2007 NFL Playoffs thread

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:02 pm

Yeah I'm picking both upsets (assuming the road teams are the underdogs) in the AFC because of better quarterbacking.

Peyton hasn't proved himself in the playoffs but neither has McNair.

Also picking Brees over Garcia. Neither have done it in the playoffs but Brees has been good all year.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:07 pm

wco81 wrote: Peyton hasn't proved himself in the playoffs but neither has McNair.

McNair has gotten to a SB and was one yard away from sending that SB into OT.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:22 pm

XXXIV wrote:
wco81 wrote: Peyton hasn't proved himself in the playoffs but neither has McNair.

McNair has gotten to a SB and was one yard away from sending that SB into OT.

Yeah, but if you look at his career playoff performance, it's not very impressive. Certainly not intimidating.

Honestly, the only really intimidating QB in this entire bunch is Brady, and maybe Manning (he's actually done pretty well when not facing teams with Ty Law in the secondary). Hasselbeck and Garcia have been average, McNair below average in terms of throwing more career playoff picks than TDs, and Brees, Grossman, and Rivers have no or very little playoff experience.

That's a big reason why I feel the Pats have a great chance to win it all. Brady's just so ahead of everyone else in terms of postseason performance. He's got arguably the best coach and a top 3 defense to go with that. That's pretty formidible.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:07 pm

My picks for this weekend:

Indy beats Baltimore 21-17
New Orleans beats Philly 34-17
Chicago beats Seattle 20-10
San Diego beats New England 24-13

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:23 pm

XXXIV wrote: McNair has gotten to a SB and was one yard away from sending that SB into OT.

Everyone always assumes that the Titans would have converted the PAT.

Go ask Dallas fans about that.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:55 pm

My actual picks for a season-long pool:

Ravens -4 over Colts
Eagles +4.5 over Saints
Seahawks +8.5 over Bears
Patriots +4.5 over Chargers

Take care,
PK

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:22 pm

jondiehl wrote:
XXXIV wrote: McNair has gotten to a SB and was one yard away from sending that SB into OT.
Everyone always assumes that the Titans would have converted the PAT.

Go ask Dallas fans about that.

Or maybe they do the Statue of Liberty for the win!

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:18 pm

I believe the record for most commercial time in the 1st quarter was set today.

Aaaannd, there's another set of commercials following the first play of the second quarter, a FG. Can't wait for the commercials after this kickoff. *edit* I was wrong, thankfully!

I really wish I had an HD DVR.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:22 pm

Dave wrote: I really wish I had an HD DVR.

My HD Tivo's are some of my most prized possessions. I'd give you my dog before giving them up.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night and waiting for "24" to get about 30min into the 2hr episode, so that I can start watching and finish up on time w/o having to watch commercials.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 7:56 pm

6 field goals thus far. Yeah, nice game. Yawn.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:36 pm

Oops...7 field goals.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:47 pm

I enjoyed the game...It was hard nosed football...Aint a damn thing wrong with that.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:54 pm

I just really happy that I was totally wrong about this game!

TRI · Post by **TRI** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:12 am

Saints win and who would have thought that? Great game and congratulations to the Saints.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:51 am

TRI wrote:Saints win and who would have thought that? Great game and congratulations to the Saints.

Not me...but what else is new ...It was a great game.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:04 am

So...Manning's due for a good game next week, right?

I just can't believe the immediate transformation this defense has had over the past few weeks. They got Bob Sanders back and moved Rob Morris (former failed MLB) into the lineup in an effort to shore up one of the OLB spots, but otherwise it is the same group that couldn't shoot straight during the regular season.

But the offense needs to get their sh*t together.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:18 am

Actually, I picked the Colts to win because of Manning vs. McNair.

The defense played well but the Colts putting up points early helped them.

Those ints. didn't hurt the Colts nearly as much as McNairs int. at the goal line. If the Ravens get at least a FG, it could have been a completely different game.

McNair didn't get out of the pocket and his reads were slow, which allowed Colts to just rush 4 and pressure them. It was as if the Ravens were looking for big plays, when the Colts were making sure to give them the underneath stuff only. They could have dinked and dunked more but they didn't.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:39 am

Dave wrote:So...Manning's due for a good game next week, right?

I just can't believe the immediate transformation this defense has had over the past few weeks. They got Bob Sanders back and moved Rob Morris (former failed MLB) into the lineup in an effort to shore up one of the OLB spots, but otherwise it is the same group that couldn't shoot straight during the regular season.

But the offense needs to get their sh*t together.

Exactly. There are two big what-ifs with the Colts:

1. What if Manning actually has a good game and the defense continues its Lazarus act? This team could go all the way.

2. What if the defense actually comes to Earth and returns to form? The Colts' season will end next weekend.

Very interesting. Hopefully more interesting than yesterday's game, which was more of a case study of red-zone ineptitude than great defense, I'm afraid to say.

