Red Devil-Taker316

Who'd think Arizona, the worst rushing team in the league, would take advantage of Atlanta's 30th ranked rush defense? I just thought Edge James wouldn't be a factor, and Hightower sucks.

Ugly penalties from Atlanta. Giving Warner a short field like that? Odd how this game's momentum has switched a few times already. Give credit to Ryan. He made minimal mistakes (sans the Delay of Game) backed up in his own 5.

This is shaping up to be a very good game. Matt Ryan really doesn't seem phased at all despite his opening drive INT. It's hard not to like Ryan, I think he will be the next great QB in the NFL. Michael Turner scores a TD. Last thing Arizona wants to do is give Turner confidence. EDIT: Crazy pick there. Arizona seems to be losing a lot of momentum.

Roddy White can't drop that ball. Jeez.

I wouldn't really say the Cards can stop the run all that well, (ranked 16th in the NFL in Rush D), and Michael Turner was 2nd in rushing (Norwood's good too). So far they've done an adequate job. Falcons D though, looks really suspect.

Well both Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco are going to play terribly, rookie QBs just don't make it come playoff time. Sigh, I knew this matchup was closer than it seemed, but early on it looks like I might have underestimated how bad Atlanta's D is.

Well I joined.

Jut to put myself on the record, I believe we will have a Manning vs. Manning Superbowl, although it's likely that I'll be wrong. Four or Five of the Six teams can legit make it to the Superbowl (sorry Miami, and Flacco as QB for Baltimore probably won't get them there), but the Colts, Chargers, Steelers or Titans all can make it, it's wide open. In The NFC, I only see the Giants, Panthers and Eagles (yes, the Eagles) having any chance. Rookie QB Matt Ryan won't get it done, no way the Cards would beat Carolina or the Giants, (well, maybe Carolina and I think they beat the Giants in the regular season, but sadly, that was a different Cardinals team)and no team with Tarvaris Jackson as the starting QB is going to a Superbowl. Eagles actually have all the tools to get there with a good McNabb, great momentum, good first round opponent (although they probably beat Arizona anyway, I guess), they can beat the Giants in New Jersey (did it in Week 14) and they can most likely beat Carolina, tough it'd be the tough test. The Eagles have big game experience (4 straight conference title games and a Superbowl appearance not that long ago) with Reid, Westbrook and McNabb all there. Scary as it sounds, the Eagles can be last year's Giants. I read here before about the debate whether who would win, the Colts or Steelers. I would have to take Indy. Look at the 2006 Baltimore Ravens. Almost the same as the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers. You've got a QB breaking down (for different reasons, McNair was practically done, Big Ben has been hurt, knocked around, hurt again etc. etc., heck look at their stats too, McNair in 2006 had 16 TD, 12 INT, 3,050 YDS, Big Ben has 17 TD, 15 INT, 3,301 YDS, not much of a difference). Baltimore's running game was inconsistent, led by Jamal Lewis with 1,132 YDS, while the Steelers haven't had a consistent running game at all, as two different backs combined for 1,379 YDS. And, both defenses were best in the league in terms of points (BAL06: 201, 1st, PIT08: 223, 1st), while having an average offense (BAL06: 353, 12th, PIT08: 347, 20th). Both teams have defensive minded coaches, Billick and Tomlin. The 06 Colts beat the 06 Ravens 15-6 in Baltimore. If it comes to it, I expect the 08 Colts to do similar to the 08 Steelers. You just don't go to Superbowls with shaky QB play (2006 is a big exception though. Rex Grossman only did have one INT, but he was still pretty bad. Peyton Manning was pretty awful in the playoffs). If the Colts run into Tennessee, well, that's obviously that's a whole other argument. But, I'm taking the Colts. So I predict a Colts-Giants Superbowl

