SUPER BOWL ROUNDTABLE

It is Super Bowl Sunday, and we are glad that you were able to stop by WeMakeItRain where you will hear/read analysis about the game that you cannot get anywhere else.  Joining me today is Sinickal and Hopps, so the whole crew is here.  Joining us are our special guests, Audio and none other than our Patron Saint - Adam "Pacman" Jones himself.

Pepster:  OK guys, let's get the boring stuff out of the way.  Who wins this game?

Sinickal, Hopps and Audio:  HaHaHaHa.  This is funny.

Pepster:  Good point.

Hopps:  Even "Goodfellas" money couldn't stop this line from moving and taking sucker bets of Denver money.

PacMan Jones:  I bet $81,000 in small bills on the Panthers.  In fact, I just walked into the casino and threw the money into the air.  I am assuming the proper bet was made.

Hopps:  This game is over by the end of the first quarter.

Pepster:  Ok, now that that is out of the way, before we get into our normal discussion, we have to address the quarterback situation.  Since this might be Peyton Manning's last game, does a second Super Bowl victory - along with all of his other stats - vault him to the title of best quarterback of all time?

Sinickal, Hopps, Audio, PacMan:  HaHaHaHaHa!  You are killing us.

Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway:  That Pepster guy is funny!

Sinickal:  Peyton was a great quarterback - not the greatest of all time - but he WAS great.  Now, he is not even close to being remotely average.  In fact, I think that a wide receiver for the Broncos will be decapitated due to a Manning wounded duck.

Audio:  I will put $100 down for a decapitation.

Hopps: *Nods in agreement*  And after that decapitation, I predict that Brock Osweiler will take snaps in this game.  Let's talk about the real story in this game.  Cam Newton.  He is the MVP this year, and at 6'5", 245, he is only one inch shorter and 12 pounds lighter than Rob Gronkowski.  Newton is a beast.  I think he will dab at least 4 times.

Sinickal:  Cam will dab so much, that even Phil Simms will try to dab.  But, we know the NFL, and they will try to put as much emphasis into the Peyton Manning story as much as possible.  In fact, I predict that someone will report that Tom Brady bought Al-Jazeera and ordered the HGH report.

Hopps:  Why can't you all just leave my Patriots alone?

Pepster/Sinickal:  Because they cheat!

Pepster:  Let's get to the real story of this game, and to a statistic pointed out to me by my friend Wass (as reported by Tim Reynolds).  Carolina tight end Greg Olsen has the opportunity to become the first member of the Seventh Floor Crew to win the Super Bowl, with Brandon Merriweather and Tavares Gooden losing in their lone Super Bowl appearances.

Sinickal:  I love that this game has initiated a huge resurgence for the greatest 1-hit wonder group of all time.

Pepster:  Even bigger than Toni Basil, who until 2005 had the greatest 1 hit wonder with "Mickey".  The 7th Floor Crew is also easily the most misogynistic song to ever come out of Miami.

Sinickal:  The Miami sound came with its own G-string and a minimum dimension for ass size.

Pepster:  The most misogynistic song to come out of Miami.  Think about THAT for a minute.

Hopps:  *Tears*

PacMan Jones:  The greatest songs of all time came out of Miami.  Every Two Live Crew song is a must to be played at the strip club.

Pepster:  Because of the resurgence of interest in the 7th Floor Crew, I went back and read some old stories about the group.  One blog listed every lyric from the song that was appropriate to print.  The author wrote, "Is this thing on?  Good."

Hopps:  *More tears*

Pepster:  I predict that I will make at least 17 7th Floor Crew references.  Being a University of Miami fan, Let's give some football credit to G-Reg.  Who honestly thought that the Panthers would have any type of passing game this year once Kelvin Benjamin went out?  Everyone not related to Greg Olsen please put your hands down.  You too Ted Ginn, Jr.

Hopps:  Well, I think Ted Ginn, Jr. will make a sideline ....

Sinickal:  A sideline what?

Hopps:  I don't know.  I was going to say a sideline catch, but then I lost my train of thought thinking about how sick the Miami Dolphins fans were when they drafted Ted Ginn, Jr. instead of Brady Quinn or Amobi Okoye.  That's funny.

