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 2nd-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(2nd
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(1st 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(3rd
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(5th
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(6th
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(4th
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
11th 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.
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