Wes Welker Inspires a Bonfire and Richard Sherman says "IMDABES": A Super Bowl Preview (sort of)

Four years ago, the New York Jets beat the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. My 15 year old self watched that game with anxiety in his heart the entire time, pacing the room and yelling instructions at the television throughout the contest. As Tom Brady’s last pass, and last chance for a victory, fell incomplete, he threw the remote at the wall, stormed to his room, slammed the door shut, and flung himself down on the floor. So he sat there…and sat…and sat. And when it got dark he did not get up to turn the lights on. And when his next-door neighbor (and close friend) came to invite him over, he ignored the call.

Yes, just four short years ago, that is how I reacted to New England’s season ending a little earlier than I had hoped it would. Last week, when my beloved Patriots lost in the AFC Championship for the second year in a row, I decided to ground myself in the facts. Fact: The Denver Broncos were a better team than us, no matter how you sliced it. Fact: Tom Brady might as well have been throwing to himself with the lack of receiving threats he had to work with. Fact: The fact that this version of the Patriots even made it so far into the postseason was a downright miracle. When you look at the facts, it’s a little easier to keep yourself out of the bottomless pit of emotions. So yes, I am really smiling in the picture above with my buddy Chris the Broncos fan. Because, hey, what do we have to be ashamed of? Plus, nobody wants to end up like this guy.

Even though I was able to quickly move on from the Patriots’ final loss, there was one thing that I absolutely could not let go of. Entering last Sunday’s AFC Championship, the list of NFL personalities that I irreconcilably hate was as follows:

1.      Bernard Karmell Pollard

2.      Terrell Suggs

3.      Rex Ryan

4.      T.J. Ward

5.      (Sometimes) Kyle Arrington

That was, of course, until this happened:

While coming across the middle early in the game, Wes Welker blasted New England’s best corner Aqib Talib in the side with his helmet. At that time, Talib was doing a pretty good job of slowing down Denver’s top receiver, Demaryius Thomas. It was a dirty hit, with the clear intent of taking Talib out before the play even began. Talib could not return to the game because of injury to his ribs, which allowed Peyton Manning to pass for 400 yards, 134 of those (including a touchdown) going to Thomas. After the game, Bill Belicheck said (unprompted, mind you) that it was “the worst play he had ever seen”, but that he would “let the NFL handle the discipline”. Welker himself claimed that he “wasn’t trying to lay Talib out”, on the play. Because, you know, I accidently ram my head into people’s sides all the time. Seahawks corner Walter Thurmond III, who will play against Welker in the Super Bowl, called the block “uncalled for” and went onto comment about league safety efforts being one-sided in favor of offensive players. The NFL department of officiating has come out this week and admitted that the play was legal under the current rules, but that doesn’t excuse it. In conclusion, I’ll be burning my Welker jersey that I held on to after defending him for leaving New England this off-season. Let’s move on, shall we?

I know you’re wondering what I think about the hottest topic of the past week. Richard Sherman closed out arguably the most exciting game in recent playoff memory, and certainly of last weekend, by deflecting an end-zone pass intended for Michael Crabtree into the waiting arms of his teammate Malcolm Smith. Not very long after that, Sherm had a microphone put in his face by sideline reporter Erin Andrews and you all know what happened next:

What followed was a firestorm of internet know-it-alls calling Sherman anything from a thug to a nigger, all while his defenders pointed out that he is a Stanford grad. Well here’s the thing folks, Richard Sherman is above your judgment and he doesn’t need your defense. As you can see in this Sound FX clip, Sherm was being hyped up by his teammates in the moments leading up to the infamous interview, seconds after he came off of the field. After making the play that would send your team to the Super Bowl, he was understandably excited. Let’s also be clear about one more thing: Sherman’s detractors call him selfish, a distraction from a hard-working team. Erin Andrews didn’t ask about the team, she asked him to walk her through the last play of the game, in which Sherman won a one-on-one matchup between himself and Crabtree, with whom he is certainly not great friends.

