Carolina Panthers Schedule (8-8) 2012 "I hope I am wrong but their schedule is tough"

 

For more go to http://dontbuythehype.blogspot.com/ and follow on Twitter @NCSportsGenius1. Plus, dontbuythehype.blogspot.com is having a live NFL Draft chat on the site. Thursday, April 26th and Friday, the 27th the don'tbuythehype team, will cover the NFL Draft, come and join in and make your own opinions known about every pick of the first three rounds of the draft. In this video it sounds like I said NFC West, but I was trying to say AFC West and the Panthers need help on the D-line not the offensive line.

NFL BUZZ; Super Bowl, Colts, Mannings, Tebow, etc.

"Out of the Shadow"

No matter what happens in Super Bowl XLVI, Eli is now his own man. Eli Manning has been compared to his brother and other elite quarterbacks since he entered the NFL. I have written several NFL blogs this year proclaiming that "Eli is elite." There should be no debate of Eli's status in the NFL. The ironic thing is Eli has improved his stock by playing like a MVP and taking his team to the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning has improved his rank as a QB(if that is possible) by not playing and everyone watching the Colts tank, but I will explore that later in this blog entry.

Now let's not go crazy. Peyton is still better than Eli, but Eli has narrowed the gap and put himself, barring injury, into the Hall of Fame. Peyton and Eli now have the same amount of Super Bowl wins and appearances. If Eli wins, he will have one more than Peyton and in Super Bowls, a win is a mile. Plus, if Peyton never plays again, Eli will stack up more huge statistical seasons, and then let the debate begin of which brother is better. Well, who knows, let's not get again head of ourselves, let's see if Eli puts himself into rare company, leading his team to two Super Bowl victories.

There have only been ten quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to start and win two Super Bowls. What quarterback wouldn't want to be on a list of names like Bart Star, John Elway, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, etc.. So, Eli has a lot of history at stake, but so does Tom "Terrific." Brady with this Super Bowl start will tie the NFL record with 5, but a win would put him in a category by himself. Brady would tie Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw with 4 wins, and that is nice, short list to be on, but those two guys never went to 5 Super Bowls. Tom Brady would be the only quarterback ever to win 4 and start in 5.

I have been picking NFL games all season and have been pretty successful doing so however, I hate picking the Super Bowl. It is hard to separate the information from the hype. Plus, this is a hard game to pick. The Giants have been the hot team during the playoffs and they are a much more balanced team on both sides of the ball. No one would have predicted this in the beginning of season when Eli said he was "elite"(Eli should get his credit for making that statement and backing it up with his play), but Eli has been the best quarterback in the playoffs and has been fourth quarter clutch all season. The Giants also come from the better division, NFC, but this is not an overall comparison of the divisions, this is one game.

In one game it will be hard to beat Brady and Belichick again in a Super Bowl. The Giants caught the Pats somewhat flat footed and hit them in mouth(literally) last time they met in the Super Bowl in 2007. I just don't know if the Pats will let that happen again, they are just way too smart and prepared.

Forgive the cliche, but not matter who wins this Super Bowl, this is going to be a great match up. As NFL fans we can't ask for two better teams. The rivalry between these two teams and their fans has been great over the years, and both teams are full of big names, and it is a repeat of the 2007 Super Bowl is which is considered the best Super Bowl ever. I don't want to list any more reasons, but everything added together should make this an exciting game to watch, which makes this a tough game to pick. I would be a coward not to make a pick, so here goes.

SUPER BOWL Sunday, February 5 (6:30 PM ET NBC)

New York Giants vs. New England Patriots

Giants 31-27

"...and then there were none"

, it is no secret that for the most part the Colts had been bad for a long time. Peyton didn't just make the Colts better, Peyton was the Colts. Most people believed Peyton was the leader, face, and best player for the Colts, but now many believe he was the singular force that fueled the entire team. It is hard to argue with fact after the Colts went 2-14 this season and looked like a college team at times. The Colts were a given every year for the NFL playoffs, but with Peyton gone for the year the Colts fell apart.

