I have this image of Tim Tebow getting pushed onto the field and carrying them to Disney movie victory after Orton and Quinn end their season in an ill-fated game of chicken.
Also, I don’t care for the Chargers. 
Close. Chad Nadabueno & the Receiver Formerly Known as T.O. would be the has-beens to which I was referring, as is an aging Palmer who has never recovered his pre-injury greatness. And Benson has all the makings of a quintessential one-hit wonder. As is proven year after year, one decent season does not a great running back make. Yes, I am aware that he had 1200 yards in 13 games and a 4.2ypc average last year, but I truly think it was an anomaly. I don’t see him even breaking a thousand this year. He’s a decent back who won’t fumble and will pick up a few first downs, but he’s not in the conversation with the game’s elite.
I also have zero confidence in their coaching staff to put together a half-decent game plan and pre-season success counts for a bucketful of zero in this league (IIRC the Lions went 4-0 last year).
Of course they have the potential for success, as do a lot of the projected cellar-dwellers, and if they pull it off I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong. They do have a solid defense and a few budding stars in the making but I just don’t see them matching up to the Ravens this year. I am torn between them and Pittsburgh for second in the North, but my gut says Pitt.
My gut has been wrong before, mostly in late-night cases involving alcohol and Taco Bell.
Tebow getting prematurely pushed onto the field would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to him. He needs a minumum of three years holding a clipboard before he steps foot on the field as anything but a decoy. However I have full confidence in McDaniel’s ego to once again bully its way in front of his common sense.
And I’ll give a hearty +1 to the Charger-hating. Phillip Rivers once again wins the coveted “Biggest Douche in the NFL” award.
If they get and remain healthy, I think __________ will win the SuperBowl.
(Feel free to insert Colts, Ravens, Chargers, Vikings, Packers, or Saints).
So much of the season comes down to which team suffers injuries to their major players and/or can come back from injuries.
If Phillip Rivers donated 98% of his paycheck to helping the homeless, worked in an animal shelter in the offseason and discovered an autism vaccine in his spare time, I’d still want to smash his face in with a brick. It will never matter to me what he does – he has the douchebaggiest face in the history of douchebaggy faces.
Here’s my prediction: This is the year Peyton Manning starts to decline.
You have absolutely ZERO evidence to back up your claims. I think the Bengals are positioned to win a LOT of games. Get to know the team.
Anybody else watching this game? Can anyone tell me why the Vikings have entirely abandoned the run in the second half?
Because Brett Favre is a douche. However, I have him in a fantasy league, so I hope he doesn’t break his leg until the end of the Vikings’ Week 16 game.
NFC South
- Saints
- Falcons
- Panthers
- Buccaneers
NFC North
- Packers
- Bears
- Vikings
- Detroit
NFC East
- Cowboys
- Eagles
- Giants
- Redskins
NFC West
- 49ers
- Seahawks
- Cardinals
- Rams
AFC EAST
- Dolphins
- Jets
- Patriots
- Bills
AFC North
- Ravens
- Bengals
- Steelers
- Browns
AFC South
- Colts
- Texans
- Titans
- Jaguars
AFC West
- Chargers
- Raiders
- Broncos
- Chiefs
Super Bowl
Saints over Dolphins. Brees repeats as MVP. Dan Marino cries.
Dude, this is a prediction thread. What do you want, a cite proving the Bengals will suck? My evidence is nothing but my own personal feeling based on what I’ve observed in the past, precisely the same as yours or anyone’s. You don’t have any more evidence to support your claim that the Bengals will win “a LOT of games” than I do that they won’t. Sure they might be Super Bowl champs but until the season actually starts, anyone can claim that about any team in the NFL.
Unlike you, I have no emotional connection whatsoever to the Bengals or any of the AFC North. I actually kinda like Cincy, to be honest. Should they prove me wrong, I’m totally stoked for them and their fans.
