Super Bowl XLIII

The NFL is only 12 weeks old, but I believe now is the appropriate time to start salivating over potential Super Bowl matchups. And at this point, there are several teams that we can all agree are not making the Super Bowl. Those teams are as follows: Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Detrot Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and St. Louis Rams. Anyone can argue that some of these teams have not been eliminated from playoff contention. But let’s be honest with ourselves, if any of these teams are playing in February, lets just disband the league. So with the elimination of those losers, that leaves twenty other teams to form a myriad of possible Super Bowl matchups. Within those choices are the best of the best (Packers v. Jets), to the worst of the worst (Panthers v. Ravens). Let’s go through some of the better ones, shall we?

Jets v. Packers (#1)
Lets just preface this by saying that any Super Bowl with Brett Favre would probably be the most watched Super Bowl in history. Whether you like him (Peter King, ESPN, Jets fans), or hate him (everyone else), a Super Bowl with Brett Favre is pure insanity. But a matchup like this could have books written about it until the end of time. Favre, who spent his entire career with the Green Bay Packers and is beloved by every man, woman, child, animal in the State of Wisconsin, is ousted in the off season by the team in an effort to give a chance to understudy quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Brett, who is afraid of growing up, decides that he still has something left in the tank. So Green Bay trades him to the New York Jets. They believe that this move would never bite them in the ass seeing that the New York Jets have not been competitive since the swinging sixties. But look at where we are now. Jets are currently first in the AFC East and one of the best teams in the NFL. While the Packers are struggling behind Aaron Rodgers with a 5-5 record and third in the NFC North. If this Super Bowl were to happen, ESPN would dedicate one of their channels to it. Peter King’s erection would have an erection. And if the Jets defeated the Packers in Super Bowl XLIII, the Green Bay organization might be overrun by their “owners”. Let’s just pray it happens.

Jets v. Giants (#2)
This one is clearly a close second. Both teams play in the same building for God’s sake! And once again, Brett Favre is involved! But let’s put it this way. The Giants, who pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the history of sports in last year’s Super Bowl, defend their title against the team who they share rent with. It’s roommate on roommate for the last slice of pizza (bragging rights). And Brett Favre’s there! Although New York is a baseball town, this would trump the Yankee/Met world series back in 2000. Why? Because it’s the Super Bowl. Even people without televisions watch it. And lest we forget, the halftime show will be performed by…Bruce Springsteen. If that’s not a New Jerse….New York Super Bowl, I don’t know what is. And pssst…Brett Favre’s gonna be there.

Giants v. Colts (#3)
This one writers, analysts, talking heads, and the media in general have had a woody over since Eli was drafted in 2004. Up until two years ago, no one thought it was possible because Peyton Manning was a choke artist. And up until last year, still no one thought it was possbile because Eli Manning was not his brother. Now that both of them have their own rings and don’t have to share anymore, the prospect of Brother on Brother television is entirely possible come February. Needless to say, this matchup is dripping with intrigue. We can finally put to rest the “Who’s the better Manning” argument. Regardless of the outcome, I still say Cooper.

Giants v. Patriots (#4)
I’ve been told by many a Patriot fan that Matt Cassel is the second coming. These were the same fans who were holding Tom Brady vigils after he went down in the first game of the season. This may sound weird but all New England fans are insanely loyal, they just can’t stick to what they are loyal too. Maybe they’re just idiots. But anyway, a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl would be very fun to watch. Especially since the tables would be turned. The Giants would come into the game as heavy, double-digit favorites against a team that rallied behind their maligned quarterback to the Super Bowl. Except this time, all of America will still be rooting for the Giants. No one, and I mean, no one likes what’s going on in Foxboro right now. When Brady went down, it was supposed to be over. Patriots were supposed to go 4-12 and quietly go peacefully into that good night. But no, Matt Cassel is a pro bowl quarterback and the Pats are one of the best teams in the AFC. It’s just sickening.

Cowboys v. Patriots (#5)
It’s a battle of the most hated teams in America. People would watch it just to yell at the television. Its a lose-lose scenario of any non-Cowboy or Patriot fan. But bottomline: It’s good T.V. Owens. Romo. Belichick. Moss. A giddy Wade Phillips. Cassel. What reasonable football fan wouldn’t watch that.

