The 2013 NFL Thread

[Dave The Man]

[OEP]

Well the Seahawks / Saints game went to script going down to the wire and Saints fans would have to be wondering what may have happened if their team hadn't spent the bulk of the game finding new ways to self destruct. You also have to wonder what was going through Colston's head when he caught the Brees pass on the sideline and could've stepped out with still 8 seconds left on the clock (I think) and Brees within range of the end zone, but instead he throws a midfield forward pass and dooms the Saints to the loss. In fairness though they likely would've lost anyway.

Then you've got the luckless Colts (Yeah I went there ) losing to the Patriots. Brady did very little all game with Blount doing all the damage on the ground, while on the other side Luck spent most of the day finding new ways to throw interceptions...4 of them to be exact. During the game Luck threw two beautiful touchdowns but sullied that with 4 dreadful interceptions, two of them at crucial junctions in the game.

Tomorrow should be another good day of finals football.

GO THE NINERS

[Dave The Man]

Chargers are a Descent Chance as Manning has History of Chocking in the Playoffs

[blackmissionary]

[Dave The Man]

Media only care about the Brady vs Manning game and the Other game is the Sideshow

[Pies4shaw]

They have to focus on the AFC this week, DTM, because the NFC champion will probably run away with the Super Bowl in 2 weeks' time.

[Dave The Man]

[Pies4shaw]

Seahawks leading 20:17, early in the 4th quarter after a go-ahead TD. Fascinating game. Hope OEP's nerves are holding up!

[Yarra Falls End]

An old fashioned AFC West showdown in the Superbowl.

[Woods Of Ypres]

I don't like either team but I would prefer Denver to win.

[Pies4shaw]

Having watched both games again this morning, I think it is fair to say that the Seahawks were the weaker of the 2 NFC teams - on the play as I saw it, it was surprising they won. Very unfortunate to see Navarro Bowman hurt badly (probably an ACL, so he will likely miss most or all of next season, if the injury is confirmed). It was, of course, also a dreadful call on the same play (Bowman clearly controlled the ball to the ground, despite his injury) and it is very lucky for the officials that Seattle didn't convert from the poor decision. Further, the final interception by Seattle was very lucky - if the ball had landed incomplete, the 49ers would, I think, have gone on to score. It looked to me throughout that last San Francisco drive like CK was marching the 49ers to another Superbowl.

Commiserations to OEP, of course - I hope he can still bring himself to give us the benefit of his insights into the two championship games and his preview of the big game, despite the 49ers' unfortunate end to the season.

In the other game, the Broncos were never really challenged. There is some controversy today (started by Belichick, who looks like he hasn't forgiven Welker for leaving as a free agent in the last offseason) about the clash between Welker and Talib that saw Talib leave the game early in the second. It looked accidental to me and, in any event, Welker is so small that he should have expected to come out worst from such a collision. Given that he's already been concussed 3 or 4 times this season, it was good that he came through that clash without another head injury.

The Superbowl is a difficult call. In my opinion, a great deal depends upon whether Harvin can start for the Seahawks and play to a reasonable standard - and, of course, on whether MetLife Stadium is under 4 feet of snow when Manning is trying to throw the game-winning TD pass. Wilson looked to be firing blanks for most of the NFC championship game and he really needs a quality wide target to throw to. However, Harvin started his career catching throws from the Great One, who made some fairly average receivers look great over the journey - and it is doubtful whether Wilson can present aerial opportunities of that quality.

The Seahawks apparently expect Harvin to start. But, in any event, I can't go past the Broncos. I know that Seattle's defence will get to Manning more often and more effectively than the Pats did and that Manning won't run at all (let alone for 100+ yards like CK did) but I don't think there's much comparison between the quality of the Seattle and Denver offences and I think the Broncos' defence is probably good enough, although it's not great.

Also, my heart is with Peyton, for two reasons. First, it would be sad to see the 3rd greatest QB of all time leave the game with only one SB ring. Secondly, as a Packers fan, I really, really wish that the Broncos had something to talk about that didn't involve Elway making THAT play and robbing the Great One of his back to back SB wins.

[OEP]

Yup that loss hurt, pretty bad to be honest. Losing to the better team is easier to accept than watching your team literally hand the game to the other team.

Such is life

Anyway on the game played. The Bronco's easily accounted for the Patriots and if they had a better defence I would put them in the unbeatable catagory, but unfortunately for them their defence best described as good. Against a seriously (offensively) undermanned Patriots team the task of keeping them out of theend zone became that much easier. Even the mighty Tom Brady struggled to find targets and put up the points required to match the Bronco's supercharged offense and with a defense that's average, at best, the Patriots were never really in the hunt. To be honest it never looked to me like the Bronco's got out of third gear against the Patriots.

Onto the other game.....let me just take a couple of deep breaths.....the Niners looked the better team for 95% of the game but unfortunately spent the other 5% making the mistakes required to keep the Seahawks in the game. The reality is the Seahawks offense is suffering the same problems the Niners faced in the beginning to middle part of the year, that is missing key players which is causing the offensive side to stagnate. The Seahawks brick wall defense is the only thing keeping them in games at the moment, in the same way the Niners defense did for the greater part of the season. The game itself, as predicted, turned into a defensive slugfest with, in my opinion, the Niners defense playing marginally the better. Unfortunately the Niners offense kept finding ways to hand the ball back which certainly wasn't due to lack of talent but seemingly they collectively had one of those games and even a misfiring Seahawks offense will put points on the board given enough chances. End result Seahawks won the game and the,deserved, right to play in the Superbowl.

The Superbowl.

A month ago I would've predicted the Seahawks by 15 to 20 points against the Bronco's simply because the Seahawks have the defense to blunt the Bronco's offense but the reverse can't be said for the Denver defense. Unfortunately the Seahawks offense is nowhere near the power unit it was and seems to be getting worse every week. On current form I'm struggling to pick a winner, but I will anyway Bronco's 16 - Seahawks 10, that's right Peyton wins his second SB.

[Funkadelic]

Hi guys, so I had a self-imposed summer long ban from afl footy and have only realised I haven't posted in this thread all season long, probably a good thing as my Redskins had an absolute Barry Crocker! The less said the better, however I will say I'm kinda exited having a Gruden as a head coach, I really enjoy Jon Grudens outlook on the game on ESPN, here's hoping his brother is the same.
Onto the game tomorrow- Seatlle have the best collective defence I've seen in the few years I've been watching, but Peyton has a good 5 different targets to throw to. Don't think Seatlle have seen an offense like this all year, if thy can get some pressure on Peyton I feel they're a chance but Denvers O-Line has been really solid all year. Should be a great game, hope there is no snowstorm or terrible calls, let them play! Final score Denver 20 Seatlle 14

[Pies4shaw]

So, Joe Namath throws an interception at the Super Bowl. Happily, this one didn't matter, he threw again - and the Seahawks win the toss in the big one.

[Pies4shaw]

And then the best offense in the NFL - and maybe ever - throws the ball out of centre, straight over Peyton's head for a safety. Seahawks lead 2:0 and have now marched into the red zone.