DemonDave

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..

Andrew Luck played pretty well today, first time I'd seen him play a full game. The Jags are pretty awful admittedly, but still he looked impressive. Anyone else watch MNF Saints-Eagles? Fascinating game, poor old Michael Vick had zero protection almost all night, all he would've been seeing wouldve been the black and gold batallion with nostrils flaring baring down on him. Even someone with his sublime scrambling abilities was left bamboozled. I did like the special teams play that the Eagles tried with success that was ultimately nullified by a penalty for forward pass unfortunately. For those who missed it: http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/riley-cooper-hiding/ Definitely one of the funnier looking plays Ive seen of late!

Curiosity got the better of me, it was 1987 since theyve won with a QB they drafted, unbelievable! http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page/10spot-12week8/kansas-city-chiefs-need-draft-franchise-qb-adam-schefter-10-spot

I watched the Chiefs game today, it was a stinker! They were right in the game in the second half then just self destructed! So many turnovers and defensive touchdowns to the Chargers. And did you see the graphic they put up that they havent won a regular season game with a QB that they actually drafted since, it was something crazy like 1987(I may be wrong on exact year). Amazing stat! I actually felt a bit sorry for Cassell, a lot of his teams woes werent his doing - McCluster dropping a perfectly thrown sitter, turnover TD etc etc..

Also worth noting the spurs "Big 3" were not playing that night, Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. Like any league around the world, this was a meaningless game right at the end of the long regular season. One team had their eye on the draft, the other intent on resting their ageing stars for the playoffs the next week. An amazing game by Smith yesterday! And the only incomplete pass was a very simple drop by Walker. I watched it live, but after the first couple of drives you could tell it was going to be a one-sided game with the depleted and slumping Cards O-line helpless to prevent the Niners rushing and sacking Skelton. And how about our defense? I love reading stories about how the Bears/Ravens etc are the best defensive team in the league. Suits me fine, just keep flying under the radar, especially when teams (with the exception of the Giants, and Marshawn Lynch last week) think they will beat us by running the ball. 9 attempts for a grand total of 7 rushing yards for the whole game for Arizona yesterday! Did anyone else see the jersey the Steelers played in at the weekend? Eek! they looked like bumblebees

I watched the Denver-SD game yesterday as well, albeit knowing the result, couldnt believe the way Rivers self destructed! That was an all time choke. Full credit to Peyton, he was putting the ball right between the numbers of his receivers too, a real great win - that division is theirs for the taking now given the Raiders and Chiefs are stinking it up again. Cant wait for tomorrow mornings game, Wilson has been mightily impressive for a rookie, lets hope we dont see too may skittle incidents either. I was totally shocked at the way the Giants dismantled the Niners game on Monday, it looked like the bad old days for Smith again and Gore didnt have a single carry in the second half. Be intersesting to see how RGIII goes against the Giants this week. Ravens lose their spiritual leader for the year, and possibly forever, but the Ravens are still cruising in their division. NFC North will be possibly the most interesting Division from here to the end of regular season, 3 genuinely decent teams on evidence so far. Could the Packers miss on the playoffs? Based on Rodgers game this week you'd say no but the VIkings and Bears intra Division games will be crucial. Falcons continue to roll, I havent seen a single game of theirs this year, is Matt Ryan in All-Pro form or have the whole team stepped up?

Going to be hard now for OKC, Miami have shifted the momentum their way massively, and are now at home for the next two(?). Cant see them getting beaten from here, unless Durant and Westbrook put on some stupendous shooting performances. Spoke to one of my friends who is now on the Heat bandwagon, giving me crap about Spurs missing out on the big dance again, and I asked him "Can you name any of their other players other than the Big 3?" "How awesome is LeBron" was his response.....

Both series locked at 2-2, heading back to the higher seeds home court. These two series have so many possibilities from here. Wow! I think given the Celts have been only managing it in OT means the Heat have more upside, whereas I think OKC have more potential room for upside in their series as well. Time will tell, Im so so busy at work but still trying to find time to sneak a look at the live updates!

