Just one game left, Super Bowl LX, and I've spent the week previewing it in various ways. I think Seattle is the better team and should win, but since it should be close and there could be a big defensive play or two, anything is possible.
There's not really a ton left to say, but a few thoughts on the game and related NFL stuff.
Both quarterbacks are off the injury report and good to go. Not surprising, but encouraging. You want these games to feature healthy passers; it's a downer if that doesn't happen (see: Stidham, Jarrett).
Two other injury notes. Seattle safety Nick Emmanwori injured an ankle in practice, but he practiced fully on Friday and is good to go. Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane also has an ankle injury; he got in limited practices the last two days. Sounds like he'll play, but may be limited. A plus for the Seattle ground game (not that Spillane is Ray Lewis, plus he also missed most of December, but still).
Much discussion of the ultra-close MVP voting. I had thought Matthew Stafford would win more easily. On Drake Maye's behalf, New England won two more games, he ran a lot more, and had higher completion percentages and things like yards per attempt. Stafford threw for 300 more yards and 15 more touchdowns and played a tougher schedule. Whatever, I don't have a vote, but I am surprised it wasn't more clear-cut.
You know what I could live without seeing another story on, ever? A player (in this case, Michael Penix) being "ahead of schedule" in his rehabilitation of an injury. I've been watching football and sports a long time and never, ever seen a story about a player being "behind schedule" in his rehab. If nobody is ever behind schedule, the ahead of schedule stories aren't trustworthy. (Nor are the schedules, of course.) I guess it could be argued that no updates at all mean behind schedule. Whatever. The Internet is a vast place but if they just removed every story on every player who is ahead of schedule we would lose nothing of consequence. OK, rant over.
Does it happen every four years that the Super Bowl overlaps with the Winter Olympics? Asking seriously here. I don't remember it in the past.
Fantasy postseason matchups, how are people doing? In my RTsports leagues where you select your roster before the start of the playoffs and hope you guess right on who advances, I'm currently 3rd in one and 4th in another. In both I have Jaxon Smith-Njigba left, but probably the teams ahead of me do, too. In one I have Sam Darnold, and in the other I have Drake Maye. (I also have Zach Charbonnet, which helps me not at all.) I don't know for sure who the teams ahead of me have left at quarterback. What I do know is that most teams were Ram-heavy, and Josh Allen was the most common AFC quarterback, so it's possible I can make up enough ground in each to finish in the money.
In an FFPC comp where you pick one player from each team, I'm in the top 300 (out of 15,000) with Smith-Njigba (probably everyone else has him) and Hunter Henry (TE's get 1.5 per reception). I suspect most ahead of me have either Maye or Diggs, so a big game from Henry would be nice.
In a playoff league where you build a weekly lineup by using each player only once, I'm 4th, and with a full lineup for the Super Bowl. But I've used Walker, JSN and Diggs (and Henry), so I need a couple of No. 2 wide receivers and either George Holani or TreVeyon Henderson (haven't decided which one I'm using) to step up. OK, that's a spin through my teams, feel free to post who you're rooting for. This was not the Super Bowl we predicted at the start of the playoffs, so I understand if people aren't winning big money. Some luck involved at this stage.
Final thoughts. It should be a good game. Both teams have won Super Bowls in the last dozen years, so the stakes seem a little lower than usual. I know a lot more Patriots fans but it's hard for me to root for a team that barely wrapped up its dynasty just a few years ago. Whatever the opposite is of "long-suffering fans," that's what we're talking about here. Hoping for some entertainment, a couple of bets and/or playoff competition fantasy teams hitting, and some good food, drink and company during the game. Enjoy.
--Andy Richardson
