Super Bowl Preview + PROPS contest

I’m 7-3 this postseason with my picks (5-5 non-spread, but who gives a crap about that!).  Whether I get Sunday’s game right or wrong, this will be my best postseason ever.  So I’m either going to pick the Patriots or the Giants, I’ll either be right or wrong, and then we will have no football for another seven months.  Do you know how long that is!?!  Screw this.  We have to milk this game for all it’s worth.  I can’t just pick the game with a few paragraphs of analysis, ignore my second guessing that says to go with the other team, and add a few jokes like I always do. 

Thankfully there are Super Bowl props!

Now most of the ones that you see floating around are just boring, standard, and frankly, hard to predict.  Like, “Will Tom Brady throw for more than 300 yards?”… who knows.  Or, “who will win the coin toss?”  … true story, I actually won 3 dollars from the coin toss my junior year in college because right before the coin toss I said the Saints would win the toss, it would be heads, and they would receive...and bet a dollar on each.  All three came true. Thanks, Klein.

Well because I don’t want the NFL season to end, I came up with a list of not so ordinary prop bets.  Also, if you like, you can play along with me.  Just make your picks below in the comment section and whoever has the most right will get a shoutout tweet, bragging rights, and some other prize that I can’t think of yet.  Maybe if I become famous one day I’ll send you a t-shirt.  Maybe.  Just make sure your answers line up with the number of the corresponding question.

HERE WE GO!

1.  Who will catch a pass first? 
A. Rob Gronkowski
B. Aaron Hernandez

2.  Will Victor Cruz do the salsa dance?
A. Yes
B. No

3.  How many field goals will be MADE in the game by either team?
A. None or 1
B. 2-3
C. 4-5
D. 6 or more

4.  Number of times Al Michaels/Cris Collingsworth will mention COOPER MANNING?
A. None
B. 1 or more

5.  Will Madonna play “Like a Prayer” during the halftime show?
A. Yes
B. No

6.  Which total will be greater?
A. Number of Wes Welker receptions + Number of Eli Manning touchdown passes
B. Number of points Lawrence Tynes will score

7.  What will be the first score that the GIANTS get?
A. Touchdown
B. Field Goal or Safety

8.  The person who scores the first touchdown of the game for either team will be wearing…
A. an even-numbered jersey.
B. an odd-numbered jersey.

9.  At any time throughout the game, will Al Michaels say the words “Tim Tebow”?
A. Yes
B. No

10.  What will be the first ACCEPTED penalty of the game?
A. Holding
B. False Start
C. Any Other Penalty

11. Which of the following will happen during the game?
A. Eli Manning will take a knee
B. Tom Brady will take a knee
C. Neither QB or Both QB’s will take a knee

12.  Which total will be greater?
A. Receptions by Patriots’ tight ends
B. Receptions by Giants’ wide receivers

13.  Will Eli Manning throw an interception?
A. Yes
B. No

14.  After the ball has been kicked off, which will happen first?
A. Bud Lite commercial
B. Miller Lite commercial
C. Coors Lite commercial

15. Who will be the Super Bowl MVP?
A. Eli Manning or Tom Brady
B. Any Other Player

16.  Which will happen during the game?
A. Tom Coughlin will throw his red flag first
B. Bill Belichick will throw his red flag first
C. Neither coach will throw a red flag the entire game

17.  Which total will be greater?
A. Patriots’ rushing total
B. Giants’ rushing total

18.  Which total will be greater?
A. The total number of points in the game
B. The length of the longest MADE field goal in the game

19.  Will ANY of the following happen during the game?
1. A fan will run onto the field
2. Someone will be carted off the field
3. The game will go into overtime
4. Chad Ochocinco will catch a touchdown

A. Yes
B. No

20.  Will Kelly Clarkson’s belly button be visible during the National Anthem?
A. Yes
B. No

TIEBREAKER: How many points will be scored in the THIRD QUARTER?

(My answers are in the comment section below.  That is where to post yours as well.)

Okay, now to the actual game:

Giants (+2.5) over Patriots.

I was pretty confident in this pick around Sunday.  Now I’m starting to worry about it.  Here is my thought process:

There is not too much different from the matchup between the Giants/Patriots one in the Super Bowl and the Giants/Packers one we saw a few weeks ago.  And that game was completely dominated by the Giants.  Granted, they were aided by a few uncharacteristically dropped passes by the Green Bay receivers, but for the most part, the Giants had an answer for everything the Packers were doing. 

But here is why the Patriots are slightly different than the Packers (Other than the fact that the Packers played the Giants outdoors in the cold, which could POSSIBLY explain the drops. Lucas Oil Stadium is of course indoors).  The Patriots two best receivers can line up (and usually do) on the line in the box.  They can pass block on occasion, or cut block then look for a pass.  This type of formation/technique is a favorite of mine, and works effectively both in the NFL and when I play noobs in Madden. 

The Giants should have a field day in the passing game.  I can’t stress to you how bad the Patriots secondary is.  You can get away with it when your pass rush steps up late in the season, or when you’re facing Tim Tebow in the playoffs who struggles to complete passes when there’s no defense, but now you’re facing the wrath of Eli.  Plus I’m pretty sure Cruz, Nicks, or Manningham will find a way to get open against Julian Edelman. 

If the Patriots do give Brady time, expect Wes Welker to have a big game.   I love the Welker vs. the Giants’ secondary matchup for New England, especially when Deon Grant will be focused on Gronk most of the game. 

Also, I wonder if the two-week break between games is going to ruin the momentum that the Giants have accumulated. 

I’m just going to make my pick before I overthink it 20 more times.  I’m going with:

GIANTS: 32, Patriots: 27.

Postseason:

Spread: 7-3

Non-Spread: 5-5

Championship Weekend:

Spread: 2-0

Non-Spread: 0-2

Good luck to everyone who posts their SB Prop picks below.  Just the letter for each answer will suffice. I will buy the winner a drink next time I see them.

(Post your picks below. Really. What have you got to lose?)

Tweet