NFL – Page 5 – Keefe To The City

Jan 30, 2015

Podcast: Danny Picard

Super Bowl XLIX is finally here and that means everyone can now focus on real football and an actual game rather than inflation regulations.

Super Bowl XLIX is finally here. Well, the weekend is finally here and the this weekend is centered around the game in Arizona. After two weeks of hearing about the football inflation regulations, there will actually be real football and an actual game to talk about.

Danny Picard, of DannyPicard.com and The Danny Picard Show on WEEI and Comcast SportsNet New England, joined me to talk about how Super Bowl XLIX will impact the legacy of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, why people hate the Patriots, how the Seahawks resemble the early-2000s Patriots and who will win in Arizona.

NFL • Podcasts

Jan 28, 2015

Podcast: Mike Hurley

A lot of people don’t like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, but even as a Giants and New York sports fan, I have never understood it.

Super Bowl XLIX is almost here and that means we can actually watch and talk about actual football rather than have to hear about deflated footballs and speculate on what might or might not happen in the game. Sunday it set up to be a great day and a memorable one for Seahawks fans and those who consider themselves a 12th Man, like myself.

Mike Hurley of CBS Boston joined me talk about what Media Day is like, why people hate Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, how to balance being a fan and a media member, the idea of the 12th Man and why the Seahawks are going to win the Super Bowl.

Blogs • Giants • NFL

Jan 28, 2015

A Giants Fan for Seahawks

A trip to Seattle for the NFC Championship Game made me realize the 12th Man does exist and I’m becoming an honorary one for Super Bowl XLIX.

The loudest thing I had ever heard at a road stadium was when Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS went to extra innings. Curt Schilling, Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield emerged from the Red Sox dugout and began to walk to the bullpen as “Lose Yourself” blared throughout Fenway Park and every Red Sox fan in attendance, still high off the Red Sox’ two-run rally to tie the game in the eighth inning, went absolutely wild. And at that moment, I knew the Yankees were going to lose the game. I didn’t think they would lose the series with Games 6 and 7 to be played in the Bronx, but I knew that eventually on that Monday night, they would lose. Five hours and 49 minutes after the game started, the Yankees lost.

***

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I went to Seattle for 36 hours for the NFC Championship Game. I had no idea when I boarded a packed plane from Newark headed to Seattle at 7 a.m. on a Saturday (32 hours before the game) that my girlfriend and I would be the only ones not completely decked out in Seahawks gear. We were surrounded by 12th Man and Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch jerseys. Surrounded by cheerful faces of people, who couldn’t be happier to be in the city of Newark at the crack of dawn on an Alaskan Airlines plane for the next six-plus hours. I had a feeling I was dealing with a different breed of fans when I walked down the aisle to find my seat and saw an elderly married couple sitting in first class, eating breakfast with matching 12th Man jerseys on with smiles on their faces as wide as Vince Wilfork.

I lived in Boston for five years and through two Red Sox (2004 and 2007), one Patriots (2004) and one Celtics championship (2007-08). The only thing that kept me from drinking my way through every day was Super Bowl XLII when I watched the Giants avenge what had happened to the Yankees and to me in October of 2004. But even during Boston’s historical run when every person in the city seemed to be wearing a David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez or Tom Brady or Tedy Bruschi or Paul Pierce of Kevin Garnett jersey, I had never seen people this nutty. And I think “nutty” is the perfect word for Seahawks fans. They aren’t crazy or insane, they are just nutty.

I never understood the “12th Man”. I mean I have always understood what the Seahawks and their fans were trying to do, but I never understood how or why everyone bought into the idea of it. I thought it was weird to see fans wearing a “12th Man” jersey instead of a real player’s jersey and found it awkward to hear fans refer to themselves as 12s, while Pete Carroll and his players referred to their fans as 12s. It was odd to see “12” flags around the city and “12” banners hanging from buildings and storefronts. I have no problem with any fans thinking or acting like they are part of the team by using “we” when talking about their team, but thinking of yourself as a person or player on the field because of the noise generated? That always seemed a little strange. Nothing could possibly be as loud as CenturyLink has been made out to be even with everyone in attendance consuming an exorbitant amount of alcohol.

***

Seattle on Seahawks game day (or at least on game day when that game happens to be the NFC Championship Game) looks like Dillon on Panthers game day in Friday Night Lights. Most places were closed and those that weren’t had handwritten signs hanging in the window to let you know they would be closing at noon, which was coincidentally when the Seahawks would eventually be kicking off to the Packers.

But it makes sense since Seattleites only really have the Seahawks. Their basketball team moved to Oklahoma City and when it comes to the Mariners, they haven’t reached the playoffs since 2001 when the Yankees ended what was a 116-win regular season for the Mariners, and 11 years later, the Yankees traded for the face of their franchise in Ichiro. The Seahawks are all they have. Well, the Seahawks, Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano (eff you, Seattle) and fat jokes about Jesus Montero. And I guess we can throw in Starbucks, non-stop rain and being the home to Pearl Jam to beef up their resume. But that’s it.

