Now that the Super Bowl is over, here are some random thoughts on it (basically because I don't feel like putting them in any logical order):
1. Congratulations to the Saints! If I have to be proven wrong in my prediction (yes, I wrongly picked the Colts), I enjoy having it done by sheer coaching genius. Sean Payton brought his "A" coaching game. After dominating the Colts in the 2nd quarter, yet still losing on the scoreboard, the idea to run an onside kick to start the 3rd quarter was a no-lose situation for the Saints: If they recover the kick, which they did, they get to compound their already dominant time-of-possession, while disheartening their opponents; if they didn't recover the kick, the Colts end up with a short field, which still leaves the Saints dominating time-of-possession should the Colts score.
2. On the other hand, Jim Caldwell was a major coaching disappointment. He ran the same game plan the Colts have used all season.
3. I would be willing to bet the NFL did not actually hear The Who perform live anytime recently. If they had, they would have realized Roger Daltrey's voice ain't what it used to be. That halftime show was easily the WORST I have ever heard! If the NFL is going to insist on trotting out dinosaur rock bands, then I have a suggestion for next year's Super Bowl halftime: Prop up Elvis's corpse and play his songs over the speakers. It couldn't be any more hideous than what they inflicted on us this year.
4. Too bad Carrie Underwood butchered "The Star Spangled Banner". But I always thought Bo Bice should have won "American Idol" that year.
5. The best commercial was easily Punxsutawney Polamalu: "He saw his shadow! Six more weeks of football!" If that thought doesn't warm a football fan's heart, nothing will.
Showing posts with label Indianapolis Colts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indianapolis Colts. Show all posts
Monday, February 08, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Jets Grounded, Saints in Heaven
So I was wrong: The Colts beat the Jets.
However, I give the Colts all the credit in the world. They played relatively mistake-free football, especially by comparison to the Vikings last night (losers to the Saints).
But I stick by one part of my prediction: the winner of the Super Bowl will come from the Colts-Jets game. Considering the Saints were not able to capitalize on the Vikings many mistakes, allowing the Vikings to drag them into overtime, how will the Saints do against a team like the Colts which makes few mistakes?
This Super Bowl will be ugly folks: Colts over Saints by 21 points.
However, I give the Colts all the credit in the world. They played relatively mistake-free football, especially by comparison to the Vikings last night (losers to the Saints).
But I stick by one part of my prediction: the winner of the Super Bowl will come from the Colts-Jets game. Considering the Saints were not able to capitalize on the Vikings many mistakes, allowing the Vikings to drag them into overtime, how will the Saints do against a team like the Colts which makes few mistakes?
This Super Bowl will be ugly folks: Colts over Saints by 21 points.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Super Bowl Prediction
With the conference championship games this weekend, it is time for me to make a Super Bowl prediction.
The best game this weekend will easily be the Colts against the Jets. While this game could go either way, I lean towards the Jets for these reasons:
When I look at the Colts, I see one thing: Peyton Manning. Don't get me wrong, Manning could be enough to beat the Jets. Just look to what Dan Marino did to a similar Bears team on a Monday night back in 1985. Never underestimate the ability of a great quarterback to bring a win at any time. And Manning is loudly making his case for the Hall of Fame with his stellar play.
However, in a game between a great player versus a great team, I'll take the team. JETS OVER COLTS BY 4 POINTS.
In the NFC, this game requires no deep analysis. The Cowboys and Cardinals had no business being in games against the Vikings and Saints, respectively. That said, the Saints won't make things as easy for the Vikings defense as the Cowboys boneheaded offensive gameplan did. Expect Drew Brees to sit back and shoot the Vikings down with a vicious short-passing game. On the other side, the Saints will stuff Adrian Peterson all day, forcing the-quarterback-who-retired-and-came-back-and-retired-and-came-back into beating them with his arm. In a battle between Favre and Brees, I'll take Brees. SAINTS OVER VIKINGS BY 3 POINTS.
Finally, in the Super Bowl, expect the Jets in the biggest upset since, dare I say... Joe Namath? JETS OVER SAINTS BY 11 POINTS.
The best game this weekend will easily be the Colts against the Jets. While this game could go either way, I lean towards the Jets for these reasons:
1. Offensive line: The Jets O-line may be the best in the NFL. The last time I saw a line that got that kind of push in the running game was the Cowboys back in the 90's.
