fingers crossed
Len,
Obviously, I am a huge Brown’s Fan, but I admire the Packers…small market, foul weather, REAL smash mouth football.
They were my pre season pick to win it all this year, so let’s hope.
Go Pack!! 
Having NO dog in this fight, I remain neutral…for now.
Mark
After a real roller coaster of a game, my Steelers are in the AFC Championship game! Go Jets!
Being born and raised in Grove City Pa. I am with you Cold. Two really great games today. Tomorrows games promise to be good ones too.
I’m still dumbfounded by the Seahawks. :shock:
The NFL, IMHO, has to make some changes. A team with a 7-9 record shouldn’t get into the playoffs just because they won their weak division. And they certainly shouldn’t get home-field advantage.
Randy
Really? So just exactly how would you change it and still be fair to the other teams? Please don’t even suggest something like the B.c.S. bowl system. The Seattle Sea Hawks won their division legally under the NFL rules so they deserve the rewards of being a division champion. They have my respect for their accomplishments. If it was your team that was 7-9 and making the playoffs with a home game would you be saying the same thing?
From a citizen of metro Atlanta. Congrats to the Packers and their fans. I will probably be pulling for the Pack until they play the Falcons again in 2011 regular season (assuming they will be scheduled). Maybe the Falcons can figure out how to disrupt the pitch and catch drill the Pack put on last night. The Pack / Bears should be another good game next week. It wouldn’t be 72 deg. in the stand for the cheeseheads next week.
Right now I will be pulling for the Pack to win over the Pats in the Super Bowl. Can’t pull for a team with Rothelisberger, us folks in GA think his name means “I’m ugly and do not do well with sober women.”
I am no longer neutral. I now HAVE a dog in the fight. GO BEARS, humble the packers.
Mark’
This, after the Bears demonstrated " SEA YA" to the Seahawks,
From a Bears fan living in Georgia (transplanted 3 years ago), may the best team win. You certainly could not ask for a better NFC Championchip game than the Bears versus the Packers. It is going to be a good game.
Bob
I gotta agree with RFC.
My solution would be: If you win a division with a losing record, you lose your playoff seed to the next team that would have been a wild card in your conference. In the case of this season, it would be either the Giants or the Bucs (they have the same overall record, divisional record, and never played head to head, so I’m not sure what the next tiebreaker is). They would take seattle’s playoff berth, and the games would be set up: Atlanta and Chicago still get their byes, Philly hosts the Giants or the Bucs in Philly, and New Orleans hosts Green Bay at the Superdome.
So why not just eliminate the playoffs all together. Matter of fact just eliminate all of the conferences and divisions. Just make it the N.F.L., let a computer establish the schedules at random, then at the end of a 16 game season the two best teams play one game for the championship. Na there isn’t anything wrong with the current system. There will always be some fans that complain because their team wasn’t good enough to win their division even though they were give the same equal number of chances to do so as the entire rest of the league. Not Seattle’s fault that the Giants and Buccaneers were not good enough to win their own division. Suck it up and get on with it. I would like to see the N.F.L. add on two more wild card slots per conference rather than create the unfair situation of stripping a division winner of the right to advance that they earned. That’s all I have to say about it.
Jets just knocked off the Pats! Belicheck in his hoodies, I can’t determine if he is an Ewok or the Emperor.
Jets at Steelers & Packers at Bears next week. I don’t have a dog in the fight but it should be interesting.
Agreed, Uncle Jesse, should be a great game.
nighthawk, youre certianly entitled to your own opinion, but if you can’t come out with a winning record in a division with the cards, niners, and rams…well…you don’t deserve the playoffs. Any team that deserves the playoffs should sweep that division, easily, and there’s 6 wins right there. If you can’t stand up to more than one team in the league at large, then, once again, you aren’t playoff material. To suggest that we eliminate the playoffs because a losing team might not deserve to be there is just nonsense. The playoffs are for the best teams. Any team with a losing record is not and should not be among them. The only reasonable argument for not adding a ‘seahawks clause’ would be simple an argument that we not change any rules. And if that’s your argument, fine, but to suggest that a 7-9 team belongs in the playoffs when a 10-6 team in a tougher division watches them at home…and that’s as it should be from a competitive standpoint…well…I can’t agree with that.
Either way…we should have two awesome games next week. The Jets looked great out there tonight, but I’m doubting they can deliver that kind of a performance 2 games in a row. Alternatively, the Steelers played a rather poor game vs Baltimore, and so long as they don’t get cocky, I truly think they can beat the Jets.
