Steelers vs Broncos and Seahawks vs Panthers

Minrott · Post by **Minrott** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:15 pm

Predictions?

I'm pulling for the Steelers, but the Broncos are extremely tough. I think it will be a hell of a game, maybe one of the better matchups of the year.

As for Carolina and the Seahawks, I really can't say. I think Nick Goings is a fine runningback, maybe even better than Deshaun "Oh hey I'm ending another season on injury" Foster. But can they slow the Seahawks down?

Fuck the bears.

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:18 pm

Broncos vs. Seahawks in super bowl

Broncos win

(I hate every team that is left)

Captain Insano · Post by **Captain Insano** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:52 pm

Seahawks will surprise you all. Mark my words.

Post by **Lyion** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:12 pm

Hags are going to lose to Carolina.

Carolina and Denver in the Super Bowl. Carolina wins.

Minrott · Post by **Minrott** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:20 pm

Steelers vs Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Steelers win.

Tadpole · Post by **Tadpole** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:21 pm

Carolina versus Denver in the Super Bowl. Chump Bailey shuts down Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme. Mike Anderson + Tatum Bell = lead the Broncos to the Super Bowl victory.

Spliffs · Post by **Spliffs** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:31 pm

Denver vs. Carolina in the Superbowl. Denver wins. I mean seriously... that Carolina bullshit might work against NFC teams, but not against real competition.

Phlegm · Post by **Phlegm** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 5:49 pm

Steelers vs. Seahawks in the superbowl.

All the Seahawks have to do is triple team Smith and the Panthers will have no offense.

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:20 pm

I think it's going to be Steelers vs Panthers in the SB

Steelers defense matches up really well against the Denver offense, but plummer is a wildcard

unlike manning, he's agile enough to get away from pressure, and strong armed enough to make some big plays (he's pretty similar to Roethlisberger, but tends to try to do too much sometimes)

I don't think Denver will be able to stop the Steelers from running, and I think with the Indy game, the Steelers have given the Broncos something to have to worry about in the pass game

Carolina will want the game more against the Seahawks, and just physically out play them

unless of course they're too banged up from a tough game in Chicago

whichever team scores 1st will win that game

Post by **Lyion** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:30 pm

The problem is the Steelers are making their third road trip in the playoffs after over 6 weeks of playing playoff calibre ball and some emotional roller coaster rides.

Denver can do what Indy can't. Line up and pound Pitt on both sides of the ball, and see if the wear and tear do it.

If Pitt were playing at home, and wasn't riding such a wave from surviving Indy I'd pick them, but I think they blew their load this weekend. I think Denver will win this game.

There's always the chance Plummer could hand them the game, or that Pitt will get some lucky plays but they definitely are going to have to earn it in Denver.

Goose_Man · Post by **Goose_Man** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:34 pm

Hawks vs Broncos. Hawks Win

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:54 pm

lyion wrote:The problem is the Steelers are making their third road trip in the playoffs after over 6 weeks of playing playoff calibre ball and some emotional roller coaster rides.

Denver can do what Indy can't. Line up and pound Pitt on both sides of the ball, and see if the wear and tear do it.

If Pitt were playing at home, and wasn't riding such a wave from surviving Indy I'd pick them, but I think they blew their load this weekend. I think Denver will win this game.

There's always the chance Plummer could hand them the game, or that Pitt will get some lucky plays but they definitely are going to have to earn it in Denver.

I actually think being on the road is better for the steelers
I don't think that denver's smallish offense will be able to push around the steelers. I think they'll stuff the run early, and force plummer to throw resulting in 2-3 picks

I think that after watching the indy game, denver will be on the lookout for the deep pass early, and the steelers will run the ball down their throat

I dunno, I just don't think that the Denver defense matches up well with Pittsburgh

Post by **Arlos** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:18 pm

Seachickens are going to beat Carolina. Especially with the loss of their starting RB to a broken ankle, Carolina has *NO* ground game. Seattle is going to be able to go berserk rushing the QB, and as long as they put 2-3 people on Steve Smith, they should be able to pretty effectively shut Carolina down.

Pittsburgh - Denver is much harder to predict, but I like Pittsburgh in this one. They're rolling, they have both units playing extremely well, and they're going to be riding a high over their huge win over Indy this week, where they were a prohibitive underdog.

So, Super Bowl is gonna be Seattle - Pittsburgh, and I predict that Seattle's gonna win. Too balanced an attack to shut down completely, and they have the defense to be able to slow down Pittsburgh's running game. I think Rothlisburger's going to have a big game statistically, but it won't be enough to stop Seattle.

-Arlos

Spliffs · Post by **Spliffs** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:22 pm

Tikker wrote:
lyion wrote:The problem is the Steelers are making their third road trip in the playoffs after over 6 weeks of playing playoff calibre ball and some emotional roller coaster rides.

Denver can do what Indy can't. Line up and pound Pitt on both sides of the ball, and see if the wear and tear do it.

If Pitt were playing at home, and wasn't riding such a wave from surviving Indy I'd pick them, but I think they blew their load this weekend. I think Denver will win this game.

There's always the chance Plummer could hand them the game, or that Pitt will get some lucky plays but they definitely are going to have to earn it in Denver.

