Hi everyone, first off I want to say that I normally do my picks on Friday before gameday. I was planning on keeping up the trend for this Super Bowl while I was visiting some family in Southern California over the past few days. I ran into one extreme issue however. I chose a hotel that did not have wifi. This said hotel also had holes in the wall rust in the showers and sinks and had some individuals hanging out around my room that could use a shower and rehab. I am not an elitist by a long stretch, I did not have much growing up and I am grateful for my brand new home and everything I have worked hard to get in my life. But to say I put my own personal safety into jeopardy over the past couple of days would be kind (and I am not embellishing in the slightest). Anyways, I’m home in Vegas now and had a fun as hell last couple of days and am ready to make my Super Bowl pick. I have gone through my toughest stretch maybe ever over the past six weeks but can make it all right if I nail this pick (well not really but at least finish strong!!). I appreciate everyone’s support and feedback and it’s a shame the season has to end now. But no worries pitchers and catchers report…. ugh let’s get to the Super Bowl pick before I throw something.
rams -4 over BENGALS
It’s weird to call the Rams the road team since they are playing at HOME you know. But technically the Bengals are the home team since in even number Super Bowls the AFC representative is the home team. Here are my scenarios where the Bengals cover and possibly win… Joe Burrow is awesome and transcendent and is beating a team that still is weak at safety over the top with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for multiple scores. Home Alone and Uncle Buck viewings on Hulu and Netflix triple over the next month as everyone says Joey B kind of looks like the kid from the Home Alone movies!!! Other scenario is Matthew Stafford is bad Lions Matthew Stafford. He throws multiple picks and single handily sabotages what was supposed to be the end of Matty Bulldogs and Sean McVay’s year long honeymoon. Those are the two scenarios where I see the Bengals pulling the mini upset… Now why I think the Rams will be the second straight home team to be victorious in the big game after going 54 straight years without the host cities team ever making it to the big one.
- The Bengals cannot block the Rams front. Their offensive line is one of the worst in all of football (hence Burrow getting sacked a whopping 51 times this season). The Rams defensive line is freaking awesome (the strength of what is a good overall football team). In the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship game the 49ers offensive line (one of the best in all of football) could not block the Rams front four. People will blame Jimmy Garroppolo for blowing the 10 point 4th Quarter lead but when you are under pressure in less than 2 seconds every drop back even great Quarterbacks are doomed. An awesome pass rush is a great kryptonite to any great Quarterback. Any 3rd down that is 6 yards are more I’ll go on a limb and say the Bengals will be lucky to convert those more than 10 percent of the time in this game (even with the awesome wide receivers they possess). I pray for Joe Burrow and his family in those situations.
2. Cooper Kupp and Yes Odell Beckham. The Bengals secondary is vastly underrated. But they have not seen any tandem like Kupp and Beckham. Odell Beckham starting with Week 14 in Arizona has turned into New York Giants Odell Beckham making Baker Mayfield supports very sad. If you remember Odell Beckham in his days in New Jersey has arguably the biggest big play threat in football during those days (Julio Jones will say hold my beer). Cooper Kupp is flat uncoverable these days. Doesn’t matter if you bracket coverage over the top, play a physical safety on him or try to put a voodoo curse on him, the ultimate demon of the slot is going to find a crease and catch the ball. Kupp and Beckham may both get to 100 yards in this game as I expect the Rams to go pass heavy against a defense that struggles against the pass but is solid against the run.
3. Bengals won’t be able to run the ball. How to slow down an awesome pass rush is to run the football. Well during the postseason playing against a Kyler Murray led offense (if you didn’t remember Kyler Murray is a pretty mobile Quarterback who gets ground yards in bunches) and a 49ers rushing attack that is one of the best in football, the Rams have allowed only 54 yards a game on less than 3 yards a carry. So a team that will certainly not be able to block this Rams front is almost certainly not going to be able to run the football. Not much analysis needed other than that here.
I love Joe Burrow and think that he is going to be a great Quarterback and he will certainly lead the Bengals to more deep playoff runs. But the Titans and Chiefs were better football teams that absolutely choked in shocking fashion to allow the Bengals to even be here. The trenches issue is a huge deal in this football game as it’s almost a certainty that the Bengals are not going to be able to block the Rams front. Aaron Donald is going to certainly be a menace all night long and if the Bengals focus too much help on the former Auburn star then Von Miller and Leonard Floyd will be there to feast on Burrow. I think the Bengals need to get big plays and turnovers to have a chance. This is clearly possible in this game that happens but I’m going to go the more probable scenario of the Rams defense putting forth a dominant effort and Matthew Stafford putting together a solid effort (similar to Tom Brady’s game last Super Bowl like 260, 2 td’s no picks) and the Rams cruising to a comfortable victory. A side note the Super Bowl is in Arizona next season, can we get three host teams to make it in a row. Kiss and make up Kyler and Keim, we have work to do!!!
Rams Win 30-16