max Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 This is the closest AFC Playoff Race I have seen in years going into week 13. Pittsburgh 10 1 New England 10 1 San Diego 8 3 NY Jets 8 3 Indianapolis 8 3 Denver 7 4 Baltimore 7 4 Right now there are 5 teams that still have a shot at being the top seed in the AFC. On the other hand, with the way the Pats and Steelers are playing it may take a 15-1 record to win the AFC. Should make for a fun and entertaining December. The remaining schedules for the current top 5 in the AFC are as follows: Steelers - Jacksonville, NY Jets, NY Giants, Baltimore and Buffalo Patriots - Cleveland, Cincinatti, Miami, NY Jets and San Francisco Chargers - Denver, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Kansas City Jets - Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, New England and St Louis Colts - Tennessee, Houston, Baltimore, San Diego and Denver Looking at the upcoming games it looks like the Steelers are going to have a difficult final stretch. As a fan of the Steelers I hope they step up. But on paper it looks like the Patriots have a schedule in their favor for the final stretch. And then there are the Chargers, Jets and Colts that can sneak up pretty quick. The Jets cn help themselves when they play both the steelers and patriots in the final stretch. Just thought I'd toss this out there. Looking forward to the final 5 games for the AFC. This year may go down to the wire. (atleast that will help for fantasy football leagues that play through week 17 by teams having to play starters in week 17) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawks21 Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 it doesn't even matter in the least what happens in december. Eventually, possibly not in the AFC title game due to seeding, Indy and New England are going to play a game that will determine the Super Bowl Champion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeegiebo Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 it doesn't even matter in the least what happens in december. Eventually, possibly not in the AFC title game due to seeding, Indy and New England are going to play a game that will determine the Super Bowl Champion. 584624[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeler Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 The Steelers will have to continue to run the ball effectively to win in the playoffs, and they have already proven that they can dominate the best teams in the league if their rushing attack cannot be stopped. The Steelers formula for success this year has been to run the ball and force the other team to play catchup, so I looked at the rushing defenses of the other contenders in the AFC. Yards per game SD 79.1 (2) Denver 96.8 (5) NYJ 101.4 (6) NE 103.9 (8) Bmore 107.7 (11) Indy 118.8 (18) Yards per attempt Bmore 3.5 (3) SD 3.6 (4) NYJ 3.8 (9) Denver 3.9 (12) NE 4.0 (14) Indy 4.8 (28) So what does all this mean? Indy defensive weakness falls right into the strenght of the Steelers offense and I hope these teams meet in the playoffs. NE also has defensive weaknesses that the Steelers can exploit (as they did in the previous meeting). Denver and the Jets are sort of in the middle of the road but I think the Steelers would do well against these teams in the playoffs at Heinz field. It also shows that I don't really want to see the Steelers play SD in the playoffs because they are very good at stopping the run and they have an offense that is really clicking right now. Bmore are a bunch of punks and the Steelers will kill them if they play in the playoffs so I ain't worried about them But enuff of that brainiac stuff, here is what it really means: I got a feeling: Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl!!!!!!! :wavesterribletowl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I think as incredible as Manning is playing the weak D and the fact that bellichek owns him will eliminate them.I think the Steelers are as good as anyone in the league but I feel they will slip up in regular season and the pats wont which will give the pats homefield and eventually the AFC..My prediction is Pats/Pitt AFC championship game in N.E and N.E pulls it out over a great Pitt team.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengal Mania Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 (edited) New England has a mental hold on Indy, so if they play, my money is on NE, esp since in all likelihood it will be in NE. Although it does seem to me that Indy has had chances to beat NE in past (and could finally do it), only the final score counts, so you've got to go w/ NE until proven otherwise. I give Pittsburgh vs. Indy to Indy, even if played in Pitt. Great defense, yes. Great running games, yes. But Manning is gonna put up touchdowns and Pitt isn't gonna be able to stop them all. Then Big Ben is gonna be forced to play catch up (maybe for the first time?), and he ain't gonna cut it. Don't get your panties all in a wad, Steeler, Benny is my ROY choice, he's having a great year. But he ain't gonna pull that off. Indy's DEF with a lead has actually been pretty good, and Jerome Bettis is not gonna run them back if they get down 14 points. Pitt vs. NE, I give to NE, regardless of where played (BOLD!). NE will figure out how to score some, and they will rattle Benny (by learning from watching the Bengals/Steelers game!). So I guess no one else is a contender in this. SD? Denver? Jets? (or Baltimore?) Yeah, I probably agree. Here is my prediction: Watch the Colts/Ravens game. If Manning decimates the Ravens like he has every other team, I'm picking them all the way, even against NE. Why not? It's too easy to pick NE, and too wrong to pick Pitt. While it is legit to claim Indy can't overcome NE, you CANNOT throw out the fact that this might be the best f'n offense EVER (not trying to start an argument about that.) I know the Ravens and Bucs won w/ great DEF, but St. Louis won (almost two) w/ great offense, and I think Indy is just as good or better. Edit to Add: NE Pitt Indy SD Jets Balt in order SD beats Jets Indy beats Balt Indy beats Pitt NE beats SD Indy beats NE (why not, I don't care if it's opposite of what I said above) Edited December 1, 2004 by Bengal Mania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeler Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I kind of agree with you Bengal Mania in that the Steelers will have to continue to control the tempo of the games as they have pretty much all year and not go outside their "formula" for winning. They very well might not be able to come back from being down 14 against any team in the playoffs... but they haven't put themselves in that position much this year and that will have to continue. As great as I think Ben has played, he is still a rookie and the Steelers haven't asked him to win any games, although he played well down the stretch