Playoff Football

What I am about to say is gonna sound downright sacrilegious for an American male.  I finally sat down and watched my first NFL games of the season.  As a Seahawks fan, I watched Seattle at Arizona until they took that away against my wishes.  Finished watching the Chargers and Broncos.

When the weather was good, I umpired fall baseball.  I had work to do on the exterior of the house, followed by a set of pug puppies.  My calendar has been full.  Football fell to the bottom of the list.  A few people might say my priorities are out of order;  I say I'm living in  my world, not someone else's.

What I saw was simple: The NFL plays a boring brand of football.  The Seahawks played dynamic football on both sides of the ball, very inspired and look like a real threat come the playoffs.  Arizona looked like they mailed it in, but they have a lot of talent.  I believe Carolina is the class of the NFC, Arizona is great if the mood strikes them.  Watch out for the Seahawks.  They know how to win a championship.

Denver earned the AFC #1 seed, but it sure looks wide open.  New England has been uninspired the last couple of weeks, very much so today to love to a team that fired it's head coach.  Kansas City and Pittsburgh look the most dangerous to me.  Pittsburgh can score from anywhere on the field, and Antonio Brown is the best receiver in football.  Andy Reid has Kansas City playing inspired football, and he knows how to get to a Conference Championship game. Anything beyond that is a mystery.  I still favor the defending champions, New England.  They're the champs until someone beats them.

I love football, but I really love college football.  Even my Saturday calendar has been full of officiating, umpiring, announcing, and working on the house.  I watched Purdue's opening game at Marshall, then the two playoff games this past Thursday night.  Quite a disappointment that was.

The college playoff games were predictable, leaving a good matchup between Clemson and Alabama.   I hope the game lives up to the hype: it actually has the potential.  Alabama's experience is very attractive to me.  Clemson has a lot of offensive weapons and enough defense to make it very interesting.

Side note: I played in a Fantasy football league for the first time.  The draft process at a restaurant, While the outcome is still pending, I have a chance to tie for the best record in the league, losing the title on a tiebreaker.  I haven't watched a game.  How does this happen?

The NFL has gone to a clinical, by the numbers game.  If you know the numbers, you don't have to see them play.  Follow the numbers, watch the matchups, watch your opponent and what they have on their roster.  I can't be that smart.