Andy: So I have Indy, Denver, New England and Baltimore winning divisions in the AFC and Seattle, Green Bay, Carolina and Dallas winning in the NFC. I’ll give Arizona, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Miami wild cards, with Marvin Lewis and Chip Kelly being two guys whose failures to make the playoffs will result in hotseats at the season’s end.
I think there are probably three teams in each conference I see as truly strong contenders for the Super Bowl, but I’ll give Indy and Seattle homefield advantages at this point, the Colts because they have clear sailing through a weak division and the Seahawks because though they are slightly flawed in some areas, including starting two converted defensive linemen on their offensive line, I think they still have the strongest defense in the NFC and you can’t beat their postseason experience from the last few years.
Tony: In the NFL, most years it seems that about half of the teams from the previous season’s playoffs don’t make it back. You’ve really gone out on a limb, predicting that a total of TWO teams from last year (Cincinnati and Detroit) won’t make it back, including a grand total of one new division winner (Baltimore in the AFC North).
Meanwhile, I have a much more respectable 5 new teams in the playoffs, with Indy, New England, Denver and Cincinnati winning the AFC divisions and Kansas City and Miami grabbing the wildcards, and Green Bay, Seattle, Dallas and New Orleans winning the NFC divisions, and Minnesota and Philadelphia grabbing wildcards.
I don’t know if I really believe all of that, but it makes me look better on paper, so I’m sticking to it for now.
Realistically, in the AFC, I’m not sure if I think anyone other than Indianapolis or New England can get to the Super Bowl, although even those teams have flaws—Indianapolis on the offensive line and defense, and New England their terrible knack for cheating at every opportunity they find. (more…)
Last week’s games present an interesting dilemma. The team I thought was the best in the league won, but not in convincing fashion. How does that shake things up? Here goes:
So we’ve reached the final four, meaning there are four possible matchups for the big game. A couple are intriguing, and a couple are…less so. Here’s my take on the possible matchups–and yes, these might be a bit skewed by the fact that I live in Minnesota and cheer for the Vikings…so facing two weeks of non-stop Packer coverage has me dreading what we could be looking at over the next couple of weeks…
Best Option: Indianapolis Colts vs. Seattle Seahawks – Never would I have imagined that I would have thought the Seahawks back in the Super Bowl would be my preferred option, but when it comes to the choice of two weeks of obnoxiousness from Packer fans and non-stop coverage of the condition of Aaron Rodgers calf, I’ll take the smugness of Pete Carroll, antics of Richard Sherman, and overblown hype for Russell Wilson any day of the week. On the AFC side, this game avoids any mention of Tom Brady and Bill Belichek, which is never a bad thing, and puts the NFL’s next mega superstar, Andrew Luck, on the center stage. Let’s just hope he shaves the beard…and isn’t the next Dan Marino. Unfortunately, not sure I see this scenario happening.
Next Best: New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks – In terms of talent, this is probably actually the best possible matchup. As sick as we are of them, Tom Brady and the Patriots probably have the talent and creativity on offense to inflict some damage on the Seahawks stingy defense. Rob Gronkowski can create headaches for any defender, and who knows which running back Belichek would break out for the Super Bowl–he might have a practice squad guy just for the occasion.
Getting Ugly: Indianapolis Colts vs. Green Bay Packers – Probably the least likely scenario, this matchup does provide the platform for the young and budding superstar, but also puts Aaron Rodgers calf back in the spotlight, and means two weeks of non-stop cheese references. The matchup itself would actually probably be decent–both teams have potent offenses, and suspect defenses, meaning the NFL would probably get the high scoring aerial game it always desires. Of course, if this was Major League Baseball, there would be concern over two small market teams meeting for the title (a la Royals vs. Giants in the 2014 World Series). But this is the NFL, where somehow even a town of 100,000 people somehow supports a franchise–must be the revenue sharing.
Worst Case: New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers – Does anyone really want to see a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI? In Foxboro, they want to beat the best–not the Packers. And in Green Bay they’d like to have a shot to win, so they don’t have to pretend the season never happened, like they do in the Packer Hall of Fame for Super Bowl XXXII (seriously, it was like the 1997 season never happened the last time I was there). The general public? I would assume they would like to see a game that is actually somewhat in doubt in the second half. And the NFL just wants to make sure that the peak of the game isn’t hoping that Katy Perry suffers a Janet Jackson like wardrobe malfunction.
Who do you want to see in the Big Game? Let us know in the comments and/or by voting in our poll:
1. SEAHAWKS: The Seahawks showed why they’re the team to beat again this year in a 31-17 win over Carolina last weekend. And here’s the key: That’s the most points Seattle has allowed since Week 11. The Packers present a much tougher challenge, but the league’s best home-field advantage should be enough to get the Seahawks to their second straight Super Bowl.
2. PACKERS: The Pack has the league’s best player and a first-round bye, and they’ve won seven of their last eight games, including an impressive victory over the Pats at Lambeau Field. The only question is whether this high-powered offense can outplay the Seahawks defense in Seattle.
3. PATRIOTS: New England trailed the Ravens by 14 points not once but twice last week. They got the job done, thanks in part to Bill Belichick’s trickery, but they’ll need to play better to beat the Colts. That said, the Pats are still the better all-around team and they’ve been here before.
4. COLTS: The Colts have played great football in knocking off the Bengals and Broncos the past two weeks. There’s no doubt that Andrew Luck is ready to lead a Super Bowl team, and the defense is playing the best it has all year, thanks largely to the return of a healthy Arthur Jones at defensive end. They’ll play the Pats much closer than they did in a 42-20 loss in Week 11, but it still feels like this Colts club is still a year away from taking the next step.
Normally the Divisional Round of the playoffs is among the most dramatic. And while a couple of games ended up being pretty one-sided, the Patriots/Ravens game was exciting, the Cowboys/Packers game was controversial and the Broncos/Colts game has provided the now ongoing drama of whether or not it was Peyton Manning’s last game.
Tony saw it the best from our crew. He was 4-0 this week. Anthony Maggio has been consistent in the playoffs, posting 3-1 marks both weeks. Here’s where we stand so far:
Name
Division week
Overall
Tony
4-0
6-2
Anthony Maggio
3-1
6-2
John Vomhof Jr.
2-2
5-3
Andy
2-2
4-4
Last week’s games, however, have left the Championship Weekend contests feeling a little bit anti-climatic. There are four really good teams left, but Aaron Rodgers’ injury (did you know he hurt his calf a few weeks ago?), the dominance of the Seahawks defense and the pure brilliance of Bill Belichick have dominated the story lines. (more…)
We’re down to the final eight. Just about any one of these teams has a shot, but let’s be honest – some are far stronger than others.
Here’s how we see it:
We’re down to the final eight. Just about any one of these teams has a shot, but let’s be honest – some are far stronger than others.
Here’s how we see it:
1. SEAHAWKS: The Seahawks were the best team in the league down the stretch, holding their opponents to single digits in five of their last six games. And now they get to play the worst of the remaining playoff teams, making their path to the Super Bowl a little easier. (Yes, the Panthers are red-hot, but let’s not forget that they didn’t even finish .500 during the regular season.) (more…)
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