NFL DIVISIONAL ROUND PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Last week, I was 3-1 in my Wild-Card predictions, and if it wasn’t for the Bengals pulling off a classic Bengals-like move, I’d be sitting at 4-0. But that’s life. I should’ve known to NEVER pick the Bengals to win anything. Thankfully, they’re not playing this weekend. The eight true contenders are. How do I think they’ll do? Keep on reading to find out…

Kansas City Chiefs (5 – AFC) (12-5) vs. New England Patriots (2 – AFC) (12-4)

 

 

“Uh oh, the Patriots fan talking about his favourite team again. Here we go, I wonder who he picks… How’s the shrine for Tom Brady coming along, Nolesy? How much Pats porn did you watch before writing this?”

Yeah, yeah shut up I like the Patriots. If you know me, you’ve probably heard me say one of these things at some point in the season.

They’ve definitely got their hands full facing a Kansas City team riding high into Foxborough, with an 11, I repeat, 11 game winning streak after pulverizing Houston, 30-0, last week.  Also, I might be slightly biased, but I was right in every Patriots playoff game I picked last season, so what do you and your cranberry juice have to say about that?! That’s what I thought.

Kansas City Chiefs

Offence: Total (27th) Passing (30th) Rushing (6th)

Defence: Total (7th) Passing (9th) Rushing (8th)

Eric Berry and the Chiefs defence effectively ended any hopes Brian Hoyer had of having a career as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Kansas City forced six turnovers and allowed only 226 total yards in their victory in Houston. Cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Sean Smith will have a much taller task in Foxborough this weekend however, trying to slow down New England’s speedy receivers. If they can jam them at the line of scrimmage and cover them up long enough  for edge-rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali to get to Tom Brady, then Kansas City will be in good shape. Historically, Brady has struggled mightily against teams like Kansas City, which constantly get pressure on quarterbacks and are able to disrupt them in the pocket. Houston is still battling knee issues, so someone like Dee Ford will have to step up and make a play or two for the Chiefs to win.

With a hampered Jeremy Maclin who suffered a high ankle sprain against the Texans and hasn’t practiced all week, the Chiefs offence will look very ‘vanilla’ on Saturday, without a legitimate wide receiver. Travis Kelce, might need to have another career day for the Chiefs to win. Chris Conley is another guy who should hear his number called a bit more after scoring a touchdown in the Chiefs win over the Texans last week.

But the Chiefs know they’re not going to get very far with the passing offence. That’s never been the Kansas City way, and you’ll very rarely if ever, see Alex Smith throw the ball more than 20 yards downfield The Chiefs have always been about the rushing attack, and though their star, Jamaal Charles has been out a majority of the season, the combination of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware have done an excellent job in replacing him. The two combined for 93 yards and a touchdown last weekend against a vaunted Houston front seven. Kansas City will need West and Ware to consistently move the chains, with their receivers and short passing game likely being bottled up by corners Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and their now-healthy safeties, Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung.

New England Patriots

Offence: Total (6th) Passing (5th) Rushing (30th)

Defence: Total (9th) Passing (17th)  Rushing (9th)

In November, it seemed as if the Patriots had the #1 seed in the AFC all locked up after starting the season 10-0. But while their record had stayed intact, the injuries began to pile up, and it was only a matter of time before they took their toll. New England fell apart down the stretch, going 2-4 in their final six games, and lost home-field advantage in the playoffs to the Broncos.

New England believes their decline has been mostly brought on by injuries. A lot of injuries. The Patriots have the most players on Injured Reserve of any other playoff team. They lost both starting running backs, and their left tackle to season-ending injuries in Dion Lewis, LeGarrette Blount and Nate Solder. The Patriots just got their number one wide receiver in Julian Edelman after he broke his foot in week nine against the Giants. Rob Gronkowski missed time with a knee injury, and is still feeling the after-effects of it. The list is almost never ending.

Tom Brady once again had a phenomenal season, finishing third in passing yards (4,770) in the league with a 36:7 touchdown to interception ratio. Ho-hum, it’s become the norm for him. He’s still got the machine that is Rob Gronkowski (72 receptions, 1,176 yards, 11 touchdowns), the best tight end in the NFL, and a mismatch that very few have been able to contain. Gronkowski is supposedly playing through several nagging injuries, but luckily, Brady’s other favourite targets of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola are also healthy enough and back in the lineup with the season on the line. No more hoping for Keshawn Martin and Chris Harper to catch passes.

Prediction

The Chiefs are a very trendy upset prediction this week, and for good reason. Kansas City’s defence is a force to be reckoned with and they will surely limit the New England offence. Kansas City’s pass rush matches up against a weak Patriots offensive line that’s had 13 different combinations this year, and their top-tier secondary could give Tom Brady and his receivers fits.

The real question is, how is Alex Smith and the Chiefs offence going to put up points against New England. Their number one target Jeremy Maclin, won’t be one hundred percent and their offensive line gave up the 6th most sacks in the league (46). While Kansas City’s pass rush might get all the attention, New England’s is no joke either. The Patriots quietly finished with the second most sacks in the league this year (49), two more than the Kansas City Chiefs (47). On top of that, the rush defence led by a now-healthy Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower, has averaged less than 100 rush yards allowed per game this year, and should be able to contain Ware and West.

Unlike previous seasons, this year it’s the defence that’s carrying the Patriots to the AFC Championship game. For the fifth straight year.

Patriots 23, Chiefs 16

Green Bay Packers (5 – NFC) (10-6) vs. Arizona Cardinals (2 – NFC) (13-3)

Last week’s game against Washington was more like the Packers we’ve known from previous years. Green Bay was able to establish the run game, something they’ve struggled with all season, in the 2nd half where the Pack rushed for 124 of their 141 rushing yards. Rodgers had it easy against the Redskins and their porous secondary last weekend. This week he’s got his work cut out for him against a Cardinals defence which had the 4th most interceptions in the NFL in 2015 (19). If you remember less than a month ago, Arizona pummelled Green Bay at University of Phoenix stadium, 38-8, and the score could’ve been a whole lot worse. Should we expect another bloodbath in the desert?

Green Bay Packers

Offence: Total (23rd) Passing (25th) Rushing (12th)

Defence: Total (15th) Passing (6th) Rushing (21st)

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers looked like a rejuvenated team when they beat Washington last Sunday, putting up a 35 spot, albeit on a rather weak Redskins defence. Green Bay had difficulty accomplishing anything the last time these two teams met, with the Cardinals keeping the Packers to under 200 total net yards. The one member of the Packers who was somewhat effective against Arizona in that game was running back Eddie Lacy, totalling almost half of Green Bay’s total offence (88 of 178 yards) and their lone touchdown. Lacy put on his best Fat Albert impersonation early on this year but has picked it up of late, and he and Starks will need to produce like they did last Sunday, for Green Bay to have a chance versus Arizona.

The Packers receivers haven’t been their best without number one option Jordy Nelson drawing defenders off them, and their situation gets a whole lot worse having to face a tough Arizona secondary. James Jones, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams need to find a way to get open, something they’ve been mostly unable to do in the second half of the season. The good news, the Packers get tackle David Bakhtiari back after a three-game absence, which should help give Rodgers more time to throw the ball rather than take a sack, something he did 46 times this season.

For as disappointing as the Packers offence has been, the defence has done their best to pick up the slack. In the wild-card round, Nick Perry, Mike Neal and Clay Matthews combined for six sacks, and the Green Bay secondary of Damarious Randall and the best name in football, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, did a decent job limiting Kirk Cousins last weekend, as a majority of the Washington quarterback’s contributions came when the game was out of reach. Against Palmer however, they’re going to get burnt worse than marshmallows around a campfire.

Arizona Cardinals

Offence: Total (1st) Passing (2nd) Rushing (8th)

Defence: Total (5th)  Passing (8th)  Rushing (6th)

Carson Palmer has had an MVP-caliber season in getting the Cardinals to a 13-3 record. The best regular season finish for the Cardinals since 1948 when they were the Chicago Cardinals. That year they went 11-1, and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Championship. It was a very long time ago. If it wasn’t for a sensational season from Cam Newton and his near-perfect Panthers (more on him tomorrow), there’s a case to be made for him as the MVP of the league. Palmer’s had a renaissance in 2015, posting career-highs in passing yards (4,671), touchdowns (35) and quarterback rating (104.6).

Speaking of comebacks, Larry Fitzgerald has returned to an All-Pro level in 2015 (109 receptions, 1,215 yards, nine touchdowns), terrorizing corners and often earning double coverage in games this year. It helps that the Cardinals also have viable secondary options in the passing game such as Michael Floyd and “Smokey” John Brown, who compiled his first 1,000 yard receiving season in 2015. To pile on, the Cardinals also have a respectable ground game with rookie David Johnson coming alive in the second half of the season, totalling over 100 all-purpose yards in four of his last five games.

It doesn’t get any better for Green Bay, as the Cardinals defence may be just as loaded as their offence, even with the loss of safety Tyrann Mathieu. Patrick Peterson has proven to the rest of the National Football League time and time again that he is one of the top corners in football. Rashad Johnson (five interceptions) and Jerraud Powers (nine passes defended) have been able to keep opposing receivers in check. Meanwhile in the trenches, Calais Campbell and Dwight Freeney (yes, the same Dwight Freeney that played for the Colts so many years ago) do a solid job at pressuring the quarterback, and Deone Bucannon has quietly been one of the best run-stoppers in the game, totalling 112 tackles. The cardinals might well be the only team in these playoffs without an obvious weakness.

Prediction

All-around, the Arizona Cardinals are just a better team than the Green Bay Packers in every facet of the game. They have one of the scariest offences in football that can beat you with their quarterback or their running backs. Their secondary makes receivers invisible and their front seven has stonewalled seemingly every running back they’ve faced. At 36, and nearly 13 years after being selected with the first overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, Carson Palmer gets career playoff win number one.

Cardinals 28, Packers 18

Seattle Seahawks (6 – NFC) (11-6) vs. Carolina Panthers (1 -NFC) (15-1)

What does a 15-1 record in the NFL get you? Oh I don’t know, how about a date with the Seattle Seahawks, the two-time reigning NFC champions. If you want to win in the playoffs, no matter how talented and skilled your team may be, you need a little bit of luck on your side. The Seattle Seahawks must have had a horseshoe stuck up their ass last week when the Minnesota Vikings grasped defeat from the jaws of victory as Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal to win 10-9 in frigid Minneapolis. Hope they brought their horseshoe their to Carolina.

