NFL playoff thread: Wild-card week

The Cardinals are my pick to rep the NFC in the Super Bowl. Very well-rounded team.
AFC ... Who the hell knows .. I guess the Patriots ... The only team that would surprise me would be the Texans.

How long will Dalton be out. He's optimistic about playing this week. If he's back, I like Cincy to be the AFC rep.
If Williams can't play this week the Steelers are a one-dimensional team and likely done. If Cincy can get over the hump and get its first playoff win over the Steelers, they can't get it done the rest of the way ...

I'm not sold on the Broncos offense. The Chiefs are due for a loss (and some turnovers). Plus Smith doesn't have a lot of playoff experience.

 

Three games, a QB rating of 97 or better in each of them and no INTs is pretty decent. He's not Tom Brady, but Smith knows what it's like to play - and play well - in the postseason.

 

I was very high on the Cardinals -- until yesterday. What the fuck, Arizona? I don't trust Carolina, but they've spent the season proving everyone wrong. I don't like the Seahawks' chances to win three road games, but they are the hottest team and they've certainly got the edge in experience. The NFC should be fun.

The AFC is the Patriots' to lose IF they're healthy in two weeks. I expect the Steelers to hand the Bengals their annual early exit, but I don't think Pittsburgh's D holds up for three games. The Broncos and the Chiefs are complete wild cards. No one is hotter than KC the past three months, but who really believes in this team in the postseason? The Broncos' offense remains a mystery after 17 weeks, but defense wins championships, and no one's is better.

 

Interesting schedule. Is this the first time that NBC hasn't had the Saturday night game?

 

I don't look at or expect any team to play like The Best team in the NFL every Sunday. Just win the games you are supposed to win, be it a last second FG or a blowout. ... The Cards through up an egg yesterday, Ok. I think they may have checked out of that game. I don't put a lot of stock in it.
I'd love to see Arians and the Cardinals hoist the Lombardy.

I have ZERO faith in Cam and Panthers (big surprise, I know).
The Pats? I think they have the worst defense in the AFC playoffs. (This is where OOP strokes out) The only reason I think the Steelers are better is due to takeaways. The offense is a shell. Brady is Brady and they have Gronk and Gostowski; good enough for 17-24 points a game.
Only the Bengals and Steelers have better offense.

 

The Pats have the worst defense in the AFC playoffs? WTF?

 

I am a little curious, analytically speaking, why you would have ZERO faith in the team that led the league in points scored, seeing as defense is the team's known strength. Seems like a pretty tough combination.

 

I wonder how much (if ever) this actually happens ... but that would seem to have been a classic "don't show 'em anything" game for Arizona. The chances of Carolina losing to Tampa Bay were very low to begin with, and those chances were reduced to zero by halftime. It's tough to make a group of pros stand there and take it like that, but I just don't think the Cardinals played that one to the max.

I still like Seattle in any rematch -- which wouldn't be until the conference championship -- but I'm dismissing yesterday entirely.

 

I suppose. I think the Patriots may have done a little of that, too. All the pressure on Brady was not part of the game plan, but there were a number of series where they went very conservative -- as if they were content to just get the game over with and continue planning for the playoffs.

 

A team with Brady is never an underdog, but the Pats haven't looked all that good since before Thanksgiving. I'd call their defense this year competent, but no more.

 

Weren't they among the league leaders in sacks? Generating pressure is the X factor for any defense, so I'd rate them a little better than competent.

 

Arizona shouldn't worry anyone after yesterday. Once they saw Carolina wasn't going to lose, they had nothing to play for.

Seattle was a good value pick going in as they had something to prove from Week 16 while Arizona was cruising.