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4th Super bowl ring?


TheHarlequin

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Playoff Bump!

 

Also, I just wanted to highlight how not-terrible my pre-season playoff picks were:

I'll go with calling the whole playoff slate:

 

AFCN: Baltimore

AFCS: Indy (Tennessee could make some noise here, with the further development of Vince Young being the key factor.)

AFCE: NE

AFCW: SD (They are waning this season-- that defense is going to be pretty awful-- but I'm not quite daring enough to hand the division crown to the Chiefs.)

AWC1: Pittsburgh (A healthy Polamalu leads a defensive revival to offset their losses on offense.)

AWC2: Kansas City (A frighteningly easy schedule helps the 2nd-best AFCW team get in. The Chiefs addressed their biggest weaknesses (Center and Safety) in the offseason, and have some underrated playmakers in Jamal Charles and Tamba Hali.)

 

The AFC, in general, is the much more divided Conference between "elite teams" and "other teams." Over the past seasons, each of the elite squads has had an off year here and there, but it tends to be Indy, Pittsburgh, NE, SD... and then all the rest. I think the Ravens break firmly into that category this season, with offensive improvements making up for the aging defense. (I was at the NYG@BAL preseason game, and Flacco looked very good.)

 

NFCN: GB (A tough one for me to call. I think their secondary is going to be pretty awful, but with the way they're scoring it might not matter.)

NFCS: Atlanta

NFCE: NY Giants (As has been the case for the past several years, whichever of NY, PHI, or DAL stays healthiest will win this one. Assuming relatively even health, I like the Giants-- their huge glaring weakness last year was deep coverage by their Safeties, and they've addressed that well with Antrel Rolle, Deon Grant, and the recovery of Kenny Phillips.)

NFCW: San Francisco (This division is soooooo baaaaad. I'm quietly rooting for the fightin' Alex Smiths to be the first ever division champ with a losing record.)

NWC1: Philly (I love their front-seven on defense.)

NWC2: NO

 

The NFC, on the other hand, is a mess of parity. I wouldn't be all that surprised by any one of 9 teams representing the Conference in the big game (the whole NFCE, the NFCN excepting Detroit, ATL and NO).

 

Super Bowl: Baltimore over Atlanta

 

First pick in the '11 Draft: Buffalo

9 of my 12 picks for playoff teams actually made the tournament, with the misses being believing a little too much in my Giants (who still ended up pretty close at 10-6), guessing the wrong NFCW Champ-by-Default (but calling the sub-.500 record), and over-estimating the Chargers' holdover dominance of the AFCW. Even my "worst team" pick was pretty close, tying a few other teams with the 2nd-worst record in football. I'm particularly proud of being one of the few people who spotted the trends in favor of the Chiefs (and the squeezably soft schedule).

 

Although I'd like to stand by my preseason Super Bowl pick, since those teams are both still solid contenders, I really don't see anybody going into NE and beating the Patriots with how well they're playing right now. The NFC is still wide-open-- the Seahawks are probably hopeless, and I have little faith in the Bears, but otherwise, I think it's anybody's game-- so, at the risk of being boring by picking both the #1 seeds, I'll stick with Atlanta. But I think NE wins it all.

 

Wildcard Weekend Picks: NO (with the spread where it is now, though, I'd take SEA plus the points), IND, GB, BAL.

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:p guess I won't be telling people what a pric the wide receiver was in high school at the super bowl parties

Victor of the 5 year fan fic competition!

 

Kevin Butler will awesome your face off.

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And the winners are.... Seahawks & Jets? WTF?

"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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It would be slightly hilarious is the Seahawks made it to the Superbowl. If they win another game, they head into the NFC championship as a 9-9 team :p

 

I'm actually not surprised NO lost, I just wish I had put some money on it. I watched a few games by them this season, and they pulled off a lot of close games against mediocre teams. That's never a good sign.

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It would be slightly hilarious is the Seahawks made it to the Superbowl. If they win another game, they head into the NFC championship as a 9-9 team :p

 

I'm actually not surprised NO lost, I just wish I had put some money on it. I watched a few games by them this season, and they pulled off a lot of close games against mediocre teams. That's never a good sign.

Not just close games-- two of their losses were to the Cardinals and Browns. It was a very erratic season for them, so an erratic playoff result isn't a huge surprise. They were rightly favored, but there's always a chance of an upset in the NFL, and that chance rises when a talented-but-inconsistent favorite is playing on the road. NO's defense played terribly, and Seattle took advantage. That was easily the best game Hasselbeck has played in at least 2 years.

 

Jets-Colts, on the other hand, went pretty much according to the script. Jets defense is good; Sanchez is a very limited QB; Peyton is Peyton, but his supporting cast and defense just aren't what they used to be, largely due to injury. Against a D like that, the step down from Dallas Clark and Austin Collie to Jacob Tamme and Blair White is pretty huge. And the Colts young injury replacements at LB and S simply couldn't stop the Jets with any consistency when they got the run game going in the second half. I had picked the Colts because I expected a few more LOLSANCHEZ moments, but the Jets coaches were able to get just enough offense while keeping him to mostly safe throws.

Edited by Enoch
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Yessssss! Packer win! Way to go baby!

 

Not that I give a hoot about the Pack but it makes me very, very happy that Dog-Killer and the Eagles lost.

"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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"Matt Hasselback is the Volourn of the NFL.

"

 

You are the very defintion of a troll scumbag.

 

 

Anyways, glad the Hawks won as I find NO, their players, and their supports to be arrogant punks. Dissapointed that Vick lost, and that Rogers win. I do laugh how someone one playoff win into his careedr and people are claiming it proves he's at Favre's levl. L0L

 

Too bad Manning lost but not surprising since he's playing on a team that's worse than Seattle. Only saving grave for them is the QB and kicker. The Baltimore victory is not shocking at all.

DWARVES IN PROJECT ETERNITY = VOLOURN HAS PLEDGED $250.

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Steelers win in a big comeback. What a great game. Turnovers just kill you in football.

"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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