2017-18 NFL Playoffs- Super Bowl LII

After the games of Championship Sunday were contested, I split the picks, getting the AFC one right (boo hiss) and getting the NFC one wrong to stay underwater record wise at 4-6 for these playoffs

Now the big game is upon us at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, and we now have the team everyone loves to hate in the Trump loving New England Cheatriots Patriots taking on a Philadelphia Eagles team playing for their first NFL championship since 1960.

The NFC champion Eagles are probably playing the theme from the Rocky movie in their locker room because they are underdogs in this game but thy are used to it.   

They have been the underdog in both their NFC playoff games despite their 13-3 record and their number one seed because they lost their staring QB Carson Wentz in Week 14. 

And yes, the other thing I love about the Eagles is they are 'woke'.   They have been taking part in the 'Take A Knee' protests, and have led efforts in Pennsylvania to push criminal justice reform along with other charitable and community social justice issues.

They are facing a Patriots team that is not only seeking their sixth NFL title, they haven't lost since the Miami Dolphins upset them 27-20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 14

And as we know, they are 45's and white supremacists favorite NFL team.

So let me get to my Super Bowl pick.   While I am rooting for the Eagles to win their first title since 1960, my NFL prognosticator head says I'll unfortunately have to watch the disgusting spectacle of Tom Brady hoisting the Lombardi trophy again

Patriots to win Super Bowl LII

2016-17 NFL Playoffs- Super Bowl LI

30 NFL teams started out with the goal of playing at NRG Stadium in my hometown for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and only two remain.

This is the third Super Bowl we have hosted in H-town, with the previous ones happening in 1974 and 2004.  If SB 6 unfortunately passes, it'll be the LAST one we get to host  

But back to talking about the big game on Sunday

Got one last prediction to make to close out this 201617 NFL season, and in addition to successfully repeating as the TransGriot NFL prognostication champion, I've gone 9-1 during the NFL playoffs.

So let's get to the final prediction of this season for Super Bowl LI.

We have a battle between the AFC Champion New England Trumpriots Patriots (16-2) and the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons.(13-5)

The Falcons come into this game at NRG Stadium on a roll, having won their last six games after that December 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at the Georgia Dome.  

They secured the number 2 seed, and then  their number one offense went to work obliterating their playoff opponents the Seahawks and Packers by a 80-41 margin.  

The defense has stiffened considerably since that December 4 loss to the Chiefs.

The Patriots also come in on a roll,  They've won nine straight games, and haven't last since the Seattle Seahawks beat them 34-21 at Gillette Stadium on November 13 by stopping them on the 1 yard line on a fourth and one pass play with 14 seconds left to preserve the win.  The Patriots were also coming off their bye week at that time.

They also rolled through the AFC playoffs, outscoring the Texans and the Steelers 70-33 in their two playoff games.

As for the Super Bowl LI itself, it'll be a matchup of the number one offense vs the number one defense.

For the Falcons to pull the upset, they will have to replicate on defense what the Texans did to them in their playoff game.  Force Tom Brady out of the pocket by blitzing up the middle. Punish him with hits when they do so and come up with schemes that get their All Pro linebacker Vic Beasley loose to terrorize them. .

The Falcons NFL MVP quarterback Matt Ryan is going to have to play like he has over the last several weeks and score early and often by flinging passes to Julio Jones and Mohammed Sanu for starters.

If they can overwhelm them on offense and the Falcon defense can #RiseUp, force Brady off his spot in the pocket, beat him up, get some turnovers in the process and turn them into TDs they have a shot at taking the NFL title back to the ATL.

If they don't, and the Patriots defense does to Atlanta what they consistently do by taking away what you like to do best, and by extension shut down the high flying Falcons offense attack, it's going to be a long day at NRG for the Falcons.  

Now as to who will take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.   While my heart is with the Falcons and will be rooting for them because I hate the Trumpriots for a lot of reasons starting with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, my head and my money are on the Patriots

Patriots to win Super Bowl LI

Super Bowl 50 Musings

In a few hours Super Bowl 50 will kick off between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers to determine who walks away with the NFL title and the Vince Lombardi trophy.

I've already made my Super Bowl prediction like 'errbody' else in media world, but as the clock ticks down to the start of the final NFL game of the 2015-16 season, I have other random thoughts that are percolating in my mind besides the action that will take place at Levi's Stadium starting at 5:30 PM CST.

In addition to the mass quantities of food we Americans consume during that game and the billions we bet on it legally and illegally, corporations spend millions for Super Bowl advertising slots before and during the game and on making the good, bad, indifferent and 'what the hell were they thinking' commercials that will run during it.

