Sunday 1/5/14 (Wildcard)

San Diego Chargers, 27 Cincinnati Bengals, 10

The Team of Destiny moves on. The San Diego Chargers inexplicably keep the 'Eagles Home Opener' theory alive. The Chargers, a team that needed to win their final two games and for Baltimore and Miami to lose their final two to gain the sixth seed. They were rewarded with a trip to Cincinnati where the hosting Bengals were 8-0… until tonight. Do the Chargers have that look and that feel of destiny? Or was this a darker destiny, the Bengals playoff destiny. Coach Marvin Lewis drops to 0-5 and the Bengals add another year to their 23 year drought.

The 'Eagles Home Opener' theory is fairly the self-explanatory, the team that plays against the Eagles for the first regular season game in Philadelphia… wins the Super Bowl. The 2009 Saints, 2010 Packers, the 2011 Giants, the 2012 Ravens and… the 2013 Chargers. Stands up to scrutiny for me.

So that's the why, but how?

The answer is simple. Cincinnati turnovers. Turnovers of the most inexplicable and frightening variety. Terrible throws, rookie fumbles inside the 5, the Bengals are now 0-3 in the playoffs under QB Andy Dalton's watch, he played awful a 3rd year in a row. Meanwhile, San Diego played efficiently and effectively the entire game.

KEY PLAY: San Diego let Cincinnati beat themselves, 0-4 turnover ratio. Besides two horrendous decision interceptions from Dalton, the key plays were RB Giovoni Bernard's fumble on the 2 yard line and Andy Dalton's inexcusable head first fumble, in which he fumbled, un-touched, into the waiting arms of S Jahleel Addae.

MVP: Perhaps the MVP of this game should just be the entire Chargers running game. The combo of RB Ryan Matthews and RB Danny Woodhead (and a big final punch from RB Ronnie Brown) converted the Bengals mistakes into a win.

San Francisco 49ers, 23 Green Bay Packers, 20

The 49ers and Packers provided the main event to cap an exciting Wild Card Weekend. In 5 degree weather, these two historically successful and currently superstar laden teams played a great game on the frozen tundra in Green Bay.

Frozen tundra is no exaggeration either, the grass was dead, brown, kicked up, and too cold to turn to mud.

QB Colin Kaepernick and QB Aaron Rodgers were still efficient. Kaepernick utilized WR Michael Crabtree and a workhorse, thankless pounding by RB Frank Gore to take what they could get and win the field position battle. Rodgers, fresh off a broken collarbone, showed gut and grit overcoming a slow start (6 total offensive yards in the 1st quarter) and making plays outside the pocket. Not insignificant was the electrifying style of RB Eddie Lacy who picked up many key first downs against the formidable San Francisco front 7.

The offenses moved the ball well, but slowly. The defenses were not overwhelmed. We entered the 4th quarter tied 13-10. The 4th quarter was a classic, Rodgers and Kaepernick traded touchdowns, then traded long, late 4th quarter drives for field goals. San Francisco ended up in the right spot.

KEY PLAY: On said final drive, Colin Kaepernick threw what was easily the worst decision of the wild card weekend, a short pass gift-wrapped to CB Micah Hyde who failed to haul it in. The drive was kept alive and capped with K Phil Dawson's field goal. The kick actually went between the arms CB Davon House. A pair of fortunate events for San Francisco, and what playoff football is all about.

MVP: Colin Kaepernick, though he almost blew the game, he is also the only QB in the league who could have gotten to the outside for the key 3rd down conversion, a 17 yard run to midfield. That performance cannot be over-looked even by this Seahawks fan.

Saturday 1/4/14 (Wildcard)

Indianapolis Colts, 45 Kansas City Chiefs, 44

I would chalk up the 89 point, 1,049 yard shoot-out as a genuine surprise. Everyone was surprised when the Chiefs took a 28 point lead without RB Jamaal Charles, and everyone was surprised again when QB Andrew Luck erased that lead and won the game by 1 point. Truly, I would characterize the entire game as 'surprising' and leave it at that.

The Chiefs lost Jamaal Charles to a concussion on the first drive of the game, but Alex Smith took to the air aggressively, hitting a 63-yard knife to WR Dwayne Bowe and a 79 yard bomb to WR Donnie Avery. RB Knile Davis, though injured in the 4th quarter, ran well. Kansas City QB Alex Smith also ran hard, improvised well, completing two improbable shovel passes when protection broke down including a 5 yard TD to help the Chiefs to a 31-10 lead at half.

