This is the eighth and final post of a two-week series I will be doing, discussing every team by division and how I see their 2008 NFL season playing out. Today, we are discussing the NFC West division, which is populated by the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. Let’s get started!
Seattle Seahawks Matt Hasselbeck has always played solid in the regular season, and I don’t expect that to change in 2008. He seems to be battling a back injury, but is scheduled to start the season opener at Buffalo. The Seahawks lost Shaun Alexander, who’s production slowly deteriorated in ‘06 and ‘07 after an MVP season in 2005. They did, however, acquire Julius Jones from the Dallas Cowboys. He will have an immediate impact on the offense’s production, and can easily take some of the pressure off of Matt Hasselbeck so he’s not getting hit hard as often. The defense will be one of the best in the league in 2008. Patrick Kerney was easily the best defensive lineman in 2007, passing even Jared Allen of the Chiefs (now Vikings). I expect the secondary to have a strong year, but the linebackers and D-Lineman will be the ones who win or lose the division for the Seahawks. Lofa Tatupu and Patrick Kerney should both have extraordinary seasons. As far as the regular season goes, the Seahawks are a team to watch out for.
Regular Season Prediction: 10-6, 1st in NFC West, #4 seed in NFC playoffs
Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals are going old school and starting The Fossil, Kurt Warner, on opening day rather than Matt Leinart. I’m only gonna say one thing about Matt Leinart right now: trade him. The Cards have not been good with Leinart at the helm, but when the Hermit comes on out of the hills, they seem to do excellent. Warner threw more touchdowns in the final 8 games last season than any other QB, including Tom Brady. Edgerrin James is getting older, but is still a solid contributor to the offense, and you can safely bet on him rushing for 1,000+ yards this season, and 10-12 touchdowns. He is also one of the best catching backs in the league, and an pop moves on any defender on any day. If the offense stays in rhythm with him, and vice-versa, watch out for the Cardinals. Larry Fitzgerald will have himself another sensational year, and I still haven’t heard much on the Boldin situation. If he does come back, the Cardinals will be the ones who win the NFC West, guaranteed. As long as Warner stays healthy, that is. If Boldin doesn’t come back, the Cards will still be in contention close to the end, and may even sneak out a few more wins than I’m giving them. But for now, I think Anquan Boldin is gonna get traded, which will hurt the offense, and cause them to miss the post-season.
Regular Season Prediction: 9-7, 2nd in NFC West, no playoffs
San Francisco 49ers More and more people are jumping on the bandwagon of this team, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. One guy who hasn’t proven himself at the pro level (JT O’Sullivan) is expected to turn things around and win the division or a wild card berth. This makes absolutely no sense to me, if a former number 1 picks can’t get it done, what makes you think a guy who hasn’t proven anyone anything can? I may be wrong, but the chances of that on this particular topic are slim. Frank Gore will be the offensive leader, and if they are going to finish above .500, his offensive teammates need to play at the level he’s played at the past two seasons. The wideouts are that offense are weak, and Isaac Bruce is the best one there. There were better options out there, but they neglected to be active in the off-season, and did nothing. Now, they are giving a brand new quarterback, who’s never played in San Fran before, no offensive receiving weapons, besides that of TE Vernon Davis. How he is expected to get them 10 wins again? Get real. Try half that.
Regular Season Prediction: 5-11, 3rd in NFC West, no playoffs
St. Louis Rams The Rams are probably the most under-achieving team in the league. All the money they’re shelling out to the offense of Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Steven Jackson, Orlando Pace, and they can only give them three wins?! That’s absolutely unacceptable. Bulger signed a six-year deal prior to the 2007 season that would pay him bookoo bucks, and all he did was either get hurt or throw interceptions. I think Steven Jackson was hoping the Rams cut him so he could sign elsewhere with a team that is in a position to win sometime in the next decade. He doesn’t deserve to be on a team that does nothing but stink up the joint. He’s too good of a player. The defense has nobody on it, and if they don’t do something in the next 3 days, they have no chance, because even if their offense does give the Rams the lead, the defense will give the lead up twice as fast. It’s really disappointing to watch, and I hope they get their #### figured out, but I just don’t see it happening. In fact, I see them digressing from last year’s dismal 3-13 record. That’s hard to do.