Headlines…

There are few things I hate more than school. The books, the classes, the teachers, the classmate, the #2 pencils, the study groups, the extra credit, the class participation; I hate it all. But it’s irrelevant what I feel about school. It is a necessary evil to be relatively successful in life. Unless you’re a trust fund baby, or you invented something by accident, you are going to have to earn everything in life. And school is a necessity. Especially college. Businesses love to see that you earned a “(Fill in Degree) of Science” or “(Fill in Degree) of Arts”. I don’t want to earn anything. I just want a job which will pay me a lot of money for doing A) a job I love to do or B) very little work. Why can’t I do that? How come its never that easy? Why do I have to go through the motions like everyone else? I thought this was America! How come some people like John Mayer, who has no discernable talent, be so damn successful? One day, I would like to have “Singer/Songwriter” on my resume. But I digress…

Greg Oden will play tonight against the Heat (Link)
Two weeks following Oden’s first game, he will play his second. At this rate, he’ll play a full season in 20 years. And in 20 years he might be dead! The Blazers shouldn’t push an old man beyond his physical abilities.

Jets at Patriots, Thursday at 8:15, NFL Network
SO MANY STORYLINES! ESPN must be kicking themselves that they didn’t pick this game for Monday Night Football. Instead, they chose the Cleveland “We’re not about the hype” Browns and the Buffalo “Afraid to win” Bills. The Jets/Patriots is like ESPN’s wet dream. Brett Favre. Bill Belichick. Rivalry. Division. Handshakes. You couldn’t ask for a better set up.

Romo will start against the Redskins (Link)
Finally! How long does it take to come back from a broken pinkie? Back in my day, quarterbacks broke their necks on the field and STILL played the next week. And that’s the way we liked it!

Madonna says Arod has the “the heart of a poet trapped inside an insanely gorgeous body” (Link)
I don’t see what the big deal is. Women tell me that all the time. I’m still baffled, as I assume all of you are, by this whole Arod/Madonna freak fest. My only guess is that Madonna is using Rodriguez for his skin.

Headlines…

Phillies on win away from World Series Championship
It’s all set up for the Phillies tonight against the Rays. Cole Hamels on the mound. Ryan Howard has entered another “whenever I swing, the ball disobeys the laws of gravity” mode. They are home. Joe Blanton is hitting homeruns for Christ’s sake. Philly hasn’t won a sports championship in the past 100 collective seasons. It’s time. It’s also time for Philly to burn to the ground. And that’s exactly what is going to happen tonight if they win. Benjamin Franklin would be proud.

Batting fifth for the Philles, Ryan Howard's penis.

Giants defeat the Steelers at Pittsburgh 21-14
People try to pinpoint on attribute among all championship teams. Great defense. Great coach. Great chemistry. Those things are all nice but they don’t define champions. It’s capitalizing on opponent’s mistakes. There is no way the Giants win that game if Harrison doesn’t snap the ball over Berger’s head resulting in a safety. Right after it happened the Giants came out of their shell and marched the ball right down the field. The Giants schedule gets a lot tougher, starting next Sunday against the Cowboys. Romo will be back. The season starts now for New York.

I'm the Juggernaut!

Favre and the Jets defeat the Chiefs 28-24
Despite having one of the worst looking games in recent memory. Passes were thrown directly into the DBs chests. Receivers were overthrown by 10-15 yards. However, the Chiefs didn’t like that winning feeling, so they decided to give it to the Jets. There is no worse 4-3 team in the NFL than New York. Ugh. But I think its better for the fans. Now, we know not to expect much from them. If they win, unexpected. If they lose, whatever.

Only 3 INTS!

 

NBA Season starts tomorrow
For a league I don’t watch as much as the NFL, MLB, NCAA Football, or NCAA Basketball, I still enjoy the NBA. A lot of stars. Rouge officials. High tempo play. Its all good. And as much as everyone is saying that the Knicks will still be horrible, I’m looking at a 35-40 team this year. D’Antoni will take a dormant offense and make them play hard for 48 minutes. They will win games just by constantly running the floor. The Garden will be relevant this year. I guarantee it.

38 wins here we come!

Week 6 Picks

I skipped last weeks picks because my head was buried in a Managerial Accounting textbook. A textbook, by the way, that cost $235. Nothing, which utility is sitting on a shelf 99% of the time, should cost $235. And while studying for my accounting test, I found that a majority of the material I needed to do well, was online or in my notes. So I basically put $235 in a trash can and lit it on fire.

Bears over Falcons

Texans over Dolphins

Colts over Ravens

Lions over Vikings

Saints over Raiders

Jets over Bengals

Panthers over Buccaneers

Redskins over Rams

Broncos over Jaguars

Cowboys over Cardinals

Eagles over 49ers

Packers over Seahawks

Chargers over Patriots

Giants over Browns

Side Note: To illustrate how small the world really is, the Cincinnati Bengals have a starting quarterback named Carson Palmer. Currently, he won’t start this week, but that’s besides the point. The Bengals also have a third-string quarterback, and his names is Jordan Palmer. That’s right, they’re brothers. Two brothers, by blood, playing the same position for the same team. That’s like the Molina brothers (Jose and Bengie) both playing for the Angels in 2002. And a subsequent third brother, Yadier, who plays and won a World Series for the 2006 Cardinals. Three brothers, playing the same position, same sport, and all have World Series’ rings. The Manning brothers would have a similar distinction is Cooper would get up off his ass and throw the pigskin around for once.

