This is my weekly outlook as to who will make the playoffs, who won’t, who will win, and who won’t.
Essentially, it will be an exercise in pissing Hippo and Moose off.
Also, as promised, I’m keeping track of what I say week to week so you can call me out on any bullshit you may see. At the end of the season, I’ll recap and highlight in green any predictions I got right.
If any.
Without further ado, TO THE STANDINGS!
AFC
Balls’ crystal balls are staying strong as the official standings are pretty reflective of what I have been seeing.
Last week, I mentioned that the AFC divisional races and the Wild Card races were pretty much over and that the only intrigue left was to see the seedings. I stand by that assessment in the sense that the teams are locked in as every other team in the AFC is absolute dogshit.
I also said that the ambrosia salad days of mayo, Wonder bread, and vanilla ice cream are over and that it’s Lamar Time! After a third straight win, Harbaugh would be nuts to switch back back now.
I could see Baltimore possibly overtaking the Steelers for the AFC North although that won’t mean much in the big scheme of things. I’ll keep things the same for now, but an embarrassing loss at Oakland will move Baltimore into the division winner spot.
Here is how I see them finishing this week:
#1 – Kansas City
#2 – New England
#3 – Houston
#4 – Pittsburgh
#5 – San Diego
#6 – Baltimore
Here is the comparison to previous weeks:
# | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Actual |
1 | KC | KC | KC | |||||
2 | NE | NE | NE | |||||
3 | PIT | HOU | HOU | |||||
4 | HOU | PIT | PIT | |||||
5 | LAC | LAC | LAC | |||||
6 | BAL | BAL | BAL |
AFC Playoffs
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Actual | |
WC1 | PIT>BAL | PIT>LAC | PIT>LAC | |||||
WC2 | HOU>LAC | HOU>BAL | HOU>BAL | |||||
D1 | NE>PIT | NE>HOU | NE>HOU | |||||
D2 | KC>HOU | PIT>KC | KC>PIT | |||||
C | NE>KC | NE>PIT | NE>KC |
Funny how I said last week that Pitt makes too many mistakes to be able to achieve anything this season. They completely proved me right on Sunday Night and I really don’t think they’ll get it fixed.
Kansas City also makes mistakes, but they make big plays to make up for them, which is what Pitt’s been missing. That will cost the Chiefs in a matchup against New England, who is quietly loading up for another deep run and is notorious for pouncing on the opponent’s mistakes.
And yes, the Chargers beat Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, but I don’t see them doing that twice in one season.
NFC
The Cowboys and Seahawks are continuing their climb up the standings doing what they needed to do to justify me including them in the Balls Gazings (TM pending).
The NFC East race is tightening up as the Eagles pulled themselves within a game of Dallas last night and play them next week. The Potato Skins lost Alex Smith and Colt McCoy and their season is now kaput. I’ll still keep Dallas as the division winner with a big eye on what happens next week.
The Seahawks are solidly in the #5 spot and it’s a crapshoot as to who will get the last Wild Card. The Panthers have a very difficult schedule but should be formidable if they win out. The same goes for the Eagles. Neither team will.
Given last night’s game, though, I’m putting the Eagles in and the Panthers out. This is only because the Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champs and that experience counts.
Among the other contenders, suckiness abounds and neither I nor the Asian masseuse near LAX think much of the Vikings’ chances.
Here is how I see them finishing this week:
#1 – Rams
#2 – Saints
#3 – Bears
#4 – Cowboys
#5 – Seahawks
#6 – Eagles
Here is the comparison to previous weeks:
# | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Actual |
1 | LAR | LAR | LAR | |||||
2 | NO | NO | NO | |||||
3 | CHI | CHI | CHI | |||||
4 | DAL | DAL | DAL | |||||
5 | CAR | SEA | SEA | |||||
6 | SEA | CAR | PHI |
NFC Playoffs
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Actual | |
W1 | SEA>CHI | CHI>CAR | PHI>CHI | |||||
W2 | CAR>DAL | SEA>DAL | SEA>DAL | |||||
D1 | SEA>LAR | SEA>LAR | LAR>PHI | |||||
D2 | NO>CAR | NO>CHI | NO>SEA | |||||
C | NO>SEA | NO>SEA | NO>LAR |
With the substitution of Philly for Carolina in the last Wild Card slot, I now am taking away the home playoff win that I gave the Bears last week. No titty kissing in Chicagoland.
I’m also changing the Divisional matchups as I have both Wild Cards winning over weak division champions. Hippo will get his prized Rams in the NFC Championship and it will be the real Super Bowl as the winner will handle New England in The Asshole.
Superb Owl
Saints beat New England.
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Actual |
NO>NE | NO>NE | NO>NE |
***
Go ahead, yell at me and tell me I’m stupid.
Shhhh, I’m preemptively giving myself a hangover.
Need new bags.
“Here is how I see them finishing this week:
#6 – Baltimore”
Crystal balls? More like time to clean your balls because Miami is taking the #6 spot, son!
Miami plays Buffalo, Vikings, Jags and P*ts. I’m not saying they will, but, they could win out.
Meanwhile, Baltimore plays the Chefs , Chargers and uh, other teams.
/Ron Howard voice: Wakezilla is still in denial about the LOLphins’ inevitable 8-8 finish
You can’t give Balls a hard time for forgetting about the…um…[rereads Wakezilla’s comment]…oh, right, the Dolphins!
