The Super Bowl...............

Well it's come down to the final two teams. The Forty-Niners are the favorite to win this year's Lombardi. Let's examine this a little further. Sometimes there are more variables than the ones that appear on the surface. Do you believe in destiny? I do. All you have to do is look at the charmed season of 2009 when the impossible happen against all odds. The Saints won the Super Bowl in a season where everything seemed to fall their way. There was the unbelievable 2nd half comeback in Miami against the Dolphins for the win. Later in the season there was the strange interception bounce in the air to a waiting Redskin, again on the road in Washington, and there was Robert Meachem stripping and stealing the ball going the other way for a touchdown. That's the sort of season the Ravens have had. First, Ray Lewis goes down with an injury then Terrell Suggs, then Ed Reed is in and out of the line up all year. Towards the end of the season the head coach fires his offensive coordinator. All this and the Ravens lose 4 out of their last 5 games only winning against the Giants to go to 10 wins and a date with the Colts in the Wildcard Round. Destiny? Next they faced a heavily favorite Broncos team in Denver with a stout defense and an potent offense led by Peyton Manning in the frigid Mile High air and the Ravens manage to pull out a miracle 70 yard pitch and catch at the end of regulation to tie it up at 35. Then after several exchanges of possessions and a second overtime the Ravens kicker nails a 47 yarder for the win on the road. Destiny? Three years ago another team of destiny had a similar path, not exact mind you, but similar. Now after a season of ups & downs with my picks and finishing to this point at 178-88, better than both Phil and Chris on Showtime's Beat the Insiders, I am here to tell you the Ravens are a team of Destiny. The Ravens are probably one of the few defenses that can stop Colin Kaepernick and the Forty-Niners. Keep in mind Atlanta's defense stopped him for a couple quarters. Are the Ravens a better or worse defense than the Falcons? You can answer that question yourself. Is Peyton Manning a better QB than Colin Kaepernick? Again, what do you think? The most underrated QB in this game is Joe Flacco. He is ready to take the next step and be a Super Bowl winning QB. Kaepernick on the other hand is still too caught up in trademarking his stupid touchdown celebration of kissing his bicep and he has yet to complete a full season as a starter. Good luck with that Colin. The Ravens will be victorious and get their second Lombardi Trophy to take home. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will ride off into the sunset with a ring on their finger,  for Lewis it will be his second ring, and he is the only Raven left from their last Super Bowl team. Enjoy the game it should be a good one and if not we always have the commercials to look forward to.

The Post Season......

I know it's been a while as I am still getting over the depression of my beloved Saints not being in the post season. Anyway, my picks have still been pretty spot on as I finished the season ahead of both Cris Collinsworth & Phill Simms on Showtime's Beat the Insiders.com. Last week I was 4-0 on Wildcard Weekend, however this weekend I started 1-1 as the Broncos blew a fourth quarter lead and let the Ravens back in it  and eventually winning. Today, I am picking the Patriots to win over the Texans and my upset special...take the Seahawks over the Falcons. Until the Falcons actually do it, they haven't proved they can win when it counts. Also, Pete Carroll has his team playing with a lot of confidence. The Seahawks were down 14-0 in the first quarter last week on the road and for a relatively young team did not lose their composure. I was impressed. Even though I picked them last week, I never imagined they would win it like that. If the Seahawks win today, and I believe they will, they will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. They already have the 49ers' number. I don't believe they are intimidated by the Falcons or by any other team for that matter. The AFC now boils down to the Ravens or the Patriots. If the Patriots stay the course they will get their chance at another Super Bowl. Enjoy the games today and I'll see you next week.