Super Bowl PSYCHO aWARD: New England Patriots

The weekly PSYCHO aWARD goes to the players, officials, or team that cause you to curse at the TV during the game and puts you on the edge of insanity.

A perfect season has been ruined. Employers in the greater Boston area need to brace themselves as many Patriots fans will surely be calling in sick tomorrow after this tough loss. For a moment it looked like Brady and the Patriots pulled off another great 4th quarter comeback. However, they gave Eli Manning and the Giants too much time. One of the biggest plays of the game came on the Giants last drive. Eli Manning magically escaped what looked like a definite sack and heaved a pass to David Tyree for a 32 yard gain. Eli Manning was then able to hook up with Plaxico Burress for the game winning touchdown and Plaxico was able to make his prediction hold true. Now Eli and Peyton can stare at each other's Super Bowl trophies. Brady will have a great view of the Giants victory parade from Giselle's New York City apartment.

Super Bowl XLII Media Blog

We are tracking all the pre-Super Bowl XLII media mishaps, trash talking, and events. Feel free to post your comments on any of the articles or add any events worth mentioning.



Plaxico Burress makes bold prediction on Super Bowl XLII: Read Article

Osi Umenyiora has gotten things started by calling Matt Light dirty in an HBO interview: Read Article

Belichick has no comments on Brady's boot: Read Article

Tom Brady gets marriage proposal (If video not available - click here)


Patriots on Media Day (If video not available - click here)


Giants on Media Day (If video not available - click here)

Conference PSYCHO aWARD: Green Bay Packers

The weekly PSYCHO aWARD goes to the players, officials, or team that cause you to curse at the TV during the game and puts you on the edge of insanity.

There really wasn't a standout winner this week but since the Packers were heavily favored and should have won, they get the award. Lawrence Tynes was all so close to getting this week's award but after getting a third opportunity, he finally delivered for the New York Giants in overtime. For a while, it looked like the Packers were going to sneak away with the win. They only had 80 yards of offense in the 2nd half, survived 2 missed field goals, and then won the coin toss in OT, but an errant throw by Favre gave the Giants one too many chances. The Packers had a great season this year but fans were left frostbitten after the loss. (watch)

AFC Conference Championship Prediction: Chargers vs Patriots

Conference Championship Prediction: Chargers vs Patriots
January 18th 2008
by Special K

New England Patriots -14 vs San Diego Chargers

Tomlinson questionable, Gates doubtful, Rivers doubtful, Chargers chances of covering the spread this weekend, DOUBTFUL. Even though the point spread is huge for a championship game, I can not justify picking the Chargers when they are heading into Foxboro unprepared and without their key players practicing. It's like trying to cram the day before a Physics exam when game planning against Belichick.
Just like the one Randy Moss received from his so called long time friend, the Chargers are going to need to issue a temporary restraining against the Patriots as they are going to abuse the Chargers.

Here's a fact for you: seven out of the last eight Conference Championship games have been decided by 14 or more points. This bodes very well for the Packers and Patriots this weekend. Not to mention that Chargers defensive lineman Igor Olshansky has provided the Patriots with plenty of bulletin board material for this game.

The Patriots are headed to 18-0 and a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI against the Green Bay Packers.

NFC Conference Championship Prediction: Giants vs Packers

Conference Championship Prediction: Giants vs Packers
January 17th 2008
by Special K

Green Bay Packers -7 vs NY Giants

The fairy tale season is going to end at Lambeau Field this weekend for the NY Giants. The Giants have put together an amazing run of road victories and they probably feel like they can beat anyone but Brett Favre will not be laying down for Michael Strahan this weekend (remember the sack record). The Packers will be headed to Arizona to take on the undefeated New England Patriots. It is destiny that we will be seeing a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI. Of course, Brett Favre is probably the only active player around that remembers that game. Favre threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in that game as the Packers won their first Super Bowl in 29 years.

Both the Packers and Giants met in week 2 of this season with the Packers winning easily 35-13. That game really has no meaning or bearing on the outcome of this NFC Championship game. It is important to note this because the Cowboys beat the Giants twice this season and look what happened to them last weekend.

One of the biggest edges in this game goes to the Green Bay Packers wide receivers. Look for the Packers to exploit the Giants banged up secondary. The Cowboys failed to take advantage of this mismatch last weekend. Favre may be hooking up more with Jennings in this game than Romo ever will with Jessica Simpson. Favre is also the master of the slant and quick throws which will keep the pressure of the Giants front four off of him.

