SEAHAWKS HAS TO SAVE THE GALAXY FROM ANOTHER HOSTILE EMPIRE TAKE OVER BY THE PATRIOTS

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

The NFL script is not shy about letting certain teams collect Superbowl trophies in long stretches. We finally exterminated the Patrick Mahomes & Travis Swift dynasty and the annoying Kansas City Chiefs in last year’s Superbowl. I had to become an Eagles fan last February. The Eagles beat down of the Chiefs was well worth it. The Chiefs could not even make it to the post-season this year. The Chiefs probably will be back at some point with an aging pop singer sitting in the stands rooting for the meathead tight end she is going to marry. Now the Patriots are back in the Superbowl. Already? It did not seem too long ago the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick dynasty was over. The Empire had fallen. History seems to always repeat itself as we remember Brady in his first ever Superbowl in 2001. He was drafted in the later rounds while the Patriots had that underdog story going to the heavy favorite St.Louis Rams. No way they were going to beat Kurt Warner and the greatest show on turf. We did not know Belichick was a peeping tom filming other teams’ practices. We did not know about scandals coming such as deflate gate or spy gate. Along with Patriots owner Robert Kraft getting busted with a hooker. Let’s not forget the murderer tight end they had a few seasons.It always seems like the NFL is setting up the greatest, cutest little script here. Drake Maye in his second year in the NFLas the starting quarterback has guided his Patriots to a perfect record on the road. The Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel could make history winning a Superbowl as the coach for the same franchise he won with being a player in the first dynasty. Seattle is favored in this game. We also rooted for the Chiefs to beat Brady and company before Kansas City was stuffed down our throats with no end in sight.The Seahawks could certainly end this rebirth of the Patriots and stop it. Prevent the next dynasty from getting off the ground and save the world from another hostile takeover. You have to be a Seattle fan this year. To stop the madness before it lingers on for years to come like some kind of plague.

This will be the 12th Superbowl the New England Patriots have gotten to. The Patriots have won six Superbowls. The previous Empire dynasty went to 9 title games. Tom Brady & Bill Belichick went 6-3 in those 9 Superbowls. Brady went on to win his 7th Superbowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With those six wins, the Patriots are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Superbowl wins of all-time. The city of Bean Town already has the NBA with the Celtics with the most titles in that league. Do we need the Patriots to have the NFL record to themselves by the end of the weekend as well? We’d rather have the results of the first two ever Superbowls the Patriots were in. In their first Superbowl, New England were crushed by the Bears in the 1985 season.

The Patriots quarterbacks Steve Grogan and Tony Eason had no chance with that Bears defense that swallowed those guys up. It would take the Patriots over 10 years before we saw them back for their second title game which was the 1996 season. I rooted for the Patriots that year in hoping their quarterback Drew Bledsoe would take out Brett Favre and the hated Packers. Bledsoe was not very good in that title game as he had 4 interceptions and Favre would win his only Superbowl of his career as Packers won 35-21. It did not take the Patriots that long to get to their 3rd Superbowl in 2001. The season Bledsoe got hurt during the regular season season and Tom Brady took over, the dynasty officially began.

If you look back at the first Superbowl run by the Patriots, they got the break of a lifetime in the divisional round against the Raiders. The fumble by Tom Brady in a snowstorm could have been Raiders ball and a win on the road for Oakland who was visiting New England. The fuck tuck rule that the Patriots benefited from in that one got them the ball back. The referees said Brady’s arm was going forward and it was an incomplete pass. Did the current Patriots get a break of the lifetime facing the Broncos second string quarterback Jarrett Stidham in the AFC Championship game? Yes, they did. In a blinding snowstorm as well, as Stidham started off well in that game filling in for Bo Nix who was injured in the Bills game a week before in the AFC divisional round. Nix has a season-ending injury with a broken ankle. Stidham did not really do much after the first quarter. His mistake set the Patriots up for an easy touchdown. Their only touchdown of the game.The Broncos defense kept the team in the game as Drake Maye did not have a great either. Why did Sean Payton elected to go for 4th down in the first quarter of that game instead of kicking the easy field goal. The Broncos lost to the Patriots 10-7. The Broncos could have been up 10-0 with the blinding snow in the forecast. Can a break like this be history repeating itself for the Patriots? In 2001, the Patriots had to get by a power house team like the Rams from the NFC West to win their first ever Superbowl. Now this new regime of the Patriots will face a power house team from the NFC West in the Seahawks who have to be favored by a touchdown or more.

The Seattle Seahawks won their first ever Superbowl vs the Broncos in 2014. It was Superbowl 48 as they slaughtered the Broncos 48-3. Then the Seahwaks could have won back-to-back Superbowls as they had a ten point lead on the Patriots in Superbowl 49 in 2015 in the second half. Tom Brady and the Patriots offense came back in that game to give New England the lead. The Seattle offense got the ball where they wanted it for a game winning touchdown with a time out in their back pocket. It was the Patriots with the goal line stand that secured the game for New England. The Seahawks chose to pass the ball instead of giving the ball to BEAST MODE Marshawn Lynch, Seattle’s stud running back to run it for the score.

They had a time out & they could have ran the ball twice with chances to knock off New England. Instead Malcolm Butler gets the interception on the slant play Seattle tried to throw. Now Seattle has to figure how to slay the demons that haunts this franchise from the past. They have a chance to slay those demons and prevent a hostile takeover for years to come with this Patriots franchise.

These Patriots are not the feel good underdog story people should be rooting for. You still have the sexual predator as the owner in Robert Kraft this go around. The offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can’t hold down a head coaching job in this league so he is one of those A-Holes from the last regime. Throw in the Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and his two car garage he has as a nose. He played for the old regime. If you look at the month of December’s police blotter you will see a few Patriots players from this team pop up on the list. The Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs strangled his chef. What, she did not cut the crust off the bread? Then a defensive lineman threw the mother of his two year old son to the ground. Sure you can say he was practicing his tackling skills off the clock. These two will play in the Superbowl. They will have their day in court coming up after the season concludes. You can either hate the Drake Maye or like the Drake which is a debate in an episode of Seinfeld. That was about Drake coffee cake. The Patriots took advantage of one of the easiest schedules this season to win the AFC North and clinch the number two seed in post-season. Things are aligned right for them in another take over of the NFL galaxy. A Superbowl win by the Patriots this season & the script will have them once again in the thick of things playing the reborn Chiefs in next years AFC championship. If Seattle wins, the Patriots might fall into a million pieces and not be able to pick themselves up all over the galaxy.

It may be hard for them with a difficult schedule next season. The Superbowl hangover by losing teams is for real. Ask the Chiefs. From my eyes watching the post-season, Seattle is the better team. Maye has a hurt shoulder. Seattle’s story is better with a guy labeled as a first round bust in Sam Darnold who could win the Superbowl. He was drafted by the Jets. He was horrific or infected by the Jets coaching staff. Darnold did very well with the Vikings last year. The Vikings did not make the post-season letting Darnold leave for Seattle and giving the keys to the car to JJ McCarthy. If you were going to tell me Darnold would be the first QB from the class of 2018 draft to make it to the Superbowl and perhaps win it, many would say you are crazy. Bake Mayfield, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson are three guys you would put money down on when it came to the 2018 NFL draft class. I like the Seattle script. They slay their old demons from Superbowl 49 and prevent the Empire taking over the NFL galaxy once again which is a win/win. They have a defense that is called the Darkside that will be out to blow up the Death Star and take down the Evil Empire’s resurrection. Why not give the ring to a guy that was considered a first round bust? That is what I call the underdog story in this NFL plot.

FORMER ST.LOUIS RAM LANDS HEAD COACHING JOB FOR THE BATTLEHAWKS IN THE UFL

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

Do you remember when St.Louis had an NFL football team? Arch-city actually had two NFL teams at different times in history. Both came in from another city and then moved again to another city. The Cardinals came from Chicago to St.Louis & then moved to the desert in Phoenix, Arizona. The Rams left LA for St.Louis only to move back to LA. The City of St.Louis has been getting their football fix off their Spring team, the BattleHawks. The St.Louis BattleHawks have played in the XFL & then survived the merger with the USFL to form the UFL, where they are still playing in present day. The new head coach of the BattleHawks has ties to all three St.Louis football teams. He never played for the St.Louis Cardinals. He was certainly drafted by the Phoenix Cardinals. Then years later helped St.Louis Rams win a Superbowl with Kurt Warner on the team, known as the greatest show on turf. Ricky Proehl has been the wide receivers coach for the BattleHawks for a few seasons. Now he has been named the new head coach of the St.Louis BattleHawks in the UFL this upcoming season.