Down 21 points, Andrew Luck did not spark a revolution right away. The first play of the 2nd half was intercepted, followed quickly by a Smith-to-Kniles capitalization. The score was a bleak 38-10 against the home team. But Andrew Luck continued to fire and WR TY Hilton, as he had on the first drive of the game, ran free. Hilton would finish the day with 13 catches for 224 yards.

It was still a bumpy road, after two Colts TDs brought it to 38-24, Luck again was intercepted. If there's credit to go defense in this game it's to Indianapolis' D for holding the Chiefs to a field goal after the interception and DE Robert Mathis forcing a fumble to help the Colts cut the lead even further. By this point, Luck, Hilton and RB Donald Brown were so hot the comeback seemed a foregone conclusion, culminating in a 64 yard go ahead strike to who else but TY Hilton.

KEY PLAY - Disaster and Glory literally hung in the air on a 2nd and goal when Donald Brown was stripped by S Eric Berry, the Chiefs seemed poised to recover the floating fumble into the backfield and preserve their 10-point lead (41-31 at that point). Inexplicably Andrew Luck was able to cut back, recover, and advance the ball diving through the middle for a touchdown.

MVP: Andrew Luck became a superstar today.

New Orleans Saints, 26 Philadelphia Eagles, 24

After the offensive fireworks we saw in the first game it was startling to see the Eagles and Saints much-maligned defenses bully and batter the highly-touted, high-powered opposing offenses. The first quarter was scoreless and the half ended with the Eagles up 7-6. For the Saints, DE Cameron Jordon made plays including an 11-yard sack for a loss that took the Eagles out of the red zone and led to a missed field goal. For the Eagles, two key interceptions and hard hitting play out of the line backing code provided the bite needed to tame QB Drew Brees.

In the 2nd half, the Saints offense was able to click into gear, taking their first two drives of the half for 7 points. The Eagles came to life when injuries to Saints secondary truly left WR DeSean Jackson all alone out there, lanes opened for RB LeSean McCoy and QB Nick Foles found a rhythm after a shaky first half. The Eagles took the lead with a masterful late 4th quarter drive highlighted by a desperate pass interference penalty on a streaking DeSean Jackson.

The Eagles left 4:58 on the clock, gave up a good return to RB Darren Sproles, and the "soft, dome sweet dome" Saints pounded the ball in the cold with RB Mark Ingram and RB Khiry Robinson, gaining ground and killing time. K Shayne Graham's 32-yard field goal sealed it.

KEY PLAY: The final drive was highlighted by a 13-yard run by RB Khiry Robinson, after the defensive struggle of the first half, and the quick strike offensive drives in the 2nd half, the game came down pure ground-and-pound. This was the play that broke Philadelphia's back.

MVP: RB Mark Ingram ran hard, gaining 114 total yards, many after contact. The former Hesiman winner had been criticized heavily, even by the New Orleans fan base, but he showed heart and was the reason the Saints were able to win without a Herculean effort from Drew Brees.

Wildcard Weekend 2014

Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) @ Indianapolis Colts (11-5)

Every team is happy to make the playoffs but the city of Kansas City has a decent argument as the happiest. Last year, despite 6 Pro-Bowlers including superstar RB Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs finished with the worst record in the NFL at 2-14.

QB Alex Smith and Coach Andy Reid, cast-offs from San Francisco and Philadelphia, respectively, have been the pieces to turn things around. Critics point out that most of Kansas City's 11 wins have come from lesser opponents, more optimistic types point out that having 11 inferior opponents is progress, in itself.

Meanwhile, Indianapolis has been a roller-coaster. In the first 6 weeks, they announced themselves with impressive victories against the top 3 teams in the league (San Francisco and both eventual #1 seeds, Seattle and Denver) but once they lost WR Reggie Wayne, they were dominated by St. Louis, Arizona, and Cincinnati. Pulling out of their downward spiral, QB Andrew Luck has found a rhythm, and put together a nice winning streak to end the season, including a 23-7 drubbing of Kansas City in Arrowhead just two weeks ago.

KEYS FOR KC: The Chiefs started the year as the league's most dominant defense but has had injury concerns later in the year. LB Justin Houston, LB Tamba Hali (both questionable) will need to return to early season form for Kanas City to make a dent in the playoffs. Will that frightening Chiefs D, LB Derrick Johnson, S Eric Berry, frighten?

