2009 NFL Playoffs

[Saintsfan]

I think that if the Bengals had come into that game with more confidence, they may have gotten out of the tough parts of that game more succesfully. For me there weak end to the season played a big part in that defeat.

Perhaps, but in my opinion the Jets would have steamrolled the Bengals had it been all about the momentum.

My point isn't that a game isn't good or great, but the whole concept of an 'instant classic' just isn't right. A classic is a judgement for history to write. Are people going to talk about a particular game in 10 or 20 or 30 years? Who can tell. Not all great games are 'classics'.

A classic or historic account is indeed something for history to decide. That being said, sometimes it's pretty obvious to predict what history will decide upon.

And I obviously meant 'wildcard round winners' rather than 'wildcard winners'. I think that certainly on the NFC side, both the Cardinals and the Cowboys stand a good choice. I think that the Jets have a decent shot against the Chargers, given the Chargers 'bye' week and the Jets good run. The Colts, I would make heavy favourites. I think the Ravens have a shot against the Colts, but I just feel they have been a touch too inconsistent down the stretch to be any other than underdogs.

I wouldn't say you "obviously" meant the Wild Card round winners, but I apologize for the misunderstanding non-the-less.

Anyway, for someone who's all about the momentum I'm surprised you didn't pick up on the fact the Colts rested their starters for the last two weeks of the playoffs while the Chargers only did so in the last week. Also, the Chargers ended the season winning, whereas the Colts ended the season on a two game losing streak. So as far as momentum goes, I would say the Charges have just as much, if not more, going into their game against the Jets as the Colts have going into their game against the Ravens.

I would say both the Chargers and the Colts are the clear favourites, but of both underdog teams, I would say the Ravens have the best chance at an upset, given that the Colts seem more "cold."

To be honest, I think everything being equal, the Colts are the best team in the league this year, by a reasonable margin (sorry New Orleans fans!) and I think that Manning is such a leader on the team that against the Ravens, I still think the Colts have to be favorites. That being said Baltimore could turn the Colts over, especially if the Colts are cold.

As a historian, I think that the 'urgency of now' tends to add significance to recent events. But then given perspective they get diminished. After all this is just the wildcard round, if the Cardinals get knocked out in the next round, already the game gets diminished somewhat. To that extent I think that a playoff classic needs the significance of either being won by a champion or of the winner at least going to the championship game.

Don't get me wrong here, the Cardinals could win another close game at the weekend, and that begins to roll on the significance. But personally I think to call any game an 'instant classic' the day after it is diminishing in the first place.

[FiddySicks]

I love how everyone talks about this great momentum the Jets had going into the playoffs and that it'll help against the Chargers so much. It's like people just quickly forgot that the Chargers won their last 11 to get into the playoffs. Why has nobody talked about how great the Chargers momentum is? They're the very last team I'd want to face right now.

[Gary]

If Kurt Warner retires, I'm concerned about Larry Fitzgerald's fantasy value next year. I mean, I have to keep him, but I'd be a whole lot happier about it if Matt Leinart didn't suck so thoroughly. I hope they address getting a veteran QB in there in the offseason.

If I were them, i'd draft a QB in the draft have Kurt Warner stay one more year and breed him to be the next Arizona QB, trade away Leinart to a team desperate enough for a QB but doesn't want to draft one.

[TFoA]

I love how everyone talks about this great momentum the Jets had going into the playoffs and that it'll help against the Chargers so much. It's like people just quickly forgot that the Chargers won their last 11 to get into the playoffs. Why has nobody talked about how great the Chargers momentum is? They're the very last team I'd want to face right now.

More than a few people have the Chargers as favorites to win the AFC, maybe even the Super Bowl. Ever since the Colts decided to sit their players, they've gotten a lot of hate & the love has transferred to the Chargers. So it's not even as bad as you think.

[FiddySicks]

I love how everyone talks about this great momentum the Jets had going into the playoffs and that it'll help against the Chargers so much. It's like people just quickly forgot that the Chargers won their last 11 to get into the playoffs. Why has nobody talked about how great the Chargers momentum is? They're the very last team I'd want to face right now.

