Playoff Thread

[penquin11]

Scores:
WILDCARD
Texans 31 Bengals 10
Simply put Arian Foster ran all over Cincy and Dalton struggled in his first playoff debut....

Saints 45 Lions 28
This game while very offensive came down to which team had a slightly better D, the Saints did and were able to shut down anyone not named Calvin Johnson.

Giants 24 Falcons 2
Despite the records the Giants had the better team entering the game and it showed, however the Falcons once again found a way to play worse then they really were able to.

Broncos 29 Steelers 23
The steelers were just missing too many people and failed to drop their safeties back in coverage in order to deal with the Broncos deep threats (Demaryius Thomas). Honestly it seemed as if the Steelers were expecting the Broncos to run alot more then they did in this game as their safeties played up at the line leaving their already weak secondary vulnerable. Furthermore Bigben couldnt do it all on offense.

Divisional

49ers 36 Saints 32
This game literally went down to the final few plays. Harbaugh showed strategic genius in picking on the Saints poor linebacker squad by featuring Vernon Davis as his lead reciever. Also while the 49ers did allow 32 points they forced 5 turnovers that probably doomed the Saints to lose. Good to see the 49ers get their first playoff win in what seems to be a decade.

[Rooster]

Nice updates.

The 49ers are the best team remaining, and last season's NFC games make them a great candidate for best all along.

[penquin11]

Ok sorry I missed updating this thread for the Packers Giants Game but yeah...

[Rooster]

It's okay, no one needs to see more about the Packers/Giants game.

I'll watch this Superbowl because I've watched every one since I was born but it's going to make me sick.

[ohara]

Pulling for Eli to get another ring. Brady has 3, and that is enough for him.

[penquin11]

Im pissed about the Conference finals as I had my picks going to the Ravens and 49ers, who by the way outplayed their opponents on every side of the ball EXCEPT god dam special teams. TED GINN WHERE THE **** WERE YOU! WHERE THE F*CK! and also screw the Ravens kicker.... I wanted to see a brother vs brother, old versus new (Ray Lewis vs Willis) (Ngata vs Justin Smith) (Gore vs Rice) I mean it would be a real football game. Not any of the PASS HAPPY sh#t that you see so often in todays NFL (the panthers are an exception cause they run the QB and 2 other RBs). Seriously if the Saints or Packers had gotten the bid I would have been pissed.

Also alot of people are talking about the death of the featured RB.... I have an odd feeling that the featured back will be back on the rise soon, and that rather it has been the lack of good RB's entering the league coupled by a general misunderstanding by coaches about how to run the ball. Lets take a look at some of the most successful teams this year:

49ers: Run the ball
Broncos: only once they started running the ball more did they get better.
Ravens: runnin dat ball
Falcons: despite having a good QB, Michael Turner is what makes the bus move on O.
Texans: Arian Foster willed this team to a 10-6 year.
Cincinatti: run game wasnt spectacular but got the job done.
---------------
Coaches forget that a super fast paced offense (passing O) really doesnt give the defense much time to game plan and keeps them out on the field longer.... So like with the Saints, Patriots, Packers, and Steelers that is why their defenses would look out of place..

Lets look at some teams that really struggled this year:
Jets: everyone can hammer on about Sanchez and his struggles, but in all reality the Jets lack of a good running threat is what undermined this offense. They needed a guy who could manage to get 4 yards a carry on nearly every down... They didnt have that which forced Sanchez to be a player that he clearly is not!
Cowboys: Funny how the cowboys were dangerous when Murray was running over everyone isnt it... but what happened when he wasnt playing?
Browns: Lack of a rush game showed just how bad their passing game was.
Chargers: They got it done on the ground but it took Rivers some time to get his sh*t in order... Not to mention their D.
Chiefs: Without their star RB the Chiefs offense looked lost at times.
Carolina: We started winning games around the same time that DeAnglo started scoring TD's.
Bears: Lost their entire offense and season when Forte went down.
Cardinals: inconsistent QB production was coupled with inconsistent RB production... (diagnosis: **** Oline)
Bills: when they had their star RB they were 5-2 or 5-3.... Then he went down and it all went to hell as they would lose the rest of their games.
Jags: this is a case of the Jimmy Clausens right here.
Dolphins: funny how their offense started to get moving when they learned how to use Reggie Bush.
Seahawks: As soon as Marshawn Lynch started to roll in TD's they started to roll in W's.
...

