I will be participating in the NFL playoffs office pool. I didn’t follow the game this year at all, just watching the highlights on the news (once in a blue moon). It was somewhat surprising to see the Bears and the Seahawks do so well. But having a touchdown machine (Shaun Alexander) on the roster, in case of the latter, is a plus.
So, I am going in blindfolded – just hoping to get lucky. http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/playoffrace/bracket
Here are my picks:
AFC wild card
Patriots
Bengals
NFC wild card
Panthers
Buccaneers
AFC divisional playoffs
Colts
Broncos
NFC divisional playoffs
Seahawks
Bears
AFC championship
Colts
NFC championship
Bears
SUPERBOWL
Bears!
And the new city of Champions - GoChicaGo.
What are your picks? I might use them in the pool. Let’s see how good you are
Maybe it’s just that they’ve become my sympathetic favorite since they’ve turned it around after sucking for so many years (and both my local interests sucked the big wang this season and are nowhere near the playoffs).
[strike]I’m not going to predict or guarantee anything[/strike] (EDIT: well, okay, yes i am, apparently :D), but the couple times I’ve had a chance to see them play this year, they looked spooky good on offense. Plus, the Colts have been really really good before, and something always seems to “happen” to them. I’m gonna remain skeptical on them until they actually prove me wrong and do it. Which could be this year, of course.
Okay, more specific predictions:
AFC
Cincinnatti over Pittsburgh
New England over Jacksonville
Cincinnatti over Denver
Indianapolis over New England
UPSET SPECIAL: Cincinatti over Indianapolis
on the NFC side:
Carolina over New York
Tampa Bay over Washington
Chicago over Tampa Bay
Seattle over Carolina
Seattle over Chicago
SUPER BOWL
Cincinnatti over Seattle
PROTIP: Do not put any (big) money where my mouth has been.
throws Kaiser out a window I hope my hometeam of the Colts make it to the Superbowl. Rather them make up for the Pacer’s lackluster entry to the NBA Finals a few years ago where they lost to the Lakers.
What I found hilarious is the fact that Tom Brady, the most overly ass-kissed quarterback of all time, started whining to the media a couple days ago that the Patriots, of all teams, get no respect. Which is odd, since for the past three years, ESPN (and every other media outlet) has done nothing but kiss the Patriots’ ass… even this year when the Patriots were .500 people kept talking about how they were still the second-most dangerous team in the AFC (much to the Broncos’ chagrin)… And especially now that they’ve finished the year so strong, and now that many people are picking them over the Colts. ANYWAY, now that I’ve got that out of my system…
<b><u>AFC</u></b>
<i>Wildcard</i>
Jacksonville Vs. New England - New England
Pittsburgh Vs. Cincinnati - Pittsburgh
<i>Divisional Playoffs</i>
Pittsburgh Vs. Indianapolis - Indianapolis
New England Vs. Denver - Denver
<i>AFC Championship</i>
Denver Vs. Indianapolis - Indianapolis
<b><u>NFC</u></b>
<i>Wildcard</i>
Carolina Vs. New York - New York
Washington Vs. Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay
<i>Divisional Playoffs</i>
New York Vs. Seattle - Seattle
Tampa Bay Vs. Chicago - Chicago
<i>NFC Championship</i>
Chicago Vs. Seattle - Seattle
<i>Superbowl</i>
Seattle Vs. Indianapolis - Seattle (This is a semi-sentimental pick… I’d love to see Seattle win a major championship in something… (NO THE WNBA DOES NOT COUNT!))
Superbowl?
New England v. Chicago - New England (dynasty train keep rolling)
Holy Guacamole!
Cincinnati? New England? Those are unconventional picks to go all the way.
So I am trying to go over everything I missed during the past season, checking the stats, the injury reports, history of previous encounters/matchups, the current odds, etc…
Well, fuck that.
I am going into the pool with 2 selections/entries, we are allowed to do that and I will lose a few more bucks
I am keeping my first selection intact (see my previous post), but I made just a couple of changes on my second entry. None of you sees Da Bears going all the way, so I have Seahawks vs. Colts in the Big Show and Seahawks coming out on top. My second selection is similar to that of Hiryuu, but I have Carolina and Cincinnati coming trough in the wildcard games.
