2023 Playoffs General Discussion

[Sdbucs]

Now that the real season is kicking off, here’s a place to discuss all things playoffs and the Bucs Superbowl run.

Thank god the Bucs aren’t in the AFC or things wouldn’t look good at all. But the NFC is truly up for grabs for everyone in it. If there’s a time for Brady to shine, it’s now.

Who do you guys see as the team to beat in the NFC? Who do you hope the Bucs absolutely do not run in to in playoffs?

In my opinion a matchup with the 49ers is a death sentence for the Bucs. We simply cannot contain their D-Line combined with high octane offense. It’s a matchup nightmare as we saw a few weeks ago.

However,
The Eagles? Pretenders. We can win
Vikings? Pretenders. We can win
Everyone else? Beatable

There’s definitely a path for us to the superbowl thanks to the NFC being as weak as it is.

[acmillis]

With their QB situation, it's crazy to say, but SF is the favorite to win the NFC.
I like the Eagles if the two (maybe three) games off doesn't impact their QB, but if he doesn't play this week and they win, that's literally a full month of no football for him, sooo..IDK what to make of that.

Would love to beat the Cowboys, have MIN win, have another WC team win and then get MIN in the divisional round.

[Brazen331]

I will be rooting for Green Bay to get in and win some. I think this is the only lower seed team that could beat San Fran for us and possibly provide us with another home game as well.

[GreatTimes]

If the Bucs offense played like it did in the first half of the Cincinatti game, and the last quarter of the Carolina game, then the Bucs could beat anybody. But the chances of that happening are not real.

[Buc2]

I just hope it will be a Bucs playoff "run" and not end up like the sound of a car motor trying to turn over with a dead battery.

[Phantom]

If we get OT and center back from injury, I think healthy Bucs team is capable of beating the Cowboys/Eagles (without Hurts) IMO

[BucsNBills]

Eagles might be a better matchup for us right now honestly. Both their lines are banged up and Hurts health is still up in the air. They're also limping into the playoffs and may have peaked too early.

[King Bootz]

[b)If we get OT [/b]and center back from injury, I think healthy Bucs team is capable of beating the Cowboys/Eagles (without Hurts) IMO

What OT are we missing?

[King Bootz]

Eagles might be a better matchup for us right now honestly. Both their lines are banged up and Hurts health is still up in the air. They're also limping into the playoffs and may have peaked too early.

Watching them the last 2 weeks it's easy to see why they lost. Jalen Hurts isn't there. People are fooling themselves if they think Gardner Minshew is moving the needle. Jalen Hurts with no arm is better than Minshew because of the running threat he poses.

[Phantom]

[b)If we get OT [/b]and center back from injury, I think healthy Bucs team is capable of beating the Cowboys/Eagles (without Hurts) IMO

What OT are we missing?

Nvm, my bad

Wirfs, we just got him back

[Miller4Prez64]

Eagles might be a better matchup for us right now honestly. Both their lines are banged up and Hurts health is still up in the air. They're also limping into the playoffs and may have peaked too early.

Yeah, if you told me a couple weeks ago I would laugh but tbh the Eagles have all the makings of a disappointing end to a great season.

Regardless of its them or Dallas, I’m excited about a playoff game without big expectations. The pressure is gonna be all on the other team to not get bounced in the first round by a struggling Bucs team averaging 17 ppg.

[mdb1958]

Eagles might be a better matchup for us right now honestly. Both their lines are banged up and Hurts health is still up in the air. They're also limping into the playoffs and may have peaked too early.

Yeah, if you told me a couple weeks ago I would laugh but tbh the Eagles have all the makings of a disappointing end to a great season.

Regardless of its them or Dallas, I’m excited about a playoff game without big expectations. The pressure is gonna be all on the other team to not get bounced in the first round by a struggling Bucs team averaging 17 ppg.

currently 18.5

[GreatTimes]

There might be a bye week for all the playoff teams depending on what the NFL decides to do about the Bengals/Bills game. The NFL might decide that the game has to be resumed to be fair to all teams. The only plausible way of doing that is to have the Bengals and Bills play in a 19th week of the season. Thus, all playoff games would have to be moved back 1 week.

