Conference Championship Recap & Super Bowl Preview – Sponsored by a new champion

Yes, we will have a new Super Bowl champion this season. Am I glad about this?  Yes.  Yes I am.  I always prefer having a new champion every year.  Something about a team repeating as champs rubs me the wrong way.  And plus, let’s be honest: if you aren’t a Patriots fan, wouldn’t it be really shitty to hear all those Patriots fans going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about WINNING ANOTHER SUPAH BOWL and TAWM FAWKING BRADY IS THE BEST FAWKING QUAWTUHBACK EVAH and all that shit?  The answer is it would get real annoying real fast.  I don’t know a more annoying fanbase than Patriots fans.  I still find it amusing that almost anyone I talk to who is a Patriots fan has always been a Patriots fan (according to them).  Yet, before the Pats first Super Bowl win, at least in this province (Ontario), you probably couldn’t find a single one.  If it weren’t for the Lions, Cardinals, and Buccaneers, the Patriots would almost have to be considered the worst team of the 20^th century.  But hey, history is told by the winners and boy do we ever hear about all of that Pats storied history (of the last decade-and-a-half…before that we hear crickets).  OK enough ranting and on to the recapping:

Denver 20 New England 18 – Was Tom Brady and Peyton Manning playing a game of “Who Can Play the Worst?”  It was kind of painful watching the two of them.   I will give full marks to both defenses in this one, especially the Broncos defense which pressured Brady relentlessly all game.  Still, you would have expected one of them to break out and neither of them really did.  On top of that, neither team could run the ball.  For over three quarters, the longest run for both teams was by Brady and Manning respectively.  Despite the defensive prowess, it doesn’t escape the fact that both team’s offenses were quite sloppy in this one.  I don’t know the reason for it.  In the end though we got a fantastic finish and CBS’s ratings for this game were through the roof which makes sense considering this is probably the final chapter of Brady vs. Manning.  What a great way to end.  To be honest, no matter who won I was hoping it wouldn’t be a blowout since that would be the worst way to end this rivalry.  Now all we need is for Peyton to FUCKING RETIRE ALREADY.  After the Super Bowl he should just be done.  He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer (if that is even a term in football) and one of the top five quarterbacks of all time.  He doesn’t need to prove anything else.  Then again, neither does Terrific Tom but at least Brady doesn’t look like he’s about to stroke out on the field.

Carolina 49 Arizona 15 – As soon as the Panthers went up 14-0 this felt like it was over.  There was no way they were going to do the same thing two weeks in a row: big lead, followed by desperately holding on at the end.  Carolina is really in a different league than any other team this season.  They are truly catching lightning in a bottle.  Not saying they don’t have talent but almost every one of their starters is having a career year (or close to it).  Cam Newton has clinched the MVP in the most no-doubt MVP vote in a while.  Luke Kuechly should be defensive player of the year (I don’t know if he will be but he seems to be the most dominant defensive player right now…yes, more than J.J. Watt).  In this game, the Panthers dominated in every facet.  It was quite surprising since many (including myself) figured it would be a relatively close game.  Going into the Super Bowl, the Panthers have to be considered the overwhelming favourite.  I think the people in Vegas are being very conservative with the 4.5 point spread as of this moment.  Expect that to creep up towards 7 or 8 by Super Bowl Sunday.

As for my picks for the Super Bowl from the start of the playoffs, I was close. I had three of the four conference championship teams correct (I had picked KC to beat New England).  And then Carolina beat Arizona so I have that one correct as well.  With KC already being eliminated, it didn’t matter who won the AFC title game since I would have been wrong with my pick anyway.  Still, three out of four is damn good I must say.  I say this now knowing my college picks were probably a bunch of horseshit.

This coming Sunday we have the God awful unwatchable Pro Bowl. I promise not to watch a minute of it.  Even if there was nothing on (which is impossible nowadays) and nothing to do I STILL would not watch it.  It’s dumb.  Let it die.  I am sure Hawaiians will find something else to do during the off-week.

Since there is almost no information left to discuss (except the Super Bowl stuff which I will only do a preview and a recap post and that’s it). Over the next few months you can expect a post here and there but probably no more than a post or two a week since there is no point in bombarding you about stuff like spring games which I never watch (nor have much access to).  Examples of upcoming posts include:

• My mediocre-to-terrible college football predictions
• Issues and storylines about college football going into next season including any potential impacts on television viewing for us
• A few mock NFL drafts
• Draft coverage (around the time of the draft)
• Perhaps a look at the CFL
• A random post or two on miscellaneous crap

Then we will be into June and I will start looking at the 2016 college football season (schedules, biggest games, predictions, etc.). And now you know.  And knowing is half the battle…………..GI JOE!!!!!!!

NFL Divisional Playoff Recap and Conference Championship Preview – Sponsored by a comeback for the ages (almost)

Man, was that ever close. To be honest, I hadn’t watched the Seahawks-Panthers game until there was a few minutes left in the first half.  To see the score at 31-0, I was quite shocked.  I was just as shocked to see Seattle dominate the second half and come within a hair of pulling into a tie and sending the game to overtime, losing 31-24.  That has to be a bit unnerving for the Panthers to allow the Seahawks to pull within a touchdown late after such a large lead.  But as was seen, all the teams don’t exactly look strong going into the conference championships.

