good weeks. Betting against Dallas at this point though would not seem wise.
Philadelphia @ Chicago 8:15 PM NBC I think this is another coinflip. Chicago will be wounded from Sunday and are at home. The Eagles have a few injuries from Sunday and McNabb and Westbrook seemed to be creaking physically a bit. I'll lean towards the Bears.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh 8:30 PM ESPN Pittsburgh need to protect Big Ben or he won't last more than 3 or 4 more games. This might be closer than people think as a team like Baltimore will rarely get blown out - but I would expect Flacco to turn over the ball twice or more in his first spotlight game and that to be the difference.

kmart6

Chucky the tree wrote: »

jesus, do they ****ing have to show dallas every week?

Well I have to say I'd prefer that to SD v Raiders and Rams v Bills!

LuckyLloyd

Chucky the tree wrote: »

jesus, do they ****ing have to show dallas every week?

kmart6

Lucky what's with the colours the whole time?!

LuckyLloyd

kmart6 wrote: »

Lucky what's with the colours the whole time?!

Trying to make it easier to read. And someone complained about the red last week. Try blue or purple maybe?

kmart6

Yeah I saw eagle complaining alright:rolleyes:

Maybe a dark blue would make it a lot easier, not giving out to ya just a suggestion!

davyjose

kmart6 wrote: »

Well I have to say I'd prefer that to SD v Raiders and Rams v Bills!

I wouldn't tbh; I'd love to get a look at this Bill side, and the Chargers are always worth a watch.

davyjose

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Trying to make it easier to read. And someone complained about the red last week. Try blue or purple maybe?

We'll all read them either way man. The explanations are great to read. I'm just too lazy to put any up

Got luckily drafted Tennesse as my defense in my fantasy football so hoping they'll do well here. Pity Gus Frerotte is back for the Vikings and did well in his first season start

kmart6

I don't think I could listen to Cadle go on and on about them,lol!
True the Chargers are good to watch but compare that to Dallas v Skins and I'd say the latter should have the better football!

jdivision

Carolina
Cincinnati
Jacksonville
Denver
New Orleans
Arizona
Green Bay
Tennessee
San Diego
Buffalo
Dallas
Chicago
Baltimore

Surprised everyone else picking Pittsburgh, Philadelphia destroyed their o line and Ravens are much better at line and lb that Eagles. I think they'll hit Roethlisberger a lot on Sunday and that'll get them the W.
If westbrook isn't playing Chicago's corners can shut down eagles passing game so giving them that W

kmart6

Think people are taking in to account the fact that Falco has played 2 games and hasn't managed a touchdown!

LuckyLloyd

kmart6 wrote: »

Think people are taking in to account the fact that Falco has played 2 games and hasn't managed a touchdown!

Ya, and Baltimore have played too struggling teams at home so far. But Pittsburgh edged a close one against Cleveland and beat a bad looking Houston team at home.

Tbh, one thing we can all agree on I'm sure is that MNF could have picked a better game to show!!

kmart6

The blue works a treat!:)

Well it's def not going to be a high scoring affair like the first few weeks!

bruschi

Carolina
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
Houston @ Jacksonville
Denver @ Kansis City
San Francisco @ New Orleans
Arizona @ New York Jets
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay
Minnesota @ Tennessee
San Diego @ Oakland
Buffalo @ Saint Louis
Washington @ Dallas
Philadelphia @ Chicago
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh


Last Week's Predictions
11-5

Season Predictions
21-11 (missed one week)

eagle eye

Carolina
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
Houston @ Jacksonville
Denver @ Kansas
San Francisco @ New Orleans
Arizona@ New York Jets
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay
Minnesota @ Tennessee
San Diego @ Oakland
Buffalo @ St Louis
Washington @ Dallas
Philadelphia @ Chicago
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh

Chucky the tree

kmart6 wrote: »

Well I have to say I'd prefer that to SD v Raiders and Rams v Bills!

Obviously being a raider fan I'd rather us and chargers but next would be rams and bills. I'll be watching the raiders game anyway, but I'd like a chance to see all the teams play this season. Watching the cowboys for the next 15 odd weeks will kill me.


variety is the spice of life after all!

