NFL

[Guest Froglet]

yahoo id: 424312

pw: sack 

yahoo

please join if seirous.

[Guest knockblock]

With the season under way I think we should try to make things entertaining in here. How about being awarded with pos reps for making predictions?

[Guest HERMIT]

The Eagles look good on paper with the acquisitions they made. Whether they'll be as good as they look or don't will be found out when the players take field. I like what the Ravens are doing to counter the weakness of their nemesis the Steelers.I also like what the Chargers have done. Especially to show that they're serious about a Super Bowl run. They got Jackson signed and Floyd back. As well as many other returning players. They lost Sproles but it's not bad. The rookie they drafted Jordan Todman seems like he could be everything Sproles was and more.I'm going to say about the Seahawks that Tarvaris Jackson is not the answer for them as the starting QB. He isn't really worthy as a starter.

Yeah, the Eagles look like the NFL version of the Miami Heat with the caliber of FAs that they picked up. But I guess it remains to be seen how team chemistry will pan out throughout the season.

I'm of course hopeful that the Chargers finally have put it together this year. How many times have people been picking them as contenders now, but with nothing to show for it? But maybe last year's experience will serve as the wake-up call that they can't just sit on their laurels, start the season slow, and figure they'll make it to the post-season by virtue of being in a "weak" division. I'm thinking that's probably been the "missing ingredient": quality competition amongst their own ranks. I think with at least the Raiders and Chiefs seeming to get part, if not most, of their acts together, they'll be able to keep the Chargers on their toes and not so complacent throughout the season. Although they didn't quite make the big splash as the Eagles did in FA (not like they actually do anyway), I think they made some savvy moves that just plain made sense for the team. The pickup of Takeo Spikes and Bob Sanders gives the defense a very-much needed shot in the arm with veteran leadership. Hopefully, injuries don't prove to be a factor (in the case of Sanders, specifically). I think the pickup of OLB Travis Laboy alongside Spikes from San Francisco could be a sleeper FA pickup as well. Playing as a situational pass rusher will help fill the void left by Merriman. The Todman pickup in the 6th round of the draft, I agree, was a real steal. He's basically like a bigger Sproles. Now having just seem him perform in this recent game against the Cowboys, the team may not skip a beat in losing Sproles. Anyhow, the jury's still out as to how this year's Charger squad will fare, but at least I can say that I'm not discouraged.

In regards to Jackson in Seattle, I have to agree about the wisdom in that acquisition. I know it probably has all to do with familiarity with the West Coast offense, but certainly some other pickup would have sufficed? Or maybe they just felt that their QB, whoever it be, will likely have to run for his life throughout the season so they may as well get one with some escapability skills hahaha, I don't know. Speaking of QBs, I just read the ESPN report that the Raiders picked up Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft. I'm actually not that familiar with this guy's skill set and background other than hearing that he's generally a good prospect - so I suppose this must be a nice acquisition for the Raiders ..... troubles/suspension notwithstanding. Hell, they've needed some kind of talent/stability at the QB position for some time now.

With the season under way I think we should try to make things entertaining in here. How about being awarded with pos reps for making predictions?

Haha, that is an interesting suggestion, though I don't know how we could "enforce" someone getting their due props.

[Guest a-o]

Eagles got a lot of quality depth at some key positions. Should be fun to watch if it all comes together.

Chargers at full strength with their new additions look promising.

I like what the Ravens are doing to counter the weakness of their nemesis the Steelers.

I didn't really notice the moves the Ravens were making to get better until you brought it up. At first when I saw the Ravens losing Mason, Heap, and McGahee, I kind of thought what was going to happen to their offense. But after seeing them acquire Leach, Ricky Williams, Lee Evans, Bryant McKinnie, and locking up Carr, they look like they can take on more physical teams along with stretching the field.

With the season under way I think we should try to make things entertaining in here. How about being awarded with pos reps for making predictions?

Haha, that is an interesting suggestion, though I don't know how we could "enforce" someone getting their due props.

I'd be happy to +1, hopefully there'll be no monkey business with the reps afterward.

[Guest knockblock]

It's okay Hermit, I just started to bring it up and wasn't clear on how I thought of where to go with this. I'll be more specific on what I was thinking of doing here. The season is about to begin so I'll get to this quickly. Here's what I think of doing. During each week everyone can make their prediction on who wins the games between teams. Give your reasons why you think the team in that game wins if you want. We can pos rep the poster any way we want. Such as if you thought a prediction they made was good. Or other ways, like you just like the predictions they're making or analysis. You can pos rep a poster just for playing/taking part in this. You can do this before or after the games are played, but not during the games. I come up with doing this to make it fun in here. Spark excitement in the thread. The thread was rarely active for last season so maybe in doing this there will be more life. a-o, I'll be glad to +1 as well. Hope I and anyone else does in return . With +1 given, hopefully they get theirs too. Don't worry about people messing with the reps. I trust that this section of the forums isn't like some other parts of the forums.

