There comes a point in every sports-fans life, where he must cast away his self-delusions and face the harshness of reality. That time, however, has not yet come for me. I still think the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl, and I will continue to think that they will win the Super Bowl until one of the following things happens:
1) They lose to Buffalo on Sunday
2)They lose their seventh game of the season
3) They are statistically eliminated from a playoff berth
4) They are eliminated in the playoffs
So until one of those things happen, I'm still backing the Pats. I know they went comatose on me for the past five weeks, but I finally saw some life during the third quarter of the Broncos game. I saw this team come together, and play a little bit of the ball that got them their rings. I think that things are only going to get better from this point. If we can beat Buffalo this week, I foresee a possible 7-1 stretch for the Patriots. They have a distinct advantage in every game left on the schedule, especially now that Oakland has self-destructed. But in all fairness, I've decided to do the following - kick the Patriots out of the NFL. When I make my picks, I'm giving New England the boot. They simply do not exist. This should spice things up a bit, and keep you interested since I'm sure you would think I was crazy for sending the Pats to San Diego. So here are my picks.
NFC East
1. Eagles - Win or lose against the Giants tonight, they still own the division.
2. Redskins
3. Cowboys - Way to go Emmit!
4. Giants
NFC North
1. Packers - I still am liking the Packers, especially since they dodged the bullet playing the team that doesn't exist right after their non-existent quarterback broke up with his existent and extremely whorish girlfriend.
2. Bears - Big fall out here. And the team that doesn't exist has you after Buffalo, which could mean a winning streak...
3. Lions - Also have to play a non-existent team.
4. Vikings - Ditto - If only that team existed, they'd be looking good having to face these three.
NFC South
1. Saints - Looking strong
2. Buccaneers - Barely squeaked one out against Carolina.
3. Falcons
4. Panthers - Always so close, yet still so far
NFC West
1. 49ers - No competition
2. Rams
3. Cardinals
4. Seahawks
NFC Playoff Picture
1. Green Bay
2. Philadelphia
3. San Francisco
4. New Orleans
Wild Card: Buccaneers
Wild Card: Redskins
AFC East
1. Bills - Lots of close wins. I think they can hang onto it.
2. Dolphins - Losing your quarterback right before the annual late season blow-up is not a good idea.
4. Jets - You have my pity I.C.G.
AFC North
1. Steelers - Just shows how bad Kordell is - Losing your job to an XFLer?
2. Browns
3. Ravens
4. Bengals - Whenever you team does bad, think, "At least I'm not a Bengals fan" There's some perspective for you.
AFC South
1. Colts - Playoff spot by default.
2. Titans
3. Jaguars - Fast start was a fluke.
4. Texans
AFC West
1. Broncos - Have peaked - but is it 12 weeks to early?
2. Chargers - They have definitely earned a lot of respect
3. Raiders - They fall apart at the end every year - but this is a little too early.
4. Chiefs
AFC Playoff Picture
1. Broncos
2. Bills
3. Steelers
4. Colts
5. Chargers
6. Dolphins - only because a they avoid playing a team in the Massachusetts winter since they don't exist.
NFC Playoffs:
WILD CARD: San Fran over Skins, Saints over Buccs
DIVISIONAL: Green Bay over Saints, Eagles over Niners
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Green Bay over Philadelphia - Lambeau = Kiss of death to away team
AFC Playoffs:
WILD CARD: Dolphins over Steelers, Chargers over Colts
DIVISIONAL: Broncos over Dolphins, Chargers over Bills
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Broncos over Chargers
SUPER BOWL XXXVII:
Brett Farve may have gotten beaten by John Elway the last time these two met in the big game, but Brian Griese is no John Elway. Packers over Broncos
