All Four Super Bowl Previews X

It is hard to believe this is the tenth episode of "All Four Super Bowl Previews!" I suppose it's somehow fitting that my 10th is the NFL's 50th. (If you are interested in how I did with the previous nine predictions you can find the links to the previous editions at the end of the post.)

Perennially I update my prediction record. In reviewing my figures I located an error that I will correct from here forward. Scoring is as follows: 1 Point for correctly predicting the AFC winner, 1 point for the NFC winner, and 1 point for correctly predicting the winner of the contest of the actual Super Bowl teams. A potential of 3 points per year with one exception: For some inexplicable reason I intentionally made no prediction regarding which teams would go to the Super Bowl in 2010. However, I did (incorrectly) predict a winner of the actual game that occurred. That year shall count for 1 available point. So, up until my predictions for 2015, I was 12 for 22 (54.5%). Last year I correctly predicted that the Patriots would face the Seahawks in the Big Dance, however, I guess I thought the Seahawks would run the ball at the goal line and not toss Malcolm Butler the game winning interception. (An identical prediction to the one I made the year before when the Seahawks trounced the Broncos.) However, going 2 for 3 last year increases my record to 56%! Ok, on to the predictions for this year:

Interesting fact regarding this year's QBs: Three out of four of them are over 35! Newton is the baby of the bunch at 26.

Alright, here are this year's games from least compelling to most:

Patriots vs Cardinals
I feel the need to briefly define how I'm using the term "Compelling" in this ranking structure. I don't mean the quality of game that will be on display for the fans to watch. I mean the story - the selling factor that CBS can milk to try to entice the casual viewer to the couch for the game. That being said this game is the one that no one wants to see. Here's why: Nobody (outside of New England [and their fans]) wants to see Brady in another Super Bowl. His legacy is set, his HOF ticket is stamped, it's time to share with the other children. Everyone (outside of Arizona and the fans of the other NFC South Teams) wants to see Cam Newton on the Big Stage (and, no, I don't mean singing with Coldplay.) So if there's no Newton and there is Tom Terrific then few people will be happy. This is unfortunate as I believe this will be the best game to watch. The Cardinals and Patriots both have the best offense for their respective leagues and adequate defenses to make it difficult for the opponents offense to simply move the ball all over them. This is the game I expect to see and I believe that Belichick and Co will find a way to befuddle Palmer into making enough mistakes that the Patriots will be the first to repeat as Super Bowl champions since... oh yeah, The Patriots.
Winner: Patriots
Losers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms as they have to say nice things about the Patriots (they will later gargle with antiseptic mouthwash).

Broncos vs Cardinals
It may be surprising to find this game listed second considering how much the average fan doesn't want to see Brady in the Super Bowl, so his absence might appear to be drawing factor. However, I believe that Newton's absence would cause more people to not watch than Brady's presence. In regards to the game, the Broncos have a decent defense but not enough to win a championship. Their offense isn't what it used to be either. This game won't feel like it's over because the Nantz and Simms will continually fawn over Manning and herald him as the football Messiah (never once mentioning the HGH scandal that is currently surrounding him) but he will be unable to overcome the Cardinals. Peyton will fall to 1-3 for his Super Bowl appearances.
Winner: Cardinals
Loser: Manning's HGH provider as demand plummets.

Patriots vs Panthers
While CBS will get some play out of the "rematch of Super Bowl XXXVIII" angle (Cam Newton was a freshman in high school when that game was played), the major story-line here is that the Panthers are seeking to mirror the Patriots feat of finishing a season 18-1. The only difference is, when the Patriots finished 18-1 they were 18-0 headed into the final game of the year. The Panthers had an opportunity match the Patriots undefeated 16 game regular season but fell to the Falcons week 15. Now, had they managed to overcome their divisional rival CBS would be selling their souls for this match-up. Imagine the hype: "The Panthers are on a mission to be the first undefeated team in the 16 game era. The only obstacle still in their way? The last team to attempt the seemingly impossible feat. The Patriots hope to add another team with an 18-1 record to the annals of NFL History." Instead, it's the Panthers hoping for a better 18-1 record, where they hoist the Lombardi trophy at the end and the Patriots hoping to send "SuperCam" Newton home with 17-2 record for the year. If this is the game that we see, my emotions say that the Panthers will win, but my head says the Patriots. I don't expect the Patriots to spot the Panthers 31 points like the Seahawks did last week and if the Panthers D couldn't stop the Seahawks from coming within a TD of victory, they won't be able to stop Tom, Edelman, Gronk, and Amendola.
Winner: Patriots
Loser: Roger Goodell

Broncos vs Panthers
This is the game that everyone without a dog in the fight wants to see. They want Peyton to have his swan song and go out on top like the last great Broncos QB, John Elway, did. Not only that, but they want it to be against a rising star QB Cam Newton. A passing of the torch, if you will. They picture Newton congratulating Peyton at the 50 just after Manning has announced that now that he's won the Super Bowl he's going to fly the Millennium Falcon to Disney World (Because they can't cross reference that enough!) Both QBs smiling from ear to ear as Manning says, "You'll get yours next year kid" and, in oblivious to the irony, hands Cam the game ball. Too bad that isn't what is going to happen. This game will be over by the middle of the 3rd. The Panthers won't fall for Manning's new patented "Look at me guys, I'm giving myself up!" play. Manning will be benched after he throws his 3rd INT (2nd Pick-six [4th turnover including an earlier strip sack]). Brock comes in the game but it's too little, too late as the Panthers role over the Broncos by 3 scores. The Panthers will finish the season 18-1, but this time with a championship.
Winner: Panthers
Losers: Everyone tired of hearing about the 1972 Dolphins

Those are my thoughts, what are yours? Here are the links to my previous predictions, analysis, winners, and losers:

2007, Colts over Bears;
Game Predicted: Saints over Colts.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Colts;

2008, Giants over Patriots;
Game Predicted: Accurately predicted the Giants vs the Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Patriots;

2009, Steelers over Cardinals;
Game Predicted: Steelers over Eagles.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Steelers;

2010, Saints over Colts;
Game Predicted: Purposeful lack of prediction.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Colts;

2011, Packers over Steelers;
Game Predicted: Accurately predicted the Packers and Steelers
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Steelers;

2012, Giants over Patriots;
Game Predicted: Giants over Ravens.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Patriots

2013, Ravens over 49ers;
Game Predicted: 49ers over Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: 49ers

2014, Seahawks over Broncos;
Game Predicted: Seahawks over Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Seahawks

2015, Patriots over Seahawks;
Game Predicted: Seahawks over Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Seahawks

2015-2016 NFL Playoff Preview

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Nope, not Christmas time, NFL Playoff time! Hard to believe it's been another year since I posted but I simply can't refuse the siren call of predicting the NFL Post season. Here is how I did with last year's playoff predictions.

AFC:
Ravens v Steelers: Prediction Steelers, actual Ravens
Colts v Bengals: Prediction Bengals, actual Colts
Bengals v Patriots: Prediction Patriots, actual Patriots
Colts v Broncos: Prediction Broncos, actual Colts
Colts v Patriots: Prediction Patriots, actual Patriots

NFC:
Panthers v Cardinals: Prediction Panthers, actual Panthers
Cowboys v Lions: Prediction Cowboys, actual Cowboys
Seahawks v Panthers: Prediction Seahawks, actual Seahawks
Cowboys v Packers: Prediction Cowboys, actual Packers
Cowboys v Seahawks: Prediction Cowboys, actual Seahawks

Super Bowl
Cowboys v Patriots: Prediction Patriots, actual Patriots

It didn't look like my final prediction was going to hold true with the circus catch and Beast-Mode expectation until Butlers INT. I I went only 6 for 11 for 54% which is unfortunate seeing as half of those predictions were the Patriots! On to this year: Here is how I believe the second best tournament of the year will work itself out (NCAA basketball is #1):

I felt like last year's Wild Card Weekend was up-in-the-air. This year I feel like it's nearly a gimmie. That being said, I'll probably be lucky if I go .500 so don't rush to Vegas with my predictions. I'll review them in the order in which they will be played:

AFC Saturday 1st game Chiefs at Texans
If I were to power rank all 12 of the playoff teams the Texans would be at the bottom. I've heard many people talking about the Chiefs as the sleeper team of the post season. Momentum is a fairly important aspect of the NFL and the Chiefs are carrying a 10 game winning streak. Now, the flip side of that stat is that their wins were against pedestrian teams. Only 2 of which finished the year over .500 and three of their opponents winning fewer than a third of their games. This game will be a close one with Houston's excellent Defense holding KC's very good offense and KC's adequate defense stopping Houston's below average offense. When the clock stops, it's the Chiefs that will be moving on.
Winner: Chiefs

AFC Saturday 2nd game Steelers at Bengals
As a Patriots fan, the Steelers are the team that concern me the most. It wouldn't surprise me if Belichick lost to the Jets to give them control of their own destiny and keep Pittsburgh out of the post season. Then, when he saw that the Bills were whooping up on the Jets he chose to lose to the Dolphins so that if the Patriots had to meet the Steelers it wouldn't be until the AFC Championship game The Bengals, on the other hand would be ranked just above the Texans. With a back up QB and only a few challenges this year, less than half that they rose to, the Bengals are benefiting from early success. That success will not carry them into the next round of the post season. This game will be over by halftime. The Bengals have gone 24 years since their last playoff win. That tally will increase to 25.
Winner: Steelers

