Help me Obi-Wan! You’re my only hope! (in football)

[Tybaltus]

Does no one believe in the Pats?! Come on! They are the champs! And they had a good pre-season along with a good draft. This game is going to be closer than everyone thinks. And besides, Pittsburgh was a fluke, thats right, a fluke last year. They arent as good as they look.

KC will come with a mediocre team this year, but they should better the Browns, who had a couple of key injuries, and are still mediocre.

Will Denver beat St. Louis? I would say that it is all depending on how much St. Louis acts like last year. The scores and performance is really down in St. Louis. They havent looked good in the pre-season, but they could have just been warming up. I pick that their offensive line will fail, even against Denver, and it will be a close game in the end. But if you want to pick St. Louis, I certainly dont blame you.

Cincinnati is still crap. They had a horrible draft day, and without a good quarterback, they wont put up many points. Just stop Dillon, and San Diego will cruise.

Jets? Done? HA! I wish! They still have the strenght they need to win, unfortunetly. Watch them just DISMANTLE the lowly Bills on Sunday. This is no contest.

[HighLordDave]

These are my football views for this year:

NFC
East:
This is a scrappy division with no clear front-runner. The Eagles, Giants, Redskins and Dallas could all finish in first place or they could finish in last. I think the Cowboys with coach/GM Jerry Jones will finish last, but I can't call the winner.

North:
The Packers are clearly the best team in the division. I think the Bears will fall apart midseason, the Vikings will self-destruct like they did last year, and the Lions will fire Matt Millen at the end of the year for drafting Joey Harrington.

West:
The Rams are the best team in the division, although the 49ers are also pretty good this year, now that Mariucci and Owens kissed and made up. The Seahawks will be wondering what they hell they were thinking when they made Holmgren head coach/GM and the Cardinals will continue to be the second-worst run franchise in the league. Interesting factoid that may interest only me (again, apologies to Peter King): The Rams don't play a dome road game this year; the only turf they'll see is at home.

South:
This is the Bucs's division to lose. I think the Saints will revert back to the old days of the 'Aints and fire Jim Haslett, the Falcons should fire Dan Reeves, and the Panthers will play like they were an expansion team.

In short, there are two good teams in the NFC: the Rams and the Pack. The wannabes are the Bucs, the 49ers and whoever comes out of the NFC East on top. Everyone else is going to be watching TV in January.

AFC

East:
Top to bottom the AFC East is the toughest division in football, followed closely by the NFC East. I think the Dolphins come out on top, although the Jets and the Pats will give them a good run for the money. The Pats get no love from me because chemistry will only take a team so far and they don't have as much talent as either the Fish or the Jets. I think the Bills did themselves a huge favour by trading for Bledsoe, but they're still a year away from .500.

North:
The Steelers are the conference favourite because they should have beaten the Pats last year and faced the Rams in the Big One. If Kordell has a good year, the Steelers will have a good year. If Kordell has a bad year, Steelers fans will want Bill Cowher's head for not drafting Chad Pennington last year. The Ravens are rebuilding, the Browns will do better, but not make the playoffs and the Bengals will continue to be the worst-run franchise in the league. If only Mike Brown would fire himself as GM and let someone who knows football run the operation . . . but he's too much of a tightwad and Cincinnati will continue to ruin the careers of many, many fine young players.

West:
I like the Raiders in the AFC West because, quite frankly, no one else is very good. The Chargers are on the way up, but the Broncos and Chiefs are on the way down. **** Vermeill should have stayed retired. In Denver, you wonder if it was the system that produced all of the 1,000-yard backs or the illegal chop blocks the league is cracking down on. Neither Griese or Green will survive the season without being benched.

South:
The Colts are the best of the AFC's castoffs. Tony Dungy is the best thing that could have happened to them. The Titans are healthy again, but they're not the same team that went to the Super Bowl three years ago. They'll do better, but will still miss the playoffs. The Texans are an expansion team so they'll be lucky to win 4 games this year. The Jaguars are still digging themselves out of Salary Cap Hell and will play a lot like an expansion team. They should cut Brunell et al, blow the team up and start over.