Some say that any NFL team would go into a tail spin if they lost their MVP quarterback. New England is the example that destroys that argument. Tom Brady was lost for the year in 2008 and Matt Cassel lead New England to 11-5. So, as great as Brady is, Peyton was an even bigger part of the Colts' success, more than other great quarterbacks have been for their teams historically. Still, at some point, as a team you must move forward. Recently, Green Bay is an example of moving forward and things working out pretty well for them. So, the Colts may even need to move forward, but I just don't know if it is possible for the Colts to replace Peyton Manning. I guess it just depends on how good the much heralded Andrew Luck is.

Take you Own Advice

I am not saying what Jim Irsay has done, by cleaning house, is a bad thing, but the old saying goes "you can do the right thing the wrong way." The front office deserved the blame for the Colts' terrible season. Clearly, the Colts team depended far too much to Peyton to make them a competitive team.

I know for a fact that firing Jim Caldwell was good move. Caldwell had been a failure on the college level and his success at the Colts was due to Manning and Tony Dungy leaving him a team that was ready to win. Many times you can tell how valuable someone is by seeing how other teams respond to him being on the free market. Well, Jim Caldwell is now going to be quarterbacks coach for the Ravens. No one in NFL even seriously considered him for a coordinators' position. I told someone before the season that Caldwell was the worst coach in the NFL and they laughed, now who is laughing. Even Irsay getting rid of Peyton might work out in the long run, but maybe it would be a good idea for Mr. Irsay not to talk so much about his team business, in public.

Jim Irsay criticized Peyton Manning for making his feelings public about the Colt current state. Manning has always been a class act, but maybe after his owner had so publicly talked about team business on twitter, in interviews, and every other media outlet, Peyton thought it would be all right. Irsay is one step away from making the Colts a circus side show and not the legit contender they have been the last decade and want to be again. Irsay inherited the Colts from his father and while that doesn't mean he will do a bad job, it does shed some light on why Irsay is acting like a big mouth spoiled rich kid. Outspoken ownership has worked in the past, but for the most part good owners handle business behind the scenes. Irsay may be doing what is best for the Colts, but it might help the team for him to keep his head down and his finger over his mouth.

What's My Next Move?

Tim Tebow has always been a very public figure since his college days, but for the most part he has kept a healthy distance from the media. He seems to have always concentrated on improving his game and being a family man. That is why I can't figure out why he is doing interviews with ESPN during the Super Bowl. I don't know whose idea that is and maybe I am putting too much stock in it. All I know is Tim better not believe his own hype(really I don't think he will), he better just get better.

Just My Thoughts... Football, Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, etc.

"Football is the Biggest Thing Around"

It will be hard to predict this year's Super Bowl outcome, but no matter who wins, the New England Patriots vs. New York Giants is a great match up. While Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will get all the attention, the big reason the Patriots are in the Super Bowl is Vince Wilfork. Wilfork dominated the Ravens from the defefensive tackle position. At Pro level I have seen few defensive tackles take over a game like Wilfork did. I saw Ndamukong Suh dominate Texas in this fashion, but that was at the college level. Wilfork has to weigh around 400 lbs. of raw power, yet football fans who watch him are amazed at his quickness. The Giants will have to game plan for Wilfork, as much as they will have to plan for Tom Brady. Wilfork is really the only serious defensive challenge the Giants will have to overcome. Should be an interesting Super Bowl.

I heard a sports radio host say that "the NFL Conference Championship round is last weekend for real football fans." I totally agree with this statement. I tried to watch some of the Pro Bowl this last weekend and boy it was tough to watch. I have never watched Pro Bowl start to finish and have rarely watched any of it live. The little bit of it I watched this year reminded me of flag football and none of the players really seem to care the outcome of the game. I really don't want to list the other reasons, why this the Pro Bowl is bad. Still, I will say it always seems werid to me, that the most popular sport in America has the worst All-Star game. I do understand it is important to have an all star game to put the elite players of the league on display, no matter how hard it is to watch.

I am always amazed at the names who get left off the Pro Bowl list. Lots of old name where on the list this year and lots of great young players were left off. I do like the Pro Bowl being moved to weekend before the Super Bowl, that way a few desperate, diehard NFL fans will tune in for a football fix.

I am a huge hoops fan, but it is hard to pay close attention to basketball when football is on. Now that football season is over, I am totally focused on roundball. We still have the Super Bowl to look forward to, but the Super Bowl is more like an award show, with a little football mixed in. Still, the Super Bowl should be as good of a game as we could hope for.

