Why the Super Bowl is the Best and Worst Thing About the NFL.

Hey people who think the Super Bowl is awesome, shut your freaking mouths or I will find you and I will destroy you. Yes it is the biggest game of the year. And yes it is going to complete yet another great year of professional football. All the lights and the glamor and the commercials and the celebrities and the Hall of Famers and legends of the game are there on top of the two best teams in a game to decide who is champion based on 17 regular season games and two or three playoff games, depending on their regular season record. And at the end of the game either the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Green Bay will be the Super Bowl champions, leaving no questions on who the best team in the NFL is....except for the 2007 Super Bowl in which I am still convinced the entire country saw the game wrong and the Patriots actually completed their perfect season.....it happened, trust me.....I am sure our universe skewed into a different universe and back, changing our view of the actual outcome. I digress, sorry. Whether it be the Packers or the Steelers, I am sure the game is going to be very close and very competitive, which has been the trend over the last decade or so. And yet with all this being said, the Super Bowl makes me more sad and depressed than anything does all year. Do you want to know why??? Keep chirping little birdies because here it comes.

I want you people to ask yourselves what happens once the Super Bowl is over. Where you might feel glad that a champion has been crowned or happy that you saw a great game, I realize that there is seven months until I get to see football again. Seven excruciating months of 162 baseball games, March Madness and the NBA Championship which are all good, but let us be honest people, none of that can take the place of the NFL. The Super Bowl marks the end of the season and even saying that makes me get a little nauseated. What am I going to do with myself? Get a job? Child please. Just look what happened to my number of entries during the Bye week between the Championship games and Super Bowl. My site turned into a ghost town. (BTW, the Bye week before the Super Bowl is one of the stupidest things ever, but that is an argument for a different time.)

So is it wrong for me to want football year 'round? Maybe some of the players would be seriously injured. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe, but I am alright with that because I LOVE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So no one try to contact me the week after the Super Bowl because I will be under a rock in some corner of the world in the deepest, darkest depression. Given what actually happens in the Super Bowl, it might be simultaneously the best and worst thing to happen to me each and every year. And yet I always come back....damn you football...

Bet Your Haus Winners!

Championship Edition

Well after a 2-2 week thanks to Drew taking the Shehawks to cover for me, he has been banished henceforth from the bet your Haus winners. We are 15-18 on the year and this championship weekend I am giving you two dawgs on which to bet your Haus. I know you think I am crazy, but that is just how Haus rolls. Count it!!!

Chicago (+3½ ) hosting Green Bay. Home underdogs are the scariest thing in the NFL. It is going to be very cold and very crappy on that field in Chicago and both offenses are going to suffer regardless of how well they are both playing. Both defenses are stout which is just going to keep this game close and the way I see it, down to the last drive. The Bears have been getting no respect all year and they are the real deal......and saying that, they are still going to lose.

Take the Bears plus the points to cover and lose, 26-23.

New York Jets (+3½ ) at Pittsburgh. Now the Jets are a team that I have not bought into all year. And yet they keep beating Hall of Fame Quarterbacks....say it aint so Tom....say it aint so. You can only go into someone's house and beat them a certain number of times and now it stops. Now the Jets can D up so I expect this game to be close but this is Big Ben and this is the Steelers defense and this is the end of the road for the Jets. This game is going to come down to Ben Roethlisberger getting the ball late and winning it close.

Jets cover but lose, 19-17.

Texas:  A Basketball State???

Disclaimer: This article is going to warn all Texans of the new trend sweeping the state. This trend will scare most of you conservatives, but here me out and Ye Shalt Be Saved.

Believe it or not people, but college basketball is not just isolated to Durham, North Carolina and New York, New York. There are schools in this very state that have basketball teams. Yeah I know. Crazy. And here is the thing, these schools have good teams. In fact, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas have been good for pretty much the last decade. UT has been good ever since Rick Barnes took over the team in 1998, and A&M has been relevant since they went 0-16 in conference play in the 2003-2004 season, having made the NCAA Tournament every year since then and winning at least one game in the tournament every year they have qualified. Both schools have put players in the NBA also, most notably Kevin Durant, T.J. Ford and DeAndre Jordan. Both schools have also made deep runs in the last decade with UT making the Final Four in 2003 and A&M making the Sweet Sixteen in 2006.

