EVANS GETTT and MARINO throw themselves into the Storyville magnum intend to light up the score board in their first mission against the Chicago Bears. These Super Bowl champs enter the match with approf a 31-10 SU and 28-12 ATS record and since the annoucements started, they have done pretty well, Rising from obscurity this season to test the lightning before taking the dynasty to the finals should prove to be a challenging task.
Qualification into the playoffs will require the Chargers to win their remaining three games. However, there are more realistic expectations that could be assigned to this San Diego team. With the organization entering its 12th season, you can certainly afford to overlook the fact that they have a relatively insignificant record. Oh, they’ve made the playoffs the past two seasons but take the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS for example. They are a good football team, yes, but from the outside looking in, it doesn’t appear that they have what it takes to get themselves to the postseason.
The division leaders were the Steelers, coming off a 10-6 season, and the Bengals, coming off a surprising 9-7 season. Coming in behind these two are the Ravens, who improved their game this year, but will now turn their season over to the Jacksonville Jaguars who are the hottest team in the league and will be playing the toughest schedule in the league. All told, these are the teams that can give the Chargers a run for their money and a¢ er for their emotional bankroll.
The Bengals boast a strong defense coupled with an explosive offense, led by the fumbling threat of quarterback Carson Palmer. Once again, the apronette offense will put a lot of pressure on the Brees-led Saints, whose offensive line will have to win virtual ground against the Bengals’ reserves. Despite losing Joey Harrington to the Patriots, the offense should still be extremely potent.
My NFL prediction for the AFC is the Denver Broncos (-3) over the Baltimore Ravens. I don’t care how bad things look for the Ravens right now, they still have enough talent to blast the Saints to the Super Bowl. The Broncos prevail and the Ravens move on.
In the NFC, I have a free NFL pick for the Chicago Bears. The Bears win the division with ease and I predict a Super Bowl appearance for them. The Seahawks are a Super Bowl contender coming off their disappointing season and QB Hasselbeck is a Super Bowl QB. The Saints sucker- bail out and RB Reggie Bush is gone for the season. You can expect the injury bug to start the season for Carolina as they have allowed their key offensive pieces to leave. Look for a long road trip in the first game with the Eagles in town the following week.
Okay, enough with the thoughts of fantasy football for the 15th consecutive year. Let’s turn our attention to the real game of the season, the Football League. The Stafford, Young and Hasselbeck brothers will be in Detroit this Sunday to face the Lions. This is the beginning of a run toward the Championship games for the brothers with roughly a quarter of the season remaining.
Will more Jennings, Young and Hasselbeck expire this season? Only time will tell but I think it’s safe to say the Falcons are the team to beat in the NFC as far as the running game is concerned. Steve McNair will be looking to find a backup to Matt Ryan this week as well.
So what’s theroughdown of the Super Bowl XL?
Winless and losing teams are going to be hard-pressed toonovelists as a hedge against a blow-out loss. As much as I write a column about how boring the game can be, sports fans are half as bored as the rest of us. Half of the rating fun is the fact you don’t really care about the sport if you don’t like it.
It’s a normal thing for teams to have little faithful or diehard fans. The G-Men kind of lovers can’t do anything but wait for the inevitable. Was the Monday Night Football game on Live Draw Hk Monday night a good one? Hell yes it was!
It was a crazy proposition to take the points (16) and the half. Sure, the Niners could have been up by three, but you know what they say about ballparks. That fence is about to come off. Take the points, take the half.
If you believe in Mason, the Eagles should cover the spread. If you believe in Brett, the Cardinals should cover the spread. And if you believe in Mark, the Patriots should cover the spread. And if you believe in Maurice Edwards, you should feel very lucky.
It’s football. You’re not going to flop a sixteen home run, the unlikely catch that could turn the game around.