Predicting the Biggest Choke Artists and Goats of the 2011 NFL Playoffs

The pressure of winning in the NFL playoffs is so large that many players are often unable to handle it. When the postseason begins, what happened in the regular season means nothing, and the memory people will remember most about your season is how you played in the playoffs.

For so many players their careers are remembered by their playoff gaffes and failures, even if their overall careers were impressive.

Every season several players are responsible for failing to help their team win the Super Bowl.

Let's look at some predictions for the biggest choke artists and goats of the 2011 NFL playoffs. 

Joe Flacco

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is a good player, but he regularly under performs in the playoffs. He has not been able to carry the Ravens to the Super Bowl despite having several talented teams over the past few seasons.

Flacco's career playoff record is 4-3, but he has thrown just four touchdowns and seven interceptions in those games.

This season Flacco has been quite inconsistent and has thrown an interception in seven of his team's 11 games.

Without an elite wide receiver, Flacco will once again fail to lead the Ravens to the Super Bowl and again critics will ask if he is the right man to lead the franchise to a championship.

Ndamukong Suh

Ndamukong Suh is a great player, but his aggression and poor decision making has resulted in penalties that have hurt the Detroit Lions this season.

He has been fined multiple times by the NFL for being too aggressive with quarterbacks, and on Thanksgiving he stomped on a Green Bay Packers offensive lineman after a play, which he was ejected for.

Suh has proven time and again that he is unable to control his aggression, and it would not be surprising if he costs the Lions a game in the playoffs with a stupid penalty or ejection.

Bill Belichick

It has taken Bill Belichick three seasons to rebuild the Patriots defense after many of the team's veterans who were major factors on New England's three Super Bowl titles retired or moved on after the 2007 season.

Belichick has failed with many of his draft picks to rebuild the defense, especially in the secondary, where the Patriots currently have played guys signed off the street this season.

The Patriots cannot beat the best teams in the playoffs with one of football's worst pass defenses, and Belichick's failure to improve the defense after three whole seasons of fixing will cost his team again this postseason.

Cedric Benson

When a rookie quarterback fails in the playoffs, it is not surprising, and with Andy Dalton having a very good rookie season, he will likely be given a pass if the Cincinnati Bengals lose in their first playoff game this season.

The Bengals running game has not been good this season, and their starting running back, Cedric Benson, will fail in the playoffs.

Benson is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and has rushed for less than 80 yards in eight of his 10 games played this season.

In the playoffs you have to run the ball well to win, and when Benson struggles to help his rookie quarterback in the postseason, a lot of the blame will be placed on him.

Matt Leinart

It's hard to imagine the Houston Texans missing the playoffs even with Matt Leinart replacing quarterback Matt Schaub, who has been lost for the season because of an injury.

The Texans have a two-game lead in the division and have the best running back duo in football with Arian Foster and Ben Tate.

However, Leinart has been one of the biggest draft busts in recent memory after a great career at USC. With the game on the line in January, there is little reason to think he would not fail. 

Leinart has not started many games in his career and does not have any experience winning important late-season games.

He is doomed to fail in the playoffs, and unfortunately for him, he will be the goat.

Chad Ochocinco

Chad Ochocinco has not done much for the New England Patriots offense this season, and it has taken him much longer than expected to learn the offense well enough so that the coaches trust him in any situation.

Ochocinco will not perform well in the playoffs, and he might not even be used much at all. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady does not have a lot of confidence in him, and he will target Wes Welker, Deion Branch and tight end Rob Gronkowski before he thinks about Ochocinco.

If the Patriots offense fails again in the playoffs this year, Ochocinco will be the scapegoat by the media and fans, whether that's fair or not.

Carson Palmer

Carson Palmer has just been average since joining the Oakland Raiders in mid-season, throwing six touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

Palmer has gotten better over the last two weeks but still looks rusty. He doesn't have a ton of playmakers on offense, and with Darren McFadden battling injuries this month, his running game might not be at full strength come playoff time.

With a defense that gives up a lot of points, Palmer will have to score points against defenses like the Ravens, Steelers and Texans in the playoffs—and he will fail.

In the only playoff game of his career that he completed, Palmer completed 18 of 36 passes for 146 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

Green Bay Packers' Secondary

One of the biggest reasons the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl last season was because they defended the pass so well. 

Green Bay ranked fourth in the NFL last season in passing yards allowed per game and total yards allowed through the air.

However, this season the Packers have allowed 288 passing yards per game, which ranks 31st among 32 teams. The 19 passing touchdowns they've allowed are tied for the most in the league.

A quarterback like Tom Brady, Eli Manning or Drew Brees could beat the Packers through the air in the playoffs.

If the Packers don't win the Super Bowl, their secondary will be the ones who choke and under perform in the postseason.

Tony Romo

Tony Romo's playoff failures have been well documented, and his play in the postseason will ultimately define his legacy.

Thus far he hasn't been able to handle the pressure of making the plays necessary to win games in January. Although he is not totally to blame for the Cowboys' playoff failures in his career, he certainly needs to play better.

In four playoff games, Romo has completed just 59.3 percent of his passes.

With a starting rookie running back and injuries to key wide receivers such as Miles Austin, Romo will have to be the star of the Cowboys this postseason, and he will once again fail.

Alex Smith

Alex Smith is not one of the better No. 1 overall draft picks in recent memory, but he's played well for the San Francisco 49ers this season, who are atop the NFC West at 9-2.

Smith, however, will return to his old poor form come playoff time, and he is showing signs of going in that direction already.

He has five interceptions on the season, but three have come over the last three games. Last week against the Ravens he passed for only 140 yards.

With star running back Frank Gore battling injuries this season, Smith will have to play well for the 49ers to win a playoff game.

He is not capable of throwing for 300 yards and multiple touchdowns in the event the 49ers defense has a rare poor game in January.

When the 49ers lose in the playoffs, Smith will be the reason why.