NFL Predictions: 2025-2026

 As always, remember that I am a casual fan who really doesn't know what he's talking about.  

Rather that be a fan of one team, I pick a different NFL team to root for every year.  Last year, it was Detroit; the year before, it was Buffalo.  But this year, I can't really find a team that I'm really rooting for.  I think I'm not going to root for one particular team this year.

Which is probably a good thing, because, going by what I think and believe... the team that I believe will win the Super Bowl is, quite frankly, my least favorite team in sports.  It's the one I most enjoy seeing lose.  ANd the idea that they'll win the Super Bowl makes me feel awful.  But I also think it's likely to happen.

I hope I'm wrong.

Please be wrong, please be wrong, please be wrong...

NFC

East:

Philadelphia   12-5

Washington   10-7 (Wild Card)

NY Giants   7-10

Dallas   5-12

North:

Detroit   12-5

Green Bay   11-6 (Wild Card)

Minnesota   9-8

Chicago   8-9

South:

Tampa Bay   11-6

Atlanta   9-8

Carolina   7-10

New Orleans   3-14

West:

Seattle   10-7  

San Francisco   9-8 (Wild Card)

Los Angeles Rams   9-8

Arizona   7-10

Playoffs:

Green Bay over Seattle

Philadelphia over San Francisco

Tampa Bay over Washington

Tampa Bay over Philadelphia\

Detroit over Green Bay

Detroit over Tampa Bay

AFC

East:

Buffalo   13-4

New England   9-8

NY Jets   7-10

Miami   7-10

North:

Baltimore   12-5

Pittsburgh   10-7 (Wild Card)

Cincinnati   8-9

Cleveland  4-13

South:

Houston   10-7

Jacksonville   8-9

Indianapolis   5-12

Tennessee   5-12

West:

Denver   11-6

Kansas City   10-7 (Wild Card)

Los Angeles Chargers   9-8 (Wild Card)

Las Vegas   5-12

Playoffs:
Baltimore over Los Angeles Chargers

Kansas City over Denver

Pittsburgh over Houston

Baltimore over Pittsburgh

Buffalo over Kansas City

Baltimore over Buffalo 



Super Bowl: Baltimore 31, Detroit 27

(This hurts me...)

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 10- Animals

  

Roger Waters takes over the group- for better and worse...

Album:  Animals

Year Released:    1977

Lineup:

P

ink Floyd

• David Gilmour – lead vocals (track 2), vocal harmonies (track 2), electric rhythm and lead guitar (tracks 2–4), acoustic guitar (track 2), bass guitar (tracks 3–4), sound effects (track 3)
• Nick Mason – drums (tracks 2–4), cowbell (track 3), vocoder (track 4)
• Roger Waters – lead vocals (all tracks), vocal harmonies (tracks 2–3), rhythm guitar (track 4), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 5), bass guitar (track 2), EMS VCS 3 (tracks 3–4)
• Richard Wright – keyboards (tracks 2, 4), Hammond organ (track 3), ARP Solina (track 3), piano (track 3), Clavinet (track 3), Minimoog (track 3), EMS VCS 3 (tracks 3–4), vocal harmonies (track 2)

Additional musicians

• Snowy White – guitar solo (on 8-track version of "Pigs on the Wing")

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Pigs on the Wing (Part One)"                           1:24

2.     "Dogs"                                                                       17:04

Total length: 18:28

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

3. "Pigs (Three Different Ones)"                                  11:28

4. "Sheep                                                                  10:20

5. "Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)"                                  1:24

Total length: 23:12

Album Length:  41:40

Overall Thoughts:

With "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here", Pink Floyd hit a formula which was very successful- themed albums with lyrics written by Roger Waters and musically played out by David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason.

"Animals", the tenth studio album, had two significant tweaks to the formula.  First, David Gilmour had become a father for the first time, reducing his influence in the album.  Secondly, Roger Waters became much more angry and bitter in his lyrics.

"Dark Side of the Moon" focussed on issues that drove people mad- money, time, pressure.  "Wish You Were Here" was half a tribute to Syd Barrett, and half sarcastic jabs on the music industry.  The songs were alternatively snarky and sad- Roger Waters using music to work through the stages of grief.

On "Animals", he reached the 'anger' stage.  Compare the lyrics from 'Money' on "Dark Side of the Moon":

Money, get away.

Get a good job with good pay and you're okay.

Money, it's a gas.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.

New car, caviar, four star daydream,

Think I'll buy me a football team.

Now read the lyrics of 'Dogs' from "Animals":

And after a while, you can work on points for style

Like the club tie, and the firm handshake

A certain look in the eye, and an easy smile

You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to

So that when they turn their backs on you

You'll get the chance to put the knife in.

It's angrier, uglier and violent.  Bitterness can be useful in songs but it's like salt in a dish:  A little can be very helpful, but too much overwhelms and destroys the work.  

And Waters' targets?  Capitalism and the Church ("Sheep").  And he doesn't say anything interesting about his attacks- certainly nothing that hasn't been said 1,000 times before.

