NFL

[Macca 17,050]

Wow ! What a game and what a finish ! 49ers were terrrific . They beat a very good team today .

[DemonDave 1,096]

Whos got it better than us? Nobody!

I still cant wipe the grin off my face, that was an unbelievably hectic finish to that game.When Jimmy Graham rumbled for

that TD I was sure it was all over.

Great final drive by Smith who surely now has to be recognised as a legitimate top grade quarterback. Vernon Davis came

up with those two huge catches in that drive. Now, bring on the Packers or Giants!

[Macca 17,050]

Whos got it better than us? Nobody!

I still cant wipe the grin off my face, that was an unbelievably hectic finish to that game.When Jimmy Graham rumbled for

that TD I was sure it was all over.

Great final drive by Smith who surely now has to be recognised as a legitimate top grade quarterback. Vernon Davis came

up with those two huge catches in that drive. Now, bring on the Packers or Giants!

Yep , a great win by your blokes . Smith was fantastic in the clutch moments . Well coached are the 49ers with the emphasis on "Team" . Very impressive . If my Packers can get over the line it sets up a top notch Championship game .

[Dr. Gonzo 24,356]

Wow what an insane game this morning great win to the 9ers thought they hadn't capitalised enough on the Saints early TO's but to come back with only a minute or so on the clock and score a touchdown when it looked certain that a FG would send it into OT was just crazy. Bit let down by the game afterwards but hopefully tomorrows games will have some more great action for us - just a pity the Jets aren't involved this year its not quite the same when you're watching from the sidelines.

[DemonDave 1,096]

I dont know how happy Macca will be today, the Giants, somehow, managed to beat the Packers at Lambeau. I've taped the game so cant comment on how it looked, gee not many people saw that coming though! the Ravens did what they needed to against the Texans, who had their chances in the last quarter.

So it sets up an AFC Championship game of Ravens @ Patriots

and NFC Championship game of Giants @ 49ers

I'm going to go with Patriots in a tight one, Brady was sizzling against Denver, and while the Ravens have the second best defence in the League after the Niners, I think NE have

too many targets: Welker, Gronkowski, Hernandez, Branch, Ochochinco et al.

I think the Niners can repeat their effort from during the season and beat the Giants at home also. Hakeem Nicks and co will find it a bit tougher against SF's secondary next week.

Cant wait!

[Whispering_Jack 30,754]

Green Bay's shock elimination today puts the 49ers in a good position for the NFC championship match.

Home field advantage against the New York Giants who I think I dislike as much as their notorious West Sydney namesakes!

[Macca 17,050]

I dont know how happy Macca will be today, the Giants, somehow, managed to beat the Packers at Lambeau.

Not happy Demon ! The better team won in all honesty . I've heard that there's always at least 1 home team in week 2 of the playoffs that comes out a bit rusty . Green Bay just weren't on their game today . Not an excuse but their offensive coordinator Joe Philbin lost his 21yo son in a drowning accident a few days ago . That must have had some effect on the team .

I really rate the Giants so was a fair bit concerned going into today . Rodgers throws were a bit off and we dropped at least 8 catchable catches . Turned the ball over as well too many times . A shocker in all reality . On the flip side Eli was very good again with a QB rating of 114.5 . Nicks and Bradshaw shone out for the Giants as well .

But , congratulations to New York who are the real danger team in these playoffs . Houston were brave today I thought and just needed an ounce of luck to win it .

As for next week , I need to recover first before I can give an honest appraisal !

Edited January 16, 2012 by Macca

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Green bay AND the Saints not in the Championship game? Wow... How strong is the NFC this year. It's a shame one fo the two didn't make it through, the Giants don't deserve it at all, Green Bay handed them the game.

Would love to see 49ers go to the Superbowl. They play with heart.

But how gooddo the Pats look. Rumbling.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

How good were the Giants players giving Rodgers the discount doublecheck every time he got sacked. How do the yanks do that... make mediocre gags look funny. Sportcentre's been doing it for years.

[Macca 17,050]

So are we all on the 49ers ?

I haven't seen a Giants , Pats or Ravens fan on this thread but I stand corrected .

I reckon if San Fran get past the Giants they'll win the Superbowl .

The other game is hard to pick . Great offence vs Great defence . Ravens just .