LuckyLloyd

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Obviously being a raider fan I'd rather us and chargers but next would be rams and bills. I'll be watching the raiders game anyway, but I'd like a chance to see all the teams play this season. Watching the cowboys for the next 15 odd weeks will kill me.


variety is the spice of life after all!

Both the above games will be blowouts. I'd rather a low scoring competitive game than a high scoring rout.

kmart6

A yearlong ankle injury could not keep Plaxico Burress out of the New York Giants’ lineup last season. The lack of a telephone call this week apparently is going to cost him a game and more than $235,000.

Less than a month after handing the man who caught the winning pass in the Super Bowl a new $35 million contract, the Giants on Wednesday suspended Burress for a game for missing a practice and not calling to explain his absence.

Burress’ agent insisted the nine-year veteran had an undisclosed family emergency on Monday and will appeal the ban to the NFL Players Association.

“We have had success here because of the team concept,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said in discussing the suspension, which was handed down during a bye week for the Giants (3-0). “And the team concept means basically that everyone is accountable and responsible and that we don’t let the other guys down. And that is what we are trying to do.”

As part of the suspension, Burress will not be allowed to practice until after the Oct. 5 game against the Seattle Seahawks. That means he will miss two weekly paychecks, totaling $235,294.12 of his $2 million annual base salary.

The Giants refused to say why Burress was suspended, but agent Drew Rosenhaus claimed Burress had a family emergency that has now been resolved.

Rosenhaus said Burress spoke with Giants director of player development Charles Way on Monday evening, but he added there was “miscommunication” between the player and the team.

When asked specifically why Burress did not telephone the team or answer repeated telephone calls Monday to discuss the absence, Rosenhaus avoided answering the question.

“Again we’re acknowledging that there should be some repercussion, but not to the extent where he is denied his right to perform his livelihood to play,” Rosenhaus said in a conference call. “We think it is very serious and not very common, but there are things that do take place in the NFL that you could say are worse and have not led to suspension.”


Rosenhaus said the NFLPA has not advised him when an arbitrator would hear the appeal, but he hopes Burress is back in the lineup for the Seattle game.

“I hope we can get this worked out and get back out on the practice field and back to playing football for the Giants. That’s where he belongs,” Rosenhaus said.

Coughlin insisted the suspension will not be a distraction: “This is a team that is focused and displayed mental toughness and they will do the same thing with regard to this.”

Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese informed Burress of the suspension Wednesday morning before the team held practice.

“I think he was very surprised and very, very disappointed,” Rosenhaus said of Burress’ reaction to the suspension. “I spoke with him immediately after his meeting. ... He certainly did not anticipate his conduct would lead to him being suspended.”

Burress was not immediately available for comment. He was off to a great start this season with a team-high 18 catches for 259 yards and a touchdown.

“It is something we just have to deal with and move on,” said quarterback Eli Manning, who found out late Monday that Burress was not at Giants Stadium. “That is what our focus is, get ready for Seattle and try to get a win there.”


Second-year pro Steve Smith didn’t think twice when he noticed Burress was not at the receivers meeting on Monday.

“Plax is Plax, he does what he wants,” Smith said. “I don’t see him a lot, so I thought it was a normal day. I didn’t know if he was going to come or not. I didn’t know he was getting in trouble for that, so we never know when it comes to Plax.”

Burress has had other problems with the Giants since signing as a free agent in 2005. He was benched for the opening quarter against San Diego early in 2005 for being late for a meeting. He said his wife was pregnant and he went with her for a test.

Burress was upset this summer after the Giants refused to negotiate his contract after the Super Bowl. He refused to practice during a mandatory minicamp in June and was fined $42,000. The Giants signed Burress to a two-year contract extension just before the opener that will bump his salary into the $7 million range over the next five years. The deal included $11 million in guaranteed money that will be paid this season.

Burress then caught 10 catches for 133 yards in a 16-7 win over Washington.

Burress caught the winning 13-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the Giants’ 17-14 win over the Patriots in the Super Bowl. And despite playing on a sprained right ankle all last season, Burress had a team-high 70 receptions for 1,025 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns. He added 18 catches for 221 yards in the postseason.

