Classless and hilarious? Qualities we love.

Ok, it’s about time The Machine chimed in on Sherman-gate.  Unless you’re a foreigner or an MLS fan, you know the story:  Seahawks clinging to a 6 point lead, Niners driving down the field for what felt like an inevitable game winning touchdown (why did they stop running Kap in the second half?).  Kap throws a fade to Crabtree, Sherman tips the ball, Malcolm Smith intercepts it.  Game over. Seattle’s on their way to the Super Bowl.  And then the crazy began.

Sherman, who’s had a long running feud with Michael Crabtree, had one of the most infamous post-game interviews of all-time.  Take a look: 

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and this one

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Richard Sherman instantly became public enemy number one…and instantly set himself up for a crazy media day at the Super Bowl.  He’s been labled classless, a thug, an arrogant athlete with no respect for the game.  We’ve watched the tape, incessantly over the last week, and we can finally conclude the following:  Greatest.  Post-game Interview.  Ever.

That’s right, we love it.  For many reasons.  Hear us out.

It’s refreshing.  How many bland, dry, cookie-cutter post-game interviews do you see that sound like this:  “First and foremost, I want to thank our lord and savior Jesus Christ, and my teammates and the fans!”  Yeah, because JC’s a huge football fan.  These interviews are boring, predictable, and lame.

When you make this play, you get to talk.

Sherman was different.  It was raw, honest, brash…and amazing.  And it was set up perfectly.  It’s not a well-kept secret that Sherman and Crabtree have an ongoing feud that started at a charity softball event a year ago (of course).  So to be in the NFC Championship Game, 4^th quarter, matched up against your arch enemy…and you make the play that sends your team to the Super Bowl…it doesn’t get sweeter than that.

Oh, but it does get sweeter.  Sherman, a Stanford grad, was coached in college by Jim Harbaugh, now coach of the Niners.  Sherman also has beef with his old coach, who he admittedly has no relationship with and perhaps blames for falling all the way to the 5^th Round in the Draft.

So, you beat your old college coach, your team’s biggest rival, and your biggest enemy.  The odds of those things lining up are so slim…so why not take full advantage of it?

And Sherman didn’t take advantage of the situation as much as he just let his emotions out, in the most purest way possible, without all the bullshit clichés and praise to God and mom. 

And let’s get a couple other things out too.  First, it’s hard to really paint the Niners as victims in this situation, they hate (and talked as much trash to) the Seahawks as Sherman did.  Do you think if Crabtree caught that pass he’d walk up to Sherman and say, “good game”?  Hell no.  Let’s not forget it’s the same Niners team that mocked Cam Newton by doing the Superman endzone celebration the week before.  They’re not really a sympathetic bunch.

And, can we stop with the whole “he’s a thug/disrespecting the game/why do these kids have to trash talk/this didn’t happen why I was growing up” bullshit?  We’re all a bit nostalgic about “our” era of sports…it’s why (old) people want to condemn A-Rod and Bonds but condone Willie Mays and the 1970’s Pittsburgh Steelers.  It’s completely revisionist history.  Just because you see something new, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened before.

THUGLIFE

Want to know who one of the biggest trash talkers in all of sports is?  Larry Bird, who was recently voted the #2 trash talker of all time.  That’s right, the pride of French Lick, Indiana…where thugs are born.  But with Larry (and all players from earlier generations) the difference is you hear these stories second and third hand (Larry’s trash talking stories are awesome, btw).  Nowadays, with players mic’d up and cameras all over the field, you get to hear it first-hand.

Sherman didn’t do anything new…he just elevated trash talking to a new level by addressing it directly the American public.  Trash talking isn’t a thug thing…it’s a competitive thing.  And the best in the business are the most competitive, so let’s not be surprised that they also talk the most shit.  Note:  if you’re going to tell your dad that Richard Sherman’s a modern-day Larry Bird, you better sit him down first. 

NFL should’ve fined him more for that suit.

Where we do think he crossed the line was during his post-game press conference, where he continued to pile it on.  Once you got your point across on the field (multiple times), and had time to reflect, take a shower, throw on a ridiculous bow tie, that’s when some humility should set in.  Continuing to bash Crabtree at that point was too much. 

Anyway, The Machine will take Sherman’s heat of the moment, off the cuff remarks, which for being spur of the moment was pretty funny, over some canned speech or choreographed endzone celebration any day of the week.  This is a joke, right?

Alright, we’ve suffered five days with no football (sorry, the NBA just doesn’t fill the void) but now we got a weekend full of football.  Let’s get right to Saturday’s action.

Brees v. Beastmode

New Orleans at Seattle (-8)

As a general rule, you pick the Saints when they’re underdogs.  As an absolute, you pick the Saints when they’re getting more than a touchdown.  Look, I get the 12^th man thing, loudest stadium in the league thing, blah, blah, blah.  But I can’t really see the Saints losing by more than a touchdown.  In fact, this Ginger likes the Saints chances to win outright.  New Orleans got over the road playoff hump last week in Philly, and Sean Payton will have his team ready to roll. But it’s certainly not going to be an easy task…and the cards certainly favor the Seahawks.

These teams played each other last month (in Seattle), and the Seahawks smoked the Saints 34-7.  Now, Seattle’s had a week to get healthy, and Percy Harvin’s back.  Plus, the Legion of Boom, led by Richard Sherman, the best corner in the game (sorry Revis) will make things tough for Drew Brees to air it out.  But the Saints have shown that they can run a balanced offense, and, if Seattle’s D has any weakness, it’s defending the run. 

