NFL Predictions!

     I watch a lot of football!  Which is precisely why most of these picks will be horribly wrong!  Behold, my NFL predictions for the 2014 season!

AFC East

New England Patriots (12-4)

Miami Dolphins (8-8)

New York Jets (7-9)

Buffalo Bills (3-13)

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens (10-6)

Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)

Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)

Cleveland Browns (2-14)

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts (11-5)

Tennessee Titans (8-8)

Houston Texans (7-9)

Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)

AFC West

Denver Broncos (12-4)

Kansas City Chiefs (9-7)

San Diego Chargers (8-8)

Oakland Raiders (5-11)

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)

Washington Redskins (9-7)

Dallas Cowboys (7-9)

New York Giants (5-11)

NFC North

Green Bay Packers (11-5)

Chicago Bears (9-7)

Detroit Lions (8-8)

Minnesota Vikings (4-12)

NFC South

New Orleans Saints (12-4)

Atlanta Falcons (9-7)

Carolina Panthers (7-9)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-10)

NFC West

Seattle Seahawks (12-4)

San Francisco 49ers (9-7)

Arizona Cardinals (8-8)

St Louis Rams (5-11)

Playoffs!

AFC Wild Card Round

Indianapolis Colts over Cincinnati Bengals (WC)

Baltimore Ravens over Pittsburgh Steelers (WC)

AFC Divisional Round

Denver Broncos over Baltimore Ravens

New England Patriots over Indianapolis Colts

AFC Championship Game

Denver Broncos over New England Patriots

NFC Wild Card Round

San Francisco 49ers (WC) over Philadelphia Eagles 

Green Bay Packers over Chicago Bears (WC)

NFC Divisional Round

Seattle Seahawks over San Francisco 49ers

New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers

NFC Championship Game

Seattle Seahawks over New Orleans Saints

NFL Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Manning

NFL Defensive Player of the Year: JJ Watt

NFL MVP: Drew Brees

NFL Coach of the Year: Sean Payton

NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Rob Gronkowski

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: Brandin Cooks

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jadeveon Clowney

Super Bowl XLIX

Seattle Seahawks: 27

Denver Broncos: 23

Warning!  Sean Eyman is nothing but a Dude that watches football!  He knows absolutely nothing about anything!  He has a total bias towards the Seattle Seahawks!  Wagering on football is illegal in Hawaii!  

UH Fall Practice (8-9-14)

     I went to UH Fall Practice on Saturday Morning.  I was one of about thirty onlookers during the humid, yet crisply run 2 hour workout at the TC Ching Athletic Complex.  Practice started at 10:15am.  At 10:10am all of the players were out on the field.  If you are on time, you are late according to Coach Chow.

     Music blared from the speakers.  Soundtrack consisted of mainly hip-hop and rap.  Artists such as DJ Khaled, Lil' Wayne, Drake, Eminem, Snoop and Akon.  Special Teams was there prior to the start of things and were routinely booming 40 yard field goals through the top of the uprights.  Special Teams could very well be the strongest unit and backbone of this team once again this season.  Is that a good thing?  I don't know.  But its true.

     Offense sells tickets and defense wins championships is the old adage, right?  Which is why our program is at the brink of slipping into the abyss of college football.  Let's start with the quarterbacks.  This is Sophomore Ikaika Woolsey's job to lose.  He can get the ball out fast to his pass catchers and has the legs to scramble down field better than any of the other players in the mix for the starting job.  He took the first snap on most drills and led the 2 minute/red zone offense at the end of practice.

     Taylor Graham looks to have recovered from surgery to his shoulder.  But his slow and deliberate wind up might not be beneficial to the offense.  As defensive linemen will look to swat the ball away in the pocket and defensive backs are looking to jump a WR's route down field.  A quarter second can be the difference between a sack or a touchdown.  I'm still not convinced that he can get through his progression fast enough and get the ball out quick enough to be, "Da Guy".

