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It starts tomorrow, and I'm dying to talk about professional football. We start off with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants. Who is going to win? Why? Super Bowl predictions? Will the Patriots go undefeated this year? Who will be the first team to beat the Patriots? They have the easiest schedule in the history of the NFL this year. The Steelers have the hardest, and the Colts have the second hardest.
With the loss of their two most dominant defensive ends, and therefore the unreal pass rush they had last year, the Giants are not looking very good in the NFC East. The offense is returning all the same starters from the playoffs, but it is improved nonetheless. Plaxico Burress is finally healthy, Steve Smith has a year under his belt, Ahmad Bradshaw does too. And how can we forget about Eli? Some people are saying the question marks are off of him, but I think one still sits on top of his head--was it a fluke? I tend to think that Eli has finally matured into the player everyone thought he was going to be coming out of college, but he needs to do what he did over the last five games last year for the entire season.
The offense needs to be the focal point of this team with the injuries on defense. There's a reason they are the most overlooked champions in years, as stated by Tom Canavan. The losses that he seems to take very lightly should not be taken so lightly. It was their pass rush, anchored by their ends (Strahan and Umenyiora) that got them where they were last year. Yes, there were late game heroics by Eli and Tyree that saved the day, but if Brady wasn't laying on his back for most of the game, they probably wouldn't have been in a situation for those heroics to be produced. That isn't to take away from the league's eighth best rushing defense last season. If they can continue to produce results against the running game, their troubles may be lessened on defense.
The Redskins are under a new coaching staff, led by Jim Zorn. I don't know anything about him, other than he runs a west coast offense--shocking, I know. Jason Campbell has yet to prove anything as a quarterback. In fact, Todd Collins looked better in his outings than did Jason Campbell. In the preseason, Colt Brennan also looked better, granted, he was playing the second and third string of opponents. Campbell has shown signs of being a capable quarterback, and he has good mobility, but I'm not putting too much stock in him as the starter of the future for the Redskins.
The two teams went 1-1 with each other last year. The first game saw the Giants overcoming a 14 point first half deficit in a 24-17 victory. The second game saw a lackluster performance from the Giants in a 22-10 loss.
Despite their defensive woes, the Giants should win this game. The Redskins are under new coaching, and that hardly ever bodes well for teams. 23-14, Giants.
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On to the other topics (I didn't want to mix them into the same post):
I normally don't do Super Bowl predictions before week one, but what the heck? Why not?
NFC: I'm going with the favorites from there, the Cowboys. They've been knocking on the door the last two years, and I think this is their time. They made some improvements on defense, adding Zach Thomas, and the offense has had another year to mature. They also brought in, what could be, a dynamic change up back in Felix Jones. On paper right now, they are the clear favorites to represent the NFC.
AFC: The Chargers. I don't know if this is a very popular pick right now, especially with the injury to Merriman, but they've had everything in place the last two years, and in their second year under Norv Turner I think they'll finally reach the Super Bowl. Rivers is becoming a more consistent quarterback, and throwing with far greater accuracy than he had been, and Chris Chambers should have settled into their schemes by now.
The Patriots will not go undefeated this year. If they get past the Chargers in week six, I have faith that the Broncos will continue their winning streak against them. The weakness of their schedule is also distorted by the fact that they play in the league's worst division. The Patriots actually play some very good teams this year, including San Diego, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. That's not even considering that the Jets and Dolphins should be much better teams than they were last year.
I'll finish with my week 1 predictions:
Det>Atl
Cincy>Bal
Sea>Buf
NYJ>Miami
NE>KC (Only if Brady starts, apparently he has a cracked bone in his foot. Man, I hope he's out all season, makes fantasy a bit better for me, considering he's not on my team.)
TB>NO
Philly>StL
Pitt>Houston
Jax>Tenn
Dal>Cle (Is Anderson even starting? I haven't heard yet)
SD>Car (I'm excited to see Jonathan Stewart)
Ari>SF (Toilet bowl match, but I believe in Kurt Warner)
Indy>Chicago (Does this need explanation? The Bears are awful)
MNF:
Min>GB (I'm not sold on Rodgers, but I am sold on the Minnesota defense)
Den>Oak (Fuck Russell, fuck McFadden, fuck Oakland)
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The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Superbowl. I have forseen it.
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as always I come through with predictions and I actually do really well mostly  so keep track of your own and we'll see who has the best post here so we know and don't go back and change
Det>Atl
Bal>Cincy
Buf>Sea
NYJ>Miami
NE>KC
TB>NO
Philly>StL
Pitt>Houston
Jax>Tenn
Dal>Cle
SD>Car
Ari>SF
Indy>Chicago
MNF:
Min>GB
Den>Oak
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bolded the differences sweet
btw I actually like denvers run defense now that we have Jimmy as our d coord again... remember last time we had him... mmmm final year of al wilson when we went 6 games without allowing a TD
lets see if champ can pick up his game though... last year he was pedestrian but he was supporting the run more ~~ so I dunno we'll see yay football
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Man, I can't fucking wait for the game tomorrow. I'm rooting for the Redskins just because I dislike Eli Manning so much (and the rest of the family). But I think the Giants will win. =[ I'm going with the Patriots and Cowboys for the Super Bowl with the Patriots coming out on top.
