big american nfl preview '09: NFC North

Look, I get to this division each year and have to pick with either my brain or my...whatever it is that causes me to love and overestimate the Bears' chances each year. So last year, I went with my brain and that didn't work out so hot. Guess where I'm going this year...

4. Detroit - They're starting a rookie at quarterback. They're still the team that went 0-fer last season, and even with a new front office and pretty capable running back they're not going to have a Dolphin-like turnaround. Sorry Lions. I'll watch you on Thanksgiving.

3. Green Bay - The Rogers kid went ahead and lit some teams up last season, making himself a fantasy darling. Too bad there was no running game. And very little defense to speak of. The Packers did basically nothing to address these problems, so there's not a lot to like except for a guy who will probably have 4,000 more passing yards in an otherwise fruitless season.

2. Minnesota - When the Favre experiment goes wrong, and it will (after looking really good for a few weeks), you'll have Rosenfels and Jackson waiting in the wings after the Vikings went out of their way to say that they'd rather have a ghost behind center than either of them. Adrian Peterson and the defensive line are still going to be beastly, but I don't have faith in a team coached by a guy who spent the entire off-season ignoring his team to flirt with an overrated, past his prime, interception machine.

1. Chicago - Okay. Hear me out. The team's biggest strength has always been its defense. The core group of that defense can probably feel the window shutting for them. I think they have one more great season in them before they fade as a group. They know how much the Bears mortgaged the future to get Jay Cutler now. They will step up one more time. I worry more about the secondary, which will be young and unproven. On the other side of the ball, they improved the offensive line to go with their bona fide quarterback and one of the best rushers in football (who is also a credible threat as a receiver). There isn't a lot to speak of where the wideouts are concerned, but Olson is still a phenomenal tight end and Devin Hester can still run fast enough to make teams sweat (if the Devin Hester experiment fails with Cutler at QB, we have no one to blame but Devin Hester). Call me crazy, but I like the Bears' chances.

big american nfl preview '09: NFC East

If it doesn't get done this morning, I'll never make my deadline. So let's hit the NFC East. These teams all have plenty going for them, but some pretty solid negatives as well. All I know for sure is that the defenses will be fun to watch.

4. Washington - I hate picking the Redskins to notch last place here. Albert Haynesworth can't carry the defense by himself, though. And if I'm going to let the way the Cardinals finished the season be good news for Arizona, then the 2-6 limp to the finish for the Redskins probably doesn't bode well for Washington.

3. Dallas - Defense will be stifling, but their offensive line is old. That might leave Romo in some trouble (especially with the "2" part of the 1-2 punch running game having skipped town), and I just don't buy him as that good a quarterback. Roy Williams is not T.O., as much as I don't like to admit that any team would ever miss that guy. The offense won't have to go far, or score much to win games. I think the Cowboys will be very good. Possibly a playoff team. All said, though, the rest of this division is better.

2. Philadelphia - The Eagles are going to be better where they need to be. They shored up the O-line, will have some good (if young) receivers, potentially have some schemes that will make defensive coordinators' heads explode with the addition of Vick, and will boast a pretty strong defensive line. There are some questions in the secondary, but nothing to make me start a playoff prediction without including the Eagles.

1. New York - So they didn't replace the threat that Plaxico "Boom Boom" Burress posed to other teams at wideout. They're still the nasty team that had a strong 2008 before a playoff flameout, only with some additions that will make the defense even more intimidating. The team has proven that they're winners, and I'm not going against them here.

big american nfl preview '09: NFC West

One more before bed. I'll make it an easy(ish) one.

4. St. Louis - The Rams are in bad shape, still waiting on Marc Bulger to get healthy and hoping that will fix everything on a 2-14 team rather than blowing it all up and starting from scratch. And that's going to land them with the number one pick on prime time on a Thursday night.

