OK, so NFL playoffs get under way this weekend. Of course, for this Packer fan, they don't really get under way until *next* weekend, but what the hey. Playoffs, my favorite time of year! So, here is my analysis--which is to say, what I've pulled out of my butt--interspersed with a few other observations.
AFC MATCHUPS
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans. Who cares? Next.
Oh, OK, I'll actually say something about it. Texans could be a feared opponent if all their quarterbacks weren't hurt. Midway through the season they absolutely slaughtered the Browns. Now, the Browns admittedly are quite bad, but only on offense. They have one of the NFL's better defenses. And the Texans lit them up. But that was before everybody got hurt. The fact that the Texans last week had to resort to using Jake Delhomme tells you all you need to know. As it is, I think they're a little better than Cincinnati plus they're at home so they'll probably win. But it doesn't matter because the winner of this will simply turn around next weekend and get curb-stomped by the Ravens (if it's Houston) or the Patriots (if it's Cincinnati). So, who cares? Next.
--Now that the primary season is under way and the president has no primary challenger, I'm going to be subjected every time I turn on the tube to 500 commercials for presidential candidates I despise. Hopefully they'll all be attacking each other. Which will still be annoying but kind of entertaining too.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos. Heh. OK, I can't help it, this makes me laugh some. And I say that knowing I have Facebook friends who are fans of both teams, so I mean no great offense. First of all, though the Packers are by far #1 in my heart, I'm also a Browns fan. As such, I'm contractually obligated to hate or at least dislike the Steelers, even if as a late-comer, non-native, Packer fan I can't do it with true Browns fan envy-tinged bitterness. And Tebow just doesn't do it for me, sorry. The relatively little I've seen him play this year I've thought, man. This guy sucks. He may be a great guy with a great work ethic and all, but it's generally considered a desirable skill in an NFL quarterback to be able actually to throw the football. Dude can't throw. Admittedly the Steelers are pretty badly banged up now with a bunch of key players out (like their starting center and their best running back), which given that Denver's defense is pretty good is the only thing that gives the Broncos a shot. And Roethlisberger is gimping around on a bad ankle. But, sorry, I got no love for the guy but Roethlisberger at 60% is better than Tebow at 100%, especially Tebow playing against the Steeler defense. Steelers are not in good shape but they're in good enough shape to beat Denver I think. Unless God once again decides to intervene, as various sports pundits apparently decided happened earlier in the season.
--OK, I've added a little bit of padding to the ol' stadium cushion over the course of the year, if you get my drift. I should totally get back onto the Weight Watchers regimen. But man, during playoffs, do I ever like to sit on the couch and drink beer. I mean, I like that all year sure, but especially during playoffs.
And now, on to.....
NFC MATCHUPS
Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints. Whooo-eeee! This could be a fun one. I would think the Saints win this one in a walk. The much-vaunted Detroit defense has been more or less MIA the past few weeks. They got 45 points hung on them last week by the Packers' backup quarterback, in a game where only Detroit was actually playing for anything. The Saints have I would argue the second-best offense in the NFL, and it's second-best by a nose hair (others would argue the Saints are actually the best offense). They've been unbeatable at home this year, including having no real trouble from Detroit back in early December. I suppose I should be rooting for Detroit to win this one (and, you know, anything can happen, blah blah blah) and take out the Saints, but a) I can't quite bring myself to do it, and b) I don't think it matters anyway because unless The Almighty Breezus and Daren Sproles break each others' ribs on a freak collision in the first quarter and are out for the game or something, I don't think Detroit has much of a shot. Vegas has the Saints as the biggest favorite of the week (10.5 points) for a reason.
--Anybody care to guess what the ratio of political ads to beer commercials will be? I'm going to guess 2 or 3 political ads per 5 beer commercials. Ohio's primary isn't until Super Tuesday, so it won't be quite as bad here as it is for folks watching in, say, South Carolina. It will get worse in about a month.
Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants. Not sure honestly what to make of this one. The Falcons are a team that I haven't seen play a whole lot this year--mostly little snippets interspersed with other games. I think I watched most of the Sunday Night game against Philadelphia and they looked pretty good, but that was all the way back in like early September I think. Other than that I haven't seen them much. I've watched the Giants a fair amount recently and they look pretty schizophrenic. Sometimes they look great and then sometimes they're just laughable. So, I don't know. I guess if I'm going to pick an upset this week this one would make sense. And I haven't yet, so I'll pick this one. Falcons, which will make my husband happy.
OK. That's it. So what sort of dip should I make?
1 comment:
To answer your question: I can't be as vicious a Steeler-hater as your average, born-and-raised-here Browns fan, simply because I lack the background of having been steeped in the bitterness since childhood. Native Browns fans hate the Steelers even more than Old School Packer fans hate the Bears, or everyone else hates the Cowboys....
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