I'm parked in front of the TV not only for the game and the armchair analysis of it, but to spend some quality time with my friends.  You haven't lived until you've watched a Super Bowl with a room full of TBLG people and allies.  It's a hilarious and wonderful slice of life where for just a few hours, we LGBT World NFL fans can forget about the reality that on Monday or as soon as the last confetti has been swept off the turf, the rest of America will go back to hatin' us with a foaming at the mouth determination and gleefully working to roll back our human rights.

For that few hours during a Super Bowl, we trans. bi and SGL NFL fans are just like everyone else, rooting for our fave team (,in this year's case either the Broncos or the Panthers) to win and then plotting if you live in Denver or Charlotte where and how fast can you get your championship swag if they handle their Super Bowl 50 business.

Speaking of human rights, hey Mayor Turner and everyone else from Houston observing what is happening in the San Francisco Bay Area this week in advance of my hometown hosting Super Bowl LI in 2017, how about y'all doing us Houstonians a huge favor?   As soon as y'all step off the plane from Cali, how about you and City Council get busy and start working on expeditiously passing HERO 2.0?

World class cities protect the human rights of their citizens, and if you want H-town to ever be considered as a host for another Super Bowl, better get busy with that necessary human rights task.

When I watch a Super Bowl, I'm also cognizant of the possibility that if I'm fortunate, I'll get to watch some Black history being made at the same time while I'm munching on pizza or wings.

I remember bursting with pride when Doug Williams became in 1988 the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl, and Russell Wilson doing so in 2014.   It was why I was so incensed when that boneheaded pass play call in last year's game call cost the Seahawks not the change to win back to back titles, but Wilson the opportunity to become the first ever Black NFL starting QB to win back to back NFL titles.

And it's no secret I want to see Cam Newton join that exclusive fraternity of Black NFL QB's who have hoisted a Lombardi Trophy in a few hours and deliciously shutting up his racist haters.

Because Newton winning the NFL MVP award for 2015 last night, leading the team to a 17-1 record and the franchise's second NFC title and Super Bowl berth won't be enough to silence them.  But I have noticed during my lifetime that winning shuts bigots up.

While as a Texans fans I despise the Indianapolis Colts, I put that rivalry aside when the Tony Dungy led Colts and Lovie Smith's Chicago Bears faced off in what we called in the Black community the 'Soul Bowl'.

Even the NFL officials calling the Super Bowl at times have made Black history.  Mike Carey, the second Black NFL referee when he was hired in 1995 and is now retired, in 2008 became the first Black referee to call the title game.  In 2013 Jerome Boger became the second Black referee to do officiate a Super Bowl.

Looking forward to seeing the day a female NFL official gets to do that and be the referee at a Super Bowl, but that's another post.

Well, hope the players got enough sleep for their busy and career making day.

I'm just hoping for a great game like the millions of people around the country that will be tuned in for it, and that one day I'll know what it is like to see my hometown NFL franchise play in one..
 

Countdown To Super Bowl 50

Super Bowl 50 will be taking place  in Santa Clara next Sunday, and even though my favorite NFL team won't be involved in it, I will have a rooting interest in one of the teams that will playing in this year's NFL championship game between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers..

There are also some interesting historical nuggets as we approach the kickoff time for this game. Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is now the second Latino head coach after the Oakland Raiders Tom Flores to make it to the title game. 

He also wants to be like his idol Flores, the second Latino head coach to win a Super Bowl.   Flores as the hard coach of the Oakland/LA Raiders coached them to NFL titles twice in 1981 and 1984.

For the third straight year, a team with an African-American starting quarterback will be in the Super Bowl house.   Russell Wilson of the Seahawks was that quarterback the last two years and won (2014) and lost (2015) one, and this year it will be Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers representing at the QB spot..

Newton will be bidding to make some Black history by attempting to join Doug Williams and Wilson as African-American NFL starting quarterbacks that have won a Super Bowl.   Ironically both of those wins by Black quarterbacks in 1988 and 2014 came at the expense of the Denver Broncos, this Sunday's opponent.

Newton will be trying to do so against a quarterback in Peyton Manning who may be playing in his last Super Bowl.

As to who I'm picking to walk away with the Vince Lombardi Trophy next week?    I'll let y'all know on Friday.

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Super Bowl XLIX Sunday

Well peeps, Super Bowl XLIX will be kicking off tomorrow between the New England Cheatriots Patriots and the defending NFL champion Seattle Seahawks, and I will be standing by with my snacks watching all the action along with my esteemed prognostication partners Eli and 2014 regular season champion Mike . 

