Panthers' Fan Rooting Guide -- Week 15

[George Shinnsplints]

The Chicago win over New Orleans was mostly good news, as it took away any chance (however slight) of the Saints catching up with the Cardiac Cats. Here's the rest of your rooting guide for Week 15 (games are Sunday @ 1PM unless otherwise noted, and home teams are in CAPS):

1. Root for ATLANTA against Tampa Bay. A no-brainer -- expand the ole' division lead, and take away a big part of TB's tiebreaker advantage over the Panthers. There is some good news if Tampa wins, in that we don't have to worry about the Falcons catching us any more. (Importance: 9/10)

2. Root for DALLAS against the New York Giants. (Sun. 8:15 PM) . This is very much up for debate, so much so that I don't really know who we should be rooting for. Good points made for rooting for NYG later in this thread Obviously we want the top seed in the NFC, and an NYG loss means we can lose to NO or Denver and still pick it up. But it'd sure be nice to knock the Cowboys into a tough spot for making the playoffs, so good news no matter who wins. (Importance: 6/10)

3. Root for ARIZONA against Minnesota (Sun. 4:00 PM) . I was going to make this game more important until I saw folks on the Huddle picking the Cardinals as one of the teams they'd least like to see in the playoffs. That said, we have the tiebreaker against the Cards, and the Vikings have the tiebreaker on us, so with both teams at 8-5 we'd like to see the Vikings drop a game. This would make it official that we'd have a First Round bye in winning the NFC South, even if we did so at 11-5. Vikings are also a potential wildcard team, so having them lose a game wouldn't hurt in case we end up in that mess. (Importance: 5/10)

4. Root for Cleveland against PHILLY (Mon. 8:30 PM) ...so that Philly can't somehow catch up with the Panthers. This is also a team we'd rather not face in the playoffs, so I'd like to see them miss on picking up one of the NFC Wildcard slots. (Importance: 5/10)

5. Root for CINCINNATI against Washington. Washington can still catch us -- technically (lol). Although, maybe this is a team we'd actually LIKE to see in the playoffs, if the berth doesn't come at our expense... (Importance: 1/10)

[Cat Fanboy]

Nice post...my only opinion would be that ATL beating TAM would an importance of '10/10'. If you never give the highest rank than you might as well only go to 9.

[Brooklyn Bully]

I'm tired of sharing my opinion on this so here's the last time...

We beat Denver, Dallas loses to NY, we are IN THE PLAYOFFS. Period.

We win, but Dallas wins...we aren't yet (unless Tampa wins...which we don't want).

I'd rather be in this week for sure, and not have to win the final two games to make it in! Getting in is more important than getting a #1 seed to me. We'll have to go on the road eventually to win it all. And, if Dallas loses and we make it in...we get our shot at NY next week anyway for the spot. No brainer people!!

EDIT:

Another reason to root for NY: I did that Yahoo Playoff Sim thing. If we beat Denver, but lose to NY and lose to the Saints (big if)...and if Tampa goes 11-5 (loses to ATL), Atlanta goes 11-5, and Dallas goes 11-5...guess who misses the Playoffs? Yep, us!

[rayzor]

i can see every one of those happening except for the giants losing to the cowboys but the giants are getting tired and will be without their 2 best playmakers in plax and jacobs. they haven't had a week off since september. they HAVE to win every game out to ensure that they have a week off in the playoffs. if somehow they can drop to the 3rd seed (which would happen if minny won out and the giants lost the rest of their games) then there is no way that they could have the strength to finish.

i played around with the playoff scenario generator to see how that would happen.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/playoffscenario?algorithm=custom&15=40144010&16=10514144&17=10004400

btw, in that scenario where giants lose all 3 next games and vikings win all we would get to play minny in charlotte even if we lost one game out of the next 3. i wouldn't mind getting to play them here and set the record straight.

[George Shinnsplints]

Good points all around, although I respectfully disagree with UB -- and the reason Tampa/Atlanta is only 9/10 is because of the benefit of seeing Atlanta lose (making it a two horse race). Obviously the benefits of Tampa losing greatly outweigh Atlanta losing, but because an Atlanta loss wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, I only gave it a 9/10. If Tampa was playing pretty much anyone else in the league, it would be a 10/10. But as you've discovered these numbers are quite subjective

[2plankingpanther]

If TB wins,there is a very good chance they win the division,unless the Panthers can find a way to turn on the afterburners!

[2plankingpanther]

I'm tired of sharing my opinion on this so here's the last time...

We beat Denver, Dallas loses to NY, we are IN THE PLAYOFFS. Period.

We win, but Dallas wins...we aren't yet (unless Tampa wins...which we don't want).

I'd rather be in this week for sure, and not have to win the final two games to make it in! Getting in is more important than getting a #1 seed to me. We'll have to go on the road eventually to win it all. And, if Dallas loses and we make it in...we get our shot at NY next week anyway for the spot. No brainer people!!

Yeah,our chances of getting a #1 seed are pretty damn slim,I'd rather see TO and Romo cry,make the Giants a little overconfident and see the Panthers get a playoff berth.

[unicar15]

I'm tired of sharing my opinion on this so here's the last time...

We beat Denver, Dallas loses to NY, we are IN THE PLAYOFFS. Period.

We win, but Dallas wins...we aren't yet (unless Tampa wins...which we don't want).

I'd rather be in this week for sure, and not have to win the final two games to make it in! Getting in is more important than getting a #1 seed to me. We'll have to go on the road eventually to win it all. And, if Dallas loses and we make it in...we get our shot at NY next week anyway for the spot. No brainer people!!

I was going to say exactly the same thing. Who cares if the Gmen lose right now??? I'd rather Dallas be virtually eliminated and not have to worry about playing one of the most explosive offenses in the league. If we win out we get the #1 seed. Why not just expect our team to take care of business...we don't need the Gmen to lose until we beat them in week 16.

[2plankingpanther]

As much as I hate the Falcons,I'd rather they win this one,I only see them as being a wildcard team anyway.Think of those 2 easy games that TB has left,they need to lose this one!

[BHiott]

I want the Cowboys to lose. Our game with NYG would dictate homefield anyways, and Dallas has too many weapons to see them in the post-season. God forbid they get hot.

[George Shinnsplints]

Good points from the NYG rooters. I still will be rooting against the Giants since the Cowboys have to go 3 for 3 and we have to go 0 for 3 for them to catch us (and if we go 0 for 3, I'm not sure I'd be excited about squeaking into the playoffs anyway). But a lot of this back and forth will be moot by kickoff, as we'll know by the 8:15 PM start time whether Carolina beat Denver.

If Carolina beats Denver, root for Dallas. If Denver beats Carolina, reluctantly root for the Giants (how does that sound?).