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Thread: NFL... Playoffs?!?

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    Shlup's Retired Pimp Recognized Member Raistlin's Avatar
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    Default NFL... Playoffs?!?

    How do you feel about the NFL playoffs? Who's going to the Super Bowl? The Captain posted his playoff predictions in the EoFF Fantasy Football league page, but since that's over with I figured I would post it here for people to comment on, as it is fairly detailed and well thought-out and we can make fun of his blatant Giants homerism.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cap'n
    With the regular season ending in spectacular fashion, it's time for some playoff football predictions!

    In the AFC:

    (6) Bengals defeat the (3) Texans - The Texans are banged up and haven't played really well the last few weeks. The Bengals, are young, feisty and have nothing to lose. I like them to pull out a tight one. Final: 24-14, Bengals.

    (5) Steelers defeat the (4) Broncos - Tebow time is over as the Steelers run rough-shot over them, setting up a tasty second round matchup against their hated rivals, the Ravens. Final: 31-10, Steelers.

    (1) Pats defeat the (6) Bengals - As bad as the New England defense is, Brady will prove just too much here. Final: 31-21, New England.

    (2) Ravens defeat the (4) Steelers - In a classic, smash-mouth game, I think the Ravens pull it out. With Big Ben not at 100%, I like Baltimore to dictate play with Ray Rice. Final: 17-14, Ravens

    (2) Ravens defeat (1) Pats - Brady can't mask his defense forever and Baltimore on the other hand plays excellent D, to pull out a tight game. Final: 24-21, Ravens

    In the NFC:

    (3) New Orleans defeat (6) Lions - What a tasty offensive matchup!! I expect both teams to explode for big plays, lots of TD's and make this a game to really love. In the end though, the Saints have been unreal at home and Brees is playing out of his mind right now. Final: 42-34, New Orleans.

    (4) Giants defeat (5) Falcons - The Giants are looking like a scary matchup now, with a dominate pass-rush and Eli Manning playing at an MVP level. I like them to knock around Matt Ryan and Victor Cruz to do more dancing. Final: 28-20, Giants.

    (4) Giants defeat (1) Green Bay - UPSET ALERT! The Giants gave Green Bay all it could handle a few weeks ago and if anything, they've only improved as a team. Rodgers will be very tough to beat but I feel a reverse of what happened during the season plays out here, this time Manning leading the Giants down for a game winning FG. Final: 31-28, Giants.

    (3) New Orleans defeat (2) San Francisco - An amazing season for the 49ers ends suddenly as the biggest edge of the game: Brees versus Alex Smith rears its head. Final: 27-14, Saints.

    (3) New Orleans defeat (4) New York - Drew Brees is just incredible. As amazing as Aaron Rodgers has been, I think Brees may have edged him out this season for best QB play. He may not win MVP, but he is the best QB in the game. At home, the Saints are scary good and the Giants attempt to recapture 2007 comes up valiantly short. Final: 38-30, Saints.

    Which sets up:

    New Orleans over Baltimore in the Super Bowl. Brees caps a magical season by winning his second Super Bowl MVP and his team does just enough on defense to keep Baltimore at bay. Final: 24-17, Saints.

    Looking forward to it!

    And an interesting footnote about the season we just watched: Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Matt Stafford and Eli Manning threw for 4 of the 6 highest passing totals OF ALL TIME this season. The NFL is a passing league, accept it and enjoy.

    Take care all.
    Eli Manning playing at an MVP level where he finished behind Tony Romo in basically every statistical category except for yardage, and finished the season with 2 bad games out of the last 3 (passer ratings of 45, 61, and 136)? He arguably shouldn't have even made it to the Pro Bowl over Matt Stafford.

    Other than that, I agree with Cap'n that the two top seeds (Patriots and Packers) are vulnerable in the playoffs. I think whoever wins the inevitable Baltimore/Pittsburgh rematch (probably Baltimore with Roethlisberger maybe not 100%) will beat New England and their terrible, terrible defense. And I think the Giants and Saints could beat the Packers, though the Saints are a bit suspect on the road.

    I will, of course, be cheering for whatever team is playing the Patriots. Go everyone else!

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    The Misanthropist charliepanayi's Avatar
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    My predictions for this weekend:

    Houston
    New Orleans
    Atlanta
    Pittsburgh

    At the moment I think it's either Green Bay or New Orleans to go all the way. Some interesting/pointless stats here:
    http://static.nfl.com/static/content...eed_v4_big.jpg
    "Excuse me Miss, do you like pineapple?"

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    Feel the Bern Administrator Del Murder's Avatar
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    Give me another day to continue fuming over the Raiders missing the playoffs by 1 game again and I will make my picks. I'm sure you can all guess what I will predict for Denver.