2006 Super Bowl Champion

 

2007 Super Bowl Champion

 

Worthless

Week 3 Picks…

Alrighty, last week I went 10-5, which I must say is PREETY, PREETY, PREETAY, good. The Seahawks and Lions did hose me with their overratedness and everything. And I did call that the Cowboy/Eagle game would be a shootout resulting in a Cowboy victory. So this week, I’m feeling good. Feeling real good. Feeling like a legit procrastinator, I mean, prognosticator, or both, because right now I should be doing real work and not posting a blog where a limited amount of people visit. And speaking of which, if you do accidentally stumble upon this blog of all blogs, post a comment. Make me feel loved. I don’t want to be alone out here on my own. I have needs you know. Anyways…

Chiefs at Falcons
Okay, so Matt Ryan had his “Welcome to the NFL” game by looking like an infant with a helmet last week. I expect he and the Falcons to bounce back. Tyler Thigpen is the starting quarterback for the Chiefs. I’m pretty sure he won a contest to be the third string quarterback for Kansas City.

Raiders at Bills
Buffalo could be the best team in the AFC East. Have you taken a look at their schedule. Let me refresh your memory. Raiders, Rams, Cardinals, Chargers, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots, Browns, Chiefs, Niners, Dolphins, Jets, Broncos, Patriots. I see at least 11 wins for this team when it’s all said and done.

Buccaneers at Bears
Griese and Orton. Griese and Orton. Griese is Orton. Griese’s a Man! Anyway, do I go with the underachieving veteran? Or do I go with the underachieving youth? Neither. I go with the Bucs D.

Panthers at Vikings
Good game. Great game. I’ll break it down like this. Steve. Smith. Back. The Panthers have gone 2-0 without him. Now Delhomme has someone to throw to other than Mushin. AP is questionable. Which is a statement that will be uttered essentially every week for the rest of his career. You have to feel bad for the Vikings. They are like the Bears in 2006. Except they don’t even have a quarterback as good as Rex Grossman, and that’s saying something.

Dolphins at Patriots
That’s right, I’m doing it. I’m putting my integrity on the line. The ultimate trap game. Even though Belichick knows that too, I like the Dolphins. Maybe it’s just the sour grapes talking, but everyone saw how limited Cassel was. He basically threw nothing down field. Miami will adjust. Biggest win for them in a long time.

Bengals at Giants
Another trap game. This time for the Giants. Bengals are playing like a Pop Warner Rec league team. The Giants haven’t lost a game since last December. I still like the G-Men. In my opinion, they have the most offensive weapons for any one team in the league. Manning, Burress, Jacobs, Smith, Toomer, Ward, Bradshaw. I had to sit Palmer on my fantasy team this week. Another bad week, I’ll trade him for a kicker if I have to.

Texans at Titans
Not much to say about this game. The Texans had a Week 2 bye because of Hurricane Ike. Coming off a bad loss to the Steelers in Week 1, the Texans will play well. I’m basing most of this off of the fact that Chris Johnson just cannot play well back-to-back weeks. I just don’t see it.

Cardinals at Redskins
Washington has to keep up with the rest of the NFC East. Beating Arizona is a great start. My name buddy Larry Fitzgerald better get some TD passes.

Saints at Broncos
Man, the Saints got a bad week to play against the Broncos. Denver is coming off a confidence building win. Shanahan put his balls on the line with that 2 point conversion. The Broncos still might be a little shaky without Ed Hoculi pulling the strings. I kid. He’s a good sport.

Lions at 49ers
We’re all waiting for the Lions to win a game and this has to be the one. I feel like “Typical Football Analyst Guy”, but they just have too many offensive weapons to lose on a regular basis. I need Roy Williams to have a big game. I’ve never seen a guy with more raw, physical talent play so average.

Rams at Seahawks
If there ever was a year the Seahawks could struggle in the NFC West, this is it. And this is the team to play against to get things started. Hopefully, Seattle keeps giving Julius Jones the ball. Got to back up that big deal they gave him. And give me fantasy points.

Browns at Ravens
Just another overhyped 0-2 team are the Browns. I like them to win because I like the Ravens to lose more. I feel like I’m saying this for every team: But they still have a chance and this is the game to get going. I can’t be right about all these teams. Are the Browns the one to falter? I hope not. They are fun to watch.