So that said, (and because I’ve been seriously missing a good football debate) here is what I see:
Carson Palmer hasn’t been the same since he got injured. He is 25-27 since 2005 and posted a mediocre 83.6 rating last year. I’m not saying he’s a bad quarterback by any means, and I’d take him over half the signal-callers in the league (including my own team’s) but he’s no Manning or Rodgers and is still a far cry from his '04 and '05 pro-bowl form. In every major statistic he’s floating somewhere in the middle of the pack. Meanwhile Flacco, while still massively inexperienced, is steadily improving. Statistically he had a better year last year than Palmer and unlike Palmer, he’s only going to improve. Given the choice, I’ll take Flacco over Palmer every time.
Cedric Benson is averaging a pedestrian 3.9 yards per carry with the Bengals, (even less with the Bears), and has a single season out of 5 over 1000 yards. Any back can have one or two great years (Larry Johnson, Olandis Gary, etc.) but I just don’t see him as a top-tier runner. Until he proves he can consistently produce, I’m not sold. Ray Rice is still pretty green but he’s been a beast since he arrived. He still has one more year to cement his status (to me) but I’ll still take him over Benson.
Terrell Owens turns 37 this year and his stats have steadily dropped since he left Philly. He had 829 yards and 5 TD’s last year. Even making allowances for playing in Buffalo, he’s far from an elite receiver by any reasonable measure. I’ll take Houshmandzadeh, thank you.
Chad Whatever He Wants To Call Himself is 31 and looks to me like he’s lost a bit from his glory days. Not to the extent of TO but he looks like he’s getting slower and less crisp in his routes. Yes it’s very subjective but to me, he looks to be on the decline. He is still an above-average receiver who can come up with some tough catches but I don’t see him as the threat he once was. This one is closer, but I’d still take Boldin over Nachostinko.
From what I’ve seen (and I’ll admit it’s pretty limited) Jordan Shipley looks like he could be a stud, as does Jermaine Gresham. They both looked good in college (Shipley especially) but until they show me something in the regular season, they’re nothing but hopeful question marks.
I do give the Bengal defense its due. It’s a solid group that finished among the top of the NFL last year and will keep them in a fair amount of games. Statistically they compare to Baltimore overall (#4 and 3 respectively) and the Ravens are battling injuries for the first part of the season. But Ray Lewis, even at his age, is still a monster and one of the top defensive leaders in the game. On his strength alone, I’ll give the (slight) advantage to the Ravens D this year over Cincy’s.
All in all, I don’t think the Bengals are a particularly bad team, but they have a hard schedule and have the misfortune of playing in one of the tougher divisions in the NFL. I think they’ll have an ok season but looking at their schedule all I can see is a 9-7 team at best that might sneak into a wild-card spot. I know I picked them 3rd under the Steelers, but that was easily the hardest pick of the lot. It won’t surprise me if they snag a wild-card. It will surprise me if they win the divison. Of course everyone has their own interpretation, to each his own and blah blah blah, but my opinion is not formed out of complete ignorance of this team.
So there’s as much evidence as anyone can give. Above all else my predictions are based largely on intuition and if the past is any indicator, many of them are going to turn out to be completely wrong. Until a team actually plays a meaningful game, all anyone has is their own personal idea of success based on the culmination of past experience, observation and gut feeling. Mine is of course under constant reevaluation and could change based on what happens during the year. Halfway through the season we can both have this conversation from a much more educated perspective.
Until then, all I can say is best of luck. 
Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off as a jerk in my last post. Its all good, and besides I’m sober now.
I do take issue with your characterization of Chad and TO. Realize this: I don’t really like either one of these guys. I’m more of an oldschool, “act like you’ve been there before” kinda guy and I loathe the primadonna types like these two. But, they’re on my favorite team, so root for them I must.
I just don’t think you can plaintively claim that TO is washed up based on his numbers from last season on an awful Buffalo team. Care to see his numbers from 2008, his last season with Dallas? Have you ever looked at his career numbers? They are pretty staggering. He’s a HOF player, and I have carefully been watching him since he arrived: he looks GREAT. Dude keeps himself in incredible shape.
