Quote Originally Posted by HoldingXYZ:
Sharps wait for the first group of games to get eliminated before they can unlock the mystery to bet their hard earned money into the 4pmET games... Unless if you know exactly how it would play out... Teams most likely to make it being "MIAMI" and Baltmore being last years SB CHAMPS... BOTH didnt make it... Anytime you hear MUST WIN... STATISTICALLY IT MEANS WILL LOSE
There is truth to this, of course, but I think your angle on WHY it happens might be off base.
Teams that "need" to win, have that NEED because they are generally not that great to begin, thus being on the outside looking in. I mean, Miami, Baltimore and Pitt all finished at 8-8. So they are average teams that win as much as they lose. Only SD got their win when they needed it, and not by much. However, it should be noted in that scenario, each played an opponent that was better or on par with them. Jets finished ahead of Miami in the year end standings. Ravens lost to a better Bengals teams and the Steelers actually NEEDED to win to have any chance, and they did! The Chargers squeaked by a Chiefs team resting a lot of names, but KC was still a decent team with plenty of players giving a full effort.
But Carolina, did win when they needed it. Yes, they were already in the playoffs, but a win got them a bye and home field playoff game, very important.
New Orleans also NEEDED to win to guarantee themselves a spot, as they could not be assured the Cards would not win vs the Niners. And the Saints did win, in convincing fashion.
Now, both of those teams played against teams with a poorer overall record, and they won games they were "supposed" to win.
So don't tell me that these teams that "need" to win don't win, because they do sometimes.
It's a difficult angle to cap games to, mostly because we have no real way to determine how each team, player, or coach is going to handle the pressure of a must win game. It varies from human to human. I do think you have to ask yourself why is this particular team in the position they are in to begin with, and how do they match up vs. their opponent.
So while I agree you with that sometimes teams with this "need" to win might be good fades, it's not something you can just arbitrarily run with all the time.
However, saying these games played out this way because of some HUGE NFL fixing scandal to get certain teams in, and others out is beyond stupid. You guys constantly over think things, over and over and over again. Like a broken record. If you stopped drinking the stupid Kool-Aid and opened your eyes, you might actually see you have some decent thoughts on what might occur.
BOL
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