[DemonDave 1,096]

Of course I'll be picking SF for the win. We beat them mid-year, and despite them almost scoring on the final drive (A timely Justin Smith bat-down put paid to yet another Manning fourth quarter TD drive) I felt we handled them well that day, importantly our defence was pretty effective. Admittedly the Giants are peaking form wise but my heart and head are pointing in the same direction of a win for the team in red and gold.

As for the other game, its a tough one. The Ravens havent even been tested in the playoffs, despite the Texans best efforts last week. Ray Lewis is a beast. Ditto Ray Rice.

The Pats dismantling of an out of their depth Broncos was predictably clinical. I feel against a stiffer defensive setup that the Ravens present, then the Pats will be beaten.

So to a dream matchup in the Superbowl, "the Brothers Harbaugh". What a great promoters dream that would be. Only I dont want to see a repeat of the Thanksgiving massacre, where the Ravens D consistently blitzed, and the Niners O-line fell apart. It was the only time Ive seen it all year done so effectively, theres no reason if this game happens we wont see it again. Smith became nothing more than a punching bag for the Ravens. It was brutal, ugly and highly effective. Still Frank Gore was playing hurt that day, hes back in business now.

If this matchup does occur, it will be the top two ranked defences playing off, quite ironic in a year where quarterbacks were smashing historical records all over the place!

[titan_uranus 25,046]

I haven't been checking this thread all season. I've jumped on the 49ers bandwagon so it's good to see us make the Championship game (that game against New Orleans was amazingly good. Amazingly).

Can't believe NYG beat Green Bay. Like WJ, I hate the Giants (don't know why, I just do. Hate Tom Coughlin, for one), but more than that, I just didn't see a side beating the Packers any time soon. Good on them, but I sure hope we cream them this week.

As for the AFC, whilst Baltimore's defence is strong, their offence was pretty poor against the Texans, and I don't think they'll score enough points to rival the Pats, who will score against the Raven defence anyway. Brady's in good form.

[Good Times Grimes 2,396]

So we've got a re-match of the Giants/Patriots Superbowl. Time for New England to exact some revenge on Eli Manning? Or will the New York's playoff run continue? Should be a cracker.

[DemonDave 1,096]

After going 0 for 2 last weekend with my tips, I feel this could be the kiss of death! After watching both games, I'm going to pick the Giants. They have form and momentum on their side. Having said that, the Pats are on a decent winning streak too, but I just feel the giants three pronged attack of Nicks, Cruz and Manningham are in top form.

The Pats have Gronk, Hernandez, Branch et al, but if that catch in the final 20 seconds hadve been caught, we'd be talking about the Ravens right now.

Cant wait, as usual for the Superbowl, got the day off work, plan to get settled on the couch for a huge day!

[Macca 17,050]

Well we get the classic rematch . Giants and Patriots .

Those 2 championship games were rippers . Both down to the wire with twists and turns everywhere .

This sport can really hook you in especially when games come down to a fumble , a dropped catch , a missed field goal and the like .

Both the Ravens and the 49ers were brave but in the end - no cigar .

You can see this Superbowl being a thriller . New England are 3 pt favourites but I'm with 'DemonDave' and am picking the Giants (just)

How would the Redskins be feeling right now - they beat the Giants twice this year ! Go figure .

Edited January 25, 2012 by Macca

[DemonDave 1,096]

How would the Redskins be feeling right now - they beat the Giants twice this year ! Go figure .

The same Redskins that won just five games all year and finished bottom of their division!

Just shows that the Giants were not a real dominant force all through the regular season, merely a

slightly better than average team. They just happened to catch form at the right time of year...

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

The same Redskins that won just five games all year and finished bottom of their division!

Just shows that the Giants were not a real dominant force all through the regular season, merely a

slightly better than average team. They just happened to catch form at the right time of year...

Yup.

Eagles were given so much crap all year. We hammered these guys once, and narrowly lost the other time.

One measly game from winning the division... and these lucky breaks go all the way?

Kill me if they win the lot.

[DirtyDees DDC 187]

I haven't been checking this thread all season. I've jumped on the 49ers bandwagon so it's good to see us make the Championship game (that game against New Orleans was amazingly good. Amazingly).

Can't believe NYG beat Green Bay. Like WJ, I hate the Giants (don't know why, I just do. Hate Tom Coughlin, for one), but more than that, I just didn't see a side beating the Packers any time soon. Good on them, but I sure hope we cream them this week.

As for the AFC, whilst Baltimore's defence is strong, their offence was pretty poor against the Texans, and I don't think they'll score enough points to rival the Pats, who will score against the Raven defence anyway. Brady's in good form.

