LOST Super Bowl Analysis

In the spirit of the growing inanity that is the Media Week, and the palpable buzz surrounding the return of the greatest show of all-time, LOST, I figure I can analyze the game and talk about some keys to the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady as Jack
No one epitomizes, "If we can't live together...we're gonna die alone" better than Tom Brady. Brady is the figurehead of selflessness in taking less money to get better players in Patriot blue. When Brady messes up---the pick against the Colts in last year's AFC Championship, or the baby he snuck past Bridget Moynihan he is easily forgiven. When Jack messes up---the end of his marriage, his myopic belief in science over faith, he is forgiven. Both approach huge challenges. Can Brady gain his fourth Super Bowl ring? Can Jack lead the castaways home?

Bill Belichick as Ben
Both are intricate planners. Belichick's juggling of egos is remarkable. Getting a bunch of millionaires to act so humble after the game, and answer questions like robots is incredible. It also reeks of brainwashing or some other kind of control. Ben is the master at that art, whether it is claiming to cure Juliet's sister of cancer, or promising to allow Jack to leave the island Ben always finds some way to get what he wants. Or does he? At the end of season three things were beginning to unravel for Ben, is this a bad portend for his NFL alter ego?

Randy Moss as Sawyer
Two bad guys. One allegedly beats up women, and smokes marijuana. The other is a con man and murderer. However, both when put in the right circumstances create magic. Moss with Brady broke the single season touchdown record. Similarly, Sawyer by toning down his jackassness, but maintaining his hilariousness, got to sleep with Kate. However, as his cold blooded killing of "Anthony Cooper," and Moss' recent domestic problems reveal, both might be more trouble than they are worth. If Moss doesn't get the ball in the Super Bowl might he hightail it to Jacksonville? Will Sawyer be a help or hindrance in getting everyone off the island?

Michael Strahan as Hurley
Just like Hurley, Strahan is lazy, as Strahan decided to take the pre-season off. Also like Hurley, Strahan is good for a laugh. In both the show, and the Big Game each must step up. Strahan and his buddy Osi must pressure Tom Brady for the Giants to have a chance. I have a feeling that Hurley, the emotional center of the castaways will also have to step up, especially if he makes it off the island.

Eli Manning as Jin
What the heck language does Eli Manning speak? I don't understand Korean, but at least they usually give me subtitles.

Justin Tuck and Kevin Faulk as Rousseau
Rousseau really seems to be the x-factor on LOST. Is she telling the truth about what happened to her? Is there really a sickness? How did Ben get her daughter? Perhaps when questions about her past are answered a better view of the mythology of the show will emerge. Similarly, Tuck and Faulk are the x-factors in this Super Bowl. If Tuck can hunt down Faulk and other Patriot screen receivers as he did against Green Bay a huge part of the Patriots attack will be neutralized. However, if Faulk is able to roam free and make clutch catches the Patriots will be able to march up and down the field.

Plaxico Burress as Charlie
Can you count on Charlie the Heroin addict? Throughout the seasons this answer changed almost by the episode. Plax is the same way, one game he shows effort, the next he is in la-la land. By the end of season three Charlie's sacrifice was heroic, will Plaxico give a similar effort in this game?

Junior Seau as Juliet
Is Seau good or bad? He makes tackles sure, but rarely behind the line of scrimmage. His decreased speed is something the Giants need to take advantage of. Is Juliet good or bad? The answer seemed to be clear at the end of season three, but with LOST you never know.

Tiki Barber as Michael
Michael left the castaways to supposedly go home at the end of Season Two. Tiki left the Giants to pursue broadcasting for Sunday Night Football and the Today show. Both made huge mistakes. Peter King can tell me all he wants that Tiki does not regret leaving the game and lost his passion for it, but I do not believe for one second that he is happy for his former teammates especially after blasting them all season. Similarly, I see nothing but disaster resulting from Michael's early exit from the island.

