gruntbygod

Im in

__________________

Serrated Shadow

Ok, let's forget about trying to do this within a certain time frame and just get responses in by a certain amount of time. Sorry i couldn't focus on it this weekend so far, but tomorrow during the games i should have some time to hammer it all out.

Thanks for the topic ideas Lemon!

__________________

BeastJacobs

Love all the ideas Lemon.

__________________

Serrated Shadow

ok, i'm going to kick this off tomorrow. I'll post three topics, and you guys will need to give your responses for those topics by the end of Thursday. Keep in mind that the sooner you give a response, then the better chance you have at points, because you'll have made the obvious ones before anyone else.

Tuesday is responses only. On Wednesday and Thursday, you can give one counter-response per topic to what an opponent has said. So basically, for this first round you can make a maximum of two posts..if you counter, first write who you're countering too, so people can follow better.

Any questions?

__________________

Professor

who is in the comp this go around?

__________________

Serrated Shadow

looks like Grunt and Lemon for sure, and hopefully Dawardoe, Shockey and P-rez..I'm going to PM everyone to see..but if we don't have enough..whoever wants in just post their response i guess.

__________________

Serrated Shadow

Ok guys..It's the First Word:

1) What on Earth has happened to the San Francisco 49ers? Also, who finishes last in the NFC West and why?

2) Who are your contenders for Defensive player of the year, and who wins it?

3) We've been talking about overrated teams lately, now make your case for two underrated teams in the NFL.

__________________

Smooth Lemon

1. The 49ers went into free agency, signing big-names such as Nate Clements (BUF) and Michael Lewis (PHI). They drafted very well, taking LB Patrick Willis in the first. They've improved on defense and added a spark to their attack by trading for Darrell Jackson from the Seahawks. Why are they bad? Well, mostly it comes down to the play of QB Alex Smith and the offensive-line. Frank Gore isn't having the Pro Bowl season like he did in '06, and Smith is directing an anemic offense. Jackson has been hurt, and Lelie is virtually a non-factor. It is either Arnaz Battle or Vernon Davis. They beat the Cardinals in their opener (due to poor play by Leinart) and beat a 1-8 Rams team to open 2-0. From then forward, they have been on a 7-game losing streak, mostly to injuries for their defense. The Rams go last in the NFC West, mostly because of injuries and the poor execution of the offense and defense.

2. My candidates for Defensive MVP include: FS Bob Sanders (IND), MLB Karlos Dansby (ARI), CB Leigh Bodden (CLE), LB Patrick Willis (SF), SS LaRon Landry (WAS), and CB Terrence McGee (BUF). Dansby wins it.

3. In my opinion, the Cardinals and Bills are underrated. Yes, I picked the Cards because I am a homer, but they haven't been getting recognized. Ken Whisenhunt has turned this team around drastically from Denny Green's horrid team. James is a better rusher, and the offense is more potent. The TE is also getting involved, opening up the receivers. Most of all, the defense and offensive-line have improved the most. This past Sunday, Dansby got two INT's. He has been a beast all year. Darnell Dockett is pressuring the QB. I question the corners and safeties, but overall, it has improved as a unit. In 2006, the Cards ranked 29th in overall defense. This season, they are ranked 9th. The Bills, despite starting off badly, have re-surfaced, almost beating an undefeated Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night. Trent Edwards have proven to be an effective starter, and Losman has silenced his critics...so far. Their defense has done surprisingly well, despite losing Spikes, Fletcher, and Clements to other teams. Jauron has done a nice job with his playcalling, and I think the Bills will go 2nd in the AFC East.

__________________
(8-8)

P-Rez25

1. ill tell you what happened to the San Francisco 49ers and you have to look no further than Frank Gore. he is the one that makes this team go. it was especially obvious last night in Seattle as the 49ers didnt mount much of a threat to the "mighty" Seahawks. without Gore in there, they have no threat of play action, no running game. and lets face it folks Alex Smith is gettin my vote for Rex Grossman 2007.

2. when i think of defensive players of the year 3 guys come to mind. the 1st one is Barrett Rudd of the Tampa Bay Bucs. he has almost single handidly kept the Bucs in a position to win by racking up 79 tackles good for 3rd in the league. he is gonna be a mainstay on this Bucs D for many years. my second guy is Usi Umenyora. the Giants were kinda going through the motions a couple weeks back defensivley until he had that monster game against the Eagles. the Giants have been playing inspired D since that game and Umenyora has been at the center of it. his pass rushing skills combined with Strahan and the rest of the G-Man are masking the achilles heel that is the secondary. my 3rd guy is Antonio Cromartie, how does a guy making his 1st NFL start pick Peyton Manning off 3 times? did Peyton not get the memo that Cromartie was making his 1st NFL start? this guy has absolutely been on a tear this past 3 weeks and his play is a big reason why the Chargers have turned things around. looks like Drayton Florence has lost his job, because i cant even tell you the last time a Charger DB lead the league in INTs.

3. my 1st underated team is the Cleveland Browns. these arent the stains anymore. even though they dropped a tough game last week to the Steelers, this team is clearly on the rise. Romeo Crennell must be thanking someone at night for Derek Anderson. this guy gets no love. 20 TDs against 9 INTs and his QB rating is up there with the Peyton Mannings of the world which tells me that hes making the correct play when it needs to be made. the Browns are also playing solid displined D which is necessary to make the playoffs in the AFC. with a manageble schedule the rest of the way in which they play 1 team with a winning record, the playoffs are the definite possiblity in Cleveland.
my second underated team is the Green Bay Packers. how can a team that is 8-1 be overrated you ask? lets mention the fact that this team is not the one dimensional team that they have made us to believe. if you caught last weeks game, Brett Farve engineered a fine offensive effort against a pretty solid D. not to mention that they ran over 100 yards on the Vikings, who up to that point, havent allowed a 100 yard rusher all year. this is the same Vikings D that has shut down Larry Johnson, LaDainain Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, Marion Barber III, and Julius Jones and last time i checked those guys werent slouches. but Ryan Grant a back that the Giants didnt want ran all over these guys. its not just the offense either. the D has been stellar this year. they just shut out the Vikings for the 1st time in their series and these guys have been playing each other since the league started up. the Packers, if they can follow up this performance next week, should be considered a legit SuperBowl contender.

__________________

Serrated Shadow

great job so far guys..let's hope the others get in on this.

__________________