Cincinnati v Houston to face New England
Denver v Pittsburgh to face Baltimore
Detroit v New Orleans to face San Francisco
Atlanta v NYGiants to face Green Bay
Make your case for early predictions:
*Cincy upsets Houston
*Pittsburgh annihilates Denver even with or without Ryan Clark
*Baltimore is over rated but they can beat Pittsburgh without Mendenhall
*New England rolls over Cincy
*Patriots expose Flacco in the AFC championship. Terrell Suggs commits stupid selfish penalty with the game on the line. Harbaugh defends him in post game press conference, hints that Brady's 4 TDs because of officiating.
*As much as I think Detroit can upset New Orleans and make a run at the title the numbers say New Orleans
* I'd maybe take Atlanta to beat the Giants only because they're the more consistent team
* New Orleans proves that San Francisco is over rated
* Atlanta has no chance to beat Green Bay
* This is going to sound kind of stupid, but I don't think anyone but Detroit has a chance to beat Green Bay before the Super Bowl
post by dreadkill at Jan 3,2012 2:40pm edited Jan 3,2012 2:40pm
the pats might actually win their first playoff game this year. if pittsburgh manages to beat baltimore, they'll beat the pats too, but if not, i think the pats can beat baltimore by limiting ray rice. it will be tough though. i don't have much faith in this defense. seeing the pats in a super bowl shootout with green bay or new orleans would be fun.
Giants will beat Green Bay if they play them, their game earlier this season reminded me of how the Giants played in their loss to the Patriots during Week 17 of the 2007 season.
post by RustyPS should be working at Jan 3,2012 3:25pm
the pats might actually win their first playoff game this year. if pittsburgh manages to beat baltimore, they'll beat the pats too, but if not, i think the pats can beat baltimore by limiting ray rice. it will be tough though. i don't have much faith in this defense. seeing the pats in a super bowl shootout with green bay or new orleans would be fun.
You make it sound like they have no shot. Here are some facts that prove otherwise:
- http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tab...role=OPP&season=2011&seasonType=REG - The Pats are 15th in the NFL in Points Allowed, ahead of fellow playoff teams like the Falcons, Packers (Yes, the fucking Packers, AKA: God's Gift to the NFL), Lions, Broncos, and Giants. Who cares how many yards the defense gives up as long as they can hold the score low enough for the offense to score more?
- http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/s...ivetake/position/defense/league/afc - The Pats are 1st in the AFC, and 3rd in the NFL, in turnover differential with a +14. The only teams ahead of them in the NFL are the Niners with +26 and the Packers with +24. This may be the one stat that shows a direct correlations on how wins more often than not.
- To stay in the turnover realm, the Pats are 1st in the AFC in takeaways with 30 (4th in the NFL, behind the Niners, Packers, and Lions), and 1st in the AFC in giveaways with 16 (3rd in the NFL, behind the Niners and Packers, seeing a pattern?). Again, the more takeaways and less giveways your team has usually dictates wins and losses.
- BTW, do you know who has the least takeaways in the AFC and NFC respectively and are tied for the least in the NFL? The Steelers and Saints with 14 takeaways a piece.
- After the Pats lost to the Giants on November 6th, the Pats have given up an average of exactly a touchdown per game in the 2nd halves of the last 8 games. It breaks down like this (got these numbers from looking at each game's box score: http://www.nfl.com/teams/newenglandpatriots/schedule?team=NE):
Jets - 7
Chiefs - 0
Eagles - 7
Colts - 21 (which was all in garbage time when the Pats D figured the game was well in hand)
Redskins - 7
Broncos - 7
Dolphins - 7
Bills - 0
While the competition in those games is rather weak, it still shows that the Pats make the adjustments and make the stops. It also shows that they don't throw in the towel after falling behind, showing mental toughness.
The one thing that scares me is the habit the Pats have made of spotting teams big leads in the beginning of games. If they fall behind to the Steelers or Ravens (or the Packers, Niners, Lions, or Saints in the Super Bowl) like they have been lately, I don't think they can survive.
