Wildcard Week Breakdown

[VJCPatriot]

KC @ Indy
The key matchup; for this game is Larry Johnson vs Colt's defense. Prediction, Herm Edwards realizes that he can exploit this matchup and runs LJ 30+ times. Pouting Manning and his offense stay off the field for the most part. I'll take KC by 6 1/2.

NYJ @ New England
The Patriots just finished dismantling a very hot team with a good QB in the Tennessee Titans. Chad Pennington is not as good as Vince Young. The Jets are not as hot as the Titans were. Also the Jets runningbacks are a mix of various rejects. I like the Pats by 3 in this game.

Dallas @ Seattle
Deion Branch is not the "answer" in Seattle. The Seahawks offense does not look anywhere near the level it was in 2005. And Romo is a gamer. I think Dallas wins by 3 in a squeaker. Let the speculation on Ultimate Tuna Bowl begin!


NYG @ Philadelphia

Jeff Garcia is playing great football and Eli Manning is too inconsistent. The Giants passing offense has looked out of sync lately. I'll take Philadelpha by 6.

 

[mosi]

KC @ Indy
The key matchup; for this game is Larry Johnson vs Colt's defense. Prediction, Herm Edwards realizes that he can exploit this matchup and runs LJ 30+ times. Pouting Manning and his offense stay off the field for the most part. I'll take KC by 6 1/2.

NYJ @ New England
The Patriots just finished dismantling a very hot team with a good QB in the Tennessee Titans. Chad Pennington is not as good as Vince Young. The Jets are not as hot as the Titans were. Also the Jets runningbacks are a mix of various rejects. I like the Pats by 3 in this game.

Dallas @ Seattle
Deion Branch is not the "answer" in Seattle. The Seahawks offense does not look anywhere near the level it was in 2005. And Romo is a gamer. I think Dallas wins by 3 in a squeaker. Let the speculation on Ultimate Tuna Bowl begin!


NYG @ Philadelphia

Jeff Garcia is playing great football and Eli Manning is too inconsistent. The Giants passing offense has looked out of sync lately. I'll take Philadelpha by 6.

Me, I am going against the grain a bit. Indy will win. People said the same thing about Denver. A one trick pony is still just a pony.

No way the Pats loose this game. The players know what BB would do if that happened...

Seattle and the Giants show up big time and finally live up to their potential.

 

[SVN]

i think contrary to popular belief Indy will win comfortably...just my opinion...they will score and get ahead and then control the game, plus they are unbeaten at home
Indy's defense is bad but the KC defense shouldnt be too difficult for manning

 

[scout]

i think contrary to popular belief Indy will win comfortably...just my opinion...they will score and get ahead and then control the game, plus they are unbeaten at home
Indy's defense is bad but the KC defense shouldnt be too difficult for manning

I've always thought who gets the initial kickoff with Indy is very important. If Indy defends first, and the game goes back and forth with Indy scoring last before the half, then they get it again to start the second and score. It sometimes takes the other team out of their gameplan (running the ball). Of course all kinds of scenarios can happen, but I've seen this one happen a number of times.

 

[Patriotic]

i think contrary to popular belief Indy will win comfortably...just my opinion...they will score and get ahead and then control the game, plus they are unbeaten at home
Indy's defense is bad but the KC defense shouldnt be too difficult for manning

Agreed. And Herm Edwards already went nuts against the local media for suggesting KC backed into the playoffs. Bad way to start your playoff week. Herm continues his bumbling on Saturday. KC loses.

 

[skaIownsIyou]

i have the chiefs, pats, eagles and seahawks winning


no matter how much the colts run defense prepares, ron dayne ran for 150+ yards....and this is larry johnson we're talking about....not ron dayne or any other mediocre running back.....the only way to win on saturday is if peyton can throw 5 tds...and that may not be enough....last three games, KC vs IND, has a reputation of high scoring.....


the pats game, will be close only because to quote someone on this board "mangini has the blueprints of the patriots offense"....pats by, a range of, 2-10

i have eagles because reid is running a west coast offense, and jeff garcia is arguably the best west coast offense qb....a "master" if you will.......the lito sheppard/plaxico burress matchup is a no brainer, but the front 7 of the eagles will apply more than enough pressure on the injury filled giant oline and eli to get the ball to plaxico...i'm not sure if shockey's playing, but if he is, then eli will be forced to get the ball to him so shockey will stop crying....if not, then i'll expect a lot of running by tiki behind the blocking of #2 TE shiacone....i think that's the only reason why the giants beat the redskins, no shockey to whine for the ball, and shiacone, the better blocker, making key blocks and leading the way for finn and tiki

i have seahawks over cowboys, initially i had the cowboys over the seahawks only because of hasselbeck's bad playing, but i romo's inexperience in big games will prove to be the downfall of the cowboy's run to the superbowl...oh and has anyone seen roy williams??.....cowboys db's are forcing ware to drop back into coverage more so, instead of rushing the qb.....alexander and hasselbeck will get back into the groove of things, but its too little too late asi see the seahawks goign one and out....

 

[SVN]

I've always thought who gets the initial kickoff with Indy is very important. If Indy defends first, and the game goes back and forth with Indy scoring last before the half, then they get it again to start the second and score. It sometimes takes the other team out of their gameplan (running the ball). Of course all kinds of scenarios can happen, but I've seen this one happen a number of times.

its true but the big thing with indy is ..you get them to punt 2 times in a game , means its a big deal some times where as most teams in the league do that normally....thats the thing with that offense, it puts so much pressure which makes other teams think , we need to match them..
no way with that defense indy wins 12 games if their offense was just good but not efficient and machine like.

