Post by End Zone on Nov 23, 2020 7:18:19 GMT -7
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! The Official Game Day Thread is posted.
Click above image to enlarge. Quite peaceful, eh?
Hello and welcome to the Forum’s 11th Game Day thread of 2020. First, I hope everyone enjoys a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving Day holiday with family and friends. Second, the Arizona Cardinals W/L record is 6-4, with 6 games to go in the Regular Season. Wow, the 2020 NFL season is flying by. Presently, the Cardinals are #3 in the NFCW Division led by LAR #1 and SEA #2. If the season ended on November 28th, the Cardinals would barely qualify for the NFC playoffs as this year’s extra Wild Card team. That’s probably about all the good news I have for you.
The Cardinals are struggling with some aspects of their game since late October, winning 2 games, and losing 2 games. The beaten-down Cardinals Defense gave up 34, 34, 30, and 28 points in those 4 games. Also, much has been said by the sports media and Forum members about the Cardinals leading the NFL in penalties (79). A few players lost control of their minds during the Cardinals @ Seahawks game on TNF: the 10 penalties cost the Cardinals 115 yards. The gifted yardage greatly contributed to the Cardinals 28-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. All told, the Cardinals have coughed up 644 penalty yards to the opposition so far this year. That’s an absurd negative value and almost the same as giving away a game in the W/L column.
The Cardinals face some tough competition with the remaining 6-game schedule, and, giving up 31.5 points and 100 +/- yards in penalties per game makes winning any of the 6 games really, really difficult. HC Kliff Kingsbury keeps saying at pressers, “We need to clean that up.” HC Kliff Kingsbury is only partly responsible for the dirty job, e.g., “cleaning that up.” The players’ also have to think smart and execute as a team, and to behave as professionals at all times.
What is there to know about the New England Patriots football team? Some of you are thinking, “PutMeIn, please spare me the GOAT QB propaganda.” I will gladly spare you. The New England Patriots were established on November 16, 1959, or 61 years ago. Boston business executive Mr. Billy Sullivan was awarded the 8th and final franchise of the new AFL. The first year of competitive play was 1960 starting in the AFL, until 1969 when the AFL-NFL merger occurred. NE has played in the AFC East since their NFL charter. The team initially was called the Boston Patriots, from 1960-1970, and became the New England Patriots in 1971 (the first NFL team name submitted, the “Bay State Patriots,” was rejected by the HQ NFL).
Team uniform colors are Navy Blue, Red, Silver, and White. The team mascot is “Pat Patriot.” The cool air-flow helmet emblem is also called Pat Patriot. Natural team rivalries are the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets. Other rivalries include the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Oddly, no NFC team is considered a Patriots rival. In 2017, the Patriots organization was rolling in corporate cash and decided to purchase 2 pre-owned American Airlines (AA) Boeing 767-300ER jet airliners for use as private team charters. For NE, it’s hard to hide great team wealth. Patriot players really appreciate the perks.
The Patriots are the most successful NFL franchise, winning 6 Super Bowls and losing 5, winning 11 Conference Championships, and winning 22 Division Championships. The franchise has made the playoffs in 27 of 61 years of existence. The team has played home games at 6 outdoor sites in the Boston area: Nickerson Field, Fenway Park, Alumni Stadium, Harvard Stadium, Foxboro Stadium, and Gillette Stadium (present). Team owner is the colorful Robert Kraft. HC and de facto GM is Bill Belichick since 2000. Under Belichick, the team set several notable records: most wins in a 10-year period (126); undefeated 16-game season; longest winning streak (21 games), and most consecutive Division title (11).
