Play-Off Seeds and projections for AFC

[jmt57]

troy brown on weei said today that he would be worried about the chiefs because of all the coordinators and knowledge of the pats and BB like the cleveland game.

I heard some of the guys on the MNF pre-game show say the same thing. They pointed out that the teams that have given the Patriots the hardest time recently had people who were in the room with Belichick game planning before moving on to another team: Browns (Mangini) beat the Pats this year, Packers (Capers) gave the Pats a battle, etc. There have been others they did not mention that I thought of as well: Saban when he was with the Dolphins; McDaniels last year with Denver; perhaps a bit of a reach, but Schwartz and the Lions played well against the Pats for at least the first half this year.

Forget Jets-Pats III. Patriots West vs Patriots East would be just as good, if not a better story. The NY-based national media will be pleading for Ryan and the Jets to play the Pats one more time, but they'll have plenty of angles to work with between Brady-Cassel, Belichick-Crennel, Belichick-Weis, Pioli-Belichick, Vrabel-Brady, Vrabel-Pats o-line, etc.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple cart?

It appears that the AFC look like a done deal with

1) New England
2) Pittsburgh
3) Kansas City
4) Indianapolis
5) Baltimore
6) NY Jets

The landscape can certainly change with one or two upsets this weekend with the Colts as the only team in the top 6 above that can be totally out of the playoffs with a loss while the other 5 are set for the postseason regardless of win or loss sunday.

The two games that can change the order above is Pittsburgh at Cleveland and Tennessee at Indianapolis

I certainly can see Cleveland giving Pittsburgh fits and possibly beating them sending Pitt to the #6 seed,Baltimore to the #2 seed and the Jets up to the #5 seed

I don't think Tennessee is going to be able to beat Indianapolis with a sitting duck coach in Fisher who will be fired shortly after this game win or lose.

Cleveland has a good shot to win this game at home,especially after that disaster at home last week against Baltimore.

A Cleveland Win puts the Jets at the Jags or the Colts and Pittsburgh at KC

I think there may be an upset in one of these two games,I am leaning on Cleveland as more likely.

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Cleveland could very well brat Pitts. The Browns are a decent team and I think next year they will be a team to watch out for.

 

[bradydaman29]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Maybe Moss will have a monster game and Tennessee can beat Indy, how sweet would that be?

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Maybe Moss will have a monster game and Tennessee can beat Indy, how sweet would that be?

Moss having a monster game at this point in his career would be a bigger upset than Tenn beating Indy outright

 

[patsfan13]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Neither is a good bet for an upset. the Browns more likely, Titans lame duck coach on the road mail it in.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Maybe Moss will have a monster game and Tennessee can beat Indy, how sweet would that be?

That would be pretty sweet.

Hey, as an aside: I was playing around with the ESPN Playoff machine:
2010 NFL Playoff Machine - Simulate Matchups and Scenarios - ESPN

For those wondering about Chiefs' motivation to beat the Raiders/protect Pats draft pick: According to the machine, if the Steelers and Ravens both win as expected, and the Chiefs win, KC hosts the Jets. If the Chiefs lose, they host the Ratbirds. I'm thinking KC would be much better off facing the Jets, so, who knows.

Edit: Just did it with Pitt losing to Cle - -it's the opposite: Chiefs win they host Jets; lose they host Pitt. That's assuming Jets win ... you can go there and plug in your own results and see.

 

[Pessimistic Pete]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Titans are AWFUL and have NO SHOT at beating the Colts in Indy. Do not even waste your time watching that game. And hell, this is the same Colts team that had an "agreement" with the Titans to let them in the playoffs a few years ago. And Fisher doesn't even use Moss, he doesn't start and he's on the bench for 90% of the game.

Even IF the Tits beat the Colts (Again, 99.9% sure they can't) it wouldn't surprise me if the Jags got beat in Houston. Browns have a shot, they're able to play "up" to the level of their opponent sometimes.

At the end of next week, the AFC seeding will be the exact same as it was today.

 

[Koma]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Titans are AWFUL and have NO SHOT at beating the Colts in Indy. Do not even waste your time watching that game. And hell, this is the same Colts team that had an "agreement" with the Titans to let them in the playoffs a few years ago. And Fisher doesn't even use Moss, he doesn't start and he's on the bench for 90% of the game.

Even IF the Tits beat the Colts (Again, 99.9% sure they can't) it wouldn't surprise me if the Jags got beat in Houston. Browns have a shot, they're able to play "up" to the level of their opponent sometimes.

At the end of next week, the AFC seeding will be the exact same as it was today.

I think you are overlooking the possibility that the Colts rest their starters so that they are healthy for the playoffs

 

[RobertWeathers]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

I think you are overlooking the possibility that the Colts rest their starters so that they are healthy for the playoffs

Yea if JAX wins, I think they'll play the starters. JAX loses Peyton is grabbing some pine after the 1st series.

 

[Triumph]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

If I had to bet, Cleveland would be my choice.

The Titans are a mess.

 

[FortressX]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Yea if JAX wins, I think they'll play the starters. JAX loses Peyton is grabbing some pine after the 1st series.

Both games have been "Flexed".
Unlike 2008.
NFL releases Week 17 Flex Schedule

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Why the hell do Tennessee and Indy still get scheduled to play each other on week 17 after that bull**** in 2007? It's bad enough nothing was done about that, but now they just keep allowing them to conspire. Is it just me or does that seem a little shady to anyone? It's a free win to whichever team is in need of a 'favor' that particular year. There is zero chance Indy loses that game.

The Browns might have a shot if Polamalu doesn't suit up. I think Pittsburgh still wins though, Cleveland accomplished everything they wanted to this season in beating us and NO, judging by their performance since.

 

[nabwong]

Re: Cleveland or Tennessee - Which team more likely to upset the AFC Playoff apple ca

Baltimore could very well end up 2nd seed. Titans have zero chance of winning. I think Jeff Fisher might not be back with them. A change of scenery might do him good and he won't be short of takers. The 49ers with Fisher are instant playoff team in that division.