OK, first a long-overdue record update.
| Mike | Al | |
| Week 14 | 12-4 | 7-9 |
| Week 15 | 5-10-1 | 7-8-1 |
| Week 16 | 5-10-1 | 9-6-1 |
| Week 17 | 7-7-2 | 6-8-2 |
| Bowls | 7-7 | 5-9 |
| Wild Card | 3-1 | 2-2 |
| Divisional | 3-1 | 2-2 |
| Conference Finals | 0-2 | 0-2 |
By virtue of my best week of the entire season, Week 14, I closed the gap a little tiny bit. When I last updated, I was down by 20 games. The current standings are 131-141-5 to 150-125-5, so hey, I’m only 19 games behind now! Ugh. Yeah, so Al wins the season, which we’ve known since, what, Week 6? Note that if Al was actually playing against Vegas, he’d have cleaned up this season.
So, even though it’s entirely academic at this point:
Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints(+5)
I, of course, hate the Colts and am also obligated to root for the great story that is the Saints’ season. However, I’m not sure that’s a rational pick. I mean, really, the Colts are just better. However, the Freeny thing is big, and then there’s the other injury everyone is not talking about, Powers, the Colts’ DB who’s out and whose replacement got torched by Braylon Edwards (who even managed to not drop the ball) in the conference final. The Saints will put up some serious points in this game, since they can also run the ball (which nobody is talking about). The Colts will be one-dimensional… but that hasn’t really been an issue all season, so why start worrying now? My guess here is that this will be a complete shootout, which is exactly what the NFL wants anyway. My only meaningful thought here is that the over/under is a mere 57 and that I’d feel pretty good about taking the over, since that’s not even 30 points per team, and both teams should easily hit that. Yeah, so, that’s still not a pick. Frankly, I have no idea. I mean, really, look at my record for the season, I’m 10 games under .500… I obviously have no idea. OK, let me think about what my reaction to various outcomes would be: (1) Colts narrow victory. That is, I think, the expected outcome. (2) Saints narrow victory. That sounds good, I’m rooting for that, and it’s maybe even plausible. (3) Colts blow out the Saints. I’d be disappointed to see that, but not surprised. (4) Saints blow out the Colts…. yeah, I don’t see that one at all. Well, that settles it then, I’m taking the Colts and giving the five points.
But I’ll be rooting for the Saints—and so should everyone not in Indy, frankly. And secretly, though he’d never admit this, not even to himself, Archie Manning probably is, too. It means everything to New Orleans and next to nothing to Indy, since they just got one and will most certainly be in the running next year, too, which might not be true for the Saints.