Football withdrawals? There's much else to watch

Did anybody else go through football withdrawals over the weekend?

We get so used to college football (beginning the last weekend of August) to the NFL (beginning the Sunday after Labor Day.) Then when the Super Bowl is over and everyone goes home, it’s hard to believe that the games which are now on nearly every day or night of the week are over.

No more Drew Brees and the miracle New Orleans Saints. No more Peyton Manning and the can’t-do-more-than-come-close Indianapolis Colts.

Heck, there are even withdrawals for Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo … and maybe Brett Favre (except for the endless “will he come back? stories.)

At least there was plenty to settle for over the weekend if you like:

An NBA All-Star game before nearly 109,000 fans in the Jerry Jones/Dallas Cowboys palace. And how about Dwayne Wade with 28 points and 11 assists?

A Daytona 500 race that would never end with more than two hours of pothole delays … and more than a few wrecks at the end that made the race last forever. At least Jamie McMurray could celebrate victory and Dale Earnhardt Jr. a strong second-place finish.

The 2010 Winter Olympics with endless TV coverage and American Johnny Spillane becoming the first American ever to win a medal in Nordic combined. Now we can focus on the extensive coverage of the likes of Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn.

And don’t forget Dustin Johnson becoming the first golfer to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in consecutive years.

As it continues to freeze in many parts of the country, here’s something that will make many warm. Spring training begins this week for MLB teams!

Pro Bowl is fine before the Super Bowl

You won’t see Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Philip Rivers playing for the AFC “all stars” in this Sunday’s Pro Bowl at Miami.

Ditto for Drew Brees and Brett Favre for the NFC.

The Pro Bowl – being played for the first time before the Super Bowl – seems like a good idea for some and a bad idea for others.

It’s a bad idea in that you won’t see any Super Bowl players from the New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts. But some like me believe it’s a good idea since football season should end with the Super Bowl.

No matter when you play it, the Pro Bowl is anticlimactic.

The argument against this week’s game certainly is based on Super Bowl participants being excluded. But when you think about it, a high percentage of Super Bowl players in the past decided to skip the game for various reasons. (Why play in a meaningless game after being involved in the ultimate championship game?)

Even this year, players are skipping the Pro Bowl. Ones such as Brady and Favre are healing from injuries; Rivers’ wife is due to have their fifth child near game time.

So the AFC is left with the likes of Matt Schaub, Vince Young and David Garrard at QB. The NFC will go with a more formidable group of Aaron Rodgers, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo.

It may seem too bad that you won’t see any 2010 Super Bowl players in this game. But would you really have wanted to watch them anyhow if the Pro Bowl was played after the Super Bowl?

Prediction:
NFC 31, AFC 27

Ravens, Jets could upset AFC Championship picture

The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers have both opened as at least one-touchdown favorites in this weekend’s NFL Divisional playoffs, but they better be careful.

The Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets each demonstrated over the past weekend that they are teams to be reckoned with. In fact, they could become the first No. 5 and No. 6 seeds ever to meet for a conference championship … which would set up yet one more game at the old Meadowlands home of the Jets.

How about those Ravens? With their 33-14 win Sunday at New England (the Patriots’ first-ever playoff loss at Gillette Stadium), they even caused the hometown fans to boo Tom Brady and his teammates.

Baltimore will be a formidable foe for Peyton Manning and the Colts led by its strong running game with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee. And the Ray Lewis-led defense, which caused Brady to tie a career playoff high with three interceptions, is always a force in the postseason.

As for the Jets – coming off a 24-14 playoff win at Cincinnati – they pose an interesting strength vs. strength against the potent Chargers offense led by Philip Rivers and pass catchers Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates and Malcom Floyd. New York has the league's No. 1 defense and will match up against that San Diego offense with a defensive roster including cornerback Darrelle Revis, probably the best cover back in the NFL.

Not only that, the Jets can control the ball with a running game including the likes of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene. They will be facing a San Diego defense that has been hard-pressed to stop the run all season.

Yes, Indianapolis and San Diego should each win this weekend and advance to the AFC Championship Game. But don’t be surprised if at least one of them is missing come the conference title game.