I am willing to bet that almost no people that live in Texas actually knew that us Texans had two viable college basketball teams. And given how awesome the fans are here in Texas, it is a shame that no one notices these teams because if people actually paid attention to these teams, I really think that the fans in Texas could turn these teams into successful basketball programs like Duke, North Carolina and Michigan State, universities that have an extremely devoted national following. Just because Texas is known as being a football state does not mean that it cannot be a basketball state also. I really feel that there is a niche here in Texas for some great basketball teams and rivalries, all we have to do is turn on the TV.

I will put it to you guys like this: I am fairly stupid (which actually makes me question why you people read this but that is an argument for another day), but I am not so stupid to not realize that Texas is now and will always be a football state. But if we do not start following these basketball teams with a passion, these two coaches and by extension, these teams, will not be around long. This is less likely for Rick Barnes at UT, but for Mark Turgeon, head basketball coach at A&M, when some other big basketball school comes calling, he is going to have no choice but to leave if attendance and ratings and money do not increase. And then we will slip back into the mediocre state that Texas college basketball was in before these teams started winning. Call me crazy, but I like having something exciting to watch between the Super Bowl and the start of the baseball season.

Also I know that UT smoked A&M last night 81-60. Both teams are in the top 11 in the country and it looks like they will be there for the rest of the year. UT was probably just upset about the beat down A&M put on the Horns in football last year.....who knows....Haus out.

Bet Your Haus Winners

Divisional Round

I want to again apologize to the people that might have bet on the Saints last week. Who could have seen that coming? Like Carl said today, “only Matt Hasselbeck's mother thought the Seahawks were going to win.” So we went 1-3 last week thanks to the Packers. We are 13-16 on the year and again feeling really good about this weeks winners.

Pittsburgh (-3) hosting Baltimore. Game of the weekend? Yes please. Be careful while watching this game because your head might get knocked off by just witnessing it. This is just a home-field thing for me. Also the Steelers got the week off to get healthy and Troy Polamolecule is going to play which means he is going to terrorize Joe Flacco. Baltimore is playing on a short week and traveling all over which is never good.

Lay the points and bring your chin straps, 20-16 Steelers.

Green Bay (+1½) at Atlanta. Everybody is talking about how the Packers found a running game but that is not going to be the reason they win this game. This Aaron Rodgers' game. He is going to carry the Pack over the Falcons. The only reason that the Packers lost this year against the Falcons was because of some crazy fumble in the end zone that will not happen again. This game is going to be Aaron Rodgers' coming out party.

Packers win outright, 26-20.

Seattle (+10) at Chicago. This is Drew's pick. I am giving him a second chance after that atrocity two weeks ago when he picked the Browns over the Steelers and lost 41-6. Go Drew.

Drew says Seahawks win outright, 24-20.

New England (-8½) hosting the New York Jets. This is easy. The Jets talk too much crap. Tom Brady don't play that. This is your Bet Your Haus pick this week.

Take the Fightin' Bradys minus the points, 33-20.

Changing of the Guard:

The New “Faces” of the NFL

There is something changing in the NFL right now. It is the same thing that happened in the late 1990s when several elite quarterbacks retired all around the same time. Guys like Marino, Elway, Young, Kelly and Moon. The faces of the league were changing then. In the late 90s and early 2000s, some young, new QBs became the faces of the NFL and have carried the NFL for the last decade. Manning, Brady, Favre, Palmer, McNabb and Brees among others. And the same thing that happened a decade ago, is happening again. Those guys that took us through the 2000s are starting to fade, save for Tom Brady because he is just the freaking man who will probably play for the next 25 years.

