The NFC Doesn't Look So Scary Anymore
by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 21, 2011 8:01 AM EST
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The Packers were like an aging leader of a recently-created military dictatorship: brazen, full of power, in control of everything. Over time, that leader loses power with age and, in one flick of the wrist, loses his power.
The Packers have been sneakily losing power underneath our noses, losing three offensive tackles to injury as well as their #1 wideout. Someone on ESPN suggested that Jennings was the key to that offense because of his versatility and ability to run every kind of route to drive defenses crazy and get guys like Jordy Nelson open. Turns out, they might've been right.
Now, after a very, very pedestrian showing by Green Bay against a Chiefs team that was pretty much down and out, the defending champs don't look nearly as scary as they had looked previously in the season, which makes me wonder that, with home field throughout all but clinched for the Packers, if they'll dial the throttle back so that they can get healthy. If they do that, they'll have no momentum and be ripe for the picking for a team like, say, us!
I don't really fear any teams from the NFC East. They're kinda beating themselves up, and we've already handled the Lions from the North. That leaves the Pack, the Saints, and the 49ers. The Saints game this week will be a toss-up. We're looking as good as ever but you know the Saints will try and pull a fast one on us any way they can.
The Niners, well, they're kind of an enigma to me. They haven't changed a whole lot on their team but they're suddenly worlds better than they were last year. Really, I guess coaching can have a huge impact on their team. The key to beating them is to force Alex Smith to make some turnovers. I don't believe he suddenly became magically better in the offseason and I think that he can be forced into some mistakes. They play some stout D out there, though.
The Pack at full health will be tough to beat by any stretch, but if they limp into the playoffs and find themselves out of sync, they could be beaten. TMQ pointed out that Rodgers was harassed all game and couldn't win a defensive struggle if he was playing from behind. Naturally, injuries made that tougher, but for all the hype he got all year long, he sure didn't do much with it on Sunday.
All this comes after possibly the Falcons' best overall game in a long time, which won't be duplicated against the Saints, sadly. BUT I do believe it leaves us with a better Super Bowl Chance than we had before the Green Bay Steamrollers had everything going for them and then some. What do you guys think? Do you feel like representing the NFC in the Super Bowl is a much more achievable task than before? What are your thoughts on the matter?
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I feel like we are coming into our own right now.
It is important to win out to sustain momentum. If we do so, i foresee a nice run in our Falcon future.
We must
still respect the Packers, but their injuries can add up soon, and that will level a field in Lambeu, because if we played them, we’d play there, we’d have a hell of a game on our hands. Well, on second thought, we played them at our house last year, and we got spanked like a misbehaving child.
I watched the chiefs game, and the other part of their offense that was missing that day was the ridiculously good catches that any and all of the packer receivers will make. They were dropping balls left and right. In previous Packer games I’ve seen, the receivers are pulling in ridiculous throws and making Aaron look a notch better than he is. To be fair, some of the throws were right on the money, but still dropped. A QB can’t do anything else but throw a good ball.
49ers are not as good as people are believing after that MNF game, but they’d still be tough in that excuse of a park, Candlestick. We play up to our potential, and leave all mularkey in Atlanta, and we win by 10.
It’s looking like we’d be matched up with the Cowboys right now, but there’s still some room for a Giant shakeup (Go panthers week 17). Not worried about Dallas or New York… and I would be expecting a win, should we play either of them in the wildcard. I’d prefer the Cowboys since Romo is better at finding ways to lose. Eli is overrated, but he’s not Tony bad in the clutch, but he’s also not good enough in the playoffs, unless he defense is outstanding, which its not.
Saints… let’s not go there right now.
What it comes down to is how we play. I know this team can beat anybody. But will they show up? Will the fans believe BEFORE the start of a playoff game, and not just after a win?
Biggest question of all- how will 0/2 playoff record Matt Ryan handle a road playoff game, and then if we win- another road playofff game- and if we win- another road playoff game.
I wanna say I remember Aaron having zero playoff wins before last year’s superbowl run. So 0/2 is out of here- Matt Ryan will just have to play well and lead by example on the field.
One day....
