Super Bowl XLII Predictions

I know that i haven't blogged recently and that probably just killed all of your sports news, but i couldn't miss the opportunity to blog about the Super Bowl that will change history regardless of who wins. First of all, I'd just like to give big ups to the maligned-rat-turned-savior Tom Coughlin. The man sucked it up and got his team playing pretty darn good football especially for the road. They went up to Green Bay and the awe of Lambeau Field and denied all the cheeseheads. Besides having all the fans to compete with up there, mother nature was against them too. Well fought game there that they managed to pull out. And then of course, there's Tom Brady and that worthless team that can't even claim one home state. You already know how they got to where they are and they don't deserve any credit, trust me. So let's get right down to the dirty game outlook.

In order for the G-Men to win, they are going to have to do a lot of things and do them at a very high level. They have to run the ball effectively. It seems like the first thing that the old patriots defense tries to take away from every team in the playoffs is the ability to run the ball. Why is this? Because if you look back at the close games the patriots had this year, every opposing team had a good, if not great, rushing performance. The Colts, Eagles, Ravens, and the Giants (back in Week 17) all had good games on the ground when they played the pats that allowed their respective quarterbacks to have ok games. The pats defense against the pass is incredibly good because they have the ability to rush the quarterback and still have excellent pass coverage due to their quality defensive backs (rodney harrison and asante samuel mostly). So the Giants must establish the run. After they get the pats on their heels with the run, that opens up play action for Eli and gives him some more time in the pocket because they pats can't just assume the pass.
Second, the Giants must figure out how to confuse brady. We know that brady is no Peyton Manning and he can't figure things out as well at the line, especially if you have lots of audibles. So the Giants have to change their scheme frequently and always be moving before the snap and always be doing something brady can't anticipate. If brady doesn't know what's going on, no one on the field for the patriots knows.

And the Giants have to do one more thing for all fans like me who just down right hate the patriots and find that saying their name alone is like speaking of voldemort: put tom brady's butt into the ground hard and often.

In regards to "boot-gate" my personal belief is that it is all a hoax, a sham. Why? Because as some of you have already forgotten, just as the media has, randy moss has a restraining order on him and probably faces a court case after physically assaulting a woman. The media has forgotten all about this after it was their top story only one day. No one asked any questions about it on media day even. Everyone is sooo freaking concerned about brady's little boot, that they completely lost track of the terrible thing moss has done, and that is just how belichick wants it. This is all part of his plan. He told brady to wear it because he knew that it would draw an enormous amount of attention and that all the pressure on randy moss would vanish. He knew he had to do that because if he didn't, moss would implode and that would explode the team, right when they're on the verge of history. Nice disguise belicheat. You might be able to fool all the media, but you can't fool me. Thus said, brady's ankle is fine...for now (Let's hope Usi and Strahan change that).

To Plaxico's prediction: SHUT UP! All you have done is make yourself look like an idiot. It's bad when your own team is struggling to back you up. Now you set yourself up for a bad game because the pats and belichick are coming after you.

As for my prediction, I really want the Giants to win (obviously), but I don't think they stand much of a chance unfortunately. I say pats 38 Giants 21. The Giants will be with them in the first half, then figure out they're playing the pats in the Super Bowl in the 2nd half and get routed.

Formula to Beat a Good Team

With a handful of dominant teams in the NFL, it seems like whoever plays that team that particular week is putting everything into trying to beat this "untouchable" team. Yes, this is mostly referencing the last two patriots losses in which they trailed the entire game only to come back and win in the closing seconds. Who has played them the last two weeks? The Baltimore Ravens and the Philadelphia Eagles. Two sucky teams who decided to show up and try to burst the patriots (notice how it's not capitalized because I have no respect for them whatsoever) bubble of a perfect season. Both the Eagles and Ravens had clearly come up with and executed a game plan for about 3/4 of the game. The problem with both is that they simply could not finish the pats off when it mattered. They might have dominated them for most of the game, but when it came down to clutch time, they just exploded (or a better word, imploded) and got away from what they had been doing the entire game. With the Eagles, they threw a late interception that gave NE an opportunity to win, and off course they capitalized. With the Ravens, they literally did implode on defense by calling a timeout and not trusting their defense, which has been the strength of the team for years, while their defense stopped NE on 4th and 1 which would have clinched the game for the Ravens. Then off course they went on to suffer from crucial penalties and eventually gave up a game winning touchdown for brady. I'm not going to get into the touchdown and how it actually wasn't a touchdown catch because the receiver was bobbling it as he went out of bounds and how the referees made the wrong call when they reviewed it because Baltimore should have already won the game. The point is, these guys are definitely beatable, just as any other team in the NFL is. You just have to play your game for 60 minutes and not get all flustered and caught up with yourself that you are beating one of the best teams in the NFL. Then you have to "PLAY TO WIN THE GAME" in the words of Coach Herm Edwards and go for it instead of playing conservatively. I'm not saying throw bombs into the endzone like the Eagles and Ravens did while they were ahead, I'm saying if it's 3rd and 7, throw the ball (unless there is under 3 minutes in the game in which you have to run the clock down).

