Predicting the NFC Final 6 at the halfway mark

[Erebus]

Which four teams beat the Seahawks? I don't think they will go 14-2 but who do you see them getting beat by?

Going by a game by game basis I picture the December opponents of Eagles, Rams, Jags, Cowboys beating the Seahawks. Those are the teams that have the offense and/or defense to get it done. Eagles are a strong team, the Rams are the Rams, Jags @10 am with that defense at home, Cowboys at home with a team that fares well against the Hawks.

And by that token one expects them to win all of their November games (Skins, 49ers, Cardinals, Falcons), and the season finale against the Cards. These are all teams that have flaws and have struggled, with the non division games at home and the division opponents playing less than stellar football, to put it nicely.

But that's not how football has worked or ever will work. Even teams that finish 15-1 often lose to a team that is far from elite.

So I figure an even split November/December. Something like Skins and Cardinals winning, with the Eagles and Rams losing.

Barring a major injury, I don't see any way we go on a four game losing streak, especially in December. December has historically been the Seahawks best month under Pete Carroll. One of last year's two December losses can be attributed to the loss of Earl Thomas. The other was the fact that Russell Wilson inexplicably struggles against the Packers defense. Fortunately we already got that loss out of the way. I see us dropping one of those games, two at most. I think 13-3 is very realistic.

 

[Maulbert]

Somehow the Hawks have been a 10 win team the last two seasons.

We'll see.

BTW, I have the team being above .500 to finish.

You know, if you bothered to look things up instead of making passive-aggressive taunts, you'd realize that Seattle under Pete Carroll has a habit of starting slow and finishing fast. In 2012, the Hawks started 4-4 and finished 7-1 to go 11-5. In 2014, they started 3-3 and finished 9-1 to go 12-4, including 6 straight wins to close out the season. In 2015, Seattle was 4-5 and closed out 6-1 to go 10-6. Last year was a minor outlier, as we lost 3 games down the stretch without Earl Thomas. We finished 5-3 after being 5-2-1. But we almost always finish stronger.

 

[adeltaY]

Yeah the level of disrespect is palpable. I predict the Niners go 0-16, how's that?

 

[nanomoz]

Seahawks at 10-6 is wishful thinking. If Earl was out for any length of time, maybe. But Seahawks keep games close, and Wilson is hard to bet against in close games. Especially now that is blind side is protected.

Eagles won't collapse or anything, the defense is great, but without Peters the offense will retreat a bit. You saw traces of it against the hapless Niners. Wentz was shaky in several spots because he wasn't kept nearly as clean. He's going to have a rough game against Denver.

 

[WilsonMVP]

I think the Eagles or Seahawks will be the #1. Whoever isn't #1 will be #2. I expect Seattle to take the game in Seattle, largely because of homefield.

Minnesota will be #3. They are this years equivalent to the 2015 Panthers and 2016 Cowboys. Not untalented, but playing above their heads with a weak schedule.

The Saints will take the south at #4. They're playing much better this year.

I think the wildcards are LA and Carolina. I don't love the Panthers, but the talent is there. Their big problem is the inability of Cammy and Riviera to take a punch in the mouth to start a game. Get a good start on them and Cam goes into his shell.

How are the Vikings "playing above their heads". Their D is almost on par with Seattles, and Rhodes dare i say is every bit as good as Sherman is. Their offense is 5th in total yards WITHOUT Bradford/Teddy for most of the year and WITHOUT cook for the last few games who was going to break out at RB this year as a rookie. 8th in passing and 8th in rushing for yardage. Also was missing Diggs for like 3 games. Outside of the Steeler game week 2 they have looked pretty good. The next 4 games(after this Redskin game next weekend) will tell everyone what they need to know about it though with Rams and then away at Lions, Falcons, and Panthers

I do agree though...Some mix of Eagles/Vikings/Seahawks will more than likely be 1/2/3 seed.

