Official 2009-10 NFL thread

[GeneralHankerchief]

First things first: The Orgahs have a little competition going about who can pick the games best. Last year, the award went to Shinseikhaan for having a better head than the rest of us. If you'd like to get in on the (100% free) action, simply follow these instructions:
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Now then, onto the good stuff. The 2008-09 season ended in exciting fashion with the Steelers defeating the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. Since then, we've had a very interesting offseason, featuring draft picks, Brett Favre losing what was left of his credibility, and Michael Vick *cringe*. The new season will officially start Thursday when the Steelers play the Titans, with the rest of Week One to follow on Sunday. Here are my divisional predictions, plus comments:

NFC East: This is my home division, and thus I will be a little biased towards its inhabitants. A lot of pundits see this division as a dead heat between my Eagles and the New York Giants, and I agree with them. At the start of the preseason, I had to give the edge to the Eagles because they had the advantage in receivers, but now I'm not so sure. They've had a ton of injuries, more so than the Giants. Add in the fact that Vick will only serve to cause a ton of controversy (including screwing with McNabb's already-fragile ego), and I pick the Giants to win the division. Also, there is the matter of the Redskins, with Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell playing for a job. I think their desperation, plus the fact that this is an odd-numbered year, means that they will slightly beat out the T.O.-less Cowboys for third place.

Giants
Eagles (wild card)
Redskins
Cowboys

NFC North: Last year, I memorably picked the Lions to win the division, and they rewarded my faith by having the first 0-16 year in league history. So what am I going to do this time? Make another surprise pick and go with the Green Bay Packers to win it. My reasons for this are simple: Brett Favre is officially a cancer, and will find a way to singlehandedly lose games for the team, unfortunately for Adrian Peterson. In Chicago, Jay Cutler is in place and better than Kyle Orton, but the fact remains that he still has nobody to throw to. Add in an aging defense and Cutler's immaturity when he realizes that things won't be going his way, and you will have a quickly-fading Bears, leaving Green Bay the winner by process of elimination. In Detriot, Stafford and Calvin Johnson will do enough to win three games.

Packers
Vikings
Bears
Lions

NFC South: The kookiest division in the league, by far. I'm going to take the easy way out of this one and pick the Saints, following the "last place makes a big jump" rule, even though New Orleans has burned me before. Their offense is simply too good to be kept down for long. N.O.'s only real competition is Atlanta, who look to continue their startling progress in Year 2 of the Matt Ryan era. As a matter of fact, Atlanta could win the division, but they could also miss out by one game (or even a tiebreaker) and not even make the playoffs. Farther down the list, the Panthers simply cannot trust Jake Delhomme, and the Bucs are rebuilding.

Saints
Falcons (wild card)
Panthers
Buccaneers

NFC West: There's simply no way that the Seattle Seahawks will have as many injuries as they did last year, and as such, I expect them to make a big rebound in 2009 under new coach Jim Mora. They need a better running back situation, but Matt Hasselbeck is a pro and the defense is still good. I think they'll edge out the Cardinals to win the division, as a combination of a loss of coaching staff, Warner's brittleness, and the Super Bowl loser's curse will make Arizona the last team out of the playoffs. In San Francisco, Mike Singletary is leading the 49ers in the right direction, but they're still a year or two away. St. Louis under Steve Spagnuolo is even farther than that.

Seahawks
Cardinals
49ers
Rams

AFC East: The New England Patriots appear ready for another rebound, and considering they won 11 games without Tom Brady last year, they appear ready to challenge for the Super Bowl once again. The Miami Dolphins under Tony Sparano last year surprised everybody with a ten-win turnaround, but they're still not overly-talented and play a meat grinder of a schedule this year, dropping them back to mediocrity, at least for this year. Mark Sanchez of the Jets is exciting everybody with his play, but needs to be surrounded by more weapons before this team can truly challenge New England for supremacy. The Owens signing in Buffalo will turn out to be a huge mistake and I sense a bottoming-out year for the Bills that will (hopefully) clean house afterwards.

Patriots
Dolphins
Jets
Bills

AFC North: One of the three contenders for "best division in football", and the clear winner for "nastiest", the North produced the two entrants in the AFC title game last year and looks to do so again. I'm going to say that Joe Flacco's improved play will edge Baltimore over Pittsburgh in the battle for the division this year, but the Steelers will still grab a wild-card spot. Both teams will leave the Bengals and Browns in the dust. Cincinnati's window of opportunity from 2006 has almost slammed shut, and the Browns need to sort out a lot of offensive issues before they can regain their 2007 form. I'll nudge the Browns over the Bengals for 3rd place because they appear to be less of a circus at this point in time.

