The Big One. The Super Bowl

                This is the biggest stage in sports; the Super Bowl. Not that it matters much, but the Patriots technically have home field advantage.  The Giants are not the same underdog they were back in 2007. I think that overall they are a better team. The pass rush is possibly even more potent than it was four years ago and the offense can actually move the ball effectively with the passing game. Overall I think they have become one of the most balanced teams in the NFL this year. Plus they got hot at just the right time coming into the playoffs. The Patriots are not the same team we have seen in the past. Since that 2007 season they have relied too heavily on the passing game putting most of the pressure on Tom Brady to perform. So far he has held up under this pressure, but if you go back and look at the games New England has lost, Tom Brady has played poorly because of pressure from the defense. Now it is too early to tell how Rob Grownkowski’s health will be, but I’m not too convinced he will have a big impact on this game.

            As weird as this sounds the Patriots had not beaten a team with a winning record this year before the Ravens in the AFC Championship game. I’m not trying to take anything away from the Patriots, but how good are they really? The Ravens had opportunity after opportunity to take control of the game but they blew it with stupid plays, the last being a missed chip shot field goal. Contrary, the Giants have beat two of the hottest teams in the league the last two weeks in the 49ers and Packers. Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks have a good chance to have their best game of the season as they tear up New England’s secondary.

            This one will be as exciting as the first Super Bowl matchup between these two teams. It will come down to the wire and the quarterback who leads their team with smarter plays more efficient plays and fewer turnovers, will win the game.             Prediction: Giants 27, Patriots 24. (Lawrence Tynes hits the game winner as time expires).

There are so many stories that could appear depending on who wins these last two games before the Super Bowl. If the Giants it would be a repeat of other Super Bowls. If the 49ers win, they could tie the Steelers with the most Super Bowl victories. If Baltimore wins, they will play in the town that took the Colts from them, and if the Patriots win, than we all know Tom Brady will go down in history as the greatest quarterback we have seen yet.

                Baltimore @ New England: One of the league’s top defenses is pitted against one of the league’s top offenses. History has shown that a great defense will always beat a great offense, and usually I would choose the defense to come out on top of this one, but for some reason I can’t justify it. The Ravens have at least two Hall of Famers on their defense right now in Ed Reed and Ray Lewis so we all know that is not their weakness at all. The weakness comes from the offense and mainly Joe Flacco. He’s a good quarterback and shown he can manage and win games, but he is not an elite quarterback who can put the team on his back consistently and pull out a victory. Just like last week Ray Rice will need to have a lot of touches if the Ravens will want to be successful. They do have one thing going for them in that there is an 80% chance of snow in Foxboro that should slow down the multi-headed passing game of New England. Enough has already been said in the media about the Patriots offense they have proved it to be true.         Prediction: Ravens 20, Patriots 34

                New York @ San Francisco: Rain, mud, and blood are what this one is going to come down to. Whoever can commit the least amount of turnovers in this one will end up winning this one. The Giants rush defense is weaker than it appears and the 49ers offense is the perfect design to exploit this weakness. If they can get the ends of the Giants to get up field on a rush, than they can effectively run the ball and throw in some play action after they get it going. Eli manning is coming off a tremendous game and will look to do the same thing against the 49ers. If New York can stop the pass rush, than they will light up the score board on big plays down the field. I don’t see the Giants having much of a running game so they will be riding on Eli’s arm. This one is almost too close to call.    Prediction: Giants 30, 49ers 28.

There it is, the Super Bowl matchup will be a repeat of 2007 where perfection was ended abruptly. Giants vs. Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI

Legends fading, New Greats in the Making

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if a sports greats could come back and play in their league at this moment in time? Imagine Jim Brown, Michael Jordan, and Babe Ruth just to name a few playing against future hall of famers. How would they match up? Would they be as good as they were back then? Would they be better or worse? We really can’t know. With how the rules have changed, depending on the sport, I almost think they would be better. In baseball they couldn’t compete because the rules haven’t changed much. In other sports, players are protected more from hits and fouls than could put them out for a few weeks or possibly end their careers. Especially quarterbacks, just like we saw this year in the NFL, would be able to rack up the numbers easier and more efficiently to receivers that pretty much have free roam over the field. It would be interesting to see if Earl Campbell could run over defenders such as Ray Lewis, Clay Mathews or Patrick Willis. Same would go for Dr. J and Wilt Chamberlain going against Lebron James or Dwight Howard. The new up and coming athletes will be compared to these current athletes instead of the original legends most of us grew up only seeing highlights of not being able to witness their glory during the time of their rein.  It will be interesting to see how it all pans out. Who will we remember from our generation as the “greats” from each sport?

2nd Round of NFL Playoffs: AFC

The playoffs this year have been very intriguing, and in my opinion the best we have had in a long time. Each match up is so unpredictable it is hard to get a handle on which the best team really is.

