Messi Rewards Miami With a Cha...

The excitement in the air is obvious for those of us who love NFL and college football. You can hear it, feel it and see it. You can almost taste it. Starting quarterbacks are being named. Highly touted rookies are making their mark in preseason games (or not). Record contracts are being finalized and signed and roster spots are becoming filled with famous names and faces of veterans and new comers alike. By this time in two weeks I’ll be writing about who in the college ranks was able to pull off an upset, which teams were able to make a brave showing and which programs are basking in week number one glory. I’ll have to get used to a whole new vocabulary, the language of football. Thats right everyone, the most important season has arrived, finally and not a moment too soon!

Before we get to the main feature we need to tie off some loose ends of other sporting events that have kept us occupied during the last week. One or two can be put to rest so we can move on and focus on the gridiron.

Another Woman’s World Cup has come and gone. Unfortunately for The United States Team they were not part of the glory this time around. That distinction and and the championship went to the fair ladies of Spain who defeated England, the favorite to win it all, in a show case match 1-0. Regardless of who wins the Cup, the tournament is pretty much a celebration of woman’s sports. Sell out crowds of 80,000 people prove that the sport has arrived and is here to stay regardless of where it’s played in the world. The U.S. no longer dominates the sport. Countries such as Australia, Denmark, Morocco and Nigeria are fielding teams that can compete with anyone, anywhere. As soccer continues to grow look for the world’s attention to follow. The sky’s the limit with these national teams and I’m looking forward to seeing more in The Paris Olympics next year.

It’s hard to write about soccer these days and not mention Leo Messi and Inter Miami. Since his arrival about a month ago Miami has gone undefeated. In a handful of games Messi has scored 10 goals, seemingly at will and at ease. A victory in a sold out stadium in Nashville this past week brought Miami its first Championship Cup ever. The crazy part of all this is that Messi doesn’t even make his MLS debut for a few more days (the Cup competition was separate from MLS League play). I’m not sure where all of this is going but it’s going somewhere very fast. Messi is like a hungry fox in a hen house and it looks like a virtual blood bath of feathers and chickens feet. It’s almost like child’s play it seems as he can score every time his feet touch the ball. For what it’s worth he seems very, very happy to be playing for Miami. I love seeing him smile and being so happy with his family. Inter Miami ownershipis smiling as well as the MLS in general is basking in the glow of excitement and sell out crowds no matter where Messi plays. The cash is rolling in. It seems to be a win/win situation for everyone however if things seem to good to be true they usually are. Im not a 100 percent believer yet but I’m getting there. I’ll take a wait and see attitude before I invest money in seeing a game.

Okay, enough of soccer. Let’s discuss a sport more nearer and dearer to the hearts of Americans.

There’s 32 teams in The NFL and for every one of them there are big expectations this year. For some teams these expectations are modest, for others they are hopeful, brash and bold. Many teams are enthusiastically entering the season with a Super Bowl Championship on their minds with some in my opinion deservingly so, others not so much.

Let me explain myself a bit more clearly.

There are basically about 10 or 12 teams that in my opinion have almost a zero chance of winning the Super Bowl. I won’t name every single one, I don’t want to offend or disappoint any fans but I’ll mention a few. Houston, Arizona, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Atlanta will most like win a few games but baring any miracles I don’t see them anywhere near a playoff game. Basically they’re in a rebuilding stage or are trying to clean up the mess still around from last season. Several of these teams have big time Quarterback issues to iron out before they go anywhere. I think Carolina is gonna realize the drafting Bryce Young was a mistake, Arizona has to deal with Kyler Murray who should just turn in his helmet for professional gaming and of course there’s the issue with Deshaun Watson in Cleveland who might end up riding the (massage) bench while soaking up another 80 million in cap space. Tampa Bay is nowhere without Tom Brady.

Next, there’s a 10 or 11 group of “fish or cut bait” teams. These are the teams that need to do SOMETHING this year for coaches to save their jobs and players, quarterbacks in particular, need to justify their salaries. It’s a 50/50 shot on how long they’ll last and how deep they’ll go in the playoffs. They have the talent, they just need to PRODUCE. The poster child for this group is Dallas and of course The Jets followed by The Raiders, The Chargers, The Steelers, New England, Tennessee, Washington, Denver, The Giants and a few others. Dak Prescott has the most to both win and loose here. I love Tge Steelers and Kenny Pickett but I think they need another year or two. Washington has nearly had a full scale mutiny over the summer and The Raiders are The Raiders. If Las Vegas can keep their players out of jail they might have a shot. I don’t know what to say about Denver but I hope Sean Payton can get them playing great football again. As for the rest in this group we’ll have to see.

The last group of teams is the most important one. These are the teams that my Super Bowl picks come from. One of these teams will win it baring a new Covid surge or the Earth colliding with the moon. These are the teams watch, The “A” Teams, The Big Guns, The ones to watch.

Cincinnati, Buffalo, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Baltimore, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Detroit and LA all figure predominantly in this group. There’s a few others as well, maybe two or three but in my somewhat limited opinion these are the Big Kahunas. There are however things to keep an eye on from week to week with this group. Joe Burrow at Cincinnati and Tua Tungalova in Miami need to stay healthy ALL year and if you ask me that’s doubtful. Detroit will live and die based on their QB. Buffalo I feel will cross over the river this year and finally get a big playoff win out of Josh Allen. Lamar Jackson needs to live up to the hype. As far as Wonder Boy Super Last Pick Quarterback Brock Purdy in San Francisco goes there are many learned opinions in the medical community who claim his injury will re-emerge. I’m one of those learned opinions. Another 3-5 months is what he needs but has already been named the Starter week one.

With all of this in mind I’m leaning towards these four teams as my top Super Bowl contenders and their current odds. I reserve the right to change my opinion at any time but so many readers have been asking me for my picks so these are my four.

Number One: The Jacksonville Jaguars(+2500). A great young quarterback that is playing with confidence and skill. A strong solid running game as well as a stout, experienced defense, well coached special teams that don’t make stupid mistakes and actually make field goals when needed and a proven Head Coach that has Super Bowl winning pedigree. How can you not take this team at long odds?

Number Two: The Buffalo Bills.(+900) This will be the year that Josh Allen finally beats Patrick Mahomes in a playoff game. I can feel it. They have momentum. This could finally be their year. (Sorry Miami)

Number Three: The San Francisco 49’ers.(+900) This is a team that is the west coast version of Jacksonville. Strong in all areas with one of the top defensive schemes out there. If Brock Purdy stays healthy all year they can be there at the end.

Number Four: The Baltimore Ravens.(+2000) This pick was the toughest to choose. I don’t think the Chiefs can win three times. Sorry. I love the Bengals and Joey B but I see injury issues. I also think that they are not riding as high as they were when they went to the Super Bowl two years ago. I’ve seen Lamar Jackson do some crazy stuff. Again if this guy stays healthy he could literally carry the team to a Super Bowl victory.

With all of this in mind I’ll take my opportunity to extent my sincere apologies to fans of Philadelphia and Kansas City. You had your chances now move aside and let the rest of the league share in the glory and PLAY ON!

Kev

Kev's Corner Our Staffs Weekly Sports perspective