NFL playoffs 2013 thread

I understand there's few NFL fans here (at least those who post regularly)... but I for one am happy to see the NFL playoffs arrive. It's Wild Card weekend, with a full slate of games being televised. Let me throw in a few predictions:

Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans:

Everyone feels the Texans are ripe for the picking. They seem to have dropped off from their peak earlier in the season, while the Bengals have an underrated defense and a pretty good passing game. I'll go with the majority, because defense wins playoff games. But Houston will make it close.

Bengals 24, Texans 20


Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers:

Adrian Peterson is an awesome force, but the rest of the Viking offense leaves something to be desired. Green Bay has all their receivers back and are playing at home. This one won't be as close.

Packers 31, Vikings 17


Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins:

RG3 is good, but he's not at 100%. Russell Wilson is pretty good too, and has an awesome defense backing him up. Everybody's on the Seattle bandwagon. But they're much better at home than away, and the Redskins will have the definite homefield advantage. I'll go against conventional wisdom here and pick the Redskins.

Redskins 20, Seahawks 17


Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens:

Most are picking the Ravens due to the playoff experience. The Colts have overachieved this season, but I think the wheels might come off against the seasoned Ravens at Baltimore. There will probably be a lot of scoring.

Ravens 35, Colts 27

Looking forward to this weekend, and as a Vikings fan I'll be up till 4am (unless they get whipped in the first half) despite having a morning shift tomorrow.

I know Houston have had a big dip in form, but I can't see them losing to the Bengals. Wilson v RG3 is a fascinating match up, and I reckon RG3 can see it through for the wildcard round at least. Never liked the Ravens, so I hope the Colts win that one.

You are 1-1 so far

Man, Dalton missed a few key throws tonight and I think if he had connected the Bengals would have won as I thought they would. Credit to the Houston defense though because Cincinatti's offense didn't do a darn thing

The two teams I cheer for are the Seahawks and the Bengals. 0/1 so far and, if I was a betting man, I'd be putting my money on the Redskins tomorrow. Seattle is just a different team on the road.

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

I understand there's few NFL fans here (at least those who post regularly)... but I for one am happy to see the NFL playoffs arrive. It's Wild Card weekend, with a full slate of games being televised. Let me throw in a few predictions:

Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans:

Everyone feels the Texans are ripe for the picking. They seem to have dropped off from their peak earlier in the season, while the Bengals have an underrated defense and a pretty good passing game. I'll go with the majority, because defense wins playoff games. But Houston will make it close.

Bengals 24, Texans 20


Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers:

Adrian Peterson is an awesome force, but the rest of the Viking offense leaves something to be desired. Green Bay has all their receivers back and are playing at home. This one won't be as close.

Packers 31, Vikings 17


Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins:

RG3 is good, but he's not at 100%. Russell Wilson is pretty good too, and has an awesome defense backing him up. Everybody's on the Seattle bandwagon. But they're much better at home than away, and the Redskins will have the definite homefield advantage. I'll go against conventional wisdom here and pick the Redskins.

Redskins 20, Seahawks 17


Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens:

Most are picking the Ravens due to the playoff experience. The Colts have overachieved this season, but I think the wheels might come off against the seasoned Ravens at Baltimore. There will probably be a lot of scoring.

Ravens 35, Colts 27

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I was 2-2 this weekend. I guess ESPN won't come knocking anytime soon.

:-\

Picked every game correctly except the Texans vs Bengals. I really thought Houston was ripe for the upset but Cincy's offense was ineffective

Since I was so good last week (yeah, right... 2-2), I'll try my hand at this prediction stuff again this week. This weekend are the Divisional Playoffs, and hopefully I'll get to watch every one of the 4 games. This is the way I see it going down:


Houston Texans at New England Patriots

Probably the easiest game to pick. No way will the Texans beat the Patriots in Foxboro. Brady and the Patriot offense is on fire... and the defense is coming around also. Houston is good, but the defense has been a disappointment lately.

