NFL Picks and Predictions

The NFL is a rough place. Just ask Tom Brady.  Brady, who is attempting a comeback after a major injury last year, was injured on Friday in a preseason matchup.  Worse still, it was to his throwing shoulder.  The Patriots are far from feeling comfortable after trading away the primary backup to the Chiefs.  Matt Cassell was a pretty good back up, so Brady recovering is a huge must for Patriots fans.

The Carolina Panthers have been bitten by the injury bug as well.  They have seen DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Keomatu, and now Godfrey go down with injuries.  Even Steve Smith has been hurt and inactive in the preseason though he seems fit and ready to go now.  Perhaps the most damaging injury is to Jon Beason, the middle linebacker that anchors that Panther defense.  Still, the Panthers look to shake it off.  Teams can only shake off so much.

On a related note, yours truly found himself down and out this week as well.  I have been sick with a cold for darn near a week, and so have missed the week three predictions.  My apologies to those that were looking for them.  I will be back up and running this week, however, and will be back to normal game posting schedules.  Thanks for the support guys.  Opening day is right around the corner!

The 2009 NFL preseason is off and running and things are beginning to get interesting.  Unfortuantely, my week one NFL preseason predictions were a mediocre 9-8.  Call it rust, or call it the unpredicatable nature of NFL preseason picking.  Whatever the case, I am just getting warmed up.  Things will get better.  Without further ado, lets get into the week two NFL preseason predictions and get on with the football:

THUR, AUG 20

Cincinnati at New England - This game is one that should really be a scoring fest.  I expect that the Bengals are going to continue to try to see if Palmer is truly ready, and they might give him a few extra snaps.  The Pats are feeling awfully good about Brady and the offense after that first week.  Preseason or regular season, this one is New England all the way.

Winner – New England Patriots

Philadelphia at Indianapolis - The Eagles now have Michael Vick on board, and they surely will be tempted to sneak him in a time or two to see what he might have.  That would likely be a mistake, as he barely has taken a snap in practice.  The Colts are trying to figure out why they stunk so bad last week.  The Eagles will win this one.

Winner – Philadelphia Eagles

FRI, AUG 21

Tennessee at Dallas – The Cowboys looked about as bad as a team can look in the preseason last week, and this week I expect them to bounce back.  The Titans have been great in the preseason, but they will lose in Big D.

Winner – Dallas Cowboys

Atlanta at St. Louis – Could things get any worse for Marc Bulger and the Rams?  First they lose Donnie Avery, and now they lose Marc Bulger.  Atlanta will take advantage in this NFL matchup.

Winner – Atlanta Falcons

Kansas City at Minnesota - The Chiefs are going up agains the Minnesota Favres?  Vikings, I mean.  Brett Favre in Minnesota has the whole NFL shook up.  I think it might be a big mistake in the long run.  We will see.  The Vikings win this one going away, however.

Winner – Minnesota Vikings

SAT, AUG 22

Detroit at Cleveland – Detroit actually looks like a team that is turning the corner.  Of course when you lose every game, that corner is not hard to reach.  They will steal a win against a team that is having a major identity crisis at the moment.

Winner – Detroit Lions

Carolina at Miami – The Panthers looked horrid against the Giants, but the second teamers performed well.  Miami looked fairly solid.  I expect that the Dolphins will run their way to a win with the Panthers sitting all their stars.

Winner – Miami Dolphins

Pittsburgh at Washington - The Steelers are serious contenders this year, and the Redskins look pretty bad on paper.  The formula will hold true for this game at least.

Winner – Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay at Jacksonville – The Jaguars are going to struggle a bit this year, but it wont be because of their defense.  Look for some serious excitement out of the Jags on D.  This game in particular.

Winner – Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans at Houston – The Saints will go marching all over the Texans in this NFL Preseason matchup.  It will be ugly.

Winner – New Orleans Saints

Buffalo at Green Bay – Buffalo has had their fair share of games having played two already and both games were a bit of a disappointment.  Green Bay has to be ticked off about the whole Favre thing.  They will take it out on Buffalo.

Winner – Green Bay Packers

NY Giants at Chicago – Chicago is excited about seeing how they stack up against the Giants.  I think that if Jay Cutler just throws the ball and keeps his mouth shut, they will look pretty good.  Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening after the Giant’s pass rush is all over him.

Winner – NY Giants

Oakland at San Francisco – The Raiders might just win this one if they can keep their fists out of each other’s faces.