at Dallas earlier in the year. The Steelers will not win in the playoffs if Ben has to put up huge numbers.... that ain't their formula this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengal Mania Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I kind of agree with you Bengal Mania in that the Steelers will have to continue to control the tempo of the games as they have pretty much all year and not go outside their "formula" for winning. They very well might not be able to come back from being down 14 against any team in the playoffs... but they haven't put themselves in that position much this year and that will have to continue. As great as I think Ben has played, he is still a rookie and the Steelers haven't asked him to win any games, although he played well down the stretch at Dallas earlier in the year. The Steelers will not win in the playoffs if Ben has to put up huge numbers.... that ain't their formula this year. 585119[/snapback] Ben has strongly added to the surprising (?) joy to Steeler fans this year, and I thinks he's giving a strong message that things at the QB position are set for a long time. I'm hoping Palmer is doing the same for Bengals fans. Although he's made a lot more mistakes, he is also being asked to do a LOT LOT more than Big Ben. I do still believe that he is the long term answer, has great upside, and has shown some pretty da.n good skills. I think it could be a fun rivalry again if/when the Bengals return fully to being a good team. (Not trying to hijack a playoff picture thread, so carry on......) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I STONE COLD GUARANTEE THE COLTS WILL NOT MAKE IT TO THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP.. I love to watch them and Manning is unreal but they will blow it again due to their defense and be watching from the outside... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeler Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 (Not trying to hijack a playoff picture thread, so carry on......) 585127[/snapback] Exactly! So lets not clutter this thread with talk about crappy, non-playoff, cellar-dwelling for decades, wanna-be teams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengal Mania Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Exactly! So lets not clutter this thread with talk about crappy, non-playoff, cellar-dwelling for decades, wanna-be teams 585146[/snapback] Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengal Mania Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Ouch! 585148[/snapback] Does this count as post padding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeler Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Does this count as post padding? 585151[/snapback] I believe it does, but we will have to wait for the offical ruling from Squeegie, the queen of post padding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeler Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Good sarcastic comments don't need greamlins behind them. If you can't figure out I'm only giving you sh.t, Up Yours! 585148[/snapback] Please disregard the in my previous sarcastic comment because I had not yet read your sigline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengal Mania Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Please disregard the in my previous sarcastic comment because I had not yet read your sigline. 585176[/snapback] You are forgiven. (Boy, this padding thing is kinda easy, once you start doing it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 it doesn't even matter in the least what happens in december. Eventually, possibly not in the AFC title game due to seeding, Indy and New England are going to play a game that will determine the Super Bowl Champion. 584624[/snapback] I STONE COLD GUARANTEE THE COLTS WILL NOT MAKE IT TO THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP..I love to watch them and Manning is unreal but they will blow it again due to their defense and be watching from the outside... 585144[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeler Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 (Boy, this padding thing is kinda easy, once you start doing it!) 585180[/snapback] Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeegiebo Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I believe it does, but we will have to wait for the offical ruling from Squeegie, the queen of post padding. 585159[/snapback] Yes, BM, it counts. It is this subtle form of post-padding that I personally prefer. You actually responded to someone in relevant way, yet did not really offer anything substantive. You show great promise. And BTW - Anyone who thinks the Colts will beat the Steelers in the playoffs is a . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengal Mania Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Yes, BM, it counts. It is this subtle form of post-padding that I personally prefer. You actually responded to someone in relevant way, yet did not really offer anything substantive. You show great promise. And BTW - Anyone who thinks the Colts will beat the Steelers in the playoffs is a . 585255[/snapback] Do I hear the offer of a topless picture wager in that post pad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeler Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Yes, BM, it counts. It is this subtle form of post-padding that I personally prefer. You actually responded to someone in relevant way, yet did not really offer anything substantive. You show great promise. And BTW - Anyone who thinks the Colts will beat the Steelers in the playoffs is a . 585255[/snapback] Told you she was the authority on post padding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengal Mania Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Told you she was the authority on post padding. 585282[/snapback] Yes, but if she takes me up on the wager for a topless picture (posted here so as not to lead to banishment if posted in the tailgate), I ask you......... Who you gonna root for? . . . . . . Queer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeler Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Who you gonna root for?585290[/snapback] I would rather look at your man boobs than a topless picture of Squeegie if it means the Steelers win in the playoffs. (Not that there is anything wrong with that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 And BTW - Anyone who thinks the Colts will beat the Steelers in the playoffs is a . 585255[/snapback] Well then call me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeegiebo Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Well then call me 585324[/snapback] Okay: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 we will see soon enough. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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