Wide-open field
I agree that the Packers have lost some luster, but as they say – one-time is an accident, two-times is a pattern and three-times is an issue (or something like that). I still think it will take a near perfect game on offense, defense and st to beat the Packers. But – now that it’s been done – there’s a working, viable blueprint the rest of the NFC can use.
As for the Saints? Everyone is loving them right now, but the last few games they’ve played have been up and down. They beat down on NY (who is the definition of inconsistent), but then they struggle against the Titans. They blew up the Vikings, but that only says so much. I’m not as sold on their superiority as everyone else. The Falcons put points up against them and held their own defensively earlier this year. And that was a less healthy Falcons team, no less.
As for everyone else – Dallas’ gambling defense will be like a Christmas gift to a smart QB like Ryan, especially in the no-huddle. If the Giants make it in, which Giants team will it be? Plus, they’re so banged up, they’ve got high-schoolers in their linebacking corps. We already beat the Lions and many teams have proved that if you double Megatron, you shutdown their offense.
The 49ers look great on defense, but their offense is average at best. This team actually worries me the most, because people just keep underestimating them. However, if you can shutdown their running game (which the Falcons do well with), you dramatically hurt their offense.
As for the Falcons – they have the potential to beat any team. But which team will show up? If it’s the team that played the Jaguars, they’ll beat any team in the league. If it’s the team that played the Vikings, the Saints will mock us on the way to a 40 point blowout.
I, for one, think the Falcons are hitting their stride at just the right moment. The Monday night game will be the true tell. If we can go into NO and come out with a victory (blowout or nail-biter, doesn’t matter), then I’ll firmly believe that these birds can make a serious run.
I feel so good about us right now
The only team I’m truly scarred of right now is, yeah I’m gonna say it, the Eagles. They are on fire and I still think that if we have to play in Philly, they’ll beat us. So hopefully the Boys can beat em this weekend but, I’m a kittle worried.
by dirtybirds233 on Dec 21, 2011 10:48 AM EST via mobile reply actions
completely agree
If they make it in they will be the most dangerous team in the playoffs
by jmpecker on Dec 21, 2011 7:40 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
This NO game...
will show what we are made of…WE NEED THIS GAME!! Even if we don’t take the south crown…
MM and BVG seem to be evolving a little and they need to continue that and not be timid. Timid doesn’t win playoff games and SB’s. The “D” needs to keep pouring it on and with the return of OG and Hayden we can keep more points off the board than we score.
This will be a NAIL BITING GAME folks!! I hope the Falcons walk in there with an absolute hatred of the Aint’s!!
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
Also...
as I was going through different senarios with the ESPN Playoff Tracker, the ONLY team that can sink our boat is Chicago. Even if we lose out the rest of the way, we only get bumped if Chicago wins out…Period!!
With Cutler and Forte’ out and Chicago playing in Green Bay, I gotta say I like our chances here…lol
So that’s it folks…if Chicago loses just one of its last two games we are in regardless of what we do from here on out…WELCOME TO THE PLAYOFFS ATLANTA!!
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
are you sure about that?
I think if we we end up in a 3-way tie with DET and SEA, those two go over us via conference record (despite us winning both head to heads)
by throw it down the fugging field matt on Dec 21, 2011 11:57 AM EST up reply actions
Conference record only applies in tie-breaker for conference
When you go to wild-card match ups, it goes first by record THEN by head-to-head match ups. Blood is right – the only team threatening us right now is Chicago.
Oooooops...
found another possibility…but only if we lose our last 2 games:
If Dallas beats the Eegles and NYG beats the Jets in week 16 then a week 17 NYG victory over Dallas puts both NYG and Dallas into the playoffs with us staying home to cry in our collective milks…
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
the winner of this MNF game is the favorite in the NFC for me
despite all the statistical evidence regarding the pack, those injuries are mounting. now that someone has show that those suddenly-great WRs come back down to earth when Rodgers gets knocked off his rhythm a bit, I just can’t see them riding that stellar passing game to wins over potential opponents that can keep up in a shootout (Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, PHI) or those that stymie the offense early and build a modest lead (San Fran, Seattle).