Pepster:  That was funny.  What is even funnier is that Ginn has ultimately turned out better than both Quinn and Okoye.  Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch and Darrelle Revis were both drafted after Ted Ginn, Jr.

Pepster:  So, anybody have any sure-fire predictions that they want to make that might be a little unusual?

Hopps:  The halftime show will suck.

Pepster:  We already know that.  It's Coldplay.  That prediction isn't even on the board in Vegas it is so obvious.

Audio:  I have one, I predict at least 2 defensive touchdowns.

PacMan:  I would have one of those if I was able to play against Peyton.  He is horrible.  I wish that we had Andy Dalton for our playoff run.  Damn Steelers.

Audio:  Black and yellow; black and yellow.

Sinickal:  I have two; one football related and one non-football related.  First, Von Miller will try to prevent Cam from giving away a football to a kid.

Pepster:  Do they even allow kids at the Super Bowl anymore?

Sinickal:  And more importantly, the hottest woman shown on television will be a Carolina fan!

Hopps:  Now that is a good pick.

PacMan:  I am sure that is true.  I have played in both cities before.

Pepster:  Now that bet, I like.  I am going to say that Stephen Curry is shown on television at least twice, and he will be wearing something Carolina Panthers-related.

Hopps:  Leave it to the NBA to try to outshine the NFL at the Super Bowl.

Sinickal:  All I know is that I am going to a golf show in the morning, so I am certain that I will buy a new driver.

Pepster:  I am also certain that we will hear several references to Michael Lewis's The Blind Side since Michael Oher starts for the Panthers.

Sinickal:  How can we have this entire conversation without addressing the star defenders in this game, Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly, Kawann Short, Star Lotuleilei, Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, etc., etc., etc.

Pepster:  Because that topic would be actual analysis.  Onward to my picks.

As  a reminder, each pick is using the spread (straight up is for wussies), and the betting line is from the same website each week as of the time of typing the entry. I keep a running tally of my record, plus my winnings/losses. We will "pretend" that I bet $100 on each game, with one game each week going for $250. Winnings/Losses will be calculated including a 10% vig, which just makes the math that much simpler. Now, on to the picks.

WINNERS

Carolina Panthers

AGAINST THE SPREAD

Carolina Panthers -5 v. Denver Broncos
Denver has no real offense.  Carolina has offense and defense.  Peyton Manning may feel like he "needs" this.  Cam Newton "wants" this.  Want wins.

OVER/UNDER

Carolina Panthers v. Denver Broncos 43 1/2 - OVER

Carolina will get to 30 plus on their own.  I just need 2 touchdowns from Denver.

RANDOM BET

At least 5 total sacks and 1 interception.

No big bet this week because there are only four bets made total.

Last Week's Winners:  1-1
Playoff Winners to Date:  6-4
Last Week's Record:  3-3
Playoff Record:  11-14

Year-to-Date Record: 139-130-5
Big Bet Last Week: 0-1
Big Bet Year-to-Date: 13-7
Winnings/(Losses) Last Week: ($195)
Winnings (Losses) Year-to-Date: $395

NFL Wrap-Up (Week 2 Version)

Here are my thoughts from Week 2 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see, and since I was at a bar all day drinking and watching football, that was a lot!

Game of the Week

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos. No question whatsoever. This game had it all; big plays, special teams, backups performing admirably (Darren Sproles), brilliant homecoming (Brandon Marshall), Ed Hochuli, and well, blown calls by Ed Hochuli. Add to that a malfunctioning replay system and this game had it all. San Diego was robbed. Honorable Mention to Philly at Dallas, although that game was amazing as well.

Best Team Performance

Dallas Cowboys. They showed the NFL that they are currently the best team in the league with a scintillating 41 - 37 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. This game could have gone either way, but Dallas outscored Philadelphia 17-7 in the second half, when the defenses finally showed up at the game. Tony Romo was 25-37 for 312, including a big play to T.O., and Jason Witten with 7 catches for 110 yards. If the defense can make the big plays everyone is expecting them to, watch out. They did sack Donovan twice on Philly's last series. Plus, they have our Patron Saint.

