Who is the Best in the NFC/AFC?

[Dan Wishengrad]

For the NFC
-Dallas and Green Bay at the top but they play each other on the 29th of November in the Big D, so we will see what TO and Romo can do against the GB defense. GB needs to find a steady running game and hopefully Ryan Grant can continue to run well.
-Detroit looks good, but they throw the ball a lot and need to establish a running game if they want to continue playing well.
-The Giants are on a roll, but can Eli get them far in the playoffs? I have yet to see him be able to lead his team, but he has a solid defense and also has a good group of receiving core.
-Saints are on a 4 game win streak and have too much talent to be at 4-4. They will pick their game up and win the NFC South over Tampa, even though Garcia is playing well down there and he has a great player in Joey Galloway to throw to.

[/b]

Hey did u overlook my Seahawks? We are poised to capture the NFC-Worst with a 5-11 record, then will be ready to.... lose big in the Wild Card round. Okay, never mind

[jessexy]

Indy is def. #1! They were missing 5 starters. Two starting linebackers that are studs, but that doesn't even matter b/c the guys behind them are pretty good. The 3 missing offensive starters are the key. Marvin Harrison is a big deal. Harrison catches almost everything thrown to him, unlike moorehead and fletcher. anthony gonzalez has not been a huge factor yet, but when harrison is out it's also a big deal. That is why both fletcher and moorehead were playing. They don't get open as often and each had dropped passes. The biggest problem: Ugoh (LT) being out. the back-up is horrible...makes the whole left side suspect. I'm surprised that guy is in the league; he is that bad. You take a healthy COLTS team and PATS team, and I think the COLTS win hands down. The colts have a better defense, and thats the difference.

The pats had a franchise record number of penalty yards AND brady threw 2 picks, which equaled the total number he had thrown all season. It was one of the worst games they have played this season and they still won. They finally started playing like they have all season in the 4th quarter and completely picked apart Indy's defense. The pats are definitely the better team this year.

The Colts were also missing starting LT Tony Ugoh, Anthony Gonzalez broke his thumb on the first play of the game, and those tight ends they used couldnt make up for Dallas Clark. and dont count out the fact that injured backup defenders mean no depth or rest for the starters.

[More Cowbell]

Indy is def. #1! They were missing 5 starters. Two starting linebackers that are studs, but that doesn't even matter b/c the guys behind them are pretty good. The 3 missing offensive starters are the key. Marvin Harrison is a big deal. Harrison catches almost everything thrown to him, unlike moorehead and fletcher. anthony gonzalez has not been a huge factor yet, but when harrison is out it's also a big deal. That is why both fletcher and moorehead were playing. They don't get open as often and each had dropped passes. The biggest problem: Ugoh (LT) being out. the back-up is horrible...makes the whole left side suspect. I'm surprised that guy is in the league; he is that bad. You take a healthy COLTS team and PATS team, and I think the COLTS win hands down. The colts have a better defense, and thats the difference.

The pats had a franchise record number of penalty yards AND brady threw 2 picks, which equaled the total number he had thrown all season. It was one of the worst games they have played this season and they still won. They finally started playing like they have all season in the 4th quarter and completely picked apart Indy's defense. The pats are definitely the better team this year.

The Colts were also missing starting LT Tony Ugoh, Anthony Gonzalez broke his thumb on the first play of the game, and those tight ends they used couldnt make up for Dallas Clark. and dont count out the fact that injured backup defenders mean no depth or rest for the starters.

Dallas Clark did play on sunday, he was just completely ineffective and only got 15 yards receiving. This whole injury talk is ridiculous. The Pats were missing their leading rusher (coming into the game) Morris, who's out for the season and their starting FS Eugene Wilson, who's one of the best defensive players they have. Injuries cant be used to defend losses, teams should be deep enough to overcome them.

[norway]

Yes, Clark was ineffective, but that is because they knew he would get the ball especially w/ him and R. Wayne being the only legitimate targets. The Sammy Morrison argument doesn't even hold water b/c the only reason he is their leading rusher is because Maroney was hurt for some games. The fact of the matter is this. The Colts and Pats are practically dead-even. Everyone knows how to beat the Pats, the same way you beat the Colts...keep the offense off of the field. In order to do that your offense has to stay on the field. The Colts did not have all their weapons to match up against the Pats D. The Pats realized they didnt have to blitz to beat Johnson (the back up LT...that's awful), so they were able to drop back. When they dropped back into coverage, they only had two real threats to cover. Fletcher and Moorehead couldn't outrun the linebackers to get open and if they did they couldnt catch. Playoffs b/t these two will be incredible, especially if they both have full, healthy squads.