 

[Josea16]

Currently:

Eagles 7-1
Vikings 6-2
Saints 5-2
Rams 5-2
Seahawks 5-2

Predicted:

Eagles 12-4 - #1
Vikings 9-7 - #4
Saints 10-6 - #3
Rams 11-5 - #2

Wildcard:

Seahawks 10-6 #6
Cowboys 10-6 #5 (tiebreaker win over Seattle)

AFC looks a little too wide open to predict right now outside of 2 or 3 teams (NE, KC, PITT)

What do you guys think?

I did this a couple days ago already and some don't dig my NFCS predictions.

Just for you again.....

1. Seahawks 13-3
2. Eagles 12-4
3. New Orleans 12-4
4. Minnesota 11-5
5. Los Angeles 12-4
6. Atlanta 10-6

10-6 for the Seahawks? Seriously you troll? So disappointing.

 

[Maulbert]

I think the Eagles or Seahawks will be the #1. Whoever isn't #1 will be #2. I expect Seattle to take the game in Seattle, largely because of homefield.

Minnesota will be #3. They are this years equivalent to the 2015 Panthers and 2016 Cowboys. Not untalented, but playing above their heads with a weak schedule.

The Saints will take the south at #4. They're playing much better this year.

I think the wildcards are LA and Carolina. I don't love the Panthers, but the talent is there. Their big problem is the inability of Cammy and Riviera to take a punch in the mouth to start a game. Get a good start on them and Cam goes into his shell.

How are the Vikings "playing above their heads". Their D is almost on par with Seattles, and Rhodes dare i say is every bit as good as Sherman is. Their offense is 5th in total yards WITHOUT Bradford/Teddy for most of the year and WITHOUT cook for the last few games who was going to break out at RB this year as a rookie. 8th in passing and 8th in rushing for yardage. Also was missing Diggs for like 3 games. Outside of the Steeler game week 2 they have looked pretty good. The next 4 games(after this Redskin game next weekend) will tell everyone what they need to know about it though with Rams and then away at Lions, Falcons, and Panthers

I do agree though...Some mix of Eagles/Vikings/Seahawks will more than likely be 1/2/3 seed.

The Vikings are playing above their heads because Case Keenum is their QB and they have a weak schedule. Their D is good, but that offense will die when they face a real challenge.

 

[Josea16]

I think the Eagles or Seahawks will be the #1. Whoever isn't #1 will be #2. I expect Seattle to take the game in Seattle, largely because of homefield.

Minnesota will be #3. They are this years equivalent to the 2015 Panthers and 2016 Cowboys. Not untalented, but playing above their heads with a weak schedule.

The Saints will take the south at #4. They're playing much better this year.

I think the wildcards are LA and Carolina. I don't love the Panthers, but the talent is there. Their big problem is the inability of Cammy and Riviera to take a punch in the mouth to start a game. Get a good start on them and Cam goes into his shell.

How are the Vikings "playing above their heads". Their D is almost on par with Seattles, and Rhodes dare i say is every bit as good as Sherman is. Their offense is 5th in total yards WITHOUT Bradford/Teddy for most of the year and WITHOUT cook for the last few games who was going to break out at RB this year as a rookie. 8th in passing and 8th in rushing for yardage. Also was missing Diggs for like 3 games. Outside of the Steeler game week 2 they have looked pretty good. The next 4 games(after this Redskin game next weekend) will tell everyone what they need to know about it though with Rams and then away at Lions, Falcons, and Panthers

I do agree though...Some mix of Eagles/Vikings/Seahawks will more than likely be 1/2/3 seed.

The Vikings are playing above their heads because Case Keenum is their QB and they have a weak schedule. Their D is good, but that offense will die when they face a real challenge.

It's similar to why Philadelphia will lose but it will be close because Wentz is good...maybe.

 

[Maulbert]

I think the Eagles or Seahawks will be the #1. Whoever isn't #1 will be #2. I expect Seattle to take the game in Seattle, largely because of homefield.

