2006 NFL Season

[Applespider]

OMFGBBQ!

I've just been sent a link to official Live NFL games broadcast online - although it only works outside of North America.

It's extortionate for the year... but would mean I could watch any game or parts thereof... Likely also means that I wouldn't go out again on Sunday nights but would just watch at home!

So... go for it? Or not? Or just occasionally?

And despite being based on Yahoo! video, Macs are supported!

 

[xsedrinam]

OMFGBBQ!

I've just been sent a link to official Live NFL games broadcast online - although it only works outside of North America.

It's extortionate for the year... but would mean I could watch any game or parts thereof... Likely also means that I wouldn't go out again on Sunday nights but would just watch at home!

So... go for it? Or not? Or just occasionally?

And despite being based on Yahoo! video, Macs are supported!

Looks pretty tempting. Post season isn't available, though. Did you see a price quote?

 

[Applespider]

Looks pretty tempting. Post season isn't available, though. Did you see a price quote?

It's $249 for the whole regular season (postseason is shown live so I guess they might not have been able to sort the rights for that out) or $24.99 a week. It works out to about £140 so less than £10 a week throughout season - and I spend more than that for dinner/drinks in a bar but less sociable!

Depending on how well it switches and how long it takes to buffer, I do wonder whether you could sit with Gamecenter open and just switch between whichever games were in the redzone...

Games available for 24 hours after broadcast to watch which isn't great since many would be gone by 6pm Monday before I'd get home from work.

My other slight concern is that while the preview works... I can't get the picture to go 'full screen' within the window, so I'm currently stuck with it at 3x2" rather than 6x4"... not sure whether it's a compatibility thing or a preview thing. Might need to get someone with a PC to see what they get.

EDIT: CRAP! The 'full window' thing is Win IE only since it uses ActiveX. Hmm, I wonder whether it actually looks any better or whether it's just resizing so while it might be bigger, it would be likely fuzzier?

 

[beatsme]

thought this was funny...

A quote from Bill Simmons on ESPN.com:

"Culpepper's inevitable January implosion will be the easiest thing to predict since Haley Joel Osment's mug shot."

 

[Coolerking]

A quote from Bill Simmons on ESPN.com:

"Culpepper's inevitable January implosion will be the easiest thing to predict since Haley Joel Osment's mug shot."

He didn't even have to wait till January...it started last night in the 4th. Not once, but TWICE?!?!? BACK TO BACK?!?!?!

 

[Applespider]

He didn't even have to wait till January...it started last night in the 4th. Not once, but TWICE?!?!? BACK TO BACK?!?!?!

I'd rather they were in the 4th when trying to force the game than throughout the first to third. What I found more disturbing about Culpepper's play last night was that incredibly bad pass on third down that was nearly picked off in the endzone. I'm not sure whether he lost grip on it as he passed or what but that should have been an easy TD to Chambers...

 

[Coolerking]

I'd rather they were in the 4th when trying to force the game than throughout the first to third. What I found more disturbing about Culpepper's play last night was that incredibly bad pass on third down that was nearly picked off in the endzone. I'm not sure whether he lost grip on it as he passed or what but that should have been an easy TD to Chambers...

I missed some of the game as I was in the other room working. But it sounded like miami ran out of gas in the 4th. Culpepper and McNair are both in for rough seasons.

 

[stonyc]

I've never been a big fan of Culpepper's... any QB with a strong and fairly accurate arm would have Pro Bowl numbers throwing to an in-his-prime Randy Moss. I like McNair though... tough player, I wish the Lions had made a run at him in the offseason instead of the two scrubs we're stuck with. It almost makes me wish we had Joey Harrington back.

This has to be the longest Friday at work ever... stayed up watching the game last night. Looking forward to going to the U of M game tomorrow... then the Lions on Sunday. Thinking really hard about having a phantom dentist appointment to cut out of here early... but I'm taking two days off a couple weeks from now to go to New York (cousin's wedding).

