Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Audible! Audible!

Let the pride-swallowing begin. As you can tell by now, I know next to nothing about the National Football League. To make things quick and painless, I'm going to sum up some brief observations about the season so far and how my predictions are panning out. Just in case you forgot what the predictions were, here they are.
  1. Oh boy, where do we start? Why not with my Super Bowl winner, the Tennesse "Nashville Has a Football Team?" Titans? Seeing as how they didn't win their first game until November, things are not looking good for these guys, or me. It seems as if I seriously underestimated the loss of behemoth DT Albert Haynesworth to free agency.
  2. Next, let's talk about the Denver Broncos. I said they'd win four. All year. They won five. By week five.
  3. New Orleans Saints. In order for my 8-8 prediction to be accurate, they need to lose the remaining eight games. Two other teams that must lose the last eight in a row: the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys. Ouch.
  4. My Seattle Seahawks? A bust. They better win seven of their next eight for me to be right about them. The Carolina Panthers gotta do the same.
  5. Other "What was he thinking?" picks: Arizona, Kansas City, Chicago, Jacksonville.
  6. There were, however, some bright spots of football prescience. I appear to be correct about division leaders Indianapolis and Minnesota.
  7. I correctly foretold that Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Philadelphia and New England would all be legitimate contenders.
  8. Just as well, I have been right about the cellar-dwellers in five out of the eight divisions (including all four NFC divisions): Detroit, St. Louis, Washington, Cleveland and Tampa Bay.
  9. An NFC championship game of Philadelphia at Minnesota still looks quite plausible.
  10. An AFC Championship game of Tennessee at San Diego looks plain laughable.

Mid-season audible! But to avoid being a prognosticating glutton for punishment, I will focus my wisdom on just the conference championships and Super Bowl. Here is what I foresee, albeit haphazardly.

  • NFC: Arizona (they're my new sexy pick) at New Orleans
  • AFC: Cincinnati at Indianapolis
  • Super Bowl: Indianapolis over New Orleans (didn't I tell you the Super Bowl winner would come out of the AFC South?)