Division Winners/Playoff Seeding 2006

[Stripes]

Now that we're through some of free agency, and the draft is over, who do you think will be going to the playoffs after the 2006 season?

Here's my list (with predicted playoff seeding in parentheses).

AFC North - Steelers 12-4 (2)

AFC East - Patriots 11-5 (3)

AFC South - Jaguars 13-3 (1)

AFC West - Broncos 11-5 (4)

Wildcards - Colts 11-5 (5), Bengals 10-6 (6)

NFC North - Bears 10-6 (3)

NFC East - Giants 12-4 (2)

NFC South - Panthers 12-4 (1)

NFC West - Cardinals 10-6 (4)

Wildcards - Eagles 10-6 (5) Seahawks 9-7 (6)

Before y'all jump on my case about the AFC North pick, I am acting on the assumption that Palmer will miss at least four games. I still think we make the playoffs either way.

My predicition that the Jaguars will be the number one seed in the AFC will probably make many people go , but I really think they could surprise a lot of people (especially with the Colts losing their "Edge"). I also have chosen to buy into the Arizona hype for the second straight season, let's hope they can live up to it this time!

[redsbengalsbucks]

I dont see why everyone thinks that the Steelers will be that good, they play a much tougher schedule this season and untill the playoffs last year they did not beat many good teams to get to the wildcard game.

The AFCN is going to be a tough road this year and Rottenheadcheeseburger will not make it thru the whole season without being injured, he is more brittle than Palmer.

Bettis is not there to get them all the short down conversions and Staley looked out of gas all last season even though he barely saw the feild.

I think 10 wins will win the AFCN this season, because of missed games by Palmer/Rottenheadcheeseburger, and those 10 wins might just come from the Browns or Ravens.

If either Palmer or Big Blow can get/stay healthy all season than that team wins easy. I dont think that a wildcard team will come from the AFCN this season.

Side note: Peyton Manning and the Colts offense will make Joseph Addia look like a monster. It maybe the Colts season this year.

[Ox]

AFC North - Bengals 12-4

AFC East - Dolphins 10-6

AFC South - Colts 11-5

AFC West - Broncos 11-5

Wildcards - Jaguars 10-6 Steelers 10-6

[ArmyBengal]

AFC North: Bengals- This is assuming Carson is back, but if he's out more than 4, the Steelers should

take the Division.

AFC East: Patriots- I'd really like to see them lose, but they play their tough teams at home as opposed to

the Dolphins who play some hard ones on the road. If Culpepper is ready, this may change up a bit.

AFC South: Colts- I think the Jags would have a chance, but they just lost Jimmy Smith to retirement and

failed to draft a WR at all. Marcedes Lewis won't match that production lost.

AFC West: Chiefs- This might not be the popular pick, but I think they have it in them and their schedule

looks less daunting. I also think the QB controversary in Denver won't help.

AFC Wildcard: Steelers and Dolphins

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NFC North: Bears- Great defense and that Division sucks bad !!!

NFC East: Cowboys- Once again, not the popular pick, but their defense is above average, they drafted

well, played MANY close games last year, T.O. won't hurt, and an easier schedule.

NFC South: Panthers- This could be a toss up again with the Bucs, but I think the Panthers are the

better team.

NFC West: Seahawks- I just don't think the Cardinals are there yet, but give them another year and this

Division should be very interesting.

NFC Wildcard: Giants and Bucaneers

Good thread !!!

WHODEY !!!

[Smackdown625]

It maybe the Colts season this year.

Just like last year, huh?

[BengalBillyBob]

AFC North - Steelers 11-5 (2)

AFC East - Patriots 11-5 (3)

AFC South - Colts 12-4 (1)

AFC West - Broncos 11-5 (4)

Wildcards - Chiefs 10-6 (5), Dolphins 10-6 (6)

NFC North - Bears 10-6 (4)

NFC East - Redskins 11-5 (3)

NFC South - Panthers 11-5 (2)

NFC West - Seahawks 12-4 (1)

Wildcards - Cowboys 10-6 (5) Falcons 9-7 (6)

I think that the schedule kills the Bengals this year. Palmer wont play until the 4th game, and it will take him a few weeks at least to be comfortable. I don't like the match-ups vs the AFC West or NFC South this year, or having to play Indy and N.E.... all are tough physical teams and I dont think the defense has been upgraded enough to stop those teams.

[redsbengalsbucks]

It maybe the Colts season this year.

Just like last year, huh?

