KWTPF Week #5 - BYE Week Edition (1 Viewer)

Bill

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As some of you already know, the Week #4 edition of KWTPF was based on my own brand of fan frustration. Since the idea of the column is to determine which progression of wins & losses by other teams would help clear the path for our Saints to attain the best possible playoff position, I began to struggle with the internal question, “Does it really matter now?” The answer of course is, “Yes, it does. Until our Saints are officially out, they are still in!” But still I found it difficult to be concerned about the outcome of NFC related games while my own team was doing nothing to put themselves in any imaginable contention for postseason honors. So rather than ‘pull for’ more help from the rest of the league, my suggestion was to concentrate on the one game that mattered the most: Saints at Chargers.

The thinking here is that nothing would help the Saints more than to rack up a victory. Nothing would help the loyal Who Dat Nation more than a victory. And nothing would make this weekly KWTPF write-up more interesting than a victory. In many ways it was ‘Do or Die’. Another loss would have been akin to throwing cold water on the last few embers of a dying camp fire. It would make even the most resolute diehard start looking at potential picks for the 2017 NFL draft. It would make a weekly KWTPF thread a true exercise in futility. So, for a lot of reasons a victory by the Saints was all that really mattered.

While some have found it hard to be encouraged by a one point win to a team who seemed to be acting out a script entitled, “The Greatest Choke of All Time”, I am among those group of fans who believe that a young team like ours has to start somewhere when it comes to learning how to finish and win football games. It wasn’t pretty, but finish we did. And the importance of the lessons learned are almost immeasurable. But for the sake of all of us who are still eager to see how the season may unfold once our injured starters are able to take the field, this very improbable victory not only keeps our team in the race, but it will also keep the fans emotionally involved in the weeks to come.

Thus suddenly this Week #5 has taken on new meaning. Although it is a (much needed) BYE week for our Saints, the rest of our divisional foes will be busy trying to jockey for a higher position as will the rest of the teams in our conference. The task upon our return to the gridiron can be affected greatly by what happens this week, so it’s time to light the fuse to this week's installment of KWTPF. It was indeed troubling last week to feel the lack of motivation to make a complete list of picks for the games that will/could affect the Saints’ season. But it feels really good to have the fire back after just one single point victory in San Diego.

But I guess it was all for the best. I mean… did anyone really want to read my Carolina at Atlanta pick? :hihi:


Arizona (1-3) at San Francisco (1-3), Probably one of the biggest shockers this early in the season is that these two divisional rivals would have the same record going into Week #5. The Cardinals have been favored by many to take one of the two top seeds at the end of the year. The only question now is which of these two teams do you see as being able to rebound from a start as miserable as our own? I still feel like Arizona is the most dangerous of these teams and thus hanging a 4th loss on their record would make their hill much harder to climb down the stretch. Pull for the 49ers to have a good day in their fancy new stadium. Ultimately their ‘dumpster’ is still smoldering and not likely to make a serious run in 2016.

Philadelphia (3-0) at Detroit (1-3), The Eagles are one of only three remaining undefeated teams in the league and it is always a good idea at this stage of the season not to see any team dominating the rest of the conference in the standings. Nothing makes a team second guess their own ‘greatness’ like losing to Detroit. (Perhaps with the exception of losing to the Browns.) Seeing some happy fans at Ford Field should also make the rest of the NFC happy; including us. So let’s give a supportive shout out to the Lions to shoot down the high flying Eagles this week.

Chicago (1-3) at Indianapolis (1-3), Seeing so many teams at 1-3 does tend to work a bit like a soothing salve when considering how close the bottom is to the top in the NFC heap. Like us, the Bears fans probably still hold out hope that they can claw their way back to respectability with an important road victory. But why give those poor fans any false hopes? Instead, let’s pull for the Colts to stick a pin in that balloon and keep the Bears hibernating once again this year.

Houston (3-1) at Minnesota (4-0), So, it’s the South Horns against the North Horns. (Dare I say the horniest game of the week) :covri: Yes, one of the more improbable stories so far in the NFL this year has to be the undefeated Vikings. The hits to their offense due to injuries only serves to prove once again how defenses win championships, of which Minnesota has one of the best in the league. There may come a time later in the season when we may need a clear division front runner to take down another team for us. But NEVER in the case of playing against an AFC team. This should be a good game between two early season contenders in their respective conferences. But we most certainly want to keep the Vikings close to the rest of the herd as we pull for dem Wranglers!