     I liked what I saw out of Freshman Beau Reilly.  He could very well be the QB of the future for the Bows.  Maybe even starting this year if the season goes off the tracks and we find ourselves at 0-7 or 0-8.

     The offense at times looked like what June Jones ran at Hawaii.  Running 4 WR's and motioning a RB/FB out to the flat.  Working to get the ball out quickly from the QB's hands.  Chow still prefers to pound the rock (ball) using power option, toss sweeps and trap plays when it matters most.  Joey Iosefa has NFL talent and will be the workhorse.  I just hope Chow doesn't pound him into the ground with 35+ touches a game.

     The starting WR's have talent.  They lack depth.  I have a feeling the freshmen will play.  Any more injuries at this position would be a detrimental catastrophe to this decimated unit.  Was really impressed with Marcus Kemp and Don Yeh Patterson.  Didn't see that much from the TE's.  Seemed to be mostly used as blockers.  What little balls went their way were either poorly thrown or outright dropped.  Would be surprised if this position is an important part of the offense this season.

     Defense dominated the 2 minute and red zone offense at the end of the practice.  Team worked on alignment and assignment during practice.  I didn't pay much attention to their drills.  Choosing to focus more on the QB's and WR's.

     I came away impressed and not as pessimistic as my 1 win game total for next season.  Team has potential to win 4+ games if a QB steps up and injuries aren't an issue going forward.  Those are big ifs though.  Is it enough to get Chow to year 4?  Not sure.  But it was by far the best practice I have seen in the Chow Era.

Go Bows!

Seattle Seahawks 2014 Record Prediction

     Last year I nailed it.  Picked the Seahawks over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII in July.  Check my Twitter feed.  Just go back about 5,000 tweets.  Its there.  I promise.

     This season I am predicting the Seahawks to go 12-4.  Here's how they are going to do it.

Opponent             Score               Result               Record                   Note
Green Bay            24-13               Win                  1-0
@ Chargers          21-10               Win                  2-0        
Broncos               30-24                Win                  3-0
Bye
@ Redskins          17-23               Loss                 3-1
Cowboys              38-10               Win                  4-1
@ Rams               27-17               Win                  5-1
@ Panthers          17-14                Win                  6-1
Raiders                 31-13               Win                   7-1
Giants                   28-14               Win                   8-1
@ Chiefs              20-21               Loss                  8-2
Cardinals              33-20               Win                   9-2
@ 49ers               21-24               Loss                  9-3
@ Eagles              13-17               Loss                  9-4
49ers                    24-17               Win                  10-4
@ Cardinals         28-14                Win                  11-4
Rams                    42-13               Win                  12-4

     12-4 should be good enough to win the NFC West and clinch a bye in the playoffs.  Assuming that Marshawn Lynch reports and doesn't retire and Russell Wilson stays healthy.

GO HAWKS!

Rainbow Warrior 2014 Season Prediction...It Ain't Pretty

     If you are reading this blog you probably know how I feel about Norm Chow.  I hate him.  When he was hired, he wasn't my first choice to be the next head coach at UH to follow Greg McMackin.  He wasn't my second choice either.  Nor my thir...nevermind.

     I hated his offense on BYU back in the 80's and 90's.  I thought it was arrogant.  Slow.  Plodding.  Horrible.  The thought of it attempting to be installed at UH didn't sit well with me.  In order for the system to work properly, you need top of the line recruits.  The kind that UH simply doesn't get.  But this was what our fearless leaders (MRC and Rockne) came up with.

     Following Chow's introductory press conference, I was fully on board.  Chow Time.  I got the shirts, I bought into what he was saying, this might take some time, but it was going to work.  Right?  Wrong.  Horribly, horribly, WRONG!

