What I Said In September....

From The Grandstander, September 9, 2017:

"So how will they (the Steelers, that is) do?  Not going to go into in depth analysis here, but I like their chances.  I'm calling for 11, and possibly, 12 wins (I believe I had that), an NFC North title (I believe I had that), and a first round bye in the playoffs (and I believe I had that).  I say they win the AFC championship and reach the Super Bowl, and if I pick them to go that far, then I just might as well pick them to win it all.  And I say that they will do it by avenging that Super Bowl XLV loss by beating the Green Bay Packers in Minneapolis come February 4, 2018."

Still to come....the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl.  Why not?

Okay, so they won't be playing the Packers in Minneapolis, but if I had to be wrong on one prediction, I'm glad it was that one.

#herewego

Super Bowl Prediction Time

The Grandstander brings an 8-2 NFL Playoffs Predictions record to tomorrow's Super Bowl.  Pretty good, but that second loss on the ledger sure did hurt.  Oh, well, time to put that behind and start anew.

The Patriots-Falcons match up doesn't seem to be generating a lot of buzz nationally, but by all indications it shapes up to be  a high scoring affair and a close game.  It pits the presumptive NFL MVP Matt Ryan - and hasn't he been great in the Playoffs? - against four time Super Bowl winning QB, the Golden Boy, Tom Brady.   The Pats are a narrow favorite,  and many of the so-called experts are actually calling for an Atlanta win.  

Not me.

Hate them all you want, but it cannot be denied that Bill Belichick may well be the greatest coach in NFL history (yep, I said that), and Tom Brady may well be the greatest quarterback in NFL history. 

 That being the case,  and with an historic fifth Super Bowl win for this tandem at hand, I'm calling it a Patriots victory tomorrow.

I'll also throw in two other predictions:

• The Patriots will cover the -3 point betting spread.
• Over/Under is 59.5.  OVER will win that bet.

As always, watch, but don't bet.

I will close with some pictures of everyone's favorite football party animal.  The guy is the epitome of "Wild and Crazy", don't you think?

Oh, and for any Cleveland Browns fans who might be reading this, don't you wish that this was still the case?

 

Enjoy the game, everyone!

The Super Bowl

Regulars have no doubt noticed that I have been almost completely silent about the NFL Playoffs and the upcoming Super Bowl.  I just know that you have all missed my always not-so-accurate playoff predictions.  This can be traced to a couple of reasons.

One, due to our vacation in Hawaii and it's five hour time difference, I saw exactly NONE of the divisional playoffs or the conference championship games.  That's not exactly true.  I ducked into a bar in a town called Paia on Maui and saw Marshawn Lynch score the touchdown that put Seattle ahead of Green Bay late in the fourth quarter in the NFC title game.  The bar was filled with Seahawks fans, and the place exploded.  At the time, I was in a complete vacuum about the game and had no idea of what led up to that point.  And we got back to our hotel room in time to tune into the New England-Indy game in the fourth quarter with the Pats up 35-7, so why bother with the rest of it?

That has been the sum and substance of my NFL watching since the Steelers went down to the Ravens back on January 3.

The second reason for my silence on the game is the fact that I seem to be able to generate only negative passion for either of the participants.  Deflated footballs, smarmy coaches on both sides, loudmouth Richard Sherman, closed-mouthed Marshawn Lynch, blowhard Robert Kraft.  Hard to like either team, and both teams have enough going for them that you wouldn't mind seeing both of them lose.

This means I'm going to skip the game, right?  Not on your tintype, my friend.  The NFL has done a lot to turn you off in 2014, but I still like it, I like watching football, and, hey, it's the SUPER BOWL!!!!  And, whatever the faults of these two teams, they are both very good teams, and it should be a hell of a good football game.  As always, I will skip the hype and the hoopla of four plus hours of pre-game shows, (will probably watch a movie in the afternoon leading up to game time), and will tune in around 6:00 or so for the 6:30 kick-off.  I learned a long time ago that skipping all the network pre-game b.s. prevents you from being burned out before the game even begins.  Then there are the commercials, and the half-time show. I am completely unfamiliar with Katy Perry, other than I know shows a good looking young woman, and am anxious to see what kind of talent she is.

As for a prediction, well, here goes, and having not watched any of the games leading up to this one, it will not be my most informed prediction.  I am going to make this one based strictly on the two quarterbacks.  Russell Wilson is a terrific young talent, but Tom Brady is TOM BRADY, and, much as many may be loathe to admit it, he is one of they greatest of all time.  I am guessing that he wants to avenge those two Super Bowl losses to the Giants in recent years, and I am predicting that the old guy will out play the young guy in the one.  I also think that Bill Belichick will out coach Pete Carroll.

So call this one a win for the Patriots in what I hope will be a tense, close, and exciting game.  Then, we can all hold our noses when the Lombardi trophy is presented to Bob Kraft and Bill Belichick, or just turn the TV off when the final gun goes off, or immediately switch over to the new episode of "Downtown Abbey" that you DVR'd while the game was going on.

Enjoy the game, and party responsibly.

Super Bowl Prediction

So, it was back on September 5 that I wrote in this blog that "the Broncos (would) defeat the 49'ers in a New Jersey blizzard on February 2."

Well, doesn't look like there will be a blizzard, but at this point I have one-third of the equation correct, with a chance to get two-thirds of it right. 

So, I'm gonna go with the Broncos, right?

Well, I know who I want to win and for whom I will be rooting - Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.  I admit that I am a big fan of Manning's.  I want him to win this game, if for no other reason than to shut up people who think that the only way to evaluate a player's "legacy", a word that has been much overused these last two weeks, is by how many Super Bowl rings he has collected.

And while on that subject, people need also shut up about how many Super Bowls a particular player has won.  Sorry, but Tom Brady has not won three Super Bowls, nor has Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana won four, nor Eli Manning two.  Rather, Brady's (and Bradshaw's, Montana's, and Eli's) teams have won those multiple Super Bowls.  Last time I looked, no team has ever sent only one guy on the field in one of these games.  This same reasoning also applies to the World Series, NBA Finals, and Stanley Cup.

But back to the game tomorrow.  I am going to pick the Seahawks in this one.

I am basing this on the old axiom that "offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships."  I think that Seattle has the better defense, and that is how I am picking this one.

I also think that it will be a close game, and that fewer than 50 points will be scored.

Again, I hope I'm wrong, and I hope that Manning undresses Richard Sherman at least once in this game.

Enjoy the game, everyone, and, oh yes, watch, but don't bet.