Predictions This has to be one of the weirdest and toughest first rounds in recent NFL memory. It's quite possible that, all the road teams can be considered favorites (Indy/SD can go either way). There are two rookie QBs (Ryan, Flacco), a joke QB (Jackson), 2 teams that shouldn't be here (Arizona, Philly, maybe San Diego depending on how good you feel they are). So let's see. Baltimore @ Miami We can kind of disregard their week 7 game, I mean it was so long ago, and Miami has played better since then. But still, Baltimore is the better team. The Ravens have lost to Pittsburgh twice, Indy, the Giants and the Titans, all those teams have at least 12 wins. They're 9-2 since starting 2-3. There are some decent wins in that streak, against Philly (a mess at the time) and Dallas (a mess as well). Miami has been on a hot streak too, 9-1 in their last 10, but except for the Jets and maybe Denver, no decent wins at all. And they were trashed at home against the Patriots. Baltimore will win this game because they can stop any trick plays Miami can do, and as well as Pennington played this year, he, Williams and Brown are overmatched against an excellent Ravens D. Baltimore's D can only really be hurt by the longball, but that's hardly Chad Pennington's specialty. Flacco might be a rookie QB, but his play shouldn't be the difference here. Ravens 27, Dolphins 10 Indianapolis @ San Diego Don't let the records fool anyone, this is the closest game of any of the four games in the first round. The Chargers four game winning doesn't look that impressive, but beating the Bucs when the Bucs had something to play for, and trashing Denver in the Division title game was huge for momentum. Philip Rives has been outstanding all season. Any maybe LT is alive, maybe. (I doubt it, I mean, that was the awful Denver run defense). The Colts started slow, then reeled off 9 straight. Their winning streak has a lot of impressive victories as well (New England, at Pittsburgh, AT SAN DIEGO). There is quite a history between the Chargers and Colts starting back from last year. The Chargers upset Indy 23-21 in the 2007 regular season, but remember that Darren Sproles was 12 of those points, and Indy almost came back down 23-0. The playoffs last year, The Chargers surprised the Colts again 28-24, in a game where Billy Volek had to take over. There was really no question about it either. Each team is very similar to last year (which is why I felt those games somewhat apply here). The Colts won a close one in San Diego on a Vinatieri FG. There are some factors that lead to me taking Indy here. -Tony Dungy is a lot better of a coach that Norv Turner. In fact, Norv Turner is borderline awful at times. -The best player in the game is Peyton Manning, in a close game, I'd rather have Manning than anyone else on the field. (rather than Rivers, LT, etc. etc., not anyone in the league). -This Colts team is eerily similar to the 2006 Super Bowl winning Colts, which had to beat a Chief team in the first round that everyone thought would score all over them, much like many feel this Charger team will. Colts 24, Chargers 17 Atlanta @ Arizona At first it's easy to say, yes, Arizona stinks. And to a point, they do. On the flipside, it's easy to say, Atlanta is very good and should blowout the Cards. And well, they might. But this matchup is a lot closer than it seems. Arizona is 6-2 at home. Their offense can be very tough to contain, with three 1,000 yard receivers and maybe a motivated (but still probably bad) Edgerrin James. Kurt Warner, though, has been here before. He's been to the big game twice, and won it once. He has big game experience. You can't ever count out big game experience. Plus, Atlanta is 4-4 on the road with three double digit losses, although they were all earlier in the season. Matt Ryan on the otherhand, is a rookie QB. A very good rookie QB, but still a rookie. Only two rookie QBs ever won a playoff game, (Big Ben and Shaun King), and both Big Ben and King were bad in each. I know I said Flacco would win his game against Miami, but those are for other reasons. Despite my pro Arizona stuff, Atlanta will win this game. Michael Turner should have a field day, and the Cards have looked pretty bad recently (blown out by the Patriots, Vikings and Eagles). But it'll be a lot closer than it seems. Ryan will probably play poorly (like 10 for 21, 1 TD, 2 INT), but still, it won't cost them the game. Falcons 24, Cardinals 21 Philadelphia @ Minnesota Tarvaris Jackson stinks. Brad Childress will be outcoached by Andy Reid. Adrian Peterson will get 120 yards with no TDs. You've gotta take the team with a motivated Donovan McNabb and a now seemingly healthy Brian Westbrook who just blew out a division rival for a playoff spot as opposed to a team who barely beat a David Carr led Giants team with a 50 yard field goal by Ryan Longwell. Right? This is a much different Eagle team than opposed to the one who couldn't beat the Bengals (although, the Redskin loss is inexplicable). The Vikings have a good defense and the best running back in the game, but Barry Sanders went 1-6 in his postseason career for a reason. The game though, could end up going very ugly, with like a McNabb pick returned for a TD. But Jackson is a lot more likely to make mistakes than McNabb. Eagles 35, Vikings 13

Falcons are a 2 point favorite over the Cardinals Colts/Chargers are a pick'em game Ravens are a 3 point favorite over the Dolphins Eagles are a 3 point favorite over the Vikings Falcons Colts Ravens Eagles

Scorpion vs. Sub Zero At least until Quan Chi got involved.

Off of the top of my head, I've got... MLB 2K8 for the DS: Maybe I should have looked at reviews first, but this game was awful. WCW Nitro for PS: It was fun for a bit, a small bit. And I had WCW World Tour and eventually Revenge. Game Boy Advance: Even though as I look back at it that it did have some good games, when I owned it I hated it and had remakes like SUper Mario Advance and such. Wrestlemania X8 for GCN: It just wasn't there. I was hoping for No Mercy on the Gamecube. Wrestlemania XIX was a lot better, and the Day Of Reckoning series was okay too. Nascar Thunder 2002 for PS: I don't mind updated rosters in some games, except Nascar. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings for the DS: Real time strategy just isn't my type of thing. 007 James Bond in Agent Under Fire for the GCN: Quite the disappointment. Had half the levels previous Bond N64 titles had, and it was a lot easier too. What a shame, this might be one of the most underrated games because of Goldeneye. While 2 player wasn't as good (still solid), TWINE had a better one player mode complete with voice acting and different level types (Skiing, Stealth, even that strange water level).