Merlin is the only one who knows what he is talking about.
I don’t care if NE lost 5 regular season games. The playoffs are like a whole new season. And Indie is going to choke under the pressure, like they ALWAYS do.
Let me put it this way. Tom Brady (greatest quarterback in the NFL) is undefeated in the playoffs. Bill Belichick (greatest coach in the NFL) is undefeated in the playoffs. The Patriots are going to be the first team in NFL history to win three straight Superbowls.
After the first weekend, the highest seed (Indy) will automatically play the lowest remaining seed. Since Pittsburgh is the 6th seed, if they win, then they’ll play Indy. If Cincy beats Pittsburgh, then Indy will play the winner of the JAX/NE game, since the winner of that game will be the lowest remaining seed.
ALSO, the whole “Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time” thing is garbage, because people put too much emphasis on the quarterback in general. Sure, the QB is the most important position, but it’s a team that wins a Super Bowl, so you can’t just say he’s the best ever at his position, because you need to take into account the phenominal teams and coach he’s had. I’m not saying anything against his skills, but you can’t give the QB ALL the credit.
And that’s all beside the point. I’m just saying Tom Brady’s on crack if he thinks nobody’s giving the Patriots any respect.
Re: playoffs bracket.
I just realized that CBS chart oversimplifies the NFL playoffs system. http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/playoffrace/bracket
For example, it shows that the winner of Jacksonville vs. New England game would play Indianapolis.
Well, not necesecerely. If New England beats Jacksonville and Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati, then in Divisional playoffs New England would play Denver and Pittsburgh would play Indianapolis.
In any given playoff round, the highest surviving seed always plays the lowest surviving seed. And in any given playoff game, whoever has the higher seed gets the home field advantage (i.e. the game is held at the higher seed’s home field).
That is somewhat confusing and archaic.
So, let the games begin!
Indy lost the past two years when they played in Foxborough. The year before that, they were a number 5 seed with a rather mediocre record of 10-6. They missed the playoffs the year before that. I don’t really care to see how Indy did before that (although, I think they made the playoffs every other year they had Peyton). While they lost, it’s hardly always choking. I mean, if New England is supposed to be passed off as the greatest NFL team ever, then Indy losing 20-3 should hardly count as some sort of chokejob by Indy. Peyton, on the other hand, can be referred to as choking given his past professional and college career, but not Indy in general.
Also, Belichick is hardly undefeated as a head coach. Remember the 1994-1995 playoffs? Belichick was head coach of the Browns and lost to the Steelers in the second round. Then there’s his two weird head coach tenures with the Jets organization without ever coaching a game.
The Pats are a good team, yes. Their run has been phenomenal, yes. Brady is one of the elites, yes (though he did not deserve Sportsman of the Year this year). However, I would be hard pressed to call the current Patriots Dynasty (which failed to make the playoffs one year in the middle, oops) the best ever (y halo thar '72 Dolphins), and I would be even more hard pressed to call Brady the best QB ever.
If the Pats win a third straight Superbowl on the heels of another good Brady performance (and another game winning Vinatieri kick), then I’d be willing to say the Pats are the best ever. Brady would still have to wait.
Anyway, I want a Bengals/Seahawks Superbowl matchup so one of the TWO GEORGIA SUPERFRIENDS can have a Superbowl ring. >.>
the only reason why the Patriots deserve any discussion as “best team ev0rrr” is simply because of the way they have been able to dominate in the Nu-NFL, which hammers home parity with a steel pipe. They’ve been able to rack up titles in an age of salary floors/ceilings, revenue sharing, free agency, over-expansion, and rags-to-riches-to-rags franchises.
now granted, I think they need to win either this year or next to make a wholly serious argument, but they’re the best run franchise in sports right now, and hopefully things will continue to progress.
I corrected my bracket with the new playoff ordering knowledge (although honestly I don’t care who is the 6th NFC seed)
Like I said, don’t put any big money where my mouth has been.
(Though if Carson Palmer hadn’t gotten his knee shredded on the second play, I think it’d have been a different story today. Oh well, always next year.)
