Hows about some playoff predictions, folks.......

[Motor City Sonics]

Round 1

New Orleans 41, Detroit 28
Atlanta 27, NY/Dallas 14 (doesn't matter who)

Cincinnati 24, Houston 13
Pittsburgh 21, Denver 6


Round 2
New Orleans 31, San Francisco 17
Green Bay 38, Atlanta 14

New England 38, Cincinnati 21
Baltimore 27, Pittsburgh 21 (OT)


Round 3
Green Bay 34, New Orleans 31
Baltimore 28, New England 24


SUPER BOWL

Green Bay 31, Baltimore 21

Vancouver has riots.

[Cylander]

I think the refs would rather have Tom Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl over Joe Flacco and the Ravens. They will conspire to have New England win that game.

[Motor City Sonics]

NBA has conspiracies. NFL just has bad refs.

[Murderface]

New Orleans 55 Lions 27


Super Bowl Green Bay 45 New England 42

[Buddha]

Round 1

New Orleans 45, Detroit 38
Giants 28, Falcons 10

Houston 17, Cincinnati 10
Pittsburgh 28, Denver 0


Round 2
New Orleans 28, San Francisco 7
Green Bay 31, Giants 28

New England 28, Houston 27
Baltimore 28, Pittsburgh 20


Round 3
New Orleans 45, Green Bay 34
Baltimore 35, New England 17


SUPER BOWL

New Orleans 31, Baltimore 21

[Buddha]

Saints opened -9. It's now -10.

Over/under on Saints/Lions is 58.5. That's the largest number in playoff history.

[Shelton]

That's an easy over.

[Mike]

Saints opened -9. It's now -10.

Over/under on Saints/Lions is 58.5. That's the largest number in playoff history.

The Saints will score 60+ on their own.

[mr0zip0]

Alright, I'll make my prediction, but lots of people will call me a homer and discredit this... But it is what it is...

AFC Wildcard
#3 - Houston Texans: 17
v.
#6 - Cincinnati Bengals: 16
~This is a hard game for me to judge because I don't like either team... TJ Yates is a 3rd string quarterback, while Andy Dalton is a rookie. I think Houston will win, but they won't really impress anyone while doing it.

#4 - Denver Broncos: 0
v.
#5 - Pittsburgh Steelers: 41
~ Denver is going to get demolished, and I can't wait for it to happen. Tebow will get pulled sometime in the 3rd quarter for lack of performence, as will Roethlisberger, to prevent injury.

NFC Wildcard
#3 - New Orleans Saints: 38
v.
#6 - Detroit Lions: 41
~ The Lions will come in pissed, while the Saints will come in expecting a bye week... Detroit, who has been lambasted by Schwartz all week, jumps to a 24-3 halftime lead in which the offense looks unstoppable and the defense looks like the real steel curtain. New Orleans comes back to tie the game with 2:30 left in the game... Stafford marches the team down the field and sets up a Jason Hanson game winning 51 yard field goal to stun the nation.

#4 - New York Giants: 17
v.
#5 - Atlanta Falcons: 27
~ This was a tough one for me to call... Who knows which Giants team will show up? I'll take the Falcons because I think that the NFC South is better than the NFC East.

AFC Divisional
#1 - New England Patriots: 20
v.
#5 - Pittsburgh Steelers: 17
~ People have said all year that the Patriots are overrated and I bet they're sick of it. I can't stand Brady or Bellichek either, but they are good...

#2 - Baltimore Ravens: 28
v.
#3 - Houston Texans: 9
~ I don't like the Ravens in the playoffs. Every year we hear that this is their year and every year they fall flat in the 1st or 2nd round, usually against the Steelers... But they get lucky this year and play a team that couldn't beat the freaking Colts. The Colts!

NFC Divisional
#1 - Green Bay Packers: 30
v.
#6 - Detroit Lions: 48
~ Well, well... Look who gets their revenge. I think that this team (particularily the defense) is embarressed by their performence against Green Bay's backups. They want revenge. They get it here in a big way for the Lions first win at Lambeau Field since 1991.

#2 - San Francisco 49ers: 17
v.
#5 - Atlanta Falcons: 14
~ Good matchup here, but I think that Matt Ryan will prove that he isn't the real Matty Ice by going 3 and out throughout the entire 4th quarter.