Ricky Proehl was a solid wide receiver in the NFL for 17 seasons living life in the middle of the field. He was a security blanket for most quarterbacks he played for, moving the chains while taking on some big hits by defenders. He was originally drafted by the Phoenix Cardinals before they change their name to the Arizona Cardinals. In 1990 he was drafted in the 3rd round 58th overall in the 1990 NFL draft. Proehl would play for six different franchises which also included the Bears, Seahawks, Panthers, and Colts. He has played in 4 Superbowls over his career winning one with the 2000 Rams who beat the Titans & then ending his career with the Colts who beat the Bears in 2006. He played on the Rams team that lost to the Patriots which was the first title Tom Brady won that started that Evil Empire dynasty of New England. Then in 2004 the he played on the Panthers team that would lose another close game to Tom Brady’s Patriots. Proehl played in 244 NFL games in his entire career in regular season where he caught 669 balls for 8,878 receiving yards. He hauled in 54 touchdown catches. In the post-season he caught 23 balls for 363 yards for 4 touchdowns. One of those post-season touchdowns was a biggie in the 1999 NFC Championship game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He caught a 30 yard pass from Kurt Warner to help the Rams move on to the Superbowl. That game he finished with 6 receptions for 100 yards which included the touchdown. He never had a 1,000 yard receiving year but came close a few seasons. I remember he played for the Bears one season on a team that was not particularly good. He was fun to watch that season as he caught 58 balls in 15 games for 753 yards with 7 touchdown catches. His last season playing with the Colts he only played in 2 games & caught 3 balls for 30 yards as he probably knew it was time to hang up the spikes for good. He went to Wake Forest University and still has records there that are still standing for the Demon Decons. He leads the University with 2,949 receiving yards and 25 touchdown catches.

After his playing days came to an end, he went into coaching. Ricky Proehl’s first job came from the Carolina Panthers organization in 2011 as the offensive consultant. He was the wide receiver’s coach in 2015 for the Panthers team that went 15-1 in regular season. In 2022 he became wide receiver’s coach for the BattleHawks under Anthony Becht. Ricky has two sons that played the same position as the old man, wide receiver. Austin Proehl was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2018 in the 7th round. He was cut before the season started. Austin did make some noise in the reboot of the XFL. In 2020 he played for the Seattle Sea Dragons. On February 8th, 2020, he caught the first XFL touchdown in the reboot league. He caught two touchdowns that opening game which were tossed by Brandon Silvers. Austin was coached by his father on the BattleHawks in the XFL as a wide receiver. Austin would play in several NFL teams training camps and never make it to the NFL stage. His brother Blake was an undrafted wide receiver who also went to a few NFL camps and did not make it.

Now Ricky Proehl could be looking to pad his legendary status on the gridiron in the city of St.Louis. Arch-City is most known as a baseball town. The first love of the town is the beloved Cardinals, where it’s a sea of red every home game. The hockey team the Blues have made some as they won their first ever cup in 2018-19 season. The city of St. Louis have been starving for an NFL team. They are the only team in the UFL this season that will play their home game in a stadium that has the capacity for an NFL or college style game. The UFL is going with small venues for the entire league except St.Louis because they sell out spring football games. Ricky will have his work cut out for him taking on this job. First he has big shoes to fill replacing Anthony Becht who has moved on from St.Louis and has taken the Orlando job which is one of three new cities with teams this upcoming season. Becht is 22-8 in regular season over the last few seasons which is the 2nd best winning percentage during that span. Ricky is 57 years of age and this will be his first ever head coaching gig. The BattleHawks have been one of the best teams in regular season but have failed in the post-season play. If Ricky can change that, he could cement himself into the number two spot in the Mount Rushmore of football in St.Louis. You know Kurt Warner will always be number 1. I think overall it is an interesting hire. Nothing is given in the UFL as these teams play hard and have plenty of talent to go around. Just because Ricky is a name, he may not be the guy. Like the NFL this is football and if Ricky has a quarterback, they may be very tough to beat. Going over the middle for 669 grabs in the NFL for 17 seasons shows you the work mentality he will provide. The touchdowns in post-season show he should not be underestimated for what he could do as the main guy and leader of your football team.

IT’S THE STORY OF A MAN NAMED BRADY THAT WILL BE LEADING THE BILLS BUNCH TO THE SUPERBOWL

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

The Buffalo Bills have found their replacement for Sean McDermott as the next head coach. The Bills have hired within the organization and promoted McDermott’s Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady to be the next head coach in Buffalo. The hottest thing right now in the NFL that is trending, is franchises hiring the the young brightest minds in the game to lead their teams. Brady is 36 years of age and took over the Bills offensive play sheets in 2023 when they fired Ken Dorsey who was the OC at the time. It all started with Sean McVay when the LA Rams hired him at the age of 30 in 2017. The Rams have been to two Superbowls since the hire and have won 1-2 with multiple trips to the post-season since 2017. The Chicago Bears hired the hottest and youngest offensive guru last off-season signing Lions former OC Ben Johnson to be their next head coach. Suddenly the Bears are one score away in beating the Rams two weeks ago in OT to move on to the NFC championship. This in Johnson’s rookie season as a head coach. Brady will become the 21st head coach in Bills history and he will get a 5 year deal.

Joe Brady has been on Sean McDermott’s staff for 4 seasons as he started as the QB coach in ’22. It did not take him long to start calling offensive plays when the Bills fired Ken Dorsey in 2023. After seeing what he was capable in 2023, the Bills took the interim off the OC job and promoted him in 2024. With Brady calling the plays in 2024, the Bills ranked second in the league in scoring. The Bills dropped to 4th in scoring in 2025. The Bills offense was also 4th in 2025 in 3rd down efficiency and 3rd in red zone efficiency. Before Buffalo, Brady spent two seasons with the Carolina Panthers calling plays as the offensive coordinator. In 2019 he was working at LSU at the college level working with NFL future stars like Joe Burrow & Ja’Marr Chase along with Justin Jefferson. Brady’s job description was wide receivers coach and pass coordinator. His coaching helped the Tigers win a National Championship. He gained knowledge working with the New Orleans Saints being on Sean Payton’s staff when their quarterback at the time was Drew Brees. Like McDermott, Brady went to the same college William & Mary University. In 2013 he broke into coaching working on the other side of the ball. He was the linebackers coach. You have to start somewhere.

Usually when franchises fire their old head coach, they will go opposite in the next hire for their field general. Sean McDermott was a defensive minded coach when he was hired. You can see the Bills going opposite with that on this current hire as they go offense selecting Joe Brady. If the Bills did not hire Brady, he would have easily gotten a job elsewhere. Sean Payton had the Broncos head coaching job & wanted to hire him to call plays. Payton has always called the offenses when he has been the HC and has done well at it. Brady also got interviews with the Ravens, Cardinals, Raiders, and Falcons. Some teams wanted him for the head coaching job. Some wanted him as the offensive coordinator. Brandon Beane, the Bills General Manager, did not get fired even though you can question some of the roster moves last season. The Bills GM was promoted to President of Football Operations. Beane brought in Josh Allen to help make the decision for the Bills. If it ain’t broke, no need to fix it. I think one of the biggest reasons why Brady was hired is because he works well with Allen and the Bills have a great offense without a legit number one receiver.