Seattle Seahawks

Offence: Total (4th) Passing (20th) Rushing (3rd)

Defence: Total (2nd) Passing (2nd) Rushing (1st)

As I mentioned last week, Russell Wilson has really picked it up in the second half of the season, he led the league in passer rating at 110.1, something surprising since the three QBs everyone’s talked about this year have been Newton, Brady and Palmer. Oddly enough, the top two receivers for Seattle that day were Jimmy Graham and Ricardo Lockette who are both out for the season. Wilson will probably look to his go-to guy, Doug Baldwin who’s caught 13 of the quarterback’s 25 touchdowns in the Seahawks last nine games. Baldwin should go toe-to-toe with Josh Norman on Sunday, who’s been soundly beaten the last few times he’s been forced to face a standout wide receiver, like Julio Jones in the Panthers lone loss.

Marshawn Lynch is scheduled to come back this week, but it’s not like it will matter much for the Seahawks, their offence has been on a tear without him for all of 2015. Lynch only averages 2.5 yards per carry when playing Carolina, and a top run defence headed by Luke Kuechly and the very underrated Thomas Davis have the ability to keep the bruising back contained. Kuechly and Davis both had over 100 tackles this season for a team that only gives up an average of 88.4 rushing yards per game. That’s even if he plays, who knows, he could pull a selfish stunt like he did in the wild-card round.

Michael Bennett has blown up everyone he’s faced this year, as shown through his 10 sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 2015, statistics which he leads the Seahawks in. He and Cliff Avril are two of the best players in the league at making quarterbacks uncomfortable, by hitting them again, and again, and again. It’ll be a game of cat and mouse between these two rushers and Newton on Sunday.

The big issue for Seattle’s D, which has a renowned secondary and been dominant against the run this season will be trying to defend Greg Olsen (77 receptions, 1,104 yards, seven touchdowns), who torched the Seahawks last time. Olsen came up with the big 26-yard touchdown in the final minute to beat Seattle earlier in the season. The Seahawks will likely need to stick a linebacker like Bobby Wagner or K.J. Wright on Olsen, with Kam Chancellor helping out over the top. Single coverage won’t be the solution, as Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph gashed the Seahawks during the final drive of their wild-card tilt.

Carolina Panthers

Offence: Total (11th) Passing (24th) Rushing (2nd)

Defence: Total (6th) Passing (11th) Rushing (4th)

Let’s start with the guy everyone’s considering the league’s MVP, Cam Newton. While leading his team to the 4th 14-0 start in NFL history and “dabbing on them fools”, Newton threw for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns, compared to only 10 interceptions. Newton also led all quarterbacks in rushing with 636 yards and 10 touchdowns. Mind you, he also did all of this without his leading receiver from 2014, Kelvin Benjamin, who tore his ACL in training camp. Newton’s made something out of nothing with a receiving corps of, Ted Ginn Jr., Devin Funchess, Philly Brown, and 33-year old Jerricho Cotchery.

The Panthers need their no-name receiving group to make some plays, and it won’t be easy having to deal with the “Legion of Boom” secondary. Both Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, intercepted Newton the last time these two met. Of any of the receivers, Ginn and his 10 touchdown receptions, is the most likely to have an impact. The problem with Ginn is he could probably have challenged Randy Moss’ record for most touchdown receptions in a single season if he was able to hold onto the ball more often.

But the running game is where the Panthers flourish, headed by Jonathan Stewart, otherwise known as the “Daily Show”. Stewart finished 8th in rushing this season, totalling 989 yards, and likely would have had his second career 1,000 yard season if he hadn’t sat out the last couple games due to injury. Stewart had quite the showing last time he played the Seahawks (78 yards and two scores). Only one other rusher has gained more yards against Seattle since then, Todd Gurley of the then-St. Louis, now-Los Angeles Rams, who picked up 83 yards the ground in week 16. The Panthers are one of a VERY small group of teams that’s been able to run on Seattle. Stewart and Newton will need to muster up that kind of magic on the ground again if Carolina has any hopes of winning.

Prediction

This is easily the hardest game to pick this weekend, so I’m going to say this one gets into overtime. Both teams are just so evenly matched, even though the Panthers are technically the NFL’s best by record. I see both quarterbacks having trouble scrambling out of the pocket and saving plays like they usually do, since they’ll be shadowed by two of the best linebackers in the game with Wagner and Kuechly. It’s going to come down to a crucial turnover, a lucky bounce. The Panthers have got the best turnover differential in the league at +20, but the only teams that give the ball away less than Seattle are Kansas City and New England.

*Sigh*

I have no confidence picking either team. Just give me the Panthers. Seattle’s got to lose some time.

Panthers 19, Seahawks 16 (OT)

Pittsburgh Steelers (6 – AFC) (11-6) vs. Denver Broncos (1 – AFC) (12-4)

The Steelers barely escaped Cincinnati alive, and now they’re fortunate enough to travel to Broncos country and the Mile-High altitude of Denver. At one point in week 16, it looked as if the Denver Broncos might miss the playoffs altogether. Instead they are sitting atop the AFC with the number one defence in football. There’s actually quite a fair bit of history between these two franchises, as Pittsburgh’s had some memorable playoff games in Denver (2005 AFC Championship) and some not so memorable (2011 AFC Wild-Card “The Tebow Game”). I wouldn’t be shocked if this game came down to the wire either.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Offence: Total (3rd) Passing (3rd) Rushing (16th)

Defence: Total (21st) Passing (30th) Rushing (5th)

Pittsburgh walks into Denver handicapped without the two players that have carried their offence so far this year, DeAngelo Williams, who will miss his second straight playoff game, and their best player, and possibly best wideout in the NFL, Antonio Brown.

Ben Roethlisberger will have to put on a vintage performance if he wants to get past Denver, as he’ll be running out there with Martavis Bryant, Markus Wheaton and Fitzgerald Toussaint as his best options on offence. Pittsburgh needs to get more out of Bryant, who made an unbelievable catch last weekend against the Bengals, but overall, only had 5 catches for 29 yards. That will not cut it as a number one option. Matching up against Aqib Talib or Chris Harris Jr. will be tough for Bryant who usually draws the number two cornerback, this time he’ll need to break free from one of the top corners in the game no matter who he faces

Roethlisberger will also be playing with all types of drugs being injected into his shoulder, after he tore ligaments in his shoulder in Pittsburgh’s win over Cincinnati. How well can Roethlisberger throw the ball downfield? If he can’t toss a pigskin further than 20 yards without serious pain, it’s going to be tough for the Steelers to do anything offensively.

On the other side of the passing game, the Steelers secondary has been their achilles tendon all season long, as a majority of their losses have come against teams with enough offensive fire-power to go back and forth in a shootout. Guys like Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Lawrence Timmons will have to step up and make sure Manning doesn’t have enough time to get the ball out and find an open receiver.

Pittsburgh did a fantastic job at stopping the run in their win over Cincinnati, limiting Hill and Bernard to 78 yards on 18 carries (4.3 yards per carry), and also forcing a massive fumble late in the game. They’ll be taking on something similar with Denver’s Ronnie Hillman and CJ Anderson. When these teams met in Pittsburgh earlier in the year, the Broncos longest rush of the game came from Emmanuel Sanders. If the Steelers stick to the formula they had against Denver previously, they can erase the Broncos run game, and put it all in the hands of their 39-year quarterback.

Denver Broncos

Offence: Total (16th) Passing (14th) Rushing (17th)

Defence: Total (1st) Passing (1st) Rushing (3rd)

Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips have transformed Denver into a fortress, which few have been able to penetrate in 2015. This season, Denver has only allowed one quarterback to pass for over 300 yards in a game. Unfortunately for them, that quarterback is the guy they’re going to have shut down on Sunday.

The tandem of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware will be need to be huge for the Broncos once again come Sunday. The Steelers allowed defenders to get to their quarterbacks 33 times this year, and three of those came when Denver travelled to Pittsburgh in week 15. Denver gets to the quarterback more than any other team with 52 sacks in 2015.

The real thing Denver should be concerned about is the play of their starting quarterback, the once great Peyton Manning. It’s an understatement to say that Manning has had a disappointing year. Before suffering his foot injury and being benched in favour of Brock Osweiler, Manning was on pace for career lows in a number of statistical categories like passing yards (2,249), touchdowns (9) and quarterback rating (67.9). He only started half of his team’s games and he still led the league in interceptions up until the final game of the season. “The Sheriff” has led many a comeback in his day, but if the Broncos are getting to a Super Bowl, it’s because of their defence, not their quarterback.

Luckily for Manning, if he throws it anywhere near his top two targets, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, they should be able to come down with it, as both had over 1,000 receiving yards this year and combined for 12 touchdowns. (Thomas with 1,304 and Sanders with 1,135 yards, both top 15 in the NFL). As long as he doesn’t start floating up balloons for the Steelers Defensive backs, Denver’s passing game will be alright.

Prediction

When healthy, the Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl contenders, and may be the best team in the AFC. Unfortunately, they’ve yet to play a full game this season with a healthy starting quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. With Antonio Brown, the Steelers are capable of sliding past the top defence in the NFL, without him it’s pretty iffy.

Roethlisberger is able to keep it close, but Pittsburgh can’t hang around forever when the Broncos start to finally pull away in the late stages of the game with the offence clicking. Brady-Manning XVII in the AFC Championship Game, just like the NFL wanted.

Broncos 26, Steelers 21

2015 NFL Season Preview: AFC EAST

The NFL season is only 3 days away, so now seems like a good a time as ever to write my Season Preview. 8 Divisions. 32 Teams. Less than 72 hours. Can it be done? With a little Coke and Adderall, anything is possible.

I’ll go through each division and preview their season, ranking where they’ll finish in descending order from 4th-1st, with a final regular season record at the end. There will also be one final post where I quickly summarize my playoff and Super Bowl prediction.

Let’s start with the division which is home to the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the AFC East

New York Jets:

New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, center, speaks while sitting next to owner Woody Johnson, left, and head coach Todd Bowles during an NFL football press conference introducing the team’s new management, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, in Florham Park, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

2014 Season: 4-12, 4th in AFC East

Offense: Rushing (3rd), Passing (32nd), Total (22nd)

Defense: Rushing (5th), Passing (14th), Total (6th)

The less said about the 2014 New York Jets season, the better I think. The team has a new look after finishing in the AFC East cellar, letting go of head coach Rex Ryan and GM John Idzik. Their replacements? Well, the new head coach is Arizona’s former defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles, and seems like a great choice to help turn this tortured organization around with the talent the Jets have on Defense.

To replace Idzik, the Jets brought in Mike Maccagnan, and even though he’s a rookie to the position, he wasted no time making moves, bringing Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine, Stevan Ridley, and Zac Stacy into the Jets foray. Well done, Mr. Maccagnan. Not a bad start for the new regime.