2. Defense: Evil, wicked, mean, and nasty. Gotta love 'em! Seriously, they play a style of defense I haven't seen since the Ravens earlier this decade, minus the Ray Lewis star power. There isn't a star in this bunch. This is a true blue-collar defense with an attitude. And in the playoffs, I cling to the old adage: Defense wins championships.
3. Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez: No, he is NOT Peyton Manning. At this point in his career, he is more comparable to Trent Dilfer in 2000 for the Ravens: A great game manager who can give you a big play occasionally to keep the opposing defense honest.
4. Buddy's boy Rex Ryan: Next to Mike Singletary, Rex is my favorite head coach in the NFL. As bombastic as his father, Rex may be the most hated coach in the NFL. But I love his style, and apparently so do his players. But I think too many people look at his style, and overlook Rex's defensive genius. Before his career is over, I suspect people will be mentioning him in the same breath as guys like Buddy Ryan and Bill Parcells. Yes, he is that good.
5. The Big "Mo": The Jets are coming into this game looking like a team on a roll. Momentum is a dangerous thing in the playoffs. Just ask the Steelers, who last year had the "mo" and beat teams who had better seasons. Just ask the Cardinals, who barely slipped into the playoffs last year, but just managed to get enough "mo" to carry them to the Super Bowl.
When I look at the Colts, I see one thing: Peyton Manning. Don't get me wrong, Manning could be enough to beat the Jets. Just look to what Dan Marino did to a similar Bears team on a Monday night back in 1985. Never underestimate the ability of a great quarterback to bring a win at any time. And Manning is loudly making his case for the Hall of Fame with his stellar play.
However, in a game between a great player versus a great team, I'll take the team. JETS OVER COLTS BY 4 POINTS.
In the NFC, this game requires no deep analysis. The Cowboys and Cardinals had no business being in games against the Vikings and Saints, respectively. That said, the Saints won't make things as easy for the Vikings defense as the Cowboys boneheaded offensive gameplan did. Expect Drew Brees to sit back and shoot the Vikings down with a vicious short-passing game. On the other side, the Saints will stuff Adrian Peterson all day, forcing the-quarterback-who-retired-and-came-back-and-retired-and-came-back into beating them with his arm. In a battle between Favre and Brees, I'll take Brees. SAINTS OVER VIKINGS BY 3 POINTS.
Finally, in the Super Bowl, expect the Jets in the biggest upset since, dare I say... Joe Namath? JETS OVER SAINTS BY 11 POINTS.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Pigskin Pick'em - Week 8 Results AND Week 9 Picks AND Pats-Colts Preview
Who cares about last week when we have THE...SINGLE...MOST...IMPORTANT...GAME...OF...THE...SEASON...this weekend?
But for those of you who do care, congrats to bl! Here are last week's results:
bl - 10
David Stefanini - 9
EdMcGon - 8
J. Mark English - 8
FunkyPundit - 8
Snave - 8
Robert A. George - 6
Bill Barker - 5
Give a welcome to newcomer Snave. You have to appreciate someone who is willing to enter the weekly race without a chance of winning the YTD. Kudos!
Speaking of the YTD (with weekly wins in parentheses):
David Stefanini(2) - 72
EdMcGon(1) - 66
Robert A. George(1.5) - 63
J. Mark English(1) - 60
bl(2) - 54
Bill Barker - 45
FunkyPundit(0.5) - 41
SoloD - 28
Dave O'Leary - 21
Rigel - 17
Snave - 8
Mike - 8
For this week's picks, since we all only really care about one game, that's the only one I will comment on (this week, my picks are in green, with the exception of the last game):
San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
Denver Broncos at Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego Chargers at Minnesota Vikings
Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints
Washington Redskins at New York Jets
Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carolina Panthers at Tennessee Titans
Seattle Seahawks at Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts: The undisputed game of the week, possibly of the entire season. This one deserves a "Super Bowl" quality analysis:
Passing offense: The Pats are head and shoulders above everyone in the NFL. 73.6% completions, 8.65 yards/attempt, 303.8 yards/game, 30 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 8 sacks allowed, 133.2 pass rating.
The Colts have a great pass offense, but they don't match the Pats: 65.4% completions, 7.58 yards/attempt, 258.7 yards/game, 13 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 5 sacks allowed, 102.5 pass rating. EDGE: Patriots.