KEYS FOR IND: The Colts dark times adjusting without Wayne are over, but now the skill position players around Luck must take another step forward, be it traded-over Brown RB Trent Richardson, RB Donald Brown, or WR TY Hilton. Somebody needs to make a name for themselves in the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints (11-5) @ Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)

The over-arching story for Phildelphia has been the emergence of QB Nick Foles. Taking over in week 6, Foles had one obligatory dud in Dallas, 80 yards and 0 TDs. Since then, he firmly grabbed the starting job from oft-injured QB Michael Vick. Foles threw 19 TDs before throwing his first interception in a genuine blizzard. He finished with 27 TDs and 2 INTs, leading a dynamic offense that has returned RB LeSean McCoy to a superstar, and WR DeSean Jackson to one of the league's top playmakers. In his first year Coach Chip Kelly can already boast a top offense in the NFL.

Of course, there is an accomplished offense on the other sidelines as well. QB Drew Brees is still among the best, especially at home. However, when the Superdome Superman Saints have traveled this season, they have done so with their Clark Kent glasses, going 3-5. The Saints have also not won a playoff road game, going 0-3 in recent history.

While these are sensational statistics, here is another; the Saints are 35-29 on the road in the Brees/Payton era (since 2006). Hardly an easy-out. Brees has been fiery in press conferences when questioned about the supposed 'road problem', this is a scary man to fuel.

KEYS FOR PHI: Philadelphia's defense is in a tough  position because of their fast-paced offensive counterparts. Preventing big plays out of WR Jimmy Graham, RB Darren Sproles and WR Marques Colston is no easy task, and they will be on the field a lot. The Eagles D will be exposed. They need to bite back.

KEYS FOR NO: The Saints are thin on D as well, though improved from 2012, the Eagles can't be too displeased with the card they drew in the first round. Maybe we are taking these amazing offense for granted, but they are going to score points, the key for New Orleans also will be the need for defensive playmakers to step up.

San Diego Chargers (9-7) @ Cincinnati Bengals (11-5)

San Diego's playoff hopes were kept alive by a convincing defeat of the record-setting Denver Broncos, followed with a shockingly unconvincing defeat of the 2nd-string Kanas City Chiefs. The Bengals needed help in OT from the referees and a fortunate missed field goal. Only the Chargers would get into the playoffs this way, QB Philip Rivers has re-emerged, while rookie WR Keenan Allen and RB Ryan Matthews have both made names for themselves.

The Bengals have been penciled in as the 3rd seed for some time now. QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J Green received a playmaking boost adding rookie RB Giovoni Bernard. The defense is just as good as it has been for the last 3-4 years and in Week 17 they dashed the dreams of the defending Super Bowl Champs, Ravens. Now, the Bengals have a home game against a 6th seed that needed buckets of help to get into the playoffs at all.

Doubt remains, not only have the Bengals not won a playoff game since 1991, these 2013 Bengals have under-performed in big spots, while the Chargers have inexplicably risen to high occasions. This will be a much better game than suggested. A pair of true wild cards, Rivers and Dalton, lead the charge/

KEYS FOR SD: San Diego rises and falls with their stars, Rivers obviously but good performances out of Keenan Allen, and S Eric Weddle will go a long way.

KEYS FOR CIN: Dalton threw 4 interceptions to Baltimore, practically giving the game away multiple times but the Bengals were the superior team. That kind of thing won't fly in the playoffs. RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Giovoni Bernard can help out a lot.

San Francisco 49ers (12-4) @ Green Bay Packers (8-7-1)

On this date one year ago, Packers fans gave no ill thought to QB Colin Kaepernick. One year later, he sits perched on a potential three-pack of pain inflicted upon Green Bay. In the Divisional Round last year, Kaepernick became a star with one of the most overwhelming performances in playoff history. Week 1 of this season, Kaepernick logged a 412-yard, 3 TD performance to start the Packers on the wrong foot this season, and down a wobbly path. The ire of Green Bay fans will boil to new levels if San Francisco can complete this three-peat.

San Francisco has won 4 more games, and has been generally more impressive. Howevert, the two previous meetings were in comfortable, habitable San Francisco. Whereas this game will be on the frozen tundra of Green Bay. The weatherspeople have been predicting record low temperatures and the sportspeople have been predicting the effects. It's likely that the cold will benefit Green Bay, a break that evens the playing field.

