Re: Official 2008-09 NFL thread
NFC East: This was a strong division last year, but I'm predicting a slow down this year. The skins lost Joe Gibbs, replaced by a rookie head coach. The Giants had an incredible run last year, and I think they're still a solid team, but that they'll go 8-8 and miss the playoffs. The Eagles had a quietly good offseason, and Donovan McNabb is back and healthy. It think their secondary will be so good they can stack the line with an 8 man, and make their defense rock solid. McNabb and a Westbrook will put up enough points to have a productive offense. Of note, I think the Cowboys will have a down year. T.O. is a proven nuisance, and the honeymoon will be over. They lost a lot of their running game, as well as Terry Glenn, who I think will be missed more than people think. They still have a lot of talent, but I don't sense any kind of cohesion, and Wilson doesn't impress me as a coach.
Eagles
Giants
Cowboys
Redskins
NFC North: A lot's made of the Brett Favre situation and how that will hurt the Packers, but I think Aaron Rodgers will have a terrific year. He's had years to improve his mechanics and work with the coaching staff, and he was an obviously talented QB coming out of Cal. The rest of the team is still very good. I'm going out on a limb and going to predic the Bears will, somehow, someway, patch together an 8-8 season, with strong defense, and Kyle Orton being more consistent and protective of the ball than Rexy. The Vikings, on the other hand, have no proven sense of cohesion despite their talent, and I think will have a letdown. I still think Childress is a numnutz of a coach, and will botch team chemistry. The Lions speak for themselves.
Packers
Bears
Vikings
Lions
NFC West: I'm predicting a breakout year for the Cardinals. Their offense will be great with Kurt Warner at the helm. Their offensive line showed progress last year, and I think will be even better this year. The receiving corps will still be very good, and I think a TE will be developed in the person of Leanord Pope. This division will not be very good, and their merely adequate defense will be able to contain their divisional opponents enough to enable them to win the division. I think the Rams will have a renaissance this year. Bulger's a very good QB still, and more importantly, Orlando Pace and the rest of their O-Line is healthy once again. Bulger will light up the field. The defense will be a liability, but their fantastic offense will enable them to win a wild card spot. The 49ers will, like the Rams and Cards, will have a fantastic offense with Martz at the helm of the Offense, but they won't be balanced, and they don't have any kind of proven performer at QB like Bulger. They'll finish just behind the Rams. The Seahawks have gotten old, they have no RB who's got any kind of proven record, they still don't have a decent reciever, let along any good one, and their 'D' still isn't very good.
Cardinals
Rams (Wild card)
49ers
Seahawks
NFC South: The Saints will come marching home. Brees is a top 5 QB, the recieving corps is solid, the line is very good, and Deuce McCallister comes back, giving them the 1-2 punch with Bush. The defense isn't all that good, but I predict a down year for the division as a whole. The Panthers will grab the other wild card spot, with Delhomme coming back, and a strong running game to work with as well. The 'D' is a complete question mark, it could be good or bad. The Falcons are still rebuilding, and have a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball. The Bucs, I predict, will fall apart. They haven't a proven RB, Garcia and the receivers are old, and the line has been shaky from year to year. The 'D' has some question marks in the secondary and inside line. Plus, the Bucs have never been able to put any consistency forth year to year since Gruden's been there.
Saints
Panthers (Wild Card)
Falcons
Buccaneers
AFC East: The Pats are king. Period. Jets will be much improved. Favre will rally the team and inject excitement. Plus, it doesn't hurt that their o-line should be great, giving him plenty of time to throw, as well as giving Thomas Jones room to run. I predict a wild card for them. The Bills have a sold 'D', and their offense has some promising young players, but this just isn't their year, they need more exp. The 'Phins, like the lions, speak for themselves at this point.