The winner of ATL-NO will enter the playoffs as the only legitimate NFC contender (GB, SF, ATL, NO, and PHI or SEA if one of them sneaks in) who has recently beat another contender. It’s a what-have-you-done lately league, and for Green Bay i just dont think there’s much evidence that the current group of healthy personnel can go all the way.
by throw it down the fugging field matt on Dec 21, 2011 11:56 AM EST reply actions
I feel like we're starting to get hot at the right time
but I just don’t see us being above the 4th best team in the NFC. Sure, on our day we may be able to beat anybody in the division, but it’s in no way a consistent enough thing to start looking for it. I’d say we’re better than the NFC East/the Lions, but the Saints Pack and Niners are still clear choices ahead of the Falcons in my mind. That being said, I’m sure in a playoff game we could test each of those teams in different ways, and we might even be able to pull a win out, but I still think we sit somewhere in the middle of the NFC playoff hierarchy.
Be sure to check out this week's Best Case/Worst Case article here.
Follow me on Twitter! @HarrisonN17
by Turner_The_Burner on Dec 21, 2011 12:12 PM EST reply actions
In my mind as a Saints fan
The Falcons could be our only stumbling block and I dont mean monday night because I think no matter who wins we both have to play 3 playoff games
The packers have a beat up OLine that has finally caught up to them and Jennings could be out the rest of the year which hurts their passing game
The 49ers are not evena little impressive they barely squeaked by a badly beat up Steelers team missing their best defensive player at home,Their offense doesn’t scare anyone
The Nfc east is a terrible div. who get their wins off each other but rarely out of their div.
The Falcons have the running game and passing game and defense along with the advantage of playing us twice a year to give us fits and you never know what will happen when our 2 teams meet
by mississippisaintsfan on Dec 21, 2011 5:46 PM EST up reply actions
If you're not careful you're gonna make me stop hating you guys lol
Thanks for the compliment on our team. I don’t know if it’s possible but a Saints/Falcons NFCCG rubber match would be insane.
by FLA_Falcon on Dec 22, 2011 5:21 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Now THAT was funny!!
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
ill take it one game at a time! and say
I said it first Atlanta Win’s a playoff game this post-season forsure!!!
Atlanta Superbowls
by Atlanta Superbowls on Dec 21, 2011 12:36 PM EST reply actions
Agreed..
Right now, my only concern is the Taint’s and then whoever we play in the 1st round, which won’t be GB or SF.
There is something different
I know I sound like the eternal optimist in all my posts but seriously I call it how I see it on the tape. On tape, ever since the second half of the CAR game something just has been very different about our offense. We are running plays we never ran before and they are working. Look out for a lot of crossing routes on MNF!
by GTbacker on Dec 21, 2011 1:11 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I certaintly hope so..
That crossing route TD by Julio on the 1st drive was a thing of beauty!! Why we haven’t been getting him and HD the ball like that in open space all season is beyond me..
Cliché Alert
Let’s take this thing one game at a time. Matt Ryan and Co. haven’t won ONE playoff game yet, let alone THREE.
After we beat the Cowboys/Giants (likely Dallas), then we’ll worry about either the Saints, Packers, or 49ers.
Can we beat any team? Yes. But we can also lose to any team, as evidenced by our losses to Chicago, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, New Orleans, and the Yates-led Texans…
GATA!
Caveat
Beat the Saints at N.O., and I’ll feel much more confident; lose, and I won’t.
Who have we beaten this season? Detroit is the only team with a winning record.
How can we talk going to the Super Bowl until we beat a Super-Bowl-worthy team?
GATA!
Can the Falcons beat
Dallas or NYG in the playoffs?
History says no.
by brotherbrown on Dec 22, 2011 1:22 PM EST up reply actions
After we win Monday night
I have to rush to work or i would celebrate with mass quantities of bourbon.
I will suddenly wish the greatest luck to Cam Newton for the first time in my life.
I will take M’Lady to the coast and come back in time for the final weeks games.
If then Cam Newton has the game of his life and somehow upsets the Saint’s…
I will be so happy I may just vow to lose the weight M’lady keeps nagging me about.
I don't think beating Carolina...
Is a given anymore.
Heck, the Panthers almost beat the Saints earlier in the season.