Sad but not surprised that the Packers lost, despite a 15-1 win loss record during the regular season. Their defence was poor for most of the season and they dropped crucial catches during their match against the Giants. The thing they need most is a good running back so they can chew up game time at crucial moments.

The giants also carried good form into the finals. I still think the Patriots will win but this could be another close super bowl. Roll on Monday Feb 7.

[Macca 17,050]

The same Redskins that won just five games all year and finished bottom of their division!

Just shows that the Giants were not a real dominant force all through the regular season, merely a

slightly better than average team. They just happened to catch form at the right time of year...

Yep , weird how sport works sometimes , esp in the NFL . The Giants are hot right now and I reckon they should be slight favourites .

Yup.

Eagles were given so much crap all year. We hammered these guys once, and narrowly lost the other time.

One measly game from winning the division... and these lucky breaks go all the way?

Kill me if they win the lot.

The Eagles were disappointing Dappa but in the end no worse than the Packers .

Sad but not surprised that the Packers lost, despite a 15-1 win loss record during the regular season. Their defence was poor for most of the season and they dropped crucial catches during their match against the Giants. The thing they need most is a good running back so they can chew up game time at crucial moments.

The giants also carried good form into the finals. I still think the Patriots will win but this could be another close super bowl. Roll on Monday Feb 7.

I too wasn't too surprised that "our" Packers lost that 1st playoff game . As ya said , our defence wasn't good enough and you get exposed in the big games . James Starks missed too many games leading into the playoffs unlike last year when he got hot late . Next year !

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

The Eagles were disappointing Dappa but in the end no worse than the Packers .

Disappointing yes, but better than the G-girls. I saw both games in their entirety. Eli isn't Peyton, isn't even in the top 5 QBs going round, but has a 50-50 chance of ending his career with 1+ more superbowl rings than him.

Still. One of the better things about the NFL, the fact anything can happen, and generally does.

And I would say that, yes, they were worse. Going into the season they were a top 4 side and one many favoured to knock off the Packers (dream team ring any bells). In the end they were done by mid season... Whereas the Pack were always a top 2 side, and they MADE the playoffs.

[Macca 17,050]

Disappointing yes, but better than the G-girls. I saw both games in their entirety. Eli isn't Peyton, isn't even in the top 5 QBs going round, but has a 50-50 chance of ending his career with 1+ more superbowl rings than him.

Still. One of the better things about the NFL, the fact anything can happen, and generally does.

And I would say that, yes, they were worse. Going into the season they were a top 4 side and one many favoured to knock off the Packers (dream team ring any bells). In the end they were done by mid season... Whereas the Pack were always a top 2 side, and they MADE the playoffs.

You make a good point Dappa , but I was more talking about disappointment levels . You're annoyed about your teams performance but in time you might totally forget about this season .

But us Packer fans may have some real regrets about this year especially if we don't make up for it in the next few years .

It's a bit like Patriot fans now . If they lose another Superbowl to the Giants they'll be devastated .

Yeah , the Packers had a much better year than the Eagles but to go straight out and play as poorly as we did in 1 playoff game is a bitter pill to swallow .

I spent all season waiting for the playoffs cos I "knew" we'd make them and then ...............bang , straight out . You've gotta win a final otherwise it's a totally wasted season .

Cheers and are you watching the superbowl live ? I'm off work Monday on the couch !

[Good Times Grimes 2,396]

The big day's here. Giants or Patriots? I'm hoping Manning can produce some more magic and deny New England the Superbowl. With the Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox, Boston doesn't need any more championship teams. They've already had more than their fair share. (Call me bitter, but I've never seen a team I support win ANYTHING of significance)

[Sideshow Bob 2,438]

Go PATS

Just something about blue with a bit of red that I like

Edited February 5, 2012 by jako13

[Macca 17,050]

Half time in the big game and it's anybody's match . NYG 9 NE 10 .

That last drive by the Pats was impressive but the Giants were very good early .

This will probably go down to the wire - can't split 'em .

Ok , Giants just .

[Macca 17,050]

Wow ! What a finish ! Giants do it again . Eli 2 Peyton 1 .

Great finish , tense as . That sidelines catch by Manningham will go down in folklore ( and a great throw by Manning )

Fantastic contest . Pats had their chances but the New York Giants were just too good .

Eli elite ? The debate will go on but his 4th quarter performances are something special .

Another great season !