Patriots
Jets(Wild card)
Bills
Dolphins
AFC South: Ok, I'm a bit biased, but the Colts are still top dogs in the south. Peyton's been out of the pre-season, but its irrelevant. The offense has years of chemistry together, and Anthony Gonzo will have a breakout year in the slot, where he belongs. Harrison will come back strong, and he's been working out and practicing for a while now. Plus, our line is perrenially strong thanks to the great work by Howard Mudd, our terrific o-line coach. I'm a bit concerned about the loss of Jeff Saturday, however. That could hurt a lot if he's out for a prolonged time. Our defense will be stronger, I think, than last year. Its still VERY young, and we added some critical players. Guys to watch- Curtis Johnson, and undrafted free agent from Clark College in Atlanta, and Marcus Howard, our 5th round pick. Both are excellent speed rushers, and fit our system perfectly. I think both will be far better backusp than what we had last year. Bob Sanders has recovered from his injury, but he needs to keep himself upright- he's the best defensive player in the NFL, in my opinion. He's a dynamo, all over the field, and a great tackler.
The Texans have a very good young team, and I think that Steve Slaton will take off at RB halfway through the season. He fits the system well, and has a lot of quicks. Schaub's a solid QB, and Rosenfels is a quality backup. The receiving corps is good and young, if Johnson stays healthy, they will be very good. The defense has been getting better and better, and I think Amobi Okoye will takeoff at DT this year, being more consistent. The rest of the defense has quality talent as well, such as Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans. I'm predicting they'll pickup a wild card spot ahead of the Jaguars. The Jags I have reservations about. Their receiving corps is in tatters, and a couple of players on the o-line are hurt. Fred Taylor has been historically fragile, and he's getting older as well. Jones-Drew can't handle the starting role by himself. The 'D', which used to be build on its rush defense, has been hit. Stroud's in Buffalo, and Henderson's a bit fragile, and even if he is on the field, can only do so much himself. They have NO veteran pass rusher, and Derrick Harvey won't be the help they need. They reached for him, and he held out for a very long time to boot. I'm predicting a bigger year from Quentin Groves. I'm predicting 8-8, and just missing the playoffs. Tennessee is maddening. They don't seem to have the talent other teams have, but they ALWAYS find ways to be competitive. Young doesn't put up very good numbers, and turns it over too may times, but still somehow keeps them in games. Their receiving corps has nobody most people can recognize, but they still manage to move the chains. Yet, the losses to their D-line will be felt, and their defense will crack more this year. I think this will be compensated a bit by an improved running game and a more consistent Young. However, the brutal division will keep them at 8-8, and out of the playoffs.
Colts
Texans (wild card)
Jaguars
Titans
AFC West: THis division will still be terrible. The bolts have a complete lock here, they simply have far too much talent and proven players like LT to have a chance of not winning this division. Their defense will still be great, and Rivers has shown to be a quality QB thus far. The Broncos will improve slightly under a more mature Jay Cutler, but the rest of the team is still subpar, on pretty much every level. The Chiefs are rebuilding, with a lot of young players at key positions, and their special teams is worth mentioning because of how awful it was last year; they went through seven kickers last year. The Raiders are a rotten organization, and I mean more in a literal sense. Al Davis has no idea how to run a team anymore, and his interference has rotted what used to be a great franchise into a perennial joke now. No half decent coach would put up with Davis.
Chargers
Broncos
Chiefs
Raiders
AFC North: The Browns have a load of quality young talent, complemented by a top offensive line and a grinding running game with Jamal Lewis. The defense will improve greatly with Shaun Rogers at the nose tackle position, and Corey Williams will vastly improve their DE spot. The improvement along the D-line will have a carry over effect for the linebackers, who will be freer to run to the ball and rush the passer, which in turn gives the secondary an easier job. The secondary still is pretty awful, but the D will be solid overall, methinks. The steelers have a great QB in Roethlisberger, but I think the rest of the team is decidedly average. They lost Faneca on the o-line, and their OT spot is still a bit questionable. I think they'll finish 9-7, but will miss the playoffs because of the Texans and Jets, who I think will both finish at the 10 win mark. The Bengals are full of enigmas, and the D is shotty. Marvin Lewis will be fired after this year. The Ravens have a new coach and rookie QB from day one(Flacco apparently got the starting job). This is clearly a rebuilding year.
Browns
Steelers
Bengals
Ravens
I don't fee like doing all the round by round stuff, but I'll do the championships.
NFC championship-Eagles defeat Saints
AFC championship- Colts defeat Patriots
Super Bowl- Colts defeat Eagles.
Tony Dungy retires.
MARTOK: The NFC central doesn't exist anymore.
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Originally Posted by TosaInu
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