cowboy_from_hell

My question on seattle is their offense. The pats will move the ball around but can the Hawks do the same? Wilson needs to make his mark early in the game and if the pats can limit beast mode seattle could find themselves in the same situation they were in against Green Bay. I can't see them pulling another win out of nowhere.

I'm just here so I don't get fined but while I'm here I'll take the pats 27-13

The NFC championship game will be one of the most talked about games for a long time. Valid arguments can be made on either side about Green Bay not being agressive enough. I still say 16-0 at the half is a pretty good game plan but I get the other side of the argument. I haven't seen too many New England games so does anyone know how well they shut down receivers? I know they have revis but apart from that I'm at a loss. If the pats can shut down Seattle like Green Bay did in the first half Brady will have plenty of opportunities to win another ring. To be honest I'm sick of both teams winning so I'm not fussed who wins but I think New England will get up.

I didn't mind the way Green Bay went about it. The early field goal then lead into a fumble recovery from kick off and if any of us had been told that you could put up 16 points to nothing on Seattle at seattle you would take it. Those early points plus a Green Bay defense that was stuffing Seattle and causing turn overs made for a pretty good first half. Bloody hell what was it 19-7 with 5 minutes left in the 4th and Wilson throws his 4th pick. It was game over. Seattle fans left the building. I thought they were cooked as well.

I agree. Packers were by far the better team. Seattle were outplayed for nearly the whole game. The read option got them going again but to be down by 2 scores in the 4th and win is amazing but it also feels like a bit of a robbery as well. It would make more sense if there was a terrible "Fail Mary" call by the refs again. Still dunno how they won.

Russell Wilson is one lucky mofo. I gave Seattle no chance after his last pick. As Macca said its not just the onside kick recovery. The red zone field goals, Rodgers second pick was a miscommunication and dropped passes also added to the latest loss. Green Bay have the blue print to beat Seattle though and if it's a type of game where we see offense vs offense then Brady will murder Wilson and beast mode.

Either way it's good to see Rex still around he is entertaining. Does anyone know why their old coach quit? He had a 3 day clause when the new owners came in to vacate the job and he did.

I think fox is a good fit for Chicago. It will take time to slowly clean out some of the older players on defense but a good draft can fix some holes immediately. Obviously solving the cutler puzzle is a priority but a change back to the Chicago way of playing with a strong defense and running game could free up cutler a bit. As for Rex I kinda understand the move on the bills side of things. They were close to relocation before the new ownership came in and Rex has a little bit of an aura about him. His opening press conference made me wanna play for him. Buffalo will continue to play strong defense and if Rex is willing to butt out of the offense they might be ok with hoyer as you said or sanchez might make a move. I can't understand why Rex didn't take the Atlanta job. Offense is set they desperately need a defense it would've been a perfect fit.

From my very limited knowledge fox was more of a manager then a head coach. Manning runs the offense. Rex Ryan would've been a good fit in Atlanta. You have the offense so he could concentrate on the D. Dan Quinn should be your target. Defensive coordinator for Seattle. Enough said. The vikes have a pretty good system. Our defence was woeful so we got mike zimmer who has improved us out of sight. Norv turner was head hunted to run the offense and zimmer stays out of his way. If you guys can obtain a improved defense plus the division your in you could easily bounce back.

Completely agree about Baltimore. They are a very good playoff team and flacco steps up. They just need some regular season form to maybe get home field advantage. Carolina were just plain stupid to not retain Steve smith. He made a massive difference for Baltimore this year. The NFC championship game will be interesting. The Hawks offense is good but not great as you said. If Rodgers and co can score early and not get into a tight low scoring game then it's up to Wilson to really step up. Of course the Hawks defense sets up so many scoring opportunities for Seattle. If they can't and its left to Wilson to lead on long scoring drives I'm not sure if he can get it done. But it is a big if to say if Green Bay or anyone else can put early points on the board at Seattle. I think the cowboys have found their identity as a power running team. If they stick to it they should be around the mark next year.

Yeah I agree. If the ball stays in possession of the receiver it should be ruled a catch and if they attempt to reach out and lose possession it should be a fumble. To me that's what happened with Dez. But I would have to look at it again to determine if his knees were down before he attempted to gain yards by stretching out. I've seen games this year where a receiver has caught the ball with his hand under the ball and as his hand hits the ground he remains in control of the ball and puts it in his chest but it is ruled a incomplete pass as the ground aided in the catching of the ball. I dunno the exact rule but to me if it looks like a catch is it one. It is funny though as this Dez catch is the only ruling I can think of that doesn't aid the offense. The illegal use of hands is a penalty that does my head in sometimes. Taunting is an opinion of the official. It's not an exact ruling what is classified as taunting and what is celebrating? Even Peyton got done this year for talking a bit of smack and was flagged as taunting. Roughing the kicker is my ultimate dumb penalty. How can you attempt to smother a punt and not make any contact with the punter? If you attempt to smother the punt and miss the ball by an inch but then hit the punters shoelace it's a flag. It doesn't help that punters go down like Jesse Hogan just ran through them.