More than a few people have the Chargers as favorites to win the AFC, maybe even the Super Bowl. Ever since the Colts decided to sit their players, they've gotten a lot of hate & the love has transferred to the Chargers. So it's not even as bad as you think.

I guess ypu're right. It just seems awfully quiet on the Chargers front. Thinking about it though, the teams everyone is talking about are teams that most feel will struggle, so I guess no talk is good. All's quiet on the western front

[TFoA]

I love how everyone talks about this great momentum the Jets had going into the playoffs and that it'll help against the Chargers so much. It's like people just quickly forgot that the Chargers won their last 11 to get into the playoffs. Why has nobody talked about how great the Chargers momentum is? They're the very last team I'd want to face right now.

More than a few people have the Chargers as favorites to win the AFC, maybe even the Super Bowl. Ever since the Colts decided to sit their players, they've gotten a lot of hate & the love has transferred to the Chargers. So it's not even as bad as you think.

I guess ypu're right. It just seems awfully quiet on the Chargers front. Thinking about it though, the teams everyone is talking about are teams that most feel will struggle, so I guess no talk is good. All's quiet on the western front

Yeah because 9 times out of 10, if there's a lot of talk around the Chargers it's because they're losing, going through issues, or someone within the team is moaning about them losing. So yeah, for that team silence is golden.

[infrared41]

As a historian, I think that the 'urgency of now' tends to add significance to recent events. But then given perspective they get diminished. After all this is just the wildcard round, if the Cardinals get knocked out in the next round, already the game gets diminished somewhat. To that extent I think that a playoff classic needs the significance of either being won by a champion or of the winner at least going to the championship game.

Don't get me wrong here, the Cardinals could win another close game at the weekend, and that begins to roll on the significance. But personally I think to call any game an 'instant classic' the day after it is diminishing in the first place.

Excellent points. The ESPN generation strikes again. "They scored a ton of points and it was decided in OT. It's gotta be one of the best ever!!!"

That game yesterday was hardly a "classic." It's silly to even talk about it as an all-time great game. Will it be remembered like the the classic match-up between The Chargers and Dolphins in 1981? To even compare yesterday's game to that game in 1981 is a joke. Was yesterday's game as good as the 1987 AFC Championship game? Or Bills - Oilers in 1992? And so on... The game yesterday was a shoot-out. It was wildly entertaining. It featured two of the worst defensive performances you'll ever see. But the one thing it was not is a "classic." It was two good QBs shredding two non-existent defenses. Fun? Yes. All-time great football? Not even close. The most dramatic moment in that game was the coin toss after regulation. If that's the best "moment" a game can offer then don't we think calling it a "classic" is a bit excessive?

[IceCap]

I'm more worried about the Bolts having to face the Ravens then the Colts actually. The Chargers aren't afraid of the Indianapolis Paytons, and have had their number for a few years now. The Ravens, on the other hand, have always been somewhat of a problem for San Diego, even beating them earlier this year.

[Cujo]

Next weekend's predictions:

Colts def. Ravens

Chargers def. Jets <-- I hope I'm wrong

Cardinals def. Saints

Cowboys def. Vikings

[Gary]

Next weekend's predictions:

Colts def. Ravens

Chargers def. Jets <-- I hope I'm wrong

Cardinals def. Saints

Cowboys def. Vikings

I'll root for the Cowboys just so your magical Brett avatar will end, every time I see it I feel motion sickness

[Brass]

Keyboard Cat Playing off the Patriots

You know, I was searching all night on YouTube and just couldn't find a good song that really screamed "Third Place in the AFC East".

[leopard88]

Well, it looks like the Pats are about to lose their second straight postseason game. They are also about to go 0-2 in postseason games against David Tyree.

. . . who, as a result of a lovely bit of gamesmanship by John Harbaugh, was one of the Ravens' captains for the coin toss.