Though not an easy comparison for anyone in particular Evangeline Lilly's Kate is hot.

The Forgotten Spectacle

One of the most overlooked spectacles in our culture is the entire process of selecting our leaders. Honestly, we spend hundreds of millions of dollars and spend enormous amounts of time when it comes to voting for President of the United States. And rightfully so. They are considered the most powerful people in the world. Judging from the past two elections, we should try not to fuck up again. As we have seen, the consequences can be dire for our nation and the world.

Other democracies (using this term loosely), like Russia, spend 27 days on their election. That's the stepchild month of February! Our candidates spend years running for president. It's like the playoffs. Each candidate has to win their party's primaries. This is like the conference championship. Then they go onto the finals in the actual race for the presidency. And along the way, there are setbacks, momentum shifts, mudslinging, and good old fashion bickering. Nowhere else has this type of intensity in terms of sheer entertainment factor with respect to elections. Honestly, its more entertaining than the 2 month playoff "drama" that the NBA puts on.

So, periodically we'll try to give updates on the current election and our meaningless opinions and the stories as they unfold. Don't sweat, we're not going to go into politics per se, but we'll try to enlighten you and lighten the mood on events surrounding the battle for the White House as the year drags on. Hopefully you enjoy!

This Just In: Eli Manning Is Actually Not a Good Quarterback

By now everyone knows that I have an unnatural but completely rational hatred of the entire Manning family, including the irrelevant Cooper. And this morning during Internet Time at work, I stumbled on to this gem of an article over at Cnn/Si. If you want to waste your life and read it, go ahead. But I'll summarize it for you. Basically, the '04 class of quarterbacks, mainly Rivers, Roethlisberger, and Manning have come into starring roles. Yeah, you read that shit correctly.

Now granted Roethlisberger has a SuperBowl, Rivers has an AFC Championship game and Pro Bowl, and Eli has a trip to the Super Bowl to their respective credits. But seriously? Starring fucking roles? If by starring you mean having the benefit of a superior running game and more than solid defenses. Rivers and Manning are no more than game managers. They are first round Trent Dilfers. All the coaches tell them to do is this: throw short passes underneath, hand the ball off to the sweet half backs, and please don't throw interceptions.

And these bastards can't even do that right. Roethlisberger loves running around trying to make plays and fumbling the ball. Rivers flat out can't throw the ball with anything on it. And Manning loves throwing interceptions when pressured. But they win games! Say their supporters. That doesn't mean they're good quarterbacks. Tom Brady is a good quarterback. Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Tony Romo, and ,yes, Peyton Manning are good quarterbacks. I'll even fucking throw in David Gerrard because he doesn't throw picks and is a playmaker. You know what, I'll even give Roethlisberger the nod. His QB rating and mind boggling scrambling ability marginalizes his shitty decision making.

But seriously, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers are the same player. You can take them out and put any other halfway decent quarterback and their teams would probably end up with the same record. Yeah so Eli Manning has played mistake free during the postseason and the Giants won the NFC (the Not really pro Football Conference). Specifically, Manning played perfectly and the Giants eeked out victories. So basically the Giants rely on Eli Manning to not lose the game. Because if he plays any less than perfect, they're fucked. Most teams, like the Pats, Packers, Cowboys, Browns, Saints, and Colts rely on their quarterbacks to lead their teams to victory. They depend on their QB to win.

Not so much the Giants. Just look at the NFC title game. Favre played like absolute shit but the Packers lost to by a field goal in overtime. Wow, the Packers really fought through a less than typical Favre night and still almost won. On the flip side, Eli threw a nearly perfect game and the Giants only won by a field goal in overtime! And here's some statistical icing for you: Eli Manning has never finished a season with a QB rating higher than 77. This year he was 25th in the NFL and worse than Kyle Boller. Kyle Boller! In fact, over the past three full seasons, Eli hasn't been in the top half of NFL quarterbacks in QB rating.

