The Broncos outplayed you and won
Get over it
If you're a bunch of whiny fans
I'll laugh over it

39 to 38 is the score
Denver beat you, you guys lost
The refs didn't take it from you
The Bolts played with too much rust

Woulda, coulda, shoulda
It's over and the Bolts are out
The division is wrapped up
and it's only week 2, no doubt

The Broncos won today in Denver,
fair and square
Next thing I know, San Diego will be whining
about them pulling their hair

Get over it
Get over it
Get over it
Get over it

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Quit yur whining and complaning. There's no b*tching in sports.

Bitter Seahawks fans, take note.

Shawne Merriman has elected to forget the season and have the surgery four doctors told him he needed.

He didn't look at the top of his game, despite playing an important role in the game. He probably aggravated it and felt that if he ever wants to play again, he should have the surgery.

OR, he thought that he wouldn't be able to win the Super Bowl this year with this team, so he called it in and said "we'll try it again next year"

Good move, but now the Chargers are slowly dropping off. Where does this leave their defense? Antonio Cromartie and the defensive backs now have tons of pressure on them to contain the passing game, but the front seven for the Chargers are now in the most intense situation. If they don't get at least a division title, the entire Southern Cali area will be extremely disappointed. The SoCal fans, and all California fans in general are great fans and die-hards of whatever game, and they need and deserve something in their professional sports besides the Padres, Raiders, Athletics, Clippers, 49ers and more stinking up the joint year in and year out.

The AFC has taken huge damage to it's popularity in terms of Super Bowl contenders in the span of just 3 days. Tom Brady's done, and essentially, the Patriots are too. The Patriots are Tom Brady, and Tom Brady is the Patriots. Without him, it will be a mess compared to what the city of Boston is used to: winning.

So, this all relates back to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now that Tom Brady is no longer with the Patriots, I'm crossing them off as a serious playoff contender.

I'm not quite ready to write off the Chargers chances of making the post-season, but after watching the Broncos dominate the Raiders, and the Bolts lose with no time left to the Panthers, Denver looks undeniably like the AFC West favorite.

So, back to the Steelers. The Patriots and Chargers would both lose to Pittsburgh on one side of the ball or the other.

Willie Parker is going to have a monster year, and started it off well against the Texans. The Steelers and Chargers play in week 11 from Pittsburgh. We wouldn't have to rely too much on the passing game if our running game doesn't have the biggest run-stopper in the NFL in the way. Advantage goes to the Steelers.

Cassel barely slid by the bottom-feeders of the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs, and they have one of the worst, if not the worst defense in the NFL. Whe Cassel or Gutierrez (who the Pats signed this week) has to play the best defense in the NFL of the Steelers, they won't stand a chance.

The Jaguars and Titans have plenty of injury and off-the-field problems to deal with before they become championship contenders. However, I can't write off Jackonsville yet, as they  have great resiliency. Tennessee has way to many problems for me to consider them at this point, despite Sunday's victory.

So, here are any teams left in the AFC that can challenge the apparent top dog, PIttsburgh:

Cleveland
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Denver
New York Jets

The Broncos beat the Steelers last season due to nothing more than simple rookie-mistakes. Tomlin handled certain regular seaosn games more important than others, when in fact, they are all equally important. If the Steelers have to play the Broncos, the Denver running defense would collapse. The passing defense could give Ben a run for his money, though. Then again, they lost John #### to the Patriots in the off-season. Champ Bailey and Dre' Bly aren't enough to stop Big Ben. Scratch Denver.

Jacksonville always seems to know how to get by the defense. This year, I don't think it'll be as easy. Lamarr Woodley got his first career start Sunday and made the best of it. He ought to be one of the top young linebackers in the NFL by the end of the 2009 season. Fred Taylor seems easier to contain than Jones-Drew, but Woodley makes incredibly fast reads and it won't take long for him to figure out which way to go prior to the handoff. Advantage- Steelers.

