nfl preview 2008 & nfl predictions: week one [1]

new orleans at indianapolis

the pick : indianapolis

indianapolis : while the patriots gained many high profile players via free agency, the colts lost many of their starters to other teams. because of that, they remind me of the 1994 san francisco 49ers [one of the greatest teams of all-time might i add] in the way that they lost many key players from that championship team. in the end the '95 49ers didn't have enough to get past the cowboys that year, who signed many big free agents, most notably deion sanders. anyway, the colts lost many starters on defense and will replace them from within the organization, although their biggest addition to their defense will be having bob sanders for a full year.

the prediction : i expect them to continue to have success in the regular season and comfortably make the playoffs, but just fall short of making the super bowl.

new orleans : the biggest weakness with the saints' team last year was their defense, more specifically at cornerback where fred thomas seemed to have cement in his shoes. the saints have upgraded that position via free agency and the draft, so look for their defense to improve. on offense, the saints were explosive last season and should be as explosive this year.

the prediction : the saints will make the playoffs and contend for a super bowl berth.

philadelphia at green bay

the pick : philadelphia

philadelphia : new year, same weaknesses [wide receiver, defensive line]. although i do expect donavon mcnabb to have a monster year and the eagles to have a similar season to the previous one.

prediction : the eagles will have just enough to make the playoffs, which they will make by winning the nfc east.

green bay : brett favre became extinct about two years ago, so he's basically a fossil right now. the packers were amazingly 8-8 last year, but i don't see them being any better than that this year. i will say that their defense looks good this year, especially their young linebacking core.

prediction : they are in the zone where they are not good enough to make the playoffs but not bad enough to get a good draft pick.

kansas city at houston

the pick : houston

kansas city : i'd be surprised if larry johnson doesn't break down this year. with damon huard or brodie croyle at quarterback, he will face 8 to 9 man fronts on most downs. the chiefs still have no wide receivers, which hasn't been addressed in at least 10 years [their best wide receiver in recent memory is probably andre rison, which is like tony danza saying his last best role was this].

prediction : they will 'battle' oakland for last place in the afc west.

houston : i actually expect the houston offense to better than what most experts think. the offense will improve with in the second year of gary kubiak's system, and the defense features good young players who look a year or three from being great.

prediction : i believe that will surprise most people this year by having no more than 9 losses.

denver at buffalo

the pick : denver

denver : switching from jake plummer to jay cutler last year provided very little change in results for the broncos. they should be better though with cutler having more experience, but not enough to do much in the playoffs, if they can somehow get there. i do like the signing of travis henry, although i worry about his durability. it's a good thing mike shanahan knows a thing or two about splitting carries so preserving henry for late in the season shouldn't be an issue. with the addition of dre bly and simeon rice, their defense will be better than a what it was last year, which was already above average.

prediction : the broncos have improved, especially at running back and defensive line. i look for them to make the playoffs.

buffalo : when jp losman is your quarterback, things won't be ending nicely. they are years away from being a contender. i even sometimes forget that they exist.

prediction : another sub .500 year, another 'rebuilding' year.

pittsburgh at cleveland

the pick : pittsburgh

pittsburgh : it's amazing to think that the steelers won the super bowl two seasons ago. they basically have the same players, although it will be the first year with a new coach. ben roethlisberger will have an average year, which is in line with every other year that he has played.

prediction : they will be inconsistent all year, looking good at times and looking bad at times. look for them to miss the playoffs.

cleveland : for a preseason game, the browns decided who was going to play quarterback on a coin toss. this is never a good sign.

prediction : it will be another long year for the dawg pound.

carolina at st louis

the pick : st louis

carolina : david carr will be the starting quarterback sometime this year because jake delhomme's poor play. jake delhomme will then get his job back because of david carr's poor play. this one is just too easy to predict. their offensive line played terribly last year, which coincided with the nfl's new steroid policy. hmm...

prediction : unlike many expert analysts, there will be no super bowl prediction for me this year. because they play in the nfc south [where each team struggles as the regular season winds down], they will be in the playoff hunt despite their quarterback issues.

