Wednesday, January 30, 2002
Countdown to Super Bore Sunday!
The Patsies almost let me down last Sunday, but thanks to some timely Kordell Stewart miscues, the Pats hung on to defeat the Steelers and make their third trip to the Stupid Bowl, just as I predicted they would at the start of the postseason.
Now... If the Pats should somehow manage the unthinkable and topple to Rams on Sunday, I think I should be required to eat my words from the Gehlke Bros. home page that I posted the start of the season, in which I pointed out that every team in the NawFuL has a reason to exist, even the New England Patriots.
Pats as champions? Stranger things have happened. In this, the year of the revived patriotic spirit, perhaps it would be most fitting for the guys with the red, white and blue helmets to win it all. But I'm not betting on it. The Rams will win, and win big. Here's a prediction of 42-13. It will be close for perhaps the first half. But the Superdome might as well be the Rams' home away from dome, if you know what I mean. They all but own the Saints there during the regular season. (Of course, just about every NawFuL team owns the 'Aints.) And because they play there at least once every year, this will just be another stroll through the Big Easy.
Glenn 8-D 10:21:00 PM
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
Eagles, Bears ... won't make any difference
I can't claim Sean's accuracy through two rounds of the playoffs, but at 7-1 I'm not doing too poorly.
Sean, you say you're glad it was the Pack getting creamed by the Rams on Sunday, but I'll bet that had the Niners faced them the score would have been much closer (although probably not close enough to defeat them). The Niners know the Rams like no other playoff opponent, having faced them twice this season and at least twice every year before this one. Experience counts for a lot in the postseason. Unfortunately, so does the home field, healthy players and depth, which the Rams seem to have plenty of.
The Eagles are an unexpected surprise, but they'll get their wings clipped this weekend. Besides, do we really want to see an Eagles-Patriots matchup on Feb. 3? Or Eagles-Steelers, for that matter? I didn't think so.
Glenn 8-D 10:08:00 PM
Sunday, January 20, 2002
MAKE IT 8 FOR 8
It's too bad we don't pick the playoffs. Since making my playoff predictions before the wildcard round, I haven't been wrong yet. I correctly picked Baltimore over Miami last week, Philly over Chicago this week, with the rest of the home teams holding serve. Just as a reminder, I'm predicting a Steelers-Rams Super Bowl, with the Rams winning it all. The Rams still look unstoppable after demolishing the Packers. It makes me glad that the 49ers lost last week. It would have been humiliating and demoralizing to lose to these guys three times in a season.
As for the Raiders... I had turned the game off after the apparent incompletion that would have given the Raiders the ball and the victory. I was shocked when my brother-in-law called me to say the Raiders had lost. Now, I am an admitted 49er diehard, and, as a consequence, an avid Raider hater, but the Raiders were robbed. I saw the replays on the sports highlight shows. Brady had indeed pumped to throw the ball, but brought it back and was holding it with both hands when the ball was knocked loose. Once he had that second hand on the ball, it had to be a fumble.
That being said, I still felt the better team won. The Patriots would have had complete control of the game had they not played so conservatively. The Patriots were stuffed on the run most of the day. Abandoning the run earlier would probably have resulted in more points.
The Raiders have their work cut out for them this off season. They are very old in some key positions such as quarterback, receiver, and defensive back. They may have played at a high caliber in these areas this year, but I would be surprised if they are playing at the same level in two or three years. They also need help on the defensive line, especially with Darrell Russel's problems.
THREE MORE GAMES TO GO!!!
Junior Bro 5:58:00 PM
Saturday, January 19, 2002
Raiders robbed in the snow
You call that an incomplete forward pass? The QB's arm was at his side when Woodson hit him. Geez! What a rotten call.
Despite being torched by the NawFuL's zebra-striped snowmen, the Raiders played far better than this Bro expected. Too bad they won't get another shot at the AFC championship.
For Saturday I was one-for-two. Da Bears let me down, but no more than their fans in Chicago. Will we have to prepare for an Eagles-Patsies matchup on Feb. 3? Let's hope for the sake of NawFuLdom that it doesn't come to pass.
Glenn 8-D 8:44:00 PM
New England weather report...
