Should the AFC save themselves the embarrasement... (1 Viewer)

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

and not send a team to Super Bowl XLVIII?

Honestly, is there one championship-caliber team in the bunch?

New England and Denver don't have a defense between them. Also, Manning isn't a great playoff QB and Brady is now lacking in reliable weapons.

The Bengals do have a pretty good defense and some explosive weapons, but they also have Andy and Marvin.

Of course I know the Colts beat NFC contenders Seattle and San Fran early in the season along with the AFC's projected 1 seed, Denver. That was nice, but they've shown a lot of weakness since losing Wayne with 3 blowout losses in their last 6 games. They are hurting for weapons and won't win a game against a team that puts up a good score.

The Chiefs have only beaten one team that currently has a winning record all year - Philly in week 3. OK, they also beat .500 Dallas but couldn't hang with the big boy in their division twice. The have a good defense and Charles is electric, but does anybody think they have the passing game to win a title?

Whatever team gets the 6th spot isn't worth discussing.

Just hand out the Lombardi at the NFC-CG and avoid a late-80's flashback.

 

[FUBAR]

and with that, the AFC will surely win the Super Bowl.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Does this mean we should all run to the nearest sportsbook and bet big bucks on the current line of the NFC - 2 1/2?

 

[tones]

And the complete NFC teams are ?

7 weeks to the Super Bowl let's see who is healthy by then and what the weather looks like in northern NJ. BOTH are great equalizers.

While Seattle might make it, I don't think Seattle's 12th man will be there...

 

[Buffaloes]

that's an interesting way to spell embarrassment

but if it's all the same, I'd still rather they play it out and see what happens.

 

[lod01]

Should the Giants have just stayed home for Super Bowl XLII?

 

[ebsteelers]

Should the Giants have just stayed home for Super Bowl XLII?

apparently

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Should the Giants have just stayed home for Super Bowl XLII?

no but they did stay home on sunday, sheesh

 

[ebsteelers]

this is the shart pool at its finest with a thread like this

 

[ebsteelers]

the 2 good teams the seahawks played on the road (colts/49ers) they lost too

and played a close game in st. louis, and almost lost at home to the bucs.. lets not crowd them after beating the do do giants

seahawks: mentioned above

saints.. junk on the road

lions/bears... no defense

eagles/cowboys.. enough said

49ers... um which kap shows up? great d.. offense has potenial

panthers.. which cam shows up? great d, offense is alright

cardinals... ummm

 

[jurb26]

AFC will win the Super Bowl.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

 

[Ack88]

There is no single dominant team in either conference. Presuming everything holds and the Broncos and Seahawks meet, I'd give the Seahawks a slight edge. By no means is any team, or conference a lock to win the Lombardi trophy.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Should PlasmaDogPlasma save himself the embarrassment...

and not spell embarrassment?

 

[dutch]

KC has just the right mix to be a serious contender. Alex Smith is a better version of Trent Dilfer as he isn't as prone to mistakes and with the running of Charles and the opportunistic and agrresive play of the defense I can see KC playing with anyone when it comes to the playoffs.

 

[General Tso]

I kept hearing all year about Cincinnati's defense. Last night Pittsburgh marched it up and down the field at will against them, especially in the first half when Roethlisberger was running the no huddle. Maybe I caught them on a bad night, but they looked atrocious. No pressure at all on the QB. Roethlisberger had enough time to take a dump back there.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

The Ravens were double-digit underdogs in both the Divisional Round (which was silly stupid, as Baltimore was a better team than NE for anyone not blind) & the AFCC last year. Both of the Giants recent SB wins were major upsets according to the main stream media.

 

[cheese]

I kept hearing all year about Cincinnati's defense. Last night Pittsburgh marched it up and down the field at will against them, especially in the first half when Roethlisberger was running the no huddle. Maybe I caught them on a bad night, but they looked atrocious. No pressure at all on the QB. Roethlisberger had enough time to take a dump back there.

Unfortunately, it's a completely different team without Geno Atkins. Early in the season Cincy had one of the best pass rushes in the NFL, but I don't think we'll see that return with him out. The secondary is going to have to get healthy and better fast or it's going to be ugly against good passing games. Of course it would help if the special teams didn't donate 14 points as well.

 

[Ghost Rider]

KC has just the right mix to be a serious contender. Alex Smith is a better version of Trent Dilfer as he isn't as prone to mistakes and with the running of Charles and the opportunistic and agrresive play of the defense I can see KC playing with anyone when it comes to the playoffs.

That might be a good analogy if the Chiefs defense was on the same planet as the 2000 Ravens defense, but it's not. That Ravens defense gave up 188 points in 20 games that season (counting the postseason); the 2013 Chiefs have given up 144 points in the last five games. Not the same planet, galaxy, whatever.

 

[jurb26]

KC has just the right mix to be a serious contender. Alex Smith is a better version of Trent Dilfer as he isn't as prone to mistakes and with the running of Charles and the opportunistic and agrresive play of the defense I can see KC playing with anyone when it comes to the playoffs.

That might be a good analogy if the Chiefs defense was on the same planet as the 2000 Ravens defense, but it's not. That Ravens defense gave up 188 points in 20 games that season (counting the postseason); the 2013 Chiefs have given up 144 points in the last five games. Not the same planet, galaxy, whatever.

How many points has KC scored in comparison to that Balt team?

