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

Picks of the Week

Very mediocre week last week.  This week seems pretty easy for me.  As only two games are being played, I will pick the winner, against the spread, and the over/under for each.

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

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
To quote my boy Hopps, "I've seen this show before".  This seems a bit obvious to me for some reason.

Carolina Panthers v. Arizona Cardinals
Carolina, despite what happened in the second half, thoroughly dominated the Seattle Seahawks, who might be the third or fourth best team in the entire league.  Carolina wins this game, despite the fact that everyone thinks that Carson Palmer, along with Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown can take advantage of Carolina's secondary.  Who, is going to take care of Cam Newton?  Really tough year to have gotten rid of Darnell Dockett, Arizona.

AGAINST THE SPREAD

New England Patriots -3 at Denver Broncos
I know what you are saying, "Pepster, why would you take a road favorite in the playoffs?"  Here is why.  New England took Denver into overtime earlier this year without Julian Edelman, the single most important player for New England not named "Tom Brady".  Why is Edelman that important?  Because he gets himself open immediately off the line of scrimmage, which allows Tom Brady to throw those short passes which keeps the defensive pass rush from hitting him.  If the team bunches up against Edelman, then Gronkowski then becomes open.  And to quote Dan Lebatard, "Gronkowski is not human.  Bill Belichick just found a polar bear and taught him how to catch things".  Plus, Peyton Manning did not play in the earlier game, and Peyton is more of a detriment to the Broncos given that he is basically a shell of his former self.  His play actually gives an extra 6 points to New England, in my opinion.

Carolina Panthers -3 v. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have had a great year, and are perhaps the second best team in the NFL, unfortunately, they are playing the best team in the NFL.  Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are the best linebacker combination in the NFL.  I WILL NOT ARGUE THIS POINT!!!  They have a phenomenal running game, led by Cam Newton, for whom Arizona's defense just cannot account.  If Arizona is going to have a chance, they are going to have to win an absolute shootout, which brings Greg Olsen - the second best tight end in the league this year behind Gronk and highly touted member of the Seventh Floor Crew, into importance - which is not what Arizona wants to do.  If Arizona can make it a shootout, Carson Palmer will have to keep his interceptions down to 0 or 1, which can be tough.

OVER/UNDER

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos 45 - OVER
The Patriots with Gronkowski and Edelman is good for at least 30 themselves, despite the talent on Denver's defense.  The quick passing game will not allow the Broncos' defense to hit Brady with any regularity, and thus, he will pick them apart little by little.  Denver - in order to win - is going to have to rely heavily on its inconsistent running game, which Belichick will gameplan against.  They will tempt Manning to beat them, which he cannot do.

Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers 47 1/2 - OVER
Lots and lots of points to be scored today, although I feel the over won't be hit until late in the fourth quarter, when a rallying Arizona Cardinals team scores a touchdown with around 2 minutes to go, just before they fail to recover the onside kick.  One note about the Panthers courtesy of Bomani Jones and his producer.  While discussing that Patrick Peterson could cover Ted Ginn, Jr. man-to-man in order to take him out of the game, Jones's producer states that Corey Jones and Jerricho Cotchery will have to have big games.  Bomani Jones's response is simple.  "It's 2016 and we are talking about Jerricho Cotchery".  Now you may think that quote would lead me to pick Arizona, but that goes to show how great Cam Newton and Greg Olsen have been this year - Carolina is winning with Ted Ginn and Jerricho Cotchery.

Big Bet Game of the Week
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
Going back to my boy Hopps, "I've seen this show before".

Last Week's Winners:  2-2
Playoff Winners to Date:  5-3
Last Week's Record:  4-4
Playoff Record:  8-11

Year-to-Date Record: 136-127-5
Big Bet Last Week: 0-1
Big Bet Year-to-Date: 13-6
Winnings/(Losses) Last Week: ($205)
Winnings (Losses) Year-to-Date: $590