The Jets Defense is just too strong all-around for them to do as colossally bad as they did last season, Bowles will make sure the Jets aren’t a cake-walk each week. Despite their record, the Jets only allowed an average of 17.7 points a game last season, and had the 6th most sacks in the NFL. They just couldn’t force turnovers, (Last in Interceptions, T-28th in Fumbles) or generate any offense outside of Running Back Chris Ivory, who I’m sure will be leaned upon heavily once again this year.

Former Defensive Rookie of the Year, Sheldon Richardson, is suspended for the first four games of 2015 for “substance abuse”, but Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon Harrison and Leonard Williams will surely pick up the slack. Wilkerson’s constant pressuring, Harrison’s run-stopping ability, and Leonard Williams, who might have been the most talented player in this year’s draft, can form one of the scariest defensive lines in the league even without Richardson.

Bringing Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie back to the Meadowlands, along with Buster Skrine from Cleveland, has transformed the Jets Secondary. Revis is obviously renowned as one of the best corners in the game, Cromartie nearly always gets the job done, and Skrine, well… Skrine wasn’t spectacular last season, but he’s at his best when used as a slot corner which is what New York will do with him.

On to the Offense now, and I’ve seen enough of Ryan Fitzpatrick to know that this guy cannot take a team to the NFL postseason. The Amish Rifle just isn’t consistent enough; he’s a career backup Quarterback. I know this, you know this, everyone knows this. We also can’t forget the only reason Fitzpatrick has been put in this position, is because Geno Smith got punched in the mouth for thumbing his nose at one of his now former team-mates.

Classic New York Jets. Keep up the good work, Glass-Jaw Geno!

There is some positive to Fitzpatrick starting; he did have one really good stretch at the start of the 2011 season when he was under center for the Bills. Of course, the Bills still finished 6-10, but ever since then he’s been able to maintain a job because struggling teams need a capable stopgap as their starter before the future arrives. Houston and Tennessee know what I’m talking about.

Luckily for the Jets, Fitzpatrick’s stretch was under Chan Gailey, and Gailey just so happens to be the Jets current Offensive Coordinator, so maybe the two can conjure up some “Fitzmagic” together. After all, Fitzpatrick will have better options at wide receiver in New York than he did in Buffalo. With the Jets, he’ll get to throw to former pro-bowl receivers in Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, compared to the Bills receivers at the time, which were Stevie Johnson and… Donald Jones? Roscoe Parrish?

MY GOD. THE BILLS USED TO SUCK.

Long story short, the Jets D keeps them in games, but the Amish Rifle fires blanks, and Glass-Jaw Geno doesn’t do any better once he returns.

2015 Prediction: 6-10

Buffalo Bills:

2014 Season: 9-7, 2nd in AFC East

Offense: Rushing (25th), Passing (18th), Total (26th)

Defense: Rushing (11th), Passing (3rd), Total (4th)

I can’t imagine the last time there was this much optimism surrounding the Buffalo Bills heading into a season.

They’ve just brought in Rex Ryan, probably the best coach the organization has had since, well, Wade Phillips, the man who ran the team the last time they played meaningful football in January.

Ryan was just relieved of his duties as head coach of the division-rival New York Jets, after his team finished with a 4-12 record. Ryan cannot be put at fault for his team’s performance; the Jets lost to the Super Bowl Champions by a combined 3 points last year in two head-to-head tilts. New York could easily have finished 2-14 in each of the past two seasons, there was limited talent on both sides of the ball. He did the best with what he had.

The Bills Defence was a menace to opposing teams last season, and now with Ryan, a defensive mastermind getting his hands on that 4th ranked defense, any team headed to Western New York is going to have nightmares before they play the Bills. The dominant D-Line, filled with 3 pro bowlers in Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams led the league in sacks last year with 54. I’m sure Rex is salivating so much at being able to coach the group of players he’s getting in Buffalo, he needs to keep eating “goddamn snacks” just to hold himself together.

Buffalo also acquired LeSean McCoy, who can be one of the most dynamic players in the game. “Shady” tore up the NFL a couple of seasons ago, and I’d still rank him as a Top 10 Running Back in this league…when he’s healthy. It’s going to be interesting to see whether McCoy will have the durability to post solid numbers for the entire season. Especially behind an Offensive Line that only allowed Buffalo’s Running Backs to rush for 3.7 yards a carry last season.

However, Buffalo’s season truly will be determined by the play of newly anointed starting Quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, who beat out EJ Manuel and veteran Matt Cassel for the starting job. The Bills believe the Virginia Tech-product will be able to utilize the weapons at his disposal. That includes McCoy and Bryce Brown in the backfield, sophomore wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who’s hoping to live up to his 4th Overall Draft Status, and newly acquired offensive options, TE Charles Clay, and WR Percy Harvin. Taylor, while by far Buffalo’s best option at Quarterback, is not optimal by any standard. His career stat line entering his 5th season: 14 games played, 19-35, for 199 yards and 0 Touchdowns. Those numbers likely don’t inspire a lot of confidence in the Bills faithful.

Buffalo could squeak into the playoffs for the time since 1999, but they’re going to need their defense to be the best in the AFC if they want a shot at a wild-card spot. There’s no question they can contend for one, the real question is if Buffalo can finish the season strong enough to finally get one.

With Buffalo’s current Quarterback situation, it’s really hard to envision a Tyrod Taylor-led team finishing with a record above 10-6, and I think it’s going to take at least 11 wins to win the AFC East this year.

Buffalo is on the right track, but they’re just not quite there yet. Give it another year or two, let Rex Ryan do his magic, and watch out for a defensive powerhouse coming out of Orchard Park in a couple of seasons.

2015 Prediction: 9-7

Miami Dolphins:

2014 Season: 8-8, 3rd in AFC East

Offense: Rushing (12th), Passing (17th), Total (14th)

Defense: Rushing (24th), Passing (6th), Total (12th)

The Miami Dolphins have been the epitome of mediocrity in the NFL recently. The regular season record Miami has posted the last 6 seasons?

7-9, 7-9, 6-10, 7-9, 8-8, 8-8.

If any coach is on the hot seat for this coming season, it’s Joe Philbin. He’s entering his 4th season as head coach of the Dolphins, and the team has seen little improvement during his tenure, as you just saw above. One player who I will say has come a long way since being drafted by Miami in 2012, is Ryan Tannehill. The 4th-year QB is poised to have a breakout year in 2015, mostly because he finally has a decent number of weapons surrounding him.

Jarvis Landry wasn’t talked about a lot last year, because rookie receivers like Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans and Sammy Watkins overshadowed him, but don’t kid yourselves, Landry can ball out. Tannehill’s other targets include rookie wideout DeVante Parker, as well as Greg Jennings and Kenny Stills, who were acquired in trades with Minnesota and New Orleans respectively. Former standout, but still serviceable Tight End, Jordan Cameron, will also be asked to replace Charles Clay’s output in the Miami passing game.

If Tannehill gets time in the pocket, something he didn’t have much of last year, as Miami gave up the 10th most sacks in the NFL, then he will surely light up opposing secondaries. In a worst-case scenario where the Texas A&M-alum struggles, he can always turn to 1,000 yard rusher, Lamar Miller in the backfield, who should exceed his numbers from last season.

Miami’s D-Line looks better than ever with the recent acquisition of All-Pro Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh from the Detroit Lions. Suh will certainly help to plug the holes in Miami’s weak rushing defense, one which gave up 121.1 rushing yards per game last season. Another Pro-Bowler on Miami’s D-Line, and a former BC Lion, Cam Wake, is entering a contract season. You just know Wake is ready for a huge year and will be looking to cash in the same way Suh did this offseason. Expect Wake to put up numbers similar to the 15 sacks he had in 2012 when he was named First-Team All-Pro.

Miami’s Secondary allowed the 6th fewest passing yards last season, but heading into 2015 this is a group that lacks depth outside of CB Brent Grimes. After tearing his ACL for the second time in nine months, Safety Louis Delmas is going to miss the entire 2015 season, forcing the team to throw the inexperienced Walt Aikens into the fire next to Reshad Jones. Cornerback Jamar Taylor has had yet another injury setback and now it looks as though Brice McCain will have to come in and fill for the time being. This isn’t the lineup Miami wanted going into Week 1 and I’m sure their opponents know that. Quarterbacks will pick on the new defensive backs unfamiliar with the Dolphins coverages early and often during the season.

The Dolphins have been knocking on the door the past two years, but have faced their own internal turmoil with the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin bullying scandal, and Mike Wallace basically being announced to the league as a locker-room cancer.

It’s time for Philbin, Tannehill, and the Dolphins, to put up or shut up. No more excuses about shoddy Offensive Lines and Prima-donna Wide Receivers. Make the Playoffs. That’s all Dolphins fans want.

This is the year the Dolphins finally break through, and by break through I mean reach the post-season for the first time since they won the AFC East back in 2008.

2015 Prediction: 10-6

New England Patriots:

2014 Season: 12-4, AFC East Champions

#1 seed in AFC, clinched Home-Field Advantage & First-Round Bye

AFC Champions

Super Bowl Champions

Offense: Rushing (18th), Passing (9th), Total (11th)

Defense: Rushing (9th), Passing (17th), Total (13th)

Boy what an offseason it’s been for the New England Patriots and their fans, who really didn’t get a day off because of DeflateGate. The good thing for Patriots fans is, Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady is going to be back and *knock on wood*, starting every game for the Patriots at QB this season.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots aren’t that different from the Championship-calibre team they were last year. LeGarrette Blount, though he’s suspended Week 1 for a substance abuse violation (Marijuana), is going to be the starting RB, which he was for almost the entire 2nd half of the season last year once Stevan Ridley went down with a torn ACL.

Brady still has almost all of his weapons, with the exception of the two running backs the Patriots drafted in 2011, Ridley and Shane Vereen.  Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell* and Danny Amendola are all returning to support the 9th ranked Passing Offense in the league last season. (LaFell is going to miss some time however, he’s on the Physically Unable to Perform list for a foot injury, and won’t be able to return to action until October 25th.)

And then there’s everyone’s favourite Tight End, Rob Gronkowski, probably the most feared offensive player in the National Football League right now. No Defense has been able to figure out Gronk up to this point, and the only thing that could slow down the 6’6, 265 pound, 3x All-Pro Tight End  is another season-ending injury.

The real problems in New England are on Defense, where several massive holes have opened up from the departures of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Akeem Ayers, and long time Patriot, Vince Wilfork. The current Defensive group that Head Coach Bill Belichick and Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia will send out to kickoff the regular season is reminiscent of the ‘bend-don’t-break’ type defenses New England had from 2009-13, where they consistently came so frustratingly close to winning another title but always seemed to be missing a piece to the puzzle.

