Blowout Central

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Philadelphia Eagles: Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook will be back for the Eagles after some added rest from the bye week. Their services may not be required for the duration of the game as they go up against a win-less Tampa Bay team. Philadelphia has gotten solid performances from their reserve players and should be able to handle anything the Josh Johnson led team brings at them. (Eagles win 31 – 13)

Dallas Cowboys @ Kansas City Chiefs: Dallas couldn’t have wished for a better opponent after last weeks debacle. Tony Romo has his chance at redemption and the Dallas ground game should be in full force. The Romo-Witten connection on its own should be good enough to keep the Chiefs playing catch up all game. (Cowboys win 28-10)

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Detroit Lions: Rashard Mendenhall had his coming out party last week and should continue to cause havoc against the Lions rush defense. Ben Roethlisberger should have plenty of time in the pocket as well against a Lions team that has given up the most points in the NFL to date this season. The Lions may still be celebrating that victory from a week 3 but this game will prove to be a reminder as to where they belong. (Steelers win 24-9)

Underdog Victories?

New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos: The Broncos are 4-0. Kinda crazy and this week they have a chance to upset the Patriots who have shown weaknesses in past weeks. Brian Dawkins has emerged big time on the defensive end for the Broncos and his unit may just be able to rattle Tom Brady enough to slip a few times. Kyle Orton is far from the cream of the crop when it comes to QB’s but he is getting the job done and has won over the fans in the mile high city for now. (Broncos win 28-24)

Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans:The Titans are 0-4. The surprise team from last season has fallen back to earth but things have to turn around soon right? How about this week in a shootout of sorts? I expect this one to be close Titans are going to need to clean up the kinks and come together under the lights. (Titans win 34-31)

New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins:Intriguing game this Monday night. The Dolphins showed some sign of life last week and maybe they build on that enough to hand the Jets a second loss in a row. Rookie QB Sanchez was exposed last week against the Saints who are hardly known for their defense and may not be fully recovered from that. (Dolphins win 21-17)

The Others…

Minnesota Vikings @ St Louis Rams: Vikings win 34-14
Washington Redskins @ Carolina Panthers: Panthers win 21-9
Oakland Raiders @ New york Giants: Giants win 20-10
Cleveland Browns @ Buffalo Bills: Bills win 17-14
Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens: Ravens win 24-21
Atlanta Falcons @ San Fransisco 49′ers: 49′ers win 28-21
Houston Texans @ Arizona Cardinals: Cardinals win 24-17
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Seattle Seahawks: Jaguars win 24-20

Last Weekend was a reality check for the Patriots as Brady struggled to get anything going. He may be healthy but 2 weeks into the season we can see he has a ways to go before returning to pre-injury form. The Jets found ways to take advantage and pulled off what most considered an upset. This week the Falcons will come in with a similar mindset but Brady should be able to get back on track. I expect New England to get their running game back in order and take care of business against the Falcons – But it won’t be easy!

The Cowboys came into the season with arguably one of the best group of running backs. Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice could all start for an NFL team. There are just not enough possessions to get the most out of every guy over the course of a game. This week should be a coming out party of sorts for the 2nd and 3rd guys on the depth chart if Marion is ruled out for Monday night. There are still decisions to made before now and game time, but I expect Barber to sit out letting his very capable counterparts carry the load in what should be a win for the Cowboys.

Picking the rest…
Baltimore Ravens over Cleveland Browns
Washington Redskins over Detroit Lions
Houston Texans over Jacksonville Jaguars
Minnesota Vikings over San Francisco 49′ers
Tennessee Titans over New York Jets
Green Bay Packers over St. Louis Rams
New York Giants over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints over Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears over Seattle Seahawks
Pittsburgh Steelers over Cincinnati Bengals
Oakland Raiders over Denver Broncos
San Diego Chargers over Miami Dolphins
Indianapolis Colts over Arizona Cardinals

And our preseason didn’t make us optimistic at all – we lost 4 out of 5 games, we even lost to Detroit Lions, who were 0-16 last year. Isn’t that pathetic? Terrell Owens who was supposed to make a huge difference was only nursing his toe for most of the time, and our offense looked poor… Falling in love with the game? Nobody promised that love would be easy.

