NFL Preview: The East

Well, the season begins tomorrow, and I'm pumped. I missed football, and I'm glad it's back. Sure the Giants and Redskins "kicked off" the season on Thursday (if you wanted to call that game professional football), but the whole shebang gets going in 24 hours. Good times. Here are the final predictions for the divisions.

AFC East:

4. Miami Dolphins 3-13 (Last Year: 1-15)

The Dolphins narrowly avoided going winless last year, and will probably go through similar struggles this year. Their division is tougher, but the Phins have a head on their shoulders, so to speak, after bringing in The Big Tuna (ironic) Bill Parcells to revamp the team. #1 overall pick Jake Long will hopefully not be a bust at left tackle, and they plucked QB Chad Pennington from the waiver wire from the Jets. Sure Pennington isn't the long term answer, but he'll give the team some stability as they establish themselves.

Best Fantasy Player: Ronnie Brown, RB - Before going down by injury, Ronnie Brown was a very productive fantasy player. His injury history is a concern and apparently Ricky Williams is back in the mix, but this is Ronnie's year to prove himself not to be a bust.

3. Buffalo Bills 8-8 (Last Year: 7-9)

There is always a buzz around the Bills as an up and coming team. Now that J.P. Losman is thankfully removed at QB in favor of Senator Trent Edwards, the Bills may be turning a corner. As long as Marshawn Lynch can stay out of prison and Toronto brings the Bills north of the border, there are positives to be had.

Best Fantasy Player: Marshawn Lynch, RB - Marshawn had a rookie year of 1,000+ rushing yards and 7 TD's. I would look for those numbers to increase to close to 1,400 yards and 9 TD's. Enjoy it before he gets his new deal out of his rookie contract and subsequently becomes the new Pacman Jones.



2. New York Jets 9-7 (Last Year: 4-12)

Obviously the biggest story for the Jets was the acquisition of Brett Favre. This put the Jets on the map, and will be the move that everyone looks at for the Jets turn around. The real reason will be the Jets offensive line and the addition of All-Pro guard Alan Faneca. Look for Thomas Jones to have a big year. I think Favre will come out firing, but wear down as the season progresses. He'll throw his share of INT's and probably end up costing the Jets a playoff spot. However, if top pick Vernon Gholston turns out to be the beast a lot of people think he is, the Jets could bump up 2 wins.

Best Fantasy Player: Jerricho Cotchery, WR - Cotchery, not Coles will be the largest benefactor of Favre being the QB. Cotchery is a large receiver with good hands, and that is the kind of receiver Favre gravitates towards. Also, look out for TE Chris Baker to add some TD's to his solid receiving yard total.

1. New England Patriots 13-3 (Last Year: 16-0)

What a bizarre season for the Pats. The ultimate highs and the ULTIMATE low carried the Pats season. In the end, the mental strain of being undefeated was too much to handle. The Giants defensive line blew up the most prolific offense in the league, and it will be a challenge to see how the Pats rebound. Now, it's not the Pats goal to go undefeated again. It's their goal to win the Super Bowl. The Pats will almost be relieved when they lose their first game this year just to get that monkey off of their back. The looming cloud over this team is the possibility of QB Tom Brady's foot. Is it cracked? Is it broken? Is it bruised? Who knows? We're certainly not getting any info from Bill Belichick. On a side note, I read a Belichick biography this Summer, and the funniest part of the book was when the author mentioned Belichick's voice mail message. It was, "Sorry to have missed your call." That's it, and it's funny on about 12 levels if you know anything about Belichick.

Best Fantasy Player: Wes Welker, WR - He may not be the most prolific guy, but he's the best bet if Brady goes down to injury. He won't be hindered if back up Matt Cassell gets in the game, like Moss would, and the running game and Lawrence Maroney are a lost cause.