So everyone relax with the Eli Manning talk. He hasn't broken through anything yet. Until he can have a regular season finishing in the top half of the statistics, he's just another shitty quarterback in the NFL. The only difference is that he's a Manning so he gets the benefit of the doubt. But how much longer are the Giants, who actually have a good team, going to let him hold them down? How much longer can he survive in a big market before ownership and fans realize that the Giants could have probably been in the Super Bowl three years in a row with a better quarterback?

My "friend" Doug is rooting for the Giants!

I have a friend named Doug Smith who looks like Winnie the Pooh. He's on the far right, and yes he's completely sober. He recently revealed to me that he is rooting for the New York Football Giants. I am beyond chagrined.

No self-respecting Bills fan should root for the Giants, and here's why:

1) Buffalo is an AFC Town. My persnal rule is unless the Tampa Bay Bucs are playing (I have an unhealthy man crush on their former Buccaneer logo and Mike Alstott) I always root for the AFC team. Sure, these are the Bills foes, but the AFC has to stick together. I hate them all when they play the Bills, but there is still some arrogance from the pre-merger days and from the impressive NFC win streak throughout the 80s and 90s. Plus, historically the NFC held off on the merger until the 1966 season. Hey guess who won the AFL in 1964 and 1965, oh yeah that'd be the Buffalo Bills. F'd out of Super Bowl I by douche bag NFC owners.

2) Yeah, Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison are pieces of shit.

But the Giants?

Plaxico Burress is a Randy Moss wannabe. He takes plays off like its his job. Shockey? Gap toothed Strahan?

Eli Manning is not only homosexual, but is a "Manning." The amount of times we see Archie talk about Peyton and see both of them in commercials will easily beat the Belichek/Brady combo (see previous article).



3) What about history? The team that beat the Bills in one of the most heartbreaking Super Bowls of all time...you are going to root for them now? Doug's cousins, Bruce and Leonard Smith are crying right now.

4) What about the comedy of it all? Goodell having to hand the Lombardi to Belichick after the whole scandal is captivating TV. You are telling me you'd rather see him hand it over to Eli so we can watch him cry and try to speak his inane southern drawl with a hint of fairy accent?

5) How about the 72 Dolphins? For over 30 years we've had to hear about them being the only undefeated team. Finally, that could be put to rest. Sure, we would have to hear about the Pats, but we're going to hear about them either way, as the team who choked away the final game of a historic season, or as the team that pulled it off.

6) What about the fans? Sure Patriots fans are smug and Yankee like these days. But living in Syracuse half the people including most of my office is Giants fans. To live with constant talk of Norwood, and how the Giants are an all time great franchise and Eli is the second coming is beyond adequate explanation in mere words. Being forced to listen to a Giants fan talk in the office makes me want to quit my job.

So yeah, I'm rooting for the Patriots. And though some of my reasons may be personal, I think I provide a strong argument for rooting for them if you are a Bills fan or just my friend, for my sake.

Dear Descartes, I Have Proof That God Doesn't Exist

Ah, Championship weekend in the NFL. This is the time when rivalries are created and great games are played. Hell, the Chargers almost seemed like they had a fighting chance against the Patriots. Either that or the Pats are getting a little worse as their deal with Mephistopheles is beginning to fade as he considers Archie Manning's offer.

With the divine Packers falling to the generally mediocre Giants, the Super Bowl is now an event where evil has won. Think about it. If the Patriots fulfill their destiny, we would have to crown a cheater and deal with the most obnoxious fans in pro sports today. Furthermore, the armies of Hell will be gathering at La Port de l'Enfer for when the Celtics get their shot at the NBA title. Then evil might be unstoppable in the form of Mickey from Southie.

And the team that is our only hope of defeating the Pats? Oh yeah, they are on the wings of signing with team Lucifer after the Patriots' contract expires. If the Giants somehow emerge victorious, then the Manning brothers will have won consecutive Super Bowls. Jesus, we'd have to put up with that statistic until aliens come to our world in 1000 years and blow us to bits. I'm already convinced that Archie Manning is a lesser demon in Satan's realm, so what's not to say that he didn't sign a little pact of his own? It would explain the sudden excellence of play the Giants are demonstrating...