Burress caught 209 passes for 3,227 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Giants, with all the touchdowns being thrown by Manning.

Wide receiver is one of the Giants’ deepest positions. In addition to Burress, there’s Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss, Domenik Hixon and rookie Mario Manningham.

Article here

Karlusss

Atlanta
Cincinnati
Jacksonville
Denver
San Francisco
Arizona
Green Bay
Tennessee
San Diego
Buffalo
Washington
Chicago
Baltimore


No commentary this week, because, let's face it, I'm mostly full of **** and hunches. Skins to upset Cowboys, even though I don't like the Skins still.

Hazys

Atlanta @ Carolina
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
Houston @ Jacksonville
Denver @ Kansas
San Francisco @ New Orleans
Arizona @ New York Jets
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay
Minnesota @ Tennessee
San Diego @ Oakland
Buffalo @ St Louis
Washington @ Dallas
Philadelphia @ Chicago
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh

Sea Devils

Atlanta @ Carolina
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
Houston @ Jacksonville
Denver @ Kansas
San Francisco @ New Orleans
Arizona @ New York Jets
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay
Minnesota @ Tennessee
San Diego @ Oakland
Buffalo @ St Louis
Dallas
Philadelphia @ Chicago
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh

Spongey1975

Atlanta @ Carolina - Falcons have been good against bad teams, Carolina are not a bad team so should see off the Falcons
Cleveland @ Cincinnati - 2 bad starts, but Bengals seem to be getting better quicker
Houston @ Jacksonville - Jags to continue form from last week
Denver @ Kansas - Will anyone lose to Kansas this season, dont think so.
San Francisco @ New Orleans - Saints have too much offensive power for the 49ers
Arizona @ New York Jets - Favre to bounce back at home
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay - Rodgers is looking good and Tampa wont get 400 plus passing yards onthe packers
Minnesota @ Tennessee - Vikings to continue winning with Titans losing their 100% streak
San Diego @ Oakland - Chargers too much for the Raiders
Buffalo @ St Louis - Bad rams, good bills
Washington @ Dallas - 2 good teams, home advantage to decide this
Philadelphia @ Chicago - The heart overrules the head once again. If westbrook is out then we have a chance. Our O-line must protect Orton better than the Steelers did
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh - Steelers will bounce back from last week


Last week 11-5 (20-11 in total)

Redsoxfan

Atlanta @ Carolina Carolina look like the best team in the South so far, despite last weeks loss.
Cleveland @ Cincinnati Hmm. Bengals showed they had some claws last weekend. Cleveland have shown absolutely nothing. They could end up looking like mugs for not cashing in on Anderson in the summer.
Houston @ Jacksonville The Texans looked pretty awful last weekend (Steve Slaton aside) and I hope the Jags can build on last week.
Denver @ Kansas I got burnt on Denver v. the spread last week, and they have been kinda lucky so far, but still...
San Francisco @ New Orleans You have to believe NO is better than the 49ers at home, but momentum is a strange thing (in the case of both teams)
Arizona @ New York Jets Meh.
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay Have to go with the home team.
Minnesota @ Tennessee A few errors aside, I was mighty impressed with the Titans last weekend.
San Diego @ Oakland SD finally get it going, about time too.
Buffalo @ St Louis Bills sure made hard work of beating the Raiders in Buffalo, but St. Louis is so bad and bringing in concussion magnet Trent Green ain't gonna turn it around.
Washington @ Dallas Dallas. Big.
Philadelphia @ Chicago Philly is real good, but 2 home losses in a row for the Bears and no Westbrook for the Eagles makes me pick the home team.
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh Baltimore's first real test. And they should fail.


