Well, well, well. What have we learned this season?
Dan Snyder, you can’t buy a championship in the NFL. Go screw around with the Cubs or something.
True to my preseason predictions the Eagles and Saints are vastly improved from last year. Yeah, I know, I said the Bears would be too. I can’t get 'em all right.
Eddie George should be MVP. Nobody gutted it out for his team more. Nobody. Nods to McNabb, Culpepper, and Faulk.
stuffinb, your Niners will be a team to be reckoned with next year. That youth in the defensive backfield will eventually serve you well.
Some teams (Ravens, Dolphins, Eagles, Bucs) made it to the playoffs by virtue of excellent defenses, others (Rams, Vikings, Colts, Raiders, Broncos) are in with excellent offenses. The more balanced teams (Titans, Giants, Saints) will have the opportunity to make some waves.
That’s why they play the games - Panthers over Rams, Bengals over Jags, Cards over 'Skins, Bears over Bucs…
My favorite play of the season - Tim Seder (Cowboy Kicker) running in untouched on a fake feild goal. Honorable mention to the Buc’s two point conversion against the Packers last week.
Okay, on to the picks. None of these are easy by the way.
Colts 17 at Dolphins 20 (At least if they have to come back on the field 35 minutes later it should be warm. I think turnovers in this game, more than the others, will determine the winner. And I think the 'Phins defense can cause more.)
Buccaneers 17 at Eagles 19 (The Packers tried as hard as they could last week to give the Bucs their first cold weather win. Why in God’s name they were trying long passes in those conditions when up by 14 is beyond me. The runs and short passes were working just fine. If the Iggles control the ball on offense and shut down Dunn they can pull it off.)
Broncos 27 at Ravens 13 (I don’t think the Ravens can get two returns for TD’s again this week. I can’t stand the guy, but if Romanowski plays with the intensity he did last week, the Broncos should be able to dominate. Better take an extra helping of the wife’s Super Soup there ROMO! And hope no one checks the ingredient list.)
Rams 30 at Saints 24 (Okay, I went with my heart a lot on the first three. I would love to see the Saints win, but I don’t think they have it in them. They have nothing to be ashamed of, they were the best Cinderella story of the year. Go Aaron, Willie, and Terry!!)
Looking back at these, I could go anywhere from 4-0 to 0-4. That’s how it is in the playoffs.
Oh lord…Gazoo, you DO realize that as soon as weirddave sees this, he’s gonna kill you, right? Then again, I have a better feeling about the Titans being able to beat the Broncos than about them beating the Ravens.
Colts over Dolphins: Colts have the better QB, and offense. Dolphins just have a winning record.
Bucs over Eagles: Better offense, again.
Broncos-Ravens: Who cares? winner will get stuffed in the next game anyway.
Rams-Saints: Saints, Dude! Rams won’t surprise them this time. And Brooks (I think that’s the QB right now, it’s early) looks a lot better than what little I saw of Blake.
Now, I’m not going to guarantee a single one of these.
shakes head Gazoo, you’ve obviously taken your legendary track record of accuracy for Redskin’s games, and applied it to the Ravens. Romo is a puss, Sharpe knowes him well and will run all over and around him. Griese will be out by the 2nd quarter, with Ferotte following in the 3rd- maybe after headbutting PSInet satdium?? Who exactly is the 3rd stringer for the Broncos? Ravens 24-10.
P.S. I hope it snows, and that cocksucker Elway showes up on the sideslines so we can bury him in snowballs, just like we did in 83.
Like I said any of thses games could go either way.
That being said, the Miami pick is based on the Dolphins being at home and having 41 takeaways and +15 give/take ratio compared to the Colts -7.
Philly is averaging 313.4 yards per game on offense. The Bucs 290.6.
I picked against the Ravens to piss off weirddave, but also because I intend to be there when Dilfer screws up the whole season for them. Plus, the Broncos looked very tough last week on defense which had been their weakness.
I want the Saints to win, but I don’t think they can. How could they have been surprised by the Rams last week, BTW? They just played them and beat them 4 weeks prior.
You have to look at the choke factor. Miami has a long history of choking in big games. Plus they peaked way too early and are now just riding out the season. The Colts will beat them.
Colts 31 Phins 13
The Bucs have been playing with a lot of emotion. I think they want it more than the Eagles.
Bucs 17 Eagles 9
Ravens are playing great this month, but the Broncos will be tough. Last second field goal wins this one.
Broncos 30 Ravens 27
I will be hoping for the Saints to win, because I always like to see the underdog beat the champ, but the Rams have too much offense.
Hey Gazoo, I’m predicting the same. Now if we can get a good DE (I’m not happy with our pass rush) , and re-sign Charlie Garner, I think we’ll make the playoffs. Our Offensive Coordinator could use a bigger pair too!
I would add in three more end of the year awards, all relating to the Bears:
To Brian Urlacher, for the breakout season in the face of adversity. Can you imagine what this guy could do on a great, let alone good team? I would love to see him on, say, the 97 Broncos.
To Dick Juaron, for pointless cheerleading. Finally, he admitted today that maybe he relied just a teensy-weensy bit to much on Cade McNown WHEN HE HAD TWO BETTER QUARTERBACK WAITING ON THE SIDELINES! Sorry about the shouting, but the Bears players who were there to play deserved better than a repeat of the Curtis Ennis decable.
To the Detroit Lions, for the collapse of the year in the second half of their final game against the Bears. Now that is how you lose a game.