These are my picks for division winners and wild card teams.

AFC East: New York Jets

I'm going with the Jets because they showed how formidabble they can be. One thing that comes down to with the Jets is, do you believe in Mark Sanchez? I think he'll improve. He has shown in the playoffs what he is capable of. If he can play the way he has in the postseason for the regular season, Sanchez puts the Jets over. He'll get a full year with Holmes as well as work with other receivers. Their defense should as good as they have been. Also, Revis wasn't quite playing to the best of his abilities last season. He looks to have a stronger performance this year.

I didn't pick the New England Patriots. They made a lot of moves this offseason. A couple of the big ones could either turn out very good or pretty bad. Personally, I'm not sold on Haynesworth or Ochocinco. I still find their defense suspect. The youth on the roster is spotty. The book is out on what you need to do to get after Brady.

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens

Going on history with this one. Sometimes the Steelers and Ravens have finished ahead of the other the following season when one of them had a better record than the other prior. I believe that will also apply this time. The Steelers haven't fared as well in the season following when they make the Super Bowl. The funny thing is, I think Pittsburgh has a potent offensive firepower which makes them good. I like Baltimore to win the AFC North because they made moves that I think will help them more. The Ravens offense is what Baltimore needed work on and I think will be better.

AFC South: Houston Texans

You likely heard the news about Payton Manning. He will miss the opener against the Texans. Then he could also miss more time than that. How many games Peyton Manning will miss, it is unknown. Houston's chance of winning the AFC South increases because of this. The division looks good to be theirs and theirs for the taking. The Texans have a balanced offensive attack with the passing and running/rushing game. They are very explosive and it is apparent what they have with the offense. Defensively, they needed to improve big time. As the pass defense allowed a lot of points. Houston will be using the 3-4 D scheme now with Wade Phillips. If the defense shows any significant improvement, Houston will be a more complete team.

AFC West: San Diego Chargers

Last year the Chargers were number 1 in offense and defense statistically for a portion of the 2010 season. But they were terrible/horrible at special teams. Very bad at special teams coverage. San Diego looks to improve on special teams. That aside, they should come back stronger in 2011. San Diego is without question the class of this division. Still very talented in many areas and positions. They are a complete team. They have the experience to go further and make a deeper run. Philip Rivers is amazing. He'll continue to have the performance he's been having and do big things. Rivers will do as much as he can for his team and take them as far as he can.

AFC Wild Cards: Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots

I don't see the Jets or Ravens being on the road as wild card teams too many times.

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles

Usually the NFC East is a tough and competitive division. Except this year the Eagles appear as huge favorites. The Giants had quite a few big contributors go down to injury in the preseason while also losing other important players in free agency who went to other teams. The Cowboys look to continue to build on what they had going under Jason Garret and will get Romo back, but they still have some holes in certain areas or positions. The Eagles by far made the most offseason moves and brought in a lot of good talent to their roster. Whether if they are as good or not as they look on paper remains to be seen. They will gel at some point. Will Vick continue his performance he had last year or will he revert back to the old Michael Vick? It'll be interesting to see how that unfolds.

NFC North: Green Bay Packers

Defending Super Bowl Champs. They'll be getting Jermichael Finley and Ryan Grant back in their offense. Both who went down to injury for the season in 2010. With them back Green Bay should be even better. The Packers battled through the playoffs last season with some of their players on IR. Aaron Rodgers is superb. Definately an elite QB. I expect him to keep up what he was doing late last season. Clay Matthews is a playmaker. He makes things happen for their defense. The Packers are really talented. They kept most of the players from the Super Bowl run.

NFC South: New Orleans Saints

Close call between New Orleans and Atlanta. I went with New Orleans. I think of the history of the NFC South. The team that won this division hasn't repeated as the division champion. So with that, once more, I went on with history. I will say though that the Falcons have a promosing rookie in Julio Jones. Anyway, The Saints look to bounce back from that embarrassing defeat to the Seahawks in the playoffs. They acquired Shaun Rogers who I guess is going to help that Saints defense stop the run. They acquired Darren Sproles perhaps to take the role that Reggie Bush previously had with the Saints offense.