This new hire by the Bills really keeps things the same in ways. Business as usual. The ownership is in win mode now as Josh Allen is turning 30 years of age next year. The urgency to get him to the Superbowl with Joe Brady’s leadership is what they are thinking and his offensive mindset. Sean McDermott was excellent in his 9 year tenure in Buffalo going 98-50 & winning 5 AFC East titles. However in post-season, McDermott has worn out his welcome with heart breaking endings every year. Something always happens at the end. Some of these things wore not his fault. Some of his calls have cost the Bills playoff wins. The 13 seconds left in that epic game vs the Chiefs in post-season is still aggravating. No squib kick. Playing preventative defense allowing Patrick Mahomes and company to march down the field with ease and kick a field goal to take that one to OT. We know how that ended. After taking the lead and leaving them with 13 seconds. It should have been a win. That could have been the year. It has always been McDermott’s defense that has failed this franchise in the post-season. I hope coaching those linebackers back at his alma mater means Joe Brady could use that skillset to help his future defense. Brady was hired to change the Bills’ luck in the post season.

I thought bringing back Josh Allen’s old offensive coordinator Brian Daboll would have been a great hire. Daboll had some head coaching experience when he took the Giants gig. I think the only two smart choices for the Bills since they are looking for win mode now was Daboll or Joe Brady. Phillip Rivers would have been a wild card. No, we did not need anybody associated with the Dolphins. I did not think bringing Bill Belichick back to the NFL was a good idea. With Brady as the man who will still call the plays. I think he will get the message through Brandon Beane’s thick head of what a wide receiver looks like and get Allen a legit threat there. Not a number one threat not playing with a full deck like Stefon Diggs. I think the defensive scheme will get better with Brady. They may find a guy like him a young defensive minded guru to take over the play calling on that end of the field. I want to see something other than a bend don’t break style of defense that only does well if it gets takeaways. I want a defense that can stop the run. That can pressure the quarterback and obviously I want takeaways. But not rely on them to have a good day at the office. I think IF Brady gets the right defensive minded coach on his staff and with his offense, the Bills can still be a contender. If he is as brilliant as Sean McVay and Ben Johnson, the Bills might slay their playoff demons right away. It was not working with McDermott. If Brady got away and the Bills kept McDermott and suddenly Joe’s new team is the one knocking out Buffalo in post-season, it would have humiliated this franchise so badly it would be like the Titanic sinking after hitting the iceberg. New England did well with their Brady. Maybe our Brady will do the same thing for the Bills. We hope!!!

NFL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: 2026 AFC & NFC CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

The NFL Championship games are here and it’s going to be like War of the Worlds here. LA coming into Seattle with their aerial invasion. In every battle you must have a group of personnel that think they are Patriots.

New England will invade Denver. Do we know who Jarrett Stidham’s father is from the Evil Empire that created him in the NFL draft? Stidham is with the Rebel alliance with the Broncos infantry. Could Matthew Stafford and Sean Payton get back to the Superbowl and seek their second ring? What kind of Superbowl would have Stidham vs Darnold? Is Drake Maye the second coming of May Day Malone in Boston sports?

We will dissect it all including both championship games. We may find out who is the real Sean McVay.

I had a feeling the Rams’ brilliant mind was from another planet. We have two predictions after the dissection of each match up.

Our predictions are, “Danger danger Will Robinson,” and others who look to us for the 411. Last week in the divisional round we got one match up correct. The Wild Card round we bombed as well getting two correct. Gives us a 3-7 record in 10 match ups so far. The good news is we are due for a perfect 3rd round if you believe that. Take your own, risk but be aware!!!!

ROUND THREE POST SEASON (CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS)

SUNDAY GAMES

AFC TITLE GAME

#2.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (16-3) AT #1.DENVER BRONCOS (15-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Did not play each other.

PLAY OFF HISTORY: Broncos (4-1) Patriots

1987 AFC Divisional Broncos won 22-17

2006 AFC Divisional Broncos won 27-13

2012 AFC Divisional Patriots won 45-10

2014 AFC Championship Broncos won 26-16

2016 AFC Championship Broncos won 20-18

Broncos 2-0 Patriots in AFC Championship game all-time

SUPERBOWL RECORDS

Patriots (6-5), Broncos (3-5)

The Broncos will be riding on a quarterback that has only made 4 NFL starts in his career to get them to the Superbowl.

The Broncos starter Bo Nix is out for the rest of post-season with a broken ankle he suffered against the Bills. Who is Jarrett Stidham and does he stand a chance vs the new order of the Empire in the New England Patriots? The Patriots defense last weekend made CJ Stroud look like a guy who only started 4 games. The Patriots picked off Texans QB Stroud 4 times and put out the flames of a very hot team entering the divisional round. The interesting thing about Stidham is he was drafted by the Patriots back in 2019. He has played for the Raiders as well and the Broncos for the last few seasons. He is 1-4 as a starter. He has thrown 8 touchdown passes along with 8 interceptions.

The Patriots defense is very solid against the run which most likely Jarrett Stidham will have to throw the football to win this game. The Broncos defense is facing Drake Maye who will be making his first playoff start on the road. The Broncos feature the best defense in the red zone. The Patriots can run the ball as the team has been averaging 156.1 yards per game in the last 7 contests. Both defenses can make that one play that can change the momentum of the game.

The head coaching in this AFC Championship will be one of the best chess games of all-time. Sean Payton is 10-9 in the post season along with 1-2 record in the championships. Payton has that Superbowl ring as a head coach with the Saints. Then Mike Vrabel is 2-0 in the post-season as the Patriots head coach in his first season. He has a 4-3 record as a head coach which goes back to his Titans days. Vrabel is 0-1 in conference championship games. In 2019, Vrabel’s Titans beat the Patriots & then the Ravens but could not beat the Chiefs on the road in the conference championship game.

Without Bo Nix playing in this match up, for sure on paper Jarrett Stidham is the weakest link. The last time a QB has made their first start of the season in a conference championship game you have to go back to 1972 when Roger Staubach did it. However back up QB’s have prevailed and taken their teams through this pivotal game and beyond. Nick Foles of the Eagles slayed the Patriots in the Superbowl playing for the Eagles. During the 1990’s Jeff Hostetler did it for the New York Giants. Let’s remember Sean Payton is a very good playcaller in the NFL. He has kept Stidham around for a reason. Just in case, break glass here. History is not on the side of the Patriots or Mike Vrabel. It’s tough to win in Denver with the altitude. I bet against the Patriots each round and they have made me look foolish. I’m going 3rd time a charm as the Denver Broncos defense creates enough havoc to lighten the load for Stidham and the Broncos offense. Maye will have his first playoff mishaps and Broncos will be once again going back to the Superbowl.

OUR PICK: BRONCOS

NFC TITLE GAME

#5.LA RAMS (13-5) AT #1.SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (15-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Both teams split the 2 game series

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Rams (2-0) Seahawks

2005 NFC Wild Card: Rams won 27-20

2021 NFC Wild Card: Rams won 30-20

SUPERBOWL RECORDS

Rams (2-3), Seahawks (1-2)

The Seattle Seahawks this post-season will only play division rivals. Last round the Seahawks murdered the 49ers. Now they face the Rams and last time they played LA in Seattle, it was a Thursday night game that was epic. High scoring affair which came down to the end in OT. The Rams you have to give credit because they went on the road to a colder climate in Chicago and came away with an OT victory over the Bears. The Rams beat the Panthers in Carolina in the wild card round. Here we go again!!!

Matthew Stafford vs Sam Darnold has been a great match up at the QB position. Look at the numbers both QB’s have accomplished this season. Darnold has 25 touchdown passes while Stafford threw 46. Darnold won his first playoff game last weekend vs the 49ers. His only loss and his first ever playoff game he played in, was against these Rams last year. Darnold was with the Vikings at the time. Darnold had a bad game that day. He also had a bad game in the first meeting of regular season between the Rams and Seahawks throwing multiple picks. Stafford has a career playoff record of 7-5 all-time. He is 7-2 all-time with the Rams as three losses were tagged on him from his Lions days. Stafford has done well in both meetings versus the Seattle’s defense named the Darkside. Both offenses are well-balanced. Both teams can run the ball well. Both teams rely on play action passes.

Sean McVay is one of the masterminds in the NFL as head coach. His post-season record is 10-5 which includes two trips to the Superbowl. He is 2-0 all-time in championship games. On the other side we have second year man Mike Macdonald who won his first ever playoff game as a coach last week vs the visiting 49ers. Macdonald has been through the post-season more than once with the Baltimore Ravens as the Defensive Coordinator. He has an idea on what it takes to win at this level. Can the Rams win their 3rd straight post-season game on the road? And in a place like Seattle which is very hard for visiting teams.