Minnesota Vikings Prediction (11-5): *Sigh* I can’t believe I am talking about Brett Favre again! Minnesota took a gamble with this move but it will pay off over the course of the season. They have arguably the most explosive RB in the league in Peterson, add in the arm of Favre and its sure to notch a few extra wins. This division will be hard fought but the Vikings should be the team strutting into the post-season.
Chicago Bears Prediction (9-7): Jay Cutler may have an attitude but he is also one of the best young QB’s in the league – good thing for the Bears is, he plays for them now. If Matt Forte has another productive year, an upgraded O line and the thoughts of Cutler looking down field to Devin Hester have me excited to watch this team (yes Cutler is on my FF team as well so there is added incentive for him to succeed).
Green Bay Packers Prediction (8-8): Tough break for the Packers, they are good but their division got a lot better. They have a new defensive scheme in place this season which calls for adjustments, but it had to be done since it was the weak spot for them last year. Rogers is a sound QB and if he can elevate his game, it should keep the Packers in the division race though the season.
Detroit Lions Prediction (3-13): The Lions probably aren’t winning anything more than the #1 draft pick in the 2010. Rookie coach Jim Schwartz has a daunting task ahead of him and if he can direct the team to notch a few wins, that in itself should be considered a success.

Philadelphia Eagles Prediction (12-4): Its the toughest division in football and the Eagles made some major waves by signing Michael Vick. People may think I am bias here, but this team did make it to the conference championship game last year and the core offense has improved. They lost some major contributors on the defensive end, but with new defensive coordinator running similar stuff to what Jim Johnson used to, they should be fine. As for Vick, I was not a proponent of the move but don’t see him factoring in as much as people think once the season gets under way.
Dallas Cowboys Prediction (11-5): Last year was supposed to be “THE” year… well with the Cowboys that seems to be the story every year. They lost several marquee players and this is now Tony Romo’s team. With T.O gone and Jessica Simpson discarded off, all eyes are on Romo to see if he can finally deliver. The way this division is looking, its going to be a last man standing battle to the end.
New York Giants Prediction (9-7): This team was smooth sailing until Plax gone shot himself in the leg last season. Plaxico may be gone but they still have one Eli Manning who can do wonders with the ball. Insert Osi Umenyiora (missed 2008 with a knee injury), a workhorse in Brandon Jacobs and a lock down defensive unit the Giants look like they can topple any of the teams ahead of them.
Washington Redskins Prediction (8-8): Even the last place team in this division should finish around .500. Jim Zorn’s success goes hand in hand with how Jason Campbell performs. After a blazing start last season the team came back to reality and will probably remain there. In any other division this is a team good enough to make the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints Prediction (11-5): This team goes as their offense does and though Reggie Bush has yet to deliver the goods, they still have one of the best QB’s who can rack up the yards along with a good receiving core. The last few seasons, the defense and play on the road has let the team down, but in this division I don’t see them letting go of the top spot.
Carolina Panthers Prediction (9-7): They come in looking the same as last year but probably wont get to repeat their performance and win the division. A favorable schedule and no major injuries helped them, but if they see more performances from QB Delhomme like they did in the playoffs (6 turnovers against the Cardinals), they will be not be on the field in January.
Atlanta Falcons Prediction (8-8): They were the surprise team to many with their run to the playoffs last season. I struggled to put them 3rd in this division but the possibility of Matt Ryan falling into a sophomore slump, the defense failing to improve and a much tougher schedule has me doubting that this team is legit. It does help that Ryan has Tony Gonzalez as an option on the field but that may not be enough.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Prediction (5-11): Another team in full rebuilding mode. They will have the chance to bring along rookie QB Josh Freeman, restructure a once great defensive unit and hope that Cadillac Williams can bounce back from lingering injury issues.