Regular Season Prediction: 2-14, 4th in NFC West, no playoffs
Let me hear what you think! That’s a wrap on the previews, thanks for stopping by and reading what I have to say! Enjoy opening night tonight with Redskins versus Giants!
This is the sixth post of a two-week series I will be doing, discussing every team by division and how I see their 2008 NFL season playing out. Today, we are discussing the NFC North division, which is populated by the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. Let’s get started!
Minnesota Vikings I can’t come up with a single negative thing about the Vikings. The offensive line is easily best or second-best in the league, the RB combo is number 1 in the NFL, and the defense is absolutely terrific. Oh wait, I got something. Tarvaris Jackson. He’s obviously not the ideal franchise quarterback, but he is coming along well for what I expected from him when he was drafted back in the ‘06 draft. I still don’t think he’s their guy that they’ll win a championship with. Neither is John David Booty, or Brooks Bollinger (I guess they knew that because they cut him), or Gus Frerrotte. They need someone who has NFL experience and ability. Someone familiar to the system would be even better. Maybe, just maybe…? Nah, I doubt it. The running game is the most explosive in the league. Adrian Peterson had the best rookie season I have ever seen, and he was running away, no pun intended, with the ROTY award by Week 8. When he went down with an injury, Chester Taylor stepped in and stepped up. He had a sensational year also. The RB duo of Peterson and Taylor is going to be feared by defenses. That’s if, the defenses can even see them. The Vikings have all the talent they need to go on a huge run, they just need Jackson to mature this season and turn into the type of QB the Vikings have been waiting for since the absence of Daunte Culpepper.
Regular Season Prediction: 10-6, 1st in NFC North, #3 seed in NFC playoffs
Detroit Lions The Lions started off last season red-hot for the first time since the Barry Sanders era. I, having grown up following the Lions, (Steelers first, Lions second) was extremely confident in their chances of making the playoffs. However, they finished 1-7, essentially breaking my heart, and beating only the lowly Chiefs in the second half. This year, I expect two halves like 2007’s first half. I see Kitna having another terrific passing year, and he has some awesome weapons to utilize on that offense. Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams are silently becoming one of the best WR duos in the league, and should have extraordinary years for the Lions. Now that injury and fumble-prone RB Kevin Jones is gone, they can make room for rookie Kevin Smith in the backfield. This kid is fast, and I think he’ll make a large contribution to the offense this year from both the backfield and from the receiver slot. Gosder Cherilus was the Lions’ first round selection in the draft, and he looks like he is gonna turn that atrocious offensive line around. If he can handle his guy for more than a second, he can seriously help Kitna’s accuracy, and if he can guide the defender the way he wants, he’ll create running lanes for the backs to move through. The Lions are a team to watch out for, they have a lot of power in the works. This could be the season that saves Rod Marinelli’s job, because coming in to 2008, he’s on the rocks.
Regular Season Prediction: 10-6, 2nd in NFC North, #5 seed in NFC playoffs
Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers is going to make his first career start on September 8. He has some talent and a big arm, but no matter how good Rodgers ever does, it’s not gonna be good enough. He has too long of a shadow in that of Brett Favre’s to overcome. Greg Jennings had an astounding breakout year in 2007, and I expect more of the same in 2008. He can still take any ball to the end zone, regardless of who’s throwing to him. Ryan Grant has to get on track quickly after missing all of that training camp. I expect him to make up for what Rodgers’ offense lacks in comparison to Favre’s. The defense is, for the most part, young, and they are all quite talented. It will be up to them how well Rodgers does. If he’s in their for a longer amount of time, I expect him to key more on his throws and avoid rushes well. The defense will be solid and opponents will not be looking forward to facing this one. Rodgers has enormous pressure on him. If he can get this team back to the playoffs, I think a lot of that pressure will melt away. However, if he come sup with anything short of that, expect the hecklers to multiply. I doubt that they will make it back to the post-season in 2008. The Packers need more than one month of training camp to get used to and adjust to a new leader.
