Seesaw Sports, where Dan Salem and Todd Salem throw down on the NFL, MLB, NBA and more. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate sports.
TODD:
Prior to the NFL season, over on NFLSPINZONE.com, we made 2015 Super Bowl predictions. We both went quarterback-heavy and took elite signal-callers to lead their teams to the big game.
You predicted the New Orleans Saints would face New England with the Patriots ultimately prevailing. Through three weeks of the regular season, this pick seems rather terrible.
But not to be outdone, I also selected a seemingly doomed Super Bowl matchup by having the Denver Broncos defeat the Green Bay Packers.
While New Orleans and New England both look super shaky, I think my pick is looking worse right now, mainly on the back of Green Bay. The Packers are going to have a legitimately hard time even making the playoffs, let alone advancing to the Super Bowl.
Right now, GB is tied for last place in the NFC North with the worst point differential in the division. The defense has been poor, but that was to be expected. The real worrisome factor is how bad the Packers offense has appeared.
You could have made a viable argument that through two weeks, it was just a matter of playing tough opponents. Both Seattle and the New York Jets are known for their defenses. But week three they faced Detroit, who I don’t think has ever be known for defense in the history of the franchise’s existence.
Instead of rebounding, the Pack managed seven total points! Aaron Rodgers has all his weapons yet isn’t putting up any numbers. There isn’t really any evidence Green Bay is anything better than the third-best team in their own division.
If that wasn’t enough to derail a Super Bowl pick, Denver has also looked surprisingly shaky on the offensive end this season. It is hard to fathom and doesn’t really show itself just by glancing at the box scores, but the Broncos offense has not been as lethal as expected.
In their first two wins, both opponents clawed right back into games because Denver couldn’t put them away or extend its lead. And against Seattle in week three, there was no ground game to speak of to make things easier on Peyton Manning.
Denver still appears to be a playoff team, but if common opponents are any indication, they aren’t the best team in their division right now.
This is not how I expected things to go for my Super Bowl teams. My pick looks doomed for sure.
DAN:
No one’s going to be crying for us, but our preseason Super Bowl predictions sure look queasy. It’s not like ANY team has distinguished itself yet this season, but by week 3 its clear our predictions are doomed. The NFL does this consistently, but I still can’t help but be surprised; mainly by my own predictions.
Let me clear the air, because your Packers versus Broncos prediction is definitely smelling of old meat. But it’s not worse than mine, not even close. First of all, the Broncos will figure out their offense. That’s what Peyton Manning does best, figure out how to win with what he’s got by the end of the regular season. Look how he marched on Seattle to tie last night, he figured it out by the end of the game. Too little too late, but he did it.
The AFC is not strong enough to stop the Broncos. It’s hard to say if they win the AFC itself, but as you noted they are definitely still a playoff team. That pick is solid through three weeks.
As for the Green Bay Packers, they have a monkey on their back that often plays like a gorilla. The New York Jets should have beaten them, and the Packers lost to Seattle and Detroit. Neither game was close. If Matthew Stafford doesn’t turn the ball over so many damn times, Detroit probably wins in a lopsided victory. But all that being said, after watching the Packers in weeks one and two, they aren’t that bad.
You’re right, Green Bay will have a hell of time surviving the season to make the playoffs. But they’ve done just that very thing before on the road to a Super Bowl title. Why am I making a case for Green Bay? Because my pick of New England versus New Orleans just feels plain wrong. Both teams are playing like former ‘A’ students slapped with a stupid stick, stuck in the easy math class, and then struggling to answer correctly.
[Part two – Elite NFL QBs ain’t what they used to be]
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