In just in case this is the green thread, because I always wanted to be the cool guy at the top.

Harv72b: In just in case this is the green thread, because I always wanted to be the cool guy at the top.

Well, you are at the top.

Broncos by 3, no overtime.

I cannot tell you how much it pains me to type these words: Go Patriots.

mikemoto: I cannot tell you how much it pains me to type these words: Go Patriots.

I'll say the same thing I said last year before the AFC Championship: If you're tired of daily-nay, hourly-stories about this guy, you'll root against him. Last year I was referring to Rex. This year it's Tim.

\its almost like there's no other game going on today or tomorrow

FriarReb98: mikemoto: I cannot tell you how much it pains me to type these words: Go Patriots.

I'll say the same thing I said last year before the AFC Championship: If you're tired of daily-nay, hourly-stories about this guy, you'll root against him. Last year I was referring to Rex. This year it's Tim.

My hatred of the Pats outweighs my hatred of the Tebow so while I won't be rooting for him I'll still be rooting for his team to win. Besides it would be hilarious for Tebow to be carried to the Superbowl by Jesus only to find out that Jesus' dad is a Packer fan.

Hey, first football weekend as a TFer. I'll start by saying, if this weekend is even half as awesome as last weekend, we're in for some great football.

Luckily, I get my stress game put of the way first ... Geaux Saints!

I'm still calling a Tebow upset. The damn year looks like a Disney movie, and when that happens, it's better to bet on Disney.

TwoHead: FriarReb98: mikemoto: I cannot tell you how much it pains me to type these words: Go Patriots.

I'll say the same thing I said last year before the AFC Championship: If you're tired of daily-nay, hourly-stories about this guy, you'll root against him. Last year I was referring to Rex. This year it's Tim.

My hatred of the Pats outweighs my hatred of the Tebow so while I won't be rooting for him I'll still be rooting for his team to win. Besides it would be hilarious for Tebow to be carried to the Superbowl by Jesus only to find out that Jesus' dad is a Packer fan.

Tebus vs Breesus. NO gets to punish God's son over Katrina. I already know the media coverage ....

Tebow Tebow Tebow Tebow Katrina Tebow Jesus Tebow Tebow Tebow Katrina Tebow

I watched an ESPN show on Tebow last night. He seems like such a neat guy. I can't hate him. I just can't.
Hate the hype, not the man.

Oh, and CBS is the one channel I don't get.

/Go Broncos!

Earpj: Hate the hype, not the man.

Oh I do. Tired of every football thread devolving into Tebow and pony pics. Not that some of the pics aren't funny, but just would rather talk about, you know, football. Like the fourteen Super Bowls collectively won by five of the teams in the other six games, or the fact that the Texans winning their first playoff game they ever played has been completely and utterly ignored. Or the fact that the last two Super Bowl champion teams are still alive and very capable of winning it all. Or the revival of the greatest team of my childhood, the 49ers. Or the fact that, despite all reason to the contrary, the Giants are still playing football. (I'd say something about Baltimore here, but in terms of story, they're boring as hell.)

Point being, the hype has completely ignored every other story out there, and most of them, save the aforementioned one, is an interesting story. If I want to see a Disney movie, I'll turn on the Disney Channel. Today and tomorrow, I wanna see some got-damned football.

FriarReb98:
I understand completely. It's become a phenomenon, and I don't really get why. Guess the media was desperate for something, anything, to stand out.

walkerhound: More pictures of Tebow and ponies!!

[i1099.photobucket.com image 640x437]

Better watch it. You're gonna get a Roughing the Brady call.

Earpj: I understand completely. It's become a phenomenon, and I don't really get why. Guess the media was desperate for something, anything, to stand out.

That's just it. In any other year at any other time, all of my points (and the one I've chosen to not talk about because they're my team and don't want people bringing that into it) would be huge. But noooo, we have to talk about this guy because he causes page hits and ratings.

FriarReb98:

That's just it. In any other year at any other time, all of my points (and the one I've chosen to not talk about because they're my team and don't want people bringing that into it) would be huge. But noooo, we have to talk about this guy because he causes page hits and ratings.

Money is all powerful.

49ers by 7
Pats by 17

Even though I enjoy the tears of Bronco fans as much as anyone, I enjoy the tears of Tebow haters just as much. I'm hoping for a 4th quarter Tebow comeback, thwarted in the final seconds by Tom Brady.

Harv72b: In just in case this is the green thread, because I always wanted to be the cool guy at the top.

