Ravens and Niners I will give you. Pats aren’t defensive minded…and I know you aren’t saying the Giants are, or are you? That fierce 27th ranked defense?
Giants are a passing, finesse offense oriented team. 8th in offense; 5th in passing, 32nd in rushing.
RichVR
6582
I had no problem seeing Green Bay losing. My only mistake was by how much.
When they played the Giants earlier they were the same team. And three points is a gimme. I called it as the Giants by 3. I have no problem that it was by more points.
You have to give the Giants some momentum points now. No?
Maybe overrated in the sense that their defense hasn’t been that good. There is no doubt that the offense is a kind of powerhouse that has rarely been seen in the NFL. But that’s not a complete team. People assumed they would win or at least play in the Super Bowl, but the defense was a legitimate concern the whole time.
Of course, ironically, it was their offense that really lost them this game. It would have been much closer if Rodgers and co. had played even an average game. The number of dropped/missed/fumbled balls by such an excellent offense was amazing.
Thongsy
6584
I was surprised at that when I looked it up. But like I said they suffered a lot of preseason injuries and at the midway point too. Either way their defense has really come together the past couple of weeks. We’ll see how good they really are on defense since they should be able to easily stop Alex Smith like nothing if they come out strong like today.
Didn’t know they were that low in the rankings, but I’ll give them a lot of credit for their ability to get pressure on the pass rush with their front four. That’s big in a playoff game.
Sarkus
6586
Damn Packers.
I really didn’t expect these two teams to be the NFC finalists. Not sure who to root for. The NFC west part of me does not want to see the 49ers in the Superbowl in their first year under Harbaugh, even if it is a better story then a Giants return. Hard game to pick as well. And the AFC isn’t that much easier because the Pats haven’t been tested yet in the playoffs. But then you wonder if Flacco can get over the hump and win a game for the Ravens rather then them needing some sort of super defensive effort.
Quite the year, thats for sure.
sluggo
6587
All things said, I’m looking forward to this NFC Championship. The Giants and 49ers have played some classic playoff games, they played a pretty close game earlier this year, and I would expect this game to be a tough fight as well. I’ll be pulling hard for the Giants, but they’ve got their work cut out for them.
The AFC Championship… eh. I have trouble rooting for Sweatshirt on basic principle, but who wants to see the Ravens in the Super Bowl? Can we just make the NFC title game the Super Bowl?
As bad as the Pat’s D has been, they’re still 14th in points allowed. They also had quite a few injuries over the course of the season and are mostly healthy now with the notable exception of Vollmer.) They rely heavily on opponents turnovers and mistakes. The Ravens had no turnovers or penalties against the Texans. Pat’s are 6-1 against Baltimore, with the one loss a butt kicking in 09. That 09 Patriot team however was pretty mediocre for the Patriots (if you haven’t, catch the repeats of that season chronicling BB on A Football Life on NFL Network.) Sympathies to the Packers out there, now I feel less crappy that the Giants have done that to another team. By and large the Packers didn’t look like the Packers that game. Turnovers will kill a team every time.
Any of the remaining teams can win the SB; the Championship games look like coin flips to me.
As both a Steelers fan and a Patriots hater, I’d much rather see both the Ravens and the Patriots lose somehow, so I feel I’m not particularly biased here. When the Steelers beat the Patriots this year, they had the game plan down-- don’t make mistakes, exploit the passing game, play good defense. I think the Ravens are capable of doing all of those things. I also think the Patriots are playing better now than they were. I guess I’ll just have to root against whichever team happens to be in the lead at the moment.
Yep, at this point I’m cheering for AFC teams, and biting my tongue doing it.
Lorini
6591
OK sluggo, I’ll take you on, even if you think I’m one of those football idiots in the thread.
Dude, the better team is the one who wins when it’s important. Not the team that went 15-1, not the team with the passer with the 120+ rating and the ‘awesome’ receivers. See that’s the mark of a true good team is one who wins when it counts. The other mark of a good team is to stay humble. There is no destiny in sports and teams have to fight for wins. You don’t stroll into Mile High Stadium thinking that you’re the Steelers and that’s enough. You don’t show up to Lambeau Field thinking the history should see you through. You gotta play the game, otherwise fans might as well have ESPN or whoever run the regular season statistics through a computer simulator and we’ll know who wins the SB without having to watch. They play the games in the playoffs for a reason and that’s to see who really IS the better team.
