wild card

Playoffs matter. They're a measuring stick for progress, then let you know how far away you are from being elite. Plus, crazy shit happens in the playoffs but you have to be in to have a chance. The Giants weren't that good in either of their championship seasons.

 

Oh, it's a failure if we can't close out a playoff birth. Don't get me wrong. But I'm also cognizant of the fact that Washington made the playoffs last year. I don't want to be them. I want a team that competes for Championships over an extended period of time.

 

Agree. I'd be happy if we made the playoffs for a few years even if we didn't make or win the SB. Hell of a lot better than what we've been doing for years.

 

Yep. I agree that I want to sustain winning seasons. And the Playoffs matter to Rivera's job security.

You can't go 9-3 and then not make it. I don't think 10-6 gets us in. I think it's shaky that 11-5 does. I'm pretty certain we need to win out. And that's fucked up.

Like Abusive says, maybe ol' Arians is outside the house, getting in my head sniffing my dirty socks, but it's working. I want their fucking team to get smashed. I'm tired of them being in our rear view.

I don't even mind backing in. I just want in. I want this team to have a real chance. I want in the playoffs.

Fuck Arians, and his goddamn Cardinals.

 

I think only one 11-5 team has ever failed to make the playoffs.

 

Phile or Dallas wins the East, the other can't get to 11 wins (they play each other the last week of the season.)

Somebody will win the North, nobody else can sniff a wildcard.

Seattle at 11, 49ers and Cards can get there (AZ finishes with Seattle and 49ers)

New Orleans and Carolina can both reach 11+

so, win 2 and need an AZ loss

 

If we get to 11 wins, we won't need an AZ loss. Should they win out, they would be tied with San Fran and the division tie breaker would eliminate one of them first. That would leave us and the winner of the tie breaker as the wild card teams. That assumes that San Fran wins at Tampa and at home against Atlanta (which they should). If they don't, they would only get to 10 wins, which would put us in the playoffs with the #6 seed and Arizona as the #5.

So we just need to take care of our business. We are better clubs than both New York and Atlanta. And New Orleans is very beatable on the road (and on grass).

The bigger issue, however, is that our season ends on the road in Atlanta. So making a run at the Super Bowl would require us playing on the road four straight weeks. We all know how that turned out for us in 2005. But, you gotta be in it to win it!

 

Nice work, fellas.

Ugh. What can I say. I love this time of year when we're actually in play.

Whew. What a brutal stretch it'll be if we get in.

 

I'm going to wait until we have made the playoffs a few years in a row and not won the Super Bowl before I say the playoffs don't matter.