rly?

 

Originally Posted by Autolobotomist

I'm pretty confident in declaring Matt Ryan a bust.

I would love to be a 72 million dollar bust tho.

Well, a relative bust I guess. I mean, he'll stick in the league a while and be a starter, but 2 years ago he was gonna be Dan Marino or something. He'll win some games, but the guy's sooooo inconsistent.

 

Originally Posted by latifahs

falcons have no chance..jets do

went to falcons game today, they have no chance the way they played shoulda lost the game

Based on the way the season is playing out, a 6th seed team will have just as good a chance to win the Superbowl as anyone else so I don't think anyone can predict who will win it all. Only consistent teams thus far are Jets and Steelers due to defense.

no

/thread

 

Originally Posted by Lameass_

i can pick aobut 10 teams in the nfc right now.

afc tho...steelers, ravens, jets, colts.

mayyyyyyyyybe the pats. afc is clearly better at this point

As others have said, the NFC is in shambles right now, especially after Rodgers' concussion today and the way the Saints have been playing. It's anyone's guess as to who'll come out of the NFC, but the Falcons aren't a bad pick at this point.

As for the AFC, I definitely think that the Steelers, Ravens, and Jets stand out. I watched most of the Colts game today and it's laughable how awful they are at defending the run. There's no way they'll be able to consistently contain a Mendenhall, Ray Rice, or Greene/Tomlinson if they face one of those teams in the playoffs. The Moss trade really hurts the Patriots' SB chances imo, but we'll see how they're able to run their offense w/o him.

Agree that the top 3 are far better than the Colts.
But, when healthy, they're a ridiculously tough out in the playoffs. Home or away, Peyton always has a shot.
Steelers might be scary good though, if Ben gets back into his game quickly, they're by far the favorites.

That is one of the worst predictions i've heard yet

I can buy that, although I like Pitt just as much. The Falcons did beat NYJ in NY last year, so I'm all for it

Ryan is 15-1 at home with an easy schedule remaining, meaning all Falcons playoff games will be at home.

Falcons = SB. May not be the best team in the NFL, but they're certainly the best team in the NFC

 

Originally Posted by marinersheep

The NFC is just so awful. I don't really see any way of predicting right now which team from the NFC will be represented in the Super Bowl.

As for discussion about the Falcons, I just hate their offense. They try and dink and dunk and sustain these 14 or 15 play drives. You have to execute so flawlessly and convert so many third downs to win like that. You better have a defense like the Steelers, Jets or Ravens to be able to play like that in this league. Atlanta's defense is good, but it's not good like that.

In Ryan's first season, I anointed him the next Peyton Manning. He was just so good. He made so many throws and converted third downs that rookies just aren't supposed to make. It seems like either he's regressed or the league has figured him out. Maybe it's Mularkey's playcalling, or maybe it's just the offense they run. I just feel that Ryan isn't playing up to what he's capable of. I'd like to see him given more control of the offense, more chances to throw and more options to throw downfield.

They're Super Bowl contenders in the NFC, but who isn't? It'll probably come down to who's hot heading into the playoffs, and right now, I don't even know how anyone could predict what team that'll be.

Boom.

Mularkey develops good offensive game plans, but his passing plays leave a lot to be desired; there aren't a lot of calls to go down field and Gonzales is too often the primary option. Regarding Ryan, I have a hard time believing he's not every bit as good as you originally thought considering he's as clutch as anyone, is among the very best third down QB's in the league, among the league leaders in the red zone, etc.

He doesn't put up a ton of yards, but that's a product of the offense. They're very reminiscent (on offense) from the early Roethlisberger teams in Pitt. Roethlisberger did everything asked of him; a game manager with the ability to lead the offense if need be. When Ryan needs to win games he can---he's just not asked to. Why mess with a formula that's been successful?

 

Originally Posted by BigGunX

lol "certainly?"

You're right, a team that squeaked out a win at home vs the 0-5 49ers and then beat that powerhouse Cleveland is "certainly" the best team in the NFC. They have one quality win so far, and even that win was against a Saints team that just looks disorganized.

If we're talking the way teams are playing right now, the Giants and Bears are playing at least as well as Atlanta, and I also think we're going to see Green Bay step up if Rodgers comes back healthy.

I picked Atlanta to represent the NFC before the regular season began and I still think they're solid top to bottom, but no one in the NFC is a clear standout.

Atlanta's one loss came on the road against an elite Pitt team in OT. They're the most well balanced of the teams you've listed and they certainly have the best coaching staff. Green Bay has absolutely no running game and the Giants have been inconsistent---although unlike GB and Chi, they're a bad matchup for the Falcons. The Bears aren't close to the Falcons at any position and are 0-2 against Atlanta the last two years.

"Certainly" may have been a little strong, but I don't see how (at least right now) anyone cannot have them as the class of the NFC.

 

Originally Posted by njw11

went to falcons game today, they have no chance the way they played shoulda lost the game

But they won