Wilfork’s position on the D-line will effectively be replaced by a healthy Dominique Easley, and Jabaal Sheard coming over from Cleveland will be a nice addition to help support Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich coming off the edge. New England’s depth at the Linebacker position, a corps that sports Jerod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower, and Jamie Collins, should be able to cover for Ayers with ease.

The real red flags are in the secondary, specifically at corner, where no longer Revis and Browner sit, but former 49ers and Raiders DB Tarell Brown and Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler have taken over. Butler better get used to the spotlight he received this offseason because he’s now the #1 corner in that defense, and he, along with Defensive Captain Devin McCourty, will be needed to commandeer this New England Secondary to respectability.

As weak as the Patriots’ Passing Defense might be this year, they’ve gotten by with much worse in the past. The Offense is still a force, and better yet, they’ve got a pissed-off Tom Brady at the helm. When Defences face angry Tom Brady, they get obliterated.

Wouldn’t be a shocker to me if the Patriots run up the score in a few games this year.

2013 was supposed be the year the Patriots were dethroned as AFC East Champions. Then, last year was going to be the Brady/Belichick-era Patriots were finally taken down after starting 2-2. They won the Super Bowl. Now people are claiming this is the year the Patriots are usurped.

I won’t deny the facts, the AFC East hasn’t been this close a race in a long time, but New England is still the team to beat, and will continue to be, until they have their AFC East crown taken from them. The New England Patriots are your AFC East Champions for the 13th time in 15 seasons.

2015 Prediction: 12-4

Next up, the AFC North, a division with 3 playoff teams last year, can the feat be repeated again this year?

Letting the Air Out of DeflateGate

I never thought this day would come, but (hopefully) at long last, the DeflateGate saga has reached its end.

A scandal that lasted nearly the entire duration of the NFL offseason, and finally, after the Wells Report was released, which implicated Tom Brady in being “generally aware” of balls being deflated, and led to him receiving a 4-game suspension. After Brady appealed the suspension to Commissioner Roger Goodell, who decided to be his own Judge, Jury, and Executioner and uphold it. After Brady subsequently took the NFL to court, a final outcome was determined by U.S. District Judge, Richard M. Berman.

Tom Brady will be starting at Quarterback for the New England Patriots against the Pittsburgh Steelers come Thursday night.

As a Patriots fan, I just want to say Hallelujah, because I truly did not believe New England would have their best player on the field for the first four games of the NFL regular season, and now my outlook on the Patriots upcoming season got a whole lot more positive. No offense to Jimmy Garoppolo, but he’s not a 2-time NFL MVP, and 4-time Super Bowl Champion.

As a fan of football, I would also like to say that I want my time and energy back. For my entire summer, this story continued to pop up and annoy myself, and likely every other fan of the National Football League. A mountain was created out of a molehill and I really believe that nearly everyone stopped caring about this non-story the minute Super Bowl XLIX finished.

Of course I needed to know whether or not the Patriots would have their starting QB for the first quarter of the season, so I invested a ridiculous amount of time reading up on DeflateGate, something which I highly regret and hate myself for, but I’m going to put it to good use by writing a piece about DeflateGate because there just isn’t enough of those is there?

Judge Berman had good reason to side with Tom Brady and the Players’ Union; Goodell’s process for determining a player’s punishment has lacked any sort of impartiality for years. Now we’re talking about the process by which Goodell decided to uphold Brady’s suspension when the New England QB appealed. Goodell’s process for determining an appropriate penalty was out of line, and that is the reason the suspension was nullified. Tom Brady has not been cleared of accusations that he tampered with footballs before the AFC Championship Game.

Judge Berman did not acknowledge this due to the lack of evidence that Brady did in fact take part in sort of ball-tampering scheme. So even though Brady’s suspension was dropped, it doesn’t mean he is innocent. I definitely think Brady could’ve told Patriots employees Jim McNally and John Jastremski, who have been fired because of this debacle, to “make the balls a little lighter today”.  I also definitely think Brady could’ve told them to make sure they weigh 12.5 PSI. Frankly, I don’t care that much about it because either way, a football being a little flat does not drastically alter the outcome of a football game.

Almost all of the evidence which the NFL used to determine Brady’s suspension was outlined in the Wells Report, a document written by criminal attorney, Ted Wells, who was hired by the NFL to lead the investigation on the New England Patriots and the allegations that they had deflated footballs. Initially, the “independent” Wells Report looked to have caught Brady and the Pats red-handed, but after further review, the Wells Report had more holes in it than Swiss cheese. The NFL’s lawyers knew that, even conceding that “There is no(t) such direct evidence” linking Brady to a ball-tampering scheme. The circumstantial evidence brought forth in the Wells Report was so flimsy, that no more than 48 hours after the Report’s release, Brady’s team of lawyers that would eventually send the NFL to Court, found these flaws:

• At no point in the report does Tom Brady say he wanted his footballs deflated below 12.5 PSI, the required league minimum. “Brady also stated that, at some point, he felt a football that was inflated to 12.5 PSI, and decided that should be the target for all future games because he did “not ever want to get near the upper range again.” Brady is still technically in the legal parameters if he’s asking for his footballs to be inflated to 12.5 PSI.
• The security tapes clearly show that the officials saw and allowed McNally to carry the balls from the locker room to the field, both at the start of the game and at the end of halftime, by which point serious attention was being paid to the game balls and measurements had already taken place. This happened despite Referee Walt Anderson’s claim that never in his 19 year career has he seen a locker room attendant bring the footballs to the field.
• The Colts, in trying to demonstrate that the Patriots were cheating their way to victory, also broke NFL Rules. During the second quarter of the AFC Championship Game, a ball thrown by Tom Brady was intercepted by Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson and taken to the Colts sideline. On the sideline, Colts equipment personnel used a pressure gauge to measure the inflation level of the ball, determined that it was below the minimum 12.5 PSI level, and informed a game official and other NFL personnel. Once the game starts, neither team is allowed to gauge the footballs, pump them, or the like. This conduct was in violation of Rule 2. Nowhere does the Report identify this conduct as a violation of the Rule.
• And most importantly the scientific aspect, According to the Ideal Gas Law, if the Patriots footballs had a starting PSI of 12.5, the balls should have measured between 11.32 and 11.52 PSI by the time they were taken to the Officials locker room at Half Time. The average PSI of the Patriots balls was 11.49 PSI in one gauge, which is in the expected range. The average PSI of the Patriots balls when measured with the other gauge, which the Wells Report decided to highlight, was 0.4 PSI below the expected range. 0.4 PSI should most certainly not be the reason for this much uproar.

 

Nevertheless, because of prior precedence, the court is supposed to treat the findings of the arbitrator, as the truth. Despite all of the bias and miscalculated science, Judge Berman could not call the Wells Report into question. The fact that Brady still managed to get his suspension dropped without even being able to point to the weaknesses in the investigation which could only determine at most that Brady was, “generally aware of footballs being tampered with” (wording that Judge Berman was also not a fan of, as the NFL had never previously used as a standard for disciplining players), just goes to show how incompetent the NFL is at this time.

Judge Berman’s 3 main arguments for what compelled him to come to his final conclusion to exonerate Tom Brady of all his penalties were:

1. The NFL did not adequately provide Brady with notice that he would receive a four-game suspension for tampering with game balls.

Regardless of whether or not these activities took place and Brady participated in them, the NFL did not provide Tom Brady with sufficient notice that he would be suspended for being “generally aware” of conduct violations or for refusing to co-operate with an investigation.

Not only did the league not notify Brady of his possible punishment, but the reason for Brady’s suspension between the initial punishment from Troy Vincent, and its “affirmation” from Goodell, is not clarified.

At first, Vincent claims Brady is being punished for his role in the under-inflation of footballs in this year’s AFC Championship Game, as evidenced by the findings of the “independent” Wells Report. The Wells Report also said that Brady would not be punished for his lack of co-operation in the investigation.

Yet in contrast, Goodell’s main argument for holding up Brady’s suspension is because of his lack of co-operation in the Wells Report investigation, and the reported destruction of Brady’s cell phone. (Despite Goodell being told this information at Brady’s appeal, it still took the NFL Commissioner a month to come up with a decision.) The League couldn’t define what they were punishing Brady for, making it an arbitral/biased decision.

 

2. The NFL would not allow the NFLPA to cross-examine Co-Lead investigator in the Wells Report and Document Editor, Jeff Pash.

Pash’s involvement in the investigation meant he needed to be questioned, and not allowing him to do so would be a hindrance on the Court’s Decision. By withholding Pash, the arbitration is fundamentally unfair as “each of the parties [must have] an adequate opportunity to present its evidence and argument”. The NFL was trying to cover their tracks and hide their biased baggage by denying the NFLPA’s motion for discovery.

3. The NFL refused to permit the NFLPA from reviewing their notes from the Ted Wells investigation.

With Wells choosing not to share his documents, the NFLPA could not understand what Tom Brady was being questioned on, which once again demonstrated the fundamentally unfair process taking place.

To elaborate on the highlighted point, the NFL was punishing Brady for not turning over his phone to investigators, something he was told he didn’t have to do, and yet the NFL proceeded to do something similar in the arbitration process. Seems fair and “independent”. Oh and that’s not me putting the quotations around the word independent, that’s Judge Berman words in his verdict, who is giving the NFL “the Double Whammy”, in retaliation for trying to make it seem like an impartial process was taking place this whole time.

The NFL also gave Brady a 4-game suspension because they believed the tampering of game balls was equal to that of using Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Berman threw this logic in the trash, citing that there was “no scientific, empirical, or historical evidence” which would make that comparison a fair one. A better precedent would have been Brett Favre’s penalty for a lack of co-operation in the sexual harassment investigation against him, where he was fined $50,000 and not suspended despite refusing to turn over his phone.

Does a football with a PSI under 12.5 give a team more of a competitive advantage? Yes, because the ball is slightly easier to grip. Is this advantage as significant as a player using PEDs to put themselves ahead of their competition? Absolutely not.

This argument has already been beaten to death, but even Judge Berman brought up the fact that in the football game in question, the Patriots beat the Colts, 45-7, and scored more points “when the balls were properly inflated” than when they were “deflated”.