The Seattle Seahawks defense is the best unit in my opinion left in the final 4. Some could argue that the Broncos have that niche. Seahawks defense has played lights so far in the post-season. In a game three of the series where both teams know each other well, I like the adjustments on this side of the ball. Matthew Stafford did not look crisp last week in Chicago. In the first meeting between the teams, Sam Darnold had a bad game with multiple interceptions. Seattle almost won that game. It’s hard to win three straight road games. The Rams aerial game is one of the best in the NFL. The Seahawks are very good in their own airspace. I like the chances and odds of Darnold executing the Seahawks offense on that Rams defense. This will be a close game. I give this one to the home team. THE 12TH MAN!!!

OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS

BOB KNIGHT IS ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE THAT THE HOOSIERS FOOTBALL PROGRAM PRESIDES OVER BASKETBALL IN PRESENT DAY

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

When you hear the name Hoosiers, you always think basketball. One of the best ever sports movies that was ever made was called Hoosiers, which featured a small town high school in the state of Indiana winning it all on the basketball court. The University of Indiana has always been known for their basketball program over the non-existent football program they had since day 1. The first thought when you hear anything about Indiana’s Hoosiers is of their legendary head coach, Bob Knight. Nicknamed The General, Bob Knight was a complete asshole but all his teams were very disciplined on the court. It showed results on the court as Bob Knight ran the basketball program at Indiana University for 29 years. He won three titles as his teams went to 5 total Final 4 appearances. In the last two seasons at Indiana University, Curt Cignetti resurrected the school’s football program. Maybe not resurrected the program when it has never gotten off the ground in the first place. Instead Cignetti gave birth to a new football program that has never existed and quickly rewrote the entire Hoosiers football record book. Last Monday night, the number 1 team in the country, the Hoosiers, beat the #10 team the Miami Hurricanes in the National Championship in football. The schools first ever football title. How many chairs would Knight have thrown if suddenly his basketball legacy has turned into a football school?

In 1987, Indiana University won it all in men’s basketball. In the same year, the University of Miami would be known as the Cons of the league in football when they played Notre Dame as they lost that regular season game to the Irish. That game was known as Catholics vs Cons as they had a brawl to prove their love for each other. The Hurricanes took that loss and would do well the rest of the season. They made it to the National Championship game where they beat Oklahoma and became champs in 1988. Bob Knight was the head coach of the Hoosiers that season.

In 2022 the Hoosiers football program became the first Division 1 school to lose 700 games all-time. Before Curt Cignetti took the Hoosiers head coaching job, the team went 9-27 total in the three seasons before. The Hoosiers coming into the season won only three bowl games all-time. Their first bowl game win came in 1980 which was the Holiday Bowl, 1989’s Liberty Bowl, & then the 1991 Copper Bowl. This season they won two bowl games, the Rose Bowl and Fiesta. Which gives them 5 bowl games all-time along with their first ever National Championship. In two seasons with the Hoosiers, Cignetti has a 27-2 record in 29 games. He is the first head coach in Hoosiers history to have won back to back 10 plus win seasons. The Hoosiers finished the season a perfect 16-0 and join the 1894 Yale team as the only schools to finish with that record.

In the game of football when a team has a magic season, it usually means you have a talented quarterback under center. At some universities they mass produce quarterbacks in the factory like terminators in the great movie series, Terminator.

Of course Indiana University has that nice Hollywood story about the underdog as their star quarterback this season. Fernando Mendoza played two seasons at California University before transferring to Indiana University his junior season. You know one school is very happy how the transfer portal has went for them. In one season at Indiana, Mendoza never lost a game going 16-0 as the Hoosiers won two bowl games and their first National Championship game. He won the Heisman trophy. He threw 41 touchdowns while completing 72% of his passes. His sophomore season he had 16 touchdown passes in 11 games. Mendoza only threw 6 interceptions all year. Then he converted the play of the year in the National Championship game as the Hoosiers had 4th and 4. They went for it and Mendoza had one of the best runs by a quarterback in college football history as he ran for a 12 yard touchdown plunge as he got the first down and more. That touchdown gave Indiana a 24-14 lead with 9:18 left in the game. The Hurricanes would score another touchdown in the that game. The Hoosiers would add another field goal to win the game 27-21. Mendoza would not have any touchdown passes in the championship, but his fingerprints were all over the title game and the entire perfect season they had. What makes this even a better story is he played high school at Christopher Columbus high school in the city of Miami. Mendoza wanted to go to Miami University. The game was played right down the road from where his ole stomping grounds were at Dolphins Stadium. When he was in high school, he was right in the University of Miami’s backyard and he went to all their football camps. He applied there. The Hurricanes never offer him a scholarship to play football for them. He had to go elsewhere. It kinds sounds like the Hoosiers basketball movie, just a different sport being football. It has that Kurt Warner feeling as Mendoza haunts his hometown University by beating them in a school that was never known for their football program. Now Mendoza will certainly be selected number 1 in the NFL draft in April as he already made himself eligible. He may find a team that plays the Miami Dolphins and be that guy to haunt that city for years to come. Since the university did not like his homegrown south beach talents.

The Indiana Hoosiers had a well-rounded football team this season not just a stud quarterback doing it all. Curt Cignetti built a solid roster on both sides of the football field with his offense and defense. You could say he had all three phases of the game working like a well-oiled machine as you can say the special teams chipped in as well. In the title game it was Mikail Kamara that blocked the Hurricanes punt as Isaiah Jones recovered the football and ran it in for a score. The Hoosiers destroyed Alabama and University of Oregon in those two bowl game playoffs. They went up against Ohio State in regular season who were number 1 at the time and favored to win it all. The Hoosiers defense put a clinic on that Buckeye offense that blew out teams on a regular basis. Cignetti looks like he will be the pioneer of this football program unless he uses his time here as a stepping stone and moves on to one of those factory powerhouse college football programs these other schools have. The usual suspects. The state of Indiana when it comes to football at the college level has always been about Notre Dame. If Cignetti stays he may give the Irish a run for their money. Cignetti came from a smaller college, James Madison. The 12 playoff teams this season did have Cignetti’s old school make the tournament. He still may have some fingerprints in his old program as well. James Madison did not last very long as they were blown out by Oregon in the first game of their brief post-season experience.

The ending of Bob Knight at Indiana University could have been better. His record was 662-239 which is a .735 winning percentage he had at Indiana. In 29 years his teams made it to the NCAA March Madness tournament 24 times. In 63 games played in the tournament, he won 42 or them. Knight was a very angered man as a coach and human being in general. He was involved in multiple physical altercations with players, students, and superiors. In March of 2000, a tape of a Indiana practice in 1997 showed Knight choking his former player Neil Reed surfaced. The coach denied the first claim until the tape showed up on one of the networks. Then later in September a freshman named Kent Harvey said, “Hey Knight, What’s Up?”

That did not go well for that punk as Bob Knight like many adults want respect from the young’en’s. He yanked his arm and told him, “You call me Mr. Knight or Coach Knight.” The university had a zero tolerance policy in place for that kind of behavior as Knight was fired. Bob would quickly land on his feet at Texas Tech. Knight would retire in 2008 as his son took over his duties at Texas Tech. Bob would finish 902-371 in his career. He passed away at 83 years of age in 2023. Knight did return to Indiana University once in 2020 where he did get a standing ovation. Does one football title by head coach Cig Cinetti equal what Knight accomplished there for 29 years? Probably not. But if Cignetti continues to win games by the pile on the football field in Hoosier-land, basketball may be put in the back seat for generations to come at Indiana University. It has always been basketball in Hoosier-land. Knights country. Cinetti may change that all if he sticks around awhile.