Ravens
Steelers (wild card)
Browns
Bengals

AFC South: Pundits have predicted the doom of the Colts for years now, and appear to be doing so again with the departure of Tony Dungy and forced retirements of some of their other coaches. However, as long as they have Peyton Manning, I don't see it happening. The rest of the division is a madhouse, with the powerful Titans, ready-to-break-through Texans, and dangerous Jaguars all ready to unseat Indy. I'll say Houston comes closest, with Matt Schaub finally putting together a healthy season. Jacksonville will finish third at either 9-7 or 8-8 but miss out on the playoffs. In Tennessee, the Titans will feel the loss of Albert Haynesworth and realize that it's probably not a good idea to trust Kerry Collins for two back-to-back seasons. I predict they will slip back into mediocrity.

Colts
Texans (wild card)
Jaguars
Titans

AFC West: This division is a mess, plain and simple. The Chargers are clearly the team to beat, but Norv Turner is still their coach and they may be without Shawne Merriman again if the bizarre Tila Tequila story is to be believed. In one offseason, Josh McDaniels has alienated the Broncos' two best players, Cutler and Marshall, and has everybody questioning his prowess as a coach before the team took one snap. The Raiders are still the Raiders, with Russell still looking unimpressive and their new head coach, Tom Cable, possibly breaking one of his assistant coaches' jaw. The only real team to avoid bad headlines in the West is the Kansas City Chiefs, who are simply not talented enough to contend.

Chargers
Chiefs
Raiders
Broncos

Final predictions:
NFC: Eagles over Giants
AFC: Patriots over Steelers
Super Bowl: Eagles over Patriots

Let's have a good season, everybody. If you do decide to take part in the Total War pool, Week One predictions are due by the Thursday game.

-edit- Crap, I forgot to do a poll. Can I get an assist from the mods on this one?

[Sasaki Kojiro]

My reasons for this are simple: Brett Favre is officially a cancer, and will find a way to singlehandedly lose games for the team,

It seems Brad Childress vastly misunderstood the "Cash for Clunkers" program.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Thanks to Hosa for getting the poll in order.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Not a problem, amazingly I didn't even screw it up on the first try. I must be slipping.

[KukriKhan]

If anyone has a problem at poolhost, let me know (I admin our pool), either here, or on the built-in msgBd there. If anyone has a better idea for a logo, let me know (I just nicked that image from the org frontpage).

[Strike For The South]

I like the vikings chances this year. To many weapons, say what you want about Brett but if he doesn't try and wins games singlehandedly the Vikings will roll in the NFC

[GeneralHankerchief]

I like the vikings chances this year. To many weapons, say what you want about Brett but if he doesn't try and wins games singlehandedly the Vikings will roll in the NFC

That, my friend, is a morbidly obese "if".

[Strike For The South]

That, my friend, is a morbidly obese "if".

If he does it will be mind boggling he has a future HOF'er and a guy who is going to be good for at least 4 pro bowls in the backfield.

Brett isn't stupid, Remember in the 90s he went to two super bowls and won one. Remember the NFC was also the harder confrence. In Green Bay he DID have to win single handeldly. Im sure many QBs would kill to have a supporting cast that included Dorsey Levens and Mark Chumura.

Green Bay won games becuase of Farve, that's why he is such a cult hero. He went to New York, tried to do the same thing and it worked for about six weeks until his age started to show.

The Vikings are the most loaded team in the leauge bar New England. There divison is middle of the pack at best (Detriot is horrid and Chicago and Green Bay are on the fence with me)

What I worry about is the locker room chem. No one likes a big shot coming in late and doing what he wants. Thats what you have to worrt about.

[drone]

I can finally root for the Cowboys to win the Superbowl, now that TO is gone (I don't want him to get a ring). Not going to happen, but I can dream.

[seireikhaan]

Oh yeah. Time to defend ma title.

