WHAT'S THE LEAST SLAPDICK TEAM IN AMERICA? So, I guess we should also talk about the actual football season as well. I find so much of preseason predictions to be about proving how smart one is rather than actually trying to get it right -- the same impulse that leads fantasy football owners away from drafting Hines Ward and Donald Driver also leads pundits to shy away from obvious conclusions like the fact that if you're picking against the Indianapolis Colts to win the AFC, as long as Peyton Manning's there you'd better have a damn good reason. And I don't have one. No team in the conference has improved enough to top them -- certainly not the goddamn snack eaters in Green and White as long as The Sanchize is at QB.
In the NFC? Let's assume some reversion to the mean for New Orleans. Certainly, they were slowed down a bit tonight. Green Bay is the sexy pick to beat them, and with good reason -- indeed, that's one hell of a machine they've built. It may come down to something as simple as who has home field advantage in January, but when we're talking about winners, the conversation ends with those two.
Sure, there's a lot of things I'm curious to see this season: year one of Kevin Kolb, Ryan Matthews, Denver's Virgin Air and Donovan McNabb in crimson; Mike Martz's impact in Chicago and Pete Carroll's in Seattle (presumed negative); just how much longer Belichick can surround Tom Brady with mediocre running backs and a lesser defense and still win; the rise of Joe Flacco, Matt Schaub and (hopefully) Vince Young; and, of course, whether the NFL does take concussions seriously.
This is the first Eagles season in almost a decade in which the playoffs can't be presumed or expected; indeed, I don't know what to expect. I'm hoping for something around 9-7, 10-6; more than anything, I'm just hoping they were right that Kevin Kolb was ready for this. And I hope we don't lose to all three of Dallas, Washington and New York at home. We may not be great again yet, but let's not suck.
I'm a huge, lifelong Green Bay Packers fan, and I could not be more excited for football season. I even bought a new t-shirt that reads, "Water covers 70 percent of the Earth. Charles Woodson covers the rest."
ReplyDeleteLast night's game was not pretty. The Vikings offense needs some work. The old man is just not in synch with the team.
As someone who enjoys watching Favre-led teams in general (and the Vikings in particular) put up L's, I couldn't have been more pleased with last night's game.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who's up against AP in two FF leagues and Pierre Thomas in two, I also couldn't have been more pleased with last night's game.
On top of that, the score was due at least as much to strong defensive play as it was to bad offensive play. Good defense is good, as far as I'm concerned.<span> </span>
I had to laugh @ Stevie's comment, because here in Baltimore the shirt reads "Ed Reed" instead of Woodson.
ReplyDeleteThe thing to watch for the Ravens is whether their defensive backfield can hold up. Injuries have riddled what was already a very touchy area. The offense is now the centerpiece, with the additions of Boldin and Houshmanzadeh, which, in a town that loves defense, has made for a very strange situation.
I have no hopes for the Bears this year, besides maybe a 6-10 record. With any luck, that'll be accompanied by a Jerry Angelo firing and eventually the McCaskeys (sorry, Virginia, you're a very nice woman but it's time) letting go of the team.<span> </span>
ReplyDeleteIn Philadelphia, it said Garry Maddox when I was growing up.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that people don't draft Hines Ward is that 8-10 points per game, every game, will win you no games.
ReplyDeleteHe's cosnistently around the #15 WR in FFL, and he's no sooner than the 20th-30th WR taken in a given year. Obviously, you need some home run hitters around him, but it's good to have the 10ppg instead of the 18 one week, 3 the next guys.
ReplyDeleteMy philosophy the last several years (not reflected in this year's team, for reasons beyond my control) has been that I'd rather have an entire team of guys who could hit paydirt from anywhere on the field, but who also might zero out on occasion, than a bunch of safe 8-10 point consistent players. Before I adopted that philosophy, I drafted a lot of safe players -- safe RBs in the first two rounds, safe WRs, etc. -- and I consistently scored 75-80 points a game, which generally will win you less than half your games.
ReplyDeleteCan we all agree that Favre should do all the offseason workouts now? That trust in your WRs he didn't have last night could have been fixed if he hadn't been retiring/unretiring.
ReplyDeleteAs for my favorite team the Chiefs, I believe they'll be between 6-10 and 9-7. I know that's a bit broad, but they should be better than last year. It's just that I can't tell how much better yet. This is a make-or-break year for Cassel. Keep an eye on these Chiefs this year: Tamba Hali, Brandon Flowers, Eric Berry, Javier Arenas, Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster. That's a good set of young players.
An inauspicious opener for the Eagles, to be sure.
ReplyDeleteEarly question: which QB do the Lions take with this year's #1 pick?