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NFL Wildcard Week: Prelude to ManningFace


Jace, Extat

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And every time I try to get the devil to restructure my goddamn deal, he blows me off.

I find it hard to believe the Colts will lose to the Bengals, they're complete shit. The Colts are fucking horrible right now, but I'd pick them to beat the Ravens or Bengals at home. That said, I don't really want to deal with the humiliation of going to New England again.

So my picks:

I'll take the Colts over the Bengals in a game that's close by never in doubt.

Give me the Panthers to win against Arizona. I love BA, but Lindly is just no good and Carolina has been getting at least competent play from all positions.

I like the Cowboys vs Detroit. The Cowboys won't destroy Detroit, but this game won't be close after the 3rd quarter.

And finally, Steelers beat the Ravens. Come bell or bong water, there's no way the Steelers lose. Rapeburger will destroy the Ravens secondary, and Flacco will Flacco it up.

Flacco = Turd in your colour scheme? I may have cracked the code!

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How can anyone question Jim Harbough coaching Michigan? """and now he is going to be a college coach?""" Seriously, he was made for college coaching. His personality and fire would wear on pro atheletes after a while, but college kids are gone after a couple of years. And BTW, he did a hell of a job at Stanford in case you have forgotten!

Colts

Panthers

Ravens, mostly to piss off my buddy

Cowboys

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This deal frees up appx $24 Million Dollars in cash that the Pats can use for ... Revis, Solder, Vareen.... Jeremy Maclin... I may have been projecting on that last one.

Bill Barnwell points out that this isn't exactly true.

This is being painted, again, as an unselfish move by Brady to make it easier for the Patriots to retain their star talent. This time, though, the logic doesn’t pass the smell test. Brady’s cap hit over the next three seasons isn’t reduced by a single penny by making this decision; in fact, with the $1 million raise, he’s actually taking up slightly more cap space than he would have before this renegotiation. It will not be any easier for the Patriots to retain Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, or any of the other players for whom this new Brady deal is supposed to facilitate easier contract extensions.

Instead, this will save money for the Patriots in terms of the actual cash they have on hand. Under the league’s rules, any money that is guaranteed for injury and skill — as Brady’s contract would have been before this renegotiation — has to be placed into an escrow account to ensure teams don’t skip out on guaranteed payments. The Patriots would have had to deposit the remaining $24 million that was becoming guaranteed into an escrow account this week. With Brady’s contract now just guaranteed for injury, they won’t need to deposit that money in advance, allowing them to use that $24 million in cash in the short term to sign other players to extensions with comfortable signing bonuses.

There are a lot of holes in that argument. Start with the fact that Robert Kraft is worth $4 billion and running a successful, profitable NFL team. He’s known for 22 months now that this day was coming and that the Patriots were almost surely going to need to put $24 million into escrow to ensure that the greatest player in the history of their franchise would stay with the team for three more years.

Is Kraft really so cash poor that he would need to convince Brady to let him pay his guarantee off in what amounts to installments? Does he really not have the cash on hand to pay Brady’s guarantees in advance while also paying another $40 million in signing bonuses for the likes of Revis and McCourty? I find it extremely hard to believe that Kraft is that desperate for cash flow, and if he is, that’s a far bigger story than Brady’s restructuring. I also strongly doubt that Brady and his agent are so naive as to think that New England’s spending is an either-or situation, that Kraft would be unable to pay Revis if he gives Brady the money the quarterback’s been waiting to receive for two years.

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I'll take:

Carolina because they are hot right now, and Zona is anything but.

Cowboys over Detriot. As everyone else has already said there is no way Stafford gets his first road W in the playoffs. Although I would love it if Megatron went off.

Colts over the Bengals. Even after beating Denver in prime time I still don't trust the Bengals to get it done when they have to. They just don't have the track record.

I won't pick the last game to avoid jinxing my team.

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Bill Barnwell points out that this isn't exactly true.

That's good to know; though it does raise the question- why did he do it then?

ETA: The article ultimately said that it was for flexibility for both sides. I think that's something, albeit really small. I think Barnwell did a good job explaining why the deal is not going to help the Pats sign players later on... bummer...

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That's good to know; though it does raise the question- why did he do it then?

I think Barnwell's conclusion makes sense, that he did it in exchange for a promise that if the team wants to move on from him they'll cut him (which they couldn't really do before) rather than trade him, so that he can control where he goes and probably get a massive short-term payday.

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Seeing that Le'Veon Bell is likely out for WC weekend, I'm switching my pick to the Ravens. So Ravens, Bengals, Panthers, Cowboys for me.



Also saw that oddsmakers have installed the Patriots and Seahawks both as the most likely to win the Superbowl at odds close to 2:1. Whereas the Broncos have been installed at 6:1. I guess that makes sense as the Broncos would have to get past their two nightmare opponents at the Patriots and vs. Seahawks to win it all but I still think those odds make them the clear value play as I see all 3 teams as roughly equal favorites.



Cowboys at 10:1 could be another value play. Though going to Lambeau and then especially to the Century Link in Seattle is daunting.

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Also saw that oddsmakers have installed the Patriots and Seahawks both as the most likely to win the Superbowl at odds close to 2:1. Whereas the Broncos have been installed at 6:1. I guess that makes sense as the Broncos would have to get past their two nightmare opponents at the Patriots and vs. Seahawks to win it all but I still think those odds make them the clear value play as I see all 3 teams as roughly equal favorites.

Cowboys at 10:1 could be another value play. Though going to Lambeau and then especially to the Century Link in Seattle is daunting.

At 66-1, I think slapping $10 on the Cardinals seems like an excellent value. This isn't the NBA, things can get funky in the playoffs, and those are some nice odds.

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Just realized something. All four playoff bye teams feature either a Cal RB or QB. Plus the Ravens.

But I am still picking the Steelers this week. James Flacco cannot win the big game.

Seems like a weird statement to make considering Flacco won a Super Bowl and played great to get there.

I still think the Steelers win. Even without Bell, that passing offense will hum, especially against a terrible secondary.

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At 66-1, I think slapping $10 on the Cardinals seems like an excellent value. This isn't the NBA, things can get funky in the playoffs, and those are some nice odds.

I think I'd rather just use that $10 on a burrito than a lottery ticket dependent on Ryan Lindley.

THIS^^^

Not having Bell is huge, but that Balty secondary is cheesecloth.

True, but keep in mind three mitigating factors:

1) Joe Flacco has never gone to the playoffs and not won at least one game. The Ravens always eliminate someone. Sometimes many someones. And often teams that appear better than they are.

2) If 2012 taught us anything, the Ravens team that finishes the regular season and the one that shows up in the playoffs are often two very, very different things.

3) The last time the Steelers made the playoffs they lost to Tebow.

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