Super Bowl: Three up, three down, three in between

The Super Bowl experience: Three up, three down, three in between

Three Up:

The Saints: This is an obvious one, but still a good one. The Colts were favored by 5.5 and nearly every expert on Espn predicted that they would win. The Saints recovered an onside that to start the second half and that completely changed the game. After a Jeremy Shockey touchdown gave the Saints the lead, Tracy Porter picked off Peyton Manning to seal the game.

The offensive lines: It’s about time both offensive lines got some love after the Super Bowl. Brees and Manning were seemingly untouched except for a Dwight Freeney sack on Brees early in the first quarter. Other than that, both quarterbacks were able to sit back in the pocket. The Colts O-line also allowed their running backs to average 5.2 yards per carry.

Sean Payton: After the game, the Saints coach is being called a genius for his role in the Super bowl win. Payton called for the surprise onside kick to start the second half. He was lucky as the Saints recovered and completely changed the momentum in the game. If the Saints didn’t recover we’d probably be calling him things other than a genius right now.

Three Down:

Commercials: Every year it seems there are a few commercials that stick out as the funniest of the year. This year is an exception because no commercials stick out to me as hysterical. Sure, the Bud Lights were decent, but there were a lot more busts. A few commercials that went too far were the talking babies (which got old fast) and Charles Barkley’s Taco Bell commercial.

Tony Dungy: Ex-Colts coach Tony Dungy still has a lot of confidence in his former team, but maybe a little too much. Before the game, he told the New York Times, “I think they’re going to be so far ahead that people are going to say, ‘Oh, ho-hum, (Peyton Manning) played a good game, they won by two scores, the Colts won their second championship’”.  Too bad the Saints won by two scores.

Reggie Bush: The Saints only star that did not have a really good game. He had just 25 yards rushing and 38 yards receiving in the game. Bush also only returned one punt for four yards. He did do well earlier in the playoffs against the Cardinals and Vikings.

Three In Between:

Peyton Manning: The Colts quarterback was not as good as expected, but was not bad. He was 31/45 for 333 yards and one touchdown and an interception. The interception was the biggest of his career as it effectively ended the Colts chances of another Super Bowl, but it is ridiculous to judge his legacy by one pas. His rating of 88.5 was just average.

The Who: They played as good as what can be expected from 65-year old men, but that does not mean they were very good. The Who sounded a little off-key, but they are old and cannot be expected to play like they did when they were 30. The songs they played were good, but the execution was not.

Colts and Saints offenses: Neither offense was as good as advertised in this battle of two All-Pro quarterbacks. It wasn’t a defense struggle, but certainly not a shoot-out. The final score was 31-17, and one of the Saints’ touchdowns was a defensive score. Predictions had the two teams combining for at least 65 points, so 48 points was a bit of a letdown.

NFL playoffs prediction: Colts win again

The start of 2010 means New Year’s resolutions and a fresh start for everybody. For us sports fans it means the NFL playoffs and the road to the Super Bowl. It also is time for each fan to give predictions for the Playoffs. Here is my insight.

Wildcard Round

Game: New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals: Bengals 27, Jets 13

Spin: In my opinion, this is the easiest game to predict in the playoffs. Rookie quarterbacks typically don’t fare well in the playoffs, especially one with 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions like March Sanchez. The Bengals defense will force Sanchez into at least three interceptions.

Game: Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots: Patriots 24, Ravens 17

Spin: The Patriots are banged up going into this matchup, though I still think they will win. Tom Brady has had numerous small injuries throughout the year, but the loss of Wes Welker is the biggest blow to the Patriots. The Ravens need a big game from their defense and Pro-Bowl running back Ray Rice to win, but I think they will come up short.

Game: Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals: Packers 35, Cardinals 24

Spin: The Packers are hot, winning seven of their last eight to finish the season, including a 33-7 win against the Cardinals in week 17. Both teams flaunt high scoring offenses. The Packers are led by Aaron Rodgers and Donald Driver; the Cardinals have Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald. The Packers solid defense, led a secondary featuring Charles Woodson and Nick Collins, will make the difference.

Game: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys: Eagles 30, Cowboys 27

Spin: What’s the old saying? Can’t beat a team three times in a season? I think this is the case for the Eagles who have lost twice to the Cowboys this year. Quarterback Donovan McNabb has lots of playoff experience, and he should have a good game. Tony Romo will struggle in the playoffs again for the Cowboys sending Dallas fans into hysteria.

Divisional Playoff Round:

Game: Cincinnati Bengals at San Diego Chargers: Chargers 31, Bengals 13

Spin: If you thought that the Packers were hot, then the Chargers are something else. They’ve won their last eleven games and will continue that streak. The Bengals defense won’t have as much success against Philip Rivers and the Bengals offense will struggle as well.