[Xandtar]

IF that happens, and that's still an if, there are three repercussions I can see for the playoffs. First, every playoff team except the Bengals and Bills will have less reason to rest starters in Week 18, because one week off is rest and two weeks off is rust. Second, every team in the NFC will know who their opponent is with two week's notice, which the AFC will not know until the end of Week 19. Third, and possibly most critically, every playoff team will get a little healthier before Wild Card Weekend, and that means some players who would have been out will be able to come back and some players who might not have started now will do so.

So, everyone gets healthier, but not everyone will be equal. Those more beat up right now will advance more towards the mean than those who are in good shape going in. The Bucs would certainly benefit, and maybe the most as some key players will be much more ready with just that one extra week of practice, like Jensen. But we won't know for sure if ANY of this matters until the Commisar finally makes his big announcement on what the hell the NFL is going to do about the AFC playoff mess.

[Doctor]

I can see the NFL just leaving it unfinished and moving on.

"Sorry Fantasy Football bookies, not our problem"

[Xandtar]

I can see the NFL just leaving it unfinished and moving on.

"Sorry Fantasy Football bookies, not our problem"

They can't. The rules in the other thread make that clear. The players played, they have to be paid, and there are negative consequences to either pretending the game didn't happen, to declaring a tie, to declaring double victory, to just saying the Bengals won after less than a quarter. And even the Commissar can't terminate the game unless there are no consequences. Unless the owners hold an emergency meeting to change the rules, the game must be completed somehow to determine the seedings and in some cases possibility of making the playoffs in the wide-open AFC.

Edit: Here are the rules, woefully inadequate for this game.

[Doctor]

What about awarding them both losses?

From what I heard the NY Office said play on but the players and coaches said no. If that's the case, fine both, award both losses, and move on.

[acmillis]

What about awarding them both losses?

From what I heard the NY Office said play on but the players and coaches said no. If that's the case, fine both, award both losses, and move on.

PR suicide

[Doctor]

I think they were ready to deal with the PR nightmare of continuing the game when the dude could've literally died before getting the hospital.

I promise you there are advisors right now advocating for not only giving them losses, but fines, for refusing to play. Arguing that "we support the stoppage of play to.... be respectful and pray?" is the worst stance they could take because then the line in the sand is crossed.

Say the Tua thing happens next week, you think that game still finishes after we've established a precedent for "stopping the game after witnessing something horrible"? I don't know, but we do know for a fact that without the precedent we did in fact finish that game, and that's how the NFL wants it.

[acmillis]

Concussion does not equal heart stopping, potential instant death scenario, so yes, if Tua Tuas again, the game will keep going, no doubt

[Doctor]

Concussion does not equal heart stopping, potential instant death scenario, so yes, if Tua Tuas again, the game will keep going, no doubt

And this is exactly what happens once you cross that line. Now the door is open and it isn't a simple "we don't negotiate with terrorist" rule, it's now a judgement call of what is and is not "serious enough". Which is the real nightmare scenario for the league. They don't ever want that door open.

[GreatTimes]

Were the Bengal players willing to go out and finish the game, while the Bill's players were not?

[acmillis]

Concussion does not equal heart stopping, potential instant death scenario, so yes, if Tua Tuas again, the game will keep going, no doubt

And this is exactly what happens once you cross that line. Now the door is open and it isn't a simple "we don't negotiate with terrorist" rule, it's now a judgement call of what is and is not "serious enough". Which is the real nightmare scenario for the league. They don't ever want that door open.

I disagree. A dude literally had no heart beat, that’s not normal. Concussions, torn ligaments, broken bones= business as usual.

[Heisenberg]

I think they were ready to deal with the PR nightmare of continuing the game when the dude could've literally died before getting the hospital.

I promise you there are advisors right now advocating for not only giving them losses, but fines, for refusing to play. Arguing that "we support the stoppage of play to.... be respectful and pray?" is the worst stance they could take because then the line in the sand is crossed.

Say the Tua thing happens next week, you think that game still finishes after we've established a precedent for "stopping the game after witnessing something horrible"? I don't know, but we do know for a fact that without the precedent we did in fact finish that game, and that's how the NFL wants it.