Had a blast as usual competing with these two gentlemen in picking NFL games during the 2014 season, and look forward to doing so when the season cranks up again in September 2015.

I've gone 8-2 in the 2014-15 NFL postseason, and was perfec on Championship Sunday.

But it's time to pick who I  believe will be the winner of Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale. AZ.

One the surface, it looks like it's the New England offense versus the Seattle defense.    But you'd be surprised to know that the Seahawks actually had the number nine ranked offense in the league while the Patriots despite the media hype is only ranked 11th.

It's also no surprise the Seahawks thanks to Marshawn Lynch have the league's number one ranked rushing attack. We also know Seattle has the NFL's number one ranked defense that is capable of making Tom Brady have a very bad day.   Tom Terrific doesn't like it when he tastes turf on a regular basis or he has to move from his comfortable throwing spot in the pocket.  

Now New England's defense, while good, isn't at Seattle's game changing level.  It will be fun to see if they can keep Marshawn Lynch from going into beast mode or Russell Wilson from taking off on one of those backbreaking scrambles that tend to come at critical points in the game. 

Speaking of Wilson, he has a chance to make some history.  If the Seahawks win, Wilson would become the first African-American NFL QB to lead his team to back to back Super Bowl titles.

And yep, Glendale is a much closer trip for the 12th Man than it is for the Patriot fanbase.  Translation:  The Patriots may find themselves having to run silent counts to combat the noise generated by the 12th Man.

So who is going to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy when this game is over on Sunday? 

I'm picking the Seattle Seahawks to repeat as NFL champion

Russell Wilson Makes Black History

What a way to start off Black History Month!

Before today, in the entire history of Super Bowls, there have been four African-American starting quarterbacks who have played in the NFL's biggest game.   The first, Doug Williams in 1988 took his Washington team to victory over the Denver Broncos.  

Steven McNair was mere inches from joining that short list in 2000 when the Tennessee Traitors (yeah, I'm still bitter about that move) fell inches short of the championship winning TD.    Then there was Donovan McNabb in 2005 and Colin Kaepernick last year against the Ravens. 

Russell Wilson., the fifth Black quarterback to start a Super Bowl, made a little Black history today by becoming only the second ever African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl when his Seattle Seahawks team took down the Denver Broncos 43-8.

And yeah news media, it's still a BFD when I see a brother quarterback in the Super Bowl, much less win one.  Colorblind does not mean ignore the reality of this historic moment when it occurs.

Now for the interesting piece of Black history still yet to be made.  Will Russell Wilson become the first one to win multiple or back to back Super Bowls?   We'll have to tune in when the 2014 NFL season kicks off to finad out the answer to that question.

NFL Referee Jerome Boger Making Black History

When NFL referee Jerome Boger steps onto the playing field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for Super Bowl XLVII, tomorrow, he will be making a little Black history when he does so.

Boger, who has been an NFL official since 2004 and was promoted to referee in 2006, will become only the second African-American to have the honor of being a Super Bowl referee.

Boger is the third African-American to become an NFL referee.  Johnny Grier broke the referee color line in 1988.  Mike Carey became the second Black NFL referee when he was promoted in 1995 in the wake of the additions of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars to the league creating the need for another officiating crew. 

The officials at the Super Bowl are chosen on merit, with the highest ranked at each position on the officiating crew getting the assignment.  The other criteria for their selection is they must have five years of NFL officiating experience and previous playoff assignments.

Boger has officiated four playoff games this postseason and finished the 2012 season as the league's number one ranked referee, but the vanilla ice flavored Hateraid started flowing once the NFL announced the Conyers, GA resident and former Morehouse College starting quarterback got this coveted assignment. 


This will be Boger's first time he has done so as the referee in a Super Bowl, but it is only the only the second time an African-American will have become a Super Bowl referee. 

Mike Carey was the first to accomplish that feat exactly five years ago at Super Bowl XLII back on February 3, 2008.

Yep, that was the one in which the New England Patriots dream of an undefeated season died in a monumental 17-14 upset loss to the New York Giants.

Congratulations to Jerome Boger for making that history.  To all the vanillacentric privileged haters whose white sheets are showing over his selection, frack y'all.  I didn't hear any of you complaining about the fact there were a total of 15 NFL head coaching and GM openings in this offseason and ALL of them went to white males.

That was especially galling to African-Americans n the wake of former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith being fired despite the team compiling a 10-6 record.

For the fans of the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, they hope that this is the only time the referee gets more press coverage than the teams involved in the NFL title game.