On the morning of the NFC Championship Game, the non-stop rain was still there. I had seen rain from right before the plane was about to land through my first day in Seattle and now 24 hours later, it was still raining. It wasn’t raining hard, but it was raining. Not until we left the hotel and began our walk to the game did the sky open up and in seconds turn me from “Hey, I’m going to the NFC Championship Game!” to “I need to go back to the hotel, order a pizza and watch the game on TV.” I was soaked. My jeans were stuck to me, my coat had absorbed enough water that it felt like the lead vest they give you when you get an X-ray and my decision to wear sneakers rather than boots proved immediately costly as my socks had become useless and now detrimental to my day. Fortunately, as we hid in Pike Place Market for a few minutes, the sun emerged for the first and only time of the weekend and stayed out long enough for us to walk to CenturyLink Field.

SEA … HAWKS! SEA … HAWKS! SEA … HAWKS! SEA … HAWKS! SEA … HAWKS!

That was the chant that filled 1st Avenue from Pike Place to CenturyLink and it grew louder with each passing block as the stadium grew closer. The scene on the blocks leading up to CenturyLink reminded me of walking through the parking lots of a tailgate at the Meadows in Hartford for a concert. The only things missing were stoners with three-foot long dreads trying to sell veggie burritos (there were stoners with three-foot long dreads trying to sell other things), people buying nitrous balloons and “Let’s Go Whalers!” chants breaking out.

SEA … HAWKS! SEA … HAWKS! SEA … HAWKS! SEA … HAWKS! SEA … HAWKS!

***

From the moment I got to my seat just before kickoff until the Seahawks rushed the field following Jermaine Kearse’s game-winning touchdown in overtime, it felt like that “Lose Yourself” moment at Fenway multiplied by about 29,536,758 for three-plus straight hours. I had become a believer in the 12th Man. It’s a real thing.

I have never heard noise like that. At least not generated solely by people. The construction going on outside my apartment on the Upper East Side (which starts at 7:30 a.m. sharp every morning) mixed with being inside a firehouse garage while the sirens go off, mixed with standing next to an amp during Guns N’ Roses’ “Use Your Illusion Tour” might equal the magnitude of noise at CenturyLink Field I experienced. And that noise came from people’s vocal chords.

No one sat down and no one stopped yelling. Unfortunately, the woman (a Packers fan) two rows behind me, who thought it was a good idea to yell “DE-FENSE!” over and over when the Packers’ defense was on the field didn’t stop either. I’m not sure if she thought that Dom Capers or Clay Matthews or Sam Shields could hear her from the upper deck over the voices of 65,000 Seahawks fans, but I hope she lost her voice the next day and still hasn’t gotten it back.

I didn’t care who won the NFC Championship as long as that team was prepared to beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl because even before the Patriots’ demolition of the Colts a few hours later, everyone knew the Patriots were going to the Super Bowl when they beat the Broncos in Week 9 and locked up the 1-seed. I felt like the Seahawks would have a better chance against the Patriots because they have the best defense in the league and because the Patriots haven’t seen a quarterback like Russell Wilson all season. Actually, they haven’t seen a quarterback like Wilson since the last time they met, when the Seahawks beat them 24-23 in 2012. I know that the Packers did beat the Patriots already this season, but the Packers beating a team 26-21 in Green Bay is virtually a win for the opponent, since a five-point win in Lambeau for the Packers is equivalent to a loss on a neutral field.

I wanted a good game and wanted the winner to come out of the game healthy in order to best represent the NFC in Arizona and have the best chance to continue the Patriots’ championship drought. In return, I got possibly the best non-Super Bowl postseason game of all time, the best fourth-quarter comeback in postseason history and a Seahawks team without any serious injuries ready to defend their title in Super Bowl XLIX.

Because I attended the game with Packers fans, I wasn’t going to root outright for the Seahawks and when every Seahawks fans offered their condolences to my girlfriend’s family after the game and tried to offer it to me, I let them know I was a Giants fan. And I wanted them to know that I needed their team to do what the Giants had done in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI and beat the Patriots.

Before the postseason began, I wrote My Super Bowl XLIX Dilemma and ranked the 12 playoff teams in order from which team I would most like to see win Super Bowl XLIX to which team I don’t want to see win at all. The Seahawks were 3. The Patriots? Last, of course. So this decision is easy for me. On Sunday, I will be an honorary 12th Man.

