NFL 2014: Playoffs: Wildcard

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Week 17 Thoughts:
* I was at Levi's this weekend, didn't get to see much of the other games. But I enjoyed the bittersweet final game of the Harbaugh regime.
* The game was bitter not only because of Harbaugh's departure, but the win gifted the NFC West division and homefield advantage to the f*cking Seahawks.
* Coaches I want the 49ers to consider: Mike Shanahan, Vic Fangio, Jim Tomsula, Adam Gase, Dan Quinn, Todd Bowles
* Coaches I want the 49ers to stay far away from: Josh McDaniels, Rex Ryan
* Dirk Koetter is apparently someone that would be considered for the OC job by Jim Tomsula and Dan Quinn. I would be very happy if Koetter came to SF.
* They may be going into the playoffs with a losing record, but at least Carolina steamrolled their way in with 4 straight wins to close out the season.
* I can't give the MVP to JJ Watt, purely based on the definition of the award. When it comes down to it, a once-in-a-generation defensive lineman just isn't more valuable than an above average quarterback, as evidenced by the Texans again watching the playoffs from home. Perhaps the award should go back to being called "Player of the Year" like it was a long time ago. JJ Watt can easily be "Player of the Year".

PFF Offensive Performances of the Week: OT Derek Newton (+7.0), OT Tyron Smith (+6.3), QB Teddy Bridgewater (+5.0)
PFF Defensive Performances of the Week: LB Audie Cole (+7.8), DL JJ Watt (+6.5), LB Jason Worilds (+5.1)
PFF Worst Performance of the Week: DT Abry Jones (-7.3)
PFF Hell has Froze the F*ck Over: QB Geno Smith (+4.3)
Greg Robinson Watch: OT Greg Robinson (-1.7) (Season total: -24.1, 78th out of 84 offensive tackles)

This Week's Games:
Saturday
Arizona Cardinals (11-5) at Carolina Panthers (7-8-1) 4:35pm ET
Baltimore Ravens (10-6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) 8:15PM ET

Sunday
Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) at Indianapolis Colts (11-5) 1:05PM ET
Detroit Lions (11-5) at Dallas Cowboys (12-4) 4:40PM ET

Pick 'Ems

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You guys got close, but you just couldn't pull it out. Oddsmakers went 3-2 this week and gave you a shot, but our pickers that were in striking distance posted 3-2's themselves.

I'm so disappointed in all of you.

However, as opposed to last year, we had 7 of you finish within 5 games of the Oddsmakers. That's progress. 2015 will be the year that the Oddsmakers go down.

Last Week's Results:
Stele : 4 - 1
karmajay : 4 - 1
AnimeJ : 4 - 1
Jayhawker : 4 - 1
oldmanscene24 : 4 - 1
TheGameGuru : 4 - 1
UpToIsomorphism : 3 - 2
Cobble : 3 - 2
iaintgotnopants : 3 - 2
Infyrnos : 3 - 2
Vector : 3 - 2
Bubs14 : 3 - 2
onewild : 3 - 2
EvilDead : 3 - 2
tboon : 3 - 2
McFinn : 3 - 2
Nomad : 3 - 2
garion333 : 3 - 2
Oddsmakers : 3 - 2
MilkmanDanimal : 2 - 3
Minase : 2 - 3
jonfentyler : 2 - 3
LeapingGnome : 2 - 3
Elliottx : 2 - 3
thejustinbot : 2 - 3
Kush15 : 1 - 4

Season Totals:
Oddsmakers : 57 - 28 IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/z32M3Ou.png)
McFinn : 56 - 29
EvilDead : 55 - 30
tboon : 55 - 30
iaintgotnopants : 54 - 31
oldmanscene24 : 54 - 31
jonfentyler : 53 - 32
Stele : 53 - 32
TheGameGuru : 52 - 33
MilkmanDanimal : 51 - 29
Zaque : 51 - 29
onewild : 49 - 36
thejustinbot : 49 - 31
Bubs14 : 48 - 37
mudbunny : 47 - 28
AnimeJ : 46 - 34
Elliottx : 46 - 39
Infyrnos : 46 - 39
Minase : 44 - 31
UpToIsomorphism : 44 - 36
Jayhawker : 43 - 42
karmajay : 43 - 42
Kush15 : 43 - 37
Nomad : 43 - 32
garion333 : 42 - 38
Vector : 40 - 40
Cube : 37 - 28
Top_Shelf : 37 - 33
LeapingGnome : 36 - 44
kaostheory : 33 - 32
Neozilla : 33 - 22
TempestBlayze : 31 - 34
Jowner : 30 - 15
Dysplastic : 29 - 21
S0LIDARITY : 29 - 16
Xeknos : 24 - 16
Cobble : 22 - 18
cobble : 22 - 18
boogle : 13 - 12
billt721 : 12 - 13
bighoppa : 11 - 14
Secret Asian Man : 11 - 9
sr_malo : 10 - 5
Leroyog : 8 - 7
Gumbie : 5 - 5
Certis : 4 - 6
Jolly Bill : 4 - 11
Kosars : 4 - 1
Atras : 3 - 2
FSeven : 3 - 7
SpyNavy : 3 - 2
mrwynd : 1 - 4

