1990Coupe *OFFICIAL* 2008 NFL thread

My 1st Day With Sunday Ticket

The day finally came. September 7th, 2008. A little after 12:00, while waiting for a friend to arrive, I decided to test the Sunday Ticket I ordered through DirectTV back in April by tuning in to a pre-game show.

It didn’t work. I kept getting messages about a number to call to order The Ticket. I called the DirectTV customer support line and after going through the IVR for a while, was told to hold for about 9 minutes. 10 minutes later, I hear the phone begin to ring! I finally got through to a person. “Hello, hello.” Then the dreaded silence. Nothing. Nada.

I was pissed. After fumbling around for a while I found an alternate number for Direct TV and I dialed it. Then my cell phone indicated an inbound call from an area code I didn’t recognize. DirectTV had called me back! They had my account number and info in front of them and they were disconnected too. I was impressed that they called me back. I have never had that happen to me before anywhere.

They re-sent the code to both of my receiver boxes and I was in business. Now I needed to test the Superfan option to send the football games to my PC and laptop. I tried many times to get that to work but I kept getting web messages that my request timed out or that I had entered an incorrect password.

Superfan’s signal to your computer is called Supercast. It offers to either play one game in your web browser or it will allow you to download an Adobe application that you run to allow many more features and looks like the TV broadcast. Finally, at the same time my friend arrived, I got the Supercast with the Adobe application to launch on my PC!

I found out that DirectTV was hammered with requests for assistance and demand for bandwidth and satellite connections just as the games began. I noticed the response time when I changed a channel was slower than normal. The increase in traffic is what most likely took the Supercast so long to start running. My PC is running Windows XP Pro and my laptop, which was still having trouble runs Vista Home Edition. My PC connects with broadband cable and the laptop uses a Verizon USB 720 hi-speed card/modem.

The laptop finally logged in properly at 1:10. I was thrilled. So, with 2 TV’s and 1 laptop plugged into the Sunday Ticket, we were going crazy checking everything out.

We had the ability to watch 8 games at the same time, selecting one for audio. They have a Red Zone channel which automatically switches when a team is about to score. They have channels with stats. Individual channels with local feeds to single games. The high-definition picture was great and the audio feed was excellent also.



The Supercast provided a very good video stream. It didn’t have many pauses that you normally see when you watch a game live using a PC.

Overall, I was very happy with the package. I was able to get the additional Superfan package for free because it was my 1st time ordering the Sunday Ticket. I felt that after having so much fun yesterday with all the features, if I had to pay for the upgrade to Superfan, it would be money well spent!

If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer.

5.0_GT_kid said:

- Two words...Jay. Cutler. I don't think there is a QB in the league with a better pure arm than Cutler. The arm strength and accuracy is amazing. The guy simply throws lasers. With his 3rd year in the system, an improved offense and diabetes under check, I look for him to take his place among the best QBs in the NFL.

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Woah. Stop. We watched too. Cutler made some good throws and some not so good throws. Overall he did look good. I wouldn't be sending him to Canton just yet.

COramprat said:

Re: JaMarcus Russell :
That was an issue at LSU. I don't think he will ever learn the game. Loads of talent but no football mind. He had the best o-line in the country at LSU but lacked the skills to read defenses. One thing that I disagree is his mobility. He is deceptionally quick. At 6'5" he moves pretty well but looks like he is in slow motion due to the long stride. Many times at LSU he broke out and ran away from corner blitzes. Strong as an ox too as in a game against Tenn a safety came in on his blindside and just bounced off of him.

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Wasn't he a hold out most of last year and totally missed training camp in 2007? He's really just a rookie. From what I saw, he looks like a very good athlete. It takes time in the NFL for the QB skills to develop. I hope he makes it. If not, the Raiders are really screwed.

5.0_GT_kid said:

What a game tonight! Broncos completely dominated the Raiders!! Here are some of my thoughts on the game.

- Two words...Jay. Cutler. I don't think there is a QB in the league with a better pure arm than Cutler. The arm strength and accuracy is amazing. The guy simply throws lasers. With his 3rd year in the system, an improved offense and diabetes under check, I look for him to take his place among the best QBs in the NFL.

- Our running game was good but not great, although I suspect this had more to do with the focus on the passing game rather than any trouble with the runners. Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Michael Pittman all made some good, tough runs but there was a little more guessing than I'd like.