 

[Coolerking]

I've never been a big fan of Culpepper's... any QB with a strong and fairly accurate arm would have Pro Bowl numbers throwing to an in-his-prime Randy Moss. I like McNair though... tough player, I wish the Lions had made a run at him in the offseason instead of the two scrubs we're stuck with. It almost makes me wish we had Joey Harrington back.

This has to be the longest Friday at work ever... stayed up watching the game last night. Looking forward to going to the U of M game tomorrow... then the Lions on Sunday. Thinking really hard about having a phantom dentist appointment to cut out of here early... but I'm taking two days off a couple weeks from now to go to New York (cousin's wedding).

McNair was good, but I think he's on his way down. Hard.

Although I'm a Buckeye fan, have fun at the Michigan game.

 

[Applespider]

I like McNair though... tough player, I wish the Lions had made a run at him in the offseason instead of the two scrubs we're stuck with. It almost makes me wish we had Joey Harrington back.

Surely not! I wouldn't call Kitna a scrub - and he's got a lot more upside than McNair in terms of longevity. Course whether the Detroit revolving door O'line can give any QB a pocket will probably have more to do with his chance of success.

Not so sure that Miami ran out of gas but just let the game get away from them. There was a stupid pass on 3rd and goal which should have extended their lead at that point. Then there was the Pittsburgh TD that wasn't and the lack of urgency in getting the replay flag out there. And then Miami imploded trying to force the game being overly clever and not keeping with the basics that had been serving them reasonably well. Polamalu's pick was a cracker but the one that Porter got (while a good pick) was too far behind the receiver to be caught in stride anyhow.

 

[stonyc]

McNair was good, but I think he's on his way down. Hard.

Although I'm a Buckeye fan, have fun at the Michigan game.

I'll take McNair on his way down over the two-headed Kitna/McCown monster.

Though I hate the Buckeyes, have to root for the Big Ten right? Plus, you guys going undefeated into The Game will only make it that much better.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this:

 

[stonyc]

Surely not! I wouldn't call Kitna a scrub - and he's got a lot more upside than McNair in terms of longevity. Course whether the Detroit revolving door O'line can give any QB a pocket will probably have more to do with his chance of success.

Ahh, but I'd rather have the last 1-2 years of McNai and let an understudy learn behind him, then step up when McNair retires... versus the 3-5 years of 24TD/22INT seasons Kitna is likely to put up. Maybe was a bit harsh calling him a scrub... he had a nice year before Palmer took over... but I'd almost rather have McCown starting. At least that guy is still young and can still define his career... whereas Kitna's career has basically been written.

 

[quigleybc]

Steelers in the house...*does a little dance* Steelers in the house *shakes booty*

Great game.

Starting with one of the best team intros I've ever seen, this game was super fun to watch.

Charlie Batch comin through, and holdin it down! Willie Parker was my favorite part of the game, I wasn't convinced he could hang, taking all the carries, and he proved himself to me..big time!

Heath Miller, he's on BOTH my fantasy teams, so an 87 yard TD run will be quite nice on the old stats...

And Joey P, fresh off the cover of SI, he comes through with a sack, and a pick for a TD! Fantastic.

Thank god the season has started, and...

HERE WE GO !!!!!!!!

 

[beatsme]

Ahh, but I'd rather have the last 1-2 years of McNai and let an understudy learn behind him, then step up when McNair retires... versus the 3-5 years of 24TD/22INT seasons Kitna is likely to put up. Maybe was a bit harsh calling him a scrub... he had a nice year before Palmer took over... but I'd almost rather have McCown starting. At least that guy is still young and can still define his career... whereas Kitna's career has basically been written.

