I love the NFL -- warts and all

[Martok]

So the remaining undefeated teams are the Texans (not that surprising), Falcons (somewhat surprising), and the...Cardinals?? Never thought I'd see Arizona on top of San Fran in the NFC West this season!

And as for my Vikings... Just about everyone -- including me -- had them pegged to be at the bottom of the NFC North yet again this season. Instead, we're currently leading the division, and have twice in a row defeated teams that last year made the playoffs.



Who'da thunk it?

[Csargo]

I'm not really surprised by the Texans being undefeated. I don't really pay much attention to the Falcons, so I never really had an opinion of them. The Cardinals are definitely a surprise. As for the Vikings they seem to be playing well(haven't seen any of their games) and if they keep playing well they'll probably be able to do well this season.

[seireikhaan]

Just when I was feeling there was some optimism for my team- linky...

I'm not even sure what to think.

edit: also, sorry for ruining that perfect season, Martok.

[drone]

At least the real refs are back. After the GB/SEA fiasco, I wasn't going to watch another game until they returned.

[Martok]

The Cardinals are definitely a surprise.

I do suspect they're going to have a violent collision with reality when they play the Niners for the first time.

If they somehow win, though, we might have to accept Arizona is for real...

As for the Vikings they seem to be playing well(haven't seen any of their games) and if they keep playing well they'll probably be able to do well this season.

Given how utterly atrocious the Vikes were last year, no one thought they were even *capable* of playing well. Everyone was expecting we were going to be "rebuilding" yet again.

However, you're right that if we continue to play like have we have -- especially these last two weeks -- it could be an interesting season!

Just when I was feeling there was some optimism for my team- linky...

I'm not even sure what to think.

Yeah, I just heard about that. That's tough; I hope he beats it.

edit: also, sorry for ruining that perfect season, Martok.

Heh. Well given we've already equalled our victory totals from last season, everything after this will just be gravy!

Besides, as far as I'm concerned, it's best to get that one defeat out of the way early on.

At least the real refs are back. After the GB/SEA fiasco, I wasn't going to watch another game until they returned.

Yeah, that was an utter disgrace. (Although in a way, we should probably thank those replacement officials; had it not been for that epic foul-up, the real refs would almost certainly still be locked out.)

As much as I love watching the Packers lose -- and boy, do I ever! -- they certainly didn't deserve getting robbed like that. Green Bay got rogered, but good.

[The Stranger]

I prefer Sarcastaball.

[seireikhaan]

Very nice effort by the team. One of the better games I've seen them play in a while.

[Martok]

Indeed. Kudos to the Colts for defeating a good Green Bay team.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Anyway, something relevant:



CR

[seireikhaan]

Welcome back to the playoffs, @Martok. It's pretty nice, neh? Heck of a game and season by AP. I'm still not entirely sure how Indi got in too, but hey, we're in and it's all fair game.

[TinCow]

I've been a life-long Browns fan, but RG3 got me watching the Redskins this year. I've seen about half their games this year, which is probably more NFL than I've watched in the last 10 years combined, excluding Super Bowls. I figure I've lived in the DC area for longer than any other place in my life so they're a legitimate team for me to root for now. It's kind of an odd feeling to be rooting for a 'home' team that doesn't suck. I may well watch the entire season next year.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Gah. I want Seattle to lose, but in Washington vs DC I have to go with Washington. Should be a good game.

I'm not super hopeful for the Packer's chance to get to the Super Bowl, sadly.

CR

[Martok]

Welcome back to the playoffs, @Martok. It's pretty nice, neh? Heck of a game and season by AP.

Thank you, thank you!

Yeah, I'm still in a bit of a daze over the whole thing. After that disgusting home loss to a poor Tampa Bay team (and on a Thursday night game, no less!), I'd resigned myself to the Vikes finishing, at best, 8-8 this season. Suddenly finding ourselves playing in the wild-card game tomorrow night was...not something I'd even remotely anticipated as being possible anymore. But I'll take it.

