So, here we go. Round Two of the NFL playoffs. Last week is was all about the comeback and the cold. Had KC held on to win, it would have been a clean sweep for the away. The 49ers won in Frigid Green Bay, the Saints won in slightly chilly Philly, San Diego won in convincing fashion in Cincinnati, and Colts broke the streak by breaking Andy Reid’s heart.
Round Two brings about rematches of previous games. Famously, the depleted Niners lost at home to Carolina to validate their hot start. San Diego split home losses with Denver, Seattle famously beat the living shit out of Nawlins on Monday Night in the Speakerdome. only the New England and Indy have not faced each other yet this year.
Saturday
| New Orleans Saints (11-5) | 1:35PM Seattle 31 – NO 20 |
| Seattle Seahawks (13-3) |
| Indianapolis Colts (11-5) | 5:15PM Indy 28 – NE 27 (upset special) |
| New England Patriots (12-4) |
Sunday
| San Francisco 49ers (12-4) | 10:05PM SF 24 – Carolina 14 |
| Carolina Panthers (12-4) |
| San Diego Chargers (9-7) | 1:40PM SD 35 – Denver 17 (Upset 2) |
| Denver Broncos (13-3) |
Great match-ups across the board. You have 2 new-age QBs facing off in Cam and Kap, 2 undersized phenoms in battle-tested Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, Consummate pro Tom Brady vs the upstart pocket passer Andrew Luck, and 2 old pros in P Rivers and Peyton Manning.
All in all an excellent weekend to sit around and watch football.
Forty Niners Forever 
Beware the Ted Ginn. He’s quit shying from contact and he’s got something to prove to Harbaugh.
Smith, Olsen and Williams we’ll probably contain. Ginn’s the wild card, so to speak.
I spot them two TDs and a pair of FGs.
Three TDs for CK7 and company with an extra one for the D.
Niners 28 – 20.
Gotcha NF
If Ginn is the deciding factor then some other shit went seriously wrong.
Steve Smith doesn’t look to be very healthy, unless they are pulling a Walsh on us.
I think a turnover or a special teams play might decide it. He hasn’t had a big year on returns but Ginn is always dangerous with those… we might be aiming for our 3rd Super Bowl appearance in 3 years if he’d been in there in the Giants’ game for the NFC Championship….
I’m sure Allen Rossum would have done better than KW that fateful day.
Ted sure as hell kick started 2011 in grand fashion. Those returns ignited the fire.
I am going all in on this game, Niners 28 – Carolina 10. The Niner D stops Cam cold.
Ginn is the guy that flies a little under the radar but is better than the one year contracts he’s been getting, at least now that he doesn’t look for the sidelines first and quit his habit of avoiding contact above all. He’s an improved pass catcher and fast enough to kill you on screens and he’s looking at free agency.
He may not be a huge factor but he seems like he’s the guy in a good position to surprise in the playoffs.
Pass protect and give CK7 a chance at beating their secondary and it should go our way no matter what Ginn does.
Yeah our special teams are vastly improved from the sad sack collection that flopped in the SB. This game is the place to show it again and stuff Mr Ginn
27-20, Seattle over New Orleans
Seattle is not playing as well as earlier but I still think their defense roughs up the Saints
30-24, NE over Indy
Possibly in the rain, I think Indy shot their wad last week. Their D sucks. How did they manage to beat, SF, SEA, DEN, again? Well, that was the first half of the season.
23-20 (again), Niners
I was so stressed out last week I managed to pinch a nerve (while sitting on the coach watching the game) in my back that took me two days before I could lift my right arm again. It’s finally better, just in time to get all stressed out again. Actually, I don’t think this one comes down to the final play. We go ahead, they come back, they fall short.
38-28, Broncos over the Bolts
San Diego is the fun pick, but I get the feeling it won’t be close. I think Mr TD throws 4 and Moreno runs for one.
