History Making

Can you truly be described as "going out on a limb" when the team you're picking to win the Super Bowl has won 3 of the last 5 Super Bowls, is the betting favorite to win another one this season, and has arguably the best quarterback and best coach in the league? That hardly sounds like going out on a limb to me. Putting your money on the favorite? That's about as safe as it gets in betting. But in this case my crystal ball, aka CB2, really is going out on that limb in its forecast for the 2024 season .... because in this case CB2 is predicting something that has never been done before.

The confetti had barely stopped falling at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas 7 months ago, after the Kansas City Chiefs had just become the NFL's first repeat champion in 19 years with their thrilling 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58, when thoughts began to turn to the most obvious question: Can the Chiefs do it again? Can they become the first team ever to win 3 Super Bowls in a row?

Close Only Counts .....

How does that old saying go? Right. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Or something like that. Maybe it counts in curling and darts too. But close certainly does not count for anything in the NFL. Being close in the NFL means nothing but frustration and disappointment for teams and a whole lot of heartbreak and heartburn for their fans. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers.

Once upon a time the Buffalo Bills were the NFL's poster child for coming close. You can't get much closer than losing the Super Bowl .... 4 years in a row. But that was a long time ago. And although the Bills still give their fans plenty of heartbreak nowadays, you'd have to say there's a new sheriff in town when it comes to disappointing endings. And that sheriff's name is, of course, the 49ers.

2022 NFL House Calls - Part 1

Another NFL season has already come and gone, and yet another is about to begin; and having watched and enjoyed many of the games of the 2023 season but not yet viewed a box score/game book from any of them, I have no idea how many touchdowns were scored by players with dreads and who scored them. I could only guess. But I most certainly can tell you which player with dreads had the most TD during the 2022 season. Hint: you're looking right at him. 

After the scoring free-for-all that was the 2020 season, the defense struck back the next 2 years. Even with 16 more games played in 2021 (with the change from a 16 to 17-game schedule) the total number of touchdowns leaguewide dropped by 50 - from a most-ever 1473 in 2020 to 1423. And then in 2022 the total plunged all the way down to 1315 - the fewest in a season since 2017. Despite that plunge the percentage of touchdowns scored by players with dreads remained above 20% for the 2nd straight season. 272 touchdowns were scored by players with dreads in 2022, with that number equaling 20.7% of all touchdowns scored - not too big of a drop from 21.1% in 2021. 78 different players accounted for the 272 TD, numbers lower than the 82 players and record 300 TD in 2021.