Notable Patriot players and their team records include: QB Tom Brady, 74,571 yards passing; RB Sam Cunningham, 5,453 yards rushing; WR Stanley Morgan, 10,352 yards receiving; WR Stephen Gostkowski, 1,755 points scored; and HC Bill Belichick, 256 wins (present). I must add that HOFer WR Randy Moss caught an NFL record 23 TD passes in 2007. The team has retired 7 jersey numbers: 20, 40, 57, 73, 78, 79, and 89. 2 jersey numbers are out of circulation: 12 and 87. 28 former NE Patriot players are Patriot’s HOFers. 8 former NE Patriot players are NFL HOFers. 1 former HC, Bill Parcells, is an NFL HOFer.
Why has the NE Patriots franchise been so successful under HC Bill Belichick? The answer is, “STRATEGY.” The team’s “STRATEGY” analysis is provided in the book, “Patriot Reign,” circa 2004. The team’s offense design is called “Erhardt-Perkins” while the defense design is called “Fairbanks-Bullough” 3-4 defense, or 2-gap, 3-4 defense system. Off-field, the team stresses “The Team Concept,” focusing on preparation, strong work ethic, versatility, and lack of individual ego. On the flip side of success, there is the fact that the New England Patriots are the NFL’s version of the famed Black Beard pirate and his villainous cohorts, appearing to flaunt NFL rules and take what they want from many for years. The team dirt is provided in countless football articles headlined by keywords, “Spygate” and “Deflategate,” to name a few.
In head-to-head competitions, the Cardinals and Patriot teams have rarely scrimmaged since 1970, meeting just 14 times and splitting the games, 7-7. In the last 20 years, the Patriots won 3 of 4 games. The Cardinals last beat the Patriots in their house, 20-18, in 2012. A rare NE field goal miss inside the ARZ Red Zone with seconds left on the game clock sealed that Cardinals shocking road victory. To review the humorous game video and audio, see MS Bing: www.bing.com/videos/search?q=cardinals+at+patriots+2012&docid=608000260997055451&mid=7CD137F585D2315798A07CD137F585D2315798A0&view=detail&FORM=VIRE. The Patriots won at the Cardinals house, 23-21, in early 2016. QB Palmer dueled backup QB Garopollo in a well-coached and well-played game. Larry Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer, and David Johnson were dynamic all night. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, when a 30-yard chip-shot field goal was needed and makeable, the ST Holder and Kicker failed to execute a simple play, costing the Cardinals an early season victory with 38 seconds to play. To review this game, click YouTube: . Total points scored at all 14 games is nearly even: ARZ 263; NE 279. Total average points per game: 38.7.
Okay, now for the Game Day discussion. The Cardinals travel to the northeastern US to face the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on November 29th. Kickoff is at a reasonable Sunday afternoon time, 1:00 p.m. ET. Unlike the past 10 years when a visitor had to battle the GOAT, the Cardinals will now battle former Carolina Panther’s “Superman” QB Cam Newton who signed as a FA with the Patriots last spring. However, Newton is not that super anymore, leading the NE team to a sub-par 4-6 record in 2020. At Newton’s last start on November 22nd, the New England Patriots lost to the Houston Texans, 27-20, in a game marred by Patriots’ poor execution, mistakes, and injuries. That summary sounds eerily familiar to the Cardinals faithful.
Vegas does not appreciate this next game like Patriots and Cardinals fans do. There is no pop, no sizzle, and no drama for the money guys. Both teams are coming off of poor road game performances leading to losses. Arizona is 5-5 against the spread so far in 2020. New England is 4-6 against the spread. Arizona traveled to Seattle a week ago and at the time was leading the NFL in rushing, and yet, the team gained only 57 yards on the ground vs. the Seahawks (QB Murray running underachieved for 15 yards—and the other RBs got just 42 yards…please explain that stink bomb, KK). Meanwhile, Murray and the receiver’s passing attack did okay. But, as noted above, the Cardinals imploded in the mental side of the game. The 10 penalties are a season high ugly stain.
The New England Patriots traveled to Houston as 2.5 point favorites and also badly underperformed in their ground game (86 yards). A small victory was the 365 yards passing by Newton (102.6 QBR). The Patriots lost to the Texans also by 7 points, primarily because of NE’s poor on-field execution by the other 45 members of the active roster.