Patriots 31, Texans 20


Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos

Baltimore coming off an emotional win over Indianapolis and traveling to Denver. Peyton Manning is probably on a hotter streak than Brady right now. The Denver defense is not bad. This is the second easiest game to call this weekend.

Broncos 27, Ravens 13


Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

Seattle is on a definite hot streak right now and is the popular choice. Atlanta has a history of meltdowns once it gets to the playoffs. But the Falcons have some key weapons in Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez. This has the makings of a close game. But I'm going to lean toward the home team again.

Falcons 28, Seahawks 24


Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers

Green Bay's receivers are healthy... and Rodgers is looking to make amends for last year's playoff failures. San Francisco is good, but they have a largely unproven entity at quarterback. Kaepernick is good... but unproven in playoff games. On this one I'll go with the visitors.

Packers 30, 49ers 20

Well I always look at the NFL as a bit of a let down after bowl season but I think Denver wins the whole thing. Peaking at the right time with healthy playmakers on both sides of the line of scrimmage

Pats 35 - Houston 20
Denver 31 - Baltimore 17
Seattle 20 - Atlanta 16
GB 17 - SF 12

I'm with VictorCharlie in terms of results, but score-picking is a real tough game, so I'll put down a winning margin:

Patriots beat Texans by ten
Broncos beat Baltimore by fifteen
Seahawks beat Falcons by three in o/t
Packers beat 49ers by eight

I'm working most of the weekend, so I'll probably pick up just highlights for this round of games, and maybe the end of the Sunday night game.

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Originally Posted by superheavyrhun

I'm with VictorCharlie in terms of results, but score-picking is a real tough game, so I'll put down a winning margin:

Patriots beat Texans by ten
Broncos beat Baltimore by fifteen
Seahawks beat Falcons by three in o/t
Packers beat 49ers by eight

I'm working most of the weekend, so I'll probably pick up just highlights for this round of games, and maybe the end of the Sunday night game.

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I half-heartedly picked the Falcons... but I'll stick with my pick.
If the Seahawks pull it off, however, it's gonna be one helluva NFC championship game.
No matter who the opponent is.

Ofcourse I'll be rooting for the Hawks. If they do win, they'll be a big build up drama brewing for the NFC title wheather Packers win or Niners. Both team are likely pulling for the Hawks cause of the bad blood from this season.

Go Hawks!

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Originally Posted by Julius Rain

Ofcourse I'll be rooting for the Hawks. If they do win, they'll be a big build up drama brewing for the NFC title wheather Packers win or Niners. Both team are likely pulling for the Hawks cause of the bad blood from this season.

Go Hawks!

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I think the Hawks, should they win, have a better shot against the 49'ers, but I would love to see them stomp those whiny fucking Packers. I would also love to see them beat the Packers with another controversial play.

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Originally Posted by CFH

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Originally Posted by Julius Rain

Ofcourse I'll be rooting for the Hawks. If they do win, they'll be a big build up drama brewing for the NFC title wheather Packers win or Niners. Both team are likely pulling for the Hawks cause of the bad blood from this season.

Go Hawks!

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I think the Hawks, should they win, have a better shot against the 49'ers, but I would love to see them stomp those whiny fucking Packers. I would also love to see them beat the Packers with another controversial play.

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I would love to see the Hawks beat them all in their home turf. They will all fear us for the next years to come, especially when they come to Seattle ;D

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by superheavyrhun

I'm with VictorCharlie in terms of results, but score-picking is a real tough game, so I'll put down a winning margin:

Patriots beat Texans by ten
Broncos beat Baltimore by fifteen
Seahawks beat Falcons by three in o/t
Packers beat 49ers by eight

I'm working most of the weekend, so I'll probably pick up just highlights for this round of games, and maybe the end of the Sunday night game.

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I half-heartedly picked the Falcons... but I'll stick with my pick.
If the Seahawks pull it off, however, it's gonna be one helluva NFC championship game.
No matter who the opponent is.

