8-8 may have been good enough for the Rams and Vikings, but not for my poor Cincinnati Bengals, alas. Still, after the last 15 seasons I’m not turning up my nose at an even record.
Pats are in, baybeee! 
Rooting for the Packers here.
'Cepting it wasn’t Peyton but Eli, his younger brother. Perhaps it “would have been too gutsy a call…” except for the fact that in a similar situation (field-position/drive/etc. wise all except for the clock) Peyton did the same thing against the Ravens a few weeks ago.
Regretfully My Arizona Cards did not get in, those two lossed to SF really hurt…
Next year will be their year. If Josh Mac gets in a groove or another QB comes in we have the WR’s and we have a Defense… just need a QB and Shipp or another RB and we are gravy. I suspect next year the divison will be very weak again. St Louis is lagging the Seahawks are still unpridictable and has to many starters going into free agency. SF is still a few years away.
Next year Denny is taking the Cards to the playoffs!
No…my Panthers didn’t make it. But it doesn’t bother me. Yes I would have supported them had they made it.
But no 8-8 record deserves to be in the playoffs.
I don’t care who they are.
Buffalo, alas, did not make it. They were so close, losing to them damn Steelers (third string :smack: ).
It takes a true fan to stay with his team through thick and thin though!
That has to be one hell of a strong toothpaste you’re using! :eek:
In the pit thread I opened to give the needle to Diogenes I called the Packers to remain the only team to ever win the NFC North. (I also think someone took me up on the bet I offered for SDMB renewal regarding the stomping we gave the Bares) So I may as well call Green Bay for the title this year. Favre wants another ring, and Nall looks ready to take over.
Colts, yes.
Like everyone else, I question their defense. In a few games this season there has been promise so I guess you never know.
When I was a kid I was an eagles fan and that was sort of renewed (but not really) when they got Owens. They’re in but without Owens. I’d like to see McNabb get a championship ring for the city that booed him when he was selected.
No “my team” is not in. They were the worst tean in the NFL this year by far. I’m living on memories of a 5-0 Super Bowl record, though.
Super Bowl match up I’d like to see – Colts vs Falcons.
I doubt it’s going to happen.
At first glance I thought how odd it was for a Cleveland fan to be from the Bay Area. Then I saw the 5-0 SB thing and realised you must be talking about the 9ers. I don’t think they were the worst team this year, regardless of the record.
Bad? Yes.
Losingest? Yes
Worst team? No. The Browns play in Cleveland.
ymmv, jmho, ianasa, etc…
Barely followed the season at all this year (too many changes in my life), but I’m glad the Colts, Chargers, and Eagles did great. The first two have been due for some good fortune for a long time, and the Eagles, well, I can’t think of a single reason not to like them. Wouldn’t mind any of them taking it this year.
Actually a little bummed that the Cardinals missed out. Let’s face it, God could not make this franchise a winner, but they actually had a chance at history as the first 7-9 playoff team ever. I would’ve loved that to happen just to see the reactions and listen to some pretty heated debates.
Saints…feh. If you’re a fan, just be glad that they get to finish at .500, which would absolutely not have happened if they made the playoffs. 
My buddy who is a rabid Bills fan expressed this exact sentiment as the game wound down on Sunday. I had to remind him of a couple things. The Bills played very well in the beginning of the season. When they were 0-4, my buddy was complaining that they were an aggregate 7 points away from being 4-0. At least two of those losses were wins before the final snap of the game. The Bills played tough all year, and every Bills fan should hold their head up high for the promise of next season, which could be a breakout year for the Red White and Blue.
He felt a little better after that, and even moreso when he figured that the Bills were really in playoff mode for the last 4 weeks of the season, winning three of them, so in effect the Bills lost another Superbowl this year. That sounds bad, but in reality it is always nice to be able to win three must-win games in a row.
My teams:
Giants are not in, but played well (with lots of lead changes, making it exciting) the final three weeks, and Eli finally got a win, so next season might be okay.
Jets are in, looking for a season sweep over the Chargers next week, and who knows? If they catch fire, they could be good. And by catch fire, I mean “learn how to play pass defense.” If Indy somehow beats the Pats and Big Ben is rusty, the Jets could beat the Colts in the conference championship. At least Curtis got the rushing record.
Other teams I root for:
Bills missed out, but have much to grow on. Well, not really, as the QB position is still as shaky as ever, but Losman will eventually get some game time.
Panthers didn’t make it, but the stretch run was impressive under John Fox, who continues to be an excellent coach in any capacity. Big Blue has Tim Lewis now, so letting Fox go is no longer such a blatantly horrible issue. (Johnny Lynn was possibly the worst defensive coordinator in the history of the NFL.)
San Di-e-go Super Chargers! won the division, but I must root against them next week. They won the division, and that’s enough of an accomplishment in my book. At least the Giants pick isn’t in the top ten, so some of my bitterness over that trade has disolved. (Week 17 was a clutch win for the Giants in that respect.)
Go Pack Go! I don’t particularly like the Pack, but I actively dislike every other NFC team in the playoffs, so Go Pack Go!
Heh. Ellis Dee, you wear about as many hats as I do. The less-abridged version, and in no particular order:
Pats (in)
Steelers (can’t really explain this one. In)
Colts (in)
Washington (nope)
49ers (nope, not even in the NFC West)
Minnesota (can’t explain this one either. In)
Carolina (only slightly. Nope)
Falcons (holdover from the Michael Vick bandwagon. In)
Those are the teams I will, ceteris paribus, root for on some significant level.
I don’t think I’ve ever had an entirely-disappointing weekend.
That’s exactly it. As a hardcore Giants fan, I always hated the Jets, and rooted for anyone to beat them like the redheaded stepchild they were. But then the Tuna took over Gang Green, and I like all things Tuna, (even the 'Boys a little these last couple seasons), so I became a fan. As such, except for last year, I haven’t had a disappointing season. That’s way cool.
Huh?, If they lost four games by only one point each then the aggregate points needed to win four games would have been 8. Ties don’t count as wins.
I doubt they even lost each game by only one point.
Maybe I don’t understand the definition of aggregate, but I thought it meant ‘total’. Anyway, a browsing of the first four scores of the Bills season shows that they lost the first four games by a total of 28 point, so the ‘average’ loss would have been 7 points. :dubious:
Couldn’t agree more!!
Very true, I stand corrected.
Well, I’m a sissy, and put some qualifiers in there, one being a Packer’s loss. Which didn’t happen.
But I don’t like being a sissy, so I will renew the bet. With no qualifiers. And very little confidence. Vikings over Peckers on Sunday.
Well Duffer, looks like I dodged the bullet.
Nah, the bullet of which you speak is actually an ICBM. Due to deploy around 1 pm next Sunday. Expect impact around 3 o’clock.