GATA!
Panthers are really banged up though
Obviously anything can happen within a division, but I just don’t see it happening that the Saints would stumble twice in a row (assuming we beat them). And if we don’t beat them, doesn’t matter anyway. Not to sound like a pessimist but I think wildcard 1 is where we fit and I’m fine with that.
Be sure to check out this week's Best Case/Worst Case article here.
Follow me on Twitter! @HarrisonN17
by Turner_The_Burner on Dec 21, 2011 11:50 PM EST up reply actions
Wildcard 1 would be cool...
as we would face whomever wins the NFC East. We slip to Wildcard 2 and we face the Aint’s at home in the next 2 out of 3 games…wouldn’t THAT be lovely!!
Hahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa (breath) hahahahahahahahaha…HA…….. (I fall over dead for guessing wrong and not realizing “BOTH” cups were poisoned)
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
by Blood_Talon on Dec 22, 2011 10:43 AM EST up reply actions
They were banged up when they nearly beat the falcons
They may have found talent in the scrap for depth next season.
by brotherbrown on Dec 22, 2011 1:23 PM EST up reply actions
It depends on Mularkey.
If he was only auditioning for the Jacksonville job, then we may be screwed. But if he had an epiphany and realized how much weaponry we have in the arsenal, we could go far.
by FLA_Falcon on Dec 21, 2011 5:06 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Im with jman781.
One game at a time.
by Grey Rider on Dec 21, 2011 7:07 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Sorry Caleb, but the NFC is still a scary place. lol
I think the pack can be beaten as well as the saints and 49ers, plus the falcons. It seems that us, GB and NO are all capable of beating each other on any given Sunday, at this point in the season. If GB doesnt get healthy then we all have a chance. If we say that GB wont win it all then I think it is between us and NO for sure. But I’m hoping for a route more like this – rd 1 -Atl @ Dallas – we win AND Det @ NO -Det wins, rd 2 -Atl @ SF – we win AND Det @ GB – Det wins, NFCCG is Det @ Atl -we win, SB is Balt versus Falcons – We win baby!!! Thats about the easiest I can think of, except maybe playing the Broncos or Raiders in the SB, but I dont see those teams making it thru NE, Pitts , or Balt. But then agiain I got Det beating NO and GB!! LOL
Now Gentlemen, get your butts up, and get back on that horse! You have no choice. The expectations are running much higher this year.
PS
GO TEBOW!!
Hee Hee
Now Gentlemen, get your butts up, and get back on that horse! You have no choice. The expectations are running much higher this year.
by ATLsince1972 on Dec 21, 2011 8:26 PM EST up reply actions
My playoff seeding and prediction
1.Packers
2.Saints
3.49ers Beats Detroit
4.Dallas loses to Falcons
5.Falcons best Dallas
6.Detroit loses to 49ers
2nd round
1.Packers loses to 5. Falcons (revenge for last year
2.Saints beat 3.49ers (offense exposed )
NFCCG
2.Saints over 5.Atlanta in very close game
by mississippisaintsfan on Dec 22, 2011 11:09 AM EST reply actions
geez
You guys were tearing your clothes and jumping on funeral pyres a couple of weeks ago. Now most of you think you’re clearly the best team in the NFC. Get some perspective.
by Mark Mandingo on Dec 22, 2011 2:13 PM EST via mobile reply actions
This comming...
from someone who is a fan of…nothing??
How about picking some teams to “actually” stand behind root for my man, or is busting other peoples balls the only thing you think you’re good at.
Our perspective is just fine thank you very much!! Because only a “true” fan of something goes through the ups and downs of a season like this…but of course you knew that already didn’t you.
For the record, I WOULD NOT be someone who thinks we are the best in the NFC, all I know is we have been playing some good football as of late and ask ANY GB fan about hitting your stride at the right moment.
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
I'm a fan of people
that insist that I properly fill out my sb nation profile. Good job citizen! I’ve posted on sb nation for a few years and that’s the first time anybody’s brought that up.
by Mark Mandingo on Dec 22, 2011 4:32 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Hey...
you get what you give…your comment was solely meant to bust our chops and be insulting.
We have a good community here and a great bunch of Falcons fans.