I'm not saying they're definitely going to win the Super Bowl, but they have as good of a chance as anyone.
post by Mark_R at Jan 3,2012 4:02pm edited Jan 3,2012 4:04pm
As a lifelong (well, the last 10 years or so) Lions fan, this has been a banner year for me/us. I spent years watching every game I could down to the last minute even when we had guys like Harrington and Culpepper, never giving up hope that they could come back and win something, a regular season game, anything. Now we have a guy who can and has done that (made comebacks, I mean) multiple times! Stafford is the saviour we've been waiting for. All he needed was a dependable offensive line.
That said, I don't see them getting past the Saints, but, I will certainly wet myself with joy if they do. And if they do, Detroit vs. San Franc could be the most entertaining non-Superbowl game of this year's post season.
The Patriots will smash whoever they play, regardless of who it is, because they just cannot do three one-and-dones in a row.
The Strahan/Antonio Pierce era Giants were a lot more resilient than the 2011 Giants. They're not nearly as mean up front, and their offense goes up and down with no real rhyme or reason to it.
If the Pats and Packers met in the Super Bowl I could see Belichick going to the same strategy he used to keep Jim Kelly under control in Super Bowl XXV: let them control the line of scrimmage and move the ball on the ground, shorten the field, then tighten it up. The Pats have been a much better short field defense then they have anything else.
And as a lot of people have pointed out, there's no real stopping the Packers. You've just got to out duel them.
post by my_dying_bride at Jan 3,2012 5:58pm edited Jan 3,2012 5:59pm
No fucking way Pats get to the super bowl with that atrotious fucking joke of a defense. I'm sorry but the playoffs are are a different ball game. You have to have an "ok" defense to get through it. Not a god awful excuse for one. Steelers or Baltimore will beat us. Packers or Saints will win it all this year.
No fucking way Pats get to the super bowl with that atrotious fucking joke of a defense. I'm sorry but the playoffs are are a different ball game. You have to have an "ok" defense to get through it. Not a god awful excuse for one. Steelers or Baltimore will beat us. Packers or Saints will win it all this year.
And yet you have the Packers going even though their defense is almost exactly like the Patriots.
the pats might actually win their first playoff game this year. if pittsburgh manages to beat baltimore, they'll beat the pats too, but if not, i think the pats can beat baltimore by limiting ray rice. it will be tough though. i don't have much faith in this defense. seeing the pats in a super bowl shootout with green bay or new orleans would be fun.
You make it sound like they have no shot. Here are some facts that prove otherwise:
- http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tab...role=OPP&season=2011&seasonType=REG - The Pats are 15th in the NFL in Points Allowed, ahead of fellow playoff teams like the Falcons, Packers (Yes, the fucking Packers, AKA: God's Gift to the NFL), Lions, Broncos, and Giants. Who cares how many yards the defense gives up as long as they can hold the score low enough for the offense to score more?
- http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/s...ivetake/position/defense/league/afc - The Pats are 1st in the AFC, and 3rd in the NFL, in turnover differential with a +14. The only teams ahead of them in the NFL are the Niners with +26 and the Packers with +24. This may be the one stat that shows a direct correlations on how wins more often than not.
- To stay in the turnover realm, the Pats are 1st in the AFC in takeaways with 30 (4th in the NFL, behind the Niners, Packers, and Lions), and 1st in the AFC in giveaways with 16 (3rd in the NFL, behind the Niners and Packers, seeing a pattern?). Again, the more takeaways and less giveways your team has usually dictates wins and losses.
- BTW, do you know who has the least takeaways in the AFC and NFC respectively and are tied for the least in the NFL? The Steelers and Saints with 14 takeaways a piece.
- After the Pats lost to the Giants on November 6th, the Pats have given up an average of exactly a touchdown per game in the 2nd halves of the last 8 games. It breaks down like this (got these numbers from looking at each game's box score: http://www.nfl.com/teams/newenglandpatriots/schedule?team=NE):
Jets - 7
Chiefs - 0
Eagles - 7
Colts - 21 (which was all in garbage time when the Pats D figured the game was well in hand)
Redskins - 7
Broncos - 7
Dolphins - 7
Bills - 0
While the competition in those games is rather weak, it still shows that the Pats make the adjustments and make the stops. It also shows that they don't throw in the towel after falling behind, showing mental toughness.