Vegas picks the Cardinals to win (60% chance) and to cover the spread (-3). Vegas sees the Patriots as a small underdog (+2.5) and less likely to win (44.4% chance). The game O/U is set at 48.5 points. I think the O/U is way too high for these bruised and beaten-down teams. My O/U is 38.5 and that might be a bit high given the active roster situations. The Cardinals games have exceeded the O/U just 3 of 10 times in 2020. Slow game-starts on Offense are Patriots and Cardinals trademarks in 2020.
ESPN predicts a 51.8% chance of a Cardinals road victory at the Patriots, and a 47.8% chance of a Patriots home victory, and 0.4% chance of a TIE game. Arizona is 3-2 in its last 5 games while NE is 2-3 in its last 5 games. Should we just flip a coin to decide this game winner and avoid anymore injuries? I would settle for a gimme TIE if it means no more season-ending injuries.
Here are the 2020 season performance leaders on Offense: Passing. Murray 241-353, 2644 yards, 19 TD, 8 INT. Newton 169-248, 1900 yards, 4 TD, 7 INT. Rushing. Drake 146 carries, 641 yards, 5 TD. Harris 96 carries, 514 yards, 2 TD. Receiving. Hopkins 72 receptions, 912 yards, 4 TD. Byrd 32 receptions, 469 yards, 1 TD.
Here are the teams 2020 season overall performances. Points per game: ARZ 28.7, NE 20.9. Points allowed per game (TIED): ARZ 23.8, NE 23.8. Total yards passing: ARZ 264.4, NE 221.6. Total yards rushing: ARZ 157.7, NE 153.6. Pass yards allowed: ARZ pass 261.8, NE 245.1. Russ yards allowed: ARZ 124.7, NE 121.8.
FLCF and I will ensure the injury reports and active rosters are posted prior to kickoff. At this point in the season, the player active roster and PS roster merry-go-round is spinning fast. Injuries can be positive COVID hits. Players must pass pre-game and game day COVID tests to travel and play. There can be roster churn at the last minute.
The Cardinals at Patriots Sunday afternoon weather will be superb for outdoor football. Skies will be sunny and temperature will be about 50F with 5-10 mph winds from the WNW. However, if the game is delayed by 36 hours, to Monday night, due to positive COVID-19 tests and game rescheduling, NE regional weather conditions are significantly changed with 50% chance for steady rain after sunset, strong winds from the SSW, and a game kickoff temperature in the 40s.
No fans will be in attendance at the open-air Gillette Stadium due to the the Governor’s COVID-19 protection edict. The stadium’s 65,878 luxury boxes and seats will be completely empty. There will be some piped-in NE fan friendly noise as is custom in these times.
The game is broadcast on FOX and NFL’s Network and Red Zone. Listen to local AZ radio and mobile devices at Sirrus FM. The game is NOT presently scheduled to be broadcast nationally.
Referee Bill Vinovich, 59 years old (60th birthday is 1 December), will be the “White Hat” at the Cardinals @ Patriots game. He has worked NFL games beginning in 2001. He was the Referee at Super Bowl XLIX, played on February 1, 2015, at UofP Stadium, Glendale, AZ. He also was the Referee at Super Bowl LIV, played on February 2, 2020. Vinovich’s crew is now mostly known for the blown PI call when the Rams CB completely tackled the Saints WR near the end zone with minutes to play in the 2018 NFC Title Game. No pass interference (PI) was called and the play was not reviewable at that time. In 2019, the NFL Rules Committee changed PI to team-challengeable and HQ NFL Booth-reviewable action.
As the old saying goes, the NFL’s best teams play their best football in November and December. The Cardinals are not at their best so far in November, mentally pooping the bed at Seattle a week ago. Bad behavior penalties cannot happen again at New England. You hear me, CB Dre Kirkpatrick? You easily walked away with Forum’s Dummy of the Game (DOG) Award at Seattle. No major injuries to any players at TNF. Go Cardinals! Win #7 @ NE!