I actually think being on the road is better for the steelers
I don't think that denver's smallish offense will be able to push around the steelers. I think they'll stuff the run early, and force plummer to throw resulting in 2-3 picks

I think that after watching the indy game, denver will be on the lookout for the deep pass early, and the steelers will run the ball down their throat

I dunno, I just don't think that the Denver defense matches up well with Pittsburgh

Denver had the #1 run defense in the league. Pittsburgh is far too dependant on the run. Denver puts 8-9 in the box, and Champ Bailey on Hines Ward... the game is over.

Post by **Lyion** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:50 pm

Tikker wrote:I actually think being on the road is better for the steelers
I don't think that denver's smallish offense will be able to push around the steelers. I think they'll stuff the run early, and force plummer to throw resulting in 2-3 picks

I think that after watching the indy game, denver will be on the lookout for the deep pass early, and the steelers will run the ball down their throat

I dunno, I just don't think that the Denver defense matches up well with Pittsburgh

Denver has beaten a much, much better running O in KC. Likewise, they shutdown LT and San Diego which is a much more daunting task than Pitt IMO.

They have a much better secondary than Indy. Plus, unlike Indy you can count on them Blitzing Roethlisberger who is still a young QB in a very hostile place.

I also think you're underrating the value of being on the road in the playoffs. Its draining on a team, and there's a reason it's so hard for wild card teams to make it to the Super Bowl.

Although I personally didn't think Pitt had a prayer against Indy, so you might be right. We'll see.

Minrott · Post by **Minrott** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:17 pm

Nick Goings had 800 yards and 6 touchdowns last year. To say that Carolina has zero running game is a little bit of crap. They won't depend on the run like a Denver or KC, but they'll get enough done on the ground to keep the Seahawks honest.

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:35 pm

lyion wrote:
Denver has beaten a much, much better running O in KC. Likewise, they shutdown LT and San Diego which is a much more daunting task than Pitt IMO.

You're kidding me right?
Kansas City 2382 4.6 148.9 26 138 19
Pittsburgh 2223 4.0 138.9 21 120 11

KC had ~160 more yards (10/game) rushing that Pittsburgh this year

They have a much better secondary than Indy. Plus, unlike Indy you
can count on them Blitzing Roethlisberger who is still a young QB in a very hostile place.

Denver had the 3rd worst pass defense in the AFC
Indy had #5

I also think you're underrating the value of being on the road in the playoffs. Its draining on a team, and there's a reason it's so hard for wild card teams to make it to the Super Bowl.

I don't think being on the road is the issue
I think it's just generally that the home team is usually a better team, heh

Spliffs · Post by **Spliffs** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:05 pm

It's cool Tikk, you're a steelers fan - I would not expect objectivity (I can't be objective either when it comes to Dallas), but Denver is clearly the better team on paper.

Of course... so was Indy.

So who knows.

Go Broncos!

Post by **Lyion** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:30 am

Tikker wrote:You're kidding me right?
KC had ~160 more yards (10/game) rushing that Pittsburgh this year

KC played a tougher schedule and ran the ball better in clutch games. KC's O Line with Willie Roaf anchoring it is much better than Pitts. Denver handled it. Larry Johnson is better than Parker and Bettis.

Denver had the 3rd worst pass defense in the AFC
Indy had #5

A lot of that was Denver taking leads and sitting on it. Denver did a good job on a very good Tom Brady led Patriots passing attack last weekend. Much better than Indy did on a much weaker Roethlisberger one.

I don't think being on the road is the issue
I think it's just generally that the home team is usually a better team, heh

I'd argue the Patriots right now were a better team than Denver, but in Denver they still lost. Pitt is not a better team than Denver and playing in a hostile environment, on the road yet again will make it even more difficult.

It'll be a fun game, but I'll be surprised if Pitt wins.

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:33 am

I don't see where they're better on paper though

Oline's are comparable
Running backs are comparable

receivers wise, it's close, but I think Denver's a bit stronger

Defensively I think Pittsburgh is better, but not by a lot.

Post by **Lyion** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:44 am

The talent is similar. It boils down to coaching, and give me Shanahan over Cowher any day. Plus, the noise and difficuly playing on the road will play more of a roll, especially if Denver gets out to an early lead.

Denver won't be flat like Indy was. Especially after they played a much tougher D than Pitts in New Englands.

Minrott · Post by **Minrott** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:34 am

Stats and trends aside I think the Steelers, this year have that little bit of intangible advantage, that "in the zone" bullshit, that unmeasurable momentum if you will, that will put them on top this year. They've consistently played up to whoever they had a contest with. They won at Carolina, at San Diego, at Cincinnati twice, at Indianapolis. While losing to much lesser opponents like New England and Jacksonville at home. What ever they've got, they take it with on the road.

Denver looks good, but I think the Steelers will pull another upset off.

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:41 am

the jacksonville game doesn't count

fucking maddox gave that game away when the steelers had outplayed them

Minrott · Post by **Minrott** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:43 am

You see what I'm saying though right? They've won a lot of games they "shouldn't" have won, and lost a couple that they "should" have won.

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:45 am

any game with Maddox taking snaps is a coin toss