Jaguars at Colts
Peyton’s going to use last week as a stepping stone to take over the AFC South. With the Jags struggling, Texans being average, and the Titans essentially being QBless, he knows to step it up. The Colts picked a good year to play poorly. Bob Sanders IS out for the rest of the season, something to look out for.

Steelers at Eagles
Game of the week in my opinion. To powerhouse NFL franchises with great traditions fighting for a win. The Eagles obviously have more to lose considering they do not want to go 1-2 in the NFC East. I like them at home against Pitt who played really poorly against Cleveland last week.

Cowboys at Packers
I wasn’t going to pick Green Bay, but I accidently put them in bold, so I kept it that way. I took it as a sign. If Aaron Rodgers beats Dallas at home, Green Bay might forget about Favre altogether. He has performed above expectations and then some. Besides, I don’t like Dallas. Why? You say. T.O, Romo, Pacman, Tank, Jerry Jones, what’s to like?

Jets at Chargers
Favre called this game a must win. Starting 1-2 isn’t awful. They have a fairly easy schedule ahead of them. But San Diego is just too pissed to let last week’s loss be the start of something. Rivers is a stud QB who will take New York to task. This might be my pick, but a Jet win would make my week.

Week 2 Picks

When I make picks for each week, I ignore the line. I’m not much of a gambler, and quite frankly, the line annoys me. It’s an irrelevant number implemented in order to generate more gambling. So I am straight up making picks. Who’s going to win. And who’s going to lose. So as I sit here, waiting for the USC/Ohio State game to start, I’ll make my choices. And maybe a little pre-summary to what I think is going to happen.

Packers at Lions
It’s a regression game for Aaron Rodgers. The Lions have too much offense. Someone on that side is going to have a big game.

Raiders at Chiefs
Has a game ever been more meaningless than this one? I take it back. But we could be looking at the first game in the history of NFL where both teams gain negative yards on offense. I’m just wondering who Bernard Pollard is going to take out this week.

Giants at Rams
One of the easiest picks of the week. I say it’s easy, but Manning could go ahead and throw 6 pick sixes. Chris Long is the only thing St. Louis has to look forward to this season.

Colts at Vikings
Two 0-1 teams with high expectations going at it. I’ll take Indy because I only have faith in AP and Minnesota’s D-line. Manning can pick apart their secondary. However, I do think Peterson will have a big game.

Titans at Bengals
Another really confusing game to pick. Vince Young is having emotional problems. Chad Johnson is having nomenclature problems. I just can’t trust a team with essentially no quarterback on the road.

Saints at Redskins
The Saints were supposed to have their offense clicking on all cylinders. Now Colston is out for four to six weeks. Portis will have a nice game.

Bears at Panthers
This looks like it could be Delhomme’s biggest year since 2002. The Bears overachieved against the Colts. It’s time they come back to Earth.

Bills at Jaguars
So many close games this week. A lot of teams that underachieved in Week 1. The Jaguars were one of them. Garrard tightens up the screws for this one.

Niners at Seahawks
No team could be more depressing than the San Francisco 49ers. Ever since their 2002 Wild Card win against the Giants, things have been downhill. Alex Smith is this generations Ryan Leaf. Except Leaf didn’t get paid. Smith has $26 million guaranteed. Ouch.

Falcons at Buccaneers
Once again, another game I can’t make anything out of. Garcia is apparently out for the game. Even though he says he’s fine. Matt Ryan looked great in his first NFL game. Michael Turner dominated in his first game as a starter. But the Bucs won’t take 0-2. Not for nothing.

Patriots at Jets
I got to go with the Jets here. I just have to. If they don’t win here, they should just pack it up as a franchise. They have the greatest statistical quarterback in the history of the game. And the Patriots have their Hall of Fame quarterback out for the year. Not only that, their backup hasn’t started a game since Pop Warner. It’s time.

Dolphins at Cardinals
Is this the year the Cardinals finally win the NFC West. I think so. And it’s wins like this that will get them there. They clearly have the talent to succeed on offense. And a formidable defense. Miami will keep it competitive.

Chargers at Broncos
I know I chose San Diego to make the Super Bowl. But without Merriman, it’s going to be tough. And Jay Cutler is starting to look like a flat out stud. Along with my man Eddie Royal. He might not have the same game as last week. But with Marshall back, they have two solid WRs. I’m buying stock in Denver.

Steelers at Browns
It’s going to be sad to see the Browns be average this year. So many pontificators picking them to be a sleeper pick. It’s tough to do when your biggest off season acquisition was Shaun Rogers. They’ll score alot. But so will their opponents.

Eagles at Cowboys
Going to be a great game. High scoring. Dallas won’t be able to stop Westbrook. But Dallas has too many weapons. They win a shootout down in Texas.