NFC East:

4. Washington Redskins 6-10 (Last Year: 9-7)

For all the good things the Skins did last year, having Joe Gibbs retire and bringing on inexperienced Mike Zorn and implementing the 4th new offense in QB Jason Campbell's career, they took a big step back. The only positive is that a new running approach could benefit Clinton Portis, who was run into the ground last year. Things are gonna get off to a slow start in the nation's capital.

Best Fantasy Player: Clinton Portis, RB - He is their go to guy. Someone has to score the TD's.

3. NY Giants 9-7 (Last Year: 10-6)

No matter how lucky the Giants were last year, no matter what they lost on defense, they are...the defending Super Bowl Champions, and they can't miss the playoffs. Can they? Anyway, I can't really talk much about the Giants. Them and Eli Manning winning the Super Bowl was an absolutely scarring sports experience. Let me also say, shame on all you Eagles fans that WANTED the Giants to beat the Pats. First off, you can never EVER root for the NY Giants unless they're playing an intergalactic football team for control of the planet Earth, and you know what, I'd have to wait and see what the aliens had to say before I made my choice. Secondly, and this is what bothered me the most...the only reason Eagles fans wanted the Giants to beat the Pats was because they hated the Pats because they were jealous of their success. As petty as that sounds, that was the reasoning. What bothers me about that is if the Eagles were in the Pats situation, these same people would be the most obnoxious annoying fans that have ever set foot on this planet. I hate you all. And here is the nail in the coffin for all you "I'm just rooting for the Giants in this game" fans. I hope this makes you sick.

Best Fantasy Player: Plaxico Burress, WR - Let's see, Plax had 1,025 receiving yards and 12 TD's with a bum shoulder, bum ankle, never practicing, and a non-Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning throwing him the ball. I see a better year ahead.

2. Philadelphia Eagles 10-6 (Last Year: 8-8)

This is the first year since I've been doing this that I haven't picked the Birds to win the division, and can you blame me? A couple of lackluster/borderline heartbreaking years have left my beloved Birds at a crossroads. This is it for Donovan McNabb. If he wants to QB in Philly next year, then he has to have an MVP quality year, which isn't totally out of the question. The Birds made some game changing moves by adding CB Asante Samuel and drafting potential Rookie of the Year candidate Desean Jackson. There is a lot to be excited about, and lately the Birds have been picked to go the the Super Bowl (by ESPN and Sports Illustrated)! To be honest, I was gonna pick the Birds to be 7-9 this year, but all this buzz has suckered me into a 10-6 year. I'm looking forward to the year. It could be something unexpected.

Best Fantasy Player: Brian Westbrook, RB - The NFL's leader in all-purpose yards last year will have an absolutely phenomenal year. This is his time to separate himself from every other RB on the planet. His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield will be taken to a whole new level, especially with new RB Lorenzo Booker in the backfield. The options are boundless.

1. Dallas Cowboys 11-5 (Last Year: 13-3)

At this point, expecting Tony Romo to perform in the playoffs is like expecting to have your dinner in Hell's Kitchen arrive on time. When you add in the fact this guy is STILL with Jessica Simpson and her idiot brain doesn't say much about his decision making. The Cowboys are going for it, and they have all the cards in place to make a legitimate run. Their defense is overrated by a ton, and Pacman Jones is going to have a minimal impact. Plus, the story line that is going unnoticed is that this team is a powder keg of people. Terrell Owens, Pacman, Tank Williams, I mean come on something has to give. I'm putting the Cowboys on notice, their window for winning a Super Bowl is now at 2 years. The team is getting older, and once TO is washed up Romo won't be as effective and it will be a whole domino effect. When you're entire team rests on the performance and mental stability of Terrell Owens, you have to count your blessings each year.

Best Fantasy Player: Marion Barber, RB - He's a TD machine. Felix Jones isn't a threat to his playing time. Look for a typical 80 yard 1 TD game from Barber. I think he'll make it to 20 TD's this season.