3. Seattle - Everyone is picking them to win the West, but they're doing it by starting all of their justifications with "if." "If Hasselbeck stays healthy...", "If Julius Jones can emerge as a true star in the league...", or "If the rookies pan out..." are a lot of ifs that I don't believe in.

2. San Francisco - They're going to surprise a lot of people and, if I'm wrong about the Cardinals, could even be playoff-bound this year behind Alex Smith and Frank Gore. By the end of last season, Coach Singletary seemed to be onto something with this crew and it could end up being huge.

1. Arizona - Were the playoffs for real last season? I like the talent and the coaching for The Cardinals too much to say no. I'm even a believer in an 100-year-old Kurt Warner...but that's more based on his targets. I have to think that the playoff run and legitimate shot at actually winning the Super Bowl meant that they found what they needed to get things going. They won't sneak up on anyone, but they'll be a fun team to watch win games as favorites this season.

big american nfl preview '09: NFC South

Let's keep this train rolling, shall we?

4. Tampa Bay - The Bucs trying really hard to do "fresh start" without doing "rebuild," but they're doing "rebuild." Freeman will start the season behind center, but Leftwich will finish it there; once again the quarterback of a sub par team instead of what he could have been.

3. Carolina - This is where I have no clue. The Panthers have a good but not great defense and a good but not great offense. The Panthers, when I think about their chances this year, could go 14-2 just as easily as they could go 6-10. Ultimately, I'm putting them here because the only people left who still believe in the Legend of Jake Delhomme are Jake himself and the Panthers front office. And if that's what they're building the team around, it isn't going to happen for them.

2. New Orleans - New Orleans has a good offense. Moving along, I really like Darren Sharper, Jabir Green, and Malcolm Jenkins coming onto the defense to take down Drew Breeze's pass count and slow down other teams in a shoot-out. They don't make the Saints an intimidating defense, but they make enough improvement for some flirtation with the playoffs before ultimately falling short.

1. Atlanta - I can't help but think that last year wasn't a fluke. Matt Ryan is far more likely than Flacco to give a repeat performance of his rookie season since he has a better running back and better receivers than ol' Joe will have. The defense here is iffy, but I'm trusting that they'll be good enough in a division where all of the other teams lack "good enough" at every position.

big american nfl preview '09: AFC East

I stopped doing these for a while because of the way NC State decided to go ahead and lay a huge egg in their opener against South Carolina, therefore making it hard to think about football without sadness, pain, or both. But I'm back, and determined to get everything in before Thursday night. This probably means multiple entries tomorrow. Maybe even two tonight.

4. Buffalo - The Bills might be able to put it together and surprise people. Maybe we'll get enough "good T.O." to figure out what kind of quarterback they really have behind center. Maybe some of the underrated pieces that Buffalo has on defense will become something greater when they gel together. The problem is that there are too many maybes for a team coached by Dick Jauron.

3. Miami - Miami had a remarkable turnaround season last year and made us all talk about the possibilities of the "Wildcat" offense endlessly. I respect the talent they have, but I'm not convinced that a repeat performance is going to be lined up. Seriously, Pennington only gives you one good season at a time.

2. New York - I like the Jets more than I should. I like Thomas Jones, I like their receiving corps, and I like what Rex Ryan brings to their defense as head coach. None of these things are absolute and game-proven things to like as much as I do, but I see the Jets in the playoffs.

1. New England - This isn't a vote of confidence in the Patriots as much as a vote of no-confidence in my confidence in the Jets. Get that? Yes, Brady is back. Yes, they're coming off of an 11-5 season which could have easily been a playoff year with a mere handful of different things that didn't involve the guy taking the snaps. I just don't see the Patriots as the juggernaut people are touting them as. They'll start out strong, but it's an old and aching team; and that won't last into the winter. Especially given that they've lost a whopping 6 starters on the defensive side of the ball. I'm only picking them to win the East because the Jets are determined to start a rookie (thanks a lot Flacco and Ryan) at quarterback.

big american nfl preview '09: AFC North

I need to go ahead and let you all know that if you're not following Chad Ochocinco's Twitter feed, you're missing some of the most hilarious stuff on the internet. Onto the AFC North preview...