I won’t be so bold as to predict the games themselves (I’m still miffed over the Saints loss, BTW). And in this crazy season, you can never be too careful. So I’m just going to list the playoff teams in order of the chances of them winning it all:
Titans
Absolutely no reason they can’t win it all. Probably the most complete team top-down this year.
Giants
While their schedule admittedly wasn’t a monster (neither was Tennessee’s), it’s still been a remarkable season. Easy shot to Super Bowl if all three units step up.
Raiders
A clutch team all year with no easily exploitable weaknesses. As long as there’s time on the clock, you can never count them out.
Broncos
If Mike Anderson stays healthy, ignore the two-time champs at your own peril. This is the classic example of a “dangerous” team that “no one wants to meet”.
Eagles
A strong but not overwhelming unit which has struggled as of late; will find it very hard to beat Tennessee or Oakland.
Ravens
Can’t win the Super Bowl without offense. The instant their offense takes a vacation again, they’re toast.
Dolphins
Anytime a team actually improves after losing its greatest superstar (see Lions, Detroit), you know something’s seriously wrong. It’s great that they didn’t just mail it in, but I just know something’s going to jump up and bite them before the big dance.
Rams
Can’t win the Super Bowl without defense, either. Despite ESPN’s glowing optimism about this team, a repeat looks about as likely as the Browns suddenly getting good.
Colts
An also-ran, good for maybe one win.
Saints
A remarkable turnaround, and congratulations are definitely in order for the first playoff appearance since forever. But you don’t get that good that fast in this league. Beating the Rams is certainly possible, but it’s likely to be their only win.
Buccaneers
A maddeningly inconsistent team that can suffer a complete meltdown at any time. If you’re a fan, you might actually hope that they lose to the Eagles, which should be close, instead of the almost certain blowout that’ll happen to them later on.
And finally…
Vikings
Here we go again. No, forget it, I’m not even going to try to make excuses for them. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me dozens of times…well, it ain’t gonna happen. At least Detroit and Miami only squandered one superstar; Vikings are going to see a team with at LEAST three franchise players on offense get their butts handed to them yet again. It’s incredible how, year in and year out, this is always the best team with absolutely no chance of winning the Super Bowl. There should be an award for that.
If anyone outside the top six wins the SB, I’ll eat my Dreamcast. (Well, not literally, but…)
Footnote to Gazoo: Dan Snyder’s mistake was that he thought he could quickly buy a championship. As anyone who’s followed the Yankees for the past few seasons knows, it’s not that simple. It takes a concerted, sustained effort year in and year out to purchase championships. Just weeks after winning this year’s World Series they were shopping for new pitching. That’s the kind of commitment it takes. One $100 million splurge doesn’t cut it.
Well, yes and no. In baseball I think the Marlins pretty much proved you can buy the championship for one year. Steinbrenner just keeps right on buying them.
With Football’s hard cap and revenue sharing, you can’t do it. You have to develop your own young (and therefore cheaper) guys and add to them with free agents. Snyder mortgaged his club’s future for this one year. And look where it got them.
The AP has voted Marshall Faulk as their NFL MVP. Second was Donovan McNabb, and Eddie George in third. All three worthy, but my vote would have gone to George. I’m sure they’re putting a lot of weight on the 26 TDs (perhaps rightfully so).
stuffinb - Looking back over the Raiders games, there were a few that could be called shootouts. Regardless, they’ve usually come out ahead in the end. Their most likely opponent is Miami, a team strong enough defensively to play them tight, but they’ve been winning tight ones all year. Not sure if they’re that good or just a little luckier than usual (luck’s counted for a helluva lot this season; ask the Steelers), but right now there’s no reason to doubt them.
Yes, I think the 26 TD’s (and he missed 2 full games!) carries a lot of weight, as much as in 1999 Kurt Warner’s Cinderella story overshadowed Faulk, who I think should have been last year’s MVP.
As for playoff hopes, I think the Rams will repeat . . .
in New Orleans. The first time these teams met, Green was the QB and their defense beat the crap out of us. The second time, Warner was the QB and the Rams were ready for them. It was the Saints who surprised the Rams that first game, not the Rams surprising the Saints in the second. The Rams will beat the Saints again and advance.
I don’t know what the playoff picture after this first round looks like, but if the Rams have to play the Giants or Iggles, expect them to get knocked out. I don’t think they’ll win outdoors in the cold against either of those two teams.
I’ll say it now. I’ll put my sig on the line. I’ll take shots at the next Dopefest. I’m betting the damn house.
Vikings to win it all.
Yup, I’m still on the bandwagon. Wait, wait, hear me out, this is what happens.
Denny Green sees the limited success he had converting Robert Tate from receiver to corner, and thinks “A better receiver would make a better corner,” so Randy Moss plays iron man as a receiver and a corner.
Culpepper recovers from his high ankle sprain and demands extra playing time. Green puts him in as a linebacker, replacing Wong. Culpepper sets a league-high playoff sack total.
John Randle and Todd Steussie both realize they’ve had sub-par seasons, and understand that they’re horribly overpriced for next year. Both agree to play for the veteran minimum for the 2001 season.
And while I’m dreaming, Bush and Gore realize that Florida is too close to call, and work together in a spirit of unity and non-partisanship. And then they give me a million dollars.
Unfortunately living in Oakland, Ive only seen their away games and the two they managed to sell enough tickets for to meet television rules. However, I stand by that statement. The Raiders are in their position due primarily to a good schedule of weaker opponents, when faced with a better team they fold (witness Denver). The games that were shoot outs shouldn’t have been. The Raiders have 1 post season game, luckily they’ll get to lose at home.
If the Raiders make it to the SB, I’ll eat my keyboard.