Three hours prior to game time it is snowing. Hope the Raiders remembered to bring their toe-warmer for Janikowski. Prediction: 9-3 Patsies.
Eagles are currently engaged in a field-goal duel with Da Bears -- 6-0 Philly in the 1st.
Glenn 8-D 2:05:00 PM
Monday, January 14, 2002
Playoff Thoughts, Post Wildcard
That's 4 for 4 on my wildcard picks, and I almost got the Baltimore-Miami score right. In a previous posting I had said,
"The Dolphins should do their annual el foldo in the first round. I would say they'd get blown out 42-0, but they're playing the Ravens, not the Raiders. Make it 20 to
nothing."
Well, the final score was 20-3. How was I to know the Dolphins would manage a field goal?
The Raiders are SUPPOSED to beat the Jets. The Jets are a vastly inferior team, just as the Dolphins were last year (and still are). Let's see how the Raiders do in New England's own version of frozen tundra!
Junior Bro 7:39:00 PM
SUNDAY'S HEADLINE: PRESIDENT BUSH CHOKES ON PRETZEL, FAINTS
and 49ERS CHOKE ON CHEESE HEADS, FREEZE
I thought the Niners played well. It was just one or two mistakes that killed them. In fact, it's just as well that they don't return to St. Louis again to get their butts kicked. I still believe there were only two teams better than them this year (Rams and Pack). The 49ers will be back next year. Their young players are only going to get better.
Freed of most of the salary cap overruns of the past, the team can pick up two or three key free agents and some additional draft picks. They can use additional depth at cornerback and on the defensive line, as well as some young offensive lineman (Brown has to retire some time) and a stud wide reciever to compliment Terrell Owens. If they even get a few of those pieces, look out Rams!
Junior Bro 7:30:00 PM
Saturday, January 12, 2002
Postseason predictions aplenty
I'm a little late posting these, being that the first two games are over and all, but you'll just have to take me at my word when I tell you I called 'em all the way.
Wild cards:
-- Philly over T.B. (That might as well be the disease and not the team -- their play today certainly would cure what ails them.)
-- Raiders over the Jets (You can take it to the Raiders once on their home turf, but not two weeks in a row.)
-- Cheezers over Niners (Toooo c-c-c-c-old.)
-- Ravens over Dolphins (Don't count out the defending champs just yet.)
Divisional playoffs:
-- Rams over Packers (No one beats the Rams in the dome.)
-- Bears over Philly (The Eagles are playing over their heads. Bears are fired up finally getting a playoff berth.)
-- Patsies over Raiders (It's toooooo c-c-c-cold.)
-- Pittsburgh over Baltimore. (NOW you can count the Ravens out, although I predict it will be a squeaker.)
Championships:
Rams over Bears (Well, duh!)
New England over Steelers (Here's my upset. I sort of owe it to the Patsies, maligning them as I did preseason on the Gehlke Bros. home page. And besides, someone's gotta screw up a Rams-Steelers Stupor Bore.)
Stupid Bowl:
Rams over whoeverisunfortunateenoughtofacethem.
Glenn 8-D 8:54:00 PM
PLAYOFF THOUGHTS
Here's my rankings of the playoff teams from worst to best:
12) J...E...T...S... JETS, JETS, JETS! They may get out of the first round if slumping Oakland can't get its act together.
11) DULLFINS. I hate this team. I hate the AFC East. The Dolphins should do their annual el foldo in the first round. I would say they'd get blown out 42-0, but their playing the Ravens, not the Raiders. Make it 20 to nothing.
10) RAVENS. Will they have an offense? Quoth the Ravens, "NEVER MORE!"
9) RAIDERS. I would have ranked them in the top five as late as a month ago.
8) BUCS. There's not much you can buy for a buck these days.
7) PATRIOTS. Do you get the feeling I'm not a big fan of the AFC this year? It helps that the Patsies have a quarterback.
6) DA BEARS. Unless they brought their smoke and mirrors with them, expect a divisional round exit. These guys remind me of the Jaguars a few years ago ( the Jaguars lost twice to the Titans, but won the division. Then made a quick playoff exit and haven't been seen since.)
5) EAGLETS. After the first round, it gets really tough.
