With the 2011 NFL Season over I decided to take a look at the pre-season predictions I made back in August.

In the beginning we have the award predictions and actual winners followed by my team and playoff predictions and the actual outcomes.

Some I did pretty well with, some not so much.  Take a look, have a laugh and we will do it again next year.

NFL Coach of the Year

Predicted: Mike Munchak, Tennessee Titans

Actual: Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers

NFL MVP

Predicted: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Actual: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Predicted: Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

Actual: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Predicted: Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots

Actual: Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

Predicted: A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

Actual: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

Predicted: Nick Fairley, Detroit Lions

Actual: Von Miller, Denver Broncos

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Back in August I made my predictions about the New England Patriots 2011 season schedule and how they would fare in the season.  Below are the predictions along with the actual result.

I’m proud of myself I did pretty well.  I plan on having my NFL season recap published shortly as well.

Week 1 September 12 @Miami 7p MNF ESPN

Prediction: Football is officially back; Patriots squish the Fish 35-6.

Actual: Patriots 38-24

Week 2 September 18 SAN DIEGO 4:15p CBS

Prediction: Chargers always have a tough time in Foxboro; Pats win 31-21.

Actual: Patriots 35-21

Week 3 September 25 @Buffalo 1p CBS

Prediction: The streak continues; Patriots rout Bills 38-10.

Actual: Bills 34-31

Week 4 October 2 @Oakland 4:15p CBS

Prediction: Go west get into a battle; lose to Raiders 28-24.

Actual: Patriots 31-19

Week 5 October 9 NY JETS 4:15p CBS

Prediction: Rebound nicely to beat Jets at home 24-21.

Actual: Patriots 30-21

Week 6 October 16 DALLAS 4:15p FOX

Prediction: Cowboys do not look good on the road; Patriots win 31-17.

Actual: Patriots 20-16

Week 7 October 23 BYE WEEK

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Even with a Super Bowl loss the season was pretty successful.  As I said in the recap after the game the team needs to make some changes and I’m sure they will make every effort to improve.

They need a deep threat wide receiver, help at linebacker and in the secondary.  I did omit the fact that Ras-I Dowling will return next season after spending most of his rookie year on the IR.  He should help the secondary immensely.  If you recall he had a nice game Week 1 at Miami but then couldn’t stay on the field.

That’s pretty much it for me I’m not going rehash the season or the game, I’m past it already and I am enjoying some fried chicken and a beer waiting for baseball season.

I really think that’s why this doesn’t bother me so much is that at least the Patriots players cared about each other and played for each other and their coaches, something that didn’t happen at Fenway last September.

Up next for the team is a review of the staff and players, then the combine is soon, followed by free agency and the draft.

We will have all the pertinent information here at Sox and Dawgs.  From Ian and myself, thanks for reading this season.

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First off, congratulations to the New York Giants and their fans that was yet another great game between these two teams and I don’t know what else the New England Patriots have to do to win one of these games but I’d like them to figure it out.

Secondly this Super Bowl loss doesn’t hurt as much as the loss in Super Bowl XLII for a lot of reasons.  Mainly this team was no where near as good as that one and they got carried by a handful of different guys through the season.

Different players picked up the ball at different times and got the team to a 13-3 regular season and past Denver and a very tough Baltimore team in the AFC Playoffs.

But they just were not able to get past the New York Giants for the third time in a row and the second time in a Super Bowl.

The New England Patriots will be back again next year as they are every year.  They’ll have a new offensive coordinator, who is the old offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Hopefully they’ll have a defensive coordinator seeing as Matt Patricia already has most of those responsibilities already.

On offense they need a deep threat receiver, someone along the lines of what Randy Moss gave them.  I’m not sure if there’s another Moss out there, but someone who could become some of what he was would be nice.  And they need to sign Wes Welker to a nice contract.  If they can’t come to terms he will surely be franchised keeping him here under the CBA rules on a one-year deal.

Defensively they need secondary help.  Kyle Arrington, Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty are here to stay after that who knows, although Sterling Moore appears to be a workable piece.  I think they also need some linebacker help as well.  After Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes and Rob Ninkovich they aren’t very deep.  It’s hard to keep relying on special teams players to play in big situations at linebacker and in the secondary.

The team had a good season while I had predicted them preseason to win the Super Bowl as the season progressed as I wasn’t so sure of that based on the play of the defense.  They were still able to will themselves to the Big Game and based on how this franchise is built after 5 Super Bowl trips in 11 seasons I don’t expect it that to change much in the future.

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Super Bowl Gamebook. This includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Super Bowl Game Recap via ESPN and AP.