NFC Sunday 1st game Seahawks at Vikings
The biggest headline of this game will be the weather. Not because it will be the coldest game of all time, not even close. But with temperatures expected to be around 8 degrees Fahrenheit the NFL could put an end to "Deflategate" (or "Framegate" as it is more appropriately called) once and for all. Simply test those footballs at half time and make the results public. Of course, this will never happen. So, on to the game: Of all the games for wild card weekend, this is the most difficult to predict. The Vikings have had a late season push to finally wrestle the division from the claws of the Packers. Seattle has also had some success against key teams this season, most notably the Cardinals and the Vikings. If we were to go by the meeting in the regular season one would expect the Seahawks to run away with this one as they won by 29. However, the way the Vikings played against the Packers when it mattered gave a glimpse of what the team can do when their back is against the wall. The Seahawks have overcome the curse of the losing Super Bowl team not making the playoffs, but only just barely. It may be interesting to note that the teams who which the Seahawks have lost have the second highest winning record (behind only the Bengals)and the teams they beat have the 3rd lowest winning record (behind the Texans and Bengals). That means they lost to the good teams and beat the bad teams. That might make this pick easier if the Vikings hadn't done much of the same. Edging out the Seahawks by 1.76% in winning percentage of the teams they've beaten. So who comes out on top? The boys from Washington
Winner: Seahawks

NFC Sunday 2nd game: Packers at Redskins
The Packers of late have not been the Packers we've come to know and love (Or otherwise, depending on which team you favor). While the Redskins have emerged from the worst division of the NFC (When a team is 4-10 week 15 and still not mathematically eliminated from the post season [Dallas], there's a problem). The Redskins have the distinction of having lowest winning percentage of the teams against whom they won. Interestingly, they also lost teams with the second lowest winning percentage (The Panthers had the lowest winning percentage of teams they lost to [which was only one (Falcons)] at 50%). This means the Redskins had the easiest schedule out of all of the playoff teams and they still limped in. It feels odd going with all of the road teams but I can't find a good reason to pick the Redskins.
Winner: Packers

Divisional Round:
AFC Saturday 1st game Chiefs at Patriots
While I would much rather have seen the Bengals in this slot, we'll take the Chiefs. Hopefully, Edelman, Amendola, Gronk, and Brady will all be at 100%. If they are, then I have little concern that the Patriots will move on to the next round. If they are not all available to play, I still believe that the Patriots are matched up will against the Chiefs. People may point to the Patriots having gone 2-4 in their final 6 games but remember a few things: The Broncos game could have easily gone either way, the Eagles loss was a major special teams debacle and the Patriots still had a chance to win, and the losses to the Jets and Dolphins may have been intentional. The Patriots usually save a few special plays for the post season (See: Ravens controversy last year that we all forgot about because of "Framegate). The Chief's hopes for a championship end in Foxboro.
Winner: Patriots

NFC Saturday 2nd game Packers at Cardinals
The Packers aren't as fortunate this round having to travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals. The Cardinals have already disposed of the Packers once this season and it was the current team who doesn't look like the Green Bay of old (Or even week 5). Palmer will beat Rogers and give the Cards the win.
Winner: Cardinals

NFC Sunday 1st game Seahawks at Panthers
The Panthers looked like they were going to match the Patriots feat of 2007 of going the entire regular season without a loss. They still have a chance to match New England's 18-1 record if they can bring home the Lombardi Trophy. First they have to get past the Seahawks. The likelihood that the Panthers were going to go undefeated decreased greatly when their star running back Jonathan Stewart went down with an injury. Two games later they lost to the Falcons. The Panthers faced teams with the worst overall winning percentage but part of that is that they defeated 93.75% of those teams. However, those same teams didn't do a lot of winning apart from when they faced the Panthers either. It would be a great disappointment if the Panthers went out the first round. Rumor has it that Stewart will be back. The Panthers don't disappoint.
Winner: Panthers

AFC Sunday 2nd game Steelers at Broncos
This is a game I (wrongly) predicted last year. But this year I'm even more sure it will happen. The Steelers are one of the healthiest teams in the AFC and that goes a long way in the post season. The Broncos have to choose between an injured geriatric with a bum neck and an unproven QB who they pulled from the final game of the year when it really mattered. I believe they are going to go with Manning and he will be the Manning of late (which is the Manning we've come to expect in the playoffs). He will throw no fewer than 2 interceptions. He will get a hit that will give the Broncos and excuse to pull him in favor of Brock but it will be too late. Big Ben will march the Steelers to a Mile High victory ending Manning's final chance at equaling his younger (and far less talented) brother's Super Bowl victories.
Winner: Steelers

Championship Round:
AFC
Steelers at Patriots
This is the game I dreaded. Can the Patriots #DefendtheWall against the Steelers in Foxboro. The Patriots have defeated Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game twice in the past, both times in Pittsburgh, and both times the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl. Can the Steelers return the favor? Can Big Ben waltz into Foxoboro in late January, defeat the Patriots and then beat the NFC's Super Bowl Representative? I don't think so (that, and every time I've picked against the Patriots I've regretted it).
Winner: Patriots

NFC
Cardinals at Panthers
As informed as I try to be I haven't had much opportunity to see the Cardinals this year. Stats show that they are evenly balanced but can they stop the double pronged run and shoot offense of Stewart, Newton, and the Panthers? While Cam is certainly the shoe-in for NFL MVP this year, I'm not 100% sure that he can beat the Cardinals. If they did, I think they'd win the Super Bowl. I've even typed the Super Bowl match up of a Panthers v Patriots rematch but it didn't seem right. Despite my better judgment and what all the experts are saying, I'm going with Palmer and the Cardinals.
Winner: Cardinals

Super Bowl
Cardinals vs Patriots
This actually will be a better game than Panthers v Patriots. Cardinals v Patriots will have more fan-favorite passing and a advertising preferred high-scoring game. Like every other Patriots victory, this game will be decided by less than a Touchdown in the closing minutes of the game. Unlike other Patriots games, this game will have two teams pushing, if not breaking, the 40 point barrier. If you're a gambler - take the over (Not really because, as I've proved in the past, what do I know?!)
Winner: Patriots

There you have it. If you are a betting person, I recommend betting on what I predicted will NOT happen. If one were to do some reconnaissance on my previous NFL predictions during the preseason, I'm pretty sure we'd see that the Dallas v New England Super Bowl is one that is most commonly predicted. However, this year I believe it's a very high likelihood. Enjoy the games. What a great time of year!

All Four Super Bowl Previews IX

As my faithful readers are aware (both of you) I look forward to this post as soon as the preseason begins. I'm not even sure what it is about this post; I enjoy analyzing the differences of each possible game, I (obviously) like (incorrectly) predicting the outcome of games, and I particularly enjoy picking the losers of each game. As this is the ninth (I'm just as shocked as you!) episode - the links to the previous edition are getting a bit long and will now appear at the end of the post. I will, however, update my Super Bowl Preview record. Last year I accurately predicted that Seattle would be in the Big Game. Additionally, I was one of the few people who said that in the match-up between the Seahawks and the Broncos the Seahawks would not only win, but win easily. Those two accurate predictions improve my to 13 for 24 which brings me back to 54% since I began this in 2007! Ok, on to the predictions for this year:

Interestingly enough: all four remaining quarterbacks wear the #12!

Alright, here are this year's games from least compelling to most:

Colts vs Seahawks
No one really wants to see what amounts to a rematch of last year's Super Bowl. Of course, once the networks get ahold of this match-up and over hype the fact that these two Quarterbacks were from the same draft class then people are gonna start caring. Otherwise, there isn't too much to get excited about here. Andrew Luck lead the league in passing and the Seahawks Defense looked like last year's defense down the stretch. As I pointed out last year: no quarterback who lead the league in passing for the year has ever won the Super Bowl! If Luck even makes it (which I doubt) he will be only the fifth QB who lead the league in passing to make the Big Game. All five of them will have lost (Luck 2014, Brady 2007, Gannon 2002, Warner 2001, Marino 1984). Just like last year, this game would be over by half-time and Russell Wilson will have his second consecutive Super Bowl ring - in his third year in the league!
Winner: Seahawks
Losers: RGIII, Tannehill, Luck, Weeden, and Foles, the other "future elite" QBs drafted in 2012.

Colts vs Packers
Not sure there is much of a story-line with a match-up between an Aaron Rogers at 75% vs Andrew Luck and his hyper pass offense. Rogers would be trying for his second ring and Luck attempting to win his first. The Colts rank #1 in passing offense while the Packers rank 8th in passing defense. Essentially, the Colts would be playing right into the strength of the Packers and, as we know from last year, Defense wins championships! Luck leaves his first Super Bowl performance with a dubious 3 INTS, a sack/fumble, and only 2 TDs.
Winner: Packers
Loser: The companies who thought it was a good idea to "save some money" and air their commercial after half-time.