Click above image to enlarge. Quite peaceful, eh?
Hello and welcome to the Forum’s 11th Game Day thread of 2020. First, I hope everyone enjoys a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving Day holiday with family and friends. Second, the Arizona Cardinals W/L record is 6-4, with 6 games to go in the Regular Season. Wow, the 2020 NFL season is flying by. Presently, the Cardinals are #3 in the NFCW Division led by LAR #1 and SEA #2. If the season ended on November 28th, the Cardinals would barely qualify for the NFC playoffs as this year’s extra Wild Card team. That’s probably about all the good news I have for you.
The Cardinals are struggling with some aspects of their game since late October, winning 2 games, and losing 2 games. The beaten-down Cardinals Defense gave up 34, 34, 30, and 28 points in those 4 games. Also, much has been said by the sports media and Forum members about the Cardinals leading the NFL in penalties (79). A few players lost control of their minds during the Cardinals @ Seahawks game on TNF: the 10 penalties cost the Cardinals 115 yards. The gifted yardage greatly contributed to the Cardinals 28-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. All told, the Cardinals have coughed up 644 penalty yards to the opposition so far this year. That’s an absurd negative value and almost the same as giving away a game in the W/L column.
The Cardinals face some tough competition with the remaining 6-game schedule, and, giving up 31.5 points and 100 +/- yards in penalties per game makes winning any of the 6 games really, really difficult. HC Kliff Kingsbury keeps saying at pressers, “We need to clean that up.” HC Kliff Kingsbury is only partly responsible for the dirty job, e.g., “cleaning that up.” The players’ also have to think smart and execute as a team, and to behave as professionals at all times.
What is there to know about the New England Patriots football team? Some of you are thinking, “PutMeIn, please spare me the GOAT QB propaganda.” I will gladly spare you. The New England Patriots were established on November 16, 1959, or 61 years ago. Boston business executive Mr. Billy Sullivan was awarded the 8th and final franchise of the new AFL. The first year of competitive play was 1960 starting in the AFL, until 1969 when the AFL-NFL merger occurred. NE has played in the AFC East since their NFL charter. The team initially was called the Boston Patriots, from 1960-1970, and became the New England Patriots in 1971 (the first NFL team name submitted, the “Bay State Patriots,” was rejected by the HQ NFL).
Team uniform colors are Navy Blue, Red, Silver, and White. The team mascot is “Pat Patriot.” The cool air-flow helmet emblem is also called Pat Patriot. Natural team rivalries are the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets. Other rivalries include the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Oddly, no NFC team is considered a Patriots rival. In 2017, the Patriots organization was rolling in corporate cash and decided to purchase 2 pre-owned American Airlines (AA) Boeing 767-300ER jet airliners for use as private team charters. For NE, it’s hard to hide great team wealth. Patriot players really appreciate the perks.
The Patriots are the most successful NFL franchise, winning 6 Super Bowls and losing 5, winning 11 Conference Championships, and winning 22 Division Championships. The franchise has made the playoffs in 27 of 61 years of existence. The team has played home games at 6 outdoor sites in the Boston area: Nickerson Field, Fenway Park, Alumni Stadium, Harvard Stadium, Foxboro Stadium, and Gillette Stadium (present). Team owner is the colorful Robert Kraft. HC and de facto GM is Bill Belichick since 2000. Under Belichick, the team set several notable records: most wins in a 10-year period (126); undefeated 16-game season; longest winning streak (21 games), and most consecutive Division title (11).
Notable Patriot players and their team records include: QB Tom Brady, 74,571 yards passing; RB Sam Cunningham, 5,453 yards rushing; WR Stanley Morgan, 10,352 yards receiving; WR Stephen Gostkowski, 1,755 points scored; and HC Bill Belichick, 256 wins (present). I must add that HOFer WR Randy Moss caught an NFL record 23 TD passes in 2007. The team has retired 7 jersey numbers: 20, 40, 57, 73, 78, 79, and 89. 2 jersey numbers are out of circulation: 12 and 87. 28 former NE Patriot players are Patriot’s HOFers. 8 former NE Patriot players are NFL HOFers. 1 former HC, Bill Parcells, is an NFL HOFer.