4. Cleveland - In theory, the Browns have a lot of good pieces. But that's only if everyone is playing the part of what they should be rather than what they are. Edwards, Anderson(or even Quinn, failing that), Jackson, Rodgers, and Lewis are all names that should push Cleveland into some serious football discussions. They're not. This team isn't going places. Their one win this season won't even put them into Detroit's 0-16 club.

3. Cincinnati - Hilarity aside, Ochocinco is in a lot of trouble. TJ Houshmanzada isn't on the other side of the field, I don't have any faith in the run game, and Carson Palmer looks like he's going to end up joining Grant Hill in the "how great would have have been if not for the being injured all the time?" hall of fame. Carson might put together a full season, and the Bengals have a young defense that could make a difference and give the Bengals a good finish to the season, but I don't like their chances on the whole.

2. Baltimore - Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan can't both have the kind of season they did last year, and my money is on Ryan repeating before Flacco. That said, this is still Baltimore. The Ravens are another year older on that defense, but that's still a defense that can get things done (and it still has Terrell Suggs...and that man is frightening). I like McGahee even if he can't finish a season, and I hear good things about Rice. They'll be in the playoff discussion, either as the last team in or the first team out.

1. Pittsburgh - Put simply, all the parts of a team that was big and scary and awesome last year have returned. Well, at least, a defense that was big and scary and awesome last year. If the offense can improve itself at all, there's a better than average chance that we'll follow the blueprint this season. We'll jump on a team that gets hot or has a flashy offense or makes a sexy highlight reel until the next thing you know, Pittsburgh is the runaway favorite to win the AFC.

big american nfl preview '09: AFC West

From what might be the most competitive division in the AFC to the least...

4. Oakland - Even in this from this league of losers, the Raiders stand out. They've got coaches (probably) breaking each others' jaws, players having to tell other players that you might want to go to sleep at a reasonable hour before game day, and the culture of futility that's been brewing ever since Tampa Bay chased them out of the Super Bowl however many years ago. It doesn't look good.

3. Kansas City - The Chiefs weren't going to be good before the next Derek Anderson went down with an injury. Now? Well, at least their coaches aren't punching each other.

2. Denver - I've been told by television commentators that we have yet to see Kyle Orton throw the ball down field, as if it's going to happen at any moment. I saw him play in Chicago and also "have yet" to see it. There are pieces of this team that just aren't there, but I'm mostly happy that I no longer have to sell myself on Kyle Orton.

1. San Diego - Default winners of the AFC West. The interesting thing is going to be that we won't really know what the Chargers are made of for sure until we're well into the season because of the rest of the West will be so lousy. But if Tomlinson is as healthy as he claims (or even close), Rivers has another great year, and the defense does their job (and, honestly, there's not very many reasons to think they won't); the sky's the limit for this team. Still, they'll have to make it happen come playoff time.

big american nfl preview '09: AFC South

Alright, political discussions are important. But so is the way I distract myself from the need for political discussion. Football is coming back soon, and I'm here to handicap the upcoming NFL season for you division-by-division just so a record of how little I actually know exists. They're talking about the NFC North on ESPN as I type this, and I hate the idea of letting them color my opinion, so I'll go complete opposite today: The AFC South.

I expect a seriously competitive division, possibly even the closest one week-in-and-week-out in football. We've got two teams coming off of playoff appearances and strong seasons, a team that I like a lot as a football team, and another one that's almost universally been touted as a team that will have arrived by the time it's all said and done. But something is going to have to give somewhere.