Now for the rest of the recaps:

New England 27 Kansas City 20 – New England won but really did not look good doing it.  Especially since Kansas City looked awful and still somehow pulled within seven of the Patriots.  I am surprised the Chiefs played as badly as they did.  Saying that, once it was evident the Chiefs were playing shitty, why didn’t New England pull away with this one?  I don’t feel good about their chances in Denver.  Saying that…

Denver 23 Pittsburgh 16 – The Broncos didn’t exactly look like world-beaters in their game against the Steelers.  To be honest, the Steelers should have had a shot to win the game and basically botched their way through most of the second half.  Sloppy football in both AFC matchups.  Should be interesting to see who comes out guns a-blazin next week in Denver.

Arizona 26 Green Bay 20 (OT) – As for CoinFlipGate, that was quite the ballgame.  Easily the most exciting game of the weekend and that’s saying something since all the games were close.  The fact the Cards allowed the Hail Mary touchdown by the Packers at the end of regulation boggles my mind.  Do no teams practice this?  This thing happens way too often these days.  I don’t know what the defenders were doing when that pass came up.  I do know what they weren’t doing: defending.  So the Packers have all the momentum going into overtime and the ref somehow flips the coin without actually flipping it.  Are you fucking kidding me?  Is this ref a moron?  Who doesn’t know how to flip a coin?  What a dumbass.  See this is the kind of shit that plagues the NFL (and college football) these days.  Moronic referees (along with horrible playcalling and brutal clock management) are becoming way too much of a normal occurrence.  OK maybe moronic referees isn’t the right term.  Referees making horrible brain farts at the worst possible time is probably a better way to put it.  This is the very reason replay was put in in the first place: to protect officials from calls they may have missed so that they aren’t skewered in the media later on.  Maybe they should take it completely out and the refs would do better.  Kind of like when your computer has some sort of issue, you turn it off, turn it on, and it works again.  Or something like that.  Anyway…

This leads us to conference championship week and the NFL has to be pleased as punch with how this has all transpired. Two mega-matchups will bring a shit-ton of eyeballs and be a ratings coup for the shield.  Let’s hope at least one of the games lives up to the hype.  No need for another post later this week since both games are on CTV.  Here’s the schedule for you visual people for Sunday:

3:00	New England at Denver	CBS/CTV
6:30	Arizona at Carolina	FOX/CTV

Let’s get to some previews now:

New England at Denver – We start with the AFC Championship game.  This is the better historical matchup…and by historical I mean for the about the last decade or so.  These two teams have been the cream of the crop in the AFC for pretty much that entire time.  This could be Peyton’s Last Stand so expect a LOT of hype for this one.  And rightfully so.  Probably the last Brady vs. Manning showdown ever.  Depending on how Brock Osweiler turns out and how much Denver can keep all their defensive players, it could be the last we see of Denver at the top for a few years.  Hell, if Brady, for some reason, steps away after this year, expect a bit of a lull in the Patriots dominance, at least for a year or two.  A lot is riding on this matchup here and Jim Nantz (“Hello friends”) and Phil Fucking Simms will tell us all about it ad nauseum (not to mention the pre-game show which I very rarely watch).

Arizona at Carolina – As much as the Pats-Broncos is a classic matchup, this is the start of a new era in the NFC.  No Cowboys.  No Packers.  No Giants.  No Seahawks.  No Saints.  Two franchises who don’t have a lot of experience with the spotlight on them.  I am guessing this will get even higher ratings than the AFC Championship since many (probably wrongly) consider this game the true Super Bowl.  The Cardinals and the Panthers were arguably the top two teams in the league this season.  Both franchises have never won the Super Bowl and this is probably their best chance to do so.  Zona has the depth but Carolina has Cam and Luke and explosiveness on both sides of the ball.  Should be a good one.

We are getting close to the end of the season. After this week, we have the completely unwatchable Pro Bowl and then the Super Bowl a week after that at Shitty Turf Stadium.  Other than a few minutes here and there to check the score, I have not watched more than about ten minutes of the Pro Bowl in probably a decade.  It is a farce of a game and really it’s not like the NBA All-Star Game (or to a lesser extent, the MLB and NHL All-Star Games).  There is no emphasis on a skills competition or a youngsters game or a legends game or anything like that.  It’s basically an excuse for a bunch of football players and coaches to go to a place they could easily afford to go to anyway.  It’s also an excuse for Hawaiians to see actual pro football players live.  Other than that, it is pointless.  They should just do away with it.

As for me, I might do my first draft post later this week. We shall see.  The amount of posts will start to drastically reduce now until the summer when I start looking at scheduling and predictions for the college football season.  Enjoy the games this Sunday!

NFL Divisional Playoff Schedule – Sponsored by whatever Hue Jackson was thinking

Look I know Hue Jackson shouldn’t have been let go as Oakland Raiders’ head coach. I get that.  I know he also wanted an opportunity to be the head guy again.  He was arguably the best offensive coordinator out there available for interviews.  But the Cleveland Browns?  Geez Hue were you drunk when you made that decision?  I will give him this though; he has already started figuring out ways to get this franchise out of its funk.  First idea?  Get rid of Johnny PartyAnimal.  That’s a good start.  Honestly he could get rid of 3/4ths of his roster and they would all be good decisions.  Good luck Hue.  You’re gonna need it.

Alright on to the schedule this weekend:

Saturday
4:30	Kansas City at New England	CBS/CTV
8:00	Green Bay at Arizona	NBC/CTV
Sunday
1:00	Seattle at Carolina	FOX/CTV
4:30	Pittsburgh at Denver	CBS/CTV

That’s pretty easy right? All four games are on CTV or you can check them out on their various networks.  I find it interesting that NBC took a FOX game and not a CBS game.  I wonder how that was determined.