 

[miDeuce]

Can anyone confirm that the teams will be reseeded after this weekend? I always seem to forget and am considering buying tickets to San Diego since I'm in LA. Oh yeah, anyone got a ticket hookup?

 

[VJCPatriot]

Just look at Indy's 4 losses this season: Dallas, Tennessee, Jax, and Houston. What do those losses have in common?

Indy defense gave up 117, 219, 375, and 191 yards rushing respectively for an average of 225.5 yards per game in their 4 losses. And that's the rushing game alone. It is clear to see what the Colt's achilles heel is. And now they have to face the #2 overall rusher in the league in Larry Johnson who tallied 1789 yards on the ground, second only to Tomlinson.

Can we see where this is going? The Colts offense is very good. But for them to win against KC they have to be PERFECT. Peyton's already thrown his defense under the bus. He'll just blame them again if the Colts lose on Saturday. Why am I not surprised? The choking begins at the top with the Dolts.

By the way I think the Eagles have an axe to grind after previously blowing one of the biggest leads in a regular season game going into the 4th quarter against the Giants. This playoff game is going to be intense and I think the Eagles have that extra motivation to win. Not to mention that Garcia is playing on fire, you know like when he used to be a good QB?

 

[Flying Fungi]

Can anyone confirm that the teams will be reseeded after this weekend? I always seem to forget and am considering buying tickets to San Diego since I'm in LA. Oh yeah, anyone got a ticket hookup?

the teams don't get 'reseeded'

simply, if NEP win and Indy wins, then NEP in SD

if NEP win and KC wins, NEP in BAL

 

[mosi]

Just look at Indy's 4 losses this season: Dallas, Tennessee, Jax, and Houston. What do those losses have in common?

Indy defense gave up 117, 219, 375, and 191 yards rushing respectively for an average of 225.5 yards per game in their 4 losses. And that's the rushing game alone. It is clear to see what the Colt's achilles heel is. And now they have to face the #2 overall rusher in the league in Larry Johnson who tallied 1789 yards on the ground, second only to Tomlinson.

Can we see where this is going? The Colts offense is very good. But for them to win against KC they have to be PERFECT. Peyton's already thrown his defense under the bus. He'll just blame them again if the Colts lose on Saturday. Why am I not surprised? The choking begins at the top with the Dolts.

By the way I think the Eagles have an axe to grind after previously blowing one of the biggest leads in a regular season game going into the 4th quarter against the Giants. This playoff game is going to be intense and I think the Eagles have that extra motivation to win. Not to mention that Garcia is playing on fire, you know like when he used to be a good QB?

All the Indy losses came on the road. They have played much better at home.

 

[mgcolby]

I want to think that Indy will lose to KC but this is a team that had a 28-3 lead against Cleveland during their playoff push and lost. I can't see that defense stopping Manning. I also don't think Edwards has the balls to keep running it if they go down by 10 or more in the second half. On the other side how does Indy stop LJ, Gonzalez and Kennison? I think this will be a 34-31 type of game with Indy winning on a AV FG in the final seconds.

Seattle and Dallas pick one. Does it matter because whoever wins this game is out in the divisional round. I'll take Seattle because they are home. 24-20

The Eagles will crush the Giants at home. The Giants will be out of this game by halftime and they will fighting in the lockerroom. Eagles 31-6

The Pats have been outright dominant in their final three games against two teams with legitimate playoff hopes in the AFC and a team that beat Indy. The Jets played well in their final three games taking care of business on the road twice and at home against a bad team. They responded well to the Bills loss. I give them credit for posting 10 wins against what is ranked as the 25th schedule. Not sure how that works out given they played the same schedule as the Pats except for two games and the Pats are said to have the 9 toughest schedule. Can 2 games really make that big of a difference? If so the strength of schedule is over rated IMO. Mangini may know us or have our Blue print as stated previously, but what he doesn't have is a playoff tested team full of proven winners. The Pats take care of business with ease at home - 34 - 10

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Can anyone confirm that the teams will be reseeded after this weekend? I always seem to forget and am considering buying tickets to San Diego since I'm in LA. Oh yeah, anyone got a ticket hookup?

Easiest way to remember.
The highest remaining seed always plays the lowest remaining seed. The 2nd highest plays the second lowest, etc, etc.

Based on that, San Diego can only play the 4th, 5th or 6th seeds.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Teams that play the 3-4 defense give Indy the most trouble. Dallas, Jests, Pats, Chargers. I don't believe KC plays with the 3-4.

I look for Indy to focus on long drives in order to keep their D off the field. Sanders will be key in stopping the KC running game just enough for them to keep the game close.

I agree that Indy wins with a late FG or TD.

Philly wins easily. Eli will be overwhelmed. The Giants have too many injuries to overcome. Phillys run D has been better of late. Garcia is on fire and will win this 1st PO game at home.

Romo will not win his 1st PO game, esp. at Seattle who is very tough to beat at home. The Seahawks are getting their key players back just at the right time. After that terrible effort at home against the Lions can you see this team bounce back??

My quick thoughts...