Are you ready for some football?
September 7, 2005, 3:00 PM | 0 Comments
Note: Predictions for week 1 of the 2008 NFL season can be found here: Are you ready for some football?.
NFL Kickoff Weekend is here! I’ve been waiting for this weekend since early February when last season ended. I’m a sports nut and even though I’m Canadian, hockey is not my favourite sport. That distinction belongs to football… NFL football.
Last year I tried out my predicting skills by keeping a spreadsheet of all of the games, and making my picks before each weekend started. I remember doing quite well actually, but I think I lost the spreadsheet in a recent format of my hard drive. I don’t remember my exact record for correct predictions, but what I do remember is that I was on par with the expert predictions of the ESPN analysts.
Each week I’ll be make predictions for every game. I’m a huge Packers fan, so expect that my picks for the Packers games will be biased, and the likelihood that I’ll pick against the Packers is next to none. I will make no appology for this bias. Anyways, each week I’ll post my predictions before the first game is played. Most weeks, this will be on a Saturday, but some weeks it’ll be earlier because of the Thanksgiving day games and late December games.
From week to week I’ll breakdown each game and quite possibly post a paragraph explaining my prediction. At the end of each entry I’ll display a summary of my picks for the week, and update that summary after the games have been played. This year I will again measure my success against those same experts over at ESPN.com.
Now, to kick off a new season, on with my predictions for week 1!
Oakland Raiders (0-0) at New England Patriots (0-0) - The Raiders are a team that is still on the upswing. With the addition of Randy Moss at Wide Receiver this year, Kerry Collins now has a deep threat to go to. Collins is arguably one of the best deep ball quarterbacks in the league. I don’t think that this will be enough to top the defending champion Patriots though. Yes, they’ve lost great coaches in Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennell. They’ve lost Tedy Bruschi and Ty Law, but for the last 4 years the Patriots have been a team that gets it done regardless of who’s on the roster. Pick: Patriots.
Chicago Bears (0-0) at Washington Redskins (0-0) - The Bears were dealt a huge blow again in the preseason this year by losing QB Rex Grossman. Grossman was expected to be the leader this year, but the former first round draft pick has yet to prove himself. The Bears are going to have to find someone to step up. Both teams have good defensive units, but I think the Redskins are a better overall team. Pick: Redskins.
Cincinnati Bengals (0-0) at Cleaveland Browns (0-0) - The Battle of Ohio, part one. The Bengals have been expected to rise for several years now, and last year made a run at the playoffs but came up a little short. This year they’ll compete again. Pick: Bengals.
Denver Broncos (0-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-0) - Miami has issues. With the Ricky Williams fiasco, and uncertainty at the quarterback position, the Dolphins really need to get it together. Nick Saban will have a tough year ahead as the new coach of the Dolphins, but I think they’ll turn a few heads by year’s end. That said, it’ll take a few weeks for them to find their groove. Pick: Broncos.
Houston Texans (0-0) at Buffalo Bills (0-0) - Last year, Buffalo narrowly missed the playoffs. This year, I think it’s their year to get back into the January fun fest. J.P. Losman has yet to prove himself at the QB position and really is the key to Buffalo’s success this year. If he can lead the team the way Drew Bledsoe led them in the final weeks of last year’s season, the Bills have a shot at the playoffs. Houston has steadily gotten better every year, so I think they’ll have another great year and improve on last year’s success. Pick: Bills.
New Orleans Saints (0-0) at Carolina Panthers (0-0) - It’s tough for anyone in New Orleans to think about football right now. The Saints have been moved around so much over the last few weeks, and that’s tough on a team. The Panthers this year look to be back on track after a dissapointing year last year. Normally, I’d pick the Panthers to win this match, but with all of the hardships that the Saints have gone through, I’m expecting them to band together and pull out the win. Pick: Saints.
New York Jets (0-0) at Kansas City Chiefs (0-0) - Two years ago, the Chiefs were one of the best offensive teams in the league. They cruised into the playoffs on the strength of their offense, but their defense was not so good. Last year, the Chiefs again had a great offensive unit, but their defense seemed even worse than the year before. They had the second best offense in the league (in terms of points scored) second only to the Indianapolis Colts, but they still finished with a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs. The Jets on the other hand had a great year last year and with Chad Pennington healthy again, they’ll be a playoff contender this year. Pick: Jets.
Seattle Seahawks (0-0) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-0) - Last year the Seahawks made the playoffs, but again made an early exit in the wildcard round. This year will probably be Mike Holmgren’s last year as the Seahawks coach if they don’t make the playoffs and win at least one game. Jacksonville has a good team, but I think the Seahawks will win this one in a very close game. Pick: Seahawks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0) at Minnesota Vikings (0-0) - Tampa Bay has had a rough time since their Superbowl winning season three years ago. I think it’ll take a while for them to be a major threat again. Minnesota has the talent on offense and now on defense this year to compete with any team and make a Superbowl run. The question is this: Will the Vikings be consistant all year, or will they fade again down the stretch like the last two years? Pick: Vikings.