[STL FANATIC]

As a historian, I think that the 'urgency of now' tends to add significance to recent events. But then given perspective they get diminished. After all this is just the wildcard round, if the Cardinals get knocked out in the next round, already the game gets diminished somewhat. To that extent I think that a playoff classic needs the significance of either being won by a champion or of the winner at least going to the championship game.

Don't get me wrong here, the Cardinals could win another close game at the weekend, and that begins to roll on the significance. But personally I think to call any game an 'instant classic' the day after it is diminishing in the first place.

Excellent points. The ESPN generation strikes again. "They scored a ton of points and it was decided in OT. It's gotta be one of the best ever!!!"

That game yesterday was hardly a "classic." It's silly to even talk about it as an all-time great game. Will it be remembered like the the classic match-up between The Chargers and Dolphins in 1981? To even compare yesterday's game to that game in 1981 is a joke. Was yesterday's game as good as the 1987 AFC Championship game? Or Bills - Oilers in 1992? And so on... The game yesterday was a shoot-out. It was wildly entertaining. It featured two of the worst defensive performances you'll ever see. But the one thing it was not is a "classic." It was two good QBs shredding two non-existent defenses. Fun? Yes. All-time great football? Not even close. The most dramatic moment in that game was the coin toss after regulation. If that's the best "moment" a game can offer then don't we think calling it a "classic" is a bit excessive?

It's not absurd to call a game an "instant classic". The Gold Medal game of the WJHC's was beyond a shadow of doubt an instant classic the second the winning goal was scored.

But I agree, yesterday's game was not. It was a lot of fun to watch though, and their were some great plays.

[NEW.ERA]

It was fun to watch if you weren't a fan of either team. That was despicable for the fans of the both teams (More less the Cardinal fans) that game easily knocked a few years off my life and left we with a bruised right hand from punching a wall.

I'm just thankful it was a Wild Card Game, Now I can sit back and watch the remaining teams beat the crap out of one another.

[IceCap]

It was fun to watch if you weren't a fan of either team. That was despicable for the fans of the both teams (More less the Cardinal fans) that game easily knocked a few years off my life and left we with a bruised right hand from punching a wall.

I'm just thankful it was a Wild Card Game, Now I can sit back and watch the remaining teams beat the crap out of one another.

Someone has sour grapes. Maybe it comes to dealing with disappointment yearly (look at the sig), but I find it hard to get mad enough following a playoff loss to punch anything.

[NEW.ERA]

It was fun to watch if you weren't a fan of either team. That was despicable for the fans of the both teams (More less the Cardinal fans) that game easily knocked a few years off my life and left we with a bruised right hand from punching a wall.

I'm just thankful it was a Wild Card Game, Now I can sit back and watch the remaining teams beat the crap out of one another.

Someone has sour grapes. Maybe it comes to dealing with disappointment yearly (look at the sig), but I find it hard to get mad enough following a playoff loss to punch anything.

I've been a Packer fan for quite a while now and when you lose a game like yesterday it really hurts. I've since gotten over it and can always be thankful for next season.

[IceCap]

I've been a Chargers fan for a while. I didn't punch anything when they got shellacked by Pittsburgh last year. Yeah, it stings, but it's "sports disappointment," it doesn't matter in the long run.

And FTR part of me wanted to see Green Bay win it all so they could prove they can do well without His Holy Farveness.

[NEW.ERA]

I've been a Chargers fan for a while. I didn't punch anything when they got shellacked by Pittsburgh last year. Yeah, it stings, but it's "sports disappointment," it doesn't matter in the long run.

And FTR part of me wanted to see Green Bay win it all so they could prove they can do well without His Holy Farveness.

That's mostly it I would have given anything to see Aaron Rodgers go into Minneapolis and finally beat the Vikings especially if a trip to Miami was on the line.

[TFoA]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXVoTWkWTkc

Yeah.

[ninersdd]

The Jets are going to need to go Baltimore on SD and run, run, run. SD's D-line sucks, and its amazing that they've done that well this year. One interesting stat is that the Saints have only given up 3 TD passes at home this year, so things should be interesting with Warner and Fitz this weekend.