NFL Picks and Predictions

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

Ok.  I am pretty much over the whole Michael Vick thing.  But this is simply too much…

Newport News, Vick’s hometown, is throwing a celebration in honor of Vick on August the 8th according to Fox news.  Yes, a celebration.  Andrew Shannon, who is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Newport News is heading this up, and he says it is to promote the doctrine of nonviolence.  And Vick is the guest of honor?

A returning felon is getting a celebration.  A returning violent felon (against dogs at least) is going to be their poster child for “a doctrine of nonviolence?”  Did I miss something here?

Do not get me wrong.  I feel that Michael Vick should be allowed another chance in the NFL as I stated here.  I feel that the man served his time and should be allowed another chance at making things right.  But isn’t this just a little bit rediculous?  Could they not find a better example of non-violence to celebrate?  Has he really proved himself already having  just gotten released from custody a couple weeks ago?

This is one event that I could understand PETA screaming at.  I might even pick up a sign or two myself.  That said, I feel that asking Vick to come home to a celebration is kind of like asking Pacman Jones to go to an anti-stripper rally.  It is a joke and offensive as hell all at the same time.

What do you think about this?  I would love to get some opinions for or against.

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.

When everybody’s fantasy football draft rolls around, it is not likely that tight ends will be at the top of everyone’s draft list.  That is logical considering even the best tight ends do not even come close to contributing what a quarterback or running back will provide.  Still, the 2009 NFL football season will have some tight ends that will challenge the wide receivers of the league.

This season, there will be at least five of them that you can expect to fill your fantasy scorecard week after week.  Here they are:

Jason Witten – Witten already was putting up pinball type numbers for the Dallas Cowboys before Terrell Owens left, and now he is going to be targeted even more.  Add to that the fact that the Cowboys have a super running attack and you start to see how Witten is set for a career year.

Dallas Clark -  Clark is another example of addition by subtraction.  Harrison is no longer there for Manning to throw to, and Clark should pay the dividends.  Reggie Wayne will still be the man, but Clark will likely be the primary number two in crunch time.

Antonio Gates - Gates is an unquestioned beast when he is healthy and it appears that he is finally there.  Offseason foot surgery solved a long standing problem and that probably means bad news for the rest of the AFC.  Phillip Rivers will be throwing to him early and often.

Kellen Winslow -  Winslow is set to finally fulfill the potential that he has been missing out on for years.  He should be near the top of your tight end list if for no other reason than he is sure to be a security for…..whoever is Tampa Bay’s quarterback.

Tony Gonzalez – Matching Gonzalez with Matt Ryan is a match made in heaven.  Not only will Gonzalez give Mattie Ice a new target, but he is the perfect compliment to the Atlanta offense.  They will feed Michael Turner, and then play action pass all day long.  Hello Tony Gonzalez!