The music makes the album better.  Gilmour, Wright, and Mason create art with their instruments, even as they seemed to have less influence on the writing of the album.  I would have enjoyed this album much more if it had been instrumentals on all of the tracks.

I would love to tell you that Waters got all of his anger out of his system with this album.  Spoiler- that doesn't happen...

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Dark Side of the Moon
3. Meddle
4. A Saucerful of Secrets
5. Obscured by Clouds
6. Ummagumma
7. Animals
8. More
9. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
10. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Wish You Were Here", Wish You You Were Here
2. "Money", Dark Side of the Moon
3. "Us and Them", Dark Side of the Moon
4. "Welcome to the Machine", Wish You Were Here
5. "Time", Dark Side of the Moon
6. "Fearless", Meddle
7. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)", Wish You Were Here
8. "The Great Gig in the Sky", Dark Side of the Moon
9. "Have a Cigar", Wish You Were Here
10. "Brain Damage", Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 09- Wish You Were Here

 

Pink Floyd hits a second homer out of the park...

Album:  Wish You Were Here

Year Released:    1975

Lineup:

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – lead vocals (tracks 2, 4), vocal harmonies (tracks 1–2, 4–5), electric lead guitar (1, 3, 5), electric rhythm guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 4), Twelve-string guitar (track 4), pedal steel guitar (tracks 4–5), bass (track 5), EMS VCS 3 (tracks 2–3)
• Nick Mason – drums (tracks 1, 3–5), timpani (track 2), cymbals (track 2)
• Roger Waters – lead vocals (tracks 1, 5), vocal harmonies (track 1), bass (all tracks), EMS VCS 3 (tracks 1–4)
• Richard Wright – vocal harmonies (tracks 1, 5), keyboards (all tracks)^A, Steinway piano (tracks 1, 4–5), vibraphone (track 1), minimoog (tracks 1-5)
• Unidentified member – singing glasses (tracks 1, 5), sound effects (tracks 1, 5), EMS VCS 3 (track 5)

Additional musicians

• Venetta Fields, Carlena Williams – backing vocals (tracks 1, 5)
• Dick Parry – saxophones (track 1)
• Roy Harper – lead vocals (track 3)
• Stéphane Grappelli – violin (track 4, only on Experience Edition)

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)"           13:33

2.     "Welcome to the Machine"                                        7:25

Total length: 20:58

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

3. "Have A Cigar"                                                  5:08

4. "Wish You Were Here"                                          5:35

5. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)"          12:24

Total length: 23:07

Album Length:  44:05

Overall Thoughts:

With "Dark Side of the Moon", Pink Floyd hit upon a winning formula- Roger Waters wrote the lyrics and created the concept, and the rest of the band created the music.  They followed that same formula with their ninth album, "Wish You Were Here".

On this album, Waters focussed on two themes- sadness about their fellow bandmate Syd Barrett as he succumbed to mental illness, and criticisms about the music industry.  For the first theme, the album is bookened by a nine-part Progressive rock track ("Shine on You Crazy Album") and the title track.  The lyrics on "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" are sparse but powerful:

#Remember when you were young

You shone like the Sun

Shine on, you crazy diamond

Now there's a look in your eyes

Like black holes in the sky

Shine on, you crazy diamond#

"Wish You Were Here" is about feeling alienated.  Waters was inspired both by Barrett and his own growing feelings of alienation.

The other songs were an attack on the music industry- "Welcome to the Machine" is downright dystopic, while "Have a Cigar" is bitter and sarcastic (and features the brilliant lyric):

#The band is just fantastic

That is really what I think

Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?#

There are only five songs on the album (four if you consider "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" as one track)- but every song is brilliant.  Pink Floyd goes from emotional and bittersweet to sarcastic and snarky, and the music flows between the themes.  

"Dark Side of the Moon" is more well known- but this album is my choice as their best work.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Dark Side of the Moon
3. Meddle
4. A Saucerful of Secrets
5. Obscured by Clouds
6. Ummagumma
7. More
8. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
9. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Wish You Were Here", Wish You You Were Here
2. "Money", Dark Side of the Moon
3. "Us and Them", Dark Side of the Moon
4. "Welcome to the Machine", Wish You Were Here
5. "Time", Dark Side of the Moon
6. "Fearless", Meddle
7. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)", Wish You Were Here
8. "The Great Gig in the Sky", Dark Side of the Moon
9. "Have a Cigar", Wish You Were Here
10. "Brain Damage", Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 08- Dark Side of the Moon

 

You may have heard of this album...