Also, I wouldn’t know what a “properly filled out sb nation profile” is…all I said was to stand behind something with pride. Easy to rip others up for their views while not exposing your own.
And thank you, I do consider myself a good citizen (and a bad one too). You have a good day Mark…
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
My view was
that you guys need perspective. Your defense that you don’t shouldn’t depend on whether I’m a Packers, Saints, Patriots, Dawg, Bama, Grizzlies, Yankees, Orioles, Auburn, Lakers, Canadian, Canadien, Australian Baseball, or Apollo Ono fan.
by Mark Mandingo on Dec 23, 2011 11:16 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
To be fair...
at first I thought you were an Aint’s fan and I looked at your profile to verify because your username did not give any indication and I was just simply going to point out that there were even fans of the "enemy" that were commenting on how well the Falcons are playing at the moment.
For some reason, I just took it personal that you commented on the “need of perspective” of this fan base when I saw well nothing. I will admit, it really has no bearing and you have every right to your opinions. I attacked you, while I still stand by my comments…it was still wrong (hence, bad citizen)
We have a very passionate fan base (on here and definitely ME!!) and sometimes, lack of perspective is what being a fan is all about. Example: Do you really think all the Eegles fans out there are not hoping their team still makes the playoffs even though it would be one of the biggest uphill battles in NFL history. Force a three-way tie at 8-8 in your division and to own all the tie breakers considering ALL the things that MUST happen for this to see the light of day. I certainly would not hammer them for a lack of perspective; I would applaud their faith in their team down to the last game.
I use this as an example and it could very well happen, just as it could very well happen that the Falcons DO end up the best team in the NFC…just saying…
Also, if you would have quantified your statement a little more and maybe and posted it from a standpoint of having a discussion I probably wouldn’t have went there. And, maybe you were, I just didn’t see it that way.
We see things differently…my apologies…
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
by Blood_Talon on Dec 23, 2011 12:11 PM EST up reply actions
accepted.....
And I am a saints fan. It just bugged me that a lot of people had a dismissive attitude. It wasn’t “hey guys, its coming together! We can beat anybody!” It was “we’ve played well for a game and a half, break out the champagne!” I think its a toss up Monday. But the packers had one slip up. If I were forced to bet my house, I would still put it on the pack. Also, it annoyed me to get criticized for a 6 point win against the titans on the road when you had beat them by 7 at home a couple of weeks before.
Obviously it isn’t everybody. It just annoys me when any team goes from venomous self loathing to super bowl champs over 2 games. And for the record, my season tickets are in front of a woman who complains about Drew Bree’s production.
by Mark Mandingo on Dec 24, 2011 9:32 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I agree somewhat
the pendulum swings are massive and frequent, but I don’t think that’s any different than most fanbases. Caleb is often the most guilty for this, as he is an emotional poster that is often riding that pendulum. You shouldn’t take that negatively, Caleb, since obviously many people respond to that and equally enjoy riding it with you. There are, after all, many different types of fans, and some love the up-and-down rollercoaster that is the NFL (even when they swear they don’t). Others are simply just more even-keeled. Different strokes.
despite what blood talon thinks
I didn’t come here to troll. Its just that two weeks ago in the first half (not to mention the Texan game) it was “same old falcons”, “Fire the coaching staff today!”, etc. I know this happens when a team is not living up to expectations….but, its crazy to go from fire everybody to this after a game and a half against losing teams.
I understand the confidence of “we’re playing well and we can beat anybody right now”. But that’s different than annointing yourself kings of the nfc after 1.5 games of great play. If you guys lose Monday and you hear “same old falcons” from anybody that said “we got this, no problem”….
by Mark Mandingo on Dec 23, 2011 11:09 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Now we have something to...
disuse regarding where your coming from.
Yes, all these things you point out are true (for the most part) and I am definitely one of the faithful here that want to see our OC canned (or take a job somewhere else).
For the first 12 1/2 games this year it was “the same old Falcons” when it came to how the offense was being ran…the predictability of this man is MADDENING to say the least!!
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders
"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster
by Blood_Talon on Dec 23, 2011 12:17 PM EST up reply actions
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