Now, as for division picks:

AFC East- I may not terribly like them, but the Patriots are my pick to win this division. They've got the most talent and experience then anyone else by leaps and bounds. I'm calling the Dolphins for a second place spot, but no wild card. The Bills I sense a mediocre year from- their o-line in in bad shape, and I don't get good vibes from the Owens signing. However, I'm calling the Jets for last place. Simply pu, the QB situation is not good, and the team is in a bit of an overhaul year.
1. Pats
2. Dolphins
3. Bills
4. Jets

AFC North- I'm going to call the division for the Steelers. I think they're simply the most well put together of all the teams, with the most different ways of finding ways to win games. They won the super bowl for a reason. The next pick I may regret. I'm going to call a second place finish for the Bengals. There's always weird quirks from year to year, and this is my quirk. With Palmer back, I'm calling an 8-8 rollercoaster for the bengals. Third place I'm picking the Ravens to fall off. I feel they over achieved last year, and I'm not sold on Flacco as a starting QB in the NFL just yet. The defense is getting older, and I think they'll take a dive to 7-9 or so. Lastly, the Browns. Like the Jets, they don't have a very resolved QB situation, and the team as a whole is still very young, with a new head coach.
1. Steelers
2. Bengals
3. Ravens
4. Browns

AFC South- Well, I might be biased, but I think this is the best division in football. The Colts have lost a fair bit over the offseason, but I think we'll find a way to win the division once more, though we might not hit the 12 win mark. The rest is pretty durned tricky, and could realistically be left to coin flip. The Titans I think will be very, very solid once more, given a very strong running game and a good defense, even without Haynseworth. I'm going to pick them for a second place, and a wild card. Third place, I'm going to pick the Texans. They've been hitting a glass ceiling for a few years now, and this year, I think they break through with an over .500 record and grabbing the second wild card spot. As long as Schaub stays on the field, the offense should hum nicely, and the defense is getting better every year. Lastly, the poor Jags get last almost by default. I'm figuring that Del Rio will be fired after this year, when they'll go under .500 once more. The loss of Fred Taylor will hurt more than they realize, I think. The defense, I think, will struggle once more with pass rush, and the team will get frustrated under Del Rio's increasingly harsh locker room demeanor.
1. Colts
2. Titans (Wild Card)
3. Texans (Wild Card)
4. Jaguars

AFC West- Wow, what a mess. Chargers win this division almost by default, with the Chiefs lacking talent, the Broncos lacking cohesiveness of any sort, and the Raiders a complete boondoggle mess on almost every level.
1. Chargers
2. Chiefs
3. Broncos
4. Raiders

NFC East- I'm going to call this for the Eagles. I think they've got plenty of talent on both sides to withstand the loss of Jim Johnson to win this. I don't think the Vick signing will hurt as much in the locker room as people think. Then the Giants, who get a wild card spot thanks to strong running game and defense, with enough air support from Eli to get a solid 10-6 or so record. The 'Skins are a bit of a puzzle for me, so I'll defer to GH and just trust that they'll get third, which leaves the 'Boys for fourth. This is more wishful thinking than anything else, as I don't really care for Jerry Jones.
1. Eagles
2. Giants(wild card)
3. Redskins
4. Cowboys

NFC South- I'm picking the Panthers here. I've been hearing some good things about the progress of their passing game thus far, which, combined with their exceedingly strong offensive line and running game, will make for a very tough to stop team. The defense should be pretty solid as well. Second place, and grabbing the second wild card spot, I'm picking the Falcons. Still a young team, but Ryan should make strong progress his second year with team, and the running game should be very good as well. The main kicker for me is their defense, which is why I'm picking them behind the Panthers. Third, and missing out on the playoffs, will be a Saints team which will be fun to watch, but only about average in terms of winning. I don't see the running game holding up, and I don't see their defense being able to stop the aforementioned two teams. That leaves the Bucs, with the messiest QB situation in the league and a new, young head coach. Definitely a rebuilding year.
1. Panthers
2. Falcons(wild card)
3. Saints
4. Buccaneers.

NFC North- Not quite sure about here, so I'll just go with gut instinct and personal bias. First, the Packers. Most talent across the board, period. Second, the Bears. Defense should be ok, running game ok, passing game might be ok. In this division, that's good enough for second place. Third place, the Lions. Won't be a good third place team, but they'll manage. Last place? The Vikings. Most likely won't happen, but I rather hope it does. Brett Favre's past achievements should not allow him to do whatever he wants, and I hope the locker room revolts as soon as he throws his fifteenth foolish interception simply because he can't gun it like he used to. Plus, he's pushing out two other guys who've been working hard to try and earn a starting QB spot, and he waltzes in having done zero for the vikes and gets the spot.
1. Packers
2. Bears
3. Lions
4. Vikings

NFC West- Probably the division I know least about. I'm going with the Cardinals first, since their starting QB is a UNI grad. Seahawks second, on account of their backup QB being an ISU grad. The Rams will get third place, since their previous starting QB was a UNI grad, and the 49'ers get last for not paying more attention to the state of Iowa.
1. Cardinals
2. Seahawks
3. Rams
4. 49'ers

NFC- Panthers over Cardinals
AFC- Colts over Patriots
Super Bowl- Colts over Panthers

[Strike For The South]

The Vikings behind the Lions?!?!?!?!?!!? Poppycock I say.

