Musings on the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl

It is always bittersweet for me to see the Super Bowl get big in the football window. Sweet because the biggest game of the year is only days away; bitter because that game marks the end of watching grown men smash each other for a few months … leaving only the NFL Combine, free agency and the Draft in April to look forward to. Ahh … the Super Bowl. How America loves ye.

But anyway, let’s move on to some random thoughts on the Pro Bowl and a preview/prediction for the Super Bowl.

Players Save the Pro Bowl

Commissioner Roger Goodell has done a lot of good for the NFL over the past few years. Many grouse about his heavy-handed suspension and fines, but I think overall the league is better for having him in the chair. Take the Pro Bowl for instance. Last year’s game was a disgrace; players barely tried. Roger threatened to eliminate the game. So what happened? It actually looked like a football game this year.

I typically root for the AFC, but generally don’t really care who wins the game. It’s one of the last two games for the season, so I will watch. The best part this year was watching the six Chiefs in the game. Pretty good (a record in fact) for a team with only two wins. It proves the talent is there. Hopefully the leadership is there now, too. This fan is already looking forward to next season with Andy Reid (Big Red) at the helm.

Super Bowl XLVII

RAVENS VS 49ERS

This game is also known as the HarBowl or Ray Lewis’ last dance or the battle of two unknown quarterbacks or the Revival of New Orleans. There are plenty of storylines to go around at this year’s NFL championship game, and most of us will be sick of hearing about most of them by kickoff on Sunday.

The one I like, and some of you may disagree, is the story of two brothers coaching against each other in the biggest game of their lives. Put yourself in their place. I want to win as bad as the next guy (OK, probably more) but knowing that your bro is going to be crushed at the very moment that you have one of the greatest moments of your life. That’s heavy. Mr. & Mrs. Harbaugh have to be torn. It’s the best of times, but it is also tough, I’m sure. Imagine being incredibly joyful for one son while consoling and heartbroken for the other. What an incredible situation God has placed in front of that family. They seem to be handling it with humility, grace and joy. Good for them.

On to the game … most of the official betting lines have the Niners favored by 3-4 points. By all accounts it should be a hard-hitting and close game. The teams (and coaches) mirror each other – tough defense, good running games, vertical passing, TEs heavily involved, strong special teams, emotional leaders across the board.

All that said, it’s going to come down to which defense can stop the opposing team’s biggest offensive threat. For the Ravens that is Flacco to Torrey Smith going deep. For the Niners, it’s Kaepernick and the read-option from the quarterback position. Atlanta poked holes in the San Francisco secondary, and I think Baltimore will, too. My prediction: Ravens 28, Niners 24. Good bye, Ray Lewis.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Steve

Predictions for the NFL's Final Four

The NFL's version of the Final Four is here with the AFC and NFC Conference Championship games coming up this Sunday. I love this time of the year as football titans beat each other up each in an attempt to get to the SuperBowl. But it's also bittersweet because it means the games are quickly coming to an end.

Some quick thoughts (and predictions) on the games.

NINERS @ FALCONS

It was nice to see Mike Smith, Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez finally get that elusive first playoff win last week against the Seahawks. Just barely. Despite a great home record over the past few years, I just don't think Atlanta has enough to overcome that tough 49er defense, and Kaepernick and Co. are clicking on offense, too. I'll be rooting for Tony G. and the birds, but my pick is for San Francisco to win it on the road.

RAVENS @ PATRIOTS

I call this the Hatred Bowl for me personally. Don't really like either of these teams at all. Belichick is a great coach, probably a football genius, but I just get tired of hearing about The Hoodie, Brady, The Patriot Way, etc. And I've never really been a fan of the Ravens or Ray Lewis. Their defense has always been tough, and Ray Ray is an incredible player and motivator for them ... but I just can't like them. All that said, I'll be rooting for Baltimore to stick it to Bill and Brady, but I'm still picking the Pats in a runaway.

If you have the stones, tell me why these picks are wrong. And why.

As always, thanks for reading.

Steve

NFL Playoff Predictions: Divisional Round

Well, I was 4-0 for last weekend's Wildcard Round (sorry, Kenny Merrill and other 'Skins fans). As far as the picks for the upcoming Divisional Round, I'm not as confident. Other than the Seattle-Washington game, last week's games appeared to be men v boys. Starting with the divisional round, it gets much tougher.