AFC Championship
#1 - New England Patriots: 24
v.
#2 - Baltimore Ravens: 10
~ As I said in the Ravens-Texans notes, I don't like the Ravens as a playoff team... New England is in control the entire game.

NFC Championship
#2 - San Francisco 49ers: 17
v.
#6 - Detroit Lions: 34
~ I like this matchup for the Lions... The 49ers defense is good, but I don't think they can stop a more matured Matthew Stafford.

Super Bowl XLVI
#1A - New England Patriots: 34
v.
#6N - Detroit Lions: 30
~ I believe that unfortunately, the Patriots expirience pays off here... Matthew Stafford matches Tom Brady punch for punch, but Tom Brady gets the last word in.
There ya have em.

[mr0zip0]

Here is my theory on the Lions beating the Saints... Know that I need to go to bed, so I just copied and pasted this from a discussion on facebook with someone I haven't talked football with before, so some of it will be preventive obviousness.

When we played New Orleans in week 13, we were minus Louis Delmas, Ndamukong Suh, Chris Houston, Lawrence Jackson, and Kevin Smith was still hurting from his injury ev...en though he played... For this upcoming playoff game, all 5 are expected to be 100% healthy and playing.

This means that while the Lions have already played the Saints full starters, the Saints have not yet seen the Lions at 100%.

As far as the Lions defense goes, I think yesterday was a rare exception to the norm... No one can expect that same defense will show up on Saturday.

I'm not sure if you guys heard any of Jim Schwartz's postgame comments, but he was PISSED... Here are a couple highlights of it. "They (Lions secondary) couldn't have played worse... We covered poorly, we tackled poorly, we played man-to-man poorly, we blitzed poorly, we played zone poorly."

Schwartz nearly went off on another reporter from 97.1, asking him "What do you want me to tell you? Did I expect this? No. We played poorly."

He was then asked if he was dissapointed, and he responded "I'm not dissapointed. I'm angry." in a tone that made it clear that the interview was over.

Schwartz will ensure that the defense that showed up against Green Bay is not the same that will show up in New Orleans.

Lastly, this entire team (minus Stafford, who played out of his mind) was completely embarresed by Green Bay's 2nd team... They want another shot at them, which is exactly what they will get if they can beat New Orleans since Green Bay is the #1 seed.

I think the Lions offense can match every punch with New Orleans... Drew Brees = Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson>Marquis Colston, Pierre Thomas & Darren Sproles > Kevin Smith... Very even.

It's up to the... Lions defense to play up to their potential, which is a middle of the road secondary and a top 5 defensive line.

If they can get pressure to Brees, and the secondary does an average job, Stafford and Calvin Johnson can handle the rest... New Orleans is 30th in pass defense. 30th!! Stafford should be able to walk all over that.

I rest my case.

[KleShreen]

The defense has proven all year long that they can't defend the pass. Delmas and Houston aren't going to help much, if at all. Brees knows what he's going up against already. I predict the Lions look good for about a quarter, maybe even holding a lead, and then the Saints put it on cruise control and coast to a 45-31 win.

[mr0zip0]

The defense has proven all year long that they can't defend the pass. Delmas and Houston aren't going to help much, if at all. Brees knows what he's going up against already. I predict the Lions look good for about a quarter, maybe even holding a lead, and then the Saints put it on cruise control and coast to a 45-31 win.

And New Orleans has not proven that?

Stafford knows what he is going up against as well.

If I'm interpreting your post right, then we agree that Stafford & Detroit's offense are just as good as (if not better than) Brees & the Saints offense, and the individual stats would show it if it wasn't for Matt breaking his finger early in the year...

Saints defense vs. Lions defense... That is what the game will most likely come down to...

Here is where I'll argue your claim that the Lions will only look good for a bit...