Most of the season was dominated by the Colts, if they could have shaken the rust off a little sooner you would not have celebrated the * Bowl win.

[San Antonio Bengal]

AFC North - Bengals

AFC East - Patriots

AFC South - Colts

AFC West - Broncos

Wildcards - Dolphins, Steelers

NFC North - Bears

NFC East - Cowboys

NFC South - Panthers

NFC West - Seahawks

Wildcards - Cardinals, Giants

[ChadJohnson-85]

AFC North - Steelers

AFC East - Patriots

AFC South - Jaguars

AFC West - Chiefs

Wildcards - Colts, Bengals

NFC North - Bears

NFC East - Eagles

NFC South - Buccaneers

NFC West - Seahawks

Wildcards - Falcons, Giants

[Bengal_Brad]

I noticed everyone picking either the Bengals or the Steelers to win our division, with the other one being the wild card team. I don't agree. I don't even think the Steelers will make the playoffs this year. Lost to many good players, and they lost their hunger.

[Stripes]

I noticed everyone picking either the Bengals or the Steelers to win our division, with the other one being the wild card team. I don't agree. I don't even think the Steelers will make the playoffs this year. Lost to many good players, and they lost their hunger.

Could be. Still, it seems like every year people are saying that about the Steelers for any variety of reasons, but then they go out and win 11-13 games regardless.

[ArmyBengal]

I noticed everyone picking either the Bengals or the Steelers to win our division, with the other one being the wild card team. I don't agree. I don't even think the Steelers will make the playoffs this year. Lost to many good players, and they lost their hunger.

I get what you are saying, but (and I'm NOT being a smartass) how exactly do you know they lost their hunger ??

WHODEY !!!

[BengalBillyBob]

The Steelers lost 4 players, and replaced 3 of them with equal or better talent.

Randle El wasn't much of a receiver. Holmes and Reid were drafted to fill his WR and PR spots.

Von Olhoffen left in FA, but he was old and Keisel was getting half of the snaps anyway. Keisel is a better pass rusher. Bettis retired, but he was just a short yardage guy. Staley is better at this point in his career than Bettis was. Chris Hope is the only guy that may hurt them. They signed Ryan Clark from the Redskins and drafted Smith from Syracuse, so they really haven't lost much at FS. As far as being unmotivates, I think Cowher spits in some guys faces in camp and takes care of anything like that.

My fear is that the Bengals only real upgrades on defense are Sam Adams, Jackson, & Joesph. I dont know if those guys are enough to improve a defense that gave up 30 points against pretty much every playoff team it faced. That with Palmer being out a few weeks, and being rusty when he comes back, makes me think this will not be a playoff season. But ya never know!

[HoosierCat]

Cincinnati Bengals 16-0

Pittsburgh Steelers: who cares?

Baltimore Ravens: who cares?

Cleveland Browns: who cares?

[BengalszoneBilly]

Cincinnati Bengals 16-0

Pittsburgh Steelers: who cares?

Baltimore Ravens: who cares?

Cleveland Browns: who cares?

Well you're probably right about "WHO" caring about the Cleveland Browns, but I doubt he gives a rats patoot about Pittsburgh or Baltimore.

[Who Dey Time]

2006 Playoff Matchups:

AFC - #6 Steelers at #3 Colts #5 Chiefs at #4 Dolphins

AFC BYES - #1 Broncos and #2 Bengals

NFC - #6 Eagles at #3 Cowboys #5 Cardinals at #4 Packers

NFC BYES - #1 Panthers and #2 Seahawks

AFCC Game - Broncos over Bengals

NFCC Game - Panthers over Cowboys

SB XLI - Panthers over Broncos

My best guess for May. I think people will see a much better Bengals defense which will carry the load until CP comes back by Week 4 or 5.

WHO-DEY!

[Kazkal]

holmes is a rookie I doubt he has more then 400 yards =P or busts

[redsbengalsbucks]

As a Buckeye fan I dont see the speedster comparisions for Holmes. He is a reciever in the mold of TJ(or the lesser WR Ward), crisp routes, reliable hands and will make the big catch when it counts. He did run past the slower DB's, but when up against good competition he used his smarts to get open.

He will not be a bust but he will not be a consistent deep threat either.

[Oldcat]

The Steelers lost 4 players, and replaced 3 of them with equal or better talent.

Randle El wasn't much of a receiver. Holmes and Reid were drafted to fill his WR and PR spots.