Another major factor going against the Giants is the weather. Eli Manning still needs to prove that he can play in the cold with the wind. The Packers secondary with Al Harris and Charles Woodson manning the cornerback spots are licking their chops at the opportunity of picking off some of Manning's fluttering passes.

Finally, as if just playing in the NFC championship game wasn't enough to get a player fired up, Ryan Grant has some extra motivation this weekend. Many of you may not know this, but Ryan Grant was traded from the Giants to the Packers this season for a sixth round draft pick. Grant will get his chance this weekend to prove what a mistake that trade was.

Divisional PSYCHO aWARD: America's Team

The weekly PSYCHO aWARD goes to the players, officials, or team that cause you to curse at the TV during the game and puts you on the edge of insanity.

Are the Cowboys even considered America's team anymore or have the New England Patriots with their snazzy red, white, and blue uniforms taken this title now? One thing for sure is that there won't be any titles coming to Dallas this year. The team with 12 Pro Bowlers and a coaching staff that every NFL team wants to pilfer from became the first #1 seed in the NFC to lose in the divisional round since the NFL went to the 12 team playoff format in 1990. The Cowboys failed to take advantage of a depleted Giants secondary and had many miscues along the way. Cowboys' fans along with TO are shedding tears today over this loss (watch)

Divisional Playoff Prediction Giants vs Cowboys

Divisional Playoff Prediction: Giants vs Cowboys
January 10th 2008
by Special K

NY Giants +7.5 vs Dallas Cowboys

Surprisingly, this is the first time the NY Giants and Dallas Cowboys have ever met in the postseason. Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin finally got the monkey off their back last weekend with a win at Tampa Bay. The Giants are now playing their best football at the most perfect time of the season. This is exactly what Michael Strahan came back for. Tiki Barber probably wishes he never retired.

The Giants are truly at their best when facing adversity and their backs are against the wall. This week the Giants face a rested Dallas Cowboys team who will be close to full strength. They face a Cowboys team that has beaten them twice already this year, each time by 10 or more points. When teams go head-to-head for a third time in the same season, the team that won the first 2 games has gone on to sweep the series 11 out of 17 times.

This is exactly why I like the Giants plus the points. The Giants are a confident bunch who keep finding a way to get it done. Do you really think it is going to be that easy for Wade Phillips to get his first playoff win? Also, do you trust that Terrell Owens will be back at full strength? Owens was one of the main reasons the Cowboys beat the Giants twice this year. He scored 4 TD's and racked up 212 yards receiving in both games. With such a big question mark surrounding Owens, taking the 7.5 points is an easy choice to make.

Divisional Playoff Prediction Seahawks vs Packers

Divisional Playoff Prediction: Seahawks vs Packers
January 10th 2008
by Special K

Seattle Seahawks +8 vs Green Bay Packers

The Mentor vs the Pupil, Mike Holmgren vs Brett Favre in case you didn't know what I was talking about. The student has the edge so far as Holmgren is only 2-3 against the Packers since leaving for the Seahawks. Last time these 2 teams met in the playoffs, Al Harris had a 52 yard TD interception return in overtime after the famous "We want the ball, and we're going to score." quote from Hasselbeck.

Enough with the trends and past history, the Seahawks are getting way too many points in this game. As I see it, both teams are pretty evenly matched and it is just going to come down to a few plays that will decide it. Both teams have solid defenses only giving up an average of 17-18 points per game. Both teams run similar offenses where they spread the defense out using 4 wide receivers with each team scoring around 25-27 points per game. So the best bet here is to take the 8 points. If you look at last year's divisional playoff round, only 1 game was decided by 8 or more points, and only 2 favored teams actually won. I am liking the underdogs a lot this week as I see them having huge value.

Wild-Card PSYCHO aWARD

Wild-Card PSYCHO aWARD: Pittsburgh Steelers
The weekly PSYCHO aWARD goes to the players, officials, or team that cause you to curse at the TV during the game and puts you on the edge of insanity.

It was a tough loss to swallow if you were a Pittsburgh Steelers fan this weekend. In a period of about eight minutes, the Steelers erased an 18 point deficit in the 4th quarter to take the lead. However, the Steelers gambled on 2 point conversions, both of which failed. This left them only 1 point ahead instead of 3 had they just kicked the extra points. Then the Steelers failed to run out clock and convert a first down in the closing minutes. This left the door opened for Jacksonville to come back and the win the game on a Josh Scobee field goal. Hey, look on the bright side, at least you won't have to listen to another guarantee from Anthony Smith this week!