Tampa Bay Buccaneers At Dallas Cowboys

I've just looked at the odds on this game: Dallas are favoured by nine points. ...Shocked isn't quite the word. Sure, I can see a sort of logic here: the Bucs were strong in week one, but last week after dominating in the first three quarters, they gave up 25 fourth quarter points to a New York Giants team that lost to the Dallas Cowboys on the opening weekend just one week earlier. Except, I'd be forgetting one thing - Dallas just got torn apart by the Seahawks 27-7. In fact, that was the one result I didn't look at all weekend. It was the result I looked at last. I didn't watch the game; I didn't even try to watch the game, as it was meant to be a Dallas blow out of Seattle, with Tony Romo and Dez Bryant making Pete Carroll look like the circus clown. It was indeed meant to be 27-7! Yes, that was definitely the scoreline I was thinking of... 27-7 to the Cowboys!!!
So, after that embarrassment, can we really trust the team that showed us glimpses of superbowl stardom just two Wednesdays back? I say not! Though I have never seen my beloved Bucs beat the Cowboys, never. So consequently, I am forced to say that we will probably lose. By 9 points though? Heck, no. Make it four.

Week 1 - The Early Games!

The NFL's 'Play 60' advert booms straight after a preview for NFL Gameday, which was then followed by the new UGG ad, entailing Tom Brady sporting an imaginary game of catch with a ten year old kid in an airport. A minute later, Rich Eisen, Sapp, Irvin, Mooch and Faulk are high fiving for the start of new season...  I'm fired up!
It's 9 oclock Eastern... Tebow's in New York! Cam Newton's about to hit his shaky second year. Andrew Luck, RGIII, Jake Locker are unleashed on the NFL! Will Manning return in Mile High as ? New Orleans contenders without suspended head coach Sean Peyton?
I'm too emotional to gesticulate! Let's just get into it. Here are my three early games to watch...


Eagles @ Browns
Remember 2010? Remember when Michael Vick returned to the NFL, demolishing every defense in sight? Remember Monday Night Football in Washington and a 45 first half points? If the 2012 Vick can be anything like he was there, and maintain it through the season, then there's no reason to believe the Eagles can't win it all. Desean Jackson is a moody chap, but when Vick's throwing to him, he's moans less and he's arguably one of the best receivers in the league. Solid receivers Jason Avant and Jeremy Maclin provide a sound outlet of variety, and Brent Celek gives even more options at Tight End. If Lesean McCoy can stay in form, they'll have a great mix of run/pass. My only concern is this: Michael Vick is a brittle little boy, and Trent Foles and Nick Edwards are not even close to adequate backups. The top receiving corps relies on Vick staying healthy. Essentially what I'm saying is this: if Vick stays healthy and plays more 13 or more games, they should be favourites for the SuperBowl going into the playoffs. If he doesn't, they could just as easily struggle to make it to .500.
As for Andy Reid? This is it. He was unlucky over the years with McNabb. He's a top coach, and, I would say, one of the best to never have a ring. But even the best don't get too many rolls of the dice.

The Browns? Their fate in this game relies on the Eagles. Cleveland are very weak; if Vick gets knocked out early, they get a few fumbles, they may be able to make it a close one. Though there aren't too many blue moons in the Sunday sky in Ohio this evening...


Bills @ Jets
Mario Williams is making his debut, and I was really high on Ryan Fitzpatrick last year, but I think the Jets are being treated a little too severely and should take them by at least the handicap. First of all, I'll say this: Distraction? It's New York! The Jets would be dry and needy without some sort of distraction. This little melodrama will cause no problems compared to the spark and fire it's going to ignite in the belly of the beast. The Jets' main problem in recent years has not been down to their prima donnas nor their over-exhuberant head coach. For me and for many, it's been down to their quarterback. Mark Sanchez reminds me of a jaded nephew of Tony Romo. He's the kid who promised so much, and just when you're about done with him, he'll pull out a eyebrow raising, flash in the pan performance that accrues for another few weeks of the meek mediocre. Tebow is the ultimate guy to combat that. This is a man that NFL Network are staring in a documentary named Tebow: A Football Life. He's not a genuine replacement, and their not paying him the money that would have to pay a genuine replacement. However, Tim Tebow's presence alone will either light a fire under Sanchez and produce a Jets-worthy quarterback, or it'll kill the myth that he's any good. Either outcome will be a success.