Patriots vs Seahawks
Unsurprisingly, I picked the Patriots to make it to the Super Bowl last year. I also predicted the Seahawks. So if this game is the game that occurs then, really, I predicted it a year in advance! While I had picked this as the least compelling game last year it has moved up in the rankings. The Patriots are better and the Seahawks aren't quite as good. Even though this is Russel's second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl It's hard to imagine Belichick being unable to scheme a defense that wouldn't confuse Wilson or the offensive coaching staff (just like he did with his offensive moves against Harbaugh and the Ravens). The Patriots have a new weapon this year: a running game! This will prove useful in their quest for a fourth ring since 2001. This is a tough game to call: Both teams lost to the Chiefs, but the Seahawks lost to the Chargers whom the Patriots defeated, but the Seahawks beat the Packers; a team the Patriots lost to. In the end, I think the Seahawks D will be able to slow the Patriots offense to a greater extent than vise versa.
Winner: Seahawks
Loser: People who think QBs need to have been in the league more than 3 years before they get to be in the elite/best ever conversations.

Patriots vs Packers
A rematch of the 97 show-down (that was never really a game) pits two teams against each other that now have completely different personnel (including coaches). Defending the Packers becomes slightly easier for Belichick and Co because of Roger's limited mobility due to his injured calf and because the Packers showed some of their trickery when they beat the Patriots in the regular season. They'll have to pull out something new to if they want to confuse the Patriots D again because Belichick won't allow the same tricks to work twice (unless the Defense wants to walk home from Arizona.) When the final whistle blows, I think the Packers will have needed a fully healthy Aaron Rogers to over come the Patriots D.
Winner: Patriots
Loser: All non-Patriot fans and Brady-haters. Also, anyone who still wants to argue that Peyton is better than Tom

The game I expect to see is the one I predicted last year (Kinda like when Anakin was before the Jedi Council and he saw the ship before it appeared on the screen): Patriots v Seahawks. Rogers was able to over come the Cowboys and I think his D can put an end to Wilson's bid at a second ring. The Colts suffered a serious drubbing at the hands of the Patriots week 11. While it won't be as much of a blowout the Patriots will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Those are my thoughts, what are yours? Here are the links to my previous predictions, analysis, winners, and losers:

2007, Colts over Bears;
Game Predicted: Saints over Colts.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Colts;

2008, Giants over Patriots;
Game Predicted: Accurately predicted the Giants vs the Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Patriots;

2009, Steelers over Cardinals;
Game Predicted: Steelers over Eagles.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Steelers;

2010, Saints over Colts;
Game Predicted: Purposeful lack of prediction.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Colts;

2011, Packers over Steelers;
Game Predicted: Accurately predicted the Packers and Steelers
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Steelers;

2012, Giants over Patriots;
Game Predicted: Giants over Ravens.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Patriots

2013, Ravens over 49ers;
Game Predicted: 49ers over Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: 49ers

2014, Seahawks over Broncos;
Game Predicted: Seahawks over Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Seahawks

2014-2015 NFL Playoff Preview

It's time once again for the annual recap of JMO's football predictions. The only problem? I didn't make any! Those of you who are aware of the myriad of major life changes over the past year hopefully will forgive my blogging absence. So let's begin this year's installment with a recap of how I did with last year's playoffs:

AFC:
Colts v Chiefs: Prediction Colts, actual Colts
Chargers v Bengals: Prediction Bengals, actual Chargers
Colts v Patriots: Prediction Patriots, actual Patriots
Chargers v Broncos: Prediction Broncos, actual Broncos
Broncos v Patriots: Prediction Patriots, actual Broncos

NFC:
Saints v Eagles: Prediction Saints, actual Saints
49ers v Packers: Prediction 49ers, actual 49ers
49ers v Panthers: Prediction Panthers, actual 49ers
Saints v Seahawks: Prediction Seahawks, actual Seahawks
49ers v Seahawks: Prediction Seahawks, actual Seahawks

Super Bowl
Broncos v Seahawks: Prediction Seahawks, actual Seahawks

Yes, I was one of the few analysts that predicted the leagues best defense would overcome the leagues best offense. I did fairly well overall going 8 for 11 for scoring 73% accuracy!

And now for this years predictions. First, let me say that I don't remember a Wild Card Weekend as up-in-the-air as this one. I don't feel 100% about any of these games. I barely feel 75% about any of them. This will be a very difficult year to predict. I'll do my best to explain why for each game. I'll review them in the order in which they will be played:

NFC Saturday 1st game Cardinals at Panthers
As we a few of this weekend's games, this is a match-up of two teams headed in completely opposite directions. The Cardinals started out with the NFL's best record, lost two QBs and proceeded to lose all offensive power. They scored only 4 offensive TDs in 75 drives and their current QB now holds the record for most NFL passing attempts before securing his first NFL Passing TD. The Panthers, on the other hand, started the year in the hole. Then their defense came alive and began shutting other teams down allowing an average of just over 10 points per game for the final 4 games of the year. The Panthers are the second team in NFL history to host a playoff game with an over all losing record. While the Cardinals defense has kept them in playoff contention I don't see how they can carry the team from Arizona into the next round of the playoffs. This game will likely be very low scoring with the distinct possibility of the Cardinals not scoring an offensive TD. Like the last team to host a post season game with a record below .500 (Seattle Seahawks) the Panthers will emerge victorious and move on to the Divisional Round.
Winner: Panthers

AFC Saturday 2nd game Ravens at Steelers
If the Steelers were at full strength I'd call Big Ben and theTerrible Towel crew in a rout. But they aren't. They are without their top running back Bell who accounted for over 30% of their offense throughout the year and without top Defensive player Polamalu. Those major losses might give the edge to the Ravens. However, consider this statistic: The Steelers are 5-1 against teams with a winning record this year while the Ravens have gone 1-6! The Steelers still have the #1 wide receiver in the league by receiving yards while the Ravens have Flacco and Smith. I'll leave it up to you to decide if Flacco goes in the positive or negative column. I believe it will come down to pressuring the QB. Both Ben and Joe have been known to make poor decisions when facing pressure, particularly up the middle. Which team will move the QB more often? The Steelers, and which QB is more likely to make an error when forced from the pocket? Flacco. The Ravens are facing another team that finished the year over .500 and they will finish this year with a record of 1-7 against such teams.
Winner: Steelers

AFC Sunday 1st game Bengals at Colts
No playoff team has been more inconsistent than the Colts. They blanked the Colts one week only to give up more than 50 to the Steelers the next. The Bengals are not exactly the picture of consistency but their ups and downs have been more like gentle ocean waves rather than the tumultuous roller coaster of the Colts. The question is, can the Bengals win on the road? They beat Denver late in the season to punch their ticket to the post season but the Bengals have struggled in the NFL's second season. They haven't won a playoff game since '91 and are on the verge of setting a record if they lose this game having dropped their last 3 consecutive playoff appearances. Luck leads the lead (tied with the Steeler's Big Ben) for most passing yards this year, but the running game of the Bengals has picked up since they've begun relying more on Rookie Jeremy Hill. Not being sure which Colts team will show up on Sunday, I have to go with the lesser of the two inconsistent teams.
Winner: Bengals

NFC Sunday 2nd game: Lions at Cowboys
Remembering a last second defeat at the hands of the Lions (When Stafford pretended like he was going to spike the ball at the Cowboy's 1 yard line and dove over his offensive linemen for the game winning score) from week 8 of last year, the Cowboys will be out for revenge. This will be a game of great offenses vs suspect defenses. Both the Cowboy's and Lion's running games have been fantastic with the Lions on an up-tick and the Cowboys seeing a slight downward trend in that stat. Both QBs feel like they have something to prove, perhaps Romo more than Stafford as Tony has been blasted for not being able to win when it matters for longer than Matthew. Sporting an 8-0 road record, the Cowboys might prefer this game to be played on the road. But while Reggie Bush and his counter-part Bell have been eating up yards on the ground, the Cowboys have been quietly setting records of their own: Murray's 12 games with greater than 100 yards rushing eclipses Emmitt's franchise record of 11, Romo's three game stretch of 10 TDs with zero picks is better than any 3 game stretch by Aikman, and their 41.3 point per game average in December is fourth only to the '13 Broncos, '07 Patriots, and '01 Rams. Now, if Roger Goodell were a REAL commissioner, then Suh would NOT be playing in this game due to his conduct and intentional attempt at injuring the Packer's QB Aaron Rogers. However, his appeal allows him to suit up and bring his dirty play to this game. That levels the playing field a bit more but I foresee the Cowboys still coming out on top.
Winner: Cowboys

Divisional Round:
AFC Saturday 1st game Bengals at Patriots
A game I (incorrectly) predicted would occur last year will likely happen this year. Not much to say about this game. The Patriots were (essentially) undefeated at home this year (losing the final game in a lack-luster performance where many starters didn't play and Brady played less than one half) and the Bengals were 5-3 on the road. Those three losses? All to playoff teams including the Patriots. Dalton's run at his first Super Bowl ends here.
Winner: Patriots

