Sports

[Spurt]

I'm not sure who to pick in these final two games to determine the Super Bowl participants......to me it's a toss up......

Packers vs Falcons----Everyone is talking about Aaron Rodgers being on fire, which is very true.......HOWEVER----I'm a bit concerned about the Packer's defense.....the Falcons D has stepped up a bit.......and yes Julio has that injury but the Packers offensive talent is limited by injury too......remember the Packers beat the Cowboys with .01 second left on the clock.....Meanwhile Falcons won in a shootout against a pretty good defense.....I'm going with THE FALCONS here for some reason......but as I said this game is a toss up!!!

Steelers vs Patriots---I was surprised that the Steelers explosive offense was stymied and they had to settle for FGs......Brady was rattled by the Texan defense, but the Steelers no longer have the Steel Curtain and they just don't have the defensive talent to put pressure on Brady...the Steelers can win if they remain true to their game plan and go all out offensively and don't turn the ball over......I'll go with THE STEELERS!

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

It sounds like Kyle Shanahan will be the new Niners' coach. That could complicate life for the Redskins. Shanahan is a big supporter of Kirk Cousins and with the Niners having a ton of cap space the Redskins can't really afford to let Cousins explore free agency this year and if they don't find a long-term deal, they'll be in even more trouble next year. The Redskins have backed themselves into an interesting corner. They pretty much have to give Kirk a blank check, or move on and find another QB.

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@gardenman

I don't think Shanahan will complicate the situation with Cousins and the Redskins at all..... York is a bit of a cheapskate....I dont think he is the type of owner to open his wallet to outbid the Redskins to get Cousins no matter what the 49ers team's cap space is........hasn't been their M.O.....I think Mel Kiper is right and the 49ers will go with the cheaper rookie Mitch Trubisky.....he doesnt merit being the second selection in the draft, but he's the best available QB in this draft and they will look for Kyle to develop him....Also although the 49ers have a ton of cap space they also have LOTS of holes on their roster......The Redskins could use the Exclusive tag to prevent another team from negotiating with him...if they can't work out a deal it would be try again next year.....OR they could go the non-exclusive tag --  the Redskins could match or receive high draft picks as compensation so 49ers would lose valuable draft picks PLUS have to pay Cousins that huge salary....the price could be prohibitive to a rebuilding team....

[gardenman]

@Spurt The NFL and their CBA forces teams to spend a lot of their cap money these days. Teams are required to spend 90% of the cap on player salaries. They can sneak in under that for a year or two, but over any four year stretch they have to average spending that much. The Niners have something like $81 million in cap space available to spend. If they spend just 90% of that, they'll be spending $73 million this year. A big priority for them wil be finding a QB.

It could be a Mitch Trubisky, but look at the QB's drafted last year. There were eight QB's drafted in the first four rounds. Jared Goff, we don't know if he'll be good or not. Carson Wentz looks like a good pick. Paxton Lynch, too early to know. Christian Hackenberg, the murmurs out of NY aren't good. They're talking about taking another shot at a QB in 2017. Jacoby Brissett played okay with the Patriots when needed. Cody Kessler was okay with the Browns, but they're looking for someone new again. Connor Cook of the Raiders wasn't terribly impressive when forced into action. Dak Prescott looks like a good pick. Eight QB's and only two you can confidently state are good picks, a few you're not sure about and at least two that teams are already talking about replacing.

If you've got the cap space and there's a young veteran guy you know, and love who's available, it's not a bad idea to go get them, if possible. The non-exclusive tag may be the best option for the Redskins, but don't count on getting those two first round picks in compensation. The team signing the free agent will typically negotiate a deal with the agent that the player likes, then contact the team that holds his rights and try to work out a trade for lesser value than two first round picks. (They'll often wait until after this year's draft to sign the guy anyway so the compensation comes in a future year.)

Let's say the Niners decide they want Cousins and they're willing to pay him an average of $25 million a year over five years with a big signing bonus up front. They then go to the Redskins, who know Cousins knows that money is out there waiting for him, and say, "We want him, but we're not giving up two first round picks for him. We'll give you a first round pick next year and a fourth round pick, but that's as far as we'll go." The Redskins then find themselves in a tough spot. Will Cousins be happy playing for $24 million with them this year, knowing there's a big pot of money they're keeping him from getting? They'll also have to pay him $34 million the next year to keep him and that's getting into the crazy realm where money is concerned. Do they let him go, take the first and fourth, or keep him against his will and make him play for them?

Kirk Cousins has all of the power right now in his relationship with the Redskins and he and his agent know it. He's probably a top ten quarterback right now (on that cusp anyway) and with a lot of older guys likely retiring soon (Brady, Brees, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Romo, etc.) he could end up being solidly in the top ten.