Regular Season Prediction: 7-9, 3rd in NFC North, no playoffs
Chicago Bears The Bears are absolutely horrendous. I don’t’ know why, but people seem to think their defense is gonna be what carries them to contention this year. Are you kidding? Kyle Orton will not win you football games. He’s too random and inconsistent, and even when he’s good, he has a 77 QB rating. The Bears need to go after my favorite free agent, QB Daunte Culpepper, if they want even a popsicle’s chance in hell at making the post-season. Think about it. You’ll see at the end of the year, when the Bears are 4-12, and Orton and Grossman are both out of a job. He would transform this offense into an even better one than the year they made the Super Bowl. I guarantee it. Too bad it ain’t gonna happen. I guess they’d rather lose. Kevin Jones and Matt Forte will join the group of strong two-running back systems in the league this year. At this point, I have to give the starter nod to Kevin Jones, just because he’s started in the pros before. Forte will be a solid seoncd-stringer/3rd-down back. I’d feel confident in my rushing game if I had those two in the backfield. I like the idea of having them both in the same backfield at the same time, alternating at fullback. Sounds like a good combo to me. The wideout corps weakened greatly with the losses of Muhsin Muhammad (Panthers) and Bernard Berrian (Vikings). So, they did what anyone else would do, and added converted star kick returner, Devin Hester to a starting wideout. Him and free agent addition, Marty Booker, could have good years, getting maybe 800-90 yards each and 6-8 TDs each. If the defense plays good, it still won’t save the sour offense. The offense needs to have an absolutely sensational season if the Bears have any hope at all. But, I don’t see the offense as a whole doing that good. I think there will be some good individuals performances, but not enough to lift them to a winning record.
Regular Season Prediction: 4-12, 4th in NFC North, no playoffs
Let me know what you think! Check back in tomorrow for my NFC South preview!
This is the fifth post of a two-week series I will be doing, discussing every team by division and how I see their 2008 NFL season playing out. Today, we are discussing the NFC East division, which is populated by the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Let’s get started!
Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo now has enormous pressure to win his first playoff game this year. Quite possibly, the biggest amount of pressure in the entire NFL right now. Romo has some incredible weapons that he’s had before, as well as a new one in the backfield. Marion Barber and Felix Jones will be a more dominant RB tandem than that of Julius/Marion of these past few seasons. Felix had the second most rushing yards in Razorback school history, behind of course, Darren McFadden. Felix will not be a downgrade from either Julius or McFadden at all. TO and Romo will more than likely be the second-best QB-WR duo in the league, next to Brady-Moss in New England, and I expect the two (Romo-TO) to have an extremely large amount of production in the offense, even more so than last year’s numbers. I can easily see Romo throwing 40 TDs and Terrell Owens catching 20 of them. Tony Romo had all that production minus Terry Glenn last year, why can’t he do even more in 2008? The defense will be one of the toughest in the league, and nobody, probably not even New England would be able to march all over them. The long-awaited re-instatement of Adam “Pac-Man” Jones finally happened, and within twenty seconds, that defense’s toughness and force went up big-time. The Cowboys should run straight back to the playoffs, winning the NFC East by a sizeable margin.