     After two horrendous, and that might be putting it lightly, years at UH, Chow has gone 4-20 including a 1-11 season last year.  Football season ticket sales are in the toilet, the UH Athletic Department is a mess, and most UH fans are frustrated beyond belief.  And did I mention that we don't have a  QB returning in 2014?  At least one with very much game experience.  We are switching to a more wide-open WR heavy offense.  The one like June used to run.  Should have kept Rolo.  Whoops.  Losing Kirkwood is a huge blow.

     I had to think long and hard about giving up my season tickets for football.  My family has occupied the same seats at Aloha Stadium since 1980.  I grew up watching the Rainbow Warriors.  Chow has killed this team and fan base.  Tearing this team down so far that it has no idea how to stand back up.  This team has no idea how to win.  Its coach is stubborn.  Beyond belief.

     How the team plays against Washington could be telling for how the rest of the season goes.  Get the doors blown off against the Dogs and Aloha Stadium will more than likely be a ghost town for the rest of the season.  Give Washington a game and give the players, fan base and alumni something they haven't had in a long time.  Hope.  I don't think many are expecting UH to beat UW.  But it would be nice for the game to be in question in the 2nd half.  I hate leaving Aloha Stadium at the end of the 3rd quarter.  A damn near weekly tradition for my father and I in the Chow Era.

     I believe that this will be Norm Chow's last season in Manoa.  Why?  Because he is a horrible head football coach and doesn't have the staff, players, system or skill set to be, "Da Guy" to turn it around.  I renewed my season tickets.  With the hopes that Ciao Time is near.  Here's my prediction on a game by game basis.

Opponent                     Score             Result                         Record            
Washington                  13-31              Loss                           0-1
Oregon State                10-24              Loss                           0-2
Northern Iowa              24-21              Win                            1-2
@ Colorado                  27-13              Loss                          1-3
@ Rice                         28-10              Loss                           1-4
Wyoming                      23-16               Win                           2-4
@ San Diego State        13-33              Loss                           2-5                
Nevada                         20-21              Loss                           2-6
Utah State                     17-27              Loss                           2-7
@ Colorado State         35-13              Loss                           2-8
@ San Jose State          27-14              Loss                           2-9
UNLV                          23-14              Win                            3-9
@ Fresno State             40-17              Loss                           3-10
.
     I predict that Norm Chow will be fired after the conclusion of the season.  Ben Jay will face a lot of pressure to fire Chow after the 7th loss of the season.  I think he humors Chow and lets him coach out the rest of the season.  He has too much respect for him.  I would love to be wrong and spend Christmas cheering on the Bows in the Hawaii Bowl.  I just don't see that happening though.  You can change the offense, but at the end of the day, Norm Chow is still coaching this team.  He will pound that ball into the middle of the pile when the chips are down.  Or until Joey Iosefa breaks.  He can't help it.  Old dog, same tendencies.  Jordan Wynn's offense my okole.  At least until the end of the season.

     I think Chow needs at least 5 wins to get to year four.  I just don't see those wins on the schedule.  This is the least excited I have ever been to kick off a new college football season.  Thanks Chow.  But for what its worth, Go Bows!            

Sports Bucket List

My Sports Bucket List

-Watch the University of Hawaii Men and Women's basketball teams play in the Big West Tournament in California (current venue is the Honda Center)

-For UH Football to win a big game on the mainland

-Watch UH take on Wyoming in Laramie (Wyoming)

-Watch UH become a member of the PAC-14/16

-Watch the Seattle Mariners play in the World Series

-Watch the Seahawks win the SuperBowl in person

-See a Seahawks vs. 49ers game in person (preferably at the CLink)

-Take a picture with Weehawk the Seahawk Mascot

-Take a picture with the Seahawks Lombardi Trophy

-Watch an NBA game in an NBA Arena (preferably the Seattle Supersonics)

-Watch an NHL Hockey Game

-See a game at Wrigley Field (Cubs)

-See a game at Fenway Park (Yanks vs. Sox?)

-Tour Yankee Stadium (Monument Park)

-Watch a game at Lambeau Field

-See a game at South Bend (Indiana) UH ever plays at Notre Dame, I'm there!