I believe though, that the PC version was discontinued.

I meant in any sport. I heard Favre is also supposed to be in the FA pool. There will be a roster patch available on release day that puts him on the Jets anyways. He's not. Daunte Culpepper is the best QB in the FA pool.

He's on the legends team, just go put him in. And how'd you get it so early? Second hand stores (like, stores with titles such as "CASH FOR GAMES" and not Gamestop) seem to sell games to be released a couple of days early, but they usually ask to be quiet about it (like last year where I was telling my friend on the phone that it was out). From the PS2 front, there is obviously nothing gamebreaking and basically a roster update again. The Fantasy Game looks like a buy-sell game, where you can protect a few players and then have some sort of Salary Cap game. It looks interesting. I haven't really looked too much into yet. And I don't see a Legends team. Favre isn't on All Packers or Packers 98. There is a Packers 2007 Team he is on, but I can't seem to edit that team at all.

I got it for the PS2 today. I guess I would say that it feels like another roster update. I haven't played an actual game yet, but the drills did seem more fluid than previous versions. There are some new features as well that I haven't went into yet (like that Fantasy thing). I'm just messing around with Franchise right now. But I love my Madden. I wish I could Favre on the Jets right now, I guess I'll have to wait for that roster update Sony releases.

I definitely like the traditional Mario games a lot more than SMB 2. Admittedly, I played SMB 2 a lot later (even after World) and I just don't like the whole pick up turnip throw turnip idea, and testing a lot of different potion spots for warp zones and potions. Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible, or even a bad game. I just do not feel it holds up against Super Mario Brothers, SMB 3, World, or even 6 Golden Coins for GB. And Peach seemed to be the best character to use by far. I mean that's fine, and I do like that Nintendo connected that into Smash Brothers, but it would be cool to actually need to use other characters at some points. You could even call it the original Super Princess Peach.

I want the Celtics to win this series, I do, and they should being up 2-0, but jeez, they really almost blew that 24 point lead. I know I'm stating the obvious, I'm just posting one of those "wtf" moments, I mean a 24 point lead nearly gone with only 7 minutes to go! It's hard to say Boston wins one in LA. Then again, the Lakers looked awful at points too.

Being the Nintendo fanboy I am, I recently got this and must say this may be the 2nd best Mario Kart game yet (behind DS). The tricks just make it very fun. An what also puts it on top for me is Spoiler: Click here to viewThe fact that the Mii is a secret driver, so it's basically a create a driver. Good Bowser Castle's and Rainbow Road. I just wish they'd release a Mario Kart game with all tracks from each game, that'd be something.

They aren't, I had my top two defensemen playing the whole game sans a penalty kill. Yeah, I could put the line changes on auto, but I like being able to change my lines on my own. I should mention, I'm playing it on the PS2, an I know L1 + directional does the offensive part of the lines.

I am quite excited for the Draft Lottery. It'd be great if the Knicks could snag #2 away and get Derrick Rose. As for the remaining team left in the playoffs, I would want to see Celtics-Lakers, but if I want my near perfect NBA.com bracket (I had the Mavericks over the Hornets) then I'd need Spurs-Celtics. This Celtic 0-6 on the road isn't going to fly against Los Angeles or San Antonio, hell, maybe not even against Detriot.

So I'm playing NHL 2K8, my first hockey game since NHL 98, I only have one question, an sadly it's a stupid one. I know how to change offensive lines on the fly, but how do I switch defensive ones?

Here was my NBA.com bracket before the playoffs began. Lakers in 4 Mavericks in 7 Spurs in 6 Jazz in 6 Celtics in 5 Pistons in 5 Magic in 6 Cavs in 6 I now regret overrating Dallas and now see how old Jason Kidd in fact is. The Suns needed game 1 the way it was played. I'm quite happy with my Lakers sweep, as if Denver could win game 1 the way it went, I don't see them winning anything else. I do have a Spurs-Celtics ending.

Super Smash Brawl hands down. Good Metal Gear themes, good Sonic themes, good remixes of current Mario and Zelda themes. And good orginal themes out of the way.

I just had to buy a Wii for this. And since I've gotten it, I haven't put it down. Smash Brawl is just amazing. But on the topics of challenges, yeah, a lot of these challenges are really tough. I'm doing good with most of them, but beating All Star mode on Intense will defnitely be tough. I also can't seem to think of a way to beat Target Test Level 3 in under 20 seconds either. But yes, just an amazing game. I can't get enough. EDIT: Of course, five minutes after I say that, I find a way to beat Target Test 3 in under 20.