2008 NFL Preview - AFC East

1. New England Patriots (16-0 in 2007)

Sadly, the miracle of last year will be nearly impossible to replicate. But with the easiest schedule on paper, it may not be as tough as some might think. This division should be locked up by Nov. 13th, when the Pats finish their 4th home game in 5 weeks. Two losses come from (one of) either Indy or Pitt, and one lost-focus/rest week after home field is decided. We can only hope that Favre can help the Jets make a run at the division. I'm hoping, but I'm not counting on it.

Key Aquisitions: Jerod Mayo, Lamont Jordan

Key Departures: Asante Samuel

2008 Predicted Finish: 14-2

2. Buffalo Bills (7-9 in 2007)

Lynch is an absolute beast. Edwards is settling in. I think it's going to be really interesting to see how the Bills do with both these two getting all the snaps. If a few things bounced their way in 2007 (and they ditched the Losman experiment earlier), the Bills might've had 9 or 10 wins and a wildcard spot. Playing the AFC/NFC Westies will give the bills 6 wins in 8 tries, the Jets and Miami will contribute the other 4. The bills will lose to the Chargers, Rams, Jacksonville, Cleveland and New England x2.

Key Aquisitions: McKelvin (CB), Hardy (WR)

Key Departures: none

2008 Predicted Finish: 9-7

3. New York Jets (4-12 in 2007)

Favre changes the dynamic of this team. For the good? We'll see. Clemens is the new Rodgers, and can't possibly be happy about it. But even a crusty Favre is a better option than these Clemens and will give them an extra couple wins. AFC Westies will smack around this team, as will New England, and Buffalo for sure. Also look for a possible surprise loss (Maybe Dolphins at home but probably not).

Key Aquisitions: Brett Favre, Vernon Gholston

Key Departures: Chad Pennington.

2008 Predicted Finish: 8-8

4. Miami Dolphins (1-15 in 2007)

They should be able to secure a high pick in the 2009 draft fairly quickly. They are the sacrificial lamb this season (again). With Pennington at quarterback and no defense, they'll be competitive in each game for about a half. Signing Pennington will not increase their 2008 win total, unless he hands them the entire Jets offensive playbook. I think that they can grab 2-3 cheap wins, but I can't find a team that I can honestly say they can beat. With a gun to my head, I'll take the Fins over the Ravens. They'll carry a 10 game losing streak into 2009.

Key Aquisitions: Jake Long, Bill Parcells

Key Departures: Jason Taylor

2008 Predicted Finish: 2-14

Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers

1. Randy Moss
With the display Moss put on last season it's hard not to have him in the number one slot. We all know Moss is a tremendous player with skill and talent and as long as he has a good QB he will put up great numbers. Moss should be the first WR pick of every draft.

2. Reggie Wayne
Wayne is somewhat young. He had his best season yet in 2007. With Peyton Manning throwing to him and the Colts' high-powered offense look for Wayne to put great stats again.

3. Terrell Owens
You know Owens is going to get thrown to quite often. He'll have his games where he catches everything and just puts up a boatload of numbers. As long as Tony Romo is himself Owens should be above most.

4. Braylon Edwards
Edwards had a breakout year last season. The Browns are on the rise and with Kellen Winslow a big target and Dontae Stallworth in town, teams won't be keying too much on just him. He may not put up 16 TD again but he is still a top 5 WR.

5. Larry Fitzgerald
Fitz is a two time pro bowler and had another impressive season even after a couple of games with struggling QB Matt Leinart. The Cards have a very explosive offense with many weapons, as long as their QB is producing you know Fitzgerald will too.

6. Andre Johnson
Johnson had an impressive start last year until he suffered a knee injury. The Texans were 2-5 without him and 6-3 with him. Expect Johnson to be a top fantasy WR as long as he stays healthy.

7. Marques Colston
Colston may not have done as well last year than he did in 2006, but you know what they say about 3rd year receivers right? If I were you I would listen to the trend as the 3rd year is a break out year for most WRs. Expect Colston, Drew Brees and the Saints to have a huge year.

8. TJ Houshmandzadeh
TJ "Whosyomomma" was the main target of Carson Palmer after a down year for Chad Johnson. He is coming off his best year yet in which he caught 112 passes for 1143 yards and twelve touchdowns.

9. Anquan Boldin
Another Cards WR who could have either an outstanding season or just an okay one depending on the QB play. Boldin has tremendous talent and you know he will thrive in an offense such as Arizona's.

10. Chad Johnson
Johnson may have struggled last season but we do know what he's capable of. I am expecting him to get back up to par and have another typical "Chad" season. Look for the Bengals to be improved even with all of the off and on field distractions.

11. Plaxico Burress

12. Roy Williams

13. Steve Smith

14. Santonio Holmes

15. Torry Holt

My World In Sports: Football is Awesome

Right now my sports life is almost completely dominated by football right now. What else do you expect me to talk about? I've been taking a lot of notes this week so I'm goin' bullet format tonight.

