NFL Playoff Spin

[Runscott]

What a great NFL playoff weekend! And as a bonus, there seems to be a lot of spin and/or drama surrounding each of the four games. Curious what others' take is on all of this. Here's mine.

1. Carolina @ Denver - a recent article in the Tacoma paper has to be the worst spin yet: Carolina is a losing record division-winning team, playing the defending Super Bowl Champs. The spin is that this is just like what Seattle faced a few years back when they beat New Orleans in the first round. But that's where the resemblance ends - Seattle beat New Orleans at home, because Seattle was at home. Seattle is at home tomorrow as well. Also, that was a first round game while this one is second round;i.e-Carolina had their unlikely moment of playoff glory last week. It's all over now.

2. Dallas @ Green Bay - first Dallas trip to Lambeau for a playoff game since the 1967 Ice Bowl. Both teams played their last games against Detroit. Also, arguable the toughest 'last 2 games' path to a Super Bowl that any team has ever faced: on the road at Lambeau, then at Seattle (presumably). Still, I'm picking Dallas. Romo was 'off' last week and Rogers was 'on'. If that switches, which it's done this season with both qb's, Dallas should eek one out.

3. Baltimore @ New England - New England seems to have playoff issues with Baltimore. I'm bored with Tom Brady and his coach, who with a win this week would tie for the most playoff victories ever.

4. Indianapolis @ Denver - the 'revenge against my old team' factor is pretty much dead now, but the prospect of a repeat AFC Championship game against N.E. is intriguing, as is another shot at Seattle to prove that Elway made the right adjustments after last year. I would love to see another Seattle vs Denver SuperBowl, with similar results to last year. Only because it would make for some of the best off-season discussions ever.