Album:  Dark Side of the Moon

Year Released:    1973

Lineup:

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – guitars, vocals, EMS Synthi AKS
• Nick Mason – drums, percussion, tape effects
• Roger Waters – bass guitar, vocals, EMS VCS 3, tape effects
• Richard Wright – organs (Hammond and Farfisa), piano, electric pianos (Wurlitzer and Rhodes), EMS VCS 3, EMS Synthi AKS, vocals

Additional musicians Dick Parry – saxophone on "Money" and "Us and Them" Clare Torry – vocals on "The Great Gig in the Sky" Doris Troy – backing vocals Lesley Duncan – backing vocals Liza Strike – backing vocals Barry St. John – backing vocals

Production

• Alan Parsons – engineering
• Peter James – assistant (incorrectly identified as "Peter Jones" on first US pressings of the LP)
• Chris Thomas – mix supervisor

Design

• Hipgnosis – sleeve design, photography
• George Hardie – sleeve art, stickers art

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Speak to Me"                                                           1:07

2.     "Breathe (In the Air)"                                                 2:49

3.     "On the Run"                                                             3:45

4.     "Time"                                                                        6:53

5.     "The Great Gig in the Sky"                                        4:44

Total length: 19:18

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

6. "Money"                                                                  6:23

7. "Us and Them"                                                  7:49

8.     "Any Color You Like"                                                3:26

9.     "Brain Damage"                                                       3:46

10.   "Eclipse"                                                                   2:12

Total length: 23:36

Album Length:  43:09

Overall Thoughts:

For the eighth album, Roger Waters wanted to build around a theme- things that "make people mad".  Syd Barrett and his mental issues were the inspiration for Waters.  It's the first album Pink Floyd wrote centered around a single theme, and this seems to provide the focus that was lacking on their earlier albums.

Unlike the previous albums (which had different members of the group each writing songs), Roger Waters wrote every song on Dark Side of the Moon.  The others concentrated on playing.  Pink Floyd has already been a mixture- Waters writing songs that were cynical and dark, and the rest of the group performing etherial music.  Sometimes the combination failed; in this album, it worked perfectly.

The album is full of short songs that run together, instead of the longer tracks from previous albums.  The songs are full of sound effects that accentuate the music- cash registers ("Money"), clocks ("Time"), background sounds of an airport ("On The Run").  They hit the sweet spot on this album- the sound effects add to the songs without distracting from the music.

It is an album about stress, anxiety and mental health- and it is full of beautiful songs on cynical and bitter lyrics.  The album received almost unanimous critical praise, and was on the US Billboard LP and Tape Chart for 990 weeks (that's over 19 years on the charts), a record by over 100 weeks.  

Pink Floyd hit their apex with this album- and it continued for the rest of the decade.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Dark Side of the Moon
2. Meddle
3. A Saucerful of Secrets
4. Obscured by Clouds
5. Ummagumma
6. More
7. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
8. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Money", Dark Side of the Moon
2. "Us and Them", Dark Side of the Moon
3. "Time", Dark Side of the Moon
4. "Fearless", Meddle
5. "The Great Gig in the Sky", Dark Side of the Moon
6. "Brain Dmaage", Dark Side of the Moon
7. "Let There Be More Light", A Saucerful of Secrets
8. "Eclipse", Dark Side of the Moon
9. "Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun", A Saucerful of Secrets
10. "Childhood's End", Obscured by Clouds

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 07- Obscured by Clouds

 

Pink Floyd nears their peak...

Album:  Obscured by Clouds

Year Released:    1972

Lineup:

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitars, VCS 3 synthesiser, bass guitar, vocals
• Nick Mason – drums, percussion
• Roger Waters – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
• Richard Wright – Hammond organ (2, 3, 5–7, 10), piano (5, 6, 9, 10), Farfisa organ (10), VCS 3 synthesiser, electric piano, vocals

Additional personnel

• Hipgnosis – album cover
• Mapuga tribe – chant on "Absolutely Curtains"

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Obscured by Clouds"                                           3:03

2.     "When You're In"                                                       2:18

3.     "Burning Bridges"                                                      3:29

4.     "The Gold It's in the..."                                              3:07

5.     "Wot's... Uh the Deal?"                                             5:08

6.     "Mudmen"                                                                 4:20

Total length: 21:25

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

7. "Childhood's End"                                                  4:31

8.     "Free Four"                                                               4:15

9.     "Stay"                                                                       4:05

10.   "Absolutely Curtains"                                                5:52

Total length: 23:30

Album Length:  46:47

Overall Thoughts:

The seventh album by Pink Floyd, Obscured by Clouds, was a soundtrack for a French film, La Vallée.  It's an album filled with instrumentals and short songs, instead of the longer progressive tracks they were known for.  

The music is good (better than 'More', their previous soundtrack)- more direct and focussed.  And there's some great ideas for songs (my favorite is probably "Childhood's End").  "Free Four" is a cheery sounding song about death and depression, a theme Waters will go back to often.  "Stay" is another Richard Wright song about treating groupies like trash (I sense he had issues...)

But the entire album feels rushed, and the songs would have been better if they had taken more time to develop.  Then again, their focus was probably on the album they were writing and interrupted to write this soundtrack.  We'll get to that album- Dark Side of the Moon- next time.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Meddle
2. A Saucerful of Secrets
3. Obscured by Clouds
4. Ummagumma
5. More
6. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
7. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Fearless", Meddle
2. "Let There Be More Light", A Saucerful of Secrets
3. "Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun", A Saucerful of Secrets
4. "Childhood's End", Obscured by Clouds
5. "Wot's.... Uh the Deal", Obscured by Clouds
6. "San Tropez", Meddle
7. "Remember A Day", A Saucerful of Secrets
8. "Cirrus Minor", More
9. "Flaming", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
10. "One of Those Days", Meddle