This ‘better team’ concept really irritates me. Tell that to the Lakers who got swept in the 2011 playoffs. Tell that to the Yankees, who yet again didn’t win it all. Imagine that (sarcasm cuz I’m feeling sarcastic). They didn’t win because they weren’t good enough, just like the Packers didn’t win because they weren’t good enough. They may have stats pouring out their butt but stats don’t play the game, people do.
And that’s why we watch and care, because ‘the best team’ may end up on its ass just like the Packers did yesterday.
Hammet
6592
For what it’s worth, I didn’t see sluggo making any claim contrary to what you (Lorini) just posted. He simply had a problem with people posting that they always knew GB was going to lose, that they’ve always thought they were overrated etc after the fact. Green Bay had one of the best seasons, ever, in the NFL and they had it as reigning World Champions. I didn’t see him say that the Any Given Sunday rule did not apply to last nights game.
I have to agree with Lorini. This is exactly why the Bruins win last year was so satisfying, and for that matter Dallas beating the unstoppable Heat.
The sad thing what I witness in current sports is we don’t like extended greatness. Bruins are already being bitched about nationally for example. Dynasties are not admired they are vilified, be that the Yankees, Patriots or Celti-Lakers.
I remember being awestruck by the awesomeness of the 49ers and Dallas during their dominance. I sure don’t feel like people respect that at all anymore. Has anyone ever said a bad word about Montana…ever? I didn’t miss a Dallas game through that whole run (I worked in TV so dialing any game for me was easy) even though I’m a diehard Pats fan. That team was just the greatest complete team at the time. Now people are like ‘I can’t watch that fucking Brady guy’. Really? You’re missing out on watching one of the greatest QB in history because of regionalism? Sad really. I watch every Peyton Manning game I can, and I hate the guy. But on any Sunday he may do the impossible, and I want to see that in real time…as a football fan.
I’m cheering for the 49ers fro here on out. The teams I liked (Texans, Bengals in the AFC) have been knocked out already, to no surprise. In the NFC, I’ve been pulling for the 49ers all along. I like the smash mouth style they play, and I like to see Smith get some redemption. Very few first overall picks have had it as rough as he has and still stayed with the same team. 7 OCs in as many years? Ridiculous.
Also, put me down for being against dynasties. I get what Major is saying, but I like the parity of it all. I think it sucked when just a few teams seemed to have a legit shot at winning it all. Great for their fans, but no fun for anyone else. Spread it around.
DT1
6595
The 49ers vs the Patriots would be a great match-up as well, considering they’ve never met in the SB. If it’s the Pats-Giants, it’s a recent rematch and you get the feeling that the Pats would make it a blowout for revenge. (Although, that’s a pretty fun angle too.)
Brady’s smarter than that. Anybody that still underestimates SF’s D is a fool, and the Giants are red hot. Heck I think the Ravens are a tossup in winning even on the road.
Yeah, I’m looking forward to the NFC championship game as well. It’s the one I want to see. Eli Manning is really playing some good ball.
The Niners defense is tough. That Aldon Smith really gets after the QB. He has monster-sized arms. He looks like Stretch Armstrong out there.
I agree with you. I have to think a QB like Brady has no fear of having to match ANYONE score for score. Not Brees, Rodgers, or Manning back in the day.
What would concern him is running into a defense that is capable of interfering with his plans. And right now he’s looking at three legitimately worrisome defenses: Ravens in the here and now, plus Giants/49ers later.
I imagine the conversation in New England this week will go like this (starts at about the 1 minute mark.)
sluggo
6600
No offense, Lorini, but your entire post exhibits a complete lack of understanding of what we’re talking about.
It’s one thing to say “I give this team a chance to win.” But it’s something else altogether to show up partway through the game and start talking about the Packers like they were some overrated team that should have been underdogs in the game yesterday. Before yesterday’s game, did you think the Packers should be underdogs, Lorini? Wouldn’t you agree that’s a little silly?
That’s the kind of idiocy I’m tired of in these threads. I make a comment about whether the Giants receivers are under contract, and Nawid makes a comment about how it’s irrelevant because it’s really Eli who makes them look good and you could plug anyone in for Cruz and Nicks without missing a beat. Do people even watch fucking football when they make these comments? Do they not see the superhuman plays these guys are making? It’s almost like, no matter how correct or insightful a comment is, people have an unstoppable reflex to respond in the contrary, no matter how clueless it is.