The one thing that scares me is the habit the Pats have made of spotting teams big leads in the beginning of games. If they fall behind to the Steelers or Ravens (or the Packers, Niners, Lions, or Saints in the Super Bowl) like they have been lately, I don't think they can survive.
I'm not saying they're definitely going to win the Super Bowl, but they have as good of a chance as anyone.
::golf clap:: Ma nigga.
post by Dankill at Jan 4,2012 10:37pm
bennyhillifier Lastly, this has nothing to do with the playoffs, but I give you Gary Tanguay fuckin' up a sammich while not realizing he's live on TV.
Bill O'Brien is interviewing for the Penn State head coaching job on Thursday. I've got my fingers and my testicles crossed that he lands the job and opts to move out of Gillette before the divisional game. I can't handle another squandered Brady year at the hands of Bill "Ask Madden" O'Brien.
post by Dankill at Jan 4,2012 10:44pm
I thought he was ruled out for the Penn State job?
No fucking way Pats get to the super bowl with that atrotious fucking joke of a defense. I'm sorry but the playoffs are are a different ball game. You have to have an "ok" defense to get through it. Not a god awful excuse for one. Steelers or Baltimore will beat us. Packers or Saints will win it all this year.
Someone hasn't been watching the rest of the NFL this year. Both the Packers and the Saints have VERY suspect defenses. In fact, the Pats, Packers, and Saints are all built pretty much the exact same way: future HOF QBs playing at the highest level, a variety of weapons for those QBs to throw to, sub par running games (in fact, the Packers running game has been virtually nonexistent all season), and defenses that can stop the run when they need to, can't defend the pass if their lives depended on it, but can make big plays in a pinch.
....and since you brought up the Ravens and Steelers, neither are without weakness....shall we?
Ravens: very good defense, not legendary as they can and have been, but definitely very formidable, Ray Rice is a stud, but every so often, their offensive coordinator forgets that they don't have Joe Montana as their QB and just straight up takes the ball out of Rice's hands and trusts in Joe Flacco to win it all for them, and Flacco has taken a good 3-4 steps back this year...they don't really scare me
Steelers: Roethlisberger came out today and admitted he suffered a setback with his brutal ankle injury....granted, he's still very effective at 70-75%, but where is he really? And while Batch is one of the best backup QBs out there, they're not beating you with him...they lost Mendenhall for the rest of the year...does Redman scare you? They're also pretty banged up across the board...and the Pats offense has been historically been able to dictate what they are going to do against the Steelers' defense even when they're at full strength, with the exception of earlier this season, but when it comes down to it, the Pats offense had opportunities in that game and didn't capitalize on them
In fact, for as bad as the Pats defense supposedly is, you could easily blame all 3 of the Pats losses on the offense
Bills: 4 Brady INTs
Steelers: already said the offense didn't capitalize on multiple opportunities
Giants: 4 Brady turnovers
As I said earlier, turnover statistics are the stats that correlate the closest to wins and losses, and when your QB turns the ball over 4 times in a game, its extremely hard to win those games. That said, I don't foresee Brady pulling another 4 turnover game against any of the 11 remaining playoff teams, except the Niners.
But, Brady's turnovers are due to good defense. It's really anyones game this year. All the teams are kinda sluggish, maybe because of the lockout.
I agree with Rusty though, We are just as good as the Saints or pack.
Shitsburg doesnt scare me, no does the Ravens. I'm actually more afraid of Cinci because its kinda a trap game.
Brady can beat good defenses, he didn't on those days, but he can torch good defenses on his best day
Look, I'm not saying the Pats are a lock for another ring. All I'm saying is that while most Pats fans aren't giving the Pats a chance to do anything in the playoffs, based on everything I've brought up in this thread, the Pats definitely have as good a chance as anyone else who's left.
indeed man. I have about 50% faith in us. If I had to choose any qb, it would be brady all day. And having Gronk and Welker, yeah, we got this shit. I'm actually curious to see if 85 get's involved in the playoffs.
post by frankovhell at Jan 5,2012 2:18am
The saints and packers defense isnt great either but i think the difference between them and the patriots shit d is a lot more than you think. I don't anyone on that secondary in the playoffs. They should all be in the arena league. The patriots have shown that if you can slow down Brady with a good defense you can beat them. Giants.. and Steelers did it this year.. the fucking COWBOYS almost did it and their defense is almost as bad as ours.