KEYS FOR SF: San Francisco need only to avoid pitfalls of playing on the road, or on the cold, because they have the better team.

KEYS FOR GB: The Green Bay offense will need to click. While the heroics of returning stars QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Randall Cobb defeated the Bears dramatically to enter the playoffs, the rest of the game was mediocre at best. The Bears don't possess a defense anywhere near the same class as the 49ers. If Rodgers clicks back to Rodgers-form, the Packers have a shot.]

The Farewell 20 (2013)

Every season (this being the fourth) I take a little time to remember the fallen 20 that we won't be talking about for the next month. A quick look at our long lost and departed teams. Fear not, they shall return for the NFL draft. Pick #1? Houston Texans!

AFC

MIAMI DOLPHINS (8-8)
QB Ryan Tannehill showed promise, especially considering it was behind one of the worst O-line performances of all-time, 51 sacks allowed only begins to describe. The Martin/Incognito bullying & legal drama left Miami without 2 starters, It is one of the most bizzarre distractions a team has ever faced. The Dolphins still competed for the playoffs until losses in week 16 and 17.

BUFFALO BILLS (6-10)
Another promising Buffalo Bills season has faltered and past. While QB E.J Manuel showed potential between injuries, RB C.J Spiller failed to live up to the hype. DE Mario Williams and a solid D-line have been decent, but the previously formidable Buffalo secondary was set back with injuries and under-performance. Buffalo yet again could not get things to click.

NEW YORK JETS (8-8)
It was a genuine surprise that Coach Rex Ryan was able to get some big wins out of this team. Rookie DT Sheldon Richardson is a monster inside and the D played as decent as it could. The offense ebbed and flowed with rookie QB Geno Smith's inconsistency with, in my estimation, the worst skill position players in the NFL. Hey, not every single rookie QB can come out firing in year #1.

CLEVELAND BROWNS (4-12)
You know, I sit here and I wonder why are the Browns again a bottom-dwelling NFL team. Two offensive stars bloomed in Cleveland this year (WR Josh Gordon and TE Jordon Cameran) and the defense has been good for a few years now. The answer seems to lie in dreadfully poor QB play (after promising QB Brian Hoyer went down in week 5) and a poor front office.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8-8)
Another down year for the Steelers starting 0-4 and predictable age creeping in on defense. Still, an influx in younger talent is coming on defense and on offense. RB Le'Veon Bell has promise, WR Antonio Brown has reached his potential. The 2013 Steelers were a strange combination of young players finding their feet and old players losing a step.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (4-12)
A nice little quirk of the NFL is when the historically bad team turns tough spoiler. I do not see this in many other sports. Just lke the 2010 Bills and alongside this year Bucs, Coach Gus Bradley came out of the dust of QB Blaine Gabbert's 481 yards, 1 TD and 7 INT in his career-ending 3 games. The Jags put together some nice wins to foster some of that beautiful thing called hope.

TENNESSEE TITANS (7-9)
The most un-heladed and un-hyped team in the league (now that the Seahawks are on the national map) did little to garner attention. CB Alturon Verner and WR Kendall Wright emerged while RB Chris Johnson and WR Kenny Britt lost their luster. QB Jake Locker went down and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Titans to a very Bills-esque season. Will the Titans hang their hat on Locker from here?

HOUSTON TEXANS (2-14)
Even with a roster of All-Pros and playoff experience over the last two seasons, the Texans lost their balance and tumbled. Houston started 2-0 and lost 14 straight, firing Coach Gary Kubiack, benching Matt "pick-6" Schaub, even losing twice to the previously 0-8 Jaguars. The tumble remains unexplained, that's the NFL.

OAKLAND RAIDERS (4-12)
While QB Terelle Pryor and QB Matt McGloin showed flashes of competency, the Raiders seriously lack depth and talent everywhere else. A result of the late Al Davis' easy trigger in trading away draft picks. They are finally getting some full drafts on the horizon, and the depth of the team should improve.


NFC

NEW YORK GIANTS (7-9)
QB Eli Manning any former Super Bowl winning QB has ever had. Viewing some of his dreadful, almost sad, performances was literally painful. While the interceptions piled up because the running game didn't exist, the defense actually collected itself in front of S Antrell Rolle, after acquiring LB Jon Beason and turned in a solid year.

