Looking back on football

Sadly, the football season has come to an end with another excellent Super Bowl between two very good teams in the Patriots and Giants. Eli is now most definitely in the class of Rodgers, Brees and Brady now. When the game is close in the fourth quarter, expect Eli Manning to come back and win the game, he's done it just so often lately. Now, it's seven long months until another football game which matters, and will probably be the Packers versus the Giants the Thursday after Labor Day. But, do not fear football fans, there is another sport which features hard hitting and is faster paced, hockey. Please, go to it, hockey fans will thank you. Now, it's time for me to look back at my record over these past five months. I will also look back at my predictions from the beginning of the season and see just how wrong I was.

My record over the past five months was: 7-3, 5-0, 3-2, 4-1, 5-0, 5-0, 4-1, 3-2, 4-1, 4-1, 3-2, 2-3, 4-1, 3-2, 1-0, bowls: 2-3, 3-2, 3-2, 1-0

College, I was 57-17, which works out to a .770 winning percentage, not too shabby if I say so myself. Granted, in bowls, I was a middling 9-7, which this year would have been good enough to win the Super Bowl, but in most seasons, wouldn't have even made the playoffs as even a wild card team. So, overall, I was 66-24, which works out to a still pretty good winning percentage of .733. Not bad considering nearly all of the games I picked included at least one ranked team. Next year, I'm still going to be like my friend Jason, and go for a .700 winning percentage.

Now, for the professional league, where it is much harder to pick games. Again, I'll go week by week in my picks. Record per week: 4-1, 4-1, 4-1, 4-1, 4-1, 2-3, 2-3, 0-5, 3-2, 2-3, 4-1, 4-1, 5-0, 4-1, 8-1, 2-3, 3-2, 2-2 (note: Will Rush picked the Denver game in week 17). Playoffs: Wild Card: 3-1, Divisional: 2-2, Conference Championship: 2-0, Super Bowl: 0-1. So, again, I did surprisingly well during the regular season, when I picked the games which I thought had the most intrigue each week. Regular season record: 66-32, which is a .673 winning percentage. Again, not too shabby. Playoffs, I went a not too bad 7-4, but still didn't get the biggest game right, which I count as failure. But, still, a .636 winning percentage is something to be proud of, especially in the playoffs.

Now, allow me to look at my picks for each division and I'll go division by division here.

The NFC East was a complete failure except for the Redskins, where I picked them last and they finished last. Otherwise, I had the Super Bowl winners in third, not a good pick. Plus, way overestimated the greatness of the Eagles, much like many others.

The NFC North was a mixed bag, only having the Vikings completely off, with them having a 8-8 prediction, and that fell flat. Otherwise, picked both the Lions and Packers in the playoffs, and got that right.

The NFC South was again a mixed bag, having the Panthers last at 5-11, which wasn't bad, as they finished 6-10. I also had the Saints pinned at 11-5, and that's where they finished, with the three seed, nailed that. I grossly overestimated the Bucs, as I picked them at 11-5, and they sompletely broke down after a 4-2 start, losing their next 10. I also had the Falcons missing out on the playoffs, but they made the playoffs.

Finally, the NFC West, I was awful here, as I had the Rams winning the division, and the 49ers finishing 6-10, well, that didn't work out too well. Plus, the Seahawks weren't as bad as previously thought with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback. Then, with the Cardinals, only had them one game off at 7-9, and they finished 8-8.

Now, on to the AFC, and the East. I was fairly close here, having every team in its correct spot, and every team either on the nose with the record or, just one win off from their total. So, again, turned out pretty well.

The AFC North turned out ok. I had the Steelers and Ravens in the playoffs, just not in their correct positions. But, I had the Bengals losing 14 games, which, as it turns out was double what they would end up losing. Oops.

The AFC South turned out horribly, as I had everyone wrong in where they would end up finishing. I had the Colts finishing first, under the assumption that Peyton Manning would start the majority of the games. That obviously didn't happen. So, overall, this division was a complete disaster.

The AFC West again I picked horribly. I picked the Broncos to finish last, and then the rest of it was bad. The Chargers finished second, tied with the Raiders. Kansas City finished last, but that was mainly due to injuries, they should be back in contention next season.

Overall, my projections were not overtly horrible. But, it's always good to look back at my projections and see where you finished. This may be a thing which I may continue throughout to just see how I fared in my projections. Please let me know what you think of it.

Now, as mentioned previously, it is seven months until the next football game which matters. But, football fans, there are other sports out there, so do not fret. There is hockey, which has some very hard hitting and is fast paced. Then, there is both pro and college basketball, as well as soccer coming in March with the MLS and finally baseball, the great American pastime. Or, better yet, spend the time on a Sunday with your family now. Build a closer relationship with them. Have a wonderful time reading this until March, when I'll be back with March Madness picks, as well as my projections for baseball's divisions.

Super Bowl Preview

The final Sunday of the NFL season is upon us, and it's a rematch. Not only of one of the best Super Bowls ever in Super Bowl XLII, but also in the regular season, which was also a fantastic game. And, for those living under a rock for the past week and a half, the two teams competing in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, are the New York Football Giants, as per their official name, and the New England Patriots. Granted, this isn't truly a rematch, as more than 75% of the players from that 2008 game are no longer with their respective teams. But, the four most important people from that Super Bowl are still with their teams, those being the coaches Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick as well as the quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning. Those four key figures are the most important people within the game. Throughout the week, it has been debated across numerous talking head type shows of who is the better coach between the two, if Brady loses, will his career be diminished and if Manning wins, is his career as good as his brother? Those are all hypotheticals that will be answered after all these players and coaches have retired, so why debate them now? Just to fill up air time in between now and the unofficial national holiday of the United States in Super Bowl Sunday. But, instead of hypotheticals in those questions, I will examine and breakdown each team in key categories, such as: quarterback, wide receivers, tight ends, running backs, offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, secondary, special teams, intangibles and head coaches. Also give an edge to each team or push and give a prediction on the game itself. Now, on to the prediction!