Both the NBA and college basketball have been pretty uneventful this year. Right now, I am now totally focused on UNC Tar Heel basketball. The Heels seem to be getting everything together. They looked really rough in the FSU game, in which they suffered the worse loss under Roy Williams. Since then the Heels have found their way. Still, this team reminds me not of the 2005 or 2009 UNC championship teams, but of Roy's Kansas team, which had Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz, etc. and were knocked out of the NCAA tourament early. That Kansas team was picked by most to win it all. Still, I hope I am wrong and Roy and the boys can get a third championship in less than a decade.

NFL Conference Championship Predictions January 22

"ELI...TE"

Last weekend in the NFL was awesome, but this week we have two dream matchups! Eli Manning silenced all the doubters last week. Eli has looked like the best quaterback in the playoffs so far, even though Tom Brady had a big game as well. The Giants vs. 49ers game, is the hardest game to pick and it is the most intriguing match. I would like to pick 49ers, they are such a physical, complete team. I didn't last week and that was my only loss, but the Giants are rolling and are a great road team, especially in the playoffs. Both teams in this match up have great defenses, but the Giants have Elite Eli and he has been clutch all year. I expect Eli to be himself(he has been leading his team down the field in the 4th quarter all season) and win in a close one. Alex Smith stepped up last week, but if he wins this week he will make a quatum leap in his progress. I think the Patriots will beat the Ravens. The Ravens have a well documented great defense, but Joe Flacco looked terrible last game. Brady and his Tight Ends(who no one can match up with) will score points with their offense and Flacco's offense will not score as many, that will decide the ball game. I was 3-1 last week and 6-2 for the entire NFL playoffs, which is 75%, that is pretty good. Let's see how we all do this week with the NFL picks. Be sure to add your picks.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots (3:00 PM ET CBS)

Patriots 33-23

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers (6:30 PM ET FOX)

Giants 30-27

NFL Divisional Playoff Predictions Jan. 14,15

"FACE OFF"

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We all know what the big story is, this weekend in the NFL. I picked the Patriots to win, but I will be happy to be wrong if Tim Tebow can pull another miracle off. I think the 49ers at home may provide some interesting challenges for the Saints. Still, I picked the Saints to win the Super Bowl before the season, so I will stick with them. Plus, the Saints offense maybe the best I have ever seen in the NFL. The Ravens are veteran playoff team with an experienced quaterback. The Texans don't have those luxuries, Ravens should get the win. This is a really risky pick, but I am going to take the Giants to pull off the huge upset over the Packers. The Packers have been the best team all year, but the Giants have figured things out at the right time. The Giants also have the pass rushers to get to get to Aaron Rodgers. The Packer's defense has been suspect all year and the Giants are good enough offensively to keep up. Should be another great NFL weekend!

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 14

New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers (4:30 PM ET FOX)

Saints 30-23

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Denver Broncos at New England Patriots (8:00 PM ET CBS)

Patriots 31-23

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 15

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens (1:00 PM ET CBS)

Ravens 24-16

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New York Giants at Green Bay Packers (4:30 PM ET FOX)

Giants 33-30

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NFL Wild Card Round Playoff Analysis and Predictions: Jan. 7-8, 2012

Here is my Wild Card Round analysis and predictions for this weekends NFL playoff games:

Here are my predictions:

Bengals 27, Texans 21
Saints 41, Lions 31
Falcons 24, Giants 21
Steelers 16. Broncos 7

Ready for Wild Card Weekend!!! NFL Playoff Predictions

"PLAYOFF PRESSURE"

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I picked games over the last 8 weeks of the NFL season. I was 74-42 overall with my picks, which is pretty good but not great. I would like to continue my winning ways this Wild Card Weekend. Please make your picks in the comment box and let's see who knows the unpredictable NFL the best. Pick a winner and score for each of the four games.

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Saturday, January 7

Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans (4:30 PM ET NBC)

Texans 23-20

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Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints (8:00 PM ET NBC)

Saints 38-27

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Sunday, January 8

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants (1:00 PM ET FOX)

Giants 27-23

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Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos (4:30 PM ET CBS)

Steelers 20-14

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