Now some short n’ sweet previews:

Kansas City at New England – Despite the fact that Patriot homers are convinced that “TAWM Brady is gown ta bring tha SOOPAH Bowl back to BAWSTUN”, I wonder if they even get out of this round.  You have the hottest team in the NFL versus arguably the coldest team in the playoffs.  Brady is Brady.  Gronk is Gronk.  Belichick is Belichick.  I get all that.  They are always a threat to win.  But I really do wonder if any team can stop this Chiefs juggernaut.  Andy Reid is gonna eat twenty cheeseburgers in bed with the Lombardi Trophy if KC wins the Super Bowl. Prediction: Kansas City 30-23.

Green Bay at Arizona – Was last week’s game the resurgence of A-a-ron Rodgers and the Packers or an indication that the Redskins weren’t exactly the team everyone (especially Redskins fans) thought they were.  Anyway, the Pack takes a MASSIVE step up this weekend.  Arizona is probably the deepest team in the league so I can’t see them losing this but this is the Packers who, like the Patriots, seem to win games every so often that they shouldn’t just because they actually have experience winning the Super Bowl (sorry Cards fans).  Still going with Zona but it will be close. Prediction: Arizona 38-35.

Seattle at Carolina – If there is any game this weekend that looks like it won’t be close it’s this one.  The Seahawks barely got out of frigid Minnesota with the win (LACES OUT!!!!).  Now they face a team that ran roughshod over pretty much everyone this season.  I think the magic runs out for Seattle here. Prediction: Carolina 28-7.

Pittsburgh at Denver – Is Tim Tebow coming out of retirement for this one?  His one shining moment of his sorry professional career was his winning touchdown pass in overtime to beat Pittsburgh in the Wild Card round in 2011.  I remember watching him play against the Bills two weeks before that and he was awful.  There was no doubt this kid was not going to be long for the NFL.  Anyway where were we?  Oh yes, the Steelers who somehow won their Wild Card game over the Bengals in a game everyone should probably forget happened, get to play the Broncos and probably Papa John Manning.  I foresee the last bit of Manning Magic in this one for Denver, propelling them to the AFC Championship. Prediction: Denver 27-17.

I would have been 3-for-4 last week had Blair Walsh not miss that easy kick. Then again I would have probably gone back to 2-for-4 unless the Bengals released Adam Jones before the Wild Card game.  So it all evens out in the end I guess.  Enjoy the games this weekend!

National Championship Recap – Sponsored by Roll F’n Tide

Are we sure that’s not blood?

Yep. Evil Saban has done it again.  And he did it with style.  That onside kick in the fourth quarter is the stuff of legend.  It will now go down in lore as the play that basically won Bama its fourth title in seven years.  If that doesn’t make them a dynasty I don’t know what does.  Other items from last night’s 45-40 Crimson Tide victory over Clemson:

Ciara’s dress – Why is it that so many are outraged over what Ciara was wearing when the national anthem was sung?  Who gives a shit?  She sang it well and that’s all that matters.  First off, we may be seeing more of her than Russell Wilson ever does.  And secondly, people are all up in arms over this yet we turn into bloodthirsty fans wanting “hard-nosed football” and some “good battles in the trenches” that will lead to “possible concussions and broken bones?”  There is something seriously wrong with society (mostly American society although Canadians somewhat fall into that category).

Either Clemson’s horrible special teams play or Alabama’s fantastic special teams play – Your choice.  You could go either way on this one.  I figured the Tide would have the edge on special teams but not like this.  They dominated that part of the game and it was the key to victory.  Without Kenyan Drake’s kickoff return for a touchdown and the onside kick heard ‘round the world, it would be Clemson celebrating their victory right now.

Was OJ Howard invisible until he caught the ball? – It was insane and completely out of the blue how OJ Howard played last night.  What the hell were the Clemson secondary doing on Howard’s catches?  He was so wide open on two of them you could have fit a yacht between him and the nearest defender.  Talk about broken coverage.  How about shattered coverage or non-existent coverage.

Two of the three Heisman finalists showed why they got a trip to New York a month ago – Derrick Henry and Deshaun Watson both put on a show worthy of being Heisman Trophy finalists.  Henry was pretty much the only reason Bama was still in it at the half and Watson was the only reason (almost) that the Tigers were in it late.

Even though 85 points were scored, the defenses weren’t half-bad – The defenses, especially Clemson’s Kevin Dodd who had a crazy good night, were actually pretty good last night.  Problem was they seemed to give up the odd big play and almost every time those big plays either directly or a few plays later, lead to scoring.  If it wasn’t for those big plays, no chance either team hits 30 points.

The VY Comparison – It was almost getting eerie how much this game was mirroring the 2006 Rose Bowl game.  You remember that one right?  The one where Vince Young broke USC’s hearts at the end.  Even the score in this one was mirroring the score back then.  And the Watson-Young comparisons came from everywhere all night and rightfully so.  If Clemson repeats what it did this year, Watson could very well walk away with the Heisman next year (that Young deserved the year his Horns won the title) and be one of the best college players of this generation.

Those refs again – They’re at it again.  What in the hell happened near the end of the first half?  The clock wasn’t run properly, leading Dabo Swinney to go apeshit and rightfully so.  This is easy stuff.  Find out what the clock should have been at and put it back at that spot.  Nope.  Can’t do that.  And they wonder why officials in college football are probably treated with less respect than most other sports in North America.  It’s not the fact it’s college and not the pros.  It’s the fact that these types of mistakes are dumb and shouldn’t happen.  Yet they do on a near-weekly basis.

