Super Bowl

	"The Tout", "The Mouth of Motown" Casey Smith and "Mystic Mona" Share their Super Bowl prognostications!

VS.

The Tout

Mouth of Motown

Casey Smith

Mystic Mona


		Mystic Mona

The MYSTIC One has consulted her crystal ball, what the dice want to predict, the tea leaves, cards and all the omens. This is what she sees for the future of the BIG Game this weekend:

* Patriots will win by at least 10 points

* Giants will score first

* The coin toss will be HEADS

* There will be two interceptions

* Three Fumbles

* The Total Score will be over forty

* The ending score for the Patriots wil be an even number

* The ending score for the Giants will be an even number

Over forty, but Under 54 points. Betting with consideration of the spread, Patriots will win by 10, but I'm picking the Giants for my ticket. Prognostication by Mona is for your Entertainment and Consideration.

Mystic Mona

Casey Smith

And so, here we are. The bittersweet time when we crown a champion, but look forward to 7 straight months of foolish fillers for lack of football. In other words, Sunday's will be no fun until September.

As far as predicting the winner, let me quote my own column in Week 5.
To wit: "I will go out on a limb and say New England could run the table this year.."

I'll stick to that, the Pats will win, but I'm betting on the Giants. The Patriots hardly ever cover the spread in the post season.

Some find it trendy to hate New England because they win a lot. I myself, would love to see history happen and have a 19-0 champion. It sure will be a shock to the 'ol system if New York takes the Lombardi Trophy. Stranger things have happened though.

Patriots 34, Giants 21

Casey Smith

The Tout

More things to ponder, while waiting to make your decision on who to wager on in the Super Bowl, 'day after tomorrow.

As of press time (last night) Tom Brady had only practiced "full out " for a couple of days, but even at 85% or so, Brady might be the best QB to ever lace up a pair of cleats................May Joe M. and Johnny U. please forgive me!

New England averages 36 points per game to the Giants 23 and gives up 17 to New York's 22

After not covering in the first two games of the season against two of the NFL's top ten passing leaders, the Giants have covered against the spread 4 in a row, vs. a top ten QB, including Brady.............

The Giants are 2nd in the NFL in defensive pass completion percentage and 1st in sacks. The Giants are also 11th in over all pass defense.

After losing by 10 points to the Cowboys at Dallas in their 1st game of the season, the Giants have "reeled off" 9 straight road wins, including a 21-17 victory at Dallas in the playoffs................

With the above in mind, to determine the game winner and the over/under of Sundays' game, I used data analysis that distinguished between the interval and ratio properties of the stats (eat your heart out, Mouth)......... Or maybe I just flipped a coin.

At any rate, it looks like New England by 13½ points and under 54 (would you believe 35-17?)

And finally, the final Star picks

½ Under 54

½ New England -12½

Good Luck - Enjoy the game

The Tout


	"The Mouth of Motown"

Normally at this time of year I talk about the Stupor (sic) Bowl. I caution my readers that its just another game and should be treated as such, especially for betting purposes. But this is no normal year and can not be treated as such. This is a season unlike any in the history of the NFL and a Super Bowl that warrants (finally) all the hoopla and media nonsense which accompany it. Even I'm excited at the possibility of the Patriots opportunity to be the first NFL team in history to finish 19-0 on their way to the title and I literally can't wait to watch the game. Betting it for some reason seems totally unnecessary, I'll be on the edge of my chair anyway. Many have already dubbed them the greatest team in history and they may well be right. I for one don't think its fair to compare players or teams from different eras, but I do know this. On Sunday, February 3,2008 45 very proud New England Patriots will take the field with a chance to cement their place in history and I don't expect them to be denied. I don't think it matters how well the Giants play or how Eli Manning rises to the occasion; I don't think it matters whether Brady plays the perfect game or throws three interceptions I fully expect them to get the job done. Whether they cover the seemingly inflated spread or not will have little significance down the road, and even less for me on game day. For one day in my life I just want to be a fan and enjoy the moment. Hope you all do the same.

The Mouth of Motown

Stats from the NFL season

New York Giants - Team Statistics
	Giants	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS	321	288
FIRST DOWNS (Rushing-passing-by penalty)	119 - 167 - 35	83 - 185 - 20
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS	91/219	73/211
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS	6/17	10/16
TOTAL OFFENSIVE YARDS	5302	4880
OFFENSE (Plays-Average Yards)	1041 - 5.1	984 - 5.0
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS	2148	1563
RUSHING (Plays-Average Yards)	469 - 4.6	408 - 3.8
TOTAL PASSING YARDS	3154	3317
PASSING (Comp-Att-Int-Avg)	302 - 544 - 20 - 6.2	306 - 523 - 15 - 7.0
SACKS	53	28
FIELD GOALS	23/27	21/29
TOUCHDOWNS	44	41
(Rushing-Passing-Returns-Defensive)	15 - 23 - 1 - 5	12 - 24 - 1 - 4
TIME OF POSSESSION	31:21	28:38
TURNOVER RATIO	-9



New England Patriots - Team Statistics
	Patriots	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS	393	278
FIRST DOWNS (Rushing-passing-by penalty)	124 - 243 - 26	91 - 172 - 15
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS	92/191	63/187
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS	15/21	11/20
TOTAL OFFENSIVE YARDS	6580	4613
OFFENSE (Plays-Average Yards)	1058 - 6.2	933 - 4.9
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS	1849	1572
RUSHING (Plays-Average Yards)	451 - 4.1	360 - 4.4
TOTAL PASSING YARDS	4731	3041
PASSING (Comp-Att-Int-Avg)	403 - 586 - 9 - 8.3	314 - 526 - 19 - 6.4
SACKS	47	21
FIELD GOALS	21/24	12/14
TOUCHDOWNS	75	34
(Rushing-Passing-Returns-Defensive)	17 - 50 - 2 - 6	7 - 23 - 1 - 3
TIME OF POSSESSION	32:30	27:24
TURNOVER RATIO	+16



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