MLB 2008 Season Preview

Since the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's decided to open up the baseball season in Japan, I've been left bumping up my MLB preview by a week. Last year was exciting, personally, due to the Phillies finally making the playoffs. The rest of the season was kind of a drag with the Bonds scandal and a rather dull regular season. I think this year has a lot of good things in store. Since this Roger Clemens mess has apparently passed for now, the focus can purely be on baseball, and that is always a good thing.

So as usual, here are my predictions. Plain and simple.

STANDINGS

AL WEST - Seattle Mariners
AL CENTRAL - Detroit Tigers
AL EAST - Boston Red Sox
AL WILDCARD - Cleveland Indians


The AL is definitely interesting. With the defending champ Red Sox and Yankees fighting it out in the East and the Blue Jays supposedly coming on strong (I don't buy it) the Sox should win an overmatched Yankees team that did not improve upon their deficiencies from last year. The Tigers will have the best offense in baseball with Justin Verlander in Cy Young contention. I like the Mariners in the West. Their pitching should be improved with the additions of Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva to help a solid bullpen. The offense is in question, but it is an Adrian Beltre contract year. Here's what he did during his last contract year:

2004 with the Dodgers: BA .344/ R 104/ HR 48/ RBI 121

An Average Season Since: BA .267/ R 81/ HR 23/ RBI 92

NL WEST - Arizona Diamondbacks
NL CENTRAL - Chicago Cubs
NL EAST - NY Mets
NL WILDCARD - Philadelphia Phillies

The NL is a little bit more predictable than the AL. The main question is out of the West where the D'backs, Rockies, and Dodgers will be looking for a playoff birth. The Cubs have to win that division. The Mets look good from a pitching stand point and have enough offense to carry them to the top of the East. I'm sticking with my team and giving the Phils a Wildcard birth. Injuries are an issue for them, and I think they may be relying too heavily on the likes of Jayson Werths of the world, but we shall see. The offense is potent and Chase Utley should be in the running for NL MVP.

POST SEASON

ALCS - Tigers v. Red Sox
NLCS - Cubs v. Mets

WORLD SERIES - Cubs v. Tigers

CHAMPS - Tigers

AWARDS

NL MVP - Alfonso Soriano
AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera

NL CY YOUNG - Cole Hamels
AL CY YOUNG - C.C. Sabathia

NL ROY - Justin Upton
AL ROY - Joba Chamberlain

NL HOME RUN LEADER - Ryan Howard
AL HOME RUN LEADER - David Ortiz

NL BATTING CHAMP - Hanley Ramirez
AL BATTING CHAMP - Ichiro

HOWARD HR'S - 55

WORST PHILLIE - A Durbin

Playoff Picks & Popularity

You can look at the NFL Playoffs in one of three ways:
1. Excitement in watching some great football for the next month.
2. The winding down of the NFL season.
3. Three months until pitchers and catchers report.

Amazingly, around the Philly area, this year the fan base is squarely on Option 3. With the Birds battling through an 8-8 season and the Phillies making an improbable run to the playoffs, Philly is once again a baseball town. However, I still enjoy playoff football whether the Birds and/or fantasy football is included or not. Anyway, signing Chad Durbin isn't exactly making my heart skip a beat. So let's see the match ups for Wild Card Weekend, the I'll swerve my way through the rest of the playoffs.

Washington Redskins v. Seattle Seahawks

The Redskins were my sleeper team, so I'm happy that they made the playoffs and made me look that much smarter. Then again, I picked the Jaguars to be terrible, so it probably evens out.

With the out and out tragedy of Sean Taylor being shot and killed earlier in the year, you have to hope for the best for the Redskins, but injuries and a better Seattle team will stop any of that from happening.

It also doesn't hurt that the Redskins will be starting Todd Collins at QB. He's filled in admirably for Jason Campbell, but everyone has their limit, and Todd Collins is at the A.J. Feeley Limit for back up QB's, which is 4 games of not sucking.