Terrel Owens, 2008: 69 receptions, 1,052 yards, 10 TD’s. YPC=15.2
And that was on a team that had a lot of options to throw to.
Ochocinco’s lost a step? Really?
Chad Johnson numbers from 2009 (on a run-first team): 72 receptions, 1,047 yards, 9 TD’s, YPC 14.5.
I don’t see how you really get much better than that.
Palmer will be fine, BTW. He’s been playing behind a sub-par offensive line since 2007 (and was injured in 2008 for most of the year) and they are just now starting to jell. Last season we suffered from a lack of downfield weapons, and no TE threat. That’s not the case this season, and Palmer (barring injury) is going to have a big year. I’ll stake my reputation on that claim. I watch this team religiously yet I try to be objective. This is what I see.
I agree Oak! Would be nice to see him all teary eyed
I’m surprised at all the people putting the Steelers ahead of the Bengals in the AFC North. That seems unlikely to me.
Bold prediction: Jake Delhomme isn’t going to suck horribly this year.
I wasn’t happy when the Browns picked him up because he was obviously terrible, and not only that, but I think Seneca Wallace might do good things as the starting QB. He’s accurate and efficient. I wanted him to be the starter.
But I read some of the articles written by Carolina sportswriters and they had nothing but praise for the guy. Usually after the guy gets the boot after a horrible year, the sportswriters like to clear out all the bad stuff they wanted to say about the guy. But none of them could say anything bad about Delhomme.
They seemed to make excuses for his downfall - he had a legitimate meltdown in the playoffs, and it got into his head. Combined with trying to throw him into the wrong offensive system (he’s always been an intuitive gunslinger with only very basic reads in his offense, and they tried to force him into a rigid restrictive read system) and still suffering a bit from his elbow injury, and the first few crappy performances just dug him even deeper into a mental funk that he couldn’t quite get out of.
But the skillset is still there if he can get his head on straight. He gets a fresh start and so far in preseason he’s had the highest completion percentage of any QB and has looked sharp. He’s not destined for elite status this year or anything - he’ll be throwing to Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie, and Ben Watson so he’s in a fairly bad receiving situation. On the plus side he’s got one of the best lines in the NFL at protecting their QB, if not the best. And he has Jerome Fucking Harrison as his running back.
An incredible statistic that doesn’t get much discussion is that the Browns won 5 games last year and completed 34 passes during those wins. Less than 7 completed passes per win. If Delhomme can play better than the utter dreck at QB last year, there’s no reason they can’t win more than that.
AFC East
- New York Jets
- New England Patriots
- Miami Dolphins
- Buffalo Bills
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cleveland Browns
AFC South
- Indianapolis Colts
- Houston Texans
- Tennessee Titans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC West
- San Diego Chargers
- Oakland Raiders
- Denver Broncos
- Kansas City Chiefs
NFC East
- New York Giants
- Dallas Cowboys
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Redskins
NFC North
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
NFC South
- New Orleans Saints
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
- San Francisco 49ers
- Arizona Cardinals
- Seattle Seahawks
- St. Louis Rams
Maybe I’ve watched too much Hard Knocks, but with Revis back and the first-team offense looking more solid than last year, the Jets are set to be a contender again.
I don’t think it’s excessive homerism* to declare that the Chargers will once again take the underwhelming AFC West, but I do wish to state for the record my bold prediction that this year will mark the resurgence of the Raiders as a serious threat. I don’t know whether Al Davis is secretly dead or if Cable managed to cow him (ha!), but their draft picks seemed oddly competent and Campbell doesn’t suck half as much as the Redskins’ line might’ve made it look. Also, the Denver “hey let’s blow three draft picks for Tim ‘WAAAH I LOST ONE FOOTBALL GAME LORD WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME’ Tebow” Broncos will continue last season’s decline.
I don’t follow NFC news much, but if nobody-shutting-the-fuck-up-about-them-osity is any indication, then this year’s Pack it is.
