NFL Conference Championship Predictions

A decent week with 3/4 of the wins, but it's a shame the Broncos failed so miserably on their final stand or my unbeaten post-season run would have continued.

As it stands we don't have the Conference show-downs many people expected, but that's all part of the beauty of the post-season! Let's hope both this weekend's games are as hard fought as most of the Divisional round's were.

Divisional Round = 3-1

Post-Season = 7-1

Regular Season = 166-91 (65%)

Divisional Round Predictions and Rankings

A clean sweep in the wild card round means I'm perfect in the post-season so far. The divisional round throws up some tougher decisions though, so I'm not confident I can keep my record blemish free...

Wildcard Round:

4-0

Regular Season

165-92 (65%)

NFL End of Season Grades: NFC

Following on from my AFC gradings, let's take a look at how the NFC fared during a tumultuous 2012 campaign...

NFL End of Season Grades: AFC

Who gets a gold star and who might be seeing me after class? It’s all relative, so this is partly about how expectation matched reality, and partly based on the end product. First up the AFC...

NFL Predictions: Week 17

An identical (but solid) week of results  means I'm in a strong position going into the final week of the regular season. It's disappointing for the year's football to be almost over for most teams (and it really has flown by) but I'm excited for the post-season, which looks set to be a great one with so many strong teams competing. Most of the divisions are already locked up, but with a week of pure divisional games it should still be a fantastic close to a memorable regular season.

Week 16 = 11-5

Overall = 153-88

Sunday First Wave

Falcons @ Buccaneers

This should be an open and shut case with the Falcons continuing to fly high and the Buccs done. I wouldn’t put it past Tampa to make it competitive though.

DBL Coverage Prediction: Falcons by 7

Jets @ Bills

McElroy did not have an ideal start against the Chargers suffering 11 sacks, and I can't see him getting a much calmer ride in Buffalo. The Jets beat them convincingly very early in the season, but a lot has changed since then.

DBL Coverage Prediction: Bills by 10

Ravens @ Bengals

Tough one to call as both looked very good last Sunday, and the NFC North has already been decided.  Baltimore will have their foot off the gas a little so I like Cincy to grab a very narrow win.

DBL Coverage Prediction:  Bengals by 3

NFL Power Rankings: Week 17

**As always a reminder that my power rankings are not based on who I think is going to win the Super Bowl, but who would be most dangerous to play in week 17. Look out for my SB rankings next week, plus end of season grades for every team.**

1.            Denver Broncos 12-3 (U1)

Denver comfortably beat Cleveland as expected, and move up to the number one slot. 10 games unbeaten is impressive despite their weak schedule, and there’s no reason why they shouldn't make it 11 with a visit from the Chiefs this weekend. The best team in the league is a tumultuous thing to try and pin down, but right now Manning and the Broncos have as good a claim as anyone.

2.            Seattle Seahawks 10-5 (U5)

It’s almost the end of the season, and time to put my money where my mouth is with the Hawks. I've been ahead of the curve in their support all year so it’s only fitting I jump them up to Silver going into the final week. They just smashed the 49ers, and boast a ‘conservative’ run based offense that has put up 40+ points the last few weeks. If there are any Seattle (or Wilson) doubters left, I’d like to hear from them. More plus points are Sherman has just won his appeal and they host the Rams next.

3.            Atlanta Falcons 13-2 (U2)

The Falcons have been in and amongst the top 5 all year, so I think #3 is a fair assessment of where they are now. They’ve just had dominant wins over NY and Detroit and should feel quietly confident going into their final game against Tampa having already secured the #1 seed (they may well rest their stars in this game, so this and all my rankings assume teams field full squads).

4.            New England Patriots 11-4 (D1)

The Pats drop a spot after a lack-lustre win over Jacksonville. They had better hope their last 2 performances have been a blip rather than a slump with the play-offs looming, but are still one of the most dangerous teams in the league. Hosting Miami next should be a relaxed ramp up to the post-season.

5.            Green Bay Packers 11-4 (U1)

The Packers blow out the Titans, moving up to #5. Nothing more needs to be said about A-Rod and co., other than that they are blooming at exactly the right time. They've secured their division and will have all eyes on their post-season chances.

NFL Power Rankings: Week 16

1.            San Francisco 49ers 10-3-1 (U3)

That was a dominant win over what most considered to be the best team in the league, at this point last week. Even if they lose to the Hawks this weekend the Niners only have to beat the Cardinals in SF to clinch the West. Plain sailing you would think.