DALLAS COWBOYS (8-8)
I've read one hundred 'It's not Tony Romo's fault" articles. The strange joke is that these articles outnumber the 'Blame Romo' at least 50 to 1. QB Tony Romo was fine, he's exactly what he is, an 8-8 quarterback with or without talent. He has had talent, WR Dez Bryant is emerging into the game's next best WR and RB DeMarcco Murray had a great year but again the defense was historically awful and Romo threw all the interceptions at all the wrong times. It's not blaming Romo, it's just what happened.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS (3-13)
QB Robert Griffin III was the ESPN 'heel' this year, Cam Newton, Jay Cutler and Michael Vick have previously played the part. RG3 and Coach Mike Shanahan never got on the same page this season. It didn't help that the Redskins defense was surprisingly one of the league's worst.


DETROIT LIONS (7-9)
The Lions continue to under-achieve. In a season that Cutler and Rodgers from the Bears and Packers both missed signifigant time, the Lions were poised to take the NFC North. Instead QB Matthew Stafford's mechanics broke down, he was awful down the stretch despite RB Reggie Bush and RB Joqiue Bell producing. They lost 6 of their last 7 and finished 3rd in the NFC North.

CHICAGO BEARS (8-8)
Finally, Chicago has a genuine offense. There is no question this is the best offense Chicago has ever had. The emergence of WR Alshon Jeffery alongside WR Brandon Marshall is exciting for the Bears. RB Matt Forte was dynamic yet again. And wouldn't you know it? Suddenly, the Bears defense is awful! The Bears could not stop the run, 32nd in the league in rushing defense.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (4-12)
A misreble 0-8 start with a handful of very close losses. The Buccaneers defense is finally coming around behind DT Gerald McCoy, LB Lavonnte David and CB Darrelle Revis. In the 2nd part of the season, the Bucs could ran the ball well despite being down to their 3rd-string RB. QB Mike Glennon stepped in after QB Josh Freeman was traded in week 5. It was chaos in Tampa Bay this year.

ATLANTA FALCONS (4-12)
For the sake of symmetry with the Houston Texans in the AFC, the Falcons collapsed from Super Bowl contender to bottom-dweller with much the same roster as had made them playoff perennials in the last few years. The Falcons dealt with injuries at WR and RB and without marquee skill players, the offensive line, defense, special teams all fell way short.

ST LOUIS RAMS (7-9)
After the injury to QB Sam Bradford it became clear, 2013 would be another rebuilding year for St. Louis. A promising rebuilding year tough with CB Janoris Jenkins, WR Tavon Austin and especially 19-sack DE Robert Quinn showing flashes of cornerstrone-ability. The Rams will have two top 10 picks in this year's draft, again positioned well to rebuild.

ARIZONA CARDINALS (10-6)
Arizona has perked up. The defense with DT Calais Campbell and CB Patrick Peterson is big, strong and hard to run against. QB Carson Palmer did the best he could and got things moving a little bit. RB Andre Ellington provided a spark, WR Larry Fitzgerald returned to relevance. Arizona narrowly missed the playoffs, and like the Rams, look positioned well to rebuild and create a seriously scary NFC West.

My NFL Story

(The NFL has a 'Share My Story' thing going on, I figured I'd tell mine)

When did football strike for me? It was March of 1993 at my Grandma's house, an old wooden place re-done with bright orange and red carpet filled with VCRs and cassette decks and massive 90s-style kitchen appliances, you know the type.

There was a stack of VHS tapes in a wicker basket, a lot of them had labels (a lot of them didn't), older family videos, taped tv shows, and one that said 'Super Bowl XXVII'. My memory is fuzzy on the reasoning behind my decision to choose that particular tape. It's possible that, at 7 years old, I had some motivation to care about the NFL, because my family were Seahawks ticket-holders and every August a fantasy football draft with 20-30 people (two people to a team) would happen at our house. It was a day I dearly loved but did not understand in the slightest.

I watched that game probably 10-11 times over the spring and the summer.. The Dallas Cowboys -vs- Buffalo Bills with a Michael Jackson halftime show. For something that launched my love for the NFL, it's funny that the game was a terrible blowout! 52-17 was the final score. I remember Michael Irvin as distinctly cool with his mouth guard, and Leon Lett being run down by Don Bebee was exciting to me every time.

