This is the archive for January 2010
Better Early Than Later, Right? (Super Bowl Prediction)
So the Jets and Vikes went down. The Jets ran into the perfect storm that was Peyton Manning, the Vikes unfortunately were done in by a Favre INT late in the game and never got another shot. So for the first time in well, ever, I'm writing a Super Bowl column 11 days before the actual game itself. Why?
A) For once, I'd like to be early with something.
B) I think that for every soul that's saying/praying it's a high scoring affair, this will be San Fran/Denver SB XXIV turrible. Indy's playing the role of San Fran, in case folks are unclear.
C) I want to devote some time towards the NBA and by putting this next to last NFL piece out of the way, I can do so with zero lingering distractions.
The Grand Finale Before The Miami One. (Conference Title Preview)
Bloody procrastinitis struck again, but mercifully, Divisional Weekend turned into Three Blowouts And A Funeral Procession In San Diego. So given the storylines for this Conference Championship Weekend, I felt compelled to come out days in advance looking at each one and why each team should feel they're going to win...topped off by my telling you who will win and why.
AFC Championship Game
#1 Indianapolis Colts vs. #5 New York Jets
Indy's Storyline: We Were Right In Not Killing Them When We Had The Chance, Weren't We?
- Regardless of whether they win or lose, the answer to this question is NO. They weren't. Week 15, the Colts were sitting on a lead in the 3rd quarter when coach Jim Caldwell pulled his starters. All of them. Curtis Painter's first snap from scrimmage was a fumble that turned into 6 points for the Jets. The rest as they say, was history. Colts end the year 14-2, the Jets are now back on their doorstep like Benny Blanco from Carlito's Way ready to pop em' one time for the great time.
Still, why shouldn't the Colts be confident? The last AFC Championship game they hosted was against an AFC East team and they won then, they assume they'd have won Week 15 and ended the Jets' season. So what's to go against it? They've got Peyton Manning, the game's MVP for a 4th time and his motley crew of receivers that nobody heard of until Anthony Gonzalez went down with an injury for the year and Marvin Harrison's services were no longer required. Their defense is better than most thought or presumed and well...they're the Colts. Did I mention they've got Peyton? Alright, great.
Lenstradamus Predicts The Playoffs And A Personal Super Bowl (2 of 2)
Okay, it's time for the rubber to meet the road. Time for the money to talk and all BS to run the marathon. Wild Card Weekend starts late Saturday afternoon with the Jets and Bengals in a weekend I'm subtitling...
Regular Season Redux
As every Wild Card game is a rematch from the regular season. Since yours truly is a full service blogger, I will give you the prediction on this weekend and what we'll end up seeing in Miami next month after the Pro Bowl. Wow, the last part of that sentence reads funny with the "after the Pro Bowl" part and all. Rather interesting that there were more Browns picked for the AFC than Bengals. But I digress on that, as it's time.
Vertically Challenged Teams & Other NFL S**t (1 of 2)
First blog of the New Year, may as well be on the NFL year that was, right? I'll go personal first with my thoughts on the Jets and Giants. Giants...first.
Midgets.
- Yup, I think that about sums up the second half that was for New York. After roaring to a 5-0 start, they went down to the Saints, Cards, Eagles and Bolts in succession. Of them all, the Philly loss was probably most disturbing. There was a trend there that I didn't catch until it was too late, both on the start and what followed. Only one win during that winning tear came against a playoff team. The four losses that followed were ALL to playoff bound teams. So the bye week comes and NY's reeling, yet still breathing.
