OK, so most everyone's reported for camp now, the regular season is coming up, my Colts have an awesome new stadium those of you who will be going to Gen Con get to see, and its time to talk football.
If you need to get in the mood, here's still the greatest football commercial of all time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX_5tzwVz3I).
So, let's name our teams, and how we think they'll finish.
Indianapolis Colts: They have one of their most talented rosters, but a lot of potential health issues. But its the NFL, and you have to deal with injuries They continue to play smarter than the mouthy Jaguars, and for that reason and their usual fast start will hold them off and win the division yet again. Peyton should be back 100%, Reggie Wayne is solid, and Anthony Gonzalez (not the TE, the WR) should step up as Marvin Harrison's career begins the wind-down. Also look for bigger numbers from Dallas Clark. At running back, Joseph Addai is great, but needs a quality second back to keep him from getting so run down. Hopefully that's Dominic Rhodes, who re-signed with the Colts, Kenton Keith, Harvard's Clifton Dawson, or possibly dark horse Mike Hart, a Michigan Man I'm hoping makes the team.
On defense, the Colts can't win it all without a pass rush--we saw that when Dwight Freeney got hurt last year. No pressure, no ring. The linebacker corps is not deep, but as talented as its been in the past 8 years. Bob Sanders will continue to destroy his own body, but it will be glorious while it lasts. But the defensive line needs to ensure it has enough quality bodies to make rotation effective.
In the playoffs, they'll need some luck, and will have to hope New England's age catches up with them. I worry most about the Steelers and Chargers (how's their QB situation going to be?), aside from the Pats, but think all those teams have their issues. It'll be a tough year, but I'll steel myself for more January sadness.
For the AFC South--I see no changes--the Colts and Jags at the top, Titans in the middle, and the Texans just possibly catching them. A tough division all-around.
And lest we forget:
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Dallas Cowboys.
Yeah, I said it.
11-5, win the NFC East, lose in the NFC Championship game to a Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings team. (No, I'm not that drunk - they lose to a refocused New Orleans Saints.)
Tony Romo gets another Pro-Bowl and really starts to look like someone who is a serious long-term threat. Terrell Owens has a personal best season in terms of TDs and also dropped passes, while Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd become legit stars - yup, a three-threat wideout package for the first time - well, ever, in Cowboy history). Marion Barber plugs along as a powerful, exciting, but not game-breaking back (despite how much I WANT him to) but is never the reason for any of the 5 losses. PacMan gets reinstated and has an average season as a CB but stuns us more than once with his kick return ability.
Iggles finish 9-7 - McNabb's done (finally)
Giants go 8-8, Eli QQ more.
Redskins - who the fuck cares, Dan Snyder can't figure out why his team did so well in Madden...
San Diego wins the Super Bowl 24-17 in a last-minute squeeker. the commercials generally suck.
Wade Phillips retires to spend more time with his family and Jason Garrett replaces him in the off season. Next year, we either win it all or go 8-8.
Baltimore Ravens
New head coach, new staff, new horizon for the Ravens. Harbaugh's never been a head coach before, but he seems to have his act together pretty well. In my dreams, we'll draft a competant QB, but I don't think that will happen. McNair will be starting QB, but when the stress gets to him EVERY GAME, Troy Smith will step in. Hopefully Smith will get enough field time this year that he starts to round out as a QB and will be starter in the later part of the season. Guy's got some serious potential.
New Coach, newb QBs add up to us not making it to the Superbowl this year, but I'm hoping we can scrape our way into a low seed in the playoffs and do passably well.
Minnesota Vikings:
Our defense was pretty good last year: noboby could run on us. They gave up a lot of yards against the pass but that because they knew they couldn't run the ball. In the offseason the Vikes traded for Jared Allen, the league leader in sacks, and signed freeagent saftey Mideau Williams. In the draft they selected Safty Tyrell Johnson who was predicted to be a mid first rounder by many and considered a steal in the second round. While the Vikings already have Darren Sharper and Williams for a solid saftey combo, Johnson was drafted to be Sharper's replacement in the next couple years. In the meantime it looks like he'll have a good shot at getting the nickle DB position. Will Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, and Jared Allen the Vikings sport three probowl linemen and the DL should be considered one of the best in the league this season. Our linbackers are very good, Henderson could have been a probowler last season, Greenway had a great first season, and Ben Leber was solid. Our CBs are good Winfield is small and getting older but is still among the best.