Last week 9-7
Overall 30-17

Coileach dearg

Sunday, Sep. 28
Atlanta @ Carolina 1:00 PM FOX
Cleveland @ Cincinnati 1:00 PM CBS
Houston @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM CBS
Denver @ Kansis City 1:00 PM CBS
San Francisco @ New Orleans 1:00 PM FOX
Arizona @ New York Jets 1:00 PM FOX
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX
Minnesota @ Tennessee 1:00 PM FOX
San Diego @ Oakland 4:05 PM CBS
Buffalo @ Saint Louis 4:05 PM CBS
Washington @ Dallas 4:15 PM FOX
Philadelphia @ Chicago 8:15 PM NBC

Monday, Sep. 29
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh 8:30 PM ESPN

Tristram

Sunday, Sep. 28
Atlanta @ Carolina
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
Houston @ Jacksonville
Denver @ Kansas
San Francisco @ New Orleans
Arizona @ New York Jets
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay
Minnesota @ Tennessee
San Diego @ Oakland
Buffalo @ Saint Louis
Washington @ Dallas
Philadelphia @ Chicago

Monday, Sep. 29
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh

Last week
9-7

Season Predictions
30-17

SantryRed

Sunday, Sep. 28
Atlanta @ Carolina
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
Houston @ Jacksonville
Denver @ Kansas
San Francisco @ New Orleans
Arizona @ New York Jets
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay
Minnesota @ Tennessee
San Diego @ Oakland
Buffalo @ Saint Louis
Washington @ Dallas
Philadelphia @ Chicago

Monday, Sep. 29
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh

Season Predictions
29-18

davyjose

Really starting to hate the Jags :mad:

kmart6

C'mon Texans!!!:D

davyjose

5 TD passes for the New York Brett's today. Do I hear any cries of "come back Chad, all is forgiven" this week?

Didn't think so.

kmart6

kmart6 wrote: »

C'mon Texans!!!:D

:(:(

kmart6

Rodgers injured for the Pack...could be a prob if it's serious!

Royal Seahawk

Good night for the Seahawks(assuming the Rams lose to the Bills)
These bye-weeks really suit us!:D
Anyone see that Bengals back up QB?
Averaged over 10 yards on 4 carries! Pity he can't throw the ball though. :rolleyes:

kev_s88

davyjose wrote: »

Really starting to hate the Jags :mad:

dont hate the players.....hate the game

btw im a Jags fan

great game for dave garrard.his first game with no turnovers.throws for 236yds with a TD and rushes for 41 and a TD

have to say though fair fooks to Favre and the Jets.6 TD's is a haul worthy of the great man

Het-Field

Skins Playing awesome. Cowboys playing ****. Im getting pretty sickened. I might watch the Week in Politics

davyjose

kev_s88 wrote: »

dont hate the players.....hate the game

btw im a Jags fan

In which case, you'll be as depressed as me that the Titans are 4-0


Not watching, but what's going on with San Diego? Pre-season, there was talk in the US, by some media commentators, that LT wouldn't come back the same player he was in previous seasons. It seems they might have been correct.

Royal Seahawk

Isn't he still coming back from a serious injury? Think it was his wrist or something,thats why he sat out the end of the AFC Championship Game against NEP in January.

kmart6

Toe iirc!

RuggieBear

\o/ LT nice little run

Karlusss

Yeah LT's toe is a little bit messed up. It's something that means he can still play, but can't make the cuts and play like he normally does. So people just see him playing badly, which is worse for his reputation than if he was just on the bench.

That Cardinals-Jets game was something else, too. ****ing hell.

Het-Field

Cowboys were total cack today. Owens', Witten's, and Austin's touchdowns aside, they looked tired and as though they had not recovered from their trips to Green Bay, and the Philly game two weeks ago.

Romo is just not firing, and he is leaving Owens with nothin to do.

With the exception of the desperation stakes, third touchdown to make it 24-26, there was no fluid play. Full credit to the Skins for keeping Marion Barber quite, it takes some doing.

I still cant get it out of my head that the Cowboys may not be capable of getting to the playoffs. Mid, when I first became a fan, they won their first eight games !!

Xavi6

Chiefs win!!! :eek:

Superb victory over the Broncos and great to be finally off the mark for the year. 198 rushing yards for LJ! (Had him in my Fantasy team ). 17 points in the last quarter really made the difference.

In other news, Favre throws SIX touchdown passes! What a hero!

EDIT: Just watched the Chiefs highlights. How good was Tony Gonzalez's catch?! LJ's second TD wasn't too shabby either.

eagle eye

Het-Field wrote: »

Cowboys were total cack today. Owens', Witten's, and Austin's touchdowns aside, they looked tired and as though they had not recovered from their trips to Green Bay, and the Philly game two weeks ago.