NFL • Podcasts

Jan 23, 2015

Podcast: Mike Cole

I didn’t care who won the NFC Championship Game as long as that team planned on beating the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX because everyone knew the Patriots were going to win the AFC Championship

I didn’t care who won the NFC Championship Game as long as that team planned on beating the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX because everyone knew the Patriots were going to win the AFC Championship Game. I felt like the Seahawks had a better chance than the Packers because of their defense and because the Packers were only able to beat the Patriots by 5 at Lambeau Field this year, which is essentially a win for a road team there. If the Packers could barely handle the Patriots at Lambeau, playing them on a neutral field didn’t feel like it bode well. So when the Seahawks came back in miraculous fashion in the final minutes of a game they had given away, I felt confident in the NFC representative’s chances of winning the Super Bowl.

Mike Cole of NESN.com loves Boston sports, except for one team: the Patriots. Cole grew up in Massachusetts as a Packers fan and watched his team collapse in Seattle and give away a Super Bowl trip and now, like me, he will be rooting against the Patriots on Super Sunday. Cole joined me to talk about everything that went wrong for the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, how he grew up rooting against the Patriots, what to make of Aaron Rodgers’ career and we even touch on some hockey.

Blogs • NFL

Dec 30, 2014

My Super Bowl XLIX Dilemma

The Giants won’t win Super Bowl XLIX, but some team will, so it’s time to figure out who to root for the in the NFL playoffs.

Someone will win Super Bowl XLIX, but it won’t be the Giants.

With the Giants officially on Day 2 of the offseason (I say “officially” because you could make the case that some of them have been in offseason mode for weeks and some never even left it for the regular season) their season has ended in December for the third year in a row. Without the Giants in the playoffs, it’s time to once again rank the 12 playoff teams in order from which team I would most like to see win Super Bowl XLIX to which team I don’t want to see win at all.

1. Cardinals
In 2013, Bruce Arians’ Cardinals finished 10-6 and missed the playoffs because of the deep NFC West, while the 8-7-1- Packers won their division and hosted a first-round game. This season, Arians lost his starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, for Weeks 2, 3 and 5 (they had a bye in Week 4), and then to a season-ending injury in Week 10. The Cardinals went 6-0 when Palmer was their quarterback and 5-5 when he wasn’t. The Cardinals could have been looking at becoming the first team to win the Super Bowl in their own building if Palmer hadn’t gotten hurt, but now they have to settle for starting either their third- or fourth-string quarterback in the playoffs. Arians has dealt with some bad luck through his first two seasons with the Cardinals that could only be paid off with a miraculous run in the playoffs. It’s not going to happen, but I’m rooting for it.

2. Broncos
I don’t think the Broncos are capable of going to Gillette Stadium and beating the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. I wish they were and I hope they are, but Peyton Manning in that building just isn’t the same guy he would be if the Broncos had earned the 1-seed and would be hosting that potential game. Peyton is going to need a second Super Bowl win to be considered the greatest quarterback ever and not just the greatest regular-season quarterback ever. He had his chance in Super Bowl XLIV and again in XVIII and I hope he gets the chance again in XLIX because that will mean the Patriots won’t be there.

3. Seahawks
Last year, I had the Seahawks ranked eighth in this column because I didn’t want to see Pete Carroll running around the field as a Super Bowl champion. At the time, I said, “In a world where college coaches will do anything and I mean anything to get a better job, Pete Carroll is the poster boy for how to get ahead after he left USC with a two-year bowl ban and the elimination of 30 football scholarships for another shot at the NFL.” But then the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII and I got over seeing Carroll as a champion and actually grew to like the Seahawks this season, mainly because I believe they are the one true team that can beat the Patriots in a potential Super Bowl matchup.

4. Colts
The Andrew Luck lovefest is too much to take. I understand that he is going to be the face of the league once Peyton Manning and Tom Brady retire and Aaron Rodgers gets older, but can we wait until we get to that point before we anoint him as that player?

Even though I have the Colts ranked fourth, I want them to lose in the first round because they have absolutely no chance of going to Gillette Stadium and beating the Patriots in the divisional round if that is the matchup that happens. The Colts were run out of their own building by the Patriots, well Jonas Gray really in his fourth career game, and that game barely involved Tom Brady and the passing game (19-for-30 with 257 yards), so there’s a 100 percent chance they will get routed on the road.

5. Lions
The lasting image from the sidelines of Super Bowl XLV is Jim Caldwell standing there with the only look he has, which is one of confusion, and that look was only intensified following the Saints’ onside kick to begin the second half in a game the Colts could have put away if Pierre Garcon didn’t drop a would-be touchdown pass from Peyton Manning. Somehow, the Lions thought Jim Caldwell was the right man for the prime of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson’s career even after watching Caldwell stand speechless and wearing a headset seemingly connected to nothing for three years as the Colts’ head coach. I wouldn’t really mind if the Lions won the Super Bowl because they have been so bad for so long, but thinking of Caldwell as a Super Bowl-winning head coach is hard to fathom and accept.

