goooo pats (NFL playoffs)

[ljkkjlcm9]

No one gives the Patriots any credit, ever, which is absurd.

Pat over Chargers
Baltimore over Indy
Saints over Eagles
Bears over Seahawks

Let's see, I went 2-2, I thought KC would win, and Dallas should have won...

THE JACKEL

[Crushed Hope]

No one gives the Patriots any credit, ever, which is absurd.

Hahahahahahahaha, the Pats are one of the most hyped teams in the league in the past ten years or more.

[ljkkjlcm9]

No one gives the Patriots any credit, ever, which is absurd.

Hahahahahahahaha, the Pats are one of the most hyped teams in the league in the past ten years or more.

Most hyped teams huh... no the Colts are... at least the Pats have won... 3 superbowls, wth has Indy done?

THE JACKEL

[Raistlin]

Too bad the Pats aren't playing Indy. Then I might actually have to pick them to win.

[El Bandito]

Most hyped teams huh... no the Colts are... at least the Pats have won... 3 superbowls, wth has Indy done?

THE JACKAL

Feh, all I heard since the season ended was various reasons the Colts suck. Now that they beat Kansas City, those same people are trying to blame Herm Edwards for the loss.

Let's put it this way, during the season, everyone would throw a hissy fit if Peyton played bad. Brady plays bad? He's just having a bad game. He'll be better next week. Don't try to tell me the Patriots aren't media darlings.

After Wild Card Weekend, it's always hard to look past the teams that just won since they seem to gain all that momentum, but I think in the AFC the original contenders will come out on top. I expect the Ravens and Chargers to go to the AFC Championship and play a classic.

As for the NFC, I can honestly say every team left has a shot. If I had to pick one, I'd say the Eagles definitely look like the most complete of the bunch. I see them coming up big and stopping Brees just enough to edge out a victory over the Saints. As for the Seahawks, they're lucky to still be in the playoffs. Even with the Bears QB problems, they'll most likely just pound the ball down Seattle's throat. The only suspect thing is the somewhat leaky run defense the Bears have been playing without their starting DT's. I still pick the Bears to win, but I see Seattle keeping it closer than everyone expects.

[Strider]

Well, Herm Edwards is an awful coach. Where in the world was Damon Huard?

I think Brady has earned himself the benefit of the doubt, owing greatly to his Super Bowl victories. And considering the personnel that Brady has to work with, Dillon and Maroney aside, his consistency is amazing.

[The Captain]

I think the winner of the Chargers - Pats game will end up winning the Super Bowl as they have the two most feared players: LDT (I refuse to call him LT) and Mr. Tom Brady. If the Pats can scheme the Chargers correctly and force Rivers into a few mistakes, I think they can pull off the win, and I'm not even close to being sold on Marty in the postseason. A win against the Pats would go a long way to erasing some doubts about his coaching ability.

Can the Colts D possibly repeat such a dominating performance two weeks in a row? Common wisdom says no, and if Peyton Manning has another game like he did last week against the Ravens, he'll have plenty of time to film more commercials as he'll be done yet again.

The Seahawks are very lucky to be where they are, and though I have absolutely no trust in Grossman (Living up to his name of late), the Bears D and special teams are the most dominate of the units in the game and should tilt this in their favor.

Eagles - Saints looks very entertaining, but with the loss of Sheppard, I think Drew Brees can pick apart Philly's secondary now and that could be the difference. I'd be interested to see if Westbrook can keep up his pace, and he could be keep it close. Also, I have to say, I have to hand it to Andy Reid and the Eagles, they've proven time and again that they can play hurt and still rebound despite losing so many key players including McNabb. Every season, save for last, they seem like they're left for dead and somehow always find ways to advance. This year though, I don't think they can keep up offensively.


Some final thoughts on the two 'New York' Teams: The Jets future is very bright and if they draft well, I think they could challenge the Pats next year. Pennington, for all his lack of arm strength, makes up for it in other ways, but I'm beginning to wonder, how many years does he have left? I think he's got at least two productive years left, pending injury, but I think before too long, it might be time to start seeing what the slew of young QB's on the bench have to offer.