Good thing the Saints won't face a great passer next weekend regardless of which team it plays, as their secondary looked HORRIBLE. Couldn't tackle, couldn't cover. I saw more passes completed to receivers with 3 to 5 yards of space than I've seen in an NFL game in years. The Eagles' scheme can't be that complex, can it?

Nice to see McAllister get his moment in the national spotlight. He's been a hidden gem in New Orleans for a while now.

Take care,
PK

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:26 pm

PK: how's about #2: what if a team actully tries to run the ball at the Colts instead of playing into their hands and throwing?

The Ravens ran the ball 17 times with Lewis or Anderson. McNair threw the ball 29 times and was sacked twice. That's 31 pass plays (not to mention the one McNair scrambled for a positive gain) and 19 run plays (2 to the fullback). They averaged about 4.2 yds per carry with Lewis and Anderson. 14 plays in the third quarter: 4 runs. 12 plays in the 4th: 2 runs.

The Colts can't stop the run. Even in the first half, the Ravens had some success running the ball. Even into the 4th quarter, the score was such that they could have run the ball. But Coach Genius should've made a phone call to himself of about 8 weeks ago, who would've told him 'POUND THE ROCK!' He decided to put the game into McNair's hands, and McNair just wasn't seeing the field well.

I'm just stunned, basically. The Colts aren't just bad against the run, they are terrible. They have to sell out their safeties to stop it, but not if you decide to throw it every down. You can't give up on it before the 4th quarter, because the 4th quarter is when all the pounding throughout the game starts paying dividends. Many games are out of reach by then with the efficient Colts offense cashing in every scoring chance and rarely giving up field position with turnovers in their end. But in this game, the Colts in the red area were not successful at all. The D did very well forcing only field goals. But the offensive playcalling was straight out of the Andy Reid/ Donovan McNabb show = throw throw throw and maybe you can make a play by scrambling.

Whatever team plays the Colts next week must commit to the run, and keep the game close into the 4th quarter. Then they must continue to run, and they will be very hard for the Colts to stop and may find a big play with a play action once the Colts really get desperate to stop the run.

EDIT: McAllister had over 1,600 yds rushing in 2003 and nearly 1,400 in 2002. He was hurt last year, but he's long since proven himself to be a very good NFL running back.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:00 pm

Dave wrote:So...Manning's due for a good game next week, right?

.

The Colts playoff run thus far has been bizzare...winning with defense and in spite of Manning....When is the last time he had a 35.7 qb rating?
I think he is due ...I doubt he will have 3 straight games like this.

On the other hand the knock against Manning has been his failure to win in the playoffs...They are winning and I would much rather be winning .

Zep you are correct about coach genius...He went away from the run far too early ...but thats what geniuses do...That ego is mighty powerful...you cant be a genius if you hand the ball off 30-35 times...See Martz.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:17 pm

Colts have always stuffed good running teams early in the playoffs, which is why I wasn't surprised they beat the Chiefs. A couple of years ago, they played the Broncos in one of the last games of the regular season and got run over. But it was a different story in the playoff game.

Their real undoing has been the inability to stop the pass, either Brady or Rothlisberger, while their offense fail to put up the points.

Colts use safties for run support? Tell me which team doesn't do that at least some of the time. No team is stopping the run with just their front 7 every play.

The Ravens weren't getting anywhere trying to run early in the game. All they did was punt or turn it over and got into a hole. I don't remember the defensive alignment but Ravens went play-action on first down several times. It's not as easy as it sounds, to pound the ball. And the Ravens rushing attack hasn't been anything special all year.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:51 pm

I see the colts going to the SB. It's sort of like the Steelers last year, nobody talked about them pre-playoffs and they went all the way.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:49 pm

All I have to say is that they ran the ball 6 times in the second half.

They averaged less than 3.5 yds per carry during the season, but in this game ended up with 4.2 yds per carry, and still only ran the ball 6 times in the second half out of 26 plays in a game in which, until Indy got the ball with 7:39 to go and ate up 7:16 going 47yds in 13 plays and get a FG, they were behind by less than a touchdown.

Surprising to me.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 5:42 pm

I had posted throughout this thread how Holmgren would outcoach Smith but Holmgren really blew this one. Bears couldn't stop Alexander up the middle and he went away from that late in the 4th and in ot. That 4th and 1 was really dumb but he got bailed out by the bears passive playcalling that series.

Great game, should be a fun NFC Champ game.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:17 pm

Wheeewwwwww! I said all week that I'd take the 'hawks and the points, but that was a little too close for comfort. As I expected, it was the Bears D that was their weakness but they did come up with some big stops in the clutch.

Hammering them over and over on that draw where they 2x teamed Urlacher was classic Holmgren. When he was with the Pack he used to find one play that ate the Bears alive and then go to it over and over. I was surprised to see him go away from it on a few of those 3rd and 4th and short plays down the stretch. Not nearly as curious as Lovie's bizarre decision to call a timeout to give Seattle a shot at the hail mary at the close of regulation.

It was nice to see Grossman play well, but he really, really needs to improve on his pre-snap reads. Every blitz seems like a mystery to him