Awful Studio Shows

Shannon Sharpe not only butchers the English language, he does it with
flair. I think that he would be easier to understand if he filled his
gigantic mouth with marbles before speaking. Listening to his AFC
Championship Game prediction was excruciatingly painful. He started
out by quoting the Patriots' "Renee Cartwell". Assuming that he meant
"Reche Caldwell", the quote still made no sense in the context of his
prediction.

I'm sick of the network chuckleheads who handle the pre-game and
halftime segments. Boomer Esiason is the only studio commentator
worth listening to.

I would love to hire Esiason and Chris Collinsworth to handle a
factual and insightful pre-game show. I would hire Trey Wingo to
host. Mark Schlereth and Ron Jaworski could contribute. It would
dominate in this era of Michael Irvin-, Shannon Sharpe-, and Terry
Bradshaw-hosted yukfests.

I hope some network executives see this and agree with me.

Pats Prediction - AFC Championship Game

Last week: Once again, wow. The Pats managed to gut out a difficult win against a very good team in the San Diego Chargers. Gostkowski was great, going 3-for-3 on field goals. Troy Brown saved the season when he stripped Marlon McCree after McCree had intercepted a fourth-down pass from Brady.

Ladainian Tomlinson of course played the sour grapes card after the game, complaining about Ellis Hobbs celebration at mid-field. I, for one, was thrilled that someone from the Pats imitated the ridiculous Merriman dance. I told my wife before the game that I was hoping the Pats would win and do just that. I'm glad the general consensus in the national media was that LT should shut his trap. LT's sad attempt to blame Belichick for the celebration of his players was a stretch. Maybe the Pats should send LT some popcorn (and sour grapes) to enjoy while he watches the AFC Championship Game tomorrow.

Reg. Season Record: 9-7 straight up, 4-10-2 against the spread.
Playoff Record: 2-0 straight up, 1-1 against the spread.

AFC Championship Game Favorite: Indianapolis (-3)

I feel extremely relaxed about tomorrow's game. In fact, I called my father not fifteen seconds after the game ended last week and left him the following voicemail: "We're going to the Super Bowl!"

The Colts cannot, and will not, hang with the Patriots. I don't care how well the Colts defense has played for two whole weeks. Both the Chiefs and Ravens had simply awful gameplans and terrible play calling against Indy. The last time I checked Bill Belichick could outcoach Herm Edwards, Brian Billick, and the ghost of Vince Lombardi combined. Tony Dungy is only slightly better than Marty Schottenheimer in the playoffs. He can't make the necessary in-game adjustments to beat a team smarter than his.

Peyton Manning has looked like crap in the playoffs. He's thrown 1 TD against 5 INTs. He should have 7 INTs, save for Ray Lewis deflecting two sure picks. Peyton is going to smell like crap when he dumps in his pants tomorrow. He's simply not a good leader. He likes the adoration of being a QB, but he feels entitled. He's been groomed to be a QB for so long that he probably doesn't remember wanting to be an astronaut or a fireman as a child. After tomorrow's game seals his legacy as a great regular season QB who couldn't hack it in the playoffs, he'll wish that he had become an astronaut.

Tom Brady's mechanics were inconsistent last Sunday. Is there any doubt that he will be anything less than rock-solid perfect with his mechanics tomorrow? The Colts pass rush pales in comparison to San Diego's. I bet that Brady could try some left-handed throws for fun tomorrow if he wanted to.

Belichick will combine a spread offense with a strong rushing game to gash the Colts. Manning will choke on the field like a man choking on a sausage when he tries to play catch-up. The Colts might want to consider moving out of Indy in the middle of the night after the game.

Prediction: Patriots 30, Colts 20

What a Game!

Wow, what a game yesterday. I was more excited to watch the Patriots - Chargers game yesterday than any playoff game since Super Bowl XXXVI against the Rams. The 2003 and 2004 Patriots teams were simply better than everyone else and winning Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX just felt like the natural conclusion to those seasons.

The 2006 Patriots don't feel like a team of destiny. The Patriots clearly have the pedigree and tradition of winning that helps a team to win close games late in the season and in the playoffs. They simply weren't overwhelming or dominating at any point this year. The defense quietly set a new franchise record for fewest points allowed in a season but never seemed to take over games or force many turnovers or sacks. Brady has a bunch of no name receivers and has had some uncharacteristically bad games this year. All in all, it's been a weird season. I hope it ends with a victory.

Pats Prediction - Divisional Playoff

Pats Prediction:

Last week: The Pats turned a close game into a blowout thanks to a couple of timely plays by the defense. First, Roosevelt Colvin deflected a lateral that Vince Wilfork smartly picked up and ran back 31 yards. Second, Asante Samuel did an excellent job to leave his receiver and jump the pass route to nab another interception and score a backbreaking touchdown. If the Jets had scored on that possession, they still would have been in the game. Samuel put the Pats up by 21 and took the life out of the Jets.

Regular Season Record: 9-7 straight up, 4-10-2 against the spread.
Playoff Record: 1-0 straight up, 0-1 against the spread.

AFC Divisional Playoff Favorite: San Diego (-4.5)

I think that the San Diego Chargers are overhyped and overrated. That said, I believe the Chargers are still one of the two or three best teams in football this year. The Chargers' defense is the reason the team is overhyped. They had some great games against weak teams (Oakland, Tennesee) yet they gave up 41 points to Cincinnati, 30 to KC, and 25 to Cleveland. They won a lot of games by less than 10 points. The fact that San Diego had such a powerful offense allowed the defense to look better than it was. San Diego controlled the clock on the ground and with a short passing game. The team rarely trailed in games this season. For those two reasons, the defense was able to pad its stats against the run and the pass; opponents didn't run on the Chargers as much as most teams because they fell behind and the Chargers' D could tee off on quarterbacks trying to play catch-up through the air.

I think that the key for the Patriots is to stop Antonio Gates. He is Philip Rivers' safety blanket. I think that the Patriots' run defense is good enough to contain LT today. I would consider 100 yards or so and two or fewer scores a victory for our defense. If the Patriots can score first and make San Diego play from behind, even more pressure will fall on Rivers' shoulders. I think that by shutting down Gates the Patriots will be able to force Rivers to make mistakes. Those mistakes will be the difference in the game.

Prediction: Patriots 27, Chargers 24

Pats Prediction - AFC Wild Card

The Pats are favored by 8.5 today. I like New England 24-17 over the Jets.