Washington (2-2) at Baltimore (3-1), This is another early season interconference matchup that we obviously want to see prevailed by the home AFC team. One of the question marks of this game could involve the weather, which may be adversely affected by the path of powerful Hurricane Matthew. Such games are hard to predict because such poor conditions can be a great equalizer. With so much at stake for us, let’s just hope that the Ravens are the better ‘inclement weather’ team of the two and will send the Redskins down the river without a paddle. Adding a third loss to any NFC team right now makes our hope that much brighter.

Atlanta (3-1) at Denver (4-0), Another ‘no-brainer’ pick could give us all a Rocky Mountain High if that vaunted Broncos defense can spank Patty Melt and the Dirty Birds all the way back to reality. I refuse to believe that the Falcons are as good as their record indicates, but of course anytime they lose it always gives me an extra lilt in my step and everything becomes right with the world once again. Hey Broncos… bust dem Birds for us! We’ll owe you one.

Cincinnati (2-2) at Dallas (3-1), Another one of the calls that makes this entire week’s picks among the easiest I’ve ever had to make. C’mon,… Dallas fans may begin to think they really begin to start thinking they have a football team once again. How tragic it would be for them to get their hopes up at this stage of the season. Don’t they know that Romo will eventually be put back in the starting lineup? Not only do the Cowboys need a dose of reality, but they are among the Top 3 teams that Saints fans love to hate. So it’s time to pull for the Bengals to keep the Dallas fan base from becoming too delusional.

Buffalo (2-2) at Los Angeles (3-1), The second biggest surprise in the NFL so far might just be the emergence of the much-traveled Rams. I would have to admit that I did not see them leading the NFC West at this point in the season. While it never bothers me to see them rough up those other big names in their division, it would be just what the doctor ordered for the up-surging Bills to knock them down a notch. Don’t forget the Rams now reside in the land of make-believe. Perhaps they don’t even know that they’re not supposed to look this good. Hey Buffalo! We got stuck with Byrd. You owe us one!

New York (2-2) at Green Bay (2-1), Be honest now… after watching the Giants in the Monday Night game this week, of these two teams who do you really expect to be riding high at the end of the season? The Vikings proved that any team with a formidable defense can take down New York and thus we can expect that a well-rested Packers team will be putting the heat on Manning once again. But this week it sure would be nice if the Giants can find enough spark or a new wrinkle to be able to drop a big ‘L’ on Green Bay and make them struggle just like the majority of the NFC. Such parity in the records could be a big help if the Saints are able to eventually find a groove this season and ring up a few ‘W’s’ along the way. Pull for the Giants and their band of Whininess! (Yes OBJ, I’m talking about you!)

Tampa Bay (1-3) at Carolina (1-3), I received an unusually high level of inner satisfaction as I typed out the current record of these two divisional foes. I won’t pretend that our team has their act together just yet, but such a poor record seems to hurt a team so much more when the sports world was expecting such great things after Spam & Company had just come off of a Superbowl appearance. This Monday nighter may still be getting some lingering effects from Matthew that we mentioned earlier. While officially Newton is still under the NFL’s concussion protocol, there seems to be little doubt that they will give him the green light to start this Panthers’ home game. But oh how nice it would be if those swashbucklers from Florida’s Left Coast could manage to rock Newton’s world and hang loss #4 on Carolina. If that happens then the following week’s game that will be contested at the Superdome could add another nail to the loser’s coffin. I’m not really sure what Tampa Bay has in the tank, but I can dream, can’t I? Geaux Bucs!!!


Did you ever notice how every team who enters their yearly BYE week makes the statement, “It comes at the perfect time for us.” Well hopefully this year it will indeed be true in that a lot of important Saints players will be able to make their way back onto the playing field for that showdown with the Panthers on Oct 16th. So, yes… even though the Saints will be watching from the sidelines this week, there is a great deal of very important games that will still make KWTPF the best game in town.

:9:
 
The bye week just got better. Lots to watch for, heh. Thanks for the weekly write-ups Bill! Too bad the Bucs and Panthers can't both lose, heh.
 