BILLS SEAN MCDERMOTT RELIVING THE SAME BAD DAY OF JACK BAUER OVER AND OVER

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

In the Fox series 24, CTU Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer relives the same bad day over and over in each season. You can say the same thing for the Buffalo Bills head coach, Sean McDermott, who continues to relive the same playoff ending over and over each season. In 24, Bauer usually prevails at the end of each season except for the last and final season the show aired. McDermott has not had that luck. The show 24 is fiction and there’s no way no human being could emotionally go through several days like Bauer did and be sane. Football is different than saving the world from a terrorist plot. To go through so many crazy endings in playoff defeats, it surely takes a toll. This is why the Bills had to fire a solid coach like McDermott. The outcomes in post-season have been horrific. The ending is always the same, a tictocking time bomb of a game clock going off at the end. The Bills season goes up in flames. The plan is to find that guy to get this team over the hump and disconnect that bomb in the last two minutes. Somebody Jack Bauer like!

Sean McDermott was one of the best hires ever in Buffalo Bills history. In his very first season as the Bills head coach, he had a winning record of 9-7 and the Bills found the playoffs for the first time since the Music City miracle occurred in Tennessee in 2000. Another playoff ending that exploded a Bills season. It was the Titans’ Frank Wycheck’s lateral pass that went over the line, but the referees took a blind eye to the play. It was caught by Kevin Dyson with less than a minute left in the game. More like seconds for a 75 yard touchdown that left the Bills shocked as they had a win there. The original 24 script that ended things badly for the Bills’ post-season games started with the wide right kick by Scott Norwood in Superbowl XXV. The missed field goal with a few ticks left on the clock. McDermott’s presence broke a playoff drought close to two decades long. In 9 seasons McDermott coached teams made the playoffs 8-9 seasons he has been around. McDermott regular season record in 9 seasons is amazing at 98-50. However in post-season he is 8-8. Best damn regular season coach but the playoffs are Even-Steven. His leadership won 5 AFC East division titles which the Evil Empire of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick collapsed and they eventually went their separate ways. Which helped.

In the last 7 seasons, the Buffalo Bills produced at least 10 or more wins in one season. Which makes them only the sixth team in the Superbowl Era to accomplish double digit wins in 7 straight seasons like that. In the past 6 seasons, the Bills have won at least one playoff game. They are the 4th team in the Superbowl Era that can say they went 6 consecutive seasons winning one game at least in post-season play. Another, were the Cowboys in the 1990’s who haunted the Bills winning back to back Superbowls against Buffalo. Then another hated team, the Patriots in the 2010’s, were a lot of wasted dildos not doing their job being thrown at the likes of Tom Brady. Then the Chiefs in the 2020’s were a thorn in the Bills’ side, head, gut and rear. You name it, Patrick Mahomes is that pest. Josh Allen’s Bills have been knocked out by Kansas City three times. All three teams won Superbowls while the Bills have not even gotten to one in the Sean McDermott era.

The Buffalo Bills had not had any help from the NFL referees the last two seasons. The officiating ending games is what leads fans to think that the game is rigged. Last Saturday it looked like a catch by Brandon Cooks, the Bills receiver, in OT versus the Broncos. It this play was ruled a catch instead of interception, the Bills would have been set up for a easy game winning field goal. The refs ruled this an interception. The Broncos got the ball. Then the refs repaid head coach of the Broncos Sean Payton a few pass interference calls on the Bills to help his team. Back in Payton’s New Orleans days, he got screwed by the Rams when the refs made no call on a clear PI. The Broncos now would be set up for an easy game winning field goal of their own and steal this one from Buffalo 33-30. Then in Sunday night’s game with the Bears and Rams, Devante Adams was in the same boat as Cooks. Clearly the NFL does things on the fly as Adams’ knee was down and was not ruled a fumble the Bears caused on the Rams receiver. The clock ticked away and once again blew up the Bills season.

The Chiefs have gotten away with bloody murder in the post-season. We go back in the hot tub time machine to last season’s playoffs. If the refs called this a first down, the Bills would have eliminated the Chiefs from post-season. You can see Josh Allen made the 1st down on this 4th down play with yes, minutes left on a drive that would have won the game for Buffalo. In 2023 the Bills could have tied the game late versus the Chiefs, but a missed field goal ended things as the clock was dwindling as the season once again exploded. In 2022, the Bills were beaten like red-headed step child from the Bengals in the divisional round at home which is crushing. The Bills had to deal with that Damar Hamlin injury that almost killed him on the field in week 17 of regular season which was in Cincinnati. They played like crap in the snow at home. Then there’s the thriller when the Bills should have won the game in 2021 versus the Chiefs that went to overtime. The coin flip favored the Chiefs. That was back when overtime was sudden death & the first team that scores wins the game. Allen did not get the ball game over. However it should have never went to overtime. Once again the clock’s ticking in regulation. The Chiefs have pretty much seconds left as the Bills play to prevent the defense and Patrick Mahomes and meat for brains Travis Swift. The offense gut punched the Bills defense and set up a tying field goal to send this one to OT. Right then the Bills season exploded. You can say the coin flip, but the ticking clock at the end. Boom. In 2020 the Bills had a nice lead in the first quarter. The Chiefs pretty much had their way with the Bills in a 38-24 win. The Bills scored points in garbage time that game, so don’t let the score fool you. How do you come back from these playoff demons with the same voice?

Many Bills fans are still trying to stomach what happened in Denver. Then days later the Bills ownership fire their beloved head coach, Sean McDermott. Then they promoted General Manger Brandon Beane making him President of Football Operations. Beane you can point the fingers at for his bad selections over the last few seasons in the first round. Then you say he has not put the team in a good spot in the salary cap. Paying old broken down veteran wide receivers big money and not getting the production they paid for. The press conference of the firing was ugly. Rumors are coming out of the woodwork. McDermott wanted one receiver and one defender who could pressure the opposing team’s quarterback to have this Bills team in the Superbowl. Beane did not make the trades at the deadline to get the job done. This after several players crying after the Denver loss in the Bills locker room. Including the face of the franchise who was crying in the press conference after the game as he blamed himself for the loss. Owner of the Bills, Terry Pegula, knew it was time for a change.

I remember when the Chicago Bulls fired Doug Collins as their head coach in the late 1980’s. Everyone loved Doug. The Bulls had the great Michael Jordan and were making the post-season but struggled in the playoffs. They had their demons in the Detroit Pistons. This is the reason why Sean McDermott has to go. He will be loved. He will be good elsewhere. He just can’t detonate the time bomb at the end of games. McDermott is a defensive-minded head coach. The Bills defense goes MIA most of the time in post-season play. They have always had talented players on that side of the ball. Remember all those Patrick Mahomes’ teams. The defense seemed to drag their butts most of the season playing average defense. At the end of regular season and in crunch time, suddenly the Chiefs defense was legit. If you had a solid defense with Josh Allen and that offense, you should be good enough to win it all. McDermott is not wrong. The team does need a true number one receiver, not named Stefon Diggs. A cancer to the locker room, Diggs is. They also need another pass rusher. Perhaps a different defensive scheme instead of always relying on getting the turnovers. Like stopping the run. Tackling fundamentally.

What kind of head coach do you get? Do you go with an offensive or defensive minded head coach? This off-season had so many coaches fired. In Chicago one of the hottest young coordinators in the league, Ben Johnson, got the Bears deep into the post-season this season.

The veteran coach, Mike Vrabel, has restored the Empire in New England as they are in the AFC Championship. The Empire fallen did not last very long. Whatever head coach the Bills hire, Brandon Beane better get it right. Yes, the new guy will have Josh Allen. The Bills have salary cap issues. Beane better start hitting on his top draft picks for a change. Guys would run through walls for Sean McDermott. Too many bad days in life will tear out the insides of guys like McDermott and Jack Bauer. If you can only find that head coach to snip the right wire at the end of regulation, and hope the refs are not in the back pockets of the other team. Not sure you can teach a head coach that. It’s instincts. You have to have luck on your side as the Bills have been jinxed their entire history. Allen will be 30 next season. Jim Kelly at least got the team to the Superbowl. What if Allen never wins a ring. How do you explain not winning one Superbowl with Jim Kelly and Josh Allen? While Bauer can save humanity in 24 hours.

