Click on the image of that groovy guard to check out my current rough drafts. There’s more to come.

The Patriots could make it that far just because they’re the Patriots (and because of Tom Brady.) Both Baltimore and Pittsburgh have pretty good defenses, but I don’t think the Steelers (or the Pats for that matter) are playing at their best this year, and I really don’t want to watch a rematch of last year’s championship game. The only reason I add the Broncos to this list is because this whole season has been one huge miracle for them. Tim Tebow is not that good a quarterback, but for some reason he’s a winner. At the time I originally wanted to write this he was 7-1 since he became Denver’s starter, but afterwards went on a three game losing streak.

I am, first and foremost, a Packers fan, but, at the same time, I have a tendency to root for the underdog, which is why I want Tebow to succeed. Also, the only thing I like more than watching the Pack win is watching the Pats lose, and I don’t particularly care for the Steelers. When all is said and done, I think the Ravens will be the (un)lucky ones to lose to the Pack this year. I have been saying for weeks that the greatest thing to ever happen will be the Tebow-led Broncos knocking out the Patriots and the Steelers out of the playoffs, but I never would have believed they would ever be halfway there. I still don’t believe the Steelers lost.

That’s all fine and dandy, but if you’re not a Packers fan like I am, you probably like to deny the inevitable and still hope for any other team to dethrone the defending Superbowl champs. Keep dreaming, I say to you, but just for fun, let’s pretend there’s even one team almost good enough in the NFC, or whole NFL for that matter, that can keep the Pack from retaining their title. All joking aside, there are a few teams that I believe can give Green Bay a run for their money, and they are the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and maybe, and this is a huge maybe, the New York Giants. (Remember, I was planning on writing about this when people were still wondering if the Pack could achieve a perfect season.) On the other hand, I don’t think anyone believed Eli Manning would ever be capable of beating Tom Brady, but a few years ago he did.

I don’t dislike any of these teams, so I really don’t care who Green Bay beats in the NFC championship game. The Niners’ pretty awesome run game will prove to be a nice challenge to the Pack’s defense, which we all know hasn’t performed as well as they should have. Drew Brees has had an amazing season, beating Dan Marino’s record by passing for a total of 5,087 yards this season. He would also be a worthy challenge to the Pack. The Giants came pretty close to adding the first number to Green Bay’s L column this year, but that was a fluke; New York just doesn’t have what it takes. I’d also like to see a rematch of the 1998-1999 NFC Wild Card game where Steve Young and Terrell Owens beat the Pack.

So, I guess to answer the orignal question, who the Pack will beat at Superbowl XLVI, is no matter how much I’d love to see Aaron Rodgers send Brady home crying, or to see a rematch of Superbowl XXXII, I think Baltimore has the best chance of being the final victim of the Packers’ 2011-2012 season.

Mouse & Keyboard

Gamepad

These results probably aren’t what you expected. I should add a few disclaimers, however. 1) I played on PC first, so by the time I tried it on Xbox I was already somewhat familiar with the game. 2) On PC I played a combination of Kill Confirmed and Team Deathmatch, while on Xbox I played mostly Kill Confirmed. 3) I have way more experience with a gamepad than I do with mouse and keyboard. 4) I played with the exact same class (same weapons, same perks, etc) on both systems. 5) My PC is connected to a 24″ monitor, my Xbox is connected to a 42″ Plasma. 6) This study is in no way scientific.

I got about the same number of kills on both systems, but died a lot more on PC, probably because I don’t have as much mouse and keyboard experience, as I said above. I scored way more headshots, and my accuracy is actually higher with the gamepad, which is exactly opposite of every claim out there. But with my stats being pretty identical on both systems, I can only conclude that as long as I’m on a level playing field as everyone else (meaning I use the same hardware to play the game as everyone else,) using a mouse and keyboard does not give me any advantage over using the gamepad.

But what if I don’t use the same hardware as everyone else? I recently got a XIM3, which basically lets me use a mouse and keyboard (or any other PC compatible joystick) on my Xbox. I know this raises a few questions of ethics for some people, and I’ll share my opinion on this later.

XIM3

I played for 4 hours and 18 minutes using the XIM3, pretty much the same amount of time I played each with the gamepad and mouse & keyboard.

Now for some more disclaimers. 1) I still used the exact same class. 2) I was already a lot more comfortable with the game at this point. As you can see my Kill:Death ratio and my accuracy have gone up (and continue to go up.) So what does this mean? Why do I (apparently) play better with mouse and keyboard on my Xbox than I do on PC. Maybe it’s because I am using the supposedly more accurate mouse and keyboard combo while everyone else is stuck with a gamepad, but I think it has more to do with me finally getting used to playing a new game.

Is It Cheating?

Now on to whether or not I think using a mouse and keyboard on Xbox is cheating. My short answer: No. My slightly longer answer: It’s basically the same thing as using a racing wheel for racing games, a joystick for fighting games, Sony’s Sharpshooter for Killzone 3, or the Zapper gun for Duck Hunt. I personally don’t care if I’m playing Call of Duty with a controller against someone using a mouse and keyboard, because I feel I’m good enough with the gamepad to keep up.

Time for a history lesson

Let me share some personal history with you. I grew up gaming on consoles, and every time I tried playing a shooter on PC I quickly gave up because I couldn’t get used to it. I bought Halo 2 for PC, and I always used a controller. I have never liked Halo’s multiplayer (because I suck at it,) but I decided to play a match. I was using my wired Xbox controller plugged into my PC, while everyone else was (presumably) using mouse and keyboard. I had never done so well playing Halo multiplayer; I actually finished with a postive K:D.

I still stuck with console gaming, until I decided to go into debt to build my gaming PC, (a lifelong dream of mine.) I could never get used to using a mouse and keyboard for shooter games (like Call of Duty or Halo) so I decided to practice with a couple of slower-paced games like Fallout 3 and Borderlands. I was delighted when I finally got it down, which I learned wasn’t really that hard.

I now realize that this short detour has little to do with the whole gamepad vs mouse and keyboard debate, I just like to talk about myself. The point I was trying to make is it really doesn’t bother me to play online shooters with a gamepad knowing who I’m playing against is using the mouse and keyboard, and my little experiment tells me that I am equally good (or bad) no matter what hardware I use, but I’m sure there are plenty of people who would disagree. I will eventually post some videos comparing me playing MW3 with a gamepad and XIM3.