I may as well do one of these division things as I have some time to kill

AFC East: The Pats are quite simply going to run train on this division. Anything less than 7-1 in there divison and it's a dissapointment. None of the other teams really do much for me, the Dolphins are scrappy but nuerotic and injury prone. The Jets just suck and the Bills have more questions than a 49 cent taco. Saying all this I see Buffalo number 2 becuase Lee Evans and TO will give 2ndaries fits

1. Patriots
2. Bills
3. Dolphins
4. Jets

AFC North: I see the Steelers and I see 3 teams who could go 8-8. My favorite darkhorse is always Cincy but I can't bring myself to pick them even with a healthy Palmer. The Browns still have an unresolved suituation at QB and the Ravens keep getting older on D and lost there young all pro but yet I still like them and 4 games against the Ohio teams should help.

1. Steelers
2. Ravens (wild card)
3. Bangels
4. Browns

AFC South: Very tough here as all 4 teams could be contenders. The Colts will get theres but I do sense a drop off, You hate to pick against a guy like Manning but with that hospital ward known as there defense I feel this is the year the Colts finally get knocked off and pass there crown to the TEXANS. That's right I'm picking the HOUSTON TEXANS to win the south. Tennesse and Jacksonville simply don't strike as having the same hunger as Schaub and Kubiak

1. TEXANS
2. Colts (wild card)
3. Titans
4. Jags

AFC West: Worst division in football. Have a happy first round bye San Diego and then be prepared to be knocked out by the Colts

1. Chargers
2. Cheifs
3. Raiders
4. Broncos

NFC East: This divison, while not on everyones radar is still a tough cookie. The Giants, Cowboys, and Eagels all retain a core of guys who are players. I'm picking the Giants to win and the Eagles to snatch the WC. While I think as a personel decison the Vick signing made no sense it did piss off McNab who in my book is still a top 5 QB. The Giants have all the peices, there is no reason to pick agianst them. The Cowboys strike me as eh, we need a new QB Romo just doesn't cut it. **** the Redskins

1. Giants
2. Eagels (wild card)
3. Cowboys



4. Redskins

NFC South: I want to like Atlanta...I really really do but I don't know how they won 11 games last year and I sure don't know how they could do it again this year. Carolina is the safe choice solid everywhere around but no WOW factor (save D'angelo maybe) The Saints have Pierre whom I love but outside of him there isn't much...Eh I'm picking Hotlanta

1. Falcons
2. Panthers
3. Saints
4. Buccs

NFC North: I love the Vikings..this is the most excited I've been about a team in a whie. A HOF QB and HB!!!! They simply have all the peices in place and they know it. Now if Childress can just stay out of the way...The Bears have Cutler but the Pack has Rodgers and he's better therefore Green Bay gets the nod and the WC. The Lions have a Texan starting for them (Then again who doesn't?) but other than that there still the Lions.

1. Vikes
2. Pack (wild card)
3. Da'Bears
4. Lions

NFC West: What a crapshoot. Some much upside, so much downside. Seattle's good but Hassleback is old and decript. Frisco is young and firery but there also young and firery. Zona seems like the safe pick but I'm pretty sure that if you choose the Cardinals to win there division back to back years the apocolypse reigns down upon you. As for the Rams I like Stephen Jackson but there just bad.

1. Seahawks
2. Cards
3. 49'ers
4. Rams

AFC Champ: Patriots over Steelers
NFC Champ: Vikings over Giants
Super Bowl: Pats over Vikes

I don't pick agianst Brady in the playoffs.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I like the vikings chances this year. To many weapons, say what you want about Brett but if he doesn't try and wins games singlehandedly the Vikings will roll in the NFC

Joking aside, I agree. The only Jets game I saw last year was when favre cut the previously undefeated Titans to pieces, so maybe that distorted my view. But it seems like with peterson all the vikings need is a qb who can manage the game well and be decent.

AFC North is the only division I'll make predictions for...I would say it's a toss up between the ravens and the steelers. It depends on how flacco improves.

