Washington Post: Are The Falcons Dangerous?
by Brandon on Dec 29, 2010 11:00 PM CST
in Green Bay Packers Analysis
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Who is the one team you do not want to play in the NFC playoffs? I didn't even discuss the Green Bay Packers because they've got to earn a trip to the playoffs first. It's a better question when asked, which is the one team you don't want the Packers to play in the playoffs?
I came up with the Falcons because I had to pick a team. At the Washington Post:
There is a lot to like about the Falcons. They have one of the best offenses in the NFC with a much improved defense from last season. Unless they trip over the 50 yard line next Sunday when they host the awful Panthers, they'll also have a first-round bye and home field throughout the playoffs. Another rarely noticed fact is that the Falcons are very healthy, with only four players on injured reserve and not one of those players has started a game this season. And their fans seemed to make a lot of noise in support last Sunday, despite the losing results to the Saints.
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Bears
I’m not too worried about any other team other than the Bears, mainly because we won’t have any chance of playing them at Lambeau but will be forced to play at soldier field, I wish Lovie was fired for that reason, he beats us in Chicago. I was rooting for the Eagles to get the #2 seed but oh well. Bears probably have the easiest path to the superbowl since the best team (Green Bay) is the lowest seeded team, honestly if They’re #1 that means they most likely play either the Saints or us rather than the flat Eagles or hapless NFC west hobos.
That Bears offense
They’ve had two great games recently, but they’ve been awful the rest of the season. It was just three weeks ago that they did nothing against a mediocre Patriots defense in the snow at Solider Field. And their offense did little against the Packers defense in their last meeting.
They’ve got a great defense, and a great special teams unit. But I didn’t see them as dangerous because of that offense.
While the Falcons should claim the No. 1 seed on Sunday, how wild is it that if they had one more loss and the Saints win next week, the Saints are on top with a bye and the No. 1 seed, while the Falcons are the No. 5 seed as a wild card, instead of the other way around. It’s been very close at the top of the NFC this season.
Yeah, crazy
That the saint’s could get the #1 seed. I’m not worried about the Bears for any Logical or Rational reason, it’s mostly that it’s the Bears just being the Bears.
by ericforeman04 on Dec 29, 2010 11:42 PM CST up reply actions
favre gets 50,000 fine
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/12/29/favre.investigation/index.html?hpt=T2
convientely given out after the last game
The only glove he needs is a batting glove. - RWShow on Adam Dunn signing.
You really thought Goodell was going to punish his boy brent? He knows that farve lied to the investigators, even saying so according to the reports, and then they come out with this BS about ‘insufficient forensic evidence.’ That is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard (besides what comes out of farve’s mouth). The NFL should be ashamed of themselves for protecting him.
'TAAAAAAANNNK!!!' - Any of Francis, Louis, Bill, or Zoey
And you really think
that the NFL should have played into Sterger and her lawyers desire to set Favre up for a lawsuit? That would have been the ultimate insult and feed our social decline. Never feed the toxic pirañas, no matter who they are attacking.
The BS started when the NY-based media went after Favre with this story, the week before the Vikes play the Jets. Then the lawyers get involved, trying to use the NFL to set Favre up for a lawsuit.
I am on who thought Favre was poison to the Packers before his “last” retirement and lost respect for him professionally long before the panty-wearing men got hurt by Thompson’s perfect disrespect.
No matter what you think of Favre, the NFL did a great (legal) job of preventing manipulative and greedy people from taking advantage of the league and Favre.
Remember, it is said somewhere that a man’s thoughts are as important as his actions. Show me a man who does not “appreciate” a beautiful woman (in thought) and I will show you a man without testosterone. Just because Favre (stupidly) pasted his thoughts out into a permanent medium does not make it better or worse than any other man’s thought or fantasy.
Just let this one go.
Just because Favre (stupidly) pasted his thoughts out into a permanent medium does not make it better or worse than any other man’s thought or fantasy
…um… yes it does. That’s like saying “we all covet other people’s money, so there’s really no difference between me and Bernie Madoff since he just acted on the desire that we all have.” We don’t convict people for inappropriate thoughts; we convict them for illegal actions.