Arizona Cardinals Prediction (10-6): The Cardinals lost (both coordinators) more than they gained this off-season. Good thing they still have Fitzgerald, because with a similar offensive scheme as last year, even an older Kurt Warner can keep this team winning. Add on a good looking rookie RB and this is still the team to beat in this division.
Seattle Seahawks Prediction (8-8): A healthy Hasselbeck and the addition of T.J Houshmandzadeh could make it hard for the Card’s to control this division. The thing that could help the Seahawks push past, is if their health holds up and the defense steps up to the challenge.
San Francisco 49′ers Prediction (6-10): Drama once again surrounds this team as rookie daft pick, Michael Crabtree is threatening to hold out for the season. Not to mention the starting QB job is still not set. Coach Singletary had a rough task last season but they managed to finish strong. Even if the defense improves, the key to their season will be in how they come out of the gates.
St. Louis Rams Prediction (4-12): I don’t really have much to say about this team except that their fans will have to endure another losing season. They did manage to pick up some solid contributors in the draft but its going to take time for the whole vision to come together.

Pittsburgh Steelers Prediction (14-2): The Champs didn’t change much from last season and should be the team to beat once again. It would take some pressure off from Big Ben if Willie Parker can stay healthy and contribute consistently. Defensively this team is as sound as it gets and it doesn’t hurt that the schedule this year for the Steelers creates an easier path to the post-season.
Cincinnati Begals Prediction (8-8): Carson Palmer’s elbow looks good but its a matter of “will it hold up”. They lost T.J but the combo of Laveranues Coles and Chad Ochocinco’s is very potent and if they can keep things focused on the game rather than off the field antics they should get a chance to make it to the playoffs.
Baltimore Ravens Prediction (7-9): They always look good on paper but it never translates. The Ravens success will rely heavily once again on the performance of Joe Flacco who has a year of experience under his belt. The departures on defense will hurt but this team has a chance to repeat last seasons success.
Cleveland Browns Prediction (4-12): The only good news for this team is that the schedule is favorable which should get them a few wins. Eric Mangini has discarded the Browns best player – Kellen Winslow, created a possible QB controversy and has no offensive weapons to work with.

New England Patriots Prediction (13-3): He’s BAAAAACK! The team barely missed the playoffs last year and with the additions of Shawn Springs, Leigh Bodden, Joey Galloway and Greg Lewis, they instantly become contenders again. As a result, the Patriots could pick up where they left off in 2007, blowing out opponents for much of the season. If Brady returns to 2007 form, anything less than a division championship appearance should be considered a letdown.
New York Jets Prediction (8-8): The Jets are working with a new QB and a new coach – they are probably studying what the Raven’s did last season and hope to have similar success. On the positive though, the team is sound on D and have a reliable ground game. If they manage to find some receivers to help out the QB they should be able to make some noise this season.
Miami Dolphins Prediction (6-10): With the return of Brady, and the Jets looking better than expected, there is no chance in hell the Dophins can duplicate last season’s success. A brutal schedule will negate the positives the team added over the off-season. Essentially the team could be equal or better than last season but still finish with half the wins and no post season in sight.
Buffalo Bills Prediction (5-11): They are solid at WR with Terrell Owens and Lee Evans, while Marshawn Lynch has shown he can run with the big boys. A major weakness still lies on the O line which will make using the running game very challenging and the QB is going to face quick pressure from breakdowns. The team has no stellar defensive lineup to put on the field and will rely heavily on trying to put up big offensive numbers.

Indianapolis Colts Prediction (11-5): As far as coaching changes go, this one should be a smooth transition since Jim Caldwell is not a totally new face. Peyton Manning may have lost his favorite receiver but still has Reggie Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez, rookie Austin Collie and TE Dallas Clark to connect with. Add in an upgrade on the offensive line along with a better running game should have the Colt’s back on top of this division.
TennesseeTitans Prediction (9-7): The loss of Haynesworth will hurt and their schedule to the start the season may send the team stumbling. Kerry Collin’s is the QB of choice for this team and needs to build chemistry quick with new WR’s on the team to take some heat off from RB Chris Johnson. They surprised people how good they were last season but this year people are watching and with a weaker defense, the Titans may be the surprise “disappointing” team.
Houston Texans Prediction (8-8): Going into the season under the radar, I expect the Texans to have a successful season. Add on a win or two playing behind a solid defense and they could see themselves playing in January. Andre Johnson is one of the best WR’s in the game right now and with a light schedule for the first part of the season, the team is well positioned to finally make some noise in the AFC.
Jacksonville Jaguars Prediction (4-12): The running game is fine with Maurice Jones Drew but David Garrard is no Tom Brady. The team plays in a tough division and the schedule isn’t doing them any favors. There are just not enough weapons on offense to offset the weak defense for this team to improve over last season. 