The Jets defense is way too weak, they barely got by lowly Miami on Sunday. If you think they could seriously challenge the Steelers, you should have your head examined. Obviously, Steelers would dominate this match-up.

The Browns will be easier for me to figure out when I see them on Sunday Night football against my Steelers. However, I did mangae to catch them against the Cowboys. That's what a division champion defense looks like? LMAO at the Brownies fans that think they have a chance.

I have only one thing to say for the Colts debate: If the Bears beat ya, so can we.

The Steelers are the obvious favorite, and the injury and eventually season-ending surgery to Merriman makes it that much more easy to call.

GO STEELERS!!!

-Mike Greenspire

Brady's injury; all I know is that he's having surgery on his knee and he's out for the season. I’m, not gonna relay the same boring info we already know. Now that Brady’s out, in comes Matt Cassel, who did decent yesterday.

Don’t forget, though, he did decent against the Chiefs, one of, if not the worst defense in the NFL.

So, one of three things could happen:
1. The Patriots don't make the playoffs, which keeps that strange run of 7 of the last 8 Super Bowl losers not making the playoffs the following year going.
2. The Patriots lose the division to the Jets or Bills. (or even the Dolphins?)
3. Cassel plays out of his mind and wins the division.

I think the 1st scenario is what will happen.

So, this obviously makes way for somebody else. But, who?

Here is a look at legitimate contenders as I see it at this point in the year to take over the AFC:

North
Pittsburgh

South
Tennessee
Indianapolis
Jacksonville

East
New York Jets
Buffalo

West
San Diego

Well, I'll tell ya some of the teams that come to mind that could really take advantage of the Brady injury.

San Diego Chargers
The Chargers pretty much had the game yesterday wrapped up, but somehow blew it with :00 left on the clock to the Panthers. The Panthers won 26-24. Currently: 0-1

Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are quite possibly the upset of the year victims, after somehow managing to lose to the Bears last night, 29-13. Currently: 0-1

Jacksonville Jaguars
I’m really unimpressed with the Jaguars’ level of play on Sunday. The Titans, although the 17-10 score doesn’t show it, really beat up the Jags for 60 minutes. Currently: 0-1

Buffalo Bills
The Bills put on a physical showcase and absolutely dominated the supposedly strong Seahawks. We may have just saw the beginning of a new legendary QB-WR duo: The Edwards and Evans Express. 34-10 Bills. Currently: 1-0

New York Jets
Brett Favre had an impressive debut against the Dolphins, winning 20-14. The Jets looked really good, but made some correctable mistakes. Currently: 1-0

Tennessee Titans
The Titans really stepped up in my mind and showed that they aren’t automatically out of the running like some people say they are. They’re on a mission, and I like their chances. They beat the Jaguars 17-10. Currently: 1-0

Pittsburgh Steelers
For some reason, the homers picked the Texans over the Steelers, and they showed them, routing Houston 38-17. The Steelers, by far impressed me most of this group of team yesterday. Currently: 1-0

So, in my opinion, the team that has the best chance of taking advantage of the Tom Brady injury has to be none other than the Pittsburgh Steelers. They took their foot off the throttle late, which you shouldn’t do, but you can’t blame a second-year coach for wanting to rest up his starters. Hell, ya can’t blame any coach in that situation when you’re up 38-10.

I don’t think that there’s a negative side to this. When the Steelers opened the season two years ago against the Texans, they were absolutely horrible; it was like playing against a high school team. This season, however, there’s a certain level of credibility for beating the Texans that wasn’t there before. They aren’t the same old Texans that are notorious for sucking it up and being Indy’s whipping boys. They have a mission, and it’s not to get 7 wins and be happy, which is apparently what they managers in Houston lived by for the first 6 years of the franchise. They’re on the rise, but they can’t afford to open against any Pittsburgh team. They just won’t win.

The Steelers are the new favorite. They won, they have credibility behind the win, both the running game and passing game was dominant, and the players know each other. This is a recipe for success brewing in the Steel City.