NFC West: St. Louis Rams

Any of the teams can win this division. The weakest division in the league. However, the team that has the best QB play shall win this division. So that's why I'm going with the Rams. The 49ers and Seahawks have to figure out their QB situation. The Cardinals acquired Kevin Kolb, he'll have to get familiar with that offense and it will take time. St. Louis has a bright future with Sam Bradford. He showed himself to be pretty good in his rookie season. With more talent at the wide receiver positions he will excel further when he has the targets to throw to that helps him. The Rams also have a defense that isn't bad.

NFC Wild Cards: Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants

I like what the Buccaneers and Lions have going on. But I don't think they are quite there yet. I got the Giants in the wild card despite the fact they have a lot of question marks. They are a veteran team. Eli had a lot of turnovers last year. Say what you want about him, but I find Eli underrated. I believe he'll turn his performance around. He has something to prove to people.

The season is about to start shortly. The Saints vs Packers will be playing tonight.

[Guest knockblock]

Saints vs Packers.

This should be a good game. With two great QBs Brees and Rodgers. The home team, the defending champions, usually wins the Thursday night opener. I like the Packers. They have a better defense.

[Guest knockblock]

The rest of week 1 games.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore

Atlanta at Chicago

Philadelphia at St. Louis

Indianapolis at Houston

Detroit at Tampa Bay

Tennessee at Jacksonville

Buffalo at Kansas City

Cincinnati at Cleveland

New York Giants at Washington

Minnesota at San Diego

Seattle at San Francisco

Carolina at Arizona

Dallas at New York Jets

New England at Miami

Oakland at Denver

I like the Ravens at home. Their newest players come through for them. Flacco makes the leap forward and gets the not being able to beat the Steelers with Roethlisberger of Baltimore's back.

Atlanta has better offensive firepower. They have a good matchup against the Bears secondary and if they can protect against the Bears defensive front.

The Jets defense has an advantage against the Cowboys inexperienced offensive line. Their corners can also hold the Cowboys WRs in check. New York's offense can gash Dallas with their run game and pick on the Cowboys secondary who is weak there.

The Raiders humiliated the Broncos last year. I say Denver gets Oakland back.

[Guest HERMIT]

Good analysis, knockblock. You sound like the consummate football fan. I don't know if I can keep up with you in the commentary as I just don't really have the patience to really follow each team that in depth, aside from the what's the most obvious storylines.

I give you a +1 rep just on effort alone.

[Guest a-o]

A lot of good stuff knockblock. I'll try to make some predictions too.

For division winners:

AFC North - Steelers, feel like Roeth. gives them the edge over the Ravens.

AFC South - Texans, more to do with the recent news of Peyton Manning.

AFC East - Pats, feel like the Jets are the better team, but the Pats will finish with a better record.

AFC West - Chargers, just too good I think on the offensive side of the ball not to win the division.

NFC North - Packers, too much depth and firepower.

NFC South - Falcons, similar to the AFC East, feel like Saints are better, but Falcons will have a better record.

NFC East - Eagles, not all too sure about Vick, but on talent alone, team should win the division.

NFC West - 49ers, had the most trouble with this division, more of a gut feeling.

Have no clue about wild-cards.

Rest of Week 1:

Pittsburgh at Baltimore - Like the home-field advantage too.

Atlanta at Chicago - Feel good about Chicago, dunno why.

Philadelphia at St. Louis

Indianapolis at Houston

Detroit at Tampa Bay - Feel like the Lions are going to go crazy, another gut feeling.

Tennessee at Jacksonville

Buffalo at Kansas City

Cincinnati at Cleveland

New York Giants at Washington

Minnesota at San Diego

Seattle at San Francisco

Carolina at Arizona

Dallas at New York Jets - Feel like the Jets are going to dominate the time-of-possession.

New England at Miami

Oakland at Denver

This year, feel like I'm going to be more of a casual fan. Been without a TV and having less time.

[Guest Srrvant]

AFC North - Ravens as the '07 Pats found out it is defense that wins championships and that ravens D is ridiculous!

AFC South - Texans, with Manning out it is their year

AFC East - Patriots the high powered offense and the new acquisitions on D are going to make them formidable 

AFC West - Chargers,  somebody has to win this sad division

NFC North - Packers, too much depth and firepower.

NFC South - Falcons, this one is hard though, but I think the Falcons running game is just a tad better than the saints

NFC East - Eagles,

NFC West -  Seahawks, Pete Carroll can create magic in Seattle

[Guest knockblock]

Upset Pick: San Diego at New England

Philip Rivers can torch and light up NE's secondary badly. The Patriots center Dan Koppen is injured and that will create a favorable matchup for Antonio Garay. SD can also attack NE's rookie RT Solder with their OLBS.

