Does the "hot team" always win?

kmedic · Jan 17, 2014

Wasn't Carolina the "hot team" in '06 before getting smacked by Seattle in the NFCCG? I seem to remember that everyone was talking about Steve Smith and how unstoppable he was the week leading up to the game. They were a wild card too and had taken out a tough Chicago team on the road in super cold weather.

Everybody that is picking SF this week is using the "hot team" rationale to explain why they will beat Seattle. But does the "hot team" always win? I'm not sure people are still underestimating the effect of the 12th Man here. Yes, they are getting props, especially among the pundits picking us, but I don't think that most of the country still realizes how powerful a force it is. You'd have to actually attend a playoff game here to really understand.

HawkRiderFan · Jan 17, 2014

Denver had won 11 in a row or something like that when they took on Baltimore last year. If the Hawks get out early to a lead, and momentum the Niners have from being the "hot" team goes out the window

tleise32 · Jan 17, 2014

kmedic":727n69x8 said:
Wasn't Carolina the "hot team" in '06 before getting smacked by Seattle in the NFCCG? I seem to remember that everyone was talking about Steve Smith and how unstoppable he was the week leading up to the game. They were a wild card too and had taken out a tough Chicago team on the road in super cold weather.

Everybody that is picking SF this week is using the "hot team" rationale to explain why they will beat Seattle. But does the "hot team" always win? I'm not sure people are still underestimating the effect of the 12th Man here. Yes, they are getting props, especially among the pundits picking us, but I don't think that most of the country still realizes how powerful a force it is. You'd have to actually attend a playoff game here to really understand.

and carolina had lost in the SB the year before?

Basis4day · Jan 17, 2014

I like being the perceived underdog.

Missing_Clink · Jan 17, 2014

The Seahawks were pretty damn hot rolling into Atlanta last year...and lost

Tempest_Crow · Jan 17, 2014

Carolina was one of the hot teams going into the playoffs. They're done. The Seahawks was the hot team last year. We all know how that ended. The difference is SC is still hot right up to the point when they're not. They don't always win but they don't always lose. It's just gonna be a tough row to hoe.

Polaris · Jan 17, 2014

Actually the "hot" team usually loses (as in doesn't make it to the superbowl). Since the 2005 season, one and only one team that came into the playoffs with a 2+ win streak won the Superbowl. The 2005 Steelers.

That's it.

sutz · Jan 17, 2014

Short answer is no. Streaks end. The Clink is where other teams' Super Bowl dreams come to die. Playing 'on the road' does not prepare a team for playing in Seattle.

NorCal · Jan 17, 2014

I've always thought this talking point was overblown. But with what the Giants, Packers and Ravens have done in the very recent past, there may be something to it. Not sure though. Every game is different, with different circumstances. I will tell you though, as a 9er fan, I can't imagine the team playing much better going into this game. I think it sets the game up to be a close game, going either way in the end.

Largent80 · Jan 17, 2014

I'm quite sure the 9ers are fairly happy and confident. However, they haven't played worth a shit in Seattle for quite some time, and if one thinks the Hawks aren't a hot team then maybe they shouldn't bother watching. The Hawks defense is white hot.

NorCal · Jan 17, 2014

The Hawks D is white hot. I think that is why the "experts" have been talking more about the offenses this week. I think everybody expects both defenses to play well.

Polaris · Jan 17, 2014

NorCal":3s3frdlw said:
The Hawks D is white hot. I think that is why the "experts" have been talking more about the offenses this week. I think everybody expects both defenses to play well.

The reason the talking heads have been talking about offenses is because the Niners are the sexy flavor of the month. I trust the wise guys in Vegas.

HawkRiderFan · Jan 17, 2014

NorCal":op6c3vzj said:
I've always thought this talking point was overblown. But with what the Giants, Packers and Ravens have done in the very recent past, there may be something to it. Not sure though. Every game is different, with different circumstances. I will tell you though, as a 9er fan, I can't imagine the team playing much better going into this game. I think it sets the game up to be a close game, going either way in the end.

One thing those teams had in common was being in real danger of missing the playoffs late in the year and needed to win games just to sneak in. They were playing elimination games already leading up to the playoffs. I know the Niners didn't clinch a playoff spot till the Falcon game (I think) but they were never really in scramble mode to get in, where a loss eliminates them.

akscoundrel · Jan 17, 2014

The hot team always wins.....until they dont win.

Rufus · Jan 17, 2014

Missing_Clink":1301boj4 said:
The Seahawks were pretty damn hot rolling into Atlanta last year...and lost

True. They were even pretty damn hot rolling into the last 31 seconds of the Atlanta game last year.

Polaris · Jan 17, 2014

Rufus":1c70g28u said:
Missing_Clink":1c70g28u said:

The Seahawks were pretty damn hot rolling into Atlanta last year...and lost

Click to expand...

True. They were even pretty damn hot rolling into the last 31 seconds of the Atlanta game last year.

They also didn't wake up until the third qtr going down 20-0 (after going down 14-0 against Washington the week before) and the accumulated wear and tear on the road clearly took it's toll on the team. It's why immediately after the Atlanta games the Seattle coaches all told the team, "This is why we need some of these games at home in the future."

I see much the same for the Niners who have also been more and more sluggish getting going. A sluggish start against Seattle in Seattle will likely be fatal.

ZagHawk · Jan 17, 2014

Rufus":1l9iknlr said:
Missing_Clink":1l9iknlr said:

The Seahawks were pretty damn hot rolling into Atlanta last year...and lost

Click to expand...

True. They were even pretty damn hot rolling into the last 31 seconds of the Atlanta game last year.

Yup. We were the hottest team in football going into the playoffs last year and we lost to ATL. I think I read somewhere after that game the first thing PC said to the team was "that's why we need HFA". Now we have it.

Does the "hot team" always win?

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