Plus, I'd have to deal with every Tony, Sal, and guido fuck in Jersey for the next year wearing their brand new Ahmad Bradshaw jerseys talking about football like they know something about it.

Either way, we're all fucked. And that's why God doesn't exist. If He were listening, he'd have the Patriots in the Super Bowl against the beloved Packers and the gunslinger Brett Favre. Evil is always personified as cold and calculating like the Patriots and their surgical West Coast attack. Good is in the form of the crazy firebrand who does whatever it takes to get the job done.

It would have been a classic matchup of good vs. evil, East Coast yuppies v. everyone else, and everyone would be have a rooting interest. Now we have to deal with supreme evil against rising evil, Guidos against Micks, and Boston versus New York (again). Jesus, at least the goddamn Knicks eat dick.

Eat it Descartes, cognito ergo sum is bullshit. Maybe you should have created some other crazy mathematical formulae for me to memorize in high school instead of listening to the voices in your head (aka God).

Terrell Owens meet Nancy Kerrigan.

Terrell Owens reminded me of Nancy Kerrigan on Sunday. Now, I'm not making light of figure skaters who get clubbed by their rival's boyfriend, or doubting the nefariousness of people named Gillooly. What I am saying though is that in the history of crying and sports I did not think that Kerrigan could be topped until I saw Terrell Owens press conference after his Cowboys' hilarious loss to the New York Giants.

Owens, with sunglasses on of course, stated:

"It's really unfair. That's my teammate. That's my quarterback. you guys do that, its not fair. We lost as a team. (voice quivering heavily) We lost as a team, man."

Any time I'm having a bad day, a quick trip to Youtube for this clip will put a smile on my face.

I could go through a whole laundry list of reasons why this statement is hilarious and bursting with hypocrisy. I'll limit myself to pointing out that the statement comes from the same individual who for no reason attacked Jeff Garcia's sexuality, and threw Donovan McNabb, and Drew Bledsoe under the bus. Those events were "unfair." Romo getting some criticism for going to Cabo (I know Jason Witten was there too) with Jessica Simpson during the bye week is worthy of some ink. Though the media went a bit crazy with it, Romo should have expected this, and deserves the media assigning some blame to his antics.

Here are some other tidbits:

1- "I have more respect for him than any other coach," quote Adam Vinatieri, regarding Tony Dungy. What does that say about Vinatieri's feelings toward the almighty Bill Belichick? I'd like to know the inside story about Vinatieri's departure from New England.

2- Russ Brandon, a St. John Fisher graduate, was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the Buffalo Bills. The general manager duties are spread throughout the organization including Tom Modrak who will continue as the head scout of the team. It's pretty much the status quo for the team. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing because I think the team had been put on the right track by Marv Levy.

3- Reports indicate that 50 Cent, Timbaland, Wyclef Jean, Mary J. Blige, and Tyler Perry all received steroids from that pesky Albany medical facility. Everyone kind of figured 50 cent, but Timbaland? He's fat. And Mary J. Blige? She's a woman! I hate steroids, and now there should be a huge shadow over some jacked up movie star performances. Brad Pitt in Troy? Will Smith in Ali? Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby? LL Cool J in the NBC sitcom "In the House"? We need George Mitchell on this stat.

4- In Buffalo Sabres news, Brian Campbell has cut-off all negotiations with the team until after the season AKA wants a trade before the deadline, or letting the team know he's peacing out at the end of the season. He does amazing excessive sweating local commercials that I will really really miss.

5- If you aren't excited for the return of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge, then you simply do not have a pulse. Danny/Melinda drama. The return of the ultimate champion Wes. CT being CT, and Coral being Coral. This will be absolutely captivating TV.

