Colts undefeated no more

[Phlegm]

San Diego 26 - Indianapolis 17

[numatu]

Brees tried to give it away but the SD D wouldn't let him

[Minrott]

This is just unbelieveable. Now I have to listen to how "San Diego is the best 9-5 team out there" or whatever their shitty record is now all over again.

[brinstar]

goddamnit

[Ouchyfish]

SWEET!!!!!!

Dolphins record stays intact for yet another year!

[Spliffs]

This is just unbelieveable. Now I have to listen to how "San Diego is the best 9-5 team out there" or whatever their shitty record is now all over again.

It's the truth. It was true before the Indy win, now there's just more evidence. I don't think I've ever heard of a schedule as brutal as the one San Diego has had this year. If they were in the NFC they'd be #1. If they were in any division but the AFC West and AFC South, they'd be #1.

[Lyion]

This is just unbelieveable. Now I have to listen to how "San Diego is the best 9-5 team out there" or whatever their shitty record is now all over again.

It's the truth. It was true before the Indy win, now there's just more evidence. I don't think I've ever heard of a schedule as brutal as the one San Diego has had this year. If they were in the NFC they'd be #1. If they were in any division but the AFC West and AFC South, they'd be #1.

QFT

4 teams off bye weeks, a bunch of trips to the other coast. San Diego was screwed by the schedule makers. They have far and away the toughest schedule this year.

This loss was probably the best thing for Indy. They can now focus on the super bowl and beating the shit out of the Pats at Indy.

[Diekan]

The Pats are healthy again.... this time 'round will be interesting. I'll go out on a limb and say that Pats will beat Indy this time.

[Tikker]

I think the patriots will smack the colts in the playoffs too

that being said, no one wants to host san diego in the 1st round

[Lyion]

The Pats will probably have to play Denver at Mile High first. I seriously doubt they walk out of there with a W, if they manage to beat Jax or Pitt in the first round, which is very much in question.

Corey Simon and Mathis will play for Indy in the playoffs. I expect Indy to crush New England at home if it comes to that. There's no way they'll come out flat for that game, like they did for the San Diego one.

Sucks ass that SD probably won't make the playoffs.

[Susvain]

Thank god, sick of hearing about it. Now I need to pray it will never be Eli vs. Peyton in the superbowl, or the whole two weeks will be about their family and them growing up competitive. Just imagine the thanksgivings, oh wow!

[Tikker]

The Pats will probably have to play Denver at Mile High first. I seriously doubt they walk out of there with a W, if they manage to beat Jax or Pitt in the first round, which is very much in question.

Corey Simon and Mathis will play for Indy in the playoffs. I expect Indy to crush New England at home if it comes to that. There's no way they'll come out flat for that game, like they did for the San Diego one.

Sucks ass that SD probably won't make the playoffs.

matchups are likely Colts and Cinci with 1st round byes (i think denver will lose 1 more game)

then denver hosting pittsburgh, and NE hosting Jax

NE will beat Jax, and the broncos/steelers game is a tossup, depending on which plummer shows up. If everyone on the steelers magically gets healthy, I think they win, setting up an indy/pitt rematch (indy wins)

NE will beat cinci

then NE will beat the colts at the rca dome

[Lyion]

Have you ever seen the Pats play in a dome? Big slow linebackers do not do well there. San Diego is a speed team, which is why they match up so well indoors. NE is not.

More importantly, without Harrison NE doesn't matchup against good QBs. Beating the Jets, Dolphins and Tampa doesn't impress me. NE certainly has a chance because Belichik schemes well, but I doubt they beat Cinci @ The Jungle or Denver @ Mile High. Both those teams can light up NE's soft, turd secondary and will win the turnover battle.

It'll be fun to see but NE won't be getting any home gifts this year. Certainly nobody will take them lightly.

[Phlegm]

If San Diego, Pittsburgh win out and Jacksonville lose 1 more game then the three teams will be tie. In that case, Pittsburgh will sit home due to their suck ass in conference record.

[Lyion]

If San Diego, Pittsburgh win out and Jacksonville lose 1 more game then the three teams will be tie. In that case, Pittsburgh will sit home due to their suck ass in conference record.

If San Diego and Pitt tie for the wildcard, then Pitt gets in due to beating San Diego earlier in the year. It goes head to head first, then division, conference, etc

[Phlegm]

If San Diego, Pittsburgh win out and Jacksonville lose 1 more game then the three teams will be tie. In that case, Pittsburgh will sit home due to their suck ass in conference record.

If San Diego and Pitt tie for the wildcard, then Pitt gets in due to beating San Diego earlier in the year. It goes head to head first, then division, conference, etc

In a three way tie, it's conference record first if the three teams dont play each other. In this case, San Diego didnt play Jacksonville this year so it's down to conference record. If that is the case, Pittsburgh loses out. If it's two team then it down to head to head first. In that case Pittsburgh won over San Diego but lost to Jacksonville.

[Lyion]

No, it's always head to head first. In a three way tie Pitt will always get in over San Diego, but San Diego would have a conference setup versus Jax.

San Diego's best chance is tying Denver and winning the AFC West.


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/20/sport ... iants.html

With 14 games down and 2 remaining, the National Football League has fans right where it wants them: in suspense.

Things are so tight in the National Football Conference that only the 12-2 Seattle Seahawks have clinched one of the six playoff spots, and eight other teams harbor varying degrees of postseason hopes. Things are slightly more settled in the American Football Conference; three of the four division winners have been decided, but six other teams are jockeying for positions.

