DemonDave

Condemned 84, that wasnt you I spotted in M15 last week with a Bradford top on at the Dees-Giants game was it? Certainly someone near me had a Rams top on!

Being a Spurs fan I was fully expecting us to be matching up against the Rockets, how on earth did Lakers get up into 7th? I havent been keeping track of the other teams this week. Good to see Patty Mills get a nice points haul against Golden State yesterday, and also from an Aussie persepective I hope Bogut and the Warriors get thru to the second round as well. I guess its up to Howard to really step up for LAL now, I watched the game against Spurs the other day, was a great contest v Tim Duncan. I'm not so sure Steve Blake can carry you that far in the playoffs though. Go Spurs Go!

No real surprise in the Award winners, or Hall of Fame Inductions announced, all well worthy winners. AP seems to be taking the celebrations in good stride... Less than 24 hours till the big game, nerves are kicking in here, got the couch primed and a mate coming over to watch it. While its been fun, almost 2 weeks on ESPN nightly shows of talking about the one game, even with my team involved, has become somewhat groundhog-day-esque. At least this time every year the sadness of the NFL season ending is knowing that AFL is just about to fire up again!

Superbowl here we come, yeah! Not a great start in todays game, Ryan was hitting White, Jones and Fernandez with ease, our secondary wasnt coping at all well despite the fact their offense revolves around these 3 almost 90% of the time. Great comeback, we didnt see much running from the QB today, but Gore and James made some good rushing plays. Ahmad Brooks the standout on defence, two bat downs and the big hit to Ryan that hurt his left shoulder near the end. Now for the second game, will we see a Harbaugh-Bowl on Feb 4?

Has anyone else seen this video thats done the rounds the last couple of days? Bad lipreading interpretations of some NFL highlights, its hilarious....

Superb game of football that one between Falcons and Hawks. Wow I thought that Seattle were about to pull off a miracle. A good onside kick saved the day for the Falcs. so its decided: AFC Baltimore at New England NFC San Fran at Atlanta 3 out of the 4 that were there at the same stage last year with Falcons taking the place of the Giants. Cant wait!

Crabtree has also had a breakout year, hes our go-to guy on third down conversions this year. I didnt make any predictions about this game beforehand as honestly I didnt think we would win. Losing our #2 and #4 receivers (Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams) and #2 running back (Kendall Hunter) to season ending injuries, and a questionably fit Justin Smith along with our indifferent form over the past month left me quietly fearing the worst. I'm torn with a preferred opponent next week, Seattle cut us to pieces a few weeks ago, but that was on the road and they werent that convincing last week given RG3 was a non-factor so early. Hawks are an unknown quantity to me, have barely seen them play all year. Matt Ryan needs to get the monkey off his back of never having had a playoff victory, if he does they secure home ground advantage and that game would be a real interesting one. I'd take Atlanta right now.. I cant see the Patriots losing tomorrow, and I really feel that was Baltimores 'grand final' today. so I think the Pats will be in the Super Bowl yet again.

Well that certainly was a 'career' game by Kap, and the Niners as a team beat all sorts of post-season records. 263 yards in the air and 183 on the ground for the QB (Most by any QB ever in a playoff!) are incredible numbers. Good game in the first half, but was all one way in the second. A few of the Packers receivers (Jordy Nelson, Driver never really seemed to be a factor in this game). Good day for the Harbaugh family too!

I hope not! My nerves are already shredded here!

What an amazing game in Denver that was! Full credit to the Ravens, I didnt expect that win today, especially travelling to Mile High. That bomb by Flacco in the last quarter was a gem! The only thing I didnt like about the finish was that I was forced to jump onto ESPN to watch a play by play tracker of the first 6 or so minutes of the Niners-Packers game while OT played out...

the always informative ussportsdownunder have released details of their superbowl venues for watching the game locally today, Ive never been to one of these but think I will this year: http://ussportsdownunder.com/nfl/attend/events/places-to-watch-super-bowl-xlvii-in-australia-2013