st louis : this is the year where numbers will decline for the passing game. not only because they are much older now, but because steven jackson will rush close to 375 times this year. look for him to treat every defensive player as they were danny glover.

prediction : the rams will vie for a playoff spot in the wide-open nfc west.

atlanta at minnesota

the pick : atlanta

atlanta : their first team offense actually looked fairly good in the preseason. without michael vick, the falcons won't be bad as people think. in michael vick, they had a player with below average quarterbacking skills who arguably was the fastest player in the league. so who is his replacement? joey harrington, a career below average quarterback who can't run at all. so basically the falcons lost a quarterback who gained yards by scrambling, which isn't that big of a loss because a team should never rely on scrambling yards to make a difference.

the prediction : the falcons will make a playoff run but fade towards the end of season, causing epsn to become flacid.

minnesota : tavaris jackson will not be as bad as people think. he did well in college, and would have been better known entering the draft had he played in a bigger conference. chester taylor will help to slowly infuse adrian peterson to the offense, providing the vikings with a good running back duo.

the prediction : if the defense continues to play well against the run like they did last year, i see them making a strong push for the playoffs.

new england at ny jets

the pick : new england

new england : now that's how a team i supposed to address a weakness. after last year's debacle of reche caldwell and a revolving door of second receivers, the patriots emulated a frustrated madden gm by signing 4 quality wide receivers. but the biggest free agent signing will be linebacker adalius thomas, who will add youth and skill to an aging position.

the prediction : super bowl champion.

ny jets : even though chad pennington led the team to 10 wins last season, the people in new york want his backup kellen clemens to start. thomas jones will be a steady player at running back for jets to rely on all year. eric mangini will contintue to do more with less.

the prediction : in the end , it really doesn't matter who's starting at quarterback because the jets are at least a year away from contending with the patriots in the afc east. they will be better than last year, but their record will be worse due to a stronger strength of schedule.

miami at washington

the pick : washington

miami : trent green will not be the answer at quarterback, but cleo lemon isn't it either. their defense will be their strength yet again, although they have become very old. this season will mark the beginning of the end for this unit.

the prediction : they will struggle at the beginning of the season, then put together a few good games once they have been eliminated from the playoffs.

washington : the redskins look ready to take the next step. with ladell betts coming off a career year, people are sleeping on the fact that they will have a healthy clinton portis, the same clinton portis who has been a monster every year except for last season when he struggled with nagging injuries.

the prediction : the redskins will have a better season than they have in past years, and they will enter the final weeks with a legitimate chance to make the playoffs.

tennessee at jacksonville

the pick : tennessee

tennessee : vince young will not fall victim to the madden curse, as much as trojans fans would like to see that happen. the question is whether or not he can make the leap in his second year as a nfl quarterback. no other team arguably depends on one player as much as the titans do.

the prediction : despite the fact all vince does 'is win games,' the titans will not have enough wins to make the playoffs but will be effective in playing the spoiler for other teams seeking a playoff berth.

jacksonville : when a team cuts its supposed franchise quarterback days before the beginning of the regular season, it can only be described as raider-esque. i don't expect jones-drew to have a good a season as he did last year, but he will still finish with respectable numbers. their defense will be one of the best in the league if they can stay healthy.

the prediction : if they played in the nfc they would make the playoffs. but they don't, so they won't make the playoffs this year.

chicago at san diego

the pick : san diego

chicago : i'm not particularly sold on cedric benson. last preseason, because the bears were paying him so much they tried make him the starter but thomas jones was much more effective and wrestled it away from him. this year, they basically handed him the starting job [again]. when money is the main factor for a person starting, this is never good. other than that, the defense will be great with the return of tommie harris [he is more important to the defense than any other player] and mike brown [don't expect him to finish the season though].

the prediction : the bears will regress from last season and fight for the nfc north crown.

san diego : the chargers lost their head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, yet i expect them to do well. the biggest question mark will be norv turner, who is 20+ games under .500 as a head coach. despite that, they will still be an elite team with little weaknesses on offense and defense.

