And Then There Were Two

The NFL playoffs have moved to the final stages. The Superbowl will happen on February 3rd. It will be between the AFC champions Baltimore Ravens and the NFC champions San Francisco 49ers.

It will be an interesting match-up between the two teams who finished runners up in their conferences a year ago and now they find themselves motivated to win the Superbowl.

The Ravens are motivated by trying to win one more Championship for Ray Lewis who has announced his retirement. Once he made that announcement it lit a fire under the rest of the team to go on a mission to win the Superbowl.

The 49ers are motivated by a Quarterback change halfway through the season. A quarterback story that has captured the nation. A quarterback who ran for twice as much yardage against the Packers as Adrian Peterson did the week before.

Don't forget the match-up of brother head coaches. That is also a great story.

What is my prediction. San Francisco 35 Ravens 27

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Continue following this blog in 2013 and see a different side and perspective on sports. Who would have thought we would be heading into 2013 with some interesting teams playing in the NFL playoffs.

The Vikings in a 6 day rematch with the Packers this time on the frozen tundra of Lambeau.
The Redskins led by two rookies and Seahawks led by Wilson and Lynch should be quite a match-up

The amazing Colts versus the sliding Texans. Will the rookie continue to shine in the playoffs?
Can the Bengals beat the Ravens? Can Flacco be trusted or will Dalton be the QB to shine.

This years NFL season was a spectacular ride with AP coming 9 yards short of mortality. Still his feat is more remarkable considering he was coming off of knee surgery. Never underestimate the power of hard work and dedication in a sport.

Payton Manning showed he still has what it takes and there was a rise in young guns in the league with Wilson, Luck and RGIII leading the way.

The playoffs will prove to be just as exciting. Buckle up for a football ride to the Superbowl.

What Is Wrong?

What is wrong with the Minnesota Vikings? I contend it is not Percy Harvin being out for a couple weeks. It is not Christian Ponders difficult times although that doesn't help. It isn't their defense or special teams. It definitely isn't Adrian Peterson. It is my contention that it is the coaches and especially the play calling.

A prime example came in the game yesterday against the Bears. The Vikings had a 3rd and two from the 6 and instead of running AP for a mere 2 yards they call ponder to throw into the end zone. Of course it didn't work so now they have 4th and 2 and they do the exact play instead of call AP's number. Wouldn't it have been easier to call AP's number on that 3rd and 2 and if he doesn't make it then throw.

The Vikings have the best running back in the game and they don't use him on third down and rarely in the red zone. What kind of play calling is that. If something isn't done soon AP will not want to play here anymore he will want to play where he is used and where he will win.

I know, teams put 8 in the box to stop AP. If that is the case obviously he still beats the odds because he leads the league in rushing. Why not keep giving him the ball and make the other team actually try to stop the runaway train.

This week they play the Packers, one of the worst run defenses in the league. I bet the Vikings try to air it out and not even use AP. But if they make the right calls and play good defense they can beat the Packers. We'll just have to see what happens.

Opening Weekend

Apart from Wednesday's kickoff game between the Giants and the Cowboys, Sunday marks the opening games to the NFL season. I am going to complete my predictions for each division. I have already looked at the NFC East, North and West. Today I will finish off the rest of them.

NFC South                                   AFC South
Atlanta                                           Houston
New Orleans                                  Tennessee
Carolina                                          Indianapolis
Tampa Bay                                     Jacksonville

AFC East                                       AFC North                                   AFC West
New England                                 Pittsburgh                                     Denver
Buffalo                                           Baltimore                                     Oakland
New York                                       Cleveland                                     San Diego
Miami                                             Cincinnati                                     Kansas City

I would love to see your predictions. As the season progresses I will tell you who I think will be in the playoffs and the Superbowl.

Three Overtimes

Really Gophers? You can't make life eay on yourselves. Instead you have to take the Runnin' Rebels of UNLV into three overtimes before dipensing of them. What does this mean in the grand scheme of your game. Are you going to be good this year or mediocre and best? Is there a bowl bid in your near future or the toilet bowl?

Let's hope you make a better showing against New Hampshire on Saturday September 8th. I suppose it didn't help that you played the game at 10 PM Central and out in the Vegas desert. Who really was able to stay up late on a work night and watch that three overtime game.

On to more important things. I really like the College Football overtime format better than the pro football format. It gives both teams a chance to have the ball in overtime and control their own destiny. In the pros if the first team scores too bad for the loser they should have done better on the coin flip. Put the fate and the game on line in the hands of a coin, just doesn't really make sense to me. I would love to see the pros change their overtime format. I believe they have slightly for playoff games but not the regular season. Go all the way and change that format. I am not sure if the college format is suitable for the pros but something different would be nice.

Congrats Gophers on a win. I hope to see many more of those this year from you.

The NFC East and West

Last week I gave my prediction for the standings in the NFC North this year. This week I am going to give you my prediction for the NFC East and the West. I am no expert but it is fun to see how correct I am.

As I said last week I would love for my readers to share their predictions as well.

Without further delay:

NFC East - This is always a tough division

New York Giants (Defending Superbowl champs win the division)
Washington Redskins (Behind RG3)
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys

NFC West - Besides the 9ers who else is there

San Francisco 49ers
St Louis Rams
Arizona Cardinals
Seattle Seahawks

What are your thoughts?

Preseason Football

Preseason football has started. The Vikings had their opening game tonight at San Francisco and it is currently sitting at 17 - 6 with 2:19 left in the game. I didn't get a chance to watch much of the first half of the game. My expectations however are very low. I hope they do well and I hope Adrian Peterson can bounce back from his injury and play the whole season.

The Vikings are still in rebuilding and learning mode. The NFC North is going to be a tough division with the Packers, Bears and Lions all very tough teams to beat and the Vikings have to play each of them twice.

My hope is that Christian Ponder has improved as a Quarterback and we will see some great plays and some exciting games. If they can go 8 - 8 that would definitely be major improvement.

Here is my order for the NFC Central finish no records.

1.   Packers
2.   Lions
3.   Bears
4.   Vikings

Sorry Vikings. I just don't think you have it in you to overtake any of those three. I hope you do but I just don't see it happening.

Look for my predictions on other divisions as we lead up to the opening kickoff. Share yours with me as well by leaving a comment.

It Is Over

The NFL season has come to a dramatic end with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots 21 - 17 in Super Bowl XLVI. It was a very good game but in unusual fashion the Patriots receivers dropped a few easy passes late in the game that could have easily changed the outcome.

Tom Brady could not lead the Patriots on a final winning drive as he had done many times before. Instead it was Eli Manning and the Giants who scored with 1 minute left to take the lead.

Most of the recent Super Bowls have been exciting and close games. Let's hope this trend continues. Congratulations to the Giants. Good luck next year to the Patriots.

Maybe one day those Vikings can actually get back to and win the big game.

It Is All Set

After two close and excited conference championship games the Superbowl is set. The participants will be the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. A classic Boston vs. New York matchup. Let the blood bath begin.

My question for all of you in the rest of the country. How many of you really care about this Superbowl? Please let me know whether you care and who will win.

My wife is a huge Patriots fan so I know who she will be rooting for.