The NFL Made Me Hate the Colts

Man, what the fuck happened in his divisional playoff game? Does anybody know how to officiate anymore? Oh wait, I forgot about those two little details known as ratings and money. If it wasn't blatantly obvious that the refs in this Colts-Chargers contest were pulling for a Colts Patriots rematch, then the NFL has officially hypnotized the masses into blind following. At this point, Roger Goodell could go on TV and convince us the Vince Lombardi trophy is God in some sort of new age religion.

As a neutral observer, I really had no rooting interest in this game whatsoever. I mean, I'm not a huge fan of the Colts and the Chargers really don't exist to me because I live in the Eastern time zone. But the referees and their atrocious calls really made it difficult to root for Indianapolis. The Chargers defensive backs, especially Cromartie, got no respect and were called tight the entire second half of the game. It was completely embarrassing to watch how hard the Chargers were getting screwed on defense. Not to mention the "holding" call on the interception return for the Chargers. A Colts player falls over during a clean block and that's a hold? Utter shit.

That's the first reason I couldn't root for the Colts. The second is more of a plus for the Chargers: Philip Rivers is a complete nutbag. This guy should be institutionalized before he kills 3 San Diego hookers in a 'roid rage because they refused to call him MVP during their session with him. Just look at him on the field. He's screaming his head off at every instance. You can see all of his veins in glorious HD pumping blood to his head to support all the insanity that's going on in there. Then he gets injured on a touchdown pass and takes his schizo jawing to the sidelines. Did anyone see him jawing to the fans on the sidelines, even when walking to the locker room to check out his bum knee? Incredible! I can't wait until he beats his wife or makes disparaging remarks about minorities on the New York City subway.

Anyway, here are some other news and notes from divisional weekend:

• The Patriots are unstoppable. The Jaguars actually seemed to play well against them, but still got their asses handed to them. I don't think they have a weakness. And as much as I hate Boston teams and their overbearing bandwagon fans, I can't help but root for the Pats to dethrone the annoyingly ubiquitous '72 Dolphins. Tom Brady is well on his way to shutting up those senile bastards.
• Now that Dallas is out, Green Bay really has a golden road to the SuperBowl. The Giants have to go on the road again, this time to the unpredictable terrain of Lambeau field, and play a team that has seen an offensive resurgence due to a revived running game. The Packers really controlled the game with their running attack and well timed Brett Favre miracle throws.
  
• Philip Rivers is psychotic. I can't wait until he does something that ostracizes him from the rest of civilized society. And did anyone else notice that they beat the Colts with basically their second string offensive attack. By second string I mean without Tomlinson.
  
• Finally, the Giants really proved that their defense is what is going to win them games in this postseason. If they are to be successful against Green Bay, they need to put pressure on Favre and set the tone early. If they let Ryan Grant go Marion Barber III on them, then it's gonna be a long day for the G-Men because Brett Favre is not Tony Romo.
  

Anyway, this episode of Family Guy really sucks (seriously though, this show blows now). But that's a different discussion for never.

You Will Be Known Henceforth as the Pittsburgh Gay Steelers

Or, simply, "the Gay Steelers." Honestly, how does one team remain mediocre every year and still get the status of AFC powerhouse? It is unbelievable to me. They always make the playoffs and always bust. Their only solace comes in their Super Bowl win two years ago that was riddled with lucky plays and controversial officiating. And even that was the result of a fucking gimmick play that turned out to be a "genius" call from Cowher. Give me a break Gay Steelers, you win because the entire city of Pittsburgh sold its collective soul to the devil (or Hillary Clinton, take a pick).

And if that weren't enough bullshit, Roethlisberger continues to flop in the playoffs and still gets the title of "big game quarterback." Let me tell you something, going 9 for 21 for 123 yards, no touchdowns and two picks is hardly the stat line you'd expect from a supposed "big game" quarterback. And that was in the Super Bowl! Shit, Jake Delhomme played five times better in his appearance against the Fascist Patriots (who are better than the Yuppie Seahawks)!