The AFC is a much more competitive conference than the NFC, but they lack a clear frontrunner. If Kordell can pull off a full season without a meltdown, the Steelers will be playing in their sixth Super Bowl (big "if" there). Time's running out for the Raiders and I think an AFC East team will emerge as a contender for the AFC crown.

Still, unless Kurt Warner's thumb falls off, I think the Rams will be hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy in January.

[Bloodstalker]

@Ty....In choosing between the Steelers and the pats, I would say on past perfomance over le last few years, the Pats are more likely to be considered the "fluke"

I don't see them repeating, they have a tougher schedule, everyone will be ready for them, and last year, everything just came together.

And don't put to much stock in what you see in the preseason, it's mostly mis;leading. just look at the Skins, they beat Pitt, but face it, Pitt's starting team shut the skins out completely And this coming from a skins fan

Cinn has always been crap the past decade, but they have an annoying habit of starting season 4-o or some similar record.

Jets, well just watch what I tell ya

[Tybaltus]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bloodstalker @Ty....In choosing between the Steelers and the pats, I would say on past perfomance over le last few years, the Pats are more likely to be considered the "fluke" I don't see them repeating, they have a tougher schedule, everyone will be ready for them, and last year, everything just came together. And don't put to much stock in what you see in the preseason, it's mostly mis;leading. just look at the Skins, they beat Pitt, but face it, Pitt's starting team shut the skins out completely And this coming from a skins fan Cinn has always been crap the past decade, but they have an annoying habit of starting season 4-o or some similar record. Jets, well just watch what I tell ya

Well both teams can be considered flukes, but I dont see a whole lot of talent in Pittsburgh to be considered a great team. Dont get me wrong. I think theyre good. Theyll make the playoffs no problem. They will finish the season with 9 or 10 wins, but I just have no confidence in them.

The Pats wont repeat, I know this. But they arent that bad, either. I think they will have a decent year, but nothing to cause too much celebration. Theyll probably be a wild card playoff team

I know the preseason isnt important. But I am combining the preseason facts, with the draft, and the off season, along with the previous season to determine strength of team/chemistry offense and defense and special teams. Not to mention my own personal aspect. Thats what Ive been looking at.

Cinn only did that last season, if memory serves. And it wasnt even that great 2-0 then they struggled. That was considered good for Cinn.

Unfortunetly the Jets are going to do better than you think, but I hope youre right.

[Bloodstalker]

The Bengals are gonna be around 8-8 this season, just because gus frerrote is starting. He ain't a great QB, but he is better than anything they have had in awhile, and won't make as many turnovers as last season.

last years performance? Have you seen the last three Super Bowl Champions?

Cowher will make the difference in Pittsburg, and as long as Bettis stays healthy, they got a good shot to get to the Super Bowl Unless Kordel reverts that is

[Tybaltus]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bloodstalker The Bengals are gonna be around 8-8 this season, just because gus frerrote is starting. He ain't a great QB, but he is better than anything they have had in awhile, and won't make as many turnovers as last season. last years performance? Have you seen the last three Super Bowl Champions? Cowher will make the difference in Pittsburg, and as long as Bettis stays healthy, they got a good shot to get to the Super Bowl Unless Kordel reverts that is

Thats true. Frerrote (I cant spell his name!) is a decent quarterback. He did well as the replacement in Denver. He was better than Griese at the time. He got those turnovers because he was with the Lions, and thats a rotten combo as it is.

Point taken. But usually there are decent teams who stay decent the next year.

Theyre not going to make the superbowl. They have a few good players- Bettis is injury plagued, Buress needs discipline, Ward is a good consistant player but needs to be a play maker sometimes. Did they change their kicking team? Because that was horrid last year.

