This is probably early, but the teams are now set, so discussion can begin.
Saints at Seahawks, Saturday 4:30 EST.
Jets at Colts, Saturday 8:00 EST.
Ravens at Chiefs, Sunday 1:00 EST.
Packers at Eagles, Sunday 4:30 EST.
But really, the main reason I wanted to post this was to link to the NFL.com release on the playoff seedings. Read carefully:
One of these things is not like the others :D.
It’s slightly gratifying to see the NFL confess - if only obliquely - to a pang of shame at having a 7-9 Division champion.
Wow, that’s just, um, blatant. Or silly. Or both, actually. It just draws more attention to it.
Too funny.
My picks, Saints, Jets, Ravens, Packers (Disclaimer: I am a Packer fan, so I am not supposed to be objective. If I was objective I would consider the fact that the Packers have no running game and are on the road. But I am going to ignore that and concentrate on their defense and passing attack. And I am going to assume that Vick is tired or hurt or something and that DeSean Jackson isn’t 100%, and they will be rusty from not playing this week after a bad loss the week before. Yep I got it all figured out.)
I have a feeling that the press release was ginned up ahead of time except for the NFC West winner…and the person who “finished it off” after the game was over late Sunday “forgot” to include the Seahawks’ record. 
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a sweep by the road teams for the weekend.
I loves my Eagles, but I suspect that they’re going to be in deep trouble on Sunday. The better NFL teams have figured out how to stop Vick in the last couple of weeks, and the Packers are what I’d consider one of the better NFL teams.
Fully agreed. I’m an Eagle fan too and the Green Bay blitz is one to look out for. That’s going to be the toughest game to pick a winner. I think we have a better running game than Green Bay and Vick has played better than the banged up Rodgers, still both teams are very even in injury.
For the others, I’m picking Baltimore over Chiefs. I think the Ravens have the best shot against the Patriots.
Jets over Colts. Colts don’t have much of a running game with an injured Addai and Jets defense is much better.
And I’ll go out on a limb and pick Seattle over Saints. Why? No real idea. And I can’t stand Pete Carrol.
The Jets are my most-hated team, but I’ll be cheering for them this week for two reasons. First, a Jets-Pats game in Foxboro in the divisional round is just too good to pass up, with the associated history and rivalry. Second, although they’ve had an off year, I want no part of the Colts in the post-season.
The ideal playoff schedule for NE would be Jets, followed by the Chiefs (so the fans can give Matt Casssel some love). The worst schedule would be Ravens-Colts.
I think the most obvious pick is the Saints to beat the Seahawks. They’re 10.5 point favorites, and, well, they’re just the better team. By a lot.
Next up, I think the Ravens go into KC and teach them about real football. I admit, I was shocked that the Chiefs’ record against the NFC was 4-0, and then I realied those were wins against the NFC West Rams, Seahawks, Cardinals and 49ers. They feasted on poor teams, and only played two teams that made the playoffs, their win over the Seahawks, and a loss to the Colts. The Ravens put a hurt on them.
The Colts are 2.5 favorites at home against the Jets, which is basically a “who knows what the fuck will happen, but the home team gets the points”. I think the NFL needs someone like Rex Ryan, but I hope to fuck he gets stomped on in this game. Both teams are a bit schitzophrenic, but I think that Colts will prevail behind Peyton Manning.
Finally, the only really important game, the Packers. They have to go on the road to Philly to play the Eagles. The key to the game will be stopping DeSean Jackson and stopping Vick. I expect Capers to put a spy on Vick, and roll Collins over Jackson’s way if he does anything. The Philly defense doesn’t really scare me, but that is, in part, because of injuries. Rodgers and the offense have been off recently, but I expect them to put the mistakes behind them and have a good game. The O Line concerns me greatly, but they’ve done well in pass protection recently. God I wish Finley and Grant were healthy. Call me a homer, but I have faith in Capers’ geniusness and on Rodgers and crew. Packers win by 12.
Packers win in a walk. The Eagles are too hurt on defense, especially in the secondary, to have any chance to stop the Packers. They’ve been starting three 7th round picks for weeks now. One of whom is, apparently, so bad that his official team bio features picture of him getting fooled on a tackle.
While I think the game could be interesting if the Eagles came out and tried to use a ball control offense to keep Rodgers off the field (coupled with a bend-but-don’t-break, give-em-everything-underneath defense), the Eagles coaches are too stupid/stubborn to think that far out of the box. LeSean McCoy could hurt the piss poor Packers run D really badly. And, of course, he’ll finish the game with fewer than 13 carries.
