It’s finally here. Super Bowl 51. I don’t know what’s more impressive. The Thread has stuck with me contributing articles and to this Annual Wayniac Nation Super Bowl Prediction Special! — my favorite piece of the year — or that their beloved Atlanta Falcons are finally back in the big game.
Look, we all know where The Thread allegiances stand by now. But that doesn’t mean it’s as easy a pick as you think.
As always, I’ll let them do the talking.
Two teams left. One is a Super Bowl stalwart, making their seventh trip to the big game this millennium. The other? Not many expected the Atlanta Falcons to be there. But they are, making their first trip since the 1998 season.
So how does the Top 12 look this week?
The final four teams are left standing in the NFL. Four great quarterbacks — and three MVP candidates — will provide for an exciting Championship Weekend.
So how does the Top 12 look this week?
It is official. For the first time since the 2003 Super Bowl that saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rise victorious over the Oakland Raiders, neither team from the last Super Bowl is returning to the playoffs. That means this January, there will be no dabbing, and Gary Kubiak will be in his rightful place… not on the football field.
Not much has changed in the AFC, but the rise of the Packers has certainly continued to shake up the NFC. The AFC Power Rankings were relatively easy this week with all six teams already locked in for the postseason. The NFC, however, still has some work to be done, with two playoff spots and a division winner still at large.
Remember, our Power Rankings break down the best five-ish teams per conference until the playoffs start, in which it becomes a comprehensive NFL Power Rankings.
Who made the cut this week?
Keep reading for the latest NFL Power Rankings of the season
The New York Giants and Green Bay Packers are grooving. So much so that they may have changed the landscape of the entire NFC playoff race. The AFC only has one big change… but it is seeing the reigning Super Bowl champions fall out of the top six.
Remember, our Power Rankings break down the best five-ish teams per conference until the playoffs start, in which it becomes a comprehensive NFL Power Rankings.
Who made the cut this week?
Keep reading for the latest NFL Power Rankings of the season
I fought Dunton for the past three weeks. He was whole-heartedly convinced that the Oakland Raiders were the best of the AFC. I continuously pled my case that the New England Patriots are the best team in the NFL, and they have no reason to not be in the top slot.
Last week, we finally moved the Raiders into the top spot. And, on cue, they lost a big matchup, becoming the biggest fallers of the week (don’t worry, it wasn’t that far).
Remember, our Power Rankings break down the best five teams per conference until the playoffs start, in which it becomes a comprehensive NFL Power Rankings.
Who made the cut this week?
Keep reading for the latest NFL Power Rankings of the season
I’m keeping this week’s Rundown and Sundays short and sweet. The search for my home team will continue in next weeks Rundown.
I hope you all are picking up some valuable lesson with the 2nd Half action so far. Just because I haven’t been breaking down every matchup with 2nd Half analysis, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be keeping your own tabs on things.
Once the search concludes, then we’ll get back to the numbers, and you won’t have to listen to my lost fandom soul sob story anymore. I do hope you’ve enjoyed the struggle, though. It’s been liberating to put my personal growth as a sports fan and individual completely out in the open like this. Very therapeutic. For someone that can’t afford therapy, this has helped me make sense of a lot about myself, and I thank you for listening.
Now, let’s get to this week’s action. Bottomline, if you don’t have a star on your helmet logo this week, then I’m not takin’ your side.
The other day, The Thread and myself were debating once again on Matt Ryan. They came to his defense with the excuses that normally are linked to Matt Ryan, which in his defense, all are justified. The Falcons have long struggled to establish a consistent running game, they have had a porous offensive line in the past (hopefully that changes this year) and annually wheel out a pretty unacceptable defense.
It made me think, people always make excuses for good quarterbacks that never seemed to achieve the greatness of Super Bowl glory. Justified or not, there is simply always an excuse. Dan Marino never had a running game, Jim Kelly was just unlucky whether it be from missed field goals or some of Thurman Thomas’s worst games of his career. The lack of a Super Bowl trophy haunts some quarterbacks, and sometimes, it was never their fault.
It’s the same the other way, too though, right? For every excuse you make for as to why a quarterback can’t win, can’t you do the same for the quarterbacks that have won. Couldn’t you make the case that Joe Montana is the most overrated quarterback ever? If Matt Ryan struggles because of the deficiencies around him, didn’t Joe Cool thrive because of the seemingly lack of any weakness in San Francisco? He had an offensive style no one had seen before devised by one of the most brilliant head coaches ever to play the game, added to a top five defense every season he won, with one of the most unheralded running backs to ever play the game and a wide receiver that years later made Rich Gannon an MVP (Go Blue Hens!).
Nomi said I was ridiculous. Does that mean that I think Montana is not a Top 10 quarterback? Of course not, but is Montana the GOAT that many thinks he is? Maybe not.
So, after Jimmy Garapollo defeated one of the NFL’s elite defenses in his first career start — a start that saw not only his top target, but arguably one of the NFL’s best targets, on the bench — it made me wonder… just how good is Tom Brady?
It’s a shame that this Super Bowl is largely remembered for the first “wardrobe malfunction” on major television. This was actually one of the more exciting finishes to a Super Bowl of the era. Yet in our pop culture starved society, 20 years from now, people won’t even remember the near fourth quarter heroics of some guy named Jake Delhomme, but they’ll remember JT flashing that Janet Jackson boob.
Super Bowl XXXVI. It’s probably the least favorite Super Bowl in the modern day era. Why you ask? Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots made their mark and Adam Vinatieri booted their way to their first Super Bowl victory… and one of the most loathed dynasties in sports history was born.
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