On offense AP is back with a fully healed knee. Jackson has a year under his belt and has looked very good so far in training camp. Bernard Barrian was picked up to give Jackson a good reciever and Rice had an very good year for a rookie WR last year. Chester Taylor will still be our #2 though there are teams that would like him to e their #1. They also signed Thomas Tapeh a FB to replace Richardson. Tapeh is better blocker than Richardson and that might get Ap a few more yards. Our OL has Steve Hutchinson, Matt Birk, and McKinney. All three have been All-pros, Hutch & Birk are among the best OL in the league. Herrera had a good first season as a starter @ G and Ryan Cook was shakey at the begining of the year but improved by the end. Of course the Vikings season hinges on Jackson's improvement. If he becomes at least a "solid" QB the Vikes should considered a favorite in the NFC.
Of course, I just heard lastnight that the Packers have offered to trade Farve to the Vikings.
I'm curious if Peterson can stay healthy a full year. I definitely see the Vikes as a playoff team; past that, I don't know.
AP is the Real Deal in my book The problem is, they need a Real Deal QB to get them very far. 8-man fronts make for a long season.
Quote from: Zachary The First;231795I'm curious if Peterson can stay healthy a full year. I definitely see the Vikes as a playoff team; past that, I don't know.
I don't think there will be a big problem. RBs are constantly getting dinged up and that's why we have Chester Taylor. Taylor would be a 1000+ yard RB on this team if AP wasn't here. Sure, he is nowhere near as explossive as AP but he is good.
As Werekoala says, the Vikings season is all about Jackson. If Jackson can be even an average QB this year the Vikings will be a serious superbowl threat.
Our defense should be top 3 in the league and with our improvements @ WR & FB we should have a decent offense if Jackson can get the ball to the WR & TE. Of course, if Jackson is like he was last season then the Vikings are only a playoff team.
Obviously, the Bills are going to have a perfect season and smash whomever is unlucky enough to face them in the end. Why are we even talking about this?
Quote from: Aos;231958Obviously, the Bills are going to have a perfect season and smash whomever is unlucky enough to face them in the end. Why are we even talking about this?
Clearly, our mistake. :)
I wish
someone in that division was capable of a winning season and punching the Patriots in the mouth. As it is, its about 6 guaranteed wins for the Patsies.
Yeah, being a Bills fan is a good way to lose interest in the sport, seriously. I've all but stopped watching over the last ten years.
Quote from: Aos;232319Yeah, being a Bills fan is a good way to lose interest in the sport, seriously. I've all but stopped watching over the last ten years.
They never seem to quite get everything together, do they? I'm still not sure what to make of J.P Losman or Trent Edwards. Middle-tier?
My only hope is that the Vikings are a real threat on the field, and take the playoffs by storm. Without!! Favre!! I will boycott the Vikings if that trade actually happens. Worst... Traitor... EVAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree with Zach about the Patriots...could someone knock them down a notch or two? ;)
Go Bengals!!!
There, I did my local city duty and can actually have dinner with my parents from time to time without feeling like a traitor.
- Ed C.
**BREAKING NEWS** Favre to the Jets.
At least two games against Tom Brady? Sign me up. Wonder how fast NBC will shuffle their Sunday Night lineup.
Quote from: Zachary The First;232362They never seem to quite get everything together, do they? I'm still not sure what to make of J.P Losman or Trent Edwards. Middle-tier?
I am totally at loss to explain anything that has happened in Buffalo since the decision was made to leave Kelly on the field and Reich on the bench- and that was a long fucking time ago.
I don't think Favre will be too happy in NY. Hope I'm wrong, but we'll see.
He'll look weird in a Jets uni.
Hey Zach - going to the opening game in the new dome against the Bears?
Cause I am....
My younger sister, who lives in Nashville but is married to a Colts season-ticket holder (and has a condo in Indy partially for the purpose of having a place to stay when going to games) just offered me the fourth of their four tickets.