NFC Saturday 2nd game Panthers at Seahawks
While the Wild Card games were incredibly difficult to predict, the Divisional Games seem to be lending themselves to a greater amount of certainty. While the Panthers didn't exactly limp into the post season having won their final 4 games, they still have an overall losing record. Even after their victory over the Cardinals they'd still only be 8-8-1. When they head to Seattle to face the last team to host a playoff game with an overall losing record their outcome will be the same: win the first game, lose the second. While the Seahawks have not had the overpowering year they were hoping for, their defense has improved in these final few games and the Panthers offense will not be able to over-come it.
Winner: Seahawks

NFC Sunday 1st game Cowboys at Packers
This is definitely the most difficult of the four divisional games to predict. This rematch of the Ice Bowl features a Green Bay team that is not at 100% with a slightly injured Rogers and a banged up secondary. One can only guess what the cold will do to Roger's aching calf. It also features a Cowboys team that went 8-0 on the road. And these road wins were not all against the slouches of the NFL. They beat the Seahawks in Seattle and then defeated the (then) heir apparent to the NFC East title Philadelphia Eagles. Four of the five teams that have amassed undefeated road records made it all the way to the Super Bowl. I believe the Cowboys good fortune continues.
Winner: Cowboys

AFC Sunday 2nd game Steelers at Broncos
Even though Ben set a record this year with his consecutive week 6 TD pass performance, I still don't expect him to be able to march into Denver and win. Even though Peyton as been trending downward, relying more on the run game, and throwing 4 interceptions in the game against the Bengals week 16 (causing me to lose my fantasy football championship by a measly 2 pts) I still expect him to be able to read and dissect the Steelers D. With the Steelers unable to run the ball as well as they'd like and with the Broncos improving their running game giving more weight to Manning's play fakes, I don't see the Steeler's D as being able to stop the Broncos offense.
Winner: Broncos

Championship Round:
AFC
Broncos at Patriots
A rematch of last years AFC Championship game with one major difference: Location, location, location. The Patriots have already soundly defeated the Broncos at Foxboro earlier this year. However, the Broncos weren't running the ball as much as they are now (as evidenced by the fact that the leading rusher from that game was the Patriots Rookie Jonas Gray with 33 yards.) These two teams are very evenly matched and are within a few spaces of each other in such key areas as Offensive rushing per game, passing per game, and defensive run yards given up per game. The major difference can be found with defensive passing yards given up per game. Often, this is due to a team falling behind and needing to catch up and when dealing with a team that wins close games vs a team that wins blow-outs this stat can be misleading. However, the Broncos and Patriots are very similar in that respect. The Broncos sit at 24th in the league and the Patriots are in the top 50%. This will make the difference and the Patriots will be trying for another Lombardi Trophy.
Winner: Patriots

NFC
Cowboys at Seahawks
Does anyone have a coin? These two teams are very evenly matched and match-up well against each other. The venue seems to favor the Seahawks but the Cowboys have played very well on the road already defeating the Seahawks in Seattle this year. The Cowboys seem like a second tier team compared to the Seahawks and Packers but they have an identical record and if it weren't for tie breakers, they'd have had multiple home games and a bye. Perhaps taking 3rd place favors the 'Boys with their road record this year. The Seahawk's Defense has really struggled this year. They are dead last in passing D and 30th in rushing defense. As the adage goes (and was proved last year) Defense wins championships, and a lack thereof, consequently, losses them.
Winner: Cowboys

Super Bowl
Cowboys vs Patriots
Brady v Romo. Years ago, we'd have expected this to be a perennial match-up but ever since he fumbled the snap on the field goal attempt in his first post season game following the 2006 season, he's never seemed to be the same. Brady seeks to avenge his two losses to the NFC East (and the NFC East's worst QB) in the Big Game where as Romo is hoping for his first ring in his first Big Dance attempt. The Patriots have experience in big games while the Cowboys have experience losing big games. Even though Brady just restructured his contract he will have to answer questions about his possible retirement as he wins his 4th Super Bowl ring following his 6th appearance.
Winner: Patriots

There you have it. If you are a betting person, I recommend betting on what I predicted will NOT happen. If one were to do some reconnaissance on my previous NFL predictions during the preseason, I'm pretty sure we'd see that the Dallas v New England Super Bowl is one that is most commonly predicted. However, this year I believe it's a very high likelihood. Enjoy the games. What a great time of year!

All Four Super Bowl Previews VIII

It is difficult to believe that this is the eighth edition of what has come to be my favorite annual post: All Four Super Bowl Previews. (In case you are new to JMO, this post is where I break down all four possible Super Bowls, discuss who will win, which one I'd like to see, which one the league and the networks are pulling for, and who the losers are for each game.) I thoroughly enjoy NFL Playoff season. The best teams playing the games with the highest stakes. Some underdogs that "shouldn't win" shock the favorite, some games come down to the wire, some of the best teams show exactly why they belong in the playoffs. It's fun predicting the outcome of these next two games and the outcome of each of the possible Super Bowls. If you'd like to see how I've done in the past, you can read my previous versions here (I'll list them with the year the Super Bowl happened along with the actual teams that faced off):

2007, Colts over Bears;
Game Predicted: Saints over Colts.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Colts;

2008, Giants over Patriots;
Game Predicted: Accurately predicted the Giants vs the Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Patriots;

2009, Steelers over Cardinals;
Game Predicted: Steelers over Eagles.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Steelers;

2010, Saints over Colts;
Game Predicted: Purposeful lack of prediction.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Colts;

2011, Packers over Steelers;
Game Predicted: Accurately predicted the Packers and Steelers
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Steelers;

2012, Giants over Patriots;
Game Predicted: Giants over Ravens.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: Patriots

2013, Ravens over 49ers;
Game Predicted: 49ers over Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Actual Super Bowl match-up: 49ers

Since I started this tradition I'm 11 for 21. (if I get 1 point for each team in the game and 1 point for the winner of the teams that actually played each other). I dropped from 55% to 52% having only accurately predicted the presence of the 49ers in last year's game.

Alright, enough about previous years! On to this year's potential Super Bowls!

An interesting aspect of this year's potential Super Bowls is the bizarre lack of uniqueness of each game. The team representing the AFC will be a high powered offense captained by a Hall-of-Fame bound franchise quarterback combined with a suspect defense lead by a defensive-minded head coach. The NFC will be represented by a team with a top-notch, league-leading defense on one side of the ball with a "next-generation" run-n-gun, read option quarterback who has had games where he lead his team in rushing and can dismantle the opposition's D with his arm or his feet on the other. All four games offer the old-guard vs up-and-comer storyline. I'll have to work pretty hard to find the differences between these four games.

Without further ado, here are this year's games from least compelling to most: (Again, there's not a lot of difference here)

Patriots vs Seahawks
I think this game has the least to offer to the average fan. Seattle isn't a very big market and everyone except Patriot fans are so sick of Brady and company. The Patriots have been in 8 out of the last 13 AFC Championship games. Ignoring the year Brady was knocked out week one, he's lead the boys from Foxboro to the Championship game 2 out of every 3 years of his career. (The next best team is the Steelers, achieving half of the appearances of Belichick and Brady in the same time frame). The Seahawks lead the league in a number of defensive categories but the Patriots offense isn't as explosive this year as Denver's. Interestingly, Seattle is better against the pass than the rush which, based on the playoffs thus far, would give the Patriots a better chance at winning than the Broncos. It's hard to imagine Belichick being unable to scheme a defense that wouldn't confuse Wilson on his first trip to the big game. But, if the Patriots are unable to stop the triple option offense of the Seahawks and are in a position where Brady has to air it out, that's playing right into the strength of the Seahawks defense. The Super Bowl is in New York this year. The cold weather would normally favor New England. But, unfortunately for the Patriots, Seattle is also a cold weather team. Either Wilson is unable to move the ball against Coach Bill's game plan or the Patriots fall behind and have to play catch-up. Either way, this one will be over early. Who will win? You'll see this a lot on this post: Defense wins championships. Oh, this is the game I'm predicting this year.
Winner: Seahawks
Loser: The TV show FOX is hoping will get a ratings boost by airing it immediately after the game.

Patriots vs 49ers
This game would be interesting. With Kaepernick's read option, Gore's running game, and the threat of Crabtree, Boldin and Davis it would be amazing to watch Belichick's defensive brilliance attempt to slow them down. And that's just half of the game! The other half is watching Brady, Edelman, Amendola, Vereen, Ridley, and Blount attempt to surgically dismantle the 49er's D. Other underlying stories: Gronk out. The weather favors the run which seems to be a push with the Patriots new-found, seemingly unpatriot-like, run and short passing games compared with Gore and Kaepernick's ability to move the ball with their feet. Normally, when discussing Super Bowl experience the scales tip toward the Patriots, but not this time. The 49ers have more players with Super Bowl experience than the Patriots do. The 49ers might be able to score against the Patriots average defense this year, but they won't score enough to prevent a late comeback by Brady and his receivers. With no Welker to drop the key pass this year, Edelman and Vereen become Brady's favorite targets as he drives down the field for a game winning touchdown.
Winner: Patriots
Loser: Joe Montana, either overshadowed by Brady, or replaced by Kaepernick.

