AFC Preview

AFC Preview
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Disclaimer – I promise to be unbiased when making these selections, especially in the AFC West….yeah, right.
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AFC East
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1-New England Patriots – Yeah, this pains me but the Pats are the class of the division, even if Tom Brady is, and always will be, a fumbler.
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2-New York Jets – Mark Sanchez will certainly struggle, but the Jets are the best of the rest in the division after the Pats. Besides, my collegiate humor level allows me to laugh every time I write the Jets will be quarterbacked by The Dirty Sanchez.
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3-Miami Dolphins – Heard this tidbit…when Chad Pennington makes 10 or more starts in a season, his team goes to the playoffs. . That tells me that Chadwick has a tough time staying healthy on a consistent basis. Also, the Fish way, way over-achieved last year.
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4- Buffalo Bills – T.O.’s first year in western NY. By the end of it, he’ll be wishing he was back in Philly with his buddy Donovan and the dog killer.
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AFC North
1-Baltimore Ravens – Great defense and a decent young QB good enough not to screw things up.
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2-Pittsburgh Steelers – The defending champs are the most talented team in the division but my 6th sense tells me Big Ben and the Steelers are going to struggle this year. Call it a hunch.
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3-Cincinnati Bengals – Carson Palmer is healthy and Chad Johnson seems to be playing with a purpose. His new moniker is stupid so it won’t be acknowledged in this spot. The best news for the Bengals is that Cleveland is still in the division.
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4-Cleveland Browns – Ugly, ugly, ugly. At least we get to find out if Brady Quinn can play, if Eric Mangini gives him the reigns to the team.

AFC South
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1-Indianapolis Colts – The chic pick in the division is Houston. Not here. Even without Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison, the Colts are the team to beat until someone beats them.
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2-Houston Texans – While I won’t chug the kool-aid as it pertains to Houston, I’ll take a sip. If QB Matt Schaub stays healthy, DE Mario Williams and the defense will lead the Texans to the playoffs.
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3-Tennessee Titans- How this team won 13 games last year with Kerry Collins at QB is beyond me. Albert Haynesworth has moved on to Washington so the defense is significantly weakened. Collins can’t possibly have another year like 2008 and Vince Young still sucks.
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4-Jacksonville Jaguars- The Jags have fallen like a rock since an impressive playoff run in 2007 and the rip cord on the parachute isn’t working. This is a team headed toward a top-five pick in the 2010 draft.
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AFC West
1-San Di..... – Oakland Raiders – Ha! Didn’t think I was really going to do that, did you? JaMarcus Russell will come of age and Darren McFadden will have a monster year. If Richard Seymour reports, the Raider defense will be significantly improved. Nnamdi Asomugha is a stud in the secondary and Tom Cable will kick any naysayer’s ass. The Raiders head back to the playoffs.
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2-San Diego Chargers – Kudos to Shawne Merriman for keeping his focus on the field and keeping his name out of the news off the field. Ooooops. Sounds like a bit too much Tequila over the weekend, if you know what I mean...allegedly, of course. I know, the Bolts went to the AFC title game, big deal. They didn’t win and that is as far as a Norv Turner coached club can go. LT’s gas tank is running low and the Charger window of opportunity will close this year.
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4a-Denver Broncos – No third place team in this division, both the Broncos and Chiefs are a total disaster and neither is worth the third spot in the division. The Broncos are on the path to their worst season in a long time and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.
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4b- Kansas City Chiefs – See Denver.
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Coming later this week: Playoff and Super Bowl Predictions

NFC Preview - 2009

After hours upon hours of breaking down film and numerous all-night study sessions that harkens back to my Plattsburgh State days, the 2009 NFC landscape has come into focus for me.
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Here are the in-depth picks, AFC preview to follow soon........
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NFC East .

1-Philadelphia Eagles - Despite having a suspension to serve, Michael Vick's presence should give the Fightin Iggles the "killer" instinct to push the franchise with four NFC title game losses this decade over the top and into the Super Bowl.
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2- Washington Redskins - The surprise team of the conference but mostly anonymous given the off-season news of its division rivals. Just let Jason Campbell manage the game and turn Clinton Portis loose and da 'Skins can prep for the playoffs. .

3-Dallas Cowboys - T.O. isn't around to blame any more, neither is Jessica Simpson. Time for Tony Romo to step up and become the face of the franchise, something he won't be able to do. Jerry Jones will always be the Dallas Cowboys and will never let a player be bigger than him in Big D....Should have spent more cabbage on the practice facility to ensure better safety and cut back a bit on the new digs.

4- New York Football Giants - The best playmaker (Plaxico Burress) is on his way to prison and the G-men awarded Eli Manning with waaaaaaaaaay too much cash in what will go down as the worst contract in sports for the next few years. Eli certainly isn't his brother Peyton, and may very well be the worst QB in the division. Tom Coughlin should've gotten out after the Super Bowl win over New England.