You say that defenses have lit up Detroit all year, but New Orleans has been even worse than detroit in that respect. The following are the QBs that their secondary has faced and the yards they allowed.
An * indicates a QB I consider to be decent.
*Rodgers - 312
*Cutler - 244
*Schaub - 373
Gabbert - 196
Newton - 224 and 158
Freeman - 303 and 281
Painter/Orlovsky - 102
AJ Feely - 175
*Ryan - 351 and 373
*Eli Manning - 406
*Stafford - 408
Locker/Hasselbeck - 326
Ponder - 120

They average 352 yards per decent QB faced per game and Stafford is better than all those decent QBs other than Rodgers. Take out the week 2 outlier against Cutler and the average becomes 370....They even performed poorly against some bad QBs, particularily Josh Freeman and the Seahawks duo.

Detroit's secondary on the other hand, has their moments...
Freeman - 259
Cassel - 133
McNabb - 211
*Romo - 331
*Cutler - 249 and 123
*Smith - 125
*Ryan - 218
Tebow - 172
Newton - 280
*Rodgers - 307
*Brees - 342
Ponder/Webb - 199
*Palmer - 367
*Rivers - 299
Flynn - 480

Detroit averages 285 yards allowed per decent QB per game... Add Flynn for S&G? It is still 315, 55 less than NO.

Over the course of the season, week 17 was an obvious outlier that we should not base our prediction for this game on. Detroit's sat down and went to bed when Rodgers went on the inactive list, and they paid for it... They won't be sleeping in the Super Dome.

That is the secondary, how about the D-Line? Comparing simply stats (Detroit is listed first)...

Average Opponents Rushing Yards per game: 128.1 to 108.6
Sacks: 41 to 33
Tackles for a Loss: 46 to 37

Keep in mind Detroit played more than half the season with at least one DT inactive.

If Stafford plays like his norm, and if the Lions D can bounce back and play like they did against Phillip Rivers and Matt Ryan, then these teams all of a sudden are incredibly equal and we have a helluva shot at winning this game.

[drownwithyou]

I really only care about the Lions, and I don't feel confident about the game at all. I think the Saints will score early and often. Lions will move the ball on offense, but penalties/bad breaks will go the Saints way and the Lions won't score as much as they need to in the first half. Sproles will take a punt to the house at the worst possible moment for the Lions. Stafford will look awesome the second half, with CJ making some ridiculous catches, but it won't be enough to overcome the first half. I expect the score to look something like 41-31 Saints, with the score looking a lot closer than it should because the Lions put on a show at the very end when it was already too late.

Can you tell I don't have much faith in the defense?

[KleShreen]

And New Orleans has not proven that?

Stafford knows what he is going up against as well.

If I'm interpreting your post right, then we agree that Stafford & Detroit's offense are just as good as (if not better than) Brees & the Saints offense, and the individual stats would show it if it wasn't for Matt breaking his finger early in the year...

Saints defense vs. Lions defense... That is what the game will most likely come down to...

Here is where I'll argue your claim that the Lions will only look good for a bit...

You say that defenses have lit up Detroit all year, but New Orleans has been even worse than detroit in that respect. The following are the QBs that their secondary has faced and the yards they allowed.
An * indicates a QB I consider to be decent.
*Rodgers - 312
*Cutler - 244
*Schaub - 373
Gabbert - 196
Newton - 224 and 158
Freeman - 303 and 281
Painter/Orlovsky - 102
AJ Feely - 175
*Ryan - 351 and 373
*Eli Manning - 406
*Stafford - 408
Locker/Hasselbeck - 326
Ponder - 120

They average 352 yards per decent QB faced per game and Stafford is better than all those decent QBs other than Rodgers. Take out the week 2 outlier against Cutler and the average becomes 370....They even performed poorly against some bad QBs, particularily Josh Freeman and the Seahawks duo.

Detroit's secondary on the other hand, has their moments...
Freeman - 259
Cassel - 133
McNabb - 211
*Romo - 331
*Cutler - 249 and 123
*Smith - 125
*Ryan - 218
Tebow - 172
Newton - 280
*Rodgers - 307
*Brees - 342
Ponder/Webb - 199
*Palmer - 367
*Rivers - 299
Flynn - 480

Detroit averages 285 yards allowed per decent QB per game... Add Flynn for S&G? It is still 315, 55 less than NO.

Over the course of the season, week 17 was an obvious outlier that we should not base our prediction for this game on. Detroit's sat down and went to bed when Rodgers went on the inactive list, and they paid for it... They won't be sleeping in the Super Dome.

