Are you ready for some NFL Football? 2014 Edition.

[onthehunt526]

So I figured out the NFC top three seed query... Seattle, Detroit, and Dallas are all 11-4... Seattle and Detroit didn't play each other, neither did Dallas and Detroit... so Dallas beating Seattle is nullified... Second tie breaker is Conference Record: Seattle 9-2, Detroit 9-2, Cowboys 7-4 which makes Dallas the three... Third Tiebreaker: record against common opponents Detroit and Seattle do not have enough common games so we move to, Fourth Tiebreaker: Strength of Victory, this isn't even close, Seattle has 5 wins against clubs with winning records (GB,DEN,PHI, ARZ twice), their strength of Victory is .524, while the Lions only have two wins against teams currently with Winning Records (GB and MIA) their SOV is .376. So this gives Seattle the Number One seed in the NFC... Just as a side note the NFC representative in SB XLIX will be the "home" team, because in odd numbered Super Bowls the NFC acts as the home team and in Even Numbered Super Bowls the AFC acts as the Home Team regardless of the host city... So even though SB 50 is in Santa Clara next year the AFC representative will act as the home team...

[Gunther]

So I figured out the NFC top three seed query... Seattle, Detroit, and Dallas are all 11-4... Seattle and Detroit didn't play each other, neither did Dallas and Detroit... so Dallas beating Seattle is nullified... Second tie breaker is Conference Record: Seattle 9-2, Detroit 9-2, Cowboys 7-4 which makes Dallas the three... Third Tiebreaker: record against common opponents Detroit and Seattle do not have enough common games so we move to, Fourth Tiebreaker: Strength of Victory, this isn't even close, Seattle has 5 wins against clubs with winning records (GB,DEN,PHI, ARZ twice), their strength of Victory is .524, while the Lions only have two wins against teams currently with Winning Records (GB and MIA) their SOV is .376. So this gives Seattle the Number One seed in the NFC... Just as a side note the NFC representative in SB XLIX will be the "home" team, because in odd numbered Super Bowls the NFC acts as the home team and in Even Numbered Super Bowls the AFC acts as the Home Team regardless of the host city... So even though SB 50 is in Santa Clara next year the AFC representative will act as the home team...

But, but Dallas went 4-0 vs the AFC, that should count for SOMEthing. ;)

[onthehunt526]

So just a question for all of the sand trappers out there, What are you looking forward to in the playoffs? Who would you like to see in the Super Bowl? Is there a dark-horse out there that will be a tough out?

[Golfingdad]

So just a question for all of the sand trappers out there, What are you looking forward to in the playoffs?

The Chargers winning this weekend and getting in.

Who would you like to see in the Super Bowl?

The Chargers.

Is there a dark-horse out there that will be a tough out?

The Chargers.

[flopster]

EDIT: If Cincinnati wins, and Denver somehow lost to Oakland Cincinnati would be the No. 2 seed a tie and a Denver would be the No. 2 seed...

I think that Denver game will either be an early blowout by the Broncos or Oakland will play them tough in a toss up, the Raiders are not playing like a 3-12 team right now, last 5 games they are 3-2. Their OLB Khalil Mack is a strong candidate for DROY and one of his aspirations this year is sacking Peyton.

[onthehunt526]

I think Erik's opinion of the Pittsburgh coaching staff might change, if they won their 7th Super Bowl February 1st... But then again the crypt keeper just needs to retire

[iacas]

I think Erik's opinion of the Pittsburgh coaching staff might change, if they won their 7th Super Bowl February 1st... But then again the crypt keeper just needs to retire

I doubt it.

They're 1-11 against sub-.200 teams on the road. And countless other things that indicate what the coaching staff IS.

It's gonna take more than four good games to change my opinion.

It's also not about winning. It's about how they play, WHO they play, preparedness, etc.

[Slice of Life]

I think Erik's opinion of the Pittsburgh coaching staff might change, if they won their 7th Super Bowl February 1st... But then again the crypt keeper just needs to retire

Never gonna happen.

[onthehunt526]

I doubt it. They're 1-11 against sub-.200 teams on the road. And countless other things that indicate what the coaching staff IS. It's gonna take more than four good games to change my opinion. It's also not about winning. It's about how they play, WHO they play, preparedness, etc.