I'm still not entirely sure how Indi got in too, but hey, we're in and it's all fair game.

You've got a good rookie QB, and you've got some real scrappers playing for you. I won't be surprised if they wind up going further this post-season than anyone has (thus far) guessed.

[HopAlongBunny]

Yay Seahawks!

That shot of RG3 makes my "trick" knee hurt; it is painful just to see the photo. SuperBowl Sunday Seahawks?

So let it be written. So let it be done!

[TinCow]

Yay Seahawks!

That shot of RG3 makes my "trick" knee hurt; it is painful just to see the photo. SuperBowl Sunday Seahawks?

So let it be written. So let it be done!

It was a painful game to watch even before that. My wife and I were wondering why he was still in the game the entire second half. He looked worse than he did last week even in the first quarter! There's a lot of debate going on in DC today about why he was still playing. It's kind of a Bizarro Strasburg discussion. People aren't really that upset that the Redskins lost; it was still a pretty good year all considered, but there's a lot of concern about this being a permanent injury for RG3.

[drone]

As a Cowboys fan, nothing entertained me more than watching Mike Shanahan attempt to destroy RG3's career for little gain.

1. They were not going to win the Superbowl this year. Too many holes, too little depth, too big a gap between them and the league's elite. Winning the division was more than they could expect, why risk the player they mortgaged the fanchise's future on?
2. Once Seattle figured out he was half-speed at best, they locked Morris down and dared RG3 to throw one-legged into coverage. After the two touchdowns, the Skins got 3 first downs until RG3 went down in the 4th quarter.
3. That field was a disaster. Granted, the Skins ground crew haven't had much need in recent years for maintaining a decent surface in January, but I'm amazed RG3 survived as long as he did.

All in all, a typically stellar job by the Skins' franchise. I've lived here 20 years and they seldom disappoint.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I'm thinking Packers and Seahawks are going to win and head for a showdown in the frozen wilds of Wisconsin as well.

CR

[GeneralHankerchief]

So, that game happened.

[Veho Nex]

The first of my predictions has been shattered, but what a freaking game.

Niners kicked those cheese munchers in the fun parts.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Niners kicked those cheese munchers in the fun parts.

Shameful dispray

:(

[Crazed Rabbit]

Time to put the ole Packer flag at half mast.

Also, what idiot coach punts with 11 minutes left and two touchdowns down?

Argh.

CR

[GeneralHankerchief]

Yesterday was not a banner day for conservative coaching. McCarthy had his punt and Fox totally forgot that he had Peyton Manning at his disposal late in the 4th/in overtime. Meanwhile, the Harbaughs went for it and look what happened.

There's not a third Harbaugh brother out there in hiding, is there? The Eagles could really use one...

[Hooahguy]

Looks like you were wrong on another prediction, GC.

If the Falcons make the superbowl....

[HopAlongBunny]

Seahawks wez robbed!

I'm quickly running out of American teams I could care less about; wait, Ravens are a West Coast bird...

[Veho Nex]

But Baltimore is an east coast team, sadly. If i had to pick a team from the east, it would probably be the Ravens.

Woe for my Seahawks! It is now up to San Francisco to avenge us!

SAN FRANCISCO!!! NINER TIME!

[HopAlongBunny]

Miners? 49'ers?

"frisco will have to do the job; Yay San Fransisco! :)

[Csargo]

I just wanna go on record here as saying that the Baltimore vs. Denver game was perhaps the best playoff game of my lifetime. Seattle vs. Atlanta was awesome too, despite the loss. :(

I agree about both games. I was hoping Seattle would hold off Atlanta, but it was still a really good game.