San Diego Chargers Prediction (9-7): I am assigning this as the worst division in the AFC and the Chargers should be a lock to finish on top. Philip Rivers will continue to do his thing but Tomlinson’s star is fading. If Gates, Tomlinson and Merriman all manage to stay healthy this team will be as dangerous on the field as they look on paper.
Denver Broncos Prediction (7-9): The Cutler drama may be in the past but Kyle Orton is no savior. With a new coach, a QB who threw 3 interceptions in his first season game and a disgruntled WR, the Bronco’s are going to struggle to put together a winning season.
Oakland Raiders Prediction (5-11): The Raiders are set at the RB spot and have one of the best corner backs in Asomugha. They may surprise and finish ahead of the Broncos at the end of the season but the usual drama that follows this team makes me believe something will go wrong before things fall into place.
Kansas City Chiefs Prediction (3-13):The Chiefs are in full rebuilding mode and that means a whole lot of L’s in the loss column. A weak O line and a QB who has no one to throw to when the season starts, this team is going to take a beating from the rest of the league.

Jumbotron-Gate: Jerry Jones went all out on the new Cowboys stadium, and the largest HD video screen in the world was the centerpiece of his vision. One problem… the dang thing is too low. How the hell the NFL didn’t put out guidelines for this pre-construction baffles me. They seem to have a guideline for every other little thing to do with their game. Even if the NFL didn’t say anything it would have been wise to send out the punter for some dry runs before committing to something that will now cost about $2 million to fix.
It seems Jerry Jones has the League in his pocket and will not be asked to raise the roof per say, rather the NFL has instated a new rule regarding balls hitting the screens. It’s ridiculous that a game already hampered by the million stoppages will now have to endure another one thanks to the screen sitting atop Cowboys Stadium.

Twitter-Gate: Unlike the NBA, the NFL is a lot less accepting of changes in the way fans and players are interacting with the help of social networking platforms. Some of the most recognizable players like Terrell Owens, Shawne Merriman and Chad Ocho Cinco have adopted the new technology and successfully built a strong following on Twitter. But the NFL, even though they claim to be moving with the times, laid down the law yesterday by creating a game day social media policy.
Ocho Cinco’s plans to have guests tweeting for him during games are essentially squashed with the new media policy. I was planning to live blog the upcoming Eagles game as a test run for the regular season, but the new policy implies I would be breaking the law. When the NFL started penalizing TD celebrations – I was mad. When they decided to change up the rules on a catch by a player pushed out of bounds – I was scratching my head. With this new policy, the league has set themselves back a few years.

Each team has 11 players on a field and way more of them in the roster. There are three unit on each roster – offense, defense and special team.

The role of the offense is to advance the ball as far as possible towards the opponent’s end zone. It consists of:

Center – the player in the middle, he starts the game by passing the ball to a quarterback. He also has blocking functions.

Quarterback – after taking the ball from center he’s the player you want to watch – it’s his decision to either pass the ball to a running back, throw it or run like mad towards the end zone.

Running back – usually the most small and fast dude on the field, he’s the one who runs the most, trying to find a hole in the (wall of screaming crazies) defensive line.

Wide receiver – runs fast towards the end line without the ball and catches the pass. (If the defense lets him).

Offensive line consists of guards and tackles – the big dudes usually without the ball. They’re supposed to (punch the hell out of) block the defense, clear the way and protect the passer.

Tight end – they can play like the wide receivers (catch the ball) or like offensive linemen (block).

Defense basically makes everything to stop the offense.

The defensive line tries to clear the way for linebackers and make the offensive linemen busy by (attempting to murder) blocking them. They also try to send the running back or quarterback (the one with the ball) to the ground, before he passes the ball or gains the yardage.

Linebackers defend against the offense by trying to catch the passer before he manages to pass or covering the receivers so they cannot get the ball.

Cornerback – his job is to prevent the receiver from getting the ball either by punching the ball away or grabbing it by himself.

Safety – the last line of defense, usually helping the cornerbacks against deep passes.