While I'm writing this, the Steelers are playing the patriots. The game is currently 14-10 pats, but the Steelers are driving. It looks as if the Steelers will at least have a chance to win. They must capitalize late in the game if they even want a remote chance at a victory. For now, GO STEELERS, BEAT THE pats!!!!

Blame Vinatieri

Let me say this, THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS ARE FINE. I'm tired of hearing everyone in the media questioning if the Colts are going into a decline. I know that they didn't play their best game, but they should have won the game. We're talking about ADAM VINATIERI. How does the super (bowl), almighty kicker miss a chip shot 29 yard field goal? How is that even remotely thinkable? If you told me the Colts were going to have Vinatieri kicking a 29 yard field goal with about 1 minute left, I would definitely take the Colts chances. To me, the Colts loss is incomprehensible. Yes, Peyton Manning struggled and threw the most interceptions in one game he had ever thrown in his career, but the defense proved again that they are what carries this team. It doesn't mean anything if you pick of a quarterback 6 times and aren't able to capitalize on all of them. The defense did their job. The real reason the Colts lost this game is ADAM VINATIERI. I can't repeat that frequently enough. If you are getting paid the kind of money Vinatieri is just to kick the dang ball, then kick the dang ball through the uprights when the team asks you to. It's not like the Colts asked for a miracle 50 yard field goal to win the game either, we asked him to kick the dang ball 30 yards. 30 YARDS!! In the NFL, that is a chip shot, no excuse, end of story. There is no further place to look to place blame then the kicker who now gets referred to as no. 4 until he hits an important kick that helps our team because he flat out blew this one.

A for speculation that the Colts are now "done" this is completely ludicrous. Anytime you line up with your no. 2 receiver being someone named Craphonso, it doesn't look good for you. Look, the Colts not only played without Manning's best weapon, Marvin Harrison, but they played without his secret weapon Dallas Clark and his new favorite toy Anthony Gonzalez. And he had squat protecting him. Jake Scott had to move to RT, a position he supposedly knows how to play and Michael Toudouze, a LT signed from the practice squad earlier in the week, was covering Peyton's blind side. To Toudouze's credit, he did a pretty good job, but he definitely wasn't agile Rookie Tony Ugoh over there. People should stop worrying about the offense. We're talking about the Indianapolis Colts, the offense will be there, trust me. The point that everyone is skipping over is the defense. Hello? We scored a defensive TD and scored the final points of the game. They held the Chargers when Peyton was busy forcing throws that turned into interceptions. Yes, that's the reason he had all of those. He was weapon-less and he was trying to make something out of someone named Craphonso Thorpe better known as nothing. Back to the defense and turning something out of nothing, they played with Clint Session at LB whom no one had ever heard of and what did he do, he only had 2 crucial interceptions. He was huge. And while Bob Sanders (who is the second coming of Chuck Norris according to Tony Kornheiser) is getting all of the credit, Gary Brackett is simply sitting back and having one of his best seasons. No one even knew who he was when he made that great interception on Tom Brady in Week 9. Hello NFL, his name is Gary Brackett and he happens to be one of the most athletic and most fierce Middle Linebacker's in the league. By the way, ever wondered who forced the fumble of Jerome Bettis in the '05 playoffs that gave the Colts a chance, that would be Gary Brackett.

So people should just shut up about the Colts crumbling and falling into abyss. All you have to do is look at no. 4 at accusingly point your finger.