I agree with all of your picks except the last two. The packers are the more dangerous team, and with the way the vikings are playing, will probably be contending for a wild card spot. However, I don't want the loss to the Gaints to come back and haunt us if we are vying for a wild card as well. We might end up fighting for division only, but any teams that own tie breakers on us need to be buried.

I'm either or on the Bucs and Panties. I'd love to see Fig Newton drop to 1-4, however the instinct in me wants Carolina to get a win so they aren't so backed against the wall come week 6. The Bucs have some talent and could use a spark to make them the surprise of the division. I would like to squash that early.
 
I agree with all of your picks except the last two. The packers are the more dangerous team, and with the way the vikings are playing, will probably be contending for a wild card spot. However, I don't want the loss to the Gaints to come back and haunt us if we are vying for a wild card as well. We might end up fighting for division only, but any teams that own tie breakers on us need to be buried.

I'm either or on the Bucs and Panties. I'd love to see Fig Newton drop to 1-4, however the instinct in me wants Carolina to get a win so they aren't so backed against the wall come week 6. The Bucs have some talent and could use a spark to make them the surprise of the division. I would like to squash that early.

While it's really too early to know for sure, I see the Giants as a team on the decline. First and foremost the Saints will have to start winning a lot of football games to legitimately get back in the playoff race. But until someone (besides the Giants) takes control of the NFC East, it's hard to think of tie-breaking scenarios that could affect the Saints just yet. I'm hoping the Saints will eventually get good enough to beat the Giants on win/loss record alone.

As far as the Bucs vs Panthers game, I just like to see the proud fall early and often. I'm not really afraid of the Bucs just yet. I mean... who really is? :idunno:
 
While I like the idea of the Eagles getting knocked down a peg, in the end, somebody has to win the east--so why not have them slay the bottom dwellers along the way.

My heart wants to see a lot of 1-4 teams in the NFC after Monday. The Eagles will take their lumps when they get into the East slate.
 
While I like the idea of the Eagles getting knocked down a peg, in the end, somebody has to win the east--so why not have them slay the bottom dwellers along the way.

My heart wants to see a lot of 1-4 teams in the NFC after Monday. The Eagles will take their lumps when they get into the East slate.

True enough. However, I'm wondering if it might be a bit too early to hand the Eagles the division already. But for sure it makes sense that once it becomes evident that they are going to take it, we will want all the division leaders to start taking down the rest of the playoff and wildcard hopefuls out there.
 
Great to see your Know Who To Pull For (KWTPF) thread, Bill. It takes a lot of time, and many of us appreciate it! :9:

We have lots of reasons to be interested in this weekend's games.

<s>Too bad the Saints are 0-4</s>

Isn't it great that the above line isn't true!?!?! :ezbill:

Geaux Saints! WhoDat!

:gosaints:
 
While I like the idea of the Eagles getting knocked down a peg, in the end, somebody has to win the east--so why not have them slay the bottom dwellers along the way.

The answer is home field advantage. That is assuming, of course, that we can get rolling.
 
Yeah. It all depends on what your goal for us is. If your goal is home field advantage, root for the unbeaten NFCs to fall. If you think that's too lofty and just want a wild card berth, go for the division leaders to rack up as many wins as possible.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 
Good job, Bill. Well done. There sure is a lot of out-of-conference games this week.
 
I loved you for "Patty Melt". Solidified by "Spam and Company". Marry me.
 
Good job, Bill. Well done. There sure is a lot of out-of-conference games this week.

Yes, it seems that the league scheduled a lot of divisional and intraconference games for later in the year when the excitement level will be higher as these teams vie in critical games for playoff spots.
Hopefully our Saints will still be in the fight as well. :9:
 
I loved you for "Patty Melt". Solidified by "Spam and Company". Marry me.

Darn, I coulda said that. :hihi:

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But wait! Bill if you call in the next 10 minutes you can have your choice of DaveXA or Madmarsha, no marriage license required for only $19.99!

Or if you want both simply make 10 easy payments of $19.99 a month and pay separate S&H!

Call 1-800-i am so in

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Hmmm... well... you know... come to think of it... it IS the BYE week... :scratch:
 

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