How does everyone forget that Willie Parker was the real bus that carried that team to the Super Bowl. He even had 100 yards and a TD that game! And he's the only reason the Gay Steelers are even good this year. Even though he ruined my fantasy team by breaking his leg championship week, he's still a respectable player that goes out there and takes it to the defense. He sets the tone for the Gay Steelers. He undoes the mess Shrek Roethliswhatever makes with his happy feet and poor decisions.

Last night was the quintessential Gay Steelers football game. They go down in the first half big because Shrek is a fucking oaf who makes terrible passes and stares down Hines Ward/Santonio Holmes so that Rashean Mathis can pick off his passes. But then Del Rio, in all his pleather jacket glory, starts playing the Browns Prevent scheme and the Gay Steelers get back into it. Roethlisfucker starts checking down and completes like 45 consecutive dump offs (thereby explaining his inexplicable QB rating) to the running back and the Gay Steelers march down the field.

Now this is when the Gay Steelers really earn their right to their new name. On a third and long Del Rio calls for a safety blitz on the left side. Somehow, Roethlisberger sees this and figures he should pass it to Santonio Holmes on that same side. Holmes makes the catch and sprints into the endzone. Then he proceeds to talk shit being down by two scores! Hey, Gay Steelers, you can't taunt when you are down by 17 points in the third quarter at home in a wildcard playoff, you stupid fucks.

The Gay Steelers defense is a huge part for their success, I will acknowledge that. They aren't afraid to bring the heat even when they are down. That's admirable and the Super Bowl Jags really faltered in the second half when LeBeau starting blitzing that Samoan guy every play.

Then the offense turns into the Kim Jong Ward show. That little half Korean bastard starts catching everything his way and taunting the DB. Now, unlike the rest of the nation, I do not respect Kim Jong Ward. In fact, I think he's one of the dirtier players in the league. And I'm glad that the entire country got to see him grab that face mask in the end zone to get that interference call. Thats how that dirty little bitch does. I see this little fuck twice a year and he pulls the same shit every time. I was really hoping that the Super Bowl Jaguar's DB broke his knee on that one tackle in the end zone. Seriously, I would not have felt bad.

Anyway, in the end Karma finally caught up with the Gay Steelers and they lost one of those classic Gay Steelers games. I talked my shit to everybody I know from Pittsburgh and am somewhat content in my reveling in their misfortune. Fuck you Gay Steelers.

Your Degree is Worthless Because of that Shirt

I have a long standing love hate relationship with this time of year. The time around the New Year is full of drunken celebration and hopefully a random hookup that leads the girl to her first decision of the year being a regret. It's also the time of year where the NFL regular season is ending in all its glory and crazy playoff scenarios happen (fuck you Titans). Thats the love part.

But nobody wants to hear about love here, its all about hate. I hate this time of year because of the retarded sport known as Division I college football. Now I know the realpolitik of the situation and how there's too much money to be lost in converting this bullshit into a playoff system, but that doesn't stop me from bitching about how terrible it is. And it won't stop me from making the statement that die hard college football fans probably don't deserve their degree.

Honestly, how can any educated person believe in a system that is completely arbitrary? Just because you have some fancy computer program to calculate strength of schedule doesn't make it fair or logical. And having the computer take into account the press and coaching rankings really just seals the deal on any sort of legitimacy these rankings had. And the worst part about the whole thing is that people spend thousands of dollars to go and watch these postseason games that don't mean shit. Hell I'll drop three grand to see my team in the Superbowl because if they win, nobody can bitch about it.

It just seems like every year college football follows the same idiotic pattern and comes up with the same inevitable result: bullshit. There's no real champion at the end of the season. Its just a team that was voted by some people in a room to play in the national championship game based on criteria that Descartes couldn't even figure out.

