Originally I was ready to put down my picks as to who would win each division, what each team’s record would be, and other miscellaneous shenanigan predictions. I was going to put down that the stinkin’ Patriots would once again find a way to win the AFC East even though the Dolphins might actually make a run for it (I did predict something similar last season, and they were doing fine until the locker room drama overwhelmed the season). I would put down that the Colts would repeat, the Bengals would pointlessly repeat, the Broncos would run away, the Eagles would conquer, and the Packers and Saints would win their division. I don’t see a lot of upsets, I don’t see a lot of surprises, and unlike what’s happening in baseball, I don’t see the usual script dwelling far from the norm.
But the more I write, the more I realize that there isn’t a point to any of this. None. No point in talking about my Dolphins, the Broncos, the Patriots, the Packers, the Eagles, the Jaguars (Kidding), and not even the Browns (Simple: Keep the same quarterback that actually started winning until the injury, nuff’ said). Because there is one undeniable truth to all this:
The road to the Super Bowl is being paved in the NFC West, and the winner will be a West Coast team nearly guaranteed.
It will once again be the 49ers and the Seahawks duking it out for the Super Bowl, and whomever wins there will win the entire thing. Both teams are still mostly intact, still have their momentum, still have their drive, and still have their ferocious reputation. They still have their young quarterbacks, their coaching staff has returned, and it’s always an added bonus that they hate each other. Unlike the diminishing rivalries of the Colts/Patriots and Yankees/Red Sox, this one is just as strong as ever.
Both have an intense and deep defensive scheme that can reduce the greatest offensive blitzes into mere candy. Both have clutch quarterbacks (Even though Kaepernick did fail quite badly in the NFC Championship Game) that shall be around with their franchises for quite some time barring unforeseen circumstances. Both teams know how to run, know how to pass, know how to defend their home turf, and overall will find different ways to defeat you..and defeat each other. Their Championship Game was separated by a great tipped pass.
The 49ers are absolutely starving for a Super Bowl, since they’ve spent the last three seasons getting so close. They could have destroyed the Broncos just as badly as the Seahawks did on that fateful night. Bruno Mars performed better than the Broncos, but it has less to do with the Denver squad failing and more to do with the Seattle/San Francisco style and intensity of play being far too much for anyone in the AFC to handle. The 49ers during their recent run were bested by the Ravens and the Giants in the playoffs and neither team will reach that level of play for at least a half-decade. The 49ers can handle the Saints, the Packers, anyone you can throw at them. Seattle will remain their only hurdle.
Yes, the Super Bowl Curse does exist as we haven’t had repeat winners since the Patriots a decade ago. But this Seahawks team is one of the younger ones to win a Super Bowl and would love to repeat and prevent their rivals in Cali from winning the elusive prize. The fans don’t like each other, the coaches don’t like each other, and both have enough bandwagon fans to keep the ball rolling. Arguably the best secondary in a decade, a quarterback that consistently gets the job done, a great coach whose carefree approach is perfect for the Seattle culture, how can you possibly not vote for Seattle to potentially win it all again? The 12th Man is no fluke, as the Seattle Seahawks cannot lose at home. The only way to get to them is to force them to settle for a Wild Card.
The script this season shall remain the same, whomever walks out of the NFC alive will win it all. And it will definitely be whether the Seattle Seahawks or the San Francisco 49ers.
No point in predicting any other team, because the champ will be somewhere between the Bay Area, and Starbucks Country.
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