Carter looked really good today on a couple of catches - the funny thing about the Hawks is that we are REALLY well balanced - we throw the ball to open up the run - look for the first few plays from scrimmage next week to be passes.

I am really interested to see if the Panthers are able to contain Alexander though - they plain shut Tiki down a week ago.

With Foster going down, and although Goings and Hoover are capable RB's (damn Carolina is deep at RB after season ending injuries to Stephen Davis and Deshawn Foster), they do take a drop off.

Steve Smith has been the best receiver the entire year in the league but I do agree that you have to double him at this point. Carolina has little at the other wide outs. Kerry Colbert? Please.. one of the biggest busts this year. Rickey Proehl? Love him and he will hurt you on 3rd down, but he's old. Carter? I think today's game was the most receptions he's had all year.

On the other hand, if the Seahawks have Alexander, and it sounds like they should, they should be set. Hasselback has played well the entire year... and receivers Engram and Jerivicuis have been solid. And since Jackson has finally gotten off the injury report, he has turned in moster games since week 13 to re-establish himself as a #1 receiver.

I'm pulling for the Panthers, but have to think the Seahawks at home have a major edge. Panther's are tough on the road tho and the Seahawks aren't excactly used to being in this type of situation.

Seattle favored by more than 3.5, I go with Panthers...

Can't say I blame you for this pick, based on Seattle's past history - but what I can tell you(that probably won't change your mind) is that Seattle's past history this year is just that, past History - they have done everything they needed to do and won games that they would have lost in the past all year long.

Needless to say I'm really excited to be going to watch the NFC Championship in person next week

like i said, "sorry bears fans, i picked the bears to win"

i was 0-4 today.

I believe I was 3-1 this weekend, with Indy being the only loss, even though I mentioned they probably wouldn't cover my spread.

I really want Seattle and Denver to face off in a former AFC West showdown in the Super Bowl, especially since a former classmate Josh Brown kicks for the Seahawks. If Carolina wins beats Seattle, then I hope they win, since I am pulling for the NFC since neither team has won a Super Bowl.

Is that the same Josh Brown that was arrested with assualt and the next year rang up a DUI?

I kid.. he's afterall an Oklahoma kid from Foyil (a one stop light and 7 churches type of town). Glad to see he's straightened up.

Unfortunately he's the exception rather than the rule when it comes to idiots used by Dr. Tom and Solich.

the big weak point on the defense, it took 17 weeks. but someone finally realized that he was the week point. Having him cover Steve Smith is like having RW McQuarters cover Randy Moss.

I disagree. While it is obvious Tillman had a bad game, and they should have made some serious adjustments on Steve Smith, I don't think Tillman is the weak link on our D.

I think the weak link is losing #30 early in the game. So many people underestimate the importance of Mike Brown.

When I saw him limping off the field, I remember saying, "We're going to lose this game." And I believe it was still only 7 - 0 in the first quarter at that point.

And as soon as I saw Mike Green and Todd Johnson inserted in his place, I knew I was right.

i thought that that UNDER was a mortal lock.

This game put a ton of cash in Mike Borwn's account. This defense is merely average without him.

Chico Rivera should be taken to task for refusing to adjust to Smith. 125 total yards in the first half... 125 total yards in the second. Sickening. During the season, I remember one team doubling Smith the whole game and he had 42 yards and no TDs. It can be done... if you swallow your pride.

And there is your explanation for why casino owners live in palaces and gamblers live in cardboard boxes.

yep.

done

same here. 7-1 total. going with denver in afc, but undecided yet regarding the nfc.

Yes, the assault took place after he confronted his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend, but I think they later got back together again. I don't remember the DUI, but it might have been what caused him to miss the last game of his senior year before the bowl game.

Way to go, Sean.
Though it will definitely help the Panthers if the starting RT has to miss the game, I am assuming.