Ok Barley, compiling here. Posting later in the day (Saturday here)
Apropos of nothing, I have to admit I felt sorry for the Bangles, and their fans last week. I mean, I think they are as solid as they’ve been in a long time. Good defense, dangerous offense, except for…Dalton. I mean really, he pretty much single handedly blew it for them. What does the coach say in the locker after that. “You guys played your hearts out. I’m proud of you and you should be too. All except for you Dalton. You truly sucked.”
Random question Is Vance McD a bust? Well, he certainly is not in the AJ category. He gets on the field, regularly, has some key blocks. But as a pass catcher, route runner, his performance has been a disappointment. I have to admit I had MUCH higher expectations for him catching the ball coming out of college. I thought he’d be better at that and need help blocking. Looks to be the other way around. Not giving up on him by any stretch, and I don’t know how much GR has tried to work him into the receiving game, but there certainly seemed like there were periods this year where he could have, and he’s been missing.
Barley here’s a comment I made last thread at the tail end of a chat between Chuck and NF about Walsh, Harbaugh and Bengals founder Paul Brown: They deserve Dalton….
“. Paul Brown is supposed to have passed around a rumor that BW was an alcoholic to sabotage his HC interviews. Mentioned in book “Papa Bear” I beleive. Bill was obsessive and depressive but alcoholic? No evidence. But clearly Paul Brown was a man fully addicted to the number one addiction on planet earth = controlling others. Same for Halas and many others. PB damaged BW personally and careerwise for his own benefit there is no doubt in my mind. Bill ‘forgave’ Brown when he achieved his own great success, initially at the expense of the Bengals in out first SB win. What have the Bengals done since our second whipping of them in another SB triumph? Jack shit including drafting Dalton and losing to San Diego last weekend. I’d say the curse of Brown on his team for stabbing Walsh lives on (partially for our benefit, eh?)”
17-13 Niners over Carolina…
Shit! *I* was going to take 17-13. I’ll take 17-10 instead, I guess. Tough defensive game. One TD by Kappy running, one throwing. And he will have to run, and convert 3 or 4 critical first downs, for us to win.
Ginn? Can’t run with him. Better beat the shit out of him at the LOS instead.
Barley, I’m pretty sour on the V McD pick as well, but he’s got time to learn. The guy we could have had was (as Snarkk pointed out, numerous times) Keenan Allen. I liked him too, but Snarkk was definitely on board with him.
NEs banged up defensively, Denver will get burned on the back end, and Seattle is about as much a lock as can be believed.
And I sincerely hope your are right, Kevin.
Twin and Phil like the Saints over the Sqwaks, Chuck, shaman and Barley pick SEA to win.
Chuck, Phil and shaman like Indy over NE while Barley and Twin say NE wins
Chuck, Phil and Twin say SD and barley and shaman like da Bronks for the win.
(Phil goes with Saints (wishful thinking), Indy (roots fer underdog) SD (pure sentiment) as above.
So there ya go on the other playoff games this weekend. Niner calls to follow later. Get yer calls in you lazy prognosticators of the mighty pigskin!
Further comments from the first responders:
Chuck: Seattle 31 – NO 20, Indy 28 – NE 27 (upset special), SD 35 – Denver 17 (Upset 2)
Twinfan1: NO 24 Seattle 17. This one might be a hope, so we get one last playoff game at the ‘Stick. NE 28 Indy 13 SD 31 Denver 27
shaman138: 49ers will have to find a way to win in Seattle, as the Squawks will handle NO. Colts will stun the Brady Bunch, and the Manning donkeys take care of the SD Chokers.
barleyfreak: 27-20, Seattle over New Orleans. Seattle is not playing as well as earlier but I still think their defense roughs up the Saints.
30-24, NE over Indy. Possibly in the rain, I think Indy shot their wad last week. Their D sucks. How did they manage to beat, SF, SEA, DEN, again? Well, that was the first half of the season.
38-28, Broncos over the Bolts
San Diego is the fun pick, but I get the feeling it won’t be close. I think Mr TD throws 4 and Moreno runs for one.
