NFL play offs

[Weybridge]

Broncos, Patriots, Cardinals and Panthers.

Things you would see at a Trump rally? Panthers protesting outside the rally though.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Here's a 2015 highlight reel

[LiT other account]

Wild Cardinals win in overtime. What a mad game.

Patriots do their thing and were a more comfortable win than the scoreline suggests. The Chiefies need to work on their clock management though.

[LiT other account]

Peyton old-mans the Broncos to the win and thanks the defence. Meanwhile the game of 2 halves at Carolina sees the Panthers hold on despite being 31-0 up at half-time.

Confident that it'll be the Pats in the Superbowl but against whom? Not sure.

[This Time Next Year]

Scores from this week...
LIT 4
WEY 4
USPF 3
FEE 3
TR 3
TTNY 2
CINC 1

And overall...
LIT 7
TTNY 5
USPF 5
WEY 4
FEE 3
TR 3
CINC 2

[Lost in Transportation]

Scores from this week...
LIT 4
WEY 4
USPF 3
FEE 3
TR 3
TTNY 2
CINC 1

And overall...
LIT 7
TTNY 5
USPF 5
WEY 4
FEE 3
TR 3
CINC 2

Shirley some mistake?

[This Time Next Year]

Probably. What have I done wrong?

[pomp 'n circumstance]

As an 'interloper' perhaps you learned gentlemen can confirm whether Tom Brady of the Patriots was one and the same Tom Brady who played for the London Lions when there was a European League over here - would have been a kid then, but I'm pretty sure he was? It's an odd thing - I've watched a lot of American Football live in the US of A and visited LA when they played at the Coloseum, Denver, Dallas, Houston, New York and Miami and of course Chicago when the Fridge played for them and much as I enjoyed the game, I never nailed my colours to the mast and became a fan of any of them.

That said, I believe the Patriots will again win the Super Bowl - whether they have to use the same ball as all the other teams or not!

[Lost in Transportation]

That said, I believe the Patriots will again win the Super Bowl - whether they have to use the same ball as all the other teams or not!

My gut says this is Cam Newton's year but my head can't call the Cardinals-Panthers game.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Well...as usual the div play offs produce some of the best games of the year. In particular the AZ Green Bay game though General Manning vs The Steelers was not half bad either.
At least the Patricheats are now forced to travel to Mile High which as far as I can see is the only thing that can stop them winning another trophy. Don't be fooled by AZ. Carson Palmer at QB is a red zone liability in the big game....he has the curse of the Bengals

So.....Denver and Carolina to win and its a toss up for the superbowl....I just have not seen the Panthers this year other than what just happened....but I have to think Brady or Mannings vast experience will tell....so AFC wins.

[pomp 'n circumstance]

Well...as usual the div play offs produce some of the best games of the year. In particular the AZ Green Bay game though General Manning vs The Steelers was not half bad either.
At least the Patricheats are now forced to travel to Mile ....but I have to think Brady or Mannings vast experience will tell....so AFC wins.

Now lookee here CK - this whole alleged ball tampering business needs some further comment! Has anyone done any further research to ascertain if the so called softer ball gave the Patriots any significant advantage in their home games. One would expect home advantage would mean they would win more games than they lost - what were last seasons stats on home soil for the Patriots......as opposed to their Away stats?

I would suspect that Denver would always have the biggest home advantage since the Mile High Stadium is at an altitude of over 6,000 feet - because of that, the ball travels in a completely different way from QB to receiver. To date, I have seen no complaints from opposition Quarter Backs about the trajectory of the ball at high altitude - do Denver have the best Home record because of that? Perhaps someone has the relevant stats?

[uspompeyfan]

Let's for a minute pour some ice cold water on Cam Newton and the many plaudits for yesterday's game; A close look at the game reveals some interesting talking points (which I was fortunate to voice on ESPN Seattle 710 after the game - media whore, me).

The field was perfectly set up for true home field advantage - extra watering outside the lines made it tough for outside movement by the receivers (Seattle's main WR threat is speed up the line, not the middle of the field, which happens to be Carolina's strength). Seattle took till midway through the 2nd quarter to adjust and even the commentators provided the quote from the coach "Today, this is built to resemble our practice field"

Carolina's defense set up the first half onslaught, not Cam Newton (he had good field positions most of the time)

Cam Newton did not do as well as Russell Wilson with the running game, in fact, that part of his game was largely taken away
Wilson's 2 INT plus Jonathon Stewarts's early running that did the damage.

Cam Newton did have open receivers in the mid range passing - why on earth was Richard Sherman (so over-rated this year IMO) always looking for the long run, giving up a simple 10-15 out route to Olsen of all people, almost every time. This was a major defensive error by Seattle even late in the 4th quarter when the Seahawks were in the ascendancy and needed the secondary to stop the panthers.

At 31-0 Cam Newton was frustrated with his offense (swearing after he needed to call TO when taking to much time off the clock). he knew his offense wasn't totally clicking, even with that lead.

Seattle lost the game before they tried to win it back.

I'll bet you that Seattle and Arizona will be chatting this week - the teams may be division rivals, but typically, coaches do talk to each other in this situation and Seattle are angry that Cam Newton has disrespected their fans after the game.

Cam Newton won't have the mental stamina for next Sunday and while I am not a total fan of Carson Palmer (USC / UCLA rivalry) he has the ability and weapons to put aside an over-rated Carolina offense...their defensive is tough though

[uspompeyfan]

Well...as usual the div play offs produce some of the best games of the year. In particular the AZ Green Bay game though General Manning vs The Steelers was not half bad either.
At least the Patricheats are now forced to travel to Mile ....but I have to think Brady or Mannings vast experience will tell....so AFC wins.