Falcons @ Chiefs
Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Jason Snelling - I shall say no more. Admittedly, there seems to be this duality of the Kansas City Chiefs; for me, it's a terrible team, but it's a terrible team that killed the unbeaten Packers in week 14 last year... Kurt Warner picked Matt Cassell as his comeback player of the year for 2012. Give me a break... This kid is the opposite of a 2011 Cam Newton. Cam did it all by himself in a team of nobodies. The 2008 Matt Cassell did very unexpected things with an incandescent team of players and coaches around him. There's nothing elite to see here. And there's no Tamba Hali tonight against Atlanta. Quite simply, there is no chance.


Colts @ Bears
Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte. This is enough. And in case it wasn't, the Bears have one of the best defenses in the league. The Colts are bland, dry, dead. Can Andrew Luck spark something? Yes, maybe. But unless he can instantly turn it on, I can't see how the Colts are going to get anything from this game. Their roster is dry and void of any inspiration.

Im Back...!

Guys, girls, fellas, ladies... I'm back! That's right, I've blogged elsewhere for the past year, but my marvelous return is complete!

Come back for my weekly blogposts prooontiisiimooo!

:)

Super.Bowl...

I'm feeling pretty sick about how the SuperBowl ended. Too sick to write with my usual jovial hyperbole, and too sick to care about how I write. So I'm simply going to leave a numbered list of musings:
1) Ben Roethlisberger let me down, he let the steelers down, and he certainly let Brett Favre down. The SuperBowl may be the biggest stage in the NFL but he's been there twice before and should have overcome the hype and pressure that the big game brings. If it wasn't the pressure that got to him, then he simply fell on his face. I know that before the game I'd previously mused over the possibility of football immortality for the fella, but that's all lost now. Enough. No more of the man. I'm back to being a typical Tampa man, and thus, a Steelers-hater :)
2) Brett Favre. Somewhere, on a farm maybe in Hattiesberg Mississippi (I like to think), Brett Favre was watching this game. And what he saw was the Packers ease to their first Superbowl since 1996. And moreover, their first Superbowl since he left. Call me gay, call me a loser, but being the massive Brett Favre fan that I am, I'm worried about how this will affect the man's legacy down the line. He was awesome, and I want my kids to hold him in high regard. But will they? For me, his whole legacy now changes completely if you factor in that three years after he left the Packers, his replacement took down only their fourth SuperBowl in their history. Maybe I'm seeing it all wrong, but if he leaves and they're bereft of a Championship for the next twenty years, the memory of Favre is somewhat more epic.

3) Aaron Rodgers. The man is too good. So much that it irritates me. I think he might be close to the level of Brady and Manning, and I'd definitelly put him alongside Brees. Roethlisberger? Bleh, I'll get back to on that one. He's a retched mystery to me.
But Rodgers, wow, he was unstoppable. If it hadn't have been for his crappy jittery receivers, he'd have been a 400-yard SuperBowl man. But he isn't, and it makes me happy that he's not.

4) Mike McCarthy. The man is _____. And that's that. I have nothing to say about him. I'm not going to knock his appearance because that's irrelavant to a man's footballing prowess, but the man is totally bereft of any life or personality. If you told me he had no soul, I'd believe you. I understand that he's a clever guy, but to be remembered, you need character. And this guy has none. Last night I saw the list of Packers coaches to win a Superbowl: Vince Lombardi, Mike Holmgren, Mike McCarthy. He doesn't belong with those two people. Not until he starts smiling more anyway.

Roethlisberger and his Super Bowls.