That is the secondary, how about the D-Line? Comparing simply stats (Detroit is listed first)...

Average Opponents Rushing Yards per game: 128.1 to 108.6
Sacks: 41 to 33
Tackles for a Loss: 46 to 37

Keep in mind Detroit played more than half the season with at least one DT inactive.

If Stafford plays like his norm, and if the Lions D can bounce back and play like they did against Phillip Rivers and Matt Ryan, then these teams all of a sudden are incredibly equal and we have a helluva shot at winning this game.

I appreciate all of this...but the Lions pass D over the last five weeks of the year has been beyond terrible. Berry back should help a little, Delmas back isn't going to help the pass game much, he's never been a guy that has been good against the pass. But in the end, it's Brees, who has been arguably the best QB in the NFL over the last couple weeks, against a pass D that has been maybe the worst over the last couple weeks.

I just don't see the Lions changing their ways in a week. The defensive line has underperformed all season long, sans for MNF against Chicago. They don't get enough pressure to hurry a good quarterback. The entire team as a whole has been immature all year and continues to be. Just once I would like to see a Lion player make a play that he's supposed to and then go back to the sideline/huddle without nearly getting a penalty. The Saints are an experienced, mature team that has been in the playoffs before and know what needs to be done. You won't see them starting shoving matches after nearly every play like the Lions do and you won't see them taking bad penalties in high-pressure situations like the Lions do. Even against Green Bay you saw more of this from the Lions. Suh with an off-sides penalty on 3rd and 3 to give GB a first down late in the game, Pettigrew with another false start late in the game. On top of Pettigrew getting in his required drop in a clutch situation like he does nearly every week. These are just things you don't see from teams like the Saints/Packers/Patriots/Steelers. Just watch their games and it's easy to see a big difference. Those teams have their #5 and #6 WR's or #3 TE's making big catches in big situations when all the Lions have is CJ. You see their #4 and #5 DB's making big plays on defense where the Lions are taking penalties or not turning around.

So yes, the stats look great and all, but there's some things you can summarize from watching the games that stats aren't going to tell you. It's just one of those games where the outlook looks bleak for the Lions unless they change a LOT of major things in the next week. I've been getting blasted on here all season for talking about the defense's immaturity and taking bad penalties (personal fouls, mostly) in big situations and kept saying that it's going to cost the Lions in a big game sooner rather than later. We've seen it happen during the regular season, and I'm 95%-expecting it to happen again in this game. The Lions aren't going to compete on a consistent basis with teams like this until they clean that kind of stuff up. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but those are the things that turn the tide in these games and those are the things that the excellent teams in the NFL don't put up with.

[mr0zip0]

I understand what you're saying,and I agree with a lot of it.

I think where we differ is when the Lions will (or did) mature andwhich defense will show up in New Orleans.

I think the Lions finally got over the immature penalties and starting fights after they played NO the first time... You think they haven't yet matured.

I think an average defense from weeks 1-17 will show up, you think a defense similar to week 17 will show up.

They are both fair opinions.

[kgeorge78]

I don't care I just can't believe we are talking about a LIons playoff Game....
I think it's a lot closer than what most believe.
I for one Think the Saints are frauds don't ask my why that's what I believe.

Will the Lions win? Probably not. Can they win? Of course they can.

[Cylander]

Not sure what Klesheren is talking about, but I saw Tony Schefler make a huge juggling catch near the end zone to set up the go ahead TD and catching the go ahead TD. Johnson only had 1 of Stafford's 5 TD. I saw Green Bay playing pretty dirty. They had more costly personal foul penalties than Detroit. They hit Stafford late twice, and tried to snap Pettigrew in half, on top of taking a head shot to Kevin Smith in the end zone. The Packers gave up 520 yards passing and 5 TD. I wouldn't call that making plays in the secondary. The Lions rank right up there with the Packers in INT. The Packers have given up the most passing yards of all time. The Saints looked like a team that knew how to get it done last year when they lost to a 7-9 team.

[bob2009]

NO 65, Detroit 21

[Ingefanclub]

New Orleans 45 Detroit 28.