Broncos vs Seahawks
The more discerning fan wants to see this match-up. The AFC's #1 offense vs the NFC's #1 defense. Truth be told, Denver and Seattle lead the entire league in their respective categories. This game will come down to turnovers. Seattle lead the league with a +20 turnover difference and Peyton has a frustrating habit (at least for Colts and Broncos fans) of turning the ball over when it matters most. Seattle excels at stopping the pass while the Broncos struggle against the run. There are two other factors that are key to determining who will win this game. First, no quarterback who lead the league in passing for the year has ever won the Super Bowl! In fact, only four of them have even made it to the big game and all four lost (Brady 2007, Gannon 2002, Warner 2001, Marino 1984). There's a reason for that: Defense wins championships. Peyton set an all time record for passing yards this year. Second, Peyton has only one a single game that was below 32 degrees in his professional career. For whatever inexplicable reason, this year's Super Bowl is in New York. That means cold weather and no dome. The Broncos may have an explosive offense and that got them to the big game, but it won't be able to close the deal. Defense wins Championships.
Winner: Seahawks
Losers: Brady, Peyton, Roethlisberger, Romo, Brees, and Rivers, as the torch is passed to the next generation.

Broncos vs 49ers
Let's be honest, when there's a chance for history to be made, it's what people want to see. Only Craig Morton and Kurt Warner have even had the opportunity to win two Super Bowls with two different teams. Both failed. Now Peyton Manning has that opportunity. Toss in the storyline of Peyton's recovery from multiple neck surgeries and the 49ers chance to redeem themselves from their questionable loss in the final few seconds of last year's game and you've got the most compelling game for both the networks and the casual fan. (This is a good time to mention that this is the game I'd least like to see.) But who wins? The 49ers defense isn't as tough as Seattle's but Denver is better at stopping the pass than the run. Neither team really benefits from the cold, but with Peyton's disposition for losing in cold weather combined with the whole league leading passer fact I don't think the Broncos win this game. Just in case you forgot: Defense wins championships.
Winner: 49ers
Loser: Joe Montana, either overshadowed by Manning, or replaced by Kaepernick

The game I expect to see is the one I've labeled as least compelling: Patriots v Seahawks. I didn't think the 49ers had what it took to defeat the Panthers and they certainly don't have the necessary tools to overcome Seattle. It will be cold in Denver when the Broncos take on the Patriots. Peyton has only beaten Brady once in the playoffs and that was in a dome. The Patriots have proven that they have a lot of weapons that Denver will have to somehow neutralize: the run, the screens, the short pass across the middle, the quick slants, then stretching the field. Belichick always seems to be able to take away the top two strengths of any offense. Denver will have to win without their run game and without Welker. Decker has a habit of dropping passes and Peyton will throw one pick too many. Oh, and both Championship games are rematches from the regular season. Peyton blew a 24 point lead to lose to Brady and Seattle smacked the 49ers with a score of 29 to 3! We'll see a repeat of both outcomes.

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?

2013-2014 NFL Season Review and Playoff Preview

It has been nearly a year since I've posted something in this invaluable media outlet! There are so many competing reasons as to why that is. Suffice to say: Shame on me! But how could I miss this opportunity to review how I did with this year's NFL predictions and provide teams with bulletin board material and an early exit from the playoffs by predicting that they will do well!

Though I didn't post my preseason predictions, I did write them down. Let's review them now: (You will know it is time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring, like this: *chimes*. Let's begin... now. Sorry, just what I thought of.)

But here's how I would have done:

AFC:
East: Prediction: New England. Actual: New England. No surprises there.
West: Prediction: Denver. Actual: Denver. Manning plus Welker? Of course they're gonna break records!
North: Prediction: Pittsburgh. Actual: Cincinnati. I did accurately predict that the defending Super Bowl Champions would not make it to the playoffs to defend their title.
South: Prediction: Houston. Actual: Indianapolis. I hang my head in shame here, as the Texans won a whopping two games this year! Though I did have the Colts in the playoffs, just as a Wild Card team.
Wild Card: Predictions: San Diego and Indianapolis. Actual: Kansas City and San Diego (I'm usually pretty proud when I get one of these right.)

NFC:
East: Prediction: Dallas. Actual: Philadelphia (In my defense, the 'Boys had a chance to make my prediction correct in week 17. However, at the end of the game Orton decided to do his best Romo impersonation and throw a season killing INT)
West: Prediction: San Fransisco. Actual: Seattle. I had both the '9ers and the Seahawks in the playoffs, just swapped who would win the division and who would grab the Wild Card
North: Prediction: Detroit. Actual: Green Bay. I know. Detroit. I get it. (Second year in a row they've burned me. They won't do it a third time!)
South: Prediction: Atlanta. Actual: Carolina. I'm not too proud to say it: Shocked! Carolina came out of nowhere in my opinion.
Wild Card: Prediction: Green Bay and Seattle. Actual: San Fransisco and New Orleans.

Without further ado. JMO's Playoff Predictions

AFC
Wild Card Round:
Kansas City at Indianapolis
The Queen of Hearts will tell you that I went super-nerdy this year. I created an expansive Excel spread sheet that tells me almost anything I want to know. And here's one thing that you probably won't read anywhere else: Based on strength of schedule, the Chiefs had the third easiest schedule in the entire NFL this year. Their 9 - 0 start might look impressive on the outside, but they didn't play anyone. The Colts were in the middle of the road with their schedule. Sorry KC, started the year with a bang, ended the regular season with a whimper, and you bow out of the post season early.
Winner: Colts

San Diego at Cincinnati
It doesn't look so good for a team when you need two teams ahead of you to choke the post season away in week 17 and require OT to win your own game against an entire team of back-ups. Normally, I say that the playoff team that lays down and allows another team to get into the post season usually ends up losing to the very team they allowed in. KC won't have to worry about that. They won't get past Indy and SD won't be moving past Cinci.
Winner: Bengals

Divisional Round:
Cincinnati at Patriots
Cincinnati handed the Patriots their first (and one of the few uncontroversial) losses this season. However, that was in Cincinnati, in October, and while Brady and Co. were still getting acquainted. Now that Tom Terrific has had an entire season to work with his WR core they will score more than the six points they managed in these two teams' first meeting. Oh, did I mention it'll be in Foxboro in the freezing cold?
Winner: Patriots

Colts at Broncos
I predicted this game last year but it never occurred as the Colts lost early to the Ravens. The NFL loves it when great story-lines like this one happen in the Post Season. This will be a shoot out but Peyton will give Colts fans a reason not to cheer for him as he and his high powered offense send Andrew Luck-just-ran-out and the Colts back to Indy.
Winner: Broncos

Championship Round:
Patriots at Broncos
Here's what I wrote when I predicted this match-up last year: "Historically, the Patriots haven't done well against the Broncos. They knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs on a famous pick six that was fumbled out of the end zone, but called out on the 1. Historically, Peyton doesn't do well against the Patriots. Which trend will continue? Belichick is in Manning's head." Here's what I want to add: The Patriots have proven they can defeat the Broncos having done so week 12. Yes, that was in Foxboro but consider this: The only time Peyton managed to squeak past the Patriots in the Post Season was in a dome. Now they'll be playing in Denver. Whatever advantage Peyton might have by playing at home, the weather is going to even the playing field. Really, this game is a coin flip, but if I'm flipping a coin between Peyton and Brady, there's only one side that coin can land on.
Winner: Patriots

NFC
Wild Card Round:
New Orleans at Philadelphia
Of all of the teams to make it to the Playoffs, the Saints had the hardest road there. They had the 6th most difficult schedule this year and defeated some impressive teams. Of course, they also lost to the Jets and the Rams. They are fortunate that they've drawn the Eagles in the first round. The Eagles managed a 10-6 record this year, but with the fourth easiest schedule. The only two teams in the Playoffs with easier seasons are the Chiefs and the Packers. The Eagles won't be able to defeat Brees and the Saints.
Winner: Saints

San Fransisco at Green Bay
The Packers have done little to impress this year. They had the second easiest schedule for playoff teams. The teams they've defeated have the lowest winning percentage, and the teams they've lost to have the lowest winning percentage as well! They narrowly got past the Bears to even get to the post season. The 49ers haven't lived up to expectations this year either. I'll never count out any playoff team but I don't expect to see Aaron Rogers in the next round
Winner: 49ers

Divisional Round:
San Fransisco at Carolina
Carolina is on a roll heading into the post season. Their only loss in the last 12 games was to the impressive Saints in New Orleans (though that does include a controversial laden victory over the Patriots.) Carolina tiptoed past the 49ers by a single point in San Fran earlier this year. San Fran has an eerily similar winning streak going into the playoffs as the last time they lost was to the Saints in New Orleans. Something many analysts forget is that West Coast teams playing in the East are not as successful as the converse of that. It will be very close, but Cam will move on.
Winner: Panthers

New Orleans at Seattle
While the Saints were fortunate to draw the Eagles in the Wild Card round, they are not so fortunate in the Divisional Round. The Saints have the distinction of losing to the Seahawks in the 2011 playoffs when Seattle won the division with a 7-9 record. And the Saints lost to Seattle in Seattle this year 34-7. It will be a tall task for Drew to get past Russell.
Winner: Seahawks