And’s let’s not absolve Crabtree of this whole situation. When Sherm approached him, saying “hell of a game” and extending his hands, Crabtree grabbed his facemask and pushed him away (a gesture for which Sherman was fined, by the way). After the game Crabtree took to twitter saying, “Pull up the film of that game and show me where this guy is the best. #fake #fake #fake”. For your information, Crabtree was targeted twice while Sherman was covering him in that game. He had no catches, drew a questionable pass interference call, and had no chance for the would-be game winning touchdown. He didn’t even have the courage to tag Sherman in the tweet. A real class act. Meanwhile, Wes Welker’s helmet is still lodged in Aqib Talib’s ribs. Besides guys, this is all Sherman was trying to say:

You probably couldn’t tell up to this point, but this is actually a Super Bowl preview. And while everyone is gushing over Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Peyton Manning, and Knowshon Moreno’s tears, the man I have tabbed for Super Bowl MVP is going largely unnoticed. His name: Earl Thomas. His resume: Most recently, he nearly held Jimmy Graham to zero catches in the Divisional Round, something only Aqib Talib has been able to accomplish. Instead, Graham managed one catch for eight yards when the game was already out of reach. Jimmy Graham stands at a muscular 6’’7’. Earl Thomas is a stocky 5’’10’. In that same game, Thomas jumped clear over Graham and extended himself horizontally to deflect a pass. Many eyes will be on Richard Sherman next week, and rightfully so, but the likely key to Seattle’s success against Peyton Manning will be Thomas, who has excellent cover skills, plays the ball well, is strong in run defense, and can blitz when needed.

Speaking of Peyton Manning, you know there’s nothing I love more than detracting from his so-called greatness. Strap in for another installment of me being the only (loud and proud) naysayer among all of the Broncos quarterback’s yes men. Manning set several records this year, most notably touchdowns in a single season (55) which was previously held by Tom Brady (50). Everyone claims that 2013 Peyton is better than 2007 Tom, but when I really put that to the test, Peyton fell short like always. In 2007, Tom Brady completed 398 of 578 passes for 4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions. In 2013, Manning completed 450 of 659 passes for 5,477 yards, 55 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. This means that Brady actually scored touchdowns at a higher percentage than Manning, while throwing 81 less passes. Not to mention that Peyton preyed on bottom-feeding defenses all season, while Brady saw 4 of the top 5 defensive units in 2007. Let’s not forget that Brady’s starting receivers were Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, and Wes Welker, only one (Moss) of which had double-digit touchdowns. On the other hand, Manning was throwing to Eric Decker (11 tds), Demaryius Thomas (14 tds), Wes Welker (10 tds), as well as tight end Julius Thomas (12 tds). A sharp contrast. So to recap: Manning had more garbage-time touchdowns against bottom-ranked defenses and more help from his friends. Manning also lost three games this year, while Brady went undefeated in his ’07 campaign. However, Peyton does have one big thing in common with his historic rival: he will cap this prolific season with a Super Bowl loss.

Media day has become one of the biggest parts of Super Bowl week in recent years. Reporters, pundits, and apparently Regis Philbin get the chance to ask players just about whatever they want before the Super Bowl. Sometimes substantial storylines are explored; sometimes a guy gets asked who has the smelliest farts in the locker room. Every media member isn’t an Ivy League scholar, okay? If you’re Richard Sherman, media day looks a little something like this:

However, if you’re Marshawn Lynch it probably looks a little more tame, mainly because Lynch hates speaking to the media. He was fined not long ago for dodging the media all season, and on Media Day he walked out early, causing even the Pro Football Writer’s Association to express their frustration with the running back. But honestly, what’s the big deal? A guy like Sherman speaks out and suddenly he’s a thug, Marshawn elects to let his game speak for itself and now he’s a public enemy? We’ve got to make up our minds, people.

Look guys, I’ve been “writing” this article for the past two weeks. I was too afraid to say anything before the AFC Championship game (yes I believe in jinxes), I’ll admit that. I meant to post a recap, but that never happened. I was supposed to publish something before the Pro Bowl, but here we are. So I’m going to stop typing and publish this thing. Maybe a few weeks from now you’ll get a Pro Bowl article. Before we part, Seahawks 22 Broncos 16. Enjoy the Super Bowl!

Bolo Ties, Creepy Moms, and Struggle Faces: Playoffs Round Two

Over the past week, I have seen more “Put the ‘Wild’ in Wild Card” headlines than I ever wanted to. This made me realize, sportswriters aren’t all that creative. Website to website, article to article, you see the same headlines about the same subjects. It’s quite disheartening, really. However, I had reason to rejoice whilst cruising the interwebs this week because of two journalists who refused to fit within the social norm.