Another season over. I am so sad now.  Lost.  What do I do now?  Work more productively and not think about college football?  Hang out with my kids when they’re with me?  Socialize with others?  Hmmm…this sounds like addictive behaviour almost.  I am obviously kidding but from late August until early January my mind does wander a bit to college football and I do spend less time on other pursuits because of it.  I have seven-and-a-half months to make up for it.  The 2016 college football season starts September 1^st so we are 233 days away.  Damn.

In the meantime, there are a few more college football games to be played. Yes, I’m serious.  I am talking about the few all-star games that are still around as showcases for draft-eligible players.  Here they are:

• Dream Bowl (Jan. 18, Noon, ASN) – The Dream Bowl is the showcase game for non-FBS players. Usually it’s mostly FCS players but sprinkled in are the best from D-II and D-III. The reason it’s this coming Monday is because all Americans (except people in Arizona because who the fuck knows why) are off for Martin Luther King Day. It is supposedly on ASN but at this point I do not see it on the guide. It may appear later this week but we shall see.
• East–West Shrine Game (Jan. 23, 3:00, NFL Network) – This is the granddaddy of all college all-star games (along with the Senior Bowl). As far as I can tell this should be on the NFL Network here as well but I know the Canadian version of that channel can be a bit screwy.
• NFLPA Collegiate Bowl (Jan. 23, 5:30, ESPN2) – Another newer college football all-star game. At this point, there is no knowledge whether this will be on the specialty pack (or even on a TSN station although I doubt it).
• Senior Bowl (Jan. 30, 1:30, NFL Network) – This one we should definitely get on the NFL Network since I remember last year’s game appearing on there as well. This is the final chance for draft-eligible seniors to show their stuff before we get into draft season and the combines.

So there you go. A bit of college football to whet your appetite through the month of January.  Then for February through August, nothing.  Sorry.  I wish I could help you.  I really do.  Seriously.

NFL Wild-Card Recap/College Football Playoff National Championship Preview Combo Post

Well at least two of the four games were wild as the title states. Let’s start with a recap of the weekend’s action:

Kansas City 30 Houston 0 – As soon as Knile Davis found that hole on the opening kickoff and scampered 106 yards for a TD on the opening play, you could sense it was already over.  Talk about deflating an entire team 15 seconds in.  After that it was all Chiefs as they made the Texans look like the Browns’ scout team.  The Chiefs were coldly efficient on offense and unrelenting on defense.  They played almost a perfect game winning their first playoff matchup in 22 years.

Green Bay 35 Washington 18 – Let’s get the two non-crazy games out of the way first.  For a time there it looked like the Skins were going to hang with the Packers which would have been bad news (probably) for Green Bay.  Instead, A-a-ron Rodgers helped the Packers pull away and spoil actually a pretty good season in DC.  The Pack finally looked like the Pack of old and should be a formidable opponent for Arizona next weekend.

Seattle 10 Minnesota 9 – Poor Blair Walsh.  He provided the only points for the Vikings on the day but he will not be remembered for that.  He will solely be remembered for missing what accounts to a chip shot to probably send the Vikings to Phoenix next weekend.  Instead, he misses it by a long shot (it had to be at least five feet wide).  It was not even close.  I won’t fully blame Walsh here.  The snap was a bit high.  And the laces were IN for fuck’s sake (Ray Finkle anyone?).  But still, Walsh could have hit that kick blindfolded.  What a sad way to end such a cold, sloppy game.  NOW THAT’S FOOTBALL WEATHER….is what many would say.

Pittsburgh 18 Cincinnati 16 – Good god where do I begin with this game?  Talk about a shitshow.  Everyone knew it would be a chippy affair but it escalated and got out of hand late in the game.  First off, Pittsburgh gets out to a 15-0 lead against a Bengals team that was playing like they belonged in Arena Football League and not the NFL.  Then Cincy rips off 16 straight points to take the lead 16-15.  We were looking at an exciting finish.  That’s when all hell broke loose.  At this point, Ben Roethlisberger was out with an injury.  Vontaze Burfict intercepts Landry Jones in Steeler territory, meaning the Bengals would have to just gain a first down to win the game.  Instead, they fumble and the Steelers recover.  Here comes Roethlisberger Willis Reeding it off the bench and leading the Steelers down the field.  Then comes the play where he throws an incomplete pass to Antonio Brown but Burfict nails him with what amounts to targeting.  He gets 15 yards (which makes total sense).  Then Adam (Pacman) Jones gets a penalty for unsportsmanlike.  Question here: did anyone try and figure out why Joey Porter, who used to be one of the dirtiest players in football and is now a coach, is STILL on the fucking field after Brown has almost been brought to the sideline?  I don’t condone Jones for being a shitbag idiot and getting flagged but it makes no sense that Porter is deemed innocent in all this.  It seemed like kind of a bullshit call at the time that put the Steelers in field goal territory to win the game.  Otherwise it would have been a 50+ yard field goal.  Not saying Boswell wouldn’t have hit it from there but it’s a lot tougher.  And for Phil Simms to say he doesn’t blame the officials?  He can just fuck off.  What an idiot.  The officials let this chippy play go on all game.  They could have stopped this shit early and didn’t.  It just felt like a horrible ending to what could have been a great game.  Not saying I wanted the Bengals to win since I didn’t really care but a lot of what happened at the end felt wrong.  Phew, that was a long recap.