Harrington in Detroit was probably the victim of poor coaching. Plus, that offense (well, every offense, but especially one that throws as much as the west coast variety) requires both the quarterback and the receivers to make the right reads at the right times. If they can't do that, it just isn't going to work, and Harrington never got much help from his receivers. I would expect Harrington to perform a little better in Miami, if only because he'll get better coaching, but I doubt he'll ever live up to his draft slot.

re: Kitna, he has a history of looking pretty good in short stints, but over the long haul he hasn't been a consistent winner. He's at best a very competent backup. He showed what he can do in Cincy, but (aha) they never had a winning record with him at QB. I would put him on par with Gus Frerotte, which isn't bad but isn't great either.

For my money, I'd rather have McNair. He's a proven winner and a tough guy with a good arm and a knack for making the clutch play. If Baltimore can protect him with a decent running game, he probably has another 3 or 4 years of solid football left to play.

EDIT: I referred to Harrington as McCown in this post, which I have now fixed. Oopsy.

 

[xsedrinam]

It works out to about £140 so less than £10 a week throughout season - and I spend more than that for dinner/drinks in a bar but less sociable!.....EDIT: CRAP! The 'full window' thing is Win IE only since it uses ActiveX. Hmm, I wonder whether it actually looks any better or whether it's just resizing so while it might be bigger, it would be likely fuzzier?

That's exactly how I was thinking about it, too. So:
Dinner/Drinks/Out and about socialization/wide screen?/pick & choose good games/no advance pay commitment = thinking you have the better option already in full swing.

 

[stonyc]

McCown in Detroit was probably the victim of poor coaching. Plus, that offense (well, every offense, but especially one that throws as much as the west coast variety) requires both the quarterback and the receivers to make the right reads at the right times. If they can't do that, it just isn't going to work, and McCown never got much help from his receivers. I would expect McCown to perform a little better in Miami, if only because he'll get better coaching, but I doubt he'll ever live up to his draft slot.

You're talking about Harrington, right?

If so, couldn't agree with you more... I think Harrington was set up to fail, he had a GM that didn't want him originally (wanted to draft Jammer), a coach who fed him to the wolves his rookie season, then a coach who had no confidence in him. So while I can't argue with the results, he sucked... no way around that... he had some help in that department. And by the time the Marinelli regime rolled in, the lockerroom waiting for him would have been brutal (Bly, et. al.).

He has a decent enough arm and hopefully with better coaching and competing with Culpepper, he'll being to fulfill some of that promise... probably not all of it, but some... too bad it won't be in Detroit because I was rooting for the guy.

 

[beatsme]

You're talking about Harrington, right?

yes...absolutely. Apologies for my stupidity

EDIT: McCown's stats are not encouraging. In the 33 games in which he's appeared, he's thrown 29 interceptions and fumbled 28 times. Granted, he did this at Arizona, the worst franchise in professional sports, and he has thrown 25TD's, so I guess there's hope.

The nice thing is, there's a few pretty good QB prospects likely to pop up in next year's draft i.e. Brady Quinn, Brian Brohm, Tyler Palko, & Drew Stanton. Detroit stands a pretty good chance of landing one of these guys.

 

[stonyc]

yes...absolutely. Apologies for my stupidity

No biggie, that's who I assumed you were talking about.

 

[Applespider]

That's exactly how I was thinking about it, too. So:
Dinner/Drinks/Out and about socialization/wide screen?/pick & choose good games/no advance pay commitment = thinking you have the better option already in full swing.

Hmm... I'd agree a few years ago when there were a group of 6-8 of us who used to go out. The bar had an extra couple of channels so we got 2 early games and two late games with lots of atmosphere compared to 1 game at home. And they used to run quizzes and promos - and the way the location worked, we'd get seats early and I could get home after the late game by 1am.

But now we're down to 3-4 of us who are only there because they don't have satellite at home (I do) - I end up going out of guilt that I'm leaving one of my pals with two mere acquaintances. The original bar doesn't have the extra channels any longer so we get the same 2 games that I'm already paying for back home. It turns into a club around 11pm so the commentary on the second game is partially drowned out, there are few seats and the food is lousy.