While it’s true that our thoughts are as important as our actions (and, btw, it was Jesus who said that), that’s a moral point, not a legal one. Lots of sins are legal. But sexual harrassment in the workplace is not one of them. You can get away with looking at your co-worker lustfully (although it’s still a sin), but, when you send her pictures of your junk, that’s when you can expect an investigation and prosecution. …and rightfully so. And that’s what makes it a mis-carriage of justice that, apparently, there’s a different standard for Mr. Favre.
by Curly Lambeau on Dec 30, 2010 11:36 AM CST up reply actions 3 recs
well said and rec'd
Bev Pear: A jar? Girls don't pee in jars.
Randy Pear: Oh, right. Sorry. Jason, we're gonna need a jar and a funnel.
How's this relevant to the topic?
Favre again? And if you complain why he is such an attention getter, well, you might be the cause of your complain sir.
Let’s move on from this please. We’re talking about which playoff team is most dangerous.
by Rodgers_for_MVP on Dec 30, 2010 11:55 AM CST up reply actions 2 recs
Eagles
Honestly, the team that scares me the most is the team we’ll likely be facing in round 1 if we get there…the Eagles. We’ve seen that they can be beat, by almost all of us in the NFC North (I think only the lions lost to them) but they have the ability of putting up points CRAZY fast and I don’t know if you can ever feel like you’ve put them away. Vick adds a dimension no other playoff team has and even with a good scheme he’s almost impossible to slow down. We learned some last game from the Vikes but I am still scared of that team. I think there are other very good teams, but none of them have the X factor the Eagles have!!
The Green Bay Packers...Putting bad coaches out of their misery since 2010
personally, if I were a fan of any other team, the Packers would scare me the most
they’re so damn inconsistent, but when on our A game, no one can stand up to us
The only glove he needs is a batting glove. - RWShow on Adam Dunn signing.
by blackoutsox on Dec 30, 2010 12:13 AM CST up reply actions
Yeah, that’s true actually. It’s just a matter of showing up with the Packers.
Fire Slocum
by packallday555 on Dec 31, 2010 3:44 PM CST up reply actions
The Eagles defense is hit or miss.
They are about middle of the pack in points allowed, passing ypg, and rushing ypg. Where they seem to shine is the pass defensed, interceptions, and sacks. They appear to be a defense of opportunity, the “bend, don’t break mold.” Although they have given up 30 passing TD’s, they have picked off 22 passes. QB’s have a 81.4 passer rating against them, while the Packers would make passers hit a 69.1 mark.
I guess what I am saying is that you can’t make mistakes against this defense, but you can make plays against them. You have to make drives count and put those points on the board when you can. Their offense will score, but you should be able to match those scores.
I think teams are showing us ways to beat Vick. If you can shut him down, you have a good shot. But the thing that scares me is that the teams had to apply blitzes to a hobbled Vick and made sure they got to him or at least kept him in the pocket. If he was able to scoot, that would defeat the purpose of the pressure and teams would/should get burned by it. CM3 would need to play the game of the century to shut down Vick. BJ Raji needs to blow up the middle.
by Bush League All Star on Dec 30, 2010 1:27 AM CST up reply actions
yeah…but with that offense, you might not need much of a D. I’ll agree, they aren’t the most well rounded team out there but they are the scariest team. When they are playing at their best, they are almost unstoppable. I fear it might end up being another game like the AZ game last year where the last team to make a mistake loses. Those kinds of games are SCARY!!!
The Green Bay Packers...Putting bad coaches out of their misery since 2010
This is understandable.
Teams that have been able to get pressure with their line, have been doing well against the Eagles. Then they have been adding blitzes off the edge to apply get faster guys coming at Vick. All told, you have to bring him down and put hits on him. Knocking him around seems to be the one way to put him off his game. You have to keep contain and run your assignments, otherwise Vick will go to his legs to beat you. It is scary, but the recipe is out there. Get to Vick, you can win.
by Bush League All Star on Dec 30, 2010 12:32 PM CST up reply actions
Raji
Teams that have been able to get pressure with their line, have been doing well against the Eagles.
should be able to close off one of his avenues of escape.
The glass is still more than half-full!
I'd rather be correct, than politically correct.
I'd rather be right.
The Bears still suck!