 

Here are my picks.

 

RAVENS @ BRONCOS

Baltimore has been struggling the past month or so and the energy generated by Ray Lewis' retirement announcement won't be a factor this week as the game is in Denver. Peyton struggles in sub-40 degree temps, but it won't be enough. Broncos win.
 

TEXANS @ PATRIOTS

Houston just hasn't looked like the same team since getting their butts handed to them by New England at a game late in the season. I don't see anything changing that trend (particularly how they barely beat the Ben-Gals at home last week). Patriots win it big.

 

 

PACKERS @ NINERS

This may be the game of the weekend. This is a match-up between two of the NFC's best and is a rematch of the Week 1 game in San Francisco when the Niners won handily. Much has changed since then, and I see the outcome changing, too. Packers win a close one on the road.

SEAHAWKS @ FALCONS

Atlanta is the NFC's No. 1 seed, but it is the team that nobody seems to have any confidence in. Add that to the fact that Seattle's strengths seem to be where the Falcons have weaknesses. I'm throwing all that aside and picking the Falcons. I think Ryan and Gonzalez get it done at home.

So that sets up my Conference Championship match-ups of Patriots at Broncos and Packers at Falcons for next Sunday. Let me know what you think. Are your picks any better?

As always, thanks for reading.

Steve

Predicting the 2012 NFL Playoff Teams

It’s that time of the year when all the so-called national experts and football pundits take their shot at predicting the field of NFL playoff teams for the upcoming season. It’s a pretty mixed bag, with most of the ”predictions sure to go wrong” as ESPN’s Mike & Mike have labeled it. That’s pretty much the case here.

So with all the know-it-alls giving it a shot here in the last few days of the pre-season, I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring. I spend a lot of brainpower thinking about it anyway, so I just as well share it with the sporting world and make a jerk out of myself like everybody else.  Here goes …

*Division winners

~Wildcard teams

AFC North – Baltimore*, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati

The Ravens finally ride their offense to the post-season as Flacco blossoms.

AFC South – Houston,* Tennessee, Jacksonville, Indianapolis

Texans are too talented to not take advantage of a weak division.

AFC East – New England*, Buffalo~, NY Jets, Miami

New England reloads on D finally. Buffalo takes a step forward.

AFC West – Kansas City,* Denver~, San Diego, Oakland

The Chiefs ACL crew returns with a vengeance. Peyton leads Broncos to a wildcard.

AFC playoff teams – Baltimore, Buffalo, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, New England

NFC North – Green Bay*, Chicago~, Detroit, Minnesota

Packers repeat at division champs, but the Bears are much improved.

NFC South – Atlanta*, Carolina, New Orleans, Tampa Bay

The Falcons finally put it all together. The Saints are distracted. Carolina continues to climb.

NFC East – Philadelphia*, Dallas~, NY Giants, Washington

Can the Eagles play finally equal its talent? It all hinges on Vick’s health.

NFC West – San Francisco*, Seattle, Arizona, St. Louis

Harbaugh and gang fall back to the pack slightly, but still manhandle a weak division.

NFC playoff teams – ­Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Green Bay, Philadelphia, San Francisco

Super Bowl prediction: Baltimore v Chicago

The Ravens offense and defense put it all together in 2012, thanks to the arm of Flacco and Ray Rice’s all-around play. The D isn’t bad, either. Ray Lewis goes out on top.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come on … give it a shot. Who do you think will be the surprise and potential flop teams this season?

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Steve

The NFL’s Top 10 RBs for 2012

As the first installment in a series of blogs I’ll be doing over the next two weeks leading up to NFL Kickoff Weekend … here are my thoughts on the best running backs in the NFL, right now. Not what they’ve done in the past, but rather what we can expect from them this season.