It Just Slipped Away...

Well, the Colts may have lost the battle, but the war is still to be fought. And even though the Colts lost, they still showed that the Pats are not invincible and that they clearly aren't one of the best teams in NFL history. Brady showed that his isn't stellar, golden boy QB like the league was anointing him. The Colts definitely proved that they are the only equal to the pats. Yes, I still believe that these two teams are equal. Had the Colts had Marvin Harrison or the defense was at full strength, the outcome could've been different. But I'm not going to try to make excuses, the Pats played a good 2nd half and deserved to win the game.

That being said, I think you can clearly state that if you pressure Tom Brady, he is actually one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. When Mathis and Freeney were breathing down his throat, Brady threw interceptions and made poor throws. It was great to see someone finally nail him and put him in the ground a few times. It also showed how Brady doesn't even do anything that special. He threw bombs that Bob Lamey, Colts radio broadcaster, described as "punts." He is just heaving it as hard as he can down field and Moss happens to come up with it. Another time, he threw a poor ball to Moss but he was lucky enough to have Moss make a one-handed, amazing catch. Brady is lucky he won the game.

The Colts defense certainly showed that they are the best defense in the NFL. They picked Brady twice, equaling the number of interceptions he's had all season. They also hit the Pats in the mouth every single play. Marlin Jackson's hit was one of the best this season. And how could you ask for a better start with Robert Mathis nailing Brady to the ground. Gary Brackett had one of the best interceptions all season. Bob Sanders managed to stop another 3rd and 1 and give the Pats a loss of 3.

Another thing, Joe Addai is an absolute beast. He is the 2nd best back in the league right now behind, get this, Adrian Peterson. LT had his time, and now it belongs to Joey Addai. His 73 yard run was absolutely incredible. The way he was breaking tackles and running people over, astonishing.

Last thing, Bill Belicheck is a complete jerk. He started dancing on the field as if he had just won the Super Bowl or something, when it was just a regular season game. Then, he didn't even have enough class to shake Tony Dungy's hand. I guess we all know who the real man is between them.

True, the Colts lost, but I can't wait for the AFC Championship game in New England. That's what really matters. And trust me, I'm not the only one who knows that-Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy know that too.

Girardi's Not a Bad Guy

Ok fellow Yankee fans, stop complaining about how bad little Hank Steinbrenner has screwed up the Yankees by getting rid of Joe Torre. Yes, the way he treated Torre was terribly disrespectful, but you have to give him credit for hiring Joe Girardi. Everyone says that if the Yanks were going to let go of Torre that they should have hired "Donnie Baseball" Don Mattingly. I'm not going to say that that would have been a bad decision, but he has never managed a team and he has always been under Torre's watchful eye. Girardi is a man who did his time under Torre, learned what he needed to, picked up the tricks of the trade, and put them to use as a full time manager. When he went to Florida, everyone criticized him for...anyone remember? That's right, he brought too many Yankee characteristics. He is a full fledged Yankee to death and understands not only the Torre system, but the entire Yankee organization. Besides that, he also saved the Marlins when it looked like they were set to challenge the season losing record. No one expected his team to do anything, but he did a heck of a managing job and finished the season with the Marlins only about 9 games under .500. He made somethin out of nothin.

It's a good thing Girardi knows how to make something out of nothing seeing as how it looks as if the Yanks won't have A-Rod next year. With Girardi at the helm I say "So what?". Girardi knows how to motivate players and manipulate them to get out of them what he wants. He is especially good with young players, which is the direction GM Brian Cashman seems to be going. The Yankees are building their team from the bottom up, growing their draft picks in the minor league teams and then plugging them into pinstripes. Now the GM and head coach will truly be on the same page. They will work well together and the Yanks won't be all about their stars for once. With A-Rod out, the attention turns to The Captain Derek Jeter. Jeter has no problems handling the NY media and has never been a distraction to the team because of something he said to the media. He will keep the team up and running and provide wisdom to the young players on how to get it done in October. A-Rod certainly won't be able to tell the players wherever he goes how to get it done in October (oooohhhh...).

I'm excited with the direction the Yanks are heading in the offseason already. Obviously, we need to get some FA to fill a few gaps, but I have lots of faith in our young players to step in and fill shoes nicely. Plus we have a great manager.