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Are you looking to rewatch your favorite commercials from Super Bowl 46 that was held on Sunday night in Indianapolis, IN between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. If you are, look no further as you can find them all below.

Let us know in the comments which one was your favorite. I can honestly say I was disappointed in them this year. The only that reallly made me laugh out loud was the E*Trade one..

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NY Giants Super Bowl Championship Merchandise

Congratulations to the New York Giants and it's fans on their Super Bowl XLVI win over the New England Patriots.

Be sure to get your NY Giants Super Bowl XLVI championship merchandise.

Here are our predictions for who will win Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday night between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. We will also give our picks for who we think wins the Super Bowl XLVI MVP.

Ian: New England Patriots 34 New York Giants 23

Coming off of a great defensive effort against the Ravens in the AFC Championship, I think the Patriots defense will step up again in this one.

MVP: TE Aaron Hernandez

With Rob Gronkowski seemingly healthy, I think the Giants will be focused on him as well as Wes Welker leaving Hernandez open for Tom Brady to find and put up some great numbers.

Steve: New England Patriots 30 New York Giants 28

The game will be a tight battle with teams pretty much answering each other when they score.  In the 4th quarter the Giants forge a small lead only to see it vaporize in the final seconds on Patriots field goal.

MVP: WR Chad Ochocinco, New England

You see that right.  Something tells me he could very well be a house on fire on Sunday and if he is it will be spectacular.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII.

The New England Patriots made a roster move on Saturday, just 24 hours before Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants.

In what to some seems like a shocking move, the Patriots cut WR Tiquan Underwood and signed DE Alex Silvestro from the practice squad.  The move was not disciplinary in nature and was made to give New England depth on the defensive line as the game goes deeper.

Look at the move this way, by cutting Underwood now, he was able to spend the entire week in Indianapolis with his teammates and family.  He got to be involved in all the team and league activities, he is in the team picture and should New England win on Sunday, he will surely be awarded a ring for his contributions this season.

While to many it seems like a cold and heartless move by Bill Belichick, it really should be looked at as a reward by doing it now.  Belichick could have cut him a week ago and left him in Foxboro but he came along was part of the team.  Tomorrow will be no different for him then if he were inactive and not dressing.

I’m sure Underwood is disappointed, personally and professionally, but he is a professional and went on Twitter and made these statements:

“This Is Nothing But MOTIVATION…I Been Thru A LOT…But There Are Ppl in This World w/More Serious Problems So I Can’t Hang The Head…Thank You Lord.  Good Luck to The New England Organization, The Coaches, & All My Teammates.”

For those out there who are saying the Giants should claim Underwood, they can't. They'll have to wait until Monday when he clears waivers.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

The Professional Football Hall of Fame made the call for Curtis Martin on Saturday making him the 29th modern-era running back to be elected to Canton,

Martin, a 3rd round pick by the New England Patriots in 1995 out of the University of Pittsburgh, spent his first three seasons with the Patriots.  In 1995 he was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and following the 1996 season he played in his lone Super Bowl, a Patriots loss to Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXI.

After playing for New England in 1997, he left as a free agent signing with the rival New York Jets, rejoining his former Patriots coach Bill Parcells in the Meadowlands.  He was a restricted free agent and signed a six-year, $36 million contract, which New England declined to match.

In his first seven years in New York, he missed just one game allowing him to rush for 1,000 yards or more in each of his first 10 NFL seasons.

Martin finished his career with 14,101 rushing yards, fourth all-time and 90 TD’s.  He was a 5-time Pro Bowl selection and a 5-time All-Pro.  He is a recipient of the NFL’s Ed Block Courage Award, FedEx Ground Player of the Year, Bart Starr Man of the Year Award and is in the New York Jets Ring of Honor.

After saying many times, “don’t put him in the Hall of Fame just yet”, Bill Parcells, Martin’s former coach, will get to exactly that as he will present him for induction on August 4 in Canton OH. Others being inducted that day will be Jack Butler, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy and Willie Roaf.

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Photo credit: NESN.com

So said Giants.com earlier on Saturday afternoon as it publicized sales for the Super Bowl winning t-shirts, hats and other items.

Intrepid Patriots fan, Jeff Frias, caught the site, made a screen grab and passed it on to the Boston media.  For good measure, I sent it to the Patriots.

I’d bet my private parts that Bill Belichick has this item in his possession and will mention it this evening at the team meeting.  He is a master motivator and prior to Super Bowl XXXVI he used the Rams victory parade announcement and route to tweak his team.

I leave you with this from Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez’s Twitter account. “One more day until they let me out of my cage.”

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Photo credit: Jeff Frias @SOURCE_FRIAS