nfl

[oregontrack]

my picks:

afc east

1. new england. barring an injury to brady, there's really no way this won't happen. and even then...
2. buffalo. offseason moves dedicated to defense? finally, something smart! offense can certainly put up points.
3. new york. lots of talent, lots of distractions... eh. i'm kind of over the j-e-t-s.
4. miami. they really took ryan tannehill in the top 10? consider this rebuilding to rebuild.

afc north

1. baltimore. i think, at long last, this is baltimore's year to win ray lewis another ring. haloti's hall of fame push begins in earnest, collecting a lombardi trophy and nfl defensive poty.
2. pittsburgh. o-line issues keep them from taking the division.
3. cincinnati. unexpectedly good last year; looking forward to seeing dalton-to-green connection grow.
4. cleveland. troubling news about trent richardson. should still improve.

afc south

1. houston. biggest lock in the afc? i think so.
2. tennessee. should be jake locker's show... maybe he can get to .500 in under four years this time around?
3. indianapolis. still bad, but a hell of a draft get's them going in the right direction.
4. jacksonville. blaine gabbert is everything that's wrong with the nlf draft process. jones-drew holding out... good luck to the nfl's most boring franchise.

afc west

1. denver. i'm all-in on the fightin' mannings. even if they take awhile to get going, this team should be deadly come january. assuming the neck is ok, of course.
2. san diego. missed the boat during their contending years; still good enough to make the playoffs, but the chargers have become next to impossible to predict.
3. oakland. never thought carson palmer was a good idea. they gave up a lot to possibly contend for 8-8.
4. kansas city. some decent parts... didn't see last year's collapse coming, also don't see them getting back to the postseason this year.

nfc east

1. new york. why not? probably won't repeat, but they've got an elite quarterback and a great defense. hard to argue with that.
2. philadelphia. i think last year was a fluke. too much talent to miss the playoffs again... right?
3. washington. rg3 may need some time to grow, but the pass rush is excellent.
4. dallas. sinking ship?

nfc north

1. green bay. they won't go 15-1 again, but they're good enough to hold onto the north.
2. chicago. best runner-up in football?
3. detroit. prolific offense that won a lot of close games last year. i think they come back to earth, a bit.
4. minnesota. remember when they very nearly went to the super bowl with favre, like, three years ago? what a fast, hard, long fall.

nfc south

1. atlanta. julio jones is going to explode, and the falcons are going to run away with this race.
2. new orleans. distractions or not, i just don't think they're good enough to seriously contend.
3. tampa bay. really odd collapse after a fantastic 2010. i always liked schiano at rutgers.
4. carolina. a lot of hollow passing statistics for cam newton does not a winning formula make.

nfc west

1. san francisco. improved division or not, they're still the easy call.
2. seattle. a vastly underrated defense and at long last, some hope at the quarterback position. probably won't make the playoffs, but pete does have them heading in the right direction.
3. st. louis. on the mend.
4. arizona. i don't think too much of kevin kolb, but at least he gets to throw to larry fitzgerald. defense is okay.

[thomas time]

Peyton my favorite player so looking foward to see what he does, Andrew Luck too. I'm also fans of the chargers back to when L.T. was there and like Sam Bradford so hopefully he will stay healthy. Patrick Chung had an interception tonight and Ed Dickson caught a td pass.

[USUaggieDuck]

the NFC east will be really deep if washington is good. I think dallas is better than them though as of now.

[dd10snoop28]

I hope that St Louis can make some strides this year. They continue to disappoint year after year. I really like Sam Bradford and Stephen Jackson as a 1-2 punch, but their supporting cast is the worst in the NFL (no WR's, bad blocking, mediocre defense).

I remember watching Bradford in college thinking to myself that there was no way this guy wasn't going to be a star in the NFL. Great demeanor, tremendous skill, and high football IQ. Hopefully he can pull it together because he's a great talent.

[UOducksTK1]

Green Bay >>> all

[karlhungis]

I hope that St Louis can make some strides this year. They continue to disappoint year after year. I really like Sam Bradford and Stephen Jackson as a 1-2 punch, but their supporting cast is the worst in the NFL (no WR's, bad blocking, mediocre defense).

I remember watching Bradford in college thinking to myself that there was no way this guy wasn't going to be a star in the NFL. Great demeanor, tremendous skill, and high football IQ. Hopefully he can pull it together because he's a great talent.

Jackson can't have much left in the tank.

[buckmarkduck]

St Louis isn't winning more then 5 games. Bradford took a big step back last year.

[Duck07]

the seachickens D is nowhere near "vastly underrated."

[oregontrack]

the seachickens D is nowhere near "vastly underrated."

pay attention then. you'll be surprised.

[USUaggieDuck]

the seachickens D is nowhere near "vastly underrated."

pay attention then. you'll be surprised.

I think their draft picks plugged some holes. They are underrated, but that doesn't mean they are great.


Sent from my iPad

[buckmarkduck]

the seachickens D is nowhere near "vastly underrated."

Yep finishing 9th in overall D last year and having 3 probowlers in the secondary sucks oh and all 3 guys have 2 or less years in the NFL.

[buckmarkduck]

Wilson looking the same way he looked against us in the Rose Bowl. If he was 6'3 he would have been a top 10 pick.

[oregontrack]

after two preseason games:

matt flynn had a rough game yesterday (6/13, 31 yards) but if you take away his throws to TO (the two looked horribly out of sync) he was 6/8. the offensive line did not hold up for him. are these excuses? spin? sure. but he also had a beautiful 40+ yard bomb that hit TO in the breadbasket in the endzone that TO blatantly dropped. seahawks should have had the lead over a big denver team going into the break. with the money we're paying him and the time he's logged behind aaron rodgers i'm fine with giving flynn the starting job going into week 1.

that said, russell wilson has been breathtaking. he's accurate, his pocket awareness is superb, he makes plays with his feet, and he can throw the ball deep. yes, he's going against second/third team defenses -- and that's why i'm still sticking with flynn, even if wilson has outplayed him through two games. but for a rookie to come in and play as well as he has is impressive. his height is even working TO his advantage so far; he's twisted his way out of two sure sacks 95% of the quarterbacks in this league couldn't get out of. i say give flynn the reigns to start the year and give wilson time to digest the playbook. he's definitely a keeper.

the defense is going to be good. very good. the blitz schemes have been very vanilla by design and the d is still forcing turnovers and limiting points. whether or not we can improve on last year's finish in total defense (#9?) should come down to the rookies. bruce irvin and bobby wagner can/will play big roles.

turbin/lumpkin? eh, better than forsett. it'll be nice to have a backup for lynch.