2026 Season | Week 4 | Gameday Chatter Thread | Cowboys @ Texans | 10/04/2026

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Chocolate Lab said:
You can't say we aren't pulling out all the stops for this must-win game... :lol

I'll be honest, I'm not an Alcaraz fan. I don't really enjoy most of the players these days because of the changes years ago... the poly strings, the slowing down of the courts, etc. Too much just slugging back and forth without accomplishing anything IMO, and there aren't the different styles like you used to get with a Sampras-Agassi type match. It kind of drives me nuts how none of these guys can volley anymore. Like at all.

That said, I thought a few years ago that Alcaraz would be the easy #1 by now because he is so talented. To me, he's almost like a little more well-rounded and more efficient Nadal, or could be. And he's faster and has better touch. One thing I do like is how much he uses the drop shot, which to me was always underused. But yeah, incredibly gifted. It has to be only his head holding him back a bit, maybe just maturity, or he'd be the best right now. So maybe a new coach is a good idea to harness and direct all that talent. There is that Spanish desire for flair that might always be there, though.

Who else do you like? I don't follow it much but I do like the guys who are a little different. I kind of enjoy watching Medvedev just because he is so gangly and not such a machine, has that totally flat backhand. I kind of like Musetti (IIRC?) because I like how he has a decent variety of shots and actually slices his backhand a lot. I'll watch anyone for a bit who has a great one-handed backhand.

Sorry to the board but if this works it's pregame tennis the rest of the year. :towel
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That's an interesting take for sure, I wasn't old enough or aware enough to really know what was going on in tennis in the 80's/90's, but piecing together what I hear now it definitely sounds like all the variation of the past is gone and it's basically just slugging it out from the baseline like you say.

I think Alcaraz is definitely the best player in the world, he's just not the most consistent so Sinner can pip him in the rankings, but when they play H2H Alcaraz is pretty clearly the better player and I think the fact that he already has more Grand Slams, plus being the youngest ever for the career Slam makes that pretty obvious.

But Sinner, for as much as I respect his game, is exactly what you're saying the game has become. Just pure blasting from the baseline, big serves, struggles at the net and coming forward, although he's getting better because Alcaraz has forced him to do so. If not for Alcaraz he'd be more than happy to just obliterate guys from the baseline with long rallies.

I don't really have favorite, I love watching Alcaraz/Sinner when they play because they're so clearly above everybody else, they push each other so much and they're actually contrasts of each other. I also like Tsitsipas and Musetti just because there are no one handed backhands anymore and I think 20-30 years ago they'd have been top 5 consistently. Tsitsipas was top 5 for like 3-4 years straight up until about two years ago, but his career is the most obvious example of a guy who plays great classic tennis but the fact that he has a one handed backhand holds him back with all these extended baseline rallies.
 
Cotton said:
I think this one is going to be a close one. I do think we will win, and here’s why.

I think we will do well against them in the air. They are 26th in the league in passing yards allowed, so our passing game should flourish. They are 5th in the league in rushing defense. I don’t see us running the ball much outside of short yardage situations and to keep them honest. But, I think Dak and Lamb/Pickens/Flo will eat. I also predict this will be the first game we see Camden Brown active. (maybe hope is a better word)

Their offense relies on the pass. Their run game is atrocious (84.7 yards a game). Their interior line is not very good. I think Quinnen will clog the middle and cause them fits all game, and Porter will handle Nico Collins (the last time the two met Porter held him to 2 catches for 15 yards). I think the bigger issue will be with Dalton Schultz. With Porter on the team, Bland can play in the slot where he is more comfortable, so that will help, but the LBers will have to handle most of that coverage.

I think this will be close, as I said, but with the Cowboys, who knows which team will show up.

I think the game will end up something like Cowboys 31 – Texans 27. I think our defense will do just enough to win, and our offense will dominate in the air.

Bring one home for Nugget, ‘Boys. Go Cowboys.
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I predict we will lose.

As a consequence all hell is going to break loose on Schottenheimer next week.
 
Simpleton said:
That's an interesting take for sure, I wasn't old enough or aware enough to really know what was going on in tennis in the 80's/90's, but piecing together what I hear now it definitely sounds like all the variation of the past is gone and it's basically just slugging it out from the baseline like you say.

I think Alcaraz is definitely the best player in the world, he's just not the most consistent so Sinner can pip him in the rankings, but when they play H2H Alcaraz is pretty clearly the better player and I think the fact that he already has more Grand Slams, plus being the youngest ever for the career Slam makes that pretty obvious.

But Sinner, for as much as I respect his game, is exactly what you're saying the game has become. Just pure blasting from the baseline, big serves, struggles at the net and coming forward, although he's getting better because Alcaraz has forced him to do so. If not for Alcaraz he'd be more than happy to just obliterate guys from the baseline with long rallies.

I don't really have favorite, I love watching Alcaraz/Sinner when they play because they're so clearly above everybody else, they push each other so much and they're actually contrasts of each other. I also like Tsitsipas and Musetti just because there are no one handed backhands anymore and I think 20-30 years ago they'd have been top 5 consistently. Tsitsipas was top 5 for like 3-4 years straight up until about two years ago, but his career is the most obvious example of a guy who plays great classic tennis but the fact that he has a one handed backhand holds him back with all these extended baseline rallies.
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I guess to be fair, the argument -- probably valid -- is that the poly strings give you so much more spin that it's too easy to pass anyone who comes in. So they don't even try anymore. I do think someone will figure out that there are times it'll be more efficient to come in and put a volley away with less effort than waiting on a short ball and slugging it with a groundstroke.

Didn't mention him, but yeah, to me Sinner is so blah. Just slugs away, doesn't seen that athletic, not much variety. Alcaraz seems better in literally every area except I guess serve. Which is important. I did kind of like Zverev in that US Open though. Like I said last time, I didn't know he could play that well.

You'd probably know better than I would, but I don't really understand why the one-handed disappeared when Federer was such an all-time favorite (and he didn't play so long ago that the game was totally different) and everyone loves Wawinka so much. Wawrinka shows that you can stand back and slug a one-hander if you want to, although he's obviously more talented than most. I get it though, I started out with a two handed backhand myself and only went to a OHBH on my own when I got older, just because I liked that it gave you better reach and so much more variety.
 
So which electric toothbrush do you guys use, the sonic or the more scrubbing type?

This pregame thread is a doozy.
 
Mele Kalikimaka with the TD pass. Thought it was a wounded duck but it found its way home
 
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