The Moral of the story is that yes there are teams that can be great without good run games (Packers, Pats, Saints) but it is a travesty to see the entire NFL pretending that they each have their own Peyton Manning. The Cardinals O-Line would not be exposed so often if they would actually run the god dam ball. The Bills literally fell apart when they lost their star RB (though Spiller did ok), and the Texans proved that you could not only go to the playoffs but win in the Playoffs without the benefit of having a starting caliber QB at hand.....
Eventually coaches around the league will realize this and play to their advantages!

[Rooster]

TED GINN WHERE THE **** WERE YOU! WHERE THE F*CK!

Injured, sadly.

Lee Evans is just as big a scapegoat for that loss as Billy Cundiff, if not bigger. His screw-up was less severe but he still should have clamped down on that ball, and the TD would have been an outright win instead of a trip to OT.

The running back has never died. There was a panel earlier this season saying that, and two things became apparent to me about it:
1. They cited The Greatest Show on Turf as a big example. Funny how they chose the offence headed by the RB who scored a league record rushing TDs in one season.
2. Later that night, Michael Bush scorched San Diego for 159 yards.

Also note that the Giants played their best ball when the RBs were going. You don't need to worry about that, at least.

Also, Arian Foster led the league in rushing last year and the Texans went nowhere. If you want to credit one guy for their great season, look no farther than Jonathan Joseph. Defence all day, baby.

[ohara]

Super Bowl Sunday is here! Should be a fun game to watch. I've always been a Joe Montana fan, so watching Brady make this run reminds me of how great Joe was in the Playoffs. Deadly accuracy, mental awareness, and supreme confidence.

I think the Giants are the better team, but I think Brady finds a way to win this one. Kinda payback for how the Giants sqeaked out the upset the last time they played in the Super Bowl when the Patriots were the better team. Just a little karma going down tonight I think.

[penquin11]

TED GINN WHERE THE **** WERE YOU! WHERE THE F*CK!

Injured, sadly.

Lee Evans is just as big a scapegoat for that loss as Billy Cundiff, if not bigger. His screw-up was less severe but he still should have clamped down on that ball, and the TD would have been an outright win instead of a trip to OT.

The running back has never died. There was a panel earlier this season saying that, and two things became apparent to me about it:
1. They cited The Greatest Show on Turf as a big example. Funny how they chose the offence headed by the RB who scored a league record rushing TDs in one season.
2. Later that night, Michael Bush scorched San Diego for 159 yards.

Also note that the Giants played their best ball when the RBs were going. You don't need to worry about that, at least.

Also, Arian Foster led the league in rushing last year and the Texans went nowhere. If you want to credit one guy for their great season, look no farther than Wade Philips. Defence all day, baby.

*fixed

[penquin11]

Super Bowl Sunday is here! Should be a fun game to watch. I've always been a Joe Montana fan, so watching Brady make this run reminds me of how great Joe was in the Playoffs. Deadly accuracy, mental awareness, and supreme confidence.

I think the Giants are the better team, but I think Brady finds a way to win this one. Kinda payback for how the Giants sqeaked out the upset the last time they played in the Super Bowl when the Patriots were the better team. Just a little karma going down tonight I think.

Brady is starting to lose his touch, sure his WRs messed up but Eli was clearly out playong Brady. Look at the placement of the ball when Brady threw it, it seemed he would throw it slightly ahead or behind his WRs often negating the possibility for big plays. This also explains why Brady now favors TEs....

[ohara]

Apparently when he got hit early and was on the bench rotating his shoulder, he had hurt it, and was playing thru it. Maybe just excuses coming out now. But I remember him on the bench rotating the arm and the TV commentators were talking about it. Still, he did get outplayed by Manning. You are correct.

But dont bet against that rascal next season. He's still a great one. Team just needs to add some defensive players. And 2 late 1st rounders, they are in line to get 2 pretty good ones if they pick wisely.

[penquin11]

Apparently when he got hit early and was on the bench rotating his shoulder, he had hurt it, and was playing thru it. Maybe just excuses coming out now. But I remember him on the bench rotating the arm and the TV commentators were talking about it. Still, he did get outplayed by Manning. You are correct.

But dont bet against that rascal next season. He's still a great one. Team just needs to add some defensive players. And 2 late 1st rounders, they are in line to get 2 pretty good ones if they pick wisely.

Eli was playing so well that someone could have literally ripped his head off and he still wouldnt have F*cked up, he was taking GREAT risks out there, tossing into double coverage to Ballard because he noticed the cover LB was off balance? Thats a **** ridiculous amount of awareness.