I had no grasp of what led to the Super Bowl, or how it related with the big fantasy football draft in our house at the end of every summer. I just really wanted my Grandma to tape the next Super Bowl. Coincidentally, it was Cowboys and Bills again. This time the game was a lot closer and I was rooting hard for the Bills to redeem their loss, a misery I had watched and re-watched them experience all year. Somehow, watching the Bills lose to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl again, in different fashion than the year before, hooked me to the NFL. I wrote down the stats from both Super Bowls manually, just using the pause and rewind buttons, I added up the yards, catches, attempts for both teams in both games, memorizing the numbers and names and positions. It took days but I was absolutely thrilled to be doing it.

1994 was the year. My mom put me to work during the regular season, adding fantasy football stats together from the newspaper every Monday afternoon before they were hand-delivered and stapled up at the pizza place in downtown Mukilteo every Tuesday. I started to get a grasp of how the Seahawks fit into the NFL and grew to know rest of the AFC West. I got to go to the Kingdome and chant "Smell-way" at the Broncos, I secretly liked the Chargers because of their uniforms and player named Marion Butts (hahaha!) but I knew "we" did not like the Chargers, Raiders, Chiefs or Broncos.

Now at 9 years old, I decided I needed a favorite player. I swear to God this is true, I took the 1994 NFL Sports Almanac into my room, opened it up and pointed to a player. That player... was Jerry Rice. I liked the name, his picture, I liked his stats, and the whole cut of his jib. I'm still not sure why I didn't choose a Seahawk, I guess I didn't really consider it. I know I had a Rick Mier jersey, haha. During my formative NFL years, the Seahawks were a combined 14-34.

Although the Seahawks were on TV in the house every weekend, the first time I truly sat down to experience the NFL live was to watch Jerry Rice break the all-time touchdown record against the L.A Raiders on Monday Night Football. At the end of the season, I literally could not sleep before the 49ers/Chargers Super Bowl, a game I also taped and loved dearly. Strangely, the start of my love for the NFL is dominated by blowouts, the 49ers destroyed the Chargers 49-26. Jerry Rice had 149 yards and 3 Touchdowns.

Through the 90s, I was absorbing all the teams, teaming with Grandma in fantasy football, learning all the players and team histories. I wore that 1994 Almanac down to a pulp, reading it every night (long past the actual 1994 calendar year).

My NFL love expanded to include the entire league's journey to the Super Bowl. I obsessed over the playoffs making tape cassette radio shows and glue-stick collages.

When did I become a proper and devoted Seahawk fan? It was my freshman year of high school during the Seahawks' 8-2 start to the 1999 season (a season ending 9-7 and a wildcard exit). I followed the Holmgren years, excitedly enjoying the new generation of NFL as well,, Kurt Warner, Randy Moss, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and the Jerry Rice Raiders. By the time the Seahawks progressed through the Mike Holmgren era culminating in the fatefully tragic Super Bowl XL in 2005, I had been following the NFL with a magnifying glass for a solid 10 years.

That is my story. Go Hawks.

-Miles McGillivray

5 Exciting NFL Things

A new season is upon us. Predictions abound! Patriots! Seahawks! Packers! Broncos! Ravens! Falcons! 49ers! Eventually, it rings hollow. I've been reading the season previews and fantasy clairvoyants in magazines since the 1990s and the one thing I can count on each year, is they will be obsolete by Week 5, hardly resembling the actual NFL Season underway.

It's moved to the Internet now, and it's even worse.

On August 30th, 2012 - 16 ESPN experts set their crystal balls on the 2012 Season. None of them had Peterson for MVP, none had Robert Griffin III for Rookie Of The Year, none had Baltimore Ravens as Super Bowl Champions and none had the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. Thats 0 for 16 on all counts. Why are we doing this?

To be fair, two guys had the Ravens losing the Super Bowl. Still, this was utterly pointless, an extreme example of predictions taking precedence over what is truly great about the NFL, the journey.

This is an amazing game in which world-class speed, power and carefully rehearsed timing and teamwork can be shattered by a bad bounce or a dropped pass. Or 55 minutes of muddy, bloody excellence in the trenches yields nothing until finally paying off for a game-changing big play. Can't we just be excited for this?

I'm just excited about football! And this… this is FIVE EXCITING NFL THINGS!!!

#1 - The Young Guns

The Colts' Andrew Luck, Redskins' Robert Griffin III, Seahawks' Russell Wilson and 49ers' Colin Kaepernick are the new wave. I would throw the Panthers' Cam Newton and Bengals' Andy Dalton into this 'young gun' melting pot as well.