2.            Denver Broncos 11-3 (-)

Denver just demolished a once sturdy Baltimore squad, and with it put down a claim for the best in the AFC. We’ll have to wait for the play-offs to put that to the test, as I don’t see visiting Cleveland causing too many headaches for Manning and co.

3.            New England Patriots 10-4 (D2)

Despite the loss the Pats rallied hard from behind, coming close to snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. You can never count Brady out, and they will still be confident of a deep post-season run. They can take out their frustration over last week on the Jags, who I feel a little sorry for going into this one.

4.            Houston Texans 12-2 (D1)

Houston win, but don’t deserve to be on the podium after their lop-sided loss to NE 2 weeks ago. They’ve had a fantastic season, but will be wary of another match-up with the Pats come January. Next they face Adrian Peterson (and 10 other anonymous offensive players).

5.            Atlanta Falcons 12-2 (U1)

The Falcons curb stomp the Giants 34-0, and will have recovered a huge amount of confidence with the manner of the win. Next they face Detroit, who just lost to the Cardinals. Yep.

NFL Predictions: Week 16

A solid week of predicting among a week of blow outs in the NFL. It's almost refreshing after all the upsets and narrow results this year to see teams flexing their muscles on Statement Sunday and with the play-offs a mere fortnight away it should be an exciting end to the 2012 season.

Week 15 = 11-5

Overall = 142-83

Saturday Night Football:

Falcons @ Lions

After Atlanta's demolition of the Giants and the Lions' lop-sided loss to Arizona, this one is something of a no-brainer. I do think Detroit will make it competitive though.

DBL Coverage Prediction: Falcons by 7

NFL Power Rankings: Week 15

1.            New England Patriots 10-3 (U3)
If knocking off the previous #1 42-14 doesn’t get you the top spot, I don’t know what will. Congrats to the Pats, who have set themselves up nicely for a post-season run. Their time at the top could be short lived though, with another tough game vs the 49ers coming up Sunday.

2.            Denver Broncos 10-3 (U1)

The Broncos slay the Raiders as expected and climb higher thanks to sub-par performances from our previous top 2. They too have a tough opponent next though, with a trip to Baltimore looming.

3.            Houston Texans 11-2 (D2)

That game was ugly. Whilst it was only their second loss of the season, they have both been extremely lopsided, and both against probable play-off rivals. I still think they are a force to be reckoned with though, and with a much easier home game vs Indy next they should get back to their winning ways.

4.            San Francisco 49ers 9-3-1 (U1)

The Niners handled the Dolphins as expected, assuaging their QB debate for another week. It’s gotten to the stage now where anything less than a SB win will mean Harbaugh made the wrong choice. A difficult position to be in, but having a surplus of capable quarterbacks is something other teams can only dream of.  Next they have the Patriots in what should be a great match-up.

5.            Green Bay Packers 9-4 (U1)

Green Bay win on the frozen tundra vs the Lions, and climb further in our rankings. They definitely seem to be getting hot at just the right time, and this late season rally is remarkably similar to their Superbowl winning year. Next they face the Bears, who they made mincemeat of in their first run in.

NFL Predictions: Week 15

Another very average week with a few upsets and a few silly calls. With just 3 weeks left of the regular season I could do with some big results to get my record into better shape.

Week 14 = 9-7

Overall = 131-78

Thursday Night Football

*NOTE* THIS WAS PREDICTED BEFORE THE GAME LAST NIGHT... HONEST*

Bengals @ Eagles

Interesting one as one of these teams won and one lost, but not the way round many expected. Whilst the Bengals failed to win against the Cowboys it was still close, and whenever you have a team pushing for a WC spot this late on you have to back them over one who’s season is all but meaningless.

Dbl Coverage Prediction: Bengals by 7

NFL Power Rankings: Week 13

1.       San Francisco 49ers 8-2-1 (U1)

The Niners are, for me, playing the best football in the league right now. Whether it’s Kaep slinging it downfield against the Bears or their defense taking it to the house twice against the Saints, there are few teams that can match their level of play. Nobody has been perfect this year, but in my opinion they are the Super Bowl favourites right now. Let’s hope they don’t shoot themselves in the foot by over thinking their QB dilemma. The Niners face off with the Rams next, in what is unlikely to be another draw.

2.       Houston Texans 10-1 (D1)

Tough to drop Houston after winning yet another game, but the manner of their last two victories has raised some questions. No doubt they will be a strong force in the playoffs, but I can’t help feeling their luck will run out at just the wrong time. Of course, these rankings aren’t who I think is most likely to win it all, but who would be most dangerous to play in week 13. Next the Texans travel to music city. 

