NFL 2009/10

I was totally shocked by the selection of Heyward-Bey,i was expecting Jeremy Maclin or Crabtree,but i guess this is just Al being Al,Raider draft picks always seem to be boom or bust.Mind you i'm not to sad to have missed out on Crabtree he seems to be a diva receiver,i might be wrong but i don't think he has signed yet with the 49ers.DHB won't be returning kicks we signed an undrafted free agent,Nick Miller who they think a lot of and he'll be sharing duties with Higgins.

Well since i kind of started the predictions thing think i'll do a division by division prediction. Starting with the AFC

AFC West

Expect to see an improvement from the Raiders and the Chiefs , i like some of the moves they have made, think the Raiders trade for Seymour makes sense helps add to their promising defense. Almost see the Raiders as the AFC version of the Redskins, good defense with the potential to be very good but lacking on offense. As for the Chiefs they appear to be the opposite - the makings of a good offense with Cassell, Johnson etc but not so good on defense.

I can see the Broncos struggling, what McDaniels was thinking when he decided to get rid of Jay Cutler i have no idea he is much better than Kyle Orton. Brandon Marshall is now upset and angling for a trade which will take away another of their WR options. Looks likely that they will be going with a Running Back By Committee approach as they dont appear to have a number 1 guy. As for defense a lot will depend on how they fit their 4-3 personnel into a 3-4 system.

Think that the Chargers are the strongest team in the division by some way and will win the division with a few games to spare. Offense looking better than ever with the emergence of Sproles to take carries off Tomlinson. Defense did well without Merriman last year and may have to do so again after he was arrested.

Division Winner: San Diego

AFC North

Again i'll start with the weaker team - The Cleveland Browns. I actually like the browns and what they have been doing but they are simply not good enough when up against the other teams in this division. They have a big decision to make over who their starting QB is going to be either Quinn or Anderson. The Cincinnati Bengals will miss TJ Houshmandzadeh opposite Chad Ocho Cinco and will need Chris Henry to step up and take his place. Palmer should be fully fit this season which makes a world of difference. Defense will likely be the Bengals downfall same as it has been for a few years now.

Its tough to call this division between the Ravens and the Reigning Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Both sides look to be very good on both sides of the ball. The 2 matchups between the two will be key again. Steelers still have the majority of their players from last season. Roethlisberger's ability to get him self out of trouble really helps in the big situations. The Ravens lost a couple of defensive players but they should be able to move on without them just like they did when Adalius Thomas jumped shipped to the Patriots. They still have the best safety in the game in Ed Reed who is literally a ballhawk and has the ability to change the momentum of the game in an instant.

Division Winner: Baltimore Ravens
Wildcard: Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC South

Tough division to call all round. The Texans are still the weakest team but only because the others appear to be so strong. Texans have the making of a great team with players like Andre Johnson and Steve Slaton on offense and Amobi Okoye and Mario Williams on defense. Can see the Texans still finishing with an 8-8 record.

The Jags have improved their WRs which have been a problem for them on offense recently. This combined with a good running game led by Mo-Jo Drew could give the jags a very good offense. Need their D to step up if they are to challenge the Titans and Colts for the division crown.

Last years division winners the Titans didnt upgrade their WRs as i'm sure they'd have liked to and as such will still have to rely on the one-two punch of Chris Johnson and Lendale White. Everyone keeps talking about how much of a loss Haynesworth will be but i think they are overblowing it. Haynesworth still hasnt started a full 16 game season and so they have had to cope without him in the past and i'm sure they can do so again. I always wondered whether Haynesworth was pushing himself to the limit in order to get his big money contract and whether he will go back to being disinterested like he used to be before he was in a contract year.

The final team in this division has by far the best offense in the division. Led by one of the top two QBs in the league in Peyton Manning the Colts are set on offense with a strong passing game and a solid running game. With the likes of Bob Sanders back on defense the Colts are well equipped to make another run at the Lombardi Trophy.

Division Winner: Indianapolis Colts
Wildcard: Jacksonville Jaguars

AFC East

The Phins won this division last year after rebounding from a 1-15 season in 2007 but you have to wonder if that the Pats who came close to beating them to the crown last year would have taken it had they had a fully fit Tom Brady. I can see the Dolphins contending again for the division title but teams will have cottoned onto the Wildcat and it wont be as successful this year. The phins will also have to contend with a stronger schedule than they had last year.

The Jets have a new coach in Rex Ryan and he wasted no time in bringing in some new faces. QB is still a bit of a question mark for the Jets and their running game is solid at best. Their defense will be the key to them having a good season as i cannot see the offense putting up many points.

The Bills have signed TO and in the process gave themselves a great 1-2 WR pairing in him and Lee Evans. They have a strong running game with Lynch and Fred Jackson. The O-line appears to be the weak link on offense. As for the defense they look good against the run but its the passing defense which could let them down.

