The BCS National Championship

I do realize that this blog is about professional football but this post is about the next generation of professional football players, the college guys. Last night the Florida Gators played against the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS National Championship at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida. The Florida Gators showed the nation why they dominated the SEC all year. The Gators took no mercy in beating the Sooners with the score being 24-14. Percy Harvin played after being questionable due to an ankle injury that occured weeks before. The game started slow and the score heading into half was 7-7, but the two highest scoring offenses in the league would step it up in the third n fourth quarters. Tim Teebow and the Florida Gators beat Heisman Award winner Sam Bradford and his Oklahoma Sooners to becoming the National Champions. My congratulations go out to the Florida Gators for an impressive season.

The Week of Destruction

This weekend there are once again 2 games on Saturday followed by 2 games on Sunday. Saturday's games are Baltimore traveling to Tennessee and Arizona traveling to Carolina. The first of the 2 games, Baltimore at Tennessee, should be a very physical and low scoring game. Look for both defenses to come out and fight until the last whistle blows and Tennessee prevails. The Titans will win this game by 3 points due to the fact that the Ravens just played a very physical game against Miami last week. The 2nd game is not worth watching. The pass happy Arizona Cardinals are heading into a fierce Carolina storm. The "smash and dash" pair of Stewart and Williams will run all over the Cardinals defense and when Arizona falls behind look for Carolina to start intercepting Warner's passes. Carolina will win by 17.

The Sunday games should be much better though. The Eagles are heading into New York to take on the Giants. Philadelphia has been playing outstanding football while the Giants have been very timid out on the field. I believe that the Eagles will pull off the upset in New York and head over to Carolina in 2 weeks to play in the NFC Championship. The AFC has a physical game between San Diego and Pittsburgh. Due to the steel curtain in Pittsburgh, little Darren Sproles will not be able to run the ball and the entire game will be riding on Philip Rivers. Being that the game is in Pittsburgh, the Steelers will win but only by a touchdown.

With these results comming out next week will have Tennesse in Pittsburgh for the AFC and Philadelphia in Carolina for the NFC. Following that week there will be the week off before the big game is played. On February 1, 2009 we will see the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Carolina Panthers in Tampa, Florida.

Long Time No See

I have not been able to update my blog for some time due to medical reasons. I am truly sorry for any people that check up on this blog for advice. But it's time to get back to business.

To get us back up to date, the NFL Playoffs have started and last weeks games were exciting. First we had Atlanta visiting Arizona in the NFC Wild Card round. This was a 3 point game going into the half with the Atlanta Falcons leading 17-14. In the 3rd quarter Arizona came out playing with their hair on fire. The Cardinals managed 14 points to the Falcons 0, taking the lead 28-17. The Falcons won the 4th quarter by the score of 7-2, and by doing the math you see that Arizona ended up on top by the score of 30-24.
The second game was Indianapolis visiting San Diego. The story of the game came via the smallest man on the field, Darren Sproles. Sproles ended with 328 all purpose yards to go along with 2 touchdowns, yet it came down to overtime for this game to be settled. In overtime Sproles took over and ended the game with a 22 yard touchdwon run to beat the Colts, 23-17.
The third and fourth games were both blowouts. The Baltimore Ravens traveled down to Miami and after a total of 13 turnovers all season, the Ravens forced 5 turnovers in the routing of Miami, 27-9. The NFC's other Wild Card game showed that real men do not wear purple. Philadelphia beat Minnesota 26-14. The Vikings stayed in the game but with 2:53 left in the fourth quarter, Jackson had the snap hit his leg and the Eagles recovered. The Eagles went on to drive and kick a field goal to put the game on ice.

Week 15 Picks

It is already week 15 in the NFL. This year has flown by, and with playoffs quickly approaching, do not expect for it to slow. This week has 2 games that are worth watching. These games are Pittsburgh visiting Baltimore and the New York Giants visiting the Dallas Cowboys.

The first of the two games is the Steelers strolling into the Ravens nest. This battle is for the top of the AFC North. Currently the 10-3 Steelers stand on top of this division but the Ravens are only a game back and have the chance to even it out this week. Although Pittsburg has the 20th ranked offense, they do posses the number 1 defense. Pittsburgh has allowed an average of 14 points per game this season and allowed the leagues best 241 yards per game. This will be a tought challenge for the rookie that is disguised as a seasoned veteran, Joe Flacco. Flacco is in charge of the 11th ranked offense of Baltimore and being at home should be able to get the crowd on his side and the points on the board. Look for Baltimore to come out with the close victory, 24-21.

