Posted on 06/06/2005 9:05:16 AM PDT by Asphalt
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- This is my AFC prediction column, and you're probably wondering: What is that weird dateline doing on the AFC prediction column? Well, I came to Wisconsin over the weekend to take the temperature of Brett Favre and gauge his readiness for a 14th season in Green Bay, so it just happens to be where I am right now.
Favre interlude: The Packers QB holds an annual benefit softball game in this little suburb of Appleton, Wis., a 30-minute drive from Lambeau Field. He does it here because this is where the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the Midwest League Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, play in a nice little venue called Fox Cities Stadium.
Favre looked good. Said he weighs 224 pounds and just finished a five-week, five-day-a-week workout regimen with former Notre Dame strength and conditioning man Ken Kroener down in Mississippi. The Packers paid for the training because they think Favre needs to be in better condition to withstand the rigors of an NFL season than he was last year. Which Favre, basically, confirmed. "People made a big deal of this," he told me, sitting at a locker in the Timber Rattlers' spartan clubhouse, "but I do feel better. This time last year, I hadn't really done anything."
Favre's conditioning program included stretching, body-weight lunges. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
Surprise! New England.
Super Bowl XL, Feb. 5, 2006: Vikings versus Patriots.
This goes against the logic my anti-Eagles NFC pick, which I made because I think it's only a matter of time before the forces of Tagliabuian gravity take a team that's been on top for five years down to earth. The Eagles have won an average of 11.8 games per regular season over the past five years, and recent football history during the free-agency era says a five-year run of excellence is about all any team has in it. Well, this is New England's fifth year.
I like how, despite being battered this offseason, the Patriots used the opportunity to reinvent themselves to a degree. I think the change from Romeo Crennel to Eric Mangini on defense will be as seamless as it can be when a very good tactician and motivator is lost. Mangini is a younger Bill Belichick with a more human side to him. . ."
All you Pats fans out there who say that the media is always telling you you can't do it again, shut up once and for all:) Every year I read columns like this, and every year Pats fans complain they don't get their respect. /rant
Egad. King likes the Vikings. We'll see.
I think they're probabley going to win it too. Don't know how this works, but the Viking will be better for losing Randy Moss, and the Raiders will be better for getting him.
Oh, how lame.
Going back over 30 years, this year's Super Bowl winner is almost invariably predicted as next year's Super Bowl winner.
Not that the Pats are not the best team in the AFC--they probably are--but these sportswriters who are unable to see past January and just make the safe pick are pretty silly.
King Likes fellating Canines too.
Doesn't make it right.....
This Jet Hating SOB kills me. Not Only are the Bills a Playoff team with 1st year QB Loserman, despite an incredible upgrade on offense for last years #7 overall defensive team (Hackett--> Out, Heimerdinger IN, Santana Moss Out, Coles in, and Justin Miller returning kicks...) .....
But He knows How the Patriots are going to be playing absent Crennell, but ESPECIALLY Charlie Weis, who has been the Best OC in the Game since 1998.
Pr!*k.
I said it last year, whoever wins the AFC championship game wins the Super Bowl. Period.
yep
hehe
Yea, BROWNS!
Sometimes, I don't know whether to laugh or cry about my Cleveland teams.
He's a bit too arrogant for me, but I read anything football I can get my hands on.
They have a good coach, new players, things are looking up for them, in a few years they'll be second behind my beloved Steelers.
its such a reversal in positions, 10 years ago the NFC was totally dominant, now it is the AFC, I wonder exactly why?
As a Pats fan, I'd rather he picked someone else. This is the guy that predicted a Seahawks/Jags Super Bowl last year!!!
Seriously, even if no one picks tha Pats this year, I don't think you'll hear any moaning about it from these parts. I always thought the inferiority complex about our teams was an extension of Red Sox angst. With the World Series issue has been taken care of(I refuse to say curse), the only people you'll hear play the "disrespect" card will be Pats coaches (how else can they motivate the reigning champs?)
New England is a safe pick, but anyone who puts their hopes on the Vikings knows how that will turn out.
Looking up? Where else can the Browns look?
Right now, all they see when they look up is a snail's butt.
Actually, in head to head games, the AFC has been dominant for many years. It's just that the NFC team usually won the Super Bowl.
Well, that would be me, so we'll see.
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