- We have the best receiving corps in the NFL. Eddie Royal played amazingly well in his rookie debut, Darrell Jackson made a great touchdown catch and is a solid player, Tony Scheffler is one of the best receiving tight ends in the NFL, Brandon Stokely a great slot receiver and we'll get Brandon Marshall back next week.

Oh and speaking of receivers, would TheRican care to step up and eat his crow? He was saying Eddie Royal would not amount to anything and that was clearly proven wrong tonight.

- Our offensive line played the best I've seen since our Super Bowl years. Jay Cutler was pretty much unmolested all night. Ryan Clady played great at the hardest position on the OL, Harris looks like a 3rd round steal and Hamilton looks very impressive after missing last year with a concussion.

- I still have some concerns about our defensive line, but we have alot of young talent there and Jarvis Moss was inactive as well. Overall the defense was solid but it's clear we are stacking the inside too much and that opens us up for outside runs.

- Linebackers were very solid especially when you consider Webster and Williams were back at their natural position for the first time in years and Winborn is out of position at SAM.

- Champ Bailey is still far and away the best corner in the NFL. He had his receiver blanketed all night. Dre Bly is the perfect compliment on the other side. McCree, Manuel, and Abdullah provided solid play at safety.

- Our special teams coverage is much improved. After giving up a couple long returns early they tightened up and getting down the field very fast.


As far as the Raiders go, I won't go as indepth but here is my take. JaMarcus Russell has a long ways to go to be a starting caliber NFL QB. He makes poor decisions, is not very mobile, lacks confidence and throws a horrible ball despite a strong arm. He wasn't getting any help from his OL or receivers but he still looked horrible. McFadden has alot of talent but I don't think he's durable enough to be a full time back. I'm thinking he'll be Reggie Bush 2.0.

Their defense is decent, but they lack mental toughness as evidenced by their mental breakdowns and amount of personal fouls commited. This is a unit that has alot of individual talent but I don't see any chemistry yet.

Well thats all for now.

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I watched some of that game and all I know is the raiders look terrible. broncos looked good they beat the pathetic raiders like they should.

I think your going a little overboard in your assessment of the broncos WR'S and it sounds like you want to put cutler in canton for beating up on the raiders.

take it easy and wait a few weeks then you will be able to see where your team is in the pecking order.

BTW russel will never amount to anything in the nfl.. on draft day when he went first overall i thought it was a wasted pick and I still feel that way now.

svttech76 said:

I watched some of that game and all I know is the raiders look terrible. broncos looked good they beat the pathetic raiders like they should.

BTW russel will never amount to anything in the nfl.. on draft day when he went first overall i thought it was a wasted pick and I still feel that way now.

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Wow~! I thought he looked better than Tavaris Jackson.

gt40_2003wes said:

yea because we all know that one game makes u a rockstar

they had a good game ill agree but tonite didn't prove them to be the next nfl champs. there a solid team thats gonna be tough to beat but it's a long season and anything can happen.

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Exactly.. like a season-ending knee injury

5.0_GT_kid said:

- Two words...Jay. Cutler. I don't think there is a QB in the league with a better pure arm than Cutler. The arm strength and accuracy is amazing. The guy simply throws lasers. With his 3rd year in the system, an improved offense and diabetes under check, I look for him to take his place among the best QBs in the NFL.

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Yeah, after all Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Peyton Manning can't throw the ball worth a damn..

- We have the best receiving corps in the NFL. Eddie Royal played amazingly well in his rookie debut, Darrell Jackson made a great touchdown catch and is a solid player, Tony Scheffler is one of the best receiving tight ends in the NFL, Brandon Stokely a great slot receiver and we'll get Brandon Marshall back next week.

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You might want to make sure Indy and New England got that memo.

You should probably wait to give all of those analyses in a few weeks after they play a couple teams that won't pick in the top 5 of the next NFL Draft. Wait til they have to play San Diego, at least.

5.0_GT_kid said:

- We have the best receiving corps in the NFL. Eddie Royal played amazingly well in his rookie debut, Darrell Jackson made a great touchdown catch and is a solid player, Tony Scheffler is one of the best receiving tight ends in the NFL, Brandon Stokely a great slot receiver and we'll get Brandon Marshall back next week.

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so that's why he let the ball sail right through his arms in the endzone; costing me VERY VALUABLE fantasy points?

so much for the best receiving T/E in the league...