Local prognosticators lean toward Pats

Most of the point spread gurus have the New England Patriots as the favorites to win this year’s Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, and our local prognosticators are no different, as six of the Enlightened Eight have opted for the boys from bean town.

Tom Brady and company made one heck of a run this year, finishing 14-2 with only a fluke loss to the lowly Dolphins in Miami and an off game in Heinz Field to the Steelers marring their record. Donovan Mc Nabb and the Eagles finish 13-3, and despite losing to the Steelers midway through the season, they have won every game on the schedule that has counted.

The question now is whether or not the Eagles will be able to soar to glory without flashy wide receiver Terrell Owens. They proved that they can get it done by winning convincingly over the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but this might well be the first true test against a complete team since the loss to Pittsburgh.

Apparently Philly receiver Freddie Mitchell isn’t to worried about the Patriots’ defense, as he recently admitted to not knowing the names of the New England defensive backs in an interview with Dan Patrick of ESPN. Mitchell continued to say that he has “something” for Pats safety Rodney Harrison.

Mitchell is a humorous guy, and while talking smack may work for marquee athletes like T.O., third string wideouts who finish the regular season with 22 catches for 377 yards don’t need to give opponents a reason to key on themselves. I mean, c’mon Freddie, do you even want to catch a ball in the biggest game of your career? I’m all for a little clowning around, but I don’t have to run patterns over the middle of field against a defending champ’s defense.

The Patriots have been keeping things pretty tight lipped saying that they are focused on winning the Lombardi trophy and not a war of words. As polished as the Pats seem to be, the trash talking appears to have had an effect on them. Injured cornerback Ty Law let slip a few words of warning for Mitchell in an interview this week—uncharacteristic of a Belichik coached player. Law isn’t playing, but his attitude must surely reflect that of his teammates.

The local team doesn’t seem fazed by the talk, as most of the Saipan contingent has sided with the Patriots. As it stands, Cassie, Chris, Jon, Jessie, and Jennifer have posted the best records through the playoffs at 6-4, while Rich, Nina, and Big Tuna posted even marks of 5-5. The big shock was the regular season’s champ landing a 4-6 record in the postseason, and even he couldn’t foretell the 3-7 finish of the chairman of the CFL board.