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| | | | Well hope this works better than the last time I posted. New board sucks a little.
Once again, THE greatest time of the year is upon us in the 4th Annual NFL Playoffs Predictions. Put up your Christmas decorations and prepare for the best time to be a football fan. Don’t waste your time on the BCS because they decide their Championship by polls. Those who want to give their predictions can either do it weekly or all at once. Also for those who just want to give a Super Bowl prediction then you can do so. Here are the first round games. Anyone finding any good articles is encouraged to post during the playoff season.
Thanks AfricanMaster
NFC Wildcard:
Washington at Seattle = Washington
NY Giants at Tampa = NY Giants
AFC Wildcard:
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh = Jacksonville (Sorry Debbie but The Steelers just don’t’ have it this year)
Titans At San Diego = San Diego(could this be their year?)
I will wait until next week to make my Super Bowl prediction.
Really, and who said it?
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| | | | Why on earth does Cradz have two separate forums under Sports and Recreation. I guess the main forum is for General Sports but the specifics ones don't appear on the topic list on the homepage and I couldn't find the subscribe button at the bottom for Professional Sports
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| | | | 12 contenders' questions as NFL playoff field is set
By Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY
There is no formidable answer key for the NFL playoffs. Not for this unpredictable league. Things happen.
Yet as 12 teams line up on the road to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 3, there are plenty of questions.
Let's try a few on for size.
1.Will the New England Patriots buckle in pursuing perfection?
They are certainly in Mercury Morris' neighborhood, producing the first unblemished regular season (16-0) since the 1972 Miami Dolphins went 14-0 in that regular season.
The bigger mission for New England is 19-0.
PHOTOS: The season in pictures
This should hardly faze the Patriots, laden with veterans from three Super Bowl title teams since 2001. Given their season would always be defined by their playoff performance, there might be less pressure on the Patriots than during the stretch run to 16-0.
No matter. As reflected in the four close calls — against the Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants — the Patriots' opponents are much more likely to lose composure during crunchtime.
A blueprint for beating New England, the AFC's top seed? Don't make mistakes.
Led by unflappable quarterback Tom Brady, no-nonsense coach Bill Belichick and Cyborg-like components such as Tedy Bruschi, the Patriots have resilience as perhaps their most admirable trait. They don't panic. The margin in each of their Super Bowl wins was three points. Even so, history suggests either the Patriots or Dallas Cowboys, the NFC's No. 1 seed, will be upset. It has been 14 years since both No. 1 seeds advanced to the Super Bowl.
2. How significant is a projected return by Indianapolis Colts all-pro receiver Marvin Harrison?
Last year the Colts raised their game for the playoffs when all-pro safety Bob Sanders, despite missing 12 games, returned to help shore up an ailing run defense.
This season the offense figures to get a boost from Harrison, who has missed 11 games with a knee injury but returned to practice last week. Harrison probably would have made a difference in the Nov. 4 loss to New England that included an end-zone drop by rookie Anthony Gonzalez.
Without Harrison, quarterback Peyton Manning had three 300-yard games — his fewest in a season since 1999.
With a healthy Harrison, whose chemistry with Manning is 10 years in the making, the headaches increase. Reggie Wayne (92 catches, 1,423 yards) has blossomed as an all-pro, versatile tight end Dallas Clark (team-high 11 TD catches) is a matchup problem and Gonzalez (37 catches) has progressed well.
3. Can the San Diego Chargers continue the rebound trend and win the Super Bowl?
The Pittsburgh Steelers were an NFL-best 15-1 in 2004, then lost in the playoffs. The next season they won Super Bowl XL.
The Colts were a league-best 14-2 in 2005, then lost in the playoffs. A year later Indianapolis won the Super Bowl.
The Chargers — stunned in their playoff opener after posting an NFL-best 14-2 record last season — are positioned to make amends for last year's crushing setback.
