With Wild Card Weekend coming up I figure I'd find out what people think about this year's playoff picture.

NFC

Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Bucanneers
Carolina Panthers @ NY Giants

#2 Chicago Bears
#1 Seattle Seahawks

AFC

Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cinncinnati Bengals

#2 Denver Broncos
#1 Indianapolis Colts


Now its kind of hard not to pick both #1 seeds, especially the Colts led by Peyton Manning, but if I had to pick someone to dethrone either team in its respective division I would have to say the Carolina Panthers & the New England Patriots. Call me crazy but I think New England is the most feared team in the playoffs because of what they are capable of. I think not even the mighty Peyton wants to see the Patriots march into the RCA dome. I don't see any team posing a real threat to them even my Denver Broncos ( I was a huge John Elway fan and I have rooted for them because of him till this very day ). I know they revamped their defense to try and avenge the last 2 years blowouts at the hands of the Colts but I still think this is Peyton's year. I think the NFC is garbage and I dread seeing the Seahawks in the Superbowl. The NFC is up for grabs in my book but the AFC is the Colts' to lose. Nevertheless my sleeper picks are Carolina & New England. What about you guys? Any thoughts?

 

Since I'm a raider fan, no broncos , no steelers , no patriots , and no buccs .

After that, no colts and no bengals, therefore I guess I'm rooting for the jags in the afc, by process of elimination.

And on the nfc side, , but I guess I'll go for the panthers.

Another thing, it drives me nuts when a team benches players to prevent injuries, they are payed to play football, so play dammit.

 

Patriots all the way, no way i want to see the crybaby colts!!

 

SEAHAWKS all the way.

 

Look to the teams that can run the ball. Control of the ball and the clock make the biggest impacts in the playoffs. Or, any other time of year. Who can run? Seahawks, Giants in the NFC. The other teams are spotty in that category. AFC? Broncos (hate 'em), Colts, Steelers. The other AFC teams seem to be up and down with the run. One of these 5 will win the SB.

 

Seahawks, hands down.

 

I'm a Ravens fan all the way and while I HATE the steelers.. they are a scary team in the playoffs. They can run, run, run and the defense is (overrated) but still pretty good.

But you have to go with the patriots until someone knocks them off..

For the NFC.. the seahawks would have to be the favorite, they haven't lost at home all season and the offense is great. I don't think the bears can beat them on the road.

 

The Patriots are the only team that can de-throne the Colts, why? They are like a bad smell that doesnt go away, and they will keep finding ways to win. The NFC...nothing really good over there except the Panthers IMO.

 

I'm jumping on the Colts' bandwagon (because the Chargers didn't make the playoffs), but I have a feeling that the team to fear the most maybe the Broncos. As far as the NFC is concerned.. who cares? They're just this years sacrificial lamb... Bring on the flames!!!

 

Fresh from the NFL team rushing totals:
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg1 align=middle><TD>Team</TD><TD>G</TD><TD>Att</TD><TD>Att/G</TD><TD>Yds</TD><TD>Avg</TD><TD>Yds/G</TD><TD>TDs</TD><TD>FDs</TD><TD>20+</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Atlanta</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>531</TD><TD>33.2</TD><TD>2546</TD><TD>4.8</TD><TD>159.1</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>139</TD><TD>19</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Denver</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>542</TD><TD>33.9</TD><TD>2539</TD><TD>4.7</TD><TD>158.7</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>145</TD><TD>17</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Seattle</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>519</TD><TD>32.4</TD><TD>2457</TD><TD>4.7</TD><TD>153.6</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>142</TD><TD>17</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Kansas City</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>520</TD><TD>32.5</TD><TD>2382</TD><TD>4.6</TD><TD>148.9</TD><TD>26</TD><TD>138</TD><TD>19</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Pittsburgh</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>549</TD><TD>34.3</TD><TD>2223</TD><TD>4.0</TD><TD>138.9</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>120</TD><TD>11</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>New York (N)</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>469</TD><TD>29.3</TD><TD>2209</TD><TD>4.7</TD><TD>138.1</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>106</TD><TD>18</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Washington</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>525</TD><TD>32.8</TD><TD>2183</TD><TD>4.2</TD><TD>136.4</TD><TD>15</TD><TD>114</TD><TD>10</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Chicago</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>488</TD><TD>30.5</TD><TD>2099</TD><TD>4.3</TD><TD>131.2</TD><TD>11</TD><TD>99</TD><TD>19</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>San Diego</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>465</TD><TD>29.1</TD><TD>2072</TD><TD>4.5</TD><TD>129.5</TD><TD>22</TD><TD>116</TD><TD>11</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Jacksonville</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>502</TD><TD>31.4</TD><TD>1959</TD><TD>3.9</TD><TD>122.4</TD><TD>18</TD><TD>97</TD><TD>12</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