They've denied the reports of asking players to warmup and be ready to continue playing and called it insensitive so they 100% aren't gonna fine them. That's literally the worst possible approach they could take.

[MJW]

Concussion does not equal heart stopping, potential instant death scenario, so yes, if Tua Tuas again, the game will keep going, no doubt

And this is exactly what happens once you cross that line. Now the door is open and it isn't a simple "we don't negotiate with terrorist" rule, it's now a judgement call of what is and is not "serious enough". Which is the real nightmare scenario for the league. They don't ever want that door open.

This is fairly ridiculous.

The man was arguably, literally dead on the field.

Do you actually think the players are incapable of drawing a distinction between that and a blown knee or a concussion? Would you struggle to make that distinction? Why do you think they would?

[Doctor]

Is it even up to the players? Which players?
The ones on the team of the hurt player? Both teams? Every player in the league that could be impacted by the game? The NFL, NFLPA, the CBA?

Who is it "up to"?

[BucsNBills]

There is no "slippery slope" situation. In the event another player basically dies on the football field and requires 10+ minutes of CPR and AED to revive them, and then that players is left in near death for days afterwards....yes the league will likely cancel the game again.

But "opening the door" to other injuries causing a game to be canceled is just a silly notion.

[MJW]

Is it even up to the players? Which players?
The ones on the team of the hurt player? Both teams? Every player in the league that could be impacted by the game? The NFL, NFLPA, the CBA?

Who is it "up to"?

I mean...it's a very short list of jobs that wouldn't "close up shop" for the day if someone basically died on the job. Very short. And almost exclusively necessary professions that never close shop no matter what (cops, hospitals, prisons, etc.)

By the same token, nobody in a non-essential job gets the day off because a coworker twists his knee or dislocates his shoulder. Probably not even if he gets a nasty bump on the head and needs to go to the hospital.

[GreatTimes]

The NFL is probably waiting to see the results of this weekends games before deciding if the Bengals/Bills game needs to be resumes.
What if the Bengals win, the Bills lose (unlikely) and KC wins? KC gets top seed. The Bills and Bengals would end up with identical records. In the head to head the Bills beat the Bengals in Buffalo but the Bengals did not get an opportunity to beat the Bills in Cincinnati. Who gets the # 2 seed could be determined by a coin flip. Or just award the #2 seed to Bills based on head to head. Not the best of solutions, but an easy way out for the NFL.
Of course if the Chiefs win and both the Bills and Bengals lose than KC is #1, Bills #2 and Bengals #3.

[kaimaru]

Is it even up to the players? Which players?
The ones on the team of the hurt player? Both teams? Every player in the league that could be impacted by the game? The NFL, NFLPA, the CBA?

Who is it "up to"?

I mean...it's a very short list of jobs that wouldn't "close up shop" for the day if someone basically died on the job. Very short. And almost exclusively necessary professions that never close shop no matter what (cops, hospitals, prisons, etc.)

By the same token, nobody in a non-essential job gets the day off because a coworker twists his knee or dislocates his shoulder. Probably not even if he gets a nasty bump on the head and needs to go to the hospital.

You would think so, but I worked at a call center one time where someone in the same cube as me was convulsing on the floor and we were told to sit on our desks and take calls to give the paramedics room. I also worked in another call center where my coworker had a heart attack and passed at his desk. Different company, everyone was told to keep taking calls. So not that common in Florida. Neither job was essential.

[Selmon Rules]

Is it even up to the players? Which players?
The ones on the team of the hurt player? Both teams? Every player in the league that could be impacted by the game? The NFL, NFLPA, the CBA?

Who is it "up to"?

I mean...it's a very short list of jobs that wouldn't "close up shop" for the day if someone basically died on the job. Very short. And almost exclusively necessary professions that never close shop no matter what (cops, hospitals, prisons, etc.)

By the same token, nobody in a non-essential job gets the day off because a coworker twists his knee or dislocates his shoulder. Probably not even if he gets a nasty bump on the head and needs to go to the hospital.