I have already mentioned the Patriots who are looking as strong as ever. I mentioned that the Peyton Manning was one of the top-two QBs in the game today, the other is Tom Brady who will be back throwing the ball to Moss, Welker and Co. The only question mark is whether he is fully fit and if he gets hurt again. They have one of the better O-Lines in the league and as such should be able to prevent opposing teams getting to him too many times. They have traded Richard Seymour but he wont be a great loss to what is a very good defense. Could easily be in the AFC Championship game and even the Superbowl.

Division Winner: New England Patriots

Will do the NFC one tomorrow night before the season opener

Excellent review of the AFC Poolieguy,i totally agree with 5 of the 6 play-off teams,i really fancy the Houston Texans for the sixth spot over the Jags.

Huge Cowboys fan since it started on C4. We had the glory years of the Holy Trinity (Aikman, Smith, Irvin) and we have now had too many fallow years!!

We are in the Toughest Division in Football so I would be pleased to make the play-offs and actually win a post season game .

Now Owens has gone, I am more hopeful this year, great RB's, decent receiving core, two great TE's (look out for plenty of two TE sets) and a great QB in Romo

Go Boy's!! (and good luck to everyone except the Giants, Skins & Eagles!!)

Right time for the NFC:

NFC West

Rams dont look to have added much to their team but you just know that Brown will end up with a game winning kick against the Seahawks in one of the two games. The Rams have better talent than their record last year suggests although they may struggle at WR. Defense has always been a weak point and cant see that changing this year.

Seattle will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing season and with a fit Matt Hasselbeck you have to think they are capable of doing so. They have soome very good WR's in Houshmandzadeh, Engram and Branch. The running game is likely to be the let down in this offense. The defense has always been solid but not spectacular and dont see anything changing there. Will probably be in contention for the division crown.

49ers are an intriguing one as on paper they have a good defense and an average offense but a lot depends on how certain players perform. Shaun Hill will need to prove he is capable of leading this offense. The defense has a great young leader in Patrick Willis. Expect them to be a tough team to beat but just cant see them winning the division.

Cards are the reigning champs and the biggest thing they did during the off-season was keeping hold of Anquan Boldin who forms the best 1-2 WR combination in the league with Larry Fitzgerald. Hightower is a young RB who showed real signs of promise last season and he should team up well with rookie Beanie Wells. They have a good defense which is capable of restricting teams when they need to. Expect them to repeat as Division Winners

Division Winner: Arizona Cardinals

NFC South

Matt Ryan led the Falcons to an excellent 11-5 season and they have the players to repeat this fate providing he avoids a sophomore slump. He has some excellent targets in Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Michael Jenkins. A very good running game starts with Michael Turner who is backed up ably by Jerious Norwood. Another team with a solid if unspectacular defense. In the past few seasons the team that has finished bottom of this division has won it the following year, i think the Falcons have a shot at breaking that habit.

The Panthers will surely be looking to Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams to spearhead their offense and they should be ably supported by Jake Delhomme and the WR’s who include the very dangerous Steve Smith. Their defense may rely on how Julius Peppers plays and whether or not he is truly committed to the cause knowing he is likely to leave the team at the end of the season.

Tampa Bay seem to be the weak link in this division. They sacked Chucky which was probably long overdue. They don’t have any real stellar offensive players just some solid ones and I think that this could well be their downfall this season. They still have a strong defense despite the loss of Derrick Brooks. The real impact of Brooks departure could come in the locker room rather than on the field as he was one of the leaders of this team.

New Orleans had a disappointing season last time round especially given the players they have. Drew Brees put up huge numbers and came within a whisker of Dan Marino's long standing record. I wouldnt expect him to have such high numbers this season as i think they will look to supporting the passing game more with the running game which i can see Pierre Thomas leading as i think they will use Reggie Bush more in passing situations. They have probably the weakest defense in the division by some way and that could cost them a fair few games.

Division Winners: Atlanta Falcons
Wildcard: Carolina Panthers

NFC North

Well i suppose we should start at the bottom. I can say with absolute CERTAINTY that the LIONS WILL BE AN IMPROVED TEAM THIS YEAR. There is simply no way they are going 0-16 again. They had the #1 pick in the draft and picked Matthew Stafford which is a decent move the problem might be keeping him upright although new tackle Jon Jansen should help with that a bit. The defense still has a fair few holes and i think another #1 pick could be in the offing. Even so they will win at least 1 game.

The Bears made a big upgrade by trading for Jay Cutler although they are short of receiving targets for him. Matt Forte gives them a good #1 rusher from which they can build their offense. The Bears strength in recent years has been their defense and while i still seeing being the stronger of the two units i dont think the gap between offense and defense will be as big as previous years.

