here's how i see this weekend shaking out with the "relevant" NFC teams

[rayzor]

first, us...

pats @ panthers

we are coming off a high and have a huge amount of momentum behind us. i like our offense against their defense. it matches up really well. they give up a lot of yardage to rushers, even though they don't give up much in the way of TDs there. i really like our defense against their offense, tho. i think we own the clock again and keep pounding away with the run game and pass just enough to spread them out. on defense we just attack brady relentlessly. he's been really bad while under pressure this year.

 

this is what was said about him last year:

 

On Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark was asked on ESPN's "NFL Live" to dissect the New England Patriots, who will play the Steelers in Week 9.

 

Clark broke down the post-Wes Welker era, questioning "fragile" replacement Danny Amendola and injury concerns for the Patriots' tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. He also discussed the best way to beat Tom Brady:

 

"When Tom Brady gets pressure and when you're man-to-man and bumping those guys and making it hard for him to throw, he sees ghosts," Clark said Monday, via Comcast SportsNet New England. "Even when guys aren't around him, even when he's not about to be sacked, when his clock goes off in his head that the ball should be out, we'll see him duck, we'll see him flinch. When you get Tom Brady doing that, the whole New England Patriots mystique goes away."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000167620/article/ryan-clark-tom-brady-sees-ghosts-under-pressure

aside from when the giants were playing them in the superbowl, it really hasn't been all that much of a factor...until this year.

 

this was from just a couple weeks ago:

 

“With time in the pocket, Brady would either lead Edelman across the field, or hit Dobson coming underneath in the middle. Neither happened, the result of pressure,” Jaworski said. “The pocket closed down on Brady, he lacked time to wait for the routes to develop and the functional space to deliver the football.”

 

As Jaworski noted, Brady has usually picked apart opposing defenses when they came after him. According to ESPN, when opposing defenses blitzed Brady in 2012, he completed 64.2 percent of his passes, had a passer rating of 117.6 and was sacked only seven times. But this year, Brady blitzed has completed just 53.8 percent of his passes when blitzed, his passer rating against the blitz has plummeted to 81.9, and he’s already been sacked nine times when blitzed.

 

Just about any way you slice it, Brady is having his worst season. In his previous 11 seasons as the Patriots’ starter, Brady never had a completion rate lower than 60 percent and never had a passer rating lower than 85. This year Brady’s completion rate is 55.4 percent and his passer rating is 75.3. He’s also on pace to be sacked 46 times this season, which would top his previous high of 41 in his first year as the Patriots’ starter.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/26/tom-brady-is-feeling-the-pressure/

it's easier to get pressure on him this year and he's not handling it nearly as well. we just faced the best OL in the league and decimated them. i can't really see the pats OL, esp. at BoA, faring well. i think that is what will give us the advantage. if we strike quick and score early, i think we're going to be able to stay ahead. i don't think we win this by 15 or whatever, but i do see us winning by over over a TD.

 

next up...

49ers @ saints

i see the saints being overconfident after beating the leagues worse passing D run by a relic who should never have been hired in the first place, esp. since they shouldn't have fired the DC who was there. worst passing D in the league facing one of the best passing teams. oh yeah....what about the saints looking like they had a great run game? remember us against montie kiffin the last few years and how we would run the ball? his D is just too easy to beat.

 

the saints won't be facing a defense as piss poor as the cowboys this week. they'll be facing probably the second best D in the league...or at least in the NFC. they will be facing a defense...scratch that...a team that got embarrassed at home and will be out for blood. the saints haven't really had much pressure put on them from defenses this year. the jets really brought it and ended up winning. the bucs brought it and nearly won. the only top ten defense that they have played this year was the pats and they lost. i just think that their offense can be stopped. more than that, i think that the saints, while very good in pass D, kinda suck at run D and they are playing one of the top rushing teams in the league. i think that the saints overcompensate to stop the run and it opens up the passing game for kaep who might be without VD, but will have crabtree back. i think that gore runs on them all day, the 49er OL steps it up and keeps kaep clean and he runs on them as well and i think that their passing game will be just enough for them to keep the game close. i can see the 49ers squeaking out a close win in the dome.

 

and the rest:

packers @ giants...giants win this. packers don't have a QB and the giants are at home and on a win streak how is this relevant? it takes away the packers chances at getting a wildcard (winning the division and making the playoffs just aren't going to happen without rodgers) and muddies up the rankings for NFCE teams...which is still anyone's to win (except the redskins).

 

ravens @ bears....bears are kind of in the same situation that the packers are in. no QB. josh mccown is their best option right now and if you saw any of cutler's performance this past week you'd see pain. lots of pain. i don't see the bears beating the ravens this week. in fact i really don't see this being even close. how is this relevant? yet another nfcn team. they seemed so strong a couple weeks ago (the division, but now i think that the only team they have making the playoffs will be the division winner (which should be the lions).

 

redskins @ eagles... redskins aren't really relevant, but the eagles sure are. so is it nick foles or mike vick. i dunno, maybe the one that isn't hurt and that is throwing a lot of TDs and no INTs? the one that they are actually winning with? i think defenses will catch up with foles before too long, but i can see the eagles winning the division. winning this game only puts them one more step in that direction. redskins get beat soundly again.

 

vikings @ seahawks...lol, like the vikings really have a chance this year in seattle. seahawks are going to thank the vikings for sending them such really nice players by showing them how stupid they were for letting talent like that go.