Exhibit A, the front page of the Kansas City Star. Many a reporter was writing about the Colts’ comeback victory over the Chiefs on Saturday, but none did it as boldly as this Kansas City publication. The headline “Horse (Bleep)” captures not only the fact that the Colts mascot is a horse (albeit a baby horse), but also what many Kansas City fans were probably screaming as they watched their team blow a 38-10 lead. Take in all of its glory:

Our second shining example analyzes my beloved Patriots. As they are set to host the Colts in a divisional round face off tonight, you can imagine that plenty has been written about them over the past seven days. So what was so intriguing about this article? It’s analysis of New England’s injury struggles? A fresh new take on Tom Brady’s leadership of a less talented team? Actually, it was not even close to those run-of-the-mill options. No, our friends at The Count simply asked, how many times has Bill Belicheck smiled in press conferences this year? This is the kind of hard-hitting reporting that I live for, people! Spoiler alert: Bill didn’t even manage one smile per game this season. Enjoy:

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t take some time to mention the magic that was the 2014 BCS National Championship. In case you didn’t know, it was the last BCS Championship ever due to the NCAA adopting a playoff format next season, and boy did it go out with a bang. Now, I could tell you about how it seemed that the SEC would again dominate and capture its eighth title in a row, or how Jameis Winston earned every bit of his Heisman trophy while engineering the second-largest BCS comeback ever. Heck, I could even tell you about me being on a farm on Monday, running back and forth to the “bathroom” to check the game I was bootlegging on a borrowed laptop with a shoddy wi-fi connection. However, the real story on Monday was the official struggle face of 2014.

If you watched sports and used the internet this past year, you’re probably familiar with the term “struggle face”. This phenomenon occurs when a coach or player is losing or has just lost a game, and some genius snaps a picture of their frustration manifesting in their facial expression. There were many great struggle faces in 2013, but this  Auburn player gave us the Holy Grail on Monday night. The best part about this particular photo is that I instantly began to see it all over my Twitter timeline with captions like “When you ask for barbeque sauce at McDonald’s and they ask for 25 cents”. I myself couldn’t resist joining in the fun, and soon I had posted the picture at least eight times in a row. Here are some of my favorite captions, straight from my very own Twitter feed:

·         When somebody steals your tweet

·         When they tell you the check you were expecting Friday won’t come until Monday

·         When you find out the son you been paying for for 18 years…ain’t yours

·         When McDonald’s won’t sell you a hash brown at 10:31

Okay, I’m not sure if I’m doing you a favor with this next one or if I’m going to scar you for life. Last Sunday, while Andy Dalton was being Andy Dalton and throwing interceptions to the Charger’s defense, Old Spice sprung a blitzkrieg on us all. I was watching the game with about 10 other friends, and nobody was quite sure what to say after we saw this commercial. Old Spice has gradually become bolder and more outlandish with their commercials, doings things like turning Terry Crews’ muscles into instruments and trapping Wes Welker in a snow globe, but this takes the cake. It not only takes the cake, it baked the cake in the first place and never even considered bringing it to the party. In what was apparently an attempt to convey the sentiments of mothers whose sons are getting attention from ladies because of wearing Old Spice, we were treated to (or unfairly subjected to) “Mom Song”. 

Immediately after the commercial, my friend Liam counted seven consecutive tweets on his timeline about the affair. “Mom Song” inspired responses like:

·         Old Spice commercial wtf?

·         Wtf was that Old Spice?

·         Eww Old Spice commercial creepy af

·         Old Spice commercial…

·         That Old Spice commercial was the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen

There’s really nothing else to say about that. I guess I should talk about football, right? Well the Chargers, Colts, Saints, and 49ers all advanced into the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Here’s a one-sentence recap of each Wild-Card game to get you caught up to speed:

Ø  Chargers vs. Bengals: Andy Dalton feels really bad for the poor defensive players who never get to catch any passes

Ø  Saints vs. Eagles: LeSean McCoy was really hoping to be running in the snow

Ø  Chiefs vs. Colts: Kansas City thought the game was already over at halftime because of the NFL’s secret mercy rule

Ø  Packers vs. 49ers: Freezing or not, somebody should really be covering Vernon Davis

So now the Colts will travel to New England, the Saints will travel to Seattle, the Niners are heading to Carolina, and the Chargers will return to Denver, which means I was 2-2 for my picks last week. If you’d like to know how I think the rest of the playoffs will turn out, just refer back to my brackets in our Playoff Blowouts. Being from San Diego, I have to address one of the biggest developing stories in these playoffs, which happens to come out of my hometown.