Why has the NE Patriots franchise been so successful under HC Bill Belichick? The answer is, “STRATEGY.” The team’s “STRATEGY” analysis is provided in the book, “Patriot Reign,” circa 2004. The team’s offense design is called “Erhardt-Perkins” while the defense design is called “Fairbanks-Bullough” 3-4 defense, or 2-gap, 3-4 defense system. Off-field, the team stresses “The Team Concept,” focusing on preparation, strong work ethic, versatility, and lack of individual ego. On the flip side of success, there is the fact that the New England Patriots are the NFL’s version of the famed Black Beard pirate and his villainous cohorts, appearing to flaunt NFL rules and take what they want from many for years. The team dirt is provided in countless football articles headlined by keywords, “Spygate” and “Deflategate,” to name a few.
In head-to-head competitions, the Cardinals and Patriot teams have rarely scrimmaged since 1970, meeting just 14 times and splitting the games, 7-7. In the last 20 years, the Patriots won 3 of 4 games. The Cardinals last beat the Patriots in their house, 20-18, in 2012. A rare NE field goal miss inside the ARZ Red Zone with seconds left on the game clock sealed that Cardinals shocking road victory. To review the humorous game video and audio, see MS Bing: www.bing.com/videos/search?q=cardinals+at+patriots+2012&docid=608000260997055451&mid=7CD137F585D2315798A07CD137F585D2315798A0&view=detail&FORM=VIRE. The Patriots won at the Cardinals house, 23-21, in early 2016. QB Palmer dueled backup QB Garopollo in a well-coached and well-played game. Larry Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer, and David Johnson were dynamic all night. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, when a 30-yard chip-shot field goal was needed and makeable, the ST Holder and Kicker failed to execute a simple play, costing the Cardinals an early season victory with 38 seconds to play. To review this game, click YouTube: . Total points scored at all 14 games is nearly even: ARZ 263; NE 279. Total average points per game: 38.7.
Okay, now for the Game Day discussion. The Cardinals travel to the northeastern US to face the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on November 29th. Kickoff is at a reasonable Sunday afternoon time, 1:00 p.m. ET. Unlike the past 10 years when a visitor had to battle the GOAT, the Cardinals will now battle former Carolina Panther’s “Superman” QB Cam Newton who signed as a FA with the Patriots last spring. However, Newton is not that super anymore, leading the NE team to a sub-par 4-6 record in 2020. At Newton’s last start on November 22nd, the New England Patriots lost to the Houston Texans, 27-20, in a game marred by Patriots’ poor execution, mistakes, and injuries. That summary sounds eerily familiar to the Cardinals faithful.
Vegas does not appreciate this next game like Patriots and Cardinals fans do. There is no pop, no sizzle, and no drama for the money guys. Both teams are coming off of poor road game performances leading to losses. Arizona is 5-5 against the spread so far in 2020. New England is 4-6 against the spread. Arizona traveled to Seattle a week ago and at the time was leading the NFL in rushing, and yet, the team gained only 57 yards on the ground vs. the Seahawks (QB Murray running underachieved for 15 yards—and the other RBs got just 42 yards…please explain that stink bomb, KK). Meanwhile, Murray and the receiver’s passing attack did okay. But, as noted above, the Cardinals imploded in the mental side of the game. The 10 penalties are a season high ugly stain.
The New England Patriots traveled to Houston as 2.5 point favorites and also badly underperformed in their ground game (86 yards). A small victory was the 365 yards passing by Newton (102.6 QBR). The Patriots lost to the Texans also by 7 points, primarily because of NE’s poor on-field execution by the other 45 members of the active roster.
