NFL 2015 Playoff Predictions

     Last year I fared pretty well with my preseason predictions, correctly predicting the Super Bowl matchup. So why not try again this year, right? I am unbelievably excited for football season. Probably more than I have ever been.  That said, I will try and put my biases aside and make some fair predictions based on the talent I have seen on each of the teams (relatively speaking).

AFC Playoff Seeding

1. New England Patriots
2. Denver Broncos
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. Baltimore Ravens (wildcard)
6. San Diego Chargers (wildcard)

               Wild Card Round
                    Colts over Chargers

                    Bengals over Ravens

               Divisional Round

                    Patriots over Bengals

                    Broncos over Colts

               AFC Championship

                    Patriots over Broncos

NFC Playoff Seeding

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Seattle Seahawks
3. Green Bay Packers
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Chicago Bears (wildcard)
6. San Francisco 49ers(wildcard)

               Wild Card Round

                    Packers over 49ers

                    Bears over Eagles

               Divisional Round

                    Saints over Bears

                    Seahawks over Packers

               NFC Championship

                    Saints over Seahawks

Super Bowl XLIX

     

     Saints 28, Patriots 23

Commentary and Analysis

     I realize I'm probably going to be accused of bias for putting the Patriots in the Superbowl (its a pretty well known fact that I'm slightly obsessed with Tom Brady).  However, if you look at the relatively weak AFC, there's really no other team that stands a chance of unseating the Broncos. The only other teams in the AFC I could see challenging the Broncos and Pats are the Colts and Bengals.  However, I don't think the Colts have the firepower to defeat either New England or Denver, and the Bengals seem to be incapable of winning a playoff game against anyone, let alone two of the best in the league. The reason I have the Patriots beating the Broncos is that 1) it is extremely hard to make it to the Super Bowl two years in a row, and 2) the Broncos are by far the most popular choice, and in today's NFL, the obvious choice rarely is not always the correct choice.  In addition, based on their schedules, it looks like New England should get the #1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  Meaning Peyton Manning will have to travel to Foxboro and play the Pats in the frigid New England winter. I think that the AFC championship game could go either way, but I have New England pulling out a close one thanks to the home field advantage.

     The NFC is quite another story.  Obviously the NFC is far superior to the AFC when it comes to the amount of talented teams. In fact, I would not be surprised to see any one of the six NFC playoff teams advance to the Super Bowl. There's even a few teams I left of the list that I would not be surprised to see advancing deep in to the postseason (Carolina, Atlanta, Detroit, Arizona).  However, on paper, the six teams I included appear to be the most talented and the most likely playoff contenders.  The NFC North should be among the most interesting and competitive divisions in the NFL, with the Packers, Bears, and Lions boasting some of the best offenses in the game, and all looking like legitimate playoff teams. The Lions get left out here due to the fact that they have a new (and somewhat unproven) head coach.  The division title will come down to whatever team can stay the healthiest, in my opinion, since they are all so close.  In the South, I don't think anyone will come close to the Saints.  Atlanta is coming off a 4-12 season and Cam Newton and the Panthers just lost their top three receivers. The Buccaneers could make things interesting, but its doubtful they will contend for a division title. As usual, the East will be pretty unpredictable, but I expect the Eagles to win the division relatively easily.  Philly's offense is one to watch out for, especially if Nick Foles can build off his dominant performance last year.  I have the Saints beating the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game because I think their offense will be able to overcome the Hawks' relentless defense.  You have to think Seattle will take a small step backwards on defense this year...it would be almost impossible for them to improve on last year's performance.

     It just seems right to pick the Saints to win the big game this year.  They really have all the tools in place to do it.  They are arguably a better team than they were when they won in 2010.  With Drew Brees at the helm, their offense will be nearly unstoppable, and they made moves to improve what was already a top 5 defense last year.  On the other hand, its hard to believe Bill Belichick and Co. could lose three Super Bowls in a row.  If Brady's receivers (read: Rob Gronkowski) can stay healthy, the Pats offense will be absolutely deadly.  Plus, they will now have one of the best corners in the game shutting down half of the field for them on defense.
     As always, let me know what you think.  And get pumped for a great year of football.

In Defense of Israel

     As the conflict in Gaza and Israel drags on, I find myself increasingly angered by the reaction of the rest of the world. So, here is my rant on the subject. To anyone who is tempted to side against Israel in this whole mess in Gaza: don't buy in to this propaganda you're hearing about how Israel is the aggressor, Israel is committing war crimes, etc, etc. The fact of the matter is, Hamas is a terrorist organization whose sole purpose is the destruction of Israel. Israel, a country that wants nothing more than to be left the heck alone. Israel has been subjected to rocket attacks every single day for years. They are finally responding in the way that any country would be expected to respond...by defending themselves. Hamas has unleashed a massive campaign aimed at changing the world's opinion of Israel, and turning Israel's allies against her. They don't want peace. They want war. Why? Because then they can keep on showing everyone pictures of dead children. Children, mind you, that they placed around their missiles to act as human shields. Do these people protesting against Israel realize that Hamas has their headquarters under a hospital? A hospital. Let that sink in for a moment. Hamas knows there is no possible way they can defeat the most powerful army in the middle east, so they are trying to get Israel's allies to reject them. They are doing this by making Israel look like the bad guy. And the scary thing is, it's working. Thanks to the liberal media, people are actually taking the side of the terrorists. I never thought I would live to see the day that something like this would happen. This is altogether horrifying. This is the worst case of anti-semitism seen since WWII, and rather than standing up and condemning it, the media utterly ignores it, and instead takes the side of those responsible.  I am not saying that I know for a fact that Israel is acting completely morally in its manner of defending itself, but I am saying that maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge them.  Let's put this in perspective.  If Israel lets up for one second, it will be almost certainly annihilated by the multiple Islamic nations that surround it.  These nations would like nothing more than for the Israeli state to cease to exist. The Arab/Islamic nations that surround Israel are a combined 640 times larger than the tiny state of Israel, and their combined populations are 23 times larger than the population of Israel.  And yet somehow, the Israelis are the bad guys for wanting to hold on to a tiny strip of land they have historical ties to dating back over 4000 years.  Israel has given up miles of its land in order to appease the Palestinians, but Palestine will only be satisfied when Israel ceases to exist.  That is the problem in the Middle East.  One side wants peace, while the other does not.  Here is a link to a video that does a great job of explaining the situation in the Middle East.
     Now, as I said before, I'm not saying Israel is completely blameless here.  Maybe they could do a better job of minimizing civilian casualties.  Who knows.  The point I am trying to make is that we should not be so quick to judge a situation we really know nothing about, and can't hope to understand completely.  In the meantime, we can continue to pray for a peaceful resolution to the fighting, and a quick end to all hostilities.