Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Football, not Futbal


Well, I know I went on a rant not too long ago about the whole TO situation, and dont you worry, I will touch on him later. As for now I think I would rather talk about some interesting things and some predictions that I have for the rest of the season and into the NFL draft this coming spring.

As any sports analyst will tell you, nothing is really decided till the very end, and that really seems to be the way the NFL is going this year.

AFC

Who knew the Bengals would be tearing things up with a record of 7-2 when last year the only big news about the Bengals was them trading Corey Dillon to the Patriots. The Bengals are definitely going to the post season and it wouldnt surprise me to see them upset the favored powerhouse of the AFC North Division, the Steelers. Though the Bengals are doing well this year, there is no way that they will make it past the Colts in the playoffs...thats even if they get a chance at the Colts.

Speaking of the Patriots, Steelers, and Colts has anyone noticed that their star QB's have really been in the limelight this year? Last year when ever someone mentioned the Steelers it was Ben Roethlisberger, or when someone mentioned the Colts it was Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady for the Patriots. Granted, they are having spectacular seasons...but you wouldn't really know that unless you followed the teams. Roethlisberger will most likely lead the Steelers to the playoffs again, but there is no way they can defeat the Colts. The Patriots currently standing at 5-4 are leading the AFC East (which is no surprise at all considering the other three teams in the division are the Bills, Dolphins, and Jets), but I would be surprised if the Patriots made a run for the Super Bowl again this year. Sorry Tom Brady, Peyton's defense has your number this year. The Colts are phenominal. This is the type of team that you look at on paper and think to yourself "There is no way this team could ever lose to anyone." The real factor for the Colts being 9-0 right now is their defense, and as I called it back in week one, the Colts are going to the Super Bowl, and yes, I do think they will win the Super Bowl.

The other big surprises in the AFC are the Chargers, the Broncos, and the Raiders. If you had asked me to pick the best team out of that bunch I definitely would have put them in order like so: Chargers, Raiders, Broncos. The Broncos QB, Jake Plummer, has had mediocre seasons his entire career, but for some reason Plummer has just gone balls-to-the-wall this season. I also think Mike Shannahan is one of the best head coaches ever for the sole fact that he consistently finds these running backs that no one else would take a chance on and turns them into hall-of-famers with the snap of a finger. Can anyone say Terrell Davis? The Chargers are a team that I definitely would have put money on for being a Super Bowl contender, not that they are totally out of the running just yet, but their record is 5-4 in a division led by the 7-2 Broncos. LT is one of the best, if not the best running back in the NFL and Drew Brees solidified himself last season as a productive young QB. Their defense is solid, their offense is good as well. Where are they falling short? In my opinion I feel that their biggest weakness on offense is their deep threat in the passing game. Keenan McCardell and Eddie Parker are solid receivers, but their leading receiver is their tight end, Antonio Gates. Sure a TE can be the big playmaker for an offense, look at Shannon Sharpe for the Broncos or Jay Novacek for the Cowboys, but any defense going to play the Chargers has two key focuses: 1. Stop LT, 2. Lock up Antonio Gates. If I were the Chargers I would look to deal Phillip Rivers to a team in the NFL for a high draft pick or a big play receiver. I know there are a lot of teams looking for a QB, especially one of Rivers' potential, like the Dolphins, Bills, Jets, Ravens, Lions, Cardinals, Chiefs, and the Brownies. I think the Raider's are probably one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL slightly behind that of the Eagles' season as of now. The Raiders went out and got Randy Moss, though an asshole he is still the most talented Wide Receiver in the game right now. One would think that Moss and Jerry Porter would give vet QB Kerry Collins and ton of opportunity to win games, but sadly Collins doesn't seem to want to win very much and the raiders are a lousy 3-6 in a conference where anything less than 11 wins probably won't get you into the post-season picture. Collins has thrown 6 TD's and 14, COUNT'EM, 14 interceptions. How in the world could you not throw 40 touchdowns in a season with receivers like Moss and Porter? Broncos - playoffs and potential AFC championship game against the Colts. Chargers - strong season end, wild card, nothing more. Raiders - draft a QB and another anchor for the defense, better luck next season.

Moving On....this has turned out to be a longer blog than I thought, but I hope you are enjoying this...I worked hard on it :-)

NFC

I cannot remember the last time the NFC has put up multiple teams with 12 or more wins (by multiple I mean in comparisson to the AFC who usually has 3 or more each year). The obvious favorite going into this season was the Philly Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons. The NFC East division (Redskins, Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants) is always a dogfight and each game is probably more heated than any rival in the AFC. I would compare those games to Yankee- Red Sox games, but more fun to watch on TV. Right now the NFC East leader is separated by 1-2 games at most.