CAPTAIN SERIOUS TAKES A BOW WITH PLENTY OF ENCORES IN HIS RETURN TO CHICAGO

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

The Captain, Jonathan Toews, returned to Chicago for the first time wearing something else instead of the Indian-head sweater. Tazer’s contract ended after the 2022-’23 season for the Blackhawks which was a year Captain Serious only played in 53 games. Health issues had followed the center like dark clouds since the pandemic was lingering in the world. He never retired from the game as the Blackhawks had no interest in bringing him back. After a few seasons of healing the body and redefining the mindset, he then made a plan of attack on a comeback to the NHL. The Captain was sharpening up his hockey skills with weeks of training to ink a one year deal with his hometown team, the Winnipeg Jets. His hockey home will always be at the United Center in Chicago where the former Blackhawk was like a rockstar in his return to Chicago. The fans wanted encore after encore because, ‘Let’s be Serious,” he did help the franchise hoist three Stanley Cup Championships.

In his first season with the visiting Jets, Jonathan Toews has played in 49 games. This season he has lit the lamp 7 times and has dished out 11 assists for a total of 18 points. The Jets wanted to add some leadership to a team that was one of the top seeds in their conference and made the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. The Jets have been struggling this season so far. They did not get out to the fast start they did last year. In his comeback, Toews has struggled on the ice most of the season. Still very good at face-offs. Knows what he is doing on the ice but does not have that ice speed he once had. The Captain still has those leadership skills on display every night on the ice. He has improved over the last few weeks overall in his game. Perhaps he is still knocking off the rust and maybe the body is responding to the grind on the ice in a 37 year old body. He scored 372 goals in a Blackhawks uniform in 15 seasons with the team that drafted him. He also served up 511 assists wearing the Indian head sweater. He has played in 1,116 games in the NHL and will be for sure a first ballot Hall of Famer when he does hang up the skates permanently.

In the first television timeout, the Blackhawks honored Jonathan Toews with a video tribute of all his top highlights in a Blackhawks uniform. After the tribute, the fans gave the Captain one of the longest standing ovations of all-time. Chants of “Johnny” filled the air inside the UC. Toews would go on the ice waving to all his fans from the Chicago days. Both teams behind the benches whacked their sticks against the boards like in a game when their team scores or one of their own wins a fight on the ice. Toews circled the ice & raised his stick as the thunderous applause kept coming down on him as it went on for 3 to 4 minutes. The Captain looked awkward for a moment because it went on and on. Toews was never a guy that looked for the fan appreciation. He played his game on ice and did everything he could to help lead his team to a victory on that night. The hard work paid off as the UC exploded with love for their former Captain who will one day have his jersey retired after his playing days come to an end.

When Patrick Kane played his first game at the UC in the enemy sweater the night of Chris Chelios’ jersey retirement night, he crashed the party. Kane did get a thunderous applause by the fans at the UC along with a video tribute. Kaner would end up scoring the winning goal in that game as his Red Wings beat the Blackhawks in OT. In the return of Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks shut out the Jets 2-0 as Spencer Knight had a magnificent night in front of the net stopping 32 shots for his 3rd shut out of the season. Jason Dickerson scored the first goal of the game for the Blackhawks for his 6th of the season. Then the Blackhawks’ next superstar, they hope, Connor Bedard added an empty netter late in the contest to make it the final 2-0. On hand were two young superstars right now in the mix of the Chicago sports landscape. Caleb Williams is the quarterback of the Chicago Bears who just lost in the divisional round the night before to the Rams. Then Pete Crow-Armstrong is the centerfielder of the Cubs. The Cubs made the post-season last year. All three of these guys – Williams & Crow-Armstrong along with Bedard, could learn a lot from what they witnessed at the UC in the return of the Captain. You play hard and give it all you can on the field, ice, or court playing in the town of Chicago. They will love you for a lifetime. It did not hurt that Johnny Be Good Toews helped the city capture three championships along the way. You hate seeing guys like Toews wear another team’s jersey. That’s the nature of sports nowadays which has been going on for decades. You don’t get many players from any sport that stay with one team. I wish Toews the best of luck with his home team he grew up watching, the Jets. It’s a great story. Down the road I’ll be excited when we bring back the Captain to Chicago with all the bells and whistles when the organization retires his sweater to the UC rafters, with all the great Bulls and Blackhawks players of the past. Oh Johnny, that will be hot.

LA RAMS COULD FALL VICTIM TO CHICAGO ICE ONCE AGAIN

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

In life, history seems to always have a tendency to repeat itself. In the NFL world, it seems to happen more often. On Sunday this will not be the first time the LA Rams will meet the Chicago Bears in the post-season. The first time the Rams and Bears met in the post-season was in 1950. I was not alive then when the Rams would prevail in the NFL Divisional title game. That game was played in the LA Memorial Coliseum, obviously in LA. On Sunday this is not the first time the Rams will be facing ice in Chicago during the post-season. The ice that I’m talking about is not Donald Trump’s goon squad named ICE. The conditions in Chicago are close to below zero with frigid conditions and winds coming off the lake which is coined Bears weather. In 1986 the Rams came into Soldier Field for the NFC Championship. On Sunday the Rams will be visiting the Bears in the divisional round. Both times the Bears had quarterbacks with ice in their veins. If history repeats itself, the current Bears will head to the NFC Championship if they win. The Bears in 1986 won that NFC Championship and then went to the Superbowl. You know what happened then. The Bears won their only Superbowl trophy as they beat up the New England Patriots in New Orleans and did it in grand fashion. The Refrigerator Perry run in Superbowl XX to this day was one of the coolest things to happen in Chicago sports history.

On January 12th of 1986, Mike Ditka the head coach of the Bears referred to the Rams as the Smiths. He referred to his Bears team as the Grabowski’s. That game was almost 40 years ago. The Rams offense featured Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson. Their quarterback was Dieter Brock who probably had more success playing in the CFL (Canadian Football League) than the NFL. The Bears had the best ever running back in the history of the game in Walter Payton. They also had a quarterback who had ice water in his veins, Jim McMahon.

I compare McMahon to Jimmy Garoppolo, a guy who found ways to win games at a high rate but could not avoid the injuries. If he stayed healthy, he probably would have been the best Bears quarterback ever to this point. Not counting what Caleb Williams is doing now or what his future will be. McMahon versus the Rams in that championship tossed a touchdown pass to his favorite speedster wide receiver, Willie Gault. He also ran for a touchdown himself. He was nicknamed the Punky QB. Williams has earned the nickname Ice Man in present day. The Bears defense has to be mentioned here. As they played with ice water in their veins and may have been one of the best defensive units of all-time. They smothered Eric Dickerson on that cold day grinding him to pretty much nothing in the running game. The famous play in that game was Richard Dent blowing up Dieter as he forced a fumble. The ball was picked up by linebacker Wilbur Marshall as he had the scoop score with the big boy, the Fridge, downfield blocking. The Grabowskis that day put on a clinic over the Smiths. A 24-0 shutout. You could tell the California team was very effected by the cold conditions of Soldier Field located by the lake that day.

The present day Rams coming to Soldier Field are not going to be like the Smiths. I don’t think you can call the Bears the Grabowskis in this one. Neither team has a defense like they had in 1986. This game features two of the brightest young offensive minds in the game with the Rams’ Sean McVay and the Bears’ first year head coach Ben Johnson. The two players that are being talked about the most are the quarterbacks. Matthew Stafford is definitely not Dieter Brock. Stafford has won a Superbowl. Stafford has been in the MVP conversation most of the year. The Rams have two solid wide receivers in young Pua Nacua and a future Hall of Famer in Davante Adams. Stafford was originally drafted by the Lions who play in a dome. He has played in Chicago once a year suiting up for the Lions. Stafford has never played in a game under 20 degrees. He has played in some snow games. The Rams are coming from 80 degree weather, and the Bears weather has a cold advisory in effect on game day. Plus, this game is being played at night.