For the last month manning has seemed a little tired/injured. He overthrew a lot of balls today and after Indy levelled it at 7-7 manning couldn't get anything going. He wouldn't really say if he would play on next year but he is owed 19m so I'd say he will continue. Rodgers is better on one leg then most are on two. He couldn't scramble or use his roll out plays where he dominates but when they needed him he was on fire. He had a drive in the 3rd where I think he went 5-5 for nearly 80 yards and the TD. The rookie receiver Adams was pretty good for GB as well. To me the Dez decision is a catch but by their rules it isn't. I've seen plenty of those type of catches be ruled as incomplete. I think the ruling was right but the rule is wrong.

I just can't see Dallas getting close to Green Bay. Rodgers doesn't turn the ball over and if Lacy doesn't fumble they should win. Get some early points on the board and force Dallas into having to throw more then rely on their dominating run game and Dallas will be out of their element. I was pretty impressed by Baltimore. If they can get some sort of regular season form and get home field advantage in at least the wild card week they can be dangerous. Flacco is a completely different man come playoffs. He reminded me why he got such a massive contract a few years back.

71 yards in 5 plays. Baltimore aren't mucking around.

Back from another holiday so I have missed out on a bit but from what I can gather all is in order. Looking forward to the Ravens at Pats. Flacco is a different man in the playoffs and it's always a nervous start for teams who had the week off. Seattle should whoop Carolina. Did anyone else hear about Aaron Rodgers? Some how a question came up about one of his celebrations and he said it's from playing FIFA on the Xbox. When asked which team he plays as he said the Socceroos. Bloody hell he destroys Minnesota every year and I try to hate the man but I just can't do it.

Just got back from a well earned break. Congrats Dappa and a massive cheers to Macca for all the effort.

So Minnesota are down by 14 at Miami late in the 4th Quarter. We score 7 kick off and they fumble at the 5. We score 7 again Sweet! Game is tied and with 40 seconds left we punt deep in our endzone to send it to OT. We botch the friggin snap and the punt is blocked for a safety. We lose on a blocked punt safety after being up by 14 then down by 14 only to come back for that to happen. I get in my truck late for work (Normal Monday) and as I'm listening to the post game radio show I remember I bloody well tipped Minnesota as well. A few quick thoughts on the games that actually mattered though. Pats and Packers seemed to just be in cruise control, Detroit and Indy have very flattering records compared to how they are playing at the moment. Both could be one and done in the playoffs, Saints have gone from one of the best home teams in the league to a stinking team at the dome, Seattle at Seattle in the playoffs yeah good luck with that anyone and stupid Dallas keep winning. I don't like Dallas winning and Romo flogging teams. I need some comedy during this time of year.

Completely agree on the O line picks. Like I said they aren't that sexy but can transform a power running game. Those QB picks are so tricky. A 1st round QB can be a massive bust (Ponder) and it seems teams were gun shy to go after a QB early after Bortles went at 3. Indy had to tank a whole season to get Luck. It was well worth it though. To me the best case of back to back franchise QB's is Favre to Rodgers. How good would that be? It has tortured your bears and my vikes for a decade now.

Your Rams have fought it out pretty well though. Some division wins are nice and in your division it's even sweeter. Vikes have no division wins and have only beaten some spud teams and then your lot Round 1. Hell it took till overtime to beat the Jets. I understand your frustration as you have been building for a while and you now want to see some playoff games. I think it will come when a fit and capable QB is there. You seem to have most of the other pieces in place.

For me I find early draft picks in the NFL are a bit amusing. A top 5 pick gets you thinking of picking up a superstar and instead you select a right tackle. It's not that sexy sometimes. With all the talk of the QB's in the draft we traded down to pick 9 and selected linebacker Anthony Barr. He has had a very good year. Vikes will be around pick 13-18 in the first round. I'm hoping for a WR but we will probably take a lineman. In short I'd rather win games.

It ain't over for Philly yet. Missed FG's always hurt and RG3 still has a strong arm when Jackson is getting loose. When you expect Dallas to win they lose.

Detroit Minnesota Green Bay by a 100

I agree with you on seeding after the playoff teams have been decided. I do like the system on getting into the playoffs though. It creates such a high importance on division wins. Your eagles absolutely deserve a playoff spot. They have been pretty solid all year even after Foles went down. It seems to be the way in the NFL a bit especially in your division. When the Skins,Boys and Giants are all trash you have walked into the playoffs and may not have deserved the spot as much. This year you have fought all year and may miss out. It's the same with the Packers.

It's crazy to think how far down teams can slip from number 1 seeds to wild card births. It would be a massive shock and a bit strange not to have Green Bay in the playoffs. Rodgers is close to mvp but another game like the buffalo effort and it's no playoffs. It's a good get out for me when Green Bay go deep into the playoffs when someone wants to give it to me about Minnesota.

Could you imagine if they blew these last two games. I don't think it will happen as Indy seem out of sync at the moment. But my god it would be funny to see the look on the face of jerry jones as they blow another playoff chance.