-Watch a game at the Big House (Michigan)

-Watch a Seattle Sounders game at the CLink

-Watch a Manchester United Game

-Attend a USA Soccer match in an international venue

And the Oscar Goes to...

I love movies.  So in turn, I love the Oscars.

Haven't seen all the movies nominated, but I'm gonna give you who I think is gonna win.

Best Picture: 12 Years A Slave
Actor: Mathew McCounaghey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Actress: Cate Blanchette (Blue Jasmine)
Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)
Animated Film: Frozen
Cinematography: Gravity
Director: Alphonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Don't really care about the rest of the categories!  Enjoy the show!

Conspiracy Theory

I'm sure you've seen or heard about the video.
Roger Goodell had it in for the San Francisco 49ers.
Right.
If you believe that then I have a bridge to sell you.  In Iran.
Believe me, there is no way Roger Goodell was happy to hand over the Lombardi Trophy to Pete Carroll on Sunday Night.  Seattle is probably one of the last (maybe Cleveland, Buffalo or Jacksonville behind them) franchises that he wants to see raise Mr. Lombardi's trophy.  The Seahawks are a regional, small market team that has a relatively small but growing and vocal...very vocal, fan base.  Isolated by geography and tucked away in the Pacific Northwest with that crazy stadium that is louder than thunder and a jet fighter combined.

So why is Goodell "giving" this franchise the 49ers title?
Simple.  He wants to make Starbucks or Seattle's Best the new, official drink of the NFL.
Your quirky, tattoo ridden, bicep kissing douchebag of a QB (Kaepernick) shouldn't have turned the ball over 3 times in the 4th quarter.
Get over it.

So now that Goodell has screwed the 9ers out of their quest for 6, he turns his attention to the Broncos.  He probably put this Super Bowl in New York (okay, Jersey fist pump, represent) 4 years ago, just so he could tilt the board in the Seattle's favor, right?  Cause he wants to put the Lombardi Trophy in the Pacific Northwest, and not the Bay.

Get real people.  Goodell was dying to hand that trophy over to Peyton Manning, cementing his status as arguably the best QB in NFL history.  But Sunday kind of took care of that debate.  Some, myself included, are taking him off the Mount Rushmore of QBs altogether.  Montana, Elway, Marino, Brady & Favre.  That's it, that's the list.  Peyton, the GOAT?  Nah.  Not even close.  He's terrific.  One of the best ever.  In the regular season.  He's below average when it counts, in the playoffs.  Insert Jim Mora soundclip here <____>  Losing record in the playoffs, losing record in the Super Bowl.  And he got straight up owned on Sunday.  GOATs don;t get owned, they crush it on the big stage.  Peyton doesn't do that.

The NFL is a multi-billion dollar corporation.  Would Goodell risk the shield by "fixing" results for a puny, small market team like the Seahawks?  Get the heck out of here if you said, "YES!"  Your dumber than I thought.

If he was gonna "give" a championship to a team, I think it would be to one of his big market or historical franchises listed below.
-San Francisco 49ers
-New York Giants
-Dallas Cowboys
-Chicago Bears
-Pittsburgh Steelers
-Heck, even the Oakland Raiders
You could then list about 20 more teams before reaching the Seahawks on the commishes wish list of landing spots for the Lombardi Trophy.  Goodell would be perfectly fine if the teams listed above rotated winning the Lombardi on a 5 year basis.

The Cowboys are my argument against fixing games and outcomes.  There is no reason under gods green earth that the Cowboys shouldn't contend for the trophy every year.  Especially with that monstrosity of a stadium and all the extra revenue that it generates.  Well, maybe one.  Jerry Jones.  God bless the man.  Hope he lives and continues to ruin the Cowboys forever.  If Goodell was going to tilt the board in one of the teams favor, it would be a team like the Cowboys.  Not the Seahawks.  And that's not happening.

