[BFritz]

Sorry Dude i think New England is a little overrated this year

As do I, but they're still New England.

[More Cowbell]

Gore I think could have a big year, and his hand injury shouldn't have an effect on his play. Alex Smith could be very good, but I don't think he has anyone to throw to.

I also think their defense is pretty bad.

Obviously, I disagree with you and think that they won't be very good. probably below average, .500 would be very generous.

Don't sell the Niners short. They finished 7-9 last year with a young team that will continue to improve, then they signed Nate Clements and drafted Patrick Willis. On the contrary, Seattle is getting old, and Alexander is really starting to show some age. Arizona may be improving, but they're not there yet, and St. Louis is in a holding pattern. In what I see as a weak division, SF has as good a chance as any team to win it.

[bizmark]

how is everybody overlookin denver?!?!?! honestly, they underachieved last year and finished the year bad, but they had a rookie starting in the fiercest part of the regular season. but jay cutler did show some good signs and has some experience under his belt comin into this year.

also, for a team that has had a running back rush for 1,000+ every year since 1995 including 5 different 1,000 yard rushers since 1998 and has arguably the best o-line in the league, they picked up a back that is probably better than 3 of those 1,000 yard rushers ( mike anderson, orlandis gary and tatum bell) and maybe just as good as another ( clinton portis) in travis henry. henry was 1,500 yard back in buffalo and rushed for 1,200 yards last season for tennessee who has a bad o-line.

some other good news for jay cutler is llok at the weapons around him. javon walker and rod smith are a pretty good 1 2 punch if you ask me. smith might be gettin older but he can sure as hell still play the game. but look at the free agent pick ups. daniel grahm from new england is a big, physical, athletic tight end and denver has been missin a good tight end for a couple years now. and who in the nfl is a better slot receiver then brandon stoakley? throw travis. henry in that mix and thats a pretty good crew to put around a young qb like cutler.

all that said, lets look at the defensive side of the ball. first off, champ bailey is the best corner in the league hands down. any time indy has beat denver since 05 champ has shut harrison down every time, its been the number 2 cb who hasnt been able to cover reggie wayne and wayne tears us up. but now reggie wayne is gonna be covered by dre bly and in my opinion bly and bailey is the best corner duo in the league. and dominiqe foxworth could be a solid #2 corner for a lot of teams in the nfl. john lynch is really the same deal as rod smith, gettin older and out of his prime, but hell still make wide receivers scared to go over the middle of the field.

the line backers will be a little down with the loss of al wilson, im not gonna lie that will hurt. but when you still have 2 pro bowl backers in dj williams and ian gold i think that well be fine there.

the d-line is about the same as last year which was a pretty good d-lie, #12 against the run. but after drafting jarvis moss from florida in the first round they now have two good pass rushing de's ( moss and last years team leader in sacks elvis dummerville) and 2 good run stopping de's ( ebunezer ekuban and kennard ). the 2 combined for 99 tackles last year, ekuban had 63 by himself. last season dwight freeney finished with 29 tackles, will smith had 52, john abraham-18, julius peppers- 58,leonard little- 60, richard seymoure- 41, kabeer gbaja-biamila- 40.

so i think that people should look at denver a little bit harder before they make these rankings. and lets not forget, just 2 seasons ago denver was becoming the first team to beat the patriots in the playoffs in the tom brady era and went on to get beat by the eventual super bowl champs in the afc title game.

last thing, denver has arguably the best kicker in the league jason elam and arguably the best punter in the league todd sauerbrun. field position is very important.

and one more thing, mike shannahan is a pretty good coach.

[More Cowbell]

how is everybody overlookin denver?!?!?!

I don't think anyone is overlooking Denver. If you look back at the original post on this thread, they were listed #9 (out of all 32 teams) by both ranking services. I think they will be a good team and make the playoffs, but I don't see them being good enough to overtake San Diego and win the division. My AFC playoff teams:

Division Winners: Pats, Bengals, Colts, Chargers
Wild-Cards: Steelers, Broncos

[Scotty doesn't know]

I don't think anyone is overlooking Denver. If you look back at the original post on this thread, they were listed #9 (out of all 32 teams) by both ranking services. I think they will be a good team and make the playoffs, but I don't see them being good enough to overtake San Diego and win the division. My AFC playoff teams:

Division Winners: Pats, Bengals, Colts, Chargers
Wild-Cards: Steelers, Broncos

I agree completely. At first I would have said Ravens over Steelers but I have read up and changed my mind since then.

[More Cowbell]

[/B]

I agree completely. At first I would have said Ravens over Steelers but I have read up and changed my mind since then.

Good, my Padawan learner!

You have come over to my side, the one where I believe the Ravens are grossly overrated...

[Scotty doesn't know]

Good, my Padawan learner!

You have come over to my side, the one where I believe the Ravens are grossly overrated...

That is what alot of NFL live and constant reading does to you man. I it isn't that I think a whole lot less of the Ravens but a whole lot more of the Steelers. Yes the Ravens are OVERATED.!!

[More Cowbell]

That is what alot of NFL live and constant reading does to you man. I it isn't that I think a whole lot less of the Ravens but a whole lot more of the Steelers. Yes the Ravens are OVERATED.!!

Well, you may not think a lot less of the Ravens but I DO!

If you've read some of my previous posts on them, I believe they were nowhere near as good as their record indicated last year. With the harder schedule that comes with finishing first, as well as the fact that there's no way they'll have the same luck they did last season, I predict the Ravens crash hard this year.

