ratedr

That was PI all day.

I at least have some grudging respect for PIT. I have none for NE.

So...I find myself rooting for the Steelers. How did this happen?

Falcons were clearly the most well-rounded team in the NFC. Greatest Show on Turf reborn with a physical, opportunistic defense. Never trusted Dallas.

Lol that was short. These refs are trash. But hey at least the Steelers woke up, this game won't be total garbage.

I called the Falcons in the SB too, when folks were still saying Ryan would choke. Agreed that Julio will give the Pats issues. And even if you cover him, you still gotta worry about Sanu, Gabriel, Freeman...too many weapons.

The Steelers have never been able to compete with the Pats. Here, there, anywhere, doesn't matter.

Pretty much. And I firmly believe the Falcons will win it all. MVP and SB MVP in the same season. That's big.

Don't they have those ready in advance for both teams?

Whatever about the AFC title game, I'm rooting for a meteor.

But the AFC still has more Super Bowl wins over that time period. The AFC just has some dynastic/semi-dynastic teams, particularly the Pats.

Exactly. We can talk about Ryan's weapons till the cows come home, but HE has clearly improved on his own.

Strictly talking playoffs. The statement stands. And I realize they won it all in 2015, but he was basically a walking zombie at that point.

Yeah, because he was another QB who struggled outdoors.

Eh. Disagree. Ryan is clearly ahead now, but let's not engage in revisionist history. The Falcons were dire outside of their dome. See the 2011 wild card round @NYG. Dan Quinn has instilled a toughness and confidence in this team that they simply did not have before.

I can agree with this. I was not impressed with Ryan before and thought he was an overrated media creation a la Stafford. But he has clearly upped his game.

Ryan has a lot of pieces, but even without that, his deep ball is much better, his mechanics are smoother, and he's no longer the statue in the pocket he used to be. Combine that with the fact that he's always been a pretty accurate QB, and it's allowed him to take his game to the next level. This is the work he put in during the offseason: http://www.espn.com/blog/atlanta-falcons/post/_/id/22186/falcons-matt-ryan-dug-deeper-to-prepare-for-2016-season Maybe Flacco will be so inspired.

There's nothing to say. Ryan will have MVP and SB MVP in one year. That puts him in the running for sportsman of the year period. Ryan has elevated his game while Flacco has regressed.

Only person having a worse day than the Pack is @lindseyyok (if any of you are familiar with her).

But it was still a slam dunk pick that filled a critical hole. The alternative is to possibly still suck while still having a need at WR.

I hope the Ravens FO watches this and realizes that when talent is talent, just GO FOR IT. That's what the Falcons did with Julio. "Value" is overrated.

McCarthy has never been a good coach. Rodgers covers him up.

Haven't seen a whopping like this in a while. I'm out until the AFC game. Yikes.

31-0 is coming.

Rodgers has made the throws, but two drops.