Also, there was that football game a couple of weeks later, I’m not sure if you remember it, this offseason has been so excruciatingly long and tedious, where Brady and the Patriots proceeded to tear apart and defeat the best defense the NFL has seen since the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

At the end of the day, neither side truly won. OK sure, Brady was looking for complete exoneration by taking this debauchery to court, and he did accomplish that by getting his entire four-game suspension anulleded. In the opinion of the public however, this ruling really didn’t change a single thing. Before DeflateGate, if you asked supporters from each of the 32 teams what they thought of Tom Brady, 31 of them would’ve told you that he’s a loud-mouthed, pretty boy, who whines to the refs about everything and has cheated his way to the top in every aspect of life, and the Patriots fans would’ve told you that he’s the greatest Quarterback in the history of football, who has never done a single thing wrong; a patron saint all the way from Maine to Nantucket. But in the end, it doesn’t even matter, because I doubt any of these opinions changed in the slightest. I’ve defended the Patriots endlessly for years, and years, and years, and it’s shown me one thing, people only believe what they want to hear. Tom Brady’s legacy likely will have a stain on it forever, because no matter what someone will always revert back to this and claim he’s a cheater.

There are endless amounts of desperate, die-hard fans wishing that this investigation proved Brady was a liar; a cheater who never won anything fairly. They don’t want to face the sad realization that they cheer for an incompetent organization that possibly hasn’t even made the playoffs this millennium, one whose success is dwarfed by what the New England Patriots have managed to accomplish since the turn of the 21^st Century. New England’s past success was like gasoline being thrown on the fire. Just like SpyGate, this scandal, has been blown completely out of proportion because New England wins so much. If DeflateGate was centered on say, the Carolina Panthers, you really think anyone would care about this story? Not a chance.

Everyone hates the Patriots because they win. Then they win some more. And then just when it looks like they’re about to faint and have grown numb to the feeling of jubilance they get from winning, they go out, give the NFL an encore, and win again. They can’t break the habit of winning, and the fans of other franchises can’t break their habit of endlessly loathing them for their continued success.

The countless, unoriginal, naive comments made by unintelligent, dim-witted fans who wish to rationalize their team’s failures have finally pushed me to the point where I just couldn’t give a damn anymore. I’ve done enough trying to convince everyone the Patriots aren’t cheaters, and I stand by my team.

You think they’re the only organization that cheats? Every other franchise in the NFL has a history of breaking the rules, don’t kid yourselves and believe that the Patriots are the black sheep of the league. The Saints obviously had the BountyGate scandal, The Denver Broncos circumvented the Salary Cap twice during their Super-Bowl winning years. The Atlanta Falcons pumped noise into the Georgia Dome. Do I need to keep going? I don’t think so.

Obviously Goodell and the NFL didn’t because they just got embarrassed on a national scale for what seems like the 50^th time since his current reign began. Roger Goodell’s dishing out of ‘industrial justice’ is going to come to an end because of this case. As the Players’ Union remarked in their official statement on Berman’s ruling, “Our Collective Bargaining Agreement does not grant this commissioner the authority to be unfair, arbitrary and misleading”. This is going to be the fifth appeal Goodell has lost in recent memory. He’s lost to the several Saints Players in the BountyGate scandal, to Ray Rice, to Adrian Peterson, to Greg Hardy, and now to Tom Brady. Each time, a Judge or arbitrator has determined that Goodell has overstepped his authority under the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Goodell’s main reasoning for going after Tom Brady was for the “integrity of the game”, yet I don’t see how Goodell has any integrity as a Commissioner who continues to act as a “neutral” arbitrator, when he clearly isn’t, and decides to initially suspend a player charged with domestic violence for two games, while a player who was “generally aware” that footballs were being deflated gets a suspension that is twice as long.

Brady’s legacy might be tarnished, but he’s going to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, and if you can’t get that through your head, there is something wrong with you. The real legacy being damaged here is Goodell’s, who is losing more consistently than the 2008 Detroit Lions. The way it’s looking right now, he might go down as the worst commissioner in the history of the major, four, North American Sports, which is really saying something when you think about who’s been running the MLB, NBA, and NHL for the past decade or so.

This catastrophe, as mind-numbingly frustrating as it has been for everyone involved and football fans everywhere, has shown light on Roger Goodell’s tyrant-like ways, and this could be the final nail of the coffin for him. I think I speak for every football fan when I say that it’s time for his tenure as Commissioner of the National Football League to come to a close. At the very least, have Goodell’s powers reduced; because there is no way the NFL can properly function when players are taking the league to court every time they think they’ve been punished unfairly. No one is going to stand for another incident like this to unfold again.

Nolesy’s Super Bowl XLIX Extravaganza

This is it. Super Bowl Sunday. A day where millions gather around their televisions to watch stupid commercials, inappropriate half-time shows and shovel unfathomable amounts of food down their throats. Luckily, if you get bored with that, you could always turn your attention towards the biggest football game of the season, and boy are we in for a treat this year.

This NFL season started with 32 teams, all with the same goal; to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy over their heads at season’s end. Only two teams remain, and it’s the two most hated franchises in the NFL right now; the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. I’m sure there are quite a few people who would rather see a meteor hit University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday, than watch one of these two be crowned champion.

It’s not even a question, these two teams deserve to be here. It’s not like one of them could’ve possibly cheated to get here. Neither of these teams needed to pull out trick plays in order to win their playoff games. And I’ve never seen a post-season with such high quality officiating.

Honestly though, they’re the two best teams in football. They both finished 12-4 and claimed the #1 seed in their respective conferences. For a stretch of the season, both teams looked unstoppable. They also both lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. Since those losses however, the two teams have a combined record of 20-2. This Super Bowl will be showcasing the best the NFL has to offer.

I can’t remember the last time a game was this close on paper. Despite the Patriots being listed as the 1.5 point favourites, this game is a complete toss-up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people torn on who they think will win this game.

While no one knows for sure who to pick, there is one thing that is certain, the footballs are going to be properly inflated.

Preview

New England Patriots

They’re baaaaaaaack.

The team of the 21st century will be making their 6th super bowl appearance since 2001, and are going to be looking to come away with their 4th win after being shut out in Super Bowl XLII and XLVI by the New York Giants.

New England started the year 2-2, while it looks average on paper, the Patriots got destroyed by Miami in Week 1 and in Week 4, were embarrassed on Monday Night Football by the Kansas City Chiefs, in what was the worst loss of the Brady-Belichick era. So-called experts claimed that this was “the end of the empire” and that Tom Brady was washed up. Didn’t exactly work out that way. Bill Belichick, in the press conference of the year, told the media that New England was “on to Cincinnati” and the Patriots won 10 of their next 11 games, clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

In the Divisional Round, the Patriots won a game for the ages, coming back from down 14 points twice to beat the Baltimore Ravens, 35-31. The AFC Championship game can be summarized with this statement, the Patriots threw the Colts out of the club. New England demolished the Indianapolis Colts, 45-7, in what was one of the most all-around, dominant performances by a team this season. Then DeflateGate happened, and enough has already been said about that, so let’s focus on what could be one of the greatest Super Bowl games of all-time.

Offense (18th in Run, 9th in Pass, 11th total)

In the first 4 games of the 2014 season, Tom Brady looked like a QB that got taken 199th overall and people were legitimately saying that he needed to be benched for Jimmy Garoppolo.  Ever since then, he’s looked like a QB who led his team to 3 Super Bowl victories. Brady had another Pro-bowl calibre season, throwing for 34 TDs and over 4000 yards. Brady is 37, in the big game for the 6th time, the most of any QB in History. You know he will do whatever it takes to get one more and cap off his Hall of Fame career, and he’s got the weapons to pull it off. Admit it, you also secretly hate him, his Uggs, and the fact that he’s married to Supermodel Gisele Bundchen. It’s ok, jealousy is the best form of flattery.

GRONK IS BACK. The massive Tight End who always parties hard, had a monstrous year which earned him NFL Comeback Player of the Year honours, scoring 12 TDs and gaining 1,124 receiving yards after his knee got destroyed by T. J.  Ward in a game against the Browns last year. He is the biggest mismatch in professional football right now. He also loves kittens.

New England’s receiving corps has also put together a solid season. Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell quietly had terrific seasons that saw both receivers catch 70+ balls and finish with just under 1,000 receiving yards. Danny Amendola has also greatly improved after his disappointing 2013 campaign and had his best game as a Patriot in the Divisional Round against Baltimore.

And let’s not forget about the Patriots backfield and the thunder and lightning duo of LeGarrette Blount and Shane Vereen, who have stepped up in the absence of regular starter, Stevan Ridley. Blount runs through you, like the Juggernaut in X-Men, as seen by his 3 scores against the Colts in the AFC Championship. Vereen on the other hand, is better known for being used as a screen option out of the backfield, who can also burn you like the Human Torch if you’re not careful.

New England’s Offensive Line has had a bit of an up and down year. After being unable to stop a nosebleed to begin the season, the group of Solder, Wendell, Stork, Connolly and Vollmer have begun to develop a lot of chemistry. They did struggle recently against Baltimore, but for most of the season, they did what they had to do in order to win football games.

The Patriots don’t rank extremely high in any offensive categories, but they can beat you in every possible way you can imagine. That’s why they’re here.

Defense (9th Run, 17th Pass, 13th Total)

In recent memory, the Patriots have been known for their high-powered, pass heavy offense but what people forget is that they won their 3 Super Bowls off the play of their outstanding Defense. This year’s D might be the closest that New England has come to recapturing their play from the early 2000s.

When Defensive Captain Jerod Mayo was lost for the season, the Patriots Defense looked like it might be in trouble, but the play from Linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower has been absolutely phenomenal. They’ve been two of the better linebackers in the league this season, no one’s talking about it, but these guys have been tackling everything in sight. Collins had 116 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions, while Hightower had 89 tackles and 6 sacks with a forced fumble.

The secondary has also been huge for New England, specifically Darrelle Revis, their big off-season acquisition. Revis was able to re-capture the form he had with the New York Jets that made him one of the best defensive players in the game. Besides “Revis Island”, New England got another exceptional year from former pro-bowl Safety Devin McCourty and DBs Kyle Arrington and Pat Chung came through when the team needed them the most.

New England’s Defensive Line hasn’t played spectacularly well this year, but have done enough to get by. Chandler Jones missing a majority of the season with a hip injury definitely made an impact on the group’s performance but he’s ready to go for this Sunday. Nose Tackle, and all-around amazing human being, Vince Wilfork, is getting up in age, but is still able to draw two defenders on him each play. Rob Ninkovich plays more snaps than almost defensive player in the league and had a solid season with 8 sacks, and Akeem Ayers has been big for the Patriots after being picked up from the Titans mid-season.

New England’s D did shut down the #1 ranked passing offence in the NFL 2 weeks ago, so if they can stop the #1 rushing attack, they are most definitely, a Super Bowl worthy team.

