The Playoff Picture

Week 12 gave us a few more ideas on what to expect come playoff time.  Both the Bears and the Falcons proved that they are for real in the NFC, and the Chargers proved that they are right back in the hunt in the AFC.  For those of you that are not quite sure of how the playoffs are pieced together, I will explain, and will also go through what to look out for in the remainder of the season.

The playoffs consist of 6 teams from both the AFC and the NFC.  The 4 division winners from each conference are automatically in the playoffs, regardless of record.  The other 2 teams in each conference are the 2 teams with the best records, despite division.  These teams are known as the 'Wildcard' teams.  It is possible for both wildcard teams to come out of the same division.  Therefore it is possible, that 3 teams could make the playoffs, from the same division.

The 4 division winners from each conference are seeded 1 to 4, on overall record.  The top 2 seeds have a bye in the first weekend of the playoffs - the 'Wildcard Round'.  Here the 3rd seed hosts the 6th seed, and the 4th seed hosts the 5th seed.  Obviously in playoff football the winner advances, and the loser goes home.  In the rest of the rounds the highest seed always plays the lowest seed, with the teams in between playing each other.  The highest seed always hosts the game.  Therefore the team that is seeded 1 has what is termed as 'Home Field Advantage'.  This means that team will play every game at home, until the Superbowl.

I know that sounds very complicated, so here is the playoff situation at the moment:

AFC

1. Jets 9 - 2 (East)

2. Ravens 8 - 3 (North)

3. Chiefs 7 - 4 (West)

4. Jaguars 6 - 5 (South)

5. Patriots 9 - 2 (East)

6. Steelers 8 - 3 (North)

NFC

1. Falcons 9 - 2 (South)

2. Bears 8 - 3 (North)

3. Eagles 7 - 4 (East)

4. Rams 5 - 6 (West)

5. Saints 8 - 3 (South)

6. Giants 7 - 4 (East)

 

 So as you can see from the seeds at the moment, Wildcard Weekend would see:

Steelers @ Chiefs

Patriots @ Jaguars

Giants @ Eagles

Saints @ Rams

These are 4 great games, but this situation is obviously very fluid, and to track this I am going to add a new feature to the site.  At the top of the page will be a 'Playoff Picture' tab (to be added later this week).  After every game is played I will update this section.  As well as showing the 6 seeds in each conference, I will add to the bottom, the teams that are in the hunt for a playoff spot.  The playoff season is fast approaching, and we need to know the situation for our teams.  Enjoy the new feature, and I hope this helps to explain how the playoff schedule is formed.

Thanksgiving Football

There is a huge tradition that goes hand in hand with Thanksgiving in America, and that's football.  We all know that thanks is given for a bountiful harvest, on the 4th Thursday in July, and has been a national holiday since 1941, but why the link to football?  The professional football league in 1934 asked if any team was interested in hosting a game on Thanksgiving day.  The only interested party were the Detroit Lions, who have done so ever since.  Due to the success of the game, the league decided to go for 2 games in 1966, but the Dallas Cowboys were the only interested team.  They have played on Thanksgiving ever since.  These 2 games became known as the 'Thanksgiving Classic' series, and have been hugely successful.  So successful in fact, that a number of other teams wanted to get in on the act.  So in 2006, the NFL decided to add a 3rd game.  This game though would not be a set host team, and would rotate around the league.  This years host team will be the Jets, who will welcome the Bengals.  The Lions host the Patriots this year, whilst the Saints travel to Dallas.

Patriots @ Lions

The 8 - 2 Patriots travel to Detroit to take on the 2 - 8 Lions.  The Lions are much improved this year, and will be looking forward to putting up a big performance here in front of their home fans. There was talk around that Patriots QB Tom Brady would not start due to a shoulder injury, but he does, look out Detroit.  The Lions will need to pressure Brady if they are to get anything from this game.  With the young DT Ndamukung Suh though, that is defiantly possible.  Suh is having an amazing rookie year, and will be out to prove a point on this big stage.  I do believe though that the Patriots have to much firepower in this one.  Also I cannot see the Lions putting up many points against this young, but very talented Pats D.  RB Jahvid Best should start the game, but his injuries this year will certainly limit him.  The Lions are still without franchise QB Matt Stafford, who like Brady, has a shoulder injury.

Saints @ Cowboys

The 7 - 3 Saints collide with the 3 - 7 Cowboys in the 2nd match up on Thanksgiving.  This game would have been seen as a clash of NFC favorites at the beginning of the year,  but the Cowboys have disappointed, and the Saints have managed to go about their business, without much attention.  This is a very important game for the Saints, as they need to keep up the pressure in their tough division, with both the Falcons and Buccaneers playing well this year.  The Cowboys have got back to playing decent football in the past couple of weeks, following the firing of HC Wade Phillips.  Jason Garrett seems to have this talented bunch playing hard, and the Cowboys will want to show the nation that they are not a laughing stock.  Should be a very interesting game!

Bengals @ Jets

The disappointing 2 - 8 Bengals take on the 8 - 2 Jets.  The Jets came back from the dead again on Sunday, with a last minute TD drive against the Texans.  That is not the first time the Jets have done that this year, and they have many people wondering, are they good? or are they lucky?  I personally believe that its a bit of both, but you have to be extremely talented to create so much luck!!  QB Mark Sanchez has proven that he is a very capable QB this year, and he leads the team when required.  Saying all this, I don't believe the Bengals will test them at all in this one.  They have been very poor this year when they were expected to defend their AFC North crown.  Most of there problems have come from their inability to run the ball, and that weakness will not be improved against this very good Jets defence.

Enjoy your turkey where ever you are in the world, but more importantly, enjoy the football!!

Week 10 Highlights

Here are the key plays and moments from week 10, in the NFL