Championship Round:
Carolina at Seattle
This is a rematch of a week one contest where the Seahawks won in Carolina by 5 points. That game is too far in the distant past to be a barometer for this one. The real story of this game is that it will be highlighting the next generation of QB in the NFL: Cam Newton vs Russell Wilson. These two signal callers are quite similar: both run an option laden offense and often lead their teams in rushing yards. But that also means that their respective defenses will know exactly how to stop the offenses that have brought them to this level. Which QB will be able to morph his game into one that will overcome his opponent's defense? Which coach will make the necessary half time adjustments? Which team will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl?
Winner: Seattle

Super Bowl
Seahawks vs Patriots
If we look at the games the Patriots have lost this year, many of them were against run & gun/option QBs. Seattle has struggled away from CenturyLink Field. Belichick and company have lots of experience in the post season and in the Super Bowl (Brady has been the Patriot's starter for 12 years [not counting the year he was knocked out week 1], if he can get to the Super Bowl this year he will have played in the Super Bowl and amazing 50% of the seasons he's been starting! 50%!). Russell Wilson has played two whole games in the Post Season prior to this year, defeating the injury ridden Redskins before losing to the Falcons. One factor that may loom large in this game is injuries. The Patriots are depleted in many areas. This may just be their undoing.
Winner: Seahawks

There you have it. So now it's likely that the Super Bowl will be a battle of the big cats with Dalton and the Bengals facing off against Newton and the Panthers just because I predicted something other than that. Feel free to provide your predictions. What a great time of year!

All Four Super Bowl Previews VII

Seven years and counting! I look forward to this week every year! I enjoy the anticipation of what should be the best two NFL games of the season and I get to sit down and write my favorite post of the year! (In case you are new to JMO, this post is where I break down all four possible Super Bowls, discuss who will win, which one I'd like to see, which one the league and the networks are pulling for, and who the losers are for each game.)

If you'd like to see how I've done in the past, you can read my previous versions here (I'll list them with the year the Super Bowl happened along with the actual teams that faced off):

2007, Colts over Bears;
Game Predicted: Saints over Colts.
Predicted Winner of the Eventual Super Bowl: Colts;

2008, Giants over Patriots;
Game Predicted: Accurately predicted the Giants vs the Patriots.
Predicted Winner of the Eventual Super Bowl: Patriots;

2009, Steelers over Cardinals;
Game Predicted: Steelers over Eagles.
Predicted Winner of the Eventual Super Bowl: Steelers;

2010, Saints over Colts;
Game Predicted: Purposeful lack of prediction.
Predicted Winner of the Eventual Super Bowl: Colts;

2011, Packers over Steelers;
Game Predicted: Packers and Steelers
Predicted Winner of the Eventual Super Bowl: Steelers;

2012, Giants over Patriots;
Game Predicted: Giants over Ravens.
Predicted Winner of the Eventual Super Bowl: Patriots

So far I'm 10 for 18 (if I get 1 point for each team in the game and 1 point for the winner of the teams that actually played each other). I had a 100% for 2011 and a premonition pick of 2010's game way back in 2007 (With the Saints winning too!). To maintain my 55% I'll need to get at least 2 correct this year.

Alright, enough about previous years! On to this year's potential Super Bowls from least compelling to most:

Patriots vs Falcons
Let's be honest, nobody really wants to see this match-up. The Falcons are stuck with the perception that they didn't play anyone decent to get to the playoffs this year, and people not from New England are so sick of the success of the Patriots that they'd rather see the Ravens in the Super Bowl than Belichick and company! Not even the fans of the teams want to see this game! The Falcons would rather face Flacco as their defense isn't exactly tailor-made to stop Brady's fast-paced offense. On the other side of the coin, Patriot fans see this game as "too easy" which means it would be really bad if they lost! Matt Ryan has flown under the radar too much for this to be a story about the reigning king of the NFL vs a usurper to his crown. There's just so little for the average fan to get excited about.
Winner: Patriots
Losers: Companies who spend $1 Billion for a 15 second advertisement. Nobody's watching!

Ravens vs Falcons
The Battle of the Birds! Fight of the Fowl! The best thing this game as going for it is the retiree story-line. Both teams have an icon of the game who will be calling it quits after this year: The Falcons have TE Tony Gonzalez who, despite his record breaking career, won his first playoff game last week. The Ravens have LB Ray Lewis who has one ring already (over the Giants in 2000) but would like to end his career winning the big game! That and the pairing of Flacco vs Ryan has some appeal as well: both are considered second tier Quarterbacks. Both are struggling to solidify their name in the annals of NFL lore. This match-up would ensure a victory for one of them.
Winner: Ravens
Loser: The Fantasy Owners who pick the winning QB in next year's league because he won the Super Bowl.

Patriots vs 49ers
Now this would be a good game! With Kaepernick's read option, Gore's running game, and the threat of Crabtree and Davis it would be amazing to watch Belichick's defensive brilliance attempt to slow them down. And that's just half of the game! The other half is watching Brady, Welker, Hernandez, Vereen, Ridley, Lloyd, and Woodhead attempt to surgically dismantle the 49er's D. Other underlying stories: Gronk out. Harbaugh's decision to bench starter Alex Smith in favor of Kaepernick. This is the game I want to see, and this is the game I'm predicting. Now if Hollywood were writing this, Kaepernick would get hurt in the 1st Quarter and Smith would come off the bench and lead his team to victory. In past Super Bowls the Patriots have done well against the animals (Defeating the Rams, Panthers, and Eagles [hence my prediction of a Patriot win over the Falcons]) but have fared poorly against the human(oid) teams (the Giants). This pattern will unfortunately continue.
Winner: 49ers
Loser: Doesn't matter who wins, the loser is Joe Montana

Ravens vs 49ers
And now we've come to the game that everybody wants to see! Ray Lewis with a chance to close out his career with a ring, Kaepernick's unique offense versus the Ravens stingy defense, top all of that off with the fact that the head coaches for these teams are brothers and you've got yourself one exciting football game! In the end, though, I believe the 49ers have more weapons on both sides of the ball. Besides, it's more important to the younger brother that he defeat the older brother (trust me on this one, I know!).
Winner: 49ers
Loser: Mr and Mrs. Harbaugh

There you have it. My predictions for this year's "Big Dance." One major reason I don't think the Ravens will make it is that you get one miracle win per year and they wasted theirs in Denver. Many pundits bringing up two previous Patriot/Raven games. They are saying that the Ravens should have beaten the Patriots in the AFC Championship game last year (despite an expertly defended TD pass that many incorrectly refer to as "dropped" and a missed FG that would have merely tied the game, not won it.) and they are bringing up the Ravens victory over the Patriots earlier this year under the replacement refs! I believe the Patriots will overcome Fluke-o and the Raven to go to their 6th Super Bowl in the Brady era.

One final note: if the 49ers defeat the Falcons, the Patriots will have had three rematches from this season in their quest for a fourth Championship (and it didn't matter who won the the game between the Ravens and Broncos because the Patriots played them both!)

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?

Two New England States to Learn From

During the election, President Obama was fond of using a small New England state to display why his Healthcare plan would be successful. I hope that the President takes a close look at another small New England state as a barometer for his plan to increase taxes, rather than cut spending.

That state is none other than Connecticut. Like much of America, Connecticut's economic woes have mirrored those of the Federal Government. What makes Connecticut special is that the state legislature has enacted the very measures that the President is fighting for on the national level: increasing taxes on the highest wage earners without cutting spending. Though there was (and remains) a predictable result of these actions, those predictions were ignored (as they are being ignored on the national level) and the plan went forward.

Needless to say, the predictions became reality. While this is unfortunate for the people of Connecticut, this is a great opportunity for the rest of the country. Political pundits no longer have to predict what will happen when the Federal Government increases taxes without sufficiently cutting spending, they can simply observe what has occurred in Connecticut. Here is the step by step account, complete with corresponding news articles, chronicling the attempts the politicians in Connecticut took to attempt to avert financial disaster; the very steps the Democrats in Washington are campaigning for; the very steps that did not avert, limit, or even stall Connecticut's financial pangs. But rather worsened them:

Step 1: Tax increases.
Facing a $3.5 Billion budget deficit, Governor Malloy instituted a budget which did not cut a significant amount of spending but increased taxes. However, seeing that these actions were insufficient, in May of 2011 the Governor asked for, and the legislature approved a retroactive tax hike for the majority of Connecticut residents, the lion's share of which fell on the wealthy. These increases took effect in August of 2011 and appeared to be massive as they were retroactive all the way back to January. The politicians responsible for this barely Constitutional act attempted to alleviate the concerns of the middle class who saw their pay plummet by assuring them the taxes would decrease in January 2012. The truth of their statements is that the tax rate would remain the same, but the amount withheld would decrease as it would be only for that pay period, not for that and previous pay periods as they'd experienced during the second half of 2011.

Step 2: A balanced budget.
Good news! The initial increase in the original budget combined with the secondary and retroactive increase and a modest union concession package was sufficient for economists to project that Connecticut had finally balanced its budget and was no longer operating on a deficit. This, of course, was based on the anticipation that such an unprecedented tax increase would not have an impact on those factors on which tax revenue depends: employment, consumer spending, citizens relying on the social safety net to name a few.