It's not necessarily the coaching staff though... could be the fact that they are overlooking the sub-.200 teams...which definitely happened with Tampa Bay and The Jets...(in losses)... they played terrible for two and a half quarters against New Orleans... since then they have played like the team they have had the talent to be... Considering Pittsburgh's secondary is basically pieced together with duct tape and spare parts... The secondary is OUTPERFORMING what they probably should be... Yes the defense is like a Damn sieve sometimes... But suggesting we should get rid of Haley with the 2nd ranked offense in the entire league is preposterous... Tomlin is a good coach, sure he isn't Chuck Noll or Bill Cowher (I absolutely loved it when Bill Cowher was coach), but he's a good coach, the players like him, his staff like him, the ownership like him...Hell I like him, he's got the type of personality that is unique in coaches... As for Dick LeBeau, he was a good DC at one time, when their schemes were so confusing, not even I understood them... He just old and past his prime... So my question Erik is, If the Steelers win the Super Bowl, would you be okay with LeBeau retiring on top? Or, likewise would you be okay with letting him retire on his own terms, rather than firing him? Speaking of coaches, how bout Black Monday, holy crap, Trestman, Smith, Rex Ryan, just that I heard about so far... I think Trestman was the biggest surprise to me after only two seasons... Harbaugh going to his Alma Mater... and Kyle Orton retiring... I'm not a Bills fan by any stretch, but if they can land a decent quarterback, they're going to be good again for a while... finally a winning season after so much misery in western New York... (The Jets and Giants play in New Jersey so New York State really only has the Bills, The Giants haven't played in NY State since 1976, and the Jets since 1984)... Back to the Steelers though, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Bell can play Saturday night, without him Pittsburgh is screwed...

[iacas]

Originally Posted by onthehunt526

It's not necessarily the coaching staff though... could be the fact that they are overlooking the sub-.200 teams.

It's the job of the coaching staff to NOT overlook such teams. Seriously? It's not the coaching staff? :P

Considering Pittsburgh's secondary is basically pieced together with duct tape and spare parts... The secondary is OUTPERFORMING what they probably should be... Yes the defense is like a Damn sieve sometimes... But suggesting we should get rid of Haley with the 2nd ranked offense in the entire league is preposterous...

The D wasn't good when the players who were healthy were playing. Ike, Troy, Cortez, Mitchell… all have been playing lousy football.

Rankings are just yardage totals. If you think the offense is fine… that Haley's red zone play isn't suspect, that starting the game with two straight screen passes was not weird, that the entire offense relies on three players to produce nearly all of the yardage… I just wonder if you've watched the games.

Tomlin is a good coach, sure he isn't Chuck Noll or Bill Cowher (I absolutely loved it when Bill Cowher was coach), but he's a good coach, the players like him, his staff like him, the ownership like him...Hell I like him, he's got the type of personality that is unique in coaches...

There's no accountability. He historically lets players and the coaching staff overlook lesser teams. He plays veterans over developing and more talented youth. He's all talk, no action, no accountability.

As for Dick LeBeau, he was a good DC at one time, when their schemes were so confusing, not even I understood them... He just old and past his prime... So my question Erik is, If the Steelers win the Super Bowl, would you be okay with LeBeau retiring on top? Or, likewise would you be okay with letting him retire on his own terms, rather than firing him?

Who cares how he's gone? And the Steelers aren't winning the Super Bowl. They'd have to play several levels higher than they've been playing. Their secondary is going to get torched, possibly even by weak-ass Flacco in a few days.

[onthehunt526]

And let's look at who Pittsburgh did beat... Cleveland (7-9), Jacksonville (3-13), Tennessee (2-14, I think that was the one on the road win against sub .200 teams), Houston (9-7), Kansas City (9-7), Indanapolis (11-5, in playoffs), Baltimore (10-6, in playoffs), Carolina (7-8-1, in playoffs), Atlanta (6-10), and Cincinnati twice (10-5-1, in playoffs)... I mean it's only a .486 Strength of Victory but that isn't terrible... off their 11 wins, 6 of them were against teams with winning records... Losses: Tampa Bay (2-14), Baltimore (10-6, in playoffs), Cleveland (7-9), Jets (4-12), New Orleans (7-9).... so Strength of schedule was .451... not great but okay I suppose... but Pittsburgh was 5-1 against playoff teams... and 6-1 in games against teams with winning records... so they were 5-4 in those "other games", I don't really count divisional losses too much against a team that won their division... but Erik probably would have been happier if we went say 13-3 as opposed to 11-5

[iacas]

Losses: Tampa Bay (2-14), Baltimore (10-6, in playoffs), Cleveland (7-9), Jets (4-12), New Orleans (7-9).... so Strength of schedule was .451... not great but okay I suppose... but Pittsburgh was 5-1 against playoff teams... and 6-1 in games against teams with winning records... so they were 5-4 in those "other games", I don't really count divisional losses too much against a team that won their division... but Erik probably would have been happier if we went say 13-3 as opposed to 11-5

I'd have been happier if they had gone 3-13 and cleaned house, I think, actually. Take a step back to take two steps forward. Get the GM out of there too. Mike Mitchell? Oooof.

The longer Tomlin sticks around, the longer the Steelers will go without ever really contending for a Super Bowl title.