Because of my looming vacation, I had to turn down tickets to a Cubs/Astros game, and then an offer to go to the Bears pre-season opener tonight. My how Karma turns - it's a beautiful thing, ain't it?
Pittsburgh Steelers
Predicted Record: 9-7, AFC North Champions.
Strengths:Big Ben is a really coming into his own and easily one of the top 5 QBs in the league (I'd go top 3, but I'm a Steeler's fan). The team looks to be well stocked at WR and RB. Defense should be solid.
Weaknesses: Offensive Line. The O-Line didn't show much last year. Now Faneca is gone and nobody new has really been added. So we're counting on the same people who played poor-fair last year to play well this year. That could happen, but could very well not. Steeler's biggest problem last year was that they couldn't grind it out for a yard when they needed one in short yardage and goal line situations. They must be able to do so this year to go any farther than the 1st round of the playoffs. My biggest question on defense is Polomalu staying on the field and playing at a high level. Injuries held him back much of last season and when he did play it wasn't at the same level we've become accustomed to seeing. A healthy Polomalu is critical to the defense being top tier. The punter is out for the season already with an injury. We'll see how the guy they brought in looks in preseason. Special teams weren't great (to put it kindly) last year, so we'll see if they can improve.
The division:
Baltimore is going to suck.
The Bengals are disfunctional.
The Browns are everyone's darling right now, but I don't buy the hype. Yes, they're better than they have been (wouldn't take much) but I don't see them taking the division from the Steelers.
Bottom Line: Pittsburgh has excellent skill position players on offense, solid defense, but a super big question mark in the offensive line. Combine all that with a killer schedule and I see them going 9-7 and taking the AFC North in a down year for the division.
My team? The Pats, of course. You all hate them for some reason. All I know is last season they went undefeated all the way to the Super Bowl, then for some reason, they stopped the Super Bowl with 5 minutes left to play. I guess I'll never know what would have happened if they had played out those last few minutes - probably the Pats would have won anyway. Yeah, that's what would've happened! The Giants couldn't have won!
-clash
Quote from: James J Skach;233063Hey Zach - going to the opening game in the new dome against the Bears?
Cause I am....
My younger sister, who lives in Nashville but is married to a Colts season-ticket holder (and has a condo in Indy partially for the purpose of having a place to stay when going to games) just offered me the fourth of their four tickets.
Because of my looming vacation, I had to turn down tickets to a Cubs/Astros game, and then an offer to go to the Bears pre-season opener tonight. My how Karma turns - it's a beautiful thing, ain't it?
Sweet, man!
I get to go to an early tour of Lucas Oil, but the season opener is a hot ticket--I'll have to win 'em on the radio. But I'd love, love, love to, you lucky bugger. :)
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12-4, AFC West Champions.
Quote from: CavScout;235115(http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/6522/image6tw.gif)
12-4, AFC West Champions.
Yup, I like them. Colts and Chargers are probably my two favorite teams besides the Vikings. Who doesn't like Tomlinson & Manning?
Only concern I have right now is Gates. He is such a threat in the red zone. I just hope he 100% come regular season.
Quote from: CavScout;235355Only concern I have right now is Gates. He is such a threat in the red zone. I just hope he 100% come regular season.
How does Rivers look so far? I know last year he was pretty banged up, everything healed and ready to go?
Quote from: flyingmice;233172My team? The Pats, of course. You all hate them for some reason. All I know is last season they went undefeated all the way to the Super Bowl, then for some reason, they stopped the Super Bowl with 5 minutes left to play. I guess I'll never know what would have happened if they had played out those last few minutes - probably the Pats would have won anyway. Yeah, that's what would've happened! The Giants couldn't have won!
-clash
People hate the Cheatriots because of Bill Bellicheat.
Last year's Super Bowl? Best one ever. And if I believed in a god, I would think the Giants were blessed, cuz nobody wants to see Cheaters win.
Quote from: Mcrow;235381How does Rivers look so far? I know last year he was pretty banged up, everything healed and ready to go?
He looks good. Can't see any after-effects of the surgery. He also appears to have bulked up his upper body a bit.
The Chargers are going to have a strong regular season, get everyone's hopes up and then poop their pants in the playoffs as usual.