Minnesota will be #3. They are this years equivalent to the 2015 Panthers and 2016 Cowboys. Not untalented, but playing above their heads with a weak schedule.

The Saints will take the south at #4. They're playing much better this year.

I think the wildcards are LA and Carolina. I don't love the Panthers, but the talent is there. Their big problem is the inability of Cammy and Riviera to take a punch in the mouth to start a game. Get a good start on them and Cam goes into his shell.

How are the Vikings "playing above their heads". Their D is almost on par with Seattles, and Rhodes dare i say is every bit as good as Sherman is. Their offense is 5th in total yards WITHOUT Bradford/Teddy for most of the year and WITHOUT cook for the last few games who was going to break out at RB this year as a rookie. 8th in passing and 8th in rushing for yardage. Also was missing Diggs for like 3 games. Outside of the Steeler game week 2 they have looked pretty good. The next 4 games(after this Redskin game next weekend) will tell everyone what they need to know about it though with Rams and then away at Lions, Falcons, and Panthers

I do agree though...Some mix of Eagles/Vikings/Seahawks will more than likely be 1/2/3 seed.

The Vikings are playing above their heads because Case Keenum is their QB and they have a weak schedule. Their D is good, but that offense will die when they face a real challenge.

It's similar to why Philadelphia will lose but it will be close because Wentz is good...maybe.

I'm more inclined to believe Philly is real, I think they are more battle tested. That said, I think injuries are catching up to them.

 

[NINEster]

Yeah the level of disrespect is palpable. I predict the Niners go 0-16, how's that?

That's fine. Essentially the level of respect the Hawks have for the 49ers.

......

I'm still not sold after the 2015 drop off at the very end, at least on Wilson's production.

Crushed the Vikings one game and then in the rematch, essentially lost the game.

That "20 TD/1 INT, Wilson on a tear" was nowhere to be found in January.

Still a lot of football to be played.

Hawks look like a 12-4, maybe even a 13-3 team right now but I'm reserving the right to think they're still only a 10-11 win team this year.

Steelers fans are talking the talk like they're gonna be #1 seed but conveniently forgot their games against Bears and Jaguars. Beat KC and suddenly "they're the best team in the AFC".

The Rams winning the division is maybe a stretch, but I'm pretty sure they'll be close.

30 points a game?????

Now their defense has started to show up.

 

[RolandDeschain]

That "20 TD/1 INT, Wilson on a tear" was nowhere to be found in January.

Look at the difference in play calling.

 

[adeltaY]

Hmm, it's almost like playoff teams are significantly better than your average regular season team. Flacco or Matt Ryan level runs through the playoffs aren't that common. That Vikings game was played under extremely severe conditions, I don't take anything from that. Even then, Wilson made the play that got the Hawks the lead. Not his fault Blair Walsh missed that kick.

I see your point about the Steelers, but I trust them over any team except the Pats in the AFC. It's their coaching, experience, QB (although he has been pretty suspect), and overall talent on both sides of the ball. Respect to them. Everyone wants to question the old guard and hop on the upstart train. Doesn't mean those teams are washed.

 

[Ramfan128]

The Rams have not been good at home this year..

But, I've never seen a team have to travel to the far West coast in back to back weeks...the NFL tried to avoid an East coast team having to do this in the same year, period, before the Rams moved back to LA.

So, here's the deal. On a neutral field, I think Eagles would be favored over the Rams. The Rams haven't been good at home - but despite that, I don't think you can say that the Eagles *should* beat the Rams in LA. The Rams have looked just as impressive as the Eagles in some ways. I think the Rams will be favored and will ultimately win the game because the Eagles will be traveling West (or staying out there) for a 2nd consecutive week....but it's certainly not a game the Eagles *should* win....it's a toss up.

I hear you. I probably shouldn't be as comfortable with that game as I am. I think the reasoning I had was two part

1) I just don't see them losing both games back to back and I think their chances of getting that win in LA as opposed to SEA is greater just because Century Link is so tough for opposing teams.