College Football

• Michigan's sucks and their only hope is winning the Big10.
• Hawaii's schedule might not be easy enough!
• Matt Flynn might be able to manage his way to the national championship game
• Virginia Tech shows that Offense wins games and... victories lead to championships?
• If Appalatian State goes undefeated (they will) they could crack the top 25.
• Oregon -along with the Pac10 in general- is overrated
• Jake Locker is a stud on the field and will bring Washington back to the promise land (plus he's 6'3" and runs a 4.5 40 yrd. dash - that's nearly Reggie Bush-esque)
• I hope USC vs. Nebraska is a close game
• Notre Dame vs. Michigan will be a highly contested suck-fest
  

My Weekend
I'm pretty pumped about my weekend. First I'm getting up and going to watch the Central Washington Wildcats take on my UND Fighting Sioux at home. As soon as the game is over, me and some friends are driving down to Fargo to meet Ming and go watch the NDSU vs. Sam Houston State game. I'm pretty pumped to see Rhett Bomar play in the Fargodome (never thought I'd be saying that). I think UND will dominate C. Washington but NDSU vs. Sam Houston State should be a good game I think!....I also can't wait until UND is D1 next season.

NFL

• There is going to be a lot of defense in the NFC North this season (and lack of offense)
• Mason Crosby is going to be a great kicker in the NFL (he's got leg)
• I'm praying for Kevin Everett and his family - that injury was/is one of the nastiest I've seen
• Jamarcus Russel is a greedy bastard. Atleast we can stop talking about it!
• I was truly disappointed by Saints vs. Colts
• Veteran star RBs struggled while some young rookies showed up (Lynch, Peterson)
• The Patriots will win this year's Superbowl
• Randy Moss is going to have the second best season of his career this year
• Too many key and striking important injuries to individually name (other than Everett)
  

My World In Sports: Calling You Out

Thoughts and opinions on sports which are currently headlining my brain:

Taking a Shot at Complete Sports
OK, keeping in mind that TSF has a quite personal relationship with twins15 or Complete Sports I would like to call him out. Sure we play on the same softball team, have the same Alma mater, will attend the same University, and are both generally good guys....but I'm callin' him out. Earlier in the week he predicted that the Flubs would finish atop the NL Central, meaning atop the Milwaukee Brewers. Bold indeed but let's make him put his money where his mouth is. I would like to meet with you Jon and discuss a friendly wager on the matter. I'm callin' you and your Scrubs out!


NBA Finals Game 1
The Spurs are probably the greatest defensive professional basketball team of my era. Also, make no mistake...game 2 is everything. If the Cavs lose game two I give them a 0% chance at winning the series. However, if they can manage to pull one off then we definitely have ourselves a series. Also, today I heard a startling statistic in regards to the Spurs. I believe it said that in the last 10 years the Spurs have won games at about a 70% rate: best in ALL OF SPORTS. Damn you Ming....Game 2: Tune in and root for the savior of the NBA Playoffs to take down the Spurs and their big 3 (pictured right).

MLB Draft
I missed most of it at work but did quite a bit of reading. I think the D-Rays taking hard-throwing left-hander David Price of Vanderbilt wasn't a shocker to anybody. However the rest of the draft was pretty unpredictable. I was especially shocked with the Brewers picking Matt LaPorta (1B/OF) - FL. He's a power hitting 1B who .402 in 2007 with 20 home runs and 52 RBIs. So, you obviously can't refute this kids talent but why did they take him while there were still a lot of really good pitching prospects out there. It doesn't make any sense to me. The only thing I can think of is: (1)they were drafting for the best available overall talent, (2)they are afraid of losing Prince when his contract is up, (3)they think they can convert him to full-time OF, or (4)they want to trade him for some immediate help. He's a monster but why pick him here? Beats me..what do you think?

Vick is Screwed
This thing just gets uglier and uglier each day. The Feds are now getting involved so I guess that means that they mean business. I never really liked Vick in the first place (think 2nd round playoff game at Lambeau) but I really hope he goes down for this and I think he is screwed. Whether this goes all the way through and he goes to court and whatnot whatever he still had left of his image is completely gone. I predict that in the next 3-4 weeks you can expect Nike to speak out on and probably drop Vick as a sponsor. He's already lost a few minor sponsors and I don't think that this is a PR hit that NIKE is willing to take. I wouldn't be....who wants to buy dog-killer shoes? Also Roger Goodell is a hardass so I think Vick will end up with some kind of suspension regardless of what happens to this


NFL QBs
Who I Would Want to Be: Tom Brady
Very attractive girlfriend (Gisele Bundchen), baby on the way (with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan) and a gem in WR Randy Moss. I think that they will get along well because Moss is ready to realize that he is getting old and needs to win a Superbowl. I predict Moss will have the 2nd best season of his career next year.

Who I would Not Want to Be: Dante Culpepper
He apparently has lost all common sense because he is asking to be cut lose by the Dolphins when in reality he's lucky to be on an NFL roster! Who the hell do you think is gunna pick you up!? Maybe if Vick goes down for his dogfighting business sooner than later he could get some PT down in ATL or I can see him maybe in JAX or BAL. My advice would be: be glad you have a jersey on a NFL team and that you atleast have 1 knee.



What do you think about what I think and is there anything that you would have liked me to talk about? Please share....