.....
Harv, you're a cool guy in any position ;-)

Last weekend I was perfect on both days: 2-0 on Saturday, 0-2 on Sunday. But honestly, who expects all four home teams to win in the wild card round?? This weekend I'll attempt to right the ship, and I'm doing some honest-to-goodness research to do it. Winners in bold:

New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers:
I absolutely love what Jim Harbaugh has done in San Francisco, both in turning the team around and in building up Alex Smith's self-confidence. With all that being said, though, I'm a realist--the Saints offense is just too damn explosive for them to stop. The Niners gave up a good amount of passing yardage over the course of the regular season (16th in yards/game), but still managed to finish a close 2nd in points allowed; they did this by stopping the run (only 3 rushing TDs allowed) and by forcing turnovers (tied for 2nd in INTs). The thing is, the Saints are not really a rushing team, and among Drew Brees' absolutely silly passing stats this year was a very solid TD/INT ratio (46-14). I don't see them being able to fluster Brees nor stop the passing attack, which will likely open up the Saints' spot-rushing game as well. And, while New Orleans' defense is certainly beatable, I don't think San Fran has the offensive weapons to take advantage of that. In the end, I see the Saints pulling away early in the second half and cruising to a relatively easy victory. 31-17

Denver Broncos at New England Patriots:
In the two team's prior meeting this season, Denver came out with the perfect game plan to defeat the Pats and executed it to perfection--for the first quarter of the game. Then a slew of turnovers and poor defense turned the game into a blowout for New England. I expect this game to be much closer in the end, but I just don't see how Denver actually wins it (I know, besides divine intervention). As I mentioned in the game day thread last weekend, for all the talk about Denver's "great" defense, they really did not stand out from a statistical standpoint: 20th in yards against, 24th in points against, 18th against the pass and 22nd vs. the run. Even in sacks they only managed a tie for 10th. A combination of strong rushing on offense, not turning the ball over, and miraculous last-minute comebacks were their recipe for success. The problem is, against a quarterback like Tom Brady and an offense like the Patriots, that is not going to produce a 17-15 final score. Add in a few mistakes and you get, well, a 41-23 final. This week I look for them to hold on to the ball and play their hearts out, but come up short anyway. 34-25

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens:
With three of the four games this weekend being rematches from the regular season, this one stands out as an almost perfect round two: their prior meeting was also in Baltimore, and also featured the Ravens coming off a bye week. In that game, Baltimore prevailed 29-14, with Matt Schaub under center for the Texans. There are plenty of other reasons to expect a repeat of that performance: Baltimore was 8-0 at home during the regular season, they are 5-0 all-time against the Texans, and the Ravens have won at least one postseason game in each of the last three seasons. As far as stats go, the two teams finished 2nd (Houston) and 3rd in the league in total defense and 2nd (Baltimore) & 4th in rushing D...but the rushing statistic is a bit misleading, as the Ravens allowed 54 fewer yards on 41 more attempts. With a huge part of Houston's plan for success revolving around a big game from Arian Foster, that is a bad omen (as are the 49 yards on 15 attempts he put up in the regular season game). For the Texans to win, T.J. Yates is going to have to pull the lion's share of their offensive production, and I don't believe he's up to it against that defense. Baltimore jumps out to an early lead and coasts to the victory in this one, including a score from the Ravens defense. 30-21

New York Giants at Green Bay Packers:
The Giants proved me wrong in rather resounding fashion last weekend, but with all due respect to Matty Lukewarm and the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay is not going to be held to a lone safety on the scoreboard. In the week 13 contest up in the Meadowlands, Aaron Rodgers had an "off" (for him) game, only going 28/46 for 369 and 4 TDs, along with (gasp!) an interception. This time, with the game at Lambeau Field (where the Packers averaged more than 40 points/game), Rodgers' numbers could be genuinely scary. That said, I don't believe that Green Bay has suddenly developed a defense, either, leaving Eli(te?) Manning and a somewhat resurgent rushing attack plenty of opportunities to put up points as well. Much like the rest of America, I look for another shootout between the two teams, once again coming down to the final possession. 42-38

(yes, yes, the game is today, I know)

some.old.lady.: Harv, you're a cool guy in any position ;-)

Well how you doin'? :D

Harv72b: some.old.lady.: Harv, you're a cool guy in any position ;-)

Well how you doin'? :D

.....
I am doing well, and praying that some higher power will filter all comments to strip a certain name/reference from my screen.