[Duffy34]

what about spy gate? the fact that the league destroyed the tapes will hurt the pats' season. I believe they will go 19-0 and win it all but there will be an * next to them and this discussion will go on forever. And the reason they will is because of the league destroying the tapes. those tapes should have been viewed by everyone including the media and tv land. IF the pats say it wasnt such a big deal, then why not show the tapes so everyone can see it wasnt a big deal and stop talking about it, now the tapes are gone and everyone is debating this issue. when is all boils down they still cheated. You know there was something on those tapes if they lost a 1st round pick. the league tried to brush this under the rug and make it go away fast and they just made it worse.

[More Cowbell]

what about spy gate? the fact that the league destroyed the tapes will hurt the pats' season. I believe they will go 19-0 and win it all but there will be an * next to them and this discussion will go on forever. And the reason they will is because of the league destroying the tapes. those tapes should have been viewed by everyone including the media and tv land. IF the pats say it wasnt such a big deal, then why not show the tapes so everyone can see it wasnt a big deal and stop talking about it, now the tapes are gone and everyone is debating this issue. when is all boils down they still cheated. You know there was something on those tapes if they lost a 1st round pick. the league tried to brush this under the rug and make it go away fast and they just made it worse.

i dont think "spygate" diminishes their season at all. it came in the 1st game of the season, which was a 38-14 blowout of mangina's jets. The Pats would be 9-0 regardless of whether or not the scandal ever happened. It's not like coaches have never stolen signs in the past, it was just a point of emphasis this year, which is why the league came down so hard. I'm not trying to defend what Belichick did, because it was a bonehead move, but I really think he was just trying to get in Mangini's head by being so blatant about it.

Don't even get me started on Shula comparing a (knock on wood) perfect pats season with Barry Bond's steroids.

[JW]

For the NFC
-Dallas and Green Bay at the top but they play each other on the 29th of November in the Big D, so we will see what TO and Romo can do against the GB defense. GB needs to find a steady running game and hopefully Ryan Grant can continue to run well.
-Detroit looks good, but they throw the ball a lot and need to establish a running game if they want to continue playing well.
-The Giants are on a roll, but can Eli get them far in the playoffs? I have yet to see him be able to lead his team, but he has a solid defense and also has a good group of receiving core.
-Saints are on a 4 game win streak and have too much talent to be at 4-4. They will pick their game up and win the NFC South over Tampa, even though Garcia is playing well down there and he has a great player in Joey Galloway to throw to.

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I think you are mistaken on your thoughts about the Lions running game. Kevin Jones can be an elite runner when Healthy and Martz will finally have the balance that he would like to have in Detroit. Their defense was awesome last week against Denver

Yeah my Cowboys do have a tough remaining schedule, but Romo has not showed me anything this year that says he can't handle the adversity.

5 picks and one fumble lost, and in the fourth quarter led his team to a comeback victory.

If Cleveland makes the playoffs it will be on the shoulders of its offense, i don't believe their defense can stop anybody, but they look like they can score on just about anyone. This weeks matchup against Pitt will be a good test.

New England is the best team in the League, but not by a huge margin. I hope they meet again in the post season with both teams healthy and firing on all cylinders.

I would not count out NFC teams like the Giants or the Cowboys. Both teams can run the ball and play defense.

[laxfan25]

I agree that this whole video thing is completely overblown. I can only imagine that this is smoething every team does. Doesn't baseball have a rich tradition of stealing signs?
I don't think this will besmirch their reputation if they do go undefeated - but there is also a lot of football left to be played. Remember, it was the woreful Dolphins that gave them a thumpin' last year!

[Zeuslax]

There's been a bunch of former players and coaches coming out over the past few weeks talking about how they would steal signs and signals. A few have said that they had the entire list of the other teams' signals and have still proceeded to get blown out.