San Diego brings NFL rushing champ LaDainian Tomlinson, a defense that leads the league in takeaways (48) and a six-game winning streak. Like Pittsburgh and Indianapolis the last two years, the Chargers (who started 1-3) are flying under the radar with low expectations and inconsistent young quarterback Philip Rivers.
Can they win in Indianapolis and Foxborough, Mass.? That is the likely scenario to get to the Super Bowl. Many of the players remain from the 2005 team that ended the Colts' bid for a perfect season and dealt the Patriots a defeat (41-17) in October.
Yet a key change is coach Norv Turner, whose predecessor, Marty Schottenheimer, was fired in February because of repeated flops in the playoffs.
4. Are the Pittsburgh Steelers too battered to bring their 'A' game?
Injuries have scratched some pretty critical pieces from these playoffs. But no team enters as physically challenged as the Steelers, who are without running back Willie Parker (broken leg), left tackle Marvel Smith (back) and defensive end Aaron Smith (triceps). Parker was leading the NFL in rushing (1,316 yards) when hurt. Marvel Smith protected quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's blind side. Aaron Smith is one of the NFL's most underrated players, stuffing run lanes and tying up blockers to allow others better chances for pass-rushes.
The Steelers also have a gimpy all-pro safety Troy Polamalu (knee) on their No. 1-ranked defense. And Roethlisberger sat out the finale with an ankle injury.
5. Is Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard ready for the next test?
Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio deserves credit for pulling the trigger on one of the season's gutsiest decisions. Nine days before the season opener, he dumped injury-prone starting quarterback Byron Leftwich and inserted Garrard. Good move.
Garrard, who threw just three interceptions for an offense that blossomed under first-year coordinator Dirk Koetter and ranks third in the NFL with a 102.2 passer rating, will make his first playoff start Saturday at Pittsburgh.
No playoff team logged more rushes than the Jaguars (522), which reflects the help Garrard has with the one-two running punch of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew and the bruising style that led them to victory at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field two weeks ago.
6. Can the Tennessee Titans pull the upsets?
Since the NFL's playoff field was expanded to 12 teams in 1990, just one sixth seed has advanced to the Super Bowl — the XL champion Steelers. The Titans, who qualified with Sunday night's victory against the host Colts, will be hard-pressed to repeat the long-shot history that would have to include three road playoff wins in a row.
As much as Tennessee's rise is linked to a defense that improved to a No. 5 ranking after finishing last in the NFL for yards allowed in 2006, offense has been a problem. Tennessee averages 19 points, scoring fewer than 18 points in eight games this season. It will take more than that to win in San Diego — not to mention the points needed to win at Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots have never lost in the playoffs.
7. What will Dallas Cowboys diva Terrell Owens do?
If history is any indicator, Owens is a quick healer. After he broke a leg Dec. 19, 2004, while playing for the Eagles, Owens exceeded expectations and returned for a stunning, nine-catch, 122-yard performance in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Off a high ankle sprain at the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 22, Owens is expected to be ready for playoff opener after essentially three weeks of rehab. Although big-play receiver Terry Glenn is expected to return after missing the regular season with a knee injury, the chemistry Owens has developed with quarterback Tony Romo and new coordinator Jason Garrett is proven.
Only Randy Moss and Braylon Edwards caught more touchdown passes than Owens (15), and there has been no controversy of note involving the combustible one nicknamed "T.O."
8. Would the Green Bay Packers be better off not hosting a title game at Lambeau Field?
No team in the playoffs has lived with the pass like Green Bay, which has thrived with Brett Favre's magic but is the only postseason team that hasn't averaged at least 100 rushing yards (99.8).
It helps that Favre has adapted his game to minimize risk. He threw his fewest interceptions in six years (15) and posted his best passer rating (95.7) since 1996 — the last season the Packers won a Super Bowl.
Even with the emergence of first-year running back Ryan Grant (956 rushing yards, 5.1-yard average) to help an improving rushing game, Green Bay's style might be better suited for a title game at Dallas than at wintry Lambeau Field. Then again, Favre has never won at Texas Stadium.