6. Bengals
Last year, I said the following about the Bengals:

What is there not to like about the Bengals? Or should I say, what is there to not like about the Bengals? Unless you really hate gingers and therefore Andy Dalton or want to see the Bengals playoff win drought endure another year, there’s no reason to care if the Bengals win it all.

Well, this season, the Bengals cost me numerous picks, parlays and teasers, and most of those were the product of Andy Dalton turning the ball over, so there is a reason to care if Dalton and the Bengals win it all.

7. Panthers
Ah, there’s nothing quite like a 7-8-1 team winning their division and getting a first-round home game. I might as well have left the Panthers off this list because without either a strong offense or defense, they are the least likely team to get to the Super Bowl, so spending time writing this paragraph about them has just been a waste of time. And let’s not forget what I wrote about them last year:

I’m still mad at the Panthers for their Super Bowl XXXVIII loss to the Patriots that gave the Patriots their second Super Bowl in three years. And I’m still mad at the Panthers, well mainly just Jake Delhomme, for destroying that divisional round game against the Cardinals in 2008 with five interceptions, costing me the Panthers -10 pick.

8. Packers
Let me remind you of how the Packers’ season have ended in the Aaron Rodgers era:

2008: Missed playoffs
2009: Lost in wild-card round
2010: Won Super Bowl
2011: Lost in divisional round (first game)
2012: Lost in divisional round after beating Joe Webb and the Vikings in the Wild-Card round
2013: Lost in wild-card round

In the last six years with Rodgers as the starter, the Packers have won five playoff games with four of them coming in the same year. And if the “Miracle at the Meadowlands” doesn’t happen, the Packers don’t even make the playoffs in 2010 let alone win the Super Bowl. If the Packers win the Super Bowl, the never-ending praise for Rodgers is only going to get worse.

9. Steelers
Ben Roethislberger a three-time Super Bowl champion? No one wants that. But I do want Big Ben to at least get to the big game (as long as he isn’t facing the Cowboys when he gets there). Because if Roethlisberger is in Arizona then that means the Patriots aren’t and right now, I feel most confident about the Steelers upsetting the Patriots in the AFC playoffs than the Broncos or any other team.

10. Ravens
I spend every season rooting against the Ravens after what happened in Super Bowl XXXV, but this year my anti-Ravens rooting was even more pronounced thanks to their handling of their off-the-field issues and owner Steve Bisciotti’s press conference on the matters. And the cherry on top of it all was Joe Flacco going 21-for-50 for 195 yards and three interceptions (his line was way worse until the fourth quarter) against the Texans and destroying a teaser I had. There is nothing to like about the Ravens and if they win Super Bowl XLIX, Flacco would be a two-time Super Bowl champion.

11. Cowboys
There is only one team I want to win Super Bowl XLIX less than the Cowboys. The Cowboys are part of my most hated sports team group, which also includes the Red Sox, Mets, Cardinals, Eagles, Jets, Flyers and the next team on this list. A Super Bowl win for the Cowboys gives happiness to Jerry Jones and all of the fraud fans around the country, who have never been to Dallas, but are somehow Cowboys fans and gives Tony Romo the validation he needs to solidify his career and clear his name from the No. 1 spot in the Superstar Without A Championship power rankings. Tony Romo as a winner and a champion? I don’t think anyone wants that. Especially Giants fans.

12. Patriots
From the 2010 playoffs:

There is no way I want the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. None at all. I would rather walk across the George Washington Bridge naked, during rush hour, while it’s freezing rain than see the Patriots win.

Without the Giants in the playoffs, I don’t feel confident in any other team’s ability to eliminate the Patriots in the postseason. Last season, I felt confident in the Broncos’ chances at home in the AFC Championship Game and in 2012,

Sure, the Patriots have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, but they were home for the 2012 AFC Championship Game against the Ravens, the 2010 divisional round against the Jets and the 2009 divisional round against the Ravens. They have lost at home in the playoffs and they can lose again. The problem is that out of the other five teams in the AFC playoffs, only the Bengals, Broncos and Colts have played the Patriots this season, going a combined 0-3 and getting outscored 110-58. In other words, the AFC field is bad. Really, really, really bad. The team’s with the best chance of extending the Patriots’ Super Bowl drought to 10 years are all in the NFC, and by the time the Patriots would have to play the NFC, there will be only one game standing between them and winning the Super Bowl and anything can happen in one game.

I’m scared that this is the year the Patriots finish the job after losing two Super Bowls, three AFC Championship Games, two divisional round losses, a wild-card round loss and a missed postseason over the last nine years. But the one thing keeping me from penciling the Patriots in as the Super Bowl XLXI champion is Mike Hurley telling me that he has seen better Patriots team he thought would win the Super Bowl and they didn’t.

The Patriots have to lose.