The Giants lost a lot of key players before last season, too, and they managed to get their **** together in time for the playoffs last year. But they barely managed to make it in the first place. The Eagles and the Cowboys are both very good teams, and while they have managed to hold themselves back from the level of their potential, they both are aware that the have let too many opportunities slip away. Also I think the Redskins are going to have a chance to play spoiler this year, even if they don't manage to make a big splash in January.

Meanwhile, the Saints are in turmoil right now. But it's not internal. It's external, applied against them by one man. At least in their eyes, it's Goodell coming after them for something that they obviously don't believe was anything deserving of this kind of punishment. So even with the loss of a pick, an interim coach, and players who will have to sit out games... that's still the kind of thing that has a way of rallying teams closer together rather than driving them apart. Look at what the Pats did after Spygate. Look at how the Steelers handle the fines and the extra attention they get (especially Harrison) after every game.

So even if Carolina does twice as well as they did last year, they still won't take the division from the Saints. (And I don't see the Panthers pulling out 12 wins, even with a soft schedule.) The Bucs just got a new Head Coach (who needs someone there to hold his hand), a new OC, a new DC.. it's going to take more than one off-season for all that to gel. I like the Falcons for a wild card, but I don't see them managing to do any better this year than they did last year.

It was like a week or two back, they apparently reset their server and deleted all comments and whatnot before a certain date. Some people got hit worse than others, depending on when they were most active.

Well maybe that would have been true if Ben hadn't been playing on one foot. We'd have been better off with Dixon in there and a YAC-based possession game. Or if the power had stayed on so Ben didn't have all that time for his ankle to tighten back up.

Palmer hasn't been the same since his injury, but he doesn't suck. In 2009 he took the Bengals to the playoffs, and in 2010 his numbers were better. This year, Palmer spent half the season on the couch, then stepped in and took over a team that was already suffering. Would Campbell be able to do any better? Would Garrard?

I missed the vote, but I still would like to point out... the one thing you've discounted so far in this discussion is the calendar. If this game took place in November, I'd be hesitant to say which way it would go.

But if there's one thing that Pittsburgh has established, it's consistency in December and January football. It's been, what, ten years since the 49ers have made it to the post-season? I know they're going to be playing out of their mind, eager to finally get their shot. But the 49ers, at their best, are average on offense, and their defense is really only good at stopping the run. Pittsburgh hasn't relied on its run game in years, anyway. Their pass defense has actually gotten worse over the past 3 games, and its hard to count Ben out. He knows how to play through pain.

Gore might be an issue, but I think we can lose ToP and still win the game with the WRs we have.

The Cowboys aren't over-rated simply because no one has them rated that high anyway. They're in a fight for their life against the Giants, and that's pretty much how everyone assumed it would go.

But the 49ers, on the other hand, are the talk of the town while they only do one thing well, which is stop the run. Their offense is terrible (3 for 19 in the red zone?!) and their "top-notch" defense has been middle of the road against the pass all season, and recently it's been getting worse, not better. And they haven't even been playing high-flyers. Considering the teams they'll have to get past if the want to go deep in the playoffs, their run defense isn't going to be much help.

Considering where they were at the start of the season, it looked like it was going to be a total debacle. CP saying he'd rather than retire than play, the short off-season to get the rookie ready and they fired JP when CP left, even though he was the guy running the camps during the strike. And I know pre-season doesn't count for much of anything, but still ... losing by like 50-10 in their first two games combined ...

I didn't expect even 4 wins out of the Bungles this year. But strangely, the Bungles never showed up. It's definitely a new era in Cincinnati.

Oh so they can still grab him, just give him a new deal and get him at a discount. That might be better for them in the long run.

I said unlikely, not impossible. I agree with you, that's why we tune in.

Is McNabb better than McCown and Hanie? Yes.

Hanie has a 52 qb rating, and twice as many picks as TDs. He hasn't played a lot of games, but there aren't even occasional flashes of brilliance. His "contributions" gave away the game to the Packers in last year's playoffs, and even with the Bears defense playing out of their mind last week, he gave the game away to Oakland.

And a back-up who hasn't taken a snap in the league since 2009 isn't going to help anyone, no matter how well he understands the diagrams.

Even at his worst, McNabb doesn't throw a lot of picks. Sure, he may barely complete 60 percent of his passes, but look at how wonderfully a decent defense and a succession of punts is working out for Denver.

Not knowing the offense might be an asset as well, forcing the Bears into a conservative run-first play-style with McNabb just doing enough to keep them honest. But I still don't think McNabb would be the answer to the Bears current playoff hopes.

It's moot since they passed on him already. The best possible outcome without Cutler looks like losing out, so the Giants or the Lions can get their WC spot.

Or that the Eagles never consider the Redskins to be a threat. They gave a future Hall of Famer to them back in the day. It'd be like Pittsburgh trading with Cleveland.

Tourney?

Pretty unlikely. Steelers always play their best in December and January. The Bengals couldn't get it done in Week 10. Barring injury, I don't see them getting it done tomorrow, either.

That's Don Banks. He wears Brady's colon as a tie.

I don't accept friend requests, either. That alone wouldn't mean anything. But no comments... I'm not sure what he does on the site then.

"The average passer rating in the Baugh era is not much lower than the Young era, yet Young's rating is dramatically higher than both Baugh and Graham." ... That sounds like a guess to me.

According to CHFF and BR, in 1945 the average passer rating was 47.4 while it was 79.2 in 1995.

In 1945, Baugh posted a 109.9 and in 1995 Young posted a 92.3.

Palmer's lack of familiarity and ultimately the picks he threw gave the Broncos more chances.

Yeah, he did a good job.

I know that's a tired argument, since Elway mentioned it after a win. But it doesn't mean it's not important. Tebow's one job is to not turn the ball over, something they could have asked Orton to do. Tebow has impressive stats, but they're impressive rushing stats. Again, something they could have accomplished with another player, especially at the price the Broncos paid to move up to get him.

Time of possession is important, but 3rd down is when the magic happens for that. The defense leads the league in getting off the field, Tebow is in the weeds.