TransGriot NFL Picks-Super Bowl XLVI

Yes, I'm still bummed because my hometown NFL ballers aren't here in Indianapolis after a remarkable season, but did watch last Sunday's Pro Bowl.

In case you missed it, the Texans coached AFC squad beat the Green Bay coached NFC 59-41.

And next year's Super Bowl will be in New Orleans, so if the Texans do handle their 2012 NFL business, it'll be only a five hour drive on I-10 east to see my boys play.  

The teams that did make it to Circle City as I correctly predicted on Championship Sunday are the AFC champion New England Patriots and the NFC Champion New York Giants.

Mike's prediction will be here.   Here's Moni's

This game is not only a Super Bowl XLII rematch we will never forget because of the Giants memorable 17-14 upset of a perfection seeking Patriots squad, but like that 2008 game is a regular season rematch.

The Giants and Patriots met in Foxborough during Week 9 in a game the Giants won in dramatic come from behind fashion 24-20 and at the conclusion of it had them at that point in the season sitting atop the NFC East with a 6-2 record before embarking on the four game losing streak that nearly ruined their season>

The Giants eventually woke up and went 3-1 to clinch the division with two critical wins over the Arlington Cowchips sandwiched between an inexplicable loss to the Washington Redskins and a victory over the New York Jets, the team they share MetLife Stadium with.  

The reverse is true for the Patriots, who haven't lost since that November 6 game, got the number one seed for the AFC side of the playoff bracket and sent the Broncos and Ravens packing.

The Giants got to the NFC side of the playoff party and knocked off in succession the Atlanta Falcons, the number one NFC seeded and defending NFL champion Green Bay Packers and the number 2 seeded NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers in overtime..


So both teams are coming in hot and we'll have another game in which the NFL and football conventional wisdom will be but to the test.   It's long been said that offense sells tickets but defense win championships. 

But a highly ranked offense can put you in position to win a championship.

New England has the offense.  The problem is their number 31 ranked defense and a secondary who remind me of the Texans one in 2010 which got toasted more often than Quizno's subs.  

But because teams try to test them, they are capable of and do pick off passes from time to time or make a game saving play when they need to. Ask Tim Tebow and Joe Flacco about that

The Giants bring an imposing front seven anchored by Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul that comes after quarterbacks with speed, power attitude and athleticism.  It's also well known in the NFL that if you can get sustained pressure on Tom Brady and have him get frequently acquainted with the turf, he's not as effective a quarterback.

Speaking of Brady, as much as he has been saying this week that revenge isn't on his mind, you can bet it is.   This is a guy who uses the fact he was a sixth round pick in the NFL draft to motivate him, so I'm not buying that bull feces.



The Giants aren't slouches in the offensive department either.  Peyton's little brother Eli has had one of his best NFL seasons at quarterback, has a talented group of wide receivers to toss the ball to and wants to prove to the world he is an elite quarterback.


Eli has to be sitting in the film room salivating as he looks at the video and contemplating the opportunity to turn Victor Cruz and company loose on deep go routes and repeatedly burn this porous Patriots secondary.

Yeah, I expect to see Victor Cruz doing his samba in the end zone in this game at least once.    

Okay, enough jibber-jabber.  Here's my Super Bowl pick. 

It's hard to beat a team twice in the same season.  Unlike the last Super Bowl meeting, it's the Giants that come into this one at Lucas Oil Stadium with the regular season victory over the Patriots and being favored because they knocked off the NFL champs. 

The Patriots will be motivated to avenge that regular season defeat, but I believe the Giants front seven will be too much for them.   Rob Gronkowski's high ankle sprain takes a major offensive weapon away from that high octane offense and doesn't help the Patriots chances either.  

But it will and should be a close game that may even go to overtime or be decided by the kickers. 
 
Going with the Giants in a close one

NFL Picks- Super Bowl XLV

The Super Bowl will be kicking off in the Jerrydome in a few hours and I'm going to reveal to you who I think is going to win this one.

In the Championship Sunday picks I got the AFC game right between the Steelers and the Jets and the NFC one wrong between the Packers and the Bears so I'm carrying  a 4-6 record into this one no thanks to all the upsets in the Wild Card Weekend. 

While both teams are on a roll going into this game and top the league in defense, I just feel the Steelers have the edge going into this game despite the stellar postseason play of Aaron Rogers and the fact Green Bay found a running back who has relatively fresh legs.

Rashard Mendenhall has had an equally impressive postseason run as well. .


So who is Moni picking to win it?    Sorry, Cheeseheads.   Know your favored in this one and it will a close game, but I believe the Pittsburgh Steelers will take home their seventh Vince Lombardi trophy.

We'll see if I'm correct in a few hours.