NFL Playoffs: Zoneblitz picks the Super Bowl

by | Feb 1, 2013 | 2012 season, NFL Gambling, NFL Picks, Super Bowl

The Harbaugh Brothers, Ray Lewis and his alleged use of deer antler spray and idiot reporters asking players how ticklish they are – all the hype ends Saturday. Finally we get down to the intrigue of the game itself … and this year it’s a hugely intriguing game.

I am extremely curious to see if the Ravens, with several of their most important players aging, can keep up with the more youthful 49ers. I am curious to see whether Baltimore’s coaching staff can come up with a way to neutralize phenom quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

While the storylines off the field have been many, this year’s game on the field also is as intriguing a matchup as we’ve had in a few years. Here is how we see it playing out: (more…)

Packers perfect season in 2011? Part three

by | Nov 24, 2011 | 2011 season, NFL Random Thoughts, Super Bowl

We wrote a couple weeks ago about the Green Bay Packers chances of getting through the regular season and the NFC playoffs undefeated. So far so good for fans of the green and gold.

So what happens if they do make it unscathed to the Super Bowl? Do they meet the same fate the 18-1 New England Patriots did in 2007? Or do they finish the job and become the league’s first unbeaten team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins?

The AFC is a logjam this season. Nobody in the conference is better than  Green Bay. But there are a few teams that could at least give the Packers a good game. Here are our guesses: (more…)

Season ends with Super game

by | Feb 5, 2011 | 2010 season, NFL Gambling, NFL Picks, Super Bowl

I have a confession to make. I’m not really a fan of the Super Bowl.

It’s partially because as I was growing up many of the games failed to meet expectations. As entertaining as some of the advertisements can be, in my eyes they’ve never made up for sitting through a 56-10 drubbing in what is supposed to be the NFL’s showcase game.

It’s also partially because my team has never managed to win the big one, so yes, I admit to some sour grapes.

But primarily it’s because it means the season is ending and we’ll be subjected to several months before the next meaningful matchup. This year’s big game in Dallas is even more bittersweet, as the out-of-touch honchos of the National Football League and its Players Union have shown little urgency in their efforts to solve the collective bargaining issues — meaning there’s a shot this could be the last game in a long, long time.

So, while I like the marathon of the season and the chase of the playoffs more than the Super Bowl itself, at least this years version should provide an interesting game.

Pittsburgh vs Green Bay (-2.5) at Dallas: Over/Under 45.5

Both of these NFL heavyweights have been around forever. The Steelers have six Vince Lombardi trophies. The Packers have three. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers, who can complete finish the masterful job he has done replacing legendary Brett Favre with a win Sunday. The Steelers have Ben Roethlisberger, who can take another step in rehabilitating his image by winning a third Super Bowl ring. (more…)

Super Bowl to New York – interesting

by | May 25, 2010 | Super Bowl

One of the first NFL playoff games I remember watching when I was little was the AFC Championship game in 1981 between San Diego and Cincinnati. The game brought the Chargers from California out to Ohio in January when the temperature was -9 degrees and the wind chill was -57 degrees.

The Bengals crushed the Chargers that day setting the stage for Cincinnati to roll into Detroit for Super Bowl XVI, where the San Francisco 49ers would win the first of their handful of championships.

Many famous NFL games have been played in cold weather. Dallas and Green Bay in the Ice Bowl also comes to mind. But none of those cold weather games have been the Super Bowl. The aforementioned Super Bowl in Detroit was played in the Silverdome. A decade later Minnesota hosted the big game in the Metrodome.

(more…)

Manning legacy not lost on these eyes

by | Feb 19, 2010 | NFL History, NFL Random Thoughts, Super Bowl

We’re closing in on two weeks since the Saints beat the Colts in the Super Bowl and my body is slowly adjusting to the next six months without football.

One of the things I keep reading in the days since what I thought was a pretty exciting game between two very good teams and two great quarterbacks is that the interception Peyton Manning threw on his way to the game-tying touchdown drive somehow cheapens his legacy as a star quarterback.

I’ll grant you, Manning has, at times, struggled in big games. But to say throwing a pick-six against New Orleans somehow detracts from him being one of the top quarterbacks of all-time is ridiculous.

First of all, this wasn’t an all-time great Colts team all season long. Sure, they were 14-0 before the coaches pulled the starters against New York. But Indianapolis won eight games by one score or less. Other than a four game stretch of dominance from their third game to their sixth game, when they won games by 21, 17, 22 and 36 points, the Colts generally played competitive games this year. This was a very, very good team, but any belief that this was a dominant bunch was misguided.

(more…)

Brees MVP moves him closer to HOF

by | Feb 8, 2010 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts, Super Bowl

Drew Brees, not Peyton Manning, displayed the poise and leadership of a Super Bowl champion Sunday night in Miami, leading his New Orleans Saints to their first Vince Lombardi trophy.

Brees completed 32 of 39 for 288 yards and two scores, winning the MVP trophy in the meantime.

His career is far from over and he’s got a lot more history to write in the years ahead. But I asked the question two weeks ago – will Drew Brees make the Hall of Fame? His last four seasons have certainly been trending in that direction.

Super Bowl performances like the show he put on tonight certainly won’t hurt his cause. Sure, it took Tracy Porter’s pick of Manning late in the game to seal the deal. And Sean Payton’s onside kick was a gutty call. But Brees’ performance was nearly flawless. My guess is he leads the Saints to many more playoff victories over the next few years as well.

If he does it’d be hard to keep him out of Canton in a decade, give or take a year or two.