I’m just hoping for a good superb owl. The last few have been close, and i hope that trend continues
HOU will take it all.
Oh, we have one of THOSE.
How? Houston doesn’t even have a team.
There is only nuts in that town.
Actually I do think the Vikings make it. Carolina is lost. Cam may be lost for the season. Next Monday night is a playoff game basically. If the Vikes win it they will win out. Miami, Detroit and home against Chicago. I don’t think they’ll be worth a tin shit in the playoffs but I can see them getting in.
Back to my massage.
Is the division still within reach? I sure would love it if the Vikings were able to bounce the Bears from the playoffs.
Just a game and a half back with one more head to head on the last game of the season.
That last game should decide the division.
Plus the Bears play the Rams and Packers the next two weeks. Definitely still a chance.
The year of the Chefs, IMHO.
KC/LAR Superb Owl. KC takes the Lombardi by a TD or less.
HAHAHAHA…….JK; as good a guess as any in #%probability.
If KC manages to fall to Baltimore this weekend, I might change my mind.
They have been up for a lot of games in a row; they may be due for a letdown game, which may bring them a sense of reality.
I hate KC because they are in the division, but I’d be OK with that result because it would piss off the P*ts third-world country to no end…. BLAME!!
The Chiefs are too fragile – they are completely dependent on that offense, and damage to a single moving part sends the whole thing into a tailspin. Subtract Kareem Hunt and they were competitive with the Raiders for god’s sake. Losing Kelce midway through last year’s divisional game completely wrecked their offense. They may close out the season strong – they usually do – but that playoff curse will rear its ugly head again, like it always does.
So lemme get this right? The Donks fan and the Raiders fan are discounting KC?
Hmmmmm…I’m sure there’s no hate fueled bias involved here whatsoever.
😀
Doesn’t mean you’re wrong, of course.
Oh, no, no, no, no. There’s a TON of hate-fueled bias here.
Well Yay foar that, at least.
Metric?
Where did I discount them? I agree with Rikki to a certain extent, but every team is fragile in certain ways; you take Gronk or Edelman out and NE’s offense is discombobulated. NE has a much better defense, which could get them through a playoff game, but still. In the AFC West division games are close a lot of times no matter the quality because of the familiarity. The Bolts are a better team as a whole than the Donks, but still lost to them.
If you can score a 40 burger on just about anybody like KC can, you can win a lot of games. Even in the playoffs where that gets a lot tougher.
Relax dude, I’m just screwing with you.
Yes; that’s why I screwed back you big dummy. Keep in mind I do hate the Chefs, but hate NE much more, an unnatural rage.
I don’t think any of us other than Maestro would call that unnatural.
You have not seen my Aztec rituals to encourage the Football Gods to act on P*ts Humiliation.
*I think we have four P*ts fans including Maestro-domus.
You ain’t pissing me off, life’s too short for me to devote that type of energy to the trivial; the world is full of prognosticators who are wrong. Making fun of your predictions is not a sign of being pissed off, in fact I find your “logic” highly amusing. Keep up the unintentional/intentional humor! These next few weeks are critical to the marginal teams and seeding (perhaps ceding). Your current column in the chart is very useful! Even if the formatting is boring.
That’s the great thing about the NFL playoffs; weird shit happens and unexpected teams get hot, injuries happen….. some of your predictions could, however unlikely, come true. Unlike with a other sport with series where the better team will usually win; the one game can be down to a weird bounce or uncharacteristic mistake. This has great fallout; fans will look for someone to blame and lose their shit with much jersey clutching. In most cases the target of the blame is only marginally responsible, and their vitriol is idiotic and hilarious. To be fair; a lot of the TV “experts” are also as amusing as you, if not more so, but even more exaggerated with a national audience to preen to. They too, let prejudice and rooting interests interfere with a logical process of analysis to determine probabilities.
Of course I do not speak for Hippo or any stray betting/ fantasy anger issues, or prescription drugs mood influences.
I write this because I CARE, MAN.
I have so much trouble finding value that I am rarely betting on the NFL. Not that I am any better in other Footy types, mind.
My logical fault is with “I don’t see them doing that twice” thing. You thought I was high to suggest the Clippers du Merde would beat them in Yinz-ville once, now that it has actually happened in no way makes it less likely. Now King Laserface goes in there KNOWING he can do it.
As I said, they have the combo of physical defense and passing ability, which is Yinzer kryptonite.
OK, betting aside; the drugs will heave-ho…..
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-eu-idUSKBN1O3102
You will thrive in the “New World Order.”
Plus a Yinzer choke job. They were up at half and should have been up by more. Stupid mistakes did them in. That could be repeated, of course, but not likely.
“Now King Laserface goes in there KNOWING he can do it.”
Mrs. Laserface: -sigh- “Don’t I know it.”
People are consistently underselling the trickster god DOINK’s effect on the games.
Boops are also prevalent.
Yes they are.
Oh, you said BOOPS.
Mike McCarthy is no longer coaching the Packers.
Oh, you meant tits-boobs…… so yes.
Got damn
No worries. 90% off what I write is tongue in cheek.
Yes, that’s a reference to analingus.
Like I said; I can’t speak for Hippo.
I’m sure it will somehow wind up being the part that doesn’t come true.