NFC Central

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1-Green Bay Packers - Yep, the legend Favre is in Minnesota, but Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the division. After a down year, the Pack will be back in the playoffs. In fact, we'll call for Rodgers to be the NFC Most Valuable Player this year.

2- Minnesota Vikings - Good move by Minny in bringing in Brett Favre. Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels would've weighed this team down in a big way. Adrian Peterson is the best RB in the NFL and the Vikes can stop the run better than anyone. Those are the reasons, more than Favre's presence, that will allow Minnesota will grab a wild card. .

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3- Chicago Bears - The Rex Grossman era is over, the Jay Cutler era is about to commence. Sorry, Bears fans, the agony is going to get worse. This team could easily win the division but won't. Cutler attended Vanderbilt, so he isn't stupid...at least off the field. On the field, he has followed in Jeff George's footsteps as the NFL version of Nuke Laloosh......a million $$$$ arm and a 10-cent head. The next big came Cutler wins for his team will be his first.
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4-Detroit Lions - Hard to do worse than 0-16 so "up" is the only way to go. Matt Millen is mercifully out of Motown and the Matthew Stafford era should begin at some point in October, if not sooner.

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NFC South .

1- Atlanta Falcons - Wanted to pick New Orleans in this spot, but can't do it. Second year QB Matt Ryan is the real deal and, combined with RB Michael Turner, will lead Atlanta back to the playoffs.
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2 - New Orleans Saints - Remember those who ripped the Houston Texans to shreds for bypassing Reggie Bush and drafted DE Mario Williams with the top pick in the draft a few years ago? Those critics are quiet now as Williams has emerged as a dominate player and Bush has had trouble shaking nagging injuries. QB Drew Brees is solid, but the Saints will barely miss the playoffs.

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3 - Carolina Panthers - You never know what to expect from the Panthers. Lots of D'Angelo Williams will keep Carolina in the playoff hunt but QB Jake Delhomme is inconsistent and that isn't good enough with Ryan and Brees in the division.

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4 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Yeah, the Bucs got it right by firing the Punk (mr. gruden) but blew it in the draft. After winning the Super Bowl with the team assembled by Tony Dungy, Gruden accomplished nothing in South Florida except load up the roster with old, old QB's. The new regime selected the biggest bust of the first round of the draft - QB Josh Freeman - in a move that will ensure Tampa Bay picking in the top three spots of the 2010 draft.

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NFC West

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1- Seattle Seahawks - The default pick 'cuz I had to pick someone from the worst division in football. If Matt Hasselbeck is healthy, Seattle claims the division crown at 8-8.

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2- San Francisco 49ers - If they had a quarterback, they'd win the division going away. But, they don't....so they won't. Mike Singletary's hiring last year improved the Niners from day one and that improvement will continue this year. Singletary is the most fiery coach in the conference (sorry, Tom Cable allegedly beat up one of his coaches, he gets the top honor until proven otherwise). San Francisco will be much better, but Shaun Hill has no business being a starting QB in the NFL. If Brett Favre can come back, why not Joe Montana or Steve Young?

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3- Arizona Cardinals - When the planets aligne and it everything comes together, you'd

better win when given the shot because Super Bowl chances don't come often. Arizona was a few precious seconds from turning the world on its axis with its upset bid over Pittsburgh but the Cards were denied by a great effort by Steeler Santonio Holmes. QB Kurt Warner is a year older and is on borrowed time. Back to reality for Arizona, which means back out of the playoff picture.

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4 - St. Louis Rams - New head coach Steve Spagnuolo is a star in the making but this team is horrible. The Rams will battle Denver for the NFL's worst team honor, and the top pick in the 2010 draft.

Cable Bumaye!

Don't mess with the Oakland Raiders, or their filing cabinets.
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Like the Zaire fight fans in 1974, chanting "Ali Bumaye" (Ali kill him) when Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman to win boxing's heavyweight title, the Raiders took to the chant "Cable Bumaye" when the Cable Guy took the field for last Monday's practice.

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I'm gonna need to get me one of the soon-to-be-on-the-market T's for this one.

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Did Tom Cable punch assistant Randy Hanson in the mug, or did he merely assist him from his chair and into a filing cabinet?

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Don't know, wasn't there.

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Don't care, either.

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The Raider Nation has been void of grit and passion since the Gruden-era, or the Punk-era if you are a follower of this page. Hoping, no, praying, that this becomes a rallying point for a team in need of a purpose, or at least, something to pull them together for any type of cohesion.

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There is nothing wrong with a dust-up in training camp from time to time, although it is usually on the playing field between sweaty men wearing helmets and pads. Boys will be boys sometimes and Raiders will be Raiders.

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The NFL league office is going to investigate but the feeling here is they should stick to reinstated dog-killers and making sure guy's socks are at the correct height levels during games.

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Leave the Raider situation where it belongs, an internal matter overseen by Mr. Davis and the Cable Guy.

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For now, "Cable Bumaye"......................."Raiders Bumaye" to the AFC West.