_Football Fan_

Super Bowl Pick

Hi all.

I don’t have a lot of time for a long analysis and post.

I do, however, have time to give you all my pick.

New York Giants 27 – 24.

Lets see how I do.

Final Four Picks

There has been a lot of discussion about the final four teams and who will be in the Superbowl this year. Every expert on television and in print has chimed in about their expectations. Scenarios and what if situations have been discussed. And, of course, thousands of blogging fans have added their two cents. Well, my friendly seven readers, here is my two cents.

NFC Championship
Newspapers in the San Francisco area have called this a rebirth of a classic rivalry. The last time these two teams met in the post season was 2003. That game also took place in Candlestick Park and ended with a tight 39 – 38 49ers victory after a dramatic 24 point comeback. The last time these two teams met in regular play was in week 10 of this season. In that game it was the 9ers by seven.

What has changed since that week?
Alex Smith has come on in the off season. The 49ers have come from a defense powerhouse to a legitimate offensive threat. THe 49ers have released receiver Braylon Edwards since week 10 but will this really make any difference? Coach Jim Harbaugh leads this team with fire and intensity no matter the game. Today’s game will be no different, in fact, he is likely to elevate his level of excitement.
The giants have a fully healed Ahmad Bradshaw and a fully healthy defensive back seven. This Giants team his hitting on all cylinders in this post season and it can be argued they were no where near 100% week 10.

I would love to see an all Harbaugh Superbowl this year. My level of respect for that entire coaching family is HUGE. That said, I think the Giants will pull this game out. Even as a 3 point underdog.

AFC Championship
On the east coast this matchup has been built up as a clash of player style. The outspoken and physically dominant Ray Lewis vs. the reserved and poised Tom Brady. While the metaphor may be taken to the extreme in the papers, it is not far from the mark. This game is the quintessential matchup between high scoring offense and low point allowing defense.

Key factors?
Brady. There are a handful of guys who can read defenses as well as Tom Brady. Combine that with the short list of 5000 yard passers and 40 TD passers (Brady only had 39 this season) and you have a one man list. Brees is good, Rodgers is good, but Tom Brady is the best QB in this league and is the last great QB standing in the final four.
Suggs. Sure, Ray Lewis is the mouthpiece for the Ravens defense. He is an amazing player with a legendary performance. He has an excellent ability to read offenses and still has the physical ability to perform. BUT, Terrell Suggs is the key to Ravens defense today. When Lewis was out this season Suggs stepped into the leadership role with style. This man 70 tackles and 14 sacks this season. He knows how to penetrate while containing.

Again, I would love to see an all Harbaugh Superbowl this year. John Harbaugh is my favorite active NFL coach. I just don’t think the Ravens are up to stopping the Patriots from representing the AFC in the Superbowl.

What about the BIG game?
Let’s wait and see how my picks for today’s matchups sort out before I go talking about the Superbowl.

Setting the Stage

The redesign of the website includes separate areas for several of my eclectic interests. This blog is dedicated to my fandom of the greatest game ever created, American Football.

As a player in the WFA I have developed an even deeper respect and love for the game. You can read my posts related to that experience by following the Football Player link from the site home page. I am sure I will write more about what led me to love the game as I do in future posts. This one is to introduce the section.

I am a frequent patron of NFL games in Cleveland. Living in middle Ohio, it is a close venue for my favorite sport. The fact that my personal hero and favorite current NFL player, Joe Thomas, plays for the Browns is just gravy. He is, by the way, the best offensive left tackle on the planet. I’m just sayin’.

So, anyway, my wingman for NFL games is a young guy named Grant. We work together and he played with the co-ed football team with us last fall. We frequently have long discussions about football and in a drive up to the last Browns game of the season I mentioned this blog. We were talking about picking our All Grant and All KJ teams and I mentioned the blog as a perfect venue.

The All Grant and All KJ teams will be posted in coming days. We will also be posting commentary on the playoffs and Superbowl in coming weeks. I will likely include some commentary about performances in the WFA and, of course, we will add our two cents about off season buzz and the draft.

This will be fun.