NFL Thread

[FLOSI]

A 49ers/Steeler rematch would be really great, assuming Big Ben and Patrick Willis would both be 100%... The 9ers really make teams one dimensional, so asking a hobbled Ben to tey to pass them to victory on the road was just about impossible... Great win for the Niners though. Huge game next week @ Seattle, which is always a tough place to play. I'll be rooting for the Falcons next week too!

 

[karamazov80]

A 49ers/Steeler rematch would be really great, assuming Big Ben and Patrick Willis would both be 100%... The 9ers really make teams one dimensional, so asking a hobbled Ben to tey to pass them to victory on the road was just about impossible... Great win for the Niners though. Huge game next week @ Seattle, which is always a tough place to play. I'll be rooting for the Falcons next week too!

Let's see how one dimensional they make the Saints look, ____!

 

[FLOSI]

As a punt returner, Peterson may well be the best in the league. He's also a constant threat on the edge during PKs. Super disruptive. He's no pro bowl corner, but he will be the PR specialist.

 

[FLOSI]

Let's see how one dimensional they make the Saints look, ____!

If we play the Saints at the stick we'll win.... And if we play in NO we'll win....


Okay, I kid... We'd have a hard time winning in the dome. Both teams really need the bye and homefield, which makes the remainder of the season very interesting for both teams.

Let's just pray that the Pack somehow get pipped in the first round.

 

[BadMoon]

What a bone head decision. The guy could barely walk out of the tunnel. He's tough. We got that. However he hurt the team tonight. The coaches that let him play hurt them worse. Big mistake.

 

[wofford29]

The 6 spot in the NFC is the most intriguing at this point. I think by years end 1-5 are staying the same. Looking at remaining schedules I wouldn't count the Cardinals out of that 6th spot yet. The Lions have to face a very confident Chargers team followed by a trip to Lambeau. The Cardinals are riding a 4 game win streak and have the Bengals and Seahawks left. Seattle still has the Niners. The Giants ain't making it and the Bears only have one win left in em. Should be fun to watch develop. My final predictions are...

NFC:
1. Packers
2. Niners
3. Saints
4. Cowboys
5. Falcons
6. Cardinals/Lions

AFC:
1. Patriots
2. Ravens
3. Texans
4. Broncos
5. Steelers
6. Jets

 

[FLOSI]

Who do the Falcons close with?

Also, I wouldn't count out the Chargers in the AFC West.

 

[wofford29]

Who do the Falcons close with?

Saints and Tampa Bay

 

[FLOSI]

Saints and Tampa Bay

Tampa is horrible... Yeah, should be interesting to see if the Lions can make it or not.

 

[wofford29]

I honestly feel the Lions only hope is if the Packers start sitting people early for playoffs.

 

[ProgMatinee]

It would really be interesting if the Broncos fell to the wild card slot and had to go to Houston. I almost prefer that than a home game against the Steelers.

Edit, actually I don't think its possible for the Broncos to fall to the wild card. Because if they win just 1 more game I think they clinch the West.

 

[sprig0701]

A 49ers/Steeler rematch would be really great, assuming Big Ben and Patrick Willis would both be 100%... The 9ers really make teams one dimensional, so asking a hobbled Ben to tey to pass them to victory on the road was just about impossible... Great win for the Niners though. Huge game next week @ Seattle, which is always a tough place to play. I'll be rooting for the Falcons next week too!

The Niners have a fairly solid D, but is their offense going to be efficient enough in the red zone to keep up with the likes of Green Bay or New Orleans? That's been their weakness this season. That was a good win for them last night, but with a hobbled Big Ben any D would have been able to contain him like they did last night, and their offense wasn't doing enough had that turned into a shoot-out. I'm not writing them off, but Alex Smith has got to do more than he's done so far this season to make a deep play off run.

