NFL Kickoff
Woohoo! NFL season is finally here! Unfortunately, my excitement has been tempered lately by a) long hours at work and b) the Colts beating up on the Saints on Opening Night. But once Sunday rolls around....oh it's on, baby.
Blogman and I usually start off the year trying to predict which teams will make the playoffs in the coming year. Generally, a good rule of thumb to start with is that of the 12 playoff teams from the previous year, only half will make the playoffs again, and six new teams will enter the fray. Checking the previous years' results:
2005 playoff teams:
AFC: Patriots, Colts, Broncos, Steelers, Jaguars, Bengals
NFC: Bears, Bucs, Redskins, Seahawks, Giants, Panthers
2006 playoff teams:
AFC: Patriots, Colts, Chargers, Chiefs, Ravens, Jets
NFC: Bears, Seahawks, Giants, Eagles, Cowboys, Saints
Pretty close--in the AFC, the Broncos, Jags, and Bengals all had a chance to get final playoff spot, but somehow they all managed to lose a must-win game and allow the Chiefs to get into the playoffs.
So what does the Wacky Chinaman predict for 2007? Let's start with the crummy NFC.
Returning NFC teams:
Bears - hard to imagine them not winning their division, even with Grossman stinking it up
Eagles - healthy McNabb makes them hard to beat
Seahawks- process of elimination: Giants suck, Cowboys suck, Saints probably not as good/lucky as last year.
New NFC playoff teams:
Panthers - still a good team, though ridiculously inconsistent
49ers - much improved over last year, probably sneak in as a wild card if they don't win their division
Falcons - maybe I'm crazy, but I think they'll be better without Vick
In truth, I'm not comfortable with any of these guesses. No one in the NFC looks good to me, really. As for the AFC, it's a much better conference, and also more predictable:
Returning AFC playoff teams:
Patriots - Can't go wrong with Brady and Belichick!
Colts - pretty obvious they'll be in the mix, but will receive no compliments from the Wacky Chinaman
Chargers - I think they'll struggle more than most people think, but ultimately claw their way in.
New playoff teams:
Steelers - last year seems like an aberration
Broncos - they're always in the hunt--I think they beat out the chargers for the division title
Titans - of all the remaining teams, they has the best coach/QB combo, though I admit the rest of the team doesn't look so hot. At all.
I'll close this football-heavy post with some quick thoughts on the upcoming Patriots-Jets game:
-Stop calling Jets coach Eric Mangini "Mangenius." I suspect this got started after last year's improbable win over the Patriots, but honestly, it's a little much. The Jets definitely play better under him, but it's a little early for this moniker, no?
-I don't think I'm going to ever be a Randy Moss fan, but I'm sure excited to see what he can do as a Patriot. He seems to be a lousy route runner, but damn if he doesn't look fluid hauling in deep passes.
-I'm going to miss Seymour and Harrison. Not so much Seymour, because his contributions aren't highlight-reel stuff, but Harrison is just plain fun to watch. As a Rodney Harrison fan, I'm really disappointed that he was caught using HGH. This unfortunately means that his career is tainted, regardless of if he had been clean for 95% of the time. However, I am happy that he made no excuses for his bad decisions, accepted his punishment, and reportedly cooperated fully in the investigation without ever trying to cover up his actions. That, at least, sounds like the Rodney Harrison I know.
Blogman and I usually start off the year trying to predict which teams will make the playoffs in the coming year. Generally, a good rule of thumb to start with is that of the 12 playoff teams from the previous year, only half will make the playoffs again, and six new teams will enter the fray. Checking the previous years' results:
2005 playoff teams:
AFC: Patriots, Colts, Broncos, Steelers, Jaguars, Bengals
NFC: Bears, Bucs, Redskins, Seahawks, Giants, Panthers
2006 playoff teams:
AFC: Patriots, Colts, Chargers, Chiefs, Ravens, Jets
NFC: Bears, Seahawks, Giants, Eagles, Cowboys, Saints
Pretty close--in the AFC, the Broncos, Jags, and Bengals all had a chance to get final playoff spot, but somehow they all managed to lose a must-win game and allow the Chiefs to get into the playoffs.
So what does the Wacky Chinaman predict for 2007? Let's start with the crummy NFC.
Returning NFC teams:
Bears - hard to imagine them not winning their division, even with Grossman stinking it up
Eagles - healthy McNabb makes them hard to beat
Seahawks- process of elimination: Giants suck, Cowboys suck, Saints probably not as good/lucky as last year.
New NFC playoff teams:
Panthers - still a good team, though ridiculously inconsistent
49ers - much improved over last year, probably sneak in as a wild card if they don't win their division
Falcons - maybe I'm crazy, but I think they'll be better without Vick
In truth, I'm not comfortable with any of these guesses. No one in the NFC looks good to me, really. As for the AFC, it's a much better conference, and also more predictable:
Returning AFC playoff teams:
Patriots - Can't go wrong with Brady and Belichick!
Colts - pretty obvious they'll be in the mix, but will receive no compliments from the Wacky Chinaman
Chargers - I think they'll struggle more than most people think, but ultimately claw their way in.
New playoff teams:
Steelers - last year seems like an aberration
Broncos - they're always in the hunt--I think they beat out the chargers for the division title
Titans - of all the remaining teams, they has the best coach/QB combo, though I admit the rest of the team doesn't look so hot. At all.
I'll close this football-heavy post with some quick thoughts on the upcoming Patriots-Jets game:
-Stop calling Jets coach Eric Mangini "Mangenius." I suspect this got started after last year's improbable win over the Patriots, but honestly, it's a little much. The Jets definitely play better under him, but it's a little early for this moniker, no?
-I don't think I'm going to ever be a Randy Moss fan, but I'm sure excited to see what he can do as a Patriot. He seems to be a lousy route runner, but damn if he doesn't look fluid hauling in deep passes.
-I'm going to miss Seymour and Harrison. Not so much Seymour, because his contributions aren't highlight-reel stuff, but Harrison is just plain fun to watch. As a Rodney Harrison fan, I'm really disappointed that he was caught using HGH. This unfortunately means that his career is tainted, regardless of if he had been clean for 95% of the time. However, I am happy that he made no excuses for his bad decisions, accepted his punishment, and reportedly cooperated fully in the investigation without ever trying to cover up his actions. That, at least, sounds like the Rodney Harrison I know.
1 Comments:
I don't see why "Mangenius" bothers you so much. The NY tabloid media loves to do stuff like this, and if the Jets have a bad year, they will start calling him something else as quickly as he as been dubbed "Mangenius" (see: Belichicken).
Anyway, today's game was a total debacle from the Jets perspective other than the passing offense. Looks like Randy Moss doesn't have much in a way of hamstring problems.
It's kind of annoying how often the media refers to the Mangini / Belichick relationship, but I have a feeling this is going to be a headline of every match-up between the two teams until one of the coaches leaves. Did they do the same thing with Nick Saban?
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home