For the Bears it has been all about the ICEMAN!!! The number one draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Caleb Williams has flourished in year one under the guidance of first year head coach Ben Johnson. In the wild card round, he had an epic comeback against the arch-rival Green Bay Packers. Yes, Williams should be noted he has slayed the Bears arch-rival cheeseheads. This after decades of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers torching the Bears for sport. Like some annual hunting deer trip, instead the cheese heads would add a Bear head every season to their den. Nice bearskin rugs by the fire place. Williams who played his college ball on the west coast at USC, which is probably not far from Rams country, has blossomed into a well-oiled machine in the cold weather. Many Bears fans would like to see him start off stronger as the Bears become hot in the second half of all these games that Williams had made a living taking over late and winning. Williams is a league leader this year in game winning drives and comeback wins.

The only other sports legend in Chicago sports that had the nick name ICEMAN was Hall of Fame basketball player George Gervin. However, Gervin earned that nickname long before he suited up with the Chicago Bulls. Gervin started his career in the ABA (American Basketball Association.) Then the leagues merged & he played 14 seasons in both leagues combined. He was a 12X All-Star and won 4 scoring titles. He played his last season of his decorated NBA career with the Bulls which was the 1985-86 season. He played one season with Michael Jordan who was in his second NBA season at the time. That season Jordan only played in 18 games because of a broken foot. You could say the true Iceman of Chicago Spots belongs to Caleb Williams. We know Air Jordan may still be the most clutch player in Chicago sports history after Williams career concludes as we don’t know how it will turn out. Beating the Rams will build up the ICEMAN legacy.

You could say with looking at both the Rams and the Bears, LA has the better team. If these teams played on a neutral field, the Rams would probably win 7 out of 10 match ups. In cold conditions especially, teams coming from warmer climates don’t really do well. Looking at both rosters right now you have a few names that would be considered Hall of Famers. If we skip ahead to like 40 more years into the future, we may have all sorts of players from both rosters in this game that make it to Canton. The Rams and Bears players that faced off in 1986 have a ton of names from that game in Canton. This has been one magical season for Chicago and it may not end in a Superbowl like the ’85 team. The Bears are a number two seed. If they win they will have to play Seattle in the NFC Championship which will not be a easy task. The Rams could adapt in the cold weather and pull this game off. When history seems to always repeat itself, this go around it could be the Johnson’s over the McVays. LA has fallen victim to the Chicago icy conditions before, so why not again on Sunday. Maybe it will not be the Iceman that wins it for the Bears. Maybe some Bears linebacker makes the play and rewrites Wilbur Marhsall’s scoop and score play back in ’86.

NFL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: 2026 DIVISIONAL ROUND

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

Probably the best play in the NFL in a divisional round was the Immaculate Reception by the Steelers versus the Raiders in 1972. Where Steelers running back Franco Harris catches the ricochet right before it hits the turf and runs it a far distance for a big Pittsburgh touchdown. Round two of this current post-season could have some diabolical play like that. Can the the Iceman turn into Superman & pull off another epic outcome? In this divisional round some defense will make their stand. Last week we did a very poor job at picking the winners as we went (2-4) in the wild card round. We are looking for that Immaculate Reception in the second round to redeem ourselves as we served up only jokers in the wild card round. We crunched the numbers. We drank a few shots. Followed that hard work up with some chasers to come up with 4 solid winners for the Divisional round.

ROUND 2 NFL PLAYOFFS

NFL DIVISIONAL ROUND

SATURDAY GAMES

AFC

#6.BUFFALO BILLS (13-5) AT #1.DENVER BRONCOS (14-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Did not play each other this season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Bills (2-0) Broncos

1992 AFC Championship: Bills 10-7 Broncos

2025 AFC Wild Card round: Bills 31-7 Broncos

This game between the visiting Bills and Broncos is a rematch of the first round wild card game from last post-season. That game was played in Buffalo and the Bills won it. The key to a Denver Broncos win is how Bo Nix does. Will Bo be Bo or will he be Nixed by the Bills defense? Will Bo have his old green Oregon University jersey on under the orange Broncos representing the color of kryptonite? Josh Allen last week put on the cape and took his Bills on the road to win his first ever playoff game on the road in Jacksonville. Kryptonite may be needed. The Broncos are well rested being the number one seed as they had a bye last week. Allen will face a tough defense by the Broncos. The Broncos can get to the quarterback as they are one of the top units in the league at sacking the quarterback. They are the best defensive unit in red zone efficiency in the league. The Bills weakness on defense is their run defense. Will the Bills defense make RJ Harvey look like a Hall of Fame running back? I liked how the Bills defense has played the last few weeks. Look for Joey Bosa to have a big game for the Bills. The Broncos are familiar with Joey playing all those years with the Chargers. Sean Payton will have tricks under his sleeve as he has pulled off plenty in post-season games as a head coach. Can the Bills head coach Sean McDermott unravel Payton’s evil genius plot?

The Broncos have a problem finishing drives and settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. In two of the 3 games the Broncos lost this season, the opponents rushed over 100 yards. The Bills are one of the best running teams in the league. James Cook won the rushing title. I think the Bills will have a better day at running the ball unlike last weekend versus the Jaguars who are a top run defense in the league. This game will be close. The Broncos have racked up the most NFL defensive pass interference penalties in the league. That can come into play in this match up. I think the Bills can hang with the Broncos most of the game until Allen puts the cape on. It will be cold. Being from the Fortress of Solitude, Allen and the Bills will get back to the AFC championship game stealing another road win from another top seed in the AFC.

OUR PICK: BILLS

NFC

#6.SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (13-5) AT #1.SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (14-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Both teams split the 2 game series.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Each team has won 1 meeting against each other in post-season.

2014 NFC Championship: Seahawks 23-17 49ers

2023 NFC Wild Card round: 49ers 41-23 Seahawks

In the last meeting between these two division rivals, it was all about the DARKSIDE!!! The Seattle defense held the 49ers to three points and 173 total yards in week 18. It was the last game of the season between both teams, but everything was on the line which included the NFC West title and the number 1 seed. Seattle won that 13-3. The Seahawks are rested having a bye last weekend. Their quarterback Sam Darnold injured his oblique in practice but is expected to play. The 49ers went on the road last week and knocked off the defending champs from last year. The 49ers lost their star tight end George Kittle in that win in Philadelphia. The 49ers will have their star offensive line back for this game Trent Williams who missed week 18 vs Seattle. Can the 49ers get another road victory with all the injuries they are dealing with against another top team in the NFC? The Darkside defense will limit Christian McCaffrey and that 49ers run game. It will be up to Brock Purdy to slay the Seahawks dragon here. Purdy usually has a clean game as Seattle is a top scoring defense. I think Darnold is lucky not facing this 49ers defense full strength with his injury. The 49ers injuries consist of the important pass rushers that get after the quarterback. Seattle’s running game will eat the clock up putting pressure on Purdy to throw the ball more which is not good as he needs a running game behind him. This will be a close game. The battle will be won in the trenches which goes to the Darkside. I like Seattle defending their home turf to move on to the NFC Championship game.

OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS

SUNDAY GAMES

AFC

#5.HOUSTON TEXANS (12-5) AT #2.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (15-3)

HEAD TO HEAD REGULAR SEASON: Did not play each other this season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Patriots (2-0) Texans

2013 AFC Divisional: Patriots 41-28 Texans

2017 AFC Divisional: Patriots 34-17

I feel like it’s hard to believe that we are still talking about the New England Patriots. They won the AFC East. They come into post-season as the number two seed in the AFC. They win their first game versus the LA Chargers and Justin Herbert in the wild card round.

Drake Maye if you’re following the Evil Empire is Kylo Ren as Tom Brady was Darth Vader. Maye like Vader and every evil dictator or villain out there or in the past, gets the easy kill in their first go round which was the Chargers. The Chargers only gave up 16 points versus the Patriots. I think the challenge now is how does Kylo Maye take on an actual Jedi which is not CJ Stroud? Will Anderson Jr. be unleashed on Ren and the Patriots offense? They were not very kind to Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers last week. I would say this will be a defensive game in cold weather which did not bother the Texans last week. The Patriots defense should be able to keep Stroud in check most of the game. Stroud has 5 playoff games under his belt. He will not have his number one weapon in this match up, Nico Collins, who suffered a concussion last week versus the Steelers. The Patriots have one of the top aerial games of teams left in the tournament. The Texans defense has been very good at shutting down the passing game.