4. Jacksonville - I wanted to like Jacksonville more than this. On paper, they have a serviceable quarterback who can maneuver himself and Torry Holt, who gives them the kind of receiver I don't remember them having on top of being a smart player that will come back to the ball when Garrard gets to scrambling. Add to that one of the best running backs in the game in Jones-Drew, and I could maybe even talk myself into calling the Jaguars a playoff team. But the window seems to have shut on what was once an intimidating defense, even with Del Rio's mind behind them. And that offense is good, but not the kind of good that puts you in a position to win shootout-style games. Jacksonville could surprise, but I don't see it.

3. Tennessee - They had a helluva season last season. And Jeff Fisher is a great coach. But I still think that last season was a flash-in-the-pan sort of season that's going to only serve to unfairly raise expectations. No Albert Haynesworth means that the defense lacks not only their biggest difference-maker but also their biggest distraction when opposing teams map out the offense. I don't think Collins-to-nobody makes for an especially dangerous passing threat, meaning that other teams can put the world in the box to stop the run.

2. Houston - A lot of people have been declaring this to be the year that The Texans break through and see the playoffs. And they're certainly going to do a lot of things very well. Matt Schaub-to-Andre Johnson should be one of the biggest connections in the game this year, they'll have a reliable if not surprisingly good rushing game, and they have a beast of a defensive line headlined by Mario Williams. They could even win this division. Could. But I don't think they will quite yet.

1. Indianapolis - They don't have the offense they used to. The receivers aren't as sexy (football sexy, not sexy sexy) and running game doesn't appear as dominant. They have a guy whose name might as well be "Not Tony Dungy" as their coach. What they do have is a defense that was very quietly among the best last season. What they do have is Peyton Manning. They won't be the Colts like we're used to seeing the Colts, but they're still contenders until they prove they aren't.

the reasons that brett favre must come back

Of late, every breath of the hated Brett Favre has been reported upon by all sports media. Nationally and locally. Television, internet, radio, smoke signals...you can't get away from hearing about Favre. We're just shy of a story where people speculate upon the meaning of Favre's breakfast:

"The key isn't so much that he had pancakes, but that he had blueberry pancakes - once again indicating a strong intrest in playing quarterback for the Vikings."

"How's that?"

"Well, blueberries - especially when cooked into a pancake - are actually more purple in color than blue. Naturally, since the Minnesota Vikings wear purple..."

"WHATASCOOP!"

But an end to the inane speculation isn't why I want Favre in a Vikings uniform as soon as possible. After all, if Favre does decide to play football again this season, it mearly means we'll have to play "will he/won't he" in the next NFL offseason as well. Here are the actual reasons for Favre to get back on the field:

1) Consider the record. As you may have heard me point out before once or twice, Brett Favre has thrown more interceptions than any other quarterback in the NFL's history. That said, I wouldn't mind him padding that stat just to make sure that a player I have absolutely no love, admiration, or even basic human respect for always has that distinction. And if he's throwing the ball to the other team a lot in a Vikings uniform? Well, that only helps the Bears, doesn't it?

2) On the field means not in the booth. I hadn't considered this, but I heard on the ol' radio this morning that Brett Favre would consider a broadcast job. His only reluctance to get into the booth is that he doesn't want to wear a tie (they apparently don't go with his Wranglers), which the Monday Night gig he was apparently rumored to be considered for would require. Still, there's no shortage of people bending over backwards for this guy, so allowing him to drop the tie wouldn't be that big a deal. This guy mustn't...HE. MUST. NOT...be allowed anywhere near an NFL broadcast with a live mic. Between the accent, the almost certain constant self-promotion, and the awkard transitions (a man with this many INT's in his career would probably mess up "throwing it down to the field" so a sideline reporter can ask a horrid and obvious question); it could cripple the NFL's broadcasting.

3) I want to record the reaction he gets the first time he steps on to The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field wearing purple and watch it over and over and over again.

scott walker figuratively punched boston in the eye, and i loved it

The second-best thing about this series going seven games is that I found a way over the course of it to give the Bruins the same amount of hateful ire that I can throw the way of the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and whatever Major League Lacrosse team Boston my have. That is to say that, while I will always hate other teams more and wish more misery upon their players and fans, I have a principal that allows me to give them just enough hate to enjoy their downfall on most occasions.

