broncos vs Pats AFC Championship

[baphamet]

in the end....we dont know who will have the number 1 seed...denver is in the driver seat

in the nfc...nobody is beating seattle.in seattle anyway...

people thought that about Denver and look what happened? not saying i disagree because Seattle does look unbeatable at home but when the playoffs start you can throw all those stats and wins from the regular season away.

[fallforward3y+]

Priceless stuff, there, Charley Brown.

I guess the officials of the Pats-Panthers game missed the inter-office memo?

I always thought CLE-NE may have been sort of making up for that no call.

Personally though, I think they did the right thing with CAR-NE, no call is a better way to go. It seems like BS to give a team the ball at the 1, and virtually give them the game when the ball is probably never caught even if the penalty is not committed.

I'll have to get another look, but from what I remember I don't think the ball would have been caught without the penalty in the CLE-NE game either.

[fallforward3y+]

people thought that about Denver and look what happened? not saying i disagree because Seattle does look unbeatable at home but when the playoffs start you can throw all those stats and wins from the regular season away.

Denver's strong HFA seems to have ended since your Chargers came back from down 24-7 in 2006 in DEN. They have a good record at home the last 2 years, but that's just because they've been one of the best teams in the league over that span.

Seattle's is much stronger. Look at SFO, they've been a contending team the past few years, and have split SEA twice. However, when they go up to SEA they get blown out, and it seems they have almost no chance of winning there. The Saints as well, got blown out up there 34-7. Even the contending teams can't handle them.

HFA is still very relevant in the playoffs. Many seem to want to believe that the best team always wins in the playoffs and HFA doesn't matter, but it's simply untrue. Strong HFA teams tend to continue their home winning trend in the playoffs.

Obviously no one's unbeatable, but some teams for different reasons play off that HFA very well and rarely lose. Unless a team is just the type that chokes in big games, I wouldn't bet against a team with a dominant HFA if they play at home.

[86Elwayfan]

I always thought CLE-NE may have been sort of making up for that no call.

Personally though, I think they did the right thing with CAR-NE, no call is a better way to go. It seems like BS to give a team the ball at the 1, and virtually give them the game when the ball is probably never caught even if the penalty is not committed.

I'll have to get another look, but from what I remember I don't think the ball would have been caught without the penalty in the CLE-NE game either.

The funny thing about the Carolina game is (which Pats fans seem to forget) they did call the PI initially but waved it off because Brady under threw the ball by 5 yards. And regardless of if Kuechley facegaurded or not PI is only applicable if the ball is catchable. They probably could/should have called illegal contact on that play, but I don't know if they can change the penalty call if their initial call gets overturned.

[baphamet]

Denver's strong HFA seems to have ended since your Chargers came back from down 24-7 in 2006 in DEN. They have a good record at home the last 2 years, but that's just because they've been one of the best teams in the league over that span.

Seattle's is much stronger. Look at SFO, they've been a contending team the past few years, and have split SEA twice. However, when they go up to SEA they get blown out, and it seems they have almost no chance of winning there. The Saints as well, got blown out up there 34-7. Even the contending teams can't handle them.

HFA is still very relevant in the playoffs. Many seem to want to believe that the best team always wins in the playoffs and HFA doesn't matter, but it's simply untrue. Strong HFA teams tend to continue their home winning trend in the playoffs.

Obviously no one's unbeatable, but some teams for different reasons play off that HFA very well and rarely lose. Unless a team is just the type that chokes in big games, I wouldn't bet against a team with a dominant HFA if they play at home.

home field does matter but i am just saying, stats and everything that happened in the regular season is pretty much irreverent once the playoffs start. you also have to take into account the bye week as a potential momentum killer, especially if week 17 turns out to be a meaningless game for them.

also, they will face a team that will inevitably have tons of momentum going into that divisional round game coming off their WC victory.

IMO that is why you see a lot of upsets in that divisional round every season, some players and teams cannot elevate their play to a playoff level after having a bye week and sometimes more than that off.

i wouldn't bet against Seattle either and i think they are the most likely top 1 or 2 seed to make it to the SB. i was just sayin....

[arapaho]

people thought that about Denver and look what happened? not saying i disagree because Seattle does look unbeatable at home but when the playoffs start you can throw all those stats and wins from the regular season away.

browners loss hurts...and as much as I cant stand the seattle fans...they have no issue showing up for a home game and making life miserable

I don't see anybody beating them at home, unless they find a way to shut the crowd up

[fallforward3y+]

home field does matter but i am just saying, stats and everything that happened in the regular season is pretty much irreverent once the playoffs start. you also have to take into account the bye week as a potential momentum killer, especially if week 17 turns out to be a meaningless game for them.

also, they will face a team that will inevitably have tons of momentum going into that divisional round game coming off their WC victory.

IMO that is why you see a lot of upsets in that divisional round every season, some players and teams cannot elevate their play to a playoff level after having a bye week and sometimes more than that off.

i wouldn't bet against Seattle either and i think they are the most likely top 1 or 2 seed to make it to the SB. i was just sayin....

Perhaps, but I'd be very shocked. Often times teams feeding off momentum hit the wall that ends it, and it seems to happen particularly with strong HFA teams I've noticed.

Such as Dallas in 2009, who was on a roll and got completely dominated by Minnesota when they went up there. Panthers of 2005, who were on a roll went to Seattle and got crushed.

Seattle I think is just the team to stifle a team's momentum on their home field.

The Seahawks seem like the perfect