September 4, 2007

Are you ready for some football?

September 4, 2007, 10:06 PM | 7 Comments

It’s finally here! Well, it’s been one long wait since Peyton Manning and the Colts were victorious in Super Bowl XLI and February seems like it was a very long time ago. I’m excited about this season, I’m sick of watching baseball and I’m back with my weekly picks on all the action in the NFL.

I’m also going to be running my ‘who will win’ poll again, so go ahead, place your vote right now on who you think will win Super Bowl XLII in Arizona. I’ll make my pick as well (discussed later) and we’ll take a look at the end of the year to see how accurate lucky we all (collectively) were.

Each week (hopefully by Tuesday night) I’ll post some thoughts on the week that was in the NFL and try and analyze each game for the coming week. I’ll also go a little more in-depth with one particular “game of the week” where I’ll talk about the game that (in my opinion) is the best one for a given week. So without further ado, let’s get right to it.

Game of the week: Saints at Colts

It’s really hard to not pick the opening game of the season as my game of the week. If the NFL schedule makers think this is the most intriguing match-up for week 1, well then, maybe I do too. Year in and year out, the Colts are in the hunt. This year figures to be no different. Last season, the Saints surprised everyone and won hearts in the process. I personally can’t wait to watch this game that features an annual powerhouse in the AFC, matching up against an up-and-coming great from the NFC.

The Colts have seen quite a few changes over the off-season with the departure of Dominic Rhodes and the season-ending injury to Booger McFarland probably being the most significant of those changes. The do still have a great running back in Joseph Addai, but no one really knows if he’ll be able to carry the load as the number 1 back in Indy. Last season, Addai and Rhodes really shared the duties and proved to be a very effective tandem. It will be very interesting to see how Addai handles the extra carries. Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne are still there on offense, so this team still has a lot of fire power.

If Indy’s defense can continue the great play that helped the Colts win the Super Bowl last year, they will have a definite chance at the repeat. Their offense will be good just like every other year, but I really think that the defense will be the key this season for Indy.

Anyways, enough stalling… here are my picks for the first week of the 2007-2008 NFL Season!