[Scotty doesn't know]

Well, you may not think a lot less of the Ravens but I DO!

If you've read some of my previous posts on them, I believe they were nowhere near as good as their record indicated last year. With the harder schedule that comes with finishing first, as well as the fact that there's no way they'll have the same luck they did last season, I predict the Ravens crash hard this year.

I agree 110% man. They are overrated but I also thought the Steelers have been overrated. They actually have been underrated this whole offseason. The Ravens day in coming I can feel it.

[More Cowbell]

I agree 110% man. They are overrated but I also thought the Steelers have been overrated. They actually have been underrated this whole offseason. The Ravens day in coming I can feel it.

Although it may pain me to say it, the Steelers will be solid and should finish right behind the Bengals this year.

Ask TidesHoss, I'm sure he'll tell you they'll be good too.

[Scotty doesn't know]

Although it may pain me to say it, the Steelers will be solid and should finish right behind the Bengals this year.

Ask TidesHoss, I'm sure he'll tell you they'll be good too.

Ah, dude he will shutdown his computer typing so much if you get him to started talking about the Steelers. lol :Thumbs: Hoss man you are very loyal to your team! ( I am just joking with you man)

[More Cowbell]

I wasn't being sarcastic towards TH32, I really think Pittsburgh will bounce back and have a good year. I just meant that as a die-hard Steelers fan, he could probably do a much better job backing up my contention that they will be much improved.

[Scotty doesn't know]

Oh I know you where not being sarcastic or anything. Hoss is one of the diehard sports nuts on here that will always give an unbiased opinion.

[TidesHoss32]

Yeah, but I swear guys, people dont understand that the AFC is so freakin wicked. Its sad that a team could win 10 or even 11 games every year and be left out of the playoffs. When we won SB XL, we won 11 games, and was a 6TH SEED. And its not changed at all. Teams like Denver would win 12 games in the NFC without a doubt in my mind, but have to struggle just to get their names in the playoff race in the AFC. Cincy is going to be nasty this year, and yeah it pains me to say it, lol...and will probably win the division. But like you all, I think Baltimore's overrated. Yeah they got that defense, but what good's a defense when your offense cant put the ball in the endzone? That's the 13-7 winningest team in football, and IMO, this year thats gonna stop. Im not saying that age is getting to them, but sooner or later, you carrying the offense has to stop. And I think this year it does. Whats bad though, is that Cincy, Pittsburgh and Baltimore all have very solid shots to go to the playoffs, and the possibility of all three of them going is a million to one. But at least its here, the wait is over, and now we can get ready for the season. Its gonna be so much fun, I cant wait till opening week!!

[More Cowbell]

See, exactly what I said, TidesHoss would be the perfect person to expound on why the Steelers would be improved this year!

I agree, and it will be a battle between them and Cincinnati for the division title, but I see my Bengals finishing ahead by a game or two!

[Scotty doesn't know]

See, exactly what I said, TidesHoss would be the perfect person to expound on why the Steelers would be improved this year!

I agree, and it will be a battle between them and Cincinnati for the division title, but I see my Bengals finishing ahead by a game or two!

You forgot to add the also emphatic WHO DEY lol . I agree, I will put the Steelers right in the wildcard spot and quite comfortably too.

[Lake Chief]

After watching Cleveland shred the Bengals defense today, I stand by what I said about their porous defense and going 8-8 this year. The Cleveland freaking Browns.

[Lake Chief]

Your post in the Thurman thread sounded like you had a decent amount of intelligence, but it didn't sound like it had a whole lot of football merit. I bring that up because this post doesn't have a whole lot of logic. They finished 8-8 last year with arguably the toughest schedule in the league, losing games that could have easily made them 11-5. They had a horrible defense last year, and Palmer's mechanics on his throws were off. Even with Palmer struggling, they still produced enough on offense to win games if the defense could have stopped teams better than a girl scout team lining up to play D.

Palmer fixed the problems with his mechanics, so he could be the top QB in the league behind Manning, and he likely will be. They made dramatic improvements on defense, it should be like night and day with defensive squads that have been ranked 28th and higher every season of the past few years- experts have the D ranked 12th or so. Without a defense, you can't win, with a horrible defense, you can win a few games if your offense is very good, with an offense like the Bengals have plus a respectable defense, you can be a very good football team. Now, to the schedule. The other teams in the division have not improved at all in the offseason, in fact, they've gotten worse. This may or may not still be the toughest division in the NFL, but the Bengals certainly look like they're the best team in it. Their out-of-district schedule looks to be even easier, as it is every other year also. It's still not a walk in the park, but playing in this division year in and year out, it looks remarkably easier. They have one team that will be ranked ahead of them in any preseason rankings, and while preseason rankings don't mean a whole lot, if every expert is picking about the same thing, it must have some merit.

So, with a better defense (which we've established as the most important component of a team), an offense that could be even more explosive than last year, and a schedule that says that the NFL wants us to go at least 12-4, you say we'll only go 8-8. Please, explain your logic, and anyone else can comment or correct any mistakes you think I made- in predictions or anything.

8-8

[BCFan]

That lists looks so weird now that you see how the teams actually turned out..

[TidesHoss32]

yeah, and San Diego is getting everything they asked for...fire Marty Schottenheimer for one of the worst head coaches in the history of the game. Yeah Marty couldnt win the big game in the playoffs, so what do they do? They hire a guy that wont get them there, lol..14-2 and a third round playoff loss to the Patriots doesnt look so bad now does it?