Week 1 GC: New Orleans @ Green Bay

[joejlitz]

Moonlight Graham TD for the Saints. good to see big TE get a score. Need a stop now.

Big boy puts on his belt after the score, still down 8. Then shows some attitude after a 10-yard catch on the sideline, while his team is still losing.

I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to root for him...

[NYG1119]

Wow what a great game to kick off the season...Jennings did solid but I'm pissed about Graham scoring...my opp also had the Pack D/ST and that was a ridiculous return. Awesome game though, what a stop by the Pack on 4th and Goal, if this is an indication, this season's gonna be amazing...just too bad Peyton is out for the year

[Hippo45]

The refs totally ruined the game for me. Bush caught that punt on the 1 and they didn't even review. They called Matthews offsides well after the play was over and the Packers got the sack. I think the refs were told not to let this game become a blow out and they wanted it to come down to the last play.

[Ball Movements]

..just too bad Peyton is out for the year

Say what???? He might as well be, but nothing official has come out saying that he is out for the year. Colts have no plans to put him on IR until they can guage his recovery after several weeks.

[lmcjaho]

The refs totally ruined the game for me. Bush caught that punt on the 1 and they didn't even review. They called Matthews offsides well after the play was over and the Packers got the sack. I think the refs were told not to let this game become a blow out and they wanted it to come down to the last play.

You are so biased it's ridiculous. Bush clearly crossed the line with his foot on that punt, and Matthews was offside just as clearly on that play. If you want a legit gripe the pass int call on the final play was a bit questionable but in full-speed it probably looked like Hawk mugged Sproles.

Even though I bet on GB giving up 4.5 I think they deserved to lose. Deciding to punt the ball away rather than going for the FG to win was a chicken-&%$# call and it should have come back to bite them in azz if the football gods were good. Kick a 55 yard (very much inside Crosby's range) FG and you seal the game. Miss it and the Saints still have to go 55 yards AND successfully convert a 2-pt conversion just to TIE the game. Show some faith in your kicking game and/or your defense by going for the win for pete's sake! Instead they punt the ball for a net gain of what, 15 yards that the Saints make up in one play? Weak passive decision IMO.

[joejlitz]

The refs totally ruined the game for me. Bush caught that punt on the 1 and they didn't even review. They called Matthews offsides well after the play was over and the Packers got the sack. I think the refs were told not to let this game become a blow out and they wanted it to come down to the last play.

You are so biased it's ridiculous. Bush clearly crossed the line with his foot on that punt, and Matthews was offside just as clearly on that play. If you want a legit gripe the pass int call on the final play was a bit questionable but in full-speed it probably looked like Hawk mugged Sproles.

The one replay I saw showed an amazing play by Hawk, reminiscent of one Aeneas Williams - if any of you old heads remember him!

Even though I bet on GB giving up 4.5 I think they deserved to lose. Deciding to punt the ball away rather than going for the FG to win was a chicken-&%$# call and it should have come back to bite them in azz if the football gods were good. Kick a 55 yard (very much inside Crosby's range) FG and you seal the game. Miss it and the Saints still have to go 55 yards AND successfully convert a 2-pt conversion just to TIE the game. Show some faith in your kicking game and/or your defense by going for the win for pete's sake! Instead they punt the ball for a net gain of what, 15 yards that the Saints make up in one play? Weak passive decision IMO.

I couldn't disagree more. Up 8 and NO had 0 timeouts left. If would require a TD and a 2pt conversion, just to tie the game. Both extremely long odds. And it worked. Nuff said, right?

I guess not, so consider the odds of Crosby making it.

Me - The longest he ever made in his career was a 56 yarder, and he has only done that once in his life - SEP 12, 2010. In his career, he has tried 137 FGs (before tonight) and kicked it 55+ only 1 time.

Me - He is 11/21 on FGs of over 50 yards in his career. You don't think McCarthy knew all of that?

You - I know, but still...

[SmokyMcNasty]

What do you all make of the Ryan Grant vs James Starks battle after watching the Packers' first game?

Grant 9 carries for 40 yards
Starks 12 carries for 57 yards and a TD

I have both guys on my fantasy team and I started Ryan Grant tonight and had James Starks benched. :(

What do you guys make of this situation? Do you think one guy will eventually get the majority of the carries?... cause If they play the whole season sharing carries 50/50 I'm going to kill myself.

[Hippo45]

The refs totally ruined the game for me. Bush caught that punt on the 1 and they didn't even review. They called Matthews offsides well after the play was over and the Packers got the sack. I think the refs were told not to let this game become a blow out and they wanted it to come down to the last play.

You are so biased it's ridiculous. Bush clearly crossed the line with his foot on that punt, and Matthews was offside just as clearly on that play. If you want a legit gripe the pass int call on the final play was a bit questionable but in full-speed it probably looked like Hawk mugged Sproles.

His knee was already down. If that was a catch made by the receiver on the sideline everybody would have considered it in bounds. One knee equals two feet. Also, there was a third and short where the Saints got stuffed, but the refs put the ball right beyond the first down marker and didn't even measure.

[TaDa]

Coming out of draft, I was pretty darned worried about my receivers, but Jordy Nelson and Robert Meachem looked decent (except for M's first dropped pass). Now to have my other receivers do well.

[joejlitz]

The refs totally ruined the game for me. Bush caught that punt on the 1 and they didn't even review. They called Matthews offsides well after the play was over and the Packers got the sack. I think the refs were told not to let this game become a blow out and they wanted it to come down to the last play.

You are so biased it's ridiculous. Bush clearly crossed the line with his foot on that punt, and Matthews was offside just as clearly on that play. If you want a legit gripe the pass int call on the final play was a bit questionable but in full-speed it probably looked like Hawk mugged Sproles.

His knee was already down. If that was a catch made by the receiver on the sideline everybody would have considered it in bounds. One knee equals two feet. Also, there was a third and short where the Saints got stuffed, but the refs put the ball right beyond the first down marker and didn't even measure.

Except he isn't a receiver and he wasn't on the sideline.

And even if he was a receiver in the middle of the field, who touched him to down him? No one. Either way, the rule is different on punts.

If a player from the kicking team is the first to touch the ball after it crosses the line of scrimmage, "illegal touching" is called and the receiving team gains possession at the spot where the illegal touching occurred. This is often not considered to be detrimental to the team committing the "illegal touching"; for example, it is common for a player on the kicking team to deliberately make contact with the ball near the goal line before it enters the end zone to prevent its being ruled a touchback and placed on the 20-yard line. Since there is no further yardage penalty awarded, the kicking team is often said to have "downed the ball" when this occurs. However the ball is not automatically dead upon an illegal touch, and it may be picked up and advanced by the receiving team with no risk. The receiving team would have the choice of accepting the result of the play or having the ball at the spot of the illegal touch.

He's not down, just because his knee was down. His momentum carried him in the end zone. The play was not dead yet. If he left it on the 1, the receiving team still could have picked the ball up and run with it, if the official hadn't blown the play dead, yet.