Least Impressive Team Performance

This is difficult, but I am going with the Miami Dolphins over the Kansas City Chiefs this week. Miami wins primarily because they gave up a 79 yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin on Arizona's third play from scrimmage after the Cardinals lined him up in the slot to get 1-on-1 coverage by a linebacker. I mean, its not like Boldin has ever done anything in this league for the Dolphins to worry about.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Brandon Marshall, WR - Denver. So many great performances this week, but Marshall had the second highest total of catches in a single game in NFL history, with 18, for 166 yards and 1 TD.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Jon Beason, LB - Carolina Panthers. 11 tackles against the Chicago Bears, plus he seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. The entire Carolina defense took their strength from him and became better and better throughout the game. Plus, Big Beast perpetrated the first 7th Floor Crew-on-7th Floor Crew crime in NFL history when he recovered G-Reg's first fumble of the game.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Darren Sproles - San Diego Chargers. Felix Jones also had quite a weekend, but Sproles 103 yard Kickoff Return for a TD, coupled with his catch-and-scamper in the 4th quarter which felt like a return, takes this weekly honor. Two excellent weeks for former LDT backups (see Turner, Michael from last week).


Goat of the Week

I was sooooo going to award this to Greg Olsen, who fumbled the ball away twice leading to two scoring drives for the Panthers in their 20-17 victory of my Chicago Bears, but I couldn't because of ....

Hit of the Week

Ed Hochuli's hit on the entire Charger Nation when he blew his whistle. If you don't know what I am talking about, quit reading .... NOW!

Breakthrough Performance

Since I prefaced them last week, and since they both showed up strong this week, this award goes to Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson, although Jackson was a bit boneheaded by throwing the ball away before actually entering the endzone. Both of them have served notice that they are receivers to be reckoned with in this league, now, not in the future, but now. Royal had 5 catches for 37 yards, but he scored the last TD, and the game winning two point conversion. Strong confidence in the kid from Jay Cutler. Jackson had 6 catches for 110 yards, and the now infamous bauble.


In realty this award should have gone to Darren McFadden for his 164 yards rushing, or to Jonathan Stewart for his breakthrough performance against the Bears, but I'll just leave them in the "keep a close eye on" category for now.

Finally

Reggie Bush, RB - New Orleans Saints. Since he scored again, I will leave him in again, simply so I can post another picture of Kim Kardashian.

Impact Injury

Bob Sanders, S - Indianapolis Colts. On a team already reeling from offensive line woes, the last thing they needed was to lose the heart and soul of their defense, which is exactly what happened.

Team Rising

Carolina Panthers. At 2-0, the Panthers have made an impressive opening salvo for surprise team of the year, even without Steve Smith. They have started to hone their running attack with Jonathan Stewart, and Smith will make the offense that much more explosive once he returns from suspension this week. Throw in a solid defense and the most underrated coach in football, and Carolina could be looking forward to a playoff berth.

Team Falling

Seattle Seahawks. From a perennial playoff foundation from the NFC West to a potential doormat in the league. They have started 0-2, and have lost to Buffalo and San Francisco. They need to get moving fast, or else everyone else out west could pass them (except St. Louis, they suck).

Best Teams

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Green Bay Packers
5. Denver Broncos

Worst Teams

32. St. Louis Rams
31. Miami Dolphins
30. Kansas City Chiefs
29. Cincinnati Bengals
28. Seattle Seahawks

Don't worry, I am sure the Raiders will return after they no longer face the likes of the Chiefs.

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

3. New Orleans at Denver - Denver looks prolific on offense, and they don't look like they can stop anybody, which means points and points galore in this game. It should be very exciting for football fans.

2. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia - Philly proved its mettle last week, barely losing on the road. Elite teams return those type of favors by beating other elite teams at home. Pittsburgh is looking to solidify its ranking at the top of the entire AFC.

1. Dallas at Green Bay - The winner gets the early lead for home field advantage in the NFC, plus we get the chance to see just how good the Packers' offense can be under Aaron Rodgers, who has already played pretty decently against Dallas once in his career.

Last Week's Trivia Answer
The ever-immortal Michael Bishop was the last QB prior to Matt Flynn to throw a touchdown on his first ever NFL attempt (or at least that is what my sources tell me).

Trivia
To keep up the rookie theme, DeSean Jackson is only the second WR in history to amass two consecutive 100 yard receiving games to start his NFL career. Who was the first? Please no online searches, and place your guesses in the comments. Answer provided next week.