Super Bowl XL Pick

Super Bowl XL Pick

It’s amazing; when the Patriots aren’t participating in the Super Bowl, the event seems so horribly over-hyped that it’s almost sickening. But if New England were playing on Sunday, you better believe that I’d be reading every article, listening intently to every interview, maybe even following live coverage of Media Day on ESPN. But without the Pats, it’s just another game to me. Weird feeling.

I’ll be honest; I gave serious thought to simply copying last year’s Super Bowl pick into this post. You know, in honor of Groundhog Day and all. But then I thought better of it, since most of you would probably be hugely confused (not to mention disappointed) to read about how I thought New England needed to shut down Brian Westbrook in order to cover a 7-point line…

Also, in re-reading that post from last February, I noticed a note that I had passed along in the end of the post. On December 1, 2004, I crossed the 1,000 unique hits mark for this site. Well, yesterday I crossed 3,400 hits. So thank you all for stopping by, and thank you even more for deciding to return. Like I said last year, I enjoy writing this stuff, probably much more than most of you enjoy reading it. And it’s nice to know that at least a handful of people have decided to make this site a part of their weekly routine…

Alright, enough gushing from me. Let’s get on with the pick…

Seahawks (+4) over STEELERS: No, I’m not trying to be anti-establishment here. I’m not trying to go against the grain, and pick the Seahawks just because EVERYONE else is picking Pittsburgh. I’m picking Seattle for one reason:

They’re really good.

All season long, I railed on about how I didn’t trust Seattle, about how I couldn’t get over their past. About how they never seemed to be able to win the big game, or to exorcise their past demons when the stakes were the highest. Well I’m over all of that now.

Seattle was 13-3, and by far the class of the NFC this year. Only Indy & Denver had comparable or better records (and yes, I know that Pittsburgh beat both of those teams on the way to Detroit). They were absolutely dominant in many of those games. They completely obliterated the Panthers last week, a game in which a lot of people believed that Carolina was an unfair underdog.

Everyone says that Pittsburgh’s defense is too good. That the Steelers will shut down the running game, and manage the clock on offense to eliminate the possibility of turnovers. Isn’t that the same thing everyone said about Carolina last week? That the Panthers’ front four would be able to shut down the running game, and that Jake Delhomme would be a game manager extraordinaire, and eliminate turnovers. Hmm… I seem to remember a lot of “pundits” saying that Carolina would crush Seattle.

Anyone remember what happened in the NFC title game two weeks ago? Shaun Alexander ran against the vaunted Carolina front four to the tune of 132 yards and a couple scores. The Seahawks defense forced THREE interceptions from that amazing game manager, Jake Delhomme. And they won, by twenty.

Now, I understand that Pittsburgh is a great team. The only reason that they were a #6 seed with an 11-5 record is because their quarterback missed games with an injury. But they’re still a young team (aside from Jerome Bettis, who apparently is playing the Super Bowl in his hometown. I was unaware of this. I’m surprised I haven’t heard more about it – it seems like it would be a great storyline). Roethlisberger is turning into a hell of a good quarterback, but I just can’t shake the image of him gagging in last year’s playoffs, first against the Jets, then against the Patriots.

Don’t even get me started on the possibility of Tommy Maddox having to enter the Super Bowl if anything were to happen to Big Ben. Not that I have that much confidence in Seneca Wallace for Seattle either. In fact, let’s pray that both QB’s stay healthy – having either of those two guys play a major role in deciding a Super Bowl would be a complete travesty.

I honestly believe that Seattle has the right to play the “disrespect” card this year. There are probably five other people outside of the Pacific Northwest picking them to even compete in this game. They didn’t get here by accident – they got here because they were by far the best team in the NFC, and probably one of the top three teams in the entire NFL. I think this is the year that the NFC takes back the Lombardi Trophy.

Just don’t get too used to it. It’s coming home to Foxboro next year…

Pick: Seahawks, 27-20

Quote of the Week

So, by some type of complete Brain Fart, I blew it with last week’s quote. Although my exchange with the random woman at the Shuttle Bus Stop in San Diego was funny, it couldn’t compare to my friend Bill Prince’s observation one glorious night in Vegas…

I was in Sin City for six days (Tuesday through Sunday) with my buddies Jay, Tim & Bill showing up on Thursday. Friday was Jay’s birthday, so naturally our plan was to drink. A lot. We began the night at the Monte Carlo Pub & Brewery (a hidden gem in Vegas, by the way. Absolutely great place). After drinking about 10 liters of beer between us (that’s a whole other story) we were sitting at the bar, laughing, randomly calling and/or texting people back on the East Coast (where it was 2AM) when Bill interrupted our conversation with the following:

Bill: (pointing at a neon light on the wall that read “Drink Beer!”) “Guys, when I die, I hope I go into that light.”

Even the bartender cracked up at that one, and I have to imagine he’s heard a lot of stupid jokes in his time slinging alcohol in Vegas…

OK, back next week with a Super recap and maybe some, !gasp!, baseball talk!

Lata.

posted by Big D @ 10:18 AM