Got rid of Sterling moore today, that's weird, he was the spark of the D last week. Fucking Belicheck ha ha ha, he does shit weird, but I still trust em
the fucking COWBOYS almost did it and their defense is almost as bad as ours.
Dallas' defensive ranks:
Overall - 14th
Passing - 23rd
Rushing - 7th
Points - 16th (one spot under the Pats)
Not great, mediocre, but certainly much better than the Pats defense
Stats are always deceptive with the Cowboys though. That's why Romo is always a bargain in fantasy nobody believe he can put up the numbers he does when the Cowboys trip over their own dicks year after year. They cough it up in the clutch constantly. 7th overall rushing defense that found a way to give up 239 yards on the ground to Philadelphia in their first matchup. Middle of the pack passing defense that could only manage 1 turnover (and over 700 yds) against Eli Manning all season. The Pats defense is porous and underskilled but they put up 3 stellar second half performances to close out the season and secure the #1 seed. Just food for thought.
Gronkowski is going to single-handedly dominate the playoffs by playing every position simultaneously.
Just got an authentic Gronk jersey. I will definitely be wearing it with pride, with the hope that it lands me some C-level trim
post by BSV at Jan 7,2012 12:41am
This thread has warmed my heart...
Fucking kinda worried about playing the Steelers, they always play us tough.
I dunno, I feel we can beat Cincy but who knows, their balanced but not overly consistent at all and certainly not deserving. Despite gillette being a weak ass stadium to play in (excluding potential traditional winter mayhem conditions, which have plowed a path for us in the past) bengals fans are terrible, didn't they have like only 2 sellouts this year or some shit? would suck to lose to them. boomer esiason WOULD BE RIGHT ABOUT SPYGATE, OH THE HORROR. Texas feels like a wash due to their quarterback situation but who the fuck knows. They've played tough all year. Makes things interesting only cause we haven't met them both this year.
as far as the NFC goes, I don't know what to say other than I'm pulling for the Lions cause I drew them in my football pool. Much better conference. Fired the fuck up for Lions vs Saints!
and btw, hosting a get together at my pad for the PATS game, you fuckers should come over and grill!
the fucking COWBOYS almost did it and their defense is almost as bad as ours.
Dallas' defensive ranks:
Overall - 14th
Passing - 23rd
Rushing - 7th
Points - 16th (one spot under the Pats)
Not great, mediocre, but certainly much better than the Pats defense
Stats are always deceptive with the Cowboys though. That's why Romo is always a bargain in fantasy nobody believe he can put up the numbers he does when the Cowboys trip over their own dicks year after year. They cough it up in the clutch constantly. 7th overall rushing defense that found a way to give up 239 yards on the ground to Philadelphia in their first matchup. Middle of the pack passing defense that could only manage 1 turnover (and over 700 yds) against Eli Manning all season. The Pats defense is porous and underskilled but they put up 3 stellar second half performances to close out the season and secure the #1 seed. Just food for thought.
Good second halfs against terrible sucky shit teams that shouldnt have been in the ballgame to begine with... Dolphins? Bills? Broncos? scrubs. The barely pulled it out vs them.
In other news the Saints scare me, holy shit that offense is high powered. 2 turnovers and they still rape the Lions. Ouch.
post by BSV at Jan 8,2012 2:46pm
Texans can be beat, I'd love to see how they hang in the new england elements.
Saints look deadly.
Falcons GMen thus far has been interesting....
post by frankovhell at Jan 8,2012 4:24pm
Just a few minutes until James Harrison rips godboys head off.
post by BSV at Jan 8,2012 5:24pm
Broncos after 1st Quarter have 8 total rushing and 0 total passing...this team has been false all year, may the Steel Curtain close and guillotine the career of tebow. Decapitating the Angelic Son of God with Unmerciful Grace and Crushing Splendor.
