Capone0's NFL Rankings after week 11

[Richard Tanner]

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I think it's(given Indy will probably have HFA)

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very bad "given"

most likely case? sure but its far from a lock, especially with 2teams 1gm back and no guarentee that Indy will have tiebreakers on both

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Well sir, let's look at the schedule:

Indy (9-1) has PHI, @TEN, @JAX, CIN, @HOU, MIA
SD (8-2) has OAK, @BUF, DEN, KC, @SEA, ARI
BAL (8-2) has PIT, @CIN, @KC, CLE, @PIT, BUF

Now if IND loses at Jax and Cin (reasonable but by no means likely) then they'll finish 13-3.
If SD loses to DEN and @SEA (reasonable but by no means likely) they'll finish 12-4 and the Colts will have the Conf tie breaker (although irrelevent there)
If BAL loses once to PIT and to both KC and CIN (two high powered offences that could potentially tax that D of theirs) they'll finish 11-5.

Of course Indy could drop this weeks to a McNabbless PHI and SD could run the table, for that matter so could BAL. IND could also run the table and, as they control their own destiny, make all other games obsolete.

Interesting notes for the Colts- They had some bad luck, with a dash of bad play and a heap of bad coaching (did Dungy actually look at anything he was [or wasn't] challenging) and they went down and as a result, it seems IND will be forced to actually play the starters through week 17 and not parade the JV team for a month. This loss could work out in their favor.

As for SD. They're really the Colts new achilles heel and if anyones gonna challenge them on top, it will be SD (IND v. SD AFC Champ game anyone??). They handled DEN with Merriman gone, one can only assume what they'll do when he gets back.

As for BALT, they're the weakest of these teams and most likely won't make much noise in the HFA chase (any given sunday however...).

As for the Pats, who currently sit (7-3) they seem to be reeling a bit and their lack of talent is finally catching up to them (a stomping of GB is not a quality win, but any win is nice after dropping 2 straight). They're unlikely as well to be in the HFA chase in weeks 16-17.

Cody

[bottomset]

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Interesting notes for the Colts- They had some bad luck, with a dash of bad play and a heap of bad coaching (did Dungy actually look at anything he was [or wasn't] challenging) and they went down and as a result, it seems IND will be forced to actually play the starters through week 17 and not parade the JV team for a month. This loss could work out in their favor.

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they also got outplayed at home vs Jacksonville and only beat Tenn by 1 at home, and haven't dominated many games

also SD will beat Denver at home

[Assani Fisher]

what the hell has happened to KC?

[Richard Tanner]

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Interesting notes for the Colts- They had some bad luck, with a dash of bad play and a heap of bad coaching (did Dungy actually look at anything he was [or wasn't] challenging) and they went down and as a result, it seems IND will be forced to actually play the starters through week 17 and not parade the JV team for a month. This loss could work out in their favor.

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they also got outplayed at home vs Jacksonville and only beat Tenn by 1 at home, and haven't dominated many games

also SD will beat Denver at home

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Eh "outplayed" is kinda harsh. The Colts have been resting Stokley, Sanders, (recently) Brackett (starting MLB), and a few others off and on. They're beat up (like alot of teams) and they're winning.

As for SD, you seem to be an SD fan, so I'll ask this. Why is coming back from 17+ twice such a good thing. I mean obviously they were a good team before these games and all it really shows is they're still a good team. It would seem to me that spoting the teams you play 17 or more points is playing with fire.

Cody

[Sluss]

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Since Steve Smith came back, the Panthers are 6-2. During that same time frame the Bears are 7-1. The Panthers lost an embarrasing 35-14 game to the Cowboys. The Bears lost an embarrasing 31-13 game to the Dolphins. The Panthers lost a heartbreaker on the road in Cincy. The Bears won a thriller on the road in Arizona. The Bears got dominated for about 90% of that game. The Panthers led over half of the Cincy game. The Panthers have beat the Saints and Ravens. The Bears have beat the Seahawks and Giants. The Panthers have probably the toughest schedule in the league. The Bears have without question the easiest. I don't know if I'm getting through here, but all I'm saying is the Panthers are creeping up, and they are suddenly tied for first in the division. They are historically a great second half team, and more importantly, a great playoff team. Their defense just pitched a shutout, just like the Bears defense. And the Panthers have some viable offensive weapons, especially now the DeAngelo Williams is healthy. Don't be surprised if they are playing for the NFC title in January. I think a Panthers-Bears matchup would be a great game.

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I have watched this team every week. I have yet to see the Carolina offense do anything to impress me other than throw the ball to Steve Smith. Williams has fumbling issues and Foster is injury prone and the line cannot block for his running style.

You talk about their tough schedule they barely beat the 3-7 TB Bucs. They snuck by the Browns. They did edge the Ravens, which is a good win. They lost to a middle of the road Bengals team and only scored 14 points against their really poor defense. Got throttled by the Cowboys and shut out a fast fading Rams team who had just lost their superstar left tackle.

That and I'm not even counting the the Panthers losing to the same Minnesota team the Bears beat the week after. Different than the Minnesota team that is imploding right now.

While their defense is good up front with Peppers and Rucker, the linebackers have been down this year and their secondary is not nearly as deep as it has been in past years.

I really don't mean to single you out. It is just the group of talking heads, who are trying to justify their preseason predictions, that keep saying well the Panthers always finish great. Here is the problem while they have never looked great early on it was usually just a matter of making a few tweaks and getting some guys back. This year they just seem to have slipped off. When your problem is your team has looked old, especially on the offensive line that doesn't heal it self late in the year. As a matter of fact it normally makes matters worse and Panthers do finish tough.

[PokerFink]

Nicely done. I completely agree.