If you're the Niners and you can get a sure thing QB in what looks like a weakening NFC West, and grab a receiver he knows (DeSean Jackson or Pierre Garcon) as a free agent to complement him. It's not a bad idea to grab the guy. That Niner player cupboard is pretty bare, but a good draft, some clever buys in free agency, and finding a QB, could make them very competitive very quickly.

The whole NFC West picture changed this year. The Seahawks look to be on their way down a bit, but they're still better than the rest. The Cards just completely imploded this year. The Rams are the Rams. If you're the Niners owner/GM you've got to think you could be pretty close to being a contender if you get a few good pieces. Getting a good QB is the biggest part of that puzzle. The Niners could be looking at this as less of a rebuld than most of us are assuming.

Watching what happens with Kirk Cousins will be pretty interesting this off season. If Shanahan takes the job in SF things could get more complicated for the Redskins. (Assuming Shanahan likes/loves Cousins.)

[teganslaw]

Luck has had the shoulder injury for over a year. At first he wasn't going to have surgery, but the doctors probably convinced him otherwise. He should be ready to go when training camp starts.

I like Green Bay and Rodgers, but am pulling for Atlanta. They never were in a Superbowl, and it's their time. If the Falcons win, it might make a stronger case for Ryan to get MVP.

I want Pittsburgh to win; I like Antonio Brown (even after his Facebook mistake), and Le'Veon Bell is entertaining to watch.

It will be strange having an NFL team in Las Vegas. Somehow, Las Vegas Raiders just doesn't sound right.

[Lipstickdiva]

That isn't unusual for Pittsburgh offense to be MIA for a game.  I just hope it's not 2 games in a row.

I think NE played down to the level of the Texans. 

GO STEELERS!!!

[RetRN]

Aaron Rodgers is hot, but with 3 injured WR's this is going to be a tough game. If they can win this one, they should win the SB. GO PACK.

[sunshine45]

this is going to be an interesting sunday. i dont really mind who wins the NFC game, although maybe i am pulling just a little more for the falcons.

the afc game is a different story.......two teams that i really dont like at all. word on the street around here is that we should root for the steelers to beat the patriots and then hope that the NFC winner crushes the steelers. LOL that will take care of both teams.......

[gardenman]

I love that NFC matchup. You've got two teams that are about as different as it's possible to be. You've got the Falcons with lots of talent on every level on offense. A pro bowl wide receiver in Julio Jones. A very talented running back. Good talent at every offensive position including an MVP candidate at quarterback.

Then you've got Green Bay. Green Bay's not especially loaded with talented players. Their starting runningback started out the season as a wide receiver. Their backup runningback Christine Michael is most notable for the number of times he's been cut by teams that need a runningback in the last couple of years. (Seattle, Dallas, Washington, Seattle again.) Yet somehow, thanks to the magic of Aaron Rodgers, they're still alive despite getting off to a 4-6 start over the first ten games.

I'd been expecting there to be an announcement at the end of the year that Aaron Rodgers had been playing hurt all year with a bad elbow or shoulder as he didn't look right over those first ten games. Then in week twelve (unfortunately against my Eagles) he flipped the switch and started playing like Aaron Rodgers again.

It doesn't matter how much talent you put around an Aaron Rodgers, he'll find a way to win with what he has. If the Packers had been able to pair Rodgers with a Julio Jones,  AJ Green or a similarly talented wide receiver they'd have rewritten the record books. The rest of the league is lucky the Packers have never been able to assemble as talented a core of offensive players as a guy like Rodgers deserves.

So who will win? The more talented team led by a really good quarterback, or the less talented team led by  an insanely talented quarterback? My money is on Aaron Rodgers.

On the AFC side the Patriots haven't exactly faced much high level competition over the second half of the season. Even their first playoff game was against a team lacking a quarterback. Can they flip the switch and play against a really good quarterback in Roethlisberger? That defense hasn't really been tested for most of the year. Antonio Brown is a handful for any defense, but the Patriots defense is coming in largely untested in recent weeks where they've been able to just coast along. They won't be able to coast against the Steelers.

Brady is another Aaron Rdogers only without Rodgers' mobility. He's also got a more talented team around him.The Texans gave the Steelers the blueprint for hos to disrupt Brady by getting in his face up the middle of the field. Do not be surprised to see James Harrison lining up in the A gap (over the center/guards) to try and get quick pressure in Brady's face on passing downs. Houston was able to force two interceptions from Brady by using that technique and Brady only threw two interceptions all year, so it's effective.

My gut says to pick Brady though I really want Pittsburgh to win. I just think Brady has the better team around him and is the better quarterback. It should be a good game anyway.

[gardenman]

Interesting. I'm starting to hear rumors of Tony Romo going to the Chiefs this off season. It makes some sense. Andy tried to get Peyton Manning after he left the Colts, so there's a precedence there. The Chiefs are contenders, but Alex Smith may not be quite good enough to win the Super Bowl. Tony Romo might just be what they need. Can they afford him though? 

[cancun08]

GO PATS!!