Let’s start with this image:

Apparently, the San Diego Chargers are undefeated on the road when Philip Rivers wears a bolo tie. This trend continued when the Bolts downed the Bengals on Sunday, prompting the entire city to jump on the fad (as well as the Chargers bandwagon). Now the real phenomenon down here is the fact that San Diego fans are severely non-committal when it comes to any sport, especially football. All season long they berate the Chargers players and coaches, but now that they’ve returned to the postseason, suddenly everyone is a die-hard fan. It’s very interesting to watch. However, every team has at least a few true fans, and one of them (my buddy Alan) passed this article along to me earlier this week. As the kids say these days, Bolt Up!

Today the Saints are headed into Seattle to take on the Seahawks. Last time that happened in the post-season, Marshawn Lynch did some less-than-king things to the New Orleans defense. In remembrance of that day, enjoy this video. WARNING: there is an abundance of profanity in that video, so click at your own risk. It is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen in my life, though. Unfortunately, the NFL has blocked the video from Youtube, so forgive the bad quality. 

Well, friends, our time together has yet again come to an end. The Saints and Seahawks matchup has just begun, so go enjoy the savagery as I’ll be doing all day. Go Patriots!

The Redding Report Playoffs Blowout! Part 2: NFC Contenders

You thought you could get rid of me that easily? Of course not! Although I could barely focus enough to write this, we still have to talk about the NFC playoffs! This is a blowout after all so it wouldn’t be proper if it all fit into one article. Where’s the fun in that? Luckily, we already got the intro out of the way in Part 1 of our blowout, so we can get right to the football.

Before we go any further, can we just acknowledge how miraculous it is that the Packers are even in the playoffs? With Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb out for two months, Green Bay had to trust Scott Tolzien and then Matt Flynn to keep the team in contention. When Rodgers finally returns for the division championship game, it looked like this was year that Chicago would overcome their inability to beat the Packers. But of course, on 4^th and 8, Rodgers flings a perfect pass to the end zone. You couldn’t have written a better movie. Well, unless you wrote The Hobbit, 47 Ronin, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, honestly the list goes on. The point is that the 2013 Packers were quite a story, and I appreciate a good story.

Alright, let’s talk about this playoffs race. You know a conference is stacked when 11-5 teams are on the outside of the playoffs looking in (more on that later). Here’s where I rank the Super Bowl chances of each NFC Contender:

1.      Seattle Seahawks(1st seed): The Seahawks being ranked 1^st is due to a lot more than their NFC-best 12-3 record. Let’s start with their defensive secondary, of which three members were selected to the Pro Bowl as well as the All-Pro teams (Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas 1^st team, Kam Chancellor 2^nd team). They also feature an excellent front seven that includes second-year linebacker Bobby Wagner who led the team with 120 tackles. On the offensive side of the ball, the near-unstoppable Marshawn Lynch powers the unit led by my favorite player, Football’s Messiah Russell Wilson. Expect to see them in New Jersey this February.

2.      Carolina Panthers(2^nd seed): The Panthers are built very similarly to the Seahawks with a little less talent. Their defense, led by last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Luke Keuchly, has dominated all season and even produced points when the offense could not, like in their week 17 win over Atlanta. Cam Newton  has found his niche this year, and he’ll continue to play well throughout their playoff run

3.      San Francisco 49ers(5^th seed): San Francisco was left standing at the Super Bowl altar this past season and they’re hungry to go back. Colin Kaepernick hasn’t been setting defenses ablaze like he did when he took over the Niners offense last year. However, they’re still in great shape because of their strong defense and running game that allow them to ask less of their quarterback, much like Seattle (noticing a trend here?). If Frank Gore and Vernon Davis can make big plays, Kaepernick can do enough to guide Frisco through the postseason.