The best thing is that, after achieving that kind of hatred, it feels extra nice to have Scott Walker rip their hearts out in a game seven overtime.

It also doesn't hurt to know that this sends the 'Canes back to the Easter Conference Finals. Oh, NHL playoffs, I wish you could last forever. Or at least until the start of football season.

oh, but to be a fly on the wall in the new jersey locker room....

For all that Buffalo has become the new rival and for all that I still pretty much can't stand any of the other teams in the Southeast Division, New Jersey still sits atop my list of teams I enjoy seeing the Hurricanes beat. If we eliminate them in the playoffs? Even sweeter. If the Hurricanes manage to do everything but stand over them and rip their hearts out just as they were tuning up the celebratory horn? Excuse me, I'll have to collect myself.

While I do that, why don't we let the Devils explain what the 'Canes did to them in this series.

"I really don't know what to say. I am shocked, stunned," Devils coach Brent Sutter said.

Zach Parise sat in front of his locker with his hands in his face. Most players spoke in very low voices, and none could recall a more gut-wrenching loss.

"These guys do a lot of those things against us," Brodeur said. "They beat us with two-tenths of a second to play and now this, it's stunning."

"They scored two goals in the final two minutes of a hockey game to win it," Devils center John Madden said. "I will never forget it."

Yeah. Good, good times.

Now let's go beat Boston, yes?

wednesday.

Playoffs. Wednesday. Who's ready for some fun?



Let's go 'Canes!

now here's a context in which i'll accept "carolina wins" as good news

A 9-0 Hurricanes win over the Islanders to keep things rolling even after clinching a playoff spot and keep my hopes for that 4th seed alive has me thinking a bit.

I didn't write what went through my head about the hiring of Paul Maurice. I didn't write what went through my head when the 'Canes biggest trade deadline move was bringing Cole back into the fold. But with a 9 game winning streak at a really great time for a hockey team to be peaking and Cole having collected 15 points in 15 games back with the team, I'm glad there's no record of what was going through my head in those moments.

I eagerly await the playoffs.

hey, who's not tired of hearing me talk about jay cutler?

Since the talking heads on ESPN think that somehow it's a good idea for the Broncos to ditch a top-five quarterback in a league where great play behind center has become the exception rather than the rule, I had to go to their website to find someone that made an ounce of sense. And it turned out to be Rick Reilly.

How many Broncos fans -- when they first heard that Josh McDaniels was taking over -- thought to themselves, "Boy, I sure hope we can somehow dump Pro Bowl QB Jay Cutler and start Kyle Orton this season! That would be swell!" And it all stemmed from McDaniels' ham-handed style and his Macy's-balloon ego. Years from now, the Cutler Catastrophe will go down as the dumbest thing in Boy Blunder's very short coaching career. I have a buddy who honestly believes McDaniels thinks this is fantasy football; that he gets a whole team to play with and screw over in his own image and what the hell, if his moves don't work out, his league has a special "mulligan" rule and he can start over. Only there's no "oops" rule in the NFL. This deal -- and McDaniels' Belichick wanna-be act -- will haunt Denver for years.

it's a tad premature, right?

Economy is bad. I don't make much money. Must. Resist. Urge. To. Spend. Eighty. Dollars.

omigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh...

A defining moment in the history of my sports watching came during a Bears game with Jim Miller behind center. On 3rd-and-10, John Madden announces "I don't think the Bears have a play that goes 10 yards in the playbook." Sure enough, the play that was called and it was a 7 yard pass. This was not a check down. This was the play as drawn up. This is the moment I've gone back to when it comes to Bears quarterbacks ever since.

Then something wonderful happened yesterday.