Winner – Oakland Raiders

San Diego at Arizona – The Chargers and the Cardinals are certainly going to be a fun game to watch.  The Chargers have so many weapons, and the Cardinals have the ultimate weapons on offense.  Don’t expect a lot of defense, folks.

Winner – San Diego Chargers

Denver at Seattle – The Broncos are really struggling as expected given the loss of all pro quarterback Jay Cutler, and they are still taking baby steps.  The Seahawks are going strong now that Matt is back full strength.  This one will be a blowout.

Winner – Seattle Seahawks

MON, AUG 24

NY Jets at Baltimore – The Jets will put on a nice show with their new quarterback Mark Sanchez.  Will he be able to look so good against that Raven’s defense though?  I don’t think so.  Not yet.

Winner – Baltimore Ravens

The AFC East in recent years has been pretty much all about the Patriots for the last several seasons with the lone exception of last year.  In a very odd 2008 NFL football season, the mighty Patriots lost superstar quarterback Tom Brady and dropped to second place behind Miami via a tie breaker.  This season, Brady is back but does that mean that the AFC East is a gimme once again?  Let’s look into the crystal ball for 2009, and see what stares back at us.

New England Patriots

While the Patriots are not the powerhouse they have been in previous seasons, they are still awfully good.  This version of the Patriots has just as strong of a chance in winning the division as any, and I expect that Brady will return to form quickly and decidedly.  Randy Moss, Brady, newcomer Fred Taylor, and many others will keep the Patriots near the top of the standings all season long.  I expect them to reclaim the AFC East crown.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins sprung from nowhere to take the playoff spot in the AFC East last season and they will not sneak up on anyone this year.  The Dolphins are a solid football team but they do have some question marks.  Will Ronnie Brown be able to hold up this season?  Will the wildcat be effective again?  Can the Tuna work some more magic?  I see second place in this talented division.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills are one of those teams that is really hard to figure out.  They have some serious talent and that new guy…. Terrell Owens.  They have a quarterback that might just explode now that the Bills have more than just Lee Evans to throw to.  It should be fun to watch.  The Bills will come in a strong third, and would not surprise me at all to go higher.

New York Jets

The Jets will struggle this season because they seem committed to rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.  He is a fantastic talent and I do see him succeeding in his rookie year, but there will be growing pains for sure.  Expect that Sanchez will play alot, and the Jets will win a little.  This will be a good thing in the long run for the Jets.

Make sure to check out my other predictions for the league found below:

The NFC East

The Tennessee Titans used a bit of trickery and a solid effort from the offense and defense in the first half to hold off a second half that was pretty much won by the Bills.  Neither team played the starters for very long, and the game was pretty much what we expected it would be.  The Buffalo Bills had only field goals, and was twice stopped at the goal line by the Titans defense in the first half alone.

Terrell Owens debuted as a Buffalo Bill and played only one series.  In that series, he had two catches for 27 yds.  Not a huge deal, but still Buffalo fans got to see their new wide receiver catch a few balls of the first time.

Another interesting storyline was the play of Titans quarterback Vince Young.  He started off extremely shaky, but then did recover enough to make a nice pass for a touchdown to Paul Williams.   Starter Kerry Collins was solid in limited action as was Patrick Ramsey.

Buffalo had little to feel good about on offense, with the lone exception of backup quarterback Gibron Hamden.  He was extremely good under center completing 11/13 for 89 yds.  Another bright spot was running back Xavier Omon.  He was quite active with 36 yds rushing and 3 catches for 25 yds as well.

Preseason Season Pick Record -1 Win 0 Losses

You Must Watch The Play of The Game – The Punter Scores A Touchdown!

Tonight’s opening Hall of Fame game match up features two teams that are due to answer some questions.  At the top of that list of questions is how Terrell Owens will fare in his Bill debut, and how the first team Titan defense will fare without Albert Haynesworth.  Both of these questions will not likely be answered in the NFL Hall of Fame Game, but we might get a glimpse.  Owens is slated to play.

Given that the teams will be using very sporadic first team players, one must look at the second units when determining the outcome.  For this reason, I would go with the Titans here.  The Titans do still have Vince Young at quarterback, and he is still quite talented.  Not only that, he is the number two man on the totem pole now, and he will want to prove himself.  Given this, he will be tough against Buffalo.

Buffalo will be facing an uphill battle with Ryan Fitzpatrick and others at the quarterback position the majority of the game.  This is especially true against even the second team Titans defense.  They are no slouch to be sure.  It will be fun to watch Terrell even in limited action.

Prediction:

Titans will win.