Step 3: An "unforeseen" shortfall.
Beginning in the second quarter of 2012, it became apparent that the state's budget was not going to finish the year balanced, as had previously been projected. And, as the year progressed, the shortfall became greater and greater. $1 Million, $25 Million, $80 Million. Before long, Connecticut was facing a $365 Million dollar budget deficit for 2012 and an even greater shortfall in 2013. 2013 was shaping up to be close to a $2 Billion deficit. $365 Million for 2012 wouldn't be so terrible if we hadn't been told earlier in the year that the massive impact to our wallets was enough to balance the budget. And to add insult to injury the deficit for next year is inching closer and closer to the original figure that the tax increase was designed to eliminate!

Step 4: Uncovering why the budget wasn't balanced.
While Connecticut Democrats were surprised at the "shortfall," fiscal conservatives pointed to the pre-tax increase expectations that predicted the inability of a tax increase to solve the states fiscal problems. The primary reason for the shortfall is the state collected less tax than originally anticipated. This includes lower income, sales, corporate, cigarette, cigar, alcohol, gas, and estate taxes. What could be the systemic cause of this? It is two fold: When consumers see more coming out of their paychecks, and they take less home, they are intentional about spending less. This means less in retail sales. They travel less, or group necessary trips together: less gas tax. They cut back on items that are expensive due to their high taxation: cigars, cigarettes, alcohol.

The second cause was just as foreseeable: Companies (most of which are small and subject to the personal income tax level) go under, or layoff workers: lower income and corporate taxes. Look at the unemployment level in Connecticut following the institution of the tax increase. The increase in taxes lead to a spike in unemployment. This spike, in turn, lead to a decrease in consumer spending, and an increase on residents relying on the social safety net. From beginning to end: the increase in taxes started a completely foreseeable chain-reaction that lead to an increase in government spending in the realm of social services.

Step 5: A new solution
The state of Connecticut is now wrestling with what should have been the original solution: cutting spending. One of the major difficulties to this endeavor is that in negotiating with the unions, Governor Malloy promised that he would not seek any further concessions for the next three years. Personnel and payroll easily make up one third of the state budget. At least, now they are taking the right action. The only question is, will they be able to cut enough to undo the damage they've done with their tax increase?

As we move ever closer to the (temporarily delayed) fiscal cliff, I ask President Obama to examine the microcosm of his plans to increase national taxes on the rich. I ask him to observe the scientific experiment that is Connecticut's economy. I ask him to, at the very least, balance his attempt to right the US Economy with at least as much in spending cuts as anticipated revenue increase. As we've seen from Connecticut, a tax increase has additional consequences which means we cannot simply assume revenue based on current tax income. You were reelected to be responsible. You took a cue from Connecticut's neighbor to the north, now take one from Connecticut herself!

2012-2013 NFL Playoff Preview

It is difficult to believe that the NFL season is already over. It feels like it just began four weeks ago. It also seems that, once again, the only topic that brings me back to my blog is sports. (There's more politics waiting in the wings) I didn't even have a chance to do my traditional pre-season predictions! But here's how I would have done:

AFC:
East: Prediction: New England. Actual: New England. No surprises there.
West: Prediction: Denver. Actual: Denver. When Manning joins your team, how can anyone bet against you?
North: Prediction: Pittsburgh. Actual: Baltimore. The Ravens would have done it to me again, coming out on top when I picked the Steelers.
South: Prediction: Houston. Actual: Houston. Really no other options here.
Wild Card: Predictions: Baltimore and San Diego. Actual: Cincinnati and Indianapolis

NFC:
East: Prediction: Dallas. Actual: Washington (would have correctly predicted that the Super Bowl Champions would NOT make it back to the playoffs.)
West: Prediction: San Fransisco. Actual: San Fransisco. Seattle was a surprise, wouldn't have seen any competition here.
North: Prediction: Detroit. Actual: Green Bay. I know. Detroit. I get it.
South: Prediction: New Orleans. Actual: Atlanta.
Wild Card: Prediction: Green Bay and Washington. Actual: Seattle and Minnesota.

Without further ado. JMO's Playoff Predictions

AFC
Wild Card Round:
Colts at Ravens
To be honest, I'm not really confident about any of the games this week. The underdogs have some great match-ups, but the favorites could easily walk into the next round. I'm going to pick the Colts in this one. I just don't think Flaco has what it takes to overcome the Colts.
Winner: Colts

Bengals at Texans
A rematch of last year's wild card game. Houston came out on top last time and, despite their recent losing streak, they'll emerge victorious this time too.
Winner: Texans

Divisional Round:
Houston at Patriots
We've seen this game already this year. And a win over the Bengals won't be enough to lift the confidence of the Texans enough to elevate them over New England. Brady is hard to beat with his passing game, he's nearly undefeatable with a powerful running game, like they've had this year. It won't be as lop sided as it was during the regular season, but the Texans will be heading home from Foxboro.
Winner: Patriots

Colts at Broncos
Payton vs his replacement. And the Master will triumph over the learner. Denver easily wins over the Colts.
Winner: Broncos

Championship Round:
Patriots at Broncos
Historically, the Patriots haven't done well against the Broncos. They knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs on a famous pick six that was fumbled out of the end zone, but called out on the 1. Historically, Payton doesn't do well against the Patriots. Which trend will continue? Belichick is in Manning's head.
Winner: Patriots

NFC
Wild Card Round:
Vikings at Packers
This game is so difficult to predict. AP ran for over 200 yards against the Pack last week, but it was in Minnesota. AR (Rodgers) didn't look like himself. I don't think both of these will happen again, even though I'm rooting for the Vikings.
Winner: Packers

Seahawks at Redskins
Another great match-up. Here are two teams that are mirror images of each other. Rookie QBs, Run first, stop the run teams. The Redskins run game and run D are both better than Seattle's. Despite their record braking scoring run, Seattle loses.
Winner: Redskins

Divisional Round:
Packers at 49ers
The 49ers surprised a lot of people with the amount of success they had this year, particularly with their new QB. This game will depend on which Aaron Rodgers shows up. I think that the less-than-stellar version flies into Candlestick park and the Packers pack it up and head home.
Winner: 49ers

Redskins at Falcons
Bad news for the #1 seed. Ignoring the fact that they achieved their first seed by facing the fewest teams that finished the season by heading to the playoffs, they aren't really that good. And the Redskins are on a roll. The #1 seed loses.
Winner: Redskins

Championship Round:
Redskins at 49ers
Another battle of someone inexperienced QBs. The difference? The 49ers have been here before. Their experience (particularly in returning punts) elevates them over the Cinderella-Skins.
Winner: 49ers

Super Bowl
49ers vs Patriots
The Patriots played all three of the teams they met in the playoffs in the regular season. and they should have defeated all three of them. The unfortunate scenario for the 49ers this time is that the ball won't be covered in ice. With the Patriots keeping possession of the ball, Brady achieves his fourth Super Bowl victory. And Wes Welker is awarded Super Bowl MVP, effectively erasing the criticism he received last year.
Winner: Patriots

There you have it. So now it's likely that the Super Bowl will be a battle of Rookies with RGIII going against Andrew Luck because I predicted something other than that. Feel free to provide your predictions. What a great time of year!

2012 Voting Booth Vol. IV

It likely is surprising to most faithful JMO readers that I've been holding my tongue with such a close, contentious, and convoluted campaign season. Well, with only three more days until we know who will take the oath of office in January it is time for me to share my thoughts.

My purpose for the following multi-post adventure is two-fold: Primarily, if there are any "undecided" voters reading this, I hope to provide you with well thought-out, reasoned, logical, and persuasive arguments to cast your vote for any candidate other than Barack Obama. Secondarily, I hope that the opinions and facts that I will be sharing would cause some voters who consider themselves supporters of the President to actually consider changing their minds regarding the candidate for whom they will vote. I believe the latter to be less likely, but a blogger can dream, can't he?

Table of Contents:
Why We Voted for President Obama
Things Said During the 2008 Campaign
Scare Tactics
Time's Up
Unity and Disunity
Questionable Definitions
Obama's Record
Michelle's Spending
Lawn Signs

Why We Voted for President Obama

I'd like to direct the first portion of this post to those of my readers who voted for Barack Obama in 2008. In 2008, we were looking at unemployment at completely unacceptable levels, rising gas prices, a weak housing market, a stock market that was struggling, an economy headed in the wrong direction, and we could point to specific policies put in place by the party in power and reasoned that they neeed to go. The reason I mention is this: We have the exact same reasons to vote Barack Obama out of office.

Things Said During the 2008 Campaign

The truth of the matter is that, in the past, President Obama has said some very true things. Particularly while campaigning for, and early in his term as, President in 2008 and 2009. In the speech he gave accepting the Democratic nomination for President he said this, "If you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from." Does this resonate with anyone? Does this not sound like nearly every strategy eminating from the Obama campaign since day one of this election season?