Alright, this sets up the following matchups this coming week:

• Pittsburgh at Denver
• Kansas City at New England
• Seattle at Carolina
• Green Bay at Arizona

I would like to find out if all the road teams have won in a Wild-Card round before. I would venture to say it’s never happened before but you can’t be too sure.  (And by checking quickly I found out that yes, this is the first time this has ever happened).  Funny thing is no one is batting an eye over this.  Like they all expected this to happen.  Bullshit.  Almost no one did.  But then again, most people’s favourite subject tends to be revisionist history.  I will do previews of the games later in the week along with a schedule (which should be rather simplistic).

College Football Playoff National Championship

I very rarely do true combo posts (and they’re usually mixed in with all sorts of other non-football topics like, ugh, soccer). But I figured I could kill two birds with one stone here since the College Football Playoff National Championship is TONIGHT!  The actual game is on TSNs 1, 3, 4, and 5.  If you want to watch the Finebaum Film Room (which can be at times boring, insightful, and hilarious) that is on TSN2.  Update: It isn’t Finebaum Film Room.  It’s the film room with the coaches which should still would be very interesting to watch especially with that many knowledgeable football men at once.  Saying that, it isn’t the Finebaum Gongshow that brings the hilarity every time.  Nice to see TSN going all in tonight for the championship.  This shows they actually give a shit about college football.  They have been, overall, much better this season than last but there are obviously still some kinks to work out there.

Alabama and Clemson play tonight for all the marbles and, to be perfectly honest, these two programs are easily the best two teams this season. Other than the Tide’s gaffe against Ole Miss they showed they were one of the top teams all year.  Clemson has run the table so far and has rarely looked weak all season.  They have had some weak quarters but never a weak half which is amazing.  Many point to their ACC schedule and scoff at it but they played a few very good teams.  But because they aren’t the SEC (or to a lesser extent, the Pac-12), they aren’t given the same gravitas as an Alabama would.  With out-of-conference scheduling changing and becoming much more important, this will become a moot point in a few years as most teams will try and put together at least a decent non-con sked so they aren’t punished by The Committee.

As for the game itself, let’s break things down a bit:

Quarterback (Edge: Clemson) – Jake Coker may have had the game of his young career on New Year’s Eve but he is no Deshaun Watson.  This is a clear edge for the Tigers as Watson showed what he was made of, tearing apart the vaunted Oklahoma defense in the other semi.

Running Back (Edge: Alabama) – Again, a clear winner here.  Derrick Henry is a step above everyone not named Christian McCaffrey and that is one huge step.

Wide Receivers (Edge: Clemson) – This is a slight edge to Clemson.  Much of this has to do with the guy throwing them the ball.  Saying that, if Coker can replicate what he did twelve days ago then it may be tough to beat.

Trenches (Edge: Alabama) – Not saying the Tigers aren’t good along the line but no one does it better than the Tide and it’s pretty much been that way for years now.  They somehow recruit the best linemen in the land year after year.

Linebackers (Edge: Alabama) – I’d say Bama would have a defensive edge over almost any team out there.  Again, it’s not a case of Clemson being bad.  They have a dominant defense.  Which makes Bama’s defense historically amazing.

Secondary (Edge: Clemson) – Clemson has one of the best pass defenses in the nation and it has showed throughout the season.

Special Teams (Edge: Alabama) – The Tide’s Cyrus Jones gives Bama the slight edge here as both teams are solid everywhere else on the special teams front.

So I would say Bama has the slight edge here. Also, this isn’t Nick Saban’s first rodeo whereas this is new territory for Dabo Swinney.  As much as it would be nice to see the Tigers win this, I think the Crimson Tide win a close one here.  I am going to say 27-23 Tide.

As I mentioned earlier, I will have the Divisional Playoff round schedule up later this week along with previews and picks of the four games. In the next or two I will also take a look back and see how shitty I did with my predictions for the college football season as I am sure some were so bad that I may need to have my college football blogging privilege revoked (for example, I had Georgia Tech winning their division…yeah).

Wild Card Round Schedule and Playoff Outlook – Sponsored by the 500 (or so) teams moving to L.A.

So we have the Rams, the Raiders, and the Chargers all wanting to move to Los Angeles. Good stuff.  Why don’t they send all three, plus the Jaguars, and change the AFC West to the AFC Los Angeles Division.  They could probably relatively easily change the divisions around and make that work.  Who really gives a shit at this point.  It’s painfully clear these franchises don’t want to stay in their respective cities (especially St. Louis) so let them move as long as they have a feasible financial plan.  I know the NFL could play to empty stadiums and still make money but why not try and maximize return.  That’s why, unless a bigger stadium is built, I believe they should never have an NFL team in Toronto.  I think the novelty would wear off because they aren’t the Leafs.  Unless they win.  The Blue Jays proved that.  Anyway…

It’s playoff time! Wild Card weekend is upon us so let’s take a look at the schedule for the second time this week:

Saturday
4:30	Kansas City at Houston	ABC/CTV
8:00	Pittsburgh at Cincinnati	CBS/CTV
Sunday
1:00	Seattle at Minnesota	NBC/CTV
4:30	Green Bay at Washington	FOX/TSN1/TSN4/TSN5

Still amazed NBC didn’t get the Saturday night game which seems to be the marquee game of the week (usually). Good to see the games are spread out among all four major networks.  Kind of wish college football would do that a bit more but then ESPN wouldn’t have ALL THE COLLEGE FOOTBAW!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s take a short look at the games and my predictions (which invariably will be wrong):

Kansas City at Houston – There is no hotter team in the NFL right now than the Kansas City Chiefs.  After a horrid start, they have torn through every team they have met since.  As for the Texans, they also had a turnaround that normally would have been embraced as the best in the league if it weren’t for what KC did.  Someone’s hot streak has to end this weekend. My pick: Kansas City 39-20.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati – Poor Cincy.  As they enter the playoffs they are haunted by their playoff past.  And now they are going with their backup quarterback and they play the Steelers, the third of the fairly hot AFC teams entering the postseason.  Honestly, I can’t see this ending well for the Bengals. My pick: Pittsburgh 24-17.

