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

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.

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.