4.      New Orleans Saints(6^th seed): The Saints may be the sixth seed, but don’t be fooled by a very deep NFC race. The Panthers finally stepped up to their potential and won the division, which means that New Orleans would have to win three games on the road to reach the Super Bowl. The problem is, New Orleans has never won a playoff game on the road, notably being crushed by the 7-9 Seahawks in Seattle three years ago. The Saints’ high-powered offense and defense that has improved under Rob Ryan bode well, but their road struggles keep them from getting the nod over the Niners

5.      Green Bay Packers(4^th seed): The Pack comes into the playoffs at 8-7-1, but they’re much better than their record would imply. As I highlighted earlier, they had to survive two months without Rodgers, who is the NFL’s next great quarterback. Eddie Lacy has provided them with a strong running game which is always important to be able to control the ball in the postseason. Green Bay’s defense is slightly suspect, but they’ve been able to make key plays throughout the season. Still, it’s a long shot for the men in green and yellow

6.      Philadelphia Eagles(3^rd seed): The Eagles aren’t sixth here because they’re the least talented, but more so the least established. Nick Foles has been efficient and rarely turns the ball over, but we’ve yet to see what happens when LeSean McCoy can’t get going and the pressure is placed on the quarterback’s shoulders. Chip Kelly’s offense should continue to thrive in the playoffs, but Philly has the weakest defense of the six NFC teams

Did you know that the NFL gives out awards to coaches as well as players every year? It’s true! I named Bill Belicheck as my pick for Coach of the Year in the AFC, and now I’ll make my case for Ron Rivera in the NFC. After a 1-2 start to Carolina’s season, rumors of notoriously stoic coach Rivera’s job being in jeopardy. However, the Panthers kicked off an eight game winning streak and only lost two more games the entire season thanks to a new, aggressive style of play from Rivera. Behind Rivera’s newfound confidence and one of the league’s best defenses, Carolina won the NFC South and captured the NFC’s second seed. Many will point to Philadelphia’s Chip Kelly, but Carolina’s head man has my vote.

And now kids, it’s time for another installment of…Gyasi complains about something that’s probably never going to change! Today we’ll rant about the playoff seeding process. As it stands, a team’s playoff seed is decided like so: If the team wins their division, they automatically get a top-4 seed. Two teams who did not win their division can earn wild card spots. The top two seeds will get a first-round bye while the bottom four play on wild card weekend. The division winners playing during the wild card automatically get a home game, regardless of record. The problem with this system is that it means a good team in a tough division (like the 11-5 Niners) might have to go on the road against a division winner like the 8-7-1 Packers. Another big flaw is the fact that teams like the Cardinals, who went 10-6 this season, could miss the playoffs because their division is so stacked. If the six playoffs spots were given to the six teams with the best records every year, it would elevate the level of competition because the truly best teams would be facing off against each other. Plus, home field advantage would be given to the most deserving team in the wild card as well as divisional rounds. But just like the Pro Bowl format, these changes will probably have to wait until my tenure as NFL commissioner begins.

By the way, I think San Diego’s Keenan Allen should be the Offensive Rookie of the Year. I got the chance to see him play in person, and the guy is an absolute beast. He also  has a knack for coming up with a big play when the Chargers really need it. Anyway, we’re talking about the NFC, so here’s the other side of my Super Bowl bracket:

Speaking of brackets, the Colts just screwed up my AFC bracket with a lot of big plays and a little bit of luck. They did, however, live up almost exactly to what I said about them, even down to receiver T.Y. Hilton being their X-factor. If you’re wondering what took me so long to get this portion of the Playoffs Blowout published, it’s because I was completely distracted by that game.

Before we conclude the NFC half of this article, we have to address the Gif of the Year! What lasting image from the National conference will stick in our minds forever (or at least the rest of this season)? Why, none other than…Alshon Jeffery’s touchdown against the Vikings! Jeffery overtook Megatron for the ridiculous catch title this year, and this one was among the very best. Enjoy

Alright folks, that’ll wrap up our 2014 Redding Report Playoffs Blowout. Don’t forget that we love your expert analysis, well wishes, and rude jokes in the comments section, now go enjoy the rest of the Eagles vs. Saints game. Happy New Year, friends. Until next time. 