Good points
The absence of Jim Johnson (RIP) is noticeable. They were gashed by a simple Viking gameplan and a raw QB, and also NYG had great success against them. If I were Rodgers, I’d concentrate a lot of my game on throwing in Dimitri Patterson’s direction. He’s been awful lately and looks lost in coverage.
As for gameplanning against Vick: Blitz Blitz Blitz. Vikings blitzed all game and knocked him around pretty good. He was forced to scramble and run instead of throwing those dangerous spirals to Jackson and Maclin. I think we are among the best teams in NFL at blitzing the QB. The second most important thing is tackling, which is not our best quality. If we miss a tackle on Vick, he can turn a potential sack into a 20 yd gain in a flash.
by Rodgers_for_MVP on Dec 30, 2010 10:02 AM CST up reply actions
It would be a long shot to play them
But I’ll put in a vote for the Saints. One of the top two QB we’d face all year, lots of weapons in the passing game (including an underrated TE in Jimmy Graham who was 14th by DVOA), just enough of a running game to keep the defense honest, and a defense that has been playing much better as of late and is well coached by Gregg Williams.
Greinke: "It’s not about the guacamole itself. I just don’t want to let them win."
I think the Saints are the one team that will give you guys problems
I love your defense, but it can be too aggressive at times. A great QB like Brees can take advantage of that. The Bears are a threat only because they are playing at home. I’m a Jet fan, even though our pass rush is not great, they came into that game rank tenth in the league in sacks. The problem is on that terrible field of theirs you can’t generate a good pass rush. Their front four didn’t have one sack. I think they had two pressures all game. The Jets O-line is good, but, I give a lot of credit to that horrendous field of theirs.
stats?
you can throw the stats out the window once the playoffs start.
the team that wins is the one that doesn’t turn the ball over and what players make plays.
Just win
please.
Will it be “season over” or the start of a new season? Win Sunday and the team is just a few wins away from the Superbowl.
It is tough to be left hanging like this.
The way the season has gone, anything can happen.
I agree with this
Right now, nobody scares me in the playoffs because we’re not in yet.
by Curly Lambeau on Dec 30, 2010 11:42 AM CST up reply actions
hard to say, they haven't had many good opponents
there are a few teams in the playoffs that really haven’t played great against playoff caliber teams. The Falcons are one,
won agianst – NO, GB,Balt, and TB(2x)
loss- NO, PIT, PHI
7-0 vs bad teams,
GB the same wins vs.PHI, NYG, NYJ
losses- CHI, NE, ATL
6-3 vs rest
thats just example but besides the Patriots (wins vs- NYJ, BLT, SD, PIT, IND CHI, GB)( loss to NYJ, and CLE), it seems like most teams are around .500 against playoff teams and beat up on the weaker teams, so the playoff could go many ways.
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
Most Dangerous Team in the Playoffs? Who's in the NFC West?
Could you imagine how embarrasing it would be to get your butt handed to you in the playoffs by one of those teams? Truth is, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain in that division and I fully expect them to come with a “season officially restarts TODAY,” attitude.
Even though that’s not the same as, say having a good team, you just can’t coach heart and will and even a team as professional as The Saints run the risk of taking their opponents lightly.
I’m actually a little excited about Sunday night’s game for this reason. If one of those teams totally destroys the other and really hypes their players for a playoff fight, the playoff picture might develop into a bit of a shocker.
"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Vince Lombardi
Nice try Mr. Goodell
But no one’s falling for the “NFC West might be good, please watch the Sunday Night game this week!” tactic.
Greinke: "It’s not about the guacamole itself. I just don’t want to let them win."
Hey now... no need to get beligerent.
"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Vince Lombardi
Sorry if it came off that way
I was trying to be funny. I think you have a point about the NFC West champion having nothing to lose, but I just don’t think the talent is there.
Greinke: "It’s not about the guacamole itself. I just don’t want to let them win."
I was kidding, no worries.
I’m not a fan of Goodell so I thought the comment was funny.
But I also think you’re underestimating the “any given Sunday” axiom and the one really crazy thing about the NFL this season which is that good teams have been playing to the level of their opponents a lot this year. The one exception being the Patriots.
"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Vince Lombardi
You seem a little sensitive. :)
The glass is still more than half-full!
I'd rather be correct, than politically correct.
I'd rather be right.
The Bears still suck!
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