My mom will be pleased to find out she did better this week and not at the bottom.

(September 20, 2016 at 12:14 am)Tiberius Wrote: Here are the choices for Week 3. Please PM me the name of the team you want to win in the order listed below, by midnight on Wednesday.

Texans (2-0) @ Patriots (2-0)
Cardinals (1-1) @ Bills (0-2)
Raiders (1-1) @ Titans (1-1)
Redskins (0-2) @ Giants (2-0)
Browns (0-2) @ Dolphins (0-2)
Ravens (2-0) @ Jaguars (0-2)
Lions (1-1) @ Packers (1-1)
Broncos (2-0) @ Bengals (1-1)
Vikings (2-0) @ Panthers (1-1)
Rams (1-1) @ Buccaneers (1-1)
49ers (1-1) @ Seahawks (1-1)
Jets (1-1) @ Chiefs (1-1)
Chargers (1-1) @ Colts (0-2)
Steelers (2-0) @ Eagles (2-0)
Bears (0-2) @ Cowboys (1-1)
Falcons (1-1) @ Saints (0-2)

Some tough picks this week! I'm going to have to guess extra hard.

(September 20, 2016 at 8:53 am)Brian37 Wrote: My mom will be pleased to find out she did better this week and not at the bottom.

Glad I could do my part.

(September 20, 2016 at 9:01 am)Crossless1 Wrote: Some tough picks this week! I'm going to have to guess extra hard.

Yeah, there are some tough calls this week. Especially the Thurs. game. Sure, the Pats are at home, but they're also down to their third QB and Miami gave 'em almost all they could handle... Should be an interesting week.

Quote:In addition to a torn meniscus, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson also has a torn lateral collateral ligament, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington.

Peterson will have surgery Thursday morning to repair the torn meniscus, the team announced Wednesday. Peterson, who was injured Sunday, told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he has a "bucket handle tear" of the meniscus, which typically has a minimum recovery time of three to four months.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17602...n-meniscus

Coach Mike Zimmer is not so pessimistic, but it's looking a lot like Peterson will be out for the season.

Can a team lose two stars and still compete? I guess we'll see this Sunday when the Vikings' reserve backs face the Carolina defense. By all accounts, in Sam Bradford, we've got a "just okay" quarterback, and now we're depending on "just okay" running backs. Our newly revamped offensive line appears to be struggling. Can we win games with a good defense, and a so-so everything else? I'm hopeful that Bradford can produce in Minnesota unlike he has in the past, but I also think we'll be facing a long season filled with a lot of lost games. Is 8-8 a reasonable expectation now? Dare anyone hope for 10 or more wins? I don't know. It seems the team's entire future is up in the air.

(September 21, 2016 at 5:29 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote:

Quote:In addition to a torn meniscus, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson also has a torn lateral collateral ligament, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington.

Peterson will have surgery Thursday morning to repair the torn meniscus, the team announced Wednesday. Peterson, who was injured Sunday, told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he has a "bucket handle tear" of the meniscus, which typically has a minimum recovery time of three to four months.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17602...n-meniscus

Coach Mike Zimmer is not so pessimistic, but it's looking a lot like Peterson will be out for the season.

Can a team lose two stars and still compete?  I guess we'll see this Sunday when the Vikings' reserve backs face the Carolina defense.  By all accounts, in Sam Bradford, we've got a "just okay" quarterback, and now we're depending on "just okay" running backs.  Our newly revamped offensive line appears to be struggling.  Can we win games with a good defense, and a so-so everything else.  I'm hopeful that Bradford can produce in Minnesota unlike he has in the past, but I also think we'll be facing a long season filled with a lot of lost games.  Is 8-8 a reasonable expectation now?  Dare anyone hope for 10 or more wins?  I don't know.  It seems the team's entire future is up in the air.

I don't consider Bradford "just okay". He's been plagued by injuries in the five years he's been in the league, so I don't think we've really seen him shine. If he manages to stay healthy (a big 'if' considering the poor pass protection he's getting), this could be his breakout season.

Yes, everything is up in the air, but I'm actually optimistic (a condition I call The Perennial Curse of the Vikings Fan). If not for the penalties committed by the secondary, the defense effectively shut down Green Bay, which is no small feat. And defenses can win games. Hell, the Ravens won a Super Bowl with a so-so offense but with a monster D.

The big question for me is whether the offense will be able to run the ball. After all, so-so RBs or not, that is supposed to be what that revamped offensive line specializes at. If they can pound the ball, Bradford can sell the play-action and get some time. Then? Who knows? In my opinion, they have the tools -- on paper at least -- to be a contender, with or without AP.

(September 21, 2016 at 5:29 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote:

Quote:In addition to a torn meniscus, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson also has a torn lateral collateral ligament, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington.

Peterson will have surgery Thursday morning to repair the torn meniscus, the team announced Wednesday. Peterson, who was injured Sunday, told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he has a "bucket handle tear" of the meniscus, which typically has a minimum recovery time of three to four months.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17602...n-meniscus

Coach Mike Zimmer is not so pessimistic, but it's looking a lot like Peterson will be out for the season.

Can a team lose two stars and still compete? I guess we'll see this Sunday when the Vikings' reserve backs face the Carolina defense. By all accounts, in Sam Bradford, we've got a "just okay" quarterback, and now we're depending on "just okay" running backs. Our newly revamped offensive line appears to be struggling. Can we win games with a good defense, and a so-so everything else? I'm hopeful that Bradford can produce in Minnesota unlike he has in the past, but I also think we'll be facing a long season filled with a lot of lost games. Is 8-8 a reasonable expectation now? Dare anyone hope for 10 or more wins? I don't know. It seems the team's entire future is up in the air.

We won this last Superbowl with a defense that dragged our offense kicking and screaming the whole way. Defense, as they say, wins championships.

(September 21, 2016 at 5:50 pm)Crossless1 Wrote: If not for the penalties committed by the secondary, the defense effectively shut down Green Bay, which is no small feat. And defenses can win games.

A lot of those penalties in the secondary were purposeful though. Either commit the foul and break up the pass or live with a deep ball. I think Newman was just playing smart defense.

Right, all the Week 3 picks are in: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...sp=sharing (click "Week 3" down the bottom if it doesn't load the right screen).

The Wisdom of the Crowd picks this week were:

Patriots
Cardinals
Raiders
Giants
Dolphins
Ravens
Packers
Broncos
Panthers
Buccaneers
Seahawks
Chiefs
Colts
Steelers
Cowboys
Saints

If the Bills win... I'm gonna do a dance. I see that I was the only person who picked them this week.