The Redding Report Playoffs Blowout! Part 1: AFC Contenders

Friends! It’s been so long since we’ve been together; I haven’t posted anything since LAST YEAR! Okay, that’s the only dumb “that happened last year” joke I’m going to make. I hate those. In case you hadn’t noticed, the New Year doesn’t affect anyone’s life in any way except that they commit to things they’re never going to follow through with. Anyway, when we last spoke I was fresh off my Raider-for-a-day experience, but I made it safely back to the Patriots Nation. Quite a lot has happened in the NFL since then, mainly the end of the regular season. The official quest for the Lombardi Trophy has begun, and there’s so much to say about it. That being said, welcome to the 2014 Redding Report Playoffs Blowout! Strap yourselves in and let’s get into it!

First of all, let me re-state my Super Bowl prediction from the beginning of the season: New England vs. Seattle. There’s still a pretty good chance of us seeing this matchup, even if Bernard Pollard did hire T.J. Ward to take out Gronk’s ACL. I’ve accepted that all of our unforeseen injuries may keep my Patriots out of the big game, but conversely Seattle will be virtually unstoppable if Percy Harvin shows up healthy for the playoffs. Before we get deeper into playoffs analysis and predictions there are some small housekeeping things we must attend to first.  

Redding Report MVP Watch: Week 17 Edition (the one that actually counts)

1.      Peyton Manning- Peyton is without a doubt the runaway MVP candidate this season, and rightfully so. However, I just want to point out the other guys on his team. Are you kidding me? I’m not saying that Gabbert could have succeeded in this system (that’s going overboard) but Brady and Brees could have produced similar results with that cast of receivers. At least I think so.  

2.      Jamaal Charles- The Chiefs’ leading rusher and leading receiver was absolutely spectacular this season, but he grabs this spot over LeSean McCoy for one reason: Charles’ Week 15 performance against the Raiders changed the fate of more fantasy football teams than any player ever before. Just ask my 2^nd-seeded Redding the Defense, who went down in the semifinals by one point because of his five touchdown explosion. However, the real MVP is whoever does Charles' braids. Seriously. 

3.      LeSean McCoy- With the help of rookie coach Chip Kelly’s fast-paced offense and unorthodox coaching style, McCoy led the league in rushing, taking the pressure off of new starter Nick Foles’ shoulders and guiding the Eagles to a 10-6 record along with the NFC East title. Also, he does things like this on a regular basis:

4.      Tom Brady- Old Man Manning had an outstanding season, there’s no denying that, but Tom Brady was without the most valuable player to his team this year. With injury after injury occurring on both sides of the ball, Brady made rookies look like All-Pro receivers on the way to fourth-quarter comeback victories and two narrow (read: bad calls by the refs) losses. The Patriots were 12-4 despite losing just about every offensive star they featured last year. Also, listen to this call. Only an MVP could inspire something this great

5.      The referees- Every season there are plenty of questionable calls from our good friends the refs, but this year they seemed to decide games more than ever. Most recently was Bill Leavy’s crew who basically gifted the Chargers a playoff spot by gaffing on several calls that significantly impacted their Week 17 game against the Kansas City Second Team Chiefs

Of course there are plenty more awards that will be handed out now that the season is over, and we’ll discuss a few them later. However, this is the Playoffs Blowout so I figure we’d better discuss some playoff football soon. First, let’s look at who has the best chances of representing the AFC in the Super Bowl (warning: this list may be grossly subjective):

1.      New England Patriots(2^nd seed): You may think I’m only ranking them so high because they’re my favorite team, but actually…Anyway, Tom Brady is the most playoffs-experienced quarterback in the league, and that counts for something. Not to mention that New England’s bruising running game has ignited at exactly the right time and Bill Belicheck is the best coach in the universe

2.      Denver Broncos(1^st seed): Peyton Manning certainly lit it up during the regular season, but we’ve seen this movie before. I’m skeptical about Manning’s ability in freezing temperatures, as well as Denver’s defense without Von Miller. 31 first-half points in Oakland is nice, but the playoffs are something different entirely. Whether or not Wes Welker can overcome his concussion problems will have a big impact on how far Denver goes in the playoffs. Don’t forget, they were one-and-done last year thanks to Rahim Moore’s logo pose in front of Jacoby Jones

3.      Cincinnati Bengals(3^rd seed): Many people believe that Andy Dalton lacks the skill to lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl, citing the lack of Bengals playoffs wins despite qualifying for the third year in a row. However, I believe that all changes this year. Cincy has everything a Super Bowl contender needs: competent quarterback, strong running game, dominant receiver, and a defense that can take over a game. Don’t sleep on these young guns.

