NFL Playoff Thread

Bengals, if they get past Texans, seem like the kind of team '09 Ravens and '10 Jets were, able to run right over the Patriots' soft D.

 

The Giants, when they are right, are more complete then any AFC team aside from Pittsburgh when it is right.

New York has a very good defensive line when it's clicking. And Eli has had a pretty impressive season throwing the ball.

I'd like their defense to slow down New England enough to win a shootout. I think they'd go up against Baltimore with clearly a better offense (so would Atlanta) and a defense good enough to shut Baltimore down.

I'd say the Giants are a dangerous team in either conference, actually. But I'd also say I would not be shocked if they didn't show up next week and lost to Atlanta.

 

So basically the Giants are awesome then. Except, you know, when they play like they did against the Redskins.

 

And that's what makes them a darkhorse. But if they are clicking, outside of maybe the Packers and the Saints, they might be able to beat anybody else in the field and that is not assuming the other team plays particularly poorly.

 

The 49ers' path to the Super Bowl will most likely mean having to beat the Saints and the Packers. I guess we'll learn soon if the defense is worthy of its billing as the best in the NFC. It's clearly going to need to be - and then some.

 

When everything is clicking, the Ravens are much better than the Giants. The problem is that Flacco isn't nearly as consistent as Manning. But Baltimore's defense is better. So is the offensive line and the Giants don't have a back on Rice's level.

 

The 49ers said they were giving Gore a rest today, but for a month now it has looked like they drove the rubber off those tires. And I don't think Kendall Hunter can get the tough yards.

 

Being a life-long Niner fan boi...I think this 49er squad has no chance in the playoffs...they are weak against the pass...which means no way in hell will then win a game. Even with a home game, they have to face either Eli or Ryan.
That and Alex Smith sucks.
Why do I have the feeling that Harbaugh sat him down in training camp and said: "Listen, I know you suck...you know you suck. But, if you don't fuck up and just hand the ball off a lot to Frank and dump passes off to Vernon, people will think you don't suck as much as you do. We have a pretty good defense, and excellent kicker and punter and if you don't clown around, we can make the playoffs."
I'm picking Saints over Giants in the NFC...
The AFC is unpredictable. I would love Houston to make a run, but I will be realistic and say New England escapes there. Baltimore seems the most "put together" team at this point of the season (mainly because they aren't limping into the playoffs as much as the rest)
I'll take Patriots over the Ravens in a close one in the AFC with the Saints winning in Indy.

 

What? Isn't it going to be Saints/Lions at 49ers? Granted, Brees and Stafford are better than Manning and Ryan.

I don't much care for the Saints' chances outdoors. I really don't like the Saints' chances in Lambeau Field, if it comes to that in the NFC title game. I know the Packers are beat up, but I think they may still be the best team.

 

I think the Giants are totally average. They would have been in a dog fight for third place if they played in the AFC North. I look forward to the New York media's exasperation and overreaction when the inevitable meltdown arrives.

 

For that you can thank the NFL's idiotic system of seeding. If the NCAA Tournament was seeded this way, with all the conference winners automatically getting the lowest seeds, we'd go ballistic, thinking it was the first step toward the end of Western Civilization. But for some reason we give the NFL a free pass on its buffoonery.

 

The NCAA builds subjectivity into its seeding system. The NFL does not.