Seattle Seahawks

People hate the Seahawks for their loud mouthed players (other than Marshawn Lynch). I don’t. They have every right to talk all they want, they’re the best. You want to shut them up? Beat them. No one’s been able to do that, and the Seahawks are looking to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Funny enough, they could become the first team to repeat as champs since guess who? The New England Patriots.

The Seahawks didn’t get off to a fantastic start either. Seattle had consecutive losses to the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams early in the season, and all of a sudden, the defending champions are 3-3. People began to believe that the ‘Legion of Boom’ Secondary was supposedly gone and with a tough schedule coming up, the Seahawks may miss the Playoffs! Instead, Seattle claimed the #1 seed in the NFC, winning 9 of their final 10 and finishing the season with the #1 ranked Defense in the NFL once again. Oh, you writers and your silly narratives.

The Seahawks then disposed of the Carolina Panthers in the Divisional round somewhat easily. The NFC Championship was another story. QB Russell Wilson had the worst performance of his career by throwing not one, not two, not three, but FOUR INTERCEPTIONS and Seattle was down 16-0 at halftime. But thanks to a number of things, which includes Morgan Burnett sliding after an interception instead of going for a long return, the Green Bay Packers Defense forgetting how to football,  the ugliest 2 point conversion in the history of the NFL, Brandon ‘Boom’ Bostick flubbing the onside kick and most importantly, Mike McCarthy’s lack of cojones; the Seahawks pulled off the improbable comeback and advanced to the Super Bowl.

Offense (1st Run, 27th Pass, 9th Total)

Smash-mouth football is back.

Seattle’s Offense was deadly this season due to their dual running threat. Marshawn Lynch tore it up once again this year by having the 4th most rushing yards of any back in the league (1,306), 4.7 yards a carry and 13 Touchdowns, which tied him for the league lead. The man they call “BeastMode” has the ability to change a game in one play, something very few people in the NFL can do. Plus, the guy is hilarious.

Russell Wilson wasn’t stellar in his last game but he’s been excellent all season long. Wilson, while throwing for over 3,475 yards and 20 Touchdowns, also ran for 849, more than any other QB in the NFL this season. Wilson can do it with his arm or his legs and can find ways to turn nothing into something. Wilson’s only been in the league a few years, but he’s already established himself as a winner, and has even started getting comparisons to a Hall of Fame Quarterback, his counterpart, Tom Brady.

Of course that great ground game wouldn’t be what it is without the Seahawks Offensive Line.  J. R.  Sweezy and James Carpenter are serviceable as Guards, there aren’t many Centers I would take over Max Unger, and Russell Okung and Justin Britt are two of the better Tackles in the league. This group could open up the edge for Lynch to get to the second level and run rampant.

A lot of people have referred to Seattle’s receivers as ‘pedestrian’. Though they’re probably the weakest part of the Seahawks’ Offense, they’re not to be taken lightly. Doug “Nobody believes in us” Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse can come up with a big play at any time, even if they’ve been playing terrible all game. People do actually believe in you Doug, you’re the defending champs, so relax a little bit. The big surprise for the Seahawks this year has been Tight End, and CANADIAN, Luke Willson coming in to relieve Zach Miller. Willson adds another element to the already dangerous Seahawks Offense and he could have a huge impact in the game on Sunday.

Seattle pounds the ball down your throat with a healthy dose of Lynch and Wilson and once you’re tired, they can burn you deep. The Seahawks D may take all the headlines but the Offense isn’t too bad either.

Defense (3rd Run, 1st Pass, 1st Total)

This Seahawks Defense is probably the best Defense the National Football League has seen since the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. 

The Defensive Line for the Seahawks has some great pass rushers. Michael Bennett is the probably the most well-known of this group, his versatility to play as an end or tackle is something teams have to worry about and I’ll get to him in just a bit. Seattle also has Cliff Avril and Bruce Irvin, a LB who is predominantly used as a pass rusher, coming off the edge. The trio itself has 18.5 sacks on the season, and the battle between them and New England’s Offensive Line will be one of the key match ups to watch.

Seattle may have the next great linebacker in the game with Bobby Wagner. Wagner only started 11 games this year but he was still able to make 104 tackles and 2 sacks. The Seahawks struggled early on, but since Wagner came back in week 12, Seattle hasn’t lost a game, earning him an MVP vote for this season. K. J.  Wright also had a solid season for the Seahawks with 107 tackles and 3 forced fumbles. Wagner and Wright form a tag-team duo that can be a nightmare for running backs.

Then of course, there’s that #1 Pass Defense, the best secondary in the league, the Legion of Boom. Pick your poison. On one side of the field, you’ve got Richard Sherman, who many would argue is the best Cornerback in the game today. While he didn’t have an incredible statistical season like he’s had in the past, that can mostly be accredited to the fact that Quarterbacks today are absolutely terrified of Sherman. You want to go to the other side of the field, you’ll find that Byron Maxwell is no slouch either, and he’s proven that to the rest of the league this season. Then up top you’ve got safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, who are both incredibly talented and freaks of nature. The Seattle Seahawks Defense. They’re better than you, and they know it!

You can talk about match-ups all you want but no Offense is going to have an easy time against the Seahawks Defense. Right Peyton?

X-Factors

Patriots – Jamie Collins

Collins is one of the most under-rated players in the NFL right now, and he has filled in admirably for Jerod Mayo, the Patriots Defensive Captain who went down with a torn ACL earlier this year. The Pats secondary should be able to handle Baldwin and Kearse easily, the way Seattle beats NE is through Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson and the ground game. People forget the great year that both Collins and fellow linebacker Dont’a Hightower have had for New England, they’ve shut down some good backs, though Lynch will be the best they’ve faced. If Collins contains Lynch, it’s very likely New England leaves Arizona with a victory

Seahawks – Michael Bennett

Bennett might be the Seahawks best pass rusher and it has long been known that the key to beating the Patriots is to get the pressure on Brady as seen through the Giants two previous Super Bowl victories. Bennett’s got 7 sacks on the year and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get another on Sunday. If the Seahawks are able to disrupt Brady in the pocket and force him into making bad throws, the Legion of Boom secondary will eat the Hall of Fame Patriots QB alive. New England’s Offensive Line has been it’s biggest issue all season long and has struggled against teams with strong defensive fronts like Miami, Kansas City and Baltimore. If Seattle can throw Brady off his game, there is no way they don’t win the game.

Prediction

At the beginning of this year, whether you believe me or not, I predicted that the New England Patriots would go 12-4, claim the #1 seed in the AFC and win the Super Bowl. “Well, Nolan, you’re just a stupid Pats homer, so of course you’d do that, you probably pick them to win every year”. Not true, I expected them to lose in the AFC Championship the past 2 years. And they did.

This game is going to be a low-scoring game, similar to the past two Super Bowls which New England has played in.

Seattle’s Defense is going to show up, as they always do. LeGarrette Blount will not have the game he had against the Indianapolis Colts. Expect him to get the ball in lots of short-yardage situations where they need a power back to move the chains but not more than that, the Seattle D will stop the interior rush.

The biggest matchup of this game is between the two Monsters that are TE Rob Gronkowski and SS Kam Chancellor. When these two collide on Sunday, the impact may create a second coming of the ‘Big Bang’. I give Gronkowski the slight edge in this matchup, Seattle’s performance against Tight Ends this year hasn’t been stellar, and Gronkowski is the best of the best. Gronk doesn’t go over 100 yards, but he scores a TD. If he does happen to make a few big plays early on, and I think he will, expect a LB like Bobby Wagner or K. J.  Wright to help neutralize him. I’m sure the Seahawks will be all over the Seam pass to Gronk that Brady has thrown interceptions on in back-to-back games.

If Seattle wants to win, Marshawn has to get the ball A TON on sunday, I’m talking 20+ carries. To me, the Seattle rushing attack is obviously the key to them winning this game and he’s going to need at least 100 yards rushing if he wants to get them the victory. The Patriots will counter this by bringing a safety down and putting 8 guys in the box, forcing Seattle to try to beat them without BeastMode.  Lynch is one of the best backs in the league, but I don’t see him having consistent success against 8 defenders and Collins and Hightower can get to the edge fast enough to prevent him from having a signature BeastMode run. Expect Russell Wilson to take some keepers as well, he should have time in the pocket to pass and will try to  create something out of nothing a few times in the game.

To me, the biggest mismatch is the New England Secondary versus the Seattle receivers. Revis, Brandon Browner, McCourty, Chung and whoever else comes in whether it be Kyle Arrington, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon are superior to the Seattle Receiving corps; they can afford to go into man-to-man the whole game. Revis is going to be all over Doug Baldwin, everyone expects Browner to cover Jermaine Kearse, and don’t be surprised if McCourty helps out up top in case Kearse is able beat Browner with his speed. I just can’t see Seattle’s receivers winning their matchup at all, especially not after the way they played against Green Bay, specifically Kearse, who was targeted six times, but only caught one deep pass and was partially to blame for Wilson’s four picks. Those deep passes late aren’t gonna work this time with better DBs in coverage.

New England’s got more talent on the offensive side of the ball, and the Legion of Boom isn’t at it’s healthiest right now. Sherman, Thomas, and Chancellor are all battling injuries and I don’t think they’re going to be 100% on Sunday. The Patriots will use their patented “death by a thousand paper cuts” attack, quick and short passes which the Seattle Secondary, ultimately, won’t be able to stop. We saw this strategy earlier in the season when the San Diego Chargers defeated Seattle, and QB Philip Rivers threw for almost 300 yards and 3 scores, yet his longest throw of the game was for only 21.

Everyone keeps bringing up DeflateGate and how all the controversy surrounding New England is going to throw them off their game going into Sunday. Are you kidding me? How pissed off do you think the New England Patriots are right now? And remember Spygate? The scandal appeared after the first game of the 2007 season. What did the Patriots do? Oh I don’t know, just absolutely obliterated every team in their path. They have the “us against the world” mentality and they want this way more than Seattle. They lost their last two trips to the big game and I’m sure they’re still thinking about how 19-0 got away from them. Tommy and Bill want one more to silence the haters.

This has surely been the darkest NFL season in my lifetime; a year whereas soon as one scandal finished, another one began. A season which has been marred by controversies ranging from domestic violence, to racially offensive team names, to poor officiating decisions, to deflated balls, it should only be fitting that the New England Patriots, the organization which has had its competitive integrity questioned since 2007, and is currently the most despised franchise in the National Football League, finish as the Super Bowl Champions.

Patriots 17, Seahawks 16.