Now lookee here CK - this whole alleged ball tampering business needs some further comment! Has anyone done any further research to ascertain if the so called softer ball gave the Patriots any significant advantage in their home games. One would expect home advantage would mean they would win more games than they lost - what were last seasons stats on home soil for the Patriots......as opposed to their Away stats?

I would suspect that Denver would always have the biggest home advantage since the Mile High Stadium is at an altitude of over 6,000 feet - because of that, the ball travels in a completely different way from QB to receiver. To date, I have seen no complaints from opposition Quarter Backs about the trajectory of the ball at high altitude - do Denver have the best Home record because of that? Perhaps someone has the relevant stats?

The ball tampering affair is sadly, still not over. Apparently being resolved in March. It is possible that there was an advantage (though the Patricheats were always going to be better than the Colts last year) but that is now history and we should move on, accepting that New England will cheat to win if possible.

New England made an in-form Kansas look second rate on Saturday and the scoreline flattered Kansas. Can Denver's offense learn to catch a ball in a week? Brady has so many weapons to use...Manning is a shadow of his former self and definitely playing his last game (or games if he wins). Heart says Denver, just to give Manning his last Superbowl and an Elway type exit....though head says Brady will be zeroed in on another bowl appearance.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Well...as usual the div play offs produce some of the best games of the year. In particular the AZ Green Bay game though General Manning vs The Steelers was not half bad either.
At least the Patricheats are now forced to travel to Mile ....but I have to think Brady or Mannings vast experience will tell....so AFC wins.

Now lookee here CK - this whole alleged ball tampering business needs some further comment! Has anyone done any further research to ascertain if the so called softer ball gave the Patriots any significant advantage in their home games. One would expect home advantage would mean they would win more games than they lost - what were last seasons stats on home soil for the Patriots......as opposed to their Away stats?

I would suspect that Denver would always have the biggest home advantage since the Mile High Stadium is at an altitude of over 6,000 feet - because of that, the ball travels in a completely different way from QB to receiver. To date, I have seen no complaints from opposition Quarter Backs about the trajectory of the ball at high altitude - do Denver have the best Home record because of that? Perhaps someone has the relevant stats?

Well Pomp...its no doubt that the Patricheats are cheating Barstewards....its not just the ball tampering....Head Coach Bill Bellicheat has previous,,,he was previously fined 1/2 a large million for secretly filming play calling signals of the opposition in 2007....however, the ball tampering thing would not have affected the outcome of the game in question. As for Denver, their advantage is more based on how long it takes for an individual to acclimatize at that altitude....breathing is more difficult and in fact there is 1 Bengal that cant play there due to a medical condition. You gotta get into town 3 days before kick off! However...the real advantage there is its a well run franchise with top crowd noise and General Manning at QB

[This Time Next Year]

Predictions for this weekend:
Patriots @ Broncos - A lot has been said on here about the home field advantage at mile high, I'm not so sure that'll be the difference maker in this one. More to the point the Patriots are not playing at home. That's huge and stops them playing all the nasty tricks they allegedly get away with (disrupting oppositions radios, artificial crowd noise...). A far bigger factor in this game will be, (as always seems to be the case), the battle of the Quarterbacks. It looks like Denver have plumped for the experience Peyton Manning, and that seemed to pay off in the last round, I'll admit I only watched that game to around half time but he seemed to have his interceptions under control compared to the regular season. Experience counts for an awful lot in the play-offs, but I can't see past the greatest Quarterback of all time in this one.

Tom Brady has the talent (and experience) to find holes in the formidable Denver defence (who in my opinion are over-rated). The key patriots players are all fit and healthy and returned at just the right time. If you need any further convincing the Patriots are basically football playing robots, just look at their opening drive against the Chiefs.

Prediction: Patriots by 7

Cardinals @ Panthers - Not sure where to start with this one. Like many I am torn on this, but as a Cardinals fan, it's even more difficult to take off the tinted glasses. Both teams have looked absolutely unstoppable at times this season. Both teams have shown they are fallible. As I mentioned last week, the panthers have a recurring habit of building a lead and then trying their best to lose the game, and boy did they demonstrate that this weekend!

They've gotten away with it so many times I don't know what to make of it. Cam will get a lot of focus, but they have good players all over the field on both sides of the ball. Keuchly and Norman stand out for me on their defence, and thanks to the dual threat of Cam and Stewart, their running game is ridiculously hard to stop. I'd say their only weakness would be at WR, but with one of the best Tight Ends in the league, the passing game isn't exactly what you'd call poor.

The Cardinals have the depth in their squad to bulldozer any time on their day, but so often they have failed to turn up, or at least spluttered once in the red zone. They seem to have dropped off a little bit in recent weeks, and I suspect the lose of pro-bowler Mathieu has had a bigger effect than they'd like to admit. That said, the Fitz magic seems to have returned for the first time in a while, and this game will see the Cardinals being the underdogs in a game, so can see them revelling in that with the pressure off a bit.

Whatever the result I will be supporting winner of this one in the Superbowl.

This could be the game of the season, and when trying to decide whether to go with my heart and back my Cardinals or my head and go with the Panthers, I was torn. But... I just can't pick against my team.

Prediction: Cardinals by 4