3.       Denver Broncos 8-3 (U1)

The Broncos keep getting it done, and whilst their schedule has been pretty relaxed of late they have a tougher test next in the visiting Buccs. There is no denying Manning is as good as he ever was, and they will fancy their chances of going all the way this year.

4.       New England Patriots 8-3 (U1)

The Patriots just tore the Jets limb from limb, and overlooking (if possible) the hilarious NY miscues it was another confident performance. The fact NE continue to look strong should surprise nobody, and with a trip to Miami next I don’t see any big cracks appearing.

5.       Atlanta Falcons 10-1 (D2)

The Falcons drop, and perhaps unjustly after another win. Not so long ago I was singing their praises as the best team in the league, but there have been some worrying signs lately. They’ve gone from being the recipient of multiple turnovers to the benefactor of them in recent games, but they still have an extremely talented roster. A tough repeat match-up of their only loss this year looms.

If NFL Running Backs Were Girlfriends

The warm reception to our little QB Girlfriends article got us thinking... 

Arizona – LeRod Stephens-Howling: You’ve cast off a number of options already this year before settling on your latest thing. She’s petite and exciting but your friends are worried she won’t last.

Atlanta – Michael Turner: You used to think she was wife material but things are getting a bit stale lately, plus there’s a new girl catching your eye.

Baltimore – Ray Rice: She’s smoking hot and you’re into her, but she gets really needy when you don’t pay her enough attention.

Buffalo – C.J. Spiller: You’ve been seeing this hot new thing behind your wife’s back for a while now, but you’re finally ready to own up and commit to your affair.

Post Superbowl Post and Superbowl Adverts

Due to most of our staff staying up late to watch the Super bowl and perhaps having one too many shandies we will be taking a day off today to recover. Rest assured the normal high quality service will resume tomorrow.

In the mean time take a look at what we think are 10 of the best Superbowl Adverts (clicking the link will open a new window)!

Chevy "Best Gift Ever" - Parents buy their son a gift for graduation, but the son gets the wrong idea!

Doritos - Mans best friend - A dog bribes his owner with Doritos to keep his secret

Chevy Sonic - Stunt Anthem - A video showing various stunts performed with the Sonic. 

Here's an extended version of that kickflip stunt

Teflora - Valentines Night - Adriana Lima. Need I say more?

Avengers - Movie spot. A trailer for the Avengers film, which looks pretty good (and has Scarlett Johansson)!

Fiat 500 Abarth - Another advert with a hot woman. Am I sensing a trend?

Toyota Camry - Reinvented. Various things Toyota have reinvented (I would not want a man couch)

NFL Timeline - An excellent look at the development of American Football from it's beginnings in Canton Ohio

M&Ms "Just my Shell" - Introducing the new brown M&M

Dbl Coverage Announcement: NFL Digest

In the first three months of our short existence, we at Double Coverage have been working hard to bring you the latest and greatest news on American football in the UK and US. Recently though we have been a little neglectful of the US part of this pledge, as we have been focused on improving our UK coverage.

It is with this in mind that we are pleased to announce a partnership with NFL digest, a UK based blog focused entirely on the NFL.

NFL DIGEST

NFL Digest is run by Nathan Sharrocks, a Journalism graduate from Central Lancashire and does work with the Lancashire Academy of American football. He also worked on Inside American Football with Gary Neesam, so has previous experience of writing about the British game as well.

He and his team have been going for a while now and we were so impressed with the quality of the work on the site that we asked to form a partnership with the site.

This means that both sites writers will work together to produce content for both sites, but don't worry, the amount and quality of the work won't drop on either site! NFL Digest will be working under Dbl Coverages Facebook page and will post regular updates linking you to their content, so be sure to like the newly branded page!

We will start with a two week trial period to see if the structure we have arranged will hold in the cold hard light of day, but we have every confidence that we will be working with Nathan and the NFL Digest team for a long time!

In the meanwhile NFL Digest will be using our Facebook page to keep you up to date with their awesome content and articles.

Top 5 NFL teams that we want to see in the International Series

With the recent news that next year’s NFL international series will feature the St Louis Rams and the New England Patriots and that the Rams will feature in the international series during 2013 and 2014, we decided to dedicate this week’s top five on the top five NFL teams we would like to see play over here in Britain.

Note: Teams who have already played in the UK will not be included on the list.

As per usual we mention the teams that just missed the cut.