Watched the Seahawks-Skins game today, was really looking forward to this matchup. Clearly once RG3 went down the first time it was a fait accompli that he wouldnt see out the game, which is a shame as it robbed us of what looked like an enthralling contest. Marshawn Lynch activated 'beast mode' and got his game going, Wilson made a few nice scrambling reads and the Seahawks regained a lot of that momentum they'd carried the last month or two. So Wilson now is the last remaining rookie QB, Ive been saying it for a month or so now that I think he should be the Rookie of the Year and today definitely underlines it, for a guy of his relatively small size he has a big presence on the field. Its a tough ask next week to front upto the Falcons, Seattle have a good secondary, but will be coming up against Julio Jones and Roddy White an co. Falcons have been a bit hot and cold of late, so I think it will be a close one. Didnt catch the earlier game, too early for me, but the veteran Ravens getting the job done over a rather green Indi team is upon reflection not a huge surprise. Ray Lewis gets one more 'final' shot at it, and if the oft-feared Ravens defence can hit top form they're capable of continuing deeper into the playoffs, I like their chances against Denver next week. I havent looked it up, but have the Broncos beaten anyone of substance in their current form streak?

Its been an amazing year for rookies, in particular QBs, and also a year of great comebacks by veterans (Manning, Peterson). Who wouldve thought at this time last year if you were a Broncos, Colts, Vikings or Redskins fan that you'd be in the playoffs? And that the defending SB champ didnt make it? (Actually thats not that much of a stretch seeing the Giants were only a .500 team for most of last year anyway). Other traditional playoff staples Steelers, Bears and Saints all sitting it out this year. There are several teams in the playoffs that its hard to get a read on form wise, so I cant wait! I'm tipping the Texans and Colts in the AFC wildcards. And in the NFC the I'm going for the Packers and Seattle. Also a shame to see Ray Lewis drawing time on his career, he's been an absolute champion and spiritual leader of the Ravens

Skins win their sixth straight game, setting up a huge game against the Cowboys next week, cant wait for that one! When is the last time theyve strung that many together? Im tipping not for a long time.. Other interesting results... Pats struggle but just beat lowly Jags after a failed hail mary by Jags. Packers smash the Titans, probably sealing the #2 seed (Im currently watching the niners get smashed by the Seahawks) Broncos win their TENTH straight game, kudos to John Elway he really pulled the right trigger in the offseason ditching Tebow and bringing in Manning despite the question marks over his age and health. Bengals also with a decent streak of form going lately, Dalton is turning into a good QB. Defending Superbowl Champs Giants may be all done and dusted after yet another disappointing result at the Ravens

So Minnesota's (to use an example) playoff picture looks like this: Wins tie break over Dallas based on best win percentage in conference games. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate NY Giants (Dallas wins tie break over NY Giants based on best win percentage in division games). Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Chicago (Minnesota wins tie break over Chicago based on best win percentage in division games). Huh? I'll get me coat......

Wasnt fun to watch being a Niners fan I can tell you after half time! Finger nails shredded. I'm shocked at the Atlanta-NYG game scoreline. Great game by Kirk Cousins deputising for RG3 as well. Russell Wilson continues to rack up impressive numbers. ROY contender?

Since 2001, only two players who werent QBs have won the award (a bit like the brownlow is to midfielders I guess). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_Most_Valuable_Player_Award Only 3 times since the awards inception 65 years ago has it been won by a player in position other than QB or RB! I cant believe a placekicker won it in the 80s... Its a fairly wide open field this year I think, as no one team (Falcons notwithstanding) has dominated the competition. Tom Brady has come back into calculations of late, although he (along with Rogers) tends to always play at such a high standard that you take their output for granted. Rogers had quite a few average weeks earlier this year so he wouldnt be a factor this year. This award tends to become clearer once playoff orders are firmly established. Some huuuge games this week: Giants at Falcons Broncos at Ravens (Ravens stumbling of late, sacking their offensive co-ordinator) Packers at Bears Jags at Dolphins (just kidding.....) Vikings at Rams Steelers at Cowboys Niners at Pats (along with the GIants/Falcons clash the game of the round for mine) Wooeee, I love this time of year heading into the playoffs...

Mondays the pick of the games for sure! I just saw the ad for Broncos-Raiders on ESPN while watching Mike and Mike, they were hyping it up as 'AFC West leading Broncos' vs "The men in black" or something similar. Nothing positive or hype inducing to say about this current incarnation of the Raiders! The other game id want to watch is Baltimore v RG3, err I mean the Redskins. Not sure Griffin and Morris will be able to run big yards as easily against the stingy Ravens as they did on Monday night...