[onthehunt526]

It's the job of the coaching staff to NOT overlook such teams. Seriously? It's not the coaching staff? :P The D wasn't good when the players who were healthy were playing. Ike, Troy, Cortez, Mitchell… all have been playing lousy football. Rankings are just yardage totals. If you think the offense is fine… that Haley's red zone play isn't suspect, that starting the game with two straight screen passes was not weird, that the entire offense relies on three players to produce nearly all of the yardage… I just wonder if you've watched the games. There's no accountability. He historically lets players and the coaching staff overlook lesser teams. He plays veterans over developing and more talented youth. He's all talk, no action, no accountability. Who cares how he's gone? And the Steelers aren't winning the Super Bowl. They'd have to play several levels higher than they've been playing. Their secondary is going to get torched, possibly even by weak-ass Flacco in a few days.

Probably more likely by Peyton Manning, the following week, but they are getting better... so I don't know... you never know in the Playoffs though, the Steelers could surprise you... If the higher seeds prevail in the AFC, your going to see two shootouts, Divisional weekend

[Gunther]

AFC not in the hunt this year. Lombardi will rest in Dallas, Green Bay or Seattle come Feb. But, enjoy the playoffs...

[Slice of Life]

AFC not in the hunt this year. Lombardi will rest in Dallas, Green Bay or Seattle come Feb. But, enjoy the playoffs...

Yup.

[onthehunt526]

AFC not in the hunt this year. Lombardi will rest in Dallas, Green Bay or Seattle come Feb. But, enjoy the playoffs...

What makes you say that? This year in my opinion is a lot more wide open, than last year... it really will depend on the representatives from the respective conferences... I will agree that one of those three teams will be the NFC representative... the only team of the other three that may, make some noise is possibly, possibly Arizona, Bruce Arians has done on helluva job with that team, considering all of the injuries, suspensions, and such that his team has endured... if Arians doesn't win coach of the year... it is a flat out injustice... the only other coach I would maybe consider giving it to would be Doug Marrone of Buffalo...but I digress... It would highly depend on the match-up between the two conferences... most of them, I agree favor the NFC... New England is probably shark bait if they win the conference, Denver...is a different story, their defense is much improved from a year ago, and they're running the ball more now... something Seattle, Green Bay and Dallas would definitely need to adjust to, especially with their talented receiving core, try to stop the run too much, Manning will destroy you, stop the pass too much, Anderson will destroy you... Pittsburgh would basically be Shark bait in all but one match-up, and that would be Dallas... Murray is going to be spent after having as many touches as he did this year... Anyone who runs the ball as much as he has, turns to crap afterwards... Eddie George and CJ2K come to mind... If it's Denver that wins the AFC, straight up maybe they can pull a '72 Dolphins (win the Super Bowl immediately after losing it the previous year)... but you never know in January... it's a totally different ball game... Anyone who makes the Playoffs can win the Super Bowl, look what happened with the 2007 Giants, they were the #5 seed and had to won three games on the road to even get to Super Bowl XLII, not only that but they were HUGE underdogs in both the conference championship against the Packers and Super Bowl XLII... and besides this isn't the days where NFC teams won like 13 in a row... their is a lot more parity in Super Bowl Champions as a matter of fact Since Denver broke the streak in Super Bowl XXXII (17 Super Bowls played)... it's been pretty even 10-7 in favor of the AFC (granted it was only five AFC teams, Denver twice, New England thrice, Pittsburgh twice, Baltimore twice, Indy once). Before San Francisco started the streak... pre-merger the NFL and AFL split the first four Super Bowls... then the AFC dominated the 1970s, 8-2, The NFC dominated the 80s 8-2 with only the Raiders winning the other two, The 90s were dominated again by the NFC 8-2, The 2000s the AFC made a small dent in the lead 7-3... this decade the NFC has won 3 out of 4... the all time series after 48 Super Bowls 26-22 NFC, but really 24-20 NFC, because the NFC and AFC did not exist until 1970 after the merger...

[CarlSpackler]

AFC not in the hunt this year. Lombardi will rest in Dallas, Green Bay or Seattle come Feb. But, enjoy the playoffs...

Yup.

I think both Denver and NE look pretty strong. I wouldn't count out the AFC at all. I wouldn't totally count out the Steelers either, although it stinks to have to play a division rival in round 1. I'm a bit relieved that Cincy will face Indy this weekend. At least we don't have to face the ridicule of losing to divison opponent.

In the NFC, I wouldn't put money on Dallas. Their D is awesome, but Romo is a choker much like Andy Dalton.

[Gunther]

In the NFC, I wouldn't put money on Dallas. Their D is awesome, but Romo is a choker much like Andy Dalton.

This is a myth of the highest order, perpetrated by the media. Romo has 30 4th qtr or OT comebacks for wins. He's 4-0 in Dec this year with 12 TDs and 1 INT. Best passer rating in the league. He will not choke chiefly because for the 1st time in his career he has an O Line. The problems he's experienced in the past can be attributed to the fact that he hasn't had a team around him his entire career, certainly not an O Line. So, he's been required to do it all and a few times he's screwed up at inopportune moments. Romo is a top 5 or 8 QB over his career, Dalton is somewhere between 18 and 25. Simply can't compare the two.