With Peyton Manning and Drew Brees eliminated from the playoffs this last weekend, you are going to be seeing QBs with which you might not be too familiar. (Matt Hasselbeck notwithstanding. I am still sorry if anyone bet their house on that game....unbelievable.) And are these younger guys better than some of the older ones? Well I think the fact that they are still playing and the other ones are not makes my point, but the guys we are used to seeing every Sunday are going to start yielding to some different personalities and some different faces. Guys like Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan and Mark Sanchez. In fact, of all the teams left in the playoffs, the next generation quarterbacks play for six of the eight teams. (Roethlisberger, Cutler, Rodgers, Flacco, Ryan and Sanchez) These are the names we are going to have to get used to hearing for the next eight to ten years and frankly I am excited for it.

These young guns (apologies for using that phrase....reap the whirlwind...) are fresh, new, charismatic and above all, they are really good. Some are a little more proven than others and they are all a little different than one another, but they are fun to watch and the next ten years might have some of the best QB play that there has ever been. The next ten years are going to contain the end of legendary careers like Peyton Manning's, Drew Brees' and Tom Brady's.  And we are going to see the emergence and the prime of the careers of the new class of quarterback. So for you football strategy nerds like myself, get ready for awesomeness.

So to all you people who dwell on what you have seen and not what you might see, try to be open-minded when people like myself say that I would rather have Aaron Rodgers right now over Peyton Manning. Or when someone says Matt Ryan is the best QB in the NFC South, do not blow them out of the water...because they are correct. There is a changing of the guard in the NFL. It is OK. Do not freak out. Let it happen. All this has happened before and will happen again, to quote some hybrid from Battlestar Galactica.  And do you know what happens every time it does change??? The NFL gets better for you and me. Enjoy.

Bet Your Haus Winners

Wild Card Playoffs

Sorry about the lack of articles this week people. Your boy Haus has been sick in bed all week. But no matter how sick I am, I will always have winners for you. We finished up the regular season 12-13. Not awful. And I feel good about these playoff picks for no other reason than it cannot get any worse.

New Orleans (-10) at Seattle. This is my “bet your Haus” pick of the wild card weekend. I cannot believe this line is only ten. The Seahawks were 7-9 in the regular season. Just awful.

I like the Saints big, 38-13.

Indianapolis (-3) hosting the New York Jets. Rex Ryan is again writing checks with his mouth that I do not think his team can cash. I do not care who is playing wide receiver for the Colts, you do not talk trash about Peyton Manning. Every time Peyton has gone against a Rex Ryan defense, he has won. Save for the game last year when Manning was taken out of the game when the Colts were 14-0.

Take Peyton Manning and lay the points, 30-20 Colts win.

Kansas City (-3) hosting Baltimore. Personally I am not betting on this game. Given the nature of both of these teams, I am expecting a three point win for the Chiefs. The Chiefs play great at home and they were embarrassed last week and are going to be fired up. I have questioned the Ravens all season and I think this is their end.

This is a 20-17 game if there ever was one. Push all day.

Green Bay (+3) at Philadelphia. This might be surprising to so people but I like the Packers big in this game. Green Bay's defense is playing out of their mind right now. Teams have begun to figure out Michael Vick and he has been beat up as the season has gone along. Aaron Rodgers' experience last year in the playoffs is going to pay off big I believe and I think he has a huge game. The Eagles defense has been suspect all year and Aaron Rodgers is going to exploit that all day.

Take Green Bay plus the points, 34-24.

The Houston Texans and the Dichotomous Endeavor

So a friend asked me to describe the Texans year in one word after the Week 17 win over Jacksonville and I could not think of one. Of course if I had several words it would be easy. Just look at some of my previous articles and I think they can somewhat describe how the year was progressing for the Texans. But to put the season into one word is very difficult. I realize it is hard to describe a lot of teams in one word, but it would be pretty easy for most of the playoff teams. 

Like:

The Steelers = Tough.  That defense is bruising. 

The Saints = Driven.  Drew Brees will never let his team rest despite them winning the super bowl last year. 

The Patriots = Brady.  Nuff said.

The Seahawks = …..unfreakingbelievable sounds good for them.

Among others.