Season Record: 0-0

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The NFC East has a long and storied history, so it seems appropriate that they be the first division that I predict.  NFL picks and predictions specializes in picking NFL football games, but we would be remiss without predicting the NFL’s season as a whole.  Since this is the case, I will be predicting each of the divisions day by day, and will finish it off with an overall pick for the year’s conferences and playoffs as well.

The NFC East is going to be very interesting this year.  No less than three of the four teams have a legitimate shot at winning the division, and the Redskins could even surprise if the stars align right.  You never know with the NFC East.  Here are the four teams, and the order I think they will finish in during the NFC regular season:

The Dallas Cowboys – Dallas is far from my favorite team and they are entering a year that will be interesting to watch.  They have some questions to be answered, such as their secondary and replacing the ever present Terrell Owens.  They also have one of the finest running back tandems in the league.  Tashard Choice, Marion Barber, and Felix Jones is a load for any team.  I think Dallas will  put it together this season, and Romo will have his finest season.  Dallas goes as the running game goes, and they can not seem to miss with this group.

The Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles are the en vogue pick this year in the NFC East, but the truth is they are still a bit unpredictable.  The reason?  Superstar running back Brian Westbrook is breaking down.  He is just too fragile at this point to put them in the upper echelon.  If the Eagles get a ton of production from him, however, this might send the Eagles to the top.

The New York Giants - Plaxico leaving the Giants will hurt much more than Giant’s fans had hoped.  They are without a doubt a talented group, but they will be in trouble in the passing game.  There is always that chance that they bring in someone, or somebody steps up on the roster, but I do not see it happening.

The Washington Redskins – Washington still suffers from the quarterback position and Clinton Portis has got to slow down.  Portis amazes every year, and he certainly could do so again this season.  Campbell is just not going to take the Redskins any further than he already has.  He has some great qualities, but the inconsistant nature is killing the Skins.  Defense is suspect in DC this year as well.

Brett Favre truly left the Minnesota Vikings in a crappy position.   Though he is approaching forty, and about the same number of retirement announcements, the former Packer and Jet really had the Vikings salivating.  How much?  So much that they left their other quarterbacks on a very precarious perch while they waited.

Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson now inherit the Viking offense with a wonderful sense of being unwanted.  Rosenfels was actually just acquired to compete with Jackson from the Houston Texans.  Excited when he first arrived, he has to be wondering why they acquired him in the first place.

With the Vikings chasing after Favre like a wounded puppy, these two quarterbacks had to have felt as though they Vikings had zero confidence in their ability.  I know I would feel that way in that situation.  The Vikings were certainly not bringing Favre to watch from the sidelines.   The Vikings did not seem to pay any attention to what would happen if they did not get their man.  And now they are paying for it.

How would you like to be the Viking’s head coach trying to explain to Sage and Tavaris now?

What do you say to these two quarterbacks.  Well, we couldn’t get the guy we really wanted but we really do believe in you now?  Sorry for chasing Favre?  Please now lead us to the Superbowl?

The Vikings are going to have a serious problem unless Tavaris or Sage one decides to make a point.  The character that is needed to overcome this situation is something that neither quarterback has shown in the past.  Tavaris has been given every chance to blossom.  What is alarming is that he was attempting to do well in a simple offense that features the best running back in the NFL in Adrian Peterson.  If he can not make that work, then what chance does he really have now?

I guess this is exactly what the Viking brass was thinking when they went after Favre.  The problem is, they now have a pair of quarterbacks that  not only are inferior talent wise to Favre, but they feel their organization has no faith in them.  That is usually a death sentence for a football team and a quarterback in particular.

The Vikings are strong enough to overcome this situation for sure.  Whether they can do it will be a very interesting thing to watch in the coming season.

Pic courtesy of wikipedia commons user Blueag9

Tom Brady

Well, my fantasy draft is over and I could not be more pleased.  I got pretty much everything that I wanted, including my target running backs and depth.  It looks like this is going to be a banner year for my fantasy football team.  Here is a look at the NFL players I drafted, along with some quick thoughts as to why I did:

Tom Brady - Brady is coming off major injury, so I am not sure what to expect.  I know that whatever the case he will be a quality option, and early reports are very good on him being fully recovered.  Also, I got him much cheaper than I thought I would.

DeAngelo Williams- This was my primary target for this draft as Williams is one of the better running  backs that still gets little respect.  I expect he will have another huge year.  (I sure hope so)

Brian Westbrook - Westbrook is also dropping in fantasy circles due to injury and age, and I got him for a cup of coffee.  Tons of upside here, and I have plenty of back up if he falters.  It is always good to have a couple of picks like this that could potentially put you over the top if they have comeback years.