A thought that made me chuckle is that back in the day, when Todd Collins was in high school or whatever, he was probably the most popular guy in the school. He probably dated a cheerleader and thought he was the shit. I'm thinking just stereotypical macho over-compensating dude that went to every high school. I mean look at his picture, you can sense a hint of douchebaginess that still lingers with the one time Mr. Popular.

He had to have some crazy skills in high school to even have a chance to make it to the NFL, which he has, but now he finds himself a career back up who basically gets trotted out there expected to fail and at the ridicule of anyone who wants to laugh at the guy. Aside from the punter and kicker, the career back up QB is the most pathetic position on a football field. There is just something hilarious to me about how his social life must have progressed. Although being a back up does have some up sides...

Seattle has shifted their offense to focus on QB Matt Hasselbeck, and not former MVP Shaun Alexander. Having cashed in for a big pay day, it appears as if the former single season TD holder has packed in his career and become a complete vagina at running back. When you're getting out performed by Maurice Morris, you have issues.

Seattle 24 Washington 17

Jacksonville v. Pittsburgh

Do you know anyone that has Pittsburgh in this game? Me neither. All you hear is how great Jacksonville is. David Gerrard doesn't throw interceptions, Fred Taylor is running like a young man, and the defense is physical. As I mentioned before I picked Jax to be rather awful, but they're slowly becoming the No Country for Old Men of football in the way everyone is drooling all over them. Similarly, it is not unwarranted acclaim, but some people are getting carried away with this team.

The Steelers were on their way to a solid playoff run, but late injuries to half their offensive line along with leading rusher Willie Parker has hobbled their chances greatly. Anything can happen on that field in Pittsburgh and David Gerrard is not a tested playoff QB like Ben Roethlisburger is, but the Steelers might have just a little too much to overcome. This is the most entertaining game of the weekend though, so I expect it to end closely. In the end, I'm going to have to go with the millions of others and pick Jacksonville, although I can see that blowing up in my face.

Jacksonville 27 Pittsburgh 23

NYG v. Tampa Bay

Who knows? Eli sucks, but not so much on the road. Joey Galloway is old. I'll be at the gym while this game is on.

Tampa Bay 17 NYG 7

Tennessee v. San Diego

So Vince Young might play, and Norv Turner is the head coach of a playoff team. Hmmm, seems like this game could end up being a stinker. Having been the latest victim of the Madden Curse, VY had a horrible year and took 3 steps back in his progress as a player.

Norv nearly lost his whole team within the first 3 weeks, but he eventually righted the ship by deciding maybe he should hand the ball off to the best running back in football, and not have Philip Rivers throw the ball 25+ times. Good work Norv. Enjoy your second round loss to the Colts.

San Diego 35 Tennessee 14

Remainder of Playoffs:

NFC Divisional:

Dallas defeats Tampa
Seattle defeats GB

AFC Divisional:

NE defeats Jacksonville
Indy defeats SD

Conference Championships:

NE defeats Indy
Seattle defeats Dallas

Super Bowl:

I'm sticking with my pre-season prediction:

NE defeats Seattle

Hey, Everyone! Come See How Good I Look!

Now that the Rockies have secured the last Wild Card spot in a bizarre game last night, it's time to hop in the time capsule and check out my pre-season predictions. I must admit, I'm getting better and better at this stuff as each year passes, and despite some embarassing misses, I certainly made some nice predictions. Let's check them out.


Standings (Predicted):
AL East - Boston Red Sox
AL Central - Cleveland Indians
AL West - LA Angels

NL East - Florida Marlins
NL Central - Houston Astros
NL West - San Diego Padres

AL Wildcard - New York Yankees
NL Wildcard - The Philadelphia Phillies (if not now, then never)

Standings (Actual):
AL East - Red Sox
AL Central - Indians
AL West - LA Angels

NL East - Phillies
NL Central - Cubs
NL West - Diamondbacks

AL WC - Yankees
NL WC - Rockies

Even though I made a clean sweep of the American League, my NL predictions yielded only one playoff team, the Phils (who knew?). Although my gamble on a young up and coming team went to the Marlins, instead of the Arizona Diamondbacks, I can't be too disappointed in going with the Padres, who just missed, and the Astros were a total mistake.