Philadelphia at Atlanta

The Eagles own the Falcons. I think Philly continues their winning streak against Atlanta. Vick puts on a good performance in the place that he once played for.

Chicago at New Orleans

The Saints get their first win against the Bears with Brees.

Houston at Miami

Sidenote: The Texans have never lost to the Dolphins.

Seattle at Pittsburgh

Steelers bounce back from a humbling defeat to the Ravens.

Arizona at Washington

Green Bay at Carolina

Tampa Bay at Minnesota

Dallas at San Francisco

Cowboys redeem themselves from last weeks meltdown to the Jets

Jacksonville at New York Jets

Baltimore at Tennessee

Cleveland at Indianapolis

Kansas City at Detroit

Oakland at Buffalo

Cincinnati at Denver

St. Louis at New York Giants

[Guest a-o]

Week 2

Dallas at San Francisco - Dallas should be able to make more plays.

San Diego at New England - See the Pats outscoring the Chargers.

Philadelphia at Atlanta - Don't think Falcons can contain Vick.

St. Louis at New York Giants - Giants should be able to outscore Rams.

[Guest Froglet]

LOL AT THE TALK.  The PATs were dominating as ever and their defense REALLY SURPRISED SAN DIEGO.  Still, the PATs defense showed areas of concern.  Regardless, the PATs offense is by far one of the best I've seen.  If it weren't for PEYTON being out, I would not have been able to witness such great execution.

[Guest knockblock]

Houston at New Orleans

New England at Buffalo

Denver at Tennessee

Jacksonville at Carolina

Miami at Cleveland

New York Giants at Philadelphia

San Francisco at Cincinnati

New York Jets at Oakland

Baltimore at St. Louis

Kansas City at San Diego

Green Bay at Chicago

Atlanta at Tampa Bay

Arizona at Seattle

Pittsburgh at Indianapolis

Washington at Dallas

Upset pick: Detroit at Minnesota

The Vikings may be 0-2. But Minnesota isn't that terrible to remain winless. This is a divisional game. These games divisional rivals play each other tough. Which is the case with the Lions and Vikings. The Vikings are at home and their crowd at the dome will help them. Adrian Peterson has another 100+ rushing yards game. Minnesota will do good if the Vikings defense can get pressure on Stafford.

The Bears defense can slow the Rodgers down. Julius Peppers against Chad Clifton will be a good matchup to watch. Green Bay is better offensively than Chicago though. So thus I pick Green Bay to win. The Packers stop Matt Forte they stop the Bears running game. Get after Cutler and make him make mistakes.

New England has beaten Buffalo 15 consecutive games. Tom Brady is 17-1 all time against the Bills.

Houston vs New Orleans should be a fun and exciting game with two explosive offensives.

Giants have lost 6 straight against the Eagles including the postseason. Eagles will try to avoid losing 3 straight home openers for the first time since 1998-2001.

Kerry Collins has had good games against the Steelers before. But Pittsburgh will still win.

[Guest a-o]

Week 3

New York Jets at Oakland

Baltimore at St. Louis

Kansas City at San Diego

Green Bay at Chicago

Atlanta at Tampa Bay

Arizona at Seattle

Pittsburgh at Indianapolis

Washington at Dallas

All of my picks for the second slate of games are the same too, except I have Atlanta winning over Tampa Bay.

Both Falcons and Bucs usually play mistake-free football, but expecting Bucs' offense to suffer more three-and-outs.

Bears have a pretty good defensive scheme against the Packers, but I ultimately expect Pack to find the endzone more.

If the Redskins win, they'd be 3-0 and leading the NFC East. I think I'm losing it to say that I can actually see that happening, but I expect Rex Grossman to play more like his oldself on the road, giving the Cowboys more scoring opportunities with both Romo and Dez Bryant questionable.

-------

EDIT:

New England at Buffalo

Great call on taking the Bills!

[Guest HERMIT]

New England at Buffalo

New England has beaten Buffalo 15 consecutive games. Tom Brady is 17-1 all time against the Bills.

LOL, yeah - good call on the Bills win over the Pats. Although, your later commentary sounded more contradictory and indicative of the opposite result.

The season thus far bodes for a real shakeup of what's been usually held as the customary hierarchy in the league. Teams like Buffalo, Detroit, Oakland, and Washington sure seem to be making an early impression thus far. Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle - all playoff teams last year - have already found themselves behind the 8 ball in this year's playoff race, or are at least on the brink of falling further behind if their respective lackluster play doesn't pick up and improve anytime soon. By my quick estimation, it seems that only New England/NY Jets and Pittsburgh/Baltimore are somewhat keeping the status quo in their respective division as far as records are concerned. Green Bay and New Orleans also seem to be holding their own as well in their conference. But even after hearing about the Jets performance against Oakland and the Steelers' performance against Indy yesterday, it kind of makes me wonder if those two particular teams might just be getting by with mirrors. I don't know. It sounded like the Raiders exposed the Jets' weakness in their offensive line and sometimes I wonder if the Steelers are actually becoming that slow and aging team that I've been hearing about.