I'm very curious to see how the Giants do this year. Everybody is kind of writing their victory off last year as some kind of miracle. The Patriots are still considered the serious threat. All valid, but I'm just curious to see if there is a chance the Giants are kind of for real.
Quote from: walkerp;235885The Chargers are going to have a strong regular season, get everyone's hopes up and then poop their pants in the playoffs as usual.
Last year showed us something different. That they even had a real shot at winning that AFC championship game, with their injuries, should be a sign of good things this year.
Quote from: shalvayez;235384Last year's Super Bowl? Best one ever. And if I believed in a god, I would think the Giants were blessed, cuz nobody wants to see Cheaters win.
Richard Dawkins believed in God after that Super Bowl, my friend. Assuming he wasn't a Pats fan (perhaps he is).
This is totally gratuitous and absolutely NOT necessary at all:
Damn Colts Fans!!!!
They clogged up the streets Sunday afternoon of GenCon.
There was this human seas of Blue football jerseys and shirts ...EVERYWHERE.
They stopped cars from moving. It was almost lik a horde of blue jersey wearing zombies.
Oh Yeah, GO BENGALS!
- Ed C.
I can't believe that Zach hasn't resurrected this thread. Could it be the mighty have fallen? ;)
Beautiful stadium, Zach - especially on a night like that. It's too bad your interior offensive line is shot and your QB didn't take a pre-season snap. I'm re-watching the game on TiVo (since I was there it's interesting to see the other angles, etc. as well as educational for my son who is no gonzo for football after getting into a flag league this year), and it was really only about four plays from being much closer - like the one to Wade in the end zone.
So what other shockers? I mean, lets leave the dancing on Brady's grave for another day - what was interesting to you (the general, not just Zach) and/or your team this week?
I thought Green Bay looked interestingly competent. That will be an interesting story to follow.
The Raiders sucked worse than I even expected them to suck :(
Disappointing loss by SD, but we’ve got to look ahead to Denver now. I just hope Oakland is that bad and that Denver is not that good.
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Quote from: walkerp;246069I thought Green Bay looked interestingly competent. That will be an interesting story to follow.
The Raiders sucked worse than I even expected them to suck :(
I was a bit bummed that the Vikings didn't do a better job - not just because I'm a Bears fan and, therefore, genetically predisposed to hate Green Bay. I was interested to see Berrian with a good QB, how Tavaris Jackson and Adrian Peterson would do, etc. I thought the Vikings could be a decent team this year. The looked so apprehensive in the first half...
Tough loss for San Diego; and now the Bears have to face Carolina coming off that win. At least Steve Smith might still be suspended (I heard rumors that they might try to get a reprieve or challenge it for this week, but that was late Sunday night on overnight Sports Radio between Indy and Chicago, so who knows).
So what the hell is the AFC going to look like now? Patriots lose Brady; Indy looks competent at best; the Jaguars, who seemed to be the trendy pick, lose to Tennessee...
If the Bolt can win in Denver, we should be ok. Host the Jets, play @ Oakland, then play @ Miami. Win the next four and that first loss doesn't hurt nearly as bad.
Quote from: CavScout;246115If the Bolt can win in Denver, we should be ok. Host the Jets, play @ Oakland, then play @ Miami. Win the next four and that first loss doesn't hurt nearly as bad.
Wow, I wasn't aware your schedule was so...favorable. ;)
So you're right - was Denver that good? Interesting. I didn't see the game last night, so hard for me to comment.
Quote from: James J Skach;246121Wow, I wasn't aware your schedule was so...favorable. ;)
So you're right - was Denver that good? Interesting. I didn't see the game last night, so hard for me to comment.
It's second easiest, based on opponet's 2007 record, behind only to the Patriot's.
Which seemed ridiculous (the Pats schedule) until Brady's leg. It's almost like the football gods knew...
Don't turn your back on the Jets, though. I think they may be a sleeper team this year.
Quote from: walkerp;246139Don't turn your back on the Jets, though. I think they may be a sleeper team this year.
I thought the same when Cav posted it, but they will playing them at home. I think SD has more than enough, barring any strangeness, to handle them at home.