The Giants need a lot of help. Coughlin needs to be fired because of one thing and one thing alone: Lack of discipline. He came in preaching it, but watching the Giants commit penalty after pentality, including that unforgiveable stretch in last week's game where they committed three straight penalties, makes it clear he's in over his head. Losing Barber hurts a lot, but they need to figure out Manning. Jacobs can be a capable replacement for Barber, but until Manning finds some level of consistency, they could have Jim Brown in the backfield and would still need help. Eli has a world of talent and can make plenty of plays, but he still needs to put it all together, especially in his mechanics and decision making. The Giants will give him another two years but unless he turns it up a notch or finds the ability to play like he did to start the year, his career might be another in the long line of unfulfilled promise.

So, to sum up:

Pats: 24 Chargers: 21
Ravens: 28 Colts: 20
Bears: 17 Seahawks: 13
Saints: 34 Eagles: 20

Take care all.

[Bloodline666]

Okay, remember the botched Tony Romo FG hold on Saturday?

I just found out today that it has sparked a controversy over the "K-balls." Punters and placekickers have been complaining to anyone with the patience to listen since the K-ball rule was established in 1999, but it took a botched FG hold from a well-known name for the complaints to get media attention. I'm pretty certain the "K-ball" issue will be a hot topic of debate once the competition committee meets during the offseason.

[edczxcvbnm]

After reading the article I don't think it will be that big of an issue. How many botched snaps and places are there a year? It has got to be less than 1%.

Those players might complain but I don't see this sort of thing happening often enough to the point where a change would be necessary.

[Bloodline666]

After reading the article I don't think it will be that big of an issue. How many botched snaps and places are there a year? It has got to be less than 1%.

Those players might complain but I don't see this sort of thing happening often enough to the point where a change would be necessary.

You've got a good point there. However, this particular incident does draw some red flags here as to how slippery that ball was, because Tony Romo has been the holder for extra point/field goals since the middle of the 2004 season, and up until that playoff game, he has been perfect at holding the ball for the extra points and field goals; it never even happened in practice.

And only two weeks earlier, the same thing happened in the Broncos/Bengals game on the Bengals' extra point attempt that would've forced overtime. However, since the game was being played in Denver right after that city had a big-ass snow storm, and it was an outdoor stadium, the weather was also a factor.

[edczxcvbnm]

I will counter this by saying that Romo now has been playing with a different feeling ball for a whole game and for lots of games before this one. I think he just messed up. Not everyone is perfect all the time and it a big pressure game I think it is possible that is slipped his mind that this particular ball is slipperier than a normal ball.

I was going to mention the Denver game but then I remembered what the weather was like.

I think it will get some talk but when they take a look at the % of misplacements and botched snaps compared to the past and take a look at the number of kick off returns compared to touchbacks in a similar time frame compared to the past and decide that the rule is still a good one.

Maybe if the teams didn't mess with the kick off ball and stuff in the first place then there would not be a need for this kind of rule. They kind of dug their own grave.

[Bloodline666]

I will counter this by saying that Romo now has been playing with a different feeling ball for a whole game and for lots of games before this one. I think he just messed up. Not everyone is perfect all the time and it a big pressure game I think it is possible that is slipped his mind that this particular ball is slipperier than a normal ball.

I was going to mention the Denver game but then I remembered what the weather was like.

I think it will get some talk but when they take a look at the % of misplacements and botched snaps compared to the past and take a look at the number of kick off returns compared to touchbacks in a similar time frame compared to the past and decide that the rule is still a good one.

Maybe if the teams didn't mess with the kick off ball and stuff in the first place then there would not be a need for this kind of rule. They kind of dug their own grave.

I have read that the Cowboys players are saying that it was more of a mental error on Romo's part than the ball. Ironically, however, David Akers, placekicker of one of the Cowboys' NFC East rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles (which two NFC East teams AREN'T rivals? That whole division is one of the fiercest rivalries in all of sports) is complaining about it. Even more ironic about that is that Akers made the game-winning field goal against the Giants the day after Romo had the botched snap. That kinda speaks volumes about the K-Ball.

But you are right that the dumbass kickers who put their balls in the microwave oven and/or the drying machine did ruin it for everyone. (Who the hell would put a football in the microwave, anyway?)

Now I do have to commend Romo for his courage on that play. Most kick holders would've either gotten tackled before they even got a chance to pick the ball back up and do something with it, or just given up on that play altogether. Romo picked up that ball and ran for it (as stated earlier, it needed to cross the 1 for a first down), only to get smacked one yard shy of the first down. And I can understand how sad he sounded in the post-game interview; he took it upon his shoulders to try and win the game for the Cowboys, and he choked. But the way I see it, choking in the process of trying to win the game...sure beats the hell out of just giving up altogether. He was lucky enough to get one final shot at winning the game; T.O. alluded to this and compared it to the playoff game he played where he dropped a lot of passes, but caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds to redeem himself (thus proving that sometimes, it's what you do at the end that counts the most).