Many wanted him out and early whispers spoke of possible prison time. Either way, this time 'Big Ben' had gone too far. On hearing that Ben Roethlisberger had again encountered a brusque run-in with the law, I took to the social-networking skies and proclaimed that it could only be Ground Hog Day.
Ben Roethlisberger was an elite quarterback, but he was no stranger to off-the-field troubles. His specifically-uneditable Wikipedia page lists such incidents under 'Off-field Headlines'. It begins with his motorcycle accident back in 2006 when he fell off his bike which he was riding with no helmet. He suffered a broken upper and lower jaw and a broken nose, and was consequently criticised heavily for being a irresponsible no-helmet-wearing clown.
The next year he went on to win his second Super Bowl and all was forgotten... Until the following June (2009) when a 31 year old lady claimed that he'd sexually assaulted her in his hotel room during a celebrity golf tournament.
This time things were serious; your dad might forget to wear a motorcycle helmet and end up breaking his nose, but when he's taking advantage of some whore in a hotel you kinda get pissed at the guy. I was still irked by the lingering question of 'Well what was she doing in his hotel room anyway? Cup of tea? Watch some cartoons?' It's easy to see how celebrities get into these situations, I thought. Anyway, nothing came of it, and it went away.
Until March 5. And March 5 2010 will forever be a great cornerstone is the illustrious career of Ben Roethlisberger. No matter what he accomplishes from here on, the alleged incidents in Capital City Nightclub will be earmarked on his timeline. Being accused of rape is always going to be a knife to the throat of any sportsman's career; especially when you're already host a reputation for being a bit of a fool.
The allegations brought against him are pretty well known enough now that I don't need to mention them. And my lingering feelings on the case reside over questions like 'Well why would she get hospital tests and make this all up? No money or liable fee was ever mentioned...'
Anyway, despite the fact that charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, there was much animosity felt amongst many Steelers. And whether he committed a crime or not, I fully sympathise and understand their anger. This man is paid millions of dollars every year to play for one of the best teams in football. And regardless of whether he was breaking the law last Spring, he was more or less breaking the quarterbacks code of conduct which preaches the avoidance of being a waster. Drinking in clubs? Partying until late like you're some playboy teamster? Not exactly Hall of Fame material. Can you envision Peyton Manning busting some moves on the dance floor with a group of freshman teens, knocking back tequila shooters? Hmm. Any more examples? Mark Sanchez lives in a sort of retirement home place with his wide-receiver buddy who's on the practise squad. They divide their off-season time between playing golf and playing catch and throw. Brady's sitting on sunset strip eating a salad, and Favre is definitely either out hunting or just sitting on his tractor wondering whether he'll come back for another year. See, this is what makes these guys great. They're not, as I like to say, "wastemen". Most of them don't drink, they don't party and they tend to be pretty focused. Remember when the Rams played the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football and that had that brief segment when they asked Sam Bradford what wild things he'd done with his money since signing that $60million contract? And his actual genuine answer was, "Erm, not too much really, I did buy a big ping pong table though. It's awesome, me and my friends have so much fun on it!" Yes. I know. I was aghast. Not a nice car Sam? Mansion in the hills? Just the table tennis then huh? At this, I thought he was an idiot, and immediately lost all interest in the fella. But with hindsight, this is probably why he knows all his plays perfectly. And probably why he almost took one of the worst NFL teams into the playoffs.
But you know what? I think Big Ben has finally realised all of this too. I'm not saying he's decided to turn boring - because he always has been! But I think he's certainly learnt his lesson. Or rather two lessons: the first being to straighten up and focus, and the second being to never fuck with the Rooneys. And consequently, tonight's game is his biggest stage. With all his ghosts behind him, he's now sixty minutes away from a third Super Bowl title; on a par with Brady and Aikman, more than , And Manning? Three Super Bowls would put him above the whole Manning family combined.
So much talk over the last couple of years has been about a QB being able to break into that Brady/Manning category, and constantly we hear the Drew Brees chatter mixed in with a whole lot of love for Phillip Rivers. Forget everyone else. If Roethlisberger wins tonight, he'll stand shoulder to shoulder with both Manning and Brady. No matter what anyone says about his stats or his off the field histories. This guy has spent the last nine months getting his act together; and three Super Bowls is no mean feat. In fact, from how I see it, a third Super Bowl, and Big Ben can start pitching his tent up in Canton.

Tampa, Playoffs, and a Blue Moon.

The Bucs seemed to have it all figured out. Three of the remaining four games against sides with losing records; win them, and you're in the playoffs. The critics agreed and bemoaned the Tampa's 'easy 2010 schedule' (whilst seemingly forgetting we had to play the Saints and Falcons twice, along with the Ravens and Steelers who both stand at 11-4). And so it was simple. A botched snap causing a missed extra point, and we'd beaten the unpredictable Redskins. One down, two to go. But the week 15 Detroit Lions weren't the pushover that the script had writte them to be, edging to victory with a last gasp field goal.
And so now the following week's victory over Seattle seems rather moot: the Bucs now need to beat the Saints in the final game of the season. Yes, the same Saints that defeated us by twenty five points in week three, lead by the madden-curse evading super-human Drew Brees. Oh, and since they managed to beat the Superbowl bound Falcons in the Georgia Dome last week - handing Matt Ryan only his second ever home loss - we now have to hope that the Packers and the Giants both lose as well. And as if the situation needed to get any worse, the Packers will now be facing a somewhat 'rookie' version of the 11-4 Bears since the Eagles embarrassment against the Vikings last night means the Bears will be the no.2 seed regardless of what happens. Fantastic!

Philli vs Houston: Pregame

Just a quick one: Philadelphia are eight point favourties over the Texans. Three words, take the Eagles. There are so many things I could say to justify this and it seems so clear to me that I feel it needs no justification. Here's one though, the Texans pass defense is awful, and Vick has taken centre stage over the past few weeks showcasing his new ability to throw deep. This is going to be a big one, Vick is here to play! :)