[On to the Playoffs]

Finished up the season this week in my solitaire league. Division winners are Giants AFC East, Bengals AFC Central, Raiders NFC West, and Saints NFC South. The four wildcard teams are the Redskins and Steelers for the AFC and the Rams and Cowboys for the NFC. Two teams (Cowboys and Redskins) were propelled into the playoffs by Hail-Mary passes on the last play of their respective final regular season games! Seeding is as follows:

AFC                                                      NFC

1   New York Giants 5-0                        1   Oakland Raiders 4-1

2   Cincinnati Bengals 5-0                    2   New Orleans Saints 3-2

3   Washington Redskins 3-2               3   Los Angeles Rams 3-2

4   Pittsburgh Steelers 3-2                   4   Dallas Cowboys 2-3

 

Playoff Game Previews

Dallas at Oakland - With the best record in the NFC the Raiders are peaking at the right time having beat two playoff bound teams in their final two regular season games, the Saints and the Rams. They have one of the top defenses in the league second only to New York and one of the top runners in Mark Van Eagan. The Cowboys, as mentioned above snuck into the playoffs in the final game of the season with a miracle bomb as time ran out. The Cowboys haven't scored more than 7 points in any game this year. They are only the second team in the 13 season history of the league to make the playoffs with a losing record. This game seems like a synch for the Raiders, but...on any given Sunday.....

Los Angeles at New Orleans - Both teams are limping into the playoffs having lost their final two games. The Rams beat the Saints in the divisional round last season in LA. The Rams are the defending NFC Champions and the most successful team in league history having played in 8 Superbowls and winning 5 of them. The Saints history is not quite as glorious. They have played in 4 NFC Championship games over the years and have lost all of them including two to the Rams.  History is on the side of LA, but playing at home in the Superdome may be the motivating factor that launches the Saints to a fifth chance at an NFC title. 

Washington at Cincinnati - The Bengals have a very potent offense second only in scoring to the Steelers and their defense has produced the most turnovers in the league. The Bengals visited DC in week 4 this season and their explosive offense and opportunistic defense was too much for the boys from DC. The Redskins won their playoff spot in Hail Mary fashion Monday night in New England during the final week of the season. Can they pull off another miraculous win?

Pittsburgh at New York - The Steelers won their final two games, but having won only one division game needed help to make the playoffs. They got that help as the Bengals beat the Eagles and the Giants beat the Colts in the final week of the season. Terry Bradshaw threw 5 touchdown passes in the final two games of the season, three to Benny Cunningham in a thrashing of the Cowboys at Three Rivers, and two to Calvin Sweeney during a snow impacted game at Cleveland. The Giants this season did just enough to get out of stadiums with a win. Their week 5 win over the Colts was the only game where they won by multiple scores. The off season blockbuster trade bringing Earl Campbell to New York has had mixed results. Campbell has been solid for sure but hasn't made the impact that the Giants were hoping for. The defense led by rookie Lawrence Taylor has been the silent hero the entire season having only given up 26 points in 5 games. The Giants have been to the last two AFC Championship games and have come up short in both. Will this be the season they finally get back to the Superbowl?

I'd love to hear your predictions!

 

 

 

 

[A Cold Winter Evening in Cleveland]

Starting the final round of the regular season. First match-up; Pittsburgh at Cleveland. I found a sandwich bag of styrofoam and shredded paper with my players and remembered that I use to use it as "snow" on the field. So this being the final week of the season, lake effect winter conditions would prevail.  So it's a snow covered field at Municipal Stadium. Almost makes me want to put a coat on! Additionally I'm using my old 660 board with a few rust spots on the field to simulate the less than perfect conditions. The Steelers (2-2) are coming off a 37-0 thrashing of the Cowboys. The Browns (1-3), have only scored 3 points in their last two games, both losses; and Bernie Kosar has been sacked 7 times in those two games. While not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs the Browns are basically relegated to the role of spoiler. 

[Getting Back Into the Hobby]

Thanks all! Yup Benoit solitaire rocks! Though I'd love to watch some competitive league games and learn from their coaches.

Nanook, teams and divisions are as follows:

NFC West = LA Rams, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings

NFC South = Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons and Houston Oilers

AFC East = Baltimore Colts, New York Giants, Washington Redskins and New England Patriots

AFC Central - Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals

[Getting Back Into the Hobby]

Hi all, 

I've started up my 16 team solitaire league this year after a long hiatus. I was in the middle of my 13th season when I quit playing, but fortunately I found the records and have recently picked up where I left off. Also bought a new board as the old one had some rusty spots that affected the players movement. Pics below are of the inaugural game with the new board, Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won 14-7. Got one more game to play in week 4 and then off to week 5, the final week of the regular season where all the games are division games. 3 of the 4 division champions have already been determined with just the NFC West to be decided. Still plenty to be determined in terms of the playoffs. 8 of 16 teams make the playoffs. 

Happy to be playing again!

[New Champions in Paris]

Now that is a SUPER trophy! Love the Pittsburghese too! I vote that the Steelers be in next season to defend the crown. Oh forgot to mention Palamalu's hair. Great attention to detail!

[Plastic vs.Metal board]

Thanks for the info Zak. I look forward to hearing your report!

[Plastic vs.Metal board]

Considering buying a new board. Currently have a model 660 that has some rust that I think affects the performance of the players. My question is how does the HIPS field compare to the metal field in terms of performance and durability?