Falcons looked like a JOKE. A FUCKING JOKE, GUY.
post by BSV at Jan 8,2012 5:28pm
and as I just type that, the cawksuckah throws 2 for 81yars and td....CRUSH THE JEWISH PROPHET
It's funny because if this were literally any other team, I'd be apprehensively confident, but since this is the Broncos, who CAN'T make any offensive adjustments because Tebow really is that limited of a player that they're forced to run the triple option for a good 20 times a game, I have no worry about this game at all.
And how much you want to bet ESPN plays this up as a good vs. evil thing?
I think Myra Kraft's passing is the only thing keeping this from becoming the usual good vs evil story. As much as people might pretend to hate BB and Brady, Kraft definitely scored some big points for the Pats image by ending the lockout. Plus you've got Marcus Cannon coming back from lymphoma. Try as they might, people don't hate the Pats like they used to.
PS I have zero chance of sleeping this week. I will not rest till we shove this victory up Elway's ass.
post by BSV at Jan 9,2012 12:17am
TRYING TO SMOKE A TURKEY ON SATURDAY, ANYBODY GOT CHERRY WOOD????
"Counselor Troy," Warf nodded, dutifully acknowledging the beautiful Diana as she entered mess hall. She turned her hair at him, but said nothing. She seated herself a table or so away from him, her back to his front.
They ate in silence for some time, but Warf would suddenly jerk from his food--what was that? He had heard a muffled, spluttering noise, a foul odor crept toward him moments later. He, sitting behind Diana, could see a deep brown stain spreading across the tight buns of her one-piece suit. He could see her arms held still at the table, posture rigid, he could smell fear(he could smell feces...) Diana was frozen in horror. No one else seemed to have noticed, ... yet.
She's afraid? Embarrassed? he pondered, suddenly. It was strange to feel for another, for a betazoid no less, they were strange creatures. Do I help her? What of her honor? It is not my place. But she is a woman? Warf loathes these emotions, this ambivalence! Arrgh. He erupts! He flips his table over, scattering food and dishes, Warf begins grunting and growling fiercely, barking in Klingon, pounding his chest, making such a scene, all eyes are on him...
Diana takes the cue and dashes for the exit, holding her hands over her buns as she hauls ass all the way back to her quarters. She showers and changes into a nice, fresh pair of stretchies. And she clasps her hands together in prayer, prayer to Warf, who in his own vile, animal way, had risked his honor to save her humiliation. She would never forget what Warf had done. Never.
"Counselor Troy," Warf nodded, dutifully acknowledging the beautiful Diana as she entered mess hall. She turned her hair at him, but said nothing. She seated herself a table or so away from him, her back to his front.
They ate in silence for some time, but Warf would suddenly jerk from his food--what was that? He had heard a muffled, spluttering noise, a foul odor crept toward him moments later. He, sitting behind Diana, could see a deep brown stain spreading across the tight buns of her one-piece suit. He could see her arms held still at the table, posture rigid, he could smell fear(he could smell feces...) Diana was frozen in horror. No one else seemed to have noticed, ... yet.
She's afraid? Embarrassed? he pondered, suddenly. It was strange to feel for another, for a betazoid no less, they were strange creatures. Do I help her? What of her honor? It is not my place. But she is a woman? Warf loathes these emotions, this ambivalence! Arrgh. He erupts! He flips his table over, scattering food and dishes, Warf begins grunting and growling fiercely, barking in Klingon, pounding his chest, making such a scene, all eyes are on him...
Diana takes the cue and dashes for the exit, holding her hands over her buns as she hauls ass all the way back to her quarters. She showers and changes into a nice, fresh pair of stretchies. And she clasps her hands together in prayer, prayer to Warf, who in his own vile, animal way, had risked his honor to save her humiliation. She would never forget what Warf had done. Never.
post by BSV at Jan 13,2012 3:41pm
just got a shit ton of cherry wood to smoke the turkey. SERIOUSLY, WHO IS GONNA COME OVER??