Now Dallas is uncertain of their future at the head coaching spot. I'd like to point out that should Bill Parcells step down, he will be the first head coach in Cowboys history to voluntarily resign the head coaching job (all other Cowboys head coaches were fired by Jerry Jones). However, at this point, I think the Cowboys need Parcells back for at least one more season, primarily for two reasons. One, he seems to always keep the human soap opera that is T.O. in check (he even shuts the media up if they ask "What do you think of this latest T.O. scandal?" or "What's the latest on T.O.?"); he obviously doesn't want it to be a media distraction or a locker room distraction to the team. And two, I like the way he handles Tony Romo's ego; whenever Romo's on fire, he'll tell the media to "put the anointion oil away" (that's a direct quote from him, by the way), and whenever Romo has a bad game, he's got this way of making sure Romo doesn't get down on himself too much, though Romo couldn't help but do so after Saturday's loss because it was a playoff game. But I'm not so certain how much longer he'll be coaching. There were rumors that he was in negotiations with his first NFL employer, the New York Giants, for a job as GM, but both Parcells and the Giants have denied them.

And speaking of the Giants, I think they made a big mistake by keeping Tom Coughlin. His players clearly showed a lack of discipline in their last 9 games, and as a result, went from "Ballin'" to "BAWLIN'" (injuries factored into it, also, but that's beyond the control of the coach). And we all know whose responsibility it is to keep those players disciplined enough to not lead the league in personal foul penalties; the head coach's.

[Del Murder]

I once knew a guy named K-ball.

These games are hard to pick, well, except Baltimore. And Chicago will likely flatten Seattle.

[escobert]

unless sexy rexy decides he needs to impress the ladies

[Strider]

Come on, Bert, he already does impress the ladies!

Anyway, my takes:

This Philadelphia-New Orleans matchup strikes me as very intriguing. How are the Eagles going to stop this offense? Losing Lito Shepard hurts, since you've basically got four guys you need to worry about through the air: Devery Henderson, Joe Horn, Marques Colston and (likely) Reggie Bush. And Jim Johnson might think about scaling back his blitzing, or else Drew Brees will pick him apart.

The other thing to note is the short turnaround for the Eagles, having played on Sunday last weekend and is now playing on Saturday this week. The last team to do this, the 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers, lost in overtime after having played a thriller against Cleveland. Does that sound familiar to you? New Orleans 27, Philadelphia 20

I really really really don't like this Seattle squad. And now they're on the road, in the cold against a top-level defense with a shaky Matt Hasselbeck and a still-recovering Shaun Alexander? Sexy Rexy will get his, he always does, but I suspect the Bears will run the ball right at the Seahawks defense and manhandle them with Jones and Benson. Bears 24, Seahawks 10

Does anyone remember what happened the last time Peyton Manning faced a top-notch defense in January? The Colts got beaten. And the time before? They got beaten. And the time before that? Yeah, you get the point. I'd expect Baltimore to focus on stopping Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes and dare Manning to beat them. He wasn't that impressive last week, and the Ravens are much better on defense.

Jamal Lewis may not be the same running back he was a few years ago, but he should be able to get enough yards to keep the Colts honest. I suspect McNair and company will sneak up on Indy and get a couple of breaks. Then again, they might not need 'em, anyway. Ravens 17, Colts 9

New England and San Diego... I've been giving a lot of thought to this one, and it's tough. If you were to look at the numbers of the Chargers' last playoff game, they should've ran away with it, but Marty Schottenheimer coached scared in those last few minutes. Now his squad, while highly talented, is going up against the best head coach in the NFL. Hmm.

Tomlinson touched the ball 35 times in that last playoff game, and it still wasn't enough. Philip Rivers is making his first playoff start, I think that'll be the difference in the end one way or the other. Belicheck, on the other hand, might try and spread the San Diego defense out with a lot of 4 and 5-WR sets and attempt to make Shawn Merriman a non-factor. In the end, it'll be on Brady and Rivers, but I think the new guy has enough moxie to utilize his weapons and keep his team going forward. Chargers 28, Patriots 24