NFL Preview
So I watch a lot of sports. I would even be considered a "sport's nut" by most. I am not, however, psychic. If you read my MLB predictions, you'd see that the latter is definitely true. But thats what makes sports so great. You can be an expert, and you can be wrong, you can be the office secretary, and win your March Madness Pool.
Here is, yet another opportunity to show you that A) I probably watch sports too much, B) All that watching, translates to precisely squat when it comes time to predict the upcoming season. And while I generally start off with the division that my team is in, I'm going to throw a curve here, and not only not start with the East, but I'm going to go through the NFC first.
NFC WEST: Seattle Seahawks
This division is awful. Seattle should run away with it, and they better. This might be the last hurrah for an aging team. Matt Hasselbeck is as good a QB as you'll find outside of Brady and Manning (Peyton, obviously). As long as Holmgren can find it in himself to run the ball a little bit with the addition of Julius Jones, Seattle might have a pretty good offensive attack. JT O'Sullivan is starting for the 49ers this season, so there should be little competition from them, again. The Rams and Cardinals should both be better than they were last year, but neither has the defense to trump the Seahawks.
NFC SOUTH: New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay is a good team. New Orleans is a better team. The Saints are most certainly a better team than they were in 2007. Whatever was the cause of their abysmal start in 2007, I don't expect to bother them again. One of the major reasons that the Saints will beat the Bucs out for the division is Drew Brees. Brees is the big time QB John Gruden wishes he had. Colston and Moore should continue to improve, and the dual threat of McAllister and Bush in the backfield will give any defense fits. And if Jeremy Shockey can remain healthy this season, he might give the team that little extra fire it needs to get to the playoffs. Shockey amazes me, I'm not his biggest fan, but I've got to admit he is incredibly entertaining to watch. Gamers want the ball. Jeremy Shockey is a gamer. But he doesn't want the ball for the same reason everyone else does. Everyone else wants to score, wants to end up on ESPN, Shockey wants the ball so he can punish people. I have never seen someone punish another player the way he punishes other players while he is holding the football. So in the NFC South this year we'll see: the Saints win the division, the Bucs clinch a Wild Card berth, and Reggie Bush rush for over 100 yards in a single game this season. I swear, its going to happen this year. Reggie will make one of those highlight reel runs, where he makes someone miss, by making his own body twist in a way you don't think someone's body should be able to twist at such a high speed, and leap over the pylon on his way to a 100 yard rushing performance.
NFC NORTH: Detroit Lions
Thats right, I said it. I said the Detroit Lions are going to the NFL playoffs this season. Adrian Peterson should be a stud in Minnesota for years to come, but I'm not convinced that there's enough around him (specifically at the QB position), to produce a winner this season. Chicago? Rex Grossman is our quarterback. Rex Grossman is our quarterback. Rex Grossman is our quarterback. Kyle Orton is our quarterback. Uhh... at least they still have Urlacher. Donald Driver, Donald Lee, Ryan Grant and Greg Jennings should all help to ease any growing pains Aaron Rodgers might be about to go through, but replacing a veteran QB with a brand new starter is not usually a recipe for immediate success. If John Kitna, Roy Williams, and Calvin Johnson can all be on the field together this season, even the Monsters of the Midway won't be able to stop them. This is the year that Kitna should have predicted ten wins. And, if the Lions don't make the playoffs this year, and Matt Millen still has his job next year, I think I'm going to run for President in 2012. Hey, anything is possible right?
NFC EAST: Dallas Cowboys
This one is a no-brainer. Of the top five teams in the NFL, only one calls the NFC home, and they are the Dallas Cowboys. So it's only fitting that they make the playoffs. The 'Skins should provide some competition, as usual. Jason Campbell is maturing into an NFL quarterback quite nicely. The addition of Jason Taylor on defense should provide a little bit of fire to a unit that lost its heart and soul last year. But it won't be enough to knock off the 'Boys. There was a team that won the Super Bowl last year. And it was the New York Football Giants. They won't even make the playoffs this year.* Not without Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Kawika Mitchell. And trust me, they won't be sneaking up on anyone this year. And trust me again, Eli has matured, yes, he is a bona-fide NFL starter now, but he is not his brother, he cannot carry this team. The main competition in the NFC East for the Cowboys will come from Brian Westbrook and the Eagles. I already told you that the Detroit Lions are going to the playoffs this season, so I might as well back it up with another bold statement, Donovan McNabb will play 16 games this year, and he and Brian Westbrook will lead the Eagles back to the playoffs. Brian Westbrook is the most versatile player in football since Marshall Faulk was a part of the Greatest Show on Turf. With Westbrook turning in another 2000+ total yards, and 12-14 TD's, all McNabb needs to do is play, and the Eagles will march into the playoffs.