4) STEAL HER'S. I'm getting my PA. teams out of the way. The only AFC team with a shot to beat them are the Patsies, barring complete self-distruction.
3) NINERS. If they were in the AFC, they'd run the table. Unfortunately, they go to the FROZEN TUNDRA, and surviving that, most likely a return visit to St. Louis.
2) PACKAHS. 12-0 in playoff home games. Farve is 30-0 when the temps are 34 or lower. That may just be history, but that's to steep a trend for the Niners to overcome.
1) LAMBS. The only team that can silence the Rams are the Rams. If they don't turn the ball over, there's no team on this list that can beat them. That's especially true on the fast carpet at their dome, formerly known as TWA.
Here are my playoff picks:
WILDCARD ROUND:
Green Bay over San Francisco
Philadelphia over Trampled Bay
Oaktown over the Jets
Baltimore over Miami canned Dolphins
DIVISIONAL ROUND:
St. Louis over Green Bay
Philadelphia over Chicago smoke and mirror Bears
New England over sudden Oakland death
Pittsburgh over Baltimore or less
CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES:
St. Louis over Philadelphia
Pittsburgh over New England
SUPERBOWL:
ST. LOUIS RAMS OVER PITTSBURGH STEELERS... PHEW!
Junior Bro 11:34:00 AM
MORE YEAR IN REVIEW --- SURPRISES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS
BIGGEST SURPRISES:
NFC = The Chicago Bears - I had predicted them as a playoff team last year and they did nothing. This is just their year, smoke, mirrors and all. Don't expect them to be back here next year however, as this team smells like the Giants and Falcons teams that came before them. In other words, they're a one hit wonder.
AFC= The New England Patriots - The Senior Bro was making fun of these guys a lot at the beginning of the year, and I had them pegged as a last place team. Then they found a quarterback named Brady, and the rest is history. They were helped by playing in what I consider to be a pretty mediocre division.
Honorable Mentions = Pittsburgh (They've been mediocre for so long, and have compiled their AFC best record with the same offensive players they've had for several years), San Francisco (Most people expected this team to improve, but nobody expected them to double their win total from last year, myself included.)
The BIG Disappointments:
NFC= Carolina - I thought they'd be bad, just not fifteen losses in a row bad.
AFC= Indianapolis - A porous defense and key injuries sent this team into the abyss.
Honorable Mentions (There are many):
Detroit - It looked for a while like the original Bucs might be threatened.
New Orleans - The way they tanked at the end of the year was just pathetic.
San Diego - It looked like the Flutie magic would send them back to the middle of the pack, but after a promising start, we found the horrible truth... this team REALLY stinks.
Buffalo - Would have had at least a couple more wins with Flutie.
Cincinnatti - A yearly disappointment... a decade long disappointment... a disappointment ever since the 1989 season!
NY Giants - From Superbowl to bust.
Baltimore - See Giants, even though they squeaked into the playoffs.
Minnesota - This is all about injuries and Kory Stringer.
BIGGEST INDIVIDUAL SURPRISE: Garrison Hearst and his comeback to Pro Bowl form.
BIGGEST INDIVIDUAL DISAPPOINTMENT: The referee from the Cleveland debacle. An H.M. here goes to the Cleveland "fans."
Junior Bro 11:04:00 AM
Friday, January 11, 2002
JUNIOR BRO SEASON RECAP
Sean three-peats again... YAWN!!! For those of you scoring at home, this makes six out of seven years that the "surfy" remained in Hayward. Better luck next year bro. I wanted to take a few moments for a year in review. I ran across my preseason predictions, so I thought I'd list the actual order that teams finished with my predictions in perentheses.
NFC WEST: St. Louis 14-2 (1), San Francisco 12-4 (3), New Orleans 7-9 (2), Atlanta 7-9 (4), Carolina 1-15 (5)
I was pretty dead on, but missed by one spot on surprising San Francisco and struggling New Orleans.
NFC CENTRAL: Chicago 13-3 (5), Green Bay 12-4 (2), Tampa Bay 9-7 (1), Minnesota 5-11 (4), Detroit 2-14 (3)
Failed miserably with Da Bears, and Tampa and Detroit didn't meet expectations.