I worked in a factory a long time ago and one of my coworkers got his finger pulled into a roller setup that crushed his finger down to about 1/4" and we had to extricate him ... Everyone there knew that could very easily have been any one of us. Management wanted lines running ASAP, they didn't restart for hours....

Wasn't gonna happen until we were ready

[Defense5599]

Here's how the playoff picture stacks up going into the second week 18 in NFL history. I'm going to leave the AFC top seeds in limbo due to the Buffalo/Cincinnati game being in limbo. That being said, lets start with the NFC:

UPDATE: Edited playoff picture due to no contest in Buffalo/Cincinnati

IN THE PLAYOFFS

Philadelphia- Clinched playoffs. Clinches NFC East with win or Dallas loss. Clinches # 1 seed with win or Dallas loss plus San Francisco loss

San Francisco- Clinched NFC West and #2 seed. Clinches #1 seed with win plus Philadelphia loss.

Minnesota- Clinched NFC North. Locked in to #3 seed

Tampa Bay- Clinched NFC South. Locked in to #4 seed.

Dallas- Clinched playoffs. Clinches NFC East and #2 seed with win plus Philadelphia loss. Clinches #1 seed with San Francisco loss as well.

NY Giants- Clinched playoffs. Locked in to #6 seed.


IN THE CHASE

Green Bay- Clinches playoffs with win.

Detroit- Clinches playoffs with win plus Seattle loss.

Seattle- Clinches playoffs with win plus Green Bay loss.


MARK YOUR CALENDER. NFL DRAFT BEGINS APRIL 27

Chicago
Arizona
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Carolina
New Orleans
Washington


Now over to the AFC:

IN THE PLAYOFFS

Kansas City- Clinched AFC West. Clinches #1 seed with win or Buffalo loss.

Buffalo- Clinched AFC East. Clinches #1 seed with win plus Kansas City loss.

Cincinnati- Clinched AFC North. Clinches #2 seed with win plus Buffalo loss.

Los Angeles- Clinched playoffs. Clinches #5 seed with win or Baltimore loss

Baltimore- Clinched playoffs. Clinches #5 seed with win plus Los Angeles loss


IN THE CHASE

Jacksonville- Clinches AFC South and #4 seed with win. Clinches playoffs with New England, Miami, and Pittsburgh losses.

Tennessee- Clinches AFC South and #4 seed with win

New England- Clinches playoffs with win or Miami loss plus Pittsburgh loss

Miami- Clinches playoffs with win plus New England loss

Pittsburgh- Clinches playoffs with win plus Miami loss plus New England loss


MARK YOUR CALENDAR. NFL DRAFT BEGINS APRIL 27

Houston
Denver
Indianapolis
Las Vegas
Cleveland
NY Jets

[MJW]

Wasn't gonna happen until we were ready

That's the key. Part of that is basic decency, or at least I like to think so.

But another big part of it, in your case and this one, is you don't want people doing something really dangerous when they're not mentally committed to do it.

[Selmon Rules]

Wasn't gonna happen until we were ready

That's the key. Part of that is basic decency, or at least I like to think so.

But another big part of it, in your case and this one, is you don't want people doing something really dangerous when they're not mentally committed to do it.

We weren't nearly as shook up as those guys were but yeah, gotta have your head on right or bad things happen

[Primeminister]

I think they were ready to deal with the PR nightmare of continuing the game when the dude could've literally died before getting the hospital.

I promise you there are advisors right now advocating for not only giving them losses, but fines, for refusing to play. Arguing that "we support the stoppage of play to.... be respectful and pray?" is the worst stance they could take because then the line in the sand is crossed.

Say the Tua thing happens next week, you think that game still finishes after we've established a precedent for "stopping the game after witnessing something horrible"? I don't know, but we do know for a fact that without the precedent we did in fact finish that game, and that's how the NFL wants it.

The NFL’s own words prove this post wrong. Troy Vincent said the NFL never intended to restart the game once they were aware of the injury (a player had medically died on the field). This means they were not prepared to take the PR nightmare of continuing since they aren’t prepared to take the PR nightmare of even saying they would have continued.

I think your read on this one has been wrong.