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The Falcons have been a little flaky this season. Seattle has been playing great ball the last couple weeks and I just don't trust Atlanta to not step on their own crank.

I'm off to watch the Broncos-Ravens at my brother's house.

Go Broncos!!!

That Ravens touchdown at the end of the second half was one of the strangest things I've seen in a long time. It was like in slow motion. The ball hung in the air forever and until the very last second it looked like it was going to be an easy interception for the safety. What a fuckup.

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Originally Posted by OumaFan

That Ravens touchdown at the end of the second half was one of the strangest things I've seen in a long time. It was like in slow motion. The ball hung in the air forever and until the very last second it looked like it was going to be an easy interception for the safety. What a fuckup.

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I just don't get it...there's less than two minutes to go, you know Flacco's got a big arm, so how the f**k does the WR find himself in two yards of space deeper than the defence? I can tell you...Flacco is going for the long bomb. He's tried it with a 50% success rate earlier in the game, yet a vet like Champ Bailey still gets done all ends up.

It was just weird. Even though Bailey got beat the safety was originally in perfect position to make a play. It's just like he misjudged it or something.

Ravens win!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Being from Maryland that is great news. Payton Manning is the biggest choke QB in NLF history.

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Originally Posted by OumaFan

It was just weird. Even though Bailey got beat the safety was originally in perfect position to make a play. It's just like he misjudged it or something.

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At least I got to learn what happens if the overtime quarter runs out in the post season. I was hoping there might be some sort of field-goal penalty shoot-out, with all of the players taking kicks.

Kaepernick played lights out football this evening.

Man I SUCK at this prediction shit. ;D

I'm 0-2 already and tomorrow there's two more games. Never in a million years did I think the Ravens would beat the Broncos at Denver. Denver's secondary totally sucks. That last TD pass by Flacco was inexcusable. I've seen defensive coordinators get fired over less than that. And San Francisco was just out of this world awesome. Harbaugh looks like a genius now for sitting Alex Smith and replacing him with Kaepernick. What a freak of nature this guy is!! Almost 200 yards rushing. Damn.

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

Man I SUCK at this prediction shit. ;D

I'm 0-2 already and tomorrow there's two more games. Never in a million years did I think the Ravens would beat the Broncos at Denver. Denver's secondary totally sucks. That last TD pass by Flacco was inexcusable. I've seen defensive coordinators get fired over less than that. And San Francisco was just out of this world awesome. Harbaugh looks like a genius now for sitting Alex Smith and replacing him with Kaepernick. What a freak of nature this guy is!! Almost 200 yards rushing. Damn.

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Hate to discredit a performance like that but the Packers D helped a ton to make Kaepernick look like a superstar. I doubt he can repeat anything close to that on the road next week or ever. He certainly couldn't do shit in Seattle a few weeks ago.

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Originally Posted by Julius Rain

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

Man I SUCK at this prediction shit. ;D

I'm 0-2 already and tomorrow there's two more games. Never in a million years did I think the Ravens would beat the Broncos at Denver. Denver's secondary totally sucks. That last TD pass by Flacco was inexcusable. I've seen defensive coordinators get fired over less than that. And San Francisco was just out of this world awesome. Harbaugh looks like a genius now for sitting Alex Smith and replacing him with Kaepernick. What a freak of nature this guy is!! Almost 200 yards rushing. Damn.

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Hate to discredit a performance like that but the Packers D helped a ton to make Kaepernick look like a superstar. I doubt he can repeat anything close to that on the road next week or ever. He certainly couldn't do shit in Seattle a few weeks ago.

