2012 NFL Playoffs

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

the loss of Gronk is a big loss.

What did he have happen? I saw him on the sideline for a second but didnt know what he had wrong

[Coach]

Here's what happened in one weekend:

Tom Brady passes Montana for most playoff wins by a starting QB in NFL history.......

.....meanwhile, Payton Manning notches the most playoff losses by a starting QB.

[elliseamos]

Here's what happened in one weekend:

Tom Brady passes Montana for most playoff wins by a starting QB in NFL history.......

.....meanwhile, Payton Manning notches the most playoff losses by a starting QB.

i think manning ties favre for the most playoff losses all-time. i could be wrong though.

the loss of Gronk is a big loss.

What did he have happen? I saw him on the sideline for a second but didnt know what he had wrong

he re-injured his surgically repaired forearm and is out the rest of the year. tough loss, but the team has shown the ability to adapt. just like subbing in vereen in place of woodhead and "the next guy up" delivering.

[Electromatic]

Here's what happened in one weekend:

Tom Brady passes Montana for most playoff wins by a starting QB in NFL history.......

.....meanwhile, Payton Manning notches the most playoff losses by a starting QB.

Dan Dierdorff is still pretty freaking amazed by that last part, apparently Joe Flacco played in Denver as well, couldn't tell from the CBS coverage.

[elliseamos]

Here's what happened in one weekend:

Tom Brady passes Montana for most playoff wins by a starting QB in NFL history.......

.....meanwhile, Payton Manning notches the most playoff losses by a starting QB.

Dan Dierdorff is still pretty freaking amazed by that last part, apparently Joe Flacco played in Denver as well, couldn't tell from the CBS coverage.

from the denver thread:

Spoiler: show

[homersheineken]

So yeah, that was a damn good weekend of football for only 4 games.

Absolutely! Sat was one of the best days of football I've seen in a while (without the Bears playing ) - 150 pts, 1500 yds of offense. Good stuff.

[warehouse]

So yeah, that was a damn good weekend of football for only 4 games.

Absolutely! Sat was one of the best days of football I've seen in a while (without the Bears playing ) - 150 pts, 1500 yds of offense. Good stuff.

is this mike greenberg on rm?

[homersheineken]

So yeah, that was a damn good weekend of football for only 4 games.

Absolutely! Sat was one of the best days of football I've seen in a while (without the Bears playing ) - 150 pts, 1500 yds of offense. Good stuff.

is this mike greenberg on rm?

I'm not sure who that is.

[Coach]

I went Niners-Pats.

Pats were my preseason pick to win the AFC, so I want to stay consistent there.

Niners - I want to study their losses (and tie) more, before falling completely in love. ATL at home is still a very difficult test.

[dkfan9]

So yeah, that was a damn good weekend of football for only 4 games.

Absolutely! Sat was one of the best days of football I've seen in a while (without the Bears playing ) - 150 pts, 1500 yds of offense. Good stuff.

is this mike greenberg on rm?

lol

[warehouse]

I went Niners-Pats.

Pats were my preseason pick to win the AFC, so I want to stay consistent there.

Niners - I want to study their losses (and tie) more, before falling completely in love. ATL at home is still a very difficult test.

whens the last time u didnt pick the pats to win the afc?

[Electromatic]

I'm picking Falcons vs Ravens for one because they are underdogs and because I like the storylines associated with them.

Obviously I'm a Falcons fan.

I like the idea of Lewis and Gonzalez in a winner retires with a ring matchup.

I like Matt Ryan vs Joe Flacco on the field.

Julio Jones vs Torrey Smith etc. etc.

Not to mention the last time the Falcons and Ravens met was a spectacular game.

[dkfan9]

I like the idea of Lewis and Gonzalez in a winner retires with a ring matchup.

I like Matt Ryan vs Joe Flacco on the field.

those are cool stories

[EJ]

SF
NE

It'd be a good rematch of that crazy game last month. Tom Brady's ridiculous stats in the 4th quarter of that game also cost me a spot in my fantasy league championship.

[Electromatic]

I'd just like to say I like the Seattle Seahawks, great fans, love the makeup of that team, and Richard Sherman has all the right kinds of bravado.

Pete Carroll, is a lying son of a bitch. He's still right up there with Bobby Petrino. Completely full of shit.

[Orpheus]

Seattle's players and front office are awesome and the main reason I like them, but I agree that Carroll is kind of the weak link, even though he also had a big hand in building the roster. They have a lot of good, young players so they should be good for a while even if they decide to make a coaching change.

I'd like to see SF-NE, I think the Ravens would get rolled by the 49ers and it's always nice to see New England lose a Super Bowl.

[Self]

it's always nice to see New England lose a Super Bowl.

[lennytheweedwhacker]

49ers all the way. I like the Pats and Ravens pretty much equally for very different reasons, but I think i'm pulling for the Ravens in this one. If it ends up being ATL out of the NFC I don't know who I'm pulling for. I like every team left.

[dkfan9]

Sort of an aside, but your Harbaugh Bowl comment brought to mind something I've been playing with in my head the last few weeks: I think this generation of coaches is far superior to the last generation of good coaches (the late 90s gen). I guess two specific examples I can think of offhand are Jim Harbaugh vs. Steve Mariucci and Mike McCarthy vs. Mike Holmgren.

I can understand why you might disagree as a 49ers fan, but I don't think Mooch was that bad. With the exception of the Young/Garcia transition period he had double digit win seasons otherwise. So far, Harbaugh is one half game short of where Mooch was after two seasons.

But to your bigger question, I compared last year's head coaching slate to that of the most prominent coaches of the late 90s. Setting aside the coaches that coached in both eras (Carroll, Coughlin, Fisher, Gailey, Reid, Shanahan, and Turner), I came up with this:

Good/great coaches of the late 90s
Billick
Cowher
Dungy
Gruden
Holmgren
Parcells
Reeves
Schottenheimer
Vermeil

You could also throw Ditka in here with a major asterisk, and I think Mooch is on the fringe, as well.

Good/great coaches today
Belichick
Jim Harbaugh
John Harbaugh
Kubiak
McCarthy
Payton
Tomlin
Mike Smith

If the Broncos win it all this year I could add Fox to this list. There are also the ones just getting their feet wet like Philbin and Schiano that we can't really tell about yet.

I agree that Mooch wasn't bad, and I was never behind firing him (and even less in favor of the terrible subsequent hire). On the whole, though, Harbaugh is building what could be a dynasty, and either way building success for years to come, while Mariucci took over a dynasty featuring the best WR in NFL history one of the best QBs, and simply sustained it at a level slightly below what had come before. Harbaugh is one game behind him after two years, with Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick, and last year, hardly a receiving corps. Though the defense helps.

And after Saturday, his decision to go Kaepernick over Smith gives him some additional cachet in my mind.

I don't know if I'm wrong to do this, but I'd put Mike Tomlin over Bill Cowher. But I'm not sure if the difference in their success is more a function of Roethlisberger vs. Kordell Stewart et al.

Also, I'd put John Harbaugh over Billick. Offenses were ritualistically bad under Billick.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I'd just like to say I like the Seattle Seahawks, great fans, love the makeup of that team, and Richard Sherman has all the right kinds of bravado.

Pete Carroll, is a lying son of a bitch. He's still right up there with Bobby Petrino. Completely full of shit.

Pete is the one thing i don't like about Seattle.