NFL Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs!?!

[dps]

The biggest difference is no salary cap back then, and an owner who enjoyed losing money on his hobby.

Yep.   No way Allen or Beathard would try to do what they did today.  And naturally Snyder lacks the eye for talent and character those two guys had.

All snarkiness and differences (real or perceived) in eras aside, the real difference is in you last sentence.

[Valmy]

All snarkiness and differences (real or perceived) in eras aside, the real difference is in you last sentence.

And they were professionals with years of experience in football.  Snyder is a complete amateur fanboy.  At least Jerry Jones played football.

[derspiess]

Okay, my picks:

Bengals (sure I'm a homer but Houston has lost three straight)
Falcons (the Giants have been hot, but they still have too many holes)
Steelers (I think it will actually be fairly close)
Saints (won't be close)

[ulmont]

Steelers (I think it will actually be fairly close)

16-0.  3 field goals and a pick 6 for Pittsburgh.

[derspiess]

Steelers (I think it will actually be fairly close)

16-0.  3 field goals and a pick 6 for Pittsburgh.

That's conventional wisdom, yes.  But weird things always happen on Wild Card weekend.

[Sophie Scholl]

Okay, my picks:

Bengals (sure I'm a homer but Houston has lost three straight)
Falcons (the Giants have been hot, but they still have too many holes)
Steelers (I think it will actually be fairly close)
Saints (won't be close)

Same.

[Valmy]

Texans
Giants
Steelers
Saints

[fhdz]

Bengals
Giants
Steelers
Saints (although the Lions would make me way, way happier)

[ulmont]

Okay, my picks:

Bengals (sure I'm a homer but Houston has lost three straight)
Falcons (the Giants have been hot, but they still have too many holes)
Steelers (I think it will actually be fairly close)
Saints (won't be close)

Bengals (I think the Texans have run out of players to sacrifice for a win)
Falcons (see common games with the Giants below)
Steelers (the Broncos could only put up 3 points on the Chiefs)
I refuse to speculate about the Saints-Lions game in memory of 1/8/2011 (never forget!).


Falcons / Giants games against common opponents:

Falcons
Eagles      W 35-31
Seahawks   W 30-28
Packers      L 14-25
Saints      L 23-26 (OT)
Saints      L 16-45

Giants
Eagles      W 29-16
Eagles      L 10-17
Seahawks   L 25-36
Saints      L 24-49
Packers      L 35-38

[Neil]

I am willing to admit that the Bengals could beat the Texans.  Yates has been looking a little shaky, and the Bengals D is no pushover.  I think that the teams are closely matched in most respects, but that the superior Texans running game will allow them to win.

As for the Giants-Falcons, I'm taking a chance that Eli won't have one of his down games and that the pressure from the Giants line can cover up the inability of their secondary to cover anyone.

[Neil]

I refuse to speculate about the Saints-Lions game in memory of 1/8/2011 (never forget!).

It's a whole different game going into Seattle than it is playing in the Superdome.  Well, it's actually the same thing:  Both the Saints and the Seahawks are much better teams at home.

[The Minsky Moment]

As for the Giants-Falcons, I'm taking a chance that Eli won't have one of his down games and that the pressure from the Giants line can cover up the inability of their secondary to cover anyone.

Plus the inability of the LBs to stop the run.
As much as I want the Giants to win, I have to admit the Falcons match up quite well against them.
What you say is right - the reconstituted line has to force enough losses to keep the point count down within a range that Eli can keep up (accounting for the inevitable drops from the WRs).
If they can keep it close Eli can probably pull it out but Ryan is no slouch as a late game QB either.

Bigger problem is even if they win they have to figure out how to stop the Pack.  Which they can't.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I am willing to admit that the Bengals could beat the Texans.  Yates has been looking a little shaky, and the Bengals D is no pushover.  I think that the teams are closely matched in most respects, but that the superior Texans running game will allow them to win.

Yeah, I think this one is pretty much a tossup.  At this point, I'm not really worried about it W or L, and am just along for the ride.  I hope Yates is okay, and he gets back to slingin it like he was his first couple of games.  Houston is actually getting players back for this one, instead of losing them (Andre Johnson will play a full game, Mike Brisiel, the G who broke his leg and who's backup hasn't been playing very well), so that helps.  They need to break this trend of not really scoring points though.  They managed more than 21 last week against the Titans for the first time since Schaub went down, but only 7 came with Yates in the game (although he looked good despite the shoulder, and that was only one drive so you can't ask for more).

Reliant is going to be fucking crazy, hopefully more so than even against the Falcons, and that was really messing with Matt Ryan, so that helps too.  I was entertained by the volume going up noticeably, from loud to camera shaking, when D players were waving for more noise while Ryan was trying to audible.

Wish I could have gone over there for this one.  Houston playoff football.    It's been a long time.

[crazy canuck]

Bigger problem is even if they win they have to figure out how to stop the Pack.  Which they can't.

One game at a time.

[derspiess]

I got a small playoff bonus, lol.  Considering that for half the games I worked I just stuffed video prints into binders, the principle of that cracks me up.