It's time for the fuckin' playoffs, ladies.

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

My thinks are STMPE, Chargers, Giants, and Steelers. My wants are also nonexistent.

[Cuban Linx 0]

Seattle

Jacksonville

Tennessee

Tampa Bay

 

Will probably be wrong about all four. Aside from the Titans i don't really care, nor does it matter since whoever wins will just end up losing in the Divisional round anyway.

[naiwf 0]

Seahawks & Giants in the NFC

 

Jaguars & Chargers in the AFC

 

And then all 4 teams lose the following week.

[Richard 0]

want: Seahawks

think: Redskins

want: Steelers

think: Steelers

want: Bucs (though I don't care that much)

think: Bucs

want: Chargers

think: Titans (San Diego sports curse strikes again)

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

Washington Redskins @ Seattle Seahawks

 

This depends on the Seahawks. As a Washington resident, I've seen everyone of the Seahawk's games, and they are fucking SPOTTY. There have been games where they've looked like one of the toughest teams in the league, but the very next week, they've looked completely inept. They seemingly can't figure out who the fuck they are. On the flipside, the Redskins are coming in to kick ass. So if the Seahawk's don't play to their top they'll lose...I'll still pick the Seahawks, because I feel if they play to their best, they are the better team. But if they have an "off" day again, their going to be hurt.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Pittsburgh Steelers

 

These two teams played not too long ago if memory serves, and the Jaguars kicked the Steeler's asses. There hasn't been that much of a change other then bad for the Steeler losing Willie Parker...I say the Jaguars win this game, and fairly comfortably possibly by ten or more.

 

Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers

 

There is absolutely no reason, whatsoever, why the Chargers shouldn't win this game...but then again, that's been the line pretty much all season. The Chargers have looked good the last few weeks, but I can't shake the feeling that their going to have a burnout here, but I think dispite possibly having a horrible day, they still somehow get by the Titans.

 

New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

I'm rooting on the Bucs, if only because they have Jeff Garcia, who is one of my favorite players. Like the Seahawks/Redskins game, this will depend on the Giants. If they play like they did against the Patriots, they'll win this game. They were keeping up, and for a period of time beating the Patriots because they weren't making stupid mistakes. Had Eli Manning not thrown that INT, the Giants would have won that game. If Eli Manning and the Giant's Defense have a good game, they win this game. If Eli plays like how he NORMALLY does, they lose. That being said, I'll pick the Bucs for that reason. I don't think Eli has two of those performences in him in a row.

[Guest Smues]

Think: Seattle

Want: Which ever team has the best shot at beating Green Bay and Dallas.

 

Think: Pittsburgh

Want: Jacksonville

 

Think: San Diego

Want: San Diego

 

Think: New York

Want: Tampa Bay

 

[MFer 0]

Jags-The game should look about the same as it did a couple weeks ago

 

Chargers-Titans can't score enough to keep up with S.D.

 

Bucs-Giants have the players to win, but I think they'll have a letdown after investing a lot into the Pats game, plus the Bucs D is very good

 

Seahawks-If this was in D.C., I'd probably go with the 'Skins

[cabbageboy 0]

Seattle vs. Washington: I have badmouthed the Seahawks almost nonstop for the past few weeks, and the Redskins have come on strong to make the playoffs. So who do I pick? Seattle of course. If nothing else they did go 7-1 at home and teams that are JTTS types that get psycho hot tend to cool off in the playoffs. Seahawks by 7.

 

San Diego vs. Tennessee: The Titans quite literally were handed a playoff spot and from what I saw the other night they have little chance of winning this one. If they couldn't beat the Chargers in TN then I don't see it happening in SD. Chargers by 10.

 

Tampa Bay vs. NY Giants: The playoffs would be much, much more interesting if the Giants won here. Oddly enough I think the near win vs. NE will help more than it will hurt, whereas if they had beaten the Pats I think they have a major letdown here. Giants are also 7-1 on the road. NY by 4.

 

Pittsburgh vs. Jacksonville: It amazes me that 90% of the board thinks that the Jags will just waltz into Heinz Field and squash the Steelers. They won by 7 a few weeks ago but let's not forget this was right after the Steelers had played NE and were likely dragging. This will be tough, manly football but in the end I think the Steelers advance by 6 and a bunch of experts will whine about not getting the riveting NE/JAX matchup.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Oh, I don't see a squash in Pittsburgh at all. I think Parker's injury is going to be a big factor, and Jacksonville takes it by field goals.

 

 

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Weren't you going to leave, again, if the Ravens won, Marvin?

No, I specifically was talking about the game vs Seattle. I wasn't too sure about the Pittsburgh game with them not having Willie Parker, Ben Worthlisburger, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu, so if you notice I didn't say anything.

 

ESPN is reporting that Billick is out as Ravens head coach.

I was pretty shocked by the news, especially since they did manage to win on Sunday..

 

They should hire a defensive-minded coach so the offence will get better. That's the way it always seems to work.

 

The big rumor is Bill Cowher..and at least the Ravens franchise has some respect left (unlike the other Baltimore sports team) to which I think it could happen. Mike Martz as the offensive coordinator and Rex Ryan hopefully (but probably not) staying as Defensive Coordinator. If Ryan leaves, I guarantee he snags a job somewhere else as a head coach. If they don't get Cowher, Im pretty sure they promote Ryan..but I think they are definitely going after Martz for Offensive Coordinator.

 

The good news is, Suggs had stated he wasn't resigning if Billick was still around but with him gone they should be able to resign him. The Parade of guys out of Baltimore is going to be interesting though as it looks like McCallister wants to be traded, and guys like Ogden and Rolle retiring.