Unfortunately, the Eagles (whom I generally don't really care for but enjoy watching because they are a great team) have had so much inner-turmoil with the whole TO situation that their season was pretty much over before it really even got started. I feel bad for McNabb because he plays his hardest each game while he is obviously hurting, but this just isnt his season. I am still a bit puzzled why their offensive strategy was so focused on big plays and passing the ball a hundred million times per game and running it only a handful of times. It is true that Brian Westbrook is much better out of the backfield as a receiver, but he is still a huge threat as a runner. I thtink that the Eagles picking up Lamar Gordon from the Jags was a good move. Gordon is not a starting RB by any means, but he offers a more 'power-back' style of running, which is good for short yardage plays and running up the middle. Without the deep threat of TO the Eagles are handed two things: 1. Team Unity and less drama, and 2: Unproven receivers Greg Lewis and Reggie Brown. Lewis and Brown are decent receivers and have stepped up to the challenge nicely. Both are so young though, Brown is a rookie, that no one in Philly is sure of what to make of them. However, Philly fans all around are sure hoping that they turn out to be some demonic force that will catch anything McNabb's hefty arm will throw at them. Right now, the Eagle's main offensive threats are Westbrook and TE LJ Smith. LJ Smith is going to be one of the best TE's in the league right up there beside Algae Crumpler and Antonio Gates. I predict that the Eagles will finish last in the NFC, not by much though...maybe 7-9 or 8-8, and they don't have much of a shot at going to the playoffs being that they are 0-3 against their division rivals. If I were the Eagles I would probably bench McNabb for the rest of the season so he can have surgery to fix his sports hernia and be recoverred in time for spring workouts. I would also throw Ryan Moats into the mix. They drafted him, might as well see what he can do! Who knows, maybe he will be good enough to work into the second RB position next year and take the place of the hopeless Correll Buckhalter.

The Cowboys are anchored by their defense. Period. Parcells drafted Ware and Spears and switched his defensive scheme over to a 3-4 as opposed to the 4-3/cover 2 he ran last year. This has done wonders for a team who had a mediocre defense last year. Roy Williams is one of the sickest safties in the game, obviously with respects to Brian Dawkins of the Eagles and Rodney Harrison of the Patriots. I mean, the guy cause the NFL to create a new penalty because of him. Thats pretty bad ass. The Cowboys offense is much more productive this year after acquiring Terry Glenn and Drew Bledsoe...mainly Bledsoe. I feel like Bledsoe is the new Dan Marino. He always puts up good numbers and is a good leader on and off the field, but I cant ever see him winning the big time. I think the Cowboys can make the playoffs as a wild card, but its going to be a tough tough dog fight for them.

I think the New York Giants solidify my claim and belief that the QB position is the position that can really make, or break, a team. Of course you know that, that makes sense right? Well during the Bill's "hey-day" Jim Kelly was a solid QB, but he wasnt great...they made Super Bowl appearances because of Thurman Thomas and their defense. Hell, Mark Rypen from the Redskins in the late 80's/early 90's was never looked at as a hall of famer QB, but he had ridiculous running backs and receivers. BUT, if a team has solid receivers and a ridiculous QB, they are damn tough to beat. End of Story. So, now that Eli Manning has started to come into his own as a stand out QB in the NFL, the Giants are a force to be reckoned with and could quite possibly represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. It would be tough, but definitely feasible.

Shaun Alexander is having the season that every RB in the NFL dreams about and gets a chubby when thinking about it. The Seahawks have only played 9 games and Alexander already has posted 17 TD's. When you have a RB with Alexander's talent and the veteran arm of Matt Hassleback you get a very explosive offense. Alexander does have a tremendous amount of talent and I believe he will be nominated for Canton in the future, but do not forget that RB's are nothing without their offensive line and my friends, the Seahawk's O-line is one of the best in the league.

At the beginning of the season everyone picked the Carolina Panthers as the favorite to win the NFC and go onto the Super Bowl. I was skepticle of this claim and I still am a little skepticle. I know they are a good team offensively and defensively but for some reason the Panthers going all the way just doesnt make a whole lot of sense to me. Delhomme came out of nowhere and has been hooking up with receiver Steve Smith every chance they get. Steve Smith was also putting up good numbers last year...then he got hurt. I don't know about the Panthers going all the way, especially being in the same division with the Falcons and the Buccaneers who are only a game behind the Panthers. I think if the Panthers can keep Smith healthy they have a good shot at the playoffs as well as in the playoffs.

Super Bowl Prediction: Colts win over the Falcons 42-21
NFL MVP: Shaun Alexander
Offensive Player of the Year: Shaun Alexander
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Freeney or Brian Urlacher
Rookie of the Year: Kyle Orton or Demarcus Ware

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