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    penisword chionos's Avatar
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    I agree with the cap'n up to the point he picks the giants over the packers. As we saw last year, the Pack knows how to turn it on in the playoffs. They'll stomp all over the Giants. Keep in mind that I hate the Packers. Them and that Pats. Packs and Pats. Hate 'em both. The Bengals got a lucky trip to the playoffs this year. The AFC north is sending 3 teams to the playoffs (sorry Browns). Yet I think they can pull off a win against the Texans who they almost beat (maybe even should have beat if it weren't for bad officiating) just a few weeks ago. The Saints/49ers game should be a good test for the Saints' offense.

    I'd love to see a Saints/Ravens matchup in the Super Bowl. Year in year out one of the best offenses verses year in year out one of the best defenses. The only thing that could be better would be a Patriots/Packers super bowl that ends in a meteor crashing into the middle of Lucas Oil Stadium and ridding the world of both teams.

    I should be cheering on my Bengals, but I know this isn't their year. Good run for a rebuilding season, though--finally got rid of all the stinkin' riffraff.

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    Feel the Bern Administrator Del Murder's Avatar
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    Why do people not like the Packers? Is it just because they are good? Is it because of Favre? I can understand the hate for the Patriots because Belichick is kind of an asshole and Tom Brady is a prettyboy, but a team owned by a small town in Wisconsin just sounds like a great American story. Bears fans excluded of course.

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    The Misanthropist charliepanayi's Avatar
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    Yeah, rivalries apart, no idea how anyone could take an especial dislike to this Packers team. It's cool how such a small town has such a powerhouse sports team.
    "Excuse me Miss, do you like pineapple?"

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    THE JACKEL ljkkjlcm9's Avatar
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    All your Patriot hate is not appreciated. And the Packers actually gave up more yards per game, and more points per game than the Patriots. I honestly feel that the Patriots and the Saints both have better offenses than the Packers.

    But I can tell you one thing, any team can win on any given day. That's half the reason I love NFL playoffs over other sports. One game, lose and you're out.

    I would like one of two superbowls:
    New Orleans vs. New England, because it would be legendary
    San Francisco vs. Baltimore, because it would be a defensive battle

    Predictions?
    Houston lose to Bengals----Bengals lose to Pats
    Broncos lose to Steelers---Steelers lose to Ravens-----Pats lose to Ravens
    Giants lose to Falcon------Falcons lose to Green Bay---Green Bay lose to New Orleans
    Lions lose to Saints-------San Fran lose to New Orleans

    I expect a Ravens vs. Saints Superbowl

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    penisword chionos's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Del Murder View Post
    Why do people not like the Packers? Is it just because they are good? Is it because of Favre? I can understand the hate for the Patriots because Belichick is kind of an asshole and Tom Brady is a prettyboy, but a team owned by a small town in Wisconsin just sounds like a great American story. Bears fans excluded of course.
    I guess I could give them a little credit for being the team from Podunk, except they're one of the winningest teams in NFL history so they don't get underdog or little guy points. Awesome for the town though, I can't fault them for having a winning team. I just looked it up, and they're the smallest town to have a team from one of the 4 main professional sports in NA and Canada. Even counting MLS and the CFL there's only one city smaller than them. It's really a nice cuddly story, or was right up until they won the very first super bowl ever. And the second. In the NFL hometown size has basically nothing at all to do with ability to win consistently (unlike MLB). The Steelers are the only team to have won more championships than the Packers and they're the 10th smallest NFL city.

    My opinion of Rodgers coming up...
    (SPOILER)
    I can't speak for anyone else, because I'm sure a lot of the haters perfectly match your diagnosis, but I personally don't like them because of their arrogance and poor sportsmanship. And I guess when I say 'them' I really mean McCarthy and Rodgers. It's not because of Favre (because everything that happened to him he brought on himself) but it started then. I don't think the rest of the team gets enough credit or attention. Rodgers is a good quarterback, maybe even a great quarterback, but he's so overinflated that he's the most overrated QB in the league. Case in point, the Packer's second string quarterback started in just his second start of his career in the Pack's last game of the season, and put up absolutely ridiculous numbers, 6 TDs and almost 500 yards passing. Rodgers' stats are padded by the fact that he plays it safe and holds on to the ball too long leading to sacks and fumbles which unfortunately don't factor into QB stats as much as they should. Plus, Rodgers uses one of the worst TD celebrations ever, it's totally retarded. I guess I shouldn't hold these things against the team, and really I don't (I'm being at least partly facetious, I don't really want to see them die), except that McCarthy and Rodgers are the face of that franchise and I don't like what I see. Part of it is instinct to be honest. I watch them in interviews and I can see the arrogance and condescension behind everything they say.