2) The Eagles aren't going back to Philly after the Seattle game. They are going right down to LA and will stay/practice the whole week there. I think that helps a lot with this scheduling. They'll be in that pacific time zone mode by the time that game rolls around.

The Rams are a very good team so it won't be easy and the Eagles could easily lose it but as I sit here today, I'm fairly confident they won't but again, if they do, I won't be even a tiny bit surprised.

Wow man. Your Eagles couldn't let us have the spotlight for one week? You had to go and drop 51 points (against a much better defense)?

You remember 2001? This season has a very 2001 feel to it..

Hopefully with a better ending for my Rams

 

[xkj1985x]

Wow man. Your Eagles couldn't let us have the spotlight for one week? You had to go and drop 51 points (against a much better defense)?

You remember 2001? This season has a very 2001 feel to it..

Hopefully with a better ending for my Rams

Sorry about that, man lol. I was blown away that they did that against the #1 rated defense in the league. Obviously the offense didn't help them out any but that's been the case all year for the most part for them and their defense was still dominating so it was impressive, to say the least. It's cool to see some change in the league this year, particularly when you're favorite team is part of it.

I'd love to see Eagles-Rams flexed into SNF in Week 14 but it's highly likely being that the Eagles play on SNF the week before @SEA and the current slated matchup in Week 14 on SNF is BAL @ PIT, doubt they move that.

 

[adeltaY]

Don't worry, our game might get flexed out and the Eagles @ Rams game flexed in!

 

[El Caliente]

Don't sleep on the Saints. They have finally found a defense worth a damn, and as long as Drew Brees has air in his lungs, that offense will be deadly.

They are currently the 2nd best team in the NFL, and with them going into the toughest part of their schedule these next few weeks (@Bills, Redskins, @ Rams). If they can get through that going 2-1, then keep them in the #2 spot, because the rest of the season is just soft.

 

[ctrcat]

Don't sleep on the Saints. They have finally found a defense worth a damn, and as long as Drew Brees has air in his lungs, that offense will be deadly.

They are currently the 2nd best team in the NFL, and with them going into the toughest part of their schedule these next few weeks (@Bills, Redskins, @ Rams). If they can get through that going 2-1, then keep them in the #2 spot, because the rest of the season is just soft.

If they get through that 2-1, they will be tied with a team that’s won the division 3 of 4 years, will have its star TE back, and has an all time winning record in the dome.

 

[El Caliente]

Don't sleep on the Saints. They have finally found a defense worth a damn, and as long as Drew Brees has air in his lungs, that offense will be deadly.

They are currently the 2nd best team in the NFL, and with them going into the toughest part of their schedule these next few weeks (@Bills, Redskins, @ Rams). If they can get through that going 2-1, then keep them in the #2 spot, because the rest of the season is just soft.

If they get through that 2-1, they will be tied with a team that’s won the division 3 of 4 years, will have its star TE back, and has an all time winning record in the dome.

What team is that? Seattle?

Is JG out? That guy is a none factor, so I am not sure what you are implying.

 

[ctrcat]

Don't sleep on the Saints. They have finally found a defense worth a damn, and as long as Drew Brees has air in his lungs, that offense will be deadly.

They are currently the 2nd best team in the NFL, and with them going into the toughest part of their schedule these next few weeks (@Bills, Redskins, @ Rams). If they can get through that going 2-1, then keep them in the #2 spot, because the rest of the season is just soft.

If they get through that 2-1, they will be tied with a team that’s won the division 3 of 4 years, will have its star TE back, and has an all time winning record in the dome.

What team is that? Seattle?

Is JG out? That guy is a none factor, so I am not sure what you are implying.

Hint https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JV5fgtQVPsU

 

[El Caliente]

No offense, but the Panthers arent exactly scaring people right now, and with the loss of Benjamin, that just means that teams can focus more on CMC, Stewart, and the returning Olson. Also, Cam just isn't that scary anymore.