Playoffs (Predicted):
ALCS - Indians v. Red Sox
NLCS - Padres v. Astros
WS - Red Sox v. Padres
Champions - Boston Red Sox

Playoffs (TBD):
The playoffs are yet to be determined, but obviously I have some misses even though my champ is still there. Should be a good playoffs, especially with the Phils in, but I certainly would have preferred the Padres over the Rockies. The Rockies are on too much of a roll. The Phils need to come out the gates firing or we may not make it to the NLCS.

Awards (Predicted) -
AL MVP - Grady Sizemore
NL MVP - Albert Pujols

MOST LIKELY -
AL MVP - Alex Rodriguez: slam dunk, no questions asked. The only reason to anticipate this vote is to see if A-Rod will be a unanimous MVP.

NL MVP - Jimmy Rollins or Matt Holliday: Both of these players are great and well deserving of the award. Even though I have a stronger allegiance to Rollins, Matt Holliday is on my Keeper Team for fantasy baseball which endears him to me as well. However, being fair, the award does deserve to go to J-Roll. While both players carried their teams down the stretch, while Holliday had a great year, Rollins had a historic year. There is a difference, plus Rollins may get a Gold Glove this year, which is something you cannot say for Holliday. Jimmy's only concern is that incumbent MVP and teammate Ryan Howard may snag some of his votes.

(Predicted)
AL CY Young - Roy Halladay
NL CY Young - Jake Peavy

Most Likely -
AL Cy Young - C.C. Sabathia: Sabathia has had a great year with 19 wins and logging 241 IP, but in all honesty there is really no one in the AL to stand up and take this award. My predictions, Halladay, came on late, but it was not good enough. Had Erik Bedard stayed healthy, he very well could have won the Cy Young.
NL Cy Young - Jake Peavy: Got this one right. Peavy had an off year last year, but now led the league in the triple crown of pitching (19 wins, 2.54 ERA, 240 K's). There may be some other votes for Brad Penny and Brandon Webb, but in all seriousness, their numbers do not compare to Peavy's at all. Although his lack of ability to come up in big games (see: Last Night) is the biggest knock on him.



(Predicted)
AL ROY - Dice-K
NL ROY - Kevin Kouzmanoff

MOST LIKELY -
AL ROY - Dustin Pedroia: The AL race is still wide open. Dice-K is the biggest name out there, but had some shaky starts letting up 5 or more runs in his last 10 starts. Delmon Young has had a great rookie year (.288 BA, 93 RBI), but his number may still be beaten, and his bad attitude won't do much to win over voters. Pedroia has been the most productive and valuable rookie in the AL playing a solid 2B and hitting .317 with 86 Runs is just what that Red Sox line-up needed.




NL ROY - Ryan Braun or Troy Tulowitzki: Both of these young player came on late. Tulowitzki helping carry the Rockies to the playoffs, and Braun emerging halfway through the year to end with a ridiculous line of AVG .324 HR 34 RBI 97 OBP .370 SLG .634 through 113 games. Tulowitzki put up his own offensive numbers going AVG .291 HR 24 RBI 99 OBP .359 SLG .479
in his rookie year. The two things Tulowitzki has going for him are that his team made the playoffs and he is a much better fielder than Braun. However, I think that Braun was just too productive to not give him this award. My pick, Kouzmnoff played very respectful and should finish in the Top 3 for ROY.