Bold Prediction: Darrelle Revis wins Super Bowl MVP on a huge performance highlighted by a pick-six. The man is going to get PAID this offseason.

GO PATS.

The Night Football Broke My Heart

Have you ever had your dreams crushed?

It may be hard to believe, but in my somewhat short, inexperienced, 18-year life, I’ve had my dreams crushed more times than you would expect. Being obsessed with Sports can do that to a person, and the endless amount of times my sports teams (specifically one in general) have disappointed me would take hours to recap. So I’m just going to talk about one of those events, and it is without a doubt, the worst loss I’ve ever experienced as a fan.

Super Bowl XLII.

A lot of people fondly remember Super Bowl XLII, you know what I say to them? Shut up.

Back in the fall of 2007, I was 11 years old and in the 6th grade. I had really been into football for a while now and had begun to watch Patriots games on a weekly basis the year prior. You could definitely say that I was a big fan going into the 2007 season. The Patriots merchandise had begun to take up space in my room and one of my most prized possessions was a Blue New England Patriots #12 Tom Brady Jersey, which I wore every Patriots Game Day (something that I still do to this day, different jersey however since I outgrew the other one) and if the Patriots won, I would also wear it to school the following day.

2007 was also a great year to be a New England Patriots fan. While it did start off with a scandal that cost them a 1st round draft pick and according to some, tarnished their legacy, it sparked something that nobody wanted. Giving a team which already tons of talent, even more motivation. The 2007 New England Patriots were a team on a mission: to completely and utterly destroy every franchise in the National Football League.

Tom Brady was a passing machine, throwing for 50 Touchdown Passes in a single season, an NFL record at the time. He would also win League MVP. Randy Moss resurrected his career and caught 23, a record which still stands today. The Patriots scored more points than any franchise in NFL history with 589. And of course, became the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, to go undefeated in the regular season, 16-0.

You could not possibly understand how much of a thrill this season was for me. It was like I was playing as the Patriots in Madden, win every game no matter what, and most of the time it was by a ridiculous score. During that fall and winter, my friends and I would mostly play pick-up football at recess ( I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I was basically the Jerry Rice of the Miller’s Grove Public School Playground). A lot of my buddies started watching the NFL a lot more and it became a big topic of discussion (especially since the team that always had our attention, the Toronto Maple Leafs, stunk, and had so for a couple of years). So every Monday that fall, I walked into my classroom, wearing my #12 Brady New England Patriots jersey, and people began to notice. A lot of times I’d walk to school and hear something along the lines of,

“Hey! Pats won again! Brady’s unstoppable!” Later that year, we started to chant:

“13-0! Go Pats Go!”, and it would be updated after every win.

As the season progressed, and the Patriots continued to win, almost every single person in my grade 6 class became a New England Patriots fan. 

The week leading up to Super Bowl XLII, I was pretty confident the Patriots were on their way to completing the perfect 19-0 season, and I had every right to be. This was the most dominant Offense in the history of the NFL at the time; obliterating teams by scores of 38-7, 52-7, and 56-10. While they hadn’t looked very hot against Jacksonville or the Chargers in the post-season, New England was going to face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, which reassured my confidence. I wasn’t expecting the beat down which some analysts were predicting, since the Patriots had only beat the Giants by 3 points in the regular season, but I still reasonably believed that Patriots had it all locked up. Beat them once, they can beat them again right?

I don’t think I’ve ever been as edgy and paranoid as I was watching that game. The opening drive of the game got me infuriated right off the bat. New York marched down the field for 77 yards in 10 minutes and came away with a field goal, the longest opening drive in Super Bowl History. Just like that, the Patriots only had 50 minutes to put points on the board, not as much as it sounds. It was at that moment I figured out that the Giants had come up with a brilliant strategy that could get them the victory; keep the ball out of Brady’s hands. I discovered how they would do that shortly after.

The Patriots would score on their opening possession, a 1-yard TD rush from Laurence Maroney, but after that opening play of the 2nd quarter, both defenses began to take over. Each team was held scoreless for the remainder of the first half and the entire 3rd quarter. This was mostly highlighted by the Defensive Front Four of the New York Giants, led by long-time veteran and future Hall of Famer, Michael Strahan. The Giants were able to sack Brady 5 times for a loss of 37 yards and force a fumble in a key drive to close out the first half. Big performances from Pro-Bowler Osi Umenyiora and relative unknown at the time, Justin Tuck, helped to swing the momentum into the Giants favour.

Tom Brady doesn’t lose often, but if there’s any secret to beating him or pattern in his defeats, it’s in the pass rush. Don’t get me wrong, Brady excels when he faces the blitz, but if you’re able to pressure him before he can get his feet set, you will throw him off his game. We’ve even seen it happen this year in New England’s blowout losses to Miami and Kansas City. Both those teams had top-tier NFL pass rushes and to say the New England O-Line was uncomfortable and inexperienced would be an understatement. Simply put, if the pocket collapses around him, Brady is not Brady. And he certainly wasn’t himself on the night of Super Bowl XLII, because after 3, the Patriots had only scored one touchdown. The lowest offensive output they had all season was 20 points. They currently had 7, with 15 minutes left.

Once again, the New York Giants knew exactly what they had to do in order to have a shot at defeating the “invincible” , 18-0, New England Patriots.

Then, with 11:05 left in the 4th quarter, New York broke the scoring deadlock with a touchdown caught by David Tyree. I didn’t really notice who the receiver was at that time, I just knew the Patriots were behind late. I’d sure know who he was not long after that TD though. 10-7 Giants.

Through all of this, I was staying calm. The Pats had faced adversity all season long, coming back in dramatic victories over the Colts, Eagles, and Ravens earlier in 2007. So despite the ominous signs, I was still pretty optimistic that New England was going to pull it out with just over 11 minutes left in the game.

And it very much looked as if I was going to be right. Tom Brady marched New England 80 yards downfield and threw a dart to Randy Moss in the back of the end zone with 2:42 remaining. 14-10 Patriots.

Just imagine, it would’ve the perfect ending to the perfect season. The dynamic duo of Brady and Moss, the greatest single-season QB-WR combo, who had absolutely annihilated opposing defenses all season long, would score the final touchdown to cap off the best season by any team in NFL History. Undefeated. 19-0. The ultimate team accomplishment.

As excited as I was that New England had retaken the lead, it was when they scored, that for the first time all season, I had some doubts about whether New England would be able to win the game or not. They left way too much time on the clock. 2:42 is an eternity in Football, and that’s what the ensuing drive would feel like for me.

The Patriots had 3 chances to close out the game, be crowned Super Bowl Champs for the 4th time in 7 years, and finish the season 19-0. They managed to blow it all 3 times.

The first was when they couldn’t prevent power back Brandon Jacobs from converting on 4th down. This one I totally expected. On that night, nobody was slowing down Jacobs on close-yardage situations, and unsurprisingly, he picked up the first down.

The second chance the Patriots had to finish the job was entirely on one guy, Asante Samuel. Samuel had an outstanding season, he led the league in interceptions and was named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams. But on 2nd-and-5, two plays after Jacobs’ conversion, Eli Manning threw in Samuel’s direction. The pass bounced directly off Samuel’s hands; a gimme interception, dropped by the NFL’s leader in that category. At that moment, I was disappointed, but I sort of laughed it off. So far in the drive, the Giants hadn’t made a ton of progress, and it was now 3rd and 5 with only 1:15 left.

The next play… is something that has been implanted in my brain. It still pops up in my nightmares and sometimes wakes me up at night. I am dead serious when I say this.  It’s “The Helmet Catch”.

When the play started to develop, I stood up and thought “We got ‘em”. Adalius Thomas came flying around the edge and looked to get Manning but he just missed as Manning moved up in the pocket. But Richard Seymour AND Jarvis Green were both there and got their hands on Manning, in fact Green starts to make a move to bring him down. But somehow, SOMEHOW, Manning escaped the grasp of both linemen and rolled to the right.

At this point, I’m just unable to comprehend how Manning was able to get out of a game-killing sack.  And now he’s throwing up a bomb downfield, a hail mary, to god knows what he sees because no one watching the game on TV could tell.

“Please be incomplete. Please be incomplete. Please be incomplete.”

And at the end of Manning’s reception, is David. Freaking. Tyree. A guy who had 4 receptions all season long. The same guy who caught the Touchdown earlier in the game. Out-jumping Rodney Harrison and pinning the ball to his helmet at the New England 25-yard line. For his final career NFL reception.

“No… No way there’s gotta be… No. You’re kidding me. How? No…”

Disbelief. The best word to describe how I felt following Tyree’s helmet catch.

So many different things happened on that play. The Patriots could’ve sacked Manning 3 separate times on that play. Manning may have seen Tyree, but if you watch the play again, Manning kind of floats one up for grabs and hopes for the best. And then even after all that, Tyree’s waiting downfield for Manning’s heave and has to make an absolutely spectacular catch in order to haul the pass in. It’s a miraculous sequence. You could run that play 100 times, only one time would Tyree make that catch.

But the Giants knew that if they played the perfect game, they’d have a chance at pulling off the upset. They had to be perfect, to beat the team that was trying to be perfect.

The next drive was pretty much a blur for me. When Tyree made that catch, you just knew the Giants were going to score, and they did. Plaxico Burress ran a Sluggo route and caught Manning’s fade to the corner of the end zone. 17-14 New York Giants. 35 seconds left.

Game Over. Season Over. The New York Giants had done the unthinkable, they had defeated the undefeated. They were the Super Bowl Champions.

And the Patriots, my beloved New England Patriots, the team I had pretty much followed on a religious basis that season, finished 18-1. They tripped at the finish line. All those wins, suddenly, they meant nothing. The Perfect Season was gone. They wouldn’t be known as the greatest team EVER, they’d be known as the greatest team to NEVER win the Super Bowl.

I sat there in front of the TV, in silence, for a solid 5 minutes after the game had ended. Then, after finally taking in everything I had just witnessed, I went to my room.

And while almost everyone was celebrating the fact that they had just witnessed David beat Goliath in one of the most incredible football games of all time, I sat down on my bed, alone, and I bawled my freaking eyes out.

The next day, I went to school. I did not wear my #12 Brady New England Patriots Jersey. There were no “19-0! Go Pats Go!” chants. In fact, there were no more Patriots fans at my school except for pretty much myself. I guess before the game most of my friends decided that they would become Giants fans because I got absolutely torn to shreds.