NFC WILD CARDS: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles
AFC WEST: San Diego Chargers
This is the year... that the Chargers make the playoffs yet again. LT is amazing. Philip Rivers is not, and Shawne Merriman's season is currently in doubt. The Chargers are a good team, and they play in a bad division. No other team in the division should even come close, regardless of the status of Merriman. The end result should be another trip to the playoffs for the Chargers, and another disappointingly (if you're a sucker, and you actually think that the Chargers are that good) early exit from the playoffs.
AFC SOUTH: Indianapolis Colts
Listen, one of these years Peyton Manning will retire, and someone other than the Colts will win the AFC South, but I'm just not that crazy. As long as Peyton Manning is there, the Colts have a chance, and as long as Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are there with him, the Colts will remain a Super Bowl threat. But mark my words, watch out for the Jacksonville Jaguars. They are one of the top 5 teams in football, and by a stroke of poor luck, they play in the same division as the Colts (also top 5), so they'll have to settle for a Wild Card spot. But Wild Card or not, the Jags will be a team that nobody wants to play in the playoffs. David Garrard is not electric, but he is safe, efficient, and surprisingly good. He might not catch your attention like Devin Hester, but he also won't catch your attention like Rex Grossman, if that makes any sense. I expect the Texans to take a step forward, the Titans to take a step back, and the Jags to play second fiddle in the AFC South to the Colts yet again.
AFC NORTH: Pittsburgh Steelers
Someone has to knock Big Ben and the Steelers off before I will believe that it can be done. The Steelers have one of the hardest schedules in football, but should be able to win enough games to hold off the Browns. Wait, did he just say hold off the Browns? Not the Bengals? Why yes, he did. And I have one word about the Bengals for you: Overrated. Yes, Carson Palmer threw 26 TD passes last year, but he also threw 20 interceptions. Take away the Week 2 air assault at Cleveland, and in the other 15 games he had 20 TD's, 18 INT's, and 3,730 passing yards. Hardly awe inspiring for a QB with such targets as Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh. Oh, and they just brought Chris Henry back. After releasing the troubled receiver, and possibly taking a step in the right direction, they just took another step back. The real competition will come from the Cleveland Browns. I look for Derek Anderson, Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards to continue on their spectacular 2007 season and clinch a Wild Card berth this season.
AFC EAST: New England Patriots
Talk about saving the best for last. As if there was any doubt, the New England Patriots will run away with the division. For those of you that say that Brett Favre will put the Jets into the playoffs, I want you to go get checked out... mentally... no seriously... do it. This will be a one horse race from Week 1. The only questions that remain, how many TD's will Brady throw to Moss? And can they please lose a game other than the Super Bowl this year. And if the offense wasn't enough, the Patriots have the best collection of defensive linemen in the NFL in Seymour, Wilfork, Green and Warren. Adalius Thomas should improve with one season in the Pat's system under his belt. And how would you like to go over the middle? Would you rather have John Lynch, or Rodney Harrison line you up? The Patriots are the best team in football, period. They will march to the playoffs, march through the playoffs, and win the Super Bowl that they should have won last year.
AFC WILD CARDS: Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars
Wild Card Weekend:
Chargers over Browns
Jags over Steelers
Buccaneers over Lions
Eagles over Seahawks
Divisional Weekend:
Colts over Chargers
Patriots over Jags
Saints over Buccaneers
Cowboys over Eagles
Championship Weekend:
Patriots over Colts
Cowboys over Saints
Super Bowl Champions:
New England Patriots
There you have it. No holds barred. Some crazy predictions, some obvious predictions. And the fourth Super Bowl Victory in seven seasons for the New England Patriots.