Seattle at Minnesota – Everyone goes on about how the Seahawks mopped the floor with Minnesota during the season.  Everyone seems to forget how horrid the Seahawks are on the road in the playoffs (2-8 all-time).  I think the Vikings exact a small measure of revenge here and move on to the next round. My pick: Minnesota 44-31.

Green Bay at Washington – The absolute coldest team going into the playoffs in the NFC is the Packers.  They have looked no better than mediocre in most of their games.  I think A-a-ron Discount Double Checks his way to another poor game and home for the rest of the playoffs as Kirk Cousins somehow gets the Redskins to the Divisional Playoffs (which makes me giggle a bit). My pick: Washington 38-23.

If my picks were correct (IF!!!!), it would set up the following matchups:

• Pittsburgh at Denver
• Kansas City at New England
• Washington at Carolina
• Minnesota at Arizona

We all know what happened in Denver last time these two played (Tebowmania!!!!!!). New England is the Green Bay of the AFC, as in they are the coldest team in that conference right now going into the playoffs.  Washington and Minnesota can’t get through to the next round, can they?  I think this sets up a KC-Denver AFC title match and a ratings bonanza Panthers-Cardinals NFC title tilt.  I have Carolina facing off against Kansas City for the Super Bowl so we would have a first-time winner in Super Bowl L at Acid Washed Jeans Stadium.  My pick to win the Super Bowl will not be a popular one as I think the Carolina Panthers will hoist the Lombardi Trophy in early February.  This probably means I have jinxed them and that they may possibly lose their first playoff game.  Kind of like the SI curse.

Along with the start of the NFL playoffs this weekend, for those with the college football specialty pack, the FCS National Championship is on Saturday at noon. And of course, the FBS National Championship is Monday night at 8:30.  Enjoy the football everyone.

Week 17 NFL Recap – Sponsored by Black Monday coming early

Wasn’t that fun seeing all those coaches and GMs fired this past week? And it isn’t even Black Monday (which is today) so we could be seeing more.  Let’s see what happened so far this season with coaches who are no longer with us:

• Joe Philbin and then perhaps Dan Campbell (Miami) – The Miami Dolphins have been an absolute mess this season. I thought they had the talent to overtake the Patriots in the AFC East. To be honest, they actually do except for one important position: Ryan Tannehill has been exposed as a mediocre quarterback which spells death to most teams that don’t have the early-2000’s Baltimore Ravens defense (looking at you Trent Dilfer). So they fired Philbin who had no control over the team, promoted Campbell who did only a little bit better and may end up being “relieved of his duties” as well. I love that term. Would be better if they used “shitcanned” instead but I understand the nature of not using that term.
• Mike Pettine (Cleveland) – Now who didn’t see this coming? If you think the Fins are a mess, I don’t know how to describe the Browns. They have been an awful franchise pretty much since they came back into the league. Their owner is an idiot. Their GMs have been brutal (and all been fired). And now another head coach comes through northern Ohio and can’t do anything to turn this team around. Until Jimmy Haslam is done with the team, I don’t think anyone can do anything of substance here.
• Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis) – This isn’t confirmed but it seems to be a foregone conclusion. The problem is it’s tough to know how good this team could have been had they not had their QB problems. We will never know but I am sure Pagano will get another NFL job sooner rather than later.
• Ken Whisenhunt (Tennessee) – This happened a couple months ago. Not that Whizz isn’t a good coach but he’s not the type of guy who can really elevate a team. Mike Mularkey will probably stay on only because the NFL is suing the Titans for something to do with the Titans’ ownership structure. This could become the story of the spring.
• Mike McCoy (San Diego) – This also isn’t confirmed and may not be. San Diego was so bad this season after being pretty good the season before. There have been an equal amount of stories out there saying he will be fired as there were that he will be retained.
• Chip Kelly (Philadelphia) – I don’t think the Eagles ever liked their hire of Chip. Which is insane. He did quite well considering some of the personnel he had. And that’s where the problem lie. Chip the GM was awful. Chip the coach was quite good. But Chip wants the dual role for some stupid reason. This is what may keep him out of the NFL for a while.
• Tom Coughlin (NY Giants) – OK old man just resign or retire or something. He has a full-blown case of Tortorella Syndrome. For you that don’t know what I am speaking of, it is has to do with John Tortorella. He coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup with a juggernaut of a lineup. Other than that one season he has been a mediocre coach at best. But he will continue to get jobs (or stay on a job longer than he should) because of that one championship. A championship allows you to write your own ticket. Coughlin has done well but it is clear he is not the guy to move forward with the Giants. Hell, their team is a mess as they have no depth and probably can’t even compete in the NFC East next season (how sad). Time for someone new to inject some life into the team.  UPDATE: Coughlin has just resigned.
• Jim Caldwell (Detroit) – I don’t believe Caldwell will be fired considering how the Lions finished their season 6-2 down the stretch. This is the Lions we are talking about though. So anything could happen.
• Sean Payton (New Orleans) – Payton is rumoured to be interested in the Giants head coaching job. So Coughlin would have to resign/retire and then Payton would have to either resign or already have been fired. So much to think about. There is a strong sense that Payton will be out as Saints coach but it will have to wait on a meeting he is planning to have today with Saints executives.
• Jeff Fisher (St. Louis) – Fisher was rumoured for a few college jobs but there never was real interest from Fisher. His time in St. Louis may be timed to the potential move to Los Angeles (kind of along the same lines as what Mike McCoy may experience with the Chargers).
• Jim Tomsula (San Francisco) – Tomsula was unceremoniously dumped just after the Niners win on Sunday. One of the worst coaching hires in recent memory is now just that: a memory. Even Jim Harbaugh threw some shade on the whole situation with his tweet that stated “Do not be deceived. You will reap what you sew.” Nice work Jim (the Harbaugh one not the Tomsula one). Jimmy T can now update his resume to get a job somewhere doing something…I don’t know what. Cleaning service perhaps?

