there are a lot of reasons i don't think the falcons will win sunday, but one thing i keep hearing that i don't get is the whole, "they're a dome team so they can't play outside in january"... umm what?
they practice outside, a lot of them are from the north to begin with/have played for teams in the north, and the cold/wind will affect the giants too. so it might be a little colder than they're used to. so what. matt ryan played at boston college. he knows perfectly good and well how to play in the cold and wind. i know it's harder to catch in the cold sometimes, but somehow i think it takes more than cold to turn gonzalez, white, and jones into useless plugs instead of the pro-bowlers/promising rookie that they are. those are the only positions where the cold should really have any impact. forgive me if i don't buy the whole, "it's cold so they'll suck" thing.
there are a lot of reasons i don't think the falcons will win sunday, but one thing i keep hearing that i don't get is the whole, "they're a dome team so they can't play outside in january"... umm what?
they practice outside, a lot of them are from the north to begin with/have played for teams in the north, and the cold/wind will affect the giants too. so it might be a little colder than they're used to. so what. matt ryan played at boston college. he knows perfectly good and well how to play in the cold and wind. i know it's harder to catch in the cold sometimes, but somehow i think it takes more than cold to turn gonzalez, white, and jones into useless plugs instead of the pro-bowlers/promising rookie that they are. those are the only positions where the cold should really have any impact. forgive me if i don't buy the whole, "it's cold so they'll suck" thing.
It's the teams system as a whole that is affected. When you play in a dome, your receivers aren't dealing with frozen hands trying to catch a football. Kickers are kicking off a relatively predictable and prefereable surface in addition to no wind. The lineman have a very stable ground to plant their feet on. Most importantly, your body isn't used to getting banged up on rock hard dirt.
When you shift to a game in New England, for example, you're battling the elements which is something dome teams have difficulty preparing for. That's why so few dome teams win Super Bowls, most of which got through the playoffs because of "dome field advantage." The elements don't mix with the typical dome team's playing style.
Not saying I agree with it. Hell, two years ago the Super Bowl featured 2 dome teams. That's just the logic behind the expression.
They can compete with just about anyone in terms of putting pts on the board and their defense has been pretty solid in the past couple of weeks. I just think that Green Bay's defense is their biggest weakness and will be the reason they get knocked out in the NFC championship game.
The Patriots have the same problem. A very solid offense mixed in with a sub par defense. Altough Green Bay's defense isn't as bad as the Pats, they don't have that balance that will get them to the Super Bowl.
I've got no clue AFC. I hope it's a rematch of last year though with the Steelers coming out on top. I've got too many Steeler buddies to not want another party with them.
They can compete with just about anyone in terms of putting pts on the board and their defense has been pretty solid in the past couple of weeks. I just think that Green Bay's defense is their biggest weakness and will be the reason they get knocked out in the NFC championship game.
The Patriots have the same problem. A very solid offense mixed in with a sub par defense. Altough Green Bay's defense isn't as bad as the Pats, they don't have that balance that will get them to the Super Bowl.
Just my 2 cents
The Saints defense is just as bad, if not worse than both the Packers and Patriots. They've given up only 3 less points than the Pats and barely a point less per game than the Packers.
Meanwhile, the Packers and Patriots are #1 and #2 in interceptions forced, and the Packers are #1 by a MILE. The Saints rank 28th in that regard, 1 interception more than the two teams tied for last.
The Packers and Patriots are built for shootouts. They'll score points and they're defense gambles to help the offense get good field position. Meanwhile the Saints are scoring, but are relying on the opposition to not score. There's a big difference. There's no way the Saints beat the Packers, IMO. Two high scoring offenses, but the Packers D will create more points off turnovers which would be the difference.
The Saints defense is just as bad, if not worse than both the Packers and Patriots. They've given up only 3 less points than the Pats and barely a point less per game than the Packers.
Meanwhile, the Packers and Patriots are #1 and #2 in interceptions forced, and the Packers are #1 by a MILE. The Saints rank 28th in that regard, 1 interception more than the two teams tied for last.
The Packers and Patriots are built for shootouts. They'll score points and they're defense gambles to help the offense get good field position. Meanwhile the Saints are scoring, but are relying on the opposition to not score. There's a big difference. There's no way the Saints beat the Packers, IMO. Two high scoring offenses, but the Packers D will create more points off turnovers which would be the difference.
If you recall, the 1st game of the season ended on the 1 yard line with no time left on the clock and the Saints down by a TD. They stopped Ingram on that goal line stand and the Packers won the game on that play alone.
Brees can shred any defense, especially a so-so defense like GB has. Rodgers can do the same, so it's really a toss up between both teams but I find that the Saints have a clear advantage in the running game. It'll be key if they do make it to the NFC championship game where the game will be played in GB with -30 degree weather (got no clue what -30 is for you guys in the States).
The Saints defense was horrible at the start of the year cause they knew they could rely on Brees to rack up the pts and win a shutout 9 times out of 10. In the past couple of weeks, they've buckled down and played real well, so I'm hoping that they'll continue to play solid d while Brees continues to burn opposing defenses. The big wildcard is going to be the health of Malcom Jenkins, cause he suffered a knock agains the Falcons two weeks ago.
