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Divisional Playoff Prediction Thread

Kevin Greene

By Kevin Greene,
in Carolina Panthers

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PanthersATL Grand Master

PanthersATL

Posted
Posted

Here's what MSNBC has to say:

When Cardinals have the ball...

In the Wild-Card round, Arizona caught the Falcons flat-footed by running it with Edgerrin James early and often. He ran the ball 16 times for 73 yards — a Csonkian output by normal Arizona standards.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals eventually got to the place they like to be — the air — and got Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin involved to pace their win. But the Panthers have a better run defense than Atlanta (marginally) and, with Jon Beason and Julius Peppers have two real game-changers.

The injury to Anquan Boldin’s hamstring will be worth monitoring as the week goes on because that receiver can tear up a defense and he brings an attitude of toughness Arizona will need.

When Panthers have the ball...

The Panthers running game has been devastating this season and Arizona — despite its work holding down a puzzlingly punchless Michael Turner — were 28th in rushing yards per play this year. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart keep Jake Delhomme from getting too (ahem) inventive and the wondrous Steve Smith is worth a big play or three in every game. Did the Cardinals just surprise Atlanta? Or are they suddenly a defense to be reckoned with?

The lowdown

The Cardinals won a playoff game after deciding to actually play hard. Yay. Now, will they be interested in playing hard after taking a plane trip East?

On Oct. 26, the Cardinals seemed interested, jumping to a 17-3 lead over the Panthers. But it didn’t last. They allowed 21 third quarter points and lost 27-23. Joking aside, the Cardinals must be taken seriously. But the more balanced, consistent, dependable team has the edge in this one. And that’s Carolina.

And this...

The Giants fought hard this year to compile the NFC's best record. There was more than bragging rights at stake. Along with it came a first-round bye, home-field advantage through the playoffs and the chance to play the lowest-seeded opponent in the second round.

The second-round opponent turns out to be the Eagles. The Giants must wonder if it was worth all the effort. If they’d only had the sense to lose to the Panthers when those two teams played for the top seed, the Giants would be looking at the Cardinals next weekend instead of their divisional rivals.

This is one of the bad jokes of playoff rules. The Eagles are a better team than Arizona, which made the playoffs with an 8-8 record. But the Eagles are a wild card, and thus they’re considered to be a lesser opponent than a division champion, so the Giants get them while Carolina gets to host the Cards.

So much for the rewards for winning.

But what’s tough luck for a team is good news for fans. Had the Vikings won, the second round of the NFC playoffs would have lacked drama. Panthers-Vikes and Giants-Cardinals aren’t games that get the adrenaline pumping.

But Giants-Eagles is a matchup made for the playoffs. It’s the game that saves the second round from terminal predictability, a game to plan a weekend around, the NFC’s answer to the Titans-Ravens epic collision being provided by the AFC.

Cards-Panthers remains a snooze. Arizona played maybe its most complete game of the season on Saturday, but don't bet on it happening again against the Panthers. Carolina won’t show Kurt Warner as much respect as Atlanta’s non-existent pass rushers did.

Even playing at their best, the Cards don’t have the arsenal to beat the league’s best teams. They put the heat on rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and finally made him show his age. And their offensive line protected Warner like the Hope Diamond.

Now they face a veteran quarterback, Jake Delhomme, and a defensive front that will make Warner scramble and probably put the ball on the ground. The Panthers will also run against Arizona — they run against everybody. The game should be over by halftime, if not sooner.

That won’t be the case with Giants-Eagles, a game we’ve seen before. The Giants won three more games than did the Eagles this year, but any NFC East fan will tell you that’s meaningless. These two ancient rivals, separated by less than 100 miles of the N.J. Turnpike, split their two games this year. Their records say the Giants are better. The reality is either team can win.

You figure the Giants will win and advance to an NFC Championship against the Panthers. But you can’t be sure of it. These are the Eagles, and they know how to beat New York. They’re the wild-card team nobody, including the Giants, wants to face.

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holyfield Newbie

holyfield

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I went 3-1 on last week's picks (thought indy would beat the chargers)

This week i'll go with:

Carolina

Philly

Baltimore

Pittsburgh

If I'm right, that is 2 GREAT title games:

Panthers-Eagles rematch and a third meeting between the Ravens and Steelers (what a bloodbath that would be)

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SteveSmith23 Newbie

SteveSmith23

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i will stick to my picks

Panthers over Cardinals

Eagles over Giants

Titans over Ravens

Steelers over Chargers

and im still hoping to see titans/panthers superbowl, ive been calling for it since titans clinched #1 seed, but might be a little biased cuz i have always been big on kerry collins, i still got like all his damn rookie cards somewhere downstairs

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Godman459 Newbie

Godman459

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Panthers

Iggles

Titans

Steelers

We have any doubters on the Cats game? Didn't think so.

The only reason why i think the Iggles will win this game is because of Manning. If they can get preesure on him and force bad throws, the Iggies will make them pay.

Ravens offense really isn't that good. While Flacco made good throws at times, many were crazy passes and off the mark completely. Titans D will thrive on any mistakes the Ravens make.

I don't see the Bolts getting through Pittsburgh. I also didn't see them beating Indy, so...

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