Chuck says: 24-20 Niners… why do I think the 49ers will win? Mainly because when the 49ers played the Panthers, we nearly won the game despite missing many of our best players… and I think the Niners abandoned the run to ill effect. Anyhow, this looks to be another defensive struggle… Point being, points will be hard to come by, and turnovers can kill. Protect the ball. Contain Fig Newton, and force known fumbler DeAngelo Williams into a couple cough-ups and all should work out fine. 24-14 Niners.
Phil fan says: 24-20 Niners. Relax ladies we are winning the Super Bowl I repeat for the third time here. It has nothing to do with luck, the force, fate, the gods of the pigskin or alignment of the stars. Since beating the Seattle boys and hearing Justin Smith’s challenge to their MANLINESS our guys have been in playoff mode with a ‘lose and go home mentality’. Nothings changed in the past month except the emergence of Crabtree. We will not lose again this season. 16-4, 6th Lombardi in the bag. My prognostication Niners beat Panthers 24-20
twinfan1 says: SF 20 Carolina 10.
Irish Kevin says: I am going all in on this game, Niners 28 – Carolina 10. The Niner D stops Cam cold.
NJ49er says: 23-17 9ers. Offensively we should be far better than the first meeting.
Sure, it’ll be a Defensive challenge but, we held them to 10. WR Steve Smith was healthier then too. We had next to nothing to offer in the WR category for that one too.
Chuck I’m thinking the same way in terms of a possible final score. I’ll venture a final close to what you’re suggesting. 23-17 Niners
Nipper says: Niners 34 Panthers 31!
snarkk says: 17-13 Niners over Carolina…
Grumpy Guy says: 17-10 Niners. Shit! *I* was going to take 17-13. I’ll take 17-10 instead, I guess. Tough defensive game. One TD by Kappy running, one throwing. And he will have to run, and convert 3 or 4 critical first downs, for us to win. Ginn? Can’t run with him. Better beat the shit out of him at the LOS instead.
shaman138 says: SF 30, Charlotte Kittens 27. And the 49ers will have to find a way to win in Seattle, as the Squawks will handle NO. Colts will stun the Brady Bunch, and the Manning donkeys take care of the SD Chokers. And Nipper stays thirsty.
NoFear49er says: Niners 28 – 20. Beware the Ted Ginn. He’s quit shying from contact and he’s got something to prove to Harbaugh. Smith, Olsen and Williams we’ll probably contain. Ginn’s the wild card, so to speak. I spot them two TDs and a pair of FGs. Three TDs for CK7 and company with an extra one for the D. Niners 28 – 20.
BTW Chuck’s call is 24-14 not 24-20
I hope the Seahawks win tomorrow, too. I want the Niners to be the team that crushes their dream. And then our path to number six will have been earned through defeating the best teams in the league. Doesn’t matter in the big picture history I suppose but it would make me happier, and really, that’s what matters.
Yeah That would be sweet and add a much needed note of humility to the folks up north. Beating the Saints or losing to AZ is one thing, tasting the wrath of the 49ers would be a lot harder to swallow for the upstarts of the north. May it be so
Yeah, there’d be a certain amount of glee in winning up there. They talk dynasty and need to do something to earn that. Not regular season accolades.
Good point. The most they’ve done is get beat by Pittsburgh in the SB. Some dynasty.
Be careful what you wish for.
Pressed for time as I’m trying to help a neighbor move: SEA and NE are my selections today. Not that my pks amount to hill of beans or that anyone gives a flying fig, but there’s something about not wanting to be left out and felt excluded in the “prognostication party.” So there you have it.
Ok Del Mar yer in the big dance
OMG, that was awful..
“Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise and remove your caps for our National Anthem, performed today by a chick we found on streets of Seattle..”
Actually she’s a famous singer, old man.
I know that, sonny. A terrible famous singer.
I’ve got 4 TVs, on every one the game is being broadcast in Spanish. The commercials are in English. Anybody else getting this?
Oops- I think it’s Mediacom. They won’t even take calls from my area because the call volume is thru the roof.
Watching on internet- sound is in English and the text in French?
Shit Lynch scores
¡Mucha Mierda!
. Missed FG, fucked punt, fumble=Ballgame.