Pigskin Pigsplosion: Why Does Tony Romo Get So Much More Crap than Matthew Stafford?

Instead of blabbering here, let’s go straight to the picks:

Arizona @ Carolina (-6.5)

Ryan: Drew Stanton got injured on December 11th and this game will be played on January 3rd. In the interim, purported offensive genius Bruce Arians will not have spent any of that time coming up with a better solution than having Ryan Lindley wing the ball eight feet over his receivers’ heads. Few will blame him for that — he’ll get a pass because he lost Stanton and Carson Palmer. Why is he too proud and/or scared to try something unconventional? How could it be worse?

I get yelled at by somebody every time I call for Tim Tebow, but even if it’s not him specifically there are any number of people out there who are much more capable than Lindley and cannot throw much worse. Lisk: in our lifetimes, has there been a worse starting quarterback in an NFL playoff game? /Panthers.

Stephen: A worse starting QB in an NFL playoff game than Ryan Lindley? How about Tim Tebow? CARDINALS

Jason: Zing! Tebow threw twice as many touchdowns as interceptions and averaged 6.7 yards per pass. Lindley is at 2 TD, 11 INT, and 5.0 yards per attempt. I think it is almost certain that Lindley is the worst (as measured by at-the-time stats) starter for a playoff game.

Still, there have been 197 guys to throw at least 8 passes in a playoff game since the merger. There are some fun names on the list. Danny Kanell and Todd Blackledge both started a playoff game, and now work for ESPN, so Tebow is not alone. Quincy Carter started a playoff game for Dallas; Lindley makes him look like an MVP candidate. Older fans will remember Eric Hipple, Cliff Stoudt, and Jack Trudeau. The only guys I think that are even in the conversation with Lindley are Scott Zolak, who had to start the 1998 playoff game for Pete Carroll and the Patriots, and Todd Marinovich, who started the playoff game in 1991 for the Raiders.

The more interesting one might be worst starters to actually win a playoff game. Tebow? T.J. Yates? Scott Brunner for the 1981 Giants? Lindley beats them all. I feel bad for the Cardinals being submarined by awful quarterback play, but this team has averaged 12.4 points in the seven games since Palmer’s injury. Panthers.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (-3)

Ryan: Is there an amount of heinous organizational behavior that could ever get a team banned from postseason play as occasionally happens in college? We don’t need to rehash all of the ways the Ravens bungled the Ray Rice incident — and it’s not as though the league was not also complicit in institutional malpractice — which have been discussed ad nauseum.

Beyond that, security chief Darren Sanders is alleged to have groped a female stadium employee during a game. If that’s ultimately found to be true, Sanders may lose his job, Roger Goodell will write a smarmy memo, and maybe the Ravens franchise would get fined for their body of work. No one would discuss the possibility of a playoff ban (which is not something that I’m definitely saying they would deserve). That penalizing players based on behavior of administrators is patently unfair did not deter a lengthy (though it would end up being shortened) punishment for Penn State.

Given that the Ravens are seemingly not even close to incurring that type of discipline, what would an NFL team have to be guilty of in order for it to happen? Steelers.

Stephen: Good luck with that. We also need relegation and to pay college players. Unfortunately, the only thing that can keep the Ravens from the playoffs is the retirement of Joe Flacco and we’re decades away from that. STEELERS

Jason: A banged up LeVeon Bell may not play at all. The Ravens actually having the better point differential on the season. I hate every minute of this, but Baltimore is about to mess up the playoffs and spawn some horrible columns. Ravens.

Stephen: Imagine for a moment if the quarterbacks in this game went by Andrew Dalton and Andy Luck. How would that change your perception of them? Imagine for another moment that this wasn’t something that people actually discuss in the media. COLTS

Jason: Okay, Steve, I’ll try to do that.

A Dalton by any other name would be just as sweet to go against. Colts.

Ryan: In my head, I thought that the Colts had faltered at the end of the season, possibly a result of boredom from having the division mostly locked up two months into the year and possibly because they’re not that good. But then I looked it up and I saw that they finished 5-1, so I guess the 42-7 drubbing they took from the Cowboys stuck in my mind a little too prominently. These teams played in Week 7 and the Colts won 27-0, so I’m picking the Bengals because the NFL doesn’t make any sense.

Detroit @ Dallas (-6.5)

Stephen: The Lions and the Cowboys are both in the playoffs. These are the traditional Thanksgiving hosts. And both cities start with D. I’m not sure where I’m going with this so I guess I’ll change the subject to Ndumakong Suh. What’s the deal with that guy? To paraphrase MAGIC!, why does he have to be so rude? And along the lines of Ryan’s question about banning an entire franchise from postseason play, what would Suh have to do to get suspended? COWBOYS to win, LIONS to cover IMHO

Jason: Did you know that Matt Stafford and the Lions lead the league in comebacks, with 5? That ties him with a host of QBs for tenth all-time. For you superstitious types, Eli Manning had the most ever in 2011, before winning the Super Bowl, and also had 5 in 2007, before winning the Super Bowl. Stafford is definitely capable of an Eli Manning-type career. I still have a hard time picturing the football gods smiling on Detroit like they do with the Giants, though. Cowboys.

Ryan: This game has the most sizzle, so to speak, of this weekend’s slate. The Cowboys didn’t really have any hilarious collapses this season, and the idea that they’re inevitable has exited the forefront of most people’s minds. (Including mine, I guess — spoiler alert, I’m picking them to win the Super Bowl in our staff thread later, partly because they’re playing as good as anyone, and partly because it’s boring to pick Seattle, New England, Green Bay, or Denver.)

Along with Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford has mastered the art of not getting criticized nationally for underperforming high draft position and a big contract. My theory is that they’re respectful to the media, and carry themselves with proper body language. By that logic, though, it makes no sense that Tony Romo — an undrafted free agent — has caught way more shit than they have when he’s also been discernibly better. The only thing I can think of is that Romo gets done in by his association with Jerry Jones.

I’m with Stephen in saying Cowboys win, Lions cover.

Records

Last Week
Ryan: 6-10
Stephen: 10-6
Jason: 9-7

Season
Ryan: 127-124-5
Stephen: 124-128-4
Jason: 118-132-6