But for the life of me, I could not think of one word to sum up the Texans' season. I think the reason is because the season was this huge opposite clashing dichotomy that kind of had a Jekyll and Hyde quality that makes the season hard to explain.

Starting at the beginning with the win over the Colts where the Texans smoked the Colts 34-24 by rushing for over 230 yards and then beating the Redskins in Week 2 after overcoming a huge deficit and winning in overtime. They then proceeded to get to 4-2 going into their bye week and felt pretty good......until they went 2-8 to finish the season, completely one of the most dichotomous seasons that I can remember in recent history. In the first half of the season, the Texans were one of the best teams in the league while in the second half they were arguably the very worst.

The Texans offense compared to their defense is THE DEFINITION of dichotomy. The Texans were ranked 3^rd in total offense while being 30^th in total defense. Matt Schaub is 5^th in the league in passing and Arian Foster and Andre Johnson lead the league in rushing and receiving yards per game, respectively while the defense came about 250 yards from setting an NFL record in passing yards given up in one season. And to add insult to injury, they won their last game probably saving Gary Kubiak's job and moved themselves up at least three draft spots and out of the top 10 draft picks.....great.

In almost every game this year, the offensive and defensive dichotomy reared it's beautifully ugly head, which is leading me to a word I think does describe the Texans. No the word is not disappointing or sad. I wanted to say laughable or hellarious (which is a word I created to define the show “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), but those just do not fit.  The word is nothing funny or epic or philosophical, it is just a word that I heard a bunch in my Biology and Ecology classes I took in school and a word I mentioned several times looking back at the article; Dichotomy.

2010 Houston Texans, thy name be dichotomy. I would also like to ask you, my awesome readers and subscribers, how would you describe the 2010 Houston Texans in one word. I would be interested to see your words and if you can come up with anything witty or clever. Haus out.

Week 17 Winners FTW!!!

Well we went 3-2 last week. I felt good about that San Fran game, but alas the two-headed monster that is the Smith brothers for the Niners is just too awful. And the other loss was the fighting Peyton's vs. the Raiders...oh well. We are 10-10 coming into the last week and I feel good about finishing above .500.

New England (-5) hosting Miami. I like this line a lot. The Pats never really rest their starters historically when they are locked into a playoff position. Expect Brady to play at least two quarters and I think that is all they really need. The Dolphins have an awful, awful offense along with no quarterback. I expect the Pats defense to stay in the whole game and blowout the Dolphins. So, Brady or no Brady, take New England and lay the points, 27-10.

Houston (-3) hosting Jacksonville. You have like the Texans at home against the Jaguars with a chance to keep J'ville out of the playoffs. David Gerrard and MJD are out. That should be enough for you. With the coaching turmoil going on in Houston, look for them to play big for each other and blowout the Jags. Also, Arian Foster will be going for the rushing title and I expect him to have a big game.

Texans minus the points, 31-17.

New Orleans (-7) playing host to Tampa Bay. This is dangerous pick given the fact that if the Falcons have home-field locked up, the Saints might pull their starters because they are playing at the same time. But I laugh in the face of danger, HAHAHAHA.....like that. The Saints destroyed the Bucs earlier this year in Tampa, 31-6. So even if the Falcons are beating the Panthers, I like the Saints to win this game, 28-20.

St. Louis (-3) at Seattle. While I would love to see the winner of the NFC West at 7-9 to win the division, I like the Rams in this game. Matt Hasselbeck is a game-time decision and even with him the Seahawks are terrible on both sides of the ball. Sam Bradford is playing amazing for a rookie QB and the Rams are feeling it on offense. I do not think this game will be close.

Take the Rams and lay the points, 23-17.

Cleveland (-5) hosting Pittsburgh. So I accidentally told my friend Drew to pick a game he liked and he picked this game. He likes the Browns and their defense to cover against the Steelers. I asked him why and he said, “cuz.” And if that is not a good reason, then I do not know what is. If he does well, maybe well start giving him his own stone cold lock of the century...of the week.

Browns to cover but lose, 24-21.