I want football, just the games, please. Just the games.

Love your rundown/picks every week, thanks.

One other thing going against the Broncos today: they just had to sign a new long snapper (new window). Not that long snapper issues have ever come up during the postseason...

some.old.lady.: I am doing well, and praying that some higher power will filter all comments to strip a certain name/reference from my screen.

I want football, just the games, please. Just the games.

Screw like/funny buttons and all that shiat, the filtration system is what every techie in the Fark braintrust should be working on.

rumpelstiltskin: Even though I enjoy the tears of Bronco fans as much as anyone, I enjoy the tears of Tebow haters just as much. I'm hoping for a 4th quarter Tebow comeback, thwarted in the final seconds by Tom Brady.

.....
I think you are deliciously evil. I like the way you think!!

Harv72b: One other thing going against the Broncos today: they just had to sign a new long snapper (new window). Not that long snapper issues have ever come up during the postseason...

Very true, and they should know, having benefited from a bad snap last game. Still veeeeeeeeeeeery curious to see what the other x-factor is going to do to all of this. You know, the guy that started making Him then got shipped out for trying to make Him?

Was it just me, or did it seem like guys were tackling Ben old-school-style, going out of their way to grind his ankle into the turf?

walkerhound: You sure are optimistic - who says they'll even have the opportunity to be kicking anything?

[i1099.photobucket.com image 500x408]

/Giants fan living in the epicenter of Tebow-mania

Comes into play on punts, too. ;)

/My condolences on your slashie

Outrageous Muff: some.old.lady.: Was it just me, or did it seem like guys were tackling Ben old-school-style, going out of their way to grind his ankle into the turf?

Yes, but don't say that. You'll give Steelers fans more reasons to think they were robbed of another ring.

.....
Hahaahh, right. It was weird, I felt like I was back in the old days before player safety was such an issue... Guys out there actually trying to disable each other.

Kinda fun, it was something I felt guilty about enjoying. Egad, I'm a barbarian!

Outrageous Muff: some.old.lady.: I felt like I was back in the old days before player safety was such an issue... Guys out there actually trying to disable each other.

Actually, the Broncos where tackling correctly. The reason there needs to be rules about how you can tackle is because the Steeler-way of "Run full steam into the guy and push him over" leads to more serious injures than the proper tackle low, drag down.

Its why you don't see as many injuries in rugby.

Though it's generally my policy to root for whoever defeats the Stillers in the playoffs unless it's the Patriots, Browns (LOL) or Ravens, I'm especially rooting for the Tebows today just because the butthurt and hater explosion will be epic. I hope he leads them to victory in a manner MOST ridiculous. Perhaps a last play interception recovered by the pats, fumbled, recovered by Tebow and then drop kicked to tie the game. Then in overtime, Tebow somehow scores a safety.

cameroncrazy1984: Its why you don't see as many injuries in rugby.

Well, that and rugby players don't take to the field in full suits of armor.

I feel dirty saying this....but Go Patriots.

Stupid Tebow.

cameroncrazy1984: Outrageous Muff: some.old.lady.: I felt like I was back in the old days before player safety was such an issue... Guys out there actually trying to disable each other.

Actually, the Broncos where tackling correctly. The reason there needs to be rules about how you can tackle is because the Steeler-way of "Run full steam into the guy and push him over" leads to more serious injures than the proper tackle low, drag down.

Its why you don't see as many injuries in rugby.

.....
Rugby; what a tumbling, roaring, bellowing mass of testosterone. Those guys are insane.

Hey, I haven't seen a newspaper in years; is Andy Capp still running?

MBK: I feel dirty saying this....but Go Patriots.

Stupid Tebow.

......
Hey, Uncle Hairy! I can understand you backing the Pats ;-) Good luck, I'm with you on this.

Outrageous Muff: some.old.lady.: I felt like I was back in the old days before player safety was such an issue... Guys out there actually trying to disable each other.

Actually, the Broncos where tackling correctly. The reason there needs to be rules about how you can tackle is because the Steeler-way of "Run full steam into the guy and push him over" leads to more serious injures than the proper tackle low, drag down.

.....
I understand your point, but I was referring to the grinding on Ben's ankle that they were doing after the actual tackle. Some were so obvious, it was weird. And kinda fun. Guilty.

MBK: I feel dirty saying this....but Go Patriots.

Stupid Tebow.

aaaaaaaand if Broncos win?