Det < Atl
Bal < Cincy
Buf < Sea
NYJ > Miami
NE > KC
TB < NO
Philly > StL
Pitt > Houston
Jax > Tenn
Dal > Cle
SD > Car
Ari > SF
Indy > Chicago
MNF:
Min < GB
Den > Oak
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bah I thought I saw this on sportscenter but I couldn't find anything on it until this :
sadly that draft... I thought foxworth and williams were going to be amazing  both such bright futures... and too bad we don't have either and for a freaking 6 or 7th... common ~~ I mean it is the falcons atleast it'll be a higher pick in the round but man...
Bronco Foxworth Traded To Atanta Falcons
CBS4 has learned that the Denver Broncos have traded Domonique Foxworth to the Atlanta Falcons. The Broncos will receive a 7th round draft pick for the 4th year defensive back. Foxworth is in the final year of his current contract and if he were to resign with Atlanta after this season, the Broncos would also receive a 6th round draft pick. Foxworth was chosen in the 3rd round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Broncos. In his 3 years with Denver, he started 18 games. Last season, he was primarily used as a "nickel back" in passing situations. -- CBS4Denver
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All you fools predicting AZ>SF
I am going to laugh at you all come sunday evening.
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On September 04 2008 06:51 nemY wrote:
All you fools predicting AZ>SF
I am going to laugh at you all come sunday evening.
im sorry, but san francisco is terrible, they have had the same holes in their roster for 3 years
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
Can not wait for the season to start. Gonna have to take the Giants over the unproven Redskins under a new coaching regime to start on TNF.
Detroit < Atlanta
Baltimore < Cincinnati
Buffalo < Seattle
Jets > Miami
New England > Kansas City
Tampa Bay < New Orleans
Philadelphia > St. Louis
Pittsburgh > Houston
Jacksonville > Tennessee
Dallas > Cleveland
San Diego > Carolina
Arizona > San Francisco
Indianapolis > Chicago
Minnesota > Green Bay
Denver > Oakland
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
On September 04 2008 07:15 Aux1 wrote:Show nested quote +On September 04 2008 06:51 nemY wrote:
All you fools predicting AZ>SF
I am going to laugh at you all come sunday evening. im sorry, but san francisco is terrible, they have had the same holes in their roster for 3 years
Not to mention their quarterback is JT O'Sullivan, who's been bouncing around for years on at least 5-6 different teams. There's a reason why he can't stick on a team. That simply says how bad Alex Smith is.
Anyways, the Cardinals have some sick offense.
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Det>Atl
Bal<Cincy
Buf>Sea
NYJ>Miami
NE>KC
TB<NO
Philly>StL
Pitt>Houston
Jax>Tenn
Dal>Cle
SD>Car
Ari<SF
Indy>Chicago
MNF:
Min>GB
Den>Oak
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On September 04 2008 06:50 Sir.Kimmel wrote:bah I thought I saw this on sportscenter but I couldn't find anything on it until this : sadly that draft... I thought foxworth and williams were going to be amazing both such bright futures... and too bad we don't have either and for a freaking 6 or 7th... common ~~ I mean it is the falcons atleast it'll be a higher pick in the round but man... Bronco Foxworth Traded To Atanta Falcons CBS4 has learned that the Denver Broncos have traded Domonique Foxworth to the Atlanta Falcons. The Broncos will receive a 7th round draft pick for the 4th year defensive back. Foxworth is in the final year of his current contract and if he were to resign with Atlanta after this season, the Broncos would also receive a 6th round draft pick. Foxworth was chosen in the 3rd round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Broncos. In his 3 years with Denver, he started 18 games. Last season, he was primarily used as a "nickel back" in passing situations. -- CBS4Denver
Jack Williams looked like he could have some immediate impact on the team this year. He had a couple INT's in preseason, and returned one for a TD. He looks like Darrent, but I'm not sure if they're related, Williams being such a common last name.
Fox was good, but let's face it, he can't take on even a number two receiver. He gets murdered by them all the time. I think he's worth more than a 7th, at least a 4th round pick, because of his value at nickel back, but he's far from a top notch guy that one could reasonably expect to get a first day pick for. Maybe it's because Denver has Bailey and Bly, and they had Darrent Williams before, who are/were all outstanding DB's that Foxworth doesn't seem that great to me, but from what I've seen the loss of him shouldn't have too profound of an impact on the Denver defense.
Bailey was helping out in run support far too much last year, that's true. I think he was battling an injury with his right quad last year also. That may have been the year before though.
Why is everyone picking NO? In my opinion, they haven't done nearly enough to patch up the massive holes in that defense. In the off season they picked up Randall Gay, and Jonathan Vilma. Both were good pick ups. They drafted Sedrick Ellis, which was a good move, because they really needed help on their line. Other than that they have Will Smith. The rest of their defense? Not that good. In fact, Randall Gay isn't exactly a top notch DB. They also did nothing to replace the injury-prone Deuce McCallister.
