I LOVE THE FOOTBALL GAMES IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKENDS.
EVERYTHING ON THE LINE.
NONE OF THIS TWO OUT OF THREE STUFF.
PLAY THE GAME—WINNER TAKE ALL.
THAT’S FOOTBALL!
THE NEXT THING I LIKE TO DO IS MAKE PREDICTIONS.
I DON’T DO PARTICULARLY WELL WITH MY BRACKETS IN MARCH MADNESS
AND I DON’T EXPECT TO WIN MANY AWARDS IN THE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS EITHER.
BUT I ENJOY TRYING ANYWAY.
THE NFL IS HAS CHANGED IN DRAMATIC WAYS.
THIS IS A LEAGUE THAT IS PASSING CRAZY WHICH DRIVES OLD TIME DEFENSE ORIENTED
COACHES AND FANS CRAZY.
THE BIG QUESTION IN MY MIND HEADING INTO THE PLAYOFFS IS WHETHER TEAMS LIKE
NEW ORLEANS, GREEN BAY OR THE PATRIOTS CAN PLAY ENOUGH DEFENSE TO WIN A
SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP.
WE KNOW THE FANS AND TV LOVE GUYS LIKE DREW BREES, AARON ROGERS AND TOM
BRADY.
THEY ARE THE FACE OF THE LEAGUE FOR SURE.
THE LEAGUE HAS ALMOST RULED DEFENSE OUT OF THE GAME.
IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE SAINTS, PATRIOTS AND PACKERS THEY LEAD THE LEAGUE
IN TOTAL OFFENSE AND TOTAL SCORING.
BUT LET’S TURN THE PAGE OVER.
THE SAINTS ARE 24TH IN TOTAL DEFENSE AND PATRIOTS 31ST WITH THE PACKERS COMING
IN DEAD LAST.
AS I, AS A FAN, TAKE A LOOK AT THE UPCOMING GAMES I HAVE TO BE A LITTLE SKEPTICAL
A BOUT THE SURVIVAL RATE OF THESE TEAMS.
IF YOU LOOK AT HISTORY OF CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES MOST WINNERS WERE HIGHLY RATED
DEFENSIVE TEAMS.
BUT MAYBE THE TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
I MEAN THE PATRIOTS GO DOWN BY 21 POINTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER AND THEN ROAR BACK
AND WIN THE GAME.
BUT THAT WAS REGULAR SEASON.
THE PLAYOFF S MAY BE DIFFERENT.
CINCINNATI BENGALS (9-7) AT HOUSTON TEXANS (10-6)
I KNOW THE PATS ARE PULLING FOR THE BENGALS.
HOUSTON COMES INTO THE GAME ON A THREE GAME LOSING STREAK. THEY WILL BE
STARTING A ROOKIE THIRD STRING QB AND BEST RECIEVER HURTING. BUT THEY DO
PLAY SOLID DEFENSE.
CINCINNATI IS NOT MUCH MORE THAN AVERAGE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL AND WILL
DEPEND ON QB ANDY DALTON TO FIND OPEN GUYS.
TWO ROOKIE QB’S GOING AGAINST EACH OTHER IN THIS ONE.
MY PICK IS HOUSTON
DETROIT LIONS (10-6) AT NEW ORLEANS (13-3)
FOR THE SAINT BREES HAD A SEASON FOR THE AGES WITH OVER 5200 YARDS AND A 71%
COMPLETION AVERAGE. THEY ARE 8-0 AT HOME.
DETROIT WON SOME GAMES LATE BUT IT WOULD BE A STRETCH TO THINK THAT THEY CAN
WIN IN THE DOME UNLESS THEY FORCE TURNOVERS.
MY GUESS IS NEW ORLEANS BY TWO OR THREE TOUCHDOWNS.
ATLANTA FALCONS (10-6) AT NEW YORK GIANTS (9-7)
THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING GAME. EVERYTHING IS ABOUT ELI MANNING WHO THREW FOR ALMOST
5.000 YARDS WITHOUT A RUNNING GAME TO HELP HIM. THE GIANT DEFENSE ALLOWED 400 POINTS.
BUT THEN YOU HAVE THE WR VICTOR CRUZ WHO IS AMAZING. (FROM UMASS OF COURSE).
ATLANTA IS VERY GOOD AGAINST THE RUN BUT VERY VULNERABLE AGAINST THE PASS.
LOOK FOR MANNING AND CRUZ TO HAVE ENOUGH MAGIC TO WIN.
MY PICK IS THE GIANTS BUT VERY CLOSE.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (12-4) AT DENVER BRONCOS (8-8)
WHAT ELSE CAN WE SAY ABOUT TEBOWMAINA THAT HASN’T BEEN SAID.
THIS GAME IS SIMPLE. IF TIM TEBOW HAS TO THROW THE BALL THE BRONCOS ARE DEAD.
PITTSBURGH HAS TROUBLE STOPPING THE RUN.
BEN ROETHIISBERGER NEEDS TO SCORE IN THE RED ZONE AND NOT SETTLE FOR FIELD GOALS
THIS WEEK.
I CALL IT A STEELERS WIN BY A TOUCHDOWN.
SO THERE, I HAVE TOLD YOU WHAT I THINK WILL HAPPEN.
BUT I SUGGEST YOU WATCH BECAUSE IT MIGHT NOT WORK OUT AS I HAVE DESCRIBED IT.
HAVE FUN!
THIS IS GEORGE HALE WITH MY PERSPECTIVE ON SPORTS

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