No offence but you guys are to easy on your picks and arent picking big teams. I mean look at the teams that didnt make it from the 08 season to 09 season. The top 4 seeds in the NFL didnt make it #1-Titans #1-Giants #2-Panthers #2-Steelers Am I trying to say that the Saints, Vikings, Chargers, and Colts wont make the playoffs next year? no. But their is a strong possibility that two of them won't make it and a very good chance one of them doesn't make it. We will see. I can definately see the Vikings starting out bad like the Titans did. Their division is going to be alot tougher, plus they have to play the AFC East. We will see though.
#1 and 2 seeds over the past five seasons (bolded teams didn't return to the playoffs the following year) 2005: Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears 2006: San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints 2007: New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers 2008: Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers 2009?: Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings About 69% of those teams didn't return to the playoffs the following season. So two or three of last year's teams probably won't be returning to the playoffs this season. Interestingly, the Colts and Chargers are two of the teams that have managed to avoid falling out of the playoffs the following year but only have one Super Bowl between them.
ABinx you make a very valid point. On that note I'm also staying pretty safe.. 1.Colts 2.Ravens 3.Jets 4.Raiders (pending on Vjack and mcneil) 5.Titans 6.Patriots 1.Packers 2.49ers 3.Cowboys 4.Falcons 5.Vikings 6.Saints I've got 4/12
Biggest reasons why top seeded teams won't be returning to the playoffs Indianapolis Colts: an injury to Peyton Manning I can't think of much to say here. If the Colts have Peyton Manning, they will make the playoffs. If they don't have Peyton Manning, they will not make the playoffs. Manning has never missed a game so I don't see anything to worry about here. Colts fans should expect another 12 win season. San Diego Chargers: a Vincent Jackson and/or Marcus McNeill hold out The Chargers should be able to run the ball now! None of that matters if Marcus McNeill doesn't play this season. Now, I'm not trying to downgrade the impact of a Vincent Jackson hold out but the Chargers can survive without him. They can't survive with Tra Thomas protecting Philip Rivers' blind side. If the Chargers are going to continue to throw the ball they are going to need McNeill to play this season. As of right now, it doesn't look like Chargers GM AJ Smith will be negotiating with Jackson or McNeill anytime soon so combine that with another early-season siesta for the Chargers and you could see the Raiders sitting atop that division. New Orleans Saints: a Super Bowl hangover At first I was going to give the Saints a projection similar to last season's Cardinals, who got a 4th seed after appearing in the Super Bowl a year before, but then I thought about what divisions these two teams play in. The Saints play in the always competitive NFC South while the Cardinals play in the always awful NFC West. Then I started thinking about what the Saints did the last time they were coming off a playoff appearance. That team had most of the same players (similar to this one) yet didn't make the playoffs. The reason was that the Saints weren't executing, especially early on in the season. Coming off a Super Bowl victory, there's an even better reason why the Saints won't be focused for the season: they've already hit the top. Between that and the fact that the NFC South almost always has a complete turnover from season to season, it wouldn't shock me if the Saints did not make the playoffs this season. Minnesota Vikings: the retirement of Brett Favre This one is obvious. In an improving NFC, the Vikings will no longer be able to make the playoffs with Tarvaris Jackson starting at QB. They need #4. Everyone, including me, believes that Favre will be coming back some time in August. Assuming he does come back, Favre should be able to lead the Vikings back to the playoffs unless his arm completely falls off like it did for us two years ago. Verdict Colts: make it Chargers: don't make it Saints: don't make it Minnesota: maybe/maybe not
you are NOT A REAL FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just like in boston when the sox were playing awful nobody went to the games. flip flop to whatever team is hot, and write off any team that isnt go boston!
Clearly you brain surgeons didn't get my point.. Who gives a crap when yourself or I became a fan of whatever team? What does it prove? You don't get a service medal dude..
This theory is why the Jets are being picked by many news outlets to go far, because they were that team that improved down the stretch (like Houston) and finished 9-7. Only difference is the Jets made the playoffs and got to the title game, which makes them even more appealing for a 2010 push. Its not like they had all their eggs in a basket for a 2009 run. That might be the case for 2010 though............
There are three legitimate (more or less) reasons why the Saints will not make the playoffs this year. 1) Super Bowl hangover: I already talked about this. Teams that hit the top usually fall off the following season. Maybe I was grabbing attention when I said the Steelers wouldn't make the playoffs last season. 2) NFC South turnover: This happens almost every year. Last season was the first one in years that didn't have the last place team from the previous year taking the top spot in the NFC South. 3) Madden curse: Okay, this is less legitimate but you can't ignore facts. Almost every player over the past decade featured on the cover has either gotten injured or missed the playoffs. Fact. Read. I was trying to make a point.
All it really takes is the Jets' winning the division and two of the three Houston/San Diego/Cincinnati finishing with a better record. You make it seem like it's impossible, but the AFC Wild Card race is going to be extremely tight. The runner-up in the AFC East may miss out on the playoffs.
No, teams that lose the Super Bowl usually fall off. Not the winners. You ever heard of the Patriots? The only team that could give the Saints a legitimate challenge is the Falcons - I don't see that happening. The Panthers still have a huge question mark at quarterback and almost no weapons at receiver (except Steve Smith). The Bucs are one of the worst teams in the league. They'll more than likely have a top three draft choice in 2011. The Saints are a top tier organization with an elite quarterback. There's no evidence at all for anyone to think they'll take any kind of step back. This is the dumbest shit I've ever seen. Fact. I stopped reading at Read.
most of those teams had QB or coaching problems in the years they didn't return. I find that pretty telling of how a team is going to play in a season. If your QB is good and healthy, and you have a damn good coach, you are going to the playoffs. You may not return as a #1 or #2 seed, but you are returning to the playoffs.
I hate to argue with Electric because he knows his shit however Abinx makes a good case for the Saints missing the playoffs imo. They (like us sadly) have not been consistant and call the Madden curse silly all you want but it has yet to be disproven, so until then...
I'm not trying to argue with you either, but no one is going to tell me that a fucking video game is going to make one of the best team's in the NFC completely fall apart. Eddie George has his best season ever as a pro the year he was on the cover. Larry Fitzgerald had 97 catches for 1092 yards and 13 TDs. You can bring up Polamalu if you want, but Fitzgerald dominated...as usual.
It started with George. I think you're thinking of the year before or something because everybody knows the curse started with him getting injured. You're right though it is in general a ridiculous reason to put a team out of the playoffs, but it's not like it was his only reason.
