Super Bowl Letdown

Did you feel as cheated as I did last night? We didn't even get that good of a commercial set, although the FedEx commercial and the streaking sheep spot were pretty funny. Back to what I was saying, though. The NFL should take a lesson from last night's game and stop scheduling the Super Bowl two weeks after the AFC/NFC title games. All we got this year was a HUGE letdown. I mean, if you're a Steelers fan, you loved it. Any other football fan looked at it like it was a Week 2 game. You can't tell me that a coach that has won a title before couldn't manage the clock any better than he did in that game. You can't tell me that an offense that was the best in red zone scoring this season suddenly couldn't find the end zone. And would someone please tell Jerramy Stevens that its OK for him to remove his foot from his mouth now. That is, if he can get a good grip on it. With all the butter on his hands, he might have a hard time ermoving said foot.
Jerome Bettis rides off with a title. Good for him. But, is he really a Hall of Fame running back? Yes, he is popular. Yes, he is an icon in Pittsburgh, though many forget, he started with the L.A. Rams out of Notre Dame (his choice of colleges is another reason for me to keep him out of the Hall, but that's another story for another day). He's amassed a LOT of yards since coming into this league (over 13,000 to be exact), but I just sometimes question if he's worthy of the Hall. From the position he played, and gaining that many yards, he'll probably make it. After all, longevity is something the voters take into consideration (see also: Davis, Terrell). We'll see in five years if he makes the cut.
Take a look at list night's winner. They join Dallas and San Francisco as the only five-time winners of the NFL's big game. If you look back, only a handful of teams can say they've won Lombardi's trophy. Between the aforementioned teams, that's fifteen trophies. Add to that Green Bay (3), New England (3), Washington (3), and Oakland (3), that makes twelve more trophies, taking us up to twenty-seven. Add the two-time winners of Denver, NY Giants, and Miami, that takes us up to thirty-three. Throw in Tampa Bay, Chicago, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City, St. Louis, NY Jets, and the Baltimore Colts, that gives you the forty titles. I know I mentioned Baltimore twice, but I'm from the old school. Looking back at it, its not a lot of teams that can lay claim to the title. I know parity is important in this league, and if you look at the early years, teams could actually build dynasties. Now, in the salary cap era of the NFL, that's almost impossible.
With another season in the books, it's time to make some predictions for next year's NFL season. In the AFC, I like New England in the East, Pittsburgh in the North, Indy in the South and Denver in the West, with Miami and Kansas City as the wild cards. In the NFC, I like New York in the East, Carolina in the South, Chicago in the North, and Seattle in the West, with Philadelphia and Washington as the wild cards. That all may change as the off-season rolls along. The draft is coming, and free agency is just around the bend. Plus, with some teams having players come back from injuries, I reserve the right to change said picks right up until the season opener this fall.

See you next time.

Patrick