 

lions @ steelers...lions are the real deal, at least until stafford breaks or something. seriously, they are a real threat and the best the NFCN has to offer, atm. i see them going into pittsburgh and smacking them around. i don't see it being a blowout or anything, but i see the lions coming out with another close win.

 

cards @ jags... the cards should make relatively easy work of the jags. i think they actually finish the season with a winning record, but not making the playoffs. what makes them relevant is that they beat us and are only one game behind us. them winning isn't a good thing.

 

i'd talk about the falcons/bucs game, but i said i was only going to talk about relevant teams so...nah.

[Rules&Regulations]

It would be hilarious if the Giants won the East after starting 0-6...and with that crappy conference, it's possible.

[CPcavedweller]

The Saints will not be over confident. After last year, you will not catch them off guard. I feel that if Rob Ryan can use motion and guys moving around on defense but just run his base defense that they will win.

I'm actually pulling for the Saints because, assuming we win, that will put us one game up on the wild card. Because we still play the Saints twice I will call that our opportunity to out them from the two seed.

The fact they still have 49ers and Seahawks though leads me to believe they will lose at least one of those games. I'd like to be able to get that two sees so we have home field for our first game.

[Seltzer]

Even though I can't bring myself to pull for the Saints under any condition, the more I think about this game objectively the more I realize a Saints victory would probably be the best thing for us in the long-term, provided we can beat the Patriots.

 

The division is going to come down to the 2 head-to-head games we have against the Saints at the end of the year in all likelihood, regardless of what happens the next few weeks.  Given that, it would be better for our wild-card chances if the 49ers lose again, especially to conference foe.

 

That being said, the Panthers goal should still be the division, and I will be pulling against the Saints b/c I can't help myself.

[Rules&Regulations]

I wouldn't be so over confident about Vikings and Seahawks. Seattle has been barely scraping by against some bad teams lately. I'm convinced they have employed a witch doctor or something cause they should have 3-4 losses right now. Here's to hoping they start losing, cause I'd rather not have to travel to Seattle in the playoffs if it comes to that.

[Mother Grabber]

Fug wildcard.  I'm pulling for us to win the South and get 2nd place in the NFC behind the Seahawks...that means rooting for the Taints to lose.  I'm ok with that.

[NewYork fan89]

I am very pessimistic so when I look at that all I can think of is that if the 49ers and cardinals win, and we lose we are no longer in the wildcard...and keep in mind the cards play the jags so I am veryyy nervous, we MUST WIN. 

[PhillyB]

this will be the saints first true test this season IMO (offensively at least.) the jets game may have been an anomaly; let's see how they match up against a ruthless, physical defensive front.

 

if san fran shuts them down they've officially been exposed and i think we knock their asses out in december.

[Snake]

The Saints will not be over confident. After last year, you will not catch them off guard. I feel that if Rob Ryan can use motion and guys moving around on defense but just run his base defense that they will win.

I'm actually pulling for the Saints because, assuming we win, that will put us one game up on the wild card. Because we still play the Saints twice I will call that our opportunity to out them from the two seed.

The fact they still have 49ers and Seahawks though leads me to believe they will lose at least one of those games. I'd like to be able to get that two sees so we have home field for our first game.

 

Sorry but thats a special kind of stupid all around. Saints are Smoke and Mirrors and playing a legit team will bring them back down to earth. The 49ers are almost a splitting image of our team with the exception of a better oline and a worse QB. They will be no easy task for the Saints and to pull for a div Rival would be beyond stupid.

[CPcavedweller]

Fug wildcard. I'm pulling for us to win the South and get 2nd place in the NFC behind the Seahawks...that means rooting for the Taints to lose. I'm ok with that.

Might as well go all out and pull for the 1 seed. Need the Seahawks to lose 3 games but we can do it, right? Right?

[RoaringRiot]

Why in the hell would we ever pull for the Saints at this point?  They have to play Seattle (in Seattle), San Fran and us twice.  I can't wrap my head around that one at all.  Maybe, and only maybe, if we knew we were going to lose to the Pats could I start to form this thought....but definitely not at this point.  

[supervr4]

Though I think we beat the patriots, Brady's low numbers against the blitz is also because of the numerous drops and miscommunication on routes with his receivers.

Sent from my LT30at using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[teeray]

I will be watching that Niners v Saints game very closely, because they are so similar to us, it may be a good bellwether to to how we may stack up.

 

Although, we do have more intel on New Orleans, being from the same division, than San Fran will

[CPcavedweller]

Sorry but thats a special kind of stupid all around. Saints are Smoke and Mirrors and playing a legit team will bring them back down to earth. The 49ers are almost a splitting image of our team with the exception of a better oline and a worse QB. They will be no easy task for the Saints and to pull for a div Rival would be beyond stupid.

You have valid points beyond calling me stupid. The fact that we play the Saints twice still is one reason I will pull for them.

Number 2.) we currently have the same record as the 49ers for the wild card spot. Another loss gives us wiggle room.

Number 3.) the Saints still play the Seahawks in seattle(a probable loss). That brings us to even assuming we keep winning.

Number 4. It's still very possible we lean on that wildcard spot and any team who loses that is vying for the NFC wild card is a plus for us.

Either way, wild card or division title it is likely we end up play New Orleans in the playoffs, assuming them or us wins our wild card game.

So go ahead, call me stupid one more time, but before you do give me your prognostications other than "your stupid". Them simply being a divisional rival is no reason to pull for them to lose no matter what.