So we started going to another bar where the food is fabulous and all was great but sometimes it just closes up since the new manager doesn't care about football and won't stay open past 10.30pm. So I miss nearly an hour getting home... and if I do stay to the end, changes in transport/location mean that I don't get home until 1.30-2am which makes a big difference with a 7am start.

With some soccer games going on til 6pm, it could also be a struggle getting them to change the screens over on time. And the Sky team aren't great at keeping up with scores from other games promptly or telling you who scored em!

Last year I stayed at home for half the games... and it was better aside from guilt factor. I watched the same games, ate and drank what I wanted and could keep up with the other games online/radio through Gamecenter. Also got to bed at the end of the game rather than an hour or so later.

You don't get the fun of arguing the replay calls and betting drinks on the outcome but weighing up the option of being able to watch all the games (which I can't do anywhere else) and switching to a more interesting one might just make me go for it.

 

[xsedrinam]

Hmm... I'd agree a few years ago when there were a group of 6-8 of us who used to go out......You don't get the fun of arguing the replay calls and betting drinks on the outcome but weighing up the option of being able to watch all the games (which I can't do anywhere else) and switching to a more interesting one might just make me go for it.

It never ceases to amaze me, how context adds up so well to balance out the two sides of a scenario. After reading the context, please allow me to totally waffle in favor of the former, satellite and all.

And yes, there are few things as draining as having to BE elsewhere, even though it's in behalf of a friend, when your heart's not in it. Here's to a great NFL season....at home!

 

[quigleybc]

I'm prepared this year.

Friends and I have had enough of trying to search for the "sports bar" with the games on Sunday.

So, we got NFL ticket. Every game, all day Sunday....

Plus My school PSU plays Notre Dame tommorrow early, so the amount of football I will be watching is staggering.

I can't wait!

 

[beatsme]

Bill Belichick

no disrespect to Bill Belichick, who is clearly one of the best coaches in the game.

but...

I think the "genius" label has been thrown around a bit too much. I give the man a ton of credit for putting together super bowl teams with, for the most part, a roster full of average players. However, Joe Gibbs was doing the same thing 20 years ago. Sure the 'skins have usually had a handful of marquee players (Darrell Green, Art Monk, Russ Grimm, Joe Jacoby, and a few others I'm sure I'm forgetting), but most of those great teams were composed of average players who performed exceptionally well inside the scheme.

and on a slightly different note:
I don't think Dan Reeves ever got enough credit for being as good a coach as he was. He took the Broncos to 3 super bowls with, really, not much more than Elway. Pete's sake, he even got the Falcons there.

ok, there's my rant

 

[yellow]

But Dan Reeves never sealed the deal.. hence.. he's just an "amazing coach", not a "genius".

As a quick note, the Fish/Squealer game was sooooo ****ing boring.

Please note that Dante Culpepper still sucks. Good to see.

That is all.

 

[beatsme]

But Dan Reeves never sealed the deal.. hence.. he's just an "amazing coach", not a "genius".

As a quick note, the Fish/Squealer game was sooooo ****ing boring.

Please note that Dante Culpepper still sucks. Good to see.

That is all.

yea, it would'be been amazing if any of his super bowl teams had won. Every time he got a team to the big game he ran into a freakin' juggernaut. Bad luck. You could probably say the same about Marv Levy, though for the talent the Bills had they really should've beaten the Giants AND the Redskins. No way they could've beaten Dallas.

and no, I'm not a Cowboy fan

 

[Applespider]

OMFGBBQ!

I've just been sent a link to official Live NFL games broadcast online - although it only works outside of North America.

I went for it. And it works!

Quality is pretty impressive so far (it's only been streaming for 10 minutes!) and the branding is just the standard Sunday Ticket stuff. If only they'd let it go double-size/full screen on the Mac...

Doesn't seem to take too long to buffer so should be able to switch games reasonably easily too

Happy football watching everyone... it's not the same when there's only one game on like Thursday!