NFL playoff thread

Mike Shanahan = Sam Winters
RG3 = Darnell Jefferson

 

That's awesome...

 

Always check the fine print. From the bottom of that web page:

 

Well, glad he's not hurt... I'm sure the people who cover these teams for a living have to love the existence of these fake stories... It's not like this was The Onion...

 

Okay you lose your 49er Faithful card

I can see the Seahawks beating the Falcons who have been barely escaping (at home too) all year (see near Raider loss). For as much fanfare as Ryan gets for being "Matty Ice" I think Wilson is more poised. [I did say at the start of the year I thought Wilson would be better than Weeden/Tannyhill and got hammered for that.]

As for the Niners/Packers; the Packers have 1 defensive stud, the Niners just need to run right at him and let their All-Pro Staley take care of him in the passing game. The Niners run game match up well with the Pack D. The Niners D will make Rodgers be perfect on all his check downs and not give up anything deep. The Vikes D got no pressure at the end and the Pack still only got only 24 pts. I only hope Justin Smith can play decently.

 

LOL ... the Pack "got only 24 pts" because McCarthy realized in the middle of the third quarter that that's all they were going to need.

Should be a good game but these Niners are not remotely the dominant force you are making them out to be.

Interesting stat I saw yesterday: When Alex Smith was the starting QB, Gore averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Since Kaepernick took over, Gore is at 3.9.

 

Look at who the Niners were playing when Smith played and after; that's what tells you about Gore's avg.

If McCarthy did that, he's a fool because that's not what a good coach does, you do not let up on the gas; even if it is Webb.

Packers on the road are different than Packers at home and their OL is porous and playing a shaky LT.

 

I felt better about the Niners' chances before Saturday's win over the Vikings... I think if the Niners had a game last weekend and I knew Justin Smith was healthy and Kaepernick had a playoff game under his belt, I might feel differently...

Even with the Packers' defense being healthy, the Niners defense is so much better it's not even funny. It also probably works to Green Bay's advantage that they got to face Webb a week before facing Kaepernick.

The Niners have a better running game, but Harris has played well enough the last couple weeks that he will be a factor. For some strange reason McCarthy still seems intent on getting Ryan Grant the ball a few times a game...

Obviously the biggest factor is one team having the league MVP at QB while the other has someone making his first playoff start... I go back to wondering if the Niners were better off getting the bye than having a needed tune up against a decent team to get ready for a big game...

Go Niners!!!

 

McCarthy pulls back the offense when he has a lead more than any coach in the league. It's come back to bite him in the ass more than once... He'll keep it on against a team like Houston, that he knows can score quickly, but he'll back off against the Vikings, especially when he knows the QB can't complete a pass to save his life... The Packers aren't the best at clock management and there have been plenty of times this season when the Packers are up by 21 and McCarthy starts running the ball and the opponent is able to make a game of it because they Packers don't have a running back who is reliable enough to pick up first downs.

The Packers were in the mix for Lynch when Buffalo traded him. Can you imagine how good the Packers would be if they'd pulled the trigger on that one?

 

Packers +3 and well over 45
Falcons -1 and well over 46

I'm going to wait a few days before posting the other 2 games because of the 9-point lines.

Patriots-Texans definitely will go over.

 

Yeah, I know Rodgers >> Kaep; but then again its not like Smith > Rodgers.

What I want to see is Willis and Bowman getting back to being the All-Pros they have been in the past. They're still great but there has been a bit of a drop off recently, maybe they're tired, but they have not been the super studs, missing a few blocks, not shedding blocks as quickly.

What's worrisome is that I read that Sopoaga is one of the worst NTs in the game. I hope he can get back to a higher level.

You get your card back!!

 

Even with Shany's history of mismanagement, I was surprised RG III went out there after halftime. His nine-yard "run" around left end was painful to watch. Of course, so was his final play.

I'm fully aboard the Seahawks bandwagon ... hard to avoid, considering where I live. But I like the running combo of Lynch and Wilson, and the defense has really improved this season.

But be warned ... looks like Clemons could be out for the rest of the season. That's a huge loss to Seattle's pass rush

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/report-seahawks-clemons-may-torn-035007594--nfl.html