Here's the deal, the Saints played over their heads two years ago, and they came out with a bit above average at 11-5. The real team, that was last year. They are not that good. The defense has holes the size of the Grand Canyon in it, so they're still going to give up way too many big plays. The offense is good, but Drew Brees really only has one reliable target (Marques Colston). Not to mention Brees is a streaky QB, he has been since he came into the league. At best they'll take second in their division this year. I think Tampa Bay has the better team overall. By the way, I said the same thing about them when they went up against the Bears in the Championship game that year, and I said the same thing about them last year. I'm not jumping bandwagons or something because of a down year.
On September 04 2008 07:25 Roffles wrote:Show nested quote +On September 04 2008 07:15 Aux1 wrote:On September 04 2008 06:51 nemY wrote:
All you fools predicting AZ>SF
I am going to laugh at you all come sunday evening. im sorry, but san francisco is terrible, they have had the same holes in their roster for 3 years Not to mention their quarterback is JT O'Sullivan, who's been bouncing around for years on at least 5-6 different teams. There's a reason why he can't stick on a team. That simply says how bad Alex Smith is. Anyways, the Cardinals have some sick offense.
Yeah, I definitely agree with this. Their defense has some quality players on it too. They got Rodgers-Cromartie in the draft, and if he's as good as his cousin (?), that will be a big lift to that defense. They have Antrel Rolle, and Adrian Wilson too. That's a pretty strong secondary. I guess their front seven could use some work though. And I don't think I need to go into what they have on offense, we all know it's one of the most talented in the league. There's also no doubt in my mind that Ken Wisenhunt will get that O-Line near the level that the Steelers were at under Cowher. I know the Steelers have had O-Line issues the last two years, but that's after Wisenhunt left. And Ben holds onto the ball way too fucking long to expect that line to hold up.
On September 04 2008 06:41 Sir.Kimmel wrote:as always I come through with predictions and I actually do really well mostly so keep track of your own and we'll see who has the best post here so we know and don't go back and change
Yeah, I'll try to remember to do it every week. I won't change after the games are played, but they may be changed from time to time before the games start (like if Brady is out, I'm changing that to KC).
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
On September 04 2008 09:21 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:
Yeah, I'll try to remember to do it every week. I won't change after the games are played, but they may be changed from time to time before the games start (like if Brady is out, I'm changing that to KC).
You'd take KC over NE with their backup? I'd reckon NE's backup cant be much worse than Brodie Croyle. Plus the Patriots just have so many weapons on offense that KC can't say they have.
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motbob
United States12546 Posts
Eagles are going to go 18-1, losing only the Super Bowl.
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Brady is expected to play...
also Bucs > NO right now.. Garcia is a playa
but the overall theme is if anyone wants to start a pool on when Donovan McouchIbrokemyeffingleg gets injured
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On September 04 2008 11:15 Roffles wrote:Show nested quote +On September 04 2008 09:21 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:
Yeah, I'll try to remember to do it every week. I won't change after the games are played, but they may be changed from time to time before the games start (like if Brady is out, I'm changing that to KC). You'd take KC over NE with their backup? I'd reckon NE's backup cant be much worse than Brodie Croyle. Plus the Patriots just have so many weapons on offense that KC can't say they have.
Matt Cassel is fucking terrible. The guy throws more picks than Rex Grossman. I also don't believe in the NE running game. You're right that they have a lot of weapons, but you need a QB who can actually throw the ball for the weapons to have any effect.
KC is pretty bad, but I think they have a fighting chance if Brady is out, but it doesn't look like he will be.
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
On September 04 2008 12:52 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:Show nested quote +On September 04 2008 11:15 Roffles wrote:On September 04 2008 09:21 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:
Yeah, I'll try to remember to do it every week. I won't change after the games are played, but they may be changed from time to time before the games start (like if Brady is out, I'm changing that to KC). You'd take KC over NE with their backup? I'd reckon NE's backup cant be much worse than Brodie Croyle. Plus the Patriots just have so many weapons on offense that KC can't say they have. Matt Cassel is fucking terrible. The guy throws more picks than Rex Grossman. I also don't believe in the NE running game. You're right that they have a lot of weapons, but you need a QB who can actually throw the ball for the weapons to have any effect. KC is pretty bad, but I think they have a fighting chance if Brady is out, but it doesn't look like he will be.
Hmm, I'd say the only advantage KC would have over NE if Brady were out would be slightly at QB. KC's line is horrid, and NE's running game is underrated because well they don't use it often.
And did I mention Brodie Croyle blows?
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KC is terrible this year. Did you watch some of their preseason games? They had starters out and were trying to put points on the board in the 4th quarter (they even kicked a field goal!) and they couldn't. Even with Brady out, they're still really outmatched.
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iNcontroL
USA29055 Posts
more hawk hating I see... some things never change.
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EPT