* I'm not a hater. I'm not. It's been a while since the Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the New York Football Giants. I'm over it. I feel that I can rationally speak about what happened that night at this point. When I say that the Giants won't make the playoffs this year, I speak only the truth. I don't hate them because they beat the Patriots last year, I simply hate them because they're the Giants, always have, always will.
Man that Super Bowl sucked. Brady played like garbage. The Giants defense played the game of their lives. David Tyree made one of the sickest catches I've ever seen, after Eli Manning somehow got the ball off to him, instead of being brought down by any of the three Patriots defenders that were all trying to pick his pocket, but apparently not bring him to the turf.
But honestly, it wasn't until that final play that I was convinced the Giants were going to pull it off. Had there been a bit more air under the third and long ball from Brady to Moss, Randy would have been off to the races, and everyone, not just me, would be talking about the greatest team they had ever seen.
The 2007 New England Patriots were the best team I have ever seen play football in my life. I got to witness a game in person, and let me say, Randy Moss is really something else. They played good team defense, and they scored at will, until the Super Bowl. I know they went 18-1, and the one loss was obviously the biggest one, but there is no comparison. The Giants' defense played the best game they had ever played as a unit that night. And the Patriots didn't. Simply put, the Giants were the best team on the field that night. But play that game 100 times over, and the Patriots win 99.
I am not taking anything away from the Giants. They had a remarkable run through the playoffs. They proved all the doubters wrong, time after time. And one last time, on Super Bowl Sunday (actually, they didn't prove Merril Hoge wrong, because he was smart enough to pick the Giants to win in the first place. See what I did there? That 'smart' in italics means I'm being sarcastic, and Hoge is anything but).
Anyways. I'm not bitter. I'm not a hater because the Patriots lost last year. But to all of you that thought it was funny that New England lost, watch out. To all of you who became insta-Giant fans that night, watch out. To anyone that thinks that was the beginning of the end for the Patriots Dynasty, you ain't seen nothin yet. To all of you who are haters because you're jealous, we'll see you in Tampa February 1st.
Here is, yet another opportunity to show you that A) I probably watch sports too much, B) All that watching, translates to precisely squat when it comes time to predict the upcoming season. And while I generally start off with the division that my team is in, I'm going to throw a curve here, and not only not start with the East, but I'm going to go through the NFC first.
NFC WEST: Seattle Seahawks
This division is awful. Seattle should run away with it, and they better. This might be the last hurrah for an aging team. Matt Hasselbeck is as good a QB as you'll find outside of Brady and Manning (Peyton, obviously). As long as Holmgren can find it in himself to run the ball a little bit with the addition of Julius Jones, Seattle might have a pretty good offensive attack. JT O'Sullivan is starting for the 49ers this season, so there should be little competition from them, again. The Rams and Cardinals should both be better than they were last year, but neither has the defense to trump the Seahawks.
NFC SOUTH: New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay is a good team. New Orleans is a better team. The Saints are most certainly a better team than they were in 2007. Whatever was the cause of their abysmal start in 2007, I don't expect to bother them again. One of the major reasons that the Saints will beat the Bucs out for the division is Drew Brees. Brees is the big time QB John Gruden wishes he had. Colston and Moore should continue to improve, and the dual threat of McAllister and Bush in the backfield will give any defense fits. And if Jeremy Shockey can remain healthy this season, he might give the team that little extra fire it needs to get to the playoffs. Shockey amazes me, I'm not his biggest fan, but I've got to admit he is incredibly entertaining to watch. Gamers want the ball. Jeremy Shockey is a gamer. But he doesn't want the ball for the same reason everyone else does. Everyone else wants to score, wants to end up on ESPN, Shockey wants the ball so he can punish people. I have never seen someone punish another player the way he punishes other players while he is holding the football. So in the NFC South this year we'll see: the Saints win the division, the Bucs clinch a Wild Card berth, and Reggie Bush rush for over 100 yards in a single game this season. I swear, its going to happen this year. Reggie will make one of those highlight reel runs, where he makes someone miss, by making his own body twist in a way you don't think someone's body should be able to twist at such a high speed, and leap over the pylon on his way to a 100 yard rushing performance.
