rlkats":26uj85s9 said:
(I'm going to get blasted) Panthers by 3 points.
So far none of us here are blasting you. :lol:
Seahawks, Rams, and Saints are all easy ones, although it's the NFL so it also wouldn't surprise me if one of these three is an upset.
As for 9ers/Panthers, I'll be a 9ers fan until the day I die, but they'll have to lose eventually, and this week makes sense.
1) Without Juice, Staley, and McGlinchey the running game has been very ineffective -- they've kept winning so it's just not getting talked about, and Jimmy has been destroying opponents on third down conversions (which isn't sustainable over the long term). It will take a loss for people to start talking about how much of a mess the run game has been with these three guys out.
2) The defense has to regress. It will regress. I think the 9ers defense is good, but it's not one of the best of all time, which is how they've been playing. That will probably start sooner rather than later. In addition to dominating they've also been getting turnovers at the right time -- that's just luck, which again, has to regress.
3) If we think the 9ers are going to win a close one we're basically saying that we think they're going to win as based on their FG unit, and LOLOLOLOLOLOL.
With both teams fully healthy I think the 9ers beat the Panthers about 65% of the time. Right now though, I'm not too sure.