[GeneralHankerchief]

I just wanna go on record here as saying that the Baltimore vs. Denver game was perhaps the best playoff game of my lifetime. Seattle vs. Atlanta was awesome too, despite the loss. :(

This post got me thinking. I'm not disputing your claim since it was indeed a very good game, but here are some (recent) great ones that I remember that could match up.

1999 NFC Championship: Falcons 30, Vikings 27
Nobody was expecting Atlanta to win this. Nobody. Minnesota had a record-breaking offense that year: Cunningham, Cris Carter, Robert Smith, and Randy Moss as a rookie. Plus, they had a kicker in Gary Anderson who had been perfect the entire year. So what happened? Atlanta under the mighty Chris Chandler went toe-to-toe with Minnesota, tied it up late, watched Anderson miss his first kick of the year late in the 4th, and then had their own kicker Morten Andersen bang it through in overtime.

2002 AFC Divisional: Patriots 16, Raiders 13
Tuck Rule game. This was also before I (and the rest of the NFL) hated the Patriots. All the controversy in the world, Vinatieri's blood runs as cold as the snow inside Foxboro that day.

2003 NFC Wild Card: 49ers 39, Giants 38
San Fran was down at home 38-14, come all the way back to take the lead. The Giants actually had a chance to come back and win but then everything in the universe went wrong with the field goal try. There was the botched snap, an ineligible man downfield, defensive pass interference, the whole shebang. The Giants ended up losing after everything got sorted out, but not without controversy. God, that final play was a nightmare. Great comeback though.

2004 NFC Wild Card: Packers 33, Seahawks 27
Overtime in Green Bay after four excellent quarters. Seahawks win the coin toss, Hasselbeck says "we want the ball, and we're going to score." He then throws a pick-six. Many laughs were had. Bonus points for the Packers losing in spectacular fashion a week later to the Eagles thanks to 4th and 26 (and then the Eagles completely choking in the NFC title game, shocker).

2007 AFC Championship: Colts 38, Patriots 34
Peyton's finest hour. The RCA Dome crowd goes completely quiet after the Colts go down 21-3. But then the second half begins and they start driving. They tie it up at 21, trade touchdowns, trade field goals, watch as the Patriots kick to get the lead. They can't score but New England only runs off a minute of the clock. Colts get the ball back, Manning runs off another spectacular drive, Colts take the lead, and Brady gets picked off after threatening to score on the last desperation drive.

Super Bowl XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14
We all know about this one, don't really need to repeat it. This is my personal choice for "best recent playoff game ever." Also of note was the NFC title game where the Giants took down the Packers in below-zero temperatures in overtime at Lambeau.

2010 NFC Wild Card: Cardinals 51, Packers 45
So much offense, a real back and forth affair. Set all kinds of playoff records. Ironically, the game ended on a defensive touchdown after Rodgers was strip-sacked. Bonus points for this being Kurt Warner's last stand before the Saints obliterated Arizona the following week. The NFC title game this year (Saints 31, Vikings 28) was also very, very good.

2012 NFC Divisional: 49ers 36, Saints 32
They scored 34 points in the 4th quarter! How do you even do that? Alex Smith somehow out-offensed Drew Brees and led his team on two separate go-ahead drives with under 5 minutes to go in the game (and the Saints had one too, for good measure). Wow-ee.

2012 AFC Championship: Patriots 23, Ravens 20
My roommate at the time was a die-hard Ravens fan. I felt so sorry for him after this. Joe Flacco totally outplayed Tom Brady after the Ravens held the mighty Pats offense under 20 points, but New England got a late score and it was up to Flacco to lead his team downfield one more time. Against the odds, he did, but first Lee Evans dropped a touchdown and then Billy Cundiff blew the field goal. The NFC Championship right after this (Giants over 49ers) was similarly excellent.

[Hooahguy]

Ah yes, the tragic march of an Atlanta sports fan goes on...

[HopAlongBunny]

Eeenie! Meenie!

ChilliBeanie!

The spirits are about to speak!

Ravens by a FG :)