-
- Is it still homerism if “home” is 2,400 miles away and you’ve only been there once?
AFC East
- NY Jets
- NE Patriots #
- Miami Dolphins
- Buffalo Bills
AFC North
- Cincinatti Bengals
- Baltimore Ravens
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cleveland Browns
I’m really surprised more people don’t have the Bengals winning this division.
AFC South
- Indianapolis Colts
- Houston Texans #
- Tennessee Titans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
I should mention that I’m a Colts fan, and while I know the Texans are improving, they can’t stop the Colts yet. They’ll be VERY lucky to split the season with them, because it ain’t happening this week.
AFC West
- SD Chargers
- Oakland Raiders
- KC Chiefs
- Denver Broncos
Jesus, this division sucks. Chargers get the nod mostly because of Rivers, but it’ll be ugly anytime these folks go outside the division.
NFC East
- NY Giants
- Dallas Cowboys #
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Redskins
Giants kind of win this one by default, too. Not that I think they’re bad by any stretch of the imagination, and the Cowboys won’t be terrible either, but they’re not better than the Giants, no way, no how.
NFC North
- GB Packers
- Minnesota Vikings #
- Detroit Lions
- Chicago Bears
NFC South
- NO Saints
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- TB Buccaneers
NFC West
- SF 49ers
- Arizona Cardinals
- Seattle Seahawks
- StL Rams
Another really bad division overall. I like what Singletary’s doing… seems like the Niners have a little bit of swagger back.
Super Bowl: Colts over Packers… I actually think the Colts are shoo-ins for AFC Champions at least, because both previous times I’ve been deployed for the Super Bowl, they’ve gone, and I’ll be deployed again for this one. Whether or not they win is another matter, but I’m putting them on top mostly because that’s the way I WANT it.
ETA: I know a lot of you might say the same thing about mine, but, without getting too specific, some of your picks just made me laugh.
AFC East
- New England Patriots
- Miami Dolphins
- New York Jets
- Buffalo Bills
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
AFC South
- Indianapolis Colts
- Tennessee Titans
- Houston Texans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC West
-
San Diego Chargers
-
Oakland Raiders
-
Kansas City Chiefs
-
Denver Broncos
NFC East -
Dallas Cowboys
-
New York Giants
-
Philadelphia Eagles
-
Washington Redskins
NFC North
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
NFC South
- New Orleans Saints
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
- San Francisco 49ers
- Arizona Cardinals
- St. Louis Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
As a Colts fan, I have an ominous feeling about this year and I cant’ really put my finger on it. It isn’t the preseason because the Colts usually suck during the preseason and they have Gonzalez back so their passing game at the very least, shouldn’t be worse, and Donald Brown has a year under his belt. It might be the defense as they couldn’t stop anyone during the last three quarters of the superbowl (which would have been more painful if I wasn’t leaving for Australia the next day). I don’t know, point is, not picking them for the superbowl.
Anyhow…
Wildcards:
AFC: Pittsburgh, Tennessee
NFC: Giants, Falcons
AFC Championships: TItans over Colts
NFC Championsihips: Packers over Saints
Superbowl: Titans over Packers
I don’t care what the talking heads say. You can’t sit out a whole offseason and just show up and flip the switch. Revis isn’t going to be Revis until at least Week 6.
In fact, I think he gets picked on this week and Anquan Boldin will eat his lunch.
I can’t decide whom to root for as a Bengals fan. I should root for the Jets to get my team a leg up in the standings against a divisional rival, but…I just hate the Jets and Rex Ryan so very, very much. Partly because they beat the Bengals in the playoffs in an embarrasing way, and partly because the Jets are being forced down my throat with the ridiculous amount of hype the media is giving them.
Revis has apparently threatened, via Peter King, to hold out again once the guaranteed money in his new deal runs out after two seasons.
The Jets must be a tad flustered at this point.
Really? What a douche. He’s just lucky this is an uncapped year. Once a new CBA is arranged teams aren’t going to be able to break the bank for guys like this because it will harm the rest of the roster.