That sets up today’s highly unexpected (at least back in August) Super Bowl rematch of XLIX 11 years ago … damn, that time has gone fast.
Patriots vs Seahawks (-4.5) – I didn’t expect either of these teams heading into the season to be in the mix for the big game. I’m not sure either of them are in the same class as, say, Patriots teams of the early 21st century or Chiefs teams of recent years. I do think Seattle is a little more ready for this. Coming off a four win season, I think New England probably would have considered just making the postseason a successful improvement. Drake Maye has had a great season and Mike Vrabel is a great coach. I suspect both will be back – though you can never assume anything, a la Dan Marino, 1984, getting there in his second year and never getting back.
Ultimately, I think I agree with most who say Seattle is the better team. More weapons, more seasoned, just … a little better all around. I don’t expect a high-scoring game. Kenneth Walker will have a solid day. Jaxon Smith-Njigba will make a few big plays. We could have a rare defensive MVP to this game. Either way, Seahawks win, Seahawks cover.
It’s been an amazing postseason with six memorable divisional and championship round games. And now it’s down to this weekend’s clash between the SuperTeam Los Angeles Rams and the Decades-in-the-making Rebuilt Cincinnati Bengals.
Road teams ruled the wild card round, but home teams have come back with a vengeance. In the six games since they are undefeated.
That means it’s number one versus number one in the Super Bowl – as it probably should be for the league’s 50th big game.
Tony nailed the conference championship winners. He’s tied with John Vomhof for the entirety of the postseason. The rest of us split the championship games. Here are the standings heading into the Super Bowl.
Conf Champ
Postseason
Tony
2-0
8-2
John Vomhof Jr
1-1
8-2
Anthony Maggio
1-1
7-3
Andy
1-1
6-4
And after 21 weeks of football, it all comes down to this. Two suffocating defenses and two great QB storylines – the young, brash rising star and the old, breaking down, hall-of-famer to be – squaring off for the Lombardi Trophy. Here’s how we see it: (more…)
So what I’ve been doing wrong all season is betting on point spreads and money lines and not spending enough time betting over/unders.
Well, it’s obviously not that simple, but I largely got it right in the conference championship games – though I would have gotten the spread wrong on Carolina/Arizona. I really thought the Cardinals were at least going to put up a better fight.
Nonetheless, two big bets ran my season total back into the black, albeit only slightly. Here are the standings:
I fully recognize there might be those out there who don’t want Peyton Manning to win another ring or who aren’t crazy about Pete Carroll or Jim Harbaugh or Bill Belichick.
I’m curious about what story lines you’re looking at or what reasons you have for picking the match-up you’d like to see?
Tell us below – who would you like to see in the Super Bowl and why?
As we were writing the division previews and talking about how we were going to put these preseason projects together I got a message from contributing writer Rich Larson razzing me about this particular aspect of the assignments.
It’s pointless trying to predict what’s going to happen in the NFL, he says. Too many things are going to change over the next few months. Too many things have changed over the last several months.
And he’s right. Half the playoff teams will turn over from last season. About one-quarter of the league’s teams will dramatically underachieve based on our expectations and another quarter will surprise the hell out of us. So what’s the point?
Everyone else is doing it? Bragging rights? Who knows? But we did it anyway. Our eight division previews have been posted over the last several days and our playoff predictions, for better or for worse, are below. Let us know who you think is right on and who you think missed the mark. (more…)
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Pretty certain even regardless of rules, Belichick will be in class of 2027
Paul I guess I wouldn’t have a problem with that I wouldn’t mind if Bill Belichick went in with Tom…
Robert I have a link to the petition in the first post
Thats what im thinking Paul wouldnt it save time if they just combined coaches and contributors into one category
for me the whole contributors list of contenders is on hold, until Kraft is elected..could be soon as 2027 or…