Chargers: Only AFC division winner favored this week

It’s interesting to see how three of the four AFC division winners are decided underdogs this weekend.

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts are a 7-point underdog at Buffalo (no wonder if you saw the Colts forfeit to the New York Jets last week.)

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are 8-point dogs at Houston.

Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals are 10-point underdogs at the New York Jets.

No wonder each of these teams are touchdown-or-more underdogs since they will be resting key players for the playoffs.

The exception this weekend?

Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers are a 4-point favorite at home vs. the Washington Redskins, even though the Chargers will have key players such as Shawne Merriman sit out the entire game.

How could this be?

Simple. It shows how good the Chargers are ... and how bad the Redskins have become.

This certainly will be Jim Zorn’s last game as head coach. Who knows if new GM Bruce Allen will keep Jason Campbell as his QB.

All in all, it looks like the Chargers will have another weekend to remember with their 11th straight win.

Prediction:
Chargers 24, Redskins 13

Winning is all that counts in the NFL

Did you notice how the three most-touted AFC teams all played very poorly on the NFL’s Opening Weekend?

But did you notice how the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers all came out winners in Week 1?

If you were to watch the game tapes without knowing who won, you’d swear that all three lost. Yet so often in the NFL, the lesser teams play harder … but the better teams win.

(If you’re a fan of the Chargers, you’ll remember all those years when the team couldn’t hold a fourth-quarter lead to save its life.)

The Steelers were anything but dominating in their 13-10 overtime win vs. the Tennessee Titans. Yet a fumble by Hines Ward near the goal line at the end of regulation didn’t stop Ben Roethlisberger from engineering another winning drive in overtime.

Tom Brady and the Patriots looked absolutely horrible for 58 minutes vs. the Buffalo Bills. However, that didn’t stop the Patriots from scoring twice in the final 2:06 to escape with a 25-24 win.

The Chargers were getting pushed all around for much of the night by the Oakland Raiders. But in the end, Darren Sproles scored on a 5-yard run with 18 seconds remaining (while replacing the injured LaDainian Tomlinson) as San Diego survived 24-20.

There were other such stories throughout the NFL such as Baltimore needing two late touchdowns to beat Kansas City 38-24.

But it’s not how well you play; it’s whether you win or lose. That’s why the Steelers, Patriots and Chargers are all undefeated despite sub-par efforts.

Patriots over Eagles in Super Bowl?

Tom Brady is back. That means so are the New England Patriots.

Michael Vick is back. The Philadelphia Eagles should go to the Super Bowl; but that doesn’t mean because of him.

As the NFL season kicks off, the pick from this corner is for the Patriots to defeat the Eagles in the Super Bowl.

Sure, there are other contenders.

The San Diego Chargers are in such a weak division that they should cakewalk to the playoffs. (ESPN predicts any of 24 teams could win the AFC West if they were included with Denver, Kansas City and Oakland.)

You can never discount the Pittsburgh Steelers. After all, they are the defending champs.

In the NFC, Drew Brees could surprise and lead the New Orleans Saints to the Super Bowl. (Don’t expect as much from Brett Favre in Minnesota; if the Vikings go all the way, it might be despite him.)

Of course, there are always surprises. So let’s get to our 2009 predictions:

AFC West:
San Diego, Kansas City, Denver, Oakland.

AFC East:
New England, Miami, New York Jets, Buffalo.

AFC North:
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Cleveland.

AFC South:
Houston, Indianapolis, Tennessee, Jacksonville.

NFC West:
Arizona, Seattle, San Francisco, St. Louis.

NFC East:
Philadelphia, New York Giants, Dallas, Washington.

NFC North:
Green Bay, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit.

NFC South:
New Orleans, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay.

AFC Wildcards:
Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

NFC Wildcards:
New York Giants and Minnesota.

AFC Championship:
New England over San Diego.

NFC Championship:
Philadelphia over New Orleans.

Super Bowl:
New England over Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Clubhouse leader in the AFC?

Let’s see now:

You can stick a fork in the New England Patriots without Tom Brady.