The second game worth watching is the New York Giants heading to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Once again the Big D is infested with drama. Owens is acting his norm and accusing Romo of favoring tight end Jason Witten over Owens. The soap opera in Dallas seems to have no end. Dallas is 3 games back in the NFC East and can no longer win the division but must win out to tie with the Giants. If the Cowboys come out and fly around the field like Dallas is known for, the Giants will have troubles but if this soap opera in Dallas has the players minds off of the game and more in the drama then we will see the Giants run over the Cowboys. Watch for the G-men to roll over the Boys, 31-17.

The Rundown:
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta: Atlanta
Washington @ Cincinnati: Washington
Tennessee @ Houston: Tennessee
Green Bay @ Jacksonville: Green Bay
San Francisco @ Miami: Miami
Seattle @ St. Louis: St. Louis
Buffalo @ New York Jets: New York Jets
San Diego @ Kansa City: San Diego
Detroit @ Indianapolis: Indianapolis
Minnesota @ Arizona: Arizona
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore: Balitmore
Denver @ Carolina: Carolina
New England @ Oakland: New England
New York Giants @ Dallas: New York Giants
Clevland @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia

Week 14 Picks

This week should be just as exciting as last. The Philadelphia Eagles are heading into New York to take on the Giants in, what should be, a great game. The Eagles are at the bottom of the NFC East while the Giants are on the top but it will still be good when the 10th ranked Eagles defense faces the number 1 offense in the league. The Giants will win, 38-17. Another big game is for the top of the NFC South. It is the monday night match-up where Tampa Bay is visiting the Carolina Panthers. The winner of this game will walk away with a 1 game lead in the NFC South which is crucial since the season is winding down. The Buc's 4th ranked defense should be able to handle the Panther's 14th ranked offense. This game will be a shootout and under the national spotlight of Monday Night Football. Carolina does have homefield advantage and this game is so hard to call. I say that Carolina sneaks out with a 3 point win, 31-24. Here are the rundown of winners this week:

Jacksonville @ Chicago: Chicago
Minnesota @ Detroit: Minnesota
Cincinnati @ Indianapolis: Indianapolis
Philadelphia @ New York Giants: New York Giants
Clevland @ Tennessee: Tennessee
Atlanta @ New Orleans: New Orleans
Houston @ Green Bay: Green Bay
Miami @ Buffalo (Toronto): Miami
New York Jets @ San Franciso: New York Jets
New England @ Seattle: New England
Kansas City @ Denver: Denver
St. Louis @ Arizona: Arizona
Dallas @ Pittsburgh: Dallas
Washington @ Baltimore: Baltimore
Tampa Bay @ Carolina: Carolina

Are You A True Fan?

Now that the Miami Dolphins are doing well, many people in South Florida have decided to jump off of their bandwagon of choice and start placing their attention back on the Dolphins. This got me thinking about who really is a fan of their team. Miami pulled of an incredible 1-15 record last season, but after every loss I was still a Dolphin fan. So how do you judge a true fan? I would say that one must be a fan of a team through the thick and thin, not just when they are doing well. Another quality of a true fan is knowledge of their team. If you can not name 5 of your starting players on both offense and defense than you are not a true fan. Also a little bit of pride dosen't hurt. Wear your team colors or represent your favorite team, even if they are the Detroit Lions this year. Do not worry about it, just like the Dolphins they can not be bad for long, they are a professional team. So be proud of your team no matter who they are.

Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Burress, the star reciever for the New York Giants, was charged with 2 felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Burress was at a Manhattan club last friday night when he shot himself in the thigh with his .40 caliber Glock. What was Burress doing with a gun? That is actually a great question. Why would an allstar NFL reciever be carrying a gun with him at a club? Burress just signed a 5 year $35 million dollar contract that, if convicted, could go down the drain. The minimum sentence for these charges is a total of 3.5 years in jail with a maximum sentence of 15 years. I really hope shooting a hole through your thigh is worth $35 million and 3.5 years in jail. If you are an NFL superstar dosen't it make sence to stay away form clubs that require you to carry a weapon? Even if you decide to go to such clubs, hire a bodyguard. The average cost for a bodyguard is $500 per night which would be, if you go out once per week, $26,000 per year. With his new contract, Burress would have had to pay $26,000 of his $7 million per year to have a bodyguard with him whenever he goes to these clubs that obviously force him to carry a gun illegaly with him. Burress just made the dumbest decision of his life and will now pay for it. If convicted he will actually pay $35 million for that decision. I do not see the need for such an illustrious figure to go out on the club scene during the middle of his season. It really can not wait until the season is over? There is plenty of time to go clubing with your illegal weapons after the NFL season is over. Now that Burress decided to play gangster for the night, he is done for the 2008 NFL season and possibly done in the NFL for the rest of his life. Way to go Plaxico!