[Bloodstalker]

Yeah, Kris Brown is out. Anyone else is a definate upgrade

[Ned Flanders]

When talking about Pittsburgh, I find it odd that the center of the discussion revolves around their offense when their defense is the true strength. They only need a mediocre offense because they don't give up any points.

Regarding the Pats, Tyb, I am as die hard as you are but don't kid yourself into thinking the pats will be any better than .500. The smartest thing the pats could've done is trade Brady. His stock was through the roof in february and they should've dealt him. The Bills will succeed the patriots this year. Bledsoe back in foxboro will be one of the games of the year.

[HighLordDave]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ned Flanders They only need a mediocre offense because they don't give up any points.

That may be but Kordell has a proven history of making poor decisions. Trent Dilfer in Baltimore is the poster-boy for a bad quarterback turned good game manager (he didn't score many points, but he moved the chains and managed not to turn the ball over much). Kordell isn't a very good game manager and he has a tendency to throw the ball away. The Steelers need someone like Neil O'Donnell to run a ball-control offense, not throw interceptions and keep the defense rested (which was the kind of offense Terry Bradshaw ran).

For the Steelers to have any success, Kordell has to have a good year. He needs to move the chains and keep their defense off the field for at least 35 minutes per game. If he can do that, not fumble or throw the ball away, and put together 2 TD drives per game (plus a couple of FGs), the Steelers should do very well.

[Ned Flanders]

I agree with all you've said HLD, I was only pointing out that the main strength of the steelers was being omitted. They have been labeled as medoicre and a fluke while only analyzing their offense.

[Tybaltus]

Cant win any games if you cant score any points. Theyre just a worse version of the Bucs.

Pats are better than everyone thinks. But they certainly wont repeat. I might be wrong. They could end up in the cellar, but theyve got momentum at the moment, and they like to be labelled as the underdog. Brady isnt the greatest QB to step on the field, but I look at him like I look at Dilfer. He might not astonish the crowd with great plays, but he can get the job done. Period. But what do I know? Im just a good old football fan.

Bledsoe has 2-5 more decent years in him. His days of glory are gone. Buffalo will see the cellar again this season.

[Bloodstalker]

Quote:

Cant win any games if you cant score any points. Theyre just a worse version of the Bucs.

Please refer to the Baltimore Ravens of 2 years ago. The fact is, during that season, the Ravens, with a very poor offense statistically, were SB champions while the high flying Rams couldn't get there because as many points as they scored, the couldn't stop anyone at all.

Or the Giants beating the Bills a few years back

Defense has always been the difference in championship teams, even when the Ram won the Super Bowl, people overlooked a very good defense they had that year.

[Tybaltus]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bloodstalker Please refer to the Baltimore Ravens of 2 years ago. The fact is, during that season, the Ravens, with a very poor offense statistically, were SB champions while the high flying Rams couldn't get there because as many points as they scored, the couldn't stop anyone at all. Or the Giants beating the Bills a few years back Defense has always been the difference in championship teams, even when the Ram won the Super Bowl, people overlooked a very good defense they had that year.

I know. I was just being a smart arse. I ran out of things to say in my defense that I wasnt a believer in Pittsburgh and still was a believer in New England. I still stand my ground, but Pittsburgh WILL win about 10 games this year. I realize this.

Yes, defense is actually a critical point to the game and the Ravens of 2000 was a good example of that. But offense is just as important. Special teams is also important, but not as much as the other two.

It doesnt mean that my original statement is wrong. If you cant score ANY points you still cant win.

[Bloodstalker]

Quote:

It doesnt mean that my original statement is wrong. If you cant score ANY points you still cant win.

True, but if your defense is good enough, you won't lose any games either

[RandomThug]

All I know is I have been a skins fan since I got into my first football game 12 years ago so I am biased hehe.

Truly I think spurrier will have trouble against the great NFL Defenses and thats all I worry about cause the rest looks easy sleasy.

(btw I am so happy that the cowboys play us last in the season I hate them so much, we get to beat them twice this year).

and no preseason doesnt mean anything. Even if we did break records.

thug