Stoney's He-Man Steeler Haters NFL Playoff Thread ... No Yinzers allowed

Most likely.

Still, in the end the defense is going to be what sinks them. They've been noble in faking it all year, and they're better than we all thought going into the season, but the playoffs (and a great offense) expose units like this.

 

As I've heard many time on Passover: Why is this night different than all other nights?

Is the Cowboys' defense good enough that they won't have to chase the game?

As far as Lynch and Forte first time/second time, what changed in the second half of the season? Green Bay moved Matthews into the middle and changed its defensive philosophy to emphasize stopping the run. Their defense improved markedly from midseason on.

 

Meanwhile, in news nobody has really talked about but will make a major difference: Panthers DT Star Lotulelei has been ruled out against the Seahawks.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/201.../star-lotulelei-carolina-panthers-broken-foot

I know the Panthers were big underdogs going in, but their defense might have given them a chance. No Loutlelei means a big blow to the D.

 

That's a very fair point.

If you watched the Packers-Lions game, Rodgers barely dropped back at all, presumably because of the calf. He wasn't doing it early in the game even before he went out for the one series.

If Rodgers is healthy, the Packers should kill them. But every sign is that he's not and I'm not sure they can beat the Cowboys if they have to play the kind of game they did against the Lions. If Dallas has to chase the game, Green Bay will likely win, but if it's a ground and pound game where we're seeing a lot of Murray from the Cowboys and Lacy and Starks from the Packers, that will favor Dallas.

 

I was specifically responding to Exmediahack's assertion that:

 

Agreed.

 

Not sure I consider a 12-4 team beating an 8-7-1 team to be a bad home playoff loss. Truth be told, it shouldn't have even been a home game. Yes, Rodgers was back, but in just his second week after missing just short of two months.

 

Let's not forget that the team he inherited -- even with Favre -- was 3-12 the previous season before winning the finale in which the Seahawks rested all their starters. The next season the Packers were 4-8 before winning their final four games. A year later they went 13-3. He didn't inherit a juggernaut and just ride it out.

 

True. And he was able to coax a better season out of Favre (2007) than anyone had since his MVP seasons.

 

Amid all the talk of the Ice Bowl this week, one of the key figures died today. Former Cowboys DT Jethro Pugh, the guy who got blocked by Jerry Kramer on Bart Starr's game-winning QB sneak, died today at age 70:

https://twitter.com/DavidMooreDMN/status/552945959802372096

 

The Bears ran for 235 yards in a game they lost 38-17. I was thinking in the fourth quarter that the Packers didn't really care if the rushing numbers got big as long as the clock kept running.

From that game on, the narrative the rest of the season was that the Packers couldn't stop the run. Even when they did consistently over the last eight games.

 

No, the Bears ran very well in that game. They were looking pretty good until Cutler threw two interceptions on first down in the third quarter. But Forte had almost 100 yards in the first half that day, and the Bears led until the final minute of the first half.

I expect the Cowboys to run pretty well.