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In a way I hope you're right, 'cause of the 4 teams left in the playoffs now, I'm leaning toward the Patriots. But if the 49ers beat the Falcons next week and Kaepernick puts on a similar display in the SB, they could find themselves SB champs. Personally, I don't think Atlanta gets by San Francisco, not because necessarily because of Kaepernick, but just the whole team matchup. I'm also thinking Baltimore's emotional ride comes to an end next week in Foxboro. So although I finished 2-2 for the 2nd straight week, I'll give the predictions another try:


49ers 27, Falcons 21

Patriots 31, Ravens 16

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by Julius Rain

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

Man I SUCK at this prediction shit. ;D

I'm 0-2 already and tomorrow there's two more games. Never in a million years did I think the Ravens would beat the Broncos at Denver. Denver's secondary totally sucks. That last TD pass by Flacco was inexcusable. I've seen defensive coordinators get fired over less than that. And San Francisco was just out of this world awesome. Harbaugh looks like a genius now for sitting Alex Smith and replacing him with Kaepernick. What a freak of nature this guy is!! Almost 200 yards rushing. Damn.

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Hate to discredit a performance like that but the Packers D helped a ton to make Kaepernick look like a superstar. I doubt he can repeat anything close to that on the road next week or ever. He certainly couldn't do shit in Seattle a few weeks ago.

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In a way I hope you're right, 'cause of the 4 teams left in the playoffs now, I'm leaning toward the Patriots. But if the 49ers beat the Falcons next week and Kaepernick puts on a similar display in the SB, they could find themselves SB champs. Personally, I don't think Atlanta gets by San Francisco, not because necessarily because of Kaepernick, but just the whole team matchup. I'm also thinking Baltimore's emotional ride comes to an end next week in Foxboro. So although I finished 2-2 for the 2nd straight week, I'll give the predictions another try:


49ers 27, Falcons 21

Patriots 31, Ravens 16

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I usually go with the NFC West teams but I gotta root for Tony G. Maybe the greatest Tight End ever. Also the Patriots and Tom Brady always been my favorite in the AFC but again another great is retiring, Ray Lewis so I'm rooting for a superbowl including two of the greatest at the position before they retire.

Falcons over Niners
Ravens over Patriots

Tong.G vs Ray Ray. Who will retire with a superbowl win?

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Originally Posted by Julius Rain

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by Julius Rain

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

Man I SUCK at this prediction shit. ;D

I'm 0-2 already and tomorrow there's two more games. Never in a million years did I think the Ravens would beat the Broncos at Denver. Denver's secondary totally sucks. That last TD pass by Flacco was inexcusable. I've seen defensive coordinators get fired over less than that. And San Francisco was just out of this world awesome. Harbaugh looks like a genius now for sitting Alex Smith and replacing him with Kaepernick. What a freak of nature this guy is!! Almost 200 yards rushing. Damn.

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Hate to discredit a performance like that but the Packers D helped a ton to make Kaepernick look like a superstar. I doubt he can repeat anything close to that on the road next week or ever. He certainly couldn't do shit in Seattle a few weeks ago.

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In a way I hope you're right, 'cause of the 4 teams left in the playoffs now, I'm leaning toward the Patriots. But if the 49ers beat the Falcons next week and Kaepernick puts on a similar display in the SB, they could find themselves SB champs. Personally, I don't think Atlanta gets by San Francisco, not because necessarily because of Kaepernick, but just the whole team matchup. I'm also thinking Baltimore's emotional ride comes to an end next week in Foxboro. So although I finished 2-2 for the 2nd straight week, I'll give the predictions another try:


49ers 27, Falcons 21

Patriots 31, Ravens 16

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I usually go with the NFC West teams but I gotta root for Tony G. Maybe the greatest Tight End ever. Also the Patriots and Tom Brady always been my favorite in the AFC but again another great is retiring, Ray Lewis so I'm rooting for a superbowl including two of the greatest at the position before they retire.

Falcons over Niners
Ravens over Patriots

Tong.G vs Ray Ray. Who will retire with a superbowl win?