Romo is just not firing, and he is leaving Owens with nothin to do.

With the exception of the desperation stakes, third touchdown to make it 24-26, there was no fluid play. Full credit to the Skins for keeping Marion Barber quite, it takes some doing.

I still cant get it out of my head that the Cowboys may not be capable of getting to the playoffs. Mid, when I first became a fan, they won their first eight games !!

Its funny when you think about it. Everyone is raving about them all week, Witten is the best TE in the league or ever, Romo beiing muted as comparable to Brady and Manning(P), and TO this, TO that, Marion Barber blah blah blah.
Now the NFC East has been blown wide open and no guarantees for any team of making it out to the playoffs, well there will be two of four but its just crazy. I fancied the Redskins would be big later in the season when they got used of the West Coast offense but they are going well already and they are only going to get better. Interesting times ahead. This group will be great to follow over the season. Who is going to lose out?

smoke.me.a.kipper

we watched the buccs and chicago games. both tampa and chicago had excellent defences. both games were a joy to watch.

and i liked the denver upset

Morrisseeee

What the flux happened the Broncos !!:eek:
Just when everybody expects them to win, they inevitably loose.
But....I'll have to accept Cutlers responce: '"You can't have four turnovers offensively and score a lot of points. You know there's a lot of football left. We're still a good football team and we can't go into a panic here."

eagle eye

Some strange results indeed this weekend. Watched the Bears/Eagles last night. The amount of turnovers in the second half was unbelievable. The Eagles looked so potent before this game but they did not look convincing last night. Kyle Orton was all over the place as well but somehow the Bears hung on.

Brett did what Brett does yesterday. I was just thinking about it again before yesterdays game, they scored 29 points against the Chargers iirc or more maybe.

Which brings me to the Chargers, who looked horrendous but managed to win. They have serious problems on Defense, they are conceding far too many points. Of course thats just a typical trait in the AFC West, with the Broncos showing their hopelessness on D yet again this week. Its looking like whoever comes out of this division will be on the road in the playoffs. I don't see any team being better than 10-6, 9-7 in this division.

I remember Lloyd writing about how impressed he was by the set up of the Titans. Its time to take them seriously now, they passed another litmus test putting up good numbers against the Vikings.

The Bills won again too but their tests have yet to come. I'm not convinced by them just yet but they keep winning which is scary for us Patriots.

At this stage I am looking the way of the Redskins, they have got to grips with a new system on offense very quickly. Their D looked excellent yesterday and I think they are going to improve as the season goes on. All this talk of Dallas being all this is over for a while now after that performance. The Cowboys are really good, but yesterdays Redskins win was the performance of the season so far imo.

LuckyLloyd

Baltimore travel to Pittsburgh for the Monday night game. Baltimore rookie starter Joe Flacco was playing for Delaware last year in divison 1 - AA of college football (i.e. not the highest level). To say that the step up from the competition he faced last year to the Steelers defense and the bright lights of Monday Night primetime football is a steep one is probably somewhat of an understatement.

However, Flacco was drafted in the first round because he has pro tools - he was a fierce competitor and leader at Delaware, and possesses a huge arm. Plus, so far he has exceeded expectations in beating out former starter Kyle Boller and 2006 Heisman winner Troy Smith for the starting job in preseason. And he has done okay against poor opposition in his first two games - rushing for a key TD against the Bengals, and generally protecting the football (just two interceptions thus far). But he has yet to throw for a TD and he is doing little more than game managing.

I am actually fascinated to see how he will do when this game gets going. The Steelers are sure to throw the kitchen sink at him - and will be further helped in their game planning by the knowledge that Baltimore running back Willis McGahee has been listed as questionable all week and is not expected to be 100%. Flacco is not a mobile quarterback - and this could be a pretty ugly example of just how tough the NFL is and a good example to viewers over here of how difficult a position QB is to play.

Needless to say, despite the excellent Baltimore defense I expect the Steelers to win.

Xavi6

Baltimore up 13-3 at the half.