Wow that was a long list. Isn’t it fun to poke fun at situations where people’s livelihoods are at stake?  The answer is yes.  Yes it is.

Now for the recap:

Rex Ryan’s Bills cost his former team, the Jets, a playoff spot. I do feel bad for Brandon Marshall and Ryan Fitzpatrick as both of them have never been to a playoff game.  Saying that, the Jets played awful.  They wouldn’t have been a threat in the playoffs anyway with that kind of play.  This opened the door for…

Pittsburgh’s win over the Browns puts them in the #6 spot and a game against Cincinnati. This is probably not what Cincy wanted although they would never say so.  The Steelers aren’t overly dangerous but this is the Bengals and the playoffs we are talking about.  They aren’t known for their playoff resume.

Denver somehow ended up at the top seed. Their defense is amazing and is carrying these team.  Old Man(ning) Peyton has got his starting job back (we think) filling for the relatively unlucky Brock Osweiler.

The Patriots had the top seed in hand and shit the bed against Miami. They are arguably the coldest playoff team going into the second season.

Luckily for us, Houston won their game and the AFC South. If they had lost we would have had to have delved into the wild world of insane tiebreakers.  Almost all the other things the Colts needed to have happen happened so it would have been some kind of wild if everything happened in their favour.

The Vikings capped off a great season by beating the Packers and clinching the NFC North. Their prize?  A home date with the Seahawks.  Luckily for them the Seahawks have been awful on the road in the playoffs.  The Packers loss sends them to Washington to face the surprisingly hot Redskins.  That could be a very interesting matchup.

The Titans loss to Indy has clinched the #1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft for Tennessee so they are now on the clock. And no, they won’t be picking a quarterback.

Alright here is the schedule for the Wild Card round of the playoffs:

Saturday
4:30	Kansas City at Houston	ABC/CTV
8:00	Pittsburgh at Cincinnati	CBS/CTV
Sunday
1:00	Seattle at Minnesota	NBC/CTV
4:30	Green Bay at Washington	FOX/TSN1/TSN4/TSN5

Interesting that NBC did not get the Saturday night game. So it will be Sunday Night Football on Sunday afternoon.  Alright then.  I will go over the games in more detail later in the week.

Bowl Recap #5 – Sponsored by Going 6 for 6

No, that’s not 30 for 30’s younger, dumber brother. It refers to the fact that, for the most part, the New Year’s Six bowls went six for six for being horrible.  Not a single one of the bowls had much drama at all.  You could say Florida State kept it relatively close with Houston and there was a bit of drama during the Fiesta Bowl but other than that it was relatively unwatchable football.  And this is coming from a guy who watches as much college football as he can.  Alright, let’s get to the recap starting with the College Football Playoff semi-finals:

ORANGE BOWL – Clemson 37 Oklahoma 17

So many complained that this game started at 4 on New Year’s Eve because many people were working that day. Understandable I guess.  Yet many of those same people didn’t complain that the other semi-final was on from 8 until midnight on New Year’s Eve.  Makes no sense to me.  Anyway, this bowl was the closer of the two semi-finals.  It was the Clemson D that stepped up in this one.  Mayfield, Perine, Shepard, et al just couldn’t do much.  Also, Deshaun Watson showed why he was a Heisman finalist.  Which leads us to the other semi-final…

COTTON BOWL – Alabama 38 Michigan State 0

Good lord this wasn’t even close. It did allow the Twitterverse to go crazy saying Sparty didn’t belong in the College Football Playoff at all.  Hindsight is 20-20 but it’s also annoying and sometimes very wrong.  Who knew Jake Coker would have the game of his life?  Who knew Connor Cook would have the worst game of his life?  Who knew Alabama’s defense would be that good?  OK I’ll give you that last one.  Bama has all the momentum going into the national championship now.

Now the other New Year’s Six bowls which weren’t a whole lot better:

PEACH BOWL – Houston 38 Florida State 24

Arguably the closest of the NY6 bowls. Terrible.  However it did show that Houston, much like Boise State in years past, is a cut above most of the rest of the Group of Five teams.  Not having Everett Golson or, really, a healthy Sean Maguire didn’t help the Noles in this one.  Honestly though they looked sloppy.  It’s like the put it all on the field against Florida so they could destroy their rivals and had nothing left for this one.

FIESTA BOWL – Ohio State 44 Notre Dame 28

Ugh, the targeting penalty rears its ugly head again. Joey Bosa’s Ohio State career ends on a targeting call that is technically correct but kind of goes against the spirit of the rule.  There were at least six other instances where targeting should have been called and never was in the past few days.  That has to be the NCAA’s number one priority in the offseason: getting the targeting call correct and locking down when it should be called.  I get that it’s still referee’s discretion but the variation on when it’s called is ridiculous.  I feel bad for the kid since there’s a possibility he will end up on the Browns next season.  Oh, as for the game, despite the fact the Irish acted like a rash that wouldn’t quite go away, tOSU seemed to be in control the entire time.  NEXT!