Regular Season Prediction: 13-3, 1st in NFC East, #1 seed in NFC playoffs
Philadelphia Eagles The main problem with Philadelphia right now is the injury to Pro Bowl DB, Brian Dawkins. Last season, he was the only guy on that defense that kept them going, and even with the addition of Asante Samuel, another Pro Bowl DB, they still won’t be able to fully make up this guy’s presence in the huddle. Sure, Samuel will do good, but with Dawkins back there as well, the Eagles would do that much better. If Dawkins is ready by the 7th, I’ll be extremely confident in this team making at least a push for the playoffs. However, another big injury concern, this one, perennial, however, is Donovan McNabb. He always goes for too much and tries to make plays where there isn’t one. I know he’s an extremely capable veteran, but he still needs to learn that he’s not the only playmaker on the offense. If McNabb stays in the pocket, and doesn’t try to make too many plays with his feet, the Eagles should be set. If he does get hurt, which is always a likeliness by about week 8 or 9, someone else has to step up big time or they are done.
Regular Season Prediction: 9-7, 2nd in NFC East, #6 seed in NFC playoffs
New York Giants The Giants from the outside look quite a mess. The defense lost 50% of it’s sacks from last season and some of it’s most talented players. Make no mistake, those group of guys that are either with another team, retired, or out with an injury, were the core of this defense. Without them, the Giants can’t even hope to make it back to the post-season. Eli Manning and the offense had a great run for 6 weeks last season, and that was it. They are not some greatest team of the century, they are just good and lucky. Lucky that they started getting hot at exactly the right time, and good because of the players they had. Now, they look unlucky and average at best. Plaxico Burress is still ####ed up, whether people believe it or not. The running backs were great last season, but they need to step up this year. If Manning can’t set his feet in the pocket, which was the case last year in certain games, the running backs need to be reliable targets out of the backfield on draws, play action and screens. They’re the key now with the whole defense out. I don’t think the Giants will do as good as last season, and they have a tough second-half schedule to be wary of. .500 is about all I can expect from the injury-depleted champs this year.
Regular Season Prediction: 8-8, 3rd in NFC East, no playoffs
Washington Redskins The Redskins went on that run last season with Todd Collins at the helm of the offense. Jason Campbell has still not proven me anything, and I really wouldn’t be surprised if he got benched to make room for Jim Zorn’s ideal Wes Coast QB, Colt Brennan. Zorn doesn’t seem like the guy to wait around, so if he does want Brennan to be the leader of the team, expect a move to come as early as Week 8 or 9. Santana Moss and Devin Thomas will be the keys to making the offense work. I know how well both of them can stretch the defense, and it’ll be exciting to see whether or not Jason Campbell can turn his career around and become a Pro-Bowl like player, which the Redskins have been waiting for. If he can’t, it may be Brennan’s job come August 2009, or they might go after a QB in the draft. Clinton Portis and LaDell Betts had a pretty good combined season last year. However, I really see the both of them dropping off the charts this year, as in their production decreases. I just don’t like the set-up of the offense right now, and with Campbell as the QB, I doubt they’ll ever be serious contenders. The defense was boring in the playoff game against Seattle, and they didn’t show me much competence. I know they have a strong core, but they can’t utilize it correctly in the tougher game situations. If they can do that this year, and Portis/Betts have solid seasons, they may make up for what the offense lacks in explosiveness.
Regular Season Prediction: 5-11, 4th in NFC East, no playoffs
Let me hear what you think! Check back in tomorrow for my NFC North Preview!
These aren't neccessarily (did I spell that write? LOL) the best college and pro rivalries, these are just my favorite ones to watch! From 10 to 1, here they are!
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I am Mike Greenspire and I am a sports blogger for FOX Sports and I love the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, and NASCAR! I was born and raised in the city of Pittsburgh, PA, so naturally I am a die-hard fan of the Pens, Buccos, and Steelers. Since Pittsburgh basketball is long gone, my favorite team in the NBA is the Orlando Magic. Please leave a comment on my blog, I love feedback. My blog is fun, and I enjoy writing it, and I hope that you will enjoy reading it! Thanks!
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