Ole Chucky Gruden said weeks ago he liked the Texans and Seahawks in the Superbowl because of the talent they have on the defensive side of the ball. This Texans defense is a different animal than Maye has ever seen this season. The Texans are red hot which will melt the cold and snow away. They will score more points than the Patriots in a low scoring affair and come away with a crucial road victory.

OUR PICK: TEXANS

NFC

#5.LA RAMS (13-5) AT #2.CHICAGO BEARS (12-6)

HEAD TO HEAD REGULAR SEASON: Did not play each other this season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Both teams have won 1 meeting against each other.

1950 NFL Divisional: Rams 24-14 Bears

1985 NFC Championship: Bears 24-0 Rams

I think the only thing in Chicago to bring people together is the DA Bears!! Caleb Williams may have played his college ball on the west coast painting his fingernails in warm weather at USC. They call him the Ice Man because he has ice in his veins as he led another epic comeback as he slayed the Packers last week in the wild card round. Meanwhile the LA Rams who have not played outdoors much this season are coming to a ice cold environment in Soldier Field where it will be cold as ice at game time. Matthew Stafford has had an incredible season as he has been in the MVP conversation all year. Stafford used to play in Detroit, but the Lions played in a dome all those years. He is familiar playing in Chicago coming to Soldier Field once a year with Detroit. The Rams had a difficult time getting past the Panthers. The Bears were a no show in the first half with the visiting Packers. Both defenses are very vulnerable. Especially in the secondary. The Bears defense needs to get takeaways to thrive. While the Rams defense thrives when they get pressure on the quarterback. Both teams can run the ball well. This is a well-balanced offense squaring off in this match up. Will the cold temps effect the passing game? The Bears will have the advantage on special teams with the kicking game. Bears kicker Cairo Santos has been masterful kicking using the winds like he’s playing golf. The Rams encounter Harrison Mevis who grew up in cold weather in Northern Iowa. Kicking in Chicago is a different animal for first timers. Which offensive genius will have the better game plan? Ben Johnson of the Bears or Sean McVay? They are two young brilliant football minds playing chess against each other’s defenses. Most of the league is playing checkers while they are playing chess.

In a cold game I think the scoreboard will be lit up. Stafford has never played a game under 20 degrees. Coming to these conditions after being in 80 degree weather is a shocker to your system. I think the first half will start off slow since Williams is a slow starter. Stafford will need a half to adjust. In the end the Ice Man Sub Zero being played by Williams freezes out Scorpion who is being played by Stafford in a mortal ice sculpting thriller. The Rams have not been playing well for weeks now. I think it catches up to them here.

OUR PICK: BEARS

IT’S OFFICIAL THE BUFFALO BILLS PLAYED THEIR LAST GAME AT HIGHMARK STADIUM

/ thewildshamrock / Leave a comment

It’s official this week as the old Highmark Stadium has played their final home game. The Buffalo Bills opened up their current stadium back on September 30th, 1973 in a home game against the New York Jets which they won 9-7. It started with the Jets and ended with the Jets on January 4th of 2026 with a 35-8 victory in the last game of regular season. The Bills ended up being being a wild card spot and 6th seed in the AFC post-season. The last 5 seasons the Bills have won the AFC East which guaranteed them a home playoff game. Not this season as the New England Patriots took the division and at the same time ruined the Bills’ pipe dream of playing a home playoff game giving Highmark stadium one more game. Yes, the Patriots beat the 7th seed Chargers last week which killed the fantasy of the Bills hosting the Chargers in the AFC Championship.

In 1973 when they opened the new Buffalo Bills stadium, it was called Rich Stadium. At the time of the opening, a Buffalo-based food products company called Rich Products signed a 25 year deal for the naming rights. It was a 1.5 million dollar deal. Rich Foods had to pay the Bills $60,000 per season. Rich Stadium lasted from 1973 to 1997. When the name was under Rich Stadium, it was during those great 1990 Buffalo Bills teams with Jim Kelly leading the charge with the hurry up offense. Those Bills of the 1990’s went to 4 straight Superbowls as you know the results there. We will move on to 1998 when Bills owner Ralph Wilson named the stadium after himself. It was Ralf Wilson Stadium from 1998-2015. Then in 2016 it became New Era Field, which lasted three seasons until the finish of 2019. During the pandemic, it just became plain Jane Bills Stadium. Then from 2021 on it has been Highmark Field, the name that will transfer to the state of art new stadium across the street at 1 Bills Drive in Orchard Park, New York.

Before Rich Stadium was ever built, the Bills played on the east side of Buffalo. The Bills were established in 1960 as part of the AFL and played their home games at War Memorial Stadium, aka The Rock Pile. They played 13 seasons there which held a capacity of 47,000. Then in the merger of the AFL and NFL, the Bills had to find a new venue because back then the NFL stadiums had a mandate of 50,000 seats which eliminated War Memorial Stadium. Ralph Wilson explored relocation to cities like Memphis, Tampa Bay, and Seattle. In the end the state and the Bills ownership agreed to stay in Western New York as they landed a new stadium and the rest is history.

It was week 18, the final game of regular season and final regular season game at High Mark. The current Bills came out wearing the retro 1990 helmets that Jim Kelly and those guys played in. The Bills rested many of their starters as Josh Allen did get one play to keep his Iron Man streak alive. The Bills were playing to improve their wild card seed and did not need the starters to get the job done. Back up quarterback Mitch Trubisky led the offense after Allen’s one play and he and the offense lit up the Jets to give the Bills a win to end their season and a W for the crowd in the farewell game. Running back James Cook did have a few rushes in the game before he sat down. Those few rushes won him the NFL rushing title as he becomes the second Bills player to do that since the Juice OJ Simpson wore the uniform before killing his X-wife. It was an emotional farewell as all the Bills chants were being sung proud from all the memories of this old building. On hand were Hall of Fame Bills players such as Jim Kelly and Andre Reed and their Hall of Fame head coach, 100 year old Marv Levy. The atmosphere was festive on a cold day full of warmth watching their team win and enjoying the last memories of the stadium. The jumbo-tron had a farewell video during the post-game with the song Iris from Buffalo’s own Goo Goo Dolls that featured all the cool and great highlights of all these Bills teams that played here 53 seasons. At the end of the game after all the songs and chants were sung and beers drank, the jumbo-tron read, “Thank You Bills Mafia.” Simple & to the point. Not even alien intelligence could think of something better.

The Buffalo Bills had some very bad teams throughout the 53 seasons. Some of the playoff droughts were decades long. The first ever playoff game at Rich Stadium came in 1988, a Bills victory over the Houston Oilers. It was the Houston Oilers that the Bills beat in that epic playoff game in January of 1993 called the COMEBACK.

No Jim Kelly in that game. The Oilers dominated the first half. The Bills made the comeback with back up QB Frank Reich who erased a 32 point deficit in the second half. The best game I ever saw played on the gridiron. The Bills won every home playoff game until the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars came to town in 1996 and upset Buffalo in the wild card round. The Bills were perfect against three teams at Rich Stadium those 53 seasons. They beat all 31 teams at this stadium at least once. They went perfect against 3 teams. They were 5-0 versus the Cardinals, 3-0 versus the Buccaneers and 7-0 versus the Packers. On January 1, 2008 the stadium had the first NHL Winter classic as the Buffalo Sabres skated outside versus the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. The Orangemen of Syracuse University played a few home games at this stadium. All the concerts over the years and many other events this stadium saw. All those great memories will last a lifetime for everyone who went there to see their beloved team perform. In society today, stadiums, like most things, don’t last forever. I wish we would have more stadiums stay open for over 100 years like Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley in Chicago. The new Bills stadium across the street will be something special based on the looks of it from the outside. The Bills could have easily put up a dome. Especially with all the snow and cold games they have encountered over the decades. The fan base and the ownership chose to go with an open air stadium with grass instead. My feeling and that of every other Bills fan is that the memories will instantly roll over to the new state of the art facility that looks ginormous. Buffalo is like Whoville in the Grinch story. Christmas still came for the Whos in Whoville after the Grinch stole everything. The snow will come, but it never prevents the Bills Mafia from enjoying the Sunday game rooting on the Bills. GO BILLS!!!