“Let’s Go Giants!”,

“Patriots Suck! 18-1! HAHAHA”

“CHOKERS” followed by a choking sign. Then I’d usually respond

“Weren’t you a Pats fan on Friday?”, and the reply would be something like

“Pfft, NO, Why Would I cheer for those Losers?” Such is the life of a 6th grader; kids have got a new favourite team every week. I was unable to pull myself to watch TSN or Sportsnet for two weeks, because the only thing they kept showing was the stupid David Tyree catch. It made me sick every time I saw it. It was basically torture for me to re-watch the game-winning drive from Super Bowl XLII for this article. I still hate watching it. I always will.

Looking back on the game today, I’m not as bitter or as devastated as I was on February 3rd, 2008. The Giants really deserved to win that game, they were the better team on that day. New England only scored 14 points; that’s not going to win you the Super Bowl.

I also kind of wish that the Patriots had lost one game during the regular season. If they had, I don’t think there would have been as much pressure on their shoulders as their was going into Super Bowl XLII, to tell you the truth, they likely would’ve dominated. 16-0 is a cool feat, but it’s nothing compared to winning another Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 would go on to give me a bit of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The rematch of XLII would feature Wes Welker’s Drop and Mario Manningham’s sideline catch, two events that are eerily similar to what happened in 4 years earlier.

But with New England returning to the Super Bowl for the 6th time since the turn of the century this upcoming week (against a new opponent, THANK GOD), the excitement that I had back in 2007 has returned. The Patriots have a chance to re-establish themselves as the best in the NFL once again, and hopefully help me get over the traumatizing night that was Super Bowl XLII.

How I Became a New England Patriots Fan

How I started cheering for the New England Patriots:

Super Bowl XLIX is upon us, and the New England Patriots are in it once again. I like the New England Patriots, and unless you’ve been living under a rock, the Patriots have been in the news A LOT recently. So I decided to dedicate a series of posts to them leading up to what might be the Franchise’s defining game. Let me start from the beginning…

In case you’ve never met me before, I’m a New England Patriots fan.

I say this because if you have ever had the pleasure of meeting me or follow me on social media, you would almost instantly discover that I love the Pats.

When I tell people this, about 98% of them cringe and give me a look of disgust. The other 2% are also New England Patriots fans.

I get criticized for being a Pats fan all the time, and I totally understand why; because the entire Patriots fan base is absolutely spoiled rotten. In the history of the NFL, New England has had arguably the greatest stretch of success of any franchise, spanning from 2001 to the present day. Since 2001, the Patriots have won the AFC East 12 times in 14 seasons, they’ve made it to AFC Championship game nine times, winning it for the 6th time this past sunday. New England also won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years, 2001, 2003 and 2004, about the closest thing the NFL has seen to a dynasty since the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s (If you say the 90’s Cowboys are a dynasty, then the Patriots most certainly are as well). Nobody has won more games in the 21st century than the New England Patriots

Now when your team wins that frequently, not many people are going to like you. The most often expression I hear from people is “Oh, you bandwagon piece of s***!”. OK, I’m not going to lie, I technically did hop on the New England Patriots bandwagon, I remember the date I did as well. February 3rd, 2002. Super Bowl XXXVI, the first full football game I ever watched. I was 5 years old.

In case you don’t remember, since that was, amazingly, 13 years ago; the upstart New England Patriots were taking on the “Greatest Show on Turf”; the St. Louis Rams. St. Louis, who had won the Super Bowl just two years earlier, were led by Quarterback and League MVP Kurt Warner, as well as Offensive Player of the Year, HB Marshall Faulk, who could pretty much do it all out of the backfield. Going into that season, the Rams were one of the favourites to win the Super Bowl and they surprised no one by dominating the NFL with the highest scoring offence in the league and finished with the NFL’s best record, at 14-2, including a win over the same Patriots in Foxborough.

Before Super Bowl XXXVI, the Rams were listed as 14 point favourites, making the Patriots one of the biggest Super Bowl underdogs in history, a title that they very well deserved. Nobody expected New England to be in the big game at the start of the year. They had gone 5-11 the previous year. In the second game of the season, Drew Bledsoe, the Star Quarterback they were paying $100 million to lead the franchise, got absolutely annihilated by Mo Lewis and almost died from internal bleeding, forcing some schmo named Tom Brady into the spotlight. A guy who had struggled to hold the starter’s job at Michigan, a guy who was taken 199th Overall in the 2000 Draft, a guy who, let’s be honest, didn’t really look like an NFL Quarterback. After starting 0-2, the Patriots season looked over.

But out of nowhere, New England started reeling off wins behind a top-tier Defense and, surprisingly, won the AFC East. New England then beat the Oakland Raiders in a blizzard, in one of the greatest playoff games in recent memory because of Adam Vinatieri’s game-tying 45-yard FG through the snow with seconds left, not because of some controversial play which occurred several moments earlier that was correctly interpreted by the officiating crew. They followed this up with an upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship and headed on their way to New Orleans.

Now I didn’t know any bit of what I just explained to you at the time of that game, because again, I was 5 years old and was not seriously following football at that time, but everybody watches the Super Bowl. So my family and I gathered around to watch the big game and since the Patriots were the huge underdogs and the Rams had won 2 years earlier (things which I did know), most of us decided to cheer for New England. A couple other things helped me decide who I was cheering for.

First of all, there was the sentimental reason, 9/11. I remember that it was a Tuesday morning and it started off like any other day. My Mom dropped me off at school and almost as soon as I got settled in, she came right back and picked me up. I had no idea what was going on, but was thrilled to be going home and didn’t even notice how shook up my Mother was. Then I got home and saw what was on the TV, and I vividly remember watching one of the hi-jacked aircrafts fly directly into the second tower and engulf it in flames. I couldn’t fully grasp the magnitude of the event at that time, I also couldn’t understand why anyone would do something like that, But I knew that what was happening was horrific. So I figured, I should probably cheer for the team wearing the colours of the American flag, Red, White and Blue.

The other reason is something you’d expect from a 5-year-old kid. When I was young, I would walk in and watch bits and parts of football games and I really enjoyed it. My parents noticed this and got me “Backyard Football” when I was 4 and a year later, “Backyard Football 2002” (which technically came out in 2001). I pretty much lived on the Backyard Sports games as a kid, yes the ones with Pablo Sanchez, the “secret weapon” that’s good at seemingly every sport and is everyone’s favourite 2 ft tall Mexican. Anyway, the cover athlete for Backyard Football 2002? Who also happened to be in the first Backyard Football? New England Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe. I thought Bledsoe was the man! I always played with either him or John Elway since they could always throw the deep bomb. So Bledsoe was one of my favourite players, and since he played for New England, I liked New England!

On another note, it’s kind of haunting what happened to the players from Backyard Football 2002. Other than QBs Brett Favre, Rich Gannon and Donovan McNabb, things ended quite tragically for most of these players. 2 players died, Steve McNair and Junior Seau. Terrell Davis would retire 2 years later after a slew of injuries. Ricky Williams would turn to drugs and lose his love for the game. Jevon Kearse broke his foot in 2002 and was never really the same player and Cade McNown, (don’t ask how he got in this game, I don’t know either) didn’t play another game in the NFL. And of course, Bledsoe, who couldn’t regain his starting job from Tom Brady and bounced around the NFL for a few years before retiring.

I thought Bledsoe was starting in Super Bowl XXXVI. Boy was I wrong! I was definitely disappointed to see Tom Brady in the game, but I still had a firm belief that Bledsoe would come in and win it. Things didn’t exactly go down that way and the Patriots definitely ended up making the right decision.

For me, Super Bowl XXXVI certainly lived up to the hype. The Rams were clicking to start the game, they took a 3-0 lead and in my household we were starting to get the sense that St. Louis might blow out the Patriots like everyone said. And then Ty Law picked off Kurt Warner and went streaking down the sideline for the opening touchdown of the game. I was in awe! I had seen an interception before, but I had never seen one returned for a touchdown! Then just before half-time, New England scored again! A remarkable catch from David Patten, spinning through the air, to give the Patriots a 14-3 lead! At half-time, I was looking around asking, “Wait, weren’t the Patriots the underdogs?”

But the Rams weren’t going to go silently into the night, and they certainly didn’t. I thought New England had sealed the deal when Warner fumbled on the 1 and Tebucky Jones returned it all the way, only to see the TD come back because of a flag. Warner ran it in the next play and a sinking feeling came over me. I wasn’t even a super fan of the Pats at this point but I wanted them to win so badly despite the fact I’d really only watched them for 3 quarters of football. Then the Rams tied the game at 17 with 1:30 left on a Ricky Proehl Touchdown. My ecstasy from the first half had completely disappeared and it looked like the game was going to go overtime. When I say that, I mean that pretty much everyone believed that New England should play for overtime. My parents. My grandparents. John Madden.

It’s hard to pick the defining moment I became a Patriots fan, but if I could pick one, it would be this. Starting from their own 17 yard line, with no timeouts, and 1:21 on the clock, with everyone and their mother screaming for the Patriots to take a knee, they went for it. Because the New England Patriots don’t play not to lose; they play to win.

As the game wore on, I started to forget about Drew Bledsoe, and began to get behind Tom Brady, just like the Patriots had over the span of the 2001 season. Overall, Brady’s performance in Super Bowl XXXVI wasn’t that spectacular, he threw for 145 yards and a touchdown, but he earned his MVP honours on his game-winning drive alone.

Brady almost got strip-sacked on the first play of the drive by Leonard Little, and he could’ve gone down and taken it to overtime just like everyone wanted him to do; But Tom stuck in the pocket and threw it to J.R. Redmond. Then another one to Redmond for a first down. 41 seconds on the clock. Brady threw it to Redmond for a third time on a screen and picked up another first down with just over 30 seconds left, and the Pats were still at their own 41. No one in my family seemed to really notice the Patriots driving, they firmly believed the commentators statements, and that nothing would come from this final drive.

And then Troy Brown caught a strike over the middle from Brady to put New England at the Rams 36, and in that moment, everyone sort of had this epiphany “Holy crap, New England can still win this thing”. After another short completion which put the Patriots on the 30-yard line, Brady spiked the ball with 7 seconds left. He had done what no one thought he could do, put his team in a position to win. Tom Brady was the hero, the Super Bowl MVP.

When Adam Vinatieri came onto the field, I was on the edge of my seat, eyes glued to the TV. The game was playing out like a movie, scripted almost, to have Vinatieri win it on a 47 yard field goal. When he kicked it, I knew right away, it was golden. I didn’t go crazy like I would nowadays, or got as excited as I did two years later when Vinatieri pulled out the same heroics against the Carolina Panthers, but I got up and cheered.

Seeing the players storm the field, mobbing Vinatieri, Confetti flying everywhere, I sat there thinking to myself “THAT WAS AWESOME”. And from that point, I became a huge fan of football, and the New England Patriots, for life.