Pierre Thomas - Speaking of back up, this kid looked awesome last year.  This year he should get lots of carries.

Dwayne Bowe - Bowe is going to be getting much better looks from Matt Cassell than he is used to.  I expect a huge year from him.

Vincent Jackson – Jackson is going to benefit from having a healthy LT on the field.  That will open up the passing lanes.

John Carlson – Carlson will break out this season as a fantasy star.  He was right on the edge last year, and this year Hasselback is healthy.

Titans D/ST - Even with the losses on defense, the Titans are still super strong.

Nate Kaeding – One of the best kickers in the NFL.

Chad Ochocinco – Ocho is far from one of my favorite players, but I had to take him when he dropped to the bottom of the barrell.  Again, a player that has tons of upside and a healthy Carson Palmer.

Julius Jones – Another fine back up running back just in case of emergency.  Jones could end up among the better running backs in the NFC.

Donnie Avery – High impact speedster over in St. Louis.  He had some head turning plays last year and I got him very cheap.  With Holt gone, he could blossom.

Matt Hasselbeck – Solid, dependable back up quarterback that might be due another great year.

Zach Miller – Back up tight end with plenty of upside.

Panthers D/ST – Good solid back up defense.

Chris Chambers – The steal of my draft.  Chambers finds ways to get into the end zone, and I expect this season will be no different.

Overall, my team is balanced and solid.  I see plenty of room for the wins to flow, and I hope this NFL fantasy football season is as good as I think it will be. I will update you each week on my progress throughout the NFL football season.

Tonight is my NFL fantasy football league draft and I am anxiously hoping to accomplish a few things.  I want this year’s team to be well rounded.  The draft is a head to head draft with only ten teams, so I assume that there will be plenty to choose from.  Still, it is important to get the jump on the league with a good NFL fantasy football draft.

Each week, along with my regular NFL picks and predictions I am planning to also let you experience my NFL fantasy league experience.  You can see the ups and downs, as well as the thinking that I put into my league.  For those that are new to NFL fantasy football, you might learn a few things.  For those that are not new to NFL fantasy football, you can laugh at me for kicks.  (It is always fun to play Monday morning quarterback.)

Going into the draft, I am hoping to draft two solid running backs with my first two picks.  I am hoping to get DeAngelo Williams rather cheaply.  And I want a balanced team that has depth.  Those are my three major goals.  I do not yet know what position I will be drafting in so it makes it hard to target much else.  I am very much a “get a good quarterback after your running back is settled”  kind of fantasy drafter.  I believe in the power of the running game.

Some players I would like to get (other than the obvious players):

DeAngelo Williams

Matt Ryan (If cheap)

Roy Williams (should be a steal after last year)

Steve Smith (an annual target for me)

I will post with my actual fantasy football team and the results tomorrow and let you know how I did.  Wish me luck NFL Football friends!

michael vick

In all of my days, I never dreamed there would come a day when I would think that Terrell Owens made any sense.   Just considering that possibility seems foreign to me.  Truthfully, I must say that I agree with alot of what he said about the Michael Vick situation.  It still rings as shallow to me coming from Owens, but it is at least grounded in reality which is a big step for the Buffalo star receiver.

In case you didn’t know, Michael Vick, former NFL football star, is recently released from prison and allowed to pursue a return to the NFL.  He had just been in prison as a result of helping to run and fund a dogfighting ring.  He served a prison sentence, and then was on house arrest for a long time.  He also lost his entire fortune made from playing NFL football and endorsement deals.

Now, commissioner Roger Goodell is looking like he is going to accept Vick back, but give him a four game suspension to start the NFL season.

To me, that is really kicking a man when he is down.  I understand that Goodell wants to swing a big stick.  I get that.  Really.  I was the first to stand up and say that Vick should be punished.  The bottom line is that Vick was punished. Does it really matter if it was mandated by Goodell or not?  Should societies punishment not be strong enough?

Why does it even matter?  Well, for one thing not many NFL teams are going to want to take on Vick given the situation in the first place.  When you tack on a four game suspension to start the season, then Vick is even less attractive as a worthwhile investment.  He already has a huge challenge in front of him.

I am not a Michael Vick fan.  I am not a Terrell Owens fan.  But I do think that Goodell is being rather idiotic here.  Give the man a chance in full, or give him no chance at all.  If you are going to suspend him, you should just enforce the lifetime ban.  Otherwise, give him a zero tolerance policy, and let the man play football.