I'm not defending the practice, but I can see how it can impact a game. On the other hand, I can see how a team can still win with the opposition knowing what's coming.

I remember playing 2 on 2 touch football as a kid and if Jeff and I were on the same team we would we would tell the other team what was coming and still kill them.

[laxfan25]

There is also the aspect of players changing teams and taking palybooks with them - that happens rather frequently as well. I don't imagine there are all that many secrets in the NFL, and the basic premise of the good teams is "you know what we're gonna do - it's up to you to stop us!"

[Dan Warren]

anyone who thinks spygate is a big deal has no clue about NFL football. Give me a break.

Also, the Pats/Colts game should have been a blowout. The officiating was the worst I have ever seen. Faulk blatantly being held on a 3 and 20 which should have been a 1st down. Randy Moss PI? He did nothing. And Ellis Hobbs? He played the ball perfectly. I think the refs were on the take. How can you explain that call of a good catch (don't know who it was) for the Colts, and the ref was right on top of the play. Easy call...he calls it good, and BB is forced to waste a challenge. It is pathetic how everyone wants to tear down the Pats. How about just getting better?

[asulax]

the bad calls went both ways in that game, but i don't know if you watched the whole thing. if they couldn't blow them out with them missing key players please inform me of how its going to happen if they meet again with a healthy team.

[Duffy34]

anyone who thinks spygate is a big deal has no clue about NFL football. Give me a break.

Also, the Pats/Colts game should have been a blowout. The officiating was the worst I have ever seen. Faulk blatantly being held on a 3 and 20 which should have been a 1st down. Randy Moss PI? He did nothing. And Ellis Hobbs? He played the ball perfectly. I think the refs were on the take. How can you explain that call of a good catch (don't know who it was) for the Colts, and the ref was right on top of the play. Easy call...he calls it good, and BB is forced to waste a challenge. It is pathetic how everyone wants to tear down the Pats. How about just getting better?

Well actually it is a big deal because they lost a first round draft pick. I also have worked for the Broncos/Giants and have two family members that played in the nfl so I do know a little bit about the nfl and how it operates behind the scenes, and a lot of people think this a big deal. Every team steals signs, every team gives fake signs to try and trick the other team, but nobody films it. This is something the pats have been accused of for years. All the massholes now are freaking out and trying to brush it under the rug. i enjoy watching the pats/tom brady. I feel that when I am 50 we will be talking about brady/manning how we talk about marino/montana now. i just think that this wouldnt be such an issue if the tapes were shown and people could see that it was jsut a camera pointed at the defensive coach, but now we have no idea. out side of new england, this is still a big deal to a lot of people. I believe without the tapes the pats would be dominating the way they are. Though that game vs the colts should not have been a blow out and it wont be when they meet again. brushchi and vrabel should be wearing cruthes right now the way j addai faked them out of their jocks all game long.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Being really neither a fan of the Colts nor the Pats, I have been reading this thread with amusement. Anybody who watched this game (I didn't because I work on Sundays) - or even those of us who watched all the highlights -- should be objective enough to realize the better team won. I was rooting for for Indy, as I dislike Belichik personally, and think the Colts are a very strong team. I will root for them again if they get a playoff re-match.

But give me a break with all the excuses, please! The game was AT Indy at the Pats won, fair and square. Last year's title by the Colts was last year. New England is clearly the team to beat in 2008.

[TheBearcatHimself]

Someone said the way to beat the Pats is to keep their D off the field, the same way you beat the Colts. I agree, but on the premise that this is how you game plan to beat ALL football teams.

The difference between the two teams is that the Patriots defense is leaps and bounds better than the Colts'. I have never seen so much hype for one player, Bob Sanders, than ever before. He has to be the most overrated player in the league because one player does not a defense make.

And you know why Bob Sanders is completely meaningless when you play the Patriots? One word: Randy Moss. No player has had more affect on a team's results on the field between last year and this than Randy "I only need one hand" Moss. Bob Sanders is 5'8"!!! Do you Colt fans really think Randy Moss cares about where Bob Sanders is on that field? He might as well be going up against the cast of "Little People Big World" with Bob Sanders out there. Gimme a break, Indy's D might be the most overrated unit in the league. Their offense is legit and I love Addai, but he can't stop Randy either.