Their styles, teams and futures may differ but we are no longer in a time when rookie QBs struggle for 1-2 seasons on the field, or simmer on the sideline for 3-4 years waiting their turn. In 2008, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco came hot out of the gate, so did Sam Bradford and Matthew Stafford a year later. Chalk it up to the Pro-style offenses in college, or to a QB-focused generation raised on the stylings of Steve Young, Brett Favre, John Elway etc. Whatever the reason, we have a ridiculous infusion of talent going into their 2nd or 3rd year. It will be exciting to watch who grows, who stumbles, who recovers. We are in for a long and exciting ride.

#2 - The Old Guard

All due respect to Cam Newton & Co, but the NFL is not yet theirs for the taking. The league is still populated with 1st ballot Hall-of-Fame Quarterbacks playing at extremely high levels in Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees. Not to mention Aaron Rodgers, Ben Rothlisberger and Eli Manning. All told, 14 Super Bowl appearances between them.

The 2000s will be remembered as the decade the NFL took a leap in passing offense, and the big names are still going strong. Rodgers, Brees, Brady and Manning remain the most formidable foes a defense must face. They make for great entertainment, good television and a sure-to-be competitive playoff bracket for Super Bowl 43.

#3 - Parity

As I write this, there is hope for all NFL teams. It's not impossible to imagine Jamaal Charles' and Alex Smith's breakout year under Andy Reid, big stuff in Kansas City. Or Ryan Tannehill joining next year's young guns talk as Lamar Miller explodes onto the scene and Mike Wallace hits stride for confetti in Miami. That long-promised deep playoff run for Romo and the Cowboys? Cutler and Marshall finally shape up that Bears offense? The Texans take the next step? Titans' Chris Johnson returns to form and Jake Locker explodes into his potential? Focus comes to the immense talent of the Detroit Lions?

It's all feasible. What if Tavon Austin and Chris Givens are the spark Sam Bradford needed to lead the Rams back to glory? Or, as is a trendy playoff pick, the improved Eagles O-line and Chip Kelly's no huddle are a sensation that brings back the danger in Michael Vick, LeSeaon McCoy, DeSean Jackson...

Everything is possible. Except the Browns, of course. Not because of Trent Richardson, an incredible talent, but because they are the Cleveland Browns.

In the NFL there is hope, and short memories. Nobody was praising the Seattle Seahawks' depth on this day one year ago. Nobody. Now, it seems like it's been fact for years. It is a fast-changing landscape creating heros and goats, winners and losers every week.

There are many other factors. Factors that I myself routinely forget to consider. The Rams need a lot more than Givens, Austin, and Bradford to play well. There are O-lines and D-lines that dictate these games, and win championships. Injuries on the line, or just under-performance can sink a team with lofty goals, and leave the sports media grasping at straws as to what happened to (Insert Scapegoat Skill Player Here)? Conversely, excellence along the lines can turn a middling RB/QB/WR into a superstar.

#4 - The Read Option

The one word I keep reading, when trying to get an inside scoop on how defenses will defend the read option is "attack". The Pistol offense that destroyed the Packers in San Francisco, and left Dallas and the New York Giants watching the Redskins in the playoffs is a hot topic. The counter-punch to the Wild-Cat in 2009 was swift, it will be interesting to see the Read Option's fate.

#5 - New York City Finale

The Super Bowl in New York City somehow manages to supersize the biggest sporting event in the world. The uncertainty of the weather, the chaos of the city, the media hype that will come with a Super Bowl in New York City. It's almost unimaginable. It promises to be another golden year!

I've tacked on an extra 10 things I'm excited about or interested in for the season! Let's do this!

#06 - J.J Watt, Brian Cushing, Ed Reed & The Texans' defense.
#07 - Can Larry Fitzgerald return to form with Carson Palmer at the helm in Arizona?
#08 - Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and the Legion Of Boom in Seattle.
#09 - Sean Payton's Saints Redemption Tour - will the Saints have a chip on their shoulder after Payton's season-long suspension after Bountygate.
#10 - Tom Brady and a bunch of newbies at WR and TE, will it matter?
#11 - The implosion of Rex Ryan, Geno Smith, Mark Sanchez, and the Jets. Will Ryan be around to guarantee a 6th Super Bowl?
#12 - Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and the Giants' offense.
#13 - Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, A.J Green. Brandon Marshall and Calvin Johnson. A new age of Megatrons upon us.
#14 - Will the Packers and Saints actually 'commit to the run' as they have preached this offseason?
#15 - Andy Reid in Kansas City. Chip Kelly in Philadelphia.