Special teams are used only in some circumstances – punter to handle the punts, kicker to kick off the ball or attempt the field goal, holder to hold the ball for the kicker, long snapper who gets the ball to the holder or kicker. On the other side there will be a kick returner who will try to catch the kicked ball and push it into other direction and a wedge buster who runs full force in his direction to stop him and disrupt (the horde of wild beasts) the offensive line. Ouch!

So it’s not just a bunch of fat guys running in one direction and other bunch of fat guys trying to stop them! Surprise, surprise!

There are three days left to the next Bills game and I sit with a pile of season preview magazines, to learn a little bit more about game. I also got something about Fantasy Football to catch up with the stats. After 2 games and some reading, I have my first impressions:

1. It’s so different from basketball. Seems to be much more a team sport than basketball ever will be. First, the number of players on the roster is huge. And the starting line-up includes 11 players on each side. Also, you don’t see one player doing all the action, while the other 10 just stare at him in awe (yeah, I’m hitting at you, LeBron).

2. You can score by a field goal which is worth 3 points or by a touchdown for 6 points. Field goal is scored by kicking the ball through the goal post. A touchdown is when you run the ball or catch it in the opposing end zone. You can also recognize a touchdown, by all these celebrations and chest bumping by the offensive team. There is also a 2 point safety, when you’re responsible for the ball becoming dead behind your own goal line.

3. You cannot just try to push the ball forever until somebody steals it from you. You have 4 attempts – they are called downs – to advance 10 yards. Yeah, they measure in yards. After growing up in metric system I have a new challenge of figuring out how long a yard is. Anyways, if you don’t manage to advance these 10 yards, the ball goes to the other team. It’s called turnover. Finally a familiar term for a basketball fan!

4. You can try to run with a ball or pass it to a teammate. Although, you can pass only once each down and only from behind the line of scrimmage (the line in the middle).

Update: From Nat – you can pass more than once in a play as long as the other passes are lateral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_pass) and the line of scrimmage being the position on the field that the players line up for that play rather than the line in the middle. See, I’m still learning.

5. Foul? No it’s not a foul, it’s a tackle! The defensive players piling on the poor dude with a ball, forced to the ground, are stopping the offense completely within the rules. Small wonder, they have this funny armor underneath their jersey and the helmets.

6. Which was my team, again? Well, if you still didn’t learn your colors, there should be a logo on the helmets.

7. The steals are called interceptions. It looks like Chris Paul in action, you catch a forward pass and run with the ball for your life. Warning – don’t try to dribble the ball!

8. If you have long hair, you will look like Uruk-hai in the helmet!

9. Where’s the ball? Oh yeah, it must be in the hands of the player who attracts the biggest attention from the opposing team.

10. The players are HUGE. Broad shoulders, heavily muscled legs and, I swear – I saw a beer belly or two!

11. You think, it’s hard to be constantly abused, pushed to the ground and laying underneath 5 other players? Well, ask Brett Favre – it must be some real fun, because he keeps coming back for more!

I know I must be stating obvious for the veteran fans, but I’m a complete beginner and, man, am I having fun with this! It’s like watching the world through the eyes of a child once again.

Just when the dust had settled and everyone thought he was going to remain retired, Brett Favre is back. He signed a $12 million (are you kidding me?) contract with the Minnesota Vikings and is expected to play in their pre-season game this coming Friday.

He changes his mind more than a kid in a candy store and his retirement act is getting old (just like him). In the last 2 years, he probably made more headlines than his previous 16 combined and each time its more about the man not about Football (maybe it always was?). For the second straight off-season, he played games with the media, toyed with people’s emotions, and eventually made his “heroic” comeback. This time around though, he landed with a NFC team – That has GOT to piss off the Cheeseheads.

Another guy who couldn’t be too thrilled about this is Sage Rosenfels, who going into training camp thought that the starting QB job was his. This move and the $12M price tag that comes with it essentially assures that come Week 1, Brett Favre will be the starting QB for the Vikings.

Everything about the move spell “PR” move rather than a football decision for the Vikings. I personally don’t see it working out well but for the fans in Minnesota, who have been deprived of anything resembling a team – Get out your horn’s , you going to need ‘em when the Cheeseheads come to town.