(Predicted)
AL Home Run Leader - Travis Hafner
NL Home Run Leader - Albert Pujols

ACTUAL -
AL HR Leader - Alex Rodriguez
NL HR Leader - Prince Fielder

(Predicted)
AL Batting Champ - Joe Mauer
NL Batting Champ - Miggy Cabrera

ACTUAL -
AL Batting Champ - Magglio Ordonez
NL Batting Champ - Matt Holliday

(Predicted)
AL Future MVP - Carl Crawford
NL Future MVP - Chase Utley

MOST LIKELY -
I have to admit, I have no idea what this category means. At the time I guess I was looking for more categories to predict, and I assume I was going for sort of a breakout all-around star that would emerge. It's an unclear category and I'll probably never do it again. However, I was right about Chase, who would have been MVP had he stayed healthy all year.
AL Future MVP - Hanley Ramirez: I couldn't find one in the AL, might still be Crawford, but Hanley Ramirez is the man and I wanted to give him a shout out.
NL Future MVP - Chase Utley

(Predicted)
AL Future CY Young - Erik Bedard
NL Future CY Young - Cole Hamels

ACTUAL -
Ditto with this category and the next two categories. Yeesh. Still think I nailed it though.
AL Future Cy - Bedard
NL Future Cy - Hamels

(Predicted)
AL Breakout Bat - Howie Kendrick
NL Breakout Bat - Prince Fielder

ACTUAL -
AL Breakout Bat - Carlos Pena (AVG .282 HR 46 RBI 121 OBP .411 SLG .627): The man had one home run last year. ONE!
NL Breakout Bat - Prince Fielder: 50 Homers, yeah, I may not know what this category means, but I think I was right.


(Predicted)
AL Breakout Arm - Dick Harden
NL Breakout Arm - Scott Olsen

ACTUAL -
I'm just not even bothering with this one. I will say that I was way off on both accounts though.


Clemens Return - 98 percent (He has returned)

Dice-K wins - 16 (15)

Howard Homers - 47 (Exactly right)

Dunn Strikeouts - 180 (Nowhere near Ryan Howard's record breaking total)

Worst Phillie - Some reliever (Adam Eaton)

Courtesy Flush

Well it has certainly been an interesting weekend. The Phillies are NL East Champs and going to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, while the Eagles are pretty much a disgrace. Why can I never have it all? As soon as one sports team excels, the other falters. At this point all you can do is appreciate what the Phils have accomplished and use that to numb the misery that is the NFL season. Just for the record, the Phils have a great chance to make it to the World Series, and if they play the Padres in the first playoff series, then whoever wins that will advance to the World Series, and you never know what can happen at that point.

If you listen to podcasts, or want to start, look into This American Life. It is the most popular podcast out there, and I've listened to it for a while, but I've always been hesitant to recommend it because it is so popular. I'm much more of a fan of Filmspotting or NYC Radio Lab, but This American Life is just really amazing and unique. I strongly recommend it, and you can find links to all of the podcasts to the right of the site.

I've made some modifications to the site, which includes some Recommendations pour toi to offer links to some books, CD's, DVD's, and whatever else you might want to purchase. There are some more pictures up to add to the decor, and the GLOCKthoughts Thinker of the Month is now the Bi-Weekly Thinker of the Month because a month is a long time, and I couldn't stare at the that O.J. picture for much longer. The new Thinker will be updated along with the Poll Questions, which will serve as time keeper. Also, there is a list of tags to posts to help navigate easier as the posts accumulate.

I have utilized the forum for some short postings and a couple links. Feel free to add to it or just check it out. You can post anonymously if you want, so there is no pressure to identify yourself if you don't want to.

Overall, I think this site has been quite a success. I've received some kind words, and with already near 700 views in a couple weeks is far ahead of the Myspace site. I guess it is because this site is more open to everyone where you'd essentially have to know me to look at my Myspace page. So that is definitely a benefit I was looking for.

I'll be throwing up an MLB Review post tomorrow, which will review some things from the year and go over my pre-season predictions. Should be fun. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I can't wait to see the Phils in the playoffs!