Anyway, I'd have to say that this has been about as surprising and refreshing a start to the NFL season as I've seen in a while. Shoot, even my hometown team the Chargers are still starting out slow and looking horribly discombobulated in terms of execution. But instead of looking bad in what customarily have been early season losses, they've actually been winning ugly. And what's all the more surprising is that much of the ugliness has been coming from Philip Rivers' play. 6 INTs already to only 4 TD passes? Wow. But maybe that's more encouraging in terms of finding that light at the end of the tunnel because I'm more confident that Rivers will turn it around being the fiery competitor and his own worst critic as he is. Moreover, despite the many turnovers and poor execution, it looks like the Chargers are still a good enough team to win their matches against lesser opponents (Min, KC) and yet still manage to stay competitive in the games against better ones (NE). Just cut down on the turnovers and commit to better execution, and conceivably they could be amongst the upper echelon as some have thought them to be.

[Guest knockblock]

Texans over Steelers

Schaub spreads out Pittsburgh's defense and the offense has an effective day. Houston's D-line can win the trench battle against the Steelers O-line.

Titans over Browns

Bills over Bengals

Buffalo has won 10 straight against Cincinnati.

Lions over Cowboys

Suh and the rest of the Lions D-line will overpower the Cowboys young O-line. Calvin Johnson will feast on the Cowboys secondary while opening room for the other WRs for catches.

Bears over Panthers

Defense will be the difference in this game. Chicago takes it to Cam Newton.

Upset Pick: Jaguars over Saints

New Orleans has never won in Jacksonville. Last year the Saints went on the road out in out in Arizona and laid an egg. I can the Saints losing to an inferior team again. New Orleans will be playing in the Florida sun where they'll be put in their black jerseys. That is an advantage for the home team Jaguars. A couple or so of the Saints key players are questionable to play in this game.

Rams over Redskins

Vikings over Chiefs

Giants over Cardinals

Falcons over Seahawks

Packers over Broncos

Raiders over Patriots

Raiders running game will go wild against the Patriots defense. Then Oakland will pass on New England which other teams have had success against. Patriots are 5-9 all time at Oakland (including playoffs).

Chargers over Dolphins

Ravens over Jets

Baltimore is looking to have another big game. Especially against their former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. It should be a slugfest like last year when they met. A low scoring game. I'm going with the Ravens because they look more impressive so far this season and they are better on both sides of the ball. The Ravens lead the all time series 6-1.

Buccaneers over Colts

[Guest knockblock]

Raiders owner Al Davis passes away.

Week 5 predictions

Titans over Steelers

Texans over Raiders

Colts over Chiefs

Jaguars over Bengals

Giants over Seahawks

Bills over Eagles

Saints over Panthers

Vikings over Cardinals

Patriots over Jets

Chargers over Broncos

49ers over Buccaneers

Lions over Bears

Upset Pick: Falcons over Packers

[Guest a-o]

Sad to hear about Al Davis.

Week 5

NO @ CAR

KC @ IND

PHI @ BUF

SEA @ NYG

CIN @ JAC

TEN @ PIT

OAK @ HOU - No Andre Johnson, and Raiders have been putting up points on the board.

ARI @ MIN - Went with the home team on this one.

TB @ SF - 49ers doing good, but expecting Josh Freeman to make the critical plays down the stretch.

NYJ @ NE - Jets know the formula in beating the Pats.

SD @ DEN

GB @ ATL

CHI @ DET

[Guest knockblock]

Week 6

Bills over Giants

Steelers over Jaguars

Colts over Bengals (upset pick)

Lions over 49ers

Eagles over Redskins

Packers over Rams

Panthers over Falcons

Cowboys over Patriots

Saints over Buccaneers

Ravens over Texans

Raiders over Browns

Vikings over Bears

Jets over Dolphins

The Patriots with Brady have a winning streak at home during the regular season. It has to come to an end at some point. Dallas is coming off a bye week. They'll get some important players back from injury. Romo can't make mistakes if they are to pull it off.

The 49ers and Lions should be a good game. Both teams are doing very good right now. The Lions have the better passing attack. The 49ers are better at running the ball. I'm going with the Lions in this game because I think they're just a bit better and talented.