Vegas picks the Cardinals to win (60% chance) and to cover the spread (-3). Vegas sees the Patriots as a small underdog (+2.5) and less likely to win (44.4% chance). The game O/U is set at 48.5 points. I think the O/U is way too high for these bruised and beaten-down teams. My O/U is 38.5 and that might be a bit high given the active roster situations. The Cardinals games have exceeded the O/U just 3 of 10 times in 2020. Slow game-starts on Offense are Patriots and Cardinals trademarks in 2020.
ESPN predicts a 51.8% chance of a Cardinals road victory at the Patriots, and a 47.8% chance of a Patriots home victory, and 0.4% chance of a TIE game. Arizona is 3-2 in its last 5 games while NE is 2-3 in its last 5 games. Should we just flip a coin to decide this game winner and avoid anymore injuries? I would settle for a gimme TIE if it means no more season-ending injuries.
Here are the 2020 season performance leaders on Offense: Passing. Murray 241-353, 2644 yards, 19 TD, 8 INT. Newton 169-248, 1900 yards, 4 TD, 7 INT. Rushing. Drake 146 carries, 641 yards, 5 TD. Harris 96 carries, 514 yards, 2 TD. Receiving. Hopkins 72 receptions, 912 yards, 4 TD. Byrd 32 receptions, 469 yards, 1 TD.
Here are the teams 2020 season overall performances. Points per game: ARZ 28.7, NE 20.9. Points allowed per game (TIED): ARZ 23.8, NE 23.8. Total yards passing: ARZ 264.4, NE 221.6. Total yards rushing: ARZ 157.7, NE 153.6. Pass yards allowed: ARZ pass 261.8, NE 245.1. Russ yards allowed: ARZ 124.7, NE 121.8.
FLCF and I will ensure the injury reports and active rosters are posted prior to kickoff. At this point in the season, the player active roster and PS roster merry-go-round is spinning fast. Injuries can be positive COVID hits. Players must pass pre-game and game day COVID tests to travel and play. There can be roster churn at the last minute.
The Cardinals at Patriots Sunday afternoon weather will be superb for outdoor football. Skies will be sunny and temperature will be about 50F with 5-10 mph winds from the WNW. However, if the game is delayed by 36 hours, to Monday night, due to positive COVID-19 tests and game rescheduling, NE regional weather conditions are significantly changed with 50% chance for steady rain after sunset, strong winds from the SSW, and a game kickoff temperature in the 40s.
No fans will be in attendance at the open-air Gillette Stadium due to the the Governor’s COVID-19 protection edict. The stadium’s 65,878 luxury boxes and seats will be completely empty. There will be some piped-in NE fan friendly noise as is custom in these times.
The game is broadcast on FOX and NFL’s Network and Red Zone. Listen to local AZ radio and mobile devices at Sirrus FM. The game is NOT presently scheduled to be broadcast nationally.
Referee Bill Vinovich, 59 years old (60th birthday is 1 December), will be the “White Hat” at the Cardinals @ Patriots game. He has worked NFL games beginning in 2001. He was the Referee at Super Bowl XLIX, played on February 1, 2015, at UofP Stadium, Glendale, AZ. He also was the Referee at Super Bowl LIV, played on February 2, 2020. Vinovich’s crew is now mostly known for the blown PI call when the Rams CB completely tackled the Saints WR near the end zone with minutes to play in the 2018 NFC Title Game. No pass interference (PI) was called and the play was not reviewable at that time. In 2019, the NFL Rules Committee changed PI to team-challengeable and HQ NFL Booth-reviewable action.
As the old saying goes, the NFL’s best teams play their best football in November and December. The Cardinals are not at their best so far in November, mentally pooping the bed at Seattle a week ago. Bad behavior penalties cannot happen again at New England. You hear me, CB Dre Kirkpatrick? You easily walked away with Forum’s Dummy of the Game (DOG) Award at Seattle. No major injuries to any players at TNF. Go Cardinals! Win #7 @ NE!