First Half Headlines: Guest Post

The following post was written by Cosmos & Cleats' favorite guest blogger and one of my best friends, Jahan. Enjoy his work and follow him on Twitter @jahanfourteen39.

I'M BACK AGAIN! (Not sure if it's by popular demand or sheer fact that Taylor Buckman is too busy going to Game 7's of the World Series to step up and write a post about European football.)

I figured it was time for some more insight on the 1st half of the NFL Season. With the World Series over and the NBA season more than likely not returning until 2012, all eyes of the sporting world will be fixed on the 2nd half of the NFL season.  Sorry NHL, but lets be real here.

 photo via All Posters

I return, ladies, with a little bit of a recap and some predictions for the rest of the season. The NFL season might start in September but it's won in November/December, when we start to see some "real" football weather. Enjoy these 1st half headlines...

- Jim Harbaugh turns the San Francisco 49ers around - 

photo via 49ers

People tend to forget that before the SF Giants had a new baseball stadium, the pulse of Bay Area sports beat with the 49ers. No one expected a 6-1 start (including me), and all I can say is that for the first time in my adult life Sunday's have taken on a whole new level of excitement.  

Now, I am not gonna make any bold predictions on how this season will end up, but the team has a favorable schedule the rest of the way which could lead to an exciting postseason run. Okay, now that I got that off my chest, lets move on.

- Packers stay undefeated and Aaron Rodgers' MVP Campaign -

I have a huge soft spot for #12 of the Green Bay Packers. Hearing announcers always mention that Aaron is from Chico, CA brings not only a smile to my face but a loud and quick "CHICO" yell too. 

He is putting up some insane stats this year and all signs point to the road going through Green Bay if you want a shot at the Super Bowl. Nobody scores more often and faster than the deadly Packers. If the defense tightens up we could be looking at a repeat. Plus, dude has a legit touchdown celebration that has yet to be banned.

- The "Suck for Luck" Campaign continues, but what happens to Peyton? -

photo via Viligant Sports

Miami, St Louis, Indianapolis, Arizona and Denver are all in the hunt for the worst record in the NFL.  The worst record of the season will lead to an amazing prize at the end of the tunnel: Stanford QB Andrew Luck, who everyone has anointed as the next great NFL prospect. 

The interesting foil in this whole matter is what happens if the Indianapolis Colts land him? What happens to their future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning? Trade? Bench? Tutor? We will have to wait and see, but this could create some serious drama heading into the last few weeks of the season.


- The AFC is wide opening heading into the 2nd half -

photo via LA Times

If the playoffs started today things would look very different in the AFC than they have in the past few years. Luckily for this blog's owner there is still a lot of football left to play (cuz San Diego would be at home).

With 11 teams realistically having a chance at the 6 playoff spots its going to be a dogfight to the bitter end. Nobody has proven in the first 8 weeks that they are the team to beat. I picked Baltimore early but they have looked shaky, and New England cant play defense at all.

Now some 2nd half predictions:

NFC Playoff Teams: Green Bay, NY Giants, New Orleans, San Francisco, Detroit(Wild Card), Philadelphia (Wild Card)

AFC Playoff Teams: New England, Houston, Kansas City, Baltimore, Buffalo (Wild Card), Pittsburgh (Wild Card)

Quick side note: There have been some epic Sunday Fundays this season in the Bay Area by myself and good friends of mine.  I won't name names but nice work by all—way to start the week off with a hangover!

Thank you again, Chelsea, for the opportunity. Next will be my NFL Awards—which you won't want to miss.

@jahanfourteen39