ROSE BOWL – Stanford 45 Iowa 16

This was also known as the McCaffrey Bowl since he was the single most dominating player on that field (as he was in a few other games during the season). He scored a touchdown a mere eleven seconds in and that ended up being a prelude to one of the greatest performances in bowl game history.  His 368 all-purpose yards broke the Rose Bowl record and he put the stake in the ground as the 2016 Heisman early frontrunner.  Iowa was never in this one and this seemed like more of a beatdown than what their Big Ten brethren Michigan State suffered the previous day.  I hope this, for now, shows people why a four-team playoff is better than an eight-team playoff.  As much as people said Stanford and Ohio State were reasons for playoff expansion, Iowa and Notre Dame showed that it shouldn’t be since they would have been two of the eight teams vying for the title.  Moving on…

SUGAR BOWL – Ole Miss 48 Oklahoma State 20

At this point I got fed up. Once Laquon Treadwell caught his third touchdown pass in the second quarter I put the rest of the game on the PVR (we will get to that in a later bowl recap).  I had had it with the New Year’s Six.  What a set of horrible games.  So New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and (to a lesser extent) American Thanksgiving Saturday, the three biggest college football days of any season, were pretty shitty.  Not impressed as a college football fan.  I was right to check the game on the PVR later to see that, um, yes Ole Miss destroyed the Cowboys.

OK enough of these bowls, let’s get to the rest of the bowls from New Year’s Day and yesterday:

OUTBACK BOWL – Tennessee 45 Northwestern 6

Your 2016 SEC East Champion Tennessee Volunteers…is what many will now say for the next eight months. Don’t get me wrong, the Vols made Northwestern their bitch in this one but one game does not a champion make.  I will say this: Tennessee is set up well for the next season but more so for the fact that the rest of the SEC East doesn’t look too hot right now so really it’s an open competition (except for you Vanderbilt).  I assume this bowl game lost many viewers pretty early on.  That’s the con of a New Year’s Day bowl when other bowl games are on.

CITRUS BOWL – Michigan 41 Florida 7

See what I mean about the SEC East? Let’s be honest, the Gators overperformed this season.  They didn’t have the players to be a true CFP contender yet somehow they came within one poor game in the SEC Championship of going to a New Year’s Six bowl game.  They were exposed here by a good Michigan team that was probably one horrifically bad last-second play from also being in the New Year’s Six.  Jim Harbaugh has the Wolverines going in the right direction and Florida fans hope Jim Bob McElwain is doing the same in Gainesville.  Again, another bowl that lost plenty of viewers due to the game being basically over in the early third quarter.

TAXSLAYER BOWL – Georgia 24 Penn State 17

Hey a bowl game that was actually somewhat close. Saying that, the Dawgs had a 24-3 lead before the non-Hackenberg Nittany Lions made a comeback.  Christian Hackenberg is smart to declare for the NFL Draft despite the fact he won’t be a first round pick.  The one thing that kept Penn State from a better season was that brutal offensive line.  I wouldn’t want to play behind those guys another season knowing there’s a decent payday awaiting you instead.  Also, this game felt weird with no Mark Richt involved.

LIBERTY BOWL – Arkansas 45 Kansas State 23

I took a break from watching football (I know, insane right?) for the last quarter-and-a-half of this one. I was starting to get worn out from the craptastic games I had seen.  Yes, we get it, the SEC West is awesome, all hail the SEC West, whatever.  KSU making a bowl game was a miracle in and of itself and if my proposal would go through, we would never see teams like this in postseason play again.

ALAMO BOWL – TCU 47 Oregon 41 (3OT)

It feels like all the excitement that we could have had in all the bowls were concentrated here. And I nearly missed it.  Once Oregon went up 28-0, I put the game on the PVR (much like the Sugar Bowl) and stopped watching.  What I missed was Vernon Adams getting injured and Gary Patterson feeling the POWER OF THE PURPLE SHIRT.  Bram Kohlhausen’s only career start at TCU ended up being legendary as TCU came back from 31 down to tie the game.  I decided, for some reason, to turn it back on to see what was going on with it with about 3 minutes left in the game.  I was astounded at what the score was.  The Horned Frogs would end up winning in triple overtime, sending Phil Knight into shock and making Ducks fans wonder which of their ten million uniform combinations would have been the right one to wear in hindsight.

CACTUS BOWL – West Virginia 43 Arizona State 42

I put this one on the PVR, watched the first half, and went to bed. I put in a four-hour window just to be safe.  Yeah, not even close.  By the time the recording ended there was still seven minutes left to play.  Why are some of these games so damn long.  Now I am worried that the national championship will be six hours and I will be exhausted the next day at work.  Worst part is this was a great game and I missed the end.  Don’t know who to complain to but I am going to complain anyways.  No wonder the Pac-12 doesn’t want too many late-night games considering I stayed up until 2 (if not later) on too many Saturday nights to count (it was probably like seven of them).  What an interesting way to finish watching bowl season.

One game left and it’s for all the marbles. Clemson will face Alabama for the national championship and now Dabo Swinney can use the underdog tag properly since they will definitely be one for this game (as of right now it’s Alabama favoured by 7).  Also, the FCS title game kicks off at noon on Saturday if you’re interested (and have the specialty pack).  College football season is almost over folks and I type that with a bit of a tear in my eye.  Enjoy the national championship (and the NFL games today).