NFC NORTH: Detroit Lions
Thats right, I said it. I said the Detroit Lions are going to the NFL playoffs this season. Adrian Peterson should be a stud in Minnesota for years to come, but I'm not convinced that there's enough around him (specifically at the QB position), to produce a winner this season. Chicago? Rex Grossman is our quarterback. Rex Grossman is our quarterback. Rex Grossman is our quarterback. Kyle Orton is our quarterback. Uhh... at least they still have Urlacher. Donald Driver, Donald Lee, Ryan Grant and Greg Jennings should all help to ease any growing pains Aaron Rodgers might be about to go through, but replacing a veteran QB with a brand new starter is not usually a recipe for immediate success. If John Kitna, Roy Williams, and Calvin Johnson can all be on the field together this season, even the Monsters of the Midway won't be able to stop them. This is the year that Kitna should have predicted ten wins. And, if the Lions don't make the playoffs this year, and Matt Millen still has his job next year, I think I'm going to run for President in 2012. Hey, anything is possible right?
NFC EAST: Dallas Cowboys
This one is a no-brainer. Of the top five teams in the NFL, only one calls the NFC home, and they are the Dallas Cowboys. So it's only fitting that they make the playoffs. The 'Skins should provide some competition, as usual. Jason Campbell is maturing into an NFL quarterback quite nicely. The addition of Jason Taylor on defense should provide a little bit of fire to a unit that lost its heart and soul last year. But it won't be enough to knock off the 'Boys. There was a team that won the Super Bowl last year. And it was the New York Football Giants. They won't even make the playoffs this year.* Not without Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Kawika Mitchell. And trust me, they won't be sneaking up on anyone this year. And trust me again, Eli has matured, yes, he is a bona-fide NFL starter now, but he is not his brother, he cannot carry this team. The main competition in the NFC East for the Cowboys will come from Brian Westbrook and the Eagles. I already told you that the Detroit Lions are going to the playoffs this season, so I might as well back it up with another bold statement, Donovan McNabb will play 16 games this year, and he and Brian Westbrook will lead the Eagles back to the playoffs. Brian Westbrook is the most versatile player in football since Marshall Faulk was a part of the Greatest Show on Turf. With Westbrook turning in another 2000+ total yards, and 12-14 TD's, all McNabb needs to do is play, and the Eagles will march into the playoffs.
NFC WILD CARDS: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles
AFC WEST: San Diego Chargers
This is the year... that the Chargers make the playoffs yet again. LT is amazing. Philip Rivers is not, and Shawne Merriman's season is currently in doubt. The Chargers are a good team, and they play in a bad division. No other team in the division should even come close, regardless of the status of Merriman. The end result should be another trip to the playoffs for the Chargers, and another disappointingly (if you're a sucker, and you actually think that the Chargers are that good) early exit from the playoffs.
AFC SOUTH: Indianapolis Colts
Listen, one of these years Peyton Manning will retire, and someone other than the Colts will win the AFC South, but I'm just not that crazy. As long as Peyton Manning is there, the Colts have a chance, and as long as Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are there with him, the Colts will remain a Super Bowl threat. But mark my words, watch out for the Jacksonville Jaguars. They are one of the top 5 teams in football, and by a stroke of poor luck, they play in the same division as the Colts (also top 5), so they'll have to settle for a Wild Card spot. But Wild Card or not, the Jags will be a team that nobody wants to play in the playoffs. David Garrard is not electric, but he is safe, efficient, and surprisingly good. He might not catch your attention like Devin Hester, but he also won't catch your attention like Rex Grossman, if that makes any sense. I expect the Texans to take a step forward, the Titans to take a step back, and the Jags to play second fiddle in the AFC South to the Colts yet again.