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Going with the sentimental favorites, eh? ;D

I myself had one of those. I was rooting for the Broncos, not because I'm a huge Denver fan, but because of Peyton Manning. The fact that this cat had 4 neck surgeries and brought the Broncos to the brink (not to mention a 1st round bye) is beyond admirable. But alas it wasn't meant to be. There was that Ray guy on the other team. ;D

Good thread @TitoFan, So now it's San Francisco vs. Atlanta @3:00 PM ET, and Baltimore vs New England @6:30 PM ET Sunday.

I'm sick about my Texans who went to shit when it counted at the end of the season.

cheers

I'm not picking. I suck at calling pro games.

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Originally Posted by Mars_ax

Good thread @TitoFan , So now it's San Francisco vs. Atlanta @3:00 PM ET, and Baltimore vs New England @6:30 PM ET Sunday.

I'm sick about my Texans who went to shit when it counted at the end of the season.

cheers

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Thanks, @Mars_ax. NFL fans are in a definite minority here, but I thought it would be nice to have a thread for those of us who do follow the game. I always look forward to this part of the year, because I tend to OD on football during Wild Card and Divisional Playoffs weekends. The Super Bowl is actually kind of a downer (unless the game is competitive, as it has been as of late), because after it's over there's no more football for about 6-7 months.

I think the Texans would've had better luck against the Ravens or someone like that... but they had the misfortune of meeting up with Brady and the Patriots in Foxboro. Steep hill to climb.

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by Mars_ax

Good thread @TitoFan , So now it's San Francisco vs. Atlanta @3:00 PM ET, and Baltimore vs New England @6:30 PM ET Sunday.

I'm sick about my Texans who went to shit when it counted at the end of the season.

cheers

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Thanks, @Mars_ax. NFL fans are in a definite minority here, but I thought it would be nice to have a thread for those of us who do follow the game. I always look forward to this part of the year, because I tend to OD on football during Wild Card and Divisional Playoffs weekends. The Super Bowl is actually kind of a downer (unless the game is competitive, as it has been as of late), because after it's over there's no more football for about 6-7 months.

I think the Texans would've had better luck against the Ravens or someone like that... but they had the misfortune of meeting up with Brady and the Patriots in Foxboro. Steep hill to climb.

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I had high expectations for the Texans, so i'm really disappointed at how they finished the year. I'm thinking that the other teams around the league started figuring them out towards the end of the year.

Atlanta vs. the Patriots would make for a nice Superbowl, I don't care much for the 49ers or the Ravens.

I had the pleasure of visiting a local pizza place with my friend watchin the 4th quarter and double overtime of the Ravens and Broncos game followed by the entire 49er's vs. Packers game.

My best friend is an avid Packers fan and had his Aaron Rodgers jersey on watching the game with everyone else rooting for San Francisco (we live in northern/central California).

It was very satisfying to see my friend's precious Packers get their asses handed to them by the 49ers for a change. Hope San Francisco goes all the way !

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by Julius Rain

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by Julius Rain

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

Man I SUCK at this prediction shit. ;D

I'm 0-2 already and tomorrow there's two more games. Never in a million years did I think the Ravens would beat the Broncos at Denver. Denver's secondary totally sucks. That last TD pass by Flacco was inexcusable. I've seen defensive coordinators get fired over less than that. And San Francisco was just out of this world awesome. Harbaugh looks like a genius now for sitting Alex Smith and replacing him with Kaepernick. What a freak of nature this guy is!! Almost 200 yards rushing. Damn.

---

Hate to discredit a performance like that but the Packers D helped a ton to make Kaepernick look like a superstar. I doubt he can repeat anything close to that on the road next week or ever. He certainly couldn't do shit in Seattle a few weeks ago.

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In a way I hope you're right, 'cause of the 4 teams left in the playoffs now, I'm leaning toward the Patriots. But if the 49ers beat the Falcons next week and Kaepernick puts on a similar display in the SB, they could find themselves SB champs. Personally, I don't think Atlanta gets by San Francisco, not because necessarily because of Kaepernick, but just the whole team matchup. I'm also thinking Baltimore's emotional ride comes to an end next week in Foxboro. So although I finished 2-2 for the 2nd straight week, I'll give the predictions another try:


49ers 27, Falcons 21

Patriots 31, Ravens 16

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I usually go with the NFC West teams but I gotta root for Tony G. Maybe the greatest Tight End ever. Also the Patriots and Tom Brady always been my favorite in the AFC but again another great is retiring, Ray Lewis so I'm rooting for a superbowl including two of the greatest at the position before they retire.

