xenophobe

I hear you, but my question for you is, if that's your example for your preference, I ask, did you predict the Giants to win the SB entering the playoffs a year ago? If you did, you may be the only one. The fact is, we redistribute the lable for who the "hot" team is from week to week. A couple weeks ago when Philly was in control of their own destiny and blew it when they lost to Washington, no one was calling them hot. Then they crushed a gutless Cowboy team who rolled over for them, and suddenly they are hot. Wasn't Indi the hot team a week ago entering the playoffs riding a 9 game winning streak? Perhaps, until they lost to SanDiego, who is, without dount, the hot team in the AFC at this point. That is...until they lose. Then its someone else. I hear a lot of camparisons between Philly and the Giants of a year ago. But the fact is, the only meaningful comparison won't be true until they win the SB. The truth is, at this point they have a lot in common with a couple dozen teams who sneaked into the playoffs and won a wild card game.

That's because they hadn't had any time off since September, and had an absolutly brutal 10 game stretch to close the season. That and the fact that in all of their final four games except Carolina, they were facing desperate teams yet had little at stake themselves. I don't think there is any question they'll turn it on for the playoffs. They desperatly needed that bye week to recharge the batteries and have had a chance to tweak a few things schematically. I'm cautiously optimistic about the Gianst this week.

I know who he is.

You're really going to defend them after this shame of a season? If I were a Cowboys fan I'd be ripping them more than anyone.

Some people kill me. Peyton didn't choke at all. He played very well, actually. Did we watch the game, or just bash Manning because we don't like him? No running game at all, and a defense that couldn't tackle, that's why Indi lost, for those who, apparently, don't watch football.

The case for Philly is far stronger. Statistically they are superior to Minn on both sides of the ball. They are coming in as the hotter team. They have the edge at QB, a top knotch coaching staff, and a veteran team with tons of playoff experience. They've played in bigger games, and have shown they are capable of winning meaningful games on the road. If Philly plays their A game, the Vikings have no shot. None. But what makes this an interesting game is the inconsistency in this Philly team, and it's not just this season. The McNabb/Reid combo have been somewhat inconsistent since reaching the SB in the 2004. They often look like one of the league's elite, but have suffered from far too many let downs in games you would expect them to win... the most recent taking place just two weeks ago. So I guess the question here is, which Eagle team will show up this weekend? I guess we'll see.

It should be an interesting game. I think Minn is going to have to get a huge game out of AP if they are going to win it.

I find it far more interesting that the NFC is returning only 1 of 6 from a year ago.

I agree. We'll see what happens.

This wouldn't be a big concern for me. They may not be road worriers this year, but they are a veteran team who has proven they can win on the road.

Um, the first post and subject line.

We sure do have short term memory around here. Philly needed help yesterday after blowing a huge opportunity to a sad Redskins team a week ago. The question for Philly has never been can they get up and play a big game. The question for them is, can they sustain it. The Philly hype machine was in full force a few weeks ago after stringing a few impressive wins together, including the one over NY. But I caution all those ready to jump back on the Philly bandwagon, as history seems to suggest as soon as they get a taste of success... there's usually a Washington game lurking somewhere around the corner.

Philly can get up for games, and can do so even in stretches. But their problem is they can't ever sustain it. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. They beat up on a gutless Dallas team that didn't bother to show up, but they also blew a huge opportunity by losing to a sad Redskins team a week ago. So how about you start out with Minn and hold off on the SB talk?

I'm not even sure what the term America's team even means.

If Dallas wins, then more power to them. But it seems to me the last thing they need is something else to preoccupy themselves with and keep them out of focus. How about they just go out an try and win a football game?

It won't make a damn bit of difference if he's sitting home a week later. That offense is already shot worrying about forcing the ball to TO, so why the hell not not the defense?

Huh? SD went to the championship game a year ago. Now they have a losing record in arguably the worst divisions in football. No way in hell is Rivers the most important.

In my eyes it's not. He gives them a shot every year and has been that way for a while. There are a lot of other really good players, but as far as their impact on their team's success, I see Peyton as a clear stand out here.

Peyton Manning, and its not even close.

Indi is one of the hottest teams right now. They aren't under anyone's radar. You want an under the radar team, look to Atlanta.

No doubt. Rodgers was impressive enough to keep them right in a lot of games when the defense had let them down, but puzzlingly hardly ever good enough to win those close ones. He's young and this is an area he needs to improve on. If he does, could become a very good QB some day. But it's also not a give that this will happen.

I'm not really sure the answer to this question, but if we're asking because we're looking to evaluate if GB made the right decision, there is NO QUESTION that they did. The GB running game and especially their defense was a huge let down this year, and this year was shot regardless. And Rodgers showed some very impressive skills, but also clearly needs to develop some areas of his game, so this was the right move. We're also now seeing Favre waffle on his future again, and I'm sure GB is happy to be done with that headache.

This should get interesting.

In the NFC this year, the 5 and 6 seeds will be regarded as more dangerous than the 3 and 4 seeds, particulalry if Tampa isn't one of them.

I can say a year ago at this exact point I was giving my guys (Giants) no chance based on 15 games of play. In fact, when they lost to Washington last year, I said the same thing about them (that they didn't want it), so you are exactly right here...we will have to wait and see. The game that turned everything around for them, as we all know, was the week 17 game with NE, and I can say it would be hard not to keep that in the back of my head as I watch this Dallas Philly game because we know what both are capable of when playing their A game.