Atlanta Falcons – Atlanta are the new Indianapolis Colts (win in the regular season, choke in the playoffs). The Falcons surprisingly have a big fan base in the UK so would draw interest from fans involved in Britball. If the NFL does eventually send the Falcons over to play in the international series then they might as well play the Carolina Panthers, which would mean all of the NFC South have visited London (ED: I doubt the NFL or the teams would want to lose a divisional rivalry game though).

Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers have a huge fan base in the UK, so it makes sense for Pittsburgh to come over and play in the UK! Fortunately for the Steelernation fans in the UK, Dan Rooney is the US Ambassador to Ireland and said there’s a possibility that Pittsburgh could play in Ireland, so who knows!?

A Question of Timing

Is it better to be emotional on the sidelines, or the strong silent type? Last night showed the positives of the latter.

Towards the end of the Ravens @ Patriots game the cameras showed a passionate John Harbaugh pushing one of his coaches out of the way to call a time-out that the Ravens could ill afford to waste, at a guess because he didn't like the play call. This disarray on the sidelines would prove to be a harbinger of what was to come.

With only a few minutes left on the clock Ravens offensive coordinator had called his best drive of the season, picking on wide receiver turned defensive back Julian Edelman with Anquan Boldin in the slot (Edelman was responsible for a blown coverage that sprung Boldin down the sideline), but the drive started to stall inside the Patriots red zone and the Ravens unravelled when their goal within their reach.

The first marginally questionable Ravens call came on 2nd and 3 just inside the 15. The Ravens called a pass play that almost came off with receiver Lee Evans having the ball knocked out of his hands by former Raiders practice squad player Sterling Moore. If they had run for the first down (a high percentage play with the Patriots more likely to give up the first down instead of the score) and called a time out they would have had time for a couple of shots with 20 seconds on the clock and even the possibility of spiking the ball if a player came up short.

NFLUK: Announcement about the International Series 2012 due tomorrow!

In an email received today:

-------------------------------------------------

As we head into the final few weeks of the 2011 NFL season I want to thank you, the fans, for making this a very memorable campaign.

While the action in the United States has been full of twists and turns, drama and record-setting levels of play, we have also enjoyed significant growth and created headlines of our own in the United Kingdom. These included:

• Ratings for Sky Sports’ coverage of the NFL increased by 30% year on year

• Red Zone was added to Sky Sports’ coverage and was very popular among our fans.

• Our fifth International Series game was held at Wembley Stadium as the Chicago Bears recorded a 24-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Our fan feedback ratings suggest this was the best-received of our games to date

• Events surrounding that game increased and included the Fan Forum with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the Fan Rally, the Friday Night Lights screening in Trafalgar Square, the UK Talent Camp, Tailgate and the launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for American Football. Those fantastic events featured legends such as Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Jerome Bettis and Brad Johnson and meant there were more ways to enjoy the International Series game and more excitement than ever before

• Television viewing figures rose across all our broadcast partners as more than 6.53 million watched NFL games during the 2011 regular season – an increase of 18% on 2010

The biggest news with regard to the long-term future of the NFL in the United Kingdom came in October when the NFL owners voted to extend the International Series of games played in this country for a further five years.

We are scheduled to make an announcement tomorrow regarding the International Series in 2012 so keep an eye on nfluk.com for that exciting news.

Each year we conduct extensive research with thousands of fans who come to our game and we listen to your feedback. We are trying to incorporate as much of that as possible into our activities in 2012.

The Registry of Interest (ROI) will not take place this year. Having listened to fan feedback after last year’s game we are going to have a trial year without this extra step and will evaluate the success of the new system.Our NFLUK.com database members and forum visitors will still be the first ones to get all the information about ticketing. This will include details of general admission ticket sales, which will be announced in the run-up to Super Bowl XLVI.

So watch this space and keep checking NFLUK.com for news on the International Series in 2012.

I would like to end by thanking each of you for your continued support of the NFL.

Enjoy the remainder of this season’s playoffs on Sky Sports and the BBC!

Alistair Kirkwood.

NFL Play of the Week: Tebow Time

Well, Tebow did it again...

His GM was calling on him during the week to be more aggressive and pull the trigger and on the first play of overtime he threw a perfect spiral that tore a hole in the Pittsburgh secondary. Was this divine intervention, or was this home field advantage really kicking in?

The Broncos came out in a double tight formation and motioned a receiver into the formation. During the game the Steelers had been keying this motion and rolling the safety down to counter the run play it often predicated. Ryan Mundy came charging down into the box to give the Steelers the numbers advantage.

The play action drags in all the linebackers leaving a huge area ehind them for Tebow to get the ball to Thomas. Originally the look given by the secondary was Cover 0 with no safeties high in the middle of the field (after Mundy rolled down into the box). However on the snap both corners take outside leverage on their recivers and start bailing to the hash. This is clearly not supposed to happen with no deep help in the middle of the field.

