Polaris":36sg48jg said:
kidhawk":36sg48jg said:
MidwestHawker":36sg48jg said:
Playing for the 5 seed instead of the 6 is still a pretty big deal. It's better to be visiting the NFC East champ than visiting the NFC North champ, and the 5 gives you some chance of not having to go into Seattle in the divisional round.
Honestly, if a team is playing NOT to come to Seattle when we have home field throughout the playoffs, then they've already lost. 5 seed/6 seed the differnce is infinitesimal.
Probably true, but if I were another NFC team fan, I'd want to put that off (travel to Seattle) for as long as possible in the (probably vain) hope that someone will take care of that problem for me. At the very least (again with the above assumption), I'd want such a hard trip to be for all the marbles.
As a fan, I can understand this perception, and Niner fans may be thinking that way, but I seriously doubt any Niner players are thinking that way. Honestly if they believe that anyone has a chance to beat Seattle and it's not them, then what kind of faith do they have that they can beat the team that were to beat us? I think the player's mentality is much more towards gearing up to play the best and beat the best.
Personally, if I were an NFC playoff team, I'd want to be the team visiting Seattle in the divisional round, NOT the Championship round. If there's a chance that we get knocked out before the Super Bowl, I believe that chance comes after a week off. 1 week after a divisional win playing for the NFC Championship in Seattle, the crowd will be INSANE (even more so than they will during the divisional game) and the players will be as up for it as possible.
Now, I don't see us having a let down game in the playoffs, but as a playoff team, I'd want Seattle first, not last.