Here are my updated AFC predictions for the post-season now that New England is seriously depleted: (the seeding number and projected record is next to the team)

AFC

1. Steelers (13-3)
2. Colts (12-4)
3. Jets (11-5)
4. Chargers (10-6)
5. Jaguars (10-6)
6. Browns (10-6)

I also see the Steelers winning the AFC Championship Game. (who’da thunk?)

If nothing else, maybe the Patriots fans will hop of their high-horse now.

-Mike Greenspire

For the past two weeks, I have been doing a series, documenting each division and where everyone will finish in that division. Here are my final predictions for each division!

AFC East
z-New England (15-1)
x-New York (10-6)
Buffalo (9-7)
Miami (3-13)

AFC North
y-Pittsburgh (12-4)
Cleveland (10-6)
Cincinnati (8-8)
Baltimore (2-14)

AFC South
y-Indianapolis (12-4)
x-Jacksonville (10-6)
Tennessee (9-7)
Houston (8-8)

AFC West
y-San Diego (9-7)
Denver (8-8)
Oakland (6-10)
Kansas City (2-14)

NFC East
z-Dallas (13-3)
x-Philadelphia (9-7)
New York (8-8)
Washington (5-11)

NFC North
y-Minnesota (10-6)
x-Detroit (10-6)
Green Bay (7-9)
Chicago (4-12)

NFC South
y-New Orleans (11-5)
Tampa Bay (9-7)
Atlanta (6-10)
Carolina (5-11)

NFC West
y-Seattle (10-6)
Arizona (9-7)
San Francisco (5-11)
St. Louis (2-14)

*z = Clinched Home-Field Advantage, y = Clinched Division, x = Clinched Wild Card Spot

Well, here are my division winners and wild cards for each conference: (In parentheses next to each team is their seeding in the post-season)

AFCEast: Patriots (1)
North: Steelers (2)
South: Colts (3)
West: Chargers (4)
Wild Card 1: Jets (5)
Wild Card 2: Jaguars (6)

NFC
East: Cowboys (1)
North: Vikings (3)
South: Saints (2)
West: Seahawks (4)
Wild Card 1: Lions (5)
Wild Card 2: Eagles (6)

So, here are my playoff predictions for the 2008 season!

Wild Card

AFC
Jaguars at Colts = Colts
Jets at Chargers = Jets

NFC
Eagles at Vikings = Vikings
Lions at Seahawks = Seahawks

Divisional

AFC
Colts at Steelers = Steelers
Jets at Patriots = Patriots

NFC
Vikings at Saints = Saints
Seahawks at Cowboys = Cowboys

Conference Championships

AFC
Steelers at Patriots = Patriots

NFC
Saints at Cowboys = Cowboys

Super Bowl XLIII
Cowboys vs. Patriots (from Tampa, FL) = New England Patriots

So, the way I see it, the Patriots will be the Super Bowl 43 Champions.

Any disagreements? Who do you pick to be champ? Lemme hear what you guys and gals have to say! Have a great weekend, everyone, and enjoy the first Sunday of the season!

-Mike Greenspire

This is the fourth 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 AFC West division, which is populated by the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. Let’s get started!

San Diego Chargers
Right now, I don’t know what to make of Philip Rivers. He can throw you a perfect pass in the first quarter, and fall apart by halftime. He needs to get his consistency under control and keep his mouth shut.
LT has to be one of the top MVP pre-season candidates. He won’t start of cold again like he did last season; I believe then he was just trying to adjust himself to Norv Turner’s style of offense. Now that they put together quite a run using that offensive system, I expect him to have a 1,600+ yard season with 16-19 TDs.
Chris Chambers and Antonio Gates will put together good years, even though nobody seems to want to predict so. If Rivers and LT have problems with chemistry this season like they did last year, it will hurt the offensive production. But, if the they can keep their heads as a team, I expect them to work together and make this offense one of the strongest in the league.
Shawne Merriman is just asking to retire. I can’t believe he’s going to forgo the knee surgery that he needs and play this season. The Chargers have plenty of years left in the tank, and Merriman should get this surgery done now so he can come back next year and dominate. It’s not like this is the Chargers’ final year of contention or anything. Assuming everyone stays healthy, this team will be a force for years to come. However, I’m predicting Merriman’s injury will get worse, and the defense won’t be able to compensate for his absence. But it shouldn’t hurt their playoff hopes. With or without Merriman, the Chargers are still better than the Chiefs, Raiders and Broncos.