NFC EAST: Philadelphia 11-5 (1), Washington 8-8 (3), Arizona 7-9 (4), NY Giants 7-9 (2), Dallas 5-11 (5)
Like the West, this division was pretty predictable... predictably lowsy!
AFC WEST: Oakland 10-6 (2), Seattle 9-7 (3), Denver 8-8 (1), Kansas City 6-10 (5), San Diego 5-11 (4)
Didn't get any part of the order right. I whiffed completely on Denver. Oakland collapsed down the stretch, but the rest of the division played to NawFuL to capitalize.
AFC CENTRAL: Pittsburgh 13-3 (3), Baltimore 10-6 (2), Cleveland 7-9 (5), Tennessee 7-9 (1), Jacksonville 6-10 (4), Cincinnatti 5-11? (6)
Remember the Titans? I'd like to forget this division. I'm glad they're breaking it up. My big misses were the Titans and Steelers, my hits were the Ravens and Bengals.
AFC EAST: New England 11-5 (5), Miami 11-5 (2), NY Jets 10-6 (3), Indianapolis 6-10 (1), Buffalo 3-13 (4)
New England came out of nowhere and Indy had no defense and key injuries.
I'll be back later to run down surprises and disappointments and playoff rankings.
Junior Bro 7:28:00 PM
Tuesday, January 08, 2002
Who wins the Blooper Bowl?
It has been a tradition for the Gehlke Bros. at the end of each season to honor the two NawFuL teams who, thanks to their own ineptitude, have achieved what few other teams have been able to achieve: a record so pathetic that no Super Bowl-caliber team could hope to match it.
We aren't just talking mediocre; we're talking about the depths of bad. And this year you couldn't do worse than the Carolina Panthers, who after coming out swinging with a Week 1 victory proceeded to collapse as thoroughtly as the World Trade Center towers by losing their final 15 games of the regular season. Not even the Detroit Lions (known affectionately here as the "Lyin's") could match that fetid streak. The Lyin's screwed up a possible Blooper Bowl title by winning their final game of the season over the Dull-as Cowboys.
*POP QUIZ!* Anyone remember who Carolina beat this year? (See answer below.)
The AFC's Blooper Bowl finalist (and this year's runner-up) is the Buffalo Bilks. The Bilks tried hard to be a 2-14 team this season, but then they beat the Jets in Week 17 (16) to finish 3-13. Still bad enough to win the title as the AFC's worst, but not quite NawFuL enough to play to Carelesslina's low standards. And to think, George Seifert once coached the Stupor Bowl champ Niners!
So if the Raiders can lose to the Jets, who lost to Buffalo only the week before, what chance do we give the Raiders of making it out of Round 1 of the postseason? For my money? Not much. The Raiders might squeak by New York this weekend (payback for Sunday's defeat), but they'll get shelled when they have to go traveling in Week 2.
*Answer to Pop Quiz* -- Minnesota was the only team dumb enough to lose to the Pathetic Panthers.
Glenn 8-D 7:05:00 PM
Thursday, January 03, 2002
Let Miami (U.) play!
I watched the abysmal Rose Bowl tonight. National championship? To really prove their prowess the Hurricanes should be required to trounce the Detroit Lions.
Glenn 8-D 11:18:00 PM
Tuesday, January 01, 2002
Niners to play at Soldier Field or the "Frozen Tundra"
Too bad our boys in red and gold couldn't find a way to beat Dull-as on Sunday. As punishment they'll have to play either Chicago or Green Bay on the road. Ugh! This may be a rebuilding year for San Francisco, but let's hope they insulated the doors while they were at it -- just in case one hits them on their early exit to the offseason.
Glenn 8-D 10:04:00 PM
Raiders swooning?
Well, Sean, you may be right about the mighty Raiders. They choked in Denver on Sunday for their third straight defeat. Of course, the Raiders always lose at Denver, so nothing too surprising there. Surprising is losing to Arizona on your home turf, then croaking against the Titans. Let's hope they don't four-peat against the Jets, another swooning franchise. Geez, how can you go from a possible no. 2 seed in the AFC to maybe out of the playoffs just by losing to the Bills?
Glenn 8-D 9:58:00 PM
|
|