Von Olhoffen left in FA, but he was old and Keisel was getting half of the snaps anyway. Keisel is a better pass rusher. Bettis retired, but he was just a short yardage guy. Staley is better at this point in his career than Bettis was. Chris Hope is the only guy that may hurt them. They signed Ryan Clark from the Redskins and drafted Smith from Syracuse, so they really haven't lost much at FS. As far as being unmotivates, I think Cowher spits in some guys faces in camp and takes care of anything like that.

My fear is that the Bengals only real upgrades on defense are Sam Adams, Jackson, & Joesph. I dont know if those guys are enough to improve a defense that gave up 30 points against pretty much every playoff team it faced. That with Palmer being out a few weeks, and being rusty when he comes back, makes me think this will not be a playoff season. But ya never know!

Randle El wasn't much of a receiver? Just the second best on the team. Randel El was also their gadget man, and one ot the top PR for years. Bettis was 'just short yardage?'. Go look at the Bears game when the Steelers season was on the brink. Did they give it to Deuce? No way. Bettis is the back that the teams in the AFC North feared. Not Parker or Staley.

The key to the Steelers' offense is a pounding running game. Losing Bettis puts that offense just as much

in question as losing Palmer and his arm does ours. Maybe his replacement will fill the role -- but they did not do the job last year. Maybe they can change their offensive style and pass more. And maybe the Bengals can run more without Palmer and still win games.

But last year, in the key game for the division, at home, against our sucky defense the Steelers could not run the ball. The non-Bettis backs fumbled 3 times (losing none). Rothelsberger had a great passing day.

And the Bengals won.

The Bengals defensive woes can be pointed squarely at the safety injuries. Even without adding any new players, having Madeu and KK back there meant a pretty good pass defense. They gave up 8 to the Vikings, considered a playoff contender, and 7 to the Bears -- the 2nd best team in the NFC. When Williams went down, Othalete was a gaping wound in the middle of the field. Thats when our point total went up. (Note the Bears had scored 40 points the week before we played them. The Vikes scored 50 the week after we played them as I recall).

(As an aside, watching the game of the week replay make me like KK even more. There he is recovering a Hines Ward fumble. There he is in good position on a O'Neil interception and blocks Ward away from making a tackle on the 20+ yard return. One other time he stuffs Bettis on a blitz. On the other hand Othalete looked bad in just about every clip he was in....)

Anyway, the Steelers might find players for the holes, and be really good. So might the Bengals. The two teams were evenly matched in the regular season with last year's injuries to the Bengals DBs. To my mind, the Bengals have made more positive steps to fix their holes than the Steelers have. But to turn a blind eye to the positive aspects of the Bengals' situation and the negative aspect of the Steelers is not very useful.

[Steel Legends]

Now that we're through some of free agency, and the draft is over, who do you think will be going to the playoffs after the 2006 season?

Here's my list (with predicted playoff seeding in parentheses).

AFC North - Steelers 12-4 (2)

AFC East - Patriots 11-5 (3)

AFC South - Jaguars 13-3 (1)

AFC West - Broncos 11-5 (4)

Wildcards - Colts 11-5 (5), Bengals 10-6 (6)

NFC North - Bears 10-6 (3)

NFC East - Giants 12-4 (2)

NFC South - Panthers 12-4 (1)

NFC West - Cardinals 10-6 (4)

Wildcards - Eagles 10-6 (5) Seahawks 9-7 (6)

Before y'all jump on my case about the AFC North pick, I am acting on the assumption that Palmer will miss at least four games. I still think we make the playoffs either way.

My predicition that the Jaguars will be the number one seed in the AFC will probably make many people go , but I really think they could surprise a lot of people (especially with the Colts losing their "Edge"). I also have chosen to buy into the Arizona hype for the second straight season, let's hope they can live up to it this time!

AFCS - First off, the Jags have no offense and that team is just vanilla on that side of the football. Fred Taylor is a shell of what he use to be and now that Jimmy Smith retired, name 3 quality WRs on that team? TE? Leftwich cannot stay healthy, so this team doesn't have much balance. Granted, their defense is very good, but until they get some offense, I still have the Colts winning the AFCS, despite not having Edge. Dominic Rhodes didn't do a bad job a few years back when Edge was out, so he will be able to hold down the fort.