Tennessee Titans (0-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0) - What a year Ben Roethlisberger had last year. He’s probably my favourite player to come into the league in the last couple of years. The Steelers surprised alot of people last year by making it to the AFC Championship game. I don’t think they’ll be as good this year, but I think they’ll still compete for a playoff position. Pick: Steelers.
Arizona Cardinals (0-0) at New York Giants (0-0) - It’s kind of interesting how things work out. Last year Kurt Warner started really strong in New York. I don’t think it was the right decision to put Eli Manning in when they did. They basically gave up on trying to compete for a playoff spot and chose instead to give Manning some NFL experience. Warner is now with the Cardinals, who have significantly improved their team this year both on offense and defense. I think Warner will have a great year this year. It’s hard to say whether he’ll be as good as he was in St. Louis, but I think he’ll lead the Cardinals to a winning record this season. The Cardinals are probably my favourite ‘sleeper’ pick for this year. I think they have a good chance to win their division. Pick: Cardinals.
Dallas Cowboys (0-0) at San Diego Chargers (0-0) - The Chargers were a great surprise last year, and Drew Brees finally showed that he’s a top-caliber QB. Will he have the same type of year this year? We’ll have to see. They Cowboys have upgraded themselves both on Offense and Defense, and I think that Drew Bledsoe will have another good year under his old coach Bill Parcells. Another tough pick for this game. Pick: Cowboys.
Green Bay Packers (0-0) at Detroit Lions (0-0) - This is really the only game that I truly care about the outcome. No one is expecting Green Bay to win their division for the fourth straight year. I am. Last year, the Colts showed everyone that it is possible to be very successful with a high-powered offense and a very suspect defense. Green Bay has that high-powered offense, but their weakness for the last two seasons has been the defense. This year, their defense is surrounded with questions, but I think new defensive coordinator Jim Bates will turn things around. Even with all of the rookies in the Packers defensive unit, I think Bates will turn them into a top 20 defense this year. Brett Favre is in the best shape he’s been in since his twenties, and I expect him to have an explosive year this year, passing for at least 36 TDs and over 3800 yards. Pick: Packers.
St. Louis Rams (0-0) at San Francisco 49ers (0-0) - The Rams look GOOD this year. A couple of weeks ago they shredded Detroit’s defense in a preseason game. Steven Jackson rushed for 108 yards… in the first half alone! They look to be in top-form again, ready to bounce back to the ‘greatest show on turf’ status. The 49ers have alot of work to do, and will probably be one of the bottom teams again this year. Pick: Rams.
Indianapolis Colts (0-0) at Baltimore Ravens (0-0) - Last year, Peyton Manning had an incredible year, passing for 49 TDs and winning his second straight (well deserved) League MVP award. Even with the Ravens defense, it’s hard to pick against one of the smartest players in the game today, so I wont. Pick: Colts.
Philladelphia Eagles (0-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-0) - This is probably the hardest game to pick this week. The Falcons have Michael Vick - one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the game. Will he dominate this year, or flounder? The Eagles have been to the NFC Championship game four straight years, and haven’t lost any significant pieces of their team. The T.O. saga has died down a bit, but don’t be surprised if it picks up again in the near future. I think it’ll be a very close game, but I’ll go with the unpopular pick and the home team. Pick: Falcons.
Picks Summary
AWAY - HOME - PREDICTION - RESULT
Raiders - Patriots - Patriots - Patriots √
Bears - Redskins - Redskins - Redskins √
Bengals - Browns - Bengals - Bengals √
Broncos - Dolphins - Broncos - Dolphins Χ
Texans - Bills - Bills - Bills √
Saints - Panthers - Saints - Saints √
Jets - Chiefs - Jets - Chiefs Χ
Seahawks - Jaguars - Seahawks - Jaguars Χ
Buccaneers - Vikings - Vikings - Buccaneers Χ
Titans - Steelers - Steelers - Steelers √
Cardinals - Giants - Cardinals - Giants Χ
Cowboys - Chargers - Cowboys - Cowboys √
Packers - Lions - Packers - Lions Χ
Rams - 49ers - Rams - 49ers Χ
Colts - Ravens - Colts - Colts √
Eagles - Falcons - Falcons - Falcons √
UPDATE: Well, 9-7 isn’t bad for the first week of predictions. Only one of the ESPN guys, Sean Salisbury, had more correct predictions, so I guess I did alright. What a crazy first week it was.
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