Hey dipshits, how about a playoff system? Oh wait, the students have finals that month?!? Really? That's absolutely terrible. All the other divisions have a playoff system and it works flawlessly. Furthermore, those kids are more likely to be concerned with their academics (B-Rad Division III Academic All American @ DE is now an attorney, Maurice Clarett is in jail) than some prima donna wide receiver at Florida State. You're telling me that Vince Young and Matt Leinart couldn't play in December because of finals? I'm sure Peter Warrick really worried about his stats final in between catching TD passes and robbing Macy's.

And you know who we really have to blame for this atrocity? The "educated" youth of America and shitbag alums who pay top dollar to propagate this sham. Sure I've done my share of kegs and eggs and sure it was a great time. But I wasn't tricked into putting my heart, soul, and wallet into some farcical system in the name of school spirit or some shit. This is America people. We should demand a clear cut winner, not some pansy ass Communist way of selecting winners. College football blows. There's only one way to fix it, and everyone knows how. Too bad nobody wants to do anything about it. Fucking college kids.

Marv-elous

Though after only two years on the job it is obviously a bit premature to call Marv Levy's tenure as Bills GM "marvelous" I think he did a fine job in restructuring a roster that was in dire straits after the woeful management of Tom Donahoe.

When everyone, including myself, said Donte who? When the Bills drafted Donte Whitner, Levy weathered the "experts" D and F draft grades. Whitner went on to make the NFL All-Rookie team and continue to be a playmaker and leader on the Bills defense. The Bills first pick this year, Marshawn Lynch, has also been consistent and gained 1,000 yards despite missing a couple of games with injuries. I know the draft isn't just the first round, and Levy's other picks have been solid thus far, as fans of the Bills will all recognize these guys as starting for the Bills at different times this season: Ko Simpson, Brad Butler, Keith Ellison, Kyle Williams, Ashton Youboty, John McCargo, Trent Edwards and Paul Posluszny.

So even though the Bills have struggled through two consecutive 7-9 records I think Levy has set the team up for success next season. I know I am a despicable homer in Bills predictions, but with another infusion of new talent, the windfall of a full season of Posluszny, and a fantastic schedule that includes the AFC and NFC West I really think the Bills will make the playoffs for the first time this millennium...next season.

So at the mid-season I made seven predictions. Let's see how I did:

- I've been harping all season about the turnarounds of former last place teams. This year, only two of the average three teams went worst to playoffs. The Redskins and the Buccaneers pulled it off, while the Browns came up just short. Though it may seem unbelievable at this time fans of the Dolphins, Ravens, Texans, Chiefs, Eagles, Bears, Falcons, and Rams have a real reason to look forward to next season (I'm already thinking Texans, Bears, and Eagles look like great bets).

- I said that no team in the NFC West would finish with above an 8-8 record...and was wrong. The Seahawks got hot. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Redskins pull off the minor upset though this week.

- I said the Lions would really have to earn their playoff spot, pointing out their Bataan Death March of a second half schedule. The Lions turned cowardly in the face of adversity and ended up free-falling.

- I predicted that Adrian Peterson would get hurt in the second half...and I was right. I think this is the first in a probable series of injuries for Peterson. It was strange that when Peterson didn't play the Vikings got hot, and when he came back he was stonewalled, and the Vikings choked away their last two games.

- I said that Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid were done in Philly...and now it looks like I'm probably wrong. McNabb ended the season strongly, and Reid seemed more willing to talk about his family issues appeasing the ravenous Philly press...Kevin Kolb still lurks though...

- I predicted that no team in the AFC South would finish with a losing record...and I was right. All of the AFC South teams look strong for the foreseeable future.

- I thought Time Warner would burn if it didn't settle with the NFL Network by the time of the Pats and Giants game for perfection. The NFL simulcasted the game on CBS and NBC in a brilliant stroke, giving the game the highest regular season ratings in twelve years, and giving itself a three hour commercial for the essential nature of NFL Network.

- Sadly the Bills did not make the playoffs. That will not stop me from picking them next year (see above).