 

And in a sign the franchise hasn't learned anything from the McNair era in Baltimore, they're apparently at least interested in Donovan McNabb, who will more than likely end up just like McNair.

 

 

[Gert T 0]

I am rooting for Washington just so I don't have to see Hasselbeck's coin flip prediction played over and OVER again next week.

 

 

[MrRant 0]

Would you rather see that or hear about SEAN TAYLOR! SEAN TAYLOR! SEAN TAYLOR! ad nausem?

[Gert T 0]

Hmm, you're right. It's a no win situationn.

 

 

[slabinskia 0]

Did someone say playoffs ?

 

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

Hey Marvin, do you think Samurai Mike would be a good fit for the Ravens? Defensive guy, surely familiar with the Ryan defense, is said to be a players' coach of sorts, but seems like the kind of guy who can crack down on some of your idiot players when necessary, and would surely have the respect of his players, even the murderous Ray Lewis. I hope he picks up a head coaching job. Ideally, I'd like him as DC of the Bears, but I'm sure Lovie has much better ideas in his fertile mind than that.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Like keeping that dope whose name I cannot remember. Ron Turner for the Defense, I call him.

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

Bob Babich, whose role last year was assistant (to the) head coach. What does that even entail? Repeating the last word of each sentence in a pep talk? Whatever he did then, what he did this year was a big flop-a-roo. I know Dvoracek and Mike Brown couldn't make it through the first game of the season, but we went from hearing "we're gonna do the Cover 2 AND blitz a lot!!!" in preseason to seeing "we're gonna try not to give up a first down" by week 6 or so. What a fucking mess that was.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

I'll keep it to the draft/offseason thread after this, but Chicago should just cut bait with Mike Brown. Hasn't that city learned enough about players that are hurt EVERY SINGLE YEAR?

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

Let's revisit the Ravens head coach thing for a second. I don't know much about this Steve Bisciotti fellow, but to go into the locker room and ask the shortbus that is the Baltimore Ravens locker room if Brian Billick has "lost them" is BAD POLICY. Should Billick have been fired? Yeah, probably. But to do so on the survey results of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed? Bad, bad, bad. That's not Ray Lewis's call, it's Ozzie Newsome's call. The owner should have little say in football operations, and the players should have NO say. It's not supposed to work this way, especially not with THESE droolers.

 

Report coming out of Lake Forest is a conversation along the lines of:

 

Lovie Smith: "I want to get rid of Ron Turner."

Jerry Angelo: "Then I want to get rid of Bob Babich."

Lovie Smith: "Well, never mind."

 

So basically, as I expected, Jerry Angelo is reclaiming the reins of this team little by little, and Lovie's half of the power struggle means we're stuck with both bad coordinators. This should be fun. Ron Turner has taken a lot of shit for how bad the offense has been, but the talk of how the defense was routinely torched was comparatively quiet.

 

Also, Brian Griese is probably going to be moved to anyone who will take him, but we knew that for some time, didn't we?

[Guest Vitamin X]

Good, then.

 

Also, this Pats fan sure looks ready for the playoffs (NSFW): http://www.burlysports.com/play/channel/89812

 

Words cannot describe..

[KingPK 0]

Warren Sapp to retire.

 

Good riddance to one of the douchebaggiest players I've ever seen.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Let's revisit the Ravens head coach thing for a second. I don't know much about this Steve Bisciotti fellow, but to go into the locker room and ask the shortbus that is the Baltimore Ravens locker room if Brian Billick has "lost them" is BAD POLICY. Should Billick have been fired? Yeah, probably. But to do so on the survey results of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed? Bad, bad, bad. That's not Ray Lewis's call, it's Ozzie Newsome's call. The owner should have little say in football operations, and the players should have NO say. It's not supposed to work this way, especially not with THESE droolers.

 

Bisciotti is generally well liked (He was voted "coolest owner in the NFL" by fans apparently) BUT he only took over from Art Model in 04 and his greatest impact has probably been the training facilities he ordered to be built which are top of the line in the NFL. He's the 2nd youngest owner in the NFL (47) behind Dan Snyder. This is probably the most high profile move he's made so far and to say he may have gone about it the wrong way is an understatement but no one disagrees the move had to be made and he could have been too intimidated to make the move until it was too late. I sorta see his going into the locker room as helping make sure he was making the right decision since he doesn't have that much background in football.

[Richard 0]

Yahoo claims that Galloway is out this week, but I haven't seen it confirmed anywhere else. Anyone know what the deal is there?

[Red Baron 0]

Brian Billick should have gotten this for Christmas.

 

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

I sorta see his going into the locker room as helping make sure he was making the right decision since he doesn't have that much background in football.

Maybe if he wasn't sure about this, he should've delegated the responsibility to his department of football operations. Orrrrr he can solicit advice from Ol' Stabby. Either/or.

[Kinetic 0]

Chances are that Ray Lewis isn't regarded as Ol' Stabby within the Ravens organization. He's been the face of the franchise more or less since its inception and he's considered a leader inside the locker room, so it's neither unreasonable nor unprecedented for upper management to solicit advice from him.

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

It doesn't matter. Disrupting the hierarchy is bad policy.

[Gert T 0]

I agree, its one of 32 unique jobs, so somebody will be happy to take it, but I think they will lose some candidates because of it.

 

 

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

Anybody else have trouble sleeping last night?

[NoCalMike 0]

Anybody else have trouble sleeping last night?

 

Sort of....I slept through the night but woke up at 7am...usually on a weekend if I do that, I would lay right back down and go back to sleep.....couldn't do that today...

 

Gooooooo Skins!!!