This game is going to be close, even more reason to love the Saints getting 8.  And if you need another reason, Vegas Vinny picked Seattle to cover.  And while we wait for what we think is going to be the game of the weekend, let’s marvel at Beastmode’s epic run the last time these teams met in the playoff:

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Indy at New England (-7)

Gisele won’t let me grow a beard.

In the night cap, Andrew Luck and the Colts take on dreamboat Tom Brady and the Patriots.  Indy’s a tough team to gauge.  At times, they play like a team that has no business being in the playoffs, like when then spotted Kansas City 28 points (at home) last week.  At other times, they play with the resilience of champions, like when they came back against Kansas City down 28 (in the third quarter)!  This Jekyll and Hyde approach will come to an end in New England.

It’s tough picking against New England at home, despite our deep hatred of all things Boston.  Plus (conspiracy theory alert!) there’s no way the NFL lets the Pats lose.  The AFC Championship Game will be New England and Denver.  Brady v. Manning for the right to go to the Super Bowl.  The NFL (yes, the entire NFL) has a hard on to make that happen. 

Conspiracy theory aside, the matchups favor New England.  The Pats have the advantage in experience, veteran leadership, and coaching.  No Gronk?  No problem.  Brady will use Julian Edelman in the slot more.  And don’t underestimate New England’s running game.  It’s actually quite good…good enough for 9^th in the league at nearly 130 yards a game.

The Colts have made great strides this year, but they’re a year or so off from making a deep run in the post season.  New England, on the other hand, needs to win now before the light on their dynasty turns off.  It’s that sense of urgency that will propel the Pats to victory.

Finally, the playoffs are here!  College Bowl games have provided us a nice appetizer for the main event.  If history tells us anything, your Super Bowl Champion is playing this weekend.  The last three Super Bowl Champs (Baltimore, NYG, Green Bay) were Wildcard Weekend Warriors.  So who will win the Super Bowl?  Whoa, slow your roll, son…The Machine likes a little foreplay every now and then.  Let’s start with Saturday’s wildcard matchups.

Potential blackout looming???

Kansas City at Indy (-1)

Is anyone excited about this game?  It seems not, as Indy is having a tough time selling tickets.  How is it possible that this game (or any playoff game) would not be sold out???  As it stands, the Colts have until 4:35 pm today to sell the remaining 3,000 tickets to avoid a blackout.  How can you not sell out a playoff game?  Is watching Alex “Game Manager” Smith that bad?  Perhaps folks are still pissed at Trent Richardson for ruining their fantasy season.  The Machine’s guess:  those tickets get sold, and no blackout.  There are also unsold tickets in Cincy and Green Bay.  Interesting…

Anyway, back to the game.  This is a repeat of a Week 16 matchup, where Indy played at KC and completely dominated the Chiefs, winning 23-7.  The Colts are an interesting team.  They’ve had some inexplicable losses (blowouts to St. Louis and Arizona) and seem to struggle to find an offensive identity.  However, winners of 4 of their last 5, they are getting hot at the right time.

While Andy Reid is a lock for coach of the year, he faces a tough task on Saturday.  Injuries are starting to mount up for the Chiefs…Tamba Hali and Eric Fisher are likely out, and the statuses of Dwayne Bowe, Justin Houston, and Brandon Albert are murky.  Even if all (or some) play, they won’t be at 100%.  Notwithstanding, Jamaal Charles and Alex Smith will keep this game competitive, but Indy will be too tough.

Prediction:  The Machine likes Indy to cover, and we’ll take the over on crazy Irsay tweets.

Does Chip Kelly have special playoff smoothies?

New Orleans at Philly (-2.5)

For sure the marquee game of the day, Drew Brees and the Saints march into Philly to face the NFC East Champion Philadelphia Eagles.  This is a really tough game to predict.  All of a sudden, Chip Kelly is back to having a gimmicky revolutionary offense.  But is his defense enough to compete with the gun and gun offense of the Saints?  Also, Philly was a dismal 4-4 at home this year.  Fortunately for them, the Saints were even more atrocious on the road, going 3-5 (compared to a perfect 8-0 at home).  The Saints are also 0-5 all-time in road playoff games.

The real equalizer here will be the weather.  With gametime temperatures in the 20’s, the weather will be the best player on Chip Kelly’s revolutionary gimmicky defense.  Philly has shown that it can play in the cold, playing in that memorable snow game against Detroit earlier this year.

Also, they have Shady McCoy, the NFL’s leading rusher, and the game’s best offensive line.  And Nick Foles has been on fire, throwing for 21 tds and only 2 ints in his last 8 games (not surprisingly, the Eagles were 7-1 over that stretch).

The Saints are an offensive juggernaut, and Rob Ryan has greatly improved their defense (do you hear that, Jerrah?).  On paper, the edge goes to the Saints.  It’s hard to think that, even with the weather, Drew Brees and co. will not find a way to exploit Philly 32^nd (yes, dead last) ranked passing defense (told you it’s gimmicky). 

Prediction:  As much as it pains us to write this, The Machine likes the Eagles to prevail.  Running will come at a premium, and Philly is the number 1 rushing team in the league (Saints are 25^th). 

At 53.5 points, we’re still fans of the over.  Actually, for those betting enthusiasts, tease the Saints with the over. 

Enjoy the games, and check back with us for our analysis of Sunday’s games.