The Bears went and grabbed themselves a quarterback. Seriously, an honest to goodness quarterback. Not a flash-in-the pan who will settle to awfulness, not a "game manager," and not Cade McNown, but a real live quarterback!

The naysayers will say that two first rounders and Kyle Orton is a pretty high price for Jay Cutler. But look at the excitement this move has created. I do think the Bears will need a bona fide wideout for this to work. Greg Olson is great, but he's a great Tight End. Brandon Lloyd showed flashes of brilliance last season, but just flashes. I will say that, if nothing else, the acquisition of Jay Cutler makes the Devin Hester experiment about one million times more interesting as we go into the 2009 season. If Jay Cutler doesn't make that happen, it just isn't meant to be.

I do think the Bears are going to do what it takes to make this a good deal, now that we've made it. After we lost both offensive tackles, I was afraid the season was alredy a write-off, but Angelo actually addressed some of the upcoming offensive line problems so that this shiny new quarterback will have some protection. Spending money and trading draft picks is not how we typically roll. This is amazing.

Did we need the draft picks to fix the O-Line and find ourselves some secondary help? Absolutely we did. But I think grabbing Orlando Pace shows that the front office is committed to making a run at things next season, and maybe we're not done wheeling and dealing just yet.

on my failings to properly cover basketball on this blog

So I was going to go down the results of the ACC tourney one game at a time. That didn't work out, but I did manage to liveblog a pair of the games for How RDU Doin'? Then I thought I'd reprise my NCAA burning questions gimmick from last season. Then I filled out my first set of brackets and found that I had all four #1 seeds in the Final Four. So I'm going to grow a pair and then fill them out again. I'll let you know if I have anything worth reporting on before games start on Thursday.

March. Madness.

ACC tourney - virginia tech 65, miami 47

I am distraught by the inclusion of David Cook to the ACC festivities, specifically, how hard the Raycom gang is trying to pimp his album. This is not what I want from my basketball. Also, I wanted Miami to show up for this game for my entertainment. Instead, they'll be rockin' the NIT after one of the most disappointing seasons I've ever seen from a team that isn't NC State.

That said, Virginia Tech played pretty outstanding "team defense," which they'll need again tomorrow when they have the tall order of trying to catch UNC on an off day. I doubt they'll have it in them, but I wouldn't mind if they made Carolina work harder than they want to.

In the meantime, I have only to survive Georgia Tech vs. Clemson and then a break before sneaking a radio into work tonight so I can hear NC State take on Maryland. If State is going to win this thing, my boys will have to take down Maryland, Wake Forest, (probably) Duke, and then (probably) Carolina in consecutive days. I don't like our chances. And now I have to worry about the possibility of the Wolfpack getting stuck in one of the two tournaments that sit below the NIT. Bad season. Bad, bad season.

March. Madness.

things occasionally get changed forever

Remember when we used to go around saying that a certain date changed everything? We were chastised by certain politicians for thinking about the world as it was before that event. Well, that's the past now. "Why is that the past?" you ask? Because during last night's Super Bowl, this happened:



To quote one Ben Roberts: "Bruce Springsteen just teabagged America."

February 1st, 2009. Remember that day. Never forget that day. Everything that happens from here on out is a thing that must be viewed in a new light. We've all been teabagged as a nation, and we must band together and move on. And always, always remember.

i'm sure there's something in the revelation about this

Zack, my little brother, is in his second semester of Divinity School. So I'm certain that, by now, he's well trained in identifying the end times. I mean, that's got to be the very first thing they cover there. You know, just in case the signs start showing up in a time and manner that suggest you might not need to take exams seriously. All I'm saying is that if the end is near, Zack knows it.

After yesterday's NFC Championship game, I got the following text:

The Cardinals are in the Super Bowl. This is an unmistakable sign. Get your ass to church.

So, if you guys need me, I'll be getting right with Jesus. Zack thinks it's a good idea.