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Friday, October 14, 2005

Football Predictions

OK, now that week five is in the books and week six is rapidly approaching, I thought I'd give my playoff predicitions. I know you say, "But Andrew, its only week six, how do you know the entire playoff picture?" Well, to you I say, I just do! You can take these picks to Vegas cuz they are rock solid. Here we go:

Division Winners, AFC:

East - Miami, that's right, Miami. The AFC East has been an extremely weak division for a very long time, save that one team up in Foxboro led by Belichick somebody. Now that the Patriots defense is gone, the Dolphins with their rock solid defense and new, power running game will step up and take it.


North - Cincinnati. I hate to say it, but they are good .... real good. The Bengals have been an up and comer the last three season and with Pittsburgh's early season woes and thanks to a more difficult AFC Nort, Cincinnati figures to be the only team good enough to remain standing. Unfortunately, my Browns are not likely to see January football this season (Prove me wrong). The Bengals, however, will not go far in the playoffs with such a young, unexperienced team.

South - Indianapolis. This is a no brainer, nothing more to say.

West - San Diego. LaDainian Tomlinson is an unstoppable, one-man show. He WILL beat you, that's all their is too it. Their defense is pretty good too. Look to Denver for a potential wild card spot. Their combination of Denver's uncanny ability to turn anybody into a 1,000 yard back and their revamped defensive line will make them a serious wild card contender.

Wild Cards, AFC
Denver, Pittsburgh, and New England .... but since I can only pick two, Denver and Pittsburgh


Division Winners, NFC:

East - Dallas. This division is anyone's guess. Three teams have almost identical skill, Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys. They have similar records so far but none have beaten a great team, except the Cowboys. One things for certain, this formerly bad division is now too good to allow Philly to sail into another playoff spot. Look for T.O. to stomp off the field angry.

North - Detroit. Who really cares? The division winner will play a wild card team and lose to them the first week of the playoffs. I'd lake to say Favre can take a crumbling team to the playoffs yet again, but I just don't think he can.

South - Atlanta. They're good. They have Vick, Duckett, Dunn, and dare I say, a decent defense. Look for Carolina to make a decent run about the time Cadillac runs out of gas.

West - Seattle. Their decent defense will ensure that a few Josh Scobey field goals will be all it takes to beat the Rams, the Cards, or the Niners.

Wild Cards, NFC:
Someone from the East, probably New York and Carolina.

AFC Championship Game:
Indy and Pittsburgh, Indy wins

NFC Championship Game:
Atlanta and Carolina, Atlanta wins

And the Super Bowl winner is ....
....
....
....
Indy.


There you have it, my predictions. No big surprises but there are a few upsets.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

I Love Shopping

While I was busy not watching the Browns this Sunday, I did get to do something else which I also enjoy very much. This past Sunday, I got to spend the day looking for future places to live with my future wife. House shopping is the one thing I LOVE to shop for. I've been looking forward to the day when I would go pick out my first house for at least 5 years. Now that's it here, I feel totally lost. I can only imagine how people who haven't seen every house go on and off the market for the last 5 years must feel. Magazines, emails, phone calls, house visits, and every other method of gaining information only begin to scratch the surface of what I feel I should know before buying a house. There is so many variables to consider: size, location, style, how many bedrooms, do we need a garden tub, how much extra is an island in the kitchen. The options are seemingly endless. Even though it is an ever daunting task to pick out our first home, I am enjoying every minute of it. Just having an actual reason to pick up those new home guides outside of Food Lion is cool enough. The best part, though, is not deciding between Formica, Corian, and Granite, it's seeing Sarah get excited about getting a house. It's knowing that this will be the spot that I will start the second part of my life in. I will cook my first meal with my new wife in this house, I will see my first son or daughter learn to walk and talk in this house, and I will always have fond memories of my first house with my wife. Come to think of it, this is the reason picking out the perfect house is so hard, it's not because deciding if hardwood or tile makes a better kitchen floor is so important, its because I know this house will become the cornerstone where Sarah and I will build our lives together.

Bye Weeks are torture

Yay, I made it through a weekend without a Browns games. It's tough going through the entire week knowing that come Sunday, I will not have a game to watch. Sure, they'll be games on and I'll probably watch them, but it's not the same. Leading up to the bye week, so many things are different in my world. I can't trash talk to any of my co-workers or friends about how the Browns will win on Sunday, they ask who we're playing and all I can say is "Bye Week". Their is even much less news on clevelandbrowns.com to read during lunch. Then Sunday comes and I have no reason to wake up in the morning. No reason to turn on Sunday Countdown and hope they talk about the Browns before I have to head to the Browns Backers meeting area to watch the game, no sitting with family and friends ordering overpriced bar food and cheering and jeering my team, no wearing my favorite Browns jersey all day long and getting compliments from random Browns fans throughout my day, and no going home at the end of the game to jump on the computer and read the analysis of the game.

Being the optimist that I am, I did find some good in not having a game on Sunday. The Browns are guaranteed not to lose, I'm guaranteed to not be asked on Monday, "What happened to those Browns?", and I'm guaranteed that Northcutt WILL NOT have a punt returned for a touchdown get called back because of an insignifcant penalty.

Dang Panthers

I've decided to title my blog "Dang Panthers" for one reason, the panthers have got to be the most frustrating team for their fans of any of the 32 franchises. After following them as an unbiased observer through their 10 years in the NFL(living in Raleigh and Charlotte, but never being a fan), I have come to realize there is one word that sums up the Carolina Panthers: complacent. I say this because the Panther's are a team that "roll with the punches". When they're on a hot streak, they're fine with that. When they hit a slump. They seem to be fine with that too. The Panthers will beat a great team one week and lose to a bad team the next week. During the time from their season in 1995 til now, the Panthers have been 12-4 in 1996, then 4-12 in 1998. They went 1-15 in 2001 and lost the Super Bowl two years later. Their complaceny is not only limited to whole seasons, they are complacent in games too. If they get an early lead, they switch from Smith and Proehl to Davis and Foster. The Panthers play the prevent offense better (or should I say worse) than any other team in the league.

My point is never more valid than in last night's win against the Green Pay Packers. The Packers are a historically great team that has not aged gracefully. After going 19 points ahead in 26-7 start due to many Packers errors, the Panthers became complacent. John Fox stood there and watched the Packers, walkers in hand, walk all over this supposedly great Panthers defense. The Panthers decided that their number one receiver, Steve Smith, was not a necessary component and decided not to use him. It's lucky for the Panthers that the Packers suck or that game would have likely turned out the way their last venture to the big game did ... field goal in overtime, for the loss.

By now, you may have noticed that I'm slightly bitter about last night's game. This is partly because the Packers were unable to get out a win against a lazy Carolina Panthers, thus verifying my suspicion they are unable to get things done anymore and partly because Steve Smith, my number one fantasty receiver, got no play due to Fox's inept coaching style, received one fantasy point, and caused me to lose my game.
Dang Panthers!