Quarterback

Tom Brady versus Eli Manning. These two guys are elite quarterbacks, and no matter what, their legacies will not be changed. Both of these guys are great, and you can't separate them.

Advantage: Even

Wide Receivers

Both teams have very good wide receivers, however, the edge does go to New York. The advantage goes to the Giants here because their two starting wide receivers, Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz combined for over 2,500 yards, and then their slot receiver, Mario Manningham could start for 20 of the other 32 teams in the league. Plus, the Giants receivers can do all that is asked of them, they can go deep, short, and go over the middle without hesitation. Whereas the New England Patriots receivers really are only capable of doing the short and intermediate routes while relying on their tight ends to go deep and catch the fade routes. Granted, no team would deny wanting Wes Welker and Deion Branch.

Advantage: New York

Tight Ends

Here, the Patriots have the distinct advantage, with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Both of those guys are complete and utter nightmare mismatches for the defense. Both guys stretch the field, and they're really power forwards playing football. They can go up and grab the ball, and are faster than safeties and linebackers. Plus, Hernandez has the extra dimension of running the ball when asked due to his running back background when he was in high school. Finally, both of them are great at blocking when asked to stay in. New York has Jake Ballard who is good, but not necessarily great at everything.

Advantage: New England

Running Backs

Here, New York again has the clear advantage. Granted, New York runs the ball more often than New England, but New York's two main running backs, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw together, are a two headed beast which is really hard to stop. Both of them combined for over 1,500 yards this season and are capable of catching the ball out of the backfield as well as blocking well. New England relies on Danny Woodhead, Kevin Faulk, and the "lawfirm" in BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who are mainly used for blocking and catching screen passes which they are quite capable of.  Green-Ellis is used also mainly to run in the red zone, and good, but not great at that.

Advantage: New York

Offensive Line

Both of these teams have great offensive lines, as both teams have remained healthy and cohesive as a unit throughout the season. Both of these teams also allowed very few sacks throughout the season. Granted, New York gave up a ton of hits and sacks versus the 49ers in the NFC title game, but that defense is much more staunch than the Patriots. So, these two teams are very even in this aspect as well.

Advantage: Even

Defensive Line

This goes to New York easily, due to the fact that they've got four pass rushers who can play all four positions along the defensive line. Those guys will wreak havoc on any offensive line, and when these two teams played in week nine of the regular season, Tom Brady really felt pressure when there wasn't any. Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Dave Tollefson are great. Granted, New England is no slouch either, but they've got nothing on this front four.

Advantage: New York

Linebackers

This position is closer than the defensive line, however, New York still has the edge. Mathias Kiwanuka leads the way for New York who is intense when it comes to pass rushing, and can cover at least one of the Patriots wide receivers. Meanwhile, the Patriots also have good linebackers but really can't compare to the Giants.

Advantage: New York

Secondary

This part of the game, is often overlooked, but New England's strength on defense comes from this secondary, which has created more than its share of turnovers throughout the season, and will be key in this game, as turnovers are always key. Both teams have some really good cover corners and safeties. But, it's really too close to call, and I don't know enough to really call it one way or the other.

Advantage: Even

Special Teams

This, again, will be a very key part in the game. Field position will be key, so the punters for both teams, Zoltan Mesko for the Patriots as well as Steve Weatherford of the Giants. Both of these punters have excellent net averages, with Weatherford's only being two yards more, but really, that part is even. Then, the kicking game, both Stephen Gostkowski and Lawrence Tynes are fantastic kickers, and can be pro bowlers in any given year, they're that good. So, the return game will be the key. But, even there, neither team has a truly elite returner, so these teams are even.

Advantage: Even

Head Coaches

Both coaches are probably hall of famers. Belichick is taking the Patriots to the Super Bowl for the fifth time since he took over in 2000. So, in 12 years, taking a team to the ultimate game of the season a little under half the time, can't deny that he's really good in his job. Then, with Coughlin, his job is always seeming in question in the biggest market in the U.S. But, his teams are consistent winners. Coughlin has taken his teams to four conference title games as well as two Super Bowls. Not too shabby in 16 years of coaching. So, this match up is even.

Advantage: Even

Intangibles

This is where New England should have the distinct advantage. This team does not want to lose to New York twice in a season, let alone being remembered as a team which lost to the same team twice in Super Bowls. The Patriots have also won 10 consecutive games and they seem to have figured out everything in the postseason. Plus, Brady is just such a fierce competitor, he will not want to lose to end his season again. He wants to be on the level as Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only three quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls.
Granted, New York is also quite a run as well, but there are two other 9-7 teams to make the Super Bowl, both lost. And, that tradition shall continue here.

Advantage: New England

Now, looking back throughout all the categories, the tally comes to: New York 4, New England 2, and the 5 others coming out as even. But, for my money, the Patriots will remember 2008 and vow not to have that happen again.

Pick: New England 23, New York 20

Next week, I will look back at my predictions from August and September and see how wrong I was. I'll also give a look back at the month of January as well as the Super Bowl to remember a great month in sports. Finally, for those of you who don't know what time or channel this little game is on: Sunday, 6:30 on NBC with the best announcing team in the NFL: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, and Michele Tafoya on the sidelines. Be sure to follow them on twitter: @SNFonNBC, as well as me: @PJWalk85

Enjoy the Super Bowl, forget your diets on Sunday, and be sure to have a designated driver if you've had a wee bit too much to drink.