Wish i didnt live way up in NH id come hang out with ya Josh.
post by Mark r at Jan 14,2012 8:26pm
Happy for the 49 ers
post by lucidcursenli at Jan 14,2012 9:52pm
More happybfor the pats
post by frankovhell at Jan 15,2012 9:21am
Seriously rooting for the san fran in the NFC after yesterdays awesome game. I always was a Jim Harbough fan when he was with Colts and its obvious hes a great coach. Alex Smith wearing a gas station attendant shirt with his name on it in press conference was funny as hell too.
Did anyone see Ocho a single time during the whole game? I saw at least three jersey names I had never seen or heard of before in camera shots, but not one Ochocinco sighting.
post by KillerKadoodoo at Jan 15,2012 12:34pm
I heard Ocho's name mentioned once, in the first quarter I think. That was about it.
Did you see the Suggs/Skip espn interview? Hilarious
post by RustyPS should be working at Jan 19,2012 10:55am
I heard snippets of it.
Two questions: Was Suggs in studio? If so, why did no one bomb the studio? Having both of those shitsmears wiped off the face of the planet would've made the world a much better place to live.
Just got done saying it on PFT, but Suggs' comments on Brady deserve front page news if only for the fact that it took him 9 years in the NFL to finally grow the fuck up.
Giants will beat Green Bay if they play them, their game earlier this season reminded me of how the Giants played in their loss to the Patriots during Week 17 of the 2007 season.
Bobstradamus strikes again.
post by RustyPS should be working at Jan 20,2012 9:18am
Thank you to Funny Or Die for this one:
post by Dankill at Jan 22,2012 7:03pm
post by Dankill at Jan 22,2012 7:04pm
P.S. PATS ARE GOING TO INDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Surprise surprise this "analyst" left out the following information reported by PFT
Some more information is coming to light about the moments directly preceding the missed field goal that ended the Ravens season and it all makes it harder to understand why the team didn’t call a timeout before Billy Cundiff tried to tie the game.
According to a report on TMZ, Ravens coaches repeatedly called for Cundiff to come to the sideline so he was ready to go into the game when needed without getting a response from the kicker. Two Ravens players told the website that the coaches were yelling at Cundiff and described him as distracted before he went into the game.
ITT: PFT actually stands up for the Patriots/reality. Also they point out that the Raven's "kicking consultant" was the little dweeby guy that Harbaugh shoved
Hi. Whose asshole did you pull that stat out of? Yours or Tom Coughlin?
New England allowed 342 points in the regular season. Yes, making them 15th in the league in points allowed.
The New York Giants allowed 400 points in the regular season making them 25th in the league. Cool impregnable defense bro.
The Pats regular season offense also out-scored the Giants and their amazing passing attack by over 100 points. These are called stats. They're these magical things that exist outside of New York, New Jersey, and western CT.
These are called stats. They're these magical things that exist outside of New York, New Jersey, and western CT.
post by frankovhell at Jan 30,2012 3:43am
I love how everyone throws stats out the window. big media included when talking about New York teams. This holds true for just about any sport. Mostly its just emotional based adjectives being thrown around about how great the team is. Never a day goes by when you don't hear about New England and their bad ratings in defense though.
Caldwell. Cameron. and Flacco. We've got next year's dream team already.
post by ark at Jan 30,2012 9:22am
stats are the only facts but i think far more telling in baseball only because of the number of games. football gets a little wacky and some stats might go out the window on sunday.
I wouldn't disagree with that. Baseball is a matter of trends more than overall stats. After a season of chronicling baseball stats for broadcasting I found it really surprising how often I could predict what a guy was going to do over the course of a game. Football also has a much higher injury rate and personnel turnover than any other sport making cumulative stats tough to gauge for relevancy.
post by RustyPS should be working at Jan 30,2012 10:44am
"last night on NBC SportsTalk, Rodney [Harrison] explained that the man who somehow caught the ball of his helmet actually was supposed to be covered by cornerback Asante Samuel."
I feel like I was just told a government secret
post by RustyPS should be working at Feb 2,2012 11:03am
I am not watching all the hype before the game. Sick of that shit every year. I will throw the game on right before it starts. Giants will win. Bummer.
in a drunken fit of rage i decided the only logical thing to do would be to rappel 20 feet off of my brothers porch just so i could kick his tv off the table on the way down.