AFCN - Bengals or Steelers, it doesn't really matter anymore, since the Steelers proved they can go into any teams' backyard and beat them (Colts, Broncos, and Bengals). No excuses for any of those teams. Fact is you don't let anyone come into your house and own you and that's what happend last year. Now Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer are adding more fuel to the fire by saying various things in the media such as Palmer and his "I hate the Steelers" and Johnson saying things like "there's nobody even close to us." I thought CJ would of learned from his we are color TV and they are black and white remarks. Keep it closed, CJ, and let your playing on the field speak for itself, if Ike Taylor will let you, since he's usually on you like glue.

AFCE - Dolphins and Pats are a toss up. Pats took a beating in free agency and the Phins are very up and coming. All they needed last year was a solid QB and if Cullpepper can come back strong, look out. Ronnie Brown, Chris Chambers, this team can make some noise. Pats have Brady and he's the best in the business so he will always give them a shot.

AFCW - Denver and SD. If Rivers can step in and pick up where Brees left off, this team can win this division. Denver is going to give Plummer one more crack and if he doesn't do it, it's Cutler job. Their defense is solid and they have a tough running game. Their WRs are now improved with an excellent addition of Javon Walker. Look for them to be the front runners, again unless Rivers can step up, Broncos will this. KC still has no defense so not having balance will hurt them.

[Stripes]

AFCN - Bengals or Steelers, it doesn't really matter anymore, since the Steelers proved they can go into any teams' backyard and beat them (Colts, Broncos, and Bengals). No excuses for any of those teams. Fact is you don't let anyone come into your house and own you and that's what happend last year. Now Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer are adding more fuel to the fire by saying various things in the media such as Palmer and his "I hate the Steelers" and Johnson saying things like "there's nobody even close to us." I thought CJ would of learned from his we are color TV and they are black and white remarks. Keep it closed, CJ, and let your playing on the field speak for itself, if Ike Taylor will let you, since he's usually on you like glue.

The whole "adding to the fire" deal seems rediculously overrated by homers on both sides of this debate. Joey Porter and Larry Foote are guilty of the same crap as are Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer, but it really doesn't matter in the end. That's how rivalries are supposed to work.

Everything between these two teams will be settled on the football field.

[Smackdown625]

AFC East-Patriots

AFC South-Colts

AFC North-Steelers

AFC West-Chiefs

Wildcard-Broncos, Bengals

NFC East-Giants

NFC South-Panthers

NFC North-Packers

NFC West-Seahawks

Wildcard-Cowboys, Falcons

[Steel Legends]

AFCN - Bengals or Steelers, it doesn't really matter anymore, since the Steelers proved they can go into any teams' backyard and beat them (Colts, Broncos, and Bengals). No excuses for any of those teams. Fact is you don't let anyone come into your house and own you and that's what happend last year. Now Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer are adding more fuel to the fire by saying various things in the media such as Palmer and his "I hate the Steelers" and Johnson saying things like "there's nobody even close to us." I thought CJ would of learned from his we are color TV and they are black and white remarks. Keep it closed, CJ, and let your playing on the field speak for itself, if Ike Taylor will let you, since he's usually on you like glue.

The whole "adding to the fire" deal seems rediculously overrated by homers on both sides of this debate. Joey Porter and Larry Foote are guilty of the same crap as are Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer, but it really doesn't matter in the end. That's how rivalries are supposed to work.

Everything between these two teams will be settled on the football field.

Yep and it was clearly settled last year, however, this year, I think it will heat up even more.

I just think it's foolish for CJ and CP to come out and say such things. Yes, it helps the rivalry and makes it more intense, but I'm of the belief that players should keep their mouths shut and do their speaking on the field. CJ didn't and that color TV statement really came back to bite him in the ass.

[Stripes]

I just think it's foolish for CJ and CP to come out and say such things. Yes, it helps the rivalry and makes it more intense, but I'm of the belief that players should keep their mouths shut and do their speaking on the field. CJ didn't and that color TV statement really came back to bite him in the ass.

I can still hear a faint echo of Joey Porter's pregame "commentary" on my Bengals before the game at Heinz last year. He ate his words just the same, and take note that Jon Kitna never took a snap in that game.

Don't call me a whiner either, because I am well aware you folks suffered the same issues with Maddox earlier in the season, and your team did NOT step up to the challenge without Ben. The Bengals didn't without Carson either (our tough luck it had to happen in a playoff game).

We'll see what happens.

[Ox]

You cannot argue with thse hypocritical sh*ts, they just don't seem to get it. It's like pounding you rhead against a wall trying to get them to see this team is a totally differnt animal with Kitna in vs. CP.

Oh well, f*ck 'em. If there's a nuclear explosion, I hope it's in Pittsburgh.