Goodell did not "fix" the Super Bowl.  If he was gonna screw anybody, he would have done it to the Seahawks and give it to one of his golden franchises.  Like what happened in Super Bowl XL.  But that's another story.

But if you do believe that Goodell paved the way for the Seahawks to win Super Bowl XLVIII, that's fine.  Had nothing to do with the defense, the Legion of Boom, game preparation, Russell Wilson, Percy Harvin or all the 12s that snatched up tickets in the NYC from panicking New Yorkers selling low on a penny stock gone bad.  Goodell wanted the Seahawks as his champion and made it so.  This is the NFL.  Not the WWE.  If that was true and it got out, the NFL would be next to worthless.  It simply does not make sense.

Crying over spilled milk is so beneath the 49ers and their great fans.  There were some bad calls in that NFC Title Game.  I hope they change the rule on reviewing plays.  Cause they obviously got that fumble down on the goal line wrong.  But that had nothing to do with Roger Goodell wanting the trophy in Seattle.  It happened because Seattle played at home that day and was the better team.  That week and in Jersey 2 weeks later.

So why not work on improving your team.  Make a home field advantage like the hawks?  You got that new stadium that will debut.  I can't imagine a better place to play on the opening night of the 2014 season than a brand spanking new stadium on Thursday Night.  But Roger prefers Seattle over Frisco, right?  Nothing I will say to that.  If you believe it, fine.  Believe the NFL is fixing games.

If you are still convinced, I'm gonna let you go now.  You probably need to go look for aliens, plan your trip to Area 52, watch the entire series of the X-Files on DVD  for the 12th time, hunt for Bigfoot, or look at who killed JFK one last time.  It was a lone gunman, right?  Goodell probably also pulled the plug on the power during last years Super Bowl to GIVE the Ravens that Super Bowl.  Think you guys are right.  Goodell is out to screw the 9ers.

Instead of complaining, give credit where credit is due.  You lost in the big game last year.  You lost the chance to play in the big game this year.  The nouveau riche new kids on the block Seahawks with their 1st Super Bowl Championship, have been the bully in the NFC West since they moved in.  All those titles San Fran won were done in the 80s and 90s.  Before we were in the division.

Here's some advice.  Go polish those trophies you won a billion years ago and figure out how to win at the CLink.  Cause bitching about something that didn't happen is just plain stupid.

I'm done.
Go Hawks!

Conference Championship Sunday

AFC Championship Game:
Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots

I'm going to be honest with you.  I don't really care who wins this game.  I would prefer the Denver Broncos win over the Patriots for selfish reasons.  I would want to set up the clash of two old AFC West rivals in the Super Bowl.  In Jersey, in February on the biggest stage of them all.  I have rooted for the Patriots in almost every Super Bowl they have played in.  The Bears in 84' being the exception.  I have traded for Tom Brady in my keeper league 4 separate times.  Lead me to the title in 07' behind that incredible year in the aftermath of Spygate.

I think this is going to be a high scoring affair.  I'll take the Broncos 39-33.  Basically because of home field and the elevation.

Glad this game comes first.  It's the appetizer.  The shrimp cocktail to the main event.  I don't think I'm alone in my opinion.  I also think that regardless of who wins this game, the AFC representative (Broncos or Patriots) lose to whoever the NFC representative is (Seahawks or 49ers).  Which leads us to the main event.

NFC Championship Game:
Seattle Seahawks vs. the San Francisco 49ers

Game is a toss up.  Either team could win.  I don't care how crappy San Francisco has been in their last two visits to Seattle.  San Francisco is on a roll.  I expect a close game.  Probably going to go down to whoever has the ball last.

It had to be this way.  This is the best rivalry going in the NFL.  Keep your Steelers vs. Ravens or your Peyton Manning et. al. vs. the Patriots.  The Seahawks vs. 9ers is it.  These two teams are mirror images of each other.  Defensive teams that can pound the rock and have mobile QBs that can beat you in or out of the pocket.  Perhaps we should break this down by position.

