First, thanks to the starting 5, Tony.psd, , and the whole GSoM community for the warm welcome! It feels amazing to be part of the movement, and I know this football season will be a great one!
With so much drama in the No Fun League over this last off-season, who knows what's in store for the regular season? From the end of the Super Bowl, we've seen Adam "Pacman" Jones of the Tennessee Titans be suspended from the league a year and then decide to join Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) with a non-physical role. Apparently Pacman won't be hitting strippers in the TNA either....
I wanna see him go head to head against "Macho Man" Randy Savage!
Sadly, we saw the passing of away of the great Bill Walsh on July 30th. With his influencing shining through every major Bay Area football team - the Niners, the Raiders, the Cal Bears, and the Stanford Cardinal - his presence will truly be missed. Rest in Peace Coach Walsh.
The Bay will miss you Coach Walsh
And don't even get me started about this Vick business. Guess the experience is over...
Who will be playing in Super Bowl XLII in Arizona? Will we see a "Battle of the Bay?" I say yes! IF
- Alex Smith gets has an average QB rating of 115
- Jamarcus signs tomorrow
- Frank "The Tank" Gore doesn't get injured again
- Michael Huff gets 20 interceptions
- Ashley Lelie scores 15 TDs
- Robert Gallery shows that he was worth the first round pick and learns how to block
- 80 Million Dollars proves that he's worth that
- Most of all, Sebastian Janikowski stops drinking
Hey it could happen, right?
But before we get to the Bay Area's finest, let's begin with the most boring division of all after the jump.
New England Patriots
Let's see...the Patriots have won this division 5 out of the last 6 years, have won the Super Bowl three times this decade, and NOW are giving Tom Brady some amazing receivers? The Patriots are quoted to have had the BEST offseason out of any team with the additions of Adalius Thomas, Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, and first-round draft pick Brandon Merriweather. As much as I hate to say this, it doesn't even matter how this team does in the regular season as long as they make the playoffs because as Tom Brady has proven time and time again, he has a special "on" switch that he turns on come January. Everyone predicts this team to be the best in the NFL and to win the Super Bowl, but we have all seen what happens to teams that are "guaranteed" the championship, Mavericks, anyone?
Prediction: 13-3 (AFC East Division Champion)
Miami Dolphins
New coach and a new QB equals success, right? Cam Cameron and Trent Green = Don Shula and Dan Marino version 2.0? Umm...no. The Dolphins are coming off an abysmal offensive season but still show promise with their strong defense with likes of defensive player of the year Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, and offseason addition Joey Porter. And defense wins games right? Contrary to what the Oakland Raiders showed us last year, this is usually the case and should be for the Miami Dolphins. Chris Chambers should make a comeback this year. However, this team is not good enough to make the playoffs...yet.
Prediction: 10-6
These two are more like the beta version
By the way, anyone know where Marcus Vick went?
New York Jets
Sure sure, Eric Mangini is an amazing coach, Chad Pennington has his moments, and Bay Area's finest Jerry Rice came in a few weeks ago and gave these boys a pep talk. But are they good enough? Nope! I do believe that there will be some nice fantasy sleepers on this team (Jerricho Cotchery and Thomas Jones) but not much else. Jonathan Vilma should play well and add much to Mangini's 3-4 defense, but I don't see a return to the playoffs this year.
Prediction 8-8
Expect a lot of this
Buffalo Bills
I can understand why the Bills guys didn't have $80 million to keep Nate Clements, but Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher-Baker too? The Buffalo Bills watched their veteran players slip away this offseason and it's going to cost them. They are a young team with some talented players - Lee Evans and Bay Area's own Marshawn Lynch - but they still have a developing starting QB in J.P. Losman. Some can easily argue that he's farther along than Alex Smith, but unlike the 9ers this team is still in the "rebuilding" phase. Lynch should tear things up, but he can't do this one himself. Things don't look good for a team that made it to the Super Bowl 4 times straight 15 years ago...
Prediction: 5-11
At least J.P. Losman will be happy during bath time!!
What are your thoughts about the NFL's offseason and the AFC East?