1. Arian Foster – Two-time defending rushing champion. Hard to argue with that.
2. Ray Rice – The bowling ball from Rutgers. Who wants to tackle that thing.
3. LeSean McCoy – Has been called the nearest thing we’ve seen to Barry Sanders.
4. Chris Johnson – CJ2K had a down year last year, but looks electric in the pre-season.
5. Maurice Jones-Drew – Now the man in Jax, he’s holding out. That hurts his ranking.
6. Adrian Peterson – Would be No. 1 except for that December knee injury.
7. Matt Forte – Mr. Do It All with no fanfare. Forte is solid in all phases.
8. Jamaal Charles – He’s a virtual carbon copy of Johnson, but with less baggage.
9. Steven Jackson – Rams all-time leading rusher. Five straight 1,000-yard seasons.
10. Michael Turner – He’s carried the ball a ton. May be set for a down year.

Best of the Rest – (listed alphabetically) Ahmad Bradshaw, Frank Gore, Fred Jackson, Ryan Mathews, Darren McFadden. These guys are all great backs, but each of them have yet to put in all together on a consistent basis either due to injury, opportunity or production.

Who am I missing? And how would you list them?

Thanks for reading.

Steve

NFL Week 6: Games to Watch

We are five weeks into the 2011 NFL Regular Season and if there’s one thing for sure, this year is turning out to be the season of surprise – surprises positive and surprises negative. On the plus side, we have great unexpected success stories in Buffalo, Detroit, San Francisco and Washington. And on the down end, we have teams laying eggs like Indianapolis, Minnesota, Philadelphia and St. Louis.

 

Two months ago, who would have thought the 49ers at Lions game would one of the biggest ones on the Week 6 schedule. Well, it is. And the records for the teams in the Eagles-Skins game are backwards from what everyone expected. That’s why they play the games.

Last week I went 3-1 on these preview games; overall I'm 15-5.

Here are four of this week’s best games.

49ERS (4-1) @ LIONS (5-0)

These two teams are the talk of the NFL football world, going a combined 9-1 through five weeks of games. Detroit was somewhat expected; San Francisco was not. The 49ers were terrible last year, they have a rookie head coach and the lockout kept them from installing a new system this summer. None of it seems to have mattered. And the Lions are rolling, winning in every conceivable fashion. The edge goes to the Lions playing at home.

Detroit 31, San Francisco 24

BILLS (4-1) @ GIANTS (3-2)

This is a hard game to figure. Buffalo is one the real surprises of the season so far; the team’s only loss so far is a road loss to the Bengals. The Bills have beaten New England, Oakland and Philadelphia, and certainly look like a team that is for real. The Giants are, again this year, one of those tough teams that just seem to find a way to win. Their defense has been hit hard by injuries, but they find a way to put players on the field and gut out hard-fought victories. The G-Men do it again this week, but just barely.

New York 24, Buffalo 23

EAGLES (1-4) @ REDSKINS (3-1)

It’s hard to say which of these teams is a bigger surprise – Philly on the down side or Washington on the plus side. Everyone has heard all about the Eagles’ talent and how they were supposed to be winning. And everyone has grown accustomed to doubting the Redskins’ talent and Mike Shanahan’s coaching. Well, maybe Washington is finally putting it together. The team is leading the NFC East and hosts the reeling Eagles. They keep on surprising and the Eagles keep on falling.

Washington 27, Philadelphia 24

TEXANS (3-2) @ RAVENS (3-1)

At the beginning of the year, most folks probably looked at this match-up and just marked is as an easy win for the Ravens. And maybe it will be anyway. But when you look closer at this game, it gets more and more interesting. The Texans are balanced on offense, and Wade Phillips finally has the team playing some defense. The Ravens are a hard team to figure, going hot and cold from week to week. Flacco is still inconsistent, but Ray Rice is the offensive engine. He’ll deliver again.

Baltimore 23, Houston 21

Missouri Round-up

The Missouri Tigers celebrate the centennial of the Homecoming where homecomings all began. Mizzou welcomes the Iowa State Cyclones to town for the big party, and everybody remotely associated with the university hopes they don’t spoil it. The Tigers are 2-3 and already 0-2 in conference play; I don’t see how they can lose this one at home. The Chiefs are off on their BYE this weekend, and the Rams will probably wish they were by the time they leave Green Bay. I fully expect the Packers to destroy St. Louis’ undermanned Rams. Run for cover, fellas.

As always, thanks for reading.

Steve