Which statement is most true so far these playoffs?

[Taco John]

Pick the most accurate statement

[Crushaholic]

The place kicker has been the MVP position of the playoffs. Indy and Baltimore would still be playing football now if it weren't for the kicker...:thumbsup:

[OrangeShadow]

E. No one knows what the hell is going to happen

[Rohirrim]

I believe I'll have another beer.

[loborugger]

Preparation pays. Teams are stepping up and making statements. Who expected Indy to do ANYTHING but roll over and play doormat (well, Payton has but the rest of the team hasnt). Who expected the Pats to win in SD. And props to the Seahawks and Eagles. Both teams had injuries to overcome, and played well enough to win on the road but came up a play or two short.

Meanwhile, KC not only stepped up, but stepped backwards with no 1st downs until almost the fourth quarter. B-more couldnt get more than 2 FGs at home - with McNair.

To me, its been an elevation of play. Teams that are stepping up, playing harder, more focused, are moving on while the rest are making draft and free agent plans.

[sirhcyennek81]

I said Defense, but having a good holder on FG and EP helps, too. It also sucks because I feel denver could have made noise this year if we made it in. No team looks all that impressive on the AFC side.

:Broncos:

[gunns]

Normally I would always say defense, but in the AFC, it's that experience in the playoffs is obviously the key, not if you're the best team. That you have to play your A game in that one game or the team that has the experience will best you. Once again we will have a rep from the AFC who wasn't the best team this year.

[Drek]

I chose place kickers because so far a lot of games have been won or lost by kicking games.

I don't necessarily think it'll hold true though, but the common thread that does hold true in the playoffs, year in and year out, is that to win in the playoffs you need every aspect of your team to at least have the potential to win you a game. You don't need two dominating units with big play STs, but you need the potential for them to throw up a big game and bail the other side of the ball out when they have a bad day. When's the last time we saw an SB champ who shut everyone down defensively every playoff game or who just lit it up every game offensively on their way to a title? It doesn't happen, units stumble against playoff level competition. Then you better hope the rest of your team can step up, the teams that have that are the ones that win.

Its why I think the Pats are so scary. They aren't perfect on either side of the ball but any given game any unit could win it. Will Brady bring his SB winning passing attack, or will Dillon and Maroney run the opposition over? Will Seymour throw a sack party, will Bruschi and co. shut down the opposing running game, or will Samuel and the rest of the secondary create big turnovers? They've got playmakers in every unit while most teams have their elite talent focused in a single facet (B-more's pass rush, Indy's passing attack). Its hard to keep that many playmakers all in different facets down for a whole game, and when you try shifting focus to stopping the one going off on you it opens the door to the rest of them.

I also like New Orleans for this same reason, great passing attack, very good running game, and a DL that sometimes really shows up strong. Their back seven is succeptable though. I'd really like the Bears if they still had Mike Brown making plays in hte secondary, but without him they're lacking a deep play maker. Great playmakers at LB, DL, and KR/PR, but their offense hasn't quite shown the consistant playmaking ability to make me think they'll come up with the big TDs when needed.

[orinjkrush]

strangely enough, this year i think its kickers. the NFL is startin to look like the NBA, run up and down the field all game long and whoever makes the last shot...wins.

[Spider]

not havin griese on your team ........... ;D

[-Slap-]

Luck is the residue of design.

[Crushaholic]

I said Defense, but having a good holder on FG and EP helps, too. It also sucks because I feel denver could have made noise this year if we made it in. No team looks all that impressive on the AFC side.

:Broncos:

Even if we would score some touchdowns in the playoffs, we would just let the opponents back in the game. We wouldn't look any more/less impressive than the other teams in the playoffs...

[BroncoBuff]

I said 'offense' .... because everybody had defense this weekend.

It was the offense that set the winners apart. Those who had it: Grossman, Viniateri, Brady (when it counted), Brees ... and those who did not: McNair, Hasselbeck, Rivers, Kaeding.

[CHEF LUIGI]

it takes a well coached TEAM to win!
chargers had a shot at a 46 yard FG, but went for it instead on 4th and 10 !
they gave the ball up on the 40, the pats went a mere 20 yards and kicked their own FG, lets see, what did they end up losing by?
troy brown, is he offense or defense?
wasted time outs by the chargers, poor decisions thru-out the game, including getting LT only 25 touches!
is it any wonder why marty is 2 and 13 in the post-season?
the last ime he won a play-off game was 1993, with joe montana!
heck, I could win with joe montana!
it takes an entire team , ONE THAT IS WELL COACHED, to win!
just like it takes field position and 11 guys, ALL doing their job, to make a field goal !

[sirhcyennek81]

it takes a well coached TEAM to win!
chargers had a shot at a 46 yard FG, but went for it instead on 4th and 10 !
they gave the ball up on the 40, the pats went a mere 20 yards and kicked their own FG, lets see, what did they end up losing by?
troy brown, is he offense or defense?
wasted time outs by the chargers, poor decisions thru-out the game, including getting LT only 25 touches!
is it any wonder why marty is 2 and 13 in the post-season?
the last ime he won a play-off game was 1993, with joe montana!
heck, I could win with joe montana!
it takes an entire team , ONE THAT IS WELL COACHED, to win!
just like it takes field position and 11 guys, ALL doing their job, to make a field goal !


Err...He is 5-13 in the postseason. Troy Brown is a great utility player, you put him where ever you need him, and if I were the Patriots, would be happy he is still on the roster, he saved the game for them. It may take a team, (22 starters, 45 on game day) to win, but it takes one horrible call or one player (personal foul on 4th and forever) to **** it up.

:Broncos:

[Blart]

Considering just about every playoff game was won by 3 points or less...

[broncosteven]

Luck is the residue of design.

Most of those posting here should have been residue on their parents sheets. Where they lucky or us?

Pats = Lucky to run into a self destructive team

Seattle = Bad Passing O

Chicago = Rex came through when they needed him to

Saints = Only good game all week - still had to fight off gnat in Philly

Philly = Not lucky or good enough.

Colts = good D against poor O

Balt = Bad D & worse O

[Kaylore]

I said offense. Not because of scoring lots of points but for scoring points when it counted or getting the first down to end the game with kneel downs. That seemed to be the recurring theme to me. The offenses that made the play when they needed to.

[NaptownChief]

Luck is the residue of design.



For sure....


"The harder I work, the luckier I get..." Player, G.

[Jason in LA]

I don't think that any one of those answers are correct. For some teams it is offense. For some teams defense. For some teams experience. For some teams it's two of the three. It's the right mixture, but it's impossible to point out what that mixture is, because it's different for every team.

I know that not turning the ball over while creating turnovers always gets a team very far. But it's hard to even pin point what mixture it takes to get that.

[Rock Chalk]

Jay Cutler failed to lead Denver to the playoffs. ;D

[Popps]

It's always about balance, but it starts with being able to win low scoring games, and that's about defense.

Of course, you can't be so horrible on offense that you're simply inept, as Baltimore turned out to be. But, they still made it to a home playoff game. That's what defense does for you.

Indy's D finally stepped up and played a little. You'll notice that Manning hasn't been all that special, and hasn't had to be. That's playoff football.

Brady pulled some of us usual heroics yesterday, but had a lot of help... and frankly, San Diego's defense looked rather average.