The Packers have had the youngest team in the league for the last 3 years and will be hoping that as the team grows up they become stronger. Rodgers will be the focal point of the offense and he will have to prove that he can capably replace Brett Favre. Driver and Jennings give him two reliable WRs. The running game is solid led by Ryan Grant. They are another team who have a solid but not great defense.

Obviously all the talk has been about the Vikings and the signing of Brett Favre. Many people are saying that this now makes them one of the favourites for the NFC Championship game, i have to say i'm not one of those people and while i believe Favre will be an upgrade over Tavaris Jackson there will be questions about whether he can last the season and his end of season form which last year dropped the Jets out of the race for the AFC East crown and even the playoffs. Obviously they have the number 1 RB in the league at the moment in Adrian Peterson and a very good offensive line to open holes for him. They have arguably the best run stopping defense in the league which is led by the Williams duo on the line.

Division Winners: Minnesota Vikings

NFC East

Ok now for the big one.

I'll start with the Eagles who have made a few good moves in the off-season, i especially like the signings of Ellis Hobbs and the drafting of Jeremy Maclin who gives them 2 very promising young WRs with DeSean Jackson. They still have Brian Westbrook at RB and as usual he will put up good numbers both on the ground and in the passing game. McNabb is back as the starting QB and while they have signed Mike Vick he is under no real pressure for his job as i dont believe Vick is a good passer of the ball. Vick will most likely to be used in Wildcat formations. They have a very good defense who excel in putting pressure on the opposing QB using Blitzes.

Next up is the Cowgirls (yes i cannot type their proper name if i do i spontaneously combust ), I think the loss of TO could actually be a good thing for the Cowboys as it takes away the pressure of getting him the ball. Romo has to lessen his reliability on Jason Witten and spread the ball around otherwise defenses will get wise and will simply focus on Witten. Barber and Jones give them an excellent 1-2 RB punch. They have some great players on Defense with DeMarcus Ware being one of the best pass rushing LB's in the league. Their weakness is the secondary.

The Giants have just rewarded Sheli Manning with a mega bucks contract which i have to say may have been too soon. He is a good QB and has done a superb job in helping his team win a SB but they gave him elite QB money when i think he is still some way of being elite. Like the rest of the NFC East they have a very good running game led by Jacobs and ably backed up by Ahmad Bradshaw. They are stacked with young WRs and one of those will need to step up in place of Plaxico Burress. They get great pressure on opposing QBs from just the defensive line with an excellent DE pairing in Umenyiora and Justin Tuck. LB is the weak link of this defense.

Now for my beloved Redskins. Well i have mentioned this elsewhere but i can see us struggling to a 7-9 finish this year. The problem is going to be on offense where outside of Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley we have very little. Jason Campbell should hopefully improve as this will be the first time in his career he has gone into a season without having to learn a new playbook. If he does improve and our young WRs step up then we could have a very good offense but i see the WRs needing another year. The other problem could be keeping JC standing as our O-Line gets beat far too easily. We have a good defense and hopefully the addition of Haynesworth and Orakpo should help with what was our problem last year - the pass rush. This led to us not getting many turnovers as opposing QBs had plenty of time to get rid of the ball. I can see this defense ranking in the top 5 same as last season.

Division Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Wildcard: New York Giants

Hey Poolieguy, I'll forgive the Cow"girls" insult - as that aside it was a great post fella!

You know your stuff, u going to the Wembley game this year?

(10-09-2009 22:17 )Sainttau Wrote:  Hey Poolieguy, I'll forgive the Cow"girls" insult - as that aside it was a great post fella!

You know your stuff, u going to the Wembley game this year?

Yes i am, hopefully it will be as good as last years game, although nothing beats going to a game in the US. I went to see the Skins beat the Browns at FedEx last year and it was an amazing experience. Cant wait to go again

Personally I always start the season with an air of confidence, which isn't easy for a Skins fan. Pressure really on Jason Campbell to deliver this season, the loss of Colt Brennan leaves little back up. The big problem he faces is the weakness of the O line which is also a handicap for the running game. Oh to have the days of the Hogs back! Maybe the defence can carry the team to 8-8 which may just br enough for a wild card shout.

I tip my hat to you Poolieguy,that was an excellent review of the NFC,i wish i could rep you again for the time and thought you put into it.

Damn Madden curse!!! Need to wait and see but it seems like Polamalu is going to be out for 6 weeks on the plus side Big Ben is showing the same sort of game winning madness that could lead to a successful season. Although the running game is so bad teams are pretty much going to stop defending that and always bring blitz so it will be tough for him to stay fit although he is the sort of player that would play with a broken arm if they let him

As mentioned it those two teams aren't in the play off then it will be a major shock.

Great opening game though, obviously more so for a Steeler