Denver @ New England:  After last week’s performance from Tim Tebow I think the Broncos have a chance to sneak this one away from the Patriots just like they did against the Steelers. If you watched the game you realize he completed less than 50% of his passes but he had over 300 yards passing! All of those yards were coming off broken plays and play action. You cannot prepare for broken plays they are too unpredictable. A defensive back can only stay with an NFL receiver, one of the most athletic positions in sports, for only so long and even then most of the time you can’t cover them. That is asking way too much for the Patriots defense that was last in the league in almost every category. The only problem I can see hurting the Patriots besides their defense is the offensive line. They are hampered with injuries up front and my not be able to give Brady the allotted time to find his targets. With that being said, I don’t think the Broncos can put up the offensive numbers to keep on pace with New England’s offense. Prediction: Broncos 20, Patriots 31.

Houston @ Baltimore: This will be a show down of two top rated defenses and running attacks. As they clash on Sunday we will see who the “toughest team” in the AFC is.  If the Ravens want to win Ray Rice needs to have over twenty five touches. It does not matter whether they are runs, screens, or swing passes out of the back field as long as he has the ball in his hands, they will be in good shape. Ray Lewis and the defense for the Ravens need to step up like they usually do and have a dominating performance against the run game. On the Texans side they will need to give a steady does of Arian Foster and get the ball to Andre Johnson early and often. If the Texans can keep the defense for the Ravens on their heels by mixing up their game plan with runs and play action at unpredictable times, than it will be in Houston’s hands to either win or lose.                  Prediction: Texans 17, Ravens 24.

2nd Round of the NFL playoffs: NFC

Wow what a weekend of football. All of my picks from last week were wrong; at least I'm consistent right? Hopefully this week I have a little more luck in my diagnosis of these mysterious playoffs.

New York @ Green Bay: New York came out and showed everyone what they were made of against the Falcons Sunday. Their defense was smothering and the offense was consistent which is what they needed. The Packers will be fresh for the first time since the beginning of the season after their first round bye. With the extra week to prepare and the extra rest, look for the Packers to try to come out early and get on top of the Giants early. If the Giants stick around and keep it close than it will be exactly like the previous meeting of these two teams: down to the wire and exciting. If the Giants can control the ball with the running game, this will happen. I still think the Packers are the better team but they do have weaknesses just like every other team and the Giants have the perfect game plan to expose them.      Prediction: Packers 38 Giants 24.

New Orleans @ San Fransisco: This will be an interesting game to watch. Maybe not the most fun game in these playoffs but it will sure show us two completely opposite styles of play: the 49ers old school pound the ball down your throat to control the clock, play great defense, and keep the field position in your favor as well as the Saints who want to spread you out and out score you. If Alex Smith can convert on third down to keep drives alive the 49ers will be in it just by the fact they are keeping Drew Brees and his record setting offense off the field. At the end of the game one of these teams will be out of their comfort zone and this is the reason why this game is so unpredictable. In the end I see the Saints pulling out the W because the forty-niners defense will not get enough pressure to disrupt the New Orleans offense.     Prediction: Saints 38, 49ers: 17

NFL First Round Playoff Predictions

It is finally here, this is what we have all been waiting for.

Say good bye and better luck next year to the other 20 teams that did not make the cut. The playoffs are right in front of us as the new year of 2012 is under way. Here is what I think the first round has in store for us. Let’s start on the NFC side of the bracket.

NFC

Saturday-Detroit @ New Orleans: This is my upset game for the week and possibly the biggest one of the entire post season. The Lions have the fire power to keep up with the Saints in a shootout; the only question is if Mathew Stafford can protect the football throughout the game. The Saints defense is not going to put up much of a fight. There is no question though, that the Lions interior line on defense can stop the run and put pressure on Drew Brees. If this happens. watch Saints could be on another early bus ride home. The Lions need everything to go right for them in this one.   Prediction: Lions 34, Saints 31.

Sunday-Atlanta @ New York: Neither one of these teams has given me much to work with here. They are both very inconsistent at what they want to do offensively. The Giants defense could be the factor in deciding the outcome in the game. Either they play really well like they did on their run in 2007, or they look like they have this year and let Matt Ryan control the game by practically giving them every third down conversion. Either way look for both teams try to establish the run early and try to take shots down the field with play action often.      Prediction:  Falcons 27, Giants 17

AFC

Saturday- Cincinnati @ Houston: These are the two teams that I am least familiar with and rightfully so because of Houston’s QB problems and Cincinnati’s rookie quarterback and bigger AFC North brothers the Steelers and Ravens who are both in the playoffs. The Texans have the best ground game in the league this year so look for them to try to take over early keeping T.J. Yates out of undesirable situations. They’ve lost three straight and do not look like a team that is ready to be in the playoffs. The Bengals are average on the offensive side of the ball but on defense they are one of the top defenses. Andy Dalton does a good job at managing the game and does just enough so that others around him can make plays. After all that is said, don’t expect either of these teams to make it deep into the post season.    Prediction: Bengals 28, Texans 20

Sunday- Pittsburg @ Denver: This one will not even be close. Even though the Steelers are missing two of their starters and Big Ben is still hurt, I don’t think the Broncos can put up enough points to compete. Tim Tebow has no confidence anymore. There are receivers making their cuts and getting open he is just scared to throw the ball it seems. You’re not going to run the ball down Pittsburg’s throat so we better hope there is a new life in the mile high messiah on Sunday. In the end Denver’s defense will keep it close but the Steelers offense will just be too much for them to handle.   Prediction:  Steelers 35, Broncos 17.

As crazy as this sounds I choose every team at home in the first round to lose this season.