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    "Eli Manning playing at an MVP level where he finished behind Tony Romo in basically every statistical category except for yardage, and finished the season with 2 bad games out of the last 3 (passer ratings of 45, 61, and 136)? He arguably shouldn't have even made it to the Pro Bowl over Matt Stafford."

    Four VERY important categories where Manning beat Romo this season:

    Head To Head: 2 to 0
    Game Winning Drives: 6 to 4
    4th Quarter TD's: 15 to 10
    4th Quarter QB Rating: 110 to 104

    Romo had an excellent season but Manning was more clutch then him.

    I stand by my belief that the Giants could beat the Pack in the playoffs. They are one of the only team capable of disrupting Rodgers with a pass rush and have an offense that can match them score for score. However... the Giants are just as capable of having a bad game and could also lose to the Falcons despite being home and having momentum. As a fan, I think they'll play great but if I'm being an analyst, they are a dicey bet.

    Take care all.

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    Shlup's Retired Pimp Recognized Member Raistlin's Avatar
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    My point wasn't that Romo is better than Eli Manning. If you couldn't tell from my negative commentary all year in the league, I'm not exactly a Romo fan. Romo was just used as an example of someone who obviously had not had an "MVP caliber" year but still performed arguably as well, if not better, than Manning (more TDs, less INTs, higher passer rating). And that it's hard to say that Manning is playing at such a high level when two of his last three games were pretty awful. Oh, and Stafford was a blatant Pro Bowl snub.

    I do think the Giants have a good shot at beating the Packers in the playoffs, but I'm not sure they'll even beat the Falcons first.

    Quote Originally Posted by Del
    Give me another day to continue fuming over the Raiders missing the playoffs by 1 game again and I will make my picks. I'm sure you can all guess what I will predict for Denver.
    I was also sad when the Raiders lost; I was hoping they'd make the playoffs. At least now I can look forward to Tebow getting killed by Pittsburgh.

    I suppose I should make my own predictions:

    Cincinnati over Houston
    Pittsburgh over Denver
    New Orleans over Detroit
    And... I really have no idea about Atlanta/New York. I guess I'll go with Atlanta, as the Giants will probably be favored at home, and that's when they suck the most.

    EDIT: Oh, and:
    Quote Originally Posted by Del
    I can understand the hate for the Patriots because Belichick is kind of an asshole and Tom Brady is a prettyboy...
    Don't forget the Tuck Rule travesty (which I'm sure you of all people haven't). That's when my hate started. Belichick and Boston fans have just added fuel to it.

  11. #11
    penisword chionos's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Raistlin View Post
    EDIT: Oh, and:
    Quote Originally Posted by Del
    I can understand the hate for the Patriots because Belichick is kind of an asshole and Tom Brady is a prettyboy...
    Don't forget the Tuck Rule travesty (which I'm sure you of all people haven't). That's when my hate started. Belichick and Boston fans have just added fuel to it.
    I think a lot, if not most, of the animosity toward New England can be traced back to that moment.

    Manning is a good scrambler, he pulls shet out of his ass sometimes, but I don't understand why he's ever been listed as or considered to be one of the nfl's elite. Maybe I just don't watch enough games. The ones I have seen haven't revealed anything very special about him. I could be totally wrong about him though, I don't catch a whole lot of Giants games. I will say this about the Manning vs. Romo comparisons, Manning is pretty clutch. He smurfs up a lot too, but still, he's had chances to be clutch and pulled it out (SBXLII). Romo is the very opposite of clutch. The very moments he needs to play his best he totally forgets how to play football, how to even hold on to the ball. HOW MANY TIMES IS HE GOING TO FUMBLE THE BALL TO END A GAME? It's especially bad when he does it at the goal line.

  12. #12
    Feel the Bern Administrator Del Murder's Avatar
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    The Tuck Rule game was perhaps the worst day of my life.

    Here's a question: Would Brady, Belichick and the rest of the Patriots be where they are today if that play was rightfully called a fumble? Would Brady go on to become a superstar or would he be just another decent quarterback?

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    penisword chionos's Avatar
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    The world will never know.

    I'm more perplexed by the question--How would the Raiders, as a team and as a city, have prospered as the result of a win in that Super Bowl? The Pats would still be where they are because they got where they are by being dirty rotten cheaters.

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    The Misanthropist charliepanayi's Avatar
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    Oakland would have probably lost to Pittsburgh in the Championship game that year anyway, they're the sort of team who finds ways to foul things up. I am not crazy about the Patriots, but the Superbowl they wound up winning that year was one of my favourite games.
    "Excuse me Miss, do you like pineapple?"

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    Feel the Bern Administrator Del Murder's Avatar
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    Gannon would have shredded Pittsburgh. Oakland would have sucked eventually because the average age of their starting players that year was about 35, but I think they would have won the Super Bowl if they beat NE.

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