 

[BlueDredSo]

Yes, whichever team wins the AFC championship should just go home and prepare for the off-season. That's what sports are all about and why we watch the NFL.

Should you save yourself the embarassment of posting these topics?

 

[LuckyOne]

The Ravens were double-digit underdogs in both the Divisional Round (which was silly stupid, as Baltimore was a better team than NE for anyone not blind) & the AFCC last year. Both of the Giants recent SB wins were major upsets according to the main stream media.

Except the Ravens played DEN in the divisional round and NE in the AFCC.

 

[The_Man]

KC has just the right mix to be a serious contender. Alex Smith is a better version of Trent Dilfer as he isn't as prone to mistakes and with the running of Charles and the opportunistic and agrresive play of the defense I can see KC playing with anyone when it comes to the playoffs.

That might be a good analogy if the Chiefs defense was on the same planet as the 2000 Ravens defense, but it's not. That Ravens defense gave up 188 points in 20 games that season (counting the postseason); the 2013 Chiefs have given up 144 points in the last five games. Not the same planet, galaxy, whatever.

How many points has KC scored in comparison to that Balt team?

That 2000 Baltimore team finished with 333 points, 14th in the NFL. However, in their final 8 regular season games once Dilfer became QB, they averaged 27 points per game. KC this year is averaging 28.5 ppg.

Take Baltimore's final 8 regular season games, plus the 4 post-season games they played in 2000, and Baltimore was 11-1 (losing the first game under Dilfer, then winning the next 11 in a row ending with the Super Bowl), outscoring their opponents by 294-96, an average score of 25-8.

 

[Ghost Rider]

KC has just the right mix to be a serious contender. Alex Smith is a better version of Trent Dilfer as he isn't as prone to mistakes and with the running of Charles and the opportunistic and agrresive play of the defense I can see KC playing with anyone when it comes to the playoffs.

That might be a good analogy if the Chiefs defense was on the same planet as the 2000 Ravens defense, but it's not. That Ravens defense gave up 188 points in 20 games that season (counting the postseason); the 2013 Chiefs have given up 144 points in the last five games. Not the same planet, galaxy, whatever.

How many points has KC scored in comparison to that Balt team?

8 1/2 points more per game for KC. So yeah, bad comparison since the Ravens D was significantly better, and the Chiefs O is significantly better, making comparisons between the two bizarre.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

2005-Pit Steelers 11-5 regular season Wildcard team and Super Bowl Champs

2007-NY Giants 10-6 regular season Wildcard team and Super Bowl Champs

2010-GB Packers 10-6 regular season Wildcard team and Super Bowl Champs

2011-NY Giants 9-7 regular season Wildcard team and Super Bowl Champs

2012-Bal Ravens 10-6 regular season Wildcard team and Super Bowl Champs

All of these teams won 3 road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl and not one of them was a favorite going into the playoffs, all were 5th and 6th seeds. 5 of the last 8 seasons a Wildcard team has gone on to win the Super Bowl so maybe we should play the games out because you never know if someone might get hot and do the unexpected.

Miami if they beat Buffalo would have a 5-3 road record but the gem in the AFC is actually the runner up in the NFC West, that 5 seed in the playoffs is gonna be a tough out for whoever gets them on the docket. I think Denver would have some problems in the Divisional and AFCC if they are not the 1 seed but KC could be that Road Warrior in the playoffs perhaps. Miami has no playoff experience so I think they would have a very difficult time but the Miami fan base and those who believe is growing each week that passes. I still think Miami will have their hands full and more up in Buffalo this week.

 

[jurb26]

FWIW, I like this KC team about as much as anyone. Unfortunately I feel they have a glaring weakness that will prevent them from making the Super Bowl. They can't make big plays down field in the passing game. Minus Charles busting screens which doesn't really count IMO. They don't have WRs who separate well down field and Smith has limited arm strength to make those throws. Smith has adequate arm strength IMO, just not enough to compensate for the WRs lack of separation. In the playoffs I think solid defensive teams and game planning can cripple them.

 

[fantasycurse42]

I agree, the AFC should not send a team... Nobody watches the Super Bowl anyways - The Broncos aren't on pace to shatter every single season offensive record & the Brady/BB combo hasn't won any of these before. It would prob be best if we just added an extra 6 NFC teams in the mix.

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

No matter how you spell it, the AFC should have avoided it.

 

[beef]

They should have. AFC is a joke.

 

[bucsbaby]

I remember not too long ago, the AFC was completely dominant and the NFC was a joke.

Remember the "NFC Worst"???

Wow, things can change quickly in today's NFL.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Get up

a get, get down

AFC is a joke in yo town

 

[FreeBaGeL]

No doubt the NFC is a better conference, but are we really taking things to extremes based on one game where the NFC basically had the perfect matchup (outside of their passing game Denver is a horrible team, and Seattle is the best there is against the pass)?

The NFC was 34-30 against the AFC this year. That's hardly in "the AFC is a joke" territory. The NFC's two best teams, Seattle and San Francisco, both lost to the Colts who were a fairly mediocre AFC team. Seattle also struggled against Tennessee and pulled out a narrow 3-point win against the Texans who were 1-11 against other AFC opponents this year.

Matchups and any given Sunday make a big difference in the NFL, hence how Seattle can crush a team like Denver but lose to one like Indy.