The Indianapolis Colts looked horrible against the Chicago Bears, even with Peyton Manning.

The San Diego Chargers will miss greatly Shawne Merriman on an already beleaguered defense.

The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t even beat the Tennessee Titans in Week 1.

So who does that leave as the early frontrunner in the AFC?

How about the Pittsburgh Steelers …

Few people are talking about the Ben Roethlisberger-led Steelers; this less than three seasons after their Super Bowl victory.

But with all the “powerhouses” in the AFC falling around them, Pittsburgh could once again figure in the hunt at the end.

One week does not a season make … but it makes the once-dominating AFC seem like a weakened bunch in 2008.

Weekend Predictions:
Chargers 24, Denver 13
San Jose State 31, San Diego State 23

Super Bored: Watch the Game on Sunday

If you live in San Diego, let me make a bet. You probably have less interest in Super Bowl XLII than any of the previous 41 Big Games.

How can you cheer for the New England Patriots; who may be perfect in record, but are less than perfect in conduct (re: SpyGate) and knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs the last two years?

Or how can you pull for the New York Giants; led by Baby Boy Eli Manning, who snubbed the Chargers when they made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft?

Sadly, this game has about as much local appeal as dirty beaches or run-down parks.

Part of the nightmare is that this represents a New York-Boston (so to speak) match-up. And don’t we all get tired of having Yankees-Red Sox jammed down our throats 18 times a year or more when they meet in Major League Baseball?

Certainly, the average fan (and the one who only watches the Super Bowl each year) will be tuned in Sunday. Some of the less knowledgeable fans wouldn’t know the difference between Tom Brady and Tom Seaver.

So even if you can’t stand either team (which most San Diegans can’t), there is a bright side to all of this: Lifelong San Diego County resident Junior Seau could be walking off with his first Super Bowl championship ring as a member of the Patriots.

It would be a nice way for him to retire.

Prediction:

New England 27, New York Giants 17

Chargers' injuries: Who can you believe?

If you think the New England Patriots have been less than honest concerning Tom Brady’s foot injury before Super Bowl XLII, then maybe it’s time to look in the mirror in San Diego.

Or have you not heard?

Kicker Nate Kaeding played the final four weeks of the season with a fractured fibula in his left leg (an injury never told on the official NFL injury report), according to the Associated Press.
QB Philip Rivers played the AFC Championship game after having arthroscopic surgery for a torn knee ligament, which the team had reported as a sprained knee ligament.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson wasn’t even on the injury report before the AFC title game in New England, yet had to leave after four plays with a lingering knee injury.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, which acts as an apologist for the Chargers, has already said the Chargers followed procedure according to an NFL vice president.

This same paper also said "most" NFL teams would have reported the injuries in the same manner as the Chargers; which is an interesting conclusion in that no actual poll of NFL teams was taken.

Certainly, NFL teams fudge with their injury reports. The Oakland Raiders and New England have long been considered among the top culprits.

But have the Chargers joined that group with their less than up-front reporting of injuries before the New England game?

Chargers don't exactly look 'Super'

Good thing coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots didn’t have a spy cam on the Chargers’ defense Sunday night.

Otherwise, maybe Tom Brady would have passed for 251 yards instead of an already career-high 151 yards in the first quarter.

Maybe Randy Moss would have caught three touchdown passes instead of two.

And maybe the Patriots would’ve beaten the Chargers 48-14 instead of 38-14.

This game obviously wasn’t about revenge for the Chargers. It was about the Patriots proving they could win fair-and-square, rather than by cheating.

The Chargers?

They don’t exactly look like a powerhouse thus far at 1-1.

"They haven’t looked good at all this season," NBC-TV color commentator John Madden correctly said.

For those who thought it was all the fault of Marty Schottenheimer and his Charger offensive coaches in last season’s playoff loss to New England, maybe it’s time to take a second look.

Or have you not noticed that Norv Turner’s Chargers are the only NFL team yet to score a point in the first half this season?

So far, the Chargers don’t exactly look "super" in 2007.

Let the next 14 regular-season games and playoff games ... if there are any ... tell the story.