Been watching most of these games on delay later at night on ESPN, which has been great. Even though knowing the result, its still good watching the machinations of the game. It certainly seems all but a formality it will be Heat-Spurs now. If ever Boston were gonna sneak a win in Miami it was yesterday, a herculean effort from Rondo but still they couldnt get it done down South Beach way. The third cog in the big three wheel in Miami in Bosh is still not back, but they still keep rolling along. Spurs were similarly convincing in their game 2 at home, in fact even more so. They were 20 odd points up at one stage, until a belated third Q comeback led predictably by Durant. The sheer depth of the Spurs roster after the pickups of Diaw and Jackson has meant they can easily cover if one of their stars has a bad night. They certainly run deeper than any of the other 3 teams right now. The tables turned for the first home games for Boston and OKC today and tomorrow, the home fans will be rowdy and hungry for an opening win. I expect these two games to be very close. As for the draft, after the season from hell the Bobcats had, they only end up with pick 2. Devastating that they wont get Davis, who has been the standout in the NCAA this year. His monobrow does scare me somewhat though.

A bit late to see these posts but here goes. The biggest weakness last year for the Niners was their receiving corps. Crabtree is not and i dont think will ever be more than a slot receiver, certainly not the #1 target we were after. Josh Morgan took off to the Redskins after showing a bit, and Kyle Williams and ted Ginn Jnr..well..lets not relive the Giants game again..A team cant be relying, as good as they are, on two tight ends in Davis & Walker to make all of their big pass plays. SO they picked up Mario Manningham from the Giants who had a very good year. We were always going to use our #1 pick on a receiver, but had no hope without trading up of getting Blackmon or Floyd. Jenkins was a surprise to many draft pundits, he has speed but his separation after catch isnt great. Time will tell. They also took a gamble on 36 year old Randy Moss, who is apparently in as good as shape as he's been after a year on the sidelines. Who knows if he will make the final squad or not, it didnt cost us anything to do though. We lost our starting nose tackle Snyder, so used our third round pick on a replacement for him which was also understandable. Not sure about our 2nd round pick, another running back, given we have AllPro Frank Gore, soph Kendall Hunter who showed quite a bit in his rookie year as a third down back, and picked up Brandon Jacobs from the Giants also. I guess like any draft it will take a while to determine if it was a 'good' draft for teams or not. Really looking forward to seeing RG3 in particular, he and Cam Newton may well become the prototype upon which future QBs are based. Luck will be more of a traditional pocket passer, and at the same time this type of QB has also flourished the last couple of years with yard records for passing regularly being broken by teams starters.

Game 1 is underway in the AT&T Centre, at work so only watching the live scores on the box score. What say we for predictions on here? I'm going 4-2 for my Spurs, their win streak is growing but every time we got to 11 or 12 in the regular season we seemed to have a letdown game. Chalk up two at home before dropping one. All we need is Manu Ginobili to fully find his rhythm. In the East, I'm tipping Miami over Boston 4-1. Its a credit to the creaky Celtics that they've got this far, but James & Wade will be hard to beat for youth and athleticism. They will need Bosh back in a hurry though.

Fantastic win for the 76ers today, wow! They were upto 18 behind at times in this game. Certainly lights the spark on this series, will be a fascinating one. We almost saw another big incident between Metta World "Peace" and Westbrook there, I agree with the commentators a double technical in this situation is a bit of a copout. If this game hadve been in Oklahoma the crowd would be absolutely giving it to MWP right now. Spurs are nicely placed in their series against Clippers, the balanced offense really does make it hard to match up on, double team Parker and you open up Ginobli and Neale and the like. Even Boris Diaw is having an impact... D Wades blowup with the coach really didnt look good, in line with his terrible game. On Mike and Mike on ESPN last night they floated the theory that Wade and LeBron are too similar, and that maybe they should try and trade DWade to somehow get Howard. Interesting hypothetical!

So any accusations of Lakers or Clippers players 'getting cold feet' in the playoffs will be not necessarily unwarranted?

Well the Nuggets won again, back to 3-2 now! Bulls get one back to force a sixth game, as do the Hawks at home to Celts. Just watching the replay of that game now, Pierce limping around, the creaky old bones of the Celts will not appreciate an elongated series. If some of these games goto 7 it will definitely be an advantage to Oaklahoma and San Antonio who had relatively easy sweeps.

I think Ive watched Chris Bosh pop up about 50 times now, strangely hypnotic! Grab Office Space on DVD, its a cracking movie from the mind of Mike Judge, who bought us Beavis and Butthead. Revolves around life in a cubicle in the workplace and the frustrated employee comically reaching boiling point, a classic!