As far as the NFC, I don’t really know. Haven’t watched the Pack or da Bears too closely all season. I will say I’ll be rooting for the Pack because I hate Cutler, but as a Steelers fan, I think I’d rather face the Bears in the big one, if we should get there.
Not changing the rules is exactly my point. It ain’t broke so don’t fix it for the sake of some sore loosers. Lets just agree that you and I will never agree on this point.
I am a die hard Steelers fan. I grew up with the team of the 1970’s. I have an autgraphed Andy Russell photo is safe keeping and my favorite Steeler was Jack Lambert who I got to meet along with sevral others of that team. That said I am not looking past the Jets. No way, no how and I pray that the Steelers aren’t doing that either. The Jets are fully capable of beating us at Heinz Field. The Steelers have the better defense so they should win but they cannot come out flat, making mistakes, turning the ball over like they did against the Ravens.
with that being said…sorry BEARS by 3 GO BEARS
Not changing the rules is exactly my point. It ain’t broke so don’t fix it for the sake of some sore loosers.
It is broken though when any team can be a failure of a team for the season (by failing at winning more than they succeed at winning), and still make the playoffs while depriving a more deserving team of the same chance. The losers are the ones getting into the playoffs, and teams like the Giants and Bucs are the (rightfully) sore winners, not sore losers. And as far as ‘not changing the rules’ being an end unto itself, that doesn’t hold water either, as the rules of the NFL change every year. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but its a sign that the league cares about being dynamic and progressive, and keeping the game entertaining, competitive, and fair. While opinions may vary, I feel that it’s completely fair to stipulate that any team that wants to make the playoffs at least win as many games as they lose.
That said…
With regard to the AFC Championship matchup this year, regardless of history, there’s absolutely no doubt that the Jets have a better pass defense than Pittsburgh. While Pittsburgh’s blitz is faster and stronger, the Jets’ blitz is still persistent and sneaky. The most glaring difference is the coverage. The Steelers’ coverage, bluntly, leaves a lot to be desired, while the Jets are fielding 2 of the 3 best cover corners in the league right now in Revis and Cromartie. The biggest questions there, in my mind are 1) can they shut down Wallace, Sanders, and Brown? and 2) Will Arians field all three of them at once to get around this?
On the blitz end, its no question that the Steelers blitz is more dangerous to the NY pass game than the Jets blitz is to Pittsburgh’s. Roethlisberger can, and usually does shake off one or two tackles, while Sanchez usually falls to the first guy to lay a firm grasp on him. Ben is used to being rolled a few times over the course of any drive, Sanchez can be rattled mentally by a few good hits. Its just a matter of whether or not the Pittsburgh secondary can keep Holmes under coverage long enough for the linebackers to get to Sanchez.
The run game might turn out to be a huge factor for both teams. Both defenses are known for shutting down hot running backs, Pittsburgh moreso than the Jets, but Shonn Greene seemed to find himself a bit this weekend, and of course LT was out there proving he’s still got it. Personally, I see NY still held to under 100 rush yards vs. Pittsburgh, while Mendenhall gets right around 100…maybe 80 and a TD.
A concern for Pittsburgh is Tomlinson catching passes out of the backfield. The Steeler blitz combined with the need for our corners to play out to keep Holmes & Edwards contained makes for a large open spot in the flat. Baltimore was taking advantage of it with Rice, and You can bet Rex Ryan noticed. It wouldnt surprice me if Tomlinson ends up with more receiving yards than rushing, and maybe a receiving TD. I think you’ll see Holmes rack up a TD against his old team too.
For the Steelers, I can definitely see a 1st half TD pass to Wallace for over 20 yards if Revis doesn’t respect him right off the bat. Revis is very, very good though, and could nullify Wallace’s speed and limit him to under 50 yards all day. In that event, a long bomb to Sanders or Brown will likely occur at least once. I think the key to a Steeler victory is in quick short passes. Get Ward and Miller catching screens and 5-6 yard catches, and get Mendenhall and Moore catching from the backfield. I’d also expect a trick play at some point. On that note, I think the jets will try the wildcat and it will again fail for them.
All of this is guesses, but I’m guessing a final score somewhere in the neighborhood of 24-20 Pittsburgh. What say you all?
with all the injuries the packers have had this year I think any game they can play this late in the season is a bonus. They are peaking…fingers crossed.
Go packers.
Spinner,
You have a PM with a “proposal”. AND, if anyone else wants to “hear” the proposal, PM me. It’s UNcomplicated.
Mark
PS: Remember, I’m on the BEARS side of this “proposal”.