Falcons over Niners
Ravens over Patriots

Tong.G vs Ray Ray. Who will retire with a superbowl win?

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Going with the sentimental favorites, eh? ;D

I myself had one of those. I was rooting for the Broncos, not because I'm a huge Denver fan, but because of Peyton Manning. The fact that this cat had 4 neck surgeries and brought the Broncos to the brink (not to mention a 1st round bye) is beyond admirable. But alas it wasn't meant to be. There was that Ray guy on the other team. ;D

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Yea everybody talked about Adrien Peterson coming back from his injury and being the MVP. I think Peyton deserved it more, 4 neck surgeries and got his new team the number 1 seed. Tough they went out like that in 0T. They had that game wrap up if not for those secondary.

The way Peyton threw that final interception reminded me of Brett Favre's last game for the Vikings. Late in a playoff game, and the most important thing is not to throw a pick....

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

Man I SUCK at this prediction shit. ;D

I'm 0-2 already and tomorrow there's two more games. Never in a million years did I think the Ravens would beat the Broncos at Denver. Denver's secondary totally sucks. That last TD pass by Flacco was inexcusable. I've seen defensive coordinators get fired over less than that. And San Francisco was just out of this world awesome. Harbaugh looks like a genius now for sitting Alex Smith and replacing him with Kaepernick. What a freak of nature this guy is!! Almost 200 yards rushing. Damn.

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I hate the Ravens, so I wanted the Bronco's to win that game. I can't believe they blew it. :vd:

Ask @Violent Demise who's fault it is that the Bronco's lost, because according to him, it's my fault. :headscratch: ;D

Peyton Manning is the ultimate choke artist

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Originally Posted by Diane

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

Man I SUCK at this prediction shit. ;D

I'm 0-2 already and tomorrow there's two more games. Never in a million years did I think the Ravens would beat the Broncos at Denver. Denver's secondary totally sucks. That last TD pass by Flacco was inexcusable. I've seen defensive coordinators get fired over less than that. And San Francisco was just out of this world awesome. Harbaugh looks like a genius now for sitting Alex Smith and replacing him with Kaepernick. What a freak of nature this guy is!! Almost 200 yards rushing. Damn.

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I hate the Ravens, so I wanted the Bronco's to win that game. I can't believe they blew it. :vd:

Ask @Violent Demise who's fault it is that the Bronco's lost, because according to him, it's my fault. :headscratch: ;D

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I wanted either Peyton or Brady to win the SB... and naturally the Ravens took them both down. I'm not much into Ray Lewis's farewell party, so I'm rooting for the 49ers to win the SB now.

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Originally Posted by Jerry Rice

Peyton Manning is the ultimate choke artist

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That's a little harsh. Denver secondary handed the game to the Ravens, allowing a bullshit TD bomb with 30-some seconds left. A defensive coordinator with only half a brain would've had someone playing center field in the end zone. Asking Peyton to bail them out yet again was a bit unrealistic.

(BTW, I enjoyed watching your TD catches from Montana and Young). ;D

War the ravens!!

I would like to see the Ravens win as well. With everything that has happened with Torrey Smith and his brother and with Lewis' retirement I think it would be a good ending to the season. I have no problems with San Fran but truthfully I think they are going to be back in the SB before you know it. That defense is young and stacked.

I think the 49ers will win, but personally I'll be rooting for the Ravens. I really don't like the 49ers, and am not a great fan of the Ravens either. But Ray Lewis beats Kaepernick in terms of notable players that I would prefer to win, so I'll probably just get drunk and hope they both lose, and its an entertaining game.