Thats all I care about and I would consider this a wildl succesful season.
Build upon it for next year when we finally have a real running back.

[sabretooth]

The team from the biggest market will win the SB. Or maybe the biggest underdog. Or maybe the team with the biggest story. Bottom line, it'll be some team that the league has pre-selected. Or perhaps not, if the officials get confused about which corrupt habits to follow. Anyway, check back with me after it's over and I'll have a theory that will eventually be worked out to match the facts.

[JAYB]

The team from the biggest market will win the SB. Or maybe the biggest underdog. Or maybe the team with the biggest story. Bottom line, it'll be some team that the league has pre-selected. Or perhaps not, if the officials get confused about which corrupt habits to follow. Anyway, check back with me after it's over and I'll have a theory that will eventually be worked out to match the facts.

[JAYB]

Detroit 27 NO 24 in OT

Refs manipulate the game to go to OT to create more ad revenue. Head ref pulls out a heads/tails coin from his right pocket, forgets the coin that would favor NO is in his left pocket. Lions win toss. Light signals from the rafters in the Superdome inform the refs that its OK that the Lions won the toss and not to have any infamous mystery calls. Lions get into field goal range on a Stafford to CJ toss up on the first play and kick the FG to win. Lions are now the underdog story headed to the Superbowl.

[alwaysthrowheat]

The team from the biggest market will win the SB. Or maybe the biggest underdog. Or maybe the team with the biggest story. Bottom line, it'll be some team that the league has pre-selected. Or perhaps not, if the officials get confused about which corrupt habits to follow. Anyway, check back with me after it's over and I'll have a theory that will eventually be worked out to match the facts.

But whoever it is, they'll for sure be the best team.

[sabretooth]

Detroit 27 NO 24 in OT

Refs manipulate the game to go to OT to create more ad revenue. Head ref pulls out a heads/tails coin from his right pocket, forgets the coin that would favor NO is in his left pocket. Lions win toss. Light signals from the rafters in the Superdome inform the refs that its OK that the Lions won the toss and not to have any infamous mystery calls. Lions get into field goal range on a Stafford to CJ toss up on the first play and kick the FG to win. Lions are now the underdog story headed to the Superbowl.

I was afraid of that, now they're guaranteed to lose to Tim Tebow in the SB who represents the Biggest Story. Perhaps Steven Tulloch will be struck by lightning, proving God's existence (not to say vengeance) in front of 50 million viewers?

[JAYB]

I was afraid of that, now they're guaranteed to lose to Tim Tebow in the SB who represents the Biggest Story. Perhaps Steven Tulloch will be struck by lightning, proving God's existence (not to say vengeance) in front of 50 million viewers?

Underdog matchup for the ages! Tebow vs the 3yrs removed 0-16 Lions. Place your bets!

[Cylander]

Underdog matchup for the ages! Tebow vs the 3yrs removed 0-16 Lions. Place your bets!

That's the 2006 World Series. The 83 win underdog Cardinals vs the 3 years removed 119 loss Tigers. MLB umpires are in on it too.

[Stormin' Norman]

Wild Card
Detroit > New Orleans
Giants > Falcons

Steelers > Broncos
Bengals > Texans

Divisional
Lions > Packers
49ers > Giants

Ravens > Steelers
Patriots > Bengals

Conference
Lions > 49ers
Patriots > Steelers

Super Bowl
Lions > Patriots

I think the rest will happen if we beat New Orleans, but lets just say I am not putting money on my prediction there. I think we have a legit shot though, so I am going to pick my guys.

[mr0zip0]

I think the rest will happen if we beat New Orleans, but lets just say I am not putting money on my prediction there. I think we have a legit shot though, so I am going to pick my guys.

I will agree with this... If we beat New Orleans, the rest of the NFC falls into place perfectly - the revenge game against the Packers and either the team with no offense San Francisco, a very average team in New York, or a game against a team with a choke for a QB in Atlanta.

[KleShreen]

The defense has proven all year long that they can't defend the pass. Delmas and Houston aren't going to help much, if at all. Brees knows what he's going up against already. I predict the Lions look good for about a quarter, maybe even holding a lead, and then the Saints put it on cruise control and coast to a 45-31 win.

Sad to say I nailed this one.