Regular Season Prediction: 9-7, 1st in AFC West, #4 seed in AFC playoffs

Denver Broncos
Everyone thinks this is the years Jay Cutler comes out of his shell and emerges as an elite QB. I respectfully disagree. He is good, and has a cannon arm, but until the offense, and the entire team for that matter, is serious about winning, I don’t see him becoming great anytime soon. He needs that one wide receiver who can step up and be the leader on the field. He doesn’t have that in his limited arsenal yet.
Travis Henry was cut from the team in the off-season. And I thought that Shanahan said he believed him! They say that he was cut for lack of production. Okay, so apparently, in Denver they want you to do and, and if you do that, you can stick around. What? Henry was their most productive RB of last season, despite his absence. Now who do they have? I suppose I shouldn’t let them have it, yet, Denver has a weird way of producing high caliber running backs every year. Something in the air up there?
One of my good friends, Jake, who is a Broncos fan thinks that Mike Shanahan should be fired if they don’t make it to the playoffs this season. I was shocked. Are you really ready to turn your back on a guy who has always had you in position to win the division, Broncos fans? He hasn’t won the West lately because his players are no good. But, then again, as the saying goes, the coach is only as good as his players.

Regular Season Prediction: 8-8, 2nd in AFC West, no playoffs

Oakland Raiders
The Raiders finally took the steps necessary to becoming a perennial contender, starting with the draft. Darren McFadden was their first-round pick. He and Fargas will be a scary backfield duo to go up against for defenses. Michael Bush also is showing good running ability. The RB corps in Oakland is one of, if not the best in the league.
The Raiders might not have to rely on JaMarcus Russell as much as previously thought. As long as he can still take a snap and give the ball on a hand-off, this team should win some great games. Although, I doubt the Raiders are going to go either one way or the other with their offensive attack. Why dominate one when you’re great at both? The past two seasons, the Raiders have lost 2 of the top 20 wideouts in the league. First Randy Moss to New England, second, Jerry Porter to Jacksonville. However, they did pick up Javon Walker from Denver. Russell can’t be blamed for lack of production this season when the Raiders have traded away all his targets and got none to replace them.

Regular Season Prediction: 6-10, 3rd in AFC West, no playoffs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are just pitiful. After starting 4-3, and defeating the defending AFC West champion Chargers, they lost all of their remaining 9 games. That’s hard to do.
The QB incompetence in that system is absolutely repelling to even think about, but for you, Bloggers, I will do it. Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle are atrocious excuses for quarterbacks, and neither have a popsicle’s chance in hell of leading their team to even a .500 record.
The draft brought evidently good things, but we can never be sure until they play, can we, Mr. Alex Smith of San Fran?
Glenn Dorsey is the only bright spot on the defense, and even with him, the Chiefs won’t win many games. He had a monster college career, capping it off with a national title. Whether he’ll have the same success in the Pros is yet to be seen, but I highly doubt a ring will be coming his way while he’s with the Chiefs.
Larry Johnson had a poor year last year because he finally got that huge contract he wanted, and once he got it, he didn’t have to work for it anymore, so he slacked off. That cost him the season when he went down with an injury against the Packers.
The Chiefs are horrible all over the place, and right now I’m giving them 2 more victories than they deserve.

Regular Season Prediction: 2-14, 4th in AFC West, no playoffs

 

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Let me hear what you think. Check back in soon to see my NFC East preview!

Enjoy your weekend!

-Mike Greenspire