I couldn’t contain myself
Lol

NFC Mid Season Roundup

The great thing in writing the conference reviews isn’t the known. The known are the owners of Paydirt, without a doubt some of the greatest assembled. The unknown is more of an attraction to most, so in the spirit of the X-files and Twilight Zone (yes, I am looking forward to Jordan Peele’s version), here are the known and unknown happenings in the NFC.

East
I think everyone expected a Dallas repeat here and they have started showing signs of life (still in the wildcard picture), it is a tough road ahead. The Giants and Redskins are at the top, but there are some big battles coming. The Giants are the team that could determine the wildcards. They still have the Redskins and Cowboys twice, 4 of their final 8 are against teams that can make or break their destiny, add games against the surging Rams and consistent Browns, they couldn’t ask for a bigger challenge. If they come through it, they may be a serious contender. If there is a collapse by the Giants, it will be the Redskins division. The Skins still have their top 10 offense(4th), and their defense(10th) has moved into the top ten. They went 3-1 in their last 4 games, so they are holding strong.

The Cowboys are still in the picture, 2-2 over the past 4, but must keep winning to keep their chances alive.

Eagles: 1979- 10 draft picks (3-2nd’s)

West
The Seahawks maintain their division lead and show no signs of stopping as their defense(9th) and offense(7th) rank in the top ten. The Hawks have however gone 2-2 over the last 4 to leave the door open for the Rams. The Rams are the only team in the NFC to go 4-0 in the last 4. They allowed 4 pts per game in that stretch and have the #2 defense in MFN. The Rams have started surging and they still have 2 against the Seahawks and one against the Giants.

The Cardinals can win and have a great coach but going .500 over the past 4 hurts. The most telling thing for concern is the bottom 5 rankings in both their offense and defense. They need to win to keep their chances alive

49ers: 1979- 7 draft picks (1- 1st, 1-2nd)

North
Green Bay is the toast of the town. The Pack has the #1 offense in Paydirt and at times has looked unstoppable, add a top ten defense and you have the favorite to come out of the NFC and play for the championship (yes, I know Seattle and Tampa Bay are still there). They have a vicious passing attack that spreads the ball around which makes it tough to defend against as shown by their 3-1 record in the previous 4. Their final 8 games, in which 6 are against teams with a losing record, should be a vacation. They will win 13-15 games and even if Detroit or Minnesota win the rest of theirs, still won’t be enough. Greyghost declares the NFC North division winner is Green Bay (the only one I am ready to declare) It is the hope for the rest of the NFC he gets bored with the 78 regular season, and it carries into the playoffs.

The Vikings need to win and never stop winning to keep the pace for the wildcard in the NFC.

Lions: 1979- 10 draft picks (1-1st, 2-2nd’s)
Bears: 1979 7 draft picks (1-1st, 1-2nd)

South
Yes, this is Tampa’s division today, but I am not willing to write off any teams in the South completely at this point. Tampa has the defense(1st) and offense(10th) to maintain, but this is a strange division and up is sometimes down. Every team is still in wildcard contention, but as in ever case they must win. I am safe to say Tampa will be in the playoffs. Atlanta has become a force since they overcame their early kicker experiment and they went 3-1 in the last 4. They have the #3 defense in MFN. If they don’t win the division their victory against the Giants or their loss against the Rams could come into play for their wildcard chance. The Saints show signs of life at times, while going 3-1, but their numbers are still concerning. The wildcard run is there, the loss to the Rams could come into play.

The Panthers must win to keep their chances alive.

Mid-Season Leaders

NFC Offense (total yardage)
1. Green Bay (#1 Paydirt)
2. Washington (#4 Paydirt)
3. Seattle (#9 Paydirt)
4. Tampa Bay (#10 Paydirt)
5. Los Angeles

NFC Defense (total yardage)

1. Tampa Bay (#1 Paydirt)
2. Los Angeles (#2 Paydirt)
3. Atlanta (#3 Paydirt)
4. Green Bay (#5 Paydirt)
5. Detroit (#6 Paydirt)

Keep in mind this is just speculation of the writer, no one has been eliminated and Paydirt accepts no responsibility for its content.

edit note: corrected east/west mislabeled.