Away	Home	Comments	Pick	Result
Saints (0-1)	Colts (1-0)	Coming off their Super Bowl victory, I expect the Colts to start where the left off last season with a win. New Orleans had a breakout year last season, and it’ll be very interesting to watch how they respond this year, but I think that the Colts will do enough to take this game at home.
Eagles (0-1)	Packers (1-0)	Last year, Green Bay finished the season strong with 4 straight wins and they’re going to need to have a fast start this season if they want to have any hope of making the playoffs. Their defense has looked solid in the pre-season and will probably be what keeps them in most games this year. That unit will need to be good against a good Eagles team and a healthy Donovan McNabb. Most experts will probably pick Philadelphia for this game, but being that it’s the first game of the year, I have to pick my team for the win. :)
Falcons (0-1)	Vikings (1-0)	Atlanta has had a very rough off-season and unfortunately, none of it had anything to do with football. I look at that as a big distraction for that team and they’re going to have to find a way to move on from Michael Vick’s issues and play some good football. Minnesota got a great draft pick in RB Adrian Peterson who I think is going to have a big impact on Minnesota’s offense. I expect this one to be close, but I’ll take the Vikes at home against a Falcons team that has Joey Harrington as their starting QB and will no doubt be answering way too many questions about the Vick-effect.
Dolphins (0-1)	Redskins (1-0)	Will either of these teams be any good this season?
Patriots (1-0)	Jets (0-1)	Once again the Patriots are the clear-cut team to beat in the AFC East. After stocking up on the free agents in the off-season, the Patriots (on paper) look poised to go all the way to a Super Bowl birth. As with any team, the Patriots success will probably depend on how healthy they can stay this season, but if they remain healthy, this is a very scary team. The Jets had great success last year and will probably do well again this season, but until the Pats prove otherwise, I’m not picking against them.
Titans (1-0)	Jaguars (0-1)	Finally David Garrard will be the starting QB. I’ve always thought that he was the obvious choice for the job as Leftwich just never got it done, so it’s nice to see that Jack Del Rio has finally made the switch. During pre-season the Jaguars run defense looked solid, and that’s why I’m giving them the advantage on Sunday against Tennessee.
Broncos (1-0)	Bills (0-1)	The Broncos are a team that’s seemingly always in the hunt every year. The Bills (at least for the last several years) have been one of those teams that always seems like they don’t know how to put it together. I’ll take the Broncos just because I never have any idea what to expect from the Bills on a year-to-year basis.
Steelers (1-0)	Browns (0-1)	With a new coach for the first time in what seems like an eternity and Ben Roethlisberger 1 year removed from that ridiculous off-season he had following the Steelers Super Bowl XL win, Pittsburgh has a new attitude and high expectations for this season. I’m really not sure what to expect from the Steelers, but I think they’ll start off on the right foot and hand the Browns a loss in Cleveland.
Panthers (1-0)	Rams (0-1)	The only question I have about the St. Louis Rams is whether or not Tory Holt can stay healthy. Other than that, this is a pretty good all around football team who will probably be in the hunt at the end of the year in the NFC West. Everything I’ve been reading about the Panthers has led me to believe that they’re really not going to be much better than last season.
Chiefs (0-1)	Texans (1-0)	Will Matt Schaub and Ahman Green be enough to get the Texans offense moving? I’m not sure, but it can’t hurt them either. They may win this game but the Chiefs are a very tough team and Larry Johnson will be a tough back to contain. I’ll take the Chiefs, but I think the Texans could squeek by.
Buccaneers (0-1)	Seahawks (1-0)	Again, the Seahawks are the favourite to win the NFC West this season. Their offense is good, their defense is strong and they’re good on special teams. There is a LOT of uncertaintly in Tampa this year, but the acquisition of Jeff Garcia could prove to be a great pickup and the Bucs could be good this year, but I still think Seattle has the edge in this one.
Bears (0-1)	Chargers (1-0)	Will Good Rex or Bad Rex show up in San Diego for the start of the Bears season? If Bad Rex shows up, count the Bears out completely. If Good Rex shows up, it’ll still be a very difficult game for Chicago as they try to stop what may be the best team (on paper) in the AFC.
Lions (1-0)	Raiders (0-1)	In the battle of the number 1 and number 2 draft picks, I think number 2 will prevail. First off, Calvin Johnson may have been the best overall player in the draft and when he’s added to Mike Martz’s offense, watch out. I also think that the long holdout by JaMarcus Russell is going to cost the Raiders, at least for the beginning of the season until that offense can get in sync. I’ll take the Lions this week.
Giants (0-1)	Cowboys (1-0)	Eli’s Giants with No Tiki and an out-of-football-shape Michael Strahan go up against their division rival Dallas Cowboys, in Dallas, with a new head coach, a new attitude, and one more year of experience under their belt. I’m going with the ‘Boys.
Ravens (0-1)	Bengals (1-0)	Apparently, Carson Palmer is back. The Bengals were left with a bitter taste in their mouths last season when they missed the playoffs. They had such high expectations but really underachieved as a team last year an you can bet they’ll be ready for this tough match against Baltimore. It’s going to be tough against the Ravens D, but I think their offense will carry them to a W this week.
Cardinals (0-1)	49ers (1-0)	Arizona… what to say. Every year we’re led to believe that they’re going to be better, and every year they disappoint. Could new head coach Ken Whisenhunt hold the answers? Not sure, but I think the Cards might be able to take this one from the 49ers. It won’t be easy, but it could happen… right?

The first week of the season is always the toughest week to pick, but you’ve gotta start somewhere right? As in years past, I’ll be comparing myself with the expert picks at ESPN. Last season I faired pretty well up against their best, but I’m hoping for a better season this year. So let the games begin!

As I always do every at this time of year, I’ll go on the record and predict that the Super Bowl champions this year will be… the New England Patriots. I can’t say it with as much conviction as I did last September when I (correctly) predicted that the Colts would win Super Bowl XLI, but I can honestly say that this pick has no bias whatsoever. I do not like the Patriots, but I also don’t dislike them either. My decision is just based on how the Pats were so close last year and have obviously gotten better over the off-season. No one really knows for sure what will happen, but I know one thing is for sure… I’m ready for some football! Are you?

As always, check back after the games have been completed for some additional thoughts and updates.

Update: Well, I think I had a pretty good first week of picks. 12-4 is a great start to the season that I’ll hopefully be able to keep up. Week 1 was an exciting week of football and I had a lot of fun watching but I can’t remember an opening day where there were so many key injuries. Baltimore, Chicago and New York (Giants) all suffered significant injuries to multiple key contributors on their team and it will be very interesting to see how they handle that. There are plently of teams that I’m sure are very worried about the health of their team right now. Week 2 is setting up to be equally as compelling as week 1, so check back Tuesday for my picks! On a more serious note, thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills who suffered a very serious spinal-cord injury—I hope nothing but the best for him and his family.

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