After two days off, the 10-4 Giants will arrive at work today knowing that just one victory in their final two games - at Washington on Saturday or at Oakland a week later - will earn them the N.F.C. East championship.

"We try to take them one at a time, and this divisional game on the road is very important to us," Coach Tom Coughlin said during a conference call with reporters. "That'll be the primary message."

That is as far as the Giants care to look, or as much as they will admit to looking. A division title would, at worst, make the Giants the fourth-seeded team and allow them to play a wild-card team at home to open the playoffs.

If they win that game, the Giants would be on the road for the next round and would probably be on the road for the conference championship game should they advance that far.

But if the Giants beat the Redskins, they should be excused for wanting more than a division championship. They would be in a position to become the second-seeded team in the N.F.C. - the best the Giants could do, because they cannot finish ahead of the Seahawks - which would greatly improve their chances of reaching the Super Bowl.

The No. 1- and No. 2-seeded teams receive first-round byes and will play host to the second-round games. And of the remaining teams, the one with the highest seeding will play host to the conference championship. That is why making the playoffs is one step; improving chances for success is next.

The Giants, the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers have the same record. If positions hold over the final two weeks, the Seahawks, the Giants, the Bears and the Panthers will be the N.F.C.'s division winners.

The Giants need to finish ahead of the Bears to have a chance at being seeded No. 2. The Bears hold the tie-breaking advantage over the Giants because they have a better conference record.

It is more complex with the Panthers. If the Giants and the Panthers win their last two games, the teams would have the same conference record.

The next tie breaker is their records against common opponents. With season-ending victories, the Panthers would have the edge.

If the Panthers and the Giants each lose once - and the Bears lose twice - the Giants' one victory would have to be over Washington to claim a better conference record. Otherwise, the tie breaker falls back to common opponents, and that would rest on whether the Panthers defeat the Dallas Cowboys this weekend.

Confused? Perhaps it is best to take it one game at a time. If the Giants win both, and the Bears and the Panthers each lose once, the Giants would have a first-round bye and a second-round home game.

In the A.F.C., Indianapolis (13-1) has earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and Cincinnati (11-3) and New England (9-5) have claimed division titles.

In the A.F.C.'s only undecided division, the West, the Denver Broncos have a two-game lead over the San Diego Chargers.

The Jaguars (10-4) seem to have a bead on one of the two wild-card slots. Pittsburgh and San Diego, both 9-5, are next in line, but the Steelers hold the tie breaker because they beat the Chargers in October.

With 18 of its 32 teams holding at least a glimmer of hope with two weeks remaining, it is a typical season in the N.F.L.

In perhaps its greatest display of parity, at least half of the teams have been in postseason contention with two weeks remaining in every season since the league went to a 16-game schedule in 1978.

[Phlegm]

NFL tie breaking procedures for three teams tie in wild card races:


Three or More Clubs

(Note: If two clubs remain tied after third or other clubs are eliminated, tie breaker reverts to step 1 of applicable two-club format.)

1. Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the three Wild-Card participants.
2. Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
5. Strength of victory.
6. Strength of schedule.
7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
9. Best net points in conference games.
10. Best net points in all games.
11. Best net touchdowns in all games.
12. Coin toss.

When the first Wild-Card team has been identified, the procedure is repeated to name the second Wild-Card, i.e., eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2, and repeated a third time, if necessary, to identify the third Wild Card. In situations where three or more teams from the same division are involved in the procedure, the original seeding of the teams remains the same for subsequent applications of the tie breaker if the top-ranked team in that division qualifies for a Wild-Card berth.


If San Diego, Jacksonville, and Pittsburgh are tie after the season ends, Pittsburgh would lose. Number one tiebreaker doesnt apply since they are all in different division. Number two does not apply since San Diego did not play Jacksonville.

So next tie breaker is conference record. Currently Jacksonville and San Diego have 7-3 conference record while Pittsburgh is 6-5. Pittsburgh would be watching the playoffs on television.

[Lyion]

My understanding is via #2 it goes Jax, Pitt, San Diego. Jax beat Pitt. Pitt beat San Diego. Thus the head to head rule still overrules the division one. You may be right, but that's not what I've read and seen on TV.

Interesting though. I'd be much happier if SD got to go, being a native. But I've read different than that.

[Tikker]

with identical records, it would be a crime if it didn't come down to their head to head action


that being said, if they all end up 11-5, it's a crime whichever of them doesn't make the playoffs

[Kramer]

someone in the cosmos didn't have their V8, Texans won and Indy Lost HA!

[Phlegm]

someone in the cosmos didn't have their V8, Texans won and Indy Lost HA!

The Texans won the game because they wanted to be on equal footing with the 49ers, to draw massive interest, when they play the Reggie Bush Bowl on new year's day.

[Lyion]

Both of those teams have so many holes it'd behoove them to trade the #1 for 3-4 day 1 picks.

It won't happen, but it's a good idea.

[numatu]

Have you ever seen the Pats play in a dome? Big slow linebackers do not do well there.

The Patriots haven't lost in a dome since 2000. They've also won 2 of their 3 Super Bowls in domes. I also wouldn't classify Vrabel and Colvin as slow by any means.

[Lyion]

How many times have they played in a dome since 2000? The schedulemakers are apparently in the Pats pocket as they keep making Indy play at Foxborough year after year, versus the other way around.

Colvin is a stud, but Vrabel, Bruschi and others are a few years older, and a few steps slower.

Maybe N.E. will get lucky, Jax will lose again and they can host San Diego again.