Let’s go Bowz
Let’s play ball..........

The Paydirt Report: Week 8

Were at the turn and what a way to get there with a Battle Royale between Oakland and San Diego being decided in overtime 27-24 in favor of the Raiders. Theres a lot to talk about midway through but I'll leave that up to our PR departments quarterly reports. We will focus on the goings on in week 8.

The Game of the Week Raiders vs Chargers is arguably the game of the year up to this point. So much on the line for these two division rival powerhouses.

San Diego would take the opening kickoff and drive into Raider territory but had to settle for a long 49 yd kick by Kidd. After two 3 and outs, Oakland would strike so fast the Charger faithful heads were spinning. Before the Chargers could gather their senses, the Raiders were up 21-3 on 3 QB Shawn Curtis TD passes. By San Diego did get up from the canvas with 2 TD's from QB Houk passes to go into the locker room down 21-17.

The defenses came out to play in the 3rd shutting each other down til 1:07 left in the quarter when San Diego would take the lead on an 8 yd TD run by RB Butcher. The lead now belonged to the Chargers 24-21. Oakland would tie it up early in the 4th on a 56 yd boot by K Tucker. Both defenses stiffened up once again and to overtime we go tied 24-24 with a division lead at stake.

Oakland won the toss and started their first drive on their own 25 after the touchback. On a 2nd and 10 at the Raiders own 35 QB Curtis threw what would be his 4th Int of the game by the opportunistic Charger defense. But a pass Interference penalty by LB Kouba who intercepted the ball, would give the ball back to San Diego and a big sigh of relief by Head Coach Howard Velasquez. The Raiders escaped disaster but could not move the ball further and were forced to punt. The Chargers produced a 3 and out and punted the ball back to the Raiders were they took over where they left off on their last drive. Their own 37 yd line. QB Curtis would then engineer a 5 play 50 yd drive to set up the game winning 31 yd FG by Tucker.

Are the rest of the divisions as thrilling as week 8's Game of the Week? Lets see.
AFC
West
With Oakland(7-1) and San Diego's(6-2) game behind them Kansas City(4-4) and Denver(4-4) wasted little time to put wins up on the board to take as much advantage as they could to whoever came out on the losing end of that game. Kansas City will test Oakland and Denver will test San Diego next week. Do you think those are a couple of important games? I do.

East
Miami(6-2) wins a close one against Cincinnati but if they take their foot off the pedal Buffalo(5-3) is sitting right there ready to pounce. Both New England(2-6) and NY Jets(2-6) are looking to play spoilers from here on out.

North
Cleveland(6-2) took care of Baltimore(4-4) to let them know who's the real boss in the North. But the Ravens might be a team to watch as they are making strides in 78'. Pittsburgh(3-5) lost their 3rd straight and have little time to turn it around. It may already be too late for Cincinnati(2-5-1).

South
Who are these Houston Texans(7-1). And where did they come from. at this stage in the season it's pretty safe to say that the Texans are for real. The struggling Jaguars(4-4) lost their 3rd in a row to put them in a hole in the South. Indianapolis(3-5) has had some tough losses this year but rebounded by smashing the hapless Tennessee Titans(1-7). It wasn't too long ago that we were calling them the Champion Titans. What happened?

NFC
East
Washington(6-2) trailed 24-3 going into the 4th QT against a tough Carolina team and came back to win it 28-24. Thats how potent the Redskins are. The Giants(5-3) lose their 2nd straight and are starting to show their true colors. While Dallas(3-5) are trying to climb back in it with by blasting Philly(1-6-1) 57-0. Crazy

West
Seattle(6-2) lost to Houston and Los Angeles(5-3) wins again for the 4th consecutive time to make a race of it in the west. Arizona(3-5) loses to drop in the distant while the 49ers(0-8) just keep losing.