Scare Tactics

All I've heard from Obama is scare tactics regarding his opponent. "A $5 Trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthy." "No real plan." "He won't deal harshly with China." "He'll ship our jobs overseas." "He's a Mormon." "He'll end Medicare as we know it." "He'll outlaw abortion." etc etc etc. Barack Obama doesn't have a record to run on, so he's trying to frighten people away from voting for Mitt Romney. He's trying to create a scenario where staying with the person who hasn't done the job as well as we'd hoped is still better than someone who will really foul things up. But this is completely illogical. "The devil we know..." We know that the President has been unable to right the economy in a reasonable amount of time; so, clearly, it makes more sense to bring in someone new. The chance of improvement is better than the guarantee of status quo. Bringing this full circle back to my first point: Obama's philosophy behind his original election campaign is the exact philosophy that should unseat him on Tuesday. The sitting party couldn't get us out of this mess, we need a change.

Look, if Mitt is elected, doesn't live up to his campaign promises, and ends up doing all of the things that Obama is claiming he's going to do, then I'll vote him out of office myself.

Time's Up

Which is exactly what President Obama predicted very early in his tenure as President. He admitted that he had three years to turn this ship around and if he was unable to do so, this would be a "one term proposition." Well, let's hold him accountable to that. Four years is more than enough time to turn an economy around. Even if it isn't back to where it started, the trending should be upward. Which it's not.

Let's take this out of the policital realm for a moment. The Boston Red Sox recently fired Manager Bobby Valentine after just one season. They said the following regarding their decision: "Bobby was dealt a difficult hand. He did the best he could under seriously adverse circumstances... He was dealt with a lot of difficult issues and things happened outside of his control. But we are where we are, and the results weren't good and we are looking to move forward." Even the Red Sox understood that, regardless the hand that was dealt ("It's Bush's Fault"), it is appropriate to expect a certain level of results in a certain amount of time. Bobby didn't meet the Red Sox expectations and the President hasn't met ours.

And for those who like to point the finger at the Republicans in the House for standing in the President's way, don't forget he had two years of complete control. The Democrats had a filibuster proof majority and they did next to nothing.

2012 Voting Booth Vol. V

Unity and Disunity

In 2008 President Obama achieved votes through a message of unity. "Change we can believe in." I find it very telling that the only way President Obama can achieve votes this time around is by creating disunity among the American electorate. He declares that there is a "war against women" by the Republicans. He pits the lower, and middle class against the "super rich." He squares "The working man" against evil "huge corporations." And then he declares that "Voting is the best revenge." Revenge against what? Against your fellow American's who see things differently than you?! Nothing like bringing the country together by tearing it apart to stay in office.

The disunity that he is projecting is so great it permeates other public arenas. Following Hurricane Sandy a reporter asked the utilities representative if they were dragging their feet regarding the restoration of power to a major Connecticut city because they were focusing more on the wealthier areas of the state (What liberal media?). This doesn't even make any sense! Cities are more densely populated. Restoring power to a city block brings in much more income from kilowatt hours than restoring power to a single big house. But this class warfare is what the country's "leadership" is spouting and it trickles down to all areas.

Questionable Definitions

One tactic that the Democrats are exercising to create this disunity is by using familiar words with unique definitions. A prime example is the term "access." President Obama and his liberal friends have been fond of phrase "The Republicans want to take away your access to birth control." Bing defines "access" (as it applies in this sentence) as "opportunity to use." The President defines "access" in this sentence as "paid for by the Federal Government." No Republican is going to remove birth control from the shelves of CVS and Walgreens around the country. That's removing our access. No Republican is going to prevent hospitals from offering emergency contraceptives to rape victims. That's removing access. Not paying for it is not removing access. It's removing government funded access.

Another unique definition was used by the President during the first speech when he was discussing his grandmother. He said of her, "[My grandmother] was fiercely independent. She worked her way up, only had a high school education, started as a secretary, ended up being the vice president of a local bank. And she ended up living alone by choice. And the reason she could be independent was because of Social Security and Medicare." Apparently, according to liberals. "Fierce independence" means complete dependence on the Federal Government. If his grandmother truly were independent, she would not have had to rely on anyone (or any program) because of her own responsible planning and saving while she was the VP of the bank. And this is the end goal of the Democrats. Complete and utter dependence on the Federal Government. They believe this is the answer to our country's issues. The problem is: dependence does not breed opportunity.

These are just a few examples of how President Obama is using questionable definitions (basically lying to the American public) in a attempt to cling to power.

2012 Voting Booth Vol. VI

President Obama's Record

President Obama has four major "accomplishments" on which he's attempting to rest his laurels:

First: the stimulus package. President Obama theorized that the stimulus package would halt unemployment and bring it back down to a more reasonable level much faster than without a stimulus. Here is a graph showing what unemployment would have done without the stimulus, what President Obama told the American public would happen with his stimulus, and what actually happened.

This isn't something to be proud of. It's something to shy away from. What can we expect if reelected? Another stimulus.

Second: President Obama clearly enjoys stating that he saved GM from bankruptcy while Mitt Romney would have allowed them to go through bankruptcy. Here's the difficulty with that. GM was not saved from bankruptcy; it was merely delayed for a while. GM is headed back into bankruptcy. I hope Obama liked giving a bailout to GM, because if he's reelected, he'll likely do it again.

Third: President Obama brought down Osama Bin Laden. Whomever created the following analogy hit the nail right on the head: "Barak Obama taking credit for killing Bin Laden is like Richard Nixon taking credit for the moon landing." Yes, this happened on your watch, no you can't take credit for it. Just like Grant couldn't take credit for the transcontinental railroad just because he was sitting in the Oval Office when they drove in the golden spike. If Obama wants to run for reelection on those laurels he might as well add "Kentucky is the NCAA Final Four Champion." It happened, and you watched it, but you didn't have a whole lot to do with it.

Fourth: Obamacare. First it's not a tax. Then the only way it's Constitutional is by being a tax. Not only that, but a tax with no fewer than 20 tax increases. And as if that weren't enough. American's don't want it.

The four legs on which President Obama has built his reelection record are either splintered, weak, or missing.

Of course, for some reason I don't hear much from the "non-liberal" media regarding the President's failures. One of the most egregious being the issue in Libya. Report after report expose that the security forces asked for more support and were flatly denied. And because of this four American citizens were killed on American soil by terrorists. And when asked about this travesty and tragedy in regards to the overall "Arab Spring" the President referred to these murders as "Bumps in the road." He has allowed his Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to end her own Presidential aspirations by "taking responsibility" for the Libyan failure. Of course, no one has been fired or relieved of command. So while she may be "taking responsibility." No one is being held accountable.

2012 Voting Booth Vol. VII

My final two thoughts are admittedly not as crucial, but still interesting.

Michelle's Spending

The President's irresponsible spending doesn't end with him and his policies. It extends to his wife. She has spent over $10 million of public money on vacations. And her spending doesn't end there. She has more assistants than any other First Lady in history. To top it all off, the salaries of those assistants is notably higher than any previous administration. You can compare Michelle Obama's staffs' salaries to those of Laura Bush's here.

Lawn Signs

Finally, I find it curious as I drive around all areas of Connecticut that the businesses brave enough to display political lawn signs on their property are nearly unanimously for Romney/Ryan (and Linda McMahon, the Republican running for Senate). These are small businesses run by middle class people. Why is it that the people who know how to run a business, and who know a thing or two about money and finances are not supporting the President?

We gave him a chance, and he gave it the "ole college try." His best wasn't good enough and it's time for new leadership.

Honestly, I'd be amazed if anyone has joined me for this entire adventure. You've read my opinions. What are yours?

2012 Voting Booth Vol. III

"It's like somebody goes to a restaurant, orders a big steak dinner, martini all that stuff ... And then, just as you're sitting down ... they leave ... and accuse you of running up the tab."
        ~President Barak Obama on the National Debt.

This is a very good analogy, but he didn't finish it. Here's the rest of the analogy:

"As soon as they stand up you realize that you don't have your wallet! You can't pay for your meal, let alone what this irresponsible person who just left ordered. So what do you do? You order a lobster, caviar, and the house specialty. And to wash it all down? A 100 year old bottle of brandy. Then when the tab comes in, you point to the person who ordered the steak and say, 'Well, he started it.'"

The premise of his original analogy is that the irresponsibility of the first party excuses the irresponsibility of the second. And not just similar irresponsibility, but excessive and boarder-line obscene irresponsibility on the part of the second party.

On the right is a graph of the National debt from 1940 through 2011. Take a look at how this president has exponentially increased the national debt in his single term! (click on the image for a larger view)

What can we see from this graph? We borrowed for WWII. Then Carter and Reagan started the modern practice of over spending. Bush I continued it. Clinton leveled it off. Bush II built a skyscraper. And Obama sent it to the moon!

Perhaps this is an easier way to understand the situation:
There are lots of things that this country needs to be worried about right now: The environment, Equal Rights, Terrorism, and Healthcare to name a few. But the most pressing, the most important, the one that needs to take top billing is the massive budget deficit and the monstrous national debt. We cannot continue to exist borrowing 43 cents of every dollar that the US Government spends!

If Obama wants to be taken seriously, he needs to stop trying to justify is adolescent-like spending by continuing to blame the previous administration and do the responsible thing with the national budget. I know the old saying goes "Dance with the one that brought you" and the "Blame Bush" mantra got him into the White House but now it's old, stale, and worn out. Let's try something new.