So I was wrong about Hasselbeck--he's playing very well (and Delhomme doesn't look like he can find the broadside of a barn let along Steve Smith)--and Alexander's playing very well also. So I was wrong, and now you Seattle fans can gloat. But so far I'm NOT taking back my comment that the Hawks are the Bengals of the NFC--heck, even the Bengals play well sometimes. When the Hawks win consistently in the playoffs over several years like the Steelers and others have done, that's when I'll take it back.

It is nw halftime of the Seattle game, and if the "Cats" come back and win it'll be a miracle...

Now, as to the Steelers-Broncos: Congrats to the "Bus" who gets to (maybe) win a Supe in his home town, and the rest of Cowher's crew. But I wonder, not to take anything away from Steelers' play, but I wonder if the Bronc weren't looking behind them, to taking out the "Patriot dynasty", when they should have been look toward the Steelers?

snorky

Oh, what the heck, everyone else is doing it...making predictions on the AFC and NFC Champ games this weekend, and "everyone else" probably knows more than I do about the Steelers, Broncos, Seahawks and Panthers.

Especially the Panthers!

Like I said in my 1st post, I haven't seriously followed the NFL since the mid-80s. Fact is my spouse hates football, and not only that, when we moved into our house out here deep in the west Texas mountains, we didn't have TV for many years until 1999 when we got our DirecTV dish. Because our son liked to occasionally watch a football game, we let him but I never really got to get back into it...I had moved on and didn't want to get back to the point where football meant so much (confession: I was a fanatic in the 70s to the point where I was like those of you who claim to "live and die" by your team.). And I still don't. I started getting interested again this year because the way things looked it seemed it was time that perhaps maybe the Pats would not get back to the Super Bowl, which would make things more interesting.

I have NOTHING against the Patriots, by the way...it's just that it's good to have other teams win the "Big One" once in a while. And, if you read my 1st post, you'll notice I have a fascination for sports dynasties. So anyway...

Steelers over Broncos, and Panthers over Seahawks....

Since I have almost NO knowledge of the Carolina Panthers, why am I picking them to beat Seattle? That's because while I know almost nothing about Carolina I know something about the Hawks, again from history. In my 1st post I said Seattle was the Bengals of the NFC. Historically, the Bengals have been EXTREMELY INCONSISTENT...flaky, winning when they should lose and losing when they have the talent to win, and always (back in the 70s and 80s, anyway), disappointing fans and prognosticators. In other words, the Bengals, defying all logic, always found a way to lose when the jig was up (and they proved that again vs. Steelers in first round...but who would have thought it would be because Palmer was injured?). Seattle, even when they made playoffs, has had the same tendencies. Though it isn't recorded anywhere on the Internet, I have always thought the Hawks were the Bengals of the AFC West, and now that they are in the NFC... Besides, Jake Delhomme just seems more gutsy and impressive than Matt Hasselback (spelling?)...nor do I know if Shaun Alexander is really ready.

To me, the Steelers and Broncos are pretty much evenly matched everywhere, but the Steelers are behaving the way they did in the 70s right now, dominant and finding any way they can to win. Plus, while Denver is also playing very well right now, too, it could be they became so caught up in beating the outgoing dynasty that they may forget about winning against perhaps the next one.

A return of dynasty to Pittsburgh? That's pure speculation, and a lot depends on how the team reacts to Bettis' possible retirement. Bettis shows just how long I've been out of this game...he was a rookie in Steelerville when I stopped watching football, period. Until now. And Cowher is (probably) no Chuck Noll.

snorky

Like I said in my "about me" life imitates history...and if history is any judge...and if it is true that when you start losing assistant coaches like the Pats are (they just lost Maningi to the Jets...talk about how interesting the AFC East will be next year! Bellichick or however you spell it will almost be staring at himself here!), then you know it's all downhill from here. All they need now is for a rival league to steal Bruschi and one or two others, and...oooh boy!

For instance: 74 Dolphins, who lost not only 3 players to WFL but 2 assistant caoches, one of whom, Bill Arnsparger, became maybe the worst coach in NFL history with the Giants (for you younger folks, Google "the fumble--Giants vs. Eagles")

snorky