Cincy is 12,Tampa is 14th, Indy is 16th, Carolina is 19th, and New England is 24th.

 

Honestly Team defense is a much bigger factor in the playoffs.

Here are the top ten defenses, in the only stat that really matters(points allowed)
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg1 align=middle><TD>Team </TD><TD>G</TD><TD>Pts/G</TD><TD>TDs</TD><TD>Run</TD><TD>Rec</TD><TD>PR</TD><TD>KR</TD><TD>Int</TD><TD>Fum</TD><TD>BPnt</TD><TD>BFG</TD><TD>PAT</TD><TD>FG</TD><TD>SFTY</TD><TD>2-PT</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Chicago</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>12.6</TD><TD>20</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>19</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Indianapolis</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>15.4</TD><TD>27</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>19</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Pittsburgh</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>16.1</TD><TD>27</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>15</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Denver</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>16.1</TD><TD>31</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>20</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>14</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Carolina</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>16.2</TD><TD>27</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>15</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>22</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Jacksonville</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>16.8</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>22</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>20</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Seattle</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>16.9</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>18</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>34</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Tampa Bay</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>17.1</TD><TD>28</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>15</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>26</TD><TD>26</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Washington</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>18.3</TD><TD>32</TD><TD>15</TD><TD>15</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>22</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Baltimore</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>18.7</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>18</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>28</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Only one isn't in the playoffs, and your Super Bowl winner will be one the teams here.

Giants are 13th,New England is 16th,Cincy is 21st.


But being from this part of the world, its gonna be the beloved.

 

Being a Bronco fan, the Broncos all the way. But i don't think the Broncos can beat Indy in their house. So I'm hoping for the Patriots to go to Indy and beat them. Then the Pat's will come to Denver, where we have already beaten them once this year, but that was done when the Pat's had all the injureies. They are Healthier now. It will be exciting! Who ever wins the AFC will take the bowl.

 

Yeah I would love to see my beloved Broncos go all the way but I really think this is Peyton's year which doesn't bother me because he is a hometown boy. Peyton was bred for football and is a pedigree of some sort. He is extremely classy and just flat out the best player in the entire league at any position. That pains me to say that because my second favorite player of all time is Brett Favre and I thought I would never say that unless his name was John Elway. The Colts are the best all-around team in the NFL and they have been all year plus history is on their side once you look at teams in NFL history who have put up similar records in their position. I can't think of anyone in the playoffs who deserve a championship more than Peyton Manning. The Patriots have won 3 championships already but I am treating this like when Michael Jordan finally beat the Detriot Pistons. Once they were out the way there was no stopping him. If Peyton beats or doesn't have to play the Patriots then nothing will stand in his way.

 

I hear the raiders are signing Terrel Owens, That seems to be where all the misfits go.

I have to say I am a whiny colts fan from my home state, I think the colts have a very weak secondary, If they get beat it will be from a long ball team, running teams won't be enough, Cincy could have done it New England could do it, but they just aren't quite as good as previous years and the colts D os better.

Seattle played 90% of there games against losing teams, and lost to winning teams so I look for them to get beat in their first game. They won't perform against a good D.

Pittsburg could be a toss-up against the colts they could break a few big runs, They'll lose on coaching mistakes by Bill cowher, If they get behind early he'll be frustrated, Then just watch the stupid mistakes he'll make.

( He is definitly a great coach he just doesn't play well from behind)

Bears don't have enough Offence, they lose.

Colts and Washington are my predictions