Sunday, February 1, 2015

2014 NFL Predictions, Super Bowl XLIX


Sean couldn’t bring himself to pick the Seahawks or the Patriots and so while everyone else went 2-0 with 8 points last week, he went 0-2 with no points.

Depending on the outcome of Sunday’s game, either Eric or Saswat will be the 2014-15 Football Freaks champion. Andrew can finish as high as second or as low as fifth.

Let’s get to this week’s pick. The Super Bowl will be worth 10 points.

Day/Time
Game
CORY PUFFETT
ERIC
MEYER
SASWAT MISRA
Feb. 1 – 6:30pm
NE vs SEA
Seahawks
Patriots
Seahawks


Along with the three of us, we’ll have Sean Kennedy, Evan Ash and Andrew Perez making picks every week as well, and this year we’ll track each of their picks right here, as well.

Day/Time
Game
SEAN KENNEDY
EVAN
ASH
ANDREW PEREZ
Feb. 1 – 6:30pm
NE at SEA
Seahawks
Seahawks
Patriots


Finally, this last table will keep everyone in the loop on everyone’s standing throughout the season.


CORY
ERIC
SASWAT
SEAN
EVAN
DREW
SB XLIX Record
0-1
1-0
0-1
0-1
0-1
1-0
SB XLIX Points
0
10
0
0
0
10
Total Record
168-98-1
182-84-1
177-89-1
166-98-1
177-89-1
171-95-1
Total Points
220.5
251
236.5
210
233
237



Keep an eye out for our predictions podcasts. Hopefully we’ll be able to put one out every Saturday throughout the season. If we aren’t able to get one out, you can at least see all of our predictions right here, every week on Puff on the NFL.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Puff’s Picks, Super Bowl XLIX


Cory Puffett

I wasn’t sure if I would be writing this blog post. I didn’t have that much interest in doing so. An NFL season that began in controversy is now ending with one.

“Deflategate” has taken all attention away from the game and placed it on a possible rules infraction that made no difference in the outcome of the AFC Championship game. Whether the Patriots broke the rules or the officials were negligent in their pre-game equipment check, the Colts were going to be blown out.

Considering New England actually performed better in the second half when the footballs were properly inflated, it could have been even worse for Indianapolis.

Needless to say, I have not watched ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage at all in the past two weeks. In fact, I haven’t even turned on NFL Network’s coverage.

To make matters worse, my PlayStation console is out of order, so this will be the first time since Super Bowl XXXV that I will not be using Madden to make my final prediction of the season.

Coming into this game, a big part of me thought the Patriots could win this game. Their offense has been outstanding since their sluggish start to the season culminated in getting beat down by Kansas City in week 4. In addition, their defense is pretty darn good and should match up well against Seattle.

But that was before this controversy took over the media. Players and coaches can say until they’re blue in the face that it’s not a distraction, but it truly is when it’s all the media wants to talk about. It takes your focus away from your opponent, even if only momentarily.

For the most part, the Seahawks have had the luxury of focusing solely on the Patriots. Not only that, they’ve been able to get healthy. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas, my biggest concerns after the NFC Championship game, have both been listed as full participants in practice for the Seahawks.

If any defense can slow down New England’s offense, it’s the Seattle Seahawks’ defense. And if there is any quarterback who has shown that he can beat the best teams in the NFL every single time, it’s Seattle’s.

Russell Wilson won’t have another pick-fest this Sunday, he’s already been on this stage, and he is 10-0 against quarterbacks with a Super Bowl title under their belt. It’s been a while since he’s gotten one, but Tom Brady still fits in that category the last time I checked and so I’m going with my gut this week and taking the Seattle Seahawks to beat the Pats.


Puff’s Pick: Seahawks over Patriots, 27-20

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Conference Championship Afterword

Marshawn Lynch looked unsure about whether to cross the goal line
on this fourth-quarter touchdown run to put Seattle in the lead.
Cory Puffett

Green Bay at Seattle

We can take a two-yard Hail Mary off the list of football plays I’ve never seen.

Green Bay played a heck of a first half, which is what I knew they needed to do if they wanted a shot at knocking off Seattle. Aaron Rodgers had not thrown a first half interception all season until Sunday afternoon. The second half of road games had been when he was most vulnerable.

What I did not expect was that he could throw an interception in the first half and Green Bay survive it. They did, thanks to Russell Wilson’s three first half interceptions.

I had a strong feeling going into halftime that the game was far from over. Of Green Bay’s four scores in the first half, three were field goals. A 16-0 lead is solid, but in CenturyLink Field, that’s far from insurmountable.

