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NFL Preview - From East to West |
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 | Written by Jim Sarruda on Saturday, 16 August 2008
Category:Sheldon on Sports
Hits:5952 |
NFL Preview 2008-2009 – From East to West
It is a wonder that I am still willing to watch the NFL after last season’s Super Bowl. If I were to describe to you the worst thing that could happen to me related to SPORTS, it would be the New York Giants defeating an undefeated team in the Super Bowl. I was miserable. I still am miserable. Nevertheless, life must go on. Football is my favorite sport to watch and to analyze. I have broken up my NFL Preview in two parts. The first rant (this one) I will cover the East and West Divisions. Next Wednesday I will cover the North and South divisions. So without further delay, here is Jim Sarruda’s long awaited Preview of the 2008 NFL Season!
AFC EAST
The AFC East is a hilarious division. It features the returning regular season undefeated 16-FAIL Patriots and the 1-15 Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins only won a single game all season and the Patriots only lost a single game all season. The Irony of the situation is winning sixteen regular season games gets you just as many super bowl victories as winning one regular season game—zero.
I guess the AFC East’s big news is Brett Favre joining the New York Jets. No offense to Brett Favre, but I think the Jets just aren’t a playoff team. The Patriots should still win the division, even if Tom Brady decides to date Jessica Simpson. Finally, with offense to Brett Favre, I think the Green Bay slinger just doesn’t have what it takes to lead the Jets to a winning season. I think he is going to throw plenty of interceptions and finish at the bottom with the Miami Dolphins. I think his new found Diva status proved that he is just another big headed athlete, and he will be punished for his selfish decision to come out of retirement.
I guess I should say a quick word about the Buffalo Bills. Trent Edwards, the next John Elway? You know Buffalo Bill is buried just outside of Denver.
I think it’s a sign.
New England 13-3
New York Jets 6-10
Miami Dolphins 5-11
Buffalo Bills 5-11
NFC WEST
I know I’m doing my preview a little bit unconventionally, but I think we can truly enjoy the beauty of the NFL scheduling process by analyzing the division vs. division match-ups. The AFC East will be taking on the NFC West. Keep in mind, much like the NL West in baseball, the NFC West in football is probably going to be horrific for the second year in a row. I expect the AFC East to decimate the NFC West and finish 13-3.
Perhaps the biggest sham in the NFC is the Seattle Seahawks. How they won ten games last year I will never understand. Matt Hasselbeck will never be anything more than mediocrity in my eyes and he will be surrounded by virtually the same team. Well, the same team minus Shawn Alexander who barely played last year. Alexander struggled last year due to his presence on the cover of Madden 2007. The curse hit him so bad he actually failed a physical and was cut by the Seahawks. Look out Brett Favre. The Madden curse is very, very, real.
Also bringing up the rear of the NFL will be the San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams. I remember there was a time when these two teams were powerhouses in the NFC. That time has officially ended. The age of Alex Smith will continue to stunt the growth of the 49ers offense, until they finally realize that good ol’ Alex just doesn’t have it. The Rams wide receivers are getting whiter, slower, and less athletic with the acquisition of Drew Bennett to compliment an aging Torry Holt. My apologies to Marc Bulger, but the 5 wide receiver attack is looking less impressive for 2008. At least running back Steven Jackson should be able to get them some wins, that is, if he ever stops holding out.
That leaves the Arizona Cardinals. Although I never liked Matt Leinart, he might be on the verge of a breakout season providing Boldin and Fitzgerald can stay healthy. That said, Boldin has already pulled a hammy once this season.
I believe this season to be a defining season for Matt Leinart. I think the Cardinals are a talented young team and they might be a threat in the next couple years, but Leinart needs to step up. This season we will find out if Leinart will evolve into an Alex Smith or if the young quarterback might have a little Carson Palmer in him. I think the Cardinals might actually have a realistic shot at the division if this is his breakout year of drastic improvement. I might even go as far to say that I would look for the Cardinals to be a NFC sleeper.
Arizona 10-6
St. Louis 8-8
Seattle 6-10
San Francisco 3-13
AFC WEST
One of the more interesting divisional match-ups in the 2009 season will be the AFC East and the AFC West. Much like the AFC East, at first glimpse of last year’s standings the AFC West looks pretty unimpressive. However, the scheduling will allow for some closely contested games between the two improving divisions. The irony is if you throw out the Chargers and the Patriots the two divisions actually match up pretty well.