Actually, there is little to no drop off from Locklear to Floyd Womack - other than Locklear probably being a little more in sync with the starters right now - coming into the season Womack WAS the starting tackle, but he tore one of his pecs in a preseason game and Locklear came in to replace him and as they got in a flow with him they didn't want to change out what was working when Womack came back.

Having said all of this I fully expect Locklear to be starting on Sunday - he's supposed to be out of jail today and the league doesn't hand out suspensions typically until the player has their time in court.

To me, it sounds like the situation has been blown out of proportion - having said that, he shouldn't have put himself in the situation and should know that whether she was in the right or wrong that he can't go putting his hands on her.....especially in public.

Was out of town all weekend in Colorado, with no internet access.

Turns out the Seahawks are a lot better than I expected. The Bears played rusty for a quarter, got behind 13-0 (should've been 20-0) and outplayed the Panthers the rest of the way but it wasn't enough.

Since he is an NC State alum, I would hope this is the case. I'd like for him to be able to play in the game. No Wolfpack on the other teams besides Cowher.

Fan recovering from heart attack

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Talk about a heart-stopping game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts.

Terry O'Neill, 50, of Pittsburgh, was watching the game at a bar and had a heart attack seconds after Jerome Bettis fumbled trying to score from the 2-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger prevented the Colts' Nick Harper from returning the recovered ball for a touchdown and the Steelers hung on for a 21-18 win.

O'Neill said Bettis is his hero.

"I wasn't upset that the Steelers might lose," he told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I was upset because I didn't want to see him end his career like that. A guy like that deserves better. I guess it was a little too much for me to handle."

O'Neill, who was recovering at a hospital, credits two firefighters with saving him.

"The Steelers won the game and I'm still alive, so I guess I'm doing pretty good," he said.

He will have a pacemaker implanted to control an irregular heartbeat and he was prescribed medication to deal with the hypertension.

While he would like to go to the bar Sunday for the game against the Denver Broncos to thank the guys who saved him, O'Neill said, "I guess I should probably take it easy and watch the game at home."

if i were him, i'd sue the nfl for blowing the troy interception call. if called right, the fumble never woulda happened.

Belichick Lobbied for Goal-Line Cameras --
Tue Jan 17, 2006 --from FFMastermind.com

NFL.com's Adam Schefter reports in recent years, behind the scenes, New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick has lobbied the NFL's competition committee to install a goal-line camera -- to review the exact type of controversial play from Saturday's divisional playoff game when officials ruled that Broncos CB Champ Bailey's fumble went out of bounds at the 1-yard line and was not a touchback. Had Belichick gotten his way with the competition committee, a better camera angle would have been available to determine whether the fumble was a touchback. Earlier this season, almost as if it were a foreshadowing of Saturday night's events, Belichick said: "It would be good if the National Football League, as part of the instant replay rule, had a camera, like they do in tennis, had a camera parallel to the goal line in every stadium so that as coach you knew at least that there would be a camera angle of that shot. One thing that I think would help the rule, and it's been brought up many times, but the league refuses to do it, is to have a camera right on the goal line so that, if you do challenge that play, then there's absolutely one look at it that will tell you did the ball cross (the goal line) or didn't it cross it. If you want to take it beyond that, then you can put them on the sidelines and that would give you a better view of those plays. Then if you want to take another step, you can put them on the end line. But if you're only going to do two of them, I would put them on the goal lines and start with that. But we don't have that. So, whatever camera angles the networks feeds have, that's what you have to go by." And thus, the officials call that Bailey's fumble went out of bounds instead of into the end zone stands. But it doesn't mean that Belichick won't lobby for the end-zone camera once again.

yeah, youd think that would be a no brainer.

I've personally always hated the whole ball goes to the other team and touchback rule when the ball rolls out of bounds in the end-zone......

i like it. it forces a player to have control of the ball when entering the endzone. the side effect is a fumble on the 1 in & out of the back results in a touchback, but i'm fine with that.