The comeback started with a fake field goal touchdown pass from Jon Ryan to Clint Gresham. It cut the lead nearly in half, but a special teams touchdown doesn’t restore much confidence in the offense’s ability to score.

But as Earl Thomas pointed out after the game, Seattle never gave up. As soon as Russell Wilson crossed the goal line for a touchdown just before the two-minute warning, I had a strong feeling Seattle would win the game. Just ask Eric, he was sitting right next to me when I said it. He thought I was kidding. I was not.

Green Bay flubbed the onside kick and four plays later Beastmode scored on a 24-yard touchdown run and was visibly upset that they had not taken more time off the clock. The Russell Wilson was driven backwards on the two-point conversion and tossed up a duck to the opposite side of the field near the goal line. Luke Wilson was there and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was unable to keep him out of the end zone.

A masterful drive by Aaron Rodgers allowed Mason Crosby to tie the game up just before time ran out, but Seattle got the ball to start the fourth quarter. Six plays and 87 yards later, Russell Wilson made up for his four interceptions by hooking up with Jermaine Kearse from 35 yards out to end the game before Aaron Rodgers had a chance to take the field.

Darrelle Revis had two pass deflections and an interception.
He will make his first Super Bowl appearance in two weeks.
Indianapolis at New England

Eric and I joked before the second game about the score I predicted for this game. I said New England would best Indianapolis 35-10. Turns out I gave Indy too much credit.

The temperature was bearable, but the wind and rain clearly were not for the Colts. Andrew Luck got out to a slow start and never did get into a rhythm. He completed just 12 passes on 33 attempts for 126 yards and two picks. It’s the first playoff game in which he failed to throw for 250 yards.

Daniel Herron ran the ball fairly effectively, but he only got 10 carries. Part of that was because he was benched for a while after two egregious dropped passes. One thing the Colts must do next year is find balance on offense. They relied too much on Andrew Luck all year despite having capable running backs. That game plan carried into Sunday and was at least a small part in them getting blown out of Foxboro.

Tom Brady played a very good game and Julian Edelman proved very reliable as he caught 9 of 11 targets for 98 yards. But the key to victory for the Patriots, besides their defense, was LeGarrette Blount.

Blount scored four rushing touchdowns in New England’s playoff victory over Indianapolis last season. He started this year in Pittsburgh but New England must be thrilled tonight that they let him go. He scored three times and had 148 yards on 30 carries.

No doubt this is about the worst Super Bowl matchup I could imagine in the sense that I can’t really get excited about rooting for either of these teams. But this has the potential to be a terrific game. New England is back to their late season form after a shaky performance against Baltimore and Seattle’s never-say-die attitude is going to be very hard to beat.


Let’s just hope that Richard Sherman’s arm injury is not too serious. Super Bowls tend to suck when both teams aren’t at their absolute best.

2014 NFL Predictions, Conference Championships


Eric and Saswat led everyone with 8 points in the divisional round while Drew joined them with a 3-1 picks record. Cory, Sean and Evan all went 2-2.

Let’s get to this week’s picks. Bonus games, in bold, are worth five points. All others are worth three points.

Day/Time
Game
CORY PUFFETT
ERIC
MEYER
SASWAT MISRA
Jan. 18 – 3:05pm
GB at SEA
Seahawks
Seahawks
Seahawks
Jan. 18 – 6:40pm
IND at NE
Patriots
Patriots
Patriots


Along with the three of us, we’ll have Sean Kennedy, Evan Ash and Andrew Perez making picks every week as well, and this year we’ll track each of their picks right here, as well.

Day/Time
Game
SEAN KENNEDY
EVAN
ASH
ANDREW PEREZ
Jan. 18 – 3:05pm
GB at SEA
Packers
Seahawks
Seahawks
Jan. 18 – 6:40pm
IND at NE
Colts
Patriots
Patriots


Finally, this last table will keep everyone in the loop on everyone’s standing throughout the season.


CORY
ERIC
SASWAT
SEAN
EVAN
DREW
Conf. Record
2-0
2-0
2-0
0-2
2-0
2-0
Conf. Points
8
8
8
0
8
8
Total Record
168-97-1
181-84-1
177-88-1
166-97-1
177-88-1
170-95-1
Total Points
220.5
241
236.5
210
233
227



Keep an eye out for our predictions podcasts. Hopefully we’ll be able to put one out every Saturday throughout the season. If we aren’t able to get one out, you can at least see all of our predictions right here, every week on Puff on the NFL.