the prediction : the chargers will do well, but not well enough to get past the patriots in the playoffs [where they will be outcoached].

tampa bay at seattle

the pick : seattle

tampa bay : this season will not end well for jon gruden. in fact, it will end with gruden being unemployed. jeff garcia will thrive in the west coast offense, but there are too many holes on the offense and the defense.

the prediction : sad face time for buccaneers fans.

seattle : shaun alexander will have a great bounce back year. his injury last year was a broken foot, not a torn acl or something requiring major reconstruction. i expect him to return to form and have a mvp type season. their defense will improve under the leadership of younger players who lead by example.

the preditction : a playoff berth is in store if the team's core stays healthy.

detroit at oakland

the pick : detroit

detroit : the passing game will improve drastically from last season, but the missing piece to mike martz's system still is a marshall faulk-type player. until they find someone like him, their offense won't be enough to beat good football teams, though they will be entertaining to watch.

the prediction : will this team obtain 10 wins? no. but they'll finish with less than 10 losses which is almost something to rejoice in the millen era.

oakland : this team was a mess last year. they fielded the worst offense i have seen in my entire life. and that is no exaggeration. i guess that's what happens when a bed-and-breakfast guy runs your offense. this year, they will have serviceable quarterbacks and a competent offensive coordinator to run the offense to add to their talented defense.

the prediction : pretend last season didn't happen. if we do that, then 6 wins is obtainable considering improvements they have made on offense [hiring a real coaching staff helps].

ny giants at dallas

the pick : dallas

ny giants : tiki barber is not content with just being retired. apparently he is still campaigning to get tom coughlin fired, even though he doesn't have to play for him anymore. that guy is really bitter. as for the current team, it depends on eli manning and if he can be consistently effective throughout the entire season. along with that, the giants have serious chemistry issues and it doesn't seem like they will be resolved with coughlin as their head coach.

the prediction : coughlin will be fired after the giants fail to make the playoffs.

dallas : so far, i haven't heard much about terrell owens this season, which must mean that he is dead. aside from that, i look for tony romo to have a good year as he enters his first full season as a starter. their defense should be good with the speed that they have on that side of the ball.

the predition : the cowboys will be playing for one of the last playoff spots in the final weeks of the season.

baltimore at cincinnati

the pick : baltimore

baltimore : steve mcnair may have fooled you and he may have fooled ray lewis, but he didn't fool me last season. he hurt the team as much as he helped them, which isn't the most effective way of playing. i do expect willis mcgahee to have a great season and their defense to continue to be strength. that's is a combination that will lead to many wins.

the prediction : they are one of three teams that has a serious shot at beating the patriots in the playoffs. of the three, they have the best chance.

cincinnati : the bengals are a very talented team on offense, but also a very undisciplined team overall. this suggests that they are not strong mentally, which will hurt them in close games and/or games with some adversity [bad calls, injuries, etc]. their defense is still porous, and teams will have an easy time running against them.

the prediction : i will be surprised if the bengals have more than 9 wins at season's end.

arizona at san francisco

the pick : 49ers

arizona : matt leinart will establish himself as one the better young quarterbacks in the game this season. he has plenty of players to distribute the ball, and if edgerrin james can actually rush for more the 2.5 yards per carry, their offense will be explosive. their defense is still subpar, which will hurt them in close games.

the prediction : sorry cardinals fans, no playoffs this year.

49ers : mike nolan has done a tremendous job rebuilding the franchise after inept people were in charge of the organization. alex smith will continue to improve as he is surrounded with better targets [newcomer wr darrell jackson and te vernon davis, who was injured most of last year]. frank gore will come close to matching last season's numbers, although i do expect a slight dropoff and worry about his durability. on the defensive side, they have been upgraded through free agency and the draft. the biggest weakness and what will keep the 49ers from being more successful is their overall lack of experience.

the prediction : no playoffs for the 49ers either, but they are just one year away from achieving that goal.