NFL Week 15 Review

Thursday Night Football

JAC Jaguars lost to ATL Falcons by 27

Original prediction: Atlanta to win by 10.

Despite Maurice Jones-Drew rushing for another 100+ yards, the Jags were unable to stop Matt Ryan on offence (3 passing TD’s) and John Abraham defence (3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles). Leading 27-0 at half time, the Falcons managed to win out comfortable to complete their 4^th straight winning season.

Record = 1-0

Saturday Night Football

DAL Cowboys beat TB Buccaneers by 16

Original prediction: Dallas to win by 12.

Despite playing in December, Tony Romo and the Cowboys managed to win a game when the NFC East title was on the line. With three passing touchdowns and one rushing TD Romo ended the Cowboys two game losing streak and claim the top spot in their respective division. Tampa have now lost eight straight games.

Record = 2-0

6PM GMT Games

MIA Dolphins beat BUF Bills by 7

Original prediction: Miami to win by 9.

The closest prediction so far as Miami beat the Bills by 7 points. Behind the rushing performance of Reggie Bush (203 rushing yards, 1 TD), interim head coach Todd Bowles coaching career got off to a good start with a debut win. Matt Moore continued improving with 2 more passing touchdowns, whilst opposite number Ryan Fitzpatrick continued the poor play since his new contract deal (2 TDs, 3 Ints).

Record = 3-0

SEA Seahawks beat CHI Bears by 24

Original prediction: Seattle to win by 4.

Once again the Bears fell victim to an injury to a key offensive player, this time Johnny Knox. Despite Lynch not rushing for 100 yards, Seattle still managed to dominate Chicago behind the arm of Tavaris Jackson and two pick sixes in the second half. The Seahawks who outscored the Bears 31-0 in the second half still have a slight change of making the playoffs.

Record = 4-0

Dbl Coverage: Christmas Schedule

Remember, if you're not following us on Facebook, you're considerably less cooler than those who do.

The Christmas break is upon us! Normally a time of purgatory for blogs covering British American Football we at Dbl Coverage towers have put our collective brains together and formulated the following features we will be running to keep your hunger for BUAFL and Britball based banter/information/opinion satisfied!

As It Stands: A Feature where we will project the playoffs using the standings as they are now the first half of the season is done. Each game from the Champ Playoffs and Challenge Cup (Plate) playoffs will have it's own fictional game report, which I am sure will lead to much derision/conversation/admiration from many...

The Breakdown: We will take a look at each division in the BUAFL and breakdown how each team has done so far this season and how we expect them to do for the rest of the season. We will shortly be contacting teams for details to fill out this feature, the more detail you give us, the more we can write about you! Rep your team!

Photo Challenge: As many of you will have noticed (and if you haven't you need to like the Facebook page and follow us already) the top of our Facebook page is a barren wasteland. We want to fill it with the top 5 photos from this seasons BUAFL. What we want people to do is to upload their picture to imageshack (with the permission of the tog on your team if you need it) and post the forum link on our Facebook Page.

Then you will need to get everyone you know to vote for your picture! The top 5 pics will  be added to our Facebook page, so if you don't want to see a load of pics of Herts or Brum on there (ED: I can see organised pic bombing and vote rigging on the horizon) you need to get on and REP YOUR TEAM!

We will be launching this during the week, so keep your eyes peeled!

The Powerless Rankings: A look at the bottom  of the BUAFL food chain as we put together our Powerless rankings, otherwise known as the "Lame report". Remember, we didn't put you here, you put you here!

Interviews: Following on from our excellent (Ed: If we do say so ourselves) interview with London Blitz Head Coach Mark Moss, we are currently stocking up on Christmas interviews from around the BUAFL, Britball and European leagues. We have some exciting interviews lined up with some of the big names around the country and will be bringing you their views and opinions on the game at large and how they got into American Football!

College Bowl Predictions: Some of you may be aware that they occasionally play a game of football across the pond. Those of you that are will know the the NCAA Football Bowl season is upon us! We will take a look at each bowl game and try and predict the winners!

Top 5: Our standard Wednesday Top 5 will still run over the Christmas break! We will be looking at the best and worst dressed teams in Britball, as well as the top coaches and players!

Alongside all these features we will be sure to bring you the latest news from around the leagues as well as the results from a heated round table debate on the need (or lack thereof) for a tiered BUAFL.

Keep it locked and follow us on Facebook already!!