NFL (since 2016)

[crystal falace]

"Free agency started last night and was pretty crazy some huge money being spent. Osweiler getting £18m a year for the Texans, leaving the Broncos without a QB, Giants have spent a fortune on good but not great players, Oliver Vernon has more guaranteed money than JJ Watt. lots more deals but cant be bothered to list them all."

[Lee Trundle]

Didn't really look like Mahomes was hit badly?

[zebthecat]

This is beginning to look interesting.

[Grumpster]

Chiefs kicker is clearly nicking a living. Absolutely useless cսnt.

[Takashi Miike]

I wanted to blame higgins but it was a great play by the safety

[Lee Trundle]

Wounder for the Browns just before half time with that touchback for the Chiefs instead of a TD.

[Lee Trundle]

"I'm not much of a neutral thanks to the in-laws, but the Chiefs offensive is a joy to watch."

[crystal falace]

"Not sure if mayfield and mahomes have faced off in the NFL yet, sure they must've But if you want to go back to the last time they played in college they combined for 1300 passing yards and 14 total touchdowns in the wildest game i've ever seen."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Yeah, physically Jackson is unreal. But he has made slow progress on his reads. The Bills knew that - kept subtly shifting linebacker corps just before the snap? It caused uncertainty for Jackson, as he kept having to re-adjust at the last minute - and he has a tendency to default to running the ball on the fly in that situation. Knowing that, the Bills just clogged up field between the numbers. It was simple, but clever stuff."

[Grumpster]

"Still not sure about Lamar. He's great at abusing weak defences and teams, but when the chips are down against a defence who has worked out his runs, then he doesn't seem good enough with the throw. Can't compare, but when you see what Rodgers done to the best defence in the league, the real elite QB's can look great whoever is against them. All 6 post season games have gone to the team i fancied (no shocks so far basically) up to now with the chiefs probably also doing the job, then the first tough game to call so far. Fancy the Bucs as I don't think the Saints offence has looked great recently with kamara not firing and Thomas being rusty, but could potentially be a belter between the 2 old boys. Cant see either of them beating the packers."

[southbankbornnbred]

"If the likes of Lamar Jackson and others want that sort of longevity, they have to learn to read schemes. He's young, and he's got time, but he couldn't get his head around what the Bills were doing defensively yesterday. I suspect that Mahomes and Mayfield, who square off tonight, are better at that sort of thing."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Zeb - Packers' run game did look good, didn't it? What was even better for them was the way their O-line man-handled Donald and co. Donald looked under-par due to his rib injury, but that line protected Rodgers really well. The Rams pushed Floyd high behind his D-line to prevent the bootleg several times, but Rodgers is so quick-minded, he just called a fake bootleg audible and ran in a TD instead. He might be 37 and slowing down physically, but his mind is still in overdrive. How he, Brady and Brees keep at that level year-in-year-out is impressive. They have almost 60 years' worth of playing experience between them, those three and probably read defensive schemes in their sleep!"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Some NFL commentators are reporting that LaFleur is the Jets' new OC but, as I understand it, he hasn't officially signed for us yet. Get his signature on a contract and ship his office family pictures to New York. We've had enough crap down the years with new coaches, contracts, napkins and resignations..!"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Getting slightly nervous about the OC coaching situation at the Jets. Not worried about Saleh any longer - I'm reconciled to the fact that he's our boss now for a few seasons. Just hope he does the job. But Saleh only really works if he brings with him/appoints a good OC, because that's the more important side of the ball for us at the moment. He clearly wants Mike LaFleur from the 49ers, who would be a good appointment - Jets fans would be pleased with that combo and it would be a strong first move for Saleh. But there is now talk of a few teams trying to sabotage LaFleur's appointment. I just hope our owners/GM are prepared to pay him well and get the appointment over the line. We've been a bit cheap and cheerful with some co-ordinators' salaries down the years."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Good win for the Bills last night. Wasn't expecting them to beat the Ravens, who looked a bit tired and out of ideas after a run of must-win games. Pack and Bills through. Reckon it'll be the Chiefs and Buccs joining them, but hope it's the Brownies and Saints."

[normannomates]

The Browns are Yank version of WHU. Over chuffed for the Browns

[Joe C]

Spot on Zeb. Called correctly.

[zebthecat]

Nah. As soon as Donald grabbed his facemask that was it. The Packers offense and run game especially are looking ominously good. That last drive was so easy.

[Grumpster]

The Rodgers/Adams combo is unstoppable.

[Takashi Miike]

"referees have to start cheating, both parties to blame, the rams get penalised"

[crystal falace]

I like all the underdogs against the spread this week. Fancy the Bucs and Ravens to cause minor upsets too.

[Takashi Miike]

"SB, we're only a year down the road from the bruce allen era and snyder stills owns the club so I'm not being smug, but it's worth checking out the carnage going on in texas. just look up jack easterby and you'll find plenty of interesting articles :.)"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Yeah, big issue with Meyer will also be his health. He has had to take several career breaks due to health issues - loosely, heart problems - and it must be a worry for him taking over an NFL side. He knows this, though, and seems pretty sensible about managing it. He's a good, intelligent college football coach and program manager. I just wonder whether he's going to be ready for, and effective in, the NFL given his lack of NFL experience and health worries. The professional ranks, as we all know, are ridiculously unforgiving - more so even than the pressures of running a elite level college - and I hope for his sake that he's ready for it. Thankfully, the Jags don't exactly have the most demanding fans, which will ease expectations and pressure on him a little."

[Takashi Miike]

"I watched him a lot because he was in my division, his defences looked exhausted as they were on the field so much. I didn't see much of him in SF, but I didn't think he'd last long there either Meyer, no NFL experience of not clearly saw what was wrong in Jacksonville and told Khan what was required, in regards to training facilities and other things. Haskins aside (and he only played one year at Ohio St), most of the young players coming from there recently have great character/attitude, so I'm sure the Jags players will welcome something different"

[southbankbornnbred]

"TM - yeah, the good DCs and HCs around the league worked him out. He started brightly in Philly, but relied too heavily on spread-style set-ups and eventually good coaches worked it out (he wasn't foolish enough to operate a full-blown spread offense). The big surprise for me was when he got a big job in SF so soon after Philly. It was no surprise at all when he swiftly got figured out in that division. Didn't he lose 13 games in a row, or something like that? That's Gase-like! You're right: his character did not help him. The best way to bring a spread mentality into the NFL is to incorporate the scheme into a few surprise plays in an otherwise standard playbook. Otherwise, you leaving your backfield too open and vulnerable on too many plays involving the sort of huge, quick and aggressive linemen and linebackers you just don't get in college games every week. It's an open invite for injuries to your skill positions (QB, HB, FB, TEs slot WRs etc). Too many gaping holes to try to block - often without a tight end - when the defense calls it right. Within milliseconds, you've got your $40m QB in open space in the backfield with two quicker linemen/linebackers about to tear his face off. It works if you use it on a limited basis, because it keeps the defense honest and guessing. Especially, as you say, if you speed up via a no-huddle etc. But if you do what Kelly did and over-use it, then you might just as well put your skills talent in a sealed tent with a 310lb lineman. Even when it worked for Kelly in Philly (in some early games it did), the likes of Foles took a few batterings."

[Takashi Miike]

"I watched quite a bit of chip kelly's games and the fast paced, constantly hurry up style worked initially but you can't play that way on a regular basis and succeed as it puts far too much pressure on the defence. that he was an odd character, made it even better when it didn't work"