Willie Parker looked good for the Steelers. The Texans aren't a top tier team, but they aren't chump change either. The Steelers beat them soundly which is what you should do if you want to think of yourself as an elite team. So after week 1, things went about as good as possible for Pittsburgh. Brady going down, not to mention the injuries the Chargers and Colts are dealing with makes this look like a pretty promising year.
Anyone have any thoughts on the Bills? They look so young compared to other teams, but I thought they handled themselves very well for their 1st game.
Unfortunately..my Vikings didn't do so hot, but it was a good game to watch.
Quote from: James J Skach;246149I thought the same when Cav posted it, but they will playing them at home. I think SD has more than enough, barring any strangeness, to handle them at home.
I suspect Farve's gunslinging arm will get him into trouble soon.
It's tough to be to high on the Jets, they barely won agaist Miami. Stats wise you can argue Chad outplayed Farve.
Quote from: Venosha;246240Anyone have any thoughts on the Bills? They look so young compared to other teams, but I thought they handled themselves very well for their 1st game.
Unfortunately..my Vikings didn't do so hot, but it was a good game to watch.
I suspect, and don't take this the wrong way, that Bills had a game like the Bears. That is, they both played well against teams for which there are higher expectations but are facing injury plagued lineups.
So while both looked rather strong in the opener, I'm waiting for a little more evidence.
I was rather disappointed in the interception in the fourth quarter. I was hoping the Vikes would score early enough so that Rodgers could try to lead a two minute drill and we could hear all about the comparisons to Favre - extra points if he fails, so I can hear the Packers fan lament the decision. But that's just my anti-Packers bias showing...
Quote from: CavScout;246254I suspect Farve's gunslinging arm will get him into trouble soon.
No offense, CS, but I spent the last decade hoping that would take place. Alas, for Bears fans, it doesn't happen as often as I would like (though lately the Bears have had the upper hand!).
Good luck. As much as I don't like the Packers, I've always respected Favre's talent - he's a great QB. He'll be remembered as one of the top 10 who ever played, IMHO.
We live in interesting times - there are (or were before injury) three QB's who will be in the top 10, IMHO.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3578588
Oh dear....
wow. Just. Wow.
So what's the backup plan? I'm not familiar with the second team of the Chargers; I assume management had a plan in place?
Sorry to hear it, CS.
No real surprise there. I'm glad he finally came to his senses. Imagine if he did something worse to them.
Quote from: James J Skach;246322wow. Just. Wow.
So what's the backup plan? I'm not familiar with the second team of the Chargers; I assume management had a plan in place?
Sorry to hear it, CS.
We are actually fairly deep at Linebacker, but you really don't replace Shawn Merriman. We already extended Jyles Tucker which appears to be who will replace Shawn when he leaves as a FA in '09.
Quote from: walkerp;246324No real surprise there. I'm glad he finally came to his senses. Imagine if he did something worse to them.
He stands to lose about 2 million by not playing, which was probably his reason for trying to gut it out.
What I still don't get is that he had knee surgery in the off-season and they decided not to repair the whole knee while they were in there.
Quote=James J Skach;246261]I suspect, and don't take this the wrong way, that Bills had a game like the Bears. That is, they both played well against teams for which there are higher expectations but are facing injury plagued lineups.
Didn't take the wrong way, I was just curious as to what others were thinking. Like my Viking, I seem to get my hopes up about the Bills, only to have them crushed later. I do wish them the best, but I know it will probably take a few years to tame that wild team. I will always cheer them on.
QuoteSo while both looked rather strong in the opener, I'm waiting for a little more evidence.
Ditto
QuoteI was rather disappointed in the interception in the fourth quarter. I was hoping the Vikes would score early enough so that Rodgers could try to lead a two minute drill and we could hear all about the comparisons to Favre - extra points if he fails, so I can hear the Packers fan lament the decision. But that's just my anti-Packers bias showing...
Tell me about it. Disappointment all around. One of the main reasons my husband doesn't allow me to watch football is because I lose all of my polite behavior, and everyone turns into a mother f-ker. Besides the Packers are his boys. I have the anti-Packer emotion running through me constantly.
Quote from: CavScout;246254I suspect Farve's gunslinging arm will get him into trouble soon.
It's tough to be to high on the Jets, they barely won agaist Miami. Stats wise you can argue Chad outplayed Farve.
Whew... glad the game turned out that!