So let’s start with the Broncos, who actually won seven games last year. Jay Cutler has a year of experience under his belt and with the addition of Keary Colbert and Darrell Jackson, the Broncos should improve their struggling passing game. It also helps when two of your out of conference games are against the Bills and the Dolphins. I actually think they will steal one from the Jets on the road and stand at 3-1 against the AFC East.
The Chiefs and the Raiders each finished 4-12 last year, but that was before this spring’s Draft. Glen Dorsey and Darren McFadden are the new SEC faces in AFC West, and I think they are going to make a noticeable difference. I certainly think their impact will be more visible in the 2009 Season than Dolphin’s first overall pick Jake Long and Leodis McKelvin of the Bills.
But Dorsey and McFadden aren’t the only two young players from the SEC that are going to way heavily on the success of their respective teams. Brodie Croyle and JaMarcus Rusell are also having good camps and appear to have improved significantly. Look for these two young quarterback sleepers to be unexpectedly impressive and take a lot of games away from the struggling defenses of the Jets, Dolphins, and Bills.
Oh, and can I say just one more time that Glen Dorsey is a beast and is going to tear threw the NFL?
San Diego Chargers 10-6
Kansas City Chiefs 9-7
Oakland Raiders 9-7
Denver Broncos 8-8
NFC EAST
And to complete the coverage of the East Regions, I will break after a discussion of the NFC East. Conveniently for my discussion, the garbage NFC West will also be taking on the NFC East. Considering I have the NFC West losing 13 of 16 against the AFC East, I would expect a similar performance against the NFC East. So after counting up the final numbers, I have the NFC West losing 24 out of 32 out of conference games.
The Dallas Cowboys won the division last year and looked real good, but don’t be fooled. There is no way they can possibly repeat similar success this year. They are still a team taking orders from Wade Philips. They are still a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 1996. They are still a team with Brad Johnson lined up at backup quarterback. You Cowboy fans better hope Tony Romo stays healthy, because you are going to need Terrell Owens, Marion Barber, and every other weapon the Cowboys used last year to win this division.
Although the Cowboys still have a lot of talent, they have a difficult schedule and the timing of the tougher games I think is going to hurt them. This is the reason I only predicted eight wins for the Cowboys. I think this year a lot of people are going to be surprised. The Washington Redskins are actually the best team in this division, and right now are probably my favorite to win the NFC. Jason Campbell, Santana Moss, Clinton Portis, and the addition of Jason Taylor to the defense, instantly makes this team a Conference Championship contender. Jason Campbell is having a great preseason so far, and he finally looks ready to step up and surpass Donovan McNabb as on of the best on-scrimmage play reading quarterback in the NFC. This Redskins team finished a game away from the playoffs last year and they got better. I would say the only noticeable problem holding them back is Joe Gibbs.
I don’t even consider the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants a threat. I think last season was a complete and utter fluke, directly attributed to the horrific performance of Brett Favre in the NFC Championship game. I expect Eli Manning to continue to throw interceptions, continue to force throws, and once again put the Giants in a losing situation for the entire season. Fortunately for him and Tom Coughlin, the New York Giants have four games against the NFC West.
Lastly, I will say a few words on my team, the Philadelphia Eagles. The most notable change has occurred at cornerback with the addition of Asante Samuel. One would guess that leaves Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard competing for the second starting job. However, the Eagles defense typically features three cornerbacks, so this shouldn’t present much of a problem. Most of the troubling issues lie in Lito’s perception that he deserves a bigger contract, or the right to be traded. Hopefully everything will tone down a bit by the start of the season and the Eagles defense with spotlights on young linebackers Omar Gaither and Chris Gocong will be stronger and nastier than ever.
I know it seems biased that I have the Eagles at 11-5, but did you see their schedule? I have them losing three games to their NFC rivals, one to the Steelers and one to the Ravens on the road. I don’t think that seems too far fetched.
That said, I will never ever forgive Asante Samuel for not catching the interception that would have effectively ended the Super Bowl and completed the perfect season for the New England Patriots. I will continue to regret the day the Eagles signed him until he proves me wrong. This season is a perfect opportunity for him to prove me wrong.
Washington Redskins 13-3
Philadelphia Eagles 11-5
Dallas Cowboys 8-8
New York Giants 4-12
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By:Jim Sarruda
Category:Sheldon on Sports
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