9. Will the Seattle Seahawks' pass-first mentality backfire?
Since coach Mike Holmgren announced he was reviving an old formula by putting the offense on the shoulders (and arm) of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to compensate for a struggling running game, the Seahawks have won six of eight games.
Hasselbeck threw a career-high 562 passes in directing an up-tempo attack that even Seattle's defense (45 sacks) draws from. But a suspect running game is always risky in the playoffs. Seattle's 20th-ranked attack includes a 3.8-yard average that is lowest among playoff teams. Sure, former MVP Shaun Alexander (out injured when Holmgren made his proclamation) is back in the lineup, but he hasn't has a 100-yard running game since Week 3.
10. Will Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jeff Garcia hold up?
After the Buccaneers pursued myriad offseason options, signing Garcia proved to be arguably the NFL's best free agency move.
Garcia, who completed 63.9% of his passes and threw just four interceptions, is perfect for the controlled passing of Jon Gruden's West Coast offense. He helped settle a young offense, and the Bucs went from a last-place 4-12 finish in 2006 to a 9-7 mark and the NFC South crown.
Tampa Bay is among six teams in the playoff field that didn't qualify last year.
Garcia, 37, is the second-oldest quarterback left, after Favre. The knock has been Garcia's rail-thin body breaks down during the season. Stung by a back injury, he missed three of five games in December. Now is not the time to break down.
11. How far can the New York Giants go with quarterback Eli Manning?
The Giants appear poised to hang an upset on the Buccaneers after taking the Patriots to the limit Saturday night. They will take a defense that had an NFL-high 53 sacks and a seven-game road winning streak to Tampa. Yet there's caution with Manning.
After losing to New England, Manning said it didn't matter whether the Giants won or lost — their first-round matchup was set — as long as they played well. If only the Patriots accepted losses so easily.
Manning struggled when the Patriots turned up the heat with blitzes in the fourth quarter. He fumbled a snap to help kill a drive and threw an interception the Patriots converted into the winning points. Playing well means playing well under pressure in the clutch.
12. Do the Washington Redskins have a controversy at QB?
Compared with other issues this season — most notably the slaying of all-pro safety Sean Taylor — whether to continue with fill-in quarterback Todd Collins or reinsert injured Jason Campbell barely registers. Collins, a 13-year veteran, stepped in when Campbell injured a knee Dec. 6 and Washington hasn't lost since.
Coach Joe Gibbs — who won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks — should be comforted knowing Collins hasn't thrown an interception.
Hot hand. Hot team. It's a good match for the Redskins, the fourth team in the Super Bowl era to advance to the playoffs after starting 5-7. With better balance, they might be more prepared to win a playoff opener at Seattle, the site of their last playoff game and a 20-10 loss two years ago.
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| | | | Are you ready for some Football!!!
Really, and who said it? |
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| | | | ok the skins game has just started and I wanted to post My prdictions too
I agree with You on all 4 games thins week AM
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!
NFC Wildcard:
Washington at Seattle = Washington
NY Giants at Tampa = NY Giants
AFC Wildcard:
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh = Jacksonville
Titans At San Diego = San Diego
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| | | | Well Redskins losing  . Might be time for Gibbs to retire.
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| | | | Pittsburgh is losing which I predicted but it still hurts .. Time to fire Mike Tomlin. Glad the debates are on too.
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| | | | Fire Tomlin!!
Silly Coaching!
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| | | | I was accurate 3 out of 4 times for this weekend! Now onward we move.
Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers(Saturday @ 4:30 ET) = Green Bay Packers
New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys (Sunday @ 4:30 ET) = Cowboys
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots (Sat @ 8 PM ET) = New England Patriots
San Diego Chargers @ Indianapolis Colts(Sun @ 1PM ET) = San Diego(Is this their year?)
Anyone finding articles during the week concerning the upcoming games is encouraged to post them here.
Thanks,
AM
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