4.      Indianapolis Colts(5^th seed): One of the biggest keys to winning in January is shutting down the other team’s quarterback, and the NFL’s sacks leader happens to call Indy his home. The Colts aren’t the flashiest team, but when Donald Brown has a good day running the ball T. Y. Hilton can do a pretty good Reggie Wayne impression. Andrew Luck’s veteran-like decision making will limit turnovers and be an X-factor for this team

5.      San Diego Chargers(6^th seed): Whether it be coaching, quarterback play, or Ryan Mathews’ ankles, something is always keeping the Chargers from realizing their full potential. However, I believe that they’ve had enough talent on their roster to have won five Super Bowls going back to the Tomlinson days. Even though Phil Rivers and ROY Keenan Allen can light up the sky, the playoffs are still very much about defense. San Diego’s sack leader had 5.5, and the whole defense notched 11 interceptions all year. That can’t be accepted if the Chargers want to be playing in February

6.      Kansas City Chiefs(4^th seed): Some might call me crazy for giving the Chiefs the lowest chance to make it to the Super Bowl, but it’s their own fault. After starting the season 9-0 they were swept by the Broncos, with an embarrassing loss to the Chargers sandwiched in between. Their "great" defense disappeared when they were needed most and the offense couldn't make plays when they were forced to throw the ball and try to play catch-up

You may not know this, but every year a Coach of the Year award is handed out after the regular season concludes. Here’s my case for Bill Belicheck being the AFC’s top candidate for that award. During the offseason, three of New England’s top five offensive players left the team and one was recovering from multiple surgeries. By their fourth game, the Pats’ defense was on its way to being a top-five unit when it lost its best defensive lineman, best linebacker, and emerging star defensive tackle. Despite having to start up to nine rookies at one time, Belicheck used smart coaching and calculated risks to exceed expectations placed on the team after Wes Welker switched sides in the Brady-Manning rivalry and Aaron Hernandez (allegedly) killed a man. Thanks to Belicheck, the Patriots have won their division for the 11^th time in his tenure and once again earned a playoff bye. You may think New England’s success this season was the same old thing for the franchise, but Bill Belicheck truly made something out of nothing these past 16 weeks.

Gyasi complains about something that’s probably never going to change:

Can you remember the last time you were excited to watch the Pro Bowl? I’m not sure that I can. Among the other numerous reasons that I dislike Roger Goodell, the Pro Bowl has become a waste of time during his tenure as commissioner. After threats to eliminate the game altogether last year, the Pro Bowl was saved this year by…switching to an unconferenced format? You have to be kidding me. If you want me to care about the Pro Bowl, try moving it back to after the Super Bowl! This game used to be the NFL season’s last hurrah, a fun event for players and fans alike to enjoy before having to endure life without football until the next fall. Not allowing the Super Bowl teams to participate in the Pro Bowl means that some of the league’s most exciting players are being kept out whether they’re elected or not. Also, we need skill competitions! The NBA’s All-Star weekend is the perfect model of how to host an all-star event. The individual skill competitions give fans exciting matchups to look forward to beyond just the main game. A DB challenge? A quarterback competition? These things would undoubtedly elevate enthusiasm for the Pro Bowl. Lastly, the voting process should be handed over to the coaches. Allowing us fans to vote, while nice for participation, means that every year deserving players will get snubbed because their names aren’t yet big enough. Turning over voting responsibilities to the coaches would eliminate that problem. Of course, these things will probably never change until I become league commissioner in 2025.

We’re a couple of months away from March, but I’ve got a bracket for you anyway because football is better than basketball. Here’s my round-by-round breakdown of how the AFC playoffs will go:

And last but not least, the Gif of the Year award! Gifs have become such a huge part of the internet, and especially sports, in the past year that I had to include them as we say goodbye to another NFL season. So here it is, the best gif that AFC football gave us this year! We've got a two-way tie on our hands, folks. Tom Brady just couldn't get a high-five this season. 

So concludes our AFC-focused portion of the Redding Report Playoffs Blowout. You can see all the points I’ve made be proven this afternoon when the Chiefs head into Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Colts on NBC. Don’t forget to blow up the comments section with your own predictions/questions/gifs/rude comments! Stick around for part two of the Playoffs Blowout when we tackle important questions for the six NFC contenders.