AFC NORTH: Pittsburgh Steelers
Someone has to knock Big Ben and the Steelers off before I will believe that it can be done. The Steelers have one of the hardest schedules in football, but should be able to win enough games to hold off the Browns. Wait, did he just say hold off the Browns? Not the Bengals? Why yes, he did. And I have one word about the Bengals for you: Overrated. Yes, Carson Palmer threw 26 TD passes last year, but he also threw 20 interceptions. Take away the Week 2 air assault at Cleveland, and in the other 15 games he had 20 TD's, 18 INT's, and 3,730 passing yards. Hardly awe inspiring for a QB with such targets as Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh. Oh, and they just brought Chris Henry back. After releasing the troubled receiver, and possibly taking a step in the right direction, they just took another step back. The real competition will come from the Cleveland Browns. I look for Derek Anderson, Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards to continue on their spectacular 2007 season and clinch a Wild Card berth this season.
AFC EAST: New England Patriots
Talk about saving the best for last. As if there was any doubt, the New England Patriots will run away with the division. For those of you that say that Brett Favre will put the Jets into the playoffs, I want you to go get checked out... mentally... no seriously... do it. This will be a one horse race from Week 1. The only questions that remain, how many TD's will Brady throw to Moss? And can they please lose a game other than the Super Bowl this year. And if the offense wasn't enough, the Patriots have the best collection of defensive linemen in the NFL in Seymour, Wilfork, Green and Warren. Adalius Thomas should improve with one season in the Pat's system under his belt. And how would you like to go over the middle? Would you rather have John Lynch, or Rodney Harrison line you up? The Patriots are the best team in football, period. They will march to the playoffs, march through the playoffs, and win the Super Bowl that they should have won last year.
AFC WILD CARDS: Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars
Wild Card Weekend:
Chargers over Browns
Jags over Steelers
Buccaneers over Lions
Eagles over Seahawks
Divisional Weekend:
Colts over Chargers
Patriots over Jags
Saints over Buccaneers
Cowboys over Eagles
Championship Weekend:
Patriots over Colts
Cowboys over Saints
Super Bowl Champions:
New England Patriots
There you have it. No holds barred. Some crazy predictions, some obvious predictions. And the fourth Super Bowl Victory in seven seasons for the New England Patriots.
* I'm not a hater. I'm not. It's been a while since the Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the New York Football Giants. I'm over it. I feel that I can rationally speak about what happened that night at this point. When I say that the Giants won't make the playoffs this year, I speak only the truth. I don't hate them because they beat the Patriots last year, I simply hate them because they're the Giants, always have, always will.
Man that Super Bowl sucked. Brady played like garbage. The Giants defense played the game of their lives. David Tyree made one of the sickest catches I've ever seen, after Eli Manning somehow got the ball off to him, instead of being brought down by any of the three Patriots defenders that were all trying to pick his pocket, but apparently not bring him to the turf.
But honestly, it wasn't until that final play that I was convinced the Giants were going to pull it off. Had there been a bit more air under the third and long ball from Brady to Moss, Randy would have been off to the races, and everyone, not just me, would be talking about the greatest team they had ever seen.
The 2007 New England Patriots were the best team I have ever seen play football in my life. I got to witness a game in person, and let me say, Randy Moss is really something else. They played good team defense, and they scored at will, until the Super Bowl. I know they went 18-1, and the one loss was obviously the biggest one, but there is no comparison. The Giants' defense played the best game they had ever played as a unit that night. And the Patriots didn't. Simply put, the Giants were the best team on the field that night. But play that game 100 times over, and the Patriots win 99.
I am not taking anything away from the Giants. They had a remarkable run through the playoffs. They proved all the doubters wrong, time after time. And one last time, on Super Bowl Sunday (actually, they didn't prove Merril Hoge wrong, because he was smart enough to pick the Giants to win in the first place. See what I did there? That 'smart' in italics means I'm being sarcastic, and Hoge is anything but).
Anyways. I'm not bitter. I'm not a hater because the Patriots lost last year. But to all of you that thought it was funny that New England lost, watch out. To all of you who became insta-Giant fans that night, watch out. To anyone that thinks that was the beginning of the end for the Patriots Dynasty, you ain't seen nothin yet. To all of you who are haters because you're jealous, we'll see you in Tampa February 1st.
posted by Trevor at 1:34 AM
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