Pfft! We missed a shorter field goal in OT that wouldve made it a completely different story. Still puzzled how we can twice not be able to defeat a team the calibre of the Rams. Enjoy watching the playoffs from the sidelines...

Thanks for posting up the schedule every week too Macca, its appreciated! I get a notification of the games via: http://ussportsdownunder.com/ but the formatting of it means its a challenge to read and easily identify which games I can watch. Looks like a good triple header tomorrow morning, with three intriguing contests: Minnesota v Chicago -crucial game as the Vikings are clinging onto that last spot, Bears need to get their confidence back. San Fran v New Orleans - huge game, Saints have won 5 straight while Niners have a QB selection dilemna having hit top form again. Green Bay v NY Giants - Massive game, GB back in top form while Giants have had a couple of lapses of late. This will be a beauty! Tuesdays game looks decidedly on the nose however.

I watched this game on replay last night, the Jets were laughably bad on secondary and special teams, that 53 seconds was insane. How about Mark Sanchez rushing into the back of his own offensive linesman? haha! One of the funniest turnovers Ive seen in ages. And of course the touchdown turnover to boot. Pity for the suffering Jets fans that Teeeeebowww apparently has injured ribs right now or you'd think theyd be giving him a shot given their season is virtually over. The Pats are, yet again, flying. Will be tough to beat in the AFC given their playoff pedigree. Anyone else watch the Skins-Cowboys game? First time Ive watched a full game of RG3, man he has some talents! His arm and eye makes his receivers look 40% better players than they were last year. Have to say though the catch and YAC for a TD by Pierre Garcon was the play of the week so far for mine, what a catch! Finally the last game I watched, I thought was going to end in another OT tie! So many turnovers of posession in OT, missed field goals but eventually the league leading Texans sneak the win over the Lions. Arian Foster is hands down the best running back in the game today for mine.

Oh, err, SPOILER ALERT!! Haha enjoy the game WJ, its is a good one!

I watched the Bears-49ers game live yesterday, that was as comprehensive a mauling as I've seen for some time. The Chicago O-line were terrible, repeatedly the 'Smith brothers' were able to beat their opponent to get at Jason Campbell. Aldon Smith recorded 5.5 sacks for the game, a MNF record, and now has more sacks in the history of sacks being recorded ('82) than anyone else. The battle of the backup QBs was thus a non-contest, but even still I was amazed at how strong and accurate Kaepernicks arm was and how comfortable and confident he looked right from the very first drive. Provides an interesting quandry now for the coaches, as Alex Smith has the 3rd best qb rating in the league, yet we looked reinvigorated with Kap at the helm last night. The Bears have now played 4 teams with winning records and one won of them this year... Of the other games, I can only go off highlights but at one stage I saw the Colts ahead against New England. Wow that turned around in a big way! The other fascinating result was Tampa Bay looking dead and buried against Carolina, but finding a way to get up from 11 down deep in the last quarter, to not only get the FG, but then a TD and 2 point conversion with a minute or so left to get it to OT, where they were never going to lose. Doug Martin keeps putting up huge numbers, again over 100 yards rushing and providing the perfect decoy run in the tieing 2 pt play.

That was a real rollercoaster game wasnt it! First time Ive ever watched a tie. In reality, Rams should've won, they shot themselves in the foot time and time again with penalties, especially that long long pass to Amendola(who looked great), and penalty for delay of game on the field goal. Kudos to the Rams special teams though, two fake punts converted to first downs. Cant believe Akers missed from where he was, very unlike him. Niners were very ordinary for most of the game, although Kaepernick did OK to scramble when needed, will be interesting to see how he does if Smith has to miss a game, he seems to have a strong arm and very athletic on the run. Falcons finally lose! And yeah I agree Saints could be a real dark horse as a Wildcard. Eagles fall apart again, Vick injured, will Andy Reid see out the season? Where's Dappa Dan? He'd be tearing his hair out. Currently watching Bears-Texans, a game Ive been looking forward to and so far its turnovers galore! I kinda like those sort of games as long as its not your team!

Patrick Willis, Navorro Bowman and Justin Smith say hi! After our last start against the Cardinals, its fair to say the blip against the Giants has been put behind us..