We'll just assume I'd have gone 5-0 the week I missed and declare me the champion, thanks.

Can we draft Mariota yet?

*Legion* wrote:

* Coaches I want the 49ers to consider: Mike Shanahan, Vic Fangio, Jim Tomsula, Adam Gase, Dan Quinn, Todd Bowles, Bruce Bochy, Steve Kerr

Might as well at least try.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Can we draft Mariota yet?

No.

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The next coaching/FO power struggle appears to be underway in Philadelphia.

Can I say how much I enjoyed the FSU implosion and Winston freaking out so much that his coach screamed at him to calm the f*ck down or he'd be benched? I mean, when your big red flag is your maturity, that's definitely a positive sign.

Please let the draft Jets him.

Report: Chip Kelly wants out of his Eagles contract

Now should Kelly get out of his deal with the Eagles, obviously the popular destination would be the aforementioned 49ers, where he would get to work with Colin Kaepernick with his offense, which would be a dream for anyone that is a fan of Kelly and the way he works.

Now that would be interesting. Although it's hard to see York and Baalke going for it, unless Baalke feels Chip is "his guy".

I wonder if changing coaches so often adds to the variability which is the NFL. You figure it would as you cant imagine changing styles/systems in a game where they matter so much is a good thing.

Mike McCarthy scares the f*ck out of me sometimes but at the same time theres something to be said for continuity.

*Legion* wrote:

Now that would be interesting. Although it's hard to see York and Baalke going for it, unless Baalke feels Chip is "his guy".

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4-1 on the back of homer picks? Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.

I don't have much to add beyond RAVENS ARE IN BABY.

Chip Kelly staying put. And I wasted a perfectly good Joel gif, too.

Arizona Cardinals (11-5) at Carolina Panthers (7-8-1) 4:35pm ET

This right here is bullsh*t the league needed to fix years ago, since the last realignment.

It's one thing to let all division winners in the playoffs. It's an entirely different thing to let them host playoff games against teams with better records.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

We'll just assume I'd have gone 5-0 the week I missed and declare me the champion, thanks.

Were you the one that made late picks?

I feel like I saw someone post when I shut off the picks Sunday, but I was kind of busy loading a UHaul with everything we own. It's been a long damn week. Tomorrow I am drinking some beer and watching a playoff game, maybe. Actually I still don't have a TV hooked up. But maybe I'll watch a blurry internet stream and be so drunk I can't tell the difference.

Looking forward to an epic Romo choke job Sunday. I still believe!

Now to begin my quest to go 11-0 in the playoffs!

This Week's Games:'

Saturday

Arizona Cardinals (11-5) at Carolina Panthers (7-8-1) 4:35pm ET

I don't care how many QBs the Cards are down, I've seen the Panthers play, and I do not believe in them. How could a team with 7 wins be everyones clear favorite!?

Baltimore Ravens (10-6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) 8:15PM ET

I hate both these teams, but when the Browns played them the Steelers looked like a real football team, and the Ravens looked like a mess that could only beat the Browns if they were down to their QB3.

Sunday

Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) at Indianapolis Colts (11-5) 1:05PM ET

Andrew Luck vs. Andy Daulton.

Detroit Lions (11-5) at Dallas Cowboys (12-4) 4:40PM ET

I heard a stat on the BS Report (or maybe Fantasy Focus Football) that Matthew Stafford has never beaten a winning team on the road. I am high on cold medicine, so I may have made that up, but I still would rather the Cowboys here.

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Stele wrote:
Arizona Cardinals (11-5) at Carolina Panthers (7-8-1) 4:35pm ET

This right here is bullsh*t the league needed to fix years ago, since the last realignment.

It's one thing to let all division winners in the playoffs. It's an entirely different thing to let them host playoff games against teams with better records.