Tonight the Ravens take on the Broncos to kick off the season. Will Joe Flacco be the golden boy we last saw in February without Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta? What will Wes Welker's role be in Peyton Manning's Bronco Show?

The speculation and highly-specific predictions can again fade away, let the games begin!

-Miles.

SUPER BOWL 47

Baltimore Ravens, 34 San Francisco 49ers, 31

This Super Bowl drastically changed shape three times. It presented itself first as a blowout, a Baltimore whalloping of San Francisco. It then morphed into a dominant San Francisco counterpunch after a Superdome power outage delayed the game for 34 agonizing minutes. After Baltimore shook off the cobwebs in the 4th quarter, Super Bowl 47 reached it's 3rd and final form: a blow-for-blow thriller that came down to an epic 4-down goal line stand.

The red-hot Ravens offense struck hard and early with a pass-heavy drive capped by the the QB Joe Flacco-to-WR Anquan Boldin postseason special. After an ill-advised fight-for-1-yard fumble by rookie 49er RB LeMichael James, Flacco fired a 2-yard rocket to TE Dennis Pitta that put the Ravens up 14-3 to end the 1st quarter.

Matters grew worse, San Francisco QB Colin Kapernick's over-the-entire offense interception to center fielder Ed Reed offered Baltimore another red zone opportunity. The Ravens would fail to convert a fake field goal but it was a luxury they could afford, Kaepernick responded with a 3-and-out. This time, Flacco made up the difference with a 56-yard down-but-not-touched bomb to WR Jacoby Jones with 1min remaining in the half.

The 49ers faithful were given a halftime Beyonce' break to get the images of WR Jacoby Jones out of their heads but it was the same nightmare to start the 2nd half too. Jones returned the opening kickoff 108 yards to set the Ravens powerfully in control, 28-6. The old nostalgic standby, the Super Bowl blow-out, a staple of the 80s and 90s appeared eminent.

After a 3-yard run from RB Frank Gore on the responding drive, the lights went out.

Radio silence from the broadcasters. It would be 34 minutes before 2nd-and-7 was allowed to resume.

Conspiracy-theories aside, it was the San Francisco 49ers who appeared to greatly benefit from The Power Outage. With nothing to lose, their offense finally clicked. WR Michael Crabtree grabbed a beautiful 32-yard grab neatly bouncing off the feeble hits-not-tackles from two Ravens defenders.

Conversely, with everything to lose, the Ravens offense suddenly lacked explosiveness and was forced into punts and a Ray Rice fumble. San Francisco capitalized with a field goal and another touchdown, this one RB Frank Gore. Barely 8 minutes after the power outage, the 49ers had made up 17 points, a new game 28-23 to start the 4th quarter.

The Ravens dusted the sleep out of their eyes and yet another Super Bowl Classic unfolded before us. Hard-hitting, punch, counter-punch football. The type of which can only be played in the 4th quarter of a Super Bowl between 2 Harbaugh brothers.

The game culminated in a 1st-and-goal for the 49ers with 2:39 remaining, down 29-34. After a non-threatening run from L-James, Kaepernick threw 3 straight incomplete passes to Michael Crabtree on the right side of the field. Maybe there was some 'The Catch'-style potential to Randy Moss on 2nd down, but Kaepernick was clearly looking at nobody but Crabtree for these 3 downs. The 49ers made it a game, but the window had closed.

LB Ray Lewis, Joe Flacco & The Ravens finally found themselves Super Bowl Champions after five years of deep playoff runs. Coach John Harbaugh summed it up perfectly "it's never pretty, it's never perfect, but it is us".

KEY PLAY: In the moment there will be significant hoop-la in San Francisco that the refs "let them play" too much on the final 4th down and that defensive contact of CB Jimmy Smith should have been called. The contact was initiated by Crabtree so while made it seems like a bad call now, it won't go down as one of the bogus no-calls of NFL history. Crabtree and Kaepernick were just not quite on the same page, and lurking right behind Smith was S Ed Reed in double-coverage on Crabtree.

MVP: Joe Flacco. The 2 big plays from WR Jacoby Jones will forever be Baltimore highlights but Flacco was the engine that drove Baltimore through the entire playoffs. His killer instinct in the red zone was championship quality, and it paid off. The running narrative this season 'is Joe Flacco elite?'  appears to have been answered.