I predict the bengals will hit 9-7, a solid 3rd place.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Picks made. I really don't have much of a clue about the teams this year, so a lot was guesswork.

CR

[Ice]

Steelers as always!

[GeneralHankerchief]

First game tonight, anyone else excited? I'll probably be switching back between Steelers/Titans, the Phillies game on local TV, and actually doing work for school surfing the interwebs.

[seireikhaan]

First game tonight, anyone else excited? I'll probably be switching back between Steelers/Titans, the Phillies game on local TV, and actually doing work for school surfing the interwebs.

I, for one, and exceedingly glad my night class was wednesday and not tonight.

Gotta see how the Titans look this season.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Looking forward to it. Didn't the titans beat the steelers last year? Was looking forward to a rematch in the playoffs, but then chris johnson got injured in the ravens game and they ended up losing.

Bengals home opener will probably be blacked out :(

Hopefully I can watch the vikings destroy the browns instead, maybe put something over the bottom of the screen so the scores don't get spoiled.

[drone]

Bengals home opener will probably be blacked out :(

There's going to be a lot of that going around. The NFL is going to have to change that rule this year or the next, the TV contracts are too expensive for the networks to lose that ad revenue.

[GeneralHankerchief]

There's going to be a lot of that going around. The NFL is going to have to change that rule this year or the next, the TV contracts are too expensive for the networks to lose that ad revenue.

A crappy substitute, but at least it's something.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

A crappy substitute, but at least it's something.

They showed the blacked out preseason games on tape delay at 11:30 here. Assume they'll do the same with the regular season games.

-edit-

Apparently not...I guess I'll have to go with the nfl.com thing. At least the vikings are my 2nd favorite team...

[drone]

A crappy substitute, but at least it's something.

That's all well and good with the fans (actually, no it's not, but it's something), but it does not help the networks any. CBS paid $3.7 billion to broadcast AFC games through 2011. If they lose significant airtime in markets like Oakland, Cincy, and Jax, they lose ad money and the contract value will be less when they renegotiate (probably some time next year). The TV contract is huge for the NFL, especially since the fan experience at games is pretty craptacular these days. Overpriced tickets/parking/concessions, PSLs, and other general shafting ruins the gameday experience, it's better to watch on TV now anyways. We may be at a tipping point where the fans can actually fight back, costing owners both at the gate and at the negotiating table.

Combine the increasing blackouts, the upcoming TV contract talks, and the potential lockout/strike in 2011, we have some interesting times coming.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I used to go to a couple of Bills games a year, but not lately. The concessions are outrageously expensive. The pre-poured beer sold in cups is poured hours before game time and stored on cooler racks. No beer sales after half-time.

The tail-gate party before the game was the best part about the day. No matter how bad the team was or how crappy the weather, the barbeque & beers with friends and family made it fun.

Now, the cost of the tickets & the shakedown by concessions, security, crazy traffic....I'd rather not bother. I usually don't even watch the games on tv any more and we do usually something else on Sunday. Especially since the Bills appear to have thrown in the towel for 2009 before the first game.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Wow, a lot of consensus for this week's picks.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Hmm. My only against the grain pick is Miami over Atlanta.

The concessions are outrageously expensive.

So true. Maybe this'll be the year they realize they can't keep shafting fans forever.

CR

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Hmm. My only against the grain pick is Miami over Atlanta.

Mine was Tennessee. Bironas

-edit-

Great game though.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Great start to the year. Can't get much better than overtime.

and Sasaki already falling behind

[seireikhaan]

All in all, a pretty good way to open the season. A fun-to-watch game, and a Titans loss.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Great start to the year. Can't get much better than overtime.

and Sasaki already falling behind

It was the right pick

If bironas hadn't missed two kicks and if the titans had let chris collinsworth be their defensive coordinator in the second half the would have won.


*******

It seems like polomolu is out 3-6 weeks

The madden curse I guess.

[Hosakawa Tito]

It was the right pick

If bironas hadn't missed two kicks and if the titans had let chris collinsworth be their defensive coordinator in the second half the would have won.


*******

It seems like polomolu is out 3-6 weeks

The madden curse I guess.

The fickle Football Gods strike again. And the dog woulda caught the rabbit if he hadn't stopped to .
I'm looking to make hay with my CHI over GB & NYJ over HOU. I'll probably be singing the refrain to your chorus.

Watch DET come out and bite us all in the butt. Kukri love that!

[Strike For The South]

Wow. Jacksonville better beat Indy or else I'll be behind the seven guys in 1st!