Start the Comparisons

Well, we got the first 8 weeks of the NFL season finished, but let's all be honest with ourselves, we've all been looking forward to this week 9 game since the schedules came out. It's a matchup of two unbeaten teams in the NFL. You might've heard of them, one is called something like the Colts and another is from somewhere in Massachusetts. That Colts team has the hilarious commercial TV star on their team that supposedly plays a pretty good QB. The team from Mass. has some QB who walks around impregnating his ex-girlfriends. Ok, ok, ok enough joking around, this is going to be a great battle between clearly the two best teams in the NFL: The World Champion Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots.

Obviously if I'm writing about this almost a week before the game, it's going to be pretty hyped up. If u look at any sports media outlet this week, it will probably have something about the game in it. Yes, the hype will get annoying, but hey, what can ya do, it's probably-no, it is- the biggest game of the century.

We're talking about some of the two best teams the NFL has ever seen. Peyton Manning has always been one to put up spectacular numbers and stats and last season he finally added a ring to his resume. Tom Brady has 3 rings and this season is compiling numbers that are unimaginable in a league like the NFL. The amazing part is that while both teams have had success in the past, they are clearly playing the best they have ever, which is truly amazing considering both have won superbowls. The Colts are absolutely tearing people up on defense like never before and the Pats are putting points on the board in gross (in more ways than one) amounts. What used to be the weakness (or closest thing to a weakness) of both teams is now their strong suit. The Pats used to be known primarily for their defense and the Colts mostly for their offense. Now both sides of the ball are dominant for both teams. They are both playing impeccable football.

With all this hype, it comes all comes down to who is going to win? Well...MY INDIANAPOLIS COLTS OF COURSE!!!! I mean c'mon now, I'm a Colts fan, did you really expect me to go against my team? No. There are a lot of reasons the Colts will win, but if I explain all of them to you now, I won't have anything to write about the rest of the week.

So, this week you can look forward to Sunday. And believe me, by the time "the showdown" kicks off, you will know everything about both teams. If not from all the TV hype on ESPN, then from my blog because trust me, there is nothing bigger or more important going on in the world of sports for the next 7 days.

What Happened to College Football?

I think most of us can agree, this year in college football has been anything but ordinary. I mean really now, we all knew Notre Dame wasn't going to go undefeated, but only one win so far? Wow, didn't see that one coming. What about USC losing to Stanford? Southern Cal has by no means proved that they are invincible. And have we all suddenly forgotten that Appalachian St. beat Michigan? We can never let them forget that. Every chance we get, we have to rub in the faces of the Michigan fans that they lost to a I-AA school, we can't just give them a free pass for the rest of the season. And can anyone say Nebraska? Now there's a mess.

But even more surprising than all these top teams falling has been all the unknown teams having such great success. Who would've predicted that Kentucky would knock off the top team in the country? Kentucky is supposed to be nothing more than a basketball school, they are supposed to be like Duke and suck at football. But in this completely upside down year, even they have managed to be good. Along the same lines, there is Boston College. I remember a time when they, too, were good at basketball. But they are dominant every single year in hockey, which is the same principle of having success in one sport and sucking at the others. Now even BC is getting in on the wacky football year now holding the no. 2 national ranking and have who some would say is the leader for the Heisman trophy. How unfair.

Then there's South Florida. I vaguely remember hearing about this school sometime, but I would have never ever in my lifetime told you that they would ever reach the no. 2 national ranking. Sure, they lost to Rutgers last week and they suffered another loss this week, but just the fact that they were able to get to the point they did is amazing.

Oh yeah, by the way, there's this team in Illinois named the Fighting Illini. In case you didn't know, they do play football there. U of I is quite possibly in my book, one of the most underrated and under publicized teams in America. I mean, talk about a team who used to suck at football, they were the one team in the Big 10 that if you were in the Big 10 you wanted them on your schedule because they were the only guranteed victory in the conference. Now look at them. Today they became bowl eligible for the first time since Methuselah was born. Now that's an accomplishment.

But for those of us who had a team that usually does well in football, but has lost due to the upside down year (like me and Notre Dame), or has a favorite team that sucks at football and is good at another sport (like me and Indiana University) all we can do is wait for basketball season.

And we pray that it isn't messed up this year too.