Meh. Doesn't happen enough for it to really matter. I'm of the "you want a home game, win your division" crowd.

Also, watching the NFL try to sell a seven-win team vs. Ryan Lindley has been pretty funny.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Arizona Cardinals (11-5) at Carolina Panthers (7-8-1) 4:35pm ET

I don't care how many QBs the Cards are down, I've seen the Panthers play, and I do not believe in them. How could a team with 7 wins be everyones clear favorite!?

Because the Panthers crushed December. They're not the same team that went 0-for-October-and-November. The offense is still inconsistent, but the defense (especially the secondary) has played a lot better.

I'm pretty confident that Carolina will win this. But the last time I felt this way about a home playoff game against ARI, Jake Delhomme threw 15 interceptions and died midway through the third quarter.

So I'll just say Carolina has a shot in this one.

The TV keeps saying that the Arizona/Carolina game is at 4:20. Being a mature adult, I chuckle every time.

Of course me griping doesn't take into account that I could probably get tickets and go to the Carolina game. My new casual cheering because they are close team! Better than the Bucs, but not by much.

But I'm already going to a Louisville game this weekend, so one sporting event is enough I guess.

Part of it is that the Panthers have avoided injuries. They came into the season lacking in depth because of the salary cap, but as other teams lost players and the Panthers largely didn't, roster depth started to even out. And the injuries that could have sunk them - Cam Newton's - didn't hurt them too badly, as Newton got back on the field quickly, and Derek Anderson filled in nicely when called upon (Anderson in 2014: 5 TDs, 0 INTs, 67% cmp, 105.2 passer rating). Anderson's 2 starts are 2 of the team's 7 wins.

He puts his heart and soul into this sh*t everyday, from what I recall.

I will take all the home teams this time so:

Panthers, Steelers, Colts, and Cowboys.

Guess my picks were all wrong last week, or at least the ones that got in before the kickoff (if any of them did).

No great feelings about any of the games this weekend.

Panthers - They looked better down the stretch. Lindley is super inconsistent. Arizona's run d has fallen way off over the last month.

Steelers - The Ravens secondary is one of the worst position groups in the whole NFL. To be fair the Steelers secondary is pretty close there as well. In a sloppy weather game I trust Ben and Brown more than Flacco and the Smiths.

Bengals - I really wish both these teams were playing someone else so I could pick against them both. The Bengals are pretty good but have Andy Dalton. The Colts are terrible but have Andrew Luck. I'm going to pretend for once that football is a team sport and pick the better team.

Cowboys - This pick was a lot easier when Suh was suspended and Fairley was going to for sure miss the game with injury. This Cowboy's offense is still super diverse, and if the Lions sell out to the stop the run Dez and co. will have a big day.

Zaque wrote:

I will take all the home teams this time so:

Panthers, Steelers, Colts, and Cowboys.

Guess my picks were all wrong last week, or at least the ones that got in before the kickoff (if any of them did).

Oh you were the one. I might go back and check timestamp and add them in. As I mentioned above, was packing a Uhaul Sun and moved, and unpacking all week. Not much time for fun stuff like this.

*Legion* wrote:

Anderson's 2 starts are 2 of the team's 7 wins.

If only he'd been playing a real NFL team in those two starts.

My token Cleveland fan friend lost $40 to me off the two games with the Ravens this year and threw down the glove for a double or nothing on the Steelers game tonight. I told him he doesn't even like the Steelers and I don't really like the bet, but I feel obligated considering he honored the bet on the last game of the season with a busted up rookie QB.

Here's hoping it rains like the fcuks tonight in Pittsburgh and they are forced to keep the ball on the ground.

iaintgotnopants wrote:

The TV keeps saying that the Arizona/Carolina game is at 4:20. Being a mature adult, I chuckle every time.

haha same. The first time I saw the commercial my wife looked at me like "really?....REALLY?"

lol. My token Steelers friend told me to take a double or nothing on Manziel getting a DUI before September.

Paleocon wrote:

lol. My token Steelers friend told me to take a double or nothing on Manziel getting a DUI before September.

As a Browns fan, this is smart money.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

lol. My token Steelers friend told me to take a double or nothing on Manziel getting a DUI before September.

As a Browns fan, this is smart money.

He replied that he already took a sucker bet on Shaw. He wasn't going to take a sucker bet on Manziel.

Going with Arizona, Detroit, Steelers and Indy

I'll go with Arizona, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and dem Cowboys.

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