And Pittsburgh? Way too many big injuries to key positions to be a legitimate threat at this point. I know retarded Green Bay fans will say "well we did it with 17 players on IR last season", but the majority of those players weren't any real loss to them. Rodgers and enough of his big receivers were healthy. Ben is too banged up this year and their best pass-rusher is all but done himself. They're not getting the pressure they need with Woodley being injured and too much inexperience on the D line (Aaron Smith and Chris Hoke on IR leaving too many young back-ups to do too much). Teams are able to adjust their blocking schemes to take Harrison out of the game more. And Pouncey being hurt putting their best guard, Legursky, as the center is not helping that make-shift O-line. As a Steelers fan, I'm not liking how they're looking with what will end up being a WC slot and having to go on the road. They've been terrible on the road this season. I know Ben is undefeated in road play off games, but in '05 they went into those play offs healthy. I would be truly shocked if Pittsburgh made it to the AFC Title game this season, let alone the Super Bowl.

 

[The Josh]

The saints would be tough but I like the niners chances. That d is every bit as good as the saints o, but i don't think you can say that about the saints d vs niners o.

 

[sprig0701]

The saints would be tough but I like the niners chances. That d is every bit as good as the saints o, but i don't think you can say that about the saints d vs niners o.

The Saints' and Packers' Ds better be thankful for those offenses, because they both suck! If Green Bay pulls what they did at Kansas City, or if the Saints pull what they did at St. Louis, then good-bye. But in the Saints defense about that Rams game, that was one of the games Sean Peyton was up in the box instead of on the field.

 

[karamazov80]

I don't know how critically important the home field issue is for the Saints this year. Yes, the Saints play best in the dome, and I believe all their losses this year are away games. But, this year's Saints has a very decent running attack by Saints standards. They've got multiple backs that are all good, and can do different things well. And in the colder weather situations, I think that is gonna help. They've gotta have one of the most solid O-lines in the league, as well. And allowing for the run plus giving Brees time is gonna negate some of the effects of weather. Crowd support would be nice, but I don't think that's a deal maker or breaker.

In any environment, the X factor is the Saints defense. If they don't show up, then Brees is gonna have to will the team to win. And you guys are right in that their defense is suspect this year. But they've had moments of brilliance. Greg Williams is just gonna have to be on his A game come playoff time.

I'm not sure that I agree about the 49ers defense being equivalent to the Saints offense, though. Maybe we'll have a chance to find out.

 

[wofford29]

Last time the Saints faced a really good D they had to score 23 points in the final quarter, one of which was a last minute TD to win the game. That was early in the year against the Texans. I think the Saints O is good, but I think the Niners D is better. Not sure the Niners O is effiecient enough to win the matchup though.

 

[DinoDB1975]

From what I've seen of Peterson, he's one of the better rookie CBs I've seen in a long time, and that Smith on the Niners is a beast of a kid! Some really good rookie defensive players this season. No definite runaways for defensive rookie of the year like most seasons. A lot of solid candidates this year.

All around, this years draft class is amazing on both sides of the ball. Dalton, A J Green and Newton to name a few on offense. Very remarkable considering no OTAs and a shortened training camp.

Special teams has definitely been is biggest impact, but he's been very solid at corner. Here's how his stats stack up to Darrelle Revis's...

Revis:

49 tackles
4 INT
14 passes defended

Peterson:

59 tackles
2 INT
11 passes defended
1 sack
1 block kicked

Thanks fellas. You guys have the Direct TV Sunday Ticket package, or just check out highlights? All the highlights I've seen are of Petersen's punt returns, no defensive plays.

 

[karamazov80]

If you look at the stats, though, in terms of yards per game, the 49ers real defensive strength is in the running game. And the Saints are first in the league in. . .passing (49ers are 21st in passing defense). The Saints are also 1st overall in offense and the 49ers are 5th (Texans are #2). Stats are stats, but I think the Saints have the advantage in that matchup. 49ers are 25th in overall offense, and Saints are 24th in overall defense.

As I think about this, I'm kind of surprised at the Josh's enthusiastic support of the Niners, given his disdain of defensive college football The 49ers seem to be playing SEC-type football on the pro stage this year.

 

[wofford29]

I think the one thing no one is mentioning about the Niners is that their kicking game is amazing. Could be the x factor in this years playoffs. The Niners just remind me so much of the Ravens when Dilfer won it all.

 

[karamazov80]

Definitely an underrated and too often ignored part of the game. Their punter last night was amazingly good.