Rushing offense: For all the press generated by Tom Brady and the Pats passing game, their running game is no slouch, averaging 135.8 yards/game with a 4.2 average per attempt for 8 touchdowns.
However, the Colts have been slightly better: 140.3 yards/game with a 4.4 average per attempt for 12 touchdowns. EDGE: Colts.
Rushing defense: The statistics are a bit deceptive in this category, mostly because the Patriots have forced opponents to abandon the running game early (Pats: 87.0 rush yards/game allowed; Colts: 107.4 rush yards/game allowed). But look at what the Pats do to teams with decent running games (rush attempts/pass attempts, rushing yards allowed, rushing average, td's):
vs. Chargers (20/30, 52 yards, 2.6 avg., 0 td's): The Chargers rank 12th in the NFL in rushing yards/game.
vs. Cowboys (15/29, 97 yards, 6.5 avg., 0 td's): The Cowboys rank 9th in the NFL in rushing yards/game.
vs. Dolphins (30/37, 179 yards, 6.0 avg., 3 td's): The Dolphins rank 15th in the NFL in rushing yards/game.
On the surface, it would seem that if you run a balanced attack against the Patriots, you can actually beat their run defense. Actually, this is misleading because the Dolphins did most of their rushing damage in the 4th quarter when they were already down 42-7. The Dolphins gained 72 yards rushing and scored 2 rushing touchdowns in the 4th quarter of a game they had already lost. EDGE: Patriots.
Passing defense: This is where both of these teams really shine.
Patriots pass defense: 59.7% completion percentage, 5.09 yards/pass attempt, 181.5 yards/game, 10 td's, 11 interceptions.
Colts pass defense: 65.7% completion percentage, 4.79 yards/pass attempt, 165.4 yards/game, 5 td's, 9 interceptions.
The big difference: The Pats have 22 sacks vs. the Colts 12 sacks. EDGE: Patriots.
Special teams (returns): The Pats are averaging 29.2 yards per kickoff return with 2 touchdowns and 10.1 yards per punt return. The Colts are averaging 23.9 yards per kickoff return with no touchdowns and 9.0 yards per punt return. EDGE: Patriots.
Special teams (punting): Neither of these teams has had to punt very often this year. But when they do, the Pats get the better results with a net punt average of 36.7 yards vs. 32.0 yards for the Colts (worst in the NFL). EDGE: Patriots.
Special teams (kickers): Not a lot of difference between the two kickers in this game statistically, as both have only missed one field goal so far this year. However, Adam Vinatieri is a money in the bank clutch kicker. EDGE: Colts.
Coaching: Three Super Bowl wins for Belichick. One Super Bowl win for Dungy. However, the Colts have won the last three times they have played. EDGE: none.
My prediction: Patriots win 35-17. Defense and special teams win big games, and the Patriots carry the edge there.
Pigskin Pick'em Rules:
1. Pick the straight-up winners of all this weeks NFL games (excluding any Thursday games). Picks will be accepted in the comments section of the following websites: Politics and Pigskins, Ragged Thots, and American Legends. All picks must be posted by 1 pm Eastern Time on Sunday (otherwise known as "The Barker Rule"), or by the kickoff of the first NFL Saturday game on weeks when that happens.
2. The winner gets...bragging rights! (you weren't expecting money, were you?)
3. And new for this year: I will be keeping a running tally for the season, so the person who gets the most picks correct for the whole season, including the playoffs, gets...even BIGGER bragging rights! (and still no money)
But for those of you who do care, congrats to bl! Here are last week's results:
bl - 10
David Stefanini - 9
EdMcGon - 8
J. Mark English - 8
FunkyPundit - 8
Snave - 8
Robert A. George - 6
Bill Barker - 5
Give a welcome to newcomer Snave. You have to appreciate someone who is willing to enter the weekly race without a chance of winning the YTD. Kudos!