QB: Wilson vs. Kaepernick
Advantage: San Francisco
I don't know what is wrong with Russell Wilson.  He is clearly not as sharp or playing as well as he was 5 weeks ago.  Is he having marital problems?  Is he not getting enough sleep?  All I know is that he has not been hitting the throws that he was earlier in the season.  He's doing enough to win.  Barely.  Kaep has been godawful in Seattle.  I expect him to be better.  He knows what to expect.  These two teams know each other inside and out.  There will be very little surprises.
RB: Frank Gore vs. Marshawn Lynch
Advantage: Seattle
Beast Mode has been incredible vs. San Fran in Seattle.  I expect this trend to continue.
Wide Receivers: Crabtree, Boldin, Davis et al. vs. Tate, Baldwin, Miller et. al.
Advantage: 9ers
Percy Harvin's absence will be a huge blow to the Seahawks.  His presence on the field changes the way defenses scheme for the hawks.  You have to account for Harvin when he is on the field.  I understand that he wasn't there for the last two games that the Seahawks played when the 9ers were in Seattle.  It's a game of inches.  And Harvin's presence is worth about a half a foot, at least.
Defense:
Advantage: Seahawks
Legion of Boom & the 12th Man are the difference.
Special Teams:
Advantage: Push
Coaching: Pete Carroll vs. Jim Harbaugh
Advantage: Push
Intangibles: San Fran's momentum vs. the 12th Man
Advantage: Seahawks
I understand that many of the talking heads and analysts are picking the 49ers to win this game and the Super Bowl.  There's only one problem with that.  Seattle's 12th Man.  It is so freaking loud in that stadium.  I went to a game a couple of years ago.  Sat in the endzone.  Way up.  My head hurt for 3 hours after the game!  The noise affects you physically.  You can't think.  I can only imagine what it's like on the field trying to communicate with your teammates with 70,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs for the better part of 3 hours.  Seattle is damn near impossible to beat at home.  But if Seahawks turn in the same kind of game that they did against the Saints, they will lose.

My mom is from San Francisco.  Most of my family roots for the 9ers.  I barely talked to her this week.  It has literally divided my family.  I chose when I was five.  And I don't regret any of it.

The Verdict:
Taking all things into consideration, I expect a battle in Seattle.  I think it is going to be a knockdown, drag out, backyard brawl, from beginning to end.  It may come down to whoever has the ball last.  I think this is the premier game in the NFL this season.  The Super Bowl will pale in consideration compared to this match up.  I fully expect whoever advances from this game to win the Super Bowl.  Defense and the running game being the difference.

The crowd will make its presence felt.  That in my eyes is the difference.  I think the Seahawks pull the game out in the 4th quarter, 20-17.  In a game for the ages.  Would not surprise me in the least if the 9ers found a way to win this game.  They are that good.  I respect them.  If they found a way to win at Green Bay, at Carolina, and at Seattle, what should stop them from winning in Jersey?

At the beginning of the season my preseason Super Bowl pick was Seattle over Denver.  I see no reason to back off that pick at this point.  Home field is the difference in both games.  I wanted the Seahawks to face the 9ers in the NFC Championship Game because I feel that they were the best team outside of Seattle.  That's why I want Denver in the Super Bowl.  Because I think they are the best team in the AFC.  I don't want the team we have the best shot at beating, I simply want the best team period.  The Seahawks have to overcome so much to get respect.  And I want them to beat the best to get that trophy.  Teams with championship pedigree.  All the teams left have that.

I believe that Russell Wilson will get it together.  I believe the 12th Man will make the most noise in any game, in any stadium, in any time, in all of history, tomorrow.  It is going to be off the charts.  Bury the needle at 140.0.  I believe the Seahawks will advance to Super Bowl XLVIII and win it.  Or I will be very sad.  Very, very sad.

Enjoy the games!
Go Hawks!