The amount of sympathy you’ll get from a Packer fan over injuries could fit in a thimble, and have enough left over for a thumb. Our current starting OLB was a street free agent for most of the year, and one of our D Lineman was a waiver claim after he ate himself out of New York . We’ve lost 15 players for the year, including our starting safety, MLB, OLB, and a D Lineman.
Packers run defense isn’t great, but they’re 18th in the league. Our best D Line players have missed games here and there, their backups were done for the year early in the season, and that left the Packe relying on our 7th rounder from this year a 6th rounder from last season rounder from last year, and a fatass we signed off waivers.
I think we’re going to see a Packers-Bears rematch in the NFC Championship game. I like the way the Bears match up against the Saints at home and I think the Packers are on a roll and should take care of business in Philly. The matchup against Atlanta will be tougher especially if the Packers run defense continues to struggle but I think the blitz will give Matt Ryan trouble and Woodson can take away Roddy White. I’m heartened by the way the Bears played yesterday but Cutler really needs to get it together. If he gets rid of the ball and avoids a few sacks and doesn’t underthrow Knox and overthrow Hester in the redzone the Bears win that game on FGs. It’ll be a battle but I’ll take the Bears at home in the rubber match. Shocking I know. 
In the AFC I’ll probably go all chalk and take the Pats. Brady is playing Tecmo Bowl out there this season. No turnovers and a steady running game are going to be just the recipe to escape the AFC. The Steelers are garbage and the Jets are falling apart. The Ravens and the Chiefs are probably the two teams that match up the best but they’ll knock each other off in the opening round. The Colts are a bit of a Wild Card (ha!) and could upend things if they get their turnover issues sorted out but they simply have too many holes at the skill positions.
Gimme the Packers, Saints, Chiefs and Jets this week.
For context, I had no idea who you were talking about, and after looking him up, I’ve never heard of him before in my life.
It’s been corrected. New Orleans going to Seattle is such an injustice.
I’m not feeling particularly bullish about the Packers. I remember opening weekend, when Vick came in at halftime, and ran our defense ragged trying to catch him. If he’d been in the entire game, I do think Philadelphia would have won.
Another little secret: the Packers have been unable, all year long, to cover tight ends. Thank goodness the Bears didn’t figure that out until the fourth quarter last night. If the Eagles’ offensive coaches have any brains at all, they’ll be throwing to Brent Celek all night.
I think the talk of the Packers injuries are a little overblown. They’ve had their issues for sure, but the injury bug has largely avoided the key players on defense. All their stars are hale and healthy. The Finley and Grant injuries are key and they miss the guys on the D Line but they still have Hawk and Matthews and the Secondary is pretty much intact. Most of the guys that have gone down were basically replacement level anyways.
ETA: Also, the Packers are ALWAYS bemoaning their injuries. Year in and year out. I think that their training staff is pathetic and their coaching staff is somehow reckless with them. Eventually it’s not just “bad luck” anymore.
:rolleyes: About that…
I was going to start a picks thread - here seems as good as any place to post my picks (OK, some of it is just my preferences)
**Saints **at Seahawks, Saturday 4:30 EST.
Jets at Colts, Saturday 8:00 EST.
Ravens at Chiefs, Sunday 1:00 EST.
**Packers **at Eagles, Sunday 4:30 EST.
Major Defensive Injuries w/salaries: (so leaving aside Finley, Grant, OT Tauscher, etc…) There are others—doubtless Hamlet can fill in more—but these below are the “highlights.”
Nick Barnett, LB, IR, $3.4 M
Brady Poppinga, LB, IR, $2.85 M
Atari Bigby, S, Out, $1.5 M (This may be a blessing in disguise.)
Cullen Jenkins, DE, Out, $3.1M (Maybe he’ll be back this week?)
Brandon Chillar, LB, IR, $2.35M
Derrick Martin, S, IR, $540K
The Packers have been brutally hit with injuries on offense and defense this year. I think it’s a great coaching job that the team has made it this far.
You may be right on the ETA point. It does seem that certain teams have much worse injury luck than others, e.g., Cleveland. After a period of time, you wonder whether the coaching/training staff is to blame, rather than chance.
Oh, and if this is also the picks thread, then my picks are(spreads courtesy of bodog):
Packers +3; Saints -11; Jets +3; Ravens -3
Jets and Packers to also win outright.