Speaking of the YTD (with weekly wins in parentheses):
David Stefanini(2) - 72
EdMcGon(1) - 66
Robert A. George(1.5) - 63
J. Mark English(1) - 60
bl(2) - 54
Bill Barker - 45
FunkyPundit(0.5) - 41
SoloD - 28
Dave O'Leary - 21
Rigel - 17
Snave - 8
Mike - 8
For this week's picks, since we all only really care about one game, that's the only one I will comment on (this week, my picks are in green, with the exception of the last game):
San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
Denver Broncos at Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego Chargers at Minnesota Vikings
Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints
Washington Redskins at New York Jets
Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carolina Panthers at Tennessee Titans
Seattle Seahawks at Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts: The undisputed game of the week, possibly of the entire season. This one deserves a "Super Bowl" quality analysis:
Passing offense: The Pats are head and shoulders above everyone in the NFL. 73.6% completions, 8.65 yards/attempt, 303.8 yards/game, 30 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 8 sacks allowed, 133.2 pass rating.
The Colts have a great pass offense, but they don't match the Pats: 65.4% completions, 7.58 yards/attempt, 258.7 yards/game, 13 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 5 sacks allowed, 102.5 pass rating. EDGE: Patriots.
Rushing offense: For all the press generated by Tom Brady and the Pats passing game, their running game is no slouch, averaging 135.8 yards/game with a 4.2 average per attempt for 8 touchdowns.
However, the Colts have been slightly better: 140.3 yards/game with a 4.4 average per attempt for 12 touchdowns. EDGE: Colts.
Rushing defense: The statistics are a bit deceptive in this category, mostly because the Patriots have forced opponents to abandon the running game early (Pats: 87.0 rush yards/game allowed; Colts: 107.4 rush yards/game allowed). But look at what the Pats do to teams with decent running games (rush attempts/pass attempts, rushing yards allowed, rushing average, td's):
vs. Chargers (20/30, 52 yards, 2.6 avg., 0 td's): The Chargers rank 12th in the NFL in rushing yards/game.
vs. Cowboys (15/29, 97 yards, 6.5 avg., 0 td's): The Cowboys rank 9th in the NFL in rushing yards/game.
vs. Dolphins (30/37, 179 yards, 6.0 avg., 3 td's): The Dolphins rank 15th in the NFL in rushing yards/game.
On the surface, it would seem that if you run a balanced attack against the Patriots, you can actually beat their run defense. Actually, this is misleading because the Dolphins did most of their rushing damage in the 4th quarter when they were already down 42-7. The Dolphins gained 72 yards rushing and scored 2 rushing touchdowns in the 4th quarter of a game they had already lost. EDGE: Patriots.
Passing defense: This is where both of these teams really shine.
Patriots pass defense: 59.7% completion percentage, 5.09 yards/pass attempt, 181.5 yards/game, 10 td's, 11 interceptions.
Colts pass defense: 65.7% completion percentage, 4.79 yards/pass attempt, 165.4 yards/game, 5 td's, 9 interceptions.
The big difference: The Pats have 22 sacks vs. the Colts 12 sacks. EDGE: Patriots.
Special teams (returns): The Pats are averaging 29.2 yards per kickoff return with 2 touchdowns and 10.1 yards per punt return. The Colts are averaging 23.9 yards per kickoff return with no touchdowns and 9.0 yards per punt return. EDGE: Patriots.
Special teams (punting): Neither of these teams has had to punt very often this year. But when they do, the Pats get the better results with a net punt average of 36.7 yards vs. 32.0 yards for the Colts (worst in the NFL). EDGE: Patriots.
Special teams (kickers): Not a lot of difference between the two kickers in this game statistically, as both have only missed one field goal so far this year. However, Adam Vinatieri is a money in the bank clutch kicker. EDGE: Colts.
Coaching: Three Super Bowl wins for Belichick. One Super Bowl win for Dungy. However, the Colts have won the last three times they have played. EDGE: none.
My prediction: Patriots win 35-17. Defense and special teams win big games, and the Patriots carry the edge there.
Pigskin Pick'em Rules:
1. Pick the straight-up winners of all this weeks NFL games (excluding any Thursday games). Picks will be accepted in the comments section of the following websites: Politics and Pigskins, Ragged Thots, and American Legends. All picks must be posted by 1 pm Eastern Time on Sunday (otherwise known as "The Barker Rule"), or by the kickoff of the first NFL Saturday game on weeks when that happens.
2. The winner gets...bragging rights! (you weren't expecting money, were you?)
3. And new for this year: I will be keeping a running tally for the season, so the person who gets the most picks correct for the whole season, including the playoffs, gets...even BIGGER bragging rights! (and still no money)
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