North
Green Bay(7-1) has it on cruise control over the rest of the division. Minnesota(3-5) goes down, Detroit(2-6) pulls out a win over those Vikes while Chicago(1-7) has pulled in the sails.

South
Tampa Bay(7-1) is doing everything it has to do to maintain their division lead. And that is win, with their 3rd in a row and this one a huge one against Atlanta(5-3) who was hot on their heels. But the big story here comes from New Orleans(4-4). They win their 3rd in a row and just might have turned the corner with their franchise. Carolina(3-5) now controls the bottom of the NFC South. Prolly the best last place team in Paydirt.

Games to watch in week 9
Denver @ San Diego
Washington @ NY Giants
Kansas City @ Oakland
Seattle @ Tampa Bay - Battle Royale

AFC mid season review

AFC West: Oakland sits atop the wild wild west at the halfway mark. They lost one game to SD in week 6 but got revenge in the week 8 rematch. San Diego is right behind Oakland sitting at 6-2. They got tested over the last 3 weeks and came out 2-1. The Chargers still sit in good position, but the week 8 loss hurt. KC might be in trouble, sitting at .500 right now is not good for the Chiefs. They still have to play both the Raiders and Chargers 2 times each. The road is not any easier for Denver at 4-4. It’s hard to see either of these teams winning the division but wild card is a possibility for both.

AFC East: Miami is looking good again at 6-2. It’s been mixed results for Miami this season, but they sit in good position to win the division. Miami is going to get some competition from Buffalo this season. They have split the season series and Buffalo is 1 game behind. The Bills play 2 teams over .500 over the last 8. The pats look like they are done. They have lost 4 games by 3 points or less. They still have a tough schedule and recent signs aren’t good 42-7 against the Bills week 8. The Jets are having trouble scoring points this season. New York’s highest scoring games were 17 and 16. They won both of those games.

AFC North: Cleveland might be running away with it after beating their closest competition Baltimore 20-3 in week 8. Baltimore is 2nd but at 4-4 their rest of season outlook doesn’t land them in the playoffs. Pittsburgh is in trouble at 3-5. It will be tough to improve upon last seasons 7-9 season. The new game version has not favored Cincinnati who was thought to be Cleveland’s big competition.

AFC South: Houston is the big story in Paydirt this season. After loosing game 1 they have now won 7 in a row and show no signs of slowing down. Houston has never won more than 5 games in a season. The Jags looked got to start the season but have now lost 3 in a row and may just be playing for a wild card spot at this point. The Colts are not good, but they only need 1 more win to improve upon last season 3-win performance. What happened to the Titans? After winning the division and getting into the playoffs for the first-time last season they had real expectations this season. Sitting at 1-7 they were sellers at the trade deadline.

GG, Wolveraider.

Two evenly matched teams through the years. Two OT games in a row are taking its toll on my depth chart - which has been struck by the injury bug all season.

Now, in addition to winning all of the rest of my games, I need some help to get back in the conversation for a chance to get a bye week. I hate to be in that position. GL the rest of the way nevertheless.

P.S. Sorry for the late reply. I don't know what's causing me more grief this season. Injuries or RL.

Good Game Green Bay, at this point it looks like a lost season for us. I think the most frustrating part is that it seems like team building has become somewhat obsolete and the only thing that really matters is having the right game plan. Not to take anything away from the teams that’ve beaten me this season but with the talent on this team the games we’ve played should be more competitive than this.

GG my sir your offense bested us.. a few key defensive plays saved our ***. I would wager that Black caught your guy Perez on the final touch down sprint but it turn out to be just a great play and didn't affect the outcome. As always a tough battle and I look forward to doing it again..looked at the injuries as well we seem to beat each other up physically..looks like we both survived this one pretty well..on your bright side your done with the Chargers..I still got em in wk 14 &16.catch in a few ......MM

GG Cincy, seems my qb has 3 tds or 3 ints every game

GG SEA,

Real tight close game that went to the wire, with the Bucc`s coming out on top....just.

Seahawks WR Lokken is a beast...10 for 203 yds.