Game: New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts: Colts 35, Patriots 34

Spin: How many times will we see Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady in the playoffs? Well, at least one more as Brady and co. will travel to the dome in Indianapolis to take on the Colts. This game will be a shootout as neither team has a great defense. The winner of this game typically wins the Super Bowl; I like the Colts.

Game: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings: Vikings 31, Packers 27

Spin: Vikings vs. Packers round 3. Remember the old rule that you can’t beat a team three times in a year? Disregard that for this game as I like the Favres to beat the Packers for the third time this year. Both teams have really good defenses, but the offenses are the story of this game. A late touchdown pass from Favre is the difference for Minnesota.

Game: Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints: Eagles 23, Saints 17

Spin: Many people think the Cowboys are going to take down the Eagles, but I have the Eagles winning two games in the playoffs. The combination of blitzes will have Drew Brees confused and the Eagles will hold the Saints to just 17 points. Out of the top four seeds, the Saints look the weakest as they are losers of three straight.

Conference Championships:

AFC Game: San Diego Chargers at Indianapolis Colts: Colts 38, Chargers 27

Spin: Another shootout in the AFC, but Philips Rivers can’t keep up with Peyton Manning. The Chargers have knocked out the Colts the past two years, but not this year. The Colts are no longer unbeaten, but they have their players healthy. Neither team can run very well, so the quarterback position becomes even more important. Edge: Colts.

NFC Game: Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings: Vikings 30, Eagles 17

Spin: The Eagles are trying to repeat what their Pennsylvania friends (the Steelers), have done in the past: win the Super Bowl as a six seed. The Vikings are at home, where the whole team plays better. The Eagles can’t run the football, while the Vikings have Adrian Peterson shoving the ball down their throat. Peterson is the difference as he runs for 150+ yards.

 Super Bowl XLIV

Game: Minnesota vs. Indianapolis Colts (in Miami): Colts 34, Vikings 28

Spin: Brett Favre decided to come back for another year and it was a good decision. He made it to the Super Bowl, but will come up short. Favre throws for three touchdowns in his final game, but Peyton Manning and the Colts are able to overcome this and win. The Vikings run the ball better than the Colts, but the Vikings can’t cover Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Colts win a close won to capture a second Super Bowl in four years.

Lovie, Bears are underachieving

It seems like just yesterday that the Chicago Bears got Jay Cutler and seemed poised to make a playoff run. It is now week 14 in the NFL and the Bears are 5-8, third in the NFC North because the dreadful Lions are still in their division. Cutler has not even been close to what Bears fans expected when they traded Kyle Orton and first round draft picks in the 2009 and 2010 drafts. Instead, the Bears got a gunslinger who has a laser arm, but takes too many chances with the football. This is why Cutler leads the NFL with 22 interceptions.

After the Bears beat the Steelers in week two for the first win and won the next two games, it appeared as if the Bears were in good shape. Then they went on to lose seven of their next nine games. They lost big (45-10 to the Bengals and 41-21 to the Cardinals), they lost close (21-14 to the Falcons and 10-6 to the 49ers), and they lost to their division rivals in the Packers and Vikings. The two wins during this span came against teams just as bad or worse as the Lions: Rams (1-12) and Browns (2-11).

When a team is struggling and has as much talent as the Bears do, the head coach is always going to be on the hot seat. For the Bears, that coach is Lovie Smith. After this stretch of poor plays by the Bears, fans have begun calling for his job.

Like all head coaches, he has had his share of ups and downs. In 2006, he led the Bears to their first Super Bowl since they won it in 1985. After that, it has not been so pleasant for Smith and the Bears. They finished 7-9 and 9-7 since the Super Bowl lost to the Colts, though they were expected to do a lot better with the dominant defense they had. After another year in which they underachieved, there is a good chance that Smith will not be back for another year.

Since Jay Cutler was the big signing during the offseason, most of the blame has been centered towards him for the Bears. Though he has not played well, the defense is also a big reason why the Bears are just 5-8. No longer the menacing defense that they were in the past, the Bears have been hurting since the loss of Brian Urlacher for the year. Three times this year Chicago has given up over 35 points and they have given up 291 points already this year. Consider the dominant defense the Bears had during their Super bowl year when they allowed 209 points the entire season.

The Bears have tried to change their identity as a team this year. Rather than rely on running and defense as they had in the past, they put their squad in the hands of a gun-slinger-Jay Cutler. This has not worked well at all and maybe next year they will go back to their past identity.